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Toxins May 2021Risks of sociality, including competition and conspecific aggression, are particularly pronounced in venomous invertebrates such as arachnids. Spiders show a wide range... (Review)
Review
Risks of sociality, including competition and conspecific aggression, are particularly pronounced in venomous invertebrates such as arachnids. Spiders show a wide range of sociality, with differing levels of cannibalism and other types of social aggression. To have the greatest chance of surviving interactions with conspecifics, spiders must learn to assess and respond to risk. One of the major ways risk assessment is studied in spiders is via venom metering, in which spiders choose how much venom to use based on prey and predator characteristics. While venom metering in response to prey acquisition and predator defense is well-studied, less is known about its use in conspecific interactions. Here we argue that due to the wide range of both sociality and venom found in spiders, they are poised to be an excellent system for testing questions regarding whether and how venom use relates to the evolution of social behavior and, in return, whether social behavior influences venom use and evolution. We focus primarily on the widow spiders, , as a strong model for testing these hypotheses. Given that successful responses to risk are vital for maintaining sociality, comparative analysis of spider taxa in which venom metering and sociality vary can provide valuable insights into the evolution and maintenance of social behavior under risk.
Topics: Animals; Cannibalism; Courtship; Risk Assessment; Social Behavior; Social Learning; Spider Venoms; Spiders
PubMed: 34071320
DOI: 10.3390/toxins13060388 -
PloS One 2021Individual life expectancies provide information for individuals making retirement decisions and for policy makers. For couples, analogous measures are the expected...
Individual life expectancies provide information for individuals making retirement decisions and for policy makers. For couples, analogous measures are the expected years both spouses will be alive (joint life expectancy) and the expected years the surviving spouse will be a widow or widower (survivor life expectancy). Using individual life expectancies to calculate summary measures for couples is intuitively appealing but yield misleading results, overstating joint life expectancy and dramatically understating survivor life expectancies. This implies that standard "individual life cycle models" are misleading for couples and that "couple life cycle models" must be substantially more complex. Using the CDC life tables for 2010, we construct joint and survivor life expectancy measures for randomly formed couples. The couples we form are defined by age, race and ethnicity, and education. Due to assortative marriage, inequalities in individual life expectancies are compounded into inequalities in joint and survivor life expectancies. We also calculate life expectancy measures for randomly formed couples for the 1930-2010 decennial years. Trends over time show how the relative rate of decrease in the mortality rates of men and women affect joint and survivor life expectancies. Because our couple life expectancy measures are based on randomly formed couples, they do not capture the effects of differences in spouses' premarital characteristics (apart from sex, age, race and ethnicity, and, in some cases, education) or of correlations in spouses' experiences or behaviors during marriage. However, they provide benchmarks which have been sorely lacking in the public discourse.
Topics: Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Databases, Factual; Educational Status; Female; Humans; Life Expectancy; Male; Marriage; Middle Aged; Retirement; Spouses
PubMed: 33989281
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0250564 -
Scientific Reports Apr 2024The invasive brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus (Araneae: Theridiidae), has spread in multiple locations around the world and, along with it, brought associated...
The invasive brown widow spider, Latrodectus geometricus (Araneae: Theridiidae), has spread in multiple locations around the world and, along with it, brought associated organisms such as endosymbionts. We investigated endosymbiont diversity and prevalence across putative native and invasive populations of this spider, predicting lower endosymbiont diversity across the invasive range compared to the native range. First, we characterized the microbial community in the putative native (South Africa) and invasive (Israel and the United States) ranges via high throughput 16S sequencing of 103 adult females. All specimens were dominated by reads from only 1-3 amplicon sequence variants (ASV), and most individuals were infected with an apparently uniform strain of Rhabdochlamydia. We also found Rhabdochlamydia in spider eggs, indicating that it is a maternally-inherited endosymbiont. Relatively few other ASV were detected, but included two variant Rhabdochlamydia strains and several Wolbachia, Spiroplasma and Enterobacteriaceae strains. We then diagnostically screened 118 adult female spiders from native and invasive populations specifically for Rhabdochlamydia and Wolbachia. We found Rhabdochlamydia in 86% of individuals and represented in all populations, which suggests that it is a consistent and potentially important associate of L. geometricus. Wolbachia was found at lower overall prevalence (14%) and was represented in all countries, but not all populations. In addition, we found evidence for geographic variation in endosymbiont prevalence: spiders from Israel were more likely to carry Rhabdochlamydia than those from the US and South Africa, and Wolbachia was geographically clustered in both Israel and South Africa. Characterizing endosymbiont prevalence and diversity is a first step in understanding their function inside the host and may shed light on the process of spread and population variability in cosmopolitan invasive species.
Topics: Humans; Adult; Animals; Female; Animals, Poisonous; Chlamydiales; Eggs; Spiders; Wolbachia
PubMed: 38609398
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-58723-2 -
Alternative Therapies in Health and... May 2023Researchers have associated insomnia with many disorders, making insomnia a serious public health issue in China. Sleep quality in older adults isn't well characterized...
CONTEXT
Researchers have associated insomnia with many disorders, making insomnia a serious public health issue in China. Sleep quality in older adults isn't well characterized in China.
OBJECTIVE
The study intended to explore the sleep quality and subjective duration of sleep in a community-dwelling older population in China and identify potential risk factors for poor sleep.
DESIGN
The research team performed a cross-sectional survey using the convenience sampling method.
SETTING
The study took place in a community in Wuhu, Anhui, China in 2015.
PARTICIPANTS
Participants were 1075 members of the community from Wuhu city.
OUTCOME MEASURES
The research team collected self-reported information on sleep quality.
RESULTS
The overall prevalence of self-reported insomnia among older adults were 40.8%. The prevalence of insomnia in females, 259 (59.00%), was significantly higher than in males, 180 (41.00%), with P = .00. For income status, the prevalence of insomnia was significantly higher for participants with less than 10 000 RMB per year income for a family, 191 participants (43.51%), than for participants with higher family incomes, with P = .00. For marital status, the prevalence of insomnia was significantly higher for the widowed participants, 121 participants (24.56%), with P = .01.
CONCLUSIONS
Sleep quality for females, low-income families, and widowed people were significantly worse than for people in other categories among older adults in China. Older adults in China need proper interventions for the factors causing poor sleep hygiene.
Topics: Male; Female; Humans; Aged; Self Report; Sleep Initiation and Maintenance Disorders; Sleep Quality; Independent Living; Cross-Sectional Studies; Sleep; Risk Factors; China
PubMed: 36947652
DOI: No ID Found -
Indian Journal of Occupational and... 2022Information Technology (IT) professionals commonly encounter occupation-related issues that adversely affect psychological health and well-being.
INTRODUCTION
Information Technology (IT) professionals commonly encounter occupation-related issues that adversely affect psychological health and well-being.
AIM AND OBJECTIVE
To study the level and relationships of life satisfaction with cognitive flexibility and resilience in IT professionals.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
In this cross-sectional study, 457 IT professionals were assessed with Sociodemographic proforma, Cognitive Flexibility Scale (CFS), Cognitive Resilience Scale (CRS), and Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS).
STATISTICAL ANALYSIS USED
Descriptive statistics, Student's t-test, ANOVA, and linear regression analysis.
RESULTS
The mean score on CRS was high (4.5), whereas on CFS was low (49.36). The mean score on SWLS was also low (17.36) particularly with widowed and disrupted family status, positively linked to the scoring of CFS & CRS, and negatively linked to hours of work.
CONCLUSIONS
Among Indian IT professionals, cognitive flexibility and life satisfaction are low and influenced by family. Life satisfaction is proportionately linked to cognitive flexibility and resilience.
PubMed: 35991196
DOI: 10.4103/ijoem.ijoem_213_21 -
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2023The deteriorating health status of widowed elderly individuals becomes an important restriction factor affecting healthy aging in China. This paper aimed to find...
BACKGROUND
The deteriorating health status of widowed elderly individuals becomes an important restriction factor affecting healthy aging in China. This paper aimed to find effective ways to reduce the risk of disability among the widowed elderly.
METHODS
An empirical analysis was conducted by using four surveys from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study (CHARLS) in 2011, 2013, 2015, and 2018. A fixed-effects model was performed to estimate the effect of widowhood on the disability risk of the elderly in China and its disparities in different groups, and influencing channels and moderating effects were further investigated.
RESULTS
Widowhood significantly increased the risk of disability, and the results were robust. The risk of disability was higher among those who were male, living in urban areas, educated, and 60-to-70-years-old. Possible channels in the association were psychological stress and unhealthy behavior. Meanwhile, more financial support, contact from children, and social activities decreased the risk of disability.
CONCLUSION
The health risks of older adults after widowhood can be reduced by concerted efforts from society and government, including promoting the traditional Chinese virtue of filial piety and providing health interventions and social support services.
PubMed: 37275979
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1169952 -
Frontiers in Surgery 2022Marital status has been associated with the outcomes in several types of cancer, but less is known about upper digestive tract tumors (UDTTs). The study aims to explore...
PURPOSE
Marital status has been associated with the outcomes in several types of cancer, but less is known about upper digestive tract tumors (UDTTs). The study aims to explore the effect of marital status on the survival outcomes of UDTT.
METHODS
We collected patient cases of UDTT using the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) database between 1975 and 2016. The univariate analyses of overall survival (OS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) were performed using the Kaplan-Meier method. The multivariate survival analyses were performed using Cox proportional hazard model.
RESULTS
A total of 282,189 patients were included, with 56.42, 16.30, 13.33, and 13.95% of patients married, never married, divorced or separated, and widowed, respectively. The significant differences were observed among married, never-married, divorced or separated, and widowed patients with regard to the year of diagnosis, sex, age, race, pathological type, anatomical site, the number of primary tumor, grade, rate of surgery performed, radiotherapy, chemotherapy ( < 0.001). The proportions of patients with 3-year and 5-year OS were 54.22 and 48.02% in the married group, 46.96 and 41.12% in the never-married group, 44.24 and 38.06% in the divorced or separated group, 34.59 and 27.57% in the widowed group, respectively ( < 0.001); the proportions of patients with 3-year and 5-year CSS were 70.76 and 68.13% in the married group, 62.44 and 59,93% in the never-married group, 63.13 and 60.53% in the divorced or separated group, 62.11 and 58.89% in the widowed group, respectively ( < 0.001); all these data indicated married patients exhibited favorable OS and CSS than never-married, divorced or separated, and widowed patients. Men in the married group showed better OS (, 1.16; 95%CI: 1.11-1.22) and CSS (, 0.96; 95%CI: 0.92-1.23) than those in the never-married group.
CONCLUSION
This study reveals that marital status is an independent prognostic factor for OS and CSS of patients with UDTT. Married male patients with UDTT trend to have a better prognosis.
PubMed: 35478729
DOI: 10.3389/fsurg.2022.880893 -
International Journal of Environmental... Dec 2022Social determinants have a major influence on individuals' health, and among them, loneliness has an important impact on the health of the elderly.
BACKGROUND
Social determinants have a major influence on individuals' health, and among them, loneliness has an important impact on the health of the elderly.
OBJECTIVES
The aims were to determine loneliness and its social and emotional components in a sample of elderly people and to assess its prevalence and associations with sociodemographic variables.
METHODS
Analytical, cross-sectional, observational research was carried out based on a population over 60 years of age in Valencia (Spain). Loneliness was assessed with the De Jong-Gierveld Loneliness Scale.
RESULTS
Five-hundred and thirty community-dwelling individuals participated. The mean age of the sample was 72.7 years (84.2% women); 36.2% suffered from moderate loneliness and 6.6% suffered from extreme loneliness. The sociodemographic variables most significantly related to loneliness were being single, separated, or divorced ( < 0.01). Among widowers, loneliness was inversely associated with years of widowhood ( < 0.01). Having sons/daughters was a significant protective factor ( < 0.05), while having grandchildren or siblings did not have a significant influence. The ability to walk and smartphone and video call use were not associated with loneliness.
CONCLUSIONS
There is a high prevalence of unwanted loneliness in community-dwelling individuals, and some social factors play an important role. Interventions against loneliness among older people are a priority for welfare and public health.
Topics: Humans; Female; Middle Aged; Aged; Male; Loneliness; Independent Living; Cross-Sectional Studies; Emotions; Spain
PubMed: 36554512
DOI: 10.3390/ijerph192416622 -
PloS One 2021To identify risk factors for delirium among hospitalized patients in Zambia.
OBJECTIVE
To identify risk factors for delirium among hospitalized patients in Zambia.
METHODS
We conducted a prospective cohort study at the University Teaching Hospital in Lusaka, Zambia, from October 2017 to April 2018. We report associations of exposures including sociodemographic and clinical factors with delirium over the first three days of hospital admission, assessed using a modified Brief Confusion Assessment Method (bCAM).
FINDINGS
749 patients were included for analysis (mean age, 42.9 years; 64.8% men; 47.3% with HIV). In individual regression analyses of potential delirium risk factors adjusted for age, sex and education, factors significantly associated with delirium included being divorced/widowed (OR 1.64, 95% CI 1.09-2.47), lowest tercile income (OR 1.58, 95% CI 1.04-2.40), informal employment (OR 1.97, 95% CI 1.25-3.15), untreated HIV infection (OR 2.18, 95% CI 1.21-4.06), unknown HIV status (OR 2.90, 95% CI 1.47-6.16), history of stroke (OR 2.70, 95% CI 1.15-7.19), depression/anxiety (OR 1.52, 95% CI 1.08-2.14), alcohol overuse (OR 1.96, 95% CI 1.39-2.79), sedatives ordered on admission (OR 3.77, 95% CI 1.70-9.54), severity of illness (OR 2.00, 95% CI 1.82-2.22), neurological (OR 7.66, 95% CI 4.90-12.24) and pulmonary-system admission diagnoses (OR 1.91, 95% CI 1.29-2.85), and sepsis (OR 2.44, 95% CI 1.51-4.08). After combining significant risk factors into a multivariable regression analysis, severity of illness, history of stroke, and being divorced/widowed remained predictive of delirium (p<0.05).
CONCLUSION
Among hospitalized adults at a national referral hospital in Zambia, severity of illness, history of stroke, and being divorced/widowed were independently predictive of delirium. Extension of this work will inform future efforts to prevent, detect, and manage delirium in low- and middle-income countries.
Topics: Adult; Comorbidity; Delirium; Female; Hospitals, Teaching; Humans; Inpatients; Male; Mental Health; Middle Aged; Socioeconomic Factors; Zambia
PubMed: 33831010
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0249097 -
Aging & Mental Health Nov 2022Widowhood and adverse childhood socioeconomic circumstances (CSC) have both been linked to increased levels of depressive symptoms in old age. Beyond their independent...
Widowhood and adverse childhood socioeconomic circumstances (CSC) have both been linked to increased levels of depressive symptoms in old age. Beyond their independent impact on depressive symptoms, experiencing adverse CSC may also trigger a cascade of cumulative adversity and secondary stressors across the life course that shapes how individuals weather stressful life events later on. We examine whether exposure to adverse CSC moderates the relationship between later-life widowhood and depressive symptoms using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe (2004-2017). Mixed-effects models revealed that both widowhood and adverse CSC were associated with increased levels of depressive symptoms among men and women. Associations between widowhood and depressive symptoms, however, were not moderated by CSC for both genders. Persisting differences in the levels of mental health in response to later-life widowhood did not further widen in the presence of disparities experienced early in the life course. This may reflect the life-altering impact of this age-normative, yet stressful life event across the social strata.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Child; Depression; Widowhood; Life Change Events; Aging; Retirement
PubMed: 34494920
DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2021.1972930