bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Fruit and vegetable consumption and risk of colorectal cancer in Japan: The Miyagi Cohort Study
Authors: Sato Yuki , Tsubono Yoshitaka , Nakaya Naoki , Ogawa Keiko , Kurashima Kayoko , Kuriyama Shinichi , Hozawa Atsushi , Nishino Yoshikazu , Shibuya Daisuke , Tsuji Ichiro
Published: May 2005

Objective

Adequate fruit and vegetable intake has been suggested to protect against colorectal cancer. However, several recent prospective studies have reported no association. We therefore examined the association between fruit and vegetable intakes and the risk of colorectal cancer in a prospective cohort study in Japan.

Design

Between June and August 1990, 47 605 Japanese men and women completed a self-administered questionnaire, including a food-frequency questionnaire. We divided the subjects into quartiles based on their self-reported fruit and vegetable consumption. There were 165 colon cancer and 110 rectal cancer incidences identified during 7 years of follow-up, to the end of December 1997. We used Cox proportional hazards models to estimate the relative risk (RR) of developing colorectal cancer according to the level of fruit and vegetable consumption, applying adjustments for potential confounders.

Results

No statistically significant association was observed between fruit and vegetable consumption and the risk of colorectal cancer. The multivariate RR of colon cancer in the highest quartile of fruit and vegetable intake compared with the lowest was 1.13 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.73–1.75), the RR for vegetables alone was 1.24 (95% CI 0.79–1.95) and that for fruit alone was 1.45 (95% CI 0.85–2.47). The corresponding multivariate RRs for rectal cancer were 1.12 (95% CI 0.67–1.89), 1.14 (95% CI 0.67–1.93) and 1.41 (95% CI 0.73–2.73).

Conclusions

We found no association between the consumption of fruit and vegetables and the risk of colorectal cancer among the Japanese population.
A qualitative study exploring socio-economic differences in parental lay knowledge of food and health: implications for public health nutrition
Authors: Coveney John
Published: May 2005

Background

The role played by lay knowledge in understanding health inequalities has received increased interest recently. Very little is known, however, about how lay knowledge of food and health varies across social class. The present exploratory study compared and contrasted ways in which people from different social backgrounds draw on and use different forms of lay knowledge about food and health.

Method

Parents from 40 families were recruited from two socio-economically different suburbs (20 families from each suburb). In-depth interviews were conducted with the mother and father in each family to examine lay knowledge about food and health. All interviews were transcribed and coded for specific themes. Responses from each suburb were compared and contrasted.

Results

Different forms of lay knowledge about food and health were noted, especially concerning children's eating habits. Parents in the high-income suburb were more likely to discuss food and health in technical terms informed by contemporary nutritional or medical priorities. Parents in the low-income suburb did not share this discourse, but instead were more likely to discuss food in terms related to children's outward appearance or functional capacity.

Conclusions and implications

The research highlights differences in lay knowledge about food and health across social class. It emphasises the need for public health nutrition policy-makers and practitioners to pay attention to lay knowledge on its own terms, rather than attempting to educate from predetermined assumptions, principles and standards.
Folic acid supplementation and social deprivation
Authors: Relton Caroline L , Hammal Donna M , Rankin Judith , Parker Louise
Published: May 2005

Objective

To assess the use of folic acid supplementation in relation to small-area measures of social deprivation.

Design

Cohort study.

Setting

Antenatal clinic, Women's Outpatients Services, Cumberland Infirmary, Carlisle, UK.

Subjects

Four hundred and fifty women attending their 18-week antenatal clinic appointment. No selection criteria were applied. Townsend scores were allocated using postcodes to provide a small-area measure (enumeration district) of social deprivation.

Results

Eighty-nine per cent of women took folic acid prior to their 18-week antenatal clinic appointment; 48% of women took folic acid before 4 weeks of gestation. Younger women and more socially deprived women were less likely to use folic acid supplements before 4 weeks of gestation. Women with a family history of neural tube defects were no more likely to take folic acid than were women with no family history of neural tube defects.

Conclusion

A high proportion of women reported taking folic acid supplements during pregnancy but less than half took them at the most important time in early pregnancy. Younger women and women who were more socio-economically deprived were much less likely to take folic acid during the critical periconceptional period. Future strategies should promote prenatal folic acid supplementation in women under the age of 24 and in women of low socio-economic status. Further attention should also be given to the use of folic acid supplements in women with a family history of neural tube defects.
Impact of disaggregation of composite foods on estimates of intakes of meat and meat products in Irish adults
Authors: Cosgrove Meadhbh , Flynn Albert , Kiely Máiréad
Published: May 2005

Objective

To evaluate the impact of the disaggregation of composite foods on intake estimates of meat and individual meat categories and on the contribution of meat to nutrient intakes in Irish adults.

Design

Data were analysed from the North/South Ireland Food Consumption Survey, which used a 7-day food diary to estimate food intake. Of 742 food codes that contained meat, 320 were codes for meat consumed as an individual portion and 422 were composite foods and were disaggregated to estimate the meat content.

Subjects

A nationally representative sample of 475 men and 483 women (not pregnant or lactating) from the Republic of Ireland aged 18–64 years.

Results

The mean intake of meat was 134 g day−1in consumers (98.5%) and men (168 g day−1) consumed significantly more (P< 0.001) than women (102 g day−1). Mean intakes of meat were higher in subjects with manual skilled occupations (P< 0.01) and lower in those with third-level educational qualifications (P< 0.05). Without disaggregating meat from composite foods, meat intake was overestimated by 43% (57 g day−1) and varied widely by meat category. Meat disaggregated from composite foods contributed 25% of meat intake. The contribution meat made to nutrient intakes ranged from 29% for protein, vitamin B12, zinc and niacin to 20% for vitamin D, 16% for vitamin B6, 15% for thiamine and 14% for iron.

Conclusions

Failure to disaggregat meat from composite foods substantially overestimates meat intake, with a large variation between meat categories. This has important implications for estimates of meat intakes in nutritional epidemiological studies and for food safety purposes.
Does the diet of the Balearic population, a Mediterranean-type diet, ensure compliance with nutritional objectives for the Spanish population?
Authors: Tur Josep A , Romaguera Dora , Pons Antoni
Published: May 2005

Objectives

To assess the dietary habits of Balearic Islands' consumers who are successful in meeting current nutritional recommendations, to find clues for the development of future food-based dietary guidelines (FBDG) that would be relevant to this population.

Design

Cross-sectional nutritional survey carried out in the Balearic Islands between 1999 and 2000.

Subjects and methods

Dietary habits were assessed by means of 24-hour recall (two non-consecutive days: warm and cold season) and a food-frequency questionnaire in a random sample (n = 1200, aged 16–65 years) living in private households. Differences in percentage of compliers with the intermediate nutritional objectives for the Spanish population and differences in food consumption patterns between genders and between high (above the upper quartile of intake) and low (below the lower quartile of intake) consumers of fat, saturated fatty acids (SFA), fibre, and fruit and vegetables were analysed.

Results

Gender differences were observed in nutrient and energy intakes, as well as in attainment of the recommendations. Less than 25% of the population reached the intermediate nutritional recommendations for iodine, fruit, carbohydrates, SFA, fibre and vegetables. Low fat/SFA and high fruit and vegetables/fibre consumers kept a diet in line with the traditional Balearic diet and prevailing dietary pyramids, which ensured better compliance with the nutritional goals.

Conclusions

The intermediate nutritional objectives for the Spanish population could be achieved through maintenance of the traditional Balearic diet, a Mediterranean-type diet in the Balearic population. Therefore, this dietary model could be used to develop FBDG relevant to this population.
The temporal pattern of the contribution of fat to energy and of food groups to fat at various eating locations: implications for developing food-based dietary guidelines
Authors: O'Dwyer NA , McCarthy SN , Burke SJ , Gibney MJ
Published: May 2005

Objectives

To examine the temporal pattern of the number of eating occasions that occurred at home, at work and outside the home, and to examine the contribution of fat to energy and the contribution of 26 food groups to fat at home and outside the home.

Design and setting

Food intake data were collected using a 7-day food diary from a random sample of 18–64-year-old adults from the Republic of Ireland (n= 958). Respondents recorded the day, time and location of every eating occasion.

Results

The number of eating occasions was constant across the days of the week for meals consumed at home, whereas the number of eating occasions increased at weekends for meals outside the home. The contribution of fat to energy approximated the 35% recommendation at home from Monday to Friday, but increased above this on Saturday and Sunday. The contribution of fat to energy outside the home was always above the recommendation. The food groups that contributed most to fat were similar at home and outside the home. These included butter and full-fat spreads, fresh meat, meat products, meat dishes, biscuits, cakes and pastries, whole milk, and chips and processed potatoes.

Conclusion

The contribution of fat to energy was above the recommendations when eating outside the home, regardless of day of the week. A number of food groups have been identified that contributed most to fat intake outside the home and these might be targeted in developing public health nutrition strategies to reduce fat intake.
The influence of eating location on nutrient intakes in Irish adults: implications for developing food-based dietary guidelines
Authors: O'Dwyer NA , Gibney MJ , Burke SJ , McCarthy SN
Published: May 2005

Objectives

To examine the contribution of the food service sector to the nutrient quality of the Irish diet, and to compare intakes at home, work and outside the home (‘ut’) and within the subgroups of the out location (pub, deli, takeaway)

Design and setting

Random sample of adults from the Republic of Ireland. Food intake data were collected using a 7-day food diary. Respondents recorded the location of every eating occasion determined by where the food was prepared rather than consumed

Results

Intakes of energy, protein, fat and carbohydrate were significantly greater at home than at work or out (P<0.05). The intake of alcohol was significantly (P<0.001) greater out than at home or work. The percentage contribution of fat to energy was above the recommendations (33% of total energy and 35% of food energy) for both men and women at all locations, with the exception of the contribution of fat to total energy for men at the out location. Within the subgroups of the out location, the contribution of alcohol to total energy was greatest in pubs and the contribution of fat to both total and food energy was greatest in takeaways. Intakes of fibre and most micronutrients per 10 MJ of food energy were greater (P<0.05) at home than at work or out

Conclusion

Foods eaten outside the home contribute a disproportionately high level of fat intake and should be targeted in public health nutrition strategies
Causal and noncausal conditionals: An integrated model of interpretation and reasoning
Authors: Weidenfeld Andrea , Oberauer Klaus , Hörnig Robin
Published: May 2005

We present an integrated model for the understanding of and the reasoning from conditional statements. Central assumptions from several approaches are integrated into a causal path model. According to the model, the cognitive availability of exceptions to a conditional reduces the subjective conditional probability of the consequent, given the antecedent. This conditional probability determines people's degree of belief in the conditional, which in turn affects their willingness to accept logically valid inferences. In addition to this indirect pathway, the model contains a direct pathway: Availability of exceptional situations directly reduces the endorsement of valid inferences. We tested the integrated model with three experiments using conditional statements embedded in pseudonaturalistic cover stories. An explicitly mentioned causal link between antecedent and consequent was either present (causal conditionals) or absent (arbitrary conditionals). The model was supported for the causal but not for the arbitrary conditional statements.
Relations between emotion, illusory word perception, and orthographic repetition blindness: Tests of binding theory
Authors: Mackay Donald G. , Hadley Christopher B. , Schwartz Joel H.
Published: May 2005

This study reports effects of meaning and emotion (taboo vs. neutral words) on an illusory word (IW) phenomenon linked to orthographic repetition blindness (RB). Participants immediately recalled rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) lists consisting of two critical words (C1 and C2) containing shared letters, followed by a word fragment: for example, lake (C1) brake (C2) ush (fragment). For neutral critical words, participants often recalled C1, but not C2 or the fragment, reporting instead a nonoccurring or illusory word: here, brush (a blend of C2 and the fragment). Forward RB (defined as reduced report of orthographically similar C2s) was more common for neutral than for taboo C2s, and taboo IWs were reported significantly more often than were neutral IWs. Moreover, when both C2 and the potential IW were taboo, a new phenomenon emerged: Participants reliably reported both the IW and the intact C2. These and other results supported a binding theory of the IW phenomenon and orthographic RB.
Computational cluster validation in post-genomic data analysis
Authors: Handl Julia , Knowles Joshua , Kell Douglas B.
Published: May 2005

Motivation

The discovery of novel biological knowledge from the ab initio analysis of post-genomic data relies upon the use of unsupervised processing methods, in particular clustering techniques. Much recent research in bioinformatics has therefore been focused on the transfer of clustering methods introduced in other scientific fields and on the development of novel algorithms specifically designed to tackle the challenges posed by post-genomic data. The partitions returned by a clustering algorithm are commonly validated using visual inspection and concordance with prior biological knowledge—whether the clusters actually correspond to the real structure in the data is somewhat less frequently considered. Suitable computational cluster validation techniques are available in the general data-mining literature, but have been given only a fraction of the same attention in bioinformatics.

Results

This review paper aims to familiarize the reader with the battery of techniques available for the validation of clustering results, with a particular focus on their application to post-genomic data analysis. Synthetic and real biological datasets are used to demonstrate the benefits, and also some of the perils, of analytical cluster validation.

Availability:

The software used in the experiments is available at http://dbkgroup.org/handl/clustervalidation/

Contact

J.Handl@postgrad.manchester.ac.uk

Supplementary information:

Enlarged colour plots are provided in the Supplementary Material, which is available at http://dbkgroup.org/handl/clustervalidation/
Pacific herring hearing does not include ultrasound
Authors: Mann David A , Popper Arthur N , Wilson Ben
Published: May 2005

Recent studies have shown that some clupeid fishes, including shad and menhaden, can detect ultrasound (sound with frequencies higher than 20 kHz) and actively avoid it. However, other clupeids, including sardines and anchovies, do not detect ultrasound. The hearing abilities of herring are of particular interest because of their commercial importance, our reliance on acoustics to monitor their populations and behavioural evidence of responses to high-frequency sound by some clupeid species. We measured the hearing sensitivity of Pacific herring (
Clupea pallasii
) using the auditory brainstem response and found that they were unable to detect ultrasonic signals at received levels up to 185 dB re 1 μPa. Herring had hearing thresholds at lower frequencies (100–5000 Hz) that were typical of other non-ultrasound‐detecting clupeids. This lower‐frequency hearing sensitivity could explain the results of several earlier studies showing responses to broadband sounds.
Male eastern bluebirds trade future ornamentation for current reproductive investment
Authors: Siefferman Lynn , Hill Geoffrey E
Published: May 2005

Life-history theory proposes that organisms must trade-off investment in current and future reproduction. Production of ornamental display is an important component of reproductive effort that has rarely been considered in tests of allocation trade-offs. Male eastern bluebirds (
Sialia sialis
) display brilliant ultraviolet-blue plumage that is correlated with mate acquisition and male competitive ability. To investigate trade-offs between current reproductive effort and the future expression of a sexually selected ornament, we manipulated the parental effort of males by changing their brood sizes. We found that parents provisioned experimentally enlarged broods more often than reduced broods. As predicted by life-history theory, the change in parental effort had a significant effect on the relative plumage ornamentation of males in the subsequent year: males with reduced broods significantly increased in plumage brightness. Moreover, this change in plumage coloration had a direct effect on the timing of breeding in the following season: males that displayed brighter plumage in the year following the manipulation mated with females that initiated egg laying earlier in the season. These data indicate that male bluebirds must trade-off conserving energy for production of future ornamentation versus expending energy for current reproduction.
The longevity ofCaenorhabditis elegansin soil
Authors: Van Voorhies Wayne A , Fuchs Jacqueline , Thomas Stephen
Published: May 2005

Relatively simple model organisms such as yeast, fruit-flies and the nematode,Caenorhabditis elegans, have proven to be invaluable resources in biological studies. An example is the widespread use ofC. elegansto investigate the complex process of ageing. An important issue when interpreting results from these studies is the similarity of the observedC. elegansmortality pattern in the laboratory to that expected in its natural environment. We found that the longevity ofC. elegansunder more natural conditions is reduced up to 10‐fold compared with standard laboratory culture conditions. Additionally,C. elegansmutants that live twice as long as wild-type worms in laboratory conditions typically die sooner than wild-type worms in a natural soil. These results indicate that conclusions regarding extended longevity drawn from standard laboratory assays may not extend to animals in their native environment.
Diploid males and their triploid offspring in the paper waspPolistes dominulus
Authors: Liebert Aviva E , Sumana Annagiri , Starks Philip T
Published: May 2005

Although the hymenopteran sex-determining mechanism generally results in haploid males and diploid females, diploid males can be produced via homozygosity at the sex-determining locus. Diploid males have low fitness because they are effectively sterile or produce presumably sterile triploid offspring. Previously, triploid females were observed in three species of North AmericanPolistespaper wasps, and this was interpreted as indirect evidence of diploid males. Here we report what is, to our knowledge, the first direct evidence: four of five early male-producingPolistes dominulusnests from three populations contained diploid males. Because haploid males were also found, however, the adaptive value of early males cannot be ignored. Using genetic and morphological data from triploid females, we also present evidence that both diploid males and triploid females remain undetected throughout the colony cycle. Consequently, diploid male production may result in a delayed fitness cost for two generations. This phenomenon is particularly relevant for introduced populations with few alleles at the sex-determining locus, but cannot be ignored in native populations without supporting genetic data. Future research using paper wasp populations to test theories of social evolution should explicitly consider the potential impacts of diploid males.
Tomb evaders: house-hunting hygiene in ants
Authors: Franks Nigel R , Hooper James , Webb Catherine , Dornhaus Anna
Published: May 2005

House-hunting ants avoid otherwise excellent potential nest sites that contain dead ants which may pose risks from poor hygiene. This discovery adds another category to the exceptionally long list of nest site attributes that ants evaluate. It further indicates the importance of disease as a selection pressure on social insects.
Parasites in sexual and asexual mollies (
Poecilia
, Poeciliidae, Teleostei): a case for the Red Queen?
Authors: Tobler Michael , Schlupp Ingo
Published: May 2005

The maintenance of sexual reproduction in the face of its supposed costs is a major paradox in evolutionary biology. The Red Queen hypothesis, which states that sex is an adaptation to fast-evolving parasites, is currently one of the most recognized explanations for the ubiquity of sex and predicts that asexual lineages should suffer from a higher parasite load if they coexist with closely related sexuals. We tested this prediction using four populations of the sexual fish species
Poecilia latipinna
and its asexual relative
Poecilia formosa
. Contrary to expectation, no differences in parasite load could be detected between the two species.
Spider signals: are web decorations visible to birds and bees?
Authors: Bruce Matthew J , Heiling Astrid M , Herberstein Marie E
Published: May 2005

We are becoming increasingly aware of animal communication outside the range of human sensitivity. Web decorations are silk structures used by orb-web spiders to deceive prey and predators. However, despite the level of interest in these structures, their visibility to prey and predators has never, to our knowledge, been objectively assessed. Here, we use spectrophotometric analyses to show that the decorations of all five tested spider species are visible to honey bees and birds over short and long distances. Furthermore, the discoid decorations of one species may provide some protection against arthropod predators. However, these decorations are inefficient at camouflaging the spider against birds, despite the overlap between the spider's body and web decoration.
Insect-like flapping wing mechanism based on a double spherical Scotch yoke
Authors: Galiński Cezary , Żbikowski Rafał
Published: May 2005

We describe the rationale, concept, design and implementation of a fixed-motion (non-adjustable) mechanism for insect-like flapping wing micro air vehicles in hover, inspired by two-winged flies (Diptera). This spatial (as opposed to planar) mechanism is based on the novel idea of a double spherical Scotch yoke. The mechanism was constructed for two main purposes: (i) as a test bed for aeromechanical research on hover in flapping flight, and (ii) as a precursor design for a future flapping wing micro air vehicle. Insects fly by oscillating (plunging) and rotating (pitching) their wings through large angles, while sweeping them forwards and backwards. During this motion the wing tip approximately traces a ‘figure-of-eight’ or a ‘banana’ and the wing changes the angle of attack (pitching) significantly. The kinematic and aerodynamic data from free-flying insects are sparse and uncertain, and it is not clear what aerodynamic consequences different wing motions have. Since acquiring the necessary kinematic and dynamic data from biological experiments remains a challenge, a synthetic, controlled study of insect-like flapping is not only of engineering value, but also of biological relevance. Micro air vehicles are defined as flying vehicles approximately 150 mm in size (hand-held), weighing 50–100 g, and are developed to reconnoitre in confined spaces (inside buildings, tunnels, etc.). For this application, insect-like flapping wings are an attractive solution and hence the need to realize the functionality of insect flight by engineering means. Since the semi-span of the insect wing is constant, the kinematics are spatial; in fact, an approximate figure-of-eight/banana is traced on a sphere. Hence a natural mechanism implementing such kinematics should be (i) spherical and (ii) generate mathematically convenient curves expressing the figure-of-eight/banana shape. The double spherical Scotch yoke design has property (i) by definition and achieves (ii) by tracing spherical Lissajous curves.
The influence of surface energy on the wetting behaviour of the spore adhesive of the marine alga
Ulva linza
(synonym
Enteromorpha linza
)
Authors: Callow J.A , Callow M.E , Ista L.K , Lopez G , Chaudhury M.K
Published: May 2005

The environmental scanning electron microscope has been used to image the adhesive pads secreted by zoospores of the marine alga
Ulva linza
as they settle on a range of self-assembled and grafted monolayers of different wettability, under natural, hydrated conditions. Results reveal that the diameter of the adhesive pad is strongly influenced by surface wettability, the adhesive spreading more (i.e. wetting the surface better) on the more hydrophilic surfaces. This is in direct contrast to previous observations on the spreading of marine bioadhesives and is in apparent contradiction to the predictions of the Young–Dupre equation for three-phase systems. In this paper, we attempt an explanation based upon thermodynamic analysis of the wetting properties of hydrophilic proteins.
Role-similarity based functional prediction in networked systems: application to the yeast proteome
Authors: Holme Petter , Huss Mikael
Published: May 2005

We propose a general method to predict functions of vertices where (i) the wiring of the network is somehow related to the vertex functionality and (ii) a fraction of the vertices are functionally classified. The method is influenced by role-similarity measures of social network analysis. The two versions of our prediction scheme are tested on model networks where the functions of the vertices are designed to match their network surroundings. We also apply these methods to the proteome of the yeast
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
and find the results compatible with more specialized methods.
Water-escape velocities in jumping blacktip sharks
Authors: Brunnschweiler Juerg M
Published: May 2005

This paper describes the first determination of water-escape velocities in free-ranging sharks. Two approximations are used to estimate the final swimming speed at the moment of penetrating the water surface. Blacktip sharks were videotaped from below the surface and parameters were estimated by analysing the sequences frame by frame. Water-escape velocities averaged 6.3 m s−1. These velocities for blacktip sharks seem accurate and are similar to estimates obtained for other shark species of similar size.
A planar plastic flow theory of orthotropic sheet metals and the experimental procedure for its evaluations
Authors: Tong Wei
Published: May 2005

An anisotropic plasticity theory is formulated for describing planar flow behaviours of orthotropic polycrystalline sheet metals. Flow rules are derived for both the macroscopic plastic rate of deformation tensor and the macroscopic plastic spin tensor by considering a small set of activated macroscopic slips or shearing modes in a sheet metal. An internal state variable other than the effective plastic strain or equivalent plastic work is introduced to define the isotropic hardening state of the sheet metal so that effects of anisotropy of a sheet metal on its isotropic hardening behaviour can be better taken into account. The theory requires a total of five anisotropic material functions of a loading orientation angle, an effective rate-dependent stress–strain curve and a stress exponent to describe the planar anisotropic plastic flow behaviour of the sheet metal. The five anisotropic material functions are specified based on the orthotropic symmetry of the sheet metal and each of them may be expressed as a Fourier sine or cosine series. The experimental strategy and procedure for direct determination of the material constants in the theory by simple mechanical tests are discussed in great details. In particular, a special case of the proposed flow rules of macroscopic plastic rate of deformation tensor and macroscopic plastic spin is considered and it is found that it can describe satisfactorily the experimental data on both the directional dependence of plastic strain ratio and yield stress as well as the rotation of the material symmetry axes of an orthotropic steel sheet subjected to off-axis uniaxial tension.
Local phylogenetic divergence and global evolutionary convergence of skull function in reef fishes of the family Labridae
Authors: Westneat Mark W , Alfaro Michael E , Wainwright Peter C , Bellwood David R , Grubich Justin R , Fessler Jennifer L , Clements Kendall D , Smith Lydia L
Published: May 2005

The Labridae is one of the most structurally and functionally diversified fish families on coral and rocky reefs around the world, providing a compelling system for examination of evolutionary patterns of functional change. Labrid fishes have evolved a diverse array of skull forms for feeding on prey ranging from molluscs, crustaceans, plankton, detritus, algae, coral and other fishes. The species richness and diversity of feeding ecology in the Labridae make this group a marine analogue to the cichlid fishes. Despite the importance of labrids to coastal reef ecology, we lack evolutionary analysis of feeding biomechanics among labrids. Here, we combine a molecular phylogeny of the Labridae with the biomechanics of skull function to reveal a broad pattern of repeated convergence in labrid feeding systems. Mechanically fast jaw systems have evolved independently at least 14 times from ancestors with forceful jaws. A repeated phylogenetic pattern of functional divergence in local regions of the labrid tree produces an emergent family-wide pattern of global convergence in jaw function. Divergence of close relatives, convergence among higher clades and several unusual ‘breakthroughs’ in skull function characterize the evolution of functional complexity in one of the most diverse groups of reef fishes.
Density-dependent dispersal and spatial population dynamics
Authors: Ims Rolf A , Andreassen Harry P
Published: May 2005

The synchronization of the dynamics of spatially subdivided populations is of both fundamental and applied interest in population biology. Based on theoretical studies, dispersal movements have been inferred to be one of the most general causes of population synchrony, yet no empirical study has mapped distance-dependent estimates of movement rates on the actual pattern of synchrony in species that are known to exhibit population synchrony. Northern vole and lemming species are particularly well-known for their spatially synchronized population dynamics. Here, we use results from an experimental study to demonstrate that tundra vole dispersal movements did not act to synchronize population dynamics in fragmented habitats. In contrast to the constant dispersal rate assumed in earlier theoretical studies, the tundra vole, and many other species, exhibit negative density-dependent dispersal. Simulations of a simple mathematical model, parametrized on the basis of our experimental data, verify the empirical results, namely that the observed negative density-dependent dispersal did not have a significant synchronizing effect.
Evidence for biased use of sperm sources in wild female giant cuttlefish (
Sepia apama
)
Authors: Naud Marie-José , Shaw Paul W , Hanlon Roger T , Havenhand Jon N
Published: May 2005

In species where females store sperm from their mates prior to fertilization, sperm competition is particularly probable. Female
Sepia apama
are polyandrous and have access to sperm from packages (spermatangia) deposited by males onto their buccal area during mating and to sperm stored in internal sperm-storage organs (receptacles) located below the beak. Here, we describe the structure of the sperm stores in the female's buccal area, use microsatellite DNA analyses to determine the genetic diversity of stored sperm and combine these data with offspring genotypes to determine the storage location of paternal sperm. The number of male genotypes represented in the sperm receptacles was significantly lower than that found among the spermatangia. Estimation of the volumes of sperm contained in the receptacles and the spermatangia were statistically comparable; however, paternal sperm were more likely to have come from spermatangia than from the sperm receptacles. These results confirm a genetic polyandrous mating system in this species and suggest that fertilization pattern with respect to the sperm stores used is not random.
A theoretical investigation of the effect of predators on foraging behaviour and energy reserves
Authors: McNamara John M , Barta Zoltan , Houston Alasdair I , Race Philip
Published: May 2005

Data show that when small birds are exposed to a model of a predator, their body mass may either increase or decrease. Although attempts have been made to explain the data using previous models, these models are based on a constant level of predation and hence are not appropriate for making predictions about the response of a bird to the sight of a predator. We have developed a novel model that includes encounters between a bird and potential predators. We show that, depending on the biology of the predator, optimal body mass may either increase or decrease. The model also makes predictions about the foraging behaviour of the bird after it has seen a predator.
Vibrational communication facilitates cooperative foraging in a phloem-feeding insect
Authors: Cocroft Reginald B
Published: May 2005

Insects are the dominant herbivores in tropical forests, with a range of mechanisms for exploiting plant resources. For group-living species, such mechanisms may involve communication. The Neotropical treehopperCalloconophora pinguis(Hemiptera: Membracidae) is a sap-feeding species in which groups of siblings feed on new leaves during the brief period of leaf expansion. Using an experimental approach, a process of cooperative foraging among siblings was documented, in which a few individuals in a group behave as scouts, locating a new feeding site and advertising it using plant-borne vibrational signals. Signalling leads to a period of positive feedback in which newly recruited individuals signal in concert with those already there. The food signalling system ofC. pinguisis unique in its use of synchronized group displays and in the tight coordination of receiver responses with collective signals. Examples from a number of taxonomic groups show that vibrational communication can allow group-living insects to solve the challenges of feeding on plants, such as remaining in a foraging group or avoiding predation. While most research has focused on leaf-feeding species, sap-feeding species may remove just as much biomass. This study shows that cooperative vibrational communication underlies the ability of a sap-feeding species to exploit plant resources during a narrow window of availability.
Host diversity begets parasite diversity: bird final hosts and trematodes in snail intermediate hosts
Authors: Hechinger Ryan F , Lafferty Kevin D
Published: May 2005

An unappreciated facet of biodiversity is that rich communities and high abundance may foster parasitism. For parasites that sequentially use different host species throughout complex life cycles, parasite diversity and abundance in ‘downstream’ hosts should logically increase with the diversity and abundance of ‘upstream’ hosts (which carry the preceding stages of parasites). Surprisingly, this logical assumption has little empirical support, especially regarding metazoan parasites. Few studies have attempted direct tests of this idea and most have lacked the appropriate scale of investigation. In two different studies, we used time-lapse videography to quantify birds at fine spatial scales, and then related bird communities to larval trematode communities in snail populations sampled at the same small spatial scales. Species richness, species heterogeneity and abundance of final host birds were positively correlated with species richness, species heterogeneity and abundance of trematodes in host snails. Such community-level interactions have rarely been demonstrated and have implications for community theory, epidemiological theory and ecosystem management.
Multiple sperm storage organs facilitate female control of paternity
Authors: Snow Lindsay S.E , Andrade Maydianne C.B
Published: May 2005

It has been proposed that multiple sperm storage organs (spermathecae) could allow polyandrous females to control paternity. There is little conclusive evidence for this since insemination of individual spermathecae is generally not experimentally manipulable. Here, we examined sperm use patterns in the Australian redback spider (Latrodectus hasselti), which has paired, independent spermathecae. We assessed paternity when two rivals were forced to inseminate a single storage organ or opposite storage organs. When males inseminated a single spermatheca, mean paternity of the female's first mate was 79.8% (median 89.4%), and 38% of first mates achieved 100% paternity. In contrast, when males inseminated opposite organs, the mean paternity of the first mate was 49.3% (median 49.9%), only 10% of males achieved complete precedence, and paternity was normally distributed, suggesting sperm mixing. Males responded to this difference by avoiding previously inseminated female reproductive tracts. Complete sperm precedence can only be achieved if females permit males to copulate with both reproductive tracts. Females often cannibalize smaller males during their first copulation, thus limiting their paternity to 50%. These data show that multiple sperm storage organs can increase female control of paternity.
Towards transition modelling for supersonic laminar flow control based on spanwise periodic roughness elements
Authors: Choudhari Meelan , Chang Chau-Lyan , Jiang Li
Published: May 2005

Laminar flow control (LFC) is one of the key enabling technologies for quiet and efficient supersonic aircraft. Recent work at Arizona State University (ASU) has led to a novel concept for passive LFC, which employs distributed leading edge roughness to limit the growth of naturally dominant crossflow instabilities in a swept-wing boundary layer. Predicated on nonlinear modification of the mean boundary-layer flow via controlled receptivity, the ASU concept requires a holistic prediction approach that accounts for all major stages within transition in an integrated manner. As a first step in developing an engineering methodology for the design and optimization of roughness-based supersonic LFC, this paper reports on canonical findings related to receptivity plus linear and nonlinear development of stationary crossflow instabilities on a Mach 2.4, 73° swept airfoil with a chord Reynolds number of 16.3 million.
Streaks and vortices in near-wall turbulence
Authors: Chernyshenko S.I , Baig M.F
Published: May 2005

This paper presents evidence that organization of wall-normal motions plays almost no role in the creation of streaks. This evidence consists of the theory of streak generation not requiring the existence of organized vortices, extensive quantitative comparisons between the theory and direct numerical simulations, including examples of large variation in average spacing of the streaks of different scalars simultaneously present in the flow, and an example of the scalar streaks in an artificially created purely random flow.
On the ejection-induced instability in Navier–Stokes solutions of unsteady separation
Authors: Obabko Aleksandr V , Cassel Kevin W
Published: May 2005

Numerical solutions of the flow induced by a thick-core vortex have been obtained using the unsteady, two-dimensional Navier–Stokes equations. The presence of the vortex causes an adverse pressure gradient along the surface, which leads to unsteady separation. The calculations by Brinckman and Walker for a similar flow identify a possible instability, purported to be an inviscid Rayleigh instability, in the region where ejection of near-wall vorticity occurs during the unsteady separation process. In results for a range of Reynolds numbers in the present investigation, the oscillations are also found to occur. However, they can be eliminated with increased grid resolution. Despite this behaviour, the instability may be physical but requires a sufficient amplitude of disturbances to be realized.
Brain maps, great and small: lessons from comparative studies of primate visual cortical organization
Authors: Rosa Marcello G.P , Tweedale Rowan
Published: May 2005

In this paper, we review evidence from comparative studies of primate cortical organization, highlighting recent findings and hypotheses that may help us to understand the rules governing evolutionary changes of the cortical map and the process of formation of areas during development. We argue that clear unequivocal views of cortical areas and their homologies are more likely to emerge for ‘core’ fields, including the primary sensory areas, which are specified early in development by precise molecular identification steps. In primates, the middle temporal area is probably one of these primordial cortical fields. Areas that form at progressively later stages of development correspond to progressively more recent evolutionary events, their development being less firmly anchored in molecular specification. The certainty with which areal boundaries can be delimited, and likely homologies can be assigned, becomes increasingly blurred in parallel with this evolutionary/developmental sequence. For example, while current concepts for the definition of cortical areas have been vindicated in allowing a clarification of the organization of the New World monkey ‘third tier’ visual cortex (the third and dorsomedial areas, V3 and DM), our analyses suggest that more flexible mapping criteria may be needed to unravel the organization of higher-order visual association and polysensory areas.
Viability of cotton and canola pollen on the proboscis of Helicoverpa armigera: implications for spread of transgenes and pollination ecology
Authors: Richards Jessica S. , Stanley John N. , Gregg Peter C.
Published: May 2005

Abstract.  1. Pollen can be transported thousands of kilometres by insects but its viability after long‐distance transport is not known. Knowing the potential for this mechanism to cause outcrossing of transgenes from genetically modified (GM) plants is important for risk assessments.

2. The viability of pollen from cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and canola (Brassica napus L.) was determined after placing it on the proboscis of Helicoverpa armigera moths for intervals of up to 32 h. Viability of both cotton and canola pollen declined at a much greater rate when in contact with the moth proboscis. Most was non‐viable by 8 h compared with 16 h for control cotton pollen or 32 h for canola pollen.

3. There was no significant difference in the rate of decline of pollen viability between the five conventional cotton varieties, or between these and the one GM cotton variety used in these experiments.

4. The number of canola pollen grains remaining on the proboscis declined over time. Very few cotton pollen grains were retained on the proboscis.

5. The reduction in pollen viability during contact with the proboscis might indicate partial ingestion of the pollen via the proboscis.

6. The points above suggest that pollen is unlikely to remain attached or remain viable when carried over large distances by H. armigera. The implications for spread of pollen from transgenic plants and for pollination ecology in general are discussed.
Effects of agricultural change on abundance, fitness components and distribution of two arctic‐nesting goose populations
Authors: Fox A. D. , Madsen J. , Boyd H. , Kuijken E. , Norriss D. W. , Tombre I. M. , Stroud D. A.
Published: May 2005

Intensification of agriculture since the 1950s has enhanced the availability, competitive ability, crude protein content, digestibility and extended growing seasons of forage grasses. Spilled cereal grain also provides a rich food source in autumn and in winter. Long‐distance migratory herbivorous geese have rapidly exploited these feeding opportunities and most species have shown expansions in range and population size in the last 50 years. Results of long‐term studies are presented from two Arctic‐breeding populations, the Svalbard pink‐footed goose and the Greenland white‐fronted goose (GWFG). GWFGs have shown major habitat shifts since the 1950s from winter use of plant storage organs in natural wetlands to feeding on intensively managed farmland. Declines in local density on, and abandonment of, unmodified traditional wintering habitat and increased reproductive success among those birds wintering on farmland suggest that density‐dependent processes were not the cause of the shift in this winter‐site‐faithful population. Based on enhanced nutrient and energy intake rates, we argue that observed shifts in both species from traditionally used natural habitats to intensively managed farmland on spring staging and wintering areas have not necessarily been the result of habitat destruction. Increased food intake rates and potential demographic benefits resulting from shifts to highly profitable foraging opportunities on increasingly intensively managed farmland, more likely explain increases in goose numbers in these populations. The geographically exploratory behaviour of subdominant individuals enables the discovery and exploitation of new winter feeding opportunities and hence range expansion. Recent destruction of traditional habitats and declines in farming at northern latitudes present fresh challenges to the well being of both populations. More urgently, Canada geese colonizing breeding and moulting habitats of white‐fronted geese in Greenland are further affecting their reproductive output.