Population estimates of emperor penguins at Amanda Bay, Ingrid Christensen Coast, Antarctica

Polar Record ◽  
2009 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 207-214 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barbara Wienecke ◽  
Peter Pedersen

ABSTRACTIn 2008, the emperor penguin Aptenodytes forsteri colony at Amanda Bay, East Antarctica, was designated an Antarctic Specially Protected Area by the 31st Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine. It is only the third emperor penguin colony in the Australian Antarctic Territory to receive this status. The colony has been known to exist since 1956 and numerous visits have been made to it, especially by personnel from Australia's Davis station. On a number of occasions, attempts were made to estimate the number of birds in the colony in order to obtain an insight into the size of the breeding population. Here we report on the history of visitation to the colony since the 1950s and examine the quality of information collected with regard to the usefulness of this information in terms of population analyses. We also report the results of the first visit to the Amanda Bay colony made in winter with the specific purpose of estimating the number of birds present and of highlighting the need for long term monitoring programmes to assess the viability of emperor penguins in future.

Polar Record ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 26 (157) ◽  
pp. 103-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald L. Kooyman ◽  
Donald Croll ◽  
Sheridan Stone ◽  
Steven Smith

AbstractThis article describes the natural history of a large colony of emperor penguins Aptenodytes for steri, its size, dispersal pattern of chicks, and associations with other bird and mammal species. A mid-season count of 19,364 chicks indicated that about 20–25,000 breeding pairs had been present in June and July. The colony was fragmented into several sub-groups which showed different mean sizes of chicks and survival to fledging. Other species observed included leopard seals Hydrurga leptonyx, the only major predators, which preyed heavily on both adults and fledging chicks. Fledgelings left the colony over a period of about 10 days; departure was an active process in which the chicks walked to the ice edge and dispersed in groups, swimming consistently southward. At this time they were still in about 60% down and weighed about 10 kg, having lost some 30% of the heaviest mass achieved during parental feeding.


2003 ◽  
Vol 37 (2) ◽  
pp. 202-205 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patrick G Clay ◽  
Molly M Adams

OBJECTIVE: To report a case of Parkinson-like symptoms appearing in a patient after introduction of ritonavir to buspirone therapy. CASE SUMMARY: A 54-year-old HIV-positive white man presented to the clinic with a 2-week history of ataxia, shuffling gait, cogwheel rigidity, resting tremor, and sad affect with masked features. This patient had been receiving high-dose buspirone (40 mg every morning and 30 mg every evening) for 2 years prior to the introduction of ritonavir/indinavir combination therapy (400 mg/400 mg twice daily) 6 weeks prior to initiation of the above symptoms. Buspirone was decreased to 15 mg 3 times daily, ritonavir/indinavir was discontinued, and amprenavir 1200 mg twice daily was added. The patient's symptoms began to subside after 1 week, with complete resolution after about 2 weeks. The patient continued to receive buspirone for an additional 12 months without recurrence of symptoms. DISCUSSION: This is the first reported interaction of buspirone and antiretrovirals. Buspirone, extensively metabolized by CYP3A4, was likely at supratherapeutic levels due to the inhibitory effect of ritonavir and, secondarily, indinavir. The Parkinson-like symptoms developed rapidly and severely, impacted this patient's quality of life, and necessitated significant clinic expenditures to identify this drug–drug interaction. CONCLUSIONS: This case demonstrates a severe drug–drug interaction between buspirone and ritonavir and further demonstrates the need for awareness of the metabolic profile for all agents an HIV-infected patient is receiving.


Children ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 5 (8) ◽  
pp. 107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danielle Friedman ◽  
Tara Henderson

Over the past two decades, marked progress has been made in understanding the biology of neuroblastoma; this has led to refined risk stratification and treatment modifications with resultant increasing 5-year survival rates for children with neuroblastoma. Survivors, however, remain at risk for a wide variety of potential treatment-related complications, or “late effects”, which may lead to excess morbidity and premature mortality in this cohort. This review summarizes the existing survivorship literature on long-term health outcomes for survivors of neuroblastoma, focusing specifically on potential injury to the endocrine, sensory, cardiovascular, pulmonary, and renal systems, as well as survivors’ treatment-related risk for subsequent neoplasms and impaired quality of life. Additional work is needed to assess the potential late effects of newer multimodality therapies with the aim of optimizing long-term medical and psychosocial outcomes for all survivors of neuroblastoma.


Rheumatology ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 60 (Supplement_5) ◽  
Author(s):  
A Azirar ◽  
A Ghannam ◽  
A Elaouli ◽  
M Rkain ◽  
N Benaajiba ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Polyarteritis nodosa is a necrotizing vasculitis of small and medium caliber arteries. Rarely described in children, its pathophysiology is complex and remains poorly elucidated. Two main forms were described in the literature: cutaneous and visceral. Material and results We report the cases of two boys, aged of 7 and 11 years old. They had a history of recurrent sore throat with a recurrent aphthosis in the 11-year-old child. Both boys presented with polyarthralgias, myalgias, polymorphous skin lesions made of livedo reticularis with subcutaneous nodosa on the lower limbs in the first child and distal necrosis of the toes with oedema of the lower limbs in the second. Patients suffered also of cough evolving in a context of alteration of the general state made of fever and asthenia. A biological inflammatory syndrome was present in both children and the skin histology confirmed periarteritis nodosa. The evolution was marked by the disappearance of arthralgias and myalgias after a corticosteroid-based treatment with progressive dose reduction until minimal effective dose. Conclusion The diagnosis of Polyarteritis nodosa should be made in any child presenting with the following signs: fever, altered general condition, myalgias, arthralgias and skin manifestations. The prognosis is usually benign but long-term surveillance is necessary.


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-5
Author(s):  
Raúl Pino Andrade

Modernity has brought with it a series of scientific advances that, in the medical field, have improved not only the diagnosis and treatment of diseases, but also the quality of life of patients. This is undeniable. It is enough to carry out an exercise of imagination and place our life in two different historical settings: first the Renaissance, and second the XXI century or contemporary era. Leaving cultural or historical affinities aside, to the question: In which of these historical periods would you like to live? The most prudent answer is very likely: now, in this century. The advances of medicine can be traced historically, we cannot think about it without thinking in Vesalius, or Paré, and many others; however, it is true that the history of medicine accelerated markedly in the 20th century. Although it is true that in just over a hundred years the greatest scientific discoveries have been made in all fields of knowledge, modernity has also meant a change in time itself. Everything unfolds at previously unimaginable speeds: material and knowledge production, teaching and learning, communication and interpersonal relationships. The latter point should be highlighted, and the changes due to the acceleration of the relationship between doctors and their patients should be pointed out on time. It is as if life should climb the assembly line and obey a Fordist logic. It must be recognized that the acceleration of certain aspects is significant, such as the expansion of diagnostic tests, creation of procedures and medications, immediate response to emergencies, among others. But all these advantages seem to carry with them, as a current, all areas of life including what must necessarily be paused.


2016 ◽  
Vol 28 (6) ◽  
pp. 425-431 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maureen A. Lynch ◽  
Catherine M. Foley ◽  
Lesley H. Thorne ◽  
Heather J. Lynch

AbstractThe Antarctic Treaty System requires that the effects of potential human disturbance be evaluated, such as through the development and evaluation of Initial and Comprehensive Environmental Evaluations (IEEs and CEEs), and through the implementation of Management Plans for Antarctic Specially Protected Areas (ASPAs) and Antarctic Specially Managed Areas (ASMAs). The effectiveness of these management processes hinges on the quality and transparency of the data presented, particularly because independent validation is often difficult or impossible due to the financial and logistical challenges of working in the Antarctic. In a review of these documents and their treatment of wildlife survey data, we find that the basic elements of best data practices are often not followed; biological data are often uncited or out-of-date and rarely include estimates of uncertainty that would allow any subsequent changes in the distribution or abundance of wildlife to be rigorously assessed. We propose a set of data management and use standards for Antarctic biological data to improve the transparency and quality of these evaluations and to facilitate improved assessment of both immediate and long-term impacts of human activities in the Antarctic.


2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 256-264
Author(s):  
Ken Momosaki ◽  
Jun Kido ◽  
Shiro Matsumoto ◽  
Atsuo Taniguchi ◽  
Tomoyuki Akiyama ◽  
...  

Lesch-Nyhan disease (LND) is an X-linked recessive disorder caused by a deficiency in hypoxanthine-guanine phosphoribosyl transferase. Patients with LND experience involuntary movements, including dystonia, choreoathetosis, opisthotonos, ballismus, and self-injury. Alleviating these involuntary movements is important to improve the quality of life in patients with LND. Many clinicians have difficulty controlling these involuntary movements in their patients, and there are no established and effective treatments. A 6-month-old boy with LND presented with generalized dystonia and self-injury behavior that was alleviated after receiving S-adenosylmethionine (SAMe). His self-injury behavior completely resolved after he received SAMe and risperidone. Although he had often experienced inspiratory stridor because of laryngeal dystonia and frequently developed aspiration pneumonitis and bronchitis, no inspiratory stridor was noted after SAMe treatment. The patient is continuing to receive SAMe and risperidone. SAMe treatment alleviates dystonic movements and improves quality of life in pediatric patients with LND. Additional research is needed to determine the long-term safety and efficacy of SAMe and its appropriate dosage.


Blood ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 118 (21) ◽  
pp. 4096-4096
Author(s):  
Avichai Shimoni ◽  
Eran Tallis ◽  
Noga Shem-Tov ◽  
Yulia Volchek ◽  
Ronit Yerushalmi ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 4096 Allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT) is a potentially curative therapy for patients (pts) with various hematological malignancies. SCT is associated with substantial mortality during the first 2 years after SCT whereas after 2 years survival curves often reach a plateau. However, late mortality and late events continue to cause treatment failures through the late post-transplant course. Quality of life (QoL) is increasingly recognized as an important long-term end-point. The pattern of late events and QoL has been reported following myeloablative conditioning (MAC) but is not well defined in the reduced-intensity (RIC) setting. To explore late outcomes we retrospectively analyzed SCT results in a cohort of 726 pts given allogeneic SCT between 1/2000 and 8/2009. Pts meeting standard eligibility criteria were given MAC (n=207) while pts considered at excessive risk for non-relapse mortality (NRM) were given fludarabine based RIC (n=385) or reduced-toxicity myeloablative conditioning (RTC, n=134). 246 pts were alive and disease-free 2 years after SCT. Their median age was 51 years (17–72). Diagnoses included AML/MDS (n=131), ALL (n=24), lymphatic diseases (n=48), CML/MPD (n=29), non-malignant (n=14). Donors were HLA-matched siblings (n=151), unrelated (n=91) or alternative donors (n=4). Conditioning was MAC (n=72), RIC (n=118) or RTC (n=56). At 2 years after SCT, 172 pts had a history of chronic GVHD, graded as moderate-severe (mod-sev) in 44% and 29% of pts after MAC and RIC/RTC, respectively (p=0.03). 68% and 43% of pts were still on immune suppressive therapy (IST) 2 years after SCT, respectively (p=0.001). With a median follow-up of 68 months after SCT (range, 25–140), the probability of pts surviving disease-free 2 years after SCT to remain alive and disease-free for the next 5 years was 84% (95CI, 75–93) and 82% (95CI, 75–89) after MAC and RIC/RTC, respectively (p=NS). There were 35 deaths beyond 2 years, 15 due to relapse and 20 due to NRM. NRM included 9 deaths due to second cancers; 2 due to relapse of a primary malignancy in pts transplanted for therapy related AML, 4 other solid tumors, 3 donor MDS/AML. 9 pts died of chGVHD/infections and 2 of myocardial infarction. In all, the cumulative incidence of late NRM was 7% (4–11), similar after MAC and RIC/RTC. However, more pts in the MAC group died of chGVHD/ infections (6.9% Vs 2.3%, p=0.08), while more pts in the RIC/RTC group died of second cancers (4.6% Vs 1.4%, p=NS). 24 pts relapsed, 25–102 months after SCT, cumulative incidence 11% (7–16); 9% after MAC and 11% after RIC/RTC (p=NS); 15 died, 9 are alive following further therapies. The kinetics of late relapses was similar with MAC and RIC/RTC. Advanced age (>55) and moderate-severe chGVHD were the most significant predicting factors for shortened survival. OS 5 years after the 2-year time-point was 77% and 89%, in the older and younger groups, respectively (p=0.05). OS was 78% and 90% in pts with and without mod-sev chGVHD, respectively (p=0.004). Multivariate analysis confirmed these as independent factors, HR 2.1 (p=0.07) and 2.6 (p=0.006), respectively. The conditioning regimen, disease type and status at SCT and donor type were not predictive. A history of mod-sev chGVHD predicted for NRM, HR 5.2 (p=0.001). Advanced disease status at SCT predicted for relapse risk, HR 2.6 (P=0.004). The cumulative probability of stopping IST by 8 years after MAC and RIC/RTC SCT was 59 and 75%, respectively (p=0.001). For patients who stopped IST the median duration of IST was 30 and 20 months, respectively (p=0.05). QoL was assessed by the EORTC QLQ-C30 questionnaire. Mean QOL score was 69, 66 and 65 after MAC, RIC and RTC, respectively. A low QOL score (20 points below median) was reported by 15%, 14% and 19%, respectively (p=NS). There was no difference in any of the other domains of QoL assessment as well. Multiple regression analysis identified continuous need IST and reporting depression as factors correlated with a low score while a healthy lifestyle (including return to work, physical and sexual activity) and academic education were associated with high score. In conclusion, the pattern of late outcome is similar after MAC and RIC/RTC. Late NRM is similar although chGVHD is less severe and the required duration of IST is shorter after RIC/RTC. This may lead to better QoL. Younger pts who are disease-free 2 years after SCT, particularly those with no mod-sev chGVHD can expect good long-term outcome and relatively good QOL. Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.


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