New Range Record for the Lesser Spot-nosed Guenon (Cercopithecus petaurista) in Southeastern Senegal

The lesser spot-nosed guenon (Cercopithecus petaurista Schreber 1774) was known to range, historically, in the southwestern or Casamance region of Senegal (Dupuy 1971); its status in that country has been questionable in more recent times1 (Figure 1). The recent sightings of a lesser spot-nosed guenon in southeastern Senegal (12º39’N, 12º13’W) to be reported here appear to be the first record for this species in the Kedougou (formerly, Tambacounda) region. The guenon was seen by researchers at the Fongoli study site where chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) have been observed continuously since April 2001. Although Guinea baboons (Papio hamadryas papio), patas monkeys (Erythrocebus patas), vervet monkeys (Chlorocebus aethiops sabeus), and Senegal bushbabies (Galago senegalensis) are commonly seen, the lesser spot-nosed guenon had never been seen at Fongoli in the four years of continuous study by researchers before this sighting, and it was never seen again in the following four years after the series of observations described here

Modification of niobium surfaces using plasma electrolytic oxidation in silicate solutions

Herein, a study of the plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) of niobium in an anodising bath composed of potassium silicate (K2SiO3) and potassium hydroxide (KOH) is reported. The effects of the K2SiO3 concentration in the bath and the process voltage on the characteristics of the obtained oxide layers were assessed. Compact, barrier-type oxide layers were obtained when the process voltage did not exceed the breakdown potential of the oxide layer. When this threshold was breached, the morphology of the oxide layer changed markedly, which is typical of PEO. A significant amount of silicon, in the form of amorphous silica, was incorporated into the oxide coatings under these conditions compared with the amount obtained with conventional anodising. This surface modification technique led to an improvement in the corrosion resistance of niobium in Ringer’s solution, regardless of the imposed process conditions

Identification of "pathologs" (disease-related genes) from the RIKEN mouse cDNA dataset using human curation plus FACTS, a new biological information extraction system

BACKGROUND: A major goal in the post-genomic era is to identify and characterise disease susceptibility genes and to apply this knowledge to disease prevention and treatment. Rodents and humans have remarkably similar genomes and share closely related biochemical, physiological and pathological pathways. In this work we utilised the latest information on the mouse transcriptome as revealed by the RIKEN FANTOM2 project to identify novel human disease-related candidate genes. We define a new term "patholog" to mean a homolog of a human disease-related gene encoding a product (transcript, anti-sense or protein) potentially relevant to disease. Rather than just focus on Mendelian inheritance, we applied the analysis to all potential pathologs regardless of their inheritance pattern. RESULTS: Bioinformatic analysis and human curation of 60,770 RIKEN full-length mouse cDNA clones produced 2,578 sequences that showed similarity (70–85% identity) to known human-disease genes. Using a newly developed biological information extraction and annotation tool (FACTS) in parallel with human expert analysis of 17,051 MEDLINE scientific abstracts we identified 182 novel potential pathologs. Of these, 36 were identified by computational tools only, 49 by human expert analysis only and 97 by both methods. These pathologs were related to neoplastic (53%), hereditary (24%), immunological (5%), cardio-vascular (4%), or other (14%), disorders. CONCLUSIONS: Large scale genome projects continue to produce a vast amount of data with potential application to the study of human disease. For this potential to be realised we need intelligent strategies for data categorisation and the ability to link sequence data with relevant literature. This paper demonstrates the power of combining human expert annotation with FACTS, a newly developed bioinformatics tool, to identify novel pathologs from within large-scale mouse transcript datasets

Gender and age-dependent differences in body composition changes in response to cardiac rehabilitation exercise training in patients after coronary artery bypass grafting

Cardiac rehabilitation (CR) is the standard procedure in persons after coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG). Its basic aim is to combat coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors through physical activity and normalization of body mass. Many authors highlight the differences in response to training in CR as dependent on gender, age and occurrence of accompanying disease. The aim of this study is to assess the effectiveness of a three-week early CR in reference to changing body composition parameters in patients over 50 years of age. The study involved a random group of 65 patients (44 men and 21 women) between the ages of 50–76 (average: 62.6 ± 7.2) years with CHD following CABG. Anthropometric and body composition (bioelectrical impedance method) measurements were taken at the commencement of CR and after the training programme. After CR, body mass and body mass index were reduced in men < 65 and ≥ 65 years, and in women <65 years. A reduction % body fat and increase % fat free mass and % total body water was observed only in patients <65. years. Furthermore, in men < 65 years, an increase in % body cell mass was observed. In women ≥ 65 years, no statistically significant changes were observed in body fat indices and body composition features between initial and final study. Patients ≥ 65 years of age following surgery over a period of hospital cardiac rehabilitation do not experience the same significant improvement in body composition parameters associated with risk of CHD as middle-aged adults. Older women post-cardiac surgery are characterized by a higher disability index in relation to tolerance to physical stress in comparison with men of the same age and persons < 65 years of age

Obstetric opinions regarding the method of delivery in women that have had surgery for retinal detachment

OBJECTIVES: We sought to determine international obstetric opinions regarding the influence of a history of rhegmatogenous retinal detachment on the management of labour and to review the evidence base. DESIGN: A questionnaire containing closed questions, with pre-coded response opinions, was designed to obtain a cross-section of the obstetric opinions. SETTING: Questionnaires were distributed at the 20th European Congress of Obstetrics and Gynaecology in Lisbon, Portugal. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred questionnaires were distributed among obstetricians attending the congress and 74 agreed to participate. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Participants were asked to state their preferred method of delivery in such patients and the reasons for their recommendation. Furthermore, we questioned whether there was any difference in opinions depending on generation. RESULTS: The majority of respondents (76%) would recommend assisted delivery (either Caesarean section or instrumental delivery), whereas the remaining 24% would advise normal delivery. Generation is not a factor influencing this decision. The majority (58%) based their decision to alter the management of labour on their personal opinion of standard of care. CONCLUSION: The literature shows that there is little evidence to support the belief that previous retinal surgery increases the risk of re-detachment of the retina during spontaneous vaginal delivery. This short survey shows that the majority of an international sample of obstetricians questioned does not share this viewpoint. Therefore, unnecessary interventions may be occurring in otherwise fit women with a history of retinal detachment

CUPUAÇU: A FRUTA GLOBALIZADA

O objetivo deste trabalho é procurar mostrar de forma sucinta como a fruta tipicamente brasileira obteve uma entrada notória no mercado internacional. Os benefícios adquiridos com a exportação e o desenvolvimento de políticas de distribuição de renda nas comunidades menos favorecidas, já que a produção e distribuição podem ser realizadas mesmo de maneira informal. O estudo baseou-se em pesquisas via internet, noticiários e órgãos tais como a Empresa Brasileira de Pesquisa Agropecuária- EMBRAPA, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia- INPA, Instituto Nacional de Propriedade Industrial-INPI e Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística-IBGE, pesquisas estas que demonstram aa diversas possibilidades no   aproveitamento da fruta seja na produção de alimentos, cosméticos e artesanato entre outros. A comercialização internacional enfrentou alguns problemas na sua introdução ao mercado, devido ao fato de outro país ter tentado apoderar-se da marca. Com a luta da comunidade científica e do governo brasileiro através de processos judiciais, conseguiram reverter a situação pelo no nome, que foi preservado. Hoje encontramos em muitos países, com maior facilidade produtos feitos com o CUPUAÇU, fruta que leva o nome e sabor tipicamente brasileiro