Effects of Sex and Gender on Adaptation to Space: Musculoskeletal Health

There is considerable variability among individuals in musculoskeletal response to long-duration spaceflight. The specific origin of the individual variability is unknown but is almost certainly influenced by the details of other mission conditions such as individual differences in exercise countermeasures, particularly intensity of exercise, dietary intake, medication use, stress, sleep, psychological profiles, and actual mission task demands. In addition to variations in mission conditions, genetic differences may account for some aspect of individual variability. Generally, this individual variability exceeds the variability between sexes that adds to the complexity of understanding sex differences alone. Research specifically related to sex differences of the musculoskeletal system during unloading is presented and discussed

Early education pilot for two year old children : evaluation

This report provides the findings of the evaluation of the early education pilot for disadvantaged two year old children (the pilot). This study aimed to assess the impact of the pilot by looking at: how well the pilot was targeted, parents’ experiences of taking up a pilot place, the quality of the pilot settings, the impact on the children’s behaviour, and parents’ views and experiences of using a pilot place. The pilot provided free early years education to over 13,500 disadvantaged two year olds between 2006 and 2008. The main purpose of the pilot was to improve children’s social and cognitive outcomes, e.g. their social confidence and independence, and their verbal skills and reasoning ability. Additional aims were to have a positive impact on children’s parents and wider family e.g. on the relationship between parents and their children, or on parent’s emotional wellbeing. The funding offered these children 7.5 or in a small number of local authorities 12.5 hours of early years education per week for 38 weeks of the year. The pilot places were available in a variety of early years settings e.g. nurseries, play groups and with childminders, but all were required to operate the Birth to Three Matters curriculum.© National Centre for Social Research 2009. The full text of this report is not available in ORA. You may be able to access the report at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/early-education-pilot-for-2-year-old-children-evaluation (URL checked 26 March 2014) or via the publication website link above

Behavioral changes in FPR2/ALX and Chemr23 receptor knockout mice are exacerbated by prenatal alcohol exposure

IntroductionPrenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) causes neuroinflammation that may contribute to the pathophysiology underlying Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder. Supplementation with omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) has shown success in mitigating effects of PAE in animal models, however, the underlying mechanisms are unknown. Some PUFA metabolites, specialized pro-resolving mediators (SPMs), play a role in the resolution phase of inflammation, and receptors for these are in the brain.MethodsTo test the hypothesis that the SPM receptors FPR2 and ChemR23 play a role in PAE-induced behavioral deficits, we exposed pregnant wild-type (WT) and knockout (KO) mice to alcohol in late gestation and behaviorally tested male and female offspring as adolescents and young adults.ResultsMaternal and fetal outcomes were not different among genotypes, however, growth and behavioral phenotypes in the offspring did differ and the effects of PAE were unique to each line. In the absence of PAE, ChemR23 KO animals showed decreased anxiety-like behavior on the elevated plus maze and FPR2 KO had poor grip strength and low activity compared to age-matched WT mice. WT mice showed improved performance on fear conditioning between adolescence and young adulthood, this was not seen in either KO.DiscussionThis PAE model has subtle effects on WT behavior with lower activity levels in young adults, decreased grip strength in males between test ages, and decreased response to the fear cue indicating an effect of alcohol exposure on learning. The PAE-mediated decreased response to the fear cue was also seen in ChemR23 KO but not FPR2 KO mice, and PAE worsened performance of adolescent FPR2 KO mice on grip strength and activity. Collectively, these findings provide mechanistic insight into how PUFAs could act to attenuate cognitive impairments caused by PAE

Snail1 transcription factor controls telomere transcription and integrity

Besides controlling epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) and cell invasion, the Snail1 transcriptional factor also provides cells with cancer stem cell features. Since telomere maintenance is essential for stemness, we have examined the control of telomere integrity by Snail1. Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis indicates that Snail1-depleted mouse mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have both a dramatic increase of telomere alterations and shorter telomeres. Remarkably, Snail1-deficient MSC present higher levels of both telomerase activity and the long non-coding RNA called telomeric repeat-containing RNA (TERRA), an RNA that controls telomere integrity. Accordingly, Snail1 expression downregulates expression of the telomerase gene (TERT) as well as of TERRA 2q, 11q and 18q. TERRA and TERT are transiently downregulated during TGF-induced EMT in NMuMG cells, correlating with Snail1 expression. Global transcriptome analysis indicates that ectopic expression of TERRA affects the transcription of some genes induced during EMT, such as fibronectin, whereas that of TERT does not modify those genes. We propose that Snail1 repression of TERRA is required not only for telomere maintenance but also for the expression of a subset of mesenchymal genes

Dimensions in Health : A Sample of Rural and Global Health Issues

We invite you to explore an array of issues touching culture, rurality, or both, in the following collection of essays. In this class, we have defined both culture and rurality broadly and in expansive contexts. Much remains to be done, both locally and globally, to improve the health status of our varied populations and residents. Please join us in the analysis and resolution of the health challenges, inequities, and noteworthy mysteries that characterize particular rural and cultural settings.https://digitalrepository.unm.edu/rural-cultural-health/1001/thumbnail.jp

Sustained mucosal colonization and fecal metabolic dysfunction by Bacteroides associates with fecal microbial transplant failure in ulcerative colitis patients.

Fecal microbial transplantation (FMT) offers promise for treating ulcerative colitis (UC), though the mechanisms underlying treatment failure are unknown. This study harnessed longitudinally collected colonic biopsies (n = 38) and fecal samples (n = 179) from 19 adults with mild-to-moderate UC undergoing serial FMT in which antimicrobial pre-treatment and delivery mode (capsules versus enema) were assessed for clinical response (≥ 3 points decrease from the pre-treatment Mayo score). Colonic biopsies underwent dual RNA-Seq; fecal samples underwent parallel 16S rRNA and shotgun metagenomic sequencing as well as untargeted metabolomic analyses. Pre-FMT, the colonic mucosa of non-responsive (NR) patients harbored an increased burden of bacteria, including Bacteroides, that expressed more antimicrobial resistance genes compared to responsive (R) patients. NR patients also exhibited muted mucosal expression of innate immune antimicrobial response genes. Post-FMT, NR and R fecal microbiomes and metabolomes exhibited significant divergence. NR metabolomes had elevated concentrations of immunostimulatory compounds including sphingomyelins, lysophospholipids and taurine. NR fecal microbiomes were enriched for Bacteroides fragilis and Bacteroides salyersiae strains that encoded genes capable of taurine production. These findings suggest that both effective mucosal microbial clearance and reintroduction of bacteria that reshape luminal metabolism associate with FMT success and that persistent mucosal and fecal colonization by antimicrobial-resistant Bacteroides species may contribute to FMT failure

Untargeted Metabolome Analysis Reveals Reductions in Maternal Hepatic Glucose and Amino Acid Content That Correlate with Fetal Organ Weights in a Mouse Model of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders

Prenatal alcohol exposure (PAE) causes fetal growth restrictions. A major driver of fetal growth deficits is maternal metabolic disruption; this is under-investigated following PAE. Untargeted metabolomics on the dam and fetus exposed to alcohol (ALC) revealed that the hepatic metabolome of ALC and control (CON) dams were distinct, whereas that of ALC and CON fetuses were similar. Alcohol reduced maternal hepatic glucose content and enriched essential amino acid (AA) catabolites, N-acetylated AA products, urea content, and free fatty acids. These alterations suggest an attempt to minimize the glucose gap by increasing gluconeogenesis using AA and glycerol. In contrast, ALC fetuses had unchanged glucose and AA levels, suggesting an adequate draw of maternal nutrients, despite intensified stress on ALC dams. Maternal metabolites including glycolytic intermediates, AA catabolites, urea, and one-carbon-related metabolites correlated with fetal liver and brain weights, whereas lipid metabolites correlated with fetal body weight, indicating they may be drivers of fetal weight outcomes. Together, these data suggest that ALC alters maternal hepatic metabolic activity to limit glucose availability, thereby switching to alternate energy sources to meet the high-energy demands of pregnancy. Their correlation with fetal phenotypic outcomes indicates the influence of maternal metabolism on fetal growth and development

Examining the transport to school patterns of New Zealand adolescents by home-to-school distance and settlement types

Background: Scholarship on active transport to school has largely focused on children, (large) urban areas, the umbrella term of “active transport” which considered walking and cycling together and without taking into account walking and/or cycling distance. This research examined adolescents’ patterns of transport to school in diverse settlement types and in relation to home-to-school distance in the Otago region of Aotearoa New Zealand. Methods: Patterns of transport to school by home-to-school distance, and across school locations, are described for a sample of 2,403 adolescents (age: 15.1 ± 1.4 years; 55% females) attending 23 out of 27 schools in large urban areas (n = 1,309; 11 schools), medium urban areas (n = 265; three schools), small urban areas (n = 652; four schools) and rural settings (n = 177; five schools). Empirical data were collected through an online survey, in which adolescents reported sociodemographic characteristics, travel to school, and perceptions of walking and cycling. Home-to-school distance was measured on the shortest route determined using Geographic Information Systems (GIS)-based network analysis. Results: Transport to school patterns differed significantly by home-to-school distance and across settlement types. Profiles of different transport user groups showed significant variability in sociodemographic characteristics, family factors, average distance to school, self-reported physical activity, and perceived health. Conclusions: Initiatives to promote active transport and reduce reliance on car transport to school, whether to improve health and the environment or to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, need to pay closer attention to the settlement types, distance to school, and characteristics of different transport user modes