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1.
Am J Hum Biol ; 35(10): e23938, 2023 Oct.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-37417369

RESUMO

OBJECTIVES: To describe the frequency of hospitalizations of infants under 1 year of age with bronchiolitis in Puerto Madryn, Argentina, and to study the spatial distribution of cases throughout the city in relation to socioeconomic indicators. To visualize and better understand the underlying processes behind the local manifestation of the disease by creating a vulnerability map of the city. METHODS: We performed a cross-sectional study of all patients discharged for bronchiolitis from the local public Hospital in 2017, considering length of hospital stay, readmission rate, patient age, home address and socioeconomic indicators (household overcrowding). To understand the local spatial distribution of the disease and its relationship to overcrowding, we used GIS and Moran's global and local spatial autocorrelation indices. RESULTS: The spatial distribution of bronchiolitis cases was not random, but significantly aggregated. Of the 120 hospitalized children, 100 infants (83.33%) live in areas identified as having at least one unsatisfied basic need (UBN). We found a positive and statistically significant relationship between frequency of cases and percentage of overcrowded housing by census radius. CONCLUSIONS: A clear association was found between bronchiolitis and neighborhoods with UBNs, and overcrowding is likely to be a particularly important explanatory factor in this association. By combining GIS tools, spatial statistics, geo-referenced epidemiological data, and population-level information, vulnerability maps can be created to facilitate visualization of priority areas for development and implementation of more effective health interventions. Incorporating the spatial and syndemic perspective into health studies makes important contributions to the understanding of local health-disease processes.

2.
Sci Rep ; 12(1): 10644, 2022 06 23.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35739184

RESUMO

Several aspects of past culture, including historical trends, are inferred from time-based patterns observed in archaeological artifacts belonging to different periods. The presence and variation of these objects provides important clues about the Neolithic revolution and given their relative abundance in most archaeological sites, ceramic potteries are significantly helpful in this purpose. Nonetheless, most available pottery is fragmented, leading to missing morphological information. Currently, the reassembly of fragmented objects from a collection of thousands of mixed fragments is a daunting and time-consuming task done almost exclusively by hand, which requires the physical manipulation of the fragments. To overcome the challenges of manual reconstruction and improve the quality of reconstructed samples, we present IberianGAN, a customized Generative Adversarial Network (GAN) tested on an extensive database with complete and fragmented references. We trained the model with 1072 samples corresponding to Iberian wheel-made pottery profiles belonging to archaeological sites located in the upper valley of the Guadalquivir River (Spain). Furthermore, we provide quantitative and qualitative assessments to measure the quality of the reconstructed samples, along with domain expert evaluation with archaeologists. The resulting framework is a possible way to facilitate pottery reconstruction from partial fragments of an original piece.


Assuntos
Arqueologia , Artefatos , Cerâmica , Bases de Dados Factuais , Processamento de Imagem Assistida por Computador/métodos , Espanha
3.
Am J Hum Genet ; 109(6): 1117-1139, 2022 06 02.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-35588731

RESUMO

Preeclampsia is a multi-organ complication of pregnancy characterized by sudden hypertension and proteinuria that is among the leading causes of preterm delivery and maternal morbidity and mortality worldwide. The heterogeneity of preeclampsia poses a challenge for understanding its etiology and molecular basis. Intriguingly, risk for the condition increases in high-altitude regions such as the Peruvian Andes. To investigate the genetic basis of preeclampsia in a population living at high altitude, we characterized genome-wide variation in a cohort of preeclamptic and healthy Andean families (n = 883) from Puno, Peru, a city located above 3,800 meters of altitude. Our study collected genomic DNA and medical records from case-control trios and duos in local hospital settings. We generated genotype data for 439,314 SNPs, determined global ancestry patterns, and mapped associations between genetic variants and preeclampsia phenotypes. A transmission disequilibrium test (TDT) revealed variants near genes of biological importance for placental and blood vessel function. The top candidate region was found on chromosome 13 of the fetal genome and contains clotting factor genes PROZ, F7, and F10. These findings provide supporting evidence that common genetic variants within coagulation genes play an important role in preeclampsia. A selection scan revealed a potential adaptive signal around the ADAM12 locus on chromosome 10, implicated in pregnancy disorders. Our discovery of an association in a functional pathway relevant to pregnancy physiology in an understudied population of Native American origin demonstrates the increased power of family-based study design and underscores the importance of conducting genetic research in diverse populations.


Assuntos
Pré-Eclâmpsia , Altitude , Fatores de Coagulação Sanguínea , Proteínas Sanguíneas/genética , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Fator VII/genética , Fator X/genética , Feminino , Humanos , Peru/epidemiologia , Placenta , Pré-Eclâmpsia/epidemiologia , Pré-Eclâmpsia/genética , Gravidez
4.
J Morphol ; 283(3): 273-286, 2022 03.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34962309

RESUMO

Vertebral morphology has profound biomechanical implications and plays an important role in adaptation to different habitats and foraging strategies for cetaceans. Extant porpoise species (Phocoenidae) display analogous evolutionary patterns in both hemispheres associated with convergent evolution to coastal versus oceanic environments. We employed 3D geometric morphometrics to study vertebral morphology in five porpoise species with contrasting habitats: the coastal Indo-Pacific finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides); the mostly coastal harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) and Burmeister's porpoise (Phocoena spinipinnis); and the oceanic spectacled porpoise (Phocoena dioptrica) and Dall's porpoise (Phocoenoides dalli). We evaluated the radiation of vertebral morphology, both in size and shape, using multivariate statistics. We supplemented data with samples of an early-radiating delphinoid species, the narwhal (Monodon monoceros); and an early-radiating delphinid species, the white-beaked dolphin (Lagenorhynchus albirostris). Principal component analyses were used to map shape variation onto phylogenies, and phylogenetic constraints were investigated through permutation tests. We established links between vertebral morphology and movement patterns through biomechanical inferences from morphological presentations. We evidenced divergence in size between species with contrasting habitats, with coastal species tending to decrease in size from their estimated ancestral state, and oceanic species tending to increase in size. Regarding vertebral shape, coastal species had longer centra and shorter neural processes, but longer transverse processes, while oceanic species tended to have disk-shaped vertebrae with longer neural processes. Within Phocoenidae, the absence of phylogenetic constraints in vertebral morphology suggests a high level of evolutionary lability. Overall, our results are in accordance with the hypothesis of speciation within the family from a coastal ancestor, through adaptation to particular habitats. Variation in vertebral morphology in this group of small odontocetes highlights the importance of environmental complexity and particular selective pressures for the speciation process through the development of adaptations that minimize energetic costs during locomotion and prey capture.


Assuntos
Golfinhos , Phocoena , Toninhas , Animais , Ecossistema , Filogenia , Toninhas/anatomia & histologia , Coluna Vertebral
5.
Cannabis Cannabinoid Res ; 7(4): 409-414, 2022 08.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34061660

RESUMO

Introduction: Cannabis plant uses are widespread across human cultures. The current tendency is to classify Cannabis varieties into chemovars upon their chemical fingerprint, mainly cannabinoids and terpenoids content. The identification of chemovars has important medical implications; however, their pharmacological characterization is costly and time consuming. The goal of this study was to assess whether achene shape variation could be related to Cannabis varieties with contrasting cannabinoid concentrations, as a first approach to chemovar identification. Methods: We used two-dimensional geometric morphometrics (GM) of the achenes and multivariate statistical analysis. We used achenes from five varieties, two from Type II chemotype (expressing both tetrahydrocannabinol [THC] and cannabidiol [CBD]), two Type I (THC-only), and one Type III (CBD-only). Results: The achenes from the different chemotypes were clearly distinguishable. No significant differences between varieties from the same chemotype were observed. The varieties with high THC concentration (Type I) were rounded and bigger, whereas achene from varieties containing only CBD (Type III) had a slender shape with smaller size. Conclusion: Achene shape variation is a potential biomarker of cannabinoid content in the plant flowers. Further studies are needed to confirm the suitability of GM methods for high-throughput screening of Cannabis cultivars, including larger diversity of varieties, and taking into account growth conditions, which can also influence plant chemical fingerprint.


Assuntos
Canabidiol , Canabinoides , Cannabis , Alucinógenos , Analgésicos , Canabidiol/farmacologia , Agonistas de Receptores de Canabinoides , Canabinoides/análise , Cannabis/química , Dronabinol/análise , Humanos
6.
Sci Rep ; 11(1): 12617, 2021 06 16.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34135396

RESUMO

Self-perception of ethnicity is a complex social trait shaped by both, biological and non-biological factors. We developed a comprehensive analysis of ethnic self-perception (ESP) on a large sample of Latin American mestizos from five countries, differing in age, socio-economic and education context, external phenotypic attributes and genetic background. We measured the correlation of ESP against genomic ancestry, and the influence of physical appearance, socio-economic context, and education on the distortion observed between both. Here we show that genomic ancestry is correlated to aspects of physical appearance, which in turn affect the individual ethnic self-perceived ancestry. Also, we observe that, besides the significant correlation among genomic ancestry and ESP, specific physical or socio-economic attributes have a strong impact on self-perception. In addition, the distortion among ESP and genomic ancestry differs across age ranks/countries, probably suggesting the underlying effect of past public policies regarding identity. Our results indicate that individuals' own ideas about its origins should be taken with caution, especially in aspects of modern life, including access to work, social policies, and public health key decisions such as drug administration, therapy design, and clinical trials, among others.


Assuntos
Etnicidade/genética , Etnicidade/psicologia , Autoimagem , Adulto , Idoso , Escolaridade , Feminino , Patrimônio Genético , Humanos , América Latina/etnologia , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Fenótipo , Fatores Socioeconômicos
7.
Hepatology ; 73(5): 1783-1796, 2021 05.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32893372

RESUMO

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Gallbladder cancer (GBC) is a neglected disease with substantial geographical variability: Chile shows the highest incidence worldwide, while GBC is relatively rare in Europe. Here, we investigate the causal effects of risk factors considered in current GBC prevention programs as well as C-reactive protein (CRP) level as a marker of chronic inflammation. APPROACH AND RESULTS: We applied two-sample Mendelian randomization (MR) using publicly available data and our own data from a retrospective Chilean and a prospective European study. Causality was assessed by inverse variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger regression, and weighted median estimates complemented with sensitivity analyses on potential heterogeneity and pleiotropy, two-step MR, and mediation analysis. We found evidence for a causal effect of gallstone disease on GBC risk in Chileans (P = 9 × 10-5 ) and Europeans (P = 9 × 10-5 ). A genetically elevated body mass index (BMI) increased GBC risk in Chileans (P = 0.03), while higher CRP concentrations increased GBC risk in Europeans (P = 4.1 × 10-6 ). European results suggest causal effects of BMI on gallstone disease (P = 0.008); public Chilean data were not, however, available to enable assessment of the mediation effects among causal GBC risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: Two risk factors considered in the current Chilean program for GBC prevention are causally linked to GBC risk: gallstones and BMI. For Europeans, BMI showed a causal effect on gallstone risk, which was itself causally linked to GBC risk.


Assuntos
Índice de Massa Corporal , Proteína C-Reativa/análise , Neoplasias da Vesícula Biliar/etiologia , Cálculos Biliares/complicações , Adulto , Fatores Etários , Chile/epidemiologia , Europa (Continente)/epidemiologia , Feminino , Neoplasias da Vesícula Biliar/epidemiologia , Neoplasias da Vesícula Biliar/genética , Cálculos Biliares/epidemiologia , Predisposição Genética para Doença/genética , Variação Genética , Humanos , Masculino , Análise da Randomização Mendeliana , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estudos Prospectivos , Estudos Retrospectivos , Fatores de Risco
8.
Sci Rep ; 10(1): 13706, 2020 08 13.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32792643

RESUMO

Neuromyelitis Optica (NMO) is an autoimmune disease with a higher prevalence in non-European populations. Because the Mexican population resulted from the admixture between mainly Native American and European populations, we used genome-wide microarray, HLA high-resolution typing and AQP4 gene sequencing data to analyze genetic ancestry and to seek genetic variants conferring NMO susceptibility in admixed Mexican patients. A total of 164 Mexican NMO patients and 1,208 controls were included. On average, NMO patients had a higher proportion of Native American ancestry than controls (68.1% vs 58.6%; p = 5 × 10-6). GWAS identified a HLA region associated with NMO, led by rs9272219 (OR = 2.48, P = 8 × 10-10). Class II HLA alleles HLA-DQB1*03:01, -DRB1*08:02, -DRB1*16:02, -DRB1*14:06 and -DQB1*04:02 showed the most significant associations with NMO risk. Local ancestry estimates suggest that all the NMO-associated alleles within the HLA region are of Native American origin. No novel or missense variants in the AQP4 gene were found in Mexican patients with NMO or multiple sclerosis. To our knowledge, this is the first study supporting the notion that Native American ancestry significantly contributes to NMO susceptibility in an admixed population, and is consistent with differences in NMO epidemiology in Mexico and Latin America.


Assuntos
Indígena Americano ou Nativo do Alasca/genética , Aquaporina 4/genética , Predisposição Genética para Doença , Antígenos HLA/genética , Neuromielite Óptica/epidemiologia , Neuromielite Óptica/genética , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Feminino , Frequência do Gene , Humanos , Masculino , México/epidemiologia
9.
Cancer Epidemiol ; 65: 101643, 2020 04.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-32058310

RESUMO

BACKGROUND: The first large-scale genome-wide association study of gallbladder cancer (GBC) recently identified and validated three susceptibility variants in the ABCB1 and ABCB4 genes for individuals of Indian descent. We investigated whether these variants were also associated with GBC risk in Chileans, who show the highest incidence of GBC worldwide, and in Europeans with a low GBC incidence. METHODS: This population-based study analysed genotype data from retrospective Chilean case-control (255 cases, 2042 controls) and prospective European cohort (108 cases, 181 controls) samples consistently with the original publication. RESULTS: Our results confirmed the reported associations for Chileans with similar risk effects. Particularly strong associations (per-allele odds ratios close to 2) were observed for Chileans with high Native American (=Mapuche) ancestry. No associations were noticed for Europeans, but the statistical power was low. CONCLUSION: Taking full advantage of genetic and ethnic differences in GBC risk may improve the efficiency of current prevention programs.


Assuntos
Subfamília B de Transportador de Cassetes de Ligação de ATP/genética , Neoplasias da Vesícula Biliar/genética , Predisposição Genética para Doença , Polimorfismo de Nucleotídeo Único , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Chile/epidemiologia , Europa (Continente)/epidemiologia , Feminino , Neoplasias da Vesícula Biliar/epidemiologia , Estudos de Associação Genética , Humanos , Indígenas Sul-Americanos/genética , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Estudos Prospectivos , Estudos Retrospectivos , População Branca/genética
10.
J Imaging ; 6(9)2020 Sep 11.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-34460751

RESUMO

Current point cloud extraction methods based on photogrammetry generate large amounts of spurious detections that hamper useful 3D mesh reconstructions or, even worse, the possibility of adequate measurements. Moreover, noise removal methods for point clouds are complex, slow and incapable to cope with semantic noise. In this work, we present body2vec, a model-based body segmentation tool that uses a specifically trained Neural Network architecture. Body2vec is capable to perform human body point cloud reconstruction from videos taken on hand-held devices (smartphones or tablets), achieving high quality anthropometric measurements. The main contribution of the proposed workflow is to perform a background removal step, thus avoiding the spurious points generation that is usual in photogrammetric reconstruction. A group of 60 persons were taped with a smartphone, and the corresponding point clouds were obtained automatically with standard photogrammetric methods. We used as a 3D silver standard the clean meshes obtained at the same time with LiDAR sensors post-processed and noise-filtered by expert anthropological biologists. Finally, we used as gold standard anthropometric measurements of the waist and hip of the same people, taken by expert anthropometrists. Applying our method to the raw videos significantly enhanced the quality of the results of the point cloud as compared with the LiDAR-based mesh, and of the anthropometric measurements as compared with the actual hip and waist perimeter measured by the anthropometrists. In both contexts, the resulting quality of body2vec is equivalent to the LiDAR reconstruction.

11.
Am J Hum Biol ; 32(2): e23323, 2020 03.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31506993

RESUMO

OBJECTIVES: The diagnosis and treatment of obesity are usually based on traditional anthropometric variables including weight, height, and several body perimeters. Here we present a three-dimensional (3D) image-based computational approach aimed to capture the distribution of abdominal adipose tissue as an aspect of shape rather than a relationship among classical anthropometric measures. METHODS: A morphometric approach based on landmarks and semilandmarks placed upon the 3D torso surface was performed in order to quantify abdominal adiposity shape variation and its relation to classical indices. Specifically, we analyzed sets of body cross-sectional circumferences, collectively defining each, along with anthropometric data taken on 112 volunteers. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed on 250 circumferences located along the abdominal region of each volunteer. An analysis of covariance model was used to compare shape variables (PCs) against anthropometric data (weight, height, and waist and hip circumferences). RESULTS: The observed shape patterns were mainly related to nutritional status, followed by sexual dimorphism. PC1 (12.5%) and PC2 (7.5%) represented 20% of the total variation. In PCAs calculated independently by sex, linear regression analyses provide statistically significant associations between PC1 and the three classical indexes: body mass index, waist-to-height ratio, and waist-hip ratio. CONCLUSION: Shape indicators predict well the behavior of classical markers, but also evaluate 3D and geometric features with more accuracy as related to the body shape under study. This approach also facilitates diagnosis and follow-up of therapies by using accessible 3D technology.


Assuntos
Adiposidade , Tamanho Corporal , Sobrepeso/diagnóstico , Gordura Abdominal/fisiologia , Adulto , Argentina , Feminino , Humanos , Imageamento Tridimensional , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Obesidade/diagnóstico , Adulto Jovem
12.
Am J Hum Biol ; 31(5): e23278, 2019 09.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-31237064

RESUMO

OBJECTIVES: This article aims to assess the contribution of genomic ancestry and socioeconomic status to obesity in a sample of admixed Latin Americans. METHODS: The study comprised 6776 adult volunteers from Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and Peru. Each volunteer completed a questionnaire about socioeconomic variables. Anthropometric variables such as weight, height, waist, and hip circumference were measured to calculate body indices: body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio and waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Genetic data were extracted from blood samples, and ancestry was estimated using chip genotypes. Multiple linear regression was used to evaluate the relationship between the indices and ancestry, educational level, and economic well-being. The body indices were dichotomized to obesity indices by using appropriate thresholds. Odds ratios were calculated for each obesity index. RESULTS: The sample showed high percentages of obesity by all measurements. However, indices did not overlap consistently when classifying obesity. WHtR resulted in the highest prevalence of obesity. Overall, women with low education level and men with high economic wellness were more likely to be obese. American ancestry was statistically associated with obesity indices, although to a lesser extent than socioeconomic variables. CONCLUSIONS: The proportion of obesity was heavily dependent on the index and the population. Genomic ancestry has a significant influence on the anthropometric measurements, especially on central adiposity. As a whole, we detected a large interpopulation variation that suggests that better approaches to overweight and obesity phenotypes are needed in order to obtain more precise reference values.


Assuntos
Obesidade/epidemiologia , Obesidade/genética , Fatores Socioeconômicos , Adulto , Brasil/epidemiologia , Chile/epidemiologia , Colômbia/epidemiologia , Feminino , Humanos , América Latina/epidemiologia , Masculino , México/epidemiologia , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Obesidade/etnologia , Peru/epidemiologia , Prevalência , Classe Social , Adulto Jovem
13.
Int J Cardiol ; 279: 168-173, 2019 Mar 15.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30305239

RESUMO

BACKGROUND: Serum uric acid (SUA) is a heritable trait associated with cardiovascular risk factors and coronary artery disease (CAD). Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several genes associated with SUA, mainly in European populations. However, to date there are few GWAS in Latino populations, and the role of SUA-associated single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in cardiovascular disease has not been studied in the Mexican population. METHODS: We performed genome-wide SUA association study in 2153 Mexican children and adults, evaluated whether genetic effects were modified by sex and obesity, and used a Mendelian randomization approach in an independent cohort to study the role of SUA modifying genetic variants in premature CAD. RESULTS: Only two loci were associated with SUA levels: SLC2A9 (ß = -0.47 mg/dl, P = 1.57 × 10-42 for lead SNP rs7678287) and ABCG2 (ß = 0.23 mg/dl, P = 2.42 × 10-10 for lead SNP rs2231142). No significant interaction between SLC2A9 rs7678287 and ABCG2 rs2231142 genotypes and obesity was observed. However, a significant ABCG2 rs2231142 genotype*sex interaction (P = 0.001) was observed in adults but not in children. Although SUA levels were associated with premature CAD, metabolic syndrome and decreased glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), only ABCG2 rs2231142 was associated with decreased eGFR in the premature CAD group. CONCLUSIONS: SUA elevation was independently associated with premature CAD, metabolic syndrome and decreased eGFR in the Mexican population. However, a Mendelian randomization approach using the lead SUA-associated SNPs (SLC2A9 and ABCG2) did not support a causal role of elevated SUA levels for premature CAD.


Assuntos
Doença da Artéria Coronariana/sangue , Doença da Artéria Coronariana/genética , Estudo de Associação Genômica Ampla/métodos , Polimorfismo de Nucleotídeo Único/genética , Ácido Úrico/sangue , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Biomarcadores/sangue , Criança , Doença da Artéria Coronariana/epidemiologia , Feminino , Humanos , Masculino , Análise da Randomização Mendeliana/métodos , México/epidemiologia , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Adulto Jovem
14.
Nat Commun ; 9(1): 5388, 2018 12 19.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30568240

RESUMO

Historical records and genetic analyses indicate that Latin Americans trace their ancestry mainly to the intermixing (admixture) of Native Americans, Europeans and Sub-Saharan Africans. Using novel haplotype-based methods, here we infer sub-continental ancestry in over 6,500 Latin Americans and evaluate the impact of regional ancestry variation on physical appearance. We find that Native American ancestry components in Latin Americans correspond geographically to the present-day genetic structure of Native groups, and that sources of non-Native ancestry, and admixture timings, match documented migratory flows. We also detect South/East Mediterranean ancestry across Latin America, probably stemming mostly from the clandestine colonial migration of Christian converts of non-European origin (Conversos). Furthermore, we find that ancestry related to highland (Central Andean) versus lowland (Mapuche) Natives is associated with variation in facial features, particularly nose morphology, and detect significant differences in allele frequencies between these groups at loci previously associated with nose morphology in this sample.


Assuntos
Migração Humana , Indígenas Norte-Americanos/genética , Indígenas Sul-Americanos/genética , Haplótipos , Humanos , México , Nariz/anatomia & histologia , América do Sul
15.
Ecotoxicol Environ Saf ; 164: 69-74, 2018 Nov 30.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-30098507

RESUMO

Halophytic plants play a fundamental role in salt marshes, influencing their structure, dynamics, and cycling of nutrients and minerals. These plants have the ability to retain metals in the soil, or absorb and retain them in underground structures, or transport them to their aerial structures. Here we aim to study shape variation in the leaves of Cressa truxillensis inhabiting the salt marsh of San Antonio Oeste, according to their proximity to a source of metals in the soil. A gradient of bioavailability of metal was observed in the soil, decreasing from the site closest to the source to the most distant point, where Zn was the most abundant metal followed by Pb and Cu. We used landmark-based geometric morphometric tools to study leaf shape variation. We observed more oval leaf growth on the farthest point of the pollutant's source, and lanceolate shape close to it. No significant among-site size differences were found. Collectively, these results suggest that the stress conditions associated with the soil metals' concentration generate changes in the leaf shape of Cressa truxilensis. Considering that this species has not been extensively analyzed, this study establishes a baseline and supports the use of the leaf as an early biomarker of stress by contamination in plants associated with marshes.


Assuntos
Convolvulaceae/efeitos dos fármacos , Poluição Ambiental/efeitos adversos , Metais Pesados/toxicidade , Folhas de Planta/efeitos dos fármacos , Plantas Tolerantes a Sal/efeitos dos fármacos , Poluentes do Solo/toxicidade , Biomarcadores , Convolvulaceae/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Monitoramento Ambiental/métodos , Folhas de Planta/crescimento & desenvolvimento , Plantas Tolerantes a Sal/crescimento & desenvolvimento
16.
Sci Rep ; 8(1): 7867, 2018 05 18.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29777172

RESUMO

Establishing the genetic basis that underlies craniofacial variability in natural populations is one of the main topics of evolutionary and developmental studies. One of the genes associated with mammal craniofacial variability is RUNX2, and in the present study we investigated the association between craniofacial length and width and RUNX2 across New World bats (Phyllostomidae) and primates (Catarrhini and Platyrrhini). Our results showed contrasting patterns of association between the glutamate/alanine ratios (Q/A ratio) and palate shape in these highly diverse groups. In phyllostomid bats, we found an association between shorter/broader faces and increase of the Q/A ratio. In New World monkeys (NWM) there was a positive correlation of increasing Q/A ratios to more elongated faces. Our findings reinforced the role of the Q/A ratio as a flexible genetic mechanism that would rapidly change the time of skull ossification throughout development. However, we propose a scenario in which the influence of this genetic adjustment system is indirect. The Q/A ratio would not lead to a specific phenotype, but throughout the history of a lineage, would act along with evolutionary constraints, as well as other genes, as a facilitator for adaptive morphological changes.


Assuntos
Quirópteros/genética , Subunidade alfa 1 de Fator de Ligação ao Core/genética , Palato/fisiologia , Platirrinos/genética , Alanina/análise , Animais , Teorema de Bayes , Evolução Biológica , Quirópteros/classificação , Subunidade alfa 1 de Fator de Ligação ao Core/química , Subunidade alfa 1 de Fator de Ligação ao Core/metabolismo , Bases de Dados Genéticas , Ácido Glutâmico/análise , Palato/anatomia & histologia , Filogenia , Platirrinos/classificação , Crânio/anatomia & histologia , Crânio/fisiologia
17.
Sci Rep ; 8(1): 963, 2018 01 17.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-29343858

RESUMO

Facial asymmetries are usually measured and interpreted as proxies to developmental noise. However, analyses focused on its developmental and genetic architecture are scarce. To advance on this topic, studies based on a comprehensive and simultaneous analysis of modularity, morphological integration and facial asymmetries including both phenotypic and genomic information are needed. Here we explore several modularity hypotheses on a sample of Latin American mestizos, in order to test if modularity and integration patterns differ across several genomic ancestry backgrounds. To do so, 4104 individuals were analyzed using 3D photogrammetry reconstructions and a set of 34 facial landmarks placed on each individual. We found a pattern of modularity and integration that is conserved across sub-samples differing in their genomic ancestry background. Specifically, a signal of modularity based on functional demands and organization of the face is regularly observed across the whole sample. Our results shed more light on previous evidence obtained from Genome Wide Association Studies performed on the same samples, indicating the action of different genomic regions contributing to the expression of the nose and mouth facial phenotypes. Our results also indicate that large samples including phenotypic and genomic metadata enable a better understanding of the developmental and genetic architecture of craniofacial phenotypes.


Assuntos
Face/anatomia & histologia , Face/fisiologia , Desenvolvimento Maxilofacial/genética , Adolescente , Adulto , Feminino , Estudo de Associação Genômica Ampla/métodos , Humanos , América Latina , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Fenótipo , Adulto Jovem
18.
PLoS Genet ; 13(5): e1006756, 2017 May.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28542165

RESUMO

Latin Americans are highly heterogeneous regarding the type of Native American ancestry. Consideration of specific associations with common diseases may lead to substantial advances in unraveling of disease etiology and disease prevention. Here we investigate possible associations between the type of Native American ancestry and leading causes of death. After an aggregate-data study based on genome-wide genotype data from 1805 admixed Chileans and 639,789 deaths, we validate an identified association with gallbladder cancer relying on individual data from 64 gallbladder cancer patients, with and without a family history, and 170 healthy controls. Native American proportions were markedly underestimated when the two main types of Native American ancestry in Chile, originated from the Mapuche and Aymara indigenous peoples, were combined together. Consideration of the type of Native American ancestry was crucial to identify disease associations. Native American ancestry showed no association with gallbladder cancer mortality (P = 0.26). By contrast, each 1% increase in the Mapuche proportion represented a 3.7% increased mortality risk by gallbladder cancer (95%CI 3.1-4.3%, P = 6×10-27). Individual-data results and extensive sensitivity analyses confirmed the association between Mapuche ancestry and gallbladder cancer. Increasing Mapuche proportions were also associated with an increased mortality due to asthma and, interestingly, with a decreased mortality by diabetes. The mortality due to skin, bladder, larynx, bronchus and lung cancers increased with increasing Aymara proportions. Described methods should be considered in future studies on human population genetics and human health. Complementary individual-based studies are needed to apportion the genetic and non-genetic components of associations identified relying on aggregate-data.


Assuntos
Neoplasias da Vesícula Biliar/genética , Estudo de Associação Genômica Ampla , Indígenas Norte-Americanos/genética , Adolescente , Adulto , Chile , Feminino , Neoplasias da Vesícula Biliar/mortalidade , Genética Populacional , Genoma Humano , Genótipo , Humanos , América Latina/epidemiologia , Masculino , Fatores de Risco
19.
PLoS One ; 12(1): e0169287, 2017.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-28060876

RESUMO

The expression of facial asymmetries has been recurrently related with poverty and/or disadvantaged socioeconomic status. Departing from the developmental instability theory, previous approaches attempted to test the statistical relationship between the stress experienced by individuals grown in poor conditions and an increase in facial and corporal asymmetry. Here we aim to further evaluate such hypothesis on a large sample of admixed Latin Americans individuals by exploring if low socioeconomic status individuals tend to exhibit greater facial fluctuating asymmetry values. To do so, we implement Procrustes analysis of variance and Hierarchical Linear Modelling (HLM) to estimate potential associations between facial fluctuating asymmetry values and socioeconomic status. We report significant relationships between facial fluctuating asymmetry values and age, sex, and genetic ancestry, while socioeconomic status failed to exhibit any strong statistical relationship with facial asymmetry. These results are persistent after the effect of heterozygosity (a proxy for genetic ancestry) is controlled in the model. Our results indicate that, at least on the studied sample, there is no relationship between socioeconomic stress (as intended as low socioeconomic status) and facial asymmetries.


Assuntos
Assimetria Facial/epidemiologia , Assimetria Facial/genética , Adolescente , Adulto , Feminino , Heterozigoto , Hispânico ou Latino/genética , Humanos , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Classe Social , Adulto Jovem
20.
Toxicol Res ; 32(4): 289-300, 2016 Oct.
Artigo em Inglês | MEDLINE | ID: mdl-27818731

RESUMO

Non-genotoxic carcinogens are substances that induce tumorigenesis by non-mutagenic mechanisms and long term rodent bioassays are required to identify them. Recent studies have shown that transcription profiling can be applied to develop early identifiers for long term phenotypes. In this study, we used rat liver expression profiles from the NTP (National Toxicology Program, Research Triangle Park, USA) DrugMatrix Database to construct a gene classifier that can distinguish between non-genotoxic carcinogens and other chemicals. The model was based on short term exposure assays (3 days) and the training was limited to oxidative stressors, peroxisome proliferators and hormone modulators. Validation of the predictor was performed on independent toxicogenomic data (TG-GATEs, Toxicogenomics Project-Genomics Assisted Toxicity Evaluation System, Osaka, Japan). To build our model we performed Random Forests together with a recursive elimination algorithm (VarSelRF). Gene set enrichment analysis was employed for functional interpretation. A total of 770 microarrays comprising 96 different compounds were analyzed and a predictor of 54 genes was built. Prediction accuracy was 0.85 in the training set, 0.87 in the test set and increased with increasing concentration in the validation set: 0.6 at low dose, 0.7 at medium doses and 0.81 at high doses. Pathway analysis revealed gene prominence of cellular respiration, energy production and lipoprotein metabolism. The biggest target of toxicogenomics is accurately predict the toxicity of unknown drugs. In this analysis, we presented a classifier that can predict non-genotoxic carcinogenicity by using short term exposure assays. In this approach, dose level is critical when evaluating chemicals at early time points.

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