Hundreds of genetic barcodes of the species-rich hydroid superfamily Plumularioidea (Cnidaria, Medusozoa) provide a guide toward more reliable taxonomy

Marine hydroids are important benthic components of shallow and deep waters worldwide, but their taxonomy is controversial because diagnostic morphological characters to categorize taxa are limited. Their genetic relationships are also little investigated. We tested taxonomic hypotheses within the highly speciose superfamily Plumularioidea by integrating a classical morphological approach with DNA barcoding of the 16S and COI mitochondrial markers for 659 and 196 specimens of Plumularioidea, respectively. Adding Genbank sequences, we inferred systematic relationships among 1,114 plumularioids, corresponding to 123 nominal species and 17 novel morphospecies in five families of Plumularioidea. We found considerable inconsistencies in the systematics of nominal families, genera and species. The families Kirchenpaueriidae and Plumulariidae were polyphyletic and the Halopterididae paraphyletic. Most genera of Plumularioidea are not monophyletic. Species diversity is considerably underestimated. Within our study, at least 10% of the morphologically-distinctive morphospecies are undescribed, and about 40% of the overall species richness is represented by cryptic species. Convergent evolution and morphological plasticity therefore blur systematic relationships. Additionally, cryptic taxa occur frequently in sympatry or parapatry, complicating correspondence with type material of described species. Sometimes conspecificity of different morphotypes was found. The taxonomy of hydroids requires continued comprehensive revision.This work relied on several hydrozoan samples collected from various sites, with the aid of many people. Supplementary Table S1 refers many of the people involved in the collection and/or preservation of the samples. C.J.M. acknowledges his great buddy-divers Jaime N.-Ruiz (CIMAR, Univ. Costa Rica), Axel Calderon, Nathaniel Chu, Eleni Petrou (STRI, Smiths. Inst.), Hanae Spathias, Karen Koltes (at the Belize station, Smith. Inst.), Freya Sommer (Hopkins Marine Station), Remilson Ferreira ('Costa Norte', Sao Tome), Frederico Cardigos (DOP, Univ. Azores) and others that assisted the dives. C.J.M. also acknowledges Rita Castillo (CIMAR, Univ. Costa Rica), Plinio Gondola, Ligia Calderon, Laura Geyer, Maria Castillo (STRI, Smiths. Inst.), Gregory Ruiz (SERC, Smiths. Inst.), Paul Greenhall, William Keel (MSC, Smith. Inst.), Manuel Enes, Valentina Matos (IMAR/DOP, Univ. Azores), Filipe Porteiro, Joao Goncalves (OKEANOS/IMAR, Univ. Azores), Marina Cunha, Ascensao Ravara (CESAM, Univ. Aveiro), Shirley Pomponi (Harbor Branch, Florida Atlantic Univ.), Estrela Matilde (Fundacao Principe Trust), Monica Albuquerque, Ines Tojeira (EMEPC), Diana Carvalho (Nat. Mus. Nat. Hist., Lisbon) and many others colleagues that facilitated the morphologic classifications and deposition of the samples. Peter Schuchert (Mus. d'Hist. Nat. Geneve) kindly provided some DNA extractes. Todd Kincaid and his team of GUE divers (Project Baseline - Azores) collected valuable samples from unusual depths. Joana Boavida (CIIMAR, Univ. Algarve) facilitated some samples of the 'DeepReefs' project. Jim Drewery (Marine Scotland Science Inst.) also provided few samples. Dale Calder (Royal Ontario Museum) provided some bibliography to C.J.M. and discussed/resolved some dubios taxonomic classifications. Colleagues at the L.A.B. (NMNH, Smith. Inst.) were very supportive. The APC fees for open access publication were supported by a program of the Regional Government of the Azores ("Apoio ao funcionamento e gestao dos centros de I&D regionais: 2018 - DRCT-medida 1

A novel causal mechanism for grey squirrel bark stripping: The Calcium Hypothesis

AbstractGrey squirrels, Sciurus carolinensis, damage trees in the UK by stripping bark and eating the underlying phloem; squirrel motivation for damage is, however, unknown. Damage can result in deterioration of timber quality and a significant economic toll on the forestry industry. Prediction of severe damage followed by targeted killing of squirrels is the current recommended management option. However, the use of warfarin (an anticoagulant poison) is now restricted in the UK and other more humane methods of killing are labour-intensive, so an alternative solution is needed. A better understanding of what motivates grey squirrels to strip bark may enable a preventive approach to be developed. Whilst the bark stripping literature has explored predictive factors affecting the likelihood of damage, causal understanding is lacking. The aim of this review is to introduce the Calcium Hypothesis as a possible explanation for bark stripping, with a view to informing the prevention of damage. The Calcium Hypothesis states that grey squirrels damage trees to ameliorate a calcium deficiency. The main predictive factors of bark stripping behaviour each inform and lend support to the Calcium Hypothesis. Calcium is stored in tree phloem, and damage increases with phloem width, providing squirrels with more calcium per unit area ingested. Calcium levels increase in trees as active growth resumes after winter dormancy, this occurs immediately prior to the main bark stripping season of May–July, and trees growing most vigorously are at increased risk of damage. It is likely grey squirrels also have a requirement for calcium during the bark stripping season. Adult females will be under post-parturition pressures such as lactation, and juveniles will be going through their main period of bone growth, both of which likely represent a requirement for calcium – which supports an observed positive correlation between juvenile abundance and bark stripping. A high autumnal seed crop increases juvenile recruitment the following spring, and could also induce a requirement for calcium to a population due to the high phosphorus to calcium ratio of seeds. To further investigate the hypothesis, the extent to which grey squirrels can utilise calcium oxalate, as calcium occurs in bark, should be determined, and also the extent to which grey squirrels undergo seasonal periods of calcium deficiency. Increasing our causal understanding of bark stripping could inform the future development of preventive measures to aid forest management

Defining sustainable and precautionary harvest rates for data-limited short-lived stocks: a case study of sprat (Sprattus sprattus) in the English Channel2023

Publication history: Accepted - 3 March 2023; Published - 17 April 2023.Empirical harvest control rules set catch advice based on observed indicators and are increasingly being used worldwide to manage fish stocks that lack formal assessments of stock and exploitation status. Within the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, trend-based rules that adjust advice according to recent survey observations have been adopted; however, there is increasing evidence that such rules do not work well for short-lived pelagic species that can exhibit large inter-annual fluctuations in stock size. Constant harvest rates, removing a fixed proportion of observed biomass index, have been proposed as a suitable strategy for managing short-lived species. Unknown survey catchability has, however, remained a barrier to reliance on their application on these stocks in the past. We apply simulation testing to define a robust, sustainable constant harvest rate for a data-limited short-lived stock, using the English Channel sprat as a case study. By conditioning a management strategy evaluation framework based on existing and borrowed life-history parameters and precautionary considerations, we test and show that a constant harvest rate outperforms trend-based catch rules, maximizing yields while reducing risks of stock overexploitation, and conclude an 8.6% constant harvest rate provides sufficiently precautionary catch advice for this stock.Part of this work was funded by the UK Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Effect of Crystallographic Texture on Magnetic Characteristics of Cobalt Nanowires

Cobalt nanowires with controlled diameters have been synthesized using electrochemical deposition in etched ion-track polycarbonate membranes. Structural characterization of these nanowires with diameter 70, 90, 120 nm and length 30 μm was performed by scanning electron microscopy, high-resolution transmission electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction techniques. The as-prepared wires show uniform diameter along the whole length and X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that [002] texture of these wires become more pronounced as diameter is reduced. Magnetic characterization of the nanowires shows a clear difference of squareness and coercivity between parallel and perpendicular orientations of the wires with respect to the applied field direction. In case of parallel applied field, the coercivity has been found to be decreasing with increasing diameter of the wires while in perpendicular case; the coercivity observes lower values for larger diameter. The results are explained by taking into account the magnetocrystalline and shape anisotropies with respect to the applied field and domain transformation mechanism when single domain limit is surpassed

Using the net benefit regression framework to construct cost-effectiveness acceptability curves: an example using data from a trial of external loop recorders versus Holter monitoring for ambulatory monitoring of "community acquired" syncope

BACKGROUND: Cost-effectiveness acceptability curves (CEACs) describe the probability that a new treatment or intervention is cost-effective. The net benefit regression framework (NBRF) allows cost-effectiveness analysis to be done in a simple regression framework. The objective of the paper is to illustrate how net benefit regression can be used to construct a CEAC. METHODS: One hundred patients referred for ambulatory monitoring with syncope or presyncope were randomized to a one-month external loop recorder (n = 49) or 48-hour Holter monitor (n = 51). The primary endpoint was symptom-rhythm correlation during monitoring. Direct costs were calculated based on the 2003 Ontario Health Insurance Plan (OHIP) fee schedule combined with hospital case costing of labour, materials, service and overhead costs for diagnostic testing and related equipment. RESULTS: In the loop recorder group, 63.27% of patients (31/49) had symptom recurrence and successful activation, compared to 23.53% in the Holter group (12/51). The cost in US dollars for loop recording was $648.50 and$212.92 for Holter monitoring. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of the loop recorder was $1,096 per extra successful diagnosis. The probability that the loop recorder was cost-effective compared to the Holter monitor was estimated using net benefit regression and plotted on a CEAC. In a sensitivity analysis, bootstrapping was used to examine the effect of distributional assumptions. CONCLUSION: The NBRF is straightforward to use and interpret. The resulting uncertainty surrounding the regression coefficient relates to the CEAC. When the link from the regression's p-value to the probability of cost-effectiveness is tentative, bootstrapping may be used

Recurrence and survival outcomes after anatomic segmentectomy versus lobectomy for clinical stage I non- Small-cell lung cancer: a propensity-matched analysis

Purpose: Although anatomic segmentectomy has been considered a compromised procedure by many surgeons, recent retrospective, single-institution series have demonstrated tumor recurrence and patient survival rates that approximate those achieved by lobectomy. The primary objective of this study was to use propensity score matching to compare outcomes after these anatomic resection approaches for stage I non-small-cell lung cancer. Patients and Methods: A retrospective data set including 392 segmentectomy patients and 800 lobectomy patients was used to identify matched segmentectomy and lobectomy cohorts (n = 312 patients per group) using a propensity score matching algorithm that accounted for confounding effects of preoperative patient variables. Primary outcome variables included freedom from recurrence and overall survival. Factors affecting survival were assessed by Cox regression analysis and Kaplan-Meier estimates. Results: Perioperative mortality was 1.2% in the segmentectomy group and 2.5% in the lobectomy group (P = .38). At a mean follow-up of 5.4 years, comparing segmentectomy with lobectomy, no differences were noted in locoregional (5.5% v 5.1%, respectively; P = 1.00), distant (14.8% v 11.6%, respectively; P = .29), or overall recurrence rates (20.2% v 16.7%, respectively; P = .30). Furthermore, when comparing segmentectomy with lobectomy, no significant differences were noted in 5-year freedom from recurrence (70% v 71%, respectively; P = .467) or 5-year survival (54% v 60%, respectively; P = .258). Segmentectomy was not found to be an independent predictor of recurrence (hazard ratio, 1.11; 95% CI, 0.87 to 1.40) or overall survival (hazard ratio, 1.17; 95% CI, 0.89 to 1.52). Conclusion: In this large propensity-matched comparison, lobectomy was associated with modestly increased freedom from recurrence and overall survival, but the differences were not statistically significant. These results will need further validation by prospective, randomized trials (eg, Cancer and Leukemia Group B 140503 trial)

Early carboniferous brachiopod faunas from the Baoshan block, west Yunnan, southwest China

38 brachiopod species in 27 genera and subgenera are described from the Yudong Formation in the Shidian-Baoshan area, west Yunnan, southwest China. New taxa include two new subgenera: Unispirifer (Septimispirifer) and Brachythyrina (Longathyrina), and seven new species: Eomarginifera yunnanensis, Marginatia cylindrica, Unispirifer (Unispirifer) xiangshanensis, Unispirifer (Septimispirifer) wafangjieensis, Brachythyrina (Brachythyrina) transversa, Brachythyrina (Longathyrina) baoshanensis, and Girtyella wafangjieensis. Based on the described material and constraints from associated coral and conodont faunas, the age of the brachiopod fauna from the Yudon Formation is considered late Tournaisian (Early Carboniferous), with a possibility extending into earlyViseacutean.<br /