This study examines birth rates and infant mortality rates in Brazil among singletons, twins, and higher order multiples between 2010 and 2023. Data were obtained from the Brazilian Ministry of Health’s Live Birth Information System and Infant Mortality Information System. The dataset comprised 39,663,928 live births and 464,843 infant deaths occurring within the first year of life. Twin birth rates increased steadily over time, while singleton birth rates declined. The highest twin birth rates were observed in the Southeast (11.64‰) and South (11.47‰), whereas the lowest were observed in the North (7.81‰) and Northeast (9.23‰). Infant mortality among twins was approximately five times higher than among singleton, and higher order multiples faced an approximately threefold greater risk compared to singletons. Infant mortality rates were highest in the North and Northeast and lowest in the Southeast and South. Sex ratios varied by gestation type, with singletons showing the expected male bias and twins a slightly reduced male proportion, reflecting biological and regional influences on birth rates in Brazil. The data reveal a marked demographic shift between 2010 and 2023, with birth rates declining among women in their teens and 20s and increasing among those in their late 30s and 40s. Using Weinberg’s differential method, we identified divergent trends in zygosity: dizygotic birth rates increased significantly over time, whereas monozygotic rates remained stable. This contrast underscores the environmentally responsive nature of dizygotic twinning, particularly its association with advancing maternal age and assisted reproductive technologies, compared to the relatively biologically stable pattern of monozygotic twinning.

Grassland biodiversity and forage nutritive value are influenced by pedoclimatic conditions (e.g., soil nutrients, precipitation), management practices (e.g., mowing, grazing), and animal grazing behaviour shaping the sward botanical composition and structure. Horses, in particular, affect sward structure through selective foraging, short biting, trampling, and toileting, resulting in a patchy vegetation pattern on pastures. However, the relative importance of pedoclimatic and management factors across regions remains unclear. The effects of horse grazing and pasture heterogeneity versus management on grassland biodiversity and forage quality are also uncertain. To analyse these interactions, data were collected from 36 horse farms across two contrasting regions in Germany: an upland and a lowland area, differing in pedoclimatic conditions and farming intensity. On each farm, two of the studied grassland fields were exclusively grazed by horses, while two were either mown or both mown and grazed. A total of 148 grasslands were assessed for vegetation (species composition and proportion) and agronomic (forage nutritive value) target variables. Grazed pastures were generally more variable in terms of higher coefficients of variation of target variables than mown sites. The analysis further revealed a significant patch type × region interaction for species composition, with higher evenness in short patches – particularly in the more extensively managed upland region – indicating enhanced structural diversity under grazing. Agronomic traits were driven primarily by patch type and management, with minimal regional effects. In this study, patch type and therefore management strategies play a larger role for grassland biodiversity and forage nutritive value than regional context alone.

Taste preference is a pivotal predictor of nutrient intake, yet its impact on mild cognitive impairment (MCI) remains poorly understood. We aimed to investigate the association between taste preferences and MCI and the role of cardiometabolic diseases (CMD) in this association. The study included older adults, aged 65–90 years, with normal cognitive function at baseline who were enrolled in the Chinese Longitudinal Healthy Longevity Survey (CLHLS) from 2008 to 2018. MCI was measured by the Mini-Mental State Examination, and multivariable Cox regression models were applied. Among 6423 participants, 2534 (39·45 %) developed MCI with an incidence rate of 63·12 - per 1000 person-years. Compared with individuals with insipid taste, those preferring sweetness or spiciness had a higher MCI risk, while saltiness was associated with a lower risk. This association was independent of objective dietary patterns and was more pronounced among urban residents preferring sweetness and illiterate participants preferring spiciness. Notably, among sweet-liking individuals, those with one CMD experienced a significant detrimental effect, and those with co-occurring CMD had a higher incidence rate of MCI. Additionally, regional variations were observed: sweetness played a significant role in regions known for sweet cuisine, while the significance of spiciness as a risk factor diminishes in regions where it is commonly preferred. Our findings emphasize the role of subjective taste preferences in protecting cognitive function and highlight regional variations. Target strategies should focus on assisting individuals with CMD to reduce excessive sweetness intake and simultaneously receiving treatment for CMD to safeguard cognitive function.

The use of part-time jobs is steadily increasing in most advanced economies. Previous literature has concluded that part-time workers suffer a wage penalty, but its magnitude varies across studies and countries. The part-time penalty is the otherwise unexplained element of the gap between full-time and part-time hourly earnings. One potential factor accounting for international differences in this penalty is the coverage of collective bargaining. This article outlines research examining wage differences between part-time and full-time male and female workers in Spain, a country with a very high level of coverage of collective agreements but very heterogeneous regional labour markets. Results are obtained using an econometric decomposition specifically adapted to matched employer–employee data. They show that intra-firm wage differentials for part- and full-time workers with the same characteristics are negligible. But results that are perhaps less expected are those based on the regional analysis – an unprecedented perspective compared with the previous literature. These results show that despite very significant differences in economies and labour markets, observed wage gaps between part-time and full-time workers in each Spanish region are also mainly explained by different endowments of individual, job and firm characteristics. Overall, our evidence highlights the over-riding role of wage setting mechanisms, specifically collective bargaining coverage, in minimising inter-regional differences in the wage penalty of part-time workers.

This study provides an analysis of the price-quality relationships of U.S. cotton using primary data collected from textile manufacturers, the end users of fiber. Hedonic prices of fiber attributes are estimated for three production regions—West, South Central, and South—over the 1992–95 study period. Results indicate that cotton price is determined by quality attributes and nonquality factors in the end-use market. There are similarities and differences in valuation of fiber attributes based on region of origin of the cotton.

The application of metabolomics in multi-centre studies is increasing. The aim of the present study was to assess the effects of geographical location on the metabolic profiles of individuals with the metabolic syndrome. Blood and urine samples were collected from 219 adults from seven European centres participating in the LIPGENE project (Diet, genomics and the metabolic syndrome: an integrated nutrition, agro-food, social and economic analysis). Nutrient intakes, BMI, waist:hip ratio, blood pressure, and plasma glucose, insulin and blood lipid levels were assessed. Plasma fatty acid levels and urine were assessed using a metabolomic technique. The separation of three European geographical groups (NW, northwest; NE, northeast; SW, southwest) was identified using partial least-squares discriminant analysis models for urine (R 2 X: 0·33, Q 2: 0·39) and plasma fatty acid (R 2 X: 0·32, Q 2: 0·60) data. The NW group was characterised by higher levels of urinary hippurate and N-methylnicotinate. The NE group was characterised by higher levels of urinary creatine and citrate and plasma EPA (20 : 5 n-3). The SW group was characterised by higher levels of urinary trimethylamine oxide and lower levels of plasma EPA. The indicators of metabolic health appeared to be consistent across the groups. The SW group had higher intakes of total fat and MUFA compared with both the NW and NE groups (P≤ 0·001). The NE group had higher intakes of fibre and n-3 and n-6 fatty acids compared with both the NW and SW groups (all P< 0·001). It is likely that differences in dietary intakes contributed to the separation of the three groups. Evaluation of geographical factors including diet should be considered in the interpretation of metabolomic data from multi-centre studies.

Steps involved in formalizing end-of-life care preferences and factors related to these steps are unclear in the literature. Using data from the third wave of the Canadian Study of Health and Aging (CSHA-3), we examined the relations between demographic and health predictors, on the one hand, and three outcomes, on the other (whether participants had thought about, discussed, or formalized their end-of-life preferences), and considered, as well, whether relations existed among the three outcomes. Canadian region of residence, female gender, and more years of education predicted having thought about preferences; region of residence, female gender, and lack of cognitive impairment predicted discussion of preferences; and region of residence and not being married predicted whether formal documents were in place. Ontario residents were most likely to have thought about, discussed, and formalized their preferences, whereas Atlantic residents were least likely to. Finally, having thought about preferences was associated with discussion, and having thought about and having discussed preferences were each associated with formalization of preferences. These findings are in keeping with the position that Advance Directives (AD) execution is a multi-stage process. A better understanding of this process may prove useful for the development of interventions to promote planning for end-of-life care.

In this research an alternative is proposed for viticulture producers that would allow them to maintain their income and prevent the abandonment of their agricultural activity. The proposed alternative is the production of organic wine with subsequent commercialization in the local market. The suitability of the alternative is measured by the acceptance of the product in local markets. This acceptance was determined through contingent valuation, which relates probability of purchase to willingness to pay (WTP). Since regional differences could exist for product acceptance, the preliminary hypothesis was formulated that the importance of the viticulture sector in the regional economy makes consumers value farm work more highly and pay more for sustainable agricultural practices. Two regions of Spain were taken into consideration because of the different weight of their agricultural activity: Castile-La Mancha and the Community of Valencia. A survey of 800 wine consumers was made (400 from each region) to determine WTP. From the results it was shown on the one hand that organizing organic wine in local markets can be a profitable alternative for wine producers and, on the other hand, consumers from regions where wine production shares a larger proportion of the regional economy are willing to pay more for organic wine.

Productivity among older adults manifests in engagement in paid work, voluntary work, giving support to others, home maintenance and housekeeping. This paper reports an investigation into the extent to which levels of participation in the different productive activity types in The Netherlands are associated with age, gender and the settings in which older people live. The regional and urban–rural dimensions of variation are examined. The data were derived from the European Study of Adult Well-Being survey (ESAW). The results show that the oldest women tended to restrict their productivity to the private domain of housekeeping, while the oldest men were more often productive in the community, and that regional variations were stronger for women than for men. Traditional gender roles particularly affected the way in which older women living in a peripheral region participated in productive activities. In contrast, the urban–rural dimension was more important for men than for women, partly because a group of older men in the cities were not involved in paid work. Overall, strong gender influences on the variations in productive engagement were found. Processes of age-related contraction and convergence in patterns of participation in productive activities were imputed from the cross-sectional data. A full understanding of the ageing and cohort effects underlying the reported patterns would require much more detailed information on the spatial and temporal dimensions of older people's activity patterns.