Carbon stable isotope (dC) records from vascular plant dominated peatlands have been used as a palaeoclimate proxy, but a better empirical understanding of fractionation processes in these ecosystems is required. Here, we test the potential of dC analysis of ombrotrophic restiad peatlands in New Zealand, dominated by the wire rush (Empodisma spp.), to provide a methodology for developing palaeo...

The aim of this study was to analyze post-weaning reproductive performance of Large White sows in relation to season, parity and their lactation performance under tropical conditions in Guadeloupe (French West Indies, 16° Lat. N, 61° Long. W.). This work was based on data recorded in the experimental unit of INRA from January 1993 to December 2003. Two seasons were determined a posteriori from ...

BACKGROUND This paper studies the effect of mosquito abundance and malaria incidence in the last 3 weeks, and their interaction, on the hazard of time to malaria in a previously studied cohort of children in Ethiopia. METHODS We model the mosquito abundance and time to malaria data jointly in a Bayesian framework. RESULTS We found that the interaction of mosquito abundance and incidence pla...

Most statistical and mechanistic models used to predict mosquito-borne disease transmission incorporate climate drivers of disease transmission by utilizing environmental data collected at geographic scales that are potentially coarser than what mosquito populations may actually experience. Temperature and relative humidity can vary greatly between indoor and outdoor environments, and can be in...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS In most fruit crops, storage quality varies greatly between regions and seasons, causing significant commercial loss. Understanding the sources of this variability will contribute to the knowledge of fruit developmental physiology and may also benefit commercial fruit production via altered managements that reduce it or forecasts that predict it. A causal-chain relationship ...

BACKGROUND The morbidity and mortality rates due to cardiovascular events such as myocardial infarction are known to exhibit seasonal variations. Moreover, changes in the ambient temperature are reportedly associated with an increase in these events, which may potentially involve blood coagulation markers. Bleeding due to vitamin K deficiency in neonates, which is associated with high mortality...

Sixty-two multiparous Large White sows were used to determine the effect of dietary fiber level on lactation performance according to season under conditions of a humid tropical climate. This experiment was conducted in Guadeloupe (West French Indies, lat 16 degrees N, long 61 degrees W) between October 1999 and January 2001. Two seasons were distinguished a posteriori from climatic measurement...

Using the guinea pig model, we have previously shown that the aerosol transmission of a seasonal human influenza virus is blocked by humid (80% relative humidity) or warm (30 degrees C) ambient conditions. In contrast, we found that transmission by a contact route proceeded at high efficiency despite increased temperature or humidity. Based on these findings, and the observed seasonal behavior ...