Complex patterns of grooming and sexual activity in Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus).

Grooming in primates is often considered a "currency" that can be exchanged for other "services" or "commodities" such as reciprocal grooming, coalitionary support, infant handling, tolerance around food sources, active food sharing, or mating opportunities. Previous studies on primate grooming-for-sex exchange viewed the males as the demanding class, with the females as suppliers of mating opportunities. In this study, we examine the broader context of grooming-for-mating exchange in Barbary macaques in Gibraltar.

High-dose methotrexate and/or leucovorin rescue for the treatment of children with lymphoblastic malignancies: do we really know why, when and how?

Methotrexate (MTX) remains a mainstay in the treatment of children with hematological malignancies. The availability of an antidote/rescue agent, leucovorin (LV) has allowed escalation of MTX doses to achieve enormous plasma concentrations, compared with plasma folate. However, a recent review of more than 40 trials for children with ALL concluded that the addition of high dose MTX (HDMTX) in many different doses and schedules did not improve CNS therapy and made only minor improvements in systemic therapy for children with ALL [11].