The evolutionary relationships and age of Homo naledi: An assessment using dated Bayesian phylogenetic methods.

Homo naledi is a recently discovered species of fossil hominin from South Africa. A considerable amount is already known about H. naledi but some important questions remain unanswered. Here we report a study that addressed two of them: "Where does H. naledi fit in the hominin evolutionary tree?" and "How old is it?" We used a large supermatrix of craniodental characters for both early and late hominin species and Bayesian phylogenetic techniques to carry out three analyses. First, we performed a dated Bayesian analysis to generate estimates of the evolutionary relationships of fossil hominins including H. naledi. Then we employed Bayes factor tests to compare the strength of support for hypotheses about the relationships of H. naledi suggested by the best-estimate trees. Lastly, we carried out a resampling analysis to assess the accuracy of the age estimate for H. naledi yielded by the dated Bayesian analysis. The analyses strongly supported the hypothesis that H. naledi forms a clade with the other Homo species and Australopithecus sediba. The analyses were more ambiguous regarding the position of H. naledi within the (Homo, Au. sediba) clade. A number of hypotheses were rejected, but several others were not. Based on the available craniodental data, Homo antecessor, Asian Homo erectus, Homo habilis, Homo floresiensis, Homo sapiens, and Au. sediba could all be the sister taxon of H. naledi. According to the dated Bayesian analysis, the most likely age for H. naledi is 912 ka. This age estimate was supported by the resampling analysis. Our findings have a number of implications. Most notably, they support the assignment of the new specimens to Homo, cast doubt on the claim that H. naledi is simply a variant of H. erectus, and suggest H. naledi is younger than has been previously proposed.

Description of a reusable device for the temporary stenting of the open sternum.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial oedema, non-surgical bleeding and the use of mechanical assist devices following major heart surgery sometimes prevent primary closure of the sternum. METHOD: We describe a reusable sterile device for temporarily stenting the open sternum for safety. RESULTS: The sternal stent was used in 32 patients for a mean time of 2 days. We observed no mediastinitis and no wound-healing disorders. A secondary closure of the sternum was performed in 28 patients. CONCLUSION: We present a device for sternal stenting that is reusable, easy to apply and allows a good handling of the critically ill patient due to its extreme stability.

[Cor triatriatum--a rare cause of pulmonary hemosiderosis]. / Cor triatriatum--seltene Ursache einer Lungenhämosiderose.

Pneumological examinations including open lung biopsy performed on a male patient of 30 years of age suffering from severe respiratory distress that disabled him, as well as from massive recurring attacks of hemoptysis, resulted in suspicion of idiopathic pulmonary hemosiderosis (also known as Ceelen-Gellerstedt's syndrome). Diagnosis of cor triatriatum followed by surgery was arrived at only after a pulmonary oedema had developed and after other rare cardiac diseases had been considered. This rare congenital malformation--which occasionally becomes clinically manifest only in the adult--should be suspected in differential diagnosis of respiratory distress and a sometimes also life-threatening hemoptysis. Echocardiography is the diagnostic method of choice in this regard.

Highly acute course of ruptured papillary muscle of the tricuspid valve in a case of blunt chest trauma.

The sudden onset of tricuspid insufficiency following a blunt chest trauma is extremely rare. We operated on a young woman in a state of severe shock following a riding accident, in whom complete severing of the papillary muscle of the posterior tricuspid leaflet had occurred. The valvuloplasty operation itself and the postoperative course ran smoothly, apart from a late pericardial tamponade which required surgical revision. In accordance with other reported cases we believe that traumatic tricuspid insufficiency is still a very underestimated pathological occurrence. Echocardiographic examination should therefore be regarded as an essential standard procedure in all cases of blunt chest injury.

Results of total repair of tetralogy of Fallot after previous subclaviopulmonary or aortopulmonary anastomosis.

Total repair of tetralogy of Fallot was performed in 69 patients after the primary construction of a Blalock (28 patients) or a Waterston (41 patients) anastomosis. A total of 7 patients (10.1%) died. One to 5 yrs after correction, 62 patients (89.9%) survive: 52 (75.4%) are in a very good condition, 7 (10.1%) are in a good condition and the condition of 3 (4.4%) is unsatisfactory. 8 (11.6%) patients have serious late complications. The result of correction is not much influenced by the previous Blalock anastomosis (mortality rate 6.9%). After the Waterston anastomosis, however, there are frequent serious complications (pulmonary hypertension in 25.0% of patients), which adversely affect the result and increase mortality (12.5%) of the subsequent correction. The authors prefer two-stage repair of tetralogy of Fallot in the first two years of life. By administration of beta-blockers and prostaglandins they endeavour to postpone the construction of a Blalock anastomosis or an anastomosis performed by means of a polytetrafluoroethylene vascular prosthesis up to the age when the pulmonary artery branches are at least 4 mm in diameter. They plan the subsequent correction to be performed between the 2nd and the 5th year of age.