-
Ecology and Evolution Jul 2024Quantifying the cost-effectiveness of alternative sampling methods is crucial for efficient biodiversity monitoring and detection of population trends. In this study, we...
Quantifying the cost-effectiveness of alternative sampling methods is crucial for efficient biodiversity monitoring and detection of population trends. In this study, we compared the cost-effectiveness of three novel sampling methods for detecting changes in koala () occupancy: thermal drones, passive acoustic recorders and camera trapping. Specifically, we fitted single-season occupancy-detection models to data recorded from 46 sites in eight bioregions of New South Wales, Australia, between 2018 and 2022. We explored the effect of weather variables on daily detection probability for each method and, using these estimates, calculated the statistical power to detect 30%, 50% and 80% declines in koala occupancy. We calculated power for different combinations of sites (1-200) and repeat surveys (2-40) and developed a cost model that found the cheapest survey design that achieved 80% power to detect change. On average, detectability of koalas was highest with one 24-h period of acoustic surveys (0.32, 95% CI's: 0.26, 0.39) compared to a 25-ha flight of drone surveys (0.28, 95% 0.15, 0.48) or a 24-h period of camera trapping consisting of six cameras (0.019, 95% CI's: 0.014, 0.025). We found a negative quadratic relationship between detection probability and air temperature for all three methods. Our power and cost analysis suggested that 148 sites surveyed with acoustic recorders deployed for 14 days would be the cheapest method to sufficiently detect a 30% decline in occupancy with 80% power. We recommend passive acoustic recorders as the most efficient sampling method for monitoring koala occupancy compared to cameras or drones. Further comparative studies are needed to compare the relative effectiveness of these methods and others when the monitoring objective is to detect change in koala abundance over time.
PubMed: 38957698
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11659 -
... International Conference on... Oct 2023Microrobots have emerged as promising tools for biomedical and in vivo applications, leveraging their untethered actuation capabilities and miniature size. Despite...
Microrobots have emerged as promising tools for biomedical and in vivo applications, leveraging their untethered actuation capabilities and miniature size. Despite extensive research on diversifying multi-actuation modes for single types of robots, these tiny machines tend to have limited versatility while navigating different environments or performing specific tasks. To overcome such limitations, self-assembly microstructures with on-demand reconfiguration capabilities have gained recent attention as the future of biocompatible microrobotics, as they can address drug delivery, microsurgery, and organoid development processes. Reversible modular reconfiguration structures require specific arrangements of particles that can assume several shapes when external fields are applied. We show how magnetic interaction can be used to assemble cylindrical microrobots into modular microstructures with different shapes. The motion actuation of the formed microstructure happens due to an external acoustic field, which generates responsive forces in the air bubbles trapped in the inner cavity of the robots. An external magnetic field can also steer these structures. We illustrate these capabilities by assembling the robots into different shapes that can swim and be steered, showing the potential to perform biomedical applications. Furthermore, we confirm the biocompatibility of the cylindrical microrobot used as the building blocks of our microstructure. Exposing Chinese Hamster Ovary cells to our microrobots for 24 hours demonstrates cell viability when in contact with the microrobot.
PubMed: 38952454
DOI: 10.1109/marss58567.2023.10294125 -
Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases... Jul 2024Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) caused by is an endemic disease in Israel and highly prevalent in military personnel. Prevention among the Israel Defense Force...
Tick-borne relapsing fever (TBRF) caused by is an endemic disease in Israel and highly prevalent in military personnel. Prevention among the Israel Defense Force soldiers is based on increased awareness mainly in hyperendemic areas and selective postexposure prophylaxis with doxycycline. In this study, we report the presence of a suspected outbreak of TBRF in four soldiers who spent 30 h inside a deserted bunker. Clinical data on TBRF suspected cases were retrieved from clinical records, soft ticks were collected using carbon dioxide (CO) traps and their DNA was extracted and analysed by PCR and nucleotide sequencing. Environmental conditions such as relative humidity, air temperature, wind speed, and type of soil, as well as presence or absence of animal traces inside the bunkers were documented. TBRF-like clinical symptoms in the patients included: tick bite scars, fever (37.5-39.2°C), rash, tachycardia, hypotension, myalgia, cough, headache, cervical lymphadenopathy and nausea. Microscopic search for in blood smears was performed in three patients and was negative. Out of the 255 ticks collected from the bunker, 198 were analyzed and 2 (1%) were infected with . To determine if tick infestation in military bunkers is a common phenomenon, we surveyed nine additional military bunkers located in four different geographical areas for the presence of soft ticks. Only one additional bunker was infested with two ticks, both negative for . Presence of earth that probably helped sustain a relatively big tick population was observed on the floor in the highly infested bunker. Environmental treatment with lambda-cyhalothrin at 9.7% was performed and showed efficacy with no ticks recovered in the infested bunker 124 days after intervention. This study shows that military bunkers may harbor soft ticks infected with and entrance into bunkers should be considered as a risk for acquiring this infection like entrance into natural caves and archeological ruins.
PubMed: 38946628
DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2024.0041 -
Korean Journal of Radiology Jul 2024To evaluate the role of visual and quantitative chest CT parameters in assessing treatment response in patients with severe asthma.
OBJECTIVE
To evaluate the role of visual and quantitative chest CT parameters in assessing treatment response in patients with severe asthma.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Korean participants enrolled in a prospective multicenter study, named the Precision Medicine Intervention in Severe Asthma study, from May 2020 to August 2021, underwent baseline and follow-up chest CT scans (inspiration/expiration) 10-12 months apart, before and after biologic treatment. Two radiologists scored bronchiectasis severity and mucus plugging extent. Quantitative parameters were obtained from each CT scan as follows: normal lung area (normal), air trapping without emphysema (AT without emph), air trapping with emphysema (AT with emph), and airway (total branch count, Pi10). Clinical parameters, including pulmonary function tests (forced expiratory volume in 1 s [FEV1] and FEV1/forced vital capacity [FVC]), sputum and blood eosinophil count, were assessed at initial and follow-up stages. Changes in CT parameters were correlated with changes in clinical parameters using Pearson or Spearman correlation.
RESULTS
Thirty-four participants (female:male, 20:14; median age, 50.5 years) diagnosed with severe asthma from three centers were included. Changes in the bronchiectasis and mucus plugging extent scores were negatively correlated with changes in FEV1 and FEV1/FVC (ρ = from -0.544 to -0.368, all < 0.05). Changes in quantitative CT parameters were correlated with changes in FEV1 (normal, = 0.373 [ = 0.030], AT without emph, = -0.351 [ = 0.042]), FEV1/FVC (normal, = 0.390 [ = 0.022], AT without emph, = -0.370 [ = 0.031]). Changes in total branch count were positively correlated with changes in FEV1 ( = 0.349 [ = 0.043]). There was no correlation between changes in Pi10 and the clinical parameters ( > 0.05).
CONCLUSION
Visual and quantitative CT parameters of normal, AT without emph, and total branch count may be effective for evaluating treatment response in patients with severe asthma.
Topics: Humans; Male; Female; Asthma; Middle Aged; Tomography, X-Ray Computed; Prospective Studies; Severity of Illness Index; Adult; Treatment Outcome; Respiratory Function Tests; Aged
PubMed: 38942461
DOI: 10.3348/kjr.2024.0110 -
ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces Jun 2024Colloidal particles adsorb and remain trapped at immiscible fluid interfaces due to strong interfacial adsorption energy with a contact angle defined by the chemistry of...
Colloidal particles adsorb and remain trapped at immiscible fluid interfaces due to strong interfacial adsorption energy with a contact angle defined by the chemistry of the particle and fluid phases. An undulated contact line may appear due to either particle surface roughness or shape anisotropy, which results in a quadrupolar interfacial deformation and strong long-range capillary interaction between neighboring particles. While each effect has been observed separately, here we report the paradoxical impact of surface roughness on spherical and anisotropic ellipsoidal polymer colloids. Using a seeded emulsion polymerization technique, we synthesize spherical and ellipsoidal particles with controlled roughness magnitudes and topography (convex/concave). Via in situ measurement of the interfacial deformation around colloids at an air-water interface, we find that while surface roughness strengthens the quadrupolar deformation in spheres as expected by theory, in stark contrast, it weakens the same in ellipsoids. As roughness increases, particles of both shapes become more hydrophilic, and their apparent contact angle decreases. Using numerical predictions, we show that this partially explains the decreased interfacial deformation and capillary interactions between the ellipsoids. Therefore, particle surface engineering has the potential to decrease the capillary deformation by asymmetric particles via changing their capillary pinning, as well as wetting behavior at fluid interfaces.
PubMed: 38924501
DOI: 10.1021/acsami.4c07099 -
ACS Omega Jun 2024The environment being surrounded by accumulated durable waste organic compounds has become a critical crisis for human societies. Generally, organic effluents of... (Review)
Review
The environment being surrounded by accumulated durable waste organic compounds has become a critical crisis for human societies. Generally, organic effluents of industrial plants released into the water source and air are removed by some physical and chemical processes. Utilizing photocatalysts as cost-effective, accessible, thermally/mechanically stable, nontoxic, reusable, and powerful UV-absorber compounds creates a new gateway toward the removal of dissolved, suspended, and gaseous pollutants even in trace amounts. TiO and ZnO are two prevalent photocatalysts in the field of removing contaminants from wastewater and air. Structural modification of the photocatalysts with metals, nonmetals, metal ions, and other semiconductors reduces the band gap energy and agglomeration and increases the affinity toward organic compounds in the composite structures to expand their usability on an industrial scale. This increases the extent of light absorbance and improves the photocatalytic efficiency. Selecting a suitable synthesis method is necessary to prepare a target photocatalyst with distinct properties such as high specific surface area, numerous surface functional groups, and an appropriate crystalline phase. In this Review, significant parameters for the synthesis and modification of TiO- and ZnO-based photocatalysts are discussed in detail. Several proposed mechanistic routes according to photocatalytic composite structures are provided. Some electrochemical analyses using charge carrier trapping agents and delayed recombination help to plot mechanistic routes according to the direction of photoexcited species (electron-hole pairs) and design more effective photocatalytic processes in terms of cost-effective photocatalysts, saving time and increasing productivity.
PubMed: 38911730
DOI: 10.1021/acsomega.3c08717 -
Ecology and Evolution Jun 2024Moose () in the boreal forest habitats of Alaska are unlike other northern ungulates because they tolerate high densities of flies (Diptera) even though flies cause...
Moose () in the boreal forest habitats of Alaska are unlike other northern ungulates because they tolerate high densities of flies (Diptera) even though flies cause wounds and infections during the warm summer months. Moose move to find food and to find relief from overheating (hyperthermia) but do they avoid flies? We used GPS collars to measure the rate of movement (m⋅h) and the time spent (min⋅day) by enclosed moose in four habitats: wetlands, black spruce, early seral boreal forest, and late seral boreal forest. Fly traps were used in each habitat to quantify spatio-temporal abundance. Average daily air temperatures increased into July when peak biomass of forage for moose was greatest in early seral boreal forest habitats (424.46 vs. 25.15 kg⋅ha on average in the other habitats). Average daily air temperatures were 1.7°C cooler in black spruce than other habitats, but fly abundance was greatest in black spruce (approximately 4-fold greater on average than the other habitats). Moose increased their movement rate with counts of biting flies (mosquitoes, black flies, horse and deer flies), but not non-biting flies (coprophagous flies). However, as air temperature increased (above 14.7°C) moose spent more time in fly-abundant black spruce, than early seral boreal forest, showing great tolerance for mosquitoes. Warm summer temperatures appear to cause moose to trade-off foraging in fly-sparse habitats for resting and dissipating heat in shady, wet habitats with abundant flies that adversely affect the fitness of moose.
PubMed: 38911494
DOI: 10.1002/ece3.11625 -
Inflammation Jun 2024Deciphering the complex and redundant process of acute inflammation remains challenging. The failure of numerous clinical trials assessing anti-inflammation agents which...
Deciphering the complex and redundant process of acute inflammation remains challenging. The failure of numerous clinical trials assessing anti-inflammation agents which had promising preclinical effects inevitably questions the validity of current animal models of inflammation. This study aimed to better understand the process of immune inflammatory response and to select more suitable models to evaluate the effect of potential anti-inflammatory drugs. Zymosan and λ-carrageenan are the most used representatives of particulate and soluble irritants that trigger acute inflammation in the air pouch inflammation model. When zymosan was used, the number of exudate cells first increased at 4 h-8 h, followed by a drop at 12 h-24 h. While, the changes in number of leukocytes in peripheral blood and proportion of neutrophils in bone marrow have the opposite trend. Meanwhile, neutrophils released neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) to clean zymosan particles. In contrast, the cell migration response to carrageenan increased during 4 h to 24 h, no obvious NETs were observed, and the number of leukocytes in peripheral blood increased and the proportion of neutrophils in bone marrow decreased slightly. This study indicated that although both zymosan and carrageenan are sterile irritants, the characteristics of the inflammatory response induced by each other were different. In the acute phase of inflammation, zymosan-stimulated neutrophils were mobilized, recruited, and engulfed, and then died by NETs. Carrageenan stimulated the production of cytokines/chemokines by neutrophils or macrophages, but did not lead to an obvious death by releasing NETs.
PubMed: 38902540
DOI: 10.1007/s10753-024-02064-9 -
Science Advances Jun 2024Surface air temperature (SAT) is a key indicator of climate change. Variations in cloud cover affect SAT by interacting with radiation. During daytime, clouds tend to...
Surface air temperature (SAT) is a key indicator of climate change. Variations in cloud cover affect SAT by interacting with radiation. During daytime, clouds tend to cool the surface by blocking sunlight, while nighttime clouds warm the surface by trapping longwave radiation. Here, we show that, on the global scale, cloud cover, particularly low-level cloudiness, exhibits diurnally asymmetric trends in a warming climate. Cloud fraction on average decreases more during the day than at night. Climate models indicate that the diurnally asymmetric cloud cover variation is mainly driven by trends in the lower tropospheric stability and is largely attributed to the increasing greenhouse gases rather than natural variability. This asymmetry, therefore, turns out to be an amplifier of surface warming, by both decreasing the daytime cloud shortwave albedo effect and increasing the nighttime cloud longwave greenhouse effect.
PubMed: 38896610
DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.ado5179 -
Frontiers in Public Health 2024Insecticide-treated mosquito bed nets and indoor residual spraying are widely used for malaria vector control. However, their effectiveness can be affected by household...
BACKGROUND
Insecticide-treated mosquito bed nets and indoor residual spraying are widely used for malaria vector control. However, their effectiveness can be affected by household members' habits, requiring alternative approaches toward malaria vector control.
OBJECTIVE
To assess the effectiveness of modified houses in preventing mosquito entry; to assess the impact of house modifications on indoor air conditions and evaluate the acceptability of modified houses in the community where the study was conducted.
METHODS
Five traditional and five modified houses were constructed in Nampula district, Mozambique and underwent a 90-day overnight indoor mosquito collection using Centers for Disease Control and nitride ultraviolet light traps during the rainy season. Mosquitoes were identified morphologically. Indoor temperature, relative humidity, carbon dioxide levels and wind speed were also collected. The Student's -test was used to compare the means of the number of mosquitos and environmental factors between both house types. A binomial form of the Generalized Linear Model identified the factors associated with the community volunteer's preference for house type.
RESULTS
Modified houses reduced the number of by an average of 14.97 mosquitos (95% CI, 11.38-18.56, < 0.000) and non- by 16.66 mosquitoes (95% CI, 8.23-25.09, < 0.000). Although fewer mosquitoes were trapped in modified houses compared to traditional ones, the modifications were more effective against (94% reduction) than for non- (71% reduction). The average temperature increased at 0.25°C in modified houses but was not statistically significant (95% CI, -0.62 to 0.12, = 0.181). Community volunteers preferred modified houses due to reduced mosquito buzzing. The efficacy of modified houses including its acceptability by community, highlight its potential to lower malaria risk. Effective integration of modified houses into the vector control strategy will require raising awareness among communities about malaria risks associated with house structure and training them to modify their houses.
Topics: Mozambique; Malaria; Animals; Mosquito Control; Humans; Housing; Anopheles; Mosquito Vectors; Female
PubMed: 38894994
DOI: 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1404493