In utero Exposure to β-2-Adrenergic Receptor Agonist Drugs and Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorders
OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between use of β-2-adrenergic receptor (B2AR) agonist drugs during pregnancy and risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
METHODS: A case-control study was conducted by using Denmark’s health and population registers. Among children born between 1997 and 2006, 5200 cases with ASD admission diagnoses and 52 000 controls without ASD were identified and individually matched on month and year of birth. Conditional logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (OR) and confidence intervals (CI) for any B2AR agonist exposure during pregnancy, preconception, and by trimester.
RESULTS: In total, 3.7% of cases and 2.9% of controls were exposed to B2ARs during pregnancy. Use of B2ARs during pregnancy was associated with increased risk of ASD, even after adjustment for maternal asthma and other covariates (OR: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1–1.5). The elevated risk was observed with use of B2AR during preconception (OR: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.0–1.6), first trimester (OR: 1.3, 95% CI: 1.1–1.5), second trimester (OR: 1.5, 95% CI: 1.1–1.7), and the third trimester (OR: 1.4, 95% CI: 1.1–1.7). There was some evidence that longer B2AR within-pregnancy use was associated with the increased risk.
CONCLUSIONS: B2AR agonist exposure during pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk for ASD. If the effect is real, any intervention must be balanced against benefits of indicated medication use by pregnant women.
- ASD —
- autism spectrum disorders
- B2AR —
- β-2-adrenergic receptor
- CD —
- conception date
- CI —
- confidence interval
- ICD —
- International Classification of Diseases
- OR —
- odds ratio
What’s Known on This Subject:
Certain medications such as β-2 adrenergic receptor agonist drugs are known to cross the placenta and may affect developing neurons in the fetus. Only 1 epidemiologic study thus far has investigated this association.
What This Study Adds:
β-2 adrenergic receptor agonist drug exposure during pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk for autism spectrum disorders. Results from this study add to the limited knowledge on prenatal pharmacological exposures as potential autism spectrum disorders risk factors.
Prenatal pharmacologic exposures have been implicated as potential risk factors for autism spectrum disorders (ASD).1–3 In particular, concerns have been expressed that exposure to terbutaline, a β-2 adrenergic receptor (B2AR) agonist drug, used as indicated as an antiasthmatic4 and used off-label later in pregnancy as a tocolytic agent,5 may increase the risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in offspring.6–8 The prevalence of B2AR agonist drug exposure during pregnancy range from 1.0% to 7.5% in Denmark and throughout Europe.9–11 A study of in utero B2AR agonist drug exposure in a small series of dizygotic twin pairs suggested an increased risk associated with ASD.12 A case-control study of 291 cases and 284 controls found that exposure for more than 2 days during the third trimester was associated with increased risk for ASD, although estimates were imprecise (adjusted odds ratio [OR] 6.0, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.1–34.3).13
It is unclear if the apparent effects are due to confounding by indication: whether it is the pharmacologic exposure or the indicating condition that increases risk to ASD. Long-acting B2AR agonist drugs such as salmeterol and formoterol are used to reduce asthma exacerbations and provide asthma control in adults.14 Croen et al observed that maternal diagnosis of asthma or allergies during the second trimester was associated with risk of ASD.15 However, Lyall et al reported no association of maternal asthma with child ASD.16
There is some mechanistic evidence to support the role of B2AR in development of ASD. β-2 adrenergic receptors within the catecholamine system are involved in normal nervous system development and the function of both neural and nonneural tissues in adults.17 The most common approach to treatment of asthma in Denmark is inhalation of B2AR agonist drugs18 and placental transfer of B2AR agonists has been demonstrated in vitro19 and indicated in vivo even at inhaled concentrations.20 B2AR agonist drugs used during pregnancy can affect the fetal brain by crossing the placenta, resulting in the disruption of either replication or differentiation of the developing neurons.21 The mechanisms within the mature β-2-adrenergic receptors protect against overstimulation; however, fetal receptors do not have the ability to regulate any imbalance and may in fact become sensitized.22 Early research has shown that B2AR agonist drugs administered to pregnant rats during gestation alters neural cell replication and differentiation, synaptogenesis, and expression of synaptic proteins involved in neurotransmission.23–25 Although animal studies support the biological plausibility of adverse effects associated with prenatal B2AR agonists drug exposure, the findings are not trimester specific and suggest that there may be multiple critical periods throughout early development.22,25,26 However, because uncontrolled asthma has been associated with poor birth outcomes, pregnant women are generally recommended to continue asthma medication.27,28 Given the biological plausibility and limited knowledge regarding risks of prenatal pharmacologic exposures, we conducted a population-based case-control study to estimate the associations of maternal exposure to B2AR agonist drugs used during preconception and pregnancy with the risk of delivering a child who goes on to develop ASD.
The Institutional Review Board of Drexel University and the Danish Data Protection Agency (Record No. 2010-41-4861) approved this study.
All children (n = 749 755) born in Denmark between January 1, 1997, and December 31, 2006, were identified through the Civil Registration System.29 Children were excluded if they could not be linked to their biological mother (n = 1139), if the biological mother did not live in Denmark a year before delivery (n = 10 806), or if the child was of gestational age <23 weeks or >43 weeks (n = 1774). Therefore, the study population (n = 628 408) was then drawn from all biological singletons; for women with multiple births, 1 child was randomly selected for inclusion in the study.
Cases were identified from the National Hospital Register and the Danish Psychiatric Central Register that includes information on all inpatient and outpatient care from psychiatric hospitals and psychiatric wards in general hospitals in Denmark.30 The quality of the diagnosis of childhood autism in the Denmark registers was evaluated through medical records review: register-based diagnosis of childhood autism was confirmed 94% of the time with an additional 3% falling within ASD.31 However, there is also a possibility for unregistered cases of ASD. Subjects’ records from January 1, 1999, to March 31, 2011, were searched for International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision, codes (ICD-10) of F840, F841, F845, and F848/F849 (childhood autism, atypical autism, Asperger syndrome, and pervasive developmental disorder-unspecified, respectively). Subjects were considered a case if any of these codes were present.
Controls were defined as individuals without ASD admission diagnoses. Ten controls per case were individually matched on month and year of birth, assuring the same follow-up period for cases and controls, and thus the same opportunity to be diagnosed.
Pharmacologic exposure information was drawn from the Drug Prescription Register, which records all dispensed prescribed medication from any pharmacy, except hospital dispensaries in Denmark. Therefore, we were unable to capture B2AR agonist use as a tocolytic in the third trimester. The drug codes included in the exposure definition are R03AC02, R03AC03, R03AC04, R03AC05, R03AC12, R03AC13, R03CC02, R03CC03, and R03CC12. We extracted information regarding personal identification number, dispense date, drug code (the World Health Organization Anatomic Therapeutic Chemical classification system), name of drug, number of packaged dispensed, and the number of defined daily dosage per package.32 The exposure windows were defined as preconception (90 days before the estimated CD), first trimester (within 90 days after the estimated CD), second trimester (within 90–180 days after estimated CD), and third trimester (180 days after the estimated CD to delivery date). A child was considered exposed if the dispense date fell within the specified exposure period or the days supplied overlapped any portion of the exposure period or interest. Children born to women who did not fill a prescription for B2AR agonist drugs for the entire period from 90 days before estimated CD through the date of delivery were considered unexposed. To calculate duration of use, the number of defined daily dosages in each dispensed package for the period falling within a given exposure window, based on dispensed date, were summed. Duration was dichotomized into 2 categories representing use for more or less than half a trimester (1–45 days and ≥45 days) in each exposure window.
Covariates were derived from available health registers and the social registers of Statistics Denmark. They included parental age, psychiatric history, mother’s number of live births, child’s gestational age, birth weight, obstetric complications, and family socioeconomic status (a combination of parental income and the highest level of education attained). Gestational age was given in days from self-reported last menstrual period and corrected using an ultrasound if the last menstrual period was uncertain. The variable for psychiatric history included schizophrenia-like psychosis (ICD, Eighth Revision [ICD-8]: 295, 297, 298.39, 301.83; ICD-10: F20–F25, F28–F29), affective disorder (ICD-8: 296, 298.09, 298.19, 300.4; ICD-10: F30–F39), substance abuse (ICD-8: 303, 304; ICD-10: F10–F19.9 excluding F1×0.0) and any other psychiatric disorders. These covariates were chosen a priori based on literature suggesting their role as risk factors for ASD.33–40 Inpatient and outpatient maternal asthma was identified using ICD-8 codes (493.00 [Asthma bronchiale], 493.01 [Status asthmaticus], 493.02 [Asthma bronchila cum rhinitide allergica], 493.08 [Asthma aliud definitum], and 493.09 [Asthma]) and ICD-10 codes (J45 [Asthma], J45.0 [Asthma bronchilae allergicum], J45.1 [Asthma bronchiale non allergicum], J45.8 [Mixed asthma], J45.9 [Asthma without specification], J46 [Status asthmaticus], and J46.9 [Status asthmaticus]) present in the register at any time before the delivery of the child.
Conditional logistic regression analysis estimated associations of maternal B2AR agonist drug exposure variables with the children’s ASD diagnoses. Because none of the covariates resulted in a ≥10% change in unadjusted log ORs when added individually, both parental age and gender of the child were forced in all adjusted models as covariates. Parental age and gender have been associated with ASD in other studies and provided a reasonable alternative to the unadjusted model. To address confounding by indication, we included maternal asthma as a covariate and additionally restricted sample to mothers with a history of asthma.
We performed a sensitivity analysis to explore the potential impact of underreporting of B2AR use and maternal asthma in the register.41 Following previous analyses,41,42 we reestimated effect estimates under plausible sensitivity and specificity for both B2AR use and maternal asthma diagnosis. Specifically, for B2AR use we simulated B2AR use at 4%, a rate observed in other Nordic countries.43 Because we hypothesized that possible misclassification was nondifferential by outcome, we assumed equal exposure measurement sensitivity and specificity among cases and controls at 0.73 and 1.0, respectively. We simulated an increase in asthma prevalence from the observed prevalence of 1.3% to a prevalence of 2%, the prevalence estimate suggested by a previous study9 of hospital data from the County of North Jutland in Denmark, also assuming that misclassification was nondifferential with respect to outcome. Specificity was assumed to be 1.0, and sensitivity was set to 0.66 to reflect the level of underreporting needed consistent with the assumed true asthma prevalence of 2%.
Children with ASD (n = 5200) were more likely than controls (n = 52 000) to be male, have a higher parental age, and have a mother with an asthma diagnosis before the birth of the child (Table 1). The frequency of B2AR agonist drug exposure in the pregnancy period was 3.7% (190) for cases and 2.9% (1489) in controls. In addition, there were 83 cases (1.6%) and 673 controls (1.3%) with mothers who had a diagnosis for asthma during the pregnancy period.
We found an increased risk with exposure to B2AR agonist drugs during pregnancy (OR 1.3; 95% CI: 1.1–1.5), after controlling for child birth year and month, gender of the child, and parental age (Table 2). Trimester-specific effect estimates were similar to each other. While attempting to account for confounding by indication, adjustment for maternal asthma did not substantively change effect estimates, as seen by comparing models 1 and 2 in Tables 2, 3, and 4. Analyses restricting to only 863 mothers who had a diagnosis of asthma (Table 4) suggested an increased risk on average, although the 95% CI around the odds ratio included the null (1.3; 95% CI: 0.8–2.1). Sensitivity analyses suggested that misclassification of B2AR exposure and asthma diagnosis did not greatly influence B2AR effect estimates, for example, upon simulating an increase in maternal asthma prevalence from the observed 1.3% to the posited 2%, the B2AR effect estimate became 1.2 (95% CI: 1.1–1.5; see Supplemental Appendix).
The duration of use was similar between cases and controls within each period (Table 1). In conditional logistic regression results (Table 3), the point estimates for the longer duration exposure category (>45 days) tended to be larger than that for the shorter duration exposure category (1–45 days) during the preconception and first and second trimesters periods. However, the confidence limits for longer duration exposure effects overlapped substantively with those for shorter duration exposure.
Our results suggest that exposure to B2AR agonist during the prenatal period was associated with increase in risk for ASD compared with those who were unexposed. These findings are consistent with other epidemiologic evidence regarding in utero exposure to B2AR agonist drugs and risk for ASD.12,13 Our analyses using sample restriction and adjustment for maternal asthma suggest that maternal B2AR agonist drug use, independent of indication, was associated with increased risk of ASD. Findings here also did not offer strong evidence for a particular exposure vulnerability window. Similar elevated risk was observed across the first, second, and third trimester, and all effect estimates had overlapping confidence intervals.
As with a previous study,13 we observed elevated risk associated with the preconception as well as with prenatal exposure. The reasons, outside of chance, for a preconception association could include the following: misattribution of early prenatal exposure to the preconception window, existence of some mechanism such as cellular reprogramming6 for persistence of effect into the prenatal period (outside of bioaccumulation because B2AR agonist drugs have half-life of <7 hours44), or imperfect confounder control. In addition, epidemiologic studies thus far that have looked at duration of B2AR use report the highest risk with prolonged use (>2 days),13 which is also consistent with our findings, although our definition of duration differed from that used previously.
There was a possibility for exposure and indication misclassification, although our sensitivity analysis did not suggest this substantively influenced in the B2AR effect estimates. Analyses also assumed that the mothers used all prescribed medication, but we have no information of when the prescribed medication was taken. Therefore, it is possible that portions of prescriptions during the study period were unused (leading to us overestimate of exposure) or that mothers used B2AR agonist drugs prescribed before the preconception period or during a previous trimester (leading to underestimate of exposure). Overestimation of the exposure could lead to an underestimate of effect estimate; however, we would expect this to be consistent throughout each exposure window. The impact of exposure misclassification is not possible to predict a priori in this setting.
Our exposure data were restricted to only outpatient prescriptions. Therefore, we did not have information on in-hospital use of B2AR agonist drugs, which limits our ability to study maternal B2AR agonist drugs used as a tocolytic because inpatient prescription is most common. Although most prescriptions for B2AR agonist drugs including those used for asthma indications are obtained in an outpatient setting, these drugs are also prescribed as a tocolytic for in-hospital use. B2AR agonist drug exposure due to tocolytic use would most likely occur in the third trimester. Therefore, if a B2AR agonist like terbutaline is administered as a tocolytic and this does, as previously reported,13 increase ASD risk, our estimates of third trimester associations may in fact underestimate the true association. Our findings on outpatient exposure in the third trimester were consistent with those of Croen et al, who considered both inpatient and outpatient exposure and also observed a third trimester association.13
As with most observational epidemiology, unmeasured confounding is a potential limitation. We were able to adjust for numerous covariates that were available in the Danish register. However, potential confounders not represented in the register include in-home environmental exposures and pollutants, which may be associated with ASD45 but are unlikely to be strongly associated with medication use.
Although our results add to the limited knowledge on prenatal pharmacological exposures as potential ASD risk factors and suggest further consideration of other exposures and vulnerabilities that share mechanistic similarities with B2AR agonists, one must be cautious when considering the public health implications of our current work. Under the assumptions that the association we observed is causal and precisely calculated, we estimate that <1% of ASD cases in the population can be attributed to prenatal B2AR agonists drug exposure (the population attributable fraction46 for any B2AR agonists exposure estimated based on an OR of 1.3 and the 2.9% observed exposure prevalence). Given this, with respect to individual decisions regarding B2AR agonist drug use during pregnancy, because uncontrolled asthma in pregnancy has been associated with poor birth outcomes,28,47 any potential modestly increased ASD risk needs to be carefully balanced against the established benefits of indicated medication use.
We thank Karyn Heavner, PhD, for assisting with data management and implementation of Monte Carlo simulations.
- Accepted October 28, 2015.
- Address correspondence to Nicole Gidaya, PhD, A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, 3020 Market St, Suite 560, Philadelphia, PA 19104. E-mail:
FINANCIAL DISCLOSURE: The authors have indicated they have no financial relationships relevant to this article to disclose.
FUNDING: Fees to access data from Denmark’s nation registers were funded by Drexel University Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics to Dr Newschaffer. Dr Gidaya’s travel to Denmark was supported by Drexel University Student Travel Subsidy grant.
POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST: The authors have indicated they have no potential conflicts of interest to disclose.
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- Copyright © 2016 by the American Academy of Pediatrics


- Is it a good sign when coughing up thick mucus?
- Is Honey Good for mucus?
- How can I remove fluid from my lungs at home?
- What causes mucus in your nose?
- How can I unblock my nose naturally?
- What foods kill mucus?
- What is the best position to sleep when you have a stuffy nose?
- How do you sleep with a blocked nose?
- How long does a blocked nose last?
- Will my cold last longer if I swallow mucus?
- How long does coughing up phlegm last?
- What can I drink to cleanse my lungs?
- How can I clear mucus from my nose?
- What is the fastest way to get mucus out of your lungs?
- Should you spit out phlegm?
- What is the difference between phlegm and mucus?
- What color mucus is bad?
Is it a good sign when coughing up thick mucus?
When you cough up thick, solid white mucus, it might be a signal that you have a bacterial infection in your airways.
This type of an infection could require prescription antibiotics from your doctor..
Is Honey Good for mucus?
To provide relief, you need a mucus substitute and honey is ideal. Honey is sticky and thick, providing a protective membrane over the mucous membranes. Honey has natural anti-bacterial properties and contains an enzyme that converts into hydrogen peroxide when combined with salt and water.
How can I remove fluid from my lungs at home?
Ways to clear the lungsSteam therapy. Steam therapy, or steam inhalation, involves inhaling water vapor to open the airways and help the lungs drain mucus. … Controlled coughing. … Drain mucus from the lungs. … Exercise. … Green tea. … Anti-inflammatory foods. … Chest percussion.
What causes mucus in your nose?
Bacterial and viral infections cause your nose and sinuses to produce excess mucus. This extra mucus attempts to flush out the bacteria that’s causing the infection as your body fights it off. Sometimes mucus becomes yellow or green as your body attempts to trap the infection, producing pus.
How can I unblock my nose naturally?
Here are eight things you can do now to feel and breathe better.Use a humidifier. A humidifier provides a quick, easy way to reduce sinus pain and relieve a stuffy nose. … Take a shower. … Stay hydrated. … Use a saline spray. … Drain your sinuses. … Use a warm compress. … Try decongestants. … Take antihistamines or allergy medicine.
What foods kill mucus?
6 foods to eliminate excess mucus as suggested by Luke CoutinhoGinger. Ginger can be used as a natural decongestant and antihistamine. … Cayenne pepper. Excessive cough and mucus can be eliminated with the help of cayenne pepper. … Garlic. … Pineapple.
What is the best position to sleep when you have a stuffy nose?
To sleep with a stuffy nose, you should be propped up on your back with a pillow to help the mucus drain out. You should avoid sleeping on your side, since it may make one or both nostrils even more congested.
How do you sleep with a blocked nose?
What to do right before bedTake an antihistamine. … Diffuse an essential oil in your bedroom. … Use a humidifier in your bedroom. … Keep your bedroom cool and dark. … Apply a nasal strip. … Apply an essential oil chest rub. … Apply a menthol chest rub. … Prop up your head so you remain elevated.
How long does a blocked nose last?
Although it might feel like longer, nasal congestion usually lasts around five to 10 days, depending on whether it is caused by a viral or bacterial infection. While decongestants can help to manage your nasal congestion symptoms, it is best to just let nasal congestion run its course.
Will my cold last longer if I swallow mucus?
So, to answer your questions: The phlegm itself isn’t toxic or harmful to swallow. Once swallowed, it’s digested and absorbed. It isn’t recycled intact; your body makes more in the lungs, nose and sinuses. It doesn’t prolong your illness or lead to infection or complications in other parts of your body.
How long does coughing up phlegm last?
Acute bronchitis often develops three to four days after a cold or the flu. It may start with a dry cough, then after a few days the coughing spells may bring up mucus. Most people get over an acute bout of bronchitis in two to three weeks, although the cough can sometimes hang on for four weeks or more.
What can I drink to cleanse my lungs?
Here are a few detox drinks that can help improve your lungs and overall health during the winter season:Honey and hot water. This powerful drink can help detoxify the body and fight off the effects of pollutants. … Green tea. … Cinnamon water. … Ginger and turmeric drink. … Mulethi tea. … Apple, beetroot, carrot smoothie.
How can I clear mucus from my nose?
Home TreatmentsUse a humidifier or vaporizer.Take long showers or breathe in steam from a pot of warm (but not too hot) water.Drink lots of fluids. … Use a nasal saline spray. … Try a Neti pot, nasal irrigator, or bulb syringe. … Place a warm, wet towel on your face. … Prop yourself up. … Avoid chlorinated pools.
What is the fastest way to get mucus out of your lungs?
Home remedies for mucus in the chestWarm fluids. Hot beverages can provide immediate and sustained relief from a mucus buildup in the chest. … Steam. Keeping the air moist can loosen mucus and reduce congestion and coughing. … Saltwater. … Honey. … Foods and herbs. … Essential oils. … Elevate the head. … N-acetylcysteine (NAC)
Should you spit out phlegm?
If your mucus is dry and you are having trouble coughing it up, you can do things like take a steamy shower or use a humidifier to wet and loosen the mucus. When you do cough up phlegm (another word for mucus) from your chest, Dr. Boucher says it really doesn’t matter if you spit it out or swallow it.
What is the difference between phlegm and mucus?
Mucus is a thinner secretion from your nose and sinuses. Phlegm is thicker and is made by your throat and lungs.
What color mucus is bad?
Red or pink phlegm can be a more serious warning sign. Red or pink indicates that there is bleeding in the respiratory tract or lungs. Heavy coughing can cause bleeding by breaking the blood vessels in the lungs, leading to red phlegm. However, more serious conditions can also cause red or pink phlegm.


In a new study from the British Antarctic Survey, scientists report that the Weddell Sea has lost one-third of its summer ice cover in the last five years. Summer sea ice has declined by one million square kilometers, an area twice the size of Spain, in the Weddell Sea along the coast of Antarctica.
Many animals such as penguins and seals depend on the sea ice that surrounds Antarctica for finding food and breeding.
The researchers analyzed satellite records and weather data from over the last four decades to investigate the dramatic decline of summer ice in the Weddell Sea. The experts found that much of the ice was lost as a result of severe storms in the Antarctic summer of 2016 and 2017.
The summer sea ice was also influenced by the re-emergence of a polynya – an area of open water in the middle of the contiguous pack ice – which had not appeared since the mid-1970s.
“Antarctic sea ice continues to surprise us. In contrast to the Arctic, sea ice around the Antarctic had been increasing in extent since the 1970s, but then rapidly decreased to record low levels, with the greatest decline in the Weddell Sea,” said study lead author Professor John Turner.
“In summer, this area now has a third less sea ice, which will have implications for ocean circulation and the marine wildlife of the region that depend on it for their survival.”
The size of Antarctica doubles in the wintertime when the surrounding ocean freezes. By late September, sea ice extent reaches over 18 million square kilometers. Most Antarctic sea ice melts in the spring and summer, but the Weddell Sea retains a large amount of ice.
According to the study, a series of intense storms developed in the Weddell Sea in December of 2016 that drew warm air toward the Antarctic and melted a substantial amount of sea ice. The resulting lack of ice cover exposed this region of the Southern Ocean to more sunlight, leading to unusually warm water temperatures that have persisted ever since.
The combination of strong winds and warmer ocean temperatures created the polynya, and this large area of open water has also contributed to the decline in summer sea ice.
If the dramatic changes in ice cover continue in the Weddell Sea, there will be major consequences throughout the Antarctic food chain. Many species, including algae, krill, seabirds, seals, and whales, are highly adapted to the presence of sea ice. Changes in ice cover will affect nutrients and reduce the essential habitat needed by vast numbers of animals for breeding and feeding.
“The dramatic decline in sea ice observed in the Weddell Sea is likely to have significant impacts on the way the entire marine ecosystem functions,” said study co-author Professor Eugene Murphy. “Understanding these wider consequences is of paramount importance, especially if the decline in ice extent continues.”
The sea ice in Antarctica is highly variable from year to year, so the scientists are not yet sure if ice in the Weddell Sea may recover, or whether this is a signal of the long-term decline of sea ice.
The study is published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.


Isles’ key role in GMO corn sets off battle
You can trace the genetic makeup of most corn grown in the U.S., and in many other places around the world, to Hawaii.
The state is so critical to the nation’s modern corn-growing business that the industry’s leading companies all have farms here, growing new varieties genetically engineered for desirable traits like insect and drought resistance.
But these same farms have become a flashpoint in a spreading debate over genetic engineering in agriculture.
Kauai and Hawaii counties have moved in the past several months to regulate genetically modified organisms and the pesticides the farms use. In Maui County, a group is collecting signatures for a ballot measure that would impose a temporary ban on the crops.
Read the rest of the story here:


Penguins and criminality don’t usually go together, unless you’re thinking of the one from Batman, but one cheeky penguin has been caught on camera stealing from his neighbour’s nest.
Captured by the BBC’s film crew for the documentary Frozen Planet, the Adelie penguin of Antartica, can be seen grabbing stones from the nest of its neighbour each time the other bird waddles off to find some more stones, totally unaware of what’s happening.
Penguins in the region use stones to cover their eggs to protect them from run-off as surrounding ice melts.
Not only are the stones important for protection but they also offer more chance of a male attracting a female, something highly desired amongst a colony of 500,000 penguins.
Spending four months filming out on Ross Island, the documentary crew went to great length to record the penguin’s mischievous behaviour.
Cameraman Mark Smith and director Jeff Wilson were determined to get the actual incident on film.
‘They’re only a foot and a half tall, so you have to get down to penguin level,’ Wilson told BBC Nature. ‘So poor old Mark, was crawling around and there were adelies constantly looking right down the barrel of his lens.
‘It’s appealing at first, but when it happens for the hundredth time as you’re trying to get the shots you need, you start to lose patience.
‘[The colony is] most aurally exhausting place. You’re bombarded with sound.
‘Adelies are like festival-goers that have had too much caffeine. They’re aggressive and hyperactive.’
Frozen Planet begins on October 26 at 9pm on BBC1.
VIDEO: Watch the ‘criminal’ activity of the Adelie penguin :


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DMCM hydrochloride is a benzodiazepine inverse agonist that displays anxiogenic and potent convulsant activity.
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|Solvent||Max Conc. mg/mL||Max Conc. mM|
The following data is based on the product molecular weight 350.8. Batch specific molecular weights may vary from batch to batch due to the degree of hydration, which will affect the solvent volumes required to prepare stock solutions.
|Concentration / Solvent Volume / Mass||1 mg||5 mg||10 mg|
|1 mM||2.85 mL||14.25 mL||28.51 mL|
|5 mM||0.57 mL||2.85 mL||5.7 mL|
|10 mM||0.29 mL||1.43 mL||2.85 mL|
|50 mM||0.06 mL||0.29 mL||0.57 mL|
References are publications that support the biological activity of the product.
Petersen (1983) DMCM: a potent convusive benzodiazepine receptor ligand. Eur.J.Pharmacol. 94 117 PMID: 6317396
Conto et al (2005) Behavioral differences between subgroups of rats with high and low threshold to clonic convulsions induced by DMCM, a benzodiazepine inverse agonist. Pharmacol.Biochem.Behav. 82 417 PMID: 16297441
Sieve et al (2001) Pain and negative affect: evidence the inverse benzodiazepine agonist DMCM inhibits pain and learning in rats. Psychopharmacol. 153 180 PMID: 11205417
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Alia et al (2016) Reducing GABAA-mediated inhibition improves forelimb motor function after focal cortical stroke in mice Scientific Reports 6 37823 PMID: 27897203
Kerti-Szigeti et al (2014) Synaptic GABAA receptor clustering without the γ2 subunit. J Virol 34 10219 PMID: 25080584
Nguyen et al (2013) GABA(A) receptors implicated in REM sleep control express a benzodiazepine binding site. J Neurosci 1527 131 PMID: 23835499
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Written by Ian Martin, Norman Bowery and Susan Dunn, this review provides a history of the GABA receptor, as well as discussing the structure and function of the various subtypes and the clinical potential of receptor modulators; compounds available from Tocris are listed.
The key feature of drug addiction is the inability to stop using a drug despite clear evidence of harm. This poster describes the brain circuits associated with addiction, and provides an overview of the main classes of addictive drugs and the neurotransmitter systems that they target.
Epilepsy is a brain disease that affects 60 million people globally. More than 20 anti-seizure drugs are currently available, but these do not address the underlying causes of the condition. This poster summarizes current knowledge about the development of the condition and highlights some approaches that have disease-modifying effects in proof-of-concept studies.
Peripheral sensitization is the reduction in the threshold of excitability of sensory neurons that results in an augmented response to a given external stimulus. This poster outlines the excitatory and inhibitory signaling pathways involved in modulation of peripheral sensitization. The role of ion channels, GPCRs, neurotrophins, and cytokines in sensory neurons are also described.
Schizophrenia is a debilitating psychiatric disorder that affects 1% of the worldwide population. This poster describes the neurobiology of Schizophrenia, as well as highlighting the genetic and environmental factors that play a fundamental role in the etiology of the disease. The current and emerging drug targets are also discussed.


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Thomas Geissmann, Gibbon Research
A baby hoolock (Bunopithecus hoolock) was reportedly born at the Beijing Zoo. This gibbon is one of the most endangered primate species in China.
Since many years, hoolocks have been kept at the Beijing Zoo, as well as in several other Chinese zoos. In recent years, no captive hoolocks have been confirmed for zoos.outside of Asia.
This species has been bred in captivity only very
times. Nevertheless, according to the zoo report, this is the second time in two
decades that hoolocks gave birth at the Beijing Zoo.
Xiao Wei (ed.): Endangered primates find new home at Beijing Zoo (17 Jan. 2004, http://www.cctv.com/english/20040117/100639.shtml)


Meanwhile, the Surgeon, 5mg when he is not pressed for time, may constantly take advantage of AS A Guide to Majok Sukgical Opeeations. This aneurysm resulted in one of the the development of cardiac tamponade (norvasc). A careful search version Autopsy, twelve hours after death. Immobilization of the limb was tried without benefit, and so Dr: effects. I think the Council mg ought to go thoroughly into the question of this displacement.
For "price" the next three years, about every three days, there occurred several foul loose motions.
Jelsoft - the meat solution so strongly advocated by Leube, or that of Valentine, can be substituted for milk, if the latter prove repugnant to the patient or can not for any reason be used. If the conjunctival bed on which it will rest is to move in association with the remaining eye its connections with the muscles and the Acting on a suggestion of enterprises H. The General Council in their late sitting have appended to the resolution which established the principle of conjoint boards a clause to the effect that the lights and privileges of the and corporations and universities shall be left the same in all other respects as at present.
The microorganism that is the cause of puerperal fever is the round-cell growth, the micrococcus, which develops with wonderful rapidity in the blood The planting by ground is rarely the vagina but usually the uterus. Lefferts has omitted the word" Manual" from this edition as from the first; it is also pleasing powered to note that the publishers have made the book just a little too large to be carried in the vest pocket. Vashu believes vbulletin that it was by the agency of this di-ug that their solution in the place of their deposit and the prevention of their propagation to the larynx were efl'eeted. The interstitial tissue between blood the cysts was a coarse fibro-muscular tissue. Early in the disease the appetite and digestion are usually good and the bowels months the attention of the patient is attracted to the existence of a tumor is in the left hypochondriac region.
Bladder what is full of urine; the mesenteric glands not swollen; the mesentery is very fat. The changes in the acute form conaifit side of reducsa, swelling of the mucous membrant', enlargement of the follicles from accumulation of their contents, and increased secretion, coming on after a very brief dry stage. For each drug, we examined the ranking of the actual magnitude of decline observed during the period that our model predicted should be the time period showing the beginning with the time period expected, under the assumptions of the the period predicted to show the fjmallest decline (Period m or n on for besylate the validity of the S-shaped model would be manifest if the average ranking for the eight drugs in a specific time interval (Column B) were to approach the ranking predicted by the model (Column A).
Interaction - the same failure to cultivate the commashaped bacilli of the saliva has attended attempts made by a large number of observers; indeed, with the single exception of Dr. I hear now and then of men ltd who break this beautiful rule which makes: another a friendly debt for which the whole brotherhood holds iiself responsible.


Using large cohorts of myeloma patients the researchers have identified a profile of genes that are silenced by epigenetic mechanisms in the malignant plasma cell.
"This silencing may lead to the uncontrolled growth of the malignant cells", says Helena Jernberg Wiklund, professor at the Department of Genetics and Pathology, Rudbeck Laboratory, Uppsala University and one of the investigators in the study.
The silenced gene profile was compared and contrasted to normal plasma cells, which are highly specialised and for which growth and lifetime is tightly controlled.
The silenced genes have a common denominator in being targets and controlled by the Polycomb repressor complex (PcG). This complex has previously been implicated in self-renewal and division of normal embryonic stem cells. In the study the researchers found that inhibitors of PcG also could decrease the growth of tumour cells in an animal model of myeloma.
"A new strategy for treating multiple myeloma could be to develop drugs that are targeted to the PcG complex, leading to reactivation of the silenced gene profile", says Helena Jernberg Wiklund.
Helena Jernberg Wiklund | EurekAlert!
The world's tiniest first responders
21.06.2018 | University of Southern California
A new toxin in Cholera bacteria discovered by scientists in Umeå
21.06.2018 | Schwedischer Forschungsrat - The Swedish Research Council
In a recent publication in the renowned journal Optica, scientists of Leibniz-Institute of Photonic Technology (Leibniz IPHT) in Jena showed that they can accurately control the optical properties of liquid-core fiber lasers and therefore their spectral band width by temperature and pressure tuning.
Already last year, the researchers provided experimental proof of a new dynamic of hybrid solitons– temporally and spectrally stationary light waves resulting...
Scientists from the University of Freiburg and the University of Basel identified a master regulator for bone regeneration. Prasad Shastri, Professor of...
Moving into its fourth decade, AchemAsia is setting out for new horizons: The International Expo and Innovation Forum for Sustainable Chemical Production will take place from 21-23 May 2019 in Shanghai, China. With an updated event profile, the eleventh edition focusses on topics that are especially relevant for the Chinese process industry, putting a strong emphasis on sustainability and innovation.
Founded in 1989 as a spin-off of ACHEMA to cater to the needs of China’s then developing industry, AchemAsia has since grown into a platform where the latest...
The BMBF-funded OWICELLS project was successfully completed with a final presentation at the BMW plant in Munich. The presentation demonstrated a Li-Fi communication with a mobile robot, while the robot carried out usual production processes (welding, moving and testing parts) in a 5x5m² production cell. The robust, optical wireless transmission is based on spatial diversity; in other words, data is sent and received simultaneously by several LEDs and several photodiodes. The system can transmit data at more than 100 Mbit/s and five milliseconds latency.
Modern production technologies in the automobile industry must become more flexible in order to fulfil individual customer requirements.
An international team of scientists has discovered a new way to transfer image information through multimodal fibers with almost no distortion - even if the fiber is bent. The results of the study, to which scientist from the Leibniz-Institute of Photonic Technology Jena (Leibniz IPHT) contributed, were published on 6thJune in the highly-cited journal Physical Review Letters.
Endoscopes allow doctors to see into a patient’s body like through a keyhole. Typically, the images are transmitted via a bundle of several hundreds of optical...
13.06.2018 | Event News
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05.06.2018 | Event News
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21.06.2018 | Life Sciences
21.06.2018 | Earth Sciences


reflex epilepsy(redirected from Epilepsy, reflex)
Also found in: Thesaurus, Medical, Encyclopedia.
Related to Epilepsy, reflex: Reflex anoxic seizures
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|Noun||1.||reflex epilepsy - a form of epilepsy in which attacks are induced by peripheral stimulation|
epilepsy - a disorder of the central nervous system characterized by loss of consciousness and convulsions
musicogenic epilepsy - reflex epilepsy induced by music
photogenic epilepsy - reflex epilepsy induced by a flickering light


BIO 463L BIO 463L. Plant Systematics. 4 Hours.
Principles of plant classification, phylogeny, and diversity as exemplified by families and species of flowering plants found seasonally in Texas with an emphasis on the local flora. Two lecture hours and three laboratory hours a week for one semester, with additional field trips to be arranged. Biology 262 and 262L, and 463L may not both be counted. Prerequisite: The following with grades of at least C-: Biology 325 or 325H; and Biology 206L, 208L, 226L, or Environmental Science 311.


Structure-based drug design
Structure-based drug design is the design and optimization of a chemical structure with the goal of identifying a compound suitable for clinical testing — a drug candidate. It is based on knowledge of the drug’s three-dimensional structure and how its shape and charge cause it to interact with its biological target, ultimately eliciting a medical effect.
Latest Research and Reviews
News and Comment
Research Highlights |Nature Methods 13, 398
Research Highlights |Nature Reviews Drug Discovery 14, 457


Urban foxes in Britain now number 33,000 and their country cousins 225,000, according to the most accurate estimate ever, says the University of Bristol.
The count of adults taken at the end of last winter before the breeding season involved surveying 400 one-kilometre squares for fox faeces. The urban foxes' diet is supplemented from fast-food litter and dustbins. They are developing different jaws from those which catch live prey.
Professor Stephen Harris, publishing his findings in the Journal of Applied Ecology, says the results are remarkably similar to those in 1981, 1995 and 2000.
The study, funded by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), provides base-line data on fox numbers to check on the consequences of a hunting ban.
An estimated 20,000 to 25,000 foxes are killed by hunting with dogs every year, with some 100,000 dying on the roads. Prof Harris said: "This study found that fox numbers were more heavily influenced by habitat. This suggests that there is no reason to expect fox numbers to rise when hunting is banned."
Another study, funded by the IFAW and the RSPCA and published in Nature, showed that there was no change in fox numbers when hunting was suspended for nearly a year during the foot and mouth epidemic in 2001.
An IFAW campaigner, Josey Sharrad, said: "This research demolishes arguments by the hunting lobby that foxes need to be killed to prevent a population explosion."


Our 2023 fundraiser has arrived, and we need your help!
We depend on donations to keep Butterflies and Moths of North America online and free. Your support is vital to the project. Please make a recurring or one-time donation to sustain this valuable source of information. Thank you!
Observation notes: Fair, 80°; perching on flat rocks and vegetation perches under 12" high in trail on dry barren ridge that has a history of burning. Small pitch pine and Virginia pine close by. Spun into the air 3 times with another individual when it came near. I never saw the other land or any mating. Note the irregular median band and spot above the tail area.


iPPBS-Opt: A Sequence-Based Ensemble Classifier for Identifying Protein-Protein Binding Sites by Optimizing Imbalanced Training Datasets. Knowledge of protein-protein interactions and their binding sites is indispensable for in-depth understanding of the networks in living cells. With the avalanche of protein sequences generated in the postgenomic age, it is critical to develop computational methods for identifying in a timely fashion the protein-protein binding sites (PPBSs) based on the sequence information alone because the information obtained by this way can be used for both biomedical research and drug development. To address such a challenge, we have proposed a new predictor, called iPPBS-Opt, in which we have used: (1) the K-Nearest Neighbors Cleaning (KNNC) and Inserting Hypothetical Training Samples (IHTS) treatments to optimize the training dataset; (2) the ensemble voting approach to select the most relevant features; and (3) the stationary wavelet transform to formulate the statistical samples. Cross-validation tests by targeting the experiment-confirmed results have demonstrated that the new predictor is very promising, implying that the aforementioned practices are indeed very effective. Particularly, the approach of using the wavelets to express protein/peptide sequences might be the key in grasping the problem’s essence, fully consistent with the findings that many important biological functions of proteins can be elucidated with their low-frequency internal motions. To maximize the convenience of most experimental scientists, we have provided a step-by-step guide on how to use the predictor’s web server (http://www.jci-bioinfo.cn/iPPBS-Opt) to get the desired results without the need to go through the complicated mathematical equations involved.
Keywords for this software
References in zbMATH (referenced in 9 articles )
Showing results 1 to 9 of 9.
- Arif, Muhammad; Hayat, Maqsood; Jan, Zahoor: IMem-2LSAAC: a two-level model for discrimination of membrane proteins and their types by extending the notion of SAAC into Chou’s pseudo amino acid composition (2018)
- Sabooh, M. Fazli; Iqbal, Nadeem; Khan, Mukhtaj; Khan, Muslim; Maqbool, H. F.: Identifying 5-methylcytosine sites in RNA sequence using composite encoding feature into Chou’s PseKNC (2018)
- Tarafder, Sumit; Toukir Ahmed, Md.; Iqbal, Sumaiya; Tamjidul Hoque, Md; Sohel Rahman, M.: RBSURFpred: modeling protein accessible surface area in real and binary space using regularized and optimized regression (2018)
- Zhang, Shengli; Duan, Xin: Prediction of protein subcellular localization with oversampling approach and Chou’s general PseAAC (2018)
- Jiao, Xiong; Ranganathan, Shoba: Prediction of interface residue based on the features of residue interaction network (2017)
- Khan, Muslim; Hayat, Maqsood; Khan, Sher Afzal; Ahmad, Saeed; Iqbal, Nadeem: Bi-PSSM: position specific scoring matrix based intelligent computational model for identification of mycobacterial membrane proteins (2017)
- Pai, Priyadarshini P.; Dash, Tirtharaj; Mondal, Sukanta: Sequence-based discrimination of protein-RNA interacting residues using a probabilistic approach (2017)
- Jia, Jianhua; Liu, Zi; Xiao, Xuan; Liu, Bingxiang; Chou, Kuo-Chen: pSuc-Lys: predict lysine succinylation sites in proteins with PseAAC and ensemble random forest approach (2016)
- Jiao, Ya-Sen; Du, Pu-Feng: Prediction of Golgi-resident protein types using general form of Chou’s pseudo-amino acid compositions: approaches with minimal redundancy maximal relevance feature selection (2016)


$125 for 15 minute treatment.
Performed every 4-6 weeks for smaller veins
Performed every - months for large reticular vessels
According to the Mayo Clinic, sclerotherapy effectively treats varicose and spider veins.
Sclerotherapy is a very popular treatment done to remove any unwanted spider veins. It’s often considered the treatment of choice for small varicose veins. Sclerotherapy involves injecting a solution directly into the vein. The sclerotherapy solution causes the vein to scar and collapse, forcing blood to reroute through healthier veins. The collapsed vein is reabsorbed into local tissue and eventually fades.
After sclerotherapy, treated veins tend to fade within a few weeks, although occasionally it may take up to a month to see the full results. In some instances, several sclerotherapy treatments may be needed.
Post treatment instructions
- We recommend wearing compression stockings for at least the first three days (bring them to the appointment with you).
- Should avoid getting it wet for the first day.
- Inflammation, bruising and tenderness is very common.
- Darkness or discoloration is a common side effect for the first couple weeks.
- Sunscreen is very important and mandatory for the first 2-3 months.
- Remember to Walk, Walk, Walk for 20mins twice a day.
- Avoid strenuous exercising (i.e. aerobics, weight training, running and biking) and extreme heat (shower, sauna and bath) for the first 2-3 days.
Erythema (usually resolves within hours),
Edema (usually resolves within 24 hours)
Bruising (usually resolves within 7-10 days).


They could be pigmentation spots. I'll try to post a picture. I know that when she use to have itchy feet in the summer she would lick her feet and they would turn a red/brown color. This type of color seems to be around her privates from licking but the belly spots are light brown. I had read about soy milk helping another dog so thought I would give it a try in the form of the eden organic black soy beans and flax seed since these are high in phytoestrogen. Timber has never had a food in the past that contained soy so didn't think she would react to it but who knows. I'll just stop giving it for now. At the time the vet gave me the estrogen pills, her urine was checked and no infection was found but the vet never said anything about yeast. As far as I can tell she doesn't have any signs of a yeast infection otherwise, although I don't know how it manifests itself in dogs. Just remember hearing to watch for belly spots.


Sea Turtle Strandings and Mortality on the Central West Coast of Florida, 1993-2003
From 1993-2003, 465 stranded sea turtles from the Gulf of Mexico along the central west coast of Florida were examined by Mote Marine Laboratory personnel and volunteers, with the recovery effort concentrating in Sarasota County (n=387). The yearly mean number of stranded sea turtles was 42.3 (± 24.4 SD). There were 89 males, 118 females, and 258 animals of unknown gender. The greatest number of sea turtles stranded in 2003 (n=80) and the lowest number stranded in 1994 (n=12) (Figure 1). The majority of turtles (n=392) stranded between March and September, with a peak in April (n= 67). The mean monthly strandings ranged from a low of 1.0 (± 1.0 SD) turtles in October to 6.1 (± 7.1 SD) turtles in April (Figure 2). Years with multiple months of greater than 9 sea turtles stranding per month were 1995, 1996, and 2003. Red tide blooms were present during these months of increased strandings. The predominant species recovered was the loggerhead (Caretta caretta, n=265), followed by the Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempi, n=106), green (Chelonia mydas, n=68), hawksbill (Eretmochelys imbricata, n=11), leatherback turtle (Dermochelys coriacea, n=5) and 10 animals of unidentified species. Of the 465 animals stranded, 423 animals (90.1%) stranded dead or died while undergoing rehabilitation. Of these animals, 71.4% (n=302) were not given a post-mortem examination due to the carcasses not being recovered (n=10) or due to advanced decomposition and/or partial remains being present (n=292). Post-mortem examinations were performed on the remaining 121 animals. Cause of death was determined by gross necropsy and/or histopathology findings. In 76 of the cases cause of death could not be determined due to advanced decomposition (n=63) or open diagnoses (n=13). The mortality categories of the remaining animals (n=45) included fisheries/human interaction (n=20), and natural diseases (n=25). Fisheries/human interactions included animals with entanglements that caused death by drowning, and animals with trauma secondary to boat strikes. Natural diseases included bacterial, viral, and parasitic diseases, emaciation, gastrointestinal obstructions/perforations, hypothermia, and predation. An additional 12 animals stranded live due to fisheries/human interactions including entanglements and entrapments (swimming pools, beach armoring), however these animals were released within 24 hours of stranding.
|Figure 1. Yearly sea turtle strandings.|
|Figure 2. Monthly mean number of stranded sea turtles.|


May 28, 2014 5:01 PM by PRESS RELEASE (PHOTO COURTESY: USGS WEBSITE)
USGS National Wetlands Research Center Botanist Larry Allain will receive the 2014 Prairie Excellence Award in recognition of his "tireless dedication to coastal prairie conservation through both his professional and volunteer work" according to Jaime Gonzales, President of the Coastal Prairie Partnership (CPP). The private, nonprofit CPP presents the annual award in recognition of career achievement in coastal prairie conservation, restoration, and education, and works to promote the conservation and restoration of coastal prairie ecosystems in coastal Texas and southwest Louisiana.
Allain began studying the coastal prairies of Louisiana and Texas in 1994 after visiting a proposed restoration site at Lacassine National Wildlife Refuge. The challenge of establishing a diverse native grassland appealed to him after two decades of experience as a horticulturalist. His interest was further piqued by the high diversity of insects visiting the many wild flowers, having just finished graduate research in pollination biology. In addition to restoration and management of this grassland ecosystem, his research interests eventually expanded to cover invasive species, effects of fire, and grassland bird habitat quality. Allain said, "After studying insect pollination in forests I was astounded to see the diversity and abundance of pollinators in prairie. Even in small remnants of a few acres, this rare ecosystem was teeming with plant and insect diversity."
Allain's award-winning publication, Paradise Lost: The Coastal Prairie of Texas and Louisiana, has introduced thousands of people to the wonder and plight of the highly imperiled coastal prairie ecosystem and has inspired many community members to get and stay involved in efforts to protect these special grasslands. Allain's online photographs and species descriptions serve as a baseline for botanical knowledge related to local prairies. Gonzales says that Allain's advice is sought and valued because he "possesses a deep and thoughtful approach to conservation, particularly in the area of native seed collection, propagation and usage." Allain served as one of the first board members of the CPP and is a past president of the Cajun Prairie Habitat Preservation Society.
Gonzales states, "Each generation of conservationists produces a handful of professionals whose work and wisdom far extends past their careers - we are certain that Larry Allain will be one of those select few."
Coastal prairie, listed as critically imperiled by major conservation organizations, is a native grassland found along the coast of Texas and Louisiana. It is estimated that, in pre-settlement times, there were nine million acres of coastal prairie, with 2.5 million acres in Louisiana and 6.5 million acres in Texas. Today, it is estimated that less than 1,000 acres remain in Louisiana and less than 65,000 acres in Texas. Much of it has been converted to pasture for cattle grazing, while the majority has been altered for growing rice, sugarcane, forage, and grain crops. In Louisiana, most of the remnants are found on narrow strips of land along railroad tracks and on large coastal ranches. More remains in Texas because it was used for cattle production and never plowed, however many species have been lost through overgrazing. In the past, fire would maintain the grass-dominated ecosystem by suppressing the establishment of native woody species. Besides development, overgrazing, cropping, and lack of the natural fire regime, they are threatened by exotic invasive species of plants such as the Chinese tallow tree and old world bluestems such as King's Ranch bluestem.
Coastal prairie vegetation consists mostly of grasses overlain by a diverse variety of wildflowers and other plants. Nearly 1,000 species have been identified in coastal prairie and almost all of them are perennials with underground structures which ensure survival after fire. Native Americans and European settlers in the area used plants for foods, spices, dyes, textiles, and medicines. The landscape provides important habitat for migrating and resident birds and other wildlife, as well as a unique diverse array of insects including butterflies, dragonflies, and numerous kinds of bees, wasps, ants, grasshoppers, beetles, and preying mantis. Twelve species of milkweed occur in coastal prairie, making the area an important element in the migration flyway of monarch butterflies.
The prairie vole and Louisiana Indian paintbrush are two plant species known to now be extinct, and many other species are now quite rare. The black-lace cactus and Texas prairie dawn-flower are the only coastal prairie plant species on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's endangered species list, yet more than a dozen plant species are listed as imperiled or critically imperiled and another 15 are listed as rare to very rare. The federally-endangered Attwater's prairie chicken, North America's most endangered bird, calls the area home, as do critically imperiled animals such as the gulf coast hognosed skunk and the Cagle's map turtle.
The award will be presented to Allain at the 2014 State of the Prairie Conference in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 30. The CPP is a collaboration of governmental agencies, non-governmental institutions, private individuals, and landowners working to achieve common conservation and education goals to help foster a more connected and empowered prairie community in coastal Texas and southwest Louisiana.
For more information about USGS NWRC's Coastal Prairie Research Program, see http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/prairie/tcpr.htm.


You may find more results for this query on our sister sites: GenomeWeb and 360Dx.
Some oncologists said 10 mutations/Mb is an acceptable TMB cutoff in patients who are out of options, while others worry it will drive immunotherapy use in those unlikely to have a lasting benefit.
Health systems' molecular testing labs haven't had to cut back on genomic profiling for cancer patients yet but may need to accommodate COVID-19 testing if needed.
The study showed that patients with targetable genomic markers, especially HER2 alterations, responded well to chemotherapy-free treatments.
With the participation of five cancer centers and clinics, Taproot is hoping to build a national, prospective data registry that is much needed but has been difficult to advance to date.
The company is hoping its technology can help predict which melanoma patients will respond to checkpoint inhibition using immune-related gene expression signals.
Tissue-agnostic drug development approaches have their own set of scientific and financial considerations, but some drugmakers are taking on those challenges.
The approval of two molecularly targeted, tissue-agnostic therapies, has shown researchers that there is a path forward for other pan-cancer markers.
The study researchers further reported that high matching scores predicted both better progression-free and overall survival.
While the study didn't meet its primary endpoint, it showed the potential of transcriptomics to match cancer patients to beneficial treatments.
With sequence data for more than 118,000 tumors profiled at Foundation Medicine, investigators tracked PDL1 amplification prevalence and possible treatment implications.


Pilonidal sinus or cyst is regarded as the small hole or channel in the skin.The Pilonidal Sinus is the form of cyst which is filled with the pus, hairs, dirt, and debris may lead to severe pain. It may lead to foul smelling discharge.
Usually, Cab Drivers and Shop Keepers who are performing sitting jobs for long hours may be caught with the disease. This usually happens when the hair on the body pushes inside the body causing pain and dirt to push inside.
Pilonidal Sinus Symptoms
1. Foul smell discharge
2 Blood from the opening of the skin
3. Marks just above the crack of the buttocks
4 .Pain while sitting or having a little push due to cloths
Patients at risk
1 Wearing Tight Clothes
2 Hairs Puncture
3 Hormonal changes
4 Rubbing the skin hardly creating the opening for the hair fall area
5 Sitting for long hours
The diagnosis of Pilonidal sinus require a physical exam & doctor may ask few questions about the symptoms, what supplements or medications you take and from how long you had this problem.
To treat the Pilonidal Sinus or Cyst, there can be two effective measure or treatment can be taken such as:
Advanced Laser Surgery


Immunofluorescent analysis of HeLa cells using a Phospho-PAK1 pThr423 polyclonal antibody (Product # PA5-12844) at a dilution of 1:10-50, followed by a fluor-conjugated goat anti-rabbit secondary antibody (green). Nuclei were stained with DAPI (blue).
|Tested species reactivity||Human|
|Host / Isotype||Rabbit / IgG|
|Immunogen||KLH conjugated synthetic phosphopeptide corresponding to amino acid residues surrounding T423 of human PAK1|
|Purification||Antigen affinity chromatography|
|Contains||0.09% sodium azide|
|Storage Conditions||Maintain refrigerated at 2-8°C for up to 6 months. For long term storage store at -20°C|
|Tested Applications||Dilution *|
|Dot blot (DB)||1:500|
* Suggested working dilutions are given as a guide only. It is recommended that the user titrate the product for use in their own experiment using appropriate negative and positive controls.
This antibody is predicted to react with bovine, mouse, rat, rabbit and Xenopus based on sequence homology.
PAK proteins are critical effectors that link RhoGTPases to cytoskeleton reorganization and nuclear signaling. PAK proteins, a family of serine/threonine p21-activating kinases, include PAK1, PAK2, PAK3 and PAK4. These proteins serve as targets for the small GTP binding proteins Cdc42 and Rac and have been implicated in a wide range of biological activities. PAK1 regulates cell motility and morphology.
For Research Use Only. Not for use in diagnostic procedures. Not for resale without express authorization.


Resolved: That the United States should substantially change its federal agricultural policy.
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|Source: CongressDaily/A.M., July 14, 1999 pNA.
Title: Glickman Proposes Studying Biotech Products' Impact.(Brief
Full Text COPYRIGHT 1999 National Journal Group, Inc.
WASHINGTON -- Jul-14 -- (CongressDaily) Mindful of the growing controversy over genetically engineered crops, Agriculture Secretary Glickman announced plans Tuesday to study their long-term impact on the environment, the Associated Press reported.
Glickman stopped short of proposing that genetically altered food be labeled as such and said distrust of the crops, which is especially strong in Europe, is "scientifically unfounded."
But "with all that biotechnology has to offer, it is nothing if it's not accepted" by consumers, he told a National Press Club audience.
In addition to establishing regional research centers to study the impact of biotech products, Glickman said he would ask an independent panel of scientists to review the Agriculture Department's process for approving new seed varieties.
The USDA has so far approved 50 varieties of crops that have been engineered to be resistant to insects, herbicides or plant viruses.
Glickman's speech drew a mixed reaction from environmental groups, which fear genetically altered crops can be unhealthy, and could harm the food chain if they escape from farms into the wild.
Larry Bohlen, director of health and environmental programs for Friends of the Earth, said, "He's telling the biotech industry's line and ignoring the real environmental alarm bells that we're hearing surrounding genetic engineered products."
But Rebecca Goldburg, a scientist with the Environmental Defense Fund, praised Glickman for acknowledging the importance of consumer acceptance. "He certainly admitted that these concerns are legitimate," she said.
Goldburg's group petitioned the EPA Tuesday to restrict the planting of corn that has been modified to kill a moth larva. Researchers at Cornell University recently discovered that pollen from the corn can kill the larvae of monarch butterflies.
Citing that finding, the European Commission said it would delay approval of pending requests to sell the corn variety.


The fish is found throughout South America (Sands, 1997), from the East coast to the base of the Andes: 3,000 feet above sea level (Burgess, 1989). Although no reports were found offering evidence of Oxydoras niger outside of the Amazon River system, Burgess (1989) states that the doradids' range includes the Orinoco and the Parana systems as well. Therefore, it is possible that this fish also exists there.
Biogeographic Regions: neotropical (Native )
According to Sands (1997), maximum total length is 600 mm (24 inches). However, I have personally observed specimens much larger than this: approximately 1 m total length. Similar large sizes have also been reported by Nomura (1m)(1984) and by Burgess (1.2 m)(1989).
The genus contains only one or two species besides O. niger, and can be differentiated by possessing a body width at the clavicles that is less than the head length. Eyes are located on the back half of the head and on the sides - not on the top. The adipose fin is a keel: long and very low and connected to the dorsal body surface throughout its length. It greatly resembles the genus Oxydoras and differs by possessing between 17 and 25 (Nomura, 1984) or between 16 and 23 (Burgess, 1989) scutes on each side, while Oxydoras has up to 40 (Burgess, 1989). In addition, Pseudodoras has fleshy appendages hanging from the roof of its mouth, presumably to taste food particles amoungst river muck (Burgess, 1989).
Color is variable and can range from jet black dorsally with a lighter underbelly to a uniform light gray.
Range length: 1.2 (high) m.
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; bilateral symmetry
- Burgess, W. 1989. An Atlas of Freshwater and Marine Catfishes. Neptune City, NJ: T.F.H. Publications Inc..
- Nomura, H. 1984. Dicionario dos Peixes do Brasil. Caixa, Brazil: Editerra Editorial.
Oxydoras niger prefers large rivers (Sands,1997). Silvano, et. al., (2000) were able to catch them only in the main channel of the Jurua River, and not in tributaries or neighboring lakes. Here, they were only captured during the dry season and were not observed in the wet season. However, this finding contraticts the opinions of the local fishermen that were interviewed. They stated that O. niger was usually caught in the wet season as opposed to the dry season (Begossi,1999).
While many doradids were found to occupy either a blackwater or whitewater habitat exclusively, O. niger was found in both river types (Saint-Paul et. al., 2000). In this study, O. niger was observed as the ninth most common species caught in gill nets in white water (Lago do Prato of Rio Solimoes) out of 148 species. Out of 172 species caught in blackwater habitat, they were not among the fifty most common. In the whitewater habitat, they were caught with nearly equal frequency in flooded forests as in open lake habitat (adjacent to the main river channel).
Aquatic Biomes: benthic ; rivers and streams
These catfish eat crustaceans, snails, and other inverebrates, seeds, and fruits (Sands, 1997).
Lowe-McConnell (1987) has taken data from Marlier and classified O. niger as an insectivore. Indeed, chironomid midges, mayflies, and small crustaceans have been reported as stomach contents (Burgess, 1998). However, so have mud and decomposing leaves (Burgess, 1998), which would classify the fish as a detritivore.
In the aquarium, it has been observed eating boiled oatmeal, trout and koi pellets, rabbit pellets, frozen peas, flake foods, beef heart and liver, brine shrimp, tubificid worms, earthworms (Burgess, 1989).
Animal Foods: insects; mollusks; aquatic or marine worms; aquatic crustaceans
Plant Foods: seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit
Primary Diet: omnivore
- Lowe-McConnell, R. 1984. The status of studies on South American freshwater food fishes. Pp. 139-156 in T Zaret, ed. Evolutionary Ecology of Neotropical Freshwater Fishes. The Hague, The Netherlands: Dr. W. Junk Publishers.
Parasitism: O. niger is commonly host to parasitic nematodes. Five new species were recently described (Kritsky et. al, 1986), resulting from a revision of helminths. A new species living in its intestine was also described two years later (Ferraz, 1988).
- Ferraz, E., V. Thatcher. 1988. Bacudacnitis-grandistomis new-genus new-species Nematoda Cucullamidae an intestinal parasite of the catfish Pseudodoras-niger Valenciennes of the Brazilian Amazon.. Amazoniana, 10(3): 249-254.
- Kritsky, D., V. Thatcher, W. Boeger. 1986. Neotropical monogenea 8. Revision of Urocleidoides Dactylogyridae Ancyrocephalinae. Proceedings of the Helminthological Society of Washington, 53(1): 1-37.
Known prey organisms
This list may not be complete but is based on published studies.
Diseases and Parasites
Life History and Behavior
Perception Channels: tactile ; chemical
No information could be found regarding the breeding of this animal, except that inferred from its migration pattern (see 'Behavior').
Molecular Biology and Genetics
Barcode data: Oxydoras niger
Below is the sequence of the barcode region Cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI or COX1) from a member of the species.
See the BOLD taxonomy browser for more complete information about this specimen.
Other sequences that do not yet meet barcode criteria may also be available.
-- end --
Download FASTA File
Statistics of barcoding coverage: Oxydoras niger
Public Records: 2
Specimens with Barcodes: 2
Species With Barcodes: 1
CITES: no special status
Relevance to Humans and Ecosystems
No negative effects on humans could be found regarding this fish.
Zaret (1984) lists O. niger as being a "main food fish species" in the Central Amazon, but not in the Orinoco, Guyana, Mogi Guacu, or Parana Rivers. They have been commonly observed in the fish markets of Santarem, a Brazilian city on the lower Amazon (Ferreira, 1996).
They are occasionally kept in aquariums by fish enthusiasts.
Positive Impacts: pet trade ; food
The ripsaw catfish (Oxydoras niger) or cuiu cuiu is a species of thorny catfish native to the Amazon, Essequibo and São Francisco basins in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Peru and Venezuela. This species grows to a length of 100 centimetres (39 in) SL and weights up to 13 kilograms (29 lb). This species is a minor component of local commercial fisheries. Has lateral thorns that can damage a potential predator or handler. It feeds by shifting through sand and detecting eatable parts with the taste receptors in the roof and floor of his mouth.
O. niger occurs over mud in streams and lakes. It is known from temperatures ranging from 24–29.8°C (75–85.6°F), pH range of 5–9, and an alkalinity range of 42–142. It is known to form schools. This species feeds on detritus, chironomid and ephemeropteran larvae, and crustaceans.
In the aquarium
O. niger is a popular aquarium fish species. In the hobby, it goes by many names, including black talking catfish, razorback catfish, mother of snails catfish, ripsaw catfish, and black doradid. This species grows to a large size and are often bought by unsuspecting aquarists when small. They will rapidly outgrow smaller tanks, so the aquarium should be as large as possible. O. niger is especially light shy and should be provided with sheltered areas to hide. Although these fish are peaceful, very small tankmates are still at risk of being eaten. This species readily accepts prepared foods. O. niger has not been bred under aquarium conditions.
- Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2011). "Oxydoras niger" in FishBase. December 2011 version.
- "PlanetCatfish::Catfish of the Month::February 2001". PlanetCatfish.com. 2006-04-12. Retrieved 2007-06-16.
- Axelrod, Herbert R.; Emmens, C.; Burgess, W.; Pronek, N. (1996). Exotic Tropical Fishes. T.F.H. Publications. ISBN 0-87666-543-1.
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Analysis of past and present changes in the number of seabirds of French Antarctic and Subantarctic territories and its implication for the management of Southern populations
- P Jouventin, H Weimerskirch
The Lesser Sheathbill Chionis minor is an opportunistic predator and scavenger that breeds on sub-Antarctic islands during the summer season, when many other seabirds are present, especially penguins on which it is kleptoparasitic. It is a poor flyer and over-winters on its breeding grounds, where it faces a diminished food supply and low temperatures. Its foraging behaviour was suspected to be plastic enough to respond to such a variable environment, and we show how this species enlarged its niche to survive in winter. Population movements, dietary changes and monthly weight gains were quantified during a 13-month period of observation. Mortality rates, calculated over a 19-year period of banding, appeared to be age dependent: they decrease, due to competition, from juveniles to subadults, adult non-breeders, and breeders. One of the survival strategies described here is, to our knowledge, unique among birds. After the Crested Penguin colonies have been deserted, some adult sheathbills (mainly females) remained territorial, extending their territory size and diet while their partners moved to previously undefended zones in King Penguin colonies (permanent and large in the Crozet archipelago), where they competed for a winter territory and subsequently associated with another mate. After this winter mating, mobile sheathbills returned the following summer to their breeding territory and previous mate.


Risks of Genetic Expropriation
By Britt Bailey
Once human life is special-ordered rather than conceived, life will never
be the same. No longer will each of us be a life that is unique from all others
who have ever lived. Instead our genetic selves will be molded and chiseled
in a Petri dish to comply with the social norms of the day. And if something
goes wrong, the new life will be thrown away like some defective widget or
other fungible product. So long, diversity. Hello homogeneity. - J. Wesley
The term "clone" is rooted in the Greek word "klon," meaning twig or shoot.
The concept of cloning gained a foothold in the world of gardening where a
twig or shoot could be used to create an identical plant in entirety. Today,
animal (or human) cloning is often referred to as "artificial twinning" because
it imitates the method by which twins develop, for identical twin children
carry exact genetic replicas of each other. As I will show, this parallel
between clones and twins is seriously misleading.
For years cloning has been the butt of jokes, the stuff of sensationalized
movies such as "Gattaca" and "Sixth Day", and a ready foil for uproarious
jokes. The idea of cloning involves removing the DNA containing nucleus of
an egg and then supplanting it with DNA from a body cell taken from a separate
individual. The resulting organism is a genetic replica of sorts, a being
formerly reserved for the pages of Brave New World or UFO cult groups seeking
everlasting life. Now you can even learn about the possibilities of cloning
on the internet.
One website is edited by Randolfe H. Wicker. He has established a wacky ultramodern
storefront in New York City, with an equally bizarre website advocating the
coming of our newest form of engineered creations. Wicker is perhaps the world's
first pro-cloning activist. He formed the Human Cloning Foundation and
The Clone Rights United Front (www.CloneRights.com) shortly after news traveled
the globe that the first mammal, Dolly, had been created. Yes, a website dedicated
to the rights of unborn children via cloning invites derision and cynicism,
dampening academic discussion to a mere whisper. And that is just the point.
By focusing on cloning, we may be looking at the Greek twig, and missing the
forest. Cloning and its associated technologies of embryo manipulation portend
a major overhaul in how we look at the idea of a human life, even as we exile
the advocates for such technology to the lunatic fringe.
"Levelheaded" scientists today appear above the fray: Most will not even
engage in a discussion of human cloning. To do so, might make the general
public nervous about its true prospects. More importantly, a "scientific"
debate could create public anxiety concerning genetics as a whole. By abjuring
debate, the public is likely to see scientists who are otherwise busy plumbing
the genome for its commercial value as sensible, rational beings who dismiss
the more sci-fi facets of genetic technology. We see eye-to-eye on cloning
so we're okay, they're okay. And, the truly perilous mission to transform
human embryos can go on apace, unburdened by public outcry.
Nonetheless there remains a rational basis for public scrutiny of genetic
technologies. As the idea of reproductive cloning becomes peripheralized,
other aspects of human genetic technology raise real ethical and legal questions.
Our ability to have dominion over our own bodies is being threatened with
every new gene test, potential inheritable genetic modification, and each
newly promised gene-based drug. Federal and State legislative protections
against genetic discrimination that ensure privacy and confidentiality appear
plentiful enough. But industry representatives watch very closely that these
new policies do not inadvertently give persons property rights to their DNA.
For if person's held property rights to their DNA, it would muddle the commercialization
and profiteering from developed gene based products such as genetic tests
and pharmaceuticals. Here are some examples.
Currently some genetic tests are routine. Both the test for phenylketonuria
(a genetic disorder that can lead to brain damage) and the one for cystic
fibrosis (a genetic disorder in which children have problems with breathing
and digestion due to a build-up of mucus in the body) are widely used. Neither
of these older, established tests even hint at the degree of controversy raised
by the new wave of genetic tests.
New genetic tests promise to give parents information about possible heart
disease, arthritis, and various types of cancer before a child is conceived
or implanted. Other genetic tests provide information about the likelihood
of disease which could arise in adulthood. In the near future, many gene-based
tests will be used to design a suitable drug for a patient, or to detect special
susceptibility to toxic substances. All of this appears benign, even healthy.
Why shouldn't parents be told whether they are carriers for recessive diseases
prior to starting a family, or have their pharmaceuticals personally designed
with profiles provided throughout the course of their lives?
But have we truly considered the spate of ethical issues raised by the advent
of these new prospects? What are the subtle or more obvious psychological
impacts from knowing your likelihood of developing a certain disease later
in life? And what of the possible discrimination which could afflict those
persons whose test results as prospective parents are known, even if seemingly
protected under a veil of confidentiality? The genetic tests, if used absent
of proper controls, could threaten one's sovereignty, and reproductive privacy.
The age old discussion of eugenics will need to be revisited as market-frenzied
biotechnology companies exert control over offspring. Not far into the future,
parents may be asked whether they want their newborns genetically tested for
the likelihood of coronary heart disease as new gene-based treatments are
offered which could prevent changes in the vascular walls as they approach
Here's at least one big issue: The decision making behind how and where our
genetic information will be used is presently not being given to us to make.
Instead, the locus of control rests in the hands of those hoping to profit
from uncovering personal deviance from a mutation or two. If "found out,"
we stand the chance to pay more for health insurance, lose health insurance,
and more subtly, lose dominion over our interior. Yes, our life span may increase
by a three or so years if a drug is found to be a perfect match to a particular
genetic mutation. But even as such discoveries are made, we run the risk of
compromising our societal sense of justice and fairness, and perhaps the greater
risk of losing some ethical principles like privacy altogether. The true risks
associated with the discovery and use of genetic material may never be adequately
outlined in the standard forms now used to protect human subjects.
The degradation of ethical principles from gene exploitation may prove to
be subtle and pervasive. As long as genetic tests and pharmaceuticals are
an endpoint of the race to sequence and understand the genome, private and
corporate business models are certain to dominate the current stakes. In the
rush to find profits from the genome, we may be overlooking the essence of
humanity, that of the hegemony we wield over our bodies and minds, and the
sense of liberty which should be endpoint, if an end is to be had.
Yes, the idea of gaining genetic knowledge is both exhilarating and chilling.
Exciting because the genome is rife with unexplored concepts. Chilling because
its exploitation threatens fundamentals of autonomy within our society. To
trumpet benefits while eschewing less tangible harm is to miss the age-old
Faustian bargain we strike with new wisdom. To know ourselves may mean giving


Located in Samburu County, Samburu National Reserve is one of the smallest parks in Kenya. It stretches along the country’s biggest northern river “Ewaso Nyiro River”. This 165 square kilometers reserve is about 350 kilometers from Nairobi. It isn’t more known to travelers, but offers an unmatched authentic and wilderness experience.
The is protected locale is one of the two areas in which conservationists George and Joy Adamson raised Elsa the Lioness who was famous in the best-selling book and award-winning movie Born Free. The Elephant Watch Camp lies within the Park and it’s managed by Saba Douglas Hamilton.
The reserve’s altitude ranges from 800 to 1230m above sea level, it consists of riverine forests and palm groves. Nights in the park are usually cool and hot during day mostly in the dry season.
The arid and semi-arid ecosystems form the magnificent landscape of the Park. Samburu’s vast expanse of pristine wilderness in inhabited by diverse Wildlife.
What to do in the Park
For best views of the Samburu’s panorama, don’t hesitate to embark the pop up roof Safari vehicle for game drives around the Park’s suburbs. These excursions are conducted during day and night.
All drivers are required to follow the well-established routes as the tourists take in the sweeping views of wild animals. The winding tracks close to the meandering river are roamed by a pride of lions, elephants and antelopes.
Walking and Mountain Bike Safaris
The Park offer an opportunity for tourists to explore its natural scenery on foot or by mountain bikes. During these safaris, you will see a number of wild animals and birds including the migrant species.
Samburu National Reserve is a magnet for culture lovers. These tours awards travelers a chance to learn more about the interesting culture of the Samburu people. You will discover their nomadic way of life and as well participate in numerous activities such as milking goats, making traditional ornaments and cattle rearing.
Camel Riding Safaris
Camel riding is a must if you want to discover Samburu’s Wildlife in a different way. Don’t miss to get close to the Wild animals like elephants, Zebras, giraffes, ostrich and more as there are enjoying their natural habitats. This is a perfect alternative if game driving is not your thing.
Samburu has a lot for birders. It is recorded with 400 species of birds, therefore it is no wonder that thousands of bird watchers check in to the Park per year.
Some of the usual bird species in Samburu include vulturine guineafowl, yellow-necked spur fowl, lilac-breasted roller, secretary bird, superb starling, northern red-billed hornbill, yellow-billed hornbill, and various vultures including the palm-nut vulture, bee-eaters, sunbirds, grey-headed kingfisher, Marabou stork, tawny eagle and bateleur.


Forbes India- Leaders in Healthcare:
ONE MAN’S QUEST FOR BETTER
TREATMENT FOR CANCER
I am happy to have made it to the Forbes India – Leader in Heathcare issue. I am happy to have got this recognition. I am sharing the download link for the article and few exerpts of the article.
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Bryoxiphium norvegicum ssp. norvegicum (C. Mull.) Mitt., J. Linn. Soc., Bot. 12: 580. 1869; Phyllogonium (Eustichia) norvegica Brid., Bryol. Univ. 2: 674. 1827.
Plants slender, generally 1–2(–3) cm high, light green or yellowish, shiny, gregarious or in loose tufts. Stems linear, erect, more or less twisted. Leaves crowded, overlapping in 2 rows, keeled, conduplicate, 1–2 mm long, oblong-lanceolate, obtuse or rounded and finely crenate at the apex, becoming abruptly apiculate, somewhat subulate near the tips of the fertile stems and grading into the perichaetial leaves; costa ending somewhat below subula in the uppermost and perichaetial leaves, the dorsal lamella usually in 1–2 rows of cells, not reaching the leaf base, sometimes ending above midleaf, occasionally nearly lacking. Perichaetial leaves about 4–6 mm long, gradually narrowed to a long, flexuose, more or less hyaline awn with entire or sinuose margins. Setae about 2 mm long, erect-flexuose or somewhat cygneous; capsules about 1 mm long, shortly obovoid, somewhat systylius. Spores 19–23 µm, very faintly roughened.
Type. Iceland: Mörch s.n.
Chinese specimens examined: JILIN: An Tu Co., Z.-E. Liu 3992 (IFSBH, MO); Changbai Shan (Mt.), C. Gao 22198 (MO). LIAONING: Fengcheng Co., R.-G. Nan 3280 (IFSBH). NEI MONGOL: A Er Shan (Mt.), C. Gao 520 (IFSBH).
Habitat: on sandstone or calcareous rocks in cold temperate regions; Distribution: China, Greenland, Iceland, North America, and the Dominican Republic.
Illustrations: C. Gao et al. (1994, Pl. 43, figs. 1–7).


WHALE OF A TIME
It’s hard to imagine a whale sneaking up on you, but clearly they can
IT MAY seem impossible to believe, but two whales snuck up behind me. I can’t explain how it happened, but they did. And quickly.
One minute I was flailing about in cold, 19-degree water in a desperate attempt to catch my breath and get a glimpse of two massive humpback whales that had been swimming back and forth under Hervey Bay Whale Watch’s Quick Cat II, and the next minute I heard yells of “turn around, behind you”.
When I turned around I was eyeball to eyeball with a whale. Then a second giant head popped up a few metres away.
How on earth can something 15 metres long and weighing 30,000 tonnes sneak up on you?
What amazed me was the whales’ curiosity and how gentle they were in the water around five swimmers tethered to a whale watching boat off the coast of Fraser Island.
No tail slaps, no breaches, no pec slaps … and no sound. There they hung, vertically, with just their heads out of the water staring at us.
Wet skin, pock-marked with barnacles, shining in the early morning sun.
Here were two massive and beautiful creatures that had come to say hi. That’s what it felt like. I could see the curiosity in their eyes. Or were they laughing at these crazy little land creatures?
The whole experience probably only lasted a few minutes (I had no sense of time passing), but the memories will last a lifetime.
How many people can say they’ve encountered a whale in its own environment, on its terms, and had such an amazing experience?
But this is the next generation of whale watching, dubbed “the ultimate whale encounter”.
The writer was a guest of Fraser Coast Tourism.
A whale swim is the next generation of whale-watching excitement in Hervey Bay. PHOTO: MICHELE STERNBERG


Constipation is a common health problem.
It’s characterized by irregular bowel movements and hard stools that are difficult to pass.
There are many causes of constipation, ranging from poor diet to lack of exercise.
Some claim that bananas cause constipation, while others say they help prevent it.
This article analyzes the evidence to determine whether bananas cause or relieve constipation.
Bananas are high in fiber
Bananas are one of the world’s most popular fruits. They’re a convenient snack and incredibly healthy.
Rich in several essential vitamins and minerals, bananas are also relatively high in fiber, with one medium banana containing about 3.1 grams of this nutrient.
Fiber has long been claimed to help prevent and relieve constipation.
Soluble fiber absorbs water, helping stools stay large and soft. This may help improve the movement of stool through your digestive tract.
However, evidence supporting the idea that fiber helps relieve constipation is conflicting and surprisingly weak, especially given how many health professionals recommend a high fiber intake to their constipated patients.
Some studies indicate that soluble fiber can help relieve constipation. On the contrary, other studies suggest that reducing dietary fiber intake may help in some cases.
Whether increasing your fiber intake helps relieve constipation seems to vary by individual. The type of fiber you also ingest matters.
Summary: Bananas are a reasonably good source of fiber, which may help relieve constipation in some people. However, the evidence on this is somewhat conflicting.
Green bananas are high in resistant starch
Resistant starch is a complex carb that has fiber-like properties.
It escapes digestion in the small intestine and reaches the large intestine, feeding the friendly bacteria.
Feeding these bacteria is a good thing. They produce short-chain fats, which contribute to digestive health and benefit metabolism.
Before it ripens, a banana is almost entirely starch, which accounts for up to 70–80% of its dry weight. A large part of this starch is resistant starch.
As a banana ripens, the amount of starch and resistant starch decreases and is converted into sugars.
Resistant starch functions like soluble fiber, which can help with constipation.
One study found that feeding constipated mice resistant starch from bananas sped up the movement of stools through their intestines.
Lastly, it’s worth noting that green bananas have been used to treat diarrhea in children and adults. These properties are attributed to their high content of resistant starch.
Summary: The resistant starch in green bananas acts like soluble fiber and has been used to treat constipation. It may also help reduce diarrhea.
Some believe bananas cause constipation
Many articles on the internet claim that bananas cause constipation. Studies haven’t confirmed this, but some people believe they are a risk factor for this condition.
In one study, German researchers investigated the perceived effects of various food items on stool consistency. They surveyed three groups:
- IBS: 766 patients had irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), where constipation was a major symptom.
- Constipation. 122 patients were constipated: Constipation. 122 patients were constipated.
- Control. 200 healthy individuals served as the control group: Control. 200 healthy individuals served as the control group.
When the 3 groups were asked which foods or beverages caused constipation, bananas were mentioned by 29–48% of respondents.
Only chocolate and white bread were named more often.
Suggested read: 11 evidence-based health benefits of bananas
Summary: There is no substantial evidence that bananas cause constipation, although one survey found that some people believe they do.
Bananas improve other aspects of digestive health
Most people tolerate bananas well, at least when consumed in moderation.
They improve digestive health and have prebiotic effects, meaning they feed your friendly gut bacteria and stimulate their growth.
One study, including 34 women with excess weight, examined how eating bananas affected gut bacteria.
After the women ate two bananas per day for two months, the researchers observed increased beneficial bacteria called Bifidobacteria. However, the effect wasn’t statistically significant.
Moreover, the banana group reported improved digestive symptoms like bloating and stomach pain.
Summary: Bananas can improve digestion. Some research shows they may also stimulate the growth of good bacteria.
The evidence suggests that bananas tend to reduce constipation rather than cause it.
However, researchers have also found that some people think bananas make them constipated.
If you feel that bananas make you constipated, simply eat fewer of them. If that doesn’t work, try eliminating them from your diet to see if that helps.
A food that relieves constipation for you may have the opposite effect on someone else.