1,177 research outputs found
Prospective associations of different contexts of physical activity with psychological distress and well-being among middle-aged adults: an analysis of the 1970 British Cohort Study
Background: Our aim was to investigate whether different types and social contexts of physical activity (PA) participation are prospectively associated with psychological distress and well-being among middle-aged adults. /
Methods: Data from the 1970 British Cohort Study was used (N=5,144-2,733 women). At age 42y, participants reported their type of leisure-time PA, which was classified as individual PA or group PA (exposure). At age 46y, participants reported co-primary outcomes: psychological distress (Malaise Inventory) and well-being (Warwick-Edinburgh scale). Highest academic achievement, employment status, country of interview, baseline values of psychological distress and well-being, smoking, alcohol use, TV-viewing and total physical activity at 42y were used as covariates. Main analyses included linear regression stratifying by sex. /
Results: Jogging, cross-country, road-running (both sexes) as well as team sports (men) were associated with higher well-being. Health, fitness, gym or conditioning activities and jogging, cross-country (women), road-running (women) and team sports (men) were associated with lower psychological distress. Participation in both individual and group PA were associated with lower psychological distress and higher well-being for both sexes in crude models. However, adjusted models revealed that only group PA was associated with lower psychological distress (B: -0.106; 95%CI:-0.188 to -0.025) and higher well-being (0.835; 0.050 to 1.619) among men but not women. In the sensitivity analysis, group PA was associated with higher well-being (0.855; 0.094 to 1.616) when compared with individual PA among men. Group PA was not associated with psychological distress among both sexes and well-being among women when compared with individual PA. /
Conclusion: Group PA was prospectively associated with lower psychological distress and higher well-being among men but not females. Future PA interventions could focus on group activities for males. Further research to understand the relationship between individual/group PA and mental health is required in females
Molecular phylogenetic relationships and generic placement of dryaderces inframaculata Boulenger, 1882 (Anura: Hylidae)
Dryaderces inframaculata Boulenger, 1882, is a rare species known only from a few specimens and localities in the southeastern Amazonia rainforest. It was originally described in the genus Hyla, after ~ 130 years transferred to Osteocephalus, and more recently to Dryaderces. These taxonomic changes were based solely on the similarity of morphological characters. Herein, we investigate the phylogenetic relationships and generic placement of D. inframaculata using molecular data from a collected specimen from the middle Tapajós River region, state of Pará, Brazil. Two mitochondrial DNA fragments (16S and COI) were assessed among representative species in the subfamily Lophiohylinae (Anura: Hylidae) to reconstruct phylogenetic trees under Bayesian and Maximum Likelihood criteria. Our results corroborate the monophyly of Dryaderces and the generic placement of D. inframaculata with high support. Dryaderces inframaculata is sister to an undescribed taxon, Dryaderces pearsoni Ca1 Jungfer et al., 2013, and both are sister to Dryaderces pearsoni Gaige, 1929. These findings are relevant for further research on the systematics and biogeography of the genus
Molecular characterisation of congenital myasthenic syndromes in Southern Brazil
Objective To perform genetic testing of patients with congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS) from the Southern Brazilian state of Parana. Patients and methods Twenty-five CMS patients from 18 independent families were included in the study. Known CMS genes were sequenced and restriction digest for the mutation RAPSN p.N88K was performed in all patients. Results We identified recessive mutations of CHRNE in ten families, mutations in DOK7 in three families and mutations in COLQ, CHRNA1 and CHRNB1 in one family each. The mutation CHRNE c. 70insG was found in six families. We have repeatedly identified this mutation in patients from Spain and Portugal and haplotype studies indicate that CHRNE c. 70insG derives from a common ancestor. Conclusions Recessive mutations in CHRNE are the major cause of CMS in Southern Brazil with a common mutation introduced by Hispanic settlers. The second most common cause is mutations in DOK7. The minimum prevalence of CMS in Parana is 0.18/100 000
Does physical activity moderate the association between device-measured sedentary time patterns and depressive symptoms in adults?
OBJECTIVES:
To investigate the association between sedentary time (ST) patterns and depressive symptoms, and whether moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) can moderate this association.
METHODS:
This cross-sectional study included a representative sample of 243 adults (mean age 41.8616.7 years, 56.4% women) from a city in Southeast Brazil. Depressive symptoms were estimated through the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). ST patterns (i.e., number of breaks, mean length of sedentary bouts, and number of long sedentary bouts), total ST, and MVPA were assessed using accelerometers.
RESULTS:
Poisson regression models revealed associations of total ST (b = 0.063; 95%CI 0.011 to 0.116) and number of long bouts (0.108; 0.047 to 0.171) with depressive symptoms among men. MVPA moderated the associations of breaks and longer bouts of ST with depressive symptoms, with an increase of one break/hour, the increase of one long bout, and a decrease of 1 minute in mean bout length being associated with a reduction of 0.211 and increases of 0.081 and 0.166, respectively, in the number of depressive symptoms among men with physical inactivity (breaks =-0.211;-0.360 to-0.063; mean bout length = 0.081; 0.003 to 0.158; number of long bouts = 0.166; 0.090 to 0.242).
CONCLUSIONS:
Interventions that encourage breaking up ST should be helpful to reduce depressive symptoms among people with physical inactivity.
CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT03986879)
Molecular characterisation of congenital myasthenic syndromes in Southern Brazil
Objective To perform genetic testing of patients with congenital myasthenic syndromes (CMS) from the Southern Brazilian state of Parana. Patients and methods Twenty-five CMS patients from 18 independent families were included in the study. Known CMS genes were sequenced and restriction digest for the mutation RAPSN p.N88K was performed in all patients. Results We identified recessive mutations of CHRNE in ten families, mutations in DOK7 in three families and mutations in COLQ, CHRNA1 and CHRNB1 in one family each. The mutation CHRNE c. 70insG was found in six families. We have repeatedly identified this mutation in patients from Spain and Portugal and haplotype studies indicate that CHRNE c. 70insG derives from a common ancestor. Conclusions Recessive mutations in CHRNE are the major cause of CMS in Southern Brazil with a common mutation introduced by Hispanic settlers. The second most common cause is mutations in DOK7. The minimum prevalence of CMS in Parana is 0.18/100 000
Tremor in X-linked recessive spinal and bulbar muscular atrophy (Kennedy's disease)
OBJECTIVE: To study tremor in patients with X-linked recessive spinobulbar muscular atrophy or Kennedy's disease. METHODS: Ten patients (from 7 families) with a genetic diagnosis of Kennedy's disease were screened for the presence of tremor using a standardized clinical protocol and followed up at a neurology outpatient clinic. All index patients were genotyped and showed an expanded allele in the androgen receptor gene. RESULTS: Mean patient age was 37.6 years and mean number of CAG repeats 47 (44-53). Tremor was present in 8 (80%) patients and was predominantly postural hand tremor. Alcohol responsiveness was detected in 7 (88%) patients with tremor, who all responded well to treatment with a β-blocker (propranolol). CONCLUSION: Tremor is a common feature in patients with Kennedy's disease and has characteristics similar to those of essential tremor
Deforestation limits evolutionary rescue under climate change in Amazonian lizards
Aim: The impact of climate change on biodiversity is often analysed under a stable evolutionary perspective focused on whether species can currently tolerate warmer climates. However, species may adapt to changes, and particularly under conditions of low habitat fragmentation, standing adaptive genetic variation can spread across populations tracking changing climates, increasing the potential for evolutionary rescue. Here, our aim is to integrate genomic data, niche modelling and landscape ecology to predict range shifts and the potential for evolutionary rescue. Location: The megadiverse Amazonian rainforest. Methods: We use genome–environment association analyses to search for candidate loci under environmental selection, while accounting for neutral genetic variation in a widespread Amazonian whiptail lizard (Teiidae: Kentropyx calcarata). We then model the distribution of individuals with genotypes adapted to different climate conditions. We predict range shifts for each genotype in distinct future climate change scenarios by integrating this information with dispersal constraints based on predicted scenarios of forest cover across Amazonia. The predicted ranges of each genotype were then overlapped to infer the potential for evolutionary rescue. Results: We find that the potential for evolutionary rescue and, therefore, a smaller degree of range loss buffering extinction risk in the future is considerably high, provided that current forest cover is retained and climate change is not extreme. However, under extreme environmental change scenarios, range loss will be high in central and southern Amazonia, irrespective of the degree of deforestation. Main Conclusions: Our results suggest that protecting the Amazonian rainforest against further deforestation and mitigating climate change to moderate scenarios until 2070 could foster evolutionary rescue of ectothermic organisms. These actions could prevent substantial biodiversity loss in Amazonia, emphasizing the importance of understanding species adaptability in maintaining biodiversity
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