In altricial birds, the period of parental investment covers three distinctly separated phases: Incubation, feeding of nestlings, and feeding of fledglings in the family group. The transition between the latter two phases occurs when the brood fledges and leaves the nest. To investigate which party, parents or offspring, initiates nest leaving, different-aged broods were swopped between nestboxes

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among women in the Western world. In Sweden, 1 in 9 women will be diagnosed during their lifetime, amounting to >8,000 new breast cancers per year. Each year around 1,400 patients die from their disease. A comprehensive report entitled "highlighted several areas in need of more research", including how weight, alcohol consumption, smoking, host metabolism an

In an aviary study, each of six male European Nuthatches Sitta europaea was allowed to hoard 30 sunflower seeds in natural hoarding substrates. After eight days, each bird was allowed to search for its cached seeds and its performance compared with that of a bird without previous experience of the specific aviary. In all but one case, the hoarder found significantly more seeds than did the naive b

Living in a complex and dynamically changing environment requires accurate and timely behavioural responses that allow for adapting to such changes. Well-developed perceptual systems provide a continuous flow of abundant and up-to-date information on the changes in the environment, and, thereby, allow for tailoring behavioural responses accordingly. However, issuing any behavioral response would n

Calcium activation of the C-terminal domain of calmodulin was studied using 1H and 15N NMR spectroscopy. The important role played by the conserved bidentate glutmate Ca2+ ligand in the binding loops is emphasized by the striking effects resulting from a mutation of this glutantic acid to a glutamine, i.e. E104Q in loop III and E140Q in loop IV. The study involves determination of Ca2+ binding con

Water 17O longitudinal and transverse relaxation rates have been measured in aqueous solutions and mesophases of the non-ionic alkyl oligo(ethylene oxide) surfactants C12En (n = 4, 5, 8) over wide ranges of temperature and concentration. In addition, two reference systems have been investigated: high molecular weight poly(ethylene oxide) and the dimer 1,2-dimethoxy ethane. The relaxation data are

Background: For up to 50% of adolescents experiencing PTSD, the course of their illness is further complicated by co-occurring substance use. Despite this, evidence-based integrated treatment options for adolescents with this comorbidity remain sparse. To address this gap, we are conducting an RCT examining the efficacy of exposure-based therapy for co-occurring PTSD and substance use among adoles

The human B1 bradykinin (BK) receptor (B1R) is more efficacious than the human B2 BK receptor (B2R) in both ligand-independent and agonist-dependent coupling to Gq/11-mediated phospholipase Cβ activity. In fact, B1R is constitutively active, whereas B2R exhibits little if any constitutive activity. To evaluate the role of the C-terminal domain in receptor Gq/11 coupling, we constructed chimeric an

Breeding activities and molt are generally thought to be mutually exclusive in birds since both are energetically costly and are normally separated in time. However, sometimes molt overlaps with breeding to some degree. A trade-off between adult somatic maintenance functions (feather renewal) and parental care is then to be expected. The consequences of this are largely unknown, and there are few

The effects evoked by intradermal injections of substance P (SP), neurokinin A (NKA) or calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP) were studied in 51 non-atopic subjects. SP and NKA produced flare and weal, and CGRP produced an indurated erythema. The reactions to SP were strong, the flare being maximal 3–5 min after injection and the weal after 10–15 min. NKA evoked a much weaker flare and a slightly

A 2H n.m.r. relaxation study of sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) in the micellar phase is presented. The surfactant is specifically deuterated in the α-, γ- and ω-positions. Relaxation data are obtained at two temperatures and at three field strengths, and show a dependence on the field strength. The data are analysed with the 'two-step' model of relaxation, and the fast correlation times as well as

Cortico-basal ganglia circuits are thought to play a crucial role in the selection and control of motor behaviors and have also been implicated in the processing of motivational content and in higher cognitive functions. During the last two decades, electrophysiological recordings in basal ganglia circuits have shown that several disease conditions are associated with specific changes in the tempo

Streptococcus pyogenes infects over 700 million people worldwide annually. Immune evasion strategies employed by the bacteria include binding of the complement inhibitors, C4b-binding protein (C4BP) and Factor H in a human-specific manner. We recently showed that human IgG increased C4BP binding to the bacterial surface, which promoted streptococcal immune evasion and increased mortality in mice.