scholarly journals Canopy Accumulation: Are Seagrass Meadows a Sink of Microplastics?

Oceans ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 162-178
Author(s):  
Richard K. F. Unsworth ◽  
Alex Higgs ◽  
Bettina Walter ◽  
Leanne C. Cullen-Unsworth ◽  
Isabella Inman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Dry Weight ◽  
Sediment Type ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Seagrass Meadows ◽  
High Dependency ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
The Uk ◽  
A Site

A growing body of research is documenting the accumulation of microplastics within marine sediments around the world. The hydrodynamic influences of seagrasses in coastal environments are shown to increase sedimentation of finer particles and as a result there has been speculation that this attribute will lead to seagrass meadows acting as a site of elevated microplastic contamination. To date a range of localised studies have provided conflicting answers to this hypothesis. Seagrass meadows provide multiple ecosystem services including vital support roles for a range of fisheries; therefore, there are considerable human health implications for understanding their role as sinks of microplastics. This research investigated the abundance and diversity of microplastics present in temperate North Atlantic seagrass meadow sediments relative to unvegetated sediments and examined how they correlate with the meadow structure and the sediment type. We also placed this data in the context of the current knowledge of microplastics in seagrass sediments through a global meta-analysis of published data. Eight seagrass meadows and adjacent unvegetated sites around the UK were sampled to test for the abundance of microplastic particles in the sediment. Microplastics were found in 98% of the samples, with fibres making up 91.8% of all microplastics identified. Abundance was recorded to overall be 215 ± 163 microplastic particles (MP) kg−1 Dry Weight (DW) of sediment in seagrass and 221 ± 236 MP kg−1 DW of sediment in unvegetated habitats. There were no significant differences found between the number of MP with respect to vegetation. We report evidence of the almost ubiquitous contamination of seagrass sediments with microplastics both in the UK and globally but find that the contamination reflects a general build-up of microplastics in the wider environment rather than becoming concentrated within seagrass as an enhanced sink. Microplastic build up in sediments is hypothesised to be the result of local hydrodynamics and plastic sources rather than the result of elevated habitat level concentration. Although not of a higher abundance in seagrass, such contamination in seagrass is of cause for concern given the high dependency of many species of fish on these habitat types and the potential for plastics to move up the food chain.

scholarly journals Standardizing carabid pitfall catches for trapping effort; a meta-analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pavel Saska ◽  
David Makowski ◽  
David Bohan ◽  
Wopke van der Werf
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Carabid Beetles ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Power Exponent ◽  
List Type ◽  
Catch Per Unit Effort ◽  
Pitfall Trapping ◽  
Number Of Species ◽  
Activity Density ◽  
Abundance And Diversity

AbstractCarabid beetles (Coleoptera: Carabidae) provide important ecological services and are frequently used as a bio-indicator in monitoring environmental quality. The abundance and diversity of carabids is usually determined using pitfall trapping, but trap catches are difficult to compare between studies due to variation in trapping effort. The standardization of the catch for trapping effort has not been previously addressed in a global analysis of studies in the literature.The aims of this study are (i) to define a method for estimating the effect of trapping effort on the size of the pitfall catch, and (ii) to explore factors related to study designs, sampling method, study origin, and level of data aggregation to determine how these factors affect the catch per unit effort in pitfall trapping.We conducted a meta-analysis on the activity-density and diversity of carabids across studies, based on published data from Europe and North-America to analyse whether standardization of catch measurements might be possible. Data were extracted from 104 publications, spanning a period of 42 years.The total catch was proportional to the number of trap days, and ranged from 0.19-9.53 beetles/(trap day) across studies (95% range), with a mean of 1.33 beetles/(trap day). The number of species was allometrically related to the trapping effort defined as the product of the number of traps, their perimeter and the time of exposure in the field, and characterized by a power exponent of 0.25. Species richness ranged across studies from 2.30-13.18 species/(m day)0.25 (95% range) with a mean of 7.15 species/(m day)0.25. The size of the catch and the number of species were higher in crops with narrow as compared to wide rows. There was no significant change in abundance or diversity of carabids in arable land over the 42 years covered. We also found that increasing trapping effort may not yield more accurate results.The results show that it is possible to standardize activity-density-based catches and species diversity for trapping effort across studies using a power transformation, allowing meta-analysis of such data, e.g. to elucidate factors affecting abundance and diversity of the focal taxa.

scholarly journals To fight or to flee? -- a systematic review of ectopic pregnancy management during Covid-19.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Amelie Morin ◽  
Michail Sideris ◽  
Sophie Platts ◽  
Tetyana Palamarchuk ◽  
Funlayo Odejinmi
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Ectopic Pregnancy ◽  
Early Pregnancy ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Rupture Rate ◽  
Safe Management ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Ectopic Pregnancies ◽  
The Uk

Background: Concerns about virus spread during surgery contributed to changes in the clinical management of ectopic pregnancies (EP) during the COVID19 pandemic. Objective: To compare published data on EP management prior versus during the COVID-19 pandemic and evaluate any difference in the management, rupture rate and complications where Early Pregnancy Unit (EPU) structures exist. Search strategy: We performed a systematic review of the literature using a keyword strategy based on our PICO criteria. Selection criteria: We included studies which recruited women diagnosed with ectopic pregnancy and compared the management during and prior the COVID-19 pandemic peak. Data collection and Analysis: Three independent reviewers screened the literature and extracted the data. Meta-analysis of the data was performed on Revman. Main Results: Our search yielded 34 studies; 12 were included in our meta-analysis (3122 women). We found no difference in the type of management of EP between the pre-Covid and Covid cohorts [2714 women, OR 0.99(0.63-1.55), p=0.96, I2=77%]. We observed a non-statistically significant reduction of surgical management within the EPU branch ([OR 0.47(0.19-1.13), p=0.09, I2=81%]). There was no difference in the ectopic rupture rate in units with EPU [OR= 0.66 (0.33-1.31), p=0.24, I2=37%]. In contrast, in non-EPU (NPEU) the risk of ruptured EP [OR=2.86(1.84-4.46), p<0.01 I2=13%] and complications [OR=1.69(1.23-2.31), p=0.001, I2=45%] were increased. Conclusions: The worldwide trend was not reflected in the UK suggesting that EPU may have contributed to prompt diagnosis and safe management of EP. Funding: No funding was received. Keywords: ectopic pregnancy, COVID 19, meta-analysis, early pregnancy unit

scholarly journals Deathly Silent: Exploring the Global Lack of Data Relating to Stranded Cetacean Euthanasia

Animals ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 1460
Author(s):  
Rebecca M. Boys ◽  
Ngaio J. Beausoleil ◽  
Emma L. Betty ◽  
Karen A. Stockin
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Limited Data ◽  
Chemical Methods ◽  
Welfare Impacts ◽  
Time To Death ◽  
The United Kingdom ◽  
Few Data ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Available Information

The compromised state of stranded cetaceans means that euthanasia is often required. However, current knowledge and implementation of euthanasia methods remain highly variable, with limited data on the practicalities and welfare impacts of procedures. This study evaluated the available published data on cetacean euthanasia, highlighting knowledge gaps and providing direction to improve stranded cetacean welfare. A total of 2147 peer-reviewed articles describing marine mammal euthanasia were examined. Of these 3.1% provided details on the method used, with 91% employing chemical methods. Two countries, the United Kingdom (UK) and New Zealand (NZ), provided euthanasia reports to the International Whaling Commission (IWC) between 2007 and 2020. Methods employed were reported for 78.3% and 100% of individual cetaceans euthanised in the UK and NZ, respectively. In the UK, chemical euthanasia was most common (52%), whilst in NZ only ballistics methods were used. Few data were available about time to death/insensibility (TTD); 0.5% of peer-reviewed articles provided TTD, whilst TTD was reported for 35% of individuals in the UK and for 98% in NZ. However, IWC reports lacked detail on how death/insensibility were assessed, with multiple individuals “presumed instantly” killed. Overall, the findings highlight the lack of available information on cetacean euthanasia, and suggest increased data collection and the application of appropriate methods to improve welfare.

‘I’m an expert in me and I know what I can cope with’: Patient expertise in rheumatoid arthritis

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 249-261 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tessa Sanderson ◽  
Jo Angouri
Keyword(s):  
Rheumatoid Arthritis ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Healthcare Systems ◽  
Specific Knowledge ◽  
Active Involvement ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
Access To Health ◽  
Patient Expertise ◽  
Domain Specific Knowledge ◽  
The Uk

The active involvement of patients in decision-making and the focus on patient expertise in managing chronic illness constitutes a priority in many healthcare systems including the NHS in the UK. With easier access to health information, patients are almost expected to be (or present self) as an ‘expert patient’ (Ziebland 2004). This paper draws on the meta-analysis of interview data collected for identifying treatment outcomes important to patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Taking a discourse approach to identity, the discussion focuses on the resources used in the negotiation and co-construction of expert identities, including domain-specific knowledge, access to institutional resources, and ability to self-manage. The analysis shows that expertise is both projected (institutionally sanctioned) and claimed by the patient (self-defined). We close the paper by highlighting the limitations of our pilot study and suggest avenues for further research.

scholarly journals Risk of venous thromboembolism in patients undergoing gastric cancer surgery: protocol for a systematic review and meta-analysis

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. e033267
Author(s):  
Dengfeng Wang ◽  
Yang Yu ◽  
Pengxian Tao ◽  
Dan Wang ◽  
Yajing Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gastric Cancer ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Venous Thromboembolism ◽  
Evaluation Method ◽  
Clinical Decision Making ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Cancer Surgery ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Gastric Cancer Surgery ◽  
Positive Prevention

IntroductionVenous thromboembolism (VTE) is a serious life-threatening complication in patients with gastric cancer. Abnormal coagulation function and tumour-related treatment may contribute to the occurrence of VTE. Many guidelines considered that surgical treatment would put patients with cancer at high risk of VTE, so positive prevention is needed. However, there are no studies that have systematically reviewed the postoperative risk and distribution of VTE in patients with gastric cancer. We thus conduct this systematic review to determine the risk of VTE in patients with gastric cancer undergoing surgery and provide some evidence for clinical decision-making.Methods and analysisStudies reporting the incidence of VTE after gastric cancer surgery will be included. Primary studies of randomised controlled trials, cohort studies, population-based surveys and cross-sectional studies are eligible for this review and only studies published in Chinese and English will be included. We will search the Medline, Embase, Web of Science, CBM, CNKI and Wanfang data from their inception to November 2019. Two reviewers will independently select studies and extract data. The quality of each included study will be assessed with tools corresponding to their study design. Meta-analysis will be used to pool the incidence data from included studies. Heterogeneity of the estimates across studies will be assessed, if necessary, a subgroup analysis will be performed to explore the source of heterogeneity. The Grades of Recommendation, Assessment, Development and Evaluation method is applied to assess the level of evidence obtained from this systematic review.Ethics and disseminationThis proposed systematic review and meta-analysis is based on published data, and thus ethical approval is not required. The results of this review will be sought for publication.PROSPERO registration numberCRD42019144562

A systematic review and meta-analysis on endovascular treatment as an attractive alternative for acute superior mesenteric venous thrombosis

Vascular ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 170853812199127
Author(s):  
Lixin Wang ◽  
Enci Wang ◽  
Fei Liu ◽  
Wei Zhang ◽  
Xiaolong Shu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Treatment Group ◽  
Conservative Treatment ◽  
Venous Thrombosis ◽  
Endovascular Treatment ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis ◽  
Surgery Group

Objective This systematic review and meta-analysis evaluated the published data on the efficacy and safety of therapies for superior mesenteric venous thrombosis (SMVT), aiming to provide a reference and set of recommendations for clinical treatment. Methods Relevant databases were searched for studies published from 2000 to June 2020 on SMVT treated with conservative treatment, surgical treatment, or endovascular approach. Different treatment types were grouped for analysis and comparison, and odds ratios with corresponding 95% confidence intervals were calculated. The outcomes were pooled using meta-analytic methods and presented by forest plots. Results Eighteen articles, including eight on SMVT patients treated with endovascular therapies, were enrolled. The treatment effectiveness was compared between different groups according to the change of symptoms, the occurrence of complications, and mortality as well. The conservative treatment group had better efficacy compared to the surgery group (89.0% vs. 78.6%, P <0.05), and the one-year survival rate was also higher (94.4% vs. 80.0%, P >0.05), but without statistical significance. As for endovascular treatment, the effectiveness was significantly higher than the surgery group (94.8% vs. 75.2%, P <0.05), and the conservative treatment group as well (93.3% vs. 86.3%, P >0.05), which still requires further research for the lack of statistical significance. Conclusions Present findings indicate that anticoagulation, as conservative treatment should be the preferred clinical option in the clinic for SMVT, due to its better curative effect compared to other treatment options, including lower mortality, fewer complications, and better prognosis. Moreover, endovascular treatment is a feasible and promising approach that is worth in-depth research, for it is less invasive than surgery and has relatively better effectiveness, thus can provide an alternative option for SMVT treatment and may be considered as a reliable method in clinical.

scholarly journals Social calls influence the foraging behavior in wild big-footed myotis

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dongge Guo ◽  
Jianan Ding ◽  
Heng Liu ◽  
Lin Zhou ◽  
Jiang Feng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Light Trapping ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Food Competition ◽  
Insectivorous Bats ◽  
Insect Abundance ◽  
Social Calls ◽  
Abundance And Diversity ◽  
Open Question ◽  
Free Ranging

Abstract Background Why a variety of social animals emit foraging-associated calls during group foraging remains an open question. These vocalizations may be used to recruit conspecifics to food patches (i.e. food advertisement hypothesis) or defend food resources against competitors (food defence hypothesis), presumably depending on food availability. Insectivorous bats rely heavily on vocalizations for navigation, foraging, and social interactions. In this study, we used free-ranging big-footed myotis (Myotis macrodactylus Temminck, 1840) to test whether social calls produced in a foraging context serve to advertise food patches or to ward off food competitors. Using a combination of acoustic recordings, playback experiments with adult females and dietary monitoring (light trapping and DNA metabarcoding techniques), we investigated the relationship between insect availability and social vocalizations in foraging bats. Results The big-footed myotis uttered low-frequency social calls composed of 7 syllable types during foraging interactions. Although the dietary composition of bats varied across different sampling periods, Diptera, Lepidoptera, and Trichoptera were the most common prey consumed. The number of social vocalizations was primarily predicted by insect abundance, insect species composition, and echolocation vocalizations from conspecifics. The number of conspecific echolocation pulses tended to decrease following the emission of most social calls. Feeding bats consistently decreased foraging attempts and food consumption during playbacks of social calls with distinctive structures compared to control trials. The duration of flight decreased 1.29–1.96 fold in the presence of social calls versus controls. Conclusions These results support the food defence hypothesis, suggesting that foraging bats employ social calls to engage in intraspecific food competition. This study provides correlative evidence for the role of insect abundance and diversity in influencing the emission of social calls in insectivorous bats. Our findings add to the current knowledge of the function of social calls in echolocating bats.

MONARCHS, TRAVELLERS AND EMPIRE IN THE PACIFIC'S AGE OF REVOLUTIONS

2020 ◽  
Vol 30 ◽  
pp. 77-96
Author(s):  
Sujit Sivasundaram
Keyword(s):  
Pacific Islanders ◽  
Modern World ◽  
Global History ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Cultural Terms ◽  
The Pacific Ocean ◽  
Definition Of ◽  
The Uk ◽  
A Site

AbstractThe Pacific has often been invisible in global histories written in the UK. Yet it has consistently been a site for contemplating the past and the future, even among Britons cast on its shores. In this lecture, I reconsider a critical moment of globalisation and empire, the ‘age of revolutions’ at the end of the eighteenth century and the start of the nineteenth century, by journeying with European voyagers to the Pacific Ocean. The lecture will point to what this age meant for Pacific islanders, in social, political and cultural terms. It works with a definition of the Pacific's age of revolutions as a surge of indigeneity met by a counter-revolutionary imperialism. What was involved in undertaking a European voyage changed in this era, even as one important expedition was interrupted by news from revolutionary Europe. Yet more fundamentally vocabularies and practices of monarchy were consolidated by islanders across the Pacific. This was followed by the outworkings of counter-revolutionary imperialism through agreements of alliance and alleged cessation. Such an argument allows me, for instance, to place the 1806 wreck of the Port-au-Prince within the Pacific's age of revolutions. This was an English ship used to raid French and Spanish targets in the Pacific, but which was stripped of its guns, iron, gunpowder and carronades by Tongans. To chart the trajectory from revolution and islander agency on to violence and empire is to appreciate the unsettled paths that gave rise to our modern world. This view foregrounds people who inhabited and travelled through the earth's oceanic frontiers. It is a global history from a specific place in the oceanic south, on the opposite side of the planet to Europe.

scholarly journals Wind exposure and sediment type determine the resilience and response of seagrass meadows to climate change

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jaco C. Smit ◽  
Muhammad S. Bin Mohd Noor ◽  
Eduardo Infantes ◽  
Tjeerd J. Bouma
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Sediment Type ◽  
Seagrass Meadows ◽  
Wind Exposure

scholarly journals Therapeutic Use of Botulinum Neurotoxins in Dermatology: Systematic Review

Toxins ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 120
Author(s):  
Emanuela Martina ◽  
Federico Diotallevi ◽  
Giulia Radi ◽  
Anna Campanati ◽  
Annamaria Offidani
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
Skin Diseases ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Published Data ◽  
Efficacy And Safety ◽  
Botulinum Toxins ◽  
Epidermolysis Bullosa Simplex ◽  
Off Label ◽  
Facial Erythema ◽  
Notalgia Paresthetica

Botulinum toxin is a superfamily of neurotoxins produced by the bacterium Clostridium Botulinum with well-established efficacy and safety profile in focal idiopathic hyperhidrosis. Recently, botulinum toxins have also been used in many other skin diseases, in off label regimen. The objective of this manuscript is to review and analyze the main therapeutic applications of botulinum toxins in skin diseases. A systematic review of the published data was conducted, following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Botulinum toxins present several label and off-label indications of interest for dermatologists. The best-reported evidence concerns focal idiopathic hyperhidrosis, Raynaud phenomenon, suppurative hidradenitis, Hailey–Hailey disease, epidermolysis bullosa simplex Weber–Cockayne type, Darier’s disease, pachyonychia congenita, aquagenic keratoderma, alopecia, psoriasis, notalgia paresthetica, facial erythema and flushing, and oily skin. Further clinical trials are still needed to better understand the real efficacy and safety of these applications and to standardize injection and doses protocols for off label applications.

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