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PubMed2002

Climatic and demographic determinants of American visceral leishmaniasis in northeastern Brazil using remote sensing technology for environmental categorization of rain and region influences on leishmaniasis.

Remote sensing (RS) permits evaluation of spatial and temporal variables that can be used for vector-borne disease models. A Landsat Thematic Mapper scene covering Canindé, Ceará in northeastern Brazil (September 25, 1986) was spectrally enhanced and classified using ERDAS (Atlanta, GA) Imagine for 873 4-km2 areas. The population and number of cases of American visceral leishmaniasis (AVL) were determined for each 4-km2 area. Relative risk (RR) ratios were calculated for climate, demographic, and case data recorded for 17 years by the Municipality of Conidé. The RR of AVL for a child less than 10 years old from the foothills relative to non-foothill residency was 4.0 (95% confidence limit = 3.5, 4.5). The RR of AVL in children was 9.1 during a time when the three-year rolling rain average (current year plus two previous year's precipitation) was between 40 and 60 cm relative to rain greater than 100 cm. The results suggest that features detected by RS techniques combined with climatic variables can be used to determine the risk of AVL in northeastern Brazil.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Primary pyomyositis of the psoas muscles in a temperate climate. Review of two cases in children followed up over the long term].

BACKGROUND: We review two cases of primary pyomyositis of the psoas in children that occurred in Navarre, their management and long-term evolution. Primary pyomyositis of the psoas muscle is a rare infection in a temperate climate. Its diagnosis is difficult due to the similarity of the symptoms with several infectious processes, mainly septic arthritis of the hip in children and adolescents. The rarity of the present cases is due to several facts: occurrence in children, in a temperate climate (Navarre), immunocompetent patients and without subjacent pathology, besides their monofocal situation that is contrary to the more frequent multifocal presentation. These factors, besides the poor specificity of the symptoms, constitute a diagnostic challenge. METHODS: We present two patients (10 and 12 years old) with fever and a painful hip. Neither of the patients had predisposing factors. Both of them showed hip flexion with limited range of motion in rotations. Confirmation of the diagnosis was made by ultrasound, CT-scan and/or MRI. Needle aspiration of the hip, under general anaesthesia, confirmed the reactive origin of the joint effusion in both patients. In neither of the two cases was there a significant diagnostic delay. Staphylococcus aureus was isolated in the purulent material in one case and in the hemoculture in the other. Both patients have been checked in a long-term revision (follow-up of 7 and 10 years). RESULTS: They were successfully treated by isolated antibiotherapy in one case and surgical drainage in the other. Healing was achieved in each case without relapse or sequels in a long-term revision. We carry out a global revision of this rare infection, emphasising the difficulty of its clinical diagnosis and the different treatment modalities and the proper indication. We suggest an algorithm as a clinical guide for its clinical-therapeutic management.

Anti-Bacterial Agents↗
PubMed2000

Hormone-dependent cancer and adverse reproductive outcomes in farmers' families--effects of climatic conditions favoring fungal growth in grain.

OBJECTIVES: The impact of grain farming and climate on late-term abortion among female farmers, male genital birth defects among their sons, and hormone-dependent cancer among male and female farmers and their adult children was investigated. METHODS: National registers were cross-matched in Norway and 246,043 male and female farmers born in 1925-1971 were identified, as were their 264,262 children, born in 1952-1980, in agricultural censuses and in the population register. The subjects were followed in the Cancer Register through 1995. Farmers' births, conceived in 1973-1991, were identified, and the prevalences of late-term abortion in mothers and hypospadias and cryptorchidism in their sons at birth were examined. Exposure, defined as the combination of grain farming and categories of seasonal or cumulative warnings, was based on data in agricultural censuses and on local, seasonal, field fungal warnings. Estimated adjusted rate ratios or prevalence ratios served as the measures of association. RESULTS: Categories of high exposure were associated with reproductive outcomes and cancer among female farmers, the strongest occurring for late-term abortion (ratio 2.6, 95% confidence interval (95% CI) 1.6-4.3). Exposure associations for ovarian and breast cancer, and male genital defects, were more moderate. Endometrial cancer was associated with grain farming (ratio 2.0, 95% CI 1.4-2.8) across all levels of fungal warnings. Exposure associations for cancer were strongest for premenopausal, parous women. Exposure was not associated with cancer among male farmers or children. CONCLUSIONS: Climatic conditions favoring fungal growth in grain were associated with hormone-dependent adverse outcomes among female farmers; the results are consistent with hormonal effects of inhaled mycotoxins during pregnancy.

Abortion, Spontaneous↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Climate conditions and physical activity in the United States.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the influence season and climate have on physical activity among US adults. METHODS: Seven weather classifications from 255 weather stations were linked with 355 counties covered by the 2003 BRFSS. RESULTS: The percentage meeting the recommendations for physical activity ranged from 30.9% in Puerto Rico to 60.9% in Montana and significantly varied across seasons: 44.6% in winter, 46.2% in spring, 48.4% in summer, and 45.8% in fall. Counties in the top 25% meeting the recommendations for physical activity had the highest percentage of days with dry moderate conditions. Counties in the bottom 25% had the highest percentage of days with moist tropical conditions. CONCLUSION: Season and climate significantly influence physical activity in the United States.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1999

[Climatic changes in Scandinavia--consequences for public health].

Atmospheric composition and climate conditions are of great importance for health. Increasing consumption of fossil fuels ever since the industrial revolution has resulted in higher contents of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Primarily, this will increase the global temperature. Secondarily, it may change the patterns of precipitation and droughts. Higher extreme temperatures will have a negative effect on health. Climate changes can also change the living conditions of undesirable insects and microbes. The ozone gas in the atmosphere acts as a shield against the harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun. Chlorofluorocarbons contribute to reduction of the ozone layer and increase ultraviolet radiation. Increased exposure of the skin to this radiation may cause damage such as sunburn and skin cancer. In order to avoid damage, it is of importance to wear protective clothing or use effective sunshades.

Air Pollutants↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Chemical composition of different sorts of soybeans and changes under the influence of weather and soil-climatic conditions].

The biochemical composition (the content of protein and lipids, the content of essential amino acids in the protein complex, the fatty acid composition of lipids) of seeds of eighteen soyabean varieties cultivated in different soil-climatic zones under various weather conditions was examined. Changes in the biochemical parameters were primarily associated with the genotype of the variety. The effect of weather, soil and climatic conditions was less marked. With an increase of the protein content the concentration of lysine and methionine in proteins tended to decrease. As long as the oil content in seeds grew, the concentration of oleic acid increased and that of linoleic and linolenic acids decreased.

Amino Acids↗
PubMed1999

Climate, altitude, and blood pressure.

The effects of climate and altitude on casual blood pressure are examined from the perspectives of initial exposure, acclimatization, long-term residence, and birthplace. Hot arid and hot humid climates seem to have little effect on blood pressure, although a slight reduction may be found in some naturally acclimatized groups. Exposure of the total body to mild cold likewise has little apparent effect. Local exposure of the extremities to severe cold occasions significant increases in blood pressure during exposure but not at other times. Acclimatization reduces but does not eliminate that response. The effects of altitude on blood pressure are variable. There is initial hypertension, followed by gradual normalization. After years of residence at high altitude blood pressure may actually be lower than that observed among residents at sea level.

Acclimatization↗
PubMed1999

Effects of ear type, sex, age, body weight, and climate on temperatures in the external acoustic meatus of dogs.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate effects of ear type, sex, age, body weight, and ambient climatic conditions on external acoustic meatus (external ear canal) temperatures in dogs. ANIMALS: 650 dogs without clinical signs of ear disease. PROCEDURE: Dogs were assigned to 5 groups on the basis of auricular conformation and amount of hair in the external ear canal and 4 groups on the basis of body weight or age. External ear canal temperatures (EECT) were measured, using an infrared thermometer. Mean EECT determined for each group were compared to evaluate effects of ear type, age, weight, and sex, and EECT measured at different ambient temperatures and humidities were compared to determine climatic effects. RESULTS: Dogs with hirsute ear canals had significantly lower EECT than dogs with hairless ear canals, whereas significant differences were not detected between dogs with erect and pendulous auricles. Dogs < 6 years old had higher EECT than older dogs, and dogs that weighed < 6 kg had lower EECT than larger dogs. External ear canal temperatures measured when ambient temperatures were < 25 C were less than those measured at warmer temperatures. Sex and relative humidity did not affect EECT CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: EECT of dogs without ear disease were affected by weight and age, amount of hair in the external ear canal, and ambient temperature. However, hirsute ears had lower, not higher, EECT than hairless ears, suggesting that EECT may play less of a role in the development of otitis externa than believed.

Age Factors↗
PubMed1999

Analysis of climatic data and forecast indices for human fascioliasis at very high altitude.

Human infection with Fasciola hepatica has recently been recognized as an important health problem worldwide, and particularly at very high altitudes in South America. The highest prevalences and intensities of human fascioliasis known are those of the northern Bolivian Altiplano, where infected Lymnaea truncatula occur at altitudes of 3800-4100 m. In the present study, the climatic data for this area of the Altiplano, which differ markedly from those of endemic areas in the lowlands, were analysed. There is no marked seasonality in temperature but there are large variations in temperature within a daily, 24-h period. Rainfall is seasonal, with a long dry season, coinciding with the lowest minimum temperatures, and a long wet season. The rate of evapotranspiration is very high, and temporary water bodies dry out very quickly. Solar radiation at ground level is intense, not only because of the altitude but also because of the lack of trees and shrubs. Two climatic indices for forecasting fascioliasis, Mt and Wb-bs, were calculated. Modifications in these forecast indices are proposed, to reflect the environment at high altitude and low latitude. Estimates, based on climadiagrammes, of the durations of the wet and dry seasons were greatly effected by the inclusion of an aridity-index modification. The usefulness of the modified indices was examined using prevalence data for human and cattle fascioliasis collected in the neighbourhoods of the stations providing the meteorological data. Values for both indices indicated that conditions were optimum for transmission between December and March. The results were statistically significant for the modified Wb-bs index when the data for a meteorological station in which no lymnaeids were found were excluded. The modified Mt index did not appear sufficiently accurate to be useful. The values for the modified Wb-bs index permitted the study areas to be designated low-, moderate- or high-risk areas for the transmission of fascioliasis to man and domestic animals.

Altitude↗
PubMed2000

[Man in a hot climate--early studies of the Institute of Military Physiology].

In the 1950's many IDF soldiers were hospitalized for heat stroke--about 25% of whom died. Analyzing these cases revealed that commanders misinterpreted human ability to perform in the heat and ignored basic concepts of fluid and electrolyte balance and heat load. In the early 1960's a series of studies was conducted with regard to soldiers' performance in the heat. The first study (1959), which later became a classic, was conducted during a 21-day march from Eilat to Metula, crossing all climatic zones of Israel. The study was followed by other investigations which approached the issues of voluntary dehydration, fluid consumption vs sweat loss, salt additives, and the effect of heat load on performance. Based on these early studies, proper regulations were issued to field officers. Over the years, the lessons learned from these studies saved many lives. The number of cases of heat stroke and of other climate-related injuries was dramatically reduced, and performance was enhanced.

Acclimatization↗
PubMed2001

Climatic effects on Salmonella survival in plant and soil irrigated with artificially inoculated wastewater: preliminary results.

The use of wastewater to replace other water resources for irrigation is highly dependent on whether the health risk and environmental impacts entailed are acceptable or not. Total count and species of microorganisms found in wastewater vary widely because of climatic conditions, season, population sanitary habits and disease incidence. Salmonella, one of the genera associated with waterborne diseases, lives in the intestine. Thus, it is widely accepted that they have a limited survival period under environmental conditions. Wastewater management practices and the ability of Salmonella to survival under field conditions would determine the health risk associated with its presence in wastewater. Although chlorination is widely used, there are situations in which Salmonella is able to survive the sudden stress imposed by this technique. The aim of this experiment was to contribute to the study of the climatic and soil effects on pathogen survival under agricultural field conditions in order to assess which were the best wastewater management practices from both health and economic points of view. Five pots filled with soil seeded with Medicago sativa and an automatic weather station were used. A secondary effluent was artificially inoculated with Salmonella. In addition, open plates (filled with sterilised soil) and ultraviolet radiation isolated plates (filled with non-sterilised soil) were used. As soil heat emission contributes to the environmental conditions around the bacteria, standardised meteorological temperature data had to be carefully used in the bacterial survival studies under agricultural conditions. Radiation was the main cause of Salmonella mortality as its effect was more important than natural soil bacteria competence. Higher reduction of Salmonella counts could have been associated with longer spring days. Soil was able to effectively remove Salmonella. Subsurface drip irrigation methods could provide an effective tool to prevent health risk associated with wastewater irrigation.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1992

Something is wrong with climate theory.

We frequently forget that there is more to science than the making of a more precise measurement or a more elaborate calculation. It is even more than applying to new problems the methods that worked on old problems. These activities, which keep most of us busy most of the time, are important, but the new and unexpected discoveries are more important. And many radically new discoveries arise from scientific puzzles, the "anomalies." We believe that studies of past climates have exposed an anomaly that deserves attention and that may result in a fundamentally new understanding of the climate system. The poles have been much warmer throughout much of Earth's history than they are now. Ice-age episodes with durations of millions of years have been separated by periods of hundreds of millions of years that have left little or no evidence of polar ice sheets. The data are best for the most recent of these ice-free episodes so we will concentrate on the Eocene.

Atmosphere↗
PubMed2001

Agricultural adaptation of climate change in China.

This paper presents the study on agriculture adaptation to climate change by adopting the assumed land use change strategy to resist the water shortage and to build the capacity to adapt the expected climate change in the northern China. The cost-benefit analysis result shows that assumed land use change from high water consuming rice cultivation to other crops is very effective. Over 7 billions m3 of water can be saved. Potential conflicts between different social interest groups, different regions, demand and supply, and present and future interests have been analyzed for to form a policy to implement the adaptation strategy. Trade, usually taken as one of adaptation strategies, was suggested as a policy option for to support land use change, which not only meets the consumption demand, but also, in terms of resources, imports water resources.

Agriculture↗
PubMed1975

[Biology of the house dust mite dermatophagoides pteronyssinus. II. Incidence of mites in the various regions of Switzerland and its dependence on climate].

Seasonal examinations of dust samples from Basel and surroundings have shown that the number of mites increases during the months of August through October. Dust samples were then collected from various climatic regions of Switzerland during August and tseptember. Samples originating from places where the temperature was above 12 degrees C and relative humidity above 68% over a period of 4-5 months yielded a high mite count. Regions with these climatic conditions are therefore unfavourable for patients allergic to house-dust.

Altitude↗
PubMed2001

[Treatment of patients with postpolio syndrome in warm climate].

BACKGROUND: Treatment in a warm climate of various patient groups, including patients with postpolio syndrome, is controversial. MATERIAL AND METHODS: 88 patients with postpolio syndrome (61 women) were recruited, stratified according to sex, age (<> 60 years old) and use/non-use of electrical wheelchair, and randomized to three groups. Group 1 (n = 30) underwent treatment in a rehabilitation centre in Tenerife for four weeks in November/December 1999. Group 2 (n = 29) was treated in two similar centres in Norway for the same period of time, while Group 3 (n = 29), the control group, followed their ordinary health care programme. All patients were tested at the start of the study and three and six months later with physical tests and several questionnaire and qualitative interviews. Patients in groups 1 and 2 were also tested after the rehabilitation period. RESULTS: Groups 1 and 2 improved significantly both in physical tests and subjective ratings. The positive effects in group 1 tended to exceed the positive effects in group 2, and the effects lasted longer. Six minutes walking distance in the two groups was 347 metres and 316 metres, respectively before the treatment period, 429 metres and 362 metres immediately after, and 431 metres and 356 metres three months later. Subjective rating of pain (VAS scale) was 42 and 43 respectively before treatment, 17 and 31 immediately after, and 28 and 44 three months later. In the control group, only minor changes were found. INTERPRETATION: The study seems to document a positive effect of treatment of patients with postpolio syndrome in a warm climate.

Aged↗
PubMed2002

[Rehabilitation in temperate climate for persons with pelvospondylitis. Accessed disease activity and general well-being is gradually improving].

The aim of the study was to investigate the effects on disease activity, range of motion, functional ability, and global wellbeing on persons with Ankylosing Spondylitis (AS) during three weeks' rehabilitation in a tempered climate. Forty-eight persons were evaluated twice prior to the rehabilitation and three times after. The results indicated significant improvements on all variables assessed, which lasted three weeks and, in some cases, three months. Global wellbeing continued to improve during follow-up. The results of our study thus indicate that rehabilitation in a tempered climate might be a useful complement to traditional rehabilitation of persons with AS.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Harvesting and climate effects on organic matter characteristics in British Columbia coastal forests.

As part of investigations into the effects of harvesting old-growth forest, we characterized carbon in five organic matter pools in eight forest chronosequences of coastal British Columbia. Each chronosequence comprised stands in four seral stages from regeneration (3-8 yr) to old-growth (>250 yr), with second-growth stands mostly of harvest origin. Stands were located in two biogeoclimatic subzones with contrasting climate (wetter, slightly cooler conditions on the west coast of Vancouver Island than on the east). Carbon concentrations in fine woody debris (FWD), forest floor (LFH), fine roots from LFH, and two water-floatable fractions from 10 to 30 cm mineral soil (MIN-ROOT, 2-8 mm and MIN-FLOAT, <2 mm) showed no significant effects due to climate, seral stage, or site. There were some significant differences in N concentrations, but none related to seral stage. Carbon-13 cross-polarization with magic-angle spinning (CPMAS) nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra with principal component analysis of relative areas also showed little harvesting effect, but greater variation related to input of coarse woody debris (CWD) vs. roots high in tannin. Overall, there tended to be more spectral features associated with wood and lignin in the west; whereas some MIN-ROOT samples from the drier east side had aromatic intensity attributed to charcoal. The minimal effects of one harvest on organic matter are most likely due to the large legacy effect; however, more intensive management will probably result in less CWD retention, less charcoal input, and less microsite variability in these pools of poorly decomposed organic matter.

Astringents↗
PubMed2002

[Effect of climatic changes on the phenology of plants and the presence of pollen in the air in Switzerland].

The phenologic observations carried out in Switzerland since 1951 show a clear tendency to the earlier appearance of the spring phases of development of the vegetation during last decades. As these phases are strongly influenced by the temperature, these results reinforce the hypothesis according to which the climatic reheating in progress strongly influences the development of the vegetation. The flowering and the release of the pollen of the plants allergens are significant phenologic phases for human health. Modifications in their dates of manifestation lead to a displacement of the periods of allergic risk. The analysis of the aerobiologic data of the Swiss stations over one duration of more than 20 years showed that the species which flower in winter and in spring were subject to the influence of the soft winters of the years 1990 to 2000. In certain areas the pollen of birch, for example, is nowadays waited on average 3 weeks earlier than 20 years ago, whereas the pollen of ash appears with one month in advance. The phenologic and aeropalynologic studies thus prove sensitive witnesses of the climatic change in progress. This last intervenes like an indirect but significant component of human health, in particular when the field of the allergies is considered.

Air↗