Anger and disgust shape judgments of social sanctions across cultures, especially in high individual autonomy societies.

When someone violates a social norm, others may think that some sanction would be appropriate. We examine how the experience of emotions like anger and disgust relate to the judged appropriateness of sanctions, in a pre-registered analysis of data from a large-scale study in 56 societies. Across the world, we find that individuals who experience anger and disgust over a norm violation are more likely to endorse confrontation, ostracism and, to a smaller extent, gossip. Moreover, we find that the experience of anger is consistently the strongest predictor of judgments of confrontation, compared to other emotions. Although the link between state-based emotions and judgments may seem universal, its strength varies across countries. Aligned with theoretical predictions, this link is stronger in societies, and among individuals, that place higher value on individual autonomy. Thus, autonomy values may increase the role that emotions play in guiding judgments of social sanctions.

Perirenal adipose tissue contains a subpopulation of cold-inducible adipocytes derived from brown-to-white conversion.

Perirenal adipose tissue (PRAT) is a unique visceral depot that contains a mixture of brown and white adipocytes. The origin and plasticity of such cellular heterogeneity remains unknown. Here, we combine single-nucleus RNA sequencing with genetic lineage tracing to reveal the existence of a distinct subpopulation of Ucp1-&Cidea+ adipocytes that arises from brown-to-white conversion during postnatal life in the periureter region of mouse PRAT. Cold exposure restores Ucp1 expression and a thermogenic phenotype in this subpopulation. These cells have a transcriptome that is distinct from subcutaneous beige adipocytes and may represent a unique type of cold-recruitable adipocytes. These results pave the way for studies of PRAT physiology and mechanisms controlling the plasticity of brown/white adipocyte phenotypes.

Impaired Ischemia-Reperfusion Responses in the Hearts of Aged Male and Female Offspring of Obese Rats.

Maternal obesity predisposes offspring (F1) to cardiovascular disease. To evaluate basal heart function and ischemia-reperfusion (IR) responses in F1 males and females of obese mothers, female Wistar rats (F0) were fed chow or an obesogenic (MO) diet from weaning through pregnancy and lactation. Non-sibling F1 males and females were weaned to chow at postnatal day (PND) 21 and euthanized at PND 550. Offspring of MO mothers (MOF1) rarely survive beyond PND 650. Hearts were immediately isolated from euthanized F1s and subjected to 30 min ischemia with 20 min reperfusion. Retroperitoneal fat, serum triglycerides, glucose, insulin, and insulin resistance were measured. Baseline left ventricular developed pressure (LVDP) was lower in male and female MOF1 than in controls. After global ischemia, LVDP in control (C) male and female F1 recovered 78 and 83%, respectively, while recovery in MO male and female F1 was significantly lower at 28 and 52%, respectively. Following the IR challenge, MO hearts showed a higher functional susceptibility to reperfusion injury, resulting in lower cardiac reserve than controls in both sexes. Female hearts were more resistant to IR. Retroperitoneal fat was increased in male MOF1 vs. CF1. Circulating triglycerides and insulin resistance were increased in male and female MOF1 vs. CF1. These data show that MO programming reduces F1 cardiac reserve associated with age-related insulin resistance in a sex-specific manner.

Human ACVR1C missense variants that correlate with altered body fat distribution produce metabolic alterations of graded severity in knock-in mutant mice.

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Genome-wide studies have identified three missense variants in the human gene ACVR1C, encoding the TGF-ß superfamily receptor ALK7, that correlate with altered waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (WHR/BMI), a measure of body fat distribution. METHODS: To move from correlation to causation and understand the effects of these variants on fat accumulation and adipose tissue function, we introduced each of the variants in the mouse Acvr1c locus and investigated metabolic phenotypes in comparison with a null mutation. RESULTS: Mice carrying the I195T variant showed resistance to high fat diet (HFD)-induced obesity, increased catecholamine-induced adipose tissue lipolysis and impaired ALK7 signaling, phenocopying the null mutants. Mice with the I482V variant displayed an intermediate phenotype, with partial resistance to HFD-induced obesity, reduction in subcutaneous, but not visceral, fat mass, decreased systemic lipolysis and reduced ALK7 signaling. Surprisingly, mice carrying the N150H variant were metabolically indistinguishable from wild type under HFD, although ALK7 signaling was reduced at low ligand concentrations. CONCLUSION: Together, these results validate ALK7 as an attractive drug target in human obesity and suggest a lower threshold for ALK7 function in humans compared to mice.

Hierarchical clustering analysis of musculoskeletal stress factors and their risk level in cardboard manufacturing: research from PLIBEL.

OBJECTIVE: A hierarchical cluster analysis for the cardboard manufacturing industry was developed with the aim of identifying similarities between workstations in terms of musculoskeletal stress factors (MSFs) and their impact on workers' bodies. METHODS: The hierarchical clustering analysis was conducted using data from 44 workstations, which included 6 body part divisions and 51 stress factors as variables with 36 answer options. Firstly, the content of the dataset was defined. Secondly, the data were agglomerated and classified into 3 clusters using Ward's method based on the presence or absence of stress factors. Finally, the multivariable matrix was reduced to 2 factors: the x-axis representing the risk level of the workstation, and the y-axis representing the impact on the workers' health. RESULTS: The study found that workers' knees were the most affected body parts, with 47 cases. The resulting work-related musculoskeletal disorders included tendinitis, arthralgia, chondromalacia, and gonarthrosis. The MSF with the most significant impact on the body's health was fatiguing work that involves repeated jumps, prolonged squatting, or kneeling, present in cluster 1 and cluster 3. Moreover, two of the most common MSFs associated with repeated work positions were identified: a mild forward flexion of the back (63 cases) in combination with one leg being used more often to support the body (56 cases). CONCLUSIONS: It was possible to identify the main work-related musculoskeletal disorders and the associated stress factors for the cardboard manufacturing industry by using hierarchical cluster classification and analysis, enabling the classification of risk levels and the impact on body health for each workstation.

RhoGDI phosphorylation by PKC promotes its interaction with death receptor p75NTR to gate axon growth and neuron survival.

How receptors juggle their interactions with multiple downstream effectors remains poorly understood. Here we show that the outcome of death receptor p75NTR signaling is determined through competition of effectors for interaction with its intracellular domain, in turn dictated by the nature of the ligand. While NGF induces release of RhoGDI through recruitment of RIP2, thus decreasing RhoA activity in favor of NFkB signaling, MAG induces PKC-mediated phosphorylation of the RhoGDI N-terminus, promoting its interaction with the juxtamembrane domain of p75NTR, disengaging RIP2, and enhancing RhoA activity in detriment of NF-kB. This results in stunted neurite outgrowth and apoptosis in cerebellar granule neurons. If presented simultaneously, MAG prevails over NGF. The NMR solution structure of the complex between the RhoGDI N-terminus and p75NTR juxtamembrane domain reveals previously unknown structures of these proteins and clarifies the mechanism of p75NTR activation. These results show how ligand-directed competition between RIP2 and RhoGDI for p75NTR engagement determine axon growth and neuron survival. Similar principles are likely at work in other receptors engaging multiple effectors and signaling pathways.

Community-Based Prevention of Substance Use in Adolescents: Outcomes Before and During the COVID-19 Pandemic in Santiago, Chile.

A primary community prevention approach in Iceland was associated with strong reductions of substance use in adolescents. Two years into the implementation of this prevention model in Chile, the aim of this study was to assess changes in the prevalence of adolescent alcohol and cannabis use and to discuss the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the substance use outcomes. In 2018, six municipalities in Greater Santiago, Chile, implemented the Icelandic prevention model, including structured assessments of prevalence and risk factors of substance use in tenth grade high school students every 2 years. The survey allows municipalities and schools to work on prevention with prevalence data from their own community. The survey was modified from an on-site paper format in 2018 to an on-line digital format in a shortened version in 2020. Comparisons between the cross-sectional surveys in the years 2018 and 2020 were performed with multilevel logistic regressions. Totally, 7538 participants were surveyed in 2018 and 5528 in 2020, nested in 125 schools from the six municipalities. Lifetime alcohol use decreased from 79.8% in 2018 to 70.0% in 2020 (X2 = 139.3, p < 0.01), past-month alcohol use decreased from 45.5 to 33.4% (X2 = 171.2, p < 0.01), and lifetime cannabis use decrease from 27.9 to 18.8% (X2 = 127.4, p < 0.01). Several risk factors improved between 2018 and 2020: staying out of home after 10 p.m. (X2 = 105.6, p < 0.01), alcohol use in friends (X2 = 31.8, p < 0.01), drunkenness in friends (X2 = 251.4, p < 0.01), and cannabis use in friends (X2 = 217.7, p < 0.01). However, other factors deteriorated in 2020: perceived parenting (X2 = 63.8, p < 0.01), depression and anxiety symptoms (X2 = 23.5, p < 0.01), and low parental rejection of alcohol use (X2 = 24.9, p < 0.01). The interaction between alcohol use in friends and year was significant for lifetime alcohol use (ß = 0.29, p < 0.01) and past-month alcohol use (ß = 0.24, p < 0.01), and the interaction between depression and anxiety symptoms and year was significant for lifetime alcohol use (ß = 0.34, p < 0.01), past-month alcohol use (ß = 0.33, p < 0.01), and lifetime cannabis use (ß = 0.26, p = 0.016). The decrease of substance use prevalence in adolescents was attributable at least in part to a reduction of alcohol use in friends. This could be related to social distancing policies, curfews, and homeschooling during the pandemic in Chile that implied less physical interactions between adolescents. The increase of depression and anxiety symptoms may also be related to the COVID-19 pandemic. The factors rather attributable to the prevention intervention did not show substantial changes (i.e., sports activities, parenting, and extracurricular activities).

Internet-delivered cognitive behavior therapy versus treatment as usual for anxiety and depression among Latin American university students: A randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: Untreated mental disorders are important among low- and middle-income country (LMIC) university students in Latin America, where barriers to treatment are high. Scalable interventions are needed. This study compared transdiagnostic self-guided and guided internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (i-CBT) with treatment as usual (TAU) for clinically significant anxiety and depression among undergraduates in Colombia and Mexico. METHOD: 1,319 anxious, as determined by the Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) = 10+ and/or depressed, as determined by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) = 10+, undergraduates (mean [SD] age = 21.4 [3.2]); 78.7% female; 55.9% first-generation university student) from seven universities in Colombia and Mexico were randomized to culturally adapted versions of self-guided i-CBT (n = 439), guided i-CBT (n = 445), or treatment as usual (TAU; n = 435). All randomized participants were reassessed 3 months after randomization. The primary outcome was remission of both anxiety (GAD-7 = 0-4) and depression (PHQ-9 = 0-4). We hypothesized that remission would be higher with guided i-CBT than with the other interventions. RESULTS: Intent-to-treat analysis found significantly higher adjusted (for university and loss to follow-up) remission rates (ARD) among participants randomized to guided i-CBT than either self-guided i-CBT (ARD = 13.1%, χ12 = 10.4, p = .001) or TAU (ARD = 11.2%, χ12 = 8.4, p = .004), but no significant difference between self-guided i-CBT and TAU (ARD = -1.9%, χ12 = 0.2, p = .63). Per-protocol sensitivity analyses and analyses of dimensional outcomes yielded similar results. CONCLUSIONS: Significant reductions in anxiety and depression among LMIC university students could be achieved with guided i-CBT, although further research is needed to determine which students would most likely benefit from this intervention. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Aerospace-foraging bats eat seasonably across varying habitats.

Recent research has confirmed the efficiency of insectivorous bats as pest suppressors, underlining the ecological services they offer in agroecosystems. Therefore, some efforts try to enhance bat foraging in agricultural landscapes by acting upon environmental factors favouring them. In this study, we monitored a Miniopterus schreibersii colony, in the southern Iberian Peninsula. We intensively sampled their faeces and analysed them by metabarcoding to describe how the bent-winged bat diet would change with time, and to test whether their most-consumed prey would seasonally depend on different landscapes or habitats. Our results confirm that M. schreibersii are selective opportunist predators of moths, dipterans, mayflies, and other fluttering insects, shifting their diet to temporary peaks of prey availability in their foraging range, including both pest and non-pest insects. Supporting our hypothesis, throughout the year, M. schreibersii consume insects linked to diverse open habitats, including wetlands, grassland, diverse croplands, and woodland. The importance of each prey habitat varies seasonally, depending on their insect phenology, making bats indirectly dependent on a diverse landscape as their primary prey source. Bats' predation upon pest insects is quantitatively high, consuming around 1610 kg in 5 months, of which 1467 kg correspond to ten species. So, their suppression effect may be relevant, mainly in patchy heterogeneous landscapes, where bats' foraging may concentrate in successive outbursts of pests, affecting different crops or woodlands. Our results stress that to take advantage of the ecosystem services of bats or other generalist insectivores, keeping the environmental conditions they require to thrive, particularly a heterogeneous landscape within the colony's foraging area, is crucial.

Facilitating Factors and Barriers to the Implementation of the Icelandic Prevention Model of Adolescent Substance Use in Chile: A Focus Group Study.

The use of alcohol and other drugs is a major public health problem in adolescence. The implementation of evidence-based prevention strategies is still scarce in the global south. This study aimed to evaluate facilitators and barriers to the implementation of the Icelandic prevention model of adolescent substance use (IPM) in Chile. We conducted a qualitative study of stakeholders during the implementation process of the IPM in six municipalities of the Metropolitan Region of Santiago, Chile. We convened six focus groups with parents and professionals from schools and municipal prevention teams (38 participants). Recordings were transcribed and submitted to a six-step thematic analysis. The following facilitators emerged: Participants valued the contribution of the IPM to articulate existing programs and teams, its community focus, and the local data obtained through the survey. There were also several barriers: Those included resistance to adopting a foreign model, the tension between generating local strategies and looking for measures to ensure the fidelity of the implementation, socioeconomic differences between and within municipalities, low-risk perception and supervision of parents in Chile, and a culture that generally does not discourage adolescent substance use. Implementation of the IPM was largely accepted by the stakeholders who agreed with the community approach of the model. The main barriers to consider were related to cultural and socioeconomic factors that need to be addressed in further research and may limit the effects of the model in Chile.

Maternal Obesity Programs the Premature Aging of Rat Offspring Liver Mitochondrial Electron Transport Chain Genes in a Sex-Dependent Manner.

We investigated whether maternal obesity affects the hepatic mitochondrial electron transport chain (ETC), sirtuins, and antioxidant enzymes in young (110 postnatal days (PND)) and old (650PND) male and female offspring in a sex- and age-related manner. Female Wistar rats ate a control (C) or high-fat (MO) diet from weaning, through pregnancy and lactation. After weaning, the offspring ate the C diet and were euthanized at 110 and 650PND. The livers were collected for RNA-seq and immunohistochemistry. Male offspring livers had more differentially expressed genes (DEGs) down-regulated by both MO and natural aging than females. C-650PND vs. C-110PND and MO-110PND vs. C-110PND comparisons revealed 1477 DEGs in common for males (premature aging by MO) and 35 DEGs for females. Analysis to identify KEGG pathways enriched from genes in common showed changes in 511 and 3 KEGG pathways in the male and female livers, respectively. Mitochondrial function pathways showed ETC-related gene down-regulation. All ETC complexes, sirtuin2, sirtuin3, sod-1, and catalase, exhibited gene down-regulation and decreased protein expression at young and old ages in MO males vs. C males; meanwhile, MO females down-regulated only at 650PND. Conclusions: MO accelerates the age-associated down-regulation of ETC pathway gene expression in male offspring livers, thereby causing sex-dependent oxidative stress, premature aging, and metabolic dysfunction.

Parental practices and their association with alcohol and cannabis use among adolescents in Chile.

Background: Adolescent alcohol and cannabis use are common in Chile. The present study aimed to assess the relationship between perceived parenting practices and alcohol and cannabis use among adolescents in a Latin American context. Methods: We adapted and implemented a substance use prevention strategy in Chile, which included surveys of tenth-grade students from six municipalities in the Metropolitan Region of Greater Santiago. We assessed the reliability and factorial structure of the parenting scale with 16 items, which formed part of the survey. We dichotomized parenting scores into high (above the median) and low. The association of parenting practices with alcohol and cannabis use in adolescents was assessed using multivariate multilevel regression models. Results: A total of 7,538 tenth-grade students from 118 schools were included in the study. The 16-item scale of parenting practices showed good internal consistency (Omega total = 0.84), and three factors representing Relationship between parents and adolescents, Norms and monitoring, and Parents knowing their children's friends and the parents of their children's friends. High total scores of parenting were associated with lower odds of lifetime alcohol use (OR 0.57; 95% CI: 0.49-0.65), past-month alcohol use (OR 0.63; 95% CI: 0.57-0.70), lifetime drunkenness (OR 0.64; 95% CI: 0.58-0.72), and lifetime cannabis use (OR 0.54; 95% CI: 0.47-0.61). Above median scores on each parenting subscale were associated with significantly lower odds of substance use. The strongest associations were observed for the subscale Norms and monitoring. Interactions between parenting and gender showed a significantly stronger effect of parenting practices on alcohol and cannabis use among girls. Conclusion: Different types of parenting practices were associated with a lower prevalence of adolescent alcohol and cannabis use. Improving parenting practices has the potential to prevent adolescent substance use in Chile, especially among girls.

Continuous low-intensity predation by owls (Strix aluco) on bats (Nyctalus lasiopterus) in Spain and the potential effect on bat colony stability.

Owls prey on bats, but information on owl predation is scarce, its impact on bat mortality is unclear, and reports on behavioural responses, including roost-switching and fission-fusion behaviour, are equivocal. To study the link between owl predation and anti-predator behaviour in bats, we evaluated seven months of video recordings at roosts and the behaviour of 51 passive integrated transponder (PIT)-tagged bats and bats without tags in a geographically isolated colony of greater noctule bats (Nyctalus lasiopterus) in Spain. We found the tawny owl Strix aluco to almost continuously hunt N. lasiopterus, from perches and on the wing, well after the bats emerged at dusk and when they returned to their roosts. We recorded 39 unsuccessful and three successful attacks. Nonetheless, we found no evidence that owl predation modifies bat behaviour. While the bats constituted only a very small proportion of the owls' diet, owl predation accounted for an estimated 30-40% of bat mortality, which may have a significant impact on small, local or isolated bat populations, in particular, and thereby shape regional bat distributions. We hypothesize that low roost availability may also affect the bats' potential response to predation, which could lead to natural predation having an excessive impact on bat populations.

Equilibrium between monomers and dimers of the death domain of the p75 neurotrophin receptor in solution.

p75 neurotrophin receptor (p75NTR) contains a C-terminal globular protein module known as the death domain (DD), which plays a central role in apoptotic and inflammatory signaling through the formation of oligomeric protein complexes. A monomeric state of the p75NTR-DD also exists depending on its chemical environment in vitro. However, studies on the oligomeric states of the p75NTR-DD have produced conflicting findings and sparked great controversy. Here we present new evidence from biophysical and biochemical studies to demonstrate the coexistence of symmetric and asymmetric dimers of the p75NTR-DD, which may equilibrate with the monomeric form in solution and in the absence of any other protein. The reversible close-open solution behavior may be important for the p75NTR-DD to serve as an intracellular signaling hub. This result supports an intrinsic ability of the p75NTR-DD to self-associate, in congruence with the oligomerization properties of all members of the DD superfamily.

A Precision Treatment Model for Internet-Delivered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Anxiety and Depression Among University Students: A Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: Guided internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (i-CBT) is a low-cost way to address high unmet need for anxiety and depression treatment. Scalability could be increased if some patients were helped as much by self-guided i-CBT as guided i-CBT. Objective: To develop an individualized treatment rule using machine learning methods for guided i-CBT vs self-guided i-CBT based on a rich set of baseline predictors. Design, Setting, and Participants: This prespecified secondary analysis of an assessor-blinded, multisite randomized clinical trial of guided i-CBT, self-guided i-CBT, and treatment as usual included students in Colombia and Mexico who were seeking treatment for anxiety (defined as a 7-item Generalized Anxiety Disorder [GAD-7] score of ≥10) and/or depression (defined as a 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire [PHQ-9] score of ≥10). Study recruitment was from March 1 to October 26, 2021. Initial data analysis was conducted from May 23 to October 26, 2022. Interventions: Participants were randomized to a culturally adapted transdiagnostic i-CBT that was guided (n = 445), self-guided (n = 439), or treatment as usual (n = 435). Main Outcomes and Measures: Remission of anxiety (GAD-7 scores of ≤4) and depression (PHQ-9 scores of ≤4) 3 months after baseline. Results: The study included 1319 participants (mean [SD] age, 21.4 [3.2] years; 1038 women [78.7%]; 725 participants [55.0%] came from Mexico). A total of 1210 participants (91.7%) had significantly higher mean (SE) probabilities of joint remission of anxiety and depression with guided i-CBT (51.8% [3.0%]) than with self-guided i-CBT (37.8% [3.0%]; P = .003) or treatment as usual (40.0% [2.7%]; P = .001). The remaining 109 participants (8.3%) had low mean (SE) probabilities of joint remission of anxiety and depression across all groups (guided i-CBT: 24.5% [9.1%]; P = .007; self-guided i-CBT: 25.4% [8.8%]; P = .004; treatment as usual: 31.0% [9.4%]; P = .001). All participants with baseline anxiety had nonsignificantly higher mean (SE) probabilities of anxiety remission with guided i-CBT (62.7% [5.9%]) than the other 2 groups (self-guided i-CBT: 50.2% [6.2%]; P = .14; treatment as usual: 53.0% [6.0%]; P = .25). A total of 841 of 1177 participants (71.5%) with baseline depression had significantly higher mean (SE) probabilities of depression remission with guided i-CBT (61.5% [3.6%]) than the other 2 groups (self-guided i-CBT: 44.3% [3.7%]; P = .001; treatment as usual: 41.8% [3.2%]; P < .001). The other 336 participants (28.5%) with baseline depression had nonsignificantly higher mean (SE) probabilities of depression remission with self-guided i-CBT (54.4% [6.0%]) than guided i-CBT (39.8% [5.4%]; P = .07). Conclusions and Relevance: Guided i-CBT yielded the highest probabilities of remission of anxiety and depression for most participants; however, these differences were nonsignificant for anxiety. Some participants had the highest probabilities of remission of depression with self-guided i-CBT. Information about this variation could be used to optimize allocation of guided and self-guided i-CBT in resource-constrained settings. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04780542.

Risk factors associated with Streptococcus suis cases on pig farms in Spain.

BACKGROUND: Streptococcus suis can cause meningitis, polyarthritis and acute death in piglets. However, the risk factors associated with S. suis infection remain incompletely understood. Therefore, a longitudinal study was carried out, in which six batches from two Spanish pig farms with S. suis problems were repeatedly examined to determine possible risk factors. METHODS: A prospective case-control study was conducted, and potential risk factors were evaluated using mixed-effects logistic regression models. The explanatory variables included: (a) concomitant pathogens; (b) biomarkers associated with stress, inflammation and oxidative status; (c) farm environmental factors; and (d) parity and S. suis presence in sows. Three models were built to study the effect of these variables, including two to assess the risk factors involved in the subsequent development of disease. RESULTS: Risk factors for S. suis-associated disease included porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus co-infection at weaning (odds ratio [OR] = 6.69), sow parity (OR = 0.71), haptoglobin level before weaning (OR = 1.01), relative humidity (OR = 1.11) and temperature (OR = 0.13). LIMITATIONS: Laboratory diagnosis was done at the batch level, with individual diagnosis based on clinical signs only. CONCLUSIONS: This study confirms the multifactorial nature of S. suis-associated disease, with both environmental factors and factors related to the host involved in disease development. Controlling these factors may, therefore, help prevent the appearance of disease.

A species-level trait dataset of bats in Europe and beyond.

Knowledge of species' functional traits is essential for understanding biodiversity patterns, predicting the impacts of global environmental changes, and assessing the efficiency of conservation measures. Bats are major components of mammalian diversity and occupy a variety of ecological niches and geographic distributions. However, an extensive compilation of their functional traits and ecological attributes is still missing. Here we present EuroBaTrait 1.0, the most comprehensive and up-to-date trait dataset covering 47 European bat species. The dataset includes data on 118 traits including genetic composition, physiology, morphology, acoustic signature, climatic associations, foraging habitat, roost type, diet, spatial behaviour, life history, pathogens, phenology, and distribution. We compiled the bat trait data obtained from three main sources: (i) a systematic literature and dataset search, (ii) unpublished data from European bat experts, and (iii) observations from large-scale monitoring programs. EuroBaTrait is designed to provide an important data source for comparative and trait-based analyses at the species or community level. The dataset also exposes knowledge gaps in species, geographic and trait coverage, highlighting priorities for future data collection.

Programming Mechanism of Adipose Tissue Expansion in the Rat Offspring of Obese Mothers Occurs in a Sex-Specific Manner.

We investigated whether excessive retroperitoneal adipose tissue (AT) expansion programmed by maternal obesity (MO) affects adipocyte size distribution and gene expression in relation to adipocyte proliferation and differentiation in male and female offspring (F1) from control (F1C) and obese (F1MO) mothers. Female Wistar rats (F0) ate a control or high-fat diet from weaning through pregnancy and lactation. F1 were weaned onto a control diet and euthanized at 110 postnatal days. Fat depots were weighed to estimate the total AT. Serum glucose, triglyceride, leptin, insulin, and the insulin resistance index (HOMA-IR) were determined. Adipocyte size and adipogenic gene expression were examined in retroperitoneal fat. Body weight, retroperitoneal AT and adipogenesis differed between male and female F1Cs. Retroperitoneal AT, glucose, triglyceride, insulin, HOMA-IR and leptin were higher in male and female F1MO vs. F1C. Small adipocytes were reduced in F1MO females and absent in F1MO males; large adipocytes were increased in F1MO males and females vs. F1C. Wnt, PI3K-Akt, and insulin signaling pathways in F1MO males and Egr2 in F1MO females were downregulated vs. F1C. MO induced metabolic dysfunction in F1 through different sex dimorphism mechanisms, including the decreased expression of pro-adipogenic genes and reduced insulin signaling in males and lipid mobilization-related genes in females.

A new Pipistrelle bat from the oceanic Island of Príncipe (Western Central Africa).

We describe a population of pipistrelle-like bats from Príncipe Island (Gulf of Guinea, Western Central Africa) as a new species based on the molecular and morphological characteristics of six specimens collected more than 30 years ago. The description of this new species was not possible until the traditionally entangled systematics of the whole pipistrelle group was clarified in recent years with the inclusion of molecular techniques and adequate species sampling. In this new taxonomic framework, the new species was clearly included within the dark-winged group of the recently described genus Pseudoromicia. The pipistrelles from Príncipe Island present a moderately inflated skull in lateral view with inner upper incisors that are moderately bicuspids and a baculum distinctly long with expanded tips. Besides these morphological characters, the new bat species is distinguished by its dwarfism, being the smallest species recognized within the genus. The ecology and conservation status of this endemic island species are unknown and field studies are urgently needed to evaluate the situation and conservation threats to this new species in its natural habitat.