First Observation of a Spontaneously Matured Female European Eel (Anguilla anguilla)

This study reports on the first observation of a spontaneously matured female European eel. The 43-year-old eel, together with eleven other females, resided at an aquarium house since their capture in 2002 and stocking as glass eels in 1978. In June 2019, the girth of the belly of the female increased as a sign of oocyte maturation. The specimen had an estimated gonadosomatic index (GSI) of 47, only half of the oocytes were hydrated and matured, indicating that European eels are polycyclic batch spawners. The live eels of the cohort were still in the previtellogenic phase but their eye sizes were close to that of the matured eel. We hypothesize that substances released by other maturing and spawning fishes may have triggered puberty of the eel. This first observation, and the possibility of more eels maturing in the near future, provides a natural reference for the sexual maturation of the European eel.</p

Magnetosheath control of solar wind-magnetosphere coupling efficiency

We examine the role of the magnetosheath in solar wind-magnetosphere-ionosphere coupling using the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms plasma and magnetic field observations in the magnetosheath together with OMNI solar wind data and auroral electrojet recordings from the International Monitor for Auroral Geomagnetic Effects (IMAGE) magnetometer chain. We demonstrate that the electric field and Poynting flux reaching the magnetopause are not linear functions of the electric field and Poynting flux observed in the solar wind: the electric field and Poynting flux at the magnetopause during higher driving conditions are lower than those predicted from a linear function. We also show that the Poynting flux normal to the magnetopause is linearly correlated with the directly driven part of the auroral electrojets in the ionosphere. This indicates that the energy entering the magnetosphere in the form of the Poynting flux is directly responsible for driving the electrojets. Furthermore, we argue that the polar cap potential saturation discussed in the literature is associated with the way solar wind plasma gets processed during the bow shock crossing and motion within the magnetosheath.Peer reviewe

Leisure-time physical activity, cardiorespiratory fitness and feelings of hopelessness in men

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and cardiorespiratory fitness contribute to mental health. Hopelessness has been linked to impaired mental health, cardiovascular events and mortality. Previous studies have focused on physical exercise and depression. We examined the associations of LTPA and cardiorespiratory fitness with feelings of hopelessness.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>In this cross-sectional study leisure-time physical activity, maximal oxygen uptake (VO_2max), hopelessness and cardiovascular risk factors were assessed in a population-based cohort of 2428 men aged 42 – 60 years old at baseline.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Men feeling more hopeless about their future and reaching goals were less physically active, less fit and had a higher prevalence of many cardiovascular risk factors than men with lower levels of hopelessness. In a logistic regression model adjusted for age, smoking, alcohol consumption, cardiovascular disease and socioeconomic status, men engaging in less than 60 min/week of moderate-to-vigorous LTPA were 37% (95% CI 11 – 67%) more likely to feel hopeless than those engaging in at least 2.5 h/wk of LTPA. After further adjusting for elevated depressive symptoms the association of LTPA and hopelessness remained significant. VO_2maxwas also associated with hopelessness, but not after adjustment for depressive symptoms.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Moderate and vigorous LTPA and cardiorespiratory fitness were inversely associated with hopelessness in these middle-aged men. These findings suggest that physical inactivity and poor cardiorespiratory fitness is an important associate of hopelessness, a distinct element of low subjective well-being.</p

Association of C-Reactive Protein With Reduced Forced Vital Capacity in a Nonsmoking U.S. Population With Metabolic Syndrome and Diabetes

OBJECTIVE—A relationship between inflammation, measured by C-reactive protein (CRP), and forced vital capacity (FVC) in diabetes or metabolic syndrome (MetS) has not been established. We investigated whether high CRP is related to reduced FVC in MetS and diabetes

Transcriptional regulation of the urokinase receptor (u-PAR) - A central molecule of invasion and metastasis

The phenomenon of tumor-associated proteolysis has been acknowledged as a decisive step in the progression of cancer. This short review focuses on the urokinase receptor (u-PAR), a central molecule involved in tumor-associated invasion and metastasis, and summarizes the transcriptional regulation of u-PAR. The urokinase receptor (u-PAR) is a heavily glycosylated cell surface protein and binds the serine protease urokinase specifically and with high affinity. It consists of three similar cysteine-rich repeats and is anchored to the cell membrane via a GPI-anchor. The u-PAR gene comprises 7 exons and is located on chromosome 19q13. Transcriptional activation of the u-PAR promoter region can be induced by binding of transcription factors (Sp1, AP-1, AP-2, NF-kappaB). One current study gives an example for transcriptional downregulation of u-PAR through a PEA3/ets transcriptional silencing element. Knowledge of the molecular regulation of this molecule in tumor cells could be very important for diagnosis and therapy in the near future

Genetic predisposition to adiposity is associated with increased objectively assessed sedentary time in young children.

Increased sedentariness has been linked to the growing prevalence of obesity in children, but some longitudinal studies suggest that sedentariness may be a consequence rather than a cause of increased adiposity. We used Mendelian randomization to examine the causal relations between body mass index (BMI) and objectively assessed sedentary time and physical activity in 3-8 year-old children from one Finnish and two Danish cohorts [NTOTAL=679]. A genetic risk score (GRS) comprised of 15 independent genetic variants associated with childhood BMI was used as the instrumental variable to test causal effects of BMI on sedentary time, total physical activity, and moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). In fixed effects meta-analyses, the GRS was associated with 0.05 SD/allele increase in sedentary time (P=0.019), but there was no significant association with total physical activity (beta=0.011 SD/allele, P=0.58) or MVPA (beta=0.001 SD/allele, P=0.96), adjusting for age, sex, monitor wear-time and first three genome-wide principal components. In two-stage least squares regression analyses, each genetically instrumented one unit increase in BMI z-score increased sedentary time by 0.47 SD (P=0.072). Childhood BMI may have a causal influence on sedentary time but not on total physical activity or MVPA in young children. Our results provide important insights into the regulation of movement behaviour in childhood