Despite relatively extensive historical exploration being carried out on Lepidopteran fauna of South Africa, leaf-mining micromoths of the family Gracillariidae remain a source of discovery, with many new species awaiting description. In the present work, 32 gracillariid species from South Africa are treated. For each species, hostplant and distribution information is provided, supplemented by taxonomic and molecular analysis where necessary.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFGlobal biodiversity gradients are generally expected to reflect greater species replacement closer to the equator. However, empirical validation of global biodiversity gradients largely relies on vertebrates, plants, and other less diverse taxa. Here we assess the temporal and spatial dynamics of global arthropod biodiversity dynamics using a beta-diversity framework.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe urinary albumin- and protein-to-creatinine ratios (UACR and UPCR, respectively) are key endpoints in most clinical trials assessing risk of progression of chronic kidney disease (CKD). For the first time, the current study compares the UACR versus the UPCR head-to-head at early stages of CKD, taking use of the hereditary podocytopathy Alport syndrome (AS) as a model disease for any CKD. Urine samples originated from the prospective randomized, controlled EARLY PRO-TECT Alport trial (NCT01485978).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: Burosumab has been approved for the treatment of children and adults with X-linked hypophosphatemia (XLH). Real-world data and evidence for its efficacy in adolescents are lacking.
Objective: To assess the effects of 12 months of burosumab treatment on mineral metabolism in children (aged <12 years) and adolescents (aged 12-18 years) with XLH.