431 research outputs found

    Protective effect of wild Corni fructus methanolic extract against acute alcoholic liver injury in mice

    Get PDF
    Background: In Chinese folk medicine, Corni fructus (C. fructus) has traditionally been used to improve liver function, although the mechanism underlying its activity remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the protective effects of wild C. fructus methanolic extract against acute alcoholic liver injury.Methods: Alcohol was administered to mice for three consecutive days, either alone or in combination with C. fructus methanolic extract (50, 100, or 200mg/kg body weight/d). Serum and liver tissue were collected from the animals and subjected to biochemical and histopathological analyses.Results:C. fructus significantly alleviated alcohol-induced liver injury by reducing serum alanine aminotransferase, aspartate aminotransferase, and thiobarbituric acid reactive species, inhibiting hydroxyl radicals (center dot OH), and increasing total superoxide dismutase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione in the liver (P<0.05). In addition, the C. fructus treatment inhibited the expression and activity of cytochrome P450 2E1 (P<0.05)Conclusions:C. fructus could be a promising natural substance for ameliorating acute alcohol-induced oxidative stress and hepatic injury.- This work was supported by the Construction Project of Shaanxi Collaborative Innovation Center (2015, Shaanxi Sci-tech University); High-End Foreign Experts Recruitment Program [Grant GDW20146100228]; and Key Construction Program of International Cooperation Base in S&T Shaanxi Province, China [Grant 2015SD0018].info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

    Multi-agent modeling and analysis of EV users’ travel willingness based on an integrated causal/statistical/behavioral model

    Get PDF
    An electric vehicle (EV) centred ecosystem has not yet been formed, the existing limited statistic data are far from enough for the analysis of EV users’ travel and charge behaviors, which however tends to be affected by many certain and uncertain factors. An experimental economics (EE) based simulation method can be used to analyze the behaviors of key participants in a system. However, it is restricted by the system size, experimental site and the number of qualified human participants. Therefore, this method is hard to be adopted for the behavioral analysis of a large number of human participants. In this paper, a new method combining a questionnaire statistics and the EE-based simulation is proposed. The causal relationship is considered in the design of the questionnaires and data extraction, then a multi-agent modeling integration method is introduced in the EE-based simulation, which enables the integration of causal/statistical/behavioral models into the multi-agent framework to reflect the EV users’ travel willingness statistically. The generated multi-agents are used to replace human participants in the EE-based simulation in order to evaluate EV users’ travel demands in different scenarios, and compare the differences of simulated or measured travel behaviors between potential EV users and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle users

    Updates on p53: modulation of p53 degradation as a therapeutic approach

    Get PDF
    The p53 pathway is aberrant in most human tumours with over 50% expressing mutant p53 proteins. The pathway is critically controlled by protein degradation. Here, we discuss the latest developments in the search for small molecules that can modulate p53 pathway protein stability and restore p53 activity for cancer therapy

    Silicon particles as trojan horses for potential cancer therapy

    Get PDF
    [EN] Background: Porous silicon particles (PSiPs) have been used extensively as drug delivery systems, loaded with chemical species for disease treatment. It is well known from silicon producers that silicon is characterized by a low reduction potential, which in the case of PSiPs promotes explosive oxidation reactions with energy yields exceeding that of trinitrotoluene (TNT). The functionalization of the silica layer with sugars prevents its solubilization, while further functionalization with an appropriate antibody enables increased bioaccumulation inside selected cells. Results: We present here an immunotherapy approach for potential cancer treatment. Our platform comprises the use of engineered silicon particles conjugated with a selective antibody. The conceptual advantage of our system is that after reaction, the particles are degraded into soluble and excretable biocomponents. Conclusions: In our study, we demonstrate in particular, specific targeting and destruction of cancer cells in vitro. The fact that the LD50 value of PSiPs-HER-2 for tumor cells was 15-fold lower than the LD50 value for control cells demonstrates very high in vitro specificity. This is the first important step on a long road towards the design and development of novel chemotherapeutic agents against cancer in general, and breast cancer in particular.The authors acknowledge financial support from the following projects FIS2009-07812, MAT2012-35040, PROMETEO/2010/043, CTQ2011-23167, CrossSERS, FP7 MC-IEF 329131, and HSFP (project RGP0052/2012) and Medcom Tech SA. Xiang Yu acknowledges support by the Chinese government (CSC, Nr. 2010691036).Fenollosa Esteve, R.; Garcia-Rico, E.; Alvarez, S.; Alvarez, R.; Yu, X.; Rodriguez, I.; Carregal-Romero, S.... (2014). Silicon particles as trojan horses for potential cancer therapy. Journal of Nanobiotechnology. 12:1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12951-014-0035-7S11012Prasad PN: Introduction to Nanomedicine and Nanobioengineering. Wiley, New York, 2012.Randall CL, Leong TG, Bassik N, Gracias DH: 3D lithographically fabricated nanoliter containers for drug delivery. Adv Drug Del Rev. 2007, 59: 1547-1561. 10.1016/j.addr.2007.08.024.Reibetanz U, Chen MHA, Mutukumaraswamy S, Liaw ZY, Oh BHL, Venkatraman S, Donath E, Neu BR: Colloidal DNA carriers for direct localization in cell compartments by pH sensoring. Biogeosciences. 2010, 11: 1779-1784.Tasciotti E, Liu X, Bhavane R, Plant K, Leonard AD, Price BK, Cheng MM-C, Decuzzi P, Tour JM, Robertson F, Ferrari M: Mesoporous silicon particles as a multistage delivery system for imaging and therapeutic applications. Nat Nano. 2008, 3: 151-157. 10.1038/nnano.2008.34.Park J-H, Gu L, von Maltzahn G, Ruoslahti E, Bhatia SN, Sailor MJ: Biodegradable luminescent porous silicon nanoparticles for in vivo applications. Nat Mater. 2009, 8: 331-336. 10.1038/nmat2398.Hong C, Lee J, Son M, Hong SS, Lee C: In-vivo cancer cell destruction using porous silicon nanoparticles. Anti-Cancer Drugs. 2011, 22: 971-977. 910.1097/CAD.1090b1013e32834b32859cCanham LT: Device Comprising Resorbable Silicon for Boron Capture Neutron Therapy. UK Patent Nr. 0302283.7. Book Device Comprising Resorbable Silicon for Boron Capture Neutron Therapy. UK Patent Nr. 0302283.7 (Editor ed.^eds.). 2003, UK Patent Nr. 0302283.7, CityXiao L, Gu L, Howell SB, Sailor MJ: Porous silicon nanoparticle photosensitizers for singlet oxygen and their phototoxicity against cancer cells. ACS Nano. 2011, 5: 3651-3659. 10.1021/nn1035262.Gil PR, Parak WJ: Composite nanoparticles take Aim at cancer. ACS Nano. 2008, 2: 2200-2205. 10.1021/nn800716j.Gomella LG: Is interstitial hyperthermia a safe and efficacious adjunct to radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer?. Nat Clin Pract Urol. 2004, 1: 72-73. 10.1038/ncpuro0041.Maier-Hauff K, Ulrich F, Nestler D, Niehoff H, Wust P, Thiesen B, Orawa H, Budach V, Jordan A: Efficacy and safety of intratumoral thermotherapy using magnetic iron-oxide nanoparticles combined with external beam radiotherapy on patients with recurrent glioblastoma multiforme. J Neuro-Oncol. 2011, 103: 317-324. 10.1007/s11060-010-0389-0.Lal S, Clare SE, Halas NJ: Nanoshell-enabled photothermal cancer therapy: Impending clinical impact. Acc Chem Res. 2008, 41: 1842-1851. 10.1021/ar800150g.Lee C, Kim H, Hong C, Kim M, Hong SS, Lee DH, Lee WI: Porous silicon as an agent for cancer thermotherapy based on near-infrared light irradiation. J Mater Chem. 2008, 18: 4790-4795. 10.1039/b808500e.Osminkina LA, Gongalsky MB, Motuzuk AV, Timoshenko VY, Kudryavtsev AA: Silicon nanocrystals as photo- and sono-sensitizers for biomedical applications. Appl Phys B. 2011, 105: 665-668. 10.1007/s00340-011-4562-8.Jain PK, Huang X, El-Sayed IH, El-Sayed MA: Noble metals on the nanoscale: optical and photothermal properties and some applications in imaging, sensing, biology, and medicine. Acc Chem Res. 2008, 41: 1578-1586. 10.1021/ar7002804.Serda RE, Godin B, Blanco E, Chiappini C, Ferrari M: Multi-stage delivery nano-particle systems for therapeutic applications. Biochim Biophys Acta. 1810, 2011: 317-329.Xu R, Huang Y, Mai J, Zhang G, Guo X, Xia X, Koay EJ, Qin G, Erm DR, Li Q, Liu X, Ferrari M, Shen H: Multistage vectored siRNA targeting ataxia-telangiectasia mutated for breast cancer therapy. Small. 2013, 9: 1799-1808. 10.1002/smll.201201510.Park JS, Kinsella JM, Jandial DD, Howell SB, Sailor MJ: Cisplatin-loaded porous Si microparticles capped by electroless deposition of platinum. Small. 2011, 7: 2061-2069. 10.1002/smll.201100438.Xue M, Zhong X, Shaposhnik Z, Qu Y, Tamanoi F, Duan X, Zink JI: pH-operated mechanized porous silicon nanoparticles. J Am Chem Soc. 2011, 133: 8798-8801. 10.1021/ja201252e.Canham LT: Bioactive silicon structure fabrication through nanoetching techniques. Adv Mater. 1995, 7: 1033-1037. 10.1002/adma.19950071215.Popplewell JF, King SJ, Day JP, Ackrill P, Fifield LK, Cresswell RG, Di Tada ML, Liu K: Kinetics of uptake and elimination of silicic acid by a human subject: a novel application of 32Si and accelerator mass spectrometry. J Inorganic Biochem. 1998, 69: 177-180. 10.1016/S0162-0134(97)10016-2.Shabir Q, Pokale A, Loni A, Johnson DR, Canham LT, Fenollosa R, Tymczenko M, Rodr guez I, Meseguer F, Cros A, Cantarero A: Medically biodegradable hydrogenated amorphous silicon microspheres. Silicon. 2011, 3: 173-176. 10.1007/s12633-011-9097-4.Chen Y, Wan Y, Wang Y, Zhang H, Jiao Z: Anticancer efficacy enhancement and attenuation of side effects of doxorubicin with titanium dioxide nanoparticles. Int J Nanomed. 2011, 6: 2321-2326.Mackowiak SA, Schmidt A, Weiss V, Argyo C, von Schirnding C, Bein T, Bräuchle C: Targeted drug delivery in cancer cells with Red-light photoactivated mesoporous silica nanoparticles. Nano Lett. 2013, 13: 2576-2583. 10.1021/nl400681f.Li Z, Barnes JC, Bosoy A, Stoddart JF, Zink JI: Mesoporous silica nanoparticles in biomedical applications. Chem Soc Rev. 2012, 41: 2590-2605. 10.1039/c1cs15246g.O Mara WC, Herring B, Hunt P: Handbook of Semiconductor Silicon Technology. Noyes Publication, New Jersey, 1990.Mikulec FV, Kirtland JD, Sailor MJ: Explosive nanocrystalline porous silicon and its Use in atomic emission spectroscopy. Adv Mater. 2002, 14: 38-41. 10.1002/1521-4095(20020104)14:13.0.CO;2-Z.Clement D, Diener J, Gross E, Kunzner N, Timoshenko VY, Kovalev D: Highly explosive nanosilicon-based composite materials. Phys Stat Sol A. 2005, 202: 1357-1359. 10.1002/pssa.200461102.Canham LT: Silicon quantum wire array fabrication by electrochemical and chemical dissolution of wafers. Appl Phys Lett. 1990, 57: 1046-1049. 10.1063/1.103561.Canham LT: Properties of Porous Silicon. INSPEC, United Kindom, 1997.Heinrich JL, Curtis CL, Credo GM, Sailor MJ, Kavanagh KL: Luminescent colloidal silicon suspensions from porous silicon. Science. 1992, 255: 66-68. 10.1126/science.255.5040.66.Littau KA, Szajowski PJ, Muller AJ, Kortan AR, Brus LE: A luminescent silicon nanocrystal colloid via a high-temperature aerosol reaction. J Phys Chem. 1993, 97: 1224-1230. 10.1021/j100108a019.Menz WJ, Shekar S, Brownbridge GPE, Mosbach S, Kōrmer R, Peukert W, Kraft M: Synthesis of silicon nanoparticles with a narrow size distribution: a theoretical study. J Aerosol Sci. 2012, 44: 46-61. 10.1016/j.jaerosci.2011.10.005.Swihart MT, Girshick SL: Thermochemistry and kinetics of silicon hydride cluster formation during thermal decomposition of silane. J Phys Chem B. 1998, 103: 64-76. 10.1021/jp983358e.Fenollosa R, Ramiro-Manzano F, Tymczenko M, Meseguer F: Porous silicon microspheres: synthesis, characterization and application to photonic microcavities. J Mater Chem. 2010, 20: 5210-5214. 10.1039/c0jm00079e.Ramiro-Manzano F, Fenollosa R, Xifré-Pérez E, Garín M, Meseguer F: Porous silicon microcavities based photonic barcodes. Adv Mater. 2011, 23: 3022-3025. 10.1002/adma.201100986.Kastl L, Sasse D, Wulf V, Hartmann R, Mircheski J, Ranke C, Carregal-Romero S, Martínez-López JA, Fernández-Chacón R, Parak WJ, Elsasser HP, Rivera-Gil P: Multiple internalization pathways of polyelectrolyte multilayer capsules into mammalian cells. ACS Nano. 2013, 7: 6605-6618. 10.1021/nn306032k.Schweiger C, Hartmann R, Zhang F, Parak W, Kissel T, Rivera_Gil P: Quantification of the internalization patterns of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles with opposite charge. J Nanobiotech. 2012, 10: 28-10.1186/1477-3155-10-28.Sanles-Sobrido M, Exner W, Rodr guez-Lorenzo L, Rodríguez-Gonzílez B, Correa-Duarte MA, Álvarez-Puebla RA, Liz-Marzán LM: Design of SERS-encoded, submicron, hollow particles through confined growth of encapsulated metal nanoparticles. J Am Chem Soc. 2009, 131: 2699-2705. 10.1021/ja8088444.Slamon D, Eiermann W, Robert N, Pienkowski T, Martin M, Press M, Mackey J, Glaspy J, Chan A, Pawlicki M, Pinter T, Valero V, Liu MC, Sauter G, von Minckwitz G, Visco F, Bee V, Buyse M, Bendahmane B, Tabah-Fisch I, Lindsay MA, Riva A, Crown J: Adjuvant trastuzumab in HER2-positive breast cancer. N Engl J Med. 2011, 365: 1273-1283. 10.1056/NEJMoa0910383.Agus DB, Gordon MS, Taylor C, Natale RB, Karlan B, Mendelson DS, Press MF, Allison DE, Sliwkowski MX, Lieberman G, Kelsey SM, Fyfe G: Phase I clinical study of pertuzumab, a novel HER dimerization inhibitor, in patients with advanced cancer. J Clin Oncol. 2005, 23: 2534-2543. 10.1200/JCO.2005.03.184.Colombo M, Mazzucchelli S, Montenegro JM, Galbiati E, Corsi F, Parak WJ, Prosperi D: Protein oriented ligation on nanoparticles exploiting O6-alkylguanine-DNA transferase (SNAP) genetically encoded fusion. Small. 2012, 8: 1492-1497. 10.1002/smll.201102284.Franklin MC, Carey KD, Vajdos FF, Leahy DJ, de Vos AM, Sliwkowski MX: Insights into ErbB signaling from the structure of the ErbB2-pertuzumab complex. Cancer Cell. 2004, 5: 317-328. 10.1016/S1535-6108(04)00083-2.Paris L, Cecchetti S, Spadaro F, Abalsamo L, Lugini L, Pisanu ME, Lorio E, Natali PG, Ramoni C, Podo F: Inhibition of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C downregulates HER2 overexpression on plasma membrane of breast cancer cells. Breast Cancer Res. 2010, 12: R27-10.1186/bcr2575.Fenollosa R, Meseguer F, Tymczenko M: Silicon colloids: from microcavities to photonic sponges. Adv Mater. 2008, 20: 95-98. 10.1002/adma.200701589.Jasinski JM, Gates SM: Silicon chemical vapor deposition one step at a time: fundamental studies of silicon hydride chemistry. Acc Chem Res. 1991, 24: 9-15. 10.1021/ar00001a002.Xiao Q, Liu Y, Qiu Y, Zhou G, Mao C, Li Z, Yao Z-J, Jiang S: Potent antitumor mimetics of annonaceous acetogenins embedded with an aromatic moiety in the left hydrocarbon chain part. J Med Chem. 2010, 54: 525-533. 10.1021/jm101053k.Allman SA, Jensen HH, Vijayakrishnan B, Garnett JA, Leon E, Liu Y, Anthony DC, Sibson NR, Feizi T, Matthews S, Davis BG: Potent fluoro-oligosaccharide probes of adhesion in toxoplasmosis. ChemBioChem. 2009, 10: 2522-2529. 10.1002/cbic.200900425.Chambers DJ, Evans GR, Fairbanks AJ: Elimination reactions of glycosyl selenoxides. Tetrahedron. 2004, 60: 8411-8419. 10.1016/j.tet.2004.07.005.Tomabechi Y, Suzuki R, Haneda K, Inazu T: Chemo-enzymatic synthesis of glycosylated insulin using a GlcNAc tag. Bioorg Med Chem. 2010, 18: 1259-1264. 10.1016/j.bmc.2009.12.031.Pastoriza-Santos I, Gomez D, Perez-Juste J, Liz-Marzan LM, Mulvaney P: Optical properties of metal nanoparticle coated silica spheres: a simple effective medium approach. Phys Chem Chem Phys. 2004, 6: 5056-5060. 10.1039/b405157b

    Activation of endogenous p53 by combined p19Arf gene transfer and nutlin-3 drug treatment modalities in the murine cell lines B16 and C6

    Get PDF
    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Reactivation of p53 by either gene transfer or pharmacologic approaches may compensate for loss of p19Arf or excess mdm2 expression, common events in melanoma and glioma. In our previous work, we constructed the pCLPG retroviral vector where transgene expression is controlled by p53 through a p53-responsive promoter. The use of this vector to introduce p19Arf into tumor cells that harbor p53wt should yield viral expression of p19Arf which, in turn, would activate the endogenous p53 and result in enhanced vector expression and tumor suppression. Since nutlin-3 can activate p53 by blocking its interaction with mdm2, we explored the possibility that the combination of p19Arf gene transfer and nutlin-3 drug treatment may provide an additive benefit in stimulating p53 function.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>B16 (mouse melanoma) and C6 (rat glioma) cell lines, which harbor p53wt, were transduced with pCLPGp19 and these were additionally treated with nutlin-3 or the DNA damaging agent, doxorubicin. Viral expression was confirmed by Western, Northern and immunofluorescence assays. p53 function was assessed by reporter gene activity provided by a p53-responsive construct. Alterations in proliferation and viability were measured by colony formation, growth curve, cell cycle and MTT assays. In an animal model, B16 cells were treated with the pCLPGp19 virus and/or drugs before subcutaneous injection in C57BL/6 mice, observation of tumor progression and histopathologic analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we show that the functional activation of endogenous p53wt in B16 was particularly challenging, but accomplished when combined gene transfer and drug treatments were applied, resulting in increased transactivation by p53, marked cell cycle alteration and reduced viability in culture. In an animal model, B16 cells treated with both p19Arf and nutlin-3 yielded increased necrosis and decreased BrdU marking. In comparison, C6 cells were quite susceptible to either treatment, yet p53 was further activated by the combination of p19Arf and nutlin-3.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to apply both p19Arf and nutlin-3 for the stimulation of p53 activity. These results support the notion that a p53 responsive vector may prove to be an interesting gene transfer tool, especially when combined with p53-activating agents, for the treatment of tumors that retain wild-type p53.</p

    VEGF and Delta-Notch: interacting signalling pathways in tumour angiogenesis

    Get PDF
    Tumour angiogenesis has become an important target for antitumour therapy, with most current therapies aimed at blocking the VEGF pathway. However, not all tumours are responsive to VEGF blockers, and some tumours that are responsive initially may become resistant during the course of treatment, thus there is a need to explore other angiogenesis signalling pathways. Recently, the Delta-Notch pathway, and particularly the ligand Delta-like 4 (Dll4), was identified as a new target in tumour angiogenesis. An important feature in angiogenesis is the manifold ways in which the VEGF and Delta-Notch pathways interact. The emerging picture is that the VEGF pathway acts as a potent upstream activating stimulus for angiogenesis, whereas Delta-Notch helps to guide cell fate decisions that appropriately shape the activation. Here we review the two signalling pathways and what is currently known about the ways in which they interact during tumour angiogenesis

    The Prevalence of Human Papillomavirus in Pediatric Tonsils: a Systematic Review of the Literature

    Get PDF
    BACKGROUND: HPV-related head and neck cancer rates have been increasing in recent years, with the tonsils being the most commonly affected site. However, the current rate of HPV infection in the pediatric population remains poorly defined. The objective of this study was to systematically review and evaluate the prevalence and distribution of HPV in the tonsils of pediatric patients undergoing routine tonsillectomy. METHODS AND RESULTS: The literature was searched using PubMed, EMBASE, Scopus, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, and ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global databases (inception to December 2017) by two independent review authors. Inclusion criteria included articles which evaluated the prevalence of HPV in a pediatric cohort without known warts or recurrent respiratory papillomatosis, those which used tonsil biopsy specimens for analysis, and those with six or more subjects and clear outcomes reported. Eleven studies met the inclusion criteria. Using the Oxford Clinical Evidence-based Medicine (OCEBM) guidelines, two reviewers appraised the level of evidence of each study, extracted data, and resolved discrepancies by consensus. The systematic review identified 11 articles (n = 2520). Seven studies detected HPV in the subject population, with prevalence values ranging from 0 to 21%. The level of evidence for all included studies was OCEBM Level 3. CONCLUSIONS: HPV may be present in pediatric tonsillectomy specimens; however, the largest included study demonstrated a prevalence of 0%. Future testing should be performed using methods with high sensitivities and specificities, such as reverse transcript real-time PCR or digital droplet PCR

    Senescence and tumour clearance is triggered by p53 restoration in murine liver carcinomas

    Get PDF
    Although cancer arises from a combination of mutations in oncogenes and tumour suppressor genes, the extent to which tumour suppressor gene loss is required for maintaining established tumours is poorly understood. p53 is an important tumour suppressor that acts to restrict proliferation in response to DNA damage or deregulation of mitogenic oncogenes, by leading to the induction of various cell cycle checkpoints, apoptosis or cellular senescence(1,2). Consequently, p53 mutations increase cell proliferation and survival, and in some settings promote genomic instability and resistance to certain chemotherapies(3). To determine the consequences of reactivating the p53 pathway in tumours, we used RNA interference (RNAi) to conditionally regulate endogenous p53 expression in a mosaic mouse model of liver carcinoma(4,5). We show that even brief reactivation of endogenous p53 in p53-deficient tumours can produce complete tumour regressions. The primary response to p53 was not apoptosis, but instead involved the induction of a cellular senescence program that was associated with differentiation and the upregulation of inflammatory cytokines. This program, although producing only cell cycle arrest in vitro, also triggered an innate immune response that targeted the tumour cells in vivo, thereby contributing to tumour clearance. Our study indicates that p53 loss can be required for the maintenance of aggressive carcinomas, and illustrates how the cellular senescence program can act together with the innate immune system to potently limit tumour growth

    Y-chromosome descent clusters and male differential reproductive success: young lineage expansions dominate Asian pastoral nomadic populations

    Get PDF
    International audienceHigh-frequency microsatellite haplotypes of the male-specific Y-chromosome can signal past episodes of high reproductive success of particular men and their patrilineal descendants. Previously, two examples of such successful Y-lineages have been described in Asia, both associated with Altaic-speaking pastoral nomadic societies, and putatively linked to dynasties descending, respectively, from Genghis Khan and Giocangga. Here we surveyed a total of 5321 Y-chromosomes from 127 Asian populations, including novel Y-SNP and microsatellite data on 461 Central Asian males, to ask whether additional lineage expansions could be identified. Based on the most frequent eight-microsatellite haplotypes, we objectively defined 11 descent clusters (DCs), each within a specific haplogroup, that represent likely past instances of high male reproductive success, including the two previously identified cases. Analysis of the geographical patterns and ages of these DCs and their associated cultural characteristics showed that the most successful lineages are found both among sedentary agriculturalists and pastoral nomads, and expanded between 2100 BCE and 1100 CE. However, those with recent origins in the historical period are almost exclusively found in Altaic-speaking pastoral nomadic populations, which may reflect a shift in political organisation in pastoralist economies and a greater ease of transmission of Y-chromosomes through time and space facilitated by the use of horses

    Search for the standard model Higgs boson at LEP

    Get PDF
    corecore