A history of the genetic and molecular identification of genes and their functions controlling insect sex determination

The genetics of the sex determination regulatory cascade in Drosophila melanogaster has a fascinating history, interlinked with the foundation of the Genetics discipline itself. The discovery that alternative splicing rather than differential transcription is the molecular mechanism underlying the upstream control of sex differences in the Drosophila model system was surprising. This notion is now fully integrated into the scientific canon, appearing in many genetics textbooks and online education resources. In the last three decades, it was a key reference point for starting evolutionary studies in other insect species by using homology-based approaches. This review will introduce a very brief history of Drosophila genetics. It will describe the genetic and molecular approaches applied for the identifying and cloning key genes involved in sex determination in Drosophila and in many other insect species. These comparative analyses led to supporting the idea that sex-determining pathways have evolved mainly by recruiting different upstream signals/genes while maintaining widely conserved intermediate and downstream regulatory genes. The review also provides examples of the link between technological advances and research achievements, to stimulate reflections on how science is produced. It aims to hopefully strengthen the related historical and conceptual knowledge of general readers of other disciplines and of younger geneticists, often focused on the latest technical-molecular approaches

The Significance of the Ancient Greek Political Philosophy

The context in which the ancient Greek Philosophers wrote was characterized by the guiding principle that a position is only as good as the arguments that support it. This principle represents the real and lasting legacy they left to the modern world. What really mattered for the Greeks were the criteria used to determine the sort of life one should live. Their intended aim was to search how to achieve eudaimonia, or human flourishing, by means of arete, or excellence in human conduct, both at the individual and at the socio-political level. This was to become a major theme in the search for the just society conducted by social and political philosophy up to our time. They asked: (1) are State and Society there by Nature or Convention? (2) What is justice and its import on how to govern? (answering this question involves: whether to give persons what they want or what they need; how burdens and benefits of living in a society should be shared; who should make the decisions; and what are the sources of political obligation.) (3) Finally, how to practically implement what the nature of society and justice indicate we should do? (This means providing at least some practical guidance on how to reform politics in order to achieve the common good and construct a just society.) The Sophists seem to have already debated some of these fundamental issues. Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle spurred on by the Sophists, but at the same time critical of them, took more convincing, even though not entirely uniform, ethical stands. They have constantly been recognized as genuinely seeking the moral truth, thus setting the beginning of the still ongoing philosophical discussion about the role and ends of government.

Book Review

Delayed Democracy: How Press Freedom Collapsed in the Gambiaby Alagi Yorro Jallow Author House: Bloomington, 2013ISBN: 978-1-4918-0662-3 (sc), 978-1-4918-0660-9 (hc),978-1-4918-0661-6 (e

Hobbes and the Rise of Modernity

This article examines the specific role of Hobbes’ Dialogue of the Common Laws in the development of the liberal tradition in the common law. Hobbes usually has been regarded as the founder of a theory of absolute sovereignty and as an advocate of state centralization. In some cases he is even considered a forerunner of such neoconservative political philosophers as Carl Schmitt and Leo Strauss. However, this reading of Hobbes will contend that his philosophical and political enterprise has been misunderstood. Opposed to the authoritarian reading I wish to emphasize a strain of pragmatic and free thinking modernity in Hobbes’ writings. Hobbes supports freedom of expression and enquiry against all types of sectarian claims made by the most powerful legal and religious circles and guilds of that time which he saw as intent on pursuing their own narrow self-interests against the needs of the common people. In other words, he was an early advocate of intellectual freedom and was an agent of change within the conceptual history of common law. The historical influence of these liberal features of Hobbes set in motion a shift towards a kind of consequentialist and informal utilitarianism in the understanding of common law. This is the important historical outcome of A Dialogue. I argue that the contrast between Hobbes’ rational jurisprudence in A Dialogue and common law itself is particularly significant to the rise of English and American Constitutionalism, modern individualism and utilitarianism

How is sex determined in insects? Preface.

insects provide vivid examples of an astonishing diversity of primary signals of sex determination that not only vary between species but even within species, in contrast to terminal genes which are conserved across taxa. Accordingly this special issue of Journal of Genetics is dedicated to provide an update of the data available from genetic studies of sex determination and of sexual differentiation in a wide range of insect specie

How is sex determined in insects?

This article does not have an abstract

Different functional classes of genes are characterized by different compositional properties

A compositional analysis on a set of human genes classified in several functional classes was performed. We found out that the GC3, i.e. the GC level at the third codon positions, of the genes involved in cellular metabolism was significantly higher than those involved in information storage and processing. Analyses of human/Xenopus ortologous genes showed that: (i) the GC3 increment of the genes involved in cellular metabolism was significantly higher than those involved in information storage and processing; and (ii) a strong correlation between the GC3 and the corresponding GCi, i.e. the GC level of introns, was found in each functional class. The non‐randomness of the GC increments favours the selective hypothesis of gene/genome evolution

Microbial characterization of sourdough for sweet baked products in the Campania region (southern Italy) by a polyphasic approach

The microflora of nine sourdoughs used for sweet bakery products underwent preliminary microbiological characterization using lactic acid bacteria (LAB) and yeast enumeration. Five sourdough samples were submitted for microbial identification by culture-dependent techniques employing 16S and 26S rRNA genes sequencing, as well as a culture-independent technique using PCR-DGGE analysis. The LAB species isolated belonged principally to facultative heterofermentative Lactobacillus spp., Leuconostoc spp., and Lactococcus spp. Yeast strains were identified as Saccharomyces cerevisiae, with one exception represented by a strain belonging to Metschnikowia pulcherrima. PCR-DGGE analysis allowed the identification of Streptococcus thermophilus, Lactobacillus sakei, Weissella groceries and Lactobacillus sanfranciscensis among lactic acid bacteria and Saccharomyces cerevisiae and Metschnikowia pulcherrima among yeasts. This polyphasic approach highlighted different levels of biodiversity, from two to eight different typical LAB species, always associated to Saccharomyces cerevisiae, that could be selected to be specifically used in naturally fermented brioche and cornetto preparation

Sinus Floor Elevation with Modified Crestal Approach and Single Loaded Short Implants: A Case Report with 4 Years of Follow-Up

Tooth extraction is usually followed by bone reduction. In the maxillary posterior region, this remodelling combined with sinus pneumatisation and periodontal defects may lead to a reduced basal bone height available for implant placement. Sinus floor elevation can be performed with different surgical techniques. Crestal approach has demonstrated to be effective, less invasive, and associated with a reduced morbidity. This article reports a modified sinus floor elevation by means of rotary, noncutting instruments, addition of xenograft, and 2 short-threaded implant placements. The aim of the study was to evaluate the implant’s success and intrasinus radiographical bone gain after 4 years of functional loading. The premolar implant site presented a starting basal bone height of 6 mm, while the molar site was of 2 mm. In the first surgical step, sinus floor elevation was performed mesially and the implant was inserted, and distally only sinus floor elevation was performed. After 6 months, the mesial implant was uncovered and the second implant was inserted; 4 months later, the second fixture was uncovered, and both fixtures were loaded with single provisional screw-retained crowns and later with single screw-retained porcelain fused to metal crowns. Implants integrated successfully, and crestal bone remodelling did not exceed the smooth collar. Bone gain was 3 mm for the mesial implant and more than 5 mm for the distal one

Risk of preeclampsia in of women who underwent chorionic villus sampling

OBJECTIVE: To assess the risk of preeclampsia in women who underwent chorionic villus sampling (CVS). STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective, single-center, cohort study. All consecutive singleton gestations who underwent chorionic villus sampling from January 2014 to January 2016 were included in the study. The primary outcome was the incidence of preeclampsia. Subgroup analysis in women with beta thalassemic trait was performed. Logistic regression, presented as adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with the 95% of confidence interval (CI), was performed. RESULTS: Five hundred forty-seven women who underwent CVS, and 1532 women who did not were analyzed. Women who underwent CVS had a significantly lower risk of preeclampsia (4.4 versus 8.0%; aOR 0.53, 95%CI 0.34-0.83), and late-onset preeclampsia (3.3 versus 6.1%; aOR 0.52, 95%CI 0.31-0.87). No statistically significant differences were found in preeclampsia with severe features, early-onset preeclampsia, and preterm birth (PTB). Women who underwent CVS due to thalassemic trait had a lower incidence of preeclampsia compare to those women who did not undergo CVS (3.3 versus 8.0%; aOR 0.39, 95%CI 0.14-0.87), while no differences were found comparing women who underwent CVS due to thalassemic trait with women who underwent CVS due to other reasons. CONCLUSIONS: Women who underwent first trimester CVS had a lower risk of preeclampsia compared to those who did not