Rapid responses of British butterflies to opposing forces of climate and habitat change.

Habitat degradation and climate change are thought to be altering the distributions and abundances of animals and plants throughout the world, but their combined impacts have not been assessed for any species assemblage. Here we evaluated changes in the distribution sizes and abundances of 46 species of butterflies that approach their northern climatic range margins in Britain-where changes in climate and habitat are opposing forces. These insects might be expected to have responded positively to climate warming over the past 30 years, yet three-quarters of them declined: negative responses to habitat loss have outweighed positive responses to climate warming. Half of the species that were mobile and habitat generalists increased their distribution sites over this period (consistent with a climate explanation), whereas the other generalists and 89% of the habitat specialists declined in distribution size (consistent with habitat limitation). Changes in population abundances closely matched changes in distributions. The dual forces of habitat modification and climate change are likely to cause specialists to decline, leaving biological communities with reduced numbers of species and dominated by mobile and widespread habitat generalists.

Suitability for endovascular aneurysm repair in an unselected population.

BACKGROUND: Tertiary referral centres report that up to 60 per cent of patients may be suitable for endovascular repair of abdominal aortic aneurysm (EVAR). The aim of this study was to determine the percentage of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) presenting to a county-wide vascular service that were suitable for EVAR, and to examine the outcome of subsequent AAA repair in relation to aneurysm morphology. PATIENTS AND METHODS: All patients being assessed for AAA repair between January 1998 and December 1999 underwent spiral computed tomography angiography to determine aneurysm morphology and suitability for EVAR. Subsequent outcome for all patients in the study was recorded in a prospective vascular database. RESULTS: A total of 115 patients was assessed. Sixty-three aneurysms (55 per cent) had one or more absolute contraindications to EVAR, a further 13 (11 per cent) had at least one relative contraindication, and 39 (34 per cent) had no contraindication. Of patients with no absolute contraindication to EVAR, ten underwent successful EVAR, five did not meet recognized criteria for surgery, one awaits EVAR, four remain under observation, one awaits open repair, and 31 underwent open repair without death. CONCLUSION: Only 30 per cent of unselected AAAs presenting to a vascular service are entirely suitable for EVAR; most of these patients can safely undergo open AAA repair. These data suggest that increased use of EVAR is only possible by deploying devices in suboptimal morphology, and in treating patients who would not normally be considered for open AAA repair.

Prospective randomized placebo-controlled trial of aprotinin for elective aortic reconstruction.

BACKGROUND: The serine protease antagonist, aprotinin, reduces perioperative blood loss in cardiac surgery and orthotopic liver transplantation. A pilot study suggested that the drug may also reduce bleeding during infrarenal aortic replacement; the aim was to confirm or refute this observation with a prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. METHODS: Some 136 patients were randomized to receive either aprotinin, given as a loading dose of 2 x 10(6) kallikrein inactivator (KI) units followed by 0.5 x 10(6) KI units/h or equal volumes of 0.9 per cent saline. After 80 patients had been randomized the infusion dose was doubled to ensure that plasma levels were similar to those seen in successful cardiac studies. Blood loss, coagulation and haematological parameters were recorded throughout surgery and for 7 days afterwards. Blood was transfused to maintain the haemoglobin level at 100 g/l. RESULTS: Four patients were withdrawn after randomization when found at laparotomy to be unsuitable for the planned reconstruction. The 30-day mortality rate was 4.5 per cent, with no excess complications in either group. Blood loss collected on swabs was reduced from 480 ml in placebo-treated patients to 379 ml with aprotinin (P = 0.014). Blood loss into suction drains in the first 24 h after operation was reduced from 295 to 205 ml in aprotinin-treated patients (P = 0.002). However, no significant reduction was found in intraoperative or total blood loss, or transfusion requirement. CONCLUSION: The small reduction in blood loss in patients treated with aprotinin demonstrated in this study does not support its use in routine elective aortic surgery.

Non-invasive monitoring of cardiac output changes during aortic cross-clamping for infrarenal reconstruction--a new technique using suprasternal Doppler-derived cardiac output.

There is a significant morbidity and mortality associated with elective infrarenal aortic reconstruction. To examine the value of continuous cardiac output monitoring for predicting those at risk, 40 consecutive patients were monitored using Doppler-derived cardiac output. The anaesthetist was blind to all information from the monitor and managed the patients using standard techniques. In 28 patients there were no observed changes, while in seven, cardiac output rose after aortic cross-clamping. In five patients a fall in cardiac output occurred after cross-clamping. No cardiac events or cardiac deaths occurred in the 35 patients who showed a rise or no change in cardiac output. However, there were three cardiac events, including one cardiac death in the group of five patients in whom a fall in cardiac output was observed. It would appear that intraoperative non-invasive Doppler-derived cardiac output monitoring successfully predicts high-risk patients who would perhaps benefit from more intensive pre-, peri- and postoperative care.

Non-invasive Doppler-derived cardiac output: a validation study comparing this technique with thermodilution and Fick methods.

The high mortality and morbidity related to cardiac events remains a considerable problem in vascular surgery. Predicting high risk patients is difficult except perhaps by coronary angiography which is invasive, costly and impractical. It would be useful to have a technique which could easily measure cardiac output and stratify cardiac risk in patients needing vascular surgery. Doppler-derived cardiac output may be such a technique. It offers considerable advantages over Swan-Ganz thermodilution measurement in that it is non-invasive, continuous, inexpensive, and requires only limited technical skill and training. In order to assess and validate a Doppler cardiac output monitor (ACCUCOM 2, Datascope Medical Co. Ltd.), we undertook a prospective study comparing Doppler-derived measurements with those obtained by thermodilution and Fick methods. Twelve patients undergoing elective coronary angiography were studied. Swan-Ganz thermodilution catheters were inserted on completion of cardiac catheterisation and five consecutive thermodilution and Doppler measurements made in each patient. Oxygen saturation from pulmonary artery and aortic blood samples, and a single indirect Fick cardiac output, were calculated. Linear regression analysis for Doppler against thermodilution gave a correlation co-efficient (r) of 0.81 (p less than 0.002), and (r) for Doppler against the Fick method was 0.76 (p less than 0.02). Bland and Altman's statistical method showed the differences to be normally distributed. The mean difference (thermodilution minus Doppler) was 0.32 l/min SD 0.48 l/min, 95% confidence limits -0.64 to +1.28 l/min. Doppler-derived cardiac output compares well with traditional methods of measurement and may be a useful tool in the assessment and monitoring of the high risk vascular patient.

Recent trends in mesothelioma incidence in the United States.

Mesothelioma incidence rates based on data from population-based cancer registries in New York State (exclusive of New York City), Los Angeles County, California, and the SEER Program of the National Cancer Institute were analyzed for trends, using original cancer registry diagnoses. Results indicate a significant increase in incidence during 1973-80 for pleural mesothelioma among white males older than 55 at time of diagnosis but not for other age-race-sex-site subgroups. A histopathologic review of New York State and Los Angeles County cases by two independent pathologists, expert in the diagnosis of mesothelioma, lowered the overall estimates but a significant upward trend remained. The observed trend does not appear to be related to changes in diagnostic practice. The results of a five-member panel of expert pathologists will be published in a separate methodology paper.

The inhibition of tomato fruit ripening by silver.

Mature green tomato fruit, infiltrated with STS (up to 10 µmol) while still attached to the plant, ripened unevenly to give extensive green areas on an otherwise red background. Pericarp wall tissue from the two contrasting areas was analysed for various organic constituents. Both the green and, to a certain extent, the red tissue from treated fruit showed differences from normal in AIS, acidity, and PE activity. PG activity, which usually increases rapidly as tomatoes ripen, was low in the green but not significantly different from normal in the red tissue from STS-treated fruit. TEM examination revealed that electron-dense particles were present in the cell walls of phloem elements in vascular bundles of the green tissue, but these deposits were not found in the red tissue from the same fruit. X-ray microanalysis of the particles suggested that they contained concentrations of silver and sulphur. The results are interpreted as suggesting that silver is affecting those sites in the cell that would subsequently be involved in promoting the synthesis of PG.

The constituents of tomato fruit--the influence of environment, nutrition, and genotype.

It is proposed to describe briefly the rise in popularity of the tomato during the 20th century to become the world's fourth most significant fruit, making an important contribution to human nutrition. The grading standards for fruit used in various major tomato-producing countries will be outlined. A major part of the review will be devoted to describing changes in composition during the maturation, ripening, preservation, and storage of good quality tomatoes especially as regards carbohydrates, organic and amino acids, proteins, steroids, pigments, minerals, and the lipids, volatiles, and other minor constituents. A range within which composition should normally fall will be given. Additionally, the effects on composition of environment, cultivar, nutrition, and physiological disorders inter alia will be described. How new growing methods and genetic manipulation could influence the tomato of the future will also be considered.

Rupture zones of great earthquakes in the alaska-aleutian arc, 1784 to 1980.

Historical documents indicate that great earthquakes ruptured at least a 500-kilometer-long segment of the plate boundary near the Alaska Peninsula in 1788 and 1847. At least half of a major seismic gap in the Shumagin Islands ruptured during those shocks but has not experienced a great earthquake for at least 77 years. Large shocks along this and other plate boundaries occur in bursts followed by several decades during which there is very little energy release.

Tonsillectomy and childhood Hodgkin's disease.

The relation between previous tonsillectomy and Hodgkin's disease was examined in a case-control study involving 81 histologically confirmed childhood cases and two sibling control groups. When cases were compared with age-matched sibling controls a significant association (p < 0.02), with a risk of 2.7, was observed for children who had undergone tonsillectomy. A significant association (p < 0.01), with a relative risk of 2.5, was also shown when all siblings were used for comparison. History of hospital admissions, age at tonsillectomy, Rye histological subtype, birth order, and sibship size did not appear to modify the effect of this operative procedure on the risk of Hodgkin's disease.