The development of the primate brain is determined by an interaction of genetic programmes and environmental events. We examined quantitatively the contribution of each of these factors to adult human brain hemisphere volume and global cortical gyral patterns by comparing 3-D MRI renderings of brains of 10 pairs of monozygotic (MZ) and nine pairs of same-sex dizygotic (DZ) twins. Brain volume w...

AIM To examine the concordance rates of common medical conditions and neurocognitive performance in monozygotic (MZ) and dizygotic (DZ) older twins. METHODS Twins aged ≥ 65 years and living in the three Eastern states of Australia were recruited through the Australian Twin Registry and underwent detailed neuropsychological and medical assessment. RESULTS Assessments were conducted on 113 MZ...

The multifunctional DNAzyme (Dz) delivery system is developed based on nano-sized graphene oxide (nGO) for simultaneous detection and knockdown of the target gene. The Dz/nGO complex system allowed convenient monitoring of HCV mRNA in living cells and silencing of the HCV gene expression by Dz-mediated catalytic cleavage concurrently.

to assess the relative contribution of genetic and environmental factors (particularly androgens) on circulating levels of lipid fractions, serum androgen and lipid fractions were measured in 34 pairs of female-female twins aged from 15- 45 years, some of whom were discordant for polycystic ovary syndrome (pcos) diagnosed by ultrasound. nineteen pairs were monozygotic twins (mz) and 15 pairs we...

Let d > 1 and α ∈ (0, 2). Consider the following non-local and non-symmetric Lévytype operator on Rd: L κ α f (x) := p.v. ∫ Rd ( f (x + z) − f (x)) z) |z|d+α dz, where 0 < κ0 6 κ(x, z) 6 κ1, κ(x, z) = κ(x,−z), and |κ(x, z)−κ(y, z)| 6 κ2|x−y| for some β ∈ (0, 1). Using Levi’s method, we construct the fundamental solution (also called heat kernel) pα(t, x, y) of L κ α , and establish its sharp tw...

Proponents of the validity of the classical MZ-DZ twin comparison model for calculating heritability claim that the environments influencing MZ and DZ twin individuals are essentially identical. This 'equal environments assumption' may or may not be universally true when applied to the analysis of subjective traits. We examined the validity of this assumption as applied to the propensity for sm...

In this study, a new ensemble averaging technique was developed to measure cardiac output during treadmill exercise. Each dz/dt peak is used as a starting point for ensemble averaging, instead of the conventionally used R point of ECG, in order to prevent the peak dz/dt waveform (C point) to be smoothed, which results in increased dz/dtmax. When using the R point as a reference, time interval f...

Population-based twin data were used to test (a) whether lower birthweight confers a greater risk of adult health disorders, and (b) whether within-pair birthweight differences in twins explain discordance for health outcomes. The sample consisted of 1201 monozygotic (MZ) male twins, 1048 dizygotic (DZ) male twins, 1679 MZ female twins, 1489 DZ female twins, and 2423 opposite-sex DZ twins, born...