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1.
Public acceptance of evolution in Northeastern U.S. is the highest nationwide, only 59%. Here, we compare perspectives about
evolution, creationism, intelligent design (ID), and religiosity between highly educated New England faculty (n = 244; 90% Ph.D. holders in 40 disciplines at 35 colleges/universities) and college students from public secular (n = 161), private secular (n = 298), and religious (n = 185) institutions: 94/3% of the faculty vs. 64/14% of the students admitted to accepting evolution openly and/or privately,
and 82/18% of the faculty vs. 58/42% of the students thought that evolution is definitely true or probably true, respectively.
Only 3% of the faculty vs. 23% of the students thought that evolution and creationism are in harmony. Although 92% of faculty
and students thought that evolution relies on common ancestry, one in every four faculty and one in every three students did
not know that humans are apes; 15% of the faculty vs. 34% of the students believed, incorrectly, that the origin of the human
mind cannot be explained by evolution, and 30% of the faculty vs. 72% of the students was Lamarckian (believed in inheritance
of acquired traits). Notably, 91% of the faculty was very concerned (64%) or somehow concerned (27%) about the controversy
evolution vs creationism vs ID and its implications for science education: 96% of the faculty vs. 72% of the students supported
the exclusive teaching of evolution while 4% of the faculty vs. 28% of the students favored equal time to evolution, creationism
and ID; 92% of the faculty vs. 52% of the students perceived ID as not scientific and proposed to counter evolution or as
doctrine consistent with creationism. Although ≈30% of both faculty and students considered religion to be very important
in their lives, and ≈20% admitted to praying daily, the faculty was less religious (Religiosity Index faculty = 0.5 and students = 0.75) and, as expected, more knowledgeable about science (Science Index faculty = 2.27 and students = 1.60) and evolution (Evolution Index faculty = 2.48 and students = 1.65) than the students. Because attitudes toward evolution correlate (1) positively with understanding
of science/evolution and (2) negatively with religiosity/political ideology, we conclude that science education combined with
vigorous public debate should suffice to increase acceptance of naturalistic rationalism and decrease the negative impact
of creationism and ID on society’s evolution literacy. 相似文献
2.
Troy A. Ladine 《Evolution》2009,2(3):386-392
Students at private Christian colleges tend to have a viewpoint that incorporates faith and belief in God. Whether due to
misconceptions about evolution, lack of knowledge of the nature of science, or belief that their faith cannot allow them to
accept evolution, there tends to be a great deal of confusion about evolution. This study investigates the attitudes toward
evolution of students at a small Christian liberal arts university located in east Texas (East Texas Baptist University, ETBU)
and how they would feel most comfortable being approached about evolution in the college science classroom. The majority of
students at ETBU are from either Texas or Louisiana. In high school, both states require at least one science course to be
taken and evolution to be taught at some level of understanding. Students show a fair understanding that science includes
only naturalistic explanations . However, a greater number of science courses and maturity level of the student resulted in significant differences (P = 0.0001 and P = 0.002, respectively) in the understanding of science. Nevertheless, there was a general assertion that God should be included
in the definition of science by the majority of students (64.4%), indicating a misunderstanding of the nature of science.
Students responded that they would be most comfortable with being approached in the classroom about evolution through the
presentation of the science supporting evolution (19.6%), and being shown how creationism and intelligent design are not science
(29.8%). A number of students responded that the professor should accept creationism and intelligent design as science and
teach them as such (38.2%). This paper will present methods to address students that respond to evolution in this manner. 相似文献
3.
Unsurprisingly, survey results indicate that Texas biology and biological anthropology faculty with expertise in an evolutionary
area strongly support teaching “just evolution” (100%; N = 54) and not creationism/intelligent design. Importantly, they do not think that religious faith is incompatible with acceptance
of evolutionary biology (91%; N = 55), even though 50% (N = 52) describe themselves as “not at all religious.” As school boards nationwide debate science standards, it is important
that faculty with relevant expertise have a voice. Biological anthropologists should not be overlooked as a public resource
in these debates. 相似文献
4.
The controversy around evolution, creationism, and intelligent design resides in a historical struggle between scientific
knowledge and popular belief. Four hundred seventy-six students (biology majors n = 237, nonmajors n = 239) at a secular liberal arts private university in Northeastern United States responded to a five-question survey to
assess their views about: (1) evolution, creationism, and intelligent design in the science class; (2) students’ attitudes
toward evolution; (3) students’ position about the teaching of human evolution; (4) evolution in science exams; and (5) students’
willingness to discuss evolution openly. There were 60.6% of biology majors and 42% of nonmajors supported the exclusive teaching
of evolution in the science class, while 45.3% of nonmajors and 32% of majors were willing to learn equally about evolution,
creationism, and intelligent design (question 1); 70.5% of biology majors and 55.6% of nonmajors valued the factual explanations
evolution provides about the origin of life and its place in the universe (question 2); 78% of the combined responders (majors
plus nonmajors) preferred science courses where evolution is discussed comprehensively and humans are part of it (question
3); 69% of the combined responders (majors plus nonmajors) had no problem answering questions concerning evolution in science
exams (question 4); 48.1% of biology majors and 26.8% of nonmajors accepted evolution and expressed it openly, but 18.2% of
the former and 14.2% of the latter accepted evolution privately; 46% of nonmajors and 29.1% of biology majors were reluctant
to comment on this topic (question 5). Combined open plus private acceptance of evolution within biology majors increased
with seniority, from freshman (60.7%) to seniors (81%), presumably due to gradual exposure to upper-division biology courses
with evolutionary content. College curricular/pedagogical reform should fortify evolution literacy at all education levels,
particularly among nonbiologists. 相似文献
5.
Barbara Forrest 《Evolution》2010,3(2):170-182
The intelligent design (ID) creationist movement is now a quarter of a century old. ID proponents at the Discovery Institute,
headquartered in Seattle, WA, USA, insist that ID is not creationism. However, it is the direct descendant of the creation
science movement that began in the 1960s and continued until the definitive ruling against creationism by the US Supreme Court
in Edwards v. Aguillard
1987, which struck down laws that required balancing the teaching of evolution with creationism in public schools. Already anticipating
in the early 1980s that Arkansas and Louisiana “balanced treatment” laws would be declared unconstitutional, a group of creationists
led by Charles Thaxton began laying the groundwork for what is now the ID movement. After Edwards, Thaxton and his associates promoted ID aggressively until it, too, was declared unconstitutional by a federal judge in Kitzmiller et al. v. Dover Area School District 2005. Subsequently, in 2008, the Discovery Institute began its multistate promotion of model “academic freedom” legislation
that bears striking parallels to the 1980s balanced treatment laws. Because of Kitzmiller, ID proponents have written their model legislation in code language in an effort to avoid another court challenge. Yet despite
attempting to evade the legal constraints imposed by Edwards, they are merely recycling earlier creationist tactics that date back to the late 1970s and early 1980s. The tactics that
ID creationists now use—promoting legislation, publishing “educational” materials, establishing a “research” institute, and
sanitizing their terminology—are the recycled tactics of their creation science predecessors. 相似文献
6.
The controversy evolution vs. creationism is inherent to the incompatibility between scientific rationalism/empiricism and the belief in supernatural causation. To test this hypothesis, we conceptualized a Cartesian landscape where the dependent variable acceptance of evolution was plotted as function of three factors, each represented by an index (value range 0 to 3): Religiosity Index (RI), Science Index (SI), and Evolution Index (EI). The indexes summarized an individual's personal religious convictions, familiarity with the processes and forces of change in organisms (= concept of evolution), and understanding the essence of science (= method to explore reality). We compared and contrasted acceptance of evolution among four populations of variable educational attainment: 244 professors of New England, United States (93% Ph.D./doctorate holders), 50 protistologists from 25 countries (70% Ph.D./doctorate holders), 62 educators of prospective teachers (83% Ph.D./doctorate holders), and 827 college students. The New England faculty held the highest acceptance of evolution position (RI = 0.49; SI = 2.49; EI = 2.49), followed by the protistologists (RI = 0.46; SI = 2.30; EI = 2.48), the educators of prospective teachers (RI = 0.83; SI = 1.96; EI = 1.96), and the students (RI = 0.89; SI = 1.80; EI = 1.60); therefore, the data supported our hypothesis. Proper science education, public outreach and robust debate over the controversy "evolution versus creationism" should suffice to improve society's evolution literacy, and qualified scholars ought to lead this mission. 相似文献
7.
In a questionnaire-based survey, the proportion of Glasgow University first year biology students who rejected evolution in
2009–2011 was about 7%, similar to the previously reported average figure for 1987–1999. However, by final year, evolution
rejection was absent in students who studied evolution beyond first year and 4% among those who did not. Evolution rejection
was closely related to accepting a religion-based alternative, whereas acceptance was related to finding the evidence convincing.
Although many religious students accepted evolution, 50% of Islamic students were rejecters, compared to 25% of Christians.
A question testing acceptance of several scientific propositions showed no evidence that evolution rejecters were generally
more skeptical of science than accepters. Rejecters were overall less secure than accepters in their identification of the
correct definition for terms related to evolution and creationism, but, surprisingly, more than 10% of final year students
chose a Lamarckian definition for Darwinian evolution. Accepters and rejecters responded equally poorly to a question on Darwin’s
history, but level 4 was much better. A breakdown of evolution into three components (human origins, macroevolution, and microevolution)
found that some evolution rejecters accepted some components, with microevolution having the highest acceptance and human
origins the lowest. These findings are discussed in terms of strategies for evolution education and the phenomenon of evolution
rejection worldwide. 相似文献
8.
Nicholas J. Matzke 《Evolution》2010,3(2):145-162
Every discipline has its hazards, and for evolution scientists and educators, a major hazard consists of encounters with creationists,
their rhetoric, and their attempts to insert antievolutionism into public education. Preparation for this hazard should be
a standard part of the background of professional evolutionists. One important piece of this preparation involves understanding
the historical origins of creationism within the wider history of western Christianity, especially evangelical Protestantism
and its development in the United States. Here, I place the standard histories of “creation science” by Numbers and Larson
(covering primarily the early 1900s to the 1980s) into this larger context (going back to the evangelical split over slavery
before the Civil War and during), and then show how the “intelligent design” movement (from the 1980s until the present) fits
squarely within the long history of primarily evangelical, biblicist opposition to evolution. The major creationist movements
and slogans are identified and also placed into this historical picture. In summary, while creationism has evolved diverse
labels and strategies for legal and rhetorical purposes, its fundamental essence remains unchanged. That essence is advocacy
of miraculous divine intervention, i.e., special creation, in the history of life, and the claim that science must acknowledge
special creation or dire consequences for society will follow. 相似文献
9.
While numerous studies address college students’ (typically biology majors) perceptions of evolution, research on how students from a range of majors view intelligent design (ID) has not been conducted. In this study, a survey was administered to 692 students, only 2.2% of whom were biology majors, at a medium-sized Midwestern university. The data from this survey were analyzed to answer the following two research questions: (1) To what extent do college students believe ID is an alternative to, or a better explanation than, evolution? and (2) To what extent do college students believe ID represents a form of creationism? In addition to discussing the results of our analyses, we also provide possible implications of our findings for researchers and educators. 相似文献
10.
Acceptance of evolution among the general public, high schools, teachers, and scientists has been documented in the USA; little
is known about college students’ views on evolution; this population is relevant since it transits from a high-school/parent-protective
environment to an independent role in societal decisions. Here we compare perspectives about evolution, creationism, and intelligent
design (ID) between a secular (S) and a religious (R) college in the Northeastern USA. Interinstitutional comparisons showed
that 64% (mean S + R) biology majors vs. 42/62% (S/R) nonmajors supported the exclusive teaching of evolution in science classes;
24/29% (S/R) biology majors vs. 26/38% (S/R) nonmajors perceived ID as both alternative to evolution and/or scientific theory
about the origin of life; 76% (mean S + R) biology majors and nonmajors accepted evolutionary explanations about the origin
of life; 86% (mean S + R) biology majors vs. 79% (mean S + R) nonmajors preferred science courses where human evolution is
discussed; 76% (mean S+R) biology majors vs. 79% (mean S + R) nonmajors welcomed questions about evolution in exams and/or
thought that such questions should always be in exams; and 66% (mean S + R) biology majors vs. 46% (mean S + R) nonmajors
admitted they accept evolution openly and/or privately. Intrainstitutional comparisons showed that overall acceptance of evolution
among biologists (S or R) increased gradually from the freshman to the senior year, due to exposure to upper-division courses
with evolutionary content. College curricular/pedagogical reform should fortify evolution literacy at all education levels,
particularly among nonbiologists. 相似文献
11.
Snijdewint FG von Mensdorff-Pouilly S Karuntu-Wanamarta AH Verstraeten AA van Zanten-Przybysz I Hummel P Nijman HW Kenemans P Hilgers J 《Cancer immunology, immunotherapy : CII》1999,48(1):47-55
The objective of this study was to demonstrate the presence of proliferative T cell responses to human polymorphic epithelial
mucin (MUC1) and its tandem-repeat peptides in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from ovarian cancer patients and
from controls and to correlate these cellular responses to a humoral response to MUC1. PBMC were obtained from 6 healthy women,
from 13 women in the third trimester of pregnancy and from 21 ovarian cancer patients. Only 1 of the 6 healthy women showed
a weak primary proliferative response (stimulation index, SI<2) to a 20-mer MUC1 tandem-repeat peptide in the presence of
interleukin-2 (IL-2). In PBMC from 5/13 pregnant women (38%) a weak response could be induced by the 20-mer and/or 60-mer
tandem-repeat peptides (SI ≤ 3.0) and in PBMC from 8/15 ovarian cancer patients (53%) 20-mer and/or 60-mer MUC1 tandem-repeat
peptides induced primary responses (SI ≤ 5.4). MUC1 mucin purified from a breast tumor cell line and/or from urine of a healthy
donor had a relatively strong stimulating effect (SI ≤ 19) on PBMC from 4 of 16 ovarian cancer patients (25%). In contrast,
in PBMC of 9 ovarian cancer patients stimulated by the addition of a Candida albicans extract, MUC1 mucin strongly inhibited proliferation. This inhibition could partially be abrogated by the addition of IL-2.
MUC1 (CA 15.3 assay) and free circulating MUC1 IgG and IgM antibodies (PEM.CIg assay) were determined in the plasma of all
subjects. The MUC1 and the free circulating MUC1 IgG antibody plasma levels were significantly higher in the ovarian cancer
patients than in the healthy women. Although no significant correlations were found between MUC1 mucin, MUC1 Ab plasma levels
and the individual proliferative responses to the MUC1 antigens, an association may exist between them, since all three are
significantly higher in the ovarian cancer patients than in the healthy women.
Received: 27 August 1998 / Accepted: 10 December 1998 相似文献
12.
College students whose recollections of their high school biology courses included creationism were significantly more likely
to invoke creationism-based answers on questions derived from the Material Acceptance of the Theory of Evolution (MATE) instrument
than were students whose recollections of their high school biology courses included evolution but not creationism. On average,
students who were taught neither evolution nor creationism in their high school biology courses exhibited intermediary responses
on the MATE instrument. These results suggest that (1) high school teachers’ treatments of evolution and creationism have
a lasting impact and (2) the inclusion of creationism in high school biology courses increases the probability that students
accept creationism and reject evolution when they arrive at college. These results are discussed relative to the impact of
high school biology courses on students’ subsequent acceptance of evolution and creationism. 相似文献
13.
Reza Amani Somaye Saeidi Zahra Nazari Sorour Nematpour 《Biological trace element research》2010,137(2):150-158
It has been suggested that mood disorders and depressive status may be accompanied by lowered zinc status in the body, and
adequate consumption of zinc increases a general perceived well-being. The main objective of this study was to assess the
correlation between serum zinc concentrations and dietary zinc intakes with depression scores in university female students.
In the first phase, Beck's depression questionnaire was applied in a random sampling of 308 selected 20–25-year-old female
students (one third of total students in Ahvaz Jondi-Shapour University of Medical Sciences Golestan dormitories) to assess
the major depressive disorder (MDD) scales. Then, in the second phase, 23 students who identified as having moderate and severe
depression were selected as the case group, and 23 healthy age matched were chosen as the controls. Each of them completed
a 12-item semiquantitative food frequency questionnaire containing the main food sources of zinc in the usual dietary patterns
and also a 24-h food recall questionnaire to assure the daily zinc intakes. Daily zinc intakes were obtained by multiplying
each portion size by its zinc content using food tables. A 5-ml blood sample was taken for further serum zinc status using
flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry technique. Pearson's r was used to show the correlation between quantitative variables. Both daily zinc intake and serum zinc concentrations of
MDD group were about two thirds of healthy index (p < 0.01). Depressed individuals used to eat lower servings of red meats and chicken as the main food sources of zinc in students'
usual diets (p < 0.001). Consumption of other foods as the sources of zinc was not significantly different in two groups. A linear significant
correlation between dietary zinc intakes and its serum levels was seen in samples (r = 0.62; p < 0.001) and MDD students (r = 0.55; p < 0.001). There was a linear inverse correlation between Beck questionnaire scores and serum zinc concentrations in all of
the investigated students(r = -0.65; p < 0.001) and MDD girls (r = −0.71; p < 0.001). Beck questionnaire scores and diatary zinc intakes were also inversly correlated (r = −0.58; p < 0.001). However, no statistical correlation was seen between these two variables in MDD cases. In depressed female students,
dietary zinc intake is correlated to its serum concentrations; however, the serum zinc levels are inversely correlated to
depression scales. Consumption of the main dietary sources of zinc such as red meats and chicken should be encouraged in young
depressed girls. 相似文献
14.
Rodrigo Medel 《Evolution》2008,1(3):318-322
The scientific study of evolution in Chile has experienced periods of diversification and stasis, depending upon the social
and political context at different times. In the eighteenth century, most of the natural history research consisted of systematics
and taxonomy and, as in most of South America, this task was performed mainly by natural historian theologists. Later, the
immigration of European scientists to Chile after independence from Spain in 1810 improved substantially its knowledge of
the local biota and stimulated the diversification of naturalists in the country. Research in modern biology and the teaching
of genetics in Chile can be traced back to Giovanni Noe, an Italian zoologist who had a profound impact in the first third
of the twentieth century. In the 1960s–70s, Danko Brncic, a population geneticist educated in the tradition of Dobzhansky
and the modern synthesis, led the most important diversification process in the study of evolutionary biology in the country.
However, the military coup in 1973 brought this radiation to a sudden stop and produced a stasis period associated with the
subsequent 17-year dictatorship. Evolutionary biology recovered its status after the re-establishment of democracy, and it
is currently experiencing an exciting and renewed diversification period that has led to the foundation of the Chilean Society
of Evolutionary Biology, the only scientific society for the study of evolution in Latin America. One of the missions of the
Society is to bridge the gap between scientists and science educators in order to improve the teaching of evolution at different
levels both in secular and religious schools. Even though the Roman Catholic Church has been a pivotal institution in the
development of Chilean society, debate on evolutionism—creationism issues has been largely absent both in public and academic
discussions. The influence of religion on science education has been sporadic, and mostly related to omission rather than
tergiversation of scientific information in biology textbooks. Currently, schools are obliged by law to teach the basics of
evolution in K-12 and K-16 levels (or their local equivalents). Because of this, there is little at present that suggests
an organized creationist or intelligent design movement surge in the near future. Nevertheless, the high percentage of religiosity
in Chile, together with the observation that the moral values of Chilean society are among the most conservative in the world,
provide good reasons to remain vigilant. 相似文献
15.
Mode of depolymerisation of hemicellulose by various mannanases and xylanases in relation to their ability to bleach softwood pulp 总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2
G. M. Gübitz D. Haltrich B. Latal W. Steiner 《Applied microbiology and biotechnology》1997,47(6):658-662
Endo-mannanases and endo-xylanases cleave different heteromannans and xylans yielding mainly dimers and trimers of the corresponding
sugars as end-products. However, in the early stages of hydrolysis, four purified mannanases and four xylanases from fungal
and bacterial origin, examined in this study, showed a different pattern of released oligomers (determined up to the pentamers).
Furthermore, some of these enzymes showed a preference for cleaving the polysaccharides in the middle of the chain while others
acted more at the end. When the increase in the specific fluidity of mannan and xylan solutions per reducing sugar released
(K
v) was measured against the bleaching effect of the enzymes on softwood kraft pulp, a correlation was found. A xylanase from
Penicillium simplicissimum (K
v = 0.15 l mPa−1s−1g−1) and a mannanase from Sclerotium rolfsii (K
v = 0.12 l mPa−1s−1g−1) applied in a O(QX)P bleaching sequence (O = oxygen delignification, X = treatment with hemicellulolytic enzymes, Q = chelation
of metals, P = treatment with hydrogen peroxide in alkaline solution) gave a high brightness increase of 3.0% and 1.9% ISO
respectively. A less significant brightness increase was obtained with enzymes showing lower K
v values, such as a xylanase from Schizophyllum commune (Kv = 0.051 l mPa−1s−1g−1, 0.2% ISO) and a bacterial mannanase (K
v = 0.061 l mPa−1s−1g−1,0.5% ISO).
Received: 19 December 1996 / Received revision: 20 February 1997 / Accepted: 22 February 1997 相似文献
16.
Christof Janko Stefan Linke Thomas Romig Dorothea Thoma Wolfgang Schröder Andreas König 《European Journal of Wildlife Research》2011,57(5):1033-1042
This study investigated the epidemiological and ecological factors to assess the infection pressure of alveolar echinococcosis
to human which are living in villages and small towns. Foxes and fox faeces were examined for Echinococcus multilocularis and foxes were observed by radio telemetry in Upper Bavaria, Germany. Forty-three percent of the village foxes (n = 65) had been infected with E. multilocularis. This prevalence rate did not differ significantly from the prevalence among rural foxes, which was 39% (n = 33; χ
2 = 0.12, df = 1, p = 0.727) determined by the intestinal scraping technique. PCR analyses of fox faeces showed a higher infection rate of 35%
(n = 26) among rural foxes than among foxes in villages and small towns (26%, n = 69; χ
2 = 0.68, df = 1, p = 0.411). One quarter of the fox faecal samples come from private gardens of residents. The radio-tracking study on 17 foxes
showed that foxes preferred the built-up area and grassland outside the villages. Village foxes concentrated their activity
within a range of 500 m around the settlement. Sixty-four percent of all bearings for radio-tracked foxes showed positions
in areas outside the town, and 36% of bearings were within the settlement. Village foxes, which are infected with E. multilocularis, are able to carry the parasite continuously into settlements and fox faeces present an immediate source of infection to
humans, especially within their gardens. Therefore, foxes are responsible for environmental E. multilocularis egg contamination in the vicinity of humans, leading to an infection risk to inhabitants of villages and small towns. 相似文献
17.
It has been suggested that the karyotype of the marsupials derived from a low diploid number (2n = 14) which originated, through
fissions of biarmed chromosomes, the karyotypes with a higher 2n. The telomeric sequence (T2AG3)nwas in situhybridized to the chromosomes of Gracilinanus microtarsusand G. emiliae, Micoureus demeraraeand Marmosa murina, species with 2n = 14, in Monodelphissp., M. domestica, M. kunsiand M. brevicaudatawith 2n = 18, and in Lutreolina crassicaudata, Didelphis albiventris, Chironectes minimus, Philander opossumand P. frenata, all of them with 2n = 22. The probe hybridization occurred in the telomeric regions of both arms, short and long, of all
chromosomes of the complement of all individuals of all species analysed. However, in some pairs of the karyotypes of Gracilinanus microtarsusand Micoureus demerarae(with 2n = 14), and in Monodelphissp., M. domestica, M. kunsiand M. brevicaudata(2n = 18) ectopic signs of hybridization were detected proximal to the centromeres, suggesting the retention of this telomeric
sequence in the centromeric regions of some chromosomes of these species. Based on these results, it is proposed that the
karyotype of marsupials evolved from a 2n = 22 to a 2n = 14, by means of chromosomal fusions.
This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献
18.
Chintana Phawong Collins Ouma Piyatida Tangteerawatana Jarinee Thongshoob Tom Were Yuvadee Mahakunkijcharoen Duangrurdee Wattanasirichaigoon Douglas Jay Perkins Srisin Khusmith 《Immunogenetics》2010,62(6):345-356
Polymorphic variability in immune response genes, such as IL12B, encoding the IL-12p40 subunit is associated with susceptibility to severe malaria in African populations. Since the role
of genetic variation in conditioning severe malaria in Thai adults is largely unexplored, the functional association between
IL12B polymorphisms [i.e. IL12Bpro (rs17860508) and IL12B 3′ UTR T/G (rs3212227)], severe malaria and cytokine production was examined in patients with Plasmodium falciparum infections (n = 355) recruited from malaria endemic areas along the Thai–Myanmar border in northwest Thailand. Circulating IL-12p40 (p = 0.049) and IFN-γ (p = 0.051) were elevated in patients with severe malaria, while only IL-12p40 was significantly higher in severe malaria patients
with hyperparasitaemia (p = 0.046). Carriage of the IL12Bpro1.1 genotype was associated with enhanced severity of malaria (OR, 2.34; 95% CI, 0.94–5.81; p = 0.066) and hyperparasitaemia (OR, 3.42; 95% CI, 1.17–9.87; p = 0.025) relative to the IL12Bpro2.2 genotype (wild type). Individuals with the IL12Bpro1.1 genotype also had the lowest IL-12p40 (p = 0.002) and the highest IFN-γ (p = 0.004) levels. Construction of haplotypes revealed that carriage of the IL12Bpro-2/3′ UTR-T haplotype was associated with protection against severe malaria (OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.29–0.90; p = 0.020) and reduced circulating IFN-γ (p = 0.06). Thus, genotypic and haplotypic variation at IL12Bpro and IL12B 3′ UTR in this population influences susceptibility to severe malaria and functional changes in circulating IL-12p40 and
IFN-γ levels. Results presented here suggest that protection against severe malaria in Thai adults is associated with genotypic
variants that condition enhanced IL-12p40 and reduced IFN-γ levels. 相似文献
19.
The genes of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) are attractive candidates for investigating the link between adaptive
variation and individual fitness. High levels of diversity at the MHC are thought to be the result of parasite-mediated selection
and there is growing evidence to support this theory. Most studies, however, target just a single gene within the MHC and
infer any evidence of selection to be representative of the entire gene region. Here we present data from three MHC class
II beta genes (DPB, DQB, and DRB) for brown hares in two geographic regions and compare them against previous results from a class II alpha-chain gene (DQA). We report moderate levels of diversity and high levels of population differentiation in the DQB and DRB genes (Na = 11, D
est = 0.071 and Na = 15, D
est = 0.409, respectively), but not for the DPB gene (Na = 4, D
est = 0.00). We also detected evidence of positive selection within the peptide binding region of the DQB and DRB genes (95% CI, ω > 1.0) but found no signature of selection for DPB. Mutation and recombination were both found to be important processes shaping the evolution of the class II genes. Our findings
suggest that while diversifying selection is a significant contributor to the generally high levels of MHC diversity, it does
not act in a uniform manner across the entire MHC class II region. The beta-chain genes that we have characterized provide
a valuable set of MHC class II markers for future studies of the evolution of adaptive variation in Leporids. 相似文献
20.
William E. Magnusson M. Carmozina de Araújo Renato Cintra Albertina P. Lima Luiz A. Martinelli Tânia M. Sanaiotti Heraldo L. Vasconcelos Reynaldo L. Victoria 《Oecologia》1999,119(1):91-96
We studied the energy flow from C3 and C4 plants to higher trophic levels in a central Amazonian savanna by comparing the carbon stable-isotope ratios of potential
food plants to the isotope ratios of species of different consumer groups. All C4 plants encountered in our study area were grasses and all C3 plants were bushes, shrubs or vines. Differences in δ13C ratios among bushes (xˉ = −30.8, SD = 1.2), vines (xˉ = −30.7, SD = 0.46) and trees (xˉ = −29.7, SD = 1.5) were small. However the mean δ13C ratio of dicotyledonous plants (xˉ = −30.4, SD = 1.3) was much more negative than that of the most common grasses (xˉ = −13.4, SD = 0.27). The insect primary consumers had δ13C ratios which ranged from a mean of −29.5 (SD = 0.47) for the grasshopper Tropidacris collaris to a mean of −14.7 (SD = 0.56) for a termite (Nasutitermes sp.), a range similar to that of the vegetation. However, the common insectivorous and omnivorous vertebrates had intermediate
values for δ13C, indicating that carbon from different autotrophic sources mixes rapidly as it moves up the food chain. Despite this mixing,
the frogs and lizards generally had higher values of δ13C (xˉ = −21.7, SD = 1.6; xˉ = −21.9, SD = 1.8, respectively) than the birds (xˉ = −24.8, SD = 1.8) and the only species of mammal resident in the savanna (xˉ = −25.4), indicating that they are generally more dependent on, or more able to utilise, food chains based on C4 grasses.
Received: 7 May 1998 / Accepted: 30 November 1998 相似文献