Evolutionary divergences mirror Pleistocene paleodrainages in a rapidly-evolving complex of oasis-dwelling jumping spiders (Salticidae, Habronattus tarsalis).

We aimed to understand the diversification history of jumping spiders in the Habronattus tarsalis species complex, with particular emphasis on how history in this system might illuminate biogeographic patterns and processes in deserts of the western United States. Desert populations of H. tarsalis are now confined to highly discontinuous oasis-like habitats, but these habitats would have been periodically more connected during multiple pluvial periods of the Pleistocene. We estimated divergence times using relaxed molecular clock analyses of published transcriptome datasets. Geographic patterns of diversification history were assessed using phylogenetic and cluster analyses of original sequence capture, RADSeq and morphological data. Clock analyses of multiple replicate transcriptome datasets suggest mid- to late-Pleistocene divergence dates within the H. tarsalis group complex. Coalescent and concatenated phylogenetic analyses indicate four early-diverging lineages (H. mustaciata, H. ophrys, and H. tarsalis from the Lahontan and Owens drainage basins), with remaining samples separated into larger clades from the Mojave desert, and western populations from the California Floristic Province of California and northern Baja California. Focusing on desert populations, there is a strong correspondence between RAD lineages and modern and/or paleodrainages, mirrored more finely in STRUCTURE and machine learning results. Non-metric multidimensional scaling analysis reveals strong congruence between morphological clusters and genetic lineages, whether the latter represent previously described species or H. tarsalis RAD lineages. Here we have uncovered a system that adds to our regional biogeographic knowledge in unique ways, using multiple types of evidence in a broadly-distributed terrestrial taxon. At the same time, we have discovered rapid evolution of both novel morphological forms and diverging genetic lineages. The hierarchical nature of variation in the H. tarsalis complex, the minute range sizes of many forms, the high likelihood that geographic distributions have shrunk and expanded through time, and signs of introgression all align with an ephemeral speciation model.

90Y Radioembolization of Colorectal Hepatic Metastases Using Glass Microspheres: Safety and Survival Outcomes from a 531-Patient Multicenter Study.

UNLABELLED: Hepatic metastases of colorectal carcinoma are a leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Most colorectal liver metastases become refractory to chemotherapy and biologic agents, at which point the median overall survival declines to 4-5 mo. Radioembolization with (90)Y has been used in the salvage setting with favorable outcomes. This study reports the survival and safety outcomes of 531 patients treated with glass-based (90)Y microspheres at 8 institutions, making it the largest (90)Y study for patients with colorectal liver metastases. METHODS: Data were retrospectively compiled from 8 institutions for all (90)Y glass microsphere treatments for colorectal liver metastases. Exposure to chemotherapeutic or biologic agents, prior liver therapies, biochemical parameters before and after treatment, radiation dosimetry, and complications were recorded. Uni- and multivariate analyses for predictors of survival were performed. Survival outcomes and clinical or biochemical adverse events were recorded. RESULTS: In total, 531 patients received (90)Y radioembolization for colorectal liver metastases. The most common clinical adverse events were fatigue (55%), abdominal pain (34%), and nausea (19%). Grade 3 or 4 hyperbilirubinemia occurred in 13% of patients at any time. The median overall survival from the first (90)Y treatment was 10.6 mo (95% confidence interval, 8.8-12.4). Performance status, no more than 25% tumor burden, no extrahepatic metastases, albumin greater than 3 g/dL, and receipt of no more than 2 chemotherapeutic agents independently predicted better survival outcomes. CONCLUSION: This multiinstitutional review of a large cohort of patients with colorectal liver metastases treated with (90)Y radioembolization using glass microspheres has demonstrated promising survival outcomes with low toxicity and low side effects. The outcomes were reproducible and consistent with prior reports of radioembolization.