Population Structure of mtDNA Variation due to Pleistocene Fluctuations in the South American Maned Wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus, Illiger, 1815): Management Units for Conservation

The maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus) is one of the largest South American canids, and conservation across this charismatic carnivore's large range is presently hampered by a lack of knowledge about possible natural subdivisions which could influence the population's viability. To elucidate the phylogeographic patterns and demographic history of the species, we used 2 mtDNA markers (D-loop and cytochrome b) from 87 individuals collected throughout their range, in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, and Uruguay. We found moderate levels of haplotype and nucleotide diversity, and the 14 D-loop haplotypes were closely related. Genetic structure results revealed 4 groups, and when coupled with model inferences from a coalescent analysis, suggested that maned wolves have undergone demographic fluctuations due to changes in climate and habitat during the Pleistocene glaciation period approximately 24000 years before present (YBP). This genetic signature points to an event that occurred within the timing estimated for the start of the contraction of the Cerrado around 50000 YBP. Our results reveal a genetic signature of population size expansion followed by contraction during Pleistocene interglaciations, which had similar impacts on other South American mammals. The 4 groups should for now be considered management units, within which future monitoring efforts should be conducted independently.

Efficient atmospheric cleansing of oxidized organic trace gases by vegetation

The biosphere is the major source and sink of nonmethane volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere. Gas-phase chemical reactions initiate the removal of these compounds from the atmosphere, which ultimately proceeds via deposition at the surface or direct oxidation to carbon monoxide or carbon dioxide. We performed ecosystem-scale flux measurements that show that the removal of oxygenated VOC via dry deposition is substantially larger than is currently assumed for deciduous ecosystems. Laboratory experiments indicate efficient enzymatic conversion and potential up-regulation of various stress-related genes, leading to enhanced uptake rates as a response to ozone and methyl vinyl ketone exposure or mechanical wounding. A revised scheme for the uptake of oxygenated VOCs, incorporated into a global chemistry-transport model, predicts appreciable regional changes in annual dry deposition fluxes.

1997 American Urological Association Gallup survey: Changes in diagnosis and management of prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia, and other practice trends from 1994 to 1997

PURPOSE

The American Urological Association first commissioned the Gallup Organization to conduct a study to assess urologist practice patterns in 1992. We present the results of the 1997 survey, the sixth consecutive Gallup survey performed for the Association.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A random sample of 502 American urologists who had completed urological residency and practiced at least 20 hours weekly in 1996 was interviewed by telephone in February and March 1997.

RESULTS

Emerging trends showed significant changes since 1994 in how urologists diagnosed and treated prostate cancer. The survey revealed a significant change in the tests routinely ordered to stage newly diagnosed prostate cancer and for diagnostic evaluation of patients with benign prostatic hyperplasia.

CONCLUSIONS

Urologists are becoming more cost conscious and effective in ordering pretreatment testing. Urologists are becoming more oriented toward medical treatment for the management of benign prostatic hyperplasia, and less laser surgery is being performed.

Subspecialization, recruitment and retirement trends of American urologists

PURPOSE

Trends of urology workforce, subspecialization, recruitment practices, retirement planning, practice characteristics and managed care impacts in the United States were assessed.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In February 1996 the executive interviewing branch of The Gallup Organization selected randomly and interviewed by telephone 507 practicing urologists in the United States who had provided urological patient care for more than 20 hours per week, practiced in 1995 and completed a urological residency program.

RESULTS

Several important issues emerged. Urologists think we may be training too many urologists, subspecialty board certification would be a divisive issue to urology as a whole and 90% of urologists have an active retirement plan, although 23% are not funding the plan fully.

CONCLUSIONS

The American Urological Association Gallup Poll, as refined by the Health Policy Survey and Research Committee, continues to be a unique and valuable tool in assessing practice patterns, gathering demographic data and measuring opinions of the American urologist. This information will help us chart our way to the twenty-first century.

Primary care management of common dermatologic disorders in women. Pharmacologic considerations

This article describes the clinical management of dermatologic disorders most commonly encountered in the primary care setting. The common presenting clinical signs and symptoms are reviewed, and the initial laboratory tests that may establish the diagnosis are recommended. Pharmacologic and nonpharmacologic treatments are reviewed. Diagnosis and management of disorders of the sebaceous and apocrine glands, disorders of the hair and pigmentation, fungal, viral, and bacterial infections, dermatitis, and infestations are discussed. A review of the care of skin burns and wounds is included as well as the diagnosis and management of urticaria.

Practice trends of American urologists in the treatment of impotence, incontinence and infertility

PURPOSE

Trends of urologist practice patterns in evaluating and treating impotence, incontinence and infertility in the United States were assessed.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In July 1995 the executive interviewing branch of the Gallup Organization selected randomly and interviewed by telephone 533 practicing urologists in the United States who had provided urological patient care for more than 20 hours per week, practiced in 1994 and completed a urological residency program.

RESULTS

Treatment of male sexual dysfunction and female urinary incontinence comprises a significant portion of the professional activity of United States urologists. However, evaluation and management of male infertility occupy a small portion of the average urological work load. While more than half of United States urologist office clinical laboratories were inspected in 1994, only 2% failed evaluation due to major deficiencies.

CONCLUSIONS

Male sexual dysfunction and female urinary incontinence are major areas of urological practice in the United States but male infertility is not. Few United States urologist clinical laboratories failed inspection because of major deficiencies.

The relationship of dieting to weight in adolescents

Using a sample of 1,269 high school students, black and white, male and female, this study compared the actual and preferred weights of dieters and nondieters and examined the relationship of increasing weight to preferred weight and the decision to diet. Seventy-two percent of the enrolled students in ten schools of a large metropolitan area participated in the study by completing a self-administered questionnaire designed for the research. The mean age was 17.5 + or - 0.6 years. To be identified as a dieter a student had to report having lost five or more pounds through dieting. Nearly half of the black and white males, two thirds of the black females, and three quarters of the white females met this criterion. Although mean heights of dieters and nondieters did not differ significantly in each race-sex group, dieters weighed at least 14 pounds more than nondieters. While dieters set higher preferred weights for themselves as their own weight increased, white male and female dieters preferred to weigh about 11 pounds less than black male and female dieters, respectively. The majority of dieters were not overweight; some were even underweight. This study documents the need for effective nutrition and exercise programs in the schools to help students accept and achieve reasonable weights.

Predisposing factors differentiating adolescent dieters and nondieters

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether certain biological, sociocultural, and psychological factors differentiate dieters from nondieters in male and female, black and white adolescents.

DESIGN

In each race-sex group adolescents were divided into nondieters and dieters (those who had lost at least 5 lb through dieting) and compared using factors associated with overweight and dieting.

SUBJECTS

Participants were 1,269 high school seniors, with a mean (+/- standard deviation) age of 17.5 +/- 0.6 years, from 10 schools in a large metropolitan area (72% of enrolled students).

INTERVENTION

Each student completed a self-administered questionnaire designed for this research, the Culture-Free Self-Esteem Inventory, and the Eating Disorder Inventory.

OUTCOME MEASURES

Comparisons were made of dieters and nondieters using their previous and current weights, parental weights, birth order, socioeconomic status, religious affiliation, self-esteem scores, and other psychological factors.

STATISTICAL ANALYSES

Statistical analyses performed were chi 2 and t tests.

RESULTS

Factors thought to be associated with overweight in adolescents, such as parental weights, birth order, and socioeconomic status, were not found to be significantly different in dieters and nondieters in any of the four race-sex groups. In fact, the majority of dieters in this study were not overweight (ie, above the 85th percentile of body mass index). Instead, what most clearly distinguished dieters from nondieters was their perception of being overweight before kindergarten, after kindergarten, and at the time of the study, and the feelings of body dissatisfaction and wanting to be thinner that being overweight engenders.

APPLICATIONS

Because most adolescents diet because they perceive themselves to be overweight when they are not, adolescent dieters are not easy to identify. Instead, dietitians can offer educational programs that help all adolescents accept more realistic weights and adopt patterns of eating and exercise that remove or reduce the need to diet.

Dieting and purging behavior in black and white high school students

This study examines the prevalence and intensity of dieting and purging behavior in a sample of 1,269 male and female, black and white high school students from 10 schools in the greater Cleveland, Ohio, area. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires, which 72% of the sample completed. The study compares black and white boys and black and white girls, respectively, and shows a higher prevalence of dieting and purging behavior than has been reported in other research. Forty-one percent of black boys, 42% of white boys, 61% of black girls, and 77% of white girls dieted. The quarter of dieters who dieted least lost less than 8 lb on their most successful diet and stayed on their diet less than 3 weeks whereas the quarter of dieters who dieted most lost more than 16 lb on their most successful diet and stayed on their diet more than 2 months. The majority of dieters exercised 3 to 6 hours a week. One quarter of the dieting boys and one third of the dieting girls fasted for 24 hours at least once per week. A higher percentage of girls than boys used purging to help them lose weight. Significantly more black girls than white girls used laxatives (18% vs 7%) and diuretics (11% vs 7%) whereas significantly more white girls than black girls used vomiting (16% vs 3%). Black and white boys were similar in dieting and purging behavior. Thus, race appears to be an unimportant factor in boys in studies of this kind; the same is not true for black and white girls.

Procedure for computer-controlled milling of accurate surfaces of revolution for millimeter and far-infrared mirrors

We discuss a simple method for milling accurate off-axis parabolic mirrors with a computer-controlled milling machine. For machines with a built-in circle-cutting routine, an exact paraboloid can be milled with few computer commands and without the use of the spherical or linear approximations that have been discussed in other mirror-cutting procedures in the literature. The method given here can be adapted easily to cut offaxis sections of elliptical or spherical mirrors.

Behavioral characteristics and early temperament of premature infants with intracranial hemorrhage

Behavioral characteristics of 12 full-term and 44 premature infants with and without intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) were studied. Cranial ultrasonography prospectively documented Grade I-II ICH in 14, Grade III-IV in 19 and no ICH in 11 premature infants. Examination at corrected age of 40 +/- 2 weeks using the Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale showed that infants in the ICH groups had lower levels of arousal and more abnormal reflexes than full-terms. Infants with ICH III-IV displayed less optimal motor responses than full-term infants and diminished orientation responses, especially to visual stimuli. Thus, lower level of arousal, immature motoric processes, and poor visual orientation differentiated premature with ICH from full-term infants, although premature infants without these sequelae, did not differ significantly from full-term infants. The above may represent early manifestations of visual-perceptual and motor problems noted in the follow-up of ICH infants. Further, neonatal behavior was found to affect parent ratings of infant temperament (via the Bates Infant Characteristics Questionnaire) at 3 months corrected age, and the relationships between neonatal behavior and parental ratings differed depending upon the infant's gestational age and severity of hemorrhage. We conclude that neonatal behaviors are less optimal in premature infants, and least optimal in premature infants with severe intracranial hemorrhage when compared to fullterm infants.

Behavioral responsiveness in preterm infants with intraventricular hemorrhage

Preterm infants with varying degrees of intraventricular hemorrhage (none, n = 21; grade I to II, n = 22; grade II to IV, n = 24) and a group of full-term infants (n = 21) were compared with regard to behavioral responsiveness and parental reports of the infant's temperament. Behavioral responsiveness was assessed during the presentation of 15 visual, auditory, and tactile stimuli at 3 months of age (corrected age for preterm infants). Summary scores for positive and negative responsiveness, as well as sociability, soothability, and overall activity levels, were derived from behavioral observations by coders who were unaware of the infant's characteristics. The Bates Infant Characteristic Questionnaire was completed by the main care giver and scored on four summary variables: fussy-difficult, unadaptable, dull, and unpredictable. Preterm infants, regardless of the presence or severity of intraventricular hemorrhage, showed less positive responses and less overall activity in response to stimulation. Infants with grade I to II intraventricular hemorrhage were less sociable and more difficult to soothe than full-term control infants. Individual differences in positive, negative, sociability, and soothability were related to the questionnaire scores of fussy-difficult and unadaptability. Both prematurity and degree of intraventricular hemorrhage affect behavioral responsiveness and these individual differences are related to parental reports of the infant's temperament.

Relationship of participation in food assistance programs to the nutritional quality of diets

This study describes the participation of 76 low-income families in six food assistance programs, and analyzes their diets using 24-hour recalls collected weekly during one month. Larger families participated in more food assistance programs than smaller families but did not have diets with higher nutrient content. Although 71 per cent of the families participated in more than the Food Stamp Program (FSP), many did not consume nutrients supposedly available with the FSP alone.

Food procurement and the nutritional adequacy of diets in low-income families

Seventy-six white and black low-income families were interviewed weekly during 1 month to determine how much they spent on food using Food Stamps, WIC coupons, and cash and how much additional food they obtained from different food and meals programs. After families had received their public assistance and Food Stamp allotments for the month, a 24-hour recall was obtained each week from each family member so that food intake could be monitored from the recalls as food-buying resources were depleted. Although families bought most of their food the first 2 weeks, they maintained a relatively constant food intake through the last week of the month. However, when nutrient intakes were compared with Recommended Dietary Allowances, the diets were found to be well supplied in protein, ascorbic acid, thiamin, niacin, riboflavin, vitamin B-12, vitamin A, and phosphorus, and inadequately supplied in vitamin B-6, vitamin D, vitamin E, iron, calcium, magnesium, zinc, and pantothenic acid. Since that finding was true not just at the end of the month but from the beginning, it indicated that the nutrition problems of low-income families are not intermittent, but continuous.

Millions of medical care dollars for indigents

The medically indigent, a group traditionally underserved with health care, can obtain some needed free services from Hill-Burton facilities. These facilities (hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, and agencies) received Hill-Burton funds for their building programs and have, as a result, an obligation to provide a certain amount of uncompensated medical care to a defined medically indigent population. Health systems agencies (HSAS) or other interested agencies and groups can play an integral role in highlighting the Hill-Burton Program and helping the medically indigent obtain free care, This paper describes the Hill-Burton Program and explains how one HSA identified the Hill-Burton facilities in its area, determined the extent of their obligations, obtained allocation plans, and publicized and promoted the available health care services. From the interest shown by the community it was apparent that the HSA had provided a much needed and appreciated service that could be duplicated across the country by HSAS or other community groups.