La Trobe University

About: La Trobe University is a education organization based out in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Health care. The organization has 13370 authors who have published 41291 publications receiving 1138269 citations. The organization is also known as: LaTrobe University & LTU.

Evolution of sex determination and the Y chromosome: SRY -related sequences in marsupials

Abstract: IN mammals, testis determination is under the control of the testis-determining factor borne by the Y chromosome1,2. SRY, a gene cloned from the sex-determining region of the human Y chromosome, has been equated with the testis-determining factor in man3–5 and mouse6,7. We have used a human SRY probe to identify and clone related genes from the Y chromosome of two marsupial species. Comparisons of eutherian and metatherian Y-located SRY sequences suggest rapid evolution of these genes, especially outside the region encoding the DNA-binding HMG box. The SRY homologues, together with the mouse Ubely homologues8, are the first genes to be identified on the marsupial Y chromosome.

Computational intelligence for heart disease diagnosis: A medical knowledge driven approach

Abstract: This paper investigates a number of computational intelligence techniques in the detection of heart disease. Particularly, comparison of six well known classifiers for the well used Cleveland data is performed. Further, this paper highlights the potential of an expert judgment based (i.e., medical knowledge driven) feature selection process (termed as MFS), and compare against the generally employed computational intelligence based feature selection mechanism. Also, this article recognizes that the publicly available Cleveland data becomes imbalanced when considering binary classification. Performance of classifiers, and also the potential of MFS are investigated considering this imbalanced data issue. The experimental results demonstrate that the use of MFS noticeably improved the performance, especially in terms of accuracy, for most of the classifiers considered and for majority of the datasets (generated by converting the Cleveland dataset for binary classification). MFS combined with the computerized feature selection process (CFS) has also been investigated and showed encouraging results particularly for NaiveBayes, IBK and SMO. In summary, the medical knowledge based feature selection method has shown promise for use in heart disease diagnostics.

Ancient genomes link early farmers from Atapuerca in Spain to modern-day Basques

Abstract: The consequences of the Neolithic transition in Europe--one of the most important cultural changes in human prehistory--is a subject of great interest. However, its effect on prehistoric and modern-day people in Iberia, the westernmost frontier of the European continent, remains unresolved. We present, to our knowledge, the first genome-wide sequence data from eight human remains, dated to between 5,500 and 3,500 years before present, excavated in the El Portalon cave at Sierra de Atapuerca, Spain. We show that these individuals emerged from the same ancestral gene pool as early farmers in other parts of Europe, suggesting that migration was the dominant mode of transferring farming practices throughout western Eurasia. In contrast to central and northern early European farmers, the Chalcolithic El Portalon individuals additionally mixed with local southwestern hunter-gatherers. The proportion of hunter-gatherer-related admixture into early farmers also increased over the course of two millennia. The Chalcolithic El Portalon individuals showed greatest genetic affinity to modern-day Basques, who have long been considered linguistic and genetic isolates linked to the Mesolithic whereas all other European early farmers show greater genetic similarity to modern-day Sardinians. These genetic links suggest that Basques and their language may be linked with the spread of agriculture during the Neolithic. Furthermore, all modern-day Iberian groups except the Basques display distinct admixture with Caucasus/Central Asian and North African groups, possibly related to historical migration events. The El Portalon genomes uncover important pieces of the demographic history of Iberia and Europe and reveal how prehistoric groups relate to modern-day people.

Lateral wedge insoles for medial knee osteoarthritis: 12 month randomised controlled trial

Abstract: Objective To assess the effect of lateral wedge insoles compared with flat control insoles on improving symptoms and slowing structural disease progression in medial knee osteoarthritis. Design Randomised controlled trial. Setting Community in Melbourne, Australia. Participants 200 people aged 50 or more with clinical and radiographic diagnosis of mild to moderately severe medial knee osteoarthritis. Interventions Full length 5 degree lateral wedged insoles or flat control insoles worn inside the shoes daily for 12 months. Main outcome measures Primary symptomatic outcome was change in overall knee pain (past week) measured on an 11 point numerical rating scale. Primary structural outcome was change in volume of medial tibial cartilage from magnetic resonance imaging scans. Secondary clinical outcomes included changes in measures of pain, function, stiffness, and health related quality of life. Secondary structural outcomes included progression of medial cartilage defects and bone marrow lesions. Results Between group differences did not differ significantly for the primary outcomes of change in overall pain (−0.3 points, 95% confidence intervals −1.0 to 0.3) and change in medial tibial cartilage volume (−0.4 mm3, 95% confidence interval −15.4 to 14.6), and confidence intervals did not include minimal clinically important differences. None of the changes in secondary outcomes showed differences between groups. Conclusion Lateral wedge insoles worn for 12 months provided no symptomatic or structural benefits compared with flat control insoles. Trial registration Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry ACTR12605000503628 and ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00415259.