Sex differences in interoceptive accuracy:A meta-analysis

Interoceptive accuracy, the ability to correctly perceive internal signals arising from the body, is thought to be disrupted in numerous mental and physical health conditions. Whilst evidence suggests poorer interoceptive accuracy in females compared to males, raising the possibility that interoceptive differences may relate to sex differences in mental and physical health, results concerning sex differences in interoceptive accuracy are mixed. Given such ambiguity, this meta-analysis aimed to establish the presence or absence of sex differences in interoceptive accuracy across cardiac, respiratory, and gastric domains. A review of 7956 abstracts resulted in 93 eligible studies. Results demonstrated superior accuracy in males across cardiac, but not gastric, tasks, while findings on respiratory tasks were mixed. Effect sizes were consistent across cardiac tasks, but instability and/or moderate heterogeneity was observed across other domains, likely due to the small number of eligible studies. Despite such limitations, results indicate the possibility of sex differences across interoception tasks and domains. Methodological limitations concerning the influence of physiological factors, and directions for future research are discussed

Vitrification of bovine oocytes

The overall objective of this thesis was to investigate the vitrification of bovine cumulus oocyte complexes (COCs) as a tool for conservation of female genetics. Specifically, the first objective was to compare in vitro maturation rates (i.e. end point Metaphase II (MII) rate) of bovine COCs following vitrification using two different equilibration times (0 vs 10 min) in vitrification solution 1 (VS1) and two different cryodevices (cryotop vs 0.25 mL straw). The MII rate was higher in the non-vitrified control group than in vitrified groups (61 vs 16%,

Cryopreservation of Mammalian Oocyte for Conservation of Animal Genetics

The preservation of the female portion of livestock genetics has become an international priority; however, in situ conservation strategies are extremely expensive. Therefore, efforts are increasingly focusing on the development of a reliable cryopreservation method for oocytes, in order to establish ova banks. Slow freezing, a common method for cryopreservation of oocytes, causes osmotic shock (solution effect) and intracellular ice crystallization leading to cell damage. Vitrification is an alternative method for cryopreservation in which cells are exposed to a higher concentration of cryoprotectants and frozen with an ultra rapid freezing velocity, resulting in an ice crystal free, solid glass-like structure. Presently, vitrification is a popular method for cryopreservation of embryos. However, vitrification of oocytes is still challenging due to their complex structure and sensitivity to chilling

Emergence of plasmid-mediated colistin resistance (MCR-1) among Escherichia coli isolated from South African patients

The polymyxin antibiotic colistin is an antibiotic of last resort for the treatment of extensively drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, including carbapenemase- producing Enterobacteriaceae. The State of the World’s Antibiotics report in 2015 highlighted South Africa (SA)’s increasing incidence of these ‘superbugs’ (3.2% of Klebsiella pneumoniae reported from SA were carbapenemase producers), and in doing so, underscored SA’s increasing reliance on colistin as a last line of defence. Colistin resistance effectively renders such increasingly common infections untreatable

Concurrent and distinct transcription and translation of transforming growth factor-beta type I and type II receptors in rodent embryogenesis

The transforming growth factor-betas (TGF-betas) are multifunctional regulatory polypeptides that play a crucial role in many cell processes and function through a set of cell surface protein receptors that includes TGF-beta type I (RI) and type II (RII). The present study reports a comprehensive comparison of the patterns of expression of TGF-beta RI and RII proteins and mRNAs in the developing mouse embryo using immunohistochemical and in situ hybridization analyses. Although widespread expression of both TGF-beta receptors was detected throughout the embryonic development period so that many similarities occur in localization of the TGF-beta receptors, TGF-beta RI was expressed in a well-defined, non-uniform pattern that was different in many respects from that of TGF-beta RII. Whereas higher levels of TGF-beta RI compared to TGF-beta RII were detected in some tissues of the embryo at the beginning of organogenesis, the level of TGF-beta RII increased more dramatically than that of TGF-beta RI during late organogenesis; this was especially true in many neural structures where TGF-beta RI and RII were comparable by day 16. The lung, kidney and intestine, in which epithelial-mesenchymal interactions occur, showed a complex pattern of TGF-beta RI and Rll expression. Additionally, northern blot hybridization and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) amplification showed non-uniform expression of the transcripts for TGF-beta RI and RII in embryonic and adult mouse and rat tissues. These data show that regulation of TGF-beta1 RI and RII occurs concurrently, but distinctly, in a spatial and temporal manner in rodent embryogenesis which may allow control of signal transduction of TGF-beta during development

Correlates of frequent gambling and gambling-related chasing behaviors in individuals with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders

Background and aims Published research on the relationship between disordered gambling and schizophrenia is limited. However, existing data suggest that individuals with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder may have a high prevalence of co-occurring disordered gambling. As such, effective strategies for screening and assessing gambling-related problems in individuals with psychosis are needed. The goal of this study was to explore the correlates of increased gambling frequency and chasing behavior, a hallmark feature of gambling disorder, in a sample of individuals with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorders. Methods Data from 336 participants who met DSM-IV criteria for schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were used to examine differences between non-gamblers, infrequent gamblers, frequent gamblers who do not report chasing, and frequent gamblers who report chasing on a variety of associated features and symptoms of schizophrenia and disordered gambling. Results and discussion The results of the study support the conclusion that chasing behavior in individuals with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder lies on a continuum of severity, with more frequent gamblers endorsing greater chasing. Chasing was also associated with indicators of lower functioning across co-occurring disorders, such as greater problems with alcohol and drugs, greater gambling involvement, and a family history of gambling problems. The findings from the study suggest the utility of screening for chasing behavior as a brief and efficient strategy for assessing risk of gambling problems in individuals with psychotic-spectrum disorders