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Birds of a Feather Eat Plastic Together: High Levels of Plastic Ingestion in Great Shearwater Adults and Juveniles Across Their Annual Migratory Cycle
Get PDFLimited work to date has examined plastic ingestion in highly migratory seabirds like Great Shearwaters (Ardenna gravis) across their entire migratory range. We examined 217 Great Shearwaters obtained from 2008–2019 at multiple locations spanning their yearly migration cycle across the Northwest and South Atlantic to assess accumulation of ingested plastic as well as trends over time and between locations. A total of 2328 plastic fragments were documented in the ventriculus portion of the gastrointestinal tract, with an average of 9 plastic fragments per bird. The mass, count, and frequency of plastic occurrence (FO) varied by location, with higher plastic burdens but lower FO in South Atlantic adults and chicks from the breeding colonies. No fragments of the same size or morphology were found in the primary forage fish prey, the Sand Lance (Ammodytes spp., n = 202) that supports Great Shearwaters in Massachusetts Bay, United States, suggesting the birds directly ingest the bulk of their plastic loads rather than accumulating via trophic transfer. Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy indicated that low- and high-density polyethylene were the most common polymers ingested, within all years and locations. Individuals from the South Atlantic contained a higher proportion of larger plastic items and fragments compared to analogous life stages in the NW Atlantic, possibly due to increased use of remote, pelagic areas subject to reduced inputs of smaller, more diverse, and potentially less buoyant plastics found adjacent to coastal margins. Different signatures of polymer type, size, and category between similar life stages at different locations suggests rapid turnover of ingested plastics commensurate with migratory stage and location, though more empirical evidence is needed to ground-truth this hypothesis. This work is the first to comprehensively measure the accumulation of ingested plastics by Great Shearwaters over the last decade and across multiple locations spanning their yearly trans-equatorial migration cycle and underscores their utility as sentinels of plastic pollution in Atlantic ecosystems
Organophosphate ester pollution in the oceans
Get PDFThe large-scale use of organophosphate esters (OPEs) as flame retardants and plasticizers has led to their prevalence in the environment, with still unknown broader impacts. This Review describes the transport and occurrence of OPEs in marine systems and summarizes emerging evidence of their biogeochemical and ecosystem impacts. Long-range environmental transport via the atmosphere and ocean currents distributes OPEs from industrialized regions to the open ocean. OPEs are most prevalent in coastal regions, but notable concentrations are also found in the Arctic and regions far from shore. Air–water interactions are important for the transport of OPEs to remote oceans and polar regions. Processes such as degradation and sinking of particle-bound compounds modulate the properties and fate of OPEs in the water column, where they are potentially a non-accounted source of anthropogenic organic phosphorus for microbial communities. Some OPEs have toxic effects in marine species and are found in measurable quantities in fish and other aquatic organisms. However, there is conflicting evidence on the potential for bioaccumulation and biomagnification of OPEs. Future work must constrain the large-scale impact of OPEs on marine biota and biogeochemistry to support more effective regulation and mitigation
Physical radiofrequency adjuvant enhances immune responses to influenza H5N1 vaccination
No full textPre-pandemic influenza H5N1 vaccine has relatively low immunogenicity and often requires high antigen amounts and two immunizations to induce protective immunity. Incorporation of vaccine adjuvants is promising to stretch vaccine doses during pandemic outbreaks. This study presents a physical radiofrequency (RF) adjuvant (RFA) to conveniently and effectively increase the immunogenicity and efficacy of H5N1 vaccine without modification of vaccine preparation. Physical RFA is based on a brief RF treatment of the skin to induce thermal stress to enhance intradermal vaccine-induced immune responses with minimal local or systemic adverse reactions. We found that physical RFA could significantly increase H5N1 vaccine-induced hemagglutination inhibition antibody titers in murine models. Intradermal H5N1 vaccine in the presence of RFA but not vaccine alone significantly lowered lung viral titers, reduced body weight loss, and improved survival rates after lethal viral challenges. The improved protection in the presence of RFA was correlated with enhanced humoral and cellular immune responses to H5N1 vaccination in both male and female mice, indicating no gender difference of RFA effects in murine models. Our data support further development of the physical RFA to conveniently enhance the efficacy of H5N1 vaccine
What socioeconomic factors influence breastfeeding rates?
Get PDFThe American Academy of Pediatricians recommends exclusively breastfeeding for six months due to breast milk\u27s nutritional value and protection against various long term and short-term illnesses. Children who are exclusively breastfed for six months have reduced rates of asthma, obesity, type 1 diabetes, severe lower respiratory disease, acute otitis media, sudden infant death syndrome, gastrointestinal infections, and necrotizing enterocolitis in premature infants. The CDC’s most recent national immunizations study, observing infants born in 2018, discovered that only 56.7% of infants were being breastfed at six months and not exclusively. And only 25.8% of infants born in 2018 were breastfed exclusively for the recommended six months. The aim of my research is to determine if socioeconomic factors influence the rate and duration that new mothers breastfeed. While doing my literature review, I searched for relevant, peer reviewed articles using keywords like equity, breastfeeding, and socioeconomic factors. The WIC program has done several studies on breastfeeding rates and the challenges mothers have while breastfeeding. The requirements for this program often classify participants as socioeconomically marginalized, or SEM, and these were useful in my results as well. I discovered that education level and employment status influence both the breastfeeding rate and duration. The breastfeeding rate of new mothers who are employed decreases after 3 months, which correlates directly with the amount of paid maternity leave the US requires. Also, the type of job and work support system was a huge determinant of breastfeeding rates. Individuals with lower incomes have reduced breastfeeding rates. There was a lack of information on how income level influences breastfeeding rates and duration and more research needs to be done on this topic. Interventions that improve rates and duration of breastfeeding among women of all socioeconomic status include education, counseling, and support for new mothers across the socioeconomic scale. The baby friendly initiative in hospitals have positively influenced breastfeeding rates too. This information is valuable for health care workers. They can prioritize these interventions in individuals with socioeconomic factors that negatively affect breastfeeding rates and duration
Cultivating Healthy Communities: Refugee Urban Farmers in Providence, RI: Report No. 2 of Land Conservation and Inequality Series
Get PDFUrban farming programs for refugees have become more common across the U.S. (Jean, 2015). Access to agricultural space, whether community gardens or market farms, can lead to improved health for those who have faced forced displacement, violence, and difficulties associated with resettlement. Community gardens in particular offer a range of benefits to refugees, including improvements to physical and mental health, food security, and social support (e.g., Malberg Dyg, 2020). Community gardens also provide refugees with opportunities for economic development (e.g., Banulescu-Bogdan, 2020).
However, access to agricultural space in a dense urban area is challenging, particularly for groups from marginalized backgrounds, such as refugees. To better meet the needs of refugee farmers in urban areas, it is critical to identify the barriers that impede access to agricultural space. This report explains the challenges and needs related to farmland access among a group of refugees in Providence, Rhode Island.
This report comes from a larger study investigating inequality and environmental justice in the context of farm and open space conservation. Distributional Impacts of Farm and Open Space Conservation is funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (NIFA Award No. 2018-67024-27695). Principal investigator is Corey Lang in the Department of Environmental & Natural Resource Economics at the University of Rhode Island, with co-investigator Amy Ando in the Department of Agricultural Economics at the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, and co-investigator Julie C. Keller in the Department of Sociology & Anthropology at the University of Rhode Island