Gpr75-deficient mice are protected from high-fat diet-induced obesity.

OBJECTIVE: G-protein coupled receptor 75 (GPR75) has been identified as the high-affinity receptor of 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE), a vasoactive and proinflammatory lipid, and mice overproducing 20-HETE have been shown to develop insulin resistance when fed a high-fat diet (HFD), which was prevented by a 20-HETE receptor blocker. Simultaneously, a large-scale exome sequencing of 640,000 subjects identified an association between loss-of-function GPR75 variants and protection against obesity. METHODS: Wild-type (WT) and Gpr75-deficient mice were placed on HFD for 14 weeks, and their obesity phenotype was examined. RESULTS: Male and female Gpr75 null (knockout [KO]) and heterozygous mice gained less weight than WT mice when placed on HFD. KO mice maintained the same level of energy expenditure during HFD feeding, whereas WT mice showed a significant reduction in energy expenditure. Diet-driven adiposity and adipocyte hypertrophy were greatly lessened in Gpr75-deficient mice. HFD-fed KO mice did not develop insulin resistance. Adipose tissue from Gpr75-deficient mice had increased expression of thermogenic genes and decreased levels of inflammatory markers. Moreover, insulin signaling, which was impaired in HFD-fed WT mice, was unchanged in KO mice. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that GPR75 is an important player in the control of metabolism and glucose homeostasis and a likely novel therapeutic target to combat obesity-driven metabolic disorders.

Cultural Influences on Family Mealtime Routines in Mexico: Focus Group Study with Mexican Mothers.

Mexico's obesity rates are alarming, and experts project drastic increases in the next thirty years. There is growing interest in understanding how remote acculturation and globalization processes influence health behaviors. The present study used focus group data from a central state, San Luis Potosí, in Mexico to explore mothers' perspectives on factors that influence family mealtime routines. Thematic analysis was used to identify barriers and facilitators to healthy mealtime routines and diet within families. Twenty-one mothers participated in the focus groups; 76% were full-time stay at home mothers, the majority were low-income (65%), and fewer than half reached a high school education. Three major themes emerged: (1) mothers do most of the visible work involving mealtime routines; (2) family meals are different today, and globalization is a contributing factor; and (3) family mealtimes are shifting to weekend events. Empowering mothers to negotiate diet with family members to build healthy routines, navigate challenges due to changing environments, and set family boundaries around technology use during mealtimes should be taken into consideration when promoting healthy behaviors with Mexican families.

Blockade of 20-hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid receptor lowers blood pressure and alters vascular function in mice with smooth muscle-specific overexpression of CYP4A12-20-HETE synthase.

OBJECTIVE: 20-Hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid (20-HETE) is a vasoactive eicosanoid exhibiting effects on vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) via G-protein coupled receptor 75 (GPR75) and include stimulation of contractility, migration, and growth. We examined whether VSMC-targeted overexpression of CYP4A12, the primary 20-HETE-producing enzyme in mice, is sufficient to promote hypertension. METHODS: Mice with VSM-specific Cyp4a12 overexpression (Myh11-4a12) and their littermate controls (WT) were generated by crossbreeding Cyp4a12-floxed with Myh11-Cre mice. The 20-HETE receptor blocker, N-disodium succinate-20-hydroxyeicosa-6(Z),15(Z)-diencarboxamide (AAA), was administered in the drinking water. Experiments were carried out for 12 days. SBP was measured by tail cuff. Renal interlobar and mesenteric arteries were harvested for assessment of gene expression, 20-HETE levels, vascular contractility, vasodilation, and remodeling. RESULTS: Vascular and circulatory levels of 20-HETE were several folds higher in Myh11-4a12 mice compared with WT. The Myh11-4a12 mice compared with WT were hypertensive (145 ±â€Š2 vs. 127 ±â€Š2 mmHg; P < 0.05) and their vasculature displayed a contractile phenotype exemplified by increased contractility, reduced vasodilatory capacity, and increased media to lumen ratio. All these features were reversed by the administration of AAA. The mechanism of increased contractility includes, at least in part, Rho-kinase activation followed by increased myosin light chain phosphorylation and activation of the contractile apparatus. CONCLUSION: VSM-specific Cyp4a12 overexpression is sufficient to alter VSM cell phenotype through changes in contractile markers and enhancement in contractility that promote hypertension and vascular dysfunction in a 20-HETE-dependent manner. The 20-HETE receptor GPR75 may represent a novel target for the treatment of hypertension and associated vascular conditions.

"It's Been Negative for Us Just All the Way Across the Board": Focus Group Study Exploring Parent Perceptions of Child Screen Time During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

BACKGROUND: Child screen time (ST) has soared during the COVID-19 pandemic as lockdowns and restrictions have forced changes to regular family routines. It is important to investigate how families are navigating ST. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore families' experiences of ST during the COVID-19 pandemic. METHODS: Virtual focus group sessions were conducted between December 2020 and February 2021 in English and Spanish. Transcripts were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis. RESULTS: In total, 48 parents (predominantly Hispanic) residing in California participated in 1 of 14 focus group sessions. Children were attending school remotely at the time of the study. A total of 6 themes and 1 subtheme were identified: (1) total ST has increased; (2) children are too attached to screens; (3) ST has advantages and disadvantages but parents perceive ST as mostly negative; (4) parents and children have limited options; (5) ST restrictions (subtheme: children react negatively when ST is restricted); and (6) parents are concerned that children are not getting enough exercise. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides a cross-sectional insight into how family life has changed with regard to ST during the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents expressed concerns about total ST, the addictive nature of it, and lack of physical activity. It is important that future studies examine the long-term effects of heavy ST and preemptively introduce ways to redirect children's ST habits as the country attempts to establish a new normal.

Rural Midwestern Mexican Fathers' Perspectives on Family Food, Mealtimes, and Physical Activity.

Two focus group interviews with eight low-income Mexican fathers in two communities in a rural Midwestern state explored fathers' perceptions, behaviors, and roles related to child and family food consumption, mealtimes, and physical activity. On average, fathers were 34 years of age, had 10 years of formal education, and annual household incomes ranged from $36,250 to $46,249. Findings include the identification of fifteen themes through the process of thematic analysis that are organized by five thematic areas of interest (family food patterns, strategies for healthy eating, family roles in food shopping and preparation, family mealtimes, physical activity among families). Findings revealed ways fathers contributed to their children's and families' health and well-being, and challenges they faced. Health promotion efforts aimed at rural, low-income Mexican immigrant families can benefit from embracing fathers' perspectives and how they influence the health and well-being of their children and families.

Mealtime resistance: Hispanic mothers' perspectives on making healthy eating changes within the family.

Several perceived barriers to healthy eating within the family (e.g., cost, lack of time, energy, accessibility) are documented. However, few studies have assessed Hispanic mothers' perceived barriers and strategies in implementing healthy eating changes in the family's meals. The primary goal of this qualitative study was to investigate Mexican and Puerto Rican mothers' barriers and strategies to creating healthy eating changes within the family at home. A sample of 46 Mexican-American and Puerto Rican mothers in California, Illinois, and Texas participated in this study. An average of 5 mothers participated in a focus group session in Spanish and completed a demographic survey. Focus group thematic analysis revealed that major barriers to implementing healthy eating changes within the family include child and spouse resistance as well as meal preparation time. The resistance mothers reported encountering magnify their meal preparation workload. Mothers shared that they sometimes prepared multiple meals in a single mealtime to please family members. Several strategies to promote healthy eating at home, including serving as role models, providing easy access to healthy food items at home, and not purchasing, or hiding, unhealthy food at home, were also discussed. The current study expands the existing literature by emphasizing the need to empower parents to make healthy changes within their family and the importance of taking fathers and children into account in programming so that the whole family is involved in making healthy changes.

Tumor suppressor PLK2 may serve as a biomarker in triple-negative breast cancer for improved response to PLK1 therapeutics.

Polo-like kinase (PLK) family members play important roles in cell cycle regulation. The founding member PLK1 is oncogenic and preclinically validated as a cancer therapeutic target. Paradoxically, frequent loss of chromosome 5q11-35 which includes PLK2 is observed in basal-like breast cancer. In this study, we found that PLK2 was tumor suppressive in breast cancer, preferentially in basal-like and triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) subtypes. Knockdown of PLK1 rescued phenotypes induced by PLK2-loss both in vitro and in vivo. We also demonstrated that PLK2 directly interacted with PLK1 at prometaphase through the kinase but not the polo-box domains of PLK2, suggesting PLK2 functioned at least partially through the interaction with PLK1. Furthermore, an improved treatment response was seen in both Plk2-deleted/low mouse preclinical and PDX TNBC models using the PLK1 inhibitor volasertib alone or in combination with carboplatin. Re-expression of PLK2 in an inducible PLK2-null mouse model reduced the therapeutic efficacy of volasertib. In summary, this study delineates the effects of chromosome 5q loss in TNBC that includes PLK2, the relationship between PLK2 and PLK1, and how this may render PLK2-deleted/low tumors more sensitive to PLK1 inhibition in combination with chemotherapy.

The Evolving Family Mealtime: Findings From Focus Group Interviews With Hispanic Mothers.

BACKGROUND: Given the protective effects of shared family mealtimes and the importance of family in the Hispanic culture, this context should be explored further to determine how it can be leveraged and optimized for interventions. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to explore contextual factors associated with family mealtimes in Mexican and Puerto Rican families. METHODS: A total of 63 mothers participated in 13 focus group interviews across 4 states. Thematic analysis was used to analyze transcripts. RESULTS: Seven overarching themes were identified through the thematic analysis. Themes reflected who was present at the mealtime, what occurs during mealtime, the presence of television, the influence of technology during mealtime, and how mealtimes have changed since the mothers were children. CONCLUSIONS: Hispanic mothers may be adapting family mealtimes to fit their current situations and needs, keeping the television and other devices on during mealtimes, and making additional meals for multiple family members to appease everyone's tastes. All of these are areas that can be incorporated into existing culturally tailored obesity prevention programs to help families lead healthier lives.

Environmental Factors Influencing Physical Activity Among Latino Families: A Cross-country Comparison.

OBJECTIVE: This study seeks to compare and contrast barriers to engage in physical activity (PA) among Latino parents in the USA and Mexico given different cultural and environmental contents. METHODS: Four bilingual and bicultural trained research assistants conducted focus groups in Mexico and the USA RESULTS: There were 33 total participants. Twenty-one mothers were married; most participants had not completed above a high school education. Most participants were full-time stay-at-home mothers (59%). Analyses revealed several topics of discussion related to beliefs and barriers that contributed to family PA engagement: (1) walking is the most common form of PA for families in both countries; (2) parents believe people of all ages and genders can and should be physically active, but there are differences in access, opportunity, and ability; (3) major barriers to engaging in PA are different for those living in Mexico (safety concerns) than in the USA (weather constraints). CONCLUSION: These findings have implications for behavioral interventions and understanding how environmental concerns impact Latino families trying to manage healthier lifestyles. Engaging community networks and resources can be a way to combat these barriers to promote PA in all contexts.

Implementation and Evaluation of the Abriendo Caminos Program: A Randomized Control Trial Intervention for Hispanic Children and Families.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the methodology of a family-focused, culturally tailored program, Abriendo Caminos, for the prevention of excess weight gain in children. DESIGN: Randomized control trial with outcome assessment at pretest, posttest, and 6 months after intervention or abbreviated-attention control group. SETTING: Community setting across 5 sites (Illinois, California, Iowa, Texas, and Puerto Rico). PARTICIPANTS: Mexican American and Puerto Rican families (parent and 1 child aged 6-18 years). A sample size of 100 families (50 intervention and 50 control) per site (n = 500) will provide adequate power to detect intervention effects. INTERVENTION: Families will participate in 6 weekly, 2-hour group workshops on nutrition education through combined presentations and activities, family wellness, and physical activity. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The primary outcome is prevention of excess weight gain in children; secondary outcomes include changes in child diet, specifically fruit, vegetable, and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, and changes in parents' diets and improvement of family routines. Measures will be collected at baseline, postintervention, and 6 months after. ANALYSIS: Modeling to assess changes within and between experimental groups will be checked using standard methods including assessment of model fit, influence diagnostics, adjusted R2, and multicollinearity. Significance of effects will be examined using Type III tests.

Effects of Culturally Tailored Nutrition Education on Dietary Quality of Hispanic Mothers: A Randomized Control Trial.

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether participation in a culturally tailored nutrition education program increases diet quality of Hispanic mothers. DESIGN: A randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Community centers and universities. PARTICIPANTS: Sixty-five mothers (35 in experimental group, 30 in control group) completed pre- and postworkshop surveys. Eligibility criteria included being of Mexican or Puerto Rican descent and having a child between the ages of 6 and 18 years who could participate in the workshops with the parent. INTERVENTION: Families in the experimental group participated in a 6-week workshop series that included weekly nutrition education classes. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: Diet quality was assessed by the Rate Your Plate questionnaire. ANALYSIS: Repeated measures ANOVA was used to compare differences between the experimental and control groups. A Wilcoxon signed rank test was conducted to test for significant shifts in categorization pre- and postprogram. RESULTS: There was a significant change in diet quality categorization after participating in the workshops (P < .001, effect size 0.39). No changes were found in the control group. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Abriendo Caminos was effective at increasing the diet quality of Hispanic mothers who participated the most in the program. More research is needed in this at-risk population to determine the relationships among nutrition knowledge, diet quality, and achievement of healthy weight.

Sprouts Growing Healthy Habits: Curriculum Development and Pilot Study.

High rates of childhood obesity and the impact this has on children's health make it important to establish a healthy lifestyle during the early school years. This pilot study explored the impact of a newly developed healthy habits curriculum. The Sprouts: Growing Healthy Habits curriculum presents topics such as energy balance, healthy sleep habits, and food groups through short activities and interactive book-reading. A nonrandomized controlled experimental study design was used to assess impact. Fifty-seven children between 5 and 6 years of age participated from two elementary schools (36 from the intervention school, 21 from the control school). Knowledge was assessed pre- and post-intervention in five content areas (farm to table, bedtime routines, portion size, energy expenditure, sugar content of beverages) using card sorting, ranking, and sequence activities. Within- and between-school comparisons were conducted using differences between groups and mixed modeling approaches. Within the intervention school, significant increases in knowledge were observed for farm to table, sugar content of beverages, and bedtime routines. For the control school, there was a significant increase in knowledge of portion sizes. Considering between-schools, only change in knowledge of bedtime routines remained significant, with greater increases in the intervention school. Results seem promising given the short dosage of curriculum. Increases in knowledge of healthy habits in early childhood may help in promoting healthy behaviors and combatting the effects of obesity.

The Effects of Hispanic Immigrant Mother's Resiliency on Children's Dietary Adjustment.

This study explored the adjustment phase of the resiliency model of family adjustment and adaptation, particularly how stress and food insecurity interact with protective mechanisms to influence children's dietary adjustment. With increasing rates of Hispanic childhood obesity and disproportionate health disparities, this is an issue that must be better understood. Altogether, 137 Mexican immigrant mothers from Illinois and California completed questionnaires reporting their stressors, protective mechanisms, and family health behaviors. Multiple regression analyses revealed that higher perceived stress levels for mothers predicted non-nutritive snacking reasons. Furthermore, mother's dietary patterns predicted child's poor dietary quality. Taken together, maternal stressors play a role in family health behaviors, and future studies should consider household food environment factors when trying to understand protective mechanisms for families.

Correction to: The Effects of Hispanic Immigrant Mother's Resiliency on Children's Dietary Adjustment.

The original version of this article unfortunately contained errors in Affiliation 3, Acknowledgement, Table 1 and in the text under Methods section. Also, a Co-corresponding author has to be included in the article.

Experiencing and Learning About Emotions: A Longitudinal Analysis of Youth Program Participants.

Organized youth programs provide a context where adolescents experience strong emotions and may develop new ways of thinking about and dealing with emotions. The current study examined youth's reports of positive and negative emotions arising during the course of their work in different types of project-based programs; learning about emotions from different sources (e.g., from observing peers, interacting with adult staff, or engaging in self-reflection); and longitudinal associations between emotional experiences and learning. Quantitative data were collected at two time points from 319 youth (57% female; M age = 15.8 years; 33% Latino, 29% Black, 32% White, 6% other) participating in 14 Midwestern programs focused on Leadership, Arts and Performance (Arts), and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM). Overall, positive emotions occurred more frequently than negative emotions, but emotional experiences differed based on the focus of the program. There were few significant differences in emotional learning from various sources (self, peers, staff) across the three types of programs. Multiple regression models controlling for prior learning indicated that, consistent with theory, positive emotions predicted subsequent learning about emotions from all sources. In contrast, negative emotions predicted increased learning from peers but decreased learning from self, suggesting that experiencing negative (vs. positive) emotions may lead youth to attend to different sources of information. The study's findings have implications for theory, research, and practice.

Plk2 regulates mitotic spindle orientation and mammary gland development.

Disruptions in polarity and mitotic spindle orientation contribute to the progression and evolution of tumorigenesis. However, little is known about the molecular mechanisms regulating these processes in vivo. Here, we demonstrate that Polo-like kinase 2 (Plk2) regulates mitotic spindle orientation in the mammary gland and that this might account for its suggested role as a tumor suppressor. Plk2 is highly expressed in the mammary gland and is required for proper mammary gland development. Loss of Plk2 leads to increased mammary epithelial cell proliferation and ductal hyperbranching. Additionally, a novel role for Plk2 in regulating the orientation of the mitotic spindle and maintaining proper cell polarity in the ductal epithelium was discovered. In support of a tumor suppressor function for Plk2, loss of Plk2 increased the formation of lesions in multiparous glands. Collectively, these results demonstrate a novel role for Plk2 in regulating mammary gland development.

Facultative cheater mutants reveal the genetic complexity of cooperation in social amoebae.

Cooperation is central to many major transitions in evolution, including the emergence of eukaryotic cells, multicellularity and eusociality. Cooperation can be destroyed by the spread of cheater mutants that do not cooperate but gain the benefits of cooperation from others. However, cooperation can be preserved if cheaters are facultative, cheating others but cooperating among themselves. Several cheater mutants have been studied before, but no study has attempted a genome-scale investigation of the genetic opportunities for cheating. Here we describe such a screen in a social amoeba and show that cheating is multifaceted by revealing cheater mutations in well over 100 genes of diverse types. Many of these mutants cheat facultatively, producing more than their fair share of spores in chimaeras, but cooperating normally when clonal. These findings indicate that phenotypically stable cooperative systems may nevertheless harbour genetic conflicts. The opportunities for evolutionary moves and countermoves in such conflicts may select for the involvement of multiple pathways and numerous genes.

Las personas sordas en la Universidad de antioquia una ausencia que se cuestiona / The dead people at university of Antioquia: an absence wich is questioned

La ausencia de la comunidad Sorda en la Universidad de Antioquia, es una situación que amerita pensarse y reflexionarse con una mirada juiciosa, pues en una universidad con principios de igualdad y de equidad en la que ingresan personas sin ninguna distinción o discriminación, es importante y necesario que se tenga en cuenta a las personas Sordas dentro de sus planes de formación profesional como contribución al fortalecimiento de una educación para todos y todas con calidad. El proyecto de investigación La ausencia de la comunidad Sorda en la Universidad de Antioquia: una aproximación desde las Representaciones Sociales, respaldado por el Grupo de Estudios e Investigaciones Sobre Educación especial GRESEE desde la línea de investigación en lenguaje, comunicación, e identidad y el grupo de investigación DIVERSER, ambos de la Universidad de Antioquia, pretendió conocer las necesidades y expectativas de las personas Sordas con respecto a sus procesos de ingreso a nuestra Alma Máter, además de identificar desde los relatos de vida de estas personas, sus condiciones lingüisticas, culturales, académicas y comunicativas, particulares para su ingreso, y propiciar diálogos de saberes que confrontarán las representaciones sociales que de persona Sorda y de sordera estan presentes en el contexto universitario.