SERVIR and Public Health

Servir is a NASA-USAID partnership to improve environmental management and resilience to climate change by strengthening the capacity of governments and other key stakeholders to integrate Earth observations into development decision-makin

Bioabsorption and Effectiveness of Long-Lasting Permethrin-Treated Uniforms Over Three Months Among North Carolina Outdoor Workers

Abstract Background Vector-borne diseases are an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the USA. Effective, convenient prevention methods are needed. Long-lasting permethrin-impregnated (LLPI) clothing can prevent tick bites, however, additional information is needed on the real-world effectiveness and safety of this preventative measure. Methods In this pilot study, we recruited state and county park employees from North Carolina to wear LLPI uniforms for three months during the summer of 2016. We collected spot urine samples for biomonitoring of permethrin metabolites at one week, one month and three months after first use of the LLPI uniform. Following three months of wear, we collected pants and socks and analyzed them for permethrin content and mortality to ticks and mosquitoes. Results Thirteen park employees were included in the analysis. Bioactive amounts of permethrin remained in all clothing swatches tested, although there was great variability. Tick mortality was high, with 78% of pant and 88% of sock swatches having mean knockdown percentages ≥ 85%. In contrast, mosquito mortality was low. Over the study period, the absorbed dosage of permethrin averaged < 4 μg/kg/d of body weight based on measurements of three metabolites. Conclusions LLPI clothing retained permethrin and bioactivity against ticks after three months of use in real-world conditions. The estimated absorbed dosage of permethrin was well below the U.S. EPA level of concern, suggesting that LLPI clothing can be used safely by outdoor workers for tick bite prevention

Widespread adaptive evolution during repeated evolutionary radiations in New World lupins

The evolutionary processes that drive rapid species diversification are poorly understood. In particular, it is unclear whether Darwinian adaptation or non-adaptive processes are the primary drivers of explosive species diversifications. Here we show that repeated rapid radiations within New World lupins (Lupinus, Leguminosae) were underpinned by a major increase in the frequency of adaptation acting on coding and regulatory changes genome-wide. This contrasts with far less frequent adaptation in genomes of slowly diversifying lupins and all other plant genera analysed. Furthermore, widespread shifts in optimal gene expression coincided with shifts to high rates of diversification and evolution of perenniality, a putative key adaptation trait thought to have triggered the evolutionary radiations in New World lupins. Our results reconcile long-standing debate about the relative importance of protein-coding and regulatory evolution, and represent the first unambiguous evidence for the rapid onset of lineage- and genome-wide accelerated Darwinian evolution during rapid species diversification

Relation between primary and secondary growth in Jacaranda copaia (Bignoniaceae)

The relation between primary and secondary growth has been traditionally studied in terms of growth units and has always being assumed as closely correlated. Pluviometric variation directly affects growth patterns in the neotropical pioneer species Jacaranda copaia. In French Guiana this species produces annual growth rings in the dry season that can be seen with the naked eye.The morphological and anatomical description of three monocaulous individuals was made node by node. The trees where felled at a roadside locality close to the city of Kourou, French Guiana. The comparison of intermodal distance, pith transversal area and wood ring area variation within an individual elucidates the origin of well-known problems in dendrochronological analysis of tropical trees.The wood found close to the pith, known as young wood, always has false wood rings; the production of these rings is correlated with short intermodal distances and small pith transversal area. This phenomenon seems to be caused by minor intrannual pluviometric variation that affects both primary and secondary growth. This new methodological approach helps morphologists and anatomists interpret growth patterns in tropical trees in a more holistic way

Molecular phylogenetics of 'Oreobolus' (Cyperaceae) and the origin and diversification of the American species

Nuclear ribosomal DNA Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS) and plastid 'trnL' intron and 'trnL-F' intergenic spacer regions were sequenced for 14 species of 'Oreobolus' (Cyperaceae) from throughout most of its distribution range (South America, Australasia, and Hawai'i), with the exception of the Malesian species; 'Costularia laxa' was used as outgroup. Phylogenetic trees were produced for ITS and 'trnL-F' datasets using maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood. We estimated species divergence times by enforcing a molecular clock on the Maximum Likelihood ITS tree, using the appearance of 'O. furcatus' in Hawai'i, no earlier than 5.1 mya, as a calibration point. Our results support the monophyly of the South American species with the southern 'O. obtusangulus' as sister to the rest. This South American clade is sister to the Australian 'O. pumilio', and the Australasian and Hawaiian species sampled form a basal grade. 'Oreobolus oligocephalus' is embedded within 'Oreobolus', rejecting its separation in the monotypic genus 'Schoenoides'. The transformed branch lengths of the ITS tree indicate a recent (5.5-6 mya) origin of the South American clade, followed by a northward migration and diversification of species along the Andes

Lost crops of the Incas: Origins of domestication of the Andean pulse crop tarwi, Lupinus mutabilis

PREMISE OF THE STUDY: The Andean highlands are a hotspot of domestication, yet our understanding of the origins of early Andean agriculture remains fragmentary. Key questions of where, when, how many times, and from what progenitors many Andean crops were domesticated remain unanswered. The Andean lupine crop tarwi (Lupinus mutabilis) is a regionally important pulse crop with exceptionally high seed protein and oil content and is the focus of modern breeding efforts, but its origins remain obscure. METHODS: A large genome-wide DNA polymorphism data set was generated using nextRADseq to infer relationships among more than 200 accessions of Andean Lupinus species, including 24 accessions of L. mutabilis and close relatives. Phylogenetic and demographic analyses were used to identify the likely progenitor of tarwi and elucidate the area and timing of domestication in combination with archaeological evidence. KEY RESULTS: We infer that tarwi was domesticated once in northern Peru, most likely in the Cajamarca region within, or adjacent to the extant distribution of L. piurensis, which is the most likely wild progenitor. Demographic analyses suggest that tarwi split from L. piurensis around 2600 BP and suffered a classical domestication bottleneck. The earliest unequivocal archaeological evidence of domesticated tarwi seeds is from the Mantaro Valley, central Peru ca. 1800 BP. CONCLUSIONS: A single origin of tarwi from L. piurensis in northern Peru provides a robust working hypothesis for the domestication of this regionally important crop and is one of the first clear-cut examples of a crop originating in the highlands of northern Peru