Raman spectroscopy of advanced glycation end products (AGEs), possible markers for progressive retinal dysfunction

Raman microscopy is used to investigate the spectral features of selected compounds known to be involved in the development of the eye disease age-related macular degeneration (AMD). Diagnostic features were identified in synthetic samples of these compounds and in a biological matrix. The study demonstrates the potential of Raman microscopy for the development of diagnostic markers of the onset of AMD. Copyright (C) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Aggressive responses to broadband trills are related to subsequent pairing success in nightingales

In sexually selected signals, distinct components often have specific signal value in mate choice or male-male competition. In songbirds, structural song traits such as trills, that is, a series of repetitive notes, can be important in female choice. However, little is known about their signal value in male-male interactions. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that males assess the competitive abilities of rivals based on the use and performance of rapid broadband trills produced within songs. Using a 2-speaker playback experiment, we exposed territorial male nightingales, Luscinia megarhynchos, that differed in their subsequent pairing success, to a simulated vocal interaction between 2 unfamiliar rivals. The singing of the 2 simulated rivals differed in the number of songs containing rapid broadband trills. Subjects responded significantly more strongly to the loudspeaker that broadcast songs containing such trills than to the loudspeaker that broadcast exclusively songs without such trills. Moreover, responses also depended on the fine structure of trills. Males that became paired later in the season significantly increased their response intensity with increasing trill performance, whereas males that remained unpaired responded in the opposite way and decreased their response intensity with increasing trill performance. These results indicate that rapid broadband trills are a signal of aggression and that the nature of the response in vocal interactions reflects aspects of the challenged male's fitness. © The Author 2008. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology. All rights reserved.


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The Preboreal climate reversal and a subsequent solar-forced climate shift

Accurate chronologies are essential for linking palaeoclimate archives. Carbon-14 wiggle-match dating was used to produce an accurate chronology for part of an early Holocene peat sequence from the Borchert (The Netherlands). Following the Younger Dryas-Preboreal transition, two climatic shifts could be inferred. Around 11 400 cal. yr BP the expansion of birch (Betula) forest was interrupted by a dry continental phase with dominantly open grassland vegetation, coeval with the PBO (Preboreal Oscillation), as observed in the GRIP ice core. At 11 250 cal. yr BP a sudden shift to a humid climate occurred. This second change appears to be contemporaneous with: (i) a sharp increase of atmospheric C-14; (ii) a temporary decline of atmospheric CO2; and (iii) an increase in the GRIP Be-10 flux. The close correspondence with excursions of cosmogenic nuclides points to a decline in solar activity, which may have forced the changes in climate and vegetation at around 11 250 cal. yr BP. Copyright (C) 2004 John Wiley Sons, Ltd.

No association between routinely recorded infections in early life and subsequent risk of childhood-onset Type 1 diabetes: a matched case-control study using the UK General Practice Research Database

Aims To determine whether children with infections in early life (recorded routinely in general practice) have a reduced risk of Type 1 diabetes, as would be expected from the hygiene hypothesis.

Biodiversity among mussels: separating the influence of sizes of mussels from the ages of patches

The role of habitat structure in controlling the composition of assemblages has often been studied, but is rarely manipulated so that it is distinguishable from other factors. Differences in habitat structure as determined by differences in mussel size structure may affect the diversity of assemblages associated with mussel beds. Previous studies examining the effect of the size of individual mussels in a patch on the diversity of associated macro-faunal assemblages confounded the age of the patch with the size of the mussels. We manipulated the age of mussel patches and the size of the mussels within them to test experimentally whether the size of mussels influenced the structure of associated assemblages. At one of the two locations considered, the structure of macro-faunal assemblages in patches of larger mussels differed significantly from those in patches of the same age composed of smaller mussels. At this location, the size of mussels did not affect species richness but the abundance and proportion of organisms present differed depending on the size of the mussels. Here patches of larger mussels contained greater numbers of Nematodes and Oligochaetes and a lower abundance of taxa, such as faera forsmani and Lepidonotus clava. We also found that invertebrate assemblages in general differed between the two locations. The effect of the size structure of mussels, however, varied spatially demonstrating that the effect of habitat structure on the diversity of associated assemblages is context dependent.

Comparison of weight in middle age, weight at 18 years, and weight change between, in predicting subsequent 14 year mortality and coronary events: Caerphilly Prospective Study

Objective-The prevalence of obesity is increasing in many European countries and in the United States. This report examines the mortality and morbidity associated with being overweight and obese in the Caerphilly Prospective Study and the relative effects of weight in middle age and self reported weight at 18 years.