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- Hudson, Lawrence N., et al.
(author)
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The PREDICTS database : a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts
- 2014
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In: Ecology and Evolution. - : Wiley. - 2045-7758. ; 4:24, s. 4701-4735
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of alien species. Existing global databases of species' threat status or population time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of historical declines and to project - and avert - future declines. We describe and assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35) biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than 1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups - including flowering plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems - ). We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database will be publicly available in 2015.
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| 2. |
- Bao, Ying, et al.
(author)
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Folate Intake and Risk of Pancreatic Cancer : Pooled Analysis of Prospective Cohort Studies
- 2011
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In: Journal of the National Cancer Institute. - : OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC. - 0027-8874 .- 1460-2105. ; 103:24, s. 1840-1850
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Epidemiological studies evaluating the association between folate intake and risk of pancreatic cancer have produced inconsistent results. The statistical power to examine this association has been limited in previous studies partly because of small sample size and limited range of folate intake in some studies. Methods We analyzed primary data from 14 prospective cohort studies that included 319 716 men and 542 948 women to assess the association between folate intake and risk of pancreatic cancer. Folate intake was assessed through a validated food-frequency questionnaire at baseline in each study. Study-specific relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) were estimated using Cox proportional hazards models and then pooled using a random effects model. All statistical tests were two-sided. Results During 7-20 years of follow-up across studies, 2195 pancreatic cancers were identified. No association was observed between folate intake and risk of pancreatic cancer in men and women (highest vs lowest quintile: dietary folate intake, pooled multivariable RR = 1.06, 95% CI = 0.90 to 1.25, P-trend = .47; total folate intake [dietary folate and supplemental folic acid], pooled multivariable RR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.80 to 1.16, P-trend = .90). No between-study heterogeneity was observed (for dietary folate, P-heterogeneity = .15; for total folate, P-heterogeneity = .22). Conclusion Folate intake was not associated with overall risk of pancreatic cancer in this large pooled analysis.
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| 3. |
- Kim, Dong-Hyun, et al.
(author)
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Pooled analyses of 13 prospective cohort studies on folate intake and colon cancer
- 2010
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In: Cancer Causes and Control. - : SPRINGER. - 0957-5243 .- 1573-7225. ; 21:11, s. 1919-1930
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Studies of folate intake and colorectal cancer risk have been inconsistent. We examined the relation with colon cancer risk in a series of 13 prospective studies. Study- and sex-specific relative risks (RRs) were estimated from the primary data using Cox proportional hazards models and then pooled using a random-effects model. Among 725,134 participants, 5,720 incident colon cancers were diagnosed during follow-up. The pooled multivariate RRs (95% confidence interval [CI]) comparing the highest vs. lowest quintile of intake were 0.92 (95% CI 0.84-1.00, p-value, test for between-studies heterogeneity = 0.85) for dietary folate and 0.85 (95% CI 0.77-0.95, p-value, test for between-studies heterogeneity = 0.42) for total folate. Results for total folate intake were similar in analyses using absolute intake cutpoints (pooled multivariate RR = 0.87, 95% CI 0.78-0.98, comparing a parts per thousand yen560 mcg/days vs. < 240 mcg/days, p-value, test for trend = 0.009). When analyzed as a continuous variable, a 2% risk reduction (95% CI 0-3%) was estimated for every 100 mu g/day increase in total folate intake. These data support the hypothesis that higher folate intake is modestly associated with reduced risk of colon cancer.
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| 4. |
- Miller, E. L., et al.
(author)
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Stratigraphy and U-Pb detrital zircon geochronology of Wrangel Island, Russia : Implications for Arctic paleogeography
- 2010
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In: American Association of Petroleum Geologists Bulletin. - : American Association of Petroleum Geologists AAPG/Datapages. - 0149-1423 .- 1558-9153. ; 94:5, s. 665-692
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Wrangel Island represents a small but unique exposure of Neoproterozoic basement and its upper Paleozoic and Mesozoic cover within the mostly unexplored East Siberian Shelf. Its geology is critical for testing the continuity of stratigraphic units and structures across the Chukchi Sea from Alaska to Arctic Russia, for evaluating the hydrocarbon potential of this offshore region, and for constraining paleogeography and plate reconstructions of the Arctic. Upper Paleozoic platform carbonates and shales on Wrangel likely match those of the Chukchi Shelf and adjacent North Slope of Alaska (e.g., Sherwood et al., 2002), but Triassic basinal turbidites contrast with Alaska's thin shelfal units. Detrital zircon suites from upper Paleozoic strata on Wrangel reveal that local basement-derived detritus (similar to 500-800 Ma) decreases up section, replaced by 900-2000-Ma zircon populations compatible with a Baltic shield provenance. Cambrian-Ordovician-Silurian zircons (similar to 420-490 Ma) are present in lesser abundance in most samples and are inferred to have been derived from the Arctic part of the Caledonide belt. Triassic detrital zircon suites contrast with those from underlying strata: Precambrian zircons have less of an age range (1700-2000 Ma), and Devonian and younger (<400 Ma) zircons are much more abundant. This change reflects breakup of the carbonate platform during Permian-Triassic rifting, with zircon age populations in Triassic strata compatible with sediment sources in the Urals, Taimyr, and Siberia. Detrital zircon data suggest that Wrangel Island, Chukotka, and northern Alaska (the Arctic Alaska-Chukotka microplate) restore against the Lomonosov Ridge upon closure of the Amerasia Basin and to the edge of the Barents Shelf after closing the Eurasia Basin. The detrital zircon data thus suggest that the Barents Shelf lays close to the paleo-Pacific margin in the early Mesozoic and that subduction-driven tectonics may have been a greater factor in the evolution of the Amerasia Basin of the Arctic than previously suspected.
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| 5. |
- Wang, Haidong, et al.
(author)
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Global, regional, and national levels of neonatal, infant, and under-5 mortality during 1990-2013 : a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013
- 2014
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In: The Lancet. - 0140-6736 .- 1474-547X. ; 384:9947, s. 957-979
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: Remarkable financial and political efforts have been focused on the reduction of child mortality during the past few decades. Timely measurements of levels and trends in under-5 mortality are important to assess progress towards the Millennium Development Goal 4 (MDG 4) target of reduction of child mortality by two thirds from 1990 to 2015, and to identify models of success.METHODS: We generated updated estimates of child mortality in early neonatal (age 0-6 days), late neonatal (7-28 days), postneonatal (29-364 days), childhood (1-4 years), and under-5 (0-4 years) age groups for 188 countries from 1970 to 2013, with more than 29 000 survey, census, vital registration, and sample registration datapoints. We used Gaussian process regression with adjustments for bias and non-sampling error to synthesise the data for under-5 mortality for each country, and a separate model to estimate mortality for more detailed age groups. We used explanatory mixed effects regression models to assess the association between under-5 mortality and income per person, maternal education, HIV child death rates, secular shifts, and other factors. To quantify the contribution of these different factors and birth numbers to the change in numbers of deaths in under-5 age groups from 1990 to 2013, we used Shapley decomposition. We used estimated rates of change between 2000 and 2013 to construct under-5 mortality rate scenarios out to 2030.FINDINGS: We estimated that 6·3 million (95% UI 6·0-6·6) children under-5 died in 2013, a 64% reduction from 17·6 million (17·1-18·1) in 1970. In 2013, child mortality rates ranged from 152·5 per 1000 livebirths (130·6-177·4) in Guinea-Bissau to 2·3 (1·8-2·9) per 1000 in Singapore. The annualised rates of change from 1990 to 2013 ranged from -6·8% to 0·1%. 99 of 188 countries, including 43 of 48 countries in sub-Saharan Africa, had faster decreases in child mortality during 2000-13 than during 1990-2000. In 2013, neonatal deaths accounted for 41·6% of under-5 deaths compared with 37·4% in 1990. Compared with 1990, in 2013, rising numbers of births, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, led to 1·4 million more child deaths, and rising income per person and maternal education led to 0·9 million and 2·2 million fewer deaths, respectively. Changes in secular trends led to 4·2 million fewer deaths. Unexplained factors accounted for only -1% of the change in child deaths. In 30 developing countries, decreases since 2000 have been faster than predicted attributable to income, education, and secular shift alone.INTERPRETATION: Only 27 developing countries are expected to achieve MDG 4. Decreases since 2000 in under-5 mortality rates are accelerating in many developing countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa. The Millennium Declaration and increased development assistance for health might have been a factor in faster decreases in some developing countries. Without further accelerated progress, many countries in west and central Africa will still have high levels of under-5 mortality in 2030.
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