Challenging the Scientific Foundations for an IUCN Red List of Ecosystems

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is currently discussing the development of a Red List of Ecosystems (RLE) that would mirror the categories and criteria used to assess the conservation status of species. The suggested scientific foundations for the RLE are being considered by IUCN for adoption as the backbone of the RLE. We identify conceptual and operational weaknesses in the draft RLE approach, the categories, and criteria.While species are relatively well-described units, there is no consistent means to classify ecosystems for assessing conservation status. The proposed RLE is framed mostly around certain features of ecosystems such as broad vegetation or habitat types, and do not consider major global change drivers such as climate change. We discuss technical difficulties with the proposed concept of ecosystem collapse and suggest it is not analogous to species extinction. We highlight the lack of scientific basis for the criteria and thresholds proposed by the RLE, and question the need to adopt the structure of the Red List of Species for an RLE. We suggest that the proposed RLE is open to ambiguous interpretations and uncertain outcomes, and that its practicality and benefit for conservation should be carefully evaluated before final approval

Better bitmap performance with Roaring bitmaps

Bitmap indexes are commonly used in databases and search engines. By exploiting bit-level parallelism, they can significantly accelerate queries. However, they can use much memory, and thus we might prefer compressed bitmap indexes. Following Oracle's lead, bitmaps are often compressed using run-length encoding (RLE). Building on prior work, we introduce the Roaring compressed bitmap format: it uses packed arrays for compression instead of RLE. We compare it to two high-performance RLE-based bitmap encoding techniques: WAH (Word Aligned Hybrid compression scheme) and Concise (Compressed `n' Composable Integer Set). On synthetic and real data, we find that Roaring bitmaps (1) often compress significantly better (e.g., 2 times) and (2) are faster than the compressed alternatives (up to 900 times faster for intersections). Our results challenge the view that RLE-based bitmap compression is best

Draft Genome Sequence of Mycobacterium heckeshornense Strain RLE.

We report here the draft genome sequence of Mycobacterium heckeshornense strain RLE isolated from a sputum sample from a patient with shortness of breath. This is the first draft genome sequence of M. heckeshornense

Predictors of resolution and persistence of renal laboratory abnormalities in pediatric HIV infection

BACKGROUND: Among human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-infected youth, the role of renal disease (RD) and its management has become increasingly important as these children/adolescents mature into young adults. The identification of predictors of abnormal renal laboratory events (RLE) may be helpful in the management of their HIV infection and its associated renal complications. METHODS: Data collected from HIV-infected youth followed for \u3e/= 48 months were analyzed to identify predictors of resolution versus persistence of RLE and determine the utility of RLE to predict the onset of RD. Analysis included descriptive and inferential methods using a multivariable extended Cox proportional hazards model. RESULTS: Of the 1,874 at-risk children enrolled in the study, 428 (23 %) developed RLE, which persisted in 229 of these (54 %). CD4 percentages of \u3c25 \u3e% [hazard ratio (HR) 0.63, p \u3c 0.002) and an HIV viral load of \u3e100,000 copies/ml (HR 0.31, p \u3c 0.01) were associated with reduced rates of resolution, while in most cases exposure to highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART)/nephrotoxic HAART prior to or subsequent to RLE were not. Persistence of RLE was 88 % sensitive for identifying new RD. Negative predictive values for RD were \u3e95 % for both the at-risk cohort and those with RLE. CONCLUSIONS: Advanced HIV disease predicted persistence of RLE in HIV-infected youth. Persistent RLE were useful for identifying RD