Normal Females Research Articles

Comparative Evaluation of Stroke in Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Patients

Introduction: Obesity has been recognized by the World Health Organization as ‘a pandemic nutritional disorder which represents a rapidly growing threat to the health of populations of an increasing number of countries worldwide. Objectives: The objective was to determine the obesity as a risk factor for Gestational Diabetes Mellitus and Gestational Hypertension when compared with nonobese patients. Material & methods: A cohort study in which comparison of obese patients versus non-obese patients for developing gestational Diabetes Mellitus and gestational hypertension was done during November 2019 to October 2020 in DHQ teaching hospital, Sargodha. Results: The results of the current study reveals mean and SD was as 27.86 ± 4.21 in Group-1 and 26.33 ± 3.87 years in Group-2, mean and SD of body mass index in both groups was 33.47 ± 2.87 in Group-1 and 22.53 ± 3.21 in Group-2. Conclusion: The frequency of maternal complications is higher among obese pregnant females as compare to normal weight females.

Manipulation of fatty acid composition in a high-fat meal does not result in differential alterations in appetite or food intake in normal weight females: A single-blind randomized crossover study

A behavioral concept that generates a path to obesity is eating in the absence of hunger (EAH). One strategy that may be effective in preventing EAH is the manipulation of dietary fatty acid (FA) composition. However, it remains unclear which FA has the greatest impact on both appetite and EAH. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the effect of different dietary FA compositions (monounsaturated, MUFA; polyunsaturated, PUFA; saturated, SFA) on subjective ratings of appetite and subsequent ad libitum eating after a 3 h postprandial period. Sixteen apparently healthy normal weight females between ages 18–40 completed this randomized, single-blind, crossover study. Participants consumed a HF meal (65% energy from fat) rich in SFA, MUFA, and PUFA with an energy content corresponding to 35% of their measured resting metabolic rate on three separate occasions. Visual analog scales were collected while fasted and every 30 min for 3 h during a postprandial period to measure feelings of hunger, fullness, and desire to eat (DTE). Participants were provided an ad libitum buffet meal 3 h after the HF meal. There were no statistically significant differences for ratings of hunger, fullness, or DTE across conditions. Further, there was no significant difference in energy intake during the ad libitum lunch. We conclude that the manipulation of FA composition in a HF meal does not differentially affect appetite sensations or subsequent energy intake.

Effects of Trunk Stabilization Exercise Using Active Vibration on Spinal Alignment in Normal Adult Females: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Effects of Trunk Stabilization Exercise Using Active Vibration on Spinal Alignment in Normal Adult Females: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Effects of Trunk Stabilization Exercise Using Active Vibration on Spinal Alignment in Normal Adult Females: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Background: Although studies have been conducted on muscle thickness and balance in trunk stabilization exercise and exercise using vibration props, studies on trunk stabilization exercise using active vibration for spinal alignment are still insufficient to draw a conclusion.Objectives: To investigate the effect of trunk stabilization exercise using active vibration on the spinal alignment in adult females.Design: A randomized controlled trial.Methods: Twenty-six adult females were randomly assigned to the experimental group (active vibration) and 13 control groups (active non-vibrating) and exercised three times a week for 8 weeks. Each group was measured for spinal alignment before exercise and 8 weeks after exercise. Spinal alignment, trunk imbalance, pelvic tilt, and pelvic torsion were measured using a spinal alignment analyzer.Results: Trunk imbalance was a significantly different depending on the time in the experimental group and the control group (P .05). Pelvic torsion was no significant difference in both groups (P>.05).Conclusion: This study demonstrates that trunk stabilization exercise using active vibration has a positive effect on the alignment of the spine.

Immune response kinetics in Nigerian indigenous chickens challenged with attenuated Salmonella

Salmonella infection is a major cause of death in chickens and this disease can be transferred through meat and egg to humans. The use of antibiotics and vaccines in the prevention and control of this infection are not totally efficient and also have their side effects. Therefore, genetic control is a better approach in finding a lasting solution. One hundred and ten chickens (4th generation) comprising the three genotypes of Nigerian indigenous chickens(NIC) that had shown divergent response (high vs low) to sheep red blood cells antigens were used in this study to investigate the immune response kinetics in NIC after challenged with attenuated Salmonella. There were six classes namely, high titre normal, low titre normal, high titre frizzle, low titre frizzle, high titre naked neck and low titre naked neck. Haematological parameters: packed cell volume (PCV), haemoglobin concentration (Hb),red blood cells count (RBC), white blood cells count (WBC), heterophils (H), lymphocytes (L), eosinophils (E), basophils (B), monocytes (M) and heterophils-lymphocytes ratio (HLR) were used to assess the immune responses of the chickens and data collected were subjected to General Linear Model procedure of SAS 9.2 version. The results showed that genotypeantibody titre had significant effect (p<0.05) on the immune response parameters but sex had no significant effect (p>0.05), while sex by genotype-antibody titre interaction had significant effect (p<0.05). The immune response kinetics of the chickens after challenge with attenuated Salmonella was shown by the significance of the effect of days of blood collection after challenge. High titre naked neck chickens recorded the highest PCV, Hb and RBC values while genotype-antibody titre had no significant effect (p>0.05) on the rest of the parameters. Low titre naked neck males recorded the highest PCV, HB and RBC values while the rest of the parameters were not significant (p>0.05). Generally, days had significant effect (p<0.05) on all the immune response parameters except on H, L and HLR. The study showed that the high titre naked neck males were least affected by the Salmonella vaccine in terms of decrease in packed cell volume, haemoglobin concentration and red blood cell count while the low titre normal females were most affected.

Diagnostic value of candidate noncoding RNAs in leukocytes of patients with gestational diabetes mellitus.

Noncoding RNAs (ncRNAs) are involved in the pathological processes of various diseases. The aim of the present study was to verify the expression levels and the diagnostic value of two candidate ncRNAs in the blood leukocytes of patients with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) compared to healthy controls. The long ncRNA paired box 8 antisense 1 (Pax8-AS1) and the microRNA miR-4646 were selected, which were identified to be associated with GDM by bioinformatics analysis of a dataset from the Gene Expression Omnibus GEO database. By using reverse transcription-quantitative PCR, the expression levels of Pax8-AS1 and miR-4646 were analysed in leukocytes of patients with GDM (n=35) and normal pregnant females (n=35). The results indicated a significant decrease in the expression levels of both Pax8-AS1 and miR-4646 in patients with GDM as compared with those in the healthy controls. In the second trimester, a strong negative correlation between Pax8-AS1/miR-4646 and 2-h glucose levels was detected in patients with GDM. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that the levels of Pax8-AS1 and miR-4646 in the second trimester of pregnancy had a significant diagnostic value with high selectivity and specificity for GDM (area under the curve values, 0.902 and 0.891, respectively; P<0.001). Overall, the present study suggested that Pax8-AS1 and miR-4646 may serve as promising diagnostic biomarkers for GDM.

Finite element method based parametric study of Gastrocnemius-soleus recession: implications to the treatment of midfoot-forefoot overload syndrome

Gastrocnemius-soleus recession has been used to treat midfoot-forefoot overload syndrome and plantar fasciitis induced by equinus of the ankle joint. A controlled and selective amount of recession is imperative to maintain muscle strength and stability. The objective of this study was to conduct a parametric study to quantify the relationship between the level of recession and plantar fascia stress. A finite element model of the foot-ankle-shank complex was reconstructed from magnetic resonance and computed tomography images of a 63-year-old normal female. The model was validated by comparing modeled stresses to the measured plantar pressure distribution of the model participant during balanced standing. The midstance and push-off instants of walking stance were simulated with different levels and combinations of gastrocnemius-soleus recession resembled by different amounts of muscle forces. Halving the muscle forces at midstance reduced the average plantar fascia stress by a quarter while reducing two-third of the muscle forces at push-off reduced the average fascia stress by 18.2%. While the first ray of the plantar fascia experienced the largest stress among the five fasciae, the stress was reduced by 77.8% and 16.9% when the load was halved and reduced by two-third at midstance and push-off instants, respectively. Reduction in fascia stress implicates a lower risk of plantar fasciitis and other midfoot-forefoot overload syndromes. The outcome of this study can aid physicians to determine the amount of gastrocnemius-soleus recession towards patients with vdifferent levels of plantar fascia overstress. A detailed three-dimensional modelling on the plantar fascia is warranted in future study.

Defining the normal values of Magnetic Resonance Diffusion Tensor Imaging in assessment of cervical cord

• DTI is a non-invasive invivo method for assessment of the structural integrity of the white matter tracts.• It detects macro-structural and micro-structural abnormalities.• DTI simply depends on the normal Brownian motion of the water molecules. In CSF, water molecules are freely mobile and have low ADC, while in white matter tracts, the diffusion is not the same in every direction due to neuro-glial packing and myelination.• Isotropic diffusion of molecules occurs in white matter tracts, as molecules diffuse mainly in one directioncranio-caudally.Aim of work• Assess the cervical cord using diffusion tensor imaging and measuring the fraction anisotropy and mean diffusivity in subjects with normal cervical cord showing no lesions, to define their normal values and ranges.Patients• The study included 10 normal subjects, males and females, with no cervical cord lesions with age ranging from 20 to 40years old.MethodsAll patients were subjected to the following:1. Informed consent.2. Full clinical examination and history taking.3. MRI examination, including conventional MRI sequences, T1 and T2 in axial and sagittal views, followed by DTI sequences.4. Post imaging processing by placing 6ROIs within the cervical cord section at the level of CV2/3 level and measuring FA and MD in each ROIs using Syngo software.5. FA and MD were tabulated, statistical analysis were done to determine the normal values.

Effects of Gamma Irradiation on Mating Competitiveness of Male &lt;em&gt;Culex quinquefasciatus&lt;/em&gt; (Diptera:Culicidae) in Laboratory

Normal 0 false false false EN-US X-NONE X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} Culex quinquefasciatus is the main vector of lymphatic filariasis in Pekalongan City. Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) can be employed as complementary vector control for filariasis. The key success of this technique depends on the ability of laboratory-reared sterile males to mate with the wild-type females. This research aimed to was to determine the mating competitiveness, fecundity and fertility of sterile males of Cx. quinquefasciatus. The pupae of Cx. quinquefasciatus were gamma irradiated at doses of 60, 70, and 80 Gy, whereas unirradiated pupae were prepared as control. The mosquitoes emerging from the irradiated pupae were found to be able to mate with normal females in the cages. Observation was done for the mean female laying eggs, the fecundity, the fertility and the mating competitiveness. The observation data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA. The results show that the irradiated Cx. quinquefasciatus at the test doses does not affect the fecundity and the mating competitiveness, but the fertility is disturbed (sterile) . A dose of 70 Gy was found to be the optimum dose, which gave a fertility rate of 1.8 % (98.2 % sterile) with a value of competitiveness (C index) of 0.568. Based on these results, irradiated Cx. quinquefasciatus can be recommended for semifield application.

Cytokines, Adipokines, and Bone Markers at Rest and in Response to Plyometric Exercise in Obese vs Normal Weight Adolescent Females.

BackgroundIn adults, excess adiposity has been associated with low-grade, chronic inflammation and compromised bone health, but less is known about these linkages in children. The purpose of this study was to compare the circulating levels of inflammatory cytokines, adipokines, osteokines, and bone markers at rest and in response to plyometric exercise between obese and normal weight adolescent females.MethodsTen normal weight (BMI = 21.3 ± 2) and 10 obese (BMI = 32.9 ± 4), postmenarcheal females, aged 13–17 years, performed one bout of plyometric exercise (5 circuits; 120 jumps). Blood samples were taken at rest, 5 min, 1 h, and 24 h post-exercise. Tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-α), interleukin 6 (IL-6), insulin, leptin, osteocalcin, carboxy-terminal telopeptide (CTX), sclerostin, and parathyroid hormone (PTH) were measured in serum.ResultsCytokines were not different between groups at rest or over time with IL-6 increasing (+31%; p = 0.04) 5 min post-exercise and TNF-α decreasing (-9%; p = 0.001) 1 h post-exercise. Insulin and leptin were higher in the obese compared to the normal weight females. In both groups, insulin significantly increased 5 min post-exercise but remained elevated 1 h post-exercise only in the obese group. Leptin did not change in response to exercise. Osteocalcin was lower in the obese group across time and increased (+12%; p = 0.02) 24 h post-exercise in both groups. CTX was similar between groups at rest and decreased (-24%; p < 0.001) 1 h post-exercise. Sclerostin was similar between groups at rest, but there was a significant interaction reflecting a significant increase (+29%; p = 0.04) 5 min post-exercise in the obese group and a non-significant decrease (-13%; p = 0.08) in normal weight controls. PTH increased 5 min post-exercise, dropped 1 h post-exercise to lower than pre-exercise, and returned to baseline 24 h post-exercise in both groups.ConclusionObese adolescent females from our study had no evidence of resting inflammation or differences in bone resorption but show blunted bone formation when compared to normal weight controls. The direction and temporal changes in inflammatory cytokines, adipokines, and bone turnover markers to exercise were similar in both groups, reflecting an overall bone anabolic response for most biomarkers, except sclerostin, which increased only in the obese females immediately post-exercise, suggesting a different systemic regulation of sclerostin depending on adiposity.

Faster rates of tau accumulation in FTP‐PET in females relative to males, and a cross‐sectional influence on faster cognitive decline: Preliminary findings from HABS and ADNI

AbstractBackgroundClinically normal older females exhibit higher cross‐sectional 18F‐Flortaucipir (FTP)‐PET signal, but not Aβ‐PET, than males, particularly in temporal regions. What remains unclear is the extent to which these findings represent a real biological phenomenon as opposed to a methodological bias. Here, we explored sex differences in longitudinal tau accumulation, and how contemporaneous rates of FTP‐PET, Aβ‐PET and cognitive change may be modified by sex.MethodWe examined 128 clinically‐normal participants from the Harvard Aging Brain Study (HABS; 60% Female, Age=75(6.6)years) with at least two time‐points of contemporaneous FTP‐PET, PiB‐PET and cognition. Also, 153 ADNI participants with at least two time‐points of FTP‐PET (nCN=94/nMCI=59; 50% Female, Age=73(6.4)years), and with prospective longitudinal AV45‐PET and cognition (n=131). Mean follow up was 3.3yrs (range=1.2‐6.2yrs) and 1.4yrs (range=0.6‐3.3yrs), respectively. For FTP‐PET we exclusively examined the inferior temporal lobe (non‐partial volume corrected, cerebellar greyreference), for Aβ‐PET we used the PiB summary measure in HABS (cerebellar greyreference) and the AV‐45 summary measure in ADNI (whole cerebellumreference). For cognition, we used the Preclinical Alzheimer Cognitive Composite (PACC). We examined relationships between contemporaneous longitudinal FTP‐PET, Aβ‐PET, and cognitive performance using linear mixed models, adjusting for age, years of education and random intercept.ResultIn HABS, females exhibited faster rates of FTP‐PET accumulation than males, but only with increasing rates of Aβ‐PET accumulation (t=1.93, p=0.003; see Figure 1A). In ADNI, females exhibited faster rates of FTP‐PET accumulation, not moderated by Aβ‐PETchange (t=2.92, p=0.004; see Figure 1B). Sex did not moderate the relationship between FTP‐PET and PACC change in HABS or ADNI (see Figure 2.). We did, however, find that females with higher baseline FTP‐PET resulted in faster PACC decline than men in only clinically‐normal individuals in both cohorts (t=‐1.86ADNI,‐2.72HABS, p∼0.02; see Figure 3.).ConclusionThese findings support a female susceptibility to tau as a biological phenomenon of accelerated tau accumulation in AD‐vulnerable regions. A lack of an association between changing tau and changing cognition remains to be understood. It is possible that our models are picking up more on the ‘severity of burden’ (e.g. baseline tau) to influence faster rates of decline in females, rather than dynamic change per se.

Histological Study of Human Umbilical Cord in Diabetic Pregnant Females

Background: The umbilical cord (UC) is the lifeline between the fetus and placenta. It allows gas and nutrient exchange. Diabetes mellitus is the most common metabolic disorder that occurs during pregnancy, it has complications on both mother and fetus. The changes in the structure of UC with diabetes may have effect on the viability of the fetus.Aim of the Work: Is to study the effect of gestational diabetes on the histological structure of UC.Patients and Methods: The umbilical cord biopsies were collected immediately after delivery from 30 full term pregnant women, 15 normal pregnant females (Control group), and 15 pregnant women had gestational diabetes (Diabetic group). Informed written consent was taken from all pregnant women sharing in this study. These biopsies were processed for light and electron microscopic studies. Also morphometric and statistical analysis for the data were done.Results: Light microscopic study of diabetic UC samples showed degeneration of Wharton’s jelly fibers with formation of honey comb like empty spaces. Erosion of endothelial cells lined the umbilical vessels; with separation of their smooth muscle fibers were observed. There were degeneration of collagen fibers and decrease amount of elastic fibers in the wall of umbilical vessels. Morphometric studies showed significant decrease in the intima and media thickness in diabetic UC arteries compared to UC control arteries. The UC vein of diabetic samples showed significant dilatation of the lumen and thinner wall compared to that of control group.Conclusion: The present study proved that gestational diabetes has many injurious effects on histological structure of UC.

Comparison and Evaluation of Prelens Tear Film Stability by Different Noninvasive in vivo Methods.

PurposePrelens tear film stability of soft contact lens (SCL) play an important role for contact lens discomfort. In this study, we investigated the association between two types of noninvasive methods and evaluated the tear film stability with SCL using the methods.Patients and MethodsIn experiment 1, images of ring mire were recorded with a keratograph after focusing the pigment located at the front or back of the SCL. Interferometry and videokeratoscopy were used for the assessment of tear film stability in the right eye of 10 women, with two different cosmetic daily disposable SCLs: polymacon and etafilcon A with polyvinylpyrrolidone. Time to first distortion by noninvasive keratograph break up time (NIKBUT-first) was compared to noninvasive interferometry break up time (NIBUT). In experiment 2, ten normal females wore two different daily disposable SCLs: samfilcon A and narafilcon A. NIKBUT-first and NIBUT were compared between the lenses after 8 hours of SCL wearing.ResultsIn experiment 1, NIBUT-first without SCL was significantly correlated to NIBUT without SCL (r=0.445, P=0.0488, Pearson’s correlation coefficients). However, NIKBUT-first with SCL was not significantly correlated with NIBUT with SCL. In experiment 2, although NIKBUT-first was not significantly different between SCLs, samfilcon A had significantly longer NIBUT than narafilcon A (P=0.0315, paired t-test).ConclusionNIKBUT-first with SCL could be related to tear film stability between the lens and the corneal surface, but not to prelens tear film stability. NIIBUT could be a suitable method to evaluate prelens tear stability.

Mutation analysis in the F8 gene in 485 families with haemophilia A and prenatal diagnosis in China.

BackgroundHaemophilia A (HA) is an X‐linked bleeding disorder caused by mutations in the coagulation factor Ⅷ (F8) gene. Its incidence in men is estimated to be approximately 1/5000.ObjectiveThis study aimed to characterize the mutation spectrum of the F8 gene in 485 Chinese families, encompassing all HA phenotypic classes. Additionally, we evaluated the accuracy of prenatal diagnosis of foetuses at risk of having HA.MethodsLong‐Distance PCR (LD‐PCR) and Multiplex PCR were used to detect inversions, next‐generation sequencing (NGS) was used for point mutations, and multiplex ligation‐dependent probe amplification (MLPA) was used for large deletions or duplications.ResultsA mutation spectrum of 478 HA families was produced. Throughout 26 exons and 15 introns, a total of 237 different alterations of mutations were detected, of which 146 are known mutations (64.5%) and 91 are novel mutations (35.5%). Prenatal diagnosis revealed 97 normal males (35.79%), 103 HA males (38.01%), 36 normal females (13.28%), and 38 HA carrier females (14.02%).ConclusionUsing a systematic approach comprised of three steps, 237 pathogenic variants in 478 out of 485 patient samples (98.6%) were detected, including the identification of a heterogeneous mutation spectrum of 91 novel mutations. In addition, prenatal diagnosis of HA in pregnant carriers allowed for accurate determination of the foetal F8 gene state.

Q Kidney Risk Calculator- Useful Tool in Hospitals and Community

A kidney health check was conducted over a day in two private hospitals (Peninsula Private Hospital and Beleura Hospital) in 2017. 243 participants enrolled in this study. The study population were mobile inpatients, members from the public and health workers (nurses, doctors, allied health workers and administrative staff). Method: A Q risk calculator was used to assess the risk of developing moderate and severe chronic kidney disease (eGFR &lt;60 mls/min) and end stage renal failure over the next 5 years. All participants consented prior to being involved in the study. Results: The majority was aged 65 to 75 years old (aged population). 18% of the participants were diabetic, 18% had cardiovascular disease, 37% were hypertensive, 5% were smokers, 28% of the participants were overweight and obesity was seen in 25%. Diabetic females are five times higher risk than non-diabetic females in developing chronic kidney disease stage 3 and 4. Male diabetics are three times more at risk than non-diabetic men in developing moderate to severe chronic kidney disease. However diabetic men are five times higher risk than normoglycaemic men in progressing into end stage renal failure Females with cardiovascular disease are five times higher risk than women with no cardiovascular disease in developing moderate to severe chronic kidney disease. Men with cardiovascular disease are three times higher risk than men with no cardiovascular disease in developing moderate to severe chronic kidney disease. Hypertensive women are ten times higher risk than normotensive women in developing moderate to severe chronic kidney disease. Interestingly hypertensive men are four times higher risk than normotensive male in developing end stage renal failure Obese men are three times higher risk than normal weight men in developing moderate to severe chronic kidney disease. Underweight females are three times at risk than normal weight females in developing moderate and severe chronic kidney disease. Summary: Qrisk questionaire is a quick and easy tool to assess risk of developing chronic kidney disease. Participants with diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular disease have a higher risk of developing moderate and severe chronic kidney disease over the next 5 years. Overweight (body mass index 25 to 29.99), obese patients (body mass index more than 30) and interestingly underweight females with body mass index 18.5 or less have a higher risk of developing moderate and severe chronic kidney disease.

Comparison of Aerodynamic Characteristics During Reading Paragraph Tasks in Normal Male and Female Adults

Purpose: The present study was performed to compare the aerodynamic characteristics of males and females during reading paragraph task.Methods: Thirty-seven normal adult males (18-30 yrs) and thirty-nine normal adult females (18-34 yrs) were participated in this experiment. They read a part of ‘Gaeul’ paragraph with comfortable phonation, and the reading samples were recorded and analyzed by ‘Running Speech’ program of Phonatory Aerodynamic System (PAS).Results: Phonation time (with voicing) and expiratory airflow duration were significantly longer in females, but measures of inspiratory airflow duration, peak expiratory airflow, expiratory and inspiratory volumes were significantly higher in males. The difference in total duration and peak inspiratory airflow did not show statistical significance.Conclusion: Results revealed that there was a significant gender difference in aerodynamic measures of duration and airflow during the reading paragraph task. In evaluating and intervening aerodynamics of voice and voice disorder patients, we should also consider the gender-different aerodynamic characteristics in continuous speech.

Androgen Suppresses In Vivo and In Vitro LH Pulse Secretion and Neural Kiss1 and Tac2 Gene Expression in Female Mice.

Androgens can affect the reproductive axis of both sexes. In healthy women, as in men, elevated exogenous androgens decrease gonad function and lower gonadotropin levels; such circumstances occur with anabolic steroid abuse or in transgender men (genetic XX individuals) taking androgen supplements. The neuroendocrine mechanisms by which endogenous or exogenous androgens regulate gonadotropin release, including aspects of pulsatile luteinizing hormone (LH) secretion, remain unknown. Because animal models are valuable for interrogating neural and pituitary mechanisms, we studied effects of androgens in the normal male physiological range on in vivo LH secretion parameters in female mice and in vitro LH secretion patterns from isolated female pituitaries. We also assessed androgen effects on hypothalamic and gonadotrope gene expression in female mice, which may contribute to altered LH secretion profiles. We used a nonaromatizable androgen, dihydrotestosterone (DHT), to isolate effects occurring specifically via androgen receptor (AR) signaling. Compared with control females, DHT-treated females exhibited markedly reduced in vivo LH pulsatility, with decreases in pulse frequency, amplitude, peak, and basal LH levels. Correlating with reduced LH pulsatility, DHT-treated females also exhibited suppressed arcuate nucleus Kiss1 and Tac2 expression. Separate from these neural effects, we determined in vitro that the female pituitary is directly inhibited by AR signaling, resulting in lower basal LH levels and reduced LH secretory responses to gonadotropin-releasing hormone pulses, along with lower gonadotropin gene expression. Thus, in normal adult females, male levels of androgen acting via AR can strongly inhibit the reproductive axis at both the neural and pituitary levels.

الکفاءة الذاتية الأکاديمية لدى ذوى صعوبات التعلم والعاديين ( دراسة مقارنة )

هدفت الدراسة إلى التعرف على الکفاءة الذاتية الأکاديمية لدى طلاب ذوى صعوبات التعلم مقارنة بالعاديين ، وذلک على عينة (300) طالبا وطالبة من طلاب الصف الثانى الإعدادى بمحافظة الغربية ، وطبــــــــــــــــــق اختبار الذکاء المصور (إعداد/ أحمد زکى صالح ، 1978) واختبار الفهم القرائــــــــــــى (إعداد/ خيرى المغازى بدير، 1998) واختبـــــــــار بــنــــــــــدر جشطلــــــــت البصـــــــــرى – الحرکــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــى (إعــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــــداد/ مصطفى فهمى و حسين غنيم ) واختبـــــــــــار المصفوفـــــــــــــات المتتابعـــــــــــــــــــــــة الملـــــــــــون لرافـن(تعديل و تقنين/ عماد أحمد حسن ، 2016 ) ومقيـــــــــــــاس الکفــــــــــــاءة الذاتيــــــة الأکاديميـــــــــــــــــــــة (إعداد/ يوسف رياض عبدالحى ، 2013 ) . وأشارت نتائج الدراسة إلى : 1- وجود فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية بين الطلاب ذوى صعوبات التعلم والعاديين فى الکفاءة الذاتية الأکاديمية عند مستوى (01,0) لصالح العاديين . 2- لا توجد فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية بين الذکور و الإناث من ذوى صعوبات التعلم فى الکفاءة الذاتية الأکاديمية . 3- لا توجد فروق ذات دلالة إحصائية بين الذکور و الإناث من العاديين فى الکفاءة الذاتية الأکاديمية . Abstract Academic self-efficacy among students with learning disabilities and Normal students (comparative study ) Abstract The study aimed to identify the academic self-efficacy of students with learning disabilities compared to normal students, on a sample of (300) male and female students of the second grade of middle school in Gharbia governorate, and applied the illustrated intelligence test (Prepared / Ahmed Zaki Saleh, 1978) and the reading comprehension test (Prepared /Khairy Al-Maghaz Badir, 1998), the Bandar Gestalt visual-kinetic test (Prepared /Mustafa Fahmy and Hussein Ghneim), Raven's color sequential matrices test (Amendment and Rationing / Emad Ahmed Hassan, 2016), and the Academic Self-Efficiency Scale (Edd /Yousef Reyad Abdalhy, 2013) . The results of the study indicated : 1-The existence of statistically significant differences between students with learning disabilities and normal students in academic self-efficacy at the level (0,01) in favor of normal people . 2-There are no statistically significant between males and females with learning disabilities in academic self-efficacy . 3--There are no statistically significant between normal males and females in academic self-efficacy .

Sex steroids skew ACE2 expression in human airway: a contributing factor to sex differences in COVID-19?

The incidence, severity, and mortality of ongoing coronavirus infectious disease 19 (COVID-19) is greater in men compared with women, but the underlying factors contributing to this sex difference are still being explored. In the current study, using primary isolated human airway smooth muscle (ASM) cells from normal males versus females as a model, we explored the effect of estrogen versus testosterone in modulating the expression of angiotensin converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), a cell entry point for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Using confocal imaging, we found that ACE2 is expressed in human ASM. Furthermore, Western analysis of ASM cell lysates showed significantly lower ACE2 expression in females compared with males at baseline. In addition, ASM cells exposed to estrogen and testosterone for 24 h showed that testosterone significantly upregulates ACE2 expression in both males and females, whereas estrogen downregulates ACE2, albeit not significant compared with vehicle. These intrinsic and sex steroids induced differences may help explain sex differences in COVID-19.

It Is All in the Right Amygdala: Increased Synaptic Plasticity and Perineuronal Nets in Male, But Not Female, Juvenile Rat Pups after Exposure to Early-Life Stress.

Early-life stress (ELS) is associated with increased vulnerability to mental disorders. The basolateral amygdala (BLA) plays a critical role in fear conditioning and is extremely sensitive to ELS. Using a naturalistic rodent model of ELS, the limited bedding paradigm (LB) between postnatal days 1-10, we previously documented that LB male, but not female preweaning rat pups display increased BLA neuron spine density paralleled with enhanced evoked synaptic responses and altered BLA functional connectivity. Since ELS effects are often sexually dimorphic and amygdala processes exhibit hemispheric asymmetry, we investigated changes in synaptic plasticity and neuronal excitability of BLA neurons in vitro in the left and right amygdala of postnatal days 22-28 male and female offspring from normal bedding or LB mothers. We report that LB conditions enhanced synaptic plasticity in the right, but not the left BLA of males exclusively. LB males also showed increased perineuronal net density, particularly around parvalbumin (PV) cells, and impaired fear-induced activity of PV interneurons only in the right BLA. Action potentials fired from right BLA neurons of LB females displayed slower maximal depolarization rates and decreased amplitudes compared with normal bedding females, concomitant with reduced NMDAR GluN1 subunit expression in the right BLA. In LB males, reduced GluA2 expression in the right BLA might contribute to the enhanced LTP. These findings suggest that LB differentially programs synaptic plasticity and PV/perineuronal net development in the left and right BLA. Furthermore, our study demonstrates that the effects of ELS exposure on BLA synaptic function are sexually dimorphic and possibly recruiting different mechanisms.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Early-life stress (ELS) induces long-lasting consequences on stress responses and emotional regulation in humans, increasing vulnerability to the development of psychopathologies. The effects of ELS in a number of brain regions, including the amygdala, are often sexually dimorphic, and have been reproduced using the rodent limited bedding paradigm of early adversity. The present study examines sex differences in synaptic plasticity and cellular activation occurring in the developing left and right amygdala after limited bedding exposure, a phenomenon that could shape long-term emotional behavioral outcomes. Studying how ELS selectively produces effects in one amygdala hemisphere during a critical period of brain development could guide further investigation into sex-dependent mechanisms and allow for more targeted and improved treatment of stress-and emotionality-related disorders.