ABSTRACT
Artificial ponds or irrigated systems scattered throughout farmlands can offer important habitats for anurans and can be interesting sites for research on species resources use in a changing landscape. This study describes the diet and resource partitioning among anurans inhabiting irrigated rice fields in the Pantanal region. Twenty categories of prey were found in the stomachs of Leptodactylus chaquensis, L. elenae, L. podicipinus and Rhinella bergi, the most frequent being Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, larvae of Hexapoda, Hemiptera, Diptera and Orthoptera. The great differences found in the diet of these species in rice fields compared to other locations, according to available records in the literature, was the increased importance of Hemipitera and Orthoptera and the decrease in importance of Hymenoptera in the diet of leptodactylids. These differences might be attributed to changes in the availability of resources in response to habitat modification. Although diet composition was very similar among species, niche overlap was larger than expected by chance, suggesting that the competition for food resources is not, or has not been, a significant force in determining the structure of this frog community. Two non-exclusive hypotheses could be considered as a justification for this result: 1) the high niche overlap could result from resource availability, which is sufficient to satisfy all species without any strong competition; 2) or the high values of niche overlap could be a selective force driving species to compete, but there has not been enough time to express a significant divergence in the species diet because the study area is characterised as a dynamic habitat influenced by frequent and cyclical changes.
Subject(s)
Agricultural Irrigation , Anura/physiology , Feeding Behavior/physiology , Animals , Anura/classification , Brazil , Gastrointestinal Contents , OryzaABSTRACT
Artificial ponds or irrigated systems scattered throughout farmlands can offer important habitats for anurans and can be interesting sites for research on species resources use in a changing landscape. This study describes the diet and resource partitioning among anurans inhabiting irrigated rice fields in the Pantanal region. Twenty categories of prey were found in the stomachs of Leptodactylus chaquensis, L. elenae, L. podicipinus and Rhinella bergi, the most frequent being Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, larvae of Hexapoda, Hemiptera, Diptera and Orthoptera. The great differences found in the diet of these species in rice fields compared to other locations, according to available records in the literature, was the increased importance of Hemipitera and Orthoptera and the decrease in importance of Hymenoptera in the diet of leptodactylids. These differences might be attributed to changes in the availability of resources in response to habitat modification. Although diet composition was very similar among species, niche overlap was larger than expected by chance, suggesting that the competition for food resources is not, or has not been, a significant force in determining the structure of this frog community. Two non-exclusive hypotheses could be considered as a justification for this result: 1) the high niche overlap could result from resource availability, which is sufficient to satisfy all species without any strong competition; 2) or the high values of niche overlap could be a selective force driving species to compete, but there has not been enough time to express a significant divergence in the species diet because the study area is characterised as a dynamic habitat influenced by frequent and cyclical changes.
Lagoas artificiais e sistemas irrigados em áreas de produção agrícola podem oferecer habitats importantes a anuros e ser significativos para investigações sobre o uso de recursos pelas espécies em ambientes modificados. Este estudo descreve a dieta e partição de recursos tróficos entre anuros de campos de rizicultura na região do Pantanal. Nos estômagos de Leptodactylus chaquensis, L. elenae, L. podicipinus e Rhinella bergi foram encontradas 20 categorias de presas, sendo Coleoptera, Hymenoptera, larvas de Hexápoda, Hemiptera, Diptera e Orthoptera as mais frequentes. Maiores diferenças encontradas na dieta dessas espécies em campos de arroz comparadas a de outros locais, de acordo com dados da literatura, foram o aumento da importância de Hemipitera e Orthoptera e a diminuição na importância de Hymenopteras na dieta dos leptodactilídeos. Essas diferenças talvez sejam reflexos de mudanças na disponibilidade de recursos de presas, em resposta às modificações ambientais. Apesar de as espécies apresentarem dietas bastante similares, a sobreposição de nicho foi maior que a esperada ao acaso, sugerindo que a competição por recursos alimentares não é, ou não tem sido, uma força significante na determinação na estrutura dessa comunidade de anuros. Duas respostas não exclusivas podem ser consideradas para justificar esse resultado: 1) a alta sobreposição de nicho poderia resultar da grande disponibilidade de recursos alimentares, a qual seria suficiente para satisfazer as necessidades de todas as espécies sem que haja forte competição; 2) ou os altos valores de sobreposição poderiam ser uma força seletiva que levasse as espécies à competição, mas que não têm tempo suficiente para se expressar em divergência na dieta das espécies pelo fato de a área de estudo ser um ambiente altamente dinâmico, sofrendo bruscas e cíclicas mudanças.
Subject(s)
Animals , Agricultural Irrigation , Anura/physiology , Feeding Behavior/physiology , Anura/classification , Brazil , Gastrointestinal Contents , OryzaABSTRACT
Our study was performed in 1986-'87 and 1987-'88 school years on 12.354 three to eighteen years old students (the whole scholastic population of zone 20 of Milan) in order to apply dietary education on obese subjects. Mean prevalence of obesity was 13.4% with elevated percentages in 11 to 13 years old students (17.9%), with respect to primary (14.1%), high school (12.4%) and nursery school (4.7%). The 36% of obese subjects (more than 50% of adolescents) had already tempted to reduce body weight. Intervention reduced % weight excess (from 33.6 +/- 0.5% to, 28.8 +/- 0.5% after 12 months, p less than 0.001); 67% of obese subjects lost weight and body weight returned within normal limits in 31% of subjects. An educational dietetic strategy may be successful in childhood obesity.
Subject(s)
Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena , Health Education , Obesity/prevention & control , Adolescent , Child , Child, Preschool , Cross-Sectional Studies , Female , Humans , Italy/epidemiology , Male , Obesity/epidemiologyABSTRACT
The bradycardia-tachycardia syndrome is a subgroup within the larger category of sinus node dysfunction. Pacing is often required to treat either the protracted asystolic spells following the spontaneous termination of a paroxysmal supraventricular tachyarrhythmia or to protect the patient from pharmacologically exacerbated bradycardias. While the optimal pacing mode for this subset of patients remains debatable, recent reports have favored the use of atrial ventricular sequential pacing with intact atrial sensing (DDI). This paper reports our experience with a series of 30 consecutive patients in whom the DDI mode was utilized as part of the management of this syndrome. DDI pacing has been demonstrated to be safe, extremely effective, and easy to use in this group of patients.
Subject(s)
Bradycardia/therapy , Cardiac Pacing, Artificial/methods , Tachycardia/therapy , Aged , Aged, 80 and over , Atrial Fibrillation/therapy , Electrocardiography , Equipment Design , Female , Follow-Up Studies , Heart Block/therapy , Humans , Male , Middle Aged , Pacemaker, Artificial , Syndrome , Tachycardia, Paroxysmal/therapy , Tachycardia, Supraventricular/therapyABSTRACT
In a patient with vagoglossopharyngeal neuralgia secondary to an intracranial tumor, accompanied by vasodepressor syncope a short course of intrathecal antimitotic therapy relieved the symptoms altogether without need either for drugs routinely effective against neuralgia or for intracranial resection of the glossopharyngeal nerve and the superior roots of the vagus.
Subject(s)
Lymphoma/complications , Meningeal Neoplasms/complications , Meningitis/complications , Neuralgia/etiology , Syncope/etiology , Adult , Glossopharyngeal Nerve , Humans , Male , Neuralgia/drug therapy , Vagus NerveABSTRACT
A 34-year-old woman without heart disease had an acute pulmonary edema after a grand mal seizure. Neurogenic pulmonary edema is characterized by the primary role played by the central nervous system in its pathogenesis, usually in the absence of cardiopulmonary disease. We believe that the initiating mechanism was a marked, although brief, generalized vasoconstriction, followed by a shift of blood from the peripheral vascular bed to the pulmonary vascular bed. We stress the need of treating the underlying neurologic disease as the only regional way of preventing the recurrence of pulmonary edema.
