Gene-nutrient interactions that impact magnesium homeostasis increase risk for neural tube defects in mice exposed to dolutegravir.

In 2018, data from a surveillance study in Botswana evaluating adverse birth outcomes raised concerns that women on antiretroviral therapy (ART) containing dolutegravir (DTG) may be at increased risk for neural tube defects (NTDs). The mechanism of action for DTG involves chelation of Mg ions in the active site of the viral integrase. Plasma Mg homeostasis is maintained primarily through dietary intake and reabsorption in the kidneys.

The evolution of extraordinary self-sacrifice.

From a theoretical perspective, individuals are expected to sacrifice their welfare only when the benefits outweigh the costs. In nature, however, the costs of altruism and spite can be extreme, as in cases of irreversible sterility and self-destructive weaponry. Here we show that "extraordinary" self-sacrifice-in which actors pay costs that exceed the benefits they give or the costs they impose on recipients-can evolve in structured populations, where social actions bring secondary benefits to neighboring kin.

Is Psychopathy a Mental Disorder or an Adaptation? Evidence From a Meta-Analysis of the Association Between Psychopathy and Handedness.

Psychopathy has historically been conceptualized as a mental disorder, but there is growing evidence that it may instead be an alternative, adaptive life history strategy designed by natural selection. Although the etiology of mental disorders is not fully understood, one likely contributor is perturbations affecting neurodevelopment. Nonright-handedness is a sign of such perturbations, and therefore can be used to test these competing models.

Renal biomarkers of acid excretion capacity: relationships with body fatness and blood pressure.

Background: Overweight and higher BMI are known to be related to increased blood pressure (BP) and additionally associate with lowered urine pH values even at comparable total daily acid loading. Since a reduced urine pH level at a given total acid load indicates an impaired renal net acid excretion capacity (NAEC) and renal function also relates to BP, we hypothesized that NAEC may be one mediator of the body fat-BP association.

Methods: Ammonium, titratable acid, pH, creatinine, and urea were measured in 24-h urine samples among 9-15-year-old adolescents of the DONALD Study.

Estimates of renal net acid excretion and their relationships with serum uric acid and hyperuricemia in a representative German population sample.

Background/objective: Preliminary interventional data suggest that a reduction of dietary acid load raises renal uric acid excretion and decreases serum uric acid (SUA). In line with this, in a recent cross-sectional analysis of a representative adult population sample, a higher potential renal acid load (PRAL) was found to associate with higher SUA levels. Against this background, we re-examined the relationship of the body's acid load with SUA and hyperuricemia using nutrition-derived estimates of renal net acid excretion (NAE).

Inflammatory mediators in the adipo-renal axis: leptin, adiponectin, and soluble ICAM-1.

A lower 24-h urine pH (24h-pH), i.e., a higher renal excretion of free protons, at a given acid load to the body, denotes a reduction in the kidney's capacity for net acid excretion (NAE).

Baeyer-Villiger oxidation tuned to chemoselective conversion of non-activated [ F]fluorobenzaldehydes to [ F]fluorophenols.

A reaction pathway via oxidation of [ F]fluorobenzaldehydes offers a very useful tool for the no-carrier-added radiosynthesis of [ F]fluorophenols, a structural motive of several potential radiopharmaceuticals. A considerably improved chemoselectivity of the Baeyer-Villiger oxidation (BVO) towards phenols was achieved, employing 2,2,2-trifluoroethanol as reaction solvent in combination with Oxone or m-CPBA as oxidation agent. The studies showed the necessity of H SO addition, which appears to have a dual effect, acting as catalyst and desiccant.

Increased body fatness adversely relates to 24-hour urine pH during childhood and adolescence: evidence of an adipo-renal axis.

Background: Reduced net acid excretion (NAE) capacity indicates a decrease in renal function. This reduction manifests as a disproportionally low 24-h urine pH in relation to the sum of actually excreted ammonium and titratable acidity by the kidney.

Objective: The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that higher body fatness is one determinant of kidney function impairment with a lowered urine pH even at a young age.

Prospective relation of adolescent citrate excretion and net acid excretion capacity with blood pressure in young adulthood.

Experimental data and observational studies in adults suggest that even subtle changes in acid-base balance, indicative of a higher systemic proton load, are related to higher blood pressure (BP) levels and an increased hypertension risk. However, these associations have not been investigated during growth. The kidney is the central organ in regulating excretion of nonvolatile acids, and renal citrate excretion has been shown to be a sensitive, noninvasive marker of changes in systemic acid balance.

Local Competition Amplifies the Corrosive Effects of Inequality.

Inequality is widely believed to incite conflict, but the evidence is inconsistent. We argue that the spatial scale of competition-the extent to which individuals compete locally, with their interaction partners, or globally, with the entire population-can help settle the question. We built a mathematical model of the evolution of conflict under inequality and tested its predictions in an experimental game with 1,205 participants.

Flavonoid intake from fruit and vegetables during adolescence is prospectively associated with a favourable risk factor profile for type 2 diabetes in early adulthood.

Purpose: Flavonoid consumption during adolescence could contribute to preventing adult onset of type 2 diabetes mellitus. We investigated the prospective association between habitual intake of flavonoids from fruit and vegetables (FlavFV) during adolescence and risk markers of type 2 diabetes in early adulthood.

Methods: This analysis included participants of the DONALD Study, who had provided a fasting blood sample in adulthood (18-39 years), data on FlavFV-intake during adolescence (females: 9-15 years, males: 10-16 years) and relevant covariates.

Dietary Potential Renal Acid Load Is Positively Associated with Serum Uric Acid and Odds of Hyperuricemia in the German Adult Population.

Background: Initial interventional data indicate that a reduction in dietary acid load (e.g., by an increased consumption of alkalizing fruit and vegetables) can increase renal uric acid excretion and decrease serum uric acid (SUA).

Dietary Acid Load and Potassium Intake Associate with Blood Pressure and Hypertension Prevalence in a Representative Sample of the German Adult Population.

Diets rich in fruits and vegetables, like the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH)-diet, are usually characterized by high potassium intake and reduced dietary acid load, and have been shown to reduce blood pressure (BP). However, the relevance of potential renal acid load (PRAL) for BP has not been compared with the relevance to BP of urinary biomarker (K-urine)- and dietary food frequency questionnaire (K-FFQ)-based estimates of potassium intake in a general adult population sample. For 6788 participants (aged 18-79 years) of the representative German Health-Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (DEGS1), associations of PRAL, K-urine, and K-FFQ with BP and hypertension prevalence were cross-sectionally examined in multivariable linear and logistic regression models.

The importance of being explicit.

Van Lange et al. propose that climate affects violence via its effects on life history. That much is reasonable (and not novel), but their theory lacks causal specificity.

Exonic Mosaic Mutations Contribute Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Genetic risk factors for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have yet to be fully elucidated. Postzygotic mosaic mutations (PMMs) have been implicated in several neurodevelopmental disorders and overgrowth syndromes. By leveraging whole-exome sequencing data on a large family-based ASD cohort, the Simons Simplex Collection, we systematically evaluated the potential role of PMMs in autism risk.

Diet-independent relevance of serum uric acid for blood pressure in a representative population sample.

A direct relationship between serum uric acid and blood pressure (BP) has been reported, but the possible confounding impact of diet on this association is unclear. The authors performed a cross-sectional analysis in the representative German Health Interview and Examination Survey for Adults (n=6788, aged 18-79 years). In adjusted regression models considering dietary factors, each 1-mg/dL higher uric acid value was associated with a 1.

Self-Resemblance and Social Rejection.

Humans perceive and treat self-resembling others in ways that suggest that self-resemblance is a cue of kinship. However, we know little about how individuals respond to treatment by self-resembling others. Here we approach this problem by connecting facial self-resemblance to social rejection.

The burden of proof for a cultural group selection account.

Richerson et al. establish cultural group selection as a plausible force in human social evolution. However, they do not demonstrate its causal precedence for any trait, let alone its "essentialness.

Causality and the Levels of Selection.

When is it sensible to say that group selection has shaped organismal design? This question has prompted many replies but few credible solutions. New work that exposes the causal relationships between phenotypes and fitness may finally settle the matter - and a few other things besides.

Relative validation of 24-h urinary hippuric acid excretion as a biomarker for dietary flavonoid intake from fruit and vegetables in healthy adolescents.

Purpose: A biomarker for dietary flavonoid intake from fruit and vegetables (FlavFV) is needed to elucidate the relevance of flavonoids from these sources for the prevention of chronic diseases. Urinary hippuric acid (HA)-a major metabolite of flavonoids-is promising in this respect as it was shown to satisfyingly indicate fruit and vegetable consumption in different age groups. Therefore, we validated urinary HA as a biomarker for intake of FlavFV.

Relevance of fruits, vegetables and flavonoids from fruits and vegetables during early life, mid-childhood and adolescence for levels of insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and its binding proteins IGFBP-2 and IGFBP-3 in young adulthood.

The growth hormone (GH) insulin-like growth factor (IGF) axis has been linked to insulin metabolism and cancer risk. Experimental evidence indicates that the GH-IGF axis itself can be influenced by dietary flavonoids. As fruit and vegetable (FV) intake is a major source of flavonoid consumption, FV's beneficial health effects may be explained via flavonoids' influence on the GH-IGF axis, but observational evidence is currently rare.

Metabolomic Quantitative Trait Loci (mQTL) Mapping Implicates the Ubiquitin Proteasome System in Cardiovascular Disease Pathogenesis.

Levels of certain circulating short-chain dicarboxylacylcarnitine (SCDA), long-chain dicarboxylacylcarnitine (LCDA) and medium chain acylcarnitine (MCA) metabolites are heritable and predict cardiovascular disease (CVD) events. Little is known about the biological pathways that influence levels of most of these metabolites. Here, we analyzed genetics, epigenetics, and transcriptomics with metabolomics in samples from a large CVD cohort to identify novel genetic markers for CVD and to better understand the role of metabolites in CVD pathogenesis.