LifeCLEF 2016: Multimedia Life Species Identification Challenges

International audienceUsing multimedia identification tools is considered as one of the most promising solutions to help bridge the taxonomic gap and build accurate knowledge of the identity, the geographic distribution and the evolution of living species. Large and structured communities of nature observers (e.g., iSpot, Xeno-canto, Tela Botanica, etc.) as well as big monitoring equipment have actually started to produce outstanding collections of multimedia records. Unfortunately, the performance of the state-of-the-art analysis techniques on such data is still not well understood and is far from reaching real world requirements. The LifeCLEF lab proposes to evaluate these challenges around 3 tasks related to multimedia information retrieval and fine-grained classification problems in 3 domains. Each task is based on large volumes of real-world data and the measured challenges are defined in collaboration with biologists and environmental stakeholders to reflect realistic usage scenarios. For each task, we report the methodology, the data sets as well as the results and the main outcom

Mesenteric panniculitis of the sigmoid colon: a case report and review of the literature

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Introduction</p> <p>Mesenteric panniculitis of the sigmoid colon is a rare occurrence in surgical practice. The aim of this article is to present a case of mesenteric panniculitis of the sigmoid colon and a short review of the literature.</p> <p>Case presentation</p> <p>We reviewed the hospital record of a 63-year-old man who presented with a palpable mass in the left abdomen and clinical signs of a partial bowel obstruction. The pre-operative impression was a possible cancer of the sigmoid colon. A laparotomy was performed through a midline incision. The mesentery was found to be markedly thickened, constricted and puckered. The normal architecture of the adipose tissue had been lost and replaced with an irregular nodular mass. The microscopic pathologic sections demonstrated a chronic reactive inflammatory process with an exuberant proliferation of fibroblasts and fibrocytes. The adipose tissue contained scattered areas of steatonecrosis with foci of lipid-laden macrophages, lymphocytes and plasma cells. The sigmoid colon and its mesocolon were resected. The postoperative course was uneventful and the patient was discharged in good condition, and followed up for the next two years.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Mesenteric panniculitis of sigmoid is an extremely rare entity of unknown origin in which the normal architecture of the mesentery is replaced by fibrosis, necrosis and calcification. On gross examination the alterations may be mistaken for a neoplastic process. A frozen section may be necessary for confirmation of the diagnosis. When the advanced inflammatory changes became irreversible and bowel obstruction occurs, resection may be indicated.</p

Diabetes related risk factors did not explain the increased risk for urinary incontinence among women with diabetes. The Norwegian HUNT/EPINCONT study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies have shown an association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and urinary incontinence (UI) in women, especially severe UI. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether diabetes related variables could explain this association.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The study is part of the EPINCONT study, which is based on the large Nord-Trøndelag Health Study 2 (HUNT 2), performed in the county of Nord-Trøndelag, Norway, during the years 1995 - 1997. Questions on diabetes and UI were answered by a total of 21 057 women aged 20 years and older. Of these 685 were identified as having diabetes, and thus comprise the population of our study. A variety of clinical and biochemical variables were recorded from the participants.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Blood-glucose, HbA1c, albumine:creatinine ratio (ACR), duration of diabetes, diabetes treatment, type of diabetes, cholesterol and triglycerides did not significantly differ in women with and without UI in crude analyses. However, the diabetic women with UI had more hospitalizations during the last 12 months, more homecare, and a higher prevalence of angina and use of oestrogene treatment (both local and oral/patch). After adjusting for age, BMI, parity and smoking, there were statistically significant associations between any UI and angina (OR 1.89; 95% CI: 1.22 - 2.93), homecare (OR 1.72; 95% CI: 1.02 - 2.89), and hospitalization during the last 12 months (OR 1.67; 95% CI: 1.18 - 2.38). In adjusted analyses severe UI was also significantly associated with the same variables, and also with diabetes drug treatment (OR 2.10; 95% CI: 1.07 - 4.10) and stroke (OR 2.47; 95% CI: 1.09 - 5.59).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>No single diabetes related risk factor seems to explain the increased risk for UI among women with diabetes. However, we found associations between UI and some clinical correlates of diabetes.</p

Diversity, biogeography, evolutionary relationships, and conservation of Eastern Mediterranean freshwater mussels (Bivalvia: Unionidae)

Located at the junction between Europe, Africa, and Asia, with distinct evolutionary origins and varied ecological and geographical settings, together with a marked history of changes in orogeny and configuration of the main river basins, turned the Eastern Mediterranean into a region of high diversity and endemism of freshwater taxa. Freshwater mussels (Bivalvia, Unionidae) from the Western Palearctic have been widely studied in their European range, but little attention has been dedicated to these taxa in the Eastern Mediterranean region and their diversity and phylogeography are still poorly understood. The present study aims to resolve the diversity, biogeography, and evolutionary relationships of the Eastern Mediterranean freshwater mussels. To that end, we performed multiple field surveys, phylogenetic analyses, and a thorough taxonomic revaluation. We reassessed the systematics of all Unionidae species in the region, including newly collected specimens across Turkey, Israel, and Iran, combining COI+16S+28S phylogenies with molecular species delineation methods. Phylogeographical patterns were characterized based on published molecular data, newly sequenced specimens, and species distribution data, as well as ancestral range estimations. We reveal that Unionidae species richness in the Eastern Mediterranean is over 70% higher than previously assumed, counting 19 species within two subfamilies, the Unioninae (14) and Gonideinae (5). We propose two new species, Anodonta seddoni sp. nov. and Leguminaia anatolica sp. nov. Six additional taxa, Unio delicatus stat. rev., Unio eucirrus stat. rev., Unio hueti stat. rev., Unio sesirmensis stat. rev., Unio terminalis stat. rev. removed from the synonymy of Unio tigridis, as well as Unio damascensis stat. rev. removed from the synonymy of Unio crassus, are re-described. The nominal taxa Unio rothi var. komarowi O. Boettger, 1880 and Unio armeniacus Kobelt, 1911 are proposed as new synonyms of Unio bruguierianus, and Anodonta cyrea Drouët, 1881 and Anodonta cilicica Kobelt & Rolle, 1895 as new synonyms of Anodonta anatina. Also, the presence of Unio tumidus in the Maritza River is confirmed. The phylogeographic patterns described here are interpreted concerning major past geological events. Conservation needs and implications are presented, together with populations and species conservation priorities

LifeCLEF 2015: Multimedia Life Species Identification Challenges

International audienceUsing multimedia identification tools is considered as one of the most promising solutions to help bridging the taxonomic gap and build accurate knowledge of the identity, the geographic distribution and the evolution of living species. Large and structured communities of nature observers (e.g. eBird, Xeno-canto, Tela Botanica, etc.) as well as big monitoring equipments have actually started to produce outstanding collections of multimedia records. Unfortunately, the performance of the state-of-the-art analysis techniques on such data is still not well understood and is far from reaching the real world’s requirements. The LifeCLEF lab proposes to evaluate these challenges around three tasks related to multimedia information retrieval and fine-grained classification problems in three living worlds. Each task is based on large and real-world data and the measured challenges are defined in collaboration with biologists and environmental stakeholders in order to reflect realistic usage scenarios. This paper presents more particularly the 2014 edition of LifeCLEF, i.e. the pilot one. For each of the three tasks, we report the methodology and the datasets as well as the official results and the main outcomes

The conservation status of the world's freshwater molluscs

With the biodiversity crisis continuing unchecked, we need to establish levels and drivers of extinction risk, and reassessments over time, to effectively allocate conservation resources and track progress towards global conservation targets. Given that threat appears particularly high in freshwaters, we assessed the extinction risk of 1428 randomly selected freshwater molluscs using the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, as part of the Sampled Red List Index project. We show that close to one-third of species in our sample are estimated to be threatened with extinction, with highest levels of threat in the Nearctic, Palearctic and Australasia and among gastropods. Threat levels were higher in lotic than lentic systems. Pollution (chemical and physical) and the modification of natural systems (e.g. through damming and water abstraction) were the most frequently reported threats to freshwater molluscs, with some regional variation. Given that we found little spatial congruence between species richness patterns of freshwater molluscs and other freshwater taxa, apart from crayfish, new additional conservation priority areas emerged from our study. We discuss the implications of our findings for freshwater mollusc conservation, the adequacy of a sampled approach and important next steps to estimate trends in freshwater mollusc extinction risk over time

Etiology of hypopituitarism in tertiary care institutions in Turkish population: Analysis of 773 patients from pituitary study group database

Hypopituitarism in adult life is commonly acquired and the main causes are known as pituitary tumors and/or their treatments. Since there are new insights into the etiology of hypopituitarism and presence of differences in various populations, more studies regarding causes of hypopituitarism are needed to be done in different ethnic groups with sufficient number of patients. Therefore, we performed a multi-center database study in Turkish population investigating the etiology of hypopituitarism in 773 patients in tertiary care institutions. The study was designed and coordinated by the Pituitary Study Group of SEMT (The Society of Endocrinology and Metabolism of Turkey). Nineteen tertiary reference centers (14 university hospitals and 5 training hospitals) from the different regions of Turkey participated in the study. It is a cross-sectional database study, and the data were recorded for 18 months. We mainly classified the causes of hypopituitarism as pituitary tumors (due to direct effects of the pituitary tumors and/or their treatments), extra-pituitary tumors and non-tumoral causes. Mean age of 773 patients (49.8 % male, 50.2 % female) was 43.9 ± 16.1 years (range 16-84 years). The most common etiology of pituitary dysfunction was due to non-tumoral causes (49.2 %) among all patients. However, when we analyze the causes according to gender, the most common etiology in males was pituitary tumors, but the most common etiology in females was non-tumoral causes. According to the subgroup analysis of the causes of hypopituitarism in all patients, the most common four causes of hypopituitarism which have frequencies over 10 % were as follows: non-secretory pituitary adenomas, Sheehan's syndrome, lactotroph adenomas and idiopathic. With regard to the type of hormonal deficiencies; FSH/LH deficiency was the most common hormonal deficit (84.9 % of the patients). In 33.8 % of the patients, 4 anterior pituitary hormone deficiencies (FSH/LH, ACTH, TSH, and GH) were present. Among all patients, the most frequent cause of hypopituitarism was non-secretory pituitary adenomas. However, in female patients, present study clearly demonstrates that Sheehan's syndrome is still one of the most important causes of hypopituitarism in Turkish population. Further, population-based prospective studies need to be done to understand the prevalence and incidence of the causes of hypopituitarism in different countries. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media