Early Social Stress Promotes Inflammation and Disease Risk in Rhesus Monkeys.

Early social stress has potent lifelong health effects. We examined the association of early stress in the attachment relationship (low maternal sensitivity, low MS), lower maternal social hierarchy rank, and greater frequency of group-level social conflict, with biomarkers of inflammatory stress response in plasma (IL-8, MCP-1 and CRP collected two hours after temporary separation from mothers and social groups) and risk for developing a common macaques disease outcome (infectious colitis) in 170 socially-housed rhesus monkeys. We controlled for gene-environment correlations by comparing cross-fostered subjects with infants reared by their biological mothers. Low MS predicted higher levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines and proteins at 3-4 months of age (F(3, 162) = 3.508, p = 0.002, partial eta2 = 0.061) and higher lifetime risk for developing colitis for up to twelve years of age (chi square = 5.919, p = 0.026). Lower maternal social rank (F (3, 162) = 3.789, p = 0.012, partial eta2 = 0.06) and higher rates of social conflict (F (3, 162) = 4.264, p = 0.006, partial eta2 = 0.074) each also predicted greater inflammation in infancy, but not lifetime colitis risk (both p > 0.05). The effects of low MS, lower social rank, and higher social conflict were significant in infants reared by biological mothers and cross-fostered infants, suggesting that our results did not arise from gene-environment correlations, but environmental stressors alone. We conclude that several types of early social stress confer risk for inflammation in infancy, but that stress in the mother-infant relationship may confer the longest-term risk for adverse health outcomes

The two INTEGRAL X-ray transients IGR J17091--3624 and IGR J17098--3628: a multi-wavelength long term campaign

IGR J17091-3624 and IGR J17098-3628 are two X-ray transients discovered by INTEGRAL and classified as possible black hole candidates (BHCs). We present here the results obtained from the analysis of multi-wavelength data sets collected by different instruments from 2005 until the end of 2007 on both sources. IGR J17098-3628 has been regularly detected by INTEGRAL and RXTE over the entire period of the observational campaign; it was also observed with pointed observations by XMM and Swift/XRT in 2005 and 2006 and exhibited flux variations not linked with the change of any particular spectral features. IGR J17091-3624 was initially in quiescence (after a period of activity between 2003 April and 2004 April) and it was then detected again in outburst in the XRT field of view during a Swift observation of IGR J17098--3628 on 2007 July 9. The observations during quiescence provide an upper limit to the 0.2-10 keV luminosity, while the observations in outburst cover the transition from the hard to the soft state. Moreover, we obtain a refined X-ray position for IGR J17091-3624 from the Swift/XRT observations during the outburst in 2007. The new position is inconsistent with the previously proposed radio counterpart. We identify in VLA archive data a compact radio source consistent with the new X-ray position and propose it as the radio counterpart of the X-ray transient.Comment: Accepted for publication in Ap

INTEGRAL high energy behaviour of 4U 1812-12

The low mass X-ray binary system 4U 1812-12 was monitored with the INTEGRAL observatory in the period 2003-2004 and with BeppoSAX on April 20, 2000. We report here on the spectral and temporal analysis of both persistent and burst emission. The full data set confirms the persistent nature of this burster, and reveals the presence of emission up to 200 keV. The persistent spectrum is well described by a comptonization (CompTT) model plus a soft blackbody component. The source was observed in a hard spectral state with a 1-200 keV luminosity of 2*10^(36) ergs/s and L/LEdd~1% and no meaningful flux variation has been revealed, as also confirmed by a 2004 RXTE observation. We have also detected 4 bursts showing double peaked profiles and blackbody spectra with temperatures ranging from 1.9 to 3.1 keV.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication by A&

Timescales of successful and failed subduction: insights from numerical modelling

The relatively short duration of the early stages of subduction results in a poor geological record, limiting our understanding of this critical stage. Here, we utilize a 2D numerical model of incipient subduction, that is the stage after a plate margin has formed with a slab tip that extends to a shallow depth and address the conditions under which subduction continues or fails. We assess energy budgets during the evolution from incipient subduction to either a failed or successful state, showing how the growth of potential energy, and slab pull, is resisted by the viscous dissipation within the lithosphere and the mantle. The role of rheology is also investigated, as deformation mechanisms operating in the crust and mantle facilitate subduction. In all models, the onset of subduction is characterized by high lithospheric viscous dissipation and low convergence velocities, whilst successful subduction sees the mantle become the main area of viscous dissipation. In contrast, failed subduction is defined by the lithospheric viscous dissipation exceeding the lithospheric potential energy release rate and velocities tend towards zero. We show that development of a subduction zone depends on the convergence rate, required to overcome thermal diffusion and to localise deformation along the margin. The results propose a minimum convergence rate of ∼ 0.5 cm yr−1 is required to reach a successful state, with 100 km of convergence over 20 Myr, emphasizing the critical role of the incipient stage

Precision Farming: Barriers of Variable Rate Technology Adoption in Italy

Research dealing with the adoption of various precision agriculture technologies has shown that guidance and recording tools are more widespread than reactive ones (such as variable rate technology), with much lower utilization rates in European case studies. This study aims to analyze the propensity to innovate variable rate technologies among young Italian farmers. A cluster analysis was carried out revealing four groups. The first two groups represent non-adopters who think technological innovation is very complex from a technical point of view, as well as not very accessible as capital-intensive technology. The third and fourth groups represent adopters. The third reports an early level of adoption, still considering the cost of access a major barrier to technology implementation. The fourth, on the other hand, shows a more intensive level and considers the lack of institutional support a major limitation. The cluster with the most intensive adoption is characterized by the youngest age group, the farms with the largest size, and a prevalence of female entrepreneurs. The need for management training in day-to-day business operations upon adoption is detected for all groups. This paper identified relevant drivers and barriers in characterizing the adopting farm of variable rate technologies. Results may offer insights to the policy maker to better calibrate support interventions

Decoupling social status and status certainty effects on health in macaques: a network approach.

BackgroundAlthough a wealth of literature points to the importance of social factors on health, a detailed understanding of the complex interplay between social and biological systems is lacking. Social status is one aspect of social life that is made up of multiple structural (humans: income, education; animals: mating system, dominance rank) and relational components (perceived social status, dominance interactions). In a nonhuman primate model we use novel network techniques to decouple two components of social status, dominance rank (a commonly used measure of social status in animal models) and dominance certainty (the relative certainty vs. ambiguity of an individual's status), allowing for a more complex examination of how social status impacts health.MethodsBehavioral observations were conducted on three outdoor captive groups of rhesus macaques (N = 252 subjects). Subjects' general physical health (diarrhea) was assessed twice weekly, and blood was drawn once to assess biomarkers of inflammation (interleukin-6 (IL-6), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α), and C-reactive protein (CRP)).ResultsDominance rank alone did not fully account for the complex way that social status exerted its effect on health. Instead, dominance certainty modified the impact of rank on biomarkers of inflammation. Specifically, high-ranked animals with more ambiguous status relationships had higher levels of inflammation than low-ranked animals, whereas little effect of rank was seen for animals with more certain status relationships. The impact of status on physical health was more straightforward: individuals with more ambiguous status relationships had more frequent diarrhea; there was marginal evidence that high-ranked animals had less frequent diarrhea.DiscussionSocial status has a complex and multi-faceted impact on individual health. Our work suggests an important role of uncertainty in one's social status in status-health research. This work also suggests that in order to fully explore the mechanisms for how social life influences health, more complex metrics of social systems and their dynamics are needed