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  • Alford posted an update 9 months, 1 week ago

    Only 27% of households were persistently food secure, 36% experienced transient and 37% persistent food insecurity. Female sex (OR 2.7, 95%CI 1.2-5.9), being married or living with a partner (OR 2.4, 95CI% 1.1-5.3) and fair health status (OR 4.4, 95%CI 2.2-8.8) were associated with increased odds of persistent food insecurity. Fair health was also a significant predictor of transient food insecurity.

    These findings suggest that future research should focus on persistent versus transient trajectories separately and that tailored interventions may be needed to make progress on alleviating food insecurity among disadvantaged communities.

    These findings suggest that future research should focus on persistent versus transient trajectories separately and that tailored interventions may be needed to make progress on alleviating food insecurity among disadvantaged communities.We conducted a meta-analysis of papers published over the past half-century (1964-2017) that quantified the phase-shifting effects of timed light exposure on rodent locomotor rhythms. read more Descriptive statistics were tabulated in order to explore the extent to which these studies were generalizable across species, sex, age, circadian timing, and light sources. Attempts at understanding photic resetting were primarily targeted at younger male animals, with particular emphases placed on characterizing the pacemaker systems of C57BL/6 mice and Syrian hamsters during the parts of their subjective night most sensitive to delivery of white-fluorescent light. With subsequent analyses restricted to these rodent models, we then assessed the relationship between luminous exposure (via broadspectrum emission) and phase-shifting through a series of linear regressions. Monotonically increasing illuminance-response functions were noted at most circadian times surveyed. In the aggregate, our results show that previous research conducted on light’s regulation of circadian timekeeping has been skewed in design with respect to several important biological variables. This bias might limit translation of phototherapy-relevant data to women and older individuals.The kynurenine (KYN) pathway is postulated to play various roles in immune system dysregulation of schizophrenia (SCZ). We conducted a meta-analysis to explore the association between six key metabolites of KYN pathway (i.e., tryptophan (TRP), KYN, quinolinic acid (QUIN), and kynurenic acid (KYNA)) and SCZ. Priori Bonferroni adjustments were conducted for multiple comparisons. In total, 42 studies that examined the relationship between the metabolites in KYN pathway mentioned above and SCZ in 4217 participants and nine studies that examined alterations of these metabolites after antipsychotic treatments were included. The results demonstrate that (1) subjects with prescribed medication had significantly higher KYN levels when compared to controls; (2) higher KYN levels in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), lower plasma KYN levels and higher CSF KYNA levels were associated with SCZ; (3) the KYN levels were higher in subjects with SCZ after antipsychotic treatments when compared with baseline. The evidence provides valuable insight of the potential underlying involvement of the KYN pathway in the pathogenesis of SCZ.Periodical cicadas, Magicicada spp., are a useful model system for understanding the population processes that influence range boundaries. Unlike most insects, these species typically exist at very high densities (occasionally >1000/ m2) and have unusually long life-spans (13 or 17 years). They spend most of their lives underground feeding on plant roots. After the underground period, adults emerge from the ground to mate and oviposit over a period of just a few days. Collections of populations that are developmentally synchronized across large areas are known as “broods”. There are usually sharp boundaries between spatially adjacent broods and regions of brood overlap are generally small. The exact mechanism behind this developmental synchronization and the sharp boundary between broods remain unknown previous studies have focused on the impacts of predator-driven Allee-effects, competition among nymphs, and their impacts on the persistence of off-synchronized emergence events. Here, we present a nonlinear Leslie-type matrix model to additionally consider cicada movement between spatially separated broods, and examine its role in maintaining brood boundaries and within-brood developmental synchrony that is seen in nature. We successfully identify ranges of competition and dispersal that lead to stable coexistence of broods that differ between spatial patches.

    To assess the cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) impact on the association between exercise blood pressure (BP) and mortality risk.

    We assessed CRF in 15,004 US Veterans (mean age 57.5±11.2years) who completed a standardized treadmill test between January 1, 1988 and July 28, 2017 and had no evidence of ischemia. They were classified as Unfit or Fit according to the age-specific metabolic equivalents (METs) achieved <50% (6.2±1.6 METs; n=8440) or≥50% (10.5±2.4 METs; n=6264). To account for the impact of resting systolic BP (SBP) on outcomes, we calculated the difference (Peak SBP-Resting SBP) and termed it SBP-Reserve. We noted a significant increase in mortality associated with SBP-Reserve ≤52mmHg and stratified the cohort accordingly (SBP-Reserve ≤52mmHg and>52mmHg). We applied multivariable Cox models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence interval (CIs) for outcomes.

    Mortality risk was significantly elevated only in Unfit individuals with SBP-Reserve ≤52mmHg compared to those with SBP-Reserve >52mmHg (HR=1.35; CI 1.24-1.46; P<0.001). We then assessed the CRF and SBP-Reserve interaction on mortality risk with Fit individuals with SBP-Reserve >52mmHg serving as the referent. Mortality risk was 92% higher (HR=1.92%; 95% CI 1.77-2.09; P<0.001) in Unfit individuals with SBP-Reserve ≤52mmHg and 47% higher (HR=1.47; 95% CI 1.33-1.62; P<0.001) in those with SBP-Reserve >52mmHg.

    Low CRF was associated with increased mortality risk regardless of peak exercise SBP. The risk was substantially higher in individuals unable to augment their exercise SBP >52mmHg beyond resting levels.

    52 mmHg beyond resting levels.

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