The Southern Ocean Exchange: porous boundaries between humpback whale breeding populations in southern polar waters.

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) are a cosmopolitan species and perform long annual migrations between low-latitude breeding areas and high-latitude feeding areas. Their breeding populations appear to be spatially and genetically segregated due to long-term, maternally inherited fidelity to natal breeding areas. In the Southern Hemisphere, some humpback whale breeding populations mix in Southern Ocean waters in summer, but very little movement between Pacific and Atlantic waters has been identified to date, suggesting these waters constituted an oceanic boundary between genetically distinct populations. Here, we present new evidence of summer co-occurrence in the West Antarctic Peninsula feeding area of two recovering humpback whale breeding populations from the Atlantic (Brazil) and Pacific (Central and South America). As humpback whale populations recover, observations like this point to the need to revise our perceptions of boundaries between stocks, particularly on high latitude feeding grounds. We suggest that this "Southern Ocean Exchange" may become more frequent as populations recover from commercial whaling and climate change modifies environmental dynamics and humpback whale prey availability.

Effects of dietary supplementation with medicinal fungus in fasting glycemia levels of patients with colorectal cancer: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with Agaricus sylvaticus medicinal fungus in fasting glycemia of post-surgery patients with colorectal cancer. SCOPE: Proctology Ambulatory of Federal District Base Hospital-Brazil. SUBJECTS: Fifty-six colorectal cancer patients in postsurgery phase, stadiums phase I, II and II, which followed specific criteria of inclusion and exclusion. INTERVENTIONS: All patients were randomized in two groups: supplemented with Agaricus sylvaticus fungus (30 mg/kg/day) and placebo, and were followed up for six months. Subjects were divided later on according to BMI--Body Mass Index, sex and stage. Three fasting glycemia evaluations were carried out throughout the treatment. RESULTS: Subjects presented BMI medium = 24.65 kg/m2 (57.1% women and 42.9% men). The placebo group (average age 59.14 +/- 12.95 years) had initial glycemia levels of 94.36 +/- 15.34 mg/dL, after three months 98.12 +/- 15.54 mg/dL (p = 0.03) and in the sixth month 98.52 +/- 9.03 mg/dL (p = 0.01). The supplemented group (average age of 56.34 +/- 15.53 years) had initial glycemia levels of 95.92 +/- 11.64 mg/dL, after three months 94.88 +/- 12.24 mg/dL (p = 0.65) and, in the sixth month, a significant reduction to 92.86 +/- 6.82 mg/dL (p = 0.01). CONCLUSION: The results suggest that the dietary supplementation with Agaricus sylvaticus medicinal fungus can significantly reduce fasting glycemia levels of colorectal cancer patients in post-surgery phase.