This article develops an analytical framework to study the power struggles between majoritized women and minoritized women within feminist movements in relation to the adoption of intersectional ...practices. It employs a multi‐sided concept of power that takes domination and both individual and collective empowerment into consideration. The analytical framework encompasses the informal norms that foster resistance to intersectional practices by majoritized women, as well as the strategies and actions undertaken by minoritized women in order to challenge their subordination. The empirical analysis illustrates the mechanisms that create positions of marginalization among women, it stresses the role of the emotional dimension in transforming feminist practices, and it shows the importance of the intersectional wound. Moreover, in focusing on the processes that create difference, it avoids essentializing minoritized women. Building on interviews with activists from the Catalan feminist movement, the examination of intra‐movement power struggles considers multiple axes of inequality, including race, gender identity, sexuality, and ability.
•We evaluate a substance-use prevention program implemented in Iceland (1997–2002).•We analyse short- and medium-term impacts on smoking prevalence by gender.•To evaluate the policy, we construct a ...‘synthetic control’ for Iceland.•Smoking prevalence fell following the policy, more so among girls.•We find positive externalities in age groups adjacent to those directly treated.
Adolescent substance use is a persistent global problem and a challenge for society and the public health authorities. In this paper we investigate the impact of a prevention-oriented policy implemented in Icelandic secondary schools from 1997 to 2002 (the “Drug-free Iceland” programme) on country-level smoking rates on the youth. Using a panel data source spanning from 1985 to 2010 and composed both by Iceland and a set of countries where such a type of policy was absent, we apply the Synthetic Control Method to construct the counterfactual of Iceland. Comparing Iceland with this counterfactual, we estimate the effect of the intervention on those aged 15 to 19 -who were the main target of the policy-, during the years of implementation of the programme, and follow their smoking prevalence rates overtime until 2010, when they became adults (25 to 29-years old). Our results show that the intervention reduced youth smoking prevalence on the targeted groups that lasted at least until they became adults. We also find evidence of externalities in the age groups adjacent to those directly targeted by the policy. The results differ by gender, with the impact on females being more marked.
Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the main vectors of highly pathogenic viruses for humans, such as dengue (DENV), chikungunya (CHIKV), and Zika (ZIKV), which cause febrile, hemorrhagic, and ...neurological diseases and remain a major threat to global public health. The high ecological plasticity, opportunistic feeding patterns, and versatility in the use of urban and natural breeding sites of these vectors have favored their dispersal and adaptation in tropical, subtropical, and even temperate zones. Due to the lack of available treatments and vaccines, mosquito population control is the most effective way to prevent arboviral diseases. Resident microorganisms play a crucial role in host fitness by preventing or enhancing its vectorial ability to transmit viral pathogens. High-throughput sequencing and metagenomic analyses have advanced our understanding of the composition and functionality of the microbiota of Aedes spp. Interestingly, shotgun metagenomics studies have established that mosquito vectors harbor a highly conserved virome composed of insect-specific viruses (ISV). Although ISVs are not infectious to vertebrates, they can alter different phases of the arboviral cycle, interfering with transmission to the human host. Therefore, this review focuses on the description of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus as vectors susceptible to infection by viral pathogens, highlighting the role of the microbiota-virome in vectorial competence and its potential in control strategies for new emerging and re-emerging arboviruses.
Introduction
Intimate partner violence research and intervention strategies have grown substantially over the last two decades. However, little research has examined whether the intimate partner ...prevalence has changed or remained stable over time in Spain. Moreover, few studies have analyzed whether intimate partner violence prevalence rates among genders and age groups have fluctuated similarly or not.
Method
The aim of this study was to analyze the trends observed in intimate partner violence perpetration and victimization rates among adolescents in three sample cohorts from Spain interviewed in 2006, 2010, and 2016 (4591 Spanish adolescents; 53.6% girls and 46.2% boys). ANCOVA was used to compare the population means between the cohorts: sex, age, and the type of intimate partner violence, for example, verbal, physical, and sexual.
Results
The results showed a significant decrease in intimate partner violence rates from 2006 to 2016, which was more noticeable within the first half of this decade. Throughout the decade, the girls perpetrated more verbal and mild physical assaults, while the boys perpetrated more sexual assaults. However, these results suggest a clear bidirectional intimate partner violence dynamic between the genders. Additionally, late adolescence reported a higher prevalence of aggressions.
Conclusions
The results highlight the need to adapt current prevention strategies considering the differences in the intimate partner violence trajectories based on sex and age, with the aim of regaining the marked rate of decline in aggression observed up to 2010.
Despite the growing body of evidence concerning the harmful effects of childhood maltreatment, intimate partner violence exposure (IPVE) and their correlates, little is currently known about the ...effects of co‐occurring advantageous family conditions (e.g., instrumental support, inductive parenting, positive communication) and how they may serve to offset the detrimental effects of maltreatment and IPVE. The present study applied a three‐step latent class analysis to identify the co‐occurrence patterns of childhood maltreatment and advantageous family conditions among 1379 Spanish adolescents. The study also sought to identify the sociodemographic risk markers and psychosocial adjustment associated with each latent class membership. The analyses revealed four classes, namely (1) violent family context, (2) emotionally neglectful family context, (3) adverse and advantageous family conditions, and (4) positive family context. Having a lower socioeconomic status and being a migrant were both risk markers for membership to the violent family context as well as to the adverse and advantageous family conditions class. Adolescents who were exposed to advantageous family conditions (e.g., the positive family context or the adverse and advantageous family conditions) exhibited fewer psychosocial problems (e.g., depression, anxiety, somatisation) and lower frequencies of teen dating violence (TDV) when compared with those in the violent family context. Moreover, membership to the emotionally neglectful family context class was related to more psychological symptoms and a higher prevalence of TDV when compared with membership to the positive family context class, despite the absence of IPVE and maltreatment. Overall, the results provide evidence that advantageous family conditions contribute to better psychosocial adjustment on the part of adolescents even when exposed to IPV and maltreatment. Identifying the experiences that contribute to adolescents' psychosocial adjustment could help clinical and governmental interventions tailor their often‐limited resources to children who are at greater risk of negative outcomes.
Georeferenced biological data of species distributions, abundances or traits are critical for ecological and evolutionary research. However, the accuracy (true vs. false records) and biogeographical ...status (native vs. alien) of individual georeferenced records are often unclear, which limits their use in species distribution modelling, analyses of biodiversity change and other applications.
Here, we introduced bRacatus, a new method and R package to estimate a given georeferenced record's probability of being true or false and of corresponding to a native or an alien occurrence. Our framework avoided artificial thresholds of data filtering and instead implemented a probabilistic framework which allowed propagating uncertainties in subsequent analyses. We trained and tested our method on 400 terrestrial species of amphibians, birds, terrestrial mammals and vascular plants from four continents.
bRacatus showed good predictive power (mean AUC higher than 0.9; mean RMSE lower than 0.3) for both the accuracy and biogeographical status. Model performance was similar among continents, range sizes and taxa not used in the training. Tests were robust using either range maps or regional checklists of differing levels of data completeness as reference regions.
bRacatus was implemented as a user‐friendly R package that enabled researchers to assess the accuracy and biogeographical status of species occurrences, population abundances, community composition or any other type of georeferenced biodiversity records. We proposed this method as a routine step in addressing the inherent uncertainty of point observations to promote more accurate ecological inference and predictions.
Resumo
Dados biológicos georreferenciados de distribuições, abundâncias ou características das espécies são fundamentais para pesquisas em ecologia e evolução. No entanto, a acurácia (registros verdadeiros vs. falsos) e o status biogeográfico (nativo vs. exótico) de registros individuais georreferenciados são frequentemente obscuros, o que limita seu uso em modelagem de distribuição de espécies, análises de mudança de biodiversidade e outras aplicações.
Neste trabalho, apresentamos bRacatus, um novo método e pacote R para estimar a probabilidade de um dado registro georreferenciado de ser verdadeiro ou falso e de corresponder a uma ocorrência nativa ou exótica. Nossa estrutura evita limiares artificiais de filtragem de dados e, alternativamente, implementa uma estrutura probabilística que permite a propagação de incertezas em análises subsequentes. Treinamos e testamos nosso método em 400 espécies terrestres de anfíbios, pássaros, mamíferos terrestres e plantas vasculares de quatro continentes.
bRacatus mostrou bom poder preditivo (AUC média superior a 0,9; RMSE médio inferior a 0,3) para acurácia e status biogeográfico. O desempenho do modelo foi semelhante entre os continentes, tamanhos de área de distribuição, e taxa não usados no treinamento. Os testes foram robustos usando mapas de distribuição ou checklists regionais em diferentes níveis de completude de dados como regiões de referência.
bRacatus está implementado em um pacote R acessível que permite aos pesquisadores avaliar a acurácia e o status biogeográfico de ocorrências de espécies, abundâncias populacionais, composição de comunidades ou qualquer outro tipo de registro de biodiversidade georreferenciado. Propomos este método como uma etapa de rotina para abordar a incerteza inerente a observações de pontos para promover inferência ecológica e predições mais precisas.
The current study was undertaken to determine whether Ang-(1-7) is effective in improving metabolic parameters in fructose-fed rats (FFR), a model of metabolic syndrome. Six-week-old male ...Sprague-Dawley rats were fed either normal rat chow (control) or the same diet plus 10% fructose in drinking water. For the last 2 wk of a 6-wk period of either diet, control and FFR were implanted with subcutaneous osmotic pumps that delivered Ang-(1-7) (100 ng.kg(-1).min(-1)). A subgroup of each group of animals (control or FFR) underwent a sham surgery. We measured systolic blood pressure (SBP) together with plasma levels of insulin, triglycerides, and glucose. A glucose tolerance test (GTT) was performed, with plasma insulin levels determined before and 15 and 120 min after glucose administration. In addition, we evaluated insulin signaling through the IR/IRS-1/PI3K/Akt pathway as well as the phosphorylation levels of IRS-1 at inhibitory site Ser(307) in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue. FFR displayed hypertriglyceridemia, hyperinsulinemia, increased SBP, and an exaggerated release of insulin during a GTT, together with decreased activation of insulin signaling through the IR/IRS-1/PI3K/Akt pathway in skeletal muscle, liver, and adipose tissue, as well as increased levels of IRS-1 phospho-Ser(307) in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue, alterations that correlated with increased activation of the kinases mTOR and JNK. Chronic Ang-(1-7) treatment resulted in normalization of all alterations. These results show that Ang-(1-7) ameliorates insulin resistance in a model of metabolic syndrome via a mechanism that could involve the modulation of insulin signaling.
En este trabajo se reconstruye cuál ha sido la programación musical en el Guggenheim de Bilbao desde sus inicios. Se articulan tres perspectivas: por un lado, la organización de conciertos en ...relación con las exposiciones (y su justificación) frente al uso de los espacios del museo para eventos que, aparentemente, no guardan relación directa con las exposiciones. Por otro, se consideran brevemente propuestas que, por su carácter audiovisual o coreográfico implican la atención al sonido en el museo. Por último, se analizan los dos grandes encargos, a colación del décimo y vigésimo aniversario del museo, en cuanto constitución de eventos que proponen sonificar la totalidad del edificio. Para las tres líneas se presentan numerosos ejemplos que ilustran lo planteado, también en relación con otras instituciones españolas. De este modo, se intenta rastrear el discurso subyacente del Guggenheim con respecto a la música, que oscila entre el compromiso inicial con la creación contemporánea y la atracción de público.
Ecological Niche Models (ENMs) are often used to project species distributions within alien ranges and in future climatic scenarios. However, ENMs depend on species‐environment equilibrium, which may ...be absent for actively expanding species. We present a novel framework to estimate whether species have reached environmental equilibrium in their native and alien ranges. The method is based on the estimation of niche breadth with the accumulation of species occurrences. An asymptote will indicate exhaustive knowledge of the realised niches. We demonstrate the CNA framework for 26 species of mammals, amphibians, and birds. Possible outcomes of the framework include: (1) There is enough data to quantify the native and alien realised niches, allowing us to calculate niche expansion between the native and alien ranges, also indicating that ENMs can be reliably projected to new environmental conditions. (2) The data in the native range is not adequate but an asymptote is reached in the alien realised niche, indicating low confidence in our ability to evaluate niche expansion in the alien range but high confidence in model projections to new environmental conditions within the alien range. (3) There is enough data to quantify the native realised niche, but not enough knowledge about the alien realised niche, hindering the reliability of projections beyond sampled conditions. (4) Both the native and alien ranges do not reach an asymptote, and thus few robust conclusions about the species’ niche or future projections can be made. Our framework can be used to detect species’ environmental equilibrium in both the native and alien ranges, to quantify changes in the realised niche during the invasion processes, and to estimate the likely accuracy of model projections to new environmental conditions.
The Cumulative Niche Approach: a novel framework to estimate the predictive power of Ecological Niche Model projections. Our theoretical framework allows to quantify changes in the realised niche during invasion processes and to estimate the likely accuracy of model projections to new environmental conditions.
The angiotensin II type 2 (AT
) receptor has a role in promoting insulin sensitivity. However, the mechanisms underlying the AT
receptor-induced facilitation of insulin are still not completely ...understood. Therefore, we investigated whether acute in vivo administration of AT
receptor agonist compound 21 (C21) could activate insulin signaling molecules in insulin-target tissues. We report that, in male C57BL/6 mice, an acute (5 min, 0.25 mg/kg; i.v.) injection of C21 induces the phosphorylation of Akt and ERK1/2 at activating residues (Ser473 and Thr202/Tyr204, respectively) in both epididymal white adipose tissue (WAT) and heart tissue. In WAT, the extent of phosphorylation (p) of Akt and ERK1/2 induced by C21 was approximately 65% of the level detected after a bolus injection of a dose of insulin known to induce maximal activation of the insulin receptor (IR). In the heart, C21 stimulated p-Akt to a lesser extent than in WAT and stimulated p-ERK1/2 to similar levels to those attained by insulin administration. C21 did not modify p-IR levels in either tissue. We conclude that in vivo injection of the AT
receptor agonist C21 activates Akt and ERK1/2 through a mechanism that does not involve the IR, indicating the participation of these enzymes in AT
R-mediated signaling.
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