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The male: female (sex) ratio is of considerable importance in understanding population dynamics of species. A null hypothesis was tested that the male:female (sex) ratio of Carabus species does not differ measurably when entire seasons are considered, but may differ considerably over shorter periods, indicating differences in annual rhythms between the sexes. The sex ratios in nine Carabus species

Migrating birds are believed to minimize the time spent on migration rather than energy. Birds seem to maximize migration speed in different ways as a noteworthy variation in migration strategies exists. We studied migration strategies of a flight mode and feeding generalist, the Lesser Black-backed Gull Larus fuscus, using GPS-based satellite telemetry. We expected the gulls to achieve very high

The African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) is one of Africa's most endangered species and therefore classified as endangered by IUCN. Earlier distributions included most of Africa but currently the African wild dog only has populations larger than 300 individuals in three countries (Botswana, Tanzania and South Africa). In 1998, a plan was launched in South Africa to manage sub-populations of the Africa

Pathologic aggregation of beta-amyloid (A beta) peptide and the axonal microtubule-associated protein tau protein are hallmarks of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Evidence supports that A beta peptide accumulation precedes microtubule-related pathology, although the link between A beta and tau remains unclear. We previously provided evidence for early co-localization of A beta 42 peptides and hyperphosp

Objectives To perform fine mapping of the autoimmunity susceptibility gene BLK and identify functional variants involved in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Methods Genotyping of 1163 European SLE patients and 1482 controls and imputation were performed covering the BLK gene with 158 single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Logistic regression analysis was done using PLINK and conditional analyses usin

Acetone-ether preparations of epididymal fat pads from fasted or fed rats contained two enzymes catalyzing the hydrolysis of long-chain monoacylglycerols. The enzymes were identified as monoacylglycerol lipase (Tornqvist, H. and Belfrage, P., (1976) J. Biol Chem. 251, 813--819) and lipoprotein lipase by their apparent pI values after electrofocusing in non-ionic detergent, selective inhibition pro

The nitrate reductase activity (NRA) was measured during spring, early summer and late summer in three deciduous forests, where the tree layer was dominated by oak. The nitrate assimilation capacities of the compartments of the above-ground and below-ground biomass of the understory and of the leaves and roots of the tree layer were calculated as NRA per unit biomass and NRA per unit area. The NRA

Rapidly developing viral resistance to licensed human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protease inhibitors is an increasing problem in the treatment of HIV-infected individuals and AIDS patients. A rational design of more effective protease inhibitors and discovery of potential biological substrates for the HIV-1 protease require accurate models for protease cleavage specificity. In this stud

There are several thousands of old landfills in Sweden and they are often located close to cities on valuable land, three of these landfills are Lassabacka in Varberg, Härlövsängar in Kristianstad and Onsjöparken in Eslöv. On these landfill methane- emission and concentration measurements are done with an IR Chamber called ULTRAMAT 23, a probe and the gas analyser LFG 20. This was done to see if t

We aim to reinforce the importance of more qualitative empirical studies researching the particularities of co-creation efforts, in the context of new, ambiguous mutations of work and organization generated by internet technologies. While answering our research question we will look into personal accounts referring to the individual’s experience of volunteering for Mozilla, and we will contribute

Background. Methylmalonic acid (MMA), a sensitive biomarker of functional vitamin B12 deficiency, is commonly determined by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) or liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods using manual extraction and derivatization of MMA to reduce polarity prior to separation. Methods. In the present study we introduce a semi-automated extraction o

Galectins are carbohydrate binding proteins, implicated in conditions of both inflammation and cancer. Connections between chronic inflammation and cancer are proposed by the increased remodelling and proliferation that occurs, leading to enhanced survival and proliferation of malignant cells. Since galectins have been implicated in mechanisms of both chronic inflammation and cancer, we have inves

Population fluctuations and synchrony influence population persistence; species with larger fluctuations and more synchronised population fluctuations face higher extinction risks. Here, we analyse the effect of diet specialisation, mobility, length of the flight period, and distance to the northern edge of the species' distribution in relation to between-year population fluctuations and synchrony

Glypicans are cell-surface heparan sulfate proteoglycans that regulate Wnt, Hedgehog, bone morphogenetic protein, and fibroblast growth factor signaling through their heparan sulfate chains. Recent studies have shown that glypican core proteins also have functional roles in growth factor signaling, but biochemical and structural knowledge regarding the core proteins is limited. Glypican-1 is invol

Background: Performance of migrating birds can be affected by a number of intrinsic and extrinsic factors like morphology, meteorological conditions and migration strategies. We compared travel speeds of four raptor species during their crossing of the Sahara desert. Focusing the analyses on this region allows us to compare different species under equivalent conditions in order to disentangle whic

Group B Streptococcus (GBS) causes invasive infections in human newborns. We recently showed that the GBS beta-protein attenuates innate immune responses by binding to sialic acid-binding immunoglobulin-like lectin 5 (Siglec-5), an inhibitory receptor on phagocytes. Interestingly, neutrophils and monocytes also express Siglec-14, which has a ligand-binding domain almost identical to Siglec-5 but s