Increased condom use without other major changes in sexual behavior among the general population in Switzerland.

The expression of DNA topoisomerase II alpha and beta genes was studied in murine normal tissues. Northern blot analysis using probes specific for the two genes showed that the patterns of expression were different among 22 tissues of adult mice. Expression levels of topoisomerase II alpha gene were high in proliferating tissues, such as bone marrow and spleen, and undetectable or low in 17 other tissues. In contrast, high or intermediate expression of topoisomerase II beta gene was found in a variety of tissues (15) of adult mice, including those with no proliferating cells. Topoisomerase II gene expression was also studied during murine development. In whole embryos both genes were expressed at higher levels in early than late stages of embryogenesis. Heart, brain and liver of embryos two days before delivery, and these same tissues plus lung and thymus of newborn (1-day-old) mice expressed appreciable levels of the two genes. Interestingly, a post-natal induction of the beta gene expression was observed in the brain but not in the liver; conversely, the expression of the alpha gene was increased 1 day after birth in the liver but not in the brain. However, gene expression of a proliferation-associated enzyme, thymidylate synthase, was similar in these tissues between embryos and newborns. Thus, the two genes were differentially regulated in the post-natal period, and a tissue-specific role may be suggested for the two isoenzymes in the development of differentiated tissues such as the brain and liver. Based on the differential patterns of expression of the two isoforms, this analysis indicates that topoisomerase II alpha may be a specific marker of cell proliferation, whereas topoisomerase II beta may be implicated in functions of DNA metabolism other than replication.

An ecomorphological analysis of the determinants of mating success

Investigating the factors affecting the strength of sexual selection is important for understanding the evolution of sex-specific morphological and behavioural traits. Traditionally, sexual selection studies focus on male ornaments, although recent evidence indicates that sexual selection mechanisms also target organismal performance. In the present study, we investigated the role of sexually dimorphic morphological and performance traits of the common (viviparous) lizard (Zootoca vivipara, Jacquin 1787) with respect to determining mating behaviour. Using an experimental set-up controlling for size differences, we found that males with longer tails had a higher probability of mating a female. Unexpectedly, males with lower bite forces had an advantage over males with higher bite forces, whereas males with bigger heads copulated for a longer time with the female. This shows that predicting mating success is not straightforward and is sometimes counterintuitive because a longer tail appears to be beneficial, whereas biting harder is not, for male Z. vivipara in a male-female interaction context

Chromosome size differences may affect meiosis and genome size.

Genetic crosses in many organisms have shown that alleles of unlinked genes generally assort independently of one another during gamete formation. However, variation in chromosome size may affect the process of meiosis and lead to nonindependent assortment of chromosomes. We therefore examined chromosomes with insertions and found that they preferentially segregated away from the X chromosome during meiosis in Caenorhabditis elegans males. Conversely, chromosomes with deletions preferentially segregated with the X chromosome. The degree of segregation bias was significantly associated with the length of the insertion or deletion. Simulations revealed that this segregation bias leads to genome size reduction in hermaphroditic species, a pattern consistent with differences in genome sizes in the genus Caenorhabditis. These results suggest that insertions and deletions may affect chromosome segregation patterns.

Sexual dimorphism of the human mandible: demonstration by elliptical Fourier analysis.

A new quantitative approach of the mandibular sexual dimorphism, based on computer-aided image analysis and elliptical Fourier analysis of the mandibular outline in lateral view is presented. This method was applied to a series of 117 dentulous mandibles from 69 male and 48 female individuals native of Rhenish countries. Statistical discriminant analysis of the elliptical Fourier harmonics allowed the demonstration of a significant sexual dimorphism in 97.1% of males and 91.7% of females, i.e. in a higher proportion than in previous studies using classical metrical approaches. This original method opens interesting perspectives for increasing the accuracy of sex identification in current anthropological practice and in forensic procedures.

Differences in the patent management in Brazilian companies with and without plants abroad

This paper compares the procedures of local Brazilian companies (those which have plants in Brazil only) with those of international Brazilian companies (which have plants in at least two countries) regarding the patent management. Although there are a lot more variables to consider when examining the issue of patents in companies, this study presents and analyzes the results of a qualitative research on the decision to patent innovations, the choice of countries where to patent and the strategic significance of patents to the company.

Genetics of colouration in birds.

Establishing the links between phenotype and genotype is of great importance for resolving key questions about the evolution, maintenance and adaptive function of phenotypic variation. Bird colouration is one of the most studied systems to investigate the role of natural and sexual selection in the evolution of phenotypic diversity. Given the recent advances in molecular tools that allow discovering genetic polymorphisms and measuring gene and protein expression levels, it is timely to review the literature on the genetics of bird colouration. The present study shows that melanin-based colour phenotypes are often associated with mutations at melanogenic genes. Differences in melanin-based colouration are caused by switches of eumelanin to pheomelanin production or by changes in feather keratin structure, melanoblast migration and differentiation, as well as melanosome structure. Similar associations with other types of colourations are difficult to establish, because our knowledge about the molecular genetics of carotenoid-based and structural colouration is quasi inexistent. This discrepancy stems from the fact that only melanin-based colouration shows pronounced heritability estimates, i.e. the resemblance between related individuals is usually mainly explained by genetic factors. In contrast, the expression of carotenoid-based colouration is phenotypically plastic with a high sensitivity to variation in environmental conditions. It therefore appears that melanin-based colour traits are prime systems to understand the genetic basis of phenotypic variation. In this context, birds have a great potential to bring us to new frontiers where many exciting discoveries will be made on the genetics of phenotypic traits, such as colouration. In this context, a major goal of our review is to suggest a number of exciting future avenues.

The influence of attachment on perceived stress and cortisol response to acute stress in women sexually abused in childhood or adolescence.

The long-term implications of sexual abuse in childhood or adolescence (CSA) have been relatively well documented regarding attachment (disorganized attachment in childhood, unresolved trauma in adulthood), stress reactions (altered patterns of stress reactivity under experimental conditions), and psychopathology. Attachment has been shown to mediate the implications of CSA, namely on psychopathology. The implication of attachment on stress responses of abused persons has not been documented. Twenty-seven 20-46 years old women who had experienced episodes of CSA, and 17 controls have been interviewed using the Adult Attachment Interview. Sixty-three percent of abused women presented an unresolved trauma (12% for the controls). Thirty-six women (14 controls and 22 abused) came again to the laboratory for a session involving an experimental stress challenge (TSST). Subjects provided repeated appreciations of perceived stress on visual analogue scales and saliva samples were collected to assay cortisol levels. Whereas abused women with unresolved trauma showed the highest levels of perceived stress, they simultaneously presented the most suppressed cortisol reactions (there were significant post hoc differences between "unresolved abused" and controls on the increase of perceived stress and on cortisol recovery after the acute stress). It is suggested that important stressful experiences (such as CSA), especially when they have not been psychologically assimilated, may cause a disconnection, during subsequent mildly stressful circumstances, between the perception of stress and natural defensive body reactions.

Education and male-female differences in later-life cognition: international evidence from latin america and the Caribbean.

This study explores the role of early-life education for differences in cognitive functioning between men and women aged 60 and older from seven major urban areas in Latin America and the Caribbean. After documenting statistically significant differences in cognitive functioning between men and women for six of the seven study sites, I assess the extent to which these differences can be explained by prevailing male-female differences in education. I decompose predicted male-female differences in cognitive functioning based on various statistical models for later-life cognition and find robust evidence that male-female differences in education are a major driving force behind cognitive functioning differences between older men and women. This study therefore suggests that early-life differences in educational attainment between boys and girls during childhood have a lasting impact on gender inequity in cognitive functioning at older ages. Increases in educational attainment and the closing of the gender gap in education in many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean may thus result in both higher levels and a more gender-equitable distribution of later-life cognition among the future elderly in those countries.

Sex differences in the computation of traveling distance

Path integration is known to provide information to keep track of spatial location. Surprisingly, few investigations concerning sex differences in computation of the traveling distance have been done. This work was aimed at analyzing the reproduction of both passive and active linear displacements in women and men. To this end, the displacement of blindfolded subjects was done in a wheelchair, then on foot, three times in each condition for a fixed distance. Copies of passive and active traveling distance, distance estimations and pointing responses towards the starting point were analyzed. In passive condition and comparatively to men, women error was larger. Whereas traveling distance was generally underestimated in women, it was overestimated in men. In active condition, no sex differences were observed. When blindfolded subjects have to estimate the traveling distance, the female error was larger than the male one. But, when subjects were asked to indicate the visual cue corresponding to the traveling distance, the male error was larger than the female one. Finally, pointing to the starting point (0°) after a whole-body rotation showed a larger deviation from 0° in men than in women. These results suggest that sex of the subjects influence brain computation of path integration information.

Prescribing practices in German and Swiss psychiatric university and in non-university hospitals : national differences

RÉSUMÉ Il existe dans la pratique de prescription des médicaments de grandes variations entre les hôpitaux. Ces variations sont d'origines multifactorielles, comme par exemple des traditions de prescriptions locales, des considérations pharmato-économiques, la disponibilité d'un médicament, des différences de population, la prévalence d'une maladie, etc. Les études disponibles sur les pratiques de prescription sont souvent réduites à un centre unique, à une région ou à un pays. L'emploi de méthodes et de définitions particulières a jusqu'à pressent limité des comparaisons plus étendues entre les pays et régions. Le but de cette étude est de comparer la pratique de prescription de nouveaux médicaments psychotropes dans des cliniques suisses et allemandes. Cinq hôpitaux psychiatriques ont été sélectionnés, faisant tous partie du projet AMSP, et représentant des cliniques suisses, allemandes, de niveau universitaire ou non. Des données sur 572 patients et 1745 prescriptions ont été collectées durant un jour précis. Les comparaisons ont été ajustées pour l'âge et le sexe. Une différence significative (p <0.001) a été trouvée dans la prescription de nouveaux médicaments antidépresseurs, les cliniciens suisses en donnant en moyenne plus (65.2%) que les allemands (48.3%). Aucune différence significative n'a été démontrée dans la prescription des nouveaux médicaments antipsychotiques atypiques. Il semble en conséquence que les psychiatres suisses ont une propension plus élevée à prescrire des nouveaux médicaments antidépresseurs. Cela semble être dû à des différences de traditions de prescriptions nationales ou régionales. D'autres études sont nécessaires pour investiguer les influences économiques sur la pratique de prescription dans des cliniques suisses et allemandes. SUMMARY Obiective: There are great variations between hospitals in the way drugs are prescribed and these variations may be due to multiple factors such as local prescribing traditions, pharmacoeconomic considerations, drug availability; regional differences of population, disease prevalence etc. Available studies on prescribing habits have, besides studies performed in a unique centre, until now often been restricted to single countries or regions and the comparisons across countries or regions have often been limited by the use of diverse methodologies and definitions. The aim of the present study was to compare drug prescriptions between German and Swiss psychiatric services with regard to their preference of newer psychotropics. Material, method: Five psychiatric hospitals, associated to the AMSP-project, were chosen to represent Swiss and German clinics, university and non-university settings. Data were available from one index day on 572 patients and 1745 prescriptions. The comparisons were adjusted for age and gender. Results: There was a significant difference (p < 0.001) with regard to the prescription of newer antidepressants (NAD), Swiss clinicians giving proportionally more (65.2 %) than the German psychiatrists (48.3 %). No significant difference was, on the other hand, found as to the proportion of atypical antipsychotics, the lack of difference being due to the higher proportion of clozapine among the atypical antipsychotics in Germany. Conclusion: There seems therefore to be a higher propensity for Swiss hospital psychiatrists to prescribe newer antidepressants. This seems to be due to national or regional prescribing traditions. Further studies are needed to investigate the economical influences on antidepressant prescribing in Swiss and German clinics.)

L' atur de llarga durada de les dones majors de 45 anys a Catalunya: una anàlisi exploratòria tenint en compte la classe social i la divisió sexual del treball

This article provides an in-depth study of long-term female unemployment in Catalonia.Long-term unemployment statistics reveal which social groups are most likely to experience difficulty re-entering the labour market. In this case, we found that women are mainly affected by this type of labour exclusion, in particular poorly qualified, working-class women who are aged over 45 and with family responsibilities.The article aims to explore how the overlapping of factors such as gender, age, social class, origin and the division of work based on gender are related to long-term female unemployment. Moreover, we were able to detect which conceptual tools provide us with the production/reproduction paradigm so as to be able to analyse the future of female unemployment. The methodology we used combines quantitative and qualitative approaches. On the one hand, the analysis of secondary statistical data focusing on Catalonia is useful in understanding the situation from a macro-social perspective. On the other hand, an exploratory discussion group enables us to investigate social imaginary practises among unemployed working class women aged over 45. This discussion group was held in Igualada -capital of the Anoia region - an area of Catalonia deeply affected by unemployment in the current economic crisis.

Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: It's Against the Law, 2001

A two page informational sheet about workplace sexual harassment produced by Iowa Commission on the Status of Women