Potential strategic allocation of nuptial gift proteins of the neotropical katydid Conocephalus ictus (Orthoptera Tettigoniidae).

In many katydids, the male feeds his mate with a large gelatinous spermatophore. While providing large spermatophores can increase female fecundity and lifespan, it may also decrease their sexual receptivity, benefiting male fitness. Allocating resources to these edible gifts may entail a lower apportionment of them to other functions, generating a trade-off between somatic and reproductive functions. Despite their effect on male and female fitness, little is known of the compounds associated with katydid spermatophores. Our study found 177 different putative proteins in the spermatophore of Conocephalus ictus, with no correlation between male body size with spermatophore mass, number, concentration and mass of proteins. However, we did observe a negative relationship between male forewing length and protein concentration, and a negative relationship between the mass of the spermatophore transferred to the females and their body size, suggesting a resource allocation trade-off in males, but also strategic transference of resources based on female quality.

Angiogenesis, hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia and COVID-19.

Hereditary hemorrhagic telangiectasia (HHT) is a rare autosomal-dominant disease characterized by pathologic angiogenesis that provokes vascular overgrowth. The evidence about the influence of Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in patients with rare diseases is scarce. We aimed to know the prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in HHT patients. The HHT pathogenic angiogenesis and endothelial injury in COVID-19 are discussed using data from RiHHTa (Computerized Registry of Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia) registry. RiHHTa is an open, multicenter, prospective, observational registry including adult patients with HHT. A 27-item survey that captured clinical data of admitted HHT patients for COVID-19 was distributed to all RiHHTa investigators from June 8th to June 24th 2020. Only one out of 1177 HHT patients was admitted for COVID-19 pneumonia. She is a 74 years-old woman with a pathogenic variant in ACVRL1 gene. Her clinical course did not involve mechanical ventilation or worsening epistaxis, and she was successfully discharged after two weeks. The endothelial damage and the consequent angiogenic process in COVID-19 patients deserve further investigation.

Background matching, disruptive coloration, and differential use of microhabitats in two neotropical grasshoppers with sexual dichromatism.

Cryptic coloration is an adaptative defensive mechanism against predators. Color patterns can become cryptic through background coloration-matching and disruptive coloration. Disruptive coloration may evolve in visually heterogeneous microhabitats, whereas background matching could be favored in chromatically homogeneous microhabitats. In this work, we used digital photography to explore the potential use of disruptive coloration and background matching in males and females of two grasshopper species of the Sphenarium genus in different habitats. We found chromatic differences in the two grasshopper species that may be explained by local adaptation. We also found that the females and males of both species are dichromatic and seem to follow different color cryptic strategies, males are more disruptive than females, whereas females have a high background matching with less disruptive elements. The selective pressures of the predators in different microhabitats and the differences in mobility between sexes may explain the color pattern divergence between females and males. Nevertheless, more field experiments are needed in order to understand the relative importance of disruptive and background matching coloration in the evolution of sexual dichromatism in these grasshoppers.

Patterns of sexual size dimorphism in stingless bees: Testing Rensch's rule and potential causes in highly eusocial bees (Hymenoptera: Apidae, Meliponini).

Eusocial insects offer a unique opportunity to analyze the evolution of body size differences between sexes in relation to social environment. The workers, being sterile females, are not subject to selection for reproductive function providing a natural control for parsing the effects of selection on reproductive function (i.e., sexual and fecundity selection) from other kinds of natural selection. Patterns of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) and testing of Rensch's rule controlling for phylogenetic effects were analyzed in the Meliponini or stingless bees. Theory predicts that queens may exhibit higher selection for fecundity in eusocial taxa, but contrary to this, we found mixed patterns of SSD in Meliponini. Non-Melipona species generally have a female-biased SSD, while all analyzed species of Melipona showed a male-biased SSD, indicating that the direction and magnitude of the selective pressures do not operate in the same way for all members of this taxon. The phylogenetic regressions revealed that the rate of divergence has not differed between the two castes of females and the males, that is, stingless bees do not seem to follow Rensch's rule (a slope >1), adding this highly eusocial taxon to the various solitary insect taxa not conforming with it. Noteworthy, when Melipona was removed from the analysis, the phylogenetic regressions for the thorax width of males on queens had a slope significantly smaller than 1, suggesting that the evolutionary divergence has been larger in queens than males, and could be explained by stronger selection on female fecundity only in non-Melipona species. Our results in the stingless bees question the classical explanation of female-biased SSD via fecundity and provide a first evidence of a more complex determination of SSD in highly eusocial species. We suggest that in highly eusocial taxa, additional selection mechanisms, possibly related to individual and colonial interests, could influence the evolution of environmentally determined traits such as body size.

Are body size and volatile blends honest signals in orchid bees?

Secondary sexual traits may convey reliable information about males' ability to resist pathogens and that females may prefer those traits because their genes for resistance would be passed on to their offspring. In many insect species, large males have high mating success and can canalize more resources to the immune function than smaller males. In other species, males use pheromones to identify and attract conspecific mates, and thus, they might function as an honest indicator of a male's condition. The males of orchid bees do not produce pheromones. They collect and store flower volatiles, which are mixed with the volatile blends from other sources, like fungi, sap and resins. These blends are displayed as perfumes during the courtship. In this study, we explored the relationship between inter-individual variation in body size and blend composition with the males' phenoloxidase (PO) content in Euglossa imperialis. PO content is a common measure of insect immune response because melanine, its derived molecule, encapsulates parasites and pathogens. Body size and blend composition were related to bees' phenolic PO content. The inter-individual variation in body size and tibial contents could indicate differences among males in their skills to gain access to some compounds. The females may evaluate their potential mates through these compounds because some of them are reliable indicators of the males' capacity to resist infections and parasites.

The interplay between natural and sexual selection in the evolution of sexual size dimorphism in Sceloporus lizards (Squamata: Phrynosomatidae).

Sexual size dimorphism (SSD) evolves because body size is usually related to reproductive success through different pathways in females and males. Female body size is strongly correlated with fecundity, while in males, body size is correlated with mating success. In many lizard species, males are larger than females, whereas in others, females are the larger sex, suggesting that selection on fecundity has been stronger than sexual selection on males. As placental development or egg retention requires more space within the abdominal cavity, it has been suggested that females of viviparous lizards have larger abdomens or body size than their oviparous relatives. Thus, it would be expected that females of viviparous species attain larger sizes than their oviparous relatives, generating more biased patterns of SSD. We test these predictions using lizards of the genus Sceloporus. After controlling for phylogenetic effects, our results confirm a strong relationship between female body size and fecundity, suggesting that selection for higher fecundity has had a main role in the evolution of female body size. However, oviparous and viviparous females exhibit similar sizes and allometric relationships. Even though there is a strong effect of body size on female fecundity, once phylogenetic effects are considered, we find that the slope of male on female body size is significantly larger than one, providing evidence of greater evolutionary divergence of male body size. These results suggest that the relative impact of sexual selection acting on males has been stronger than fecundity selection acting on females within Sceloporus lizards.

The converse to Bergmann's rule in bumblebees, a phylogenetic approach.

Two patterns commonly emerge when animal body size is analyzed as a function of latitudinal distribution. First, body size increases with latitude, a temperature effect known as Bergmann's rule, and second, the converse to Bergmann's rule, a pattern in which body size decreases with latitude. However, other geographic patterns can emerge when the mechanisms that generate Bergmann's and the converse to Bergmann's clines operate together. Here, we use phylogenetic comparative analysis in order to control for phylogenetic inertia, and we show that bumblebees exhibit the converse to Bergmann's rule. Bumblebee taxa are distributed worldwide in temperate and tropical regions. The largest species are found in places with high water availability during the driest time of the year. Nonetheless, large body size is constrained by extreme temperatures. Bumblebees' body size could be related to a higher extent to the size of food rewards to be harvested than to the energetic advantages of thermoregulation. Moreover, we found that the body size of eusocial and cuckoo species responded in the same way to environmental variables, suggesting that they have not diverged due to different selective pressures.

Body Size Adaptations to Altitudinal Climatic Variation in Neotropical Grasshoppers of the Genus Sphenarium (Orthoptera: Pyrgomorphidae).

Altitudinal clines in body size can result from the effects of natural and sexual selection on growth rates and developing times in seasonal environments. Short growing and reproductive seasons constrain the body size that adults can attain and their reproductive success. Little is known about the effects of altitudinal climatic variation on the diversification of Neotropical insects. In central Mexico, in addition to altitude, highly heterogeneous topography generates diverse climates that can occur even at the same latitude. Altitudinal variation and heterogeneous topography open an opportunity to test the relative impact of climatic variation on body size adaptations. In this study, we investigated the relationship between altitudinal climatic variation and body size, and the divergence rates of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) in Neotropical grasshoppers of the genus Sphenarium using a phylogenetic comparative approach. In order to distinguish the relative impact of natural and sexual selection on the diversification of the group, we also tracked the altitudinal distribution of the species and trends of both body size and SSD on the phylogeny of Sphenarium. The correlative evidence suggests no relationship between altitude and body size. However, larger species were associated with places having a warmer winter season in which the temporal window for development and reproduction can be longer. Nonetheless, the largest species were also associated with highly seasonal environments. Moreover, large body size and high levels of SSD have evolved independently several times throughout the history of the group and male body size has experienced a greater evolutionary divergence than females. These lines of evidence suggest that natural selection, associated with seasonality and sexual selection, on maturation time and body size could have enhanced the diversification of this insect group.

Trade-offs in the evolution of bumblebee colony and body size: a comparative analysis.

Trade-offs between life-history traits - such as fecundity and survival - have been demonstrated in several studies. In eusocial insects, the number of organisms and their body sizes can affect the fitness of the colony. Large-than-average body sizes as well as more individuals can improve a colony's thermoregulation, foraging efficiency, and fecundity. However, in bumblebees, large colonies and large body sizes depend largely on high temperatures and a large amount of food resources. Bumblebee taxa can be found in temperate and tropical regions of the world and differ markedly in their colony sizes and body sizes. Variation in colony size and body size may be explained by the costs and benefits associated with the evolutionary history of each species in a particular environment. In this study, we explored the effect of temperature and precipitation (the latter was used as an indirect indicator of food availability) on the colony and body size of twenty-one bumblebee taxa. A comparative analysis controlling for phylogenetic effects as well as for the body size of queens, workers, and males in bumblebee taxa from temperate and tropical regions indicated that both temperature and precipitation affect colony and body size. We found a negative association between colony size and the rainiest trimester, and a positive association between the colony size and the warmest month of the year. In addition, male bumblebees tend to evolve larger body sizes in places where the rain occurs mostly in the summer and the overall temperature is warmer. Moreover, we found a negative relationship between colony size and body sizes of queens, workers, and males, suggesting potential trade-offs in the evolution of bumblebee colony and body size.

Cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the sino-nasal outcome test (SNOT-22) for Spanish-speaking patients.

Our objective was to perform translation, cross-cultural adaptation and validation of the sino-nasal outcome test 22 (SNOT-22) to Spanish language. SNOT-22 was translated, back translated, and a pretest trial was performed. The study included 119 individuals divided into 60 cases, who met diagnostic criteria for chronic rhinosinusitis according to the European Position Paper on Rhinosinusitis 2012; and 59 controls, who reported no sino-nasal disease. Internal consistency was evaluated with Cronbach's alpha test, reproducibility with Kappa coefficient, reliability with intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), validity with Mann-Whitney U test and responsiveness with Wilcoxon test. In cases, Cronbach's alpha was 0.91 both before and after treatment, as for controls, it was 0.90 at their first test assessment and 0.88 at 3 weeks. Kappa coefficient was calculated for each item, with an average score of 0.69. ICC was also performed for each item, with a score of 0.87 in the overall score and an average among all items of 0.71. Median score for cases was 47, and 2 for controls, finding the difference to be highly significant (Mann-Whitney U test, p < 0.001). Clinical changes were observed among treated patients, with a median score of 47 and 13.5 before and after treatment, respectively (Wilcoxon test, p < 0.001). The effect size resulted in 0.14 in treated patients whose status at 3 weeks was unvarying; 1.03 in those who were better and 1.89 for much better group. All controls were unvarying with an effect size of 0.05. The Spanish version of the SNOT-22 has the internal consistency, reliability, reproducibility, validity and responsiveness necessary to be a valid instrument to be used in clinical practice.

Nuptial gifts and female fecundity in the neotropical katydid Conocephalus ictus (Orthoptera: Tettigonidae).

In general, female fitness is greatly increased in gift-giving insects. In katydids, this nuptial gift consists of a gelatinous mass produced by accessory glands: the spermatophylax, which is attached to the ampulla. During mating, males of the neotropical katydid Conocephalus ictus transfer a spermatophylax that is ingested by the females. Fecundity, egg-laying rate and longevity were higher in females that consumed the spermatophylax than in those that did not. Also, female receptivity turned off after mating. Females actively rejected other males by hitting them with their forelegs and moving away. Their refractory period lasted as long as 17 d. Only a few females accepted a 2nd mating and died a few days later. In C. ictus, spermatophylax consumption can be beneficial for both males and females. On one hand, the compounds in the spermatophylax or the ejaculate could prevent or delay females from copulating with rivals, thus avoiding sperm competition. On the other hand, such compounds can improve the females' opportunity to increase their lifespan and fecundity. Moreover, a rise in egg-laying rate may lower the risk of female prereproductive death caused by rapid oviposition. In any case, the boost in female egg laying might also be beneficial for males because their number of offspring increases.

Endoscopic approaches to pituitary lesions: difficulties and challenges.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES: The evolution of surgical approaches to the pituitary region brings benefits to the patient, but also means changes for otolaryngologists, who have to face new difficulties and complications. The objective of this paper was to present our experience in the endoscopic approach to the pituitary region, assessing the difficulties and complications encountered, and to offer possible elements for improvement. MATERIAL AND METHOD: We reviewed the first 40 cases of pituitary approaches we carried out between 2008 and 2011. Interventions were performed by a team of neurosurgeons and otolaryngologists in simultaneous collaboration. We analysed the pathology intervened, complications and difficulties. RESULTS: There were 37 patients operated on for pituitary tumours and 3 cysts; 34 cases were macroadenomas. The complications were 6 cerebrospinal fluid leaks, 3 with meningitis, 6 diabetes insipidus, 1 pulmonary embolism, 1 hydrocephalus and 4 mild nasal complications. CONCLUSIONS: The frequency and type of complications depend on the extent of the endoscopic approach, patient age, tumour size and suprasellar extension. The use of specific instruments, navigation and preoperative assessment of imaging tests help to minimise complications. Prudent implementation of new approaches, knowledge of techniques and complications, and the analysis of the activity allow further progress in access to skull base pathology.

Infección por Chlamydia trachomatis en mujeres sexualmente activas con sintomatología genital en el territorio de Colón, 2009 / Infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis in sexually active women with genital symptomatology in Colon in 2009

Se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal con el objetivo de determinar la frecuencia y los factores involucrados en la infección por Chlamydia trachomatis, con un universo de 90 mujeres sexualmente activas, que acudieron a consulta de patología de cuello uterino en el Hospital Territorial Dr Mario Muñoz Monroy, de Colón, en el tiempo comprendido del 1 de abril al 31 de junio de 2009. Se obtuvieron muestras de exudado endocervical, para realizar el ensayo inmunocromatográfico CHLAMY-CHECK-1 para Chlamydia trachomatis. Se aplicó una planilla de recolección de datos sobre algunos aspectos sociodemográficos. La prevalencia total fue de 67,7 por ciento y se destacan los parámetros: edad igual o menor de 25 años (93,3 por ciento), nuliparidad (27,8 por ciento) y no uso de condón (85,2 por ciento). Estos resultados sugieren que la infección se presenta con más frecuencia en las mujeres sexualmente activas, con 25 años o menos de edad, nulíparas y que no usan condón(AU)

We made a transversal descriptive study with the objective of determining the frequency and the facts implicated in the infection by Chlamydia trachomatis, in a universe of 90 sexually active women who assisted the consultation of uterine neck pathology in the Hospital Dr Mario Muñoz Monroy of Colon, in the period from April 1st to June 31st 2009. We obtained samples of endocervical exudates to make the immuno-chromatographic assay CHLAMY-CHECK-1 for C.trachomatis. We applied a form for data collection on some socio-demographic aspects. The total prevalence was 67,7 percent and the following parameters stand out: age equal or less than 25 years (93,3 percent), nulliparity (27,5 percent) and no use of the condom (85,2 percent). These results suggest that the infection is present more frequently in sexually active women, aged 25 years old or less, nulliparas, and who do not use condom(AU)

Infección por Chlamydia trachomatis en mujeres sexualmente activas con sintomatología genital en el territorio de Colón, 2009 / Infection caused by Chlamydia trachomatis in sexually active women with genital symptomatology in Colon in 2009

Se realizó un estudio descriptivo transversal con el objetivo de determinar la frecuencia y los factores involucrados en la infección por Chlamydia trachomatis, con un universo de 90 mujeres sexualmente activas, que acudieron a consulta de patología de cuello uterino en el Hospital Territorial Dr Mario Muñoz Monroy, de Colón, en el tiempo comprendido del 1 de abril al 31 de junio de 2009. Se obtuvieron muestras de exudado endocervical, para realizar el ensayo inmunocromatográfico CHLAMY-CHECK-1 para Chlamydia trachomatis. Se aplicó una planilla de recolección de datos sobre algunos aspectos sociodemográficos. La prevalencia total fue de 67,7 por ciento y se destacan los parámetros: edad igual o menor de 25 años (93,3 por ciento), nuliparidad (27,8 por ciento) y no uso de condón (85,2 por ciento). Estos resultados sugieren que la infección se presenta con más frecuencia en las mujeres sexualmente activas, con 25 años o menos de edad, nulíparas y que no usan condón.

We made a transversal descriptive study with the objective of determining the frequency and the facts implicated in the infection by Chlamydia trachomatis, in a universe of 90 sexually active women who assisted the consultation of uterine neck pathology in the Hospital Dr Mario Muñoz Monroy of Colon, in the period from April 1st to June 31st 2009. We obtained samples of endocervical exudates to make the immuno-chromatographic assay CHLAMY-CHECK-1 for C.trachomatis. We applied a form for data collection on some socio-demographic aspects. The total prevalence was 67,7 percent and the following parameters stand out: age equal or less than 25 years (93,3 percent), nulliparity (27,5 percent) and no use of the condom (85,2 percent). These results suggest that the infection is present more frequently in sexually active women, aged 25 years old or less, nulliparas, and who do not use condom.

Macroevolutionary patterns of bumblebee body size: detecting the interplay between natural and sexual selection.

Bumblebees and other eusocial bees offer a unique opportunity to analyze the evolution of body size differences between sexes. The workers, being sterile females, are not subject to selection for reproductive function and thus provide a natural control for parsing the effects of selection on reproductive function (i.e., sexual and fecundity selection) from other natural selection. Using a phylogenetic comparative approach, we explored the allometric relationships among queens, males, and workers in 70 species of bumblebees (Bombus sp.). We found hyperallometry in thorax width for males relative to workers, indicating greater evolutionary divergence of body size in males than in sterile females. This is consistent with the hypothesis that selection for reproductive function, most probably sexual selection, has caused divergence in male size among species. The slope for males on workers was significantly steeper than that for queens on workers and the latter did not depart from isometry, providing further evidence of greater evolutionary divergence in male size than female size, and no evidence that reproductive selection has accelerated divergence of females. We did not detect significant hyperallometry when male size was regressed directly on queen size and our results thus add the genus Bombus to the increasing list of clades that have female-larger sexual size dimorphism and do not conform to Rensch's rule when analyzed according to standard methodology. Nevertheless, by using worker size as a common control, we were able to demonstrate that bumblee species do show the evolutionary pattern underlying Rensch's rule, that being correlated evolution of body size in males and females, but with greater evolutionary divergence in males.

Comportamiento de marcadores serológicos en donantes de sangre del territorio de Colón, 1998-2007 / Behavior of the serologic markers in blood donors in the territory of Colon, 1998-2007

En el laboratorio de Sistema Ultra-Micro-Analítico, del banco de sangre del Hospital Territorial Universitario Dr Mario Muñoz Monroy, del municipio Colón, provincia Matanzas, se realizó un estudio descriptivo prospectivo longitudinal, sobre el comportamiento de marcadores serológicos, donde se determinó la incidencia y prevalencia del antígeno de superficie del virus de la hepatitis B (VHB, HBsAg) y de los anticuerpos contra los virus de la hepatitis C (VHC, anti-VHC) y de la inmunodeficiencia humana 1 y 2 (VIH 1 y 2, anti-VIH 1+2), en donantes de sangre del territorio, y el estimado de infección potencial no detectada transmisible por sangre o riesgo residual (RR) en la sangre donada, en el tiempo comprendido del 1 de enero de 1998 al 31 de diciembre de 2007. La investigación se realizó con todo el universo de donantes útiles y sus respectivas donaciones de sangre, y quedó constituido por 49 749 donantes y 84 932 bolsas de sangre. Los índices de prevalencia (x 100 000 donantes), incidencia (x 100 000 donantes), y estimado de riesgo residual (x 1 000 000 de unidades de sangre donada) en el citado período de tiempo fueron: para el VHB 0,81; 0,17 y 0,20; para el VHC 0,55; 0,12 y 0,23; y para los VIH 1y2 0,005; 0,01x10-2 y 0,02 x10-3, respectivamente, índices bajos según la clasificación internacional; pero no para Cuba con respecto al HBsAg(AU)

We carried out a prospective descriptive longitudinal study on the behavior of the serologic markers in the Ultra-Micro-Analytic System laboratory, of the blood bank of the territorial university hospital Dr Mario Muñoz Monroy, of the municipality of Colon, province of Matanzas. We determined the incidence and prevalence of the surface Hepatitis B virus antigen (HBV, HBsAg) and of the antibodies against the Hepatitis C (HCV, anti HCV) and the human immunodeficiency virus 1 and 2 (HIV 1 and 2, anti-HIV 1+2) in blood donors of the territory, and the estimate of non-detected potential infection transmissible by blood or residual risk (RR) in the donated blood, in the period from January 1st 1998 to December 31st 2007. The research was made with all the universe of utile donors and their respective blood donations, and was formed by 49 749 donors and 84 932 blood bags. The prevalence rates (x 100 000 donors), incidence (x 100 000 donors), and estimated residual risk (x 1 000 000 units of donated blood) in the quoted time period were: for the HBV 0,81; 0,17 and 0,20; for the HCV 0,55; 0,12 and 0,23, and for the HIV 1 and 2 0,005; 0,01x10-2 and 0,02x10-3 respectively, low rates according to the international classification, but not for Cuba with respect of the HBsAg(AU)

Comportamiento de marcadores serológicos en donantes de sangre del territorio de Colón, 1998-2007 / Behavior of the serologic markers in blood donors in the territory of Colon, 1998-2007

En el laboratorio de Sistema Ultra-Micro-Analítico, del banco de sangre del Hospital Territorial Universitario Dr Mario Muñoz Monroy, del municipio Colón, provincia Matanzas, se realizó un estudio descriptivo prospectivo longitudinal, sobre el comportamiento de marcadores serológicos, donde se determinó la incidencia y prevalencia del antígeno de superficie del virus de la hepatitis B (VHB, HBsAg) y de los anticuerpos contra los virus de la hepatitis C (VHC, anti-VHC) y de la inmunodeficiencia humana 1 y 2 (VIH 1 y 2, anti-VIH 1+2), en donantes de sangre del territorio, y el estimado de infección potencial no detectada transmisible por sangre o riesgo residual (RR) en la sangre donada, en el tiempo comprendido del 1 de enero de 1998 al 31 de diciembre de 2007. La investigación se realizó con todo el universo de donantes útiles y sus respectivas donaciones de sangre, y quedó constituido por 49 749 donantes y 84 932 bolsas de sangre. Los índices de prevalencia (x 100 000 donantes), incidencia (x 100 000 donantes), y estimado de riesgo residual (x 1 000 000 de unidades de sangre donada) en el citado período de tiempo fueron: para el VHB 0,81; 0,17 y 0,20; para el VHC 0,55; 0,12 y 0,23; y para los VIH 1y2 0,005; 0,01x10-2 y 0,02 x10-3, respectivamente, índices bajos según la clasificación internacional; pero no para Cuba con respecto al HBsAg.

We carried out a prospective descriptive longitudinal study on the behavior of the serologic markers in the Ultra-Micro-Analytic System laboratory, of the blood bank of the territorial university hospital Dr Mario Muñoz Monroy, of the municipality of Colon, province of Matanzas. We determined the incidence and prevalence of the surface Hepatitis B virus antigen (HBV, HBsAg) and of the antibodies against the Hepatitis C (HCV, anti HCV) and the human immunodeficiency virus 1 and 2 (HIV 1 and 2, anti-HIV 1+2) in blood donors of the territory, and the estimate of non-detected potential infection transmissible by blood or residual risk (RR) in the donated blood, in the period from January 1st 1998 to December 31st 2007. The research was made with all the universe of utile donors and their respective blood donations, and was formed by 49 749 donors and 84 932 blood bags. The prevalence rates (x 100 000 donors), incidence (x 100 000 donors), and estimated residual risk (x 1 000 000 units of donated blood) in the quoted time period were: for the HBV 0,81; 0,17 and 0,20; for the HCV 0,55; 0,12 and 0,23, and for the HIV 1 and 2 0,005; 0,01x10-2 and 0,02x10-3 respectively, low rates according to the international classification, but not for Cuba with respect of the HBsAg.

The quantitative genetic basis of female and male body size and their implications on the evolution of body size dimorphism in the house cricket Acheta domesticus (Gryllidae)

Few theoretical and experimental studies have analyzed the genetic basis of body size dimorphism. Since the evolutionary response to selection depends of the genetic variance in a population it is to be expected that traits under selection would have smaller genetic variance than traits not affected by selection. The evolution of sexual size dimorphism is affected by the genetic correlation between females and males, with the most dimorphic traits showing smaller genetic correlations between the sexes. As result of the differences in the intensity of sexual selection between the sexes, it is expected that the levels of genetic variance would be larger in females than males. I analyzed the genetic additive variance underlying six traits of Acheta domesticus, and the genetic correlations between females and males. The most dimorphic trait with the smallest genetic correlation between the sexes was forewing length, this trait showing genetic variance only in females. It may be that sexual selection acting on male traits has depleted the genetic variance not only in male traits but also for those female traits that have a large genetic correlation with male traits. It is also possible that the evolution of sexual dimorphism in A. domesticus could be constrained as a result of the large genetic correlation between the sexes

SEXUAL SELECTION ON MATURATION TIME AND BODY SIZE IN SPHENARIUM PURPURASCENS (ORTHOPTERA: PYRGOMORPHIDAE): CORRELATED RESPONSE TO SELECTION.

We measured in the field the intensity and mode (i.e., directional, stabilizing) of sexual selection acting jointly on body size and time of sexual maturity in the univoltine, polygamous grasshopper Sphenarium purpurascens. Statistical analyses indicated that selection favored large and protandrous males in terms of a higher mating success. At the same time, evidence of correlational selection acting simultaneously on body size and time to sexual maturity was found. Thus, selection should strengthen the relationship between body size and the time of sexual maturity. Theoretical work suggests the existence of a trade-off between reaching a large size and early sexual maturation in insects. The present study does not support the existence of this kind of trade-off. Recent theoretical and empirical work like the one reported here suggests that such a trade-off may not be necessarily expected if growth rates (which are often assumed to be invariable) are affected by environmental and genetic factors.