Gender in endocrine diseases: role of sex gonadal hormones

Gender- and sex- related differences represent a new frontier towards patient-tailored medicine, taking into account that theoretically every medical specialty can be influenced by both of them. Sex hormones define the differences between males and females, and the different endocrine environment promoted by estrogens, progesterone, testosterone, and their precursors might influence both human physiology and pathophysiology. With the term Gender we refer, instead, to behaviors, roles, expectations, and activities carried out by the individual in society. In other words, “gender” refers to a sociocultural sphere of the individual, whereas “sex” only defines the biological sex. In the last decade, increasing attention has been paid to understand the influence that gender can have on both the human physiology and pathogenesis of diseases. Even the clinical response to therapy may be influenced by sex hormones and gender, but further research is needed to investigate and clarify how they can affect the human pathophysiology. The path to a tailored medicine in which every patient is able to receive early diagnosis, risk assessments, and optimal treatments cannot exclude the importance of gender. In this review, we have focused our attention on the involvement of sex hormones and gender on different endocrine diseases

Pituitary hyperplasia mimicking macroadenoma associated with primary hypothyroidism in a patient with selective L-thyroxine malabsorption

We present the case of a 29-year-old woman who developed a severe hypothyroidism induced by a thyroxine malabsorption and a secondary pituitary hyperplasia. We performed thyroxine absorption tests to diagnose the malabsorption and to evaluate the best therapeutic intervention. Once assessed a correct therapy lowering TSH, we observed the regression of pituitary mass confirming our diagnosis of secondary pituitary hyperplasia. We suggest to evaluate any possible reason for thyroxine malabsorption and to consider the hypothesis of pituitary hyperplasia in the presence of pituitary mass together with overt hypothyroidism

Solid phases and pairing in a mixture of polar molecules and atoms

We consider a mixture of hard core bosonic polar molecules, interacting via repulsive dipole-dipole interaction, and one atomic bosonic species. The mixture is confined on a two-dimensional square lattice and, at low enough temperatures, can be described by the two-component Bose-Hubbard model. The latter displays a extremely rich phase diagram including solid, superfluid, supersolid phases. Here we mainly focus on the checkerboard molecular solid, stabilized by the long range dipolar interaction, and study how the presence of atoms affects its robustness both at zero and finite temperature. We find that, due to atom-molecule interaction, solid phases can be stabilized at both, (much) lower strengths of dipolar interaction and higher temperatures, than when no atoms are present. As a byproduct, atoms also order in a solid phase with same melting temperatures as for molecules. Finally, we find that for large enough interaction between atoms and molecules a paired supersolid phase can be stabilized.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure

Asset Price Dynamics in a Financial Market with Heterogeneous Trading Strategies and Time Delays

In this paper we present a continuous time dynamical model of heterogeneous agents interacting in a financial market where transactions are cleared by a market maker. The market is composed of fundamentalist, trend following and contrarian agents who process information from the market with different time delays. Each class of investor is characterized by path dependent risk aversion. We also allow for the possibility of evolutionary switching between trend following and contrarian strategies. We find that the system shows periodic, quasi-periodic and chaotic dynamics as well as synchronization between technical traders. Furthermore, the model is able to generate time series of returns that exhibit statistical properties similar to those of the S&P500 index, which is characterized by excess kurtosis, volatility clustering and long memoryComment: 14 pages, 5 figure

A protocol for multidimensional assessment in university online courses

This paper presents a protocol developed for multidimensional assessment for e-learning experiences based on socioconstructivist principles. First, we describe the structure of an e-learning course where the protocol as been developed and tested; second, we describe the protocol and how it has been used in that course. We believe this protocol is a useful tool for a twofold reason: on the one hand, it takes into account the complexity of the pedagogical architecture of socioconstructivist courses – where many teaching models and learning strategies are mixed, different individual and collaborative activities are proposed and students are asked to build a variety of final products. On the other hand, it promotes students’ assumption of responsibility and active role, with a particular reference to self-assessment competences. Instances of how we have applied the protocol will be described in the paper. The assessment protocol we present here is complex, nevertheless flexible. Therefore, although we have tested it in a specific course, it could also be used in similar or simpler course

Gregarious Behaviour of Evasive Prey

Lecture on the first SFB/TR 15 meeting, Gummersbach, July, 18 - 20, 2004We model the formation of a herd as a game between a predator and a prey population. The predator receives some information about the composition of the herd when he chases it, but receives no information when he chases a solitary individual. We describe situations in which the herd and its leader are in conflict and in which the leader bows to the herd’s wish but where this is not to the benefit of the herd

Asset Price Dynamics in a Financial Market with Heterogeneous Trading Strategies and Time Delays

In this paper we present a continuous time dynamical model of heterogeneous agents interacting in a financial market where transactions are cleared by a market maker. The market is composed of fundamentalist, trend following and contrarian agents who process information from the market with different time delays. Each class of investors is characterized by path dependent risk aversion. We also allow for the possibility of evolutionary switching between trend following and contrarian strategies. We find that the system shows periodic, quasi-periodic and chaotic dynamics as well as synchronization between technical traders. Furthermore, the model is able to generate time series of returns that exhibit statistical properties similar to those of the S&P500 index, which is characterized by excess kurtosis, volatility clustering and long memory.Dynamic asset pricing; Heterogeneous agents; Complex dynamics; Strange attractors; Chaos; Intermittency; Stock market dynamics; Synchronization

Developmental Expression of \u3cem\u3eDrop-Dead\u3c/em\u3e is Required for Early Adult Survival and Normal Body Mass in \u3cem\u3eDrosophila melanogaster\u3c/em\u3e

In Drosophila melanogaster, mutations in the gene drop-dead (drd) result in early adult lethality, with flies dying within 2 weeks of eclosion. Additional phenotypes include neurodegeneration, tracheal defects, starvation, reduced body mass, and female sterility. The cause of early lethality and the function of the drd protein remain unknown. In the current study, the temporal profiles of drd expression required for adult survival and body mass regulation were investigated. Knockdown of drd expression by UAS-RNAi transgenes and rescue of drd expression on a drd mutant background by a UAS-drd transgene were controlled with the Heat Shock Protein 70 (Hsp70)-Gal4 driver. Flies were heat-shocked at different stages of their life cycle, and the survival and body mass of the resulting adult flies were assayed. Surprisingly, the adult lethal phenotype did not depend upon drd expression in the adult. Rather, expression of drd during the second half of metamorphosis was both necessary and sufficient to prevent rapid adult mortality. In contrast, the attainment of normal adult body mass required a different temporal pattern of drd expression. In this case, manipulation of drd expression solely during larval development or metamorphosis had no effect on body mass, while knockdown or rescue of drd expression during all of pre-adult (embryonic, larval, and pupal) development did significantly alter body mass. Together, these results indicate that the adult-lethal gene drd is required only during development. Furthermore, the mutant phenotypes of body mass and lifespan are separable phenotypes arising from an absence of drd expression at different developmental stages

Neurodegeneration in \u3cem\u3eDrop-Dead\u3c/em\u3e Mutant \u3cem\u3eDrosophila melanogaster\u3c/em\u3e Is Associated with the Respiratory System but Not with Hypoxia

Mutations in the gene drop-dead (drd) cause diverse phenotypes in adult Drosophila melanogaster including early lethality, neurodegeneration, tracheal defects, gut dysfunction, reduced body mass, and female sterility. Despite the identification of the drd gene itself, the causes of early lethality and neurodegeneration in the mutant flies remain unknown. To determine the pattern of drd expression associated with the neurodegenerative phenotype, knockdown of drd with various Gal4 drivers was performed. Early adult lethality and neurodegeneration were observed upon knockdown of drd in the tracheal system with two independent insertions of the breathless-Gal4 driver and upon knockdown in the tracheal system and elsewhere with the DJ717-Gal4 driver. Surprisingly, rescue of drd expression exclusively in the tracheae in otherwise mutant flies rescued the neurodegenerative phenotype but not adult lethality. Gut dysfunction, as measured by defecation rate, was not rescued in these flies, and gut function appeared normal upon tracheal-specific knockdown of drd. Finally, the hypothesis that tracheal dysfunction in drd mutants results in hypoxia was tested. Hypoxia-sensitive reporter transgenes (LDH-Gal4 and LDH-LacZ) were placed on a drd mutant background, but enhanced expression of these reporters was not observed. In addition, manipulation of drd expression in the tracheae did not affect expression of the hypoxia-induced genes LDH, tango, and similar. Overall, these results indicate that there are at least two causes of adult lethality in drd mutants, that gut dysfunction and neurodegeneration are independent phenotypes, and that neurodegeneration is associated with tracheal expression of drd but not with hypoxia

Inter-species entanglement of Bose-Bose mixtures trapped in optical lattices

In the present work we discuss inter-species entanglement in Bose-Bose mixtures trapped in optical lattices. This work is motivated by the observation that, in the presence of a second component, the Mott-insulator lobe shifts {\em{differently}} on the hole- and particle-side with respect to the Mott lobe of the single species system (Phys. Rev. A 82, 021601, Laser Phys. 21, 1443). We use perturbation theory, formulated in a Hilbert space decomposed by means of lattice symmetries, in order to show that the nonuniform shift of the Mott lobe is a consequence of an inter-species entanglement which differs in the lowest excited states to remove and add a particle. Our results indicate that inter-species entanglement in mixtures can provide a new perspective in understanding quantum phase transitions. To validate our approach, we compare our results from perturbation theory with quantum Monte Carlo simulations