Ecotoxicological effects of commercial herbicides on the reproductive system of aquatic arthropod Limnocoris submontandoni (Hemiptera: Naucoridae)

Worldwide, conventional agriculture makes extensive use of pesticides. Although the effects of herbicides are relatively well known in terms of environmental impacts on non-target organisms, there is very little scientific evidence regarding the impacts of herbicide residues on aquatic arthropods from tropical conservation areas. This study evaluates for the first time the toxicity of the herbicides ametryn, atrazine, and clomazone on the aquatic insect Limnocoris submontandoni (Hemiptera: Naucoridae). The lethal concentration (LC50) of herbicides was evaluated for these insects, as well as the effect of the herbicides on the insects’ tissues and testicles. The estimated LC50 was 1012.41, 192.42, and 46.09 mg/L for clomazone, atrazine, and ametryn, respectively. Spermatocyte and spermatid changes were observed under the effect of atrazine, and effects on spermatogenesis were observed for some concentrations of clomazone, with apparent recovery after a short time. Our results provide useful information on the effects of herbicide residues in aquatic systems. This information can help minimize the risk of long-term reproductive effects in non-target species that have been previously overlooked in ecotoxicology studies.

Effects of Generic and Subject-Didactic Teaching Characteristics on Student Performance in Mathematics in Secondary School: A Scoping Review

<p style="text-align: justify;">Research on instructional quality has been of great interest for several decades, leading to an immense and diverse body of literature. However, due to different definitions and operationalisations, the picture of what characteristics are important for instructional quality is not entirely clear. Therefore, in this paper, a scoping review was performed to provide an overview of existing evidence of both generic and subject-didactic characteristics with regard to student performance. More precisely, this paper aims to (a) identify both generic and subject-didactic characteristics affecting student performance in mathematics in secondary school, (b) cluster these characteristics into categories to show areas for quality teaching, and (c) analyse and assess the effects of these characteristics on student performance to rate the scientific evidence in the context of the articles considered. The results reveal that teaching characteristics, and not just the instruments for recording the quality of teaching as described in previous research, can be placed on a continuum ranging from generic to subject-didactic. Moreover, on account of the inconsistent definition of subject-didactic characteristics, the category of ‘subject-didactic specifics’ needs further development to establish it as a separate category in empirical research. Finally, this study represents a further step toward understanding the effects of teaching characteristics on student performance by providing an overview of teaching characteristics and their effects and evidence.</p>

Earthquake weather and climate change: Should we stress about the forecast?

ABSTRACT Relationships between the weather and earthquakes have been suspected for over 2400 yr. However, scientific evidence to support such relationships has grown only since the 1980s. Because faults in Earth’s crust are generally regarded as critically stressed, small changes in stress and pore-fluid pressure brought about by rainfall, snow, and atmospheric pressure and temperature variations have all been proposed to modulate seismicity at local and regional scales. Elastic static stress changes as low as 0.07 kPa and pore-fluid pressure changes as low as 0.5 kPa have been proposed to naturally trigger earthquakes. In the UK, the spatial distributions of onshore earthquakes and rainfall are highly nonuniform and may be related; the wetter and most naturally seismically active areas occur on the west side of the country. We found significant spatial and temporal relationships between rainfall amount and the number of earthquakes for 1980–2012, suggesting larger volumes of rainfall promote earthquake nucleation. Such relationships occur when human-induced seismicity is included or excluded, indicating that meteorological conditions can also modulate seismicity induced by subsurface anthropogenic activities such as coal mining. No significant relationships were observed for monthly time lags, suggesting that the triggering effect of rainfall in the UK is near-instantaneous or occurs within 1 mo. With global climate changing rapidly and extreme weather events occurring more frequently, it is possible that some global regions may also experience changes in the spatial and temporal occurrence of earthquakes in response to changes in meteorologically induced stress perturbations.

Harnessing Moral Psychology to Reduce Meat Consumption

How can we make moral progress on factory farming? Part of the answer lies in human moral psychology. Meat consumption remains high, despite increased awareness of its negative impact on animal welfare. Weakness of will is part of the explanation: acceptance of the ethical arguments doesn’t always motivate changes in dietary habits. However, we draw on scientific evidence to argue that many consumers aren’t fully convinced that they morally ought to reduce their meat consumption. We then identify two key psychological mechanisms—motivated reasoning and social proof—that lead people to resist the ethical reasons. Finally, we show how to harness these psychological mechanisms to encourage reductions in meat consumption. A central lesson for moral progress generally is that durable social change requires socially-embedded reasoning.

How much Fear? Exploring the Role of Integral Emotions on Stated Preferences for Wildlife Conservation

Scientific evidence suggests that emotions affect actual human decision-making, particularly in highly emotionally situations such as human-wildlife interactions. In this study we assess the role of fear on preferences for wildlife conservation, using a discrete choice experiment. The sample was split into two treatment groups and a control. In the treatment groups the emotion of fear towards wildlife was manipulated using two different pictures of a wolf, one fearful and one reassuring, which were presented to respondents during the experiment. Results were different for the two treatments. The assurance treatment lead to higher preferences and willingness to pay for the wolf, compared to the fear treatment and the control, for several population sizes. On the other hand, the impact of the fear treatment was lower than expected and only significant for large populations of wolves, in excess of 50 specimen. Overall, the study suggests that emotional choices may represent a source of concern for the assessment of stable preferences. The impact of emotional choices is likely to be greater in situations where a wildlife-related topic is highly emphasized, positively or negatively, by social networks, mass media, and opinion leaders. When stated preferences towards wildlife are affected by the emotional state of fear due to contextual external stimuli, welfare analysis does not reflect stable individual preferences and may lead to sub-optimal conservation policies. Therefore, while more research is recommended for a more accurate assessment, it is advised to control the decision context during surveys for potential emotional choices.

Comprehensive Analysis and Assessment of the Role of Major Bioactive Compounds Isolated from Justicia Adhatoda Leaves as Potent Antimycobacterial Agents

Tuberculosis (TB) continues to be one of the world's leading causes of death by the infectious pathogen Mycobacterium tuberculosis, which infects one-third of the global population. The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic made its spread rapid and the treatment task more daunting. With the havoc of infectious disease expansion, traditional medicines have triggered tremendous interest worldwide. However, less availability of scientific evidence still hinders its practical use. In the present study, we evaluated the potential of the traditional medicinal plant, Justicia adhatoda, which has been used to treat respiratory ailments since ancient times. We have successfully isolated and characterized several bioactive compounds viz- Vasicoline, Vasicolinone, Adhatodine, Adhavasine, Aniflorine, and Vasicinone from J. adhatoda plant leaves, including Vasicine as the principal compound, and showed their anti-tubercular activity on nutrient-starved Mycobacterium smegmatis and Mycobacterium bovis. The study also directs their in-vitro and ex-vivo antimycobacterial potential on THP1 macrophages with internalized Mycobacterium. Our study is one of its first kind, where we assessed the synergistic antimycobacterial effect of the isolated compounds with the first-line drug Isoniazid (INH). Their potential role in promoting phagolysosome fusion and apoptosis of M. bovis infected THP1 macrophages is further evaluated.

Effects of Body-Oriented Interventions on Preschoolers' Social-Emotional Competence: A Systematic Review

Objective:A growing body of evidence supports the effectiveness of body-oriented interventions (BOI) in educational contexts, showing positive influences on social-emotional competence. Nevertheless, there is a lack of systematization of the evidence regarding preschool years. This is a two-part systematic review. In this first part, we aim to examine the effects of BOI on preschoolers' social-emotional competence outcomes.Data Sources:Searches were conducted in Pubmed, Scopus, PsycInfo, ERIC, Web of Science, Portal Regional da BVS and CINAHL.Eligibility Criteria:English, French and Portuguese language articles published between January 2000 and October 2020, that evaluated the effects of BOI implemented in educational contexts on social-emotional competence of preschool children. Only randomized controlled trials (RCT) or quasi-RCT were included.Data Extraction and Synthesis:Two reviewers independently completed data extraction and risk-of-bias assessment. The level of scientific evidence was measured through the Best Evidence Synthesis.Results:Nineteen studies were included. There was strong evidence that BOI do not improve anger/aggression, delay of gratification and altruism. Nevertheless, there was moderate evidence that BOI effectively improve other social-emotional outcomes, such as empathy, social interaction, social independence, general internalizing behaviors, and general externalizing behaviors. The lack of scientific evidence was compromised by the methodological quality of the studies.Conclusion:BOI effectively improve specific social-emotional competences of preschool children.Systematic Review Registration:PROSPERO, identifier CRD42020172248.

What Will Happen to This Dog? A Qualitative Analysis of Rehoming Organisations' Pre-adoption Dog Behaviour Screening Policies and Procedures

Rehoming organisations often undertake some type of behaviour evaluation to determine dogs' suitability for rehoming and/or the type of suitable home. Assessments can carry considerable weight in determining dogs' fates. Although evaluation of the validity and reliability of any test is important, a more fundamental consideration is if the nature of the information sought and the weight given to this in organisations' decision making is of more than anecdotal value. Therefore, this study's aim was to conduct a qualitative analysis of organisations' pre-adoption dog behaviour screenings and potential justifications, comparing this with the available scientific evidence. A written enquiry was sent electronically to rehoming organisations in the UK and US from February 2016-July 2017. Of 73 respondents, the majority conducted assessments for all dogs. Using a thematic analysis, nine themes and 71 sub-themes emerged concerning the types of information respondents aim to gather from assessments. The majority of respondents used, at least partially, pass/fail scoring, i.e., certain outcomes would lead to dogs being deemed unadoptable. Forty-one sub-themes and one theme were identified as potentially leading to a dog being deemed unadoptable. The evidence base for these factors was identified from the scientific literature relating to: increased risk for relinquishment, impact on a dog's quality of life, and human safety risk. Evidence supported 10 factors: “aggression towards people”, “aggression towards cats or other animals”, “aggression towards dogs”, “biting or snapping”, “resource guarding”, “activity level or exercise needs”, “destructiveness”, “housetrained”, “fearfulness”, and “knowledge of basic commands and/or general training”. Of those, seven were associated only with relinquishment risk, two (“resource guarding”, “knowledge of basic commands”) with human safety risk, and one (“fearfulness”) with both. Thus, for &gt;85% of characteristics organisations deemed important for dogs' adoptability, scientific evidence to support this is lacking. More research is needed to investigate the value of behaviour assessments, especially concerning the assessment of factors that could pose a public safety risk. However, given the current lack of scientific support for many decisions regarding dogs' rehoming suitability and recognised pressure on resources, it is suggested that organisations should focus on pre-adoption adopter education and post-adoption support.