Climatic and local stressor interactions threaten tropical forests and coral reefs.

Tropical forests and coral reefs host a disproportionately large share of global biodiversity and provide ecosystem functions and services used by millions of people. Yet, ongoing climate change is leading to an increase in frequency and magnitude of extreme climatic events in the tropics, which, in combination with other local human disturbances, is leading to unprecedented negative ecological consequences for tropical forests and coral reefs. Here, we provide an overview of how and where climate extremes are affecting the most biodiverse ecosystems on Earth and summarize how interactions between global, regional and local stressors are affecting tropical forest and coral reef systems through impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. We also discuss some key challenges and opportunities to promote mitigation and adaptation to a changing climate at local and global scales. This article is part of the theme issue 'Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions'.

Phosphorus transformations in plant-based and bio-waste materials induced by pyrolysis.

Strategies are needed to increase the sustainability of phosphorus (P) fertiliser management in agriculture. This paper reports on the potential of pyrolysis treatment to recycle P from renewable materials previously regarded as wastes. The study used K-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) spectroscopy to examine chemical forms of P in the waste feedstock materials and corresponding biochars (pyrolysis at 480-500 °C) of four ligno-cellulosic, plant-based residues and five relatively P-rich livestock and water-treatment by-products, to acquire information on changes in potential P fertiliser value. Pyrolysis enriched P in the biochars by factors of 1.3-4.3, thus offering wide-ranging P fertiliser potential. XANES spectroscopy revealed hydroxyapatite (HAP) as one of the dominant chemical P compounds in the feedstocks, ranging from 14% (rice husks) to 98% (animal bone) of total P. For most materials, pyrolysis increased the proportion of HAP, and pyrophosphates were generated in several cases. These alterations possibly lead to diversity in the P solubility characteristics of the biochars if used as soil amendments; this is an important property of environmentally sound P fertilisers.

Evaluating pair versus solitary housing in kennelled domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) using behaviour and hair cortisol: a pilot study.

Numerous studies conducted to assess welfare of domestic dogs housed in kennel facilities have reported that these dogs experience suboptimal living conditions. One important goal of improving welfare of kennelled dogs is to reduce their stress levels, and one recommended approach for improving welfare of kennelled dogs is group or social housing. The beneficial effects of management changes designed to achieve this goal should be measurable in individual animals. Stress is evident through behaviours exhibited, as well as via the concentration of cortisol, a key hormone reflecting stress. Using behavioural and hair cortisol measures, we conducted a pilot study to measure the impact of switching dogs housed in a long-term kennels facility from solitary to pair housing, using both within-subjects and between-groups comparisons. Considerable individual variation in dog responses was noted, with only two of eight pair-housed dogs showing significant declines in multiple stress-related behaviours once in pair housing. The most sensitive behaviours were active vigilance and repetitive movements (such as jumping and pacing). Barking was reduced overall in the facility following the housing change, even among dogs still in solitary housing. The long-term stress as reflected in hormone deposition in hair also provided encouraging indications that the dogs experienced lower stress levels when in paired housing; dogs showed a significant decline in hair cortisol levels from the first (prehousing change) to second (postintervention) samples. Domestic dogs are social animals, and numerous indications of potential benefit were recorded with no negative impacts seen. Based on our findings, we recommend pair or group housing of compatible dogs as a promising addition to the strategies available to those seeking to improve welfare of kennelled dogs. Future studies using higher numbers of animals and that include tracking of hair cortisol, vigilance behaviour, repetitive movements and barking would be desirable.

Media complementarity and health information seeking in Puerto Rico.

This investigation incorporates the Orientation1-Stimulus-Orientation2-Response model on the antecedents and outcomes of individual-level complementarity of media use in health information seeking. A secondary analysis of the Health Information National Trends Survey Puerto Rico data suggests that education and gender were positively associated with individual-level media complementarity of health information seeking, which, in turn, was positively associated with awareness of health concepts and organizations, and this awareness was positively associated with a specific health behavior: fruit and vegetable consumption. This study extends the research in media complementarity and health information use; it provides an integrative social psychological model empirically supported by the Health Information National Trends Survey Puerto Rico data.

Antiviral resistance and correlates of virologic failure in the first cohort of HIV-infected children gaining access to structured antiretroviral therapy in Lima, Peru: a cross-sectional analysis.

BACKGROUND: The impact of extended use of ART in developing countries has been enormous. A thorough understanding of all factors contributing to the success of antiretroviral therapy is required. The current study aims to investigate the value of cross-sectional drug resistance monitoring using DNA and RNA oligonucleotide ligation assays (OLA) in treatment cohorts in low-resource settings. The study was conducted in the first cohort of children gaining access to structured ART in Peru. METHODS: Between 2002-5, 46 eligible children started the standard regimen of AZT, 3TC and NFV Patients had a median age of 5.6 years (range: 0.7-14y), a median viral load of 1.7·105 RNA/ml (range: 2.1·10(3) - 1.2·10(6)), and a median CD4-count of 232 cells/µL (range: 1-1591). Of these, 20 patients were classified as CDC clinical category C and 31/46 as CDC immune category 3. At the time of cross-sectional analysis in 2005, adherence questionnaires were administered. DNA OLAs and RNA OLAs were performed from frozen PBMC and plasma, RNA genotyping from dried blood spots. RESULTS: During the first year of ART, 44% of children experienced virologic failure, with an additional 9% failing by the end of the second year. Virologic failure was significantly associated with the number of resistance mutations detected by DNA-OLA (p < 0.001) during cross-sectional analysis, but also with low immunologic CDC-scores at baseline (p < 0.001). Children who had been exposed to unsupervised short-term antiretrovirals before starting structured ART showed significantly higher numbers of resistance mutations by DNA-OLA (p = 0.01). Detection of M184V (3TC resistance) by RNA-OLA and DNA-OLA demonstrated a sensitivity of 0.93 and 0.86 and specificity of 0.67 and 0.7, respectively, for the identification of virologic failure. The RT mutations N88D and L90M (NFV resistance) detected by DNA-OLA correlated with virologic failure, whereas mutations at RT position 215 (AZT resistance) were not associated with virologic failure. CONCLUSIONS: Advanced immunosuppression at baseline and previous exposures to unsupervised brief cycles of ART significantly impaired treatment outcomes at a time when structured ART was finally introduced in his cohort. Brief maternal exposures to with AZT +/- NVP for the prevention of mother-to-child transmission did not affect treatment outcomes in this group of children. DNA-OLA from frozen PBMC provided a highly specific tool to detect archived drug resistance. RNA consensus genotyping from dried blood spots and RNA-OLA from plasma consistently detected drug resistance mutations, but merely in association with virologic failure.

Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of vigabatrin for the treatment of cocaine dependence in Mexican parolees.

OBJECTIVE: Cocaine dependence is associated with severe medical, psychiatric, and social morbidity, but no pharmacotherapy is approved for its treatment in the United States. The atypical antiepileptic vigabatrin (gamma-vinyl gamma-aminobutyric acid [GABA]) has shown promise in animal studies and open-label trials. The purpose of the present study was to assess the efficacy of vigabatrin for short-term cocaine abstinence in cocaine-dependent individuals. METHOD: Participants were treatment seeking parolees who were actively using cocaine and had a history of cocaine dependence. Subjects were randomly assigned to a fixed titration of vigabatrin (N=50) or placebo (N=53) in a 9-week double-blind trial and 4-week follow-up assessment. Cocaine use was determined by directly observed urine toxicology testing twice weekly. The primary endpoint was full abstinence for the last 3 weeks of the trial. RESULTS: Full end-of-trial abstinence was achieved in 14 vigabatrin-treated subjects (28.0%) versus four subjects in the placebo arm (7.5%). Twelve subjects in the vigabatrin group and two subjects in the placebo group maintained abstinence through the follow-up period. The retention rate was 62.0% in the vigabatrin arm versus 41.5% in the placebo arm. Among subjects who reported prestudy alcohol use, vigabatrin, relative to placebo, was associated with superior self-reported full end-of-trial abstinence from alcohol (43.5% versus 6.3%). There were no differences between the two groups in drug craving, depressed mood, anxiety, or Clinical Global Impression scores, and no group differences in adverse effects emerged. CONCLUSIONS: This first randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial supports the safety and efficacy of short-term vigabatrin treatment of cocaine dependence.