Importance Of Isolation Research Articles

Psychological distress and related factors regarding COVID-19 among the ancillary hospital staff: A cross-sectional study.

Healthcare workers (HCWs) are at the front line of the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak response. They have faced great risks to both physical and mental health. We aimed to assess the psychological effect of COVID-19 among ancillary hospital staff. A cross-sectional study was conducted among 267 on-duty ancillary hospital staff using a semi-structured questionnaire to assess their psychological status and risk perception. In addition, their knowledge, attitude, and practices (KAP) and risk perception were also assessed. The General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-12) was used to screen for psychological distress. Among 267 participants, the mean (±SD) age was 33.5 (7.6) years. The majority knew about the symptoms of COVID-19 (88.4%), droplet spread (99.3%), and the importance of isolation (99.3%). About 35.2% were worried about infecting family members, while 26.2% were worried about colleagues at the frontline. Only 38.9% of them had a good knowledge score. Participants with high school and above education level had significantly good knowledge about COVID-19 (OR = 1.99; 95% CI = 1.17- 3.39) than those with primary school or below. Being female (OR 1.99; 95% CI 1.17-3.39) and working with COVID-19 patients (OR 3.88, 95% CI 1.77-8.47, P = 0.001) was associated with psychological distress. The ancillary hospital staff had insufficient knowledge regarding the risk factors of COVID-19 but possessed positive attitudes and practices. Continued health education and appropriate psychological interventions may improve understanding and reduce psychological distress.

AN INTEGRATED CARE MODEL BASED ON HOSPITAL AND HOME DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: TELEHEALTH

Objective: In this study, we aimed to present the details of a successfully implemented telehealth model in a university hospital during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods: Istanbul Faculty of Medicine (IFM) is a university hospital where the first confirmed case of COVID-19 in Turkey was detected. In IFM, patients who were diagnosed with COVID-19 and received outpatient or inpatient treatment were followed up by telehealth for 21-28 days after leaving the hospital. The distinguishing features of this service are the provision of remote outpatient clinical monitoring personally by physicians and the use of web-based IP information technologies. Results: Between March 15 and July 1, 2020, 1,042 individuals were followed up at least once, 860 patients for 21 days or more by the 26 physicians providing the telehealth service. A total of 11,736 calls were made by the physicians and 7,342 of those calls were answered and a total of 1,086 calls were made by patients. The median number of calls per patient was 4 (1-23). The median duration of the completed calls was 2.8 min (<1–50 min). During these follow-ups patients were informed about the importance of isolation. Most of the patients expressed their satisfaction with these follow-ups by thanking the calling physician. Conclusion: In a pandemic such as COVID-19, telehealth services may increase adherence to treatment and isolation precautions among patients with diseases that require follow-up without hospitalization after diagnosis. Telehealth will facilitate early recognition of symptoms that may require hospitalization, ensuring these patients receive the care they need. Therefore, this approach should be widely adopted.

COVID-19 Isolation and Contact Tracing with Country Samples: A Systematic Review.

Background:COVID-19 was first declared as an international public health emergency and then a pandemic by the WHO. In this systematic review, the importance of isolation and contact tracing has been explained, and what kinds of practices exist in different countries are mentioned.Methods:A systematic review was conducted in accordance with the PRISMA and Cochrane guidelines by searching articles from major medical databases such as Google Scholar, PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, CINAHL between Jan 1, 2020 and Apr 1, 2021. Observational and modeling studies written on contact tracing, screening, quarantine and isolation were included.Results:27 observational and modeling studies were included. It was seen that rapid contact tracing to reduce the basic reproduction number (R0) from 3.11 to 0.21. Additionally, each new case requires an average of 36 people to be monitored. Since screening programs missed 75% of cases, high-level contact tracing should also be done simultaneously. Wide quarantine would prevent 79.27% deaths and 87.08% infections.Conclusion:Effective, rapid contact tracing is the cornerstone of an effective public health response in outbreaks. Its success depends on quickly identifying cases, gathering information from them about their last contacts, and tracing and isolating those contacts.

Isolamento social: um olhar a saúde mental de idosos durante a pandemia do COVID-19

Introdução: A COVID-19 é uma doença infecciosa causada pelo novo coronavírus. A doença surgiu na China em dezembro de 2019, e foi classificada como uma Pandemia. Os idosos estão no principal grupo de risco da infecção pelo COVID-19. A principal medida de prevenção é o isolamento social, assim se faz necessário avaliar quais os desafios dessa prática na saúde mental dos idosos. O objetivo desse estudo é investigar na literatura os desafios enfrentados no isolamento social para a saúde mental dos idosos durante a pandemia do COVID-19. Metodologia: Revisão Integrativa da Literatura, realizada nas bases de dados; United States National Library of Medicine (NLM) – PubMed – e SciVerse Scopus (Elsevier), com estudos de janeiro a maio de 2020. Utilizou-se os descritores de saúde ‘’Coronavírus’’, ‘’Mental health’’ e ‘’older adults’’. Resultados: Foram incluídos 15 estudos. Apenas pesquisas que abordaram os desafios do isolamento social na saúde mental dos idosos, bem como estratégias adotadas por alguns países para amenizar o problema que se formou na pandemia do COVID-19. Conclusão: Reconhece-se a importância do isolamento na profilaxia do COVID-19, no entanto, percebe-se que este pode desencadear e/ou agravar distúrbios psicológicos em idosos. Alguns países têm adotado estratégias para trabalhar a população idosa em situação de isolamento social.

Preliminary Assessment of the COVID-19 Outbreak Using 3-Staged Model e-ISHR.

The outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in Wuhan has aroused widespread concern and attention from all over the world. Many articles have predicted the development of the epidemic. Most of them only use very basic SEIR model without considering the real situation. In this paper, we build a model called e-ISHR model based on SEIR model. Then we add hospital system and time delay system into the original model to simulate the spread of COVID-19 better. Besides, in order to take the government’s control and people’s awareness into consideration, we change our e-ISHR model into a 3-staged model which effectively shows the impact of these factors on the spread of the disease. By using this e-ISHR model, we fit and predict the number of confirmed cases in Wuhan and China except Hubei. We also change some of parameters in our model. The results indicate the importance of isolation and increasing the number of beds in hospital.

Isolation drives taxonomic and functional nestedness in tropical reef fish faunas

Taxonomic nestedness, the degree to which the taxonomic composition of species‐poor assemblages represents a subset of richer sites, commonly occurs in habitat fragments and islands differing in size and isolation from a source pool. However, species are not ecologically equivalent and the extent to which nestedness is observed in terms of functional trait composition of assemblages still remains poorly known. Here, using an extensive database on the functional traits and the distributions of 6316 tropical reef fish species across 169 sites, we assessed the levels of taxonomical vs functional nestedness of reef fish assemblages at the global scale. Functional nestedness was considerably more common than taxonomic nestedness, and generally associated with geographical isolation, where nested subsets are gradually more isolated from surrounding reef areas and from the center of biodiversity. Because a nested pattern in functional composition implies that certain combinations of traits may be represented by few species, we identified these groups of low redundancy that include large herbivore‐detritivores and omnivores, small piscivores, and macro‐algal herbivores. The identified patterns of nestedness may be an outcome of the interaction between species dispersal capabilities, resource requirements, and gradients of isolation among habitats. The importance of isolation in generating the observed pattern of functional nestedness within biogeographic regions may indicate that disturbance in depauperate and isolated sites can have disproportionate effects on the functional structure of their reef fish assemblages.

PREVALÊNCIA DA COLONIZAÇÃO POR Streptococcus agalactiae EM GESTANTES ATENDIDAS NA REDE PÚBLICA DE SAÚDE DE SANTO ÂNGELO – RS

Justificativa e objetivos: O Streptococcus agalactiae (EGB) faz parte da microbiota do trato genital feminino, no entanto, a sua importância clínica é relacionada à casos de infecção em neonatos, podendo acarretar quadros graves de pneumonia, septicemia e meningite. Com isso, o objetivo deste estudo é determinar a prevalência da colonização pelo S. agalactiae em gestantes e analisar o perfil de sensibilidade dos isolados frente a antimicrobianos. Métodos: Foram coletadas amostras vaginal e anorretal de gestantes com mais de 30 semanas de gestação, no período de fevereiro a junho de 2013. As amostras eram armazenadas em meio de transporte Stuart e, em seguida, inoculadas em caldo Todd-Hewitt adicionado de gentamicina e ácido nalidíxico, com posterior subcultivo em placas de ágar sangue. Para identificação foram realizados os testes de Gram, catalase, CAMP e aglutinação em látex. Além disso, foram realizados os testes de sensibilidade aos antimicrobianos. Avaliaram-se também, por meio de entrevista, os dados demográficos, socioeconômicos e clínico-obstétricos. Resultados: Observou-se colonização em 22,5% (18/80) das amostras analisadas. Os isolados foram sensíveis a grande maioria dos antimicrobianos testados, com exceção à eritromicina, evidenciando uma resistência em 22,22% (4/18) dos isolados. Conclusão: A elevada colonização materna pelo S. agalactiae encontrada e a resistência a eritromicina enfatizam a importância do isolamento dessa bactéria no final da gestação, prevenindo a ocorrência da infecção neonatal.

English

BACKGROUND: Pune served as hub of H1N1 and recorded maximum deaths in India during 2009 pandemic. Teachers form important part of society which can greatly influence population. AIM: To study knowledge, attitude and practices on H1N1 amongst school teachers in Pune. Study endeavors to bring forth positive practices, which besides benefitting teachers would also translate into disseminating knowledge to students and families, resulting in maximum benefit to society. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: Cross sectional, KAP study amongst school teachers taken was undertaken METHODS: A questionnaire based, cross sectional KAP study was undertaken on 96 teachers from a public school in Pune during June-September 2010. Epi Info version - 2006 was used for data analysis. RESULTS: While most were well aware of H1N1 basics, 40% didn't know danger signs/ complications. Knowledge on prevention demanded attention. 45% believed that H1N1 isn't a big problem. About 1/3rd couldn't appreciate importance of isolation or use of mask. Only 64.6% would stay home on having flu. One fifth believed in wearing mask at workplace and about half in keeping distance of 1m from patients. About 60% didn't believe in avoiding crowed places. 15% won't wash hands. About 17% wouldn't stay home or visit doctor if suffering from cold. Half would not take medicines. CONCLUSION: Fact that 'good' knowledge dwindled to 'fair' attitudes, which in turn didn't translate into desirable robust practices, is alarming. Efforts must be directed towards enhancing knowledge, improving attitudes and imparting behavior changes for desirable practices, which will bring change in society. It's recommended that IEC emphasizing

Isolation, Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Anaerobic Bacteria: A Study Re-emphasizing Its Role.

Isolation, Identification and Antimicrobial Susceptibility of Anaerobic Bacteria: A Study Re-emphasizing Its Role.

Out of Asia: An Allopatric Model for the Evolution of the Domestic Dog

The domestication of the dog has been a ripe area of evolutionary speculation for more than 150 years. A wolf ancestry and probable East Asian origin of domestication are now widely accepted. We offer a new allopatric hypothesis for the domestication of dogs that recognizes the importance of isolation in the speciation of the dog from the wolf. Although sympatric isolation during domestication of many other species would not have been problematic, it has always been difficult to keep dogs from breeding with wild canids. Furthermore, wild canids readily hybridize with one another. This would have made it very difficult for an early domestic dog lineage to diverge from the wolf and to evolve into the morphologically, developmentally, and behaviorally distinct species that we recognize today. Our allopatric model is consistent with two subhypotheses: isolation when tamer scavenger wolves followed humans south and away from hunting populations of wolves or isolation when climate forced humans and tamer scavenger wolves into isolated refugia.

Antecedents and mediators of community connection in African American women with breast cancer.

To describe the theory of community connection defined as close relationships with women and men who are members of a neighborhood, a church, a work group, or an organization. Antecedent and mediator variables related to community connection are identified. A cross-sectional design was used to assess for relationships among theorized antecedents and mediators of community connection in a sample of 144 African American women aged 21 years and older (mean = 54.9) who had been diagnosed with invasive/infiltrating ductal carcinoma. MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSES: Community connection was measured with the relational health indices-community subscale. Mediator analysis was conducted to assess significance of the indirect effects of the mediator variables, which were fear, breast cancer knowledge, and isolation. Community connection was found to be associated with three of the four antecedents, cancer stigma, stress, and spirituality, but not associated with fatalism. Effects were mediated primarily through fear and isolation with isolation as was more dominant of the two mediators. Surprisingly, breast cancer knowledge showed no significant mediator role. The importance of isolation and fear as mediators of community connection is highlighted by this research. The study could serve as a model for other researchers seeking to understand connection in ethnic groups and communities.

A study on the importance of isolation of the active regions for high performance organic circuits

ABSTRACTThe authors present electrical comparisons on an array of test structures including organic lateral diodes and thin film transistors (OTFT), fabricated with a range of disordered and polycrystalline organic semiconductors, to examine the increasing need for effective isolation for organic-based circuits. As the minimum feature size decreases, circuit components become closely positioned, which leads to increased electrical crosstalk. The organic semiconductors utilised for this work include solution-processable organic semiconductors such as disordered polymers P3HT and PTAA, and a polycrystalline material TIPS-pentacene. In order to predict the magnitude required for isolation for the different semiconductors, simple test structures have been designed consisting of two gold electrodes separated by a distance ranging from 4 μm up to 2000 μm. The bulk conductivity from such test structures provides the limits at which circuit components may be placed for crosstalk free operation. The work presented culminates in the development of an isolation layer to help reduce the off-currents and gate leakages of the OTFTs.

Osteomyelitis: a current challenge

Over the last 30 years, the pathogenesis of osteomyelitis has almost been totally elucidated, and many factors responsible for the persistence of this infection have been identified. Numerous antimicrobial agents with distinct spectrums of action, pharmacokinetics, and pharmacodynamics have been used in its treatment. Surgical techniques, including muscle grafts, the Ilizarov technique, and antibiotic bone cements, have been applied. However, bone infections are still a challenge. Despite the importance of isolation and identification of microorganisms to determine the antimicrobial treatment of bone infections, there are few systematic national studies about the etiological profile of these diseases. This article describes the current knowledge of osteomyelitis and summarizes published national data based on the experience of different Orthopedic and Traumatology Services. In general, S. aureus was described as an important etiological agent; however, the difference in design of national studies makes a comparison between the prevalence of bone infection, the associated risk factors, and the different therapeutic approaches difficult. In conclusion, effort is necessary in order to stimulate systematic national studies in different Orthopedics and Traumatology Services to obtain a better consensus on preventive measures and therapies of bone infections.

Importance of Isolation and Biotypization of Gardnerella Vaginalis in Diagnosis of Bacterial Vaginosis

The natural habitat of Gardnerella vaginalis is a vagina since it could be located among 69% of women who have no signs of vaginal infection and in the vagina of as many as 13.5% girls. G. vaginalis is almost certainly identified among women diagnosed with bacterial vaginosis as well as in the urethra of their sexual partner. The increase in prevalence and concentration of G. vaginalis among patients diagnosed with this syndrome confirms that G. vaginalis plays a significant role in its pathogenesis. In our research, based on Amsel criteria for three or more clinical signs of bacterial vaginosis, it was diagnosed in 20.5% of women with subjective problems of vaginal infection, and in 48.80% of women with subjective symptoms characteristic of this disease. G. vaginalis was isolated from vaginal secretion of women without clinical signs characteristic of bacterial vaginosis. In 2.58% of cases it was solitary, while in 1.28% it was found in combination with other aerobic and anaerobic bacteria and, in 1.28% women combined with Candida albicans. The isolation of G. vaginalis was significantly increased (p<0.05) in the group of women with clinical signs of bacterial vaginosis in comparison to the group of women without these signs. Frequent recurrence of bacterial vaginosis, which is found in 20-30% of women within a three months treatment, is explained as reinfection with other biotype of G. vaginalis, different from a source biotype or as a consequence of wrong treatment. Following Piot biotype scheme, biotypes 2., 3. and 7. G. vaginalis are significantly more often isolated from women who suffer from bacterial vaginosis. Biotype 7. G. vaginalis, isolated from the group of women without clinical signs of bacterial vaginosis, accounted for 2.58% cases. Following Benit biotype scheme, biotypes IVa, IVc and IIc were identified in 12.90% cases, while biotypes IIIa, IIa, Ia, IVb, IIb were found in 6.45% cases. Lipase-positive isolates of G. vaginalis were significantly more frequently accompanied by the syndrome of bacterial vaginosis.

Isolation, Interaction, and Island Archaeology

have spent several decades discussingand debating the relative importanceof isolation vs. interaction in the cul-tural and biological evolution of is-land peoples. The papers in this spe-cial section—including the commen-taries by Broodbank (2008) and Terrell(2008)—as well as recent contributionsbyAnderson(2006),BoomertandBright(2007), Fitzpatrick et al. (2007), Moss(2004), and Rainbird (2007) cover thehistory and nuances of this debate ad-mirably and make important method-ological and theoretical contributions toisland and coastal archaeology. Terrell’s(2008) rhetorical question about whatthe ‘Average Joe’ might think of suchscholarly debates is a compelling re-minder that common sense often pro-vides the best test for how useful ourreconstructions are to archaeologists,other scholars, and the general public.For me, after reviewing numerous‘isolationist’ and ‘interactionist’ argu-ments, common sense suggests that: (1)the geography of islands around theworld varies tremendously, as does the

Socio-spatial criteria are important for the establishment of maternal preference in lambs

At lambing, ewes ( Ovis aries) tend to isolate themselves from the flock and this is believed to be beneficial to the early relationship with their young. Later, they return to the flock and lambs progressively interact with other conspecifics. This study focused on the importance of isolation and socio-spatial factors on maternal recognition in lambs. All the ewes gave birth in individual 2 m 2 pens and lambs were able to interact freely with their mothers. A first experiment investigated the role of isolation: INT1 lambs could progressively interact with other mothers and young in a pen which was increased in surface area from birth to 24 h (0–6 h: 1 ewe, 1 litter, 2 m 2; 6–12 h: 2 ewes, 2 litters, 4 m 2; 12–24 h: 4 ewes, 4 litters, 8 m 2); ISO lambs remained in small pens (2 m 2) and only with their mothers for 24 h. The lambs were submitted to a 5 min choice test between their own mothers and an alien ewe. At 12 h INT1 lambs, unlike ISO lambs, showed a clear preference for their mothers. ISO lambs still did not show any maternal preference at 24 h. The second experiment investigated the relative importance of social interactions while keeping the same space allowance for the two groups: INT2 lambs as described for INT1 in Experiment 1, and SPA lambs that remained isolated from the flock with their mothers but had the same increase in pen surface area as INT2 lambs. Both INT2 and SPA lambs displayed a preference for their own mothers at 12 h but INT2 lambs did so more rapidly. Our data also suggest that INT1 and INT2 lambs chose their own mothers at a distance. These results demonstrate that progressively increasing social interactions with flock members other than the mother facilitates the establishment of a preference for the mother in lambs. Increasing space allowance only also seems to have facilitating effects. This suggests that a rich socio-spatial environment from birth has beneficial effects on the development of filial bonding.

Spectroscopic characterization of the structural and functional properties of natural organic matter fractions

Natural organic matter (NOM) is known to be complex in nature with varying structural and functional characteristics. In this study, an aquatic NOM was fractionated into the polyphenolic-rich (NOM-PP) and the carbohydrate-rich (NOM-CH) fractions in an attempt to better characterize their chemical and structural properties along with a reference soil humic acid (SHA). Various spectroscopic techniques were employed for the study, including ultraviolet–visible (UV/Vis), 13 C-nuclear magnetic resonance, Fourier-transform infrared, fluorescence, and electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopies. Results indicate that the relative abundance of aromatic CC and methoxyl (–OCH 3) functional groups are in the order of SHA>NOM-PP>NOM-CH. However, the aquatic NOM-PP and NOM-CH fractions are characterized by high contents of carboxylic and alcoholic functional groups relative to the SHA. In particular, the NOM-PP fraction appears to contain more phenolic and ketonic functional groups than the NOM-CH and SHA fractions, and it gives a strong fluorescence and high paramagnetic spin count. On the other hand, the NOM-CH fraction possesses a relatively low amount of carbon but a high amount of oxygen or oxygen-containing structural features, such as carbohydrate-OH and carboxylic groups, and shows the least fluorescence intensity and paramagnetic spin counts. Results of these spectroscopic studies confirm the heterogeneous nature of NOM, and point out the importance of isolation and improved characterization of various NOM subcomponents in order to better understand the behavior and roles of NOM in the natural environment.

Scale and species richness: towards a general, hierarchical theory of species diversity

AimCurrent weaknesses of diversity theory include: a failure to distinguish different biogeographical response variables under the general heading of diversity; and a general failure of ecological theory to deal adequately with geographical scale. Our aim is to articulate the case for a top‐down approach to theory building, in which scale is addressed explicitly and in which different response variables are clearly distinguished.LocationThe article draws upon both theoretical contributions and empirical analyses from all latitudes, focusing on terrestrial ecosystems and with some bias towards (woody) plants.MethodsWe review current diversity theory and terminology in relation to scale of applicability. As a starting point in developing a general theory, we take the issue of geographical gradients in species richness as a main theme and evaluate the extent to which commonly cited theories are likely to operate at scales from the macro down to the local.ResultsA degree of confusion surrounds the use of the terms alpha, beta and gamma diversity, and the terms local, landscape and macro‐scale are preferred here as a more intuitive framework. The distinction between inventory and differentiation diversity is highlighted as important as, in terms of scale of analysis, are the concepts of focus and extent. The importance of holding area constant in analysis is stressed, as is the notion that different environmental factors exhibit measurable heterogeneity at different scales. Evaluation of several of the most common diversity theories put forward for the grand clines in species richness, indicates that they can be collapsed to dynamic hypotheses based on climate or historical explanations. The importance of the many ecological/biological mechanisms that have been proposed is evident mainly at local scales of analysis, whilst at the macro‐scale they are dependent largely upon climatic controls for their operation. Local communities have often been found not to be saturated, i.e. to be non‐equilibrial. This is argued, perhaps counter‐intuitively, to be entirely compatible with the persistence through time of macro‐scale patterns of richness that are climatically determined. The review also incorporates recent developments in macroecology, Rapoport’s rule, trade‐offs, and the importance of isolation, landscape impedance and geometric constraints on richness (the mid‐domain effect) in generating richness patterns; highlighting those phenomena that are contributory to the first‐order climatic pattern, and those, such as the geometric constraints, that may confound or obscure these patterns.Main conclusionsA general theory of diversity must necessarily cover many disparate phenomena, at various scales of analysis, and cannot therefore be expressed in a simple formula, but individual elements of this general theory may be. In particular, it appears possible to capture in a dynamic climate‐based model and ‘capacity rule’, the form of the grand cline in richness of woody plants at the macro‐scale. This provides a starting point for a top‐down, global‐to‐local, macro‐to‐micro scale approach to modelling richness variations in a variety of taxa. Patterns in differentiation/endemicity, on the other hand, require more immediate attention to historical events, and to features of geography such as isolation. Thus, whilst we argue that there are basic physical principles and laws underlying certain diversity phenomena (e.g. macro‐scale richness gradients), a pluralistic body of theory is required that incorporates dynamic and historical explanation, and which bridges equilibrial and nonequilibrial concepts and ideas.

Population structure in Sardinia on the basis of quantitative palmar dermatoglyphic traits

We describe the genetic structure of twenty Sardinian subpopulations using quantitative palmar dermatoglyphic traits (a-b, and A-d counts, atd angle value, coefficient of Turpin and Lejeune, main line index, mean of A-, B-, C, and D-line terminations) of 3777 subjects (2043 males and 1734 females). The twenty subdivisions represent sixteen historical-geographic areas of the island in which people speaks Sardinian language, Sassarese and Gallura areas in which people speaks two Italian dialects, and the two communities of Alghero (Catalan speaking) and Carloforte (Ligurian speaking). Analysis was carried out for both hands and both sexes combined and using R-matrix technique and the extension of the Harpending-Ward model to quantitative traits according to Relethford & Blangero (1990). Multivariate minimum Fst value (0.0127) is higher than that of most. Mediterranean populations and shows the importance of isolation and genetic drift as evolutive forces at the basis of microdifferentiation among the Sardinian subpopulations considered. However, when the four populations not speaking Sardinian language are removed from the analysis, the value of Fst decreases to 0.008. The regression of mean genetic variance on distances from the centroid (rii values) states the marked effect of the genetic drift for Nuorese and Barbagia di Ollolai subdivisions (placed in the inner and mountainous areas of Sardinia) and reveals considerable levels of admixture for Carloforte subdivision. The contemporary genetic structure of these groups reflects their historical, linguistic and geographic characteristics. On the whole, our analysis confirms the usefulness of quantitative dermatoglyphic traits in studying genetic population structure.

Endemism in birds of tropical Pacific islands

I analysed avifaunal data from 30 archipelagos and isolated islands in the tropical Pacific Ocean to examine the effects of geography on endemism. I divided the total bird species list (pelagic and migrant species excluded) for each island group into continental (also found outside of the study area), Pacific (found only within the study area but within more than one archipelago), and endemic (found only within a single archipelago) species and estimated ten variables related to the geography of each archipelago. I used multiple linear regression analysis to relate numbers and proportions of species in each category to the geographical variables. Total land area of an archipelago was the most improtant variable in explaining variation in the number of species in each category, with elevation and isolation also being important. The relationships between the proportions of species in each category and the geographical variables underscore the importance of isolation and the number of large islands in promoting endemism, presumably by allowing both inter- and intra-archipelagal speciation to proceed.