The TT genotype was associated with a significant increase in BMI (beta = 1.1 kg/m(2), P = 0.04). Two haplotypes were significantly associated with increased serum levels of CRP, but not with BMI. We conclude that variation in the CRP gene affects serum protein levels.”
“Quantifying patterns of temporal trends in species assemblages is an important analytical challenge in community ecology. We describe methods of analysis that can be applied to a matrix of counts of individuals that is organized by species (rows) and time-ordered sampling periods (columns). We first developed a bootstrapping procedure selleck chemicals llc to test the null hypothesis of random sampling from

a stationary species abundance distribution with temporally varying sampling probabilities. This procedure can be modified to account for undetected species. We next developed a hierarchical model to estimate species-specific selleck chemicals trends in abundance while accounting for species-specific probabilities of detection. We analysed two long-term datasets on stream fishes and grassland insects to demonstrate these methods. For both assemblages, the bootstrap test indicated that temporal trends in abundance were more heterogeneous than expected under the null model. We used the hierarchical model to estimate trends in abundance and identified

sets of species in each assemblage that were steadily increasing, decreasing GDC-0068 PI3K/Akt/mTOR inhibitor or remaining constant in abundance over more than a decade of standardized annual surveys. Our methods of analysis are broadly applicable to other ecological datasets, and they represent an advance over most existing procedures, which do not incorporate effects of incomplete sampling and imperfect detection.”
“The structural, magnetic, transport, thermal, and magnetothermal properties of quaternary Heusler alloys Ni50Mn38-xFexSb12 have been studied. Powder x-ray diffraction and temperature dependence of

magnetization studies reveal that with the addition of Fe in the Mn site, the martensitic transition shifts to low temperatures. It is also found that the martensitic transition becomes broader with the increase of Fe concentration. The metamagnetic transition in M(H) isotherms becomes very prominent in x = 2 and vanishes for x = 3 and 4. A maximum positive magnetic entropy change of 14.2 J/kg K is observed for x = 2 at 288 K for 50 kOe. Electrical resistivity data show an abrupt decrease across the martensitic transition in all the alloys, except x = 6, which does not have a martensitic transition. A maximum negative magnetoresistance of 21% has been obtained for x = 2 at 50 kOe. The same alloy also shows an exchange bias field of 288 Oe. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi: 10.1063/1.3590398]“
“Preeclampsia affects 3-8% of pregnancies and is a major cause of maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality worldwide.