During the lactation period of two Arctic seal species, pairs of females with their respective pups were caught in the ‘West Ice’, a pack ice area in the Greenland Sea north of Jan Mayen. Blubber ...samples from pairs of harp seals (Phoca groenlandica) and hooded seals (Cystophora cristata) were analysed for 22 CB-congeners (∑CB), five DDT components (∑DDT), four chlor done-related compounds (∑CHL), three HCH isomers (∑HCH) and HCB using capillary GC-ECD in order to study interspecies differences and generation transfer of organochlorine (OC) pollutants. Highest concentrations of these OCs were found in adult hooded seals where average concentrations in blubber were 4.63 μg g−1 ∑ CB, 2.83 μg g−1 ∑ DDT and 0.98 μg g−1 ∑ CHL, representing five, four and two times the concentration found in adult harp seals, respectively. On the other hand, ∑HCH and HCB levels in adult harp seals were higher or the same as in hooded seals. Different food preference is probably the major factor causing the observed interspecies OC level variations. However, species-specific detoxification may also contribute to these results. An efficient generation transfer of OCs was found in both species. However, this transfer seemed to be selective with respect to OC-groups and certain CB congeners. Concentrations of highly chlorinated CB congeners were relatively less present in pups of both species. An increasing transfer barrier in the order: ∑ HCH ≈ HCB < ∑ CHL ≤∑ DDT < ∑CB seems to exist. The generation transfer of OCs demonstrates the importance of lactation as an excretory route of various CB congeners and pesticides in reproductive female seals but, more important, it demonstrates the need for a better understanding of the consequences this transfer might have for the young animals.
A goal of gerontology is to discover phenotypes that reflect biological aging distinct from disease pathogenesis. Biomarkers that are strongly associated with mortality could be used to define such a ...phenotype. However, the relation of such an index with multiple chronic conditions warrants further exploration.
A biomarker index (BI) was constructed in the Cardiovascular Health Study (N = 3 197), with a mean age of 74 years. The BI incorporated circulating levels of new biomarkers, including insulin-like growth factor-1, interleukin-6, amino-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic peptide, cystatin-C, C-reactive protein, tumor necrosis factor-alpha soluble receptor 1, fasting insulin, and fasting glucose, and was built based on their relationships with mortality. Cox proportional hazards models predicting a composite of death and chronic disease involving cardiovascular disease, dementia, and cancer were calculated with 6 years of follow-up.
The hazard ratio (HR, 95% CI) for the composite outcome of death or chronic disease per category of BI was 1.65 (1.52, 1.80) and 1.75 (1.58, 1.94) in women and men, respectively. The HR (95% CI) per 5 years of age was 1.57 (1.48, 1.67) and 1.55 (1.44, 1.67) in women and men, respectively. Moreover, BI could attenuate the effect of age on the composite outcome by 16.7% and 22.0% in women and men, respectively.
Biomarker index was significantly and independently associated with a composite outcome of death and chronic disease, and attenuated the effect of age. The BI that is composed of plasma biomarkers may be a practical intermediate phenotype for interventions aiming to modify the course of aging.
Epidemiological evidence suggests that physical activity benefits cognition, but results from randomized trials are limited and mixed.
To determine whether a 24-month physical activity program ...results in better cognitive function, lower risk of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) or dementia, or both, compared with a health education program.
A randomized clinical trial, the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders (LIFE) study, enrolled 1635 community-living participants at 8 US centers from February 2010 until December 2011. Participants were sedentary adults aged 70 to 89 years who were at risk for mobility disability but able to walk 400 m.
A structured, moderate-intensity physical activity program (n = 818) that included walking, resistance training, and flexibility exercises or a health education program (n = 817) of educational workshops and upper-extremity stretching.
Prespecified secondary outcomes of the LIFE study included cognitive function measured by the Digit Symbol Coding (DSC) task subtest of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (score range: 0-133; higher scores indicate better function) and the revised Hopkins Verbal Learning Test (HVLT-R; 12-item word list recall task) assessed in 1476 participants (90.3%). Tertiary outcomes included global and executive cognitive function and incident MCI or dementia at 24 months.
At 24 months, DSC task and HVLT-R scores (adjusted for clinic site, sex, and baseline values) were not different between groups. The mean DSC task scores were 46.26 points for the physical activity group vs 46.28 for the health education group (mean difference, -0.01 points 95% CI, -0.80 to 0.77 points, P = .97). The mean HVLT-R delayed recall scores were 7.22 for the physical activity group vs 7.25 for the health education group (mean difference, -0.03 words 95% CI, -0.29 to 0.24 words, P = .84). No differences for any other cognitive or composite measures were observed. Participants in the physical activity group who were 80 years or older (n = 307) and those with poorer baseline physical performance (n = 328) had better changes in executive function composite scores compared with the health education group (P = .01 for interaction for both comparisons). Incident MCI or dementia occurred in 98 participants (13.2%) in the physical activity group and 91 participants (12.1%) in the health education group (odds ratio, 1.08 95% CI, 0.80 to 1.46).
Among sedentary older adults, a 24-month moderate-intensity physical activity program compared with a health education program did not result in improvements in global or domain-specific cognitive function.
clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT01072500.
Two new species and two new subspecies of the satyrine butterfly genus Punargentus Heimlich, P. atusparia sp. n., P. heimlichi sp. n., P. blanchardi libertas ssp. n. and P. atusparia yupania ssp. n., ...are described from north-central Peru (Ancash, Huánuco and La Libertad). The affinities of the new taxa are evaluated based on molecular data obtained using target enrichment and COI barcoding. Punargentus is fully supported and consists of two branches, the P. lamna clade with four species and P. blanchardi clade with three species, two of which are described here. Species in the P. blanchardi clade occur in Andean shrubland, at altitudes between 2800–3600 m, whereas those in the P. lamna clade occur in puna grassland at 3600–4600 m, with occasional overlaps. Based on their habitat preferences, none of the newly described species are in need of immediate conservation measures. The genus Etcheverrius Herrera is reinstated, with E. chiliensis (Guérin-Méneville) and E. tandilensis (Köhler), comb. n.
A new genus of Neotropical Satyrinae butterflies, Viloriodes Pyrcz & Espeland gen. n. is described in the Pedaliodes Butler complex comprising 11–13 genera and more than 400 species. Support for the ...new genus is provided by a phylogenetic analysis based on target enrichment (TE) data including 618 nuclear loci with a total of 248,940 nucleotides, and the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (COI). Five species, whose DNA sequences were obtained by TE during this study, form a strongly supported clade sister to the large clade comprising Pedaliodes and four other genera. Complementary COI analysis confirms the monophyly of Viloriodes gen. n., with the above five plus eight other species clustering in highly supported clades in both Bayesian Inference and Maximum Likelihood analyses, and a TE + COI concatenated tree. Based on molecular and morphological data, 30 species are assigned to Viloriodes gen. n. The new genus can be recognized by a set of subtle morphological characteristics of colour patterns and male and female genitalia. An analysis of divergence times indicates that Viloriodes gen. n. and Steromapedaliodes Forster separated around 5.9 Mya. Viloriodes gen. n. has a wider geographic distribution than any other genus of the Pedaliodes complex, being found from central Mexico to northern Argentina and to the Guyana Shield, typically occurring at lower elevations than Pedaliodes.
We describe a new genus of Neotropical Satyrinae butterflies, Viloriodes Pyrcz & Espeland gen. n., in the highly diverse Pedaliodes Butler complex comprising a total of 11–13 genera and more than 400 described species. Support for the new genus is provided by a phylogenetic analysis based on target enrichment data (TE) including 618 nuclear loci with a total of 248,940 nucleotides, and the mitochondrial gene COI. Viloriodes gen. n. forms a strongly supported clade sister to the large clade comprising Pedaliodes and four other genera. A total of 30 species are assigned to Viloriodes gen. n. The new genus can be recognized by a set of morphological characters of colour patterns and, in particular, in male and female genitalia. An analysis of divergence times indicates that Viloriodes gen. n. and Steromapedaliodes Forster separated around 5.9 Mya. The genus Viloriodes gen. n. has a wider geographic distribution than any other genus of the Pedaliodes complex and is found from central Mexico to northern Argentina and to the Guyana Shield, typically occurring at lower elevations than Pedaliodes with maximum diversity at 1750 m. a.s.l.
A new species of
Protopedaliodes
Viloria & Pyrcz, a satyrine butterfly genus endemic to the highest part of the Guyana Shield,
P. arekuna
Pyrcz & Stachowicz n. sp., is described from the summit area, ...ca. 2400 m, of Tramen Tepui, an isolated mountain situated on the Venezuela–Guyana border. It is a remarkable finding as it is probably a narrow endemic, and only the fourth known member of the genus. Morphologically it most closely resembles
P. kukenani
Viloria & Pyrcz from the Roraima–Kukenán twin peaks. COI barcode analysis shows, however, high genetic distances between these two species, 9–10%.
Protopedaliodes
taxonomy is briefly revised, from the perspective of the monophyly of the genus based on preliminary molecular and morphological comparative data, including the female genitalia described for the first time for
P. kukenani
and
P. ridouti
Viloria & Pyrcz.
Two new species and two new subspecies of the satyrine butterfly genus Punargentus Heimlich, P. atusparia sp. n., P. heimlichi sp. n., P. blanchardi libertas ssp. n. and P. atusparia yupania ssp. n., ...are described from north-central Peru (Ancash, Huánuco and La Libertad). The affinities of the new taxa are evaluated based on molecular data obtained using target enrichment and COI barcoding. Punargentus is fully supported and consists of two branches, the P. lamna clade with four species and P. blanchardi clade with three species, two of which are described here. Species in the P. blanchardi clade occur in Andean shrubland, at altitudes between 2800-3600 m, whereas those in the P. lamna clade occur in puna grassland at 3600-4600 m, with occasional overlaps. Based on their habitat preferences, none of the newly described species are in need of immediate conservation measures. The genus Etcheverrius Herrera is reinstated, with E. chiliensis (Guérin-Méneville) and E. tandilensis (Köhler), comb. n.
Abstract
Analysis of a target enrichment molecular dataset confirms the monophyly of the Neotropical montane butterfly group known as the Pronophila Westwood clade, 1 of 2 major lineages of the ...satyrine subtribe Pronophilina. The Pronophila clade comprises 18–20 recognized genera and some 125 species. Within this group, the genus Pseudomaniola Röber appears as paraphyletic, and is split here into 3 genera, Pseudomaniola sensu novum with 6 species, including 4 previously considered as subspecies of P. phaselis (Hewitson), the monobasic Fahraeusia Pyrcz n. gen. for Catargynnis asuba Thieme, n. comb., and Boyeriana Pyrcz, Espeland & Willmott n. gen., with 9 species. The adults of all 3 genera can be recognized by their wing color patterns, but the strongest synapomorphies are found in the genitalia, especially those of the male, supporting the above systematic decisions. Notable differences are also found in scale organization and morphology. A divergence time analysis suggests that Fahraeusia diverged from Pseudomaniola + Boyeriana in the mid-Miocene, around 12 Mya, and the subsequent separation of the last 2 genera occurred at the start of the Pliocene at around 5 Mya.
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