The effect on egg laying of crosses made in Tribolium castaneum between lines selected for high and low responsiveness to conditioned medium

International audienc

A case–control analysis of oral contraceptive use and breast cancer subtypes in the African American Breast Cancer Epidemiology and Risk Consortium

Abstract Introduction Recent oral contraceptive (OC) use has been consistently associated with increased risk of breast cancer, but evidence on specific breast cancer subtypes is sparse. Methods We investigated recency and duration of OC use in relation to molecular subtypes of breast cancer in a pooled analysis of data from the African American Breast Cancer Epidemiology and Risk Consortium. The study included 1,848 women with estrogen receptor-positive (ER+) breast cancer, 1,043 with ER-negative (ER-) breast cancer (including 494 triple negative (TN) tumors, which do not have receptors for estrogen, progesterone, and human epidermal growth factor 2), and 10,044 controls. Multivariable polytomous logistic regression models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for exposure categories relative to never use, controlling for potential confounding variables. Results OC use within the previous 5 years was associated with increased risk of ER+ (OR 1.46, 95% CI 1.18 to 1.81), ER- (OR 1.57, 95% CI 1.22 to 1.43), and TN (OR 1.78, 95% CI 1.25 to 2.53) breast cancer. The risk declined after cessation of use but was apparent for ER+ cancer for 15 to 19 years after cessation and for ER- breast cancer for an even longer interval after cessation. Long duration of use was also associated with increased risk of each subtype, particularly ER-. Conclusions Our results suggest that OC use, particularly recent use of long duration, is associated with an increased risk of ER+, ER-, and TN breast cancer in African American women. Research into mechanisms that explain these findings, especially the association with ER- breast cancer, is needed

Genetic relationship in goatfishes (Mullidae: Perciformes) of the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, with remarks on Suez Canal migrants

An electrophoretic examination of 21 presumptive loci was used to analyze the genetic relationship in the fish family Mullidae. The present study included seven species from the Red Sea and two from the Mediterranean. Two of the Red Sea species (Upeneus pori and U. moluccensis), which had colonized the Mediterranean via the Suez Canal, were also sampled in their new habitat. The electrophoretic results support the taxonomy which is based on morphomeristic measurements, with the exception of U. pori, the genetic distance of which with its congeneric species is at a level which is attributed to different genera. No discernible genetic difference was found between the populations of the colonizing species in both seas (D= 0.004 for U. moluccensis, D= 0.081 for U. pori), as well as between colonizing and non-colonizing species. The average heterozygosity of Mullidae is lower than the average known for other fishes.No disponibl

POPULATION VARIATION IN THE ONCOCYCLUS IRISESALONG A GEOGRAPHICAL GRADIENT IN ISRAEL

TIle section Oncncyclus of lhe genus Iris L. comprises eight species in Israel, which are among the most beautiful and important planL'i for conservation. Three of the dark-coloured species (f. haney.f. atrofusca and f. petrana) are distributed along the North-South climatological gradient in Ismel. Although many taxonomists have dealt with !.his stXlion in the last century, no quantitative research has been done. Many transitional fonns between species or populations are known from lite field. The purpose ofthc current reaearch was to test quantitatively, by using inter and intra~pulation variation. the relationship among those species. and to examine whether morphological trait~ changed along the ecogeographical North-South gradient. Morphological traits were measured in eleven populations along this gradient. Intrapopulation variation is signiticantly higher than variation between each nearest population for most characters. Morphological distance was calculated using the Pearson distance coefficient. and is significantly correlated with geographical distance. Regression of all traits against latitude revealed that diagnostic characters, especially flower sizc, stcm height and leaf characters, change along the aridity gradient