Maternal effects on anogenital distance in a wild marmot population

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Baropodometry on women suffering from chronic pelvic pain - a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previous studies have associated chronic pelvic pain with a stereotyped pattern of movement and posture, lack of normal body sensations, a characteristic pain distribution. We aimed at evaluating if these postural changes are detectable in baropodometry results in patients with chronic pelvic pain.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We performed a prospective study in a university hospital. We selected 32 patients suffering from chronic pelvic pain (study group) and 30 women without this pathology (regular gynecological work out - control group). Pain scores and baropodometric analysis were performed.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>As expected, study group presented higher pain scores than control group. Study and control groups presented similar averages for the maximum pressures to the left and right soles as well as soles supports in the forefeet and hind feet. Women suffering from chronic pelvic pain did not present differences in baropodometric analysis when compared to healthy controls.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>This data demonstrates that postural abnormalities resulting from CPP could not be demonstrated by baropodometric evaluation. Other postural measures should be addressed to evaluate pelvic pain patients.</p

The development of study-specific self-efficacy during grammar school.(Zur Entwicklung der studienspezifischen Selbstwirksamkeit in der Oberstufe)

Article is in German. Even if more and more German adolescents acquire a university entrance qualification, not all of them finally enrol at a university. In particular, the transition from school to university strongly depends on parent’s education. Even with the same marks in school, adolescents from non-academic households are less likely to enrol in universities than adolescents from academic housholds. One important reason is their lower belief to master a university study. This study analyses a specific intervention in grammar school to improve study-specific self- efficacy, the belief in one’s capabilities to master a university study, using a longitudinal design. We apply a difference-in-difference framework and show that programme participation significantly improves the study-specific self-efficacy for puplis from non- academic families but not for those from academic families. Hence, such a programme could reduce social disparities between both groups

Effect of Mouth Rinsing and Ingestion of Carbohydrate Solutions on Mood and Perceptual Responses During Exercise

Background: The aim of this study was to investigate whether mouth rinsing or ingesting carbohydrate (CHO) solutions impact on perceptual responses during exercise. Methods: Nine moderately trained male cyclists underwent a 90-min glycogen-reducing exercise, and consumed a low CHO meal, prior to completing an overnight fast. A 1-h cycle time trial was performed the following morning. Four trials, each separated by 7days, were conducted in a randomized, counterbalanced study design: 15% CHO mouth rinse (CHOR), 7.5% CHO ingestion (CHOI), placebo mouth rinse (PLAR) and placebo ingestion (PLAI). Solution volumes (1.5ml·g-1 ingestion trials and 0.33ml·kg-1 rinsing trials) were provided after every 12.5% of completed exercise. Perceptual scales were used to assess affective valence (feeling scale, FS), arousal (felt arousal scale, FAS), exertion (ratings of perceived exertion, RPE) and mood (profile of mood states, POMS) before, during and immediately after exercise. Results: There was no difference in RPE (CHOI, 14.0±9; CHOR, 14.2±.7; PLAI, 14.6±1.8; PLAR, 14.6±2.0; P=0.35), FS (CHOI, 0.0±1.7; CHOR, -0.2±1.5; PLAI, -0.8±1.4; PLAR, -0.8±1.6; P0.15), or FAS (CHOI, 3.6±1.1; CHOR, 3.5±1.0; PLAI, 3.4±1.4; PLAR, 3.3±1.3; P=725) scores between trials. While overall POMS score did not appear to differ between trials, the 'vigour' subscale indicated that CHOI may facilitate the maintenance of 'vigour' scores over time, in comparison to the steady decline witnessed in other trials (P=0.04). There was no difference in time trial performance between trials (CHOI, 65.3±4.8min; CHOR, 68.4±3.9min; PLAI, 68.7±5.3min; PLAR, 68.3±5.2min; P=0.21) but power output was higher in CHOI (231.0±33.2 W) relative to other trials (221-223.6 W; Plt0.01). Conclusions: In a CHO-reduced state, mouth rinsing with a CHO solution did not impact on perceptual responses during high-intensity exercise in trained cyclists and triathletes. On the other hand CHO ingestion improved perceived ratings of vigour and increased power output during exercise

The interplay between gonadal steroids and immune defence in affecting a carotenoid-dependent trait

The hypothesis that sexual ornaments are honest signals of quality because their expression is dependent on hormones with immune-depressive effects has received ambiguous support. The hypothesis might be correct for those signals that are carotenoid-dependent because the required carotenoid deposition in the signal, stimulated by testosterone, might lower the carotenoid-dependent immune defence of the organism. Two pathways underlying this androgen-dependent honest signaling have been suggested. Firstly, androgens that are needed for ornament expression may suppress immune defence, a cost that only high-quality animals can afford. Alternatively, immune activation may downregulate the production of androgens in low-quality individuals. Which of these alternatives is correct, and to what extent these effects are mediated by the different metabolites of androgens, remain open questions. To provide answers to these questions, we manipulated the levels of testosterone (T), 5α-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), and 17-β-estradiol (E2) in diamond doves Geopelia cuneata, a species in which both sexes exhibit a carotenoid-dependent, androgen-regulated red–orange periorbital ring of bare skin. On the first day of the experiment (day 0), we inserted steroid-releasing implants into groups of birds and on day 14, we subjected half of the birds to an immunological challenge by immunizing them with sheep red blood cells (SRBC). In females, but not in males, androgen but not estradiol treatments reduced antibody production to SRBC. In addition, the immunological challenge reduced redness and size of the trait as well as androgens levels in both sexes and in all treatments. This indicates that an immunological challenge can lower circulating T at the cost of the trait expression. These findings are in accordance with both pathways postulated in the immunocompetence-handicap hypothesis, but do not entirely support the idea that the immunosuppressive effect of androgens yields honest signaling since both T and DHT were not immunosuppressive in males, for which sexual signaling is supposed to be especially important

The Cost of Male Aggression and Polygyny in California Sea Lions (Zalophus californianus)

In polygynous mating systems, males often increase their fecundity via aggressive defense of mates and/or resources necessary for successful mating. Here we show that both male and female reproductive behavior during the breeding season (June–August) affect female fecundity, a vital rate that is an important determinant of population growth rate and viability. By using 4 years of data on behavior and demography of California sea lions (Zalophus californianus), we found that male behavior and spatial dynamics—aggression and territory size—are significantly related to female fecundity. Higher rates of male aggression and larger territory sizes were associated with lower estimates of female fecundity within the same year. Female aggression was significantly and positively related to fecundity both within the same year as the behavior was measured and in the following year. These results indicate that while male aggression and defense of territories may increase male fecundity, such interactions may cause a reduction in the overall population growth rate by lowering female fecundity. Females may attempt to offset male-related reductions in female fecundity by increasing their own aggression—perhaps to defend pups from incidental injury or mortality. Thus in polygynous mating systems, male aggression may increase male fitness at the cost of female fitness and overall population viability

Changing perceptions of hunger on a high nutrient density diet

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>People overeat because their hunger directs them to consume more calories than they require. The purpose of this study was to analyze the changes in experience and perception of hunger before and after participants shifted from their previous usual diet to a high nutrient density diet.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This was a descriptive study conducted with 768 participants primarily living in the United States who had changed their dietary habits from a low micronutrient to a high micronutrient diet. Participants completed a survey rating various dimensions of hunger (physical symptoms, emotional symptoms, and location) when on their previous usual diet versus the high micronutrient density diet. Statistical analysis was conducted using non-parametric tests.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Highly significant differences were found between the two diets in relation to all physical and emotional symptoms as well as the location of hunger. Hunger was not an unpleasant experience while on the high nutrient density diet, was well tolerated and occurred with less frequency even when meals were skipped. Nearly 80% of respondents reported that their experience of hunger had changed since starting the high nutrient density diet, with 51% reporting a dramatic or complete change in their experience of hunger.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>A high micronutrient density diet mitigates the unpleasant aspects of the experience of hunger even though it is lower in calories. Hunger is one of the major impediments to successful weight loss. Our findings suggest that it is not simply the caloric content, but more importantly, the micronutrient density of a diet that influences the experience of hunger. It appears that a high nutrient density diet, after an initial phase of adjustment during which a person experiences "toxic hunger" due to withdrawal from pro-inflammatory foods, can result in a sustainable eating pattern that leads to weight loss and improved health. A high nutrient density diet provides benefits for long-term health as well as weight loss. Because our findings have important implications in the global effort to control rates of obesity and related chronic diseases, further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results.</p

Estimates of Particulate Organic Carbon Flowing from the Pelagic Environment to the Benthos through Sponge Assemblages

Despite the importance of trophic interactions between organisms, and the relationship between primary production and benthic diversity, there have been few studies that have quantified the carbon flow from pelagic to benthic environments as a result of the assemblage level activity of suspension-feeding organisms. In this study, we examine the feeding activity of seven common sponge species from the Taputeranga marine reserve on the south coast of Wellington in New Zealand. We analysed the diet composition, feeding efficiency, pumping rates, and the number of food particles (specifically picoplanktonic prokaryotic cells) retained by sponges. We used this information, combined with abundance estimates of the sponges and estimations of the total amount of food available to sponges in a known volume of water (89,821 m3), to estimate: (1) particulate organic carbon (POC) fluxes through sponges as a result of their suspension-feeding activities on picoplankton; and (2) the proportion of the available POC from picoplankton that sponges consume. The most POC acquired by the sponges was from non-photosynthetic bacterial cells (ranging from 0.09 to 4.69 g C d−1 with varying sponge percentage cover from 0.5 to 5%), followed by Prochlorococcus (0.07 to 3.47 g C d−1) and then Synechococcus (0.05 to 2.34 g C d−1) cells. Depending on sponge abundance, the amount of POC that sponges consumed as a proportion of the total POC available was 0.2–12.1% for Bac, 0.4–21.3% for Prochlo, and 0.3–15.8% for Synecho. The flux of POC for the whole sponge assemblage, based on the consumption of prokaryotic picoplankton, ranged from 0.07–3.50 g C m2 d−1. This study is the first to estimate the contribution of a sponge assemblage (rather than focusing on individual sponge species) to POC flow from three groups of picoplankton in a temperate rocky reef through the feeding activity of sponges and demonstrates the importance of sponges to energy flow in rocky reef environments

Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV: Mapping the Milky Way, Nearby Galaxies, and the Distant Universe

We describe the Sloan Digital Sky Survey IV (SDSS-IV), a project encompassing three major spectroscopic programs. The Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment 2 (APOGEE-2) is observing hundreds of thousands of Milky Way stars at high resolution and high signal-to-noise ratios in the near-infrared. The Mapping Nearby Galaxies at Apache Point Observatory (MaNGA) survey is obtaining spatially resolved spectroscopy for thousands of nearby galaxies (median $z\sim 0.03$). The extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS) is mapping the galaxy, quasar, and neutral gas distributions between $z\sim 0.6$ and 3.5 to constrain cosmology using baryon acoustic oscillations, redshift space distortions, and the shape of the power spectrum. Within eBOSS, we are conducting two major subprograms: the SPectroscopic IDentification of eROSITA Sources (SPIDERS), investigating X-ray AGNs and galaxies in X-ray clusters, and the Time Domain Spectroscopic Survey (TDSS), obtaining spectra of variable sources. All programs use the 2.5 m Sloan Foundation Telescope at the Apache Point Observatory; observations there began in Summer 2014. APOGEE-2 also operates a second near-infrared spectrograph at the 2.5 m du Pont Telescope at Las Campanas Observatory, with observations beginning in early 2017. Observations at both facilities are scheduled to continue through 2020. In keeping with previous SDSS policy, SDSS-IV provides regularly scheduled public data releases; the first one, Data Release 13, was made available in 2016 July