Age at first birth in women is genetically associated with increased risk of schizophrenia

Prof. Paunio on PGC:n jäsenPrevious studies have shown an increased risk for mental health problems in children born to both younger and older parents compared to children of average-aged parents. We previously used a novel design to reveal a latent mechanism of genetic association between schizophrenia and age at first birth in women (AFB). Here, we use independent data from the UK Biobank (N = 38,892) to replicate the finding of an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women, and to estimate the genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in women stratified into younger and older groups. We find evidence for an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women (P-value = 1.12E-05), and we show genetic heterogeneity between younger and older AFB groups (P-value = 3.45E-03). The genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in the younger AFB group is -0.16 (SE = 0.04) while that between schizophrenia and AFB in the older AFB group is 0.14 (SE = 0.08). Our results suggest that early, and perhaps also late, age at first birth in women is associated with increased genetic risk for schizophrenia in the UK Biobank sample. These findings contribute new insights into factors contributing to the complex bio-social risk architecture underpinning the association between parental age and offspring mental health.Peer reviewe

Co-limitation towards lower latitudes shapes global forest diversity gradients

The latitudinal diversity gradient (LDG) is one of the most recognized global patterns of species richness exhibited across a wide range of taxa. Numerous hypotheses have been proposed in the past two centuries to explain LDG, but rigorous tests of the drivers of LDGs have been limited by a lack of high-quality global species richness data. Here we produce a high-resolution (0.025° × 0.025°) map of local tree species richness using a global forest inventory database with individual tree information and local biophysical characteristics from ~1.3 million sample plots. We then quantify drivers of local tree species richness patterns across latitudes. Generally, annual mean temperature was a dominant predictor of tree species richness, which is most consistent with the metabolic theory of biodiversity (MTB). However, MTB underestimated LDG in the tropics, where high species richness was also moderated by topographic, soil and anthropogenic factors operating at local scales. Given that local landscape variables operate synergistically with bioclimatic factors in shaping the global LDG pattern, we suggest that MTB be extended to account for co-limitation by subordinate drivers

La différenciation pédagogique en badminton

Pédagogie différenciée : illustration lors d'un cycle badminton. Inventaire des pistes possibles : formes de groupement des élèves, aménagement matériel, modification ou adaptation du règlement, proposition de situations d'apprentissage adaptées, évaluation différenciée ..

Fluctuations in flows near jamming

Bubbles, droplets or particles in flowing complex media such as foams, emulsions or suspensions follow highly complex paths, with the relative motion of the constituents setting the energy dissipation rate. What is their dynamics, and how is this connected to the global rheology? To address these questions, we probe the statistics and spatio-temporal organization of the local particle motion and energy dissipation in a model for sheared disordered materials. We find that the fluctuations in the local dissipation vary from nearly Gaussian and homogeneous at low densities and fast flows, to strongly intermittent for large densities and slow flows. The higher order moments of the relative particle velocities reveal strong evidence for a qualitative difference between two distinct regimes which are nevertheless connected by a smooth crossover. In the critical regime, the higher order moments are related by novel multiscaling relations. In the plastic regime the relations between these moments take on a different form, with higher moments diverging rapidly when the flow rate vanishes. As these velocity differences govern the energy dissipation, we can distinguish two qualitatively different types of flow: an intermediate density, critical regime related to jamming, and a large density, plastic regime

Comunicação intercultural em uma empresa transnacional: a visão dos Brasileiros sobre sua comunicação com os norte-americanos

Cada vez mais a globalização leva as empresas a se comunicarem com culturas diferentes das suas em operações interdependentes. Desta forma, torna-se importante detectar e analisar questões a serem compreendidas pelas organizações na sua comunicação com outras culturas; mais especificamente, aspectos que podem resultar em uma interpretação equivocada das mensagens enviadas de uma cultura para a outra. Para compreender melhor essa questão, foram analisadas as duas atividades simbólicas destacadas por Porter e Samovar (1995) no processo de comunicação verbal - o uso de linguagem e a atividade interna de pensar - à luz das dimensões culturais propostas por Hofstede (1980), Trompenaars (1995) e Hall (1984). Foi realizada uma pesquisa de campo qualitativa de caráter descritivo por meio de entrevistas semiestruturadas na subsidiária localizada na cidade do Rio de Janeiro de uma empresa transnacional de origem norte-americana que atua no setor de telecomunicações. Durante as entrevistas com o diretor e dois gerentes, foram enfatizados alguns pontos negativos na interação entre as duas culturas, mas também foi apontada a possibilidade de captar sinergias da diversidade cultural, como sugerem os bons resultados do estilo relacional dos brasileiros com os clientes e o efeito motivador, nos brasileiros, do tratamento mais igualitário adotado pelos chefes americanos