Data Descriptor: High resolution, week-long, locomotion time series from Japanese quail in a home-box environment

Temporal and spatial patterns of locomotion reflect both resting periods and the movement from one place to another to satisfy physiological and behavioural needs. Locomotion is studied in diverse areas of biology such as chronobiology and physiology, as well as in biomathematics. Herein, the locomotion of 24 visually-isolated Japanese quails in their home-box environment was recorded continuously over a 6.5 days at a 0.5 s sampling rate. Three time series are presented for each bird: (1) locomotor activity, (2) distance ambulated, and (3) zone of the box where the bird is located. These high resolution, week-long, time series consisting of 1.07 × 10 6 data points represent, to our knowledge, a unique data set in animal behavior, and are publically available on FigShare. The data obtained can be used for analyzing dynamic changes of daily or several day locomotion patterns, or for comparison with existing or future data sets or mathematical models across different taxa.publishedVersionFil: Flesia, Ana Georgina. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Matemática, Astronomía y Física; Argentina.Fil: Flesia, Ana Georgina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Centro de Investigaciones y Estudios de Matemática; Argentina.Fil: Guzmán, Diego A. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Cátedra de Química Biológica; Argentina.Fil: Guzmán, Diego A. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; Argentina.Fil: Guzmán, Diego A. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos; Argentina.Fil: Pellegrini, Stefania. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Cátedra de Química Biológica; Argentina.Fil: Pellegrini, Stefania. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; Argentina.Fil: Pellegrini, Stefania. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos; Argentina.Fil: Aon, Miguel A. Johns Hopkins University. School of Medicine; Estados Unidos de AméricaFil: Marin, Raúl H. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Cátedra de Química Biológica; Argentina.Fil: Marin, Raúl H. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; Argentina.Fil: Marin, Raúl H. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos; Argentina.Fil: Kembro, Jackelyn M. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales, Cátedra de Química Biológica; Argentina.Fil: Kembro, Jackelyn M. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Investigaciones Biológicas y Tecnológicas; Argentina.Fil: Kembro, Jackelyn M. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas - Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Instituto de Ciencia y Tecnología de los Alimentos; Argentina.Fil: Guzmán, Diego A. Aarhus University. Department of Animal Science; Dinamarca

Resting-state functional connectivity and socioemotional processes in male perpetrators of intimate partner violence against women

Intimate partner violence against women (IPVAW) is a serious and overwhelming public concern. Neuroimaging techniques have provided insights into the brain mechanisms underlying IPVAW perpetration. The purpose of this study is to examine the resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) involving the process of social decision-making of male perpetrators. Twenty-six male perpetrators convicted for an IPVAW crime were compared to 29 men convicted for crimes other than IPVAW (other offenders) and 29 men with no criminal records (non-offenders) using a seed-based approach. Seeds were located in areas involved in reflective (prefrontal), impulsive (amygdala and striatum) and interoceptive (insula) processing. Then, as an exploratory analysis, the connectivity networks on male perpetrators were correlated with measures of executive functions and socioemotional self-report measures. Male perpetrators in comparison to other offenders and non-offenders, presented higher rsFC between prefrontal, limbic, brainstem, temporal and basal ganglia areas. Also male perpetrators showed higher rsFC between insula, default mode network and basal ganglia, while lower rsFC was found between prefrontal and motor areas and between amygdala, occipital and parietal areas. Exploratory correlations suggest that the specific rsFC in male perpetrators might be more related to socioemotional processes than to executive functions. These results showed that male perpetrators present a specific rsFC in brain systems that are essential for an adaptive social decision-making

Terpenes as Potential Antimalarial Drugs

A fact which favors the increase in morbidity and mortality of malaria cases in the world is the resistance to chemotherapeutic agents that the parasite presents. Therefore, it is necessary to identify new potential targets specific to the parasite in order to be able to perform a rational planning. One target for the evaluation of potential antimalarial compounds is isoprenoid synthesis, which occurs via the 2-C-methyl-d -erythritol-4-phosphate pathway in Plasmodium falciparum. Several intermediaries and final products of this pathway were identified in the parasite and lead us to the conclusion that it is different from the vertebrate host. In this chapter, we describe the effect of some monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes on Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium berghei as potential antimalarial drugs

Multimorbidity clusters in patients with chronic obstructive airway diseases in the EpiChron Cohort

Chronic obstructive airway diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), asthma, rhinitis, and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) are amongst the most common treatable and preventable chronic conditions with high morbidity burden and mortality risk. We aimed to explore the existence of multimorbidity clusters in patients with such diseases and to estimate their prevalence and impact on mortality. We conducted an observational retrospective study in the EpiChron Cohort (Aragon, Spain), selecting all patients with a diagnosis of allergic rhinitis, asthma, COPD, and/or OSA. The study population was stratified by age (i.e., 15–44, 45–64, and = 65 years) and gender. We performed cluster analysis, including all chronic conditions recorded in primary care electronic health records and hospital discharge reports. More than 75% of the patients had multimorbidity (co-existence of two or more chronic conditions). We identified associations of dermatologic diseases with musculoskeletal disorders and anxiety, cardiometabolic diseases with mental health problems, and substance use disorders with neurologic diseases and neoplasms, amongst others. The number and complexity of the multimorbidity clusters increased with age in both genders. The cluster with the highest likelihood of mortality was identified in men aged 45 to 64 years and included associations between substance use disorder, neurologic conditions, and cancer. Large-scale epidemiological studies like ours could be useful when planning healthcare interventions targeting patients with chronic obstructive airway diseases and multimorbidity

A mindfulness and compassion-based program applied to pregnant women and their partners to decrease depression symptoms during pregnancy and postpartum: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Pregnancy and the postpartum period are times of great change for women and their partners, often bringing substantial challenges and stress. Approximately 10%-20% of women suffer from mood disorders such as depression in the perinatal period. There are risks involved in using psychopharmacological interventions to treat perinatal depression. Mindfulness and compassion-based educational programs could be efficacious and cost-effective options for the prevention and treatment of perinatal mood disorders. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy of an adapted Mindfulness-Based Childbirth and Parenting (MBCP) program that includes compassion training for pregnant women in primary care (PC) settings in the Spanish National Health System to decrease perinatal depression. Methods: A multicenter randomized controlled trial (RCT) will be conducted. Participants will be pregnant women (n = 122) and their partners who wish to participate. They will be enrolled and assessed in PC settings and randomly assigned to either: (1) an adapted MBCP educational program tailored to the Spanish National Health System + treatment as usual (TAU); or (2) TAU only. The main outcome to be assessed will be depression, evaluated with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Secondary outcomes will include self-reported measures of perceived stress, affects, mindfulness, self-compassion, maternal self-efficacy, and use of health and social services. Patients will be assessed at four timepoints: baseline; post-treatment; and at three and six months after childbirth. Intention-to-treat and per-protocol analyses will be carried out using linear regression mixed models. Effect sizes will be estimated using Cohen''s d. Discussion: Perinatal depression is a significant health problem. An effective and low-cost childbirth education program that incorporates mindfulness and compassion practices may be a beneficial preventive complementary healthcare modality for expectant women and their partners. This study will be the first multicenter RCT in Spanish PC settings using adapted MBCP and compassion practices to reduce symptoms of depression during pregnancy and the postpartum period

Andes Basin Focal Project

The CPWF Basin Focal Project for the Andes system of basins worked with a range of local stakeholders to develop a better understanding of the mechanisms for improving the productivity of water in the Andes. We considered productivity in broad terms as the productivity of energy (HEP), food and fiber (agriculture) and livelihoods (industry, transport and benefit sharing such as Payments for Environmental Services schemes (PES)). In addition to the compiled data bases and analyses on poverty and institutions, one of the key deliverables of the project was the development and deployment of the AguAAndes policy support system (PSS). This integrates analyses of water availability and productivity within the local environmental and policy context. It is a web-based policy support system combining an extensive spatial database with process-based models for hydrology, crop production and socio-economic processes. It is intended to allow analysts and decision makers to test the potential onsite and offsite impacts of land and water management decisions in terms of their ability to sustain environmental services and human wellbeing. Interventions and recommendations for future actions on water and food in the region are presented