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- Dornelas, M., et al.
(author)
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BioTIME: A database of biodiversity time series for the Anthropocene
- 2018
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In: Global Ecology and Biogeography. - : Wiley. - 1466-822X .- 1466-8238. ; 27:7, s. 760-786
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Motivation: The BioTIME database contains raw data on species identities and abundances in ecological assemblages through time. These data enable users to calculate temporal trends in biodiversity within and amongst assemblages using a broad range of metrics. BioTIME is being developed as a community-led open-source database of biodiversity time series. Our goal is to accelerate and facilitate quantitative analysis of temporal patterns of biodiversity in the Anthropocene. Main types of variables included: The database contains 8,777,413 species abundance records, from assemblages consistently sampled for a minimum of 2 years, which need not necessarily be consecutive. In addition, the database contains metadata relating to sampling methodology and contextual information about each record. Spatial location and grain: BioTIME is a global database of 547,161 unique sampling locations spanning the marine, freshwater and terrestrial realms. Grain size varies across datasets from 0.0000000158 km(2) (158 cm(2)) to 100 km(2) (1,000,000,000,000 cm(2)). Time period and grainBio: TIME records span from 1874 to 2016. The minimal temporal grain across all datasets in BioTIME is a year. Major taxa and level of measurement: BioTIME includes data from 44,440 species across the plant and animal kingdoms, ranging from plants, plankton and terrestrial invertebrates to small and large vertebrates.
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- Vos, Theo, et al.
(author)
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Global, regional, and national incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability for 301 acute and chronic diseases and injuries in 188 countries, 1990-2013: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013
- 2015
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In: The Lancet. - 1474-547X .- 0140-6736. ; 386:9995, s. 743-800
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Background Up-to-date evidence about levels and trends in disease and injury incidence, prevalence, and years lived with disability (YLDs) is an essential input into global, regional, and national health policies. In the Global Burden of Disease Study 2013 (GBD 2013), we estimated these quantities for acute and chronic diseases and injuries for 188 countries between 1990 and 2013. Methods Estimates were calculated for disease and injury incidence, prevalence, and YLDs using GBD 2010 methods with some important refinements. Results for incidence of acute disorders and prevalence of chronic disorders are new additions to the analysis. Key improvements include expansion to the cause and sequelae list, updated systematic reviews, use of detailed injury codes, improvements to the Bayesian meta-regression method (DisMod-MR), and use of severity splits for various causes. An index of data representativeness, showing data availability, was calculated for each cause and impairment during three periods globally and at the country level for 2013. In total, 35 620 distinct sources of data were used and documented to calculated estimates for 301 diseases and injuries and 2337 sequelae. The comorbidity simulation provides estimates for the number of sequelae, concurrently, by individuals by country, year, age, and sex. Disability weights were updated with the addition of new population-based survey data from four countries. Findings Disease and injury were highly prevalent; only a small fraction of individuals had no sequelae. Comorbidity rose substantially with age and in absolute terms from 1990 to 2013. Incidence of acute sequelae were predominantly infectious diseases and short-term injuries, with over 2 billion cases of upper respiratory infections and diarrhoeal disease episodes in 2013, with the notable exception of tooth pain due to permanent caries with more than 200 million incident cases in 2013. Conversely, leading chronic sequelae were largely attributable to non-communicable diseases, with prevalence estimates for asymptomatic permanent caries and tension-type headache of 2.4 billion and 1.6 billion, respectively. The distribution of the number of sequelae in populations varied widely across regions, with an expected relation between age and disease prevalence. YLDs for both sexes increased from 537.6 million in 1990 to 764.8 million in 2013 due to population growth and ageing, whereas the age-standardised rate decreased little from 114.87 per 1000 people to 110.31 per 1000 people between 1990 and 2013. Leading causes of YLDs included low back pain and major depressive disorder among the top ten causes of YLDs in every country. YLD rates per person, by major cause groups, indicated the main drivers of increases were due to musculoskeletal, mental, and substance use disorders, neurological disorders, and chronic respiratory diseases; however HIV/AIDS was a notable driver of increasing YLDs in sub-Saharan Africa. Also, the proportion of disability-adjusted life years due to YLDs increased globally from 21.1% in 1990 to 31.2% in 2013. Interpretation Ageing of the world's population is leading to a substantial increase in the numbers of individuals with sequelae of diseases and injuries. Rates of YLDs are declining much more slowly than mortality rates. The non-fatal dimensions of disease and injury will require more and more attention from health systems. The transition to non-fatal outcomes as the dominant source of burden of disease is occurring rapidly outside of sub-Saharan Africa. Our results can guide future health initiatives through examination of epidemiological trends and a better understanding of variation across countries.
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- Kattge, Jens, et al.
(author)
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TRY plant trait database - enhanced coverage and open access
- 2020
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In: Global Change Biology. - : Wiley-Blackwell. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 26:1, s. 119-188
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Plant traits-the morphological, anatomical, physiological, biochemical and phenological characteristics of plants-determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels, and influence ecosystem properties and their benefits and detriments to people. Plant trait data thus represent the basis for a vast area of research spanning from evolutionary biology, community and functional ecology, to biodiversity conservation, ecosystem and landscape management, restoration, biogeography and earth system modelling. Since its foundation in 2007, the TRY database of plant traits has grown continuously. It now provides unprecedented data coverage under an open access data policy and is the main plant trait database used by the research community worldwide. Increasingly, the TRY database also supports new frontiers of trait-based plant research, including the identification of data gaps and the subsequent mobilization or measurement of new data. To support this development, in this article we evaluate the extent of the trait data compiled in TRY and analyse emerging patterns of data coverage and representativeness. Best species coverage is achieved for categorical traits-almost complete coverage for 'plant growth form'. However, most traits relevant for ecology and vegetation modelling are characterized by continuous intraspecific variation and trait-environmental relationships. These traits have to be measured on individual plants in their respective environment. Despite unprecedented data coverage, we observe a humbling lack of completeness and representativeness of these continuous traits in many aspects. We, therefore, conclude that reducing data gaps and biases in the TRY database remains a key challenge and requires a coordinated approach to data mobilization and trait measurements. This can only be achieved in collaboration with other initiatives.
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- Blois, Jessica L., et al.
(author)
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A framework for evaluating the influence of climate, dispersal limitation, and biotic interactions using fossil pollen associations across the late Quaternary
- 2014
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In: Ecography. - : Wiley. - 1600-0587 .- 0906-7590. ; 37:11, s. 1095-1108
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Environmental conditions, dispersal lags, and interactions among species are major factors structuring communities through time and across space. Ecologists have emphasized the importance of biotic interactions in determining local patterns of species association. In contrast, abiotic limits, dispersal limitation, and historical factors have commonly been invoked to explain community structure patterns at larger spatiotemporal scales, such as the appearance of late Pleistocene no-analog communities or latitudinal gradients of species richness in both modern and fossil assemblages. Quantifying the relative influence of these processes on species co-occurrence patterns is not straightforward. We provide a framework for assessing causes of species associations by combining a null-model analysis of co-occurrence with additional analyses of climatic differences and spatial pattern for pairs of pollen taxa that are significantly associated across geographic space. We tested this framework with data on associations among 106 fossil pollen taxa and paleoclimate simulations from eastern North America across the late Quaternary. The number and proportion of significantly associated taxon pairs increased over time, but only 449 of 56 194 taxon pairs were significantly different from random. Within this significant subset of pollen taxa, biotic interactions were rarely the exclusive cause of associations. Instead, climatic or spatial differences among sites were most frequently associated with significant patterns of taxon association. Most taxon pairs that exhibited co-occurrence patterns indicative of biotic interactions at one time did not exhibit significant associations at other times. Evidence for environmental filtering and dispersal limitation was weakest for aggregated pairs between 16 and 11 kyr BP, suggesting enhanced importance of positive species interactions during this interval. The framework can thus be used to identify species associations that may reflect biotic interactions because these associations are not tied to environmental or spatial differences. Furthermore, temporally repeated analyses of spatial associations can reveal whether such associations persist through time.
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- McGill, Svena, et al.
(author)
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Characterization of human immunoglobulin (Ig) isotype and IgG subclass response to Bartonella henselae infection
- 1998
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In: Infection and Immunity. - 0019-9567 .- 1098-5522. ; 66:12, s. 5915-5920
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Serologic parameters of cat scratch disease (CSD) were evaluated by Western blot analysis. Sera from patients with serologically confirmed CSD antigen were screened for immunoglobulin (Tg) isotype-specific as well as IgG subclass-specific reactivity against Bartonella henselae whole-cell antigen. Bartonella negative control sera were used to determine baseline antibody activity. Heterogeneous B. henselae specific IgG reactivity with numerous protein bands, ranging from >150 to <17 kDa, was observed. Though individual banding patterns were variable, one approximately 83-kDa B. henselae protein (Bh83) was immunoreactive with all CSD sera tested, suggesting it is a conserved antigen during infection. Bh83 was not recognized by reference human antisera against Rickettsia rickettsii, Chlamydia group positive, Treponema pallidum, Orientia tsutsugamushi, Fransciscella tularensis, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Mycoplasma pneumoniae, and Escherichia coli, although other cross-reactive proteins were evident. Significantly, CSD sera failed to recognize the 83-kDa protein when tested against Bartonella quintana antigen, though sera from B. quintana-infected patients did react to Bh83. This cross-reactivity suggests epitope conservation during infection with B. henselae or B. quintana. Western blot analysis further revealed similar banding patterns when B. henselae was reacted against the Ig isotypes IgG and IgG, and both secretory and alpha chains of IgA. Neither IgM nor IgE reacted significantly to Bartonella antigen by our Western blot analysis. Dissection of the antibody response at the IgG subclass level indicated that prominent antigen recognition was limited to IgG,. These observations provide insight into induced immunity during CSD and provide evidence for conserved epitope expression during infection with B. henselae or B. quintana.
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- Rossing, Peter, et al.
(author)
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Finerenone in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease and Type 2 Diabetes by Sodium-Glucose Cotransporter 2 Inhibitor Treatment : The FIDELITY Analysis.
- 2022
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In: Diabetes Care. - : American Diabetes Association. - 0149-5992 .- 1935-5548. ; 45:12, s. 2991-2998
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- OBJECTIVE: Finerenone reduced the risk of kidney and cardiovascular events in people with chronic kidney disease (CKD) and type 2 diabetes in the FIDELIO-DKD and FIGARO-DKD phase 3 studies. Effects of finerenone on outcomes in patients taking sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors (SGLT2is) were evaluated in a prespecified pooled analysis of these studies.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: Patients with type 2 diabetes and urine albumin-to-creatinine ratio (UACR) ≥30 to ≤5,000 mg/g and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) ≥25 mL/min/1.73 m2 were randomly assigned to finerenone or placebo; SGLT2is were permitted at any time. Outcomes included cardiovascular composite (cardiovascular death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure) and kidney composite (kidney failure, sustained ≥57% eGFR decline, or renal death) end points, changes in UACR and eGFR, and safety outcomes.RESULTS: Among 13,026 patients, 877 (6.7%) received an SGLT2i at baseline and 1,113 (8.5%) initiated one during the trial. For the cardiovascular composite, the hazard ratios (HRs) were 0.87 (95% CI 0.79-0.96) without SGLT2i and 0.67 (95% CI 0.42-1.07) with SGLT2i. For the kidney composite, the HRs were 0.80 (95% CI 0.69-0.92) without SGLT2i and 0.42 (95% CI 0.16-1.08) with SGLT2i. Baseline SGLT2i use did not affect risk reduction for the cardiovascular or kidney composites with finerenone (Pinteraction = 0.46 and 0.29, respectively); neither did SGLT2i use concomitant with study treatment.CONCLUSIONS: Benefits of finerenone compared with placebo on cardiorenal outcomes in patients with CKD and type 2 diabetes were observed irrespective of SGLT2i use.
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- Cook, Benjamin I., et al.
(author)
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Sensitivity of Spring Phenology to Warming Across Temporal and Spatial Climate Gradients in Two Independent Databases
- 2012
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In: Ecosystems. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1432-9840 .- 1435-0629. ; 15:8, s. 1283-1294
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Disparate ecological datasets are often organized into databases post hoc and then analyzed and interpreted in ways that may diverge from the purposes of the original data collections. Few studies, however, have attempted to quantify how biases inherent in these data (for example, species richness, replication, climate) affect their suitability for addressing broad scientific questions, especially in under-represented systems (for example, deserts, tropical forests) and wild communities. Here, we quantitatively compare the sensitivity of species first flowering and leafing dates to spring warmth in two phenological databases from the Northern Hemisphere. One-PEP725-has high replication within and across sites, but has low species diversity and spans a limited climate gradient. The other-NECTAR-includes many more species and a wider range of climates, but has fewer sites and low replication of species across sites. PEP725, despite low species diversity and relatively low seasonality, accurately captures the magnitude and seasonality of warming responses at climatically similar NECTAR sites, with most species showing earlier phenological events in response to warming. In NECTAR, the prevalence of temperature responders significantly declines with increasing mean annual temperature, a pattern that cannot be detected across the limited climate gradient spanned by the PEP725 flowering and leafing data. Our results showcase broad areas of agreement between the two databases, despite significant differences in species richness and geographic coverage, while also noting areas where including data across broader climate gradients may provide added value. Such comparisons help to identify gaps in our observations and knowledge base that can be addressed by ongoing monitoring and research efforts. Resolving these issues will be critical for improving predictions in understudied and under-sampled systems outside of the temperature seasonal mid-latitudes.
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- Holmberg, Martin, et al.
(author)
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Evaluation of human seroreactivity to Bartonella species in Sweden
- 1999
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In: Journal of Clinical Microbiology. - 0095-1137 .- 1098-660X. ; 37:5, s. 1381-1384
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Among the species that compose the expanding genus Bartonella, thus far only B. henselae and B. quintana have reportedly been isolated from humans in Europe. To evaluate the prevalence of Bartonella infection in Sweden,we conducted a retrospective serological examination of 126 human serum samples. These samples were analyzed for antibodies to B. henselae, B. quintana, and B. elizabethae, Serum samples from 100 blood donors, who spanned the ages of 20 to 60 and had no apparent clinical signs of illness, were also studied as a control group. An immunoglobulin G indirect fluorescence antibody assay revealed 4 and 8.3% Bartonella positivity rates for the blood donor and patient group, respectively, when a cutoff titer of greater than or equal to 64 was chosen. Among the blood donors, four were seropositive to B, elizabethae; one of these also had concordant positive titer to B. henselae, In the patient group, 14 serum samples were positive against Bartonella spp, These serum specimens represented nine patients. In three of these seropositive patients, paired serum samples displayed a fourfold increase in antibody titer to at least one of the three antigens, These three patients are discussed. In this report we also present a case study of a 60-year-old Swedish male with fatal myocarditis, Postmortem serological analysis revealed a high titer against B. elizabethae, PCR and nucleotide sequencing of the myocardial tissue from this patient, and of Liver tissue from one of the other three patients, showed sequences similar to B. quintana, The age, geographical origin, animal contacts, and serological response pattern to the different Bartonella antigens differed among the four patients. This study substantiates the presence of Bartonella spp, in Sweden, documents the seroreactivity to three Bartonella antigens in Swedish patients, and reports the first two cases of B. quintana-like infections in Sweden.
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- Mao, Jinhua, et al.
(author)
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Carbon burial over the last four millennia is regulated by both climatic and land use change
- 2020
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In: Global Change Biology. - : John Wiley & Sons. - 1354-1013 .- 1365-2486. ; 26:4, s. 2496-2504
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Carbon sequestration by sediments and vegetated marine systems contributes to atmospheric carbon drawdown, but little empirical evidence is available to help separate the effects of climate change and other anthropogenic activities on carbon burial over centennial timescales. We used marine sediment organic carbon to determine the role of historic climate variability and human habitation in carbon burial over the past 5,071 years. There was centennial-scale sensitivity of carbon supply and burial to climatic variability, with Little Ice Age cooling causing an abrupt ecosystem shift and an increase in marine carbon contributions compared to terrestrial carbon. Although land use changes during the late 1800s did not cause marked alteration in average carbon burial, they did lead to marked increases in the spatial variability of carbon burial. Thus, while carbon burial by vegetated systems is expected to increase with projected climate warming over the coming century, ecosystem restructuring caused by abrupt climate change may produce unexpected change in carbon burial whose variability is also modulated by land use change.
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- Petchey, Owen L., et al.
(author)
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The ecological forecast horizon, and examples of its uses and determinants
- 2015
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In: Ecology Letters. - : Wiley. - 1461-023X .- 1461-0248. ; 18:7, s. 597-611
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Forecasts of ecological dynamics in changing environments are increasingly important, and are available for a plethora of variables, such as species abundance and distribution, community structure and ecosystem processes. There is, however, a general absence of knowledge about how far into the future, or other dimensions (space, temperature, phylogenetic distance), useful ecological forecasts can be made, and about how features of ecological systems relate to these distances. The ecological forecast horizon is the dimensional distance for which useful forecasts can be made. Five case studies illustrate the influence of various sources of uncertainty (e.g. parameter uncertainty, environmental variation, demographic stochasticity and evolution), level of ecological organisation (e.g. population or community), and organismal properties (e.g. body size or number of trophic links) on temporal, spatial and phylogenetic forecast horizons. Insights from these case studies demonstrate that the ecological forecast horizon is a flexible and powerful tool for researching and communicating ecological predictability. It also has potential for motivating and guiding agenda setting for ecological forecasting research and development.
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- Ruggeri, Kai, et al.
(author)
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The general fault in our fault lines
- 2021
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In: Nature Human Behaviour. - : Springer Nature. - 2397-3374. ; 5:10, s. 1369-1380
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Pervading global narratives suggest that political polarization is increasing, yet the accuracy of such group meta-perceptions has been drawn into question. A recent US study suggests that these beliefs are inaccurate and drive polarized beliefs about out-groups. However, it also found that informing people of inaccuracies reduces those negative beliefs. In this work, we explore whether these results generalize to other countries. To achieve this, we replicate two of the original experiments with 10,207 participants across 26 countries. We focus on local group divisions, which we refer to as fault lines. We find broad generalizability for both inaccurate meta-perceptions and reduced negative motive attribution through a simple disclosure intervention. We conclude that inaccurate and negative group meta-perceptions are exhibited in myriad contexts and that informing individuals of their misperceptions can yield positive benefits for intergroup relations. Such generalizability highlights a robust phenomenon with implications for political discourse worldwide.
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- Wang, C, et al.
(author)
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Diagnostic efficacy of MnDPDP in MR imaging of the liver. A phase III multicentre study
- 1997
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In: Acta Radiologica. - 1600-0455 .- 0284-1851. ; 38:4, s. 643-649
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- PURPOSE: To assess the diagnostic efficacy, safety and tolerability of mangafodipir trisodium (MnDPDP, Teslascan) in MR imaging of the liver. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Eighty-two patients from 4 centres underwent MR imaging with pre-contrast sequences including T1-weighted SE and GRE, and T2-weighted turbo SE sequences. MnDPDP at a dose of 5 mumol/kg b.w. was administered by slow i.v. infusion, and 20-60 min after infusion the T1-weighted SE and GRE sequences were repeated. Diagnostic efficacy was evaluated by counting the number of lesions and by evaluating whether more information for lesion characterisation was available in post-contrast images. Safety and tolerability were assessed by recording adverse events and infusion-related discomfort. RESULTS: Significantly more lesions were found in MnDPDP-enhanced T1-weighted SE and GRE images than in unenhanced images of the same sequences. More lesions were also found in these images compared with T2-weighted images at a level of marginal significance. More information was obtained from MnDPDP-enhanced images in 40 cases. Mild to moderate adverse events were experienced by 17% of the patients. CONCLUSION: MnDPDP-enhanced images can improve lesion detection in the liver and are helpful for lesion characterisation. To obtain optimal diagnostic information of liver lesions T2-weighted images are also valuable. MnDPDP is a safe contrast agent for MR imaging of liver lesions.
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- Wolkovich, E. M., et al.
(author)
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Warming experiments underpredict plant phenological responses to climate change
- 2012
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 485:7399, s. 494-497
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Warming experiments are increasingly relied on to estimate plant responses to global climate change(1,2). For experiments to provide meaningful predictions of future responses, they should reflect the empirical record of responses to temperature variability and recent warming, including advances in the timing of flowering and leafing(3-5). We compared phenology (the timing of recurring life history events) in observational studies and warming experiments spanning four continents and 1,634 plant species using a common measure of temperature sensitivity (change in days per degree Celsius). We show that warming experiments underpredict advances in the timing of flowering and leafing by 8.5-fold and 4.0-fold, respectively, compared with long-term observations. For species that were common to both study types, the experimental results did not match the observational data in sign or magnitude. The observational data also showed that species that flower earliest in the spring have the highest temperature sensitivities, but this trend was not reflected in the experimental data. These significant mismatches seem to be unrelated to the study length or to the degree of manipulated warming in experiments. The discrepancy between experiments and observations, however, could arise from complex interactions among multiple drivers in the observational data, or it could arise from remediable artefacts in the experiments that result in lower irradiance and drier soils, thus dampening the phenological responses to manipulated warming. Our results introduce uncertainty into ecosystem models that are informed solely by experiments and suggest that responses to climate change that are predicted using such models should be re-evaluated.
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