Phenological shifts of abiotic events, producers and consumers across a continent

Ongoing climate change can shift organism phenology in ways that vary depending on species, habitats and climate factors studied. To probe for large-scale patterns in associated phenological change, we use 70,709 observations from six decades of systematic monitoring across the former Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Among 110 phenological events related to plants, birds, insects, amphibians and fungi, we find a mosaic of change, defying simple predictions of earlier springs, later autumns and stronger changes at higher latitudes and elevations. Site mean temperature emerged as a strong predictor of local phenology, but the magnitude and direction of change varied with trophic level and the relative timing of an event. Beyond temperature-associated variation, we uncover high variation among both sites and years, with some sites being characterized by disproportionately long seasons and others by short ones. Our findings emphasize concerns regarding ecosystem integrity and highlight the difficulty of predicting climate change outcomes. The authors use systematic monitoring across the former USSR to investigate phenological changes across taxa. The long-term mean temperature of a site emerged as a strong predictor of phenological change, with further imprints of trophic level, event timing, site, year and biotic interactions.Peer reviewe

Chronicles of nature calendar, a long-term and large-scale multitaxon database on phenology

We present an extensive, large-scale, long-term and multitaxon database on phenological and climatic variation, involving 506,186 observation dates acquired in 471 localities in Russian Federation, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Belarus and Kyrgyzstan. The data cover the period 1890-2018, with 96% of the data being from 1960 onwards. The database is rich in plants, birds and climatic events, but also includes insects, amphibians, reptiles and fungi. The database includes multiple events per species, such as the onset days of leaf unfolding and leaf fall for plants, and the days for first spring and last autumn occurrences for birds. The data were acquired using standardized methods by permanent staff of national parks and nature reserves (87% of the data) and members of a phenological observation network (13% of the data). The database is valuable for exploring how species respond in their phenology to climate change. Large-scale analyses of spatial variation in phenological response can help to better predict the consequences of species and community responses to climate change.Peer reviewe

Molecular Mechanisms of Eosinophilic Esophagitis

Food hypersensitivity is a group of diseases arising from a specific immune response that reproduces on exposure to a given food. The current understanding of molecular mechanisms and immunopathology of non-IgE-mediated/mixed food hypersensitivity, e.g., eosinophilic esophagitis, contains many gaps in knowledge. This review aims to provide a modern classification and identify the primary diseases of non-IgE-mediated/mixed food hypersensitivity reactions, delineate the distinctive molecular features, and discuss recent findings in the immunopathology of eosinophilic esophagitis that may become a basis to develop valid biomarkers and novel therapies for this disease. Eosinophilic esophagitis is a recently recognized allergic-mediated disease with eosinophil-predominant esophagus inflammation. Its pathogenesis is a complicated network of interactions and signaling between epithelial, mesenchymal, and immune cells on molecular and intercellular levels. Alterations produced by overactivation of some cytokine signaling pathways, e.g., IL-13 or thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), were evolved and observed in this review from the viewpoints of molecular, genetic, epigenetic, and transcriptomic changes. Despite substantial experimental data, the reliable and representative mechanism of eosinophilic esophagitis pathogenesis has yet to show itself. So, the place of esophagitis between mixed and non-IgE-mediated allergic disorders and between eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorders currently seems vague and unclear

The Role of Chloroviruses as Possible Infectious Agents for Human Health: Putative Mechanisms of ATCV-1 Infection and Potential Routes of Transmission

The Chlorovirus genus of the Phycodnaviridae family includes large viruses with a double-stranded DNA genome. Chloroviruses are widely distributed in freshwater bodies around the world and have been isolated from freshwater sources in Europe, Asia, Australia, and North and South America. One representative of chloroviruses is Acanthocystis turfacea chlorella virus 1 (ATCV-1), which is hosted by Chlorella heliozoae. A few publications in the last ten years about the potential effects of ATCV-1 on the human brain sparked interest among specialists in the field of human infectious pathology. The goal of our viewpoint was to compile the scant research on the effects of ATCV-1 on the human body, to demonstrate the role of chloroviruses as new possible infectious agents for human health, and to indicate potential routes of virus transmission. We believe that ATCV-1 transmission routes remain unexplored. We also question whether chlorella-based nutritional supplements are dangerous for ATCV-1 infections. Further research will help to identify the routes of infection, the cell types in which ATCV-1 can persist, and the pathological mechanisms of the virus’s effect on the human body

Molecular Mechanisms of Scombroid Food Poisoning

Scombroid food poisoning (SFP) is a foodborne disease that develops after consumption of fresh fish and, rarely, seafood that has fine organoleptic characteristics but contains a large amount of exogenous histamine. SFP, like other food pseudo-allergic reactions (FPA), is a disorder that is clinically identical to allergic reactions type I, but there are many differences in their pathogenesis. To date, SFP has been widespread throughout the world and is an urgent problem, although exact epidemiological data on incidence varies greatly. The need to distinguish SFP from true IgE-associated allergy to fish and seafood is one of the most difficult examples of the differential diagnosis of allergic conditions. The most important difference is the absence of an IgE response in SFP. The pathogenesis of SFP includes a complex system of interactions between the body and chemical triggers such as exogenous histamine, other biogenic amines, cis-urocanic acid, salicylates, and other histamine liberators. Because of the wide range of molecular pathways involved in this process, it is critical to understand their differences. This may help predict and prevent poor outcomes in patients and contribute to the development of adequate hygienic rules and regulations for seafood product safety. Despite the vast and lengthy history of research on SFP mechanisms, there are still many blank spots in our understanding of this condition. The goals of this review are to differentiate various molecular mechanisms of SFP and describe methods of hygienic regulation of some biogenic amines that influence the concentration of histamine in the human body and play an important role in the mechanism of SFP

Analysis of the Face Mask Use by Public Transport Passengers and Workers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

(1) Background: The use of face masks and gloves in public places directly shows the commitment of the population to the established regulations. Public transport is one of the most-at-risk places of contamination. The aim of the study was to analyze the face mask use by public transport passengers and workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. (2) Methods: Public transport passengers and workers were surveyed. Periodic intermittent selective observation was used to gauge the level of adherence to the established regulations among public transport passengers. Factor analysis was used to identify factors determining the face-mask-wearing comfort. (3) Results: The majority of passengers (87.5%) and all transport workers (100%) used face masks and gloves. Most of the users wore only face masks. Only 41.6% of passengers and 74.7% of transport workers wore face masks correctly. Motivational attitudes at the implementation of preventive measures were determined: established regulations in the public place (55.8%) and the protection of one’s own health and the health of family members (44.2%). Only 22.5% of those wearing face masks believed that doing so will have any effect on the spread of an infectious disease, and 10.8% wore masks to maintain the health of people around themselves. A low level of social responsibility was demonstrated. For 53.4% of workers, face mask wearing was uncomfortable. The majority of workers had adverse reactions to mask wearing: feeling short of breath (52.8%), hyperemia of face skin (33.8%), and facial hyperhidrosis (67.4%). (4) Conclusions: The comfort of wearing a mask is determined by adverse reactions occurrence, the properties of the mask, working conditions, and the duration of wearing the face mask. It is necessary to develop recommendations to reduce wearing discomfort. These recommendations, along with methods of raising the social responsibility of the population, can contribute to a greater commitment of the population to non-specific prevention measures

Differences in spatial versus temporal reaction norms for spring and autumn phenological events

For species to stay temporally tuned to their environment, they use cues such as the accumulation of degree-days. The relationships between the timing of a phenological event in a population and its environmental cue can be described by a population-level reaction norm. Variation in reaction norms along environmental gradients may either intensify the environmental effects on timing (cogradient variation) or attenuate the effects (countergradient variation). To resolve spatial and seasonal variation in species' response, we use a unique dataset of 91 taxa and 178 phenological events observed across a network of 472 monitoring sites, spread across the nations of the former Soviet Union. We show that compared to local rates of advancement of phenological events with the advancement of temperature-related cues (i.e., variation within site over years), spatial variation in reaction norms tend to accentuate responses in spring (cogradient variation) and attenuate them in autumn (countergradient variation). As a result, among-population variation in the timing of events is greater in spring and less in autumn than if all populations followed the same reaction norm regardless of location. Despite such signs of local adaptation, overall phenotypic plasticity was not sufficient for phenological events to keep exact pace with their cues-the earlier the year, the more did the timing of the phenological event lag behind the timing of the cue. Overall, these patterns suggest that differences in the spatial versus temporal reaction norms will affect species' response to climate change in opposite ways in spring and autumn