Convergent adaptations: bitter manioc cultivation systems in fertile anthropogenic dark earths and floodplain soils in central Amazonia

Shifting cultivation in the humid tropics is incredibly diverse, yet research tends to focus on one type: long-fallow shifting cultivation. While it is a typical adaptation to the highly-weathered nutrient-poor soils of the Amazonian terra firme, fertile environments in the region offer opportunities for agricultural intensification. We hypothesized that Amazonian people have developed divergent bitter manioc cultivation systems as adaptations to the properties of different soils. We compared bitter manioc cultivation in two nutrient-rich and two nutrient-poor soils, along the middle Madeira River in Central Amazonia. We interviewed 249 farmers in 6 localities, sampled their manioc fields, and carried out genetic analysis of bitter manioc landraces. While cultivation in the two richer soils at different localities was characterized by fast-maturing, low-starch manioc landraces, with shorter cropping periods and shorter fallows, the predominant manioc landraces in these soils were generally not genetically similar. Rather, predominant landraces in each of these two fertile soils have emerged from separate selective trajectories which produced landraces that converged for fast-maturing low-starch traits adapted to intensified swidden systems in fertile soils. This contrasts with the more extensive cultivation systems found in the two poorer soils at different localities, characterized by the prevalence of slow-maturing high-starch landraces, longer cropping periods and longer fallows, typical of previous studies. Farmers plant different assemblages of bitter manioc landraces in different soils and the most popular landraces were shown to exhibit significantly different yields when planted in different soils. Farmers have selected different sets of landraces with different perceived agronomic characteristics, along with different fallow lengths, as adaptations to the specific properties of each agroecological micro-environment. These findings open up new avenues for research and debate concerning the origins, evolution, history and contemporary cultivation of bitter manioc in Amazonia and beyond

Obstructive Sleep Apnea: Emphasis On Discharge Education After Surgery

Purpose: The purpose of this evidence-based practice project is to evaluate the effectiveness of discharge education (DCE) on obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) for increasing continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) compliance after surgery among adult surgical patients diagnosed with OSA, who use CPAP. Background & Evidence for Problem: In the United States, the prevalence of OSA in the adult population is approximately 20%. Over half of the surgical patients with OSA are predisposed to increased incidence of perioperative complications. Based on recent evidence, obstructive events are at the highest on the third day after surgery, which predisposes them for postoperative complications. The American Society of Perianesthesia Nurses recommends that a DCE on OSA should be provided after surgery to patients diagnosed with OSA to promote CPAP compliance and self-care behaviors at home. Project Plan: Participants were adult surgical patients over 18 years old diagnosed with OSA, who use CPAP. Phase one was completed using the Apnea Knowledge Test to measure patients’ knowledge on OSA. Phase two included a second set of surgical patients that were provided DCE on OSA by telephone, five to seven days before surgery. Education was reinforced on the day of surgery and seven to 10 days after surgery. Outcomes measured were CPAP usage and the Epworth Sleepiness Scale score to evaluate effectiveness of this EBP project. Outcomes / Results: Sixty-six participants were provided DCE on OSA. In phase one, the mean patients’ knowledge demonstrated a 23.9% increase from pretest to three days after discharge. In phase two, the mean CPAP hours per night usage increased by a total of 72 minutes after DCE on OSA provided. There was no clinically significant change in ESS over time. Conclusions: Not only does the DCE on OSA increase patient’s knowledge on OSA and CPAP usage, it also demonstrated effectiveness in increasing CPAP compliance after surgery. The DCE on OSA could be implemented in the surgical setting as part of routine clinical care

Archaeological Soybean (Glycine max) in East Asia: Does Size Matter?

The recently acquired archaeological record for soybean from Japan, China and Korea is shedding light on the context in which this important economic plant became associated with people and was domesticated. This paper examines archaeological (charred) soybean seed size variation to determine what insight can be gained from a comprehensive comparison of 949 specimens from 22 sites. Seed length alone appears to represent seed size change through time, although the length×width×thickness product has the potential to provide better size change resolution. A widespread early association of small seeded soybean is as old as 9000–8600 cal BP in northern China and 7000 cal BP in Japan. Direct AMS radiocarbon dates on charred soybean seeds indicate selection resulted in large seed sizes in Japan by 5000 cal BP (Middle Jomon) and in Korea by 3000 cal BP (Early Mumun). Soybean seeds recovered in China from the Shang through Han periods are similar in length to the large Korean and Japanese specimens, but the overall size of the large Middle and Late Jomon, Early Mumun through Three Kingdom seeds is significantly larger than any of the Chinese specimens. The archaeological record appears to disconfirm the hypothesis of a single domestication of soybean and supports the view informed by recent phyologenetic research that soybean was domesticated in several locations in East Asia

Teaching Statistics with Current and Historical Events: An Analysis of Survivor Data From the Sinking of the HMT Birkenhead, the RMS Titanic, and the Korean Ferry MV Sewol

Citation: Lee, Y., Schumm, W. R., Lockett, L., Newsom, K. C., & Behan, K. (2016). Teaching Statistics with Current and Historical Events: An Analysis of Survivor Data From the Sinking of the HMT Birkenhead, the RMS Titanic, and the Korean Ferry MV Sewol. Comprehensive Psychology, 5, 216522281664790. https://doi.org/10.1177/2165222816647900Statistical examples can feel remote to students, especially if the variables under consideration are ambiguous. However, life or death is not ambiguous but very concrete. Three different historical shipwrecks offer an abundance of ways to demonstrate the relevance and importance of statistics. Here, we discuss statistical outcomes associated with the loss of three ships: the HMT Birkenhead in 1852, the RMS Titanic in 1912, and the Korean ferry MV Sewol in April 2014. These disasters can serve as examples for demonstrating the relevance of statistics to current events. Statistics in these historical events can help students see that the survival rates of different groups of passengers were very different, with medium to large effect sizes. Even if statistical analyses cannot answer all of the questions about why some passengers had higher survival rates than others, they can lead to further productive qualitative or quantitative research into such questions

Gourds and squashes (Cucurbita spp.) adapted to megafaunal extinction and ecological anachronism through domestication.

The genus Cucurbita (squashes, pumpkins, gourds) contains numerous domesticated lineages with ancient New World origins. It was broadly distributed in the past but has declined to the point that several of the crops' progenitor species are scarce or unknown in the wild. We hypothesize that Holocene ecological shifts and megafaunal extinctions severely impacted wild Cucurbita, whereas their domestic counterparts adapted to changing conditions via symbiosis with human cultivators. First, we used high-throughput sequencing to analyze complete plastid genomes of 91 total Cucurbita samples, comprising ancient (n = 19), modern wild (n = 30), and modern domestic (n = 42) taxa. This analysis demonstrates independent domestication in eastern North America, evidence of a previously unknown pathway to domestication in northeastern Mexico, and broad archaeological distributions of taxa currently unknown in the wild. Further, sequence similarity between distant wild populations suggests recent fragmentation. Collectively, these results point to wild-type declines coinciding with widespread domestication. Second, we hypothesize that the disappearance of large herbivores struck a critical ecological blow against wild Cucurbita, and we take initial steps to consider this hypothesis through cross-mammal analyses of bitter taste receptor gene repertoires. Directly, megafauna consumed Cucurbita fruits and dispersed their seeds; wild Cucurbita were likely left without mutualistic dispersal partners in the Holocene because they are unpalatable to smaller surviving mammals with more bitter taste receptor genes. Indirectly, megafauna maintained mosaic-like landscapes ideal for Cucurbita, and vegetative changes following the megafaunal extinctions likely crowded out their disturbed-ground niche. Thus, anthropogenic landscapes provided favorable growth habitats and willing dispersal partners in the wake of ecological upheaval.Research was supported by The Pennsylvania State University Huck Institutes of the Life Sciences and College of the Liberal Arts (G.H.P.), Wenner–Gren post-PhD Research Grant 8770 and Natural Environment Research Council Independent Research Fellowship NE/L012030/1 (to L.K.), and the Smithsonian Institution (B.D.S.). Instrumentation was funded by the National Science Foundation through Grant OCI–0821527.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from PNAS via http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.151610911

The impact of ocean acidification on the functional morphology of foraminifera

This work was supported by the NERC UK Ocean Acidification Research Programme grant NE/H017445/1. WENA acknowledges NERC support (NE/G018502/1). DMP received funding from the MASTS pooling initiative (The Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland). MASTS is funded by the Scottish Funding Council (grant reference HR09011) and contributing institutions.Culturing experiments were performed on sediment samples from the Ythan Estuary, N. E. Scotland, to assess the impacts of ocean acidification on test surface ornamentation in the benthic foraminifer Haynesina germanica. Specimens were cultured for 36 weeks at either 380, 750 or 1000 ppm atmospheric CO2. Analysis of the test surface using SEM imaging reveals sensitivity of functionally important ornamentation associated with feeding to changing seawater CO2 levels. Specimens incubated at high CO2 levels displayed evidence of shell dissolution, a significant reduction and deformation of ornamentation. It is clear that these calcifying organisms are likely to be vulnerable to ocean acidification. A reduction in functionally important ornamentation could lead to a reduction in feeding efficiency with consequent impacts on this organism’s survival and fitness.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

No Confirmed New Isolated Neutron Stars In The SDSS Data Release 4

We report on follow-up observations of candidate X-ray bright, radio-quiet isolated neutron stars (INSs) identified from correlations of the ROSAT All-Sky Survey (RASS) and the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS) Data Release 4 in Ag\"ueros et al. (2006). We obtained Chandra X-ray Telescope exposures for 13 candidates in order to pinpoint the source of X-ray emission in optically blank RASS error circles. These observations eliminated 12 targets as good INS candidates. We discuss subsequent observations of the remaining candidate with the XMM-Newton X-ray Observatory, the Gemini North Observatory, and the Apache Point Observatory. We identify this object as a likely extragalactic source with an unusually high log(fX/fopt) ~ 2.4. We also use an updated version of the population synthesis models of Popov et al. (2010) to estimate the number of RASS-detected INSs in the SDSS Data Release 7 footprint. We find that these models predict ~3-4 INSs in the 11,000 square deg imaged by SDSS, which is consistent with the number of known INSs that fall within the survey footprint. In addition, our analysis of the four new INS candidates identified by Turner et al. (2010) in the SDSS footprint implies that they are unlikely to be confirmed as INSs; together, these results suggest that new INSs are not likely to be found from further correlations of the RASS and SDSS.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, 3 tables; accepted for publication in A

Alcohol and tobacco consumption concordance and its correlates in older couples in Latin America

AimAs little is known about alcohol and tobacco consumption concordance between older spouses in low- and middle-income countries, the present study aimed to estimate this in older couples from five Latin American countries. MethodsThis study is a secondary analysis of data collected between 2003 and 2007 by the 10/66 Dementia Research Group, from 1451 couples aged over 65 years from Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Mexico and Puerto Rico. Kappa statistic was used to assess the agreement of the behavior beyond chance, and logistic regression models with meta-analyses were used to estimate the factors associated with concordance. ResultsThe mean age of the total sample was 74.8 years (SD 6.6). The results showed high levels of agreement rates in relation to drinking and smoking (75.9% and 85% of couples, respectively, did not drink or smoke), which were beyond the agreement expected by chance. Increased age was associated with concordance on both being non-drinkers (OR 1.03, 95% CI 1.01-1.05) and non-smokers (OR 1.05, 95% CI 1.02-1.07); and having a larger social network was associated with less likelihood of the couple being non-drinkers (OR 0.93, 95% CI 0.88-0.98). Attending religious meetings was associated with increased likelihood of the couple being non-smokers (OR 1.19, 95% CI 1.01-1.41). Socioeconomic circumstances were not associated with couples' concordance. ConclusionsOlder Latin American couples have high levels of concordance in drinking and smoking habits, which increases with age, and were not associated with socioeconomic circumstances, but were with social network. This knowledge can assist the development of policies and interventions to promote health among this growing population. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1849-1857.Wellcome Trust Health Consequences of Population Change ProgrammeWorld Health OrganizationUS Alzheimer's AssociationFONACIT/CDCH/UCV (Venezuela)FAPESP (Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo)AFIP (Associacao Fundo de Incentivo a Pesquisa)CAPES (Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior)Univ Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Psychobiol, Rua Napoleao de Barros 925, BR-04024003 Sao Paulo, BrazilHosp Alemao Oswaldo Cruz, Inst Educ & Hlth Sci, Sao Paulo, BrazilKings Coll London, Inst Psychiat Psychol & Neurosci, Ctr Global Mental Hlth, Hlth Serv & Populat Res Dept, London, EnglandUniv Fed Sao Paulo, Dept Psychobiol, Rua Napoleao de Barros 925, BR-04024003 Sao Paulo, BrazilWellcome Trust Health Consequences of Population Change Programme: GR066133Wellcome Trust Health Consequences of Population Change Programme: GR08002US Alzheimer's Association: IIRG - 04 - 1286FAPESP: 2012/19988-3Web of Scienc

COVID-19 prevalence and mortality in patients with cancer and the effect of primary tumour subtype and patient demographics: a prospective cohort study

BACKGROUND: Patients with cancer are purported to have poor COVID-19 outcomes. However, cancer is a heterogeneous group of diseases, encompassing a spectrum of tumour subtypes. The aim of this study was to investigate COVID-19 risk according to tumour subtype and patient demographics in patients with cancer in the UK. METHODS: We compared adult patients with cancer enrolled in the UK Coronavirus Cancer Monitoring Project (UKCCMP) cohort between March 18 and May 8, 2020, with a parallel non-COVID-19 UK cancer control population from the UK Office for National Statistics (2017 data). The primary outcome of the study was the effect of primary tumour subtype, age, and sex and on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) prevalence and the case-fatality rate during hospital admission. We analysed the effect of tumour subtype and patient demographics (age and sex) on prevalence and mortality from COVID-19 using univariable and multivariable models. FINDINGS: 319 (30·6%) of 1044 patients in the UKCCMP cohort died, 295 (92·5%) of whom had a cause of death recorded as due to COVID-19. The all-cause case-fatality rate in patients with cancer after SARS-CoV-2 infection was significantly associated with increasing age, rising from 0·10 in patients aged 40-49 years to 0·48 in those aged 80 years and older. Patients with haematological malignancies (leukaemia, lymphoma, and myeloma) had a more severe COVID-19 trajectory compared with patients with solid organ tumours (odds ratio [OR] 1·57, 95% CI 1·15-2·15; p<0·0043). Compared with the rest of the UKCCMP cohort, patients with leukaemia showed a significantly increased case-fatality rate (2·25, 1·13-4·57; p=0·023). After correction for age and sex, patients with haematological malignancies who had recent chemotherapy had an increased risk of death during COVID-19-associated hospital admission (OR 2·09, 95% CI 1·09-4·08; p=0·028). INTERPRETATION: Patients with cancer with different tumour types have differing susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2 infection and COVID-19 phenotypes. We generated individualised risk tables for patients with cancer, considering age, sex, and tumour subtype. Our results could be useful to assist physicians in informed risk-benefit discussions to explain COVID-19 risk and enable an evidenced-based approach to national social isolation policies. FUNDING: University of Birmingham and University of Oxford