Social and cognitive predictors of fruit and vegetable intake among adolescents: The context of changes in body weight

Two studies investigated differences in the relationships between adolescents' fruit and vegetable intake (FVI) and the predictors specified in the Health Action Process Approach and Social-Cognitive Theory. Retrospective (Study 1; N = 502) and prospective (Study 2; N = 668) designs were applied. Among adolescents with overweight/obesity, intention was cross-sectionally associated with FVI (Study 1); no social or cognitive predictors explained FVI at 14-month follow-up (Study 2). The planning - FVI and self-efficacy - FVI relationships were stronger among adolescents who reduced their body weight to normal, compared to effects observed among those who maintained their body weight (Studies 1 and 2).

Seasonal Geophysical Monitoring of Biogenic Gases in a Northern Peatland: Implications for Temporal and Spatial Variability in Free Phase Gas Production Rates

A set of high resolution surface ground penetrating radar (GPR) surveys, combined with elevation rod ( to monitor surface deformation) and gas flux measurements, were used to investigate in situ biogenic gas dynamics within a northern peatland (Caribou Bog, Maine). Gas production rates were directly estimated from the time series of GPR measurements. Spatial variability in gas production was also investigated by comparing two sites with different geological and ecological attributes, showing differences and/or similarities depending on season. One site characterized by thick highly humified peat deposits (5-6 m), wooded heath vegetation and open pools showed large ebullition events during the summer season, with estimated emissions (based on an assumed range of CH(4) concentration) between 100 and 172 g CH(4) m(-2) during a single event. The other site characterized by thinner less humified peat deposits (2-3 m) and shrub vegetation showed much smaller ebullition events during the same season (between 13 and 23 g CH(4) m(-2)). A consistent period of free-phase gas (FPG) accumulation during the fall and winter, enhanced by the frozen surficial peat acting as a confining layer, was followed by a decrease in FPG after the snow/ice melt that released estimated fluxes between 100 and 200 g CH(4) m(-2) from both sites. Estimated FPG production rates during periods of biogenic gas accumulation ranged between 0.22 and 2.00 g CH(4) m(3) d(-1) and reflected strong seasonal and spatial variability associated with differences in temperature, peat soil properties, and/or depositional attributes (e. g., stratigraphy). Periods of decreased atmospheric pressure coincided with short-period increases in biogenic gas flux, including a very rapid decrease in FPG content associated with an ebullition event that released an estimated 39 and 67 g CH(4) m(-2) in less than 3.5 hours. These results provide insights into the spatial and seasonal variability in production and emission of biogenic gases from northern peatlands.

Semantic, perceptual and number space: relations between category width and spatial processing.

Coarse semantic encoding and broad categorization behavior are the hallmarks of the right cerebral hemisphere's contribution to language processing. We correlated 40 healthy subjects' breadth of categorization as assessed with Pettigrew's category width scale with lateral asymmetries in perceptual and representational space. Specifically, we hypothesized broader category width to be associated with larger leftward spatial biases. For the 20 men, but not the 20 women, this hypothesis was confirmed both in a lateralized tachistoscopic task with chimeric faces and a random digit generation task; the higher a male participant's score on category width, the more pronounced were his left-visual field bias in the judgement of chimeric faces and his small-number preference in digit generation ("small" is to the left of "large" in number space). Subjects' category width was unrelated to lateral displacements in a blindfolded tactile-motor rod centering task. These findings indicate that visual-spatial functions of the right hemisphere should not be considered independent of the same hemisphere's contribution to language. Linguistic and spatial cognition may be more tightly interwoven than is currently assumed.

Radiocarbon Analysis of Elemental and Organic Carbon in Switzerland during Winter-Smog Episodes from 2008 to 2012 – Part I: Source Apportionment and Spatial Variability

While several studies have investigated winter-time air pollution with a wide range of concentration levels, hardly any results are available for longer time periods covering several winter-smog episodes at various locations; e.g., often only a few weeks from a single winter are investigated. Here, we present source apportionment results of winter-smog episodes from 16 air pollution monitoring stations across Switzerland from five consecutive winters. Radiocarbon (14C) analyses of the elemental (EC) and organic (OC) carbon fractions, as well as levoglucosan, major water-soluble ionic species and gas-phase pollutant measurements were used to characterize the different sources of PM10. The most important contributions to PM10 during winter-smog episodes in Switzerland were on average the secondary inorganic constituents (sum of nitrate, sulfate and ammonium = 41 ± 15%) followed by organic matter (OM) (34 ± 13%) and EC (5 ± 2%). The non-fossil fractions of OC (fNF,OC) ranged on average from 69 to 85 and 80 to 95% for stations north and south of the Alps, respectively, showing that traffic contributes on average only up to ~ 30% to OC. The non-fossil fraction of EC (fNF,EC), entirely attributable to primary wood burning, was on average 42 ± 13 and 49 ± 15% for north and south of the Alps, respectively. While a high correlation was observed between fossil EC and nitrogen oxides, both primarily emitted by traffic, these species did not significantly correlate with fossil OC (OCF), which seems to suggest that a considerable amount of OCF is secondary, from fossil precursors. Elevated fNF,EC and fNF,OC values and the high correlation of the latter with other wood burning markers, including levoglucosan and water soluble potassium (K+) indicate that residential wood burning is the major source of carbonaceous aerosols during winter-smog episodes in Switzerland. The inspection of the non-fossil OC and EC levels and the relation with levoglucosan and water-soluble K+ shows different ratios for stations north and south of the Alps (most likely because of differences in burning technologies) for these two regions in Switzerland.

The Polish Jew : his social and economic value

by Beatrice C. Baskerville

Widows may have fewer social and financial problems than in the past (Interview von Shereen Lehman mit Prof. Pasqualina Perrig-Chiello zu finanziellen und sozialen Problemen von Verwitweten)

(Reuters Health) – - A new Swiss study says that widows and widowers still mourn their spouses as much as ever, but compared to 35 years ago, everyday life is easier, especially for women. Widows, at least in Switzerland, have fewer financial troubles and more social connections than their counterparts in 1979, but widowers still complain of loneliness, researchers found.

Impact of above- and below-ground invertebrates on temporal and spatial stability of grassland of different diversity

1. Recent theoretical studies suggest that the stability of ecosystem processes is not governed by diversity per se, but by multitrophic interactions in complex communities. However, experimental evidence supporting this assumption is scarce.2. We investigated the impact of plant diversity and the presence of above- and below-ground invertebrates on the stability of plant community productivity in space and time, as well as the interrelationship between both stability measures in experimental grassland communities.3. We sampled above-ground plant biomass on subplots with manipulated above- and below-ground invertebrate densities of a grassland biodiversity experiment (Jena Experiment) 1, 4 and 6 years after the establishment of the treatments to investigate temporal stability. Moreover, we harvested spatial replicates at the last sampling date to explore spatial stability.4. The coefficient of variation of spatial and temporal replicates served as a proxy for ecosystem stability. Both spatial and temporal stability increased to a similar extent with plant diversity. Moreover, there was a positive correlation between spatial and temporal stability, and elevated plant density might be a crucial factor governing the stability of diverse plant communities.5. Above-ground insects generally increased temporal stability, whereas impacts of both earthworms and above-ground insects depended on plant species richness and the presence of grasses. These results suggest that inconsistent results of previous studies on the diversity–stability relationship have in part been due to neglecting higher trophic-level interactions governing ecosystem stability.6. Changes in plant species diversity in one trophic level are thus unlikely to mirror changes in multitrophic interrelationships. Our results suggest that both above- and below-ground invertebrates decouple the relationship between spatial and temporal stability of plant community productivity by differently affecting the homogenizing mechanisms of plants in diverse plant communities.7.Synthesis. Species extinctions and accompanying changes in multitrophic interactions are likely to result not only in alterations in the magnitude of ecosystem functions but also in its variability complicating the assessment and prediction of consequences of current biodiversity loss.

Temporal and spatial regulation of cell division by the nucleoid in Escherichia coli

Selection of division sites and coordination of cytokinesis with other cell cycle events are critical for every organism to proliferate. In E. coli, the nucleoid is proposed to exclude division from the site of the chromosome (nucleoid occlusion model). We studied the effect of the nucleoid on timing and placement of cell division. An early cell division protein, FtsZ, was used to follow development of the division septum. FtsZ forms a ring structure (Z ring) at potential division sites. The dynamics of Z ring was visualized in live cells by fusing FtsZ with a green fluorescent protein (GFP). Emanating FtsZ-GFP polymers from the constricted septum or aggregates in daughter cells were also observed, probably representing the FtsZ depolymerization and immature FtsZ nucleation processes. We next examined the nucleoid occlusion model. Mutants carrying abnormally positioned chromosomes were employed. In chromosomal partition mutants, replicated chromosomes cannot segregate. The Z ring was excluded from midcell to the edge of the nucleoid. This negative effect of nucleoids was further confirmed in replication deficient dnaA mutants, in which only a single chromosome is present in the cell center. These results suggest that the nucleoid, replicating or not, inhibits division in the area where the chromosome occupies. In addition, increasing the level of FtsZ does not overcome nucleoid inhibition. Interestingly in anucleate cells produced by both mutants, the Z ring was localized in the central part of the cell, which indicates that the nucleoid is not required for FtsZ assembly. Relaxation of chromosomes by reducing the gyrase activity or disruption of protein translation/translocation did not abolish the division inhibition capacity of the nucleoid. However, preventing transcription did compromise the nucleoid occlusion effect, leading to formation of multiple FtsZ rings above the nucleoid. In summary, we demonstrate that nucleoids negatively regulate the timing and position of division by inhibiting FtsZ assembly at unselected sites. Relief of this inhibition at midcell is coincident with the completion of DNA replication. On the other hand, FtsZ assembly does not require the nucleoid. ^