Population-level risks of alcohol consumption by amount, geography, age, sex, and year: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2020

Background The health risks associated with moderate alcohol consumption continue to be debated. Small amounts of alcohol might lower the risk of some health outcomes but increase the risk of others, suggesting that the overall risk depends, in part, on background disease rates, which vary by region, age, sex, and year. Methods For this analysis, we constructed burden-weighted dose–response relative risk curves across 22 health outcomes to estimate the theoretical minimum risk exposure level (TMREL) and non-drinker equivalence (NDE), the consumption level at which the health risk is equivalent to that of a non-drinker, using disease rates from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2020 for 21 regions, including 204 countries and territories, by 5-year age group, sex, and year for individuals aged 15–95 years and older from 1990 to 2020. Based on the NDE, we quantified the population consuming harmful amounts of alcohol. Findings The burden-weighted relative risk curves for alcohol use varied by region and age. Among individuals aged 15–39 years in 2020, the TMREL varied between 0 (95% uncertainty interval 0–0) and 0·603 (0·400–1·00) standard drinks per day, and the NDE varied between 0·002 (0–0) and 1·75 (0·698–4·30) standard drinks per day. Among individuals aged 40 years and older, the burden-weighted relative risk curve was J-shaped for all regions, with a 2020 TMREL that ranged from 0·114 (0–0·403) to 1·87 (0·500–3·30) standard drinks per day and an NDE that ranged between 0·193 (0–0·900) and 6·94 (3·40–8·30) standard drinks per day. Among individuals consuming harmful amounts of alcohol in 2020, 59·1% (54·3–65·4) were aged 15–39 years and 76·9% (73·0–81·3) were male. Interpretation There is strong evidence to support recommendations on alcohol consumption varying by age and location. Stronger interventions, particularly those tailored towards younger individuals, are needed to reduce the substantial global health loss attributable to alcohol. Funding Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

The strength of reproductive isolation in hybridizing food deceptive orchids.

Reproductive isolation is of fundamental importance for maintaining species boundaries in sympatry. In orchids, the wide variety of pollination systems and highly diverse floral traits have traditionally suggested a prominent role for pollinator isolation, and thus for prezygotic isolation, as an effective barrier to gene flow among species. Here, we examined the nature of reproductive isolation between Anacamptis morio and Anacamptis papilionacea , two sister species of Mediterranean food-deceptive orchids, in two natural hybrid zones. Comparative analyses of the two hybrid zones that are located on soils with volcanic origin and have different and well-dated ages consistently revealed that all hybrid individuals were morphologically and genetically intermediate between the parental species, but had strongly reduced fitness. Molecular analyses based on nuclear ITS1 and (amplified fragment length polymorphism) AFLP markers clearly showed that all examined hybrids were F 1 hybrids, and that no introgression occurred between parental species. The maternally inherited plastid DNA markers indicated that hybridization between A. morio and A. papilionacea was bidirectional, as confirmed by the molecular analysis of seed families. The genetic architecture of the two hybrid zones suggests that the two parental species easily and frequently hybridize in sympatry as a consequence of partial pollinator overlap but that strong postzygotic barriers reduce hybrid fitness and prevent gene introgression. These results corroborate that chromosomal divergence is instrumental for reproductive isolation between these food-deceptive orchids and suggest that hybridization is of limited importance for their diversification

Galileo-based Space-Airborne Bistatic SAR for UAS Navigation

This paper presents the idea of a hybrid bistatic Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) formed by a constellation of spaceborne illuminators and receiving-only airborne SARs. The study aims at identifying and developing new remote sensing techniques, able to produce forward-looking, real-time, any-weather, day and night, high geometric and radiometric resolution data for Unmanned Airborne Systems (UAS) autonomous navigation, namely obstacle detection and landing. Special emphasis is devoted to potentials and limitations of using Galileo or a Galileo improved constellation as illuminator. Preliminary feasibility assessment and definition of strawman concepts conducted under ESA contract in the framework of future integrated aerospace systems are reported, consisting in performance and trade-off studies of two configurations of the space segment and of two operating modes of the space–airborne bistatic SAR