The evolution of brood parasitism has long attracted considerable attention among behavioural ecologists, especially in the common cuckoo system. Common cuckoos (Cuculus canorus) are obligatory brood parasites, laying eggs in nests of passerines and specializing on specific host species. Specialized races of cuckoos are genetically distinct. Often in a given area, cuckoos encounter multiple hos...

BACKGROUND With the increasing survival rates of preterm infants, the incidence of retinopathy of prematurity (ROP) is also increasing. This study aimed to investigate the risk factors for ROP in Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, and the effects of laser therapy. METHODS Thirty-five premature infants with various other diseases were studied. Data were collected including gender, gestational age, ...

Objective: This study was aimed at analyzing the clinicopathological features and treatment of patients with placental site trophoblastic tumor (PSTT) in Shanghai, China, and to investigate high-risk factors for metastasis and relapse. Methods: Thirteen patients with placental site trophoblastic tumors who received treatment in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital Affiliated with Fudan Univer...

Pregnant squamate reptiles (i.e. lizards and snakes) often maintain higher and more stable body temperatures than their nonpregnant conspecifics, and this maternal thermophily enhances developmental rate and can lead to increased offspring quality. However, it is unclear when this behaviour evolved relative to the evolution of viviparity. A preadaptation hypothesis suggests that maternal thermo...

background: the aim of his study was to determine development time and thermal requirements of three myiasis flies including chrysomya albiceps, lucilia sericata, and sarcophaga sp. methods: rate of development (rod) and accumu­lated degree day ( add) of three important forensic flies in iran, chrysomya albiceps, lucilia sericata, and sarcophaga sp. by rearing individuals under a single constan...

The heat-resistance characteristics of Salmonella typhimurium Tm-1, a reference strain in the stationary phase of growth, were determined at several temperatures in the major types of products produced by the egg industry. The time required to kill 90% of the population (D value) at a given temperature in specific egg products was as follows: at 60 C (140 F), D = 0.27 min for whole egg; D = 0.6...

Four groups of Dekalb Delta commercial layer hens (8 hens per group) were reared individually in cages in an isolation unit. At the age of 8 weeks, groups 1 and 2 were vaccinated with 9R Salmonella gallinarum live (9R live) vaccine. At the age of 18 weeks, group 1 was re-vaccinated with 9R live S. enteritidis vaccine, while groups 2 and 3 were vaccinated with S. enteritidis bacterin. At the age...