Only recently there has been a strong focus on the impacts of microplastics on terrestrial crop plants. This study aims to examine and compare the effects of microplastics on two monocotyledonous ...(barley, Hordeum vulgare and wheat, Triticum aestivum), and two dicotyledonous (carrot, Daucus carota and lettuce, Lactuca sativa) plant species through two complimentary experiments. First, we investigated the effects of low, medium, and high (103, 105, 107 particles per mL) concentrations of 500 nm polystyrene microplastics (PS-MPs) on seed germination and early development. We found species-dependent effects on the early development, with microplastics only significantly affecting lettuce and carrot. When acutely exposed during germination, PS-MPs significantly delayed the germination of lettuce by 24%, as well as promoted the shoot growth of carrot by 71% and decreased its biomass by 26%. No effect was recorded on monocot species. Secondly, we performed a chronic (21 d) hydroponic experiment on lettuce and wheat. We observed that PS-MPs significantly reduced the shoot growth of lettuce by up to 35% and increased its biomass by up to 64%, while no record was reported on wheat. In addition, stress level indicators and defence mechanisms were significantly up-regulated in both lettuce and wheat seedlings. Overall, this study shows that PS-MPs affect plant development: impacts were recorded on both germination and growth for dicots, and responses identified by biochemical markers of stress were increased in both lettuce and wheat. This highlights species-dependent effects as the four crops were grown under identical conditions to allow direct comparison. For future research, our study emphasizes the need to focus on crop specific effects, while also working towards knowledge of plastic-induced impacts at environmentally relevant conditions.
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•Microplastics significantly impacted germination and growth in lettuce and carrot.•No effects of microplastics were recorded on wheat and barley growth.•Biochemical stress indicators were up-regulated in both lettuce and wheat.•Our results highlight species-dependent effects of microplastics on crops.
Zoos worldwide play an important role in both in situ and ex situ conservation via efforts such as providing breeding programmes and reintroductions into the wild. Zoo populations are crucial as a ...buffer against extinction. However, a mismatch between the wild and zoo environments can lead to psychological as well as physiological health issues, such as stress, boredom, diabetes, and obesity. These problems, in turn, can impact the reproductive success of individuals. Consequently, some primate species have reduced breeding success when housed in zoos compared to their wild counterparts. To prevent the onset of behavioural, physiological, and cognitive negative effects and to continually improve the welfare of their animals, zoos widely implement different types of environmental enrichment. There are many forms enrichment can take, such as feeding, puzzles and training, but sensory enrichments, including implementing the use of scents, are currently understudied. Scent enrichments are less utilized despite multiple research studies showing that they may have positive effects on welfare for zoo-housed animal species, including non-human primates. Despite being traditionally considered to be microsmatic, various lines of evidence suggest that olfaction plays a larger role in primates than previously thought. This review therefore focuses on scent-based enrichment and the specifics of captive primates.
Objectives
Cribra orbitalia (CO) and porotic hyperostosis (PH) are porous cranial lesions (PCLs) classically associated with iron‐deficiency anemia in bioarchaeological contexts. However, recent ...studies indicate a need to reassess the interpretation of PCLs. This study addresses the potential health correlates of PCLs in a contemporary sample by examining relationships between the known cause of death (COD) and PCL presence/absence.
Methods
This study includes a sample of 461 juvenile individuals (6 months to 15 years of age) who underwent examination at the University of New Mexico's Office of the Medical Investigator between 2011 and 2019. The information available for each individual includes their sex, age at death, and their COD and manner of death.
Results
Odds ratio of having CO (OR = 3.92, p < .01) or PH (OR = 2.86, p = .02) lesions are increased in individuals with respiratory infections. Individuals with heart conditions have increased odds of having CO (OR = 3.52, p = .03) lesions, but not PH.
Conclusion
Individuals with respiratory infection are more likely to have CO and/or PH. CO appears to have a greater range of health correlates than PH does, as indicated by the heart condition results. However, individuals with congenital heart defects are at higher risk for respiratory infections, so bony alterations in cases of heart conditions may be due to respiratory illness. Since respiratory infection remains a leading cause of mortality today, CO and PH in bioarchaeological contexts should be considered as potential indicators of respiratory infections in the past.
We use postmortem computed tomography and known causes of death for 461 juveniles who died in New Mexico between 2011 and 2019. We find that individuals with respiratory infections have higher odds of having cribra orbitalia and porotic hyperostosis lesions.
Temperature is used as an indicator of animals' response to external stimuli and thus it could potentially be used as an indicator or poor animal welfare and meat quality. Remote monitoring of ...temperature can be achieved using infrared thermography (IRT) at the farm of origin before animals are sent to slaughter. Relationships between temperatures of cattle measured using IRT on-farm and potential indicators of stress and meat quality were investigated in 481 cattle in 2 experiments, one with sea transport and another with land transport. On-farm measurements included IRT and behavioural assessment of temperament along with measurement of physiological indicators of stress and carcass traits post-mortem. Significant correlations were found between IRT and meat pH, meat colour, creatine kinase, glucose, non-esterified fatty acids, magnesium, and temperament (P < .05). That said, these correlations did not persist across both experiments. Current findings suggest that on-farm IRT could have the potential to assist with the detection of compromised animal welfare and predict meat quality.
•Temperature can be used as an indicator of poor animal welfare.•Cattle thermography and potential indicators of stress and meat quality were investigated.•IRT may assist the detection of compromised animal welfare and predict meat quality.
Anthropologists have theorized structural vulnerability as a way to understand forms of violence that disenfranchise certain parts of a population, leading to poorer health outcomes and increased ...risk of death. Recently, forensic anthropologists have used these theories to better understand the ways in which individual decedents in forensic contexts may be linked collectively through structural conditions. A recent example is the proposal of a “structural vulnerability profile.”
Based on research and casework done in the context of migrant deaths along the US-Mexico border, we caution against the use of a “profile,” which suggests a categorical approach that could lead to negative unintended consequences in the future. Instead, we argue for continued development of practices that allow for observation, documentation, and interdisciplinary discussion of evidence of structural violence revealed during a death investigation. Specifically, we argue for an approach that grounds such observations within a particular social and historical context.
Tijeras Pueblo (LA 581) is a Pueblo IV period site in New Mexico. This study addresses two research goals: first, to examine burial distribution for indicators of spatial clustering, and second, to ...test whether association to such units affected resource access and the health of individuals. Using geographic information systems (GIS), I define spatial units applying Nearest Neighbor and Kernel Density Analysis. Osteological data, including age, sex, and health indicators, as well as mortuary data, serve to examine the interrelatedness between spatial units and resource distribution. Data stem from 55 individuals excavated from Tijeras Pueblo during the 1970s. Results show a significant clustering of burials associated with room blocks, interpreted as household units. No hierarchical differences between households were found based on burial goods, although some types of burial goods varied in frequency between the clusters. Differences exist in the frequency of linear enamel hypoplasia.
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