14 research outputs found
New fossil remains of the commensal barnacle Cryptolepas rhachianecti provide evidence of gray whales in the prehistoric South Pacific
Altres ajuts: CERCA Programme/Generalitat de CatalunyaWe report the finding of two partial specimens of Cryptolepas rhachianecti (Cirripedia, Coronulidae), a coronulid barnacle known only to inhabit the skin of gray whales (Eschrichtius robustus), in Pleistocene-aged sediments from the Canoa Basin, Ecuador. While the historical range of gray whales includes the North Pacific and North Atlantic, to our knowledge this is the first inferred evidence of a gray whale population having resided within the South Pacific. We describe the two Cryptolepas rhachianecti fossils, use isotopic analysis to investigate evidence of migration in their host whales, and discuss their implications for our understanding of gray whale evolutionary history
Pharmaceutical pollution of the world's rivers
Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world's rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
The PREDICTS database: a global database of how local terrestrial biodiversity responds to human impacts
Biodiversity continues to decline in the face of increasing anthropogenic pressures
such as habitat destruction, exploitation, pollution and introduction of
alien species. Existing global databases of species’ threat status or population
time series are dominated by charismatic species. The collation of datasets with
broad taxonomic and biogeographic extents, and that support computation of
a range of biodiversity indicators, is necessary to enable better understanding of
historical declines and to project – and avert – future declines. We describe and
assess a new database of more than 1.6 million samples from 78 countries representing
over 28,000 species, collated from existing spatial comparisons of
local-scale biodiversity exposed to different intensities and types of anthropogenic
pressures, from terrestrial sites around the world. The database contains
measurements taken in 208 (of 814) ecoregions, 13 (of 14) biomes, 25 (of 35)
biodiversity hotspots and 16 (of 17) megadiverse countries. The database contains
more than 1% of the total number of all species described, and more than
1% of the described species within many taxonomic groups – including flowering
plants, gymnosperms, birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians, beetles, lepidopterans
and hymenopterans. The dataset, which is still being added to, is
therefore already considerably larger and more representative than those used
by previous quantitative models of biodiversity trends and responses. The database
is being assembled as part of the PREDICTS project (Projecting Responses
of Ecological Diversity In Changing Terrestrial Systems – www.predicts.org.uk).
We make site-level summary data available alongside this article. The full database
will be publicly available in 2015
Mortality from gastrointestinal congenital anomalies at 264 hospitals in 74 low-income, middle-income, and high-income countries: a multicentre, international, prospective cohort study
Summary
Background Congenital anomalies are the fifth leading cause of mortality in children younger than 5 years globally.
Many gastrointestinal congenital anomalies are fatal without timely access to neonatal surgical care, but few studies
have been done on these conditions in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs). We compared outcomes of
the seven most common gastrointestinal congenital anomalies in low-income, middle-income, and high-income
countries globally, and identified factors associated with mortality.
Methods We did a multicentre, international prospective cohort study of patients younger than 16 years, presenting to
hospital for the first time with oesophageal atresia, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, intestinal atresia, gastroschisis,
exomphalos, anorectal malformation, and Hirschsprung’s disease. Recruitment was of consecutive patients for a
minimum of 1 month between October, 2018, and April, 2019. We collected data on patient demographics, clinical
status, interventions, and outcomes using the REDCap platform. Patients were followed up for 30 days after primary
intervention, or 30 days after admission if they did not receive an intervention. The primary outcome was all-cause,
in-hospital mortality for all conditions combined and each condition individually, stratified by country income status.
We did a complete case analysis.
Findings We included 3849 patients with 3975 study conditions (560 with oesophageal atresia, 448 with congenital
diaphragmatic hernia, 681 with intestinal atresia, 453 with gastroschisis, 325 with exomphalos, 991 with anorectal
malformation, and 517 with Hirschsprung’s disease) from 264 hospitals (89 in high-income countries, 166 in middleincome
countries, and nine in low-income countries) in 74 countries. Of the 3849 patients, 2231 (58·0%) were male.
Median gestational age at birth was 38 weeks (IQR 36–39) and median bodyweight at presentation was 2·8 kg (2·3–3·3).
Mortality among all patients was 37 (39·8%) of 93 in low-income countries, 583 (20·4%) of 2860 in middle-income
countries, and 50 (5·6%) of 896 in high-income countries (p<0·0001 between all country income groups).
Gastroschisis had the greatest difference in mortality between country income strata (nine [90·0%] of ten in lowincome
countries, 97 [31·9%] of 304 in middle-income countries, and two [1·4%] of 139 in high-income countries;
p≤0·0001 between all country income groups). Factors significantly associated with higher mortality for all patients
combined included country income status (low-income vs high-income countries, risk ratio 2·78 [95% CI 1·88–4·11],
p<0·0001; middle-income vs high-income countries, 2·11 [1·59–2·79], p<0·0001), sepsis at presentation (1·20
[1·04–1·40], p=0·016), higher American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) score at primary intervention
(ASA 4–5 vs ASA 1–2, 1·82 [1·40–2·35], p<0·0001; ASA 3 vs ASA 1–2, 1·58, [1·30–1·92], p<0·0001]), surgical safety
checklist not used (1·39 [1·02–1·90], p=0·035), and ventilation or parenteral nutrition unavailable when needed
(ventilation 1·96, [1·41–2·71], p=0·0001; parenteral nutrition 1·35, [1·05–1·74], p=0·018). Administration of
parenteral nutrition (0·61, [0·47–0·79], p=0·0002) and use of a peripherally inserted central catheter (0·65
[0·50–0·86], p=0·0024) or percutaneous central line (0·69 [0·48–1·00], p=0·049) were associated with lower mortality.
Interpretation Unacceptable differences in mortality exist for gastrointestinal congenital anomalies between lowincome,
middle-income, and high-income countries. Improving access to quality neonatal surgical care in LMICs will
be vital to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 3.2 of ending preventable deaths in neonates and children younger
than 5 years by 2030
Actividad larvicida de la toronja, Citrus paradisi (Rutaceae) sobre dos vectores del dengue
La actividad larvicida del aceite esencial de la toronja (Citrus paradisi) fue evaluada contra los mosquitos Aedes aegypti y Aedes albopictus, los cuales representan vectores potenciales de la fiebre del dengue. La CL50 del aceite esencial de la toronja fue de 47,3 ppm y 85,1 ppm para Ae. aegypti y Ae. albopictus, respectivamente. El análisis del aceite por GC-MS, mostró químicos conocidos como insecticidas los cuales podría explicar la acción tóxica sobre las larvas de los mosquitos evaluados. Esta actividad tóxica sobre Ae. aegypti fue mayor en comparación con otros aceites cítricos, lo que sugiere mayores instigaciones en esta línea y de esta manera poder recomendarlo como regulador de mosquitos a las diferentes campañas contra el Ae. aeygpti. En la literatura revisada no encontramos ninguna investigación donde haya sido evaluado aceites esenciales de cítricos contra larvas del mosquito Ae. albopictus
Defining variation in pre-human ecosystems can guide conservation: an example from a Caribbean coral reef
Many Caribbean coral reefs are heavily degraded, yet their pre-human, natural states are often assumed or estimated using space-for-time substitution approaches. Here we use an 11-hectare suite of fossilised mid-Holocene (7.2–5.6 ka) fringing reefs in Caribbean Panama to define natural variation in hard coral community structure before human-impact to provide context to the states of the same reefs today. We collected bulk samples from four trenches dug into the mid-Holocene fossil reef and surficial bulk samples from 2–10 m depths on five adjacent modern reefs extending over 5 km. Analysis of the abundances of coral taxa in fossil bulk samples define the Historical Range of Variation (HRV) in community structure of the reefs. When compared to the community structure of adjacent modern reefs, we find that most coral communities today fall outside the HRV, identifying them as novel ecosystems and corroborating the well-documented transition from acroporid-dominated Caribbean reefs to reefs dominated by stress-tolerant taxa (Porites and Agaricia). We find one modern reef, however, whose community composition remains within the HRV showing that it has not transitioned to a novel state. Reef-matrix cores extracted from this reef reveal that the coral community has remained in this state for over 800 years, suggesting long-term stability and resistance to the region-wide shift to novel states. Without these data to provide historical context, this potentially robust and stable reef would be overlooked since it does not fulfil expectations of what a Caribbean coral reef should look like in the absence of humans. This example illustrates how defining past variation using the fossil record can improve our understanding of modern degradation and guide conservation
Extinction risk, reconstructed catches and management of chondrichthyan fishes in the Western Central Atlantic Ocean
Chondrichthyan fishes are among the most threatened vertebrates on the planet because many species have slow life histories that are outpaced by intense fishing. The Western Central Atlantic Ocean, which includes the Greater Caribbean, is a hotspot of chondrichthyan biodiversity and abundance, but has been characterized by extensive shark and ray fisheries and a lack of sufficient data for effective management and conservation. To inform future research and management decisions, we analysed patterns in chondrichthyan extinction risk, reconstructed catches and management engagement in this region. We summarized the extinction risk of 180 sharks, rays and chimaeras, including 66 endemic and 14 near-endemic species, using contemporary IUCN Red List assessments. Over one-third (35.6%) were assessed as Vulnerable, Endangered or Critically Endangered, primarily due to overfishing. Reconstructed catches from 1950 to 2016 peaked in 1992, then declined by 40.2% thereafter. The United States, Venezuela and Mexico were responsible for most catches in the region and hosted the largest proportions of the regional distributions of threatened species, largely due to having extensive coastal habitats in their Exclusive Economic Zones. The quantity and taxonomic resolution of fisheries landings data were poor in much of the region, and national-level regulations varied widely across jurisdictions. Deepwater fisheries represent an emerging threat, although many deepwater chondrichthyans currently have refuge beyond the depths of most fisheries. Regional collaboration as well as effective and enforceable management informed by more complete fisheries data, particularly from small-scale fisheries, are required to protect and recover threatened species and ensure sustainable fisheries