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At least 991 records · Page 55Linked to original sources
PubMed1989

Incidence of tibial fracture in child skiers.

Skiing is an increasingly popular sport amongst both adults and children. Opportunities for skiing within the United Kingdom are limited, but the introduction of increasing numbers of dry ski slopes has made the sport more available. The nature of injuries sustained by adults on snow and dry slopes is well documented, but this is less true of childhood injury, especially on dry slopes. A consecutive series of 92 patients with skiing injuries is presented. Both dry slope and snow slope injuries are included. The incidence of tibial fracture in children was ten times that of adults. The nature of all injuries sustained during the study period is documented, the childhood tibial fractures are described in detail, and possible aetiological factors are discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Seasonal variations in incidence of fractures among elderly people.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate seasonal variations in the incidence of fall related fractures among people 65 years and older. POPULATION AND METHODS: A prospective, population based cohort study was performed on people aged 65 years and older followed up from 1990 to 1997, a total of 459,904 person years. Cases were identified through a prospective registration system. RESULTS: There were 10,992 (2390 per 100,000 person years) fall related fractures. The risk was higher in the colder seasons (October through March) among people aged 65-79 years (relative risk (RR) = 1.39, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.32 to 1.47) and in people aged 80 years and older (RR = 1.17, 95% CI 1.09 to 1.22). For arm fractures, the RR was 1.69 (95% CI 1.56 to 1.83) among people aged 65-79 years and 1.30 (95% CI 1.13 to 1.43) among those aged 80 years and older. The RR for hip fractures was 1.27 (95% CI 1.15 to 1.37) among people aged 65-79 years and 1.08 (95% CI 1.00 to 1.15) for people aged 80 years and older. Slipping on ice and snow seems to entirely explain the excessive incidence of hip and arm fractures during winter months. CONCLUSION: Season affects the incidence of all types of fractures in elderly people. Slipping on ice and snow seems to be a causal mechanism behind the seasonal effect. Preventive measures targeting this causal mechanism are likely to reduce the risk of fracture, but the size of the effect is difficult to estimate with certainty.

Accidental Falls↗
PubMed1997

Polygalacturonase isolated from the culture of the psychrophilic fungus Sclerotinia borealis.

A polygalacturonase was isolated from the culture medium of Sclerotinia borealis, a psychrophilic fungus that grows on lawn and wheat seedling under the snow in winter and induces the snow mold disease. Pectic acid was a better substrate of this enzyme than pectin when the activity was determined by measuring the reducing sugar produced. However, when the activity was measured by viscosity change, the viscosity of pectin decreased more rapidly than that of pectic acid. The results of viscosity change apparently indicate that the polygalacturonase catalyzes pectin hydrolysis as an endo-type enzyme. Highly methyl-esterified pectin was a poor substrate, as determined by measurements of reducing sugar production and viscosity change. It is suggested from the results that the methoxy group of pectin affects the polygalacturonase reaction. A reaction mechanism was proposed for the polygalacturonase reaction. Molecular mass of this enzyme was 40 kDa and its isoelectric point was pH 7.5. Optimum pH of the enzyme reaction was 4.5 and its optimum temperature was 40-50 degrees C. Thirty percent of the maximum activity was observed at 5 degrees C, but it was only slightly active above 60 degrees C. The activity was preserved for more than 2 years at 5 degrees C and pH 4.5, but it was lost when kept at room temperature overnight or heated at 50 degrees C for 30 min. The amino acid sequence of the N-terminal region of the psychrophilic polygalacturonase of Sclerotinia borealis is compared with those of polygalacturonases of mesophilic fungi. The function of this enzyme against the target plants is discussed with reference to the reaction of polygalacturonases of mesophilic fungi.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A possible dominant white gene in Jersey cattle.

A white heifer ("Snow") was born in 1991 from coloured registered Jersey parents. She produced six calves sired by coloured Jersey bulls: three white bull calves, two white heifer calves, and one coloured bull calf. One of the white bull calves was mated with 40 Hereford x Friesian yearling heifers (white face, predominantly black body with some white patches). The 38 resulting calves included 16 white and 22 coloured calves. Twelve of the 16 white calves were heifers and four were bulls. Red or black spotting was recorded on some white calves. The results are consistent with an autosomal dominant mutant causing the white phenotype. The mutation appears to have arisen spontaneously in Snow, then passing to her white progeny and white grand-progeny. The white individuals varied from entirely white in a few cases, to most having some residual small areas of red or black pigmentation in patterns not typical of other reported white spotting patterns of cattle.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Energetics of nestling growth and parental effort in Antarctic fulmarine petrels.

Antarctic fulmarine petrels breed in some of the coldest conditions encountered by any bird and their young grow twice as fast as predicted allometrically. To examine the energetic consequences of fast growth in a cold environment, we used the doubly labeled water technique to measure field metabolic rates of adults (three species) and different-aged nestlings (four species) of Antarctic fulmarine petrels in the Rauer Islands, East Antarctica: Antarctic fulmar Fulmarus glacialoides, Antarctic petrel Thalassoica antarctica, Cape petrel Daption capense and snow petrel Pagodroma nivea. We used our data to assess parental effort and, together with literature values on nestling growth and resting metabolic rate, to construct and partition nestling energy budgets. Nestling total energy expenditure and peak daily metabolic rate were significantly higher than predicted allometrically (33-73% and 17-66% higher, respectively), and the relative cost of growth in nestling petrels was among the highest reported for birds (54-72 kJ g(-1)). Parental effort during the nestling-feeding period was identical in adult Cape and Antarctic petrels (3.5 times basal metabolic rate, BMR), and was somewhat (but not significantly) higher in snow petrels (4.6 times BMR). These values are comparable to those of other high-latitude procellariiform birds. Thus, despite the constraints of a compressed breeding season, cold temperatures and fast-growing nestlings, adult Antarctic fulmarine petrels do not work harder than procellariid adults whose chicks grow much more slowly. Our findings suggest that obtaining sufficient food is generally not a constraint for adult fulmarine petrels and that factors operating at the tissue level limit nestling growth rate.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed2006

Cumulative effects of climate warming and other human activities on freshwaters of Arctic and subarctic North America.

Despite their generally isolated geographic locations, the freshwaters of the north are subjected to a wide spectrum of environmental stressors. High-latitude regions are especially sensitive to the effects of recent climatic warming, which have already resulted in marked regime shifts in the biological communities of many Arctic lakes and ponds. Important drivers of these limnological changes have included changes in the amount and duration of snow and ice cover, and, for rivers and lakes in their deltas, the frequency and extent of spring floods. Other important climate-related shifts include alterations in evaporation and precipitation ratios, marked changes in the quality and quantity of lake and river water inflows due to accelerated glacier and permafrost melting, and declining percentages of precipitation that falls as snow. The depletion of stratospheric ozone over the north, together with the clarity of many Arctic lakes, renders them especially susceptible to damage from ultraviolet radiation. In addition, the long-range atmospheric transport of pollutants, coupled with the focusing effects of contaminant transport from biological vectors to some local ecosystems (e.g., salmon nursery lakes, ponds draining seabird colonies) and biomagnification in long food chains, have led to elevated concentrations of many persistent organic pollutants (e.g., insecticides, which have never been used in Arctic regions) and other pollutants (e.g., mercury). Rapid development of gas and oil pipelines, mining for diamonds and metals, increases in human populations, and the development of all-season roads, seaports, and hydroelectric dams will stress northern aquatic ecosystems. The cumulative effects of these stresses will be far more serious than those caused by changing climate alone.

Animals↗
PubMed2006

What determines the current presence or absence of permafrost in the Torneträsk region, a sub-arctic landscape in northern Sweden?

In a warming climate, permafrost is likely to be significantly reduced and eventually disappear from the sub-Arctic region. This will affect people at a range of scales, from locally by slumping of buildings and roads, to globally as melting of permafrost will most likely increase the emissions of the powerful greenhouse gas methane, which will further enhance global warming. In order to predict future changes in permafrost, it is crucial to understand what determines the presence or absence of permafrost under current climate conditions, to assess where permafrost is particularly vulnerable to climate change, and to identify where changes are already occurring. The Torneträsk region of northern sub-Arctic Sweden is one area where changes in permafrost have been recorded and where permafrost could be particularly vulnerable to any future climate changes. This paper therefore reviews the various physical, biological, and anthropogenic parameters that determine the presence or absence of permafrost in the Torneträsk region under current climate conditions, so that we can gain an understanding of its current vulnerability and potential future responses to climate change. A patchy permafrost distribution as found in the Torneträsk region is not random, but a consequence of site-specific factors that control the microclimate and hence the surface and subsurface temperature. It is also a product of past as well as current processes. In sub-Arctic areas such as northern Sweden, it is mainly the physical parameters, e.g., topography, soil type, and climate (in particular snow depth), that determine permafrost distribution. Even though humans have been present in the study area for centuries, their impacts on permafrost distribution can more or less be neglected at the catchment level. Because ongoing climate warming is projected to continue and lead to an increased snow cover, the permafrost in the region will most likely disappear within decades, at least at lower elevations.

Animals↗
PubMed2004

Biodiversity, distributions and adaptations of Arctic species in the context of environmental change.

The individual of a species is the basic unit which responds to climate and UV-B changes, and it responds over a wide range of time scales. The diversity of animal, plant and microbial species appears to be low in the Arctic, and decreases from the boreal forests to the polar deserts of the extreme North but primitive species are particularly abundant. This latitudinal decline is associated with an increase in super-dominant species that occupy a wide range of habitats. Climate warming is expected to reduce the abundance and restrict the ranges of such species and to affect species at their northern range boundaries more than in the South: some Arctic animal and plant specialists could face extinction. Species most likely to expand into tundra are boreal species that currently exist as outlier populations in the Arctic. Many plant species have characteristics that allow them to survive short snow-free growing seasons, low solar angles, permafrost and low soil temperatures, low nutrient availability and physical disturbance. Many of these characteristics are likely to limit species' responses to climate warming, but mainly because of poor competitive ability compared with potential immigrant species. Terrestrial Arctic animals possess many adaptations that enable them to persist under a wide range of temperatures in the Arctic. Many escape unfavorable weather and resource shortage by winter dormancy or by migration. The biotic environment of Arctic animal species is relatively simple with few enemies, competitors, diseases, parasites and available food resources. Terrestrial Arctic animals are likely to be most vulnerable to warmer and drier summers, climatic changes that interfere with migration routes and staging areas, altered snow conditions and freeze-thaw cycles in winter, climate-induced disruption of the seasonal timing of reproduction and development, and influx of new competitors, predators, parasites and diseases. Arctic microorganisms are also well adapted to the Arctic's climate: some can metabolize at temperatures down to -39 degrees C. Cyanobacteria and algae have a wide range of adaptive strategies that allow them to avoid, or at least minimize UV injury. Microorganisms can tolerate most environmental conditions and they have short generation times which can facilitate rapid adaptation to new environments. In contrast, Arctic plant and animal species are very likely to change their distributions rather than evolve significantly in response to warming.

Adaptation, Physiological↗
PubMed1997

Telemark skiing injuries: a three-year study.

Telemark skiing is an increasingly popular wilderness activity. Little is known, however, about the injuries incurred during modern telemark skiing. To determine the incidence and types of these injuries we carried out a prospective analysis of injured telemarkers over three ski seasons from November 1994 through May 1997 at the Mount Hood Meadows ski area medical clinic in Oregon. Injured telemark skiers presenting to the clinic were asked to fill out a one-page survey, and a diagnosis was provided by the clinic physician or nurse. During the 1995-1996 and 1996-1997 ski seasons, skiers were counted at the ski lifts to determine the proportion of telemark skiers, alpine skiers, and snowboarders using the lifts. Using these proportions and the total ticket sales for the year, the number of downhill skiers, snowboarders, and telemarkers over the season were estimated, and injury rates were calculated. During the three ski seasons, 33 injuries were identified in 28 injured telemarkers. Of the study participants, 75% (21) were male. The average age was 33.1 years. Self-described intermediate and advanced telemarkers accounted for 74% of the injured. In 96% of the injuries, the skier was performing a telemark turn. Powder snow or heavy, wet snow conditions were reported most often. Lower-extremity injuries were most common, accounting for 42.5% (14) of the total. Seven of the lower-extremity injuries were ankle injuries, and four were knee injuries. Upper-extremity injuries comprised 24.2% (8) and head and facial injuries 21.2% (7) of the total. The least number of injuries occurred in the spine, 12.1% (4). Release plates were used by 8 of 28 skiers and only released in two instances. Telemark skiers comprised 0.9% of skiers counted at the lifts during the 1995-1996 season and 1.8% in 1996-1997. Injury rates/1000 skier days in 1995-1996 were 3.3 (95% CI: 3.27, 3.35) for downhill skiers, 4.1 (95% CI: 3.32, 5.22) for telemark skiers, and 6.8 (95% CI: 6.54, 7.00) for snowboarders. Injury rates/1000 skier days in 1996-1997 were 3.1 (95% CI: 3.05, 3.15) for downhill skiers, 1.7 (95% CI: 1.44, 2.11) for telemark skiers, and 5.6 (95% CI: 5.39, 5.78) for snowboarders. We conclude that telemark skiers comprise only a small proportion of skiers at a lift-served area. Lower-extremity injuries were most common, followed by upper-extremity and head and facial injuries. Injury rates for telemarkers are comparable to those for alpine skiers.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Skiing, snowboarding, and sledding injuries in a northwestern state.

OBJECTIVE: Winter sports continue to be a popular form of recreation, but few studies have focused on serious injuries. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the major morbidity associated with downhill skiing, snowboarding, and sledding and to determine the incidence of serious injuries sustained while downhill skiing and snowboarding. METHODS: State trauma registry data from the 1992-93 through 1998-99 ski seasons on all snow sports participants transported to tertiary trauma hospitals in Oregon were analyzed. RESULTS: Of 132 patients, 80% were male and 20% were female, with a mean age of 30.4 +/- 15.6 for skiers, 24.1 +/- 10.5 for snowboarders, and 18.8 +/- 11.9 for sledders. The mean Injury Severity Score was 12.3 +/- 7.6 for skiers, 10.3 +/- 7.4 for snowboarders, and 12.8 +/- 8.5 for sledders. Head injuries accounted for 55% of sledding injuries and 39% of all injuries. Skiers and snowboarders were less likely to have head injuries than sledders (odds ratio [OR] = 0.45; 95% CI, 0.21 to 0.98). A higher proportion of injuries sustained by snowboarders were due to falls from heights (29%) compared with injuries sustained by skiers or sledders (OR = 4.8; 95% CI, 1.6 to 13.7). Sledders were more likely to be injured during collisions than were skiers or snowboarders (OR = 16.7; 95% CI, 5.8 to 47.6). The incidence of serious skiing and snowboarding injuries was 6.4 injuries per million visits. There were 4 deaths (3%), 1 each from snowboarding and skiing (head injuries) and 2 from sledding (1 from head and 1 from head and thoracic injuries). CONCLUSIONS: Serious snow sports injuries are rare but potentially debilitating. Head injuries account for the majority of deaths and functional impairment.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

A serotype-specific polymerase chain reaction for identification of Pasteurella multocida serotype 1.

A serotype-specific polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assay was developed for detection and identification of Pasteurella multocida serotype 1, the causative agent of avian cholera in wild waterfowl. Arbitrarily primed PCR was used to detect DNA fragments that distinguish serotype 1 from the other 15 serotypes of P. multocida (with the exception of serotype 14). Oligonucleotide primers were constructed from these sequences, and a PCR assay was optimized and evaluated. PCR reactions consistently resulted in amplification products with reference strains 1 and 14 and all other serotype 1 strains tested, with cell numbers as low as 2.3 cells/ml. No amplification products were produced with other P. multocida serotypes or any other bacterial species tested. To compare the sensitivity and further test the specificity of this PCR assay with traditional culturing and serotyping techniques, tissue samples from 84 Pekin ducks inoculated with field strains of P. multocida and 54 wild lesser snow geese collected during an avian cholera outbreak were provided by other investigators working on avian cholera. PCR was as sensitive (58/64) as routine isolation (52/64) in detecting and identifying P. multocida serotype 1 from the livers of inoculated Pekins that became sick or died from avian cholera. No product was amplified from tissues of 20 other Pekin ducks that received serotypes other than type 1 (serotype 3, 12 x 3, or 10) or 12 control birds. Of the 54 snow geese necropsied and tested for P. multocida, our PCR detected and identified the bacteria from 44 compared with 45 by direct isolation. The serotype-specific PCR we developed was much faster and less labor intensive than traditional culturing and serotyping procedures and could result in diagnosis of serotype 1 pasteurellosis within 24 hr of specimen submission.

Animals↗
PubMed2003

Blastomycosis in nondomestic felids.

Blastomycosis was diagnosed in six nondomestic felids from eastern Tennessee, including two Asian lions (Panthera leo persicus), one African lion (Panthera leo), one Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris), one cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus), and one snow leopard (Panthera uncia). Clinical signs included lethargy, anorexia, weight loss, dyspnea, sneezing. ataxia, and paresis. Variable nonspecific changes included leukocytosis, monocytosis, moderate left shift of neutrophils, moderate hypercalcemia, hyperproteinemia, and hyperglobulinemia. Thoracic radiographs revealed interstitial and alveolar changes, consolidation or collapse of a lung lobe, bullae formation, and a pulmonary mass. Agar gel immunodiffusion (AGID) serology for Blastomyces dermatitidis was performed in five felids and was positive in three. The tiger had cerebral blastomycosis and was positive for AGID serologic tests of both cerebrospinal fluid and serum. One percutaneous lung aspirate in the snow leopard and one bronchial aspirate in an Asian lion demonstrated B. dermatitidis organisms. whereas tracheal wash samples and a nasal discharge were nondiagnostic in others. Treatment with itraconazole was attempted in four cats. The tiger improved before euthanasia, whereas the others did not survive beyond initial treatments. In four felids, B. dermatitidis was found in the lungs and tracheobronchial lymph nodes associated with a florid pyogranulomatous reaction; the tiger had a pyogranulomatous encephalomyelitis, and the cheetah had a single pulmonary granuloma. Thoracic radiography, cytologic examination of lung lesion aspirates, and B. dermatitidis AGID serology should be performed on clinically ill zoo felids in endemic areas to rule out blastomycosis.

Acinonyx↗
PubMed2006

Temporal variability in winter travel patterns of Yellowstone bison: the effects of road grooming.

The influence of winter recreation on wildlife in Yellowstone National Park (YNP), Wyoming and Montana, USA, is a controversial issue. In particular, the effects of road grooming, done to facilitate snowmobile and snowcoach travel, on bison (Bison bison) ecology are under debate. We collected data during winters, from 1997 to 2005, on bison road use, off-road travel, and activity budgets to quantify temporal trends in the amount of bison road and off-road travel and to identify the ecological factors affecting bison movements and use of the groomed road system in the Madison-Gibbon-Firehole (MGF) area of YNP. Using model comparison techniques, we found bison travel patterns to be influenced by multiple, interacting effects. Road travel was negatively correlated with road grooming, and we found no evidence that bison preferentially used groomed roads during winter. Snow water equivalent, bison density, and the springtime melt period were positively correlated with both bison road and off-road travel. From behavioral scans on 68,791 bison, we found that travel is only a small percentage (11%) of all bison activity, with foraging comprising 67% of observations. Also, only 7% of traveling bison and 30% of foraging bison were displacing snow, and we suggest foraging, rather than traveling, is likely the major energetic cost to bison in winter. Bison utilize their own trail network, connecting foraging areas using stream corridors, geothermal pathways, and self-groomed travel routes. Our results indicate that temporal patterns in bison road travel are a manifestation of general travel behavior and that groomed roads in the MGF do not appear to be a major factor influencing bison ecology and spatial redistribution. We suggest that the changes in bison spatial dynamics during the past three decades have likely been the result of the natural phenomenon of density-dependent range expansion, rather than having been caused by the anthropogenic influence of road grooming.

Animals↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Tillage and manure application effects on mineral nitrogen leaching from seasonally frozen soils.

Land application of manure is a common practice in the Upper Midwest of the United States. Recently, there have been concerns regarding the effect of this practice on water quality, especially when manure is applied during winter over frozen soils. A study undertaken on a Rozetta silt loam (fine-silty, mixed, superactive, mesic Typic Hapludalfs) at Lancaster, WI, evaluated the effects of tillage and timing of manure application on surface and subsurface water quality. The daily scrape and haul liquid dairy manure was applied either in the fall (before snow) or in winter (over snow with frozen soil underneath) to be compared with no manure under two tillage systems (no-till and chisel-plowing). In this paper, we report results on the effects of the above treatments on mineral N leaching. Percolation and mineral N leaching during the nongrowing season were, respectively, 72 and 78% of the annual losses, mainly because of the absence of plant water and N uptake. Percolation was generally higher from no-till compared with chisel-plow but there was no significant effect of tillage on mineral N concentration of the leachate or mineral N losses via leaching. Mineral N leaching was statistically higher from the manure-applied vs. no-manure treatment, but there was no difference between winter-applied manure and no-manure treatments. There were significant tillage by manure interactions with fall manure application followed by chisel-plowing resulting in highest N leaching losses. Averaged over the two years, N leaching rates were 52, 38, and 28 kg N ha(-1) yr(-1) from fall-applied, winter-applied, and no-manure treatments, respectively. These results show that there is substantial N leaching from these soils even when no fertilizer or manure is applied. Furthermore, fall-applied manure followed by fall tillage significantly increases N leaching due to enhanced mineralization of both soil and manure organic N.

Agriculture↗
PubMed2007

Risk assessment of unsuitable winter conditions for manure and nutrient application across Ontario.

Practical guidelines addressing the timing of manure and nutrient application must consider the concerns of the farm operators while ensuring the protection of the environment. An approach was developed and analyzed through case studies to determine the first recommended day in the spring, and the last in the fall, for manure and nutrient application based on probability analysis. Since most manure and nutrient application guidelines recommend avoiding adverse conditions, the three criteria established to perform a risk assessment were: (i) a frost depth greater than 0.05 m; (ii) a snow accumulation of greater than 0.05 m; and (iii) a soil volumetric water content greater than or equal to that of the plastic limit for the soil. Climatic data and typical soil information for seven locations in Ontario were used to model volumetric soil water contents, frost depths, and snow accumulation from the simultaneous heat and water (SHAW) model for a 48-yr period (1954-2001). Applying the three criteria to the modeled output, the average range between the least limiting probability (0.1, or one in ten year occurrence) and the greatest limiting probability (0.001, or one in one thousand year occurrence) analyzed among the locations was 16 d in the spring as compared to 29 d in the fall. Although geographical location affected the predicted spring start and fall end recommended manure and nutrient application dates, local climate and soil hydraulic properties also played an important part in the determination of these days. Overall the prediction method developed performed reasonably well and provided insight into the environmental factors influencing manure and nutrient application timing.

Animals↗
PubMed1985

Geophysical variables and behavior: XXIX. Impact of atmospheric conditions on occurrences of individual violence among Canadian penitentiary populations.

This project studied the effects of weather variables and size of the population on minor and major violence rates within six prisons in the Kingston, Ontario, Canada area from January, 1980 through December, 1983. While weather variables have been studied in relation to mood changes within the general population, this study was the first to analyze the impact of weather variables on rates of violence within the prison setting using forward inclusion multiple regression. Analysis showed that population size consistently appeared positively correlated with assaults on other inmates among the male medium-security prisoners during the summer months. In the summer months, temperature tended to be positively related to some minor kinds of offenses, but in the winter months the relationship was negative. Humidity, rain, sunshine hours, snow, and snow on the ground were not consistently related to incidences of minor and major violence. Indices of geomagnetic disturbances had statistically significant inverse relationships with attempted suicide/self-inflicted injury rates among the male prisoners during the summer months. Over 12 months, wind was generally negatively correlated with incidences of major and minor violence among the male inmates. For 6-mo. periods, wind was generally positively correlated with violence rates during the winter months and negatively correlated during the summer months among the male inmates. The findings relating weather variables to violence rates in the women's prison were consistently in opposition to those found for male prisoners during the 4-yr. period.

Electromagnetic Fields↗
PubMed1995

Fractures of the distal radius in a Norwegian city.

During a prospective one-year study (1988) all fractures of the distal radius in people over 20 years old were registered in Bergen, Norway. Six hundred patients with 609 fractures were treated. The incidence was 38/10000 population, and 79% of the fractures occurred in women. The age-specific incidence in women increased rapidly after the menopause and reached a maximum between 60 and 69 years. The incidence for women over 60 years of age is the highest reported. Among women over 50 years the incidence of fractures caused by minor falls varied depending on the season. The mean number of fractures was 3.6 times higher on days when there was snow on the ground compared with days when there was no snow. More than half the distal radial fractures occurred while out walking. Possible strategies to prevent fractures must include prevention of falls, in particular among postmenopausal women on winter days.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Molecular cloning and phylogenetic analysis of canine beta-casein.

A canine beta-casein cDNA was isolated from mammary tissue by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) using degenerate primers. It encodes 250 amino acids protein containing the conserved sequence motif of beta-casein. It showed the highest homology with snow-leopard (Uncia uncia (55-62% identity). It also showed 44-53% identity with human, 33-42%, identity with mouse, 29-37%, identity with rat, 43-53% identity with rabbit, 41-48% identity with pig, 44-51% identity with cattle and 44-50% identity with sheep. A 1.2-kb mRNA was detected in mammary tissue by Northern blot analysis. Phylogenetic analysis revealed that canine beta-casein formed a branch with lesser panda and snow leopard, which were grouped into carnivore.

Amino Acid Sequence↗