A new species of Euphorbia (Euphorbiaceae) from the Mossel Bay area

Euphorbia bayeri Leach, a new dioecious, dwarf, creeping species from near Mossel Bay, related to E. lumbricalis Leach, is described. It is distinguished by its rhizomatose and profusely branched habit with branches obscurely angled, its broadly ovate, acutely dentate leaves and bracts, spreading involucral glands and smaller, narrower lobes, a glabrous capsule, styles free to the base with widely divergent, sulcate, red stigmas, finally its hairy perianth is probably unique, at least among the South African succulent, terete stemmed shrubs belonging in this ubiquitous genus. A line drawing showing inflorescence details as well as those of the seeds, leaves and bracts is provided, together with habit photographs

The nomenclature and application of the names Euphorbia candelabrum Welw. and Euphorbia ingens in tropical Africa

During the last 40 years, one of the most widespread and conspicuous succulent trees in East and north‐east Africa has been referred to as Euphorbia candelabrum Kotschy or as E. candelabrum Trémaux ex Kotschy. This name is a later homonym of E. candelabrum Welw., and consequently it is illegitimate. The species to which the name E. candelabrum Kotschy has been widely applied is shown to be conspecific with E. ingens, which occurs from southern Ethiopia to subtropical South Africa.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152821/1/tax12091_am.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/152821/2/tax12091.pd

Social-ecological, motivational and volitional factors for initiating and maintaining physical activity in the context of HIV

Sport and exercise can have several health benefits for people living with HIV. These benefits can be achieved through different types of physical activity, adapting to disease progression, motivation and social-ecological options. However, physical activity levels and adherence to exercise are generally low in people living with HIV. At the same time, high drop-out rates in intervention studies are prevalent; even though they often entail more favourable conditions than interventions in the natural settings. Thus, in the framework of an intervention study, the present study aims to explore social-ecological, motivational and volitional correlates of South African women living with HIV with regard to physical activity and participation in a sport and exercise health promotion programme. The qualitative data was produced in the framework of a non-randomised pre-post intervention study that evaluated structure, processes and outcomes of a 10-week sport and exercise programme. All 25 participants of the programme were included in this analysis, independent of compliance. Data was produced through questionnaires, participatory group discussions, body image pictures, research diaries and individual semi-structured interviews. All participants lived in a low socioeconomic, disadvantaged setting. Hence, the psychological correlates are contextualised and social-ecological influences on perception and behaviour are discussed. The results show the importance of considering social-cultural and environmental influences on individual motives, perceptions and expectancies, the fear of disclosure and stigmatisation, sport and exercise-specific group dynamics and self-supporting processes. Opportunities and strategies to augment physical activity and participation in sport and exercise programmes in the context of HIV are discussed.Scopu

Trans-ancestry genome-wide association study identifies 12 genetic loci influencing blood pressure and implicates a role for DNA methylation

We carried out a trans-ancestry genome-wide association and replication study of blood pressure phenotypes among up to 320,251 individuals of East Asian, European and South Asian ancestry. We find genetic variants at 12 new loci to be associated with blood pressure (P = 3.9 × 10-11 to 5.0 × 10-21). The sentinel blood pressure SNPs are enriched for association with DNA methylation at multiple nearby CpG sites, suggesting that, at some of the loci identified, DNA methylation may lie on the regulatory pathway linking sequence variation to blood pressure. The sentinel SNPs at the 12 new loci point to genes involved in vascular smooth muscle (IGFBP3, KCNK3, PDE3A and PRDM6) and renal (ARHGAP24, OSR1, SLC22A7 and TBX2) function. The new and known genetic variants predict increased left ventricular mass, circulating levels of NT-proBNP, and cardiovascular and all-cause mortality (P = 0.04 to 8.6 × 10-6). Our results provide new evidence for the role of DNA methylation in blood pressure regulation

The Influence of Age and Sex on Genetic Associations with Adult Body Size and Shape : A Large-Scale Genome-Wide Interaction Study

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 100 genetic variants contributing to BMI, a measure of body size, or waist-to-hip ratio (adjusted for BMI, WHRadjBMI), a measure of body shape. Body size and shape change as people grow older and these changes differ substantially between men and women. To systematically screen for age-and/or sex-specific effects of genetic variants on BMI and WHRadjBMI, we performed meta-analyses of 114 studies (up to 320,485 individuals of European descent) with genome-wide chip and/or Metabochip data by the Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) Consortium. Each study tested the association of up to similar to 2.8M SNPs with BMI and WHRadjBMI in four strata (men 50y, women 50y) and summary statistics were combined in stratum-specific meta-analyses. We then screened for variants that showed age-specific effects (G x AGE), sex-specific effects (G x SEX) or age-specific effects that differed between men and women (G x AGE x SEX). For BMI, we identified 15 loci (11 previously established for main effects, four novel) that showed significant (FDR= 50y). No sex-dependent effects were identified for BMI. For WHRadjBMI, we identified 44 loci (27 previously established for main effects, 17 novel) with sex-specific effects, of which 28 showed larger effects in women than in men, five showed larger effects in men than in women, and 11 showed opposite effects between sexes. No age-dependent effects were identified for WHRadjBMI. This is the first genome-wide interaction meta-analysis to report convincing evidence of age-dependent genetic effects on BMI. In addition, we confirm the sex-specificity of genetic effects on WHRadjBMI. These results may providefurther insights into the biology that underlies weight change with age or the sexually dimorphism of body shape.Peer reviewe

A new Euphorbia from the western Knersvlakte, Cape Province

A new species, Euphorbia lumbricalis Leach, from the western Knersvlakte is described. Although originally identified as E. gentilis N.E.Br., also from the Knersvlakte, the new species belongs in a different group and appears to be most closely related to E. brachiata E. Mey. ex Boiss. from the Olifants River Mouth

New taxa of Stapelia L. (Asclepiadaceae) from the Cape Province

Six new species of Stapelia L. and three new varieties are described. Line drawings of coronal parts and pollinia, photographs of flowers and a distribution map are provided.Stapelia erectiflora N.E. Br. var. prostratiflora Leach, from the western Cape, is distinguished by its prostrate inflorescence. S. montana Leach, with var. grossa Leach and S. scitula Leach, both belong in the S. immelmaniae Pillans group from the southwestern Cape, but are smaller plants with a basally disposed inflorescence; S. scitula with densely pubescent stems and those of S. montana glabrous. The very variable S. kougabergensis Leach in the S. acuminata Masson relationship is distinguished by its broad, widely spaced, shallow corolla rugosities. S. baylissii Leach and S. praetermissa Leach with var. luteola Leach, from the eastern Cape, both belonging in the S. asterias Masson affinity, are separated by their virtually glabrous stems, the glabrous corolla of the former and the randomly disposed inflorescence of smaller flowers of the latter. S. obducta Leach, also an eastern Cape species is closely related to S. tsomoensis N.E. Br., but differs in coronal form and in its corolla surface being completely covered with fine hairs