265 research outputs found
Exochaenium natalense Kissling & K. W. Grieve
No full text<i>Exochaenium natalense</i> (Schinz) Kissling & K.W.Grieve, <i> <i>combinatio nova</i>.</i> <p> <i>Basionym</i>:— <i>Belmontia natalensis</i> Schinz (1894: 220).</p> <p> <i>Homotypic synonyms</i>:— <i>Exochaenium grande</i> var. <i>homostylum</i> Hill (1908: 338).</p> <p> <i>Sebaea natalensis</i> (Schinz) Schinz (1906:782), <i>nom. illeg.</i> [non <i>Sebaea natalensis</i> Schinz (1896:442)].</p> <p> Type:— SOUTHAFRICA. KwaZulu-Natal, Clairmont, 5 Aug. 1893, <i>Schlechter 3060</i> (Lectotype Z [Z000070706]!, <i>hic designatus</i>; isolectotype Z [Z000070705]!).</p> <p> <b>Nomenclatural notes:</b> —There are two sheets of <i>Schlechter 3060</i> at Herb. Z. One [Z000070706] contains five stems each with a single flower, whereas the other [Z000070705] contains a single stem from which the flower is removed and stored in a pocket. These two specimens should be considered as duplicates and thus a lectotype needed to be chosen, in accordance with the <i>International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi and plants</i> Arts 8.2 and 8.3 (Turland <i>et al.</i> 2018). The first author (JK) has studied the type material in detail and confirmed that both sheets represent the same taxon. The sheet with five stems contains more and better material and is consequently chosen here as lectotype.</p> <p> When Schinz transferred <i>Belmontia natalensis</i> to the genus <i>Sebaea</i> in 1906, he clearly forgot that he had already described a different and currently still accepted species, as <i>Sebaea natalensis</i> in 1896. Thus, should <i>Exochaenium natalense</i> ever be transferred to the genus <i>Sebaea</i>, it will need a new name.</p> <p> <b>Diagnosis:</b> —This species is morphologically closely allied to <i>Exochaenium grande</i> (E.Mey.) Griseb., but is markedly different in terms of its much smaller flower size of <i>c.</i> 0.8–1.5 cm diameter (<i>vs c.</i> 3.0– 4.5 cm for <i>E. grande</i>) and the arrangement of the reproductive organs, with anthers positioned at the same level as the stigma (<i>vs</i> distyly in <i>E. grande</i>), possibly indicating differences in pollination strategies. The species can also be differentiated on the basis of their ecological preferences.</p> <p> <b>Description:</b> —Annual, erect herbs, 15–20 cm tall. <i>Stems</i> simple, rarely branched from base, sometimes branched above, 4-ridged. <i>Leaves</i> sessile, opposite, 7–20 mm long, 3–6 mm broad, lanceolate, acute at apex, base narrowed, margin entire, basal leaves sometimes reduced. <i>Inflorescence</i> corymbose, lax, single to several flowered. <i>Calyx</i> of 4 or 5 free sepals, each 7–16 mm long, 3–5 mm broad, ovate-lanceolate, acuminate, with conspicuous keel-wing, 2–3 mm broad at semi-cordate base, hyaline, presence of colleters on inside base. <i>Corolla</i> pure white; tube 9.0– 14.5 mm long, infundibuliform; corolla lobes suborbicular, 5.0– 8.5 mm long, 4–5 mm broad, margins entire, apex acuminate. <i>Stamens</i> inserted ± half way up tube, at same level as stigma. <i>Filaments</i> 6.0– 9.5 mm long; <i>anthers</i>, <i>c.</i> 1–2 mm long, each with apical and 2 tiny stipitate basal glands. <i>Ovary</i> ovoid, <i>c.</i> 2–6 × 2–4 mm, bilocular, placentation axile, ovules numerous. <i>Style</i> and <i>stigma</i> 4–18 mm long, filiform. <i>Stigma</i> slightly clavate, papillose. <i>Fruit</i> and <i>seed</i> not seen.</p> <p> <b>Iconography:</b> — Hill (1908: 317, plate G). See also drawing accompanying plate K000195293 (<i>J.M.Wood 541</i>) from Royal Botanic Gardens Kew.</p> <p> <b>Distribution:</b> —This species occurs along a section of the eastern coastal region of South Africa. It is found mainly in the Port Edward district, on the border between the Eastern Cape and southern KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. The range extends northwards to Port Shepstone (Oribi Flats) and uMzinto districts in KwaZulu-Natal. There are historical records from the greater eThekwini [Durban] area and Zululand, localities that have been transformed by urban development and agriculture. The species has been observed by the second and third authors along the eastern seaboard of the Eastern Cape, known as the Pondoland coast, between Port St Johns and the Umtamvuna River, although no specimens have been collected from this region as yet.</p> <p> <b>Ecology and habitat:</b> — The species inhabits the Indian Ocean Coastal Belt biome, in particular Pondoland-Ugu Coastal Sourveld (CB4) and KwaZulu-Natal Coastal Belt Sandstone Sourveld (CB3) (Mucina & Rutherford 2006). These vegetation types are characterised by undulating coastal plains, species-rich grasslands, rocky outcrops and forested gullies, at elevations up to 600 m. The area receives mostly summer rainfall with some rain in winter.</p> <p> <i>Exochaenium natalense</i> and <i>E. grande</i> occur sympatrically although the latter has a much wider distribution. The two species also have different ecological preferences—whereas <i>E. grande</i> is usually found in well drained grassland, <i>E. natalense</i> is always found in seasonally wet to moist grassland (sometimes even in water).</p> <p> <b>Etymology:</b> —This taxon was named by Schinz (1894), after its geographical origin, previously named Natal and now KwaZulu-Natal, in South Africa.</p> <p> <b>Conservation status:</b> —This species has a restricted distribution and is endemic to the southwestern region of KwaZulu-Natal. A small part of the region is statutorily conserved and the rest is transformed by agriculture and subsistence farming, infrastructure development and urban sprawl and for these reasons, the area is regarded as being of conservation concern (Mucina & Rutherford 2006). <i>Exochaenium natalense</i> is a habitat specialist and is fairly uncommon within this region of <i>c.</i> 1230 km 2. Because the extent of occurrence of the species is estimated to be less than 5000 km 2, based on historical collections and the authors’ observations, and because populations seem to be fragmented, and population decline is projected due to habitat loss and degradation, it is suggested that this species should be regarded as Endangered: B1ab(i–iv).</p> <p> <b>Representative specimens examined:</b> — SOUTH AFRICA. KwaZulu-Natal: Eisdumbeni, 1800 ft., <i>J.M.Wood 133</i> (K [K000195293], NH [NH0004093 -0]); [Durban] “ Bei Port Natal ”, 28 Mar. 1832, <i>J.F.Drège s.n.</i> (P [P00560847]); [Durban] Fields Hill, 358m,n.d., <i>H.Evans 190</i> (NH); Inanda,[Durban district],[252m], <i>J.M.Wood 541</i> (K [K000195293], NH [NH0002056-0]); Izinqoleni district: Kwazamane, 394 m, 21 Mar. 2019, <i>K.W.Grieve 2841</i> (PRE); Margate, [114 m], 4 Feb. 1987, <i>H.B.Nicholson 2561</i> (PCE [PCE0005454]); Mvoti kloof, Canema estate, 7 Oaks, [2930BA], 20 Jan. 1990, <i>A.Abbott 4999</i> (PCE [PCE0005472], NH); Oribi, [432 m], Apr.1937, <i>A.McClean 442</i> (NH); Paddock district, Oribi Flats, Whistling Pine Farm, 482 m, 25 Jan. 2017, <i>K.W.Grieve 2295</i> (PCE [PCE0014180]); Port Edward, Red Desert Nature Reserve coastal section, 10 m, 8 Dec. 2015, <i>K.W.Grieve 1886</i> (NU [NU0088250]); Port Edward, Red Desert Nature Reserve coastal section, 17 m, 23 Feb. 2017, <i>K.W.Grieve 2322</i> (PCE [PCE0014181]); Port Edward, Red Desert Nature Reserve coastal section, 24 m, 6 Jan. 2022, <i>K.W.Grieve 3078</i> (NH); Port Edward, Izingolweni roadside, [3130AA], 2 Jan. 1965, <i>O.M.Hilliard 3038</i> (NU [NU0092021]); Port Edward, Umtamvuna Nature Reserve, [350 m], 14 Apr. 1982, <i>H.B.Nicholson 2248</i> (PCE [PCE0005455]); Port Edward, Umtamvuna Nature Reserve, Clearwater, [350 m], 3 Mar. 1983, <i>A.Abbott 880</i> (PCE [PCE0005451]); Port Edward, Umtamvuna Nature Reserve, [350 m], 13 Mar. 1984, <i>A.Abbott 1827</i> (NH, PCE [PCE0005450]); Port Edward, Umtamvuna Nature Reserve, Office [Beacon Hill], [350 m], 12 Feb. 1986, <i>A.Abbott 2982a</i> (NH, PCE [PCE0005449]); Port Edward, Umtamvuna Nature Reserve, [350 m], 31 Mar. 1995, <i>A.Abbott 6740</i> (NH); Port Edward, Umtamvuna Nature Reserve, Beacon Hill, [350 m], 2 Mar. 1997, <i>C.J.Potgieter s.n.</i> (NU [NU0092023]); Port Edward, Umtamvuna Nature Reserve, western heights, 365 m, 9 Feb. 2017, <i>K.W.Grieve 2306</i> (PCE [PCE0014179]); uMzinto district, Vernon Crookes Nature Reserve, 449 m, 7 Feb. 2019, <i>K.W.Grieve 2801</i> (PCE [PCE0013839]); Uvongo sandflats, [19 m], 19 Dec. 1965, <i>R.Strey 6181</i> (NH); Zululand, Hlabisa district, Lake St Lucia, east shore [2832AB], 5–10 m, 30 Apr. 1974, <i>R.H.Taylor 175</i> (NU [NU0092020]); Zululand, Lake Nhlabane, 5 Jan. 1992, <i>C.J.Ward & A.Rajh 11674</i> (UDW [UDW13406]); Zululand, “ N’goya ” [oNgoye, 2831DD], 1000–2000 ft., 18 Mar. 1904, <i>J.M.Wood 9322</i> (K [K000195292]).</p>Published as part of <i>Kissling, Jonathan, Grieve, Kate W., Grieve, Graham & Bytebier, Benny, 2023, Exochaenium natalense (Gentianaceae), a reinstated taxon endemic to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, pp. 117-122 in Phytotaxa 619 (1)</i> on pages 120-121, DOI: 10.11646/phytotaxa.619.1.8, <a href="http://zenodo.org/record/8425836">http://zenodo.org/record/8425836</a>
Cluster randomised trial in the General Practice Research Database: 1. Electronic decision support to reduce antibiotic prescribing in primary care (eCRT study)
No full textBackground: the purpose of this research is to develop and evaluate methods for conducting cluster randomised trials in a primary care database that contains electronic patient records for large numbers of family practices. Cluster randomised trials are trials in which the units allocated represent groups of individuals, in this case family practices and their registered patients. Cluster randomised trials often suffer from the limitation that they include too few clusters, leading to problems of insufficient power and only imprecise estimation of the intraclass correlation coefficient, a key design parameter. This difficulty might be overcome by utilising databases that already hold electronic patient records for large numbers of practices. The protocol describes one application: a study of antibiotic prescribing for acute respiratory infection; a second protocol outlines an intervention in a less frequent chronic condition of public health importance, stroke.Methods/Design: the objective of the study is to implement a cluster randomised trial to test the effectiveness of an electronic record-based intervention at achieving a reduction in antibiotic prescribing at consultations for respiratory illness in patients aged 18 and 59 years old in intervention family practices as compared with controls. Family practices will be recruited from the practices that presently contribute data to the UK General Practice Research Database (GPRD). Following randomisation, electronic prompts will be installed remotely at intervention practices to promote adherence with evidence-based standards of medical practice. The intervention was developed through qualitative research at non-intervention practices. Data for outcome assessment will be obtained from anonymised electronic patient records that are routinely collected into GPRD. This protocol outlines the proposed study designs, data sources, sample size requirements, analysis methods and dissemination plans. Ethical issues are also discussed.Discussion: results from this study will provide methodological evidence concerning the use of electronic patient records and databases for implementing cluster randomised trials in primary care. The study will also provide substantive findings in respect of electronic record-based interventions to reduce antibiotic prescribing in primary car
Phineas P Gage - ‘The man with the Iron bar’
No full text Phineas P Gage was a railway construction workman who, in 1848, received a devastating penetrating head injury. A 4 ft long tamping iron was fired by accident through his skull destroying both frontal lobes. He survived the accident through luck, the care he received from colleagues at the scene and through medical care received from doctors. This article examines closely the injury pattern, prehospital care, trauma care and medical and psychiatric sequelae Gage received. </jats:p
Constructing cyberterrorism as a security threat:A study of international news media coverage
No full textThis article examines the way in which the English language international news media has constructed the threat of cyberterrorism. Analysing 535 news items published by 31 different media outlets across 7 countries between 2008 and 2013, we show that this coverage is uneven in terms of its geographical and temporal distribution and that its tone is predominantly apprehensive. The article argues that, regardless of the ‘reality’ of the cyberterrorism threat, this coverage is important because it helps to constitute cyberterrorism as a security risk. Paying attention to this constitutive role of the news media, we suggest, opens up a fresh set of research questions in this context and a different theoretical approach to the study of cyberterrorism
The professionalization of the 'shoe clerk'
No full textThe address reviews the professionalization of statisticians working in the regulated world of drug development. The need for statisticians to continue to push the boundaries of their professional environment is stressed. It is argued that to maintain the strength and influence of the profession it is neither desirable, nor necessary, to define in a statutory sense access to the profession. Copyright 2005 Royal Statistical Society.
Implementation of Bayesian methods in the pharmaceutical industry
No full textThis thesis is concerned primarily with the practical implementation of Bayesian methodology within the context of the pharmaceutical industry. The implementation includes the development, where appropriate, of analytic approximations to the posterior distributions of interest and graphical methods for mapping prior assumptions to posterior inference. Two critical areas within pharmaceutical research, critical in the sense of the controversy which they have aroused, have been investigated.
First, Bayesian methods for the analysis of two-treatment crossover designs which fell in to disfavour in the late 1970's and early 1980's because of the US Food and Drug Administration's published view that the two-treatment two-period design was not the design of first choice if unequivocal evidence of a treatment effect was required were developed. Each type of design considered and for which methods are developed are illustrated with examples from clinical trials which have already been reported in the medical literature.
Second, a Bayesian method is developed whose purpose is to classify test compounds into one of several toxicity classes on the basis of an LD50 estimate. The method is generalised to deal with a non-standard LD50 problem related to the prediction of results from a future LD50 experiment. Both of these applications arose out of a practical consultancy session within the context of a statistics group in the chemical/pharmaceutical industry.
As part of the methods required for carrying out these analyses the zeros and weights associated with some non-standard orthogonal polynomial are developed as a result of which a new asymptotic expansion of the Behrens-Fisher density is developed. Further applications of the polynomials orthogonal to t-kernels are developed including problems associated with prediction in clinical trials.
A FORTRAN program which has been implemented at a laboratory level within the pharmaceutical toxicology department at CIBA-GEIGY in Switzerland is provided SAS programs for a variety of the analyses developed for the two-treatment crossover designs are provided as are SAS programs for determining the zeros and weights of a number of different classes of orthogonal polynomials
Implementation of Bayesian methods in the pharmaceutical industry
No full textThis thesis is concerned primarily with the practical implementation of Bayesian methodology within the context of the pharmaceutical industry. The implementation includes the development, where appropriate, of analytic approximations to the posterior distributions of interest and graphical methods for mapping prior assumptions to posterior inference. Two critical areas within pharmaceutical research, critical in the sense of the controversy which they have aroused, have been investigated.
First, Bayesian methods for the analysis of two-treatment crossover designs which fell in to disfavour in the late 1970's and early 1980's because of the US Food and Drug Administration's published view that the two-treatment two-period design was not the design of first choice if unequivocal evidence of a treatment effect was required were developed. Each type of design considered and for which methods are developed are illustrated with examples from clinical trials which have already been reported in the medical literature.
Second, a Bayesian method is developed whose purpose is to classify test compounds into one of several toxicity classes on the basis of an LD50 estimate. The method is generalised to deal with a non-standard LD50 problem related to the prediction of results from a future LD50 experiment. Both of these applications arose out of a practical consultancy session within the context of a statistics group in the chemical/pharmaceutical industry.
As part of the methods required for carrying out these analyses the zeros and weights associated with some non-standard orthogonal polynomial are developed as a result of which a new asymptotic expansion of the Behrens-Fisher density is developed. Further applications of the polynomials orthogonal to t-kernels are developed including problems associated with prediction in clinical trials.
A FORTRAN program which has been implemented at a laboratory level within the pharmaceutical toxicology department at CIBA-GEIGY in Switzerland is provided SAS programs for a variety of the analyses developed for the two-treatment crossover designs are provided as are SAS programs for determining the zeros and weights of a number of different classes of orthogonal polynomials
- …
