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In polyandrous insects, postcopulatory sexual selection is a pervasive evolutionary force favouring male and female traits that allow control of offspring paternity. Males may influence paternity through adaptations for sperm competition, and females through adaptations facilitating cryptic female choice. Yet, the mechanisms are often complex, involving behaviour, physiology or morphology, and the

Objectives: To compare the cost-effectiveness of the treatment of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) with infliximab in the United Kingdom over lifetime estimated from two different clinical trials and adjusted for clinical practice guidelines. Methods: A cost-effectiveness model was developed to incorporate clinical, epidemiological, and economic data and allow extrapolation of trial results and incorpo

The genetic changes underlying the development and progression of male breast cancer are poorly understood. Germline BRCA2 mutations account for a significant part of male breast cancer, but the majority of patients lack a known inherited predisposition. We recently demonstrated that the progression of breast cancer in female carriers of a germline BRCA1 or BRCA2 mutation follows specific genetic

The native bee fauna provides an important ecosystem function, but a large proportion of this fauna in Europe is threatened as a result of habitat loss and fragmentation. The solitary bee Andrena hattorfiana is specialised on collecting pollen from the plant-family Dipsacaceae. In northern Europe the major pollen resource is the insect-pollinated herb Knautia arvensis. We quantified the available

This paper reports the findings of a global survey of practice patterns for the management of patients with haemophilia A. A total of 147 haemophilia treatment centres worldwide responded to the questionnaire, supplying data for 16 115 patients with haemophilia A. From these responses, 38% (range: 25-48%) of patients were under 18 years old. Almost half (47%) of patients were reported to have mild

Background: Data regarding the association between lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA(2)) level and incidence of cardiovascular (CV) events are conflicting. This prospective urban population-based study explored the relationship between baseline Lp-PLA(2) activity and mass, respectively, levels and incidence of first coronary heart disease (CHD) and ischemic stroke, respectively. Meth

Objective: To study a controversy that has been discussed for more than two decades: whether or not children with autism have abnormalities affecting the cochlear nerve or the auditory pathway in the brain stem and, if so, to describe these abnormalities. Design: A group of 153 children and adolescents with autistic disorder were included in an investigation of auditory brain stem responses (ABR).

Colour vision greatly enhances the discriminatory and cognitive capabilities of visual systems and is found in a great majority of vertebrates and many invertebrates. However, colour coding visual systems are confronted with the fact that the external stimuli are ambiguous because they are subject to constant variations of luminance and spectral composition. Furthermore, the transmittance of the o

Objectives: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of mortality worldwide. A high level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a major CVD risk factor. Guidelines recommend effective cholesterol management and set LDL-C goals, yet deficiencies exist in physician implementation of these recommendations and in patient uptake of the advice. However, little is known of patient pe

Carbonyl carotenoids are important constituents of the antenna complexes of marine organisms. These carotenoids possess an excited state with a charge-transfer character ( intramolecular charge transfer state, ICT), but many details of the carotenoid to chlorophyll energy transfer mechanisms are as yet poorly understood. Here, we employ femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy to study energy

Public perception of the underlying causes of anthropogenic climate change is a complex and subjective issue that is critical to effective risk communication. This issue is important to scientists and policymakers because of the role of individual perceptions in influencing their protective behaviour towards risk (e.g., the adoption of climate risk reduction and mitigation strategies). This cross-

Low androgen levels may contribute to sexual dysfunction in women after allogeneic hematopoietic cell transplantation (alloHCT). However, data on serum androgens in women after alloHCT are limited. The aim of this study was to assess androgen levels and their association with chronic GvHD (cGvHD) and glucocorticoid (GC) therapy. Included were 65 allografted women, 33 with cGvHD, and 23 of these we

OBJECTIVES: To identify germ line variants contributing to the development of monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS), an asymptomatic premalignant precursor for multiple myeloma (MM).METHODS: We conducted the first genomewide association study (GWAS) on MGUS on 243 German cases with a replication on 294 Czech cases. Identified loci were further analyzed in 1508 German MM patient

What understanding of freedom does the EU freedom to conduct business protect? This article distinguishes between two understandings of freedom – freedom as non-interference and freedom as non-domination, and argues that both the text of Article 16 of the Charter and the pre-Charter case law suggest an understanding of freedom as non-domination. However, in recent case law, the Court appears to ha

Aim: Impaired regulation of glucose metabolism in childhood adversely affects bone health. We assessed the effect of fasting hyperglycemia and insulin resistance on bone turnover markers in prepubertal children with normal glycemia (<100 mg/dL) and fasting hyperglycemia (100-125 mg/dL). Methods: Glucose, hemoglobin A1c, IGF-I (insulin-like growth factor I), iP1NP (N-terminal propeptide of type I p

Lithium abundance in most of the warm metal-poor main sequence stars shows a constarnt plateau (A(Li) ~ 2.2 dex) and then the upper envelope of the lithium vs. metallicity distribution increases as we approach solar metallicity. Meteorites, which carry information about the chemical composition of the interstellar medium (ISM) at the solar system formation time, show a lithium abundance A(Li) ~ 3.

TGFB1 (transforming growth factor beta 1) is a potent cytokine playing a driving role in development, fibrosis and cancer. It is synthesized as prodomain-growth factor complex that requires tethering to LTBP (latent transforming growth factor beta binding protein) for efficient secretion into the extracellular space. Upon release, this large latent complex is sequestered by anchorage to extracellu

The main objective of this study was to examine the rate of three dimensions of depressive symptoms in medical student population in Serbia, and to find out whether this rate had changed over the period often years. This cross-sectional study included 615 medical students (F = 61% and M = 39%), mean age = 23.60 (SD = 1.541), who were tested in five non-consecutive surveys between 2002 and 2012. De