Comparative Study of the Antioxidant Activity of the Plasma of Healthy Subjects and those with Uterine Myomas by Scavenging the ABTS Radical+

Introduction: The oxidative stress and the deterioration of the antioxidant system demonstrated by the dosage of antioxidant enzymes and the by-products of lipid peroxidation are involved in the occurrence of uterine myomas. Objectives: To measure the antioxidant activity of the plasma of patients with uterine myoma and that of the plasma of their age-matched controls by trapping the free radical ABTS+. The study aims to confirm by another assessment technique. Results: The anti-free radical activities of the plasmas of patients with myomas and those of their respective controls vary from 1.3 to 6%. In addition, two cases were observed: either the anti-radical activity of the control subjects turned out to be slightly higher than that of the patients; or the anti-free radical activity of patients with uterine myomas was slightly stronger than those of their controls. In addition, our results showed that the anti-free radical activity of patients aged over 40 years is slightly higher than that of patients aged less than or equal to 40 years. Finally, the anti-free radical activity decreases with an increase in BMI and increases with the number of gestities and parity. Conclusion: Assessment of the total antioxidant capacity of blood by trapping the ABTS+ radical can be used to assess, at a certain threshold, the oxidative stress involved in the development of uterine myoma. This method can also be used to assess the effect of age, BMI, pregnancy and parity on the occurrence of myomas.

Influencia de la edad, la maternidad y el empleo en las barreras para la práctica de actividad física y deporte de las mujeres adultas en España (Influence of age, maternity and employment in barriers to practicing physical activity and sport for Spanish

Los objetivos del presente estudio fueron analizar la influencia de la edad y tipo de ocupación relacionada con el empleo y la crianza, en las barreras para la práctica de las mujeres adultas en España. La metodología de carácter cuantitativa, se ha apoyado en el uso de la encuesta mediante el empleo de un cuestionario basado en la teoría bio-ecológica de Bronfenbrenner, con ítems individuales, ocupación crianza-hogar, ocupación empleo-tiempo y oferta de actividad física y deporte, a una muestra representativa de 1.731 mujeres adultas españolas (entre 30 y 64 años). Los resultados evidenciaron efecto multivariado de la ocupación en las barreras ocupación-empleo y tiempo (“No soy capaz de generar tiempo para mí”, “empleo” y “horarios incompatibles”). Las mujeres adultas que concilian maternidad y empleo perciben en mayor grado estas tres barreras mencionadas. Además, se evidenció efecto multivariado de la edad y la ocupación, y de la interacción, en las barreras ocupación maternidad-hogar (“Tengo que cuidar de mi/s hijo/as” y “Tengo que ocuparme de las tareas del hogar”). Las madres adultas, empleadas o no, percibieron la maternidad en mayor grado como barrera. En las empleadas que no son madres, las tareas del hogar como barrera tuvieron mayor prevalencia en las mayores de cincuenta años. Estas evidencias deberían considerarse para diseñar innovaciones y adaptar intervenciones, en el ámbito de la actividad física y el deporte, para estos grupos específicos, de mujeres adultas. Abstract. The objectives of the present paper were to analyze the age and occupation type related to employment and maternity influencing Spanish adult women’s barriers to practice. A quantitative methodology based on the use of the survey was applied to a representative sample of 1,731 Spanish adult women (between 30 and 64 years old) who filled out a questionnaire based on the Bronfenbrenner´s bioecological theory with individual items, occupation maternity-household, occupation employment-time and physical activity and sport provision through a personal interview. The results showed a multivariate effect of the occupation on the occupation-employment and time barriers (“I can´t generate time for myself”, “employment” and “incompatible timetables”). The adult women who combine maternity and employment perceived the three barriers mentioned to a greater extent. Also, there was found a multivariate effect of age and occupation, and of the interaction, on the occupation maternity-household barriers (“I have to take care of my children” and “I have to do the housework”). The adult mothers, employed or unemployed, perceived maternity as a barrier to a greater degree. In employed women who are not mothers, household chores as a barrier showed a higher prevalence in those over fifty years old. These findings should be considered for designing innovations and tailoring interventions in the field of physical activity and sport to fit these targeted groups of adult women.

Grateful Expectations: Cultural Differences in the Curvilinear Association between Age and Gratitude

Recent research suggests that the association between age and gratitude might be curvilinear—despite gratitude ostensibly being higher in middle-age, it might be lower in older adulthood. It is unclear if this curvilinear pattern of age differences in gratitude is found in other samples and whether its manifestation depends on contextual (i.e., national/cultural) characteristics. The current study examined cultural variation in the curvilinear effect of age on gratitude in a sample of over 4.5 million participants from 88 countries. Participants from countries with lower levels of human development, a shorter-term orientation, and higher levels of indulgence reported higher levels of gratitude. Cultural moderation effects were very small, suggesting that curvilinear effects of age on gratitude may be relatively comparable across cultures.

Closure times of neurocranial sutures and synchondroses in Persian compared to Domestic Shorthair cats

Human-directed selective breeding has modified the phenotype of the modern Persian cat towards an extreme brachycephalic phenotype (‘peke-face’ Persian), which originates from a spontaneous mutation that first appeared in the 1950s in traditional Persian types. It was suggested that the peke-face phenotype results from pathologic skull development and might represent a craniosynostosis of the coronal sutures. We followed this hypothesis and investigated the time dependent status of the neurocranial sutures and synchondroses in an ontogenetic series of doll-faced and peke-faced Persian cats compared to Domestic Shorthair cats (DSHs). Cranial suture closure was assessed by examining an ontogenetic series of formalin-fixed head specimens (n = 55) and dry skulls (n = 32) using micro-computed tomography. Sagittal, metopic, coronal and lambdoid sutures as well as intersphenoidal, spheno-occipital and spheno-ethmoid synchondroses were examined. Logistic regression analysis was performed to test the global effect of age on suture closure within a group of peke-face Persians, doll-face Persians and DSHs and the 50% probability of having a closed suture was calculated and compared between groups. Age was a perfect predictor for the condition of the coronal sutures in peke-face Persians. Coronal sutures were found to be closed at 0–0.3 months. In doll-face and DSHs, coronal sutures were open throughout the lifetime with the exception of a few very old cats. Results of this study confirmed a coronal craniosynostosis that likely causes the extreme brachycephalic skull morphology in the peke-face Persian.

Changes of Androstenone Concentrations in Saliva of Boars with Age

With the increasing age of boars, the possibility of androstenone (5α-androst-16-en-3-one (AND), 5α-androst-16-en-3α-ol (α-AND), and 5α-androst-16-en-3β-ol (β-AND)) occurrence increases as well. The aim of this study was to evaluate concentrations of androstenone compounds in the saliva of boars concerning the age of animals. In total, 72 boars were evaluated (24 boars per replication). The effect of age (three different ages—152, 163, and 172 days) was observed, and (Landrace × Large White) × Pietrain genotypes were used. Chemical analysis of saliva samples was conducted by multidimensional gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (MDGC/MS). Salivary α-AND increased with age (p < 0.05), and positive correlations were found between age and submaxillary salivary gland weight (p < 0.05), age, and salivary AND concentration (p < 0.05), body weight and submaxillary salivary gland weight (p < 0.05), submaxillary salivary gland weight and salivary β-AND concentration (p < 0.05), as well as submaxillary salivary gland weight and total salivary 5α-androstenone (AND total) concentration (p < 0.001). Nowadays, animal welfare is becoming a more and more discussed topic, and pig breeding is not an exception. Specifically, the castration ban is a current issue, so it is very important to know as much as possible about compounds responsible for boar taint. Androstenone’s appearance in boars’ saliva could be one of the most important precursors for future early detection of boar taint.

​Faecal Consistency: A Measure of Gastrointestinal Parasitic Infections in Goats

Background: Gastrointestinal (GI) parasitism in goats is a serious and widely distributed problem. Diarrhoea, moderate or severe, though a result of various factors involving feed, fodder, seasons and state of gut physiology of digestion, is a common symptom in goats infested with GI parasites, the nematodes and coccidia. Intensity of diarrhoea corresponds to quantum and type of parasitism. Methods: In the present study, 1451 faecal samples collected from goats of different ages ( less than 3 M, greater than 3-6 M, greater than 6-12 M and greater than 12 M) were categorized as normal, lumpy and diarrheic based on their consistency and were processed for parasitic infections. The GI parasitic load was quantified by faecal eggs/oocysts counting (FEC and FOC) per gram of faeces through the modified Mac-master technique. Identification of parasites was based on the morphology of third-stage larvae procured by coproculture of randomly selected positive samples. FEC/FOC data (strongyle and coccidian), being skewed and uneven, were log-transformed to normalize. The transformed data [loge (100+n)] was analyzed statistically and results were interpreted. Result: Means of FEC and FOC in three type of faecal samples viz. normal, lumpy and diarrheic, were significantly different. Similarly, the effect of age on FEC and FOC was significant. The interaction between animals age × faecal sample type was significant in coccidian and non-significant in strongyle infection. The results were discussed to support the hypothesis that faecal consistency was a measure of coccidian and strongyle worm load in goats and can be a basis of targeted selective treatment.

Effects of Linguistic Distance on Second Language Brain Activations in Bilinguals: An Exploratory Coordinate-Based Meta-Analysis

In this quantitative meta-analysis, we used the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) approach to address the effects of linguistic distance between first (L1) and second (L2) languages on language-related brain activations. In particular, we investigated how L2-related networks may change in response to linguistic distance from L1. Thus, we examined L2 brain activations in two groups of participants with English as L2 and either (i) a European language (European group, n = 13 studies) or (ii) Chinese (Chinese group, n = 18 studies) as L1. We further explored the modulatory effect of age of appropriation (AoA) and proficiency of L2. We found that, irrespective of L1-L2 distance—and to an extent—irrespective of L2 proficiency, L2 recruits brain areas supporting higher-order cognitive functions (e.g., cognitive control), although with group-specific differences (e.g., the insula region in the European group and the frontal cortex in the Chinese group). The Chinese group also selectively activated the parietal lobe, but this did not occur in the subgroup with high L2 proficiency. These preliminary results highlight the relevance of linguistic distance and call for future research to generalize findings to other language pairs and shed further light on the interaction between linguistic distance, AoA, and proficiency of L2.

Grateful expectations: Cultural differences in the curvilinear association between age and gratitude

Recent research suggests that the association between age and gratitude might be curvilinear—despite gratitude ostensibly being higher in middle-age, it might be lower in older adulthood. It is unclear if this curvilinear pattern of age differences in gratitude is found in other samples and whether its manifestation depends on contextual (i.e., national/cultural) characteristics. The current study examined cultural variation in the curvilinear effect of age on gratitude in a sample of over 4.5 million participants from 88 countries. Participants from countries with lower levels of human development, a shorter-term orientation, and higher levels of indulgence reported higher levels of gratitude. Cultural moderation effects were very small, suggesting that curvilinear effects of age on gratitude may be relatively comparable across cultures.