Search results for "POPULATIONS"
showing 10 items of 493 documents
Amphibians and squamate reptiles from the stratigraphic unit Xb of El Salt (Middle Palaeolithic; Alcoy, Spain): palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimati…
2020
The locality of El Salt (Middle Paleolithic, Alcoy, Spain) is mainly known by having one of the youngest Neanderthals records of the southeastern Iberian Peninsula. In this work, we have analysed the herpetofaunal fossils from the upper part of stratigraphic unit Xb, dated at 52.3 ± 4.6 ka (MIS 3). The faunal list is composed by three taxa of anurans (Alyte obstetricans, Bufo bufo s.l., and Epidalea calamita), one taxon of blanid (Blanus cinereus s.l.), two taxa of lizards (Chalcides bedriagai and cf. Acanthodactylus erythrurus), and one taxon of snakes (cf. Rhinechis scalaris). All of them have a broad distribution range in the Mediterranean, with wide ecological preferences range. This as…
Nutritional characteristics of a rural Southern Italy population: the Ventimiglia di Sicilia Project.
2002
Knowledge of alimentary habits among populations permits a better definition of appropriate public health interventions. We designed the epidemiological project "Ventimiglia di Sicilia" to characterize the risk profile in a rural village with low total cholesterol levels and low early cardiovascular mortality but with a large prevalence of overweight and obesity, which previously have been significantly associated with total mortality.488 individuals of age 20 to 69 years were included in the dietary survey conducted by a seven-day food record.Alimentary habits were characterized by high consumption of total and complex carbohydrates (respectively 52.5 +/- 7.6% and 46.6 +/- 8.2% of daily en…
Genome-Wide Association Studies of the PR Interval in African Americans.
2011
The PR interval on the electrocardiogram reflects atrial and atrioventricular nodal conduction time. The PR interval is heritable, provides important information about arrhythmia risk, and has been suggested to differ among human races. Genome-wide association (GWA) studies have identified common genetic determinants of the PR interval in individuals of European and Asian ancestry, but there is a general paucity of GWA studies in individuals of African ancestry. We performed GWA studies in African American individuals from four cohorts (n = 6,247) to identify genetic variants associated with PR interval duration. Genotyping was performed using the Affymetrix 6.0 microarray. Imputation was p…
The Role of Age and Gender in Perceived Vulnerability to Infectious Diseases
2020
Background: The study of the immune system has been approached using two separate paths, the biological immune system and the behavioral immune system. Recently, Gangestad and Grebe proposed a unique integrated compensatory immune system, where both systems work together and one of them could compensate for the other when necessary. However, few studies have confirmed the existence of this integrated compensatory immune system. Our study represents an attempt to explore the existence of this unique immune system, investigating if the behavioral immune system variables increase when the biological immune system weakens with age. Material and Methods. The cross-sectional design study was made…
HLA-B8,DR3 haplotype affects lymphocyte blood levels
1997
The number of lymphocytes in the blood is constant, pointing to an effective control of circulating lymphocyte values. The mechanisms of this regulation are uncertain, although it is likely that the number of blood lymphocytes is conditioned by hormones, homing factors and cytokines whose production is at least partly restrained by genetic factors. Particularly genetic factors linked to major histocompatibility complex (MHC) appear to be involved. In human beings a decreased number of blood lymphocytes has been described in healthy subjects carrying the Human Leucocyte Antigens (HLA) haplotype HLA-B8,DR3. In the present study, to inquire into the mechanisms of this lymphocyte decreased numb…
Antimeningococcal and antipneumococcal vaccination determinants: A European systematic literature review
2015
Background. ESCULAPIO is a multicenter project, funded by the Italian Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, aimed at implementing communication strategies to improve vaccination knowledge and attitudes among different target populations. Objective. The objective of the Sicilian research unit was, in the first phase, to identify, through systematic literature revision, which vaccination determinants play a role in the uptake of recommended vaccines included in the Italian Vaccination Plan. Design. A systematic literature review was carried out on studies describing the determinants underlying pneumococcal and meningococcal vaccination uptake. The analysis was limited to papers published…
Less but better: cardioprotective lipid profile of patients with GCK-MODY despite lower HDL cholesterol level
2014
Patients with diabetes caused by single-gene mutations generally exhibit an altered course of diabetes. Those with mutations of the glucokinase gene (GCK-MODY) show good metabolic control and low risk of cardiovascular complications despite paradoxically lowered high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels. In order to investigate the matter, we analyzed the composition of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) and HDL subpopulations in such individuals. The LipoPrint(©) system (Quantimetrix, USA) based on non-denaturing, linear polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis was used to separate and measure LDL and HDL subclasses in fresh-frozen serum samples from patients with mutations of glucokinase or …
Ovarian stimulation does not influence the uterine immune environment in healthy infertile women.
2019
Abstract Research question There is some controversy regarding the impact of ovarian stimulation on immune cells in women undergoing IVF. The study's aim was to determine whether ovarian stimulation affected immune uterine cells in healthy women undergoing IVF. Design This prospective cohort study included 28 patients undergoing IVF and 47 healthy oocyte donors. Endometrial biopsies were taken in a natural cycle and after ovarian stimulation. All participants had a normal karyotype, pelvic ultrasound and cervical cytology results and thyroid-stimulating hormone concentration, as well as normal glucose and insulin concentrations and inherited and acquired thrombophilia test results. Screenin…
Associations between personality, sports participation and athletic success. A comparison of Big Five in sporting and non-sporting adults
2018
Abstract The present study investigates whether the Big Five personality traits are different among diverse sports populations. A sample of 881 male athletes and non-athletes completed a self-report questionnaire measuring their personality traits. The Exploratory Structure Equation Modeling (ESEM) approach is adopted to test measurement invariance and mean differences among groups. The results indicate that athletes who had experienced the most success in their sport scored higher than non-athletes in each personality dimension of the Big Five, with the exception of openness, while less successful athletes scored higher than non-athletes only in extraversion and agreeableness. The more suc…
Populations of breeding birds in Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands
2013
Data about breeding populations of birds in the Antarctica are rare and fragmented. Thus, information about the status of the breeding populations of Antarctic birds is crucial given the current scenario of climate change, which is particularly acute in Antarctica. This paper presents new information about the populations of the Antarctic tern Sterna vittata, the kelp gull Larus dominicanus, the southern giant petrel Macronectes giganteus, the Antarctic skua Catharacta antarctica lonnbergi, the chinstrap penguin Pygoscelis antarctica and the gentoo penguin Pygoscelis papua on Byers Peninsula (Livingston Island, South Shetland Islands). We used line transects counts to estimate both densitie…