Analysis of environmental DNA (eDNA) from passively collected airborne dust has demonstrated broad success for sensitive and robust detection of plants. Recent experiments at small spatial scales ...have suggested that animals can also be detected using airborne eDNA. However, airborne eDNA analysis has never been used for a long‐term whole‐community assessment of a natural terrestrial community or with passive dust collectors. We conducted a metabarcoding survey targeting vertebrate eDNA from dust carried in the air on an approximately 130‐acre shortgrass prairie passively collected over the course of a year. Our survey detected a wide variety of animal forms including an amphibian species, several bird species, and both small and large mammals. We found that airborne eDNA signals changed with known patterns of animal activity, wind speed, and rainfall. Overall, we demonstrate that passively collected airborne dust carries eDNA from terrestrial animals and could be used to detect a wide variety of terrestrial vertebrate species in a natural environment with minimal effort. To develop this as a valuable monitoring tool, research needs to focus on the ecology of eDNA carried in the air, which includes the origin, state, transport, dispersal, and fate of eDNA in the environment.
We conducted a metabarcoding survey targeting vertebrate eDNA from dust carried in the air on an approximately 130‐acre shortgrass prairie passively collected over the course of a year. Our survey detected a wide variety of animal forms including an amphibian species, several bird species, and both small and large mammals. We found that airborne eDNA signals changed with known patterns of animal activity, wind speed, and rainfall.
One of the biggest planetary challenges is the accelerating loss of biodiversity threatening ecosystem functioning on a global scale. The WWF Living Planet Report (https://livingplanet.panda.org/) ...estimates a 69% decline in populations since 1970. The Convention on Biological Diversity and related international treaties ask countries to monitor shifts in community composition and assess rates of species decline to quantify extant biodiversity relative to global targets1. However, quantifying biodiversity is a challenge, and monitoring continual change is impossible at almost any scale due to a lack of standardized data and indicators2,3. A common problem is that the required infrastructure for such global monitoring does not exist. Here, we challenge this notion by analysing environmental DNA (eDNA) captured along with particulate matter by routine ambient air quality monitoring stations in the UK. In our samples, we identified eDNA from >180 vertebrate, arthropod, plant and fungal taxa representative of local biodiversity. We contend that air monitoring networks are in fact gathering eDNA data reflecting local biodiversity on a continental scale, as a result of their routine function. In some regions, air quality samples are stored for decades, presenting the potential for high resolution biodiversity time series. With minimal modification of current protocols, this material provides the best opportunity to date for detailed monitoring of terrestrial biodiversity using an existing, replicated transnational design and it is already in operation.
Littlefair and colleagues demonstrate that networks of air quality monitoring stations also collect eDNA as a byproduct of regular operation, which may represent an opportunity to collect high resolution biodiversity data.
Understanding roosting behaviour is essential to bat conservation and biomonitoring, often providing the most accurate methods of assessing bat population size and health. However, roosts can be ...challenging to survey,
., physically impossible to access or presenting risks for researchers. Disturbance during monitoring can also disrupt natural bat behaviour and present material risks to the population such as disrupting hibernation cycles. One solution to this is the use of non-invasive monitoring approaches. Environmental (e)DNA has proven especially effective at detecting rare and elusive species particularly in hard-to-reach locations. It has recently been demonstrated that eDNA from vertebrates is carried in air. When collected in semi-confined spaces, this airborne eDNA can provide remarkably accurate profiles of biodiversity, even in complex tropical communities. In this study, we deploy novel airborne eDNA collection for the first time in a natural setting and use this approach to survey difficult to access potential roosts in the neotropics. Using airborne eDNA, we confirmed the presence of bats in nine out of 12 roosts. The identified species matched previous records of roost use obtained from photographic and live capture methods, thus demonstrating the utility of this approach. We also detected the presence of the white-winged vampire bat (
) which had never been confirmed in the area but was long suspected based on range maps. In addition to the bats, we detected several non-bat vertebrates, including the big-eared climbing rat (
), which has previously been observed in and around bat roosts in our study area. We also detected eDNA from other local species known to be in the vicinity. Using airborne eDNA to detect new roosts and monitor known populations, particularly when species turnover is rapid, could maximize efficiency for surveyors while minimizing disturbance to the animals. This study presents the first applied use of airborne eDNA collection for ecological analysis moving beyond proof of concept to demonstrate a clear utility for this technology in the wild.
Farming and sedentism first appeared in southwestern Asia during the early Holocene and later spread to neighboring regions, including Europe, along multiple dispersal routes. Conspicuous ...uncertainties remain about the relative roles of migration, cultural diffusion, and admixture with local foragers in the early Neolithization of Europe. Here we present paleogenomic data for five Neolithic individuals from northern Greece and northwestern Turkey spanning the time and region of the earliest spread of farming into Europe. We use a novel approach to recalibrate raw reads and call genotypes from ancient DNA and observe striking genetic similarity both among Aegean early farmers and with those from across Europe. Our study demonstrates a direct genetic link between Mediterranean and Central European early farmers and those of Greece and Anatolia, extending the European Neolithic migratory chain all the way back to southwestern Asia.
Cognitive functions are well-preserved for some older individuals, but the underlying brain mechanisms remain disputed. Here, 5-year longitudinal 3-back in-scanner and offline data classified ...individuals in a healthy older sample (baseline age = 64-68 years) into having stable or declining working-memory (WM). Consistent with a vital role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), WM stability or decline was related to maintained or reduced longitudinal PFC functional responses. Subsequent analyses of imaging markers of general brain maintenance revealed higher levels in the stable WM group on measures of neurotransmission and vascular health. Also, categorical and continuous analyses showed that rate of WM decline was related to global (ventricles) and local (hippocampus) measures of neuronal integrity. Thus, our findings support a role of the PFC as well as general brain maintenance in explaining heterogeneity in longitudinal WM trajectories in aging.
Little is known about bone mineral density (BMD) during pregnancy. Advances in technology with lower radiation emissions by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry instruments now permit the safe ...measurement of BMD during pregnancy.
We evaluated maternal BMD during pregnancy as a function of vitamin D status in women of diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds.
A total of 301 women who underwent BMD measurements at 12–20 wk of gestation and again at 0–14 wk postpartum were included in this analysis. Women were a subset of subjects who were recruited for a randomized, controlled, double-blind trial of vitamin D supplementation in pregnancy (400, 2000, or 4000 IU/d).
Treatment had no significant effect on changes in BMD that occurred between 12–20 wk of gestation and 0–14 wk postpartum. Similarly, changes in spine and femoral neck bone mineral contents (BMCs) were not significantly different in the treatment groups. In addition, vitamin D inadequacy (serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration, averaged across pregnancy, <50 nmol/L) was not associated with changes in BMD or BMC. There were significant racial/ethnic differences in spine BMD. African Americans lost more spine BMD than did Caucasians (−0.04 ± 0.04 compared with −0.02 ± 0.04 g/cm2; P = 0.033). In addition, baseline obesity was associated with a greater loss of femoral neck BMD. The means ± SDs of femoral neck BMD loss were −0.02 ± 0.05 and 0.0 ± 0.03 g/cm2 for groups with baseline body mass index (BMI; in kg/m2) ≥30 and <30, respectively.
These findings do not support a dose effect of vitamin D supplementation on bone health and suggest that race/ethnicity and BMI play an important role in pregnancy bone health. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT00292591.
Fetal growth restriction (FGR) is associated with increased risk for cardiovascular and renal disorders in later life. Prenatal sildenafil improves birth weight in FGR animal models. Whether ...sildenafil treatment protects against long-term cardiovascular and renal disease in these offspring is unknown. The aim of this study is to test the hypothesis that prenatal sildenafil ameliorates cardiovascular and renal function in FGR offspring of Dahl salt-sensitive rats. Sildenafil citrate (60 mg/kg per day) or control gel diet (containing 0.3% salt) was administered from gestational day ten until birth. In male and female offspring, the mean arterial pressure was measured by telemetry in 1 subset from week 5 until week twenty. Echocardiographic parameters, glomerular filtration rate, and fractional electrolyte excretion were determined in another subset at week 9. Aortic and mesenteric artery rings were prepared to assess endothelial-dependent (acetylcholine) and -independent (sodium nitroprusside) vasorelaxation (week 10). The rise in mean arterial pressure per week was attenuated in treated versus untreated male offspring. Mesenteric arteries showed an increased endothelium-dependent relaxation and improved endothelium-independent relaxation in treated versus control male offspring. No differences in aortic relaxation, echocardiographic parameters or renal function were observed between groups. Prenatal sildenafil treatment subtly improves cardiovascular but not renal function in the offspring of this FGR rat model. Translationally, in utero treatment could be beneficial for cardiovascular programming in a sex-specific manner; however, caution is warranted since recent human trials have been halted because of potentially deleterious neonatal side effects when treating pregnancies complicated with severe FGR with sildenafil.
PurposeThis study aims to compare patients in whom fixation failure occurred via cut-out (CO) or cut-through (CT) in order to determine patient factors and radiographic parameters that may be ...predictive of each mechanism. Materials and MethodsThis retrospective cohort study includes 18 patients with intertrochanteric (IT) hip fractures (AO/OTA classification 31A1.3) who underwent treatment using a single lag screw design intramedullary nail in whom fixation failure occurred within one year. All patients were reviewed for demographics and radiographic parameters including tip-to-apex distance (TAD), posteromedial calcar continuity, neck-shaft angle, lateral wall thickness, and others. Patients were grouped into cohorts based on the mechanism of failure, either lag screw CO or CT, and a comparison was performed. ResultsNo differences in demographics, injury details, fracture classifications, or radiographic parameters were observed between CO/CT cohorts. Of note, a similar rate of post-reduction TAD>25 mm (P=0.936) was observed between groups. A higher rate of DEXA (dual energy X-ray absorptiometry) confirmed osteoporosis (25.0% vs. 60.0%) was observed in the CT group, but without significance. ConclusionThe mechanism of CT failure during intramedullary nail fixation of an IT fracture did not show an association with clinical data including patient demographics, reduction accuracy, or radiographic parameters. As reported in previous biomechanical studies, the main predictive factor for patients in whom early failure might occur via the CT effect mechanism may be related to bone quality; however, conduct of larger studies will be required in order to determine whether there is a difference in bone quality.
Cardiovascular disease frequently causes morbidity and mortality in mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS); however, cardiovascular anatomy and dysfunction in MPS IVA (Morquio A disease) is not well described. ...Consequently, the study aimed to compare carotid artery structure and elasticity of MPS IVA patients with other MPS patients and healthy control subjects, and quantitate frequency of MPS IVA cardiac structural and functional abnormalities.
Prospective, multi-center echocardiogram and carotid ultrasound evaluations of 12 Morquio A patients were compared with other MPS and healthy control subjects. Average differences between groups were adjusted for age, sex, and height with robust variance estimation for confidence intervals and P-values.
Morquio A patients demonstrated significantly higher (P < 0.001) adjusted carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT), mean (SD) of 0.56 mm (0.03) compared to control subjects, 0.44 mm (0.04). The Morquio A cohort had significantly greater adjusted carotid elasticity (carotid cross-sectional compliance + 43%, P < 0.001; carotid incremental elastic modulus - 33%, P = 0.003) than control subjects and other MPS patients. Aortic root dilatation was noted in 56% of the Morquio A cohort, which also had highly prevalent mitral (73%) and aortic (82%) valve thickening, though hemodynamically significant valve dysfunction was less frequent (9%).
Increased carotid elasticity in Morquio A patients is an unexpected contrast to the reduced elasticity observed in other MPS. These Morquio A cIMT findings corroborate MPS IVA arterial post-mortem reports and are consistent with cIMT of other MPS. Aortic root dilatation in Morquio A indicates arterial elastin dysfunction, but their carotid hyperelasticity indicates other vascular intima/media components, such as proteoglycans, may also influence artery function. Studying MPS I and IVA model systems may uniquely illuminate the function of glycosaminoglycan-bearing proteoglycans in arterial health.
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