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(1) Population differentiation in the collembolan Orchesella cincta (L.) under the influence of metal soil pollution was studied by measuring Pb and Cd excretion efficiency in individual Collembola from various sites. (2) Total and exchangeable fractions of Pb, Cd, Zn, Cu, Fe and Ca were determined in the A-horizon of forest soils at ten locations in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany. Concentrations of Pb and Cu were higher in the A0-horizon than in the A00-layer. Mobility of the elements decreased in the order Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu. (3) Pb and Cd concentrations in O. cincta varied with site contamination, while Zn and Cu concentrations were more constant. The metal concentrations in Collembola were not clearly related to any particular chemical fraction of the soil metals. (4) Resistance of O. cincta to Pb and Cd was studied by budget experiments and standardized assays of metal excretion. (5) Intestinal assimilation from dietary exposure was. 0.4% for Pb and 8.3% for Cd. From the assimilated amount, 48% of Pb and 3.0% of Cd was excreted per moulting interval By intestinal exfoliation. (6) Although there was considerable interindividual variation, the average excretion efficiency was not influenced by physiological effects of such factors as degree of exposure, weight or sex. (7) Comparison of ten populations showed that high soil contamination in mining areas resulted in populations of O. cincta having an increased average excretion efficiency for Pb and Cd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Female melanoma patients generally exhibit significantly longer survival than male patients. This population-based cohort study aimed to investigate gender differences in survival and disease progression across all stages of cutaneous melanoma. A total of 11,774 melanoma cases extracted from the Munich Cancer Registry (Germany), diagnosed between 1978 and September 2007, were eligible to enter the study. Hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs), adjusted for tumor and patient characteristics, were estimated for the end points of survival, regional and systemic progression, and survival after progression. A significant female advantage was observed for melanoma-specific survival (adjusted HR 0.62; 95% CI 0.56-0.70). Women were at a lower risk of progression (HR 0.68; 95% CI 0.62-0.75), including a lower risk of lymph node metastasis (HR 0.58; 95% CI 0.51-0.65) and visceral metastases (HR 0.56; 95% CI 0.49-0.65). They retained a significant survival advantage after first progression (HR 0.81; 95% CI 0.71-0.92) and lymph node metastasis (HR 0.80; 95% CI 0.66-0.96), but this became borderline significant (HR 0.88; 95% CI 0.76-1.03) after visceral metastasis. Localized melanomas in women had a lower propensity to metastasize, resulting in a better survival when compared with men, even after first disease progression. These results suggest differences in tumor-host interaction across gender.