Disruption of Folate Metabolism Causes Poor Alignment and Spacing of Mouse Conceptuses for Multiple Generations

Abnormal uptake or metabolism of folate increases risk of human pregnancy complications, though the mechanism is unclear. Here, we explore how defective folate metabolism influences early development by analysing mice with the hypomorphic Mtrrgt mutation. MTRR is necessary for methyl group utilisation from folate metabolism, and the Mtrrgt allele disrupts this process. We show that the spectrum of phenotypes previously observed in Mtrrgt/gt conceptuses at embryonic day (E) 10.5 is apparent from E8.5 including developmental delay, congenital malformations, and placental phenotypes. Notably, we report misalignment of some Mtrrgt conceptuses within their implantation sites from E6.5. The degree of misorientation occurs across a continuum, with the most severe form visible upon gross dissection. Additionally, some Mtrrgt/gt conceptuses display twinning. Therefore, we implicate folate metabolism in blastocyst orientation and spacing at implantation. Skewed growth likely influences embryo development since developmental delay and heart malformations (but not defects in neural tube closure or trophoblast differentiation) associate with severe misalignment of Mtrrgt/gt conceptuses. Typically, the uterus is thought to guide conceptus orientation. To investigate a uterine effect of the Mtrrgt allele, we manipulate the maternal Mtrr genotype. Misaligned conceptuses were observed in litters of Mtrr+/+, Mtrr+/gt, and Mtrrgt/gt mothers. While progesterone and/or BMP2 signalling might be disrupted, normal decidual morphology, patterning, and blood perfusion are evident at E6.5 regardless of conceptus orientation. These observations argue against a post-implantation uterine defect as a cause of conceptus misalignment. Since litters of Mtrr+/+ mothers display conceptus misalignment, a grandparental effect is explored. Multigenerational phenotype inheritance is characteristic of the Mtrrgt model, though the mechanism remains unclear. Genetic pedigree analysis reveals that severe conceptus skewing associates with the Mtrr genotype of either maternal grandparent. Moreover, the presence of conceptus skewing after embryo transfer into a control uterus indicates that misalignment is independent of the peri- and/or post-implantation uterus and instead is likely attributed to an embryonic mechanism that is epigenetically inherited. Overall, our data indicates that abnormal folate metabolism influences conceptus orientation over multiple generations with implications for subsequent development. This study casts light on the complex role of folate metabolism during development beyond a direct maternal effect.

Interpreting and Experiencing Disney: Mediating the Mouse

The name 'Disney' is synonymous with its expansive franchises, from princesses to theme parks. The power of the Disney brand is its role as a cultural influencer across multiple generations across the globe. This collection of essays takes a look at Disney beyond its behemoth corporate presents and into the threads of the Disney experience.

Domestication is not an ancient moment of selection for prosociality: Insights from dogs and modern humans

Domestication is often portrayed as a long-past event, at times even in archaeological literature. The term domestication is also now applied to other processes, including human evolution. In such contexts, domestication means selection for friendliness or prosociality and the bodily results of such selective choices. Both such perspectives are misleading. Using dogs and modern humans as entry points, this paper explores why conceiving of domestication as a threshold event consisting of selection for prosociality is both incomplete and inaccurate. Domestication is an ongoing process, not a moment or an achievement. Selection in breeding, including for prosociality, is a part of many domestication histories, but it alone does not sustain this process over multiple generations. Further, much selection in domestication has little to do with human intention. Care, taming, commensalism, material things, and places are critical in carrying domestic relationships forward.

Intergenerational family leisure in the COVID-19 pandemic: Some potentials, pitfalls, and paradoxes

COVID-19 has significantly changed the way we engage in leisure. The influence of public health measures and messaging on leisure put older and younger people alike at increased risk of stress, anxiety, loneliness, and isolation. Despite these similar experiences, ageism and tensions between generations intensified during the pandemic. Thus, it is imperative to encourage strategies that foster connections and solidarity between generations, such as participating in intergenerational family leisure. Intergenerational family leisure can both attenuate negative outcomes heightened or created by the pandemic (i.e., risk reduction) and increase positive experiences (i.e., wellness promotion). However, it is important to recognize that intergenerational family leisure may not be available, or ideal, for everyone, especially during the pandemic. There are longstanding and pandemic-specific pitfalls to engaging in intergenerational family leisure that need to be considered. Further, the conditions and handling of the COVID-19 pandemic have complicated family leisure in paradoxical ways. Many contradictions emerge as we navigate social systems and personal experiences when engaging in intergenerational family leisure during the pandemic. This paper critically presents some of the potentials, pitfalls, and paradoxes associated with connecting multiple generations in and through family leisure during the pandemic.

The Connection Between Social Inequality And Intergenerational Transfers Between Three Generations In Europe

Family members support each other across the entire family cycle. Parents help their adult children with financial transfers and hands-on-support and childcare, while children in mid-life often support their older parents with help and care. However, there is profound social inequalities linked to intergenerational transfers. While there is some research on inequality for some types of intergenerational transfers and some transfer directions, there is still no conclusive study bringing together all different support types between multiple generations from different social backgrounds over time. In our view, taking a longitudinal multi-generational perspective is essential to capture dependencies and negotiations within families from different socio-economic backgrounds within different regional contexts. If middle-aged parents have to take care of their own older parents, they have fewer resources for their(grand-)children, who might then receive less attention and support from them. This may differ according to access to support from public or private institutions. Here, country and regional specifics have a huge impact on support patterns within the family, which can only be captured when looking into developments and change. Using six waves of the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (SHARE), we look at intergenerational transfers between multiple generations over time across European regions, considering mid-aged Europeans in the “sandwich” position between older parents and children and include multiple transfer directions and types over time to assess the links between social inequality and intergenerational solidarity in Europe’s ageing societies. The impact of Covid 19 on this issue will also be considered.

Linking ages – un/doing age and family in the Covid-19 pandemic

Objective: In this paper we ask how and through which social practices age and family are relationally being un/done in the course of the pandemic in Germany, and how these un/doings shape, shift or even break intergenerational relations. Background: The spread of the coronavirus and the attempts of governments to slow it down are severely affecting livelihoods worldwide. The institutionalised ageism underlying these government measures affects the youngest and oldest in society in particular (Ayalon et al. 2020; van Dyk et al. 2020). Intergenerational relations of social reproduction enacted, inter alia, through practices of eldercare, grandparenting, or voluntary work, are significantly limited in the current pandemic, as older adults are framed as an 'at-risk group', children as 'silent transmitters', and young adults as a 'risky group' (Ayalon et al. 2020; Stokes & Patterson 2020). These constructions contribute to the constitution, stabilisation and 'doing' of age in the pandemic. Method: We present findings from longitudinal research that was conducted through qualitative, problem-centred interviews between March 2020 and February 2021 with persons of different ages living in different household and care constellations in Germany. Results: Whereas in non-pandemic times doing age can be constitutive for doing family – as a constellation traditionally perceived to comprise multiple generations – we see the opposite happening in the pandemic: as age-based government measures to contain the spread of the virus limit intergenerational relations, older adults face the risk of being excluded from families. Hence, doing age can lead to a redoing or even an undoing of family. Conclusion: The paper outlines the potential of a 'linking ages' approach for the study of family lives and of intergenerational relations in times of crises.

Living Memory and the Travelling Mountain Narrative of Taranaki

<p>The Travelling Mountain Narrative is the origin myth of Taranaki maunga and the foundation on which Taranaki tribal tradition and identity is constructed. The story pattern of the Travelling Mountain Narrative relates the journey of Taranaki maunga and Te Toka a Rauhoto to Te Tai Hauāuru. This thesis establishes that the origin myth was sourced in the historical migration account of the ancestor Rua Taranaki and mythologised over multiple generations. Te Toka a Rauhoto is the tangible connection between the past and the present and is represented by the sacred stone located at Puniho Pā. Informed by mātauranga Māori paradigms, a literature and qualitative mixed method research framework collated a wide variety of information about the Travelling Mountain Narrative and the tūpuna of the Kāhui Maunga, the early inhabitants of the Taranaki region. Exploring the way myth and history intersects with the lived reality of a contemporary tribal community this thesis contributes to the critical analysis of these tribal traditions. This thesis also highlights how participating and contributing to the pā, hapū and the iwi throughout the duration of PhD research also offered insider insights into the modern retention of ancient knowledge.</p>

Living Memory and the Travelling Mountain Narrative of Taranaki

<p>The Travelling Mountain Narrative is the origin myth of Taranaki maunga and the foundation on which Taranaki tribal tradition and identity is constructed. The story pattern of the Travelling Mountain Narrative relates the journey of Taranaki maunga and Te Toka a Rauhoto to Te Tai Hauāuru. This thesis establishes that the origin myth was sourced in the historical migration account of the ancestor Rua Taranaki and mythologised over multiple generations. Te Toka a Rauhoto is the tangible connection between the past and the present and is represented by the sacred stone located at Puniho Pā. Informed by mātauranga Māori paradigms, a literature and qualitative mixed method research framework collated a wide variety of information about the Travelling Mountain Narrative and the tūpuna of the Kāhui Maunga, the early inhabitants of the Taranaki region. Exploring the way myth and history intersects with the lived reality of a contemporary tribal community this thesis contributes to the critical analysis of these tribal traditions. This thesis also highlights how participating and contributing to the pā, hapū and the iwi throughout the duration of PhD research also offered insider insights into the modern retention of ancient knowledge.</p>

Physiological and life history changes associated with seasonal adaptation in the cactophilic Drosophila mojavensis

Many insects inhabiting temperate climates are faced with changing environmental conditions throughout the year. Depending on the species, these environmental fluctuations can be experienced within a single generation or across multiple generations. Strategies for dealing with these seasonal changes vary across populations. Drosophila mojavensis is a cactophilic Drosophila species endemic to the Sonoran Desert. The Sonoran Desert regularly reaches temperatures of 50°C in the summer months. As individuals of this population are rare to collect in the summer months, we therefore simulated in a temperature and light controlled chamber the cycling temperatures experienced by D. mojavensis in the Sonoran Desert from April to July (four generations) to understand the physiological and life history changes that allow this population to withstand these conditions. In contrast to our hypothesis of a summer aestivation, we found that D. mojavensis continue to reproduce during the summer months, albeit with lower viability, but the longevity of the population is highly reduced during this period. As expected, stress resistance increased during the summer months in both the adult and the larval stages. This study examines several strategies for withstanding the Sonoran Desert summer conditions which may be informative in the study of other desert endemic species.