Assessing the effectiveness of the Ramsar Convention in preserving wintering waterbirds in the Mediterranean

lthough biological conservation is based on international agreements, its effectiveness depends on how countries implement such recommendations as effective conservation tools. The Ramsar Convention is the oldest international treaty for wetland and waterbird conservation, establishing the world's largest network of protected areas. However, since it does not constitute any binding measure, its effectiveness in protecting wintering waterbird populations at an international scale has been questioned. Here, we use long-term (1991–2012) count data to assess the effectiveness of the Ramsar Convention in the Mediterranean Basin. We compared abundance and temporal trends of 114 waterbird species between 251 Ramsar wetlands and 3486 non-Ramsar wetlands. We found that the Ramsar network is critical for wintering waterbirds, concentrating nearly half of all waterbirds counted in the Mediterranean Basin in only 7% of monitored wetlands. Waterbird trends followed a northwestsoutheast gradient, with a population decrease in the East. A significant and positive Ramsar effect on population trends was only found for the species of higher conservation concern in the Maghreb, particularly when a management plan was implemented. The Ramsar Convention was previously used on very important wetlands for waterbirds in Southern Europe, but is now an underused conservation tool. Our study suggests weaknesses in the use of Ramsar as an effective conservation tool in most of the Mediterranean Basin. However, the Ramsar Convention effectiveness to enhance waterbird populations in the Maghreb should encourage strengthening the Ramsar Convention. It should be done particularly in countries with limited environmental agreements and by systematic implementation of management plans. Conservation measures International conventions Protected areas Protection status Monitoring WetlandsacceptedVersio

Lipid and Lipoprotein Profiles in Youth With and Without Type 1 Diabetes: The SEARCH for Diabetes in Youth Case-Control Study

OBJECTIVE—The purpose of this study was to compare the lipid profile and the prevalence of lipid abnormalities in youth with and without type 1 diabetes and explore the role of glycemic control on the hypothesized altered lipid profile in youth with type 1 diabetes

Association between erythrocyte Na+K+-ATPase activity and some blood lipids in type 1 diabetic patients from Lagos, Nigeria

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Altered levels of erythrocyte Na⁺K⁺-ATPase, atherogenic and anti-atherogenic lipid metabolites have been implicated in diabetic complications but their pattern of interactions remains poorly understood.</p> <p>This study evaluated this relationship in Nigerian patients with Type 1 diabetes mellitus.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A total of 34 consented Type 1 diabetic patients and age -matched 27 non-diabetic controls were enrolled. Fasting plasma levels of total cholesterol, triglycerides and HDL-cholesterol were determined spectrophotometrically and LDL-cholesterol estimated using Friedewald formula. Total protein content and Na+K+-ATPase activity were also determined spectrophotometrically from ghost erythrocyte membrane prepared by osmotic lysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Results indicate significant (P < 0.05) reduction in Na⁺K⁺-ATPase activity in the Type 1 diabetic patients (0.38 ± 0.08 vs. 0.59 ± 0.07 uM Pi/mgprotein/h) compared to the control but with greater reduction in the diabetic subgroup with poor glycemic control (n = 20) and in whom cases of hypercholesterolemia (8.8%), hypertriglyceridemia (2.9%) and elevated LDL-cholesterol (5.9% each) were found. Correlation analyses further revealed significant (P < 0.05) inverse correlations [r = -(0.708-0.797] between all the atherogenic lipid metabolites measured and Na⁺K⁺-ATPase in this subgroup contrary to group with good glycemic control or non-diabetic subjects in which significant (P < 0.05) Na⁺K⁺-ATPase and HDL-C association were found (r = 0.427 - 0.489). The Na⁺K⁺-ATPase from the diabetic patients also exhibited increased sensitivity to digoxin and alterations in kinetic constants Vmax and Km determined by glycemic status of the patients.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>It can be concluded that poor glycemic control evokes greater reduction in erythrocyte Na⁺K⁺-ATPase activity and promote enzyme-blood atherogenic lipid relationships in Type 1 diabetic Nigerian patients.</p

Benefits of protected areas for nonbreeding waterbirds adjusting their distributions under climate warming

Climate warming is driving changes in species distributions and community composition. Many species have a so-called climatic debt, that is, shifts in range lag behind shifts in temperature isoclines. Inside protected areas (PAs), community changes in response to climate warming can be facilitated by greater colonization rates by warm-dwelling species, but also mitigated by lowering extirpation rates of cold-dwelling species. An evaluation of the relative importance of colonization-extirpation processes is important to inform conservation strategies that aim for both climate debt reduction and species conservation. We assessed the colonization-extirpation dynamics involved in community changes in response to climate inside and outside PAs. To do so, we used 25 years of occurrence data of nonbreeding waterbirds in the western Palearctic (97 species, 7071 sites, 39 countries, 1993-2017). We used a community temperature index (CTI) framework based on species thermal affinities to investigate species turnover induced by temperature increase. We determined whether thermal community adjustment was associated with colonization by warm-dwelling species or extirpation of cold-dwelling species by modeling change in standard deviation of the CTI (CTISD). Using linear mixed-effects models, we investigated whether communities in PAs had lower climatic debt and different patterns of community change than communities outside PAs. For CTI and CTISD combined, communities inside PAs had more species, higher colonization, lower extirpation, and lower climatic debt (16%) than communities outside PAs. Thus, our results suggest that PAs facilitate 2 independent processes that shape community dynamics and maintain biodiversity. The community adjustment was, however, not sufficiently fast to keep pace with the large temperature increases in the central and northeastern western Palearctic. Our results underline the potential of combining CTI and CTISD metrics to improve understanding of the colonization-extirpation patterns driven by climate warming

ARCHIVES OF MEDICAL RESEARCH

Background. In diabetes mellitus, persistence of hyperglycemia was reported to cause increased production of oxidative parameters including malondialdehyde (MDA). In the present study, the effect of glycemic control on oxidative stress and the lipid profile of pediatric type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM) patients were investigated. Methods. Serum total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, VLDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein A, apolipoprotein B, lipoprotein a, HbA(1c), and MDA levels were assessed in 96 children with type 1 DM. Study cases were evaluated in two groups in view of their mean HbA(1c) values, as metabolically well controlled (HbA(1c) less than or equal to8%) and poorly controlled (HbA(1c) >8%) patients with DM. Fifty healthy children were included as normal controls. Results. Total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, apolipoprotein A, apolipoprotein B, and MDA levels of total diabetic patients were significantly (p <0.05) higher than those of the control group. Serum MDA levels and MDA/LDL cholesterol index were significantly increased in metabolically poorly controlled in relation to metabolically well-controlled DM patients and were similar in metabolically well-controlled DM patients with relation to control group and in metabolically poorly controlled patients with relation to control group. Conclusions. In the present study, increased levels of MDA, MDA/LDL index, and dyslipoproteinemia showed that especially metabolically poorly controlled DM children are at high risk of atherosclerosis and vascular complications of DM and that there is a significant relationship between the lipid profile and oxidative stress. Thus, it may be appropriate to evaluate MDA in addition to routine laboratory assessments in evaluation of type 1 DM pediatric patients. (C) 2004 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc

The investigation of the effects of Cinnamomum cassia extracts on Type 1 diabetes in vitro model

WOS: 00043767410330

Cytotoxic and inhibitory effects of 4,4-dihydroxy chalcone (RVC-588) on proliferation of human leukemic HL-60 cells

WOS: 000180568700009PubMed ID: 12479853Chalcones have been identified as interesting compounds with cytotoxic and tumor reducing properties. In the present study, the biological activity of synthetic chalcones on, myeloid leukemic. cells was, investigated. Human myeloid HL-60 leukemia cells were exposed to 1-20 muM chemicals for 0-96 h. The viability of the cells was measured using trypan blue dye exclusion method. 4,4'-Dihydroxy chalcone (RVC-588) was selected for further experiments to determine characteristics of cytotoxicity among other compounds. The data show that cell viability decreased after treatment and IC50 value was approximately 2 muM for RVC-588. Cell differentiation was analyzed with cytofluorometry by changes in expression of glicoprotein surface markers CD11b/Mac-1, CD11c and CD14 together with morphological analysis. A maximum level of expression changes was determined at 72 h but these changes were not statistically significant to show the differentiation of HL-60 cells to mature myeloid and/or monocytoid cells. Apoptotic DNA degradation was evaluated and quantitated using sensitive enzyme-linked immunoabsorbant (ELISA) method. Using this technique, a maximum level of apoptosis 1.2-fold higher than control was observed in cultures exposed for 48 h to 2 muM RVC-588. The DNA ladder assay was subsequently used to determine DNA breaks. qualitatively. After 24 h, the cells exposed to 2 muM RVC-588 was shown to have cytotoxic-late apoptotic ladder pattern compared to control cells. These data demonstrate that RVC-588 has a high cytotoxic and antitumor activity in HL-60 cells among other chemicals we synthesized. Although the mechanism by which RVC-588 initiated cell death in these cells is presently not known and apoptotic mechanisms are likely to play less role compared to other chalcone analogues reported previously. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved