265 research outputs found

    Regional anesthesia decreases complications and resource utilization in shoulder arthroplasty patients

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    Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142932/1/aas13063_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/142932/2/aas13063.pd

    On species delimitation: Yet another lemur species or just genetic variation?

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Although most taxonomists agree that species are independently evolving metapopulation lineages that should be delimited with several kinds of data, the taxonomic practice in Malagasy primates (Lemuriformes) looks quite different. Several recently described lemur species are based solely on evidence of genetic distance and diagnostic characters of mitochondrial DNA sequences sampled from a few individuals per location. Here we explore the validity of this procedure for species delimitation in lemurs using published sequence data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We show that genetic distance estimates and <it>Population Aggregation Analysis </it>(PAA) are inappropriate for species delimitation in this group of primates. Intra- and interspecific genetic distances overlapped in 14 of 17 cases independent of the genetic marker used. A simulation of a fictive taxonomic study indicated that for the mitochondrial D-loop the minimum required number of individuals sampled per location is 10 in order to avoid false positives via PAA.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Genetic distances estimates and PAA alone should not be used for species delimitation in lemurs. Instead, several nuclear and sex-specific loci should be considered and combined with other data sets from morphology, ecology or behavior. Independent of the data source, sampling should be done in a way to ensure a quantitative comparison of intra- and interspecific variation of the taxa in question. The results of our study also indicate that several of the recently described lemur species should be reevaluated with additional data and that the number of good species among the currently known taxa is probably lower than currently assumed.</p

    Antimony-Doped Tin(II) Sulfide Thin Films

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    Thin-film solar cells made from earth-abundant, inexpensive, and nontoxic materials are needed to replace the current technologies whose widespread use is limited by their use of scarce, costly, and toxic elements. Tin monosulfide (SnS) is a promising candidate for making absorber layers in scalable, inexpensive, and nontoxic solar cells. SnS has always been observed to be a p-type semiconductor. Doping SnS to form an n-type semiconductor would permit the construction of solar cells with p-n homojunctions. This paper reports doping SnS films with antimony, a potential n-type dopant. Small amounts of antimony (1%) were found to greatly increase the electrical resistance of the SnS. The resulting intrinsic SnS(Sb) films could be used for the insulating layer in a p-i-n design for solar cells. Higher concentrations (5%) of antimony did not convert the SnS(Sb) to low-resistivity n-type conductivity, but instead the films retain such a high resistance that the conductivity type could not be determined. Extended X-ray absorption fine structure analysis reveals that the highly doped films contain precipitates of a secondary phase that has chemical bonds characteristic of metallic antimony, rather than the antimony–sulfur bonds found in films with lower concentrations of antimony.United States. Dept. of Energy. Sunshot Initiative (Contract DE-EE0005329)National Science Foundation (U.S.) (Grant CBET-1032955

    The Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project:Inferring the environmental context of human evolution from eastern African rift lake deposits

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    Funding for the HSPDP has been provided by ICDP, NSF (grants EAR-1123942, BCS-1241859, and EAR-1338553), NERC (grant NE/K014560/1), DFG priority program SPP 1006, DFG-CRC-806 “Our way to Europe”, the University of Cologne (Germany), the Hong Kong Research Grants Council (grant no. HKBU201912), the Peter Buck Fund for Human Origins Research (Smithsonian), the William H. Donner Foundation, the Ruth and Vernon Taylor Foundation, Whitney and Betty MacMillan, and the Smithsonian’s Human Origins Program.The role that climate and environmental history may have played in influencing human evolution has been the focus of considerable interest and controversy among paleoanthropologists for decades. Prior attempts to understand the environmental history side of this equation have centered around the study of outcrop sediments and fossils adjacent to where fossil hominins (ancestors or close relatives of modern humans) are found, or from the study of deep sea drill cores. However, outcrop sediments are often highly weathered and thus are unsuitable for some types of paleoclimatic records, and deep sea core records come from long distances away from the actual fossil and stone tool remains. The Hominin Sites and Paleolakes Drilling Project (HSPDP) was developed to address these issues. The project has focused its efforts on the eastern African Rift Valley, where much of the evidence for early hominins has been recovered. We have collected about 2 km of sediment drill core from six basins in Kenya and Ethiopia, in lake deposits immediately adjacent to important fossil hominin and archaeological sites. Collectively these cores cover in time many of the key transitions and critical intervals in human evolutionary history over the last 4 Ma, such as the earliest stone tools, the origin of our own genus Homo, and the earliest anatomically modern Homo sapiens. Here we document the initial field, physical property, and core description results of the 2012–2014 HSPDP coring campaign.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

    Oceanographic barriers, divergence, and admixture : phylogeography and taxonomy of two putative subspecies of short-finned pilot whale

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    Funding:Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet Environmental Readiness Division and NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center; NMFS West Coast Region; Scripps Institution of Oceanography Edna Bailey Sussman Research Fellowship; and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.Genomic phylogeography plays an important role in describing evolutionary processes and their geographic, ecological, or cultural drivers. These drivers are often poorly understood in marine environments, which have fewer obvious barriers to mixing than terrestrial environments. Taxonomic uncertainty of some taxa (e.g., cetaceans), due to the difficulty in obtaining morphological data, can hamper our understanding of these processes. One such taxon, the short‐finned pilot whale, is recognized as a single global species but includes at least two distinct morphological forms described from stranding and drive hunting in Japan, the “Naisa” and “Shiho” forms. Using samples (n = 735) collected throughout their global range, we examine phylogeographic patterns of divergence by comparing mitogenomes and nuclear SNP loci. Our results suggest three types within the species: an Atlantic Ocean type, a western/central Pacific and Indian Ocean (Naisa) type, and an eastern Pacific Ocean and northern Japan (Shiho) type. mtDNA control region differentiation indicates these three types form two subspecies, separated by the East Pacific Barrier: Shiho short‐finned pilot whale, in the eastern Pacific Ocean and northern Japan, and Naisa short‐finned pilot whale, throughout the remainder of the species' distribution. Our data further indicate two diverging populations within the Naisa subspecies, in the Atlantic Ocean and western/central Pacific and Indian Oceans, separated by the Benguela Barrier off South Africa. This study reveals a process of divergence and speciation within a globally‐distributed, mobile marine predator, and indicates the importance of the East Pacific Barrier to this evolutionary process.PostprintPeer reviewe

    Isolated Limb Perfusion and External Beam Radiotherapy for Soft Tissue Sarcomas of the Extremity: Long-Term Effects on Normal Tissue According to the LENT-SOMA Scoring System

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    BACKGROUND: With the combined treatment procedure of isolated limb perfusion (ILP), delayed surgical resection and external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) for locally advanced soft tissue sarcomas (STS) of the extremities, limb salvage rates of more than 80% can be achieved. However, long-term damage to the healthy surrounding tissue cannot be prevented. We studied the late effects on the normal tissue using the LENT-SOMA scoring system. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A total of 32 patients-median age 47 (range 14-71) years-were treated for a locally advanced STS with ILP, surgical resection and often adjuvant 60-70 Gy EBRT. After a median follow-up of 88 (range 17-159) months, the patients were scored, using the LENT-SOMA scales, for the following late tissue damage: muscle/soft tissue, peripheral nerves, skin/subcutaneous tissue and vessels. RESULTS: According to the individual SOM parameters of the LENT-SOMA scales, 20 patients (63%) scored grade-3 toxicity on one or more separate items, reflecting severe symptoms with a negative impact on daily activities. Of these patients, 3 (9%) even scored grade-4 toxicity on some of the parameters, denoting irreversible functional damage necessitating major therapeutic intervention. CONCLUSIONS: In evaluating long-term morbidity after a combined treatment procedure for STS of the extremity, using modified LENT-SOMA scores, two-thirds of patients were found to have experienced serious late toxic effects

    Mitochondrial phylogeography of baboons (Papio spp.) – Indication for introgressive hybridization?

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Baboons of the genus <it>Papio </it>are distributed over wide ranges of Africa and even colonized parts of the Arabian Peninsula. Traditionally, five phenotypically distinct species are recognized, but recent molecular studies were not able to resolve their phylogenetic relationships. Moreover, these studies revealed para- and polyphyletic (hereafter paraphyletic) mitochondrial clades for baboons from eastern Africa, and it was hypothesized that introgressive hybridization might have contributed substantially to their evolutionary history. To further elucidate the phylogenetic relationships among baboons, we extended earlier studies by analysing the complete mitochondrial cytochrome <it>b </it>gene and the 'Brown region' from 67 specimens collected at 53 sites, which represent all species and which cover most of the baboons' range.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Based on phylogenetic tree reconstructions seven well supported major haplogroups were detected, which reflect geographic populations and discordance between mitochondrial phylogeny and baboon morphology. Our divergence age estimates indicate an initial separation into southern and northern baboon clades 2.09 (1.54–2.71) million years ago (mya). We found deep divergences between haplogroups within several species (~2 mya, northern and southern yellow baboons, western and eastern olive baboons and northern and southern chacma baboons), but also recent divergence ages among species (< 0.7 mya, yellow, olive and hamadryas baboons in eastern Africa).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study confirms earlier findings for eastern Africa, but shows that baboon species from other parts of the continent are also mitochondrially paraphyletic. The phylogenetic patterns suggest a complex evolutionary history with multiple phases of isolation and reconnection of populations. Most likely all these biogeographic events were triggered by multiple cycles of expansion and retreat of savannah biomes during Pleistocene glacial and inter-glacial periods. During contact phases of populations reticulate events (i.e. introgressive hybridization) were highly likely, similar to ongoing hybridization, which is observed between East African baboon populations. Defining the extent of the introgressive hybridization will require further molecular studies that incorporate additional sampling sites and nuclear loci.</p

    Social Movements in Urban Society: The City as A Space of Politicization

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    Recent anti-systemic social movements have illustrated the central role of cities in social movement mobilization. We not only highlight the characteristics of urban social relations that make cities fertile ground for mobilization, but also point to the disjunctures between the geographies and spatialities of social relations in the city, and the geographies and spatialities of many systemic processes. Struggles for a more just society must consider the broad geographies and spatialities of oppression, which we illustrate with a brief analysis of the Occupy movement. Finally, we introduce the next five articles in this special issue, all illustrating the importance of the geographies and spatialities of urban social struggle
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