Rare and declining bird species benefit most from designating protected areas for conservation in the UK.

There have been recent renewed commitments to increase the extent of protected areas to combat the growing biodiversity crisis but the underpinning evidence for their effectiveness is mixed and causal connections are rarely evaluated. We used data gathered by three large-scale citizen science programmes in the UK to provide the most comprehensive assessment to date of whether national (Sites of Special Scientific Interest) and European (Special Protection Areas/Special Areas of Conservation) designated areas are associated with improved state (occurrence, abundance), change (rates of colonization, persistence and trend in abundance), community structure and, uniquely, demography (productivity) on a national avifauna, while controlling for differences in land cover, elevation and climate. We found positive associations with state that suggest these areas are well targeted and that the greatest benefit accrued to the most conservation-dependent species since positive associations with change were largely restricted to rare and declining species and habitat specialists. We suggest that increased productivity provides a plausible demographic mechanism for positive effects of designation.

Sapphire fibers: optical attenuation and splicing techniques.

The optical attenuation in sapphire fibers was examined. Attenuation was found to depend heavily on injection conditions. A number of techniques for making sapphire-silica fiber splices were attempted, with an effort toward optimizing injection conditions in the sapphire fiber. The most successful of these techniques, interior capillary-tube splicing, produced robust splices with an attenuation of less than 1 dB.

Disparity between blood pressure and PRA inhibition after administration of a renin inhibitor to anesthetized dogs: methodological considerations.

A dissociation between changes in blood pressure (BP) and plasma renin activity (PRA) has been noted after administration of renin inhibitors. In the present study, the renin inhibitor PD 132002 was given to salt-deplete, anesthetized dogs. PRA was measured at pH 6.0 by a conventional angiotensin I (ANG I) RIA method (PRA-C) and by an ANG I antibody-trapping RIA method (PRA-AT) performed at pH 7.4. PD 132002 at 0.01, 0.1, 1, and 10 mg/kg IV, reduced BP by 3 +/- 2, 9 +/- 2, 24 +/- 4, and 39 +/- 4 mm Hg, respectively, (baseline of 136 +/- 8 mm Hg, N = 5), when infused IV over 30 minutes with a 30 minute recovery between doses. The BP response at 10 mg/kg equaled that of saralasin (20 micrograms/kg/min IV). PRA-AT (baseline of 20 +/- 6 ng ANG l/ml/hr, N = 4) was inhibited by 0%, 28% +/- 12%, 75% +/- 10%, and 97% +/- 1% at 0.01, 0.1, 1, and 10 mg/kg, respectively. Plasma concentrations of immunoreactive ANG II were also reduced dose-dependently and paralleled changes in BP. In contrast, PRA-C (baseline of 13 +/- 4 ng ANG l/ml/hr, N = 4) was inhibited by 82% +/- 8% at 0.01 mg/kg and by > 98% at higher doses. After a single dose of PD 132002 at 10 mg/kg infused over 30 minutes, BP recovery paralleled changes in immunoreactive ANG II and PRA-AT, yet PRA-C inhibition showed no recovery over the same time course. Our data support the conclusion that BP relates better to PRA-AT than PRA-C. Thus the dissociation sometimes observed in studies with renin inhibitors between changes in BP and PRA may be attributed to the assay used to determine PRA.

Growth and lipid metabolism as affected by feeding of hull-less barleys with and without supplemental beta-glucanase.

Three hull-less barleys, Washonupana (WSNP), Waxbar (WXB), and Bangsa (BGS), were fed to broiler chicks in 21% protein diets containing 0.5% cholesterol in replicate trials. A corn-based diet, with added cholesterol, served as a control. Alternate diets were supplemented with beta-glucanase (ENZ). beta-glucan content ranged from 4.9% to 6.1% and soluble dietary fiber (SDF) from 3.6% to 7.5% in the barleys. Data from the two trials were pooled for statistical analysis by the SAS General Linear Models procedure. In body weight gain, chicks fed WSNP-ENZ were lower (P less than 0.05) than all other treatments. The beta-glucanase supplement to the WXB and BGS barley tended to improve gains, but the differences were not significant for either barley. Feed to gain ratios were lowest (P less than 0.0001) for corn fed chicks and lower (P less than 0.05 to P less than 0.0001) for those fed the barley + ENZ diets compared to barley -ENZ. Chicks fed barley diets had lower (P less than 0.05) total serum cholesterol (TSC) and LDL-cholesterol than those fed corn diets, regardless of ENZ supplementation. For chicks on barley -ENZ diets, TSC levels for WSNP, WXB, and BGS were 146, 152, and 142 mg/dl respectively and for chicks on barley + ENZ diets, 218, 200, and 178 mg/dl. LDL-cholesterol levels followed the same trend and there was little difference in serum triglycerides. The BGS + ENZ lowered TSC 30% from the corn control compared to 10.7% and 18% for WSNP + ENZ and WXB + ENZ, suggesting additional hypocholesterolemic factors, possibly tocotrienol and SDF other than 1----3, 1----4 beta-D-glucans.

Microsurgical reversal of female sterilization.

PIP: As mentioned recently in an excellent article by Dr. Gomel, intraoperative chromopertubation is an invaluable aid in reconstructive tubal surgery. Unfortunately, the inherent clumsiness and risk of infection associated with the transcervical approach he advocates and the difficulty involved in placing and maintaining a rigid needle tipe in the uterine cavity transfundally make both of these commonly-used techniques less than optimal. Recently we developed a modification of the conventional transfundal method of intraoperative chromopertubation that seems to circumvent these difficulties. In place of an 18-gauge needle, we use an 18- or 20-gauge Teflon intravenous catheter to enter the uterine cavity. The catheter-needle unit is placed through the fundus to a point thought to be in the uterine cavity, and the catheter is gently slid off the needle. If resistance is met, the catheter tip is most likely in the myometrium, and it is repositioned until the catheter does slide off easily. Alternatively, the needle-catheter unit can be placed at full length into the uterus and the needle withdrawn. At this point, the catheter is slowly withdrawn while an attempt is made at dye injection. When injection can be accomplished with minimal resistance, the tip is in the uterine cavity, and the catheter can then be advanced further into this space if desired. Now, with the aid of a lower uterine segment clamp, a length of intravenous extension tubing and a syringe, tubal patency can be fully evaluated. In addition, the catheter can be left in place throughout the repair with a minimal amount of trauma in order that at the end of the case, repeat dye injection can be done to evaluate the integrity of the repair. Also, gentle hydropertubation with an appropriate therapeutic solution can be carried out at this time if desired.^ieng

Endometrial carcinoma in women 40 years of age or younger.

Adenocarcinoma of the endometrium in patients 40 years of age or younger is rare and accounts for 2.9% of all endometrial cancers diagnosed in the study community. However, the diagnosis of malignancy was confirmed in only 32 of 54 patients (59.2%) with pathologic material available for review. None of the 32 patients had Stein-Leventhal syndrome or was receiving sequential oral contraceptives. Obesity was found in only 37.5%, nulligravidity in 37.5%, and hypertension in 25%. In 81%, the presenting symptom was abnormal vaginal bleeding, and 6 patients (19%) had coexisting ovarian neoplasms (4 endometrioid carcinomas, 1 mucinous cystadenocarcinoma, and 1 adenocarcinoma arising in a cystic teratoma). Atypical endometrial hyperplasia, previously interpreted as well-differentiated adenocarcinoma, was diagnosed in 11 of 22 patients. The pathologic criteria for establishing a diagnosis of atypical endometrial hyperplasia and distinguishing it from well differentiated adenocarcinoma of the endometrium are emphasized. Thirteen of 32 patients received no radiation therapy and none developed pelvic recurrence or metastatic tumor. The 2 deaths from tumor were in patients with stage 3 ovarian cancer, and no patients died of endometrial carcinoma. The current policy is to treat patients with atypical endometrial hyperplasia and well-differentiated adenocarcinoma (clinical stage I, pathology confirmed) by hysterectomy without irradiation treatment. Because of 6 of the 32 patients (19%) had coexisting ovarian neoplasms, careful examination of the adnexa at the time of clinical staging is emphasized.

Microinvasive carcinoma of the vulva: a clinicopathologic evaluation.

Two types of neoplasms described as superficially invasive or microinvasive carcinoma of the vulva were identified. One type, which can be treated by conservative surgery, is commonly associated with extensive overlying intraepithelial neoplasia. Usually 1 focus of microinvasion, but occasionally more invades less than 2 mm into the underlying stroma. The infiltrating cells comprise 1 or more isolated cords, and confluency is never present. The second and less common form tends to metastasize early to lymph nodes and should be treated by a radical approach. This type is seldom associated with overlying intraepithelial neoplasia. It tends to be poorly differentiated and is confluent. In this series, 2 of 3 patients with confluent microinvasion had metastases to the lymph nodes, but none of 15 patients with nonconfluent microinvasion developed metastases.

Leukemic myelomatosis (plasma cell leukemia).

Six cases of leukemic myelomatosis (plasma cell leukemia), are reported. A spectrum of leukemic plasmacellular proliferation was observed in this group: in two cases the plasmacytic leukemia was a terminal event of multiple myeloma, in one of a chronic lymphocytic leukemia, and in the remaining three cases the peripheral blood plasmacytosis was a presenting manifestation of an acute immunocytic dyscrasia. The clinical features, frequencies of extraosseous plasmacytic infiltrations, hypercalcemia and Bence Jones proteinuria, and cytomorphologic difficulties in differentiating plasmacytic from chronic lymphocytic leukemia are discussed.