The sweet tabaiba or there and back again: phylogeographical history of the Macaronesian Euphorbia balsamifera.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Biogeographical relationships between the Canary Islands and north-west Africa are often explained by oceanic dispersal and geographical proximity. Sister-group relationships between Canarian and eastern African/Arabian taxa, the 'Rand Flora' pattern, are rare among plants and have been attributed to the extinction of north-western African populations. Euphorbia balsamifera is the only representative species of this pattern that is distributed in the Canary Islands and north-west Africa; it is also one of few species present in all seven islands. Previous studies placed African populations of E. balsamifera as sister to the Canarian populations, but this relationship was based on herbarium samples with highly degraded DNA. Here, we test the extinction hypothesis by sampling new continental populations; we also expand the Canarian sampling to examine the dynamics of island colonization and diversification. METHODS: Using target enrichment with genome skimming, we reconstructed phylogenetic relationships within E. balsamifera and between this species and its disjunct relatives. A single nucleotide polymorphism dataset obtained from the target sequences was used to infer population genetic diversity patterns. We used convolutional neural networks to discriminate among alternative Canary Islands colonization scenarios. KEY RESULTS: The results confirmed the Rand Flora sister-group relationship between western E. balsamifera and Euphorbia adenensis in the Eritreo-Arabian region and recovered an eastern-western geographical structure among E. balsamifera Canarian populations. Convolutional neural networks supported a scenario of east-to-west island colonization, followed by population extinctions in Lanzarote and Fuerteventura and recolonization from Tenerife and Gran Canaria; a signal of admixture between the eastern island and north-west African populations was recovered. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the Surfing Syngameon Hypothesis for the colonization of the Canary Islands by E. balsamifera, but also a recent back-colonization to the continent. Populations of E. balsamifera from northwest Africa are not the remnants of an ancestral continental stock, but originated from migration events from Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. This is further evidence that oceanic archipelagos are not a sink for biodiversity, but may be a source of new genetic variability.

Hydration Status: Influence of Exercise and Diet Quality.

Physical activity, adherence to a healthy diet, and healthy beverage pattern are considered essential components of a healthy lifestyle. We aimed to evaluate the associations between physical exercise, diet quality, and total fluid intake, along with fluid recommendations compliance in a sample of adults. Data on fluid intake from different types of beverages were collected in a cross-sectional study, in 1161 men and women between 18 and 65 years of age, using a fluid-specific diary. Exercise was evaluated with a self-reported questionnaire, and quality of diet was assessed using the Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI). Mean volume of water consumed was 1497.5 mL for men, 1309.5 mL for women. A total of 37.4% did not follow the recommendations of the European Food Safety Agency for total water intake. There was a statistically significant difference (P = .002) between total water intake and follow-up of recommendations, as well as for sex (P < .001). Mean HEI-2010 score was 65.21. There were no statistically significant differences (P = .301) in HEI index among better or worse hydration. Sport variables had influence on milliliters of water consumed (P < .001). Participants who engaged in more physical exercise exhibit a healthier pattern of fluid intake. Healthy individuals with the highest scores for HEI-2010 did not present the healthiest beverage patterns.

Bridging the micro- and macroevolutionary levels in phylogenomics: Hyb-Seq solves relationships from populations to species and above.

Reconstructing phylogenetic relationships at the micro- and macroevoutionary levels within the same tree is problematic because of the need to use different data types and analytical frameworks. We test the power of target enrichment to provide phylogenetic resolution based on DNA sequences from above species to within populations, using a large herbarium sampling and Euphorbia balsamifera (Euphorbiaceae) as a case study. Target enrichment with custom probes was combined with genome skimming (Hyb-Seq) to sequence 431 low-copy nuclear genes and partial plastome DNA. We used supermatrix, multispecies-coalescent approaches, and Bayesian dating to estimate phylogenetic relationships and divergence times. Euphorbia balsamifera, with a disjunct Rand Flora-type distribution at opposite sides of Africa, comprises three well-supported subspecies: western Sahelian sepium is sister to eastern African-southern Arabian adenensis and Macaronesian-southwest Moroccan balsamifera. Lineage divergence times support Late Miocene to Pleistocene diversification and climate-driven vicariance to explain the Rand Flora pattern. We show that probes designed using genomic resources from taxa not directly related to the focal group are effective in providing phylogenetic resolution at deep and shallow evolutionary levels. Low capture efficiency in herbarium samples increased the proportion of missing data but did not bias estimation of phylogenetic relationships or branch lengths.

Nutritional and environmental factors in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A cross-sectional study.

OBJECTIVES: Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been related to nutrient deficiencies and 'unhealthy' diets, and to date there is only one study that examined the relationship between the Mediterranean diet and ADHD. The aim was to determine the association between those environmental, nutritional, and body composition factors that may affect the pathogenesis and symptomatology of patients with ADHD in Spain. METHODS: A total of 89 children and adolescents (41 with diagnosed ADHD and 48 controls) were studied in an observation case-control study. Anthropometry, nutritional status, adherence to a Mediterranean diet, sedentary behaviour, and sleep were measured. RESULTS: Lower adherence to a Mediterranean diet was associated with ADHD diagnosis. Individuals with ADHD more often missed having a second serving of vegetables daily and showed reduced intakes of fish, pulses, and pasta or rice almost every day when compared with controls. Statistically significant differences (P < 0.05) were found for fish, cereal, no breakfast and commercially baked goods consumption. There were also statistically significant differences between ADHD individuals and controls when analysing sedentary behaviours and BMI (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION: Low adherence to a Mediterranean diet might play a role in ADHD development. Not only specific nutrients but also the whole diet should be considered in ADHD. No clear association was found for anthropometry and sedentary behaviours.