Functional traits reveal coastal vegetation assembly patterns in a short edaphic gradient in southern Brazil

The relationship between plant functional traits and soil variables is useful for understanding plant community composition and circumscribing plant functional groups to highlight their adaptations to environmental conditions. The principal aim of this study was to explain assembly patterns of coastal vegetation using functional traits along a short edaphic gradient. The work was carried out on the pioneer zone in the coastal lowland vegetation (foredune) in southern Brazil. We selected 40 functional traits related to the morphology and anatomy of leaves, stems and roots for 60 species recorded in 25 vegetation plots positioned along three transects from the shoreline to slacks. In each plot, floristic and soil data were collected, and functional traits measured. We analysed the relationships between species functional traits and soil factors through RLQ and fourth-corner analyses. Salinity and organic matter content were the most significant edaphic factors in the differentiation of foredune vegetation, while the most significant traits to explain plant adaptations to coastal environments were plant height, sclerenchyma, spongy parenchyma and reserves of inulin in the root. Two functional groups of plants were circumscribed: a conservative group formed by trees and shrubs dominated the Woody Community, with low values of SLA (specific leaf area), thick cuticles, high frequencies of phenolic compounds and crystals, woody stems and great plant heights, which tended to invest in permanent aerial organs; and a more heterogeneous group of herbaceous plants (found in Beach Community, Non-floodable, and Wet Communities) with acquisitive characteristics (high SLA values) or conservative strategy (rhizome and xylopodium). Finally, our results suggested that root and stem functional traits, which are infrequently taken into consideration, were useful to differentiate subtropical coastal plants and, in general, to study plant adaptations to environmental conditions in depth

Low birth weight and markers of inflammation and endothelial activation in adulthood: The ARIC study

To investigate the hypothesis that intrauterine growth restriction might produce a longstanding pro-inflammatory tendency, we investigated the association of low birth weight with blood levels of markers of inflammation and endothelial activation in middle-aged adults

Associations between anthropometric indicators in early life and low-grade inflammation, insulin resistance and lipid profile in adolescence

Background and AimsThe long-term relations between excessive adiposity in early childhood and unfavourable cardiometabolic profiles in later ages are not yet completely understood. We aimed to assess the associations between birth weight (BW) and BMI from 6 months to 6 years of age, with biomarkers indicative of low-grade inflammation, insulin resistance and lipid profiles in adolescence.Methods and ResultsRetrospective school-based study with 415 Portuguese adolescents (220 girls), mean age of 14.08±1.6 years old. Anthropometric data from birth to 6 years old was extracted from individual child health book records. Actual weight and height were measured and BMI calculated. Participants were classified at each time point as normal weight or overweight according to WHO reference values. Biomarkers were obtained from venous blood samples. Linear regressions were used to explore the associations between the biomarkers and early life anthropometric indicators. From 2 years onwards, BMI associated positively with the inflammatory score and HOMA-IR in adolescence. Children who were overweight/obese from 2 to 6 years of age presented significantly higher inflammatory score and HOMA-IR later in adolescence. TC/HDL ratio was also positively associated with BMI from the age of 5 years onwards. The associations between BMI and cardiometabolic outcomes remained positive in adolescence, with overweight adolescents presenting a higher inflammatory score, HOMA-IR and TC/HDL than normal weight adolescents.ConclusionA high BMI from an early age was consistently associated with worse inflammatory and lipid profiles and insulin resistance in adolescence. No associations were found between BW and the same studied outcomes

Maturation of SARS-CoV-2 Spike-specific memory B cells drives resilience to viral escape

SUMMARYMemory B cells (MBCs) generate rapid antibody responses upon secondary encounter with a pathogen. Here, we investigated the kinetics, avidity and cross-reactivity of serum antibodies and MBCs in 155 SARS-CoV-2 infected and vaccinated individuals over a 16-month timeframe. SARS-CoV-2-specific MBCs and serum antibodies reached steady-state titers with comparable kinetics in infected and vaccinated individuals. Whereas MBCs of infected individuals targeted both pre- and postfusion Spike (S), most vaccine-elicited MBCs were specific for prefusion S, consistent with the use of prefusion-stabilized S in mRNA vaccines. Furthermore, a large fraction of MBCs recognizing postfusion S cross-reacted with human betacoronaviruses. The avidity of MBC-derived and serum antibodies increased over time resulting in enhanced resilience to viral escape by SARS-CoV-2 variants, including Omicron BA.1 and BA.2 sub-lineages, albeit only partially for BA.4 and BA.5 sublineages. Overall, the maturation of high-affinity and broadly-reactive MBCs provides the basis for effective recall responses to future SARS-CoV-2 variants