scholarly journals Physiological Challenges to Fishes in a Warmer and Acidified Future

Physiology ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 31 (6) ◽  
pp. 409-417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Göran E. Nilsson ◽  
Sjannie Lefevre

With the projected levels of global warming and ocean acidification, fishes have to face warmer waters with CO2 levels that are the highest in over 30 million years. The resultant rise in body temperature means that metabolic rates of fish will increase, and some may become energetically compromised. No less worrying, and maybe more surprising, is that rising CO2 concentrations appear to trigger pH regulatory mechanisms that disrupts neural ion gradients, leading to altered neurotransmitter function and maladaptive behavioral changes. We point out the many outstanding questions, including the ultimate one: Will fish be able to adapt to these challenges?

2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kuo Wang ◽  
Han Zhang ◽  
Gao-Feng Fan ◽  
Zheng-Quan Li ◽  
Zhen-Yan Yu ◽  
...  

Since preindustrial times, atmospheric CO2 content increased continuously, leading to global warming through the greenhouse effect. Oceanic carbon sequestration mitigates global warming; on the other hand, oceanic CO2 uptake would reduce seawater pH, which is termed ocean acidification. We perform Earth system model simulations to assess oceanic CO2 uptake, surface temperature, and acidification for Zhejiang offshore, one of the most vulnerable areas to marine disasters. In the last 40 years, atmospheric CO2 concentration increased by 71 ppm, and sea surface temperature (SST) in Zhejiang offshore increased at a rate of 0.16°C/10a. Cumulative oceanic CO2 uptake in Zhejiang offshore is 0.3 Pg C, resulting in an increase of 20% in sea surface hydrogen ion concentration, and the acidification rate becomes faster in the last decade. During 2020–2040, under four RCP scenarios, SST in Zhejiang offshore increases by 0.3–0.5°C, whereas cumulative ocean carbon sequestration is 0.150–0.165 Pg C. Relative to RCP2.6, the decrease of surface pH in Zhejiang offshore is doubled under RCP8.5. Furthermore, simulated results show that the relationship between CO2 scenario and oceanic carbon cycle is nonlinear, which hints that deeper reduction of anthropogenic CO2 emission may be needed if we aim to mitigate ocean acidification in Zhejiang offshore under a higher CO2 concentration scenario. Our study quantifies the variation characteristics of oceanic climate and carbon cycle fields in Zhejiang offshore, and provides new insight into the responses of oceanic carbon cycle and the climate system to oceanic carbon sequestration.


2017 ◽  
Vol 43 (4) ◽  
pp. 290-301 ◽  
Author(s):  
Frederico Leon Arrabal Fernandes ◽  
Alberto Cukier ◽  
Aquiles Assunção Camelier ◽  
Carlos Cezar Fritscher ◽  
Cláudia Henrique da Costa ◽  
...  

ABSTRACT The treatment of COPD has become increasingly effective. Measures that range from behavioral changes, reduction in exposure to risk factors, education about the disease and its course, rehabilitation, oxygen therapy, management of comorbidities, and surgical and pharmacological treatments to end-of-life care allow health professionals to provide a personalized and effective therapy. The pharmacological treatment of COPD is one of the cornerstones of COPD management, and there have been many advances in this area in recent years. Given the greater availability of drugs and therapeutic combinations, it has become increasingly challenging to know the indications for, limitations of, and potential risks and benefits of each treatment modality. In order to critically evaluate recent evidence and systematize the major questions regarding the pharmacological treatment of COPD, 24 specialists from all over Brazil gathered to develop the present recommendations. A visual guide was developed for the classification and treatment of COPD, both of which were adapted to fit the situation in Brazil. Ten questions were selected on the basis of their relevance in clinical practice. They address the classification, definitions, treatment, and evidence available for each drug or drug combination. Each question was answered by two specialists, and then the answers were consolidated in two phases: review and consensus by all participants. The questions answered are practical questions and help select from among the many options the best treatment for each patient and his/her peculiarities.


Author(s):  
Richard Kerridge

This article examines the relationship among the issues of urgency, depth, provisionality, and temporality in ecocritical approaches to evaluating literary form and genre. It analyzes the criteria by which ecocritical judgments about texts are reached and suggests that ecocritics should evaluate texts from the viewpoint of environmental concern and be able to introduce environmental criteria into general cultural debate. It highlights the fact the many ecocritics feel that their work has an activist mission and cites the global warming issue as an example.


PEDIATRICS ◽  
1951 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 207-209
Author(s):  
P. VOGEL ◽  
R. E. ROSENFIELD ◽  
M. STEINBERG

THE maintenance of proper body temperature has been a serious problem in the performance of exchange transfusions on newborn infants suffering from hemolytic disease. Many of these infants are in such poor condition that extreme care in their handling is required, including incubation, oxygen and tracheal aspiration. The many procedures necessary create the hazard of prolonged exposure to room temperature, and a number of deaths may have resulted directly or indirectly from hypothermia. In the Children's Hospital in Boston, the entire exchange transfusion is carried out with the infant lying in a Hess bed; this is an ideal situation which undoubtedly is not readily available in most institutions where an exchange transfusion must be performed. The maintenance of body temperature with electric heating pads and/or hot water bottles has proved cumbersome and unsatisfactory, and has resulted in a number of burns, particularly about the buttocks. A washable electric blanket bunting has been designed (see Figs. and 2) to maintain the temperature of newborn infants throughout the procedure of an exchange transfusion, as well as for a period following the procedure, if a heated crib is not available. This bunting was constructed by the General Electric Company using water-proof washable material and employing the principles of the commercial electric blanket. The bunting can be regulated to any desired temperature although the maximum temperature obtainable is 42°C., which avoids the possibility of skin burns. The design of the bunting is simple: it is a bag with a zipper along one side to allow for easy insertion and removal of the baby, and a "U" shaped zippered flap which can be opened to provide a window at the approximate position of the umbilical cord.


2021 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Tripat Kaur ◽  
Chenni S. Sriram ◽  
Utkarsh Kohli

Abstract Hyperthermia is defined as an elevated body temperature above the normal range due to a failure of heat regulatory mechanisms. In addition to its effects on other organ systems, hyperthermia is associated with profound cardiovascular effects. We report the sentinel case of a 6-year-old girl with structurally and electrically normal heart, who presented with life-threatening hyperpyrexia-induced ventricular tachycardia, which was refractory to cardioversion and anti-arrhythmics but responded promptly to cooling. We emphasise the lifesaving role of immediate and aggressive cooling in such patients.


Author(s):  
Stephen Widdicombe ◽  
John I. Spicer

The vast majority of the seafloor is covered not in rocky or biogenic reefs but in unconsolidated sediments and, consequently, the majority of marine biodiversity consists of invertebrates either residing in (infauna) or on (epifauna) sediments (Snelgrove 1999). The biodiversity within these sediments is a result of complex interactions between the underlying environmental conditions (e.g. depth, temperature, organic supply, and granulometry) and the biological interactions operating between organisms (e.g. predation and competition). Not only are sediments important depositories of biodiversity but they are also critical components in many key ecosystem functions. Nowhere is this more apparent than in shallow coastal seas and oceans which, despite covering less than 10% of the earth’s surface, deliver up to 30% of marine production and 90% of marine fisheries (Gattuso et al. 1998). These areas are also the site for 80% of organic matter burial and 90% of sedimentary mineralization and nutrient–sediment biogeochemical processes. They also act as the sink for up to 90% of the suspended load in the world’s rivers and the many associated contaminants this material contains (Gattuso et al. 1998). Human beings depend heavily on the goods and services provided, for free, by the marine realm (Hassan et al. 2005 ) and it is no coincidence that nearly 70% of all humans live within 60 km of the sea or that 75% of all cities with more than 10 million inhabitants are in the coastal zone (Small and Nicholls 2003; McGranahan et al. 2007) Given these facts, it is clear that any broad-scale environmental impact that affects the diversity, structure, and function of sediment ecosystems could have a considerable impact on human health and well-being. It is therefore essential that the impacts of ocean acidification on sediment fauna, and the ecosystem functions they support, are adequately considered. This chapter will first describe the geochemical environment within which sediment organisms live. It will then explore the role that sediment organisms play as ecosystem engineers and how they alter the environment in which they live and the overall biodiversity of sediment communities.


1977 ◽  
Vol 42 (5) ◽  
pp. 694-698 ◽  
Author(s):  
L. C. Wang ◽  
R. E. Peter

Unanesthetized, male rats were exposed to normal air (NA), or NA and a 4 h-exposure of He-O2 (79% helium, 21% oxygen) at ambient temperature (Ta) of 22 or - 10 degrees C. Blood samples from each individual were taken from a chronically implanted carotid cannula at 1) preexposure, 2) during exposure, 3) 2.5 h after exposure, and 4) 19–20 h after exposure. Exposure to He-O2 at 22 degrees C caused an increase in plasma free fatty acids (FFA) and corticosterone of 45% and 49%, respectively, with little change in plasma glucose and thyroxine. Exposure to He-O2 at 10 degrees C for 3 h invariably induced hypothermia with body temperature (Tb) decreased to 23.7 +- 0.5 degrees C (N = 10). During hypothermia, plasma glucose, FFA, and corticosterone were significantly higher (P LESS THAN 0.05) than those at preexposure and those after exposure to NA at -10 degrees C. During spontaneous recovery from hypothermia, at Ta = 19 degrees C and NA, glucose, corticosterone, and thyroxine returned to normal, but FFA remained significantly higher than at preexposure. The ability of animals to rewarm spontaneously from hypothermia and the quick return of metabolic substrates and hormones to normal after rewarming indicates the preservation of regulatory mechanisms for metabolism at depressed Tb when hypothermia is induced by He-O2 and cold.


2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Éva Szentirmai ◽  
Levente Kapás

AbstractNicotinic acid has been used for decades for its antiatherogenic properties in humans. Its actions on lipid metabolism intersect with multiple sleep regulatory mechanisms, but its effects on sleep have never been documented. For the first time, we investigated the effects of acute systemic administration of nicotinic acid on sleep in mice. Intraperitoneal and oral gavage administration of nicotinic acid elicited robust increases in non-rapid-eye movement sleep (NREMS) and decreases in body temperature, energy expenditure and food intake. Preventing hypothermia did not affect its sleep-inducing actions suggesting that altered sleep is not secondary to decreased body temperature. Systemic administration of nicotinamide, a conversion product of nicotinic acid, did not affect sleep amounts and body temperature, indicating that it is not nicotinamide that underlies these actions. Systemic administration of monomethyl fumarate, another agonist of the nicotinic acid receptor GPR109A, fully recapitulated the somnogenic and thermoregulatory effects of nicotinic acid suggesting that they are mediated by the GPR109A receptor. The cyclooxygenase inhibitor indomethacin completely abolished the effects of nicotinic acid indicating that prostaglandins play a key role in mediating the sleep and thermoregulatory responses of nicotinic acid.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document