Chagas disease represents a major public health concern in most of Latin America, and its control is currently based on vector control and blood bank screening. We investigated the geographic distribution and seasonal variations in triatomine populations in the Yucatan peninsula of Mexico to obtain entomologic data for the optimization of potential control programs. We collected domiciliated an...

Three species of otter can be found throughout Malay Peninsula: Aonyx cinereus, Lutra sumatrana, and Lutrogale perspicillata. In this study, we focused on the A. cinereus population that ranges from the southern and the east coast to the northern regions of Malay Peninsula up to southern Thailand to review the relationships between the populations based on the mitochondrial D-loop region. Forty...

Remote regions such as the Antarctic have become increasingly important for investigations into far-reaching anthropogenic impacts on the environment, most recently in regard to the global mercury cycle. Spatial patterns of mercury availability in four regions of the Antarctic Peninsula were investigated using three species of sympatrically breeding Pygoscelis penguins as biomonitors. Eggshells...

Origins and biogeography of the chub, genus Squalius (formerly within the genus Leuciscus), in the Iberian Peninsula were inferred from comparison between patterns of geographic distribution and phylogenetic relationships among populations belonging to 14 European Squalius species. The phylogeny recovered was based on the complete sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. Squalius specie...

The Great Lakes impose high levels of natural fragmentation on local populations of terrestrial animals in a way rarely found within continental ecosystems. Although separated by major water barriers, woodland deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus gracilis) populations on the islands and on the Upper Peninsula (UP) and Lower Peninsula (LP) of Michigan have previously been shown to have a mitochond...

A screening of 22 DNA polymorphisms has been performed in western Mediterranean populations (Iberian Peninsula, Morocco, and Central Mediterranean Islands). The analyzed markers correspond to polymorphic sites in several candidate genes for cardiovascular disease including apolipopoteins and their receptors (APOA1, APOB, APOE, APOC1, APOC2, LPA, and LDLR), genes implied in the hemostasis regula...

The subduction of the Philippine Sea (PHS) Plate toward the north of Izu peninsula, Japan, is of great interest because intraslab seismicity is absent where the buoyant Izu volcanic arc has been subducting over the past 15 Myr. This study analyzes 42 earthquakes in an isolated seismic cluster that occurred ~ 100 km north of Izu peninsula at depths of 40–90 km and discusses seismogenesis in the ...

background: stroke is a heterogeneous disease with several risk factors. high sensitivity c-reactive protein (hscrp) is a marker for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. recent studies have shown that high hscrp level is a risk factor for ischemic stroke. the objective of our study was to investigate the association of high hscrp (> 3 mg/l) levels with ischemic stroke and its subtypes i...

india is on the verge of becoming the diabetic capital of the world. the fact is that even in ancient india diabetes was prevalent and reference of diabetic-like condition is there in atharvaveda, known as one of the oldest literature in the world. a search through ancient indian religious, political and medical scripture shows various references of diabetes, better known aspramehaor madhumehat...

Rift Valley fever (RVF), a vector-borne zoonotic disease caused by a phlebovirus (family Bunyaviridae), is considered to be one of the most important viral zoonoses in Africa. It is also a potential bioterrorism agent. Transmitted by mosquitoes or by direct contact with viraemic products, RVF affects both livestock and humans, causing abortion storms in pregnant ruminants and sudden death in ne...