Global rise in emerging alien species results from increased accessibility of new source pools.

Our ability to predict the identity of future invasive alien species is largely based upon knowledge of prior invasion history. Emerging alien species-those never encountered as aliens before-therefore pose a significant challenge to biosecurity interventions worldwide. Understanding their temporal trends, origins, and the drivers of their spread is pivotal to improving prevention and risk assessment tools. Here, we use a database of 45,984 first records of 16,019 established alien species to investigate the temporal dynamics of occurrences of emerging alien species worldwide. Even after many centuries of invasions the rate of emergence of new alien species is still high: One-quarter of first records during 2000-2005 were of species that had not been previously recorded anywhere as alien, though with large variation across taxa. Model results show that the high proportion of emerging alien species cannot be solely explained by increases in well-known drivers such as the amount of imported commodities from historically important source regions. Instead, these dynamics reflect the incorporation of new regions into the pool of potential alien species, likely as a consequence of expanding trade networks and environmental change. This process compensates for the depletion of the historically important source species pool through successive invasions. We estimate that 1-16% of all species on Earth, depending on the taxonomic group, qualify as potential alien species. These results suggest that there remains a high proportion of emerging alien species we have yet to encounter, with future impacts that are difficult to predict.

No saturation in the accumulation of alien species worldwide.

Although research on human-mediated exchanges of species has substantially intensified during the last centuries, we know surprisingly little about temporal dynamics of alien species accumulations across regions and taxa. Using a novel database of 45,813 first records of 16,926 established alien species, we show that the annual rate of first records worldwide has increased during the last 200 years, with 37% of all first records reported most recently (1970-2014). Inter-continental and inter-taxonomic variation can be largely attributed to the diaspora of European settlers in the nineteenth century and to the acceleration in trade in the twentieth century. For all taxonomic groups, the increase in numbers of alien species does not show any sign of saturation and most taxa even show increases in the rate of first records over time. This highlights that past efforts to mitigate invasions have not been effective enough to keep up with increasing globalization.

A rapid platelet function assay used to regulate platelet transfusion prophylaxis following cardiopulmonary bypass surgery.

Subsequent to cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB), patients are at risk of postoperative bleeding caused by acquired defects associated with the procedure. As such, many patients receive prophylactic blood product transfusion. The effectiveness of measuring platelet function using a near-patient platelet function analyzer for the purpose of regulating platelet transfusion and potentially modulating other blood products including fresh frozen plasma (FFP) and cryoprecipitate (CRYO) transfusion was evaluated prospectively in patients undergoing CPB. A 6-month prospective study was designed that encompassed all CPB patients at Aultman Hospital (Canton, OH) during 2001. Each patient was assessed postoperatively for platelet count and function using a point-of-care analyzer. Data were used to help determine whether a platelet transfusion would be administered. Transfusion of CRYO and FFP was also recorded. The data were then compared to the retrospective same 6-month period in the preceding year for the purpose of determining the value of this system in guiding transfusion triage. There were 1770 platelet packs transfused during the study period, representing a 34% reduction in platelet usage. Platelet transfusions were reduced by 51% (5.75 in 2001 vs. 11.75 in 2000) per patient. CRYO/FFP usage was also substantially reduced. During the study period, the patient caseload had increased by 72 (310 vs. 238). Monitoring platelet count and function as a result of CPB and administering an appropriate transfusion protocol can positively impact transfusion outcome.