Search

Cinnamomum is among the largest genera of the Lauraceae, including species from tropical to temperate Asia and from tropical to subtropical America. However, previous studies indicated that Cinnamomum might not be monophyletic in its current circumscription. We therefore re-investigated the genus and possible relatives with an increased taxon sample, particularly of the Neotropical species. Our results, based on sequences of the nuclear ITS region and the chloroplast spacers psbA-trnH and trnG-trnS, show that the Neotropical Cinnamomum species indeed do not form a monophyletic group with the Paleotropical species. Instead, the American species form a clade in which most species of the Neotropical genus Aiouea are nested within several subclades. According to the ITS data the Aiouea/Cinnamomum clade is sister to the likewise predominantly Neotropical Ocotea complex, rather than the two Paleotropical Cinnamomum clades. Therefore, Cinnamomum cannot be upheld in its current circumscription. As the type C. verum, is from Asia, the Neotropical species need to be placed in a different genus. We decided to transfer them to Aiouea here, because this is the oldest generic name in the Aiouea/Cinnamomum clade, and the only character separating Aiouea from Neotropical Cinnamomum is the number of pollen sacs per anther (di- vs. tetrasporangiate), a feature that is known to be variable within several other genera as well. This transfer requires 42 new combinations and two nomina nova. In addition, six species described in the unpublished Ph.D. thesis of one of the authors (FLH) are validated in Aiouea here, and the only species of the genus Mocinnodaphne is transferred to Aiouea as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Earlier studies indicated that the genus Nectandra, currently the second-largest genus of the Neotropical Lauraceae, might be diphyletic in its traditional circumscription, but the evidence was not quite conclusive. Our phylogenetic analyses based on nuclear (ITS) and chloroplast (psbA-trnH) sequences of 45 Nectandra species as well as 42 representatives of 18 genera of the core Lauraceae (Ocotea complex, Laureae, Aiouea, Asian Cinnamomum and Persea groups) confirm the suspicion that Nectandra is diphyletic. The two groups, Nectandra s.str. and the N. coriacea group, are each well supported in the maximum parsimony and Bayesian analyses, but they are not sister to each other. Nectandra s.str. is sister to Pleurothyrium, and the clade including Nectandra s.str. and Pleurothyrium is very likely closer to the dioecious taxa of the Ocotea complex. The N. coriacea group, on the other hand, appears to be closer to bisexual taxa known as the Ocotea helicterifolia group. In addition, Nectandra s.str. is characterized by a large deletion in the psbA-trnH spacer compared to all other core Lauraceae, including its sister group Pleurothyrium. Considering these facts, Nectandra cannot be maintained in the traditional sense. We therefore transfer the species of the N. coriacea group to the oldest generic name applied to this group, Damburneya. On the basis of fossil records from the American subcontinents and in accordance with previous phylogenetic and molecular clock studies we suggest a scenario of a climate-driven migration from North to South America, with a subsequent rapid radiation of Nectandra s.str. in South America. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The delimitation of genera within the Persea group (Lauraceae) has always been controversial. In an attempt to resolve the phylogenetic lines within this group, we analyzed ITS sequences of 61 species of the Persea group (Lauraceae) and 30 other species of Lauraceae. Several of the traditional genera or subgenera form well-supported groups, viz., Persea subg. Eriodaphne, Machilus, Persea subg. Persea, and Alseodaphne including Dehaasia. The included species of Phoebe form two clades that are unresolved with respect to Alseodaphne. However, Persea subg. Eriodaphne (together with the Macaronesian Apollonias barbujana) forms one of the clades of an unresolved basal trichotomy within the Persea group, whereas Persea subg. Persea is well supported as member of an otherwise Asian dade including Alseodaphne and Phoebe. This indicates that Persea, as currently circumscribed, is not monophyletic. The affinities of the Macaronesian Persea indica are clearly American rather than Asian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The goal of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Environmental Public Health Tracking (EPHT) Program is to build a nationwide network of integrated health and environmental data to measure impact of environmental factors on public health. This article describes how hospital discharge data can provide essential information for public health programs, including EPHT. The state inpatient hospital discharge data systems have properties that are highly desirable for surveillance and multistate initiatives, like EPHT, yet accessing and using the data can create challenges for the end user. This article highlights the strengths and limitations of hospital discharge data and references crash outcome data and evaluation system and Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project as models for accessing, linking, and aggregating hospital discharge data. These federal-state data partnerships have overcome many of these challenges and have the potential to serve as models for the EPHT Program. The lessons learned from these 'early adopters' can shortcut the implementation period for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention EPHT Program. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article looks at the factors that led to the success of Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) agencies in using administrative data to oversee their programs in the U.S. The strategies for building capacity for using management tools and improving the quality of their data are also discussed.

This article describes the process for developing consensus guidelines and tools for releasing public health data via the Web and highlights approaches leading agencies have taken to balance disclosure risk with public dissemination of reliable health statistics. An agency's choice of statistical methods for improving the reliability of released data for Web-based query systems is based upon a number of factors, including query system design (dynamic analysis vs preaggregated data and tables), population size, cell size, data use, and how data will be supplied to users. The article also describes those efforts that are necessary to reduce the risk of disclosure of an individual's protected health information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is growing concern over the quality and escalating costs of health care in the US. This paper reviews the Leapfrog Group’s ICU Physician Staffing (IPS) standard, summarizes evidence supporting the standard, reviews the cost of implementing the standard, and discusses the impact of the standard on critical care in the US. The IPS standard requires that all patients in adult or pediatric general medical and/or surgical ICUs be managed or co-managed by physicians certified in critical care medicine. A systematic review of the literature demonstrated high intensity physician staffing (e.g. intensivists manage all patients) was associated with a 30% reduction in hospital mortality and a 40% reduction in ICU mortality. Interviews with authors from 19 studies demonstrated that the IPS requirement for pager response and weekday and weekend hours were supported by the evidence. Cost savings estimates with IPS ranged from $510,000 to $3.3 million (greater savings in larger ICUs). The impact of the IPS is unknown, although most hospitals in the original 6 regional rollouts made efforts to implement IPS. Given the results from this study, if IPS were implemented nationally, up to 134,000 lives could be saved annually with most hospitals incurring a net savings. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]