Noccaea Ali-Atahanii (Brassicaceae): A New Species From Southern Anatolia

Noccaea ali-atahanii, a new Brassicaceae species from southern Anatolia, is described herein. It is mostly similar to N. aghrica, but can be readily distinguished by the presence of apical placentation and orbiculate fruit with wings extending almost evenly from the base to the apex. Its phylogenetic relationships within the genus are provided based on the nuclear-encoded ribosomal internal transcribed spacer region. Carpological and ecological features of N. ali-atahanii and related species are also discussed.WoSScopu

Taxonomic Notes on the Genus Chaenorhinum (Plantaginaceae) in Turkey

Chaenorhinum gerense is an eastern Mediterranean species with rare distribution and a large variety in plant and seed morphology. In this study, the accuracy of the taxonomic status of this species, which was initially reported by P.H. Davis as C. rubrifolium from south eastern Turkey, is discussed and the typical representatives of C. rubrifolium were collected for the first time for Turkey from Mugla province, southwestern Anatolia. C. gerense is closely related to the C. rubrifolium, from which it differs by having a small and cream corolla with red blotch, capsule as long as or smaller 1/2-calyx teeth and triangular or rectangular blunt crest on seed. Detailed descriptions and identification keys for these two taxa are provided.WoSScopu

Phylogeny, biogeography, and character evolution in the genus Scilla s.l. and its close relatives Chionodoxa, Gemicia, Puschkinia, and Prospero (Asparagaceae)

Scilla s.l. is taxonomically one of the most problematic genera of the Asparagaceae. Within the last few decades, several genera were segregated from this genus; however, there is still no consensus on the taxonomic status of Scilla segregates. Although some previous studies indicated a polyphyletic origin for the genus Scilla, there has been no comprehensive phylogenetic study focusing on the entire complex including Chionodoxa, Prospero, Puschkinia, and the recently described Gemicia. To achieve this, we evaluated three plastid regions, namely rbcL, trnL-F, and matK, for 79 accessions. The monophyly of Puschkinia and Prospero was supported by our phylogenetic analyses; however, Chionodoxa and Gemicia were placed into a clade with representatives of the S. bifolia species group. While our divergence time estimation analysis indicated a Miocene origin for all studied genera of polyphyletic Scilla s.l., the results of our ancestral area and ancestral state analyses showed that Scilla, Prospero, Chionodoxa, and Puschkinia, together with Brimeura Salisb., Bellevalia, Hyacinthella, and Alrawia, probably had a most recent common ancestor without a perianth tube and a corona, and with a non-papillate testa surface, which evolved about 36 Ma in the Mediterranean region.Ege University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit [2011 BBH 002]; TUBITAK [106T598, 116Z573]This work was financially supported by the Ege University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit (Project Number: 2011 BBH 002) and TUBITAK (Project Numbers: 106T598 and 116Z573)

Knautia goecmenii (Caprifoliaceae): an unexpected caespitose suffrutescent new species from the Western Anatolia, Turkey

Knautia goecmenii, from Nif Mountain (Izmir) in western Anatolia (Turkey), is described as a new species based on morphological and molecular evidence. Its phylogenetic relationships within the genus are provided based on the nuclearencoded ribosomal internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region. Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood analyses of the molecular data clearly showed that K. goecmenii falls into a clade together with morphologically irrelevant annual species from sections Knautia and Tricheroides. From a morphological perspective, by having a suffrutescent and caespitose habitus with very rich stemmed base (up to 152 stems) without basal leaf rosettes and showing very pale whitish-lilac flowers, K. goecmenii is placed in a unique position within genus Knautia. Both the main morphological features of K. goecmenii and its phylogenetic position make difficult to accommodate it any extant Knautia sections. Finally, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) threat category is assessed and observations on the ecology of the only known population of this rare species are noted.Hacettepe University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit [FHD-2020-18914]; Ege University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit [FGA-202022202]This study was supported by Hacettepe University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit (Project number: FHD-2020-18914) and Ege University Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit (Project number: FGA-202022202). Two anonymous reviewers and Prof. Manuel B. Crespo (University of Alicante) made interesting suggestions that improved the final version of the text

A Phase II, Multicenter, Single-Arm Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Deferasirox after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Children with Beta-Thalassemia Major

We conducted a prospective, phase II, multicenter, single-arm study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of deferasirox in patients age >2 to 1000 mu g/L; cardiac MRI T2* = 5 mg/g). Patients received deferasirox at an initial dose of 10 mg/kg/day, with up-titration to a maximum of 20 mg/kg/day. The study continued for 52 weeks and included a total of 27 patients (mean age, 9.1 +/- 3.8 years; 70.4% male). One patient (3.7%) was lost to follow-up. The majority of patients (n = 20; 74.1%) were able to achieve the intended dose of 20 mg/kg/day. No deaths occurred. A total of 134 adverse events (AEs) were reported in 25 patients (92.6%) during the study. The majority of patients had grade 1 or 2 AEs, with only 8 patients (29.6%) experiencing grade 3 AEs. Only 10 AEs occurring in 4 patients (14.8%) were suspected to be related to deferasirox (ALT/AST increase, n = 4; urinary tract infection, n = 1). The deferasirox dose had to be adjusted or interrupted for 6 AEs occurring in 4 patients (14.8%). A total of 6 serious AEs occurred in 3 patients (11.1%), none of which were suspected to be related to deferasirox. From baseline to week 52, there were decreases in median concentrations of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), from 30.0 to 17.0 IU/L, and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), from 35.5 to 26.0 IU/L. Median serum creatinine and cystatin C concentrations were similar at baseline and week 52. There was a continuous and significant decrease in median serum ferritin level from 1718.0 mu g/L at baseline to 845.3 mu g/L following 52 weeks of therapy (P<.001); 9 patients (33.3%) achieved a level of <500 mu g/L. There was also a significant decrease in median LIC (from 8.6 to 4.1 mg/g; P<.001) and an increase in median cardiac T2* (from 26.0 to 28.0 ms; P=.520) from baseline to week 52. Our findings indicate that deferasirox treatment at doses up to 20 mg/kg/day reduces the iron burden in children with TM post-HSCT, with a manageable safety profile. (C) 2017 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation.WoSScopu

Phylogenetic position and taxonomic assignment of Thlaspi aghricum PHDavis \& K.Tan (Brassicaceae)

A general review of the taxonomic status of Thlaspi past and present is given, and a critical evaluations of its segregates based on both morphological and molecular data are presented. ITS molecular phylogenetic study of Thlaspi aghricum and related species, as well as seed-coat morphology and anatomy strongly support the placement of the species in Noccaea. The new combination N. aghrica is proposed, and detailed description and distribution of the species are given

A Phase II, Multicenter, Single-Arm Study to Evaluate the Safety and Efficacy of Deferasirox after Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in Children with beta-Thalassemia Major

We conducted a prospective, phase II, multicenter, single-arm study to evaluate the efficacy and safety of deferasirox in patients age >2 to <18 years with beta-thalassemia major (TM) who underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) and had evidence of iron overload (serum ferritin >1000 mu g/L; cardiac MRI T2{*} <20 ms, or liver iron concentration {[}LIC; by MRI R2] >= 5 mg/g). Patients received deferasirox at an initial dose of 10 mg/kg/day, with up-titration to a maximum of 20 mg/kg/day. The study continued for 52 weeks and included a total of 27 patients (mean age, 9.1 +/- 3.8 years; 70.4\% male). One patient (3.7\%) was lost to follow-up. The majority of patients (n = 20; 74.1\%) were able to achieve the intended dose of 20 mg/kg/day. No deaths occurred. A total of 134 adverse events (AEs) were reported in 25 patients (92.6\%) during the study. The majority of patients had grade 1 or 2 AEs, with only 8 patients (29.6\%) experiencing grade 3 AEs. Only 10 AEs occurring in 4 patients (14.8\%) were suspected to be related to deferasirox (ALT/AST increase, n = 4; urinary tract infection, n = 1). The deferasirox dose had to be adjusted or interrupted for 6 AEs occurring in 4 patients (14.8\%). A total of 6 serious AEs occurred in 3 patients (11.1\%), none of which were suspected to be related to deferasirox. From baseline to week 52, there were decreases in median concentrations of alanine aminotransferase (ALT), from 30.0 to 17.0 IU/L, and aspartate aminotransferase (AST), from 35.5 to 26.0 IU/L. Median serum creatinine and cystatin C concentrations were similar at baseline and week 52. There was a continuous and significant decrease in median serum ferritin level from 1718.0 mu g/L at baseline to 845.3 mu g/L following 52 weeks of therapy (P<.001); 9 patients (33.3\%) achieved a level of <500 mu g/L. There was also a significant decrease in median LIC (from 8.6 to 4.1 mg/g; P<.001) and an increase in median cardiac T2{*} (from 26.0 to 28.0 ms; P=.520) from baseline to week 52. Our findings indicate that deferasirox treatment at doses up to 20 mg/kg/day reduces the iron burden in children with TM post-HSCT, with a manageable safety profile. (C) 2017 American Society for Blood and Marrow Transplantation

Global Brassicaceae phylogeny based on filtering of 1,000-gene dataset

Abstract: The mustard family (Brassicaceae) is a scientifically and economically important family, containing the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana and numerous crop species that feed billions worldwide. Despite its relevance, most phylogenetic trees of the family are incompletely sampled and often contain poorly supported branches. Here, we present the most complete Brassicaceae genus-level family phylogenies to date (Bras-sicaceae Tree of Life or BrassiToL) based on nuclear (1,081 genes, 319 of the 349 genera; 57 of the 58 tribes) and plastome (60 genes, 265 genera; all tribes) data. We found cytonuclear discordance between the two, which is likely a result of rampant hybridization among closely and more distantly related lineages. To eval-uate the impact of such hybridization on the nuclear phylogeny reconstruction, we performed five different gene sampling routines, which increasingly removed putatively paralog genes. Our cleaned subset of 297 genes revealed high support for the tribes, whereas support for the main lineages (supertribes) was moder-ate. Calibration based on the 20 most clock-like nuclear genes suggests a late Eocene to late Oligocene origin of the family. Finally, our results strongly support a recently published new family classification, dividing the family into two subfamilies (one with five supertribes), together representing 58 tribes. This includes five recently described or re-established tribes, including Arabidopsideae, a monogeneric tribe accommodating Arabidopsis without any close relatives. With a worldwide community of thousands of researchers working on Brassicaceae and its diverse members, our new genus-level family phylogeny will be an indispensable tool for studies on biodiversity and plant biology