Mitochondrial phylogeography and population history of pine martens Martes martes compared with polecats Mustela putorius.

The flora and fauna of Europe are linked by a common biogeographic history, most recently the Pleistocene glaciations that restricted the range of most species to southern refugial populations. Changes in population size and migration, as well as selection, have all left a signature on the genetic differentiation. Thus, three paradigms of postglacial recolonization have been described, inferred from the patterns of DNA differentiation. Yet some species, especially wide-ranging carnivores, exhibit little population structuring between the proposed refugia, although relatively few have been studied due to the difficulty of obtaining samples. Therefore, we investigated mitochondrial variation in pine martens, Martes martes, in order to understand the extent to which they were affected by glacial cycles, and compared the results with an analysis of sequences from polecats, Mustela putorius. A general lack of ancient lineages, and a mismatch distribution that is consistent with an expanding population, is evidence that the present-day M. martes and Mu. putorius in central and northern Europe colonized from a single European refugium following a recent glaciation. There has also been interspecific mitochondrial introgression between M. martes and the sable M. zibellina in Fennoscandia.

5,000 year-old spermatozoa in quaternary Ostracoda (Crustacea).

Fossil spermatozoa are recorded for the first time in freshwater ostracods (small bivalved crustaceans) from Holocene sediments at sites in the United Kingdom and Germany. Exceptional conditions at these sites have resulted in the preservation of chitinous "soft parts", including limbs, the remains of Zenker's Organs (sperm pumps that are part of the male reproductive apparatus in cypridoidean ostracods) and spermatozoa from eight different species. Comparisons are made with spermatozoa from living ostracods and the implications of these discoveries for evolutionary studies of reproductive modes are discussed.

Persistence of asexuality through mixed reproduction in Eucypris virens (Crustacea, Ostracoda).

The ostracod species Eucypris virens exhibits geographical parthenogenesis, with rare sexual populations in southern Europe and widespread asexual populations elsewhere. DNA sequence data from the nuclear ITS1 and mitochondrial COI regions have been used to estimate genetic variabilities and reconstruct phylogenies. The observed divergence was exceptionally high, with intraspecific maxima of 10.3% (ITS1) and 20.9% (COI) among European lineages, levels reported for interspecific comparisons of other taxa. Phylogenetic reconstructions reveal multiple origins of asexual clones from sexual populations. However, we argue that such data can only provide a lower limit on the number of origins of asexual reproduction, and an upper limit on the age of asexual lineages. Congruence between gene trees for different loci can provide support for the inference of long-term apomictic reproduction. Nuclear and mitochondrial data differ in their placement of some asexual clones, possibly indicating that genetic exchange has taken place between sexual and asexual lineages. Such intraspecific hybridization is one route to combine the benefits of both reproductive modes, and it might explain how asexuality managed to persist in E. virens even in long, evolutionary terms.

A sequential study assessing functional outcomes of first-time stroke survivors 1 to 5 years after rehabilitation.

The purpose of this study was to assess the functional outcomes of first-time cerebrovascular accident survivors 1 to 5 years after rehabilitation. Subjects (n=68) consisted of individuals discharged from a regional rehabilitation center between 1992 and 1996 with the diagnosis of first-time cerebrovascular accident. The Adult Functional Independence Measure (FIM), an on-site outcomes measurement tool, was used to assess subjects' admittance and discharge total FIM scores. The Adult Functional Independence Measure, a phone interview methodology, was used to assess individuals' functional levels from 1 through 5 years after discharge from rehabilitation. Motor (Rasch Motor) and cognitive (Rasch Cognitive) components of the FIM also were analyzed over time. Data pertaining to differences in function between genders, site of lesion, family support, and whether therapy was received after discharge were collected. Data were analyzed to determine changes in function over time. Significant increases in total FIM and motor and cognitive scores occurred between admittance and discharge and between discharge and 1 year after discharge. Although not significant, slight increases were noted in all three measures up to 3 years after discharge. From 3 to 5 years after discharge, a steady decline was noted. First-time cerebrovascular accident survivors who did not experience additional medical problems continued to improve during the first 3 years after discharge from a rehabilitation center. After this time, however, declines were noted in total FIM, Rasch Motor, and Rasch Cognitive scores.