How Old We Are & How Old We Feel

Many researchers assess differences in age as a distinct independent variable for a wide range of empirical analyses. However, subjective age (how old people feel) is a construct that has been relatively neglected in the literature. The purpose of the current study was to assess the relationship between chronological age and subjective age, as well as subjective age differences between genders. As part of a larger study, 95 participants completed the Subjective Age Questionnaire (Montepare, Rierdan, Koff, & Stubbs, 1989) including 5 items on a 7-point Likert scale. Reported subjective age was subtracted by chronological age (age discrepancy) for comparison between genders. A significant negative correlation emerged, such that as chronological age increased, subjective age scores subsequently decreased. A comparison of mean age discrepancy scores between genders revealed a difference that was marginally significant, with males reporting a subjective age slightly younger than their actual age, and females reporting subjective age slightly older than their actual age

Discovery and functional characterisation of a luqin-type neuropeptide signalling system in a deuterostome

The results presented in this paper have not been published previously in whole or in part. The work reported in this paper was supported by grants from the BBSRC awarded to M.R.E (BB/M001644/1) and J.H.S. (BB/M001032/1). L.A.Y.G is supported by a PhD studentship awarded by the Mexican Council of Science and Technology (CONACyT studentship no. 418612) and Queen Mary University of London. We are grateful to Philipp Bauknecht and Gáspár Jékely (Max Planck Institute for Developmental Biology, Tübingen, Germany) for providing the Gα16 plasmid and the CHO-G5A cells, which were originally generated by Baubet et al. (Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 97:7260–7265). We are also grateful to Phil Edwards for his help with collecting starfish, Paul Fletcher for maintaining our seawater aquarium and Maria Eugenia Guerra for creating the silhouettes of animals used in Figure 7

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Pancreaticoduodenectomy in Trauma Patients with Grade IV-V Duodenal or Pancreatic Injuries: A Post Hoc Analysis of an EAST Multicenter Trial

INTRODUCTION: The utility of pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for high-grade traumatic injuries remains unclear and data surrounding its use are limited. We hypothesized that PD does not result in improved outcomes when compared with non-PD surgical management of grade IV-V pancreaticoduodenal injuries. METHODS: This is a retrospective, multicenter analysis from 35 level 1 trauma centers from January 2010 to December 2020. Included patients were ≥15 years of age with the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma grade IV-V duodenal and/or pancreatic injuries. The study compared operative repair strategy: PD versus non-PD. RESULTS: The sample (n=95) was young (26 years), male (82%), with predominantly penetrating injuries (76%). There was no difference in demographics, hemodynamics, or blood product requirement on presentation between PD (n=32) vs non-PD (n=63). Anatomically, PD patients had more grade V duodenal, grade V pancreatic, ampullary, and pancreatic ductal injuries compared with non-PD patients (all p CONCLUSION: While PD patients did not have worse hemodynamics or blood product requirements on admission, they sustained more complex anatomic injuries and had more GI complications and longer LOS than non-PD patients. We suggest that the role of PD should be limited to cases of massive destruction of the pancreatic head and ampullary complex, given the likely procedure-related morbidity and adverse outcomes when compared with non-PD management. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: IV, Multicenter retrospective comparative study

Stable isotope analyses reveal unique trophic role of reef manta rays (<i>Mobula alfredi</i>) at a remote coral reef

Stable isotope analyses provide the means to examine the trophic role of animals in complex food webs. Here, we used stable isotope analyses to characterize the feeding ecology of reef manta rays (Mobula alfredi) at a remote coral reef in the Western Indian Ocean. Muscle samples ofM. alfrediwere collected from D'Arros Island and St. Joseph Atoll, Republic of Seychelles, in November 2016 and 2017. Prior to analysis, lipid and urea extraction procedures were tested on freeze-dried muscle tissue in order to standardize sample treatment protocols forM. alfredi. The lipid extraction procedure was effective at removing both lipids and urea from samples and should be used in future studies of the trophic ecology of this species. The isotopic signatures of nitrogen (δ15N) and carbon (δ13C) forM. alfredidiffered by year, but did not vary by sex or life stage, suggesting that all individuals occupy the same trophic niche at this coral reef. Furthermore, the isotopic signatures forM. alfredidiffered to those for co-occurring planktivorous fish species also sampled at D'Arros Island and St. Joseph Atoll, suggesting that the ecological niche ofM. alfrediis unique. Pelagic zooplankton were the main contributor (45%) to the diet ofM. alfredi, combined with emergent zooplankton (38%) and mesopelagic prey items (17%). Given the extent of movement that would be required to undertake this foraging strategy, individualM. alfrediare implicated as important vectors of nutrient supply around and to the coral reefs surrounding D'Arros Island and St. Joseph Atoll, particularly where substantial site fidelity is displayed by these large elasmobranchs.</jats:p