Clinical features and hematological findings of COVID-19 patients with blood transfusion

This paper aims to illustrate the clinical characteristics, hematological findings, and blood transfusion information of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. Twenty-three COVID-19 patients were treated and transfused with blood products in Wuhan First Hospital from February 12 to March 20, 2020. The patients were divided into a survivor group and a non-survivor group, respectively, according to whether the patient had been discharged or died. The results demonstrated at the time of initial blood transfusion, that the non-survivor group possessed a lower platelet (PLT) than that of the survivor group (P<0.001), and PLT were below the normal range in 6 (85.7%) non-survivor group and in 2 (12.5%) survivor group (P<0.01). Over half of these patients had abnormalities in fibrinogen (FIB), activated partial thromboplastin time (APTT), prothrombin time (PT), and international normalized ratio (INR), but no significant difference was found between the non-survivor group and survivor group. The non-survivor group had a dramatically higher D-Dimers and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) scores than those of the survivor group (P<0.01). Six (85.7%) non-survivors but none of the survivors had a DIC score greater than 6 (P<0.001). Fifteen (93.8%) survivors and 2 (28.6%) non-survivors were transfused with RBC (P<0.01). The non-survivors (5/7) possessed a higher proportion for using AP than the survivors (2/16). The study suggests that COVID-19 patients who undergo blood transfusion usually possess coagulation dysfunction, and DIC may be closely related to deteriorating clinical outcomes.     

B para-Bombay phenotype in China caused by homozygous mutation for site 328 G > A of FUT1 gene: a case report

The aim of this paper is to accurately identify a case of B para-Bombay and to analyze the genetic mutation. ABO and Lewis blood groups were identified by standard serological methods, and trace antigens on RBCs were detected by adsorption-elution test, while blood group substances in the saliva were detected by agglutination inhibition test. The ABO gene exons 6-7, FUT1 gene exon 4 and FUT2 gene exon 2 were directly sequenced. Serological results showed that there were B antigens on RBCs without H antigens, anti-A and anti-HI antibodies in serum, and B and H blood group substances in the saliva. The Lewis phenotype was Le (a-b+). According to gene sequencing analysis, ABO, FUT1 and FUT2 genotypes were B101/O02, h^328G/Ah3^28G/A and Se^357C/TSe^357C/T, respectively. This rare phenotype can be mislabeled as "O" if any of the detailed investigations are not performed. Therefore, in order to ensure the safety of blood transfusion, genetic and serological tests are necessary for the correct identification of difficult blood groups.     

“Into and Out of” the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau and the Himalayas: Centers of origin and diversification across five clades of Eurasian montane and alpine passerine birds

Encompassing some of the major hotspots of biodiversity on Earth, large mountain systems have long held the attention of evolutionary biologists. The region of the Qinghai‐Tibet Plateau (QTP) is considered a biogeographic source for multiple colonization events into adjacent areas including the northern Palearctic. The faunal exchange between the QTP and adjacent regions could thus represent a one‐way street (“out of” the QTP). However, immigration into the QTP region has so far received only little attention, despite its potential to shape faunal and floral communities of the QTP. In this study, we investigated centers of origin and dispersal routes between the QTP, its forested margins and adjacent regions for five clades of alpine and montane birds of the passerine superfamily Passeroidea. We performed an ancestral area reconstruction using BioGeoBEARS and inferred a time‐calibrated backbone phylogeny for 279 taxa of Passeroidea. The oldest endemic species of the QTP was dated to the early Miocene (ca. 20 Ma). Several additional QTP endemics evolved in the mid to late Miocene (12–7 Ma). The inferred centers of origin and diversification for some of our target clades matched the “out of Tibet hypothesis’ or the “out of Himalayas hypothesis” for others they matched the “into Tibet hypothesis.” Three radiations included multiple independent Pleistocene colonization events to regions as distant as the Western Palearctic and the Nearctic. We conclude that faunal exchange between the QTP and adjacent regions was bidirectional through time, and the QTP region has thus harbored both centers of diversification and centers of immigration.     

The effects of competition on fitness depend on the sex of both competitors

In intraspecific competition, the sex of competing individuals is likely to be important in determining the outcome of competitive interactions and the way exposure to conspecifics during development influences adult fitness traits. Previous studies have explored differences between males and females in their response to intraspecific competition. However, few have tested how the sex of the competitors, or any interactions between focal and competitor sex, influences the nature and intensity of competition. We set up larval seed beetles Callosobruchus maculatus to develop either alone or in the presence of a male or female competitor and measured a suite of traits: development time, emergence weight; male ejaculate mass, copulation duration, and lifespan; and female lifetime fecundity, offspring egg–adult survival, and lifespan. We found effects of competition and competitor sex on the development time and emergence weight of both males and females, and also of an interaction between focal and competitor sex: Females emerged lighter when competing with another female, while males did not. There was little effect of larval competition on male and female adult fitness traits, with the exception of the effect of a female competitor on a focal female's offspring survival rate. Our results highlight the importance of directly measuring the effects of competition on fitness traits, rather than distant proxies for fitness, and suggest that competition with the sex with the greater resource requirements (here females) might play a role in driving trait evolution. We also found that male–male competition during development resulted in shorter copulation times than male–female competition, a result that remained when controlling for the weight of competitors. Although it is difficult to definitively tease apart the effects of social environment and access to resources, this result suggests that something about the sex of competitors other than their size is driving this pattern.     

Long‐term persistence of wildlife populations in a pastoral area

Facilitating coexistence between people and wildlife is a major conservation challenge in East Africa. Some conservation models aim to balance the needs of people and wildlife, but the effectiveness of these models is rarely assessed. Using a case‐study approach, we assessed the ecological performance of a pastoral area in northern Tanzania (Manyara Ranch) and established a long‐term wildlife population monitoring program (carried out intermittently from 2003 to 2008 and regularly from 2011 to 2019) embedded in a distance sampling framework. By comparing density estimates of the road transect‐based long‐term monitoring to estimates derived from systematically distributed transects, we found that the bias associated with nonrandom placement of transects was nonsignificant. Overall, cattle and sheep and goat reached the greatest densities and several wildlife species occurred at densities similar (zebra, wildebeest, waterbuck, Kirk's dik‐dik) or possibly even greater (giraffe, eland, lesser kudu, Grant's gazelle, Thomson's gazelle) than in adjacent national parks in the same ecosystem. Generalized linear mixed models suggested that most wildlife species (8 out of 14) reached greatest densities during the dry season, that wildlife population densities either remained constant or increased over the 17‐year period, and that herbivorous livestock species remained constant, while domestic dog population decreased over time. Cross‐species correlations did not provide evidence for interference competition between grazing or mixed livestock species and wildlife species but indicate possible negative relationships between domestic dog and warthog populations. Overall, wildlife and livestock populations in Manyara Ranch appear to coexist over the 17‐year span. Most likely, this is facilitated by existing connectivity to adjacent protected areas, effective anti‐poaching efforts, spatio‐temporal grazing restrictions, favorable environmental conditions of the ranch, and spatial heterogeneity of surface water and habitats. This long‐term case study illustrates the potential of rangelands to simultaneously support wildlife conservation and human livelihood goals if livestock grazing is restricted in space, time, and numbers.     

Alternative reproductive tactics are associated with sperm performance in invasive round goby from two different salinity environments

During male–male competition, evolution can favor alternative reproductive tactics. This often results in a dominant morph that holds a resource, such as a nest for egg laying, which competes with a smaller sneaker morph that reproduces by stealing fertilizations. The salinity environment can influence male growth rates, for example, via osmoregulatory costs, which in turn may influence the use of sneaker tactics for small males competing for mating opportunities. Salinity can also affect sperm directly; however, little is known of how salinity influences sneaker tactics through sperm performance. We sampled males of the invasive round goby (Neogobius melanostomus) from two environments, a freshwater river and a brackish estuary. This fish has two male morphs: nest‐holding dark males and non‐nest‐holding light males. We examined the role of water salinity of 0, 8, and 16 on sperm performance and found that for estuarine males, a salinity of 0 reduced sperm velocity compared to a salinity of 8 and 16. Riverine males had low velocity in all salinities. Sperm viability also decreased by over 30% in 0 salinity, compared to 8 and 16, for fish from both environments. Gobies produce ejaculate contents in specialized glands that could in theory shield sperm in an adverse environment. However, gland contents did not improve sperm performance in our tests. Body mass and age estimates indicate that riverine males invested more in somatic growth compared to estuarine males. Estuarine light morph males had a high enough gonadosomatic index to indicate sneaker tactics. We propose that when sperm performance is low, such as for the riverine males, sneaker tactics are ineffective and will be selected against or phenotypically suppressed. Instead, we interpret the increased investment in somatic growth found in riverine males as a life‐history decision that is advantageous when defending a nest in the next reproductive season.     

Fine‐scale habitat selection by sympatric Canada lynx and bobcat

The Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis) and the bobcat (Lynx rufus) are closely related species with overlap at their range peripheries, but the factors that limit each species and the interactions between them are not well understood. Habitat selection is a hierarchical process, in which selection at higher orders (geographic range, home range) may constrain selection at lower orders (within the home range). Habitat selection at a very fine scale within the home range has been less studied for both lynx and bobcat compared to selection at broader spatiotemporal scales. To compare this fourth‐order habitat selection by the two species in an area of sympatry, we tracked lynx and bobcat during the winters of 2017 and 2018 on the north shore of Lake Huron, Ontario. We found that both lynx and bobcat selected shallower snow, higher snowshoe hare abundance, and higher amounts of coniferous forest at the fourth order. However, the two species were spatially segregated at the second order, and lynx were found in areas with deeper snow, more snowshoe hare, and more coniferous forest. Taken together, our findings demonstrate that the lynx and bobcat select different resources at the second order, assorting along an environmental gradient in the study area, and that competition is unlikely to be occurring between the two species at finer scales.     

Topographic heterogeneity lengthens the duration of pollinator resources

The availability of sufficient and diverse resources across time is important for maintenance of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning. In this study, we examine the potential for variation in environmental conditions across topographic gradients to extend floral resource timing. Flowering time on a landscape may vary across topography due to differences in abiotic factors, species turnover, or genotypic differences. However, the extent to which this variation in phenology affects overall flowering duration on a landscape, and the components of diversity that influence flowering duration, are unexplored. We investigate whether differences in flowering time due to topography yield an overall extension in duration of flowering resources in a northern California grassland. We recorded flowering time of pollinator resource species across four successive spring growing seasons (2015–2018) on paired north and south aspects. Flowering time differences were evaluated both at the community level and within species present on both paired aspects. The role of plasticity was examined in an experimental case study using genotypes of Lasthenia gracilis. We found that aspect is a strong determinant of phenology, with earlier flowering on warmer south‐facing slopes. Aspect differences resulted in complementarity in timing of flowering resources across sites, as aspects that started flowering earlier also ended earlier. Complementarity between north and south aspects served to extend the flowering time of pollinator resources by an average of 4–8 days (8%–15%), depending on the year. This extension can be attributed to both within‐species responses to aspect differences and species turnover. Flowering of L. gracilis genotypes was distinct across aspects, demonstrating that plasticity can drive the extension of flowering duration. Our findings indicate that heterogeneous topography can extend overall flowering time of pollinator resources, which may support pollinator biodiversity. Extension was most pronounced at the community level, which incorporates species turnover as well as plastic and genotypic differences within species.     

Wildflower plantings promote blue orchard bee,Osmia lignaria (Hymenoptera: Megachilidae), reproduction in California almond orchards

Concerns over the availability of honeybees (Apis mellifera L.) to meet pollination demands have elicited interest in alternative pollinators to mitigate pressures on the commercial beekeeping industry. The blue orchard bee, Osmia lignaria (Say), is a commercially available native bee that can be employed as a copollinator with, or alternative pollinator to, honeybees in orchards. To date, their successful implementation in agriculture has been limited by poor recovery of bee progeny for use during the next spring. This lack of reproductive success may be tied to an inadequate diversity and abundance of alternative floral resources during the foraging period. Managed, supplementary wildflower plantings may promote O. lignaria reproduction in California almond orchards. Three wildflower plantings were installed and maintained along orchard edges to supplement bee forage. Plantings were seeded with native wildflower species that overlapped with and extended beyond almond bloom. We measured bee visitation to planted wildflowers, bee reproduction, and progeny outcomes across orchard blocks at variable distances from wildflower plantings during 2015 and 2016. Pollen provision composition was also determined to confirm O. lignaria wildflower pollen use. Osmia lignaria were frequently observed visiting wildflower plantings during, and after, almond bloom. Most O. lignaria nesting occurred at orchard edges. The greatest recovery of progeny occurred along the orchard edges having the closest proximity (80 m) to managed wildflower plantings versus edges farther away. After almond bloom, O. lignaria nesting closest to the wildflower plantings collected 72% of their pollen from Phacelia spp., which supplied 96% of the managed floral area. Phacelia spp. pollen collection declined with distance from the plantings, but still reached 17% 800 m into the orchard. This study highlights the importance of landscape context and proximity to supplementary floral resources in promoting the propagation of solitary bees as alternative managed pollinators in commercial agriculture.     

Paternity tests support a diallelic self‐incompatibility system in a wild olive (Olea europaea subsp. laperrinei,Oleaceae)

Self‐incompatibility (SI) is the main mechanism that favors outcrossing in plants. By limiting compatible matings, SI interferes in fruit production and breeding of new cultivars. In the Oleeae tribe (Oleaceae), an unusual diallelic SI system (DSI) has been proposed for three distantly related species including the olive (Olea europaea), but empirical evidence has remained controversial for this latter. The olive domestication is a complex process with multiple origins. As a consequence, the mixing of S‐alleles from two distinct taxa, the possible artificial selection of self‐compatible mutants and the large phenological variation of blooming may constitute obstacles for deciphering SI in olive. Here, we investigate cross‐genotype compatibilities in the Saharan wild olive (O. e. subsp. laperrinei). As this taxon was geographically isolated for thousands of years, SI should not be affected by human selection. A population of 37 mature individuals maintained in a collection was investigated. Several embryos per mother were genotyped with microsatellites in order to identify compatible fathers that contributed to fertilization. While the pollination was limited by distance inside the collection, our results strongly support the DSI hypothesis, and all individuals were assigned to two incompatibility groups (G1 and G2). No self‐fertilization was observed in our conditions. In contrast, crosses between full or half siblings were frequent (ca. 45%), which is likely due to a nonrandom assortment of related trees in the collection. Finally, implications of our results for orchard management and the conservation of olive genetic resources are discussed.