Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Rationale, study design, and analysis plan of the Alveolar Recruitment for ARDS Trial (ART): Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) is associated with high in-hospital mortality. Alveolar recruitment followed by ventilation at optimal titrated PEEP may reduce ventilator-induced lung injury and improve oxygenation in patients with ARDS, but the effects on mortality and other clinical outcomes remain unknown. This article reports the rationale, study design, and analysis plan of the Alveolar Recruitment for ARDS Trial (ART). Methods/Design: ART is a pragmatic, multicenter, randomized (concealed), controlled trial, which aims to determine if maximum stepwise alveolar recruitment associated with PEEP titration is able to increase 28-day survival in patients with ARDS compared to conventional treatment (ARDSNet strategy). We will enroll adult patients with ARDS of less than 72 h duration. The intervention group will receive an alveolar recruitment maneuver, with stepwise increases of PEEP achieving 45 cmH(2)O and peak pressure of 60 cmH2O, followed by ventilation with optimal PEEP titrated according to the static compliance of the respiratory system. In the control group, mechanical ventilation will follow a conventional protocol (ARDSNet). In both groups, we will use controlled volume mode with low tidal volumes (4 to 6 mL/kg of predicted body weight) and targeting plateau pressure <= 30 cmH2O. The primary outcome is 28-day survival, and the secondary outcomes are: length of ICU stay; length of hospital stay; pneumothorax requiring chest tube during first 7 days; barotrauma during first 7 days; mechanical ventilation-free days from days 1 to 28; ICU, in-hospital, and 6-month survival. ART is an event-guided trial planned to last until 520 events (deaths within 28 days) are observed. These events allow detection of a hazard ratio of 0.75, with 90% power and two-tailed type I error of 5%. All analysis will follow the intention-to-treat principle. Discussion: If the ART strategy with maximum recruitment and PEEP titration improves 28-day survival, this will represent a notable advance to the care of ARDS patients. Conversely, if the ART strategy is similar or inferior to the current evidence-based strategy (ARDSNet), this should also change current practice as many institutions routinely employ recruitment maneuvers and set PEEP levels according to some titration method.Hospital do Coracao (HCor) as part of the Program 'Hospitais de Excelencia a Servico do SUS (PROADI-SUS)'Brazilian Ministry of Healt

Análise das emissões, eficiência e condições de operação de um motor do ciclo diesel de 206 kW, operando em modo dual com diesel/biodiesel e gás natural.

Este trabalho foi desenvolvido experimentalmente com o intuito de analisar o comportamento das emissões, da potência e do consumo do motor diesel, operando em “modo dual” com diesel/biodiesel e gás a uma taxa de substituição do diesel por gás natural da ordem de aproximadamente 85 %. Foram ensaiadas misturas de B20 a B80 com intervalos de 20%, além dos dois limites, inferior e superior (B5 e B100), do diesel comercial e do biodiesel puro respectivamente, onde foram realizados para cada condição de mistura, ensaios com rotação constante de 1800 RPM controlada eletronicamente e potências elétrica de 40, 60, 80, 100 e 120 kW, respectivamente. Todo o sistema foi monitorado por sensores de temperatura, pressão, vazão, velocidade e as emissões de NOx , NO, CO2, CO, O2, Excesso de Ar etc. foram registradas em um analisador de gases de combustão. Os dados dos ensaios foram adquiridos por meio de um sistema de aquisição de dados instalado em um PC e armazenados em mídia própria, para posterior tratamento e análise através de Tabelas e gráficos e comparação com o ensaio B5, denominado neste trabalho de padrão diesel, bem como confrontado com outros trabalhos. Ao término deste estudo podemos concluir a viabilidade do uso do gás natural em motores diesel operando no modo dual com vantagens econômicas e ambientais.This work was developed experimentally in order to examine the performance of emissions, power and consumption of the diesel engine, operating in "dual mode" with diesel and natural gas at a fixed rate of replacement of diesel by natural gas of approximately 85%. Mixtures from B20 to B80 were tested with intervals of 20%, plus the two limits, upper and lower (B5 and B100) of commercial diesel and biodiesel respectively, which were performed for each mixture condition with constant test speed of 1,800 RPM, electronically controlled, and electric powers at 40, 60, 80, 100, and 120 kW respectively. The entire system was monitored by temperature and pressure sensors and test data were acquired by means of a data system installed on a PC and stored in adequate media, for further processing and analysis in tables and graphs and comparison with B5 test, which is called standard diesel and confronted with other studies. At the end of this research we can perceive the viability of the use of natural gas in diesel engines in dual mode with a range of economic and environmental advantages

Influence of ecological filters on phytoplankton communities in semi-arid solar saltern environments

ObjectiveThis study analyzed the influence of ecological filters (abiotic variables) on the phytoplankton community in hypersaline ecosystems.MethodsThe abiotic variables measured herein were: pH, water temperature, salinity, ammonium ion, total nitrogen, nitrite, nitrate, total phosphorus, and soluble reactive phosphorus. The phytoplankton community was studied for density, richness and Shannon-Wiener diversity index. Data were analyzed using analysis of variance, linear regression and Canonical correspondence analysis (CCA).ResultsIn total, 110 taxa were identified in 3 solar salterns, distributed into 9 taxonomic classes, with the predominance of Cyanobacteria (41.8%) and Bacillariophyceae (22.7%). The species Pseudanabaena galeata was the only species sampled in all saline environments. Salinity significantly influenced the richness in the three salterns, Augusto Severo (F(1,22) = 23.2, p <0.001), Francisco Menescal (F(1,22) = 50.02, p <0.001) and Santa Clara (F(1,22) = 66.33, p <0.001). The first two CCA axes explained 41.6% of total data variability, with a negative relationship with soluble reactive phosphorus for axis 2.ConclusionThe study showed the influence of the dynamics of salterns ecosystems on the phytoplankton community structure. This is associated with filters developed by the environment, where the increasing salinity, temperature and precipitation of salts influence the composition of these organisms in the ecosystem

Surgical Technique: Anatomic Medial Patellofemoral Ligament Retensioning Repair

The medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) and the MPFL/vastus medialis obliquus complex are essential for patellar stability. Insufficiency of the MPFL can lead to altered biomechanics and patellofemoral joint contact pressure, high recurrence rate, osteochondral lesions, compromised knee function, and patellofemoral osteoarthritis. Most frequently surgical reconstruction of the MPFL is performed to address patellar instability; however, open physis and donor site morbidity can be a concern. This Technical Note presents a surgical technique to identify the insufficient MPFL and describes in detail an anatomical retensioning repair of the MPFL to restore patellar stability

NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES: a data set on carnivore distribution in the Neotropics

Mammalian carnivores are considered a key group in maintaining ecological health and can indicate potential ecological integrity in landscapes where they occur. Carnivores also hold high conservation value and their habitat requirements can guide management and conservation plans. The order Carnivora has 84 species from 8 families in the Neotropical region: Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Otariidae; Phocidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae. Herein, we include published and unpublished data on native terrestrial Neotropical carnivores (Canidae; Felidae; Mephitidae; Mustelidae; Procyonidae; and Ursidae). NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES is a publicly available data set that includes 99,605 data entries from 35,511 unique georeferenced coordinates. Detection/non-detection and quantitative data were obtained from 1818 to 2018 by researchers, governmental agencies, non-governmental organizations, and private consultants. Data were collected using several methods including camera trapping, museum collections, roadkill, line transect, and opportunistic records. Literature (peer-reviewed and grey literature) from Portuguese, Spanish and English were incorporated in this compilation. Most of the data set consists of detection data entries (n = 79,343; 79.7%) but also includes non-detection data (n = 20,262; 20.3%). Of those, 43.3% also include count data (n = 43,151). The information available in NEOTROPICAL CARNIVORES will contribute to macroecological, ecological, and conservation questions in multiple spatio-temporal perspectives. As carnivores play key roles in trophic interactions, a better understanding of their distribution and habitat requirements are essential to establish conservation management plans and safeguard the future ecological health of Neotropical ecosystems. Our data paper, combined with other large-scale data sets, has great potential to clarify species distribution and related ecological processes within the Neotropics. There are no copyright restrictions and no restriction for using data from this data paper, as long as the data paper is cited as the source of the information used. We also request that users inform us of how they intend to use the data

Neotropical freshwater fisheries : A dataset of occurrence and abundance of freshwater fishes in the Neotropics

The Neotropical region hosts 4225 freshwater fish species, ranking first among the world's most diverse regions for freshwater fishes. Our NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set is the first to produce a large-scale Neotropical freshwater fish inventory, covering the entire Neotropical region from Mexico and the Caribbean in the north to the southern limits in Argentina, Paraguay, Chile, and Uruguay. We compiled 185,787 distribution records, with unique georeferenced coordinates, for the 4225 species, represented by occurrence and abundance data. The number of species for the most numerous orders are as follows: Characiformes (1289), Siluriformes (1384), Cichliformes (354), Cyprinodontiformes (245), and Gymnotiformes (135). The most recorded species was the characid Astyanax fasciatus (4696 records). We registered 116,802 distribution records for native species, compared to 1802 distribution records for nonnative species. The main aim of the NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set was to make these occurrence and abundance data accessible for international researchers to develop ecological and macroecological studies, from local to regional scales, with focal fish species, families, or orders. We anticipate that the NEOTROPICAL FRESHWATER FISHES data set will be valuable for studies on a wide range of ecological processes, such as trophic cascades, fishery pressure, the effects of habitat loss and fragmentation, and the impacts of species invasion and climate change. There are no copyright restrictions on the data, and please cite this data paper when using the data in publications