A global database for metacommunity ecology, integrating species, traits, environment and space

The use of functional information in the form of species traits plays an important role in explaining biodiversity patterns and responses to environmental changes. Although relationships between species composition, their traits, and the environment have been extensively studied on a case-by-case basis, results are variable, and it remains unclear how generalizable these relationships are across ecosystems, taxa and spatial scales. To address this gap, we collated 80 datasets from trait-based studies into a global database for metaCommunity Ecology: Species, Traits, Environment and Space; “CESTES”. Each dataset includes four matrices: species community abundances or presences/absences across multiple sites, species trait information, environmental variables and spatial coordinates of the sampling sites. The CESTES database is a live database: it will be maintained and expanded in the future as new datasets become available. By its harmonized structure, and the diversity of ecosystem types, taxonomic groups, and spatial scales it covers, the CESTES database provides an important opportunity for synthetic trait-based research in community ecology

Applying genetic technologies to combat infectious diseases in aquaculture

Disease and parasitism cause major welfare, environmental and economic concerns for global aquaculture. In this review, we examine the status and potential of technologies that exploit genetic variation in host resistance to tackle this problem. We argue that there is an urgent need to improve understanding of the genetic mechanisms involved, leading to the development of tools that can be applied to boost host resistance and reduce the disease burden. We draw on two pressing global disease problems as case studies—sea lice infestations in salmonids and white spot syndrome in shrimp. We review how the latest genetic technologies can be capitalised upon to determine the mechanisms underlying inter- and intra-species variation in pathogen/ parasite resistance, and how the derived knowledge could be applied to boost disease resistance using selective breeding, gene editing and/or with targeted feed treatments and vaccines. Gene editing brings novel opportunities, but also implementation and dissemination challenges, and necessitates new protocols to integrate the technology into aquaculture breeding programmes. There is also an ongoing need to minimise risks of disease agents evolving to overcome genetic improvements to host resistance, and insights from epidemiological and evolutionary models of pathogen infestation in wild and cultured host populations are explored. Ethical issues around the different approaches for achieving genetic resistance are discussed. Application of genetic technologies and approaches has potential to improve fundamental knowledge of mechanisms affecting genetic resistance and provide effective pathways for implementation that could lead to more resistant aquaculture stocks, transforming global aquaculture.publishedVersio

PENGARUH KETERAMPILAN KERJA TERHADAP PRODUKTIVITAS KERJA ARSIPARIS BAPUSIPDA SE-BANDUNG RAYA

Penelitian ini dilakukan di Badan Perpustakaan dan Kearsipan Daerah (BAPUSIPDA) yang ada di sekitar Bandung raya. Penelitian ini mengkaji tentang rendahnya produktivitas kerja arsiparis Bapusipda se-Bandung raya yang diduga disebabkan oleh kurangnya tingkat keterampilan kerja para arsiparis. Metode yang digunakan dalam penelitian ini adalah metode survey eksplanasi, dimana data dikumpulkan dengan menyebarkan angket yang dikembangkan dengan menggunakan model skala likert pada 31 pegawai arsiparis di Bapusipda se-Bandung raya yang diambil sebagai sampel. Data yang terkumpul dalam penelitian ini diuji dengan menggunakan uji regresi linier sederhana. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa: (1) tingkat keterampilan kerja arsiparis berada pada kategori sedang; (2) tingkat produktivitas kerja arsiparis berada pada kategori cukup; (3) terdapat pengaruh yang sangat kuat dari keterampilan kerja terhadap produktivitas kerja arsiparis di Bapusipda se-Bandung raya. Penelitian ini menyarankan agar pihak Bapusipda memberikan dorongan motivasi yang lebih kepada para pegawai dengan cara memberikan penghargaan dan pengakuan yang tepat dan wajar kepada pegawai atas prestasi kerja yang telah dicapainya. Selain itu, pihak Bapusipda seyoganya mengadakan kegiatan pendidikan dan pelatihan dengan intensitas yang lebih tinggi, agar profesionalisme dan produktivitas kerja para arsiparis meningkat. ---------- This research was conducted in Agency for Library and Archives (henceforth, BAPUSIPDA). It investigates the low productivity of the archivists in the institution, which was assumed to have been caused by a lack of work skills. This research adopts survey-explanatory method, where data were collected by distributing a set of questionnaires using Likert scale to a sample of 36 archivists in BAPUSIPDA. The collected data were analyzed using simple linear regression. The results show that: (1) the level of archivists’ work skills was at the medium category; (2) the level of productivity of the archivists was at the moderate category; and (3) there was quite significant influence of work skills on work productivity of the archivists at BAPUSIPDA. This study recommends that BAPUSIPDA should further motivate the employees by giving adequate and appropriate rewards and recognition for their work achievements. In addition, BAPUSIPDA should also provide more intensive inservice educational activities and training in order to develop the archivists’ professionalism and work productivity

The evolving SARS-CoV-2 epidemic in Africa: Insights from rapidly expanding genomic surveillance

INTRODUCTION Investment in Africa over the past year with regard to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) sequencing has led to a massive increase in the number of sequences, which, to date, exceeds 100,000 sequences generated to track the pandemic on the continent. These sequences have profoundly affected how public health officials in Africa have navigated the COVID-19 pandemic. RATIONALE We demonstrate how the first 100,000 SARS-CoV-2 sequences from Africa have helped monitor the epidemic on the continent, how genomic surveillance expanded over the course of the pandemic, and how we adapted our sequencing methods to deal with an evolving virus. Finally, we also examine how viral lineages have spread across the continent in a phylogeographic framework to gain insights into the underlying temporal and spatial transmission dynamics for several variants of concern (VOCs). RESULTS Our results indicate that the number of countries in Africa that can sequence the virus within their own borders is growing and that this is coupled with a shorter turnaround time from the time of sampling to sequence submission. Ongoing evolution necessitated the continual updating of primer sets, and, as a result, eight primer sets were designed in tandem with viral evolution and used to ensure effective sequencing of the virus. The pandemic unfolded through multiple waves of infection that were each driven by distinct genetic lineages, with B.1-like ancestral strains associated with the first pandemic wave of infections in 2020. Successive waves on the continent were fueled by different VOCs, with Alpha and Beta cocirculating in distinct spatial patterns during the second wave and Delta and Omicron affecting the whole continent during the third and fourth waves, respectively. Phylogeographic reconstruction points toward distinct differences in viral importation and exportation patterns associated with the Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants and subvariants, when considering both Africa versus the rest of the world and viral dissemination within the continent. Our epidemiological and phylogenetic inferences therefore underscore the heterogeneous nature of the pandemic on the continent and highlight key insights and challenges, for instance, recognizing the limitations of low testing proportions. We also highlight the early warning capacity that genomic surveillance in Africa has had for the rest of the world with the detection of new lineages and variants, the most recent being the characterization of various Omicron subvariants. CONCLUSION Sustained investment for diagnostics and genomic surveillance in Africa is needed as the virus continues to evolve. This is important not only to help combat SARS-CoV-2 on the continent but also because it can be used as a platform to help address the many emerging and reemerging infectious disease threats in Africa. In particular, capacity building for local sequencing within countries or within the continent should be prioritized because this is generally associated with shorter turnaround times, providing the most benefit to local public health authorities tasked with pandemic response and mitigation and allowing for the fastest reaction to localized outbreaks. These investments are crucial for pandemic preparedness and response and will serve the health of the continent well into the 21st century

Exposure Assessment of Indoor PM Levels During Extreme Dust Episodes

Millions of people live in areas that are subject to frequent dust events; however gaps remain in our knowledge about the association between dust, air quality and corresponding particulate matter (PM) exposure levels inside buildings. This case study demonstrates how the PM2.5 and PM10 levels in an urban environment respond to strong natural dust episodes. Real-time measurements were recorded simultaneously in indoor and outdoor environments in households in the city of Beer-Sheva, Israel during several strong dust events. A typical strong event was used for a detailed analysis of PM10 and PM2.5. Outdoor daily concentrations were above 1000 µg m−3 for PM10, the maximum hourly value of which was 1320 µg m−3. The indoor PM10 peaked at about 700 µg m−3 and fluctuated in parallel with the outdoor level but with a time lag of about 15 min. Indoor air tended to remain for several hours after the dust event had subsided. Analyses of multiple events revealed that the dependence of indoor PM2.5 and PM10 on natural dust varies but is not directly linked to the level of atmospheric dust concentration. From a health perspective, the exposure risk posed by extreme indoor PM2.5 and PM10 levels generated by natural dust episodes should be considered

Insights into Indoor/Outdoor PM Concentration Ratios due to Dust Storms in an Arid Region

Dust storms have impacts on both human and physical environments, associated with an increase in atmospheric particulate matter (PM) concentrations. Most studies on exposure to PM have focused on the outdoor air, while information on indoor pollution, is still lacking. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of desert dust events on PM concentrations in indoor environments. A total of over 200 real time measurements of PM were conducted in houses in the Negev Desert during dust storms. Indoor and outdoor PM concentrations were characterized, as well as the relationships between the two datasets. The findings indicated that atmospheric PM10 concentrations can increase from 20–120 μg·m−3 on non-dust days to more than 1500 μg·m−3 during dust events. Indoor concentrations can reach as high as 1000 μg·m−3. The calculated indoor/outdoor (I/O) PM ratio ranged from 0.79 for low-level storms to 0.58 during stronger events. Indoor PM concentrations were found to be dependent on the dust storm intensity (low, medium, high) and duration with a time lag. The information obtained in this study is critical for assessment of policy interventions to reduce exposure risk and health effects due dust storms

Stellaria monosperma Hamilt. var. japonica Maxim.

原著和名: オホヤマハコベ科名: ナデシコ科 = Caryophyllaceae採集地: 群馬県 碓氷郡 松井田町 横川 (丁須峯口) (上野 碓氷郡 松井田町 横川 (丁須峯口))採集日: 1983/8/22採集者: 萩庭丈壽整理番号: JH008480国立科学博物館整理番号: TNS-VS-95848

Richness and diversity in dust stormborne biomes at the Southeast Mediterranean

Dust storms include particulate matter that is transported over land and sea with biota that could impact downwind ecosystems. In addition to the physico-chemical compositions, organismal diversities of dust from two storm events in southern Israel, December 2012 (Ev12) and January 2013 (Ev13), were determined by pyro-sequencing using primers universal to 16S and 18S rRNA genes and compared. The bio-assemblages in the collected dust samples were affiliated with scores of different taxa. Distinct patterns of richness and diversity of the two events were influenced by the origins of the air masses: Ev13 was rich with reads affiliated to Betaproteobacteria and Embryophyta, consistent with a European origin. Ev12, originated in north-Africa, contained significantly more of the Actinobacteria and fungi, without conifers. The abundance of bacterial and eukaryotic reads demonstrates dissemination of biological material in dust that may impose health hazards of pathogens and allergens, and influence vegetation migration throughout the world.Published versio

Total PM₁₀ levels (lowest to highest arranged left to right) per measurement site over an entire dust season (December-April)

<p>Total PM₁₀ levels (lowest to highest arranged left to right) per measurement site over an entire dust season (December-April)</p

Beer-Sheva monitoring station data collected during measurement time.

<p>WS = wind speed; WD = wind direction; SS = synoptic system.</p