Revised Species Delimitation in the Giant Water Lily Genus Victoria (Nymphaeaceae) Confirms a New Species and Has Implications for Its Conservation.

Reliably documenting plant diversity is necessary to protect and sustainably benefit from it. At the heart of this documentation lie species concepts and the practical methods used to delimit taxa. Here, we apply a total-evidence, iterative methodology to delimit and document species in the South American genus Victoria (Nymphaeaceae). The systematics of Victoria has thus far been poorly characterized due to difficulty in attributing species identities to biological collections. This research gap stems from an absence of type material and biological collections, also the confused diagnosis of V. cruziana. With the goal of improving systematic knowledge of the genus, we compiled information from historical records, horticulture and geography and assembled a morphological dataset using citizen science and specimens from herbaria and living collections. Finally, we generated genomic data from a subset of these specimens. Morphological and geographical observations suggest four putative species, three of which are supported by nuclear population genomic and plastid phylogenomic inferences. We propose these three confirmed entities as robust species, where two correspond to the currently recognized V. amazonica and V. cruziana, the third being new to science, which we describe, diagnose and name here as V. boliviana Magdalena and L. T. Sm. Importantly, we identify new morphological and molecular characters which serve to distinguish the species and underpin their delimitations. Our study demonstrates how combining different types of character data into a heuristic, total-evidence approach can enhance the reliability with which biological diversity of morphologically challenging groups can be identified, documented and further studied.

Victorian-Era Dentures in Brisbane, Australia.

There are few formal publications in Australia relating to Victorian-era dentures and reliable evidence relating to their contemporaneous design, ownership and type is almost non-existent. Archeologists have reported only ten denture units retrieved from eight individuals interred in 19th century Australian cemeteries. A salvage excavation in 2001 at the North Brisbane Burial Grounds (NBBG, 1843-1875) uncovered, inter alia, an assemblage of two metal- and two vulcanite-based dentures. The names of the owners, the records of the dental practitioners and allied contextual information have been lost. This report is the first detailed analysis in Australia of 19th century dentures. It presents an investigation into the composition and underpinning laboratory technology within this quartette of NBBG artifacts, which represent half the known, and the only two alloy-based, dentures retrieved from 19th century cemeteries throughout Australia. The data within is a compilation of and extensive literature review, historical research methods, macroscopic inspection, scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy. The results provide insight into dental practice and affiliated technologies in Victorian-era Brisbane.

Early Dental Trade Card with Occupational Logo.

Merchants, trade and service people, professionals, and others sometimes used logos related to their businesses on advertising trade cards. Dr. Harry William Sale used a stock advertising trade card with his message on the reverse, containing a bright red detailed dentistry logo displaying a maxillary denture, extracted teeth, and multiple tools of the trade. This remarkably preserved card by Milton Wolf, copyrighted 1882, offers a perfect example of a Victorian Era trade/business card featuring an occupational logo.

Fabulous Dentist Photograph of Yesteryear.

William Henry Parsons (1849-1928), Dentist, Clifton, Kansas is posed in a photograph by Henry Luther Wolf of Eskridge, Kansas. Mr. Wolf was a well-known photographer who did some of his most notable work while living in Southwest Kansas. His best-known photo was said to be a picture of a pioneer woman pushing a wheelbarrow of cow manure, entitled "Independence on the Plains #18 Gathering Chips" (Fig. 1).

Male circumcision to prevent syphilis in 1855 and HIV in 1986 is supported by the accumulated scientific evidence to 2015: Response to Darby.

An article by Darby disparaging male circumcision (MC) for syphilis prevention in Victorian times (1837-1901) and voluntary medical MC programs for HIV prevention in recent times ignores contemporary scientific evidence. It is one-sided and cites outlier studies as well as claims by MC opponents that support the author's thesis, but ignores high quality randomised controlled trials and meta-analyses. While we agree with Darby that risky behaviours contribute to syphilis and HIV epidemics, there is now compelling evidence that MC helps reduce both syphilis and HIV infections. Although some motivations for MC in Victorian times were misguided, others, such as protection against syphilis, penile cancer, phimosis, balanitis and poor hygiene have stood the test of time. In the absence of a cure or effective prophylactic vaccine for HIV, MC should help lower heterosexually acquired HIV, especially when coupled with other interventions such as condoms and behaviour. This should save lives, as well as reducing costs and suffering. In contrast to Darby, our evaluation of the evidence leads us to conclude that MC would likely have helped reduce syphilis in Victorian times and, in the current era, will help lower both syphilis and HIV, so improving global public health.

Sir William Turner (1832-1916) - Lancastrian, anatomist and champion of the Victorian era.

Sir William Turner, a Lancastrian, was renowned as a scientist, anatomist and a great reformer of medical education. His students became anatomists at various international institutions, which consequently shaped the future of anatomy as a subject matter both in the United Kingdom and in South Africa. Although Turner's accomplishments have been documented, little is known about the details that determined his career path and the individuals that shaped his future. Here the authors aim to highlight some aspects of Turner's academic achievements and his personal life as well as how he crossed paths with other great minds of the Victorian era including Richard Owen, Charles Darwin, James Paget and Joseph Lister.