BACKGROUND Diets high in fruits and vegetables have been shown to be associated with a lower risk of lung cancer. beta-Carotene was hypothesized to be largely responsible for the apparent protective effect, but this hypothesis was not supported by clinical trials. METHODS We examined the association between lung cancer risk and fruit and vegetable consumption in 77 283 women in the Nurses' He...

In this paper we analyze the seed dispersal stage of the Prunus mahaleb–frugivorous bird interaction from fruit removal through seed delivery within the context of disperser effectiveness. The effectiveness of a frugivorous species as a seed disperser is the contribution it makes to plant fitness. Effectiveness depends on the quantity of seed dispersed (‘‘quantity component’’) and the quality o...

Financial restraints and poverty lead to poor diets and poor health outcomes. Limited research shows that socioeconomic status is related to home availability of certain foods. However, studies in this area have used different socio-economic indicators, which may not equally influence eating-related behaviors. Using multiple indicators of socio-economic status may provide a more accurate pictur...

Ants frequently interact with fleshy fruits on the ground of tropical forests. This interaction is regarded as mutualistic because seeds benefit from enhanced germination and dispersal to nutrient-rich microsites, whereas ants benefit from consuming the nutritious pulp/aril. Considering that the process of deforestation affects many attributes of the ecosystem such as species abundance and comp...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Variation in inbreeding depression (δ) among individual plants is considered to play a central role in mating system evolution and population genetics. Moreover, such variation could be linked to individual susceptibility to pollen limitation (PL) because those individuals strongly affected by δ for seed production will require more outcross pollen for setting a given number...

As a traditional nourishing Chinese herbal medicine, Cornus officinalis Sieb. et Zucc. has long history of application. At present, only the flesh fruit is used as which wastes large quantity ingredients in nutlet. To improve comprehensive utilization efficiency fruit’s nutlet, could be when there shortage plant’s market, this study Fourier transform-infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), gas chromatog...