scholarly journals INHERITANCE OF PLASMA CHOLESTEROL LEVELS IN MICE

Genetics ◽  
1973 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 303-312
Author(s):  
Robert S Weibust

ABSTRACT Mean plasma cholesterol levels were determined at two ages in mice from eight unrelated inbred strains (BALB/cJ, BDP/J, CBA/J, C57BL/6J, LP/J, RF/J, SJL/J, and 129/J). Significant strain, sex, and age differences were observed. Estimates of the degree of genetic determination of the trait obtained from an analysis of the strain data averaged 58 ± 4% for the males and 54 ± 8% for the females.—Selection for high and low plasma cholesterol levels produced two significantly different and distinct lines. Selection was initiated in a genetically heterogeneous population derived from an eight-way cross of the inbred strains listed above. After five generations of selection the divergence of the high and low lines amounted to 4 phenotypic standard deviations of the foundation population. Realized heritability estimated from the regression of divergence on the combined cumulative selection differential was 51 ± 5% for the males and 50 ± 3% for the females. The results indicate that genetic factors are important in controlling plasma cholesterol levels in the mouse and that the majority of these factors act additively.

1962 ◽  
Vol 8 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-112 ◽  
Author(s):  
G S Duboff ◽  
W W Stevenson

Abstract A procedure is outlined for the ultramicro determination of total cholesterol that gives results in excellent agreement with classic methods. The determination requires 40 µl. of plasma obtained from a finger-tip puncture and special handling of precipitated proteins. By the use of the described procedure plasma cholesterol levels have been estimated 4 times daily over a period of 8 weeks in young men undergoing rigorous physical training and 3 times daily in women during the menstrual cycle. A striking fall in total plasma cholesterol was observed in men following physical conditioning in contrast to controls, and a similar decrease was observed in women with normal menstrual cycles in contrast to women with an anovulatory menses. It is suggested that the total cholesterol decrease in the female coincides with the phase in the menstrual cycle when estrogen activity is maximal and that the lowering of total cholesterol in men, following physical conditioning, may be due to an increased production of endogenous androgens with a consequent increase in conversion of these steroids to estrogens.


1996 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 149-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bottger ◽  
M. den Bieman ◽  
Æ. Lankhorst ◽  
H.A. van Lith ◽  
L.F.M. van Zutphen

The cholesterolaemic effect of 2 hypercholesterolaemic diets was tested in 12 rat inbred strains. Diet I is a commercial diet supplemented with 2.0% (w/w) cholesterol and 5.0% (w/w) olive oil, diet II is identical to diet I with addition of 0.5% (w/w) sodium cholate. Strains with the highest plasma cholesterol response after diet I (BN and LEW) also had the highest cholesterol response after diet II (hyperresponders, mean response>3.5 mmol/l). In the strains DA, SHR, BC, WAC, LOU, PVG and BUF the strain mean cholesterol response remained below 1.3mmol/l after both diets (hyporesponders). Strains F344 and OM had an intermediate cholesterol response after both diets (normoresponders, mean response between 1.3 and 3.5 mmol/l). Only in the strains LOU, PVG and SHR there appeared to be a significant higher cholesterol response after diet II when compared with the cholesterol response after diet I. In the strain WKY this difference was of a borderline significance ( P=0.052) and this strain turned from a normoresponder after diet I into a hyperresponder after diet II. Liver cholesterol levels as measured after feeding diet II for two weeks also appeared to be strain-specific. No correlation was found between the plasma cholesterol response after diet II and the liver cholesterol levels. Changes in plasma phospholipid and triglyceride levels have been measured for both diet I and diet II. For group means a correlation between the cholesterol response and the change in phospholipid levels was found (r=0.86 for diet I, P<0.001 and r=0.76 for diet II, P<0.01). No such correlation was found for triglyceride levels.


Crisis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (3) ◽  
pp. 160-164 ◽  
Author(s):  
Almir Fajkic ◽  
Orhan Lepara ◽  
Martin Voracek ◽  
Nestor D. Kapusta ◽  
Thomas Niederkrotenthaler ◽  
...  

Background: Evidence on youth suicides from Southeastern Europe is scarce. We are not aware of previous reports from Bosnia and Herzegovina, which experienced war from 1992 to 1995. Durkheim’s theory of suicide predicts decreased suicide rates in wartime and increased rates afterward. Aims: To compare child and adolescent suicides in Bosnia and Herzegovina before and after the war. Methods: Data on youth suicide for prewar (1986–90) and postwar (2002–06) periods were analyzed with respect to prevalence, sex and age differences, and suicide methods. Suicide data from 1991 through 2001 were not available. Results: Overall youth suicide rates were one-third lower in the postwar than in the prewar period. This effect was most pronounced for girls, whose postwar suicide rates almost halved, and for 15–19-year-old boys, whose rates decreased by about a one-fourth. Suicides increased among boys aged 14 or younger. Firearm suicides almost doubled proportionally and were the predominant postwar method, while the most common prewar method had been hanging. Conclusions: The findings from this study indicate the need for public education in Bosnia and Herzegovina on the role of firearm accessibility in youth suicide and for instructions on safe storage in households. Moreover, raising societal awareness about suicide risk factors and suicide prevention is needed.


1994 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 255-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Barth F. Smets ◽  
Timothy G. Ellis ◽  
Stephanie Brau ◽  
Richard W. Sanders ◽  
C. P. Leslie Grady

This study quantified the kinetic differences in microbial communities isolated from completely mixed activated sludge (CMAS) systems that were operated either with or without an aerobic selector preceding the main reactor. A new respirometric method was employed that allowed the determination of biodegradation kinetics from single oxygen consumption curves, thereby minimizing physiological changes to the examined communities during the assay. Results indicated that increased values for Ks and μmax for acetate, phenol, and 4-chlorophenol degradation were measured in the CMAS system operated with a selector. The biomass yields on acetate, phenol, and 4-chlorophenol were very similar in both systems. These findings indicate that the operation of CMAS systems with aerobic selectors may result in the selection for degrading populations with higher Ks and μmax values for both biogenic and xenobiotic organic compounds, and that substrate storage in the selector only partially contributes to increased substrate removal rates.


Primates ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 299-309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Akiko Takenaka ◽  
Yuko Matsumoto ◽  
Aika Nagaya ◽  
Kunio Watanabe ◽  
Shunji Goto ◽  
...  

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