120 research outputs found

    Genetic diversity of European tree frogs (Hyla arborea group): A systematic review

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    Amphibian populations are increasingly threatened by global change and the study of their genetic diversity is a major conservation priority. Western palearctic tree frog species of the Hyla arborea group are commonly distributed across Europe and the Middle East and many have declining populations. We performed a PRISMA systematic review to gain insight into the genetic diversity of H. arborea group. Sixteen published studies were included in the final qualitative analysis. While the genetic diversity of H. arborea group species was widely variable, it could often be explained by phylogeographic history. Populations in Western and Northern Europe had lower genetic diversity, with some populations also affected by habitat fragmentation. However, important regions of high genetic diversity were found in the Balkan peninsula for H. arborea sensu stricto and around the Black Sea for H. orientalis. Genetic diversity of H. molleri, H. savignyi, H. meridionalis, H. felixarabica, H. intermedia, H. sarda has been investigated only across extensive phylogeographical studies, while data regarding their genetic diversity at the local level are missing. Through our review, we identify knowledge gaps about the genetic diversity of the H. arborea group that require further investigation, of and illustrate how filling these gaps might translate into future conservation efforts

    Consensus and controversy in the discipline of invasion science

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    Approaches, values and perceptions in invasion science are highly dynamic, and like in other disciplines, views among different people can be somewhat divergent. This has led to debate in the field specifically surrounding the core themes relating to values, management, impacts, and terminology. Considering these debates, we surveyed the views of 698 scientists and practitioners to assess levels of polarization (opposing views) on core and contentious invasion science topics. Our results indicate that although there are generally high levels of consensus in the field, there are still some areas of polarization. Relating to values, there was high polarization regarding claims of invasive species denialism, if invasive species contribute to biodiversity, and, how biodiversity reporting should be conducted. Linking to management there were polarized views on banning the commercial use of beneficial invasive species, the extent to which stakeholders’ perceptions should influence management, if invasive species utilization alone is an appropriate control strategy, and, whether the eradication of invasive plants is possible. For impacts, there was high polarization concerning whether invasive species drive, or are a side effect of degradation, and, if invasive species benefits are understated. For terminology, polarized views related to defining invasive species based only on spread, if labelling species as invasive in their native ranges, and, if language used is too xenophobic. Factor and regression analysis revealed that views were particularly divergent between people working on different invasive taxa (plants and mammals) and in different disciplines (especially between biologists and social scientists), between academics and practitioners, and between world regions (especially between Africa and the Global North). Unlike in other studies, age and gender had a limited influence on response patterns. We highlight that better integration globally and between disciplines, taxa and sectors (e.g., academic vs. practitioners), could help build broader understanding and consensus in the field

    Frog eat frog: exploring variables influencing anurophagy

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    Background. Frogs are generalist predators of a wide range of typically small prey items. But descriptions of dietary items regularly include other anurans, such that frogs are considered to be among the most important of anuran predators. However, the only existing hypothesis for the inclusion of anurans in the diet of post-metamorphic frogs postulates that it happens more often in bigger frogs. Moreover, this hypothesis has yet to be tested

    Clarification and guidance on the use of the Socio-Economic Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (SEICAT) framework

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    Understanding the ways in which alien taxa threaten human well-being, beyond purely monetary costs, can be difficult as impacts differ vastly across social, cultural, and economic contexts. Failure to capture impacts outside of monetary costs means that impacts are unfairly weighted towards those that can be easily monetised, which is unlikely to be a realistic measure of how alien species truly affect human well-being. To address this issue, the Socio-Economic Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (SEICAT) was developed with the intention to facilitate standardised classifications and comparisons of the impacts of alien taxa on human well-being and livelihood. The framework measures impacts by assessing to what extent alien taxa have altered human activities, so has application across a broad range of reported impacts associated with different constituents of human well-being. Although in their original paper, Bacher et al. (2018) provided an overview of the SEICAT framework, comprehensive guidelines that enable assessors to overcome potential ambiguities were, until now, unavailable. This may be preventing the broad application of the framework due to reduced usability. Here, we provide clarification and guidance for the application of SEICAT to facilitate standardised, consistent assessments. In particular, we address uncertainties stemming from unclear definitions of impacted communities and activities, as well as the spatial and temporal scales of relevance. We clarify these key issues and give explicit recommendations, whilst encouraging the collection of additional contextual information to be recorded for each assessed impact report, to generate more practical information for end-users of SEICAT data. Further, we recommend adopting an alternative terminology for the impact categories to reduce the potential misuse of the current descriptors. The intended outcome of this work is to aid the broad application of the SEICAT framework in a consistent and transparent manner

    The EICAT+ framework enables classification of positive impacts of alien taxa on native biodiversity

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    Species introduced through human-related activities beyond their native range, termed alien species, have various impacts worldwide. The IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) is a global standard to assess negative impacts of alien species on native biodiversity. Alien species can also positively affect biodiversity (for instance, through food and habitat provisioning or dispersal facilitation) but there is currently no standardized and evidence-based system to classify positive impacts. We fill this gap by proposing EICAT+, which uses 5 semiquantitative scenarios to categorize the magnitude of positive impacts, and describes underlying mechanisms. EICAT+ can be applied to all alien taxa at different spatial and organizational scales. The application of EICAT+ expands our understanding of the consequences of biological invasions and can inform conservation decisions

    Association between Long COVID and Overweight/Obesity

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    Background: Long COVID is a syndrome characterized by the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 infection symptoms. Among HCWs, prolonged COVID symptoms could lead to the inability to perform work tasks. The aim of this study is to investigate 35-day long-COVID (35-LC) characteristics and risk factors in a one-year period. Methods: We carried out a retrospective cohort study during the COVID-19 pandemic at University Hospital of Bari. A total of 5750 HCWs were tested for close contact with a confirmed case, in the absence of personal protective equipment, or for symptom development. Results: Each positive HCW was investigated for cardiovascular risk factors or respiratory diseases. An amount of 352 HCWs (6.1%) were infected by SARS-CoV-2, and 168 cases evolved to long COVID. The 35-LC group showed mean BMI values higher than the non-35-LC group (25.9 kg/m2 vs. 24.8 kg/m2, respectively), and this difference was significant (p-value: 0.020). Moreover, HCWs who suffered from pulmonary disease (OR = 3.7, CL 95%: 1.35–10.53; p-value = 0.007) or overweight (OR = 1.6 CL 95%: 1.05–2.56; p-value = 0.029) had an increased risk of developing 35-LC. Conclusions: Long COVID is an emerging problem for hospital managers as it may reduce the number of HCWs deployed in the fight against COVID-19. High BMI and previous pulmonary disease could be risk factors for 35-LC development in exposed HCWs

    The EICAT+ framework enables classification of positive impacts of alien taxa on native biodiversity

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    Species introduced through human-related activities beyond their native range, termed alien species, have various impacts worldwide. The IUCN Environmental Impact Classification for Alien Taxa (EICAT) is a global standard to assess negative impacts of alien species on native biodiversity. Alien species can also positively affect biodiversity (for instance, through food and habitat provisioning or dispersal facilitation) but there is currently no standardized and evidence-based system to classify positive impacts. We fill this gap by proposing EICAT+, which uses 5 semiquantitative scenarios to categorize the magnitude of positive impacts, and describes underlying mechanisms. EICAT+ can be applied to all alien taxa at different spatial and organizational scales. The application of EICAT+ expands our understanding of the consequences of biological invasions and can inform conservation decisions.Agencia Estatal de Investigación PCI2018-092939, PCI2018-092986Swiss National Science Foundation 31003A_179491, 31BD30_184114Austrian Fonds zur Förderung der Wissenschaftlichen Forschung 4011-B32German Bundesministerium für Bildung und Forschung 16LC1803A, 01LC1807CFrench National Research Agency ANR-18-EBI4-0001-06US National Science Foundation ICER-1852060National Research Foundation of South Africa 89967Australian Research Council DP200101680UK Natural Environment Research Council NE/V007548/1Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation (H.F.R.I.) HFRIFM17-159

    Assessment of DNA damages in lymphocytes of agricultural workers exposed to pesticides by comet assay in a cross-sectional study

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    Purpose: To assess the predictive power of the comet assay in the context of occupational exposure to pesticides. Materials and methods: The recruited subjects completed a structured questionnaire and gave a blood sample. Exposure to pesticides was measured by means of an algorithm based on Dosemeci’s work (Agricultural Health Study). Approximately 50 images were analyzed for each sample via fluores- cence microscopy. The extent of DNA damage was estimated by tail moment (TM) and is the product of tail DNA (%) and tail Length. Results: Crude significant risks (odds ratios, ORs) for values higher than the 75th percentile of TM were observed among the exposed subjects (score>1). The frequency of some confounding factors (sex, age and smoking) was significantly higher among the exposed workers. A significant dose–effect relationship was observed between TM and exposure score. Significant high-risk estimates (ORs), adjusted by the studied confounding factors, among exposure to pesticides and TM, % tail DNA and tail length were confirmed using unconditional logistic regression models. Conclusions: The adjusted associations (ORs) between the comet parameters and exposure to pesti- cides were significant. The sensitivity of the comet test was low (41%), the specificity (89%) and the predictive positive value (0.77) were found acceptable

    Why Have a Pet Amphibian? Insights From YouTube

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    The desire to own a pet amphibian is growing, and with it a growth in amphibian trade and in negative impacts on native populations, including disease transmission and invasive amphibian populations. We know very little about how or why people choose amphibians as pets, but amphibian owners share large numbers of videos on freely accessible platforms, such as YouTube. We aimed to use videos of captive amphibians to determine which species are kept, their life-history stage and the types of videos uploaded. We watched and categorized 1,162 videos by video type, type of amphibian behavior and amphibian taxonomy (superfamily, family, and species). We used data on the amphibian trade from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), on conservation status from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) red list, and on potential environmental impact from published Environmental Impact Classification of Alien Taxa (EICAT) records, to determine potential conflicts of owning pet amphibians. We recorded 173 captive species in 847 videos with a taxonomic overrepresentation of salamandroids and pipoids, and an underrepresentation of ranoids and plethodontoids. When compared to videos of wild amphibian species, videos of captive animals featured disproportionate amounts of adults feeding, being handled and moving. The videos watched had a smaller proportion of threatened amphibian species, but a higher proportion of invasive species, than would be expected by chance, with the proportion present in CITES appendices (18%) being non-significant. We suggest that such data can be used to profile potential pets for trade and attempt to avoid conflicts with threatened and highly impacting alien species

    The Vitamin D, IL-6 and the eGFR Markers a Possible Way to Elucidate the Lung–Heart–Kidney Cross-Talk in COVID-19 Disease: A Foregone Conclusion

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    Background: Based on recent findings, we speculated the existence of the lung, heart, and kidney axis as the main pathway for the COVID-19 disease progression. Methods: This paper reports on an observational study conducted by a team of researchers and doctors of the 118-Pre-Hospital and Emergency Department of SG Moscati of Taranto City in Italy. The study was conducted on a totality of 185 participants that were divided into three groups. The study group included COVID-19 affected patients (PP n = 80), the first control group included patients with different pathologies (non-COVID-19 NNp n = 62) of the SG Moscati Hospital, and the second control group included healthy individuals (NNh n = 43). The core of the current trial was focused on assessing the level of the vitamin D (serum 25(OH) D concentration), IL-6, and the renal glomerular filtrate (eGFR) in COVID-19 disease and non-COVID-19 patients in both groups. Results: It was observed that the majority of COVID-19-infected patients showed a progressive multi-organ involvement, especially in regard to the lung, kidney, and heart. The majority of the COVID-19 patients exhibited preexisting comorbidities which include cardiovascular, respiratory, and renal disorders accompanied by a severely low level of vitamin D, extremely high level of IL-6, and low glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). The significant overall damages exerted by the immune-mediated responses under the hyper-expression of proinflammatory cytokines and interleukins, such as IL-6, may be facilitated by either a decreased level of vitamin D or the ageing process. The reduced presence of vitamin D was often found together with a reduced functionality of renal activity, as revealed by the low eGFR, and both were seen to be concomitant with an increased mortality risk in patients with lung disorders and heart failure (HF), whether it is showed at baseline or it develops during manifestation of COVID-19. Therefore, the documentation of the modifiable risk factors related to SARS-CoV-2 and lung impairment in older patients with kidney and heart disease may help the clinician to better manage the situation. Conclusions: This paper addresses how a low level of vitamin D and older age may be indicative of systemic worsening in patients with COVID-19, with a goal of providing a broader context in which to view a better therapeutic approach
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