Search results for "genetics [Transcriptome]"

Viability costs of condition-dependent sexual male display in a drumming wolf spider

1996

According to the conditional handicap models females use male ornaments as honest signals of male viability. The assumptions for honest signalling are that the traits are costly and that they reflect male phenotypic condition, and hence optimal trait size is largest in the most viable males. However, experimental evidence for the costs of signalling are scarce. In this study we experimentally tested whether acoustic signalling, drumming, in a wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata is a condition dependent, costly trait, and thus offers an honest signal of quality to females. Males of this species court females by drumming dry leaves with their abdomen. Females prefer to mate with males of hi…

Mate choice for offspring performance: major benefits or minor costs?

1998

There is considerable disagreement over whether or not gaining viability benefits to offspring could be substantial enough to overcome the costs of female choosiness. A recent review suggested that the 'lek paradox' might be resolved by large indirect benefits as indicated by highly heritable ornamental traits. We selected males of a wolf spider Hygrolycosa rubrofasciata in relation to their sexual signalling rate (audible drumming). The estimated correlated response in offspring viability was rather small (0.12 s.d.). However, it may be large enough if the costs of being choosy are small. In fact, females mate with better-than-average males just by responding passively to a random drumming…

Vibrating Exercise Equipment in Middle-Age and Older Women with Chronic Low Back Pain and Effects on Bioelectrical Activity, Range of Motion and Pain…

2022

Background: Chronic low back pain (CLBP) is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders. Physical activity (PA) is often recommended as part of the management of CLBP, but to date, no one particular exercise has been shown to be superior. Vibrating exercise equipment (VEE) is widely available and used despite little scientific evidence to support its effectiveness in the prevention and treatment of musculoskeletal problems. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of using VEE compared with sham-VEE in women with CLBP. Methods: A randomized (1:1 randomization scheme) single-blinded sham-controlled intervention study was conducted. Through simple randomization, 92 women aged…

High-Performance PCR for Alleles Discrimination of Chromo-Helicase-DNA Binding Protein (CHD1) Gene in Bird Sexing

2023

Genetic analyses aiming at assessing the presence of specific sequences or alleles are often carried out by PCR. Sexing of most birds is nowadays based on PCR with “universal” primers and relies on the assessment of the presence of the sex-linked CHD1-Z and -W alleles. The entire workflow is relatively time-consuming, especially for batch analyses, whereas methods that allow carrying out the entire procedure in a short time are highly desirable. The only method for outdoor analyses reported so far relies on LAMP; however; it fails to work properly in Procellariiformes. Besides improving the LAMP test; we have developed a PCR-based DNA amplification procedure (named high-performance PCR); wh…

The Effect of Bariatric Surgery on Circulating Levels of Lipoprotein (a): A Meta-analysis.

2022

Background. Obesity, especially severe obesity, is associated with a higher risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) morbidity and mortality. Bariatric surgery is a durable and effective weight loss therapy for patients with severe obesity and weight-related comorbidities. Elevated plasma levels of lipoprotein (a) (Lp(a)) are causally associated with ASCVD. The aim of this meta-analysis was to analyze whether bariatric surgery is associated with Lp(a) concentrations. Methods. A literature search in PubMed, Scopus, Embase, and Web of Science was performed from inception to May 1st, 2021. A random-effects model and the generic inverse variance weighting method were used to compe…

2021

Tamarins are a distinct group of small sized New World monkeys with complex phylogenetic relationships and poorly studied cytogenetic traits. In this study, we applied molecular cytogenetic analyses by fluorescence in situ hybridization with probes specific for telomeric sequences and ribosomal DNA loci after DAPI/CMA3 staining on metaphases from five tamarin species, namely Leontocebus fuscicollis, Leontopithecus rosalia, Saguinus geoffroyi, Saguinus mystax and Saguinus oedipus, with the aim to investigate the distribution of repetitive sequences and their possible role in genome evolution. Our analyses revealed that all five examined species show similar karyotypes, 2n = 46, which differ …

2021

Bone is a frequent site of metastases, being typically associated with a short-term prognosis in affected patients. Photodynamic therapy (PDT) emerges as a promising alternative treatment for controlling malignant disease that can directly target interstitial metastatic lesions. The aim of this study was to assess the effect induced by PDT treatment on both primary (giant cell bone tumor) and human bone metastatic cancer cell lines (derived from a primary invasive ductal breast carcinoma and renal carcinoma). After 24 h post light delivery (blue light-wavelength 436 nm) with 5-aminolevulinic acid, the effect on cellular migration, viability, apoptosis, and senescence were assessed. Our resu…

Hemochromatosis Mimicked Gaucher Disease: Role of Hyperferritinemia in Evaluation of a Clinical Case.

2022

Gaucher disease is a disorder of lysosomes caused by a functional defect of the glucocerebrosidase enzyme. The disease is mainly due to mutations in the GBA1 gene, which determines the gradual storage of glucosylceramide substrate in the patient’s macrophages. In this paper, we describe the case of a 38-year-old man who clinically presented with hyperferritinemia, thrombocytopenia, leukopenia, anemia and mild splenomegaly; a diagnosis of hemochromatosis was made 10 years earlier. Re-evaluation of the clinical case led to a suspicion of Gaucher disease, which was confirmed by enzymatic analysis, which was found to be below the normal range, and genetic evaluation, which identified compound h…

Histopathology of Skeletal Muscle in a Distal Motor Neuropathy Associated with a Mutant CCT5 Subunit: Clues for Future Developments to Improve Differ…

2023

Genetic chaperonopathies are rare but, because of misdiagnosis, there are probably more cases than those that are recorded in the literature and databases. This occurs because practitioners are generally unaware of the existence and/or the symptoms and signs of chaperonopathies. It is necessary to educate the medical community about these diseases and, with research, to unveil their mechanisms. The structure and functions of various chaperones in vitro have been studied, but information on the impact of mutant chaperones in humans, in vivo, is scarce. Here, we present a succinct review of the most salient abnormalities of skeletal muscle, based on our earlier report of a patient who carried…

Perceived stress, sources of stress and coping strategies among undergraduate medical students of Nepal: a cross-sectional study

2022

Background: Medical students are subjected to various stressors throughout their training, which has a considerable impact on their physical and mental health. Some students have positive ways of coping, while others take to maladaptive coping measures. This study aims to assess severity, sources of stress, and coping strategies among medical students of a non-Western low-income country from South Asia. Methods: A self-administered questionnaire-based cross-sectional study was carried out. Demographic variables were collected and stress level was assessed using PSS 14 (Perceived Stress Scale 14). The sources of stress were assessed using MSSQ (Medical Student Stressor Questionnaire) and cop…