Current Issue : April - June Volume : 2015 Issue Number : 2 Articles : 4 Articles
Sexist attitudes do not exist in a limbo; they are\nembedded in larger belief systems associated with specific\nhierarchies of values. In particular, manifestations of benevolent\nsexism (Glick and Fiske 1996, 1997, 2001) can be perceived\nas a social boon, not a social ill, both because they are\nexperienced as positive, and because they reward behaviors\nthat maintain social stability. One of the strongest social\ninstitutions that create and justify specific hierarchies of values\nis religion. In this paper, we examine how the values inherent\nin religious beliefs (perhaps inadvertently) propagate an unequal\nstatus quo between men and women through endorsement\nof ideologies linked to benevolent sexism. In a survey\nwith a convenience sample of train passengers in Southern\nand Eastern Poland (N=180), we investigated the relationship\nbetween Catholic religiosity and sexist attitudes. In line with\nprevious findings (Gaunt 2012; Glick et al. 2002a; Ta?demir\nand Sakall?-U?urlu 2010), results suggest that religiosity can\nbe linked to endorsement of benevolent sexism. This relationship\nwas mediated in our study by the values of conservatism\nand openness to change (Schwartz 1992): religious individuals\nappear to value the societal status quo, tradition, and\nconformity, which leads them to perceive women through\nthe lens of traditional social roles. Adhering to the teachings\nof a religion that promotes family values in general seems to\nhave as its byproduct an espousal of prejudicial attitudes\ntoward specific members of the family...
Background: Supernumerary sex chromosome aneuploidies (sSCA) are characterized by the presence of one or\nmore additional sex chromosomes in an individual�s karyotype; they affect around 1 in 400 individuals. Although\nthere is high variability, each sSCA subtype has a characteristic set of cognitive and physical phenotypes. Here, we\ninvestigated the differences in the morphometry of the human corpus callosum (CC) between sex-matched controls\n46,XY (N =99), 46,XX (N =93), and six unique sSCA karyotypes: 47,XYY (N =29), 47,XXY (N =58), 48,XXYY (N =20),\n47,XXX (N =30), 48,XXXY (N =5), and 49,XXXXY (N =6).\nMethods: We investigated CC morphometry using local and global area, local curvature of the CC boundary, and\nbetween-landmark distance analysis (BLDA). We hypothesized that CC morphometry would vary differentially along\na proposed spectrum of Y:X chromosome ratio with supernumerary Y karyotypes having the largest CC areas and\nsupernumerary X karyotypes having significantly smaller CC areas. To investigate this, we defined an sSCA spectrum\nbased on a descending Y:X karyotype ratio: 47,XYY, 46,XY, 48,XXYY, 47,XXY, 48,XXXY, 49,XXXXY, 46,XX, 47,XXX. We\nsimilarly explored the effects of both X and Y chromosome numbers within sex. Results of shape-based metrics\nwere analyzed using permutation tests consisting of 5,000 iterations.\nResults: Several subregional areas, local curvature, and BLDs differed between groups.\nModerate associations were found between area and curvature in relation to the spectrum and X and Y chromosome\ncounts. BLD was strongly associated with X chromosome count in both male and female groups.\nConclusions: Our results suggest that X- and Y-linked genes have differential effects on CC morphometry. To our\nknowledge, this is the first study to compare CC morphometry across these extremely rare groups....
Background: Most animal species exhibit sexually dimorphic behaviors, many of which are linked to reproduction.\nA number of these behaviors, including blood feeding in female mosquitoes, contribute to the global spread of\nvector-borne illnesses. However, knowledge concerning the genetic basis of sexually dimorphic traits is limited in\nany organism, including mosquitoes, especially with respect to differences in the developing nervous system.\nMethods: Custom microarrays were used to examine global differences in female vs. male gene expression in the\ndeveloping pupal head of the dengue vector mosquito, Aedes aegypti. The spatial expression patterns of a subset of\ndifferentially expressed transcripts were examined in the developing female vs. male pupal brain through in situ\nhybridization experiments. Small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated knockdown studies were used to assess the\nputative role of Doublesex, a terminal component of the sex determination pathway, in the regulation of\nsex-specific gene expression observed in the developing pupal brain.\nResults: Transcripts (2,527), many of which were linked to proteolysis, the proteasome, metabolism, catabolic, and\nbiosynthetic processes, ion transport, cell growth, and proliferation, were found to be differentially expressed in\nA. aegypti female vs. male pupal heads. Analysis of the spatial expression patterns for a subset of dimorphically\nexpressed genes in the pupal brain validated the data set and also facilitated the identification of brain regions\nwith dimorphic gene expression. In many cases, dimorphic gene expression localized to the optic lobe. Sex-specific\ndifferences in gene expression were also detected in the antennal lobe and mushroom body. siRNA-mediated gene\ntargeting experiments demonstrated that Doublesex, a transcription factor with consensus binding sites located\nadjacent to many dimorphically expressed transcripts that function in neural development, is required for regulation\nof sex-specific gene expression in the developing A. aegypti brain.\nConclusions: These studies revealed sex-specific gene expression profiles in the developing A. aegypti pupal head and\nidentified Doublesex as a key regulator of sexually dimorphic gene expression during mosquito neural development...
Mood disorders are devastating, often chronic illnesses characterized by low mood, poor affect, and anhedonia.\nNotably, mood disorders are approximately twice as prevalent in women compared to men. If sex differences in\nmood are due to underlying biological sex differences, a better understanding of the biology is warranted to\ndevelop better treatment or even prevention of these debilitating disorders. In this review, our goals are to:\n1) summarize the literature related to mood disorders with respect to sex differences in prevalence, 2) introduce\nthe corticolimbic brain network of mood regulation, 3) discuss strategies and challenges of modeling mood\ndisorders in mice, 4) discuss mechanisms underlying sex differences and how these can be tested in mice, and\n5) discuss how our group and others have used a translational approach to investigate mechanisms underlying\nsex differences in mood disorders in humans and mice....
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