Extant and extinct artiodactylans.

206 p. : ill. ; 26 cm. "Issued June 3, 2010." Includes bibliographical references (p. 202-206).I describe and figure petrosal bones for a sample of 35 ‪(‬12 extinct, 23 extant‪)‬ artiodactylans, perissodactylans, †mesonychids, and archaic ungulates. Detailed herein are the cladistic characters of the petrosal used in the recent combined analysis of molecular and morphological data by Spaulding et al. ‪(‬2009‪)‬. That analysis, the largest in taxa and characters for artiodactylans ‪(‬including cetaceans‪)‬ to date, showed that hippopotamids are the closest living relatives of cetaceans. It also showed that in the shortest trees †Indohyus is on the stem lineage to Cetacea and that †mesonychians are positioned outside Artiodactyla; however, these positions for fossils are highly unstable, as †mesonychians are more closely related to cetaceans than is †Indohyus in trees only two steps longer. I show that in many ways the osteology of the hippopotamid ear resembles that of certain stem cetaceamorphans more than it resembles the ear regions of suines ‪(‬pigs and peccaries‪)‬. Previous studies have suggested that many artiodactylans lacked an inflated tegmen tympani of the petrosal; however, that generalization is not supported by data presented herein. Petrosal characters, such as the presence of the prefacial commissure fossa, presence of a convex and hyperinflated tegmen tympani, and the absence of a subarcuate fossa, are shown to be synapomorphies of hippopotamids and cetaceans. Some of these features were previously argued to represent a special similarity between †mesonychids and cetaceans, but these are here interpreted as homoplasies. Other features previously argued to be extremely similar between †mesonychians and cetaceans to the exclusion of other ungulates, such as the presence of the anterior process of the tegmen tympani, are shown to be more widely distributed among ungulates than previously recognized. A number of artiodactylans, including ruminants, are also shown to have transpromontorial sulci on the petrosal despite reports that the internal carotid artery is absent in the neck of ruminants. The petrosals of †anthracothere and †entelodont species exhibit varied morphology, with the †anthracothere †Bothriogenys having the greatest gross similarity to the hippopotamid and cetaceamorphan condition; however, shortest trees indicate that these similarities are convergent

A New Fossil Amiid from the Eocene of Senegal and the Persistence of Extinct Marine Amiids after the Cretaceous–Paleogene Boundary

We report a new fossil amiid from Eocene rocks of West Africa representing the first record of this clade from Senegal. The new specimen has a maxilla that is very similar in size to that of Amia calva. It is distinctly smaller than reported remains of another West African Eocene taxon, Maliamia gigas. We tentatively refer the Senegal specimen to Vidalamiini because it has the large postmaxillary process diagnostic of this clade; however, it also exhibits anatomical features not previously described in extinct amiids. We recovered the specimen in rocks of the Lam-Lam Formation in Central-Western Senegal that we interpret to have been a shallow marine depositional environment. The occurrence of an Eocene marine amiid contradicts existing hypotheses that marine amiids were generally absent after the Cretaceous– Paleogene boundary having been replaced by freshwater taxa. Research completed since the initial discovery of Maliamia gigas indicates that this Eocene taxon was also found in shallow marine rocks

Relationships of Cetacea (Artiodactyla) Among Mammals: Increased Taxon Sampling Alters Interpretations of Key Fossils and Character Evolution

BACKGROUND: Integration of diverse data (molecules, fossils) provides the most robust test of the phylogeny of cetaceans. Positioning key fossils is critical for reconstructing the character change from life on land to life in the water. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We reexamine relationships of critical extinct taxa that impact our understanding of the origin of Cetacea. We do this in the context of the largest total evidence analysis of morphological and molecular information for Artiodactyla (661 phenotypic characters and 46,587 molecular characters, coded for 33 extant and 48 extinct taxa). We score morphological data for Carnivoramorpha, Creodonta, Lipotyphla, and the raoellid artiodactylan Indohyus and concentrate on determining which fossils are positioned along stem lineages to major artiodactylan crown clades. Shortest trees place Cetacea within Artiodactyla and close to Indohyus, with Mesonychia outside of Artiodactyla. The relationships of Mesonychia and Indohyus are highly unstable, however--in trees only two steps longer than minimum length, Mesonychia falls inside Artiodactyla and displaces Indohyus from a position close to Cetacea. Trees based only on data that fossilize continue to show the classic arrangement of relationships within Artiodactyla with Cetacea grouping outside the clade, a signal incongruent with the molecular data that dominate the total evidence result. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: Integration of new fossil material of Indohyus impacts placement of another extinct clade Mesonychia, pushing it much farther down the tree. The phylogenetic position of Indohyus suggests that the cetacean stem lineage included herbivorous and carnivorous aquatic species. We also conclude that extinct members of Cetancodonta (whales+hippopotamids) shared a derived ability to hear underwater sounds, even though several cetancodontans lack a pachyostotic auditory bulla. We revise the taxonomy of living and extinct artiodactylans and propose explicit node and stem-based definitions for the ingroup

Paediatric acute hepatitis of unknown aetiology : a national investigation and adenoviraemia case-control study in the UK

Funding Information: This work was undertaken as part of a national enhanced incident by UK public health agencies. We thank the parents and guardians of the children who gave up their valuable time to speak to the public health investigation teams; without their support we could not have been able to undertake a thorough investigation. We are grateful to the many paediatricians and liver specialists who reported cases to us and responded to follow-up with further information. We also thank Ezra Linley and Simon Tonge of the UK Health Security Agency Seroepidemiology Unit for rapidly providing serum samples for testing. We would like to thank the Incident Management Teams of the UK nations, members of the incident cells, epidemiology, laboratory, and local Health Protection Teams who supported the investigations, in particular: Katy Sinka, Mike Gent, Suzanna Howes, Eileen Gallagher, Selene Corsini, Eleanor Clarke, Rajani Raghu, Kelsey Mowat, Iain Hayden, Matt Hibbert, Skye Firminger, Catriona Angel, Donna Haskins, Kay Ratcliffe, Hannah Emmett, Alex Elliot, Helen Hughes, Sarah Deeny, Sarah Garner, Sarah Gerver, Flora Stevens, Paula Blomquist, Gabriel Gurmail Kauffman, Kristine Cooper, Hannah Taylor, Giovanni Leonardi, Michelle Dickinson and Michelle Watson from England; Kimberly Marsh, Michael Lockhart, David Yirrell, Sandra Currie, Kate Templeton, Samantha Shepherd, Roisin Ure, Jim McMenamin, Rachel Tayler, Louisa Pollock, Antonia Ho, Chris Cunningham and Hayley Peacock from Scotland; and Katie Binley and Meg Wallace from Northern Ireland.Peer reviewe

Population-based rates, timing and causes of maternal deaths, stillbirths, and neonatal deaths in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa: a multi-country prospective cohort study

BackgroundModelled mortality estimates have been useful for health programmes in low-income and middle-income countries. However, these estimates are often based on sparse and low-quality data. We aimed to generate high quality data about the burden, timing, and causes of maternal deaths, stillbirths, and neonatal deaths in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.MethodsIn this prospective cohort study done in 11 community-based research sites in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, between July, 2012, and February, 2016, we conducted population-based surveillance of women of reproductive age (15–49 years) to identify pregnancies, which were followed up to birth and 42 days post partum. We used standard operating procedures, data collection instruments, training, and standardisation to harmonise study implementation across sites. Verbal autopsies were done for deaths of all women of reproductive age, neonatal deaths, and stillbirths. Physicians used standardised methods for cause of death assignment. Site-specific rates and proportions were pooled at the regional level using a meta-analysis approach.FindingsWe identified 278 186 pregnancies and 263 563 births across the study sites, with outcomes ascertained for 269 630 (96·9%) pregnancies, including 8761 (3·2%) that ended in miscarriage or abortion. Maternal mortality ratios in sub-Saharan Africa (351 per 100 000 livebirths, 95% CI 168–732) were similar to those in south Asia (336 per 100 000 livebirths, 247–458), with far greater variability within sites in sub-Saharan Africa. Stillbirth and neonatal mortality rates were approximately two times higher in sites in south Asia than in sub-Saharan Africa (stillbirths: 35·1 per 1000 births, 95% CI 28·5–43·1 vs 17·1 per 1000 births, 12·5–25·8; neonatal mortality: 43·0 per 1000 livebirths, 39·0–47·3 vs 20·1 per 1000 livebirths, 14·6–27·6). 40–45% of pregnancy-related deaths, stillbirths, and neonatal deaths occurred during labour, delivery, and the 24 h postpartum period in both regions. Obstetric haemorrhage, non-obstetric complications, hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, and pregnancy-related infections accounted for more than three-quarters of maternal deaths and stillbirths. The most common causes of neonatal deaths were perinatal asphyxia (40%, 95% CI 39–42, in south Asia; 34%, 32–36, in sub-Saharan Africa) and severe neonatal infections (35%, 34–36, in south Asia; 37%, 34–39 in sub-Saharan Africa), followed by complications of preterm birth (19%, 18–20, in south Asia; 24%, 22–26 in sub-Saharan Africa).InterpretationThese results will contribute to improved global estimates of rates, timing, and causes of maternal and newborn deaths and stillbirths. Our findings imply that programmes in sub-Saharan Africa and south Asia need to further intensify their efforts to reduce mortality rates, which continue to be high. The focus on improving the quality of maternal intrapartum care and immediate newborn care must be further enhanced. Efforts to address perinatal asphyxia and newborn infections, as well as preterm birth, are critical to achieving survival goals in the Sustainable Development Goals era

Fig. 6 in An Anatomical And Phylogenetic Study Of The Osteology Of The Petrosal Of Extant And Extinct Artiodactylans (Mammalia) And Relatives

Fig. 6. Dorsolateral views of left petrosals of †Protungulatum sp. (AMNH-VP 118359) Tragulus napu (AMNH-M 102872) (Ruminantia, Tragulidae), and †Leptomeryx sp. (AMNH-VP 53786) (Ruminantia, †Leptomerycidae). Dorsomedial and ventrolateral surfaces are gray.Published as part of <i>O'Leary, Maureen A., 2010, An Anatomical And Phylogenetic Study Of The Osteology Of The Petrosal Of Extant And Extinct Artiodactylans (Mammalia) And Relatives, pp. 1-206 in Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2010 (335)</i> on page 31, DOI: 10.1206/335.1, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10111708">http://zenodo.org/record/10111708</a&gt

Fig. 2 in An Anatomical And Phylogenetic Study Of The Osteology Of The Petrosal Of Extant And Extinct Artiodactylans (Mammalia) And Relatives

Fig. 2. Petrosals in situ in several artiodactylans. A. Dorsal view of skull of Antilocapra americana with posterior part of calvarium removed to illustrate the in situ orientation of the petrosal (right and left petrosals in situ; left petrosal outlined with dashes). The surface with the internal acoustic meatus isPublished as part of <i>O'Leary, Maureen A., 2010, An Anatomical And Phylogenetic Study Of The Osteology Of The Petrosal Of Extant And Extinct Artiodactylans (Mammalia) And Relatives, pp. 1-206 in Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2010 (335)</i> on page 16, DOI: 10.1206/335.1, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10111708">http://zenodo.org/record/10111708</a&gt

Fig. 52 in An Anatomical And Phylogenetic Study Of The Osteology Of The Petrosal Of Extant And Extinct Artiodactylans (Mammalia) And Relatives

Fig. 52. Ventrolateral views of left petrosal of Sus scrofa (AMNH-M 254518) (Suina, Suidae). Scale 5Published as part of <i>O'Leary, Maureen A., 2010, An Anatomical And Phylogenetic Study Of The Osteology Of The Petrosal Of Extant And Extinct Artiodactylans (Mammalia) And Relatives, pp. 1-206 in Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 2010 (335)</i> on page 97, DOI: 10.1206/335.1, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/10111708">http://zenodo.org/record/10111708</a&gt