Ten years of calving records were examined from Bos taurus crossbred cows (mean of 182 cows/yr) to quantify the effects of environmental conditions during the breeding season on pregnancy rate. Estimated breeding dates were determined by subtracting 283 d from the calving date. Relationships were determined between the proportion of cows bred during the periods from the beginning of the breedin...

The Mediterranean perennial herb Lobularia maritima shows an exceptionally extended flowering and fruiting that lasts for 10 months, from early September to late June. We hypothesized that such an extended phenology may be a flexible mechanism that enhances population persistence in variable Mediterranean environments, as fecundity in one part of the season could compensate for reproductive fai...

Ofall amphibians living in arid habitats, reed frogs (belonging to the super species Hyperolius viridiflavus) are the most peculiar. Froglets are able to tolerate dry periods of up to 35 days or longer immediately after metamorphosis, in climatically exposed positions. They face similar problems to estivating juveniles, i.e. enduranee of long periods of high temperature and low RH with rather l...

Field population densities of Ditylenchus dipsaci associated with shoot tissue of Phlox subulata were monitored during two consecutive growing seasons and intervening periods of overwintering and plant storage. The population density increased significantly through four peaks during the first growing season, and decreased significantly during storage at 5-7 C or overwintering in the field. Duri...

Glucocorticoids, a group of adrenal hormones, are secreted in response to stress. In male primates, variables such as breeding seasonality, dominance hierarchy stability, and aggressive and affiliative interactions can affect glucocorticoid levels. In this study, we examined interindividual differences in mean fecal glucocorticoid (fGC) levels among males in three groups of wild ring-tailed lem...

The phasing of winter-to-summer precipitation anomalies in the North American monsoon (NAM) region 2 (113.25°W–107.75°W, 30°N–35.25°N—NAM2) of southwestern North America is analyzed in fully coupled simulations of the Last Millennium and compared to tree ring reconstructed winter and summer precipitation variability. The models simulate periods with in-phase seasonal precipitation anomalies, bu...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate the changes produced in both the isocapnic buffering and hypocapnic hyperventilation (HHV) phases of professional cyclists (n = 11) in response to endurance training, and to compare the results with those of amateur cyclists (n = 11). METHODS Each professional cyclist performed three laboratory exercise tests to exhaustion during the active rest (autumn: November), prec...

BACKGROUND Palivizumab has been shown to decrease the incidence of hospitalization due to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in infants at risk of severe RSV disease. We examined the association between compliance with palivizumab dosing throughout the RSV season and risk of RSV-related hospitalization in clinical practice. METHODS Subjects who were born and discharged from the hospital before...

Water soluble organic compounds (WSOC) in aerosol samples collected in the Amazon Basin in a period encompassing the middle/late dry season and the beginning of the wet season, were investigated by H NMR spectroscopy. HiVol filter samples (PM2.5 and PM>2.5) and size-segregated samples from multistage impactor were subjected to H NMR characterization. The H NMR methodology, recently developed fo...

Cecropia glaziovi Sneth. (syn. C. glaziovii, C. glazioui) (Cecropiaceae) is a South American medicinal plant whose antihypertensive activity is attributed to its flavonoid and proanthocyanidin contents. The seasonal and intraspecific variations of these two classes of compounds in C. glaziovi leaves were assayed by spectrophotometry in samples of young and mature leaves collected from native, c...