Diverse Lifestyles Research Articles

The unexpected discovery of a novel low-oxygen-activated locus for the anoxic persistence of Burkholderia cenocepacia

Burkholderia cenocepacia is a Gram-negative aerobic bacterium that belongs to a group of opportunistic pathogens displaying diverse environmental and pathogenic lifestyles. B. cenocepacia is known for its ability to cause lung infections in people with cystic fibrosis and it possesses a large 8 Mb multireplicon genome encoding a wide array of pathogenicity and fitness genes. Transcriptomic profiling across nine growth conditions was performed to identify the global gene expression changes made when B. cenocepacia changes niches from an environmental lifestyle to infection. In comparison to exponential growth, the results demonstrated that B. cenocepacia changes expression of over one-quarter of its genome during conditions of growth arrest, stationary phase and surprisingly, under reduced oxygen concentrations (6% instead of 20.9% normal atmospheric conditions). Multiple virulence factors are upregulated during these growth arrest conditions. A unique discovery from the comparative expression analysis was the identification of a distinct, co-regulated 50-gene cluster that was significantly upregulated during growth under low oxygen conditions. This gene cluster was designated the low-oxygen-activated (lxa) locus and encodes six universal stress proteins and proteins predicted to be involved in metabolism, transport, electron transfer and regulation. Deletion of the lxa locus resulted in B. cenocepacia mutants with aerobic growth deficiencies in minimal medium and compromised viability after prolonged incubation in the absence of oxygen. In summary, transcriptomic profiling of B. cenocepacia revealed an unexpected ability of aerobic Burkholderia to persist in the absence of oxygen and identified the novel lxa locus as key determinant of this important ecophysiological trait.

Anatomy and Evolution of Heterocercal Tail in Lamniform Sharks

Lamniformes is a small shark group consisting of 15 extant species with remarkably diverse lifestyles and a wide range in heterocercal tail morphology. The caudal fin morphology must be related to their lifestyle because the tail is a main locomotive structure in sharks, but such relationships have remained largely uninvestigated. Here, the morphology-lifestyle relationship in lamniforms is examined through phylogenetic mapping. This study suggests that, within Lamniformes, caudal fins with a more horizontally directed curvature of the vertebral column are plesiomorphic, whereas those with a large dorsally directed curvature of the vertebral column are apomorphic. It also shows that caudal fins with posteriorly directed hypochordal rays are plesiomorphic, and that those with ventrally directed hypochordal rays are apomorphic within Lamniformes. Four basic caudal fin types are recognized in lamniforms on the basis of these skeletal variables in which one corollary is that the evolution of external morphology of caudal fin does not necessarily correspond to the evolution of its skeletal anatomy. This study also demonstrates that specific lifestyles seen in different lamniforms are indeed correlative with different caudal fin types in which a less asymmetrical heterocercal tail is a derived feature in lamniforms that evolved for fast swimming to capture fast swimming prey.

Invertebrate and avian predators as drivers of chemical defensive strategies in tenthredinid sawflies.

BackgroundMany insects are chemically defended against predatory vertebrates and invertebrates. Nevertheless, our understanding of the evolution and diversity of insect defenses remains limited, since most studies have focused on visual signaling of defenses against birds, thereby implicitly underestimating the impact of insectivorous insects. In the larvae of sawflies in the family Tenthredinidae (Hymenoptera), which feed on various plants and show diverse lifestyles, two distinct defensive strategies are found: easy bleeding of deterrent hemolymph, and emission of volatiles by ventral glands. Here, we used phylogenetic information to identify phylogenetic correlations among various ecological and defensive traits in order to estimate the relative importance of avian versus invertebrate predation.ResultsThe mapping of 12 ecological and defensive traits on phylogenetic trees inferred from DNA sequences reveals the discrete distribution of easy bleeding that occurs, among others, in the genus Athalia and the tribe Phymatocerini. By contrast, occurrence of ventral glands is restricted to the monophyletic subfamily Nematinae, which are never easy bleeders. Both strategies are especially effective towards insectivorous insects such as ants, while only Nematinae species are frequently brightly colored and truly gregarious. Among ten tests of phylogenetic correlation between traits, only a few are significant. None of these involves morphological traits enhancing visual signals, but easy bleeding is associated with the absence of defensive body movements and with toxins occurring in the host plant. Easy bleeding functions through a combination of attributes, which is corroborated by an independent contrasts test indicating a statistically significant negative correlation between species-level integument mechanical resistance and hemolymph feeding deterrence against ants.ConclusionsOur analyses evidence a repeated occurrence of easy bleeding, and no phylogenetic correlation including specific visual signals is significant. We conclude that the evolution of chemically-based defenses in tenthredinids may have been driven by invertebrate as much as by avian predation. The clear-cut visual signaling often encountered in the Nematinae would be linked to differential trends of habitat use by prey and predators. Further studies on (prey) insect groups should include visual signals and other traits, as well as several groups of natural enemies, to better interpret their relative significance and to refine our understanding of insect chemical defenses.

2805 – Mapping conceptual frames of healthy acculturative self: a positive multicultural psychiatry perspective

To conceptualize the characteristics or traits of healthy acculturative self in a global and multicultural society. The self needs to be recapitulated in terms of globally adapting and dynamically changing environment. A meta-analytic method is applied to this study by reviewing research papers, 1990 to 2012, via academic search engines, in the following key words: acculturation and health/self/personality/ identity. Also. the concept of “scientific analogy” (Gentner, 1983, 2003, 2010) is employed. Six conceptual frames of healthy acculturative self are summed up as conceptual templates or modules. 1. Resilient Self: The resilient self has the capacity to make best use of resource and to cope with emerging stressors and life crises during acculturation. 2. Globally Adapting Self: The self is able to adapt oneself to globally changing environment. 3. Holistic and Synchronistic Self: The self is able to comprehend cultural information of the past, in the present mode, as one actively confronts culturally different situations. 4. Optimistic Self: The self strives to achieve one's goals and is able to overcome depression or life frustration. 5. Spirituality-oriented Self: The self is open to other religious values or differences as one positively appreciates other religious values as well as tolerates diverse religious systems and world views. 6. Multicultural Personality-oriented Self: The self is sensitive enough to learn culturally diverse life-styles or values. The conceptual categories of healthy acculturative self are recommended to be used as meta-cognitive maps when mental health professionals and cultural psychiatrists conduct psychiatric assessment and diagnosis.

Human Development in the Context of Social Change: Introduction

Two prominent perspectives have guided most research on social change and human development: Vygotsky's cultural–historical perspective and Elder's life-course perspective. Whereas Vygotsky's perspective focuses on the largely unidirectional influence of enduring societal transformation on human development, Elder's focuses more on individual experiences in circumstances related to dramatic and often unexpected historical events. In addition to the two traditional perspectives, a pluralist–constructivist perspective has emerged in the study of social change that is occurring in most parts of the world primarily because of globalization and technological development. This perspective emphasizes the coexistence and integration of diverse values and lifestyles and their significance for developing comprehensive competencies that help children function in various settings. This introduction provides an overview of research from each of these perspectives and discusses some major issues in the articles in this special section.

DISTANCE, REMEMBRANCE, TOLERANCE: EUROPEAN REMARKS ON CONTEXTUAL CHRISTIAN EDUCATION

Individuals, groups and communities are coping with conflicts and crisis, which include the diversity of lifestyles. This statement can be made in different ages and cultures; it becomes of interest when combined with a church or confessional context. Therefore, the first issue and authority for Christian education is how to develop opportunities to find one's own ways of remembering leading to a tolerant attitude towards other ways of life. The study underlines the importance of the contextual approach in Christian education (consisting of religious, systemic, biographical and intercultural research) by analyzing examples of different European traditions. Decoding, deconstructing and reconstructing coping strategies and cultures of remembrance in a contextual way make sure that only by facilitating opportunities of sharing experiences people and organizations can learn to cope with transitions and difficulties in a reasonable and equitable manner. Key words: Christianity, culture, Europe, remembrance, tolerance.

Comparative genomics in the Amoebozoa clade

Amoeboid life forms can be found throughout the evolutionary tree. The greatest proportion of these life forms is found in the Amoebozoa clade, one of the six major eukaryote evolutionary branches. Despite its common origin this clade exhibits a wide diversity of lifestyles including free-living and parasitic species and species with multicellular and multinucleate life stages. In this group, development, cooperation, and social behaviour can be studied in addition to traits common to unicellular organisms. To date, only a few Amoebozoa genomes have been sequenced completely, however a number of expressed sequence tags (ESTs) and complete and draft genomes have become available recently for several species that represent some of the major evolutionary lineages in this clade. This resource allows us to compare and analyse the evolutionary history and fate of branch-specific genes if properly exploited. Despite the large evolutionary time scale since the emergence of the major groups the genomic organization in Amoebozoa has retained common features. The number of Amoebozoa-specific genetic inventions seems to be rather small. The emergence of subgroups is accompanied by gene and domain losses and acquisitions of bacterial gene material. The sophisticated developmental cycles of Myxogastria and Dictyosteliida likely have a common origin and are deeply rooted in amoebozoan evolution. In this review we describe initial approaches to comparative genomics in Amoebozoa, summarize recent findings, and identify goals for further studies.

Antibiotic resistance plasmids spread among natural isolates of Escherichia coli in spite of CRISPR elements.

Clustered, regularly interspaced, short palindromic repeats (CRISPRs) are implicated in defence against foreign DNA in various archaeal and bacterial species. They have also been associated with a slower spread of antibiotic resistance. However, experimental and evolutionary studies raise doubts about the role of CRISPRs as a sort of immune system in Escherichia coli. We studied a collection of 263 natural E. coli isolates from human and animal hosts, representative of the phylogenetic and lifestyle diversity of the species and exhibiting various levels of plasmid-encoded antibiotic resistance. We characterized the strains in terms of CRISPRs, performed replicon typing of the plasmids and tested for class 1 integrons to explore the possible association between CRISPRs and the absence of plasmids and mobile antibiotic resistance determinants. We found no meaningful association between the presence/absence of the cas genes, reflecting the activity of the CRISPRs, and the presence of plasmids, integrons or antibiotic resistance. No CRISPR in the collection contained a spacer that matched an antibiotic resistance gene or element involved in antibiotic resistance gene mobilization, and 79.8 % (210/263) of the strains lacked spacers matching sequences in the 2282 plasmid genomes available. Hence, E. coli CRISPRs do not seem to be efficient barriers to the spread of plasmids and antibiotic resistance, consistent with what has been reported for phages, and contrary to reports concerning other species.

Ecology of zoonotic infectious diseases in bats: current knowledge and future directions.

SummaryBats are hosts to a range of zoonotic and potentially zoonotic pathogens. Human activities that increase exposure to bats will likely increase the opportunity for infections to spill over in the future. Ecological drivers of pathogen spillover and emergence in novel hosts, including humans, involve a complex mixture of processes, and understanding these complexities may aid in predicting spillover. In particular, only once the pathogen and host ecologies are known can the impacts of anthropogenic changes be fully appreciated. Cross‐disciplinary approaches are required to understand how host and pathogen ecology interact. Bats differ from other sylvatic disease reservoirs because of their unique and diverse lifestyles, including their ability to fly, often highly gregarious social structures, long lifespans and low fecundity rates. We highlight how these traits may affect infection dynamics and how both host and pathogen traits may interact to affect infection dynamics. We identify key questions relating to the ecology of infectious diseases in bats and propose that a combination of field and laboratory studies are needed to create data‐driven mechanistic models to elucidate those aspects of bat ecology that are most critical to the dynamics of emerging bat viruses. If commonalities can be found, then predicting the dynamics of newly emerging diseases may be possible. This modelling approach will be particularly important in scenarios when population surveillance data are unavailable and when it is unclear which aspects of host ecology are driving infection dynamics.

Alveolate Mitochondrial Metabolic Evolution: Dinoflagellates Force Reassessment of the Role of Parasitism as a Driver of Change in Apicomplexans

Mitochondrial metabolism is central to the supply of ATP and numerous essential metabolites in most eukaryotic cells. Across eukaryotic diversity, however, there is evidence of much adaptation of the function of this organelle according to specific metabolic requirements and/or demands imposed by different environmental niches. This includes substantial loss or retailoring of mitochondrial function in many parasitic groups that occupy potentially nutrient-rich environments in their metazoan hosts. Infrakingdom Alveolata comprises a well-supported alliance of three disparate eukaryotic phyla-dinoflagellates, apicomplexans, and ciliates. These major taxa represent diverse lifestyles of free-living phototrophs, parasites, and predators and offer fertile territory for exploring character evolution in mitochondria. The mitochondria of apicomplexan parasites provide much evidence of loss or change of function from analysis of mitochondrial protein genes. Much less, however, is known of mitochondrial function in their closest relatives, the dinoflagellate algae. In this study, we have developed new models of mitochondrial metabolism in dinoflagellates based on gene predictions and stable isotope labeling experiments. These data show that many changes in mitochondrial gene content previously only known from apicomplexans are found in dinoflagellates also. For example, loss of the pyruvate dehydrogenase complex and changes in tricarboxylic acid (TCA) cycle enzyme complement are shared by both groups and, therefore, represent ancestral character states. Significantly, we show that these changes do not result in loss of typical TCA cycle activity fueled by pyruvate. Thus, dinoflagellate data show that many changes in alveolate mitochondrial metabolism are independent of the major lifestyle changes seen in these lineages and provide a revised view of mitochondria character evolution during evolution of parasitism in apicomplexans.

Beinentwicklung und Gliedmaßen-Evolution bei Spinnen

The amazing biology of arthropods, their diversity in lifestyle and behaviour, is largely based on evolutionary adaptations of their appendages. Our studies on spiders provide insight into the evolution of this diversity of appendage morphology and also answer the question why spiders have (only) eight legs.

The WHO ILAR COPCORD Latin America

T he Community-Oriented Program for Control of Rheumatic Diseases (COPCORD) was launched through the concerted effort of the International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) and World Health Organization (WHO) in the early 1980s to acquire data on musculoskeletal (MSK) pain and disability. Its focus was on the developing world. COPCORD was designed a lowcost low-infrastructure model and was to be carried out in 3 successive stagesVcollect population data in a house-to-house survey (stage 1), educate community and identify risk factors (stage 2), and implement control and preventive strategies (stage 3). The key issues were identification of a welldefined sampling frame (not necessarily randomized) population and a grassroots rheumatologyoriented physician. COPCORD surveys have been completed in 22 countries. Started in the Philippines, COPCORD rapidly swept across the Asia-Pacific region and has traditionally enjoyed a vantage position with the Asia-Pacific League of Associations for Rheumatology. After slow beginnings, rapid strides were made in Latin America, and the recent COPCORD surveys in Mexico and Guatemala, with sufficient population samples, have unraveled newer insights in community rheumatology and epidemiology in particular. COPCORD Guatemala was a well-planned and executed survey of 8000 population and equally divided between urban and rural communities. Importantly, the whole survey was completed in a timely fashion (9 months) using the COPCORD Bhigwan (India) fast-track model. Earlier in 1996, a 7000+ population survey was completed in the village of Bhigwan in 5 weeks’ time. The model advocates a carefully designed and a prioriYrehearsed strategy, well-coordinated team effort (physicians and a large team of trained local health volunteers), and a field operation in which the 3 phases of stage 1 survey are completed in parallel. Speedy execution is a critical factor (population survey) to ensure robust community compliance and response, comprehensive data capture, and a truly suitable ‘‘point prevalence’’ data. COPCORD Guatemala should be viewed in a Latin American perspective. Table 1 provides an overview of some of the key prevalence data from COPCORD surveys in the region. All surveys used a similar COPCORD core questionnaire (CCQ) that was earlier adapted (regional use) and validated. The primary outcome was MSK pain and disability. Except for the Guatemala survey, all other COPCORD surveys were carried out in randomized population samples. The diversity in culture, traditions, dialect, and lifestyle in Latin America is striking and a challenge to community surveys and national prevalence statistics, and this was well described by both COPCORD Mexico and Guatemala. Although the crude point prevalence of MSK pain (11.9%), rheumatoid arthritis (RA; 0.7%), osteoarthritis (OA; 2.8%), and gout (0.01%) in Guatemala was intriguingly less compared to that in other Latin American countries (Table 1), nonetheless it represents a significant burden of rheumatic disorders in the community. The frequency of low back pain was abysmally low, and no case of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) was reported. Most of the members of the community in Guatemala lead modest and hard lifestyles (labor-intensive) and probably do not consider low back pain important enough compared with other MSK pain and disorders (Abraham Kutzbach, personal communication). The frequency of HLA B27 is considered to be lower in the community and relatively fewer of cases of AS are seen (AbrahamKutzbach, personal communication). COPCORD Guatemala has reported a higher prevalence of MSK pain and disorders in the rural community. A national COPCORD survey of 19,213 people in 5 study sites (Chihuahua, Nuevo Leon, Sinaloa, Yucatan, and Mexico City) was recently carried out in Mexico. Although national prevalence statistics were reported, there were obvious differences between study sites, for example, the minimum and maximum prevalence rates were 1% (Mexico City) and 2.8% (Yucatan) for RA, 2.5% (Sinaloa) and 20.5% (Chihuahua) for OA, 0.1% (Yucatan) and 0.8% (Chihuahua) for gout, and EDITORIAL

The Natsal-SF: a validated measure of sexual function for use in community surveys

Sexual dysfunction often features as an outcome variable in community health surveys and epidemiological surveys. Key design imperatives for measures included in large scale, population-based surveys are acceptability, brevity and relevance to diverse sexual lifestyles. None of the available measures of sexual dysfunction are entirely suited to this task. We developed a new measure of sexual function for the third British National Survey of Sexual Attitudes and Lifestyles (Natsal 3). Items for the measure were derived from qualitative work from patients and community members. The draft measure was developed and validated using a general population sample (internet panel survey (n = 1,262)) and a clinical sample (patients attending sexual problems clinics (n = 100). Confirmatory factor analysis established that a ‘general-specific model’ had the best fit and was equivalent between general population and clinical samples (Comparative Fit Index = 0.963 Tucker Lewis Index = 0.951; Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = 0.064). The 17-item Natsal-SF is positively associated with the Female Sexual Function Index-6 (B = 0.572) and Brief Sexual Function Questionnaire for men (B = 0.705); it can discriminate between clinical and general population groups (OR = 2.667); and it has good test–retest reliability (r = 0.72). The Natsal-SF provides an estimate of the level of sexual function in the last year. By including items on distress about sex and sexual relationships, and by being relevant to all regardless of sexual lifestyle, it addresses some of the gaps in current measurement design.

Men's Commitment to Family Reconsidered : Focus on the Diversity of Life Style as a Work/Life

Men's Commitment to Family Reconsidered : Focus on the Diversity of Life Style as a Work/Life

Impact of homologous and non-homologous recombination in the genomic evolution of Escherichia coli

BackgroundEscherichia coli is an important species of bacteria that can live as a harmless inhabitant of the guts of many animals, as a pathogen causing life-threatening conditions or freely in the non-host environment. This diversity of lifestyles has made it a particular focus of interest for studies of genetic variation, mainly with the aim to understand how a commensal can become a deadly pathogen. Many whole genomes of E. coli have been fully sequenced in the past few years, which offer helpful data to help understand how this important species evolved.ResultsWe compared 27 whole genomes encompassing four phylogroups of Escherichia coli (A, B1, B2 and E). From the core-genome we established the clonal relationships between the isolates as well as the role played by homologous recombination during their evolution from a common ancestor. We found strong evidence for sexual isolation between three lineages (A+B1, B2, E), which could be explained by the ecological structuring of E. coli and may represent on-going speciation. We identified three hotspots of homologous recombination, one of which had not been previously described and contains the aroC gene, involved in the essential shikimate metabolic pathway. We also described the role played by non-homologous recombination in the pan-genome, and showed that this process was highly heterogeneous. Our analyses revealed in particular that the genomes of three enterohaemorrhagic (EHEC) strains within phylogroup B1 have converged from originally separate backgrounds as a result of both homologous and non-homologous recombination.ConclusionsRecombination is an important force shaping the genomic evolution and diversification of E. coli, both by replacing fragments of genes with an homologous sequence and also by introducing new genes. In this study, several non-random patterns of these events were identified which correlated with important changes in the lifestyle of the bacteria, and therefore provide additional evidence to explain the relationship between genomic variation and ecological adaptation.

21世紀東日本の自然的環境はBio-diversityで, 社会的環境はLifestyle-diversityで, 文化的環境はLandscape-diversityで, 持続可能性を高めよう！

21世紀東日本の自然的環境はBio-diversityで, 社会的環境はLifestyle-diversityで, 文化的環境はLandscape-diversityで, 持続可能性を高めよう！

Molecular phylogeny of the bivalve superfamily Galeommatoidea (Heterodonta, Veneroida) reveals dynamic evolution of symbiotic lifestyle and interphylum host switching

BackgroundGaleommatoidea is a superfamily of bivalves that exhibits remarkably diverse lifestyles. Many members of this group live attached to the body surface or inside the burrows of other marine invertebrates, including crustaceans, holothurians, echinoids, cnidarians, sipunculans and echiurans. These symbiotic species exhibit high host specificity, commensal interactions with hosts, and extreme morphological and behavioral adaptations to symbiotic life. Host specialization to various animal groups has likely played an important role in the evolution and diversification of this bivalve group. However, the evolutionary pathway that led to their ecological diversity is not well understood, in part because of their reduced and/or highly modified morphologies that have confounded traditional taxonomy. This study elucidates the taxonomy of the Galeommatoidea and their evolutionary history of symbiotic lifestyle based on a molecular phylogenic analysis of 33 galeommatoidean and five putative galeommatoidean species belonging to 27 genera and three families using two nuclear ribosomal genes (18S and 28S ribosomal DNA) and a nuclear (histone H3) and mitochondrial (cytochrome oxidase subunit I) protein-coding genes.ResultsMolecular phylogeny recovered six well-supported major clades within Galeommatoidea. Symbiotic species were found in all major clades, whereas free-living species were grouped into two major clades. Species symbiotic with crustaceans, holothurians, sipunculans, and echiurans were each found in multiple major clades, suggesting that host specialization to these animal groups occurred repeatedly in Galeommatoidea.ConclusionsOur results suggest that the evolutionary history of host association in Galeommatoidea has been remarkably dynamic, involving frequent host switches between different animal phyla. Such an unusual pattern of dynamic host switching is considered to have resulted from their commensalistic lifestyle, in which they maintain filter-feeding habits even in symbiotic habitats. The results of the molecular phylogenetic analysis did not correspond with the current taxonomic circumscription. Galeommatidae and Lasaeidae were polyphyletic, and Basterotia, which is traditionally assigned to Cyamioidea, formed a monophyletic clade within Galeommatoidea.

Creativity, urban regeneration and sustainability/ The Bordeaux case study

Competitive cities are currently working on how to improve the interaction between culture, regeneration building, economic development and social renewal in order to achieve more comprehensive development. It is a question not only of boosting the economies of culture but also producing new economies, starting from cultural capital, understood as an element of the expression of place identity, and as forming a system together with other types of urban capital. In this context, new alternative strategies and urban policies should be considered. Indeed, creativity is found not only in the typical characteristics of the entrepreneurial spirit but also in forms such as the dissemination of behaviour that is favourable to cultural exchange as well as the enhancement of lifestyle diversity. Starting from these premises, this paper aims to investigate the concept of the creative city/ who the drivers are, the factors that condition creativity in cities, and how they stimulate sustainable urban regeneration and innovation. Within the framework of cultural clusters, the case study of Bordeaux is illustrated. The urban transformation offered by the ‘Bordeaux les deux rives’ project and the other pilot projects are Bordeaux’s driving force for planning and producing new social, cultural and economic change, which enhances the city’s image.

Development of a New Knee Society Scoring System

The Knee Society Clinical Rating System was developed in 1989 and has been widely adopted. However, with the increased demand for TKA, there is a need for a new, validated scoring system to better characterize the expectations, satisfaction, and physical activities of the younger, more diverse population of TKA patients. We developed and validated a new Knee Society Scoring System. We developed the new knee scoring system in two stages. Initially, a comprehensive survey of activities was developed and administered to 101 unilateral TKA patients (53 women, 48 men). A prototype knee scoring instrument was developed from the responses to the survey and administered to 497 patients (204 men, 293 women; 243 postoperatively, 254 preoperatively) at 15 medical institutions within the United States and Canada. Objective and subjective data were analyzed using standard statistical and psychometric procedures and compared to the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Score and SF-12 scores for validation. Based on this analysis, minor modifications led to the new Knee Society Scoring System. We found the new Knee Society Scoring System to be broadly applicable and to accurately characterize patient outcomes after TKA. Statistical analysis confirmed the internal consistency, construct and convergent validity, and reliability of the separate subscale measures. The new Knee Society Scoring System is a validated instrument based on surgeon- and patient-generated data, adapted to the diverse lifestyles and activities of contemporary patients with TKA. This assessment tool allows surgeons to appreciate differences in the priorities of individual patients and the interplay among function, expectation, symptoms, and satisfaction after TKA.

Mobility behavior of the elderly: an attitude-based segmentation approach for a heterogeneous target group

The western population is ageing. Based on the assumption that the elderly are a quite heterogeneous population group with an increasing impact on the transport system, mobility types of the elderly were identified. By means of 1,500 standardized telephone interviews, mobility behavior and possible determinantes including infrastructural, sociodemographic and attitudinal variables, were assessed. The most important factors, identified by five regression analyses, served as type-constituent variables in a series of cluster analyses. The final cluster solution resulted in four segments of the elderly named Captive Car Users, Affluent Mobiles, Self-Determined Mobiles, and Captive Public Transport Users. The groups showed distinct mobility patterns as well as significant differences in infrastructural, sociodemographic and attitudinal variables. The study provides a more comprehensive understanding of the diverse lifestyles, attitudes, travel behavior and needs of the elderly. Furthermore, it identifies starting points for the reduction of car use.