Cladoceras rovumense sp. nov. (Gentianales-Rubiaceae), a new species from southeast Tanzania and northeast Mozambique

Following a review of the circumscription of the genus Cladoceras Bremek. (Rubiaceae) in relation to Tarenna Gaertn., the new species Cladoceras rovumense I.Darbysh., J.E.Burrows & Q.Luke sp. nov. is described from the dry forests of the Rovuma Centre of Plant Endemism (CoE) in southeast Tanzania and northeast Mozambique. This species has previously been known as Tarenna sp. 53, following the revision of African Tarenna by Jérôme Degreef. A comparison to Cladoceras subcapitatum (K.Schum. & K.Krause) Bremek., the only other member of this genus as currently circumscribed, is provided. The new species is assessed as Endangered under the criteria of the IUCN Red List. New records for Mozambique of two further Rovuma CoE endemics are recorded: Celosia patentiloba C.C.Towns. (Amaranthaceae) and Cordia fissistyla Vollesen (Boraginaceae), both of which are globally threatened

Freshwater fishes of northern Australia

Northern Australia is biologically diverse and of national and global conservation signicance. Its ancient landscape contains the world’s largest area of savannah ecosystem in good ecological condition and its rivers are largely free-flowing. Agriculture, previously confined largely to open range-land grazing, is set to expand in extent and to focus much more on irrigated cropping and horticulture. Demands on the water resources of the region are thus, inevitably increasing. Reliable information is required to guide and inform development and help plan for a sustainable future for the region which includes healthy rivers that contain diverse fish assemblages. Based on a range of information sources, including the outcomes of recent and extensive new field surveys, this study maps the distribution of the 111 freshwater fishes (excluding elasmobranches) and 42 estuarine vagrants recorded from freshwater habitats of the region. We classify the habitat use and migratory biology of each species. This study provides a comprehensive assessment of the diversity and distribution of fishes of the region within a standardised nomenclatural framework. In addition, we summarise the outcomes of recent phylogeographic and phylogenetic research using molecular technologies to identify where issues of taxonomy may need further scrutiny. The study provides an informed basis for further research on the spatial arrangement of biodiversity and its relationship to environmental factors (e.g. hydrology), conservation planning and phylogentic variation within individual taxa.Griffith Sciences, Griffith School of EnvironmentNo Full Tex

Coastal dry forests in northern Mozambique

Background and aims – The Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa, stretching along the Indian Ocean coastline from Somalia to Mozambique, are considered by Conservation International to be a global biodiversity hotspot – an area of high diversity and endemism under increasing threat. Although the largest remaining extent of these forests is reported to be found in Mozambique, very little is known on their extent, condition and composition here. In addition, the term 'coastal forest' has been used in different ways by different authors. This paper defines and characterises coastal dry forests found in northern Mozambique and assesses their present extent, botanical composition, conservation importance and the threats to these forests. Methods – The study area of 18,150 km 2 lies in Cabo Delgado Province in north-east Mozambique, adjacent to Tanzania. Its limits are determined primarily by geological substrate and landform. Four smaller study sites were chosen covering a range of landforms. Manual interpretation of satellite imagery dating from 1999–2002 was used to calculate possible previous and present extent of 'dense vegetation'. Extensive field collecting was used in determining botanical composition and distribution patterns. IUCN Red List assessments were carried out on selected species using distributional criteria. Results – Dry forests similar to those in southern Tanzania are found widely scattered across coastal Cabo Delgado, sitting in a matrix of miombo woodland and other vegetation types. However, forest cover is not as extensive was believed. We calculate that the original extent of 'dense vegetation cover', which includes coastal dry forest, was 6087 km 2 . Owing to clearance over the last 150 years this is now only 1182 km 2, of which perhaps only 400 km 2 is moderately-intact dry forest. In this southern part of their range such forests are essentially dry, not moist and mesic, and dominated by a high proportion of deciduous or sclerophyllous evergreen trees. The plant species composition differs significantly from that of the surrounding woodlands. There is a marked change in species composition between forest patches along the coast, and they contain numerous species with restricted global distribution. Since 2003, 68 species new to Mozambique have been recorded from Cabo Delgado in addition to 36 possible new species. Many new records are of species previously only known from south-eastern Tanzania. Previously recorded patterns of restricted distribution and high species turnover between forest patches in Kenya and Tanzania are confirmed. Seven coastal forest species were assessed as Endangered. Regional context and conservation – Coastal dry forests are discussed in relation to the more widespread 'sand forests' of the continental interior of south-central Africa, and shown to have similarities in ecology, species composition, soils and ecology. Very little of the present extent of coastal forests in Mozambique lies within protected areas. The threats to their continued existence in the face of exploitation for timber, agriculture and oil exploration are outlined

On Cartan matrices with two parameters (Cohomology theory of finite groups and related topics)

A major cause of the paucity of new starting points for drug discovery is the lack of interaction between academia and industry. Much of the global resource in biology is present in universities, whereas the focus of medicinal chemistry is still largely within industry. Open source drug discovery, with sharing of information, is clearly a first step towards overcoming this gap. But the interface could especially be bridged through a scale-up of open sharing of physical compounds, which would accelerate the finding of new starting points for drug discovery. The Medicines for Malaria Venture Malaria Box is a collection of over 400 compounds representing families of structures identified in phenotypic screens of pharmaceutical and academic libraries against the Plasmodium falciparum malaria parasite. The set has now been distributed to almost 200 research groups globally in the last two years, with the only stipulation that information from the screens is deposited in the public domain. This paper reports for the first time on 236 screens that have been carried out against the Malaria Box and compares these results with 55 assays that were previously published, in a format that allows a meta-analysis of the combined dataset. The combined biochemical and cellular assays presented here suggest mechanisms of action for 135 (34%) of the compounds active in killing multiple life-cycle stages of the malaria parasite, including asexual blood, liver, gametocyte, gametes and insect ookinete stages. In addition, many compounds demonstrated activity against other pathogens, showing hits in assays with 16 protozoa, 7 helminths, 9 bacterial and mycobacterial species, the dengue fever mosquito vector, and the NCI60 human cancer cell line panel of 60 human tumor cell lines. Toxicological, pharmacokinetic and metabolic properties were collected on all the compounds, assisting in the selection of the most promising candidates for murine proof-of-concept experiments and medicinal chemistry programs. The data for all of these assays are presented and analyzed to show how outstanding leads for many indications can be selected. These results reveal the immense potential for translating the dispersed expertise in biological assays involving human pathogens into drug discovery starting points, by providing open access to new families of molecules, and emphasize how a small additional investment made to help acquire and distribute compounds, and sharing the data, can catalyze drug discovery for dozens of different indications. Another lesson is that when multiple screens from different groups are run on the same library, results can be integrated quickly to select the most valuable starting points for subsequent medicinal chemistry efforts