Color change and ecology in female Misumenoides formosipes crab spiders

Female Misumenoides formosipes crab spiders, unlike their highly mobile, short-lived male counterparts, are relatively sedentary predators that forage long after the males have died off. Associated with their foraging ability is a phenomenon rare amongst animals: the capacity for a reversible change in body color. This color change ability, exhibited by several species of crab spiders, has historically been interpreted as an adaptation providing enhanced crypsis during movement between hunting substrates (inflorescences). Misumenoides formosipes females were relocated onto matched and mismatched substrates in the field to assess their propensity for color change, the rate at which it occurs, and any impact on foraging success. Yellow females transferred to white inflorescences were the only category that did not remain in their new location. White females changed to yellow over a 9 day period. We found conflicting evidence as to whether or not foraging success was enhanced for females on matched backgrounds.Thesis (M.S.)Department of Biolog

Increased insertion number leads to increased sperm transfer and fertilization success in a nursery web spider

Across animals, a male\u27s fitness is largely dictated by his ability to fertilize eggs; and there exists a plethora of male adaptations associated with increasing fertilization success. In the nursery web spider, Pisaurina mira, males restrain females prior to and during copulation by wrapping them with silk. Previous research demonstrates that copulatory silk wrapping reduces a male\u27s chance of being sexually cannibalized and increases the number of sperm transfer opportunities (termed insertions) that a male can achieve within a mating. While avoiding cannibalism provides an obvious survival benefit to males, the impact of insertion number on male fitness remains unknown. This study tested the hypothesis that increased insertion number realized through copulatory silk wrapping increases (1) the quantity of sperm transferred and (2) fertilization success. To accomplish this, we directly quantified the amount of sperm in male pedipalps (i.e. the male sperm storage organ) before mating and after obtaining one or two insertions. We also, indirectly quantified fertilization success by measuring the number of hatched offspring when males were capable of achieving one versus two insertions within a mating. In support of our hypotheses, we found that males transfer roughly twice the amount of sperm when achieving two insertions compared to one. We additionally found that the amount of sperm transferred is negatively related to female size. In terms of offspring number, females obtaining two insertions had more offspring compared to females obtaining only one insertion. These results show that males achieve a fertilization benefit from increased insertion number, which is obtained through the male behavior of copulatory silk wrapping

Early Menarche, Nulliparity, and the Risk for Premature and Early Natural Menopause

Study question: How the timing of menarche and parity link with premature and early natural 42 menopause? Summary answer: Early menarche (≤11 years) is a risk factor for both premature menopause (final 44 menstrual period, FMP <40 years) and early menopause (FMP 40-44 years), a risk that is amplified for nulliparous women. What is known already: Women with either premature or early menopause face increased risk of chronic conditions in later life and of early death. Findings from some studies suggest that early menarche and nulliparity are associated with early menopause, however overall the evidence is mixed. Much of the evidence for a direct relationship is hampered by a lack of comparability across studies, adjustment for confounding factors, and statistical power. Study design, size, duration: This pooled study comprises 51,450 postmenopausal women from nine observational studies in the UK, Scandinavia, Australia, and Japan that contribute to the International collaboration for a Life course Approach to reproductive health and Chronic disease Events (InterLACE). Participants/materials, setting, methods: Age at menarche (categorised as ≤11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 56 or more years) and parity (categorised as no children, one child, and two or more children) were exposure of interest. Age at FMP was confirmed by at least 12 months of cessation of menses where this was not the result of an intervention (such as surgical menopause due to bilateral oophorectomy or hysterectomy) and categorised as premature menopause (FMP before age 40), early menopause (FMP 40-44 years), 45-49 years, 50-51 years, 52-53 years, and 54 or more years. We used multivariate multinomial logistic regression models to estimate relative risk ratio (RRR) and 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) for associations between menarche, parity and age at FMP adjusting for within-study correlation. Main results and the role of chance: The median age at FMP was 50 years (interquartile range 48 to 53 years), with 2% of the women experiencing premature menopause and 7.6% early menopause. Women with early menarche (≤11 years, compared with 12-13 years) were at higher risk of premature menopause (RRR 1.80, 95% CI 1.53 to 2.12) and early menopause (1.31, 1.19 to 1.44). Nulliparity was associated with increased risk of premature menopause (2.26, 1.84 to 2.77) and early menopause (1.32, 1.09 to 1.59). Women having early menarche and nulliparity were at over five folds increased risk of premature menopause (5.64, 4.04 to 7.87) and two folds increased risk of early menopause (2.16, 1.48 to 3.15) compared with women who had menarche at ≥12 years and two or more children. Limitations, reasons for caution: Most of the studies (except the birth cohorts) relied on retrospectively reported age at menarche which may have led to some degree of recall bias. Wider implications of the findings: Our findings support early monitoring of women with early menarche, especially those who have no children, for preventive health interventions aimed at mitigating the risk of adverse health outcomes associated with early menopause

Linking Changes in Epithelial Morphogenesis to Cancer Mutations Using Computational Modeling

Most tumors arise from epithelial tissues, such as mammary glands and lobules, and their initiation is associated with the disruption of a finely defined epithelial architecture. Progression from intraductal to invasive tumors is related to genetic mutations that occur at a subcellular level but manifest themselves as functional and morphological changes at the cellular and tissue scales, respectively. Elevated proliferation and loss of epithelial polarization are the two most noticeable changes in cell phenotypes during this process. As a result, many three-dimensional cultures of tumorigenic clones show highly aberrant morphologies when compared to regular epithelial monolayers enclosing the hollow lumen (acini). In order to shed light on phenotypic changes associated with tumor cells, we applied the bio-mechanical IBCell model of normal epithelial morphogenesis quantitatively matched to data acquired from the non-tumorigenic human mammary cell line, MCF10A. We then used a high-throughput simulation study to reveal how modifications in model parameters influence changes in the simulated architecture. Three parameters have been considered in our study, which define cell sensitivity to proliferative, apoptotic and cell-ECM adhesive cues. By mapping experimental morphologies of four MCF10A-derived cell lines carrying different oncogenic mutations onto the model parameter space, we identified changes in cellular processes potentially underlying structural modifications of these mutants. As a case study, we focused on MCF10A cells expressing an oncogenic mutant HER2-YVMA to quantitatively assess changes in cell doubling time, cell apoptotic rate, and cell sensitivity to ECM accumulation when compared to the parental non-tumorigenic cell line. By mapping in vitro mutant morphologies onto in silico ones we have generated a means of linking the morphological and molecular scales via computational modeling. Thus, IBCell in combination with 3D acini cultures can form a computational/experimental platform for suggesting the relationship between the histopathology of neoplastic lesions and their underlying molecular defects

Dietary fruits and vegetables and cardiovascular diseases risk

Diet is likely to be an important determinant of cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk. In this article, we will review the evidence linking the consumption of fruit and vegetables and CVD risk. The initial evidence that fruit and vegetable consumption has a protective effect against CVD came from observational studies. However, uncertainty remains about the magnitude of the benefit of fruit and vegetable intake on the occurrence of CVD and whether the optimal intake is five portions or greater. Results from randomized controlled trials do not show conclusively that fruit and vegetable intake protects against CVD, in part because the dietary interventions have been of limited intensity to enable optimal analysis of their putative effects. The protective mechanisms of fruit and vegetables may not only include some of the known bioactive nutrient effects dependent on their antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and electrolyte properties, but also include their functional properties, such as low glycemic load and energy density. Taken together, the totality of the evidence accumulated so far does appear to support the notion that increased intake of fruits and vegetables may reduce cardiovascular risk. It is clear that fruit and vegetables should be eaten as part of a balanced diet, as a source of vitamins, fiber, minerals, and phytochemicals. The evidence now suggests that a complicated set of several nutrients may interact with genetic factors to influence CVD risk. Therefore, it may be more important to focus on whole foods and dietary patterns rather than individual nutrients to successfully impact on CVD risk reduction. A clearer understanding of the relationship between fruit and vegetable intake and cardiovascular risk would provide health professionals with significant information in terms of public health and clinical practice

The InterLACE study: design, data harmonization and characteristics across 20 studies on women's health

The International Collaboration for a Life Course Approach to Reproductive Health and Chronic Disease Events (InterLACE) project is a global research collaboration that aims to advance understanding of women's reproductive health in relation to chronic disease risk by pooling individual participant data from several cohort and cross-sectional studies. The aim of this paper is to describe the characteristics of contributing studies and to present the distribution of demographic and reproductive factors and chronic disease outcomes in InterLACE

Antimicrobial resistance among migrants in Europe: a systematic review and meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Rates of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are rising globally and there is concern that increased migration is contributing to the burden of antibiotic resistance in Europe. However, the effect of migration on the burden of AMR in Europe has not yet been comprehensively examined. Therefore, we did a systematic review and meta-analysis to identify and synthesise data for AMR carriage or infection in migrants to Europe to examine differences in patterns of AMR across migrant groups and in different settings. METHODS: For this systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched MEDLINE, Embase, PubMed, and Scopus with no language restrictions from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 18, 2017, for primary data from observational studies reporting antibacterial resistance in common bacterial pathogens among migrants to 21 European Union-15 and European Economic Area countries. To be eligible for inclusion, studies had to report data on carriage or infection with laboratory-confirmed antibiotic-resistant organisms in migrant populations. We extracted data from eligible studies and assessed quality using piloted, standardised forms. We did not examine drug resistance in tuberculosis and excluded articles solely reporting on this parameter. We also excluded articles in which migrant status was determined by ethnicity, country of birth of participants' parents, or was not defined, and articles in which data were not disaggregated by migrant status. Outcomes were carriage of or infection with antibiotic-resistant organisms. We used random-effects models to calculate the pooled prevalence of each outcome. The study protocol is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42016043681. FINDINGS: We identified 2274 articles, of which 23 observational studies reporting on antibiotic resistance in 2319 migrants were included. The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or AMR infection in migrants was 25·4% (95% CI 19·1-31·8; I2 =98%), including meticillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (7·8%, 4·8-10·7; I2 =92%) and antibiotic-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (27·2%, 17·6-36·8; I2 =94%). The pooled prevalence of any AMR carriage or infection was higher in refugees and asylum seekers (33·0%, 18·3-47·6; I2 =98%) than in other migrant groups (6·6%, 1·8-11·3; I2 =92%). The pooled prevalence of antibiotic-resistant organisms was slightly higher in high-migrant community settings (33·1%, 11·1-55·1; I2 =96%) than in migrants in hospitals (24·3%, 16·1-32·6; I2 =98%). We did not find evidence of high rates of transmission of AMR from migrant to host populations. INTERPRETATION: Migrants are exposed to conditions favouring the emergence of drug resistance during transit and in host countries in Europe. Increased antibiotic resistance among refugees and asylum seekers and in high-migrant community settings (such as refugee camps and detention facilities) highlights the need for improved living conditions, access to health care, and initiatives to facilitate detection of and appropriate high-quality treatment for antibiotic-resistant infections during transit and in host countries. Protocols for the prevention and control of infection and for antibiotic surveillance need to be integrated in all aspects of health care, which should be accessible for all migrant groups, and should target determinants of AMR before, during, and after migration. FUNDING: UK National Institute for Health Research Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, Imperial College Healthcare Charity, the Wellcome Trust, and UK National Institute for Health Research Health Protection Research Unit in Healthcare-associated Infections and Antimictobial Resistance at Imperial College London

Say on Pay: A wolf in sheep’s clothing?

This paper debates whether Say on Pay can fix executive pay. We argue that Say on Pay benefits executive pay when shareholders’ voice offsets CEO power and mitigates directors’ information deficiencies. We admonish however that Say on Pay may raise novel problems. The pay resulting from Say on Pay can harm stakeholders whose interests differ from those of shareholders influential in pay- setting. Moreover, boards may resist shareholders’ intervention in pay-setting and, accordingly, manage compensation disclosures to ensure a passing shareholder vote. Consequently, Say on Pay may not only fail to remedy suboptimal pay but also legitimize it

Children's and adolescents' rising animal-source food intakes in 1990-2018 were impacted by age, region, parental education and urbanicity

Animal-source foods (ASF) provide nutrition for children and adolescents physical and cognitive development. Here, we use data from the Global Dietary Database and Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify global, regional and national ASF intakes between 1990 and 2018 by age group across 185 countries, representing 93% of the worlds child population. Mean ASF intake was 1.9 servings per day, representing 16% of children consuming at least three daily servings. Intake was similar between boys and girls, but higher among urban children with educated parents. Consumption varied by age from 0.6 at <1 year to 2.5 servings per day at 1519 years. Between 1990 and 2018, mean ASF intake increased by 0.5 servings per week, with increases in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa. In 2018, total ASF consumption was highest in Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, and lowest in Uganda, India, Kenya and Bangladesh. These findings can inform policy to address malnutrition through targeted ASF consumption programmes. (c) 2023, The Author(s)