A taxonomic revision of neotropical Discocarpus (Euphorbiaceae)

This thesis is a taxonomic revision of Discocarpus, a genus of three species of trees from seasonally inundated forests of northern South America. Discocarpus is classified in the family Euphorbiaceae. The Euphorbiaceae or spurge family is a large and diverse taxon of angiosperms consisting of approximately 7000 species placed in 300 genera, comprising 49 tribes and 5 subfamilies (Webster 1994b). The origin of the family is likely Western Gondwanaland, and the earliest fossils identified as Euphorbiaceae date to the Paleocene (Raven & Axelrod 1974). The family is predominately tropical, however, species of Euphorbiaceae are important throughout most of the world except arctic and alpine regions (Raven & Axelrod 1974)

Stem Development, Medullary Bundles, and Wood Anatomy of \u3ci\u3eCroton Glandulosus Var. Septentrionalis\u3c/i\u3e (Euphorbiaceae)

Anatomy and development of vascular tissues in the annual stems of Croton glandulosus var. septentrionalis are described. In primary stages of growth the stem possesses a eustele of bicollateral bundles; international phloem is notably more extensive than the external. In addition to a vascular cambium and secondary xylem that form in the usual fashion, additional cambia add cells to the internal phloem portion of the bicollateral bundles, forming well-marked medullary bundles at the perimeter of the pith. At first, the perimedullary cambial strands produce only internal secondary phloem; later, internal secondary xylem is present, the medullary bundles have an inverted orientation, i.e., phloem innermost (towards centre of pith) and xylem outermost (near protoxylem). Cells of the medullary bundles include sieve tube elements, vessel elements, and fibres. Normal (external) secondary phloem is weakly developed. Normal secondary xylem contains short vessel elements with simple perforation plates and alternate intervascular pits, libriform fibres, narrow heterocellular rays, and lacks axial parenchyma

A Revision of \u3ci\u3eDiscocarpus\u3c/i\u3e (Euphorbiaceae)

As revised here, Discocarpus is interpreted to consist of three neotropical species: D. essequeboensis Klotzsch, D. gentryi S. M. Hayden, which is described and named herein as new to science, and D. spruceanus Müll. Arg. One previously accepted name, D. brasiliensis Klotzsch ex Müll. Arg., is reduced to synonymy of D. essequeboensis. Lecto-types are proposed for the two species previously described. One species is newly excluded from Discocarpus, as are three others, following previous literature. Foliar anatomy is described with a focus on epidermal sclereids, which are shown to occur on both epidermides. Evidence presented supports close relationships with Lachnostylis Turcz. and Amanoa Aubl.; little was found to support previous hypotheses concerning a relationship with Chonocentrum Pierre ex Pax & K. Hoffm

Wood Anatomy and Relationships of \u3ci\u3eBetula uber\u3c/i\u3e

Wood anatomy of Betula uber (Ashe) Fernald is described and compared with woods of other birches belonging to series Humiles and series Costatae. Anatomically, wood of B. uber is typical of birches in general. On the basis of pore size and frequency, fiber characteristics, axial xylem parenchyma distribution, and absence of aggregate rays, it is argued that B. uber is properly classified in series Costatae. Resolution of its relationships within series Costatae is not apparent from wood data

Celebrating Garden Genius : A Handbook to Selected Gardens by Charles F. Gillette

Celebrating Garden Genius : A Handbook to Selected Gardens by Charles F. Gillette was created as part of the 1992 Charles F. Gillette Forum at The Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden in Richmond, Virginia. W. John Hayden, Professor of Biology at the University of Richmond, and Sheila Hayden, Biology Research Associate at the University of Richmond, served as editors of the handbook. _________________________________________Charles F. Gillette(1886-1969) Arriving in Richmond on November 9, 1911 —a dull, damp, dreary day—Charles F. Gillette began his career in the Southeast as clerk of the record for landscape architect Warren Manning, who, working with architects Cram, Goodhue and Ferguson, was responsible for building the new campus of the University of Richmond in Westhampton. As one of Warren Manning\u27s apprentices at the Tremont Street studio in Boston, Gillette had received invaluable training in landscape art. Manning, moreover, had served his apprenticeship under Frederick Law Olmsted and had shared in the work at Biltmore in Asheville, North Carolina. A tradition from Olmsted to Manning to Gillette had thus been born. By 1914, Gillette, recently wed, made a momentous decision. He would practice landscape architecture in Richmond, Virginia. Since that rainy day in 1911 Gillette did nothing less than create the image of Virginia gardens as they are known and loved today. Developing a distinctly regional landscape architecture, one geared, as Professor Reuben Rainey has observed, to the Piedmont and the Tidewater, he won the admiration of men and women as remote in time and place as Douglas South all Freeman, Paul Green, Ellen Glasgow, and Francis Pendleton Gaines. His designs remain today the paradigm of the Virginia garden. The genius loci of the middle Atlantic, Gillette was drawn to the spiritual in nature. The garden, etymologically an enclosing, was instinctually real to him as the paradisus was to the medieval basilica. Like Emerson, he knew, after all, that nature was language whereby God speaks to man. One senses that today in the magic of a Gillette garden. Gillette\u27s eclecticism is rich in the traditions of landscape art. The Georgian Revival, the Country Place Movement, the English cottage garden, the designs and motifs of Capability Brown, Inigo Jones, or Gertrude Jekyll form organically, in the vernacular, the Gillette look or the Southern garden. English boxwood, Virginia cedar, azalea, camellia, crepe myrtle, Cunninghamia, daffodil and yew, brick, stone, water, and bronze form the palette of his art. The native and the imported thrive side by side. One leaves the Gillette garden with the echo of a John Hersey line, True genius rearranges old material in a way never seen . . . before. --George C. Longesthttps://scholarship.richmond.edu/bookshelf/1204/thumbnail.jp

The Past, Present and Future of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act as a Tool of Environmental Justice

Mr. Michael Gerrard: I am going to try to do something a little unconventional. After hearing some remarks from Professor Johnson, I will try to start a dialogue. I have been requested to ask very tough questions of our panelists, so I will do that in the hope of drawing all of you in the audience into the dialogue. First, we will hear some remarks from Professor Nicholas Johnson of Fordham University School of Law

Improving health care professionals' feedback on communication skills: Development of an on-line resource

Objective: This project aimed to develop an open-access on-line resource to assist health care professionals in providing effective feedback on patient-centered clinical and communication skills. The collaborative nature of the development of this learning resource is outlined and evaluation of its use is discussed. Methods: An inter-professional team of teaching staff from two London Universities employed a researcher to interview experienced clinical and academic health care professionals and gather examples of difficult feedback situations. Material was used to develop short video clips illustrating some common challenges in giving feedback on clinical and communication skills. Initial evaluation following use of the scenarios in workshops was undertaken by means of a “talking wall” technique. Results: Evaluation indicated that the resource enhanced the learning experience by providing realistic and challenging scenarios to focus discussion. Conclusion: Inter-professional working and piloting the use of the video scenarios in workshops enabled the improvement and refinement of an on-line staff development resource on feedback. Practical implications: The on-line resource is now available as an open access learning tool, with eight scenarios and guidelines for providing effective feedback in the academic or clinical setting. It can be used for self-study or as part of a group training session

Clinical Practice Recommendations for the Management and Prevention of Cisplatin-Induced Hearing Loss Using Pharmacogenetic Markers

Currently no pharmacogenomics-based criteria exist to guide clinicians in identifying individuals who are at risk of hearing loss from cisplatin-based chemotherapy. This review summarizes findings from pharmacogenomic studies that report genetic polymorphisms associated with cisplatin-induced hearing loss and aims to (1) provide up-to-date information on new developments in the field, (2) provide recommendations for the use of pharmacogenetic testing in the prevention, assessment, and management of cisplatin-induced hearing loss in children and adults, and (3) identify knowledge gaps to direct and prioritize future research. These practice recommendations for pharmacogenetic testing in the context of cisplatin-induced hearing loss reflect a review and evaluation of recent literature, and are designed to assist clinicians in providing optimal clinical care for patients receiving cisplatin-based chemotherapy

Hearing treatment for reducing cognitive decline: Design and methods of the Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders randomized controlled trial

IntroductionHearing impairment is highly prevalent and independently associated with cognitive decline. The Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders study is a multicenter randomized controlled trial to determine efficacy of hearing treatment in reducing cognitive decline in older adults. Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT03243422.MethodsEight hundred fifty participants without dementia aged 70 to 84 years with mild-to-moderate hearing impairment recruited from four United States field sites and randomized 1:1 to a best-practices hearing intervention or health education control. Primary study outcome is 3-year change in global cognitive function. Secondary outcomes include domain-specific cognitive decline, incident dementia, brain structural changes on magnetic resonance imaging, health-related quality of life, physical and social function, and physical activity.ResultsTrial enrollment began January 4, 2018 and is ongoing.DiscussionWhen completed in 2022, Aging and Cognitive Health Evaluation in Elders study should provide definitive evidence of the effect of hearing treatment versus education control on cognitive decline in community-dwelling older adults with mild-to-moderate hearing impairment

Characteristics and outcomes of neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infection in the UK: a prospective national cohort study using active surveillance.

BACKGROUND: Babies differ from older children with regard to their exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). However, data describing the effect of SARS-CoV-2 in this group are scarce, and guidance is variable. We aimed to describe the incidence, characteristics, transmission, and outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection in neonates who received inpatient hospital care in the UK. METHODS: We carried out a prospective UK population-based cohort study of babies with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in the first 28 days of life who received inpatient care between March 1 and April 30, 2020. Infected babies were identified through active national surveillance via the British Paediatric Surveillance Unit, with linkage to national testing, paediatric intensive care audit, and obstetric surveillance data. Outcomes included incidence (per 10 000 livebirths) of confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe disease, proportions of babies with suspected vertically and nosocomially acquired infection, and clinical outcomes. FINDINGS: We identified 66 babies with confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection (incidence 5·6 [95% CI 4·3-7·1] per 10 000 livebirths), of whom 28 (42%) had severe neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infection (incidence 2·4 [1·6-3·4] per 10 000 livebirths). 16 (24%) of these babies were born preterm. 36 (55%) babies were from white ethnic groups (SARS-CoV-2 infection incidence 4·6 [3·2-6·4] per 10 000 livebirths), 14 (21%) were from Asian ethnic groups (15·2 [8·3-25·5] per 10 000 livebirths), eight (12%) were from Black ethnic groups (18·0 [7·8-35·5] per 10 000 livebirths), and seven (11%) were from mixed or other ethnic groups (5·6 [2·2-11·5] per 10 000 livebirths). 17 (26%) babies with confirmed infection were born to mothers with known perinatal SARS-CoV-2 infection, two (3%) were considered to have possible vertically acquired infection (SARS-CoV-2-positive sample within 12 h of birth where the mother was also positive). Eight (12%) babies had suspected nosocomially acquired infection. As of July 28, 2020, 58 (88%) babies had been discharged home, seven (11%) were still admitted, and one (2%) had died of a cause unrelated to SARS-CoV-2 infection. INTERPRETATION: Neonatal SARS-CoV-2 infection is uncommon in babies admitted to hospital. Infection with neonatal admission following birth to a mother with perinatal SARS-CoV-2 infection was unlikely, and possible vertical transmission rare, supporting international guidance to avoid separation of mother and baby. The high proportion of babies from Black, Asian, or minority ethnic groups requires investigation. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Policy Research Programme