Guillermo Gonzalez | Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Honduras (original) (raw)
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Papers by Guillermo Gonzalez
Cancer, 1991
Seventy-two patients with retinoblastoma (RTB) (unilateral [47 patients] and bilateral [25 patien... more Seventy-two patients with retinoblastoma (RTB) (unilateral [47 patients] and bilateral [25 patients]) were studied for a period of 6 years. Treatment consisted of enucleation of those eyes that had severe involvement and was followed by radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy (systemic or intrathecal) according to clinical pathologic staging. All patients who underwent nonsurgical treatment received systemic chemotherapy. Intrathecal chemotherapy was administered when there was involvement of the central nervous system. Nonsurgical treatment consisted of radiation therapy and/or light coagulation, followed by enucleation if there was no response. The overall survival rates were 79% for unilateral disease (median follow-up time, 63 months) and 72% for bilateral disease (median follow-up time, 81 months). Vision was regained in 14 of 21 conserved eyes.
Cancer, 1988
During 4 years, 51 patients with retinoblastoma were studied (unilateral 32, and bilateral 19). T... more During 4 years, 51 patients with retinoblastoma were studied (unilateral 32, and bilateral 19). Treatment consisted of enucleation of those eyes which showed massive involvement followed by radiotherapy when there was optic nerve and/or orbit involvement. Systemic chemotherapy was administered to all patients who underwent nonsurgical treatment and when the histologic examination showed choroidal optic nerve head and/or optic nerve involvement or residual tumor after enucleation. When there was compromise of the central nervous system intrathecal chemotherapy was administered. Nonsurgical treatment consisted of radiotherapy and/or light coagulation. Survival was 90.6% for unilateral cases and 84.2% for the bilateral. The median follow-up was 31 months and 29 months, respectively. Of 19 conservated eyeballs, 16 preserve useful vision (63%).
Oecologia, 2001
Nestling birds produced later in the season are hypothesized to be of poor quality with a low pro... more Nestling birds produced later in the season are hypothesized to be of poor quality with a low probability of survival and recruitment. In a Spanish population of house martins (Delichon urbica), we first compared reproductive success, immune responses and morphological traits between the first and the second broods. Second, we investigated the effects of an ectoparasite treatment and breeding date on the recapture rate the following year. Due probably to a reverse situation in weather conditions during the experiment, with more rain during rearing of the first brood, nestlings reared during the second brood were in better condition and had stronger immune responses compared with nestlings from the first brood. Contrary to other findings on house martins, we found a similar recapture rate for chicks reared during the first and the second brood. Furthermore, ectoparasitic house martin bugs had no significant effect on the recapture rate. Recaptured birds had similar morphology but higher immunoglobulin levels when nestlings compared with non-recaptured birds. This result implies that a measure of immune function is a better predictor of survival than body condition per se.
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 1999
The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis postulates that secondary sexual traits are honest signa... more The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis postulates that secondary sexual traits are honest signals of male quality because steroid hormones (such as corticosteroids and sex steroids), which are supposed to favor the development of secondary sexual traits, may also have immunosuppressive effects. Certain secondary sexual traits are not only used as mate choice signals but also play a role as badges of status. In the house sparrow (Passer domesticus), males have a bib of black feathers which is used both as a signal of social status in male-male interactions and by females when choosing a mate. We investigated the relationships between bib size and cellular immune response in male house sparrows during and outside the reproductive season. Males with large badges were found to have lower levels of immunocompetence, as assessed using a T-cell-mediated immunity assay, during the reproductive season, as predicted by the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis. Conversely, in November, the correlation between badge size and cellular immune response was positive, possibly reflecting the better access to trophic resources of large-badged dominant males in winter flocks.
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2001
Female preference for mates with elaborated ornaments has often been explained on the basis that ... more Female preference for mates with elaborated ornaments has often been explained on the basis that exaggerated secondary sexual traits might reflect individual quality and females might gather direct and indirect benefits in mating with such males. Sexual signals must however also entail costs to be reliable indicators of male quality. Androgens have been suggested as a physiological link between sexual signals and individual quality for several reasons, including their immunosuppressive effect. In this study, we tested two hypotheses linked to the hormonal basis of sexual signal expression. First, we investigated whether testosterone is correlated with the size of the black feather bib on the throat of male house sparrows (Passer domesticus) – a trait involved in intra- and inter-sexual selection. Second, we tested whether testosterone affects the seasonal exposure of the trait. Observational work conducted in 1998 showed that the testosterone level was positively correlated with badge size both in spring and in the subsequent fall, after molt. In 1999, we experimentally reduced spring testosterone levels using silastic implants filled with cyproterone acetate, an antiandrogen. Male house sparrows implanted with cyproterone acetate showed reduced exposure of the badge, because the white tips of the black feathers of the badge wore off later than in control males implanted with empty silastic tubes. This result suggests that testosterone can be causally involved in the expression of a secondary sexual trait in house sparrows, at least in terms of its seasonal exposure.
American Naturalist, 2003
Journal of Animal Ecology, 1999
Cancer, 1991
Seventy-two patients with retinoblastoma (RTB) (unilateral [47 patients] and bilateral [25 patien... more Seventy-two patients with retinoblastoma (RTB) (unilateral [47 patients] and bilateral [25 patients]) were studied for a period of 6 years. Treatment consisted of enucleation of those eyes that had severe involvement and was followed by radiation therapy and/or chemotherapy (systemic or intrathecal) according to clinical pathologic staging. All patients who underwent nonsurgical treatment received systemic chemotherapy. Intrathecal chemotherapy was administered when there was involvement of the central nervous system. Nonsurgical treatment consisted of radiation therapy and/or light coagulation, followed by enucleation if there was no response. The overall survival rates were 79% for unilateral disease (median follow-up time, 63 months) and 72% for bilateral disease (median follow-up time, 81 months). Vision was regained in 14 of 21 conserved eyes.
Cancer, 1988
During 4 years, 51 patients with retinoblastoma were studied (unilateral 32, and bilateral 19). T... more During 4 years, 51 patients with retinoblastoma were studied (unilateral 32, and bilateral 19). Treatment consisted of enucleation of those eyes which showed massive involvement followed by radiotherapy when there was optic nerve and/or orbit involvement. Systemic chemotherapy was administered to all patients who underwent nonsurgical treatment and when the histologic examination showed choroidal optic nerve head and/or optic nerve involvement or residual tumor after enucleation. When there was compromise of the central nervous system intrathecal chemotherapy was administered. Nonsurgical treatment consisted of radiotherapy and/or light coagulation. Survival was 90.6% for unilateral cases and 84.2% for the bilateral. The median follow-up was 31 months and 29 months, respectively. Of 19 conservated eyeballs, 16 preserve useful vision (63%).
Oecologia, 2001
Nestling birds produced later in the season are hypothesized to be of poor quality with a low pro... more Nestling birds produced later in the season are hypothesized to be of poor quality with a low probability of survival and recruitment. In a Spanish population of house martins (Delichon urbica), we first compared reproductive success, immune responses and morphological traits between the first and the second broods. Second, we investigated the effects of an ectoparasite treatment and breeding date on the recapture rate the following year. Due probably to a reverse situation in weather conditions during the experiment, with more rain during rearing of the first brood, nestlings reared during the second brood were in better condition and had stronger immune responses compared with nestlings from the first brood. Contrary to other findings on house martins, we found a similar recapture rate for chicks reared during the first and the second brood. Furthermore, ectoparasitic house martin bugs had no significant effect on the recapture rate. Recaptured birds had similar morphology but higher immunoglobulin levels when nestlings compared with non-recaptured birds. This result implies that a measure of immune function is a better predictor of survival than body condition per se.
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 1999
The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis postulates that secondary sexual traits are honest signa... more The immunocompetence handicap hypothesis postulates that secondary sexual traits are honest signals of male quality because steroid hormones (such as corticosteroids and sex steroids), which are supposed to favor the development of secondary sexual traits, may also have immunosuppressive effects. Certain secondary sexual traits are not only used as mate choice signals but also play a role as badges of status. In the house sparrow (Passer domesticus), males have a bib of black feathers which is used both as a signal of social status in male-male interactions and by females when choosing a mate. We investigated the relationships between bib size and cellular immune response in male house sparrows during and outside the reproductive season. Males with large badges were found to have lower levels of immunocompetence, as assessed using a T-cell-mediated immunity assay, during the reproductive season, as predicted by the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis. Conversely, in November, the correlation between badge size and cellular immune response was positive, possibly reflecting the better access to trophic resources of large-badged dominant males in winter flocks.
Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 2001
Female preference for mates with elaborated ornaments has often been explained on the basis that ... more Female preference for mates with elaborated ornaments has often been explained on the basis that exaggerated secondary sexual traits might reflect individual quality and females might gather direct and indirect benefits in mating with such males. Sexual signals must however also entail costs to be reliable indicators of male quality. Androgens have been suggested as a physiological link between sexual signals and individual quality for several reasons, including their immunosuppressive effect. In this study, we tested two hypotheses linked to the hormonal basis of sexual signal expression. First, we investigated whether testosterone is correlated with the size of the black feather bib on the throat of male house sparrows (Passer domesticus) – a trait involved in intra- and inter-sexual selection. Second, we tested whether testosterone affects the seasonal exposure of the trait. Observational work conducted in 1998 showed that the testosterone level was positively correlated with badge size both in spring and in the subsequent fall, after molt. In 1999, we experimentally reduced spring testosterone levels using silastic implants filled with cyproterone acetate, an antiandrogen. Male house sparrows implanted with cyproterone acetate showed reduced exposure of the badge, because the white tips of the black feathers of the badge wore off later than in control males implanted with empty silastic tubes. This result suggests that testosterone can be causally involved in the expression of a secondary sexual trait in house sparrows, at least in terms of its seasonal exposure.
American Naturalist, 2003
Journal of Animal Ecology, 1999