Editorial: Remodeling Composition and Function of Microbiome by Dietary Strategies - Functional Foods Perspective

Microbes inhabiting the human gastrointestinal tract have been under the spotlight during the last decade, given the multiple associations detected between specific microbiota profiles and health status. Diet is widely recognized as the primary environmental variable shaping the intestinal microbiota in humans. Therefore, the study of diet-microbiota-host interactions deserves special attention to provide clues to several diseases, including cognitive, metabolic, and immune ones. In a similar manner, the investigation of the molecular cross-talk between host cells and microbes in a particular nutritional environment also serves as the foundation for design of innovative therapeutic strategies based on probiotics, prebiotics, and synbiotics. For instance, a recent investigation based on resistant starch suggests that discrete dietary fiber structures can be used to target the production of short-chain fatty acids (1), the major microbiota-derived effector molecules known to have a wide range of action on host health (2). On the other hand, the gut microbiota has been disclosed to modulate the effect of dietary fiber on host health, supporting the notion that there is no one-fits-all diet in the way to seek cost-effective nutritional strategies for health improvement and weight control (3). Anyhow, consensual benefits for human health in microbiota-targeted dietary interventions are still perceived, pointing out, for instance, fermented foods as attenuators of inflammation, and modulators of gut microbiota (4). The aim of the Frontiers in Nutrition Research Topic (RT) “Remodeling Composition and Function of Microbiome by Dietary Strategies—Functional Foods Perspective” was to assemble clinical and pre-clinical studies deciphering the microbiome-driven effects on human health of innovative functional foods based on probiotics, prebiotics or synbiotics, as well as dietary supplements. We provide an overview of this RT, including five original research articles and two review articles

Simulating geomagnetic bird navigation using novel high-resolution geomagnetic data

The project was funded by the Leverhulme Trust [Research Project Grant RPG-2018-258].Birds rely on precise navigational mechanisms, especially for long-distance migrations. One debated mechanism is their use of the geomagnetic field. It is unclear if and how different species of birds are using intensity or inclination (or both) for navigation. Previous geomagnetic modelling research is based on static geomagnetic data despite a temporally and spatially varying geomagnetic field. Animals supposedly have a high sensitivity to those changes of the geomagnetic field. In order to understand how birds respond in real-time to its temporal variation, we need to use accurate geomagnetic information linked to the position of the bird through co-location in space and time. We developed a data-driven approach to simulate geomagnetic migratory strategies, using, for the first time, accurate contemporaneous geomagnetic data obtained from Swarm satellites of the European Space Agency. We created biased correlated random walk models which were based on both GPS data from greater white-fronted geese (Anser albifrons) during fall migration between north-west Russia and central Europe and contemporaneous satellite geomagnetic data. Different strategies of geomagnetic navigation associated with different geomagnetic values were translated into probability surfaces, built from geomagnetic data, and included into the random walk models. To evaluate which strategy was most likely, we compared the measured GPS trajectories to the simulated trajectories using different trajectory similarity measurements. We propose this as an approach to track many bird species for future comparative studies. We found that navigational strategies in these geese using magnetic intensity were closer to the observed data than those using inclination. This was the case in 80% of the best models and is an indication that it should be more beneficial for these geese to use intensity over inclination. Additionally, our results supported results from a previous study, that navigation based on taxis and compass mechanisms were more similar to the observed data than other mechanisms. We therefore suggest that these geese may use a combination of these strategies for navigation at a broad-scale. Overall, it seems likely that for successful navigation to the target location more than one mechanism is necessary; indicating a multifactorial navigation mechanism of these migratory geese in the study area. The satellite geomagnetic data are available at a higher temporal resolution and the use significantly improved the fit of the modelled simulations in comparison to the modelled geomagnetic data. Therefore, using annotated geomagnetic data could greatly improve the modelling of animal geomagnetic navigation in future research.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Fusion of wildlife tracking and satellite geomagnetic data for the study of animal migration

Migratory animals use information from the Earth’s magnetic field on their journeys. Geomagnetic navigation has been observed across many taxa, but how animals use geomagnetic information to find their way is still relatively unknown. Most migration studies use a static representation of geomagnetic field and do not consider its temporal variation. However, short-term temporal perturbations may affect how animals respond - to understand this phenomenon, we need to obtain fine resolution accurate geomagnetic measurements at the location and time of the animal. Satellite geomagnetic measurements provide a potential to create such accurate measurements, yet have not been used yet for exploration of animal migration

Increasing transparency through the open city toolkit

Degbelo, A., Granell, C., Trilles, S., Bhattacharya, D., & Wissing, J. (2020). Tell Me How My Open Data Is Re-used: Increasing Transparency Through the Open City Toolkit. In S. Hawken, H. Han, & C. Pettit (Eds.), Open Cities, Open Data: Collaborative Cities in the Information Era (pp. 311-330). [Chapter 14] Springer Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-6605-5_14The Open Data movement has been gaining momentum in recent years, with increasingly many public institutions making their data freely accessible. Despite much data being already open (and more to come), finding information about the actual usage of these open datasets is still a challenge. This chapter introduces two tools of the Open City Toolkit (OCT) that tackle this issue: a tool to increase transparency and interactive guidelines. Interviews with city council employees confirmed the utility of the transparency tool. Both tools can be used by city councils (for planning purposes) and by users interested to know more about the value of current open datasets (for information purposes).authorsversionpublishe

Major prospects for exploring canine vector borne diseases and novel intervention methods using 'omic technologies

Canine vector-borne diseases (CVBDs) are of major socioeconomic importance worldwide. Although many studies have provided insights into CVBDs, there has been limited exploration of fundamental molecular aspects of most pathogens, their vectors, pathogen-host relationships and disease and drug resistance using advanced, 'omic technologies. The aim of the present article is to take a prospective view of the impact that next-generation, 'omics technologies could have, with an emphasis on describing the principles of transcriptomic/genomic sequencing as well as bioinformatic technologies and their implications in both fundamental and applied areas of CVBD research. Tackling key biological questions employing these technologies will provide a 'systems biology' context and could lead to radically new intervention and management strategies against CVBDs

Impact of COVID-19 on cardiovascular testing in the United States versus the rest of the world

Objectives: This study sought to quantify and compare the decline in volumes of cardiovascular procedures between the United States and non-US institutions during the early phase of the coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted the care of many non-COVID-19 illnesses. Reductions in diagnostic cardiovascular testing around the world have led to concerns over the implications of reduced testing for cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Methods: Data were submitted to the INCAPS-COVID (International Atomic Energy Agency Non-Invasive Cardiology Protocols Study of COVID-19), a multinational registry comprising 909 institutions in 108 countries (including 155 facilities in 40 U.S. states), assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on volumes of diagnostic cardiovascular procedures. Data were obtained for April 2020 and compared with volumes of baseline procedures from March 2019. We compared laboratory characteristics, practices, and procedure volumes between U.S. and non-U.S. facilities and between U.S. geographic regions and identified factors associated with volume reduction in the United States. Results: Reductions in the volumes of procedures in the United States were similar to those in non-U.S. facilities (68% vs. 63%, respectively; p = 0.237), although U.S. facilities reported greater reductions in invasive coronary angiography (69% vs. 53%, respectively; p < 0.001). Significantly more U.S. facilities reported increased use of telehealth and patient screening measures than non-U.S. facilities, such as temperature checks, symptom screenings, and COVID-19 testing. Reductions in volumes of procedures differed between U.S. regions, with larger declines observed in the Northeast (76%) and Midwest (74%) than in the South (62%) and West (44%). Prevalence of COVID-19, staff redeployments, outpatient centers, and urban centers were associated with greater reductions in volume in U.S. facilities in a multivariable analysis. Conclusions: We observed marked reductions in U.S. cardiovascular testing in the early phase of the pandemic and significant variability between U.S. regions. The association between reductions of volumes and COVID-19 prevalence in the United States highlighted the need for proactive efforts to maintain access to cardiovascular testing in areas most affected by outbreaks of COVID-19 infection

Spatial-temporal interpolation of satellite geomagnetic data to study long-distance animal migration

Introduction Increased access to remote sensing datasets presents opportunities to model an animal's in-situ experience of the landscape to study behavior and test hypotheses such as geomagnetic map navigation. MagGeo is an open-source tool that combines high spatiotemporal resolution geomagnetic data with animal tracking data. Unlike gridded remote sensing data, satellite geomagnetic data are point-based measurements of the magnetic field at the location of each satellite. MagGeo converts these measurements into geomagnetic values at an animal's location and time. The objective of this paper is to evaluate different interpolation methods and data frameworks within the MagGeo software and quantify how accurately MagGeo can model geomagnetic values and patterns as experienced by animals. Method We tested MagGeo outputs against data from 109 terrestrial geomagnetic observatories across 7 years. Unlike satellite data, ground-based data are more likely to represent how animals near the Earth's surface experience geomagnetic field dynamics. Within the MagGeo framework, we compared an inverse-distance weighting interpolation with three different nearest-neighbour interpolation methods. We also compared model geomagnetic data with combined model and satellite data in their ability to capture geomagnetic fluctuations. Finally, we fit a linear mixed-effect model to understand how error is influenced by factors like geomagnetic activity and distance in space and time between satellite and point of interest. Results and conclusions The overall absolute difference between MagGeo outputs and observatory values was <1% of the total possible range of values for geomagnetic components. Satellite data measurements closest in time to the point of interest consistently had lowest error which likely reflects the ability of the nearest neighbour in time interpolation method to capture small continuous daily fluctuations and larger discrete events like geomagnetic storms. Combined model and satellite data also capture geomagnetic fluctuations better than model data alone across most geomagnetic activity levels. Our linear mixed-effect models suggest that most of the variation in error can be explained by location-specific effects originating largely from local crustal biases, and that high geomagnetic activity usually predicts higher error though ultimately remaining within the 1% error range. Our results indicate that MagGeo can help researchers explore how animals may use the geomagnetic field to navigate long distances by providing access to data and methods that accurately model how animals moving near the Earth's surface experience the geomagnetic field