The importance of insect sperm : sperm ultrastructure of Hermetia illucens (black soldier fly)

Sperm structure and ultrastructure of Hermetia illucens was determined by light microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. The main sperm components were similar as for other Dipteran subspecies, while the ultrastructure revealed distinguishing features in the zone of overlap and anterior flagellar region. Sperm varied in size indicating sperm polymorphism. The head region is lacking an acrosome. The zone of overlap consisted of uniquely organized centriolar adjunct material, partly forming electron dense areas to finally form an outer ring separating the mitochondrial derivatives from the 9 + 9 + 2 axoneme. Accessory bodies arising from the zone of overlap are flanked by smaller to large mitochondrial derivatives into the anterior flagellum. This study confirms sperm structure diversity between brachyceran subspecies and support its relationship with nematoceran subspecies.The Faculty of Natural Science, University of the Western Cape.http://www.elsevier.com/locate/tice2020-08-01hj2019Anatomy and Physiolog

Конкуренція університетів: світовий досвід і українські реалії

Досліджено процеси конкуренції вищих навчальних закладів; обґрунтовано основні критерії формування рейтингів університетів; виявлено взаємозв’язок між високим рейтингом університету і показником його елітності; розкрито значення капіталізації в конкурентних перевагах вищих навчальних закладів; визначено роль елітних університетів у постіндустріальному розвитку суспільства.Исследованы процессы конкуренции высших учебных заведений; обоснованы основные критерии формирования рейтингов университетов; показана взаимосвязь между высоким рейтингом университета и показателем его элитности; раскрыто значение капитализации в конкурентных преимуществах высших учебных заведений; определена роль элитных университетов в постиндустриальном развитии общества.The processes of competition of universities are studi ed, proved the main criteria for the formation of university rankings, found the relationship between highly-rated university and the rate of its elite, disclosed the value of capitalization in the competitive advantages of higher education institutions, and determined the role of elite universities in the post-industrial development

Heritability estimates for 361 blood metabolites across 40 genome-wide association studies

Metabolomics examines the small molecules involved in cellular metabolism. Approximately 50% of total phenotypic differences in metabolite levels is due to genetic variance, but heritability estimates differ across metabolite classes. We perform a review of all genome-wide association and (exome-) sequencing studies published between November 2008 and October 2018, and identify >800 class-specific metabolite loci associated with metabolite levels. In a twin-family cohort (N = 5117), these metabolite loci are leveraged to simultaneously estimate total heritability (h2 total), and the proportion of heritability captured by known metabolite loci (h2 Metabolite-hits) for 309 lipids and

Psychosocial development in survivors of childhood differentiated thyroid carcinoma: A cross-sectional study

Objective: The impact of childhood differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) on psychosocial development has not yet been studied. The aim of this study was to evaluate the achievement of psychosocial developmental milestones in long-term survivors of childhood DTC. Design and methods: Survivors of childhood DTC diagnosed between 1970 and 2013 were included. Reasons for exclusion were age 35 years at follow-up, a follow-up period <5 years or diagnosis with DTC as a second malignant neoplasm. Survivors gathered peer controls of similar age and sex (n=30

RANTES/CCL5 and risk for coronary events: Results from the MONICA/KORA Augsburg case-cohort, Athero-express and CARDIoGRAM studies

Background: The chemokine RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted)/CCL5 is involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in mice, whereas less is known in humans. We hypothesised that its relevance for atherosclerosis should be reflected by associations between CCL5 gene variants, RANTES serum concentrations and protein levels in atherosclerotic plaques and risk for coronary events. Methods and Findings: We conducted a case-cohort study within the population-based MONICA/KORA Augsburg studies. Baseline RANTES serum levels were measured in 363 individuals with incident coronary events and 1,908 non-cases (mean follow-up: 10.2±