Bone turnover markers in sheep and goat: a review of the scientific literature

Bone turnover markers (BTMs) are product of bone cell activity and are generally divided in bone formation and bone resorption markers. The purpose of this review was to structure the available information on the use of BTMs in studies on small ruminants, especially for monitoring their variations related to diet, exercise, gestation and metabolic lactation state, circadian and seasonal variations, and also during skeletal growth. Pre-clinical and translational studies using BTMs with sheep and goats as animal models in orthopaedic research studies to help in the evaluation of the fracture healing process and osteoporosis research are also described in this review. The available information from the reviewed studies was systematically organized in order to highlight the most promising BTMs in small ruminant research, as well as provide a wide view of the use of sheep and goat as animal models in orthopaedic research, type of markers and commercial assay kits with cross-reactivity in sheep and goat, method of sample and storage of serum and urine for bone turnover markers determination and the usefulness and limitations of bone turnover markers in the different studies, therefore an effective tool for researchers that seek answers to different questions while using BTMs in small ruminants.José Arthur de A. Camassa acknowledges to the Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq), Brazil, for his PhD scholarship 202248/2015-1.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The Early Evolution of Biting–Chewing Performance in Hexapoda

Insects show a plethora of different mandible shapes. It was advocated that these mandible shapes are mainly a function of different feeding habits. This hypothesis was tested on a larger sampling of non-holometabolan biting–chewing insects with additional tests to understand the interplay of mandible function, feeding guild, and phylogeny. The results show that at the studied systematic level, variation in mandible biting–chewing effectivity is regulated to a large extent by phylogenetic history and the configuration of the mandible joints rather than the food preference of a given taxon. Additionally, lineages with multiple mandibular joints such as primary wingless hexapods show a wider functional space occupation of mandibular effectivity than dicondylic insects (= silverfish + winged insects) at significantly different evolutionary rates. The evolution and occupation of a comparably narrow functional performance space of dicondylic insects is surprising given the low effectivity values of this food uptake solution. Possible reasons for this relative evolutionary “stasis” are discussed

Changing Bee and Hoverfly Pollinator Assemblages along an Urban-Rural Gradient

The potential for reduced pollination ecosystem service due to global declines of bees and other pollinators is cause for considerable concern. Habitat degradation, destruction and fragmentation due to agricultural intensification have historically been the main causes of this pollinator decline. However, despite increasing and accelerating levels of global urbanization, very little research has investigated the effects of urbanization on pollinator assemblages. We assessed changes in the diversity, abundance and species composition of bee and hoverfly pollinator assemblages in urban, suburban, and rural sites across a UK city.Bees and hoverflies were trapped and netted at 24 sites of similar habitat character (churchyards and cemeteries) that varied in position along a gradient of urbanization. Local habitat quality (altitude, shelter from wind, diversity and abundance of flowers), and the broader-scale degree of urbanization (e.g. percentage of built landscape and gardens within 100 m, 250 m, 500 m, 1 km, and 2.5 km of the site) were assessed for each study site. The diversity and abundance of pollinators were both significantly negatively associated with higher levels of urbanization. Assemblage composition changed along the urbanization gradient with some species positively associated with urban and suburban land-use, but more species negatively so. Pollinator assemblages were positively affected by good site habitat quality, in particular the availability of flowering plants.Our results show that urban areas can support diverse pollinator assemblages, but that this capacity is strongly affected by local habitat quality. Nonetheless, in both urban and suburban areas of the city the assemblages had fewer individuals and lower diversity than similar rural habitats. The unique development histories of different urban areas, and the difficulty of assessing mobile pollinator assemblages in just part of their range, mean that complementary studies in different cities and urban habitats are required to discover if these findings are more widely applicable

Urban green infrastructure size, quality and proximity and health outcomes in older populations

Background A city's multi-functional network of green and blue spaces has an important role underpinning the health and wellbeing of its residents. Although evidence of positive links between nature and health is plentiful, little is known about which particular aspects of green and blue spaces are most influential, and how benefits might vary between social groups and age. Methods We used a green infrastructure (GI) approach combining a high-resolution spatial dataset of land-cover and function with area-level demographic and socio-economic data. A comprehensive characterisation of the Greater Manchester UK city region was generated. The GI attributes were used in step-wise multi-level regression analyses to test for associations between population chronic morbidity and the functional, physical and spatial components of GI across an urban socio-demographic gradient. Results Individual GI attributes were significantly associated with health in all socio-demographic contexts; even when associations between health and overall green cover were non-significant. For areas with having higher proportions of older people ('older neighbourhoods'), associations were found between health and land-cover diversity, informal greenery and patch size in high income areas. In lower income areas, health was predicted by proximity to public parks and recreation land. Conclusions A nuanced description of greenspace in terms of quality, cover type, diversity explains more variation in population health than a single metric such as percentage green cover. People in urban neighbourhoods that have older age populations and lower income are disproportionately healthy if their neighbourhoods contain accessible, good quality public greenspace. This has implications for strategies to decrease health inequalities and inform international initiatives, such as the World Health Organisation's Age-Friendly Cities programme. Key messages A nuanced description of green and blue space in terms of quality, cover type, diversity explains more variation in population health than a single metric such as percentage green cover. People in urban neighbourhoods that have older age populations and lower income are disproportionately healthy if their neighbourhoods contain accessible, good quality public greenspace

Trusting emergence: some experiences of learning about integrated catchment science with the Environment Agency of England and Wales

The changing context of managing water in the European Union poses a fundamental and largely unaddressed question: are current scientific practices and scientific explanations able to meet the demands of doing effective integrated catchment management? This paper presents findings from 2 years of co-researching with scientists responsible for developing the Integrated Catchment Science Strategy within the Environment Agency, the main environmental regulatory body for England and Wales. The use of a co-researching approach using systems thinking and practice to enable social learning created, where none existed, a common conceptual framing of purpose and an incipient community of practice (CoP). Three key insights emerge: (1) integration of catchment sciences is possible at the level of policy objectives; (2) a shift in language and practice is required towards Integrated Catchment Managing to describe and enact the sets of purposeful activities and interactions among multiple stakeholders; (3) institutional and organizational constraints exist which limit the potential of CoPs to act in more innovative ways and develop more integrated and adaptive science-policy. Our findings confirm the need to develop learning processes which pay attention to the context, stakeholders, the key changes that are required in particular catchments and, most important of all, the epistemological perspective(s) of those involved in managing catchments