The species-area relationship and confounding variables in a threatened monkey community.

This study investigates the species-area relationship (SAR) for forest monkeys in a biodiversity hotspot. The Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania are well-suited to investigate the SAR, with seven monkey species in a range of fragment sizes (0.06-526 km(2)). We test the relationship between species richness and forest fragment size, relative to human and environmental factors. We distinguish resident and transitory species because the latter have an "effective patch size" beyond the area of forest. Forest area was the strongest (log-linear) predictor of species richness. However, forest area, elevation range and annual moisture index were intercorrelated. Previous knowledge of the relationship between elevation and tree communities suggests that the SAR is largely a result of habitat heterogeneity. Isolation by farmland (matrix habitat) also had a significant negative effect on species richness, probably exacerbated by hunting in small forests. The effect of area and isolation was less for transitory species. The human influence on species' presence/absence was negatively related to the extent of occurrence. Weaker relationships with temperature and precipitation suggest underlying climatic influences, and give some support for the influence of productivity. A reduced area relationship for smaller forests suggests that fragment sizes below 12-40 km(2) may not be reliable for determining SAR in forest monkeys. Further practical implications are for management to encourage connectivity, and for future SAR research to consider residency, matrix classification and moisture besides precipitation.

[Diagnosis and treatment of infections of the digestive system in HIV-infected patients]. / Diagnostikk og behandling av infeksjoner i fordøyelseskanalen ved HIV.

Patients with HIV infection often suffer from opportunistic and bacterial infections of the digestive tract. The most common agents are Candida albicans, Herpes simplex and Cytomegalovirus, Mycobacterium avium intracellulare, Cryptosporidium parvum, and enteropathogenic bacteria such as Salmonella, Shigella and Campylobacter. The diagnosis is established by means of microbiological examination of blood and faeces, often supplemented by gastrointestinal endoscopy, with mucosal biopsies for culture and histology. Most patients respond well to specific treatment, but the infections tend to relapse after withdrawal of drugs.

Reversal by interleukin-2 of the T cell unresponsiveness of lepromatous leprosy to Mycobacterium leprae.

In some subjects Mycobacterium leprae causes disseminated (lepromatous) disease. Such subjects show both in vivo and in vitro deficient T cell responses to M. leprae, but not to other antigens. We have recently shown that lepromatous peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) failed to produce interleukin 2 (IL-2) in response to M. leprae and that T cell-conditioned media (TCM) can reverse the T cell unresponsiveness in a majority of lepromatous leprosy patients (Haregewoin et al. 1983). Here we show that highly purified and recombinant IL-2 had effects similar to TCM. On the other hand, lepromatous PBMC produced IL-1, and IL-1 had no restorative effect. These findings provide further evidence that the unresponsiveness in lepromatous leprosy often results from a deficiency in IL-2 production. After initial stimulation with TCM + M. leprae, lepromatous PBMC could be restimulated with M. leprae alone, providing clear evidence that M. leprae-reactive lymphocytes were generated in the presence of TCM. The present findings are discussed in relation to the possible mechanisms involved in the failure of IL-2 production. If our findings can be reproduced in vivo, IL-2 may offer a novel approach to therapy in lepromatous leprosy.

HBsAG transmission from a cardiac surgeon incubating hepatitis B resulting in chronic antigenemia in four patients.

A cardiac surgeon experienced an uneventful course of acute hepatitis B. HBsAg was transmitted to 11 persons: 5 of 72 patients operated on during his incubation of hepatitis B, three relatives of the infected patients, one laboratory technician, and two of the surgeon's family members. Two years later, 4 of the 5 operated patients are still infectious, whereas the 7 non-operated persons have cleared their antigenemia. This study demonstrates the significant risk of hepatitis B transmission from a cardiac surgeon incubating the disease. Furthermore, it indicates that patients who have been infected during open heart surgery and cardiopulmonary bypass run a particular risk of becoming chronic HBs antigen carriers.

Long-term anticoagulant therapy after myocardial infarction in women.

A multicentre trial from five medical departments in Oslo has been carried out to determine the value in women patients of one year's long-term anticoagulant therapy. Follow-up long-term laboratory control and anticoagulant dosage were performed at one centre (the Rikshospitalet). One hundred and fifty-nine patients were assigned randomly into two similar well-matched groups (control and treatment). Dosage was controlled by Thrombotest, aiming at 10-20% levels, and 50% of the tests were less than 14%. Compared with the control group, the treatment group showed a significant reduction in mortality and in reinfarction rate. No serious bleeding complications occurred. It is concluded that women benefit as much as men from long-term anticoagulant therapy.