Pathways into living alone in mid-life: diversity and policy implications

This paper adopts a life course approach to investigate the pathways into living alone in mid-life in Britain and how these vary by gender and socio-economic status. The rise in the proportion of people living alone over the past three decades has been well documented. However, much of the focus of the existing literature has been on either people living solo in young adulthood or in later life. Mid-life has received surprising little scholarly attention, despite the fact that living arrangements in mid-life are changing rapidly, and that household composition and socio-economic circumstances in the period immediately prior to retirement are strongly associated with living arrangements and associated sources of support in later life. This paper therefore aims to fill this gap. We begin with a review of previous research on living alone and present a conceptual framework of the pathways into living alone in mid-life. Data from the United Kingdom Household Longitudinal Survey (UKHLS) are used to analyse the partnership and parenthood histories and socio-economic characteristics of those currently living alone in mid-life. The findings indicate that the dissolution of a marriage with children is the dominant pathway into mid-life solo-living, but that there is also a substantial group of never partnered men living alone. These never partnered men are split between those with low and high socio-economic status. Distinguishing between different groups of individuals living alone in mid-life is important for policy as these groups of men and women will have different social and financial resources as they enter later life. Mid-life men living alone who have not had children, have no educational qualifications, are not economically active and who live in rented housing are likely to be most at risk of needing a social and economic ‘safety net’ in old age

The Journal of Apicultural Research welcomes the publication of research findings from around the globe

The Journal of Apicultural Research (JAR) is a peer-reviewed, scientific journal dedicated to examining and publishing the latest research on bees from around the world. JAR publishes many different types of articles to reach different international audiences, from career scientists to students and well-informed beekeepers. These comprise original, theoretical, and experimental research papers, as well as authoritative notes, comments, and reviews on scientific aspects of all types of bees (superfamily Apoidea). As of 2021, JAR has an Impact Factor of 2.407 and is ranked 33rd out of 100 in the Entomology category (© InCites Journal Citation Reports®, Clarivate Analytics, 2022). Five regular issues are published per year and special issues are added when timely topics arise, the latest being a special issue on stingless bees (2022) and review papers (2023). In the last decade, COLOSS BEEBOOK chapters are published in JAR. These open-access chapters are a collection of the Standard Methods used in honey bee research, including the study of parasites, pests, and hive products. They are a primary reference resource for bee researchers across the globe and facilitate new projects that might not otherwise be undertaken by laboratories that are new to apidology (236,516 downloads - Taylor & Francis 3,028 citations - Web of Science, 2022). The Journal of Apicultural Research was founded by the International Bee Research Association (IBRA) in 1962. The very first issue included a Note from the first Editors, Dr. Eva Crane & Dr. James Simpson, who introduced JAR as a new opportunity for publication: “The journal will cover all aspects of bees, Apis and non-Apis, and substances used or produced by them, their pollinating activities, and organisms causing diseases or injuries to them.” Since the first issue, this legacy has been maintained in more than 2,800 scientific articles, co-authored by some 1,900 researchers, published so far in JAR, making our journal a key forum for the international exchange of scientific data in apidology. We encourage colleagues from around the globe to continue to participate in sharing their research with the scientific community by publishing in JAR.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Morphological, genomic and transcriptomic responses of Klebsiella pneumoniae to the last-line antibiotic colistin.

Colistin remains one of the few antibiotics effective against multi-drug resistant (MDR) hospital pathogens, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae. Yet resistance to this last-line drug is rapidly increasing. Characterized mechanisms of colR in K. pneumoniae are largely due to chromosomal mutations in two-component regulators, although a plasmid-mediated colR mechanism has recently been uncovered. However, the effects of intrinsic colistin resistance are yet to be characterized on a whole-genome level. Here, we used a genomics-based approach to understand the mechanisms of adaptive colR acquisition in K. pneumoniae. In controlled directed-evolution experiments we observed two distinct paths to colistin resistance acquisition. Whole genome sequencing identified mutations in two colistin resistance genes: in the known colR regulator phoQ which became fixed in the population and resulted in a single amino acid change, and unstable minority variants in the recently described two-component sensor crrB. Through RNAseq and microscopy, we reveal the broad range of effects that colistin exposure has on the cell. This study is the first to use genomics to identify a population of minority variants with mutations in a colR gene in K. pneumoniae.This work was supported by the Wellcome Trust grant number WT098051. The salaries of AKC and CJB were supported by the Medical Research Council [grant number G1100100/1] and MJE is supported by Public Health England. LB is supported by a research fellowship from the Alexander von Humboldt Stiftung/Foundation. KEH is supported by the NHMRC of Australia (Fellowship #1061409)

Dynamic Changes in White Matter Abnormalities Correlate With Late Improvement and Deterioration Following TBI: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study.

OBJECTIVE: Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is not a single insult with monophasic resolution, but a chronic disease, with dynamic processes that remain active for years. We aimed to assess patient trajectories over the entire disease narrative, from ictus to late outcome. METHODS: Twelve patients with moderate-to-severe TBI underwent magnetic resonance imaging in the acute phase (within 1 week of injury) and twice in the chronic phase of injury (median 7 and 21 months), with some undergoing imaging at up to 2 additional time points. Longitudinal imaging changes were assessed using structural volumetry, deterministic tractography, voxel-based diffusion tensor analysis, and region of interest analyses (including corpus callosum, parasagittal white matter, and thalamus). Imaging changes were related to behavior. RESULTS: Changes in structural volumes, fractional anisotropy, and mean diffusivity continued for months to years postictus. Changes in diffusion tensor imaging were driven by increases in both axial and radial diffusivity except for the earliest time point, and were associated with changes in reaction time and performance in a visual memory and learning task (paired associates learning). Dynamic structural changes after TBI can be detected using diffusion tensor imaging and could explain changes in behavior. CONCLUSIONS: These data can provide further insight into early and late pathophysiology, and begin to provide a framework that allows magnetic resonance imaging to be used as an imaging biomarker of therapy response. Knowledge of the temporal pattern of changes in TBI patient populations also provides a contextual framework for assessing imaging changes in individuals at any given time point

Evaluation of genetic isolation within an island flora reveals unusually widespread local adaptation and supports sympatric speciation

It is now recognized that speciation can proceed even when divergent natural selection is opposed by gene flow. Understanding the extent to which environmental gradients and geographical distance can limit gene flow within species can shed light on the relative roles of selection and dispersal limitation during the early stages of population divergence and speciation. On the remote Lord Howe Island (Australia), ecological speciation with gene flow is thought to have taken place in several plant genera. The aim of this study was to establish the contributions of isolation by environment (IBE) and isolation by community (IBC) to the genetic structure of 19 plant species, from a number of distantly related families, which have been subjected to similar environmental pressures over comparable time scales. We applied an individual-based, multivariate, model averaging approach to quantify IBE and IBC, while controlling for isolation by distance (IBD). Our analyses demonstrated that all species experienced some degree of ecologically driven isolation, whereas only 12 of 19 species were subjected to IBD. The prevalence of IBE within these plant species indicates that divergent selection in plants frequently produces local adaptation and supports hypotheses that ecological divergence can drive speciation in sympatry

Survey of Period Variations of Superhumps in SU UMa-Type Dwarf Novae

We systematically surveyed period variations of superhumps in SU UMa-type dwarf novae based on newly obtained data and past publications. In many systems, the evolution of superhump period are found to be composed of three distinct stages: early evolutionary stage with a longer superhump period, middle stage with systematically varying periods, final stage with a shorter, stable superhump period. During the middle stage, many systems with superhump periods less than 0.08 d show positive period derivatives. Contrary to the earlier claim, we found no clear evidence for variation of period derivatives between superoutburst of the same object. We present an interpretation that the lengthening of the superhump period is a result of outward propagation of the eccentricity wave and is limited by the radius near the tidal truncation. We interpret that late stage superhumps are rejuvenized excitation of 3:1 resonance when the superhumps in the outer disk is effectively quenched. Many of WZ Sge-type dwarf novae showed long-enduring superhumps during the post-superoutburst stage having periods longer than those during the main superoutburst. The period derivatives in WZ Sge-type dwarf novae are found to be strongly correlated with the fractional superhump excess, or consequently, mass ratio. WZ Sge-type dwarf novae with a long-lasting rebrightening or with multiple rebrightenings tend to have smaller period derivatives and are excellent candidate for the systems around or after the period minimum of evolution of cataclysmic variables (abridged).Comment: 239 pages, 225 figures, PASJ accepte

Citrobacter rodentium is an unstable pathogen showing evidence of significant genomic flux.

Citrobacter rodentium is a natural mouse pathogen that causes attaching and effacing (A/E) lesions. It shares a common virulence strategy with the clinically significant human A/E pathogens enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) and enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) and is widely used to model this route of pathogenesis. We previously reported the complete genome sequence of C. rodentium ICC168, where we found that the genome displayed many characteristics of a newly evolved pathogen. In this study, through PFGE, sequencing of isolates showing variation, whole genome transcriptome analysis and examination of the mobile genetic elements, we found that, consistent with our previous hypothesis, the genome of C. rodentium is unstable as a result of repeat-mediated, large-scale genome recombination and because of active transposition of mobile genetic elements such as the prophages. We sequenced an additional C. rodentium strain, EX-33, to reveal that the reference strain ICC168 is representative of the species and that most of the inactivating mutations were common to both isolates and likely to have occurred early on in the evolution of this pathogen. We draw parallels with the evolution of other bacterial pathogens and conclude that C. rodentium is a recently evolved pathogen that may have emerged alongside the development of inbred mice as a model for human disease

“Public Service” and the Journalism Crisis: Is the BBC the Answer?

Professional journalism is under extraordinary pressure: not only are its traditional business models under enormous strain but it is also regularly accused by the Right of peddling ‘fake news’ and criticized by the Left for failing to play a robust monitorial role. In this situation, there is a temptation to see public service media, and the BBC in particular, as beacons of light in an otherwise gloomy picture. This article attempts to provide a note of caution to those who see the public service model as the most effective means of holding power to account and as the most desirable alternative to the flawed news cultures of both commercial and authoritarian landscapes. It considers some of the structural and institutional factors that constrain the BBC’s journalism and suggests that its intimate relationship with elite power has long undermined its ability to act as a reliable and independent check on power

Health-related quality of life and mental health in the medium-term aftermath of the Prestige oil spill in Galiza (Spain): a cross-sectional study

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In 2002 the oil-tanker <it>Prestige </it>sank off the Galician coast. This study analyzes the effect of this accident on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and mental health in the affected population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Using random sampling stratified by age and sex, 2700 residents were selected from 7 coastal and 7 inland Galician towns. Two exposure criteria were considered: a) residential exposure, i.e., coast versus interior; and b) individual exposure-unaffected, slightly affected, or seriously affected-according to degree of personal affectation. SF-36, GHQ-28, HADS and GADS questionnaires were used to assess HRQoL and mental health. Association of exposure with suboptimal scores was summarized using adjusted odds ratios (OR) obtained from logistic regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>For residential exposure, the SF-36 showed coastal residents as having a lower likelihood of registering suboptimal HRQoL values in physical functioning (OR:0.69; 95%CI:0.54–0.89) and bodily pain (OR:0.74; 95%CI:0.62–0.91), and a higher frequency of suboptimal scores in mental health (OR:1.28; 95%CI:1.02–1.58). None of the dimensions of the other questionnaires displayed statistically significant differences.</p> <p>For individual exposure, no substantial differences were observed, though the SF-36 physical functioning dimension rose (showed better scores) with level of exposure (91.51 unaffected, 93.86 slightly affected, 95.28 seriously affected, p < 0.001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Almost one and a half years after the accident, worse HRQoL and mental health levels were not in evidence among subjects exposed to the oil-spill. Nevertheless, some of the scales suggest the possibility of slight impact on the mental health of residents in the affected areas.</p