The death of the letter? Epistolary intent, letterness and the many ends of letter-writing

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Subliminally Perceived Odours Modulate Female Intrasexual Competition: An Eye Movement Study

Background: Evidence suggests that subliminal odorants influence human perception and behavior. It has been hypothesized that the human sex-steroid derived compound 4,16-androstadien-3-one (androstadienone) functions as a human chemosignal. The most intensively studied steroid compound, androstadienone is known to be biologically relevant since it seems to convey information about male mate quality to women. It is unclear if the effects of androstadienone are menstrual cycle related. Methodology/Principal Findings: In the first experiment, heterosexual women were exposed to androstadienone or a control compound and asked to view stimuli such as female faces, male faces and familiar objects while their eye movements were recorded. In the second experiment the same women were asked to rate the level of stimuli attractiveness following exposure to the study or control compound. The results indicated that women at high conception risk spent more time viewing the female than the male faces regardless of the compound administered. Women at a low conception risk exhibited a preference for female faces only following exposure to androstadienone. Conclusions/Significance: We contend that a woman’s level of fertility influences her evaluation of potential competitors (e.g., faces of other women) during times critical for reproduction. Subliminally perceived odorants, such as androstadienone, might similarly enhance intrasexual competition strategies in women during fertility phases not critica

The Diatribe and Paul's letter to The Romans

Californiaxvii, 261 p.; 22 cm

Letter writing in Greco-Roman antiquity

Philadelphia188 p.; 23 c

Age-dependent antibody response to Plasmodium falciparum merozoite surface protein 2 (MSP-2)

P>Merozoite surface protein 2 (MSP-2), a very immunogenic malaria antigen, is a highly polymorphic 45-53 kDa merozoite surface protein, which is regarded as a promising vaccine candidate. The highly polymorphic nature of MSP-2 suggests that the molecule can be involved in protective immunity against malaria. The antibody responses to MSP-2 antigen are mostly directed against polymorphic and dimorphic regions of the protein. The current study aimed at testing the reactivity of human sera from a malaria-endemic area of Gambia against MSP-2 regions 2, 3 and 4 compared to crude schizont extract in a period of 20 years. The age-dependent immunity was analysed in a manner of cross-sectional study (the data of the first visit) and also a longitudinal study design (analysing the data at four different time points from 1960 to 1980) testing the sera of 178 individuals randomly selected from the Keneba Serum Collection by using MSP-2 recombinant protein. The total IgG responses were measured by ELISA. Kolmogorov-Smirnov was used to check the normal distribution of OD, Hb and parasitaemia, and then Spearman correlation was applied to analyse the data. Most sera recognized, predominantly, the variable regions of the MSP-2, particularly the domain 3. The IgG response against all the antigens increased with age. The IgG responses against domain 3 of MSP-2 were associated with an increase in haemoglobin levels but a decrease in parasitaemia, suggesting that this immune response may be one of the most useful means for further studies on protective immunity against malaria