Lumbar muscle atrophy and increased relative intramuscular lipid concentration are not mitigated by daily artificial gravity after 60-day head-down tilt bed rest

Exposure to axial unloading induces adaptations in paraspinal muscles, as shown after spaceflights. This study investigated whether daily exposure to artificial gravity (AG) mitigated lumbar spine flattening and muscle atrophy associated with 60-day head-down tilt (HDT) bed rest (Earth-based space analogue). Twenty-four healthy individuals participated in the study: Eight received 30 minutes continuous AG; eight received 6x5 minutes AG, interspersed with rest periods; eight received no AG exposure (control group). Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) of the lumbopelvic region was conducted at baseline (BDC) and at day 59 of HDT (HDT59). T1-weighted images were used to assess morphology of the lumbar spine (spinal length, intervertebral disc angles, disc area) and volumes of the lumbar multifidus (LM), lumbar erector spinae (LES), quadratus lumborum (QL), and psoas major (PM) muscles from L1/L2 to L5/S1 vertebral levels. A chemical shift-based 2‐point lipid/water Dixon sequence was used to evaluate muscle composition. Results showed that: spinal length and disc area increased (P<0.05); intervertebral disc angles (P<0.05) and muscle volumes of LM, LES, and QL reduced (P<0.01); and fat/water ratio for the LM and LES muscles increased (P<0.01) after HDT59 in all groups. Neither of the AG protocols mitigated the lumbar spinal deconditioning induced by HDT bed rest. The increase in lipid/water ratio in LM and LES muscles indicates an increased relative intramuscular lipid concentration. Altered muscle composition in atrophied muscles may impair lumbar spine function after body unloading, which could increase injury risk to vulnerable soft tissues. This relationship needs further investigation

Space medicines for space health

Scientists from around the world are studying the effects of microgravity and cosmic radiation via the “off-Earth” International Space Station (ISS) laboratory platform. The ISS has helped scientists make discoveries that go beyond the basic understanding of Earth. Over 300 medical experiments have been performed to date, with the goal of extending the knowledge gained for the benefit of humanity. This paper gives an overview of these numerous space medical findings, critically identifies challenges and gaps, and puts the achievements into perspective toward long-term space traveling and also adding benefits to our home planet. The medical contents are trifold structured, starting with the well-being of space travelers (astronaut health studies), followed by medical formulation research under space conditions, and then concluding with a blueprint for space pharmaceutical manufacturing. The review covers essential elements of our Earth-based pharmaceutical research such as drug discovery, drug and formulation stability, drug–organ interaction, drug disintegration/bioavailability/pharmacokinetics, pathogen virulence, genome mutation, and body’s resistance. The information compiles clinical, medicinal, biological, and chemical research as well as fundamentals and practical applications

Resistance to a chemical pesticide increases vulnerability to a biopesticide: Effects on direct mortality and mortality by predation

Pesticide mixtures are increasingly used to fight pest species that developed resistance to pesticides. To assess the pesticide control efficiency and to reduce ecological damage to non-target species, it is important to quantify the effect of these mixtures and compare them with the effect of their single pesticides on pest species, non-target species and their predator-prey interactions. We studied the effects of the chemical pesticide chlorpyrifos (CPF), the biopesticide Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) and their mixture both on the direct mortality and on the mortality by predation. We focused on larvae of a CPF-resistant and a non-resistant strain of the vector mosquito Culex quinquefasciatus and its predator, the pygmy backswimmer Plea minutissima. In the CPF-Bti mixture, both pesticides interacted antagonistically for direct mortality. Exposure to the mixture caused equal direct mortality and equal mortality by predation in both strains. As expected, exposure to CPF resulted in less direct mortality and less mortality by predation in the CPF-resistant mosquito strain compared to the non-resistant strain. Notably, Bti caused a higher mortality in the mosquito larvae of the CPF-resistant strain compared to the non-resistant strain. Furthermore, the predator killed more mosquito larvae of the resistant strain compared to the non-resistant strain when exposed before to Bti alone. These observations identify a novel cost of resistance to a chemical pesticide in terms of increased vulnerability to a biopesticide.status: publishe

Daily temperature variationmagnifies the toxicity of amixture consisting of a chemical pesticide and a biopesticide in a vector mosquito

While many studies on the toxicity of pesticides looked at the effects of a higher mean temperature, effects of the realistic scenario of daily temperature variation are understudied. Moreover, despite the increasing interest for the toxicity of pesticide mixtures how this is influenced by temperature has been largely ignored. We tested whether daily temperature variation (DTV) magnifies the toxicity of two pesticides with a different mode of action, the organophosphate pesticide chlorpyrifos (CPF) and the biopesticide Bacillus thuringiensis var. israelensis (Bti), and of their mixture in the vector mosquito Culex pipiens. Single exposure to CPF and Bti increased mortality and reduced female development time, and exposure to CPF also increased female wing length. DTV was not lethal and did not change the toxicity of the individual pesticides. Yet, a key novel finding was that high DTV increased the mortality of the mixture by changing the interaction between both pesticides from additive to synergistic. Given that in nature daily temperature variation is omnipresent, this is important both for vector control and for ecological risk assessment. The higher toxicity of the mixture at high DTV compared to the typically used constant test temperatures in the laboratory urges caution when evaluating the environmental impact of pesticide mixtures.status: publishe

Charting the landscape of graphical displays for meta-analysis and systematic reviews: a comprehensive review, taxonomy, and feature analysis

Background: Data-visualization methods are essential to explore and communicate meta-analytic data and results. With a large number of novel graphs proposed quite recently, a comprehensive, up-to-date overview of available graphing options for meta-analysis is unavailable. Methods: We applied a multi-tiered search strategy to find the meta-analytic graphs proposed and introduced so far. We checked more than 150 retrievable textbooks on research synthesis methodology cover to cover, six different software programs regularly used for meta-analysis, and the entire content of two leading journals on research synthesis. In addition, we conducted Google Scholar and Google image searches and cited-reference searches of prior reviews of the topic. Retrieved graphs were categorized into a taxonomy encompassing 11 main classes, evaluated according to 24 graph-functionality features, and individually presented and described with explanatory vignettes. Results: We ascertained more than 200 different graphs and graph variants used to visualize meta-analytic data. One half of these have accrued within the past 10 years alone. The most prevalent classes were graphs for network meta-analysis (45 displays), graphs showing combined effect(s) only (26), funnel plot-like displays (24), displays showing more than one outcome per study (19), robustness, outlier and influence diagnostics (15), study selection and p-value based displays (15), and forest plot-like displays (14). The majority of graphs (130, 62.5%) possessed a unique combination of graph features. Conclusions: The rich and diverse set of available meta-analytic graphs offers a variety of options to display many different aspects of meta-analyses. This comprehensive overview of available graphs allows researchers to make better-informed decisions on which graphs suit their needs and therefore facilitates using the meta-analytic tool kit of graphs to its full potential. It also constitutes a roadmap for a goal-driven development of further graphical displays for research synthesis.© The Author(s) 202

Perception of aesthetics and personality traits in orthognathic surgery patients: A comparison of still and moving images

It is common in practicing orthognathic surgery to evaluate faces with retruded or protruded chins (dysgnathic faces) using photographs. Because motion may alter how the face is perceived, we investigated the perception of faces presented via photographs and videos. Two hundred naïve raters (lay persons, without maxillo facial surgery background) evaluated 12 subjects with varying chin anatomy [so-called skeletal Class I (normal chin), Class II (retruded chin), and Class III (protruded chin)]. Starting from eight traits, with Factor analysis we found a two-Factor solution, i.e. an "aesthetics associated traits cluster" and a Factor "personality traits cluster" which appeared to be uncorrelated. Internal consistency of the Factors found for photographs and videos was excellent. Generally, female raters delivered better ratings than males, but the effect sizes were small. We analyzed differences and the respective effect magnitude between photograph and video perception. For each skeletal class the aesthetics associated dimensions were rated similarly between photographs and video clips. In contrast, specific personality traits were rated differently. Differences in the class-specific personality traits seen on photographs were "smoothed" in the assessment of videos, which implies that photos enhance stereotypes commonly attributed to a retruded or protruded chin.© 2018 Sinko et a

Associations of Bisexuality and Homosexuality with Handedness and Footedness: A Latent Variable Analysis Approach

Non-right-handedness appears to be more common among bisexuals and homosexuals than among heterosexuals, which might be indirect evidence of effects of prenatal androgen exposure. Current data suggest higher prenatal testosterone levels among bisexual and homosexual women, but are inconclusive for men. This study examined the association between sexual orientation and non-right-handedness for sex differences and whether higher rates of mixed-handedness, rather than left-handedness, might be the driving factor. This allowed for more specific tests regarding the predictions of two competing theories of prenatal androgen exposure, the Geschwind–Galaburda theory and the callosal hypothesis, than in previous research. Being a potentially better indicator of cerebral lateralization than handedness, associations with footedness were also explored. To counter inconsistencies and shortcomings of previous research, we utilized two large discovery and replication datasets (ns = 2368 and 1565) and applied latent variable analysis to reliably classify lateral preferences (i.e., handedness, footedness). This maximized the statistical conclusion validity and allowed for direct tests of replicability. Sexual orientation was differentially associated with lateral preferences among men and women. Associations among women were consistent with predictions of the Geschwind–Galaburda theory, whereas among men they were consistent with predictions of the callosal hypothesis. The results were further consistent with models of homosexuality that suggest a role of parental epigenetic marks on sexually dimorphic fetal development. Research efforts should be increased with regard to footedness and epigenetic theories of homosexuality.© The Author(s) 201