BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified many loci associated with body mass index (BMI) in many different populations. Variants in the FTO locus are reported to be one of the strongest genetic predictors of obesity. Recent publications pointed also to a topologically associated domain (TAD) which is identified as a novel region affecting BMI. The TAD area en...

Some gastropod specimens belonging to the planorbid genus Ferrissia were recently collected in Lebanon and in Iraq, where the autochthonous species Ferrissia clessiniana (Jickeli, 1882) is supposed to occur. The molecular identification of collected specimens proved that they belong to the allochthonous species Ferrissia fragilis (Tryon, 1863), the protagonist of a dramatic cryptic invasion whi...

Although cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is usually a rare cancer, in northeast Thailand it kills 20 000 or more people every year. The prognosis is very poor owing to late stage diagnosis, with palliative treatment often representing the only option. In this area of predominantly rural Thailand, CCA is associated with infection with the liver fluke, Opisthorchis viverrini, which is classified as a gr...

OBJECTIVE To describe age- and sex-specific rates of child homicide in South Africa. METHODS A cross-sectional mortuary-based study was conducted in a national sample of 38 medicolegal laboratories operating in 2009. These were sampled in inverse proportion to the number that were operational in each of three strata defined by autopsy volume: < 500, 500-1499 or > 1499 annual autopsies. Child ...