Extreme environmental events can strongly affect coastal marine ecosystems but are typically unpredictable. Reliable data on benthic community conditions before such events are rarely available, ...making it difficult to measure their effects. At the end of October 2018, a severe storm hit the Ligurian coast (NW Mediterranean) producing damages to coastal infrastructures. Thanks to recent data collected just before the event on two Posidonia oceanica seagrass meadows hit by the storm, it has been possible to assess the impact of the event on one of the most valuable habitats of the Mediterranean Sea. By means of seagrass cover and depth data gathered along four depth transects positioned within the two meadows in areas differently exposed to the storm waves, and by using models (WW3® + SWAN + XBeach 1D) to evaluate wave height and bed shear stress, we showed that meadows experienced erosion and burial phenomena according to exposure. Paradoxically, meadows in good conditions suffered more damage as compared to those already suffering from previous local anthropogenic impacts. Besides the direct effect of waves in terms of plant uprooting, a major loss of P. oceanica was due to sediment burial in the deepest parts of the meadows. Overall, the loss of living P. oceanica cover amounted to about 50%. Considering that previous research showed that the loss of the original surface of P. oceanica meadows in 160 years due to anthropogenic pressures was similarly around 50%, the present study documented that an extreme environmental event can generate in a single day a loss of natural capital equal to that produced gradually by more than a century of human impact.
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•Extreme weather events may affect severely the submerged benthic habitats.•Posidonia oceanica meadows halved their living cover.•The loss of P. oceanica in one day equate that lost in 160 years by human impact.
Within the Gulf of Aden, Djibouti is an important site where whale sharks (
Rhincodon typus
Smith 1828) aggregate seasonally; however, up to now, only few studies have been carried out in the area ...(Rowat et al. in Environ Biol Fishes, 2007.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10641-006-9148-7
; Mar Freshw Res, 2011.
https://doi.org/10.1071/MF10135
; Rezzolla and Storai in Cybium 34:195–206, 2010). From 2015 to 2018, whale shark photo-id, skin biopsies, and zooplankton samples were collected to investigate the ecology of this species in Djibouti. Of the 190 photo-identified individuals, the majority were juvenile males, confirming a significant male-based aggregation (
X
2
= 65,
df
= 1,
p
< 0.0001). Within each season, the maximum number of times an individual was re-sighted was 11, while the inter-annual re-sighting rates varied between 11 and 32%. Animals were feeding on surface zooplankton, consisting primarily of copepods (85%); however, Chaetognatha and Ctenophora appeared to be important taxa as well, since the areas most visited were also those with higher concentration of these organisms. Feeding zooplankton patches had a mean biomass of 42.2 ± 31.9 mg m
−3
, almost 1.5 higher than control stations, indicating that the abundance of this species was positively related to food availability. Furthermore, whale sharks exhibited a clear temporal distribution associated with the variation in zooplankton biomass due to the monsoon winds. Sharks aggregated in October–February, with a peak in sightings in November, and dispersed outside the upwelling season. δ
13
C values suggested that whale sharks might migrate to other habitats or shift their activities to deeper areas outside the aggregation phase. Little intra-specific variation in δ
15
N and δ
13
C was found between animals, suggesting a similar habitat use.
In patients with ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), guidelines recommend antibiotic therapy adjustment according to microbiology results after 72 h. Circulating procalcitonin levels may provide ...evidence that facilitates the reduction of antibiotic therapy. In a multicentre, randomised, controlled trial, 101 patients with VAP were assigned to an antibiotic discontinuation strategy according to guidelines (control group) or to serum procalcitonin concentrations (procalcitonin group) with an antibiotic regimen selected by the treating physician. The primary end-point was antibiotic-free days alive assessed 28 days after VAP onset and analysed on an intent-to-treat basis. Procalcitonin determination significantly increased the number of antibiotic free-days alive 28 days after VAP onset (13 (2-21) days versus 9.5 (1.5-17) days). This translated into a reduction in the overall duration of antibiotic therapy of 27% in the procalcitonin group (p = 0.038). After adjustment for age, microbiology and centre effect, the rate of antibiotic discontinuation on day 28 remained higher in the procalcitonin group compared with patients treated according to guidelines (hazard rate 1.6, 95% CI 1.02-2.71). The number of mechanical ventilation-free days alive, intensive care unit-free days alive, length of hospital stay and mortality rate on day 28 for the two groups were similar. Serum procalcitonin reduces antibiotic therapy exposure in patients with ventilator associated pneumonia.
Individuals with COPD may present reduced peripheral muscle strength, leading to impaired mobility. Comprehensive pulmonary rehabilitation (PR) should include strength training, in particular to ...lower limbs. Furthermore, simple tools for the assessment of peripheral muscle performance are required.
To assess the peripheral muscle performance of COPD patients by the sit-to-stand test (STST), as compared to the one-repetition maximum (1-RM), considered as the gold standard for assessing muscle strength in non-laboratory situations, and to evaluate the responsiveness of STST to a PR program.
Sixty moderate-to-severe COPD inpatients were randomly included into either the specific strength training group or into the usual PR program group. Patients were assessed on a 30-second STST and 1-minute STST, 1-RM, and 6-minute walking test (6MWT), before and after PR. Bland-Altman plots were used to evaluate the agreement between 1-RM and STST.
The two groups were not different at baseline. In all patients, 1-RM was significantly related to the 30-second STST (r=0.48, P<0.001) and to 1-minute STST (r=0.36, P=0.005). The 30-second STST was better tolerated in terms of the perceived fatigue (P=0.002) and less time consuming (P<0.001) test. In the specific strength training group significant improvements were observed in the 30-second STST (P<0.001), 1-minute STST (P=0.005), 1-RM (P<0.001), and in the 6MWT (P=0.001). In the usual PR program group, significant improvement was observed in the 30-second STST (P=0.042) and in the 6MWT (P=0.001).
Our study shows that in stable moderate-to-severe inpatients with COPD, STST is a valid and reliable tool to assess peripheral muscle performance of lower limbs, and is sensitive to a specific PR program.
A rapid temperature increase in the 1980-90s has been accompanied by dramatic and unprecedented changes in the biota and communities of the Ligurian Sea. This review uses existing historical series ...(a few of which have been purposely updated) to assess extent and consequences of such changes. A number of warm-water species, previously absent or occasional in the comparatively cold Ligurian Sea, has recently established thanks to warmer winters. Occurrence among them of invasive alien species is causing concern because of their capacity of outcompeting autochthonous species. Summer heatwaves, on the other hand, caused mass mortalities in marine organisms, some of which found refuge at depth. New marine diseases appeared, as well as other dysfunctions such as the formation of mucilage aggregates that suffocated and entangled benthic organisms. Human pressures have combined with climate change to cause phase shifts (i.e., abrupt variations in species composition and community structure) in different habitats, such as the pelagic environment, seagrass meadows, rocky reefs, and marine caves. These phase shifts implied biotic homogenization, reduction of diversity, and dominance by invasive aliens, and may be detrimental to the resilience of Ligurian Sea ecosystems. Another phase of rapid warming has possibly started in the 2010s and there are clues pointing to a further series of biological changes, but data are too scarce to date for proper assessment. Only well addressed long-term studies will help understanding the future dynamics of Ligurian Sea ecosystems and their possibilities of recovery.
Violent behaviour (VB) occurs in first episode of schizophrenia and can have devastating impact both on victims and patients themselves. A better knowledge of the underlying mechanisms of VB may pave ...the way to preventive treatments.
1) To explore the nature of the link between impulsivity and VB in early psychosis (EP) patients; 2) To explore the interactions between impulsivity and substance abuse, insight, and positive symptoms, the main dynamic risk factors of VB described to date.
Post hoc analysis of data acquired in the frame of a 36-months EP cohort study. A total of 265 EP patients, aged 18 to 35, treated at TIPP (Treatment and early Intervention in Psychosis Program), at the Department of Psychiatry in Lausanne, Switzerland, were included in the study. Logistic regression analyzes were performed as well as mediation analysis and interaction analysis
Our data suggest that impulsivity is a predictor of VB when analyzed independently and as part of a multi-factorial model. Impulsivity continues to differentiate violent patients from non-violent ones at the end of the program. In addition, the relationship between impulsivity and VB is not mediated by substance abuse. Finally, the effect of impulsivity on the probability of VB is potentiated by the interaction of different levels of insight and positive symptoms.
Early intervention strategies in psychotic disorders should include evaluation of impulsivity considering it is linked to increased risk of VB and may respond to treatment.
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