Genetic Monitoring of a Lethal Control Programme for Wild Canids With Complex Mating Strategies.

Although mammalian carnivores are ecologically important, they also drive human-wildlife conflicts. Managing carnivores using lethal control is controversial, in part because the impact of control effort is often uncertain due to limited abundance monitoring. We used an Australian metapopulation of wild dogs as a model system to investigate the feasibility of monitoring effective population size ( ) to detect reductions in census population size ( ) following control.

Leveraging a natural murine meiotic drive to suppress invasive populations.

Invasive rodents are a major cause of environmental damage and biodiversity loss, particularly on islands. Unlike insects, genetic biocontrol strategies including population-suppressing gene drives with biased inheritance have not been developed in mice. Here, we demonstrate a gene drive strategy () that leverages super-Mendelian transmission of the haplotype to spread inactivating mutations in a haplosufficient female fertility gene ().

Gene drives for vertebrate pest control: Realistic spatial modelling of eradication probabilities and times for island mouse populations.

Invasive alien species continue to threaten global biodiversity. CRISPR-based gene drives, which can theoretically spread through populations despite imparting a fitness cost, could be used to suppress or eradicate pest populations. We develop an individual-based, spatially explicit, stochastic model to simulate the ability of CRISPR-based homing and X chromosome shredding drives to eradicate populations of invasive house mice (Mus muculus) from islands.

Archaeogenetics of Late Iron Age Çemialo Sırtı, Batman: Investigating maternal genetic continuity in north Mesopotamia since the Neolithic.

Objectives: North Mesopotamia has witnessed dramatic social change during the Holocene, but the impact of these events on its demographic history is poorly understood. Here, we study this question by analysing genetic data from the recently excavated Late Iron Age settlement of Çemialo Sırtı in Batman, southeast Turkey. Archaeological and radiocarbon evidence indicate that the site was inhabited during the second and first millennia BCE.

Increased plasma asymmetric dimethylarginine level is associated with ascending aorta dilatation: a case-control study.

Background: Asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA) is an endogenous inhibitor of nitric oxide synthase.

Aim: We aimed to determine plasma ADMA levels in patients with ascending aorta dilatation in comparison to those without aorta dilatation, and to evaluate the diagnostic, predictive, and prognostic value of serum ADMA level for aorta dilatation.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional case-control study.

Antiplatelet resistance and the role of associated variables in stable patients treated with stenting.

Introduction: Nowadays, clopidogrel and acetylsalicylic acid (ASA) have become routinely applied therapies in percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) with stenting.

Aim: Numerous variables can interfere with antiplatelet responsiveness, so we aimed to investigate the role of different variables associated with ASA or clopidogrel resistance in stable coronary artery disease.

Material And Methods: A total of 207 patients undergoing elective PCI were included in the analysis.

Evaluation of lipoprotein-associated phosholipase A2 and plaque burden/composition in young adults.

Objective: The total burden of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis is significant in young adults. Serum lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) is an established predictor of morbidity and mortality because of cardiovascular disease. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the relationship between subclinical coronary atherosclerosis and serum Lp-PLA2 concentrations in a population of young adults.

Usefulness of the uric acid and CHA₂DS₂-VASc score in prediction of left atrial thrombosis in patients with mitral stenosis and sinus rhythm.

Background: The risk of thrombus formation in the left atrium is known to be very high in patients with both mitral stenosis (MS) and atrial fibrillation (AF). However, that risk should not be ignored in patients with MS in sinus rhythm (SR). The aim of this study was to determine the clinical, echocardiographic, and biochemical factors that could have a determining role in the formation of a left atrial (LA) thrombus in patients with MS in SR.

Patterns of species ranges, speciation, and extinction.

The exact nature of the relationship among species range sizes, speciation, and extinction events is not well understood. The factors that promote larger ranges, such as broad niche widths and high dispersal abilities, could increase the likelihood of encountering new habitats but also prevent local adaptation due to high gene flow. Similarly, low dispersal abilities or narrower niche widths could cause populations to be isolated, but such populations may lack advantageous mutations due to low population sizes.

Prediction of pharmacologically induced baroreflex sensitivity from local time and frequency domain indices of R-R interval and systolic blood pressure signals obtained during deep breathing.

Pharmacological measurement of baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) is widely accepted and used in clinical practice. Following the introduction of pharmacologically induced BRS (p-BRS), alternative assessment methods eliminating the use of drugs were in the center of interest of the cardiovascular research community. In this study we investigated whether p-BRS using phenylephrine injection can be predicted from non-pharmacological time and frequency domain indices computed from electrocardiogram (ECG) and blood pressure (BP) data acquired during deep breathing.

[Intrinsic cardiac ganglia].

Heart has been considered as the source and the seat of emotions, passion and love. But from the dawn of XIXth century, scientists have emphasized that the heart, though life depends on its ceaseless activity, is merely a electromechanical pump, pumping oxygenated blood. Nowadays, we all know that heart pumps blood commensurate with the needs of the body and this unending toil, and its regulation depends on the intrinsic properties of the myocardium, Frank-Starling Law and neurohumoral contribution.

Echocardiographic findings in patients with Behçet's disease.

Case-controlled studies have shown that the prevalence of left ventricular (LV) diastolic dysfunction is higher in patients with Behçet's disease. However, there are no data evaluating the value of Doppler tissue imaging (DTI) in Behçet's disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the cardiac involvement and the LV function at rest and at the end of isometric exercise by pulse-wave Doppler and DTI methods in patients with Behçet's disease.

Quantitative angiographic analysis of right ventricular global function in normal incidences and in patients with coronary artery disease.

At present right ventriculography data cannot be accurately estimated owing to the absence of software for quantitative analysis of the right ventricle (RV) volumes and function. The aim of this study was to use existing software for left ventriculography analysis to estimate right ventricular volumes and function in patients without coronary lesions and in those with coronary artery disease (CAD). Thirty-two patients without significant lesions of coronary arteries and 20 patients with CAD were examined with left ventriculography and right atriography.

[Metabolic syndrome in patients after coronary bypass surgery: prevalence and compliance with treatment].

Objective: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) and its components, to determine the patients' compliance with pharmacological therapy and lifestyle modification, and to clarify the association of demographic and socioeconomic factors with the MS in Turkish patients with prior coronary artery bypass surgery (CABG).

Methods: Two hundred and seventy-three patients (age range 35-77, 208 men) were interviewed and examined 1.0-2.

[Quantitative assessment of right ventricular contractility by contrast angiography in healthy persons and patients with ischemic heart disease].

Absence of special programs for quantitative analysis of right ventricular volumes and function precludes precise evaluation of right ventriculography data. We used standard programs designed for analysis of left ventriculograms for evaluation of right ventricular volumes and function in 32 patients without and 20 patients with coronary artery disease. Left ventriculography and right angiography were carried out in 30- and 60-degree right and left anterior oblique projections, respectively.

Prevalence of modifiable cardiovascular risk factors remain high after coronary bypass graft surgery: a multicentre study among Turkish patients.

Background: The measures of secondary prevention in patients undergoing coronary bypass graft surgery (CABG) remains largely undetermined in Turkey.

Design: We designed a multicentre cross-sectional study to estimate the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in patients after CABG and to evaluate the association of demographic-socio-economic factors with secondary prevention in these patients.

Methods: A total of 622 patients who underwent CABG between 1 January 1999 and 15 January 2000 at four centres in Adana, Turkey; 273 (ages 35-77, 208 men) were interviewed and examined 1.

Effect of the final coronary arterial diameter after coronary angioplasty on heart rate variability responses.

Background: Autonomic nervous system dysfunction and reduced heart rate variability (HRV) after percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) were reported in patients with coronary artery disease. However, factors related to reduced HRV are not clearly demonstrated. The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between HRV indices and the final coronary arterial luminal diameter after PTCA.

Power spectral analysis of heart rate variability in children with aortic stenosis.

Aortic stenosis is a progressive disorder and can be the cause of serious arrhythmias and possibly sudden death. Evaluation and follow-up of the autonomic nervous system may provide some useful information for management of the disease. Our study aimed to examine heart rate variability in children with aortic stenosis in the supine position and to detect the changes in autonomic activity during head-up tilt testing.

Correlation of Atrial Natriuretic Factor and Renin-Aldosterone System With Chronic Pulmonary Hypertension Among Residents in a High Altitude.

The study was performed to evaluate right ventricular contractility, plasma renin activity, and atrial natriuretic peptide in high altitude pulmonary arterial hypertension (HAPH). Sixty-eight patients with signs of pulmonary artery hypertension (PPA,syst > 25 mmHg, PPA > 15 mmHg) (Group II) and 40 with normal coronary angiograms and normal pulmonary artery pressures (Group I) were included in the study. Right heart catheterization with estimation of right ventricular and pulmonary artery pressures were performed in all the patients.

Relationship Between Components of Heart Rate Variability and Doppler Echocardiographic Indices of Left Ventricular Systolic Performance in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease.

Decreased heart rate variability (HRV) has been reported as prognostic predictor in coronary artery disease population. The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between cardiac autonomic tone disturbances and the degree of left ventricular dysfunction, estimated by 2-dimensional and Doppler echocardiography, in patients with coronary artery disease. Forty patients with angiographically proven coronary artery disease and 15 age-and sex-matched healthy subjects were included into the study (Group I and II, respectively).

Left Ventricular Systolic and Diastolic Functions in Patients With Sickle Cell Anemia.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the left ventricular systolic and diastolic functions in patients with sickle cell anemia. Fifty-four patients (34 male, 20 female, mean age 22.6 +/- 7.