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Chronic Illness Education 2025: Treatment, Resources, and Prevalence of Depression among Adolescents with Chronic Health Conditions
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Comparing HbS Haplotypes Identified with Different Sets of SNPs: An Analysis in a Sample of HbAS and HbSS Individuals from São Tomé e Príncipe
No full textSickle cell anemia (SCA) occurs in individuals who are homozygous for the sickle hemoglobin (HbS) allele. The haplotypes of the HbS alleles can be traditionally ascertained through the analysis of five to eight informative restriction fragment length polymorphisms (RFLPs) within the HBB gene cluster, defining the five major HbS haplotypes, commonly referred to as Bantu or Central African Republic (BAN/CAR), Benin (BEN), Cameroon (CAM), Senegal (SEN), and Arab-Indian (AI). In a recent study, it was suggested that four single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)—rs3834466, rs28440105, rs10128556, and rs968857—are sufficient to characterize most of the HbS haplotypes. In the present study, we investigated the HbS haplotypes in a population sample from São Tomé e Príncipe (Central Africa) by analyzing this set of four SNPs. Additionally, we included the HBG2 rs7482144 (-158C\u3eT) SNP, which is commonly used in the classical HbS haplotype classification, to compare the HbS haplotypes derived from the two different plex systems. Blood samples of 50 heterozygous (HbAS), nine homozygous (HbSS) and three normal HbAA individuals were engaged in this study. Genotyping was performed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-RFLP method. Haplotypes were derived using the Arlequin software. In the 4-plex system, seven different haplotypes were inferred among the 68 HbS chromosomes, corresponding to: CAR 36.8%, BEN 25.0%, CAM 13.2%, SEN 11.8%, and three different sets of unknown HbS haplotypes (11.4%). The further inclusion of rs7482144 (XmnI) led to the inference of a total of eight distinct HbS haplotypes as follows: CAR 36.8%, BEN 25.0%, CAM 13.2%, SEN 8.8%, and into four different clusters of unknown HbS haplotypes (16.2%). Using only the nine homozygous HbSS individuals, the same five different haplotypes were identified for both systems, with all common haplotypes occurring at equal frequencies: CAR 27.8%, BEN 38.9%, CAM 16.7%, and SEN 11.1%. One atypical haplotype was identified at a frequency of 5.6%. Our findings suggest that the 4-plex system may not be entirely accurate in identifying the SEN haplotype when considering heterozygous individuals for the HbS allele in the study population. Additionally, the haplotype background of HbS observed in the S. Tomean population provided further insights compared to previous reports
The Role Of Fruiting Bodies In Protecting A Community Of Myxococcus Xanthus Spores From The Environment
No full textEnvironmental microorganisms have evolved a variety of strategies to survive fluctuations in environmental conditions, including the production of biofilms and differentiation into spores. Myxococcus xanthus are ubiquitous soil bacteria that produce starvation-induced multicellular fruiting bodies filled with environmentally resistant spores (a specialized biofilm). Isolated spores have been shown to be more resistant than vegetative cells to heat, ultraviolet radiation, and desiccation. The evolutionary advantage of producing spores inside of fruiting bodies is not clear. Here, we examine a hypothesis that the fruiting body provides additional protection from environmental insults. We developed a high-throughput method to compare the recovery (outgrowth) of distinct cell types (vegetative cells, free spores, and spores within intact fruiting bodies) after exposure to ultraviolet radiation or desiccation. Our data indicate that haystack-shaped fruiting bodies protect spores from extended UV radiation but do not provide additional protection from desiccation. Perturbation of fruiting body morphology strongly impedes recovery from both UV exposure and desiccation. These results hint that the distinctive fruiting bodies produced by different myxobacterial species may have evolved to optimize their persistence in distinct ecological niches
Political Values: The Influence Of Remittances On Democracy And Autocracy In Latin American Countries
No full textThis dissertation analyzes the influence of remittances on political values in selected Latin American countries. Using panel data from 17 countries from 1995 to 2020, I find that remittances can decrease the percentage of individuals in a country who espouse support for democracy and can increase the percentage of individuals who espouse support for autocracy. I also find that remittances do not appear to influence individuals who espouse political indifference. These results indicate that remittances may influence the political values of some recipients and that country level differences may explain some of the variation in support for democracy and autocracy among individuals