Effect of the exposure to fine inhalable particulate matter (pm2.5) on sperm functional quality of mice

Objective: To evaluate the effect of exposure to pollution (fine inhalable particulate matter - PM2.5) from the city of São Paulo on sperm functional quality. Design: Male isogenic BALB/c mice were used, distributed in two groups, control (n=6) and polluted air (n=8). For the polluted air group, after weaning (21 days), animals were daily exposed to 600 μg/m3 of PM2,5 for 96 days in an Ambient Particle Concentrator (APC). Control group was simultaneously exposed to filtered air in the APC. On postnatal day 118, animals were sacrificed (isoflurane overdose), body was weighted and the epididymis were collected. Materials and Methods: Sperm obtained from the cauda epididymis were used for the evaluation of motility, mitochondrial activity (DAB staining), acrosome integrity (PNA staining), DNA fragmentation (alkaline comet assay), oxidative stress (DHE staining) and cell viability (PI staining). Groups were compared using an unpaired Student’s t test (p<0.05). Results: Groups did not differ regarding body weight, and sperm motility. Furthermore, air pollution did not alter sperm functional quality (Table 1). Conclusions: Exposure to high concentrations of PM2.5 does not affect sperm motility and functional parameters.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP

Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age

The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research