Y-chromosomal haplogroup distribution in the Tuzla Canton of Bosnia and Herzegovina: A concordance study using four different in silico assignment algorithms based on Y-STR data.

Y-chromosomal haplogroups are sets of ancestrally related paternal lineages, traditionally assigned by the use of Y-chromosomal single nucleotide polymorphism (Y-SNP) markers. An increasingly popular and a less labor-intensive alternative approach has been Y-chromosomal haplogroup assignment based on already available Y-STR data using a variety of different algorithms. In the present study, such in silico haplogroup assignments were made based on 23-loci Y-STR data for 100 unrelated male individuals from the Tuzla Canton, Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H) using the following four different algorithms: Whit Athey's Haplogroup Predictor, Jim Cullen's World Haplogroup & Haplogroup-I Subclade Predictor, Vadim Urasin's YPredictor and the NevGen Y-DNA Haplogroup Predictor. Prior in-house assessment of these four different algorithms using a previously published dataset (n=132) from B&H with both Y-STR (12-loci) and Y-SNP data suggested haplogroup misassignment rates between 0.76% and 3.02%. Subsequent analyses with the Tuzla Canton population sample revealed only a few differences in the individual haplogroup assignments when using different algorithms. Nevertheless, the resultant Y-chromosomal haplogroup distribution by each method was very similar, where the most prevalent haplogroups observed were I, R and E with their sublineages I2a, R1a and E1b1b, respectively, which is also in accordance with the previously published Y-SNP data for the B&H population. In conclusion, results presented herein not only constitute a concordance study on the four most popular haplogroup assignment algorithms, but they also give a deeper insight into the inter-population differentiation in B&H on the basis of Y haplogroups for the first time.

Presynaptic and postsynaptic regulation of muscle contractions in the ascarid nematode Ascaris suum: a target for drug action.

The aim of this study was to determine the role in contractions of postsynaptic nicotinic acetylcholine (nACh) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) receptors, in the bag region of Ascaris suum muscle cells, as well as the role of synaptic receptors between interneurons and motor neurons in the dorsal and ventral nerve cord. We have measured the isometric contractions of isolated segments of A. suum, with or without the nerve cord (dorsal or ventral). Contractions were caused by increasing concentrations of ACh or by electrical field stimulation (EFS). Based on our results, the presence of the nerve cord is essential for the contractile effects of ACh. The EC50 value of ACh for innervated muscle strips was 10.88 µm. Unlike intact (innervated) preparations, there was no contraction of the muscle flaps when the nerve cord was mechanically removed. Furthermore, continuous EFS produced stable contractions of innervated muscle strips, but they are not sensitive to mecamylamine (100 µm). However, GABA (30 µm) significantly inhibited the EFS-induced contractions. EFS with the same characteristics did not cause muscle contractions of denervated muscle strips, but EFS with a wider pulse induced the increasing of tone and irregular contractions. These contractions were completely insensitive to the effect of GABA. The EC50 for ACh did not differ between the dorsal and ventral segments (9.83 µm and 9.45 µm), while GABA exhibited features of competitive and non-competitive antagonists, regardless of whether it acted on the dorsal or ventral segments of A. suum. It is obvious that drugs will be more effective if they act on both the synaptic and extrasynaptic nACh and GABA receptors.

Testing gradual and speciational models of evolution in extant taxa: the example of ratites.

Ever since Eldredge and Gould proposed their model of punctuated equilibria, evolutionary biologists have debated how often this model is the best description of nature and how important it is compared to the more gradual models of evolution expected from natural selection and the neo-Darwinian paradigm. Recently, Cubo proposed a method to test whether morphological data in extant ratites are more compatible with a gradual or with a speciational model (close to the punctuated equilibrium model). As shown by our simulations, a new method to test the mode of evolution of characters (involving regression of standardized contrasts on their expected standard deviation) is easier to implement and more powerful than the previously proposed method, but the Mesquite module comet (aimed at investigating evolutionary models using comparative data) performs better still. Uncertainties in branch length estimates are probably the largest source of potential error. Cubo hypothesized that heterochronic mechanisms may underlie morphological changes in bone shape during the evolution of ratites. He predicted that the outcome of these changes may be consistent with a speciational model of character evolution because heterochronic changes can be instantaneous in terms of geological time. Analysis of a more extensive data set confirms his prediction despite branch length uncertainties: evolution in ratites has been mostly speciational for shape-related characters. However, it has been mostly gradual for size-related ones.

Cluster approach to the Ti2Ni structure type.

It has been established that the 16(c) first coordination clusters in the Ti2Ni structure type (space group Fd3m) follow icosahedral-face orientational ordering along regular tetrahedron edge directions. The actual crystal structure appears due to the prevalence of the face-centred cubic translational ordering over the cluster assembling. This way, the competition of the ;regular' crystal phase and its icosahedral analogue is reconstructed at the atomic level. The model accounts for the markedly different electronic characteristics at the different crystallographic positions obtained by hyperfine interaction measurements, and other curious experimental facts help to create an exact physical definition of the first coordination in the solid state and to distinguish between various structure types on fundamental principles.

The peopling of modern Bosnia-Herzegovina: Y-chromosome haplogroups in the three main ethnic groups.

The variation at 28 Y-chromosome biallelic markers was analysed in 256 males (90 Croats, 81 Serbs and 85 Bosniacs) from Bosnia-Herzegovina. An important shared feature between the three ethnic groups is the high frequency of the "Palaeolithic" European-specific haplogroup (Hg) I, a likely signature of a Balkan population re-expansion after the Last Glacial Maximum. This haplogroup is almost completely represented by the sub-haplogroup I-P37 whose frequency is, however, higher in the Croats (approximately 71%) than in Bosniacs (approximately 44%) and Serbs (approximately 31%). Other rather frequent haplogroups are E (approximately 15%) and J (approximately 7%), which are considered to have arrived from the Middle East in Neolithic and post-Neolithic times, and R-M17 (approximately 14%), which probably marked several arrivals, at different times, from eastern Eurasia. Hg E, almost exclusively represented by its subclade E-M78, is more common in the Serbs (approximately 20%) than in Bosniacs (approximately 13%) and Croats (approximately 9%), and Hg J, observed in only one Croat, encompasses approximately 9% of the Serbs and approximately 12% of the Bosniacs, where it shows its highest diversification. By contrast, Hg R-M17 displays similar frequencies in all three groups. On the whole, the three main groups of Bosnia-Herzegovina, in spite of some quantitative differences, share a large fraction of the same ancient gene pool distinctive for the Balkan area.

Comparative study of genetic variation at 15 STR loci in three isolated populations of the Bosnian mountain area.

Fifteen autosomal STR loci (D3S1358, TH01, D21S11, D18S51, Penta E, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, D16S539, CSF1PO, Penta D, VWA, D8S1179, TPOX, and FGA) were studied in three geographically close but isolated populations from the Bosnian mountain area. The three villages are Bobovica, Dejcici, and Lukomir. DNA was obtained from 83 individuals, and the allele frequencies and genetic diversity among the three sample groups were compared. In addition, seven of the STR loci (CSF1PO, D13S317, D3S1358, D5S818, D7S820, FGA, TH01) were used in a comparative population analysis of the Bjelasnica-Treskavica region and the Adriatic islands of Brac, Hvar, and Korcula. Although the sample sizes are relatively small, the observed variation within any of the small isolated populations is high and comparable to less isolated groups. In addition, even though the populations are geographically isolated, the STR data are similar among the populations. The most significant frequency differences were observed at the TH01 locus. Although the specific allele distributions in any untyped population cannot be determined a priori, we find support for a high degree of diversity for the STR loci in most populations. In addition, the multiple locus profile is highly informative not only for various population studies but also for forensic studies, even when specific population data are not available.

[Manifestations of epileptic seizures after acute cerebrovascular disease]. / Pojava epileptickih napada nakon akutnih cerebrovascularnih bolesti.

The study included 80 patients hospitalized in Intensive Care Unit, in whom was with confirmed the occurrence of seizures after acute cerebrovascular diseases. They were classified according to sex, age, etiopathogenesis of stroke, latence from the onset of cerebrovascular disease to the occurrence of first seizure, hemispheric and intrahemispheric localization of cerebrovascular lesion, and clinical types of seizures.

[Association of manifestations of acute stress disorder and acute cerebrovascular disease]. / Udruzena pojava akutnog stresnog poremacaja i akutne cerebrovaskularne bolesti.

The study comprised 32 patients who were with clinically, laboratory and neuroradiologically confirmed associated occurrence of acute stress disorder and stroke. All the examinees were civilians exposed to war stress, so it could be directly designated as the cause of acute stress disorder and indirectly denoted as a trigger of cardiovascular, endocrine and cerebrovascular disorder that brought to stroke.

Measurement of the volume of a leg ulcer using a laser scanner.

Effective management of leg ulcer healing depends on accurate and reliable measurements of wound size. Current techniques usually rely on estimates of surface area or circumference which do not fully describe the healing process. A novel instrument has been developed that is capable of measuring the variations in the surface contours (topography) of a solid object. Its primary application is to measure the size of a leg ulcer by scanning a laser displacement sensor over the affected area. There is no contact with the wound and scanning takes approximately 2 minutes to perform. Volume is calculated by subtracting the measured topography from one calculated using an algorithm to reconstruct a healthy leg surface. A study was carried out where patients had their ulcers scanned during their visits to the leg ulcer clinic. Data are presented from two venous leg ulcers showing the calculated volume reducing over time.

Optical assessment of recovery of tissue blood supply after removal of externally applied pressure.

The authors use photoelectric plethysmography to determine the external occlusion pressure for blood vessels in human tissue in vivo. Three wavelengths are employed; 950 nm (infra-red), 640 nm (red) and 583 nm (yellow). Each probe is applied in turn to one finger of each subject. Pressure is applied, using a neonatal blood pressure cuff, to the finger via the probe. This pressure is increased linearly to 20 kPa (150 mmHg) over 15 s and then decreased linearly to zero over 15 s. The pressure at which perfusion returns is obtained for four repeat measurements at each wavelength. The mean (+/-standard deviation) occlusion pressures for all 13 subjects investigated are 7.1 (+/-1.9) kPa for infra-red, 6.3 (+/-1.7) kPa for red and 5.8 (+/-1.8) kPa for yellow. The pressure is 0.79 (+/-0.83) kPa lower for red compared with infra-red (P < 0.01), 0.54 (+/-0.60) kPa lower for yellow compared with red (P < 0.002) and 1.3 (+/-1.0) kPa lower for yellow compared with infra-red (P < 0.005). The reduced penetration of shorter optical wavelengths can be used to detect the lower occlusion pressures of the smaller blood vessels nearer the skin surface.

Periodic posture stimulation of the baroreceptors and the local vasomotor reflexes.

In a supine subject, lowering of the foot from heart level to 50 cm below is known to stimulate the local reflex response and the baroreceptor outflow. We lowered and raised the leg of a supine subject periodically, with the leg stationary between movements (square wave). The Traube-Hering-Mayer wave (THM congruent to 0.1 Hz) was captured by or locked on to the leg movement over a certain frequency range, this is usually called the entrainment range. Square wave periodic leg movement in this manner on 10 male subjects, mean age 22 years, demonstrated that the THM frequency can be entrained. The lower limit of the entrainment bandwidth is 0.0841 (SD 0.0030) Hz and the upper limit is 0.1176 (SD 0.0013) Hz. Further examination showed that this phenomenon is independent of the breathing input. Comparison with the Traube-Hering-Mayer entrainment techniques of breathing and periodic neck suction using the Eckberg collar which stimulates the baroreceptors showed similar results. This work supports the hypothesis that the local reflex response and the baroreceptor outflow entrain the THM frequency.

Leukemia incidence by occupation in the Portland-Vancouver metropolitan area.

During a 15-year period in an urban area with over a million inhabitants, we identified 1,678 cases of leukemia among residents aged 16 or older. Case finding was done according to the methods of the National Cancer Institute (NCI) SEER program. Usual occupation was coded by a system based on the U.S. Census Bureau classification. According to age-standardized incidence rates for persons aged 16-67, significant excess leukemia risks were found for 14 male and 8 female occupation categories, with the larger number of male excess risk situations due to nonlymphatic leukemia. Lymphatic leukemia risks were significantly elevated among dentists, school teachers of both sexes, auto mechanics, gas station attendants, female assembly workers, and female laundry and dry cleaning workers. Nonlymphatic leukemia risks were significantly elevated among machinists, other metal tradesmen, heavy equipment operators, textile operatives, meat cutters, cannery workers, construction laborers, freight and stock handlers, policemen, and firemen. Risks of both types of leukemia were significantly elevated among registered and practical nurses and lumber mill workers. This study has not identified specific etiologic agents and exposures, but applied investigations aimed at disease control by prevention of cases are now possible in this community. Nationwide surveillance and control are recommended.

[Importance of scintigraphy in the treatment of hepatic echinococcus]. / Vaznost scintigrafije u lijecenju jetrenog ehinokokusa

Report of 105 cases operated upon for hydatid disease of the liver. In all cases scintigraphy was performed preoperatively. The authors came to the following conclusions: 1) Scintigraphy of the liver shows in a great percentage (73%) of cases accurate localisation, dimension and number of cysts. 2) This examination is of great importance to the surageon as it enables him to choose the most appropriate approach to the cyst, reducing at the same time of spilling its content. 3) In one third of the cases in which the cyst was located under the diaphgragme the x-ray finding was negative. Particularly in that cases scintigraphy was of great help.