Effects of human depopulation and warming climate on bird populations in Japan

Quantifying biodiversity trends in economically developed countries, where depopulation, associated secondary succession, and climate warming are ongoing, provides insights for global biodiversity conservation in the 21st century. However, few studies have assessed the impacts of secondary succession and climate warming on species' population trends at a national scale. We estimated the population trends of common breeding bird species in Japan and examined the associations between the overall population trend and species traits with the nationwide bird count data on 47 species collected from 2009 to 2020. The overall population trend varied among species. Four species populations increased moderately, 18 were stable, and 11 declined moderately. Population trends for 13 species were uncertain. The difference in overall trends among the species was associated with their habitat group and temperature niche. Species with relatively low-temperature niches experienced more pronounced declines. Multispecies indicators showed a moderate increase in forest specialists and moderate declines in forest generalists (species that use both forests and open habitats) and open-habitat specialists. Forest generalists and open-habitat specialists also declined more rapidly at sites with more abandoned farmland. All species groups showed an accelerated decline or decelerated increase after 2015. These results suggest that common breeding birds in Japan are facing deteriorating trends as a result of nationwide changes in land use and climate. Future land-use planning and policies should consider the benefits of passive rewilding for forest specialists and active restoration measures (e.g., low-intensive forestry and agriculture) for nonforest specialists to effectively conserve biodiversity in the era of human depopulation and climate warming.

An extensive database on the traits and occurrences of amphibian species in Turkey

Amphibians are the most endangered taxa among vertebrates, and they face many threats during their complex life cycles. The species' life history traits and occurrence database help understand species responses against ecological factors. Consequently, the species-level-trait database has gained more prominence in recent years as a useful tool for understanding the dimensions of communities, assembly processes of communities, and conserving biodiversity at the ecosystem level against environmental changes. However, in Turkey, there are deficiencies in the knowledge of the ecological traits of amphibians compared to other vertebrate taxa, as most studies have focused on their distribution or taxonomic status. Consequently, there is a need to create such a database for future research on all known extant amphibians in Turkey. We compiled a species-level data set of species traits and occurrences for all amphibians in Turkey using 436 literature sources. We completed 36 trait categories with 5611 occurrence data for 37 amphibian species in Turkey. This study provides an open, useful, and comprehensive database for macroecological and conservation studies on amphibians in Turkey.

Dense city centers support less evolutionary unique bird communities than sparser urban areas

Urbanization alters avian communities, generally lowering the number of species and contemporaneously increasing their functional relatedness, leading to biotic homogenization. Urbanization can also negatively affect the phylogenetic diversity of species assemblages, potentially decreasing their evolutionary distinctiveness. We compare species assemblages in a gradient of building density in seventeen European cities to test whether the evolutionary distinctiveness of communities is shaped by the degree of urbanization. We found a significant decline in the evolutionary uniqueness of avian communities in highly dense urban areas, compared to low and medium-dense areas. Overall, communities from dense city centers supported one million years of evolutionary history less than communities from low-dense urban areas. Such evolutionary homogenization was due to a filtering process of the most evolutionarily unique birds. Metrics related to evolutionary uniqueness have to play a role when assessing the effects of urbanization and can be used to identify local conservation priorities.

Ecological filtering shapes the impacts of agricultural deforestation on biodiversity

The biodiversity impacts of agricultural deforestation vary widely across regions. Previous efforts to explain this variation have focused exclusively on the landscape features and management regimes of agricultural systems, neglecting the potentially critical role of ecological filtering in shaping deforestation tolerance of extant species assemblages at large geographical scales via selection for functional traits. Here we provide a large-scale test of this role using a global database of species abundance ratios between matched agricultural and native forest sites that comprises 71 avian assemblages reported in 44 primary studies, and a companion database of 10 functional traits for all 2,647 species involved. Using meta-analytic, phylogenetic and multivariate methods, we show that beyond agricultural features, filtering by the extent of natural environmental variability and the severity of historical anthropogenic deforestation shapes the varying deforestation impacts across species assemblages. For assemblages under greater environmental variability-proxied by drier and more seasonal climates under a greater disturbance regime-and longer deforestation histories, filtering has attenuated the negative impacts of current deforestation by selecting for functional traits linked to stronger deforestation tolerance. Our study provides a previously largely missing piece of knowledge in understanding and managing the biodiversity consequences of deforestation by agricultural deforestation.

Urban landscape organization is associated with species-specific traits in European birds

Urbanization is one of the main current drivers of the global biodiversity loss. Cities are usually developed in a gradient between land-sharing (low density housing with small and fragmented green areas) and land-sparing areas (high density housing with large and non-fragmented green patches) depending on the spatial organization of urban attributes. Previous studies have indicated differences in biodiversity between these two urban development types, but mechanisms underlying these differences are inadequately understood. In this context, the landscape features of each urban development type may select for organisms with specific traits. To analyze it, we quantified birds in 9 European cities during the breeding and wintering season, collected species-specific traits and performed Bayesian comparative analyses. We found that birds living in land-sparing areas had a higher reproductive investment and a higher nesting specialization than birds living in land-sharing areas during the breeding season. Typical birds from land-sparing urban areas during winter are fast-lived species. Our results indicate that urban development type could have an important role selecting animal traits and provides useful information on how to build more biodiversity-friendly cities.

Little Owl Aggression and Territory in Urban and Rural Landscapes

Urbanization is a major land use change across the globe with vast effects on wildlife. In this paper, we studied (1) the territorial displays of Little Owls in urban and rural landscapes, analyzing also (2) the size and habitat composition of the territories, and (3) the factors affecting territory size in both landscapes. To do that, we used t-tests, Principal Components Analysis, and General Linear mixed model procedures. The territory size was smaller in urban than in rural landscapes. Urban territories of Little Owls are characterized by a lower cover of grassland, tall crops, short crops, gardens, and orchards, as well as a higher cover of built-up areas than territories in rural landscapes. Territory size in rural landscapes was negatively correlated with seasonal progress and positively correlated with altitude. The rate of territorial displays was similar between urban and rural territories; however, birds differentially utilized various structures. In urban territories, birds mostly used buildings, whereas in rural territories, birds used electric pylons and trees. The compositional differences between territories in the two landscapes may have important consequences for other behavior types and possibly reproductive output in this species.

Climate change is associated with asynchrony in arrival between two sympatric cuckoos and both host arrival and prey emergence

Matching the timing of spring arrival to the breeding grounds with hosts and prey is crucial for migratory brood parasites such as cuckoos. Previous studies have focused mostly on phenological mismatch between a single cuckoo species and its hosts but information regarding climate-driven mismatch between multiple sympatric cuckoo species and their hosts and invertebrate prey is still lacking. Here, we analysed long-term data (1988-2023) on the first arrival date of two declining migratory cuckoo species and their 14 migratory host species breeding in sympatry and prey emergence date in Tatarstan (southeast Russia). We found that the common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus; wintering in Africa) generally arrived on breeding grounds earlier than the oriental cuckoo (Cuculus optatus; wintering in southeast Asia and Australia). Both cuckoos have advanced their arrival dates over 36 years but less than their hosts, potentially resulting in an increasing arrival mismatch between cuckoos and their hosts. Moreover, cuckoo arrival advanced less than the emergence date of their prey over time. These observations indicate that climate change may disrupt co-fluctuation in the phenology of important life stages between multiple sympatric brood parasites, their hosts and prey with potential cascading consequences for population dynamics of involved species.

Potential hotspots of amphibian roadkill risk in Spain

We test a forecasting strategy to identify potential hotspots of amphibian roadkill, combining the spatial distribution of amphibians, their relative risk of collision with vehicles and data on road density in Spain. We extracted a large dataset from studies reporting road casualties of 39 European amphibian species and then estimated the 'relative roadkill risk' of species as the frequency of occurrence of casualties for each amphibian and standardized by the range of distribution of the species in Europe. Using a map with the spatial distribution of Spanish amphibians at a spatial resolution of 10 × 10 Km squares, we estimated the 'cumulative relative risk of roadkill' for each amphibian assemblage as the sum of risk estimates previously calculated for each species. We also calculated the total length of roads in each square (road density). Finally, combining all layers of information, we elaborated a forecasting map highlighting the potential amphibian roadkill risk across Spain. Our findings are relevant to suggest areas that should be focused on at more detailed spatial scales. Additionally, we found that the frequency of roadkill was unrelated to the evolutionary distinctiveness score and conservation status of amphibian species, while was positively correlated with their distribution range.

A novel multisensory device for the assessment and rehabilitation of perceptual and attentional competencies

The present study aims to assess a novel technological device suitable for investigating perceptual and attentional competencies in people with or without sensory impairment. The TechPAD is a cabled system including embedded sensors and actuators to enable visual, auditory, and tactile interactions and a capacitive surface receiving inputs from the user. The system is conceived to create multisensory environments, using multiple units controlled separately and simultaneously. We assessed the device by adapting a spatial attention task comparing performances in different cognitive load conditions (high or low) and stimulation (unimodal, bimodal, or trimodal). 28 sighted adults were asked to monitor both the central and peripheral parts of the device and to tap a target stimulus (either visual, auditory, haptic, or multimodal) as fast as they could. Our results suggest that this new device can provide congruent and incongruent multimodal stimuli and quantitatively measure parameters such as reaction time and accuracy, allowing to investigate perceptual mechanisms in multisensory environments.Clinical Relevance-The TechPad is a reliable tool for the assessment of spatial attention during interactive tasks. its application in clinical trials will pave the way to its role in multisensory rehabilitation.

EVI and NDVI as proxies for multifaceted avian diversity in urban areas

Most ecological studies use remote sensing to analyze broad-scale biodiversity patterns, focusing mainly on taxonomic diversity in natural landscapes. One of the most important effects of high levels of urbanization is species loss (i.e., biotic homogenization). Therefore, cost-effective and more efficient methods to monitor biological communities' distribution are essential. This study explores whether the Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) can predict multifaceted avian diversity, urban tolerance, and specialization in urban landscapes. We sampled bird communities among 15 European cities and extracted Landsat 30-meter resolution EVI and NDVI values of the pixels within a 50-m buffer of bird sample points using Google Earth Engine (32-day Landsat 8 Collection Tier 1). Mixed models were used to find the best associations of EVI and NDVI, predicting multiple avian diversity facets: Taxonomic diversity, functional diversity, phylogenetic diversity, specialization levels, and urban tolerance. A total of 113 bird species across 15 cities from 10 different European countries were detected. EVI mean was the best predictor for foraging substrate specialization. NDVI mean was the best predictor for most avian diversity facets: taxonomic diversity, functional richness and evenness, phylogenetic diversity, phylogenetic species variability, community evolutionary distinctiveness, urban tolerance, diet foraging behavior, and habitat richness specialists. Finally, EVI and NDVI standard deviation were not the best predictors for any avian diversity facets studied. Our findings expand previous knowledge about EVI and NDVI as surrogates of avian diversity at a continental scale. Considering the European Commission's proposal for a Nature Restoration Law calling for expanding green urban space areas by 2050, we propose NDVI as a proxy of multiple facets of avian diversity to efficiently monitor bird community responses to land use changes in the cities.

Spatial Overlap and Habitat Selection of Corvid Species in European Cities

Understanding habitat and spatial overlap in sympatric species of urban areas would aid in predicting species and community modifications in response to global change. Habitat overlap has been widely investigated for specialist species but neglected for generalists living in urban settings. Many corvid species are generalists and are adapted to urban areas. This work aimed to determine the urban habitat requirements and spatial overlap of five corvid species in sixteen European cities during the breeding season. All five studied corvid species had high overlap in their habitat selection while still having particular tendencies. We found three species, the Carrion/Hooded Crow, Rook, and Eurasian Magpie, selected open habitats. The Western Jackdaw avoided areas with bare soil cover, and the Eurasian Jay chose more forested areas. The species with similar habitat selection also had congruent spatial distributions. Our results indicate that although the corvids had some tendencies regarding habitat selection, as generalists, they still tolerated a wide range of urban habitats, which resulted in high overlap in their habitat niches and spatial distributions.

Effects of light and noise pollution on avian communities of European cities are correlated with the species' diet

Urbanization affects avian community composition in European cities, increasing biotic homogenization. Anthropic pollution (such as light at night and noise) is among the most important drivers shaping bird use in urban areas, where bird species are mainly attracted by urban greenery. In this study, we collected data on 127 breeding bird species at 1349 point counts distributed along a gradient of urbanization in fourteen different European cities. The main aim was to explore the effects of anthropic pollution and city characteristics, on shaping the avian communities, regarding species' diet composition. The green cover of urban areas increased the number of insectivorous and omnivorous bird species, while slightly decreasing the overall diet heterogeneity of the avian communities. The green heterogeneity-a measure of evenness considering the relative coverage of grass, shrubs and trees-was positively correlated with the richness of granivorous, insectivorous, and omnivorous species, increasing the level of diet heterogeneity in the assemblages. Additionally, the effects of light pollution on avian communities were associated with the species' diet. Overall, light pollution negatively affected insectivorous and omnivorous bird species while not affecting granivorous species. The noise pollution, in contrast, was not significantly associated with changes in species assemblages. Our results offer some tips to urban planners, managers, and ecologists, in the challenge of producing more eco-friendly cities for the future.

Are birds more afraid in urban parks or cemeteries? A Latin American study contrasts with results from Europe

The escape behaviour, measured as flight initiation distance (FID; the distance at which individuals take flight when approached by a potential predator, usually a human in the study systems), is a measure widely used to study fearfulness and risk-taking in animals. Previous studies have shown significant differences in the escape behaviour of birds inhabiting cemeteries and urban parks in European cities, where birds seem to be shyer in the latter. We collected a regional dataset of the FID of birds inhabiting cemeteries and parks across Latin America in peri-urban, suburban and urban parks and cemeteries. FIDs were recorded for eighty-one bird species. Mean species-specific FIDs ranged from 1.9 to 19.7 m for species with at least two observations (fifty-seven species). Using Bayesian regression modelling and controlling for the phylogenetic relatedness of the FID among bird species and city and country, we found that, in contrast to a recent publication from Europe, birds escape earlier in cemeteries than parks in the studied Latin American cities. FIDs were also significantly shorter in urban areas than in peri-urban areas and in areas with higher human density. Our results indicate that some idiosyncratic patterns in animal fearfulness towards humans may emerge among different geographic regions, highlighting difficulties with scaling up and application of regional findings to other ecosystems and world regions. Such differences could be associated with intrinsic differences between the pool of bird species from temperate European and mostly tropical Latin American cities, characterized by different evolutionary histories, but also with differences in the historical process of urbanization.

Large-scale spatial variability in urban tolerance of birds

Quantifying intraspecific and interspecific trait variability is critical to our understanding of biogeography, ecology and conservation. But quantifying such variability and understanding the importance of intraspecific and interspecific variability remain challenging. This is especially true of large geographic scales as this is where the differences between intraspecific and interspecific variability are likely to be greatest. Our goal is to address this research gap using broad-scale citizen science data to quantify intraspecific variability and compare it with interspecific variability, using the example of bird responses to urbanization across the continental United States. Using more than 100 million observations, we quantified urban tolerance for 338 species within randomly sampled spatial regions and then calculated the standard deviation of each species' urban tolerance. We found that species' spatial variability in urban tolerance (i.e. standard deviation) was largely explained by the variability of urban cover throughout a species' range (R²  = 0.70). Variability in urban tolerance was greater in species that were more tolerant of urban cover (i.e. the average urban tolerance throughout their range), suggesting that generalist life histories are better suited to adapt to novel anthropogenic environments. Overall, species differences explained most of the variability in urban tolerance across spatial regions. Together, our results indicate that (1) intraspecific variability is largely predicted by local environmental variability in urban cover at a large spatial scale and (2) interspecific variability is greater than intraspecific variability, supporting the common use of mean values (i.e. collapsing observations across a species' range) when assessing species-environment relationships. Further studies, across different taxa, traits and species-environment relationships are needed to test the role of intraspecific variability, but nevertheless, we recommend that when possible, ecologists should avoid using discrete categories to classify species in how they respond to the environment.

Are Rush Nails Still a Good Choice for Fibula Fixation in Ankle Fractures? A Retrospective Study with Five Years Follow-Up

Objectives

The aim of this retrospective study is to evaluate if Rush nail fixation still has a role in distal fibular fractures surgery compared with locking plate in terms of fixation quality, complications, functional results and patient satisfaction level.

Methods

This study included 109 patients (average age 56.05), who had undergone operative treatment for bi- or trimalleolar fractures between 2009 and 2014. The patients were evaluated retrospectively, divided in group A (57 patients treated with Rush nail) and group B (52 patients treated with locking plate). The patients were evaluated at an average 4.9 years of follow-up (SD: 1.01) with Olerud-Molander Ankle Score (OMAS), American Orthopedic Foot and Ankle Society - Ankle-Hindfoot Scale (AOFAS) and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) for clinical outcomes. X-rays were conducted to assess ankle osteoarthritis using the classification system by Takakura and joint space symmetry using measurements in comparison with contralateral ankles.

Results

The groups were homogeneous regarding age and gender. Patients treated with Rush Nail fixation (Group A) showed statistically significant worse clinical results at functional scores (78.1 Group A versus 88.7 Group B at the OMAS (P<0.05); 83.1 Group A versus 90.1 Group B at the AOFAS (P<0.05); higher pain levels in the VAS (3.9 Group A versus 2.4 Group B) and lower satisfaction rates (52.6% Group A versus 73.1% Group B (P<0.05)) in comparison with patients treated with locking plate fixation (Group B). However, infections rate was significantly lower in Group A (1.8%) than in Group B (9.6%) (P<0.05). Radiographic evaluation showed more cases of post-traumatic osteoarthritis in Group A (35.1% Group A versus 15.4% Group B (P<0.05)) and worse results in regards to restoration of joint space symmetry (45.6% Group A versus 73.1% Group B (P<0.05)).

Conclusion

Results of current study indicates that even though plating of lateral malleolus in bimalleolar and trimalleolar fractures is superior in fracture reduction quality, early functional recovery, reduced incidence of post-traumatic osteoarthritis and greater patient satisfaction, Rush nail fixation still provides acceptable clinical results with a lower infection rate. Therefore Rush nails could be considered as a valid choice in selected patients with high risk of soft tissue complications or low functional demand.

Early visual deprivation disrupts the mental representation of numbers in visually impaired children

Several shreds of evidence indicate that visual deprivation does not alter numerical competence neither in adults nor in children. However, studies reporting non-impaired numerical abilities in the visually impaired population present some limitations: (a) they mainly assessed the ability to process numbers (e.g. mathematical competence) rather than represent numbers (e.g. mental number line); (b) they principally focused on positive rather than negative number estimates; (c) they investigated numerical abilities in adult individuals except one focusing on children (Crollen et al. in Cognition 210:104586, 2021). Overall, this could limit a comprehensive explanation of the role exerted by vision on numerical processing when vision is compromised. Here we investigated how congenital visual deprivation affects the ability to represent positive and negative numbers in horizontal and sagittal planes in visually impaired children (thirteen children with low vision, eight children with complete blindness, age range 6-15 years old). We adapted the number-to-position paradigm adopted by Crollen et al. (Cognition 210:104586, 2021), asking children to indicate the spatial position of positive and negative numbers on a graduated rule positioned horizontally or sagittally in the frontal plane. Results suggest that long-term visual deprivation alters the ability to identify the spatial position of numbers independently of the spatial plane and the number polarity. Moreover, results indicate that relying on poor visual acuity is detrimental for low vision children when asked to localize both positive and negative numbers in space, suggesting that visual experience might have a differential role in numerical processing depending on number polarity. Such findings add knowledge related to the impact of visual experience on numerical processing. Since both positive and negative numbers are fundamental aspects of learning mathematical principles, the outcomes of the present study inform about the need to implement early rehabilitation strategies to prevent the risk of numerical difficulties in visually impaired children.

Bird diversity-environment relationships in urban parks and cemeteries of the Neotropics during breeding and non-breeding seasons

Background

Urbanization will increase in the next decades, causing the loss of green areas and bird diversity within cities. There is a lack of studies at a continental scale analyzing the relationship between urban green areas, such as parks and cemeteries, and bird species richness in the Neotropical region. Bird diversity-environment relationships in urban parks and cemeteries may be influenced by latitudinal gradients or species-area relationships. However, the seasonal variation of species diversity- environment has not been analyzed at a continental scale in the Neotropics.

Methods

Bird surveys were conducted in 36 cemeteries and 37 parks within 18 Neotropical cities during non-breeding and breeding seasons. Bird diversity was assessed through Hill numbers, focusing on species richness, the effective number of species derived from Shannon index and the Simpson index. Environmental variables included latitude, altitude, and local scale variables such as area size, habitat diversity and pedestrian traffic.

Results

Species richness and Shannon diversity were higher during the breeding season, whereas Simpson diversity did not vary between seasons. During both seasons, species richness increased with area size, was negatively related to altitude, and was the highest at 20° latitude. Species richness was also positively related to habitat diversity, pedestrian traffic, and was highest in suburban areas during the non-breeding season. Shannon and Simpson diversity showed significant relationships with habitat diversity and area size during the breeding season. Bird diversity was similar between parks and cemeteries.

Discussion

Our results showed that urban parks and cemeteries have similar roles in conserving urban bird diversity in Neotropical cities. However, species diversity-environment relations at the continental scale varied between seasons, highlighting the importance of conducting annual studies.

Flight initiation distance and refuge in urban birds

Risk-taking in birds is often measured as the flight initiation distance (FID), the distance at which individuals take flight when approached by a potential predator (typically a human). The ecological factors that affect avian FID have received great attention over the past decades and meta-analyses and comparative analyses have shown that FID is correlated with body mass, flock size, starting distance of the approaching human, density of potential predators, as well as varying along rural to urban gradients. However, surprisingly, only few studies (mainly on reptiles and mammals) have explored effects of different types of refugia and their availability on animal escape decisions. We used Bayesian regression models (controlling for the phylogenetic relatedness of bird species) to explore changes in escape behaviour recorded in European cities in relationship to the birds' distance to the nearest refuge and distance fled to the refuge. In our analyses, we also included information on the type of refuge, built-up and vegetation cover, starting distance, flock size, urbanization level, and type of urban habitat. We found that birds preferred tree refuges over artificial and bush refuges. Birds escaped earlier if the distance to the nearest refuge of any type was longer and if birds fled longer distances to the refuge. FID was shorter when birds used bushes as refugia or landed on the ground after flushing compared to using artificial refugia. Similarly, the distance fled to a refuge was shortest when using bushes, and increased when escaping to artificial substrates and trees. Birds were more timid in suburban than core areas of cities, cemeteries than parks, and in areas with higher bush cover but lower cover of built-up areas and trees. Our findings provide novel information regarding the importance of refuge proximity and type as factors affecting the escape behaviour of urban birds.

Detection Rate of Bird Species and What It Depends on: Tips for Field Surveys

Bird counting inevitably suffers from imperfect detection, which varies across species, habitats, period of the day, and seasons. Although various modeling techniques have recently been developed to account for this phenomenon, the biological basis of natural variation in detection remains insufficiently known. This study examined the bird species’ detection rate throughout the day, considering their body mass and diet type, concerning the environment and weather characteristics. Species detection rates were significantly affected by the number of individuals of that species but were unrelated to body mass. Overall, species with the highest detection rate were Corn bunting, Blackbird, European robin, House sparrow and Common chiffchaff. Granivores-insectivores and insectivores showed significant differences in detection rates throughout the day among habitats, with higher detection rates in grasslands during the afternoon. Insectivores showed higher detection rates in farmland during midday (warmest time of the day). Granivores, omnivores and scavengers did not show changes in detection rates in different day periods. Such patterns in daily detection rates were significant even when considering abundance and total species richness in each community. Finally, cloudiness was unrelated to the overall detection rate of birds, while temperature and wind affected detection rates in some guilds. Our findings provide some advice for choosing a suitable ornithological sampling method by considering the avian communities composition in combination with the type of environment, the diet of bird species, and the period of the day.

Parental Somatic Mosaicism Uncovers Inheritance of an Apparently De Novo GFAP Mutation

Alexander disease is a leukodystrophy caused by heterozygous mutations of GFAP gene. Recurrence in siblings from healthy parents provides a confirmation to the transmission of variants through germinal mosaicism. With the use of DNA isolated from peripheral blood, next-generation sequencing (NGS) of GFAP locus was performed with deep coverage (≥500×) in 11 probands and their parents (trios) with probands heterozygous for apparently de novo GFAP mutations. Indeed, one parent had somatic mosaicism, estimated in the range of 8.9%–16%, for the mutant allele transmitted to the affected sibling. Parental germline mosaicism deserves attention, as it is critical in assessing the risk of recurrence in families with Alexander disease.

Crisis propagation in a heterogeneous self-reflexive DSGE model

We study a self-reflexive DSGE model with heterogeneous households, aimed at characterising the impact of economic recessions on the different strata of the society. Our framework allows to analyse the combined effect of income inequalities and confidence feedback mediated by heterogeneous social networks. By varying the parameters of the model, we find different crisis typologies: loss of confidence may propagate mostly within high income households, or mostly within low income households, with a rather sharp transition between the two. We find that crises are more severe for segregated networks (where confidence feedback is essentially mediated between agents of the same social class), for which cascading contagion effects are stronger. For the same reason, larger income inequalities tend to reduce, in our model, the probability of global crises. Finally, we are able to reproduce a perhaps counter-intuitive empirical finding: in countries with higher Gini coefficients, the consumption of the lowest income households tends to drop less than that of the highest incomes in crisis times.

Arthroscopic vs open ankle arthrodesis: A prospective case series with seven years follow-up

BACKGROUND

The osteoarthritis of the ankle, although less common than other joints, is associated with severe functional limitation. Surgical options are ankle arthroscopic debridement, osteotomies, ankle arthrodesis and ankle arthroplasty. Ankle arthroplasty is increasingly used thanks to the new implants design, but ankle arthrodesis still represents the most used technique and it can be performed arthroscopically or with an open procedure.

AIM

To compare mid-term results of arthroscopic vs open ankle arthrodesis of patients affected by end-stage ankle arthritis.

METHODS

This study enrolled 23 patients, which underwent ankle arthrodesis. The patients were divided into 2 groups: group A (open procedure; n = 11) and group B (arthroscopic procedure, n = 12), the two groups were homogeneous with regard to age and body mass index (P = 0.347). The American Orthopaedic Foot and Ankle score (AOFAS), Freiburg Ankle score (FAS) and visual analogue scale for pain intensity were evaluated preoperatively, at six months and at final follow-up of 7.6 years in group A and 7.3 years in group B (P = 0.364).

RESULTS

Patients in the arthroscopic group showed better results at six-month follow-up compared to the open group at the AOFAS (group A, 62.2; group B, 78.5; P < 0.05) and the FAS (group A, 61.1; group B, 70.3; P = 0.015) scores. Pain relief was achieved in both groups at six-month follow-up (group A, 1.4; group B, 0.9; P = 0.162). Both open and arthroscopic groups showed improved clinical outcomes from baseline to final follow-up (P > 0.05). Hospital stay was shorter in group B than in group A (P = 0.001). More complications were reported in the open group than in the arthroscopic group (P = 0.459).

CONCLUSION

The arthroscopic and the open arthrodesis are valid and safe options for the treatment of ankle arthritis on the basis of clinical outcomes at 7 years follow-up. Moreover, the arthroscopic treatment shows faster improvement at six-month follow-up in comparison with the open group.

Effects of urbanization on taxonomic, functional and phylogenetic avian diversity in Europe

Europe is an urbanized continent characterized by a long history of human-wildlife interactions. This study aimed to assess the effects of specific elements of urbanization and urban pollution on complementary avian diversity metrics, to provide new insights on the conservation of urban birds. Our study recorded 133 bird species at 1624 point counts uniformly distributed in seventeen different European cities. Our results thus covered a large spatial scale, confirming both effects of geographical and local attributes of the cities on avian diversity. However, we found contrasting effects for the different diversity components analyzed. Overall, taxonomic diversity (bird species richness), phylogenetic diversity and relatedness were significantly and negatively associated with latitude, while functional dispersion of communities showed no association whatsoever. At the local level (within the city), we found that urban greenery (grass, bush, and trees) is positively correlated with the number of breeding bird species, while the building cover showed a detrimental effect. Functional dispersion was the less affected diversity metric, while grass and trees and water (rivers or urban streams) positively affected the phylogenetic diversity of avian communities. Finally, the phylogenetic relatedness of species increased with all the main indicators of urbanization (building surface, floors, pedestrian's density and level of light pollution) and was only mitigated by the presence of bushes. We argue that maintaining adequate levels of avian diversity within the urban settlements can help to increase the potential resilience of urban ecosystems exposed to the stress provoked by rapid and continuous changes. We listed some characteristics of the cities providing positive and negative effects on each facet of urban avian diversity.

Face mask-wear did not affect large-scale patterns in escape and alertness of urban and rural birds during the COVID-19 pandemic

Actions taken against the COVID-19 pandemic have dramatically affected many aspects of human activity, giving us a unique opportunity to study how wildlife responds to the human-induced rapid environmental changes. The wearing of face masks, widely adopted to prevent pathogen transmission, represents a novel element in many parts of the world where wearing a face mask was rare before the COVID-19 outbreak. During September 2020-March 2021, we conducted large-scale multi-species field experiments to evaluate whether face mask-use in public places elicits a behavioural response in birds by comparing their escape and alert responses when approached by a researcher with or without a face mask in four European countries (Czech Republic, Finland, Hungary, and Poland) and Israel. We also tested whether these patterns differed between urban and rural sites. We employed Bayesian generalized linear mixed models (with phylogeny and site as random factors) controlling for a suite of covariates and found no association between the face mask-wear and flight initiation distance, alert distance, and fly-away distance, respectively, neither in urban nor in rural birds. However, we found that all three distances were strongly and consistently associated with habitat type and starting distance, with birds showing earlier escape and alert behaviour and longer distances fled when approached in rural than in urban habitats and from longer initial distances. Our results indicate that wearing face masks did not trigger observable changes in antipredator behaviour across the Western Palearctic birds, and our data did not support the role of habituation in explaining this pattern.

Sacred oak woods increase bird diversity and specialization: Links with the European Biodiversity Strategy for 2030

Sacred groves in Greece are usually forest remnants with large trees around chapels, protected through centuries by Orthodox religion. We examined the comparative ecological value of 20 oak-dominated sacred groves vs managed oakwoods, in terms of their habitat characteristics and avian communities (passerines and woodpeckers). Sacred groves have maintained a more pronounced old-growth character than managed oakwoods in terms of average Diameter at Breast Height (DBH) and tree height. Besides holding significantly greater bird species richness and abundance, they supported greater functional richness, phylogenetic diversity, and phylogenetic bird species variability. Bird communities in sacred groves were more heterogeneous and showed greater avian specialization levels than in managed woods. Generalized Linear Models showed that the main factor positively affecting all aspects of bird diversity was DBH, while the abundance of dead trees increased bird abundance. Our results underline the importance of maintaining large-sized trees in forest management practices to support bird diversity and decrease biotic homogenization. Since the new European Biodiversity Strategy explicitly requires all remaining European primary and old-growth forests to be strictly protected by 2030, we argue that sacred groves, despite their small size, meet the criteria to be considered in the strict protection and restoration targets of the strategy, as primary old growth woods of high biodiversity value.

Effects of climate variation on bird escape distances modulate community responses to global change

Climate and land use are rapidly changing environmental conditions. Behavioral responses to such global perturbations can be used to incorporate interspecific interactions into predictive models of population responses to global change. Flight initiation distance (FID) reflects antipredator behaviour defined as the distance at which an individual takes flight when approached by a human, under standardized conditions. This behavioural trait results from a balance between disturbance, predation risk, food availability and physiological needs, and it is related to geographical range and population trends in European birds. Using 32,145 records of flight initiation distances for 229 bird species during 2006–2019 in 24 European localities, we show that FIDs decreased with increasing temperature and precipitation, as expected if foraging success decreased under warm and humid conditions. Trends were further altered by latitude, urbanisation and body mass, as expected if climate effects on FIDs were mediated by food abundance and need, differing according to position in food webs, supporting foraging models. This provides evidence for a role of behavioural responses within food webs on how bird populations and communities are affected by global change.

Selection of Urbanized Areas by Magpie Pica pica in a Medium Size City in Poland

Simple Summary

The aim of this study was to estimate the Magpie population and to give a detailed characterization of nest site selection in a medium size city in Poland (Gorzów Wlkp.) in the XXI century. We also focused on the analysis of nest site selection along an urban gradient. The average density of Magpies was 5.5 pairs/km² (min = 0, max = 22 nests/square). The Magpie density in those study squares situated completely within the city boundaries of Gorzów Wlkp. was 6.9 p/km², in the non-urbanized habitat type—3.7 p/km², and in the urbanized habitat type—13.5 p/km². The increasing proportion of the number of nests along the urbanization gradient shows that in Gorzów Wlkp., the Magpie population has undergone the synurbanization process and is currently in the “spread” phase. The study shows that Magpies can adapt to changing urbanization factors, and changes in the choice of conifers help the species to adapt to highly anthropogenic habitats.

Abstract

The Magpie Pica pica occurs all over open agricultural areas in Poland, especially near human settlements (particularly in western Poland). The aim of this study was to estimate the size of the local Magpie population and characterize, in detail, nest site selection in a medium size city Górzów Wlkp. in the XXI century. For this study, the whole city was divided into a total of 114 squares of 1 × 1 km. Data were collected in spring 2014. A total of 474 Magpie pairs were recorded. The average density was 5.5 pairs/km² (min = 0, max = 22 nests/square), in the non-urbanized habitat type—3.7 p/km², and in the urbanized habitat type—13.5 p/km². Magpie nests were found most often on Spruces Picea sp. and Poplars Populus sp. The mean height of the nest site was 11.5 m, while the mean height of trees used for nesting was 13.4 m. The type of tree arrangement most frequently used for nesting was tree rows (26.3%), followed by single trees (24.6%) and clusters of 4–10 trees (20.1%). The results for the Magpie’s environmental preferences do not differ from the general patterns described earlier. The study shows that magpies can adapt to changing urbanization factors, and changes in the choice of conifers help the species to adapt to highly anthropogenic habitats.

The role that nature conservation can play to mitigate the spread of future infectious diseases

The emergence of infectious diseases is reviewed highlighting the potential role played by main environmental anthropogenic disturbances as, deforestation, land-use change, human-induced climate change, biodiversity loss and the illegal wildlife trade. Ultimately, it is plausible that the human impact on the biosphere could be the root cause of these emerging diseases, and that economic globalization, population growth and landscape anthropization might increase the likelihood of the emergence of novel zoonoses. This pattern bears similarities to phenomena that occurred during the Neolithic period with the emergence of agriculture and cattle domestication. Still today such phenomena could be accelerated by the vastly increased traffic of people and goods. Finally, we argue in favour of strong policies and actions aiming to mitigate the human impact on natural ecosystems as a key strategy to prevent future zoonoses.

Eiders, nutrients and eagles: Bottom-up and top-down population dynamics in a marine bird

The main objective of this long-term study (1978-2016) was to find the underlying factors behind the declining trends of eider Somateria mollissima in the Baltic/Wadden Sea. Specifically, we aimed at quantifying the bottom-up effect of nutrients, through mussel stocks, on reproduction and abundance of eider, and the top-down effects caused by white-tailed eagle Haliaeetus albicilla predation. Bottom-up effects increase marine primary productivity with subsequent effects on food availability for a major mussel predator. Top-down effects may also regulate eider populations because during incubation female eiders are vulnerable to predation by eagles. Our structural equation modelling explained a large percentage of the variance in eider abundance. We conclude that the Baltic/Wadden Sea eider population was regulated directly by white-tailed sea eagle predation on incubating females and indirectly by the amount of nutrients in seawater affecting both mussel stocks and the breeding success of eiders, reflecting density dependence. These findings may explain the decreasing trend in the Baltic/Wadden Sea eider population during the last decades as an additive effect of top-down and bottom-up factors, and likely as an interaction between them.

Immune-inflammatory biomarkers as prognostic factors for immunotherapy in pretreated advanced urinary tract cancer patients: an analysis of the Italian SAUL cohort

Background

Reliable and affordable prognostic and predictive biomarkers for urothelial carcinoma treated with immunotherapy may allow patients' outcome stratification and drive therapeutic options. The SAUL trial investigated the safety and efficacy of atezolizumab in a real-world setting on 1004 patients with locally advanced or metastatic urothelial carcinoma who progressed to one to three prior systemic therapies.

Patients and methods

Using the SAUL Italian cohort of 267 patients, we investigated the prognostic role of neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and systemic immune-inflammation index (SII) and the best performing one of these in combination with programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) with or without lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Previously reported cut-offs (NLR >3 and NLR >5; SII >1375) in addition to study-defined ones derived from receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis were used.

Results

The cut-off values for NLR and SII by the ROC analysis were 3.65 (sensitivity 60.4; specificity 63.0) and 884 (sensitivity 64.4; specificity 67.5), respectively. The median overall survival (OS) was 14.7 months for NLR <3.65 [95% confidence interval (CI) 9.9-not reached (NR)] versus 6.0 months for NLR ≥3.65 (95% CI 3.9-9.4); 14.7 months for SII <884 (95% CI 10.6-NR) versus 6.0 months for SII ≥884 (95% CI 3.7-8.6). The combination of SII, PD-L1, and LDH stratified OS better than SII plus PD-L1 through better identification of patients with intermediate prognosis (77% versus 48%, respectively). Multivariate analyses confirmed significant correlations with OS and progression-free survival for both the SII + PD-L1 + LDH and SII + PD-L1 combinations.

Conclusion

The combination of immune-inflammatory biomarkers based on SII, PD-L1, with or without LDH is a potentially useful and easy-to-assess prognostic tool deserving validation to identify patients who may benefit from immunotherapy alone or alternative therapies.

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Reliable biomarkers for immunotherapy may assist in treatment decision making and clinical trial design and interpretation.

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Immune-inflammatory biomarkers were investigated for their prognostic role within the Italian SAUL study cohort.

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ROC-based cut-offs were 3.65 for NLR and 884 for SII.

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Both NLR and SII were prognostic with SII performing slightly better than NLR.

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The combination of SII, PD-L1, and LDH stratified OS better than SII + PD-L1; both were independent prognostic factors.

Urban green spaces in Dhaka, Bangladesh, harbour nearly half the country’s butterfly diversity

Cities currently harbour more than half of the world’s human population and continued urban expansion replaces natural landscapes and increases habitat fragmentation. The impacts of urbanisation on biodiversity have been extensively studied in some parts of the world, but there is limited information from South Asia, despite the rapid expansion of cities in the region. Here, we present the results of monthly surveys of butterflies in three urban parks in Dhaka city, Bangladesh, over a 3-year period (January 2014 to December 2016). We recorded 45% (137 of the 305 species) of the country’s butterfly richness, and 40% of the species detected are listed as nationally threatened. However, butterfly species richness declined rapidly in the three study areas over the 3-year period, and the decline appeared to be more severe among threatened species. We developed linear mixed effect models to assess the relationship between climatic variables and butterfly species richness. Overall, species richness was positively associated with maximum temperature and negatively with mean relative humidity and saturation deficit. Our results demonstrate the importance of urban green spaces for nationally threatened butterflies. With rapidly declining urban green spaces in Dhaka and other South Asian cities, we are likely to lose refuges for threatened fauna. There is an urgent need to understand urban biodiversity dynamics in the region, and for proactive management of urban green spaces to protect butterflies in South Asia.

Radical metastasectomy followed by sorafenib versus observation in patients withclear cell renal cell carcinoma: extended follow -up of efficacy results from the randomized phase II RESORT trial

Background: The RESORT trial showed no longer relapse free survival (RFS) with sorafenib following radical metastasectomy in metastatic renal cell carcinoma. We present the updated 42-month follow-up data.Methods: The phase II RESORT trial randomized patients to sorafenib or observation within 12 weeks from surgery. RFS was the primary endpoint.Results: We analyzed 68 patients (32 in sorafenib and 36 in the observation arm), randomized between November 2012 and November 2017. Eighty-one percent in the sorafenib arm and 80% in the observation arm had one metastasis . At a median follow-up of 42 months (interquartile range 31-58), in the observation arm the median RFS was 35 months, RFS probability was 57% (95% CI 42-76%) at 24 and 44% (95% CI 30-65%) at 48 months. In the sorafenib arm, median RFS was 21 months, RFS probability was 50% (95% CI 34-71%) at 24 and 32% (95% CI 18-57%) at 48 months (p = 0.342;HR 1.35;95% CI 0.72-2.54). Forty-seven percent and 37.5% of the patients in the two arms, respectively, are disease free. The site of relapses was independent of the previous metastasectomy site.Expert commentary: Sorafenib after metastasectomy did not improve RFS, but surgery in selected patients should be considered in order to potentially improve survival.Clinical trial registration: www.clinicaltrials.gov identifier is NCT0144480.

Diet specialization and brood parasitism in cuckoo species

Brood parasitism is a breeding strategy adopted by many species of cuckoos across the world. This breeding strategy influences the evolution of life histories of brood parasite species.In this study, we tested whether the degree on diet specialization is related to the breeding strategy in cuckoo species, by comparing brood parasite and nonparasite species. We measured the gradient of diet specialization of cuckoos, by calculating the Gini coefficient, an index of inequality, on the multiple traits describing the diet of species. The Gini coefficient is a measure of statistical dispersion on a scale between 0 and 1, reflecting a gradient from low to high specialization, respectively. First, we tested the strength of the phylogenetic signal of diet specialization index among cuckoo species worldwide. Then, we ran phylogenetic generalized least square (PGLS) models to compare diet specialization, distribution range, and body mass of parasitic and nonparasitic cuckoo species, considering the phylogenetic signal of data.After adjusting for the phylogenetic signal of the data and considering both, species distribution range and species body mass, brood parasitic cuckoos were characterized by higher diet specialization than nonbrood parasitic species. Brood parasitic species were also characterized by a larger breeding distribution range than nonparasitic species.The findings of this study provide an additional understanding of the cuckoos' ecology, relating diet and breeding strategies, information that could be important in conservation ecology.

Tick parasitism is associated with home range area in the sand lizard, Lacerta agilis

The sand lizard (Lacerta agilis) is a common species in Europe that inhabits a wide range of habitats, including anthropogenic environments. It is a frequent carrier of common ticks (Ixodes ricinus), which poses a severe threat to the lizards’ health. We determined the living space used by lizards in a rapidly changing environment and ascertained the number of parasitic ticks found throughout the reptile’s active season. We conducted telemetry research on a dynamically developing housing estate located on the outskirts of the city of Zielona Góra (western Poland) in 2016-2017. We obtained data from 16 adult lizards, from which we collected 2529 ticks. Using generalized linear models (GLMs), we determined the relationships among the number of transmitted parasites, size of occupied areas (minimum convex polygon, MCP), the weight of lizards, and sex of lizards. Results indicated that the number of ticks was negatively correlated with lizard body mass, but positively correlated with home range. Sex was not significantly associated with the number of ticks. Additionally, the parasite load was lower during the lizard’s non-breeding season than during the breeding season and was lower for males than for females during the non-breeding season. Males have larger home ranges than females.

Land-sharing vs. land-sparing urban development modulate predator-prey interactions in Europe

Urban areas are expanding globally as a consequence of human population increases, with overall negative effects on biodiversity. To prevent the further loss of biodiversity, it is urgent to understand the mechanisms behind this loss to develop evidence-based sustainable solutions to preserve biodiversity in urban landscapes. The two extreme urban development types along a continuum, land-sparing (large, continuous green areas and high-density housing) and land-sharing (small, fragmented green areas and low-density housing) have been the recent focus of debates regarding the pattern of urban development. However, in this context, there is no information on the mechanisms behind the observed biodiversity changes. One of the main mechanisms proposed to explain urban biodiversity loss is the alteration of predator-prey interactions. Using ground-nesting birds as a model system and data from nine European cities, we experimentally tested the effects of these two extreme urban development types on artificial ground nest survival and whether nest survival correlates with the local abundance of ground-nesting birds and their nest predators. Nest survival (n = 554) was lower in land-sharing than in land-sparing urban areas. Nest survival decreased with increasing numbers of local predators (cats and corvids) and with nest visibility. Correspondingly, relative abundance of ground-nesting birds was greater in land-sparing than in land-sharing urban areas, though overall bird species richness was unaffected by the pattern of urban development. We provide the first evidence that predator-prey interactions differ between the two extreme urban development types. Changing interactions may explain the higher proportion of ground-nesting birds in land-sparing areas, and suggest a limitation of the land-sharing model. Nest predator control and the provision of more green-covered urban habitats may also improve conservation of sensitive birds in cities. Our findings provide information on how to further expand our cities without severe loss of urban-sensitive species and give support for land-sparing over land-sharing urban development.

Biodiversity within the city: Effects of land sharing and land sparing urban development on avian diversity

Urbanization, one of the most extreme human-induced environmental changes, is negatively affecting biodiversity worldwide, strongly suggesting that we should reconcile urban development with conservation. Urbanization can follow two extreme types of development within a continuum: land sharing (buildings mixed with dispersed green space) or land sparing (buildings interspersed with green patches that concentrate biodiversity-supporting vegetation). Recent local-scale studies indicate that biodiversity is typically favored by land sparing. We investigated which of these two types of urbanization is associated with a higher taxonomic (i.e. species richness), functional, and phylogenetic diversity of birds. To do so, we collected information on breeding and wintering bird assemblages in 45 land-sharing and 45 land-sparing areas in nine European cities, which provide the first attempt to explore this question using a large geographical scale and temporal replication. We found that land-sharing urban areas were significantly associated with a higher taxonomic and functional diversity of birds during winter, but not during the breeding season (with only a marginally significant effect for functional diversity). We found no association between the type of urban development and phylogenetic diversity. Our findings indicate that not all components of avian diversity are similarly affected by these two means of urban planning and highlight the importance of integrating the temporal perspective into this kind of studies. Our results also offer useful information to the current debate about the trade-off between biodiversity conservation and human well-being in the context of land sharing and sparing urban practices. In addition, we found that certain small-scale urban landscape characteristics (i.e. few impervious surfaces, high water or tree cover) and human practices (i.e. bird feeders or plants with berries) can help maintaining more diverse urban bird assemblages. We provide specific suggestions for both policymakers and citizens that hopefully will help to create more biodiversity-friendly cities in the future.

Pigmented Villonodular Synovitis: A Rare Case of Anterior Ankle Impingement

INTRODUCTION

Anterior ankle impingement is characterized by a painful range of motion (ROM)limitation of tibiotarsal joint. More than 70% of cases are secondary to trauma or repetitive microtrauma of the anterior aspect of the ankle such as it occurs during ball kicking ("footballer's ankle") or forced plantar flexion (ballet dancers, volleyball players, and runners) in people practicing sport for many years. There are other causes of anterior ankle impingement. We report a case of villonodular synovitis that, also less common, has to be considered in diagnostic flowchart.

CASE REPORT

In this paper, we report a rare case of pigmented villonodular synovitis (PVNS) in a 37-year-old Caucasian male soccer player, with a 4-year story of ankle swelling and ROM painful limitation.

CONCLUSION

PVNS, although it is an unusual cause of anterior ankle impingement, needs an early diagnosis and surgical excision to prevent extra-articular extension of the mass, cartilage damage, and soft tissue compression.

FATAL cryptococcal meningitis in a child with hyper-immunoglobulin M syndrome, with an emphasis on the agent

Following a fatal case of Cryptococcus neoformans meningitis in a child with X-linked hyper-immunoglobulin M syndrome (XHIGM), we evaluated the fungal isolate in an experimental infection in a mouse model with respect to microbiology, epidemiology, virulence and response to therapy. The minimum inhibitory concentrations for antifungals in the susceptibility test were 0.5mg/L for amphotericin B, 4.0mg/L for fluconazole and 0.12mg/L for voriconazole. Evaluation of pathogenicity by means of an experimental infection in BALB/c mice showed that fungus isolated from the blood and cerebrospinal fluid of the child was able to disseminate, reaching the spleen, lungs and brain, where it caused significant macroscopic alterations in the size and texture of each organ. Treatment of infected mice with amphotericin B reduced the fungal load in the spleen and lungs, but not in the brain.