Relationship between Occurrence of Birds and Vegetation Structure of Riparian Habitats

Riparian lands and their vegetation provide important habitat for terrestrial animals includingbirds. Even though riparian lands may occupy only a small percentage of the catchmentlandscape they provide nesting and feeding habitats for a large number of bird species. Butdue to construction of dams, human uses of riparian vegetation, logging, road construction,livestock grazing and sand mining riparian habitats are depleting in Sri Lanka. The presentstudy was aimed to compare habitat use by birds with available riparian vegetation, and tocompare bird population characteristics among riparian habitats with different vegetationstructure. In order to achieve the objectives, occurrence of birds was studied in two differentriparian systems; ‘Loggal oya’ and ‘Minipe’ area of Mahaweli River which are having twodifferent vegetation structures. There are significant differences in the abundance of canopyvegetation and understory vegetation and no such difference in abundance of groundvegetation between two sites. 500 m line transects with a width of 40 m were placed parallelto the stream flow and birds were recorded. Birds were recorded for 10 minutes at each of 10equally spaced stations along the transect and while moving between stations. Species andnumber of birds were recorded. Seventy four bird species were observed with a highestdiversity in the Loggal oya (H’=2.58 with respect to H’=2.42 in Minipe). Bird density wasalso higher in the Loggal oya with a significant difference. Canonical correspondanceanalysis showed that Canopy cover is the highest contributing factor for the distribution ofbirds. A positive correaltion was observed between the vegetation structure and theabundance of birds thus, concluding that riparian habitats are imporatant areas for birds for itssurvival. By understanding the associations between birds and habitat, management activitiescan be implemented to provide appro-priate habitat for desired species

Thrombosis, major bleeding, and survival in COVID-19 supported by VV- ECMO in the first vs second wave- multicentre observational study in the UK

BACKGROUND: Bleeding and thrombosis are major complications of veno-venous extracorporeal membrane (VV-ECMO). OBJECTIVES: To assess thrombosis, major bleeding (MB) and 180-day in patients supported by VV-ECMO between first (1st March-31st May 2020) and second (1st June 2020-30th June 2021) waves of the COVID-19 pandemic. PATIENTS/METHODS: Observational study of 309 consecutive patients (≥18years) with severe COVID-19 supported by VV-ECMO in four nationally commissioned ECMO centres, UK. RESULTS: Median age was 48 (19-75)years and 70.6% were male. Probabilities of survival, thrombosis, and MB at 180 days in the overall cohort were 62.5% (193/309), 39.8%(123/309) and 30%(93/309). In multivariate analysis, age >55 years (HR 2.29 [1.33-3.93],p=0.003) and elevated creatinine (HR 1.91 [1.19-3.08],p=0.008) were associated with increased mortality. Corrected for duration of VV-ECMO support, arterial thrombosis alone (HR 3.0 [95% CI1.5-5.9], P= 0.002) or circuit thrombosis alone (HR 3.9 [95% 2.4-6.3], P<0.001), but not venous thrombosis, increased mortality. MB during ECMO had 3-fold risk (95% CI 2.6-5.8, P<0.001) of mortality. The first wave cohort had more males (76.7% vs 64%, p=0.014), higher 180-day survival (71.1% vs 53.3% p=0.003), more venous thrombosis alone (46.4% vs 29.2%, p=0.02) and lower circuit thrombosis (9.2% vs 28.1%, p<0.001). The second wave cohort received more steroids (121/150 [80.6%] vs 86/159 [54.1%], p<0.0001) and Tocilizumab (20/150 [13.3%] vs 4/159 [2.5%] p=0.005). CONCLUSIONS: MB and thrombosis are frequent complications in patients on VV-ECMO and significantly increase mortality. Arterial thrombosis alone or circuit thrombosis alone increased mortality whilst venous thrombosis alone had no effect. MB during ECMO support increased mortality 3.9-fold

Effects of Tectonics and Large Scale Climatic Changes On the Evolutionary History of \u3ci\u3eHyalomma\u3c/i\u3e ticks

Hyalomma Koch, 1844 are ixodid ticks that infest mammals, birds and reptiles, to which 27 recognized species occur across the Afrotropical, Palearctic and Oriental regions. Despite their medical and veterinary importance, the evolutionary history of the group is enigmatic. To investigate various taxonomic hypotheses based on morphology, and also some of the mechanisms involved in the diversification of the genus, we sequenced and analysed data derived from two mtDNA fragments, three nuclear DNA genes and 47 morphological characters. Bayesian and Parsimony analyses based on the combined data (2242 characters for 84 taxa) provided maximum resolution and strongly supported the monophyly of Hyalomma and the subgenus Euhyalomma Filippova, 1984 (including H. punt Hoogstraal, Kaiser and Pedersen, 1969). A predicted close evolutionary association was found between morphologically similar H. dromedarii Koch, 1844, H. somalicum Tonelli Rondelli, 1935, H. impeltatum Schulze and Schlottke, 1929 and H. punt, and together they form a sister lineage to H. asiaticum Schulze and Schlottke, 1929, H. schulzei Olenev, 1931 and H. scupense Schulze, 1919. Congruent with morphological suggestions, H. anatolicum Koch, 1844, H. excavatum Koch, 1844 and H. lusitanicum Koch, 1844 form a clade and so also H. glabrum Delpy, 1949, H. marginatum Koch, 1844, H. turanicum Pomerantzev, 1946 and H. rufipes Koch, 1844. Wide scale continental sampling revealed cryptic divergences within African H. truncatum Koch, 1844 and H. rufipes and suggested that the taxonomy of these lineages is in need of a revision. The most basal lineages in Hyalomma represent taxa currently confined to Eurasia and molecular clock estimates suggest that members of the genus started to diverge approximately 36.25 million years ago (Mya). The early diversification event coincides well with the collision of the Indian and Eurasian Plates, an event that was also characterized by large scale faunal turnover in the region. Using S-Diva, we also propose that the closure of the Tethyan seaway allowed for the genus to first enter Africa approximately 17.73 Mya. In concert, our data supports the notion that tectonic events and large scale global changes in the environment contributed significantly to produce the rich species diversity currently found in the genus Hyalomma

Food environment and diabetes mellitus in South Asia: A geospatial analysis of health outcome data

BACKGROUND: The global epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) renders its prevention a major public health priority. A key risk factor of diabetes is obesity and poor diets. Food environments have been found to influence people's diets and obesity, positing they may play a role in the prevalence of diabetes. Yet, there is scant evidence on the role they may play in the context of low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). We examined the associations of food environments on T2DM among adults and its heterogeneity by income and sex. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We linked individual health outcome data of 12,167 individuals from a network of health surveillance sites (the South Asia Biobank) to the density and proximity of food outlets geolocated around their homes from environment mapping survey data collected between 2018 and 2020 in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Density was defined as share of food outlets within 300 m from study participant's home, and proximity was defined as having at least 1 outlet within 100 m from home. The outcome variables include fasting blood glucose level, high blood glucose, and self-reported diagnosed diabetes. Control variables included demographics, socioeconomic status (SES), health status, healthcare utilization, and physical activities. Data were analyzed in ArcMap 10.3 and STATA 15.1. A higher share of fast-food restaurants (FFR) was associated with a 9.21 mg/dl blood glucose increase (95% CI: 0.17, 18.24; p < 0.05). Having at least 1 FFR in the proximity was associated with 2.14 mg/dl blood glucose increase (CI: 0.55, 3.72; p < 0.01). A 1% increase in the share of FFR near an individual's home was associated with 8% increase in the probability of being clinically diagnosed as a diabetic (average marginal effects (AMEs): 0.08; CI: 0.02, 0.14; p < 0.05). Having at least 1 FFR near home was associated with 16% (odds ratio [OR]: 1.16; CI: 1.01, 1.33; p < 0.05) and 19% (OR: 1.19; CI: 1.03, 1.38; p < 0.05) increases in the odds of higher blood glucose levels and diagnosed diabetes, respectively. The positive association between FFR density and blood glucose level was stronger among women than men, but the association between FFR proximity and blood glucose level was stronger among men as well as among those with higher incomes. One of the study's key limitations is that we measured exposure to food environments around residency geolocation; however, participants may source their meals elsewhere. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that the exposure to fast-food outlets may have a detrimental impact on the risk of T2DM, especially among females and higher-income earners. Policies should target changes in the food environments to promote better diets and prevent T2DM

Food environments and obesity: a geospatial analysis of the South Asia Biobank, income and sex inequalities.

Introduction: In low-middle income countries (LMICs) the role of food environments on obesity has been understudied. We address this gap by 1) examining the effect of food environments on adults' body size (BMI, waist circumference) and obesity; 2) measuring the heterogeneity of such effects by income and sex. Methods: This cross-sectional study analysed South Asia Biobank surveillance and environment mapping data for 12,167 adults collected between 2018 and 2020 from 33 surveillance sites in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Individual-level data (demographic, socio-economic, and health characteristics) were combined with exposure to healthy and unhealthy food environments measured with geolocations of food outlets (obtained through ground-truth surveys) within 300 m buffer zones around participants' homes. Multivariate regression models were used to assess association of exposure to healthy and unhealthy food environments on waist circumference, BMI, and probability of obesity for the total sample and stratified by sex and income. Findings: The presence of a higher share of supermarkets in the neighbourhood was associated with a reduction in body size (BMI, β = - 3∙23; p < 0∙0001, and waist circumference, β = -5∙99; p = 0∙0212) and obesity (Average Marginal Effect (AME): -0∙18; p = 0∙0009). High share of fast-food restaurants in the neighbourhood was not significantly associated with body size, but it significantly increased the probability of obesity measured by BMI (AME: 0∙09; p = 0∙0234) and waist circumference (AME: 0∙21; p = 0∙0021). These effects were stronger among females and low-income individuals. Interpretation: The results suggest the availability of fast-food outlets influences obesity, especially among female and lower-income groups. The availability of supermarkets is associated with reduced body size and obesity, but their effects do not outweigh the role of fast-food outlets. Policies should target food environments to promote better diets and reduce obesity