This thesis uses the metric evaluation of 3D models created from CT images. The study is based on an examination of 51 males and 55 females CT scans from recent European population and also based on a metric data (10 linear measurements) of the same geographical provenance of the mid-20th century (n=113). The purpose of our research project is to determine the degree of sexual dimorphism in current population and compare the degree of sexual dimorphism in this geographic area in the middle of the last century. Intraobserver variabilities of linear measurements were less than 2%. Both groups were statistically tested. An index of sexual dimorphism (ISD) was used to assess the level of sexual dimorphism within each sample (Paris ISD = 8,28, Marseille ISD = 6,50). The two-sided t-test indicates that the degree of sexual dimorphism is not significantly different between population from the mid-20th century and recent population (p = 0,680). The secular trend was expressed by the z-score. The results showed that changes in the pelvic bone between the two groups are not significant, since neither one of the measurements does not exceed ±2 SD. Finally, we verified the reliability of method DSP ("Diagnose Sexuelle Probabiliste") for measurements deducted from CT-derived models. The results showed the...

Adipose tissue inflammation has an impact on liver health and it has been demonstrated that chronic alcohol consumption leads to the expression of pro-inflammatory markers in the adipose tissue. A thorough characterization of alcohol-induced adipose inflammation is lacking, and is important to understand in order to identify immune-related mechanisms that drive this phenomenon. Current therapeutic regimens for alcoholic liver disease are ineffective. It is critical to understand how other organs influence liver injury in this disease when developing novel and effective therapies in the future. Alcoholic liver disease exhibits a sexual dimorphism; women are more susceptible to liver injury than men and the same paradigm exists in rodent models. Here, I demonstrate that female mice have greater alcohol-induced adipose tissue inflammation than male mice, evidenced by greater expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines and cell markers. Further, female mice also exhibit higher expression of toll-like receptor genes in the adipose tissue, suggesting a potential role for the innate immune system in alcohol-induced adipose inflammation. Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) has been demonstrated to drive inflammation in both the liver and adipose tissue. I used both germline and conditional knockouts of Tlr4 to characterize alcohol-induced changes in the immune cell composition of adipose tissue. Alcohol increased the number of pro-inflammatory adipose tissue macrophages. This macrophage phenotype switching is partially dependent on TLR4; germline, but not myeloid-specific, Tlr4-deletion prevents macrophage phenotype switching. Overall, my work demonstrates that alcohol-induced adipose tissue inflammation is related to liver injury and that TLR4 contributes to adipose macrophage phenotype switching.

L’AMPK est un senseur métabolique qui phosphoryle de nombreux substrats afin de maintenir l’homéostasie énergétique cellulaire. Dans le cœur, un rôle protecteur de l’AMPK a été montré dans des modèles pathologiques, néanmoins la spécificité cardiaque, métabolique et sexuelle des effets protecteurs de l’AMPK n’a pas été complètement élucidée. Nous avons donc généré un modèle de souris invalidées pour l’AMPKalpha2, l’isoforme majoritaire dans le cœur. Cette délétion est induite spécifiquement dans le cœur et à l’âge adulte après injection de tamoxifène. A l’état basal, la délétion de l’AMPKalpha2 a induit une dysfonction systolique progressive du ventricule gauche et le développement d’une fibrose cardiaque uniquement chez les souris mâles. Seize semaines après induction de la délétion, ces altérations cardiaques sont associées à une diminution de la respiration mitochondriale initiée par le complexe I de la chaîne respiratoire qui pourrait être liée au réarrangement des espèces de cardiolipides et à l’augmentation de la proportion de complexe I non intégré dans des supercomplexes observés chez ces souris mâles KO. Ces effets induits par la délétion de l’AMPKalpha2 ne sont pas observés chez les femelles KO mais la fibrose cardiaque et le remodelage des cardiolipides ont été retrouvés chez des souris femelles KO ayant subi une ovariectomie. Ces résultats montrent aussi une implication de l’AMPK dans la régulation de la fibrose cardiaque et de la composition en cardiolipides de la membrane mitochondriale et mettent également en avant un dimorphisme sexuel qui pourrait être en partie dû aux hormones femelles. Une étude comparable dans un modèle pathologique est en cours d’analyse afin de préciser les effets cardioprotecteurs de l’AMPK. / AMPK is a metabolic sensor which phosphorylates a various number of substrates in order to maintain cellular energetic homeostasis. In the heart, a protective role of AMPK has been demonstrated in pathological models, nevertheless the tissue, the metabolic and the sexual specificity of those effects has not been fully investigated. Thus, we generated a mice model of AMPKalpha2 deletion, the major cardiac isoform, specifically induced in the heart and at adult age after tamoxifen injection. At basal condition, AMPKalpha2 deletion lead to a progressive systolic dysfunction of the left ventricle and to the development of fibrosis only in males. Sixteen weeks after the deletion induction, these alterations were associated to a decrease of the mitochondrial respiration initiated by complex I of the observed in these KO male mice respiratory chain which could be linked to a cardiolipin species remodeling and to an increase of complex I proportion which is not integrated in supercomplexes. These effects induced by AMPKalpha2 deletion were not observed in KO female mice; however the cardiac fibrosis and the cardiolipins remodeling were found in KO female mice with ovariectomy. These last results tend to confirm an involvement of AMPK in fibrosis regulation and membrane cardiolipin composition and highlight a sexual dimorphism which could be due to female hormones. Analysis of a similar study in a pathological model is ongoing in order to specify the AMPK cardioprotective effects.

No description available.

<p> An unlocalised collection of ammonites from West New Guinea is described and identified. These identifications afford the basis for determining the stratigraphic position of the fauna, which ext ends from the Sowerbyi Zone of the Middle Jurassic to the Upper Valanginian. The relations of the fauna to other ammonite faunas are described and indicate the ammonites in the present collection to be most closely related to the faunas of the Pacific Realm and Ethiopian province of the Tethyan Realm. A new genus, Sulaites is described and possible sexual dimorphism is detected therein. </p> / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Sexual selection is a prevalent evolutionary force that prominently led to the evolution of elaborate and conspicuous traits. However, it remains an ongoing scientific debate if sexual selection has a net negative or positive effect on the general viability of a population (from here on ‘population fitness’). Sexual selection could reduce the fitness of a population, when sexual conflict leads to, for example, one sex harming the other during mating. By contrast, sexual selection could increase population fitness, if it increases selection against deleterious alleles in the gene pool. This could be the case if sexual selection acts on traits that capture the genetic quality of an individual. Indeed, recent meta-analytic evidence suggests that sexual selection typically increases population fitness. Therefore, the strength of sexual selection could prove important for the fitness of wild populations facing environmental stress. Importantly, the strength of sexual selection can differ fundamentally between the sexes and also among populations or species. One reason that might trigger this variation is the interdependence of evolutionary and ecological processes, also known as eco-evolutionary dynamics. Therefore, studying eco-evolutionary dynamics could help us to understand the vast variation in sexual selection and to predict the effect of sexual selection on population fitness. I studied different pathways of eco-evolutionary dynamics in diverse environments using experimental and comparative approaches: First, I investigated the effect of diet quality on the strength of selection in females and males in a model insect. I show that low diet quality increased the potential for selection in males and females, but surprisingly the effect of diet was particularly pronounced in females. This suggests that deteriorating diet quality might be predominantly stressful for females and could disproportionally increase selection on females compared to males. Overall, this study provides an example of how an ecological factor can influence the strength of selection. Secondly, I performed an experimental study to test the effect of a key demographic factor on sexual selection. To this end, I manipulated the density of populations of the red flour beetle by changing population size as well as habitat size. By quantifying mating behaviour and fitness, I demonstrated that an increase in density can have an impact on the potential for sexual selection. Especially in females, higher densities caused an increase in sexual selection, whereas in males, higher densities mainly increased the benefitted of additional matings. These effects were most profound when varying density through the number of individuals, whereas habitat size barely affected sexual selection. Collectively, this suggests that density dependent sexual selection mediates eco-evolutionary dynamics, which can be particularly important for the fitness of declining populations. Thirdly, I took a comparative approach to study how the strength of selection in general might alter the demography of populations, specifically their carrying capacity (i.e. the limit for population growth). Since population growth is typically limited by females, strong selection on males can affect the carrying capacity of a population. If selection is typically stronger in males compared to females, females could benefit from selection against deleterious alleles in males without the reduction in population growth imposed by strong selection on females. I compiled data on the genetic variance in fitness for females and males as a measure for the strength of selection. I found that selection is typically stronger in males compared to females across the animal kingdom. Sexual selection theory suggests that such a sex-difference in the strength of selection could be caused by stronger sexual selection on males. Indeed, the sex difference in selection strength was only significant in polygamous and not in socially monogamous species, with the latter presumably experiencing weaker sexual selection. In conclusion, these data suggest that in polygamous species selection is typically stronger on males compared to females and the sex-specific strength of selection could have an effect on the carrying capacity of populations. After exploring the relevance of sexual selection in the previous chapters, I fourthly, tested the robustness of a widely used and easily obtainable proxy for the strength of sexual selection across species: sexual size dimorphism. Theory predicts that sexual selection on males promotes the evolution of larger males relative to females. Indeed, my comparative study shows that the degree of sexual size dimorphism was significantly correlated with the strength of sexual selection, estimated by a diverse range of proxies for the strength of sexual selection from primary studies. Importantly, pre-copulatory sexual selection correlated positively with an increasing male-bias in sexual size dimorphism, while post-copulatory sexual selection was non-significantly negatively associated with the degree of male-bias in sexual size dimorphism. Overall, these data suggest that sexual size dimorphism can be a useful, albeit rough, proxy for the strength of pre-copulatory sexual selection across species. In the final chapter, I synthesise the results of my studies in the light of their implications for eco-evolutionary dynamics. While there is evidence that sexual selection could typically improve population fitness, the data I present suggest that the ecology of a population, here specifically diet quality and population density, could have a crucial impact on the strength of (sexual) selection. Hence, unravelling the eco-evolutionary dynamics of (sexual) selection could prove important for our understanding of their effect on population fitness. Importantly, selection seems to be typically stronger in males compared to females, at least in species with prevalent sexual selection on males. Overall, further exploration of the eco-evolutionary dynamics of sexual selection and their effects on population fitness promise to be exciting and profitable future endeavours.

No description available.

Sexual selection has been investigated in many different systems but information is lacking in joint-nesting species. Both sexual dimorphism and possible signals of quality were explored in this study for a joint-nesting plural breeder, the smooth-billed ani (Crotophaga ani). Sexual dimorphism can be examined for a species in an attempt to reveal particular traits that might be under sexual selection and the strength of sexual selection on them. In mate choice decisions, sexually selected traits may be used by the choosy individual to assess the quality of potential mates. These honest traits need to reveal the condition and genetic quality of the individual accurately. For example, it has been proposed that plumage colour reveals condition, and more specifically parasite resistance in birds. This study explores sexual size dimorphism and dichromatism in smooth-billed anis, as well as the ability of their feather colour to reveal body condition (measured as residuals from a regression of mass versus body size), body size, and parasite numbers. Additionally, because anis are group living birds, this study investigated whether group size had an effect on parasite numbers. Anis from a population in southwestern Puerto Rico were measured for size, their feathers were collected and analyzed using a spectrometer, and ectoparasites were collected by dustruffling. For all size traits measured, males were significantly larger than females. Males also had more exaggerated bill depths (relative to body size) than females. There were no differences between the sexes for all colour morphometries, except tail saturation; females had more saturated tails than males. While no decisive conclusions can be drawn as to why the dimorphic traits are different between males and females, sexual selection may have played a role. The relationship between log10 average lice numbers per group and group size was positive, but not significant. In male smooth-billed anis, plumage colour was not related to lice or mite numbers, or body size and body condition. Plumage colour was also not related to body condition and size in females. Additionally, ectoparasites did not have an effect on male body condition. Plumage may not only be an inaccurate signal of parasite resistance or body size and body condition in the smooth-billed ani, but ectoparasites may not even have a negative effect on their host. The inability to find significant results may have been affected by other factors, such as feather wear and the age of individuals. These results warrant a more detailed look into the social behaviour of the group-living smooth-billed ani. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc)

Thesis is focused on the analysis of intersexual differences in adiposity markers within urban population of Czech children from 11,00 to 15,99 years. This age range encompasses puberty which is one of the critical periods for the possible development of overweight and obesity. The sample PRAHA 2013 consists of 356 girls and 353 boys which were surveyed for basic anthropometric indicators - body height, body weight, BMI, mid- upper arm circumference and the thickness of four skinfolds. Intersexual differences discovered in measured parameters show statistical significance (p<0,01 resp. p<0,001) and it corresponds with the characteristic changes of pubertal development in both of genders. Testing file PRAHA 2013 against reference standards and its comparison with the results of the last Czechoslovak spartakiade in 1985 points to positive secular trend of increasing body height. However increase in weight parametres is still continuing. Probands from the year 2013 reach higher body weight values, BMI and skinfold thickness in comparison with children of the same age in 1985, 1991 resp. 2001. Significant differences were found out in the most of age categories in both of genders. Keywords: adiposity tissue, subcutaneous fat, skinfolds, body fat distribution, sexual dimorphism, obesity, secular trend

The aim of this study was to detect and describe the trends in shape variability of proximal and distal human tibia related to sex, age, social status and time period. The variability of its shape and form was analysed first in an early medieval sample, then in two modern populations, an early 20th century sample and the contemporary Czech population. Finally, data from the whole studied time span were analysed. The initial raw data were acquired by optical scanning and computed tomography (CT) scanning of the lower limbs; the three-dimensional bone surfaces of the contemporary tibias were segmented from the clinical CT scan sequences. Geometric morphometrics and multivariate statistical methods were applied to study the variations in shape and form quantitatively. Proximal and distal tibias were evaluated independently, and the potential influence of sex, age at death and time period were investigated. In the early medieval population, we also explored the relationship between tibial morphology and presumed social status derived from the respective grave location within the settlement. Because traditional morphometric analysis revealed statistically significant sex differences in the parameters of both tibial extremities (e.g., Steyn and Işcan, 1997; Šlaus et al., 2013), we thus assumed the...