It’s possible that I shall make an ass of myself. But in that case one can always get out of it with a little dialectic. I have, of course, so worded my proposition as to be right either way (K.Marx, Letter to F.Engels on the Indian Mutiny)
Thursday, September 21, 2023
Hundreds of weeds found illegally advertised online in Australia
Hundreds of weeds have been found advertised on a public online marketplace in Australia. Cacti and pond plants were among the most frequently advertised illegal weed species. These weeds are prohibited in Australia due to their harmful impact on the country’s environment and agriculture. Despite this, a research team led by Jacob Maher discovered thousands of online advertisements for these weeds. Their study is published in the open access journal NeoBiota.
Trade of ornamental plants, the kind grown in homes and gardens, is the major way weeds are introduced to new places. Some ornamental plants can make their way into the environment and become invasive, negatively impacting native species and agriculture. Increasingly, plants are traded on the internet, allowing a wide variety of plants to be introduced to more distant places. A lack of surveillance and regulation of this trade has resulted in the wide trade of invasive species.
In response, scientists from the University of Adelaide have utilised specialised software called ‘web scrapers’ to monitor trade on public classifieds websites. These web scrapers automate the collection of online advertisements. This allowed the researchers to detect thousands of advertisements for weeds over a 12-month period.
Despite Australia’s laws banning the trade of harmful weeds, advertisements were observed across the country. Some of the weeds advertised were associated with uses by traders, including food and medicine. The most popular uses were associated with pond and aquarium plants such as filtering water and providing fish habitat.
The researchers recommend that governments adopt web scraping technology to assist in regulating online trade of plants. They also highlight increasing public awareness and seeking cooperation from online marketplaces as solutions to this growing problem.
“Currently, these online marketplaces allow people to advertise and purchase invasive species, whether they are aware of it or not,” says Maher. “Regulation is needed, but we also need to cultivate awareness of amongst plant growers of this issues and we need help from marketplaces to regulate trade on their end.”
The technology developed in this study is now being utilised by biosecurity agencies in Australia to monitor and regulate the illegal trade of plants and animals online.
CENTRO NACIONAL DE INVESTIGACIONES ONCOLÓGICAS (CNIO)
IMAGE: FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: MARIA A. BLASCO, DIRECTOR OF CNIO, MARINA POLLÁN, DIRECTOR OF THE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR EPIDEMIOLOGY, ELISABETE WEIDERPASS, DIRECTOR OF IARC, CRISTINA VILLANUEVA, JOURNALIST AND EMCEE OF THE EVENT, AND CÉSAR LÓPEZ-PALOP, PRESIDENT OF THE FUNDACIÓN DOMINGO MARTÍNEZ.view more
CREDIT: LAURA M. LOMBARDÍA / CNIO.
Elisabete Weiderpass, director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), pointed out that half of cancer cases are due to preventable causes, such as smoking, alcohol and a poor diet, among other factors
Marina Pollán, director of the Epidemiology and Public Health Networking Biomedical Research Centre, stressed that in Spain 20% of adults smoke, and two thirds of men and half of women are overweight. The problem is greater in more disadvantaged areas.
In Spain, the abandonment of the Mediterranean diet is already translating into an increase in the incidence of colon cancer
How to reduce the risk of cancer? Prevention through research was the title of a congress held at CaixaForum Madrid on World Cancer Research Day, organised by CNIO
“Cancer is now the leading cause of death in 57 countries, including Spain and the whole of Europe” and by the end of this century it will be “the leading cause of death before the age of 70 in all countries throughout the world,” said Elisabete Weiderpass, director of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), during the conference How to reduce the risk of cancer? Prevention through research, organised by the National Cancer Research Centre (CNIO) on the occasion of World Cancer Research Day.
The event, which was open to the public and held at the CaixaForum Madrid Auditorium, was dedicated to cancer prevention. It is an especially important area because, according to data from the IARC, the specialised cancer agency within the World Health Organization (WHO), about half of all cancer cases are due to preventable causes and are therefore avoidable by changing habits and eliminating carcinogens.
The incidence of cancer is increasing. Over the next two decades, an increase of 47% is expected, which means “increasing pressure on public finances and health budgets,” Weiderpass warned.
The situation in Spain is entirely in line with the global scenario, explained Marina Pollán, director of the Epidemiology and Public Health Networking Biomedical Research Centre (CIBERESP): “We are one of the countries with the longest life expectancy, but this ageing population is exposing our public health system, which has been very good and universal, to a tsunami of cancer cases, because population ageing translates into an increase in chronic diseases.”
Cancer costs 1.2 billion dollars per year worldwide
The annual cost of cancer is estimated to be at least 1.2 billion (millions of millions) dollars worldwide, Weiderpass said. This figure, which includes both specific spending on health care and medicines, and indirect costs – for example, productivity lost due to premature deaths – is growing in all countries.
But the increase is not evenly spread. It will be especially acute in poor countries: “nations with fewer resources, without the technology to diagnose and treat cancers and without an adequate political climate to ensure effective prevention, will be the most affected,” Weiderpass warned, adding that “promoting equitable access to treatments will be crucial to address this great challenge over the next 20 years”.
Poverty is also a risk factor in Spain
The impact of poverty on the risk of developing cancer is also seen in rich countries, taking into account the incidence in different social groups. Weiderpass showed data on cervical cancer, preventable with periodic testing and with the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine.
“In Europe, there is a huge disparity in mortality figures from cervical cancer between better off and better educated women, and the poorest and least educated,” said the director of IARC. To avoid this, “screening campaigns should be aimed primarily at women of low socioeconomic status.”
Tobacco is ‘public enemy number one’ even in ‘vaping’ format
As for the main habits and carcinogenic substances, Weiderpass stressed above all tobacco: “It’s public enemy number one. The most important measure we should take today is to eliminate tobacco worldwide,” she said emphatically, “and I am very concerned about new ways of using it, such as vaping, because they are an open door for new generations to become dependent on this substance that kills many people.”
The WHO relies on the evaluations of Weiderpass’s Agency to identify and classify carcinogens. There is currently enough evidence to classify as carcinogenic to humans not only tobacco but also alcohol, sausages (processed meats), ionising radiation, air pollution and more than a hundred other substances.
Glyphosate, night work and red meat
The herbicide glyphosate, widely used in European agriculture, is “probably carcinogenic”, because the WHO has strong evidence that it causes cancer in animal and cell models, but not enough data in humans. In this same category are red meat, night shift work , high temperature frying and the pesticide DDT, among others.
Aspartame, a sweetener whose consumption, Weiderpass noted, does not prevent obesity, is considered “possibly carcinogenic.” It is in a subgroup of the classification in which evidence in humans is lower, and which includes risks such as that of occupational exposure of hairdressers and barbers.
Alcohol, obesity and preventable infections with “very effective” vaccines
The experts also pointed to obesity as a factor of increasing importance, which increases the risk of developing 12 different types of cancer. Weiderpass recalled the importance of limiting the intake of high-calorie and ultra-processed products; eating more fruit, vegetables, legumes, whole grains and nuts; and physical activity on a daily basis.
When it comes to alcohol, “it’s linked to up to seven different types of cancer. Just two glasses of alcohol a day is enough to cause very considerable damage,” Weiderpass said.
Another risk factor is infections. The most important pathogens are Helicobacter pylori, human papillomavirus (HPV) and hepatitis B and C. “Fortunately, we have at least two very effective vaccines: against HPV and against hepatitis B,” Weiderpass added. “Investing in vaccination is one of the most effective measures a government can take.”
Spain has one of the highest rates in overweight among children and cancer due to its abandonment of the Mediterranean diet
Marina Pollán provided up-to-date figures on smoking and obesity in Spain: 20% of adults smoke, and two thirds of men and half of women are overweight. As in other countries, this problem affects more disadvantaged areas to a greater extent.
The abandonment of the Mediterranean diet (vegetables, legumes, fruit, olive oil, nuts, little meat) is already noticeable in clinical practice: “We are switching over to an Anglo-Saxon diet”, and the consequences are already being seen in the incidence “especially of colon cancer, which is currently one of the main types of tumour in our country”.
The Mediterranean countries, Italy, Greece and Spain, “currently have the highest rate of overweight and obese children”.
Binge drinking among young Spaniards is also a concern: “They drink a lot of alcohol in a very short space of time. We do not yet have an epidemiological measure of how that translates into cancer incidence, but it’s not going to be good,” predicts the director of the National Centre for Epidemiology.
Recent research, says Pollán, shows that “the greatest association between alcohol and breast cancer occurs with consumption in adolescence”; also, that “those who start drinking as teenagers, maintain or increase their consumption later on.”
Policies that make it “easy to be healthy and difficult to be unhealthy”
Weiderpass, Pollán and the director of CNIO Maria A. Blasco – who explained how CNIO conducts its research – insisted during a roundtable discussion on the importance of public prevention policies. We have to make it “easy to be healthy and difficult to be unhealthy”. For example, through taxes. Evidence suggests that increasing the price of tobacco, for example, decreases consumption.
Regulations are necessary especially for factors where we cannot choose whether we expose ourselves to them or not, such as air pollution or the consumption of pesticides banned in Europe, but not in other regions from which fruit and vegetables are imported.
European Code Against Cancer
Weiderpass noted that scientific evidence on prevention has been compiled in a European Code Against Cancer, which includes lesser-known habits, such as:
The recommendation of breastfeeding
Moderating hormone replacement therapy treatments
Vaccinating newborns against hepatitis B and girls against HPV
Finding out if we are exposed to radon at home
Finding out if we are exposed to carcinogenic substances at work.
Work is currently underway to adapt this code to other regions of the planet and “it is very important to establish a global cancer code”, which also serves to prevent relapses in cancer survivors.
The roundtable discussion also included César López-Palop, president of the Fundación Domingo Martínez (FDM), a member institution of the philanthropic initiative CNIO Friends. López-Palop stressed the importance of the whole of society understanding the need for cancer research.
The conference was moderated and emceed by the journalist Cristina Villanueva, author of the book Desplegando Velas. The event, sponsored by Fundación la Caixa, ended with a reception.
Food insecurity linked to muscle dysmorphia symptoms in adolescent and young adults
Findings show that Canadian adolescent and young adults who experienced food insecurity are at greater risk for muscle dysmorphia symptoms
Toronto, ON – Food insecurity, a significant and persistent problem affecting many Canadians due to economic disparities and limited access to nutritious food, has long-lasting repercussions on physical and mental health. Researchers have now found that adolescents and young adults who experienced food insecurity had greater symptoms of muscle dysmorphia, characterized as a significant drive for muscularity and muscle dissatisfaction. Published in the Body Image, the study isthe first to investigate the association between food insecurity and muscle dysmorphia.
Overall, nearly one in five participants with food insecurity were at clinical risk for muscle dysmorphia. The study analyzed data from over 900 participants from the Canadian Study of Adolescent Health Behavior.
“Muscle dysmorphia symptoms can be pervasive and severely impact individual functioning, which will only be compounded if someone is experiencing food insecurity, as well,” says lead author Kyle T. Ganson, PhD, MSW, assistant professor at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work. “Our study's findings underscore the importance of addressing food insecurity comprehensively, considering its multifaceted impact on both physical and mental health."
Prior research has identified food insecurity as a social determinant of health, and frequently highlighted the consequences of food insecurity, including stress, depression, and substance use. Additionally, food insecurity has been associated with eating disorders and body dissatisfaction.
Ganson and his collaborators found that the relationship between food insecurity and muscle dysmorphia symptoms were particularly evident in two key areas: functional impairment, where individuals experienced limitations in their daily activities and functionality due to muscle dysmorphia, and appearance intolerance, where individuals experienced heightened distress related to body image concerns and dissatisfaction.
“Individuals who experience food insecurity and muscle dysmorphia may displace money for food towards pursuits of muscularity, such as gym memberships and muscle-building dietary supplements like whey protein and creatine,” says Dr. Ganson.
The authors also propose that those who experience food insecurity do not have the availability of high quality, whole foods, such as lean proteins and whole grains, that are required to build muscle mass and strength. “This lack of availability to high quality food may increase one’s drive for muscularity and muscle dissatisfaction, as they are continually unable to achieve the body ideal they desire,” says Ganson.
The researchers point to the need for appropriate interventions.
“Our findings have important implications that signal a pressing need for intervention efforts that consider both food insecurity and its impact on muscle dysmorphia,” says Nelson Pang, MSW, co-author and doctoral student at the University of Toronto’s Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.
Intervention efforts are particularly needed given prior research from the authors that emphasizes the rising concerns of food insecurity and muscle dysmorphia among Canadian adolescents and young adults.
DALLAS, September 21, 2023 — Supporting the next generation of health advocates, the American Heart Association awards five high school seniors with $1,000 college scholarships to energize their commitment to community health through service-learning opportunities. The grants are a part of the American Heart Challenge™, a school-based program that helps middle and high school students feel good about their health, while doing good for the community.
The American Heart Association, devoted to a world of healthier lives for all, offers a service-learning in-school fundraising program that prepares students for success by offering leadership development opportunities, community service hours and a college application boost in addition to supporting their total physical and emotional well-being.
High school juniors and seniors across the country who participated in their in-school American Heart Challenge program for the 2022-2023 school year were eligible for the scholarship program. Student applicants were required to demonstrate leadership skills within their school’s American Heart Challenge program and showcase their passion for impacting community health. Applications also required a letter of support from their American Heart Challenge school advisor or teacher.
2022-2023 scholarship recipients:
Adelyn Gary of Clinton-Graceville-Beardsley High School, Graceville, Minnesota
Anushka Kolli of Vista del Lago High School, Folsom, California
Bryce Oliphant of Stratford High School, Houston, Texas
Echo Charlton of Perryville High School, Port Deposit, Maryland
Jonah Calvery of St. Michael Catholic High School, Daphne, Alabama
“Each of these students represents the spirit of the American Heart Association’s mission to be a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives,” said Marsha Jones, volunteer chairperson of the board of the American Heart Association. “We are encouraged by their commitment to improving the health and well-being within their local communities and are hopeful these scholarships will continue to shape their future actions of serving and inspiring others.”
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 2018 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans[1] only 20% of kids get enough activity to meet physical activity recommendations. The American Heart Challenge is rooted in proven science which has shown that kids who are regularly active have a better chance of a healthy adulthood[2].
Funds raised by American Heart Challenge participants support the American Heart Association’s scientific research and outreach programs, while creating healthier communities nationwide. Schools are encouraged to register now for the American Heart Challenge to bring expanded curriculum resources to their classrooms for the 2023-24 school year.
To learn more about other school programs, or to donate to the American Heart Association, please visit www.heart.org/kids.
###
About the American Heart Association
The American Heart Association is a relentless force for a world of longer, healthier lives. We are dedicated to ensuring equitable health in all communities. Through collaboration with numerous organizations, and powered by millions of volunteers, we fund innovative research, advocate for the public’s health and share lifesaving resources. The Dallas-based organization has been a leading source of health information for nearly a century. Connect with us on heart.org, Facebook, X or by calling 1-800-AHA-USA1.
Being a mom is hard. Being a Black mom is especially hard. A new study from North Carolina State University underscores the ways that being a Black mother in the United States involves navigating aspects of parenthood that are explicitly tied to dealing with anti-Black racism.
“All mothers experience stress; but Black mothers in the U.S. experience additional stresses specifically related to parenting and racism,” says Mia Brantley, author of the study and an assistant professor of sociology at NC State. “That has consequences for the health and well-being of Black mothers. If we want to develop ways to support Black moms and Black families, we need to have a deeper understanding of the challenges facing Black mothers – and how Black mothers respond to those challenges.”
For this qualitative study, Brantley conducted in-depth interviews with 35 Black mothers from across the U.S. All of the study participants had at least one child between the ages of 10 and 24. The interviews were designed to collect information about how Black women think about motherhood and mothering, as well as how Black mothers feel race and racism influences both their parenting and the lives of their children.
“There is a broad understanding that motherhood is, while rewarding, also a demanding responsibility,” Brantley says. “This study found that, while Black mothers share many of the same concerns as other mothers, Black motherhood is distinct. That’s because – in addition to wanting their children to succeed – Black mothers also take steps to both protect their children from racism and help their children learn to navigate a society where they will experience anti-Black racism.”
Brantley categorizes the ways racism affects Black motherhood into three areas: protective mothering, resistance mothering and encumbered mothering.
Protective mothering refers to practices designed to help Black children avoid racism. Specifically, Black mothers will often restrict children’s activities or behaviors in an attempt to reduce the likelihood that that their children – particularly sons – will face racist comments or actions. Black mothers also take steps to encourage agency – particularly for daughters – so that their children feel able to stand up for themselves.
Resistance mothering refers to efforts to promote positive self-image, with the goal of combatting racist stereotypes their children encounter outside of the home. These activities might include educating children about Black artists, leaders and accomplishments.
“Resistance mothering is really about empowering Black children and parents, so that they take pride in themselves and their culture,” Brantley says.
Encumbered mothering refers to the fact that Black mothers feel the need to be constantly hyperaware of the risks that racism poses to their children.
“Black mothers report that they are unable to fully enjoy and celebrate the accomplishments of their children, because they can’t ‘turn off’ their fears about how racist behavior may affect their kids,” Brantley says. “Black mothers feel that they always have to deal with preconceived notions about Black mothers and children, and that society essentially gives Black women no room for error.
“We talk about motherhood as universal, but all mothers do not experience motherhood in the same way,” Brantley says. “Black women face stresses that are unique to their experiences as mothers – stresses that continue into their children’s adulthood. While Black mothers are taking steps to protect their children, the stress of doing so may carry costs for the health and well-being of Black women.
“This study gives us a framework for understanding, studying and talking about Black motherhood. And, hopefully, that gives us a starting point for a more in-depth analysis of the toll that motherhood takes on Black women, and how we – as a society – can do more to support these women.”
The study, “Can’t Just Send Our Children Out: Intensive Motherwork and Experiences of Black Motherhood,” is published in the journal Social Problems. The work was done with support from the National Institute of Aging under grant number 5R01AG069251-02; the Ohio State University Institute for Population Research; and a University of South Carolina SPARC grant.
When Charles Darwin traveled to the Galapagos Islands almost 200 years ago as a gentleman naturalist, he used the power of observation to develop his theory that species evolve over time.
Today, evolutionary biologists Donald Miles, Robert Ricklefs and Jonathan Losos have the advantage of huge data sets and the power of statistical analysis to study how species within a group develop their own unique characteristics and become new species.
Their results could change how biologists look at species diversification.
On Darwin’s 1831 journey aboard the HMS Beagle, he collected samples of 18 different species of passerine birds, or birds that perch. These species varied widely in size and had different kinds of beaks based on their diet.
A century later biologists dubbed them “Darwin’s finches” and used them as a classic example of adaptive radiation, where rapid diversity within a group, also known as a clade, differs on an insular island or archipelago compared with a continent.
Miles is professor and chair of biological sciences in the College of Arts and Sciences at Ohio University. He and co-authors, Ricklefs of the University of Missouri-St. Louis and Losos of Washington University, set out to study existing hypotheses of adaptive radiation. The results suggested a new alternative possibility.
"Traditionally, biologists seek explanations for extraordinary species diversification in both key innovations within a species as well as changes in the environment, akin to Darwin's theory of evolution by natural selection," Miles said. "Others view adaptive radiations as the tail end of the distribution of evolutionary diversification, where some clades are the result of adaptive radiations and others not.”
Miles provides the classic examples of how island passerine birds have been used to illustrate the alternate view that adaptive radiations are simply those clades with the greatest ecological and morphological disparity.
"But an alternative possibility is that morphological diversification in the most diverse clades resulted from the same underlying process of evolution that is common, at least in a statistical sense, to all clades in the comparison group," Miles added.
Seeking answers from the world's perching birds
The researchers used an extensive data set on passerine bird morphology accumulated by Ricklefs for possible answers, taking several different approaches to test the conflicting theories.
"We chose passerine birds to examine whether some clades present evidence of exceptional adaptive diversification. Many clades are textbook examples of adaptive radiation, with ecological opportunity on oceanic islands often used to explain the diversity of clades," Miles said.
The researchers used the same morphological data but partitioned the bird clades in two different ways. First, they focused on measurements of eight external morphological traits related to movement and diet; this work was taxon-defined and included 2,627 species and spanned nearly half the world's perching birds. Second, they looked at the data defined by age, encompassing 784 clades and 5,598 species. New Zealand, Madagascar and New Guinea were designated as the "island" species.
"We investigated whether celebrated cases of evolutionary radiations of passerine birds on islands have produced exceptional diversity relative to comparable-aged radiations globally," the researchers wrote in their paper.
"Several groups of birds stand out as classic cases of island radiations, including clades restricted to single islands as well as to island archipelagoes," Miles said. "Among the most celebrated of these are the Darwin finches of the Galapagos Islands, which have been the subject of many analyses of evolutionary diversity. Other celebrated island clades include the Hawaiian honeycreepers, the birds-of-paradise of New Guinea, the vangas of Madagascar, and the West Indian tanagers."
The researchers also included lesser-known examples of island radiation--the mockingbirds and thrashers of the Caribbean Basin.
They also analyzed the distribution of "phenotype disparity" (differences in characteristics) among bird clades. And lastly, they "focused on two factors thought to promote adaptive radiation--diversification on islands and in the tropics--and asked whether clades exhibiting these factors are more diverse," they wrote. As part of their statistical analysis, they looked at the exceptional cases, "whether clades observed to exceed the 95th percentile could be considered extreme values."
Among their conclusions include:
Classic examples of clades thought to be adaptive radiations are not quantitatively distinct from other passerine clades in terms of size disparities. The distributions are similar, but the island clades have higher disparity in size.
The distribution of phenotypic disparity among the clades of birds conforms closely to normal distribution, raising "the possibility that no special explanation for apparently exceptional diversity is necessary."
In the end, the researchers say the data points toward their hypothesis.
“Most clades of birds have diversified according to a single underlying process," Miles said. "The data don't preclude the possibility that key innovations or ecological opportunity could account for the high diversity such as in the birds-of-paradise or the honeycreepers, but our findings strongly suggest caution against the widespread interpretation that large disparity is prima facie evidence that a clade has been affected by evolutionary factors not experienced by other bird clades.”
Just as the evolutionary diversity of birds has been extensively studied, this analytical approach adds another important contribution to the study of adaptive radiation.
"Our results may surprise many in that they exhibit little evidence for a set of clades qualitatively distinct from the distribution of all clades, but further analysis using larger morphological datasets and more refined statistical approaches would be welcome next steps," Miles said.
JOURNAL
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
METHOD OF RESEARCH
Data/statistical analysis
SUBJECT OF RESEARCH
Animals
ARTICLE TITLE
How exceptional are the classic adaptive radiations of passerine birds?
Climate change may affect 40% of biodiversity in semi-arid portion of Brazil’s Northeast by 2060
The main impacts for the Caatinga, as the semi-arid biome is known, will be replacement of trees by shrubs and grasses, and a decrease in the overall number of species. The projection is based on the IPCC’s latest report and a database created by Brazil
FUNDAÇÃO DE AMPARO À PESQUISA DO ESTADO DE SÃO PAULO
IMAGE: CLIMATE CHANGE IS LIKELY TO TRANSFORM THE CAATINGA’S VEGETATION, MAKING IT SPARSER AND SCRUBBIEview more
CREDIT: GIANCARLO ZORZIN
The consequences of climate change in the Caatinga, the semi-arid shrubland and thorn forest biome in Brazil’s Northeast region, will include species loss, substitution of rare plants by more generalist vegetation, biotic homogenization (in which previously distinct plant communities become progressively more similar), increasing aridity, and even desertification in some areas.
These are some of the findings of a study reported in the Journal of Ecology by Brazilian researchers affiliated with the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), the Federal University of Paraíba (UFPB), the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), the Federal University of Viçosa (UFV) and the Federal Institute of Goiás (IFG).
The researchers surveyed plant collections, herbariums and the scientific literature to compile a database of more than 400,000 occurrence records for some 3,000 plant species in the biome. They combined all this with data for geographic distribution, growth form, climate and soil. They then grouped the species into two categories: woody (trees, shrubs, palms, and woody vines); and non-woody (herbs, herbaceous vines, and succulents).
Using models evaluated and validated with different types of statistical algorithm and artificial intelligence, they arrived at more than a million projections of the possible responses of plant species in the Caatinga to future climate variations.
“We based our projections on the simulations in the latest report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [IPCC], issued in 2021,” said Mario Ribeiro de Moura, first author of the article and a researcher at UNICAMP. “However, given that we don’t know how humanity will behave from now on, we considered two scenarios: an optimistic scenario, assuming that technology reduces greenhouse gas emissions and the Paris Agreement is implemented [limiting the average global temperature rise to 1.5 °C above the pre-industrial level]; and a pessimistic scenario, under which deforestation rates, fossil fuel use and population growth remain high and there are no advances in innovation.”
The results showed that 99% of plant assemblages in the Caatinga will lose species by 2060. Increasing aridity and rising temperatures will decrease vegetation diversity and complexity. The hot dry climate will be particularly adverse for trees, many of which will be replaced by shrubs and grasses because it will be easier for them to grow and spread. All this will also affect ecosystem services such as photosynthesis, air renewal and carbon storage in tree leaves, trunks and roots.
These events will be most visible in mountainous areas such as Chapada Diamantina and Chapada do Araripe, in the southern and mid-northern parts of the biome respectively. The explanation is simple: lowland species will migrate to higher ground as temperatures rise, while highland species will become extinct. “For the biome as a whole, we predict extinction of 50 plant species under the optimistic scenario and 250 under the pessimistic scenario. Both are alarming,” Moura said.
Biotic homogenization will affect some 40% of plant assemblages, simplifying their composition owing to loss of rare species. “It’s as if you took the landscape and put it into a blender to homogenize everything,” he said.
Mitigation projects
The researchers hope the different tiers of government will use their findings to draw up long-term macroscale conservation plans. This type of strategy is important to mitigate the adverse effects of climate change and those of human activity, such as deforestation, habitat destruction, and soil degradation and exposure.
“Projects designed to restore landscape connectivity in areas subject to the impact of climate change, for example, increase the probability that species living there will be able to disperse over time to more suitable areas, via animals or wind. On the other hand, if biodiversity is too badly affected by degradation, deforestation, use of agrochemicals and poaching, resources will be even more compromised from now on,” Moura said.
About São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)
The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP) is a public institution with the mission of supporting scientific research in all fields of knowledge by awarding scholarships, fellowships and grants to investigators linked with higher education and research institutions in the State of São Paulo, Brazil. FAPESP is aware that the very best research can only be done by working with the best researchers internationally. Therefore, it has established partnerships with funding agencies, higher education, private companies, and research organizations in other countries known for the quality of their research and has been encouraging scientists funded by its grants to further develop their international collaboration. You can learn more about FAPESP at www.fapesp.br/en and visit FAPESP news agency at www.agencia.fapesp.br/en to keep updated with the latest scientific breakthroughs FAPESP helps achieve through its many programs, awards and research centers. You may also subscribe to FAPESP news agency at http://agencia.fapesp.br/subscribe.
CREDIT: YITING XIAO , YANG TIAN, YUANHANG ZHAN , JUN ZHU
The shift away from using poultry litter for crop fertilization has transformed this once-valuable agricultural byproduct into an environmental liability for poultry producers. Addressing this challenge, a study led by Dr. Jun Zhu from the University of Arkansas offers an innovative approach using photocatalytic titanate nanofibers (TNFs) to degrade organic pollutants in anaerobic digestate, a byproduct of poultry litter.
The study specifically focuses on the use of TNFs, synthesized through a hydrothermal method, for the photocatalytic degradation of organic pollutants and color removal in poultry litter digestate. “We utilized Central Composite Design (CCD) and Response Surface Methodology (RSM) to optimize the conditions for removing volatile fatty acids (VFA) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), as well as for decolorization,” explained Yiting Xiao.
The study found that the optimal values for pH, dosage, VFA removal rate, COD removal rate, and decolorization rate were 6.752, 0.767 g·L−1, 72.9%, 59.1%, and 66.8%, respectively. “The results were consistent with the regression models generated by the CCD/RSM, confirming the effectiveness of TNFs in treating anaerobic digestate,” said Yiting Xiao.
Beyond offering a targeted solution for poultry litter digestate, the study also paves the way for broader wastewater treatment applications. “The implications of our research extend beyond poultry farming. The TNFs show promise for treating a variety of wastewater types,” emphasized Dr. Jun Zhu.
The team is already exploring further refinements and applications, including integrating this technology into existing agricultural waste treatment systems. “We are optimistic that ongoing research will make this process even more efficient, providing a robust and sustainable solution for managing anaerobic digestate,” concluded by Yang Tian. “The beauty of this process is its simplicity; it only requires light for activation, making it both environmentally friendly and cost-effective.”
This study represents a significant scientific advancement, offering a sustainable and efficient solution to a specific challenge in agricultural waste management. By providing a viable method for the degradation of organic pollutants in anaerobic digestate, this research marks a notable step forward in the pursuit of more sustainable agricultural practices.
The research has been recently published in the Frontiers of Agricultural Science and Engineering in 2023, 10(3). DOI: 10.15302/J-FASE-2023503.
DEGRADATION OF ORGANIC POLLUTANTS IN FLOCCULATED LIQUID DIGESTATE USING PHOTOCATALYTIC TITANATE NANOFIBERS: MECHANISM AND RESPONSE SURFACE OPTIMIZATION
