The effects of non-lethal parasites may be felt most strongly when hosts engage in intense, energy-demanding behaviors. One such behavior is fighting with conspecifics, which is common among territorial animals, including many beetle species. We examined the effects of parasites on the fighting ability of a saproxylic beetle, the horned passalus (Odontotaenius disjunctus, Family: Passalidae), w...

Background: Violence among adolescents has untoward psycho-social and physical health effects among this age group. Most of the literature on this topic has been from high-income nations, and little information has come from middleand low-income nations. This study was done to assess the relationship between physical fighting and bullying victimization among Venezuelan school-going adolescents ...

One of the limitations of computer opponents in action games is that the character AI is constructed in advance, and players may become bored quickly. We have built an online action game system in which a non-player character (NPC) can incrementally learn sequences of action and combinations. NPCs can adopt different fighting strategies for fighting with different players.

AIM To determine differences in metal and metalloid exposure between residents of areas in eastern Croatia exposed to heavy fighting during the war in Croatia and residents of areas exposed to moderate fighting. METHODS Concentrations of aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), barium (Ba), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), uranium (U), vanadium (V), and zinc (Z...

Abstract Dog-fighting was historically a working-class pursuit within predominantly white, subcultures, representing distinct type of organised animal exploitation. However, contemporary dog-fighting has moved way from its pit-based origins to encompass varied forms activity including street in the form chain fighting or rolling, use dogs as status weapon dogs. This paper examines green crimino...

BACKGROUND Interpersonal physical violence is an important global public health concern that has received limited attention in the developing world. There is in particular a paucity of data regarding physical violence and its socio-demographic correlates among in-school adolescents in Namibia. METHODS We analysed cross-sectional data from the Namibia Global School-Based Health Survey (GSHS) c...

In this paper we propose a model for coordinating teams of computational agents. This model is especially aimed for coordinating agents performing in a simulated environment of forest firefighting, although it may be used in other domains. We will start by introducing the Pyrosim platform where we are carrying out our experiments. Pyrosim is a tool developed in our laboratory that simulates a f...

The incidence of dengue has been on the upsurge in the last decade. It has affected around one-third of the world's population living in endemic areas. It can be asymptomatic or may present with some specific symptoms. No control measures have proven beneficial to decrease the prevalence of this disease. The emergence of dengue vaccine has been a revolutionary hope in the future of patients aff...

Our bodies use interferon (IFN) signalling as a central pathway to limit the spread of pathogens, such as viruses, bacteria and parasites. After pathogen exposure, IFN production leads to the activation of immune cells—such as natural killer cells, macrophages and T lymphocytes—which mediate pathogen clearance. There are two main types of IFN signalling, type I and II. In type I signalling, IFN...

A nthrax is an infectious disease caused by the spore-forming bacterium Bacillus anthracis (1, 2). The endospores of the bacterium are remarkably resistant to physical stress and highly infectious (2). In October 2001, the attacks on the World Trade Center were followed by an outbreak of anthrax in the United States after the intentional release of spores through contaminated letters, leading t...