Skin auto fluorescence (SAF) is used as a proxy for the accumulation of advanced glycation end products (AGEs) and has been proposed to stratify patients into cardiovascular disease (CVD) and diabetes mellitus (DM) risk groups. This study evaluates the effects of seven different ethnicities (Arab, Central-East African, Eastern Mediterranean, European, North African, South Asian and Southeast As...

Relatively few introduced crabs are presently known from Australian waters. The present report significantly extends the documented range of the European Shore Crab Carcinus maenas (Linnaeus) and the Fire Crab Pyromaia tuberculata (Lockington) in eastern Australia, based on recently collected specimens now deposited in the Australian museum, Sydney (AM), and old collections in the Macleay museu...

BACKGROUND Barn Swallows (Hirundo rustica) breed almost exclusively in the Northern Hemisphere. However, since the early 1980's, a small disjunct breeding population has become established in eastern Argentina, presumably by birds previously derived from those breeding in North America. Currently, it is unknown where these individuals go following breeding and how they have adjusted to a revers...

Rainfall in the central Andes associated with the South American Monsoon and the South American Low-Level Jet results from orographic effects on atmospheric circulation exerted by the Andean Plateau and the Eastern Cordillera. However, despite its importance for South American climate, no reliable records exist that allow decoding the evolution of thresholds and interactions between Andean topo...

Terrestrial gastropods were collected from wetland, grassland, and forested habitats throughout eastern and southcentral South Dakota from May-August of 1999 and 2000 to assess the role of gastropods in transmission of meningeal worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) to white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations throughout the state. A total of 4,063 gastropods representing 14 species, f...

Several outbreaks of Rift Valley fever (RVF) have been documented in South Africa since it first occurred in the country in 1950. However, there is no comprehensive account of the timing, location and extent of all known outbreaks. As part of a study investigating the epidemiology of RVF in South Africa, a full history of outbreaks was compiled using references to the disease in South Africa fr...