Planetary Nebulae as Probes of Stellar Evolution and Populations

Planetary Nebulae (PNe) have been used satisfactory to test the effects of stellar evolution on the Galactic chemical environment. Moreover, a link exists between nebular morphology and stellar populations and evolution. We present the latest results on Galactic PN morphology, and an extension to a distance unbiased and homogeneous sample of Large Magellanic Cloud PNe. We show that PNe and their morphology may be successfully used as probes of stellar evolution and populations.Comment: to appear in: Chemical Evolution of the Milky Way: stars versus clusters, ed. F. Giovannelli and F. Matteucci, Kluwer (2000), in pres

Cultural adaptation to Bolivian Quechua and psychometric analysis of the Patient Health Questionnaire PHQ-9

Objective: Cultural adaptation of the Patient Health Questionnaire-PHQ-9 to Bolivian Quechua and analysis of the internal structure validity, reliability, and measurement invariance by sociodemographic variables. Methods: The PHQ-9 was translated and back-translated (English-Quechua-English) to optimise translation. For the cultural adaptation, experts, and people from the target population (e.g., in focus groups) verified the suitability of the translated PHQ-9. For the psychometric analysis, we performed a Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to evaluate internal validity, calculated α and ω indices to assess reliability, and performed a Multiple Indicator, Multiple Cause (MIMIC) model for evaluating measurement invariance by sex, age, marital status, educational level and residence. We used standard goodness-of-fit indices to interpret both CFA results. Results: The experts and focus groups improved the translated PHQ-9, making it clear and culturally equivalent. For the psychometric analysis, we included data from 397 participants, from which 73.3% were female, 33.0% were 18–30 years old, 56.7% reported primary school studies, 63.2% were single, and 62.0% resided in urban areas. In the CFA, the single-factor model showed adequate fit (Comparative Fit Index = 0.983; Tucker-Lewis Index = 0.977; Standardized Root Mean Squared Residual = 0.046; Root Mean Squared Error of Approximation = 0.069), while the reliability was optimal (α = 0.869—0.877; ω = 0.874—0.885). The invariance was confirmed across all sociodemographic variables (Change in Comparative Fit Index (delta) or Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (delta) < 0.01). Conclusions: The PHQ-9 adapted to Bolivian Quechua offers a valid, reliable and invariant unidimensional measurement across groups by sex, age, marital status, educational level and residence

PATÓGENOS Y SÍNTOMAS ASOCIADOS A LA MARCHITEZ DEL TOMATE (Solanum lycopersicum L.) EN TEXCOCO MÉXICO

Se identificó a Phytophthora capsici, Rhizoctonia solani y Fusarium oxysporum como agentes causales de la marchitez del tomate en Texcoco, Edo. de México y, se evaluó la sintomatología e incidencia de la marchitez inducida por estos hongos con diferentes métodos de inoculación. Cultivos de cada hongo se inocularon en plantas de tomate con 4-5 hojas verdaderas. La inoculación de P. capsici por inmersión de raíces en solución de zoosporas fue más eficiente (96,7 % de incidencia) que la inoculación al cuello, a los 6 días después de la inoculación (ddi). Este hongo indujo marchitez, pudrición de raíz y cuello, y muerte de las plantas a los 4 ddi. R. solani, al inocularse por inmersión en solución de propágalos y a través de granos de trigo infectados con el hongo, no ocasionó la muerte de las plantas, sin embargo, la inoculación con granos de trigo provocó una incidencia de 100 %, que se manifestó en reducción de crecimiento (50 %) y en amarillamiento generalizado. F. oxysporum presentó una incidencia de 100 % a los 15 y 30 ddi, para la variedad Río Grande e híbrido Yaqui, respectivamente. Las plantas manifestaron clorosis, marchitez generalizada, necrosis de tejido vascular y finalmente la muerte

Availability of substance abuse treatment services in Spanish: A GIS analysis of Latino communities in Los Angeles County, California

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The percentage of Latino clients entering outpatient substance abuse treatment (OSAT) in the United States has increased significantly in the past 10 years. Evidence suggests that a lack of services in Spanish is a significant barrier to treatment access among Latinos.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using a geographic information system (GIS) approach, data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services (N-SSATS) were analyzed to determine the geographic distance between OSAT facilities with services in Spanish and Latino communities throughout Los Angeles County, CA. Data from N-SSATS were also analyzed using logistic regression models to examine organizational characteristics and their association with offering services in Spanish. Our GIS methods are tested in their ability to provide baseline measures to inform future analysis comparing changes in demography and service infrastructure.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>GIS analysis revealed cold spots representing high-density Latino communities with extensive travel distance to facilities offering services in Spanish. The average linear distance between Latino communities and facilities offering Spanish-language services ranged from 2 to 6 miles, while the location of the cold spots pointed to a need for services in Spanish in a particular subregion of the county. Further, secondary data analysis revealed that, on average, being privately owned (<it>OR </it>= .23, 95% CI = 0.06-0.90) was associated with a lower likelihood of providing services in Spanish compared to public facilities. Additionally, a facility with a state license (<it>OR </it>= 2.08, 95% CI = 1.12-3.88) or a higher number of Medicaid recipients (<it>OR </it>= 2.98, 95% CI = 1.76-5.05) was twice as likely to offer services in Spanish.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Despite the significant presence of Latinos in L.A. County in 2000, low capacity was found in discrete Latino communities in terms of offering OSAT services in Spanish. Funding and regulation play a significant role in facilities' capacity to offer these services. Future studies should build from our multi-method approach to compare changes in population demography and system infrastructure and inform health care policy that seeks to improve providers' capacity to provide linguistically competent care.</p

Redox-dependent and redox-independent functions of Caenorhabditis elegans thioredoxin 1

Thioredoxins (TRX) are traditionally considered as enzymes catalyzing redox reactions. However, redox-independent functions of thioredoxins have been described in different organisms, although the underlying molecular mechanisms are yet unknown. We report here the characterization of the first generated endogenous redox-inactive thioredoxin in an animal model, the TRX-1 in the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. We find that TRX-1 dually regulates the formation of an endurance larval stage (dauer) by interacting with the insulin pathway in a redox-independent manner and the cGMP pathway in a redox-dependent manner. Moreover, the requirement of TRX-1 for the extended longevity of worms with compromised insulin signalling or under calorie restriction relies on TRX-1 redox activity. In contrast, the nuclear translocation of the SKN-1 transcription factor and increased LIPS-6 protein levels in the intestine upon trx-1 deficiency are strictly redox-independent. Finally, we identify a novel function of C. elegans TRX-1 in male food-leaving behaviour that is redox-dependent. Taken together, our results position C. elegans as an ideal model to gain mechanistic insight into the redox-independent functions of metazoan thioredoxins, overcoming the limitations imposed by the embryonic lethal phenotypes of thioredoxin mutants in higher organisms

Disruption of ER-mitochondria tethering and signalling in C9orf72-associated amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and frontotemporal dementia

Hexanucleotide repeat expansions in C9orf72 are the most common cause of familial amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD). The mechanisms by which the expansions cause disease are not properly understood but a favoured route involves its translation into dipeptide repeat (DPR) polypeptides, some of which are neurotoxic. However, the precise targets for mutant C9orf72 and DPR toxicity are not fully clear, and damage to several neuronal functions has been described. Many of these functions are regulated by signalling between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and mitochondria. ER-mitochondria signalling requires close physical contacts between the two organelles that are mediated by the VAPB-PTPIP51 ‘tethering’ proteins. Here, we show that ER-mitochondria signalling and the VAPB-PTPIP51 tethers are disrupted in neurons derived from induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from patients carrying ALS/FTD pathogenic C9orf72 expansions and in affected neurons in mutant C9orf72 transgenic mice. In these mice, disruption of the VAPB-PTPIP51 tethers occurs prior to disease onset suggesting that it contributes to the pathogenic process. We also show that neurotoxic DPRs disrupt the VAPB-PTPIP51 interaction and ER-mitochondria contacts and that this may involve activation of glycogen synthase kinases-3β (GSK3β), a known negative regulator of VAPB-PTPIP51 binding. Finally, we show that these DPRs disrupt delivery of Ca2+ from ER stores to mitochondria, which is a primary function of the VAPB-PTPIP51 tethers. This delivery regulates a number of key neuronal functions that are damaged in ALS/FTD including bioenergetics, autophagy and synaptic function. Our findings reveal a new molecular target for mutant C9orf72-mediated toxicity

Sexual Size Dimorphism and Body Condition in the Australasian Gannet

Funding: The research was financially supported by the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment. Acknowledgments We thank the Victorian Marine Science Consortium, Sea All Dolphin Swim, Parks Victoria, and the Point Danger Management Committee for logistical support. We are grateful for the assistance of the many field volunteers involved in the study.Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Preparation and surface functionalization of MWCNTs: study of the composite materials produced by the interaction with an iron phthalocyanine complex

Carbon nanotubes [CNTs] were synthesized by the catalytic vapor decomposition method. Thereafter, they were functionalized in order to incorporate the oxygen groups (OCNT) and subsequently the amine groups (ACNT). All three CNTs (the as-synthesized and functionalized) underwent reaction with an iron organometallic complex (FePcS), iron(III) phthalocyanine-4,4",4",4""-tetrasulfonic acid, in order to study the nature of the interaction between this complex and the CNTs and the potential formation of nanocomposite materials. Transmission electronic microscopy, N2 adsorption at 77 K, thermogravimetric analysis, temperature-programmed desorption, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy were the characterization techniques employed to confirm the successful functionalization of CNTs as well as the type of interaction existing with the FePcS. All results obtained led to the same conclusion: There were no specific chemical interactions between CNTs and the fixed FePcS

Negative parental responses to coming out and family functioning in a sample of lesbian and gay young adults

Parental responses to youths' coming out (CO) are crucial to the subsequent adjustment of children and family. The present study investigated the negative parental reaction to the disclosure of same-sex attraction and the differences between maternal and paternal responses, as reported by their homosexual daughters and sons. Participants' perceptions of their parents' reactions (evaluated through the Perceived Parental Reactions Scale, PPRS), age at coming out, gender, parental political orientation, and religiosity involvement, the family functioning (assessed through the Family Adaptability and Cohesion Evaluation Scales, FACES IV), were assessed in 164 Italian gay and lesbian young adults. Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated to assess the relation between family functioning and parental reaction to CO. The paired sample t-test was used to compare mothers and fathers' scores on the PPRS. Hierarchical multiple regression was conducted to analyze the relevance of each variable. No differences were found between mothers and fathers in their reaction to the disclosure. The analysis showed that a negative reaction to coming out was predicted by parents' right-wing political conservatism, strong religious beliefs, and higher scores in the scales Rigid and Enmeshed. Findings confirm that a negative parental reaction is the result of poor family resources to face a stressful situation and a strong belief in traditional values. These results have important implications in both clinical and social fields