Epibiotic fauna of the Antarctic minke whale as a reliable indicator of seasonal movements.

Antarctic minke whales, Balaenoptera bonaerensis, breed in tropical and temperate waters of the Southern Hemisphere in winter and feed in Antarctic grounds in the austral summer. These seasonal migrations could be less defined than those of other whale species, but the evidence is scanty. We quantitatively describe the epibiotic fauna of Antarctic minke whales and explore its potential to trace migrations. Seven species were found on 125 out of 333 examined Antarctic minke whales captured during the last Antarctic NEWREP-A expedition in the Southern Ocean: the amphipod Balaenocyamus balaenopterae (prevalence = 22.2%), the copepod Pennella balaenoptera (0.6%); three coronulid, obligate barnacles, Xenobalanus globicipitis (11.1%), Coronula reginae (8.7%), C. diadema (0.9%); and two lepadid, facultative barnacles, Conchoderma auritum (9.0%) and C. virgatum (0.3%). Species with prevalence > 8% exhibited a modest increase in their probability of occurrence with whale body length. Data indicated positive associations between coronulid barnacles and no apparent recruitment in Antarctic waters. All specimens of X. globicipitis were dead, showing progressive degradation throughout the sampling period, and a geographic analysis indicated a marked drop of occurrence where the minimum sea surface temperature is < 12 °C. Thus, field detection -with non-lethal methodologies, such as drones- of coronulid barnacles, especially X. globicipitis, on whales in the Southern Ocean could evince seasonal migration. Future investigations on geographical distribution, growth rate, and degradation (for X. globicipitis) could also assist in timing whales' migration.

Genetic characteristics of western North Pacific sei whales, Balaenoptera borealis, as revealed by microsatellites.

Genetic characteristics of sei whales, Balaenoptera borealis, inhabiting the western North Pacific were analyzed at 17 microsatellite loci in a total of 89 whales obtained from the area between 37 degrees N-45 degrees N and 147 degrees E-166 degrees E in 2002 (N=39) and 2003 (N=50). All the loci analyzed were polymorphic over the samples, some of the loci had more than 10 alleles, indicating a high level of genetic variation within samples. No significant deviation from the expected Hardy-Weinberg genotypic proportion was observed at the 17 loci in the samples. No evidence of genetic heterogeneity in allele frequencies was observed between sexes within samples as well as between the two temporally different samples, indicating a single population of sei whales inhabiting the western North Pacific. We finally tested and demonstrated that the population appeared not to suffer from genetic bottleneck as a result of population decline from past commercial whaling.

World-wide genetic differentiation of Eubalaena: questioning the number of right whale species.

Few studies have examined systematic relationships of right whales (Eubalaena spp.) since the original species descriptions, even though they are one of the most endangered large whales. Little morphological evidence exists to support the current species designations for Eubalaena glacialis in the northern hemisphere and E. australis in the southern hemisphere. Differences in migratory behaviour or antitropical distribution between right whales in each hemisphere are considered a barrier to gene flow and maintain the current species distinctions and geographical populations. However, these distinctions between populations have remained controversial and no study has included an analysis of all right whales from the three major ocean basins. To address issues of genetic differentiation and relationships among right whales, we have compiled a database of mitochondrial DNA control region sequences from right whales representing populations in all three ocean basins that consist of: western North Atlantic E. glacialis, multiple geographically distributed populations of E. australis and the first molecular analysis of historical and recent samples of E. glacialis from the western and eastern North Pacific Ocean. Diagnostic characters, as well as phylogenetic and phylogeographic analyses, support the possibility that three distinct maternal lineages exist in right whales, with North Pacific E. glacialis being more closely related to E. australis than to North Atlantic E. glacialis. Our genetic results provide unequivocal character support for the two usually recognized species and a third distinct genetic lineage in the North Pacific under the Phylogenetic Species Concept, as well as levels of genetic diversity among right whales world-wide.

Users' awareness of factors associated with complications during pill use.

This study compared the frequency of factors and diseases that contribute to the risks of oral contraceptive use among current users and non-users of oral contraception in order to evaluate the users' awareness of factors associated with complications during oral contraceptive use. Data from 5317 current users and 8863 non-users in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, were collected using questionnaires requesting information on the following variables: use of oral contraceptives, age, weight, smoking status, and the presence or history of hypertension, diabetes, cardiopathies, painful varicose veins, and epilepsy. Half of the users had some risk factors, and 17.4% were at high risk of complications from oral contraceptive use. Risk factors and diseases which appeared to be poorly known by the population as increasing the risk of oral contraceptive use were smoking, hypertension and painful varicose veins. Only a small percentage of the population appeared to know that these diseases and factors could increase the risk of health problems during oral contraceptive use. The results suggest a lack of information among users and providers on factors which are associated with an increased risk of health problems during use of oral contraceptives.

Randomized clinical study of the T-Cu 380A and the Lippes loop C, in Campinas, Brazil.

The copper IUD model T-Cu 380A has shown the best performance when compared with other copper and inert IUDs in studies carried out in the U.S.A., but it had not been tried out in developing countries yet. T-Cu 380A and Lippes loop C were inserted at random in 328 healthy parous women, in Campinas, SP, Brasil. Forty-five percent of the T-Cu 380A insertions and 40% of the Lippes loop insertions were performed by trained midwives. No pregnancies occurred in 1419 woman-months of use of T-Cu 380A, against 5 pregnancies in 1454 woman-months of use of Lippes loop. The difference was significant at the 5% level. No other significant differences were found. The continuation rate after one year of use was 82.5 for the T-Cu 380A and 75.1 for the Lippes loop. These results suggest that the performance of the T-Cu 380A in developing countries could be similar to the one observed in the United States, provided that the users are carefully selected and that an adequate insertion technique is followed.

Acceptability of the contraceptive vaginal ring by rural and urban population in two Latin American countries.

A study of the field acceptability of the Contraceptive Vaginal Ring (CVR) was carried out in rural, small town and urban slum clinics in four locations, two in Brazil and two in the Dominican Republic (D.R.) The CVR was offered as a new method in the clinics and described as similar to the pill but placed in the vagina for three weeks each month with a one-week rest interval. Follow-up surveys were carried out in the four locations at the end of the experimental period. Three, eight, nine and 12.5% of the total acceptors in each of the 4 locations chose the CVR. The acceptance rate fell after the first five months but recovered during the second year. The acceptance rate was much higher in three rual clinics where the nurses themselves used the ring. The follow-up surveys showed that the fact that the ring is placed and kept in the vagina without removal for a prolonged period was the most important attribute of the method and played a large role in women's reactions to it. Anticipated use-related problems were the most prominent reason given by pill users for not choosing the ring, however ease of use was named as the "most killed" characteristic by 55% of ring users. Women tended to remove the ring for intercours and washed it frequently, often with detergents, thus illustrating their concern with "cleanliness" of an object kept within a body cavity for long periods of time.

Programa de tocoginecologia preventiva.Plano piloto de medicina integral. / Program of preventive obstetrics and ginecology. Pilot plan of integral medicine

E importante conscientizar os estudantes de medicina e os medicos de que e mais adequado atender o paciente fazendo o que e necessario de forma simples e eficiente, sem perda de qualidade, de que atender de modo sofisticado a demanda manifestada sem olhar diversos aspectos organicos do paciente como um todos

Comparative IUD study: Lippes Loop D, Dalkon Shield and TCu-200.

A study was undertaken to look at the clinical behavior of the Dalkon Shield, the Lippes Loop D and the TCu-200 inserted by physicians and midwives. Differences among the three devices were not statistically significant, although lower expulsion rates and higher pregnancy rates were reported for the Dalkon Shield. No differences were observed between insertions performed by physicians and those performed by midwives; this emphasizes the efficiency of using paramedical personnel in the field of intrauterine contraception.

IUD insertions by midwives: five years' experience in Santiago, Chile.

This report includes data on insertions of Lippes Loop D, Copper-7, and Copper-T intrauterine devices (IUDs) performed by certified nurse-midwives and physicians with comparable levels of training and experience in inserting IUDs. Net 1-year pregnancy, expulsion, and removal rates were used to compare the experiences of the 2 groups. There were no significant differences between the groups in most of the event rates or in the overall method discontinuation rates. The authors conclude that, with adequate training and experience, nurse-midwives can provide this family planning service with no additional risk to patients.

The clinical efficacy of the repeated transcervical instillation of quinacrine for female sterilization.

The safety and efficacy of the repeated transcervical instillation of quinacrine hydrochloride in a suspension of 5 ml of 2% Xylocaine was evaluated in 200 patients. All instillation procedures were performed during the proliferative phase of the menstrual cycle: the second instillation was made in the first menstrual cycle following the initial instillation and the third and last instillation at 6 months after the first. None of the patients used any adjunctive contraceptives. Follow-up visits were scheduled at 6-month intervals after the last instillation. The potentially serious complications following the instillation were four cases of cortical exitation, and one case of acute adnexitis. The second instillation was not performed for 16.0% and the third instillation was not performed for 16.7% of the patients, for medical and/or personal reasons. Fifty-one pregnancies were reported, 41 (80.4%) before completion of the three instillations. The results of this study show that the instillation schedule used is unsatisfactory for widespread use. Additional studies are currently being conducted to evaluate the use of an adjunctive contraceptive up to the time of the third instillation in order to reduce the high pregnancy rate.