Post-Franco Theatre

In the multiple realms and layers that comprise the contemporary Spanish theatrical landscape, “crisis” would seem to be the word that most often lingers in the air, as though it were a common mantra, ready to roll off the tongue of so many theatre professionals with such enormous ease, and even enthusiasm, that one is prompted to wonder whether it might indeed be a miracle that the contemporary technological revolution – coupled with perpetual quandaries concerning public and private funding for the arts – had not by now brought an end to the evolution of the oldest of live arts, or, at the very least, an end to drama as we know it

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Conceptual and empirical advances in Neotropical biodiversity research

The unparalleled biodiversity found in the American tropics (the Neotropics) has attracted the attention of naturalists for centuries. Despite major advances in recent years in our understanding of the origin and diversification of many Neotropical taxa and biotic regions, many questions remain to be answered. Additional biological and geological data are still needed, as well as methodological advances that are capable of bridging these research fields. In this review, aimed primarily at advanced students and early-career scientists, we introduce the concept of "trans-disciplinary biogeography," which refers to the integration of data from multiple areas of research in biology (e.g., community ecology, phylogeography, systematics, historical biogeography) and Earth and the physical sciences (e.g., geology, climatology, palaeontology), as a means to reconstruct the giant puzzle of Neotropical biodiversity and evolution in space and time. We caution against extrapolating results derived from the study of one or a few taxa to convey general scenarios of Neotropical evolution and landscape formation. We urge more coordination and integration of data and ideas among disciplines, transcending their traditional boundaries, as a basis for advancing tomorrow\u27s ground-breaking research. Our review highlights the great opportunities for studying the Neotropical biota to understand the evolution of life

Reducing the environmental impact of surgery on a global scale: systematic review and co-prioritization with healthcare workers in 132 countries

Abstract Background Healthcare cannot achieve net-zero carbon without addressing operating theatres. The aim of this study was to prioritize feasible interventions to reduce the environmental impact of operating theatres. Methods This study adopted a four-phase Delphi consensus co-prioritization methodology. In phase 1, a systematic review of published interventions and global consultation of perioperative healthcare professionals were used to longlist interventions. In phase 2, iterative thematic analysis consolidated comparable interventions into a shortlist. In phase 3, the shortlist was co-prioritized based on patient and clinician views on acceptability, feasibility, and safety. In phase 4, ranked lists of interventions were presented by their relevance to high-income countries and low–middle-income countries. Results In phase 1, 43 interventions were identified, which had low uptake in practice according to 3042 professionals globally. In phase 2, a shortlist of 15 intervention domains was generated. In phase 3, interventions were deemed acceptable for more than 90 per cent of patients except for reducing general anaesthesia (84 per cent) and re-sterilization of ‘single-use’ consumables (86 per cent). In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for high-income countries were: introducing recycling; reducing use of anaesthetic gases; and appropriate clinical waste processing. In phase 4, the top three shortlisted interventions for low–middle-income countries were: introducing reusable surgical devices; reducing use of consumables; and reducing the use of general anaesthesia. Conclusion This is a step toward environmentally sustainable operating environments with actionable interventions applicable to both high– and low–middle–income countries

Identification of endemic vascular plant species hotspots and the effectiveness of the protected areas for their conservation in Sierra Madre Oriental, Mexico

More than 50% of the Mexican flora is represented by 11,001 species of endemic vascular plants. These high levels of endemisms should be a primal criterion for the recognition of areas for conservation. However, it is unknown whether the current network of protected areas guarantees the conservation of endemic vascular plant species. We focused in the Sierra Madre Oriental (SMOr), a mountain chain along Eastern Mexico that is recognized as one of the most important hotspots of vascular plant endemism in the country. At present, SMOr includes 73 protected areas, but their effectiveness for conservation of endemic species has not been evaluated. We aimed to calculate the number of endemic species that are currently considered in protection areas and propose the recognition of new areas that may include a greater endemic species diversity. Hotspots of endemism in SMOr were identified using herbaria information of 734 endemic species. The location of hotspots were identified from distribution patterns generated in the program MaxEnt. Also, Marxan program to reconstruct a map to propose new protected areas that include a greater number of endemic species. We observed that the richest hotspots are located in broken terrains with temperate or semi-arid climates, chalky soils, and a mixture of forests and scrublands featuring pines and oaks. When considering that at least 10% of the geographic distribution of each species should be conserved, the current protection areas include 66% of the endemic species, which might be an acceptable percentage, although it excludes an important number of potentially threatened species. Therefore, we propose the recognition of ten more areas that might be promising for the conservation of the remaining 34% of endemic plants in SMOr. This study demonstrates that current efforts for conservation in Mexico may be greatly improved when considering the hotspots of vascular plant endemisms.Fil: Salinas Rodríguez, María Magdalena. Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León; MéxicoFil: Sajama, Modesto Jesus. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Escuela de Agronomía. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Botánicas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Gutiérrez-Ortega, José Said. Chiba University; JapónFil: Ortega Baes, Francisco Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Salta. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales. Escuela de Agronomía. Laboratorio de Investigaciones Botánicas; ArgentinaFil: Estrada Castillón, Andres Eduardo. Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León; Méxic

<i>Zamia magnifica</i> (Zamiaceae, Cycadales): A New Rupicolous Cycad Species from Sierra Norte, Oaxaca, Mexico

Zamia magnifica (Zamiaceae), a new species endemic to Sierra Norte, Oaxaca, Mexico, is described. Zamia magnifica is characterized by having a rupicolous habit, pendent leaves bearing leaflets that are densely tomentose and pink to caramel in color when emerging, and broad oblong leaflets that are coriaceous in texture with few non-prominent denticulations and ovulate strobili with short (Z. furfuracea and Z. meermanii, the Mesoamerican Zamia species to which it shares the closest morphological resemblance

<i>Ceratozamia dominguezii</i> (Zamiaceae): A New Cycad Species from Southeastern Mexico

Ceratozamia dominguezii (Zamiaceae), a new species endemic to the lowland karstic tropical rainforests of southeastern Veracruz, Mexico, is described. The new species is part of the C. robusta species complex, a group of closely related species that share unique characteristics in the genus, such as robust trunks, large strobili, and long leaves. Compared with the other species in the complex (i.e., C. robusta, C. leptoceras, C. aurantiaca and C. subroseophylla), C. dominguezii has the longest rachides, and is characterized by having papyraceous leaflets, a unique caramel color in emerging leaves, and a dark-violet color in the central portion of distal faces of male and female sporophylls. Ceratozamia dominguezii occurs within the Uxpanapa floristic refuge, which is hypothesized to have sheltered a numerous group of tropical elements during the Neogene glaciations. The recognition of C. dominguezii contributes to clarifying the present diversity of cycads in the genus Ceratozamia, and adds discussion on the role of floristic refugia in the divergence of Neotropical plants in Mexico

<i>Ceratozamia schiblii</i> (Zamiaceae): A New Cycad Species from the Eastern Mountains of Oaxaca, Mexico

Ceratozamia schiblii (Zamiaceae), a new species endemic to the highlands of eastern Oaxaca, Mexico, is described. The new species is part of the C. robusta species complex, which is a group of closely related species with very similar morphology. Among them, the new species can be distinguished by its brown leaflets in emerging leaves, a very long peduncle in seed cones, and the green color of mature pollen cones. Compared with the other species in the C. robusta species complex, C. schiblii has one of the longest rachides, and the highest number of leaflet pairs. The recognition of C. schiblii apparently resolves the total number of species within the C. robusta species complex. The region where C. schiblii populations occur coincides with the Neogene refugia areas of the Neotropical flora, which adds evidence to the importance of the mountain systems from Oaxaca and Chiapas, Mexico, in the diversification history of cycads

Lysimachia kraduengensis (Primulaceae), a new species from northeastern Thailand.

A new species of Primulaceae from Thailand, Lysimachia kraduengensis, is described and illustrated. It is morphologically similar to L. engleri, L. lancifolia, L. laxa and L. sikokiana in having solitary and axillary flowers, a yellow corolla, relatively long pedicels and basifixed anthers. The new species can be distinguished by the combination of its height, leaf texture, petiole, calyx and anther length, and brown coloration on the flowers. In addition, the conservation status, an updated key to Lysimachia species in Thailand, and discussion of the systematic placement of the new species based on the trnL-F marker of chloroplast DNA are provided