A 17-Year Study of the Response of Populations to Different Patterns in Antlerless Proportion of Imposed Culls: Antlerless Culling Reduces Overabundant Deer Population.

Increasing populations of large herbivores have caused environmental damage around the world, and it is necessary to improve population management strategies. Culling is a traditional management method. Antlerless deer proportions, consisting of adult female deer and fawn in Cervidae in wildlife statistics, are directly related to population increases; thus, the culling-based removal of individuals from habitats and the removal of these antlerless individuals by game hunting and nuisance control might be effective approaches for reducing population sizes.

Muscle mass evaluation using psoas muscle mass index by computed tomography imaging in hemodialysis patients.

Background And Aims: The use of the psoas muscle mass index (PMI) using computed tomography (CT) has become a marker of interest to evaluate whole body muscle mass. However, in hemodialysis (HD) patients, reports about the clinical significance of psoas muscle evaluation are limited. We aimed to clarify the association between PMI and skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) using bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA), and to investigate factors affecting PMI in HD patients.

Skeletal Muscle Mass Index Is Positively Associated With Bone Mineral Density in Hemodialysis Patients.

Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) are at risk for bone loss and sarcopenia because of associated mineral and bone disorders (MBD), malnutrition, and chronic inflammation. Both osteoporosis and sarcopenia are associated with a poor prognosis; however, few studies have evaluated the relationship between muscle mass and bone mineral density (BMD) in hemodialysis (HD) patients. The present study examined the association between skeletal muscle mass index (SMI) and BMD in the lumbar spine and femoral neck in HD patients.

Effect of particle shape on powder flowability of microcrystalline cellulose as determined using the vibration shear tube method.

Powder flowability of microcrystalline cellulose particles having different particle shapes, whose aspect ratios ranged from 1.8 to 6.4, was measured using the vibration shear tube method.

Geographical pattern and environmental correlates of regional-scale general flowering in Peninsular Malaysia.

In South-East Asian dipterocarp forests, many trees synchronize their reproduction at the community level, but irregularly, in a phenomenon known as general flowering (GF). Several proximate cues have been proposed as triggers for the synchronization of Southeast Asian GF, but the debate continues, as many studies have not considered geographical variation in climate and flora. We hypothesized that the spatial pattern of GF forests is explained by previously proposed climatic cues if there are common cues for GF among regions.

Bubbling behavior of a fluidized bed of fine particles caused by vibration-induced air inflow.

We demonstrate that a vibration-induced air inflow can cause vigorous bubbling in a bed of fine particles and report the mechanism by which this phenomenon occurs. When convective flow occurs in a powder bed as a result of vibrations, the upper powder layer with a high void ratio moves downward and is compressed. This process forces the air in the powder layer out, which leads to the formation of bubbles that rise and eventually burst at the top surface of the powder bed.

Measurement of flowability of lubricated powders by the vibrating tube method.

Background: The evaluation of lubricity or flowability of pharmaceutical powders is important for consistent production and quality control of drug products. However, there have been only a few studies on quantitative measurements of the properties of lubricated powders.

Method: Magnesium stearate (MgSt) and sodium stearyl fumarate (SSF) were used as lubricants.

"Lansania Journal of Arachnology and Zoology" - a rare and obscure Japanese natural history journal.

Publication data relating to a rare and obscure Japanese journal "Lansania Journal of Arachnology and Zoology" (1929-1941) are examined. Available facts, together with a substantial body of circumstantial and anecdotal evidence suggest that many planned issues, including several cited by independent sources as having been published, were not published. Some biographical data relating to the editor, Kyukichi Kishida (1888-1968), are provided.

PCDDs, PCDFs, and coplanar PCBs in wild terrestrial mammals from Japan: congener specific accumulation and hepatic sequestration.

The present study determined the contamination levels and congener-specific accumulation features of dioxins and related compounds (DRCs) in wild terrestrial mammals such as large Japanese field mice (LJFM), lesser Japanese moles (LJMs), and raccoon dogs (RDs) collected from Kanto region in Japan during 2001. The toxic equivalent quantity (TEQ) levels in the carcasses or adipose tissues were in the order of RDs > or = LJMs > LJFM. Comparison of DRC congener profiles in the three species and principal component analysis (PCA) demonstrated a higher contribution of OCDD, T4CB77, and P5CB118 in LJMs.

Efficacy of an overtube for reducing the risk of peristomal infection after PEG placement: a prospective, randomized comparison study.

Background: With the conventional pull method of PEG placement, there is a significant risk of wound infection from contamination of the gastrostomy catheter as it passes through the oral cavity. This study compared the occurrence of peristomal wound infection associated with PEG placement with and without use of an overtube.

Methods: Consecutive patients with dysphagia were randomized to undergo PEG placement with (Group I) or without (Group II) an overtube.

Temporal and spatial patterns of mass flowerings on the Malay Peninsula.

We propose a hypothesis to explain the temporal and spatial patterns of mass flowerings in dipterocarp tree species on the Malay Peninsula. The literature on these mass flowerings reveals that during 1980-2002 at least 11 flowerings occurred at irregular intervals of 1-6 yr in a lowland rain forest. Five of them were typical mass flowerings-a high density of flowering trees and the characteristic sequential flowering of Shorea species.