Several investigators have stressed the importance of genetic factors in the aetiology of malformations of the central nervous system, and some have even advanced hypotheses describing the genetic mechanisms involved. Such hypotheses are speculative, and the role of environmental events should continue to receive evaluation. Association of characteristics of the offspring with birth order or wi...

BACKGROUND Infant mortality reflects not only the health of infants but societal well-being as a whole. This study explores distal socioeconomic and related proximate determinants of infant mortality and provides evidence for designing targeted interventions. METHODS Survival information on 5391 live born infants (2006-2010) was examined from the nationally representative Nepal Demographic He...

Synopsis High rank correlations existed between estimated breeding value for birth weight direct, weaning weight direct, postweaning gain direct, birth weight maternal, and weaning weight maternal from a genomicpolygenic model that used all phenotypic, pedigree, and genotypic information and a polygenic model. Variance components and genetic parameters from these two models were similar for all...

This communication presents evidence on the association of the birth weight of children born in Birmingham during 1947 with the economic circumstances of their parents. This matter was considered by Baird (1945), who recorded differences in the proportion of infants born prematurely (as identified by weight) in nursing home, hospital, and specialist practice, and more recently by Douglas (1950)...

Trivers and Willard hypothesized that vertebrates adaptively vary the sex ratio of their offspring in response to the mother's physical condition [Trivers, R. L. & Willard, D. (1973) Science 179, 90-92]. This hypothesis has produced considerable debate within evolutionary biology. Here we use meta-analysis techniques to evaluate claims that nonhuman primate females facultatively adjust the sex ...