FOOD HABITS AND MANAGEMENT OF INTRODUCED RED FOX IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Introduced red fox in urban Orange County, California ate a wide variety of foods. Mammals and birds were consumed at all times of the year and both taxa appeared in approximately half or more of the fecal samples at all times of the year. Human supplied food remains were also common and supplemental feeding occurred at all study sites. Supplemental feeding has the potential to exacerbate problems for management of introduced red fox and several endangered species

Rodent-Mediated Interactions Among Seed Species of Differing Quality in a Shrubsteppe Ecosystem

Interactions among seeds, mediated by granivorous rodents, are likely to play a strong role in shrubsteppe ecosystem restoration. Past studies typically consider only pairwise interactions between preferred and less preferred seed species, whereas rangeland seedings are likely to contain more than 2 seed species, potentially leading to complex interactions. We examined how the relative proportion of seeds in a 3-species polyculture changes rodent seed selectivity (i.e., removal) and indirect interactions among seeds. We presented 2 rodent species, Peromyscus maniculatus (deer mice) andPerognathus parvus (pocket mice), in arenas with 3-species seed mixtures that varied in the proportion of a highly preferred, moderately preferred, and least preferred seed species, based on preferences determined in this study. We then conducted a field experiment in a pocket mouse–dominated ecosystem with the same 3-species seed mixtures in both “treated” (reduced shrub and increased forb cover) and “untreated” shrubsteppe. In the arena experiment, we found that rodents removed more of the highly preferred seed when the proportions of all 3 seeds were equal. Moderately preferred seeds experienced increased removal when the least preferred seed was in highest proportion. Removal of the least preferred seed increased when the highly preferred seed was in highest proportion. In the field experiment, results were similar to those from the arena experiment and did not differ between treated and untreated shrubsteppe areas. Though our results suggest that 3-species mixtures induce complex interactions among seeds, managers applying these results to restoration efforts should carefully consider the rodent community present and the potential fate of removed seeds

Increase in Non-AIDS Related Conditions as Causes of Death among HIV-Infected Individuals in the HAART Era in Brazil

Background. In 1996, Brazil became the first developing country to provide free and universal access to HAART. Although a decrease in overall mortality has been documented, there are no published data on the impact of HAART on causes of death among HIV-infected individuals in Brazil. We assessed temporal trends of mortality due to cardiovascular diseases (CVD), diabetes mellitus (DM) and other conditions generally not associated with HIV-infection among persons with and without HIV infection in Brazil between 1999 and 2004. Methodology/Principal Findings. Odds ratios were used to compare causes of death in individuals who had HIV/AIDS listed on any field of the death certificate with those who did not. Logistic regression models were fitted with generalized estimating equations to account for spatial correlation; co-variables were added to the models to control for potential confounding. Of 5,856,056 deaths reported in Brazil between 1999 and 2004 67,249 (1.15%) had HIV/AIDS listed on the death certificate and non-HIV-related conditions were listed on 16.3% in 1999, Increasing to 24.1% by 2004 (p<0.001) The adjusted average yearly increases were 8% and 0.8% for CVD (p<0.001), and 12% and 2.8% for DM (p<0.001), for those who had and kiki not have HIV/AIDS listed on the death certificate respectively. Similar results were found for these conditions as underlying causes of death. Conclusions/Significance. In Brazil between 1999 and 2004 conditions usually considered not to be related to HIV-infection appeared to become more likely causes of death over time than reported causes of death among individuals who had HIV/AIDS listed on the death certificate than in those who did not. This observation has important programmatic implications for developing countries that are scaling-up access to antiretroviral therapy. © 2008 Pacheco et al

Clinical oncologic applications of PET/MRI: a new horizon

Abstract: Positron emission tomography/magnetic resonance imaging (PET/MRI) leverages the high soft-tissue contrast and the functional sequences of MR with the molecular information of PET in one single, hybrid imaging technology. This technology, which was recently introduced into the clinical arena in a few medical centers worldwide, provides information about tumor biology and microenvironment. Studies on indirect PET/MRI (use of positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) images software fused with MRI images) have already generated interesting preliminary data to pave the ground for potential applications of PET/MRI. These initial data convey that PET/MRI is promising in neuro-oncology and head &amp; neck cancer applications as well as neoplasms in the abdomen and pelvis. The pediatric and young adult oncology population requiring frequent follow-up studies as well as pregnant woman might benefit from PET/MRI due to its lower ionizing radiation dose. The indication and planning of therapeutic interventions and specifically radiation therapy in individual patients could be and to a certain extent are already facilitated by performing PET/MRI. The objective of this article is to discuss potential clinical oncology indications of PET/MRI

Continuous increase of cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, and non-HIV related cancers as causes of death in HIV-infected individuals in Brazil: An analysis of nationwide data

Introduction: After antiretroviral therapy (ART) became available, there was a decline in the number of deaths in persons infected with HIV. Thereafter, there was a decrease in the proportion of deaths attributed to opportunistic infections and an increase in the proportion of deaths attributed to chronic comorbidities. Herein we extend previous observations from a nationwide survey on temporal trends in causes of death in HIV-infected patients in Brazil. Methods: We describe temporal trends in causes of death among adults who had HIV/AIDS listed in the death certificate to those who did not. All death certificates issued in Brazil from 1999 to 2011 and listed in the national mortality database were included. Generalized linear mixed-effects logistic models were used to study temporal trends in proportions. Results: In the HIV-infected population, there was an annual adjusted average increase of 6.0%, 12.0%, 4.0% and 4.1% for cancer, external causes, cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and diabetes mellitus (DM), respectively, compared to 3.0%, 4.0%, 1.0% and 3.9%, in the non-HIV group. For tuberculosis (TB), there was an adjusted average increase of 0.3%/year and a decrease of 3.0%/year in the HIV and the non-HIV groups, respectively. Compared to 1999, the odds ratio (OR) for cancer, external causes, CVD, DM, or TB in the HIV group were, respectively, 2.31, 4.17, 1.76, 2.27 and 1.02, while for the non-HIV group, the corresponding OR were 1.31, 1.63, 1.14, 1.62 and 0.67. Interactions between year as a continuous or categorical variable and HIV were significant (p <0.001) for all conditions, except for DM when year was considered as a continuous variable (p = 0.76). Conclusions: Non HIV-related co-morbidities continue to increase more rapidly as causes of death among HIV-infected individuals than in those without HIV infection, highlighting the need for targeting prevention measures and surveillance for chronic diseases among those patients. © 2014 Paula et al

Superconductivity in Fullerides

Experimental studies of superconductivity properties of fullerides are briefly reviewed. Theoretical calculations of the electron-phonon coupling, in particular for the intramolecular phonons, are discussed extensively. The calculations are compared with coupling constants deduced from a number of different experimental techniques. It is discussed why the A_3 C_60 are not Mott-Hubbard insulators, in spite of the large Coulomb interaction. Estimates of the Coulomb pseudopotential $\mu^*$, describing the effect of the Coulomb repulsion on the superconductivity, as well as possible electronic mechanisms for the superconductivity are reviewed. The calculation of various properties within the Migdal-Eliashberg theory and attempts to go beyond this theory are described.Comment: 33 pages, latex2e, revtex using rmp style, 15 figures, submitted to Review of Modern Physics, more information at http://radix2.mpi-stuttgart.mpg.de/fullerene/fullerene.htm

FOOD HABITS AND MANAGEMENT OF INTRODUCED RED FOX IN SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA

Introduced red fox in urban Orange County, California ate a wide variety of foods. Mammals and birds were consumed at all times of the year and both taxa appeared in approximately half or more of the fecal samples at all times of the year. Human supplied food remains were also common and supplemental feeding occurred at all study sites. Supplemental feeding has the potential to exacerbate problems for management of introduced red fox and several endangered species

Using Arrested Solid — Solid Multiphase Reactions in Geological Materials to Deduce the Rate of Crustal Uplift

The history geological terrains experience can be traced as a series of temperature and pressure changes. Each change drives the system toward a new state of thermodynamic equilibrium. The resultant overprinted rock fabrics, textures and chemical heterogeneities can be difficult to interpret. However, if carefully chosen, features from the scale of kilometers to nanometers can be used to reconstruct the history of mountain systems. Uplift of the Sri Lankan Central Highlands was rapid enough to preserve well-developed symplectite textures, some of which represent arrested solid-state diffusion-controlled reactions of garnet + O{sub 2} to form orthopyroxene + plagioclase + magnetite, as the rocks were exhumed from over 30 km in the earth's crust. Our objective has been to determine the reaction mechanisms responsible for symplectite development, and to establish the time interval over which these reactions occurred, to constrain the rate of mountain uplift. Considering that the most rapid mechanism is solid state grain-boundary diffusion of oxygen, the reaction time can be constrained by bounding the rate of oxygen supply to the reaction site. The solid state grain boundary diffusion rate of oxygen has been inferred to be ca. 10{sup -14}m{sup 2}-sec (Farver and Yund, 1991), but is sensitive to inferred grain boundary width. The range of rates thus determined allows the distinction between rapid uplift similar to that of the Himalayan Mountains, and the slow and progressive erosion of a less dramatic terrain. Further constraints on diffusion control and energetic relationships are determined from crystallographic relationships between the reactant and product phases, and submicron scale microstructure