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Few studies have sought to assess predictors of retention of racial/ethnic or sexual minorities in longitudinal health research. The purpose of this study is to investigate predictors of retention of Latino gay and bisexual men and transgender (GBT) research participants after the baseline interview. Data come from a sample of 643 Latino GBT individuals in two cities (Chicago and San Francisco). We assessed potential predictors of retention (operationalized as successful re-contact) using binary logistic regression of retention on five factors (sociodemographic/health, residential stability, acculturation/attachment to the United States, gay community attachment/stigmatization and research process/design). Our overall follow-up rate was 83 and 80% at 3 and 6 months, respectively. We found that traditional factors (e.g. education, income) were not associated with retention among Latino GBT. The strongest predictors of successful retention were the number of pieces of contact information provided by participants and city of residence (San Francisco). Furthermore, successful methods of contact (i.e. telephone, email) varied by city. We conclude that a largely immigrant urban population of Latino GBT individuals can be successfully followed in longitudinal research. The strong relationship between study design variables and successful retention indicates that collection of thorough contact information is vital to successful follow-up with this population. (Contains 4 tables.)

Island radiation constitutes a playground for species diversification, which has long fascinated researchers and still does today. Because only a small subset of taxa within the pool of island colonizers is concerned by this process, the question is raised on whether some factors could make a taxon prone to radiate. Cheirolophus is the only genus of Centaureinae subtribe to have experienced a radiation in the Canary Islands. Cytogenetic characterization through FISH of 5S and 35S ribosomal RNA genes in eight Cheirolophus species from continent and Canary Islands revealed an unusually high number of 35S predominantly at terminal position, together with a single interstitial 5S rDNA locus in all the studied taxa. Such an abundance of 35S rDNA signals is unique among Centaureinae and predates Cheirolophus arrival in Canary Islands. The possible link of the rDNA profile with radiation process is discussed through a comparison with two other case studies, the closely related Rhaponticum group and the genus Centaurea. Key words: Asteraceae, Canary Islands, fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH), fluorochrome banding, radiation. La radiation adaptative en milieu insulaire constitue un materiel d'exception pour etudier la diversification des especes, qui fascine depuis toujours les chercheurs. Ce phenomene concernant seulement une infime partie des taxons parmi l'ensemble des especes atteignant les lles, la question se pose de savoir s'il existerait des facteurs qui pourraient rendre un taxon plus enclin a entreprendre une radiation. Cheirolophus est le seul genre des Centaureinae a presenter une radiation dans les lles Canaries. La caracterisation cytogenetique des genes ribosomiques 5S et 35S par la technique d'hybridation in situ fluorescente (HISF), chez huit especes de Cheirolophus du continent et des lles Canaries, a mis en evidence que toutes les especes etudiees presentent un nombre de 35S particulierement eleve, presque exclusivement en position terminale, ainsi qu'un unique locus 5S, en position interstitielle. Une telle abondance de signaux 35S est unique parmi les Centaureinae, et a precede l'arrivee de Cheirolophus dans les lles Canaries. La possibilite d'une relation entre le profil d'ADNr et le processus de radiation est discutee par comparaison avec deux autres cas d'etude, le groupe Rhaponticum, phylogenetiquement proche de Cheirolophus, et le genre Centaurea. Mots-cles : Asteraceae, Iles Canaries, hybridation in situ fluorescente (HISF), coloration differentielle aux fluorochromes, radiation., Introduction Because they constitute a privileged material for studying species diversification, island radiations have allowed crucial advances in evolutionary understanding, starting by Galapagos finches that inspired Darwin's theory of evolution [...]

Byline: J. Valles (1), A. Pobo (1), O. Garcia-Esquirol (1), D. Mariscal (2), J. Real (3), R. Fernandez (1) Keywords: Ventilator-associated pneumonia; Attributable mortality; Morbidity; Late-onset pneumonia Abstract: Objective To determine the impact of ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) on ICU mortality, and whether it is related to time of onset of pneumonia. Design Prospective cohort study. Setting 16-bed medical-surgical ICU at a university-affiliated hospital. Patients and measurements From 2002 to 2003, we recorded patients receiving mechanical ventilation for >a-72a-h. Patients developing an infection other than VAP were excluded. Patients definitively diagnosed with VAP (na-=a-40) were cases and patients free of any infection acquired during ICU stay (na-=a-61) were controls. The VAP-attributed mortality was defined as the difference between observed mortality and predicted mortality (SAPSa-II) on admission. Results Mechanical ventilation was longer in VAP patients (25a-+-a-20 vs 11a-+-a-9a-days pa-a-0.2). In the VAP group, observed mortality was 45% and predicted mortality 26.5% (pa-a-0.20) in late-onset VAP, observed mortality was higher (51.7 vs 26.7% pa- Conclusions In mechanically ventilated patients, VAP is associated with excess mortality, mostly restricted to late-onset VAP and despite appropriate antibiotic treatment. Author Affiliation: (1) Critical Care Center, Parc Tauli s/n, Hospital Parc Tauli, 08208, Sabadell, Spain (2) Department of Microbiology, Parc Tauli s/n, Hospital Parc Tauli, 08208, Sabadell, Spain (3) Department of Epidemiology, Parc Tauli s/n, Fundacio Parc Tauli, 08208, Sabadell, Spain Article History: Registration Date: 07/05/2007 Received Date: 25/04/2006 Accepted Date: 06/04/2007 Online Date: 09/06/2007