It has been suggested that in threatening environments, both women and men should prefer more masculine men as romantic and coalition partners, respectively. Empirical evidence for this hypothesis has been weak or inconsistent, primarily because most experimental research has focused on elevating the perceived danger from other men through virtual threats. This study investigates whether personal experience with violence predicts the preference for masculine features in 326 Senegalese participants presented with pairs of manipulated facial photographs of West African men (one more feminine, one more masculine) and asked to indicate which face is more attractive (to women) or more trustworthy (to men).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThe fraternal birth order effect (FBOE) is a well documented preponderance of older brothers among gay men. Until now, it has lacked a proper formal treatment in light of evolutionary theory. In this article, we propose two related mathematical models based on the rigorous application of the inclusive fitness concept.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHuman migration is an increasingly common phenomenon and migrants are at risk of disadvantageous treatment. We reasoned that migrants may receive differential treatment by locals based on the closeness of their facial features to the host average. Residents of Türkiye, the country with the largest number of refugees currently, served as participants.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFOne-third of humanity harbors a lifelong infection with , and probably about 80% are infected with human cytomegalovirus (CMV). This study aims to delineate the associations between toxoplasmosis and cognitive abilities and compare these to the associations with CMV. We evaluated the cognitive performance of 557 students, who had been examined for and CMV infections, using intelligence, memory, and psychomotor tests.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Purified factor IX (FIX) concentrate (IMMUNINE, Takeda Manufacturing Austria AG, Vienna, Austria) is indicated for the treatment and prophylaxis of bleeding episodes in patients with congenital hemophilia B. Data on the use of purified FIX concentrate in patients ≤6 years old with congenital hemophilia B are limited.
Aim: Document real-world clinical experience with purified FIX concentrate in routine practice for pediatric patients with hemophilia B.
Background: Measuring the activity of hemostatic agents used to treat hemophilia A often requires drug-specific assays. assays show hemophilic clots have abnormal characteristics, including prolonged clotting time and decreased resistance to fibrinolysis. The ability of certain agents to correct these parameters is associated with hemostatic efficacy .
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIntroduction: Several well-established clinical laboratory methods are available to measure von Willebrand factor (VWF) in plasma samples, but few data are available on their use for analysing recombinant VWF (rVWF).
Aim: To evaluate how clinical diagnostic laboratories analyse rVWF and plasma-derived VWF (pdVWF) spiked in vitro into VWF-deficient plasma using quantitative protein and functional assays of VWF.
Methods: Human VWF-deficient plasma samples were spiked with rVWF (vonicog alfa; Takeda) or pdVWF/factor VIII (pdVWF/FVIII; antihemophilic factor/VWF complex [human], CSL Behring), each at final concentrations of 1.
Background: An inhibitor can develop in congenital hemophilia A (HA) patients against exogenous infused factor (F)VIII, whereas in acquired HA (AHA) inhibitors initially develop against endogenous FVIII. Inhibitors can be detected with the Nijmegen Bethesda Assay (NBA), which has an international cut-off level of 0.60 Nijmegen Bethesda Units/mL (NBU/mL).
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSympatric speciation is typically presented as a rare phenomenon, but urban subcultures frequently emerge even in the absence of geographic isolation. Is there perhaps something that culture has but biological inheritance does not that would account for this difference? We present a novel model that combines assortative interaction and multidimensional inheritance. Our computer simulations show that assortment alone can lead to the formation of cohesive clusters of individuals with low within-group and large between-group variability even in the absence of a spatial separation or disruptive natural selection.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: The standard therapy for patients with hemophilia A (HA) is the replacement with factor VIII (FVIII) therapeutics. To overcome the limitation of short half-life of wild-type FVIII protein, polyethylene glycol (PEG) can be coupled to therapeutic FVIII to improve pharmacokinetics.
Objectives: We aimed to characterize antibodies developed against a FVIII therapeutic PEGylated with a 40-kDa PEG (40PEG-BDD) in 2 patients with mild HA.
Aim: To conduct a cross-sectional follow-up assessment of physical activity (PA) in people with moderate and severe haemophilia (PwMSH) from the Irish Personalised Approach to the Treatment of Haemophilia (iPATH) study.
Methods: Between June-December 2021, participants' PA was measured over one week using accelerometery, and was compared with their previously measured data from the original iPATH assessment. Self-awareness of PA and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on PA, pain, mobility and function were retrospectively examined using a survey.
Background: Previous studies have reported marked interindividual variation in factor VIII (FVIII) clearance in patients with hemophilia (PWH) and proposed a number of factors that influence this heterogeneity.
Objectives: To investigate the importance of the clearance rates of endogenous von Willebrand factor (VWF) compared with those of other FVIII half-life modifiers in adult PWH.
Methods: The half-life of recombinant FVIII was determined in a cohort of 61 adult PWH.
Background: Although most plasma FVIII (Factor VIII) circulates in complex with VWF (von Willebrand factor), a minority (3%-5%) circulates as free-FVIII, which is rapidly cleared. Consequently, 20% of total FVIII may be cleared as free-FVIII. Critically, the mechanisms of free-FVIII clearance remain poorly understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Recombinant von Willebrand factor (rVWF, vonicog alfa) is a purified VWF concentrate produced from Chinese hamster ovary cells. rVWF is not exposed to the VWF-cleaving protease ADAMTS13 and so is not subject to proteolytic degradation of large (L) and ultra-large (UL) VWF multimers by that enzyme.
Purpose: To compare the structure and function of rVWF with the human plasma-derived VWF [pdVWF] concentrates Haemate P/Humate-P, Voncento, Wilate/Eqwilate, and Wilfactin/Willfact; to investigate the relationship between VWF multimeric pattern and VWF:ristocetin cofactor (VWF:RCo) activity through population pharmacokinetic (PK) modeling in patients with severe von Willebrand disease (VWD) treated with rVWF.
Von Willebrand factor (VWF) is a complex glycoprotein found in plasma, composed of disulfide-bond-linked multimers with apparent molecular weights between 500 kDa and 20,000 kDa. After release of VWF from storage granules, it is cleaved in flowing blood by the specific metalloproteinase ADAMTS13, resulting in a highly characteristic cleavage pattern and structure. As the structure of VWF multimers determines diagnosis of von Willebrand disease, which has different sub-types with different multimer- and cleavage patterns, VWF analysis is performed using low-resolution horizontal SDS-agarose gel electrophoresis.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAim: This study aimed to examine physical activity (PA), physical fitness and cardiometabolic risk amongst people with moderate and severe haemophilia (PwMSH).
Methods: The following domains were examined: PA (accelerometry); functional aerobic capacity (6-Minute Walk Test); grip strength (dynamometry); balance (One Leg Stand Test); body composition (anthropometry and bioimpedance analysis); blood pressure; arterial stiffness; and cardiometabolic disorders.
Results: A total of 53 PwMSH (44 years) and 33 controls (43 years; p = .
Conjugation to polyethylene glycol (PEG) is commonly used to enhance drug delivery and efficacy by extending the half-life of the drug molecule. This has important implications for reducing treatment burden in diseases that require chronic prophylaxis, such as hemophilia. Clearance of PEG molecules with high molecular weights (≥ 40 kDa) has been reported to cause cellular vacuolation in mammals.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Neutralizing factor VIII (FVIII) antibodies are a major complication in hemophilia A. Antihemophilic factor VIII (recombinant), porcine sequence (rpFVIII; susoctocog alfa; Baxalta US Inc., a Takeda company) has low cross-reactivity to anti-human FVIII antibodies and can provide functional FVIII activity in the presence of FVIII inhibitors.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiosocial impact of facial dominance and sex-typicality is well-evidenced in various human groups. It remains unclear, though, whether perceived sex-typicality and dominance can be consistently predicted from sexually dimorphic facial features across populations. Using a combination of multidimensional Bayesian approach and geometric morphometrics, we explored associations between perceived dominance, perceived sex-typicality, measured sexual shape dimorphism, and skin colour in a European and an African population.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFThis review, written from the perspective of the plasma industry, discusses plasma procurement and plasma product safety in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted the whole world and, therefore, not unexpectedly, the pharmaceutical industry too. In spite of this, the plasma protein industry has continued to provide life saving therapies to critically ill patients.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjectives: To establish the prevalence of pain and functional disability in Irish adults with moderate and severe haemophilia, and to examine demographic and lifestyle influences.
Methods: Males ≥18 years with moderate or severe haemophilia participated. Pain and function were examined using the PROBE questionnaire.
The recent changes in COVID-19 symptoms suggest convergent evolution of respiratory diseases. This process is analogous to the emergence of animal mimetic complexes and complements previously identified types of mimicry. A novel pathogen might go unnoticed or insufficiently counteracted if it resembles a disease that the host already faced on multiple occasions, which creates a selective pressure towards a typical symptomic phonotype.
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