Conservation and management measures for large mobile sharks are more effective when information on migratory patterns and environmental cues are known. In the absence of long-term monitoring data or ...tracking programs, available information is based on occasional catch or sighting records from a variety of sources, usually constrained in space and time. This study demonstrates the utility of developing temporally explicit habitat suitability (HS) models to infer the migratory pattern of large mobile sharks. Bimonthly presence-only HS models (MaxEnt algorithm) were developed for the broadnose sevengill shark (Notorynchus cepedianus) in the southwest Atlantic based on an exhaustive collection of data records and ecologically relevant predictors. The six final models showed good predictive power and were evaluated with independent data. A migratory pattern characterized by two main displacements was inferred from the models. We show that HS models can be applied as a no-cost, desk-based alternative to infer broadscale movements of large mobile sharks. This methodology is relevant as an important first step toward informing management plans in data-poor and financially limited regions or regions under urgent conservation need.
COVID-19 has become a dramatic health problem during this century. In addition to high mortality rate, COVID-19 survivors are at increased risk for cardiovascular diseases 1-year after infection. ...Explanations for these manifestations are still unclear but can involve a constellation of biological alterations. We hypothesized that COVID-19 survivors compared with controls exhibit sympathetic overdrive, vascular dysfunction, cardiac morpho-functional changes, impaired exercise capacity, and increased oxidative stress.
Nineteen severe COVID-19 survivors and 19 well-matched controls completed the study. Muscle sympathetic nerve activity (microneurography), brachial artery flow-mediated dilation and blood flow (Doppler-Ultrasound), carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity (Complior), cardiac morpho-functional parameters (echocardiography), peak oxygen uptake (cardiopulmonary exercise testing), and oxidative stress were measured ~3 months after hospital discharge. Complementary experiments were conducted on human umbilical vein endothelial cells cultured with plasma samples from subjects.
Muscle sympathetic nerve activity and carotid-femoral pulse wave velocity were greater and brachial artery flow-mediated dilation, brachial artery blood flow, E/e' ratio, and peak oxygen uptake were lower in COVID-19 survivors than in controls. COVID-19 survivors had lower circulating antioxidant markers compared with controls, but there were no differences in plasma-treated human umbilical vein endothelial cells nitric oxide production and reactive oxygen species bioactivity. Diminished peak oxygen uptake was associated with sympathetic overdrive, vascular dysfunction, and reduced diastolic function in COVID-19 survivors.
Our study revealed that COVID-19 survivors have sympathetic overactivation, vascular dysfunction, cardiac morpho-functional changes, and reduced exercise capacity. These findings indicate the need for further investigation to determine whether these manifestations are persistent longer-term and their impact on the cardiovascular health of COVID-19 survivors.
There is evidence that endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have developmental effects at environmental concentrations. We investigated whether some EDCs are associated with the adverse birth ...outcome Small for Gestational Age (SGA).
We used PCB 153, p,p'-DDE, HCB, PFOS and PFOA measured in maternal, cord blood or breast milk samples of 5446 mother-child pairs (subset of 693 for the perfluorinated compounds) from seven European birth cohorts (1997–2012). SGA infants were those with birth weight below the 10th percentile for the norms defined by gestational age, country and infant's sex. We modelled the association between measured or estimated cord serum EDC concentrations and SGA using multiple logistic regression analyses. We explored effect modification by child's sex and maternal smoking during pregnancy.
Among the 5446 newborns, 570 (10.5%) were SGA. An interquartile range (IQR) increase in PCB 153 was associated with a modestly increased risk of SGA (odds ratio (OR) of 1.05 95% CI: 1.04–1.07) that was stronger in girls (OR of 1.09 95% CI: 1.04–1.14) than in boys (OR of 1.03 95% CI: 1.03–1.04) (p-interaction = 0.025). For HCB, we found a modestly increased odds of SGA in girls (OR of 1.04 95% CI: 1.01–1.07 per IQR increase), and an inverse association in boys (OR of 0.90 95% CI: 0.85–0.95) (p-interaction = 0.0003). Assessment of the HCB-sex-smoking interaction suggested that the increased odds of SGA associated with HCB exposure was only in girls of smoking mothers (OR of 1.18 95% CI: 1.11–1.25) (p-interaction = 0.055). Higher concentrations of PFOA were associated with greater risk of SGA (OR of 1.64 95% CI: 0.97–2.76). Elevated PFOS levels were associated with increased odds of SGA in newborns of mothers who smoked during pregnancy (OR of 1.63 95% CI: 1.02–2.59), while an inverse association was found in those of non-smoking mothers (OR of 0.66 95% CI: 0.61–0.72) (p-interaction = 0.0004). No significant associations were found for p,p'-DDE.
Prenatal environmental exposure to organochlorine and perfluorinated compounds with endocrine disrupting properties may contribute to the prevalence of SGA. We found indication of effect modification by child's sex and smoking during pregnancy. The direction of the associations differed by chemical and these effect modifiers, suggesting diverse mechanisms of action and biological pathways.
•The association between prenatal EDC exposure and SGA was assessed.•Pooled statistical analysis in 7 European birth cohorts•PCB 153 and PFOA were associated with SGA.•HCB associated with SGA, depending on child's sex and smoking status of the mother•PFOS was associated with SGA depending on the smoking status of the mother.
ABSTRACT
MEGARA (Multi Espectrógrafo en Gran Telescopio Canarias de Alta Resolución para Astronomía) is the optical integral-field and multi-object spectrograph at the Gran Telescopio Canarias. We ...have created MEGASTAR , an empirical library of stellar spectra obtained using MEGARA at high resolution, $R=20\, 000$ (full width at half-maximum), available in two wavelength ranges: one centred on Hα, from 6420 to 6790 Å; and the other centred on the Ca ii triplet, from 8370 to 8885 Å (HR-R and HR-I volume phase holographic (VPH)-grating configurations). In this work, we use MEGASTAR spectra, a combination of these two short wavelength intervals, to estimate the stellar parameters, namely the effective temperature, surface gravity, and metallicity (and their associated errors), for a sample of 351 MEGASTAR members with spectral types earlier than B2. We applied a χ2-technique by comparing MEGASTAR data with theoretical stellar models. For those stars with stellar parameters derived in the literature, we obtained a good agreement between the published parameters and ours. In addition to the stellar parameters, we also provide several products, such as the rectified spectra, radial velocities, and stellar indices, for this sample of stars. In the near future, we will use MEGASTAR spectra and their derived stellar parameters to compute stellar population evolutionary synthesis models, which will contribute to a better interpretation of star cluster and galactic spectra obtained with MEGARA.
Previous studies show that COVID-19 survivors have elevated muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), endothelial dysfunction, and aortic stiffening. However, the neurovascular responses to mental ...stress and exercise are still unexplored. We hypothesized that COVID-19 survivors, compared with age- and body mass index (BMI)-matched control subjects, exhibit abnormal neurovascular responses to mental stress and physical exercise. Fifteen severe COVID-19 survivors (aged: 49 ± 2 yr, BMI: 30 ± 1 kg/m
) and 15 well-matched control subjects (aged: 46 ± 3 yr, BMI: 29 ± 1 kg/m
) were studied. MSNA (microneurography), forearm blood flow (FBF), and forearm vascular conductance (FVC, venous occlusion plethysmography), mean arterial pressure (MAP, Finometer), and heart rate (HR, ECG) were measured during a 3-min mental stress (Stroop Color-Word Test) and during a 3-min isometric handgrip exercise (30% of maximal voluntary contraction). During mental stress, MSNA (frequency and incidence) responses were higher in COVID-19 survivors than in controls (
< 0.001), and FBF and FVC responses were attenuated (
< 0.05). MAP was similar between the groups (
> 0.05). In contrast, the MSNA (frequency and incidence) and FBF and FVC responses to handgrip exercise were similar between the groups (
> 0.05). MAP was lower in COVID-19 survivors (
< 0.05). COVID-19 survivors exhibit an exaggerated MSNA and blunted vasodilatory response to mental challenge compared with healthy adults. However, the neurovascular response to handgrip exercise is preserved in COVID-19 survivors. Overall, the abnormal neurovascular control in response to mental stress suggests that COVID-19 survivors may have an increased risk to cardiovascular events during mental challenge.
Purpose
Hip fracture is a public health problem worldwide. Traditional prognostic models do not include blood biomarkers, such as those obtained by proteomics. This study aimed to investigate the ...relationships between serum inflammatory biomarkers and frailty in older adults with hip fracture as well as adverse outcomes at one and three months after discharge.
Methods
A total of 45 patients aged 75 or older who were admitted for hip fracture were recruited. At admission, a Comprehensive Geriatric Assessment (CGA) was conducted, which included a frailty assessment using the Clinical Frailty Scale (CFS). Blood samples were collected before surgery. Participants were followed up at one and three months after discharge. The levels of 45 cytokines were analyzed using a high-throughput proteomic approach. Binary logistic regression was used to determine independent associations with outcomes, such as functional recovery, polypharmacy, hospital readmission, and mortality.
Results
The results showed that IL-7 (OR 0.66 95% CI 0.46–0.94,
p
= 0.022) and CXCL-12 (OR 0.97 95% CI 0.95–0.99,
p
= 0.011) were associated with better functional recovery at three months after discharge, while CXCL-8 (OR 1.07 95% CI 1.01–1.14,
p
= 0.019) was associated with an increased risk of readmission.
Conclusions
These findings suggest that immunology biomarkers may represent useful predictors of clinical outcomes in hip fracture patients.
Graphical abstract
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