Decoupled plant and insect diversity after the end-Cretaceous extinction.
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Food web recovery from mass extinction is poorly understood. We analyzed insect-feeding damage on 14,999 angiosperm leaves from 14 latest Cretaceous, Paleocene, and early Eocene sites in the western interior United States. Most Paleocene floras have low richness of plants and of insect damage. However, a low-diversity 64.4-million-year-old flora from southeastern Montana shows extremely high insect damage richness, especially of leaf mining, whereas an anomalously diverse 63.8-million-year-old flora from the Denver Basin shows little damage and virtually no specialized feeding. These findings reveal severely unbalanced food webs 1 to 2 million years after the end-Cretaceous extinction 65.5 million years ago. (+info)
West Nile virus epizootiology, central Red River Valley, North Dakota and Minnesota, 2002-2005.
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West Nile virus (WNV) epizootiology was monitored from 2002 through 2005 in the area surrounding Grand Forks, North Dakota. Mosquitoes were tested for infection, and birds were surveyed for antibodies. In 2003, WNV was epidemic; in 2004, cool temperatures precluded WNV amplification; and in 2005, immunity in passerines decreased, but did not preclude, WNV amplification. (+info)
Magnesium requirements: new estimations for men and women by cross-sectional statistical analyses of metabolic magnesium balance data.
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BACKGROUND: Current recommendations for magnesium requirements are based on sparse balance data. OBJECTIVE: To provide new estimates of the average magnesium requirement for men and women, we pooled magnesium data from 27 different tightly controlled balance studies conducted at the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Grand Forks Human Nutrition Research Center, Grand Forks, ND. DESIGN: Magnesium balance data (magnesium intake - [fecal magnesium + urinary magnesium]) (664 data points) were collected from 243 subjects (women: n = 150; weight: 71.6 +/- 16.5 kg; age: 51.3 +/- 17.4 y; men: n = 93, weight: 76.3 +/- 12.5 kg; age: 28.1 +/- 8.1 y). Data from the last 6-14 d of each dietary period (> or =28 d) of each study were analyzed and were excluded if individual intakes of calcium, copper, iron, phosphorus, or zinc fell below respective estimated average requirements (EARs) or exceeded 99th percentiles of usual intakes of those elements (iron: above the upper limit) from the 1994 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals. Daily intakes of magnesium ranged between 84 and 598 mg. The relation between magnesium intake and magnesium output was investigated by fitting random coefficient models. RESULTS: The models predicted neutral magnesium balance [defined as magnesium output (Y) equal to magnesium intake (M)] at magnesium intakes of 165 mg/d [95% prediction interval (PI): 113, 237 mg/d; Y = 19.8 + 0.880 M], 2.36 mg . kg(-1) . d(-1) (95% PI: 1.58, 3.38 mg . kg(-1) . d(-1); Y = 0.306 + 0.870 M), or 0.075 mg . kcal(-1) . d(-1) (95% PI: 0.05, 0.11 mg . kcal(-1) . d(-1); Y = 0.011 + 0.857 M). Neither age nor sex affected the relation between magnesium intake and output. CONCLUSION: The findings suggest a lower magnesium requirement for healthy men and women than estimated previously. (+info)
Binge drinking and occupation, North Dakota, 2004-2005.
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INTRODUCTION: Binge drinking is a leading cause of preventable death and results in employee absenteeism and lost productivity. Knowledge about the prevalence of binge drinking among employees of different occupations is limited. METHODS: We assessed the prevalence of binge drinking (i.e., consuming five or more drinks per occasion during the previous 30 days) by primary occupation using data from the 2004-2005 North Dakota Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System. We used logistic regression to assess the association between binge drinking and primary occupation. RESULTS: Overall, 24.1% (95% confidence interval [CI], 22.5-25.7) of North Dakota workers reported binge drinking. The prevalence was highest among farm or ranch employees (45.3%; 95% CI, 28.3-63.4), food or drink servers (33.4%; 95% CI, 23.9-44.4), and farm or ranch owners (32.5%; 95% CI, 26.3-39.4). The prevalence was lowest among health care workers (13.2%; 95% CI, 10.3-16.8). Compared with health care workers, the adjusted odds of binge drinking were highest among farm or ranch employees (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.2; 95% CI, 0.9-5.5), food or drink servers (AOR, 2.1; 95% CI, 1.1-4.0), and farm or ranch owners (AOR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1-2.6). Health insurance coverage was lowest among employees in occupations with the highest prevalence of binge drinking. CONCLUSION: We found occupational differences in the prevalence of binge drinking among employees in North Dakota. Many occupational categories had a high prevalence of binge drinking. We recommend the implementation of both employer-sponsored and population-based interventions to reduce binge drinking among North Dakota workers, particularly because employees in occupations with the highest rates of binge drinking had the lowest rates of health insurance coverage. (+info)
Calcium requirements: new estimations for men and women by cross-sectional statistical analyses of calcium balance data from metabolic studies.
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BACKGROUND: Low intakes of calcium are associated with an increased risk of both osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease. OBJECTIVE: To provide new estimates of the average calcium requirement for men and women, we determined the dietary calcium intake required to maintain neutral calcium balance. DESIGN: Calcium balance data [calcium intake -(fecal calcium + urinary calcium)] were collected from 155 subjects [women: n = 73; weight: 77.1 +/- 18.5 kg; age: 47.0 +/- 18.5 y (range: 20-75 y); men: n = 82; weight: 76.6 +/- 12.5 kg; age: 28.2 +/- 7.7 y (range: 19-64 y)] who participated in 19 feeding studies conducted in a metabolic unit. Balance data from the final 6-12 d of each dietary period (minimum length:18 d) of each study (1-9 observations per subject) were analyzed. Data were excluded if individual intakes of magnesium, copper, iron, phosphorus, or zinc fell below the estimated average requirements or exceeded the 99 th percentile of usual intakes from the 1994 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (for iron, above the upper limit). Daily intakes of calcium ranged between 415 and 1740 mg. The relation between intake and output was examined by fitting random coefficient models. Coefficients were included to test for sex and age differences. RESULTS: The models predicted a neutral calcium balance [defined as calcium output (Y) equal to calcium intake (C)] at intakes of 741 mg/d [95% prediction interval (PI): 507, 1035; Y = 148.29 + 0.80C], 9.4 mg kg body wt(-1) d(-1) [95% PI: 6.4, 12.9; Y = 1.44 + 0.85C], or 0.28 mg kcal(-1) d(-1) [95% PI: 0.19, 0.38; Y = 0.051 + 0.816C]. Neither age nor sex affected the estimates when calcium intakes were expressed as mg/d or as mg kg body wt(-1) d(-1). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that the calcium requirement for men and women is lower than previously estimated. (+info)
Emergence of fluoroquinolone-resistant Neisseria meningitidis--Minnesota and North Dakota, 2007-2008.
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Meningoccocal disease causes substantial morbidity and mortality; approximately 10% of cases are fatal. Among those who survive, 10%-15% have long-term sequelae. Nasopharyngeal carriage of Neisseria meningitidis is a precursor to disease; however, the majority of carriers do not develop disease. Household and other close contacts of persons with meningococcal disease have a higher risk for carriage and therefore invasive disease. These persons should receive antibiotic chemoprophylaxis to eliminate nasopharyngeal carriage of N. meningitidis as soon as possible. The rate of secondary disease for close contacts is highest immediately after onset of disease in the index patient; secondary cases rarely occur after 14 days. Ciprofloxacin, a second-generation fluoroquinolone, is an effective single-dose oral chemoprophylaxis agent. Although isolated cases of ciprofloxacin-resistant meningoccocal disease have been described in Argentina, Australia, China, France, India, and Spain, resistance has not been reported in North America. This report describes a cluster of three cases of fluoroquinolone-resistant meningococcal disease that occurred among residents of the border area of North Dakota and Minnesota during January 2007-January 2008. The first of these cases was epidemiologically linked and had closely related molecular features to a 2006 case of fluoroquinolone-susceptible meningococcal disease that occurred in the same geographic region. Until further notice, ciprofloxacin should not be used for chemoprophylaxis of close contacts of persons with meningococcal disease in selected counties in North Dakota and Minnesota. Ceftriaxone, rifampin, and azithromycin are alternative agents. (+info)
Linkage study of fibrinogen levels: the Strong Heart Family Study.
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Influence of advancing season on dietary composition, intake, site of digestion, and microbial efficiency in beef steers grazing a native range in western North Dakota.
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