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• Southern highbush blueberry stigmatic pollen loads were higher during early compared to late bloom, concordant with a decline in pollinator abundance. • Wild pollinators were only present in high numbers in the early blueberry bloom. • A higher proportion of honey bees foraged for pollen during the late bloom, which resulted in higher blueberry stigmatic pollen loads on a per bee basis. • Changes in honey bee pollen deposition may not be sufficient to compensate for the loss of wild bee pollinators during late bloom. Intra-seasonal variation in abiotic and biotic conditions can have profound consequences for pollinator community compositions and foraging movement, with flow-on effects upon pollination services. Yet, few studies have related such variations to pollination services in crop systems. In a cultivated highbush blueberry system with two primary pollinators — the managed European honey bee and a wild stingless bee species — we investigated how pollinator abundances, bee foraging behaviour, and con- and heterospecific stigmatic pollen loads changed over early, mid, and late blueberry blooming. Both con- and heterospecific stigmatic pollen loads declined following early bloom. This shift was associated with a decline in the abundance of stingless bees, whereas the abundance of honey bees only declined during late bloom. Simultaneously, honey bees were more likely to forage for blueberry pollen, and stigmatic pollen loads, relative to bee abundance, increased during late bloom. Although mixed pollen loads were common on pollinator bodies, especially on pollen foraging honey bees, heterospecific pollen deposition on blueberry stigmas was low. Given the similar effectiveness of honey bees and stingless bees as pollinators of blueberries, we contend that the observed seasonal variation in pollen deposition is likely caused by the decline in stingless bee abundances, as honey bees were not able to fully compensate for the loss of stingless bees during late bloom. Greater consideration of seasonal heterogeneity of pollinator abundance and behaviour, as part of pollination management plans, may aid in ensuring high pollination services throughout the entirety of crop bloom. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Medical Imaging & Radiation Sciences is the property of Elsevier B.V. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Objectives: High sodium intake is associated with a higher risk of stroke. However, global patterns and trends in the stroke burden attributable to high sodium intake have not been systematically assessed. Methods: We used the numbers and age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR), and disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) rate (ASDR) of the stroke burden attributable to high sodium intake by sex, socio-demographic index (SDI), and country, obtained from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) 2019. We calculated the estimated annual percentage changes (EAPCs) to assess the trends of ASMR and ASDR of the disease burden attributable to high sodium intake between 1990 and 2019. We further calculated the contribution of changes in population growth, population aging, and mortality or DALYs to changes in total stroke deaths and DALYs. Results: From 1990 to 2019, the global burden of stroke attributable to high sodium intake changed significantly, from a universal burden in Asia and Europe to one that mainly affected some countries in Asia and Oceania. This change was due to the combined effects of demographic changes and changes in mortality or DALY rates. For countries in Asia and Oceania, the effects of population aging and population growth outweighed the effects of declining mortality and DALY rates, resulting in an absolute increase in strokes attributable to high sodium intake. Conclusion: Although the age-standardized global stroke burden attributable to high sodium intake has declined from 1990 to 2019, the burdens in some Asia and Oceania countries, particularly China, remain high. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The cerradão is the result of profound structural changes from open Cerrado vegetation, associated with the absence of certain disturbances, such as wild fires. Little is known about these changes in the long term, both in species composition and structure after canopy closure, hindering predictions regarding the community trajectory. Cerradão is positioned along the higher biomass extreme in the Cerrado phytophysionomic gradient. This study is based on the changes recorded over a 14 yr period, in 256 plots totaling 10.24 ha of sampling area, in a cerradão located inside a conservation unit, protected from fire for at least 60 years in the state of São Paulo, Brazil. The changes in the community structure and species composition were assessed. We investigated if the changes are related to tree community structure or to biological attributes of the species, especially by their habitat preference (savanna specialists vs. generalists of forest species). Despite the long period without disturbance and the dystrophic soils, we found tree basal area still increasing and the largest trees still growing. On the other hand, tree density is decreasing over time, and 54% of trees recorded in the first survey had died 14 years later. Community diversity had only a slight increase over time, due to a small gain in species richness. Forest and generalist species presented higher increments in basal area and faster growth compared to the rare savanna specialists still alive in the community. We also verified that larger trees grow slightly faster than smaller trees. Although these changes point to an increase in competition, mortality was not correlated with tree basal area, and seemed to happen more randomly at community level. However, mortality and recruitment were not random at species level. We detected increase in abundance of forest and generalist species, which are shade tolerant. The lowest recruitment rates and highest mortality rates were associated with typical open Cerrado species (savanna specialists), that tend to disappear over time, consolidating the biome shift from savanna to forest. The contribution of cerradão to the conservation of Cerrado endemic tree species, therefore, is poor and tends to decrease over time. • The cerradão (woodland savanna) is not stable in structure and species composition. • Tree basal area tends to increase and density to decrease over time in the cerradão. • Savanna specialists are the losers in the tree community dynamics. • Conservation of Cerrado-endemic tree diversity should not count on the cerradão. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: COVID-19 has become a national and an international pre-occupation to all doctors. Dealing with patients with clinical suspicion of COVID-19 is a daily markedly growing professional issue for radiologists. The number of COVID-19 cases we deal with is peaking since last March and so is our experience in recognizing the disease patterns and in assessing its severity. The purpose of this study is to assess the role of CT chest in the diagnosis of COVID-19 based on our experience with 220 Egyptian cases. Results: A cross-sectional multicenter study involving 220 patients; 68 (30.9%) females and 152 (69.1%) males, their age range was 10-92 years (average 49.198 years). Non-contrast MSCT chest was done to patients with clinically suspected COVID-19. Data assessment and analysis for lesions probability, pattern, localization, and severity were done. Bilateral affection was seen in 168/220 cases (76.36%). Multilobar affection was noted in 186/220 cases (84.54%). Lower lobes affection was noted in 179/220 cases (81.36%). Peripheral/subpleural affection was noted in 203/220 cases (92.27%). The common CT patterns (ground-glass opacities, consolidation, crazy paving, vascular thickening, traction bronchiectasis, vacuolar sign, architectural distortion signs, and reversed halo sign) and the uncommon CT patterns (halo sign, masses, nodules, lobar affection, tree in-bud-pattern and cysts) were discussed. Associated extra-pulmonary lesions described. Temporal changes, severity scoring, reporting, and possible pitfalls were all assessed. Conclusion: In our experience, CT plays a basic essential role in diagnosing COVID-19 in the current declared pandemic. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sport university students are a unique population because they usually have a strong sport background since early childhood. In this study, we aimed to examine secular trends in grip strength of male, first-year sport university students in comparison with the general population between 1973 and 2016. Existing data on the grip strength of 6,308 sport university students aged 18 years were examined. The data were obtained from the Juntendo Fitness Plus Study, a study of the Department of Physical Education/Health and Sports Science of Juntendo University. For reference, age- and sex-matched data (18 years old, male) on the grip strength were obtained from a national database. Compared with the general population, the sport university students had greater body mass index and stronger grip strength at all times. The grip strength of sport university students significantly declined between the 1980s and 1990s, and it has plateaued since 2000, albeit at low levels. Compared with the peak performance of sport university students in 1984, the grip strength of students in 2016 was significantly lower by 8.1 kg. The downward trends were also confirmed in the general population during the same periods. In conclusion, the grip strength of sport university students has significantly declined over the last few decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The large wetland represented by the Danube Delta is characterized by various environmental conditions (terrestrial, swampy or aquatic), showing, among other characteristics, a rich and diversified vegetation. Its growth and distribution are controlled by the season and by the frequency of floods, and are influenced by erosion and accumulation processes. Topo-geodetic mapping of emerging aquatic vegetation is necessary for a better knowledge of its evolution and of the changes that occur in the aquatic ecosystems. Particular attention focused on the formation and movement of fixed and floating reed beds on lakes. By monitoring their dynamics, it would be possible to track the processes of obstruction or blocking channels and entrances in lakes, phenomena with negative consequences on navigation, fishing and tourism activities. Topo-geodetic assessment of the stability of the reed associations in the Danube Delta's lacustrine complexes and ecosystems is important, because these environments are the main habitats for wildlife existing there. Topo-geodetic mapping has been aimed at delineating the aquatic vegetation fields which have been continuously expanding in the last period, leading to the suffocation of the aquatic life of the lake ecosystems, due to oxygen deficiency in the water. The water bodies under our survey are: Babina Lake, Ciortic (Dracului) Lake, and Corciuvate (Rădăcinoasele) Lake, located in the central-western part of Matiţa-Merhei aquatic complex. The study carried out on the evolution of the vegetation areas within the three lakes was performed for two distinct periods, namely 2006 and 2018. After the processing and interpretation of the available data, a significant decreasing trend of the free water surface was evidenced, associated with an increase of the vegetation covered areas. The most important free water surface reduction was observed in Ciortic (Dracului) Lake (37.07%), then Babina Lake (13.38%) and Corciuvate (Rădăcinoasele) Lake (5.23%). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Brucellosis is a global zoonotic bacterial disease. It is also an ever-increasing public health concern, particularly in endemic regions such as Kurdistan region in Middle East. Samples of meat juice were screened for anti-Brucella antibodies via Rose Bengal Test (RBT) and ELISA from January to June 2018. Bacteriological isolation of Brucella sp. from meat samples was also performed. The overall prevalence of bovine brucellosis is 7.7%, 6.6%, and 4.9% by RBT, ELISA, and culture-based test respectively. Based on sensitivity and specificity, ELISA outperforms RBT in comparison to culture results as the gold standard test. Nonetheless, both tests showed good efficiency in comparison to culture approach. In terms of temporal changes of brucellosis rate, spring progress is strongly associated (r²=0.96) with increase in seroprevalence. In conclusion, the prevalence of bovine brucellosis in Erbil city is alarming. Countermeasures should be taken to mitigate the economic losses and transmission to human. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is related to understanding the temporal changes of residents' perception of the 2014 Sochi Olympic Games. Two surveys were conducted in 2013 (n = 1,048) and 2014 (n = 853). The research questionnaire based on approaches of Fredline and Faulkner (2002) and Zhou and Ap (2009) was developed. Results indicated that local residents' perceptions of the Olympics impacts have significantly improved through the years after the games. All of the positive incomes except 'increased employment opportunities' were found significantly higher and negative issues became significantly lower than before the games. An exploratory factor analysis has shown the change of perception structure after the games: three positive groups ('sustainable development of destinations', 'positive economic impact on travel destinations' and 'improving the quality of resident life') and one negative group of impact items were found. A positive residents' attitude toward the Olympics has transformed into supportive behaviour. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Listy Cukrovarnicke a Reparske is the property of VUC Praha a.s. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Abstract. Recent climate warming has resulted in advancement in laying dates and changes in various bird breeding parameters. The study of the breeding biology of Great Reed Warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus was carried out at Milicz fishponds (SW Poland) during 18 discontinuous breeding seasons between 1970 and 2017. Over the study period, Great Reed Warblers started breeding progressively earlier; both the earliest and median first egg laying dates advanced, whereas the latest laying dates remained unchanged. Egg volume and clutch size did not change between 1972 and 2017. Mean clutch size of all nesting attempts was 4.8 (SD = 0.69, n = 1135). Nestling growth rates were similar in 1971 and 2016. Nestling period shortened during the study period. The decrease amounted to 0.7 days between 1970–1984 and 2004–2017. No temporal trends in fledgling production were observed. The proportion of successful broods varied considerably between years (range: 37%−76%) but did not show any consistent trend throughout the study period. More cases of Cuckoo Cuculus canorus parasitism were observed in 1997−2017 than in 1970−1984 (7% of nest losses versus 0 respectively), whereas starvation of nestlings was more frequent in 1970−1984 (10% versus 2% of nest losses). Breeding densities varied between seasons with no significant trend across the study years. This study concludes that the advanced start of breeding has not significantly influenced basic parameters of breeding ecology of the Great Reed Warbler. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to examine the influence of level of competition (amateur, semi-professional and professional) on the magnitude of home advantage (HA) in Portuguese football, and to verify whether the HA has changed over time. Archival data from 32,400 matches contested in the three levels of competition over 11 seasons (from 2005/2006 to 2015/2016) were analysed. HA was quantified each season for each league as the number of points won at home expressed as a percentage of all points won at home and away. The mean values of HA were significantly greater than 50% in all levels of Portuguese football (p < .001). One-way repeated-measures ANOVA showed a significant effect of competitive level on HA (p < .05). In the professional league, the HA was significantly lower (58.31%) than in amateur and semi-professional competitive levels (60.36 and 60.46%, respectively). Altogether, a declining HA effect was found in Portuguese football in recent years. However, negative linear relationships between HA and time were only significant at amateur and semi-professional levels (p < .05), while the decline in the major professional league has already started to level off. These findings demonstrate that the advantage of playing at home is losing importance in Portugal. The declining effect of HA, previously evidenced in major professional leagues, has been mirrored by a similar decline at amateur and semi-professional levels within the country. Future research should confirm whether the trends identified in Portugal are also verified in football leagues of other countries. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

We assessed inter-annual changes in fish assemblages of a tropical bay which experienced a heavily industrialized process in the last decades. A highly significant difference in community structure among the bay zones, and a decrease in fish richness and abundance over time were found. Changes in fish richness and abundance between the two first (1987–1988 and 1993–1995) and the two latter time periods (1998–2001 and 2012–2013) were sharpest in the inner bay zone, the most impacted bay area, and in the middle zone, whereas the outer zone remained comparatively stable over time. These changes coincided with increased metal pollution (mainly, Zn and Cd) in the bay and with the enlargement of the Sepetiba Port. Spatial changes in the fish community structure among the bay zones were related to differences in salinity, transparency and depth with this latter variable acting as a buffer stabilizing temporal community changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on Baillon's Crakes or Zapornia pusilla as well as their diet, availability of prey and consumption in Senegal River Delta, West Africa.

We analyzed food market basket samples obtained in Sweden from 1999, 2005, and 2010 for perfluoroalkyl acids (PFAAs) and a range of precursor compounds. Perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) precursors were detected in all food year pools with the highest concentrations in 1999. Six polyfluoroalkyl phosphate diesters (diPAPs, 4:2/6:2, 6:2/6:2, 6:2/8:2, 8:2/8:2, 6:2/10:2, and 10:2/10:2) were detected in the year pools with the highest ∑diPAP concentrations in 1999 and 2005. All precursors were predominantly found in meat, fish, and/or eggs based on analysis of individual food groups from 1999. Based on year pools, PFOS precursors contributed between 4 and 1% as an indirect source to total dietary PFOS intakes between 1999 and 2010. Perfluorohexanoic acid (PFHxA) exposure originated entirely from diPAPs, whereas for perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorodecanoic acid (PFDA), diPAPs contributed between 1 and 19% to total exposure. The lowest precursor contributions were generally seen in food samples from 2010. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the presented case study, we aim to understand the impact of an irregular shelterwood system (ISS) on the genetic diversity of European beech ( Fagus sylvatica L.) firstly by comparing managed stand to old growth beech forest and secondly by comparing two successive generations in both managed and old growth stands. Studies on European beech to date have not yet investigated the effect of ISS on its genetic diversity and have rarely addressed the effect of management on the genetic diversity of successive generations. The study was conducted in two mixed beech stands in Slovenia; the unmanaged Rajhenavski Rog old-growth European beech forest reserve and beech forest in Osankarica, managed according to ISS. All 140 sampled adult trees and saplings were genotyped at 16 nuclear microsatellite loci. ISS mimics genetic processes of the old growth rather well in the studied managed stand. The comparisons of diversity measures between managed and old growth stands did not reveal any significant differences between the two for any of the cohorts; the differences between the cohorts from the same stand were not significant. The observed significant shift in allele frequencies at four loci between successive generations could not be unambiguously attributed to management. Cohorts from the same stand had similar genetic structure, but six individuals from the managed stand formed a unique cluster. No convincing evidence of the effect of ISS on genetic diversity of the studied managed beech stand was found. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While previous research on historical changes in heat-related mortality observed decreasing trends over the recent decades, future projections suggest increasing impact of heat on mortality in most regions of the world. This study aimed to analyse temporal changes in temperature-mortality relationships in Prague, Czech Republic in the warm season (May–September), using a daily mortality time series from 1982 to 2019. To investigate possible effect of adaptation to increasing temperature, we divided the study period into four decades (1980s–2010s). We used conditional Poisson regression models to identify decade-specific relative risk of heat-related mortality and to calculate the annual number of heat-attributable deaths and the heat-attributable fraction of total warm season deaths. We estimated their trends over the whole study period by a generalized additive model with non-parametric smoothing spline. Our results showed that the unprecedentedly hot 2010s was associated with approximately twice as large relative risk of heat-related mortality than in previous decades. This resulted in the reversal of the trend in heat-attributable mortality in the 1990s and its increase during the last two decades. Our findings highlight the importance of further improvement of adaptation measures such as heat-and-health warning systems to protect the heat-susceptible population. • The 2010s was the hottest decade in Prague since at least the 1980s. • We have observed a reversal of the trend in heat-related mortality in Prague. • The trend in heat-related mortality was increasing in the last two decades. • The impact of heat on mortality in the 2010s doubled compared to previous decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Understanding the sliding phenomena based on fundamental mechanisms is indispensable to improve the stability and expected life time of sliding parts which work in industrial field. In this paper, adhesive wear in a repeated sliding system was analyzed with a newly devised pin-on-disk apparatus. The analysis on time series data showed some correlational relationship between wear particle sizes and specimen displacement perpendicular to the sliding surface. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Analysing climate–growth relationships is one of the key areas in dendrochronological research. One problem however remained unsolved – the discrepancy between the trees continuous growth over the vegetation period and the mean climate variables stretching over much longer periods. Here we present the possibility to calculate climate–growth correlations based on daily climate data using variable temporal width together with moving correlations to accommodate for short term as well as long term influences on tree growth. For the first time this offers the opportunity to acknowledge annual changes in the growing seasonal length and effects of short extreme events. Numerous outputs in data- and graphic-files allows a comparison of varying periods with significant correlations between climate and tree growth. Furthermore the use of climate scenarios is an optional tool for growth predictions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The article discusses a study using the nationwide assessment of measuring quality indicators for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) to quantify the relationship between volume and QIs in survivors following AMI. France's Haute Autorité de Santé defined QIs to be measured systematically in all healthcare centers. It suggests the existence of a relationship between volume and the quality of prescriptions at discharge where centers with the high volume perform better on quality measures.

Objective To determine the extent of the obesity epidemic in school-aged Chinese children in 2010 and track the increasing trend in different socioeconomic regions over the preceding 25 years. Strategies for preventing childhood obesity are suggested. Methods We used a dataset provided by the Chinese National Survey on Students' Constitution and Health from 1985-2010. Subjects were 7-18-year-old students randomly selected from urban and rural areas in 30 provinces. Eight subgroups were created according to region and socioeconomic status. Results Increased rates of the epidemic (overweight and obesity combined) were greatest in large coastal cities-32.6% and 19.1% among males and females, respectively. These rates has neared that of developed countries. Similar increases were found in all other regions, including the once poverty-stricken rural west. The epidemic in most of the rural areas began after 2000, but has spread swiftly over the last decade. In 2010, it was estimated that 9.9% of Chinese school-aged children and adolescents were overweight and that an additional 5.1% were obese, representing an estimated 30.43 million individuals. Conclusion The prognosis for China's childhood-obesity epidemic is dire. To prevent childhood obesity, we suggest several strategies, including reasonable dietary intake, increase physical activity, a change in sedentary lifestyles and corresponding behavioral modifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The aquatic vegetation of Číčov Lake in the Danube floodplain, which is listed in the Ramsar Convention, was investigated to address three main questions: (1) how have landscape composition and the structures of the lake and its buffer zone changed from the mid-20th century; (2) how have species richness and the abundance of the aquatic macrophyte assemblage in this lake ecosystem changed over the last 34 years; and (3) which landscape metrics can best explain these temporal changes for floating-leaved macrophytes? Two methodological approaches, remote sensing and botanical field surveys, were applied. Historical (1949, 1970, 1990) and contemporary (2006) aerial photographs were analysed to determine land cover. Landscape configuration and structure were analysed using eight landscape metrics selected in advance to measure spatio-temporal changes and the fragmentation of the lake ecosystem and its corresponding buffer zone. The species diversity, abundance and distribution of true aquatic macrophytes were surveyed eleven times in five survey stretches between 1973 and 2007. At the landscape level, a decrease in the area covered by floating-leaved macrophytes, as well as an increase in open water surface and fragmentation of the land cover classes in the lake ecosystem, were recorded from 1949 to 2006. Overall, 30 true aquatic macrophytes were found from 1973 to 2007. Species richness did not change considerably, but the abundance of aquatic species fluctuated over the years. Three groups of true aquatic vegetation, based on common structural characteristics, were found in 1973–1983, 1989–2002, and 2004–2007 over the last 34years. The landscape metrics NP, PD, LPI, and SHDI, which all express patterns of landscape fragmentation mostly indicate temporal changes in floating-leaved macrophytes. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Urban residential buildings are formed, maintained and reformed by different external material and energy flows, and their behaviors of input, accumulation and output are characterized by their architectural factors and modes of use that usually determine the consumption of material and energy of a building at its overall life cycle. In this research, we took Beijing city, a rapid developing city as a case study, and examined material flows of urban residential building system based on a survey of typical residential buildings in the urban areas of Beijing city. The quantitative analysis were made to describe the input, transformation/accumulation, and output of building materials from the year 1949 to 2008, and a comparative analysis was done to identify the differences of material uses among the buildings with different architectural structures as masonry–concrete, and steel–concrete. During the period from 1949 to 2008, there were six main materials of cement, sand, gravel, steel, bricks and timber used in urban residential building system in Beijing. The total amount of material imported into the system was 5.1×108 t, among which the accumulated amount was 4.7×108 t, an accumulation rate of 92.5%, and the total of building wastes reached 3.9×107 t. Among the buildings with two architectural structures, the total amount of material use for buildings with steel–concrete structure was larger than masonry–concrete. It was found that the buildings with steel–concrete structure experienced a rapid increase since the year 1979 in Beijing. As a result of rapid urban development, the large-scale reformation and demolishment of urban old buildings also led to a rapid growth of the amount of building wastes. And the building wastes generated in the process of reformation and demolition began to exceed that produced in the process of new buildings construction. The amount of building wastes generated from 2004 to 2008 accounted for 52.2% of the total that generated from 1949 to 2008. From this research, the rapid development of Beijing''s residential building system in the past 60 years became a big ecological pressure for urban sustainable building development. It is important to change the traditional model of urban construction, and develop some sustainable or ecologically friendly construction technologies to enhance the capacity of recycling and reuse of residential building wastes for realizing a sustainable urban building construction and management in Beijing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) based analytical procedures, the concentration of several trace elements (Mn, As, Pb, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn and Se) was determined in human milk samples collected from a group of healthy lactating Portuguese women (n=44), both on the 2nd day postpartum (i.e., colostrum; n=34) and at 1 month postpartum (i.e., mature milk; n=19). Blood samples (n=44), collected on the 2nd day after parturition, were also analyzed for the same trace elements. No major correlations were observed between the levels of the analyzed trace elements in blood and colostrum samples. All the studied elements, except for Co, Pb and Ni, showed a significant trend for a decrease in concentration in milk during the first month of lactation. This trend was more pronounced for Zn and Se, whose levels decreased to approximately 23% and 44% of their initial mean concentration, respectively. With the exception of Co (r=0.607) and Zn (r=0.487), no significant correlations were observed when comparing the levels of each trace element between samples of colostrum and mature milk. Several inter-element correlations were found within each type of milk sample. The most significant were: (i) Se vs Cu (r=0.828) and Se vs Co (r=0.605) in colostrum samples and (ii) Ni vs Pb (r=0.756), Ni vs Mn (r=0.743) and Se vs Co (r=0.714) in mature milk samples. An inverse correlation between Zn and Se was also found in both types of milk sample; however, it only reached statistical significance for mature milk (r=−0.624). [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

A climatology of sleet occurrences in the United States was compiled using data for 1950-2001 from 232 weather stations. Sleet is one of the damaging forms of winter precipitation. The average annual frequency of sleet events has a latitudinal distribution east of the Rockies with values ranging from less than 1 clay a year in the Deep South to 5 or more days in the north. The highest averages are 14-20 days in the northern plains. Sleet does not occur in the Florida peninsula, extreme southern Texas and Arizona, and most of the southern half of California. Most areas of the nation have had years with no sleet, but the annual minimum is 1 or 2 sleet days in the High Plains and New England. Sleet first occurs in September in the mountainous areas and the Great Lakes; in October over large parts of the nation; in November in the South; and in December along the Gulf Coast. Sleet is most frequent at night and least frequent in afternoon hours, and its average duration is 2-3 hours per event. The season's last sleet occurs in February along the Gulf Coast and shifts northward in April, the last month with sleet in most of the United States. January is the peak month for sleet incidences in all parts of the nation. The temporal distributions of sleet occurrences across the nation during 1950-1999 reveal three regions with distinctly different time distributions: northern region, southern region, and western region. Nationally, the 50-year distribution showed no up or down trend, but from 1965 to 1999 sleet events did increase, based largely on up trends in the Northeast, East North Central, and Central regions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Conservative testing revealed a stable antibiotic resistance situation for Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter cloacae in 32 German intensive care units (ICUs) actively participating in the SARI (surveillance of antimicrobial use and antimicrobial resistance in ICUs) project over a three-year period (2001–2003). No significant changes were shown for methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) (P=0.501; the MRSA rate increased in 18 ICUs and decreased in 14 ICUs). The only exception was an increase in ciprofloxacin-resistant E. coli. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background: The use of assisted reproductive technology is increasing worldwide and conception after assisted reproduction currently comprises 3%-6% of birth cohorts in the Nordic countries. The risk of placenta-mediated pregnancy complications is greater after assisted reproductive technology compared with spontaneously conceived pregnancies. Whether the excess risk of placenta-mediated pregnancy complications in pregnancies following assisted reproduction has changed over time, is unknown.Objectives: To investigate whether time trends in risk of pregnancy complications (hypertensive disorders in pregnancy, placental abruption and placenta previa) differ for pregnancies after assisted reproductive technology compared with spontaneously conceived pregnancies during 3 decades of assisted reproduction treatment in the Nordic countries.Study Design: In a population-based cohort study, with data from national health registries in Denmark (1994-2014), Finland (1990-2014), Norway (1988-2015) and Sweden (1988-2015), we included 6,830,578 pregnancies resulting in delivery. Among these, 146,998 (2.2%) were pregnancies after assisted reproduction (125,708 singleton pregnancies, 20,668 twin pregnancies and 622 of higher order plurality) and 6,683,132 (97.8%) pregnancies were conceived spontaneously (6,595,185 singleton pregnancies, 87,106 twin pregnancies and 1,289 of higher order plurality). We used logistic regression with post-estimation to estimate absolute risks and risk differences for each complication. We repeated analyses for singleton and twin pregnancies, separately. In subsamples with available information, we also adjusted for maternal body mass index, smoking during pregnancy, previous cesarean delivery, culture duration, and cryopreservation.Results: The risk of each placental complication was consistently greater in pregnancies following assisted reproductive technology compared with spontaneously conceived pregnancies across the study period, except for hypertensive disorders in twin pregnancies, where risks were similar. Risk of hypertensive disorders increased over time in twin pregnancies for both conception methods, but more strongly for pregnancies following assisted reproductive technology (risk difference, 1.73 percentage points per 5 years; 95% confidence interval, 1.35-2.11) than for spontaneously conceived twins (risk difference, 0.75 percentage points; 95% confidence interval, 0.61-0.89). No clear time trends were found for hypertensive disorders in singleton pregnancies. Risk of placental abruption decreased over time in all groups. Risk differences were -0.16 percentage points (95% confidence interval, -0.19 to -0.12) and -0.06 percentage points (95% confidence interval, -0.06 to -0.05) for pregnancies after assisted reproduction and spontaneously conceived pregnancies, respectively, for singletons and multiple pregnancies combined. Over time, the risk of placenta previa increased in pregnancies after assisted reproduction among both singletons (risk difference, 0.21 percentage points; 95% confidence interval, 0.14-0.27) and twins (risk difference, 0.30 percentage points; 95% confidence interval, 0.16-0.43), but remained stable in spontaneously conceived pregnancies. When adjusting for culture duration, the temporal increase in placenta previa became weaker in all groups of assisted reproductive technology pregnancies, whereas adjustment for cryopreservation moderately attenuated trends in assisted reproductive technology twin pregnancies.Conclusions: The risk of placenta-mediated pregnancy complications following assisted reproductive technology remains higher compared to spontaneously conceived pregnancies, despite declining rates of multiple pregnancies. For hypertensive disorders in pregnancy and placental abruption, pregnancies after assisted reproduction follow the same time trends as the background population, whereas for placenta previa, risk has increased over time in pregnancies after assisted reproductive technology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Previous research describes an inconsistent relation between temporal changes in transversus abdominis or lumbar multifidus and temporal changes in clinical outcomes. Unfortunately, a relevant systematic review is unavailable. As a result, this systematic review was designed to summarize evidence regarding the association between temporal changes in muscle morphometry and activity in response to treatment, and temporal changes in clinical outcomes. Candidate publications were identified from 6 electronic databases. Fifteen articles were included after scrutinization by 2 reviewers using predetermined selection criteria. The methodological quality of these articles was appraised using a standard tool. These methods revealed strong evidence that temporal alterations in transversus abdominis thickness change during contraction (as measured by B-mode or M-mode ultrasound) or feedforward activation of transversus abdominis (assessed via electromyography, tissue Doppler imaging, or M-mode ultrasound) were unrelated to temporal changes in low back pain (LBP)/LBP-related disability. There was limited evidence that temporal changes in transversus abdominis lateral sliding or lumbar multifidus endurance were unrelated to temporal changes in LBP intensity. Conflicting evidence was found for the relation between temporal changes in lumbar multifidus morphometry and temporal changes in LBP/LBP-related disability. This review highlights that temporal changes in transversus abdominis features tend to be unrelated to the corresponding LBP/LBP-related disability improvements, whereas the relation between multifidus changes and clinical improvements remains uncertain. Perspective: This systematic review highlighted that changes in morphometry or activation of transversus abdominis following conservative treatments tend not to be associated with the corresponding changes in clinical outcomes. The relation between posttreatment changes in characteristics of lumbar multifidus and clinical improvements remains uncertain. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]