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Parasites may influence the outcome of interspecific competition between closely related host species through lower parasite virulence in the host with which they share the longer evolutionary history. We tested this idea by comparing the prevalence of avian malaria (Haemosporidia) lineages and their association with survival in pied and collared flycatchers (Ficedula hypoleuca and F. albicollis)

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect, on miscarriages and stillbirths, of persistent organochlorine compounds (POC) through dietary intake of fatty fish from the Baltic Sea. METHODS: Information on miscarriages and stillbirths was collected retrospectively by a self-administered questionnaire in a cohort of fishermen's wives from the Swedish east coast (by the Balt

Laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC) is attempted in all our patients scheduled for cholecystectomy. The related standard radiologic procedures are preoperative ultrasonography (US) and preoperative cholangiography (PCA). In a retrospective study of 214 patients scheduled for LC over a 2-year period we have reviewed the radiologic and clinical records. Preoperative US revealed stones in the common bi

The literature identifies two forms of business organization, Neocorporatist and firm-level, and the strength of each respective type has changed over time; whereas Neocorporatism has remained steady or declined, firm-level organization has become stronger in all countries. The literature underscores the differential effects of these two forms of business organization on employer support for activ

This paper explores whether women can become the change agents for a sustainable transport sector and how such a change can be accomplished through transport policy. Based on the Swedish case, women still on average have transportation behaviour with lower environmental impact than men have; women also tend to have stronger preferences for improving sustainability in the sector. The results imply

The ECG is the key clinical test available for the emergency determination of which patients who presenting with acute coronary syndromes indeed have acute myocardial ischemia/infarction. Because typically the etiology is thrombosis, the correct clinical decision regarding reperfusion therapy is crucial. This review follows the efforts of an AHA working group to develop new standards for clinical

A study combining information from infrared spectroscopy and adsorption experiments was carried out to investigate phthalate, trimellitate, and pyromellitate complexes at the goethite (alpha-FeOOH)/water interface. Infrared spectra showed evidence for inner-sphere complexes below pH 6 and outer-sphere complexes in the pH range 3 to 9. Normalized infrared peak areas were used as a semi-quantitative

Aim: Examine the effect of a 10 h intervention programme compared with post-mailed minimal intervention (PMMI) given to high-risk alcohol-drinking university freshmen in a random design. Method: In total 693 freshmen at the Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University, Sweden were included in the study. A cognitive behavioural alcohol program (CBAP) or PMMI was given to high-risk drinking freshme

Calcicole plant species are vulnerable to acidification and fertilization, caused by deposition and changes in land use, since they are adapted to nutrient-poor calcareous conditions. In this study we used vegetation data (vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens) from 1964 and 1985 and stored soil samples from 1966 to investigate long-term soil chemistry and vegetation changes in a semi-natural, s

Biochar application to soils has potential to simultaneously improve soil fertility and store carbon to aid climate change mitigation. While many studies have shown positive effects on plant yields, much less is known about the synergies between biochar and plant growth promoting microbes, such as mycorrhizal fungi. We present the first evidence that arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi can use bioch

Non-marine Late Cretaceous sediments from the Vilui Basin, Siberia, yield a diverse palynoflora of over 180 taxa, a third of which had a circum-polar distribution. The Vilui palynoflora belongs generally to the northerly Aquilapollenites Province admixed with minute Normapolles types, and comprises about 36-70% angiosperm pollen forms, indicating a late Campanian/early Maastrichtian age. Using a c

The activity of saprotrophic fungi and bacteria, and the balance between them, can affect decomposition. Arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi are also important for the nutrient and energy transfer in soil. Microbial community composition and activity are believed to have seasonal patterns, and are known to be highly influenced by environmental factors such as pH and nutrient conditions. To evaluate

In this second article in a series based on various analyses of data from the survey of the vascular flora of the province of Skåne, southern-most Sweden, completed 1987–2007, the geographic distribution of mean indicator values are mapped and discussed. The Ellenberg indicator values are applied and found to correlate well with actual conditions as far as light, temperature and soil reaction (pH)

Sexually selected traits are often condition-dependent and are expected to be affected by genome-wide distributed deleterious mutations and inbreeding. However, sexual selection is a powerful selective force that can counteract inbreeding through purging of deleterious mutations. Inbreeding and purging of the inbreeding load for sexually selected traits has rarely been studied across natural popul

Background and AimsApomictic species (with asexual seed production) make up for 20-50 % of all taxonomically recognized species in northern Europe, but the phylogenetic relationships of apomictic species and the mode of evolution and speciation remain largely unknown and their taxonomy is consequently disputed.MethodsIn the present study, plastid psbD-trnT sequences (349 accessions) and 12 nuclear

Abstract A recent study by Väli et al. (2008) highlights that microsatellites will often provide a poor prediction of the genome-wide nucleotide diversity of wild populations, but does not fully explain why. To clarify and stress the importance of identity disequilibrium and marker variability for correlations between multilocus heterozygosity and genome-wide genetic variability, we performed a si