Climate change and biological invasions are key processes affecting global biodiversity, yet their effects have usually been considered separately. Here, we emphasise that global warming has enabled alien species to expand into regions in which they previously could not survive and reproduce. Based on a review of climate-mediated biological invasions of plants, invertebrates, fishes and birds, we

An experiment was conducted to follow the fate of the cyanobacterial toxin, nodularin, produced by Nodularia spumigena through ingestion by Mytilus edulis and re-ingestion of faecal material (coprophagy). Mussels were fed with cultures of N. spumigena, and the faeces that were produced were fed to other mussels not previously exposed to N. spumigena. Concentrations of nodularin were measured in th

The retro-aldol reductive fragmentation of different structural types of 7-hydroxy-9,10-dioxotaxoids was investigated, showing that the reaction is typical of taxanes and requires cerium(III) promotion with NaBH4 in protic medium and alkylboron (aluminium) hydrides in aprotic solvents. The resulting 7,8-seco-taxanes are key intermediates for the synthesis of a novel class of anticancer taxanes end

Diurnal and nocturnal hawkmoths have been shown to use colour vision for flower discrimination. Here, we present evidence that the nocturnal hawkmoth Deilephila elpenor and the diurnal hawkmoth Macroglossum stellatarum also have colour constancy. Colour constancy was shown in D. elpenor in two multiple-choice experiments with five different bluish colour patches under white and blue illumination a

Sperm storage is a widespread phenomenon across taxa and mating systems but its consequences for central fitness parameters, such as sex ratios, has rarely been investigated. In Australian painted dragon lizards (Ctenophorus pictus), we describe elsewhere that male reproductive success via sperm competition is largely an effect of sperm storage. That is, sperm being stored in the female reproducti

This article outlines an experimental and numerical study of basic creep in High Performance Concrete. About 100 cylinders (studies of creep and shrinkage) and 400 cubes (for studies of hydration, internal relative humidity, and strength) were tested. The ambient climate was held constant at 20°C. One concrete was studied at other temperatures between -20°C and 60°C. Analyses were carried out of q

With the aid of time-resolved dynamic light scattering (DLS) and static light scattering (SLS), we have analyzed the ejection kinetics from the bacterial virus bacteriophage (or phage) lambda, triggered in vitro by its receptor. We have used DLS to investigate the kinetics in such a system. Furthermore, we have shown that both SLS and DLS can be interchangeably used to study the process of phage D

Intracellular application of the sulfonylurea tolbutamide during whole-cell patch-clamp recordings stimulated exocytosis >5-fold when applied at a cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentration of 0.17 microM. This effect was not detectable in the complete absence of cytoplasmic Ca2+ and when exocytosis was elicited by guanosine 5'-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTPgammaS). The stimulatory action could be antagonized by

We investigated whether cell proliferation and neurogenesis are altered in R6/2 transgenic Huntington's disease mice. Using bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU), we found a progressive decrease in the number of proliferating cells in the dentate gyrus of R6/2 mice. This reduction was detected in pre-symptomatic mice, and by 11.5 weeks, R6/2 mice had 66% fewer newly born cells in the hippocampus. The results w

Objective. To determine whether psychosocial factors, chronic diseases, and common geriatric problems are associated with poor physical function 3 years after primary total hip replacement (THR). Methods. We studied a sample of Medicare recipients in Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Colorado (n = 922) who underwent primary THR in 1995 (mean +/- SD age 73.1 +/- 5.6 years, 32% men). Participants completed a

Relapsing polychondritis is an autoinumme disease that affects cartilage in the ear, nose, and respiratory tract. A pathogenic immune response has been proposed and antibodies to several cartilage proteins are detected in sera from these patients. To investigate the role of the humoral immune response in relapsing polychondritis, we used the matrilin-1-induced relapsing polychondritis model. Mice

OBJECTIVE: To develop a new mouse model for arthritis using cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) and to study the role of major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and Ncf1 genes in COMP-induced arthritis (COMPIA). METHODS: Native (pentameric) and denatured (monomeric) COMP purified from a rat chondrosarcoma was injected into mice with Freund's adjuvant to induce arthritis. C3H.NB, C3H.Q, B10.P

Introduction: Women with a history of preeclampsia have an increased risk for cardiovascular disease in later Life. We evaluated thrombogenic characteristics of women with a previous history of preeclampsia, expressed in levels of thrombin generation, number of micropartictes and related to menstrual cycle and endothelial function, measured as flow-mediated dilatation. Materials and methods: We in

Background. The aim was to investigate whether social network and social support factors can explain socioeconomic differences in the risk of consuming low amounts of vegetables, fruit and fruit juices. Method. The Malm Diet and Cancer Study was a prospective cohort study. The present cross-sectional study examined data from a subpopulation of 11,837 individuals that completed baseline examination

Both environmental and genetic factors can dramatically affect reproductive performance in mice. In this study we have focused on the identification of genetic regions, quantitative trait loci (QTL), which affect the breeding capacity of female mice. We have identified polymorphic microsatellite markers for the mouse strains used and performed a genomewide scan on 237 females from a gene-segregati

We have previously suggested that the Toluidine Blue (TB) test can be used for sperm chromatin structure assessment. In this study, we wished to evaluate the clinical applicability of the TB test in assessing male fertility potential using well-defined groups of fertile and infertile men. Sixty-three fertile and 79 infertile men were tested. Infertility thresholds for the proportion of sperm with