background: we aimed to elucidate the association between fat mass and obesity associated gene (fto) polymorphism and the risk of polycystic ovary syndrome (pcos) by meta-analysis. methods: we searched pubmed and embase databases to find the relevant studies. odds ratios (ors) and their corresponding 95% confidence intervals (cis) were used for pooled analysis. statistical analyses were carried...

Understanding the processes that shape the genetic structure of parasite populations and the functional consequences of different parasite genotypes is critical for our ability to predict how an infection can spread through a host population and for the design of effective vaccines to combat infection and disease. Here, we examine how the genetic structure of parasite populations responds to ho...

BACKGROUND Numerous studies have investigated the relationship between apolipoprotein (Apo) E gene polymorphisms and gallbladder stone disease (GSD) across ethnic populations; however, the results are often inconsistent. This meta-analysis aims to comprehensively evaluate the influence of a common ε2/ε3/ε4 polymorphism in Apo E gene on the risk of gallbladder stone disease. METHOD Data were a...

BACKGROUND Even though introductions of exotic species provide ready-made experiments of rapid evolution, few studies have examined the genetic structure of an exotic species shortly after its initial introduction and subsequent spread. To determine the genetic structure of its populations during the initial introduction, we investigated the invasive sweet potato whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Q, com...

Evolution of intratumoral genetic heterogeneity during colorectal tumor progression has not been investigated so far. Multiple sample areas in colorectal adenocarcinoma at early and advanced stages and in metastases were studied for the well-known genetic alterations: K-ras and p53 point mutations and loss of heterozygosity (LOH) on chromosomes 5q and 18q. In primary colorectal cancers (CRCs), ...

The current distribution of Bantu languages is commonly considered to be a consequence of a relatively recent population expansion (3-5kya) in Central Western Africa. While there is a substantial consensus regarding the centre of origin of Bantu languages (the Benue River Valley, between South East Nigeria and Western Cameroon), the identification of the area from where the population expansion...

The Clever Foraging Hypothesis asserts that organisms living in a more spatially complex environment will have a greater neurological capacity for cognitive processes related to spatial memory, navigation, and foraging. Because the telencephalon is often associated with spatial memory and navigation tasks, this hypothesis predicts a positive association between telencephalon size and environmen...

BACKGROUND The association between fish consumption and risk of depression is controversial. We performed a meta-analysis to evaluate the association. METHODS A literature search was performed in PubMed, EMBASE and Web of Science database for all relevant studies up to March 2015. We pooled the relative risks (RRs) with 95% CIs from individual studies with random effects model, and conducted ...

In the past, Rent’s rule has been successfully applied for a priori estimation of wire length distributions. Deviations to Rent’s rule appear due to the existence of heterogeneity. This can be classified in hierarchical and spatial heterogeneity. Stochastic models for the interconnection complexity, based on Rent’s rule, are introduced. A coarse model shows that the variance follows a power law...