Type specimens of non-passerines in Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Animalia, Aves)

The non-passerine type specimens in Naturalis Biodiversity Center, Leiden are listed as an update to Van den Hoek Ostende et al. (1997) ‘Type-specimens of birds in the National Museum of Natural History, Leiden, Part 1. Non-Passerines’ and Roselaar and Prins (2000) ‘List of type specimens of birds in the Zoological Museum of the University of Amsterdam (ZMA), including taxa described by ZMA staff but without types in the ZMA’. All new names published by Temminck and Schlegel are listed, even when types are not in Naturalis but in other collections. We have added 380 new names and deleted 13 names originally listed in Van den Hoek Ostende et al. (1997)

Ancient DNA Elucidates the Controversy about the Flightless Island Hens (Gallinula sp.) of Tristan da Cunha

A persistent controversy surrounds the flightless island hen of Tristan da Cunha, Gallinula nesiotis. Some believe that it became extinct by the end of the 19th century. Others suppose that it still inhabits Tristan. There is no consensus about Gallinula comeri, the name introduced for the flightless moorhen from the nearby island of Gough. On the basis of DNA sequencing of both recently collected and historical material, we conclude that G. nesiotis and G. comeri are different taxa, that G. nesiotis indeed became extinct, and that G. comeri now inhabits both islands. This study confirms that among gallinules seemingly radical adaptations (such as the loss of flight) can readily evolve in parallel on different islands, while conspicuous changes in other morphological characters fail to occur

Taxonomy based on science is necessary for global conservation

Peer reviewe

Genetic correlation between amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and schizophrenia

A. Palotie on työryhmän Schizophrenia Working Grp Psychiat jäsen.We have previously shown higher-than-expected rates of schizophrenia in relatives of patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), suggesting an aetiological relationship between the diseases. Here, we investigate the genetic relationship between ALS and schizophrenia using genome-wide association study data from over 100,000 unique individuals. Using linkage disequilibrium score regression, we estimate the genetic correlation between ALS and schizophrenia to be 14.3% (7.05-21.6; P = 1 x 10(-4)) with schizophrenia polygenic risk scores explaining up to 0.12% of the variance in ALS (P = 8.4 x 10(-7)). A modest increase in comorbidity of ALS and schizophrenia is expected given these findings (odds ratio 1.08-1.26) but this would require very large studies to observe epidemiologically. We identify five potential novel ALS-associated loci using conditional false discovery rate analysis. It is likely that shared neurobiological mechanisms between these two disorders will engender novel hypotheses in future preclinical and clinical studies.Peer reviewe

Liste des types d'oiseaux des collections du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle de Paris. 10 : Mégapodes (Megapodiidae)

Les types de huit taxons de Mégapodes (Megapodiidae) des collections du Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle de Paris sont passés en revue de façon critique. Un lectotype est désigné pour Megapodius freycinet Gaimard, 1823. Le spécimen de Megapodius rubripes Temminck, 1826 n° C.G. 2000-3291 ne peut être considéré comme appartenant à la série-type de ce taxon.The types of eight megapode taxa in the collection of the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris are reviewed critically. A lectotype is designated for Megapodius freycinet Gaimard, 1823. Specimen No. C.G. 2000-3291 of Megapodius rubripes Temminck, 1826 cannot be considered as belonging to the type series of this taxon.</p

Liste des types d'oiseaux des collections du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle de Paris. 10: Mégapodes (Megapodiidae)

Somadikarta, Soekarja, Voisin, Jean-François, Dekker, René W. R. J. (2002): Liste des types d'oiseaux des collections du Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle de Paris. 10: Mégapodes (Megapodiidae). Zoosystema 24 (1): 181-18

What does IUCN species action planning contribute to the conservation process?

More than 60 Species Action Plans have been published by the Species Survival Commission (SSC) of IUCN—The World Conservation Union. They are designed to assess the status of threatened species and their habitats, and provide prioritised recommendations for action, but there is debate about the effectiveness of such plans in stimulating conservation action and research. We evaluated three Action Plans covering a group of large terrestrial birds, published in 1995. Of 54 projects suggested in these plans, 33 had been initiated in the 5 years since publication, and 35 specific conservation actions were undertaken. Forty-five peer-reviewed papers were published, and at least 88 other outputs in the form of symposium presentations, posters and popular articles were produced. Although it is impossible to demonstrate the effectiveness of species action planning through rigorous scientific assessment, these results indicate a substantial amount of conservation-relevant activity directly attributable to the process. They also highlight the need for a clear definition of the role of Action Plans. We suggest that many of the criticisms directed toward species action plans result from an over-optimistic view of their power to catalyse action, and conclude by presenting a new model describing their niche within the wider context of conservation biology and policy

Clinical Validation of a Multitarget Fecal Immunochemical Test for Colorectal Cancer Screening: A Diagnostic Test Accuracy Study

Background: The fecal immunochemical test (FIT) is used in colorectal cancer (CRC) screening, yet it leaves room for improvement. Objective: To develop a multitarget FIT (mtFIT) with better diagnostic performance than FIT. Design: Diagnostic test accuracy study. Setting: Colonoscopy-controlled series. Participants: Persons (n = 1284) from a screening (n = 1038) and referral (n = 246) population were classified by their most advanced lesion (CRC [n = 47], advanced adenoma [n = 135], advanced serrated polyp [n = 30], nonadvanced adenoma [n = 250], and nonadvanced serrated polyp [n = 53]), along with control participants (n = 769). Measurements: Antibody-based assays were developed and applied to leftover FIT material. Classification and regression tree (CART) analysis was applied to biomarker concentrations to identify the optimal combination for detecting advanced neoplasia. Performance of this combination, the mtFIT, was cross-validated using a leave-one-out approach and compared with FIT at equal specificity. Results: The CART analysis showed a combination of hemoglobin, calprotectin, and serpin family F member 2-the mtFIT-to have a cross-validated sensitivity for advanced neoplasia of 42.9% (95% CI, 36.2% to 49.9%) versus 37.3% (CI, 30.7% to 44.2%) for FIT (P = 0.025), with equal specificity of 96.6%. In particular, cross-validated sensitivity for advanced adenomas increased from 28.1% (CI, 20.8% to 36.5%) to 37.8% (CI, 29.6% to 46.5%) (P = 0.006). On the basis of these results, early health technology assessment indicated that mtFIT-based screening could be cost-effective compared with FIT. Limitation: Study population is enriched with persons from a referral population. Conclusion: Compared with FIT, the mtFIT showed better diagnostic accuracy in detecting advanced neoplasia because of an increased detection of advanced adenomas. Moreover, early health technology assessment indicated that these results provide a sound basis to pursue further development of mtFIT as a future test for populationbased CRC screening. A prospective screening trial is in preparation

Effects of body size on estimation of mammalian area requirements

Accurately quantifying species’ area requirements is a prerequisite for effective area-based conservation. This typically involves collecting tracking data on species of interest and then conducting home-range analyses. Problematically, autocorrelation in tracking data can result in space needs being severely underestimated. Based on the previous work, we hypothesized the magnitude of underestimation varies with body mass, a relationship that could have serious conservation implications. To evaluate this hypothesis for terrestrial mammals, we estimated home-range areas with global positioning system (GPS) locations from 757 individuals across 61 globally distributed mammalian species with body masses ranging from 0.4 to 4000 kg. We then applied block cross-validation to quantify bias in empirical home-range estimates. Area requirements of mammals 1, meaning the scaling of the relationship changed substantially at the upper end of the mass spectrum.publishedVersio

Machine learning algorithms for outcome prediction in (chemo)radiotherapy: An empirical comparison of classifiers

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145237/1/mp12967_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/145237/2/mp12967.pd