1. Recent studies in Scotland suggest that the outermost tail feathers of Barn Swallows ( Hirundo rustica Linnaeus) may be around 10–12 mm longer than the aerodynamic optimum, with sexual selection for long tails accounting for this extra length. 2. To test this hypothesis, we shortened the outermost tail feathers in male and female Barn Swallows in southern Spain by cutting 1, 11 or 21 mm from...

Maternal effect genes code for oocyte proteins that are important for early embryogenesis. Transcription in oocytes does not take place from the onset of meiotic progression until zygotic genome activation. During this period, protein levels are regulated posttranscriptionally, for example by poly(A) tail length. Posttranscriptional regulation may be impaired in preovulatory and postovulatory a...

Background. Increased childhood weight gain has been associated with later adiposity. Whether excess early postnatal weight gain plays a role in childhood abdominal fat is unknown. Design. In the ongoing Wheezing Illnesses Study Leidsche Rijn (WHISTLER), birth cohort weight and length from birth to age 3 months were obtained. In the first 316 five-year-olds, intra-abdominal and subcutaneous fat...

Viscoelastic flows through microscale porous arrays exhibit complex path selection and switching phenomena. However, understanding this process is limited by a lack of studies linking between single object large arrays. Here, we report experiments on viscoelastic flow past side-by-side microcylinders with variable intercylinder gap. With increasing rate, sequence two imperfect symmetry-breaking...

Considerable evidence suggests that digit length and dermatoglyphic asymmetry patterns in the hand are affected by early exposure to androgens. Because androgens play an important role in sexual differentiation of morphological and behavioral traits, digit length patterns often display sex differences. When present, sex differences in digit lengths are more pronounced on the right side as compa...

a crossbreeding experiment involving four iranian fat-tailed sheep breeds, namely kurdi (k), chaal (c), afshari (a) and sanjabi (s) was carried out to determine the ram breed effects on productivity of kurdi fat-tailed ewes (k) under extensive production system. a total of 475 kurdi ewes were mated to 24 rams from four breeds producing 454 lambs including pure kurdi, kk, (116 lambs), afshari × ...

Tripylina puxianensis n. sp. is described and illustrated from Shanxi province, China. It is characterized by having a triangular dorsal tooth, pointing towards the ventral side, anterior to two sub-ventral teeth, with dorsal and sub-ventral teeth similar in shape and size; one ventromedian seta in the cervical region; vulva with protruding lips, absence of post-uterine sac; and a pair of setae...

background: in this study, we evaluated the protective effects of water hyacinth root powder (hrp) on arsenic-mediated toxic effects in mice. methods: swiss albino mice, used in this study, were divided into four different groups (for each group n=5). the control group was supplied with normal feed and water, arsenic group (as-group) was supplied with normal feed plus arsenic (sodium arsenite)-...

PURPOSE. To assess the correlation between the forearm plus little finger length and the femoral length in 100 volunteers. METHODS. The forearm plus little finger length and the ipsilateral femoral length of 68 male and 32 female volunteers aged 19 to 55 (mean, 35.8) years were measured using a measuring tape. The forearm plus litter finger length was measured from the tip of the olecranon to t...