Breeding, Plumages and Vocalisations of the Pied Bush Chat Saxicola caprata pyrrhonotus on Kisar Island, Lesser Sundas

The Pied Bush Chat Saxicola caprata occurs widely in South, South-east Asia, and the Papuan region with 16 subspecies recognised including pyrrhonotus in the Timor region. Observations on the small island of Kisar, 25 km north of eastern Timor-Leste, revealed that the females differed from those of Timor, and may represent an undescribed subspecies. Females on Kisar had a cream-coloured throat with grey-brown streaks, and the breast and belly were streaked with dark brown, whereas those on Timor and Wetar have these parts plain light brown or rufous. The song of the Kisar bird also differed from those on Timor, but there is substantial variation in vocalisations among individuals, making quantitative inter-island comparisons difficult. Breeding was evident in October and the fledglings were found to be sexually-dimorphic as reported elsewhere for this species

Recent bird observations from Kisar Island, Lesser Sundas

ln September 2001 avifaunistic data were collected during a brief visit to the largely deforested island ofKisar (eastern Lesser Sundas). A total of 19 bird species were recorded including two new island records: Australian Pelican Pelecanus conspici1latus and Barn Swallow Himnclo rustica. Other interesting observations included the first sightings of the Little Friar bird Philemon citreogularis race hisserensis in almost lOO years. Study is needed to clarify the taxonomic distinctiveness of this taxon. The Rainbow Lorikeet Trichoglossus haematoclus and Olive-headed Lorikeet T. euteles, known from nineteenth century records, were not recorded and may now be extinct. The 'South-west' islands were little studied in the twentieth century. Ornithological surveys of still forested islands such as We tar, Romang and Babar are a priority

Rediscovery of the Timor Bush Warbler Locustella timorensis on Alor and Timor Wallacea: clarifying taxonomic affinities defining habitat and survey recommendations

The Timor Bush Warbler Locustella timorensis was first collected by Georg Stein on Mount Mutis, West Timor in 1932, but there have been no confirmed field observations since. Here we report on the discovery of a new population of bush warbler on Alor (9 September 2009), which prompted a search for, and subsequent rediscovery, of the nominate Timor Bush Warbler (20 December 2009) in Timor-Leste. We also undertook the first bush warbler searches in the mountains on Atauro Island, and the first ornithological exploration of the mountains of Pantar and Wetar islands. On Alor, at least 13 male bush warblers were heard singing from shrub and grass beneath woodland and forest edge at 859–1,250 m. On Timor, at least 40 males were heard during December, April and July from tall grassland below Mount Ramelau (1,720–2,100 m), Timor-Leste. The song structure of the Alor and Timor birds is similar, and close to Javan Bush Warbler L. montis of Java and Bali, as well as to recordings of Russet Bush Warbler L. mandelli of mainland Asia and Benguet Bush Warbler L. seebohmi from the Philippines. The song of the Alor bird is substantially higher pitched (mean min/max 3,233–4,980 kHz) than the Timor bird (2,928–4,761 kHz) and both are substantially higher pitched than Javan birds. Recordings of Russet Bush Warbler from mainland Asia are higher pitched than songs of all insular taxa, and the song of Benguet Bush Warbler is of a similar pitch to the Timor bird. Recent molecular studies have found that divergences between Javan Bush Warbler and the Russet Bush Warbler are slight, and the high degree of song similarity of the Alor and Timor populations to Javan Bush Warbler places them close to the Benguet Bush Warbler complex. The Timor Bush Warbler is recognised as ‘Near Threatened’ by IUCN, but this will require re-evaluation. On Alor, suitable habitat is extensive and under little threat, but grassland in the uplands of West and East Timor is intensively grazed and regularly burnt. Further field surveys are needed on both Timor and Alor to capture birds, clarify taxonomic relationships using molecular approaches, and further define habitat use and conservation status. Bush warblers were not recorded from Pantar, Atauro and Wetar islands

New and significant bird records for Solor, Adonara, and Lembata (Lomblen) islands, Lesser Sundas

The birds of the island of Solor were last investigated about 150 years ago when Charles Allen, an assistant of Lord Alfred Wallace, collected four species. During a one-day visit in 2005 the first author recorded an additional 47 species, including 33 resident land birds. A total of 37 species, including ten new island records, were observed on Adonara over a 2-day period in January 2005 and a brief visit in 2009. The second author recorded 33 species over four days on Lembata, including seven new island records. Few of the new island records for these three islands involved resident forest birds. A notable exception was the Oriental Dwarf Kingfisher Ceyx erythacus on Lembata, extending its easterly limits. The avifaunas of Solor, Adonara and Lembata are species-poor subsets of the Flores mainland avifauna; only three species - Olive-headed Lorikeet Trichoglossus euteles (Adonara, Lembata), Common Cicadabird Coracina tenuirostris (Lembata) and Broad-billed Flycatcher Myiagra ruficollis (Lembata) – are absent from Flores. The forest avifauna of these islands remains poorly known and deserves further attention

New Bird Records for Nusa Tenggara Islands: Sumbawa, Moyo, Sumba, Flores, Pulau Besar and Timor

We present a total of 59 new island records comprising more than 100 independent site records of 52 species for selected Nusa Tenggara islands: Sumbawa (21) and its satellite Moyo (18); Sumba (4); Flores (3) and its satellite islands including Pulau Besar (12); and Timor (3). Records were gathered between 1994 and 2001 during surveys by BirdLife international Indonesia Programme, Dames and Moore Pry Ltd (especially within the Batu Hijau Project Area), and an extended bird watching visit. Records of particular note include those of the globally vulnerable Flores Green Pigeon Treron Jloris and two near-threatened species: Beach Thick-knee Esacus neglectus and Great-billed Heron Ardea sumatrana. A Superb Fruit-dove Ptilinopus superbus on Sumba represents the first record for Nusa Tenggara. Significant records of Palearctic migrants are accumulating for the region. We document the first two Nusa Tenggara records of the migrant Grey-streaked Flycatcher Muscicapa griseisticta and numerous records of Chinese Sparrowhawk Accipiter soloensis and Japanese Sparrowhawk A. gularis

The State of Migratory Landbirds in the East Asian Flyway: Distributions, Threats, and Conservation Needs

With nearly 400 migratory landbird species, the East Asian Flyway is the most diverse of the world’s flyways. This diversity is a consequence of the varied ecological niches provided by biomes ranging from broadleaf forests to arctic tundra and accentuated by complex biogeographic processes. The distribution and migration ecology of East Asian landbirds is still inadequately known, but a recent explosion in the number of studies tracking the migration of raptors, cuckoos, kingfishers and passerines has greatly increased our knowledge about the stopover and wintering ecology of many species, and the migratory routes that link northeast Eurasia and the Asian tropics. Yet the East Asian Flyway also supports the highest number of threatened species among flyways. Strong declines have been detected in buntings (Emberizidae) and other long-distance migrants. While the conservation of migratory landbirds in this region has largely focused on unsustainable hunting, there are other threats, such as habitat loss and increased agro-chemical use driven directly by land cover change and climate-related processes. Important knowledge gaps to be addressed include (1) threats affecting species in different parts of their annual cycle, (2) range-wide population trends, (3) ecological requirements and habitat use during the non-breeding season, and (4) the conservation status of critical wintering sites (including understudied farming landscapes, such as rice fields) and migration bottlenecks along the flyway

Altered translation of GATA1 in Diamond-Blackfan anemia

Ribosomal protein haploinsufficiency occurs in diverse human diseases including Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA)[superscript 1, 2], congenital asplenia[superscript 3] and T cell leukemia[superscript 4]. Yet, how mutations in genes encoding ubiquitously expressed proteins such as these result in cell-type– and tissue-specific defects remains unknown[superscript 5]. Here, we identify mutations in GATA1, encoding the critical hematopoietic transcription factor GATA-binding protein-1, that reduce levels of full-length GATA1 protein and cause DBA in rare instances. We show that ribosomal protein haploinsufficiency, the more common cause of DBA, can lead to decreased GATA1 mRNA translation, possibly resulting from a higher threshold for initiation of translation of this mRNA in comparison with other mRNAs. In primary hematopoietic cells from patients with mutations in RPS19, encoding ribosomal protein S19, the amplitude of a transcriptional signature of GATA1 target genes was globally and specifically reduced, indicating that the activity, but not the mRNA level, of GATA1 is decreased in patients with DBA associated with mutations affecting ribosomal proteins. Moreover, the defective hematopoiesis observed in patients with DBA associated with ribosomal protein haploinsufficiency could be partially overcome by increasing GATA1 protein levels. Our results provide a paradigm by which selective defects in translation due to mutations affecting ubiquitous ribosomal proteins can result in human disease.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant P01 HL32262)National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant U54 HG003067-09

Adjunctive rifampicin for Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia (ARREST): a multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Staphylococcus aureus bacteraemia is a common cause of severe community-acquired and hospital-acquired infection worldwide. We tested the hypothesis that adjunctive rifampicin would reduce bacteriologically confirmed treatment failure or disease recurrence, or death, by enhancing early S aureus killing, sterilising infected foci and blood faster, and reducing risks of dissemination and metastatic infection. METHODS: In this multicentre, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial, adults (≥18 years) with S aureus bacteraemia who had received ≤96 h of active antibiotic therapy were recruited from 29 UK hospitals. Patients were randomly assigned (1:1) via a computer-generated sequential randomisation list to receive 2 weeks of adjunctive rifampicin (600 mg or 900 mg per day according to weight, oral or intravenous) versus identical placebo, together with standard antibiotic therapy. Randomisation was stratified by centre. Patients, investigators, and those caring for the patients were masked to group allocation. The primary outcome was time to bacteriologically confirmed treatment failure or disease recurrence, or death (all-cause), from randomisation to 12 weeks, adjudicated by an independent review committee masked to the treatment. Analysis was intention to treat. This trial was registered, number ISRCTN37666216, and is closed to new participants. FINDINGS: Between Dec 10, 2012, and Oct 25, 2016, 758 eligible participants were randomly assigned: 370 to rifampicin and 388 to placebo. 485 (64%) participants had community-acquired S aureus infections, and 132 (17%) had nosocomial S aureus infections. 47 (6%) had meticillin-resistant infections. 301 (40%) participants had an initial deep infection focus. Standard antibiotics were given for 29 (IQR 18-45) days; 619 (82%) participants received flucloxacillin. By week 12, 62 (17%) of participants who received rifampicin versus 71 (18%) who received placebo experienced treatment failure or disease recurrence, or died (absolute risk difference -1·4%, 95% CI -7·0 to 4·3; hazard ratio 0·96, 0·68-1·35, p=0·81). From randomisation to 12 weeks, no evidence of differences in serious (p=0·17) or grade 3-4 (p=0·36) adverse events were observed; however, 63 (17%) participants in the rifampicin group versus 39 (10%) in the placebo group had antibiotic or trial drug-modifying adverse events (p=0·004), and 24 (6%) versus six (2%) had drug interactions (p=0·0005). INTERPRETATION: Adjunctive rifampicin provided no overall benefit over standard antibiotic therapy in adults with S aureus bacteraemia. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Health Technology Assessment