scholarly journals A meta-analysis of global avian survival across species and latitude

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Micah N. Scholer ◽  
Matt Strimas-Mackey ◽  
Jill E. Jankowski

AbstractTropical birds are purported to be longer lived than temperate species of similar size, but it has not been shown whether avian survival rates covary with a latitudinal gradient worldwide. Here, we perform a global-scale meta-analysis to investigate the extent of the latitudinal survival gradient. We modeled survival as a function of latitude for the separate northern and southern hemispheres, and considered phylogenetic relationships and extrinsic (climate) and intrinsic (life history) predictors hypothesized to moderate these effects. Using a database of 1,004 estimates from 246 studies of avian survival, we demonstrate that in general a latitudinal survival gradient exists in the northern hemisphere, is dampened or absent for southern hemisphere species, and that survival rates of passerine birds largely account for these trends. We found no indication that the extrinsic climate factors were better predictors of survival than latitude alone, but including species’ intrinsic traits improved model predictions. Notably, species with smaller clutch size and larger body mass showed higher survival. Our results illustrate that while some tropical birds may be longer lived than their temperate counterparts, the shape of the latitude-survival gradient differs by geographic region and is strongly influenced by species’ intrinsic traits.

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guoqiang Ma ◽  
Chaoan Wu ◽  
Miaoting Shao

AbstractSeveral authors have suggested that implants can be placed simultaneously with onlay bone grafts without affecting outcomes. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to answer the following clinical questions: (1) What are the outcomes of implants placed simultaneously with autogenous onlay bone grafts? And (2) is there a difference in outcomes between simultaneous vs delayed placement of implants with autogenous onlay bone grafts? Databases of PubMed, Embase, and Google Scholar were searched up to 15 November 2020. Data on implant survival was extracted from all the included studies (single arm and comparative) to calculate point estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CI) and pooled using the DerSimonian–Laird meta-analysis model. We also compared implant survival rates between the simultaneous and delayed placement of implants with data from comparative studies. Nineteen studies were included. Five of them compared simultaneous and delayed placement of implants. Dividing the studies based on follow-up duration, the pooled survival of implant placed simultaneously with onlay grafts after <2.5 years of follow-up was 93.1% (95% CI 82.6 to 97.4%) and after 2.5–5 years was 86% (95% CI 78.6 to 91.1%). Implant survival was found to be 85.8% (95% CI 79.6 to 90.3%) with iliac crest grafts and 95.7% (95% CI 83.9 to 93.0%) with intra-oral grafts. Our results indicated no statistically significant difference in implant survival between simultaneous and delayed placement (OR 0.43, 95% 0.07, 2.49, I2=59.04%). Data on implant success and bone loss were limited. Data indicates that implants placed simultaneously with autogenous onlay grafts have a survival rate of 93.1% and 86% after a follow-up of <2.5 years and 2.5–5years respectively. A limited number of studies indicate no significant difference in implant survival between the simultaneous and delayed placement of implants with onlay bone grafts. There is a need for randomized controlled trials comparing simultaneous and delayed implant placement to provide robust evidence.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan C. Villada ◽  
Maria F. Duran ◽  
Patrick K. H. Lee

Understanding the interplay between genotype and phenotype is a fundamental goal of functional genomics. Methane oxidation is a microbial phenotype with global-scale significance as part of the carbon biogeochemical cycle, and is a sink for greenhouse gas. Microorganisms that oxidize methane (methanotrophs) are taxonomically diverse and widespread around the globe. Recent reports have suggested that type Ia methanotrophs are the most prevalent methane-oxidizing bacteria in different environments. In methanotrophic bacteria, complete methane oxidation is encoded in four operons (pmoCAB, mmoXYZBCD, mxaFI, andxoxF), but how evolution has shaped these genes to execute methane oxidation remains poorly understood. Here, we used a genomic meta-analysis to investigate the coding sequences that encode methane oxidation. By analyzing isolate and metagenome-assembled genomes from phylogenetically and geographically diverse sources, we detected an anomalous nucleotide composition bias in the coding sequences of particulate methane monooxygenase genes (pmoCAB) from type Ia methanotrophs around the globe. We found that this was a highly conserved sequence that optimizes codon usage in order to maximize translation efficiency and accuracy, while minimizing the synthesis cost of transcripts and proteins. We show that among the seven types of methanotrophs, only type Ia methanotrophs possess a unique coding sequence of thepmoCABoperon that is under positive selection for optimal resource allocation and efficient synthesis of transcripts and proteins in environmental counter gradients with high oxygen and low methane concentrations. This adaptive trait possibly enables type Ia methanotrophs to respond robustly to fluctuating methane availability and explains their global prevalence.


Research ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xinhui Wang ◽  
Xuexian Fang ◽  
Zhaoxian Cai ◽  
Xiaotian Wu ◽  
Xiaotong Gao ◽  
...  

The recent outbreak of COVID-19 has been rapidly spreading on a global scale. To date, there is no specific vaccine against the causative virus, SARS-CoV-2, nor is there an effective medicine for treating COVID-19, thus raising concerns with respect to the effect of risk factors such as clinical course and pathophysiological parameters on disease severity and outcome in patients with COVID-19. By extracting and analyzing all available published clinical data, we identified several major clinical characteristics associated with increased disease severity and mortality among patients with COVID-19. Specifically, preexisting chronic conditions such as hypertension, cardiovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, and diabetes are strongly associated with an increased risk of developing severe COVID-19; surprisingly, however, we found no correlation between chronic liver disease and increased disease severity. In addition, we found that both acute cardiac injury and acute kidney injury are highly correlated with an increased risk of COVID-19-related mortality. Given the high risk of comorbidity and the high mortality rate associated with tissue damage, organ function should be monitored closely in patients diagnosed with COVID-19, and this approach should be included when establishing new guidelines for managing these high-risk patients. Moreover, additional clinical data are needed in order to determine whether a supportive therapy can help mitigate the development of severe, potentially fatal complications, and further studies are needed to identify the pathophysiology and the mechanism underlying this novel coronavirus-associated infectious disease. Taken together, these findings provide new insights regarding clinical strategies for improving the management and outcome of patients with COVID-19.


2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1549) ◽  
pp. 2047-2056 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Lee ◽  
Pete Manning ◽  
Janna Rist ◽  
Sally A. Power ◽  
Charles Marsh

Grassland ecosystems cover vast areas of the Earth's surface and provide many ecosystem services including carbon (C) storage, biodiversity preservation and the production of livestock forage. Predicting the future delivery of these services is difficult, because widespread changes in atmospheric CO 2 concentration, climate and nitrogen (N) inputs are expected. We compiled published data from global change driver manipulation experiments and combined these with climate data to assess grassland biomass responses to CO 2 and N enrichment across a range of climates. CO 2 and N enrichment generally increased aboveground biomass (AGB) but effects of CO 2 enrichment were weaker than those of N. The response to N was also dependent on the amount of N added and rainfall, with a greater response in high precipitation regions. No relationship between response to CO 2 and climate was detected within our dataset, thus suggesting that other site characteristics, e.g. soils and plant community composition, are more important regulators of grassland responses to CO 2 . A statistical model of AGB response to N was used in conjunction with projected N deposition data to estimate changes to future biomass stocks. This highlighted several potential hotspots (e.g. in some regions of China and India) of grassland AGB gain. Possible benefits for C sequestration and forage production in these regions may be offset by declines in plant biodiversity caused by these biomass gains, thus necessitating careful management if ecosystem service delivery is to be maximized. An approach such as ours, in which meta-analysis is combined with global scale model outputs to make large-scale predictions, may complement the results of dynamic global vegetation models, thus allowing us to form better predictions of biosphere responses to environmental change.


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