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Viruses Jul 2022Arctic regions are ecologically significant for the environmental persistence and geographic dissemination of influenza A viruses (IAVs) by avian hosts and other... (Review)
Review
Arctic regions are ecologically significant for the environmental persistence and geographic dissemination of influenza A viruses (IAVs) by avian hosts and other wildlife species. Data describing the epidemiology and ecology of IAVs among wildlife in the arctic are less frequently published compared to southern temperate regions, where prevalence and subtype diversity are more routinely documented. Following PRISMA guidelines, this systematic review addresses this gap by describing the prevalence, spatiotemporal distribution, and ecological characteristics of IAVs detected among wildlife and the environment in this understudied region of the globe. The literature search was performed in PubMed and Google Scholar using a set of pre-defined search terms to identify publications reporting on IAVs in Arctic regions between 1978 and February 2022. A total of 2125 articles were initially screened, 267 were assessed for eligibility, and 71 articles met inclusion criteria. IAVs have been detected in multiple wildlife species in all Arctic regions, including seabirds, shorebirds, waterfowl, seals, sea lions, whales, and terrestrial mammals, and in the environment. Isolates from wild birds comprise the majority of documented viruses derived from wildlife; however, among all animals and environmental matrices, 26 unique low and highly pathogenic subtypes have been characterized in the scientific literature from Arctic regions. Pooled prevalence across studies indicates 4.23% for wild birds, 3.42% among tested environmental matrices, and seroprevalences of 9.29% and 1.69% among marine and terrestrial mammals, respectively. Surveillance data are geographically biased, with most data from the Alaskan Arctic and many fewer reports from the Russian, Canadian, North Atlantic, and Western European Arctic. We highlight multiple important aspects of wildlife host, pathogen, and environmental ecology of IAVs in Arctic regions, including the role of avian migration and breeding cycles for the global spread of IAVs, evidence of inter-species and inter-continental reassortment at high latitudes, and how climate change-driven ecosystem shifts, including changes in the seasonal availability and distribution of dietary resources, have the potential to alter host-pathogen-environment dynamics in Arctic regions. We conclude by identifying gaps in knowledge and propose priorities for future research.
Topics: Animals; Animals, Wild; Arctic Regions; Birds; Canada; Ecosystem; Influenza A virus; Influenza in Birds; Mammals
PubMed: 35891510
DOI: 10.3390/v14071531 -
Biological Reviews of the Cambridge... Aug 2022Subterranean ecosystems are among the most widespread environments on Earth, yet we still have poor knowledge of their biodiversity. To raise awareness of subterranean...
Subterranean ecosystems are among the most widespread environments on Earth, yet we still have poor knowledge of their biodiversity. To raise awareness of subterranean ecosystems, the essential services they provide, and their unique conservation challenges, 2021 and 2022 were designated International Years of Caves and Karst. As these ecosystems have traditionally been overlooked in global conservation agendas and multilateral agreements, a quantitative assessment of solution-based approaches to safeguard subterranean biota and associated habitats is timely. This assessment allows researchers and practitioners to understand the progress made and research needs in subterranean ecology and management. We conducted a systematic review of peer-reviewed and grey literature focused on subterranean ecosystems globally (terrestrial, freshwater, and saltwater systems), to quantify the available evidence-base for the effectiveness of conservation interventions. We selected 708 publications from the years 1964 to 2021 that discussed, recommended, or implemented 1,954 conservation interventions in subterranean ecosystems. We noted a steep increase in the number of studies from the 2000s while, surprisingly, the proportion of studies quantifying the impact of conservation interventions has steadily and significantly decreased in recent years. The effectiveness of 31% of conservation interventions has been tested statistically. We further highlight that 64% of the reported research occurred in the Palearctic and Nearctic biogeographic regions. Assessments of the effectiveness of conservation interventions were heavily biased towards indirect measures (monitoring and risk assessment), a limited sample of organisms (mostly arthropods and bats), and more accessible systems (terrestrial caves). Our results indicate that most conservation science in the field of subterranean biology does not apply a rigorous quantitative approach, resulting in sparse evidence for the effectiveness of interventions. This raises the important question of how to make conservation efforts more feasible to implement, cost-effective, and long-lasting. Although there is no single remedy, we propose a suite of potential solutions to focus our efforts better towards increasing statistical testing and stress the importance of standardising study reporting to facilitate meta-analytical exercises. We also provide a database summarising the available literature, which will help to build quantitative knowledge about interventions likely to yield the greatest impacts depending upon the subterranean species and habitats of interest. We view this as a starting point to shift away from the widespread tendency of recommending conservation interventions based on anecdotal and expert-based information rather than scientific evidence, without quantitatively testing their effectiveness.
Topics: Biodiversity; Caves; Conservation of Natural Resources; Ecology; Ecosystem; Fresh Water
PubMed: 35315207
DOI: 10.1111/brv.12851 -
PeerJ 2023The emerging field of environmental DNA (eDNA) research lacks universal guidelines for ensuring data produced are FAIR-findable, accessible, interoperable, and...
The emerging field of environmental DNA (eDNA) research lacks universal guidelines for ensuring data produced are FAIR-findable, accessible, interoperable, and reusable-despite growing awareness of the importance of such practices. In order to better understand these data usability challenges, we systematically reviewed 60 peer reviewed articles conducting a specific subset of eDNA research: metabarcoding studies in marine environments. For each article, we characterized approximately 90 features across several categories: general article attributes and topics, methodological choices, types of metadata included, and availability and storage of sequence data. Analyzing these characteristics, we identified several barriers to data accessibility, including a lack of common context and vocabulary across the articles, missing metadata, supplementary information limitations, and a concentration of both sample collection and analysis in the United States. While some of these barriers require significant effort to address, we also found many instances where small choices made by authors and journals could have an outsized influence on the discoverability and reusability of data. Promisingly, articles also showed consistency and creativity in data storage choices as well as a strong trend toward open access publishing. Our analysis underscores the need to think critically about data accessibility and usability as marine eDNA metabarcoding studies, and eDNA projects more broadly, continue to proliferate.
Topics: DNA, Environmental; Biodiversity; DNA Barcoding, Taxonomic
PubMed: 36992947
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.14993 -
Journal of Health, Population, and... Nov 2022A balanced and optimized amount of nutrients in bread, which is the main food in many countries, is necessary to maintain human health. Considering the importance of...
BACKGROUND
A balanced and optimized amount of nutrients in bread, which is the main food in many countries, is necessary to maintain human health. Considering the importance of nutritional values of bread in the food basket of Iranian households, the purpose of this study was to determine the nutrients and their concentrations in breads consumed in Iran.
METHODS
This systematic review study was performed to determine the types of nutrients in breads consumed in Iran by searching reputable international databases including Scopus and Google scholar, PubMed, Science direct, ISI (Web of Science). Data were collected according to inclusion and exclusion criteria and by searching for relevant keywords, emphasizing the types of nutrients in breads consumed in Iran. Qualitative data were collected using the standard PRISMA checklist (preferential reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis). After verifying the quality of the articles, the information was entered into a checklist such as the name of the first author and year of publication of the research, type of study, number of samples, type of nutrition, type of bread and amount of nutrition measured.
RESULTS
After reviewing the information and quality of articles, 10 articles were qualified for systematic review. The review of the articles showed that different breads were experimented, including: Sangak, Barbari, Taftoon, Lavash, French and local bread. The highest number of experimented bread samples was Sangak. Examination of the articles showed that 6 nutrients were experimented in different breads such as Fe, K, Mg, Ca, Cu and Zn. The highest number of experimented in breads was related to the amount of Zn (13 times) and Cu (10 times), respectively. The results of quality assessment of articles showed that most of the studies were of good quality. The results of articles on the amount of nutrients measured in different breads showed that only in two articles the amount of nutrients was reported to be desirable. In most articles, the amount of nutrients in breads was reported to be lower or higher than standard.
CONCLUSION
The results of this study showed that the concentration of nutrients in most articles was undesirable. It is suggested that optimal methods of enrichment of breads and flours be done with interdisciplinary cooperation between food hygiene, environmental health, nutrition, farmers and bakers. It is recommended that food hygiene and environmental health researchers investigate other nutrients (including phosphorus, selenium, manganese, boron and molybdenum) in breads and other staple foods used by people to constructive and practical measures to increase public health.
Topics: Humans; Bread; Flour; Iran; Nutrients; Nutritive Value
PubMed: 36376938
DOI: 10.1186/s41043-022-00329-3 -
Nature Communications Aug 2023Microorganisms play essential roles in the health and resilience of cnidarians. Understanding the factors influencing cnidarian microbiomes requires cross study...
Microorganisms play essential roles in the health and resilience of cnidarians. Understanding the factors influencing cnidarian microbiomes requires cross study comparisons, yet the plethora of protocols used hampers dataset integration. We unify 16S rRNA gene sequences from cnidarian microbiome studies under a single analysis pipeline. We reprocess 12,010 cnidarian microbiome samples from 186 studies, alongside 3,388 poriferan, 370 seawater samples, and 245 cultured Symbiodiniaceae, unifying ~6.5 billion sequence reads. Samples are partitioned by hypervariable region and sequencing platform to reduce sequencing variability. This systematic review uncovers an incredible diversity of 86 archaeal and bacterial phyla associated with Cnidaria, and highlights key bacteria hosted across host sub-phylum, depth, and microhabitat. Shallow (< 30 m) water Alcyonacea and Actinaria are characterized by highly shared and relatively abundant microbial communities, unlike Scleractinia and most deeper cnidarians. Utilizing the V4 region, we find that cnidarian microbial composition, richness, diversity, and structure are primarily influenced by host phylogeny, sampling depth, and ocean body, followed by microhabitat and sampling date. We identify host and geographical generalist and specific Endozoicomonas clades within Cnidaria and Porifera. This systematic review forms a framework for understanding factors governing cnidarian microbiomes and creates a baseline for assessing stress associated dysbiosis.
Topics: Animals; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S; Microbiota; Bacteria; Archaea; Anthozoa; Phylogeny
PubMed: 37580316
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-39876-6 -
Marine Drugs Apr 2022Fucoxanthin, belonging to the xanthophyll class of carotenoids, is a natural antioxidant pigment of marine algae, including brown macroalgae and diatoms. It represents... (Review)
Review
Fucoxanthin, belonging to the xanthophyll class of carotenoids, is a natural antioxidant pigment of marine algae, including brown macroalgae and diatoms. It represents 10% of the total carotenoids in nature. The plethora of scientific evidence supports the potential benefits of nutraceutical and pharmaceutical uses of fucoxanthin for boosting human health and disease management. Due to its unique chemical structure and action as a single compound with multi-targets of health effects, it has attracted mounting attention from the scientific community, resulting in an escalated number of scientific publications from January 2017 to February 2022. Fucoxanthin has remained the most popular option for anti-cancer and anti-tumor activity, followed by protection against inflammatory, oxidative stress-related, nervous system, obesity, hepatic, diabetic, kidney, cardiac, skin, respiratory and microbial diseases, in a variety of model systems. Despite much pharmacological evidence from in vitro and in vivo findings, fucoxanthin in clinical research is still not satisfactory, because only one clinical study on obesity management was reported in the last five years. Additionally, pharmacokinetics, safety, toxicity, functional stability, and clinical perspective of fucoxanthin are substantially addressed. Nevertheless, fucoxanthin and its derivatives are shown to be safe, non-toxic, and readily available upon administration. This review will provide pharmacological insights into fucoxanthin, underlying the diverse molecular mechanisms of health benefits. However, it requires more activity-oriented translational research in humans before it can be used as a multi-target drug.
Topics: Carotenoids; Humans; Neoplasms; Seaweed; Xanthophylls
PubMed: 35621930
DOI: 10.3390/md20050279 -
Global Change Biology Mar 2018Invasive ecosystem engineers (IEE) are potentially one of the most influential types of biological invaders. They are expected to have extensive ecological impacts by... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis Review
Invasive ecosystem engineers (IEE) are potentially one of the most influential types of biological invaders. They are expected to have extensive ecological impacts by altering the physical-chemical structure of ecosystems, thereby changing the rules of existence for a broad range of resident biota. To test the generality of this expectation, we used a global systematic review and meta-analysis to examine IEE effects on the abundance of individual species and communities, biodiversity (using several indices) and ecosystem functions, focusing on marine and estuarine environments. We found that IEE had a significant effect (positive and negative) in most studies testing impacts on individual species, but the overall (cumulative) effect size was small and negative. Many individual studies showed strong IEE effects on community abundance and diversity, but the direction of effects was variable, leading to statistically non-significant overall effects in most categories. In contrast, there was a strong overall effect on most ecosystem functions we examined. IEE negatively affected metabolic functions and primary production, but positively affected nutrient flux, sedimentation and decomposition. We use the results to develop a conceptual model by highlighting pathways whereby IEE impact communities and ecosystem functions, and identify several sources of research bias in the IEE-related invasion literature. Only a few of the studies simultaneously quantified IEE effects on community/diversity and ecosystem functions. Therefore, understanding how IEE may alter biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships should be a primary focus of future studies of invasion biology. Moreover, the clear effects of IEE on ecosystem functions detected in our study suggest that scientists and environmental managers ought to examine how the effects of IEE might be manifested in the services that marine ecosystems provide to humans.
Topics: Animals; Aquatic Organisms; Biodiversity; Humans; Introduced Species; Oceans and Seas
PubMed: 29211336
DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14007 -
Environmental Evidence 2022Management actions that address local-scale stressors on coral reefs can rapidly improve water quality and reef ecosystem condition. In response to reef managers who... (Review)
Review
BACKGROUND
Management actions that address local-scale stressors on coral reefs can rapidly improve water quality and reef ecosystem condition. In response to reef managers who need actionable thresholds for coastal runoff and dredging, we conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of experimental studies that explore the effects of sediment on corals. We identified exposure levels that 'adversely' affect corals while accounting for sediment bearing (deposited vs. suspended), coral life-history stage, and species, thus providing empirically based estimates of stressor thresholds on vulnerable coral reefs.
METHODS
We searched online databases and grey literature to obtain a list of potential studies, assess their eligibility, and critically appraise them for validity and risk of bias. Data were extracted from eligible studies and grouped by sediment bearing and coral response to identify thresholds in terms of the lowest exposure levels that induced an adverse physiological and/or lethal effect. Meta-regression estimated the dose-response relationship between exposure level and the magnitude of a coral's response, with random-effects structures to estimate the proportion of variance explained by factors such as study and coral species.
REVIEW FINDINGS
After critical appraisal of over 15,000 records, our systematic review of corals' responses to sediment identified 86 studies to be included in meta-analyses (45 studies for deposited sediment and 42 studies for suspended sediment). The lowest sediment exposure levels that caused adverse effects in corals were well below the levels previously described as 'normal' on reefs: for deposited sediment, adverse effects occurred as low as 1 mg/cm/day for larvae (limited settlement rates) and 4.9 mg/cm/day for adults (tissue mortality); for suspended sediment, adverse effects occurred as low as 10 mg/L for juveniles (reduced growth rates) and 3.2 mg/L for adults (bleaching and tissue mortality). Corals take at least 10 times longer to experience tissue mortality from exposure to suspended sediment than to comparable concentrations of deposited sediment, though physiological changes manifest 10 times faster in response to suspended sediment than to deposited sediment. Threshold estimates derived from continuous response variables (magnitude of adverse effect) largely matched the lowest-observed adverse-effect levels from a summary of studies, or otherwise helped us to identify research gaps that should be addressed to better quantify the dose-response relationship between sediment exposure and coral health.
CONCLUSIONS
We compiled a global dataset that spans three oceans, over 140 coral species, decades of research, and a range of field- and lab-based approaches. Our review and meta-analysis inform the no-observed and lowest-observed adverse-effect levels (NOAEL, LOAEL) that are used in management consultations by U.S. federal agencies. In the absence of more location- or species-specific data to inform decisions, our results provide the best available information to protect vulnerable reef-building corals from sediment stress. Based on gaps and limitations identified by our review, we make recommendations to improve future studies and recommend future synthesis to disentangle the potentially synergistic effects of multiple coral-reef stressors.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13750-022-00256-0.
PubMed: 35154667
DOI: 10.1186/s13750-022-00256-0 -
Journal of Hazardous Materials May 2024This article provides a comprehensive study of ecosystem rehabilitation methods widely used in the 21st century, focusing on Europe. The review covers the evolution and... (Review)
Review
This article provides a comprehensive study of ecosystem rehabilitation methods widely used in the 21st century, focusing on Europe. The review covers the evolution and trends in scientific article publication, identification of European countries demonstrating high publication outputs, collaboration patterns, leading journals, and thematic areas. Additionally, it examines primary stressors in European aquatic ecosystems, and different methods and treatments commonly employed for remediation purposes. The analysis of selected articles revealed a significant increase in studies over time, driven by public awareness and financial incentives from national, European and global organizations. Italy, Portugal and Spain were the leading countries in degraded ecosystem rehabilitation studies, mainly focusing on remediating contaminated areas where metals were identified as the primary stressor (chemical pollution). Chemical remediation method emerged as the most used, closely followed by biological remediation method, which have gained prominence in recent years due to their ecological, economic, and social combined benefits. Furthermore, recent studies demonstrate a growing trend towards the combined use of more than one treatment/method to rehabilitate ecosystems, particularly with biological treatments. This combined approach has the potential for synergistic effects in achieving more effective rehabilitation and their sustainability in the long term, thus, a focus for future research.
Topics: Ecosystem; Environmental Pollution; Europe; Spain; Italy; Environmental Restoration and Remediation
PubMed: 38430591
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2024.133863 -
Scientific Reports Mar 2021This study aimed to consolidate current knowledge of wildlife brucellosis in Africa and to analyse available predictors of infection. The Preferred Reporting Items for... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
This study aimed to consolidate current knowledge of wildlife brucellosis in Africa and to analyse available predictors of infection. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses guidelines were followed. Information on species, test used, test results, area, rainfall, livestock and wildlife contact and year of study were extracted. This systematic review revealed 42 prevalence studies, nine disease control articles and six articles on epidemiology. Brucella abortus, Brucella melitensis, Brucella inopinata and Brucella suis were reported in wildlife. The prevalence studies revealed serological evidence of brucellosis in buffalo, antelope (positive in 14/28 species), carnivores (4/12) and other species (7/20) over the last five decades. Buffalo populations were more likely to be infected and had a higher seroprevalence than other species; the pooled seroprevalence was 13.7% (95% CI 10.3-17.3%) in buffalo, 7.1% (95% CI 1.1-15.5%) in carnivores and 2.1% (95% CI 0.1-4.9%) in antelope. Wildlife in high rainfall areas (≥ 800 mm) were more likely to be infected, and infected populations showed higher seroprevalence in high rainfall areas and in studies published after 2000. Domestic animal contact was associated with increased seroprevalence in antelope and carnivore species, but not in buffalo, supporting the hypothesis that buffalo may be a reservoir species.
Topics: Africa; Animal Diseases; Animals; Animals, Wild; Arachnid Vectors; Brucella; Brucellosis; Cross-Sectional Studies; Host-Pathogen Interactions; Multivariate Analysis; Public Health Surveillance; Seroepidemiologic Studies; Ticks; Zoonoses
PubMed: 33727580
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-85441-w