Haematic Mummification in a Mare With Twin Pregnancy

Mummification occurs when the fetus dies during the second or third trimester of gestation and remains in the uterine cavity because of the persistence of the corpus luteum or existence of another live fetus. Generally, the mummified fetus and fetal membranes undergo desiccation. The hematic process is similar, but the fetus appears like melted chocolate and becomes lodged between the uterus and chorion. This report describes the treatment of dystocia in a mare with twin pregnancy, with one fetus having undergone hematic mummification. Although difficult to diagnose, the possibility of a second fetus should be investigated in mares with dystocia. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

A putative twin-arginine translocation system in the phytopathogenic bacterium Xylella fastidiosa

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)

Genetic susceptibility to bleomycin: A twin study

The frequency of chromatid breaks was analysed in peripheral lymphocytes obtained from sixteen healthy monozygotic (MZ) and sixteen healthy dizygotic (DZ) pairs of twins. In addition, increases in the frequency of chromatid breaks, following in vitro treatment of whole blood with 0.03 unit/ml bleomycin (BLM), were analysed in the same twins. There was a highly significant intrapair difference in the variance of the frequency of chromatid breaks among MZ and DZ twins, before and after BLM treatment. The coefficient of heritability was 85,5% and it was concluded that genetic factors contributed significantly to the individual variation observed in BLM induced chromatid break rates.

Influence of Cardiorespiratory Fitness on PPARG mRNA Expression Using Monozygotic Twin Case Control

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Mineral metabolism in singleton and twin-pregnant dairy goats

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)

The relationship between obesity, low back pain, and lumbar disc degeneration when genetics and the environment are considered: a systematic review of twin studies

BACKGROUND CONTEXT: The relationships between obesity and low back pain (LBP) and lumbar disc degeneration (LDD) remain unclear. It is possible that familial factors, including genetics and early environment, affect these relationships.PURPOSE: To investigate the relationship between obesity-related measures (eg, weight, body mass index [BMI]) and LBP and LDD using twin studies, where the effect of genetics and early environment can be controlled.STUDY DESIGN: A systematic review with meta-analysis.METHODS: MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science, and EMBASE databases were searched from the earliest records to August 2014. All cross-sectional and longitudinal observational twin studies identified by the search strategy were considered for inclusion. Two investigators independently assessed the eligibility, conducted the quality assessment, and extracted the data. Metaanalyses (fixed or random effects, as appropriate) were used to pool studies'estimates of association.RESULTS: In total, 11 articles met the inclusion criteria. Five studies were included in the LBP analysis and seven in the LDD analysis. For the LBP analysis, pooling of the five studies showed that the risk of having LBP for individuals with the highest levels of BMI or weight was almost twice that of people with a lower BMI (odds ratio [OR] 1.8; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.6-2.0; I-2 = 0%). A dose-response relationship was also identified. When genetics and the effects of a shared early environment were adjusted for using a within-pair twin case-control analysis, pooling of three studies showed a reduced but statistically positive association between obesity and prevalence of LBP (OR 1.5; 95% CI 1.1-2.1; I-2 = 0%). However, the association was further diminished and not significant (OR 1.4; 95% CI 0.8-2.3; I-2 = 0%) when pooling included two studies on monozygotic twin pairs only. Seven studies met the inclusion criteria for LDD. When familial factors were not controlled for, body weight was positively associated with LDD in all five cross-sectional studies. Only two cross-sectional studies investigated the relationship between obesity-related measures and LDD accounting for familial factors, and the results were conflicting. One longitudinal study in LBP and three longitudinal studies in LDD found no increase in risk in obese individuals, whether or not familial factors were controlled for.CONCLUSIONS: Findings from this review suggest that genetics and early environment are possible mechanisms underlying the relationship between obesity and LBP; however, a direct causal link between these conditions appears to be weak. Further longitudinal studies using the twin design are needed to better understand the complex mechanisms underlying the associations between obesity, LBP, and LDD.