Floras tropicales cretácicas del norte de México y su relación con floras del Centro-Sur de América del Norte

Estudios previos sugieren que las selvas tropicales y paratropicales dominadas por angiospermas tuvieron una distribución importante en América del Norte durante el Cenozoico temprano (Paleoceno-Eoceno). Investigaciones recientes indican que floras bajo condiciones megatermales podrían haber estado presentes en el norte de México y centro-sur de Estados Unidos de América desde el Cretácico Superior (ca. 73 Ma). En Coahuila, en los sedimentos de las formaciones Cerro del Pueblo y Olmos, se han documentado diversas floras que, por su contenido fosilífero y su ubicación paleogeográfica, sugieren la presencia de selvas tropicales y paratropicales. Aquí hacemos un breve recuento de la composición fl orística, características fi sonómicas de las plantas, así como de las interpretaciones paleoclimáticas o paleoambientales de las paleofl oras del norte de México y centro-sur de EU. También analizamos la similitud fl orística de estas formaciones basados en morfogéneros de la madera. Nuestros resultados muestran que la similitud fl orística entre formaciones tiene cierta congruencia geográfi ca. Sin embargo, existen elementos con amplia distribución y otras plantas endémicas en localidades particulares, lo cual sugiere cierta diferenciación en su composición. La válidez de este patrón es, sin embargo, preliminar debido a la ausencia de un entendimiento profundo de la composición fl orística de estas comunidades hasta el momento

Fossil evidence for low gas exchange capacities for Early Cretaceous angiosperm leaves

The photosynthetic gas exchange capacities of early angiosperms remain enigmatic. Nevertheless, many hypotheses about the causes of early angiosperm success and how angiosperms influenced Mesozoic ecosystem function hinge on understanding the maximum capacity for early angiosperm metabolism. We applied structure-functional analyses of leaf veins and stomatal pore geometry to determine the hydraulic and diffusive gas exchange capacities of Early Cretaceous fossil leaves. All of the late Aptian-early Albian angiosperms measured possessed low vein density and low maximal stomatal pore area, indicating low leaf gas exchange capacities in comparison to modern ecologically dominant angiosperms. Gas exchange capacities for Early Cretaceous angiosperms were equivalent or lower than ferns and gymnosperms. Fossil leaf taxa from Aptian to Paleocene sediments previously identified as putative stem-lineages to Austrobaileyales and Chloranthales had the same gas exchange capacities and possibly leaf water relations of their living relatives. Our results provide fossil evidence for the hypothesis that high leaf gas exchange capacity is a derived feature of later angiosperm evolution. In addition, the leaf gas exchange functions of austrobaileyoid and chloranthoid fossils support the hypothesis that comparative research on the biology of living basal angiosperm lineages reveals genuine signals of Early Cretaceous angiosperm ecophysiology

Fossil evidence for Cretaceous escalation in angiosperm leaf vein evolution

The flowering plants that dominate modern vegetation possess leaf gas exchange potentials that far exceed those of all other living or extinct plants. The great divide in maximal ability to exchange CO 2 for water between leaves of nonangiosperms and angiosperms forms the mechanistic foundation for speculation about how angiosperms drove sweeping ecological and biogeochemical change during the Cretaceous. However, there is no empirical evidence that angiosperms evolved highly photosynthetically active leaves during the Cretaceous. Using vein density (D V ) measurements of fossil angiosperm leaves, we show that the leaf hydraulic capacities of angiosperms escalated severalfold during the Cretaceous. During the first 30 million years of angiosperm leaf evolution, angiosperm leaves exhibited uniformly low vein D V that overlapped the D V range of dominant Early Cretaceous ferns and gymnosperms. Fossil angiosperm vein densities reveal a subsequent biphasic increase in D V . During the first mid-Cretaceous surge, angiosperm D V first surpassed the upper bound of D V limits for nonangiosperms. However, the upper limits of D V typical of modern megathermal rainforest trees first appear during a second wave of increased D V during the Cretaceous-Tertiary transition. Thus, our findings provide fossil evidence for the hypothesis that significant ecosystem change brought about by angiosperms lagged behind the Early Cretaceous taxonomic diversification of angiosperms.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Fossil evidence for Cretaceous escalation in angiosperm leaf vein evolution

The flowering plants that dominate modern vegetation possess leaf gas exchange potentials that far exceed those of all other living or extinct plants. The great divide in maximal ability to exchange CO 2 for water between leaves of nonangiosperms and angiosperms forms the mechanistic foundation for speculation about how angiosperms drove sweeping ecological and biogeochemical change during the Cretaceous. However, there is no empirical evidence that angiosperms evolved highly photosynthetically active leaves during the Cretaceous. Using vein density (D V ) measurements of fossil angiosperm leaves, we show that the leaf hydraulic capacities of angiosperms escalated severalfold during the Cretaceous. During the first 30 million years of angiosperm leaf evolution, angiosperm leaves exhibited uniformly low vein D V that overlapped the D V range of dominant Early Cretaceous ferns and gymnosperms. Fossil angiosperm vein densities reveal a subsequent biphasic increase in D V . During the first mid-Cretaceous surge, angiosperm D V first surpassed the upper bound of D V limits for nonangiosperms. However, the upper limits of D V typical of modern megathermal rainforest trees first appear during a second wave of increased D V during the Cretaceous-Tertiary transition. Thus, our findings provide fossil evidence for the hypothesis that significant ecosystem change brought about by angiosperms lagged behind the Early Cretaceous taxonomic diversification of angiosperms.Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Muse

Laparoscopy in management of appendicitis in high-, middle-, and low-income countries: a multicenter, prospective, cohort study.

BACKGROUND: Appendicitis is the most common abdominal surgical emergency worldwide. Differences between high- and low-income settings in the availability of laparoscopic appendectomy, alternative management choices, and outcomes are poorly described. The aim was to identify variation in surgical management and outcomes of appendicitis within low-, middle-, and high-Human Development Index (HDI) countries worldwide. METHODS: This is a multicenter, international prospective cohort study. Consecutive sampling of patients undergoing emergency appendectomy over 6 months was conducted. Follow-up lasted 30 days. RESULTS: 4546 patients from 52 countries underwent appendectomy (2499 high-, 1540 middle-, and 507 low-HDI groups). Surgical site infection (SSI) rates were higher in low-HDI (OR 2.57, 95% CI 1.33-4.99, p = 0.005) but not middle-HDI countries (OR 1.38, 95% CI 0.76-2.52, p = 0.291), compared with high-HDI countries after adjustment. A laparoscopic approach was common in high-HDI countries (1693/2499, 67.7%), but infrequent in low-HDI (41/507, 8.1%) and middle-HDI (132/1540, 8.6%) groups. After accounting for case-mix, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.55, 95% CI 0.42-0.71, p < 0.001) and SSIs (OR 0.22, 95% CI 0.14-0.33, p < 0.001). In propensity-score matched groups within low-/middle-HDI countries, laparoscopy was still associated with fewer overall complications (OR 0.23 95% CI 0.11-0.44) and SSI (OR 0.21 95% CI 0.09-0.45). CONCLUSION: A laparoscopic approach is associated with better outcomes and availability appears to differ by country HDI. Despite the profound clinical, operational, and financial barriers to its widespread introduction, laparoscopy could significantly improve outcomes for patients in low-resource environments. TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT02179112

Pooled analysis of WHO Surgical Safety Checklist use and mortality after emergency laparotomy

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist has fostered safe practice for 10 years, yet its place in emergency surgery has not been assessed on a global scale. The aim of this study was to evaluate reported checklist use in emergency settings and examine the relationship with perioperative mortality in patients who had emergency laparotomy. Methods In two multinational cohort studies, adults undergoing emergency laparotomy were compared with those having elective gastrointestinal surgery. Relationships between reported checklist use and mortality were determined using multivariable logistic regression and bootstrapped simulation. Results Of 12 296 patients included from 76 countries, 4843 underwent emergency laparotomy. After adjusting for patient and disease factors, checklist use before emergency laparotomy was more common in countries with a high Human Development Index (HDI) (2455 of 2741, 89.6 per cent) compared with that in countries with a middle (753 of 1242, 60.6 per cent; odds ratio (OR) 0.17, 95 per cent c.i. 0.14 to 0.21, P <0001) or low (363 of 860, 422 per cent; OR 008, 007 to 010, P <0.001) HDI. Checklist use was less common in elective surgery than for emergency laparotomy in high-HDI countries (risk difference -94 (95 per cent c.i. -11.9 to -6.9) per cent; P <0001), but the relationship was reversed in low-HDI countries (+121 (+7.0 to +173) per cent; P <0001). In multivariable models, checklist use was associated with a lower 30-day perioperative mortality (OR 0.60, 0.50 to 073; P <0.001). The greatest absolute benefit was seen for emergency surgery in low- and middle-HDI countries. Conclusion Checklist use in emergency laparotomy was associated with a significantly lower perioperative mortality rate. Checklist use in low-HDI countries was half that in high-HDI countries.Peer reviewe

Floras tropicales cretácicas del norte de México y su relación con floras del centro-sur de América del Norte

Previous studies suggest that tropical and paratropical forests dominated by angiosperms had an important distribution throughout North America during the Early Cenozoic (Paleocene-Eocene). Recent research indicates that warm and wet forests were present in northern Mexico and south-central of U.S. during the Late Cretaceous (ca. 73 Ma). In Coahuila, the floras from the Cerro del Pueblo and Olmos formations represent vegetation types with tropical and paratropical affinities. In this paper we briefly review of the floristic composition and physiognomy of leaf and wood, and paleoecological interpretation of the floras from the Western interior of North America and northern Mexico. In addition, we analyzed floristic similarity patterns based on wood morphogenera. We show that floristic similarity patterns among paleofloras observe some geographic structure. There are, however, some morphogenera widely distributed across the region and other endemic to particular floras, which might suggest some degree of floristic differentiation. The validity of the patterns presented here is however preliminary and contingent to further identification of the fossil from these formations.Estudios previos sugieren que las selvas tropicales y paratropicales dominadas por angiospermas tuvieron una distribución importante en América del Norte durante el Cenozoico temprano (Paleoceno-Eoceno). Investigaciones recientes indican que floras bajo condiciones megatermales podrían haber estado presentes en el norte de México y centro-sur de Estados Unidos de América desde el Cretácico Superior (ca. 73 Ma). En Coahuila, en los sedimentos de las formaciones Cerro del Pueblo y Olmos, se han documentado diversas floras que, por su contenido fosilífero y su ubicación paleo-geográfica, sugieren la presencia de selvas tropicales y paratropicales. Aquí hacemos un breve recuento de la composición florística, características fisonómicas de las plantas, así como de las interpretaciones paleoclimáticas o paleoambientales de las paleofloras del norte de México y centro-sur de EU. También analizamos la similitud florística de estas formaciones basados en morfogéneros de la madera. Nuestros resultados muestran que la similitud florística entre formaciones tiene cierta congruencia geográfica. Sin embargo, existen elementos con amplia distribución y otras plantas endémicas en localidades particulares, lo cual sugiere cierta diferenciación en su composición. La válidez de este patrón es, sin embargo, preliminar debido a la ausencia de un entendimiento profundo de la composición florística de estas comunidades hasta el momento