Population and Harvest Trends of Big Game and Small Game Species

This technical document supports the Forest Service’s requirement to assess the status of renewable natural resources as mandated by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (RPA). It updates past reports on national and regional trends in population and harvest estimates for species classified as big game and small game. The trends reported here were derived from State Wildlife Agency biologists and supplemented with data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey for those bird species that are commonly sought by upland game hunters. Big game populations and harvests have generally increased over the 1975-2000 period. Small game populations and harvests, particularly those associated with grassland and agricultural systems, show strong patterns of decline. However, population and harvest trends for both groups need to be interpreted with caution because: (1) not all state agencies reported both population and harvest statistics for all species that are commonly sought by recreational hunters, and (2) there were cases of inconsistent reporting at the species level within RPA reporting regions that necessitated aggregating across species. The trends documented here are consistent with trends documented in past RPA reports completed in 1989 and 1999, although those data were also qualified by the same interpretational caveats that apply to the current report. Trends observed generally among big game species were encouraging, but the continual decline in small game populations and harvest remains an important wildlife resource management issue. Until population and harvest monitoring is improved among institutions that share the stewardship responsibility for recreationally important wildlife, national and regional trends will have to be interpreted carefully

Population and Harvest Trends of Big Game and Small Game Species

This technical document supports the Forest Service’s requirement to assess the status of renewable natural resources as mandated by the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974 (RPA). It updates past reports on national and regional trends in population and harvest estimates for species classified as big game and small game. The trends reported here were derived from State Wildlife Agency biologists and supplemented with data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey for those bird species that are commonly sought by upland game hunters. Big game populations and harvests have generally increased over the 1975-2000 period. Small game populations and harvests, particularly those associated with grassland and agricultural systems, show strong patterns of decline. However, population and harvest trends for both groups need to be interpreted with caution because: (1) not all state agencies reported both population and harvest statistics for all species that are commonly sought by recreational hunters, and (2) there were cases of inconsistent reporting at the species level within RPA reporting regions that necessitated aggregating across species. The trends documented here are consistent with trends documented in past RPA reports completed in 1989 and 1999, although those data were also qualified by the same interpretational caveats that apply to the current report. Trends observed generally among big game species were encouraging, but the continual decline in small game populations and harvest remains an important wildlife resource management issue. Until population and harvest monitoring is improved among institutions that share the stewardship responsibility for recreationally important wildlife, national and regional trends will have to be interpreted carefully

Correlates of Northern Bobwhite Distribution and Abundance with Land-Use Characteristics in Kansas

County-level agricultural statistics were correlated with Rural Mail Carrier Survey reports and Breeding Bird Survey data for northern bobwhite (Colinus virginianus) in Kansas. Results indicate statewide analysis is feasible when temporally congruent data exist for both agricultural land-use characteristics and bobwhite distribution and abundance. Interpretations of these results can be useful in state or regional analysis and in the development of habitat management strategies for bobwhite. The Multiple Response Permutation Procedure identified 16 land-use variables, 3 soil variables, and 1 spatial variable that were significantly different in counties where bobwhite were present from counties where they were absent. Sixteen land-use variables, 5 soil variables, and 3 spatial variables distinguished between counties where bobwhite abundance was classified as high or low. Spearman\u27s rank correlation identified 8 soil variables, 14 land-use variables, and 3 spatial variables that were significantly correlated with bobwhite abundance. Least absolute deviation regression analysis revealed 4 land-use variables that were significantly correlated (Agreement= 0.48, P = 0.0001) with bobwhite abundance

Impact of Renal Impairment on Beta-Blocker Efficacy in Patients With Heart Failure.

BACKGROUND: Moderate and moderately severe renal impairment are common in patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction, but whether beta-blockers are effective is unclear, leading to underuse of life-saving therapy. OBJECTIVES: This study sought to investigate patient prognosis and the efficacy of beta-blockers according to renal function using estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). METHODS: Analysis of 16,740 individual patients with left ventricular ejection fraction <50% from 10 double-blind, placebo-controlled trials was performed. The authors report all-cause mortality on an intention-to-treat basis, adjusted for baseline covariates and stratified by heart rhythm. RESULTS: Median eGFR at baseline was 63 (interquartile range: 50 to 77) ml/min/1.73 m2; 4,584 patients (27.4%) had eGFR 45 to 59 ml/min/1.73 m2, and 2,286 (13.7%) 30 to 44 ml/min/1.73 m2. Over a median follow-up of 1.3 years, eGFR was independently associated with mortality, with a 12% higher risk of death for every 10 ml/min/1.73 m2 lower eGFR (95% confidence interval [CI]: 10% to 15%; p < 0.001). In 13,861 patients in sinus rhythm, beta-blockers reduced mortality versus placebo; adjusted hazard ratio (HR): 0.73 for eGFR 45 to 59 ml/min/1.73 m2 (95% CI: 0.62 to 0.86; p < 0.001) and 0.71 for eGFR 30 to 44 ml/min/1.73 m2 (95% CI: 0.58 to 0.87; p = 0.001). The authors observed no deterioration in renal function over time in patients with moderate or moderately severe renal impairment, no difference in adverse events comparing beta-blockers with placebo, and higher mortality in patients with worsening renal function on follow-up. Due to exclusion criteria, there were insufficient patients with severe renal dysfunction (eGFR <30 ml/min/1.73 m2) to draw conclusions. In 2,879 patients with atrial fibrillation, there was no reduction in mortality with beta-blockers at any level of eGFR. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with heart failure, left ventricular ejection fraction <50% and sinus rhythm should receive beta-blocker therapy even with moderate or moderately severe renal dysfunction

Randomized trial of complete versus lesion-only revascularization in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for STEMI and Multivessel Disease

BACKGROUND: The optimal management of patients found to have multivessel disease while undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention (P-PCI) for ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction is uncertain.   OBJECTIVES: CvLPRIT (Complete versus Lesion-only Primary PCI trial) is a U.K. open-label randomized study comparing complete revascularization at index admission with treatment of the infarct-related artery (IRA) only.   METHODS: After they provided verbal assent and underwent coronary angiography, 296 patients in 7 U.K. centers were randomized through an interactive voice-response program to either in-hospital complete revascularization (n = 150) or IRA-only revascularization (n = 146). Complete revascularization was performed either at the time of P-PCI or before hospital discharge. Randomization was stratified by infarct location (anterior/nonanterior) and symptom onset (≤3 h or >3 h). The primary endpoint was a composite of all-cause death, recurrent myocardial infarction (MI), heart failure, and ischemia-driven revascularization within 12 months.   RESULTS: Patient groups were well matched for baseline clinical characteristics. The primary endpoint occurred in 10.0% of the complete revascularization group versus 21.2% in the IRA-only revascularization group (hazard ratio: 0.45; 95% confidence interval: 0.24 to 0.84; p = 0.009). A trend toward benefit was seen early after complete revascularization (p = 0.055 at 30 days). Although there was no significant reduction in death or MI, a nonsignificant reduction in all primary endpoint components was seen. There was no reduction in ischemic burden on myocardial perfusion scintigraphy or in the safety endpoints of major bleeding, contrast-induced nephropathy, or stroke between the groups.   CONCLUSIONS: In patients presenting for P-PCI with multivessel disease, index admission complete revascularization significantly lowered the rate of the composite primary endpoint at 12 months compared with treating only the IRA. In such patients, inpatient total revascularization may be considered, but larger clinical trials are required to confirm this result and specifically address whether this strategy is associated with improved survival. (Complete Versus Lesion-only Primary PCI Pilot Study [CvLPRIT]; ISRCTN70913605)

Assessment of data quality in an international multi-centre randomised trial of coronary artery surgery

ART is a multi-centre randomised trial of cardiac surgery which provided a unique opportunity to evaluate the data from a large number of centres from a variety of countries. We attempted to assess data quality, including recruitment rates, timeliness and completeness of the data obtained from the centres in different socio-economic strata

One-year costs of bilateral or single internal mammary grafts in the Arterial Revascularisation Trial

Objective: Coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) using bilateral internal mammary arteries (BIMA) may improve survival over CABG using single internal mammary arteries (SIMA), but may be surgically more complex (and therefore costly) and associated with impaired sternal wound healing. We report, for the first time, a detailed comparison of healthcare resource use and costs over 12 months, as part of the Arterial Revascularisation (ART) Trial.  Methods: 3102 patients in 28 hospitals in seven countries were randomised to CABG surgery using BIMA (n=1548) or SIMA (n=1554). Detailed resource use data were collected covering surgery, the initial hospital episode, and for 12 months post randomisation. Using UK unit costs, total costs were calculated and compared between trial arms and for subgroups.  Results: Patients randomised to BIMA spent 20 min longer in theatre (95% CI 15 to 25, p<0.001) and also required more treatment for sternal wound problems. Mean (SD) total costs per patient at 12 months were £13 839 (£10 534) for BIMA and £12 717 (£9719) for SIMA (mean cost difference £1122, 95% CI £407 to £1838, p=0.002). No tests for interaction between subgroups and treatment allocation were significant.  Conclusions: At 12 months from randomisation, mean costs were approximately 9% higher in BIMA than SIMA patients, primarily due to longer time in theatre and in-hospital stay, and slightly higher costs related to sternal wound problems during follow-up. Follow-up to the primary trial endpoint of 10 years will reveal whether longer-term differences emerge in graft patency or in overall survival

PLANT SPECIES INVASIONS ALONG THE LATITUDINAL GRADIENT IN THE UNITED STATES

It has been long established that the richness of vascular plant species and many animal taxa decreases with increasing latitude, a pattern that very generally follows declines in actual and potential evapotranspiration, solar radiation, temperature, and thus, total productivity. Using county-level data on vascular plants from the United States (3000 counties in the conterminous 48 states), we used the Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) to evaluate competing models predicting native and nonnative plant species density (number of species per square kilometer in a county) from various combinations of biotic variables (e.g., native bird species density, vegetation carbon, normalized difference vegetation in-dex), environmental/topographic variables (elevation, variation in elevation, the number of land cover classes in the county, radiation, mean precipitation, actual evapotranspiration, and potential evapotranspiration), and human variables (human population density, crop-land, and percentage of disturbed lands in a county). We found no evidence of a latitudinal gradient for the density of native plant species and a significant, slightly positive latitudinal gradient for the density of nonnative plant species. We found stronger evidence of a sig-nificant, positive productivity gradient (vegetation carbon) for the density of native plant species and nonnative plant species. We found much stronger significant relationships when biotic, environmental/topographic, and human variables were used to predict native plant species density and nonnative plant species density. Biotic variables generally had far greater influence in multivariate models than human or environmental/topographic variables. Later, we found that the best, single, positive predictor of the density of nonnative plant species in a county was the density of native plant species in a county. While further study is needed, it may be that, while humans facilitate the initial establishment invasions of non-native plant species, the spread and subsequent distributions of nonnative species are con-trolled largely by biotic and environmental factors

The effect of age on outcomes of coronary artery bypass surgery compared with balloon angioplasty or bare-metal stent implantation among patients with multivessel coronary disease. A collaborative analysis of individual patient data from 10 randomized trials.

OBJECTIVES: This study sought to assess whether patient age modifies the comparative effectiveness of coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). BACKGROUND: Increasingly, CABG and PCI are performed in older patients to treat multivessel disease, but their comparative effectiveness is uncertain. METHODS: Individual data from 7,812 patients randomized in 1 of 10 clinical trials of CABG or PCI were pooled. Age was analyzed as a continuous variable in the primary analysis and was divided into tertiles for descriptive purposes (≤56.2 years, 56.3 to 65.1 years, ≥65.2 years). The outcomes assessed were death, myocardial infarction and repeat revascularization over complete follow-up, and angina at 1 year. RESULTS: Older patients were more likely to have hypertension, diabetes, and 3-vessel disease compared with younger patients (p < 0.001 for trend). Over a median follow-up of 5.9 years, the effect of CABG versus PCI on mortality varied according to age (interaction p < 0.01), with adjusted CABG-to-PCI hazard ratios and 95% confidence intervals (CI) of 1.23 (95% CI: 0.95 to 1.59) in the youngest tertile; 0.89 (95% CI: 0.73 to 1.10) in the middle tertile; and 0.79 (95% CI: 0.67 to 0.94) in the oldest tertile. The CABG-to-PCI hazard ratio of less than 1 for patients 59 years of age and older. A similar interaction of age with treatment was present for the composite outcome of death or myocardial infarction. In contrast, patient age did not alter the comparative effectiveness of CABG and PCI on the outcomes of repeat revascularization or angina. CONCLUSIONS: Patient age modifies the comparative effectiveness of CABG and PCI on hard cardiac events, with CABG favored at older ages and PCI favored at younger ages

The dual endothelin converting enzyme/neutral endopeptidase inhibitor SLV-306 (daglutril), inhibits systemic conversion of big endothelin-1 in humans

Aims - Inhibition of neutral endopeptidases (NEP) results in a beneficial increase in plasma concentrations of natriuretic peptides such as ANP. However NEP inhibitors were ineffective anti-hypertensives, probably because NEP also degrades vasoconstrictor peptides, including endothelin-1 (ET-1). Dual NEP and endothelin converting enzyme (ECE) inhibition may be more useful. The aim of the study was to determine whether SLV-306 (daglutril), a combined ECE/NEP inhibitor, reduced the systemic conversion of big ET-1 to the mature peptide. Secondly, to determine whether plasma ANP levels were increased. Main methods - Following oral administration of three increasing doses of SLV-306 (to reach an average target concentration of 75, 300, 1200 ng ml− 1 of the active metabolite KC-12615), in a randomised, double blinded regime, big ET-1 was infused into thirteen healthy male volunteers. Big ET-1 was administered at a rate of 8 and 12 pmol kg− 1 min− 1 (20 min each). Plasma samples were collected pre, during and post big ET-1 infusion. ET-1, C-terminal fragment (CTF), big ET-1, and atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) were measured. Key findings - At the two highest concentrations tested, SLV-306 dose dependently attenuated the rise in blood pressure after big ET-1 infusion. There was a significant increase in circulating big ET-1 levels, compared with placebo, indicating that SLV-306 was inhibiting an increasing proportion of endogenous ECE activity. Plasma ANP concentrations also significantly increased, consistent with systemic NEP inhibition. Significance - SLV-306 leads to inhibition of both NEP and ECE in humans. Simultaneous augmentation of ANP and inhibition of ET-1 production is of potential therapeutic benefit in cardiovascular disease