This thesis deals with the analysis of 3D morphological changes and variability in the shape and form of facial expression during five specifically defined facial expressions (raising eyebrows, close both eyes, lips pursing, inflating both cheeks, smile). Changes in facial expression were evaluated in relation to sexual dimorphism and age category of probands using the methods of geometric morphometrics (Dense Correspondence Analysis, Paired Analysis, Principal Component Analysis, Shell-to-Shell Deviation) in program Morphome3cs and RapidForm. The analysis consisted of evaluating the surface of soft tissue changes that occur due to the contraction of facial muscles. Materials used for the analysis are 3D surface facial models of adult healthy people of the Czech nationality (63 women, 58 men) in the age interval 20-60 years. We considered methodology based on Paired Analysis to be more accurate, when we worked only with differences between the neutral expression and facial expression. By choosing a Paired Analysis, we prevented the morphological features of the face from being reflected into the results. Morphological features are a manifestation of sexual dimorphism or age factor as such, but they are not themselves the essence of facial expression. In this way, we analyzed the shape of the face after...

The study is primarily focused on testing of the method which assesses sex from pubis. This method was originally proposed by Phenice (1969). Klales et al. (2012) modified this method in their study. They suggested to improve of the Phenice (1969) technique by extending the evaluation scale of three morphological traits from two values - present / absent to five development stage. Our study assumes that the success of Phenice (1969) method is related to the degree of sexual dimorphism of evaluated population. So the extension of evaluation scale will not lead to increased accuracy and will occur to decrease relibility of the method also. Intraobserver error was evaluated for Phenice (1969) a Klales et al. (2012) methods on the sample of isolated pelvic bones from Department of anthropology and human genetics of Charles university in Praque in first time. After we evaluated the whole sample, which consist of 200 three-dimensional models of pelvic bones. These models were segmented from CT images of adult individuals from contemporary French population. This sample was statistically evaluated by Cohen kappa, accuracy, senzitivity and specificity using confusion matrix and relationship between specificita and senzitivity was tested by ROC curves and area under curve (AUC). Results show that Phenice...

The diploma thesis deals with the differences in the development of the palate in girls and boys within five age groups in the age range of 7 to 19 years, using methods of geometric morphometry. Furthermore, the work deals with the monitoring of sexual dimorphism in the development of the palate. Understanding palate growth, knowledge of differences in its development and changes related to sexual dimorphism are very useful, as the results of this study will serve as a comparative standard for palate defects in the Czech population, but also for appropriate planning of orthodontic procedures. The material consists of 228 gypsum castings of palate without any pathologies, 112 of which belonged to boys and 116 girls of the Czech population. Thus, transverse data are used in our study. The subjects were divided into five age groups 7, 10, 12, 15 and 19 with respect to gender. Age changes of the entire palate surface were modeled using geometric morphometry methods (Coherent point drift - Dense correspondence analysis, Per vertex T- test and Principal component analysis). To visualize the results, superprojection color maps, maps of significance and superprojection. The results show the greatest variability in the form of palate in girls of groups 10 and 12 years and in boys of groups 10 years, and...

This thesis is based on longitudinal monitoring of developmental changes of the oronasal region in a group of children from 7 to 17 years. Growth and shape changes, variability and sex dimorphism were monitored using 492 3D facial models of 40 boys and 47 girls. These models were obtained by yearly scanning children aged 7 to 12 years and 12 to 17 years. The Vectra 3D optical scanner was used to obtain the models and data were evaluated using classical and geometric morphometry methods (T-test, DCA, Per vertex T-test and Principal component analysis). The results of the analyses were visualized using superprojection color maps of average faces and significance maps that show statistically significant regions of oronasal region changes. During the period under review, the growth of the oronasal region is evident in both girls and boys. The most intense growth occurred in the area of the nasal spine in both sexes, so there was a lengthening of the nose. Overall, the oronasal region extended and expanded to acquire a more convex shape. Growth intensity increased in girls from 10 years and in boys from 11 years. Sexual dimorphism was pronounced up to 11 years, between 12 and 13 the differences were not as pronounced as in the previous age categories, and these changes began to increase again from 14...

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The overall objective of this thesis was to examine mitochondrial bioenergetics in muscle biopsies from humans with type 1 diabetes (T1D) to gain a deeper understanding of the cellular mechanism(s) underlying changes to skeletal muscle health reported in T1D, a phenotype we have referred to as ‘diabetic myopathy’. It was hypothesized that humans with T1D, compared to their matched counterparts without diabetes (control), would demonstrate significant deficiencies in muscle mitochondrial function and ultrastructure/content as determined by the gold-standard in vitro methodology: high-resolution respirometry and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. It was further hypothesized that sex differences would not exist in mitochondrial function with T1D, and mitochondrial deficiencies would be more dramatic at an earlier age with T1D. Adults with uncomplicated T1D and strictly matched controls (age, sex, BMI, self-reported physical activity levels) were recruited from surrounding university-dwelling communities. Site-specific deficiencies in mitochondrial respiration, H2O2 emission, and calcium retention capacity were found in young, physically active adults with T1D despite normal mitochondrial content. Further experiments revealed that muscle mitochondrial respiration in women and men differentially adapt to the T1D environment where men with T1D have lower complex II but higher complex I respiration compared to women with T1D, while women (irrespective of T1D) have lower ADP sensitivity. Women with T1D also demonstrated lower H2O2 emission compared to men with T1D. In contrast, despite a lower mitochondrial content in middle- to older-aged adults with T1D, mitochondrial respiration (normalized to content) was either normal or increased in adults with T1D compared to control, with observable differences between sexes. Overall, this research has demonstrated that despite being recreationally to physically active, adults with uncomplicated T1D with moderately well-managed glycemia demonstrate alterations in skeletal muscle mitochondrial function and ultrastructure, including differences between sexes. / Dissertation / Doctor of Science (PhD) / Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is a complex disease that still has no known cure. Current treatment focuses on managing blood sugar levels with exogenous insulin injections and frequent blood sugar checks. However, over time, people with T1D still develop serious complications that inevitably impact their quality of life and lifespan. A potential adjuvant therapy to prevent complications in T1D is improving the health of skeletal muscle through exercise given its role in stabilizing blood sugar/lipid levels and whole-body insulin sensitivity. However, this area continues to be severely understudied in the T1D population. Thus, this thesis examined skeletal muscle metabolic ‘health’ from adults with T1D who do not have major diabetes complications and manage their blood glucose moderately-well. Through a series of novel experiments, we found that young and middle- to older-aged adults with T1D have alterations in the metabolic engines of their muscles, and depending on biological sex, the alterations manifest as either heightened or degraded cellular function. These findings are the first to provide a comprehensive cellular investigation of the impact of T1D on the metabolic health of skeletal muscle in people with T1D and provide the foundation for future research examining skeletal muscle as an essential and early adjuvant therapy in this population.

Steroid hormones act as important regulators of physiological processes including gene expression. They provide possible mechanistic explanations of observed sex-dimorphisms in obesity and coronary artery disease (CAD). Here, we aim to unravel causal relationships between steroid hormones, obesity, and CAD in a sex-specific manner. In genome-wide meta-analyses of four steroid hormone levels and one hormone ratio, we identified 17 genome-wide significant loci of which 11 were novel. Among loci, seven were female-specific, four male-specific, and one was sex-related (stronger effects in females). As one of the loci was the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) region, we analyzed HLA allele counts and found four HLA subtypes linked to 17-OH-progesterone (17-OHP), including HLA-B*14*02. Using Mendelian randomization approaches with four additional hormones as exposure, we detected causal effects of dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) and 17-OHP on body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). The DHEA-S effect was stronger in males. Additionally, we observed the causal effects of testosterone, estradiol, and their ratio on WHR. By mediation analysis, we found a direct sex-unspecific effect of 17-OHP on CAD while the other four hormone effects on CAD were mediated by BMI or WHR. In conclusion, we identified the sex-specific causal networks of steroid hormones, obesity-related traits, and CAD.

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