Masting promotes individual- and population-level reproduction by increasing pollination efficiency.

Masting is a reproductive strategy defined as the intermittent and synchronized production of large seed crops by a plant population. The pollination efficiency hypothesis proposes that masting increases pollination success in plants. Despite its general appeal, no previous studies have used long-term data together with population- and individual-level analyses to assess pollination efficiency between mast and non-mast events.

"Just be straight with me:" an exploration of Black patient experiences in initial mental health encounters.

It is advantageous for a clinician to understand how patients feel about their initial encounters, but it can be difficult to discern what is and what is not working. This qualitative, exploratory study is guided by the question, "What happens during an initial mental health encounter between a Black patient and a non-Black provider that leads the patient to describe it as a good or poor experience?" The findings are based on face-to-face, postintake interviews with 14 Black patients seen by 11 non-Black providers as part of the Patient-Provider Encounter Study. The objective is to explore the initial interpersonal interactions between Black patients and their non-Black mental health providers and to better understand how patients come to describe the encounter as good (favorable) or poor (unfavorable).

Excess mortality from seasonal influenza is negligible below the age of 50 in Israel: implications for vaccine policy.

Purpose: Evaluation of the severity of pandemic influenza requires reliable estimates of mortality attributable to the seasonal influenza.

Methods: Excess age-specific mortality during periods of influenza activity was evaluated in Israel during the period 1999-2006 for three death categories. For each respiratory year, the lowest monthly moving average for the mortality rate was subtracted from each month in the period of influenza activity.

The good, the bad and the flexible: plant interactions with pollinators and herbivores over space and time are moderated by plant compensatory responses.

Background And Aims: Plants are sessile organisms that face selection by both herbivores and pollinators. Herbivores and pollinators may select on the same traits and/or mediate each others' effects. Erysimum capitatum (Brassicaceae) is a widespread and variable plant species with generalized pollination that is attacked by a number of herbivores.

The contribution of oral sex to male urethral Neisseria gonorrhoeae infections in Tel-Aviv district, Israel.

The incidence of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (NG) in Tel-Aviv district, Israel has increased since the mid-1990s. This study aimed to address behavioural attributes and identify the sources of NG infection. Of 1234 NG cases in men reported between 2000 and 2004, 379 (31%) were interviewed.