Climatic change and wetland desiccation cause amphibian decline in Yellowstone National Park.

PubMed

McMenamin, Sarah K; Hadly, Elizabeth A; Wright, Christopher K

2008-11-04

Amphibians are a bellwether for environmental degradation, even in natural ecosystems such as Yellowstone National Park in the western United States, where species have been actively protected longer than anywhere else on Earth. We document that recent climatic warming and resultant wetland desiccation are causing severe declines in 4 once-common amphibian species native to Yellowstone. Climate monitoring over 6 decades, remote sensing, and repeated surveys of 49 ponds indicate that decreasing annual precipitation and increasing temperatures during the warmest months of the year have significantly altered the landscape and the local biological communities. Drought is now more common and more severe than at any time in the past century. Compared with 16 years ago, the number of permanently dry ponds in northern Yellowstone has increased 4-fold. Of the ponds that remain, the proportion supporting amphibians has declined significantly, as has the number of species found in each location. Our results indicate that climatic warming already has disrupted one of the best-protected ecosystems on our planet and that current assessments of species' vulnerability do not adequately consider such impacts.

Climatic change and wetland desiccation cause amphibian decline in Yellowstone National Park

PubMed Central

McMenamin, Sarah K.; Hadly, Elizabeth A.; Wright, Christopher K.

2008-01-01

Amphibians are a bellwether for environmental degradation, even in natural ecosystems such as Yellowstone National Park in the western United States, where species have been actively protected longer than anywhere else on Earth. We document that recent climatic warming and resultant wetland desiccation are causing severe declines in 4 once-common amphibian species native to Yellowstone. Climate monitoring over 6 decades, remote sensing, and repeated surveys of 49 ponds indicate that decreasing annual precipitation and increasing temperatures during the warmest months of the year have significantly altered the landscape and the local biological communities. Drought is now more common and more severe than at any time in the past century. Compared with 16 years ago, the number of permanently dry ponds in northern Yellowstone has increased 4-fold. Of the ponds that remain, the proportion supporting amphibians has declined significantly, as has the number of species found in each location. Our results indicate that climatic warming already has disrupted one of the best-protected ecosystems on our planet and that current assessments of species' vulnerability do not adequately consider such impacts. PMID:18955700

An evaluation of bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa) decline in the urban forest of Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Catton, H.A.; St., George; Remphrey, W.R.

2007-01-01

Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, has a large, indigenous population of bur oak (Quercus macrocarpa Michx.). In the 1980s, many of these trees were showing signs of decline, a disease caused by a complex of abiotic and secondary biotic stressing agents. Potential causal factors were investigated by comparing various aspects of 120 bur oaks visually rated as healthy or declined based on crown dieback levels. The results indicated that many selected bur oak trees predated surrounding urban development and that declined trees were significantly older with more severe stem wounds and competition from surrounding trees than healthy specimens. Average annual growth ring widths of healthy and declined trees were similar in the early part of the 20th century. However, decline actually began decades before symptoms were noticed, coinciding with a period of in tense city-wide urban development, as growth of declined trees was slower than that of healthy trees beginning sporadically in the 1940s and consistently from 1974 to 2001. During the early years of decline, the year-by-year separation in ring width between the two categories was significantly positively related to precipitation levels. This suggested that in wet years, declined trees may have been surrounded by unfavorable water-logged soils, possibly as a result of natural drainage patterns being impeded by urban development. ?? 2007 International Society of Arboriculture.

The role of multiple stressor causes in declining amphibian populations: a wingspread workshop summary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Krest, S.K.; Linder, G.; Sparling, D.W.; Linder, Gregory L.; Krest, Sherry K.; Sparling, Donald W.; Little, Edward E.

2003-01-01

Numerous studies have documented the decline of amphibian populations over the past decade and no single factor has been the linked to these widespread declines. Determining the causes of declining amphibian populations worldwide has proven difficult because of the variety of anthropogenic and natural suspect agents. A Wingspread workshop, convened by The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), brought together individuals with expertise in the areas of amphibian biology, ecotoxicology, natural resource management, and environmental policy. This workshop had three objectives: 1) create a network for future discussions on multiple stressor causes of declines; 2) characterize and prioritize technical issues critical to the analysis of the decline problem; and 3) identify and develop resource management approaches to promote sustainable and healthy amphibian populations. The workshop proceedings will be summarized in a book entitled, 'Multiple Stressors and Declining Amphibian Populations: Evaluating Cause and Effect.' This paper summarizes the results of the workshop.

The role of multiple stressor causes in declining amphibian populations: A wingspread workshop summary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Krest, S.K.; Linder, G.; Sparling, D.W.; ,

2003-01-01

Numerous studies have documented the decline of amphibian populations over the past decade and no single factor has been the linked to these widespread declines. Determining the causes of declining amphibian populations worldwide has proven difficult because of the variety of anthropogenic and natural suspect agents. A Wingspread workshop, convened by The Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC), brought together individuals with expertise in the areas of amphibian biology, ecotoxicology, natural resource management, and environmental policy. This workshop had three objectives: 1) create a network for future discussions on multiple Stressor causes of declines; 2) characterize and prioritize technical issues critical to the analysis of the decline problem; and 3) identify and develop resource management approaches to promote sustainable and healthy amphibian populations. The workshop proceedings will be summarized in a book entitled, "Multiple Stressors and Declining Amphibian Populations: Evaluating Cause and Effect." This paper summarizes the results of the workshop.

Declining survival of lake trout stocked during 1963-1986 in U.S. waters of Lake Superior

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hansen, Michael J.; Ebener, Mark P.; Schorfhaar, Richard G.; Schram, Stephen T.; Schreiner, Donald R.; Selgeby, James H.

1994-01-01

The average catch per effort (CPE) values for the 1963–1982 year-classes of stocked lake trout Salvelinus namaycush caught at age 7 in gill nets and for the 1976–1986 year-classes caught at ages 2–4 in trawls declined significantly in U.S. waters of Lake Superior. The declines in CPE were not explained by reduced stocking, but rather by significant declines in survival indices of the year-classes of stocked lake trout. Increases in mortality occurred in year-classes before the fish reached ages 2–4, before they were recruited into the sport and commercial fisheries, and before they reached sizes vulnerable to sea lamprey predation. We conclude that declining abundance of stocked lake trout resulted from increased mortality, which may have been caused by competition, predation, or by a combination of these and other factors. Restoration of lake trout in Lake Superior may now depend on prudent management of naturally reproducing stocks rather than on stocking of hatchery-reared fish.

Beyond the disease: Is Toxoplasma gondii infection causing population declines in the eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus)?

PubMed Central

Fancourt, Bronwyn A.; Nicol, Stewart C.; Hawkins, Clare E.; Jones, Menna E.; Johnson, Chris N.

2014-01-01

Disease is often considered a key threat to species of conservation significance. For some, it has resulted in localised extinctions and declines in range and abundance. However, for some species, the assertion that a disease poses a significant threat of extinction is based solely on correlative or anecdotal evidence, often inferred from individual clinical case reports. While a species’ susceptibility to a disease may be demonstrated in a number of individuals, investigations rarely extend to measuring the impact of disease at the population level and its contribution, if any, to population declines. The eastern quoll (Dasyurus viverrinus) is a medium-sized Australian marsupial carnivore that is undergoing severe and rapid decline in Tasmania, its last refuge. Reasons for the decline are currently not understood. Feral cats (Felis catus) may be undergoing competitive release following the ongoing decline of the Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), with cats suppressing eastern quolls through increased predation, competition, exclusion or exposure to diseases such as toxoplasmosis. To investigate the effects of Toxoplasma gondii infection, eastern quoll populations at four sites were regularly screened for the seroprevalence of T. gondii-specific IgG antibodies. Seroprevalence was approximately five times higher at sites with declining quoll populations, and there was a negative association between seroprevalence and quoll abundance. However, T. gondii infection did not reduce quoll survival or reproduction. Despite a high susceptibility to T. gondii infection, eastern quoll populations do not appear to be limited by the parasite or its resultant disease. Significantly higher seroprevalence is a signal of greater exposure to feral cats at sites where eastern quolls are declining, suggesting that increased predation, competition or exclusion by feral cats may be precipitating population declines. PMID:25161908

A historical perspective of injuries in professional football. Twenty-six years of game-related events.

PubMed

Nicholas, J A; Rosenthal, P P; Gleim, G W

1988-08-19

A professional football franchise was studied consecutively from 1960 through 1985 for injuries incurred during regular-season games. A "significant" injury was defined as one requiring the player to miss at least two consecutive games (N = 331) and a "major" injury as one that caused the player to miss at least eight games or the equivalent time (N = 130). Significant injuries averaged 0.89 per game and major injuries 0.35 per game for the entire 26 years. Following a high injury rate prior to 1965, significant injury rates were episodic. Major injuries declined (rs = -.68; P less than .01). Since the team's first games on synthetic surfaces in 1968, there was no difference in the rates of significant injuries per game (0.57 vs 0.67) or major injuries per game (0.22 vs 0.33) between games played on grass or artificial turf, respectively. Since 1969 there has been a decline in major knee injuries (rs = -.51; P less than .05) and a decline in major injuries incurred during special-teams play (rs = -.55; P less than .05). The data indicate that this team suffered fewer injuries with the passing of time, primarily in injuries that caused a player to miss at least eight consecutive games. Observations of short duration do not lend themselves to current media perception that injury rates are higher and more serious today in professional football.

Microsatellite Analysis of Museum Specimens Reveals Historical Differences in Genetic Diversity between Declining and More Stable Bombus Species.

PubMed

Maebe, Kevin; Meeus, Ivan; Ganne, Maarten; De Meulemeester, Thibaut; Biesmeijer, Koos; Smagghe, Guy

2015-01-01

Worldwide most pollinators, e.g. bumblebees, are undergoing global declines. Loss of genetic diversity can play an essential role in these observed declines. In this paper, we investigated the level of genetic diversity of seven declining Bombus species and four more stable species with the use of microsatellite loci. Hereto we genotyped a unique collection of museum specimens. Specimens were collected between 1918 and 1926, in 6 provinces of the Netherlands which allowed us to make interspecific comparisons of genetic diversity. For the stable species B. pascuorum, we also selected populations from two additional time periods: 1949-1955 and 1975-1990. The genetic diversity and population structure in B. pascuorum remained constant over the three time periods. However, populations of declining bumblebee species showed a significantly lower genetic diversity than co-occurring stable species before their major declines. This historical difference indicates that the repeatedly observed reduced genetic diversity in recent populations of declining bumblebee species is not caused solely by the decline itself. The historically low genetic diversity in the declined species may be due to the fact that these species were already rare, making them more vulnerable to the major drivers of bumblebee decline.

Change in Estimated GFR Associates with Coronary Heart Disease and Mortality

PubMed Central

Matsushita, Kunihiro; Bash, Lori D.; Franceschini, Nora; Astor, Brad C.; Coresh, Josef

2009-01-01

Kidney function predicts cardiovascular and all-cause mortality, but little is known about the association of changes in estimated GFR (eGFR) with clinical outcomes. We investigated whether 3- and 9-yr changes in eGFR associated with risk for coronary heart disease (CHD) and all-cause mortality among 13,029 participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Study. After adjustment for baseline covariates including eGFR in Cox proportional hazards models, the quartile of participants with the greatest annual decline (annual decline ≥5.65%) in eGFR were at significantly greater risk for CHD and all-cause mortality (hazard ratio 1.30 [95% confidence interval 1.11 to 1.52] and 1.22 [95% confidence interval 1.06 to 1.41], respectively) compared with the third quartile (annual decline between 0.33 and 0.47%). We observed similar results when we analyzed 9-yr changes in eGFR. Adjustment for covariates at the second eGFR used to estimate change reduced the association with CHD but not with mortality. Among participants with stage 3 chronic kidney disease, an increase in eGFR during the first 3 yr also associated with a higher risk for mortality, perhaps as a result of clinical instability. In conclusion, a steeper than average decline in eGFR associates with a higher risk for CHD and all-cause mortality. Increases in eGFR among participants with chronic kidney disease associate with similar increased risks. PMID:19892932

Rate of Decline of the Oriental White-Backed Vulture Population in India Estimated from a Survey of Diclofenac Residues in Carcasses of Ungulates

PubMed Central

Green, Rhys E.; Taggart, Mark A.; Senacha, Kalu Ram; Raghavan, Bindu; Pain, Deborah J.; Jhala, Yadvendradev; Cuthbert, Richard

2007-01-01

The non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac is a major cause of the rapid declines in the Indian subcontinent of three species of vultures endemic to South Asia. The drug causes kidney failure and death in vultures. Exposure probably arises through vultures feeding on carcasses of domesticated ungulates treated with the drug. However, before the study reported here, it had not been established from field surveys of ungulate carcasses that a sufficient proportion was contaminated to cause the observed declines. We surveyed diclofenac concentrations in samples of liver from carcasses of domesticated ungulates in India in 2004–2005. We estimated the concentration of diclofenac in tissues available to vultures, relative to that in liver, and the proportion of vultures killed after feeding on a carcass with a known level of contamination. We assessed the impact of this mortality on vulture population trend with a population model. We expected levels of diclofenac found in ungulate carcasses in 2004–2005 to cause oriental white-backed vulture population declines of 80–99% per year, depending upon the assumptions used in the model. This compares with an observed rate of decline, from road transect counts, of 48% per year in 2000–2003. The precision of the estimate based upon carcass surveys is low and the two types of estimate were not significantly different. Our analyses indicate that the level of diclofenac contamination found in carcasses of domesticated ungulates in 2004–2005 was sufficient to account for the observed rapid decline of the oriental white-backed vulture in India. The methods we describe could be used again to assess changes in the effect on vulture population trend of diclofenac and similar drugs. In this way, the effectiveness of the recent ban in India on the manufacture and importation of diclofenac for veterinary use could be monitored. PMID:17668064

Investigating Rates of Hunting and Survival in Declining European Lapwing Populations

PubMed Central

2016-01-01

Understanding effects of harvest on population dynamics is of major interest, especially for declining species. European lapwing Vanellus vanellus populations increased from the 1960s until the 1980s and declined strongly thereafter. About 400,000 lapwings are harvested annually and it is thus of high conservation relevance to assess whether hunting was a main cause for the observed changes in lapwing population trends. We developed a multi-event cause-specific mortality model which we applied to a long-term ring-recovery data set (1960–2010) of > 360,000 records to estimate survival and cause-specific mortalities. We found no temporal change in survival over the last 50 years for first-year (FY) and older birds (after first-year; AFY) originating from different ringing areas. Mean survival was high, around 0.60 and 0.80 for FY and AFY individuals, respectively. The proportion of total mortality due to hunting was <0.10 over the study period and the estimated proportion of harvested individuals (kill rate) was <0.05 in each year. Our result of constant survival indicates that demographic processes other than survival were responsible for the pronounced change in lapwing population trends in the 1980s. Our findings lend support to the hypothesis that hunting was not a significant contributor to the large-scale decline of lapwing populations. To halt the ongoing decline of European lapwing populations management should focus on life history stages other than survival (e.g. productivity). Further analyses are required to investigate the contribution of other demographic rates to the decline of lapwings and to identify the most efficient conservation actions. PMID:27685660

Temperature, DOC level and basin interactions explain the declining oxygen concentrations in the Bothnian Sea

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ahlgren, Joakim; Grimvall, Anders; Omstedt, Anders; Rolff, Carl; Wikner, Johan

2017-06-01

Hypoxia and oxygen deficient zones are expanding worldwide. To properly manage this deterioration of the marine environment, it is important to identify the causes of oxygen declines and the influence of anthropogenic activities. Here, we provide a study aiming to explain the declining oxygen levels in the deep waters of the Bothnian Sea over the past 20 years by investigating data from environmental monitoring programmes. The observed decline in oxygen concentrations in deep waters was found to be primarily a consequence of water temperature increase and partly caused by an increase in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the seawater (R2Adj. = 0.83) as well as inflow from the adjacent sea basin. As none of the tested eutrophication-related predictors were significant according to a stepwise multiple regression, a regional increase in nutrient inputs to the area is unlikely to explain a significant portion of the oxygen decline. Based on the findings of this study, preventing the development of anoxia in the deep water of the Bothnian Sea is dependent on the large-scale measures taken to reduce climate change. In addition, the reduction of the nutrient load to the Baltic Proper is required to counteract the development of hypoxic and phosphate-rich water in the Baltic Proper, which can form deep water in the Bothnian Sea. The relative importance of these sources to oxygen consumption is difficult to determine from the available data, but the results clearly demonstrate the importance of climate related factors such as temperature, DOC and inflow from adjacent basins for the oxygen status of the sea.

Changes in causes of death among persons with AIDS: San Francisco, California, 1996-2011.

PubMed

Schwarcz, Sandra K; Vu, Annie; Hsu, Ling Chin; Hessol, Nancy A

2014-10-01

The increased life expectancy among HIV-infected persons treated with combination antiretroviral therapy (ART), risk behaviors, and co-morbidities associated with ART place HIV-infected persons at risk for non-HIV-related causes of death. We used the San Francisco HIV/AIDS registry to identify deaths that occurred from January 1996 through December 2011. Temporal trends in AIDS- and non-AIDS-related mortality rates, the proportion of underlying and contributory causes of death, and the ratio of observed deaths in the study population to expected number of deaths among California men aged 20-79 (standardized mortality ratio [SMR]) of underlying causes of death were examined. A total of 5338 deaths were identified. The annual AIDS-related death rate (per 100 deaths) declined from 10.8 in 1996 to 0.9 in 2011 (p<0.0001), while the annual death rate from non-AIDS-related causes declined from 2.1 in 1996 to 0.9 in 2011 (p<0.0001). The proportion of deaths due to all types of heart disease combined, all non-AIDS cancers combined, mental disorders resulting from substance abuse, drug overdose, suicide and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease increased significantly over time. The SMRs for liver diseased decreased significantly over time but remained elevated. Our data highlight the importance of age-related causes of death as well as deaths from causes that are, at least in part, preventable.

Changing pattern of drugs used for self-poisoning.

PubMed Central

Proudfoot, A T; Park, J

1978-01-01

In 1967-76 the annual number of admissions to a poisoning treatment centre rose from 964 to 2134. The proportion of admissions caused by taking barbiturate hypnotics and methaqualone fell considerably while that caused by taking benzodiazepines and tricyclic antidepressants increased. As a result the proportion of patients admitted unconscious fell from 23% to 15%. The declining contributions of barbiturates and methaqualone and increased importance of tricyclic antidepressants were significant in all grades of coma. The change in drugs taken, however, has not yet reduced the percentage of unconscious patients needing endotracheal intubation or assisted ventilation, and hypothermia remains as common. Only hypotension has become less frequent as antidepressants replace barbiturates as the main cause of drug-induced coma. The use of salicylates for self-poisoning is declining slowly, and paracetamol poisoning is now as common. PMID:620215

Evolving epidemiology of HIV-associated malignancies.

PubMed

Shiels, Meredith S; Engels, Eric A

2017-01-01

The purpose of this review is to describe the epidemiology of cancers that occur at an elevated rate among people with HIV infection in the current treatment era, including discussion of the cause of these cancers, as well as changes in cancer incidence and burden over time. Rates of Kaposi sarcoma, non-Hodgkin lymphoma and cervical cancer have declined sharply in developed countries during the highly active antiretroviral therapy era, but remain elevated 800-fold, 10-fold and four-fold, respectively, compared with the general population. Most studies have reported significant increases in liver cancer rates and decreases in lung cancer over time. Although some studies have reported significant increases in anal cancer rates and declines in Hodgkin lymphoma rates, others have shown stable incidence. Declining mortality among HIV-infected individuals has resulted in the growth and aging of the HIV-infected population, causing an increase in the number of non-AIDS-defining cancers diagnosed each year in HIV-infected people. The epidemiology of cancer among HIV-infected people has evolved since the beginning of the HIV epidemic with particularly marked changes since the introduction of modern treatment. Public health interventions aimed at prevention and early detection of cancer among HIV-infected people are needed.

Range contraction enables harvesting to extinction.

PubMed

Burgess, Matthew G; Costello, Christopher; Fredston-Hermann, Alexa; Pinsky, Malin L; Gaines, Steven D; Tilman, David; Polasky, Stephen

2017-04-11

Economic incentives to harvest a species usually diminish as its abundance declines, because harvest costs increase. This prevents harvesting to extinction. A known exception can occur if consumer demand causes a declining species' harvest price to rise faster than costs. This threat may affect rare and valuable species, such as large land mammals, sturgeons, and bluefin tunas. We analyze a similar but underappreciated threat, which arises when the geographic area (range) occupied by a species contracts as its abundance declines. Range contractions maintain the local densities of declining populations, which facilitates harvesting to extinction by preventing abundance declines from causing harvest costs to rise. Factors causing such range contractions include schooling, herding, or flocking behaviors-which, ironically, can be predator-avoidance adaptations; patchy environments; habitat loss; and climate change. We use a simple model to identify combinations of range contractions and price increases capable of causing extinction from profitable overharvesting, and we compare these to an empirical review. We find that some aquatic species that school or forage in patchy environments experience sufficiently severe range contractions as they decline to allow profitable harvesting to extinction even with little or no price increase; and some high-value declining aquatic species experience severe price increases. For terrestrial species, the data needed to evaluate our theory are scarce, but available evidence suggests that extinction-enabling range contractions may be common among declining mammals and birds. Thus, factors causing range contraction as abundance declines may pose unexpectedly large extinction risks to harvested species.

Range contraction enables harvesting to extinction

PubMed Central

Burgess, Matthew G.; Costello, Christopher; Gaines, Steven D.; Tilman, David; Polasky, Stephen

2017-01-01

Economic incentives to harvest a species usually diminish as its abundance declines, because harvest costs increase. This prevents harvesting to extinction. A known exception can occur if consumer demand causes a declining species’ harvest price to rise faster than costs. This threat may affect rare and valuable species, such as large land mammals, sturgeons, and bluefin tunas. We analyze a similar but underappreciated threat, which arises when the geographic area (range) occupied by a species contracts as its abundance declines. Range contractions maintain the local densities of declining populations, which facilitates harvesting to extinction by preventing abundance declines from causing harvest costs to rise. Factors causing such range contractions include schooling, herding, or flocking behaviors—which, ironically, can be predator-avoidance adaptations; patchy environments; habitat loss; and climate change. We use a simple model to identify combinations of range contractions and price increases capable of causing extinction from profitable overharvesting, and we compare these to an empirical review. We find that some aquatic species that school or forage in patchy environments experience sufficiently severe range contractions as they decline to allow profitable harvesting to extinction even with little or no price increase; and some high-value declining aquatic species experience severe price increases. For terrestrial species, the data needed to evaluate our theory are scarce, but available evidence suggests that extinction-enabling range contractions may be common among declining mammals and birds. Thus, factors causing range contraction as abundance declines may pose unexpectedly large extinction risks to harvested species. PMID:28351981

Hickory decline and mortality: Update on hickory decline research

Treesearch

Jennifer Juzwik; Ji-Huyn Park; Linda Haugen

2010-01-01

Research continued through the 2010 field season on the etiology of hickory decline that is characterized by thinning crowns with small, yellow leaves and hickory bark beetle attack on the upper main stem. This research is part of a larger project initiated in 2006 to assess the distribution and determine the cause(s) of Forest Health Monitoring reported decline and...

An experimental test of the causes of forest growth decline with stand age.

Treesearch

Michael G. Ryan; Dan Binkley; James H. Fownes; Christian Giardina; Randy S. Senock

2004-01-01

The decline in aboveground wood production after canopy closure in even-aged forest stands is a common pattern in forests, but clear evidence for the mechanism causing the decline is lacking. The problem is fundamental to forest biology, commercial forestry (the decline sets the rotation age), and to carbon storage in forests. We tested three hypotheses...

A retrospective analysis of pollen host plant use by stable and declining bumble bee species.

PubMed

Kleijn, David; Raemakers, Ivo

2008-07-01

Understanding population declines has been the objective of a wide range of ecological studies. When species have become rare such studies are complicated because particular behavior or life history traits may be the cause but also the result of the decline of a species. We approached this problem by studying species' characteristics on specimens that were collected before the onset of their decline and preserved in natural history museums. In northwestern Europe, some bumble bee species declined dramatically during the 20th century whereas other, ecologically similar, species maintained stable populations. A long-standing debate focuses on whether this is caused by declining species having stricter host plant preferences. We compared the composition of pollen loads of five bumble bee species with stable populations and five with declining populations using museum specimens collected before 1950 in Belgium, England, and The Netherlands. Prior to 1950, the number of plant taxa in pollen loads of declining species was almost one-third lower than that in stable species even though individuals of stable and declining species generally originated from the same areas. There were no systematic differences in the composition of pollen loads between stable and declining species, but the plant taxa preferred by declining species before 1950 had experienced a stronger decline in the 20th century than those preferred by stable species. In 2004 and 2005, we surveyed the areas where bumble bees had been caught in the past and compared the composition of past and present pollen loads of the stable, but not of the by now locally extinct declining species. The number of collected pollen taxa was similar, but the composition differed significantly between the two periods. Differences in composition reflected the major changes in land use in northwestern Europe but also the spread of the invasive plant species Impatiens glandulifera. The main question now is why declining species apparently were not able to switch to less preferred food plants when stable species were. This study shows that natural history collections can play an important role in improving our understanding of the ecological mechanisms driving species population change.

Effect of volatile compounds on excimer laser power delivery.

PubMed

Van Horn, Stewart D; Hovanesian, John A; Maloney, Robert K

2002-01-01

To determine whether vapors from perfume, hairspray, oil-based paint, or water-based paint affect excimer laser beam power delivery at the corneal surface. We measured the power delivery of an Apex Plus laser before, during, and after exposure to vapors from the following volatile compounds: three types of perfume, hair spray, an oil-based paint, and a water-based paint. A digital calorimeter was used to measure the steady-state beam power of the laser during laser discharge at the corneal plane. Multiple trials were run with each compound, and the change in laser energy over time was examined to determine if any of the compounds caused degradation of the laser optics. The presence of a volatile compound in the room caused no change in mean laser energy in comparison to before and after the compound was present. However, perfumes caused a progressive decline in laser beam power throughout the trials. Controlling for this progressive decline, there was no significant difference from perfume to perfume. None of the compounds tested caused a decline in laser beam power while present in the room. However, the presence of any perfume caused a deterioration in beam power over time, suggesting a degradation of the laser optics for all perfumes. Laser centers should consider advising their patients and staff to not wear perfumes in the laser suite.

AMPHIBIAN DECLINE, ULTRAVIOLET RADIATION AND LOCAL POPULATION ADAPTATION

EPA Science Inventory

Amphibian population declines have been noted on both local and global scales. Causes for these declines are unknown although many hypotheses have been offered. In areas adjacent to human development, loss of habitat is a fairly well accepted cause. However in isolated, seemingl...

The cause of global amphibian declines: a developmental endocrinologist's perspective.

PubMed

Hayes, T B; Falso, P; Gallipeau, S; Stice, M

2010-03-15

Greater than 70% of the world's amphibian species are in decline. We propose that there is probably not a single cause for global amphibian declines and present a three-tiered hierarchical approach that addresses interactions among and between ultimate and proximate factors that contribute to amphibian declines. There are two immediate (proximate) causes of amphibian declines: death and decreased recruitment (reproductive failure). Although much attention has focused on death, few studies have addressed factors that contribute to declines as a result of failed recruitment. Further, a great deal of attention has focused on the role of pathogens in inducing diseases that cause death, but we suggest that pathogen success is profoundly affected by four other ultimate factors: atmospheric change, environmental pollutants, habitat modification and invasive species. Environmental pollutants arise as likely important factors in amphibian declines because they have realized potential to affect recruitment. Further, many studies have documented immunosuppressive effects of pesticides, suggesting a role for environmental contaminants in increased pathogen virulence and disease rates. Increased attention to recruitment and ultimate factors that interact with pathogens is important in addressing this global crisis.

The cause of global amphibian declines: a developmental endocrinologist's perspective

PubMed Central

Hayes, T. B.; Falso, P.; Gallipeau, S.; Stice, M.

2010-01-01

Greater than 70% of the world's amphibian species are in decline. We propose that there is probably not a single cause for global amphibian declines and present a three-tiered hierarchical approach that addresses interactions among and between ultimate and proximate factors that contribute to amphibian declines. There are two immediate (proximate) causes of amphibian declines: death and decreased recruitment (reproductive failure). Although much attention has focused on death, few studies have addressed factors that contribute to declines as a result of failed recruitment. Further, a great deal of attention has focused on the role of pathogens in inducing diseases that cause death, but we suggest that pathogen success is profoundly affected by four other ultimate factors: atmospheric change, environmental pollutants, habitat modification and invasive species. Environmental pollutants arise as likely important factors in amphibian declines because they have realized potential to affect recruitment. Further, many studies have documented immunosuppressive effects of pesticides, suggesting a role for environmental contaminants in increased pathogen virulence and disease rates. Increased attention to recruitment and ultimate factors that interact with pathogens is important in addressing this global crisis. PMID:20190117

Are snake populations in widespread decline?

PubMed Central

Reading, C. J.; Luiselli, L. M.; Akani, G. C.; Bonnet, X.; Amori, G.; Ballouard, J. M.; Filippi, E.; Naulleau, G.; Pearson, D.; Rugiero, L.

2010-01-01

Long-term studies have revealed population declines in fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. In birds, and particularly amphibians, these declines are a global phenomenon whose causes are often unclear. Among reptiles, snakes are top predators and therefore a decline in their numbers may have serious consequences for the functioning of many ecosystems. Our results show that, of 17 snake populations (eight species) from the UK, France, Italy, Nigeria and Australia, 11 have declined sharply over the same relatively short period of time with five remaining stable and one showing signs of a marginal increase. Although the causes of these declines are currently unknown, we suspect that they are multi-faceted (such as habitat quality deterioration, prey availability), and with a common cause, e.g. global climate change, at their root. PMID:20534600

Amphibian decline and extinction: what we know and what we need to learn.

PubMed

Collins, James P

2010-11-01

For over 350 million yr, thousands of amphibian species have lived on Earth. Since the 1980s, amphibians have been disappearing at an alarming rate, in many cases quite suddenly. What is causing these declines and extinctions? In the modern era (post 1500) there are 6 leading causes of biodiversity loss in general, and all of these acting alone or together are responsible for modern amphibian declines: commercial use; introduced/exotic species that compete with, prey on, and parasitize native frogs and salamanders; land use change; contaminants; climate change; and infectious disease. The first 3 causes are historical in the sense that they have been operating for hundreds of years, although the rate of change due to each accelerated greatly after about the mid-20th century. Contaminants, climate change, and emerging infectious diseases are modern causes suspected of being responsible for the so-called 'enigmatic decline' of amphibians in protected areas. Introduced/exotic pathogens, land use change, and infectious disease are the 3 causes with a clear role in amphibian decline as well as extinction; thus far, the other 3 causes are only implicated in decline and not extinction. The present work is a review of the 6 causes with a focus on pathogens and suggested areas where new research is needed. Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a chytrid fungus that is an emerging infectious disease causing amphibian population decline and species extinction. Historically, pathogens have not been seen as a major cause of extinction, but Bd is an exception, which is why it is such an interesting, important pathogen to understand. The late 20th and early 21st century global biodiversity loss is characterized as a sixth extinction event. Amphibians are a striking example of these losses as they disappear at a rate that greatly exceeds historical levels. Consequently, modern amphibian decline and extinction is a lens through which we can view the larger story of biodiversity loss and its consequences.

Differences in the number of autopsies and causes of death between the months of Ramadan and control months and between two cities, Ankara and Bursa in Turkey.

PubMed

Canturk, Nergis; Turkmen, Nursel; Canturk, Gurol; Dagalp, Rukiye

2013-08-01

To investigate differences in the number of autopsies and causes of deaths affected by spiritual factors and concentration during Ramadan and to compare the results from two cities, Ankara and Bursa. Autopsies performed in morgue departments of the Council of Forensic Medicine, Ministry of Justice, in Ankara and Bursa during Ramadan and non-Ramadan (control) months between 2003 and 2006 were retrospectively investigated for age, sex, cause of death, manner of death and blood toxicological analyses. The number of autopsies was significantly higher in Ramadan months than in the control months in Bursa, but low and insignificant in Ankara. A significant decline in traumatic deaths was observed during Ramadan (p less than 0.05). During Ramadan, while rates of homicidal deaths displayed a relatively steep decline in females, the rates of homicide were increased in males. This might be due to a decrease in natural deaths and accidents. To make further comments, conducting studies evaluating detailed socio-demographic features and assessing relevant psychological states of the victims can be beneficial.

[Functional decline and presence of symptoms in palliative care: Cause or consequence?

PubMed

Zamora-Mur, Alfredo; Nabal-Vicuña, María; Zamora-Catevilla, Aranzazu; García-Foncillas, Rafael; Calderero-Aragón, Verónica; Aubí-Catevilla, Óscar; Lostalé-Latorre, Fernando

Several publications have related functional decline to the appearance of symptoms, especially psychiatric or psychological ones, such as anxiety and depression. Moreover, an initial depressive disorder or prior to functional decline usually worsens it. It was decided to investigate the relationship between the presence of functional decline, measured by a decrease in the Barthel index (BI), and the presence of symptoms. A prospective analytical study conducted on patients referred to a Home Care Support Team (HCST). The study included 638 cases, of which 53.9% (N=344) were male, 56% (N=357) with cancer and 44% (N=281) geriatric. The mean age was 79.64 years+- 10.8. Significant differences (P<.001) were found in functional decline measured by mean decline in the BI between cancer (34.4) and non-cancer patients (12.12). Significant differences (P<.001) were also found in all recorded symptoms (pain, dyspnoea, anorexia, nausea, anxiety, depression, and insomnia), more frequently in cancer patients, except psychomotor agitation. A higher presence of symptoms was detected in patients with greater functional decline, with decreases in BI above 20 points. There were no differences in previous treatments, except in certain analgesics. Differences were found in the different treatments prescribed by HCST. The presence of functional decline and its level may be related to the appearance of symptoms, especially in cancer patients. Copyright © 2016 SEGG. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

Effects of Temperature and Drought Stress on Physiological Processes Associated With Oak Decline

Treesearch

Theodor D. Leininger

1998-01-01

Oak decline is a term used to describe a sequence of events (decline syndrome) which is typically triggered by anabioticstress and subsequently involves other biotic and abiotic factors that cause the progressive deterioration and eventual death of a tree. Decline diseases lack a single causal agent, and in that way are different from diseases caused by one pathogen or...

Abrupt Decline in Kidney Function Before Initiating Hemodialysis and All-Cause Mortality: The Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study.

PubMed

Hsu, Raymond K; Chai, Boyang; Roy, Jason A; Anderson, Amanda H; Bansal, Nisha; Feldman, Harold I; Go, Alan S; He, Jiang; Horwitz, Edward J; Kusek, John W; Lash, James P; Ojo, Akinlolu; Sondheimer, James H; Townsend, Raymond R; Zhan, Min; Hsu, Chi-Yuan

2016-08-01

It is not clear whether the pattern of kidney function decline in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) may relate to outcomes after reaching end-stage renal disease (ESRD). We hypothesize that an abrupt decline in kidney function prior to ESRD predicts early death after initiating maintenance hemodialysis therapy. Prospective cohort study. The Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort (CRIC) Study enrolled men and women with mild to moderate CKD. For this study, we studied 661 individuals who developed chronic kidney failure that required hemodialysis therapy initiation. The primary predictor was the presence of an abrupt decline in kidney function prior to ESRD. We incorporated annual estimated glomerular filtration rates (eGFRs) into a mixed-effects model to estimate patient-specific eGFRs at 3 months prior to initiation of hemodialysis therapy. Abrupt decline was defined as having an extrapolated eGFR≥30mL/min/1.73m(2) at that time point. All-cause mortality within 1 year after initiating hemodialysis therapy. Multivariable Cox proportional hazards. Among 661 patients with CKD initiating hemodialysis therapy, 56 (8.5%) had an abrupt predialysis decline in kidney function and 69 died within 1 year after initiating hemodialysis therapy. After adjustment for demographics, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and cancer, abrupt decline in kidney function was associated with a 3-fold higher risk for death within the first year of ESRD (adjusted HR, 3.09; 95% CI, 1.65-5.76). Relatively small number of outcomes; infrequent (yearly) eGFR determinations; lack of more granular clinical data. Abrupt decline in kidney function prior to ESRD occurred in a significant minority of incident hemodialysis patients and predicted early death in ESRD. Copyright © 2016 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. All rights reserved.

Therapeutic milestone: stroke declines from the second to the third leading organ- and disease-specific cause of death in the United States.

PubMed

Towfighi, Amytis; Ovbiagele, Bruce; Saver, Jeffrey L

2010-03-01

Stroke mortality rates declined for much of the second half of the 20th century, but recent trends and their relation to other organ- and disease-specific causes of death have not been characterized. Using the National Center for Health Statistics mortality data, leading organ- and disease-specific causes of death were assessed for the most recent 10-year period (1996 to 2005) in the United States with a specific focus on stroke deaths. Age-adjusted stroke death rates declined by 25.4%; as a result, lung cancer (which only declined by 9.2%) surpassed stroke as the second leading cause of death in 2003. Despite a 31.9% decline in age-adjusted ischemic heart disease death rates, it remains the leading cause of death. Stroke is now the fifth leading cause of death in men and the fourth leading cause of death in whites but remains the second leading cause of death in women and blacks. With stroke death rates decreasing substantially in the United States from 1996 to 2005, stroke moved from the second to the third leading organ- and disease-specific cause of death. Women and blacks may warrant attention for targeted stroke prevention and treatment because they continue to have disproportionately high stroke death rates.

Iso-α-acids, bitter components of beer, prevent obesity-induced cognitive decline.

PubMed

Ayabe, Tatsuhiro; Ohya, Rena; Kondo, Keiji; Ano, Yasuhisa

2018-03-19

Dementia and cognitive decline have become worldwide public health problems, and it was recently reported that life-style related diseases and obesity are key risk factors in dementia. Iso-α-acids, hop-derived bitter components of beer, have been reported to have various physiological functions via activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ. In this report, we demonstrated that daily intake of iso-α-acids suppresses inflammations in the hippocampus and improves cognitive decline induced by high fat diet (HFD). Body weight, epididymal fat weight, and plasma triglyceride levels were increased in HFD-fed mice, and significantly decreased in iso-α-acids supplemented HFD-fed mice. HFD feeding enhances the production of inflammatory cytokines and chemokines, such as TNF-α, which was significantly suppressed by iso-α-acids administration. HFD-induced neuroinflammation caused lipid peroxidation, neuronal loss, and atrophy in hippocampus, and those were not observed in iso-α-acids-treated mice. Furthermore, iso-α-acids intake significantly improved cognitive decline induced by HFD-feeding. Iso-α-acids are food derived components that suppressing both lipid accumulation and brain inflammation, thus iso-α-acids might be beneficial for the risk of dementia increased by obesity and lifestyle-related diseases.

Microsatellite Analysis of Museum Specimens Reveals Historical Differences in Genetic Diversity between Declining and More Stable Bombus Species

PubMed Central

Maebe, Kevin; Meeus, Ivan; Ganne, Maarten; De Meulemeester, Thibaut; Biesmeijer, Koos; Smagghe, Guy

2015-01-01

Worldwide most pollinators, e.g. bumblebees, are undergoing global declines. Loss of genetic diversity can play an essential role in these observed declines. In this paper, we investigated the level of genetic diversity of seven declining Bombus species and four more stable species with the use of microsatellite loci. Hereto we genotyped a unique collection of museum specimens. Specimens were collected between 1918 and 1926, in 6 provinces of the Netherlands which allowed us to make interspecific comparisons of genetic diversity. For the stable species B. pascuorum, we also selected populations from two additional time periods: 1949–1955 and 1975–1990. The genetic diversity and population structure in B. pascuorum remained constant over the three time periods. However, populations of declining bumblebee species showed a significantly lower genetic diversity than co-occurring stable species before their major declines. This historical difference indicates that the repeatedly observed reduced genetic diversity in recent populations of declining bumblebee species is not caused solely by the decline itself. The historically low genetic diversity in the declined species may be due to the fact that these species were already rare, making them more vulnerable to the major drivers of bumblebee decline. PMID:26061732

Amplicon-based metagenomics identified candidate organisms in soils that caused yield decline in strawberry

PubMed Central

Xu, Xiangming; Passey, Thomas; Wei, Feng; Saville, Robert; Harrison, Richard J.

2015-01-01

A phenomenon of yield decline due to weak plant growth in strawberry was recently observed in non-chemo-fumigated soils, which was not associated with the soil fungal pathogen Verticillium dahliae, the main target of fumigation. Amplicon-based metagenomics was used to profile soil microbiota in order to identify microbial organisms that may have caused the yield decline. A total of 36 soil samples were obtained in 2013 and 2014 from four sites for metagenomic studies; two of the four sites had a yield-decline problem, the other two did not. More than 2000 fungal or bacterial operational taxonomy units (OTUs) were found in these samples. Relative abundance of individual OTUs was statistically compared for differences between samples from sites with or without yield decline. A total of 721 individual comparisons were statistically significant – involving 366 unique bacterial and 44 unique fungal OTUs. Based on further selection criteria, we focused on 34 bacterial and 17 fungal OTUs and found that yield decline resulted probably from one or more of the following four factors: (1) low abundance of Bacillus and Pseudomonas populations, which are well known for their ability of supressing pathogen development and/or promoting plant growth; (2) lack of the nematophagous fungus (Paecilomyces species); (3) a high level of two non-specific fungal root rot pathogens; and (4) wet soil conditions. This study demonstrated the usefulness of an amplicon-based metagenomics approach to profile soil microbiota and to detect differential abundance in microbes. PMID:26504572

Solar Radiation and Tidal Exposure as Environmental Drivers of Enhalus acoroides Dominated Seagrass Meadows

PubMed Central

Unsworth, Richard K. F.; Rasheed, Michael A.; Chartrand, Kathryn M.; Roelofs, Anthony J.

2012-01-01

There is strong evidence of a global long-term decline in seagrass meadows that is widely attributed to anthropogenic activity. Yet in many regions, attributing these changes to actual activities is difficult, as there exists limited understanding of the natural processes that can influence these valuable ecosystem service providers. Being able to separate natural from anthropogenic causes of seagrass change is important for developing strategies that effectively mitigate and manage anthropogenic impacts on seagrass, and promote coastal ecosystems resilient to future environmental change. The present study investigated the influence of environmental and climate related factors on seagrass biomass in a large ≈250 ha meadow in tropical north east Australia. Annual monitoring of the intertidal Enhalus acoroides (L.f.) Royle seagrass meadow over eleven years revealed a declining trend in above-ground biomass (54% significant overall reduction from 2000 to 2010). Partial Least Squares Regression found this reduction to be significantly and negatively correlated with tidal exposure, and significantly and negatively correlated with the amount of solar radiation. This study documents how natural long-term tidal variability can influence long-term seagrass dynamics. Exposure to desiccation, high UV, and daytime temperature regimes are discussed as the likely mechanisms for the action of these factors in causing this decline. The results emphasise the importance of understanding and assessing natural environmentally-driven change when interpreting the results of seagrass monitoring programs. PMID:22479541

Bacterial Leaf Scorch of Amenity Trees a Wide-Spread Problem of Economic Significance to the Urban Forest

Treesearch

James Lashomb; Alan Iskra; Ann Brooks Gould; George Hamilton

2003-01-01

Bacterial leaf scorch (BLS) of amenity trees is caused by the bacterium Xylella fastidiosa, a xylem-limited pathogen that causes water stress resulting in leaf scorch, decline, and eventual death of affected trees. Recent surveys indicate that BLS is widespread throughout the eastern half of the United States. In New Jersey, BLS primarily affects red and pin oaks...

Declines and Plateaux in Smoking Prevalence Over Three Decades in Fiji

PubMed Central

Linhart, Christine; Tukana, Isimeli; Lin, Sophia; Taylor, Richard; Morrell, Stephen; Vatucawaqa, Penina; Magliano, Dianna J; Zimmet, Paul

2017-01-01

Abstract Objectives To examine trends from 1980 to 2011 in daily tobacco smoking by sex, ethnicity, age, and urban/rural in Fiji Melanesian (i-Taukei) and Indian adults aged 25–64 years. Methods Unit record data from five population-based surveys (n = 14 528) allowed classification of participants as: (1) never-smoker, ex-smoker, or non-daily smoker; or (2) daily smoker, reporting smoking <20 or ≥20 tobacco products (cigarettes/cigars/pipes) a day. Trends were examined using spline analyses. Results Over 1980–2011 the prevalence of reported daily tobacco smoking decreased significantly in both sexes and ethnicities, with the greatest decline during 1980–2000. Declines were from 81.7% to 27.0% in i-Taukei men; 55.3% to 26.3% in Indian men; 48.1% to 9.5% in i-Taukei women; and 13.8% to 1.3% in Indian women (p < .0001). Declines were consistent across all age groups in men, while there were greater declines among older age groups in women; and greater declines from higher prevalences in rural compared to urban areas in both sexes and ethnicities. Smoking ≥20 tobacco products per day declined significantly in i-Taukei men from 8.0% to 1.9% (p < .0001); there were also declines in Indian men (4.6% to 2.0%) and i-Taukei women (2.6% to 0.6%), but these were not statistically significant; and Indian women remained <0.2% throughout the period. Conclusions Significant declines in daily tobacco smoking have occurred in Fiji in both sexes and ethnicities during the past 30 years, which is consistent with declines in tobacco apparent consumption and household expenditure. However, prevalence remains high in men at around 27% in 2011, with plateau at this level in i-Taukei. Implications This is the first study to show nationally representative population trends in tobacco smoking in a developing country over such a long period (>30 years) based on empirical unit record data (n = 14 528). Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of mortality throughout the Pacific Island region. This is the first study to show evidence of substantial declines over several decades in a cardiovascular disease risk factor in a Pacific Island country, and provides important evidence for further research into the interventions and events which may have facilitated this decline. PMID:27807124

Additional pest surveyed: hickory decline

Treesearch

Jennifer Juzwik; Ji-Hyun Park

2011-01-01

A five year investigation of the cause of rapid crown decline and mortality of bitternut hickory was concluded in September 2011. Results of a series of related studies found that multiple cankers and xylem (the water conducting tissue) dysfunction caused by Ceratocystis smalleyi are correlated with rapid crown decline typical of a limited vascular...

Agricultural Decline and Access to Food in Ghana.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tabatabai, Hamid

1988-01-01

Examines the causes and impacts of agricultural decline in Ghana. Presents a macroeconomic overview and discusses the nature of decline. Emphasizes the roles of prices and migration. Examines changes in incomes and access to food as both a result and a cause of poor performance in agriculture. (CH)

Latin America: how a region surprised the experts.

PubMed

De Sherbinin, A

1993-02-01

In 1960-1970, family planning specialists and demographers worried that poverty, limited education, Latin machismo, and strong catholic ideals would obstruct family planning efforts to reduce high fertility in Latin America. It had the highest annual population growth rate in the world (2.8%), which would increase the population 2-fold in 25 years. Yet, the UN's 1992 population projection for Latin America and the Caribbean in the year 2000 was about 20% lower than its 1963 projection (just over 500 vs. 638 million). Since life expectancy increased simultaneously from 57 to 68 years, this reduced projection was caused directly by a large decline in fertility from 5.9 to 3. A regression analysis of 11 Latin American and Caribbean countries revealed that differences in the contraceptive prevalence rates accounted for 90% of the variation in the total fertility rate between countries. Thus, contraception played a key role in the fertility decline. The second most significant determinant of fertility decline was an increase in the average age at first marriage from about 20 to 23 years. Induced abortion and breast feeding did not contribute significantly to fertility decline. The major socioeconomic factors responsible for the decline included economic development and urbanization, resulting in improvements in health care, reduced infant and child mortality, and increases in female literacy, education, and labor force participation. Public and private family planning programs also contributed significantly to the decline. They expanded from cities to remote rural areas, thereby increasing access to contraception. By the early 1990s, Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia had among the lowest levels of unmet need (13-24%) in developing countries. Other key factors of fertility decline were political commitment, strong communication efforts, and stress on quality services. Latin America provides hope to other regions where religion and culture promote a large family size.

Optimizing Sampling Design to Deal with Mist-Net Avoidance in Amazonian Birds and Bats

PubMed Central

Marques, João Tiago; Ramos Pereira, Maria J.; Marques, Tiago A.; Santos, Carlos David; Santana, Joana; Beja, Pedro; Palmeirim, Jorge M.

2013-01-01

Mist netting is a widely used technique to sample bird and bat assemblages. However, captures often decline with time because animals learn and avoid the locations of nets. This avoidance or net shyness can substantially decrease sampling efficiency. We quantified the day-to-day decline in captures of Amazonian birds and bats with mist nets set at the same location for four consecutive days. We also evaluated how net avoidance influences the efficiency of surveys under different logistic scenarios using re-sampling techniques. Net avoidance caused substantial declines in bird and bat captures, although more accentuated in the latter. Most of the decline occurred between the first and second days of netting: 28% in birds and 47% in bats. Captures of commoner species were more affected. The numbers of species detected also declined. Moving nets daily to minimize the avoidance effect increased captures by 30% in birds and 70% in bats. However, moving the location of nets may cause a reduction in netting time and captures. When moving the nets caused the loss of one netting day it was no longer advantageous to move the nets frequently. In bird surveys that could even decrease the number of individuals captured and species detected. Net avoidance can greatly affect sampling efficiency but adjustments in survey design can minimize this. Whenever nets can be moved without losing netting time and the objective is to capture many individuals, they should be moved daily. If the main objective is to survey species present then nets should still be moved for bats, but not for birds. However, if relocating nets causes a significant loss of netting time, moving them to reduce effects of shyness will not improve sampling efficiency in either group. Overall, our findings can improve the design of mist netting sampling strategies in other tropical areas. PMID:24058579

Cause-specific mortality trends in The Netherlands, 1875-1992: a formal analysis of the epidemiologic transition.

PubMed

Wolleswinkel-van den Bosch, J H; Looman, C W; Van Poppel, F W; Mackenbach, J P

1997-08-01

The objective of this study is to produce a detailed yet robust description of the epidemiologic transition in The Netherlands. National mortality data on sex, age, cause of death and calendar year (1875-1992) were extracted from official publications. For the entire period, 27 causes of death could be distinguished, while 65 causes (nested within the 27) could be studied from 1901 onwards. Cluster analysis was used to determine groups of causes of death with similar trend curves over a period of time with respect to age- and sex-standardized mortality rates. With respect to the 27 causes, three important clusters were found: (1) infectious diseases which declined rapidly in the late 19th century (e.g. typhoid fever), (2) infectious diseases which showed a less precipitous decline (e.g. respiratory tuberculosis), and (3) non-infectious diseases which showed an increasing trend during most of the period 1875-1992 (e.g. cancer). The 65 causes provided more detail. Seven important clusters were found: four consisted mainly of infectious diseases, including a new cluster that declined rapidly after the Second World War (WW2) (e.g. acute bronchitis/influenza) and a new cluster showing an increasing trend in the 1920s and 1930s before declining in the years thereafter (e.g. appendicitis). Three clusters mainly contained non-infectious diseases, including a new one that declined from 1900 onwards (e.g. cancer of the stomach) and a new one that increased until WW2 but declined thereafter (e.g. chronic rheumatic heart disease). The results suggest that the conventional interpretation of the epidemiologic transition, which assumes a uniform decline of infectious diseases and a uniform increase of non-infectious diseases, needs to be modified.

Chronic N enrichment and drought alter plant cover and community composition in a Mediterranean-type semi-arid shrubland.

PubMed

Vourlitis, George L

2017-05-01

Anthropogenic nitrogen (N) deposition has caused a decline in native plant species and an increase in exotic plant species in many terrestrial ecosystems; however, vegetation change depends on the rate and/or duration of N input, individual species responses, interactions with other resources, and ecosystem properties such as species richness and canopy cover, soil texture, pH, and/or disturbance regime. Native shrub and exotic forb responses to N enrichment were evaluated over a 13-year field experiment in a mature coastal sage scrub (CSS) shrubland of southern California to test the hypothesis that dry-season N input will cause a decline in native shrubs and an increase in exotic annuals. Nitrogen enrichment caused the dominant native shrubs, Artemisia californica and Salvia mellifera, to respond differently, with A. californica initially increasing with N input but declining thereafter and S. mellifera declining consistently over the 13-year-period. Both species exhibited higher canopy dieback during drought conditions, especially in N plots. Brassica nigra, an exotic annual, invaded N plots significantly more than control plots, but only after 10 years of N addition and a prolonged drought, which increased native shrub canopy dieback. These results indicate a possible synergism between N enrichment and drought on native shrub and exotic forb abundance, which would have important implications for plant diversity in semi-arid shrublands of southwest US that are anticipated to experience an increase in anthropogenic N enrichment and the frequency and duration of drought.

What is the cause of the decline in maternal mortality in India? Evidence from time series and cross-sectional analyses.

PubMed

Goli, Srinivas; Jaleel, Abdul C P

2014-05-01

Summary Studies on the causes of maternal mortality in India have focused on institutional deliveries, and the association of socioeconomic and demographic factors with the decline in maternal mortality has not been sufficiently investigated. By using both time series and cross-sectional data, this paper examines the factors associated with the decline in maternal mortality in India. Relative effects estimated by OLS regression analysis reveal that per capita state net domestic product (-1.49611, p<0.05), poverty ratio (0.02426, p<0.05), female literacy rate (-0.05905, p<0.10), infant mortality rate and total fertility rate (0.11755, p<0.05) show statistically significant association with the decline in the maternal mortality ratio in India. The Barro-regression estimate reveals that improvements in economic and demographic conditions such as growth in state income (β=0.35020, p<0.05) and reduction in poverty (β=0.01867, p<0.01) and fertility (β=0.02598, p<0.05) have a greater association with the decline in the maternal mortality ratio in India than institutional deliveries (β=0.00305). The negative β-coefficient (β=-0.69578, p<0.05), showing the effect of the initial maternal mortality ratio on change in maternal mortality ratio in the Barro-regression model, indicates a greater decline in maternal mortality ratio in laggard states compared with advanced states. Overall, comparing the estimates of relative effects, the socioeconomic and demographic factors have a stronger statistically significant association with the maternal mortality ratio than institutional deliveries. Interestingly, the weak association between 'increase in institutional deliveries' and 'decline in maternal mortality ratio' suggests that merely increasing deliveries alone will not help in ensuring maternal survival in India. Quality of services provided by the health facility, birth preparedness and avoiding delay in reaching health facility are also important. Deliveries in health facilities will not necessarily translate into increased survival chances of mothers unless women receive full antenatal care services and delays in reaching health facility are avoided.

Evaluating the links between climate, disease spread, and amphibian declines.

PubMed

Rohr, Jason R; Raffel, Thomas R; Romansic, John M; McCallum, Hamish; Hudson, Peter J

2008-11-11

Human alteration of the environment has arguably propelled the Earth into its sixth mass extinction event and amphibians, the most threatened of all vertebrate taxa, are at the forefront. Many of the worldwide amphibian declines have been caused by the chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), and two contrasting hypotheses have been proposed to explain these declines. Positive correlations between global warming and Bd-related declines sparked the chytrid-thermal-optimum hypothesis, which proposes that global warming increased cloud cover in warm years that drove the convergence of daytime and nighttime temperatures toward the thermal optimum for Bd growth. In contrast, the spatiotemporal-spread hypothesis states that Bd-related declines are caused by the introduction and spread of Bd, independent of climate change. We provide a rigorous test of these hypotheses by evaluating (i) whether cloud cover, temperature convergence, and predicted temperature-dependent Bd growth are significant positive predictors of amphibian extinctions in the genus Atelopus and (ii) whether spatial structure in the timing of these extinctions can be detected without making assumptions about the location, timing, or number of Bd emergences. We show that there is spatial structure to the timing of Atelopus spp. extinctions but that the cause of this structure remains equivocal, emphasizing the need for further molecular characterization of Bd. We also show that the reported positive multi-decade correlation between Atelopus spp. extinctions and mean tropical air temperature in the previous year is indeed robust, but the evidence that it is causal is weak because numerous other variables, including regional banana and beer production, were better predictors of these extinctions. Finally, almost all of our findings were opposite to the predictions of the chytrid-thermal-optimum hypothesis. Although climate change is likely to play an important role in worldwide amphibian declines, more convincing evidence is needed of a causal link.

Nutritional factors associated with decline in Canada

Treesearch

Benoit Cote

1999-01-01

Forest decline in eastern Canada was particuiarly severe in the early 1980's and is still prevalent in some areas (Bowers and Hopkin 1997). Early public and scientific opinions on the causes of forest decline were often not based on sound scientific knowledge. Factors such as acidic precipitation and ozone were rnost often mentioned as direct causes of forest...

Precipitating the Decline of Terrorist Groups: A Systems Analysis

DTIC Science & Technology

1994-03-24

terrorist group. The author assumes terrorsst groups are social organizations, therefore terrorist groups come to va~lue organiwaionwsl survival over...ideological or programmatir achievements. The same determinants that cause social organizations to decline will cause terrorist organizations to decline... social orgainizations. eventually come to value organizational su~rvival over ideological or progcinmrnatic achievements. 20 Distribution/Availability

Influence of insecticides and reflective mulch on watermelon vine decline caused by squash vein yellowing virus (SqVYV)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Watermelon vine decline (WVD) caused by the whitefly-transmitted Squash vein yellowing virus (SqVYV) has been a major limiting factor in watermelon production in southwest and west-central Florida for the past several years. Symptoms of WVD typically manifest as sudden decline of vines a few weeks ...

The Decline and Rise of Coronary Heart Disease: Understanding Public Health Catastrophism

PubMed Central

Greene, Jeremy A.

2013-01-01

The decline of coronary heart disease mortality in the United States and Western Europe is one of the great accomplishments of modern public health and medicine. Cardiologists and cardiovascular epidemiologists have devoted significant effort to disease surveillance and epidemiological modeling to understand its causes. One unanticipated outcome of these efforts has been the detection of early warnings that the decline had slowed, plateaued, or even reversed. These subtle signs have been interpreted as evidence of an impending public health catastrophe. This article traces the history of research on coronary heart disease decline and resurgence and situates it in broader narratives of public health catastrophism. Juxtaposing the coronary heart disease literature alongside the narratives of emerging and reemerging infectious disease helps to identify patterns in how public health researchers create data and craft them into powerful narratives of progress or pessimism. These narratives, in turn, shape public health policy. PMID:23678895

Ocean deoxygenation in a warming world.

PubMed

Keeling, Ralph E; Körtzinger, Arne; Gruber, Nicolas

2010-01-01

Ocean warming and increased stratification of the upper ocean caused by global climate change will likely lead to declines in dissolved O2 in the ocean interior (ocean deoxygenation) with implications for ocean productivity, nutrient cycling, carbon cycling, and marine habitat. Ocean models predict declines of 1 to 7% in the global ocean O2 inventory over the next century, with declines continuing for a thousand years or more into the future. An important consequence may be an expansion in the area and volume of so-called oxygen minimum zones, where O2 levels are too low to support many macrofauna and profound changes in biogeochemical cycling occur. Significant deoxygenation has occurred over the past 50 years in the North Pacific and tropical oceans, suggesting larger changes are looming. The potential for larger O2 declines in the future suggests the need for an improved observing system for tracking ocean 02 changes.

On the decline of ground lichen forests in the Swedish boreal landscape: Implications for reindeer husbandry and sustainable forest management.

PubMed

Sandström, Per; Cory, Neil; Svensson, Johan; Hedenås, Henrik; Jougda, Leif; Borchert, Nanna

2016-05-01

Lichens are a bottleneck resource for circumpolar populations of reindeer, and as such, for reindeer husbandry as an indigenous Sami land-use tradition in northern Sweden. This study uses ground lichen data and forest information collected within the Swedish National Forest Inventory since 1953, on the scale of northern Sweden. We found a 71 % decline in the area of lichen-abundant forests over the last 60 years. A decline was observed in all regions and age classes and especially coincided with a decrease of >60 year old, open pine forests, which was the primary explanatory factor in our model. The effects of reindeer numbers were inconclusive in explaining the decrease in lichen-abundant forest. The role that forestry has played in causing this decline can be debated, but forestry can have a significant role in reversing the trend and improving ground lichen conditions.

Job Changing and the Decline in Long-Distance Migration in the United States.

PubMed

Molloy, Raven; Smith, Christopher L; Wozniak, Abigail

2017-04-01

Interstate migration in the United States has decreased steadily since the 1980s, but little is known about the causes of this decline. We show that declining migration is related to a concurrent secular decline in job changing. Neither trend is primarily due to observable demographic or socioeconomic factors. Rather, we argue that the decline in job changing has caused the decline in migration. After establishing a role for the labor market in declining migration, we turn to the question of why job changing has become less frequent over the past several decades. We find little support for several explanations, including the rise of dual-career households, the decline in middle-skill jobs, occupational licensing, and the need for employees to retain health insurance. Thus, the reasons for these dual trends remain opaque and should be explored further.

Overexpression of Selenoprotein SelK in BGC-823 Cells Inhibits Cell Adhesion and Migration.

PubMed

Ben, S B; Peng, B; Wang, G C; Li, C; Gu, H F; Jiang, H; Meng, X L; Lee, B J; Chen, C L

2015-10-01

Effects of human selenoprotein SelK on the adhesion and migration ability of human gastric cancer BGC-823 cells using Matrigel adhesion and transwell migration assays, respectively, were investigated in this study. The Matrigel adhesion ability of BGC-823 cells that overexpressed SelK declined extremely significantly (p < 0.01) compared with that of the cells not expressing the protein. The migration ability of BGC-823 cells that overexpressed SelK also declined extremely significantly (p < 0.01). On the other hand, the Matrigel adhesion ability and migration ability of the cells that overexpressed C-terminally truncated SelK did not decline significantly. The Matrigel adhesion ability and migration ability of human embryonic kidney HEK-293 cells that overexpressed SelK did not show significant change (p > 0.05) with the cells that overexpressed the C-terminally truncated protein. In addition to the effect on Matrigel adhesion and migration, the overexpression of SelK also caused a loss in cell viability (as measured by 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazolyl)-2,5-diphenyl-2H tetrazolium bromide (MTT) colorimetric assay) and induced apoptosis as shown by confocal microscopy and flow cytometry. The cytosolic free Ca2+ level of these cells was significantly increased as detected by flow cytometry. But the overexpression of SelK in HEK-293 cells caused neither significant loss in cell viability nor apoptosis induction. Only the elevation of cytosolic free Ca2+ level in these cells was significant. Taken together, the results suggest that the overexpression of SelK can inhibit human cancer cell Matrigel adhesion and migration and cause both the loss in cell viability and induction of apoptosis. The release of intracellular Ca2+ from the endoplasmic reticulum might be a mechanism whereby the protein exerted its impact. Furthermore, only the full-length protein, but not C-terminally truncated form, was capable of producing such impact. The embryonic cells were not influenced by the elevation of free Ca2+ level in cytosol, probably due to their much greater tolerance to the variation.

Hydraulics play an important role in causing low growth rate and dieback of aging Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica trees in plantations of Northeast China.

PubMed

Liu, Yan-Yan; Wang, Ai-Ying; An, Yu-Ning; Lian, Pei-Yong; Wu, De-Dong; Zhu, Jiao-Jun; Meinzer, Frederick C; Hao, Guang-You

2018-07-01

The frequently observed forest decline in water-limited regions may be associated with impaired tree hydraulics, but the precise physiological mechanisms remain poorly understood. We compared hydraulic architecture of Mongolian pine (Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica) trees of different size classes from a plantation and a natural forest site to test whether greater hydraulic limitation with increasing size plays an important role in tree decline observed in the more water-limited plantation site. We found that trees from plantations overall showed significantly lower stem hydraulic efficiency. More importantly, plantation-grown trees showed significant declines in stem hydraulic conductivity and hydraulic safety margins as well as syndromes of stronger drought stress with increasing size, whereas no such trends were observed at the natural forest site. Most notably, the leaf to sapwood area ratio (LA/SA) showed a strong linear decline with increasing tree size at the plantation site. Although compensatory adjustments in LA/SA may mitigate the effect of increased water stress in larger trees, they may result in greater risk of carbon imbalance, eventually limiting tree growth at the plantation site. Our results provide a potential mechanistic explanation for the widespread decline of Mongolian pine trees in plantations of Northern China. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The role of contaminants and pollution in species decline

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pattee, O.H.; Rattner, B.A.; Eisler, R.; Wegner, V.L.; Bounds, D.L.

1999-01-01

Members of over 1,200 taxa have been listed as Threatened or Endangered, and over 4,000 additional organisms have been identified as Candidate Species or Species of Concern. Both naturally-occurring and anthropogenic activities (e.g., environmental contaminants and pollution) have been demonstrated to be a significant factor in depressing populations or catalyzing the final crash of some species. The objective of this project is to develop a synthesis document and database that lists and ranks the presumed causes of decline, with special emphasis on contaminants and pollutant-related situations. This will be accomplished by a synoptic review of all recovery plans (n=517) with listing packages (n= 1180) serving as a secondary source of information, followed by itemization, cross-referencing, enumeration, and ranking of contributing and limiting factors. To date we have analyzed most of the available recovery plans for freshwater mussels (n=39), reptiles (n=26). and amphibians (n=6). We categorized 116 reasons fur the decline in freshwater mussels, subsuming them into 6 classes: habitat alteration/availability (44.4%);.contaminants (24.1%); pollution (18.0%); exploitation/harvest (1.7%); introduction of exotic species (2.7%); miscellaneous others (9.2%). The 171 causes of decline for reptiles can be subsumed into the same categories: habitat alteration/availability (32.7%); contaminants (6.4%); pollution (9.9%); exploitation/harvest (28.7%); introduction of exotic species (11.1%); miscellaneous others (11.1%). The 34 causes for amphibian decline fall into 5 classes: habitat alteration/availability (50.0%); contaminants (5.9%); pollution (5.9%); exploitation/harvest (5.9%); miscellaneous others (32.3%). The contaminant and pollution related causes for the decline in mussels can be attributed to four classes of alterations: water quality (47.2%); effluents/ spills (46.7%); biocides (3.3%); other toxic compounds (2.8%). For reptiles, the contamination and pollution factors can also be divided similarly: water quality (2.0%); effluents/spills (51.0%); biocides (27.5%); other toxic compounds (19.6%). The amphibian data yields comparable results: water quality (16.67%); effluents/spills (16.67%); biocides (33.33%); and other toxic compounds (33.3%) as causes affecting amphibian decline. The applicability of these data is extensive. including facilitating reviews of Section 7 consultations and Environmental Impact Statements, reviewing permit applications, conducting environmental contaminant risk assessments, identifying specific data gaps and research needs, selecting potential management actions, and establishing priorities fur broad-based research on limiting factors applicable to groups of species rather than the current species-by-species approach. However, caution must be exercised in the use of these data because of the speculative nature of the causes; most of the causes (66.5%) are based on poorly documented expert opinion and/or guesswork. This is particularly true of the contaminant/pollution categories where only 17.6% of the incidents are documented in the literature.

Conservation agriculture improves yield and reduces weeding activity in sandy soils of Cambodia

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Intensive tillage in many less-developed countries, including Cambodia have caused significant decline in agriculture’s natural resources and sustainability. With limited available data, long-term conventional tillage system (CT) and conservation agriculture system (CA) can affect changes in soil pr...

A multi-state collaborative effort to conserve butternut Ex Situ

Treesearch

M.V. Coggeshall; S.M. Hoban; A. Flickinger; T.J. Hall; P. O’Connor; B. Schultz; S.A. Anagnostakis; J. Romero-Severson

2017-01-01

Butternut (Juglans cinerea), a native riparian forest tree, has suffered significant decline throughout most of its range due to a fatal fungal disease, butternut canker (caused by Sirococcus clavigignenti-juglandacearum). It has also been subject to natural hybridization pressures from Japanese walnut (J. ailantifolia), first...

Intraventricular Hemorrhage in Adults.

PubMed

Naff

1999-07-01

Intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) in adults usually occurs in the setting of aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage or hypertension-related intracerebral hemorrhage. Thus, the underlying cause of IVH is apparent from history and radiographic findings. If the underlying cause of IVH is not apparent, additional studies, including cerebral angiography, magnetic resonance imaging, and toxicology screening, should be performed to identify etiologic agents that may alter management of IVH. Management of IVH is thus done amidst (and must be tempered by) the multiple pharmacologic, surgical, and critical care interventions directed toward the diagnosis and treatment of the underlying cause of IVH. The most immediate threat to life posed by IVH is the development of acute obstructive hydrocephalus. If the hydrocephalus is contributing to a neurologic decline, it must be treated emergently with external ventricular drainage (EVD) through an intraventricular catheter (IVC). The patient with IVH should be evaluated and treated for deficient clotting function before an IVC is inserted. For this purpose, clotting function can be adequately assessed by prothrombin and partial thromboplastin times. Insertion of an IVC may significantly lower intracranial pressure, increasing the transmural pressure difference across the wall of a ruptured cerebral aneurysm and precipitating rerupture of the aneurysm. Therefore, with IVH secondary to a ruptured cerebral aneurysm, it is advisable to delay treatment of hydrocephalus that is not contributing to a neurologic decline until the aneurysm is repaired. Hydrocephalus contributing to significant neurologic decline in the setting of a ruptured aneurysm must be treated immediately despite the unprotected status of the aneurysm. Extreme diligence must be used to allow for the slow, controlled release of cerebrospinal fluid after IVC insertion. This will mitigate the effects of increasing the transmural pressure gradient across the wall of the ruptured aneurysm. In the patient with a neurologic deficit who has IVH-related hydrocephalus and an associated intracerebral hemorrhage, it is best to assume that the hydrocephalus is a significant contributor to the deficit and that it should be treated with EVD. An IVH that is not causing hydrocephalus but is apparently occluding one or both foramina of Monro or the third ventricle should be treated with EVD because obstructive hydrocephalus may develop precipitously and, if unrecognized, may cause irreversible brain damage or death. An IVH that is not likely to cause hydrocephalus because of small volume relative to its location can be followed expectantly. Intraventricular injections of thrombolytic agents through an IVC is a treatment option that may be considered in all patients with IVH that is causing or threatening to cause obstructive hydrocephalus. Unrepaired cerebral aneurysms, untreated cerebral arteriovenous malformations, and clotting disorders are contraindications for this intervention. The surgical evacuation of IVH has a role only in very rare cases in which the IVH is causing a significant mass effect independent of hydrocephalus and associated intraparenchymal brain hemorrhage.

Environmental contaminants in eggs of California least terns (Sterna antillarum browni)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hothem, R.L.; Zador, S.G.

1995-11-01

A severe decline in the coastal breeding population of California least terns (Sterna antillarum browni) in California and Baja California prompted both State and Federal governments to designate it an endangered species in 1970. Significant losses of nesting and feeding habitat have contributed greatly to the decline of this subspecies. However, environmental contaminants, such as organochlorine compounds and metals, may also have contributed to the decline. California least terns are primarily piscivorous during the nesting period, feeding predominantly on jack-smelt, topsmelt, and northern anchovy. Topsmelt had the highest levels of DDE (p,p`-DDE) (up to 3 {mu}g/g wet wt) of fishmore » collected from San Diego Bay. Eggs of Caspian terns (S.caspia) from that study contained up to 56 {mu}g/g DDE, and DDE was associated with a reduction in eggshell thickness as determined by the thickness index. In addition to shell deficiencies, organochlorines can also cause reduced egg production, aberrant incubation behavior, delayed ovulation, embryotoxicosis, and mortality of chicks and adults. Mercury (Hg) and selenium (Se) have caused decreased hatchability, altered nesting behavior, and embryotoxicosis in birds in field and laboratory studies. Our objective was to evaluate the role of contaminants in the decline of California least terns. 22 refs., 1 fig., 2 tabs.« less

Incidence of end-stage renal disease attributed to diabetes among persons with diagnosed diabetes --- United States and Puerto Rico, 1996-2007.

PubMed

2010-10-29

During 2007, approximately 110,000 persons in the United States and Puerto Rico began treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) (i.e., kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplantation). Diabetes is the leading cause of ESRD in the United States, accounting for 44% of new cases in 2007. Although the number of persons initiating treatment for kidney failure each year who have diabetes listed as a primary cause (ESRD-D) has increased since 1996, ESRD-D incidence among persons with diagnosed diabetes has declined since 1996. To determine whether this decline occurred in every U.S. region and in every state, CDC analyzed 1996-2007 data from the U.S. Renal Data System (USRDS) and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). During the period, the age-adjusted rate of ESRD-D among persons with diagnosed diabetes declined 35% overall, from 304.5 to 199.1 per 100,000 persons with diagnosed diabetes, and declined in all U.S. regions and in most states. No state showed a significant increase in the age-adjusted ESRD-D rate. Continued awareness of risk factors for kidney failure and interventions to improve diabetes care are needed to sustain and improve these trends.

Declines and Plateaux in Smoking Prevalence Over Three Decades in Fiji.

PubMed

Linhart, Christine; Tukana, Isimeli; Lin, Sophia; Taylor, Richard; Morrell, Stephen; Vatucawaqa, Penina; Magliano, Dianna J; Zimmet, Paul

2017-11-01

To examine trends from 1980 to 2011 in daily tobacco smoking by sex, ethnicity, age, and urban/rural in Fiji Melanesian (i-Taukei) and Indian adults aged 25-64 years. Unit record data from five population-based surveys (n = 14 528) allowed classification of participants as: (1) never-smoker, ex-smoker, or non-daily smoker; or (2) daily smoker, reporting smoking <20 or ≥20 tobacco products (cigarettes/cigars/pipes) a day. Trends were examined using spline analyses. Over 1980-2011 the prevalence of reported daily tobacco smoking decreased significantly in both sexes and ethnicities, with the greatest decline during 1980-2000. Declines were from 81.7% to 27.0% in i-Taukei men; 55.3% to 26.3% in Indian men; 48.1% to 9.5% in i-Taukei women; and 13.8% to 1.3% in Indian women (p < .0001). Declines were consistent across all age groups in men, while there were greater declines among older age groups in women; and greater declines from higher prevalences in rural compared to urban areas in both sexes and ethnicities. Smoking ≥20 tobacco products per day declined significantly in i-Taukei men from 8.0% to 1.9% (p < .0001); there were also declines in Indian men (4.6% to 2.0%) and i-Taukei women (2.6% to 0.6%), but these were not statistically significant; and Indian women remained <0.2% throughout the period. Significant declines in daily tobacco smoking have occurred in Fiji in both sexes and ethnicities during the past 30 years, which is consistent with declines in tobacco apparent consumption and household expenditure. However, prevalence remains high in men at around 27% in 2011, with plateau at this level in i-Taukei. This is the first study to show nationally representative population trends in tobacco smoking in a developing country over such a long period (>30 years) based on empirical unit record data (n = 14 528). Cardiovascular disease is a leading cause of mortality throughout the Pacific Island region. This is the first study to show evidence of substantial declines over several decades in a cardiovascular disease risk factor in a Pacific Island country, and provides important evidence for further research into the interventions and events which may have facilitated this decline. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.

What we know and don't know about amphibian declines in the West

USGS Publications Warehouse

Corn, Paul Stephen

1994-01-01

The problem of declining amphibian species is thought to be particularly acute in western North America, but there are many gaps in our knowledge. Although several declines have been well-documented, other declines are anecdotal or hypothesized. Most documented declines are of ranid frogs or toads (Bufo). Species from montane habitats and those occurring in California have been best studied. Status of many desert species is unknown. Habitat destruction and introduced predators are the most common threats to amphibian populations. Some declines may represent natural variation in population size. Causes have not been determined for several cases where common species have declined over large areas. There are important considerations for ecosystem management, whether changes in amphibian populations are natural or caused by human activities. Causes for declines must be known so that management can be prescribed (or proscribed) to eliminate or minimize these causes. The natural variability of amphibian population numbers and the complexity of metapopulation structure emphasize the necessity of considering multiple temporal and spatial scales in ecosystem management. The decline of amphibian species throughout the world has received considerable recent attention (e.g., Blaustein and Wake 1990, Griffiths and Beebee 1992, Yoffe 1992). Much of this attention derives from a workshop held in February, 1990 on declining amphibians sponsored by the National Research Council Board (NRC) on Biology in Irvine, California (Barinaga 1990, Borchelt 1990). Because of media attention in the aftermath of this conference, it is a popular perception that amphibian declines are a new phenomenon that herpetologists have been slow to recognize (Griffiths and Beebee 1992, Quammen 1993). However, concern about amphibian populations in the United States dates back over 20 years. Beginning in the 1960s, a large, well-documented decline of northern leopard frogs (Rana pipiens) occurred in the upper Midwest (Gibbs et al. 1971, Hine, 1981, Rittshof 1975).

Amphibian and reptile declines over 35 years at La Selva, Costa Rica.

PubMed

Whitfield, Steven M; Bell, Kristen E; Philippi, Thomas; Sasa, Mahmood; Bolaños, Federico; Chaves, Gerardo; Savage, Jay M; Donnelly, Maureen A

2007-05-15

Amphibians stand at the forefront of a global biodiversity crisis. More than one-third of amphibian species are globally threatened, and over 120 species have likely suffered global extinction since 1980. Most alarmingly, many rapid declines and extinctions are occurring in pristine sites lacking obvious adverse effects of human activities. The causes of these "enigmatic" declines remain highly contested. Still, lack of long-term data on amphibian populations severely limits our understanding of the distribution of amphibian declines, and therefore the ultimate causes of these declines. Here, we identify a systematic community-wide decline in populations of terrestrial amphibians at La Selva Biological Station, a protected old-growth lowland rainforest in lower Central America. We use data collected over 35 years to show that population density of all species of terrestrial amphibians has declined by approximately 75% since 1970, and we show identical trends for all species of common reptiles. The trends we identify are neither consistent with recent emergence of chytridiomycosis nor the climate-linked epidemic hypothesis, two leading putative causes of enigmatic amphibian declines. Instead, our data suggest that declines are due to climate-driven reductions in the quantity of standing leaf litter, a critical microhabitat for amphibians and reptiles in this assemblage. Our results raise further concerns about the global persistence of amphibian populations by identifying widespread declines in species and habitats that are not currently recognized as susceptible to such risks.

Response of wind erosion dynamics to climate change and human activity in Inner Mongolia, China during 1990 to 2015.

PubMed

Zhang, Haiyan; Fan, Jiangwen; Cao, Wei; Harris, Warwick; Li, Yuzhe; Chi, Wenfeng; Wang, Suizi

2018-10-15

Soil erosion caused by wind is a serious environmental problem that results in land degradation and threatens sustainable development. Accurately evaluating wind erosion dynamics is important for reducing the hazard of wind erosion. Separating the climatic and anthropogenic causes of wind erosion can improve the understanding of its driving mechanisms. Based on meteorological, remote sensing and field observation data, we applied the Revised Wind Erosion Equation (RWEQ) to simulate wind erosion in Inner Mongolia, China from 1990 to 2015. We used the variable control method by input of the average climate conditions to calculate human-induced wind erosion. The difference between natural wind erosion and human-induced wind erosion was determined to assess the effect of climate change on wind erosion. The results showed that the wind erosion modulus had a remarkable decline with a slope of 52.23 t/km 2 /a from 1990 to 2015. During 26 years, the average wind erosion for Inner Mongolia amounted to 63.32 billion tons. Wind erosion showed an overall significant decline of 49.23% and the partial severer erosion hazard significantly increased by 7.11%. Of the significant regional decline, 40.72% was caused by climate changes, and 8.51% was attributed to ecological restoration programs. For the significant regional increases of wind erosion, 4.29% was attributed to climate changes and 2.82% to human activities, mainly overgrazing and land use/cover changes. During the study, the driving forces in Inner Mongolia of wind erosion dynamics differed spatially. Timely monitoring based on multi-source data and highlighting the importance of positive human activities by increasing vegetation coverage for deserts, reducing grazing pressure on grasslands, establishing forests as windbreaks and optimizing crop planting rotations of farmlands can all act to reduce and control wind erosion. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Sweden Faces Zero Population Growth. Population Bulletin, Vol. 35, No. 2, June, 1980.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gendell, Murray

This bulletin examines the causes of the fertility decline in Sweden and the concerns and ambivalence of Swedes about zero population growth (ZPG). The fertility decline is attributed to many causes. In recent years there has been a drop in marriage rates and a sharp increase in non-marital cohabitation. The decline is also related to the…

When was secularization? Dating the decline of the British churches and locating its cause.

PubMed

Bruce, Steve; Glendinning, Tony

2010-03-01

Dating the decline of Christianity in Britain has a vital bearing on its explanation. Recent work by social historians has challenged the sociological view that secularization is due to long-term diffuse social processes by asserting that the churches remained stable and popular until the late 1950s and that the causes of decline lie in the social and cultural changes associated with the 1960s. We challenge this interpretation of the evidence. We also note that much of the decline of the churches is explained not by adult defection but by a failure to keep children in the faith. Given the importance of parental homogamy for the successful transmission of religious identity, the causes of decline in one generation may well lie in the experiences of the previous generation. We focus on the disruptive effects of the 1939-45 war on family formation and use survey data to argue for a staged model of decline that is compatible with the conventional gradual view of secularization.

Causes of mortality in California sea otters during periods of population growth and decline

USGS Publications Warehouse

Estes, J.A.; Hatfield, B.B.; Ralls, K.; Ames, J.

2003-01-01

Elevated mortality appears to be the main reason for both sluggish growth and periods of decline in the threatened California sea otter population. We assessed causes of mortality from salvage records of 3,105 beach-cast carcasses recovered from 1968 through 1999, contrasting two periods of growth with two periods of decline. Overall, an estimated 40%-60% of the deaths were not recovered and 70% of the recovered carcasses died from unknown causes. Nonetheless, several common patterns were evident in the salvage records during the periods of population decline. These included greater percentages of (1) prime age animals (3-10 yr), (2) carcasses killed by great white shark attacks, (3) carcasses recovered in spring and summer, and (4) carcasses for which the cause of death was unknown. Neither sex composition nor the proportion of carcasses dying of infectious disease varied consistently between periods of population increase and decline. The population decline from 1976 to 1984 was likely due to incidental mortality in a set-net fishery, and the decline from 1995 to 1999 may be related to a developing live-fish fishery. Long-term trends unrelated to periods of growth and decline included a decrease in per capita pup production and mass/length ratios of adult carcasses over the 31-yr study. The generally high proportion of deaths from infectious disease suggests that this factor has contributed to the chronically sluggish growth rate of the California sea otter population.

Investigation of the decline in reported smoking-caused wildfires in the USA from 2000 to 2011

Treesearch

David T. Butry; Jeffrey P. Prestemon; Douglas S. Thomas

2014-01-01

The number of smoking-caused wildfires has been falling nationwide. In national forests in 2011, smoking-caused wildfires represented only 10% of their 1980 level. No other cause of wildfire has experienced this level of decline. For 12 states, we evaluate the rate of smoking-caused wildfires and find it is a function of weather, other ignitions, the number of adult...

Cognitive Decline and Its Risk Factors in Prevalent Hemodialysis Patients.

PubMed

Drew, David A; Weiner, Daniel E; Tighiouart, Hocine; Duncan, Sarah; Gupta, Aditi; Scott, Tammy; Sarnak, Mark J

2017-06-01

Cognitive impairment is common in patients treated with hemodialysis. The trajectory of cognitive function and risk factors for cognitive decline remain uncertain in this population. Longitudinal cohort. 314 prevalent hemodialysis patients. Age, sex, race, education level, hemodialysis vintage, cause of end-stage renal disease, and baseline history of cardiovascular disease. Cognitive function as determined by a comprehensive neurocognitive battery, administered at baseline and yearly when possible. Individual cognitive test results were reduced into 2 domain scores using principal components analysis, representing memory and executive function, which were used as our coprimary outcomes and by definition have a mean of zero and SD of 1. Mean age was 63 years; 54% were men, 22% were black, and 90% had at least a high school education. During a median follow-up of 2.1 (IQR, 0.9-4.2) years, 196 had at least 1 follow-up test, 156 died, and 43 received a kidney transplant. Linear mixed models and joint models, which accounted for competing risks from death, dropout, or kidney transplantation, showed nearly identical results. The joint model demonstrated a decline in executive function (-0.09 [95% CI, -0.13 to -0.05] SD per year), whereas memory improved slightly (0.05 [95% CI, 0.02 to 0.08] SD per year). A significant yearly decline was also seen in the Mini-Mental State Examination score (median change, -0.41; 95% CI, -0.57 to -0.25). Older age was the only significant risk factor for steeper executive function decline (-0.04 [95% CI, -0.06 to -0.02] SD steeper annual decline for each 10 years of age). Prevalent hemodialysis patients only, limited follow-up testing due to high mortality rate, and exclusion of participants with severe cognitive deficits or dementia. Prevalent hemodialysis patients demonstrate significant cognitive decline, particularly within tests of executive function. Older age was the only statistically significant risk factor for steeper cognitive decline, which may have important clinical consequences for patient management and education. Future studies should evaluate strategies to maintain or improve cognitive function. Copyright © 2017 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Decisions and Barriers to First-in-Family College Student Enrollment

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Vonk, Garrett B.

2013-01-01

United States Government scrutiny of enrollment practices at for-profit colleges has caused significant decreases in profitability at career colleges. The phenomenological problem explored in this study was the declining enrollment at career colleges. Systems theory and Maslow's hierarchy of needs theory formed the conceptual framework for this…

Genetic diversity of flowering dogwood in the Great Smokey Mountains National Park

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In the past three decades, flowering dogwood (Cornus florida) populations have experienced severe declines caused by dogwood anthracnose. Mortality has ranged from 48 to 98%, raising the concern that the genetic diversity of this native tree has been reduced significantly. In this study we investiga...

Africa's Agenda for Action: Reform Policies, Renew Progress.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johanson, Richard K., Ed.

1987-01-01

Unprecedented population growth and mounting fiscal austerity in Africa is causing a decline in the significant increases in educational progress, especially as measured by the median literacy rate, which were made between 1962 and 1985. Planning and implementation of educational programs carefully designed to effect economic growth is one path…

Demographic and clinical characteristics related to cognitive decline in Alzheimer disease in China: A multicenter survey from 2011 to 2014.

PubMed

Peng, Dantao; Shi, Zhihong; Xu, Jun; Shen, Lu; Xiao, Shifu; Zhang, Nan; Li, Yi; Jiao, Jinsong; Wang, Yan-Jiang; Liu, Shuai; Zhang, Meilin; Wang, Meng; Liu, Shuling; Zhou, Yuying; Zhang, Xiao; Gu, Xiao-Hua; Yang, Ce-Ce; Wang, Yu; Jiao, Bin; Tang, Beisha; Wang, Jinhuan; Yu, Tao; Ji, Yong

2016-06-01

Alzheimer disease (AD) is the most frequent cause of dementia. AD diagnosis, progression, and treatment have not been analyzed nationwide in China. The primary aim of this study was to analyze demographic and clinical characteristics related to cognitive decline in AD patients treated at outpatient clinics in China.We performed a retrospective study of 1993 AD patients at 10 cognitive centers across 8 cities in China from March 2011 to October 2014. Of these, 891 patients were followed for more than 1 year.The mean age at diagnosis was 72.0 ± 10.0 years (range 38-96 years), and the mean age at onset of AD was 69.8 ± 9.5 years. Most patients (65.1%) had moderate to severe symptoms at the time of diagnosis, and mean Mini-Mental State Examination at diagnosis was 15.7 ± 7.7. AD patients showed significant cognitive decline at 12 months after diagnosis. Having more than 9 years of formal education was an independent risk factor related to rapid cognitive decline [odds ratio (OR) = 1.80; 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.11-2.91]. Early-onset AD patients experienced more rapid cognitive decline than late-onset patients (OR = 1.83; 95% CI: 1.09-3.06).Most AD patients in China had moderate to severe symptoms at the time of diagnosis and experienced significant cognitive decline within 1 year. Rapid cognitive decline in AD was related to having a higher educational level and younger age of onset.

Seven-Year Evaluation of Insecticide Tools for Emerald Ash Borer in Fraxinus pennsylvanica (Lamiales: Oleaceae) Trees.

PubMed

Bick, Emily N; Forbes, Nora J; Haugen, Christopher; Jones, Grant; Bernick, Shawn; Miller, Fredric

2018-04-02

Emerald ash borer (EAB), Agrilus planipennis (Fairmaire; Coleoptera: Buprestidae), is decimating ash trees (Fraxinus spp.) in North America. Combatting EAB includes the use of insecticides; however, reported insecticide efficacy varies among published studies. This study assessed the effects of season of application, insecticide active ingredient, and insecticide application rate on green ash (Fraxinus pennsylvanica Marsh.) (Lamiales: Oleaceae) canopy decline caused by EAB over a 5- to 7-yr interval. Data suggested that spring treatments were generally more effective in reducing canopy decline than fall treatments, but this difference was not statistically significant. Lowest rates of decline (<5% over 5 yr) were observed in trees treated with imidacloprid injected annually in the soil during spring (at the higher of two tested application rates; 1.12 g/cm diameter at 1.3 m height) and emamectin benzoate injected biennially into the stem. All tested insecticides (dinotefuran, emamectin benzoate, and imidacloprid) under all tested conditions significantly reduced the rate of increase of dieback.

Oak Decline

Treesearch

Philip M. Wargo; David R. Houston; Leon A. LaMadeleine

1983-01-01

Periodic occurrences of decline and death of oaks over widespread areas have been recorded since 1900. These outbreaks, variously named oak decline, oak dieback, or oak mortality, are caused by a complex interaction of environmental stresses and pests and given the name oak decline.

Analysis of the Causes of a Decline in the San Joaquin Kit Fox Population on the Elk Hills, Naval Petroleum Reserve #1, California

EPA Science Inventory

EPA is announcing the availability of the final report, Analysis of the Causes of a Decline in the San Joaquin Kit Fox Population on the Elk Hills, Naval Petroleum Reserve #1, California. This report describes a causal assessment of the decline in the abundance of San Joaq...

Pattern of age-associated decline of static and dynamic balance in community-dwelling older women.

PubMed

Takeshima, Nobuo; Islam, Mohammod M; Rogers, Michael E; Koizumi, Daisuke; Tomiyama, Naoki; Narita, Makoto; Rogers, Nicole L

2014-07-01

Falling is the leading cause of injury-related deaths in older adults, and a loss of balance is often the precursor to a fall. However, little is known about the rate at which balance declines with age. The objective of the present study was to determine whether there is an age-associated decline in static (SB) and/or dynamic (DB) balance in community-dwelling older women. SB and DB were determined in 971 older women. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) were used to determine test-retest reliability. Sway velocity was used to measure SB standing on a platform and foam with eyes open and closed. DB was characterized by limits of stability (LOS) that measured end-point excursion (EXE) and maximum excursion (MXE) of the body's center of pressure. ICC for EXE and MXE for the LOS test were excellent (EPE = 0.96, MXE = 0.96). ICC for SB tests, except for the eyes open firm surface condition (ICC = 0.10), showed a high level of reproducibility (ICC = 0.88 and 0.90). Relationships existed between age and SB (r = 0.31, P < 0.001), and between age and DB (r = -0.46--0.48, P < 0.001). The rate of decline for both DB and SB was approximately 1% per year. Age was significantly associated with all balance measures. DB got significantly lower with advancing age until 80 years, and then plateaued. SB did not decline with age until 80 years, and then decreased significantly thereafter. Although large individual variation was found with balance ability, an age-related decline was found with both dynamic and static balance for Japanese older women. © 2013 Japan Geriatrics Society.

NFE2L2 pathway polymorphisms and lung function decline in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

PubMed Central

Malhotra, Deepti; Boezen, H. Marike; Siedlinski, Mateusz; Postma, Dirkje S.; Wong, Vivien; Akhabir, Loubna; He, Jian-Qing; Connett, John E.; Anthonisen, Nicholas R.; Paré, Peter D.; Biswal, Shyam

2012-01-01

An oxidant-antioxidant imbalance in the lung contributes to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that is caused by a complex interaction of genetic and environmental risk factors. Nuclear erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NFE2L2 or NRF2) is a critical molecule in the lung's defense mechanism against oxidants. We investigated whether polymorphisms in the NFE2L2 pathway affected the rate of decline of lung function in smokers from the Lung Health Study (LHS)(n = 547) and in a replication set, the Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen cohort (n = 533). We selected polymorphisms in NFE2L2 in genes that positively or negatively regulate NFE2L2 transcriptional activity and in genes that are regulated by NFE2L2. Polymorphisms in 11 genes were significantly associated with rate of lung function decline in the LHS. One of these polymorphisms, rs11085735 in the KEAP1 gene, was previously shown to be associated with the level of lung function in the Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen cohort but not with decline of lung function. Of the 23 associated polymorphisms in the LHS, only rs634534 in the FOSL1 gene showed a significant association in the Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen cohort with rate of lung function decline, but the direction of the association was not consistent with that in the LHS. In summary, despite finding several nominally significant polymorphisms in the LHS, none of these associations were replicated in the Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen cohort, indicating lack of effect of polymorphisms in the NFE2L2 pathway on the rate of decline of lung function. PMID:22693272

NFE2L2 pathway polymorphisms and lung function decline in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

PubMed

Sandford, Andrew J; Malhotra, Deepti; Boezen, H Marike; Siedlinski, Mateusz; Postma, Dirkje S; Wong, Vivien; Akhabir, Loubna; He, Jian-Qing; Connett, John E; Anthonisen, Nicholas R; Paré, Peter D; Biswal, Shyam

2012-08-01

An oxidant-antioxidant imbalance in the lung contributes to the development of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that is caused by a complex interaction of genetic and environmental risk factors. Nuclear erythroid 2-related factor 2 (NFE2L2 or NRF2) is a critical molecule in the lung's defense mechanism against oxidants. We investigated whether polymorphisms in the NFE2L2 pathway affected the rate of decline of lung function in smokers from the Lung Health Study (LHS)(n = 547) and in a replication set, the Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen cohort (n = 533). We selected polymorphisms in NFE2L2 in genes that positively or negatively regulate NFE2L2 transcriptional activity and in genes that are regulated by NFE2L2. Polymorphisms in 11 genes were significantly associated with rate of lung function decline in the LHS. One of these polymorphisms, rs11085735 in the KEAP1 gene, was previously shown to be associated with the level of lung function in the Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen cohort but not with decline of lung function. Of the 23 associated polymorphisms in the LHS, only rs634534 in the FOSL1 gene showed a significant association in the Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen cohort with rate of lung function decline, but the direction of the association was not consistent with that in the LHS. In summary, despite finding several nominally significant polymorphisms in the LHS, none of these associations were replicated in the Vlagtwedde-Vlaardingen cohort, indicating lack of effect of polymorphisms in the NFE2L2 pathway on the rate of decline of lung function.

Permanent 'phase shifts' or reversible declines in coral cover? Lack of recovery of two coral reefs in St. John, US Virgin Islands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Rogers, C.S.; Miller, J.

2006-01-01

Caribbean coral reefs have changed dramatically in the last 3 to 4 decades, with significant loss of coral cover and increases in algae. Here we present trends in benthic cover from 1989 to 2003 at 2 reefs (Lameshur Reef and Newfound Reef) off St. John, US Virgin Islands (USVI). Coral cover has declined in the fore-reef zones at both sites, and no recovery is evident. At Lameshur Reef, Hurricane Hugo (1989) caused significant physical damage and loss of coral. We suggest that macroalgae rapidly colonized new substrate made available by this storm and have hindered or prevented growth of adult corals, as well as settlement and survival of new coral recruits. Overfishing of herbivorous fishes in the USVI and loss of shelter for these fishes because of major storms has presumably reduced the levels of herbivory that formerly controlled algal abundance. Coral cover declined at Newfound Reef from 1999 to 2000, most likely because of coral diseases. The trends that we have documented, loss of coral followed by no evidence of recovery, appear similar to findings from other studies in the Caribbean. We need to focus on functional shifts in the resilience of coral reefs that result in their inability to recover from natural and human-caused stressors. ?? Inter-Research 2006.

Mortality with musculoskeletal disorders as underlying cause in Sweden 1997-2013: a time trend aggregate level study.

PubMed

Kiadaliri, Aliasghar A; Englund, Martin

2016-04-14

The aim was to assess time trend of mortality with musculoskeletal disorders (MSD) as underlying cause of death in Sweden from 1997 to 2013. We obtained data on MSD as underlying cause of death across age and sex groups from the National Board of Health and Welfare's Cause of Death Register. Age-standardized mortality rates per million population for all MSD, its six major subgroups, and all other ICD-10 (International Classification of Disease) chapters were calculated. We computed the average annual percent change (AAPC) in the mortality rates across age/sex groups using joinpoint regression analysis by fitting a regression line to the natural logarithm of the age-standardized mortality rates and calendar year as a predictor. There were a total of 7 976 deaths (0.5% of all causes deaths) with MSD as the underlying cause of death (32.5% of these deaths caused by rheumatoid arthritis [RA]). The overall age-standardized mortality rates (95% CI) were 16.0 (15.4 to 16.7) and 24.9 (24.1 to 25.7) per million among men and women, respectively (women/men rate ratio 1.55; 95%CI 1.47 to 1.63). On average, mortality rate declined by 2.3% per year and only circulatory system mortality had a more favourable decline than mortality with MSD as underlying cause. Among MSD the highest decline was observed in RA (3.7% per year) during study period. Across age groups, while there were generally stable or declining trends, spondylopathies and osteoporosis mortality among people ≥ 75 years increased by 2 and 1.5% per year, respectively. In overall, mortality with MSD as underlying cause has declined in Sweden over last two decades, with the highest decline for RA. However, there are variations across MSD subgroups which warrants further investigations.

Amphibian and reptile declines over 35 years at La Selva, Costa Rica

PubMed Central

Whitfield, Steven M.; Bell, Kristen E.; Philippi, Thomas; Sasa, Mahmood; Bolaños, Federico; Chaves, Gerardo; Savage, Jay M.; Donnelly, Maureen A.

2007-01-01

Amphibians stand at the forefront of a global biodiversity crisis. More than one-third of amphibian species are globally threatened, and over 120 species have likely suffered global extinction since 1980. Most alarmingly, many rapid declines and extinctions are occurring in pristine sites lacking obvious adverse effects of human activities. The causes of these “enigmatic” declines remain highly contested. Still, lack of long-term data on amphibian populations severely limits our understanding of the distribution of amphibian declines, and therefore the ultimate causes of these declines. Here, we identify a systematic community-wide decline in populations of terrestrial amphibians at La Selva Biological Station, a protected old-growth lowland rainforest in lower Central America. We use data collected over 35 years to show that population density of all species of terrestrial amphibians has declined by ≈75% since 1970, and we show identical trends for all species of common reptiles. The trends we identify are neither consistent with recent emergence of chytridiomycosis nor the climate-linked epidemic hypothesis, two leading putative causes of enigmatic amphibian declines. Instead, our data suggest that declines are due to climate-driven reductions in the quantity of standing leaf litter, a critical microhabitat for amphibians and reptiles in this assemblage. Our results raise further concerns about the global persistence of amphibian populations by identifying widespread declines in species and habitats that are not currently recognized as susceptible to such risks. PMID:17449638

Use of Endophytic and Rhizosphere Actinobacteria from Grapevine Plants To Reduce Nursery Fungal Graft Infections That Lead to Young Grapevine Decline

PubMed Central

Álvarez-Pérez, José Manuel; González-García, Sandra; Cobos, Rebeca; Olego, Miguel Ángel; Ibañez, Ana; Díez-Galán, Alba; Garzón-Jimeno, Enrique

2017-01-01

ABSTRACT Endophytic and rhizosphere actinobacteria isolated from the root system of 1-year-old grafted Vitis vinifera plants were evaluated for their activities against fungi that cause grapevine trunk diseases. A total of 58 endophytic and 94 rhizosphere isolates were tested. Based on an in vitro bioassay, 15.5% of the endophytic isolates and 30.8% of the rhizosphere isolates exhibited antifungal activity against the fungal pathogen Diplodia seriata, whereas 13.8% of the endophytic isolates and 16.0% of the rhizosphere isolates showed antifungal activity against Dactylonectria macrodidyma (formerly Ilyonectria macrodidyma). The strains which showed the greatest in vitro efficacy against both pathogens were further analyzed for their ability to inhibit the growth of Phaeomoniella chlamydospora and Phaeoacremonium minimum (formerly Phaeoacremonium aleophilum). Based on their antifungal activity, three rhizosphere isolates and three endophytic isolates were applied on grafts in an open-root field nursery in a 3-year trial. The field trial led to the identification of one endophytic strain, Streptomyces sp. VV/E1, and two rhizosphere isolates, Streptomyces sp. VV/R1 and Streptomyces sp. VV/R4, which significantly reduced the infection rates produced by the fungal pathogens Dactylonectria sp., Ilyonectria sp., P. chlamydospora, and P. minimum, all of which cause young grapevine decline. The VV/R1 and VV/R4 isolates also significantly reduced the mortality level of grafted plants in the nursery. This study shows that certain actinobacteria could represent a promising new tool for controlling fungal trunk pathogens that infect grapevine plants through the root system in nurseries. IMPORTANCE Grapevine trunk diseases are a major threat to the wine and grape industry worldwide. They cause a significant reduction in yields as well as in grape quality, and they can even cause plant death. Trunk diseases are caused by fungal pathogens that enter through pruning wounds and/or the root system. Although different strategies have recently been developed to protect pruning wounds using antifungal compounds (natural or synthetic) or biocontrol agents, no tools are yet available for controlling soil pathogens that infect plants through their root system. This study shows that different actinobacterial isolates, when applied to grafts in a nursery, can significantly reduce the infection rate caused by fungal pathogens that enter through the root system. This is a new, promising, and green alternative for preventing the decline of young grapevines in nurseries and vineyards. PMID:28986378

Use of Endophytic and Rhizosphere Actinobacteria from Grapevine Plants To Reduce Nursery Fungal Graft Infections That Lead to Young Grapevine Decline.

PubMed

Álvarez-Pérez, José Manuel; González-García, Sandra; Cobos, Rebeca; Olego, Miguel Ángel; Ibañez, Ana; Díez-Galán, Alba; Garzón-Jimeno, Enrique; Coque, Juan José R

2017-12-15

Endophytic and rhizosphere actinobacteria isolated from the root system of 1-year-old grafted Vitis vinifera plants were evaluated for their activities against fungi that cause grapevine trunk diseases. A total of 58 endophytic and 94 rhizosphere isolates were tested. Based on an in vitro bioassay, 15.5% of the endophytic isolates and 30.8% of the rhizosphere isolates exhibited antifungal activity against the fungal pathogen Diplodia seriata , whereas 13.8% of the endophytic isolates and 16.0% of the rhizosphere isolates showed antifungal activity against Dactylonectria macrodidyma (formerly Ilyonectria macrodidyma ). The strains which showed the greatest in vitro efficacy against both pathogens were further analyzed for their ability to inhibit the growth of Phaeomoniella chlamydospora and Phaeoacremonium minimum (formerly Phaeoacremonium aleophilum ). Based on their antifungal activity, three rhizosphere isolates and three endophytic isolates were applied on grafts in an open-root field nursery in a 3-year trial. The field trial led to the identification of one endophytic strain, Streptomyces sp. VV/E1, and two rhizosphere isolates, Streptomyces sp. VV/R1 and Streptomyces sp. VV/R4, which significantly reduced the infection rates produced by the fungal pathogens Dactylonectria sp., Ilyonectria sp., P. chlamydospora , and P. minimum , all of which cause young grapevine decline. The VV/R1 and VV/R4 isolates also significantly reduced the mortality level of grafted plants in the nursery. This study shows that certain actinobacteria could represent a promising new tool for controlling fungal trunk pathogens that infect grapevine plants through the root system in nurseries. IMPORTANCE Grapevine trunk diseases are a major threat to the wine and grape industry worldwide. They cause a significant reduction in yields as well as in grape quality, and they can even cause plant death. Trunk diseases are caused by fungal pathogens that enter through pruning wounds and/or the root system. Although different strategies have recently been developed to protect pruning wounds using antifungal compounds (natural or synthetic) or biocontrol agents, no tools are yet available for controlling soil pathogens that infect plants through their root system. This study shows that different actinobacterial isolates, when applied to grafts in a nursery, can significantly reduce the infection rate caused by fungal pathogens that enter through the root system. This is a new, promising, and green alternative for preventing the decline of young grapevines in nurseries and vineyards. Copyright © 2017 American Society for Microbiology.

Climate change and amphibians

USGS Publications Warehouse

Corn, P.S.

2005-01-01

Amphibian life histories are exceedingly sensitive to temperature and precipitation, and there is good evidence that recent climate change has already resulted in a shift to breeding earlier in the year for some species. There are also suggestions that the recent increase in the occurrence of El Niño events has caused declines of anurans in Central America and is linked to elevated mortality of amphibian embryos in the northwestern United States. However, evidence linking amphibian declines in Central America to climate relies solely on correlations, and the mechanisms underlying the declines are not understood. Connections between embryo mortality and declines in abundance have not been demonstrated. Analyses of existing data have generally failed to find a link between climate and amphibian declines. It is likely, however, that future climate change will cause further declines of some amphibian species. Reduced soil moisture could reduce prey species and eliminate habitat. Reduced snowfall and increased summer evaporation could have dramatic effects on the duration or occurrence of seasonal wetlands, which are primary habitat for many species of amphibians. Climate change may be a relatively minor cause of current amphibian declines, but it may be the biggest future challenge to the persistence of many species

Bumblebee pupae contain high levels of aluminium.

PubMed

Exley, Christopher; Rotheray, Ellen; Goulson, David

2015-01-01

The causes of declines in bees and other pollinators remains an on-going debate. While recent attention has focussed upon pesticides, other environmental pollutants have largely been ignored. Aluminium is the most significant environmental contaminant of recent times and we speculated that it could be a factor in pollinator decline. Herein we have measured the content of aluminium in bumblebee pupae taken from naturally foraging colonies in the UK. Individual pupae were acid-digested in a microwave oven and their aluminium content determined using transversely heated graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Pupae were heavily contaminated with aluminium giving values between 13.4 and 193.4 μg/g dry wt. and a mean (SD) value of 51.0 (33.0) μg/g dry wt. for the 72 pupae tested. Mean aluminium content was shown to be a significant negative predictor of average pupal weight in colonies. While no other statistically significant relationships were found relating aluminium to bee or colony health, the actual content of aluminium in pupae are extremely high and demonstrate significant exposure to aluminium. Bees rely heavily on cognitive function and aluminium is a known neurotoxin with links, for example, to Alzheimer's disease in humans. The significant contamination of bumblebee pupae by aluminium raises the intriguing spectre of cognitive dysfunction playing a role in their population decline.

Bumblebee Pupae Contain High Levels of Aluminium

PubMed Central

Exley, Christopher; Rotheray, Ellen; Goulson, David

2015-01-01

The causes of declines in bees and other pollinators remains an on-going debate. While recent attention has focussed upon pesticides, other environmental pollutants have largely been ignored. Aluminium is the most significant environmental contaminant of recent times and we speculated that it could be a factor in pollinator decline. Herein we have measured the content of aluminium in bumblebee pupae taken from naturally foraging colonies in the UK. Individual pupae were acid-digested in a microwave oven and their aluminium content determined using transversely heated graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Pupae were heavily contaminated with aluminium giving values between 13.4 and 193.4 μg/g dry wt. and a mean (SD) value of 51.0 (33.0) μg/g dry wt. for the 72 pupae tested. Mean aluminium content was shown to be a significant negative predictor of average pupal weight in colonies. While no other statistically significant relationships were found relating aluminium to bee or colony health, the actual content of aluminium in pupae are extremely high and demonstrate significant exposure to aluminium. Bees rely heavily on cognitive function and aluminium is a known neurotoxin with links, for example, to Alzheimer’s disease in humans. The significant contamination of bumblebee pupae by aluminium raises the intriguing spectre of cognitive dysfunction playing a role in their population decline. PMID:26042788

Evidence that disease-induced population decline changes genetic structure and alters dispersal patterns in the Tasmanian devil

PubMed Central

Lachish, S; Miller, K J; Storfer, A; Goldizen, A W; Jones, M E

2011-01-01

Infectious disease has been shown to be a major cause of population declines in wild animals. However, there remains little empirical evidence on the genetic consequences of disease-mediated population declines, or how such perturbations might affect demographic processes such as dispersal. Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) has resulted in the rapid decline of the Tasmanian devil, Sarcophilus harrisii, and threatens to cause extinction. Using 10 microsatellite DNA markers, we compared genetic diversity and structure before and after DFTD outbreaks in three Tasmanian devil populations to assess the genetic consequences of disease-induced population decline. We also used both genetic and demographic data to investigate dispersal patterns in Tasmanian devils along the east coast of Tasmania. We observed a significant increase in inbreeding (FIS pre/post-disease −0.030/0.012, P<0.05; relatedness pre/post-disease 0.011/0.038, P=0.06) in devil populations after just 2–3 generations of disease arrival, but no detectable change in genetic diversity. Furthermore, although there was no subdivision apparent among pre-disease populations (θ=0.005, 95% confidence interval (CI) −0.003 to 0.017), we found significant genetic differentiation among populations post-disease (θ=0.020, 0.010–0.027), apparently driven by a combination of selection and altered dispersal patterns of females in disease-affected populations. We also show that dispersal is male-biased in devils and that dispersal distances follow a typical leptokurtic distribution. Our results show that disease can result in genetic and demographic changes in host populations over few generations and short time scales. Ongoing management of Tasmanian devils must now attempt to maintain genetic variability in this species through actions designed to reverse the detrimental effects of inbreeding and subdivision in disease-affected populations. PMID:20216571

Climate change, multiple stressors, and the decline of ectotherms.

PubMed

Rohr, Jason R; Palmer, Brent D

2013-08-01

Climate change is believed to be causing declines of ectothermic vertebrates, but there is little evidence that climatic conditions associated with declines have exceeded critical (i.e., acutely lethal) maxima or minima, and most relevant studies are correlative, anecdotal, or short-term (hours). We conducted an 11-week factorial experiment to examine the effects of temperature (22 °C or 27 °C), moisture (wet or dry), and atrazine (an herbicide; 0, 4, 40, 400 μg/L exposure as embryos and larvae) on the survival, growth, behavior, and foraging rates of postmetamorphic streamside salamanders (Ambystoma barbouri), a species of conservation concern. The tested climatic conditions were between the critical maxima and minima of streamside salamanders; thus, this experiment quantified the long-term effects of climate change within the noncritical range of this species. Despite a suite of behavioral adaptations to warm and dry conditions (e.g., burrowing, refuge use, huddling with conspecifics, and a reduction in activity), streamside salamanders exhibited significant loss of mass and significant mortality in all but the cool and moist conditions, which were closest to the climatic conditions in which they are most active in nature. A temperature of 27 °C represented a greater mortality risk than dry conditions; death occurred rapidly at this temperature and more gradually under cool and dry conditions. Foraging decreased under dry conditions, which suggests there were opportunity costs to water conservation. Exposure to the herbicide atrazine additively decreased water-conserving behaviors, foraging efficiency, mass, and time to death. Hence, the hypothesis that moderate climate change can cause population declines is even more plausible under scenarios with multiple stressors. These results suggest that climate change within the noncritical range of species and pollution may reduce individual performance by altering metabolic demands, hydration, and foraging effort and may facilitate population declines of amphibians and perhaps other ectothermic vertebrates. © 2013 Society for Conservation Biology.

Mitochondrial remodeling in the liver following chronic alcohol feeding to rats.

PubMed

Han, Derick; Johnson, Heather S; Rao, Madhuri P; Martin, Gary; Sancheti, Harsh; Silkwood, Kai H; Decker, Carl W; Nguyen, Kim Tho; Casian, Joseph G; Cadenas, Enrique; Kaplowitz, Neil

2017-01-01

The feeding of alcohol orally (Lieber-DeCarli diet) to rats has been shown to cause declines in mitochondrial respiration (state III), decreased expression of respiratory complexes, and decreased respiratory control ratios (RCR) in liver mitochondria. These declines and other mitochondrial alterations have led to the hypothesis that alcohol feeding causes "mitochondrial dysfunction" in the liver. If oral alcohol feeding leads to mitochondrial dysfunction, one would predict that increasing alcohol delivery by intragastric (IG) alcohol feeding to rats would cause greater declines in mitochondrial bioenergetics in the liver. In this study, we examined the mitochondrial alterations that occur in rats fed alcohol both orally and intragastrically. Oral alcohol feeding decreased glutamate/malate-, acetaldehyde- and succinate-driven state III respiration, RCR, and expression of respiratory complexes (I, III, IV, V) in liver mitochondria, in agreement with previous results. IG alcohol feeding, on the other hand, caused a slight increase in glutamate/malate-driven respiration, and significantly increased acetaldehyde-driven respiration in liver mitochondria. IG feeding also caused liver mitochondria to experience a decline in succinate-driven respiration, but these decreases were smaller than those observed with oral alcohol feeding. Surprisingly, oral and IG alcohol feeding to rats increased mitochondrial respiration using other substrates, including glycerol-3-phosphate (which delivers electrons from cytoplasmic NADH to mitochondria) and octanoate (a substrate for beta-oxidation). The enhancement of glycerol-3-phosphate- and octanoate-driven respiration suggests that liver mitochondria remodeled in response to alcohol feeding. In support of this notion, we observed that IG alcohol feeding also increased expression of mitochondrial glycerol phosphate dehydrogenase-2 (GPD2), transcription factor A (TFAM), and increased mitochondrial NAD + -NADH and NADP + -NADPH levels in the liver. Our findings suggest that mitochondrial dysfunction represents an incomplete picture of mitochondrial dynamics that occur in the liver following alcohol feeding. While alcohol feeding causes some mitochondrial dysfunction (i.e. succinate-driven respiration), our work suggests that the major consequence of alcohol feeding is mitochondrial remodeling in the liver as an adaptation. This mitochondrial remodeling may play an important role in the enhanced alcohol metabolism and other adaptations in the liver that develop with alcohol intake. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Evaluation of virus resistant rootstocks to manage watermelon vine decline and diseases caused by other potyviruses

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Watermelon vine decline caused by Squash vein yellowing virus (SqVYV) is an emerging disease that has caused severe losses to Florida watermelon growers in recent years. Papaya ringspot virus type W (PRSV-W) is one of several watermelon-infecting potyviruses long present in the southeastern U.S. L...

Trends in Respiratory Syncytial Virus and Bronchiolitis Hospitalization Rates in High-Risk Infants in a United States Nationally Representative Database, 1997–2012

PubMed Central

Doucette, Abigail; Jiang, Xiaohui; Fryzek, Jon; Coalson, Jenna; McLaurin, Kimmie; Ambrose, Christopher S.

2016-01-01

Background Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) causes significant pediatric morbidity and is the most common cause of bronchiolitis. Bronchiolitis hospitalizations declined among US infants from 2000‒2009; however, rates in infants at high risk for RSV have not been described. This study examined RSV and unspecified bronchiolitis (UB) hospitalization rates from 1997‒2012 among US high-risk infants. Methods The Kids’ Inpatient Database (KID) infant annual RSV (ICD-9 079.6, 466.11, 480.1) and UB (ICD-9 466.19, 466.1) hospitalization rates were estimated using weighted counts. Denominators were based on birth hospitalizations with conditions associated with high-risk for RSV: chronic perinatal respiratory disease (chronic lung disease [CLD]); congenital airway anomalies (CAA); congenital heart disease (CHD); Down syndrome (DS); and other genetic, metabolic, musculoskeletal, and immunodeficiency conditions. Preterm infants could not be identified. Hospitalizations were characterized by mechanical ventilation, inpatient mortality, length of stay, and total cost (2015$). Poisson and linear regression were used to test statistical significance of trends. Results RSV and UB hospitalization rates were substantially elevated for infants with higher-risk CHD, CLD, CAA and DS without CHD compared with all infants. RSV rates declined by 47.0% in CLD and 49.7% in higher-risk CHD infants; no other declines in high-risk groups were observed. UB rates increased in all high-risk groups except for a 22.5% decrease among higher-risk CHD. Among high-risk infants, mechanical ventilation increased through 2012 to 20.4% and 13.5% of RSV and UB hospitalizations; geometric mean cost increased to $31,742 and $25,962, respectively, and RSV mortality declined to 0.9%. Conclusions Among high-risk infants between 1997 and 2012, RSV hospitalization rates declined among CLD and higher-risk CHD infants, coincident with widespread RSV immunoprophylaxis use in these populations. UB hospitalization rates increased in all high-risk groups except higher-risk CHD, suggesting improvement in the health status of higher-risk CHD infants, potentially due to enhanced surgical interventions. Mechanical ventilation use and RSV and UB hospitalization costs increased while RSV mortality declined. PMID:27050095

Seawater Acidification and Elevated Temperature Affect Gene Expression Patterns of the Pearl Oyster Pinctada fucata

PubMed Central

Liu, Wenguang; Huang, Xiande; Lin, Jianshi; He, Maoxian

2012-01-01

Oceanic uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide results in decrease in seawater pH and increase in temperature. In this study, we demonstrated the synergistic effects of elevated seawater temperature and declined seawater pH on gene expression patterns of aspein, calmodulin, nacrein, she-7-F10 and hsp70 in the pearl oyster Pinctada fucata. Under ‘business-as-usual’ scenarios, four treatments were examined: (1) ambient pH (8.10) and ambient temperature (27°C) (control condition), (2) ambient pH and elevated temperature (+3°C), (3) declined pH (7.70) and ambient temperature, (4) declined pH and elevated temperature. The results showed that under warming and acidic seawater conditions, expression of aspein and calmodulin showed no significant differences among different time point in condition 8.10 T. But the levels of aspein and calmodulin in conditions 8.10 T+3, 7.70 T and 7.70 T+3, and levels of nacrein, she-7-F10 in all the four treatments changed significantly. Low pH and pH×temperature interaction influenced the expression of aspein and calmodulin significantly after hours 48 and 96. Significant effects of low pH and pH×temperature interaction on the expression of nacrein were observed at hour 96. The expression level of she-7-F10 was affected significantly by pH after hours 48 and 96. The expression of hsp70 was significantly affected by temperature, pH, temperature×pH interaction at hour 6, and by temperature×pH interaction at hour 24. This study suggested that declined pH and pH×temperature interaction induced down regulation of calcification related genes, and the interaction between declined seawater pH and elevated temperature caused up regulation of hsp70 in P. facata. These results demonstrate that the declined seawater pH and elevated temperature will impact the physiological process, and potentially the adaptability of P. fucata to future warming and acidified ocean. PMID:22438983

A review of possible causes of nutrient enrichment and decline of endangered sucker populations in Upper Klamath Lake, Oregon

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bortleson, Gilbert C.; Fretwell, Marvin O.

1993-01-01

Ten possible causes for this excessive enrichment in nutrients are described. Three of these hypotheses are suggested for immediate testing because of large-scale changes in nutrient loading that may have occurred as a result of man’s activities. These three hypotheses relate nutrient enrichment to (1) conversion of marshland to agricultural land, (2) agricultural drainage from the basin, and (3) reservoir regulation. Eleven possible hypothetical causes for the decline in sucker populations also are described. The decline in sucker population may be related to excessive nutrient enrichment (eutrophication) of the lake.

Age-related declines in exploratory behavior and markers of hippocampal plasticity are attenuated by prenatal choline supplementation in rats

PubMed Central

Glenn, Melissa J.; Kirby, Elizabeth D.; Gibson, Erin M.; Wong-Goodrich, Sarah; Mellott, Tiffany J.; Blusztajn, Jan K.; Williams, Christina L.

2008-01-01

Supplemental choline in the maternal diet produces a lasting enhancement in memory in offspring that resists age-related decline and is accompanied by neuroanatomical, neurophysiological and neurochemical changes in the hippocampus. The present study was designed to examine: 1) if prenatal choline supplementation alters behaviors that contribute to risk or resilience in cognitive aging, and 2) whether, at old age (25 months), prenatally choline supplemented rats show evidence of preserved hippocampal plasticity. A longitudinal design was used to look at exploration of an open field, with and without objects, at 1 and 24 months of age in male and female rats whose mothers were fed a diet supplemented with choline (SUP; 5 mg/kg choline chloride) or not supplemented (CON; 1.1 mg/kg choline chloride) on embryonic days 12–17. Aging caused a significant decline in open field exploration that was more pronounced in males but interest in novel objects was maintained in both sexes. Prenatal choline supplementation attenuated, but did not prevent age-related decline in exploration in males and increased object exploration in young females. Following behavioral assessment, rats were euthanized to assess markers of hippocampal plasticity. Aged SUP males and females had more newly proliferated cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus and protein levels of vascular-endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and neurotrophin-3 (NT-3) were significantly elevated in female SUP rats in comparison to all other groups. Taken together, these findings provide the first evidence that prenatal cholinesupplementation causes changes in exploratory behaviors over the lifespan and preserves some features of hippocampal plasticity that can be seen even at 2 years of age. PMID:18786518

Children's Perceptions of Sharks and Understanding of Its Ecological Significance for Educational Implications

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tsoi, Kwok Ho

2011-01-01

Global shark populations are seriously declining and many species are now threatened by anthropogenic stresses. Their extinction would cause devastating consequences to the marine biodiversity and ecosystems. However some children describe the sharks as bad guys, "we should kill them all!" Such children's view motivates my study…

Dynamics of soil carbon, nitrogen and soil respiration in farmer’s field with conservation agriculture Siem Reap, Cambodia

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The years of intensive tillage in many countries, including Cambodia, have caused significant decline in agriculture’s natural resources that could threaten the future of agricultural production and sustainability worldwide. Long-term tillage system and site-specific crop management can affect chang...

Cancer as a cause of death among people with AIDS in the United States

PubMed Central

Simard, Edgar P.; Engels, Eric A.

2010-01-01

Background People with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), are at increased risk for cancer. Highly active antiretroviral therapy [(HAART), widely available since 1996] has resulted in dramatic declines in AIDS-related deaths. Methods We evaluated cancer as a cause of death in a U.S. registry-based cohort of 83,282 people with AIDS (1980–2006). Causes of death due to AIDS-defining cancers (ADCs) and non-AIDS-defining cancers (NADCs) were assessed. We evaluated mortality rates and the fraction of deaths due to cancer. Poisson regression assessed rates according to calendar year of AIDS onset. Results Overall mortality declined from 302 (1980–1989), to 140 (1990–1995), to 29 per 1,000 person-years (1996–2006). ADC mortality declined from 2.95 (1980–1989) to 0.65 per 1,000 person-years (1996–2006) (P<0.01), but the fraction of ADC-deaths increased from 1.05% to 2.47%, due to declines in other AIDS-related deaths. Non-Hodgkin lymphoma was the commonest cancer-related cause of death (36% during 1996–2006). Likewise, NADC mortality declined from 2.21 to 0.84 per 1,000 person-years (1980–1989 vs. 1996–2006, P<0.05), but the fraction of NADC-deaths increased to 3.16% during 1996–2006. Lung cancer was the most common NADC cause of death (21% of cancer-related deaths in 1996–2006). Conclusions Cancer mortality declined in the HAART era, but due to declining mortality from AIDS, cancers account for a growing fraction of deaths. Improved cancer prevention and treatment, particularly for non-Hodgkin lymphoma and lung cancer, would reduce mortality among people with AIDS. PMID:20825305

Temporal trends in motor vehicle fatalities in the United States, 1968 to 2010 - a joinpoint regression analysis.

PubMed

Bandi, Priti; Silver, Diana; Mijanovich, Tod; Macinko, James

2015-12-01

In the past 40 years, a variety of factors might have impacted motor vehicle (MV) fatality trends in the US, including public health policies, engineering innovations, trauma care improvements, etc. These factors varied in their timing across states/localities, and many were targeted at particular population subgroups. In order to identify and quantify differential rates of change over time and differences in trend patterns between population subgroups, this study employed a novel analytic method to assess temporal trends in MV fatalities between 1968 and 2010, by age group and sex. Cause-specific MV fatality data from traffic injuries between 1968 and 2010, based on death certificates filed in the 50 states, and DC were obtained from Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Wide-ranging Online Data for Epidemiologic Research (CDC WONDER). Long-term (1968 to 2010) and short-term (log-linear piecewise segments) trends in fatality rates were compared for males and females overall and in four separate age groups using joinpoint regression. MV fatalities declined on average by 2.4% per year in males and 2.2% per year in females between 1968 and 2010, with significant declines observed in all age groups and in both sexes. In males overall and those 25 to 64 years, sharp declines between 1968 and mid-to-late 1990s were followed by a stalling until the mid-2000s, but rates in females experienced a long-term steady decline of a lesser magnitude than males during this time. Trends in those aged <1 to 14 years and 15 to 24 years were mostly steady over time, but males had a larger decline than females in the latter age group between 1968 and the mid-2000s. In ages 65+, short-term trends were similar between sexes. Despite significant long-term declines in MV fatalities, the application of Joinpoint Regression found that progress in young adult and middle-aged adult males stalled in recent decades and rates in males declined relatively more than in females in certain age groups. Future research is needed to establish the causes of these observed trends, including the potential role of contemporaneous MV-related policies and their repeal. Such research is needed in order to better inform the design and evaluation of future population interventions addressing MV fatalities nationally.

Decline in offspring viability as a manifestation of aging in Drosophila melianogaster.

PubMed

Kern, S; Ackermann, M; Stearns, S C; Kawecki, T J

2001-09-01

The evolutionary explanation of senescence proposes that selection against alleles with deleterious effects manifested only late in life is weak because most individuals die earlier for extrinsic reasons. This argument also applies to alleles whose deleterious effects are nongenetically transmitted from mother to progeny, that is, that affect the performance of progeny produced at late ages rather than of the aging individuals themselves. We studied the effect of maternal age on offspring viability (egg hatching success and larva-to-adult survival) in two sets of Drosophila melanogaster lines (HAM/LAM and YOUNG/OLD), originating from two long-term selection experiments. In each set, some lines (HAM and YOUNG, respectively) have been selected for early reproduction, whereas later reproduction was favored in their counterparts (LAM and OLD). In the HAM and LAM lines, both egg hatching success and larval viability declined with mother's age and did so with accelerating rates. The hatching success declined significantly faster with maternal age in HAM than in LAM lines, according to one of two statistical approaches used. Egg hatching success also declined with maternal age in YOUNG and OLD lines, with no difference between the selection regimes. However, the relationship between mother's age and offspring larva-to-adult viability differed significantly between these two selection regimes: a decline of larval viability with maternal age occurred in YOUNG lines but not in OLD lines. This suggests that the rate with which offspring viability declines with mother's age responded to selection for early versus late reproduction. We suggest broadening the evolutionary concept of senescence to include intrinsically caused declines in offspring quality with maternal age.

Depression and helplessness-induced cognitive deficits in the aged.

PubMed

Kennelly, K J; Hayslip, B; Richardson, S K

1985-01-01

Sixty-six community-residing elderly (mean age = 72.5) were categorized as depressed (mean = 11.3) or nondepressed (mean = 3.9) based on Beck Depression Inventory scores. After a pre-test battery measuring short-term memory and crystallized/fluid intelligence, the subjects responded to a word association task, disguised as a test of interpersonal empathy, under response dependent or response independent reinforcement conditions, or were assigned to a no treatment control. A post-test battery of alternate forms followed. Four of seven measures showed significant pre- to post-test declines in performance. For two of these four, response dependent reinforcement prevented otherwise significant declines. With pre-test differences statistically controlled, depression produced significant post-test deficits in three measures. Response dependent reinforcement eliminated this depression deficit in one measure. The results indicate that depression may exacerbate fatigue effects for the elderly and response dependent reinforcement may prevent fatigue-caused deficits in short-term memory.

Relationship between cystic fibrosis respiratory tract bacterial communities and age, genotype, antibiotics and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

PubMed

Klepac-Ceraj, Vanja; Lemon, Katherine P; Martin, Thomas R; Allgaier, Martin; Kembel, Steven W; Knapp, Alixandra A; Lory, Stephen; Brodie, Eoin L; Lynch, Susan V; Bohannan, Brendan J M; Green, Jessica L; Maurer, Brian A; Kolter, Roberto

2010-05-01

Polymicrobial bronchopulmonary infections in cystic fibrosis (CF) cause progressive lung damage and death. Although the arrival of Pseudomonas aeruginosa often heralds a more rapid rate of pulmonary decline, there is significant inter-individual variation in the rate of decline, the causes of which remain poorly understood. By coupling culture-independent methods with ecological analyses, we discovered correlations between bacterial community profiles and clinical disease markers in respiratory tracts of 45 children with CF. Bacterial community complexity was inversely correlated with patient age, presence of P. aeruginosa and antibiotic exposure, and was related to CF genotype. Strikingly, bacterial communities lacking P. aeruginosa were much more similar to each other than were those containing P. aeruginosa, regardless of antibiotic exposure. This suggests that community composition might be a better predictor of disease progression than the presence of P. aeruginosa alone and deserves further study.

Changes in anthropometry and mortality in maintenance hemodialysis patients in the HEMO Study.

PubMed

Su, Chi-Ting; Yabes, Jonathan; Pike, Francis; Weiner, Daniel E; Beddhu, Srinivasan; Burrowes, Jerrilynn D; Rocco, Michael V; Unruh, Mark L

2013-12-01

Poor nutritional status has been associated with worse patient survival in maintenance hemodialysis patients. Anthropometric values are important nutritional measures, incorporating muscle and fat mass. However, the association of changes in anthropometry, including midarm circumference (MAC) and skinfold measurements, with mortality in hemodialysis patients remains unknown. Accordingly, we explored this association in the Hemodialysis (HEMO) Study. Post hoc analysis of cohort data from a clinical trial. 1,846 hemodialysis patients enrolled in the HEMO Study. MAC and skinfold measurements. Longitudinal changes in MAC and skinfolds were jointly modeled using repeated measures and survival modeling. Time-to-event outcomes were all-cause mortality, cardiac death and hospitalization, and infection-related death. Mean MAC was 30.1 cm, and mean baseline sum of subscapular, biceps, and triceps skinfolds was 42.4 mm. During a median follow-up of 2.5 years, there were 845 deaths. During follow-up, MAC and the skinfold measurement declined 0.26 cm and 1.1 mm per year, respectively. Declines in MAC (per cm) and skinfold (per mm) measurements were associated with higher all-cause mortality (HRs of 1.58 [95% CI, 1.29-1.94; P < 0.001] and 1.06 [95% CI, 0.99-1.13; P = 0.09], respectively), poorer cardiac outcomes (HRs of 1.49 [95% CI, 1.23-1.81; P < 0.001] and 1.05 [95% CI, 0.99-1.10; P = 0.09], respectively), and higher infection-related hospitalization (HRs of 2.45 [95% CI, 1.55-3.88; P < 0.001] and 1.16 [95% CI, 0.98-1.37; P = 0.08], respectively). The association between declining MAC and skinfold with patient survival was most notable for those with body mass index (BMI) ≤25 kg/m2 (HRs of 2.41 [95% CI, 1.81-3.19; P < 0.001] and 1.22 [95% CI, 1.10-1.35; P < 0.001], respectively). Prevalent dialysis patients only, excluding individuals weighing >85 kg. Declines in skinfold thickness were not associated significantly with outcomes except for participants with BMI ≤25 kg/m2. Declines in MAC are associated significantly with all-cause mortality and cardiac outcomes in hemodialysis patients, most notably in those with BMI ≤25 kg/m2. Copyright © 2013 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Changes in Echocardiographic Parameters According to the Rate of Residual Renal Function Decline in Incident Peritoneal Dialysis Patients

PubMed Central

Koo, Hyang Mo; Doh, Fa Mee; Kim, Chan Ho; Lee, Mi Jung; Kim, Eun Jin; Han, Jae Hyun; Han, Ji Suk; Ryu, Dong-Ryeol; Oh, Hyung Jung; Park, Jung Tak; Han, Seung Hyeok; Yoo, Tae-Hyun; Kang, Shin-Wook

2015-01-01

Abstract Residual renal function (RRF) is associated with left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy as well as all-cause and cardiovascular (CV) mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease. However, no studies have yet examined the serial changes in echocardiographic findings according to the rate of RRF decline in incident dialysis patients. A total of 81 patients who started peritoneal dialysis (PD) between 2005 and 2012 at Yonsei University Health System, Seoul, South Korea, and who underwent baseline and follow-up echocardiography within the first year of PD were recruited. Patients were dichotomized into “faster” and “slower” RRF decline groups according to the median values of RRF decline slope (−1.60 mL/min/y/1.73 m2). Baseline RRF and echocardiographic parameters were comparable between the 2 groups. During the first year of PD, there were no significant changes in LV end-diastolic volume index (LVEDVI), left atrial volume index (LAVI), or LV mass index (LVMI) in the “faster” RRT decline group, while these indices decreased in the “slower” RRT decline group. The rate of RRF decline was a significant determinant of 1-year changes in LVEDVI, LAVI, and LVMI. The linear mixed model further confirmed that there were significant differences in the changes in LVEDVI, LAVI, and LVMI between the 2 groups (P = 0.047, 0.048, and 0.001, respectively). During a mean follow-up duration of 31.9 months, 4 (4.9%) patients died. Compared with the “slower” RRF decline group, CV composite (20.29/100 vs 7.18/100 patient-years [PY], P = 0.098), technique failure (18.80/100 vs 4.19/100 PY, P = 0.006), and PD peritonitis (15.73/100 vs 4.95/100 PY, P = 0.064) developed more frequently in patients with “faster” RRF decline rate. On multivariate Cox regression analysis, patients with “faster” RRF decline rate showed 4.82-, 4.44-, and 7.37-fold higher risks, respectively, for each clinical outcome. Preservation of RRF is important for conserving cardiac performance, resulting in an improvement in clinical outcomes of incident PD patients. PMID:25700308

Polymerization contraction stress in dentin adhesives bonded to dentin and enamel.

PubMed

Hashimoto, Masanori; de Gee, Anton J; Feilzer, Albert J

2008-10-01

In a previous study on of polymerization contraction stress determinations of adhesives bonded to dentin a continuous decline of stress was observed after the adhesives had been light-cured. The decline was ascribed to stress relief caused by diffusion into the adhesive layer of water and/or solvents, left in the impregnated dentin surface after drying and/or evaporation in the application procedure. The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that the contraction stress of adhesives bonded to enamel will not decline after light-curing, based on the assumption that water and/or solvents are more efficiently removed from impregnated enamel surfaces in the drying and/or evaporation step. Contraction stress was determined in a tensilometer for three total-etching adhesives Scotchbond multi-purpose, Single bond and One-step plus and four self-etching adhesives Clearfil SE Bond, Clearfil Protect Bond, AdheSE, and Xeno III. The adhesives were placed in a thin layer between a glass plate and a flat dentin or enamel surface pre-treated with phosphoric acid or self-etching primer and light-cured under constrained conditions. All adhesives bonded to enamel showed a stress decline, but significantly less than for dentin with the exception of two self-etching adhesives. The greatest decline was found for the total-etching adhesive systems bonded to dentin. The presence of hydrophobic monomers in the adhesives had a significant influence on the decline. The experiments indicate that fluids are withdrawn from the resin impregnated tooth structures, which may result in small defects in the tooth-resin interfaces.

What Could Be Causing Global Ozone Depletion

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Singer, S. Fred

1990-01-01

The reported decline trend in global ozone between 1970 and 1986 may be in part an artifact of the analysis; the trend value appears to depend on the time interval selected for analysis--in relation to the 11-year solar cycle. If so, then the decline should diminish as one approaches solar maximum and includes data from 1987 to 1990. If the decline is real, its cause could be the result of natural and human factors other than just chlorofluorocarbons.

Diclofenac poisoning is widespread in declining vulture populations across the Indian subcontinent.

PubMed

Shultz, Susanne; Baral, Hem Sagar; Charman, Sheonaidh; Cunningham, Andrew A; Das, Devojit; Ghalsasi, G R; Goudar, Mallikarjun S; Green, Rhys E; Jones, Ainsley; Nighot, Prashant; Pain, Deborah J; Prakash, Vibhu

2004-12-07

Recent declines in the populations of three species of vultures in the Indian subcontinent are among the most rapid ever recorded in any bird species. Evidence from a previous study of one of these species, Gyps bengalensis, in the Punjab province of Pakistan, strongly implicates mortality caused by ingestion of residues of the veterinary non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug diclofenac as the major cause of the decline. We show that a high proportion of Gyps bengalensis and G. indicus found dead or dying in a much larger area of India and Nepal also have residues of diclofenac and visceral gout, a post-mortem finding that is strongly associated with diclofenac contamination in both species. Hence, veterinary use of diclofenac is likely to have been the major cause of the rapid vulture population declines across the subcontinent.

Trends in socioeconomic inequalities in risk of sudden infant death syndrome, other causes of infant mortality, and stillbirth in Scotland: population based study

PubMed Central

Wood, Angela M; Pasupathy, Dharmintra; Pell, Jill P; Fleming, Michael

2012-01-01

Objectives To compare changes in inequalities in sudden infant death syndrome with other causes of infant mortality and stillbirth in Scotland, 1985-2008. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting Scotland 1985-2008, analysed by four epochs of six years. Participants Singleton births of infants with birth weight >500 g born at 28-43 weeks’ gestation. Main outcome measures Sudden infant death syndrome, other causes of postneonatal infant death, neonatal death, and stillbirth. Odds ratios expressed as the association across the range of seven categories of Carstairs deprivation score. Results The association between deprivation and the risk of all cause stillbirth and infant death varied between the four epochs (P=0.04). This was wholly explained by variation in the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (P<0.001 for interaction). Among women living in areas of low deprivation, there was a sharp decline in the rate of sudden infant death syndrome from 1990 to 1993. Among women living in areas of high deprivation, there was a slower decline in sudden infant death syndrome rates between 1992 and 2004. Consequently, the odds ratio for the association between socioeconomic deprivation and sudden infant death syndrome increased from 2.04 (95% confidence interval 1.53 to 2.72) in 1985-90, to 7.52 (4.62 to 12.25) in 1991-6, and 9.50 (5.46 to 16.53) in 1997-2002 but fell to 1.78 (0.87 to 3.65) in 2002-8. The interaction remained significant after adjustment for maternal characteristics. Conclusion The rate of sudden infant death syndrome declined throughout Scotland in the early 1990s. The decline had a later onset and was slower among women living in areas of high deprivation, probably because of slower uptake of recommended changes in infant sleeping position. The effect was to create a strong independent association between deprivation and sudden infant death syndrome where one did not exist before. PMID:22427307

Garden and Landscape-Scale Correlates of Moths of Differing Conservation Status: Significant Effects of Urbanization and Habitat Diversity

PubMed Central

Bates, Adam J.; Sadler, Jon P.; Grundy, Dave; Lowe, Norman; Davis, George; Baker, David; Bridge, Malcolm; Freestone, Roger; Gardner, David; Gibson, Chris; Hemming, Robin; Howarth, Stephen; Orridge, Steve; Shaw, Mark; Tams, Tom; Young, Heather

2014-01-01

Moths are abundant and ubiquitous in vegetated terrestrial environments and are pollinators, important herbivores of wild plants, and food for birds, bats and rodents. In recent years, many once abundant and widespread species have shown sharp declines that have been cited by some as indicative of a widespread insect biodiversity crisis. Likely causes of these declines include agricultural intensification, light pollution, climate change, and urbanization; however, the real underlying cause(s) is still open to conjecture. We used data collected from the citizen science Garden Moth Scheme (GMS) to explore the spatial association between the abundance of 195 widespread British species of moth, and garden habitat and landscape features, to see if spatial habitat and landscape associations varied for species of differing conservation status. We found that associations with habitat and landscape composition were species-specific, but that there were consistent trends in species richness and total moth abundance. Gardens with more diverse and extensive microhabitats were associated with higher species richness and moth abundance; gardens near to the coast were associated with higher richness and moth abundance; and gardens in more urbanized locations were associated with lower species richness and moth abundance. The same trends were also found for species classified as increasing, declining and vulnerable under IUCN (World Conservation Union) criteria. However, vulnerable species were more strongly negatively affected by urbanization than increasing species. Two hypotheses are proposed to explain this observation: (1) that the underlying factors causing declines in vulnerable species (e.g., possibilities include fragmentation, habitat deterioration, agrochemical pollution) across Britain are the same in urban areas, but that these deleterious effects are more intense in urban areas; and/or (2) that urban areas can act as ecological traps for some vulnerable species of moth, the light drawing them in from the surrounding landscape into sub-optimal urban habitats. PMID:24475197

Trends in socioeconomic inequalities in risk of sudden infant death syndrome, other causes of infant mortality, and stillbirth in Scotland: population based study.

PubMed

Wood, Angela M; Pasupathy, Dharmintra; Pell, Jill P; Fleming, Michael; Smith, Gordon C S

2012-03-16

To compare changes in inequalities in sudden infant death syndrome with other causes of infant mortality and stillbirth in Scotland, 1985-2008. Retrospective cohort study. Scotland 1985-2008, analysed by four epochs of six years. Singleton births of infants with birth weight >500 g born at 28-43 weeks' gestation. Sudden infant death syndrome, other causes of postneonatal infant death, neonatal death, and stillbirth. Odds ratios expressed as the association across the range of seven categories of Carstairs deprivation score. The association between deprivation and the risk of all cause stillbirth and infant death varied between the four epochs (P=0.04). This was wholly explained by variation in the risk of sudden infant death syndrome (P<0.001 for interaction). Among women living in areas of low deprivation, there was a sharp decline in the rate of sudden infant death syndrome from 1990 to 1993. Among women living in areas of high deprivation, there was a slower decline in sudden infant death syndrome rates between 1992 and 2004. Consequently, the odds ratio for the association between socioeconomic deprivation and sudden infant death syndrome increased from 2.04 (95% confidence interval 1.53 to 2.72) in 1985-90, to 7.52 (4.62 to 12.25) in 1991-6, and 9.50 (5.46 to 16.53) in 1997-2002 but fell to 1.78 (0.87 to 3.65) in 2002-8. The interaction remained significant after adjustment for maternal characteristics. The rate of sudden infant death syndrome declined throughout Scotland in the early 1990s. The decline had a later onset and was slower among women living in areas of high deprivation, probably because of slower uptake of recommended changes in infant sleeping position. The effect was to create a strong independent association between deprivation and sudden infant death syndrome where one did not exist before.

Factors Influencing the Decline in Stroke Mortality

PubMed Central

Lackland, Daniel T.; Roccella, Edward J.; Deutsch, Anne; Fornage, Myriam; George, Mary G.; Howard, George; Kissela, Brett; Kittner, Steven J.; Lichtman, Judith H.; Lisabeth, Lynda; Schwamm, Lee H.; Smith, Eric E.; Towfighi, Amytis

2017-01-01

Background and Purpose Stroke mortality has been declining since the early twentieth century. The reasons for this are not completely understood, although the decline is welcome. As a result of recent striking and more accelerated decreases in stroke mortality, stroke has fallen from the third to the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. This has prompted a detailed assessment of the factors associated with this decline. This review considers the evidence of various contributors to the decline in stroke risk and mortality and can be used in the design of future interventions regarding this major public health burden. Methods Writing group members were nominated by the committee chair and co-chair on the basis of their previous work in relevant topic areas and were approved by the American Heart Association (AHA) Stroke Council’s Scientific Statement Oversight Committee and the AHA’s Manuscript Oversight Committee. The writers used systematic literature reviews, references to published clinical and epidemiology studies, morbidity and mortality reports, clinical and public health guidelines, authoritative statements, personal files, and expert opinion to summarize evidence and indicate gaps in current knowledge. All members of the writing group had the opportunity to comment and approved the final version of this document. The document underwent extensive AHA internal peer review, Stroke Council Leadership review and Scientific Statements Oversight Committee review before consideration and approval by the AHA Science Advisory and Coordinating Committee. Results The decline in stroke mortality over the past decades represents a major improvement in population health and is observed for both genders, and all race and age groups. In addition to the overall impact on fewer lives lost to stroke, the major decline in stroke mortality seen among individuals less than 65 years of age represents a reduction on years of potential life lost. The decline in mortality results from reduced stroke incidence and lower case fatality rates. These significant improvements in stroke outcomes are concurrent with cardiovascular risk factor control interventions. While it is difficult to calculate specific attributable risk estimates, the hypertension control efforts initiated in the 1970s appears to have had the most substantial influence on the accelerated stroke mortality decline. Although implemented later in the time period, diabetes and dyslipidemia control and smoking cessation programs, particularly in combination with hypertension treatment, also appear to have contributed to the stroke mortality decline. Telemedicine and stroke systems of care, while showing strong potential effects, have not been in place long enough to show their influence on the decline. Other factors had probable effects, but additional studies are needed to determine their contributions. Conclusion The decline in stroke mortality is real and represents a major public health and clinical medicine success story. The repositioning of stroke from 3rd to 4th leading cause of death is the result of true mortality decline and not an increase of chronic lung disease mortality, which is now the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States. There is strong evidence the decline can be attributed to a combination of interventions and programs based on scientific findings and implemented with the purpose to reduce stroke risks, the most likely being improved hypertension control. Thus, research studies and the application of their findings to develop intervention programs have improved the health of the population. The continued application of aggressive evidence-based public health programs and clinical interventions are expected to result in further declines in stroke mortality. PMID:24309587

Examining age-related shared variance between face cognition, vision, and self-reported physical health: a test of the common cause hypothesis for social cognition

PubMed Central

Olderbak, Sally; Hildebrandt, Andrea; Wilhelm, Oliver

2015-01-01

The shared decline in cognitive abilities, sensory functions (e.g., vision and hearing), and physical health with increasing age is well documented with some research attributing this shared age-related decline to a single common cause (e.g., aging brain). We evaluate the extent to which the common cause hypothesis predicts associations between vision and physical health with social cognition abilities specifically face perception and face memory. Based on a sample of 443 adults (17–88 years old), we test a series of structural equation models, including Multiple Indicator Multiple Cause (MIMIC) models, and estimate the extent to which vision and self-reported physical health are related to face perception and face memory through a common factor, before and after controlling for their fluid cognitive component and the linear effects of age. Results suggest significant shared variance amongst these constructs, with a common factor explaining some, but not all, of the shared age-related variance. Also, we found that the relations of face perception, but not face memory, with vision and physical health could be completely explained by fluid cognition. Overall, results suggest that a single common cause explains most, but not all age-related shared variance with domain specific aging mechanisms evident. PMID:26321998

Trouble in the aquatic world: How wildlife professionals are battling amphibian declines

USGS Publications Warehouse

Olson, Deanna H.; Chestnut, Tara E.

2014-01-01

A parasitic fungus, similar to the one that caused the extinction of numerous tropical frog and toad species, is killing salamanders in Europe. Scientists first identified the fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans, in 2013 as the culprit behind the death of fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra) in the Netherlands (Martel et al. 2013) and are now exploring its potential impact to other species. Although the fungus, which kills the amphibians by infecting their skin, has not yet spread to the United States, researchers believe it’s only a matter of time before it does and, when that happens, the impact on salamander populations could be devastating (Martel et al. 2014).Reports of worldwide declines of amphibians began a quarter of a century ago (Blaustein & Wake 1990). Globally, some amphibian population declines occurred in the late 1950s and early 1960s, and declining trends continued in North America (Houlahan et al. 2000). In the earlier years, population declines were attributed primarily to overharvest due to unregulated supply of species such as the northern leopard frog (Lithobates pipiens) for educational use (Dodd 2013). In later years, however, causes of declines were less evident. In 1989, herpetologists at the First World Congress of Herpetology traded alarming stories of losses across continents and in seemingly protected landscapes, making it clear that amphibian population declines were a “global phenomenon.” In response to these reports, in 1991, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) established the Declining Amphibian Populations Task Force to better understand the scale and scope of global amphibian declines. Unfortunately, the absence of long-term monitoring data and targeted studies made it difficult for the task force to compile information.Today, according to AmphibiaWeb.org, there are 7,342 amphibian species in the world — double the number since the first alerts of declines — making the situation appear deceptively less dire. In fact, our understanding of genetic diversity significantly raises the stakes, and we are at risk of losing far more species than we believed only a few years ago. According to the IUCN, amphibians now lead the list of vertebrate taxa affected by the larger “biodiversity crisis” and sixth major mass- extinction event on Earth (Keith et al. 2014, Wake and Vredenburg 2008).

Conservation choice on the rare endangered plants Glehnia littoralis.

PubMed

Pan, Yanxia; Chu, Jianmin; Yang, Hongxiao

2018-01-01

The coastal herbs Glehnia littoralis have been domesticated as traditional medicines for many centuries. The domestication may have caused changes or declines of cultivated G. littoralis (CGL) relative to wild G. littoralis (WGL). By comparing fruit properties of CGL and WGL, we tested the hypothesis that domesticated G. littoralis have suffered major declines, and human cultivation cannot be sufficient to conserve this species. We collected fruits of CGL and WGL in the Shandong peninsula, China, and compared their buoyancy in seawater, germination potential after seawater immersion, and thousand-grain weights. Float rates of the WGL and CGL fruits were 95.6 (mean) ± 2.6% (standard deviation) and 30.0 ± 7.1%, respectively. The germination potential of CGL was significantly reduced, although the thousand-grain weights of CGL (21.85 ± 0.17 g) were higher than those of the WGL fruits (14.73 ± 0.21 g). These results suggest that the CGL have experienced significant declines relative to the WGL, presumably due to the loss of seawater inundation, selection and dispersal. These declines disfavour the persistence of CGL, and human domestication and cultivation are believed to be insufficient for conserving G. littoralis . Sand coasts where WGL still persists should be designated timely as nature reserves to conserve this species.

Phage therapy for Florida corals?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Kellogg, Christina A.

2007-01-01

Coral disease is a major cause of reef decline in the Florida Keys. Bacterium has been defined as the most common pathogen (disease-causing organism). Although much is being done to catalog coral diseases, map their locations, determine the causes of disease, or measure the rates of coral demise, very little research has been directed toward actually preventing or eliminating the diseases affecting coral and coral reef decline.

Simulated nitrogen deposition affects community structure of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi in northern hardwood forests

Treesearch

Linda T.A. Van Diepen; Erik Lilleskov; Kurt S. Pregitzer

2011-01-01

Our previous investigation found elevated nitrogen deposition caused declines in abundance of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) associated with forest trees, but little is known about how nitrogen affects the AMF community composition and structure within forest ecosystems. We hypothesized that N deposition would lead to significant changes in the AMF community...

Comparison of suspendedbBranch and direct infestation techniques for artificially Infesting hemlock seedlings with the hemlock woolly adelgid for resistance screening

Treesearch

Zaidee Powers; Albert Mayfield; John Frampton; Robert Jetton

2015-01-01

The hemlock woolly adelgid (Adelges tsugae Annand) is an invasive forest pest in eastern North America that has caused significant decline and mortality in populations of eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.) and Carolina hemlock (T. caroliniana Engelm.). The breeding of adelgid-resistant genotypes for...

Cassin's Sparrow (Aimophila cassinii) status assessment and conservation plan

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ruth, Janet M.

2000-01-01

The greatest needs are for determining of the causes of significant declines where they occur, determining of the effects of various management activities on Cassin’s Sparrow throughout its range, improved assessments of population and trends, and a better understanding of the annual population and distribution dynamics of this species, which shows such dramatic annual distributional fluctuations.

PROBLEMS AND PROMISE IN THE USE OF INDIGENOUS PERSONNEL.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

OTIS, JACK

A SIGNIFICANT EXPANSION OF AUXILIARY PERSONNEL WILL BE CAUSED BY THE SOCIAL WORK MANPOWER SHORTAGE, THE ELIMINATION OF ROUTINE BLUE AND WHITE COLLAR JOBS BY AUTOMATION AND CYBERNATION, THE INCREASE IN NEW WORKERS IN A DECLINING LABOR MARKET FOR THE UNSKILLED AND THE SEMI-SKILLED, THE GROWTH OF FEDERAL PROGRAMS WHICH FUND THE ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW…

Tetrahydrobiopterin in antenatal brain hypoxia-ischemia-induced motor impairments and cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Vasquez-Vivar, Jeannette; Shi, Zhongjie; Luo, Kehuan; Thirugnanam, Karthikeyan; Tan, Sidhartha

2017-10-01

Antenatal brain hypoxia-ischemia, which occurs in cerebral palsy, is considered a significant cause of motor impairments in children. The mechanisms by which antenatal hypoxia-ischemia causes brain injury and motor deficits still need to be elucidated. Tetrahydrobiopterin is an important enzyme cofactor that is necessary to produce neurotransmitters and to maintain the redox status of the brain. A genetic deficiency of this cofactor from mutations of biosynthetic or recycling enzymes is a well-recognized factor in the development of childhood neurological disorders characterized by motor impairments, developmental delay, and encephalopathy. Experimental hypoxia-ischemia causes a decline in the availability of tetrahydrobiopterin in the immature brain. This decline coincides with the loss of brain function, suggesting this occurrence contributes to neuronal dysfunction and motor impairments. One possible mechanism linking tetrahydrobiopterin deficiency, hypoxia-ischemia, and neuronal injury is oxidative injury. Evidence of the central role of the developmental biology of tetrahydrobiopterin in response to hypoxic ischemic brain injury, especially the development of motor deficits, is discussed. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier B.V.

Symptomatic BK Virus Infection Is Associated with Kidney Function Decline and Poor Overall Survival in Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Recipients

PubMed Central

Abudayyeh, Ala; Hamdi, Amir; Lin, Heather; Abdelrahim, Maen; Rondon, Gabriela; Andersson, Borje S; Afrough, Aimaz; Martinez, Charles S; Tarrand, Jeffrey J; Kontoyiannis, Dimitrios P.; Marin, David; Gaber, A. Osama; Salahudeen, Abdulla; Oran, Betul; Chemaly, Roy F.; Olson, Amanda; Jones, Roy; Popat, Uday; Champlin, Richard E; Shpall, Elizabeth J.; Winkelmayer, Wolfgang C.; Rezvani, Katayoun

2017-01-01

Nephropathy due to BK virus infection is an evolving challenge in patients undergoing hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. We hypothesized that BKV infection was a marker of Kidney Function Decline and a poor prognostic factor in HSCT recipients who experience this complication. In this retrospective study, we analyzed all patients who underwent their first allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation at our institution between 2004 and 2012. We evaluated the incidence of persistent kidney function decline, which was defined as a confirmed reduction in estimated glomerular filtration rate of at least 25% from baseline using the CKD-EPI equation. Cox proportional hazard regression was used to model the cause-specific hazard of kidney function decline and Fine and Gray’s method was used to account for the competing risks of death. Among 2477 recipients of a first allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, BK viruria was detected in 25% (n=629) and kidney function decline in 944 (38.1%). On multivariate analysis, after adjusting for age, sex, acute graft-versus-host disease, chronic graft versus host disease, preparative conditioning regimen, and graft source, BK viruria remained a significant risk factor for kidney function decline (P <0.001). In addition, patients with BKV infection and kidney function decline experienced worse overall survival. Post-allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, BKV infection was strongly and independently associated with subsequent kidney function decline and worse patient survival after HSCT. PMID:26608093

A phase 3 trial of pirfenidone in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

PubMed

King, Talmadge E; Bradford, Williamson Z; Castro-Bernardini, Socorro; Fagan, Elizabeth A; Glaspole, Ian; Glassberg, Marilyn K; Gorina, Eduard; Hopkins, Peter M; Kardatzke, David; Lancaster, Lisa; Lederer, David J; Nathan, Steven D; Pereira, Carlos A; Sahn, Steven A; Sussman, Robert; Swigris, Jeffrey J; Noble, Paul W

2014-05-29

In two of three phase 3 trials, pirfenidone, an oral antifibrotic therapy, reduced disease progression, as measured by the decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) or vital capacity, in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis; in the third trial, this end point was not achieved. We sought to confirm the beneficial effect of pirfenidone on disease progression in such patients. In this phase 3 study, we randomly assigned 555 patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis to receive either oral pirfenidone (2403 mg per day) or placebo for 52 weeks. The primary end point was the change in FVC or death at week 52. Secondary end points were the 6-minute walk distance, progression-free survival, dyspnea, and death from any cause or from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. In the pirfenidone group, as compared with the placebo group, there was a relative reduction of 47.9% in the proportion of patients who had an absolute decline of 10 percentage points or more in the percentage of the predicted FVC or who died; there was also a relative increase of 132.5% in the proportion of patients with no decline in FVC (P<0.001). Pirfenidone reduced the decline in the 6-minute walk distance (P=0.04) and improved progression-free survival (P<0.001). There was no significant between-group difference in dyspnea scores (P=0.16) or in rates of death from any cause (P=0.10) or from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (P=0.23). However, in a prespecified pooled analysis incorporating results from two previous phase 3 trials, the between-group difference favoring pirfenidone was significant for death from any cause (P=0.01) and from idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (P=0.006). Gastrointestinal and skin-related adverse events were more common in the pirfenidone group than in the placebo group but rarely led to treatment discontinuation. Pirfenidone, as compared with placebo, reduced disease progression, as reflected by lung function, exercise tolerance, and progression-free survival, in patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Treatment was associated with an acceptable side-effect profile and fewer deaths. (Funded by InterMune; ASCEND ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01366209.).

Postoperative cognitive changes after total knee arthroplasty under regional anesthesia

PubMed Central

Jeon, Young-Tae; Kim, Byung-Gun; Park, Young Ho; Sohn, Hye-Min; Kim, Jungeun; Kim, Seung Chan; An, Seong Soo; Kim, SangYun

2016-01-01

Abstract Background: The type of postoperative cognitive decline after surgery under spinal anesthesia is unknown. We investigated the type of postoperative cognitive decline after total knee arthroplasty (TKA). Neuropsychological testing was conducted and the changes in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) biomarkers after surgery were evaluated. Methods: Fifteen patients who required bilateral TKA at a 1-week interval under spinal anesthesia were included. Neuropsychological tests were performed twice, once the day before the first operation and just before the second operation (usually 1 week after the first test) to determine cognitive decline. Validated neuropsychological tests were used to examine 4 types of cognitive decline: memory, frontal-executive, language-semantic, and others. Concentrations of CSF amyloid peptide, tau protein, and S100B were measured twice during spinal anesthesia at a 1-week interval. The patients showed poor performance in frontal-executive function (forward digit span, semantic fluency, letter-phonemic fluency, and Stroop color reading) at the second compared to the first neuropsychological assessment. Results: S100B concentration decreased significantly 1 week after the operation compared to the basal value (638 ± 178 vs 509 ± 167 pg/mL) (P = 0.019). Amyloid protein β1–42, total tau, and phosphorylated tau concentrations tended to decrease but the changes were not significant. Conclusion: Our results suggest that frontal-executive function declined 1 week after TKA under spinal anesthesia. The CSF biomarker analysis indicated that TKA under regional anesthesia might not cause neuronal damage. PMID:28033253

Factors influencing the decline in stroke mortality: a statement from the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association.

PubMed

Lackland, Daniel T; Roccella, Edward J; Deutsch, Anne F; Fornage, Myriam; George, Mary G; Howard, George; Kissela, Brett M; Kittner, Steven J; Lichtman, Judith H; Lisabeth, Lynda D; Schwamm, Lee H; Smith, Eric E; Towfighi, Amytis

2014-01-01

Stroke mortality has been declining since the early 20th century. The reasons for this are not completely understood, although the decline is welcome. As a result of recent striking and more accelerated decreases in stroke mortality, stroke has fallen from the third to the fourth leading cause of death in the United States. This has prompted a detailed assessment of the factors associated with the change in stroke risk and mortality. This statement considers the evidence for factors that have contributed to the decline and how they can be used in the design of future interventions for this major public health burden. Writing group members were nominated by the committee chair and co-chair on the basis of their previous work in relevant topic areas and were approved by the American Heart Association Stroke Council's Scientific Statements Oversight Committee and the American Heart Association Manuscript Oversight Committee. The writers used systematic literature reviews, references to published clinical and epidemiological studies, morbidity and mortality reports, clinical and public health guidelines, authoritative statements, personal files, and expert opinion to summarize evidence and to indicate gaps in current knowledge. All members of the writing group had the opportunity to comment on this document and approved the final version. The document underwent extensive American Heart Association internal peer review, Stroke Council leadership review, and Scientific Statements Oversight Committee review before consideration and approval by the American Heart Association Science Advisory and Coordinating Committee. The decline in stroke mortality over the past decades represents a major improvement in population health and is observed for both sexes and for all racial/ethnic and age groups. In addition to the overall impact on fewer lives lost to stroke, the major decline in stroke mortality seen among people <65 years of age represents a reduction in years of potential life lost. The decline in mortality results from reduced incidence of stroke and lower case-fatality rates. These significant improvements in stroke outcomes are concurrent with cardiovascular risk factor control interventions. Although it is difficult to calculate specific attributable risk estimates, efforts in hypertension control initiated in the 1970s appear to have had the most substantial influence on the accelerated decline in stroke mortality. Although implemented later, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia control and smoking cessation programs, particularly in combination with treatment of hypertension, also appear to have contributed to the decline in stroke mortality. The potential effects of telemedicine and stroke systems of care appear to be strong but have not been in place long enough to indicate their influence on the decline. Other factors had probable effects, but additional studies are needed to determine their contributions. The decline in stroke mortality is real and represents a major public health and clinical medicine success story. The repositioning of stroke from third to fourth leading cause of death is the result of true mortality decline and not an increase in mortality from chronic lung disease, which is now the third leading cause of death in the United States. There is strong evidence that the decline can be attributed to a combination of interventions and programs based on scientific findings and implemented with the purpose of reducing stroke risks, the most likely being improved control of hypertension. Thus, research studies and the application of their findings in developing intervention programs have improved the health of the population. The continued application of aggressive evidence-based public health programs and clinical interventions is expected to result in further declines in stroke mortality.

Climate Change and Its Impact on the Eco-Environment of the Three-Rivers Headwater Region on the Tibetan Plateau, China.

PubMed

Jiang, Chong; Zhang, Linbo

2015-09-25

This study analyzes the impact of climate change on the eco-environment of the Three-Rivers Headwater Region (TRHR), Tibetan Plateau, China. Temperature and precipitation experienced sharp increases in this region during the past 57 years. A dramatic increase in winter temperatures contributed to a rise in average annual temperatures. Moreover, annual runoff in the Lancang (LRB) and Yangtze (YARB) river basins showed an increasing trend, compared to a slight decrease in the Yellow River Basin (YRB). Runoff is predominantly influenced by rainfall, which is controlled by several monsoon systems. The water temperature in the YRB and YARB increased significantly from 1958 to 2007 (p < 0.001), driven by air temperature changes. Additionally, owing to warming and wetting trends in the TRHR, the net primary productivity (NPP) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) showed significant increasing trends during the past half-century. Furthermore, although an increase in water erosion due to rainfall erosivity was observed, wind speeds declined significantly, causing a decline in wind erosion, as well as the frequency and duration of sandstorms. A clear regional warming trend caused an obvious increasing trend in glacier runoff, with a maximum value observed in the 2000s.

Climate Change and Its Impact on the Eco-Environment of the Three-Rivers Headwater Region on the Tibetan Plateau, China

PubMed Central

Jiang, Chong; Zhang, Linbo

2015-01-01

This study analyzes the impact of climate change on the eco-environment of the Three-Rivers Headwater Region (TRHR), Tibetan Plateau, China. Temperature and precipitation experienced sharp increases in this region during the past 57 years. A dramatic increase in winter temperatures contributed to a rise in average annual temperatures. Moreover, annual runoff in the Lancang (LRB) and Yangtze (YARB) river basins showed an increasing trend, compared to a slight decrease in the Yellow River Basin (YRB). Runoff is predominantly influenced by rainfall, which is controlled by several monsoon systems. The water temperature in the YRB and YARB increased significantly from 1958 to 2007 (p < 0.001), driven by air temperature changes. Additionally, owing to warming and wetting trends in the TRHR, the net primary productivity (NPP) and normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) showed significant increasing trends during the past half-century. Furthermore, although an increase in water erosion due to rainfall erosivity was observed, wind speeds declined significantly, causing a decline in wind erosion, as well as the frequency and duration of sandstorms. A clear regional warming trend caused an obvious increasing trend in glacier runoff, with a maximum value observed in the 2000s. PMID:26404333

Accelerated Spirometric Decline in New York City Firefighters With α1-Antitrypsin Deficiency

PubMed Central

Brantly, Mark; Izbicki, Gabriel; Hall, Charles; Shanske, Alan; Chavko, Robert; Santhyadka, Ganesha; Christodoulou, Vasilios; Weiden, Michael D.; Prezant, David J.

2010-01-01

Background: On September 11, 2001, the World Trade Center (WTC) collapse caused massive air pollution, producing variable amounts of lung function reduction in the New York City Fire Department (FDNY) rescue workforce. α1-Antitrypsin (AAT) deficiency is a risk factor for obstructive airway disease. Methods: This prospective, longitudinal cohort study of the first 4 years post-September 11, 2001, investigated the influence of AAT deficiency on adjusted longitudinal spirometric change (FEV1) in 90 FDNY rescue workers with WTC exposure. Workers with protease inhibitor (Pi) Z heterozygosity were considered moderately AAT deficient. PiS homozygosity or PiS heterozygosity without concomitant PiZ heterozygosity was considered mild deficiency, and PiM homozygosity was considered normal. Alternately, workers had low AAT levels if serum AAT was ≤ 20 μmol/L. Results: In addition to normal aging-related decline (37 mL/y), significant FEV1 decline accelerations developed with increasing AAT deficiency severity (110 mL/y for moderate and 32 mL/y for mild) or with low AAT serum levels (49 mL/y). Spirometric rates pre-September 11, 2001, did not show accelerations with AAT deficiency. Among workers with low AAT levels, cough persisted in a significant number of participants at 4 years post-September 11, 2001. Conclusions: FDNY rescue workers with AAT deficiency had significant spirometric decline accelerations and persistent airway symptoms during the first 4 years after WTC exposure, representing a novel gene-by-environment interaction. Clinically meaningful decline acceleration occurred even with the mild serum AAT level reductions associated with PiS heterozygosity (without concomitant PiZ heterozygosity). PMID:20634282

Evapotranspiration in the Nile Basin: Identifying dynamics and drivers, 2002–2011

USGS Publications Warehouse

Alemu, Henok; Kaptue, Armel T.; Senay, Gabriel; Wimberly, Michael C.; Henebry, Geoffrey M.

2015-01-01

Analysis of the relationship between evapotranspiration (ET) and its natural and anthropogenic drivers is critical in water-limited basins such as the Nile. The spatiotemporal relationships of ET with rainfall and vegetation dynamics in the Nile Basin during 2002–2011 were analyzed using satellite-derived data. Non-parametric statistics were used to quantify ET-rainfall interactions and trends across land cover types and subbasins. We found that 65% of the study area (2.5 million km2) showed significant (p < 0.05) positive correlations between monthly ET and rainfall, whereas 7% showed significant negative correlations. As expected, positive ET-rainfall correlations were observed over natural vegetation, mixed croplands/natural vegetation, and croplands, with a few subbasin-specific exceptions. In particular, irrigated croplands, wetlands and some forests exhibited negative correlations. Trend tests revealed spatial clusters of statistically significant trends in ET (6% of study area was negative; 12% positive), vegetation greenness (24% negative; 12% positive) and rainfall (11% negative; 1% positive) during 2002–2011. The Nile Delta, Ethiopian highlands and central Uganda regions showed decline in ET while central parts of Sudan, South Sudan, southwestern Ethiopia and northeastern Uganda showed increases. Except for a decline in ET in central Uganda, the detected changes in ET (both positive and negative) were not associated with corresponding changes in rainfall. Detected declines in ET in the Nile delta and Ethiopian highlands were found to be attributable to anthropogenic land degradation, while the ET decline in central Uganda is likely caused by rainfall reduction.

Historical Trends and Regional Differences in All-Cause and Amenable Mortality Among American Indians and Alaska Natives Since 1950

PubMed Central

Kunitz, Stephen J.; Veazie, Mark; Henderson, Jeffrey A.

2014-01-01

American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) death rates declined over most of the 20th century, even before the Public Health Service became responsible for health care in 1956. Since then, rates have declined further, although they have stagnated since the 1980s. These overall patterns obscure substantial regional differences. Most significant, rates in the Northern and Southern Plains have declined far less since 1949 to 1953 than those in the East, Southwest, or Pacific Coast. Data for Alaska are not available for the earlier period, so its trajectory of mortality cannot be ascertained. Socioeconomic measures do not adequately explain the differences and rates of change, but migration, changes in self-identification as an AI/AN person, interracial marriage, and variations in health care effectiveness all appear to be implicated. PMID:24754651

Pathogens, pests, and economics: drivers of honey bee colony declines and losses.

PubMed

Smith, Kristine M; Loh, Elizabeth H; Rostal, Melinda K; Zambrana-Torrelio, Carlos M; Mendiola, Luciana; Daszak, Peter

2013-12-01

The Western honey bee (Apis mellifera) is responsible for ecosystem services (pollination) worth US$215 billion annually worldwide and the number of managed colonies has increased 45% since 1961. However, in Europe and the U.S., two distinct phenomena; long-term declines in colony numbers and increasing annual colony losses, have led to significant interest in their causes and environmental implications. The most important drivers of a long-term decline in colony numbers appear to be socioeconomic and political pressure on honey production. In contrast, annual colony losses seem to be driven mainly by the spread of introduced pathogens and pests, and management problems due to a long-term intensification of production and the transition from large numbers of small apiaries to fewer, larger operations. We conclude that, while other causal hypotheses have received substantial interest, the role of pests, pathogens, and management issues requires increased attention.

Getting back the missing men of Aotearoa: declining gender inequality in NZ life expectancy.

PubMed

Sandiford, Peter

2009-12-01

Men's health is of increasing concern to policy makers worldwide. Although women generally live significantly longer than men, the difference in life expectancy in many countries is now narrowing. To document the trend in sex differences in New Zealand (NZ) life expectancy at birth (LEB) over the last decades and to determine disease patterns which account for it. Decomposition of sex differences in LEB by age and cause for the periods 1980-82, 1985-87, 1990-92,1995-97, 2000-02, and 2005-06, using registered deaths and model life tables. Sex differences in LEB increased from 1951 to peak in 1976 before narrowing again. In 2006 they reached almost exactly the level they were at 55 years earlier. Changes in relative mortality from ischaemic heart disease (IHD) and to a lesser extent accidents, respiratory disease and other circulatory causes, brought about the recent decline in gender survival disparities. IHD continues to be a significant cause of gender inequality, but cancers have now become a major component of the sex difference in LEB. NZ's experience mirrors closely that of other developed countries in pattern, timingand the age-cause composition of the trend in gender survival disparities. Thus differences in the timing of taking up smoking, found to explain a substantial portion of the trend elsewhere, were probably also important in NZ, but improvements in medical outcomes for smokers also must have played a significant role. Primary care practitioners will continue to reduce gender survival disparities by workingto ensure a high uptake of services such as screening for colorectal cancer, one of many diseases responsible for lower male life expectancy.

Change in mobility function and its causes in adults with cerebral palsy by Gross Motor Function Classification System level: A cross-sectional questionnaire study.

PubMed

Himuro, Nobuaki; Mishima, Reiko; Seshimo, Takashi; Morishima, Toshibumi; Kosaki, Keisuke; Ibe, Shigeharu; Asagai, Yoshimi; Minematsu, Koji; Kurita, Kazuhiro; Okayasu, Tsutomu; Shimura, Tsukasa; Hoshino, Kotaro; Suzuki, Toshiro; Yanagizono, Taiichiro

2018-04-07

The prognosis for mobility function by Gross Motor Function Classification System (GMFCS) level is vital as a guide to rehabilitation for people with cerebral palsy. This study sought to investigate change in mobility function and its causes in adults with cerebral palsy by GMFCS level. We conducted a cross-sectional questionnaire study. A total of 386 participants (26 y 8 m, SD 5 y 10 m) with cerebral palsy were analyzed. Participant numbers by GMFCS level were: I (53), II (139), III (74) and IV (120). The median age of participants with peak mobility function in GMFCS level III was younger than that in the other levels. 48% had experienced a decline in mobility. A Kaplan-Meier plot showed the risk of mobility decline increased in GMFCS level III; the hazard ratio was 1.97 (95% CI, 1.20-3.23) compared with level I. The frequently reported causes of mobility decline were changes in environment, and illness and injury in GMFCS level III, stiffness and deformity in level IV, and reduced physical activity in level II and III. Peak mobility function and mobility decline occurred at a younger age in GMFCS level III, with the cause of mobility decline differing by GMFCS level.

Dietary traces of neonicotinoid pesticides as a cause of population declines in honey bees: an evaluation by Hill's epidemiological criteria.

PubMed

Cresswell, James E; Desneux, Nicolas; vanEngelsdorp, Dennis

2012-06-01

Honey bees are important pollinators of both crops and wild plants. Pesticide regimes that threaten their sustainability should therefore be assessed. As an example, evidence that the agricultural use of neonicotinoid pesticides is a cause of the recently observed declines in honey bees is examined. The aim is to define exacting demographic conditions for a detrimental factor to precipitate a population decline, and Hill's epidemiological 'causality criteria' are employed as a structured process for making an expert judgement about the proposition that trace dietary neonicotinoids in nectar and pollen cause population declines in honey bees. In spite of the absence of decisive experimental results, the analysis shows that, while the proposition is a substantially justified conjecture in the context of current knowledge, it is also substantially contraindicated by a wide variety of circumstantial epidemiological evidence. It is concluded that dietary neonicotinoids cannot be implicated in honey bee declines, but this position is provisional because important gaps remain in current knowledge. Avenues for further investigations to resolve this longstanding uncertainty are therefore identified. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry.

[Subnational analysis of probability of premature mortality caused by four main non-communicable diseases in China during 1990-2015 and " Health China 2030" reduction target].

PubMed

Zeng, X Y; Li, Y C; Liu, S W; Wang, L J; Liu, Y N; Liu, J M; Zhou, M G

2017-03-06

Objective: To investigate the current status, temporal trend and achieving Health China 2030 reduction target of probability of premature mortality caused by four main non-communicable diseases (NCDs) including cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, tumour, diabetes, and chronic respiratory disease in China both at national and provincial level during 1990 to 2015. Methods: Using the results of Global Burden of Disease study 2015 (GBD 2015), according to the method of calculating premature mortality probability recommended by WHO, the current status and temporal trend by different gender from 1990 to 2015 were calculated, analyzed, and compared. Referring to " Health China 2030" target of reduction 30% of probability of premature mortality caused by major NCDs, we evaluated the difficulty of achieving the reduction target among provinces (not including Taiwan). Results: From 1990 to 2015, the probabilities of premature mortality in cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, tumour, and chronic respiratory disease were all declined consistently for both men and women in China, the total of four main NCDs decreased from 30.69% to 18.54% with higher decreasing in women (from 25.97% to 12.40%) than that in men (from 34.94% to 24.19%). In 2015, the top five provinces in terms of probability of premature mortality caused by four main NCDs were Qinghai (28.81%), Tibet (25.88%), Guizhou (24.67%), Guangxi (23.56%), and Xinjiang (23.21%) in turn, while the top five provinces with the lowest probability were Shanghai (8.40%), Beijing (9.39%), Hong Kong (10.10%), Macao (10.31%), and Zhejiang (11.70%). If achieving the " Health China 2030" target, the probabilities of premature mortality in Qinghai and Tibet with the highest probability should decline to about 20.17%, and 18.12%, respectively in 2030, while 5.88%, and 6.57% in Shanghai and Beijing, respectively. From 1990 to 2015, the probability of premature mortality of four main NCDs declined by 2.00% a year on average, the top five provinces with the fastest decline were Beijing (3.48%), Shanghai (3.24%), Zhejiang (2.81%), Fujian (2.75%), and Guangdong (2.67%), and 11 provinces including these five provinces could achieve the " Health China 2030" target by the usual rate of decline, while other 22 provinces could not achieve the target, they need greater rate of decline in order to achieve the target. Conclusion: From 1990 to 2015, the probabilities of premature mortality of four main NCDs were declined consistently in China both at national and provincial level, compared with women, the men had higher probabilities and declined slower, there were significant different in probabilities of premature mortality and their change speed among provinces. Based on the results from 1990 to 2015, there were about two thirds of the provinces, which the task of achieving the Health China 2030 target will be daunting.

Correlates of Recent Declines of Rodents in Northern and Southern Australia: Habitat Structure Is Critical

PubMed Central

Lawes, Michael J.; Fisher, Diana O.; Johnson, Chris N.; Blomberg, Simon P.; Frank, Anke S. K.; Fritz, Susanne A.; McCallum, Hamish; VanDerWal, Jeremy; Abbott, Brett N.; Legge, Sarah; Letnic, Mike; Thomas, Colette R.; Thurgate, Nikki; Fisher, Alaric; Gordon, Iain J.; Kutt, Alex

2015-01-01

Australia has experienced dramatic declines and extinctions of its native rodent species over the last 200 years, particularly in southern Australia. In the tropical savanna of northern Australia significant declines have occurred only in recent decades. The later onset of these declines suggests that the causes may differ from earlier declines in the south. We examine potential regional effects (northern versus southern Australia) on biological and ecological correlates of range decline in Australian rodents. We demonstrate that rodent declines have been greater in the south than in the tropical north, are strongly influenced by phylogeny, and are consistently greater for species inhabiting relatively open or sparsely vegetated habitat. Unlike in marsupials, where some species have much larger body size than rodents, body mass was not an important predictor of decline in rodents. All Australian rodent species are within the prey-size range of cats (throughout the continent) and red foxes (in the south). Contrary to the hypothesis that mammal declines are related directly to ecosystem productivity (annual rainfall), our results are consistent with the hypothesis that disturbances such as fire and grazing, which occur in non-rainforest habitats and remove cover used by rodents for shelter, nesting and foraging, increase predation risk. We agree with calls to introduce conservation management that limits the size and intensity of fires, increases fire patchiness and reduces grazing impacts at ecological scales appropriate for rodents. Controlling feral predators, even creating predator-free reserves in relatively sparsely-vegetated habitats, is urgently required to ensure the survival of rodent species, particularly in northern Australia where declines are not yet as severe as those in the south. PMID:26111037

Correlates of Recent Declines of Rodents in Northern and Southern Australia: Habitat Structure Is Critical.

PubMed

Lawes, Michael J; Fisher, Diana O; Johnson, Chris N; Blomberg, Simon P; Frank, Anke S K; Fritz, Susanne A; McCallum, Hamish; VanDerWal, Jeremy; Abbott, Brett N; Legge, Sarah; Letnic, Mike; Thomas, Colette R; Thurgate, Nikki; Fisher, Alaric; Gordon, Iain J; Kutt, Alex

2015-01-01

Australia has experienced dramatic declines and extinctions of its native rodent species over the last 200 years, particularly in southern Australia. In the tropical savanna of northern Australia significant declines have occurred only in recent decades. The later onset of these declines suggests that the causes may differ from earlier declines in the south. We examine potential regional effects (northern versus southern Australia) on biological and ecological correlates of range decline in Australian rodents. We demonstrate that rodent declines have been greater in the south than in the tropical north, are strongly influenced by phylogeny, and are consistently greater for species inhabiting relatively open or sparsely vegetated habitat. Unlike in marsupials, where some species have much larger body size than rodents, body mass was not an important predictor of decline in rodents. All Australian rodent species are within the prey-size range of cats (throughout the continent) and red foxes (in the south). Contrary to the hypothesis that mammal declines are related directly to ecosystem productivity (annual rainfall), our results are consistent with the hypothesis that disturbances such as fire and grazing, which occur in non-rainforest habitats and remove cover used by rodents for shelter, nesting and foraging, increase predation risk. We agree with calls to introduce conservation management that limits the size and intensity of fires, increases fire patchiness and reduces grazing impacts at ecological scales appropriate for rodents. Controlling feral predators, even creating predator-free reserves in relatively sparsely-vegetated habitats, is urgently required to ensure the survival of rodent species, particularly in northern Australia where declines are not yet as severe as those in the south.

Decreasing trends in cardiovascular mortality in Turkey between 1988 and 2008

PubMed Central

2013-01-01

Background Cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality increased in developed countries until the 1970s then started to decline. Turkey is about to complete its demographic transition, which may also influence mortality trends. This study evaluated trends in coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke mortality between 1988 and 2008. Methods The number of deaths by cause (ICD-8), age and sex were obtained from the Turkish Statistical Institute (TurkStat) annually between 1988 and 2008. Population statistics were based on census data (1990 and 2000) and Turkstat projections. European population standardised mortality rates for CHD and stroke were calculated for men and women over 35 years old. Joinpoint Regression was used to identify the points at which a statistically significant (p < 0.05) change of the trend occurred. Results The CHD mortality rate increased by 2.9% in men and 2.0% in women annually from 1988 to 1994, then started to decline. The annual rate of decline for men was 1.7% between 1994–2008, whilst in women it was 2.8% between 1994–2000 and 6.7% between 2005–2008 (p < 0.05 for all periods). Stroke mortality declined between 1990–1994 (annual fall of 3.8% in both sexes), followed by a slight increase between 1994–2004 (0.6% in men, 1.1% in women), then a further decline until 2008 (annual reduction of 4.4% in men, 7.9% in women) (p < 0.05 for all periods). Conclusions A decrease in CVD mortality was observed from 1995 onwards in Turkey. The causes need to be explored in detail to inform future policy priorities in noncommunicable disease control. PMID:24079269

The effect of hemlock woolly adelgid infestation on water relations of Carolina and eastern hemlock

Treesearch

Laura Rivera; JC Domec; John Frampton; Fred Hain; John King; Ben Smith

2012-01-01

In North America, hemlock woolly adelgid (HWA; Adelges tsugae) is an exotic insect pest from Asia that is causing rapid decline of native eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.) and Carolina hemlock (Tsuga caroliniana Engelm.) populations. The exact physiological mechanisms that cause tree decline and...

Airborne Pesticides as an Unlikely Cause for Population Declines of Alpine Frogs in the Sierra Nevada, California

EPA Science Inventory

Airborne pesticides from the Central Valley of California have been implicated as a cause for population declines of several amphibian species, with the strongest evidence for the mountain yellow-legged frog complex (Rana muscosa and R. sierrae) in the Sierra Nevada. We measured...

Cerebral blood volume and vasodilation are independently diminished by aging and hypertension: A near infrared spectroscopy study

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Senescent changes in brain microvascular circulation may cause or contribute to age-related cognitive decline. Such changes are promoted partly by aging, but also by chronic hypertension, a leading treatable cause of cognitive decline. We aimed to non-invasively detect in vivo the senescent changes...

Effects of white-nose syndrome on regional population patterns of 3 hibernating bat species

Treesearch

Thomas E. Ingersoll; Brent J. Sewall; Sybill K. Amelon

2016-01-01

Hibernating bats have undergone severe recent declines across the eastern United States, but the cause of these regional-scale declines has not been systematically evaluated. We assessed the influence of white-nose syndrome (an emerging bat disease caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, formerly Geomyces destructans...

Heterogeneity in Rate of Decline in Grip, Hip, and Knee Strength and the Risk of All-Cause Mortality: The Women’s Health and Aging Study II

PubMed Central

Xue, Qian-Li; Beamer, Brock A.; Chaves, Paulo H.M.; Guralnik, Jack M.; Fried, Linda P.

2010-01-01

OBJECTIVES To assess the relationship between rate of change in muscle strength and all-cause mortality. DESIGN A prospective observational study of the causes and course of physical disability. SETTING Twelve contiguous ZIP code areas in Baltimore, Maryland. PARTICIPANTS Three hundred and seven community-dwelling women aged 70–79 years at study baseline. MEASUREMENTS The outcome is all-cause mortality (1994–2009); predictors include up to seven repeated measurements of handgrip, knee extension, and hip flexion strength, with a median follow-up time of 9 years. Demographic factors, body mass index, smoking status, number of chronic diseases, depressive symptoms, physical activity, Interlukin-6, and albumin were assessed at baseline and included as confounders. The associations between declining muscle strength and mortality were assessed using a joint longitudinal and survival model.. RESULTS Grip and hip strength declined an average of 1.10 and 1.31 kg per year between age 70 and 75and 0.50 and 0.39 kg/year thereafter, respectively; knee strength declined at a constant rate of 0.57 kg/year. Faster rates of decline in grip and hip strength, but not knee strength, independently predicted of mortality after accounting for their baseline levels and potential confounders (Hazard Ratio (HR)=1.33 (95% confidence interval (CI)=1.06–1.67), 1.14 (CI=0.91–1.41), and 2.62 (CI=1.43–4.78) for every 0.5 standard deviation increase in rate of decline in grip, knee, and hip strength, respectively. CONCLUSION Monitoring the rate of decline in grip and hip flexion strength in addition to the absolute levels may greatly improve the identification of women most at risk of dying. PMID:21054287

FACTORS IMPLICATED IN AMPHIBIAN POPULATION DECLINES IN THE UNITED STATES

EPA Science Inventory

This study identified the factors responsible for the decline of native amphibians in the U.S. The type of land use, the introduction of exotic animal species, and chemical contamination were identified as the most likely causes of decline.

Adolescent Changes in Homeostatic Regulation of EEG Activity in the Delta and Theta Frequency Bands during NREM Sleep

PubMed Central

Campbell, Ian G.; Darchia, Nato; Higgins, Lisa M.; Dykan, Igor V.; Davis, Nicole M.; de Bie, Evan; Feinberg, Irwin

2011-01-01

Study Objectives: Slow wave EEG activity in NREM sleep decreases by more than 60% between ages 10 and 20 years. Slow wave EEG activity also declines across NREM periods (NREMPs) within a night, and this decline is thought to represent the dynamics of sleep homeostasis. We used longitudinal data to determine whether these homeostatic dynamics change across adolescence. Design: All-night sleep EEG was recorded semiannually for 6 years. Setting: EEG was recorded with ambulatory recorders in the subjects' homes. Participants: Sixty-seven subjects in 2 cohorts, one starting at age 9 and one starting at age 12 years. Measurements and Results: For NREM delta (1-4 Hz) and theta (4-8 Hz) EEG, we tested whether the proportion of spectral energy contained in the first NREMP changes with age. We also tested for age changes in the parameters of the process S exponential decline. For both delta and theta, the proportion of energy in the first NREMP declined significantly across ages 9 to 18 years. Process S parameters SWA0 and TWA0, respectively, represent slow wave (delta) activity and theta wave activity at the beginning of the night. SWA0 and TWA0 declined significantly (P < 0.0001) across ages 9 to 18. Conclusions: These declines indicate that the intensity of the homeostatic or restorative processes at the beginning of sleep diminished across adolescence. We propose that this change in sleep regulation is caused by the synaptic pruning that occurs during adolescent brain maturation. Citation: Campbell IG; Darchia N; Higgins LM; Dykan IV; Davis NM; de Bie E; Feinberg I. Adolescent changes in homeostatic regulation of EEG activity in the delta and theta frequency bands during NREM sleep. SLEEP 2011;34(1):83-91. PMID:21203377

Early Gains in Renal Function Following Implantation of HeartMate II Left Ventricular Assist Devices May Not Persist to One Year.

PubMed

Hasin, Tal; Grupper, Avishay; Dillon, John J; Maleszewski, Joseph J; Li, Zhuo; Topilsky, Yan; Frantz, Robert P; Edwards, Brooks S; Pereira, Naveen L; Maltais, Simon; Stulak, John M; Joyce, Lyle; Daly, Richard; Park, Soon J; Kushwaha, Sudhir S

Renal function improves early after left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation but later decline has been observed. We sought to determine the occurrence and evaluate possible causes for this decline. In 62 consecutive patients with HeartMateII LVAD with available calculated glomerular filtration rate (GFR, ml/min/1.73 m) 1 year after implant, GFR was assessed repeatedly and possible predictors for decline from 3 to 12 months were investigated. Post-mortem renal specimens for patients supported with an LVAD were evaluated. GFR 54.5 ± 19.5 at admission increased to 66.4 ± 22.3 preoperatively and to 79.2 ± 30.1 ~1 month after implantation. Subsequently at ~3 months GFR declined to 74.7 ± 25.4, at ~6 months to 68.8 ± 23.1, and ~1 year after implant to 63.9 ± 17.7. Glomerular filtration rate at 1 year was significantly lower (p < 0.0001, p < 0.0001, p = 0.005) than GFR 1, 3, and 6 months after implant. Early rise in GFR after surgery was not associated with late decline. Shorter bypass time (β = -0.09, p = 0.048) and higher albumin 3 months after LVAD (β = 14.4, p = 0.025) were significantly associated with less later decline in GFR. Arteriosclerosis was identified in autopsy renal specimens. In conclusion, early gains in renal function after LVAD implant are not sustained in many patients. Patient, device, and operative factors may influence long-term renal function in these patients.

Effect of surfactants and temperature on the hyperfiltration performance of poly(ether/urea) membranes

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Leban, M. I.; Wydeven, T. J.

1984-01-01

The individual and combined effects of pasteurization temperature (347 K) and surfactants (anionic, cationic, and neutral) on a poly(ether/urea) thin-film hyperfiltration membrane were studied. Performance of this positively charged membrane was measured in terms of sodium chloride rejection and water flux. The observed effect was mostly on water flux and minimal on salt rejection. Pasteurization temperature caused an irreversible flux decline (flux decline slope of 0.09). The gradual flux reduction caused by neutral and cationic surfactants was reversible, whereas the flux reduction caused by anionic surfactant was irreversible and of similar magnitude to flux reduction caused by pasteurization temperature. The effects of anionic surfactant and pasteurization temperature were additive. Because of flux decline at elevated temperatures the poly(ether/urea) membrane is not very attractive for long-term spaceflight use.

Past and projected future changes in snowpack and soil frost at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Long-term data from the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire show that air temperature has increased by about 1 °C over the last half century. The warmer climate has caused significant declines in snow depth, snow water equivalent, and snow cover duration. Paradoxically, it has been su...

Influencing Factors of Alumni Giving in Religious Institutions of Higher Education

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Boal, John R.

2011-01-01

The reasons that cause alumni to give to their alma mater have become more significant since 2008. In the recent issue of "Giving USA," the current recession, which began in December 2007 and continued through December 2009, has led to declines of 11.9% in giving to higher education (2010). Alumni giving and the reasons why they give has…

The triple threat of pregnancy, HIV infection and malaria: reported causes of maternal mortality in two nationwide health facility assessments in Mozambique, 2007 and 2012.

PubMed

Bailey, Patricia E; Keyes, Emily; Moran, Allisyn C; Singh, Kavita; Chavane, Leonardo; Chilundo, Baltazar

2015-11-09

The paper's primary purpose is to determine changes in magnitude and causes of institutional maternal mortality in Mozambique. We also describe shifts in the location of institutional deaths and changes in availability of prevention and treatment measures for malaria and HIV infection. Two national cross-sectional assessments of health facilities with childbirth services were conducted in 2007 and 2012. Each collected retrospective data on deliveries and maternal deaths and their causes. In 2007, 2,199 cases of maternal deaths were documented over a 12 month period; in 2012, 459 cases were identified over a three month period. In 2007, data collection also included reviews of maternal deaths when records were available (n = 712). Institutional maternal mortality declined from 541 to 284/100,000 births from 2007 to 2012. The rate of decline among women dying of direct causes was 66% compared to 26% among women dying of indirect causes. Cause-specific mortality ratios fell for all direct causes. Patterns among indirect causes were less conclusive given differences in cause-of-death recording. In absolute numbers, the combination of antepartum and postpartum hemorrhage was the leading direct cause of death each year and HIV and malaria the main non-obstetric causes. Based on maternal death reviews, evidence of HIV infection, malaria or anemia was found in more than 40% of maternal deaths due to abortion, ectopic pregnancy and sepsis. Almost half (49%) of all institutional maternal deaths took place in the largest hospitals in 2007 while in 2012, only 24% occurred in these hospitals. The availability of antiretrovirals and antimalarials increased in all types of facilities, but increases were most dramatic in health centers. The rate at which women died of direct causes in Mozambique's health facilities appears to have declined significantly. Despite a clear improvement in access to antiretrovirals and antimalarials, especially at lower levels of health care, malaria, HIV, and anemia continue to exact a heavy toll on child-bearing women. Going forward, efforts to end preventable maternal and newborn deaths must maximize the use of antenatal care that includes integrated preventive/treatment options for HIV infection, malaria and anemia.

CO2 leakage-induced vegetation decline is primarily driven by decreased soil O2.

PubMed

Zhang, Xueyan; Ma, Xin; Zhao, Zhi; Wu, Yang; Li, Yue

2016-04-15

To assess the potential risks of carbon capture and storage (CCS), studies have focused on vegetation decline caused by leaking CO2. Excess soil CO2 caused by leakage can affect soil O2 concentrations and soil pH, but how these two factors affect plant development remains poorly understood. This hinders the selection of appropriate species to mitigate potential negative consequences of CCS. Through pot experiments, we simulated CO2 leakage to examine its effects on soil pH and soil O2 concentrations. We subsequently assessed how maize growth responded to these changes in soil pH and O2. Decreased soil O2 concentrations significantly reduced maize biomass, and explained 69% of the biomass variation under CO2 leakage conditions. In contrast, although leaked CO2 changed soil pH significantly (from 7.32 to 6.75), it remained within the optimum soil pH range for maize growth. This suggests that soil O2 concentration, not soil pH, influences plant growth in these conditions. Therefore, in case of potential CO2 leakage risks, hypoxia-tolerant species should be chosen to improve plant survival, growth, and yield. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Integrated multi-omic analysis of host-microbiota interactions in acute oak decline.

PubMed

Broberg, Martin; Doonan, James; Mundt, Filip; Denman, Sandra; McDonald, James E

2018-01-30

Britain's native oak species are currently under threat from acute oak decline (AOD), a decline-disease where stem bleeds overlying necrotic lesions in the inner bark and larval galleries of the bark-boring beetle, Agrilus biguttatus, represent the primary symptoms. It is known that complex interactions between the plant host and its microbiome, i.e. the holobiont, significantly influence the health status of the plant. In AOD, necrotic lesions are caused by a microbiome shift to a pathobiome consisting predominantly of Brenneria goodwinii, Gibbsiella quercinecans, Rahnella victoriana and potentially other bacteria. However, the specific mechanistic processes of the microbiota causing tissue necrosis, and the host response, have not been established and represent a barrier to understanding and managing this decline. We profiled the metagenome, metatranscriptome and metaproteome of inner bark tissue from AOD symptomatic and non-symptomatic trees to characterise microbiota-host interactions. Active bacterial virulence factors such as plant cell wall-degrading enzymes, reactive oxygen species defence and flagella in AOD lesions, along with host defence responses including reactive oxygen species, cell wall modification and defence regulators were identified. B. goodwinii dominated the lesion microbiome, with significant expression of virulence factors such as the phytopathogen effector avrE. A smaller proportion of microbiome activity was attributed to G. quercinecans and R. victoriana. In addition, we describe for the first time the potential role of two previously uncharacterised Gram-positive bacteria predicted from metagenomic binning and identified as active in the AOD lesion metatranscriptome and metaproteome, implicating them in lesion formation. This multi-omic study provides novel functional insights into microbiota-host interactions in AOD, a complex arboreal decline disease where polymicrobial-host interactions result in lesion formation on tree stems. We present the first descriptions of holobiont function in oak health and disease, specifically, the relative lesion activity of B. goodwinii, G. quercinecans, Rahnella victoriana and other bacteria. Thus, the research presented here provides evidence of some of the mechanisms used by members of the lesion microbiome and a template for future multi-omic research into holobiont characterisation, plant polymicrobial diseases and pathogen defence in trees.

Recent climatic drying leads to age-independent growth reductions of white spruce stands in western Canada.

PubMed

Hogg, Edward H; Michaelian, Michael; Hook, Trisha I; Undershultz, Michael E

2017-12-01

Since 2001, climatic conditions have been notably drier than normal across large areas of the western Canadian interior, leading to widespread impacts on the forests of this region. This poses a major concern for the future, given climate change projections for continued warming and drying. We conducted tree-ring analysis in 75 pure stands of white spruce (Picea glauca) across Alberta and west-central Saskatchewan to examine the effects of recent climatic drying on the growth of this important boreal tree species. Allometric equations were used to calculate annual growth in aboveground tree biomass (G BM ) from ring width measurements. Results showed an increasing trend in G BM from the 1960s to the 1990s, followed by a sharp decline during the severe drought of 2001-2002. Of the 75 stands, only 18 recovered sufficiently to cause an increase in mean G BM from the predrought decade of 1991-2000 to the subsequent decade of 2001-2010. The remaining 57 stands exhibited a decline in mean G BM between these decades. Climatic drying was a major cause of the growth decline, as shown by the significant stand-level relationship between percentage change in decadal mean G BM and the change in decadal mean values of a climate moisture index from 1991-2000 to 2001-2010. Subsequent analyses of boreal stands sampled across Alberta during 2015 revealed that white spruce growth had declined even further as drought conditions intensified during 2014-2015. Overall, there was a 38% decrease in mean G BM between 1997 and 2015, but surprisingly, the percentage decrease was not significantly different for young, productive stands compared with older, less productive stands. Thus, stand ageing cannot explain the observed decline in white spruce growth during the past quarter century, suggesting that these forests are at risk if the trend towards more frequent, severe drought continues in the region. © 2017 Her Majesty the Queen in Right of Canada Global Change Biology ©2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Reproduced with the permission of the Minister of Natural Resources Canada.

Global amphibian declines: perspectives from the United States and beyond

USGS Publications Warehouse

Densmore, Christine L.; Cipriano, R.C.; Bruckner, A.W.; Shchelkunov, I.S.

2011-01-01

Over recent decades, amphibians have experienced population declines, extirpations and species-level extinctions at an alarming rate. Numerous potential etiologies for amphibian declines have been postulated including climate and habitat degradation. Other potential anthropogenic causes including overexploitation and the frequent introductions of invasive predatory species have also been blamed for amphibian declines. Still other underlying factors may include infectious diseases caused by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, pathogenic viruses (Ranavirus), and other agents. It is nearly certain that more than one etiology is to blame for the majority of the global amphibian declines, and that these causal factors include some combination of climatological or physical habitat destabilization and infectious disease, most notably chytridiomycosis. Scientific research efforts are aimed at elucidating these etiologies on local, regional, and global scales that we might better understand and counteract the driving forces behind amphibian declines. Conservation efforts as outlined in the Amphibian Conservation Action Plan of 2005 are also being made to curtail losses and prevent further extinctions wherever possible.

Copper (II) lead (II), and zinc (II) reduce growth and zoospore release in four zoosporic true fungi from soils of NSW, Australia.

PubMed

Henderson, Linda; Pilgaard, Bo; Gleason, Frank H; Lilje, Osu

2015-07-01

This study examined the responses of a group of four zoosporic true fungi isolated from soils in NSW Australia, to concentrations of toxic metals in the laboratory that may be found in polluted soils. All isolates showed greatest sensitivity to Cu and least sensitivity to Pb. All isolates showed significant reduction in growth at 60 ppm (0.94 mmol m(-3)) for Cu, while three declined significantly at 60 ppm (0.92 mmol m(-3)) Zn. The growth of two isolates declined significantly at 100 ppm (0.48 mmol m(-3)) Pb and one at 200 ppm (0.96 mmol m(-3)) Pb. The rate of production of zoospores for all isolates was reduced when sporangia were grown in solid PYG media with 60 ppm Cu. Three isolates significantly declined in production at 60 ppm Zn and three at 100 ppm Pb. All isolates recovered growth after incubation in solid media with 60 ppm Zn or 100 ppm Pb. Two isolates did not recover growth after incubation in 60 ppm Cu. If these metals cause similar effects in the field, Cu, Pb, and Zn contamination of NSW soils is likely to reduce biomass of zoosporic true fungi. Loss of the fungi may reduce the rate of mineralisation of soil organic matter. Copyright © 2015 The British Mycological Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Muscle strength and physical performance as predictors of mortality, hospitalization, and disability in the oldest old.

PubMed

Legrand, Delphine; Vaes, Bert; Matheï, Catharina; Adriaensen, Wim; Van Pottelbergh, Gijs; Degryse, Jean-Marie

2014-06-01

To evaluate the predictive value of muscle strength and physical performance in the oldest old for all-cause mortality; hospitalization; and the onset of disability, defined as a decline in activities of daily living (ADLs), independent of muscle mass, inflammatory markers, and comorbidities. A prospective, observational, population-based follow-up study. Three well-circumscribed areas of Belgium. Five hundred sixty participants aged 80 and older were followed for 33.5 months (interquartile range 31.1-35.6 months). Grip strength, Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) score, and muscle mass were measured at baseline; ADLs at baseline and after 20 months; and all-cause mortality and time to first hospitalization from inclusion onward. Kaplan-Meier curves and Cox proportional hazards models were calculated for all-cause mortality and hospitalization. Logistic regression analysis was used to determine predictors of decline in ADLs. Kaplan-Meier curves showed significantly higher all-cause mortality and hospitalization in subjects in the lowest tertile of grip strength and SPPB score. The adjusted Cox proportional hazards model showed that participants with high grip strength or a high SPPB score had a lower risk of mortality and hospitalization, independent of muscle mass, inflammatory markers, and comorbidity. A relationship was found between SPPB score and decline in ADLs, independent of muscle mass, inflammation, and comorbidity. In people aged 80 and older, physical performance is a strong predictor of mortality, hospitalization, and disability, and muscle strength is a strong predictor of mortality and hospitalization. All of these relationships were independent of muscle mass, inflammatory markers, and comorbidity. © 2014, Copyright the Authors Journal compilation © 2014, The American Geriatrics Society.

Presence of the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in threatened corroboree frog populations in the Australian Alps.

PubMed

Hunter, David A; Speare, Rick; Marantelli, Gerry; Mendez, Diana; Pietsch, Rod; Osborne, Will

2010-11-01

Since the early 1980s, the southern corroboree frog Pseudophryne corroboree and northern corroboree frog P. pengilleyi have been in a state of decline from their sub-alpine and high montane bog environments on the southern tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. To date, there has been no adequate explanation as to what is causing the decline of these species. We investigated the possibility that a pathogen associated with other recent frog declines in Australia, the amphibian chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, may have been implicated in the decline of the corroboree frogs. We used histology of toe material and real-time PCR of skin swabs to investigate the presence and infection rates with B. dendrobatidis in historic and extant populations of both corroboree frog species. Using histology, we did not detect any B. dendrobatidis infections in corroboree frog populations prior to their decline. However, using the same technique, high rates of infection were observed in populations of both species after the onset of substantial population declines. The real-time PCR screening of skin swabs identified high overall infection rates in extant populations of P. corroboree (between 44 and 59%), while significantly lower rates of infection were observed in low-altitude P. pengilleyi populations (14%). These results suggest that the initial and continued decline of the corroboree frogs may well be attributed to the emergence of B. dendrobatidis in populations of these species.

The use of body condition and haematology to detect widespread threatening processes in sleepy lizards (Tiliqua rugosa) in two agricultural environments.

PubMed

Smyth, Anita K; Smee, Elizabeth; Godfrey, Stephanie S; Crowther, Mathew; Phalen, David

2014-12-01

Agricultural practices, including habitat alteration and application of agricultural chemicals, can impact wildlife resulting in their decline. Determining which of these practices are contributing to declines is essential if the declines are to be reversed. In this study, the health of two geographically separated sleepy lizard (Tiliqua rugosa) populations was compared between a rangeland environment and cropping environment using linear body size index (LBSI) and haematology. Animals in the cropping site were smaller, suggesting genetic differences as the result of geographical isolation. The animals in the cropping site had a lower LBSI and many were experiencing a regenerative anaemia. The anaemia was postulated to be the cause of the low LBSI. The anaemia appeared to be the result of haemolysis and was likely to be caused by exposure to agricultural chemicals applied in the cropping site but not the rangeland site. Elevated white blood cell counts in lizards in the rangeland site suggested that they were experiencing an inflammatory disease of possible ecological significance. Together, these results demonstrate the value of combining physical and haematological parameters when studying the impact of agricultural practices on wildlife. They also show that reptiles may be useful as sentinel species for livestock and humans.

Decline causes of Koalas in South East Queensland, Australia: a 17-year retrospective study of mortality and morbidity.

PubMed

Gonzalez-Astudillo, Viviana; Allavena, Rachel; McKinnon, Allan; Larkin, Rebecca; Henning, Joerg

2017-02-20

Koala populations are in catastrophic decline in certain eastern Australian regions. Spanning from 1997-2013, a database derived from wildlife hospitals in southeast Queensland with N = 20,250 entries was classified by causes of morbidity and mortality. A total of 11 aetiologies were identified, with chlamydiosis, trauma, and wasting being most common. The clinical diagnosis at submission varied significantly over the observation period. Combinations of aetiologies were observed in 39% of koalas submitted, with chlamydiosis frequently co-occurring. Urogenital (cystitis 26.8%, bursitis 13.5%) and ocular (conjunctivitis 17.2%) chlamydiosis were the most frequently diagnosed representations of the infection. Approximately 26% of submissions comprised koalas involved in vehicle accidents that were otherwise healthy. Age and sex of the koala as well as season and submission period were compared for the case outcomes of 'dead on arrival', 'euthanized', or 'released' for the four most common clinical diagnoses using multinomial logistic regression models. Exploratory space-time permutation scans were performed and overlapping space-time clusters for chlamydiosis, motor vehicle traumas and wasting unveiled high risk areas for koala disease and injury. Our results suggest that these aetiologies are acting jointly as multifactorial determinants for the continuing decline of koalas.

Decline causes of Koalas in South East Queensland, Australia: a 17-year retrospective study of mortality and morbidity

PubMed Central

Gonzalez-Astudillo, Viviana; Allavena, Rachel; McKinnon, Allan; Larkin, Rebecca; Henning, Joerg

2017-01-01

Koala populations are in catastrophic decline in certain eastern Australian regions. Spanning from 1997–2013, a database derived from wildlife hospitals in southeast Queensland with N = 20,250 entries was classified by causes of morbidity and mortality. A total of 11 aetiologies were identified, with chlamydiosis, trauma, and wasting being most common. The clinical diagnosis at submission varied significantly over the observation period. Combinations of aetiologies were observed in 39% of koalas submitted, with chlamydiosis frequently co-occurring. Urogenital (cystitis 26.8%, bursitis 13.5%) and ocular (conjunctivitis 17.2%) chlamydiosis were the most frequently diagnosed representations of the infection. Approximately 26% of submissions comprised koalas involved in vehicle accidents that were otherwise healthy. Age and sex of the koala as well as season and submission period were compared for the case outcomes of ‘dead on arrival’, ‘euthanized’, or ‘released’ for the four most common clinical diagnoses using multinomial logistic regression models. Exploratory space-time permutation scans were performed and overlapping space-time clusters for chlamydiosis, motor vehicle traumas and wasting unveiled high risk areas for koala disease and injury. Our results suggest that these aetiologies are acting jointly as multifactorial determinants for the continuing decline of koalas. PMID:28218272

Decline causes of Koalas in South East Queensland, Australia: a 17-year retrospective study of mortality and morbidity

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gonzalez-Astudillo, Viviana; Allavena, Rachel; McKinnon, Allan; Larkin, Rebecca; Henning, Joerg

2017-02-01

Koala populations are in catastrophic decline in certain eastern Australian regions. Spanning from 1997-2013, a database derived from wildlife hospitals in southeast Queensland with N = 20,250 entries was classified by causes of morbidity and mortality. A total of 11 aetiologies were identified, with chlamydiosis, trauma, and wasting being most common. The clinical diagnosis at submission varied significantly over the observation period. Combinations of aetiologies were observed in 39% of koalas submitted, with chlamydiosis frequently co-occurring. Urogenital (cystitis 26.8%, bursitis 13.5%) and ocular (conjunctivitis 17.2%) chlamydiosis were the most frequently diagnosed representations of the infection. Approximately 26% of submissions comprised koalas involved in vehicle accidents that were otherwise healthy. Age and sex of the koala as well as season and submission period were compared for the case outcomes of ‘dead on arrival’, ‘euthanized’, or ‘released’ for the four most common clinical diagnoses using multinomial logistic regression models. Exploratory space-time permutation scans were performed and overlapping space-time clusters for chlamydiosis, motor vehicle traumas and wasting unveiled high risk areas for koala disease and injury. Our results suggest that these aetiologies are acting jointly as multifactorial determinants for the continuing decline of koalas.

Action at the Grassroots: Fighting Poverty and Environmental Decline. Worldwatch Paper 88.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Durning, Alan B.

There are many forces of environmental and economic decline that endanger our communities and planet. These have caused a global threat which is very complex. The pressure to feed increasing numbers of people helps cause high rates of topsoil loss which results in decreased agricultural productivity. As poorer nations attempt to fight these…

HOW to Identify and Manage Ash Yellows in Forest Stands and Home Landscapes

Treesearch

Steven Katovich; Wayne A. Sinclair

1994-01-01

Ash yellows is a recently discovered disease that causes slow growth and decline of ash (Fraxinus) species. Ash yellows went undetected until the 1980's because its symptoms were not differentiated from those of decline caused by adverse environmental factors such as drought, shallow soils, flooding, or parasitism by opportunistic fungi. Current knowledge supports...

Will a warmer and wetter future cause extinction of native Hawaiian forest birds?

PubMed

Liao, Wei; Elison Timm, Oliver; Zhang, Chunxi; Atkinson, Carter T; LaPointe, Dennis A; Samuel, Michael D

2015-12-01

Isolation of the Hawaiian archipelago produced a highly endemic and unique avifauna. Avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum), an introduced mosquito-borne pathogen, is a primary cause of extinctions and declines of these endemic honeycreepers. Our research assesses how global climate change will affect future malaria risk and native bird populations. We used an epidemiological model to evaluate future bird-mosquito-malaria dynamics in response to alternative climate projections from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project. Climate changes during the second half of the century accelerate malaria transmission and cause a dramatic decline in bird abundance. Different temperature and precipitation patterns produce divergent trajectories where native birds persist with low malaria infection under a warmer and dryer projection (RCP4.5), but suffer high malaria infection and severe reductions under hot and dry (RCP8.5) or warm and wet (A1B) futures. We conclude that future global climate change will cause significant decreases in the abundance and diversity of remaining Hawaiian bird communities. Because these effects appear unlikely before mid-century, natural resource managers have time to implement conservation strategies to protect this unique avifauna from further decimation. Similar climatic drivers for avian and human malaria suggest that mitigation strategies for Hawai'i have broad application to human health. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Will a warmer and wetter future cause extinction of native Hawaiian forest birds?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Liao, Wei; Timm, Oliver Elison; Zhang, Chunxi; Atkinson, Carter T.; LaPointe, Dennis; Samuel, Michael D.

2015-01-01

Isolation of the Hawaiian archipelago produced a highly endemic and unique avifauna. Avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum), an introduced mosquito-borne pathogen, is a primary cause of extinctions and declines of these endemic honeycreepers. Our research assesses how global climate change will affect future malaria risk and native bird populations. We used an epidemiological model to evaluate future bird-mosquito-malaria dynamics in response to alternative climate projections from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP). Climate changes during the second half of the century accelerate malaria transmission and cause a dramatic decline in bird abundance. Different temperature and precipitation patterns produce divergent trajectories where native birds persist with low malaria infection under a warmer and dryer projection (RCP4.5), but suffer high malaria infection and severe reductions under hot and dry (RCP8.5) or warm and wet (A1B) futures. We conclude that future global climate change will cause significant decreases in the abundance and diversity of remaining Hawaiian bird communities. Because these effects appear unlikely before mid-century, natural resource managers have time to implement conservation strategies to protect this unique avifauna from further decimation. Similar climatic drivers for avian and human malaria suggest that mitigation strategies for Hawai'i have broad application to human health.

Severe 2010 Cold-Water Event Caused Unprecedented Mortality to Corals of the Florida Reef Tract and Reversed Previous Survivorship Patterns

PubMed Central

Lirman, Diego; Schopmeyer, Stephanie; Manzello, Derek; Gramer, Lewis J.; Precht, William F.; Muller-Karger, Frank; Banks, Kenneth; Barnes, Brian; Bartels, Erich; Bourque, Amanda; Byrne, James; Donahue, Scott; Duquesnel, Janice; Fisher, Louis; Gilliam, David; Hendee, James; Johnson, Meaghan; Maxwell, Kerry; McDevitt, Erin; Monty, Jamie; Rueda, Digna; Ruzicka, Rob; Thanner, Sara

2011-01-01

Background Coral reefs are facing increasing pressure from natural and anthropogenic stressors that have already caused significant worldwide declines. In January 2010, coral reefs of Florida, United States, were impacted by an extreme cold-water anomaly that exposed corals to temperatures well below their reported thresholds (16°C), causing rapid coral mortality unprecedented in spatial extent and severity. Methodology/Principal Findings Reef surveys were conducted from Martin County to the Lower Florida Keys within weeks of the anomaly. The impacts recorded were catastrophic and exceeded those of any previous disturbances in the region. Coral mortality patterns were directly correlated to in-situ and satellite-derived cold-temperature metrics. These impacts rival, in spatial extent and intensity, the impacts of the well-publicized warm-water bleaching events around the globe. The mean percent coral mortality recorded for all species and subregions was 11.5% in the 2010 winter, compared to 0.5% recorded in the previous five summers, including years like 2005 where warm-water bleaching was prevalent. Highest mean mortality (15%–39%) was documented for inshore habitats where temperatures were <11°C for prolonged periods. Increases in mortality from previous years were significant for 21 of 25 coral species, and were 1–2 orders of magnitude higher for most species. Conclusions/Significance The cold-water anomaly of January 2010 caused the worst coral mortality on record for the Florida Reef Tract, highlighting the potential catastrophic impacts that unusual but extreme climatic events can have on the persistence of coral reefs. Moreover, habitats and species most severely affected were those found in high-coral cover, inshore, shallow reef habitats previously considered the “oases” of the region, having escaped declining patterns observed for more offshore habitats. Thus, the 2010 cold-water anomaly not only caused widespread coral mortality but also reversed prior resistance and resilience patterns that will take decades to recover. PMID:21853066

The Effects of Diesel Exhaust Pollution on Floral Volatiles and the Consequences for Honey Bee Olfaction.

PubMed

Lusebrink, Inka; Girling, Robbie D; Farthing, Emily; Newman, Tracey A; Jackson, Chris W; Poppy, Guy M

2015-10-01

There is growing evidence of a substantial decline in pollinators within Europe and North America, most likely caused by multiple factors such as diseases, poor nutrition, habitat loss, insecticides, and environmental pollution. Diesel exhaust could be a contributing factor to this decline, since we found that diesel exhaust rapidly degrades floral volatiles, which honey bees require for flower recognition. In this study, we exposed eight of the most common floral volatiles to diesel exhaust in order to investigate whether it can affect volatile mediated plant-pollinator interaction. Exposure to diesel exhaust altered the blend of common flower volatiles significantly: myrcene was considerably reduced, β-ocimene became undetectable, and β-caryophyllene was transformed into its cis-isomer isocaryophyllene. Proboscis extension response (PER) assays showed that the alterations of the blend reduced the ability of honey bees to recognize it. The chemically reactive nitrogen oxides fraction of diesel exhaust gas was identified as capable of causing degradation of floral volatiles.

Conservation threats and the phylogenetic utility of IUCN Red List rankings in Incilius toads.

PubMed

Schachat, Sandra R; Mulcahy, Daniel G; Mendelson, Joseph R

2016-02-01

Phylogenetic analysis of extinction threat is an emerging tool in the field of conservation. However, there are problems with the methods and data as commonly used. Phylogenetic sampling usually extends to the level of family or genus, but International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) rankings are available only for individual species, and, although different species within a taxonomic group may have the same IUCN rank, the species may have been ranked as such for different reasons. Therefore, IUCN rank may not reflect evolutionary history and thus may not be appropriate for use in a phylogenetic context. To be used appropriately, threat-risk data should reflect the cause of extinction threat rather than the IUCN threat ranking. In a case study of the toad genus Incilius, with phylogenetic sampling at the species level (so that the resolution of the phylogeny matches character data from the IUCN Red List), we analyzed causes of decline and IUCN threat rankings by calculating metrics of phylogenetic signal (such as Fritz and Purvis' D). We also analyzed the extent to which cause of decline and threat ranking overlap by calculating phylogenetic correlation between these 2 types of character data. Incilius species varied greatly in both threat ranking and cause of decline; this variability would be lost at a coarser taxonomic resolution. We found far more phylogenetic signal, likely correlated with evolutionary history, for causes of decline than for IUCN threat ranking. Individual causes of decline and IUCN threat rankings were largely uncorrelated on the phylogeny. Our results demonstrate the importance of character selection and taxonomic resolution when extinction threat is analyzed in a phylogenetic context. © 2015 Society for Conservation Biology.

Understanding Amphibian Declines Through Geographic Approaches

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gallant, Alisa

2006-01-01

Growing concern over worldwide amphibian declines warrants serious examination. Amphibians are important to the proper functioning of ecosystems and provide many direct benefits to humans in the form of pest and disease control, pharmaceutical compounds, and even food. Amphibians have permeable skin and rely on both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems during different seasons and stages of their lives. Their association with these ecosystems renders them likely to serve as sensitive indicators of environmental change. While much research on amphibian declines has centered on mysterious causes, or on causes that directly affect humans (global warming, chemical pollution, ultraviolet-B radiation), most declines are the result of habitat loss and habitat alteration. Improving our ability to characterize, model, and monitor the interactions between environmental variables and amphibian habitats is key to addressing amphibian conservation. In 2000, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) initiated the Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI) to address issues surrounding amphibian declines.

When can the cause of a population decline be determined?

PubMed

Hefley, Trevor J; Hooten, Mevin B; Drake, John M; Russell, Robin E; Walsh, Daniel P

2016-11-01

Inferring the factors responsible for declines in abundance is a prerequisite to preventing the extinction of wild populations. Many of the policies and programmes intended to prevent extinctions operate on the assumption that the factors driving the decline of a population can be determined. Exogenous factors that cause declines in abundance can be statistically confounded with endogenous factors such as density dependence. To demonstrate the potential for confounding, we used an experiment where replicated populations were driven to extinction by gradually manipulating habitat quality. In many of the replicated populations, habitat quality and density dependence were confounded, which obscured causal inference. Our results show that confounding is likely to occur when the exogenous factors that are driving the decline change gradually over time. Our study has direct implications for wild populations, because many factors that could drive a population to extinction change gradually through time. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

When can the cause of a population decline be determined?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Hefley, Trevor J.; Hooten, Mevin B.; Drake, John M.; Russell, Robin E.; Walsh, Daniel P.

2016-01-01

Inferring the factors responsible for declines in abundance is a prerequisite to preventing the extinction of wild populations. Many of the policies and programmes intended to prevent extinctions operate on the assumption that the factors driving the decline of a population can be determined. Exogenous factors that cause declines in abundance can be statistically confounded with endogenous factors such as density dependence. To demonstrate the potential for confounding, we used an experiment where replicated populations were driven to extinction by gradually manipulating habitat quality. In many of the replicated populations, habitat quality and density dependence were confounded, which obscured causal inference. Our results show that confounding is likely to occur when the exogenous factors that are driving the decline change gradually over time. Our study has direct implications for wild populations, because many factors that could drive a population to extinction change gradually through time.

Serum Bicarbonate and Mortality in Stage 3 and Stage 4 Chronic Kidney Disease

PubMed Central

Schold, Jesse D.; Arrigain, Susana; Jolly, Stacey E.; Wehbe, Edgard; Raina, Rupesh; Simon, James F.; Srinivas, Titte R.; Jain, Anil; Schreiber, Martin J.; Nally, Joseph V.

2011-01-01

Summary Background and objectives The incidence and prevalence of metabolic acidosis increase with declining kidney function. We studied the associations of both low and high serum bicarbonate levels with all-cause mortality among stage 3 and 4 chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients. Design, setting, participants, & measurements We examined factors associated with low (<23 mmol/L) and high (>32 mmol/L) serum bicarbonate levels using logistic regression models and associations between bicarbonate and all-cause mortality using Cox-proportional hazard models, Kaplan–Meier survival curves, and time-dependent analysis. Results Out of 41,749 patients, 13.9% (n = 5796) had low and 1.6% (n = 652) had high serum bicarbonate levels. After adjusting for relevant covariates, there was a significant association between low serum bicarbonate and all-cause mortality (hazard ratio [HR] 1.23, 95% CI 1.16, 1.31). This association was not statistically significant among patients with stage 4 CKD and diabetes. The time-dependent analysis demonstrated a significant mortality risk associated with a decline from normal to low bicarbonate level (HR 1.59, 95% CI 1.49, 1.69). High serum bicarbonate levels were associated with death irrespective of the level of kidney function (HR 1.74, 95% CI 1.52, 2.00). When serum bicarbonate was examined as a continuous variable, a J-shaped relationship was noted between serum bicarbonate and mortality. Conclusions Low serum bicarbonate levels are associated with increased mortality among stage 3 CKD patients and patients without diabetes. High serum bicarbonate levels are associated with mortality in both stage 3 and stage 4 CKD patients. PMID:21885787

Current status of tobacco policy and control.

PubMed

Paoletti, Luca; Jardin, Bianca; Carpenter, Matthew J; Cummings, K Michael; Silvestri, Gerard A

2012-07-01

Behaviors pertaining to tobacco use have changed significantly over the past century. Compared with 1964, smoking prevalence rates have halved from 40% to 20%, and as a result there has been a slow but steady decline in the rates of tobacco-induced diseases such as heart disease and cancer. Growing awareness of the health risks of smoking was aided by the US Surgeon Reports that were issued on a nearly annual basis starting from 1964. Concerns about the hazards of breathing in second-hand smoke further contributed to the declining social acceptance of smoking, which evolved into regulatory actions restricting smoking on buses, planes, retail outlets, restaurants, and bars. Today, 23 states and 493 localities have comprehensive laws restricting indoor smoking. This paper examines public policies that have made a significant impact on smoking and lung cancer rates and discusses potential future research directions to further reduce the diseases caused by smoking.

An Evaluation of the Evidence that Methamphetamine Abuse Causes Cognitive Decline in Humans

PubMed Central

Dean, Andy C; Groman, Stephanie M; Morales, Angelica M; London, Edythe D

2013-01-01

Methamphetamine (MA) is one of the most commonly abused illicit substances worldwide. Among other problems, abuse of the drug has been associated with reduced cognitive function across several domains. However, much of the literature has not attempted to differentiate cognitive difficulties caused by MA abuse from preexisting cognitive difficulties that are likely caused by other factors. Here, we address this question, evaluating evidence for a priori hypotheses pertaining to six lines of research: (a) animal studies; (b) cross-sectional human studies; (c) a twin study; (d) studies of changes in cognition with abstinence from MA; (e) studies of changes in brain structure and function with abstinence from MA; and (f) studies of the relationship between the severity of MA abuse and the extent of cognitive deficits observed. Overall the findings were mixed, with some support for a causal relationship between MA abuse and cognitive decline, and other findings suggesting that there is no relationship. The preponderance of the data, however, does support the possibility that MA abuse causes cognitive decline, of unknown duration, in at least some users of the drug. When averaged across individuals, this decline is likely to be mild in early-to-middle adulthood. However, moderator variables are likely to contribute to the presence and/or severity of cognitive decline exhibited by a given individual. PMID:22948978

Decline in snail abundance due to soil acidification causes eggshell defects in forest passerines.

PubMed

Graveland, J; van der Wal, R

1996-02-01

On poor soils in the Netherlands an increasing number of great tits, Parus major, and of other forest passerines produce eggs with defective shells and have low reproductive success as a result of calcium deficiency. A similar increase in eggshell defects has been observed in Germany and Sweden. Snail shells are the main calcium source for tits in forests where defective eggshells do not occur, but are very little taken in forests where tits often have eggshell defects. We investigated whether a decrease in snail abundance on poor soils could be responsible for the decline in eggshell quality, and if so, what caused this decrease. Snail density in forests where tits have eggshell defects was much lower than in forests where tits do not have such defects. Snail density correlated with the calcium content and to a lesser extent with pH of the litter layer. Liming of a calciumpoor forest soil with few snails resulted in snail densities comparable to those on calcium-rich soils after 4 years. Snail density has declined on calcium-poor soils over the last two decades, but not on calcium-rich soils. Acid deposition has caused a decline of soil calcium on poor soils. We conclude, therefore, that anthropogenic acidification has caused a decline in snail populations, resulting in an increase in eggshell defects in birds in forests on poor soils.

Forecasting the burden of future postmenopausal hip fractures.

PubMed

Omsland, T K; Magnus, J H

2014-10-01

A growing elderly population is expected worldwide, and the rate of hip fractures is decisive for the future fracture burden. Significant declines in hip fracture rates in Norway, the USA, France, Germany, and the UK are required to counteract the impact of the ageing effects. This study aims to evaluate the consequences of the expected growth of the elderly population worldwide on the hip fracture burden using Norway as an example. Furthermore, we wanted to estimate the decline in hip fracture rates required to counteract the anticipated increase in the burden of hip fracture for Norway, the USA, France, Germany, and the UK. The burden of future postmenopausal hip fractures in Norway were estimated given (1) constant age-specific rates, (2) continued decline, and (3) different cohort scenarios. Based on population projection estimates and population age-specific hip fracture rates in women 65 years and older, we calculated the required declines in hip fracture rates needed to counteract the growing elderly populations in Norway, the USA, France, Germany, and the UK. The level of age-specific hip fracture rates had a huge impact on the future hip fracture burden in Norway. Even if the hip fracture rates decline at the same speed, a 22 % increase in the burden of hip fractures can be expected by 2040. An annual decline in hip fracture rates of 1.1-2.2 % until 2040 is required to counteract the effects of the growing elderly population on the future burden of hip fractures in Norway, the USA, France, Germany, and the UK. Hip fracture rates have a great impact on the burden of hip fractures. The rates will have to decline significantly to counteract the impact of a growing elderly population. A change in preventive strategies and further studies are warranted to identify the complex causes associated to hip fractures.

Maternal mortality in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation.

PubMed Central

Gurina, Natalia A.; Vangen, Siri; Forsén, Lisa; Sundby, Johanne

2006-01-01

OBJECTIVE: To study the levels and causes of maternal mortality in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. METHODS: We collected data about all pregnancy-related deaths in St. Petersburg over the period 1992-2003 using several sources of information. An independent research group reviewed and classified all cases according to ICD-10 and the Confidential Enquiries into Maternal Deaths in the United Kingdom. We tested trends of overall and cause specific ratios (deaths per 100,000 births) for four 3-year intervals using the chi2 test. FINDINGS: The maternal mortality ratio for the study period was 43 per 100,000 live births. A sharp decline of direct obstetric deaths was observed from the first to fourth 3-year interval (49.8 for 1992-94 versus 18.5 for 2001-03). Sepsis and haemorrhage were the main causes of direct obstetric deaths. Among the total deaths from sepsis, 63.8% were due to abortion. Death ratios from sepsis declined significantly from the first to second study interval. In the last study interval (2001-03), 50% of deaths due to haemorrhage were secondary to ectopic pregnancies. The death ratio from thromboembolism remained low (2.9%) and stable throughout the study period. Among indirect obstetric deaths a non-significant decrease was observed for deaths from cardiac disease. Death ratios from infectious causes and suicides increased over the study period. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal mortality levels in St. Petersburg still exceed European levels by a factor of five. Improved management of abortion, emergency care for sepsis and haemorrhage, and better identification and control of infectious diseases in pregnancy, are needed. PMID:16628301

Biological activity of alligator, avian, and mammalian insulin in juvenile alligators: plasma glucose and amino acids.

PubMed

Lance, V A; Elsey, R M; Coulson, R A

1993-02-01

The biological activity of alligator, turkey, and bovine insulin on plasma glucose and plasma amino acids was tested in fasted juvenile alligators. Preliminary experiments showed that the stress associated with taking the initial blood sample resulted in a hyperglycemic response lasting more than 24 hr. Despite repeated bleedings no additional hyperglycemic events occurred, and blood glucose declined slowly over the next 7 days. Under these conditions the smallest dose of insulin eliciting a hypoglycemic response was 40 micrograms/kg body wt. A dose of 400 micrograms/kg body wt of either alligator or bovine insulin caused a pronounced hypoglycemia by 12 hr postinjection. Maximum decline in plasma glucose occurred at 24 to 36 hr with a slow return to control levels by 120 hr. There were no significant differences in the hypoglycemic responses to any of the three insulins tested. The decline in plasma amino acids was much more rapid than the decline in plasma glucose in response to insulin. Even at the 40 micrograms/kg body wt dose a significant difference from saline-injected control was seen at 2 hr postinjection. Maximum decline in plasma amino acids occurred at 8 to 12 hr with a return to baseline by 36 hr. These results show that the relatively conservative changes in the sequence of alligator insulin (three amino acid substitutions in the B-chain compared with that of chicken) have little effect on biological activity and that alligator insulin receptors do not appear to discriminate among the three insulins.

QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Death Rates* for Females Aged 15-44 Years, by the Five Leading Causes of Death(†) - United States, 1999 and 2014.

PubMed

2016-07-01

The age-adjusted death rate for females aged 15-44 years was 5% lower in 2014 (82.1 per 100,000 population) than in 1999 (86.5). Among the five leading causes of death, the age-adjusted rates of three were lower in 2014 than in 1999: cancer (from 19.6 to 15.3, a 22% decline), heart disease (8.9 to 8.2, an 8% decline), and homicide (4.2 to 2.8, a 33% decline). The age-adjusted death rates for two of the five causes were higher in 2014 than in 1999: unintentional injuries (from 17.0 to 20.1, an 18% increase) and suicide (4.8 to 6.5, a 35% increase). Unintentional injuries replaced cancer as the leading cause of death in this demographic group.

Toxic materials, fishing, and environmental variation: simulated effects on striped bass population trends

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goodyear, C.P.

1985-01-01

Decreased survival of larval striped bass Morone saxatilis resulting from toxic chemicals in the environment and decreased survival of adults caused by fishing both are suspected as agents contributing to the decline in the Chesapeake Bay stock since the mid-1970s. The relative power of each type of mortality to cause population declines was evaluated with simulation techniques. Equivalent levels of added mortality induced qualitatively identical and quantitatively similar trends in population simulations for all conditions examined except if strong density-dependent mortality preceded the contaminant toxicity. In this case the contaminant effect caused a greater reduction in yield, but the populationmore » did not tend toward extinction. The results indicate that the observed downward trend in the Chesapeake Bay population can be halted or reversed by a reduction in fishing mortality, even if contaminant toxicity is the proximate cause for the decline. 28 references, 1 figure, 1 table.« less

Mortality and Morbidity Associated with a New Ciliate Infection of Shrimp that Causes Shrimp Black Gill in the Coastal Southeast USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Price, A. R.; Fowler, A. E.; Frede, R. L.; Walker, A. N.; Lee, R. F.; Frischer, M. E.

2016-02-01

Penaeid shrimp including Litopenaeus setiferus (white shrimp), Farfantepenaeus aztecus (brown shrimp), and Farfantepenaeus duorarum (pink shrimp) support the most valuable commercial marine fishery in the US Southeast Atlantic. However, since the mid 1990's the fishery has experienced a significant decline in reported harvest. Although decreased fishing effort has contributed to this decline, the decline has been coincident with the emergence of a new ciliate infection causing gill tissue melanization with evidence of tissue necrosis (Black Gill). The identity of the shrimp Black Gill (sBG) ciliate is still uncertain but is uniquely identified molecularly and microscopically. sBG is widely believed by the shrimping industry to have contributed to the decline of shrimp populations in Georgia and South Carolina, USA where prevalence can reach near 100% in the fall white shrimp season and is associated with large catches of dead and deteriorating shrimp along with soft and recently molted shrimp. In this study we report the first observations of mortality and morbidity associated with sBG ciliate infections in L. setiferus. The sBG ciliate is present from approximately May through January with peak infection rates and visibly melanized gills occurring in the late summer through the fall. Molecular and histological studies indicate that the sBG ciliate is absent from shrimp populations during the winter and spring. In laboratory studies, significant direct mortality of shrimp associated with sBG is observed only for a short period of time during the late summer. However, later in the fall symptomatic shrimp exhibit decreased performance response (endurance and respiratory capacity) that likely leads to increased mortality associated with secondary infections and increased predation rates. These studies support the hypothesis that shrimp Black Gill is negatively impacting wild shrimp populations and the fishery.

Effect of Early Detection and Treatment on Malaria Related Maternal Mortality on the North-Western Border of Thailand 1986–2010

PubMed Central

McGready, Rose; Boel, Machteld; Rijken, Marcus J.; Ashley, Elizabeth A.; Cho, Thein; Moo, Oh; Paw, Moo Koh; Pimanpanarak, Mupawjay; Hkirijareon, Lily; Carrara, Verena I.; Lwin, Khin Maung; Phyo, Aung Pyae; Turner, Claudia; Chu, Cindy S.; van Vugt, Michele; Price, Richard N.; Luxemburger, Christine; ter Kuile, Feiko O.; Tan, Saw Oo; Proux, Stephane; Singhasivanon, Pratap; White, Nicholas J.; Nosten, François H.

2012-01-01

Introduction Maternal mortality is high in developing countries, but there are few data in high-risk groups such as migrants and refugees in malaria-endemic areas. Trends in maternal mortality were followed over 25 years in antenatal clinics prospectively established in an area with low seasonal transmission on the north-western border of Thailand. Methods and Findings All medical records from women who attended the Shoklo Malaria Research Unit antenatal clinics from 12th May 1986 to 31st December 2010 were reviewed, and maternal death records were analyzed for causality. There were 71 pregnancy-related deaths recorded amongst 50,981 women who attended antenatal care at least once. Three were suicide and excluded from the analysis as incidental deaths. The estimated maternal mortality ratio (MMR) overall was 184 (95%CI 150–230) per 100,000 live births. In camps for displaced persons there has been a six-fold decline in the MMR from 499 (95%CI 200–780) in 1986–90 to 79 (40–170) in 2006–10, p<0.05. In migrants from adjacent Myanmar the decline in MMR was less significant: 588 (100–3260) to 252 (150–430) from 1996–2000 to 2006–2010. Mortality from P.falciparum malaria in pregnancy dropped sharply with the introduction of systematic screening and treatment and continued to decline with the reduction in the incidence of malaria in the communities. P.vivax was not a cause of maternal death in this population. Infection (non-puerperal sepsis and P.falciparum malaria) accounted for 39.7 (27/68) % of all deaths. Conclusions Frequent antenatal clinic screening allows early detection and treatment of falciparum malaria and substantially reduces maternal mortality from P.falciparum malaria. No significant decline has been observed in deaths from sepsis or other causes in refugee and migrant women on the Thai–Myanmar border. PMID:22815732

Predicting Metapopulation Responses to Conservation in Human-Dominated Landscapes

Treesearch

Zachary S. Ladin; Vincent D' Amico; Jan M. Baetens; Roland R. Roth; W. Gregory Shriver

2016-01-01

Loss of habitat to urbanization is a primary cause of population declines as human-dominated landscapes expand at increasing rates. Understanding how the relative effects of different conservation strategies is important to slow population declines for species in urban landscapes. We studied the wood thrush Hylocichla mustelina, a declining forest-...

Computational model to investigate the relative contributions of different neuromuscular properties of tibialis anterior on force generated during ankle dorsiflexion.

PubMed

Siddiqi, Ariba; Poosapadi Arjunan, Sridhar; Kumar, Dinesh Kant

2018-01-16

This study describes a new model of the force generated by tibialis anterior muscle with three new features: single-fiber action potential, twitch force, and pennation angle. This model was used to investigate the relative effects and interaction of ten age-associated neuromuscular parameters. Regression analysis (significance level of 0.05) between the neuromuscular properties and corresponding simulated force produced at the footplate was performed. Standardized slope coefficients were computed to rank the effect of the parameters. The results show that reduction in the average firing rate is the reason for the sharp decline in the force and other factors, such as number of muscle fibers, specific force, pennation angle, and innervation ratio. The fast fiber ratio affects the simulated force through two significant interactions. This study has ranked the individual contributions of the neuromuscular factors to muscle strength decline of the TA and identified firing rate decline as the biggest cause followed by decrease in muscle fiber number and specific force. The strategy for strength preservation for the elderly should focus on improving firing rate. Graphical abstract Neuromuscular properties of Tibialis Anterior on force generated during ankle dorsiflexion.

Genetic variation in insecticide tolerance in a population of southern leopard frogs (Rana sphenocephala): Implications for amphibian conservation

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bridges, C.M.; Semlitsch, R.D.

2001-01-01

Currently, conservation efforts are devoted to determining the extent and the causes of the decline of many amphibian species worldwide. Human impacts frequently degrade amphibian habitat and have been implicated in many declines. Because genetic variance is critical in determining the persistence of a species in a changing environment, we examined the amount of genetic variability present in a single population for tolerance to an environmental stressor. We examined the amount of genetic variability among full- and half-sib families in a single population of southern leopard frogs (Rana sphenocephala) with respect to their tolerance to lethal concentrations of the agricultural chemical, carbaryl. Analysis of time-to-death data indicated significant differences among full-sib families and suggests a large amount of variability present in the responses to this environmental stressor. Significant differences in responses among half-sib families indicated that there is additive genetic variance. These data suggest that this population may have the ability to adapt to environmental stressors. It is possible that declines of amphibian populations in the western United States may be attributed to low genetic variability resulting from limited migration among populations and small population sizes.

Pesticide exposure in honey bees results in increased levels of the gut pathogen Nosema

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pettis, Jeffery S.; Vanengelsdorp, Dennis; Johnson, Josephine; Dively, Galen

2012-02-01

Global pollinator declines have been attributed to habitat destruction, pesticide use, and climate change or some combination of these factors, and managed honey bees, Apis mellifera, are part of worldwide pollinator declines. Here we exposed honey bee colonies during three brood generations to sub-lethal doses of a widely used pesticide, imidacloprid, and then subsequently challenged newly emerged bees with the gut parasite, Nosema spp. The pesticide dosages used were below levels demonstrated to cause effects on longevity or foraging in adult honey bees. Nosema infections increased significantly in the bees from pesticide-treated hives when compared to bees from control hives demonstrating an indirect effect of pesticides on pathogen growth in honey bees. We clearly demonstrate an increase in pathogen growth within individual bees reared in colonies exposed to one of the most widely used pesticides worldwide, imidacloprid, at below levels considered harmful to bees. The finding that individual bees with undetectable levels of the target pesticide, after being reared in a sub-lethal pesticide environment within the colony, had higher Nosema is significant. Interactions between pesticides and pathogens could be a major contributor to increased mortality of honey bee colonies, including colony collapse disorder, and other pollinator declines worldwide.

Remote monitoring of tamarisk defoliation and evapotranspiration following saltcedar leaf beetle attack

USGS Publications Warehouse

Dennison, P.E.; Nagler, P.L.; Hultine, K.R.; Glenn, E.P.; Ehleringer, J.R.

2009-01-01

Tamarisk (Tamarix spp.) has invaded riparian ecosystems throughout the Western United States, including significant portions of riparian ecosystems within U.S. National Parks and Monuments. Recently, the saltcedar leaf beetle (Diorhabda elongata) was released as a tamarisk biocontrol agent. Although initial releases have been monitored, no comprehensive program is currently in place to monitor the rapid spread of Diorhabda that has resulted from numerous subsequent releases by county and state agencies. Long term monitoring of tamarisk defoliation and its impacts on habitat and water resources is needed. This study examines the potential for using higher spatial resolution Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer (ASTER) data and lower spatial resolution Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data for monitoring defoliation caused by Diorhabda and subsequent changes in evapotranspiration (ET). Widespread tamarisk defoliation was observed in an eastern Utah study area during summer 2007. ASTER normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) showed only minor changes between 2005 and 2006, but a significant drop in NDVI was found within riparian areas between 2006 and 2007. The decrease in NDVI caused by defoliation was apparent despite partial refoliation within the study area. MODIS time series data revealed that absolute decline in EVI varied by site, but that the timing of EVI decline during summer 2007 was early with respect to phenological patterns from 2001 through 2006. Defoliation caused decreases in ET values estimated from both ASTER and MODIS data. MODIS estimated ET declined earlier than in previous years, although annual ET was not significantly different than ET in previous years due to high year-to-year variability. Challenges to detection and monitoring of tamarisk defoliation include spectral mixing of tamarisk and other cover types at subpixel spatial resolution, spatial coregistration of time series images, the timing of image acquisition, and changes unrelated to defoliation in non-tamarisk land cover over time. Continued development of the techniques presented in this paper may allow monitoring the spread of Diorhabda and assessment of potential water salvage resulting from biocontrol of tamarisk. ?? 2009 Elsevier Inc.

Patterns of northern red oak growth and mortality in western Pennsylvania

Treesearch

J. R. McClenahen; R. J. Hutnik; D. D. Davis

1997-01-01

This study evaluates the extent and cause(s) of an observed decline of northern red oak (Quercus rubra L.) on a 50-km portion of a major anticlinal ridge in west central Pennsylvania, and illustrates an approach for evaluating tree declines. Long term annual observations of forest health revealed the onset of crown dieback in 1983, chiefly among red...

Trends in death rates among U.S. adults with and without diabetes between 1997 and 2006: findings from the National Health Interview Survey.

PubMed

Gregg, Edward W; Cheng, Yiling J; Saydah, Sharon; Cowie, Catherine; Garfield, Sanford; Geiss, Linda; Barker, Lawrence

2012-06-01

To determine whether all-cause and cardiovascular disease (CVD) death rates declined between 1997 and 2006, a period of continued advances in treatment approaches and risk factor control, among U.S. adults with and without diabetes. We compared 3-year death rates of four consecutive nationally representative samples (1997-1998, 1999-2000, 2001-2002, and 2003-2004) of U.S. adults aged 18 years and older using data from the National Health Interview Surveys linked to National Death Index. Among diabetic adults, the CVD death rate declined by 40% (95% CI 23-54) and all-cause mortality declined by 23% (10-35) between the earliest and latest samples. There was no difference in the rates of decline in mortality between diabetic men and women. The excess CVD mortality rate associated with diabetes (i.e., compared with nondiabetic adults) decreased by 60% (from 5.8 to 2.3 CVD deaths per 1,000) while the excess all-cause mortality rate declined by 44% (from 10.8 to 6.1 deaths per 1,000). Death rates among both U.S. men and women with diabetes declined substantially between 1997 and 2006, reducing the absolute difference between adults with and without diabetes. These encouraging findings, however, suggest that diabetes prevalence is likely to rise in the future if diabetes incidence is not curtailed.

The role of environmental factors in oak decline and mortality in the Ozark Highlands

Treesearch

John M. Kabrick; Daniel C. Dey; Randy G. Jensen; Michael Wallendorf

2008-01-01

Oak decline is a chronic problem in Missouri Ozark forests. Red oak group species are most susceptible and decline is reportedly more severe on droughty, nutrient-poor sites. However, it was not clear whether greater decline severity was caused by poor site conditions or is simply due to the greater abundance of red oak group species found on poorer sites. We conducted...

Species decline: Contaminants and other contributing factors

USGS Publications Warehouse

Pattee, O.H.; Rattner, B.A.; Eisler, R.

1998-01-01

Members of over 1,200 taxa have been listed as Threatened or Endangered, and over 4,000 additional organisms have been identified as Candidate Species or Species of Concern. Identification of critical limiting factors may result in management actions that stabilize vulnerable populations and insure their perpetuation. Both naturally-occurring and anthropogenic activities (e.g., environmental contaminants and pollution) have been demonstrated to be a significant factor in depressing populations or catalyzing the final crash of some species. The objective of this project is to develop a synthesis document and database that lists and ranks the presumed causes of decline, with special emphasis on contaminants and pollutant-related situations. This will be accomplished by synoptic review of all recovery plans (n=479) with listing packages (n=1134) serving as a secondary source of information, followed by itemization, cross-referencing, enumeration, and ranking of contributing and limiting factors. To date we have analyzed all of the recovery plans for reptiles (n=26) and amphibians (n=6). 188 causes are defined, falling into 6 major categories: habitat alteration/availability (47.8%); exploitation/harvest (19.7%); introduction of exotic species (10.1%); contaminants (9.0%); miscellaneous others (6.9%); pollution (6.4%). The applicability of these data are extensive, including facilitating reviews of Section 7 consultations and Environmental Impact Statements, reviewing permit applications, conducting environmental contaminant risk assessments, identifying specific data gaps and research needs, selecting potential management actions, and establishing priorities for broad-based research on limiting factors applicable to groups of species rather than the current species-by-species approach. However. caution must be exercised in the use of this data because of the speculative nature of the causes; most of the causes (69.7%) are based on poorly documented expert opinion and/or guesswork. This is particularly true of the contaminant/pollution categories where only 13.8% of the incidents are documented in the literature as true causes of decline.

QuickStats: Age-Adjusted Death Rates* for Males Aged 15-44 Years, by the Five Leading Causes of Death(†) - United States, 1999 and 2014.

PubMed

2016-08-12

The age-adjusted death rate for males aged 15-44 years was 10% lower in 2014 (156.6 per 100,000 population) than in 1999 (174.1). Among the five leading causes of death, the age-adjusted rates for three were lower in 2014 than in 1999: cancer (from 17.1 to 12.8; 25% decline), heart disease (20.1 to 17.0; 15% decline), and homicide (15.7 to 13.8; 12% decline). The age-adjusted death rates for two of the five causes were higher in 2014 than in 1999: suicide (20.1 to 22.5; 12% increase), and unintentional injuries (from 48.7 to 51.0; 5% increase).

Moderating effects of coping styles on anxiety and depressive symptoms caused by psychological stress in Chinese patients with Type 2 diabetes.

PubMed

Zhang, C-X; Tse, L-A; Ye, X-Q; Lin, F-Y; Chen, Y-M; Chen, W-Q

2009-12-01

This study aimed to assess possible interactive effects of coping styles and psychological stress on depression and anxiety symptoms in Chinese patients with Type 2 diabetes. Three hundred and four patients with Type 2 diabetes underwent a face-to-face interview by trained research staff according to a standardized questionnaire including information on socio-demographic characteristics, psychological stress, coping styles and anxiety and depressive symptoms. The interactive effects of coping styles and psychological stress on depression and anxiety symptoms were assessed by hierarchical multiple regression analyses. There were significant associations of the four domains of psychological stress with anxiety and depressive symptoms, except for the relationship between 'reduced economic condition' and depressive symptoms. 'Negative coping style' significantly increased the level of both anxiety and depressive symptoms; whereas, 'active coping style' and 'avoidant coping style' decreased the risk of depressive symptoms. The interactions of 'negative coping style' with 'worrying about decline in body/physical function' and 'reduced economic condition' significantly increased the risk of anxiety and depressive symptoms, and the interaction of 'social/family crisis caused by the disease' with 'avoidance coping style' and 'worrying about decline in body/physical function' with 'active coping style' significantly decreased the risk of depressive symptoms. The results of this study suggest that certain coping styles might moderate the association of psychological stress with anxiety and depressive symptoms in Chinese patients with Type 2 diabetes.

Neonicotinoid pesticide reduces bumble bee colony growth and queen production.

PubMed

Whitehorn, Penelope R; O'Connor, Stephanie; Wackers, Felix L; Goulson, Dave

2012-04-20

Growing evidence for declines in bee populations has caused great concern because of the valuable ecosystem services they provide. Neonicotinoid insecticides have been implicated in these declines because they occur at trace levels in the nectar and pollen of crop plants. We exposed colonies of the bumble bee Bombus terrestris in the laboratory to field-realistic levels of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid, then allowed them to develop naturally under field conditions. Treated colonies had a significantly reduced growth rate and suffered an 85% reduction in production of new queens compared with control colonies. Given the scale of use of neonicotinoids, we suggest that they may be having a considerable negative impact on wild bumble bee populations across the developed world.

Do Performance-Safety Tradeoffs Cause Hypometric Metabolic Scaling in Animals?

PubMed

Harrison, Jon F

2017-09-01

Hypometric scaling of aerobic metabolism in animals has been widely attributed to constraints on oxygen (O 2 ) supply in larger animals, but recent findings demonstrate that O 2 supply balances with need regardless of size. Larger animals also do not exhibit evidence of compensation for O 2 supply limitation. Because declining metabolic rates (MRs) are tightly linked to fitness, this provides significant evidence against the hypothesis that constraints on supply drive hypometric scaling. As an alternative, ATP demand might decline in larger animals because of performance-safety tradeoffs. Larger animals, which typically reproduce later, exhibit risk-reducing strategies that lower MR. Conversely, smaller animals are more strongly selected for growth and costly neurolocomotory performance, elevating metabolism. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Change Points in the Population Trends of Aerial-Insectivorous Birds in North America: Synchronized in Time across Species and Regions.

PubMed

Smith, Adam C; Hudson, Marie-Anne R; Downes, Constance M; Francis, Charles M

2015-01-01

North American populations of aerial insectivorous birds are in steep decline. Aerial insectivores (AI) are a group of bird species that feed almost exclusively on insects in flight, and include swallows, swifts, nightjars, and flycatchers. The causes of the declines are not well understood. Indeed, it is not clear when the declines began, or whether the declines are shared across all species in the group (e.g., caused by changes in flying insect populations) or specific to each species (e.g., caused by changes in species' breeding habitat). A recent study suggested that population trends of aerial insectivores changed for the worse in the 1980s. If there was such a change point in trends of the group, understanding its timing and geographic pattern could help identify potential causes of the decline. We used a hierarchical Bayesian, penalized regression spline, change point model to estimate group-level change points in the trends of 22 species of AI, across 153 geographic strata of North America. We found evidence for group-level change points in 85% of the strata. Change points for flycatchers (FC) were distinct from those for swallows, swifts and nightjars (SSN) across North America, except in the Northeast, where all AI shared the same group-level change points. During the 1980s, there was a negative change point across most of North America, in the trends of SSN. For FC, the group-level change points were more geographically variable, and in many regions there were two: a positive change point followed by a negative change point. This group-level synchrony in AI population trends is likely evidence of a response to a common environmental factor(s) with similar effects on many species across broad spatial extents. The timing and geographic patterns of the change points that we identify here should provide a spring-board for research into the causes behind aerial insectivore declines.

Change Points in the Population Trends of Aerial-Insectivorous Birds in North America: Synchronized in Time across Species and Regions

PubMed Central

Smith, Adam C.; Hudson, Marie-Anne R.; Downes, Constance M.; Francis, Charles M.

2015-01-01

North American populations of aerial insectivorous birds are in steep decline. Aerial insectivores (AI) are a group of bird species that feed almost exclusively on insects in flight, and include swallows, swifts, nightjars, and flycatchers. The causes of the declines are not well understood. Indeed, it is not clear when the declines began, or whether the declines are shared across all species in the group (e.g., caused by changes in flying insect populations) or specific to each species (e.g., caused by changes in species’ breeding habitat). A recent study suggested that population trends of aerial insectivores changed for the worse in the 1980s. If there was such a change point in trends of the group, understanding its timing and geographic pattern could help identify potential causes of the decline. We used a hierarchical Bayesian, penalized regression spline, change point model to estimate group-level change points in the trends of 22 species of AI, across 153 geographic strata of North America. We found evidence for group-level change points in 85% of the strata. Change points for flycatchers (FC) were distinct from those for swallows, swifts and nightjars (SSN) across North America, except in the Northeast, where all AI shared the same group-level change points. During the 1980s, there was a negative change point across most of North America, in the trends of SSN. For FC, the group-level change points were more geographically variable, and in many regions there were two: a positive change point followed by a negative change point. This group-level synchrony in AI population trends is likely evidence of a response to a common environmental factor(s) with similar effects on many species across broad spatial extents. The timing and geographic patterns of the change points that we identify here should provide a spring-board for research into the causes behind aerial insectivore declines. PMID:26147572

Predatory leeches (Hirudinida) may contribute to amphibian declines in the Lassen, California.

Treesearch

Stead Jonathan; Karen Pope

2010-01-01

Researchers have documented precipitous declines in Cascades Frog (Rana cascadae) populations in the southern portion of the species' range, in the Lassen region of California. Reasons for the declines, however, have not been elucidated. In addition to common, widespread causes, an understanding of local community interactions may be necessary...

Drought tolerance of sugar maple ecotypes

Treesearch

Richard J. Hauer; Jeffery O. Dawson

1995-01-01

Sugar maple declines periodically occur in rural and urban areas. These declines usually follow periods of below-average precipitation leading to the speculation that moisture deficiency is a primary cause of the decline. Sugar maple ecotypes with greater tolerance to drought should have greater longevity and vitality as a result of this tolerance. Sugar maple and...

A Metropolitan Desegregation Plan--Where the White Students Went.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Cunningham, George K.; Husk, William L.

Much evidence exists to show that white enrollment declines with the advent of desegregation. This study conducted in Jefferson County, Kentucky (Louisville) explains the causes of this decline in terms of birth rate decline, nonpublic school enrollment, and movement out of the county. A determination of the degree that each of these take place…

Tree squirrel habitat selection and predispersal seed predation in a declining subalpine conifer

Treesearch

Shawn T. McKinney; Carl E. Fiedler

2009-01-01

Differential responses by species to modern perturbations in forest ecosystems may have undesirable impacts on plant-animal interactions. If such disruptions cause declines in a plant species without corresponding declines in a primary seed predator, the effects on the plant could be exacerbated. We examined one such interaction between Pinus...

State of pine decline in the southeastern United States

Treesearch

Lori Eckhardt; Mary Anne Sword Sayer; Don Imm

2010-01-01

Pine decline is an emerging forest health issue in the southeastern United States. Observations suggest pine decline is caused by environmental stress arising from competition, weather, insects and fungi, anthropogenic disturbances, and previous management. The problem is most severe for loblolly pine on sites that historically supported longleaf pine, are highly...

Sensitivity Monitoring of the SECCHI COR1 Telescopes on STEREO

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thompson, William T.

2018-03-01

Measurements of bright stars passing through the fields of view of the inner coronagraphs (COR1) on board the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO) are used to monitor changes in the radiometric calibration over the course of the mission. Annual decline rates are found to be 0.648 ± 0.066%/year for COR1-A on STEREO Ahead and 0.258 ± 0.060%/year for COR1-B on STEREO Behind. These rates are consistent with decline rates found for other space-based coronagraphs in similar radiation environments. The theorized cause for the decline in sensitivity is darkening of the lenses and other optical elements due to exposure to high-energy solar particles and photons, although other causes are also possible. The total decline in the COR-B sensitivity when contact with Behind was lost on 1 October 2014 was 1.7%, while COR1-A was down by 4.4%. As of 1 November 2017, the COR1-A decline is estimated to be 6.4%. The SECCHI calibration routines will be updated to take these COR1 decline rates into account.

[Decline of protective forest and its prevention strategies from viewpoint of restoration ecology: taking Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantation in Zhanggutai as an example].

PubMed

Jiang, Fengqi; Zeng, Dehui; Yu, Zhanyuan

2006-12-01

Aimed at the decline of protective forest in China, and applying the key principles of restoration ecology, such as ecological succession, disturbance, and population density, etc., this paper assessed the rationality of designing elements of protective forest in decision-making level, and analyzed its relationships with the decline of the forest, taking Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica plantation in Zhanggutai sandy land as an example. It was considered that the disagreement of large-scale afforestation with succession climax in regional scale was aberrant to the ecological principles, and resulted in the aberrancy of the objectives, steps, species composition, and stand density of protective forest establishment, being the main cause of protective forest decline. Mismanagement and frequent natural and human disturbances were also the important causes for the decline. Three strategies for preventing the decline, i.e., better understanding damaged ecosystems, increasing material and energy input, and overcoming disturbances were put forward, and the objectives of restoring vegetation, judgment of climax for ecological succession, and application of plagioclimax in establishing artificial vegetation were discussed.

Stroke declines from third to fourth leading cause of death in the United States: historical perspective and challenges ahead.

PubMed

Towfighi, Amytis; Saver, Jeffrey L

2011-08-01

Stroke recently declined from the third to the fourth leading cause of death in the United States, its first rank transition among sources of American mortality in nearly 75 years. This is a narrative review supplemented by new analyses of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Vital Statistics Reports from 1931 to 2008. Historically, stroke transitioned from the second to the third leading cause of death in the United States in 1937, but stroke death rates were essentially stable from 1930 to 1960. Then a long, great decline began, moderate in the 1960s, precipitous in the 1970s and 1980s, and moderate again in the 1990s and 2000s. By 2008, age-adjusted annual death rates from stroke were three fourths less than the historic 1931 to 1960 norm (40.6 versus 175.0 per 100,000). Total actual stroke deaths in the United States declined from a high of 214,000 in 1973 to 134,000 in 2008. Improved stroke prevention, through control of hypertension, hyperlipidemia, and tobacco, contributed most greatly to the mortality decline with a lesser but still substantial contribution of improved acute stroke care. Persisting challenges include race-ethnicity, sex, and geographic disparities in stroke mortality; the burden of stroke disability; the expanding obesity epidemic and aging of the US population; and the epidemic of cerebrovascular disease in low- and middle-income countries worldwide. The recent rank decline of stroke among leading causes of American death is testament to a half century of societal progress in cerebrovascular disease prevention and acute care. Renewed commitments are needed to preserve and broaden this historic achievement.

Human Population Decline in North America during the Younger Dryas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anderson, D. G.; Goodyear, A. C.; Stafford, T. W., Jr.; Kennett, J.; West, A.

2009-12-01

There is ongoing debate about a possible human population decline or contraction at the onset of the Younger Dryas (YD) at 12.9 ka. We used two methods to test whether the YD affected human population levels: (1) frequency analyses of Paleoindian projectile points, and (2) summed probability analyses of radiocarbon (14C) dates. The results suggest that a significant decline or reorganization of human populations occurred at 12.9 ka, continued through the initial centuries of the YD chronozone, then rebounded by the end of the YD. FREQUENCY ANALYSES: This method employed projectile point data from the Paleoindian Database of the Americas (PIDBA, http://pidba.utk.edu). We tallied diagnostic projectile points and obtained larger totals for Clovis points than for immediately post-Clovis points, which share an instrument-assisted fluting technique, typically using pressure or indirect percussion. Gainey, Vail, Debert, Redstone, and Cumberland point-styles utilized this method and are comparable to the Folsom style. For the SE U.S., the ratio of Clovis points (n=1993) to post-Clovis points (n=947) reveals a point decline of 52%. For the Great Plains, a comparison of Clovis and fluted points (n=4020) to Folsom points (n=2527) shows a point decline of 37%, which may translate into a population contraction of similar magnitude. In addition, eight major Clovis lithic quarry sites in the SE U.S. exhibit little to no evidence for immediate post-Clovis occupations, implying a major population decline. SUMMED PROBABILITIES: This method involved calibrating relevant 14C dates and combining the probabilities, after which major peaks and troughs in the trends are assumed to reflect changes in human demographics. Using 14C dates from Buchanan et al. (2008), we analyzed multiple regions, including the Southeast and Great Plains. Contrary to Buchanan et al., we found an abrupt, statistically significant decline at 12.9 ka, followed 200 to 900 years later by a rebound in the number of dates. The decline at the YD onset was more than 50%, similar in magnitude to the decline in Clovis-Folsom point ratios. While calibration and sampling factors may affect the trends, this abrupt decline is large and requires explanation. SUMMARY: Even though correlation does not equate with causation, the coeval YD decline in both points and 14C dates appears linked to significant changes in climate and biota, as represented by the megafaunal extinction. While the causes of the YD remain controversial, a human population decline appears to have occurred, at least across parts of North America. Furthermore, the YD onset is associated with the abrupt replacement of Clovis by regional or subregional scale cultural traditions, potentially reflecting decreased range mobility and increased population isolation. Projectile point distributions and summed probability analyses, we argue, are potentially useful approaches for exploring demographic changes at regional scales.

Decline and Renewal. Causes and Cures of Decay among Foreign-Trained Intellectuals and Professionals in the Third World. IEE Research Report Number Nine.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goodwin, Craufurd D.; Nacht, Michael

Causes and prevention of the decline of professional competencies acquired in American institutions of higher education by foreign-trained, Third World scholars and professionals and soon lost upon their return to their home countries are addressed. The context of this problem is described for three countries that were selected as examples:…

A polyphasic approach to gaining insights into causes of acute oak decline in Britain

Treesearch

Sandra Denman

2017-01-01

Acute Oak Decline (AOD) is a complex disease syndrome of native oak, making its first appearance in the 1980s in Britain. Since then increasing reports of its occurrence have raised concerns about cause and effects on these iconic trees. Symptomology studies confirmed that AOD is a distinctive condition with four diagnostic symptoms defining the condition; (a) weeping...

[Research on bacteria microecology in root rot rhizosphere soil of Coptis chinensis produced in Shizhu city].

PubMed

Song, Xu-Hong; Wang, Yu; Li, Long-Yun; Tan, Jun

2017-04-01

Illumina Hiseq 2500 high-throughput sequencing platform was used to study the bacteria richness and diversity, the soil enzyme activities, nutrients in unplanted soil, root-rot and healthy rhizophere soil of Coptis chinensis for deeply discussing the mechanism of the root-rot of C. chinensis. The high-throughput sequencing result showed that the artificial cultivation effected the bacteria community richness and diversity. The bacteria community richness in healthy and diseased rhizosphere soil showed significant lower than that of in unplanted soil (P<0.05) and declined bacteria diversity. The bacteria community richness in root-rot rhizosphere soil increased significantly than that of health and unplanted soil and the diversity was lower significant than that of unplanted soil (P<0.05). The results of soil nutrients and enzyme activities detected that the pH value, available phosphorus and urease activity decreased and the sucrase activity increased significantly (P<0.05). The content of organic carbon and alkaline hydrolysis nitrogen the catalase and urease activity in root rot soil samples was significantly lower than that of healthy soil samples (P<0.05). However, the contents of available phosphorus and available potassium were significantly in root-rot sample higher than that of healthy soil samples (P<0.05). Comprehensive analysis showed that the artificial cultivation declined the bacteria community richness and diversity. The bacteria community richness decreased significantly and the decreased diversity may be the cause of the root-rot. Meanwhile, the decrease of carbon and the catalase activity may be another cause of the root-rot in C. chinensis produced in Shizhu city, Chongqing province. Copyright© by the Chinese Pharmaceutical Association.

Evaluation of secondary protein nutrients as a substitute for soybean meal in diets for beef steers and meat goats.

PubMed

Freeman, S R; Poore, M H; Huntington, G B; Middleton, T F

2008-01-01

Finding appropriate disposal techniques for waste products is one of many challenges facing the poultry-processing industry. One waste generated in significant quantities is dissolved air floatation sludge, a product of wastewater treatment. Converting dissolved air floatation sludge into a dry feed product (meal) for incorporation into livestock feed appears to be a viable solution. This meal, called secondary protein nutrients (SPN), is high in protein (45% CP), fat (28% crude fat), and minerals. The protein consists of 85% B(2) and B(3) fractions, which are moderately to slowly degradable in the rumen, and therefore may potentially escape ruminal degradation and be available for digestion in the lower gastrointestinal tract. The goal of this research was to evaluate SPN as an alternative to traditional protein sources for ruminants by substituting it on an equivalent N basis for soybean meal in cattle and meat goat diets (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100% for cattle; 0, 20, and 40% for goats). When included in corn silage-based steer diets, increasing SPN resulted in linear and quadratic declines in both DMI and ADG (P < 0.001). Dry matter intake diminished with inclusion rates above 50%, and ADG were reduced after inclusion of SPN reached 25% of added N. Feed efficiency (the reciprocal of the efficiency of gain, which is represented by G:F) declined linearly (P < 0.001) with each incremental increase in SPN. Addition of up to 40% added N as SPN in goat diets caused no change in DMI, digestibility of DM or fiber, or N retention. Ruminal VFA concentrations showed little variation in either species. Increasing the proportion of SPN in the feed caused linear declines in ruminal NH(3) in steers (P < 0.001). Increasing SPN in goat diets, however, resulted in only a trend toward reductions of this parameter (P = 0.14). The decreases observed may have resulted from decreasing ruminal protein degradability or increasing fat caused by increasing the proportion of SPN in the feed. Urinary urea N as a percentage of urinary N showed significant declines in cattle, but not in goats, over the ranges of SPN offered. These results indicate that SPN can be included in diets for ruminants to supply up to 40% of supplemental N with little negative impact on animal performance.

Human Neural Stem Cell Transplantation Ameliorates Radiation-Induced Cognitive Dysfunction

PubMed Central

Acharya, Munjal M.; Christie, Lori-Ann; Lan, Mary L.; Giedzinski, Erich; Fike, John R.; Rosi, Susanna; Limoli, Charles L.

2012-01-01

Cranial radiotherapy induces progressive and debilitating declines in cognition that may, in part, be caused by the depletion of neural stem cells. The potential of using stem cell replacement as a strategy to combat radiation-induced cognitive decline was addressed by irradiating athymic nude rats followed 2 days later by intrahippocampal transplantation with human neural stem cells (hNSC). Measures of cognitive performance, hNSC survival, and phenotypic fate were assessed at 1 and 4 months after irradiation. Irradiated animals engrafted with hNSCs showed significantly less decline in cognitive function than irradiated, sham-engrafted animals and acted indistinguishably from unirradiated controls. Unbiased stereology revealed that 23% and 12% of the engrafted cells survived 1 and 4 months after transplantation, respectively. Engrafted cells migrated extensively, differentiated along glial and neuronal lineages, and expressed the activity-regulated cytoskeleton-associated protein (Arc), suggesting their capability to functionally integrate into the hippocampus. These data show that hNSCs afford a promising strategy for functionally restoring cognition in irradiated animals. PMID:21757460

Predator decline leads to decreased stability in a coastal fish community.

PubMed

Britten, Gregory L; Dowd, Michael; Minto, Cóilín; Ferretti, Francesco; Boero, Ferdinando; Lotze, Heike K

2014-12-01

Fisheries exploitation has caused widespread declines in marine predators. Theory predicts that predator depletion will destabilise lower trophic levels, making natural communities more vulnerable to environmental perturbations. However, empirical evidence has been limited. Using a community matrix model, we empirically assessed trends in the stability of a multispecies coastal fish community over the course of predator depletion. Three indices of community stability (resistance, resilience and reactivity) revealed significantly decreasing stability concurrent with declining predator abundance. The trophically downgraded community exhibited weaker top-down control, leading to predator-release processes in lower trophic levels and increased susceptibility to perturbation. At the community level, our results suggest that high predator abundance acts as a stabilising force to the naturally stochastic and highly autocorrelated dynamics in low trophic species. These findings have important implications for the conservation and management of predators in marine ecosystems and provide empirical support for the theory of predatory control. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

The canary in the coalmine; bee declines as an indicator of environmental health.

PubMed

Goulson, Dave; Nicholls, Elizabeth

2016-09-01

Bee declines have received much attention of late, but there is considerable debate and confusion as to the extent, significance and causes of declines. In part, this reflects conflation of data for domestic honeybees, numbers of which are largely driven by economic factors, with those for wild bees, many of which have undergone marked range contractions but for the majority of which we have no good data on population size. There is no doubt that bees are subject to numerous pressures in the modern world. The abundance and diversity of flowers has declined along with availability of suitable nest sites, bees are chronically exposed to cocktails of agrochemicals, and they are simultaneously exposed to novel parasites and pathogens accidentally spread by humans. Climate change is likely to exacerbate these problems in the future, particularly for cool- climate specialists such as bumblebees. Stressors do not act in isolation; for example pesticide exposure can impair both detoxification mechanisms and immune responses, rendering bees more susceptible to parasites. It seems certain that chronic exposure to multiple, interacting stressors is driving honeybee colony losses and declines of wild pollinators. Bees have a high profile and so their travails attract attention, but these same stressors undoubtedly bear upon other wild organisms, many of which are not monitored and have few champions. Those wild insects for which we do have population data (notably butterflies and moths) are overwhelmingly also in decline. We argue that bee declines are indicators of pervasive and ongoing environmental damage that is likely to impact broadly on biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides.

The association between household bed net ownership and all-cause child mortality in Madagascar.

PubMed

Meekers, Dominique; Yukich, Joshua O

2016-09-17

Malaria continues to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Madagascar. It has been estimated that the malaria burden costs Madagascar over $52 million annually in terms of treatment costs, lost productivity and prevention expenses. One of the key malaria prevention strategies of the Government of Madagascar consists of large-scale mass distribution campaigns of long-lasting insecticide-treated bed nets (LLIN). Although there is ample evidence that child mortality has decreased in Madagascar, it is unclear whether increases in LLIN ownership have contributed to this decline. This study analyses multiple recent cross-sectional survey data sets to examine the association between household bed net ownership and all-cause child mortality. Data on household-level bed net ownership confirm that the percentage of households that own one or more bed nets increased substantially following the 2009 and 2010 mass LLIN distribution campaigns. Additionally, all-cause child mortality in Madagascar has declined during the period 2008-2013. Bed net ownership was associated with a 22 % reduction in the all-cause child mortality hazard in Madagascar. Mass bed net distributions contributed strongly to the overall decline in child mortality in Madagascar during the period 2008-2013. However, the decline was not solely attributable to increases in bed net coverage, and nets alone were not able to eliminate most of the child mortality hazard across the island.

Why the racial gap in life expectancy is declining in the United States

PubMed Central

Firebaugh, Glenn; Acciai, Francesco; Noah, Aggie J.; Prather, Christopher; Nau, Claudia

2014-01-01

BACKGROUND Blacks have lower life expectancy than whites in the United States. That disparity could be due to racial differences in the causes of death, with blacks being more likely to die of causes that affect the young, or it could be due to differences in the average ages of blacks and whites who die of the same cause. Prior studies fail to distinguish these two possibilities. OBJECTIVE In this study we determine how much of the 2000–10 reduction in the racial gap in life expectancy resulted from narrowing differences in the cause-specific mean age at death for blacks and whites, as opposed to changing cause-specific probabilities for blacks and whites. METHOD We introduce a method for separating the difference-in-probabilities and difference-inage components of group disparities in life expectancy. RESULTS Based on the new method, we find that 60% of the decline in the racial gap in life expectancy from 2000 to 2010 was attributable to reduction in the age component, largely because of declining differences in the age at which blacks and whites die of chronic diseases. CONCLUSION Our findings shed light on the sources of the declining racial gap in life expectancy in the United States, and help to identify where advances need to be made to achieve the goal of eliminating racial disparities in life expectancy. PMID:25580083

Ulysses orbit determination at high declinations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mcelrath, Timothy P.; Lewis, George D.

1995-01-01

The trajectory of the Ulysses spacecraft caused its geocentric declination to exceed 60 deg South for over two months during the Fall of 1994, permitting continuous tracking from a single site. During this time, spacecraft operations constraints allowed only Doppler tracking data to be collected, and imposed a high radial acceleration uncertainty on the orbit determination process. The unusual aspects of this situation have motivated a re-examination of the Hamilton-Melbourne results, which have been used before to estimate the information content of Doppler tracking for trajectories closer to the ecliptic. The addition of an acceleration term to this equation is found to significantly increase the declination uncertainty for symmetric passes. In addition, a simple means is described to transform the symmetric results when the tracking pass is non-symmetric. The analytical results are then compared against numerical studies of this tracking geometry and found to be in good agreement for the angular uncertainties. The results of this analysis are applicable to the Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous (NEAR) mission and to any other missions with high declination trajectories, as well as to missions using short tracking passes and/or one-way Doppler data.

Causes and consequences of decreasing atmospheric organic aerosol in the United States.

PubMed

Ridley, D A; Heald, C L; Ridley, K J; Kroll, J H

2018-01-09

Exposure to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) exacerbates respiratory and cardiovascular conditions and is a leading source of premature mortality globally. Organic aerosol contributes a significant fraction of PM in the United States. Here, using surface observations between 1990 and 2012, we show that organic carbon has declined dramatically across the entire United States by 25-50%; accounting for more than 30% of the US-wide decline in PM. The decline is in contrast with the increasing organic aerosol due to wildfires and no clear trend in biogenic emissions. By developing a carbonaceous emissions database for the United States, we show that at least two-thirds of the decline in organic aerosol can be explained by changes in anthropogenic emissions, primarily from vehicle emissions and residential fuel burning. We estimate that the decrease in anthropogenic organic aerosol is responsible for averting 180,000 (117,000-389,000) premature deaths between 1990 and 2012. The unexpected decrease in organic aerosol, likely a consequence of the implementation of Clean Air Act Amendments, results in 84,000 (30,000-164,000) more lives saved than anticipated by the EPA between 2000 and 2010.

Causes and consequences of decreasing atmospheric organic aerosol in the United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ridley, D. A.; Heald, C. L.; Ridley, K. J.; Kroll, J. H.

2018-01-01

Exposure to atmospheric particulate matter (PM) exacerbates respiratory and cardiovascular conditions and is a leading source of premature mortality globally. Organic aerosol contributes a significant fraction of PM in the United States. Here, using surface observations between 1990 and 2012, we show that organic carbon has declined dramatically across the entire United States by 25–50%; accounting for more than 30% of the US-wide decline in PM. The decline is in contrast with the increasing organic aerosol due to wildfires and no clear trend in biogenic emissions. By developing a carbonaceous emissions database for the United States, we show that at least two-thirds of the decline in organic aerosol can be explained by changes in anthropogenic emissions, primarily from vehicle emissions and residential fuel burning. We estimate that the decrease in anthropogenic organic aerosol is responsible for averting 180,000 (117,000–389,000) premature deaths between 1990 and 2012. The unexpected decrease in organic aerosol, likely a consequence of the implementation of Clean Air Act Amendments, results in 84,000 (30,000–164,000) more lives saved than anticipated by the EPA between 2000 and 2010.

Motor Skills Enhance Procedural Memory Formation and Protect against Age-Related Decline

PubMed Central

Müller, Nils C. J.; Genzel, Lisa; Konrad, Boris N.; Pawlowski, Marcel; Neville, David; Fernández, Guillén; Steiger, Axel

2016-01-01

The ability to consolidate procedural memories declines with increasing age. Prior knowledge enhances learning and memory consolidation of novel but related information in various domains. Here, we present evidence that prior motor experience–in our case piano skills–increases procedural learning and has a protective effect against age-related decline for the consolidation of novel but related manual movements. In our main experiment, we tested 128 participants with a sequential finger-tapping motor task during two sessions 24 hours apart. We observed enhanced online learning speed and offline memory consolidation for piano players. Enhanced memory consolidation was driven by a strong effect in older participants, whereas younger participants did not benefit significantly from prior piano experience. In a follow up independent control experiment, this compensatory effect of piano experience was not visible after a brief offline period of 30 minutes, hence requiring an extended consolidation window potentially involving sleep. Through a further control experiment, we rejected the possibility that the decreased effect in younger participants was caused by training saturation. We discuss our results in the context of the neurobiological schema approach and suggest that prior experience has the potential to rescue memory consolidation from age-related cognitive decline. PMID:27333186

Past and projected future changes in snowpack and soil frost at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, New Hampshire, USA

Treesearch

John L. Campbell; Scott V. Ollinger; Gerald N. Flerchinger; Haley Wicklein; Katharine Hayhoe; Amey S. Bailey

2010-01-01

Long-term data from the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire show that air temperature has increased by about 1 °C over the last half century. The warmer climate has caused significant declines in snow depth, snow water equivalent and snow cover duration. Paradoxically, it has been suggested that warmer air temperatures may result in colder soils...

Review of pollutant lead decline in urban air and human blood: A case study from northwestern Europe

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Petit, Daniel; Véron, Alain; Flament, Pascal; Deboudt, Karine; Poirier, André

2015-09-01

A review of the transient decline of pollutant lead in the air (PbA) and the blood (PbB) has been conducted in order to assess the relationship between these environmental reservoirs. We have demonstrated that PbA decreased 20 to 100 times more than PbB for the past 30 years, suggesting another significant intake besides airborne lead to explain lead accumulated in humans. This trend has also been observed in two blood surveys we have completed in 1976-1978 and 2008-2009 in northern France and Belgium. Nowadays, the mean PbB (1.5-3.5 μg/dL) remains at least 100 times higher than the estimated non-contaminated PbB. Lead isotope imprints in blood could help decipher specific contamination cases, and were coherent with the decline of PbA, but could not help discriminate the source of blood lead owing to the lack of source imprints, especially from dietary intakes. Correlations between recent PbB, isotopic imprints and the age of the subjects suggested that lead released from bones has become a significant source of lead in blood. The significant cause for human exposure to lead may have shifted from direct pollutant lead input accumulated in exogenous reservoirs (air and diet) to endogenous lead release from bone tissues consequential to metabolic calcium homeostasis and bone turnover.

Aluminum-induced calcium deficiency syndrome in declining red spruce

Treesearch

Walter C. Shortle; Kevin T. Smith

1988-01-01

Prolonged suppression of cambial growth has apparently caused a decline in radial growth in many mature red spruce, Picea rubens. Surveys indicate that this decline occurs in trees throughout the natural range of red spruce and is independent of elevation, tree size, and age class. In addition, crowns of mature red spruce at high elevations across...

Immune correlates of aging in outdoor-housed captive rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta)

PubMed Central

2012-01-01

Background Questions remain about whether inflammation is a cause, consequence, or coincidence of aging. The purpose of this study was to define baseline immunological characteristics from blood to develop a model in rhesus macaques that could be used to address the relationship between inflammation and aging. Hematology, flow cytometry, clinical chemistry, and multiplex cytokine/chemokine analyses were performed on a group of 101 outdoor-housed captive rhesus macaques ranging from 2 to 24 years of age, approximately equivalent to 8 to 77 years of age in humans. Results These results extend earlier reports correlating changes in lymphocyte subpopulations and cytokines/chemokines with increasing age. There were significant declines in numbers of white blood cells (WBC) overall, as well as lymphocytes, monocytes, and polymorphonuclear cells with increasing age. Among lymphocytes, there were no significant declines in NK cells and T cells, whereas B cell numbers exhibited significant declines with age. Within the T cell populations, there were significant declines in numbers of CD4+ naïve T cells and CD8+ naïve T cells. Conversely, numbers of CD4+CD8+ effector memory and CD8+effector memory T cells increased with age. New multiplex analyses revealed that concentrations of a panel of ten circulating cytokines/chemokines, IFNγ, IL1b, IL6, IL12, IL15, TNFα, MCP1, MIP1α, IL1ra, and IL4, each significantly correlated with age and also exhibited concordant pairwise correlations with every other factor within this group. To also control for outlier values, mean rank values of each of these cytokine concentrations in relation to age of each animal and these also correlated with age. Conclusions A panel of ten cytokines/chemokines were identified that correlated with aging and also with each other. This will permit selection of animals exhibiting relatively higher and lower inflammation status as a model to test mechanisms of inflammation status in aging with susceptibility to infections and vaccine efficacy. PMID:23151307

Brain Metastases Treatment Worsens Cognitive Decline

Cancer.gov

In some patients with cancer that has spread to the brain, whole brain radiation following radiosurgery causes more severe cognitive decline and does not improve survival compared with radiosurgery alone, a new study has found.

Endemic chronic wasting disease causes mule deer population decline in Wyoming.

PubMed

DeVivo, Melia T; Edmunds, David R; Kauffman, Matthew J; Schumaker, Brant A; Binfet, Justin; Kreeger, Terry J; Richards, Bryan J; Schätzl, Hermann M; Cornish, Todd E

2017-01-01

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy affecting white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), and moose (Alces alces shirasi) in North America. In southeastern Wyoming average annual CWD prevalence in mule deer exceeds 20% and appears to contribute to regional population declines. We determined the effect of CWD on mule deer demography using age-specific, female-only, CWD transition matrix models to estimate the population growth rate (λ). Mule deer were captured from 2010-2014 in southern Converse County Wyoming, USA. Captured adult (≥ 1.5 years old) deer were tested ante-mortem for CWD using tonsil biopsies and monitored using radio telemetry. Mean annual survival rates of CWD-negative and CWD-positive deer were 0.76 and 0.32, respectively. Pregnancy and fawn recruitment were not observed to be influenced by CWD. We estimated λ = 0.79, indicating an annual population decline of 21% under current CWD prevalence levels. A model derived from the demography of only CWD-negative individuals yielded; λ = 1.00, indicating a stable population if CWD were absent. These findings support CWD as a significant contributor to mule deer population decline. Chronic wasting disease is difficult or impossible to eradicate with current tools, given significant environmental contamination, and at present our best recommendation for control of this disease is to minimize spread to new areas and naïve cervid populations.

Relationships between walking and percentiles of adiposity inolder and younger men

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Williams, Paul T.

2005-06-01

To assess the relationship of weekly walking distance to percentiles of adiposity in elders (age {ge} 75 years), seniors (55 {le} age <75 years), middle-age men (35 {le} age <55 years), and younger men (18 {le} age <35 years old). Cross-sectional analyses of baseline questionnaires from 7,082 male participants of the National Walkers Health Study. The walkers BMIs were inversely and significantly associated with walking distance (kg/m{sup 2} per km/wk) in elders (slope {+-} SE: -0.032 {+-} 0.008), seniors (-0.045 {+-} 0.005), and middle-aged men (-0.037 {+-} 0.007), as were their waist circumferences (-0.091 {+-} 0.025, -0.045 {+-} 0.005, andmore » -0.091 {+-} 0.015 cm per km/wk, respectively), and these slopes remained significant when adjusted statistically for reported weekly servings of meat, fish, fruit, and alcohol. The declines in BMI associated with walking distance were greater at the higher than lower percentiles of the BMI distribution. Specifically, compared to the decline at the 10th BMI percentile, the decline in BMI at the 90th percentile was 5.1-fold greater in elders, 5.9-fold greater in seniors, and 6.7-fold greater in middle-age men. The declines in waist circumference associated with walking distance were also greater among men with broader waistlines. Exercise-induced weight loss (or self-selection) causes an inverse relationship between adiposity and walking distance in men 35 and older that is substantially greater among fatter men.« less

Endemic chronic wasting disease causes mule deer population decline in Wyoming

PubMed Central

DeVivo, Melia T.; Edmunds, David R.; Kauffman, Matthew J.; Schumaker, Brant A.; Binfet, Justin; Kreeger, Terry J.; Richards, Bryan J.; Schätzl, Hermann M.; Cornish, Todd E.

2017-01-01

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy affecting white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), and moose (Alces alces shirasi) in North America. In southeastern Wyoming average annual CWD prevalence in mule deer exceeds 20% and appears to contribute to regional population declines. We determined the effect of CWD on mule deer demography using age-specific, female-only, CWD transition matrix models to estimate the population growth rate (λ). Mule deer were captured from 2010–2014 in southern Converse County Wyoming, USA. Captured adult (≥ 1.5 years old) deer were tested ante-mortem for CWD using tonsil biopsies and monitored using radio telemetry. Mean annual survival rates of CWD-negative and CWD-positive deer were 0.76 and 0.32, respectively. Pregnancy and fawn recruitment were not observed to be influenced by CWD. We estimated λ = 0.79, indicating an annual population decline of 21% under current CWD prevalence levels. A model derived from the demography of only CWD-negative individuals yielded; λ = 1.00, indicating a stable population if CWD were absent. These findings support CWD as a significant contributor to mule deer population decline. Chronic wasting disease is difficult or impossible to eradicate with current tools, given significant environmental contamination, and at present our best recommendation for control of this disease is to minimize spread to new areas and naïve cervid populations. PMID:29049389

Endemic chronic wasting disease causes mule deer population decline in Wyoming

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeVivo, Melia T.; Edmunds, David R.; Kauffman, Matthew J.; Schumaker, Brant A.; Binfet, Justin; Kreeger, Terry J.; Richards, Bryan J.; Schatzl, Hermann M.; Cornish, Todd

2017-01-01

Chronic wasting disease (CWD) is a fatal transmissible spongiform encephalopathy affecting white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus), Rocky Mountain elk (Cervus elaphus nelsoni), and moose (Alces alces shirasi) in North America. In southeastern Wyoming average annual CWD prevalence in mule deer exceeds 20% and appears to contribute to regional population declines. We determined the effect of CWD on mule deer demography using age-specific, female-only, CWD transition matrix models to estimate the population growth rate (λ). Mule deer were captured from 2010–2014 in southern Converse County Wyoming, USA. Captured adult (≥ 1.5 years old) deer were tested ante-mortem for CWD using tonsil biopsies and monitored using radio telemetry. Mean annual survival rates of CWD-negative and CWD-positive deer were 0.76 and 0.32, respectively. Pregnancy and fawn recruitment were not observed to be influenced by CWD. We estimated λ= 0.79, indicating an annual population decline of 21% under current CWD prevalence levels. A model derived from the demography of only CWD-negative individuals yielded; λ = 1.00, indicating a stable population if CWD were absent. These findings support CWD as a significant contributor to mule deer population decline. Chronic wasting disease is difficult or impossible to eradicate with current tools, given significant environmental contamination, and at present our best recommendation for control of this disease is to minimize spread to new areas and naïve cervid populations.

Dissecting HIV Virulence: Heritability of Setpoint Viral Load, CD4+ T-Cell Decline, and Per-Parasite Pathogenicity.

PubMed

Bertels, Frederic; Marzel, Alex; Leventhal, Gabriel; Mitov, Venelin; Fellay, Jacques; Günthard, Huldrych F; Böni, Jürg; Yerly, Sabine; Klimkait, Thomas; Aubert, Vincent; Battegay, Manuel; Rauch, Andri; Cavassini, Matthias; Calmy, Alexandra; Bernasconi, Enos; Schmid, Patrick; Scherrer, Alexandra U; Müller, Viktor; Bonhoeffer, Sebastian; Kouyos, Roger; Regoes, Roland R

2018-01-01

Pathogen strains may differ in virulence because they attain different loads in their hosts, or because they induce different disease-causing mechanisms independent of their load. In evolutionary ecology, the latter is referred to as "per-parasite pathogenicity". Using viral load and CD4+ T-cell measures from 2014 HIV-1 subtype B-infected individuals enrolled in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, we investigated if virulence-measured as the rate of decline of CD4+ T cells-and per-parasite pathogenicity are heritable from donor to recipient. We estimated heritability by donor-recipient regressions applied to 196 previously identified transmission pairs, and by phylogenetic mixed models applied to a phylogenetic tree inferred from HIV pol sequences. Regressing the CD4+ T-cell declines and per-parasite pathogenicities of the transmission pairs did not yield heritability estimates significantly different from zero. With the phylogenetic mixed model, however, our best estimate for the heritability of the CD4+ T-cell decline is 17% (5-30%), and that of the per-parasite pathogenicity is 17% (4-29%). Further, we confirm that the set-point viral load is heritable, and estimate a heritability of 29% (12-46%). Interestingly, the pattern of evolution of all these traits differs significantly from neutrality, and is most consistent with stabilizing selection for the set-point viral load, and with directional selection for the CD4+ T-cell decline and the per-parasite pathogenicity. Our analysis shows that the viral genotype affects virulence mainly by modulating the per-parasite pathogenicity, while the indirect effect via the set-point viral load is minor. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Molecular Biology and Evolution.

Dissecting HIV Virulence: Heritability of Setpoint Viral Load, CD4+ T-Cell Decline, and Per-Parasite Pathogenicity

PubMed Central

Bertels, Frederic; Marzel, Alex; Leventhal, Gabriel; Mitov, Venelin; Fellay, Jacques; Günthard, Huldrych F; Böni, Jürg; Yerly, Sabine; Klimkait, Thomas; Aubert, Vincent; Battegay, Manuel; Rauch, Andri; Cavassini, Matthias; Calmy, Alexandra; Bernasconi, Enos; Schmid, Patrick; Scherrer, Alexandra U; Müller, Viktor; Bonhoeffer, Sebastian; Kouyos, Roger; Regoes, Roland R

2018-01-01

Abstract Pathogen strains may differ in virulence because they attain different loads in their hosts, or because they induce different disease-causing mechanisms independent of their load. In evolutionary ecology, the latter is referred to as “per-parasite pathogenicity”. Using viral load and CD4+ T-cell measures from 2014 HIV-1 subtype B-infected individuals enrolled in the Swiss HIV Cohort Study, we investigated if virulence—measured as the rate of decline of CD4+ T cells—and per-parasite pathogenicity are heritable from donor to recipient. We estimated heritability by donor–recipient regressions applied to 196 previously identified transmission pairs, and by phylogenetic mixed models applied to a phylogenetic tree inferred from HIV pol sequences. Regressing the CD4+ T-cell declines and per-parasite pathogenicities of the transmission pairs did not yield heritability estimates significantly different from zero. With the phylogenetic mixed model, however, our best estimate for the heritability of the CD4+ T-cell decline is 17% (5–30%), and that of the per-parasite pathogenicity is 17% (4–29%). Further, we confirm that the set-point viral load is heritable, and estimate a heritability of 29% (12–46%). Interestingly, the pattern of evolution of all these traits differs significantly from neutrality, and is most consistent with stabilizing selection for the set-point viral load, and with directional selection for the CD4+ T-cell decline and the per-parasite pathogenicity. Our analysis shows that the viral genotype affects virulence mainly by modulating the per-parasite pathogenicity, while the indirect effect via the set-point viral load is minor. PMID:29029206

Multiple stressors and amphibian declines: dual impacts of pesticides and fish on yellow-legged frogs.

PubMed

Davidson, Carlos; Knapp, Roland A

2007-03-01

More than 40% of Earth's 5700+ amphibian species have undergone recent declines. Despite the likely involvement of multiple factors in driving these declines, most studies continue to focus on single stressors. In California (USA), separate studies have implicated either introduced fish or pesticides as causal agents. To date, however, no study has simultaneously evaluated the respective roles of these two potential stressors nor attempted to assess their relative importance, information critical for the development of effective conservation efforts and environmental policies. We examined the role and relative effect of fish and pesticides on the mountain yellow-legged frog (Rana muscosa) using unusually detailed data sets for a large portion of R. muscosa's historic range in California's Sierra Nevada. Habitat characteristics and presence/absence of R. muscosa and fish were quantified at each of 6831 sites during field surveys. Pesticide use upwind of each site was calculated from pesticide application records and predominant wind directions. Using generalized additive models, we found that, after accounting for habitat effects, the probability of R. muscosa presence was significantly reduced by both fish and pesticides, with the landscape-scale effect of pesticides much stronger than that of fish. The degree to which a site was sheltered from the predominant wind (and associated pesticides) was also a significant predictor of R. muscosa presence. Taken together, these results represent the strongest evidence to date that windborne pesticides are contributing to amphibian declines in pristine locations. Our results suggest that amphibian declines may have complex multi-factorial causes, and caution that single-factor studies that demonstrate the importance of one factor should not be used as evidence against the importance of other factors.

Elevation in blood flow and shear rate prevents hyperglycemia-induced endothelial dysfunction in healthy subjects and those with type 2 diabetes.

PubMed

Greyling, Arno; Schreuder, Tim H A; Landman, Thijs; Draijer, Richard; Verheggen, Rebecca J H M; Hopman, Maria T E; Thijssen, Dick H J

2015-03-01

Hyperglycemia, commonly present after a meal, causes transient impairment in endothelial function. We examined whether increases in blood flow (BF) protect against the hyperglycemia-mediated decrease in endothelial function in healthy subjects and patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Ten healthy subjects and 10 age- and sex-matched patients with T2DM underwent simultaneous bilateral assessment of brachial artery endothelial function by means of flow-mediated dilation (FMD) using high-resolution echo-Doppler. FMD was examined before and 60, 120, and 150 min after a 75-g oral glucose challenge. We unilaterally manipulated BF by heating one arm between minute 30 and minute 60. Oral glucose administration caused a statistically significant, transient increase in blood glucose in both groups (P < 0.001). Forearm skin temperature, brachial artery BF, and shear rate significantly increased in the heated arm (P < 0.001), and to a greater extent compared with the nonheated arm in both groups (interaction effect P < 0.001). The glucose load caused a transient decrease in FMD% (P < 0.05), whereas heating significantly prevented the decline (interaction effect P < 0.01). Also, when correcting for changes in diameter and shear rate, we found that the hyperglycemia-induced decrease in FMD can be prevented by local heating (P < 0.05). These effects on FMD were observed in both groups. Our data indicate that nonmetabolically driven elevation in BF and shear rate can similarly prevent the hyperglycemia-induced decline in conduit artery endothelial function in healthy volunteers and in patients with type 2 diabetes. Additional research is warranted to confirm that other interventions that increase BF and shear rate equally protect the endothelium when challenged by hyperglycemia. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society.

Patterns of growth and body condition in sea otters from the Aleutian archipelago before and after the recent population decline

USGS Publications Warehouse

Laidre, K.L.; Estes, J.A.; Tinker, M.T.; Bodkin, James L.; Monson, Daniel H.; Schneider, K.

2006-01-01

1. Growth models for body mass and length were fitted to data collected from 1842 sea otters Enhydra lutris shot or live-captured throughout south-west Alaska between 1967 and 2004. Growth curves were constructed for each of two main year groups: 1967–71 when the population was at or near carrying capacity and 1992–97 when the population was in steep decline. Analyses of data collected from animals caught during 2004, when the population density was very low, were precluded by a small sample size and consequently only examined incidentally to the main growth curves.2. Growth curves demonstrated a significant increase in body mass and body length at age in the 1990s. Asymptotic values of body mass were 12–18% higher in the 1990s than in the 1960s/70s, and asymptotic values for body length were 10–11% higher between the same periods. Data collected in 2004 suggest a continued increase in body size, with nearly all data points for mass and length falling significantly above the 1990s growth curves.3. In addition to larger asymptotic values for mass and length, the rate of growth towards asymptotic values was more rapid in the 1990s than in the 1960s/70s: sea otters reached 95% of asymptotic body mass and body length 1–2 years earlier in the 1990s.4. Body condition (as measured by the log mass/log length ratio) was significantly greater in males than in females. There was also an increasing trend from the 1960s/70s through 2004 despite much year-to-year variation.5. Population age structures differed significantly between the 1960s/70s and the 1990s with the latter distribution skewed toward younger age classes (indicating an altered lxfunction) suggesting almost complete relaxation of age-dependent mortality patterns (i.e. those typical of food-limited populations).6. This study spanned a period of time over which the population status of sea otters in the Aleutian archipelago declined precipitously from levels at or near equilibrium densities at some islands in the 1960s/70s to < 5% of estimated carrying capacity by the late 1990s. The results of this study indicate an improved overall health of sea otters over the period of decline and suggest that limited nutritional resources were not the cause of the observed reduced population abundance. Our findings are consistent with the hypothesis that the decline was caused by increased killer whale predation.

Age-dependent decline and association with stunting of Giardia duodenalis infection among schoolchildren in rural Huye district, Rwanda.

PubMed

Heimer, Jakob; Staudacher, Olga; Steiner, Florian; Kayonga, Yvette; Havugimana, Jean Marie; Musemakweri, Andre; Harms, Gundel; Gahutu, Jean-Bosco; Mockenhaupt, Frank P

2015-05-01

Giardia duodenalis infection is highly prevalent and a cause of underweight in pre-school children in rural Rwanda. The present study aimed at assessing the age-pattern of Giardia infection and its manifestation in older children, i.e., during school age. Stool samples were collected from 622 schoolchildren at two schools in the Huye district of southern Rwanda (rural, 301; urban, 321) and subjected to G. duodenalis specific PCR assays. Clinical and anthropometric data, socio-economic status and factors potentially associated with G. duodenalis infection were assessed. Of the 622 children (mean age, 10.4 years), 35.7% were infected with G. duodenalis (rural, 43.9%; urban, 28.0%; P<0.0001). Only few indicators of low socio-economic status were found to be associated with infection. In rural but not urban schoolchildren, infection prevalence declined significantly with age. G. duodenalis infection more than doubled the odds of stunting in both rural (adjusted OR, 2.35 (95%CI, 1.25-4.41)) and urban children (adjusted OR, 2.27 (95%CI, 1.01-5.09)). In the study area of rural southern Rwanda, G. duodenalis prevalence among children declined throughout school-age. The data suggest that while lacking overt clinical manifestation at high endemicity, G. duodenalis infection is a common cause of stunting in schoolchildren. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Skeletal-related events significantly impact health-related quality of life in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: data from PREVAIL and AFFIRM trials.

PubMed

Saad, F; Ivanescu, C; Phung, D; Loriot, Y; Abhyankar, S; Beer, T M; Tombal, B; Holmstrom, S

2017-03-01

We investigated the impact of skeletal-related events (SREs) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in phase III trials of enzalutamide versus placebo. Patients with mCRPC experiencing at least one SRE during AFFIRM and PREVAIL were assessed for trajectory-adjusted mean change in HRQoL by first SRE using Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate (FACT-P; AFFIRM, three domains, and PREVAIL, nine domains) and EQ-5D (PREVAIL) instruments. First SREs caused HRQoL deterioration in both trials. Spinal cord compression had the largest impact, with clinically meaningful reductions in seven of nine FACT-P domains in PREVAIL and all three in AFFIRM (mean (95% confidence interval (CI)) change in FACT-P total score -16.95 (-26.47, -7.44) and -9.69 (-16.10, -3.27), respectively). In PREVAIL, first SREs caused clinically meaningful declines in EQ-5D utility index, irrespective of category; spinal cord compression had the largest impact (mean (95% CI) change -0.24 (-0.39, -0.08)). In AFFIRM, FACT-P and FACT-General total scores showed clinically meaningful declines after radiation/surgery to bone. SREs were associated with clinically meaningful functional declines in the daily lives of patients with mCRPC. Spinal cord compression had the largest impact on HRQoL.

Identification of the Causal Agent of Shrimp Black Gill in the Coastal Southeast USA

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bassette, M. A.; Verdiyev, R.; Price, A. R.; Walters, T. L.; Landers, S. C.; Walker, A. N.; Geer, P. J.; Frischer, M. E.

2016-02-01

Penaeid shrimp including Litopenaeus setiferus (white shrimp), Farfantepenaeus aztecus (brown shrimp), and Farfantepenaeus duorarum (pink shrimp) support the most valuable commercial fisheries in the US Southeast Atlantic. However, since the mid 1990's the fishery has experienced a significant decline in reported harvest, due in part to declines in fishing effort (both fishing trips and licensed vessels). Another primary cause for this decline, particularly for the fall white shrimp, has been hypothesized to be due to severe outbreaks of a gill infection causing tissue melanization (Black Gill), but the agent of Black Gill has not been identified. Histological and molecular studies indicate the presence of a large ciliate with evidence of gill tissue necrosis and the formation of melanized nodules. Sequencing of nearly the complete 18S rRNA gene of the shrimp Black Gill (sBG) ciliate indicates that it is closely related to the apostomate ciliate Hyalophysa chattoni (99.6% nucleotide similarity). However, electron microscopy studies suggest that the sBG ciliate is not H. chattoni and may not even be an apostome ciliate because it lacks many of the definitive ultra-structural characteristics of this group of ciliates including well-stacked kinetodesmal fibers anchoring their basal bodies (kinetosomes), food plaquettes, trichocysts or an epiplasm. Investigations are continuing to identify definitively the sBG ciliate but these results point to the possible discovery of a new species of ciliate.

Triclosan causes spontaneous abortion accompanied by decline of estrogen sulfotransferase activity in humans and mice.

PubMed

Wang, Xiaoli; Chen, Xiaojiao; Feng, Xuejiao; Chang, Fei; Chen, Minjian; Xia, Yankai; Chen, Ling

2015-12-15

Triclosan (TCS), an antibacterial agent, is identified in serum and urine of humans. Here, we show that the level of urinary TCS in 28.3% patients who had spontaneous abortion in mid-gestation were increased by 11.3-fold (high-TCS) compared with normal pregnancies. Oral administration of TCS (10 mg/kg/day) in mice (TCS mice) caused an equivalent urinary TCS level as those in the high-TCS abortion patients. The TCS-exposure from gestation day (GD) 5.5 caused dose-dependently fetal death during GD12.5-16.5 with decline of live fetal weight. GD15.5 TCS mice appeared placental thrombus and tissue necrosis with enhancement of platelet aggregation. The levels of placenta and plasma estrogen sulfotransferase (EST) mRNA and protein in TCS mice or high-TCS abortion patients were not altered, but their EST activities were significantly reduced compared to controls. Although the levels of serum estrogen (E2) in TCS mice and high-TCS abortion patients had no difference from controls, their ratio of sulfo-conjugated E2 and unconjugated E2 was reduced. The estrogen receptor antagonist ICI-182,780 prevented the enhanced platelet aggregation and placental thrombosis and attenuated the fetal death in TCS mice. The findings indicate that TCS-exposure might cause spontaneous abortion probably through inhibition of EST activity to produce placental thrombosis.

Triclosan causes spontaneous abortion accompanied by decline of estrogen sulfotransferase activity in humans and mice

PubMed Central

Wang, Xiaoli; Chen, Xiaojiao; Feng, Xuejiao; Chang, Fei; Chen, Minjian; Xia, Yankai; Chen, Ling

2015-01-01

Triclosan (TCS), an antibacterial agent, is identified in serum and urine of humans. Here, we show that the level of urinary TCS in 28.3% patients who had spontaneous abortion in mid-gestation were increased by 11.3-fold (high-TCS) compared with normal pregnancies. Oral administration of TCS (10 mg/kg/day) in mice (TCS mice) caused an equivalent urinary TCS level as those in the high-TCS abortion patients. The TCS-exposure from gestation day (GD) 5.5 caused dose-dependently fetal death during GD12.5–16.5 with decline of live fetal weight. GD15.5 TCS mice appeared placental thrombus and tissue necrosis with enhancement of platelet aggregation. The levels of placenta and plasma estrogen sulfotransferase (EST) mRNA and protein in TCS mice or high-TCS abortion patients were not altered, but their EST activities were significantly reduced compared to controls. Although the levels of serum estrogen (E2) in TCS mice and high-TCS abortion patients had no difference from controls, their ratio of sulfo-conjugated E2 and unconjugated E2 was reduced. The estrogen receptor antagonist ICI-182,780 prevented the enhanced platelet aggregation and placental thrombosis and attenuated the fetal death in TCS mice. The findings indicate that TCS-exposure might cause spontaneous abortion probably through inhibition of EST activity to produce placental thrombosis. PMID:26666354

Forests in decline: yellow-cedar research yields prototype for climate change adaptation planning

Treesearch

Marie Oliver; Paul Hennon; David D' Amore

2013-01-01

Yellow-cedar has been dying across 600 miles of North Pacific coastal rain forest—from Alaska to British Columbia—since about 1880. Thirty years ago, a small group of pathologists began investigating possible biotic causes of the decline. When no biotic cause could be found, the scope broadened into a research program that eventually encompassed the fields of ecology,...

Dropping dead: causes and consequences of vulture population declines worldwide.

PubMed

Ogada, Darcy L; Keesing, Felicia; Virani, Munir Z

2012-02-01

Vultures are nature's most successful scavengers, and they provide an array of ecological, economic, and cultural services. As the only known obligate scavengers, vultures are uniquely adapted to a scavenging lifestyle. Vultures' unique adaptations include soaring flight, keen eyesight, and extremely low pH levels in their stomachs. Presently, 14 of 23 (61%) vulture species worldwide are threatened with extinction, and the most rapid declines have occurred in the vulture-rich regions of Asia and Africa. The reasons for the population declines are varied, but poisoning or human persecution, or both, feature in the list of nearly every declining species. Deliberate poisoning of carnivores is likely the most widespread cause of vulture poisoning. In Asia, Gyps vultures have declined by >95% due to poisoning by the veterinary drug diclofenac, which was banned by regional governments in 2006. Human persecution of vultures has occurred for centuries, and shooting and deliberate poisoning are the most widely practiced activities. Ecological consequences of vulture declines include changes in community composition of scavengers at carcasses and an increased potential for disease transmission between mammalian scavengers at carcasses. There have been cultural and economic costs of vulture declines as well, particularly in Asia. In the wake of catastrophic vulture declines in Asia, regional governments, the international scientific and donor communities, and the media have given the crisis substantial attention. Even though the Asian vulture crisis focused attention on the plight of vultures worldwide, the situation for African vultures has received relatively little attention especially given the similar levels of population decline. While the Asian crisis has been largely linked to poisoning by diclofenac, vulture population declines in Africa have numerous causes, which have made conserving existing populations more difficult. And in Africa there has been little government support to conserve vultures despite mounting evidence of the major threats. In other regions with successful vulture conservation programs, a common theme is a huge investment of financial resources and highly skilled personnel, as well as political will and community support. © 2012 New York Academy of Sciences.

Effects of Epoetin Alfa Titration Practices, Implemented After Changes to Product Labeling, on Hemoglobin Levels, Transfusion Use, and Hospitalization Rates.

PubMed

Molony, Julia T; Monda, Keri L; Li, Suying; Beaubrun, Anne C; Gilbertson, David T; Bradbury, Brian D; Collins, Allan J

2016-08-01

Little is known about epoetin alfa (EPO) dosing at dialysis centers after implementation of the US Medicare prospective payment system and revision of the EPO label in 2011. Retrospective cohort study. Approximately 412,000 adult hemodialysis patients with Medicare Parts A and B as primary payer in 2009 to 2012 to describe EPO dosing and hemoglobin patterns; of these, about 70,000 patients clustered in about 1,300 dialysis facilities to evaluate facility-level EPO titration practices and patient-level outcomes in 2012. Facility EPO titration practices when hemoglobin levels were <10 and >11g/dL (grouped treatment variable) determined from monthly EPO dosing and hemoglobin level patterns. Patient mean hemoglobin levels, red blood cell transfusion rates, and all-cause and cause-specific hospitalization rates using a facility-based analysis. Monthly EPO dose and hemoglobin level, red blood cell transfusion rates, and all-cause and cause-specific hospitalization rates. Monthly EPO doses declined across all hemoglobin levels, with the greatest decline in patients with hemoglobin levels < 10g/dL (July-October 2011). In 2012, nine distinct facility titration practices were identified. Across groups, mean hemoglobin levels differed slightly (10.5-10.8g/dL) but within-patient hemoglobin standard deviations were similar (∼0.68g/dL). Patients at facilities implementing greater dose reductions and smaller dose escalations had lower hemoglobin levels and higher transfusion rates. In contrast, patients at facilities that implemented greater dose escalations (and large or small dose reductions) had higher hemoglobin levels and lower transfusion rates. There were no clinically meaningful differences in all-cause or cause-specific hospitalization events across groups. Possibly incomplete claims data; excluded small facilities and those without consistent titration patterns; hemoglobin levels reported monthly; inferred facility practice from observed dosing. Following prospective payment system implementation and labeling revisions, EPO doses declined significantly. Under the new label, facility EPO titration practices were associated with mean hemoglobin levels (but not standard deviations) and transfusion use, but not hospitalization rates. Copyright © 2016 National Kidney Foundation, Inc. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Analytical Versus Numerical Estimates of Water-Level Declines Caused by Pumping, and a Case Study of the Iao Aquifer, Maui, Hawaii

USGS Publications Warehouse

Oki, Delwyn S.; Meyer, William

2001-01-01

Comparisons were made between model-calculated water levels from a one-dimensional analytical model referred to as RAM (Robust Analytical Model) and those from numerical ground-water flow models using a sharp-interface model code. RAM incorporates the horizontal-flow assumption and the Ghyben-Herzberg relation to represent flow in a one-dimensional unconfined aquifer that contains a body of freshwater floating on denser saltwater. RAM does not account for the presence of a low-permeability coastal confining unit (caprock), which impedes the discharge of fresh ground water from the aquifer to the ocean, nor for the spatial distribution of ground-water withdrawals from wells, which is significant because water-level declines are greatest in the vicinity of withdrawal wells. Numerical ground-water flow models can readily account for discharge through a coastal confining unit and for the spatial distribution of ground-water withdrawals from wells. For a given aquifer hydraulic-conductivity value, recharge rate, and withdrawal rate, model-calculated steady-state water-level declines from RAM can be significantly less than those from numerical ground-water flow models. The differences between model-calculated water-level declines from RAM and those from numerical models are partly dependent on the hydraulic properties of the aquifer system and the spatial distribution of ground-water withdrawals from wells. RAM invariably predicts the greatest water-level declines at the inland extent of the aquifer where the freshwater body is thickest and the potential for saltwater intrusion is lowest. For cases in which a low-permeability confining unit overlies the aquifer near the coast, however, water-level declines calculated from numerical models may exceed those from RAM even at the inland extent of the aquifer. Since 1990, RAM has been used by the State of Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management for establishing sustainable-yield values for the State?s aquifers. Data from the Iao aquifer, which lies on the northeastern flank of the West Maui Volcano and which is confined near the coast by caprock, are now available to evaluate the predictive capability of RAM for this system. In 1995 and 1996, withdrawal from the Iao aquifer reached the 20 million gallon per day sustainable-yield value derived using RAM. However, even before 1996, water levels in the aquifer had declined significantly below those predicted by RAM, and continued to decline in 1997. To halt the decline of water levels and to preclude the intrusion of salt-water into the four major well fields in the aquifer, it was necessary to reduce withdrawal from the aquifer system below the sustainable-yield value derived using RAM. In the Iao aquifer, the decline of measured water levels below those predicted by RAM is consistent with the results of the numerical model analysis. Relative to model-calculated water-level declines from numerical ground-water flow models, (1) RAM underestimates water-level declines in areas where a low-permeability confining unit exists, and (2) RAM underestimates water-level declines in the vicinity of withdrawal wells.

Pathways of Leymus chinensis Individual Aboveground Biomass Decline in Natural Semiarid Grassland Induced by Overgrazing: A Study at the Plant Functional Trait Scale

PubMed Central

Wang, Zhen; Wu, Xinhong; Li, Xinle; Hu, Jing; Shi, Hongxiao; Guo, Fenghui; Zhang, Yong; Hou, Xiangyang

2015-01-01

Natural grassland productivity, which is based on an individual plant’s aboveground biomass (AB) and its interaction with herbivores, can obviously affect terrestrial ecosystem services and the grassland’s agricultural production. As plant traits have been linked to both AB and ecosystem success, they may provide a useful approach to understand the changes in individual plants and grassland productivity in response to grazing on a generic level. Unfortunately, the current lack of studies on how plant traits affect AB affected by herbivores leaves a major gap in our understanding of the mechanism of grassland productivity decline. This study, therefore, aims to analyze the paths of overgrazing-induced decline in the individual AB of Leymus chinensis (the dominant species of meadow-steppe grassland in northern China) on a plant functional trait scale. Using a paired-sampling approach, we compared the differences in the functional traits of L. chinensis in long-term grazing-excluded and experimental grazing grassland plots over a continuous period of approximately 20 years (located in meadow steppe lands in Hailar, Inner Mongolia, China). We found a highly significant decline in the individual height and biomass (leaf, stem, and the whole plant) of L. chinensis as a result of overgrazing. Biomass allocation and leaf mass per unit area were significantly affected by the variation in individual size. Grazing clearly enhanced the sensitivity of the leaf-to-stem biomass ratio in response to variation in individual size. Moreover, using a method of standardized major axis estimation, we found that the biomass in the leaves, stems, and the plant as a whole had highly significant allometric scaling with various functional traits. Also, the slopes of the allometric equations of these relationships were significantly altered by grazing. Therefore, a clear implication of this is that grazing promotes an asymmetrical response of different plant functional traits to variation in individual plant size, which influences biomass indirectly. Furthermore, we detected paths of individual AB decline in L. chinensis induced by grazing by fitting to a structural equation model. These results indicate that grazing causes AB decline primarily through a ‘bottom-up’ effect on plant height and stem traits. However, leaf traits, via the process of allometric scaling, affect plant AB indirectly. PMID:25942588

Pathways of Leymus chinensis Individual Aboveground Biomass Decline in Natural Semiarid Grassland Induced by Overgrazing: A Study at the Plant Functional Trait Scale.

PubMed

Li, Xiliang; Liu, Zhiying; Wang, Zhen; Wu, Xinhong; Li, Xinle; Hu, Jing; Shi, Hongxiao; Guo, Fenghui; Zhang, Yong; Hou, Xiangyang

2015-01-01

Natural grassland productivity, which is based on an individual plant's aboveground biomass (AB) and its interaction with herbivores, can obviously affect terrestrial ecosystem services and the grassland's agricultural production. As plant traits have been linked to both AB and ecosystem success, they may provide a useful approach to understand the changes in individual plants and grassland productivity in response to grazing on a generic level. Unfortunately, the current lack of studies on how plant traits affect AB affected by herbivores leaves a major gap in our understanding of the mechanism of grassland productivity decline. This study, therefore, aims to analyze the paths of overgrazing-induced decline in the individual AB of Leymus chinensis (the dominant species of meadow-steppe grassland in northern China) on a plant functional trait scale. Using a paired-sampling approach, we compared the differences in the functional traits of L. chinensis in long-term grazing-excluded and experimental grazing grassland plots over a continuous period of approximately 20 years (located in meadow steppe lands in Hailar, Inner Mongolia, China). We found a highly significant decline in the individual height and biomass (leaf, stem, and the whole plant) of L. chinensis as a result of overgrazing. Biomass allocation and leaf mass per unit area were significantly affected by the variation in individual size. Grazing clearly enhanced the sensitivity of the leaf-to-stem biomass ratio in response to variation in individual size. Moreover, using a method of standardized major axis estimation, we found that the biomass in the leaves, stems, and the plant as a whole had highly significant allometric scaling with various functional traits. Also, the slopes of the allometric equations of these relationships were significantly altered by grazing. Therefore, a clear implication of this is that grazing promotes an asymmetrical response of different plant functional traits to variation in individual plant size, which influences biomass indirectly. Furthermore, we detected paths of individual AB decline in L. chinensis induced by grazing by fitting to a structural equation model. These results indicate that grazing causes AB decline primarily through a 'bottom-up' effect on plant height and stem traits. However, leaf traits, via the process of allometric scaling, affect plant AB indirectly.

Relaxation of risk-sensitive behaviour of prey following disease-induced decline of an apex predator, the Tasmanian devil

PubMed Central

Hollings, Tracey; McCallum, Hamish; Kreger, Kaely; Mooney, Nick; Jones, Menna

2015-01-01

Apex predators structure ecosystems through lethal and non-lethal interactions with prey, and their global decline is causing loss of ecological function. Behavioural changes of prey are some of the most rapid responses to predator decline and may act as an early indicator of cascading effects. The Tasmanian devil (Sarcophilus harrisii), an apex predator, is undergoing progressive and extensive population decline, of more than 90% in long-diseased areas, caused by a novel disease. Time since local disease outbreak correlates with devil population declines and thus predation risk. We used hair traps and giving-up densities (GUDs) in food patches to test whether a major prey species of devils, the arboreal common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula), is responsive to the changing risk of predation when they forage on the ground. Possums spend more time on the ground, discover food patches faster and forage more to a lower GUD with increasing years since disease outbreak and greater devil population decline. Loss of top–down effects of devils with respect to predation risk was evident at 90% devil population decline, with possum behaviour indistinguishable from a devil-free island. Alternative predators may help to maintain risk-sensitive anti-predator behaviours in possums while devil populations remain low. PMID:26085584

Avian population consequences of climate change are most severe for long-distance migrants in seasonal habitats.

PubMed

Both, Christiaan; Van Turnhout, Chris A M; Bijlsma, Rob G; Siepel, Henk; Van Strien, Arco J; Foppen, Ruud P B

2010-04-22

One consequence of climate change is an increasing mismatch between timing of food requirements and food availability. Such a mismatch is primarily expected in avian long-distance migrants because of their complex annual cycle, and in habitats with a seasonal food peak. Here we show that insectivorous long-distance migrant species in The Netherlands declined strongly (1984-2004) in forests, a habitat characterized by a short spring food peak, but that they did not decline in less seasonal marshes. Also, within generalist long-distance migrant species, populations declined more strongly in forests than in marshes. Forest-inhabiting migrant species arriving latest in spring declined most sharply, probably because their mismatch with the peak in food supply is greatest. Residents and short-distance migrants had non-declining populations in both habitats, suggesting that habitat quality did not deteriorate. Habitat-related differences in trends were most probably caused by climate change because at a European scale, long-distance migrants in forests declined more severely in western Europe, where springs have become considerably warmer, when compared with northern Europe, where temperatures during spring arrival and breeding have increased less. Our results suggest that trophic mismatches may have become a major cause for population declines in long-distance migrants in highly seasonal habitats.

Changing rates and patterns of drug resistance mutations in antiretroviral-experienced HIV-infected patients.

PubMed

de Mendoza, Carmen; Garrido, Carolina; Corral, Angelica; Ramírez-Olivencia, German; Jiménez-Nacher, Inmaculada; Zahonero, Natalia; Gonzalez-Lahoz, Juan; Soriano, Vincent

2007-07-01

Surveillance of drug resistance mutations in antiretroviral-experienced HIV(+) patients may provide useful information regarding options available for rescue interventions. All resistance tests performed from 1999 to 2005 on antiretroviral-experienced individuals at one reference laboratory in Madrid were examined. Only mutations associated with drug resistance recorded at the September 2006 IAS-USA list were considered. A total of 2137 specimens were analyzed. Overall, 71.1% showed resistance mutations to at least one drug class, 56.1% to at least two, and 21% to all three drug families. Resistance mutations were 65% for NRTI, 44.4% for NNRTI, and 42.5% for PI. Mutations T215Y/F, M184V, and M41L were the most frequent for NRTI. Their rate significantly declined since 1999. K65R significantly increased since 1999 (0.8%) to 2003 (7.3%) but declined up to 3.3% in 2005. For NNRTI, K103N significantly increased from 21.8% in 1999 to 29.5% in 2005 (p < 0.01). The most frequent PI resistance mutations were L90M (24.3%), V82X (19.9%), M46I/L (19.5%), and I54V (17.1%). The presence of five or more was 58.8% in 1999 but declined to 22.2% in 2005. The rate of drug resistance mutations causing NRTI and PI resistance has steadily declined in antiretroviral-experienced patients since 1999. The availability of a large number and/or more convenient NRTI as well as the wide use of ritonavir-boosted PI could explain these observations. However, broad PI cross-resistance was seen in nearly 25% of antiretroviral-experienced patients in 2005. Therefore, there is a still need for new antiretrovirals with different resistance profiles.

Recent trends in mortality in Australia--an analysis of the causes of death through the application of life table techniques.

PubMed

Jain, S K

1992-05-01

"The paper examines the post-1971 reduction in Australian mortality in light of data on causes of death. Multiple-decrement life tables for eleven leading causes of death by sex are calculated and the incidence of each cause of death is presented in terms of the values of the life table functions. The study found that in the overall decline in mortality over the last 20 years significant changes occurred in the contribution of the various causes to total mortality.... The sex-age-cause-specific incidence of mortality changed and the median age at death increased for all causes except for deaths due to motor-vehicle accidents for both sexes and suicide for males. The paper also deciphers the gains in the expectation of life at birth over various time periods and the sex-differentials in the expectation of life at birth at a point in time in terms of the contributions made by the various sex-age-cause-specific mortality rates." excerpt

Demography and decline of the Mentasta Caribou Herd, Alaska

USGS Publications Warehouse

Jenkins, Kurt J.; Barten, Neil L.

2005-01-01

We evaluated population trends in the Mentasta caribou (Rangifer tarandus (L., 1758)) herd in Wrangell a?? St. Elias National Park and Preserve, Alaska, from 1990 to 1997 and determined factors contributing to its decline. We postulated that predation-related mortality of adult females and juveniles was the proximate cause of the decline, and that survival of juvenile caribou reflected interactions with winter severity, calving distribution, timing of births, density of caribou, and physical condition of neonates at birth. The population declined at its greatest rate from 1990 to 1993 (r = a??0.32) and at a lower rate from 1994 to 1997 (r = a??0.09). Recruitment (number of calves/100 females during September) averaged 4/100 during the rapid population decline from 1990 to 1993 and 13/100 from 1994 to 1997. Parturition rate of adult females ranged from 65% to 97%. Survival of adult females and juveniles ranged from 0.77 to 0.86 and from 0.00 to 0.22, respectively. Approximately 43%, 59%, and 79% of all juvenile mortality occurred by 1, 2, and 4 weeks of age, respectively. We confirmed predation-related mortality as the primary proximate cause of population decline, with gray wolves (Canis lupus L., 1758), bears (species of the genus Ursus L., 1758), and other predators accounting for 57%, 38%, and 5%, respectively, of all juvenile mortality, and bears causing disproportionate mortality among 0- to 1-week-old neonates. We supported the hypotheses that timing of birth and habitat conditions at the birth site, particularly mottled snow patterns, affected vulnerability and survival of neonates, and birth mass affected survival of juveniles through summer. We speculate that the population will continue to decline before reaching a low-density equilibrium that is sustained by density-dependent changes in the functional responses of predators.

Age-associated changes in cardiovascular structure and function: a fertile milieu for future disease

PubMed Central

Strait, James

2015-01-01

Important changes occur in the cardiovascular system with advancing age, even in apparently healthy individuals. Thickening and stiffening of the large arteries develop due to collagen and calcium deposition and loss of elastic fibers in the medial layer. These arterial changes cause systolic blood pressure to rise with age, while diastolic blood pressure generally declines after the sixth decade. In the left ventricle, modest concentric wall thickening occurs due to cellular hypertrophy, but cavity size does not change. Although left ventricular systolic function is preserved across the age span, early diastolic filling rate declines 30–50% between the third and ninth decades. Conversely, an age-associated increase in late diastolic filling due to atrial contraction preserves end-diastolic volume. Aerobic exercise capacity declines approximately 10% per decade in cross-sectional studies; in longitudinal studies, however, this decline is accelerated in the elderly. Reductions in peak heart rate and peripheral oxygen utilization but not stroke volume appear to mediate the age-associated decline in aerobic capacity. Deficits in both cardiac b-adrenergic receptor density and in the efficiency of postsynaptic b-adrenergic signaling contribute significantly to the reduced cardiovascular performance during exercise in older adults. Although these cardiovascular aging changes are considered “normative”, they lower the threshold for the development of cardiovascular disease, which affects the majority of older adults. PMID:21809160

Detection and effects of harmful algal toxins in Scottish harbour seals and potential links to population decline.

PubMed

Jensen, Silje-Kristin; Lacaze, Jean-Pierre; Hermann, Guillaume; Kershaw, Joanna; Brownlow, Andrew; Turner, Andrew; Hall, Ailsa

2015-04-01

Over the past 15 years or so, several Scottish harbour seal (Phoca vitulina) populations have declined in abundance and several factors have been considered as possible causes, including toxins from harmful algae. Here we explore whether a link could be established between two groups of toxins, domoic acid (DA) and saxitoxins (STXs), and the decline in the harbour seal populations in Scotland. We document the first evidence that harbour seals are exposed to both DA and STXs from consuming contaminated fish. Both groups of toxins were found in urine and faeces sampled from live captured (n = 162) and stranded animals (n = 23) and in faecal samples collected from seal haul-out sites (n = 214) between 2008 and 2013. The proportion of positive samples and the toxins levels measured in the excreta were significantly higher in areas where harbour seal abundance is in decline. There is also evidence that DA has immunomodulatory effects in harbour seals, including lymphocytopenia and monocytosis. Scottish harbour seals are exposed to DA and STXs through contaminated prey at potentially lethal levels and with this evidence we suggest that exposure to these toxins are likely to be important factors driving the harbour seal decline in some regions of Scotland. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Assessing the economic burden of Alzheimer's disease patients first diagnosed by specialists.

PubMed

Kirson, Noam Y; Desai, Urvi; Ristovska, Ljubica; Cummings, Alice Kate G; Birnbaum, Howard G; Ye, Wenyu; Andrews, J Scott; Ball, Daniel; Kahle-Wrobleski, Kristin

2016-07-11

It is not known if there is a differential impact on Alzheimer's disease (AD) diagnosis and outcomes if/when patients are diagnosed with cognitive decline by specialists versus non-specialists. This study examined the cost trajectories of Medicare beneficiaries initially diagnosed by specialists compared to similar patients who received their diagnosis in primary care settings. Patients with ≥2 claims for AD were selected from de-identified administrative claims data for US Medicare beneficiaries (5 % random sample). The earliest observed diagnosis of cognitive decline served as the index date. Patients were required to have continuous Medicare coverage for ≥12 months pre-index (baseline) and ≥12 months following the first AD diagnosis, allowing for up to 3 years from index to AD diagnosis. Time from index date to AD diagnosis was compared between those diagnosed by specialists (i.e., neurologist, psychiatrist, or geriatrician) versus non-specialists using Kaplan-Meier analyses with log-rank tests. Patient demographics, Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) during baseline, and annual all-cause medical costs (reimbursed by Medicare) in baseline and follow-up periods were compared across propensity-score matched cohorts. Patients first diagnosed with cognitive decline by specialists (n = 2593) were younger (78.8 versus 80.8 years old), more likely to be male (40 % versus 34 %), and had higher CCI scores and higher medical costs at baseline than those diagnosed by non-specialists (n = 13,961). However, patients diagnosed by specialists had a significantly shorter time to AD diagnosis, both before and after matching (mean [after matching]: 3.5 versus 4.6 months, p < 0.0001). In addition, patients diagnosed by specialists had significantly lower average total all-cause medical costs in the first 12 months after their index date, a finding that persisted after matching ($19,824 versus $25,863, p < 0.0001). Total per-patient annual medical costs were similar for the two groups starting in the second year post-index. Before and after matching, patients diagnosed by a specialist had a shorter time to AD diagnosis and incurred lower costs in the year following the initial cognitive decline diagnosis. Differences in costs converged during subsequent years. This suggests that seeking care from specialists may yield more timely diagnosis, appropriate care and reduced costs among those with cognitive decline.

Rate of Change in Renal Function and Mortality in Elderly Treated Hypertensive Patients

PubMed Central

Langham, Robyn G.; Ademi, Zanfina; Owen, Alice; Krum, Henry; Wing, Lindon M.H.; Nelson, Mark R.; Reid, Christopher M.

2015-01-01

Background and objectives Evidence relating the rate of change in renal function, measured as eGFR, after antihypertensive treatment in elderly patients to clinical outcome is sparse. This study characterized the rate of change in eGFR after commencement of antihypertensive treatment in an elderly population, the factors associated with eGFR rate change, and the rate’s association with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Design, setting, participants, & measurements Data from the Second Australian National Blood Pressure study were used, where 6083 hypertensive participants aged ≥65 years were enrolled during 1995–1997 and followed for a median of 4.1 years (in-trial). Following the Second Australian National Blood Pressure study, participants were followed-up for a further median 6.9 years (post-trial). The annual rate of change in the eGFR was calculated in 4940 participants using creatinine measurements during the in-trial period and classified into quintiles (Q) on the basis of the following eGFR changes: rapid decline (Q1), decline (Q2), stable (Q3), increase (Q4), and rapid increase (Q5). Results A rapid decline in eGFR in comparison with those with stable eGFRs during the in-trial period was associated with older age, living in a rural area, wider pulse pressure at baseline, receiving diuretic-based therapy, taking multiple antihypertensive drugs, and having blood pressure <140/90 mmHg during the study. However, a rapid increase in eGFR was observed in younger women and those with a higher cholesterol level. After adjustment for baseline and in-trial covariates, Cox-proportional hazard models showed a significantly greater risk for both all-cause (hazard ratio, 1.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.09 to 1.52; P=0.003) and cardiovascular (hazard ratio, 1.40; 95% confidence interval, 1.11 to 1.76; P=0.004) mortality in the rapid decline group compared with the stable group over a median of 7.2 years after the last eGFR measure. No significant association with mortality was observed for a rapid increase in eGFR. Conclusions In elderly persons with treated hypertension, a rapid decline in eGFR is associated with a higher risk of mortality. PMID:25901093

Rate of change in renal function and mortality in elderly treated hypertensive patients.

PubMed

Chowdhury, Enayet K; Langham, Robyn G; Ademi, Zanfina; Owen, Alice; Krum, Henry; Wing, Lindon M H; Nelson, Mark R; Reid, Christopher M

2015-07-07

Evidence relating the rate of change in renal function, measured as eGFR, after antihypertensive treatment in elderly patients to clinical outcome is sparse. This study characterized the rate of change in eGFR after commencement of antihypertensive treatment in an elderly population, the factors associated with eGFR rate change, and the rate's association with all-cause and cardiovascular mortality. Data from the Second Australian National Blood Pressure study were used, where 6083 hypertensive participants aged ≥65 years were enrolled during 1995-1997 and followed for a median of 4.1 years (in-trial). Following the Second Australian National Blood Pressure study, participants were followed-up for a further median 6.9 years (post-trial). The annual rate of change in the eGFR was calculated in 4940 participants using creatinine measurements during the in-trial period and classified into quintiles (Q) on the basis of the following eGFR changes: rapid decline (Q1), decline (Q2), stable (Q3), increase (Q4), and rapid increase (Q5). A rapid decline in eGFR in comparison with those with stable eGFRs during the in-trial period was associated with older age, living in a rural area, wider pulse pressure at baseline, receiving diuretic-based therapy, taking multiple antihypertensive drugs, and having blood pressure <140/90 mmHg during the study. However, a rapid increase in eGFR was observed in younger women and those with a higher cholesterol level. After adjustment for baseline and in-trial covariates, Cox-proportional hazard models showed a significantly greater risk for both all-cause (hazard ratio, 1.28; 95% confidence interval, 1.09 to 1.52; P=0.003) and cardiovascular (hazard ratio, 1.40; 95% confidence interval, 1.11 to 1.76; P=0.004) mortality in the rapid decline group compared with the stable group over a median of 7.2 years after the last eGFR measure. No significant association with mortality was observed for a rapid increase in eGFR. In elderly persons with treated hypertension, a rapid decline in eGFR is associated with a higher risk of mortality. Copyright © 2015 by the American Society of Nephrology.

Is Marriage Delay a Multiphasic Response to Pressures for Fertility Decline? The Case of Sri Lanka.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Caldwell, John; And Others

1989-01-01

Investigated causes for rise in female age of marriage in Sri Lanka, studying 10,964 persons from 1,974 households. Found that rise in marriage age was not primarily a response to social pressure for fertility decline, but rather a result of urbanization, higher levels of education, unemployment, and consequent decline in parentally arranged early…

Sugarberry Dieback and Mortality in Southern Louisiana: Cause, Impact, and Prognosis

Treesearch

J.D. Solomon; A. Dan Wilson; Theodor D. Leininger; D.G. Lester; C.S. McCasland; S. Clarke; C. Affeltranger

1997-01-01

A sudden widespread decline of sugarberry trees (Celfis laevigufu) was observed in southern Louisiana during the period between the early fall of 1988 and spring of 1990. Approximately 3 million acres or 5,000 square miles of forested lands were affected by the decline. In addition, sporadic reports of sugarberry decline also were reported at numerous locations in...

Monitoring for pests and diseases in native oak woodlands: the case of acute oak decline in the United Kingdom

Treesearch

Nathan Brown; Stephen Parnell; Frank van den Bosch; Mike Jeger; Sandra Denman

2017-01-01

In recent years, a novel form of decline has been observed in southern and central England. This syndrome has been termed acute oak decline (AOD) and affects native oak, Quercus petraea and Q. robur. Typical symptoms include bark cracks that weep dark exudates, which are caused by necrotic patches in the...

California's Youth and Young Adult Arrest Rates Continue a Historic Decline. Fact Sheet

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Males, Mike

2016-01-01

This Center on Juvenile and Criminal Justice (CJCJ) fact sheet shows that, in 2015, arrests of young people under age 25 dropped below 2014 levels and continue a decades-long trend of decline. While the causes of these declines are unknown, falling youth arrests rates coupled with decreased youth incarceration suggest that high rates of…

Hypokalemia and agitation in acute psychotic patients.

PubMed

Hatta, K; Takahashi, T; Nakamura, H; Yamashiro, H; Asukai, N; Yonezawa, Y

1999-04-19

Hypokalemia is caused partly by intensive exercise. Some evidence suggests that psychological distress may cause hypokalemia. The relationship between the decline of serum potassium concentration and the level of symptoms of acute agitation, which was defined as a total score on a subset of six categories on the 18-item Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (anxiety, tension, mannerism and posturing, hostility, uncooperativeness, psychomotor excitement), was examined in 313 schizophrenic men, admitted on an emergency basis during a 24-month period. In addition, change in serum potassium concentration after sedation was investigated. Serum potassium concentration in the severely agitated group was lower than that in the mild group. There was a significant correlation between serum potassium concentration and the level of symptoms of acute agitation (r = -0.30, P < 0.0001). Although the decline of serum potassium concentration in the patients who were sufficiently sedated improved within 8 h, that in the patients showing high scores on the acute agitation subset even 8 h after emergency admission was prolonged. Results indicate that sedation improves acute agitation-induced hypokalemia. rights

UV-B Radiation Contributes to Amphibian Population Declines

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Blaustein, Andrew

2007-05-01

UV-B (280-315 nm) radiation is the most significant biologically damaging radiation at the terrestrial surface. At the organismal level, UV-B radiation can slow growth rates, cause immune dysfunction and result in sublethal damage. UV-B radiation can lead to mutations and cell death. Over evolutionary time, UV radiation has been an important stressor on living organisms. Natural events, including impacts from comets and asteroids, volcanic activity, supernova explosions and solar flares, can cause large-scale ozone depletion with accompanying increases in UV radiation. However, these natural events are transient. Moreover, the amount of ozone damage due to natural events depends upon a number of variables, including the magnitude of the event. This is different from modern-day human-induced production of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other chemicals that deplete stratospheric ozone continuously, resulting in long-term increases in UV-B radiation at the surface of the earth. We will briefly review the effects of UV-B exposure in one group of aquatic organisms_amphibians. UV-B has been implicated as a possible factor contributing to global declines and range reductions in amphibian populations.

Suicide in Canada

PubMed Central

McFaull, Steven; Rhodes, Anne E.; Bowes, Matthew; Rockett, Ian R. H.

2016-01-01

Objective: The aim of this study is to compare Canadian suicide rates with other external causes of death to examine potential poisoning misclassifications as a contributor to suicide underreporting. Method: The study used Statistics Canada mortality data from 2000 to 2011 to calculate sex-and age-specific ratios by external cause of injury codes. Results: The overall Canadian suicide rate, as well as the poisoning suicide rate, declined over the study timeframe by an average annual percentage change (AAPC) of 1.0% each year. However, unintentional and undetermined poisonings increased significantly during the timeframe. Unintentional poisoning mortality (primarily narcotics and hallucinogens, including opioids) increased in proportion to suicides for both sexes, although females were consistently higher. The undetermined death to suicide ratio was higher and increasing for females. Poisonings of undetermined intent increased over time to comprise 47% to 80% of the undetermined death category for males and females combined. Conclusions: Canadian poisoning suicide rates declined, in contrast to rising unintentional and undetermined poisoning mortality rates. This trend is similar to that of the United States, supporting the hypothesis that misclassification of poisoning deaths may also be an issue in Canada.

Impact of livestock grazing on abundance of Miridae and Reduviidae (Hemiptera) in crested wheatgrass pastures.

PubMed

O'Neill, Kevin M; Blodgett, Sue; Olson, Bret E; Miller, Richard S

2008-04-01

Miridae of the genera Labops and Irbisia, collectively referred to as "black grass bugs," can cause significant damage to wheatgrasses (Poaceae) of several genera on western North American rangeland. Another mirid in the same area, Capsus cinctus (Kolenati), causes damage to bluegrass (Poa spp.). Previous studies suggest that grazing management may reduce mirid populations on rangeland by eliminating preferred oviposition sites and reducing accumulations of litter that provide diurnal refuges for nymphs. We tested the hypothesis that grazing reduces mirid populations, along with those of Reduviidae, during a controlled grazing experiment. Densities of mirids and reduviids declined with increasing intensity of grazing, even though grazing occurred after the peak of mirid abundance each year. This suggests that declines in hemipteran densities resulted from grazing that occurred during previous years, perhaps because the most heavily grazed plots had the least plant litter. The results further confirm that grazing has the potential to control black grass bug populations, although the benefits could be potentially offset by negative impacts on beneficial insects such as reduviids.

The evidence for non-typeable Haemophilus influenzae as a causative agent of childhood pneumonia.

PubMed

Slack, Mary P E

2017-01-01

Haemophilus influenzae type b (Hib) was a major cause of bacterial pneumonia in children prior to the introduction of Hib-conjugate vaccines. The widespread use of Hib-conjugate vaccines has resulted in a significant decline in the number of cases of invasive Hib disease, including bacteraemic pneumonia, in areas where the vaccine has been implemented. In many countries, non-typeable H. influenzae (NTHI) is now the most common cause of invasive haemophilus infection in all ages. NTHI are a recognized cause of bacteraemic and non-bacteraemic pneumonia in children and in adults. Less than 10% of cases of pediatric pneumonia are bacteraemic, and children generally do not expectorate lower respiratory tract secretions, so determining the microbial cause of a non-bacteraemic pneumonia is challenging. In this commentary the evidence that NTHI is a cause of pneumonia in children is briefly reviewed.

Preferential Elimination of Older Erythrocytes in Circulation and Depressed Bone Marrow Erythropoietic Activity Contribute to Cadmium Induced Anemia in Mice

PubMed Central

Chatterjee, Sreoshi; Saxena, Rajiv K.

2015-01-01

Feeding cadmium chloride (50 or 1000 ppm CdCl2 in drinking water, ad libitum) to C57BL/6 mice resulted in a significant and sustained fall in blood erythrocyte count and hemoglobin levels that started 4 and 3 weeks after the start of 50 and 1000 ppm cadmium doses respectively. A transient yet significant reticulocytosis occurred during the first 4 weeks of cadmium treatment. Using the recently developed double in vivo biotinylation (DIB) technique, turnover of erythrocyte cohorts of different age groups was simultaneously monitored in control and cadmium treated mice. A significant accumulation of younger erythrocytes and a concomitant decline in the relative proportions of older erythrocytes in circulation was observed in both 50 and 1000 ppm cadmium groups indicating that older erythrocytes were preferentially eliminated in cadmium induced anemia. A significant increase in the erythropoietin levels in plasma was seen in mice exposed to 1000 ppm cadmium. Levels of inflammatory cytokines (IL1A, IL6, TNFα, IFNγ) were however not significantly altered in cadmium treated mice. A significant increase in cellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS) was observed in older erythrocytes in circulation but not in younger erythrocytes. Erythropoietic activity in the bone marrows and spleens of cadmium treated mice was examined by monitoring the relative proportion of cells belonging to the erythroid line of differentiation in these organs. Erythroid cells in bone marrow declined markedly (about 30%) in mice in the 1000 ppm cadmium group but the decline was not significant in the 50 ppm cadmium group. Cells representing various stages of erythroid differentiation in bone marrow and spleen were enumerated flow cytometrically by double staining with anti-Ter119 and anti-transferrin receptor (CD71) monoclonal antibodies. Decline of erythroid cells was essentially confined to pro-erythroblast and erythroblast-A, along with a concurrent increase in the splenic erythroid population indicating a stress response. In short cadmium exposure causes preferential clearance of older erythrocytes from circulation along with a depressed erythropoietic activity at higher doses. PMID:26161863

Deviation from expected cognitive ability across psychotic disorders.

PubMed

Hochberger, W C; Combs, T; Reilly, J L; Bishop, J R; Keefe, R S E; Clementz, B A; Keshavan, M S; Pearlson, G D; Tamminga, C A; Hill, S K; Sweeney, J A

2018-02-01

Patients with schizophrenia show a deficit in cognitive ability compared to estimated premorbid and familial intellectual abilities. However, the degree to which this pattern holds across psychotic disorders and is familial is unclear. The present study examined deviation from expected cognitive level in schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and psychotic bipolar disorder probands and their first-degree relatives. Using a norm-based regression approach, parental education and WRAT-IV Reading scores (both significant predictors of cognitive level in the healthy control group) were used to predict global neuropsychological function as measured by the composite score from the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS) test in probands and relatives. When compared to healthy control group, psychotic probands showed a significant gap between observed and predicted BACS composite scores and a greater likelihood of robust cognitive decline. This effect was not seen in unaffected relatives. While BACS and WRAT-IV Reading scores were themselves highly familial, the decline in cognitive function from expectation had lower estimates of familiality. Thus, illness-related factors such as epigenetic, treatment, or pathophysiological factors may be important causes of illness related decline in cognitive abilities across psychotic disorders. This is consistent with the markedly greater level of cognitive impairment seen in affected individuals compared to their unaffected family members. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Maintaining high autopsy rates in a Canadian blood and marrow transplant program: preserving a diagnostic and research tool.

PubMed

Allan, D S; Bélanger, R; Busque, L; Cohen, S; Fish, D; Roy, D C; Roy, J

2005-04-01

Autopsy series have revealed patterns of injury in graft-versus-host disease and provided insight into infectious and toxic complications following hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). Overall autopsy rates have declined significantly in recent decades including specialized services such as neonatal medicine and cardiac care. However, rates of post-mortem exams at HSCT centers have not been specifically documented. We reviewed hospital records between 1992 and 2002 to determine overall autopsy rates at our hospital and within the HSCT program. Although the overall autopsy rate declined steadily from 24% in 1992 to 9% in 2002, rates of post-mortem exams in the HSCT program remained relatively stable at 32% (24-46%). Autopsy rates were not significantly different for recipients of allogeneic vs autologous transplants and no clear difference was observed for the proportion of autopsies requested on weekdays compared with weekends. Autopsies confirmed major clinical diagnoses and/or suspected causes of death in 45 of 61 autopsies (74%) and yielded major or minor disagreements in clinical diagnosis in 10 cases (16%) and seven cases (11%), respectively. The preservation of high rates of autopsy within our HSCT program demonstrates that specialized programs are able to maintain elevated rates of post-mortem examinations despite overall declining rates.

The global burden of injury: incidence, mortality, disability-adjusted life years and time trends from the Global Burden of Disease study 2013

PubMed Central

Haagsma, Juanita A; Graetz, Nicholas; Bolliger, Ian; Naghavi, Mohsen; Higashi, Hideki; Mullany, Erin C; Abera, Semaw Ferede; Abraham, Jerry Puthenpurakal; Adofo, Koranteng; Alsharif, Ubai; Ameh, Emmanuel A; Ammar, Walid; Antonio, Carl Abelardo T; Barrero, Lope H; Bekele, Tolesa; Bose, Dipan; Brazinova, Alexandra; Catalá-López, Ferrán; Dandona, Lalit; Dandona, Rakhi; Dargan, Paul I; De Leo, Diego; Degenhardt, Louisa; Derrett, Sarah; Dharmaratne, Samath D; Driscoll, Tim R; Duan, Leilei; Petrovich Ermakov, Sergey; Farzadfar, Farshad; Feigin, Valery L; Gabbe, Belinda; Gosselin, Richard A; Hafezi-Nejad, Nima; Hamadeh, Randah Ribhi; Hijar, Martha; Hu, Guoqing; Jayaraman, Sudha P; Jiang, Guohong; Khader, Yousef Saleh; Khan, Ejaz Ahmad; Krishnaswami, Sanjay; Kulkarni, Chanda; Lecky, Fiona E; Leung, Ricky; Lunevicius, Raimundas; Lyons, Ronan Anthony; Majdan, Marek; Mason-Jones, Amanda J; Matzopoulos, Richard; Meaney, Peter A; Mekonnen, Wubegzier; Miller, Ted R; Mock, Charles N; Norman, Rosana E; Polinder, Suzanne; Pourmalek, Farshad; Rahimi-Movaghar, Vafa; Refaat, Amany; Rojas-Rueda, David; Roy, Nobhojit; Schwebel, David C; Shaheen, Amira; Shahraz, Saeid; Skirbekk, Vegard; Søreide, Kjetil; Soshnikov, Sergey; Stein, Dan J; Sykes, Bryan L; Tabb, Karen M; Temesgen, Awoke Misganaw; Tenkorang, Eric Yeboah; Theadom, Alice M; Tran, Bach Xuan; Vasankari, Tommi J; Vavilala, Monica S; Vlassov, Vasiliy Victorovich; Woldeyohannes, Solomon Meseret; Yip, Paul; Yonemoto, Naohiro; Younis, Mustafa Z; Yu, Chuanhua; Murray, Christopher J L; Vos, Theo

2016-01-01

Background The Global Burden of Diseases (GBD), Injuries, and Risk Factors study used the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) to quantify the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. This paper provides an overview of injury estimates from the 2013 update of GBD, with detailed information on incidence, mortality, DALYs and rates of change from 1990 to 2013 for 26 causes of injury, globally, by region and by country. Methods Injury mortality was estimated using the extensive GBD mortality database, corrections for ill-defined cause of death and the cause of death ensemble modelling tool. Morbidity estimation was based on inpatient and outpatient data sets, 26 cause-of-injury and 47 nature-of-injury categories, and seven follow-up studies with patient-reported long-term outcome measures. Results In 2013, 973 million (uncertainty interval (UI) 942 to 993) people sustained injuries that warranted some type of healthcare and 4.8 million (UI 4.5 to 5.1) people died from injuries. Between 1990 and 2013 the global age-standardised injury DALY rate decreased by 31% (UI 26% to 35%). The rate of decline in DALY rates was significant for 22 cause-of-injury categories, including all the major injuries. Conclusions Injuries continue to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the developed and developing world. The decline in rates for almost all injuries is so prominent that it warrants a general statement that the world is becoming a safer place to live in. However, the patterns vary widely by cause, age, sex, region and time and there are still large improvements that need to be made. PMID:26635210

Contribution of H. pylori and smoking trends to US incidence of intestinal-type noncardia gastric adenocarcinoma: a microsimulation model.

PubMed

Yeh, Jennifer M; Hur, Chin; Schrag, Deb; Kuntz, Karen M; Ezzati, Majid; Stout, Natasha; Ward, Zachary; Goldie, Sue J

2013-01-01

Although gastric cancer has declined dramatically in the US, the disease remains the second leading cause of cancer mortality worldwide. A better understanding of reasons for the decline can provide important insights into effective preventive strategies. We sought to estimate the contribution of risk factor trends on past and future intestinal-type noncardia gastric adenocarcinoma (NCGA) incidence. We developed a population-based microsimulation model of intestinal-type NCGA and calibrated it to US epidemiologic data on precancerous lesions and cancer. The model explicitly incorporated the impact of Helicobacter pylori and smoking on disease natural history, for which birth cohort-specific trends were derived from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) and National Health Interview Survey (NHIS). Between 1978 and 2008, the model estimated that intestinal-type NCGA incidence declined 60% from 11.0 to 4.4 per 100,000 men, <3% discrepancy from national statistics. H. pylori and smoking trends combined accounted for 47% (range = 30%-58%) of the observed decline. With no tobacco control, incidence would have declined only 56%, suggesting that lower smoking initiation and higher cessation rates observed after the 1960s accelerated the relative decline in cancer incidence by 7% (range = 0%-21%). With continued risk factor trends, incidence is projected to decline an additional 47% between 2008 and 2040, the majority of which will be attributable to H. pylori and smoking (81%; range = 61%-100%). Limitations include assuming all other risk factors influenced gastric carcinogenesis as one factor and restricting the analysis to men. Trends in modifiable risk factors explain a significant proportion of the decline of intestinal-type NCGA incidence in the US, and are projected to continue. Although past tobacco control efforts have hastened the decline, full benefits will take decades to be realized, and further discouragement of smoking and reduction of H. pylori should be priorities for gastric cancer control efforts.

Decline in Cardiovascular Mortality: Possible Causes and Implications.

PubMed

Mensah, George A; Wei, Gina S; Sorlie, Paul D; Fine, Lawrence J; Rosenberg, Yves; Kaufmann, Peter G; Mussolino, Michael E; Hsu, Lucy L; Addou, Ebyan; Engelgau, Michael M; Gordon, David

2017-01-20

If the control of infectious diseases was the public health success story of the first half of the 20th century, then the decline in mortality from coronary heart disease and stroke has been the success story of the century's past 4 decades. The early phase of this decline in coronary heart disease and stroke was unexpected and controversial when first reported in the mid-1970s, having followed 60 years of gradual increase as the US population aged. However, in 1978, the participants in a conference convened by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute concluded that a significant recent downtick in coronary heart disease and stroke mortality rates had definitely occurred, at least in the US Since 1978, a sharp decline in mortality rates from coronary heart disease and stroke has become unmistakable throughout the industrialized world, with age-adjusted mortality rates having declined to about one third of their 1960s baseline by 2000. Models have shown that this remarkable decline has been fueled by rapid progress in both prevention and treatment, including precipitous declines in cigarette smoking, improvements in hypertension treatment and control, widespread use of statins to lower circulating cholesterol levels, and the development and timely use of thrombolysis and stents in acute coronary syndrome to limit or prevent infarction. However, despite the huge growth in knowledge and advances in prevention and treatment, there remain many questions about this decline. In fact, there is evidence that the rate of decline may have abated and may even be showing early signs of reversal in some population groups. The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, through a request for information, is soliciting input that could inform a follow-up conference on or near the 40th anniversary of the original landmark conference to further explore these trends in cardiovascular mortality in the context of what has come before and what may lie ahead. © 2017 American Heart Association, Inc.

Decline in Cardiovascular Mortality: Possible Causes and Implications

PubMed Central

Mensah, George A.; Wei, Gina S.; Sorlie, Paul D.; Fine, Lawrence J.; Rosenberg, Yves; Kaufmann, Peter G.; Mussolino, Michael E.; Hsu, Lucy L.; Addou, Ebyan; Engelgau, Michael M.; Gordon, David

2016-01-01

If the control of infectious diseases was the public health success story of the first half of the 20th century, then the decline in mortality from coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke has been the success story of the century’s last 4 decades. The early phase of this decline in CHD and stroke was unexpected and controversial when first reported in the mid-1970s, having followed 60 years of gradual increase as the U.S. population aged. However, in 1978 the participants in a conference convened by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) concluded that a significant recent downtick in CHD and stroke mortality rates had definitely occurred, at least in the U.S. Since 1978, a sharp decline in mortality rates from CHD and stroke has become unmistakable throughout the industrialized world, with age-adjusted mortality rates having declined to about one-third of their 1960s baseline by 2000. Models have shown that this remarkable decline has been fueled by rapid progress in both prevention and treatment, including precipitous declines in cigarette smoking, improvements in hypertension treatment and control, widespread use of statins to lower circulating cholesterol levels, and the development and timely use of thrombolysis and stents in acute coronary syndrome to limit or prevent infarction. However, despite the huge growth in knowledge and advances in prevention and treatment, there remain many questions about this decline. In fact, there is evidence that the rate of decline may have abated and may even be showing early signs of reversal in some population groups. The NHLBI, through a request for information, is soliciting input that could inform a follow-up conference on or near the 40th anniversary of the original landmark conference in order to further explore these trends in cardiovascular mortality in the context of what has come before and what may lie ahead. PMID:28104770

Recent Asian origin of chytrid fungi causing global amphibian declines.

PubMed

O'Hanlon, Simon J; Rieux, Adrien; Farrer, Rhys A; Rosa, Gonçalo M; Waldman, Bruce; Bataille, Arnaud; Kosch, Tiffany A; Murray, Kris A; Brankovics, Balázs; Fumagalli, Matteo; Martin, Michael D; Wales, Nathan; Alvarado-Rybak, Mario; Bates, Kieran A; Berger, Lee; Böll, Susanne; Brookes, Lola; Clare, Frances; Courtois, Elodie A; Cunningham, Andrew A; Doherty-Bone, Thomas M; Ghosh, Pria; Gower, David J; Hintz, William E; Höglund, Jacob; Jenkinson, Thomas S; Lin, Chun-Fu; Laurila, Anssi; Loyau, Adeline; Martel, An; Meurling, Sara; Miaud, Claude; Minting, Pete; Pasmans, Frank; Schmeller, Dirk S; Schmidt, Benedikt R; Shelton, Jennifer M G; Skerratt, Lee F; Smith, Freya; Soto-Azat, Claudio; Spagnoletti, Matteo; Tessa, Giulia; Toledo, Luís Felipe; Valenzuela-Sánchez, Andrés; Verster, Ruhan; Vörös, Judit; Webb, Rebecca J; Wierzbicki, Claudia; Wombwell, Emma; Zamudio, Kelly R; Aanensen, David M; James, Timothy Y; Gilbert, M Thomas P; Weldon, Ché; Bosch, Jaime; Balloux, François; Garner, Trenton W J; Fisher, Matthew C

2018-05-11

Globalized infectious diseases are causing species declines worldwide, but their source often remains elusive. We used whole-genome sequencing to solve the spatiotemporal origins of the most devastating panzootic to date, caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis , a proximate driver of global amphibian declines. We traced the source of B. dendrobatidis to the Korean peninsula, where one lineage, Bd ASIA-1, exhibits the genetic hallmarks of an ancestral population that seeded the panzootic. We date the emergence of this pathogen to the early 20th century, coinciding with the global expansion of commercial trade in amphibians, and we show that intercontinental transmission is ongoing. Our findings point to East Asia as a geographic hotspot for B. dendrobatidis biodiversity and the original source of these lineages that now parasitize amphibians worldwide. Copyright © 2018 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Effects of cadmium on some haematological and biochemical characteristics of Oreochromis niloticus (Linnaeus, 1758) dietary supplemented with tomato paste and vitamin E.

PubMed

Mekkawy, Imam A A; Mahmoud, Usama M; Wassif, Ekbal T; Naguib, Mervat

2011-03-01

The present study investigates the potential protective effects of tomato paste (9 mg/kg-lycopene) in comparison with vitamin E (50 mg/kg) against the impacts of cadmium (Cd) toxicity (4.64 mg/l: ¼ of 96 h LC50) on fishes Cd exposed for 15 and 30 days. Cd impacts were evaluated in terms of biological, haematological and biochemical characteristics. Cd significantly induced free radicals in serum and liver. The activities of aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase in serum were significantly increased due to Cd. Treatment with Cd caused a significant increase in Lipid peroxidation and DNA fragmentation in liver tissue and serum glucose and total lipid. On the other hand, Cd significantly led to decline in serum total protein, blood haemoglobin, red blood cell count, haematocrit value, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration. Dietary supplementation with vitamin E and/or tomato paste to Cd-exposed fish declined significantly the increased lipid peroxidation and DNA fragmentation in liver tissue and the increased aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, glucose and total lipid in serum to the normal condition. This supplementation also significantly increased the declined serum total protein, blood haemoglobin, red blood cell count, haematocrit value, mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular haemoglobin and mean corpuscular haemoglobin concentration to the normal state. Cd impacts and tomato paste/or vitamin E supplementations did not reflected on the condition factor of the fish. These findings demonstrated the beneficial diet supplementation of tomato paste phytonutrients and vitamin E in counteracting the harmful effects of Cd on the characters investigated.

Using survival analysis of artificial and Real Brewer's sparrow (Spizella breweri breweri) nests to model site level and nest site factors associated with nest success in the South Okanagan region of Canada

Treesearch

Pam Krannitz Kym Welstead

2005-01-01

Predation is the predominant cause of nest failure for the Brewer's Sparrow (Spizella breweri breweri), a provincially red-listed shrub-steppe species that has experienced significant declines throughout most of its range. We monitored Brewer’s Sparrow nests and conducted an artificial nest experiment, in the South Okanagan Valley,...

Salamander colonization of Chase Lake, Stutsman County, North Dakota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mushet, David M.; McLean, Kyle I.; Stockwell, Craig A.

2013-01-01

Salt concentrations in lakes are dynamic. In the western United States, water diversions have caused significant declines in lake levels resulting in increased salinity, placing many aquatic species at risk (Galat and Robinson 1983, Beutel et al. 2001). Severe droughts can have similar effects on salt concentrations and aquatic communities (Swanson et al. 2003). Conversely, large inputs of water can dilute salt concentrations and contribute to community shifts (Euliss et al. 2004).

Productivity, mortality, and population trends of wolves in northeastern Minnesota

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mech, L.D.

1977-01-01

Population parameters, mortality causes, and mechanisms of a population decline were studied in wolves (Canis lupus lycaon) from 1968 to 1976 in the Superior National Forest. The main method was aerial radio-tracking of 129 wolves and their packmates. Due to a decline in white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), the wolf population decreased during most of the study. Average annual productivity varied from 1.5 to 3.3 pups per litter, and annual mortality rates from 7 to 65 percent. Malnutrition and intraspecific strife accounted equally for 58 percent of the mortality; human causes accounted for the remainder. As wolf numbers began to decline, pup starvation became apparent, followed by lower pup production, and then by increased intraspecific strife. At higher densities, adult pack wolves were the most secure members of the population, but as the population declined, they became the least secure because of intraspecific strife.

Serum Calcitriol Concentrations and Kidney Function Decline, Heart Failure, and Mortality in Elderly Community-Living Adults: The Health, Aging, and Body Composition Study.

PubMed

Selamet, Umut; Katz, Ronit; Ginsberg, Charles; Rifkin, Dena E; Fried, Linda F; Kritchevsky, Stephen B; Hoofnagle, Andrew N; Bibbins-Domingo, Kirsten; Drew, David; Harris, Tamara; Newman, Anne; Gutiérrez, Orlando M; Sarnak, Mark J; Shlipak, Michael G; Ix, Joachim H

2018-06-06

Lower 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentrations have been associated with risk for kidney function decline, heart failure, and mortality. However, 25-hydroxyvitamin D requires conversion to its active metabolite, calcitriol, for most biological effects. The associations of calcitriol concentrations with clinical events have not been well explored. Case-cohort study. Well-functioning community-living older adults aged 70 to 79 years at inception who participated in the Health, Aging, and Body Composition (Health ABC) Study. Serum calcitriol measured using positive ion electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry. Major kidney function decline (≥30% decline in estimated glomerular filtration rate from baseline), incident heart failure (HF), and all-cause mortality during 10 years of follow-up. Baseline calcitriol concentrations were measured in a random subcohort of 479 participants and also in cases with major kidney function decline [n=397]) and incident HF (n=207) during 10 years of follow-up. Associations of serum calcitriol concentrations with these end points were evaluated using weighted Cox regression to account for the case-cohort design, while associations with mortality were assessed in the subcohort alone using unweighted Cox regression. During 8.6 years of mean follow-up, 212 (44%) subcohort participants died. In fully adjusted models, each 1-standard deviation lower calcitriol concentration was associated with 30% higher risk for major kidney function decline (95% CI, 1.03-1.65; P=0.03). Calcitriol was not significantly associated with incident HF (HR, 1.16; 95% CI, 0.94-1.47) or mortality (HR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.81-1.26). We observed no significant interactions between calcitriol concentrations and chronic kidney disease status, baseline intact parathyroid or fibroblast factor 23 concentrations. Observational study design, calcitriol measurements at a single time point, selective study population of older adults only of white or black race. Lower calcitriol concentrations are independently associated with kidney function decline in community-living older adults. Future studies will be needed to clarify whether these associations reflect lower calcitriol concentrations resulting from abnormal kidney tubule dysfunction or direct mechanisms relating lower calcitriol concentrations to more rapid loss of kidney function. Published by Elsevier Inc.

An Overview of Infant Mortality Trends in Qatar from 2004 to 2014

PubMed Central

Al-Thani, Mohammed; Al-Thani, Al-Anoud; Toumi, Amine; Khalifa, Shams Eldin

2017-01-01

Background Infant mortality is an important health indicator that estimates population well-being. Infant mortality has declined globally but is still a major public health challenge. This article provides the characteristics, causes, burden, and trends of infant mortality in Qatar. Methods Frequencies, percentages, and rates were calculated using data from birth-death registries over 2004–2014 to describe infant mortality by nationality, gender, and age group. We calculated the relative risks of the top causes of infant mortality among subgroups according to the 10th Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10, Version 2016). Results During 2004–2014, 204,224 live births and 1,505 infant deaths were recorded. The infant mortality rate (IMR) averaged 7.4/1000 live births (males 8.1, females 6.6, non-Qataris 7.7, and Qataris 6.8). IMR declined 20% from 2004 to 2014. The decline in IMR was significant for the overall population of infants (p=0.006), male infants (p=0.04), females (p=0.006), and for non-Qatari males (p=0.007) and non-Qatari females (p=0.007). The leading causes of infant mortality were congenital malformations (all types) (34.5%), low birth weight (LBW) (27%), and respiratory distress of newborns (2.8%). Male infants had a higher risk of mortality than female infants due to a congenital malformation of lungs (p=0.02), other congenital malformations, not elsewhere classified (p=0.01), and cardiovascular disorders (p=0.05). Conclusion The study shows that infant mortality among male infants is high due to the top infant mortality-related disorders, and male infants have a higher risk of mortality than female infants. PMID:29152426

An Overview of Infant Mortality Trends in Qatar from 2004 to 2014.

PubMed

Al-Thani, Mohammed; Al-Thani, Al-Anoud; Toumi, Amine; Khalifa, Shams Eldin; Akram, Hammad

2017-09-09

Background Infant mortality is an important health indicator that estimates population well-being. Infant mortality has declined globally but is still a major public health challenge. This article provides the characteristics, causes, burden, and trends of infant mortality in Qatar. Methods Frequencies, percentages, and rates were calculated using data from birth-death registries over 2004-2014 to describe infant mortality by nationality, gender, and age group. We calculated the relative risks of the top causes of infant mortality among subgroups according to the 10 th Revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD-10, Version 2016). Results During 2004-2014, 204,224 live births and 1,505 infant deaths were recorded. The infant mortality rate (IMR) averaged 7.4/1000 live births (males 8.1, females 6.6, non-Qataris 7.7, and Qataris 6.8). IMR declined 20% from 2004 to 2014. The decline in IMR was significant for the overall population of infants (p=0.006), male infants (p=0.04), females (p=0.006), and for non-Qatari males (p=0.007) and non-Qatari females (p=0.007). The leading causes of infant mortality were congenital malformations (all types) (34.5%), low birth weight (LBW) (27%), and respiratory distress of newborns (2.8%). Male infants had a higher risk of mortality than female infants due to a congenital malformation of lungs (p=0.02), other congenital malformations, not elsewhere classified (p=0.01), and cardiovascular disorders (p=0.05). Conclusion The study shows that infant mortality among male infants is high due to the top infant mortality-related disorders, and male infants have a higher risk of mortality than female infants.

Rapid extirpation of a North American frog coincides with an increase in fungal pathogen prevalence: Historical analysis and implications for reintroduction.

PubMed

Adams, Andrea J; Pessier, Allan P; Briggs, Cheryl J

2017-12-01

As extinctions continue across the globe, conservation biologists are turning to species reintroduction programs as one optimistic tool for addressing the biodiversity crisis. For repatriation to become a viable strategy, fundamental prerequisites include determining the causes of declines and assessing whether the causes persist in the environment. Invasive species-especially pathogens-are an increasingly significant factor contributing to biodiversity loss. We hypothesized that Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd), the causative agent of the deadly amphibian disease chytridiomycosis, was important in the rapid (<10 years) localized extirpation of a North American frog ( Rana boylii ) and that Bd remains widespread among extant amphibians in the region of extirpation. We used an interdisciplinary approach, combining interviews with herpetological experts, analysis of archived field notes and museum specimen collections, and field sampling of the extant amphibian assemblage to examine (1) historical relative abundance of R. boylii ; (2) potential causes of R. boylii declines; and (3) historical and contemporary prevalence of Bd. We found that R. boylii were relatively abundant prior to their rapid extirpation, and an increase in Bd prevalence coincided with R. boylii declines during a time of rapid change in the region, wherein backcountry recreation, urban development, and the amphibian pet trade were all on the rise. In addition, extreme flooding during the winter of 1969 coincided with localized extirpations in R. boylii populations observed by interview respondents. We conclude that Bd likely played an important role in the rapid extirpation of R. boylii from southern California and that multiple natural and anthropogenic factors may have worked in concert to make this possible in a relatively short period of time. This study emphasizes the importance of recognizing historical ecological contexts in making future management and reintroduction decisions.

Gait dyspraxia as a clinical marker of cognitive decline in Down syndrome: A review of theory and proposed mechanisms.

PubMed

Anderson-Mooney, Amelia J; Schmitt, Frederick A; Head, Elizabeth; Lott, Ira T; Heilman, Kenneth M

2016-04-01

Down syndrome (DS) is the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability in children. With aging, DS is associated with an increased risk for Alzheimer's disease (AD). The development of AD neuropathology in individuals with DS can result in further disturbances in cognition and behavior and may significantly exacerbate caregiver burden. Early detection may allow for appropriate preparation by caregivers. Recent literature suggests that declines in gait may serve as an early marker of AD-related cognitive disorders; however, this relationship has not been examined in individuals with DS. The theory regarding gait dyspraxia and cognitive decline in the general population is reviewed, and potential applications to the population with individuals with DS are highlighted. Challenges and benefits in the line of inquiry are discussed. In particular, it appears that gait declines in aging individuals with DS may be associated with known declines in frontoparietal gray matter, development of AD-related pathology, and white matter losses in tracts critical to motor control. These changes are also potentially related to the cognitive and functional changes often observed during the same chronological period as gait declines in adults with DS. Gait declines may be an early marker of cognitive change, related to the development of underlying AD-related pathology, in individuals with DS. Future investigations in this area may provide insight into the clinical changes associated with development of AD pathology in both the population with DS and the general population, enhancing efforts for optimal patient and caregiver support and propelling investigations regarding safety/quality of life interventions and disease-modifying interventions. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Pup Mortality in a Rapidly Declining Harbour Seal (Phoca vitulina) Population

PubMed Central

Hanson, Nora; Thompson, Dave; Duck, Callan; Moss, Simon; Lonergan, Mike

2013-01-01

The harbour seal population in Orkney, off the north coast of Scotland, has reduced by 65% between 2001 and 2010. The cause(s) of this decline are unknown but must affect the demographic parameters of the population. Here, satellite telemetry data were used to test the hypothesis that increased pup mortality could be a primary driver of the decline in Orkney. Pup mortality and tag failure parameters were estimated from the duration of operation of satellite tags deployed on harbour seal pups from the Orkney population (n = 24) and from another population on the west coast of Scotland (n = 24) where abundance was stable. Survival probabilities from both populations were best represented by a common gamma distribution and were not different from one another, suggesting that increased pup mortality is unlikely to be the primary agent in the Orkney population decline. The estimated probability of surviving to 6 months was 0.390 (95% CI 0.297 – 0.648) and tag failure was represented by a Gaussian distribution, with estimated mean 270 (95% CI = 198 – 288) and s.d. 21 (95% CI = 1 – 66) days. These results suggest that adult survival is the most likely proximate cause of the decline. They also demonstrate a novel technique for attaining age-specific mortality rates from telemetry data. PMID:24312239

Causes and consequences of marine mammal population declines in southwest Alaska: a food-web perspective.

PubMed

Estes, J A; Doak, D F; Springer, A M; Williams, T M

2009-06-27

Populations of sea otters, seals and sea lions have collapsed across much of southwest Alaska over the past several decades. The sea otter decline set off a trophic cascade in which the coastal marine ecosystem underwent a phase shift from kelp forests to deforested sea urchin barrens. This interaction in turn affected the distribution, abundance and productivity of numerous other species. Ecological consequences of the pinniped declines are largely unknown. Increased predation by transient (marine mammal-eating) killer whales probably caused the sea otter declines and may have caused the pinniped declines as well. Springer et al. proposed that killer whales, which purportedly fed extensively on great whales, expanded their diets to include a higher percentage of sea otters and pinnipeds following a sharp reduction in great whale numbers from post World War II industrial whaling. Critics of this hypothesis claim that great whales are not now and probably never were an important nutritional resource for killer whales. We used demographic/energetic analyses to evaluate whether or not a predator-prey system involving killer whales and the smaller marine mammals would be sustainable without some nutritional contribution from the great whales. Our results indicate that while such a system is possible, it could only exist under a narrow range of extreme conditions and is therefore highly unlikely.

Impacts of climate change on rice production in Africa and causes of simulated yield changes.

PubMed

van Oort, Pepijn A J; Zwart, Sander J

2018-03-01

This study is the first of its kind to quantify possible effects of climate change on rice production in Africa. We simulated impacts on rice in irrigated systems (dry season and wet season) and rainfed systems (upland and lowland). We simulated the use of rice varieties with a higher temperature sum as adaptation option. We simulated rice yields for 4 RCP climate change scenarios and identified causes of yield declines. Without adaptation, shortening of the growing period due to higher temperatures had a negative impact on yields (-24% in RCP 8.5 in 2070 compared with the baseline year 2000). With varieties that have a high temperature sum, the length of the growing period would remain the same as under the baseline conditions. With this adaptation option rainfed rice yields would increase slightly (+8%) but they remain subject to water availability constraints. Irrigated rice yields in East Africa would increase (+25%) due to more favourable temperatures and due to CO2 fertilization. Wet season irrigated rice yields in West Africa were projected to change by -21% or +7% (without/with adaptation). Without adaptation irrigated rice yields in West Africa in the dry season would decrease by -45% with adaptation they would decrease significantly less (-15%). The main cause of this decline was reduced photosynthesis at extremely high temperatures. Simulated heat sterility hardly increased and was not found a major cause for yield decline. The implications for these findings are as follows. For East Africa to benefit from climate change, improved water and nutrient management will be needed to benefit fully from the more favourable temperatures and increased CO2 concentrations. For West Africa, more research is needed on photosynthesis processes at extreme temperatures and on adaptation options such as shifting sowing dates. © 2017 The Authors. Global Change Biology Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Historical amphibian declines and extinctions in Brazil linked to chytridiomycosis

PubMed Central

Carvalho, Tamilie; Becker, C. Guilherme

2017-01-01

The recent increase in emerging fungal diseases is causing unprecedented threats to biodiversity. The origin of spread of the frog-killing fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is a matter of continued debate. To date, the historical amphibian declines in Brazil could not be attributed to chytridiomycosis; the high diversity of hosts coupled with the presence of several Bd lineages predating the reported declines raised the hypothesis that a hypervirulent Bd genotype spread from Brazil to other continents causing the recent global amphibian crisis. We tested for a spatio-temporal overlap between Bd and areas of historical amphibian population declines and extinctions in Brazil. A spatio-temporal convergence between Bd and declines would support the hypothesis that Brazilian amphibians were not adapted to Bd prior to the reported declines, thus weakening the hypothesis that Brazil was the global origin of Bd emergence. Alternatively, a lack of spatio-temporal association between Bd and frog declines would indicate an evolution of host resistance in Brazilian frogs predating Bd's global emergence, further supporting Brazil as the potential origin of the Bd panzootic. Here, we Bd-screened over 30 000 museum-preserved tadpoles collected in Brazil between 1930 and 2015 and overlaid spatio-temporal Bd data with areas of historical amphibian declines. We detected an increase in the proportion of Bd-infected tadpoles during the peak of amphibian declines (1979–1987). We also found that clusters of Bd-positive samples spatio-temporally overlapped with most records of amphibian declines in Brazil's Atlantic Forest. Our findings indicate that Brazil is post epizootic for chytridiomycosis and provide another piece to the puzzle to explain the origin of Bd globally. PMID:28179514

Historical amphibian declines and extinctions in Brazil linked to chytridiomycosis.

PubMed

Carvalho, Tamilie; Becker, C Guilherme; Toledo, Luís Felipe

2017-02-08

The recent increase in emerging fungal diseases is causing unprecedented threats to biodiversity. The origin of spread of the frog-killing fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis ( Bd ) is a matter of continued debate. To date, the historical amphibian declines in Brazil could not be attributed to chytridiomycosis; the high diversity of hosts coupled with the presence of several Bd lineages predating the reported declines raised the hypothesis that a hypervirulent Bd genotype spread from Brazil to other continents causing the recent global amphibian crisis. We tested for a spatio-temporal overlap between Bd and areas of historical amphibian population declines and extinctions in Brazil. A spatio-temporal convergence between Bd and declines would support the hypothesis that Brazilian amphibians were not adapted to Bd prior to the reported declines, thus weakening the hypothesis that Brazil was the global origin of Bd emergence. Alternatively, a lack of spatio-temporal association between Bd and frog declines would indicate an evolution of host resistance in Brazilian frogs predating Bd 's global emergence , further supporting Brazil as the potential origin of the Bd panzootic. Here, we Bd -screened over 30 000 museum-preserved tadpoles collected in Brazil between 1930 and 2015 and overlaid spatio-temporal Bd data with areas of historical amphibian declines. We detected an increase in the proportion of Bd -infected tadpoles during the peak of amphibian declines (1979-1987). We also found that clusters of Bd -positive samples spatio-temporally overlapped with most records of amphibian declines in Brazil's Atlantic Forest. Our findings indicate that Brazil is post epizootic for chytridiomycosis and provide another piece to the puzzle to explain the origin of Bd globally. © 2017 The Author(s).

Mitochondrial electron transport and glycolysis are coupled in articular cartilage.

PubMed

Martin, J A; Martini, A; Molinari, A; Morgan, W; Ramalingam, W; Buckwalter, J A; McKinley, T O

2012-04-01

Although the majority of the adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in chondrocytes is made by glycolysis rather than by oxidative phosphorylation in mitochondria there is evidence to suggest that reactive oxygen species produced by mitochondrial electron transport (ET) help to maintain cellular redox balance in favor of glycolysis. The objective of this study was to test this hypothesis by determining if rotenone, which inhibits ET and blocks oxidant production inhibits glycolytic ATP synthesis. Bovine osteochondral explants were treated with rotenone, an ET inhibitor; or oligomycin an ATP synthase inhibitor; or 2-fluoro-2-deoxy-D-glucose, a glycolysis inhibiter; or peroxide, an exogenous oxidant; or mitoquinone (MitoQ), a mitochondria-targeted anti-oxidant. Cartilage extracts were assayed for ATP, nicotine adenine dinucleotide (NAD+/H), and culture medium was assayed for pyruvate and lactate after 24 h of treatment. Imaging studies were used to measure superoxide production in cartilage. Rotenone and 2-FG caused a significant decline in cartilage ATP (P < 0.001). In contrast, ATP levels were not affected by oligomycin. Peroxide treatment blocked rotenone effects on ATP, while treatment with MitoQ significantly suppressed ATP levels. Rotenone and 2-FG caused a significant decline in pyruvate, but not in lactate production. NADH:NAD+ ratios decreased significantly in both rotenone and 2-FG-treated explants (P < 0.05). Rotenone also significantly reduced superoxide production. These findings showing a link between glycolysis and ET are consistent with previous reports on the critical need for oxidants to support normal chondrocyte metabolism. They suggest a novel role for mitochondria in cartilage homeostasis that is independent of oxidative phosphorylation. Copyright © 2012 Osteoarthritis Research Society International. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Mitochondrial energy metabolism dysfunction involved in reproductive toxicity of mice caused by endosulfan and protective effects of vitamin E.

PubMed

Wang, Na; Qian, Hong-Yan; Zhou, Xian-Qing; Li, Yan-Bo; Sun, Zhi-Wei

2012-08-01

The experiment was designed to study the mechanism of reproductive toxicity caused by endosulfan in mice and protective effects of vitamin E. The experiment was composed of three groups: the control group did not receive any endosulfan and vitamin E; the endosulfan exposed group received 0.8 mg/kg/d endosulfan and 0mg/kg/d vitamin E; and the endosulfan+vitamin E group received 0.8 mg/kg/d endosulfan and 100mg/kg/d vitamin E. The results showed that vitamin E significantly reversed the decline of the concentration and motility rate of sperm, and inhibited the increase of sperm abnormality rate caused by endosulfan. The activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-PX), and lactate dehydrogenase-C4 (LDH-C4) and the level of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) in the endosulfan+vitamin E group were higher while the malondialdehyde (MDA) content was significantly lower than those of the endosulfan exposed group. The results from pathology and electron microscope observed showed vitamin E decreased the cavities formation by desquamating of spermatogenic cells, stopped the ruptures and disappearances of mitochondrial cristaes in spermatogenic cells, and prevented the breakages and partial dissolvings of sperm tails induced by endosulfan. It is likely that endosulfan could directly damage sperm structures by oxidative stress, leading to a decrease in sperm quantity and quality. It also could indirectly cause a decline in reproductive function by damaging the structure of mitochondria, resulting in energy metabolism dysfunction, which could be one of the mechanisms behind the reproductive toxicity induced by endosulfan. It was inferred that vitamin E helps maintain the structural integrities of sperm architecture and prevent mitochondrial dysfunction through inhibiting oxidative stress, and thereby prevent the reproductive dysfunctions caused by endosulfan. Copyright © 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Self-rated function, self-rated health, and postmortem evidence of brain infarcts: findings from the Nun Study.

PubMed

Greiner, P A; Snowdon, D A; Greiner, L H

1999-07-01

Self-rated function is a new global measure. Previous findings suggest that self-rated function predicts future functional decline and is strongly associated with all-cause mortality. We hypothesized that the strength of the relationship of self-rated function to all-cause mortality was in part due to functional decline, such as would occur with brain infarcts. Self-ratings of function and health (on a 5-point scale, ranging from excellent to poor) were assessed annually on 630 participants in the Nun Study. Mortality surveillance extended from October 31, 1991 to March 1, 1998, and, among those who died, neuropathological examination determined postmortem evidence of brain infarcts. Cox regression modeling with self-rated function and health as time-dependent covariates and stratification by assessment period were used in these analyses. Self-rated function and health ratings of good, fair, and poor were significantly associated with doubling of the risk of mortality, compared with ratings of very good and excellent. Self-rated function ratings of fair or poor were associated with a threefold increase in the risk of mortality with brain infarcts, but self-rated function and health ratings of fair and poor were comparable in their association with all-cause mortality and mortality without brain infarcts. Self-rated function was significantly associated with mortality with brain infarcts, suggesting that brain infarcts may be experienced as functional loss but not recognized or labeled as disease. Our results suggest that self-rated function and health should be explored simultaneously in future research.

Barriers to Online Postsecondary Education Crumble: Enrollment in Traditional Face-to-Face Courses Declines as Enrollment in Online Courses Increases

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Gray, Dahli

2013-01-01

Contrary to expectations, total postsecondary enrollment in the United States (US) declined in Fall 2011. In fact, it continues to decline while online enrollment continues to increase. Students can more easily cross geographic boundaries as online access causes barriers to postsecondary education to crumble, and more than 50% of the demand for…

Extreme Wildlife Declines and Concurrent Increase in Livestock Numbers in Kenya: What Are the Causes?

PubMed Central

Ogutu, Joseph O.; Piepho, Hans-Peter; Said, Mohamed Y.; Ojwang, Gordon O.; Njino, Lucy W.; Kifugo, Shem C.; Wargute, Patrick W.

2016-01-01

There is growing evidence of escalating wildlife losses worldwide. Extreme wildlife losses have recently been documented for large parts of Africa, including western, Central and Eastern Africa. Here, we report extreme declines in wildlife and contemporaneous increase in livestock numbers in Kenya rangelands between 1977 and 2016. Our analysis uses systematic aerial monitoring survey data collected in rangelands that collectively cover 88% of Kenya’s land surface. Our results show that wildlife numbers declined on average by 68% between 1977 and 2016. The magnitude of decline varied among species but was most extreme (72–88%) and now severely threatens the population viability and persistence of warthog, lesser kudu, Thomson’s gazelle, eland, oryx, topi, hartebeest, impala, Grevy’s zebra and waterbuck in Kenya’s rangelands. The declines were widespread and occurred in most of the 21 rangeland counties. Likewise to wildlife, cattle numbers decreased (25.2%) but numbers of sheep and goats (76.3%), camels (13.1%) and donkeys (6.7%) evidently increased in the same period. As a result, livestock biomass was 8.1 times greater than that of wildlife in 2011–2013 compared to 3.5 times in 1977–1980. Most of Kenya’s wildlife (ca. 30%) occurred in Narok County alone. The proportion of the total “national” wildlife population found in each county increased between 1977 and 2016 substantially only in Taita Taveta and Laikipia but marginally in Garissa and Wajir counties, largely reflecting greater wildlife losses elsewhere. The declines raise very grave concerns about the future of wildlife, the effectiveness of wildlife conservation policies, strategies and practices in Kenya. Causes of the wildlife declines include exponential human population growth, increasing livestock numbers, declining rainfall and a striking rise in temperatures but the fundamental cause seems to be policy, institutional and market failures. Accordingly, we thoroughly evaluate wildlife conservation policy in Kenya. We suggest policy, institutional and management interventions likely to succeed in reducing the declines and restoring rangeland health, most notably through strengthening and investing in community and private wildlife conservancies in the rangelands. PMID:27676077

Extreme Wildlife Declines and Concurrent Increase in Livestock Numbers in Kenya: What Are the Causes?

PubMed

Ogutu, Joseph O; Piepho, Hans-Peter; Said, Mohamed Y; Ojwang, Gordon O; Njino, Lucy W; Kifugo, Shem C; Wargute, Patrick W

There is growing evidence of escalating wildlife losses worldwide. Extreme wildlife losses have recently been documented for large parts of Africa, including western, Central and Eastern Africa. Here, we report extreme declines in wildlife and contemporaneous increase in livestock numbers in Kenya rangelands between 1977 and 2016. Our analysis uses systematic aerial monitoring survey data collected in rangelands that collectively cover 88% of Kenya's land surface. Our results show that wildlife numbers declined on average by 68% between 1977 and 2016. The magnitude of decline varied among species but was most extreme (72-88%) and now severely threatens the population viability and persistence of warthog, lesser kudu, Thomson's gazelle, eland, oryx, topi, hartebeest, impala, Grevy's zebra and waterbuck in Kenya's rangelands. The declines were widespread and occurred in most of the 21 rangeland counties. Likewise to wildlife, cattle numbers decreased (25.2%) but numbers of sheep and goats (76.3%), camels (13.1%) and donkeys (6.7%) evidently increased in the same period. As a result, livestock biomass was 8.1 times greater than that of wildlife in 2011-2013 compared to 3.5 times in 1977-1980. Most of Kenya's wildlife (ca. 30%) occurred in Narok County alone. The proportion of the total "national" wildlife population found in each county increased between 1977 and 2016 substantially only in Taita Taveta and Laikipia but marginally in Garissa and Wajir counties, largely reflecting greater wildlife losses elsewhere. The declines raise very grave concerns about the future of wildlife, the effectiveness of wildlife conservation policies, strategies and practices in Kenya. Causes of the wildlife declines include exponential human population growth, increasing livestock numbers, declining rainfall and a striking rise in temperatures but the fundamental cause seems to be policy, institutional and market failures. Accordingly, we thoroughly evaluate wildlife conservation policy in Kenya. We suggest policy, institutional and management interventions likely to succeed in reducing the declines and restoring rangeland health, most notably through strengthening and investing in community and private wildlife conservancies in the rangelands.

Reassessment of the effects of construction dewatering on ground-water levels in the Cowles Unit, Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, Indiana : Supplement to Geological Survey Water Resources Investigations 78-138

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gillies, Daniel C.; Lapham, Wayne W.

1980-01-01

A revised dewatering plan for the construction of a nuclear power plant at the Northern Indiana Public Service Company 's (NIPSCO) Bailly Generating Station and evidence that suggests that a change in the characteristics of the confining unit 2 in and near Cowles Bog National Landmark may exist have resulted in a reassessment of the effects of construction dewatering on ground-water levels in the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore. Model results indicate that the revision in the dewatering plan produces water-level declines that do not differ significantly from those described previously. However, when the change in the confining unit beneath Cowles Bog is considered, simulations of the simultaneous decline of a seepage mound after sealing of the fly-ash-ponds and the second phase of construction dewatering indicate that the simulated water-level declines in the aquifer unit 1 at Cowles Bog may be below the water levels tolerated by the National Park Service after 18 months. The water levels may even decline below the tolerable levels in spite of NIPSCO 's proposed plan of artificially recharging the aquifer unit 1 near the excavation site at 400 gal/min. The magnitude of the simulated water-level declines in unit 1 within the Lakeshore, caused by pumping from the excavation, depends on the relation in time between the second phase of dewatering and the decline of the seepage mound after sealing of the fly-ash-ponds, but not on the duration of dewatering beyond 18 months. (USGS)

Population trends of Mariana Crow Corvus kubaryi on Rota, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

USGS Publications Warehouse

Plentovich, S.; Morton, J.M.; Bart, J.; Camp, R.J.; Lusk, M.; Johnson, N.; VanderWerf, E.

2005-01-01

Endemic to the islands of Guam and Rota in the Mariana Islands, Mariana Crow Corvus kubaryi is the only corvid in Micronesia. Currently, it survives on Guam only because of translocation of individuals from Rota (1999-2003). Island-wide surveys in 1982 and 1995 on Rota yielded population estimates of 1,348 and 592 respectively, indicating a 56% decrease in only 13 years. A sharp decline in the only viable Mariana Crow population has serious implications for conservation efforts on Rota and for efforts to re-establish the Guam population. However, the validity of the apparent decline has been debated among scientists and government management agencies. We augmented the 1982 and 1995 island-wide VCP surveys with (1) an additional island-wide survey conducted in 1998, and (2) roadside surveys conducted during 1991-1993 and again during 1999-2002. We also outline historical changes in Rota's limestone forest based on aerial photographs and historical information. Data from all surveys indicate a significant decline in the Mariana Crow population. Declines occurred especially along the north-central coast and in the area east of the airport known as As Dudo in the 1990s, but the data indicate an island-wide decline over the entire span of the surveys. introduced predators, human persecution, and habitat loss and degradation by anthropogenic and natural causes have all contributed to the decline. Long-term preservation of this species will require effective brown treesnake Boiga irregularis control, habitat protection, continued monitoring and research, and increased public education and awareness of Rota's rare and endangered species. ?? BirdLife International 2005.

Assessing the potential impacts of declining Arctic sea ice cover on the photochemical degradation of dissolved organic matter in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Logvinova, Christie L.; Frey, Karen E.; Mann, Paul J.; Stubbins, Aron; Spencer, Robert G. M.

2015-11-01

A warming and shifting climate in the Arctic has led to significant declines in sea ice over the last several decades. Although these changes in sea ice cover are well documented, large uncertainties remain in how associated increases in solar radiation transmitted to the underlying ocean water column will impact heating, biological, and biogeochemical processes in the Arctic Ocean. In this study, six under-ice marine, two ice-free marine, and two ice-free terrestrially influenced water samples were irradiated using a solar simulator for 72 h (representing ~10 days of ambient sunlight) to investigate dissolved organic matter (DOM) dynamics from the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. Solar irradiation caused chromophoric DOM (CDOM) light absorption at 254 nm to decrease by 48 to 63%. An overall loss in total DOM fluorescence intensity was also observed at the end of all experiments, and each of six components identified by parallel factor (PARAFAC) analysis was shown to be photoreactive in at least one experiment. Fluorescent DOM (FDOM) also indicated that the majority of DOM in under-ice and ice-free marine waters was likely algal-derived. Measurable changes in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were only observed for sites influenced by riverine runoff. Losses of CDOM absorbance at shorter wavelengths suggest that the beneficial UV protection currently received by marine organisms may decline with the increased light transmittance associated with sea ice melt ponding and overall reductions of sea ice. Our FDOM analyses demonstrate that DOM irrespective of source was susceptible to photobleaching. Additionally, our findings suggest that photodegradation of CDOM in under-ice waters is not currently a significant source of carbon dioxide (CO2) (i.e., we did not observe systematic DOC loss). However, increases in primary production and terrestrial freshwater export expected under future climate change scenarios may cause an increase in CDOM quantity and shift in quality throughout Arctic Ocean surface waters. As Arctic temperatures continue to warm and summer sea ice further declines, examination of the resulting enhanced photodegradation processes and their impacts on the interplay between primary production, carbon cycling, and surface ocean heating processes will be paramount.

An analysis of social consequences of rapid fertility decline in China.

PubMed

Liu, Z; Liu, L

1988-12-01

Rapid fertility decline in China has brought about 2 direct effects: 1) the natural increase of the population has slowed down, and 2) the age structure has changed from the young to the adult type. These 2 effects have caused a series of economic and social consequences. Rapid fertility decline increases the gross national product per capita and accelerates the improvement of people's lives. Rapid fertility decline slows population growth and speeds up the accumulation of capital and the development of the economy. Since 1981, accumulation growth has exceeded consumption growth. Fertility decline alleviates the enrollment pressure on primary and secondary schools, raises the efficiency of education funds, and promotes the popularization of education. The family planning program strengthens the maternal and child health care and the medical care systems. As the result of economic development, the people's nutritional levels are improving. The physical quality of teenagers has improved steadily. The change in the age structure will alleviate the tension of rapid population growth and benefit population control in the next century. Fertility decline forces the traditional attitude toward childbearing from "more children, more happiness" to improved quality of children. The rapid fertility decline has caused a great deal of concern both inside and outside China about the aging of the population. The labor force, however, will continue to grow for the next 60 years. At present, China's population problems are still those of population growth.

Steep declines in atmospheric base cations in regions of Europe and North America

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hedin, Lars O.; Granat, Lennart; Likens, Gene E.; Adri Buishand, T.; Galloway, James N.; Butler, Thomas J.; Rodhe, Henning

1994-01-01

HUMAN activities have caused marked changes in atmospheric chemistry over large regions of Europe and North America. Although considerable attention has been paid to the effects of changes in the deposition of acid anions (such as sulphate and nitrate) on terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems1-7, little is known about whether the concentrations of basic components of the atmosphere have changed over time8,9 and what the biogeochemical consequences of such potential changes might be. In particular, there has been some controversy8-12 as to whether declines in base-cation deposition have countered effects of recent reductions in SO2emission. Here we report evidence for steep declines in the atmospheric concentrations of base cations (sum of non-sea-salt Ca2+, Mg2+, K+ and Na+) over the past 10 to 26 years from high-quality precipitation chemistry records in Europe and North America. To varying but generally significant degrees, these base-cation trends have offset recent reductions in sulphate deposition in the regions examined. The observed trends seem to be ecologically important on decadal timescales, and support earlier contentions8-10 that declines in the deposition of base cations may have contributed to increased sensitivity of poorly buffered ecosystems.

Incidence of End-Stage Renal Disease Attributed to Diabetes Among Persons with Diagnosed Diabetes - United States and Puerto Rico, 2000-2014.

PubMed

Burrows, Nilka Rios; Hora, Israel; Geiss, Linda S; Gregg, Edward W; Albright, Ann

2017-11-03

During 2014, 120,000 persons in the United States and Puerto Rico began treatment for end-stage renal disease (ESRD) (i.e., kidney failure requiring dialysis or transplantation) (1). Among these persons, 44% (approximately 53,000 persons) had diabetes listed as the primary cause of ESRD (ESRD-D) (1). Although the number of persons initiating ESRD-D treatment each year has increased since 1980 (1,2), the ESRD-D incidence rate among persons with diagnosed diabetes has declined since the mid-1990s (2,3). To determine whether ESRD-D incidence has continued to decline in the United States overall and in each state, the District of Columbia (DC), and Puerto Rico, CDC analyzed 2000-2014 data from the U.S. Renal Data System and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. During that period, the age-standardized ESRD-D incidence among persons with diagnosed diabetes declined from 260.2 to 173.9 per 100,000 diabetic population (33%), and declined significantly in most states, DC, and Puerto Rico. No state experienced an increase in ESRD-D incidence rates. Continued awareness of risk factors for kidney failure and interventions to improve diabetes care might sustain and improve these trends.

Age-related Effects on Word Recognition: Reliance on Cognitive Control Systems with Structural Declines in Speech-responsive Cortex

PubMed Central

Walczak, Adam; Ahlstrom, Jayne; Denslow, Stewart; Horwitz, Amy; Dubno, Judy R.

2008-01-01

Speech recognition can be difficult and effortful for older adults, even for those with normal hearing. Declining frontal lobe cognitive control has been hypothesized to cause age-related speech recognition problems. This study examined age-related changes in frontal lobe function for 15 clinically normal hearing adults (21–75 years) when they performed a word recognition task that was made challenging by decreasing word intelligibility. Although there were no age-related changes in word recognition, there were age-related changes in the degree of activity within left middle frontal gyrus (MFG) and anterior cingulate (ACC) regions during word recognition. Older adults engaged left MFG and ACC regions when words were most intelligible compared to younger adults who engaged these regions when words were least intelligible. Declining gray matter volume within temporal lobe regions responsive to word intelligibility significantly predicted left MFG activity, even after controlling for total gray matter volume, suggesting that declining structural integrity of brain regions responsive to speech leads to the recruitment of frontal regions when words are easily understood. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10162-008-0113-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. PMID:18274825

A Possible Cause for Recent Decadal Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation Decline

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Latif, Mojib; Park, Taewook; Park, Wonsun

2017-04-01

The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is a major oceanic current system with widespread climate impacts. AMOC influences have been discussed among others with regard to Atlantic hurricane activity, regional sea level variability, and surface air temperature and precipitation changes on land areas adjacent to the North Atlantic Ocean. Most climate models project significant AMOC slowing during the 21st century, if atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations continue to rise unabatedly. Recently, a marked decadal decline in AMOC strength has been observed, which was followed by strongly reduced oceanic poleward heat transport and record low sea surface temperature in parts of the North Atlantic. Here, we provide evidence from observations, re-analyses and climate models that the AMOC decline was due to the combined action of the North Atlantic Oscillation and East Atlantic Pattern, the two leading modes of North Atlantic atmospheric surface pressure variability, which prior to the decline both transitioned into their negative phases. This change in atmospheric circulation diminished oceanic heat loss over the Labrador Sea and forced ocean circulation changes lowering upper ocean salinity transport into that region. As a consequence, Labrador Sea deep convection weakened, which eventually slowed the AMOC. This study suggests a new mechanism for decadal AMOC variability, which is important to multiyear climate predictability and climate change detection in the North Atlantic sector.

Trends in obesity and abdominal obesity in the older adult population of Spain (2000-2010).

PubMed

Gutiérrez-Fisac, Juan Luis; León-Muñoz, Luz M; Regidor, Enrique; Banegas, Josér; Rodríguez-Artalejo, Fernando

2013-01-01

This work examines the trend in obesity and abdominal obesity in the Spanish population aged 60 years and over during the first decade of the 21st century. We analyze data from a representative study of the Spanish population aged 60 years and older conducted in 2000-2001 and from the Study on Nutrition and Cardiovascular Risk in Spain (ENRICA) conducted in 2008-2010. In men, the distribution of BMI did not vary in the period 2000-2010. In contrast, in women there was a reduction in both mean BMI--from 29.3 to 28.8 kg/m2--and the prevalence of obesity--from 40.8 to 36.3%. This decline was greatest in women aged 60-69 years. In men, no significant changes were observed in mean waist circumference (WC) or in the prevalence of abdominal obesity. In contrast, WC decreased by 3.6 cm and abdominal obesity prevalence by 12.7% in women. The decline was greatest in women aged 60-69 years, in whom mean WC decreased by 5.1 cm and abdominal obesity prevalence by 18.6%. These findings show that the frequency of obesity has begun to decline in Spanish women aged 60 and over. The causes of this decline are unclear.

Changes in seasonal nearshore zooplankton abundance patterns in Lake Ontario following establishment of the exotic predator Cercopagis pengoi

USGS Publications Warehouse

Warner, David M.; Rudstam, Lars G.; Benoit, Hugues; Mills, Edward L.; Johannsson, Ora E.

2006-01-01

Cercopagis pengoi, a zooplanktivore first discovered in Lake Ontario in 1998, may reduce availability of prey for planktivorous fish. Cercoapgis pengoi is most abundant in late summer and fall. Therefore, we hypothesized that abundance of small zooplankton (bosminids and cyclopoids) species would decrease at that time. To determine if the establishment of C. pengoi was followed by changes in the zooplankton community, seasonal patterns in nearshore zooplankton collected from May to October 1995–2000 were examined. Early summer density of small zooplankton was similar in all years while late summer and fall densities were significantly lower in 1998–2000 than in 1995–1997. The declines of small zooplankton coincided seasonally with the peak in C. pengoidensity. Other possible causes for the observed changes in small zooplankton are less likely. High levels of fish predation should have resulted in smaller zooplankton in 1998–2000 than in 1995–1997 and larger declines in Daphnia than other groups. This was not observed. There was no significant decline in chlorophyll-a concentrations or changes in temperature between 1995–1997 and 1998–2000. Therefore, the declines in density of small zooplankton were most likely the result of C. pengoi predation. The effect of C. pengoi establishment on alewives is increased competition for zooplankton prey but C. pengoi has replaced a portion of the zooplankton biomass and adult alewife diet formerly dominated by Diacyclops thomasi and Bosmina longirostris.

The effects of the 2006 Russian alcohol policy on alcohol-related mortality: an interrupted time series analysis.

PubMed

Pridemore, William Alex; Chamlin, Mitchell B; Kaylen, Maria T; Andreev, Evgeny

2014-01-01

The aim of this study was to determine the impact of a set of 2006 Russian alcohol policies on alcohol-related mortality in the country. We used autoregressive integrated moving average interrupted time series techniques to model the impact of the policy on the number of sex-specific monthly deaths of those aged 15+ years due to alcohol poisoning, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, alcoholic liver cirrhosis, and alcohol-related mental and behavioral disorders. The time series began in January 2000 and ended in December 2010. The alcohol policy was implemented in January 2006. The alcohol policy resulted in a significant gradual and sustained decline in male deaths due to alcohol poisoning (ωo = -92.631, p < 0.008, δ1 = 0.883, p < 0.001) and in significant immediate and sustained declines in male (ω0 = -63.20, p < 0.05) and female (ω0 = -64.28, p < 0.005) deaths due to alcoholic liver cirrhosis. The 2006 suite of alcohol policies in Russia was responsible for an annual decline of about 6,700 male alcohol poisoning deaths and about 760 male and about 770 female alcoholic liver cirrhosis deaths. Without the alcohol policy, male alcohol poisoning deaths would have been 35% higher and male and female alcoholic liver cirrhosis deaths would have been 9 and 15% higher, respectively. We contextualize our findings in relation to declining mortality in Russia and to results from recent studies of the impact of this law on other causes of death. Copyright © 2013 by the Research Society on Alcoholism.

Modeling the effects of hypoxia on ATP turnover in exercising muscle

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Arthur, P. G.; Hogan, M. C.; Bebout, D. E.; Wagner, P. D.; Hochachka, P. W.

1992-01-01

Most models of metabolic control concentrate on the regulation of ATP production and largely ignore the regulation of ATP demand. We describe a model, based on the results of Hogan et al. (J. Appl. Physiol. 73: 728-736, 1992), that incorporates the effects of ATP demand. The model is developed from the premise that a unique set of intracellular conditions can be measured at each level of ATP turnover and that this relationship is best described by energetic state. Current concepts suggest that cells are capable of maintaining oxygen consumption in the face of declines in the concentration of oxygen through compensatory changes in cellular metabolites. We show that these compensatory changes can cause significant declines in ATP demand and result in a decline in oxygen consumption and ATP turnover. Furthermore we find that hypoxia does not directly affect the rate of anaerobic ATP synthesis and associated lactate production. Rather, lactate production appears to be related to energetic state, whatever the PO2. The model is used to describe the interaction between ATP demand and ATP supply in determining final ATP turnover.

IS BRAIN AMYLOID PRODUCTION A CAUSE OR A RESULT OF DEMENTIA OF THE ALZHEIMER TYPE?

PubMed Central

Ala, Tom; Patrylo, Peter R.; Brewer, Gregory J.; Yan, Xiao-Xin

2011-01-01

The amyloid cascade hypothesis has guided much of research into Alzheimer disease (AD) over the last 25 years. We argue that the hypothesis of beta amyloid (Aβ) as the primary cause of dementia may not be fully correct. Rather, we propose that decline in brain metabolic activity, which is tightly linked to synaptic activity, actually underlies both the cognitive decline and the deposition of Aβ. Aβ may further exacerbate metabolic decline and result in a downward spiral of cognitive function, leading to dementia. This novel interpretation can tie the disparate risk factors for dementia to a unifying hypothesis and present a roadmap for interventions to decrease the prevalence of dementia in the elderly population. PMID:20847431

Child mortality in the Netherlands in the past decades: an overview of external causes and the role of public health policy.

PubMed

Gijzen, Sandra; Boere-Boonekamp, Magda M; L'Hoir, Monique P; Need, Ariana

2014-02-01

Among European countries, the Netherlands has the second lowest child mortality rate from external causes. We present an overview, discuss possible explanations, and suggest prevention measures. We analyzed mortality data from all deceased children aged 0-19 years for the period 1969-2011. Child mortality declined in the past decades, largely from decreases in road traffic accidents that followed government action on traffic safety. Accidental drowning also showed a downward trend. Although intentional self-harm showed a significant increase, other external causes of mortality, including assault and fatal child abuse, remained constant. Securing existing preventive measures and analyzing the circumstances of each child's death systematically through Child Death Review may guide further reduction in child mortality.

Mortality rates for stroke in England from 1979 to 2004: trends, diagnostic precision, and artifacts.

PubMed

Goldacre, Michael J; Duncan, Marie; Griffith, Myfanwy; Rothwell, Peter M

2008-08-01

Stroke mortality appears to be declining more rapidly in the UK than in many other Western countries. To understand this apparent decline better, we studied trends in mortality in the UK using more detailed data than are routinely available. Analysis of datasets that include both the underlying cause and all other mentioned causes of death (together, termed "all mentions"): the Oxford Record Linkage Study from 1979 to 2004 and English national data from 1996 to 2004. Mortality rates based on underlying cause and based on all mentions showed similar downward trends. Mortality based on underlying cause alone misses about one quarter of all stroke-related deaths. Changes during the period in the national rules for selecting the underlying cause of death had a significant but fairly small effect on the trend. Overall, mortality fell by an average annual rate of 2.3% (95% confidence interval 2.1% to 2.5%) for stroke excluding subarachnoid hemorrhage; and by 2.1% (1.7% to 2.6%) per annum for subarachnoid hemorrhage. Coding of stroke as hemorrhagic, occlusive, or unspecified varied substantially across the study period. As a result, rates for hemorrhagic and occlusive stroke, affected by artifact, seemed to fall substantially in the first part of the study period and then leveled off. Studies of stroke mortality should include all mentions as well as the certified underlying cause, otherwise the burden of stroke will be underestimated. Studies of stroke mortality that include strokes specified as hemorrhagic or occlusive, without also considering stroke overall, are likely to be misleading. Stroke mortality in the Oxford region halved between 1979 and 2004.

Skeletal-related events significantly impact health-related quality of life in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer: data from PREVAIL and AFFIRM trials

PubMed Central

Saad, F; Ivanescu, C; Phung, D; Loriot, Y; Abhyankar, S; Beer, T M; Tombal, B; Holmstrom, S

2017-01-01

Background: We investigated the impact of skeletal-related events (SREs) on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) in phase III trials of enzalutamide versus placebo. Methods: Patients with mCRPC experiencing at least one SRE during AFFIRM and PREVAIL were assessed for trajectory-adjusted mean change in HRQoL by first SRE using Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Prostate (FACT-P; AFFIRM, three domains, and PREVAIL, nine domains) and EQ-5D (PREVAIL) instruments. Results: First SREs caused HRQoL deterioration in both trials. Spinal cord compression had the largest impact, with clinically meaningful reductions in seven of nine FACT-P domains in PREVAIL and all three in AFFIRM (mean (95% confidence interval (CI)) change in FACT-P total score –16.95 (–26.47, –7.44) and –9.69 (–16.10, –3.27), respectively). In PREVAIL, first SREs caused clinically meaningful declines in EQ-5D utility index, irrespective of category; spinal cord compression had the largest impact (mean (95% CI) change –0.24 (–0.39, –0.08)). In AFFIRM, FACT-P and FACT-General total scores showed clinically meaningful declines after radiation/surgery to bone. Conclusions: SREs were associated with clinically meaningful functional declines in the daily lives of patients with mCRPC. Spinal cord compression had the largest impact on HRQoL. PMID:28045115

Antispermatogenic, antiandrogenic activities of Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth bark extract in male albino rats.

PubMed

Gupta, R S; Kachhawa, J B S; Chaudhary, R

2006-03-01

Methanolic extract of Albizia lebbeck bark when administered orally at the dose level of 100 mg/rat/day to male rats of proven fertility for 60 days did not cause any significant loss in their body weights but the weights of reproductive organs, i.e. testis, epididymides, seminal vesicle and ventral prostate were decreased in a significant manner when compared to controls. Sperm motility as well as sperm density were reduced significantly which resulted in reduction of male fertility by 100%. Marked decline in the germ cell population was noticed. Population of preleptotene, pachytene, secondary spermatocytes and step-19 spermatid were declined by 60.86%, 65.81%, 71.56% and 66.55%, respectively. Cross-sectional surface area of sertoli cells as well as the cells counts were found to be depleted significantly. Leydig cells nuclear area and number of mature Leydig cells were decreased by 60.03% and 51.56%, respectively. Serum testosterone levels showed significant reduction after A. lebbeck extract feeding. Oral administration of the extract did not affect red blood cell (RBC) and white blood cell (WBC) count, haemoglobin, haematocrit and glucose in the blood and cholesterol, protein, triglyceride and phospholipid in the serum. In conclusion, A. lebbeck bark extract administration arrests spermatogenesis in male rats without noticeable side effects.

Effectiveness of pads and enclosures as safety interventions on consumer trampolines

PubMed Central

Eager, David; Scarrott, Carl; Sushinsky, George

2010-01-01

Background Trampolines continue to be a major source of childhood injury. Objective To examine available data on trampoline injuries in order to determine the effectiveness of padding and enclosures. Design Trampoline injuries from the NEISS database from 2002 to 2007 were reclassified into five cause-categories, to examine evidence for injury trends. Setting The ASTM trampoline standard recommendations for safety padding were upgraded in 1999 and enclosures were introduced in 1997. This is the first study to examine the impact of these changes. Patients The sampling frame comprises patients with NEISS product code ‘consumer trampolines’ (1233). A systematic sample of 360 patients each year is taken. Interventions The prominent interventions recommended by the ASTM are netting enclosures to prevent falling off and safety padding to cover frames and springs. Main outcome measures Proportion of injuries within each cause-category and trend estimates. Results There was no evidence for a decline within the injury cause-categories that should be prevented by these interventions from 2002 to 2007. Conclusions If these interventions were effective the associated injury causes would be in decline. Instead they remain close to half of all trampoline injuries with no significant change over the period of the study. Follow-up studies are proposed to determine the reasons. Given the number of injuries involved it is recommended that steps be taken to ensure these safety interventions or their equivalents are in place, work properly and remain effective for the life of consumer trampolines. PMID:20570986

Pesticides and Population Declines of California Alpine Frogs

EPA Science Inventory

Airborne pesticides from the Central Valley of California have been implicated as a cause for population declines of several amphibian species, with the strongest evidence for the mountain yellow-legged frog complex (Rana muscosa and R. sierrae) in the Sierra Nevada. We measured ...

Quantifying Coral Reef Ecosystem Services

EPA Science Inventory

Coral reefs have been declining during the last four decades as a result of both local and global anthropogenic stresses. Numerous research efforts to elucidate the nature, causes, magnitude, and potential remedies for the decline have led to the widely held belief that the recov...

Habitat Fragmentation and Species Extirpation in Freshwater Ecosystems; Causes of Range Decline of the Indus River Dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor)

PubMed Central

Braulik, Gill T.; Arshad, Masood; Noureen, Uzma; Northridge, Simon P.

2014-01-01

Habitat fragmentation of freshwater ecosystems is increasing rapidly, however the understanding of extinction debt and species decline in riverine habitat fragments lags behind that in other ecosystems. The mighty rivers that drain the Himalaya - the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Indus, Mekong and Yangtze - are amongst the world’s most biodiverse freshwater ecosystems. Many hundreds of dams have been constructed, are under construction, or are planned on these rivers and large hydrological changes and losses of biodiversity have occurred and are expected to continue. This study examines the causes of range decline of the Indus dolphin, which inhabits one of the world’s most modified rivers, to demonstrate how we may expect other vertebrate populations to respond as planned dams and water developments come into operation. The historical range of the Indus dolphin has been fragmented into 17 river sections by diversion dams; dolphin sighting and interview surveys show that river dolphins have been extirpated from ten river sections, they persist in 6, and are of unknown status in one section. Seven potential factors influencing the temporal and spatial pattern of decline were considered in three regression model sets. Low dry-season river discharge, due to water abstraction at irrigation barrages, was the principal factor that explained the dolphin’s range decline, influencing 1) the spatial pattern of persistence, 2) the temporal pattern of subpopulation extirpation, and 3) the speed of extirpation after habitat fragmentation. Dolphins were more likely to persist in the core of the former range because water diversions are concentrated near the range periphery. Habitat fragmentation and degradation of the habitat were inextricably intertwined and in combination caused the catastrophic decline of the Indus dolphin. PMID:25029270

Habitat fragmentation and species extirpation in freshwater ecosystems; causes of range decline of the Indus river dolphin (Platanista gangetica minor).

PubMed

Braulik, Gill T; Arshad, Masood; Noureen, Uzma; Northridge, Simon P

2014-01-01

Habitat fragmentation of freshwater ecosystems is increasing rapidly, however the understanding of extinction debt and species decline in riverine habitat fragments lags behind that in other ecosystems. The mighty rivers that drain the Himalaya - the Ganges, Brahmaputra, Indus, Mekong and Yangtze - are amongst the world's most biodiverse freshwater ecosystems. Many hundreds of dams have been constructed, are under construction, or are planned on these rivers and large hydrological changes and losses of biodiversity have occurred and are expected to continue. This study examines the causes of range decline of the Indus dolphin, which inhabits one of the world's most modified rivers, to demonstrate how we may expect other vertebrate populations to respond as planned dams and water developments come into operation. The historical range of the Indus dolphin has been fragmented into 17 river sections by diversion dams; dolphin sighting and interview surveys show that river dolphins have been extirpated from ten river sections, they persist in 6, and are of unknown status in one section. Seven potential factors influencing the temporal and spatial pattern of decline were considered in three regression model sets. Low dry-season river discharge, due to water abstraction at irrigation barrages, was the principal factor that explained the dolphin's range decline, influencing 1) the spatial pattern of persistence, 2) the temporal pattern of subpopulation extirpation, and 3) the speed of extirpation after habitat fragmentation. Dolphins were more likely to persist in the core of the former range because water diversions are concentrated near the range periphery. Habitat fragmentation and degradation of the habitat were inextricably intertwined and in combination caused the catastrophic decline of the Indus dolphin.

CDC grand rounds: current opportunities in tobacco control.

PubMed

2010-04-30

Tobacco use is the world's leading single preventable cause of death. Worldwide tobacco-related deaths now exceed 5 million a year. Left unchecked, the number is expected to exceed 8 million a year by 2030, and 80% of those tobacco-related deaths will occur in low- and middle-income countries. In the United States, tobacco use is the single leading preventable cause of disease, disability, and death. Each year, 443,000 U.S. residents die from cigarette smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke, and another 8.6 million have a serious illness caused by smoking. In 2008, 20.6% (approximately 46 million) of U.S. adults were current smokers. Smoking costs the United States $96 billion in medical costs and $97 billion in lost productivity annually. A particular concern is that progress in reducing smoking rates among young persons and adults has stalled. After a substantial decline from 1997 (36.4%) to 2003 (21.9%), the decline in smoking rates among high school students slowed and remained relatively unchanged from 2003 (21.9%) to 2007 (20.0%). Adult smoking prevalence declined steadily from 1965 (42.4%) through the 1980s; however, the decline in smoking rates among adults began to slow in the 1990s and remained relatively unchanged from 2004 (20.9%) to 2008 (20.6%). By achieving a modest decline in smoking prevalence worldwide (from 25% to 20%) through further use of tobacco control measures, 100 million deaths can be prevented by 2020.

Effects of white-nose syndrome on regional population patterns of 3 hibernating bat species.

PubMed

Ingersoll, Thomas E; Sewall, Brent J; Amelon, Sybill K

2016-10-01

Hibernating bats have undergone severe recent declines across the eastern United States, but the cause of these regional-scale declines has not been systematically evaluated. We assessed the influence of white-nose syndrome (an emerging bat disease caused by the fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans, formerly Geomyces destructans) on large-scale, long-term population patterns in the little brown myotis (Myotis lucifugus), the northern myotis (Myotis septentrionalis), and the tricolored bat (Perimyotis subflavus). We modeled population trajectories for each species on the basis of an extensive data set of winter hibernacula counts of more than 1 million individual bats from a 4-state region over 13 years and with data on locations of hibernacula and first detections of white-nose syndrome at each hibernaculum. We used generalized additive mixed models to determine population change relative to expectations, that is, how population trajectories differed with a colony's infection status, how trajectories differed with distance from the point of introduction of white-nose syndrome, and whether declines were concordant with first local observation of the disease. Population trajectories in all species met at least one of the 3 expectations, but none met all 3. Our results suggest, therefore, that white-nose syndrome has affected regional populations differently than was previously understood and has not been the sole cause of declines. Specifically, our results suggest that in some areas and species, threats other than white-nose syndrome are also contributing to population declines, declines linked to white-nose syndrome have spread across large geographic areas with unexpected speed, and the disease or other threats led to declines in bat populations for years prior to disease detection. Effective conservation will require further research to mitigate impacts of white-nose syndrome, renewed attention to other threats to bats, and improved surveillance efforts to ensure early detection of white-nose syndrome. © 2016 Society for Conservation Biology.

Identifying the causes of water crises: A configurational frequency analysis of 22 basins world wide

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Srinivasan, V.; Gorelick, S.; Lambin, E.; Rozelle, S.; Thompson, B.

2010-12-01

Freshwater "scarcity" has been identified as being a major problem world-wide, but it is surprisingly hard to assess if water is truly scarce at a global or even regional scale. Most empirical water research remains location specific. Characterizing water problems, transferring lessons across regions, to develop a synthesized global view of water issues remains a challenge. In this study we attempt a systematic understanding of water problems across regions. We compared case studies of basins across different regions of the world using configurational frequency analysis. Because water crises are multi-symptom and multi-causal, a major challenge was to categorize water problems so as to make comparisons across cases meaningful. In this study, we focused strictly on water unsustainability, viz. the inability to sustain current levels of the anthropogenic (drinking water, food, power, livelihood) and natural (aquatic species, wetlands) into the future. For each case, the causes of three outcome variables, groundwater declines, surface water declines and aquatic ecosystem declines, were classified and coded. We conducted a meta-analysis in which clusters of peer-reviewed papers by interdisciplinary teams were considered to ensure that the results were not biased towards factors privileged by any one discipline. Based on our final sample of 22 case study river basins, some clear patterns emerged. The meta-analysis suggests that water resources managers have long overemphasized the factors governing supply of water resources and while insufficient attention has been paid to the factors driving demand. Overall, uncontrolled increase in demand was twice as frequent as declines in availability due to climate change or decreased recharge. Moreover, groundwater and surface water declines showed distinct causal pathways. Uncontrolled increases in demand due to lack of credible enforcement were a key factor driving groundwater declines; while increased upstream abstractions, inadequate infrastructure investments, and pollution were dominant causes of surface water declines.

Progression from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer's disease: effects of gender, butyrylcholinesterase genotype and rivastigmine treatment

PubMed Central

Ferris, Steven; Nordberg, Agneta; Soininen, Hilkka; Darreh-Shori, Taher; Lane, Roger

2014-01-01

Objective Evaluate the influence of gender and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE) genotype on incidence of progression to AD, rate of cognitive and functional decline, and response to rivastigmine treatment in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) subjects. Methods This retrospective exploratory analysis from a 3–4 year, randomized, placebo-controlled study of rivastigmine in MCI subjects included participants who consented to pharmacogenetic testing. Results Of 1018 total patients, 490 (253 [52%] female) were successfully genotyped for BuChE. In subjects receiving placebo, the BuChE wt/wt genotype was associated with a statistically significantly higher rate of progression to AD and functional decline in women, compared with men with the BuChE wt/wt genotype. In subjects with a BuChE-K allele receiving placebo, incidence of progression to AD and rate of functional decline were not significantly different by gender, however cognitive decline was significantly faster in men. Statistically significant benefits of rivastigmine treatment on progression to AD, functional decline, ventricular volume expansion, whole brain atrophy and white matter loss were evident in female BuChE wt/wt. Conclusion Gender appears to differentially influence the type of decline in MCI subjects according to BuChE genotype, with more rapid progression of cognitive decline in male BuChE-K, and more rapid progression to AD and functional decline in female BuChE wt/wt. Cognitive decline in male BuChE-K and functional decline and progression to AD in female BuChE wt/wt were significantly attenuated by rivastigmine. Rivastigmine treatment also significantly reduced ventricular expansion, whole brain atrophy rate and white matter loss in female BuChE wt/wt, suggesting a possible disease-modifying effect. PMID:19617863

Job Prospects for Petroleum Engineers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Basta, Nicholas

1988-01-01

Describes petroleum engineering as one area in industry where job opportunities are few but where the worst of the declines has been seen. Discusses the causes of the decline. Lists several areas where petroleum engineers have found alternatives including environmental projects, water supply projects, and computer applications. (CW)

Abortive Spontaneous Egg Activation: An Emerging Biological Threat for the Existence of Mammals.

PubMed

Prasad, Shilpa; Tiwari, Meenakshi; Chaube, Shail K

2017-06-01

Mammals are important for balancing the natural ecosystem, but in the past few decades, several species have rapidly been entered under threatened category worldwide. The environmental changes, loss of natural habitats, human activities, and thereby stress are responsible for a gradual decline in reproductive outcome. Stress induces generation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). High physiological level of ROS drives abortive spontaneous egg activation (SEA), while beyond the physiological level causes oxidative stress (OS). The OS induces apoptosis and deteriorates egg quality that limits reproductive outcome. The reduced reproductive outcome is one of the major causes for gradual decline in population size of several mammalian species. Despite having several conservation programs, a gradual decline in species reproductive outcome and their population size is the serious concern for the existence of threatened mammalian species. Thus, it is important to identify and prevent the underlying causes responsible for abortive SEA, which could be an emerging problem for several mammalian species that are threatened or at the verge of extinction.

Was disease involved in the decimation of Guam's avifauna?

USGS Publications Warehouse

Savidge, Julie A.; Sileo, Louis; Siegfried, Lynne M.

1992-01-01

Between 1982 and 1986, 402 (290 live, 112 dead) exotic, migrant or native resident birds on Guam were surveyed for disease-causing agents to determine the role of disease in the decline of native forest bird populations on Guam. Traumatic injury, primarily from collisions with motor vehicles and predation, was the most prevalent (46%) cause of death. Thirty-eight percent of the carcasses examined were in poor body condition largely as a result of inadequate nutrition in captive native birds and poultry and adipose exhaustion in errant migrants. A variety of commensal or opportunistic bacteria, including Salmonella spp., were cultured from 220 birds, and nothing remarkable was found in 15 fecal samples. Lastly, no haematozoans, the suspected cause for the decline of the Hawaiian avifauna, were observed in blood slides examined from 260 birds. Based on the results of the survey and other lines of evidence presented in the discussion, we concluded there were no data implicating disease in the decline of Guam's avifauna.

Impact of Pneumococcal Conjugate Vaccination on Otitis Media: A Systematic Review

PubMed Central

Taylor, Sylvia; Marchisio, Paola; Vergison, Anne; Harriague, Julie; Hausdorff, William P.; Haggard, Mark

2012-01-01

Acute otitis media (AOM) is a leading cause of visits to physicians and of antibiotic prescriptions for young children. We systematically reviewed studies on all-cause AOM episodes and physician visits in which impact was attributed to pneumococcal conjugate vaccines, either as efficacy or effectiveness. Of 18 relevant publications found, most used the 7-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (7vCRM). The efficacy of 7vCRM against all-cause AOM episodes or visits was 0%–9% in randomized trials and 17%–23% in nonrandomized trials. In observational database studies, physician visits for AOM were already declining in the 3–5 years before 7vCRM introduction (mean change, −15%; range, +14% to −24%) and continued to decline afterward (mean, −19%; range, +7% to −48%). This vaccine provides some protection against OM, but other factors have also contributed to the recent decline in OM incidence. Future effectiveness studies should thus use better-controlled methods to estimate the true impact of vaccination on AOM. PMID:22423134

Diagnosing the decline in pharmaceutical R&D efficiency.

PubMed

Scannell, Jack W; Blanckley, Alex; Boldon, Helen; Warrington, Brian

2012-03-01

The past 60 years have seen huge advances in many of the scientific, technological and managerial factors that should tend to raise the efficiency of commercial drug research and development (RD). Yet the number of new drugs approved per billion US dollars spent on RD has halved roughly every 9 years since 1950, falling around 80-fold in inflation-adjusted terms. There have been many proposed solutions to the problem of declining RD efficiency. However, their apparent lack of impact so far and the contrast between improving inputs and declining output in terms of the number of new drugs make it sensible to ask whether the underlying problems have been correctly diagnosed. Here, we discuss four factors that we consider to be primary causes, which we call the 'better than the Beatles' problem; the 'cautious regulator' problem; the 'throw money at it' tendency; and the 'basic research-brute force' bias. Our aim is to provoke a more systematic analysis of the causes of the decline in RD efficiency.

Marsh rabbit mortalities tie pythons to the precipitous decline of mammals in the Everglades

USGS Publications Warehouse

McCleery, Robert A.; Sovie, Adia; Reed, Robert N.; Cunningham, Mark W.; Hunter, Margaret E.; Hart, Kristen M.

2015-01-01

To address the ongoing debate over the impact of invasive species on native terrestrial wildlife, we conducted a large-scale experiment to test the hypothesis that invasive Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) were a cause of the precipitous decline of mammals in Everglades National Park (ENP). Evidence linking pythons to mammal declines has been indirect and there are reasons to question whether pythons, or any predator, could have caused the precipitous declines seen across a range of mammalian functional groups. Experimentally manipulating marsh rabbits, we found that pythons accounted for 77% of rabbit mortalities within 11 months of their translocation to ENP and that python predation appeared to preclude the persistence of rabbit populations in ENP. On control sites, outside of the park, no rabbits were killed by pythons and 71% of attributable marsh rabbit mortalities were classified as mammal predations. Burmese pythons pose a serious threat to the faunal communities and ecological functioning of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, which will probably spread as python populations expand their range.

Quantitative evidence for the effects of multiple drivers on continental-scale amphibian declines

Treesearch

Evan H. Campbell Grant; David A. W. Miller; Benedikt R. Schmidt; Michael J. Adams; Staci M. Amburgey; Thierry Chambert; Sam S. Cruickshank; Robert N. Fisher; David M. Green; Blake R. Hossack; Pieter T. J. Johnson; Maxwell B. Joseph; Tracy A. G. Rittenhouse; Maureen E. Ryan; J. Hardin Waddle; Susan C. Walls; Larissa L. Bailey; Gary M. Fellers; Thomas A. Gorman; Andrew M. Ray; David S. Pilliod; Steven J. Price; Daniel Saenz; Walt Sadinski; Erin Muths

2016-01-01

Since amphibian declines were first proposed as a global phenomenon over a quarter century ago, the conservation community has made little progress in halting or reversing these trends. The early search for a “smoking gun” was replaced with the expectation that declines are caused by multiple drivers. While field observations and experiments have identified factors...

Long-Term Declining Trends in Historical Wind Measurements at the Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, 1885-2013

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azorin-Molina, C.; Iacono, M. J.

2014-12-01

The Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory, located on the 635-foot summit of Great Blue Hill ten miles south of Boston, Massachusetts, has been the site of continuous monitoring of the local weather and climate since its founding in 1885. The meticulous, extensive and high-quality climate record maintained at this location has included the measurement of wind among many other parameters since its earliest days, and this provides a unique opportunity to examine wind speed trends at this site over nearly 130 years. Although multiple wind sensors have been in use during this time and the height of the anemometers was raised in 1908, the wind records have been made as consistent as possible through careful analysis of these changes and the application of adjustments to ensure consistency. The 30-year mean wind speed at this location has decreased from 6.8 m s-1 in the middle 20th century to its present value of 6.0 m s-1 with an increase in the rate of the decline beginning around 1980. The wind speed time series shows a significant (p < 0.05) downward trend over the entire period from 1885-2013 (-0.085 m s-1 decade-1) that is stronger and also significant for the sub-periods from 1961-2013 (-0.266 m s-1 decade-1) and 1979-2008 (-0.342 m s-1 decade-1). This declining trend persists in all seasons and has significant implications for the efficiency of wind power generation in the area, if it reflects a regional change in the near-surface wind regime. The wind instruments in use since the 19th century will be described, and the official long-term record will be compared with measurements from other wind sensors at the Observatory and surrounding locations. In addition, initial investigations of the possible causes of the wind speed decline will be presented in the context of global stilling (i.e. the theory of a widespread decline in measured near-surface wind speed), including an analysis of the wind speed change as a function of wind direction.

Rising population of survivors of oral squamous cell cancer in the United States.

PubMed

Patel, Mira A; Blackford, Amanda L; Rettig, Eleni M; Richmon, Jeremy D; Eisele, David W; Fakhry, Carole

2016-05-01

The incidence of oropharyngeal cancer (OPC) and a subset of oral cavity cancer (OCC) is increasing in the United States. To the authors' knowledge, the presumed growing prevalence of survivors of OPC and OCC has not been investigated to date. Retrospective analysis of Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results data (1975-2012) estimated changes in incidence, 5-year cause-specific survival, and prevalence for OPC and OCC. Changes in incidence, cause-specific survival and prevalence were estimated by linear regression and expressed as the percentage change (B). Differences in incidence trends over time were determined by joinpoint analysis. The incidence of OPC increased by 62.6% from 1975 through 2012. Notable increases in OPC incidence were observed among men, white individuals, and those of younger ages. The 5-year survival for OPC increased significantly for all sexes, races, and individuals aged >30 years, with white individuals and males experiencing the largest increase in survival. By contrast, the incidence of OCC declined by 22.3% during the same time period. OCC incidence decreased across all groups but increased among individuals aged 30 to 39 years. Significant increases in survival were observed for OCC, except for those who were female, black, and aged <40 years. The prevalence of survivors of OPC increased from 2000 to 2012 (B, 115.1 per 100,000 individuals per year; P<.0001), whereas the prevalence of survivors of OCC significantly decreased (B, -15.8 per 100,000 individuals per year; P<.0001). The prevalence of survivors of OPC is increasing, whereas the prevalence of survivors of OCC is declining. These data portend significant implications for long-term care planning for survivors of OPC and OCC. Cancer 2016;122:1380-1387. © 2016 American Cancer Society. © 2016 American Cancer Society.

The Utility of the Remnant Kidney Volume/Body Surface Area Ratio and Tumor Diameter as Predictors of Postoperative Degree of Renal Functional Decline in Patients With Renal Cell Carcinoma Treated by Radical Nephrectomy.

PubMed

Sejima, Takehiro; Yamaguchi, Noriya; Iwamoto, Hideto; Masago, Toshihiko; Morizane, Shuichi; Ono, Koji; Koumi, Tsutomu; Honda, Masashi; Takenaka, Atsushi

2015-08-01

To characterize the preoperative factors affecting renal cell carcinoma patients as predictive of post-radical nephrectomy (RN) mild (M-decline) or severe (S-decline) renal functional decline and to elucidate the histopathologic features of the resected normal kidney cortex, as well as the occurrence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in both M-decline and S-decline patients. M-decline and S-decline were categorized as a percentage of postoperative estimated glomerular filtration rate decline of <20 and of >40, respectively. The preoperative factors analyzed were patient demographics, comorbidities, and radiographic findings, including remnant kidney status and tumor size. The factors based on postoperative information analyzed were tumor and normal cortex pathology and CVD events. In 175 patient cohort, 21 and 32 cases were categorized as M-decline and S-decline, respectively. Absence of comorbidities, larger remnant kidney volume (RKV)/body surface area (BSA) ratio, and larger tumor diameter were significantly predictive of M-decline, whereas smaller tumor diameter was significantly predictive of S-decline. The global glomerulosclerosis extent in nephrectomized normal cortex of S-decline cases was significantly higher than in other types of cases. No CVD event was observed in M-decline cases. This is the first report to identify the RKV/BSA ratio as a promising predictor of post-RN degree of renal functional decline. Post-RN prevention of life-threatening outcomes according to preoperative and postoperative information, including the degree of post-RN renal functional decline and histopathology of the nephrectomized normal cortex, should be considerable in future urological tasks. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Demographic processes underlying subtle patterns of population structure in the scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini.

PubMed

Nance, Holly A; Klimley, Peter; Galván-Magaña, Felipe; Martínez-Ortíz, Jimmy; Marko, Peter B

2011-01-01

Genetic diversity (θ), effective population size (N(e)), and contemporary levels of gene flow are important parameters to estimate for species of conservation concern, such as the globally endangered scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini. Therefore, we have reconstructed the demographic history of S. lewini across its Eastern Pacific (EP) range by applying classical and coalescent population genetic methods to a combination of 15 microsatellite loci and mtDNA control region sequences. In addition to significant population genetic structure and isolation-by-distance among seven coastal sites between central Mexico and Ecuador, the analyses revealed that all populations have experienced a bottleneck and that all current values of θ are at least an order of magnitude smaller than ancestral θ, indicating large decreases in N(e) (θ = 4N(e)μ), where μ is the mutation rate. Application of the isolation-with-migration (IM) model showed modest but significant genetic connectivity between most sampled sites (point estimates of Nm = 0.1-16.7), with divergence times (t) among all populations significantly greater than zero. Using a conservative (i.e., slow) fossil-based taxon-specific phylogenetic calibration for mtDNA mutation rates, posterior probability distributions (PPDs) for the onset of the decline in N(e) predate modern fishing in this region. The cause of decline over the last several thousand years is unknown but is highly atypical as a post-glacial demographic history. Regardless of the cause, our data and analyses suggest that S. lewini was far more abundant throughout the EP in the past than at present.

Demographic Processes Underlying Subtle Patterns of Population Structure in the Scalloped Hammerhead Shark, Sphyrna lewini

PubMed Central

Nance, Holly A.; Klimley, Peter; Galván-Magaña, Felipe; Martínez-Ortíz, Jimmy; Marko, Peter B.

2011-01-01

Genetic diversity (θ), effective population size (Ne), and contemporary levels of gene flow are important parameters to estimate for species of conservation concern, such as the globally endangered scalloped hammerhead shark, Sphyrna lewini. Therefore, we have reconstructed the demographic history of S. lewini across its Eastern Pacific (EP) range by applying classical and coalescent population genetic methods to a combination of 15 microsatellite loci and mtDNA control region sequences. In addition to significant population genetic structure and isolation-by-distance among seven coastal sites between central Mexico and Ecuador, the analyses revealed that all populations have experienced a bottleneck and that all current values of θ are at least an order of magnitude smaller than ancestral θ, indicating large decreases in Ne (θ = 4Neμ), where μ is the mutation rate. Application of the isolation-with-migration (IM) model showed modest but significant genetic connectivity between most sampled sites (point estimates of Nm = 0.1–16.7), with divergence times (t) among all populations significantly greater than zero. Using a conservative (i.e., slow) fossil-based taxon-specific phylogenetic calibration for mtDNA mutation rates, posterior probability distributions (PPDs) for the onset of the decline in Ne predate modern fishing in this region. The cause of decline over the last several thousand years is unknown but is highly atypical as a post-glacial demographic history. Regardless of the cause, our data and analyses suggest that S. lewini was far more abundant throughout the EP in the past than at present. PMID:21789171

Impact of a COPD comprehensive case management program on hospital length of stay and readmission rates.

PubMed

Alshabanat, Abdulmajeed; Otterstatter, Michael C; Sin, Don D; Road, Jeremy; Rempel, Carmen; Burns, Jane; van Eeden, Stephan F; FitzGerald, J M

2017-01-01

COPD accounts for the highest rate of hospital admissions among major chronic diseases. COPD hospitalizations are associated with impaired quality of life, high health care utilization, and poor prognosis and result in an economic and a social burden that is both substantial and increasing. The aim of this study is to determine the efficacy of a comprehensive case management program (CCMP) in reducing length of stay (LOS) and risk of hospital admissions and readmissions in patients with COPD. We retrospectively compared outcomes across five large hospitals in Vancouver, BC, Canada, following the implementation of a systems approach to the management of COPD patients who were identified in the hospital and followed up in the community for 90 days. We compared numbers, rates, and intervals of readmission and LOS during 2 years of active program delivery compared to 1 year prior to program implementation. A total of 1,564 patients with a clinical diagnosis of COPD were identified from 2,719 hospital admissions during the 3 years of study. The disease management program reduced COPD-related hospitalizations by 30% and hospitalizations for all causes by 13.6%. Similarly, the rate of readmission for all causes showed a significant decline, with hazard ratios (HRs) of 0.55 (year 1) and 0.51 (year 2) of intervention ( P <0.001). In addition, patients' mean LOS (days) for COPD-related admissions declined significantly from 10.8 to 6.8 ( P <0.05). A comprehensive disease management program for COPD patients, including education, case management, and follow-up, was associated with significant reduction in hospital admissions and LOS.

Temporal trends in sperm count: a systematic review and meta-regression analysis.

PubMed

Levine, Hagai; Jørgensen, Niels; Martino-Andrade, Anderson; Mendiola, Jaime; Weksler-Derri, Dan; Mindlis, Irina; Pinotti, Rachel; Swan, Shanna H

2017-11-01

Reported declines in sperm counts remain controversial today and recent trends are unknown. A definitive meta-analysis is critical given the predictive value of sperm count for fertility, morbidity and mortality. To provide a systematic review and meta-regression analysis of recent trends in sperm counts as measured by sperm concentration (SC) and total sperm count (TSC), and their modification by fertility and geographic group. PubMed/MEDLINE and EMBASE were searched for English language studies of human SC published in 1981-2013. Following a predefined protocol 7518 abstracts were screened and 2510 full articles reporting primary data on SC were reviewed. A total of 244 estimates of SC and TSC from 185 studies of 42 935 men who provided semen samples in 1973-2011 were extracted for meta-regression analysis, as well as information on years of sample collection and covariates [fertility group ('Unselected by fertility' versus 'Fertile'), geographic group ('Western', including North America, Europe Australia and New Zealand versus 'Other', including South America, Asia and Africa), age, ejaculation abstinence time, semen collection method, method of measuring SC and semen volume, exclusion criteria and indicators of completeness of covariate data]. The slopes of SC and TSC were estimated as functions of sample collection year using both simple linear regression and weighted meta-regression models and the latter were adjusted for pre-determined covariates and modification by fertility and geographic group. Assumptions were examined using multiple sensitivity analyses and nonlinear models. SC declined significantly between 1973 and 2011 (slope in unadjusted simple regression models -0.70 million/ml/year; 95% CI: -0.72 to -0.69; P < 0.001; slope in adjusted meta-regression models = -0.64; -1.06 to -0.22; P = 0.003). The slopes in the meta-regression model were modified by fertility (P for interaction = 0.064) and geographic group (P for interaction = 0.027). There was a significant decline in SC between 1973 and 2011 among Unselected Western (-1.38; -2.02 to -0.74; P < 0.001) and among Fertile Western (-0.68; -1.31 to -0.05; P = 0.033), while no significant trends were seen among Unselected Other and Fertile Other. Among Unselected Western studies, the mean SC declined, on average, 1.4% per year with an overall decline of 52.4% between 1973 and 2011. Trends for TSC and SC were similar, with a steep decline among Unselected Western (-5.33 million/year, -7.56 to -3.11; P < 0.001), corresponding to an average decline in mean TSC of 1.6% per year and overall decline of 59.3%. Results changed minimally in multiple sensitivity analyses, and there was no statistical support for the use of a nonlinear model. In a model restricted to data post-1995, the slope both for SC and TSC among Unselected Western was similar to that for the entire period (-2.06 million/ml, -3.38 to -0.74; P = 0.004 and -8.12 million, -13.73 to -2.51, P = 0.006, respectively). This comprehensive meta-regression analysis reports a significant decline in sperm counts (as measured by SC and TSC) between 1973 and 2011, driven by a 50-60% decline among men unselected by fertility from North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Because of the significant public health implications of these results, research on the causes of this continuing decline is urgently needed. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

The conservation and population status of the world's waders at the turn of the millennium

USGS Publications Warehouse

Stroud, David A.; Baker, Andy; Blanco, D.E.; Davidson, Nick C.; Ganter, B.; Gill, Robert E.; Gonzalez, P.M.; Haanstra, L.; Morrison, R.I.G.; Piersma, Theunis; Scott, D.; Thorup, O.; West, R.; Wilson, J.L.; Zöckler, Christoph; Boere, Gerard C.; Galbraith, Colin A.; Stroud, David A.

2006-01-01

Using information from many sources, but especially data collated for the third edition of Wetlands International’s Waterbird Population Estimates, we review the status of the world’s waders in the late 1990s. There are widespread declines in most regions and biotopes caused principally by loss and degradation of wetland (and other) habitats. On different flyways, between 33%and 68% of populations are in decline, compared with only 0% to 29% increasing. Non-migratory, island species have especially poor status, with about half of all island waders being globally threatened with extinction. Of particular conservation concern is the declining environmental status of several key staging areas,which provide energetic ‘spring-boards’ for long-distance migrants. The degradation of these areas compromises the status of many migrant waders. The rapid collapse of populations, forced below threshold levels, has been predicted theoretically, and now appears to be occurring in a number of rapidly declining populations. Conservation responses must urgently address causes of wetland loss and degradation, as well as enhancing monitoring and research so as better to inform appropriate conservation policies. National and international strategies and conservation instruments have scope to help, but need to be much more strategic in their implementation so as to address root causes.

Coral decline threatens fish biodiversity in marine reserves.

PubMed

Jones, Geoffrey P; McCormick, Mark I; Srinivasan, Maya; Eagle, Janelle V

2004-05-25

The worldwide decline in coral cover has serious implications for the health of coral reefs. But what is the future of reef fish assemblages? Marine reserves can protect fish from exploitation, but do they protect fish biodiversity in degrading environments? The answer appears to be no, as indicated by our 8-year study in Papua New Guinea. A devastating decline in coral cover caused a parallel decline in fish biodiversity, both in marine reserves and in areas open to fishing. Over 75% of reef fish species declined in abundance, and 50% declined to less than half of their original numbers. The greater the dependence species have on living coral as juvenile recruitment sites, the greater the observed decline in abundance. Several rare coral-specialists became locally extinct. We suggest that fish biodiversity is threatened wherever permanent reef degradation occurs and warn that marine reserves will not always be sufficient to ensure their survival.

Socioeconomic inequalities in premature mortality in Colombia, 1998-2007: the double burden of non-communicable diseases and injuries.

PubMed

Arroyave, Ivan; Burdorf, Alex; Cardona, Doris; Avendano, Mauricio

2014-07-01

Non-communicable diseases have become the leading cause of death in middle-income countries, but mortality from injuries and infections remains high. We examined the contribution of specific causes to disparities in adult premature mortality (ages 25-64) by educational level from 1998 to 2007 in Colombia. Data from mortality registries were linked to population censuses to obtain mortality rates by educational attainment. We used Poisson regression to model trends in mortality by educational attainment and estimated the contribution of specific causes to the Slope Index of Inequality. Men and women with only primary education had higher premature mortality than men and women with post-secondary education (RRmen=2.60, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 2.56, 2.64; RRwomen=2.36, CI: 2.31, 2.42). Mortality declined in all educational groups, but declines were significantly larger for higher-educated men and women. Homicide explained 55.1% of male inequalities while non-communicable diseases explained 62.5% of female inequalities and 27.1% of male inequalities. Infections explained a small proportion of inequalities in mortality. Injuries and non-communicable diseases contribute considerably to disparities in premature mortality in Colombia. Multi-sector policies to reduce both interpersonal violence and non-communicable disease risk factors are required to curb mortality disparities. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Conductivity degradation of polyvinylidene fluoride composite binder during cycling: Measurements and simulations for lithium-ion batteries

DOE PAGES

Grillet, Anne M.; Humplik, Thomas; Stirrup, Emily K.; ...

2016-07-02

The polymer-composite binder used in lithium-ion battery electrodes must both hold the electrodes together and augment their electrical conductivity while subjected to mechanical stresses caused by active material volume changes due to lithiation and delithiation. We have discovered that cyclic mechanical stresses cause significant degradation in the binder electrical conductivity. After just 160 mechanical cycles, the conductivity of polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF):carbon black binder dropped between 45–75%. This degradation in binder conductivity has been shown to be quite general, occurring over a range of carbon black concentrations, with and without absorbed electrolyte solvent and for different polymer manufacturers. Mechanical cycling ofmore » lithium cobalt oxide (LiCoO2) cathodes caused a similar degradation, reducing the effective electrical conductivity by 30–40%. Mesoscale simulations on a reconstructed experimental cathode geometry predicted the binder conductivity degradation will have a proportional impact on cathode electrical conductivity, in qualitative agreement with the experimental measurements. Lastly, ohmic resistance measurements were made on complete batteries. Direct comparisons between electrochemical cycling and mechanical cycling show consistent trends in the conductivity decline. This evidence supports a new mechanism for performance decline of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries during operation – electrochemically-induced mechanical stresses that degrade binder conductivity, increasing the internal resistance of the battery with cycling.« less

Socioeconomic inequalities in premature mortality in Colombia, 1998-2007: The double burden of non-communicable diseases and injuries

PubMed Central

Arroyave, Ivan; Burdorf, Alex; Cardona, Doris; Avendano, Mauricio

2014-01-01

Objectives Non-communicable diseases have become the leading cause of death in middle-income countries, but mortality from injuries and infections remains high. We examined the contribution of specific causes to disparities in adult premature mortality (ages 25-64) by educational level from 1998 to 2007 in Colombia. Methods Data from mortality registries were linked to population censuses to obtain mortality rates by educational attainment. We used Poisson regression to model trends in mortality by educational attainment and estimated the contribution of specific causes to the Slope Index of Inequality. Results Men and women with only primary education had higher premature mortality than men and women with post-secondary education (RRmen=2·60, 95% confidence interval [CI]:2·56, 2·64; RRwomen=2·36, CI:2·31, 2·42). Mortality declined in all educational groups, but declines were significantly larger for higher-educated men and women. Homicide explained 55·1% of male inequalities while non-communicable diseases explained 62·5% of female inequalities and 27·1% of male inequalities. Infections explained a small proportion of inequalities in mortality. Conclusion Injuries and non-communicable diseases contribute considerably to disparities in premature mortality in Colombia. Multi-sector policies to reduce both interpersonal violence and non-communicable disease risk factors are required to curb mortality disparities. PMID:24674854

Effects of Withdrawals on Ground-Water Levels in Southern Maryland and the Adjacent Eastern Shore, 1980-2005

USGS Publications Warehouse

Soeder, Daniel J.; Raffensperger, Jeff P.; Nardi, Mark R.

2007-01-01

Ground water is the primary source of water supply in most areas of Maryland?s Atlantic Coastal Plain, including Southern Maryland. The counties in this area are experiencing some of the most rapid growth and development in the State, resulting in an increased demand for ground-water production. The cooperative, basic water-data program of the U.S. Geological Survey and the Maryland Geological Survey has collected long-term observations of ground-water levels in Southern Maryland and parts of the Eastern Shore for many decades. Additional water-level observations were made by both agencies beginning in the 1970s, under the Power Plant Research Program of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. These long-term water levels commonly show significant declines over several decades, which are attributed to ground-water withdrawals. Ground-water-level trends since 1980 in major Coastal Plain aquifers such as the Piney Point-Nanjemoy, Aquia, Magothy, upper Patapsco, lower Patapsco, and Patuxent were compared to water use and withdrawal data. Potentiometric surface maps show that most of the declines in ground-water levels can be directly related to effects from major pumping centers. There is also evidence that deep drawdowns in some pumped aquifers may be causing declines in adjacent, unpumped aquifers. Water-level hydrographs of many wells in Southern Maryland show linear declines in levels year after year, instead of the gradual leveling-off that would be expected as the aquifers equilibrate with pumping. A continual increase in the volumes of water being withdrawn from the aquifers is one explanation for why they are not reaching equilibrium. Although reported ground-water production in Southern Maryland has increased somewhat over the past several decades, the reported increases are often not large enough to account for the observed water-level declines. Numerical modeling simulations indicate that a steady, annual increase in the number of small wells could account for the observed aquifer behavior. Such wells, being pumped at rates below the minimum legal reporting threshold of 10,000 gallons per day, might be the source of the additional withdrawals. More detailed water-use data, especially from domestic wells, central-pivot irrigation wells, and other small users not currently reporting withdrawals to the State, may help to determine the cause of the aquifer declines.

The Demographic Transition: Causes and Consequences

PubMed Central

Galor, Oded

2013-01-01

This paper develops the theoretical foundations and the testable implications of the various mechanisms that have been proposed as possible triggers for the demographic transition. Moreover, it examines the empirical validity of each of the theories and their significance for the understanding of the transition from stagnation to growth. The analysis suggests that the rise in the demand for human capital in the process of development was the main trigger for the decline in fertility and the transition to modern growth PMID:25089157

Clam Shell Dredging in Lakes Pontchartrain and Maurepas, Louisiana. Volume 1. Final Environmental Impact Statement and Appendixes.

DTIC Science & Technology

1987-11-01

SHELL DREDGING IN. LAKES PONTCHARTRAIN AND’ MAUREPAS, LOUISIANAD lc . - . . - ~ K’. .. E.LEC .-- *- pas .- K - E ---.Ms---- g * ~ ,~VAUREPAS ~ ~ K...cause significant impacts due to the gradual decline and ultimate cessation of the shell dredging industry (see Sections 3.6 and 3.7). g . Long-term...process and the lakes i.1 the area expanded rapidly to their general present configurit ion. .IS - O .,* g Lake Pontchartrain is the focal point of the

Determine why there are fewer young alcohol-impaired drivers

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

2001-09-01

The number of drinking drivers under the age of 21 involved in fatal crashes decreased by 61% over the past 17 years, from 4,393 in 1982 to 1,714 in 19998. This report investigates the causes of this substantial decline, which far exceeds the decline...

Pesticide Distributions and Population Declines of California Alpine Frogs, Rana Muscosa and Rana Sierrae

EPA Science Inventory

Atmospherically deposited pesticides from the intensively cultivated Central Valley of California have been implicated as a cause for population declines of several amphibian species, with the strongest evidence for the frogs Rana muscosa and Rana sierrae at high elevation in th...

Prospective study of cognitive function in children receiving whole-brain radiotherapy and chemotherapy: 2-year results

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Packer, R.J.; Sutton, L.N.; Atkins, T.E.

1989-05-01

As survival rates have risen for children with malignant primary brain tumors, so has the concern that many survivors have significant permanent cognitive deficits. Cranial irradiation (CRT) has been implicated as the major cause for cognitive dysfunction. To clarify the etiology, incidence, and severity of intellectual compromise in children with brain tumors after CRT, a prospective study was undertaken comparing the neuropsychological outcome in 18 consecutive children with malignant brain tumors treated with CRT to outcome in 14 children harboring brain tumors in similar sites in the nervous system who had not received CRT. Children with cortical or subcortical brainmore » tumors were not eligible for study. Neuropsychological testing was performed after surgery prior to radiotherapy, after radiotherapy, and at 1- and 2-year intervals thereafter. Children who had received CRT had a mean full-scale intelligence quotient (FSIQ) of 105 at diagnosis which fell to 91 by Year 2. Similar declines were noted in their performance intelligence quotient (IQ) and verbal IQ. After CRT, patients demonstrated a statistically significant decline from baseline in FSIQ (p less than 0.02) and verbal IQ (p less than 0.04). Children who had not received CRT did not demonstrate a fall in any cognitive parameter over time. The decline between baseline testing and testing performed at Year 2 in patients who had CRT was inversely correlated with age (p less than 0.02), as younger children demonstrated the greatest loss of intelligence. Children less than 7 years of age at diagnosis had a mean decline in FSIQ of 25 points 2 years posttreatment. No other clinical parameter correlated with the overall IQ or decline in IQ. After CRT, children demonstrated a wide range of dysfunction including deficits in fine motor, visual-motor, and visual-spatial skills and memory difficulties.« less

Multiple Ceratocystis smalleyi infections associated with reduced stem water transport in bitternut hickory.

PubMed

Park, J-H; Juzwik, J; Cavender-Bares, J

2013-06-01

Hundreds of cankers caused by Ceratocystis smalleyi are associated with hickory bark beetle-attacked bitternut hickory exhibiting rapid crown decline in the north-central and northeastern United States. Discolored sapwood colonized by the fungus commonly underlies the cankers. Field studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that C. smalleyi infections cause vascular system dysfunction in infected trees. Fifty C. smalleyi inoculations made at 1.8 to 3.8 m in height on stems of healthy bitternut hickory trees (13 to 28 cm in diameter at 1.4 m in height) resulted in extensive canker formation and sapwood discoloration 12 to 14 months after treatment compared with water-inoculated and noninoculated controls. Sap flow velocity (midday) was significantly lower in the infected trees compared with that in the controls. Sap flow velocity also was inversely correlated with the proportion of bark area with cankered tissues and with tylose abundance in the youngest two growth rings. Tylose formation in current-year vessels associated with C. smalleyi infections is likely responsible for much of the water transport disruption. It is hypothesized that multiple stem infections of C. smalleyi and the resulting xylem dysfunction contribute to crown wilt development in bitternut hickory exhibiting rapid crown decline.

Combined effects of thinning and decline on fine root dynamics in a Quercus robur L. forest adjoining the Italian Pre-Alps.

PubMed

Mosca, E; Montecchio, L; Barion, G; Dal Cortivo, C; Vamerali, T

2017-05-01

Oak decline is a complex phenomenon, characterized by symptoms of canopy transparency, bark cracks and root biomass reduction. Root health status is one of the first stress indicators, and root turnover is a key process in plant adaptation to unfavourable conditions. In this study, the combined effects of decline and thinning were evaluated on fine root dynamics in an oak forest adjoining the Italian Pre-Alps by comparison of acute declining trees with non-declining trees, both with and without thinning treatment of surrounding trees. Dynamics of volumetric root length density (RLD V ) and tip density (RTD V ), root tip density per unit length of root (RTD L ), diameter, branching index (BI) and mycorrhizal colonization were monitored by soil coring over 2 years as possible descriptors of decline. At the beginning of the experiment, the relationship between canopy transparency and root status was weak, declining trees having slightly lower RLD V (-20 %) and RTD V (-11 %). After a 1 year lag, during which the parameters were almost unaffected, BI and RLD V , together with tip density, tip vitality and mycorrhizal colonization, became the descriptors most representative of both decline class and thinning. Thinning of declining trees increased RLD V (+12 %) and RTD V (+32 %), but reduced tip mycorrhizal colonization and vitality over time compared with non-thinned trees, whereas the opposite occurred in healthy trees, together with a marked decrease in branching. After thinning, there was an initial reduction in the structure of the ectomycorrhizal community, although recovery occurred about 10 months later, regardless of decline severity. Decline causes losses of fine root length, and a moderate recovery can be achieved by thinning, allowing better soil exploration by oak roots. The close correlation between root vitality and mycorrhizal colonization and their deterioration after thinning indicates that decline does not benefit from reduced root competition, excluding the hypothesis of limited water and nutrient availability as a possible cause of the syndrome in this forest. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Annals of Botany Company. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com

Combined effects of thinning and decline on fine root dynamics in a Quercus robur L. forest adjoining the Italian Pre-Alps

PubMed Central

Montecchio, L.; Barion, G.; Dal Cortivo, C.; Vamerali, T.

2017-01-01

Abstract Aims Oak decline is a complex phenomenon, characterized by symptoms of canopy transparency, bark cracks and root biomass reduction. Root health status is one of the first stress indicators, and root turnover is a key process in plant adaptation to unfavourable conditions. In this study, the combined effects of decline and thinning were evaluated on fine root dynamics in an oak forest adjoining the Italian Pre-Alps by comparison of acute declining trees with non-declining trees, both with and without thinning treatment of surrounding trees. Methods Dynamics of volumetric root length density (RLDV) and tip density (RTDV), root tip density per unit length of root (RTDL), diameter, branching index (BI) and mycorrhizal colonization were monitored by soil coring over 2 years as possible descriptors of decline. Key Results At the beginning of the experiment, the relationship between canopy transparency and root status was weak, declining trees having slightly lower RLDV (–20 %) and RTDV (–11 %). After a 1 year lag, during which the parameters were almost unaffected, BI and RLDV, together with tip density, tip vitality and mycorrhizal colonization, became the descriptors most representative of both decline class and thinning. Thinning of declining trees increased RLDV (+12 %) and RTDV (+32 %), but reduced tip mycorrhizal colonization and vitality over time compared with non-thinned trees, whereas the opposite occurred in healthy trees, together with a marked decrease in branching. After thinning, there was an initial reduction in the structure of the ectomycorrhizal community, although recovery occurred about 10 months later, regardless of decline severity. Conclusions Decline causes losses of fine root length, and a moderate recovery can be achieved by thinning, allowing better soil exploration by oak roots. The close correlation between root vitality and mycorrhizal colonization and their deterioration after thinning indicates that decline does not benefit from reduced root competition, excluding the hypothesis of limited water and nutrient availability as a possible cause of the syndrome in this forest. PMID:28334145

Pulmonary function test findings in patients with acute inhalation injury caused by smoke bombs

PubMed Central

Cao, Lu; Zhang, Xin-Gang; Wang, Jian-Guo; Wang, Han-Bin; Chen, Yi-Bing; Zhao, Da-Hui; Shi, Wen-Fang

2016-01-01

Background This study aimed to determine the effects of smoke bomb-induced acute inhalation injury on pulmonary function at different stages of lung injury. Methods We performed pulmonary function tests (PFTs) in 15 patients with acute inhalation injury from days 3 to 180 after smoke inhalation. We measured the trace element zinc in whole blood on days 4 and 17, and correlations of zinc levels with PFTs were performed. Results In the acute stage of lung injury (day 3), 3 of 11 patients with mild symptoms had normal pulmonary function and 8 patients with restrictive ventilatory dysfunction and reduced diffusing capacity. Some patients also had mild obstructive ventilatory dysfunction (5 patients) and a decline in small airway function (6 patients). For patients with severe symptoms, PFT results showed moderate to severe restrictive ventilatory dysfunction and reduced diffusing capacity. PaCO2 was significantly higher (P=0.047) in patients with reduced small airway function compared with those with normal small airway function. Whole blood zinc levels in the convalescence stage (day 17) were significantly lower than those in the acute stage (day 4). Zinc in the acute stage was negatively correlated with DLCO/VA on days 3, 10, and 46 (r=−0.633, −0.676, and −0.675 respectively, P<0.05). Conclusions Smoke inhalation injury mainly causes restrictive ventilatory dysfunction and reduced diffusing capacity, and causes mild obstructive ventilatory dysfunction and small airway function decline in some patients. Zinc is negatively correlated with DLCO/VA. Zinc levels may be able to predict prognosis and indicate the degree of lung injury. PMID:28066595

The impact of the 2007-2009 recession on workers' health coverage.

PubMed

Fronstin, Paul

2011-04-01

IMPACT OF THE RECESSION: The 2007-2009 recession has taken its toll on the percentage of the population with employment-based health coverage. While, since 2000, there has been a slow erosion in the percentage of individuals under age 65 with employment-based health coverage, 2009 was the first year in which the percentage fell below 60 percent, and marked the largest one-year decline in coverage. FEWER WORKERS WITH COVERAGE: The percentage of workers with coverage through their own job fell from 53.2 percent in 2008 to 52 percent in 2009, a 2.4 percent decline in the likelihood that a worker has coverage through his or her own job. The percentage of workers with coverage as a dependent fell from 17 percent in 2008 to 16.3 percent in 2009, a 4.5 percent drop in the likelihood that a worker has coverage as a dependent. These declines occurred as the unemployment rate increased from an average of 5.8 percent in 2008 to 9.3 percent in 2009 (and reached a high of 10.1 percent during 2009). FIRM SIZE/INDUSTRY: The decline in the percentage of workers with coverage from their own job affected workers in private-sector firms of all sizes. Among public-sector workers, the decline from 73.4 percent to 73 percent was not statistically significant. Workers in all private-sector industries experienced a statistically significant decline in coverage between 2008 and 2009. HOURS WORKED: Full-time workers experienced a decline in coverage that was statistically significant while part-time workers did not. Among full-time workers, those employed full year experienced a statistically significant decline in coverage from their own job. Those employed full time but for only part of the year did not experience a statistically significant change in coverage. Among part-time workers, those employed full year experienced a statistically significant increase in the likelihood of having coverage in their own name, as did part-time workers employed for only part of the year. ANNUAL EARNINGS: The decline in the percentage of workers with coverage through their own job was limited to workers with lower annual earnings. Statistically significant declines were not found among any group of workers with annual earnings of at least $40,000. Workers with a high school education or less experienced a statistically significant decline in the likelihood of having coverage. Neither workers with a college degree nor those with a graduate degree experienced a statistically significant decline in coverage through their own job. Workers of all races experienced statistically significant declines in coverage between 2008 and 2009. Both men and women experienced a statistically significant decline in the percentage with health coverage through their own job. IMPACT OF STRUCTURAL CHANGES TO THE WORK FORCE: The movement of workers from the manufacturing industry to the service sector continued between 2008 and 2009. The percentage of workers employed on a full-time basis decreased while the percentage working part time increased. While there was an overall decline in the percentage of full-time workers, that decline was limited to workers employed full year. The percentage of workers employed on a full-time, part-year basis increased between 2008 and 2009. The distribution of workers by annual earnings shifted from middle-income workers to lower-income workers between 2008 and 2009.

Pre-operative declining proportion of fractional anisotropy of trigeminal nerve is correlated with the outcome of micro-vascular decompression surgery.

PubMed

Chen, Fanfan; Chen, Lei; Li, Wei; Li, Ling; Xu, Xiangdong; Li, Weimin; Le, Wuhua; Xie, Wei; He, Hua; Li, Peng

2016-07-16

Type 2 trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is an intractable neuropathic pain syndrome compared with type 1 TN because of the difficulty of diagnosis as well as the unsatisfactory prognosis. Neurovascular compression (NVC) is considered the major pathology of TN. Routine magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sequences are inadequate for revealing the effect of NVC which is related to the surgical decision and outcome. The decreasing of fractional anisotropy (FA), one of the MRI diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics, is correlated with the demyelination of trigeminal nerve (TGN) that reveal the severity of NVC. A retrospective review of patients treated with micro-vascular decompression (MVD) surgery was undertaken. All the patients were diagnosed as type 2 TN. FA of TGN of both sides were measured. The FA declining proportion = ((the mean FA value of healthy lateral)-(the mean FA value of the symptomatic lateral))/(the mean FA value of healthy lateral). Declining proportion of FA value, discovery of surgery and outcome of MVD were recorded and analyzed. Logistic regression analysis and linear regression analysis were employed to analyze the risk factors of declining proportion of FA value and MVD outcome. Nineteen patients were assessed in our study. The average declining proportion of FA value for all patients was 0.25 ± 0.12. The average declining proportion of FA value of "success" and "failure" group was 0.32 ± 0.09 to 0.14 ± 0.10 (P = 0.002 < 0.05). The declining proportion of FA value of artery (including the artery plus vein situation) was 0.34 ± 0.06 in contrast to 0.15 ± 0.08 of vein (P = 0.000 < 0.05). MVD outcome was correlated with declining proportion of FA value (AUC = 0.900). Furthermore, declining proportion of FA value was higher in arterial compression situation. FA value quantitatively showed the alteration of TGN caused by NVC. It provided direct evidence about the effect of NVC which facilitated the diagnosis and surgical decision of type 2 TN. Besides, significant reduction of FA value may predict an optimistic outcome of MVD.

Carbon isotopic shift and its cause at the Wuchiapingian-Changhsingian boundary in the Upper Permian at the Zhaojiaba section, South China: Evidences from multiple geochemical proxies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Hengye; Yu, Hao; Wang, Jianguo; Qiu, Zhen; Xiang, Lei; Shi, Guo

2015-06-01

The Late Permian environmental change, connecting the Guadalupian-Lopingian (G-L) (Middle-Upper Permian) boundary mass extinction and the Permain-Triassic (P-Tr) boundary mass extinction, has attracted more and more attentions. A significant negative shift for carbon isotope had been found at the Wuchiapingian-Changhsingian (W-C) boundary in the Upper Permian recently. However, the cause(s) of this negative excursion is still unknown. To resolve this problem, we analyzed the bulk organic carbon isotope, total organic carbon (TOC) content, pyritic sulfur (Spy) content, major element concentrations, and molecular organic biomarkers in the Wujiaping and Dalong formations in the Upper Permian from the Zhaojiaba section in western Hubei province, South China. Our results show that (1) there was a significant negative excursion in organic carbon isotopes at the W-C boundary and again a negative excursion at the top of Changhsingian stage; (2) the significant negative excursion at the W-C boundary was probably a global signal and mainly caused by the low primary productivity; and (3) the negative carbon isotope excursion at the top of Changhsingian was probably caused by the Siberian Traps eruptions. A decline in oceanic primary productivity at the W-C boundary probably represents a disturbance of the marine food web, leading to a vulnerable ecosystem prior to the P-Tr boundary mass extinction.

NDVI indicated characteristics of vegetation cover change in China's metropolises over the last three decades.

PubMed

Sun, Jinyu; Wang, Xuhui; Chen, Anping; Ma, Yuecun; Cui, Mengdi; Piao, Shilong

2011-08-01

How urban vegetation was influenced by three decades of intensive urbanization in China is of great interest but rarely studied. In this paper, we used satellite derived Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and socioeconomic data to evaluate effects of urbanization on vegetation cover in China's 117 metropolises over the last three decades. Our results suggest that current urbanization has caused deterioration of urban vegetation across most cities in China, particularly in East China. At the national scale, average urban area NDVI (NDVI(u)) significantly decreased during the last three decades (P < 0.01), and two distinct periods with different trends can be identified, 1982-1990 and 1990-2006. NDVI(u) did not show statistically significant trend before 1990 but decrease remarkably after 1990 (P < 0.01). Different regions also showed difference in the timing of NDVI(u) turning point. The year when NDVI(u) started to decline significantly for Central China and East China was 1987 and 1990, respectively, while NDVI(u) in West China remained relatively constant until 1998. NDVI(u) changes in the Yangtze River Delta and the Pearl River Delta, two regions which has been undergoing the most rapid urbanization in China, also show different characteristics. The Pearl River Delta experienced a rapid decline in NDVI(u) from the early 1980s to the mid-1990s; while in the Yangtze River Delta, NDVI(u) did not decline significantly until the early 1990s. Such different patterns of NDVI(u) changes are closely linked with policy-oriented difference in urbanization dynamics of these regions, which highlights the importance of implementing a sustainable urban development policy.

A Special Extract of Bacopa monnieri (CDRI-08) Restores Learning and Memory by Upregulating Expression of the NMDA Receptor Subunit GluN2B in the Brain of Scopolamine-Induced Amnesic Mice

PubMed Central

Rai, Rakesh; Singh, Hemant K.; Prasad, S.

2015-01-01

In the present communication, we have investigated effects of the CDRI-08, a well characterized extract of Bacopa monnieri, on expression of the GluN2B subunit of NMDAR in various brain regions of the scopolamine-induced amnesic mice. Our behavioral data reveal that scopolamine-treated amnesic mice exhibit significant decline in the spatial memory compared to the normal control mice. Our RT-PCR and immunoblotting data revealed that the scopolamine treatment resulted in a significant downregulation of the NMDAR GluN2B subunit expression in prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. Our enzyme assay data revealed that scopolamine caused a significant increase in the acetylcholinesterase activity in both the brain regions. Further, oral administration of the CDRI-08 to scopolamine-treated amnesic mice restored the spatial memory which was found to be associated with significant upregulation of the GluN2B subunit expression and decline in the acetylcholinesterase activity in prefrontal cortex as well as hippocampus towards their levels in the normal control mice. Our study provides the evidence for the mechanism underlying role of the Bacopa monnieri extract (CDRI-08) in restoring spatial memory in amnesic mice, which may have therapeutic implications. PMID:26413117

Herpes zoster

PubMed Central

Schmader, Kenneth

2016-01-01

Synopsis Herpes zoster afflicts millions of older adults annually worldwide and causes significant suffering due to acute and chronic pain, or postherpetic neuralgia (PHN). Herpes zoster is caused by the reactivation of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) in sensory ganglia in the setting of age, disease and drug-related decline in cellular immunity to VZV. VZV-induced neuronal destruction and inflammation causes the principal problems of pain, interference with activities of daily living and reduced quality of life in older adults. To address these problems, the optimal treatment of herpes zoster requires early antiviral therapy and careful pain management. For patients who develop PHN, evidence-based pharmacotherapy using topical lidocaine patch, gabapentin, pregabalin, tricyclic antidepressants, and/or opiates can reduce pain burden. The live attenuated zoster vaccine is effective in reducing pain burden and preventing herpes zoster and PHN in older adults. PMID:17631237

Contaminants still high in top-level carnivores in the Southern California Bight: levels of DDT and PCBs in resident and transient pinnipeds.

PubMed

Blasius, Mary Ellen; Goodmanlowe, Gwen D

2008-12-01

Highly industrialized areas, such as the Southern California Bight, often have high levels of contaminants in marine sediments, which can cause chronic exposure to organisms long after their use has ceased. tDDT and tPCB were analyzed in the blubber of 145 stranded pinnipeds that died at local marine mammal centers between 1994 and 2006. Resident species (California sea lion and Pacific harbor seal) had significantly higher concentrations of tDDT and tPCB than the transient species (northern elephant seal). Adult female California sea lions had significantly lower concentrations of tDDT and tPCB than pups, yearlings, and adult males. Concentrations of both tDDT and tPCB in California sea lions significantly declined over time, but did not change in northern elephant seals. Current concentrations of tDDT and tPCB in California sea lions and harbor seals are among the highest values reported worldwide for marine mammals and exceed those reported to cause adverse health effects.

Trend (1999-2009) in U.S. death rates from myelodysplastic syndromes: utility of multiple causes of death in surveillance.

PubMed

Polednak, Anthony P

2013-10-01

For myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) (formerly known as preleukemia), a diverse group of myeloid neoplasms usually involving anemia in elderly persons, trends in U.S. death rates apparently have not been reported. Trends in annual age-standardized rates per 100,000 from 1999 to 2009 were examined for MDS using multiple causes vs. underlying cause alone, coded on death certificates for U.S. residents. The death rate (all ages combined) for MDS increased from 1999 to 2009, from 1.62 to 1.84 using underlying cause alone and from 2.89 to 3.27 using multiple causes. Rates using multiple causes were about 80% higher than those based on underlying cause alone. From 2001 to 2004 the rate for MDS using underlying cause alone (but not using multiple causes) declined, accompanied by an increase in the rate for deaths from leukemia as underlying cause with mention of MDS; this trend coincided with the advent of the 2001 World Health Organization's reclassification of certain MDS as leukemia. The MDS rate for age 65+ years increased after 2005, whereas the rate for age 25-64 years was low but declined from 2001 to 2003 and then stabilized. For deaths with MDS coded as other than underlying cause, rates did not decline for deaths from each of the two most common causes (i.e., cardiovascular diseases and leukemia). Evidence for decreases in MDS-related mortality rates was limited; the increase at age 65+ years is consistent with increases in incidence rates reported from cancer registries. Using multiple causes of death vs. only the underlying cause results in substantially higher MDS-related death rates, shows the impact of changes in the classification of myeloid neoplasms and emphasizes the importance of reducing cardiovascular disease mortality in MDS patients. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Water-level decline in the Apalachicola River, Florida, from 1954 to 2004, and effects on floodplain habitats

USGS Publications Warehouse

Light, Helen M.; Vincent, Kirk R.; Darst, Melanie R.; Price, Franklin D.

2006-01-01

From 1954 to 2004, water levels declined in the nontidal reach of the Apalachicola River, Florida, as a result of long-term changes in stage-discharge relations. Channel widening and deepening, which occurred throughout much of the river, apparently caused the declines. The period of most rapid channel enlargement began in 1954 and occurred primarily as a gradual erosional process over two to three decades, probably in response to the combined effect of a dam located at the head of the study reach (106 miles upstream from the mouth of the river), river straightening, dredging, and other activities along the river. Widespread recovery has not occurred, but channel conditions in the last decade (1995-2004) have been relatively stable. Future channel changes, if they occur, are expected to be minor. The magnitude and extent of water-level decline attributable to channel changes was determined by comparing pre-dam stage (prior to 1954) and recent stage (1995-2004) in relation to discharge. Long-term stage data for the pre-dam period and recent period from five streamflow gaging stations were related to discharge data from a single gage just downstream from the dam, by using a procedure involving streamflow lag times. The resulting pre-dam and recent stage-discharge relations at the gaging stations were used in combination with low-flow water-surface profile data from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to estimate magnitude of water-level decline at closely spaced locations (every 0.1 mile) along the river. The largest water-level declines occurred at the lowest discharges and varied with location along the river. The largest water-level decline, 4.8 feet, which occurred when sediments were scoured from the streambed just downstream from the dam, has been generally known and described previously. This large decline progressively decreased downstream to a magnitude of 1 foot about 40 river miles downstream from the dam, which is the location that probably marks the downstream limit of the influence of the dam on bed scour. Downstream from that location, previously unreported water-level declines progressively increased to 3 feet at a location 68 miles downstream from the dam, probably as a result of various channel modifications conducted in that part of the river. Water-level declines in the river have substantially changed long-term hydrologic conditions in more than 200 miles of off-channel floodplain sloughs, streams, and lakes and in most of the 82,200 acres of floodplain forests in the nontidal reach of the Apalachicola River. Decreases in duration of floodplain inundation at low discharges were large in the upstream-most 10 miles of the river (20-45 percent) and throughout most of the remaining 75 miles of the nontidal reach (10-25 percent). As a consequence of this decreased inundation, the quantity and quality of floodplain habitats for fish, mussels, and other aquatic organisms have declined, and wetland forests of the floodplain are changing in response to drier conditions. Water-level decline caused by channel change is probably the most serious anthropogenic impact that has occurred so far in the Apalachicola River and floodplain. This decline has been exacerbated by long-term reductions in spring and summer flow, especially during drought periods. Although no trends in total annual flow volumes were detected, long-term decreases in discharge for April, May, July, and August were apparent, and water-level declines during drought conditions resulting from decreased discharge in those 4 months were similar in magnitude to the water-level declines caused by channel changes. The observed changes in seasonal discharge are probably caused by a combination of natural climatic changes and anthropogenic activities in the Apalachicola-Chattahoochee-Flint River Basin. Continued research is needed for geomorphic studies to assist in the design of future floodplain restoration efforts and for hydrologic studies to monitor change

Evaluation of episodic acidification and amphibian declines in the Rocky Mountains

Treesearch

Frank A. Vertucci; Paul Stephen Corn

1996-01-01

We define criteria for documenting episodic acidification of amphibian breeding habitats and examine whether episodic acidification is responsible for observed declines of amphibian populations in the Rocky Mountains. Anthropogenic episodic acidification, caused by atmospheric deposition of sulfate and nitrate, occurs when the concentration of acid anions increases...

Does Stock Market Performance Influence Retirement Intentions?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Goda, Gopi Shah; Shoven, John B.; Slavov, Sita Nataraj

2012-01-01

Media reports predicted that the stock market decline in October 2008 would cause changes in retirement intentions, due to declines in retirement assets. We use panel data from the Health and Retirement Study to investigate the relationship between stock market performance and retirement intentions during 1998-2008, a period that includes the…

Demography of Bell's Vireos in Missouri grassland-shrub habitats

Treesearch

Joel M. Budnik; Mark R. Ryan; Frank R. Thompson III

2000-01-01

Numbers of Bell's Vireos (Vireo beltii) have declined throughout much of the breeding range in recent years, yet little information exists to determine factors that are causing these declines. We studied Bell's Vireos nesting in grassland-shrub habitats at two study areas in central Missouri to determine reproductive performance, survival,...

Raspberry differentially improves age-related declines in psychomotor function dependent on baseline motor ability

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Among older adults, falls are a leading cause of distress, pain, injury, loss of confidence, and ultimately, loss of independence and death. Previous studies in our laboratory have demonstrated that berry supplementation improves the age-related declines in balance, muscle strength, and coordination...

Background Study on Employment and Labour Market in Romania.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ciobanu, Adrian; Parciog, Speranta

Romania's adoption of a more gradual approach in restructuring and privatizing the state-owned sector has resulted in industry with an unchanged structure that remains the main cause of social and economic decline. Employment has shown a steady decline. Industrial employment has decreased dramatically. Sectors like transport, hotels, and…

Physical Restraint Initiation in Nursing Homes and Subsequent Resident Health

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Engberg, John; Castle, Nicholas G.; McCaffrey, Daniel

2008-01-01

Purpose: It is widely believed that physical restraint use causes mental and physical health decline in nursing home residents. Yet few studies exist showing an association between restraint initiation and health decline. In this research, we examined whether physical restraint initiation is associated with subsequent lower physical or mental…

Information Systems Enrollments: Challenges and Strategies

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Granger, Mary J.; Dick, Geoffrey; Jacobson, Carolyn McKinnell; Van Slyke, Craig

2007-01-01

Since the late 1990s, enrollments in Information Technology and Information Systems-related academic programs have declined sharply. This paper addresses possible causes of the enrollment decline, and some of the "myths" regarding careers in IT/IS are dispelled. A number of efforts underway at various universities and professional organizations in…

The global state of cataract blindness.

PubMed

Lee, Cameron M; Afshari, Natalie A

2017-01-01

Cataracts are a significant cause of blindness and visual impairment worldwide. The present article reviews the literature and describes the current extent of cataracts globally, barriers to treatment, and recommendations for improving the treatment of cataracts. Prevalence and absolute number of blind because of cataracts remain high, although rates are declining in many areas globally. The age-standardized prevalence of blindness in adults older than 50 remains highest in western sub-Saharan Africa, with a rate of 6.0%. The greatest declines in age-standardized blindness because of cataracts in adults older than 50 between 1990 and 2010 were in East Asia, tropical Latin America, and western Europe. Recent studies have largely found higher rates of cataracts in women than in men. A new simulator for training ophthalmologists in manual small-incision cataract surgery holds promise for the future. The rates of cataract surgery are increasing and postoperative outcomes are improving worldwide, yet challenges to reducing the cataract burden further remain. Cost, an insufficient number of ophthalmologists, and low government funding remain significant barriers but investment in further eye care infrastructure and training of additional ophthalmologists would improve the current situation.

Annual summary of vital statistics: 2005.

PubMed

Hamilton, Brady E; Miniño, Arialdi M; Martin, Joyce A; Kochanek, Kenneth D; Strobino, Donna M; Guyer, Bernard

2007-02-01

The general fertility rate in 2005 was 66.7 births per 1000 women aged 15 to 44 years, the highest level since 1993. The birth rate for teen mothers (aged 15 to 19 years) declined by 2% between 2004 and 2005, falling to 40.4 births per 1000 women, the lowest ever recorded in the 65 years for which there are consistent data. The birth rates for women > or = 30 years of age rose in 2005 to levels not seen in almost 40 years. Childbearing by unmarried women also increased to historic record levels for the United States in 2005. The cesarean-delivery rate rose by 4% in 2005 to 30.2% of all births, another record high. The preterm birth rate continued to rise (to 12.7% in 2005), as did the rate for low birth weight births (8.2%). The infant mortality rate was 6.79 infant deaths per 1000 live births in 2004, not statistically different from the rate in 2003. Pronounced differences in infant mortality rates by race and Hispanic origin continue, with non-Hispanic black newborns more than twice as likely as non-Hispanic white and Hispanic infants to die within 1 year of birth. The expectation of life at birth reached a record high in 2004 of 77.8 years for all gender and race groups combined. Death rates in the United States continued to decline, with death rates decreasing for 9 of the 15 leading causes. The crude death rate for children aged 1 to 19 years did not decrease significantly between 2003 and 2004. Of the 10 leading causes of death for 2004 in this age group, only the rates for influenza and pneumonia showed a significant decrease. The death rates increased for intentional self-harm (suicide), whereas rates for other causes did not change significantly for children. A large proportion of childhood deaths continue to occur as a result of preventable injuries.

CMV in Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation

PubMed Central

de la Cámara, Rafael

2016-01-01

Due to its negative impact on the outcome of stem cell transplant (SCT) and solid organ transplant patients (SOT) CMV has been called “the troll of transplantation”. One of the greatest advances in the management of SCT has been the introduction of the preemptive strategy. Since its introduction, the incidence of the viremia, as expected, remains unchanged but there has been a marked decline in the incidence of early CMV disease. However, in spite of the advances in prevention of CMV disease, CMV is still today an important cause of morbidity and mortality. Late CMV disease is still occurring in a significant proportion of patients and the so-called indirect effects of CMV are causing significant morbidity and mortality. Fortunately there have been several advances in the development of new antivirals, adoptive immunotherapy and DNA-CMV vaccines that might transform the management of CMV in the near future. PMID:27413524

Migrants, healthy worker effect, and mortality trends in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.

PubMed

Chaabna, Karima; Cheema, Sohaila; Mamtani, Ravinder

2017-01-01

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries namely, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia, have experienced unique demographic changes. The major population growth contributor in these countries is young migrants, which has led to a shift in the population age pyramid. Migrants constitute the vast proportion of GCC countries' population reaching >80% in Qatar and UAE. Using Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 (GBD 2015) and United Nations data, for the GCC countries, we assessed the association between age-standardized mortality and population size trends with linear and polynomial regressions. In 1990-2015, all-cause age-standardized mortality was inversely proportional to national population size (p-values: 0.0001-0.0457). In Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, the highest annual decrease in mortality was observed when the annual population growth was the highest. In Qatar, all-cause age-specific mortality was inversely proportional to age-specific population size. This association was statistically significant among the 5-14 and 15-49 age groups, which have the largest population size. Cause-specific age-standardized mortality was also inversely proportional to population size. This association was statistically significant for half of the GBD 2015-defined causes of death such as "cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases" and "HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis". Remarkably, incoming migrants to Qatar have to be negative for HIV, hepatitis B and C, and tuberculosis. These results show that decline in mortality can be partly attributed to the increase in GCC countries' population suggesting a healthy migrant effect that influences mortality rates. Consequently, benefits of health interventions and healthcare improvement are likely to be exaggerated in such countries hosting a substantial proportion of migrants compared with countries where migration is low. Researchers and policymakers should be cautious to not exclusively attribute decline in mortality within the GCC countries as a result of the positive effects of health interventions or healthcare improvement.

Improving Mortality in End-Stage Renal Disease due to Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis from 1995 to 2014.

PubMed

Wallace, Zachary S; Zhang, Yuqing; Lu, Na; Stone, John H; Choi, Hyon K

2018-01-23

Granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) often affects the kidneys, frequently leading to end-stage renal disease (ESRD). Cardiovascular disease (CVD) and infections are common causes of death in GPA and ESRD. Our objective was to examine temporal trends in the mortality of GPA-ESRD in a large nationwide cohort. We identified ESRD due to GPA in the US Renal Data System (USRDS) between 1995 and 2014, using nephrologists' coding for the ESRD etiology. The cohort was divided into four five-year subcohorts based on year of ESRD onset (1995-1999; 2000-2004; 2005-2009; 2010-2014) to assess trends in mortality rates and hazard ratios (HRs) for overall death and cause-specific death, adjusting for potential confounders. Between 1995 and 2014, there were 5,929 incident cases of GPA-ESRD. The mortality rate (per 100 patient-years) declined from 19.0 in 1995-1999 to 15.3 in 2010-2014 (P=0.01). The adjusted mortality HR of the 2010-2014 cohort was 0.77 (95% CI, 0.66-0.90), compared with the 1995-1999 cohort (P-for-trend <0.001). The corresponding cause-specific mortality HRs after accounting for competing risk were 0.61 (95% CI, 0.47-0.80) for CVD death and 0.42 (95% CI, 0.28-0.63) for infection death (both P-for-trends <0.001). In this study of nearly all patients who developed ESRD due to GPA in the US over two decades, we found significant improvements in mortality among GPA-ESRD patients. Cause-specific death due to CVD and infections each declined significantly during the study period. These findings are encouraging and likely reflect improved management of both GPA and ESRD. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Migrants, healthy worker effect, and mortality trends in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries

PubMed Central

Cheema, Sohaila; Mamtani, Ravinder

2017-01-01

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries namely, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates (UAE), and Saudi Arabia, have experienced unique demographic changes. The major population growth contributor in these countries is young migrants, which has led to a shift in the population age pyramid. Migrants constitute the vast proportion of GCC countries’ population reaching >80% in Qatar and UAE. Using Global Burden of Disease Study 2015 (GBD 2015) and United Nations data, for the GCC countries, we assessed the association between age-standardized mortality and population size trends with linear and polynomial regressions. In 1990–2015, all-cause age-standardized mortality was inversely proportional to national population size (p-values: 0.0001–0.0457). In Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, the highest annual decrease in mortality was observed when the annual population growth was the highest. In Qatar, all-cause age-specific mortality was inversely proportional to age-specific population size. This association was statistically significant among the 5–14 and 15–49 age groups, which have the largest population size. Cause-specific age-standardized mortality was also inversely proportional to population size. This association was statistically significant for half of the GBD 2015-defined causes of death such as “cirrhosis and other chronic liver diseases” and “HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis”. Remarkably, incoming migrants to Qatar have to be negative for HIV, hepatitis B and C, and tuberculosis. These results show that decline in mortality can be partly attributed to the increase in GCC countries’ population suggesting a healthy migrant effect that influences mortality rates. Consequently, benefits of health interventions and healthcare improvement are likely to be exaggerated in such countries hosting a substantial proportion of migrants compared with countries where migration is low. Researchers and policymakers should be cautious to not exclusively attribute decline in mortality within the GCC countries as a result of the positive effects of health interventions or healthcare improvement. PMID:28632794

Infant Deaths and Mortality from Gun Violence: Causal or Casual?

PubMed

Levine, Robert S; Salemi, Jason L; Mejia de Grubb, Maria C; Gittner, Lisa S; Langston, Michael A; Husaini, Baqar A; Rust, George; Hennekens, Charles H

2017-01-01

Describe trends in non-Hispanic black infant mortality (IM) in the New York City (NYC) counties of Bronx, Kings, Queens, and Manhattan and correlations with gun-related assault mortality. Linked Birth/Infant Death data (1999-2013) and Compressed Mortality data at ages 1 to ≥85 years (1999-2013). NYC and United States (US) Census data for income inequality and poverty. Pearson coefficients were used to describe correlations of IM with gun-related assault mortality and other causes of death. In NYC, the risk of non-Hispanic black IM in 2013 was 49% lower than in 1995 (rate ratio: 0.51; 95% CI: 0.43, 0.61). Yearly declines between 1999 and 2013 were significantly correlated with declines in gun-related assault mortality (correlation coefficient (r) = 0.70, p = 0.004), drug-related mortality (r = 0.59, p = 0.020), major heart disease and stroke (r = 0.85, p < 0.001), malignant neoplasms (r = 0.57, p = 0.026), diabetes mellitus (r = 0.63, p = 0.011), and pneumonia and influenza (r = 0.78, p < 0.001). There were no significant correlations of IM with chronic lower respiratory or liver disease, non-drug-related accidental deaths, and non-gun-related assault. Yearly IM (1995-2012) was inversely correlated with income share of the top 1% of the population (r = -0.66, p = 0.007). In NYC, non-Hispanic black IM declined significantly despite increasing income inequality and was strongly correlated with gun-related assault mortality and other major causes of death. These data are compatible with the hypothesis that activities related to overall population health, including those pertaining to gun-related homicide, may provide clues to reducing IM. Analytic epidemiological studies are needed to test these and other hypotheses formulated from these descriptive data. Copyright © 2017 National Medical Association. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Isocyanate exposure and asthma in the UK vehicle repair industry.

PubMed

Stocks, S J; Jones, K; Piney, M; Agius, R M

2015-12-01

Organic diisocyanates are a common cause of occupational asthma, particularly in motor vehicle repair (MVR) workers. The UK Health & Safety Laboratory provides screening for urinary hexamethylenediamine (UHDA), a biomarker of exposure to 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). The UK Surveillance of Work-related and Occupational Respiratory Disease scheme (SWORD) has collected reports of occupational asthma since 1996. To compare trends in HDI exposure with trends in the incidence of work-related asthma attributed to isocyanates or paint spraying in MVR workers reported to SWORD. Two-level regression models were used to estimate trends in UHDA levels and work-related asthma in MVR workers reported to SWORD. The direction and magnitude of the trends were compared descriptively. From 2006 to 2014, there was a significant decline in the number of urine samples with detectable levels of UHDA (odds ratio = 0.96; 95% confidence intervals 0.94-0.98) and minimal change in those over the guidance value (1.03; 1.00-1.06). Over the same period, there was a significant decline in all asthma cases attributed to isocyanates or paint spraying reported to SWORD (0.90; 0.86-0.94) and a non-significant decline among MVR workers (0.94; 0.86-1.02). The simultaneous decrease in HDI exposure and incident cases of asthma reported to SWORD is temporally consistent with a reduction in exposure to airborne isocyanate leading to a reduction in asthma. Although this is not direct evidence of a causal relationship between the two trends, it is suggestive. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society of Occupational Medicine.

Isocyanate exposure and asthma in the UK vehicle repair industry

PubMed Central

Jones, K.; Piney, M.; Agius, R. M.

2015-01-01

Background Organic diisocyanates are a common cause of occupational asthma, particularly in motor vehicle repair (MVR) workers. The UK Health & Safety Laboratory provides screening for urinary hexamethylenediamine (UHDA), a biomarker of exposure to 1,6-hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI). The UK Surveillance of Work-related and Occupational Respiratory Disease scheme (SWORD) has collected reports of occupational asthma since 1996. Aims To compare trends in HDI exposure with trends in the incidence of work-related asthma attributed to isocyanates or paint spraying in MVR workers reported to SWORD. Methods Two-level regression models were used to estimate trends in UHDA levels and work-related asthma in MVR workers reported to SWORD. The direction and magnitude of the trends were compared descriptively. Results From 2006 to 2014, there was a significant decline in the number of urine samples with detectable levels of UHDA (odds ratio = 0.96; 95% confidence intervals 0.94–0.98) and minimal change in those over the guidance value (1.03; 1.00–1.06). Over the same period, there was a significant decline in all asthma cases attributed to isocyanates or paint spraying reported to SWORD (0.90; 0.86–0.94) and a non-significant decline among MVR workers (0.94; 0.86–1.02). Conclusions The simultaneous decrease in HDI exposure and incident cases of asthma reported to SWORD is temporally consistent with a reduction in exposure to airborne isocyanate leading to a reduction in asthma. Although this is not direct evidence of a causal relationship between the two trends, it is suggestive. PMID:26209793

Corneal donations in South Africa: A 15-year review.

PubMed

York, Nicholas J; Tinley, Christopher

2017-07-28

Corneal pathology is one of the leading causes of preventable blindness in South Africa (SA). A corneal transplant can restore or significantly improve vision in most cases. However, in SA there is a gross shortage of corneal tissue available to ophthalmologists. Little has been published describing the magnitude of the problem. To describe trends in the number of corneal donors per year in SA, the number of corneal transplants performed each year, the origin of donors, the allocation of corneas to the public or private sector, and the demographics of donors. This was a retrospective review of all corneal donations to SA eye banks over the 15-year period 1 January 2002 - 31 December 2016. There was a progressive year-on-year decline in corneal donors over the study period, from 565 per year in 2002 to 89 in 2016. As a direct result, there has been an 85.5% decrease in the number of corneal transplants performed per year using locally donated corneas, from 1 049 in 2002 to 152 in 2016. Of the donors, 48.8% originated from mortuaries, 39.0% from private hospitals and 12.2% from government hospitals; donors from mortuaries showed the most significant decline over the 15-year period, decreasing by 94.8%. Of donated corneas, 79.3% were allocated to the private sector and 21.7% to the public sector. Males comprised 69.1% of donors, while 77.2% were white, 14.0% coloured, 6.3% black and 2.5% Indian/Asian. Donor age demonstrated a bimodal peak at 25 and 55 years. The number of corneal donations in SA has declined markedly, causing the burden of corneal disease requiring transplantation to rise steadily. Population groups with a low donor rate may have cultural and other objections to corneal donation, which should be a major focus of future research and initiatives aimed at reversing the current trends.

Trends in one-year mortality for stroke in a tertiary academic center in Saudi Arabia: a 5-year retrospective analysis.

PubMed

Almekhlafi, Mohammed A

2016-01-01

Numerous studies have reported a decline in stroke-related mortality in developed countries. To assess trends in one-year mortality following a stroke diagnosis in Saudi Arabia. Retrospective longitudinal cohort study. Single tertiary care center from 2010 through 2014. All patients admitted with a primary admitting diagnosis of stroke. Demographic data (age, gender, nationality), risk factor profile, stroke subtypes, in-hospital complications and mortality data as well as cause of death were collected for all patients. A multivariable logistic regression model was used to assess factors associated with one-year mortality following a stroke admission. One-year mortality. In 548 patients with a mean age of 62.9 years (SD 16.9), the most frequent vascular risk factors were hypertension (90.6%), diabetes (65.5%), and hyperlipidemia (27.2%). Hemorrhagic stroke was diagnosed in 9.9%. The overall mortality risk was 26.9%. Non-Saudis had a significantly higher one-year mortality risk compared with Saudis (25% vs. 16.8%, respectively; P=.025). The most frequently reported causes of mortality were neurological and related to the underlying stroke (32%), sepsis (30%), and cardiac or other organ dysfunction-related (each 9%) in addition to other etiologies (collectively 9.5%) such as pulmonary embolism or an underlying malignancy. Significant predictors in the multivariate model were age (P < .0001), non-Saudi nationality (OR 1.8, CI 95 1.1 to 2.9; P=.019), and hospital length of stay (OR 1.01, CI 95 1 to 1.004; P=.001). We observed no decline in stroke mortality in our center over the 5-year span. The establishment of stroke systems of care, use of thrombolytic agents, and opening of a stroke unit should play an important role in a decline in stroke mortality. Retrospective single center study. Mortality data were available only for patients who died in our hospital.

A 125 year record of fluvial calcium flux from a temperate catchment: Interplay of climate, land-use change and atmospheric deposition

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Worrall, F.; Howden, N. J. K.; Burt, T. P.

2012-10-01

SummaryThis paper analyses the world's longest fluvial record of water hardness and calcium (Ca) concentration. We used records of permanent and temporary hardness and river flow for the UK's River Thames (catchment area 9998 km2) to estimate annual Ca flux from the river since 1883. The Thames catchment has a mix of agricultural and urban land use; it is dominated by mineral soils with groundwater contributing around 60% of river flow. Since the late 1800s, the catchment has undergone widespread urbanisation and climate warming, but has also been subjected to large-scale land-use change, especially during World War II and agricultural intensification in the 1960s. Here, we use a range of time series methods to explore the relative importance of these drivers in determining catchment-scale biogeochemical response. Ca concentrations in the Thames rose to a peak in the late 1980s (106 mg Ca/l). The flux of Ca peaked in 1916 at 385 ktonnes Ca/yr; the minimum was in 1888 at 34 ktonnes Ca/yr. For both the annual average Ca concentration and the annual flux of Ca, there were significant increases with time; a significant positive memory effect relative to the previous year; and significant correlation with annual water yield. No significant correlation was found with either temperature or land use, but sulphate deposition was found to be significant. It was also possible, for a shorter time series, to show a significant relationship with inorganic nitrogen inputs into the catchment. We suggest that ionic inputs did not acidify the mineral soils of the catchment but did cause the leaching of metals, so we conclude that the decline in river Ca concentrations is caused by the decline in both S and N inputs.

Detoxification mechanisms of honey bees (Apis mellifera) resulting in tolerance of dietary nicotine.

PubMed

du Rand, Esther E; Smit, Salome; Beukes, Mervyn; Apostolides, Zeno; Pirk, Christian W W; Nicolson, Susan W

2015-07-02

Insecticides are thought to be among the major factors contributing to current declines in bee populations. However, detoxification mechanisms in healthy, unstressed honey bees are poorly characterised. Alkaloids are naturally encountered in pollen and nectar, and we used nicotine as a model compound to identify the mechanisms involved in detoxification processes in honey bees. Nicotine and neonicotinoids have similar modes of action in insects. Our metabolomic and proteomic analyses show active detoxification of nicotine in bees, associated with increased energetic investment and also antioxidant and heat shock responses. The increased energetic investment is significant in view of the interactions of pesticides with diseases such as Nosema spp which cause energetic stress and possible malnutrition. Understanding how healthy honey bees process dietary toxins under unstressed conditions will help clarify how pesticides, alone or in synergy with other stress factors, lead to declines in bee vitality.

Toward immunogenetic studies of amphibian chytridiomycosis: Linking innate and acquired immunity

USGS Publications Warehouse

Richmond, J.Q.; Savage, Anna E.; Zamudio, Kelly R.; Rosenblum, E.B.

2009-01-01

Recent declines in amphibian diversity and abundance have contributed significantly to the global loss of biodiversity. The fungal disease chytridiomycosis is widely considered to be a primary cause of these declines, yet the critical question of why amphibian species differ in susceptibility remains unanswered. Considerable evidence links environmental conditions and interspecific variability of the innate immune system to differential infection responses, but other sources of individual, population, or species-typical variation may also be important. In this article we review the preliminary evidence supporting a role for acquired immune defenses against chytridiomycosis, and advocate for targeted investigation of genes controlling acquired responses, as well as those that functionally bridge the innate and acquired immune systems. Immunogenetic data promise to answer key questions about chytridiomycosis susceptibility and host-pathogen coevolution, and will draw much needed attention to the importance of considering evolutionary processes in amphibian conservation management and practice. ?? 2009 by American Institute of Biological Sciences.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is associated with altered neuropsychological performance in young adults.

PubMed

De Carolis, Antonella; Giubilei, Franco; Caselli, Giulio; Casolla, Barbara; Cavallari, Michele; Vanacore, Nicola; Leonori, Rita; Scrocchia, Ilaria; Fersini, Anna; Quercia, Augusto; Orzi, Francesco

2011-01-01

Subjects with ischemic lesions have an increased risk of dementia. In addition, Alzheimer's disease (AD) and vascular cognitive impairment share many risk factors. These observations suggest that different diseases that cause altered blood perfusion of the brain or hypoxia promote AD neurodegeneration. In this case-control, cross-sectional study, we sought to test the hypothesis that hypoxia facilitates cognitive decline. We looked for altered neuropsychological performance in subjects with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) without apparent cardio- or cerebrovascular diseases or risk factors for atherosclerosis. A selected, homogeneous group of workers from two ceramic factories in a small town of central Italy was enrolled in this study. The COPD patients had a slightly, but significantly worse performance than controls in a number of neuropsychological tests. The findings are consistent with the working hypothesis that chronic hypoxia facilitates cognitive decline.

Potentiometric surface of the upper Floridan aquifer in Florida and in parts of Georgia, South Carolina, and Alabama, May 1985

USGS Publications Warehouse

Bush, Peter W.; Barr, G. Lynn; Clarke, John S.; Johnston, Richard H.

1987-01-01

A map, constructed as a part of the Floridan Regional Aquifer-System Analysis (RASA), shows the potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer for May 1985. It is based on measurements of water level or artesian pressure made in about 2 ,500 wells during the period May 13 to 24, 1985. Only measurements from tightly cased wells open exclusively to the Upper Floridan aquifer were used to make the map. These included 1,425 wells in Florida, 924 in Georgia, 133 in South Carolina, and 21 in Alabama. The potentiometric surface of the Upper Floridan aquifer changed little between 1980 and 1985. Significant water level declines were observed only in southwest Georgia and west-central Florida. Low rainfall during early 1985 and associated pumping for irrigation caused the declines in both areas. (Lantz-PTT)

African dust and the demise of Caribbean coral reefs

USGS Publications Warehouse

Shinn, E.A.; Smith, G.W.; Prospero, J.M.; Betzer, P.; Hayes, M.L.; Garrison, V.; Barber, R.T.

2000-01-01

The vitality of Caribbean coral reefs has undergone a continual state of decline since the late 1970s, a period of time coincidental with large increases in transatlantic dust transport. It is proposed that the hundreds of millions of tons/year of soil dust that have been crossing the Atlantic during the last 25 years could be a significant contributor to coral reef decline and may be affecting other ecosystems. Benchmark events, such as near synchronous Caribbean-wide mortalities of acroporid corals and the urchin Diadema in 1983, and coral bleaching beginning in 1987, correlate with the years of maximum dust flux into the Caribbean. Besides crustal elements, in particular Fe, Si, and aluminosilicate clays, the dust can serve as a substrate for numerous species of viable spores, especially the soil fungus Aspergillus. Aspergillus sydowii, the cause of an ongoing Caribbean-wide seafan disease, has been cultured from Caribbean air samples and used to inoculate sea fans.

[Correlation between treatment of depression and suicide mortality in Hungary -- focus on the effects of the 2007 healthcare reform].

PubMed

Rihmer, Zoltan; Nemeth, Attila

2014-12-01

Major depression is a common but still underdiagnosed and undertreated illness which, with its complications (suicide, secondary alcoholism, loss of productivity, increased cardiovascular morbidity and mortality), is a major public health problem worldwide. Implementing the present pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment strategies, major depression can be successfully treated resulting in a significant decline in suicide risk and the economic burden caused by untreated depression is much higher than the cost of treatment. In the present paper the authors also discuss the impact of the development of the Hungarian psychiatric care system in the past three decades and the 2008 recession on the changing national suicide rate. Like international data, Hungarian studies also show that more widespread and effective treatment of depression is the main component of the more than 50-percent decline of suicide mortality in Hungary during the last 30 years.

The Effects of Low Income Housing Tax Credit Developments on Neighborhoods.

PubMed

Baum-Snow, Nathaniel; Marion, Justin

2009-06-01

This paper evaluates the impacts of new housing developments funded with the Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC), the largest federal project based housing program in the U.S., on the neighborhoods in which they are built. A discontinuity in the formula determining the magnitude of tax credits as a function of neighborhood characteristics generates pseudo-random assignment in the number of low income housing units built in similar sets of census tracts. Tracts where projects are awarded 30 percent higher tax credits receive approximately six more low income housing units on a base of seven units per tract. These additional new low income developments cause homeowner turnover to rise, raise property values in declining areas and reduce incomes in gentrifying areas in neighborhoods near the 30th percentile of the income distribution. LIHTC units significantly crowd out nearby new rental construction in gentrifying areas but do not displace new construction in stable or declining areas.

Performance-oriented: toward a successful strategy.

PubMed

Kumar, K; Subramanian, R; Yauger, C

1997-01-01

Changes in the health care industry have profoundly affected hospital management and have caused severe declines in hospital profitability. In 1993, Health Care Management Review reported that the average operating profit margin, around 2% in 1984, had declined to a 0.2% loss by 1990. In the past, hospitals were buffered by entry regulations and cost reimbursement; thus, they rarely dealt with traditional market pressures. But the changed terrain means that competitive factors now underscore all strategic decisions. This study examines the strategic significance of market orientation in the health care industry. The authors identified forms of market orientation by emphasizing different components, and discovered that hospitals fell into four distinct clusters or groups. They also found a critical relationship between market orientation and performance scores on a number of criteria. Finally, the authors suggest that different forms of market orientation should be employed to target specific performance measures.

Causes and risk factors for male-factor infertility in Nigeria: a review.

PubMed

Abarikwu, Sunny O

2013-12-01

In recent times there has been a decline in the semen quality of young healthy men worldwide, with similar findings being reported in Nigeria. Although little is known about what is responsible for the decline in male sperm count worldwide, significant associations have been reported between impaired semen quality including sperm count, motility as well as morphology and exposures to heavy metals such as cadmium and lead, mycotoxins such as aflatoxins, pesticides, industrial chemicals and endocrine factors. In Nigeria, the problem is further compounded by a variety of factors such as sexually transmitted infections, genito-urinary tract infections/inflammations and deficiencies of dietary antioxidant nutrients, thereby increasing male-factor contribution to infertility in the population. In this article, we analyze data from different sources and present evidence of the possible etiology and risk factors for male-factor infertility in Nigeria.

Global Demand for Natural Resources Eliminated More Than 100,000 Bornean Orangutans.

PubMed

Voigt, Maria; Wich, Serge A; Ancrenaz, Marc; Meijaard, Erik; Abram, Nicola; Banes, Graham L; Campbell-Smith, Gail; d'Arcy, Laura J; Delgado, Roberto A; Erman, Andi; Gaveau, David; Goossens, Benoit; Heinicke, Stefanie; Houghton, Max; Husson, Simon J; Leiman, Ashley; Sanchez, Karmele Llano; Makinuddin, Niel; Marshall, Andrew J; Meididit, Ari; Miettinen, Jukka; Mundry, Roger; Musnanda; Nardiyono; Nurcahyo, Anton; Odom, Kisar; Panda, Adventus; Prasetyo, Didik; Priadjati, Aldrianto; Purnomo; Rafiastanto, Andjar; Russon, Anne E; Santika, Truly; Sihite, Jamartin; Spehar, Stephanie; Struebig, Matthew; Sulbaran-Romero, Enrique; Tjiu, Albertus; Wells, Jessie; Wilson, Kerrie A; Kühl, Hjalmar S

2018-03-05

Unsustainable exploitation of natural resources is increasingly affecting the highly biodiverse tropics [1, 2]. Although rapid developments in remote sensing technology have permitted more precise estimates of land-cover change over large spatial scales [3-5], our knowledge about the effects of these changes on wildlife is much more sparse [6, 7]. Here we use field survey data, predictive density distribution modeling, and remote sensing to investigate the impact of resource use and land-use changes on the density distribution of Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus). Our models indicate that between 1999 and 2015, half of the orangutan population was affected by logging, deforestation, or industrialized plantations. Although land clearance caused the most dramatic rates of decline, it accounted for only a small proportion of the total loss. A much larger number of orangutans were lost in selectively logged and primary forests, where rates of decline were less precipitous, but where far more orangutans are found. This suggests that further drivers, independent of land-use change, contribute to orangutan loss. This finding is consistent with studies reporting hunting as a major cause in orangutan decline [8-10]. Our predictions of orangutan abundance loss across Borneo suggest that the population decreased by more than 100,000 individuals, corroborating recent estimates of decline [11]. Practical solutions to prevent future orangutan decline can only be realized by addressing its complex causes in a holistic manner across political and societal sectors, such as in land-use planning, resource exploitation, infrastructure development, and education, and by increasing long-term sustainability [12]. VIDEO ABSTRACT. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Changes in mortality rates and causes of death in a population-based cohort of persons living with and without HIV from 1996 to 2012.

PubMed

Eyawo, Oghenowede; Franco-Villalobos, Conrado; Hull, Mark W; Nohpal, Adriana; Samji, Hasina; Sereda, Paul; Lima, Viviane D; Shoveller, Jeannie; Moore, David; Montaner, Julio S G; Hogg, Robert S

2017-02-27

Non-HIV/AIDS-related diseases are gaining prominence as important causes of morbidity and mortality among people living with HIV. The purpose of this study was to characterize and compare changes over time in mortality rates and causes of death among a population-based cohort of persons living with and without HIV in British Columbia (BC), Canada. We analysed data from the Comparative Outcomes And Service Utilization Trends (COAST) study; a retrospective population-based study created via linkage between the BC Centre for Excellence in HIV/AIDS and Population Data BC, and containing data for HIV-infected individuals and the general population of BC, respectively. Our analysis included all known HIV-infected adults (≥ 20 years) in BC and a random 10% sample of uninfected BC adults followed from 1996 to 2012. Deaths were identified through Population Data BC - which contains information on all registered deaths in BC (BC Vital Statistics Agency dataset) and classified into cause of death categories using International Classification of Diseases (ICD) 9/10 codes. Age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR) and mortality rate ratios were calculated. Trend test were performed. 3401 (25%), and 47,647 (9%) individuals died during the 5,620,150 person-years of follow-up among 13,729 HIV-infected and 510,313 uninfected individuals, respectively. All-cause and cause-specific mortality rates were consistently higher among HIV-infected compared to HIV-negative individuals, except for neurological disorders. All-cause ASMR decreased from 126.75 (95% CI: 84.92-168.57) per 1000 population in 1996 to 21.29 (95% CI: 17.79-24.79) in 2011-2012 (83% decline; p < 0.001 for trend), compared to a change from 7.97 (95% CI: 7.61-8.33) to 6.87 (95% CI: 6.70-7.04) among uninfected individuals (14% decline; p < 0.001). Mortality rates from HIV/AIDS-related causes decreased by 94% from 103.85 per 1000 population in 1996 to 6.72 by the 2011-2012 era (p < 0.001). Significant ASMR reductions were also observed for hepatic/liver disease and drug abuse/overdose deaths. ASMRs for neurological disorders increased significantly over time. Non-AIDS-defining cancers are currently the leading non-HIV/AIDS-related cause of death in both HIV-infected and uninfected individuals. Despite the significant mortality rate reductions observed among HIV-infected individuals from 1996 to 2012, they still have excess mortality risk compared to uninfected individuals. Additional efforts are needed to promote effective risk factor management and appropriate screening measures among people living with HIV.

Groundwater status and trends for the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System, Washington, Oregon, and Idaho

USGS Publications Warehouse

Burns, Erick R.; Snyder, Daniel T.; Haynes, Jonathan V.; Waibel, Michael S.

2012-01-01

Well information and groundwater-level measurements for the Columbia Plateau Regional Aquifer System in Washington, Oregon, and Idaho, were compiled from data provided by the U.S. Geological Survey and seven other organizations. From the full set of about 60,000 wells and 450,000 water-level measurements a subset of 761 wells within the aquifers of the Columbia River Basalt Group (CRBG) then was used to develop a simple linear groundwater-level trend map for 1968–2009. The mean of the trends was a decline of 1.9 feet per year (ft/yr), with 72 percent of the water levels in wells declining. Rates of declines greater than 1.0 ft/yr were measured in 50 percent of wells, declines greater than 2.0 ft/yr in 38 percent of wells, declines greater than 4.0 ft/yr in 29 percent of wells, and declines greater than 8.0 ft/yr in 4 percent of wells. Water-level data were used to identify groups of wells with similar hydraulic heads and temporal trends to delineate areas of overall similar groundwater conditions. Discontinuities in hydraulic head between well groups were used to help infer the presence of barriers to groundwater flow such as changes in lithology or the occurrence of folds and faults. In areas without flow barriers, dissimilarities in response of well groups over time resulted from the formation of groundwater mounds caused by recharge from irrigation or regions of decline caused by pumping. The areas of focus for this analysis included the Umatilla area, Oregon, and the Palouse Slope/eastern Yakima Fold Belt in the Columbia Basin Ground Water Management Area (GWMA) consisting of Adams, Franklin, Grant, and Lincoln Counties, Washington. In the Umatilla area, water levels from 286 wells were used to identify multiple areas of high hydraulic gradient that indicate vertical and horizontal barriers to groundwater flow. These barriers divide the groundwater-flow system into several compartments with varying degrees of interconnection. Horizontal flow barriers commonly correspond to mapped geologic structure and result in horizontal hydraulic gradients that progressively become steeper from north to south corresponding to an increase in structural complexity that may be impeding recharge from the uplands into the heavily developed areas. Most CRBG aquifers in the Umatilla area are declining and since 1970, cumulative declines range from about 100 to 300 feet. Significant vertical hydraulic gradients are documented for relatively small areas near Umatilla, and since the 1970s, downward vertical gradients in these areas have been increasing as hydraulic heads in the deeper units have declined. The absence of vertical gradients over much of the area may be a consequence of flow through commingling wells that results in the equilibration of the heads between aquifers. On the Palouse Slope in the central GWMA, large groundwater declines occurred during 1968–2009 along a north-south swath in the middle of the region. An analysis of 1,195 wells along major flow paths and through the area of persistent groundwater-level declines indicates that barriers to flow are not as evident in this area as in Umatilla. This is consistent with the geologic interpretation of the Palouse Slope as being a gently folded structure created by voluminous sheet flows of CRBG lavas. Groundwater discharge into the sediment-filled coulees, where the upper aquifers are intersected at land surface by incised canyons, is proposed as an alternative to explain local steepening of the hydraulic gradient along the Palouse Slope previously attributed to the presence of a groundwater dam. Comparison of generalized potentiometric surface maps developed for pre-development conditions and post-2000 conditions indicate that pre-development groundwater flow was from the uplands toward the Columbia and Snake River and that post-2000 flow patterns in the area are controlled by irrigation practices that have resulted in broad regions of elevated or depressed hydraulic head. In some cases, irrigation-related changes in head have reversed groundwater flow directions. Evidence of significant vertical hydraulic gradients exists, although much of the aquifer thickness is affected by commingling of wells. The effect of commingling and its relative contribution to problems related to groundwater-level declines remains unclear.

Exception Points and Body Size Contribute to Gender Disparity in Liver Transplantation.

PubMed

Nephew, Lauren D; Goldberg, David S; Lewis, James D; Abt, Peter; Bryan, Mathew; Forde, Kimberly A

2017-08-01

Women are significantly less likely than men to receive a liver transplant and more likely to die on the waitlist. We investigated potential reasons for these disparities, including match run positioning and organ declines caused by small stature of female recipients. We analyzed data from the United Network of Organ Sharing registry of candidates placed on the waitlist from May 10, 2007, through June 17, 2013. Primary outcomes included ranked in first position on a match run, having an organ declined while in first position, declining an organ while in first position because of size mismatch between donor and recipient (body surface area discordance), and death or becoming too sick for liver transplantation. Among 64,995 patients on the waitlist for liver transplantation, 23.1% of men and 15.6% of women received exception points (P < .001). Women listed without exception points were less likely than men to be ranked first (odds ratio [OR], 0.93; 95% CI, 0.88-0.99). Women who achieved first position were more likely to decline an organ than men (OR, 1.15; 95% CI, 1.06-1.26); this difference was reduced after we accounted for recipient body surface area (OR, 1.08; 95% CI, 0.98-1.19). Women with a single organ decline were more likely than men with a single organ decline to die or become too sick for transplantation (OR, 1.26; 95% CI, 1.12-1.41). The difference was reduced after we accounted for exception points (OR, 1.16; 95% CI, 1.12-1.21) and recipient body surface area (OR, 1.01; 95% CI, 0.96-1.06). In an analysis of data from the United Network of Organ Sharing registry, we found that women when compared with men on the waitlist for liver transplantation are disadvantaged by an imbalance in exception point allocation and organ declines because of small stature. Copyright © 2017 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The effects of island forest restoration on open habitat specialists: the endangered weevil Hadramphus spinipennis Broun and its host-plant Aciphylla dieffenbachii Kirk.

PubMed

Fountain, Emily D; Malumbres-Olarte, Jagoba; Cruickshank, Robert H; Paterson, Adrian M

2015-01-01

Human alteration of islands has made restoration a key part of conservation management. As islands are restored to their original state, species interactions change and some populations may be impacted. In this study we examine the coxella weevil, (Hadramphus spinipennis Broun) and its host-plant Dieffenbach's speargrass (Aciphylla dieffenbachii Kirk), which are both open habitat specialists with populations on Mangere and Rangatira Islands, Chathams, New Zealand. Both of these islands were heavily impacted by the introduction of livestock; the majority of the forest was removed and the weevil populations declined due to the palatability of their host-plant to livestock. An intensive reforestation program was established on both islands over 50 years ago but the potential impacts of this restoration project on the already endangered H. spinipennis are poorly understood. We combined genetic and population data from 1995 and 2010-2011 to determine the health and status of these species on both islands. There was some genetic variation between the weevil populations on each island but little variation within the species as a whole. The interactions between the weevil and its host-plant populations appear to remain intact on Mangere, despite forest regeneration. A decline in weevils and host-plant on Rangatira does not appear to be caused by canopy regrowth. We recommend that (1) these populations be monitored for ongoing effects of long-term reforestation, (2) the cause of the decline on Rangatira be investigated, and (3) the two populations of weevils be conserved as separate evolutionarily significant units.

Recent Declines in Infant and Neonatal Mortality in Turkey from 2007 to 2012: Impact of Improvements in Health Policies.

PubMed

Dilli, Dilek; Köse, M Rıfat; Gündüz, R Coşkun; Özbaş, Sema; Tezel, Başak; Okumuş, Nurullah

2016-03-01

Infant mortality rate (IMR) and neonatal mortality rate (NMR) are accepted as good indicators to measure the health status of a nation. This report describes recent declines in IMR and NMR in Turkey. Data on infants who died before 12 months of life were obtained from the Infant Mortality Monitoring System of Ministry of Health of Turkey between 2007 and 2012. A total of 94,038 infant deaths were evaluated. Turkey IMR and NMR exhibited a marked decline from 2007 (16.4 and 12.2) to 2010 (10.1 and 6.6) and then plateaued in 2012 (9.7 and 6.3), despite regional differences. Prematurity, congenital anomalies and congenital heart diseases (CHD) were the three most common causes of infant deaths between 2007 and 2012. While the rates of respiratory distress syndrome (RDS), sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), and metabolic diseases increased, the rates of congenital anomalies and birth injuries decreased. IMR and NMR significantly increased with the number of infants per paediatrician, per doctor, and per midwife, while was decreasing with the increased rate of hospital birth, caesarean delivery, antenatal care, infant follow-up, and staff trained within the Neonatal Resuscitation Programme (NRP). From 2007-2012, Turkey showed remarkable encouraging advances in reducing IMR and NMR. Any interventions aimed at further reductions in IMR and NMR should target the common causes of death and defined risk factors especially in socioeconomically disadvantaged regions. Copyright© by the National Institute of Public Health, Prague 2015.

Exploring the causes of declining Colorado River streamflow

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, M.; Udall, B. H.; Lettenmaier, D. P.

2017-12-01

As the major river of the Southwestern U.S., the Colorado River is central to the region's water resources. Over the period 1916-2014, the river's naturalized streamflow at Lee's Ferry declined by about 1/6th. However, annual precipitation in the Upper Colorado River Basin (UCRB) part (above Lees Ferry) over that period increases slightly (1.4%; ΔPwinter is -0.2% and ΔPsummer is 3.0%). In order to examine the causes of the runoff declines, we performed a set of experiments with the VIC model in which we detrended the model's temperature forcings for each of 20 sub-basins that make up the basin. Negative winter precipitation anomalies have occurred in the handful of highly productive sub-basins that account for much of streamflow at Lee's Ferry. Although a few headwater tributaries have received above-average precipitation that counteracts some of the runoff losses, the dominant signal in the highly productive sub-basins is declining precipitation and runoff. The situation is exacerbated by pervasive warming that has reduced winter snowpacks and enhanced ET (1.9°C increase for winter and 1.7°C for summer). The warming causes over half (53%) of the long-term decreasing runoff trend. The remainder is caused by a combination of reduced precipitation and increasing winter ET associated with increased net shortwave radiation. From comparison with an earlier 1953-1968 drought that was caused primarily by anomalously low precipitation across UCRB, we find higher temperatures have played a much larger role in the post-Millennium Drought, although reductions in precipitation in several of the most productive headwater basins have played a role as well. Finally, we evaluate the Upper Basin April-July runoff forecast, which decreased dramatically as the runoff season progressed. We find that well much of the spring was anomalously warm, the proximate cause of most of the forecast reduction was anomalous dryness, which accompanied the warmer conditions.

Causes of hot-spot wetland loss in the Mississippi delta plain

USGS Publications Warehouse

Morton, R.A.; Tiling, G.; Ferina, N.F.

2003-01-01

Field surveys and sediment cores were used to estimate marsh erosion and land subsidence at Madison Bay, a well-known wetland loss hot spot in coastal Louisiana. Former marshes of Madison Bay are under about 1 m of water. Nearly two-thirds of the permanent flooding was caused by rapid subsidence in the late 1960s, whereas the other third was caused by subsequent erosion. Subsidence rates near Madison Bay since the 1960s (???20 mm/yr) are an order of magnitude greater than deltaic subsidence rates averaged for the past 400-4000 yr (???2 mm/yr). The rapid acceleration and unexpected decline in wetland losses in the Mississippi delta plain are difficult to explain on the basis of most physical and biogeochemical processes. There are, however, close temporal and spatial correlations among regional wetland loss, high subsidence rates, and large-volume fluid production from nearby hydrocarbon fields. The decreased rates of wetland loss since the 1970s may be related to decreased rates of subsidence caused by significantly decreased rates of subsurface fluid withdrawal. Annual fluid production from the Lapeyrouse, Lirette, and Bay Baptiste fields that encompass Madison Bay accelerated in the 1960s, peaked about 1970, and then declined abruptly. Large decreases in pore pressure in the Lapeyrouse field have likely altered subsurface stresses and reactivated a major fault that coincides with the wetland loss hot spot. Therefore, wetland losses at Madison Bay can be closely linked to rapid subsidence and possible fault reactivation induced by long-term, large-volume hydrocarbon production. ?? 2003. The American Association of Petroleum Geologists/Division of Environmental Geosciences. All rights reserved.

The global burden of injury: incidence, mortality, disability-adjusted life years and time trends from the Global Burden of Disease study 2013.

PubMed

Haagsma, Juanita A; Graetz, Nicholas; Bolliger, Ian; Naghavi, Mohsen; Higashi, Hideki; Mullany, Erin C; Abera, Semaw Ferede; Abraham, Jerry Puthenpurakal; Adofo, Koranteng; Alsharif, Ubai; Ameh, Emmanuel A; Ammar, Walid; Antonio, Carl Abelardo T; Barrero, Lope H; Bekele, Tolesa; Bose, Dipan; Brazinova, Alexandra; Catalá-López, Ferrán; Dandona, Lalit; Dandona, Rakhi; Dargan, Paul I; De Leo, Diego; Degenhardt, Louisa; Derrett, Sarah; Dharmaratne, Samath D; Driscoll, Tim R; Duan, Leilei; Petrovich Ermakov, Sergey; Farzadfar, Farshad; Feigin, Valery L; Franklin, Richard C; Gabbe, Belinda; Gosselin, Richard A; Hafezi-Nejad, Nima; Hamadeh, Randah Ribhi; Hijar, Martha; Hu, Guoqing; Jayaraman, Sudha P; Jiang, Guohong; Khader, Yousef Saleh; Khan, Ejaz Ahmad; Krishnaswami, Sanjay; Kulkarni, Chanda; Lecky, Fiona E; Leung, Ricky; Lunevicius, Raimundas; Lyons, Ronan Anthony; Majdan, Marek; Mason-Jones, Amanda J; Matzopoulos, Richard; Meaney, Peter A; Mekonnen, Wubegzier; Miller, Ted R; Mock, Charles N; Norman, Rosana E; Orozco, Ricardo; Polinder, Suzanne; Pourmalek, Farshad; Rahimi-Movaghar, Vafa; Refaat, Amany; Rojas-Rueda, David; Roy, Nobhojit; Schwebel, David C; Shaheen, Amira; Shahraz, Saeid; Skirbekk, Vegard; Søreide, Kjetil; Soshnikov, Sergey; Stein, Dan J; Sykes, Bryan L; Tabb, Karen M; Temesgen, Awoke Misganaw; Tenkorang, Eric Yeboah; Theadom, Alice M; Tran, Bach Xuan; Vasankari, Tommi J; Vavilala, Monica S; Vlassov, Vasiliy Victorovich; Woldeyohannes, Solomon Meseret; Yip, Paul; Yonemoto, Naohiro; Younis, Mustafa Z; Yu, Chuanhua; Murray, Christopher J L; Vos, Theo

2016-02-01

The Global Burden of Diseases (GBD), Injuries, and Risk Factors study used the disability-adjusted life year (DALY) to quantify the burden of diseases, injuries, and risk factors. This paper provides an overview of injury estimates from the 2013 update of GBD, with detailed information on incidence, mortality, DALYs and rates of change from 1990 to 2013 for 26 causes of injury, globally, by region and by country. Injury mortality was estimated using the extensive GBD mortality database, corrections for ill-defined cause of death and the cause of death ensemble modelling tool. Morbidity estimation was based on inpatient and outpatient data sets, 26 cause-of-injury and 47 nature-of-injury categories, and seven follow-up studies with patient-reported long-term outcome measures. In 2013, 973 million (uncertainty interval (UI) 942 to 993) people sustained injuries that warranted some type of healthcare and 4.8 million (UI 4.5 to 5.1) people died from injuries. Between 1990 and 2013 the global age-standardised injury DALY rate decreased by 31% (UI 26% to 35%). The rate of decline in DALY rates was significant for 22 cause-of-injury categories, including all the major injuries. Injuries continue to be an important cause of morbidity and mortality in the developed and developing world. The decline in rates for almost all injuries is so prominent that it warrants a general statement that the world is becoming a safer place to live in. However, the patterns vary widely by cause, age, sex, region and time and there are still large improvements that need to be made. Published by the BMJ Publishing Group Limited. For permission to use (where not already granted under a licence) please go to http://www.bmj.com/company/products-services/rights-and-licensing/

Contaminants and sea ducks in Alaska and the circumpolar region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Henny, Charles J.; Rudis, Deborah D.; Roffe, Thomas J.; Robinson-Wilson, Everett

1995-01-01

We review nesting sea duck population declines in Alaska during recent decades and explore the possibility that contaminants may be implicated. Aerial surveys of the surf scoter (Melanitta perspicillata), white-winged scoter (M. fusca), black scoter (M. nigra), oldsquaw (Clangula hyemalis), spectacled eider (Somateria fischeri), and Steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri) show long-term breeding population declines, especially the latter three species. The spectacled eider was recently classified threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In addition, three other diving ducks, which commonly winter in coastal areas, have declined from unknown causes. Large die-offs of all three species of scoters during molt, a period of high energy demand, were documented in August 1990, 1991, and 1992 at coastal reefs in southeastern Alaska. There was no evidence of infectious diseases in those scoters. The die-offs may or may not be associated with the long-term declines. Many scoters had elevated renal concentrations of cadmium (high of 375 μg/g dry weight [dw]). Effects of cadmium in sea ducks are not well understood. Selenium concentrations in livers of nesting white-winged scoters were high; however, the eggs they laid contained less selenium than expected based on relationships for freshwater bird species. Histological evaluation found a high prevalence of hepatocellular vacuolation (49%), a degenerative change frequently associated with sublethal toxic insult. Cadmium and selenium mean liver concentrations were generally higher in those birds with more severe vacuolation; however, relationships were not statistically significant. We do not know if sea duck population declines are related to metals or other contaminants.

Contaminants and sea ducks in Alaska and the circumpolar region

USGS Publications Warehouse

Henny, C.J.; Rudis, D.D.; Roffe, T.J.; Robinson-Wilson, E.

1995-01-01

We review nesting sea duck population declines in Alaska during recent decades and explore the possibility that contaminants may be implicated. Aerial surveys of the surf scoter (Melanitta perspicillata) , white-winged scoter (M. fusca) , black scoter (M. nigra) , oldsquaw (Clangula hyemalis) , spectacled eider (Somateria fischeri) , and Steller's eider (Polysticta stelleri) show long-term breeding population declines, especially the latter three species. The spectacled eider was recently classified threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In addition, three other diving ducks, which commonly winter in coastal areas, have declined from unknown causes. Large die-offs of all three species of scoters during molt, a period of high energy demand, were documented in August 1990, 1991, and 1992 at coastal reefs in southeastern Alaska. There was no evidence of infectious diseases in those scoters. The die-offs may or may not be associated with the long-term declines. Many scoters had elevated renal concentrations of cadmium (high of 375 ?g/g dry weight [dw]). Effects of cadmium in sea ducks are not well understood. Selenium concentrations in livers of nesting white-winged scoters were high ; however, the eggs they laid contained less selenium than expected based on relationships for freshwater bird species. Histological evaluation found a high prevalence of hepatocellular vacuolation (49%) , a degenerative change frequently associated with sublethal toxic insult. Cadmium and selenium mean liver concentrations were generally higher in those birds with more severe vacuolation ; however, relationships were not statistically significant. We do not know if sea duck population declines are related to metals or other contaminants.

Flow regime, temperature, and biotic interactions drive differential declines of trout species under climate change

PubMed Central

Wenger, Seth J.; Isaak, Daniel J.; Luce, Charles H.; Neville, Helen M.; Fausch, Kurt D.; Dunham, Jason B.; Dauwalter, Daniel C.; Young, Michael K.; Elsner, Marketa M.; Rieman, Bruce E.; Hamlet, Alan F.; Williams, Jack E.

2011-01-01

Broad-scale studies of climate change effects on freshwater species have focused mainly on temperature, ignoring critical drivers such as flow regime and biotic interactions. We use downscaled outputs from general circulation models coupled with a hydrologic model to forecast the effects of altered flows and increased temperatures on four interacting species of trout across the interior western United States (1.01 million km2), based on empirical statistical models built from fish surveys at 9,890 sites. Projections under the 2080s A1B emissions scenario forecast a mean 47% decline in total suitable habitat for all trout, a group of fishes of major socioeconomic and ecological significance. We project that native cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii, already excluded from much of its potential range by nonnative species, will lose a further 58% of habitat due to an increase in temperatures beyond the species’ physiological optima and continued negative biotic interactions. Habitat for nonnative brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis and brown trout Salmo trutta is predicted to decline by 77% and 48%, respectively, driven by increases in temperature and winter flood frequency caused by warmer, rainier winters. Habitat for rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, is projected to decline the least (35%) because negative temperature effects are partly offset by flow regime shifts that benefit the species. These results illustrate how drivers other than temperature influence species response to climate change. Despite some uncertainty, large declines in trout habitat are likely, but our findings point to opportunities for strategic targeting of mitigation efforts to appropriate stressors and locations. PMID:21844354

Flow regime, temperature, and biotic interactions drive differential declines of trout species under climate change

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wenger, S.J.; Isaak, D.J.; Luce, C.H.; Neville, H.M.; Fausch, K.D.; Dunham, J.B.; Dauwalter, D.C.; Young, M.K.; Elsner, M.M.; Rieman, B.E.; Hamlet, A.F.; Williams, J.E.

2011-01-01

Broad-scale studies of climate change effects on freshwater species have focused mainly on temperature, ignoring critical drivers such as flow regime and biotic interactions. We use downscaled outputs from general circulation models coupled with a hydrologic model to forecast the effects of altered flows and increased temperatures on four interacting species of trout across the interior western United States (1.01 million km2), based on empirical statistical models built from fish surveys at 9,890 sites. Projections under the 2080s A1B emissions scenario forecast a mean 47% decline in total suitable habitat for all trout, a group of fishes of major socioeconomic and ecological significance. We project that native cutthroat trout Oncorhynchus clarkii, already excluded from much of its potential range by nonnative species, will lose a further 58% of habitat due to an increase in temperatures beyond the species' physiological optima and continued negative biotic interactions. Habitat for nonnative brook trout Salvelinus fontinalis and brown trout Salmo trutta is predicted to decline by 77% and 48%, respectively, driven by increases in temperature and winter flood frequency caused by warmer, rainier winters. Habitat for rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, is projected to decline the least (35%) because negative temperature effects are partly offset by flow regime shifts that benefit the species. These results illustrate how drivers other than temperature influence species response to climate change. Despite some uncertainty, large declines in trout habitat are likely, but our findings point to opportunities for strategic targeting of mitigation efforts to appropriate stressors and locations.

Satellite Observed Widespread Decline in Mongolian Grasslands Largely Due to Overgrazing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hilker, Thomas; Natsagdorj, Enkhjargal; Waring, Richard H.; Lyapustin, Alexei; Wang, Yujie

2014-01-01

The Mongolian Steppe is one of the largest remaining grassland ecosystems. Recent studies have reported widespread decline of vegetation across the steppe and about 70 percent of this ecosystem is now considered degraded. Among the scientific community there has been an active debate about whether the observed degradation is related to climate, or overgrazing, or both. Here, we employ a new atmospheric correction and cloud screening algorithm (MAIAC) to investigate trends in satellite observed vegetation phenology. We relate these trends to changes in climate and domestic animal populations. A series of harmonic functions is fitted to MODIS observed phenological curves to quantify seasonal and inter-annual changes in vegetation. Our results show a widespread decline (of about 12 percent on average) in MODIS observed NDVI across the country but particularly in the transition zone between grassland and the Gobi desert, where recent decline was as much as 40 percent below the 2002 mean NDVI. While we found considerable regional differences in the causes of landscape degradation, about 80 percent of the decline in NDVI could be attributed to increase in livestock. Changes in precipitation were able to explain about 30 percent of degradation across the country as a whole but up to 50 percent in areas with denser vegetation cover (p0.05). Temperature changes, while significant, played only a minor role (r20.10, p0.05). Our results suggest that the cumulative effect of overgrazing is a primary contributor to the degradation of the Mongolian steppe and is at least partially responsible for desertification reported in previous studies.

Causes, effects and connectivity changes in MS-related cognitive decline.

PubMed

Rimkus, Carolina de Medeiros; Steenwijk, Martijn D; Barkhof, Frederik

2016-01-01

Cognitive decline is a frequent but undervalued aspect of multiple sclerosis (MS). Currently, it remains unclear what the strongest determinants of cognitive dysfunction are, with grey matter damage most directly related to cognitive impairment. Multi-parametric studies seem to indicate that individual factors of MS-pathology are highly interdependent causes of grey matter atrophy and permanent brain damage. They are associated with intermediate functional effects (e.g. in functional MRI) representing a balance between disconnection and (mal) adaptive connectivity changes. Therefore, a more comprehensive MRI approach is warranted, aiming to link structural changes with functional brain organization. To better understand the disconnection syndromes and cognitive decline in MS, this paper reviews the associations between MRI metrics and cognitive performance, by discussing the interactions between multiple facets of MS pathology as determinants of brain damage and how they affect network efficiency.

Spaceflight effects on single skeletal muscle fiber function in the rhesus monkey.

PubMed

Fitts, R H; Desplanches, D; Romatowski, J G; Widrick, J J

2000-11-01

The purpose of this investigation was to understand how 14 days of weightlessness alters the cellular properties of individual slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers in the rhesus monkey. The diameter of the soleus (Sol) type I, medial gastrocnemius (MG) type I, and MG type II fibers from the vivarium controls averaged 60 +/- 1, 46 +/- 2, and 59 +/- 2 microm, respectively. Both a control 1-G capsule sit (CS) and spaceflight (SF) significantly reduced the Sol type I fiber diameter (20 and 13%, respectively) and peak force, with the latter declining from 0.48 +/- 0.01 to 0.31 +/- 0.02 (CS group) and 0.32 +/- 0.01 mN (SF group). When the peak force was expressed as kiloNewtons per square meter (kN/m(2)), only the SF group showed a significant decline. This group also showed a significant 15% drop in peak fiber stiffness that suggests that fewer cross bridges were contracting in parallel. In the MG, SF but not CS depressed the type I fiber diameter and force. Additionally, SF significantly depressed absolute (mN) and relative (kN/m(2)) force in the fast-twitch MG fibers by 30% and 28%, respectively. The Ca(2+) sensitivity of the type I fiber (Sol and MG) was significantly reduced by growth but unaltered by SF. Flight had no significant effect on the mean maximal fiber shortening velocity in any fiber type or muscle. The post-SF Sol type I fibers showed a reduced peak power and, at peak power, an elevated velocity and decreased force. In conclusion, CS and SF caused atrophy and a reduced force and power in the Sol type I fiber. However, only SF elicited atrophy and reduced force (mN) in the MG type I fiber and a decline in relative force (kN/m(2)) in the Sol type I and MG type II fibers.

Spaceflight effects on single skeletal muscle fiber function in the rhesus monkey

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fitts, R. H.; Desplanches, D.; Romatowski, J. G.; Widrick, J. J.

2000-01-01

The purpose of this investigation was to understand how 14 days of weightlessness alters the cellular properties of individual slow- and fast-twitch muscle fibers in the rhesus monkey. The diameter of the soleus (Sol) type I, medial gastrocnemius (MG) type I, and MG type II fibers from the vivarium controls averaged 60 +/- 1, 46 +/- 2, and 59 +/- 2 microm, respectively. Both a control 1-G capsule sit (CS) and spaceflight (SF) significantly reduced the Sol type I fiber diameter (20 and 13%, respectively) and peak force, with the latter declining from 0.48 +/- 0.01 to 0.31 +/- 0.02 (CS group) and 0.32 +/- 0.01 mN (SF group). When the peak force was expressed as kiloNewtons per square meter (kN/m(2)), only the SF group showed a significant decline. This group also showed a significant 15% drop in peak fiber stiffness that suggests that fewer cross bridges were contracting in parallel. In the MG, SF but not CS depressed the type I fiber diameter and force. Additionally, SF significantly depressed absolute (mN) and relative (kN/m(2)) force in the fast-twitch MG fibers by 30% and 28%, respectively. The Ca(2+) sensitivity of the type I fiber (Sol and MG) was significantly reduced by growth but unaltered by SF. Flight had no significant effect on the mean maximal fiber shortening velocity in any fiber type or muscle. The post-SF Sol type I fibers showed a reduced peak power and, at peak power, an elevated velocity and decreased force. In conclusion, CS and SF caused atrophy and a reduced force and power in the Sol type I fiber. However, only SF elicited atrophy and reduced force (mN) in the MG type I fiber and a decline in relative force (kN/m(2)) in the Sol type I and MG type II fibers.

Occupational contact urticaria: lessons from the French National Network for Occupational Disease Vigilance and Prevention (RNV3P).

PubMed

Bensefa-Colas, L; Telle-Lamberton, M; Faye, S; Bourrain, J-L; Crépy, M-N; Lasfargues, G; Choudat, D; Momas, I

2015-12-01

Occupational contact urticaria (OCU) is an occupational contact dermatitis that can cause serious health consequences and disability at work. To describe OCU and its temporal trends by the main causal agents and activity sectors in a nationwide scheme in France. Using data from the French National Network for Occupational Disease Vigilance and Prevention (RNV3P), we described OCU reported during the period 2001-10 and analysed the temporal trends of OCU and OCU attributed to the most frequent agents over the study period. Trends analyses were supported by reporting odds ratios using a logistic regression model with reference to 2001, or with time as a continuous variable. During the study period, 251 cases of OCU were reported in RNV3P, half of which were due to natural rubber latex, in particular in the health and social work activity sector (HSW). The number of these cases declined significantly over the study period (19% per year), and particularly after 2006. Conversely, the other causes of OCU did not decrease. Using surveillance data from a French national network, this study has found that there was a significant decline in OCU due to natural rubber latex, particularly in the HSW, when powdered latex gloves were banned from French hospitals. Our results show the effectiveness of this preventive measure, and suggest that this practice should be extended to other sectors. © 2015 British Association of Dermatologists.

Frog decline, frog malformations, and a comparison of frog and human health.

PubMed

Cohen, M M

2001-11-22

The decline in frog populations and the increase in the frequency of frog malformations are discussed. Topics considered for analysis include chytridiomycosis, retinoids, UV-B radiation, chemical contaminants, environmental threats, introduced invasive species and predation, unsustainable use, and enigmatic decline. Care must be taken to distinguish between hypotheses, laboratory experiments, and the findings in feral frog populations. Clearly, the causes of population decline and malformations are heterogeneous. The subject of frogs and humans is addressed under three subheadings: the importance of frogs to human societies, medical implications of frog studies, and a comparison of frog and human disease factors. Copyright 2001 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Population trends from the American woodcock singing-ground survey, 1970-88

USGS Publications Warehouse

Sauer, J.R.; Bortner, J.B.

1991-01-01

Population trend analysis of American woodcook (Scolopax minor) using data from a singing-ground survey indicates population declines throughout the breeding range of the species between 1970 and 1988. In the eastern United States and Canada, this decline has been quite consistent throughout the period, but in the central portion of the continent the population increased during the 1970's and declined during the early 1980's. Observers differ in their ability to hear woodcock, and we document observer differences in the singing-ground survey data and incorporate them into our analyses. Habitat changes have been suggested as the most likely cause of declines in woodcock populations.

Polar Bear Population Status in the Southern Beaufort Sea

USGS Publications Warehouse

Regehr, Eric V.; Amstrup, Steven C.; Stirling, Ian

2006-01-01

Polar bears depend entirely on sea ice for survival. In recent years, a warming climate has caused major changes in the Arctic sea ice environment, leading to concerns regarding the status of polar bear populations. Here we present findings from long-term studies of polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea (SBS) region of the U.S. and Canada, which are relevant to these concerns. We applied open population capture-recapture models to data collected from 2001 to 2006, and estimated there were 1,526 (95% CI = 1,211; 1,841) polar bears in the SBS region in 2006. The number of polar bears in this region was previously estimated to be approximately 1,800. Because precision of earlier estimates was low, our current estimate of population size and the earlier ones cannot be statistically differentiated. For the 2001-06 period, the best fitting capture-recapture model provided estimates of total apparent survival of 0.43 for cubs of the year (COYs), and 0.92 for all polar bears older than COYs. Because the survival rates for older polar bears included multiple sex and age strata, they could not be compared to previous estimates. Survival rates for COYs, however, were significantly lower than estimates derived in earlier studies (P = 0.03). The lower survival of COYs was corroborated by a comparison of the number of COYs per adult female for periods before (1967-89) and after (1990-2006) the winter of 1989-90, when warming temperatures and altered atmospheric circulation caused an abrupt change in sea ice conditions in the Arctic basin. In the latter period, there were significantly more COYs per adult female in the spring (P = 0.02), and significantly fewer COYs per adult female in the autumn (P < 0.001). Apparently, cub production was higher in the latter period, but fewer cubs survived beyond the first 6 months of life. Parallel with declining survival, skull measurements suggested that COYs captured from 1990 to 2006 were smaller than those captured before 1990. Similarly, both skull measurements and body weights suggested that adult males captured from 1990 to 2006 were smaller than those captured before 1990. The smaller stature of males was especially notable because it corresponded with a higher mean age of adult males. Male polar bears continue to grow into their teens, and if adequately nourished, the older males captured in the latter period should have been larger than those captured earlier. In western Hudson Bay, Canada, a significant decline in population size was preceded by observed declines in cub survival and physical stature. The evidence of declining recruitment and body size reported here, therefore, suggests vigilance regarding the future of polar bears in the SBS region.

Tuberculosis mortality trends in cuba, 1998 to 2007.

PubMed

González, Edilberto; Risco, Grisel E; Borroto, Susana; Perna, Abel; Armas, Luisa

2009-01-01

Introduction Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of illness and death throughout the world. The World Health Organization's Global Plan to Stop TB 2006-2015 proposes that countries cut TB mortality by half compared to 1990 rates. In Cuba, TB mortality declined steadily throughout the 20th century, particularly after 1960. Objective Describe TB mortality distribution and trends in Cuba from January 1998 to December 2007 by infection site, sex, age and province, and determine progress towards the WHO's 2015 target for TB mortality reduction. Methods A time series ecological study was conducted. Death certificates stating TB as cause of death were obtained from the Ministry of Public Health's National Statistics Division, and population data by age group, sex, and province were obtained from the National Statistics Bureau. Crude and specific death rate trends and variation were analyzed. Results TB mortality declined from 0.4 per 100,000 population in 1998 to 0.2 (under half the 1990 rate) in 2007. Clinical forms of the disease, both pulmonary and extrapulmonary, also declined. The highest mortality rates were found in males and in the group aged ≥ 65 years. Rates were also highest in the capital, Havana, with extreme values of 0.73 and 0.39 per 100,000 population at the beginning and end of the period, respectively. Conclusions Deaths from TB declined steadily compared to total deaths and deaths caused by infectious diseases. The Global Plan to Stop TB target was met well ahead of 2015. If this trend continues, TB is likely to become an exceptional cause of death in Cuba.

Child Deaths Due to Injury in the Four UK Countries: A Time Trends Study from 1980 to 2010

PubMed Central

Hardelid, Pia; Davey, Jonathan; Dattani, Nirupa; Gilbert, Ruth

2013-01-01

Background Injuries are an increasingly important cause of death in children worldwide, yet injury mortality is highly preventable. Determining patterns and trends in child injury mortality can identify groups at particularly high risk. We compare trends in child deaths due to injury in four UK countries, between 1980 and 2010. Methods We obtained information from death certificates on all deaths occurring between 1980 and 2010 in children aged 28 days to 18 years and resident in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. Injury deaths were defined by an external cause code recorded as the underlying cause of death. Injury mortality rates were analysed by type of injury, country of residence, age group, sex and time period. Results Child mortality due to injury has declined in all countries of the UK. England consistently experienced the lowest mortality rate throughout the study period. For children aged 10 to 18 years, differences between countries in mortality rates increased during the study period. Inter-country differences were largest for boys aged 10 to 18 years with mortality rate ratios of 1.38 (95% confidence interval 1.16, 1.64) for Wales, 1.68 (1.48, 1.91) for Scotland and 1.81 (1.50, 2.18) for Northern Ireland compared with England (the baseline) in 2006–10. The decline in mortality due to injury was accounted for by a decline in unintentional injuries. For older children, no declines were observed for deaths caused by self-harm, by assault or from undetermined intent in any UK country. Conclusion Whilst child deaths from injury have declined in all four UK countries, substantial differences in mortality rates remain between countries, particularly for older boys. This group stands to gain most from policy interventions to reduce deaths from injury in children. PMID:23874585

The impact of diminished housing wealth on health in the United States: evidence from the Great Recession.

PubMed

Yilmazer, Tansel; Babiarz, Patryk; Liu, Fen

2015-04-01

The sharp decline in home values in many industrialized and developing countries was one of the most evident facets of the global economic recession of 2008. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID) for 2007-2011, this study examines how the decline in housing wealth affected the psychological and physical health and health-related behaviors of 4007 U.S. households who were homeowners in 2007. We focus on two mechanisms that could account for how the drop in housing wealth affects health: increase in stress and negative changes in health-related behaviors. Controlling for the changes in non-housing wealth and employment status during the recession, the decline in housing wealth is associated with a small but statistically significant increase in psychological distress. Psychological health deteriorates more as the housing wealth relative to total wealth decreases. Finally, homeowners who have difficulties with mortgage payments report substantial increases in psychological distress and have higher rates of depression. These findings, combined with limited evidence of the change in health-related behaviors, suggest that the increase in stress is the main cause of the adverse health outcomes. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Pre-Whaling Genetic Diversity and Population Ecology in Eastern Pacific Gray Whales: Insights from Ancient DNA and Stable Isotopes

PubMed Central

Alter, S. Elizabeth; Newsome, Seth D.; Palumbi, Stephen R.

2012-01-01

Commercial whaling decimated many whale populations, including the eastern Pacific gray whale, but little is known about how population dynamics or ecology differed prior to these removals. Of particular interest is the possibility of a large population decline prior to whaling, as such a decline could explain the ∼5-fold difference between genetic estimates of prior abundance and estimates based on historical records. We analyzed genetic (mitochondrial control region) and isotopic information from modern and prehistoric gray whales using serial coalescent simulations and Bayesian skyline analyses to test for a pre-whaling decline and to examine prehistoric genetic diversity, population dynamics and ecology. Simulations demonstrate that significant genetic differences observed between ancient and modern samples could be caused by a large, recent population bottleneck, roughly concurrent with commercial whaling. Stable isotopes show minimal differences between modern and ancient gray whale foraging ecology. Using rejection-based Approximate Bayesian Computation, we estimate the size of the population bottleneck at its minimum abundance and the pre-bottleneck abundance. Our results agree with previous genetic studies suggesting the historical size of the eastern gray whale population was roughly three to five times its current size. PMID:22590499

Groundwater Governance in a Water-Starved Country: Public Policy, Farmers' Perceptions, and Drivers of Tubewell Adoption in Balochistan, Pakistan.

PubMed

Khair, Syed Mohammad; Mushtaq, Shahbaz; Reardon-Smith, Kathryn

2015-01-01

Pakistan faces the challenge of developing sustainable groundwater policies with the main focus on groundwater management rather than groundwater development and with appropriate governance arrangement to ensure benefits continue into the future. This article investigates groundwater policy, farmers' perceptions, and drivers of tubewell (groundwater bore) adoption and proposes possible pathways for improved groundwater management for Balochistan, Pakistan. Historical groundwater policies were mainly aimed at increasing agricultural production and reducing poverty, without consideration of adverse impact on groundwater availability. These groundwater policies and governance arrangements have resulted in a massive decline in groundwater tables. Tubewell owners' rankings of the drivers of groundwater decline suggest that rapid and widespread installation of tubewells, together with uncontrolled extraction due to lack of property rights, electricity subsidy policies, and ineffective governance, are key causes of groundwater decline in Balochistan. An empirical "tubewell adoption" model confirmed that the electricity subsidy significantly influenced tubewell adoption decisions. The article proposes a more rational electricity subsidy policy for sustaining groundwater levels in the short-run. However, in the long run a more comprehensive sustainable groundwater management policy, with strong institutional support and involvement of all stakeholders, is needed. © 2014, National Ground Water Association.

Inflammatory Profile of Awake Function-Controlled Craniotomy and Craniotomy under General Anesthesia

PubMed Central

Klimek, Markus; Hol, Jaap W.; Wens, Stephan; Heijmans-Antonissen, Claudia; Niehof, Sjoerd; Vincent, Arnaud J.; Klein, Jan; Zijlstra, Freek J.

2009-01-01

Background. Surgical stress triggers an inflammatory response and releases mediators into human plasma such as interleukins (ILs). Awake craniotomy and craniotomy performed under general anesthesia may be associated with different levels of stress. Our aim was to investigate whether those procedures cause different inflammatory responses. Methods. Twenty patients undergoing craniotomy under general anesthesia and 20 patients undergoing awake function-controlled craniotomy were included in this prospective, observational, two-armed study. Circulating levels of IL-6, IL-8, and IL-10 were determined pre-, peri-, and postoperatively in both patient groups. VAS scores for pain, anxiety, and stress were taken at four moments pre- and postoperatively to evaluate physical pain and mental duress. Results. Plasma IL-6 level significantly increased with time similarly in both groups. No significant plasma IL-8 and IL-10 change was observed in both experimental groups. The VAS pain score was significantly lower in the awake group compared to the anesthesia group at 12 hours postoperative. Postoperative anxiety and stress declined similarly in both groups. Conclusion. This study suggests that awake function-controlled craniotomy does not cause a significantly different inflammatory response than craniotomy performed under general anesthesia. It is also likely that function-controlled craniotomy does not cause a greater emotional challenge than tumor resection under general anesthesia. PMID:19536349

Inaccuracies in oral cavity-pharynx cancer coded as the underlying cause of death on U.S. death certificates, and trends in mortality rates (1999-2010).

PubMed

Polednak, Anthony P

2014-08-01

To enhance surveillance of mortality from oral cavity-pharynx cancer (OCPC) by considering inaccuracies in the cancer site coded as the underlying cause of death on death certificates vs. cancer site in a population-based cancer registry (as the gold standard). A database was used for 9 population-based cancer registries of the Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program, including deaths in 1999-2010 for patients diagnosed in 1973-2010. Numbers of deaths and death rates for OCPC in the SEER population were modified for apparent inaccuracies in the cancer site coded as the underlying cause of death. For age groups <65 years, deaths from OCPC were underestimated by 22-35% by using unmodified (vs. modified) numbers, but temporal declines in death rates were still evident in the SEER population and were similar to declines using routine mortality data for the entire U.S. population. Deaths were underestimated by about 70-80% using underlying cause for tonsillar cancers, strongly associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, but a lack of decline in death rates was still evident. Routine mortality statistics based on underlying cause of death underestimate OCPC deaths but demonstrate trends in OCPC death rates that require continued surveillance in view of increasing incidence rates for HPV-related OCPC. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Decline as a disease category: Is it helpful?

Treesearch

M.E. Ostry; R.C. Venette; J. Juzwik

2011-01-01

Many, but not all, forest pathologists use "decline" to describe forest tree diseases of complex etiology. We contend that this distinction from abiotic or biotic diseases is completely arbitrary, has caused undue confusion, and provides no practical insights for forest managers. All diseases are complex and can be characterized within the conceptual...

Stress triggered tree diseases, The diebacks and declines

Treesearch

David R. Houston

1981-01-01

Traditionally, dieback and decline diseases of trees have been described in generalities, attributed to unknown or mysterious causes, and thought to be beyond the scope of human intervention. This publication provides a basis for understanding and coping with these diseases. Discussed are concepts relating to: (1) diagnosing the factors that initiate the disease; (2)...

Creating Gender Parity: An Instruction Aide's Influence

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lester, Cynthia Y.; Brown, Marcus

2004-01-01

The decline in the number of women in computing disciplines has been attributed to different causes, and research on the decline continues to grow. While there are numerous reasons suggested for the imbalance in these disciplines, the perceptions that women hold about their computing capabilities continue to be of interest. The current study…

Home Telecare for Chronic Disease Management

DTIC Science & Technology

2001-10-25

in USA. Mortality rate rose 32.9% from 1979 to 1991 and age adjusted death rates for COPD rose 71% from 1966 to 1986.Over the same two decades death ... rates from all causes declined by 22% and for heart and cerebral vascular disease declined by 45% and 58% respectively. Increases in morbidity and

Sperm viability and gene expression in honey bee queens (Apis mellifera) following exposure to the neonicotinoid insecticide Imidacloprid and the organophosphate Acaricide Coumaphos

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Honey bee population declines are a global concern. Numerous factors appear to cause the decline including parasites, pathogens, malnutrition and pesticides. Residues of the organophosphate acaricide coumaphos and the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid, widely used to combat Varroa mites and for...

Calcium status of the forest floor in red spruce forests of the northeastern U.S. - past, present and future

Treesearch

Mark B. David; Gregory B. Lawrence; Walter C. Shortle; Scott W. Bailey

1996-01-01

Dieback and growth decline of red spruce (Picea rubens) in the eastern U.S. coincides with the period of acidic deposition, and has led to much speculation as to whether this decline is caused by decreased root-available Ca in the soil.

Red-cockaded woodpecker recovery: An integrated strategy

Treesearch

D. Craig Rudolph; Richard N. Conner; Jeffrey R. Walters

2004-01-01

Populations of the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis) have experienced massive declines since European colonization of North America. This is due to extensive habitat loss and alteration. Logging of old-growth pine forests and alteration of the fire regime throughout the historic range of the species were the primary causes of population decline. Listing of...

Polyphenol- and PUFA-rich walnuts protect against age-associated cognitive decline through epigenetic modulation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

A demographic shift towards an aging population and the incidence of age-related brain disorders are on the rise worldwide. A rapid decline in brain health with aging is primarily caused by the brain’s exceptionally high demand for energy which drives high oxygen consumption, leading to a subsequent...

The rise and decline of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug-associated gastropathy in rheumatoid arthritis.

PubMed

Fries, James F; Murtagh, Kirsten N; Bennett, Mihoko; Zatarain, Ernesto; Lingala, Bharathi; Bruce, Bonnie

2004-08-01

Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drug (NSAID)-associated gastropathy is a major cause of hospitalization and death. This study was undertaken to examine whether recent preventive approaches have been associated with a declining incidence of NSAID gastropathy, and, if so, what measures may have caused the decline. We studied 5,598 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) over 31,262 patient-years at 8 sites. We obtained standardized longitudinal information on the patients that had been previously used to establish the incidence of NSAID gastropathy, and also information on patient risk factors and differences in toxicity between NSAIDs. Consecutive patients were followed up with biannual Health Assessment Questionnaires and medical record audits between 1981 and 2000. The major outcome measure was the annual rate of hospitalization involving bleeding, obstruction, or perforation of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and related conditions. Rates of GI-related hospitalizations rose from 0.6% in 1981 to 1.5% in 1992 (P < 0.001), and then declined to 0.5% in 2000 (P < 0.001). The fitted spline curve fit the data well (R2 = 0.70). The period of rise was mainly associated with increasing patient age and the GI risk propensity score. The period of decline was associated with lower doses of ibuprofen and aspirin, a decline in the use of "more toxic" NSAIDs from 52% to 42% of patients, a rise in the use of "safer" NSAIDs from 19% to 48% of patients, and increasing use of proton-pump inhibitors, but not with change in age, NSAID exposure, or GI risk propensity score. The risk of serious NSAID gastropathy has declined by 67% in these cohorts since 1992. We estimate that 24% of this decline was the result of lower doses of NSAIDs, while 18% was associated with the use of proton-pump inhibitors and 14% with the use of less toxic NSAIDs. These declines in the incidence of NSAID gastropathy are likely to continue.

The Role of Forest Tent Caterpillar Defoliations and Partial Harvest in the Decline and Death of Sugar Maple

PubMed Central

Hartmann, Henrik; Messier, Christian

2008-01-01

Background and Aims Natural and anthropogenic disturbances can act as stresses on tree vigour. According to Manion's conceptual model of tree disease, the initial vigour of trees decreases as a result of predisposing factors that render these trees more vulnerable to severe inciting stresses, stresses that can then cause final vigour decline and subsequent tree death. This tree disease model was tested in sugar maple (Acer saccharum) by assessing the roles of natural and anthropogenic disturbances in tree decline and death. Methods Radial growth data from 377 sugar maple trees that had undergone both defoliations by insects and partial harvest were used to estimate longitudinal survival probabilities as a proxy for tree vigour. Radial growth rates and survival probabilities were compared among trees subjected to different levels of above- and below-ground disturbances, between periods of defoliation and harvest, and between live and dead trees. Key Results Manion's tree disease model correctly accounts for vigour decline and tree death in sugar maple; tree growth and vigour were negatively affected by a first defoliation, predisposing these trees to death later during the study period due to a second insect outbreak that initiated a final vigour decline. This decline was accelerated by the partial harvest disturbance in 1993. Even the most severe anthropogenic disturbances from partial harvest did not cause, unlike insect defoliation, any growth or vigour declines in live sugar maple. Conclusions Natural disturbances acted as predisposing and inciting stresses in tree sugar maple decline and death. Anthropogenic disturbances from a partial harvest at worst accelerated a decline in trees that were already weakened by predisposing and inciting stresses (i.e. repeated insect defoliations). Favourable climatic conditions just before and after the partial harvest may have alleviated possible negative effects on growth resulting from harvesting. PMID:18660493

Multiple stressor effects in relation to declining amphibian populations

USGS Publications Warehouse

Linder, Greg L.; Krest, Sherry K.; Sparling, Donald; Little, E.

2003-01-01

Original research discusses the protocols and approaches to studying the effects of multiple environmental stressors on amphibian populations and gives new perspectives on this complicated subject. This new publication integrates a variety of stressors that can act in concert and may ultimately cause a decline in amphibian populations.Sixteen peer-reviewed papers cover:Toxicity Assessment examines methods, which range from long-established laboratory approaches for evaluating adverse chemical effects to amphibians, to methods that link chemicals in surface waters, sediments, and soils with adverse effects observed among amphibians in the field.Field and Laboratory Studies illustrates studies in the evaluation of multiple stressor effects that may lead to declining amphibian populations. A range of laboratory and field studies of chemicals, such as herbicides, insecticides, chlorinated organic compounds, metals, and complex mixtures are also included.Causal Analysis demonstrates the range of tools currently available for evaluating "cause-effect" relationships between environmental stressors and declining amphibian populations.Audience: This new publication is a must-have for scientists and resource management professionals from diverse fields, including ecotoxicology, chemistry, ecology, field biology, conservation biology, and natural resource management.

Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease as a Cause of Cognitive Decline and Seizures in the Elderly: Diagnostic Pointers and Strategy for Investigation

PubMed Central

Williams, R.; Cresswell, F.; McClure, M.; Lane, R.

2011-01-01

Cognitive decline affects one in twenty people over the age of 65. There is often a paucity of clues as to the underlying pathology, and while the diagnosis will usually prove to be either Alzheimer's disease or vascular dementia, there may be clinical features suggesting rarer alternatives. This case of a 71-year-old lady with a 3-month history of progressive cognitive decline illustrates clinical features suggestive of Creutzfeltd-Jakob disease such as rapid decline in conscious level and myoclonic jerking. Diagnosis was confirmed by 3 means: (1) Electroencephalogram demonstrating periodic sharp wave complexes, (2) MRI brain showing cortical ribboning and high signal in the caudate nucleus, and (3) presence of protein S100 and protein14-3-3 in the cerebrospinal fluid. Postmortem brain histology confirmed a typical spongiform encephalopathy. Establishing an underlying aetiology is dementia is important not only for prognostic reasons but in order to detect potentially reversible causes. In cases of an atypical dementing illness our proposed investigations may assist in confirming or excluding underlying Creutzfeltd-Jakob disease. PMID:22194754

Linking Cognitive and Visual Perceptual Decline in Healthy Aging: The Information Degradation Hypothesis

PubMed Central

Monge, Zachary A.; Madden, David J.

2016-01-01

Several hypotheses attempt to explain the relation between cognitive and perceptual decline in aging (e.g., common-cause, sensory deprivation, cognitive load on perception, information degradation). Unfortunately, the majority of past studies examining this association have used correlational analyses, not allowing for these hypotheses to be tested sufficiently. This correlational issue is especially relevant for the information degradation hypothesis, which states that degraded perceptual signal inputs, resulting from either age-related neurobiological processes (e.g., retinal degeneration) or experimental manipulations (e.g., reduced visual contrast), lead to errors in perceptual processing, which in turn may affect non-perceptual, higher-order cognitive processes. Even though the majority of studies examining the relation between age-related cognitive and perceptual decline have been correlational, we reviewed several studies demonstrating that visual manipulations affect both younger and older adults’ cognitive performance, supporting the information degradation hypothesis and contradicting implications of other hypotheses (e.g., common-cause, sensory deprivation, cognitive load on perception). The reviewed evidence indicates the necessity to further examine the information degradation hypothesis in order to identify mechanisms underlying age-related cognitive decline. PMID:27484869

Marsh rabbit mortalities tie pythons to the precipitous decline of mammals in the Everglades.

PubMed

McCleery, Robert A; Sovie, Adia; Reed, Robert N; Cunningham, Mark W; Hunter, Margaret E; Hart, Kristen M

2015-04-22

To address the ongoing debate over the impact of invasive species on native terrestrial wildlife, we conducted a large-scale experiment to test the hypothesis that invasive Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) were a cause of the precipitous decline of mammals in Everglades National Park (ENP). Evidence linking pythons to mammal declines has been indirect and there are reasons to question whether pythons, or any predator, could have caused the precipitous declines seen across a range of mammalian functional groups. Experimentally manipulating marsh rabbits, we found that pythons accounted for 77% of rabbit mortalities within 11 months of their translocation to ENP and that python predation appeared to preclude the persistence of rabbit populations in ENP. On control sites, outside of the park, no rabbits were killed by pythons and 71% of attributable marsh rabbit mortalities were classified as mammal predations. Burmese pythons pose a serious threat to the faunal communities and ecological functioning of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, which will probably spread as python populations expand their range. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Marsh rabbit mortalities tie pythons to the precipitous decline of mammals in the Everglades

PubMed Central

McCleery, Robert A.; Sovie, Adia; Reed, Robert N.; Cunningham, Mark W.; Hunter, Margaret E.; Hart, Kristen M.

2015-01-01

To address the ongoing debate over the impact of invasive species on native terrestrial wildlife, we conducted a large-scale experiment to test the hypothesis that invasive Burmese pythons (Python molurus bivittatus) were a cause of the precipitous decline of mammals in Everglades National Park (ENP). Evidence linking pythons to mammal declines has been indirect and there are reasons to question whether pythons, or any predator, could have caused the precipitous declines seen across a range of mammalian functional groups. Experimentally manipulating marsh rabbits, we found that pythons accounted for 77% of rabbit mortalities within 11 months of their translocation to ENP and that python predation appeared to preclude the persistence of rabbit populations in ENP. On control sites, outside of the park, no rabbits were killed by pythons and 71% of attributable marsh rabbit mortalities were classified as mammal predations. Burmese pythons pose a serious threat to the faunal communities and ecological functioning of the Greater Everglades Ecosystem, which will probably spread as python populations expand their range. PMID:25788598

Losing grip: Senescent decline in physical strength in a small-bodied primate in captivity and in the wild.

PubMed

Hämäläinen, Anni; Dammhahn, Melanie; Aujard, Fabienne; Kraus, Cornelia

2015-01-01

Muscle strength reflects physical functioning, declines at old age and predicts health and survival in humans and laboratory animals. Age-associated muscle deterioration causes loss of strength and may impair fitness of wild animals. However, the effects of age and life-history characteristics on muscle strength in wild animals are unknown. We investigated environment- and sex-specific patterns of physical functioning by measuring grip strength in wild and captive gray mouse lemurs. We expected more pronounced strength senescence in captivity due to condition-dependent, extrinsic mortality found in nature. Males were predicted to be stronger but potentially experience more severe senescence than females as predicted by life history theory. We found similar senescent declines in captive males and females as well as wild females, whereas wild males showed little decline, presumably due to their early mortality. Captive animals were generally weaker and showed earlier declines than wild animals. Unexpectedly, females tended to be stronger than males, especially in the reproductive season. Universal intrinsic mechanisms (e.g. sarcopenia) likely cause the similar patterns of strength loss across settings. The female advantage in muscle strength merits further study; it may follow higher reproductive investment by males, or be an adaptation associated with female social dominance. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans sp. nov. causes lethal chytridiomycosis in amphibians

PubMed Central

Martel, An; Spitzen-van der Sluijs, Annemarieke; Blooi, Mark; Bert, Wim; Ducatelle, Richard; Fisher, Matthew C.; Woeltjes, Antonius; Bosman, Wilbert; Chiers, Koen; Bossuyt, Franky; Pasmans, Frank

2013-01-01

The current biodiversity crisis encompasses a sixth mass extinction event affecting the entire class of amphibians. The infectious disease chytridiomycosis is considered one of the major drivers of global amphibian population decline and extinction and is thought to be caused by a single species of aquatic fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. However, several amphibian population declines remain unexplained, among them a steep decrease in fire salamander populations (Salamandra salamandra) that has brought this species to the edge of local extinction. Here we isolated and characterized a unique chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans sp. nov., from this salamander population. This chytrid causes erosive skin disease and rapid mortality in experimentally infected fire salamanders and was present in skin lesions of salamanders found dead during the decline event. Together with the closely related B. dendrobatidis, this taxon forms a well-supported chytridiomycete clade, adapted to vertebrate hosts and highly pathogenic to amphibians. However, the lower thermal growth preference of B. salamandrivorans, compared with B. dendrobatidis, and resistance of midwife toads (Alytes obstetricans) to experimental infection with B. salamandrivorans suggest differential niche occupation of the two chytrid fungi. PMID:24003137

Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans sp. nov. causes lethal chytridiomycosis in amphibians.

PubMed

Martel, An; Spitzen-van der Sluijs, Annemarieke; Blooi, Mark; Bert, Wim; Ducatelle, Richard; Fisher, Matthew C; Woeltjes, Antonius; Bosman, Wilbert; Chiers, Koen; Bossuyt, Franky; Pasmans, Frank

2013-09-17

The current biodiversity crisis encompasses a sixth mass extinction event affecting the entire class of amphibians. The infectious disease chytridiomycosis is considered one of the major drivers of global amphibian population decline and extinction and is thought to be caused by a single species of aquatic fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis. However, several amphibian population declines remain unexplained, among them a steep decrease in fire salamander populations (Salamandra salamandra) that has brought this species to the edge of local extinction. Here we isolated and characterized a unique chytrid fungus, Batrachochytrium salamandrivorans sp. nov., from this salamander population. This chytrid causes erosive skin disease and rapid mortality in experimentally infected fire salamanders and was present in skin lesions of salamanders found dead during the decline event. Together with the closely related B. dendrobatidis, this taxon forms a well-supported chytridiomycete clade, adapted to vertebrate hosts and highly pathogenic to amphibians. However, the lower thermal growth preference of B. salamandrivorans, compared with B. dendrobatidis, and resistance of midwife toads (Alytes obstetricans) to experimental infection with B. salamandrivorans suggest differential niche occupation of the two chytrid fungi.

Is there progress toward eliminating racial/ethnic disparities in the leading causes of death?

PubMed

Keppel, Kenneth G; Pearcy, Jeffrey N; Heron, Melonie P

2010-01-01

We examined changes in relative disparities between racial/ethnic populations for the five leading causes of death in the United States from 1990 to 2006. The study was based on age-adjusted death rates for four racial/ethnic populations from 1990-1998 and 1999-2006. We compared the percent change in death rates over time between racial/ethnic populations to assess changes in relative differences. We also computed an index of disparity to assess changes in disparities relative to the most favorable group rate. Except for stroke deaths from 1990 to 1998, relative disparities among racial/ethnic populations did not decline between 1990 and 2006. Disparities among racial/ethnic populations increased for heart disease deaths from 1999 to 2006, for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease deaths from 1990 to 1998, and for chronic lower respiratory disease deaths from 1999 to 2006. Deaths rates for the leading causes of death are generally declining; however, relative differences between racial/ethnic groups are not declining. The lack of reduction in relative differences indicates that little progress is being made toward the elimination of racial/ethnic disparities.

Hydrogeology and potential effects of changes in water use, Carson Desert agricultural area, Churchill County, Nevada

USGS Publications Warehouse

Maurer, Douglas K.; Johnson, Ann K.; Welch, Alan H.

1996-01-01

Operating Criteria and Procedures for Newlands Project irrigation and Public Law 101-618 could result in reductions in surface water used for agriculture in the Carson Desert, potentially affecting ground-water supplies from shallow, intermediate, and basalt aquifers. A near-surface zone could exist at the top of the shallow aquifer near the center and eastern parts of the basin where underlying clay beds inhibit vertical flow and could limit the effects of changes in water use. In the basalt aquifer, water levels have declined about 10 feet from pre-pumping levels, and chloride and arsenic concentrations have increased. Conceptual models of the basin suggest that changes in water use in the western part of the basin would probably affect recharge to the shallow, intermediate, and basalt aquifers. Lining canals and removing land from production could cause water-level declines greater than 10 feet in the shallow aquifer up to 2 miles from lined canals. Removing land from production could cause water levels to decline from 4 to 17 feet, depending on the distribution of specific yield in the basin and the amount of water presently applied to irrigated fields. Where wells pump from a near-surface zone of the shallow aquifer, water level declines might not greatly affect pumping wells where the thickness of the zone is greatest, but could cause wells to go dry where the zone is thin.

Slow acidification of the winter mixed layer in the subarctic western North Pacific

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wakita, Masahide; Nagano, Akira; Fujiki, Tetsuichi; Watanabe, Shuichi

2017-08-01

We used carbon dioxide (CO2) system data collected during 1999-2015 to investigate ocean acidification at time series sites in the western subarctic region of the North Pacific Ocean. The annual mean pH at station K2 decreased at a rate of 0.0025 ± 0.0010 year-1 mostly in response to oceanic uptake of anthropogenic CO2. The Revelle factor increased rapidly (0.046 ± 0.022 year-1), an indication that the buffering capacity of this region of the ocean has declined faster than at other time series sites. In the western subarctic region, the pH during the winter decline at a slower rate of 0.0008 ± 0.0004 year-1. This was attributed to a reduced rate of increase of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and an increase of total alkalinity (TA). The reduction of DIC increase was caused by the decline of surface water density associated with the pycnocline depression and the reduction of vertical diffusion flux from the upper pycnocline. These physical changes were probably caused by northward shrinkage of the western subarctic gyre and global warming. Meanwhile, the contribution of the density decline to the TA increase is canceled out by that of the reduced vertical diffusive flux. We speculated that the winter TA increase is caused mainly by the accumulation of TA due to the weakened calcification by organisms during the winter.

Hypoxia reduces testosterone synthesis in mouse Leydig cells by inhibiting NRF1-activated StAR expression

PubMed Central

Zou, Zhiran; Wang, Dan; Lu, Yapeng; Dong, Zhangji; Zhu, Li

2017-01-01

Male fertility disorders play a key role in half of all infertility cases. Reduction in testosterone induced by hypoxia might cause diseases in reproductive system and other organs. Hypoxic exposure caused a significant decrease of NRF1. Software analysis reported that the promoter region of steroidogenic acute regulatory protein (StAR) contained NRF1 binding sites, indicating NRF1 promoted testicular steroidogenesis. The purpose of this study is to determine NRF1 is involved in testosterone synthesis; and under hypoxia, the decrease of testosterone synthesis is caused by lower expression of NRF1. We designed both in vivo and in vitro experiments. Under hypoxia, the expressions of NRF1 in Leydig cells and testosterone level were significantly decreased both in vivo and in vitro. Overexpression and interference NRF1 could induced StAR and testosterone increased and decreased respectively. ChIP results confirmed the binding of NRF1 to StAR promoter region. In conclusion, decline of NRF1 expression downregulated the level of StAR, which ultimately resulted in a reduction in testosterone synthesis. PMID:28146428

Predation of Karluk River sockeye salmon by coho salmon and char

USGS Publications Warehouse

McIntyre, J.D.; Reisenbichler, R.R.; Emlen, J.M.; Wilmot, R.L.; Finn, J.E.

1988-01-01

The number of sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka, in Alaska's Karluk River (Fig. 1) declined from millions to thousands during the early part of the present century. Rounsefell (1958) discussed alternative explanations for the decline including a general loss offertility ofthe system as the number of salmon carcasses declined, competition, overfishing, subtle changes in climate, and predation; he concluded that the combined effect of predation and fishing was the most probable explanation. Later, Van Cleave and Bevan (1973) suggested that the weir constructed in the river each year to facilitate counting the fish as they entered the system was the most probable cause ofthe decline. Itprevented free movement of both adults and juveniles in the river. All of these hypotheses remain as potential explanations for the decline

A decline in benthic foraminifera following the deepwater horizon event in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico.

PubMed

Schwing, Patrick T; Romero, Isabel C; Brooks, Gregg R; Hastings, David W; Larson, Rebekka A; Hollander, David J

2015-01-01

Sediment cores were collected from three sites (1000-1200 m water depth) in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico from December 2010 to June 2011 to assess changes in benthic foraminiferal density related to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) event (April-July 2010, 1500 m water depth). Short-lived radioisotope geochronologies (²¹⁰Pb, ²³⁴Th), organic geochemical assessments, and redox metal concentrations were determined to relate changes in sediment accumulation rate, contamination, and redox conditions with benthic foraminiferal density. Cores collected in December 2010 indicated a decline in density (80-93%). This decline was characterized by a decrease in benthic foraminiferal density and benthic foraminiferal accumulation rate (BFAR) in the surface 10 mm relative to the down-core mean in all benthic foraminifera, including the dominant genera (Bulimina spp., Uvigerina spp., and Cibicidoides spp.). Cores collected in February 2011 documented a site-specific response. There was evidence of a recovery in the benthic foraminiferal density and BFAR at the site closest to the wellhead (45 NM, NE). However, the site farther afield (60 NM, NE) recorded a continued decline in benthic foraminiferal density and BFAR down to near-zero values. This decline in benthic foraminiferal density occurred simultaneously with abrupt increases in sedimentary accumulation rates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations, and changes in redox conditions. Persistent reducing conditions (as many as 10 months after the event) in the surface of these core records were a possible cause of the decline. Another possible cause was the increase (2-3 times background) in PAH's, which are known to cause benthic foraminifera mortality and inhibit reproduction. Records of benthic foraminiferal density coupled with short-lived radionuclide geochronology and organic geochemistry were effective in quantifying the benthic response and will continue to be a valuable tool in determining the long-term effects of the DWH event on a larger spatial scale.

A Decline in Benthic Foraminifera following the Deepwater Horizon Event in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico

PubMed Central

Schwing, Patrick T.; Romero, Isabel C.; Brooks, Gregg R.; Hastings, David W.; Larson, Rebekka A.; Hollander, David J.

2015-01-01

Sediment cores were collected from three sites (1000–1200 m water depth) in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico from December 2010 to June 2011 to assess changes in benthic foraminiferal density related to the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) event (April-July 2010, 1500 m water depth). Short-lived radioisotope geochronologies (210Pb, 234Th), organic geochemical assessments, and redox metal concentrations were determined to relate changes in sediment accumulation rate, contamination, and redox conditions with benthic foraminiferal density. Cores collected in December 2010 indicated a decline in density (80–93%). This decline was characterized by a decrease in benthic foraminiferal density and benthic foraminiferal accumulation rate (BFAR) in the surface 10 mm relative to the down-core mean in all benthic foraminifera, including the dominant genera (Bulimina spp., Uvigerina spp., and Cibicidoides spp.). Cores collected in February 2011 documented a site-specific response. There was evidence of a recovery in the benthic foraminiferal density and BFAR at the site closest to the wellhead (45 NM, NE). However, the site farther afield (60 NM, NE) recorded a continued decline in benthic foraminiferal density and BFAR down to near-zero values. This decline in benthic foraminiferal density occurred simultaneously with abrupt increases in sedimentary accumulation rates, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations, and changes in redox conditions. Persistent reducing conditions (as many as 10 months after the event) in the surface of these core records were a possible cause of the decline. Another possible cause was the increase (2–3 times background) in PAH’s, which are known to cause benthic foraminifera mortality and inhibit reproduction. Records of benthic foraminiferal density coupled with short-lived radionuclide geochronology and organic geochemistry were effective in quantifying the benthic response and will continue to be a valuable tool in determining the long-term effects of the DWH event on a larger spatial scale. PMID:25785988

Exposure of harbour seals Phoca vitulina to Brucella in declining populations across Scotland.

PubMed

Kershaw, Joanna L; Stubberfield, Emma J; Foster, Geoffrey; Brownlow, Andrew; Hall, Ailsa J; Perrett, Lorraine L

2017-09-20

Since 2000 there has been a major decline in the abundance of Scottish harbour seals Phoca vitulina. The causes of the decline remain uncertain. The aim of this study was to establish the extent to which the seals in the regions of greatest decline have been exposed to Brucella, a bacterial pathogen that causes reproductive failure in terrestrial mammalian hosts. Tissues from dead seals collected between 1992 and 2013 were cultured for Brucella (n = 150). Serum samples collected from live capture-released seals (n = 343) between 1997 and 2012 were tested for Brucella antibodies using the Rose Bengal plate agglutination test (RBT) and a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (cELISA). In total, 16% of seals cultured had Brucella isolated from one or more tissues, but there were no pathological signs of infection. The cELISA results were more sensitive than the RBT results, showing that overall 25.4% of seals were seropositive, with the highest seroprevalence in juveniles. As there was no evidence of either a higher seroprevalence or higher circulating antibody levels in seropositive animals in the areas with the greatest declines, it was concluded that Brucella infection is likely not a major contributing factor to recent declines. However, the consistently high proportion of seals exposed to Brucella indicates possible endemicity in these populations, likely due to B. pinnipedialis, which has demonstrated a preference for pinniped hosts. Importantly, given the close proximity between seals, humans and livestock in many areas, there is the potential for cross-species infections.

Mortality in Asia.

PubMed

1981-01-01

Although the general trend in mortality between 1950 and 1975 in South and East Asia has been downward, there is considerable country-to-country variation in the rate of decline. In countries where combined economic, social, and political circumstances resulted in controlling the disease spectrum (e.g., China, Malaysia, Sri Lanka), mortality levels declined to those seen in low-mortality countries. In most of the large countries of the region however, mortality declined at a slower rate, even slowing down considerably in the 1970's while the death rates remained high (e.g., India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Philippines); this slowing down of mortality level is attributed essentially to the poverty-stricken masses of society which were not able to take advantage of social, technological, and health-promoting behavioral changes conducive to mortality decline. Infant mortality levels, although declining since 1950, followed the same dismal pattern of the general mortality level. The rate varies from less than 10/1000 live births (Japan) to more than 140/1000 (Bangladesh, Laos, Nepal). Generally, rural areas exhibited higher infant mortality than urban areas. The level of child mortality declines with increases in the mother's educational level in Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, and Thailand. The largest decline in child mortality occurs when at least 1 parent has secondary education. The premature retardation of mortality decline is caused by several factors: economic development, nutrition and food supply, provision and adequacy of health services, and demographic trends. The outlook for the year 2000 for most of Asia's countries will depend heavily on significant population increases. In most countries, particularly in South Asia, population is expected to increase by 75%, much of it in rural areas and among poorer socioeconomic groups. In view of this, Asia's health planners and policymakers will have to develop health policies which will strike a balance between costs and returns of curative vs. preventive strategies. Health services will have to continue dealing with infectious diseases and will have to be redistributed geographically. Investments in health programs will produce clear economic benefits and returns for society.

Decline eccentric squats increases patellar tendon loading compared to standard eccentric squats.

PubMed

Kongsgaard, M; Aagaard, P; Roikjaer, S; Olsen, D; Jensen, M; Langberg, H; Magnusson, S P

2006-08-01

Recent studies have shown excellent clinical results using eccentric squat training on a 25 degrees decline board to treat patellar tendinopathy. It remains unknown why therapeutic management of patellar tendinopathy using decline eccentric squats offer superior clinical efficacy compared to standard horizontal eccentric squats. This study aimed to compare electromyography activity, patellar tendon strain and joint angle kinematics during standard and decline eccentric squats. Thirteen subjects performed unilateral eccentric squats on flat-and a 25 degrees decline surface. During the squats, electromyography activity was obtained in eight representative muscles. Also, ankle, knee and hip joint goniometry was obtained. Additionally, patellar tendon strain was measured in vivo using ultrasonography as subjects maintained a unilateral isometric 90 degrees knee angle squat position on either flat or 25 degrees decline surface. Patellar tendon strain was significantly greater (P<0.05) during the squat position on the decline surface compared to the standard surface. The stop angles of the ankle and hip joints were significantly smaller during the decline compared to the standard squats (P<0.001, P<0.05). Normalized mean electromyography amplitudes of the knee extensor muscles were significantly greater during the decline compared to the standard squats (P<0.05). Hamstring and calf muscle mean electromyography did not differ, respectively, between standard and decline squats. The use of a 25 degrees decline board increases the load and the strain of the patellar tendon during unilateral eccentric squats. This finding likely explains previous reports of superior clinical efficacy of decline eccentric squats in the rehabilitative management of patellar tendinopathy.

Parallels in amphibian and bat declines from pathogenic fungi.

PubMed

Eskew, Evan A; Todd, Brian D

2013-03-01

Pathogenic fungi have substantial effects on global biodiversity, and 2 emerging pathogenic species-the chytridiomycete Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, which causes chytridiomycosis in amphibians, and the ascomycete Geomyces destructans, which causes white-nose syndrome in hibernating bats-are implicated in the widespread decline of their vertebrate hosts. We synthesized current knowledge for chytridiomycosis and white-nose syndrome regarding disease emergence, environmental reservoirs, life history characteristics of the host, and host-pathogen interactions. We found striking similarities between these aspects of chytridiomycosis and white-nose syndrome, and the research that we review and propose should help guide management of future emerging fungal diseases.

Trematode infection causes malformations and population effects in a declining New Zealand fish.

PubMed

Kelly, David W; Thomas, Harriet; Thieltges, David W; Poulin, Robert; Tompkins, Daniel M

2010-03-01

1. Animal malformations engender wide public and scientific concern because of associated environmental health risks. This is highlighted by increased incidence of limb malformations in amphibians associated with trematode infections and disturbance. Malformations may signal new emerging disease threats, but whether the phenomenon is broadly applicable across taxa, or has population-scale impacts, is unknown. 2. Malformations are widely reported in fish and, until now, have been attributed mainly to contaminants. We tested whether the trematode Telogaster opisthorchis caused severe malformations, leading to population effects, in Galaxias anomalus, a threatened New Zealand freshwater fish. 3. Experimental infection of larval fish caused increasing spinal malformation and mortality with infection intensity that closely matched field patterns. Field malformation frequency peaked in January (65%), before declining sharply in February (25%) and remaining low thereafter. 4. The peak occurred during a 'critical window' of larval development, with the decline coincident with a population crash, indicating that malformation was causing mortality in the field. 5. The occurrence of such critical developmental windows may explain why this mechanism of population impact has been overlooked. With global environmental stressors predicted to enhance trematode infections, our results show that parasite-induced malformation, and its population-scale impacts, could be more widespread than previously considered.

Effects of specific inhibition of cyclooxygenase-2 on sodium balance, hemodynamics, and vasoactive eicosanoids.

PubMed

Catella-Lawson, F; McAdam, B; Morrison, B W; Kapoor, S; Kujubu, D; Antes, L; Lasseter, K C; Quan, H; Gertz, B J; FitzGerald, G A

1999-05-01

Conventional nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs inhibit both cyclooxygenase (Cox) isoforms (Cox-1 and Cox-2) and may be associated with nephrotoxicity. The present study was undertaken to assess the renal effects of the specific Cox-2 inhibitor, MK-966. Healthy older adults (n = 36) were admitted to a clinical research unit, placed on a fixed sodium intake, and randomized under double-blind conditions to receive the specific Cox-2 inhibitor, MK-966 (50 mg every day), a nonspecific Cox-1/Cox-2 inhibitor, indomethacin (50 mg t.i.d.), or placebo for 2 weeks. All treatments were well tolerated. Both active regimens were associated with a transient but significant decline in urinary sodium excretion during the first 72 h of treatment. Blood pressure and body weight did not change significantly in any group. The glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was decreased by indomethacin but was not changed significantly by MK-966 treatment. Thromboxane biosynthesis by platelets was inhibited by indomethacin only. The urinary excretion of the prostacyclin metabolite 2,3-dinor-6-keto prostaglandin F1alpha was decreased by both MK-966 and indomethacin and was unchanged by placebo. Cox-2 may play a role in the systemic biosynthesis of prostacyclin in healthy humans. Selective inhibition of Cox-2 by MK-966 caused a clinically insignificant and transient retention of sodium, but no depression of GFR. Inhibition of both Cox isoforms by indomethacin caused transient sodium retention and a decline in GFR. Our data suggest that acute sodium retention by nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs in healthy elderly subjects is mediated by the inhibition of Cox-2, whereas depression of GFR is due to inhibition of Cox-1.

Alterations in nitrogen metabolism in freshwater fishes, Channa punctatus and Clarias batrachus, exposed to a commercial-grade λ-cyhalothrin, REEVA-5.

PubMed

Kumar, Amit; Sharma, Bechan; Pandey, Ravi S

2012-02-01

In the present study, two freshwater fishes Channa punctatus and Clarias batrachus were exposed to sub-acute concentrations of a commercial-grade λ-cyhalothrin, REEVA-5, for 96 h to observe the changes in amino acid catabolism under pyrethroid-induced stress and to investigate the comparative mechanisms of ammonia detoxification in both fishes. The experiments included the estimation of levels of free amino acid, urea, ammonia and the specific activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AAT), alanine aminotransferase (AlAT), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), glutamine synthetase (GS) and arginase in different vital organs of fishes. λ-cyhalothrin caused significant decline in the levels of amino acids along with simultaneous significant increase in the activity of AAT, AlAT and GDH, which indicated amino acid catabolism as one of the important mechanisms to meet out immediate energy demand of fishes. The level of ammonia was observed to be enhanced considerably at lower concentrations of λ-cyhalothrin while higher concentrations caused remarkable decline. The λ-cyhalothrin treatment resulted in significant increase in the activities of GDH and GS with concomitant increase in the activity of arginase and level of urea, indicating activation of two different mechanisms of ammonia detoxification. The mechanism of ammonia detoxification through its conversion into glutamate and glutamine was more prominent in C. punctatus, while C. batrachus demonstrated ureogenesis as the major route. In fishwise comparison, C. batrachus was observed to be more sensitive with respect to the above-mentioned parameters. Another important finding was that unlike the liver, the kidney appeared as one of the primary sites of ureogenesis in fishes. © 2011 The Authors. International Journal of Experimental Pathology © 2011 International Journal of Experimental Pathology.

Alterations in nitrogen metabolism in freshwater fishes, Channa punctatus and Clarias batrachus, exposed to a commercial-grade λ-cyhalothrin, REEVA-5

PubMed Central

Kumar, Amit; Sharma, Bechan; Pandey, Ravi S

2012-01-01

In the present study, two freshwater fishes Channa punctatus and Clarias batrachus were exposed to sub-acute concentrations of a commercial-grade λ-cyhalothrin, REEVA-5, for 96 h to observe the changes in amino acid catabolism under pyrethroid-induced stress and to investigate the comparative mechanisms of ammonia detoxification in both fishes. The experiments included the estimation of levels of free amino acid, urea, ammonia and the specific activities of aspartate aminotransferase (AAT), alanine aminotransferase (AlAT), glutamate dehydrogenase (GDH), glutamine synthetase (GS) and arginase in different vital organs of fishes. λ-cyhalothrin caused significant decline in the levels of amino acids along with simultaneous significant increase in the activity of AAT, AlAT and GDH, which indicated amino acid catabolism as one of the important mechanisms to meet out immediate energy demand of fishes. The level of ammonia was observed to be enhanced considerably at lower concentrations of λ-cyhalothrin while higher concentrations caused remarkable decline. The λ-cyhalothrin treatment resulted in significant increase in the activities of GDH and GS with concomitant increase in the activity of arginase and level of urea, indicating activation of two different mechanisms of ammonia detoxification. The mechanism of ammonia detoxification through its conversion into glutamate and glutamine was more prominent in C. punctatus, while C. batrachus demonstrated ureogenesis as the major route. In fishwise comparison, C. batrachus was observed to be more sensitive with respect to the above-mentioned parameters. Another important finding was that unlike the liver, the kidney appeared as one of the primary sites of ureogenesis in fishes. PMID:22264284

Accelerated White Matter Aging in Schizophrenia: Role of White Matter Blood Perfusion

PubMed Central

Chiappelli, Joshua; McMahon, Robert; Muellerklein, Florian; Wijtenburg, S. Andrea; White, Michael G.; Rowland, Laura M.; Hong, L. Elliot

2014-01-01

Elevated rate of age-related decline in white matter integrity, indexed by fractional anisotropy (FA) from diffusion tensor imaging, was reported in patients with schizophrenia. Its etiology is unknown. We hypothesized that a decline of blood perfusion to the white matter may underlie the accelerated age-related reduction in FA in schizophrenia. Resting white matter perfusion and FA were collected using pseudo-continuous arterial spin labeling and high-angular-resolution diffusion tensor imaging, respectively, in 50 schizophrenia patients and 70 controls (age=18-63 years). Main outcome measures were the diagnosis-by-age interaction on whole-brain white matter perfusion, and FA. Significant age-related decline in brain white matter perfusion and FA were present in both groups. Age-by-diagnosis interaction was significant for FA (p<0.001) but not white matter perfusion. Age-by-diagnosis interaction for FA values remained significant even after accounting for age-related decline in perfusion. Therefore, we replicated the finding of an increased rate of age-related white matter FA decline in schizophrenia, and observed a significant age-related decline in white matter blood perfusion, although the latter did not contribute to the accelerated age-related decline in FA. The results suggest that factors other than reduced perfusion account for the accelerated age-related decline in white matter integrity in schizophrenia. PMID:24680326

Is Fluid Overload More Important than Diabetes in Renal Progression in Late Chronic Kidney Disease?

PubMed Central

Tsai, Yi-Chun; Tsai, Jer-Chia; Chiu, Yi-Wen; Kuo, Hung-Tien; Chen, Szu-Chia; Hwang, Shang-Jyh; Chen, Tzu-Hui; Kuo, Mei-Chuan; Chen, Hung-Chun

2013-01-01

Fluid overload is one of the major presentations in patients with late stage chronic kidney disease (CKD). Diabetes is the leading cause of renal failure, and progression of diabetic nephropathy has been associated with changes in extracellular fluid volume. The aim of the study was to assess the association of fluid overload and diabetes in commencing dialysis and rapid renal function decline (the slope of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) less than -3 ml/min per 1.73 m2/y) in 472 patients with stages 4-5 CKD. Fluid status was determined by bioimpedance spectroscopy method, Body Composition Monitor. The study population was further classified into four groups according to the median of relative hydration status (△HS =fluid overload/extracellular water) and the presence or absence of diabetes. The median level of relative hydration status was 7%. Among all patients, 207(43.9 %) were diabetic. 71 (15.0%) subjects had commencing dialysis, and 187 (39.6%) subjects presented rapid renal function decline during a median 17.3-month follow-up. Patients with fluid overload had a significantly increased risk for commencing dialysis and renal function decline independent of the presence or absence of diabetes. No significantly increased risk for renal progression was found between diabetes and non-diabetes in late CKD without fluid overload. In conclusion, fluid overload has a higher predictive value of an elevated risk for renal progression than diabetes in late CKD. PMID:24349311

Recovery of breeding success in a population of brown pelicans

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mendenhall, Vivian M.; Prouty, Richard M.; Southern, William E.

1979-01-01

Breeding populations of the brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) declined during the 1960's on both east and west coasts of the United States. In 1969, colonies in South Carolina fledged an average of 0.78 young per nest (Blus et al. 1974b), and those in California only 0.004 (Anderson et al. 1975). The minimum production for population stability has been estimated to be 1.0 to 1.2 fledglings per nest (Henny 1972, Anderson et al. 1977). The South Carolina population may have decreased by as much as 80% during the previous decade (Blus 1970). Organochlorine pesticides were implicated as a cause of population decline. Eggs from South Carolina contained an average of 5.4 parts per million (ppm) of DDE (wet weight basis) in 1969, and those from California about 70 ppm wet weight (Blus et al. 1974a, Anderson et al. 1975). Shells of South Carolina brown pelican eggs were,17% thinner than normal, and those from California were 30% thinner, compared with shells of eggs laid before DDE was introduced in 1947 (Blus et al. 1974a, Anderson et al. 1975); crushed eggs were common in the colonies. DDE was the primary cause of shell thinning (Blus et al. 1971), but dieldrin was also associated with breeding failure, and both may be embryotoxic (Porter and Wiemeyer 1969, Longcore et al. 1971, Blus et al. 1974b). Brown pelicans also declined in Louisiana and Texas during this period, in association with shell thinning and relatively high organochlorine levels (Anderson and Hickey 1970, Blus et al. 1975, King et al. 1977). Eggs of pelicans in Florida, however, contained lower residues, and numbers have remained stable (Williams and Martin 1970). In 1969, the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge initiated an intensive study of the South Carolina population. Size of the breeding colonies, production, eggshell thickness, and organochlorine residues were monitored each year. Between 1969 and 1976 organochlorines in the eggs declined gradually, reproductive success improved, and the breeding population doubled (Blus et al. 1979). We have continued to monitor the South Carolina brown pelican population. Results for 1977 and 1978 are presented here, with an evaluation of the significance and possible causes of current breeding success.

[Factors associated to mortality by non-communicable diseases in Colombia, 2008-2012].

PubMed

Martínez, Julio Cesar

2016-12-01

Non-communicable diseases are the leading cause of premature mortality and disability in the world. To describe the trend pattern and to explore which risk factors were associated with mortality rates in Colombia from 2008 to 2012. A descriptive study was conducted to analyze mortality rate trends from the official vital statistics (death certificates) from 2008 to 2012. Between 2008 and 2012 there were 727,146 deaths due to non-communicable diseases, and 58.5% of them occurred among men aged less than 75 years. The mortality rate during the study period was 319.5 deaths per 100,000 people. The trend showed a statistically significant decline in mortality rates (-3%) across the country. For each woman who died due to external causes (i.e., not related to illness or old age), five men died under the same circumstances (OR=5,295; IC 95%: 5,143-5,454). The five most important causes of mortality were heart diseases, injuries due to aggressions, malignant tumors, chronic lower respiratory diseases and road traffic accidents. The cause of death differed significantly by sex and age. The main causes of death in Colombia were heart diseases and injuries (homicide). Mortality was higher among men of all ages than among women, but 15 to 45 year-old males were more likely to die due to external causes.

Identifying species conservation strategies to reduce disease-associated declines

USGS Publications Warehouse

Gerber, Brian D.; Converse, Sarah J.; Muths, Erin L.; Crockett, Harry J.; Mosher, Brittany A.; Bailey, Larissa L.

2018-01-01

Emerging infectious diseases (EIDs) are a salient threat to many animal taxa, causing local and global extinctions, altering communities and ecosystem function. The EID chytridiomycosis is a prominent driver of amphibian declines, which is caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd). To guide conservation policy, we developed a predictive decision-analytic model that combines empirical knowledge of host-pathogen metapopulation dynamics with expert judgment regarding effects of management actions, to select from potential conservation strategies. We apply our approach to a boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas boreas) and Bd system, identifying optimal strategies that balance tradeoffs in maximizing toad population persistence and landscape-level distribution, while considering costs. The most robust strategy is expected to reduce the decline of toad breeding sites from 53% to 21% over 50 years. Our findings are incorporated into management policy to guide conservation planning. Our online modeling application provides a template for managers of other systems challenged by EIDs.

Low levels of chemical anthropogenic pollution may threaten amphibians by impairing predator recognition.

PubMed

Polo-Cavia, Nuria; Burraco, Pablo; Gomez-Mestre, Ivan

2016-03-01

Recent studies suggest that direct mortality and physiological effects caused by pollutants are major contributing factors to global amphibian decline. However, even sublethal concentrations of pollutants could be harmful if they combined with other factors to cause high mortality in amphibians. Here we show that sublethal concentrations of pollutants can disrupt the ability of amphibian larvae to recognize predators, hence increasing their risk of predation. This effect is indeed much more important since very low amounts of pollutants are ubiquitous, and environmental efforts are mostly directed towards preventing lethal spills. We analyzed the effects of two common contaminants (humic acid and ammonium nitrate) on the ability of tadpoles of the western spadefoot toad (Pelobates cultripes) to recognize chemical cues from a common predator, nymphs of the dragonfly Anax imperator. We compared the swimming activity of tadpoles in the presence and absence of water-borne chemical cues from dragonflies at different concentrations of humic acid and ammonium nitrate. Tadpoles reduced swimming activity in response to predator cues in the absence of pollutants, whereas they remained unresponsive to these cues when either humic acid or ammonium nitrate was added to the water, even at low concentrations. Moreover, changes in tadpole activity associated with the pollutants themselves were non-significant, indicating no toxic effect. Alteration of the natural chemical environment of aquatic systems by pollutants may be an important contributing cause for declines in amphibian populations, even at sublethal concentrations. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

The reef-building coral Siderastrea siderea exhibits parabolic responses to ocean acidification and warming.

PubMed

Castillo, Karl D; Ries, Justin B; Bruno, John F; Westfield, Isaac T

2014-12-22

Anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO2 over this century are predicted to cause global average surface ocean pH to decline by 0.1-0.3 pH units and sea surface temperature to increase by 1-4°C. We conducted controlled laboratory experiments to investigate the impacts of CO2-induced ocean acidification (pCO2 = 324, 477, 604, 2553 µatm) and warming (25, 28, 32°C) on the calcification rate of the zooxanthellate scleractinian coral Siderastrea siderea, a widespread, abundant and keystone reef-builder in the Caribbean Sea. We show that both acidification and warming cause a parabolic response in the calcification rate within this coral species. Moderate increases in pCO2 and warming, relative to near-present-day values, enhanced coral calcification, with calcification rates declining under the highest pCO2 and thermal conditions. Equivalent responses to acidification and warming were exhibited by colonies across reef zones and the parabolic nature of the corals' response to these stressors was evident across all three of the experiment's 30-day observational intervals. Furthermore, the warming projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the end of the twenty-first century caused a fivefold decrease in the rate of coral calcification, while the acidification projected for the same interval had no statistically significant impact on the calcification rate-suggesting that ocean warming poses a more immediate threat than acidification for this important coral species.

The reef-building coral Siderastrea siderea exhibits parabolic responses to ocean acidification and warming

PubMed Central

Castillo, Karl D.; Ries, Justin B.; Bruno, John F.; Westfield, Isaac T.

2014-01-01

Anthropogenic increases in atmospheric CO2 over this century are predicted to cause global average surface ocean pH to decline by 0.1–0.3 pH units and sea surface temperature to increase by 1–4°C. We conducted controlled laboratory experiments to investigate the impacts of CO2-induced ocean acidification (pCO2 = 324, 477, 604, 2553 µatm) and warming (25, 28, 32°C) on the calcification rate of the zooxanthellate scleractinian coral Siderastrea siderea, a widespread, abundant and keystone reef-builder in the Caribbean Sea. We show that both acidification and warming cause a parabolic response in the calcification rate within this coral species. Moderate increases in pCO2 and warming, relative to near-present-day values, enhanced coral calcification, with calcification rates declining under the highest pCO2 and thermal conditions. Equivalent responses to acidification and warming were exhibited by colonies across reef zones and the parabolic nature of the corals' response to these stressors was evident across all three of the experiment's 30-day observational intervals. Furthermore, the warming projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change for the end of the twenty-first century caused a fivefold decrease in the rate of coral calcification, while the acidification projected for the same interval had no statistically significant impact on the calcification rate—suggesting that ocean warming poses a more immediate threat than acidification for this important coral species. PMID:25377455

Prevalence of stuttering.

PubMed Central

Porfert, A R; Rosenfield, D B

1978-01-01

The prevalence of stuttering in a university population was 2.1%; 3.4% were former stutterers. More men than women stuttered. Right handed female stutterers were less likely to have "lost" their stutter than were right handed males. Stutterers, past stutterers, and questionable stutterers all had a family history of stuttering. The significant prevalence of stuttering, the increased prevalence among males, the lack of a decline of this disorder over the past few decades despite the increased number of speech clinicians and data concerning handedness, emphasise the need to investigate organic causes of stuttering. PMID:731247

Modelling lamb carcase pH and temperature decline parameters: relationship to shear force and abattoir variation.

PubMed

Hopkins, David L; Holman, Benjamin W B; van de Ven, Remy J

2015-02-01

Carcase pH and temperature decline rates influence lamb tenderness; therefore pH decline parameters are beneficial when modelling tenderness. These include pH at temperature 18 °C (pH@Temp18), temperature when pH is 6 (Temp@pH6), and pH at 24 h post-mortem (pH24). This study aimed to establish a relationship between shear force (SF) as a proxy for tenderness and carcase pH decline parameters estimated using both linear and spline estimation models for the m. longissimus lumborum (LL). The study also compared abattoirs regarding their achievement of ideal pH decline, indicative of optimal tenderness. Based on SF measurements of LL and m. semimembranosus collected as part of the Information Nucleus slaughter programme (CRC for Sheep Industry Innovation) this study found significant relationships between tenderness and pH24LL, consistent across the meat cuts and ageing periods examined. Achievement of ideal pH decline was shown not to have significantly differed across abattoirs, although rates of pH decline varied significantly across years within abattoirs.

Feeding preference of the Rio Grande silvery minnow (Hybognathus amarus)

Treesearch

Hugo A. Magana

2009-01-01

The Rio Grande silvery minnow (Hybognathus amarus) was historically the most abundant fish in the Rio Grande Basin. However, populations have been declining to the point of being listed under the Endangered Species Act. Potential causes for the decline have been studied, yet little attention has been paid to food resources. This study had three...

Potential streamflow changes from forest decline due to air pollution

Treesearch

R. M. Rice; J. Lewis

1988-01-01

In recent years, serious die-back of forest trees has been reported in western Europe and eastern North America. One presumed cause of the forest decline is air pollution and acid deposition. Concern has been expressed that adverse hydrologic responses might occur in forested watersheds as the result of reduced evapotranspiration and increased discharge. According...

Examining the Potential of Information Technologies to Improve Cost Control in Community Colleges

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sudhakar, Samuel

2013-01-01

The challenges facing publicly funded community colleges have never been greater. Declining state and federal support and decreasing property tax revenues have placed a tremendous pressure on tuition rates. Declining revenues combined with the lack of adequate cost control, has caused in-state tuition and fees at public 2-year colleges to increase…

Sexual differences in the ecology and habitat selection of western toads (Bufo boreas) in northeastern Oregon.

Treesearch

Evelyn L. Bull

2006-01-01

Several species of toads (family Bufonidae), including the Western Toad (bufo boreas) have declined in the Western United States. Information on toad ecology and habitat use is essential to determine potential causes for population declines, as is the potential relationship between this information and disturbance events. Aspects of western toad...

Depression and the Onset of Dementia in Adults with Mental Retardation.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Burt, Diana Byrd; And Others

1992-01-01

Comparison of 61 adults with Down's syndrome and 43 adults with mental retardation resulting from other causes found that 8 Down's syndrome adults had both depression and declines in functioning, whereas no adults in the other group showed functional declines. Greater severity of depression was related to poor functioning in adults with Down's…

Timberland area change in the Lake States: past trends, causes, and projections.

Treesearch

Andrew Plantinga; Joseph Buongiorno; Ralph J. Alig; John S. Jr. Spencer

1989-01-01

Between the early 1960's and the mid-1980's, the area of timberland in the Lake States declined by about 3 million acres. This study confirms the influences of population, economics, ownership, and trends in other land uses on timberland area. Future declines are expected, but probably at a slower rate.

DIAGNOSING CAUSES OF NATIVE FISH AND MUSSEL SPECIES DECLINE IN THE CLINCH AND POWELL RIVER WATERSHED, VIRGINIA, USA.

EPA Science Inventory

The free-flowing Clinch and Powell watershed in Virginia, USA harbors a high number of endemic mussel and fish species but they are declining or going extinct at an alarming rate. In order to prioritize resource management strategies with respect to these fauna, a Graphical Info...

Correlates of virulence in a frog-killing fungal pathogen: evidence from a California amphibian decline

Treesearch

Jonah Piovia-Scott; Karen Pope; S. Joy Worth; Erica Bree Rosenblum; Dean Simon; Gordon Warburton; Louise A. Rollins-Smith; Laura K. Reinert; Heather L. Wells; Dan Rejmanek; Sharon Lawler; Janet Foley

2015-01-01

The fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has caused declines and extinctions in amphibians worldwide, and there is increasing evidence that some strains of this pathogen are more virulent than others. While a number of putative virulence factors have been identified, few studies link these factors to specific epizootic events. We...

Abundance of Grassland Sparrows on Reclaimed Surface Mines in Western Pennsylvania

Treesearch

Jennifer A. Mattice; Daniel W. Brauning; Duane R. Diefenbach

2005-01-01

Grassland songbird populations have experienced some of the most severe declines of any migratory songbird guild in North America and are continuing to disappear from portions of their historic ranges. Habitat loss and degradation have been implicated as primary causes of these declines. However, intensive surface coal mining and subsequent reclamation in western...

Addressing conservation needs of birds during the migratory period: problems and issues

Treesearch

Mark S. Demarest Woodrey; Ernesto Ruela Inzunza

2005-01-01

The conservation of declining intercontinental landbird and shorebird migrants is complicated by the migratory nature of these organisms. Although debate over the causes of declines in most species will no doubt continue for some time, continued attention has focused largely on events associated with the breeding and wintering phases of the migrant's annual cycle...

Improving Students' Readiness for College: Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Illinois District 233. Case Study

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

ACT, Inc., 2004

2004-01-01

This paper illustrates how Homewood-Flossmoor High School, Illinois District 233 addressed the decline in its student achievement results and improved college readiness among its students. This sharp decline caused school officials to stop and reevaluate what they were doing. A review of the facts led to a clear conclusion: "Rigorous…

Population growth and the decline of natural Southern yellow pine forests

Treesearch

David B. South; Edward R. Buckner

2004-01-01

Population growth has created social and economic pressures that affect the sustainability of naturally regenerated southern yellow pine forests. Major causes of this decline include (1) a shift in public attitudes regarding woods burning (from one favoring it to one that favors fire suppression) and (2) an increase in land values (especially near urban centers). The...

Biotic and abiotic factors affecting the genetic structure and diversity of butternut in the southern Appalachian Mountains, USA

Treesearch

Amanda Parks; Michael Jenkins; Michael Ostry; Peng Zhao; Keith Woeste

2014-01-01

The abundance of butternut (Juglans cinerea L.) trees has severely declined rangewide over the past 50 years. An important factor in the decline is butternut canker, a disease caused by the fungus Ophiognomonia clavigigentijuglandacearum, which has left the remaining butternuts isolated and sparsely distributed. To manage the...

China: changing wood products markets

Treesearch

Daowei Zhang; Junchang Liu; James Granskog; Jianbang Gan

1998-01-01

In the 1980's, China emerged as the world's second largest importer of forest products and the second largest importer of U.S. forest products. However, U.S. wood products exports to China declined nearly 93 percent from 1988 to 1996, from >/=448 million to >/=33 million. Little is known about the reasons that caused this decline. Less is probably known...

Sudden aspen decline in southwest Colorado

Treesearch

J. J. Worrall; R. A. Mask; T. Eager; L. Egeland; W. D. Shepperd

2008-01-01

Sudden aspen decline (SAD) has increased rapidly in recent years, approaching 350,000 acres in Colorado in 2007, or 13% of the aspen cover type. We investigated the severity, site/stand factors and causes associated with SAD in southwest Colorado. First, we documented landscape (GIS-DEM analyses) and stand factors (stand exams). There was a strong inverse relationship...

Chytridiomycosis in wild frogs from southern Costa Rica

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lips, Karen R.; Green, D.E.; Papendick, R.

2003-01-01

In 1993, the amphibian fauna of Las Tablas, Costa Rica, began to decline, and by 1998 approximately 50% of the species formerly present could no longer be found. Three years later, at the Reserva Forestal Fortuna, in western Panama, a site approximately 75 km east southeast of Las Tablas, KRL encountered a mass die-off of amphibians and a subsequent decline in abundance and species richness. The epidemiological features of the anuran population declines and die-offs at both sites were similar, suggesting a similar cause. Herein we document the presence of the fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, in dead and dying wild frogs collected at Las Tablas just prior to population declines of several anuran species.

Estimating relative decline in populations of subterranean termites (Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae) due to baiting.

PubMed

Evans, T A

2001-12-01

Although mark-recapture protocols produce inaccurate population estimates of termite colonies, they might be employed to estimate a relative change in colony size. This possibility was tested using two Australian, mound-building, wood-eating, subterranean Coptotermes species. Three different toxicants delivered in baits were used to decrease (but not eliminate) colony size, and a single mark-recapture protocol was used to estimate pre- and postbaiting population sizes. For both species, the numbers of termites retrieved from bait stations varied widely, resulting in no significant differences in the numbers of termites sampled between treatments in either the pre- or postbaiting protocols. There were significantly fewer termites sampled in all treatments, controls included, in the postbaiting protocol compared with the pre-, suggesting a seasonal change in forager numbers. The comparison of population estimates shows a large decrease in toxicant treated colonies compared with little change in control colonies, which suggests that estimating the relative decline in population size using mark-recapture protocols might to be possible. However, the change in population estimate was due entirely to the significantly lower recapture rate in the control colonies relative to the toxicant treated colonies, as numbers of unmarked termites did not change between treatments. The population estimates should be treated with caution because low recapture rates produce dubious population estimates and, in some cases, postbaiting mark-recapture population estimates could be much greater than those at prebaiting, despite consumption of bait in sufficient quantities to cause population decline. A possible interaction between fat-stain markers and toxicants should be investigated if mark-recapture population estimates are used. Alternative methods of population change are advised, along with other indirect measures.

Herpetofaunal Community Change in Multiple Habitats after Fifteen Years in a Southwest Florida Preserve, USA

PubMed Central

Cassani, John R.; Croshaw, Dean A.; Bozzo, Joseph; Brooks, Brenda; Everham, Edwin M.; Ceilley, David W.; Hanson, Deborah

2015-01-01

Herpetofaunal declines have been documented globally, and southern Florida, USA, is an especially vulnerable region because of high impacts from hydrological perturbations and nonindigenous species. To assess the extent of recent change in herpetofauna community composition, we established a baseline inventory during 1995-97 at a managed preserve in a habitat rich area of southwest Florida, and repeated our sampling methods fifteen years later (2010-11). Nine drift fence arrays were placed in four habitat types: mesic flatwood, mesic hammock, depression marsh, and wet prairie. Trapping occurred daily for one week during 7-8 sampling runs in each period (57 and 49 total sampling days, respectively). Species richness was maintained in mesic hammock habitats but varied in the others. Catch rates of several native species (Anaxyrus terrestris, Lithobates grylio, Anolis carolinensis, Nerodia fasciata) declined significantly. Other native species (Lithobates sphenocephalus, Siren lacertian, and Notophthalmus viridescens piaropicola) that were abundant in 1995-97 declined by greater than 50%. Catch rate of only two species (the nonindigenous Anolis sagrei and the native Diadophis punctatus) increased significantly. Hierarchical cluster analysis indicated similarity within habitat types but significant dissimilarity between sampling periods, confirming shifts in community composition. Analysis of individual species’ contributions to overall similarity across habitats shows a shift from dominance of native species in the 1990s to increased importance of nonindigenous species in 2010-11. Although natural population fluctuations may have influenced differences between the two sampling periods, our results suggest considerable recent change in the structure and composition of this southwest Florida herpetofaunal community. The causes are unknown, but hydrological shifts and ecological impacts of nonindigenous species may have contributed. PMID:26016475

Fine-particulate Air Pollution from Diesel Emission Control and Mortality Rates in Tokyo: A Quasi-experimental Study.

PubMed

Yorifuji, Takashi; Kashima, Saori; Doi, Hiroyuki

2016-11-01

Evidence linking air pollution with adverse health outcomes is accumulating. However, few studies have adopted a quasi-experimental design to evaluate whether decline in air pollution from regulatory action improves public health. We evaluated the effect of a diesel emission control ordinance introduced in 2003 on mortality rates in 23 wards of the Tokyo metropolitan area, Japan, from October 2000 to September 2012, taking into account change in mortality rates in a reference population (Osaka) with a introduction of such a regulation in 2009. We obtained daily counts of all-cause and cause-specific mortality and concentrations of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and particulate matter less than 2.5 μm in diameter (PM2.5) during the study period. We employed interrupted time-series analysis to analyze the data. Decline in NO2 during the study period was similar in the two areas, while decline in PM2.5 and the improvement in age-standardized mortality rates were greater in Tokyo's 23 wards compared with Osaka. Even after adjusting for age-standardized mortality rates in Osaka, percent changes in mortality between the first 3-year interval (October 2000 to September 2003) and the last 3-year interval (October 2009 to September 2012) were -6.0% for all causes, -11% for cardiovascular disease, -10% for ischemic heart disease, -6.2% for cerebrovascular disease, -22% for pulmonary disease, and -4.9% for lung cancer. We did not observe a decline in mortality from other causes. This quasi-experimental study in Tokyo suggests that emission control was associated with improvements in both air quality and health outcomes.

Steep declines in population-level AIDS mortality following the introduction of antiretroviral therapy in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

PubMed Central

Reniers, Georges; Araya, Tekebash; Davey, Gail; Nagelkerke, Nico; Berhane, Yemane; Coutinho, Roel; Sanders, Eduard J.

2009-01-01

Objectives Assessments of population-level effects of antiretroviral therapy (ART) programs in Africa are rare. We use data from burial sites to estimate trends in adult AIDS mortality and the mitigating effects of ART in Addis Ababa. ART has been available since 2003, and for free since 2005. Methods To substitute for deficient vital registration, we use surveillance of burials at all cemeteries. We present trends in all-cause mortality, and estimate AIDS mortality (ages 20–64) from lay reports of causes of death. These lay reports are first used as a diagnostic test for the true cause of death. As reference standard we use the cause of death established via verbal autopsy interviews conducted in 2004. The Positive Predictive Value and Sensitivity are subsequently used as anchors to estimate the number of AIDS deaths for the period 2001–2007. Estimates are compared with Spectrum projections. Results Between 2001 and 2005, the number of AIDS deaths declined by 21.9% and 9.3% for men and women, respectively. Between 2005 and 2007, the number of AIDS deaths declined by 38.2% for men and 42.9% for women. Compared to the expected number in the absence of ART, the reduction in AIDS deaths in 2007 is estimated between 56.8% and 63.3%, depending on the coverage of the burial surveillance. Conclusion Five years into the ART program, adult AIDS mortality has been reduced by more than half. Following the free provision of ART in 2005, the decline accelerated and became more gender balanced. Substantial AIDS mortality, however, persists. PMID:19169138

A new progeroid syndrome reveals that genotoxic stress suppresses the somatotroph axis.

PubMed

Niedernhofer, Laura J; Garinis, George A; Raams, Anja; Lalai, Astrid S; Robinson, Andria Rasile; Appeldoorn, Esther; Odijk, Hanny; Oostendorp, Roos; Ahmad, Anwaar; van Leeuwen, Wibeke; Theil, Arjan F; Vermeulen, Wim; van der Horst, Gijsbertus T J; Meinecke, Peter; Kleijer, Wim J; Vijg, Jan; Jaspers, Nicolaas G J; Hoeijmakers, Jan H J

2006-12-21

XPF-ERCC1 endonuclease is required for repair of helix-distorting DNA lesions and cytotoxic DNA interstrand crosslinks. Mild mutations in XPF cause the cancer-prone syndrome xeroderma pigmentosum. A patient presented with a severe XPF mutation leading to profound crosslink sensitivity and dramatic progeroid symptoms. It is not known how unrepaired DNA damage accelerates ageing or its relevance to natural ageing. Here we show a highly significant correlation between the liver transcriptome of old mice and a mouse model of this progeroid syndrome. Expression data from XPF-ERCC1-deficient mice indicate increased cell death and anti-oxidant defences, a shift towards anabolism and reduced growth hormone/insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) signalling, a known regulator of lifespan. Similar changes are seen in wild-type mice in response to chronic genotoxic stress, caloric restriction, or with ageing. We conclude that unrepaired cytotoxic DNA damage induces a highly conserved metabolic response mediated by the IGF1/insulin pathway, which re-allocates resources from growth to somatic preservation and life extension. This highlights a causal contribution of DNA damage to ageing and demonstrates that ageing and end-of-life fitness are determined both by stochastic damage, which is the cause of functional decline, and genetics, which determines the rates of damage accumulation and decline.

Trends and Disparities in Heart Disease Mortality Among American Indians/Alaska Natives, 1990–2009

PubMed Central

Ayala, Carma; Schieb, Linda; Dai, Shifan; Henderson, Jeffrey A.; Cho, Pyone

2014-01-01

Objectives. We evaluated heart disease death rates among American Indians and Alaska Natives (AI/ANs) and Whites after improving identification of AI/AN populations. Methods. Indian Health Service (IHS) registration data were linked to the National Death Index for 1990 to 2009 to identify deaths among AI/AN persons aged 35 years and older with heart disease listed as the underlying cause of death (UCOD) or 1 of multiple causes of death (MCOD). We restricted analyses to IHS Contract Health Service Delivery Areas and to non-Hispanic populations. Results. Heart disease death rates were higher among AI/AN persons than Whites from 1999 to 2009 (1.21 times for UCOD, 1.30 times for MCOD). Disparities were highest in younger age groups and in the Northern Plains, but lowest in the East and Southwest. In AI/AN persons, MCOD rates were 84% higher than UCOD rates. From 1990 to 2009, UCOD rates declined among Whites, but only declined significantly among AI/AN persons after 2003. Conclusions. Analysis with improved race identification indicated that AI/AN populations experienced higher heart disease death rates than Whites. Better prevention and more effective care of heart disease is needed for AI/AN populations. PMID:24754556

A radiographic assessment of lumbar spine posture in four different upright standing positions.

PubMed

Gallagher, Kaitlin M; Sehl, Michael; Callaghan, Jack P

2016-08-01

Approximately 50% of a sample population will develop prolonged standing induced low back pain. The cause of this pain may be due to their lumbar spine posture. The purpose of this study was to investigate differences in lumbar posture between 17 participants categorized as a pain or non-pain developers during level ground standing. A secondary purpose was to evaluate the influence of two standing aids (an elevated surface to act as a foot rest and declined sloped surface) on lumbopelvic posture. Four sagittal plane radiographs were taken: a normal standing position on level ground, when using an elevated foot rest, using a declined sloped surface, and maximum lumbar spine extension as a reference posture. Lumbosacral lordosis, total lumbar lordosis, and L1/L2 and L5/S1 intervertebral joint angles were measured on each radiograph. There was a significant difference between the lumbosacral lordosis angle and L5/S1 angles in upright versus maximum extension; however, this was independent of pain group. The elevated surface was most effective at causing lumbosacral spine flexion. Potentially successful postures for eliminating low back pain during prolonged standing mainly influence the lower lumbar lordosis. Future work should assess the influence of hip posture on low back pain development during standing. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Gender disparities in mortality from infectious diseases in Serbia, 1991-2014: a time of civil wars and global crisis.

PubMed

Ilic, M; Ilic, I

2016-09-01

Infectious diseases remain one of the leading causes of death worldwide. The aim of this descriptive epidemiological study was to analyse the trends in mortality from infectious diseases in Serbia (excluding the Autonomous Province of Kosovo & Metohia) from 1991 to 2014 using joinpoint regression analysis. The mortality rates from infectious diseases were found to have increased markedly from 1991 to 1994 (+12·4% per year), followed by a significant decline from 1994 to 2009 (-4·6% per year) and then another increase from 2009 to 2014 (+4·3% per year). Throughout the study period, mortality rates were consistently higher in men than in women. Although a substantial decline was observed for young people of both sexes, no consistent pattern was evident for the middle-aged nor the elderly. Since 1991, septicaemia has emerged as a leading cause of infectious disease mortality, particularly in older men. The Yugoslav civil wars in the 1990s and the global financial crisis in 2008 corresponded with changes in the trends in mortality from infectious diseases in Serbia, with the elderly showing particular vulnerability during those time periods. Data presented in this study might be useful to improve control of infectious diseases in Serbia.

Pirfenidone: a review of its use in idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.

PubMed

Kim, Esther S; Keating, Gillian M

2015-02-01

Pirfenidone (Esbriet®) is an orally administered, synthetic, pyridone compound that is approved for the treatment of adults with mild to moderate idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) in the EU, and for the treatment of IPF in the USA. This article summarizes pharmacological, efficacy and tolerability data relevant to the use of pirfenidone in these indications. In the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multinational CAPACITY trials in patients with mild to moderate IPF, a significant reduction in the rate of decline in forced vital capacity (FVC) was seen with pirfenidone versus placebo in study 004 but not in study 006. Pirfenidone also reduced the rate of decline in FVC to a significantly greater extent than placebo in the randomized, double-blind, multinational ASCEND trial in this patient population. In addition, pirfenidone showed a significant treatment effect on the 6-min walking test distance and progression-free survival in the ASCEND trial and in a pooled analysis of the CAPACITY trials. Pirfenidone had a manageable tolerability profile in all three studies. Gastrointestinal and skin-related events (e.g. nausea, rash, photosensitivity reaction), which were the most commonly occurring treatment-emergent adverse events, were generally mild to moderate in severity. In addition, a prespecified mortality analysis across all three studies demonstrated a significant reduction in IPF-related and all-cause mortality with pirfenidone. In conclusion, oral pirfenidone is a valuable agent for use in patients with IPF.

The Natural History of the South Hills Crossbill in Relation to Its Impending Extinction.

PubMed

Benkman, Craig W

2016-12-01

Increasingly, the species that we discover will be uncommon, area restricted, and vulnerable to extinction. I describe the natural history of a newly discovered seed-eating finch from the Rocky Mountain region, the South Hills crossbill (Loxia curvirostra complex). It relies on seeds in the closed cones of the fire-adapted Rocky Mountain lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta latifolia) and is found only in the higher elevations of two small mountain ranges in southern Idaho. Here crossbills and pine are engaged in a coevolutionary arms race. Although most of the seeds remain secured within the cones for decades until the heat of a stand-replacing fire causes the cone scales to separate, seeds become accessible to crossbills slowly as cones weather and gaps form between some of the scales. However, hot days (≥32°C), especially four or more hot days, seem to mimic the effect of fire, apparently causing the immediate release of a fraction of the seeds. Such events caused a 20% annual decline in crossbills that lasted up to 4 years and an 80% decline in the population between 2003 and 2011. This is an example of a novel trophic mismatch between a consumer and its resource caused by a shift in the phenology of the resource arising from climate change. Not only do these phenological shifts have the potential to cause seed consumers to decline, these shifts are also likely to cause reduced recruitment of the plants. The South Hills crossbill is especially vulnerable and will likely go extinct this century before lodgepole pine is extirpated from the South Hills.