Hydroelectric production from Brazil's São Francisco River could cease due to climate change and inter-annual variability.

By the end of this century higher temperatures and significantly reduced rainfall are projected for the Brazilian North and Northeast (NE) regions due to Global Warming. This study examines the impact of these long-term rainfall changes on the Brazilian Northeast's hydroelectric production. Various studies that use different IPCC models are examined in order to determine the average rainfall reduction by the year 2100 in comparison to baseline data from the end of the 20th century.

Studies of postnatal diabetes mellitus in women who had gestational diabetes. Part 1. Estimation of the prevalence of unrecognized prepregnancy diabetes mellitus.

This study investigated the prevalence of undiagnosed diabetes in women in the reproductive age group in a Victorian population by analysis of the results of glucose tolerance testing in 57,563 pregnancies. Gestational diabetes (GD) was diagnosed in 4,243 pregnancies and in 2,957 (69.7%) of these, postnatal glucose tolerance testing was performed.

Effect of follow-up of women with gestational diabetes on the ratio of IDDM to NIDDM in pregnancy.

Objective: We wished to test the hypothesis that the diagnosis of diabetes in women with previous gestational diabetes in our follow-up program had altered the ratio of IDDM to NIDDM in our pregnant population.

Research Design And Methods: We identified all pregnancies managed at the Mercy Hospital for Women in Melbourne, Australia, from 1971 to 1994 that were complicated by prepregnancy diabetes. In these 374 pregnancies, we identified those women who had previously been diagnosed with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM).

Preoperative autologous blood donation. Linkage of the public and private hospital sectors.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a preoperative autologous blood donation (PABD) program with liberal patient exclusion criteria.

Design: Prospective patient accrual from September 1990 to May 1992.

Setting: A PABD program in a public tertiary care hospital linked with a specialist orthopaedic practice in a private hospital.

Food--fads and fallacies.

The importance of food and its many connotations in our daily lives is obvious, from the first feed at the mother's breast within minutes of delivery to the condemned man's last meal. Food is a source of domestic disharmony in infancy, a symptom of rebellion in teenagers, a mode of communication amongst adults (note the scene from the film "Tom Jones"), and particularly a source of concern to most health-conscious adults.