Unlocking the puzzle of how animals behave and how they interact with their environments is impossible without understanding the physiological processes that determine their use of food resources. ...But long overdue is a user- friendly introduction to the subject that systematically bridges the gap between physiology and ecology. Ecologists--for whom such knowledge can help clarify the consequences of global climate change, the biodiversity crisis, and pollution--often find themselves wading through an unwieldy, technically top-heavy literature. Here, William Karasov and Carlos Martínez del Rio present the first accessible and authoritative one-volume overview of the physiological and biochemical principles that shape how animals procure energy and nutrients and free themselves of toxins--and how this relates to broader ecological phenomena. After introducing primary concepts, the authors review the chemical ecology of food, and then discuss how animals digest and process food. Their broad view includes symbioses and extends even to ecosystem phenomena such as ecological stochiometry and toxicant biomagnification. They introduce key methods and illustrate principles with wide-ranging vertebrate and invertebrate examples. Uniquely, they also link the physiological mechanisms of resource use with ecological phenomena such as how and why animals choose what they eat and how they participate in the exchange of energy and materials in their biological communities. Thoroughly up-to-date and pointing the way to future research, Physiological Ecology is an essential new source for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students-and an ideal synthesis for professionals. * The most accessible introduction to the physiological and biochemical principles that shape how animals use resources * Unique in linking the physiological mechanisms of resource use with ecological phenomena * An essential resource for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students * An ideal overview for researchers
Mild or Moderate Covid-19 Gandhi, Rajesh T; Lynch, John B; del Rio, Carlos
New England journal of medicine/The New England journal of medicine,
10/2020, Volume:
383, Issue:
18
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
The diagnosis of Covid-19 is usually based on SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing of a nasopharyngeal swab or other specimen. Remdesivir and dexamethasone have benefits in hospitalized patients with severe ...Covid-19, but in patients with moderate disease, dexamethasone is not efficacious and data are insufficient to recommend for or against routine use of remdesivir.
About 10 years ago, reviews of the use of stable isotopes in animal ecology predicted explosive growth in this field and called for laboratory experiments to provide a mechanistic foundation to this ...growth. They identified four major areas of inquiry: (1) the dynamics of isotopic incorporation, (2) mixing models, (3) the problem of routing, and (4) trophic discrimination factors. Because these areas remain central to isotopic ecology, we use them as organising foci to review the experimental results that isotopic ecologists have collected in the intervening 10 years since the call for laboratory experiments. We also review the models that have been built to explain and organise experimental results in these areas.
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BFBNIB, FZAB, GIS, IJS, KILJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK
The latest updates about the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of its biology, epidemiology, clinical characteristics are discussed. The advances in approaches to screening and testing, clinical care and ...treatment, and prevention and infection control are also examined.
The impact of COVID-19 on patients with asthma Izquierdo, José Luis; Almonacid, Carlos; González, Yolanda ...
European respiratory journal/The European respiratory journal,
03/2021, Volume:
57, Issue:
3
Journal Article, Web Resource
Peer reviewed
Open access
An association between the severity of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and the presence of certain chronic conditions has been suggested. However, unlike influenza and other viruses, the disease ...burden of COVID-19 in patients with asthma has been less evident.
To understand the impact of COVID-19 in patients with asthma.
Using big-data analytics and artificial intelligence through the SAVANA Manager clinical platform, we analysed clinical data from patients with asthma from January 1 to May 10, 2020.
Out of 71 182 patients with asthma, 1006 (1.41%) suffered from COVID-19. Compared to asthmatic individuals without COVID-19, patients with asthma and COVID-19 were significantly older (55
42 years), predominantly female (66%
59%), smoked more frequently and had higher prevalence of hypertension, dyslipidaemias, diabetes and obesity. Allergy-related factors such as rhinitis and eczema were less common in asthmatic patients with COVID-19 (p<0.001). In addition, higher prevalence of these comorbidities was observed in patients with COVID-19 who required hospital admission. The use of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) was lower in patients who required hospitalisation due to COVID-19, as compared to non-hospitalised patients (48.3%
61.5%; OR 0.58, 95% CI 0.44-0.77). Although patients treated with biologics (n=865; 1.21%) showed increased severity and more comorbidities at the ear, nose and throat level, COVID-19-related hospitalisations in these patients were relatively low (0.23%).
Patients with asthma and COVID-19 were older and at increased risk due to comorbidity-related factors. ICS and biologics are generally safe and may be associated with a protective effect against severe COVID-19 infection.
Del Rio and Malani discuss how variants and subvariants of SARS-CoV-2 will affect the continually changing COVID-19 pandemic and the ways in which the spread of COVID-19 can be controlled. While it ...seemed that SARS-CoV-2 was moving toward endemicity, US infections are again rising in May 2022, and the reported number of cases is likely a gross underestimate of actual infections because many infections are unreported with increasing at-home testing. Several factors help explain the current trends: The emergence of the BA.2 subvariant of Omicron and the more recently identified subvariant called BA.2.12.1, the limited durability of protection from infection both from vaccination and prior infection, and lifting of mandates (such as mask use) and other restrictions across the country. The combination of a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection and vaccination ("hybrid immunity"), seems to confer the greatest protection against symptomatic infection although clinically, repeat infections are being seen frequently.
This Viewpoint summarizes the epidemiology and clinical features of 2019-nCoV infection and reviews CDC criteria to guide evaluation and management of patients with possible infection.
The COVID-19 Pandemic in the US: A Clinical Update Omer, Saad B; Malani, Preeti; del Rio, Carlos
JAMA : the journal of the American Medical Association,
05/2020, Volume:
323, Issue:
18
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
A summary update of the COVID-19 pandemic in the US is presented, with emphasis on issues such as case-fatality rates, interpretation of polymerase chain reaction test results, duration of immunity ...and reinfection. Overall understanding of the disease has increased, but more evidence is needed regarding the public health and clinical interventions to successfully prevent and treat infections.
The morphological and functional design of gastrointestinal tracts of many vertebrates and invertebrates can be explained largely by the interaction between diet chemical constituents and principles ...of economic design, both of which are embodied in chemical reactor models of gut function. Natural selection seems to have led to the expression of digestive features that approximately match digestive capacities with dietary loads while exhibiting relatively modest excess. Mechanisms explaining differences in hydrolase activity between populations and species include gene copy number variations and single-nucleotide polymorphisms. In many animals, both transcriptional adjustment and posttranscriptional adjustment mediate phenotypic flexibility in the expression of intestinal hydrolases and transporters in response to dietary signals. Digestive performance of animals depends also on their gastrointestinal microbiome. The microbiome seems to be characterized by large beta diversity among hosts and by a common core metagenome and seems to differ flexibly among animals with different diets.
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