Towards an ecological index for tropical soil quality based on soil macrofauna

The objective of this work was to construct a simple index based on the presence/absence of different groups of soil macrofauna to determine the ecological quality of soils. The index was tested with data from 20 sites in South and Central Tabasco, Mexico, and a positive relation between the model and the field observations was detected. The index showed that diverse agroforestry systems had the highest soil quality index (1.00), and monocrops without trees, such as pineapple, showed the lowest soil quality index (0.08). Further research is required to improve this model for natural systems that have very low earthworm biomass (<10 g m-2) and a high number of earthworm species (5-7), as it is in the tropical rain forest, whose soil quality index was medium (0.5). The application of this index will require an illustrated guide for its users. Further studies are required in order to test the use of this index by farmers.

Sedentarism affects body fat mass index and fat-free mass index in adults aged 18 to 98 years.

OBJECTIVE: Body mass index does not discriminate body fat from fat-free mass or determine changes in these parameters with physical activity and aging. Body fat mass index (BFMI) and fat-free mass index (FFMI) permit comparisons of subjects with different heights. This study evaluated differences in body mass index, BFMI, and FFMI in physically active and sedentary subjects younger and older than 60 y and determined the association between physical activity, age, and body composition parameters in a healthy white population between ages 18 and 98 y. METHODS: Body fat and fat-free mass were determined in healthy white men (n = 3549) and women (n = 3184), between ages 18 and 98 y, by bioelectrical impedance analysis. BFMI and FFMI (kg/m2) were calculated. Physical activity was defined as at least 3 h/wk of endurance-type activity for at least 2 mo. RESULTS: Physically active as opposed to sedentary subjects were more likely to have a low BFMI (men: odds ratio [OR], 1.4; confidence interval [CI], 0.7-2.5; women: OR 1.9, CI 1.6-2.2) and less likely to have very high BFMI (men: OR, 0.2; CI, 0.1-0.2; women: OR, 0.1; CI, 0.02-0.2), low FFMI (men: OR, 0.5; CI, 0.3-0.9; women: OR, 0.7; CI, 0.6-0.9), or very high FFMI (men: OR, 0.6; CI, 0.4-0.8; women: OR, 0.7; CI, 0.5-1.0). Compared with subjects younger than 60 y, those older than 60 y were more like to have very high BFMI (men: OR, 6.5; CI, 4.5-9.3; women: OR, 14.0; CI, 9.6-20.5), and women 60 y and older were less likely to have a low BFMI (OR, 0.4; CI, 0.2-0.5). CONCLUSIONS: A clear association was found between low physical activity or age and height-normalized body composition parameters (BFMI and FFMI) derived from bioelectrical impedance analysis. Physically active subjects were more likely to have high or very high or low FFMI. Older subjects had higher body weights and BFMI.

Market Index Biases and Minimum Risk Indices

Markets, in the real world, are not efficient zero-sum games where hypotheses of the CAPM are fulfilled. Then, it is easy to conclude the market portfolio is not located on Markowitz"s efficient frontier, and passive investments (and indexing) are not optimal but biased. In this paper, we define and analyze biases suffered by passive investors: the sample, construction, efficiency and active biases and tracking error are presented. We propose Minimum Risk Indices (MRI) as an alternative to deal with to market index biases, and to provide investors with portfolios closer to the efficient frontier, that is, more optimal investment possibilities. MRI (using a Parametric Value-at-Risk Minimization approach) are calculated for three stock markets achieving interesting results. Our indices are less risky and more profitable than current Market Indices in the Argentinean and Spanish markets, facing that way the Efficient Market Hypothesis. Two innovations must be outlined: an error dimension has been included in the backtesting and the Sharpe"s Ratio has been used to select the"best" MRI

Development of a Coldwater Benthic Index in Iowa

Benthic macroinvertebrate assemblages do not appear to differ as markedly between coldwater and warmwater streams (in Iowa, at least) as do fish assemblages, and to our knowledge no parallel evaluation of benthic macroinvertebrate communities in coldwater streams has been conducted. What is known is that many taxa are exclusively collected in coldwater environments and are considered “rare” in Iowa from a biogeographical perspective. While the warmwater BMIBI has generally proven to work well as a diagnostic tool for Iowa’s streams, the streams of Iowa’s Paleozoic Plateau tend to group in the “excellent” to “good” qualitative rating categories. The streams of this area tend to be more ecologically intact than other areas of the state; however, there are some artifacts of the current warmwater BMIBI (most specifically metric scoring related to watershed size) that skew IBI values higher. Our objective is to develop a Coldwater Benthic Index (CBI) which will provide a more accurate assessment of streams classified, or potentially classifiable, as coldwater.

Le Koran (Nouvelle édition entièrement revue et corrigée ; augmentée de notes, commentaires et d'un index) / traduction nouvelle faite sur le texte arabe, par M. Kasimirski,...

[Coran (français). 1852]

Guidelines for the Inclusion of Left-Turn Lanes at Rural Highway Intersections, HR-147, 1970

Provision of left turn lanes is a major problem which lacks an objective approach. Various techniques and procedures in use have been reviewed. Traffic characteristics at typical Iowa intersections have been measured. A rational approach for inclusion of a left turn lane has been developed, based on relating the benefits to the road user to the cost of providing the added turing lane. An analysis of field data gathered under this project indicates that the use of theoretical distribution to describe vehicle headways is not applicable to rural Iowa two lane roads. As an alternate approach the mass of field data gathered were examined using multiple regression techniques to yield equations for predicting stops and delays. The benefit-cost ratio technique is recommended as the criterion for decision making.

Oxidation of methane at the CH4/H2O-(CO2) transition zone in the external part of the Central Alps, Switzerland: Evidence from stable isotope investigations

With the aim of understanding the mechanisms that control the metamorphic transition from the CH4- to the H2O-(CO2)-dominated fluid zone in the Helvetic domain of the Central Alps of Switzerland, fluid inclusions in quartz, illite ``crystallinity'' index, vitrinite reflectance, and the stable isotope compositions of vein and whole rock minerals and fluids trapped in quartz were investigated along four cross-sections. Increasing temperature during prograde metamorphism led to the formation of dry gas by hydrocarbon cracking in the CH4-zone. Fluid immiscibility in the H2O-CH4-(CO2)-NaCl system resulted in cogenetic, CH4- and H2O-dominated fluid inclusions. In the CH4-zone, fluids were trapped at temperatures <= 270 +/- 5 degrees C. The end of the CH4-zone is markedby a sudden increase of CO2 content in the gas phase of fluid inclusions. At temperatures > 270 +/- 5 degrees C, in the H2O-zone, the total amount of volatiles within the fluid decreased below 1 mol% with no immiscibility. This resulted m total homogenization temperatures of H2O-(CO2-CH4)-NaCl inclusions below 180 degrees C. Hydrogen isotope compositions of methane in fluid inclusion have delta D values of less than -100 parts per thousand in the CH4-zone, typical for an origin through cracking of higher hydrocarbons, but where the methane has not equilibrated with the pore water. delta D values of fluid inclusion water are around -40 parts per thousand., in isotopic equilibrium with phyllosilicates of the whole rocks. Within the CH4 to H2O(CO2) transition zone, delta D(H2O) values in fluid inclusions decrease to -130 parts per thousand interpreted to reflect the contribution of deuterium depleted water from methane oxidation. In the H2O-zone, delta D(H2O) values increase again towards an average of -30 parts per thousand which is again consistent with isotopic equilibrium with host-rock phyllosilicates. delta C-13 values of methane in fluid inclusions from the CH4-zone are around -27 parts per thousand in isotopic equilibrium with calcite in veins and whole rocks. The delta C-13(CH4) values decrease to less than -35 parts per thousand at the transition to the H2O-zone and are no longer in equilibrium with the carbonates in the whole rocks. delta C-13 values of CO, are variable but too low to be in equilibrium with the wall rock fluids, compatible with a contribution of CO2 from closed system oxidation of methane. Differences in isotopic composition between host-rock and Alpine fissure carbonate are generally small, suggesting that the amount of CO2 produced by oxidation of methane was small compared to the C-budget in the rocks and local pore fluids were buffered by the wall rocks during precipitation of calcite within the fissures. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Body mass index and risk of head and neck cancer in a pooled analysis of case-control studies in the International Head and Neck Cancer Epidemiology (INHANCE) Consortium.

BACKGROUND: Head and neck cancer (HNC) risk is elevated among lean people and reduced among overweight or obese people in some studies; however, it is unknown whether these associations differ for certain subgroups or are influenced by residual confounding from the effects of alcohol and tobacco use or by other sources of biases. METHODS: We pooled data from 17 case-control studies including 12 716 cases and the 17 438 controls. Odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated for associations between body mass index (BMI) at different ages and HNC risk, adjusted for age, sex, centre, race, education, tobacco smoking and alcohol consumption. RESULTS: Adjusted ORs (95% CIs) were elevated for people with BMI at reference (date of diagnosis for cases and date of selection for controls) 25.0-30.0 kg/m(2) (0.52, 0.44-0.60) and BMI >/=30 kg/m(2) (0.43, 0.33-0.57), compared with BMI >18.5-25.0 kg/m(2). These associations did not differ by age, sex, tumour site or control source. Although the increased risk among people with BMI 25 kg/m(2) was present only in smokers and drinkers. CONCLUSIONS: In our large pooled analysis, leanness was associated with increased HNC risk regardless of smoking and drinking status, although reverse causality cannot be excluded. The reduced risk among overweight or obese people may indicate body size is a modifier of the risk associated with smoking and drinking. Further clarification may be provided by analyses of prospective cohort and mechanistic studies.

Prepregnancy body mass index and resting metabolic rate during pregnancy.

AIM: The resting metabolic rate (RMR) varies among pregnant women. The factors responsible for this variability are unknown. This study aimed to assess the influence of the prepregnancy body mass index (BMI) on the RMR during late pregnancy. METHODS: RMR, height, weight, and total (TEE) and activity (AEE) energy expenditures were measured in 46 healthy women aged 31 ± 5 years (mean ± SD) with low (<19.8), normal (19.8-26.0), and high (>26.0) prepregnancy BMI at 38.2 ± 1.5 weeks of gestation (t(gest)) and 40 ± 7 weeks postpartum (t(post)) (n = 27). RESULTS: The mean t(gest) RMR for the low-, normal-, and high-BMI groups was 1,373, 1,807, and 2,191 kcal/day, respectively (p = 0.001). The overall mean t(gest) RMR was 316 ± 183 kcal/day (21%), higher than the overall mean t(post) value and this difference was correlated with gestational weight gain (r = 0.78, p < 0.001). The scaled metabolic rate by allometry (RMR/kilograms⁰·⁷³) was similar in the low-, normal-, and high-BMI groups, respectively (p = 0.45). Changes in t(gest) TEE closely paralleled changes in t(gest) RMR (r = 0.84, p < 0.001). AEE was similar among the BMI groups. CONCLUSION: The RMR is significantly increased in the third trimester of pregnancy. The absolute gestational RMR is higher in women with high prepregnancy BMI due to increased body weight. The scaled metabolic rate (RMR/kilograms⁰·⁷³) is similar among the BMI groups of pregnant women.

Association analyses of 249,796 individuals reveal 18 new loci associated with body mass index.

Obesity is globally prevalent and highly heritable, but its underlying genetic factors remain largely elusive. To identify genetic loci for obesity susceptibility, we examined associations between body mass index and ∼ 2.8 million SNPs in up to 123,865 individuals with targeted follow up of 42 SNPs in up to 125,931 additional individuals. We confirmed 14 known obesity susceptibility loci and identified 18 new loci associated with body mass index (P < 5 × 10⁻⁸), one of which includes a copy number variant near GPRC5B. Some loci (at MC4R, POMC, SH2B1 and BDNF) map near key hypothalamic regulators of energy balance, and one of these loci is near GIPR, an incretin receptor. Furthermore, genes in other newly associated loci may provide new insights into human body weight regulation.

Performance of juveniles of Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum fed graded levels of corn gluten meal

The objective of this work was to evaluate corn gluten meal (CGM) as a substitute for fish meal in diets for striped catfish (Pseudoplatystoma fasciatum) juveniles. Eight isonitrogenous (46% crude protein) and isoenergetic (3,450 kcal kg-1 digestible energy) diets, with increasing levels of CGM - 0, 6, 12, 18, 24, 30, 36, and 42% -, were fed to juvenile striped catfish (113.56±5.10 g) for seven weeks. Maximum values for weight gain, specific growth rate, protein efficiency ratio and feed conversion ratio, evaluated by polynomial quadratic regression, were observed with 10.4, 11.4, 15.4 and 15% of CGM inclusion, respectively. Feed intake decreased significantly from 0.8% CGM. Mesenteric fat index and body gross energy decreased linearly with increasing levels of CGM; minimum body protein contents were observed with 34.1% CGM. Yellow pigmentation of fillets significantly increased until 26.5% CGM, and decreased from this point forth. Both plasma glucose and protein concentrations decreased with increased CGM levels. The inclusion of 10-15% CGM promotes optimum of striped catfish juveniles depending on the parameter evaluated. Yellow coloration in fillets produced by CGM diets can have marketing implications.

Familial frontotemporal dementia with ubiquitin inclusion bodies and without motor neuron disease.

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the second most common degenerative dementia after Alzheimer's disease and its Lewy body variant. Clinical pathology can be subdivided in three main neuropathological subtypes: frontal lobe dementia, Pick's disease and FTD with motor neuron disease (MND), all characterised by distinct histological features. Until recently the presence of ubiquitin-positive intraneuronal inclusions in the dentate gyrus, and the temporal and frontal cortex was usually associated with the MND type. Such inclusions were also observed in a few sporadic cases of FTD without or with parkinsonism (FTDP) in the absence of MND. We present here clinical, neuropathological and immunohistochemical data about a Swiss FTD family with FTDP-like features but without MND. Spongiosis and mild gliosis were observed in the grey matter. No neurofibrillary tangles, Pick bodies, Lewy bodies, senile plaques or prion-positive signals were present. However, ubiquitin-positive intracytoplasmic inclusions were detected in various structures but predominantly in the dentate gyrus. These observations support the existence of a familial form of FTDP with ubiquitin-positive intracytoplasmic inclusions (Swiss FTDP family).

Genetic studies of body mass index yield new insights for obesity biology

Obesity is heritable and predisposes to many diseases. To understand the genetic basis of obesity better, here we conduct a genome-wide association study and Metabochip meta-analysis of body mass index (BMI), a measure commonly used to define obesity and assess adiposity, in up to 339,224 individuals. This analysis identifies 97 BMI-associated loci (P < 5 × 10(-8)), 56 of which are novel. Five loci demonstrate clear evidence of several independent association signals, and many loci have significant effects on other metabolic phenotypes. The 97 loci account for ∼2.7% of BMI variation, and genome-wide estimates suggest that common variation accounts for >20% of BMI variation. Pathway analyses provide strong support for a role of the central nervous system in obesity susceptibility and implicate new genes and pathways, including those related to synaptic function, glutamate signalling, insulin secretion/action, energy metabolism, lipid biology and adipogenesis.