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Eremophila R.Br. comprises at least 238 species endemic to Australia, with many more having not yet been formally described. Three putative new taxa, namely, E. sp. Hamersley Range (K. Walker KW 136), E. sp. Calvert Range (A. A. Burbidge 738) and E. sp. Rudall River (P. G. Wilson 10512), were segregated from a broadly defined E. tietkensii F.Muell. & Tate by J. Hurter at the Western Australian Herbarium in 2012. Both E. sp. Hamersley Range and E. sp. Rudall River are listed as being of conservation concern in Western Australia, the former occurring in the Pilbara region in areas of prospective interest for mining development. We sought to determine whether these phrase-named entities should be formally described as new species, using multivariate analyses of morphometric and molecular data derived from specimens in the Western Australia Herbarium. Eremophila sp. Rudall River could not be adequately separated from E. tietkensii by either morphological or molecular data, and is here included within that species. By contrast, E. sp. Hamersley Range and E. sp. Calvert Range are clearly morphologically and genetically distinct. We thus describe them here as the new species E. naaykensii A.L.Curtis & K.R.Thiele and E. hurteri A.L.Curtis & K.R.Thiele. The recognition of these taxa will help inform their conservation prioritisation and subsequent management.

PREMISE OF THE STUDY Continental-scale disjunctions and associated drivers is a core research interest in biogeographic studies. Here, we selected a species-rich Australian plant genus (Calytrix; Myrtaceae) as a case study to investigate these patterns. The endemic Australian starflower genus has a disjunct distribution across the mesic fringes of the continent and is largely absent from the arid centre. METHODS We used high-throughput sequencing to generate unprecedented resolution and near complete species-level nuclear and plastid phylogenies for Calytrix. BioGeoBEARS and biogeographic stochastic mapping were used to infer ancestral areas, the relative contributions of vicariance and dispersal events, and directionality of dispersal. KEY RESULTS Present-day disjunctions in Calytrix are explained by a combination of scenarios: (1) retreat of multiple lineages from the continental centre to the more mesic fringes as Australia became progressively more arid, with subsequent extinction in the centre, and also (2) origination of ancestral lineages in southwestern Australia (SWA) for species-rich clades. The SWA biodiversity hotspot is a major diversification centre and the most common source area of dispersals, with multiple lineages originating in SWA and subsequently spreading to the adjacent arid Eremaean region. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest major extinction, as a result of cooling and drying of the Australian continent in the Eocene-Miocene, shaped the present-day biogeography of Calytrix. We hypothesise that this peripheral vicariance pattern, which is similar to the African Rand flora, may explain the disjunctions of many other Australian plant groups. Further studies with densely sampled phylogenies are required to test this hypothesis. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Species lists are widely used in legislation and regulation to manage and conserve biodiversity. In this paper, we explore the issues caused by the lack of an adequately governed and universally accepted list of the world’s species. These include lack of quality control, duplicated effort, conflicts of interest, lack of currency, and confusion in the scientific use of taxonomic information. If species lists are to fulfill their role efficiently, then the governance systems underlying their creation must keep pace. Fortunately, modernization of species list governance is now possible as a result of advances in biodiversity informatics and two decades of experience working to create the backbone of a global species list.

Despite the important role that species names play in multiple fields, there is no globally complete list of known and described species. This lack is a result simultaneously of the complexity of planetary biodiversity, the long history of naming species in publications from all over the world, the small number of taxonomists working on many important groups, the rapid and dynamic change in knowledge for a few well-studied groups, and the limited incentives for researchers to curate such lists. Recent papers have proposed that a more formal governance mechanism is needed to assist with the translation of taxonomic knowledge to user communities. The recommendation is for the taxonomic community to assist user groups by maintaining reviewed lists that reflect as far as possible consensus among practising taxonomists and incorporating new insights and understanding as these become widely accepted within the relevant taxonomic community. The Catalogue of Life (COL) is the most significant international partnership working to deliver a list of all species by engaging a broad network of taxonomists and databases to contribute expert-curated lists for different taxonomic groups. COL, which included 1,908,823 species as of May 2021, has great experience with developing such a list across all taxonomic groups and has been modernising its processes and tools since 2017 to reflect best practice in management of large digital information assets. This paper explores the alignment between the current state and directions of COL and the initiative to improve the governance of species lists.

In the present study, we tested the chronological and geographic origins of the mostly arid Australian Ptilotus (Amaranthaceae) and its close relatives (i.e. the ‘aervoids’) by reconstructing a dated phylogeny with near-comprehensive sampling for Ptilotus and estimating ancestral geographic ranges. We investigated climatic niche evolution within Ptilotus and identified likely climatic origins and subsequent niche shifts by reconstructing ancestral states of climatic variables on the phylogeny, which was visualised using a phyloecospace approach. Geospatial analyses were employed to identify probable diversification hotspots within Australia. We inferred that the aervoids originated in Oligocene Africa–Asia and that Ptilotus arrived in northern Australia by dispersal in the Early Miocene. Subsequent diversification of Ptilotus was rapid, giving rise to all major clades in the western Eremaean by the time of an aridification pulse in the Middle Miocene. Climatic niche shifts from the arid Eremaean into monsoonal northern and temperate southern Australia are apparent for multiple independent species groups. Our analyses support the hypothesis that a pre-adaptation to aridity and early arrival in an aridifying Australia were integral to the success of Ptilotus, and that the Eremaean has been a source of biodiversity in the genus and for independent radiations into neighbouring climatic zones.

Background Distal lower extremity reconstruction can be challenging in terms of flap design. Bulky flaps result in limited mobility accompanied with the need of customized footwear. Raising the ALT-flap in a superficial fascial plane (thin ALT-flap) can be beneficial. This study evaluates thin ALT-flaps for lower distal extremity reconstruction. Methods In a retrospective study, patients that underwent microvascular extremity reconstruction at the level of the ankle and dorsal foot at the University of Freiburg from 2008–2018 were reviewed. Results 95 patients could be included in the study (35 perforator flaps, 8 fascia flaps and 54 muscle flaps).Among the perforator flaps, 21 ALT-flaps were elevated conventionally and 14 in the superficial fascial plane (thin ALT-flap). Among the conventional ALT-flaps, there was one flap loss (5%) and one successful revision (5%). 5(24%) flaps received secondary thinning. 57%(n = 12) were able to wear conventional footwear. There were 2(15%) successful revisions of thin ALT-flaps. 100% of thin ALT-flaps survived and 85%(n = 11) of the patients wore ordinary footwear after defect coverage.Among fascial flaps, 50%(n = 4) had to be revised with 2(25%) complete and 1 (13%) partial flap loss. All patients achieved mobility in ordinary shoes (n = 8).In muscle flaps, there were 7(13%) revisions and 5(9%) flap losses. 5(9%) flaps received secondary thinning. Only 33%(n = 18) were mobile in ordinary footwear. Conclusion The thin ALT-flap is a save one-stage evolution for lower distal extremity reconstruction with a favorable flap survival rate. Compared with conventional ALT-flaps it might be beneficial in reducing the need for expensive custom fitted shoes and secondary thinning procedures.

Governance is the act of governing or organizing, that is a system of rules, norms, or shared strategies to guide or regulate the actions of the governed. Since the initial development of Linnaean taxonomy, a diversity of approaches have been adopted for critical taxonomic decisions, introducing pluralism to taxonomic principles and resulting in disagreements about the development of species lists. These disagreements are in part a product of the fragmented governance structure that has developed for the creation of taxonomic lists. To address these challenges and achieve the goal of a single, accepted list of life on Earth, a new governance structure for the development of taxonomic lists is needed. Here, we introduce three high-level categories of governance structure—fragmentation, monocentric governance, and polycentric governance—which differ in the way decision-making power is distributed and coordinated. We then show the problems caused by the fragmented governance structure currently in place for the development of taxonomic lists and consider the potential for a new approach grounded in either monocentric or polycentric governance. Both monocentric and polycentric approaches have the potential to address the problems inherent in the existing fragmented system. Ultimately, the best governance system for taxonomic lists will be the one that the taxonomic community is prepared to accept.

Taxonomy—the delimitation, naming, classification and documentation of species and other taxa—is an often-misunderstood discipline. Complex and at times contested, taxonomy occupies a sometimes discomforting intermediate position on a continuum from descriptive to hypothetico-deductive science. Two aspects of taxonomy that are striking to many observers and users are the degree to which taxonomists often disagree, and the degree of taxonomic revisionism (the replacement of one taxonomic classification with another, exemplified by the phrase ‘taxonomists are always changing the names of things’). Disagreements between taxonomists do not usually indicate taxonomic confusion or chaos, but rather often represent valid disagreements over the best, most effective and most meaningful way to interpret, describe and classify one of the most complex systems that scientists seek to describe and characterise—the patterns of variation of life on Earth. One way to partially manage disagreements among taxonomists is to develop a mechanism to synthesise the flux of taxonomic activity into agreed, broadly accepted, authoritative and scientifically robust global lists of the world’s species and other taxa. A sound understanding of some aspects of the nature of taxonomy is needed to appreciate the opportunities, complexities and limitations of the development and maintenance of such lists.

Objective Racial disparities among women with cervical cancer have been reported but are understudied in Caribbean immigrants. The objective of this study is to describe the disparities in clinical presentation and outcomes between Caribbean-born (CB) and US-born (USB) women with cervical cancer by race and nativity. Methods An analysis of the Florida Cancer Data Service (FCDS), the statewide cancer registry, was performed to identify women diagnosed with invasive cervical cancer between 1981 and 2016. Women were classified as USB White or Black and CB White or Black. Clinical data were abstracted. Analyses were done using chi square, ANOVA, Kaplan-Meier and Cox proportional hazards models, with significance set at P < .05. Results 14 932 women were included in the analysis. USB Black women had the lowest mean age at diagnosis, while CB Black women were diagnosed at later stages of disease. USB White women and CB White women had better OS (median OS 70.4 and 71.5 months, respectively) than USB Black and CB Black women (median OS 42.4 and 63.8 months, respectively) ( P < .0001). In multivariable analysis, relative to USB Black women, CB Blacks (HR .67, CI .54–.83), and CB White (HR .66, CI .55–.79) had better odds of OS. White race among USB women was not significantly associated with improved survival ( P = .087). Conclusion Race alone is not a determinant of cancer mortality in women with cervical cancer. Understanding the impact of nativity on cancer outcomes is crucial to improve health outcomes.

The Miocene convergence of the Sunda shelf, Sahul shelf and Wallacea facilitated the exchange of previously isolated floras across the Sunda–Sahul Convergence Zone (SSCZ). The SSCZ is a hotspot of biogeographical research; however, phytogeographical patterns across the region remain poorly understood. We conducted multivariate analysis on a comprehensive species checklist of SSCZ vascular plants to quantify the extent of exchange, characterize phytogeographical patterns and investigate their abiotic drivers. We found that Lydekker’s and Wallace’s Lines are not reflected in floristic composition at any taxonomic level, with 46% of genera distributed across these biogeographical lines. In contrast, environment is significantly correlated with floristic composition, with annual rainfall and seasonality being the strongest correlates. Mainland Asia, Borneo, the Philippines, New Guinea and Australia were major routes of exchange throughout the Cenozoic, possibly because these areas have been persistent landmasses throughout the entire period of convergence. We conclude that Sunda–Sahul floristic exchange has substantially influenced the assembly of the regional flora and that modern phytogeographical patterns have been influenced more by environmental variables and available landmass (i.e. establishment conditions) than by putative barriers to movement such as Wallace’s and Lydekker’s Lines (i.e. vagility).

Animals benefit from knowing if and how they are moving. Across the animal kingdom, sensory information in the form of optic flow over the visual field is used to estimate self-motion. However, different species exhibit strong spatial biases in how they use optic flow. Here, we show computationally that noisy natural environments favor visual systems that extract spatially biased samples of optic flow when estimating self-motion. The performance associated with these biases, however, depends on interactions between the environment and the animal's brain and behavior. Using the larval zebrafish as a model, we recorded natural optic flow associated with swimming trajectories in the animal's habitat with an omnidirectional camera mounted on a mechanical arm. An analysis of these flow fields suggests that lateral regions of the lower visual field are most informative about swimming speed. This pattern is consistent with the recent findings that zebrafish optomotor responses are preferentially driven by optic flow in the lateral lower visual field, which we extend with behavioral results from a high-resolution spherical arena. Spatial biases in optic-flow sampling are likely pervasive because they are an effective strategy for determining self-motion in noisy natural environments.

Abstract —Data scored for cladistic analyses may be quantitative or qualitative, continuous or discrete, and show overlapping or non-overlapping values between taxa. Quantitative and qualitative are modes of expression of data, while continuous or discrete refer to properties of the set of numbers that express the data; both these pairs of terms have been confused with overlapping and non-overlapping. The degree of overlap of values between taxa is often used to filter characters in cladistic analyses: if a minimum amount of overlap is exceeded, or a minimum amount of disjunction not reached, characters are rejected as "not cladistic". However, this rests on a confusion between features of taxa and features of individual organisms (attributes). Cladistic characters are features of taxa, and comprise frequency distributions of attribute values over individuals of a taxon. Cladistic characters logically cannot overlap, although taxa may have overlapping attribute values. Thus, a priori rejection of characters that have overlapping attribute values is non-sensical. Such data may still be rejected from consideration for cladistic analysis if it could be demonstrated that they contain little recoverable phylogenetic signal. Few published analyses have empirically tested this. An analysis of overlapping morphometric data from three series of Banksia suggests that, at least in these cases, they map phylogeny almost as accurately as more conventional, qualitative morphological data. While more such tests are required, morphometric data should not be rejected a priori from cladistic analyses.

Land-use intensification is a major driver of biodiversity loss. However, understanding how different components of land use drive biodiversity loss requires the investigation of multiple trophic levels across spatial scales. Using data from 150 agricultural grasslands in central Europe, we assess the influence of multiple components of local- and landscape-level land use on more than 4,000 above- and belowground taxa, spanning 20 trophic groups. Plot-level land-use intensity is strongly and negatively associated with aboveground trophic groups, but positively or not associated with belowground trophic groups. Meanwhile, both above- and belowground trophic groups respond to landscape-level land use, but to different drivers: aboveground diversity of grasslands is promoted by diverse surrounding land-cover, while belowground diversity is positively related to a high permanent forest cover in the surrounding landscape. These results highlight a role of landscape-level land use in shaping belowground communities, and suggest that revised agroecosystem management strategies are needed to conserve whole-ecosystem biodiversity., Nature Communications, 12 (1), ISSN:2041-1723

Ptilotus macrocephalus (R.Br.) Poir. (Amaranthaceae), commonly known as a featherhead, is a widespread and common species in many parts of Australia. In the present study, we assess morphological variation in P. macrocephalus throughout its geographic range and provide evidence for the recognition of two new species, namely, P. psilorhachis T.Hammer & R.W.Davis and P. xerophilus T.Hammer & R.W.Davis. Geospatial analyses indicated that these new species are partitioned ecologically and geographically.

Viola banksii of the eastern Australian and Tasmanian sect. Erpetion produces exclusively chasmogamous flowers, unlike most other temperate taxa of Viola which additionally produce obligatory self-pollinated cleistogamous flowers. This study explored flower structure and nyctinastic flower movements (temporal flower closure), the correlation of the timing of nyctinastic movements with stigma receptivity, and self-compatibility of flowers. Petal movement in day/night cycles was documented by two cameras. Floral morphology, anther protuberance anatomy, stigma receptivity, and pollen tube growth were examined using scanning electron microscopy, fluorescent microscopy, histochemical and sectioning techniques. Diurnal petal movements that cause flowers to be open during the day and closed during the night were documented in V. banksii. Chasmogamous flower colour, fragrance, anterior petal venation, and the indurated green area at the base of the anterior petal are all likely to play roles for pollinator attraction. Unlike most other Viola species, the anther protuberances do not function as nectaries. The flowers offer pollinators no nectar reward. The short time of stigma receptivity (2–3 days) of individual flowers limits opportunities for insect visitation and cross-pollination. Night-closed flowers of V. banksii appear to facilitate self-pollination. Self-compatibility was confirmed by tracking the pollen tube growth from the stigma to the ovule in spontaneous and hand self-pollinated flowers. Over the floral phenological cycle, nyctinasty coincides in time with stigma receptivity and, hence, the ability of self-pollination. We discovered that the same chasmogamous flower of V. banksii can cross-pollinate while open during the day, but self-pollinate while closed during the night (i.e. acting as a cleistogamous-like flower). Several floral characters indicate that V. banksii exhibits a pollination deceit strategy. Such a pollination system has not been described elsewhere in Viola.

Summary Polymer injection might lead to incremental oil recovery and increase the value of an asset. Several steps must be taken to mature a polymer-injection project. The field needs to be screened for applicability of polymer injection, laboratory experiments have to be performed, and a pilot project might be required before field implementation. The decision to perform a pilot project can be dependent on a value-of-information (VOI) calculation. The VOI can be derived by performing a work flow that captures the effects of the range of geological scenarios, as well as dynamic and polymer parameters, on incremental net present value (NPV). The result of the work flow is a cumulative distribution function (CDF) of NPV linked to prior distributions of model parameters and potential observables from the polymer-injection pilot. The effect of various parameters on the CDF of the fieldwide NPV can be analyzed and in turn used to decide which measurements from the pilot have a strong sensitivity on the NPV CDF, and are thus informative. In the case shown here, the water-cut reduction in the pilot area has a strong effect on the NPV CDF of the polymer-injection field implementation. To extract maximum information, the response of the pilot for water-cut reduction needs to be optimized under uncertainty. To calculate the VOI, the expected-monetary-value (EMV) difference of a decision tree with and without the pilot can be used if the decision maker (DM) is risk neutral. However, if the DM requires hurdle values through a probability of economic success (PES), value functions (VFs) and decision weights according to the prospect theory should be used. Applying risk hurdles requires a consistent use of VFs and decision weights for calculating VOI and the probability of maturation (POM) of projects. The methodology was applied to assess the VOI for a horizontal-well pilot in the ninth Tortonian Horizon (9TH) Reservoir in Austria for a risk-averse DM. The operating parameters (polymer concentration and water injection) were chosen such that the water-cut reduction, which was the most influential parameter of the polymer pilot on the field NPV CDF, was maximized.

We present BonZeb – a suite of modular Bonsai packages which allow high-resolution zebrafish tracking with dynamic visual feedback. Bonsai is an increasingly popular software platform that is accelerating the standardization of experimental protocols within the neurosciences due to its speed, flexibility, and minimal programming overhead. BonZeb can be implemented into novel and existing Bonsai workflows for online behavioral tracking and offline tracking with batch processing. We demonstrate that BonZeb can run a variety of experimental configurations used for gaining insights into the neural mechanisms of zebrafish behavior. BonZeb supports head-fixed closed-loop and free-swimming virtual open-loop assays as well as multi-animal tracking, optogenetic stimulation, and calcium imaging during behavior. The combined performance, ease of use and versatility of BonZeb opens new experimental avenues for researchers seeking high-resolution behavioral tracking of larval zebrafish.

Postpartum anemia is common after delivery, and postpartum blood transfusion is the leading indicator of severe maternal morbidity in the United States. Although hematologic changes during the antepartum period are well understood, little is known about postpartum hematologic changes. Therefore, we investigated the hematologic changes in the postpartum period in a large, contemporary cohort.This study aimed to characterize hematologic recovery in the postpartum period and evaluate the effect of demographics, medical conditions, and pregnancy characteristics on the recovery.In a contemporary cohort of deliveries in 2019 at a single institution, the hematocrit of postpartum women before hospital discharge was compared with the hematocrit of women at the postpartum follow-up. Our population was composed of a predominantly Hispanic population at an urban, safety-net hospital. All women received a complete blood count on postpartum day 1 and a spun hematocrit at their postpartum follow-up visit in our hospital system. All women were scheduled for a routine postpartum visit 2 to 3 weeks after delivery. All deliveries of a live-born infant with available postpartum hematocrit before hospital discharge and at postpartum follow-up were included. Demographics and pregnancy characteristics, along with medical conditions, were evaluated. To evaluate an uncomplicated cohort, those with multiple gestation, preeclampsia with severe features, chronic hypertension, and diabetes mellitus were excluded in the secondary analysis. Statistical analysis included chi-square, paired Student t test, Student t test for independent groups, and analysis of variance.Of 12,456 deliveries, 9003 met the inclusion criteria. The average number of days from discharge to follow-up was 21.73±10.39 days. The average hematocrit levels were 30.77±3.61 before discharge and 38.70±3.61 at postpartum follow-up. From discharge to postpartum follow-up, the hematocrit levels increased by an average of 7.93±3.24. In the cohort without complications, the average increase in hematocrit levels was 8.19±3.09. The rise in hematocrit levels was significantly lower for those with chronic hypertension (6.9±3.6), diabetes mellitus (7.3±3.3), and preeclampsia with severe features (6.9±3.7). The severity of anemia influenced the rise in hematocrit levels in the postpartum period. In women with postpartum anemia (hematocrit30%), the rise in hematocrit levels was 9.49±2.97 in the uncomplicated cohort. Postpartum hemorrhage did not influence the rise in postpartum hematocrit levels; women receiving blood transfusion had a greater rise in hematocrit levels (9.01±3.29).Our study establishes the natural course of hematologic recovery in the postpartum period, and we found that women with asymptomatic postpartum anemia may have a hematocrit level of 37% to 39% at their postpartum follow-up approximately 3 weeks after hospital discharge. Women with preexisting and obstetrical complications experienced less hematologic recovery and adapted more slowly to postpartum physiological changes.

Aim Gondwanan biogeographic patterns include a combination of old vicariance events following the breakup of the supercontinent, and more recent long-distance dispersals across the southern landmasses. Floristic relationships between Australia and New Zealand have mostly been attributed to recent dispersal events rather than vicariance. We assessed the biogeographic history of Pomaderris (Rhamnaceae), which occurs in both Australia and New Zealand, by constructing a time-calibrated molecular phylogeny to infer (1) phylogenetic relationships and (2) the relative contributions of vicariance and dispersal events in the biogeographic history of the genus. Location Australia and New Zealand. Methods Using hybrid capture and high throughput sequencing, we generated nuclear and plastid data sets to estimate phylogenetic relationships and fossil calibrated divergence time estimates for Pomaderris. BioGeoBEARS and biogeographical stochastic mapping (BSM) were used to assess the ancestral area of the genus and the relative contributions of vicariance vs dispersal, and the directionality of dispersal events. Results Our analyses indicate that Pomaderris originated in the Oligocene and had a widespread Australian distribution. Vicariance of western and eastern Australian clades coincides with the uplift of the Nullarbor Plain c. 14 Ma, followed by subsequent in-situ and within-biome diversification with little exchange across regions. A rapid radiation of southeastern Australian taxa beginning c. 10 Ma was the source for at least six independent long-distance dispersal events to New Zealand during the Pliocene–Pleistocene. Main conclusions Our study demonstrates the importance of dispersal in explaining not only the current cross-Tasman distributions of Pomaderris, but for the New Zealand flora more broadly. The pattern of multiple independent long-distance dispersal events for Pomaderris, without significant radiation within New Zealand, is congruent with other lowland plant groups, suggesting that this biome has a different evolutionary history compared with the younger alpine flora of New Zealand, which exhibits extensive radiations often following single long distance dispersal events.

Background Herbaria are valuable sources of extensive curated plant material that are now accessible to genetic studies because of advances in high-throughput, next-generation sequencing methods. As an applied assessment of large-scale recovery of plastid and ribosomal genome sequences from herbarium material for plant identification and phylogenomics, we sequenced 672 samples covering 21 families, 142 genera and 530 named and proposed named species. We explored the impact of parameters such as sample age, DNA concentration and quality, read depth and fragment length on plastid assembly error. We also tested the efficacy of DNA sequence information for identifying plant samples using 45 specimens recently collected in the Pilbara. Results Genome skimming was effective at producing genomic information at large scale. Substantial sequence information on the chloroplast genome was obtained from 96.1% of samples, and complete or near-complete sequences of the nuclear ribosomal RNA gene repeat were obtained from 93.3% of samples. We were able to extract sequences for the core DNA barcode regions rbcL and matK from 96 to 93.3% of samples, respectively. Read quality and DNA fragment length had significant effects on sequencing outcomes and error correction of reads proved essential. Assembly problems were specific to certain taxa with low GC and high repeat content (Goodenia, Scaevola, Cyperus, Bulbostylis, Fimbristylis) suggesting biological rather than technical explanations. The structure of related genomes was needed to guide the assembly of repeats that exceeded the read length. DNA-based matching proved highly effective and showed that the efficacy for species identification declined in the order cpDNA >> rDNA > matK >> rbcL. Conclusions We showed that a large-scale approach to genome sequencing using herbarium specimens produces high-quality complete cpDNA and rDNA sequences as a source of data for DNA barcoding and phylogenomics.

The successful engineering of biosynthetic pathways hinges on understanding the factors that influence acyl carrier protein (ACP) stability and function. The stability and structure of ACPs can be influenced by the presence of divalent cations, but how this relates to primary sequence remains poorly understood. As part of a course-based undergraduate research experience, we investigated the thermostability of type II polyketide synthase (PKS) ACPs. We observed an approximate 40 °C range in the thermostability amongst the 14 ACPs studied, as well as an increase in stability (5 – 26 °C) of the ACPs in the presence of divalent cations. Distribution of charges in the helix II-loop-helix III region was found to impact the enthalpy of denaturation. Taken together, our results reveal clues as to how the sequence of type II PKS ACPs relates to their structural stability, information that can be used to study how ACP sequence relates to function.

Summary Determining the remaining spatial oil-saturation distribution or current reservoir-pressure distribution for a mature (water, solvent, CO2) flood is a cornerstone of reservoir management for improving sweep and selecting infill-well locations. Decisions of these types are typically supported by reservoir flow simulation models that have been calibrated to historical injection/production data. In this paper, we present a novel-pattern material-balance (PatMB) approach to estimating remaining fluids in place as an alternative to flow simulation. First, we use the historical injection/production volumes to solve for streamlines and streamline-derived pattern metrics such as well-allocation factors and injector/producer-pair reservoir pore volumes (PVs). Then, we apply material balance on these volumes over time to estimate the remaining oil in place (ROIP) and pressures at the end of history. Resembling reservoir simulation, the method considers changing well patterns through time, requires a 3D static geological model, and yields 3D saturation distributions of oil, water, and gas. However, unlike reservoir simulation, because historical injected and produced voidage terms are honored, calibration is only possible through the 3D distribution of PV and fluids initially in place. We present results for the Berrymoor-pattern waterflood and show that the ROIP distribution is a strong function of the original-oil-in-place (OOIP) distribution, well locations, and historical oil, gas, and water production/injection volumes. For this case, the ROIP distribution is almost insensitive to interwell permeability distributions, suggesting that the primary focus when estimating ROIP with the PatMB approach is to ensure a good estimate of OOIP, major flow units, and the correct injection/production data. We also compare our method to reservoir flow simulation for a large water/hydrocarbon miscible flood (HCMF), and we observed that the ROIP maps compare well, with both methods highlighting similar areas for potential infill locations. However, the remaining-gas-in-place maps differed with PatMB, showing a more diffused distribution than flow simulation of the gas. We attribute the difference to the fact that PatMB does not account for transport effects such as separation of the phases caused by density differences.

Kopfschmerzen gehoren weltweit zu den haufigsten Erkrankungen, die bei Betroffenen starke Schmerzen und Funktionseinschrankungen verursachen. Lebensqualitatseinschrankungen sowie erhebliche Kosten durch verschiedene, teure Therapien sind die Folge. Der vorliegende Beitrag beschaftigt sich mit der Frage: Ist Chiropraktik bei Kopfschmerzen im Vergleich zu anderen Therapien eine klinisch relevante, nachhaltige Behandlungsmethode und stellt sie somit eine Standardtherapie dar? Die Recherche erfolgte in der Datenbank PubMed. Der Evidenzlevel der einzelnen Studien wurde mithilfe der PEDro-Skala ermittelt. Die Studien mit Evidenzklasse I wurden nach dem PICO-Modell tabellarisch ausgewertet. Untersuchte Endpunkte waren Kopfschmerzfrequenz und -intensitat sowie Medikamenteneinnahme. Die Literaturrecherche ergab von 219 recherchierten Artikeln 30 zum Thema, davon 15 systematische Ubersichtsarbeiten und 15 randomisierte klinische Studien, von denen 12 Studien auswertbare Ergebnisse aufwiesen. Insgesamt wurden 21 verbesserte Werte der Endpunkte analysiert. Davon zeigten 11 durch chiropraktische Behandlungen beste Ergebnisse. Die Kombinationstherapien mit Chiropraktik und Physiotherapie lagen 3‑mal vorne, die Anwendung der Physiotherapie schnitt 3‑mal am besten ab und 4‑mal gab es keine Unterschiede der Ergebnisse beim Vergleich von Interventions- und Kontrollgruppen. Die chiropraktischen Behandlungen erreichten genau wie die Physiotherapie und die Kombination aus beiden Behandlungen beste Resultate bei den Verbesserungen der Endpunkte. Die Ergebnisunterschiede zwischen den Interventions- und Kontrollgruppen waren gering oder gar nicht vorhanden. Die untersuchten Studien wiesen methodische Schwachen auf. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass Chiropraktik bei Kopfschmerzen keine klinisch relevante, nachhaltige Behandlung und somit keine Standardtherapie aufgrund der ausgewerteten Studien darstellt.

Summary The polymer-pilot project performed in the 8 TH reservoir of the Matzen field showed encouraging incremental oil production. To improve further the understanding of recovery effects resulting from polymer injection, an extension of the pilot is planned by adding a second polymer injector. Forecasting of the incremental oil production needs to take the uncertainty of the geological models and dynamic parameters into account. We propose a work flow that is composed of a geological sensitivity and clustering step followed by a dynamic-calibration step for decreasing the objective function (OF) to improve the reliability of a probabilistic forecast of the incremental oil recovery. For the geological sensitivity, hundreds of geological realizations were generated by taking the uncertainty in the correlation of the sand and shale layers, logs, cores, and geological facies into account. The simulated tracer response was used as dissimilarity distance to classify the geological realizations. Clustering was then applied to select 70 representative realizations (centroids) from a total of 800 to use in the full-physics dynamic simulation. In the dynamic simulation, an OF composed of liquid rate and tracer concentration of the produced fluids was introduced. To improve the calibration further, the P50 value of incremental oil production as derived from simulation was compared with the incremental oil production determined from decline-curve analysis (DCA) from the wells surrounding the polymer-injection well. The mismatch between the P50 and the DCA was improved by adjusting polymer viscosity. The calibrated models were then used for both a probabilistic forecast of incremental oil caused by an additional polymer injector and an estimate of the expected polymer concentration at the producing wells.

Acyl carrier proteins (ACPs) are central hubs in polyketide and fatty acid biosynthetic pathways, but the fast motions of the ACP's phosphopantetheine (Ppant) arm make its conformational dynamics difficult to capture using traditional spectroscopic approaches. Here we report that converting the terminal thiol of Escherichia coli ACP's Ppant arm into a thiocyanate activates this site to form a selective cross-link with the active site cysteine of its partner ketoacyl synthase (FabF). The reaction releases a cyanide anion, which can be detected by infrared spectroscopy. This represents a practical and generalizable method for obtaining and visualizing ACP-protein complexes relevant to biocatalysis and will be valuable in future structural and engineering studies.

SummaryWaterflooding can lead to substantial incremental oil production. Implementation of water-injection projects requires the project to fit into the risk (defined here as negative outcomes relative to defined project objectives) and uncertainty (defined here as the inability to estimate a value precisely) a company is willing to take.One of the key risks for water injection into a shallow reservoir is injection-induced fractures extending into the caprock. If this risk is seen as “intolerable” in an as-low-as-reasonably-practicable (ALARP) analysis, a decision might be made not to proceed with the project. In this study, we evaluated caprock integrity by conducting simulations of long-term water injection that include the effects of formation damage caused by internal/external plugging, geomechanical stress changes, and fracture propagation in the sandstone and bounding shale.The risk of fracture growth into the caprock was assessed by conducting Latin hypercube sampling considering a set of modeling parameters each associated with an uncertainty range. This allowed us to identify the range of operating parameters in which the risk of fracture-height growth was acceptable. Our simulations also allowed us to identify important factors that affect caprock integrity. To cover the uncertainty in geomechanical reservoir evaluation, the operating envelope is identified such that the risk to the caprock integrity is reduced. This requires introducing a limit for the bottomhole pressure (BHP), including a safety margin.The limit of the BHP is then used as a constraint in the uncertainty analysis of water injectivity. The uncertainty analysis should cover the various development options, the parameterization of the model, sampling from the distribution of parameters- and distance-based generalized sensitivity analysis (dGSA) as well as probabilistic representation of the results. The results indicate that the time to reach the BHP limit varies substantially, dependent on the chosen development scenario. Injection of water (1000 m3/d), with total suspended-solids content ranging from 0.1 to 0.5 ppm by volume (ppmv) and particle size from 1 to 5 µm, into long horizontal wells (2000 m) results in injection times of more than 10,000 days even for the P10 percentile. However, injection of poor-quality water (injection rate 600 m3/d, well length 600 m), with total suspended-solids content ranging from 0.5 to 5 ppmv and particle size from 10 to 30 µm, leads to the BHP limit of 10 (P10) to 740 (P90) days.The dGSA can be used to determine which parameter has a stronger impact on the BHP and, hence, on the project, and should be measured if warranted by a value-of-information analysis. In the case reported here, dGSA showed that the filter-cake permeability has a big impact on the results and, hence, will be determined by laboratory measurements.The final development option to be chosen depends on a traditional net-present-value analysis.

Non-cortical visual areas in vertebrate brains extract different stimulus features, such as motion, object size and location, to support behavioural tasks. The optic tectum and pretectum, two primary visual areas, are thought to fulfil complementary biological functions in zebrafish to support prey capture and optomotor stabilisation behaviour. However, the adaptations of these brain areas to behaviourally relevant stimulus statistics are unknown. Here, we used calcium imaging to characterize the receptive fields of 1,926 motion-sensitive neurons in diencephalon and midbrain. We show that many caudal pretectal neurons have large receptive fields (RFs), whereas RFs of tectal neurons are smaller and mostly size-selective. RF centres of large-size RF neurons in the pretectum are predominantly located in the lower visual field, while tectal neurons sample the upper-nasal visual field more densely. This tectal visual field sampling matches the expected prey item locations, suggesting that the tectal magnification of the upper-nasal visual field might be an adaptation to hunting behaviour. Finally, we probed optomotor responsiveness and found that even relatively small stimuli drive optomotor swimming, if presented in the lower-temporal visual field, suggesting that the pretectum preferably samples information from this region on the ground to inform optomotor behaviour. Our characterization of the parallel processing channels for non-cortical motion feature extraction provides a basis for further investigation into the sensorimotor transformations of the zebrafish brain and its adaptations to habitat and lifestyle.

This paper describes application of a streamline-based surveillance methodology to define injector-centered-patterns using streamlines, calculate pattern efficiencies, and propose target rates for injectors and producers to improve oil production, lower WOR, and reduce water cycling in the Wilmington Field. The Wilmington Field is a faulted anticline structure in the Los Angeles Basin with alternating sand/shale sequences, which straddles offshore and onshore locations in Long Beach, California. It has been actively waterflooded since 1953 and currently injects over 1.6 million barrels of water injected (BWIPD) and produces at ~98% water cut. Due to the industrial port environment and history of subsidence, a minimum voidage replacement ratio (VRR) is required to sustain stable surface elevations. Given the scale of the Wilmington field, we focused on implementing two pilots to improve the flood performance by targeting different fault blocks/reservoirs: Fault Block 2 Tar Reservoir (Tar 2) and Fault Block 7 Ranger Reservoir (Ranger 7) which together represent 5% of total Wilmington oil production. Both surveillance models used a multi-layered numerical grid with geologic properties from existing 3D geomodels. The key objective for Tar 2 and Ranger 7 was to redistribute the current injected water volumes to improve oil production while maintaining VRR targets. Injection into the Tar 2 model was vertically refined to per-sand using pseudo-injectors in the modeling approach. Injection wells for the Ranger 7 model used a single path and injection volumes were allocated into each sand using permeability-height (kh) values. Rate changes suggested by the surveillance model for both pilot areas were made through choke adjustments and/or well shut-ins and required no pump size changes or workovers. The Tar 2 and Ranger 7 pilots were monitored over a 6-month and 17-month period, respectively. The Tar 2 pilot area resulted in a decrease from 20% to 2 % annual oil decline rate while keeping a constant injection rate, while the Ranger 7 pilot area new rate target resulted in WOR from 52 to 47 and a decrease in annual oil decline from 15% to 5%. With the success of the waterflood management approach seen in Tar 2 and Ranger 7, a larger area in the Wilmington Field, Fault Block 6 Ranger (23% of total production) is now under a similar evaluation with the goal of reducing WOR and oil decline using the same surveillance methodology.

The vast Australian arid zone formed over the last 15million years, and gradual aridification as well as more extreme Pliocene and Pleistocene climate shifts have impacted the evolution of its biota. Understanding the evolutionary history of groups of organisms or regional biotas such as the Australian arid biota requires clear delimitation of the units of biodiversity (taxa). Here we integrate evidence from nuclear (ETS and ITS) and chloroplast (rps16-trnK spacer) regions and morphology to clarify taxonomic boundaries in a species complex of Australian hummock grasses (Triodia) to better understand the evolution of Australian arid zone plants and to evaluate congruence in distribution patterns with co-occurring organisms. We find evidence for multiple new taxa in the T. basedowii species complex, but also incongruence between data sets and indications of hybridization that complicate delimitation. We find that the T. basedowii complex has high lineage diversity and endemism in the biologically important Pilbara region of Western Australia, consistent with the region acting as a refugium. Taxa show strong geographic structure in the Pilbara, congruent with recent work on co-occurring animals and suggesting common evolutionary drivers across the biota. Our findings confirm recognition of the Pilbara as an important centre of biodiversity in the Australian arid zone, and provide a basis for future taxonomic revision of the T. basedowii complex and more detailed study of its evolutionary history and that of arid Australia.

The incidence of scalp tumors requiring radical excision increases with age. Free flap surgery is the standard reconstructive option for large defects; however, there is an ongoing uncertainty about its safety in the elderly. We conducted a review of data and report on 19 patients aged ≥75 years and 13

Relationships between the diversity and abundance of native versus exotic species underpin management of disturbance regimes for conservation. Theory predicts negative, positive or neutral relationships depending on respective drivers, with greatest potential benefit when natives and exotics show opposing responses to management. We examined drivers of exotic plant cover and relationships with native plant richness using 12-year burning, mowing and grazing experiments in two representative temperate grassy eucalypt woodlands with contrasting histories of frequent versus infrequent disturbance. We hypothesized that disturbance and high resources favour exotics, and assessed whether natives and exotics covary positively due to common external drivers or negatively due to contrasting external drivers and/or competition. Positive relationships with rainfall and disturbance explained >80 % of the variation in exotic cover at both sites, supporting our first hypothesis. Native–exotic relationships were non-linear, with native richness first increasing rapidly with increasing exotic cover, then levelling and beginning to decrease. Common external drivers, particularly inter-annual rainfall, explained initial positive relationships, highlighting a prevalence of positive relationships at long temporal (as well as large spatial) scales. At the historically frequently-burnt site, a concomitant increase in native richness and exotic cover after fire contributed to the positive relationship, indicating a management trade-off. At the long-unburnt site, exotics increased but natives decreased with fire, suggesting dual benefits of low fire frequency. We conclude that relationships between exotic cover and native richness emerge from interactions among external drivers and competitive responses, with responses to external drivers dominating at low resources and negative interactions gaining importance as resources increase.

Technology Update With the recent drop in oil prices, operators are shifting to optimization of existing assets with minimal costs. For mature floods (water, chemical, and CO2), one low-cost optimization strategy is the intelligent adjustment of well-rate targets. While it is easy to identify high-water-cut or high-water-rate producers, it is not obvious to identify which injectors are contributing to oil production or fluid cycling. This makes setting injection targets a guessing game at best without a calibrated reservoir (simulation) model. However, detailed calibrated reservoir models require simulation expertise, are time-consuming to build, and can even be considered overkill for short-term reservoir management. Reservoir surveillance techniques sidestep this problem by using measured well data combined with simpler models to create a feedback loop that is informative and valuable for reservoir management. The starting point for any improvement of an ongoing flood is the proper identification of well patterns and reliable pattern metrics. Which patterns have historically outperformed and which have underperformed? How much oil is being recovered from each pattern for each unit of volume injected into the pattern? Being able to answer these questions with confidence enables target rates to be set that will improve sweep and reduce fluid cycling. And as new production/ injection data are collected, rate targets are realigned to ensure that field recovery remains close to optimum. Streamlines as a Solution Streamlines, which represent flow from injectors or aquifers to producers, offer a powerful solution to define injector patterns and associated key production metrics. Advances in streamline-based flow modeling since the early 1990s allow streamlines to be traced in 3D, account for complex geological descriptions, include all well geometries, and incorporate a wide range of flow physics. However, applying streamlines for surveillance requires only a subset of these extensions and is much simpler to implement. Most floods are driven by pressure gradients rather than absolute pressure, and at reservoir conditions, it can be assumed that the fluids are nearly incompressible. This is certainly true for water/polymer/ chemical floods. Even CO2 at high pressure behaves like a liquid. For surveillance purposes, the calculation for the total velocity field needed to trace the streamlines can be significantly simplified. Specifically, the velocity is solved conditioned to a) measured (historical) total injected and produced volumes at the wells; b) a description of the subsurface geology, including faults and flow barriers if available, and if not, a homogenous box can be used; and c) an assumption of in-situ fluid distributions if available, and if not, a uniform saturation distribution will do. Although these assumptions seem substantial, they are reasonable for surveillance because the primary objective is to identify current well pairs and allocation factors rather than forecasting. Model Calibration Not Needed The assumption of fluid incompressibility implies that the past spatial pressure distribution and gradients are immaterial to the solution of the current velocity field, and so streamlines can be extracted for any moment in time without the need to calibrate the model to the past. Using measured historical produced and injected total rates implies that the velocity field will properly reflect the influence of wells relative to each other in terms of production/injection volume and spatial location.

A new classification of Myrtaceae tribe Chamelaucieae DC., derived from a molecular phylogenetic analysis based on nr ETS and cp trnK and atpB–rbcL spacer sequences, is presented. Eleven subtribes are recognised, eight of which are new. The currently accepted circumscriptions of subtribes Calytricinae Benth. and ‘Euchamelaucieae Benth.’ (nom. inval.) are retained, with the latter being formally published here as Chamelauciinae Rye & Peter G.Wilson. Subtribe Thryptomeninae Benth. is reduced in size by the creation of the new subtribes Alutinae Rye & Peter G.Wilson and Micromyrtinae Rye & Peter G.Wilson. Subtribe Baeckeinae Schauer is reduced to a single genus, with the excluded genera distributed in the new subtribes Astarteinae Rye & Peter G.Wilson, Hysterobaeckeinae Rye & Peter G.Wilson, Ochrospermatinae Rye & Peter G.Wilson, Rinziinae Rye & Peter G.Wilson and Stenostegiinae Rye & Peter G.Wilson. The history of recognition of the genera and subtribes of Chamelaucieae is outlined and supporting morphological evidence for the new classification discussed.

Polymer injection might lead to incremental oil recovery and increase the value of an asset. Several steps have to be taken to mature a polymer injection project. The field needs to be screened for applicability of polymer injection, laboratory experiments have to be performed, and a pilot project might be required prior to field implementation.The decision to perform a pilot project can be based on a Value of Information (VoI) calculation. The VoI can be derived by performing a workflow capturing the impact of the range of geological scenarios as well as dynamic and polymer parameters on incremental Net Present Value (NPV). The result of the workflow is a Cumulative Distribution Function (CDF) of NPV linked to prior distributions of model parameters and potential observables from the polymer injection pilot.The impact of various parameters on the CDF of the field-wide NPV can be analyzed and in turn used to decide on what measurements from the pilot have a strong sensitivity on the NPV CDF and are thus informative. In the case shown here, the water cut reduction in the pilot area has a strong impact on the NPV CDF of the polymer injection field implementation. To extract maximum information, the response of the pilot for water cut reduction needs to be optimized under uncertainty.To calculate the VoI, the Expected Monetary Value (EMV) difference of a decision tree with and without the pilot can be used if the Decision Maker (DM) is risk neutral. However, if the DM requires hurdle values through a Probability of Economic Success (PES), Value Functions (VF) and Decision Weights according to the Prospect Theory should be used. Applying risk hurdles requires a consistent use of VFs and Decision Weights for calculating VoI and the Probability of Maturation (POM) of projects.

We use a streamline-based simulator extended to reactive transport with a comprehensive chemical module to model Low Salinity (LS) flooding. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to demonstrate the per-pattern management of LS floods. The new reactive transport simulator with LS capabilities allows assessing the incremental oil recovery on a per-pattern basis as a function of water chemistry, mineralogy, moveable oil in place, and geological uncertainty of each injector pattern. Using a synthetic 3D field example, we show how to quantify the incremental injection efficiency (IIE)—incremental volume of oil produced with respect to standard waterflooding per volume of injected low salinity water—for each pattern. We demonstrate the importance of an uncertainty analysis of cation-exchange capacities and low-salinity oil residual saturations on predicted incremental oil recoveries. Our streamline-based reactive transport approach allows to efficiently explore the dependency of oil recovery on injection water chemistry and reservoir clay mineralogy and provides a unique tool for the management and improvement of LS floods via per-pattern incremental injection efficiencies.

Die digitale Volumentomografie (DVT) stellt eine neue Moglichkeit der Schnittbildgebung in der Handchirurgie dar. Die Methode hat in der letzten Dekade eine weite Verbreitung in der Kopf-Hals-Bildgebung gefunden und ist in diesem Bereich ein etabliertes Standardverfahren, fur das eine, im Vergleich zur Computertomografie (MDCT), niedrigere Strahlenexposition beschrieben wird. Wir berichten uber 24 Monate klinische Erfahrung mit dem Einsatz der Methode in einer handchirurgischen Universitatsklinik. Die DVT wird bezuglich ihrer Technik sowie ihrer klinischen Eignung anhand von exemplarischen Falldarstellungen vorgestellt und evaluiert. Weiterhin werden ihre Vor- und Nachteile diskutiert und in den Kontext der aktuellen Literatur gesetzt.

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a pentraxin that has long been employed as a marker of inflammation in clinical practice. Recent findings brought up the idea of CRP to be not only a systemic marker but also a mediator of inflammation. New studies focused on structural changes of the plasma protein, revealing the existence of two distinct protein conformations associated with opposed inflammatory properties. Native, pentameric CRP (pCRP) is considered to be the circulating precursor form of monomeric CRP (mCRP) that has been identified to be strongly proinflammatory. Recently, a dissociation mechanism of pCRP has been identified on activated platelets and activated/apoptotic cells associated with the amplification of the proinflammatory potential. Correspondingly, CRP deposits found in inflamed tissues have been identified to exhibit the monomeric conformation by using conformation-specific antibodies. Here we review the current literature on the causal role of the dissociation mechanism of pCRP and the genesis of mCRP for the amplification of the proinflammatory potential in inflammatory reactions such as atherosclerosis and ischemia/reperfusion injury. The chance to prevent the formation of proinflammatory mediators in ubiquitous inflammatory cascades has pushed therapeutic strategies by targeting pCRP dissociation in inflammation. In this respect, the development of clinically applicable derivatives of the palindromic compound 1,6-bis(phosphocholine)-hexane (1,6-bis PC) should be a major focus of future CRP research.

European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris, Figure 1)are an invasive species in the United States. The first recorded release of the birds was in 1890 in New York City’s Central Park. Because starlings easily adapt to a variety of habitats, nest sites and food sources, the birds spread quickly across the country. Today, there are about 150 million starlings in North America. Conflicts between people and starlings occur mostly in agricultural settings. Starlings damage apples, blueberries, cherries, figs, grapes, peaches, and strawberries. Starlings gather at concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) during late fall and winter. Starlings also cause human health problem, airplane hazards, and nuisance problems. European starlings are not protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (MBTA).