Search results for " North"
showing 10 items of 277 documents
Long live the alien: is high genetic diversity a pivotal aspect of crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata) long-lasting and successful invasion?
2016
AbstractStudying the evolutionary dynamics of an alien species surviving and continuing to expand after several generations can provide fundamental information on the relevant features of clearly successful invasions. Here, we tackle this task by investigating the dynamics of the genetic diversity in invasive crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata) populations, introduced to Italy about 1500 years ago, which are still growing in size, distribution range and ecological niche. Using genome-wide RAD markers, we describe the structure of the genetic diversity and the demographic dynamics of theH. cristatainvasive populations and compare their genetic diversity with that of native African populatio…
Adherence to the Mediterranean diet is associated with better quality of life: data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative
2016
BACKGROUND The Mediterranean diet has positively influenced various medical conditions, but only a paucity of studies has considered the relation between the Mediterranean diet and quality of life (QOL) among people living in North America. OBJECTIVE We investigated whether a higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet (aMED) was associated with better QOL and decreased pain, stiffness, disability, and depression in a large cohort of North Americans from the Osteoarthritis Initiative. DESIGN aMED was evaluated through a validated Mediterranean diet score categorized into quintiles. Outcomes of interest were QOL [assessed with the 12-Item Short-Form Health Outcome Survey (SF-12)]; disability,…
Subnational mapping of HIV incidence and mortality among individuals aged 15-49 years in sub-Saharan Africa, 2000-18: a modelling study
2021
Background. High-resolution estimates of HIV burden across space and time provide an important tool for tracking and monitoring the progress of prevention and control efforts and assist with improving the precision and efficiency of targeting efforts. We aimed to assess HIV incidence and HIV mortality for all second-level administrative units across sub-Saharan Africa. Methods. In this modelling study, we developed a framework that used the geographically specific HIV prevalence data collected in seroprevalence surveys and antenatal care clinics to train a model that estimates HIV incidence and mortality among individuals aged 15–49 years. We used a model-based geostatistical framework to e…
Active deformation in a sector of the Sicilian-Maghrebian Chain: new insights from integrated GNSS, structural high-resolution seismic reflection and…
2016
We document active deformation in a sector of the Sicilian Maghrebian Chain exposed in north Sicily and in its offshore prolongation on the basis of the integrated analysis of 1) time series of data collected by GNSS acquisition representing the change in the positions (X and Y) of permanent stations located in Palermo, Partinico, Prizzi, and Termini compared to the IGS station of Noto, 2) high-resolution (Sparker) single-channel reflection seismic data, 3) structural data, and 4) seismological data. The average values for the velocity vectors obtained for the Palermo, Partinico, Prizzi, and Termini Imerese stations are 4.55, 2.97, 2.96, and 2.15 mm/yr, respectively. The direction of the ve…
Expression of properdin in human monocytes
1994
Properdin is the only known positive regulator of the alternative pathway of complement activation. Northern blot analysis of cell lines derived from fibroblasts, B-cells, hepatoma cells, and cells of the monocyte-macrophage lineage revealed properdin expression only in the myelomonocytic cell line HL-60, in the monoblastic cell line U-937 and in the monocytic line Mono Mac 6. Culture of Mono Mac 6 cells for 24 h with phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate, bacterial lipopolysaccharide and the cytokines interleukin-1 beta and tumour necrosis factor-alpha enhanced mRNA abundance, with the strongest effect (tenfold) being observed with the lipopolysaccharide. In contrast, recombinant interferon-gamm…
Carriage of Enterobacteria Producing Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamases and Composition of the Gut Microbiota in an Amerindian Community
2015
ABSTRACT Epidemiological and individual risk factors for colonization by enterobacteria producing extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (E-ESBL) have been studied extensively, but whether such colonization is associated with significant changes in the composition of the rest of the microbiota is still unknown. To address this issue, we assessed in an isolated Amerindian Guianese community whether intestinal carriage of E-ESBL was associated with specificities in gut microbiota using metagenomic and metatranscriptomic approaches. While the richness of taxa of the active microbiota of carriers was similar to that of noncarriers, the taxa were less homogeneous. In addition, species of four genera,…
The Association of Arsenic Exposure and Arsenic Metabolism With the Metabolic Syndrome and Its Individual Components: Prospective Evidence From the S…
2018
Inorganic arsenic exposure is ubiquitous, and both exposure and interindividual differences in its metabolism have been associated with cardiometabolic risk. However, the associations of arsenic exposure and arsenic metabolism with the metabolic syndrome (MetS) and its individual components are relatively unknown. We used Poisson regression with robust variance to evaluate the associations of baseline arsenic exposure (urinary arsenic levels) and metabolism (relative percentage of arsenic species over their sum) with incident MetS and its individual components (elevated waist circumference, elevated triglycerides, reduced high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, hypertension, and elevated fast…
Uncinaria hamiltoni (Nematoda: Ancylostomatidae) in South American Sea Lions, Otaria flavescens, From Northern Patagonia, Argentina
2004
Thirty-one South American sea lion pups (Otaria flavescens) found dead in Punta León, Argentina, during the summer of 2002, were examined for hookworms (Uncinaria hamiltoni). Parasite parameters were analyzed in 2 locations of the rookery, i.e., a traditional, well-structured breeding area and an expanding area with juveniles and a lax social structure. Prevalence of hookworms was 50% in both localities, and no difference was observed in prevalence between pup sexes (P > 0.05). Hookworms were concentrated in the small intestine. Transmammary transmission is assumed because only adult hookworms were found in the pups. The mean intensity of hookworms per pup was 135; the mean intensity in fem…
Ricerche di Archeologia cristiana e bizantina nella Sicilia occidentale
2017
The seventh Quaderno Digitale di Archeologia Postclassica contains the results of the researches conducted by the Department of Cultural Heritage of the University of Palermo and by the Pontificia Commissione di Archeologia Sacra in the Early Christian catacomb of Villagrazia di Carini during the years 2013-2014. Emma Vitale and Fortunatina Vaccaro present the stratigraphic excavation carried out in the south-eastern district of the cemetery, while, in the third study of the book, Giuseppe Falzone analyzes two painted funerary inscriptions on the interior walls of Byzantine burials brought to light, in recent years, along the Decumanus Maximus of Lilybaeum.
Pullneyocoris dentatus gen. et sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Pentatomoidea: Cydnidae), the third representative of the subfamily Amnestinae from mid-Cretaceou…
2020
Abstract A new genus and species of burrower bug, Pullneyocoris dentatus gen. et sp. nov. (Hemiptera: Cydnidae: Amnestinae), is described from amber of northern Myanmar. It is the third representative of this family known from Burmese amber, and besides its autapomorphies, it presents a mixture of characters relevant to the extant Parachilocoris Horvath, 1919 and Pullneya Horvath, 1919. A comparison of this new genus to the two genera already described from the burmite, i.e. Chilamnestocoris Lis J.A., Lis. B. & Heiss, 2018, and Punctacorona Wang, Du, Yao & Ren, 2019 is also provided.