Predictors of social leisure activities in older Europeans with and without multimorbidity

Older people spend much time participating in leisure activities, such as taking part in organized activities and going out, but the extent of participation may differ according to both individual and environmental resources available. Chronic health problems become more prevalent at higher ages and likely necessitate tapping different resources to maintain social participation. This paper compares predictors of participation in social leisure activities between older people with and those without multimorbidity. The European Project on Osteoarthritis (EPOSA) was conducted in Germany, UK, Italy, The Netherlands, Spain and Sweden (N = 2942, mean age 74.2 (5.2)). Multivariate regression was used to predict social leisure participation and degree of participation in people with and without multimorbidity. Fewer older people with multimorbidity participated in social leisure activities (90.6 %), compared to those without multimorbidity (93.9 %). The frequency of participation was also lower compared to people without multimorbidity. Higher socioeconomic status, widowhood, a larger network of friends, volunteering, transportation possibilities and having fewer depressive symptoms were important for (the degree of) social leisure participation. Statistically significant differences between the multimorbidity groups were observed for volunteering and driving a car, which were more important predictors of participation in those with multimorbidity. In contrast, self-reported income appeared more important for those without multimorbidity, compared to those who had multimorbidity. Policies focusing on social (network of friends), physical (physical performance) and psychological factors (depressive symptoms) and on transportation possibilities are recommended to enable all older people to participate in social leisure activities

A genetic perspective on cetacean evolution

Studies of cetacean evolution using genetics and other biomolecules have come a long way—from the use of allozymes and short sequences of mitochondrial or nuclear DNA to the assembly of full nuclear genomes and characterization of proteins and lipids. Cetacean research has also advanced from using only contemporary samples to analyzing samples dating back thousands of years, and to retrieving data from indirect environmental sources, including water or sediments. Combined, these studies have profoundly deepened our understanding of the origin of cetaceans; their adaptation and speciation processes; and of the past population change, migration, and admixture events that gave rise to the diversity of cetaceans found today

Latitudinal variation in seed predation correlates with latitudinal variation in seed defensive and nutritional traits in a widespread oak species

10 páginas, 1 tabla, 4 figuras. Supplementary data are available online at https://academic.oup.com/aobBACKGROUND AND AIMS: Classic theory on geographical gradients in plant-herbivore interactions assumes that herbivore pressure and plant defences increase towards warmer and more stable climates found at lower latitudes. However, the generality of these expectations has been recently called into question by conflicting empirical evidence. One possible explanation for this ambiguity is that most studies have reported on patterns of either herbivory or plant defences whereas few have measured both, thus preventing a full understanding of the implications of observed patterns for plant-herbivore interactions. In addition, studies have typically not measured climatic factors affecting plant-herbivore interactions, despite their expected influence on plant and herbivore traits. METHODS: Here we tested for latitudinal variation in insect seed predation and seed traits putatively associated with insect attack across 36 Quercus robur populations distributed along a 20° latitudinal gradient. We then further investigated the associations between climatic factors, seed traits and seed predation to test for climate-based mechanisms of latitudinal variation in seed predation. KEY RESULTS: We found strong but contrasting latitudinal clines in seed predation and seed traits, whereby seed predation increased whereas seed phenolics and phosphorus decreased towards lower latitudes. We also found a strong direct association between temperature and seed predation, with the latter increasing towards warmer climates. In addition, temperature was negatively associated with seed traits, with populations at warmer sites having lower levels of total phenolics and phosphorus. In turn, these negative associations between temperature and seed traits led to a positive indirect association between temperature and seed predation. CONCLUSIONS: These results help unravel how plant-herbivore interactions play out along latitudinal gradients and expose the role of climate in driving these outcomes through its dual effects on plant defences and herbivores. Accordingly, this emphasizes the need to account for abiotic variation while testing concurrently for latitudinal variation in plant traits and herbivore pressure.This research was financially supported by a Spanish National Research Grant (AGL2015-70748-R), a Regional Government of Galicia Grant (IN607D 2016/001) and the Ramón y Cajal Research Programme (RYC-2013–13230) to X.M.10 páginas, 1 tabla, 4 figura

The Role of Gender Inequality and Health Expenditure on the Coverage of Demand for Family Planning Satisfied by Modern Contraceptives: A Multilevel Analysis of Cross-Sectional Studies in 14 LAC Countries

BACKGROUND: Despite international efforts to improve reproductive health indicators, little attention is paid to the contributions of contextual factors to modern contraceptive coverage, especially in the Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) region. This study aimed to identify the association between country-level Gender Inequality and Health Expenditure with demand for family planning satisfied by modern contraceptive methods (DFPSm) in Latin American sexually active women. METHODS: Our analyses included data from the most recent (post-2010) Demographic and Health Survey or Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey from 14 LAC countries. Descriptive analyses and multilevel logistic regressions were performed. Six individual-level factors were included. The effect of the country-level factors Gender Inequality Index (GII) and Current Health Expenditure on DFPSm was investigated. FINDINGS: DFPSm ranged from 41.8% (95% CI: 40.2-43.5) in Haiti to 85.6% (95% CI: 84.9-86.3) in Colombia, with an overall median coverage of 77.8%. A direct association between the odds of DFPSm and woman\u27s education, wealth index, and the number of children was identified. Women from countries in the highest GII tertile were less likely (OR: 0.32, 95% CI: 0.13-0.76) to have DFPSm than those living in countries in the lowest tertile. INTERPRETATION: Understanding the contribution of country-level factors to modern contraception may allow macro-level actions focused on the population\u27s reproductive needs. In this sense, country-level gender inequalities play an important role, as well as individual factors such as wealth and education. FUNDING: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and Associação Brasileira de Saúde Coletiva (ABRASCO)

The origin of pinking phenomena in white wines: An update

Pinking is the term used to describe the appearance of a salmon-red blush color that may appear in bottled white wines, produced solely from white grape varieties. It is perceived as an undesirable phenomenon for both, wine consumers and winemakers. Although with seasonal and regional variations, the pinking has been observed worldwide, with predominance in white wines produced from Vitis vinifera L. grape varieties. The pinking origin of Síria white grapes has been studied in detail and it has been shown that the origin of the pinking phenomenon in white wines from Vitis vinifera L. Síria grape variety are anthocyanins, mainly malvidin-3-O-glucoside. The minimum amount of anthocyanins needed for the visualization of the wine pink color was 0.3 mg/L. Further studies in other white monovarietal wines that occasionally suffer from this defect, like white wine from Malvasia Fina grape variety, Loureiro grape variety, Sauvignon Blanc grape variety and Albariño grape variety, have shown that this wines produced from this grape varieties also show low amounts of anthocyanins, mainly malvidin-3-O-glucoside. These results show that the presence of low but visible detectable anthocyanins as the origin of the pinking phenomena is also observed in other white grape varieties besides that of Síria

Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains are differentially recognized by TLRs with an impact on the immune response

Tuberculosis associates with a wide spectrum of disease outcomes. The Beijing (Bj) lineage of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) is suggested to be more virulent than other Mtb lineages and prone to elicit non-protective immune responses. However, highly heterogeneous immune responses were reported upon infection of innate immune cells with Bj strains or stimulation with their glycolipids. Using both in vitro and in vivo mouse models of infection, we here report that the molecular mechanism for this heterogeneity may be related to distinct TLR activations. Among this Mtb lineage, we found strains that preferentially activate TLR2, and others that also activate TLR4. Recognition of Mtb strains by TLR4 resulted in a distinct cytokine profile in vitro and in vivo, with specific production of type I IFN. We also uncover a novel protective role for TLR4 activation in vivo. Thus, our findings contribute to the knowledge of the molecular basis underlying how host innate immune cells handle different Mtb strains, in particular the intricate host-pathogen interaction with strains of the Mtb Bj lineage.This work has been funded by Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia, Portugal. Project grants: PTDC/SAU-MII/101977/2008 and PTDC/BIA-BCM/102776/2008. Personal grants: SFRH/BD/35981/2007 to JC; SFRH/BPD/3306/2007 to AC; SFRH/BPD/77399/2011 to LMT; SFRH/BI/33456/2008 to CS; and SFRH/BPD/33959/2009 to NSO. MS is a Ciencia 2007 fellow. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript

Linking South American dry regions by the Gran Chaco:Insights from the evolutionary history and ecologicaldiversification of Gomphrena s.str. (Gomphrenoideae, Amaranthaceae)

Journal of Systematics and Evolution - Best quartile Q1Fil: Bena, María J. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva. Biología Floral; Argentina.Fil: Bena, María J. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion; Argentina.Fil: Baranzelli, Matias C. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva. Biología Floral; Argentina.Fil: Baranzelli, Matias C. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Costas, Santiago M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva. Biología Floral; Argentina.Fil: Costas, Santiago M. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Cosacov, Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva. Biología Floral; Argentina.Fil: Cosacov, Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Acosta, María C. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva. Biología Floral; Argentina.Fil: Acosta, María C. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Moreira‐Muñoz, Andrés. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. Instituto de Geografía; Chile.Fil: Sérsic, Alicia N. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva. Biología Floral; Argentina.Fil: Sérsic, Alicia N. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Abstract: Geoclimatic events driving South American aridization have generated biota differentiation due to barriers and new environment formation. New environments allow species climatic niche evolution, or the geographical expansion of an existing one. Understanding the role these processes play may clarify the evolution of South American biota. Gomphrena L. ranges across almost all the continent's arid environments. We tested whether South American drylands are biogeographically connected through the Gran Chaco but, due to different aridity levels, lineage diversification could have also been associated with the evolution of climatic niches and morphological or physiological traits. With available data, we generated a dated phylogeny, estimated ancestral ranges, performed diversification analyses, reconstructed ancestral states of two characters, and examined if niches have changed between lineages. Results showed that Gomphrena diversified throughout the easternmost South American drylands ~15.4 Ma, and subsequently three independent clades colonized the western arid regions during the last Andean pulse, and after the marine transgressions (~4.8–0.4 Ma) via the Gran Chaco. The colonization implied an increase in the diversification rate of annuals over perennials and the progressive east–west differentiation of the occupied climatic niche. This diversification was influenced by C4 photosynthesis, which could have acted as a niche opener to conquer new environments after the Paranaean Sea withdrew. Spatiotemporal patterns found in Gomphrena suggest that geographical expansion and evolution of climatic niches played a common but decoupled role in promoting diversification. These results show that the Gran Chaco may have acted as a historical connection linking South American drylands.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionFil: Bena, María J. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva. Biología Floral; Argentina.Fil: Bena, María J. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Botánica Darwinion; Argentina.Fil: Baranzelli, Matias C. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva. Biología Floral; Argentina.Fil: Baranzelli, Matias C. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Costas, Santiago M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva. Biología Floral; Argentina.Fil: Costas, Santiago M. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Cosacov, Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva. Biología Floral; Argentina.Fil: Cosacov, Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Acosta, María C. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva. Biología Floral; Argentina.Fil: Acosta, María C. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina.Fil: Moreira‐Muñoz, Andrés. Pontificia Universidad Católica de Valparaíso. Instituto de Geografía; Chile.Fil: Sérsic, Alicia N. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal. Laboratorio de Ecología Evolutiva. Biología Floral; Argentina.Fil: Sérsic, Alicia N. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina

Pathological role of interleukin 17 in mice subjected to repeated BCG vaccination after infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis

Infection usually leads to the development of acquired immune responses associated with clearance or control of the infecting organism. However, if not adequately regulated, immune-mediated pathology can result. Tuberculosis is a worldwide threat, and development of an effective vaccine requires that the protective immune response to Mycobacterium tuberculosis (Mtb) be dissected from the pathological immune response. This distinction is particularly important if new vaccines are to be delivered to Mtb-exposed individuals, as repeated antigenic exposure can lead to pathological complications. Using a model wherein mice are vaccinated with bacille Calmette-Guérin after Mtb infection, we show that repeated vaccination results in increased IL-17, tumor necrosis factor, IL-6, and MIP-2 expression, influx of granulocytes/neutrophils, and lung tissue damage. This pathological response is abrogated in mice deficient in the gene encoding IL-23p19 or in the presence of IL-17–blocking antibody. This finding that repeated exposure to mycobacterial antigen promotes enhanced IL-17–dependent pathological consequences has important implications for the design of effective vaccines against Mtb

Analysis of Two Novel Midgut-Specific Promoters Driving Transgene Expression in Anopheles stephensi Mosquitoes

Background: Tissue-specific promoters controlling the expression of transgenes in Anopheles mosquitoes represent a valuable tool both for studying the interaction between these malaria vectors and the Plasmodium parasites they transmit and for novel malaria control strategies based on developing Plasmodium-refractory mosquitoes by expressing anti-parasitic genes. With this aim we have studied the promoter regions of two genes from the most important malaria vector, Anopheles gambiae, whose expression is strongly induced upon blood feeding. Results: We analysed the A. gambiae Antryp1 and G12 genes, which we have shown to be midgut-specific and maximally expressed at 24 hours post-bloodmeal (PBM). Antryp1, required for bloodmeal digestion, encodes one member of a family of 7 trypsin genes. The G12 gene, of unknown function, was previously identified in our laboratory in a screen for genes induced in response to a bloodmeal. We fused 1.1 kb of the upstream regions containing the putative promoter of these genes to reporter genes and transformed these into the Indian malaria vector A. stephensi to see if we could recapitulate the expression pattern of the endogenous genes. Both the Antryp1 and G12 upstream regions were able to drive femalepredominant, midgut-specific expression in transgenic mosquitoes. Expression of the Antryp1-driven reporter in transgenic A. stephensi lines was low, undetectable by northern blot analysis, and failed to fully match the induction kinetics of the endogenous Antryp1 gene in A. gambiae. This incomplete conservation of expression suggests either subtle differences i

Reduced free asparagine in wheat grain resulting from a natural deletion of TaASN-B2: investigating and exploiting diversity in the asparagine synthetase gene family to improve wheat quality

Background: Understanding the determinants of free asparagine concentration in wheat grain is necessary to reduce levels of the processing contaminant acrylamide in baked and toasted wheat products. Although crop management strategies can help reduce asparagine concentrations, breeders have limited options to select for genetic variation underlying this trait. Asparagine synthetase enzymes catalyse a critical step in asparagine biosynthesis in plants and, in wheat, are encoded by five homeologous gene triads that exhibit distinct expression profiles. Within this family, TaASN2 genes are highly expressed during grain development but TaASN-B2 is absent in some varieties. Results: Natural genetic diversity in the asparagine synthetase gene family was assessed in different wheat varieties revealing instances of presence/absence variation and other polymorphisms, including some predicted to affect the function of the encoded protein. The presence and absence of TaASN-B2 was determined across a range of UK and global common wheat varieties and related species, showing that the deletion encompassing this gene was already present in some wild emmer wheat genotypes. Expression profiling confirmed that TaASN2 transcripts were only detectable in the grain, while TaASN3.1 genes were highly expressed during the early stages of grain development. TaASN-A2 was the most highly expressed TaASN2 homeologue in most assayed wheat varieties. TaASN-B2 and TaASN-D2 were expressed at similar, lower levels in varieties possessing TaASN-B2. Expression of TaASN-A2 and TaASN-D2 did not increase to compensate for the absence of TaASN-B2, so total TaASN2 expression was lower in varieties lacking TaASN-B2. Consequently, free asparagine concentrations in field-produced grain were, on average, lower in varieties lacking TaASN-B2, although the effect was lost when free asparagine accumulated to very high concentrations as a result of sulphur deficiency. Conclusions: Selecting wheat genotypes lacking the TaASN-B2 gene may be a simple and rapid way for breeders to reduce free asparagine concentrations in commercial wheat grain