Female Bechstein's bats adjust their group decisions about communal roosts to the level of conflict of interests.

Most social animals depend on group decisions for coordination. Recent models suggest that the level of interindividual conflict strongly influences whether groups reach a consensus during decision making. However, few experimental studies have explored how wild animals make group decisions in situations with conflicting interests.

Early histologic changes in lower lumbar discs and facet joints and their correlation.

Biomechanical and histologic studies have highlighted the close functional relationship between lumbar discs and their associated facet joints, and it is conceivable that their degenerative changes are interdependent. However, separation of cause from effect remains controversial. Hitherto, no study in humans has correlated the changes histologically.

Quantitative assessment of angiogenesis and osteogenesis after transplantation of bone: comparison of isograft and allograft bone in mice.

We performed a vital microscopic study in mice bearing dorsal skinfold chambers to characterize microvascular perfusion and leukocyte/endothelium interaction and their effects on elongation and mineralization of neonatal isograft and allograft bone. Isograft (C57/BL to C57/BL) and allograft bone (C57/ BL to BALB/C) revascularized simultaneously. However, vascular perfusion and density were lower in allograft bone than in isograft bone.

Five-year audit of ambulatory 24-hour esophageal pH-manometry in clinical practice.

Background: Esophageal function testing was developed to aid diagnosis in patients with negative endoscopy. Although combined 24-h esophageal pH-manometry is now commercially available, its routine clinical effectiveness has not yet been studied.

Methods: From 1992 to 1996 we evaluated 303 consecutive patients who were first-time referrals to our unit for 24-h esophageal pH-manometry.