A female-biased gene expression signature of dominance in cooperatively breeding meerkats.

Dominance is a primary determinant of social dynamics and resource access in social animals. Recent studies show that dominance is also reflected in the gene regulatory profiles of peripheral immune cells. However, the strength and direction of this relationship differs across the species and sex combinations investigated, potentially due to variation in the predictors and energetic consequences of dominance status. Here, we investigated the association between social status and gene expression in the blood of wild meerkats (Suricata suricatta; n = 113 individuals), including in response to lipopolysaccharide, Gardiquimod (an agonist of TLR7, which detects single-stranded RNA in vivo) and glucocorticoid stimulation. Meerkats are cooperatively breeding social carnivores in which breeding females physically outcompete other females to suppress reproduction, resulting in high reproductive skew. They therefore present an opportunity to disentangle the effects of social dominance from those of sex per se. We identify a sex-specific signature of dominance, including 1045 differentially expressed genes in females but none in males. Dominant females exhibit elevated activity in innate immune pathways and a larger fold-change response to LPS challenge. Based on these results and a preliminary comparison to other mammals, we speculate that the gene regulatory signature of social status in the immune system depends on the determinants and energetic costs of social dominance, such that it is most pronounced in hierarchies where physical competition is important and reproductive skew is large. Such a pattern has the potential to mediate life history trade-offs between investment in reproduction versus somatic maintenance.

Geographic source of bats killed at wind-energy facilities in the eastern United States.

Bats subject to high rates of fatalities at wind-energy facilities are of high conservation concern due to the long-term, cumulative effects they have, but the impact on broader bat populations can be difficult to assess. One reason is the poor understanding of the geographic source of individual fatalities and whether they constitute migrants or more local individuals. Here, we used stable hydrogen isotopes, trace elements and species distribution models to determine the most likely summer geographic origins of three different bat species (Lasiurus borealis, L. cinereus, and Lasionycteris noctivagans) killed at wind-energy facilities in Ohio and Maryland in the eastern United States. In Ohio, 41.6%, 21.3%, 2.2% of all individuals of L. borealis, L. cinereus, and L. noctivagans, respectively, had evidence of movement. In contrast, in Maryland 77.3%, 37.1%, and 27.3% of these same species were classified as migrants. Our results suggest bats killed at a given wind facility are likely derived from migratory as well as resident populations. Finally, there is variation in the proportion of migrants killed between seasons for some species and evidence of philopatry to summer roosts. Overall, these results indicate that the impact of wind-energy facilities on bat populations occurs across a large geographic extent, with the proportion of migrants impacted likely to vary across species and sites. Similar studies should be conducted across a broader geographic scale to understand the impacts on bat populations from wind-energy facilities.

Pork muscle profiling: pH and instrumental color of the longissimus thoracis is not representative of pH and instrumental color of shoulder and ham muscles.

From a population of 351 pork carcasses, 3.0-cm thick chops from the 10th rib location of the longissimus thoracis, faced surfaces of the triceps brachii and serratus ventralis muscles from the boneless shoulder, and faced surfaces of the biceps femoris, semitendinosus, semimembranosus, adductor, rectus femoris, and vastus lateralis muscles from the boneless ham were evaluated for pH and instrumental color (Minolta CR-400). Evaluations were conducted for at least three different locations on each of the muscle samples and averaged before data analysis occurred. The longissimus thoracis had the lowest pH and the lightest and least red color compared with the other eight muscles evaluated in this study (mean differences ranged from 0.98 to 8.70 for L*, 3.98 to 12.56 for a*, and 0.026 to 0.409 for pH). Furthermore, regression analysis suggested that pH and color values for the longissimus thoracis were not adequate predictors for pH and color values obtained from other muscles and therefore consideration should be given to the individual muscles that are of interest.

Gene-environment interactions within a precision environmental health framework.

Understanding the complex interplay of genetic and environmental factors in disease etiology and the role of gene-environment interactions (GEIs) across human development stages is important. We review the state of GEI research, including challenges in measuring environmental factors and advantages of GEI analysis in understanding disease mechanisms. We discuss the evolution of GEI studies from candidate gene-environment studies to genome-wide interaction studies (GWISs) and the role of multi-omics in mediating GEI effects. We review advancements in GEI analysis methods and the importance of large-scale datasets. We also address the translation of GEI findings into precision environmental health (PEH), showcasing real-world applications in healthcare and disease prevention. Additionally, we highlight societal considerations in GEI research, including environmental justice, the return of results to participants, and data privacy. Overall, we underscore the significance of GEI for disease prediction and prevention and advocate for integrating the exposome into PEH omics studies.

Respostas cardiovasculares durante a postura sentada da Reeducação Postural Global (RPG) / Cardiovascular responses in the seated posture of the Global Postural Reeducation (GPR) method

OBJETIVO: Avaliar as respostas da freqüência cardíaca (FC), pressão arterial sistólica (PAS), diastólica (PAD), média (PAM) e duplo produto (DPr), durante a postura sentada do método de Reeducação Postural Global (RPG). MATERIAIS E MÉTODOS: Nove voluntárias saudáveis (23±2,1 anos, 56,4±7,8kg, 1,61±0,05m, 21,6±2,4kg.m2-1), inexperientes na prática do método RPG, foram submetidas a uma sessão de RPG na postura sentada, realizada em três fases: repouso pré-postura, execução da postura e recuperação pós-postura. No repouso e na recuperação, as voluntárias permaneceram sentadas por 20 minutos, sendo PA e FC verificadas a cada cinco minutos. A fase de execução da postura foi realizada em três séries e mantida por três minutos cada, com intervalo de um minuto entre elas. A verificação da PA e da FC foi realizada a cada um minuto e 30 segundos de execução da postura. RESULTADOS: Os valores de PAS, PAD, PAM e DPr foram significativamente maiores (p<0,05) do terceiro ao nono minuto da execução da postura (154±14, 107±11, 122±9mmHg e 16.478±2.802mmHg.min-1) quando comparados aos valores de repouso pré-postura (109±10, 74±7, 85±8mmHg e 9.374±1.687mmHg.min-1) e aos valores de recuperação pós-postura. Porém, estes valores retornaram aos valores de repouso nos primeiros cinco minutos de recuperação pós-postura. Durante a execução da postura, a FC não foi estatisticamente diferente da FC de repouso pré-postura. CONCLUSÕES: Elevações significativas da PAS, PAD, PAM e DPr foram observadas durante a execução da postura sentada da RPG empregada nesse estudo, mas retornaram aos valores de repouso nos primeiros cinco minutos de recuperação pós-postura.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate heart rate (HR), systolic arterial pressure (SAP), diastolic arterial pressure (DAP), mean arterial pressure (MAP) and double product (DP) responses in the seated posture of the Global Postural Reeducation (GPR) method. METHODS: Nine healthy female volunteers (23±2.1 years; 56.4±7.8kg; 1.61±0.05m, 21.6±2.4kg/m²), without experience of the GPR, method underwent a treatment session in the seated posture. It was a three-step experiment: pre-posture resting, posture maintenance and post-posture recovery. In both the resting and the recovery step, the volunteers remained seated for 20 minutes and arterial pressure and HR were measured every five minutes. The posture maintenance step lasted for three minutes and was implemented three times with one-minute intervals between implementations. Arterial pressure and HR were measured every 1.5 minutes, while the posture was being maintained. RESULTS: The SAP, DAP, MAP and DP values were significantly greater (p<0.05) from the third to the ninth minute of maintaining the posture (154±14, 107±11, 122±9mmHg and 16,478±2,802mmHg/min) in comparison with the pre-posture resting values (109±10, 74±7, 85±8mmHg and 9,374±1,687mmHg/min) and the post-posture recovery values. However, these values returned to the resting values within the first five minutes of post-posture recovery. The HR while maintaining the posture was not statistically different from the pre-posture resting HR. CONCLUSIONS: Significant increases in SAP, DAP, MAP and DP were observed while maintaining the seated posture of the GPR method that was used in this study, but these values returned to the resting values within the first five minutes of post-posture recovery.

Identificação do limiar anaeróbio em indivíduos com diabetes tipo-2 sedentários e fisicamente ativos / Identification of the anaerobic threshold in sedentary and physically active individuals with type 2 diabetes

OBJETIVO: Comparar intensidades de limiar anaeróbio (LA) obtidas a partir do lactato, ventilação e glicemia em diabéticos tipo-2 ativos (DA) e sedentários (DS) e não-diabéticos ativos (NDA), e correlacionar variáveis metabólicas, hemodinâmicas e de composição corporal com o LA. METODOLOGIA: Grupos de DS (n= 09, 56,7 ± 11,9 anos), DA (n= 09, 50,6 ± 12,7 anos) e NDA (n= 10, 48,1 ± 10,8 anos) foram submetidos a um teste em cicloergômetro com incrementos de 15W até a exaustão. Freqüência cardíaca, pressão arterial (PA), percepção de esforço, lactato, glicemia e variáveis ventilatórias foram mensuradas nos 20seg finais de cada estágio de 3min para determinação dos limiares de lactato, ventilatório e glicêmico. RESULTADOS: As intensidades associadas ao LA identificado pelos diferentes métodos não diferiram entre si (p> 0,05). As intensidades absolutas foram menores para o grupo DS em relação aos grupos ativos (p< 0,05), não sendo observadas diferenças entre os grupos para as intensidades relativas ao consumo máximo de oxigênio ( por centoVO2 pico) e potência máxima ( por centoPpico) de ocorrência do LA. Observou-se correlação significativa entre LA e o percentual de gordura (r= -0,52), com tendência à correlação entre o LA e a glicemia ambulatorial (r= -0,33). Variáveis hemodinâmicas e LA não demonstraram correlações. CONCLUSÃO: O LA foi identificado a partir das técnicas estudadas em diabéticos tipo-2 e não-diabéticos. Apesar das diferenças entre grupos para as intensidades absolutas (Watts), a patologia pareceu não influenciar as intensidades relativas em que o LA foi observado. O LA apresentou correlação com a composição corporal e tendência a se correlacionar com a glicemia ambulatorial, sugerindo-se, com isso, o LA como um parâmetro importante na avaliação clínica destes pacientes.

OBJECTIVE: To compare anaerobic threshold (AT) intensities determined from blood lactate, blood glucose and ventilatory responses among sedentary (SD) and physically active (AD) type-2 diabetics and active non-diabetics (AND), and to correlate metabolic, hemodynamic and body composition variables with the AT. METHOD: The SD (n= 9, 56.7 ± 11.9 years), AD (n= 9, 50.6 ± 12.7 years) and AND (n= 10, 48.1 ± 10.8 years) groups performed a cycle ergometer test with increases of 15 watts every three minutes until exhaustion. Heart rate, arterial pressure, perceived exertion, blood lactate, blood glucose and ventilatory variables were measured during the last 20 seconds of each incremental stage, to determine the lactate, ventilatory and glucose thresholds. RESULTS: The AT intensities identified by the different methods did not differ from each other (p> 0.05). However, the absolute intensities were lower for SD than for the active groups (p< 0.05). No differences in intensity were found between the groups in relation to maximum oxygen consumption ( percentVO2 peak) and maximum power ( percentPpeak) at which the AT was observed. There was a significant correlation between AT and percentage fat (r= -0.52), and there was a trend towards correlation between AT and ambulatory blood glucose (r= -0.33). The hemodynamic variables did not show any correlations with AT. CONCLUSION: The AT was identified by means of the techniques studied, among type 2 diabetics and non-diabetics. Despite the differences between the groups with regard to absolute intensities (watts), diabetes did not appear to influence the relative intensities at which the AT was observed. The AT presented a correlation with body composition and a trend towards correlation with ambulatory blood glucose, thus suggesting that the AT is an important parameter in clinical assessments for such patients.