Tuesday, April 16, 2024

Boosting the brain's control of prosthetic devices by tapping the cerebellum

Neuroprosthetics, a technology that allows the brain to control external devices such as robotic limbs, is beginning to emerge as a viable option for patients disabled by amputation or neurological conditions such as stroke. Cedars-Sinai investigators, in a study published in the journal Science Advances, are believed to be the first to show that tapping the power of the cerebellum, a region in the back of the brain, could improve patients' ability to control these devices.

"Neuroprosthetics have largely tapped the brain's outermost cerebral cortex. The cerebellum has a well-known role in movement but has been ignored in neuroprosthetic research," said Tanuj Gulati, Ph.D., assistant professor of Biomedical Sciences and Neurology and researcher in the Center for Neural Science and Medicine at Cedars-Sinai, and senior author of the study.

"We are the first to record what is happening in the cerebellum as the brain learns to manipulate these devices, and we found that its involvement is essential for device use."

Patients who use neuroprosthetic devices have electrodes permanently implanted in the portion of the brain—usually the cerebral cortex—that controls movement for the function the device is replacing. This technique can be used to help patients control a robotic limb, a motorized wheelchair or a computer keyboard, among other devices.

To learn how the cerebellum helps in learning neuroprosthetic control, Gulati and his team trained laboratory rats to use only their motor cortex activity to move a neuroprosthetic tube that delivered them water. The rats had electrodes implanted in the motor cortex and the cerebellum, and investigators listened in on the activity of neurons in both brain regions during the experiments.

"We found that activity of the neurons in the cerebellum was coordinated with the motor cortex, and that activity in the cerebellum was critical for neuroprosthetic task performance," said Aamir Abbasi, Ph.D., a postdoctoral scientist in the Gulati Lab and the first author of the study.

Boosting the brain's control of prosthetic devices by tapping the cerebellum — Coordinated neuroprosthetic task-related oscillations emerge in M1 and cerebellar LFPs.

Investigators next used an advanced technology called optogenetics to selectively silence different neuron populations in the laboratory rats' brains during experiments. Optogenetics delivers light-sensitive proteins into brain cells, allowing light exposure to control these cells' activity.

When they silenced neurons in the outer layer of the cerebellum, where the cerebellum receives input from other brain regions, they found that the laboratory rats had a difficult time learning to control movement of the pipe. When they silenced neurons deep in the cerebellum, which are responsible for outward communication from the cerebellum to the motor cortex, the rats had difficulty maintaining accurate control of the pipe.

"These results could help make neuroprosthetics an option for patients with damage to the motor cortex due to brain injury, stroke or diseases such as Parkinson's or multiple sclerosis," said Nancy L. Sicotte, MD, chair of the Department of Neurology and the Women's Guild Distinguished Chair in Neurology at Cedars-Sinai.

"It's possible that, eventually, implants in the cerebellar region could be used to help these patients manipulate external devices."

It's an exciting era for neuroprosthetics, said David Underhill, Ph.D., chair of the Department of Biomedical Sciences at Cedars-Sinai.

"There is a lot of buzz about neuroprosthetic technology, but there are still many unsolved problems," Underhill said. "This study suggests that some of those could be resolved by involving the cerebellum as well as the motor cortex to help patients gain use of neuroprosthetic devices more quickly and improve their ability to control them accurately."

More information: Aamir Abbasi et al, Cortico-cerebellar coordination facilitates neuroprosthetic control, Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adm8246

Journal information: Science Advances

Provided by Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Study of data from thousands of women suggests ovarian cycle is regulated by circadian rhythm

by Bob Yirka , Medical Xpress

heart inside person — Credit: Puwadon Sang-ngern from Pexels

A team of reproductive researchers affiliated with several institutions in France and the U.S. has found that the timing of monthly ovarian cycles in women is mostly likely attributable to the circadian rhythm. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes their study of thousands of ovarian cycles as reported by thousands of women in Europe and the U.S. and what they found.

The timing mechanism behind the ovarian cycle has mystified scientists for centuries, though one of the strongest theories has been that it is tied to the lunar cycle. Charles Darwin suggested that the two became linked back when humans lived near the seashore, where the tides heavily impacted daily scheduling.

And three years ago a team led by Würzburg chronobiologist Charlotte Förster found evidence for women's menstrual cycles temporarily synchronizing with the cycles of the moon. In this new effort, the research team has found little evidence of a lunar impact—they suggest the mechanism most likely controlling the ovarian cycle is the circadian rhythm.

The circadian rhythm is defined as physical, mental, and behavioral changes that organisms, such as humans, experience over 24-hour cycles. One of the most famous behaviors impacted by the circadian rhythm is sleep—people tend to feel sleepy at the same time every night. However, it has also been noted that the circadian rhythm can be impacted by the lunar cycle—people have been found to go to bed later and sleep less, for example, on nights before a full moon.

To learn more about the ovarian cycle-controlling mechanism, the research team obtained medical records for over 3,000 women living in Europe and North America, which held data relating to 27,000 ovarian cycles. The team tracked the first day of each cycle for all the women under study. In doing so, they found little correlation between cycle start time and lunar cycling.

The researchers did find something else, though. Many examples of what they describe as phase jumps—where something disturbs the timing of a cycle for a given woman, and the body responds by changing the clock rhythm over several months to bring the cycle back to its original norm. They compare it to how the circadian rhythm reacts to people experiencing jet lag. This, they suggest, indicates that the circadian rhythm is much more likely the mechanism that controls ovarian cycling.

More information: René Ecochard et al, Evidence that the woman's ovarian cycle is driven by an internal circamonthly timing system, Science Advances (2024). DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.adg9646

Journal information: Science Advances

One in four US adolescents identify as non-heterosexual, comparative analysis finds

HETEROSEXUALITY IS A SOCIAL CONSTRUCT OF THE FIFTIES

by Melissa Rohman, Northwestern University

high school — Credit: cottonbro studio from Pexels

A recent Northwestern Medicine comparative analysis of national survey results found that 1 in 4 U.S. adolescents in grades 9 through 12 reported their sexual identity as non-heterosexual, according to findings published in JAMA Pediatrics.

The study, led by Gregory Phillips II, Ph.D., associate professor of Medical Social Sciences and of Preventive Medicine in the Division of Epidemiology, emphasizes the need for inclusive approaches when working with sexual and gender minority youth in academic and health care settings, among others.

"These findings indicate that every single person who works with youth needs to be aware of and competent with addressing LGBTQIA+ youth as a general competency in practice," said Lauren Beach, JD, Ph.D., assistant professor of assistant professor of Medical Social Sciences and of Preventive Medicine in the Division of Epidemiology and senior author of the study.

The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System is a biennial set of surveys conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Established in 1991, the survey measures health-related behaviors and experiences that can lead to poor health in U.S. high school students.

In 2015, the CDC added a question to the included a question about sexual identity, with response options including "heterosexual," "gay or lesbian," "bisexual" or "not sure." In 2021, the CDC expanded the survey's "not sure" response to include the current three options:

I describe my sexual identity some other way.
I am not sure about my sexual identity (questioning).
I do not know what this question is asking.

In the current study, Phillips and colleagues explored whether the number individuals who responded with "not sure" about their sexual identity changed between 2019 and 2021.

This survey included 12,847 respondents (51% female and 49% male) in 2019, and 16,357 respondents (48% female and 52% male) in 2021.

From 2019 to 2021, the investigators identified a significant decrease in youth who identified as heterosexual (84.5% versus 74.7%), an increase those who identified as gay or lesbian (2.5% versus 3%) and an increase in those who identified as bisexual (8.6% versus 12%). More youths in 2021 than in 2019 also selected "not sure" for their sexual identity (5.1% versus 4.4%).

In 2019, 5.6% of females and 3.3% of males selected "not sure" in response to the sexual identity question, while in 2021, 8% of females and 2.3% of males selected "not sure."

"There's this notion that the people who identify as something other than heterosexual has been increasing over time, so that's part of the reason that we see these numbers go up. But it's also possibly due to the clarity with the question that we see greater proportions of people," Phillips said.

"People feel more comfortable saying that they're not heterosexual and don't feel forced into that category," Phillips said.

The findings also suggest that the CDC should revisit their question further because of these percentage changes, according to Beach.

"It suggests that there are other additional response options that might be really salient to this age range of people that aren't being captured right now," Beach said, adding that the current findings underscore the importance of inclusive approaches when working with sexual and gender minority youth.

"If you a health care provider serving youth in this age range, then you should be thinking about asking them questions to know more about who they are, their sexual identity and their sexual behavior, their gender identity, whether or not they're transgender: It's all really relevant to be talking to youth about to understand who they are," Beach said.

The investigators are now studying differences in responses by race, ethnicity, region, age and other factors, and how these factors impact risks for certain health outcomes among sexual minority youth.

"This will help us have more targeted messaging on the health needs of non-heterosexual youth populations for health care providers, school officials and many other audiences," Beach said.

More information: Gregory L. Phillips et al, Changes to Sexual Identity Response Options in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, JAMA Pediatrics (2024). DOI: 10.1001/jamapediatrics.2024.0024

Journal information: JAMA Pediatrics

Provided by Northwestern University

Sexual minority youth more likely to experience homelessness

Pressure to lose weight in adolescence linked to how people value themselves almost two decades later

by University of Bristol

People who as teenagers felt pressure to lose weight from family or from the media, females, people who are not heterosexual, and people experiencing socioeconomic disadvantage, are most at risk of 'internalized' weight stigma, new research led by the University of Bristol has found. The study is published in The Lancet Regional Health - Europe.

"Internalized" weight stigma, is when people apply negative obesity-related stereotypes to themselves, such as thinking they are less attractive, less competent, or less valuable as a person because of their weight. This is the first time a study has used a large UK sample to examine who is most at risk.

In England, around one in four people are living with obesity, but it is highly stigmatized. Negative obesity-related stereotypes and weight-related discrimination are widespread in society. Experience of weight stigma is a major public health issue: people affected by weight stigma are more likely to have poor mental health, eating disorders and may delay seeking medical treatment. However, little is known about which population groups are at higher risk of internalized weight stigma, because previous research has used small, nonrepresentative samples.

Using data from Bristol's Children of the 90s (also known as the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children), this new study examined differences in internalized weight stigma in over 4,000 people aged 31 years by sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic factors, sexual orientation, and family and wider social influences in childhood and adolescence.

The research found that feeling pressure from family to lose weight, weight-related teasing by family members, and feeling pressure from the media to lose weight as a teenager were all linked to higher levels of internalized weight stigma at age 31, and this was not explained by differences in body mass index (BMI). Being bullied in adolescence (at age 17 years) and adulthood (at age 23 years) were also independently linked to internalized weight stigma at age 31.

The study also found there are clear differences in internalized weight stigma between other groups of the population, which were also not explained by differences in BMI. Females and people who did not identify as heterosexual are at greater risk of internalized weight stigma. People who had spent more of their 20s as NEETs (not in education, employment or training), or whose mothers had fewer educational qualifications, are also more at risk of internalized weight stigma.

Dr. Amanda Hughes, Research Fellow in the Bristol Medical School: Population Health Sciences (PHS) and corresponding author, said, "The family environment in adolescence, bullying, and pressure to lose weight from the media may have long-lasting impacts on how people value themselves based on their weight as adults.

"We have an opportunity to reduce weight stigma and its consequences by changing how we discuss weight in the media, in public spaces and in families, and how we respond to bullying in schools, workplaces, and other settings.

"This is crucial considering how common pressure to lose weight and weight-related bullying, stigma and discrimination are in many cultures around the world."

The researchers now plan to explore in detail the psychological processes by which these social factors may influence internalized weight stigma.

More information: Demographic, socioeconomic and life-course risk factors for internalized weight stigma in adulthood: evidence from an English birth cohort study, The Lancet Regional Health - Europe (2024). DOI: 10.1016/j.lanepe.2024.100895

Provided by University of Bristol

Weight stigma in men associated with harmful health consequences

Large study finds antibiotics aren't effective for most lower tract respiratory infections

by Georgetown University Medical Center

Use of antibiotics provided no measurable impact on the severity or duration of coughs even if a bacterial infection was present, finds a large, prospective study of people who sought treatment in U.S. primary or urgent care settings for lower-respiratory tract infections.

The study by researchers at Georgetown University Medical Center and colleagues appeared in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.

"Upper respiratory tract infections usually include the common cold, sore throat, sinus infections and ear infections and have well established ways to determine if antibiotics should be given," says the study's lead author, Dan Merenstein, MD, professor of family medicine at Georgetown University School of Medicine.

"Lower respiratory tract infections tend to have the potential to be more dangerous, since about 3% to 5% of these patients have pneumonia. But not everyone has easy access at an initial visit to an X-ray, which may be the reason clinicians still give antibiotics without any other evidence of a bacterial infection. Plus, patients have come to expect antibiotics for a cough, even if it doesn't help. Basic symptom-relieving medications plus time brings a resolution to most people's infections."

The antibiotics prescribed in this study for lower tract infections were all appropriate, commonly used antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. But the researchers' analysis showed that of the 29% of people given an antibiotic during their initial medical visit, there was no effect on the duration or overall severity of cough compared to those who didn't receive an antibiotic.

"Physicians know, but probably overestimate, the percentage of lower tract infections that are bacterial; they also likely overestimate their ability to distinguish viral from bacterial infections," says Mark H. Ebell, MD, MS, a study author and professor in the College of Public Health at the University of Georgia.

"In our analysis, 29% of people were prescribed an antibiotic while only 7% were given an antiviral. But most patients do not need antivirals as there exist only two respiratory viruses where we have medications to treat them: influenza and SARS-COV-2. There are none for all of the other viruses."

To determine if there was an actual bacterial or viral infection present, beyond the self-reported symptoms of a cough, the investigators confirmed the presence of pathogens with advanced lab tests to look for microbiologic results classified as only bacteria, only viruses, both virus and bacteria, or no organism detected. Very importantly, for those with a confirmed bacterial infection, the length of time until illness resolution was the same for those receiving an antibiotic versus those not receiving one—about 17 days.

Overuse of antibiotics can result in dizziness, nausea, diarrhea, and rash along with about a 4% chance of serious adverse effects including anaphylaxis, which is a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction; Stevens-Johnson syndrome, a rare, serious disorder of the skin and mucous membranes; and Clostridioides difficile-associated diarrhea. Another significant concern of the overuse of antibiotics is resistance. The World Health Organization released a statement on April 4, 2024, stating, "Uncontrolled antimicrobial resistance [due to the overuse of antibiotics] is expected to lower life expectancy and lead to unprecedented health expenditure and economic losses."

"We know that cough can be an indicator of a serious problem. It is the most common illness-related reason for an ambulatory care visit, accounting for nearly 3 million outpatient visits and more than 4 million emergency department visits annually," says Merenstein.

"Serious cough symptoms and how to treat them properly needs to be studied more, perhaps in a randomized clinical trial as this study was observational and there haven't been any randomized trials looking at this issue since about 2012."

More information: Antibiotics not associated with shorter duration or reduced severity of acute lower respiratory tract infection, Journal of General Internal Medicine (2024).

Journal information: Journal of General Internal Medicine

Provided by Georgetown University Medical Center Call to reduce repeat 'within-episode' antibiotic prescriptions for respiratory tract infections in primary care

Microplastics make their way from the gut to other organs, researchers find

by Nicole San Roman, University of New Mexico

Microplastics make their way from the gut to other organs, UNM researchers find — *Visualization of systemic polystyrene microsphere translocation. Visualization of*

It's happening every day. From our water, our food and even the air we breathe, tiny plastic particles are finding their way into many parts of our body.

But what happens once those particles are inside? What do they do to our digestive system?

In a recent paper published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, University of New Mexico researchers found that those tiny particles—microplastics—are having a significant impact on our digestive pathways, making their way from the gut and into the tissues of the kidney, liver and brain.

Eliseo Castillo, Ph.D., an associate professor in the Division of Gastroenterology & Hepatology in the UNM School of Medicine's Department of Internal Medicine and an expert in mucosal immunology, is leading the charge at UNM on microplastic research.

"Over the past few decades, microplastics have been found in the ocean, in animals and plants, in tap water and bottled water," Castillo, explains. "They appear to be everywhere."

Scientists estimate that people ingest 5 grams of microplastic particles each week on average—equivalent to the weight of a credit card.

While other researchers are helping to identify and quantify ingested microplastics, Castillo and his team focus on what the microplastics are doing inside the body, specifically to the gastrointestinal (GI) tract and to the gut immune system.

Over a four-week period, Castillo, postdoctoral fellow Marcus Garcia, PharmD, and other UNM researchers exposed mice to microplastics in their drinking water. The amount was equivalent to the quantity of microplastics humans are believed to ingest each week.

Microplastics had migrated out of the gut into the tissues of the liver, kidney and even the brain, the team found. The study also showed the microplastics changed metabolic pathways in the affected tissues.

"We could detect microplastics in certain tissues after the exposure," Castillo says. "That tells us it can cross the intestinal barrier and infiltrate into other tissues."

Microplastics make their way from the gut to other organs, researchers find — Colonic metabolome pathway analysis. Credit: *Environmental Health Perspectives* (2024). DOI: 10.1289/EHP13435

Castillo says he's also concerned about the accumulation of the plastic particles in the human body. "These mice were exposed for four weeks," he states. "Now, think about how that equates to humans, if we're exposed from birth to old age."

The healthy laboratory animals used in this study showed changes after brief microplastic exposure, Castillo says. "Now imagine if someone has an underlying condition, and these changes occur, could microplastic exposure exacerbate an underlying condition?"

He has previously found that microplastics are also impacting macrophages—the immune cells that work to protect the body from foreign particles.

In a paper published in the journal Cell Biology & Toxicology in 2021, Castillo and other UNM researchers found that when macrophages encountered and ingested microplastics, their function was altered and they released inflammatory molecules.

"It is changing the metabolism of the cells, which can alter inflammatory responses," Castillo says. "During intestinal inflammation—states of chronic illness such as ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, which are both forms of inflammatory bowel disease—these macrophages become more inflammatory and they're more abundant in the gut."

The next phase of Castillo's research, which is being led by postdoctoral fellow Sumira Phatak, Ph.D., will explore how diet is involved in microplastic uptake.

"Everyone's diet is different," he says. "So, what we're going to do is give these laboratory animals a high-cholesterol/high-fat diet, or high-fiber diet, and they will be either exposed or not exposed to microplastics. The goal is to try to understand if diet affects the uptake of microplastics into our body."

Castillo says one of his Ph.D. students, Aaron Romero, is also working to understand why there is a change in the gut microbiota. "Multiple groups have shown microplastics change the microbiota, but how it changes the microbiota hasn't been addressed."

Castillo hopes that his research will help uncover the potential impacts microplastics are having to human health and that it will help spur changes to how society produces and filtrates plastics.

"At the end of the day, the research we are trying to do aims to find out how this is impacting gut health," he notes. "Research continues to show the importance of gut health. If you don't have a healthy gut, it affects the brain, it affects the liver and so many other tissues. So even imagining that the microplastics are doing something in the in the gut, that chronic exposure could lead to systemic effects."

More information: Marcus M. Garcia et al, In Vivo Tissue Distribution of Polystyrene or Mixed Polymer Microspheres and Metabolomic Analysis after Oral Exposure in Mice, Environmental Health Perspectives (2024). DOI: 10.1289/EHP13435

Journal information: Environmental Health Perspectives

Provided by University of New Mexico

Study finds that microplastics infiltrate all systems of body, cause behavioral changes in mice

Potamophylax kosovaensis, an insect species newly discovered in Kosovo, is already endangered

by Pensoft Publishers

Potamophylax kosovaensis, a new insect species from Kosovo that is already endangered — Potamophylax kosovaensis. Credit: Ibrahimi et al.

Over the last few years, Professor Halil Ibrahimi from Kosovo and his team have described several new species of aquatic insects recognized as bioindicators of freshwater ecosystems. The work is published in the Biodiversity Data Journal

However, the celebration of these discoveries is tempered by alarming concerns: the newfound species are often already considered endangered, as per the criteria set forth by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as soon as they are described. This classification underscores the urgent need for conservation efforts to safeguard their existence.

The research team has just discovered a new species, named Potamophylax kosovaensis, in the spring area of the Llap River, nestled within the Ibër River Basin. The region, known for its ecological significance, serves as a critical habitat for numerous aquatic organisms like newly discovered insect species.

Unfortunately, these freshwater insects are facing unprecedented threats in Kosovo and the broader Balkans region. Anthropogenic pressures, such as water pollution, littering, and the construction of hydropower plants, pose imminent risks to their survival. The degradation of their habitats not only jeopardizes their existence but also undermines the health and integrity of entire freshwater ecosystems.

Professor Ibrahimi emphasizes the importance of urgent action to mitigate these threats and conserve this delicate balance of freshwater biodiversity. "The discovery of Potamophylax kosovaensis serves as a stark reminder of the fragility of our freshwater ecosystems," he states. "We must prioritize efforts to protect these habitats and the invaluable species they harbor."

More information: Halil Ibrahimi et al, Potamophylax kosovaensis sp. nov. (Trichoptera, Limnephilidae), a new species of the Potamophylax winneguthi species cluster from the Ibër River Basin in Kosovo, Biodiversity Data Journal (2024). DOI: 10.3897/BDJ.12.e121454

Journal information: Biodiversity Data Journal

Provided by Pensoft Publishers Homo sapiens or insapiens? A new insect species from Kosovo cries for help

New research highlights effects of gentrification on urban wildlife populations across US cities

by Lincoln Park Zoo

song bird — Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

Research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences identifies how gentrified parts of a city have notably more urban wildlife than ungentrified parts of the same city, further limiting marginalized communities' opportunity to connect with nature.

The study, led by Lincoln Park Zoo's Urban Wildlife Institute, analyzed data from 23 cities across the continental U.S., collected by partners of the Urban Wildlife Information Network (UWIN), a collective of scientists, ecologists, and educators dedicated to understanding biodiversity and mitigating human-wildlife conflict in cities.

Gentrification, defined by Merriam-Webster as "the process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new businesses, typically displacing current inhabitants in the process," has been shown to result in inequitable access to urban nature across city populations.

In this study from UWI, not only do the results illustrate how the effects of gentrification are felt by animals, but they also provide further evidence of how nature is chronically inaccessible to marginalized urban communities. The study found that, on average, the number of different species living in a gentrified part of a city is 13% higher than in a compositionally comparable ungentrified part of the same city.

This means that gentrified neighborhoods can support one to two more species on average, and therefore humans living in these areas have greater exposure to urban wildlife without having to actively seek it out.

"When asking 'in a city, who does and does not have easy access to nature?,' we found that gentrification, which changes the demographic composition of people in neighborhoods, has consequences that extend to other species we share cities with. This leaves marginalized communities without meaningful access to nature, which is a problem," said Mason Fidino, Ph.D., Quantitative Ecologist at Lincoln Park Zoo and lead author on the study.

"My hope is that these results can be used to advocate for updated land development and management practices that prioritize social equity and access to nature spaces for all urban communities."

As part of the study, UWIN partners placed motion-detecting wildlife cameras at a total of 999 sites in cities across the country, weaving together a national network to monitor biodiversity between 2019 and 2021. The analysis looked at 21 mammal species across 11 families, including various squirrels, deer, foxes, bobcats, beavers, and more. A data set of this magnitude provides an unprecedented overview of North American mammal distributions across a wide array of urban landscapes from Los Angeles to Boston.

In East Coast cities, the study found that gentrification has the greatest effect on alpha diversity, or total number of different species. In West Coast cities, however, gentrification had a greater effect on beta diversity, or differences in the composition of species present, between gentrified and non-gentrified parts of cities.

This is particularly notable because certain kinds of urban wildlife, like songbirds or rabbits, are generally considered more desirable than other kinds, like rats or mice. So even in West Coast cities that have similar richness of wildlife across gentrified and ungentrified areas, the impact of urban wildlife on human quality of life can still vary greatly based on the types of animals present in both areas.

The study found that gentrification is not the only human-made factor impacting urban wildlife, though. Impervious cover, such as concrete, asphalt, and compacted soil, has an even greater effect on non-human animals living in cities. This means that a highly developed gentrified area, such as a downtown neighborhood, will still have less urban wildlife than an ungentrified neighborhood with less impervious cover.

While impervious cover has the most direct impact on animal diversity in urban areas, gentrification can and does lessen the negative effect of impervious cover on mammals. Gentrification often introduces green infrastructure to neighborhoods, like parks and gardens, which provide a respite from urban life for many species big and small.

This study ultimately provides further evidence that urban nature is not as accessible to marginalized human populations, emphasizing the need for cities to prioritize environmental equity in planning and development.

More information: Mason Fidino et al, Gentrification drives patterns of alpha and beta diversity in cities, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2024). DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2318596121. doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2318596121

Journal information: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Provided by Lincoln Park Zoo

Study finds firearm injuries increase in gentrified neighborhoods

Hidden threat: Global underground infrastructure vulnerable to sea-level rise

by Marcie Grabowski, University of Hawaii at Manoa

As sea levels rise, coastal groundwater is lifted closer to the ground surface while also becoming saltier and more corrosive. A recent study by Earth scientists at the University of Hawai'i (UH) at Mānoa has compiled research from experts worldwide showing that in cities where there are complex networks of buried and partially buried infrastructure, interaction with this shallower and saltier groundwater exacerbates corrosion and failure of critical systems such as sewer lines, roadways, and building foundations.

The research is published in the journal Annual Review of Marine Science.

"While it has been recognized that shallowing groundwater will eventually result in chronic flooding as it surfaces, what's less known is that it can start causing problems decades beforehand as groundwater interacts with buried infrastructure," said Shellie Habel, lead author and coastal geologist in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at UH Mānoa. "This knowledge gap often results in coastal groundwater changes being fully overlooked in infrastructure planning."

The research team aimed to create awareness about these issues and offer guidance from world experts on managing them. Habel and co-authors reviewed existing literature to examine the diverse effects on different types of infrastructure. Additionally, by employing worldwide elevation data and geospatial data that indicate the extent of urban development, they identified 1,546 low-lying coastal cities and towns globally, where around 1.42 billion people live, that are likely experiencing these impacts.

"The IPCC 6th Assessment Report tells us that sea level rise is an unstoppable and irreversible reality for centuries to millennia," said Chip Fletcher, study co-author, interim Dean of SOEST, and director of the Climate Resilience Collaborative (CRC) at UH Mānoa. "Now is the time to prepare for the challenges posed by this problem by redesigning our communities for greater resilience and social equity."

Concealed damage

Well before the visible effects of surface flooding, sea-level rise pushes up the water table and shifts salty water landward. With this, the subsurface environment becomes more corrosive to critical underground infrastructure networks—buried drainage and sewage lines can become compromised and mobilize urban contamination, and building foundations can weaken.

Extensive research conducted by the CRC has substantiated that critical infrastructure around the world, including drainage and basements, is likely currently experiencing flooding from rising groundwater levels.

"The damage caused by sea level rise-influenced coastal groundwater is often concealed and not immediately perceptible," said Habel, who is based at the CRC and Hawai'i Sea Grant in SOEST. "As a result, it tends to be overlooked in infrastructure management and planning efforts."

Informing management strategies

The study authors emphasize the importance of research efforts that can contribute to informed adaptation strategies.

"Being aware of these hidden impacts of sea level rise is of significant importance for the State of Hawai'i due to the concentration of communities situated along low-lying coastal zones where groundwater is generally very shallow," said Habel.

The CRC actively collaborates with partners across the nation and infrastructure managers in Hawai'i to gain a comprehensive assessment of how vital infrastructure, encompassing pipe networks, roadways, and buildings, is impacted. Understanding the impacts and risks associated with sea level rise-influenced coastal groundwater enables more effective management and adaptation.

More information: Shellie Habel et al, Hidden Threat: The Influence of Sea-Level Rise on Coastal Groundwater and the Convergence of Impacts on Municipal Infrastructure, Annual Review of Marine Science (2023). DOI: 10.1146/annurev-marine-020923-120737

Provided by University of Hawaii at Manoa As sea level rises, multiple factors threaten Honolulu's urban infrastructure

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