Steel and metal alloys have long been used for structural applications because they are both strong and flaw-tolerant. By contrast, ceramics, which are strong but not tolerant to surface flaws and cracks, and polymers, which are flaw-tolerant and can deform under applied stresses, are less favourable as structural materials. However, nature has resolved this dilemma by millions of years of biol...

Recently, there has been increased interest in understanding the role of epigenetic processes in ecology and evolution (e.g. Richards, 2006; Bossdorf et al., 2008; Johannes et al., 2008; Richards et al., 2010). We now know that some epigenetic marks are not reset each generation, but are faithfully transmitted across generations (Jablonka & Raz, 2009), that natural variation can exist not only ...

The distribution of the capped langur (Trachypithecus pileatus) in China has become controversial since Shortridge's langur (Trachypithecus shortridgei) was upgraded to a full species. The capped langur is considered to be distributed in northeast India, Bangladesh, Bhutan, and northwest Myanmar only (Brandon-Jones et al., 2004; Choudhury, 2008, 2014; Das et al., 2008; Groves, 2001). In our fie...

In general, a human has a pair of mental foramina, a single foramen on either side. However, when it is double or multiple, and smaller than the mental foramen, the additional foramen is termed accessory mental foramen (AMF) (Sisman et al., 2012). An AMF foramen is reported to be rare, with prevalence ranging from 1.4 to 10% (Balcioglu & Kocaelli, 2009). Bidimensional radiograph examinations, s...

Satsuma mandarin, Citrus unshiu Marcovitch, has been grown for over a century in the Gulf Coast region of the United States (English and Turnipseed 1940). However, the last decade has recorded a major increase in the production of this crop in southern Alabama, fuelled by improved production and tree protection methods and strong industry and state support (Campbell et al. 2004). Studies have i...

Regarding our article on the association of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) with increased Alzheimer’s disease risk, Bowen et al, Froehner and Wirth, Leow et al, and Brady et al highlight a number of significant considerations that will prove important in the design of future studies that investigate the association of ADT and Alzheimer’s disease. We agree with Bowen et al and Leow et al tha...

Background Pre-conceptional supplementation with folic acid is recognized as essential for the prevention of neural tube defects. However, the reproductive effects of folic acid may extend well beyond this well-recognized effect and may have an important role in improving fertility and survival of the conceptus and fetus. MaterialsAndMethods We evaluated the association between pre-conceptional...

Habitat loss is a leading driver of biodiversity loss (Millennium Ecosystem Assessment 2005). Over the past century, environmental noise from human activities has increased rapidly in intensity and scale, representing a drastic yet often overlooked form of habitat loss (Andrew et al. 2002, McDonald et al. 2006, Slabbekoorn & Ripmeester 2008, Hildebrand 2009, Barber et al. 2010). This noise is p...

The carbon nanotube (CNT) is a unique form of carbon material. Since its discovery, CNT has been intensively studied due to its remarkable electrical, mechanical, thermal, and chemical properties (Iijima, 1991; Katz & Willner, 2004). Based on the structures and dimensions, CNTs can be divided into two groups: single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs). An S...