The range of the golden-mantle tamarin, Saguinus tripartitus (Milne Edwards, 1878): distributions and sympatry of four tamarin species in Colombia, Ecuador, and northern Peru

A detailed understanding of the range of the golden-mantle tamarin, Saguinus tripartitus (Milne Edwards, 1878), in Amazonian Peru and Ecuador is of particular relevance, not only because it is poorly known but also because it was on the basis of its supposed sympatry with the saddleback tamarin (S. fuscicollis lagonotus) that Thorington (Am J Primatol 15:367–371, 1988) argued that it is a distinct species rather than a saddleback tamarin subspecies, as was believed by Hershkovitz (Living new world monkeys, vol I. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1977). A number of surveys have been carried out since 1988 in the supposed range of S. tripartitus, in both Ecuador and Peru. Here we summarize and discuss these issues and provide a new suggestion for the geographic range of this species; that is, between the ríos Napo and Curaray in Peru and extending east into Ecuador. We also review current evidence for the distributions of Spix’s black-mantle tamarin (S. nigricollis nigricollis), Graells’ black-mantle tamarin (S. n. graellsi), and the saddleback tamarin (S. fuscicollis lagonotus), which are also poorly known, and examine the evidence regarding sympatry between them. We conclude that despite the existence of a number of specimens with collecting localities that indicate overlap in their geographic ranges, the fact that the four tamarin species are of similar size and undoubtedly very similar in their feeding habits militates strongly against the occurrence of sympatry among them

Global Health Governance and the Commercial Sector: A Documentary Analysis of Tobacco Company Strategies to Influence the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Heide Weishaar and colleagues did an analysis of internal tobacco industry documents together with other data and describe the industry's strategic response to the proposed World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Chemical Composition and Antioxidant Activity of the Main Fruits, Tubers and Legumes Traditionally Consumed in the Andean Regions of Ecuador as a Source of Health-Promoting Compounds

Thirteen fruits, eight legumes and three tubers consumed in the Andean regions of Ecuador were studied to determine their bioactive compounds, organic acids, sugars content, total antioxidant capacity, as well as to determine which among them showed the greatest contribution in terms of antioxidant activity and which compounds contributed to it. Among fruits, taxo fruits (Passiflora mollissima (Kunth) L.H. Bailey) presented the highest values of total phenolic, carotene content, and total antioxidant capacity. The ají ratón (Capsicum chinense Jacq) showed the highest content of vitamin C. Taxo showed the highest content of β carotene, whilst lycopene was identified only in guayaba fruits (Psidium guajava L.) and ají ratón was the principal source of lutein. In legumes, chocho perla (Lupinus mutabilis Sweet) showed the highest values for both total phenolic and flavonoid content, whilst frejol negro (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and frejol canario (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp) showed the highest values for FRAP and DPPH assay, respectively. Between tubers, the jícama (Smallanthus sonchifolius (Poepp.) H. Rob.) had the majors values in terms of total phenolic, flavonoid content, and total antioxidant capacity. In terms of total antioxidant capacity, taxo fruits have the highest contribution in terms of total antioxidant capacity, whilst the dendogram shown the occurrence of five distinct groups in which taxo was located in the first largest group. Our data contributing towards gaining better knowledge about the Andean Ecuadorian diet and the composition of Andean food in order to estimate dietary intakes of health-promoting components

Reliability of fine-needle aspiration for thyroid nodules greater than or equal to 4 cm

Fine-needle aspiration (FNA) is considered the diagnostic test of choice in the evaluation of thyroid nodules. Some practice recommendations, however, suggest surgical resection of larger thyroid nodules due to concerns of FNA unreliability in the diagnosis of thyroid malignancy. The purpose of this study was to determine the reliability of FNA in thyroid nodules ≥4 cm. Retrospective review of prospectively collected data of 1068 consecutive patients who underwent FNA and thyroidectomy at a single tertiary medical center from 2003 to 2010 was performed. Patients were divided into two groups: those patients with a dominant thyroid nodule ≥4 cm (n = 212) and those patients with a dominant thyroid nodule <4 cm (n = 856). Sensitivity, specificity, and negative and positive predictive values were calculated for FNA results and final histopathology after thyroidectomy. Of 212 patients with lesions ≥4 cm, 35% had thyroid malignancy on final pathology. Conversely, 54% of 856 patients with dominant thyroid nodules <4 cm had a final diagnosis of thyroid cancer after thyroidectomy. FNA demonstrated similar test characteristics among patients with lesions ≥4 cm and <4 cm, with a specificity of 99% (CI: 96%–100%) and 98% (CI: 96%–99.0%), respectively, and a sensitivity of 35% (CI: 23%–49%) and 42% (CI: 37%–46%), respectively. The positive predictive value of FNA was 82% (CI: 75%–100%) for nodules ≥4 cm and 96% (CI: 92%–98%) for nodules <4 cm. Negative predictive value was significantly different, with a value of 82% (CI: 75%–87%) for lesions ≥4 cm and only 59% (CI: 55%–63%) for lesions <4 cm. The reliability of FNA as a diagnostic test is not affected by the size of thyroid nodules. Routine surgical resection for all thyroid nodules ≥4 cm should not be used as the only independent factor in determining need for surgical resection

Chemical composition and antioxidant activity of the main fruits consumed in the western coastal region of Ecuador as a source of health-promoting compounds

We studied 19 different tropical fruits traditionally consumed in the coastal lowlands of Ecuador to determine their chemical composition and antioxidant activity. Carambola (Averrhoa carambola L.) had the highest total phenolic, flavonoid, and total antioxidant capacity values, whereas guava fruits (Psidium guajava L.) had the highest vitamin C values. The main organic acids identified were lactic, citric, and acetic acids, and the highest amount of lactic acid was found in soursop fruits (Annona muricata L.), whereas Ecuadorian ivory palm (Phytelephas aequatorialis Spruce) and guava fruits had the highest acetic acid content. Guava also had the highest citric acid content; the highest concentration of oxalic acid was found in carambola. In terms of sugar content, giant granadilla (Passiflora quadrangularis L.) had the highest values of glucose, and red mombin (Spondias mombin L.) had the largest values for fructose and guava for sucrose. Chili pepper (Capsicum chinense Jacq) proved to be the main source of carotenoids, lutein, and β-carotene, anthocyanins, and vitamin C. The results here increase our knowledge regarding the composition of the main fruits consumed on the west coast of Ecuador to facilitate recommendations as potential sources of health-promoting compounds