Search results for "seasonal"
showing 10 items of 484 documents
Life-history differences in age-dependent expressions of multiple ornaments and behaviors in a lekking bird
2015
Age is a major factor explaining variation in life-history traits among individuals with typical patterns of increasing trait values early in life, maximum trait expression, and senescence. However, age-dependent variation in the expressions of sexually selected traits has received less attention, although such variation underpins differences in male competitive abilities and female preference, which are central to sexual selection. In contrast to previous studies focusing on single traits, we used repeated measures of seven sexually selected morphological and behavioral traits in male black grouse (Tetrao tetrix) to quantify the effects of age and life span on their expressions and quantif…
Clinical importance of eosinophil count in nasal fluid in patients with allergic and non-allergic rhinitis
2009
Eosinophil count in nasal fluid (ECNF) was used to differentiate nasal pathologies. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis and the area under the curve (AUC) were performed to evaluate the ECNF's accuracy in distinguishing allergic rhinitis (AR) from non-allergic rhinitis (NAR). We also evaluated the accuracy of ECNF in recognizing patients with mild and severe symptoms of rhinitis and patients with ineffective and effective clinical responses to antihistamines. 1,170 consecutive adult patients with a clinical history of rhinitis were studied. ECNF's median in AR was 6.0 and 2.0 in NAR and the best cut-off value was > 3.0, AUC = 0.75. ECNF's median in AR with mild nasal …
Epizootic cutaneous papillomatosis in roach Rutilus rutilus: sex and size dependence, seasonal occurrence and between-population differences.
2003
Epidemiology of epidermal papillomatosis in roach Rutilus rutilus was studied in 11 roach populations in Finland in 1999 and 2000 during the spawning period. In addition, the seasonal pattern of the disease was described in 1 population. Papilloma tumours were observed on the skin and fins of roach in 8 populations out of 11. Prevalence of papillomatosis varied from 0 to 62%, being higher in populations subject to industrial or sewage effluents. Males and large fish had higher prevalence of papilloma tumours. The disease outbreak peaked during the spawning period and signs of recovered skin on fish were observed later during the year. The gender dependence in the disease prevalence found in…
Breeding state and season affect interspecific interaction types: indirect resource competition and direct interference.
2011
Indirect resource competition and interference are widely occurring mechanisms of interspecific interactions. We have studied the seasonal expression of these two interaction types within a two-species, boreal small mammal system. Seasons differ by resource availability, individual breeding state and intraspecific social system. Live-trapping methods were used to monitor space use and reproduction in 14 experimental populations of bank voles Myodes glareolus in large outdoor enclosures with and without a dominant competitor, the field vole Microtus agrestis. We further compared vole behaviour using staged dyadic encounters in neutral arenas in both seasons. Survival of the non-breeding over…
Seasonal and socio-demographic determinants of school commuting
2011
OBJECTIVE: To report prevalence of commuting to school in Norway with regard to season, gender, parental education level, ethnicity and distance to school. METHODS: Cross-sectional questionnaire data from the Fruits and Vegetables Make the Marks project collected in 2008, including 1,339 ten to twelve-year-old children from 27 schools. The participants were categorized according to main mode of commuting to school in the three different school seasons (fall, winter and spring) and for the full school year if more than 50% of all trips were conducted by one specific mode. RESULTS: Most pupils (75%) were categorized as active commuters for the full school year. However, large seasonal varianc…
A trade-off between sexual signalling and immune function in a natural population of the drumming wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata.
2005
The field of ecological immunology is ultimately seeking to address the question ‘Why is there variation in immune function?’ Here, we provide experimental evidence that costs of ubiquitous sexual signals are a significant source of variation in immune function. In the mating season, males of the wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata drum against dry leaves while wandering around the habitat searching for receptive females. According to a previous study, the male metabolic rate during the drumming increases 22-fold compared to the resting metabolic rate. In the present study, we examined whether investment in costly courtship drumming decreases male immune function in a wild population of H…
Safety of anti-IgE treatment with omalizumab in children with seasonal allergic rhinitis undergoing specific immunotherapy simultaneously
2009
Kamin W, Kopp MV, Erdnuess F, Schauer U, Zielen S, Wahn U. Safety of anti-IgE treatment with omalizumab in children with seasonal allergic rhinitis undergoing specific immunotherapy simultaneously. Pediatr Allergy Immunol 2010: 21: e160–e165. © 2009 John Wiley & Sons A/S Introduction Seasonal allergic rhinitis (SAR) affects at least 10–25% of the Caucasian race and about 40% of patients are children. Standard treatment of SAR is specific immunotherapy (SIT), but anti-allergic drugs can significantly enhance efficacy of SIT. One candidate is the humanized monoclonal anti-IgE antibody omalizumab. Material and Methods Randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, multi-centre trial in German…
No changes in mood with the seasons: observations in 3000 chronic pain patients.
1999
Objective Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) and the theory of the effect of light on depression have gained some popularity in recent years. Research on epidemiology is largely based on retrospective measures asking explicitly for the experience of seasonal variations. Those measures have a low positive predictive value and do not enable us to distinguish between experience and belief. Method A consecutive sample of chronic pain patients filled out a depression questionnaire (CES-D) routinely as part of the diagnostic interview on becoming in-patients at a Pain Clinic in Mainz during a 5-year period. Results No support for seasonality or light effects was found. Conclusion The effect of lig…
Rapid increase in the incidence of type 1 diabetes in Polish children from 1989 to 2004, and predictions for 2010 to 2025.
2010
Aims/hypothesis We analysed the temporal changes in the incidence of childhood type 1 diabetes and its demographic determinants in Poland from 1989 to 2004, validating the model with data from 1970 to 1989. We also estimated a predictive model of the trends in childhood diabetes incidence for the near future. Methods Children under 15 years with newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes mellitus and drawn from seven regional registries in Poland were ascertained prospectively using the Epidemiology and Prevention of Diabetes study (EURODIAB) criteria. The type 1 diabetes incidence rates (IRs) were analysed in dependency of age, sex, seasonality, geographical region and population density. Time trends…
Environmental Correlates of Motor Competence in Children -The Skilled Kids Study
2019
Environment, physical activity (PA) and motor development are tightly interwoven during childhood. We examined the associations of environmental factors with motor competence (MC) in children. Children (N = 945, 50.1% boys, age = 3–7 years, mean = 5.4 years) from 37 childcare centres in the Southern (n = 17), Central (n = 13) and Northern Finland (n = 7) participated. The environmental factors comprised the geographical location (Southern, Central and Northern Finland) and residential density (metropolitan area, city, rural area and countryside) of the childcare centres’ based on postal codes and the national population density registry. MC was measured using the Test of Gross Motor Develop…