Catalogue Search | MBRL
Are you sure you want to remove the book from the shelf?
{{itemTitle}}
5
result(s) for
"Dietary supplements Juvenile literature."
Sort by:
Mother strawberry poison frogs might supplement nutritive eggs with secretory provisioning
Many animal lineages produce and provision offspring with nutritive material such as milk, lipid-enriched skin, or mucus. Some frogs deposit offspring into small pools of water known as phytotelmata, and a subset of those species also provision offspring with eggs. Often when parental frogs enter the water, oophagous tadpoles swim erratically, vibrate, nip, and even suck on adult skin, which has traditionally been interpreted as begging and tactile stimulus for oviposition. However, these behaviors are also consistent with the hypothesis that such mouth-to-skin contact serves the function of acquiring secretory provisioning from parents, as in the mucophagous fry of some fishes. Here we present images obtained with a macro lens at 6 K resolution of mother-offspring interactions in the strawberry poison frog, Oophaga pumilio, that suggest that tadpoles not only poke or nip maternal skin during feeding visits, but rather forcefully suck on it. We compare these observations to those from numerous lower resolution videos of previous experiments with O. pumilio, and place the findings in the context of a literature review of both anecdotal evidence of mother-tadpole interactions across phytotelm-breeding anurans and secretory provisioning across the animal kingdom. We propose that (1) skin sucking behavior may involve the transfer of nutritive mucous secretions or other defensive, immunological, hormonal, or microbial factors from mother frogs to tadpoles and that (2) such secretions may serve to supplement egg provisioning in this and other frogs with oophagous and phytotelm-dwelling larvae.
Journal Article
Happy to breed in the city? Urban food resources limit reproductive output in Western Jackdaws
Urban areas expand worldwide, transforming landscapes and creating new challenging habitats. Some bird species, mainly omnivorous feeding on human waste and cavity nesters, commonly breed in these habitats and are, therefore, regarded as urban‐adapted. Although urban areas may provide new nesting sites and abundant human waste, the low breeding success found in some of these species suggests that the poor protein content in human waste might limit breeding parameters. We investigated whether the breeding success of a cavity nester and omnivorous species commonly breeding in urban areas, the Western Jackdaw (Corvus monedula), depended on the availability of good‐quality non‐urban food. We approached the objective by combining a literature review and experiments in the field. With the literature review, we compared jackdaw populations in different habitats across Europe and found that clutch size and number of fledglings per pair decreased with distance to non‐urban foraging grounds, even after controlling for the effect of colony size, latitude, and climate. In two experiments, we tested whether the breeding success of urban pairs could be increased by supplementing high‐quality food, first only during egg formation and second also until chick fledging. Food supplementation during egg formation led to larger eggs and higher hatching success than in urban control nests, but this did not result in higher chick survival. However, when food supplementation was prolonged until fledging in the second experiment, we observed a significant increase of nestling survival. These findings highlight that research and management actions should not only focus on species displaced by urbanization, but also on “urban‐adapted” species, as they might be suffering from a mismatch between availability of nesting sites in buildings and adequate non‐urban food resources. In these cases, nest sites should be provided in or close to adequate food resources. Urban nesting sites and human waste attract many bird species. However, low‐protein content in human waste may lead to lower breeding success. Breeding output in urban areas decreases with distance to non‐urban foraging areas. Food supplementation experiments confirmed that urban food limits reproduction. The mismatch between nesting site availability and quality food should be reduced.
Journal Article
What do we know about juvenile idiopathic arthritis and vitamin D? A systematic literature review and meta-analysis of current evidence
Over the last decade vitamin D (Vit D) has been the focus of considerable interest as a potential immunomodulator in a variety of conditions including autoimmune disease. Its influence in juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) however is unclear. We therefore wished to clarify a possible link with the currently available evidence. A systematic literature review was undertaken using Embase, Cochrane and Medline for manuscripts up to May 2011. Search results were then assessed by two independent reviewers and relevant articles were further screened by full text review. Only those specifically reporting Vit D levels or its supplementation in JIA (ages between 0 and 18 years) were selected. Meta-analysis was performed where possible with those papers reporting similar data and analysis techniques. In total, 19 papers (
n
= 745) were included in the review. Fourteen papers quoted 25(OH)D levels within their study groups with a mean of 24.56 ng/ml (range, 11.5–56.4 ng/ml) in a total of 529 children. Eleven papers quoted 1,25(OH)
2
D levels with a mean of 31.09 pg/ml (range 6.1–65.0 pg/mol) in a total of 518 children. Three studies reporting the prevalence of Vit D deficiency in their cohorts found that up to 82 % of children had insufficient levels. Five papers reported Vit D levels by JIA subtype and showed lower levels of both 25(OH)D [mean 15.35, range 8.5–24.5 ng/ml] and 1,25(OH)
2
D [ mean 22.89, range 5.6–50 pg/ml] in systemic JIA. Four papers reported Vit D supplementation in JIA however the treatment effect was unclear. At present no clear evidence exists to support a link between Vit D level and JIA. Furthermore, the role of Vit D supplementation in the management of JIA is lacking. Despite Vit D levels appearing to be lower in JIA, interpretation is problematic as no agreed definition of Vit D deficiency exists in this population. A need remains therefore to standardise Vit D levels in the paediatric population and in JIA.
Journal Article
Ventura County Star, Calif., Business Briefs Column
NEW HEALTH-CARE VENTURE ANNOUNCED: VENTURA COUNTY, Calif.: A group of registered nurses in Ventura County is leading the way for a new breed of health-care professionals -- nurse entrepreneurs. The first of its kind in the United States, a Professional Practice Group composed exclusively of registered nurses is being organized. The nurses, who will share equally in the ownership of the enterprise, are holding an organizational meeting 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Pierpont Inn and Racquet Club in Ventura.
Newsletter