Development and validation of a short questionnaire to assess sodium intake

OBJECTIVES: To develop and validate a short food-frequency questionnaire to assess habitual dietary salt intake in South Africans and to allow classification of individuals according to intakes above or below the maximum recommended intake of 6 g salt day-1. DESIGN: Cross-sectional validation study in 324 conveniently sampled men and women. METHODS: Repeated 24-hour urinary Na values and 24-hour dietary recalls were obtained on three occasions. Food items consumed by >5% of the sample and which contributed > or =50 mg Na serving-1 were included in the questionnaire in 42 categories. A scoring system was devised, based on Na content of one index food per category and frequency of consumption. RESULTS: Positive correlations were found between Na content of 35 of the 42 food categories in the questionnaire and total Na intake, calculated from 24-hour recall data. Total Na content of the questionnaire was associated with Na estimations from 24-hour recall data (r = 0.750; P < 0.0001; n = 328) and urinary Na (r = 0.152; P = 0.0105; n = 284). Urinary Na was higher for subjects in tertile 3 than tertile 1 of questionnaire Na content (P < 0.05). Questionnaire Na content of <2400 and > or =2400 mg day-1 equated to a reference cut-off score of 48 and corresponded to mean (standard deviation) urinary Na values of 145 (68) and 176 (99) mmol day-1, respectively (P < 0.05). Sensitivity and specificity against urinary Na > or =100 and <100 mmol day-1 was 12.4% and 93.9%, respectively. CONCLUSION: A 42-item food-frequency questionnaire has been shown to have content-, construct- and criterion-related validity, as well as internal consistency, with regard to categorising individuals according to their habitual salt intake; however, the devised scoring system needs to show improved sensitivity.     

Measures of self-efficacy and norms for low-fat milk consumption are reliable and related to beverage consumption among 5th graders at school lunch

OBJECTIVE: To determine the reliability and validity of scales measuring low-fat milk consumption self-efficacy and norms during school lunch among a cohort of 5th graders. DESIGN: Two hundred and seventy-five students completed lunch food records and a psychosocial questionnaire measuring self-efficacy and norms for school lunch low-fat milk consumption during the fall and spring semesters of the 1998-1999 academic year. Test-retest reliability was assessed in participants who also completed the questionnaire in the spring semester (n = 262). Principal component analyses identified and confirmatory factor analyses confirmed latent variables. Bivariate correlations measured construct validity. SETTING: Houston-area middle school. SUBJECTS: Fifth graders (n = 275) from one middle school in southeast Texas. RESULTS: Two scales measuring psychosocial influences of low-fat milk consumption were identified and proved reliable in this population: milk self-efficacy and milk norms. Milk self-efficacy and norms were positively correlated with milk consumption and negatively correlated with consumption of sweetened beverages. CONCLUSIONS: These questionnaires can be used in similar interventions to measure the impact of self-efficacy and norms for drinking low-fat milk during school lunch.     

Evidence of indirect impacts of introduced trout on native amphibians via facilitation of a shared predator

Hyperpredation occurs when non-native prey facilitate invasive predators, which then suppress native prey. Direct impacts of introduced fish on amphibians are well studied, but the role of fish in supporting shared predators has not been considered. We present evidence for indirect effects of trout on amphibians through snake predation. Analyses of the diet, distribution and density of the Pacific coast aquatic garter snake (Thamnophis atratus) relative to the sympatric common garter snake (Thamnophis sirtalis) in the Klamath Mountains of California suggest that trout introductions facilitated expansion of T. atratus by providing alternative prey. T. atratus diet included trout and amphibians whereas T. sirtalis preyed solely upon amphibians. The distribution and density of T. atratus matched that of introduced trout instead of native amphibians. Populations of T. atratus could reach high densities in the absence of high densities of amphibians. When the snakes opportunistically prey upon amphibians whose numbers are already directly impacted by trout, they can cause significant additional declines. When T. atratus was present in lake basins, native Cascades frogs (Rana cascadae) were rarer than in basins without T. atratus. This case differs from other hyperpredation studies because the two prey species also interact via intraguild predation. Given the worldwide practice of stocking fish into aquatic habitats, it is important to understand the consequences of the practice on food-web structure and ecosystem functioning. Bottom-up impacts of introduced predators should be considered as well as top-down so that managers can incorporate the range of ecosystem-level effects into conservation goals and decisions.     

New data on the status and distribution of the bush dog (Speothos venaticus): Evaluating its quality of protection and directing research efforts

The bush dog (Speothos venaticus), listed as CITES Appendix 1 - vulnerable, is a small (5-6 kg), rarely seen canid from Central and South America. The World Conservation Union Canid Specialist Group (IUCN CSG) recommended that research with this species focus on their basic ecology so that a data-driven conservation strategy can be formulated. Information on the bush dog, however, has been lacking since standard field techniques have had little or no success with this species. The S. venaticus Status and Distribution Survey was developed in an attempt to use indirect methodologies to determine the bush dog’s conservation status in the wild, its current distribution, and identify ecological needs by correlating habitat types to bush dog sightings. Survey responses and literature generated a database with 399 historic bush dog locations recorded between 1834 and 2004. These locational records were used to update the species’ range extent map, an important conservation planning tool. With year and precision of data accounted for, we analyzed land use coverage at known locations where bush dogs have historically been reported to evaluate the likelihood that the species persists in the area today. In addition, these locations provided training data for generation of potential distribution maps (i.e., areas of occupancy) using ecological niche modeling (i.e., Maximum Entropy) and bioclimatic data. These analyses revealed that 20% of the historic bush dog locations are associated with fragmented or altered habitat. These results allowed the status of bush dog habitat to be re-evaluated and areas that require more intensive research and protection to be identified.     

Decline and extirpation of an endangered Panamanian stream frog population (Craugastor punctariolus) due to an outbreak of chytridiomycosis

We conducted a mark-recapture study of three subpopulations of Craugastor punctariolus at a mid-elevation site in central Panama between 1999 and 2005. The study spans a period over which the pathogenic fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) was absent from the site, invaded the site and decimated all amphibian populations, and now persists. We quantified natural demographic parameters prior to and during an event of mass mortality due to chytridiomycosis caused by Bd. Prior to the event of mass mortality, all three subpopulations of C. punctariolus were large (19-68 animals/200 m), showed a stable age-size distribution, and had high survival. All age-size classes of this species co-occurred on boulder clumps along streams, and adults showed high site fidelity and were likely territorial. Following detection of Bd at this site in late September 2004, four dead C. punctariolus were found infected with Bd and all three subpopulations completely disappeared from this site within 2 months. The association of all age-size classes with microhabitats appropriate for survival and growth of Bd likely contributed to the rapid and severe degree of decline of this species at this site. These data provide insight into the patterns and mechanisms of decline within a species due to Bd.     

Predictive relationship between polyphenol and nonfat cocoa solids content of chocolate

Chocolate is often labeled with percent cocoa solids content. It is assumed that higher cocoa solids contents are indicative of higher polyphenol concentrations, which have potential health benefits. However, cocoa solids include polyphenol-free cocoa butter and polyphenol-rich nonfat cocoa solids (NFCS). In this study the strength of the relationship between NFCS content (estimated by theobromine as a proxy) and polyphenol content was tested in chocolate samples with labeled cocoa solids contents in the range of 20-100%, grouped as dark (n = 46), milk (n = 8), and those chocolates containing inclusions such as wafers or nuts (n = 15). The relationship was calculated with regard to both total polyphenol content and individual polyphenols. In dark chocolates, NFCS is linearly related to total polyphenols (r2 = 0.73). Total polyphenol content appears to be systematically slightly higher for milk chocolates than estimated by the dark chocolate model, whereas for chocolates containing other ingredients, the estimates fall close to or slightly below the model results. This shows that extra components such as milk, wafers, or nuts might influence the measurements of both theobromine and polyphenol contents. For each of the six main polyphenols (as well as their sum), the relationship with the estimated NFCS was much lower than for total polyphenols (r2 < 0.40), but these relationships were independent of the nature of the chocolate type, indicating that they might still have some predictive capabilities.     

Assessing the relationship between patch type and soil mites: A molecular approach

An urgent need exists for indicators of soil health and patch functionality in extensive rangelands that can be measured efficiently and at low cost. Soil mites are candidate indicators, but their identification and handling is so specialised and time-consuming that their inclusion in routine monitoring is unlikely. The aim of this study was to measure the relationship between patch type and mite assemblages using a conventional approach. An additional aim was to determine if a molecular approach traditionally used for soil microbes could be adapted for soil mites to overcome some of the bottlenecks associated with soil fauna diversity assessment. Soil mite species abundance and diversity were measured using conventional ecological methods in soil from patches with perennial grass and litter cover (PGL), and compared to soil from bare patches with annual grasses and/or litter cover (BAL). Soil mite assemblages were also assessed using a molecular method called terminal-restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) analysis. The conventional data showed a relationship between patch type and mite assemblage. The Prostigmata and Oribatida were well represented in the PGL sites, particularly the Aphelacaridae (Oribatida). For T-RFLP analysis, the mite community was represented by a series of DNA fragment lengths that reflected mite sequence diversity. The T-RFLP data showed a distinct difference in the mite assemblage between the patch types. Where possible, T-RFLP peaks were matched to mite families using a reference 18S rDNA database, and the Aphelacaridae prevalent in the conventional samples at PGL sites were identified, as were prostigmatids and oribatids. We identified limits to the T-RFLP approach and this included an inability to distinguish some species whose DNA sequences were similar. Despite these limitations, the data still showed a clear difference between sites, and the molecular taxonomic inferences also compared well with the conventional ecological data. The results from this study indicated that the T-RFLP approach was effective in measuring mite assemblages in this system. The power of this technique lies in the fact that species diversity and abundance data can be obtained quickly because of the time taken to process hundreds of samples, from soil DNA extraction to data output on the gene analyser, can be as little as 4 days.     

Soil risk maps – Interpreting soils data for policy makers,agencies and industry

Surface runoff, erosion, compaction and the leaching of potential pollutants from land can degrade the soil resource and damage the water environment, reducing crop yields, causing loss of valuable nutrients and organic matter, together with increasing flood risk. Increasingly, it is recognized that scientific information must be translated into practical tools to change practices and protect the soil and water resource. Working alongside agencies in Scotland, we applied a suite of simple, transparent, rule-based models to identify areas most at risk of exporting sediment and pollutants that may degrade water quality based on field-scale (1:25,000) soil maps. The maps have been used by Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Scottish Water and Scottish Government to assess soil risks to waters from field to regional scale. The work brought scientists together with policy makers, agencies and the water industry to pool their knowledge to apply these practical tools for decision-making. It highlights the need to apply existing knowledge to answer salient questions. All three examples described show that providing the right type of information, which is based on fundamental soils data, can directly influence the implementation of policies, investment and monitoring decisions and provide evidence in support of government. However, this requires both researchers and agency scientists to develop skills as knowledge brokers and to normalize the use of soil data in everyday agency settings.     

Soil carbon increases with long-term cattle stocking in northern temperate grasslands

Grassland management aimed at enhancing carbon (C) in soil is an important tool in mitigation of rising atmospheric CO₂, yet little is known of how grassland soil C changes with livestock stocking rate (SR). We relate soil organic and inorganic C mass (t ha⁻¹ to 60 cm depth) with cattle stocking over periods of 7–27 year for 32 paddocks distributed across nine community pastures in the mixed-grass prairie of Saskatchewan, Canada. Initial analysis comparing Akaike information criterion models showed that cattle SR explained a greater proportion of variance in soil C, particularly soil organic C, than rainfall. Soil organic C mass increased with cattle SR (R² = .293; p = .001), even when the latter was normalized to account for differences in vegetation composition and growing conditions among pastures. Normalized SR varied from 0.49 to 2.30 times recommended levels, over which SOC increased from 24.7 to 57.4 t ha⁻¹. Increases in soil organic C under greater stocking coincided with increased abundance of introduced vegetation, particularly the rhizomatous grass Poa pratensis. Inorganic soil C accounted for 34.6% of total soil C, being particularly large below 30 cm soil depth, but did not vary with stocking rate. These findings indicate that both organic and inorganic C are important pools of C in northern temperate grassland soils, with soil organic C positively associated with long-term cattle SR. Further studies are recommended to understand more fully the mechanisms regulating grazing impacts on soil C mass in northern temperate grasslands.