Pediatric liver transplantation from neonatal donors

Sixteen recipients of neonatal liver grafts were compared with 114 contemporaneous pediatric recipients of grafts from older donors. Graft and patient survival were worse in the neonatal group although the differences were not statistically significant. Patients with neonatal livers who had no technical complications required a longer time postoperatively to correct jaundice and a prolonged prothrombin time. These functional differences were limited to the 1st postoperative month and the end result was the same as with liver transplantation from older donors. © 1992 Springer-Verlag

Ape Population Abundance Estimates

This annex presents ape abundance estimates at the site level. The term “site” refers to a protected area and its buffer zone, a logging concession or group of concessions, or any discrete area where a survey has taken place in the past two decades, although this annex also lists a few sites that were last surveyed in the 1970s and 1980s.Output Type: Online-only anne

Chimpanzee population structure in Cameroon and Nigeria is associated with habitat variation that may be lost under climate change

Background: The Nigeria-Cameroon chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes ellioti) is found in the Gulf of Guinea biodiversity hotspot located in western equatorial Africa. This subspecies is threatened by habitat fragmentation due to logging and agricultural development, hunting for the bushmeat trade, and possibly climate change. Although P. t. ellioti appears to be geographically separated from the neighboring central chimpanzee (P. t. troglodytes) by the Sanaga River, recent population genetics studies of chimpanzees from across this region suggest that additional factors may also be important in their separation. The main aims of this study were: 1) to model the distribution of suitable habitat for P. t. ellioti across Cameroon and Nigeria, and P. t. troglodytes in southern Cameroon, 2) to determine which environmental factors best predict their optimal habitats, and 3) to compare modeled niches and test for their levels of divergence from one another. A final aim of this study was to examine the ways that climate change might impact suitable chimpanzee habitat across the region under various scenarios. Results: Ecological niche models (ENMs) were created using the software package Maxent for the three populations of chimpanzees that have been inferred to exist in Cameroon and eastern Nigeria: (i) P. t. troglodytes in southern Cameroon, (ii) P. t. ellioti in northwestern Cameroon, and (iii) P. t. ellioti in central Cameroon. ENMs for each population were compared using the niche comparison test in ENMtools, which revealed complete niche divergence with very little geographic overlap of suitable habitat between populations. Conclusions: These findings suggest that a positive relationship may exist between environmental variation and the partitioning of genetic variation found in chimpanzees across this region. ENMs for each population were also projected under three different climate change scenarios for years 2020, 2050, and 2080. Suitable habitat of P. t. ellioti in northwest Cameroon / eastern Nigeria is expected to remain largely unchanged through 2080 in all considered scenarios. In contrast, P. t. ellioti in central Cameroon, which represents half of the population of this subspecies, is expected to experience drastic reductions in its ecotone habitat over the coming century

Comparison of a new transcutaneous bilirubinometer (Bilimed®) with serum bilirubin measurements in preterm and full-term infants

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The gold standard to assess hyperbilirubinemia in neonates remains the serum bilirubin measurement. Unfortunately, this is invasive, painful, and costly. Bilimed^®, a new transcutaneous bilirubinometer, suggests more accuracy compared to the existing non-invasive bilirubinometers because of its new technology. It furthermore takes into account different skin colours. No contact with the skin is needed during measurement, no additional material costs occur. Our aim was to assess the agreement between the Bilimed^®and serum bilirubin in preterm and term infants of different skin colours.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The transcutaneous bilirubin measurements were performed on the infant's sternum and serum bilirubin was determined simultaneously. The agreement between both methods was assessed by Pearson's correlation and by Bland-Altman analysis.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 117 measurement cycles were performed in 99 term infants (group1), further 47 measurements in 38 preterm infants born between 34 - 36 6/7 gestational weeks (group 2), and finally 21 measurements in 13 preterm infants born between 28 - 33 6/7 gestational weeks (group 3). The mean deviation and variability (+/- 2SD) of the transcutaneous from serum bilirubin were: -14 (+/- 144) μmol/l; -0.82 (+/- 8.4) mg/dl in group 1, +16 (+/- 91) μmol/l;+0.93(+/- 5.3) mg/dl in group 2 and -8 (+/- 76) μmol/l; -0.47 (+/- 4.4) mg/dl in group 3. These limits of agreement are too wide to be acceptable in a clinical setting. Moreover, there was to be a trend towards less good agreement with increasing bilirubin values.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Despite its new technology the Bilimed^®has no advantages, and more specifically no better agreement not only in term and near-term Caucasian infants, but also in non-Caucasian and more premature infants.</p

New range limits of the sun-tailed monkey, Cercopithecus solatus, in Central Gabon

Cercopithecus solatus is a recently discovered monkey endemic to Gabon, present in parts of the Lop&eacute; National Park and the For&ecirc;t des Abeilles in the center of the country. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List (2010) due to its restricted extent of occurrence and continuing decline in population caused by high hunting pressure. All known field observations of this species are compiled here. Data collected since 1999 show that C. solatus occurs further to the south, east, and west than was previously known, and that its extent of occurrence almost certainly includes three national parks, rather than one

Forest Elephant Crisis in the Congo Basin

Debate over repealing the ivory trade ban dominates conferences of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Resolving this controversy requires accurate estimates of elephant population trends and rates of illegal killing. Most African savannah elephant populations are well known; however, the status of forest elephants, perhaps a distinct species, in the vast Congo Basin is unclear. We assessed population status and incidence of poaching from line-transect and reconnaissance surveys conducted on foot in sites throughout the Congo Basin. Results indicate that the abundance and range of forest elephants are threatened from poaching that is most intense close to roads. The probability of elephant presence increased with distance to roads, whereas that of human signs declined. At all distances from roads, the probability of elephant occurrence was always higher inside, compared to outside, protected areas, whereas that of humans was always lower. Inside protected areas, forest elephant density was correlated with the size of remote forest core, but not with size of protected area. Forest elephants must be prioritised in elephant management planning at the continental scale

Open-access platform to synthesize knowledge of ape conservation across sites

Despite the large body of literature on ape conservation, much of the data needed for evidence‐based conservation decision‐making is still not readily accessible and standardized, rendering cross‐site comparison difficult. To support knowledge synthesis and to complement the IUCN SSC Ape Populations, Environments and Surveys database, we created the A.P.E.S. Wiki (https://apeswiki.eva.mpg.de), an open‐access platform providing site‐level information on ape conservation status and context. The aim of this Wiki is to provide information and data about geographical ape locations, to curate information on individuals and organizations active in ape research and conservation, and to act as a tool to support collaboration between conservation practitioners, scientists, and other stakeholders. To illustrate the process and benefits of knowledge synthesis, we used the momentum of the update of the conservation action plan for western chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus) and began with this critically endangered taxon. First, we gathered information on 59 sites in West Africa from scientific publications, reports, and online sources. Information was compiled in a standardized format and can thus be summarized using a web scraping approach. We then asked experts working at those sites to review and complement the information (20 sites have been reviewed to date). We demonstrate the utility of the information available through the Wiki, for example, for studying species distribution. Importantly, as an open‐access platform and based on the well‐known wiki layout, the A.P.E.S. Wiki can contribute to direct and interactive information sharing and promote the efforts invested by the ape research and conservation community. The Section on Great Apes and the Section on Small Apes of the IUCN SSC Primate Specialist Group will guide and support the expansion of the platform to all small and great ape taxa. Similar collaborative efforts can contribute to extending knowledge synthesis to all nonhuman primate species

Conserving the World’s Megafauna and Biodiversity: The Fierce Urgency of Now

First paragraph: In our recent perspective article, we noted that most (approximately 60 percent) terrestrial large carnivore and large herbivore species are now threatened with extinction, and we offered a 13-point declaration designed to promote and guide actions to save these iconic mammalian megafauna (Ripple et al. 2016). Some may worry that a focus on saving megafauna might undermine efforts to conserve biodiversity more broadly. We believe that all dimensions of biodiversity are important and that efforts to conserve megafauna are not in themselves sufficient to halt the dispiriting trends of species and population losses in recent decades. From 1970 to 2012, a recent global analysis showed a 58 percent overall decline in vertebrate population abundance (WWF 2016). Bold and varied approaches are necessary to conserve what remains of Earth’s biodiversity, and our declaration in no way disputes the value of specific conservation initiatives targeting other taxa. Indeed, the evidence is clear that without massively scaling up conservation efforts for all species, we will fail to achieve internationally agreed-upon targets for biodiversity (Tittensor et al. 2014).Additional co-authors: Holly T Dublin, James A Estes, Kristoffer T Everatt, Mauro Galetti, Varun R Goswami, Matt W Hayward, Simon Hedges, Michael Hoffmann, Luke TB Hunter, Graham IH Kerley, Mike Letnic, Taal Levi, John C Morrison, Michael Paul Nelson, Thomas M Newsome, Luke Painter, Robert M Pringle, Christopher J Sandom, John Terborgh, Adrian Treves, Blaire Van Valkenburgh, John A Vucetich, Aaron J Wirsing, Arian D Wallach, Christopher Wolf, Rosie Woodroffe, Hillary Young, And Li Zhan

Neonatal jaundice and stool production in breast- or formula-fed term infants

It has remained unclear whether the amount of fecal fat excreted in the stool and stool production influences the severity of neonatal jaundice. We determined the relationship between stool production, fecal fat excretion and jaundice in healthy breast-fed (BF) or formula-fed (FF) (near-)term neonates. From postnatal day 1–4, we quantitatively collected stools from 27 FF and 33 BF infants in daily fractions. Stool production and fecal fat contents were related to unconjugated bilirubin (UCB) levels, as determined by transcutaneous bilirubinometry (TcB). Bilirubin concentrations and stool production did not differ between FF and BF neonates during the study period. Neonatal bilirubin levels were not inversely correlated with stool production. FF and BF infants had similar fecal fat excretion rates. The stool production of FF infants was profoundly lower in the present study than in a 1985 study by De Carvalho et al. [J Pediatr (1985) 107:786–790]. We conclude that increased jaundice during the first postnatal days in healthy term neonates can no longer be attributed to breast-feeding and speculate that improved absorbability of formulas since 1985 has contributed to similar fat excretion and stool production in FF and BF neonates in 2007