Here we report the mating behaviour of male cabbage butterfly, ZD1839 Pieris rapae crucivora, in environments with varying content of UV light. We first confirmed that the relative UV content is higher in

shaded places than in sunny places. We furthermore arranged experimental areas with varying UV contents in the field, where we compared three aspects of male mating behaviour: visual localization of females, female-searching flight and copulation success rate. In all aspects males performed more actively in UV-rich environments: males searched females for longer, approached females preferentially in the shade and copulated there more frequently. Apparently, female-searching males detect females more easily in a UV-rich environment. The present findings

should be taken into consideration when UV-dependent behaviours, visual mate choice in particular, are studied.”
“Background. Previous research suggests, though not consistently, that maternal psychological distress during pregnancy leads to adverse birth outcomes. Selleck Crenigacestat We investigated whether maternal psychological distress affects fetal growth during the period of mid-pregnancy until birth.\n\nMethod. Pregnant women (n=6313) reported levels of psychological distress using the Brief Symptom Inventory (anxious and depressive symptoms) and the Family Assessment Device (family stress) at 20.6 weeks pregnancy and had fetal ultrasound measurements in mid- and late pregnancy. Estimated fetal weight selleck compound was calculated using head circumference, abdominal circumference

and femur length.\n\nResults. In mid-pregnancy, maternal distress was not linked to fetal size. In late pregnancy, however, anxious symptoms were related to fetal size after controlling for potential confounders. Anxious symptoms were also associated with a 37.73 g [95% confidence interval (CI) -69.22 to -6.25, p=0.0191 lower birth weight. When we related maternal distress to fetal growth curves using multilevel models, more consistent results emerged. Maternal symptoms of anxiety or depression were associated with impaired fetal weight gain and impaired fetal head and abdominal growth. For example, depressive symptoms reduced fetal weight gain by 2.86 g (95% CI -4.48 to -1.23, p<0.001) per week.\n\nConclusions. The study suggests that, starting in mid-pregnancy, fetal growth can be affected by different aspects of maternal distress. In particular, children of prenatally anxious mothers seem to display impaired fetal growth patterns during pregnancy. Future work should address the biological mechanisms underlying the association of maternal distress with fetal development and focus on the effects of reducing psychological distress in pregnancy.”
“Poor vitamin D status is common in the elderly and is associated with bone loss and fractures.