SignificanceArthropods, invertebrates including insects that have external skeletons, are declining at an alarming rate. While the tropics harbor the majority of arthropod species, little is known about trends in their abundance. We compared arthropod biomass in Puerto Rico’s Luquillo rainforest with data taken during the 1970s and found that biomass had fallen 10 to 60 times. Our analyses revealed synchronous declines in the lizards, frogs, and birds that eat arthropods. Over the past 30 years, forest temperatures have risen 2.0 °C, and our study indicates that climate warming is the driving force behind the collapse of the forest’s food web. If supported by further research, the impact of climate change on tropical ecosystems may be much greater than currently anticipated.

No abstract

No abstract

No abstract

In patients with rheumatic carditis, the mitral valve is most often involved and mitral regurgitation is the most common finding on color flow imaging. Mitral regurgitation in rheumatic carditis is related to ventricular dilatation and/or restriction of leaflet mobility. Rheumatic carditis does not result in congestive heart failure in the absence of hemodynamically significant valve lesions. In a quarter of patients with rheumatic carditis, we observed valve nodules that may represent echocardiographic equivalents of rheumatic verrucae. Our study failed to reveal any incremental diagnostic utility of echocardiography and Doppler color flow imaging in rheumatic fever without clinical evidence of carditis.