Obituary

An obituary for Jan Frits Veldkamp who passed away on 12 November 201

A revision of Dissochaeta (Melastomataceae, Dissochaeteae)

Dissochaeta is a plant genus of woody climbers, classified in the tribe Dissochaeteae (Melastomataceae). The taxonomic history of the genus is complicated and includes some allied genera like Dalenia, Diplectria, Macrolenes and Omphalopus. Most of them are already regarded as synonyms of Dissochaeta except for Macrolenes which is considered a separate genus here as well. Dissochaeta is characterised by its scrambling habit, interpetiolar outgrowths, 4-merous flowers, dimorphic stamens and berry-like fruits. A taxonomic revision of Dissochaeta is presented, which includes references, a complete list of synonyms, detailed morphological descriptions of the species and an identification key, as well as information on the distribution, habitat and ecology, vernacular names, notes and lists of examined specimens. Fifty four species and two varieties of Dissochaeta are recognised. We designate several lectotypes, propose eleven new combinations and we describe one new species and one new variety

Phylogenetic Relationships of the Enigmatic Malesian Fern Thylacopteris (Polypodiaceae, Polypodiidae)

Thylacopteris is the sister to a diverse clade of polygrammoid ferns that occurs mainly in Southeast Asia and Malesia. The phylogenetic relationships are inferred from DNA sequences of three chloroplast genome regions (rbcL, rps4, rps4‐trnS IGS) for 62 taxa and a fourth cpDNA sequence (trnL‐trnF IGS) for 35 taxa. The results refute previously proposed close relationships to Polypodium s.s. but support suggested relationships to the Southeast Asiatic genus Goniophlebium. In all phylogenetic reconstructions based on more than one cpDNA region, we recovered Thylacopteris as sister to a clade in which Goniophlebium is in turn sister to several lineages, including the genera Lecanopteris, Lepisorus, Microsorum, and their relatives. Goniophlebium and allies comprise a significant component of vascular fern epiphytes in the rain forests of Southeast Asia and Malesia. The relationships of the genus Thylacopteris as at the base of the clade comprising the genera Goniophlebium, Lecanopteris, Lepisorus, Microsorum, and their relatives indicate that this entire lineage arose in Malesia and subsequently dispersed to continental Asia, Australia, the Pacific, and Africa

Enriched biodiversity data as a resource and service

Background: Recent years have seen a surge in projects that produce large volumes of structured, machine-readable biodiversity data. To make these data amenable to processing by generic, open source “data enrichment” workflows, they are increasingly being represented in a variety of standards-compliant interchange formats. Here, we report on an initiative in which software developers and taxonomists came together to address the challenges and highlight the opportunities in the enrichment of such biodiversity data by engaging in intensive, collaborative software development: The Biodiversity Data Enrichment Hackathon. Results: The hackathon brought together 37 participants (including developers and taxonomists, i.e. scientific professionals that gather, identify, name and classify species) from 10 countries: Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Finland, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the UK, and the US. The participants brought expertise in processing structured data, text mining, development of ontologies, digital identification keys, geographic information systems, niche modeling, natural language processing, provenance annotation, semantic integration, taxonomic name resolution, web service interfaces, workflow tools and visualisation. Most use cases and exemplar data were provided by taxonomists. One goal of the meeting was to facilitate re-use and enhancement of biodiversity knowledge by a broad range of stakeholders, such as taxonomists, systematists, ecologists, niche modelers, informaticians and ontologists. The suggested use cases resulted in nine breakout groups addressing three main themes: i) mobilising heritage biodiversity knowledge; ii) formalising and linking concepts; and iii) addressing interoperability between service platforms. Another goal was to further foster a community of experts in biodiversity informatics and to build human links between research projects and institutions, in response to recent calls to further such integration in this research domain. Conclusions: Beyond deriving prototype solutions for each use case, areas of inadequacy were discussed and are being pursued further. It was striking how many possible applications for biodiversity data there were and how quickly solutions could be put together when the normal constraints to collaboration were broken down for a week. Conversely, mobilising biodiversity knowledge from their silos in heritage literature and natural history collections will continue to require formalisation of the concepts (and the links between them) that define the research domain, as well as increased interoperability between the software platforms that operate on these concepts

Brief of Amici Curiae 56 Professors of Law and Economics in Support of Petition of Writ of Certiorari

28 U.S.C. § 1400(b) provides that a defendant in a patent case may be sued where the defendant is incorporated or has a regular and established place of business and has infringed the patent. This Court made clear in Fourco Glass Co. v. Transmirra Prods. Corp., 353 U.S. 222, 223 (1957), that those were the only permissible venues for a patent case. But the Federal Circuit has rejected Fourco and the plain meaning of § 1400(b), instead permitting a patent plaintiff to file suit against a defendant anywhere there is personal jurisdiction over that defendant. The result has been rampant forum shopping, particularly by patent trolls. 44% of 2015 patent lawsuits were filed in a single district: the Eastern District of Texas, a forum with plaintiff-friendly rules and practices, and where few of the defendants are incorporated or have established places of business. And an estimated 86% of 2015 patent cases were filed somewhere other than the jurisdictions specified in the statute. Colleen V. Chien & Michael Risch, Recalibrating Patent Venue, Santa Clara Univ. Legal Studies Research Paper No. 10-1 (Sept. 1, 2016), Table 3. This Court should grant certiorari to review the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b) because the Federal Circuit’s dubious interpretation of the statute plays an outsized and detrimental role, both legally and economically, in the patent system

Brief of Amici Curiae 56 Professors of Law and Economics in Support of Petition of Writ of Certiorari

28 U.S.C. § 1400(b) provides that a defendant in a patent case may be sued where the defendant is incorporated or has a regular and established place of business and has infringed the patent. This Court made clear in Fourco Glass Co. v. Transmirra Prods. Corp., 353 U.S. 222, 223 (1957), that those were the only permissible venues for a patent case. But the Federal Circuit has rejected Fourco and the plain meaning of § 1400(b), instead permitting a patent plaintiff to file suit against a defendant anywhere there is personal jurisdiction over that defendant. The result has been rampant forum shopping, particularly by patent trolls. 44% of 2015 patent lawsuits were filed in a single district: the Eastern District of Texas, a forum with plaintiff-friendly rules and practices, and where few of the defendants are incorporated or have established places of business. And an estimated 86% of 2015 patent cases were filed somewhere other than the jurisdictions specified in the statute. Colleen V. Chien & Michael Risch, Recalibrating Patent Venue, Santa Clara Univ. Legal Studies Research Paper No. 10-1 (Sept. 1, 2016), Table 3. This Court should grant certiorari to review the meaning of 28 U.S.C. § 1400(b) because the Federal Circuit’s dubious interpretation of the statute plays an outsized and detrimental role, both legally and economically, in the patent system

Taxonomy based on science is necessary for global conservation

Peer reviewe