scholarly journals Molecular Approaches for Analyzing Organismal and Environmental Interactions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephanie Fern Hudon
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Telomere Length ◽  
Topic Model ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Sagebrush Steppe ◽  
American Kestrel ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Model Approach

Our planet is undergoing rapid change due to the expanding human population and climate change, which leads to extreme weather events and habitat loss. It is more important than ever to develop methods which can monitor the impact we are having on the biodiversity of our planet. To influence policy changes in wildlife and resource management practices we need to provide measurable evidence of how we are affecting animal health and fitness and the ecosystems needed for their survival. We also need to pool our resources and work in interdisciplinary teams to find common threads which can help preserve biodiversity and vital habitats. This dissertation showcases how improved molecular biology assays and data analysis approaches can help monitor the fitness of animal populations within changing ecosystems. Chapter 1 details the development of a universal telomere assay for vertebrates. Recent work has shown the utility of telomere assays in tracking animal health. Telomere lengths can predict extinction events in animal populations, life span, and fitness consequences of anthropogenic activity. Telomere length assays are an improvement over other methods of measuring animal stress, such as cortisol levels, since they are stable during capture and sampling of animals. This dissertation provides a telomere length assay which can be used for any vertebrate. The assay was developed using a quantitative polymerase chain reaction platform which requires low DNA input and is rapid. This dissertation also demonstrates how this assay improves on current telomere assays developed for mice and can be used in a vertebrate not previously assayed for telomere lengths, the American kestrel. This work has the potential to propel research in vertebrate systems forward as it alleviates the need to develop new reference primers for each species of interest. This improved assay has shown promise in studies in mouse cell line studies, American kestrels, golden eagles, five species of passerine birds, osprey, northern goshawks and bighorn sheep. Chapter 2 presents a machine learning analysis, using a topic model approach, to integrate big data from remote sensing, leaf area index surveys, metabolomics and metagenomics to analyze community composition in cross-disciplinary datasets. Topic models were applied to understand community organization across a range of distinct, but connected, biological scales within the sagebrush steppe. The sagebrush steppe is home to several threatened species, including the pygmy rabbit (Brachylagus idahoensis) and sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus). It covers vast swaths of the western United States and is subject to habitat fragmentation and land use conversion for both farming and rangeland use. It is also threatened by increases in fire events which can dramatically alter the landscape. Restoration efforts have been hampered by a lack of resources and often by inadequate collaboration between stakeholders and scientists. This work brought together scientists from four disciplines: remote sensing, field ecology, metabolomics and metagenomics, to provide a framework for how studies can be designed and analyzed that integrate patterns of biodiversity from multiple scales, from the molecular to the landscape scale. A topic model approach was used which groups features (chemicals, bacterial and plant taxa, and light spectrum) into “communities” which in turn can be analyzed for their presence within individual samples and time points. Within the landscape, I found communities which contain encroaching plant species, such as juniper (Juniperus spp.) and cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum). Within plants, I found chemicals which are known toxins to herbivores. Within herbivores, I identified differences in bacterial taxonomical communities associated with changes in diet. This work will help to inform restoration efforts and provide a road map for designing interdisciplinary studies.

The impact of novel lyssavirus discovery

2017 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ashley C Banyard ◽  
Anthony R Fooks
Keyword(s):  
Rabies Virus ◽  
Human Exposure ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Potential Effect ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Human Society ◽  
Scientific Interest ◽  
Animal Populations ◽  
Potential Impact ◽  
The Impact

The global discovery of novel lyssaviruses is of continued scientific interest through its importance to both public and animal health. Lyssaviruses cause an invariably fatal encephalitis that is more commonly known as rabies. The term rabies has a long history in human society, as rabies virus (RABV) is the only pathogen that is associated with 100% fatality once the onset of clinical disease has started. Although predominantly associated across the globe with domestic and feral dog populations, the association of bats is clear. Whilst evolutionarily associated with bats, RABV is most commonly transmitted to human populations through the bite of an infected dog and dogs are considered the primary reservoir of disease. Indeed, RABV does cause more than an estimated 70000 deaths every year globally in human populations and whilst this is largely in areas where the disease is endemic, areas that remain free of rabies must remain vigilant to the risk of re-incursion of disease. Characterisation of novel lyssaviruses is of importance on several levels. Not least to investigate the pathogenesis and potential transmission routes of different lyssavirus species but also to assess the potential effect of post-exposure treatments and vaccination should human exposure occur. Bat lyssaviruses and the problems associated with novel discoveries and the potential impact they have on both human and animal populations are discussed.

scholarly journals Establishing an operational system for assessment and forecasting the impact of extreme weather events on crop production

MAUSAM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 67 (1) ◽  
pp. 289-296
Author(s):  
SHIBENDU S. RAY ◽  
SURESH K. SINGH ◽  
NEETU . ◽  
S. MAMATHA
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Case Studies ◽  
Crop Production ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Extreme Weather ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Wheat Crop ◽  
Production Forecasting ◽  
Weather Events ◽  
The Impact

Crop production forecasting is essential for various economic policy and decision making. There is a very successful operational programme in the country, called FASAL, which uses multiple approaches for pre-harvest production forecasting.  With the increase in the frequency of extreme events and their large-scale impact on agriculture, there is a strong need to use remote sensing technology for assessing the impact.  Various works have been done in this direction. This article provides three such case studies, where remote sensing along with other data have been used for assessment of flood inundation of rice crop post Phailin cyclone, period operational district/sub-district level drought assessment and understanding the impact of recent hailstorm/unseasonal rainfall on wheat crop. The case studies highlight the great scope of remote sensing data for assessment of the impact of extreme weather events on crop production.

scholarly journals Examining the Impact of Keyword Ambiguity on Search Advertising Performance: A Topic Model Approach

MIS Quarterly ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 42 (3) ◽  
pp. 805-829 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jing Gong ◽  
◽  
Vibhanshu Abhisek ◽  
Beibei Li ◽  
◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Topic Model ◽  
Search Advertising ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Model Approach

New meteorological products based on Sentinel-1 and GNSS

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giovanni Nico ◽  
Francesco Vespe ◽  
Olimpia Masci ◽  
Pedro Mateus ◽  
João Catalão ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Water Vapor ◽  
Precipitable Water ◽  
Propagation Delay ◽  
Precipitable Water Vapor ◽  
Sar Interferometry ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Geophysical Research ◽  
Gnss Data ◽  
The Impact

<p>Recently, the SAR Meteorology technique has demostrated the advantages of assimilating Sentinel-1 maps of Precipitable Water Vapor (PWV) in high resolution Numerical Weather Models (NWP) when forecasting extreme weather events [1]. The impact of Sentinel-1 information on NWP forecast depends on the acquisition parameters of Sentinel-1 images and the physical status of atmosphere [2]. Besides meteorological applications, enhancing NWP forecast could have an impact also on the mitigation of atmospheric artifacts in SAR interferometry applications based on NWP simulations [3].</p><p>This work describes a methodology to provide measurements of microwave propagation delay in troposphere. The proposed methodology is based on the processing of Sentinel-1 and GNSS data. In particular, Sentinel-1 images are processed by means of SAR Interferometry technique to get measurements of propagation delay in troposphere over land assuming that phase contribution due terrain displacements can be neglected. To fulfil this condition, the interferometric processing is carried out on Sentinel-1 images having the shortest temporal baseline of six days. Interferometric coherence is used to select portions of the interferogram where to estimates of PWV and the corresponding precision are provided. GNSS measurements of propagation delay in atmosphere are used to validate the Sentinel-1 measurements and derive a quality figure of PWV maps. A procedure is presented to concatenate PWV maps in time in order to derive a time series of spatially dense PWV measurements and the corresponding precisions.</p><p>Furthermore, Radio Occultation (RO) profiles are obtained by processing GNSS data. Profiles will be used to derive an estimate of propagation delay in troposphere over sea. In such a way, maps of propagation delay in atmosphere over both land and sea, even though characterized by a different spatial density of measurements, will be provided.</p><p>The study area includes the Basilicata, Calabria and Apulia regions and the Gulf of Taranto, southern Italy.</p><p>This work was supported by the Ministero dell'Istruzione, dell'Università e della Ricerca (MIUR), Italy, under the project OT4CLIMA.</p><p>References</p><p>[1] P. Mateus, J. Catalão, G. Nico, “Sentinel-1 interferometric SAR mapping of precipitable water vapor over a country-spanning area”, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 55(5), 2993-2999, 2017.</p><p>[2] P.M.A. Miranda, P. Mateus, G. Nico, J. Catalão, R. Tomé, M. Nogueira, “InSAR meteorology: High‐resolution geodetic data can increase atmospheric predictability”, Geophysical Research Letters, 46(5), 2949-2955, 2019.</p><p>[3] G. Nico, R. Tome, J. Catalao, P.M.A. Miranda, “On the use of the WRF model to mitigate tropospheric phase delay effects in SAR interferograms”, IEEE Transactions on Geoscience and Remote Sensing, 49(12), 4970-4976, 2011.</p>

Оrganic Meat Production of Broiler Chickens Hubbard Redbro Cross

2020 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Broiler Chickens ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Meat Products ◽  
Poultry Meat ◽  
Meat Production ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
Environmentally Safe ◽  
The Impact

This article presents the results of studying the impact of housing and feeding conditions on broiler chickens of Hubbard RedBro cross, as well as the quality of products obtained when using floor and cage content, in a farm. It established that when receiving a mixed feed of own production using feed raw materials grown on a farm without the use of pesticides, a statistically significant decrease in potentially dangerous substances for animal health is recorded. Compared with factory feed, it has reduced the content of pesticides by 14 times, and mercury and arsenic by 24 times, cadmium by five times, and lead by ten times. The results of the study of economic indicators of growing Hubbard RedBro cross broiler chickens, as well as the chemical composition and quality of carcasses, indicated that there was no significant difference between the floor and cell conditions of keeping. Still, the use of a diet based on eco-feeds contributed to a statistically significant decrease in the concentration of toxic metals in the muscles of the poultry of the experimental groups. As a result, it found that the use of the studied compound feed in the diets of broiler chickens increased the indicators of Biosafety and ensured the production of environmentally safe ("organic") poultry meat products.

Impact of LULC Changes on LST in Rajshahi District of Bangladesh: A Remote Sensing Approach

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 11-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
Abdulla Al Kafy ◽  
Abdullah Al-Faisal ◽  
Mohammad Mahmudul Hasan ◽  
Md. Soumik Sikdar ◽  
Mohammad Hasib Hasan Khan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Remote Sensing ◽  
Surface Temperature ◽  
Land Surface ◽  
Agricultural Land ◽  
Global Climate ◽  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Water Bodies ◽  
Landsat 8 ◽  
Lulc Changes ◽  
The Impact

Urbanization has been contributing more in global climate warming, with more than 50% of the population living in cities. Rapid population growth and change in land use / land cover (LULC) are closely linked. The transformation of LULC due to rapid urban expansion significantly affects the functions of biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as local and regional climates. Improper planning and uncontrolled management of LULC changes profoundly contribute to the rise of urban land surface temperature (LST). This study evaluates the impact of LULC changes on LST for 1997, 2007 and 2017 in the Rajshahi district (Bangladesh) using multi-temporal and multi-spectral Landsat 8 OLI and Landsat 5 TM satellite data sets. The analysis of LULC changes exposed a remarkable increase in the built-up areas and a significant decrease in the vegetation and agricultural land. The built-up area was increased almost double in last 20 years in the study area. The distribution of changes in LST shows that built-up areas recorded the highest temperature followed by bare land, vegetation and agricultural land and water bodies. The LULC-LST profiles also revealed the highest temperature in built-up areas and the lowest temperature in water bodies. In the last 20 years, LST was increased about 13ºC. The study demonstrates decrease in vegetation cover and increase in non-evaporating surfaces with significantly increases the surface temperature in the study area. Remote-sensing techniques were found one of the suitable techniques for rapid analysis of urban expansions and to identify the impact of urbanization on LST.

scholarly journals BOARD INVITED REVIEW: The pig microbiota and the potential for harnessing the power of the microbiome to improve growth and health1

2019 ◽  
Vol 97 (9) ◽  
pp. 3741-3757 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nirosh D Aluthge ◽  
Dana M Van Sambeek ◽  
Erin E Carney-Hinkle ◽  
Yanshuo S Li ◽  
Samodha C Fernando ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gastrointestinal Tract ◽  
Gut Microbiota ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Animal Health ◽  
Microbial Colonization ◽  
Critical Importance ◽  
Specific Host ◽  
Microbiome Research ◽  
Health And Disease ◽  
The Impact

Abstract A variety of microorganisms inhabit the gastrointestinal tract of animals including bacteria, archaea, fungi, protozoa, and viruses. Pioneers in gut microbiology have stressed the critical importance of diet:microbe interactions and how these interactions may contribute to health status. As scientists have overcome the limitations of culture-based microbiology, the importance of these interactions has become more clear even to the extent that the gut microbiota has emerged as an important immunologic and metabolic organ. Recent advances in metagenomics and metabolomics have helped scientists to demonstrate that interactions among the diet, the gut microbiota, and the host to have profound effects on animal health and disease. However, although scientists have now accumulated a great deal of data with respect to what organisms comprise the gastrointestinal landscape, there is a need to look more closely at causative effects of the microbiome. The objective of this review is intended to provide: 1) a review of what is currently known with respect to the dynamics of microbial colonization of the porcine gastrointestinal tract; 2) a review of the impact of nutrient:microbe effects on growth and health; 3) examples of the therapeutic potential of prebiotics, probiotics, and synbiotics; and 4) a discussion about what the future holds with respect to microbiome research opportunities and challenges. Taken together, by considering what is currently known in the four aforementioned areas, our overarching goal is to set the stage for narrowing the path towards discovering how the porcine gut microbiota (individually and collectively) may affect specific host phenotypes.

scholarly journals Urban Heat Islands and Thermal Comfort: A Case Study of Zorrotzaurre Island in Bilbao

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (11) ◽  
pp. 6106
Author(s):  
Irantzu Alvarez ◽  
Laura Quesada-Ganuza ◽  
Estibaliz Briz ◽  
Leire Garmendia
Keyword(s):  
Thermal Comfort ◽  
Heat Waves ◽  
Urban Environments ◽  
Urban Heat Islands ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Climate Index ◽  
Physiological Equivalent Temperature ◽  
Heat Islands ◽  
The North ◽  
The Impact

This study assesses the impact of a heat wave on the thermal comfort of an unconstructed area: the North Zone of the Island of Zorrotzaurre (Bilbao, Spain). In this study, the impact of urban planning as proposed in the master plan on thermal comfort is modeled using the ENVI-met program. Likewise, the question of whether the urbanistic proposals are designed to create more resilient urban environments is analyzed in the face of increasingly frequent extreme weather events, especially heat waves. The study is centered on the analysis of temperature variables (air temperature and average radiant temperature) as well as wind speed and relative humidity. This was completed with the parameters of thermal comfort, the physiological equivalent temperature (PET) and the Universal Temperature Climate Index (UTCI) for the hours of the maximum and minimum daily temperatures. The results demonstrated the viability of analyzing thermal comfort through simulations with the ENVI-met program in order to analyze the behavior of urban spaces in various climate scenarios.

scholarly journals Potential Impact of the Current and Future Climate on the Yield, Quality, and Climate Suitability for Tea [Camellia sinensis (L.) O. Kuntze]: A Systematic Review

Agronomy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 619
Author(s):  
Sadeeka Layomi Jayasinghe ◽  
Lalit Kumar
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Extreme Weather Events ◽  
Impact Of Climate Change ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages ◽  
Tea Quality ◽  
Climate Suitability ◽  
Yield Quality ◽  
The Impact

Even though climate change is having an increasing impact on tea plants, systematic reviews on the impact of climate change on the tea system are scarce. This review was undertaken to assess and synthesize the knowledge around the impacts of current and future climate on yield, quality, and climate suitability for tea; the historical roots and the most influential papers on the aforementioned topics; and the key adaptation and mitigation strategies that are practiced in tea fields. Our findings show that a large number of studies have focused on the impact of climate change on tea quality, followed by tea yield, while a smaller number of studies have concentrated on climate suitability. Three pronounced reference peaks found in Reference Publication Year Spectroscopy (RYPS) represent the most significant papers associated with the yield, quality, and climate suitability for tea. Tea yield increases with elevated CO2 levels, but this increment could be substantially affected by an increasing temperature. Other climatic factors are uneven rainfall, extreme weather events, and climate-driven abiotic stressors. An altered climate presents both advantages and disadvantages for tea quality due to the uncertainty of the concentrations of biochemicals in tea leaves. Climate change creates losses, gains, and shifts of climate suitability for tea habitats. Further studies are required in order to fill the knowledge gaps identified through the present review, such as an investigation of the interaction between the tea plant and multiple environmental factors that mimic real-world conditions and then studies on its impact on the tea system, as well as the design of ensemble modeling approaches to predict climate suitability for tea. Finally, we outline multifaceted and evidence-based adaptive and mitigation strategies that can be implemented in tea fields to alleviate the undesirable impacts of climate change.

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