Famine-related mortality in early life and accelerated life histories in nineteenth-century Belgium

Density-dependent and extrinsic mortality are predicted to accelerate reproductive maturation. The first 5 years of life is a proposed sensitive period for life-history regulation. This study examines the ways in which local mortality during this sensitive period was related to subsequent marriage timing in nineteenth-century Belgium (n women = 11 892; n men = 14 140). Local mortality during the sensitive period was inversely associated with age at first marriage for men and women controlling for literacy, occupational status, population growth and migration. Cox regression indicated decreased time to marriage for women (HR = 1.661, 95% CI: 1.542–1.789) and men (HR = 1.327, 95% CI: 1.238–1.422) from high mortality municipalities. Rising population growth rates were associated with earlier marriage for men and women. Migration in general was associated with later marriage for men and women. Consistent with life-history predictions, harsh ecological conditions during early life such as famine coincided with earlier marriage.     

Loss in life expectancy and gain in life years as measures of cancer impact

There are a broad range of survival-based metrics that are available to report from cancer survival studies, with varying advantages and disadvantages. A combination of metrics should be considered to improve comprehensibility and give a fuller understanding of the impact of cancer. In this article, we discuss the utility of loss in life expectancy and gain in life years as measures of cancer impact, and to quantify differences across population groups. These measures are simple to interpret, have a real-world meaning, and evaluate impact over a life-time horizon. We illustrate the use of the loss in life expectancy measures through a range of examples using data on women diagnosed with cancer in England. We use four different examples across a number of tumour types to illustrate different uses of the metrics, and highlight how they can be interpreted and used in practice in population-based oncology studies. Extensions of the measures conditional on survival to specific times after diagnosis can be used to give updated prognosis for cancer patients. Furthermore, we show how the measures can be used to understand the impact of population differences seen across patient groups. We believe that these under-used, and relatively easy to calculate, measures of overall impact can supplement reporting of cancer survival metrics and improve the comprehensibility compared to the metrics typically reported.     

Legacies in life histories

Complex life-histories are common in nature, have many importantbiological consequences, and are an important focal area forintegrative biology. For organisms with complex life-histories,a legacy is something handed down from an ancestor or previousstage, and can be genetic, nutritional/provisional, experiential,as well as the result of random chance and natural variationin the environment. As we learn more about complex life-histories,it becomes clear that legacies are inexorably linked in theshort- and long-term through ecology and evolution. Understandingthe consequences and drivers of life-history patterns can thereforeonly be understood by considering all types of legacies andintegrating legacies across the entire life cycle. Larry McEdwardwas a leader in the field of ecological physiology, and evolutionaryecology of marine invertebrate larvae with complex life-histories.Through his scientific work and publications, devotion to students,colleagues, family, and friends, Larry has left a lasting legacythat will impact the future development of the field of larvalecology and complex life-histories.     

A life in books

A note from the Reviews Editor. How are intellectual and personal lives shaped through encounters with books? In this first instalment of our new occasional special feature, Tim Ingold responds to our invitation to select the five key books that most influenced his thinking. His selections illustrate the diversity of ways in which books can become meaningful: sometimes condensing an existing train of thought; in moments of inspiration; nagging away in languages that draw us in despite, or because of, the partial ways we understand; sometimes as points of arrival, redescribing what we already feel we know; at others as moments of departure, in new possibilities realized or glimpsed; in disagreement as much as assent; in the exhilarating revelation of a fleeting moment of discovery, or in the gradual evolution of new ideas over years or even decades.     

Artificial life and living systems: Insight into artificial life and its implications in life science research

Advanced technology has made it possible to build machines and systems like robots, which are capable of making intelligent decisions. Robots capable of self-replication and perform human functions are also available. The current challenge is to design evolutionary systems with high complexity comparable to that of biological networks. This is proposed to be achieved by ALife (Artificial Life). Here, we describe the promises provided by ALife for life sciences.     

Microbial life in glacial ice and implications for a cold origin of life

Application of physical and chemical concepts, complemented by studies of prokaryotes in ice cores and permafrost, has led to the present understanding of how microorganisms can metabolize at subfreezing temperatures on Earth and possibly on Mars and other cold planetary bodies. The habitats for life at subfreezing temperatures benefit from two unusual properties of ice. First, almost all ionic impurities are insoluble in the crystal structure of ice, which leads to a network of micron-diameter veins in which microorganisms may utilize ions for metabolism. Second, ice in contact with mineral surfaces develops a nanometre-thick film of unfrozen water that provides a second habitat that may allow microorganisms to extract energy from redox reactions with ions in the water film or ions in the mineral structure. On the early Earth and on icy planets, prebiotic molecules in veins in ice may have polymerized to RNA and polypeptides by virtue of the low water activity and high rate of encounter with each other in nearly one-dimensional trajectories in the veins. Prebiotic molecules may also have utilized grain surfaces to increase the rate of encounter and to exploit other physicochemical features of the surfaces.     

Comparative life cycle assessment and life cycle costing of lodging in the Himalaya

Purpose

The main aim of the study is to assess the environmental and economic impacts of the lodging sector located in the Himalayan region of Nepal, from a life cycle perspective. The assessment should support decision making in technology and material selection for minimal environmental and economic burden in future construction projects.

Methods

The study consists of the life cycle assessment and life cycle costing of lodging in three building types: traditional, semi-modern and modern. The life cycle stages under analysis include raw material acquisition, manufacturing, construction, use, maintenance and material replacement. The study includes a sensitivity analysis focusing on the lifespan of buildings, occupancy rate and discount and inflation rates. The functional unit was formulated as the ‘Lodging of one additional guest per night’, and the time horizon is 50 years of building lifespan. Both primary and secondary data were used in the life cycle inventory.

Results and discussion

The modern building has the highest global warming potential (kg CO_2-eq) as well as higher costs over 50 years of building lifespan. The results show that the use stage is responsible for the largest share of environmental impacts and costs, which are related to energy use for different household activities. The use of commercial materials in the modern building, which have to be transported mostly from the capital in the buildings, makes the higher GWP in the construction and replacement stages. Furthermore, a breakdown of the building components shows that the roof and wall of the building are the largest contributors to the production-related environmental impact.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that the main improvement opportunities in the lodging sector lie in the reduction of impacts on the use stage and in the choice of materials for wall and roof.

     

The signs of life in architecture

Engineers, designers and architects often look to nature for inspiration. The research on 'natural constructions' is aiming at innovation and the improvement of architectural quality. The introduction of life sciences terminology in the context of architecture delivers new perspectives towards innovation in architecture and design. The investigation is focused on the analogies between nature and architecture. Apart from other principles that are found in living nature, an interpretation of the so-called 'signs of life', which characterize living systems, in architecture is presented. Selected architectural projects that have applied specific characteristics of life, whether on purpose or not, will show the state of development in this field and open up future challenges. The survey will include famous built architecture as well as students' design programs, which were carried out under supervision of the author at the Department of Design and Building Construction at the Vienna University of Technology.     

Genetics of life span in mice

Thymic involution that occurs earlier in some individuals than others may be the result of complex interactions between genetic factors and the environment. Such interactions may produce defects of thymus-dependent immune regulation associated with susceptibility to developing autoimmune diseases, malignancy, and an increased number of infections associated with aging.The major histocompatibility complex may be important in determining profiles of cause of death and length of life in mice. Genetic influences on life span involve interactions between loci and allelic interactions during life which may change following viral infections or exposure to other environmental factors. We have used different experimental protocols to study the influence of H-2 on life span and found that interactions between genetic regions, are inconsistent, particularly when comparing mice infected or not infected with Sendai virus.Genes important for life span need to be studied against many genetic backgrounds and under differing environmental conditions because of the complexity of the genetics of life span. Several genetic models were used to demonstrate that the MHC is a marker of life span in backcross and intercross male mice of the H-2^d and H-2^b genotypes in B10 congenic mice. Females lived longer than males in backcross and intercross mice, while males lived longer than females in B10 congenics. H-2^d was at a disadvantage for life span in backcross mice of the dilute brown and brown males exposed to Sendai infection, but intercross mice not exposed to Sendai virus of the same genotype were not at a disadvantage. H-2^d mice were not disadvantaged when compared to H-2^b in B10 congenics that had not been exposed to Sendai virus infection but the reverse was true when they were exposed. Overall, all our studies suggest that genetic influences in life span may involve interactions between loci and many allelic interactions in growing animals or humans. These genetic influences on life span may vary after they are exposed to infections or other environmental conditions. This paper emphasizes the need to use several genetic models, especially animals that have been monitored for infections, to study the genetics of life span.