Surtsey and Mount St. Helens are celebrated but very different volcanoes. Permanent plots allow for comparisons that reveal mechanisms that control succession and its rate and suggest general ...principles. We estimated rates from structure development, species composition using detrended correspondence analysis (DCA), changes in Euclidean distance (ED) of DCA vectors, and by principal components analysis (PCA) of DCA. On Surtsey, rates determined from DCA trajectory analyses decreased as follows: gull colony on lava with sand > gull colony on lava, no sand >> lava with sand > sand spit > block lava > tephra. On Mount St. Helens, plots on lahar deposits near woodlands were best developed. The succession rates of open meadows declined as follows: Lupinus-dominated pumice > protected ridge with Lupinus > other pumice and blasted sites > isolated lahar meadows > barren plain. Despite the prominent contrasts between the volcanoes, we found several common themes. Isolation restricted the number of colonists on Surtsey and to a lesser degree on Mount St. Helens. Nutrient input from outside the system was crucial. On Surtsey, seabirds fashioned very fertile substrates, while on Mount St. Helens wind brought a sparse nutrient rain, then Lupinus enhanced fertility to promote succession. Environmental stress limits succession in both cases. On Surtsey, bare lava, compacted tephra and infertile sands restrict development. On Mount St. Helens, exposure to wind and infertility slow succession.
Visible and near infrared reflectance spectroscopy (VIS/NIRS) was used to differentiate between Duroc and Iberian pork in the M.
masseter. Samples of Duroc (n
=
15) and Iberian (n
=
15) pig muscles ...were scanned in the VIS/NIR region (350–2500
nm) using a portable spectral radiometer. Both mutual information and VIS/NIRS spectra characterization were developed to generate a ranking of variables and the data were then processed by artificial neural networks, establishing 1, 3, or 10 wavelengths as input variable for classifying between the pig breeds. The models correctly classified >70% of all problem assumptions, with a correct classification of >95% for the three-variable assumption using either mutual information ranking or VIS/NIRS spectra characterization. These results demonstrate the potential value of the VIS/NIRS technique as an objective and rapid method for the authentication and identification of Duroc and Iberian pork.
•Regional SOC modelling in Spanish Mediterranean coast performed.•Cover cropping and available exogenous organic matter input simulated.•Large potential for cover cropping to accumulate ...SOC.•Composting and anaerobic digestion help mitigate GHG emissions.
Agriculture in the Mediterranean basin is currently contributing to greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) and in the future is expected to be strongly affected by climate change. Increasing soil organic carbon (SOC) via soil organic matter (SOM) improvement is widely regarded as a way to both mitigate and adapt to climate change. Using as a case study the Mediterranean coastal area in Spain, which is regarded as one of the most intensively managed areas in Europe for orchards and horticultural cropping, we analyzed the potential for climate change mitigation of introducing different practices that are expected to increase SOC. We selected both as a single measure and in combination, cover cropping and application to the soil of the available underutilized exogenous organic matter (EOM), treated (e.g. composted or digested) or non-treated. These practices were compared against a baseline scenario that intended to reflect the current practices in the area (e.g. all livestock manure produced in the area is applied to the agricultural soil). We carried out a modelling exercise at the regional scale using the agricultural activity data and current climatic conditions as inputs. Modelling runs were performed coupling a widely used dynamic model of SOC turnover (RothC) with a model to simulate the GHG emissions from EOM processing or storage prior to soil application (SIMSWASTE).
Results indicate that the most promising practice, considered as a single measure and with respect to the baseline, was introducing cover crops in woody cropping systems. This practice resulted in an increase of 0.44MgCha−1 yr−1 during the first 20 years (range 0.41–0.52MgCha−1 yr−1) and led to a total SOC accumulation of about 30TgC after 100 years. Amendment of all agricultural land with available underutilized EOM resulted in an increase of up to 0.09MgCha−1 yr−1 (range 0.07–0.16MgCha−1 yr−1) as a single measure (urban waste) and 0.13MgCha−1 yr−1 (range 0.11–0.21MgCha−1 yr−1) as a combined measure (urban waste and composted agroindustry by-products), leading to a total SOC accumulation of about 7TgC (urban waste) and 10Tg C (urban waste and composted agroindustry by-products) after 100 years. Manure anaerobic digestion or composting as a single measure did not result in significant SOC changes but, if GHG emissions and savings from manure storage and processing management stages are considered, they could help to reduce about 4.3 (anaerobic digestion) or 1.1Tg CO2eq yr−1 (composting) in the study area, which represents a significant amount compared with total agricultural emissions in Spain.
Healthcare systems have been put under intense pressure by the COVID-19 pandemic, although some studies have shown a decline in hospital admissions for cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases ...during the first and second wave of the pandemic. In addition, studies analyzing gender and procedural differences are scarce. The present study aimed to determine the impact of the pandemic on hospital admissions for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) and cerebrovascular disease (CVD) in Andalusia (Spain) and analyzed differences by gender and by percutaneous coronary interventions performed.
An interrupted time series analysis of AMI and CVD hospital admissions in Andalusia (Spain) was carried out to measure the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak. AMI and CVD cases admitted daily in public hospitals of Andalusia between January 2018 and December 2020 were included.
During the pandemic, significant reductions in AMI -19%; 95% confidence interval (CI): (-29%, -9%), p<0.001 and CVD -17%; 95% CI: (-26%, -9%); p<0.01 in daily hospital admissions were observed. Differences were also produced according to the diagnosis (ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction, Non-ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction, other AMI and stroke), with a greater reduction in females for AMI and in males for CVD. Although there were more percutaneous coronary interventions during the pandemic, no significant reductions were observed.
A decline in AMI and CVD daily hospital admissions during the first and second wave of COVID-19 pandemic was noted. Gender differences were observed, but no clear impact was observed in percutaneous interventions.
Questions: Primary succession, measured by changes in species composition, is slow, usually forcing a chronosequence approach. A unique data set is used to explore spatial and temporal changes in ...vegetation structure after a 1980 volcanic eruption. On the basis of data from a transect of 20 permanent plots with an altitudinal range of 250 m sampled through 2005, two questions are asked: Do changes along the transect recapitulate succession? Do plots converge to similar composition over time? Location: A ridge between 1218 and 1468 m on Mount St. Helens, Washington, USA. Methods: Repeat sampling of plots for species cover along a 1-km transect. Floristic changes were characterized by techniques including DCA, clustering and similarity. Results: Species richness and cover increased with time at rates that decreased with increasing elevation. The establishment of Lupinus lepidus accelerated the rate of succession and may control its trajectory. Diversity (H′) at first increased with richness, then declined as dominance hierarchies developed. Primary succession was characterized by overlapping phases of species assembly (richness), vegetation maturation (diversity peaks, cover expands) and inhibition (diversity declines). Each plot passed through several community classes, but by 2005, only four classes persisted. Succession trajectories (measured by DCA) became shorter with elevation. Similarity between groups of plots defined by their classification in 2005 did not increase with time. Similarity within plot groups converged slightly at the lower elevations. Despite similarities between temporal and spatial trends in composition, trajectories of higher plots do not recapitulate those of lower plots, apparently because Lupinus was not an early colonist. Any vegetation convergence has been limited to plots that are in close proximity. Nomenclature: A list of species used in this study is at http://protist.biology.washington.edu/-delmoral/. Nomenclature follows the Integrated Taxonomic Information System: http://www.itis.usda.gov/advanced_search.html.
Liver fibrosis is one of the most important and characteristic histologic alterations in progressive and chronic liver diseases. Thus, in both clinical and experimental practice, it is fundamental to ...have a reliable and objective method for its precise quantification. Several semi-quantitative scoring systems have been described. All are time-consuming and produce partially subjective fibrosis evaluations that are not very precise. This paper describes the design and validation of an original image analysis-based application, FibroQuant, for automatically and rapidly quantifying perisinusoidal, perivenular and portal-periportal and septal fibrosis and portal-periportal and septal morphology in liver histologic specimens.
The implemented image-processing algorithms automatically segment interstitial fibrosis areas, while extraction of portal-periportal and septal region is carried out with an automatic algorithm and a simple interactive step. For validation, all automatically extracted areas were also manually segmented and quantified.
Statistical analysis showed significant intra- and interoperator variability in manual segmentation of all areas. Automatic quantifications did not significantly differ from mean manual evaluations of the same areas. Comparison of our image analysis quantifications with staging histologic evaluations of liver fibrosis showed significant correlations (Spearman's, 0.72<r<0.83; p<0.0001) and that the latter are based more on the distribution patterns than on the quantity of fibrosis.
FibroQuant is a sensitive, precise, objective and reproducible method of fibrosis quantification, which complements semi-quantitative histologic evaluation systems. This novel tool could be of special value in clinical trials and for improving the prognosis and follow-up among patients with fibrosis-inducing hepatic diseases.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly fuelling a fundamental transformation in the practice of pathology. However, clinical integration remains challenging, with no AI algorithms to date in routine ...adoption within typical anatomic pathology (AP) laboratories. This survey gathered current expert perspectives and expectations regarding the role of AI in AP from those with first-hand computational pathology and AI experience.
Perspectives were solicited using the Delphi method from 24 subject matter experts between December 2020 and February 2021 regarding the anticipated role of AI in pathology by the year 2030. The study consisted of three consecutive rounds: 1) an open-ended, free response questionnaire generating a list of survey items; 2) a Likert-scale survey scored by experts and analysed for consensus; and 3) a repeat survey of items not reaching consensus to obtain further expert consensus.
Consensus opinions were reached on 141 of 180 survey items (78.3%). Experts agreed that AI would be routinely and impactfully used within AP laboratory and pathologist clinical workflows by 2030. High consensus was reached on 100 items across nine categories encompassing the impact of AI on (1) pathology key performance indicators (KPIs) and (2) the pathology workforce and specific tasks performed by (3) pathologists and (4) AP lab technicians, as well as (5) specific AI applications and their likelihood of routine use by 2030, (6) AI's role in integrated diagnostics, (7) pathology tasks likely to be fully automated using AI, and (8) regulatory/legal and (9) ethical aspects of AI integration in pathology.
This systematic consensus study details the expected short-to-mid-term impact of AI on pathology practice. These findings provide timely and relevant information regarding future care delivery in pathology and raise key practical, ethical, and legal challenges that must be addressed prior to AI's successful clinical implementation.
No specific funding was provided for this study.
Goat milk production is an important agricultural resource in the Mediterranean basin. Market demands and scarcity of pastures during drought periods has led to farms becoming more intensive and ...based on imported concentrate feeds. The use of alternative feedstuffs from agro-industry can help decrease dependence on external concentrates, while preventing the environmental issues associated with livestock production and by-product disposal. From a life-cycle assessment perspective, we investigated the change on greenhouse-gas (GHG) emissions of replacing a conventional dairy goat diet in southern Spain with two alternative dietary strategies, including tomato waste or olive by-products silages. The effect on enteric methane emissions and milk productivity was assessed through specific feeding trials. Experimental data were integrated within a modelling framework comprising different submodels to describe the farm system and associated production chain. A new model describing carbon and nitrogen losses from solid waste was applied to estimate the emissions associated with the baseline scenarios for food by-product management. The assessment revealed that the two dietary strategies achieve GHG reductions (~12–19% per kg milk). In both cases, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide emissions from crop production were partially reduced through the displacement of typical concentrate ingredients. An additional mitigation effect was obtained when including tomato wastes in the diet because it reduced the methane emissions from enteric fermentation. Results suggested that use of agro-industrial residues for feeding is a feasible mitigation option in this case. However, as organic by-products could have alternative uses (bioenergy, soil amendment), with different implications for land use and soil carbon stocks, a more complete overview of both scenarios is recommended. Potential trade-offs from non-GHG categories may play an important role in a decision-making process.
Abstract Background In the medical field, laughter has been studied for its beneficial effects on health and as a therapeutic method to prevent and treat major medical diseases. However, very few ...works, if any, have explored the predictive potential of laughter and its potential use as a diagnostic tool. Method We registered laughs of depressed patients ( n =30) and healthy controls ( n =20), in total 934 laughs (517 from patients and 417 from controls). All patients were tested by the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS). The processing was made in Matlab, with calculation of 8 variables per laugh plosive. General and discriminant analysis distinguished patients, controls, gender, and the association between laughter and HDRS test. Results Depressed patients and healthy controls differed significantly on the type of laughter, with 88% efficacy. According to the Hamilton scale, 85.47% of the samples were correctly classified in males, and 66.17% in women, suggesting a tight relationship between laughter and the depressed condition. Limitations (i) The compilation of humorous videos created to evoke laughter implied quite variable chances of laughter production. (ii) Some laughing subjects might not feel comfortable when recording. (iii) Evaluation of laughter episodes depended on personal inspection of the records. (iv) Sample size was relatively small and may not be representative of the general population afflicted by depression. Conclusions Laughter may be applied as a diagnostic tool in the onset and evolution of depression and, potentially, of neuropsychiatric pathologies. The sound structures of laughter reveal the underlying emotional and mood states in interpersonal relationships.
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