Body appreciation around the world: Measurement invariance of the Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age.

The Body Appreciation Scale-2 (BAS-2) is a widely used measure of a core facet of the positive body image construct. However, extant research concerning measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across a large number of nations remains limited. Here, we utilised the Body Image in Nature (BINS) dataset - with data collected between 2020 and 2022 - to assess measurement invariance of the BAS-2 across 65 nations, 40 languages, gender identities, and age groups. Multi-group confirmatory factor analysis indicated that full scalar invariance was upheld across all nations, languages, gender identities, and age groups, suggesting that the unidimensional BAS-2 model has widespread applicability. There were large differences across nations and languages in latent body appreciation, while differences across gender identities and age groups were negligible-to-small. Additionally, greater body appreciation was significantly associated with higher life satisfaction, being single (versus being married or in a committed relationship), and greater rurality (versus urbanicity). Across a subset of nations where nation-level data were available, greater body appreciation was also significantly associated with greater cultural distance from the United States and greater relative income inequality. These findings suggest that the BAS-2 likely captures a near-universal conceptualisation of the body appreciation construct, which should facilitate further cross-cultural research. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

Testing a detection dog to locate bumblebee colonies and estimate nest density

Bumblebee nests are difficult to find, hampering ecological studies. Effective population size of bumblebees is determined by nest density, so the ability to quantify nest density would greatly aid conservation work. We describe the training and testing of a dog to find bumblebee nests. The dog was trained by the British army, using B. terrestris nest material. Its efficacy in finding buried nest material of a range of bumblebee species was 100%, and no false positives were recorded, suggesting that the dog was able to generalize across Bombus species. The dog was then used to locate bumblebee nests in four different habitats on the island of Tiree, west Scotland. The dog located 33 nests, and nest densities recorded varied from 0 to 1.86 nests per hectare, according to species and habitat. Habitat preferences appeared to be evident among the bumblebee species, with most B. muscorum nests in machair and all of the B. distinguendus nests being in dunes. We conclude that the technique has great potential, but note that using a dog to detect nests in more densely vegetated habitats may be less successful

Chromosome damage induced by DNA topoisomerase II inhibitors combined with g-radiation in vitro

Combined radiation and antineoplastic drug treatment have important applications in cancer therapy. In the present work, an evaluation was made of two known topoisomerase II inhibitors, doxorubicin (DXR) and mitoxantrone (MXN), with g-radiation. The effects of DXR or MXN on g-radiation-induced chromosome aberrations in Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells were analyzed. Two concentrations of each drug, 0.5 and 1.0 µg/ml DXR, and 0.02 and 0.04 µg/ml MXN, were applied in combination with two doses of g-radiation (20 and 40 cGy). A significant potentiating effect on chromosomal aberrations was observed in CHO cells exposed to 1.0 µg/ml DXR plus 40 cGy. In the other tests, the combination of g-radiation with DXR or MXN gave approximately additive effects. Reduced mitotic indices reflected higher toxicity of the drugs when combined with radiation.<br>A associação de radiação ionizante com drogas antineoplásicas tem importante aplicação na terapia do câncer. No presente trabalho, foram avaliados os efeitos de dois inibidores de topoisomerase II, doxorubicina (DXR) e mitoxantrona (MXN), sobre as aberrações cromossômicas induzidas pelas radiações-g em células do ovário de hamster chinês (CHO). Foram usadas as concentrações 0,5 e 1,0 mg/ml de DXR e 0,02 e 0,04 mg/ml de MXN, combinadas com duas doses de radiações gama (20 e 40 cGy). Um significativo efeito potenciador das aberrações cromossômicas foi observado em células CHO tratadas com 1,0 mg/ml de DXR e expostas a 40 cGy de radiação. Nos outros testes, a combinação da radiação-g com a DXR ou MXN apresentou um efeito próximo ao aditivo. A redução dos índices mitóticos refletiu a alta citotoxicidade das drogas quando combinadas às radiações-g

The extracellular matrix can regulate vascular cell migration, proliferation, and survival: relationships to vascular disease

The extra cellular matrix (ECM) of the normal artery wall is a collection of fibrous proteins and associated glycoproteins embedded in a hydrated ground substance of glycosaminoglycans and proteoglycans. These distinct molecules are organized into a highly ordered network that are closely associated with the vascular cells that produce them. In addition to providing the architectural framework for the artery wall that imparts mechanical support and viscoelasticity, the ECM can regulate the behaviour of vascular cells, including their ability to migrate, proliferate and survive injury. The composition of the ECM is different within intimal lesions of atherosclerosis, which are composed of monocytes and lymphocytes from the circulation and smooth muscle cells (SMC) that migrate from the media to the intima (Ross 1993, 1999), and these differences may contribute to the altered phenotype of vascular cells within lesions. This review will briefly outline the ECM changes observed in atherosclerosis and restenosis and the potential relationship of these changes to altered vascular cell functions