Folate catabolites in spot urine as non-invasive biomarkers of folate status during habitual intake and folic acid supplementation.

Folate status, as reflected by red blood cell (RCF) and plasma folates (PF), is related to health and disease risk. Folate degradation products para-aminobenzoylglutamate (pABG) and para-acetamidobenzoylglutamate (apABG) in 24 hour urine have recently been shown to correlate with blood folate. Since blood sampling and collection of 24 hour urine are cumbersome, we investigated whether the determination of urinary folate catabolites in fasted spot urine is a suitable non-invasive biomarker for folate status in subjects before and during folic acid supplementation. Immediate effects of oral folic acid bolus intake on urinary folate catabolites were assessed in a short-term pre-study. In the main study we included 53 healthy men. Of these, 29 were selected for a 12 week folic acid supplementation (400 µg). Blood, 24 hour and spot urine were collected at baseline and after 6 and 12 weeks and PF, RCF, urinary apABG and pABG were determined. Intake of a 400 µg folic acid bolus resulted in immediate increase of urinary catabolites. In the main study pABG and apABG concentrations in spot urine correlated well with their excretion in 24 hour urine. In healthy men consuming habitual diet, pABG showed closer correlation with PF (rs = 0.676) and RCF (rs = 0.649) than apABG (rs = 0.264, ns and 0.543). Supplementation led to significantly increased folate in plasma and red cells as well as elevated urinary folate catabolites, while only pABG correlated significantly with PF (rs = 0.574) after 12 weeks. Quantification of folate catabolites in fasted spot urine seems suitable as a non-invasive alternative to blood or 24 hour urine analysis for evaluation of folate status in populations consuming habitual diet. In non-steady-state conditions (folic acid supplementation) correlations between folate marker (RCF, PF, urinary catabolites) decrease due to differing kinetics

Origin of Galactic and Extragalactic Magnetic Fields

A variety of observations suggest that magnetic fields are present in all galaxies and galaxy clusters. These fields are characterized by a modest strength (10^{-7}-10^{-5} G) and huge spatial scale (~Mpc). It is generally assumed that magnetic fields in spiral galaxies arise from the combined action of differential rotation and helical turbulence, a process known as the alpha-omega dynamo. However fundamental questions concerning the nature of the dynamo as well as the origin of the seed fields necessary to prime it remain unclear. Moreover, the standard alpha-omega dynamo does not explain the existence of magnetic fields in elliptical galaxies and clusters. The author summarizes what is known observationally about magnetic fields in galaxies, clusters, superclusters, and beyond. He then reviews the standard dynamo paradigm, the challenges that have been leveled against it, and several alternative scenarios. He concludes with a discussion of astrophysical and early Universe candidates for seed fields.Comment: 67 pages, 17 figures, accepted for publication in Reviews of Modern Physic

Lawson criterion for ignition exceeded in an inertial fusion experiment

For more than half a century, researchers around the world have been engaged in attempts to achieve fusion ignition as a proof of principle of various fusion concepts. Following the Lawson criterion, an ignited plasma is one where the fusion heating power is high enough to overcome all the physical processes that cool the fusion plasma, creating a positive thermodynamic feedback loop with rapidly increasing temperature. In inertially confined fusion, ignition is a state where the fusion plasma can begin "burn propagation" into surrounding cold fuel, enabling the possibility of high energy gain. While "scientific breakeven" (i.e., unity target gain) has not yet been achieved (here target gain is 0.72, 1.37 MJ of fusion for 1.92 MJ of laser energy), this Letter reports the first controlled fusion experiment, using laser indirect drive, on the National Ignition Facility to produce capsule gain (here 5.8) and reach ignition by nine different formulations of the Lawson criterion

AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds

Functional traits offer a rich quantitative framework for developing and testing theories in evolutionary biology, ecology and ecosystem science. However, the potential of functional traits to drive theoretical advances and refine models of global change can only be fully realised when species‐level information is complete. Here we present the AVONET dataset containing comprehensive functional trait data for all birds, including six ecological variables, 11 continuous morphological traits, and information on range size and location. Raw morphological measurements are presented from 90,020 individuals of 11,009 extant bird species sampled from 181 countries. These data are also summarised as species averages in three taxonomic formats, allowing integration with a global phylogeny, geographical range maps, IUCN Red List data and the eBird citizen science database. The AVONET dataset provides the most detailed picture of continuous trait variation for any major radiation of organisms, offering a global template for testing hypotheses and exploring the evolutionary origins, structure and functioning of biodiversity

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time, and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space. While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes, vast areas of the tropics remain understudied. In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity, but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases. To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge, it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Mid-arm circumference is a reliable method to estimate adiposity in preterm and term infants

BACKGROUND: Premature birth is associated with increased adipose deposition after birth. Standard anthropometry (body weight, length, and head circumference) may not adequately assess fat deposition. Validated methods to assess adiposity are needed to optimize growth quality in preterm infants. The purpose of this study was to identify covariates of infant body fat. METHODS: Air displacement plethysmography (ADP), standard anthropometry, and body circumferences were measured at hospital discharge in preterm (n = 28; 31-35 wk postmenstrual age (PMA)) and term (n = 28; 38-41 wks PMA) infants. RESULTS: Body weight, length, and head circumference were lower for preterm infants (P \u3c 0.05) at hospital discharge compared with that of term infants. Despite smaller body size and younger PMA, preterm infant percent body fat (%BF) by ADP was 12.33 +/- 4.15% vs. 9.64 +/- 4.01% in term infants (P = 0.01). Mid-arm circumference (MAC) is a covariate of %BF in both preterm and term infants (adjusted R(2) = 0.49; P \u3c 0.001). In preterm infants alone, MAC accounted for 60.4% of the variability of percent body fat (%BF) by ADP (P \u3c 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: Preterm infants have increased body fat deposition as they approach term-corrected age, and MAC is a reliable, low-cost measure for monitoring infant body fat deposition in preterm and term infants

“Wonderfully Cruel Proceedings”: The Murderous Case of James Yates

Copyright University of Toronto PressIn 1781, James Yates, a farmer in upstate New York, brutally murdered his family while suffering from a “religious delusion.” Fifteen years later, in 1796, The New York Weekly Magazine published an anonymously authored account of this episode, which in turn inspired Charles Brockden Brown’s novel Wieland. Previously unexamined newspaper reports of the original massacre uniformly link Yates’s violence to his religious identity as a Shaker. Shakerism’s emphasis on gender equality and rejection of patriarchal familial structures prefigured, in many ways, the republican ideological investment in women (particularly mothers) as repositories of virtue; thus, Yates’s crime can be understood as an early manifestation of a broader “crisis of masculinity” in the period. The 1796 account makes no mention of Yates’s Shakerism, but nevertheless participates in discourses of gender and nationhood; it memorializes the female victims, containing Yates’s “treasonous” violence against the family within an orderly narrative that privileges female heroism.Peer reviewe