Sobre la posición sistemática de Choreonema Schmitz (Corallinaceae, Rhodophyta)

Scanning electron microscopy of conceptacle of the parasite Choreonema thuretii (Bornet) Schmitz reveals the Jania-type surface, only found in members of tribe Janieae (GARBARY & JOHANSEN, 1982). The recognition of Choreonemeae Svedelius (1911) as a evolutively regressive tribe of subfamily Corallinoideae is proposed.La superficie de los conceptáculos de Choreonema thuretii (Bornet) Schmitz observados con el microscopio electrónico de barrido, muestran los caracteres de la superficie tipo-Jania, exclusivos de la tribu Janieae, descritos por GARBARY & JOHANSEN (1982). Se propone reutilizar la tribu Choreonemeae Svedelius (1911), únicamente para este parásito, e incluirla como una tribu evolutivamente regresiva de la subfamilia Corallinoideae

The long journey of Orthotrichum shevockii (Orthotrichaceae, Bryopsida): From California to Macaronesia

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. Biogeography, systematics and taxonomy are complementary scientific disciplines. To understand a species' origin, migration routes, distribution and evolutionary history, it is first necessary to establish its taxonomic boundaries. Here, we use an integrative approach that takes advantage of complementary disciplines to resolve an intriguing scientific question. Populations of an unknown moss found in the Canary Islands (Tenerife Island) resembled two different Californian endemic species: Orthotrichum shevockii and O. kellmanii. To determine whether this moss belongs to either of these species and, if so, to explain its presence on this distant oceanic island, we combined the evaluation of morphological qualitative characters, statistical morphometric analyses of quantitative traits, and molecular phylogenetic inferences. Our results suggest that the two Californian mosses are conspecific, and that the Canarian populations belong to this putative species, with only one taxon thus involved. Orthotrichum shevockii (the priority name) is therefore recognized as a morphologically variable species that exhibits a transcontinental disjunction between western North America and the Canary Islands. Within its distribution range, the area of occupancy is limited, a notable feature among bryophytes at the intraspecific level. To explain this disjunction, divergence time and ancestral area estimation analyses are carried out and further support the hypothesis of a long-distance dispersal event from California to Tenerife IslandThis research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (CGL2007- 61389/BOS) to F.L., the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (CGL2011-28857/BOS) to V.M., the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (CGL2013-43246-P) to R.G., and the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness (CGL2016-80772-P) to I.D. and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (grants IJCI-2014-19691 and RYC-2016-20506) to J.P. J.P. also received the H2020 Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions grant 747238. J.M.G-M and A.L-L. are grateful for funding from Parque Nacional del Teide. B.V. benefited from the support of the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through grant BES2012-051976 of the Formación de Personal Investigador (FPI) programme. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscrip

Application of 3D images for the interpretation of bryophytes in the teaching of Botany

Los dos «Proyectos de Innovación Educativa» concedidos, el primero por el Vicerrectorado de Calidad Institucional e Innovación Educativa de la Universidad de La Laguna (ULL) en la convocatoria 2014-2015 y el segundo por el actual Vicerrectorado de Docencia en la convocatoria 2015-2016, a tres profesoras del Área de Botánica, implicadas en la docencia de esta materia en 3 asignaturas («Botánica 1», «Botánica» y «Botánica y Fisiología Vegetal») de 3 titulaciones de la ULL (Grado en Biología, Grado en Ciencias Ambientales y Grado en Farmacia respectivamente), nos han permitido contratar los servicios de una diseñadora gráfica para la elaboración de las imágenes 3D de la parte del «Manual de prácticas de Botánica on-line» correspondiente a los «Briófitos». En el primer proyecto (octubre 2014-noviembre 2015) abordamos los «Briófitos foliosos» y en el segundo (octubre 2015-noviembre 2016) los «Briófitos talosos». Dado que el alumnado, en el entorno virtual, ya dispone de la primera parte del manual dedicada a los «Briófitos foliosos», en este trabajo además de dar a conocer este nuevo recurso didáctico, presentamos la valoración inicial de su uso y acogida por parte del alumnado en las prácticas de laboratorio de la asignatura «Botánica» del Grado de Ciencias Ambientales. Dicha evaluación se realizó mediante un cuestionario anónimo, usando sistemas de respuesta personal (clickers). Los resultados obtenidos nos permiten afirmar que las ilustraciones 3D para las cuales se pidió la financiación han despertado el interés del alumnado, les han servido para comprender mejor la terminología y conceptos del manual, y éste a su vez está estructurado de acuerdo con las prácticas y les ha sido útil en su proceso de aprendizajeThe two «Educational Innovation Projects» awarded by the Vicechancellor for Institutional Quality and Educational Innovation of the University of La Laguna (ULL) in the 2014-2015 call, and by the current Vice-chancellor for Teaching in the 2015-2016 call to three professors of the Botany area involved in the teaching of this discipline in 3 subjects («Botany 1», «Botany» and «Botany and Plant Physiology») of 3 ULL degrees (Degree in Biology, Environmental Sciences and Pharmacy, respectively), have allowed us to hire the services of a graphic designer for the elaboration of the 3D images of the part of the «Manual of practices of Botany on-line» corresponding to the «Bryophytes». In the first project (October 2014-November 2015) we addressed the «foliate bryophytes» while the «Thallose bryophytes» were addressed in the second (October 2015-November 2016). Since the students already had the first part of the manual dedicated to the «Foliose bryophytes» in their virtual classroom, in this work, apart from presenting this new didactic resource, we present the initial assessment of its use and acceptance by part of the students in the laboratory practices of the subject «Botany» of the Degree of Environmental Sciences. This evaluation was developed using an anonymous questionnaire carried out with personal response systems (clickers). The obtained results allow us to affirm that the 3D illustrations for which funding was requested, have aroused students’ interest, have helped them to better understand the terminology and concepts of the manual which is structured in accordance with the practices and has been useful to them in their learning process

Treatment with tocilizumab or corticosteroids for COVID-19 patients with hyperinflammatory state: a multicentre cohort study (SAM-COVID-19)

Objectives: The objective of this study was to estimate the association between tocilizumab or corticosteroids and the risk of intubation or death in patients with coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) with a hyperinflammatory state according to clinical and laboratory parameters. Methods: A cohort study was performed in 60 Spanish hospitals including 778 patients with COVID-19 and clinical and laboratory data indicative of a hyperinflammatory state. Treatment was mainly with tocilizumab, an intermediate-high dose of corticosteroids (IHDC), a pulse dose of corticosteroids (PDC), combination therapy, or no treatment. Primary outcome was intubation or death; follow-up was 21 days. Propensity score-adjusted estimations using Cox regression (logistic regression if needed) were calculated. Propensity scores were used as confounders, matching variables and for the inverse probability of treatment weights (IPTWs). Results: In all, 88, 117, 78 and 151 patients treated with tocilizumab, IHDC, PDC, and combination therapy, respectively, were compared with 344 untreated patients. The primary endpoint occurred in 10 (11.4%), 27 (23.1%), 12 (15.4%), 40 (25.6%) and 69 (21.1%), respectively. The IPTW-based hazard ratios (odds ratio for combination therapy) for the primary endpoint were 0.32 (95%CI 0.22-0.47; p < 0.001) for tocilizumab, 0.82 (0.71-1.30; p 0.82) for IHDC, 0.61 (0.43-0.86; p 0.006) for PDC, and 1.17 (0.86-1.58; p 0.30) for combination therapy. Other applications of the propensity score provided similar results, but were not significant for PDC. Tocilizumab was also associated with lower hazard of death alone in IPTW analysis (0.07; 0.02-0.17; p < 0.001). Conclusions: Tocilizumab might be useful in COVID-19 patients with a hyperinflammatory state and should be prioritized for randomized trials in this situatio

Mortality and pulmonary complications in patients undergoing surgery with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection: an international cohort study

Background: The impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) on postoperative recovery needs to be understood to inform clinical decision making during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. This study reports 30-day mortality and pulmonary complication rates in patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection. Methods: This international, multicentre, cohort study at 235 hospitals in 24 countries included all patients undergoing surgery who had SARS-CoV-2 infection confirmed within 7 days before or 30 days after surgery. The primary outcome measure was 30-day postoperative mortality and was assessed in all enrolled patients. The main secondary outcome measure was pulmonary complications, defined as pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome, or unexpected postoperative ventilation. Findings: This analysis includes 1128 patients who had surgery between Jan 1 and March 31, 2020, of whom 835 (74·0%) had emergency surgery and 280 (24·8%) had elective surgery. SARS-CoV-2 infection was confirmed preoperatively in 294 (26·1%) patients. 30-day mortality was 23·8% (268 of 1128). Pulmonary complications occurred in 577 (51·2%) of 1128 patients; 30-day mortality in these patients was 38·0% (219 of 577), accounting for 81·7% (219 of 268) of all deaths. In adjusted analyses, 30-day mortality was associated with male sex (odds ratio 1·75 [95% CI 1·28–2·40], p\textless0·0001), age 70 years or older versus younger than 70 years (2·30 [1·65–3·22], p\textless0·0001), American Society of Anesthesiologists grades 3–5 versus grades 1–2 (2·35 [1·57–3·53], p\textless0·0001), malignant versus benign or obstetric diagnosis (1·55 [1·01–2·39], p=0·046), emergency versus elective surgery (1·67 [1·06–2·63], p=0·026), and major versus minor surgery (1·52 [1·01–2·31], p=0·047). Interpretation: Postoperative pulmonary complications occur in half of patients with perioperative SARS-CoV-2 infection and are associated with high mortality. Thresholds for surgery during the COVID-19 pandemic should be higher than during normal practice, particularly in men aged 70 years and older. Consideration should be given for postponing non-urgent procedures and promoting non-operative treatment to delay or avoid the need for surgery. Funding: National Institute for Health Research (NIHR), Association of Coloproctology of Great Britain and Ireland, Bowel and Cancer Research, Bowel Disease Research Foundation, Association of Upper Gastrointestinal Surgeons, British Association of Surgical Oncology, British Gynaecological Cancer Society, European Society of Coloproctology, NIHR Academy, Sarcoma UK, Vascular Society for Great Britain and Ireland, and Yorkshire Cancer Research

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries