Evolution and conservation genetics of an insular hemiparasitic plant lineage at the limit of survival: the case of Thesium sect. Kunkeliella in the Canary Islands.

PREMISE: The diversification of island flora has been widely studied. However, the role of environmental niches in insular radiation processes has been less investigated. We combined population genetic analyses with species distribution modelling to clarify the genetic relationships, diversification patterns, species niche requirements, and conservation of Thesium sect. Kunkeliella, a clade of rare hemiparasitic plants endemic to the Canaries. METHODS: We studied the three extant Thesium species and a new taxon from La Palma Island. We developed 12 microsatellites and performed population genetic analysis and studied the demographic history of the group. To evaluate the role of niche conservatism in the diversification of the group, we performed species distribution modelling (ESM) with four algorithms. RESULTS: All species presented moderate genetic diversity values for rare endemics. Thesium canariense (Gran Canaria) showed high differentiation, whereas T. subsucculentum, T. retamoides (Tenerife), and La Palma populations are closely related. The lineage may have undergone a recent diversification with colonization proceeding east to west, with T. canariense as sister to the others. We detected a climatic niche shift, as taxa showed different distributions across the temperature gradient. There is enough evidence to describe La Palma populations as a new species. CONCLUSIONS: We characterized the evolutionary history of Thesium sect. Kunkeliella by integrating genetic and ecological assessments. Our results indicate that this clade has undergone a recent radiation process with niche differentiation among species. The results increase our knowledge about insular radiations and will inform the conservation management of the study species.

Morbimortalidad por meningitis bacteriana en niños menores de 5 años en tres hospitales de Bogotá para los años 1985-1987 / Morbimortality due to bacterial meningitidis in children under 5 years in three hospitals from Bogotá

Se revisaron 47 Historias Clínicas de pacientes menores de 5 años de edad con diagnóstico al egreso de meningitis bacteriana, en tres Hopitales de Bogotá (Hospital Regional Simón Boívar, Hospital Santa Clara, y Hospital Materno-Infantil), en el periódo comprendido entre Enero de 1985 y Diciembre de 1987. Se diligenció un formulario por cada cuadro de meningitis, con un total de 49. El formulario evalúa los siguientes parámetros: motivo de consulta, días de evolución de la sintomatología, hallazgos al exámen clínico, exámenes paraclínicos, tratamiento antibiótico germen causal, vía de infección, respuesta al tratamiento y complicaciones. Se presentan los resultados encontrados, haciendo un análisis y una discusión de cada uno de los parámetros, comparándolos con otros estudios previos