ORCID Profile
0000-0002-5465-913X
Current Organisation
University of Duisburg-Essen
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Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 07-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.SAPHARM.2013.08.001
Abstract: Compounded progesterone (P₄) is a product that, from a clinical experience-based perspective, effectively relieves a range of symptoms. In contrast, from a conventional evidence-based medicine perspective, P₄ is ineffective. As P₄ is not a product prescribed by conventional medicine, it is unlikely to be prescribed by family doctors, which increases the barriers to utilization. Utilization of medicines is influenced by many contextual and in idual characteristics. The Behavioral Model of Health Services Use provides a multidimensional framework to conceptualize utilization of health services including medicine use. The 4 main components of this model are: contextual characteristics, in idual characteristics, health behaviors and outcomes. This paper reports on the application of The Behavioral Model of Health Services Use to medicines and shows how it can be applied to the use of P₄. The model enables some of the positive reinforcement that contributes to women continuing to use P₄ to be explained. The Behavioral Model of Health Services Use was found to offer the potential to identify and then address issues with access to prescription medicines.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-01-2013
Publisher: The Royal Society
Date: 07-2015
DOI: 10.1098/RSOS.140424
Abstract: Assessing the enormous ersity of Southern Ocean benthic species and their evolutionary histories is a central task in the era of global climate change. Based on mitochondrial markers, it was recently suggested that the circumpolar giant sea spider Colossendeis megalonyx comprises a complex of at least six cryptic species with mostly small and non-overlapping distribution ranges. Here, we expand the s ling to include over 500 mitochondrial COI sequences of specimens from around the Antarctic. Using multiple species delimitation approaches, the number of distinct mitochondrial OTUs increased from six to 15–20 with our larger dataset. In contrast to earlier studies, many of these clades show almost circumpolar distributions. Additionally, analysis of the nuclear internal transcribed spacer region for a subset of these specimens showed incongruence between nuclear and mitochondrial results. These mito-nuclear discordances suggest that several of the ergent mitochondrial lineages can hybridize and should not be interpreted as cryptic species. Our results suggest survival of C. megalonyx during Pleistocene glaciations in multiple refugia, some of them probably located on the Antarctic shelf, and emphasize the importance of multi-gene datasets to detect the presence of cryptic species, rather than their inference based on mitochondrial data alone.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 03-2011
DOI: 10.1016/J.YMPEV.2010.12.016
Abstract: We present the almost complete (16,007 bp) mitochondrial genome of a Colossendeis megalonyx specimen from the Southern Ocean and discuss gene order and tRNA structure in a comparative phylogenetic context. Our data suggest a basal position of the colossendeid lineage corroborating earlier phylogenetic studies but disagreeing with results of a recently published study that supported a highly derived sister-group relationship of Colossendeidae and Nymphonidae. Our results, together with BLAST searches and phylogenetic comparisons, indicate that the specimen presented as Colossendeis sp. in a series of recent studies had been misidentified. It has now been identified as a nymphonid species.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 18-06-2020
DOI: 10.1111/MEC.15472
Abstract: A decade after environmental scientists integrated high‐throughput sequencing technologies in their toolbox, the genomics‐based monitoring of anthropogenic impacts on the bio ersity and functioning of ecosystems is yet to be implemented by regulatory frameworks. Despite the broadly acknowledged potential of environmental genomics to this end, technical limitations and conceptual issues still stand in the way of its broad application by end‐users. In addition, the multiplicity of potential implementation strategies may contribute to a perception that the routine application of this methodology is premature or “in development”, hence restraining regulators from binding these tools into legal frameworks. Here, we review recent implementations of environmental genomics‐based methods, applied to the biomonitoring of ecosystems. By taking a general overview, without narrowing our perspective to particular habitats or groups of organisms, this paper aims to compare, review and discuss the strengths and limitations of four general implementation strategies of environmental genomics for monitoring: (a) Taxonomy‐based analyses focused on identification of known bioindicators or described taxa (b) De novo bioindicator analyses (c) Structural community metrics including inferred ecological networks and (d) Functional community metrics (metagenomics or metatranscriptomics). We emphasise the utility of the three latter strategies to integrate meiofauna and microorganisms that are not traditionally utilised in biomonitoring because of difficult taxonomic identification. Finally, we propose a roadmap for the implementation of environmental genomics into routine monitoring programmes that leverage recent analytical advancements, while pointing out current limitations and future research needs.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 12-2021
DOI: 10.1111/ELE.13931
Abstract: Global freshwater bio ersity is declining dramatically, and meeting the challenges of this crisis requires bold goals and the mobilisation of substantial resources. While the reasons are varied, investments in both research and conservation of freshwater bio ersity lag far behind those in the terrestrial and marine realms. Inspired by a global consultation, we identify 15 pressing priority needs, grouped into five research areas, in an effort to support informed stewardship of freshwater bio ersity. The proposed agenda aims to advance freshwater bio ersity research globally as a critical step in improving coordinated actions towards its sustainable management and conservation.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-10-2021
Abstract: Metabarcoding of DNA extracted from environmental or bulk specimen s les is increasingly used to profile biota in basic and applied bio ersity research because of its targeted nature that allows sequencing of genetic markers from many s les in parallel. To achieve this, PCR lification is carried out with primers designed to target a taxonomically informative marker within a taxonomic group, and s le‐specific nucleotide identifiers are added to the licons prior to sequencing. The latter enables assignment of the sequences back to the s les they originated from. Nucleotide identifiers can be added during the metabarcoding PCR and during “library preparation”, that is, when licons are prepared for sequencing. Different strategies to achieve this labelling exist. All have advantages, challenges and limitations, some of which can lead to misleading results, and in the worst case compromise the fidelity of the metabarcoding data. Given the range of questions addressed using metabarcoding, ensuring that data generation is robust and fit for the chosen purpose is critically important for practitioners seeking to employ metabarcoding for bio ersity assessments. Here, we present an overview of the three main workflows for s le‐specific labelling and library preparation in metabarcoding studies on Illumina sequencing platforms one‐step PCR, two‐step PCR, and tagged PCR. Further, we distill the key considerations for researchers seeking to select an appropriate metabarcoding strategy for their specific study. Ultimately, by gaining insights into the consequences of different metabarcoding workflows, we hope to further consolidate the power of metabarcoding as a tool to assess bio ersity across a range of applications.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 25-04-2013
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 12-06-2013
DOI: 10.1038/NATURE12221
Abstract: Coccolithophores have influenced the global climate for over 200 million years. These marine phytoplankton can account for 20 per cent of total carbon fixation in some systems. They form blooms that can occupy hundreds of thousands of square kilometres and are distinguished by their elegantly sculpted calcium carbonate exoskeletons (coccoliths), rendering them visible from space. Although coccolithophores export carbon in the form of organic matter and calcite to the sea floor, they also release CO2 in the calcification process. Hence, they have a complex influence on the carbon cycle, driving either CO2 production or uptake, sequestration and export to the deep ocean. Here we report the first haptophyte reference genome, from the coccolithophore Emiliania huxleyi strain CCMP1516, and sequences from 13 additional isolates. Our analyses reveal a pan genome (core genes plus genes distributed variably between strains) probably supported by an atypical complement of repetitive sequence in the genome. Comparisons across strains demonstrate that E. huxleyi, which has long been considered a single species, harbours extensive genome variability reflected in different metabolic repertoires. Genome variability within this species complex seems to underpin its capacity both to thrive in habitats ranging from the equator to the subarctic and to form large-scale episodic blooms under a wide variety of environmental conditions.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 13-01-2015
DOI: 10.1002/ECE3.1366
Publisher: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory
Date: 07-05-2023
DOI: 10.1101/2023.05.04.539402
Abstract: Insects are unique in terms of their high species ersity and deliver key ecological functions. Despite this importance, we know little about true species numbers and bio ersity trends for most insect orders. A key limitation is a lack of time, funding and taxonomic expertise needed to identify the huge number of often small species, of which many remain undescribed as “dark taxa”. We here present a holistic, scalable and affordable insect ersity monitoring approach using DNA metabarcoding of the mitochondrial COI gene. Using data from the German Malaise trap program we analyzed 1,815 s les obtained from 2019 and 2020 through 75 traps across Germany. We uncovered 10,803 plausible insect species of which the majority (83.9%) was represented by a single OTU. We estimated another 22,500 potential insect species, which lack reference data or represent undescribed species. The overall number of ,000 insect species reported here is almost as high as the total number of insect species known for Germany (∼35,500). As Malaise traps capture only a certain fraction of insect species, we argue that many species recorded here are unknown from Germany or new to science in general. Our approach uses robotics and replicated analysis with on average 1.4 M sequence reads per s le for less than 50 € including supply, labor and maintenance. Our up-scalable analysis of 141 s les within two weeks with one person provides a blueprint for large-scale insect monitoring in almost real time.
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 31-12-2020
DOI: 10.1002/WAT2.1506
No related grants have been discovered for Florian Leese.