Communities In Different Stages Research Articles

Participatory ethnobotany: comparison between two quilombos in the Atlantic Forest, Ubatuba, São Paulo, Brazil

Ethnobotanical studies that use the participatory research approach seek to involve the residents of a community in different stages of the study, promoting the registration, dissemination and strengthening of local knowledge, as well as the empowerment of decisions related to the sustainable use and management of resources. Using the participatory methodology, this study recorded and made a comparative analysis on the use of plants in two quilombola communities (Quilombo do Cambury-QC and Quilombo da Fazenda-QF) in the State of São Paulo. After a training on anthropological and botanical methods, local researchers selected and interviewed the local experts, recording their knowledge on plant uses and collecting the indicated plants, to be identified and deposited in herbariums. In addition, participant observation and field diaries were used by the academic researchers, helping to analyze the data. To test the differences in the composition of species known to local community, a Jaccard dissimilarity matrix was created, and a Permanova test was employed. During the 178 days of fieldwork, three local researchers from the QC and two from the QF, selected nine and eight experts on the uses of the plants in each quilombo, respectively, corresponding to 214 plant species, indicated for eight ethnobotanical categories. Our hypothesis has been confirmed, since the traditional knowledge found in both quilombos, regarding plant uses and the number of plant species by category, are distinct, since each community occupies particular plant areas and different phytophysiognomies. Most of the indicated species are native to the Atlantic forest, and no significant differences were observed in the proportion of native species vs. introduced among quilombos for any of the categories of use studied. Furthermore, the innovative methodology used, participatory ethnobotany, contributed to the empowerment of community members with regard to the use of their available resources in the environment in which they live, while retaining the intellectual property rights over their own knowledge.

Structural and functional diversity of the microbiome during the Phaeocystis globosa winter bloom in the southern Yellow Sea of China

Phytoplankton blooms affect the microbial community seriously in marine ecosystems. Here, we used 16 S rRNA gene high-throughput sequencing and functional prediction to reveal the microbiome communities in different stages of the Phaeocystis globosa bloom in the southern Yellow Sea in December 2021. The total microbial abundance and diversity increased from the middle to the late stage of the bloom, but the dominant taxa remained the same, including Alphaproteobacteria, Bacteroidia, and Gammaproteobacteria. In terms of temporal changes, the abundance of Alphaproteobacteria decreased significantly over time (p < 0.05). The dominant families in both periods were Rhodobacteraceae and Flavobacteriaceae, but their abundance varied significantly over time (p < 0.05), for the proportion of Rhodobacteraceae decreased from 51.05% to 43.55%, while the Flavobacteriaceae increased from 16.60% to 20.91%. Other less abundant but important functional groups also varied significantly over time, with the percentage of Comamonadaceae decreased (p < 0.001), while Methylophagaceae and Microbacteriaceae increased dramatically (p < 0.01). The predicted functions of the microbial communities were characterized by chemoheterotrophy, oxidation of sulfur, sulfur compounds and sulfite, and reduction of nitrate, and significant differences were also observed between stages and fractions. Multiple environmental factors (temperature, phosphate, silicate, and colony density) showed significant effects on the microbial community, and phylogenetic-based mean nearest taxon distance (MNTD) analyses indicated that stochastic processes were more important in governing the spatiotemporal assembly of the microbiome during the bloom. Overall, the microbial responses to the P. globosa bloom suggested a substrate-controlled succession in the microbiome communities.

Local communities and transparency in Indonesian mining legislation

As Indonesia’s mining industry plays an important role in the national economy and global mineral supply chain, local communities and the environment are increasingly affected by the mining industry. This article examines Indonesia’s 2009 Mining Law to understand why it failed to effectively address the needs of communities impacted by extractive industries. Using three key elements of transformative transparency – access to information, meaningful participation and government accountability – the analysis shows that although the law sought to incorporate perspectives of local communities in different stages of the mineral value chain, it failed to ensure that local communities had adequate access to mining-related information, space for participation in decision-making and mechanisms for holding powerful actors accountable. These shortcomings are not addressed in the recent amendment of the law. Instead, the 2020 amendment reverses the promises of decentralisation and democratisation of the country’s mining sector.

Biological methanation of H2 and CO2 in a continuous stirred tank reactor

The biological methanation of H2 and CO2 is beneficial to industrial upgrading of anaerobic digestion, efficient utilization of surplus electricity and H2, energy storage and peak regulation, as well as CO2 emission reduction. Applying well-developed continuous stirred tank reactor (CSTR) for methanation is economical and convenient. In this study, the biological methanation process was conducted in a CSTR for 151 days. H2 and CO2 were the substrates and no external additives were added. The maximum CH4 yield was 355.8 mL/(L·d) at a CH4 content of 94.8%, and after double loading shock and recovery, the highest CH4 content of 99.5% was achieved at a CH4 yield of 249.3 mL/(L·d). The reactor could run stably at a pH around 8.5, and CO2 flow was adjusted for pH control. As the experiment proceeded, hydrogenotrophic methanogens were enriched, and the microbial community in different stages had significant succession. Acetate was accumulated after loading shock, causing proportion increase of Natronincola, a genus of homoacetogen. Pseudomonas, an acetate-consuming and electroactive bacterium, was dominant in later period. Methanosarcina and Methanoculleus were in the majority of archaea, accounting for 80%–90%. In stable phase, 72.8% of the input CO2 flowed to CH4, 17.8% consumed in rising pH, and 8.9% increased VFAs and microbes. As a complex system with competition and synergy among different reactions, the scientific design and regulation of the system to achieve an efficient methanation process is an important direction for future research.

The Risk Monitoring of Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin A in Critical Control Point of Soy Sauce Aroma-Type Baijiu Production.

Soy sauce aroma-type baijiu-producing regions are mostly in southwest China (Guizhou and Sichuan province) with a hot and humid subtropical monsoon climate, which is conducive to the propagation of toxigenic fungi. This suggests that there is a risk of potential contamination by mycotoxins in the soy sauce aroma-type baijiu production process, which poses significant food safety risks. Few studies on the safety of mycotoxins in soy sauce aroma-type baijiu production exist. Aiming to evaluate the safety of mycotoxins in soy sauce aroma-type baijiu during its production, this study screened and analyzed mycotoxic risk at critical points throughout the production process, investigated from raw materials, daqu, alcoholic fermentative grains, crude baijiu and microbial communities in different stages of the production process. The aflatoxins (AFs) and ochratoxin A (OTA) contents in wheat, daqu, alcoholic fermentative grains and crude baijiu samples were detected by ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry. Mycotoxins were detected in wheat, daqu and alcoholic fermentative grains. The AFs and OTA detection rates, as well as their contents in the daqu samples, were relatively higher compared to those observed in the wheat and alcoholic fermentative grains. AFs were detected in 30% of the daqu samples, while OTA was detected in 20% of the daqu samples, though the contents of both AFs and OTA were under the maximum limit of the Chinese national standard. Furthermore, the fungi contained in daqu samples were isolated and identified, and the results showed that no fungi in the separated bacterial strains were producers of mycotoxins. According to the assessment results, the safety of soy sauce aroma-type baijiu production process in terms of AFs and OTA is confirmed.

Vegetation richness, species identity and soil nutrients drive the shifts in soil bacterial communities during restoration process.

Soil bacteria play an essential role in functioning of ecosystems and maintaining of biogeochemical cycles. However, little is known about changes in the compositions and functional groups of soil bacterial communities during different restoration stages. The influences of aboveground vegetation and belowground soil properties on soil bacterial communities were also unclear during this process. Here we sequenced the soil bacterial communities in different stages of sand fixation. Sand fixation increased the diversity of the bacterial communities, among which the populations of Actinobacteria, Acidobacteria and Gemmatimonadetes changed significantly. The function prediction showed sand fixation increased Gram-positive and aerobic bacteria. Bacterial structure is significantly correlated with plant richness, coverage and biomass. In particular, we found species identity was an important determinant in structuring bacterial composition. Soil properties were all significantly correlated with soil bacterial community richness and diversity. Fusobacteria was strongly positively correlated with sand, Chloroflexi with total N and Gemmatimonadetes with SOM and total C. It suggested that soil nutrients (TC, TN and SOM) have large consequences for soil bacterial community dissimilarities. These results indicated that vegetation richness, especially species identity, together with improvement in soil nutrients, play key roles in driving the shifts in soil microbial community structure and function during restoration process.

Patterns of Bacterial Community Composition and Diversity Following the Embryonic Development Stages of Macrobrachium rosenbergii

During the evolution of aquatic animals, co-evolution between host and microbes has been overlooked. Previous studies have shown that microbes were present in the fertilized egg of fish, but compared with fish, little information is available for crustaceans. High-throughput Illumina Miseq DNA sequencing of the V3-V4 domain of the 16S rRNA gene was used to assess the microbial community composition during different stages of embryonic development in Macrobrachium rosenbergii: fertilized egg stage (OM1), cleavage stage (OM2), blastula stage (OM3), gastrula stage (OM4), egg nauplius stage (OM5), egg metanauplius stage (OM6), protozoea stage (OM7) and zoea stage (OM8). Water samples (WMZ) were also assessed. The results showed that Proteobacteria (82.92%), Bacteroidetes (9.27%), and Actinobacteria (4.49%) were the predominant phylum in the M. rosenbergii embryo. At the genus level, the microbial composition was constantly changing during embryonic development. We concluded that OM3 and OM4 might be the critical stage for transformation of the microbial composition in the M. rosenbergii embryo. The main factor responsible for microbial colonization in the embryo was primarily selective pressure exerted by the shrimp, while the microbial community in the water environment had a lower impact. This study describes bacterial communities in different stages of embryonic development in M. rosenbergii, and the effects of the surrounding environment on microbial colonization. These findings provide valuable information for further studies examining the formation of early intestinal flora in crustaceans.

Microbial ecology might serve as new indicator for the influence of green tide on the coastal water quality: Assessment the bioturbation of Ulva prolifera outbreak on bacterial community in coastal waters

Abstract The massive outbreak of Ulva prolifera had brought significant ecological impacts on marine coastal areas. In order to clarify the influence of outbreak of U. prolifera on marine microbial ecosystem, the microbial communities in different stages of blooming were analyzed by high-throughput sequencing. The sequences were clustered into 2979 operational taxonomic units (OTUs), and Shannon estimator varied from 3.241 to 4.892. The OTUs number and Shannon estimator demonstrated that both parameters were higher in samples HY_2–4, QD_2–4, RZ_2–4 than in HY_1, QD_1, RZ_1, indicating that the massive outbreak of U. prolifera caused the increase of microbial community diversity in coastal waters. The outbreak of U. prolifera led to increase in the abundance of some bacteria. According to the network analysis, the differences in hot bacteria in different stages indicated that the outbreak of U. prolifera caused the variation of microbial community. Based on Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) metabolic pathway analysis, the abundance of 41 metabolic pathways had changed due to the outbreak of U. prolifera. The microbial community could recover gradually after the disappearance of U. prolifera. The relative abundance of dominant genera Methylophaga, Polaribacter, Marinobacterium, Marivita, Tenacibaculum, Vibrio, Planktomarina, Crocinitomix, Draconibacterium, norank_f_Alteromonadaceae in stage 6 (after the outbreak of U. prolifera) kept the same level as stage 1 (before the outbreak of U. prolifera). These findings suggested that microbial ecology might serve as new indicator for the influence of green tide on the coastal water quality since marine microbial ecosystem could be temporarily bioturbated during the outbreak of the green tide.

What is the Relevance of Gastric Microbiota Beyond H. pylori?

The role of Helicobacter pylori as key factor in gastric inflammation and the development of (pre-)cancerous lesions is undisputable. As an open system, the human upper gastrointestinal tract harbors a complex bacterial community which is highly impacted by the absence or presence of H. pylori. The interaction between other bacteria and H. pylori might impact on gastric carcinogenesis. Several studies demonstrated differences in the composition of the gastric bacterial community in different stages of gastritis and between samples from tumor and adjacent tissue. In addition, animal studies demonstrated an increased and accelerated development of precancerous lesions in mice colonized with intestinal flora and H. pylori compared with mice mono-infected with H. pylori. Other bacteria beyond H. pylori enter the focus in research on gastric carcinogenesis. However, we are still far from a thorough understanding of the pathophysiology of host-microbiota interaction and its impact on the development of malignant and precancerous changes.

Aerobic Denitrification and Microbial Community Shift in SBR Bioaugmented with Strains YH01 and YH02

The enhanced aerobic denitrification capability of the mixed strains YH01+YH02 in utilizing potassium nitrate, and the dynamic changes in the microbial community component during the period of operation, were evaluated. The microbial community in different stages of the SBR was analyzed by using high-throughput sequencing technology after inoculation with YH01+YH02. The results showed that the NO3--N, TN, and COD removal efficiencies increased by 12.1%, 9.2%, and 9.4%, respectively. The relative abundances of the microbes in the microbial community increased at the genus level, and the diversity in the microbial community decreased after enhancement. Principal component analysis and UPGMA analysis revealed that the period of SBR operation was roughly divined into four phases. The relative abundances of Delftia and Acidovorax increased during the period of operation, and YH01+YH02 exhibited excellent compatibility with the SBR ecosystem and played an important part in aerobic denitrification.

Structure of the Bacterial Community in Different Stages of Early Childhood Caries.

To characterise in vivo the structure of bacterial communities in decayed and sound primary teeth. Samples of biofilms were collected from three groups of patients with complete and exclusively primary dentition (n = 45): G1: sound teeth (n = 15); G2: enamel lesion (n = 15); G3: dentin lesion (n = 15). DNA was extracted (CTAB 2%) from the biofilm, the partial 16S rRNA gene was amplified with Bacteria Universal Primers (BA338fGC - UN518r) and subjected to DGGE (denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis). Multidimensional scaling and ANOSIM (analysis of similarity) were employed to determine the structure of the bacterial communities. The amplicon richness was determined by averaging amplicons, with the differences between treatments determined with ANOVA, while means were compared using Tukey's test (p < 0.05). Compared to sound teeth, a greater variety of bacterial communities was found in decayed teeth. Despite the differences between the bacterial communities of sound teeth and decayed teeth, the Venn diagram showed that the samples had 38 amplicons in common. Greater amplicon richness was observed in samples of decayed teeth (enamel: 20.5 ± 2.7; dentin: 20.1 ± 2.8) compared with the sound samples (12.0 ± 4.3) (p <0.05), indicating enhanced growth for specific groups of bacteria on decayed teeth. Although there is less bacterial diversity on sound than ECC-decayed teeth, the bacterial communities are very similar.

Livelihood changes and evolution of upland ethnic communities driven by tourism: a case study in Guizhou Province, southwest China

As an effective livelihood approach to alleviate poverty without rural population migration, ethnic tourism has become the primary choice of economic development in ethnic areas worldwide in addition to traditional livelihood approaches. This article applies the theories of livelihood to study the community evolution driven by tourism livelihood and examine three mountainous tourism communities in different stages of tourist area life cycle. Drawing on the methods of GIS spatial analysis, semi-structured interviews and questionnaires, this article proposes a sustainable livelihood framework for ethnic tourism to explore the evolution of ethnic tourism communities by identifying changes in livelihood assets (natural, financial, social, cultural and human capitals) in the process of tourism development. The results show that the development of ethnic tourism has led to changes in the increase of building land, and the diversification of land use functions with a trend of shifting from meeting local villagers' living needs to satisfying tourists, income composition and uneven distribution of tourism income spatially. Ethnic tourism also led to the deterioration of traditional social management structure, collapse of neighboring relationship, the over- commercialization and staged authenticity of ethnic culture, as well as the gradual vanish of agricultural knowledge with a trend of increasing modern business knowledge and higher education. In addition, these changes, involving livelihood assets from natural, economic, human, social and cultural aspects are interrelated and interactive, which form new evolution characters of ethnic community. This study reveals the conflicts over livelihood approaches which have formed new vulnerabilities to impact on sustainable evolution of ethnic communities. This research provides implications for achieving the sustainable development of ethnic communities with the driving force of tourism livelihood.

Community structure, succession and invasibility in a seasonal deciduous forest in southern Brazil

Majority of invasive trees colonize grasslands, shrublands, and temperate forests. Hovenia dulcis is an exception, because it is one of the most pervasive invaders in Brazilian subtropical forests where it has changed their structure and composition. This study has aimed to identify the clues for its success by defining the structural and functional characteristics of plant communities in different stages of succession with and without H. dulcis. Following the general assumptions of invasion ecology, we expected that H. dulcis establishment and invasion success would be significantly higher in early successional communities, with high resource availability and low species richness and diversity, as well as low functional diversity. Contrary to this hypothesis, no differences were found between plant communities invaded and non-invaded by H. dulcis at three different succession stages. No relationship was found between species richness and diversity and functional diversity, with respect to invasibility along the successional gradient. Hovenia dulcis is strongly associated with semi-open vegetation, where the species was found in higher density. The invasion of open vegetation is more recent, providing evidence of the species’s ability to invade plant communities in early successional stages. We concluded that the colonization by H. dulcis was associated with forest openness, but the species is also able to colonize semi-open vegetation, and persist in the successionally more advanced communities.

Assessment of Changes in Community Level Physiological Profile and Molecular Diversity of Bacterial Communities in Different Stages of Jute Retting

Retting of jute is essentially microbiological and biochemical in nature. Community Level Physiological Profiles (CLPP) as well as genomic diversity of bacterial communities were assessed in water samples collected during pre-retting, after 1st and 2nd charges of retting. The water samples were collected from two widely cultivated jute growing locations, Sonatikari (22 degrees 41'27"N; 88 degrees 35'44"E) and Baduria (22 degrees 44'24"N; 88 degrees 47'24"E), West Bengal, India. The CLPP, expressed as net area under substrate utilization curve, was studied by carbon source utilization patterns in BIOLOG Ecoplates. Molecular diversity was studied by polymerase chain reaction followed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) of total DNA from water samples. Both between locations and stages of retting, substrate utilizations pattern were carbohydrates > carboxylic acids > polymers > amino acids > amines/amides > phenolic compounds. Differential substrate utilization pattern as well as variation in banding pattern in DGGE profiles was observed between the two locations and at different stages of retting. The variations in CLPP in different stages of retting were due to the change in bacterial communities.

Effects of wetland degradation on bacterial community in the Zoige Wetland of Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau (China)

Wetland degradation makes significant impacts on soil, and bacterial communities in soil are likely to respond to these impacts. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of soil property, soil type and soil depth on bacterial community in different stages of soil degradation in the Zoige Wetland. Microbial biomass carbon was estimated from chloroform fumigation-extraction. Bacterial communities were evaluated by cluster and principal component analysis of DGGE banding patterns and sequencing of partial 16S rDNA PCR amplicons. Experimental results showed that microbial biomass carbon decreased with the soil types (Peat soil > Swamp soil > Meadow soil > Sandy soil) and declined with soil depths (0-20>20-40>40-60cm). Bacterial community was affected by soil type more primarily than by soil depth. In addition, the microbial biomass carbon was strongly correlated with soil water content, soil organic carbon and total nitrogen. Sequence analysis of DGGE bands indicated that bacterial phyla of α-Proteobacteria, γ-Proteobacteria, Bacteroidetes, Flavobacterium and Unidentified bacterium predominantly existed in the soil. All these results suggest that specific changes in soil property, soil type and soil depth affected soil bacterial community both quantitatively and qualitatively.

Examples of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) application in marine ecology studies in the northern Adriatic

Photosynthetic pigments have proved to be useful biomarkers of the abundance, composition and physiological status of the phytoplankton biomass in the marine environment. Using HPLC pigment analysis, we determined phytoplankton community structure in three different marine environments: in the area of a fish farm, in the area of sewage outlets, and in the mucilaginous aggregates. At the reference site we observed seasonal changes with prevalence of fucoxanthin-containing phytoplankton (i.e. diatoms) during winter/spring and autumn. In the fish farm area the concentration of chlorophyll a degradation products was higher, whereas in the locally enriched environment of sewage outlets we observed only small changes in taxonomic composition and phytoplankton biomass. The impact of season is more expressed than the impact of sewage discharge. With the use of HPLC pigment analysis we determined the development of phytoplankton community in different stages of mucilage aggregates. Phytoplankton biomass was composed primarily of diatoms, and as the aggregates aged, diatoms increased in the relative biomass. Our examples have proven the usefulness and suitability of HPLC pigment analysis in marine ecology studies.

Culturally Competent Health Promotion: The Potential of Participatory Video for Empowering Migrant and Minority Ethnic Communities

While the concept of cultural competence has emerged as a major contribution to improving migrants' and minority ethnic (MME) health, what constitutes culturally competent health promotion is less well understood. This paper explores the tension between the concept of cultural competence and community empowerment through an analysis of the author's recent experience of a participatory video project in which four ethnic/language groups were involved in the production of a breast‐screening video. It illustrates the engagement of migrants and minority ethnic communities in different stages of the video production process, and critically reflects on how this experience could be understood. It concludes that culturally competent health promotion requires us to go beyond language and cultural sensitivity to engage critically with communities to participate in health promotion activities. Participatory video has the potential not only to promote health messages in the communities, but also to strengthen capacity and cultural identities.

Determination of virus abundance, diversity and distribution in a municipal wastewater treatment plant

Procedures to extract and count sludge viruses-like particles from municipal sewage treatment plant were optimized by epifluorescence microscopy using SYBR Green I as a stain. The highest indigenous virus yields from the bulk of the anaerobic digestion sludge and influent (solid) were obtained by utilizing 10 mM sodium pyrophosphate as eluant solution with vortex and 1 min of sonication. The use of 1× phosphate buffered saline as eluant with vortex and 1 min of sonication yields highest indigenous virus from activated sludge. The efficiency of extracting indigenous viruses by sodium pyrophosphate-ultrasound treatment was about 62% of the extractable virus particles from activated sludge and 87% for anaerobic digestion sludge, respectively. Samples treated with DNase had decreased, but not significant, virus counts, suggesting a minor effect of extracellular DNA on virus count. Following the optimized procedure, we investigated the abundance and diversity of virus particles in the wastewater stream of a municipal treatment plant. The concentrations of virus particles ranged from 0.28 × 10 9 ml −1 to 27.04 × 10 9 ml −1. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) showed a high variety of virus morphotypes in sludge. Pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) revealed a diverse and dynamic viral community in different stages of the system with genome sizes ranging from 33 kb to >350 kb with most of the viral DNA in the 30–80 kb and 200–350 kb size ranges. Collectively, our study suggested that indigenous viruses are abundant and dynamic in the municipal wastewater treatment system and may play an important role in functioning of the system.