Genome sequencing reveals fine scale diversification and reticulation history during speciation in Sus

Background Elucidating the process of speciation requires an in-depth understanding of the evolutionary history of the species in question. Studies that rely upon a limited number of genetic loci do not always reveal actual evolutionary history, and often confuse inferences related to phylogeny and speciation. Whole-genome data, however, can overcome this issue by providing a nearly unbiased window into the patterns and processes of speciation. In order to reveal the complexity of the speciation process, we sequenced and analyzed the genomes of 10 wild pigs, representing morphologically or geographically well-defined species and subspecies of the genus Sus from insular and mainland Southeast Asia, and one African common warthog. Results Our data highlight the importance of past cyclical climatic fluctuations in facilitating the dispersal and isolation of populations, thus leading to the diversification of suids in one of the most species-rich regions of the world. Moreover, admixture analyses revealed extensive, intra- and inter-specific gene-flow that explains previous conflicting results obtained from a limited number of loci. We show that these multiple episodes of gene-flow resulted from both natural and human-mediated dispersal. Conclusions Our results demonstrate the importance of past climatic fluctuations and human mediated translocations in driving and complicating the process of speciation in island Southeast Asia. This case study demonstrates that genomics is a powerful tool to decipher the evolutionary history of a genus, and reveals the complexity of the process of speciation

Estimating Dengue Transmission Intensity from Sero-Prevalence Surveys in Multiple Countries

BACKGROUND:Estimates of dengue transmission intensity remain ambiguous. Since the majority of infections are asymptomatic, surveillance systems substantially underestimate true rates of infection. With advances in the development of novel control measures, obtaining robust estimates of average dengue transmission intensity is key for assessing both the burden of disease from dengue and the likely impact of interventions. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS:The force of infection (λ) and corresponding basic reproduction numbers (R0) for dengue were estimated from non-serotype (IgG) and serotype-specific (PRNT) age-stratified seroprevalence surveys identified from the literature. The majority of R0 estimates ranged from 1-4. Assuming that two heterologous infections result in complete immunity produced up to two-fold higher estimates of R0 than when tertiary and quaternary infections were included. λ estimated from IgG data were comparable to the sum of serotype-specific forces of infection derived from PRNT data, particularly when inter-serotype interactions were allowed for. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE:Our analysis highlights the highly heterogeneous nature of dengue transmission. How underlying assumptions about serotype interactions and immunity affect the relationship between the force of infection and R0 will have implications for control planning. While PRNT data provides the maximum information, our study shows that even the much cheaper ELISA-based assays would provide comparable baseline estimates of overall transmission intensity which will be an important consideration in resource-constrained settings

Acidentes e violências entre mulheres atendidas em Serviços de Emergência Sentinela - Brasil, 2009 Accidents and violence among women attended in Sentinel Emergency Services - Brazil, 2009

As causas externas afetam de maneira desigual as populações humanas. O presente artigo tem como objetivo analisar os atendimentos de emergência em mulheres vítimas de acidentes e violências. Foram analisados dados do inquérito de Vigilância de Violências e Acidentes em 74 Unidades de Emergência de 23 capitais e no Distrito Federal em 2009. Analisaram-se 6.965 atendimentos de mulheres adultas comparando-se as faixas de 20-39 e 40-59 anos, em relação a ocorrência de acidentes e violências. Os acidentes foram mais frequentes em mulheres jovens (20 a 39 anos), de cor negra e com escolaridade maior que 9 anos de estudo. A ocorrência de violência também foi predominante em mulheres jovens e negras, porém com menor escolaridade. Entre os acidentes predominaram as quedas (38,6%), seguidas de acidentes de transporte. As violências foram mais frequentes no domicílio (p < 0,000) e a referencia ao uso de álcool predominou entre as vítimas de violência. O tipo de violência mais frequente foi a agressão (84,6%), sendo o agressor do sexo masculino (79,1%) e identificado como parceiro íntimo em 44,1%. É cada vez mais relevante que os serviços estejam capacitados para a atenção integral e humanizada às vítimas desse importante problema de saúde pública.<br>Accidents from external causes affect the human population in different ways. This article seeks to analyze emergency care for women who are victims of accidents and violence. Data from the Surveillance System for Violence and Accidents were analyzed. This study was carried out in 74 emergency units of 23 state capitals and the Federal District in 2009 and included 6,965 women aged from 20-59 years. The age groups of 20-39 and 40-59 years were compared for the occurrence of accidents and violence. Accidents were more frequent among young black women (20-39 years) with more than nine years of schooling. The occurrence of violence was also prevalent in young black women but with less schooling. Falls were the most frequent accidents (38.6%), followed by traffic accidents. The occurrence of violence was more frequent in the home (p <0.000) and the mention of alcohol abuse among victims of violence was predominant. The most frequent type of violence was aggression (84.6%), in which the aggressor was male (79.1%) and identified as an intimate partner (44.1%). It is increasingly important that services are able to provide comprehensive and humanized care to the victims of this important public health problem

Ancient human genomes suggest three ancestral populations for present-day Europeans

©2014 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved.We sequenced the genomes of a ∼7,000-year-old farmer from Germany and eight ∼8,000-year-old hunter-gatherers from Luxembourg and Sweden. We analysed these and other ancient genomes1-4 wit