Systematics and biogeography of the Hylarana frog (Anura: Ranidae) radiation across tropical Australasia, Southeast Asia, and Africa.

We present an inclusive molecular phylogeny for Hylarana across its global distribution, utilizing two mitochondrial and four nuclear gene regions for 69 of the 97 currently described species. We use phylogenetic methods to test monophyly of Hylarana, determine relationships among ten putative subgenera, identify major clades, reconstruct biogeographic history, and estimate continental dispersal dates. Results support Hylarana as a monophyletic group originating approximately 26.9MYA and comprising eight clades that partly correspond to currently described subgenera plus two new groups. The African and Australasian species each form clades embedded within a paraphyletic Southeast Asian group. We estimate that Africa and Australasia were colonized by Hylarana s.l. from SE Asia approximately 18.7 and 10.8MYA, respectively. Biogeographic reconstructions also support three separate colonization events in India from Southeast Asia. Examination of museum specimens identified morphological characters useful for delineating subgenera and species. We herein elevate all supported subgenera to genus rank and formally describe two new genera to produce a revised taxonomy congruent with our new phylogenetic and biogeographic findings.

Phylogeny and phylogeography of Mantophryne (Anura: Microhylidae) reveals cryptic diversity in New Guinea.

New Guinea is one of five high biodiversity wilderness areas, and frog diversity is exceptionally large, with more than 400 species described to date. The microhylid frog genus Mantophryne is endemic to New Guinea and consists of four species, three of which have narrow geographic distributions and a fourth, M. lateralis, with a broad range that spans the eastern half of the island. Here, we sequence 104 Mantophryne samples for three mitochondrial and three nuclear loci to reconstruct the first phylogeny of the genus and to examine spatial patterns of diversity within M. lateralis. Results indicate that the wide-ranging M. lateralis is composed of at least nine geographically separated and well-supported lineages that represent putative species. Biogeographic analysis suggests that Mantophryne evolved on the eastern Papuan peninsula with subsequent dispersal westward, as well as overwater dispersal events to the Louisiade and D'Entrecasteaux archipelagos.

Incidence of Emergency Department Presentations of Symptomatic Stone Disease in Pediatric Patients: A Southeastern Study.

Background The incidence of nephrolithiasis during childhood has increased significantly over recent decades. Some studies indicate a rapid rise in adolescents, particularly in African American women. This study serves to identify trends in symptomatic pediatric nephrolithiasis presentations to the emergency department (ED) as a result of increasing incidence and to determine associations between demographic variables at our single-site tertiary pediatric hospital in the Southeast United States. Methods After IRB approval, a review of the data provided by the Pediatric Health Information System, a pediatric database that includes clinical and resource utilization data for 51 of the largest children's hospitals in the nation, yielded 644 pediatric occurrences of nephrolithiasis at single-site emergency departments from 2006 to 2020. The percent change and average percent change in three-year intervals were calculated to establish a trend over time. A chi-square test of independence was performed to assess associations between race, gender, and age groups. Results A total of 780 stone occurrences and associated patient demographic data were reviewed for 644 children (364, 56.52% female) with median age of 183 ± 45.11 months (9-397 months). Of the 644 children, 79 (12.3%) were noted to have recurrent symptomatic nephrolithiasis, contributing to 136/780 stone events. There was a marked increase of 84.4% in confirmed pediatric nephrolithiasis occurrences over 15 years, with an average percent increase of 16.1% every three years. A Chi2 test of independence was performed between gender and age group (>/< 10yr), gender and race, and race and age group. No expected cell frequencies were less than five. There is no statistically significant relationship between gender and age group, χ2 (1, N=644) = 3.30, p=0.692. There is no significant association between race (Caucasian vs. non-Caucasian) and age group (>/< 10yr), χ2 (1, N=644) = 0.393, p=0.531. There is a statistically significant relationship between gender and race (Caucasian vs. non-Caucasian), χ2 (1, N=644) = 5.28, p=0.021. Caucasian females were more likely to present to our tertiary pediatric hospital's emergency department with nephrolithiasis than Caucasian males or non-Caucasian males or females. Additionally, our data reflected a greater percentage of symptomatic nephrolithiasis presentations occurred in the second decade of life (85.4% vs 14.3%, 552 vs 92 stone events). Conclusion Based on our data, there is a marked increase of 84.4% in pediatric nephrolithiasis occurrences from 2006 to 2020, with a mean increase of 16.1% every three years at our single-site tertiary referral pediatric hospital in the Southeast. Among demographic groups, white adolescent females have an increased risk of developing kidney stones.