Perspectives on conservation impacts of the global primate trade

MFH and DRKN are grateful to Animal Protection Denmark and MFH to the Carlsberg Foundation (grant number CF21-0473). AMM thanks the Whitley Fund for Nature, The Rufford Small Grants, The International Primate Protection League, and Mr. Martin Stanley for their long-term financial support toward night monkey conservation.The global trade in nonhuman primates represents a substantial threat to ecosystem health, human health, and primate conservation worldwide. Most of the primate trade involves trade for pet-keeping, consumption, or biomedical experimentation. We present an overview of international primate trade through five case studies; each describes a different facet of this trade. We draw on published scientific literature, media outlets, and open access datasets, including the CITES Trade Database to build these case studies. Case study 1 describes the role of introduced island populations of Macaca and Chlorocebus in trade for biomedical experimentation; case study 2 covers the global health threats posed by the primate trade, including zoonotic disease transmission once animals enter the trade pipeline; case study 3 addresses the ways that changing patterns of primate trade, from local markets to online, have increased the demand for primates as pets; case study 4 recognizes the role that local environmental activism can play in mitigating trade; and case study 5 shows variation between global regions in their contribution to the primate trade. We recommend greater oversight of primate trade, especially domestic trade within primate range countries, and real-time reporting to CITES to accurately track primate trade. Effective conservation-focused regulations that can minimise the negative effects of primate trade must be tailored to specific regions and species and require transparency, careful regulation, field research, and an understanding of the magnitude of this trade.Peer reviewe

ATM haplotypes and breast cancer risk in Jewish high-risk women

While genetic factors clearly play a role in conferring breast cancer risk, the contribution of ATM gene mutations to breast cancer is still unsettled. To shed light on this issue, ATM haplotypes were constructed using eight SNPs spanning the ATM gene region (142 kb) in ethnically diverse non-Ashkenazi Jewish controls (n=118) and high-risk (n=142) women. Of the 28 haplotypes noted, four were encountered in frequencies of 5% or more and accounted for 85% of all haplotypes. Subsequently, ATM haplotyping of high-risk, non-Ashkenazi Jews was performed on 66 women with breast cancer and 76 asymptomatic. One SNP (rs228589) was significantly more prevalent among breast cancer cases compared with controls (P=4 × 10−9), and one discriminative ATM haplotype was significantly more prevalent among breast cancer cases (33.3%) compared with controls (3.8%), (P⩽10−10). There was no significant difference in the SNP and haplotype distribution between asymptomatic high-risk and symptomatic women as a function of disease status. We conclude that a specific ATM SNP and a specific haplotype are associated with increased breast cancer risk in high-risk non-Ashkenazi Jews

Iron Behaving Badly: Inappropriate Iron Chelation as a Major Contributor to the Aetiology of Vascular and Other Progressive Inflammatory and Degenerative Diseases

The production of peroxide and superoxide is an inevitable consequence of aerobic metabolism, and while these particular "reactive oxygen species" (ROSs) can exhibit a number of biological effects, they are not of themselves excessively reactive and thus they are not especially damaging at physiological concentrations. However, their reactions with poorly liganded iron species can lead to the catalytic production of the very reactive and dangerous hydroxyl radical, which is exceptionally damaging, and a major cause of chronic inflammation. We review the considerable and wide-ranging evidence for the involvement of this combination of (su)peroxide and poorly liganded iron in a large number of physiological and indeed pathological processes and inflammatory disorders, especially those involving the progressive degradation of cellular and organismal performance. These diseases share a great many similarities and thus might be considered to have a common cause (i.e. iron-catalysed free radical and especially hydroxyl radical generation). The studies reviewed include those focused on a series of cardiovascular, metabolic and neurological diseases, where iron can be found at the sites of plaques and lesions, as well as studies showing the significance of iron to aging and longevity. The effective chelation of iron by natural or synthetic ligands is thus of major physiological (and potentially therapeutic) importance. As systems properties, we need to recognise that physiological observables have multiple molecular causes, and studying them in isolation leads to inconsistent patterns of apparent causality when it is the simultaneous combination of multiple factors that is responsible. This explains, for instance, the decidedly mixed effects of antioxidants that have been observed, etc...Comment: 159 pages, including 9 Figs and 2184 reference

2012 ACCF/AHA/ACP/AATS/PCNA/SCAI/STS guideline for the diagnosis and management of patients with stable ischemic heart disease

The recommendations listed in this document are, whenever possible, evidence based. An extensive evidence review was conducted as the document was compiled through December 2008. Repeated literature searches were performed by the guideline development staff and writing committee members as new issues were considered. New clinical trials published in peer-reviewed journals and articles through December 2011 were also reviewed and incorporated when relevant. Furthermore, because of the extended development time period for this guideline, peer review comments indicated that the sections focused on imaging technologies required additional updating, which occurred during 2011. Therefore, the evidence review for the imaging sections includes published literature through December 2011

Iodine determination in mineral water using ICP-MS: method development and analysis of brands available in Israeli stores

Reliable iodine determination in drinking water samples has gained importance in the last few decades, mostly due to intensive use of both desalinized water that lacks several important nutritional elements, and bottled mineral water. ICP-MS is a sensitive, high-throughput method for iodine determination that must be performed under alkaline conditions because of the volatile nature of some iodine species. However, in water samples with high pH (>10), slow precipitation of calcium (Ca) and/or magnesium (Mg) carbonates leads to clogging of the ICP-MS nebulizer. We propose preventing this precipitation by adding the chelating agent ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA) at 0.1% to a 2% ammonium hydroxide matrix. This concentration of EDTA sufficed for most drinking water samples studied, as long as a 1:1 molar ratio of EDTA to Ca+Mg concentration in the water was maintained. The limit of quantitation of the developed method for iodine was <0.1 µg L-1. The average iodine concentration in various brands of bottled mineral water sold in Israel was relatively low (7.67 ± 6.38 µg I L-1). Regular consumption of either desalinated water or bottled mineral water may induce iodine deficiency in Israeli consumers. Therefore, continuous follow-up of the iodine status in both tap and bottled water is strongly recommended

The magnetic stir bar as a source of impurities in laboratory blank solutions of the environmental samples subjected to microwave-assisted acid digestion

Teflon-coated magnetic stir bars are suspected to be a source of impurities for the laboratory blank solutions. To evaluate the ability of magnetic bars to absorb and release different elements at sub-ppb and above-ppb (µg L-1) level the experiment with new and used bars was conducted. The bars were subjected to microwave-assisted acid digestion with the soil sample and a series of successive cleaning procedures. The ICP-OES/MS analysis of the obtained extracts revealed that most of the elements may be released during subsequent extractions in the ppb-level concentrations, whereas the following elements: Cr, Cu, Sb, Sn, and Pb may be extracted even in elevated concentrations. SEM/EDS inspection of Teflon surfaces demonstrated the multiple defects that probably increase the absorption of the elements. We concluded that the concentration of mineral impurities in the laboratory blank solution prepared in the randomly selected one vessel per sample preparation batch is hardly propagated to the other used vessels. The alternative concept "blank per vessel" was proposed especially for ultra-trace analysis. Also, an additional step in the bar washing procedure was proposed

Examining the influence of desalinated water on iodine concentration in tap water in Israel

Introduction: In Israel, desalinated water is a major source of drinking water. Previous studies have suggested that the levels of iodine in water provided by authorities may not accurately reflect the levels reaching end-users. Materials and Methods: We analyzed 21 tap water samples collected from different localities across Israel, 13 post-treated desalinated water samples from three of the largest Israeli desalination plants, and several natural water samples. An improved method of ICP-MS developed in our laboratory was used to analyze the content of iodine and other macro-elements, and determination of iodine was performed in alkaline media. Results: Our results showed that it is possible to distinguish between sample groups based on iodine concentration, water hardness, and Ca/Mg ratio. The median iodine concentrations for four groups of tap water samples ranged from 0.3 to 12.3 µg/L, which is lower than the concentrations previously reported by other researchers in Israel. Based on typical consumption, the water samples can provide no more than 3.39% of the recommended dietary allowance level for iodine. The analysis of post-treated desalinated water samples indicated that these waters comply with industrial specifications but contain only trace concentrations of iodine and much less magnesium than recommended by different public health authorities for public consumption of drinking water. Conclusion: The total iodine concentrations found were lower than several observations reported in previous years in the literature. There are currently no strict regulations regarding iodine and magnesium levels in drinking and/or softened (desalinated) water, but the intensive desalination plant application is already exhibiting a negative impact on public health. Further investigations are needed, but the present study provides useful insights for developing an effective policy to ensure adequate iodine supply for the population of Israel through drinking water