Predicting bee community responses to land-use changes: Effects of geographic and taxonomic biases

Land-use change and intensification threaten bee populations worldwide, imperilling pollination services. Global models are needed to better characterise, project, and mitigate bees' responses to these human impacts. The available data are, however, geographically and taxonomically unrepresentative; most data are from North America and Western Europe, overrepresenting bumblebees and raising concerns that model results may not be generalizable to other regions and taxa. To assess whether the geographic and taxonomic biases of data could undermine effectiveness of models for conservation policy, we have collated from the published literature a global dataset of bee diversity at sites facing land-use change and intensification, and assess whether bee responses to these pressures vary across 11 regions (Western, Northern, Eastern and Southern Europe; North, Central and South America; Australia and New Zealand; South East Asia; Middle and Southern Africa) and between bumblebees and other bees. Our analyses highlight strong regionally-based responses of total abundance, species richness and Simpson's diversity to land use, caused by variation in the sensitivity of species and potentially in the nature of threats. These results suggest that global extrapolation of models based on geographically and taxonomically restricted data may underestimate the true uncertainty, increasing the risk of ecological surprises

Incidence and Risk Factors of Abdominal Complications After Lung Transplantation

Background: Due to the underlying diseases and the need for immunosuppression, patients after lung transplantation are particularly at risk for gastrointestinal (GI) complications that may negatively influence long-term outcome. The present study assessed the incidences and impact of GI complications after lung transplantation and aimed to identify risk factors. Methods: Retrospective analysis of all 227 consecutively performed single- and double-lung transplantations at the University hospitals of Lausanne and Geneva was performed between January 1993 and December 2010. Logistic regressions were used to test the effect of potentially influencing variables on the binary outcomes overall, severe, and surgery-requiring complications, followed by a multiple logistic regression model. Results: Final analysis included 205 patients for the purpose of the present study, and 22 patients were excluded due to re-transplantation, multiorgan transplantation, or incomplete datasets. GI complications were observed in 127 patients (62%). Gastro-esophageal reflux disease was the most commonly observed complication (22.9%), followed by inflammatory or infectious colitis (20.5%) and gastroparesis (10.7%). Major GI complications (Dindo/Clavien III-V) were observed in 83 (40.5%) patients and were fatal in 4 patients (2.0%). Multivariate analysis identified double-lung transplantation (p=0.012) and early (1993-1998) transplantation period (p=0.008) as independent risk factors for developing major GI complications. Forty-three (21%) patients required surgery such as colectomy, cholecystectomy, and fundoplication in 6.8, 6.3, and 3.9% of the patients, respectively. Multivariate analysis identified Charlson comorbidity index of ≥3 as an independent risk factor for developing GI complications requiring surgery (p=0.015). Conclusion: GI complications after lung transplantation are common. Outcome was rather encouraging in the setting of our transplant center

Incidence and Risk Factors of Abdominal Complications After Lung Transplantation

Due to the underlying diseases and the need for immunosuppression, patients after lung transplantation are particularly at risk for gastrointestinal (GI) complications that may negatively influence long-term outcome. The present study assessed the incidences and impact of GI complications after lung transplantation and aimed to identify risk factors

Ultrasensitive Quantification of Pesticide Contamination and Drift Using Silica Particles with Encapsulated DNA

The rise of agricultural techniques with reduced pesticide usage makes it necessary to develop tools that efficiently assess pesticide drift at ultralow concentrations. We applied submicrometer sized silica particles with encapsulated DNA (SPED) as a tagging agent to evaluate pesticide drift. SPED have a quantification range down to the sub-parts per trillion level, allow cost-effective multiplexing experiments, and can be incorporated and robustly recovered from a wide range of pesticides and/or substrates. In a field experiment in an apple orchard, pesticide deposits down to 1 nL cm^–2 could be quantified after spraying a SPED-labeled test liquid containing 5.8 ppm (milligrams per liter) SPED. Wind and field-related patterns were clearly traceable. Overall, SPED represent a suitable analysis tool for pesticide-related field evaluations