Biodiversity and resilience of ecosystem functions

Accelerating rates of environmental change and the continued loss of global biodiversity threaten functions and services delivered by ecosystems. Much ecosystem monitoring and management is focused on the provision of ecosystem functions and services under current environmental conditions, yet this could lead to inappropriate management guidance and undervaluation of the importance of biodiversity. The maintenance of ecosystem functions and services under substantial predicted future environmental change (i.e., their ���resilience���) is crucial. Here we identify a range of mechanisms underpinning the resilience of ecosystem functions across three ecological scales. Although potentially less important in the short term, biodiversity, encompassing variation from within species to across landscapes, may be crucial for the longer-term resilience of ecosystem functions and the services that they underpin.

The effectiveness of protected areas in the conservation of species with changing geographical ranges

A cornerstone of conservation is the designation and management of protected areas (PAs): locations often under conservation management containing species of conservation concern, where some development and other detrimental influences are prevented or mitigated. However, the value of PAs for conserving biodiversity in the long term has been questioned given that species are changing their distributions in response to climatic change. There is a concern that PAs may become climatically unsuitable for those species that they were designated to protect, and may not be located appropriately to receive newly-colonizing species for which the climate is improving. In the present study, we analyze fine-scale distribution data from detailed resurveys of seven butterfly and 11 bird species in Great Britain aiming to examine any effect of PA designation in preventing extinctions and promoting colonizations. We found a positive effect of PA designation on species' persistence at trailing-edge warm range margins, although with a decreased magnitude at higher latitudes and altitudes. In addition, colonizations by range expanding species were more likely to occur on PAs even after altitude and latitude were taken into account. PAs will therefore remain an important strategy for conservation. The potential for PA management to mitigate the effects of climatic change for retracting species deserves further investigation.

A utiliza����o de ag��ncias de vendas (Broker) : o caso F��ller

Entendemos que o n��vel de competitividade entre as firmas tem crescido sensivelmente em todos os setores da economia brasileira ap��s a implanta����o do Plano Real. Do ponto de vista macroecon��mico, a estabiliza����o monet��ria, a desregulamenta����o e a entrada de grandes grupos internacionais de varejo, t��m provocado mudan��as fundamentais no modus operandi do setor de alimentos, que est�� perdendo o poder de barganha na negocia����o com o Trade cada vez mais concentrado, exigindo a busca de alternativas que agreguem valor ao neg��cio. A utiliza����o de Ag��ncias de Vendas, tamb��m conhecido como Broker, �� no Brasil, indubitavelmente, uma das mais promissoras alternativas para gerar valor ��s atividades tradicionais de venda e distribui����o por parte das firmas produtoras de alimentos. Segundo dados referentes ao ano de 2002 da ASMC (Association of Sales & Marketing Companies), nos EUA as Ag��ncias de Vendas representam aproximadamente 55% de todos os produtos comercializados atrav��s do canal varejo, sendo que o modelo Broker j�� est�� consolidado, existindo a mais de 50 anos. No Brasil o Broker tem uma atua����o incipiente, mas crescente, n��o tendo mais do que cinco anos de atua����o. Como precursoras na utiliza����o desse formato de atua����o no pa��s, temos no segmento industrial a Procter & Gamble, Melitta e Chocolates Garoto Do ponto de vista de gera����o de valor ao fabricante, temos a elimina����o do intermedi��rio entre a ind��stria e o varejo, reduzindo custos de transa����o para o consumidor, principalmente os decorrentes dos impostos, notadamente os ���em cascata��� (PIS e COFINS), que aumentam o custo de aquisi����o para o cliente final. O objetivo central nessa disserta����o �� identificar as caracter��sticas do modelo de Ag��ncia de Vendas (Broker) em implanta����o na firma F��LLER S.A., fabricante de massas e biscoitos, situada em Santa Cruz do Sul, no Rio Grande do Sul, analisando a adapta����o do modelo �� realidade do pa��s, em confronto com a sistem��tica adotada nos EUA.

Ind��stria e desenvolvimento regional: a trajet��ria da perfumarias Phebo em Bel��m

O atual trabalho �� a constru����o de um estudo cuja ��rea de conhecimento se encontra nos fundamentos da hist��ria de empresas, tendo como estudo de caso a Perfumarias Phebo, uma empresa paraense, que se destacou no mercado de perfumaria nacional. O m��todo da pesquisa consistiu no levantamento de informa����es arquiv��stica referentes a implanta����o, trajet��ria hist��rica e evolu����o administrativa-financeira da Phebo, no per��odo de 1936 a 1988, realizada a partir de informa����es disponibilizadas pela empresa, entrevistas e coleta de material. A empresa utilizou o pau-rosa (Aniba rosaeodora Durke), uma mat��ria-prima oriunda da Amaz��nia, para criar o seu produto de maior aceita����o no mercado, o Sabonete Phebo Odor de Rosas. No contexto de desenvolvimento regional, a perfumaria internalizou o conhecimento baseada no aproveitamento das mat��rias-primas locais e tornou-se l��der no mercado de perfumaria brasileiro com a expans��o da sua f��brica para as cidades de S��o Paulo e Feira de Santana-Ba. Em 1988 a empresa foi vendida para o grupo Procter & Gamble Company, multinacional americana, que por sua vez, em 1998, revendeu a empresa para as Casa Granado, empresa carioca, que atualmente exerce o controle sobre a Phebo.

Prediction of enzymatic infarct size in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction

Objectives Predictors of adverse outcomes following myocardial infarction (MI) are well established; however, little is known about what predicts enzymatically estimated infarct size in patients with acute ST-elevation MI. The Complement And Reduction of INfarct size after Angioplasty or Lytics trials of pexelizumab used creatine kinase (CK)-MB area under the curve to determine infarct size in patients treated with primary percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or fibrinolysis. Methods Prediction of infarct size was carried out by measuring CK-MB area under the curve in patients with ST-segment elevation MI treated with reperfusion therapy from January 2000 to April 2002. Infarct size was calculated in 1622 patients (PCI=817; fibrinolysis=805). Logistic regression was used to examine the relationship between baseline demographics, total ST-segment elevation, index angiographic findings (PCI group), and binary outcome of CK-MB area under the curve greater than 3000 ng/ml. Results Large infarcts occurred in 63% (515) of the PCI group and 69% (554) of the fibrinolysis group. Independent predictors of large infarcts differed depending on mode of reperfusion. In PCI, male sex, no prior coronary revascularization and diabetes, decreased systolic blood pressure, sum of ST-segment elevation, total (angiographic) occlusion, and nonright coronary artery culprit artery were independent predictors of larger infarcts (C index=0.73). In fibrinolysis, younger age, decreased heart rate, white race, no history of arrhythmia, increased time to fibrinolytic therapy in patients treated up to 2 h after symptom onset, and sum of ST-segment elevation were independently associated with a larger infarct size (C index=0.68). Conclusion Clinical and patient data can be used to predict larger infarcts on the basis of CK-MB quantification. These models may be helpful in designing future trials and in guiding the use of novel pharmacotherapies aimed at limiting infarct size in clinical practice. Coron Artery Dis 23:118-125 (C) 2012 Wolters Kluwer Health | Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Longer-term assessment of trastuzumab-related cardiac adverse events in the Herceptin Adjuvant (HERA) trial

We investigated the incidence of cardiac adverse events in patients with early breast cancer in the Herceptin Adjuvant (HERA) trial who were treated with 1 year of trastuzumab after completion of (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy.

Trastuzumab-associated cardiac adverse effects in the herceptin adjuvant trial

PURPOSE: The purpose of this analysis was to investigate trastuzumab-associated cardiac adverse effects in breast cancer patients after completion of (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy. PATIENTS AND METHODS: The Herceptin Adjuvant (HERA) trial is a three-group, multicenter, open-label randomized trial that compared 1 or 2 years of trastuzumab given once every 3 weeks with observation in patients with HER-2-positive breast cancer. Only patients who after completion of (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy with or without radiotherapy had normal left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF > or = 55%) were eligible. A repeat LVEF assessment was performed in case of cardiac dysfunction. RESULTS: Data were available for 1,693 patients randomly assigned to 1 year trastuzumab and 1,693 patients randomly assigned to observation. The incidence of trastuzumab discontinuation due to cardiac disorders was low (4.3%). The incidence of cardiac end points was higher in the trastuzumab group compared with observation (severe congestive heart failure [CHF], 0.60% v 0.00%; symptomatic CHF, 2.15% v 0.12%; confirmed significant LVEF drops, 3.04% v 0.53%). Most patients with cardiac dysfunction recovered in fewer than 6 months. Patients with trastuzumab-associated cardiac dysfunction were treated with higher cumulative doses of doxorubicin (287 mg/m(2) v 257 mg/m(2)) or epirubicin (480 mg/m(2) v 422 mg/m(2)) and had a lower screening LVEF and a higher body mass index. CONCLUSION: Given the clear benefit in disease-free survival, the low incidence of cardiac adverse events, and the suggestion that cardiac dysfunction might be reversible, adjuvant trastuzumab should be considered for treatment of breast cancer patients who fulfill the HERA trial eligibility criteria.

2 years versus 1 year of adjuvant trastuzumab for HER2-positive breast cancer (HERA): an open-label, randomised controlled trial

BACKGROUND Trastuzumab has established efficacy against breast cancer with overexpression or amplification of the HER2 oncogene. The standard of care is 1 year of adjuvant trastuzumab, but the optimum duration of treatment is unknown. We compared 2 years of treatment with trastuzumab with 1 year of treatment, and updated the comparison of 1 year of trastuzumab versus observation at a median follow-up of 8 years, for patients enrolled in the HERceptin Adjuvant (HERA) trial. METHODS The HERA trial is an international, multicentre, randomised, open-label, phase 3 trial comparing treatment with trastuzumab for 1 and 2 years with observation after standard neoadjuvant chemotherapy, adjuvant chemotherapy, or both in 5102 patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer. The primary endpoint was disease-free survival. The comparison of 2 years versus 1 year of trastuzumab treatment involved a landmark analysis of 3105 patients who were disease-free 12 months after randomisation to one of the trastuzumab groups, and was planned after observing at least 725 disease-free survival events. The updated intention-to-treat comparison of 1 year trastuzumab treatment versus observation alone in 3399 patients at a median follow-up of 8 years (range 0-10) is also reported. This study is registered with ClinicalTrials.gov, number NCT00045032. FINDINGS We recorded 367 events of disease-free survival in 1552 patients in the 1 year group and 367 events in 1553 patients in the 2 year group (hazard ratio [HR] 0��99, 95% CI 0��85-1��14, p=0��86). Grade 3-4 adverse events and decreases in left ventricular ejection fraction during treatment were reported more frequently in the 2 year treatment group than in the 1 year group (342 [20��4%] vs 275 [16��3%] grade 3-4 adverse events, and 120 [7��2%] vs 69 [4��1%] decreases in left ventricular ejection fraction, respectively). HRs for a comparison of 1 year of trastuzumab treatment versus observation were 0��76 (95% CI 0��67-0��86, p<0��0001) for disease-free survival and 0��76 (0��65-0��88, p=0��0005) for overall survival, despite crossover of 884 (52%) patients from the observation group to trastuzumab therapy. INTERPRETATION 2 years of adjuvant trastuzumab is not more effective than is 1 year of treatment for patients with HER2-positive early breast cancer. 1 year of treatment provides a significant disease-free and overall survival benefit compared with observation and remains the standard of care. FUNDING F Hoffmann-La Roche (Roche).

HLA alleles determine human T-lymphotropic virus-I (HTLV-I) proviral load and the risk of HTLV-I-associated myelopathy

The risk of disease associated with persistent virus infections such as HIV-I, hepatitis B and C, and human T-lymphotropic virus-I (HTLV-I) is strongly determined by the virus load. However, it is not known whether a persistent class I HLA-restricted antiviral cytotoxic T lymphocyte (CTL) response reduces viral load and is therefore beneficial or causes tissue damage and contributes to disease pathogenesis. HTLV-I-associated myelopathy (HAM/TSP) patients have a high virus load compared with asymptomatic HTLV-I carriers. We hypothesized that HLA alleles control HTLV-I provirus load and thus influence susceptibility to HAM/TSP. Here we show that, after infection with HTLV-I, the class I allele HLA-A*02 halves the odds of HAM/TSP (P < 0.0001), preventing 28% of potential cases of HAM/TSP. Furthermore, HLA-A*02+ healthy HTLV-I carriers have a proviral load one-third that (P = 0.014) of HLA-A*02��� HTLV-I carriers. An association of HLA-DRB1*0101 with disease susceptibility also was identified, which doubled the odds of HAM/TSP in the absence of the protective effect of HLA-A*02. These data have implications for other persistent virus infections in which virus load is associated with prognosis and imply that an efficient antiviral CTL response can reduce virus load and so prevent disease in persistent virus infections.

Physical chemistry of virus adsorption and degradation on inorganic surfaces: its relation to wastewater treatment /

Mode of access: Internet.

The Boone family : a genealogical history of the descendants of George and Mary Boone, who came to America in 1717 : containing many unpublished bits of early Kentucky history : also a biographical sketch of Daniel Boone, the pioneer, by one of his descendants /

Includes indexes.