Additional data for nuclear DNA give new insights into the phylogenetic position of Sorex granarius within the Sorex araneus group.

Many species contain genetic lineages that are phylogenetically intermixed with those of other species. In the Sorex araneus group, previous results based on mtDNA and Y chromosome sequence data showed an incongruent position of Sorex granarius within this group. In this study, we explored the relationship between species within the S. araneus group, aiming to resolve the particular position of S. granarius. In this context, we sequenced a total of 2447 base pairs (bp) of X-linked and nuclear genes from 47 individuals of the S. araneus group. The same taxa were also analyzed within a Bayesian framework with nine autosomal microsatellites. These analyses revealed that all markers apart from mtDNA showed similar patterns, suggesting that the problematic position of S. granarius is best explained by an incongruent behavior by mtDNA. Given their close phylogenetic relationship and their close geographic distribution, the most likely explanation for this pattern is past mtDNA introgression from S. araneus race Carlit to S. granarius.

Calidad de vida y percepción de la desigualdad de la mujer en la ciudad de Girona = Quality of life and inequality perception’s of women in the city of Girona

La igualdad de oportunidades para las mujeres, como factor clave para avanzar en la consecución de calidad de vida preocupa hoy en día a la sociedad en general y alas instituciones en particular. Antes de la elaboración de programas de intervención social es necesario conocer las percepciones de las propias mujeres acerca de sus problemas y de sus necesidades. Siguiendo esta línea de pensamiento presentamos un trabajo empírico en el que analizamos las percepciones de las mujeres de la ciudad de Girona, centrándonos en dos aspectos de manera particular: la percepción de calidad de vida proporcionada por su ciudad y la percepción de desigualdad de oportunidades y/o de discriminación. Los principales resultados, obtenidos a partir de las respuestas a un cuestionario auto-administrado, y proporcionados por una muestra de mujeres seleccionadas aleatoriamente a partir de un muestreo estratificado geográficamente, indican que en general están satisfechas con su ciudad aunque detectamos las principales causas de insatisfacción. Por otra parte, tas principales fuentes de desigualdad se refieren al mundo laboral (menos salario por el mismo trabajo, dificultades de encontrar trabajo si tienen hijos o si son ya mayores), y en la actitud general de la sociedad en el sentido de tener que cumplir el papel que tradicionalmente se les ha asignado

Combining clinical factors and quantitative ultrasound improves the detection of women both at low and high risk for hip fracture.

We hypothesized that combining clinical risk factors (CRF) with the heel stiffness index (SI) measured via quantitative ultrasound (QUS) would improve the detection of women both at low and high risk for hip fracture. Categorizing women by risk score improved the specificity of detection to 42.4%, versus 33.8% using CRF alone and 38.4% using the SI alone. This combined CRF-SI score could be used wherever and whenever DXA is not readily accessible. INTRODUCTION AND HYPOTHESIS: Several strategies have been proposed to identify women at high risk for osteoporosis-related fractures; we wanted to investigate whether combining clinical risk factors (CRF) and heel QUS parameters could provide a more accurate tool to identify women at both low and high risk for hip fracture than either CRF or QUS alone. METHODS: We pooled two Caucasian cohorts, EPIDOS and SEMOF, into a large database named "EPISEM", in which 12,064 women, 70 to 100 years old, were analyzed. Amongst all the CRF available in EPISEM, we used only the ones which were statistically significant in a Cox multivariate model. Then, we constructed a risk score, by combining the QUS-derived heel stiffness index (SI) and the following seven CRF: patient age, body mass index (BMI), fracture history, fall history, diabetes history, chair-test results, and past estrogen treatment. RESULTS: Using the composite SI-CRF score, 42% of the women who did not report a hip fracture were found to be at low risk at baseline, and 57% of those who subsequently sustained a fracture were at high risk. Using the SI alone, corresponding percentages were 38% and 52%; using CRF alone, 34% and 53%. The number of subjects in the intermediate group was reduced from 5,400 (including 112 hip fractures) and 5,032 (including 111 hip fractures) to 4,549 (including 100 including fractures) for the CRF and QUS alone versus the combination score. CONCLUSIONS: Combining clinical risk factors to heel bone ultrasound appears to correctly identify more women at low risk for hip fracture than either the stiffness index or the CRF alone; it improves the detection of women both at low and high risk.

Girl Connection newsletters (Iowa Commission on the Status of Women)

The Girl Connection newsletter was published from 2000 to 2011.