Photography-based taxonomy is inadequate, unnecessary, and potentially harmful for biological sciences

The question whether taxonomic descriptions naming new animal species without type specimen(s) deposited in collections should be accepted for publication by scientific journals and allowed by the Code has already been discussed in Zootaxa (Dubois & Nemésio 2007; Donegan 2008, 2009; Nemésio 2009a–b; Dubois 2009; Gentile & Snell 2009; Minelli 2009; Cianferoni & Bartolozzi 2016; Amorim et al. 2016). This question was again raised in a letter supported by 35 signatories published in the journal Nature (Pape et al. 2016) on 15 September 2016. On 25 September 2016, the following rebuttal (strictly limited to 300 words as per the editorial rules of Nature) was submitted to Nature, which on 18 October 2016 refused to publish it. As we think this problem is a very important one for zoological taxonomy, this text is published here exactly as submitted to Nature, followed by the list of the 493 taxonomists and collection-based researchers who signed it in the short time span from 20 September to 6 October 2016

Cirurgia da valva aórtica: estudo prospectivo e randomizado da miniesternotomia versus cirurgia convencional Aortic valve surgery: a prospective and randomized study of ministernotomy versus conventional surgery

Objetivos: A cirurgia minimamente invasiva objetiva, através de menor trauma cirúrgico no paciente, recuperação mais rápida, menor tempo de internação em unidade de terapia intensiva e hospitalar, assim como menor dor e custo hospitalar. Através de estudo clínico prospectivo e randomizado, visamos avaliar as vantagens da cirurgia minimamente invasiva da valva aórtica sobre a cirurgia convencional. Material e Métodos: Foram 40 pacientes consecutivos, portadores de doença da valva aórtica, com idade inferior à 80 anos, submetidos à primeira cirurgia, de forma prospectiva, randomizados por computador em 2 grupos (miniesternotomia em L invertido e de forma convencional), no período de junho de 1997 a agosto de 1998. Todos os pacientes foram operados seguindo-se protocolos cirúrgicos pré estabelecidos, Ambos os grupos eram clinicamente semediantes. As seguintes variáveis foram avaliadas: tamanho da incisão, tempos de isquemia, de circulação extracorpórea e de cirurgia, tempo de internação hospitalar e em UTI, tempo de extubação, sangramento, dor e mortalidade. Os dados foram submetidos a análise estatística pelos testes T de Student, de Mann Whitney e o Exato de Fisher. Resultados: O grupo submetido à cirurgia minimamente invasiva para a troca da valva aórtica apresentou tempos de isquemia e de circulação extracorpórea significativamente maiores que o grupo convencional (respectivamente p=0,006 e p=0,041). O tamanho da incisão foi significativamente menor (p<0,001). As demais variáveis analisadas não apresentaram diferenças estatisticamente significativas. Conclusões: Observou-se efeito cosmético melhor devido a incisão menor pela técnica da miniesternotomia e menores tempos de isquemia e circulação extracorpórea através da cirurgia convencional. As demais variáveis estudadas apresentaram resultados semelhantes para ambos os grupos.<br>Objective: Minimally Invasive Surgery aims to provide a more rapid recovery, less time in hospital and intensive care unit (ICU), as well as less pain and cost, as a result of less surgical trauma to the patient. This clinical prospective and randomized study aims to evaluate the advantages of minimally invasive surgery of the aortic valve over the conventional one. Material and Methods: Forty consecutive patients were studied. All had Aortic Valve Disease, age of less than 80 years old and had not been submitted to previous surgery. The evaluation was made prospectively and randomized by computer into two groups (an inverted "L" ministernotomy and a conventional surgery group), during the period between June 1997 to August 1998. All patients were operated on according to pre-established surgical protocols. Both groups were clinically similar. The following variables were analyzed: incision size, ischemia, cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) and surgical time, hospitalization and ICU time, time of extubation, bleeding, pain and mortality. The data were submitted to statistical analysis using the Student t Test, Mann Whitney Test and the Exact Fisher Test. Results: The group submitted to minimally invasive aortic valve replacement showed significantly increased time for ischemia and CPB than the conventional surgery group (p=0.006 and p=0.041, respectively) as well as a significantly smaller incision size (p<0.001). The other variables studied did not present any statistically significant differences. Conclusion: Better cosmetic effect through the minimally invasive surgery. Increased ischemia and CPB time were obtained in the ministernotomy group. The other results obtained for the two groups were similar

Miniesternotomia para a cirurgia da valva aórtica: experiência inicial

É apresentada a experiência inicial com a cirurgia minimamente invasiva para o tratamento das afecções da valva aórtica, através da miniesternotomia em L invertido. No período de junho a novembro de 1997, 12 pacientes adultos foram submetidos a troca da valva aórtica. A técnica cirúrgica constitui-se na substituição da valva aórtica por prótese biológica, através de minitoracotomia, com esternotomia parcial do tipo L invertido, estendendo-se da fúrcula ao quarto espaço intercostal direito. O reduzido trauma cirúrgico proporcionou recuperação mais precoce. Em 1 (18,3%) caso, houve necessidade de conversão para esternotomia total por dificuldade de saída de CEC. A evolução tardia foi obtida em 11 (91,6%) casos, estando todos os pacientes assintomáticos.<br>We present our initial experience with minimally invasive surgery for the treatment of aortic valve diseases, through a minithoracotomy. From June to November of 1997, 12 patients underwent aortic valve replacement. The surgical technique utilized was ministernotomy from the notch to the fourth right intercostal space. There was no mortality, nor reoperation. There was necessity of complete sternotomy in one case because of difficult of leaving CPB. Late evolution was possible in 91.6% of the cases and they are all free of symptons