scholarly journals The Complicated and Confusing Ecology of Microcystis Blooms

mBio ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven W. Wilhelm ◽  
George S. Bullerjahn ◽  
R. Michael L. McKay
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Nutrient Availability ◽  
Phytoplankton Biomass ◽  
Algal Biomass ◽  
Selective Advantage ◽  
Multiple Strategies ◽  
Microcystis Blooms ◽  
The World ◽  
Nutrient Chemistry

ABSTRACT Blooms of the toxin-producing cyanobacterium Microcystis are increasing globally, leading to the loss of ecosystem services, threats to human health, as well as the deaths of pets and husbandry animals. While nutrient availability is a well-known driver of algal biomass, the factors controlling “who” is present in fresh waters are more complicated. Microcystis possesses multiple strategies to adapt to temperature, light, changes in nutrient chemistry, herbivory, and parasitism that provide a selective advantage over its competitors. Moreover, its ability to alter ecosystem pH provides it a further advantage that helps exclude many of its planktonic competitors. While decades of nutrient monitoring have provided us with the tools to predict the accumulation of phytoplankton biomass, here, we point to factors on the horizon that may inform us why Microcystis is presently the dominant bloom former in freshwaters around the world.

The Compost Wars

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gregory A. Barton
Keyword(s):  
Human Health ◽  
First World War ◽  
League Of Nations ◽  
World War ◽  
The First World War ◽  
The World ◽  
Popular Audience ◽  
First World

After the death of Gabrielle Howard from cancer, Albert married her sister Louise. Louise had been pressured to leave Cambridge as a classics lecturer as a result of her pro-peace writings during the First World War. After working for Virginia Wolf, she then worked for the League of Nations in Geneva. Louise was herself an expert on labor and agriculture, and helped Albert write for a popular audience. Albert Howard toured plantations around the world advocating the Indore Method. After the publication of the Agricultural Testament (1943), Albert Howard focused on popularizing his work among gardeners and increasingly connected his composting methods to issues of human health.

Differences between Nearshore and Offshore Phytoplankton Communities in Lake Ontario

1987 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 2155-2163 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. M. Gray
Keyword(s):  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Phytoplankton Biomass ◽  
Algal Biomass ◽  
Phytoplankton Community ◽  
Seasonal Pattern ◽  
Principal Component ◽  
Lake Ontario ◽  
Dominant Group ◽  
Phytoplankton Communities ◽  
Eutrophic Species

Differences between nearshore and offshore phytoplankton biomass and composition were evident in Lake Ontario in 1982. Phytoplankton biomass was characterized by multiple peaks which ranged over three orders of magnitude. Perhaps as a consequence of the three times higher current velocities at the northshore station, phytoplankton biomass ranged from 0.09 to 9.00 g∙m−3 compared with 0.10 to 2.40 g∙m−3 for the midlake station. Bacillariophyceae was the dominant group at the northshore station until September when Cyanophyta contributed most to the biomass (83%). Although Bacillariophyceae was the principal component of the spring phytoplankton community at the midlake station, phytoflagellates (49%) and Chlorophyceae (25%) were responsible for summer biomass, with the Chlorophyceae expanding to 80% in the fall. The seasonal pattern of epilimnetic chlorophyll a correlated with temperature. While chlorophyll a concentrations were similar to values from 1970 and 1972, algal biomass had declined and a number of eutrophic species (Melosira binderana, Stephanodiscus tenuis, S. hantzschii var. pusilla, and S. alpinus) previously found were absent in 1982.

scholarly journals Rapamycin: Drug Repurposing in SARS-CoV-2 Infection

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 217
Author(s):  
Jiri Patocka ◽  
Kamil Kuca ◽  
Patrik Oleksak ◽  
Eugenie Nepovimova ◽  
Martin Valis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Human Health ◽  
World Economy ◽  
Web Of Science ◽  
Drug Repurposing ◽  
Final Analysis ◽  
High Rate ◽  
Suitable Candidate ◽  
Promising Strategy ◽  
The World

Since December 2019, SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has been a worldwide pandemic with enormous consequences for human health and the world economy. Remdesivir is the only drug in the world that has been approved for the treating of COVID-19. This drug, as well as vaccination, still has uncertain effectiveness. Drug repurposing could be a promising strategy how to find an appropriate molecule: rapamycin could be one of them. The authors performed a systematic literature review of available studies on the research describing rapamycin in association with COVID-19 infection. Only peer-reviewed English-written articles from the world’s acknowledged databases Web of Science, PubMed, Springer and Scopus were involved. Five articles were eventually included in the final analysis. The findings indicate that rapamycin seems to be a suitable candidate for drug repurposing. In addition, it may represent a better candidate for COVID-19 therapy than commonly tested antivirals. It is also likely that its efficiency will not be reduced by the high rate of viral RNA mutation.

scholarly journals Decreased cortisol among hikers who preferentially visit and value biodiverse riparian zones

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ellie Opdahl ◽  
Kathryn Demps ◽  
Julie A. Heath
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Salivary Cortisol ◽  
Hot Spots ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Riparian Areas ◽  
Indirect Pathway ◽  
Aesthetic Value ◽  
Gps Tracks

AbstractWhile outdoor recreationists often report increases to their well-being for time spent in nature, the mechanisms through which local ecologies affect human health have been difficult to quantify, and thus to manage. We combine data from pre-post salivary cortisol measures, GPS tracks, visitor photos, and surveys from 88 hikers traversing several types of landscape within peri-urban public lands in southwest Idaho, USA. We find that time in biodiverse riparian areas and areas of perceived aesthetic value correlates with decreases in salivary cortisol and improved well-being for hikers. Wildlife sightings were not associated with changes in salivary cortisol, but were associated with riparian travel and aesthetic preferences, indicating an indirect pathway for ecosystem services. Additionally, wildlife sightings decreased on high-use days, even though hikers did not perceive a negative impact of their recreational activity. These results suggest that cultural and physiological ecosystem services of nature depend on the ecological community of the area. Preferential visitation and high service value of riparian areas by hikers and wildlife alike target shared riparian areas as hot spots for management efforts to promote both ecological and human health within an increasingly urbanizing world.

scholarly journals Ecosystem Services Changes on Farmland in Response to Urbanization in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area of China

Land ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 501
Author(s):  
Xuege Wang ◽  
Fengqin Yan ◽  
Yinwei Zeng ◽  
Ming Chen ◽  
Bin He ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Land Use ◽  
Hong Kong ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Ecosystem Service ◽  
Food Production ◽  
Great Loss ◽  
The Past ◽  
Bay Area ◽  
Farmland Loss ◽  
The World

Extensive urbanization around the world has caused a great loss of farmland, which significantly impacts the ecosystem services provided by farmland. This study investigated the farmland loss due to urbanization in the Guangdong–Hong Kong–Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) of China from 1980 to 2018 based on multiperiod datasets from the Land Use and Land Cover of China databases. Then, we calculated ecosystem service values (ESVs) of farmland using valuation methods to estimate the ecosystem service variations caused by urbanization in the study area. The results showed that 3711.3 km2 of farmland disappeared because of urbanization, and paddy fields suffered much higher losses than dry farmland. Most of the farmland was converted to urban residential land from 1980 to 2018. In the past 38 years, the ESV of farmland decreased by 5036.7 million yuan due to urbanization, with the highest loss of 2177.5 million yuan from 2000–2010. The hydrological regulation, food production and gas regulation of farmland decreased the most due to urbanization. The top five cities that had the largest total ESV loss of farmland caused by urbanization were Guangzhou, Dongguan, Foshan, Shenzhen and Huizhou. This study revealed that urbanization has increasingly become the dominant reason for farmland loss in the GBA. Our study suggests that governments should increase the construction of ecological cities and attractive countryside to protect farmland and improve the regional ESV.

PANDEMIC AND ITS RELATION TO ENVIRONMENTAL CHANGES ACCORDING TO AYURVEDA

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 2423-2427
Author(s):  
Sangeeta Gupta ◽  
Anupama Patra ◽  
Sarita Yadav ◽  
Akanksha Thakur
Keyword(s):  
Viral Infection ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Environmental Changes ◽  
Remedial Measures ◽  
Considerable Contribution ◽  
Traditional System ◽  
Root Cause ◽  
The World ◽  
Modern System ◽  
Entire World

The entire world faced the corona crisis recently, still undergoing it. The world merely is seeing through it as a pandemic and is connecting it to a kind of viral infection invading the human community. The whole of the health machinery got paralyzed fighting the pandemic leading to millions of deaths around the globe. Moreover, the ad- vanced modern system of medicine was almost helpless in combating the virus-related hazards to human health. At this time, the considerable contribution was provided by the Ayurveda, our ancient traditional system of medi- cine. If we see the ayurvedic literature, the concept of Janpadodhwamsa provides answers to the mystery behind the fatal covid virus. The paper aims to provide a view about the Janpadodhwamsa which states various factors relating to the pandemic, the root cause of such events and the remedial measures for it. Keywords: Vayu, Jala, Desh, Kala, Janpadodhwamsa, Nidana Parivarjana, Prajnapradha

Envisaged transfer projects: New technologies in the water sustainability

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Naseer Ahmed Abbasi ◽  
Xiangzhou Xu
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Global Climate Change ◽  
Water Scarcity ◽  
New Technologies ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Water Shortage ◽  
Environmental Aspects ◽  
Water Shortages ◽  
The World

<p><strong>Abstracts:</strong> Influenced by global climate change, water shortages and other extreme weather, water scarcity in the world is an alarming sign. This article provides evidences regarding the Tunnel and Tianhe project’s feasibility and their technical, financial, political, socioeconomic and environmental aspects. Such as how to utilize the water vapour in the air and to build a 1000 km long tunnel project to fulfill the goal of solving water shortage in China. The projects are promising to solve the problem of water, food and drought in the country. In addition, the telecoupling framework helps to effectively understand and manage ecosystem services, as well as the different challenges associated with them. Such efforts can help find the ways for proper utilization of water resources and means of regulation.</p><p><strong>Key words: </strong>Sustainability; water shortage; transfer project</p>

Special Issue on "Immunomodulatory and therapeutic approaches against infectious diseases"

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-2
Author(s):  
Lavkush Dwivedi
Keyword(s):  
Immune Response ◽  
Infectious Diseases ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Immune Stimulation ◽  
Defense System ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Therapeutic Approaches ◽  
Major Constraint ◽  
The World ◽  
Insight Into

Infectious diseases and consequent immune imbalancesare major constraint in human health managementthroughout the world. However, in recentdecades enormous efforts have been made to elucidatethe immunomodulatory approaches againstinfectious diseases. Immunomodulation is a therapeuticapproach in which we try to intervene inauto regulating processes of the defense system toadjust the immune response at a desired level.The present special issue on cutting edge issues inImmunomodulation like Immune stimulation, Immunesuppression, Immune potentiating and immunereinforcement summarizes our current understandingof this complex mosaic. The accompanyingselection of recent articles from across theworld provides further insight into this topic. 

scholarly journals Population Growth - The Social Development and Poverty Dimension

1999 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 41-52
Author(s):  
M.S. Jillani
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Health ◽  
Population Growth ◽  
Social Development ◽  
Human Health ◽  
Reproductive System ◽  
Social Wellbeing ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship

The debate over the relationship of population and development is now more than 200 years old, starting with the treatise on population by Malthus, in 1798. The increase in population, ever since, has remained a matter of concern for economists and development planners. The most recent high point of the issue was witnessed at Cairo in September, 1994. The conference which was attended by more than 10,000 persons from all over the world ended with an agreement on the issues involved in the growth of population and the economy. The outcome was a Plan of Action for the next twenty years, which would concentrate on Reproductive Health in order to obtain, “a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity in all matters relating to the reproductive system and its functions and process”. This can be a turn-around in global efforts for human health and welfare, if properly implemented.

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