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Size, growth, and density have been studied for North American Pacific coast sea urchins Strongylocentrotus purpuratus, S. droebachiensis, S. polyacanthus, Mesocentrotus (Strongylocentrotus) franciscanus, Lytechinus pictus, Centrostephanus coronatus, and Arbacia stellata by various workers at diverse sites and for varying lengths of time from 1956 to present. Numerous peer-reviewed publications have used some of these data but some data have appeared only in graduate theses or the gray literature. There also are data that have never appeared outside original data sheets. Motivation for studies has included fisheries management and environmental monitoring of sewer and power plant outfalls as well as changes associated with disease epidemics. Studies also have focused on kelp restoration, community effects of sea otters, basic sea urchin biology, and monitoring. The data sets presented here are a historical record of size, density, and growth for a common group of marine invertebrates in intertidal and nearshore environments that can be used to test hypotheses concerning future changes associated with fisheries practices, shifts of predator distributions, climate and ecosystem changes, and ocean acidification along the Pacific Coast of North America and islands of the north Pacific. No copyright restrictions apply. Please credit this paper when using the data.

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Dryland cereals and legumes  are important crops in farming systems across the world.  Yet they are frequently neglected among the priorities for international agricultural research and development, often due to lack of information on their magnitude and extent. Given what we know about the global distribution of dryland cereals and legumes, what regions should be high priority for research and development to improve livelihoods and food security? This research evaluated the geographic dimensions of these crops and the farming systems where they are found worldwide. The study employed geographic information science and data to assess the key farming systems and regions for these crops. Dryland cereal and legume crops should be given high priority in 18 farming systems worldwide, where their cultivated area comprises more than 160 million ha. These regions include the dryer areas of South Asia, West and East Africa, the Middle East and North Africa, Central America and other parts of Asia. These regions are prone to drought and heat stress, have limiting soil constraints, make up half of the global population and account for 60 percent of the global poor and malnourished. The dryland cereal and legume crops and farming systems merit more research and development attention to improve productivity and address development problems. This project developed an open access dataset and information resource that provides the basis for future analysis of the geographic dimensions of dryland cereals and legumes.

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BACKGROUND: Binge-eating disorder (BED) may be associated with unsatisfactory weight loss in obese patients submitted to bariatric procedures. This study aims to investigate whether the presence of binge eating before Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) influences weight outcomes. METHODS: In a prospective design, 216 obese patients (37 males, 178 females, BMI=45.9 +/- 6.0 kg/m2) were assessed for the lifetime prevalence of BED and classified at structured interview into 3 subgroups: no binge eating (NBE=43), sub-threshold binge eating (SBE=129), and binge-eating disorder (BED=44). All patients were encouraged to take part in a multidisciplinary program following surgery, and weight loss at follow-up was used as the outcome variable. RESULTS: At 1-year follow-up, NBE patients (n=41) showed percent excess BMI loss (%EBL) significantly higher than SBE patients (n=112) (P=0.027), although this effect was not significantly different between NBE and BED patients (n=44). At 2-year follow-up, NBE patients (n=33) showed %EBL higher than SBE (n=64) (P=-0.003) and BED patients (n=34) (P<0.001). Nevertheless, we found no significant weight loss differences between SBE (subclinical) and BED (full criteria) patients at any period of follow-up. Preliminary results at 3-year follow-up suggest that such an effect may be enduring. CONCLUSION: The presence of a history of binge eating prior to treatment is associated with poorer weight loss in obese patients submitted to RYGBP. Because BED is highly prevalent in obese patients seeking bariatric surgery, its early recognition and treatment may be of important clinical value.

Assuntos

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During 1960-62 a study on the epidemiology of dermal leishmaniasis due to Leishmania mexicana in British Honduras revealed 18 species of Phlebotomus in the enzootic forest areas. In addition, 7 other sandflies remain to be identified and may represent new species. 9 species of Phlebotomus were found commonly to bite man. All were predominantly nocturnal in their feeding habits and, as they were readily infected with L. mexicana, all must be regarded as potential vectors in nature. The infection rates for sandflies fed directly on hamster lesions, at the periphery, and on normal adjacent skin were 95 percent, 48 percent and 0 percent respectively. Maintenance of wild-caught Phlebotomus species is discussed. Best results were obtained by keeping single flies in corked tubes containing a fresh green leaf. The corks had a groove cut throughout their length, to allow air exchange, and all tubes were kept in constant light and at approximately 100 percent relative humidity. 332 sandflies, including all the known man-biting species from British Honduras, were fed on the lesions of hamsters and mice infected with both human and rodent strains of L. mexicana. 52 flies were induced to re-feed on volunteers (8 fed a second time and 1 a third time), in all inflicting a total of 90 probes. Transmission of L. mexicana to man was achieved, by Phlebotomus pessoanus, on one occasion. This insect had fed on the infected hamster only 3 days and 23 hours previously. The development of L.mexicana in the insect host has been followed by a study of the gut contents and sections of entire sandflies which were fixed at 3, 6, 12, 24, 36, and 48 hours and 3-5 days after their infective feed. The development is to an anterior station, the leptomonads reaching the proboscis as early as 4 days after the infecting blood meal. 439 wild-caught female sandflies were dissected in an attempt to find insects naturally infected with L. mexicana. Flagellates were seen in the hind-gut of one specimen of P. ovallesi and others in the crushed gut from a single P. cruciatus (exact position in the gut uncertain). In the absence of animal inoculation the nature of these flagellates remains uncertain, but they are not thought to be leptomonads of L. mexicana. Attempts to demonstrate mechanical transmission of L.mexicana were made by interrupting sandflies feeding on hamster lesions and immediately allowing such insects to renew feeding on volunteers. No transmission was achieved and it is felt that such a mode of transfer plays little or no part in the transmission of the parasite in nature. On the contrary, the killing and squashing of infected sandflies feeding on human skin may well facilitate entry of the parasite. Although sandflies were successfully infected with L. mexicana after feeding on a newly acquired and non-ulcerative human lesion, man-to-man transmission is considered most unlikely in nature. (AU)

Assuntos