Cumulative Stresses Research Articles

Early life stress aggravates disease pathogenesis in mice with experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis: Support for a two-hit hypothesis of multiple sclerosis etiology

Vision problems are one of the earliest diagnosed symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS). The onset and progression of vision loss and the underlying pathogenesis in MS may be influenced by cumulative psychophysiological stress. Here, we used a two-hit model of stress in female mice to determine if early life stress (ELS, the first hit) influences the response to an immunization that induces experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE, the second hit) later in life. We hypothesized that ELS caused by animal transportation from a vendor during early postnatal development represents a co-factor which can exacerbate the clinical severity of EAE. Indeed, adult EAE mice with a history of ELS displayed more severe clinical signs and delayed recovery compared to non-stressed EAE mice. ELS also diminished visual acuity measured by optokinetic responses, as well as locomotion and exploratory behaviours in EAE mice. Notably, ELS accelerated vision loss and caused earlier onset of visual impairments in EAE. Exacerbated functional impairments in stressed EAE mice were highly correlated with circulating corticosterone levels. The findings show that the progression of induced EAE in adulthood can be significantly impacted by adverse early life experiences. These observations emphasize the importance of comprehensive behavioural testing, including non-motor functions, to enhance the translational value of preclinical animal models of MS. Moreover, shipment stress of laboratory animals should be considered a necessary variable in preclinical MS research. The consideration of cumulative lifetime stresses provides a new perspective of MS pathogenesis within a personalized medicine framework.

Statistical Shape Modeling Enables Identification of Subtalar Contact Stress Differences Following Tibiotalar Arthrodesis and Total Ankle Replacement

Category: Hindfoot; Ankle Arthritis Introduction/Purpose: Clinical studies have shown 32% of patients with a TAR progress to subtalar OA within 5 years, whereas 78% of patients with a tibiotalar arthrodesis presented with subtalar OA by 7.5 years. Higher rates of subtalar OA after arthrodesis may be explained by a transfer of ankle forces and stress through the adjacent subtalar joint while TAR may mitigate these changes. The objective of this study was to compare subtalar joint contact stresses between patients treated with tibiotalar arthrodesis and total ankle replacement (TAR) during an overground walking activity using correspondence particles to enable regional analysis. Methods: With IRB approval, ten individuals with unilateral tibiotalar arthrodesis and six individuals with unilateral TAR were imaged with biplane fluoroscopy during overground walking. Discrete element analysis (DEA) was performed to estimate subtalar joint contact stress using the tracked bone models. Cartilage was modeled using linear-elastic material properties (E=12 MPa, v=0.42) and uniformly extruded compressible surfaces from rigid subchondral bone (0.98 mm talar side, 0.75 mm calcaneal side1). A calcaneal statistical shape model (SSM) was created and resulting correspondence particles served as registered locations for comparison of cumulative stress across three phases of normalized stance (loading-response 0-24%, mid 25-54%, and terminal 55- 87%). Two-sample t-tests or Wilcoxon rank-sum tests were used to evaluate differences (p < 0.05) in cumulative contact stresses at each correspondence particle within the 3 phases based upon Shapiro-Wilk findings of normality. Results: There were significant differences in contact stress exposure across all three phases of gait. Differences were identified along the superior-medial aspect of the posterior facet and within the anterior facet (Figure 1). Higher cumulative stresses were observed along the border of the posterior facet and in the medial facet. This model is limited by a lack of validation, uniform cartilage thickness assumptions applied across groups, and that DEA only estimates contact stress without consideration of shear. Conclusion: This study was the first to localize regional differences in subtalar joint stress for patients having undergone TAR and tibiotalar arthrodesis. Interestingly, TAR patients experienced higher stress in this study compared to those with arthrodeses. These ostensibly counterintuitive findings of higher TAR stress may relate to the pre-existence of subtalar OA which is a common indication of TAR versus fusion.

Pre–Placed Metal Laser–Additive Manufacturing on Grade 5 Titanium Substrate: Layer Formation, Oxidation Resistance, and Wear Resistance

The laser parameters and additive materials were investigated for the laser–additive manufacturing of titanium alloys. A pre–placed metal–strip–based method for 3D printing titanium components was proposed. Before laser processing, the metal strips were fixed to a Grade 5 titanium substrate using resistance spot welding. The effect of the processing conditions (laser power: 1.5–3.0 kW; scanning speed: 3–9 mm·s−1; one or three layers; 1, 6, or 12 passes; Grade 2 and Grade 5 as additives) on the microstructures, oxidation resistance, and wear resistance of the as–printed samples was investigated. The results showed that the microstructure consisted of α′ martensite, oxygen–stabilized α, transformed β that contains coarse and fine acicular α, titanium oxides, and carbides. Cracks were observed, particularly near the upper surface of the three–layer samples. The cracks were suggested to have formed due to cumulative residual stresses and the formation of oxygen–stabilized α and α′ martensite that might cause embrittlement. Both oxidation and wear tests were conducted to verify the improved performance. After 55 h of oxidation, the as–printed samples showed mass gains of 0.029–0.035 g·cm−2, which were smaller than those of the substrate (0.039 g·cm−2).

Shocks and the determinants of resilience: Fish and shrimp value chains in Bangladesh after Covid‐19

AbstractThere is little systematic evidence on the resilience of South Asian agri‐food value chains since the onset of Covid‐19. Using two rounds of surveys of 1751 fish and shrimp value chain actors in Bangladesh, this paper undertakes two sets of tasks: (a) analyzes business continuity (closures and resumptions) and its implications for household food security, and (b) adapts a ten‐item measure of subjective resilience and examines its predictors: diversity, scope, scale, vertical integration, and cluster effects. Results show that recent closures are linked to Covid‐19, suggesting that firms were only able to sustain operations for a period of 8–9 months before folding due to cumulative stresses; and that the degree of resilience varies significantly across value chains and the segments within them. Interestingly, contrary to established stylized facts, clusters appear to be negatively correlated with resilience, indicating that cooperation among value chain actors within a cluster breaks down under large‐scale covariate shocks. The implications of these and other key findings are discussed.

Living through uncertainty: a qualitative study on leadership and resilience in primary healthcare during COVID-19

BackgroundResilience is often referred to when assessing the ability of health systems to maintain their functions during unexpected events. Primary healthcare forms the basis for the health system and thus its resilient responses are vital for the outcomes of the whole system. Understanding how primary healthcare organisations are able to build resilience before, during, and after unexpected or sudden shocks, is key to public health preparedness. This study aims to identify how leaders responsible for local health systems interpreted changes in their operational environment during the first year of COVID-19, and to elucidate how these views reflect aspects of resilience in healthcare.MethodsThe data consist of 14 semi-structured individual interviews with leaders of local health systems in Finland representing primary healthcare. The participants were recruited from four regions. An abductive thematic analysis was used to identify entities from the viewpoints of the purpose, resources, and processes of resilience in the healthcare organisation.ResultsResults were summarised as six themes, which suggest that embracing uncertainty is viewed by the interviewees a basis for primary healthcare functioning. Leading towards adaptability was regarded a distinct leadership task enabling the organisation to modify its functions according to demands of the changing operational environment. Workforce, knowledge and sensemaking, as well as collaboration represented what the leaders viewed as the means for achieving adaptability. The ability to adapt functioned to comprehensively meet the population’s service needs built on a holistic approach.ConclusionsThe results showed how the leaders who participated in this study adapted their work during changes brought on by the pandemic, and what they viewed as critical for maintaining organisational resilience. The leaders considered embracing uncertainty as a principal feature of their work rather than viewing uncertainty as aberrant and something to avoid. These notions, along with what the leaders considered as critical means for building resilience and adaptability should be addressed and elaborated in future research. Research on resilience and leadership should be conducted more in the complex context of primary healthcare, where cumulative stresses are encountered and processed continuously.

Characterization of Intertidal Macrofaunal Communities of Two Sandy Beaches under Different Anthropogenic Pressures

The macrofauna in the intertidal zone of sandy beaches provides the trophic connectivity between land and sea, by linking microbiome, meiofauna, and megafauna, representing a food source for several terrestrial animals, including shorebirds and mammals. However, the macrozoobenthos in urbanised beaches is subjected to intense disturbances, such as breakwater barriers and tourism, which limit or impede the energy transfer from the marine to the terrestrial habitats. Because the information about diversity and abundance of the macrozoobenthos of the intertidal zone on the Mediterranean sandy coasts is scant, the main objective of this study is to increase the knowledge on the macrofauna living in this habitat and to identify taxa sensitive to cumulative human-induced stresses. To achieve this purpose, the structure and dynamics of macrozoobenthic communities from (1) a highly frequented beach characterized by breakwater barriers and (2) a marine protected area (MPA) in the Adriatic Sea were compared. The hypotheses that macrofauna composition and abundance changed in the two sites and over time were tested. Results highlighted that the macrozoobenthos in the MPA is mainly dominated by juvenile bivalves, which peaked from autumn to winter, and to a lesser extent by ostracods and mysids. Conversely, ostracods and the bivalve Lentidium mediterraneum (O. G. Costa, 1830) are particularly abundant in the highly disturbed beach, while the gastropod Tritia neritea (Linnaeus, 1758) increased only during summer. A possible combined effect of breakwater barriers and intense trampling has been theorized to explain the main differences between the two sites especially in the summer.

The Role of Prolactin Signalling in Beta-cell Adaptation to Metabolic Stressors

The ability of β cells. to adapt to metabolic stressors is important in preventing diabetes. Our lab has previously shown that prolactin receptor (Prlr) signalling is required for β-cell adaptation to insulin resistance of pregnancy, mainly by regulating β-cell proliferation. Whether Prlr signalling is important for β-cell adaptation to physiologic stresses other than pregnancy is unknown. This study aimed to determine whether Prlr signalling is required for β-cell adaptation to the cumulative stresses of pregnancies followed by exposure to a high fat diet (HFD), a commonly observed scenario in humans.

Macro- and Microplastics in the Antarctic Environment: Ongoing Assessment and Perspectives

The number of scientists and tourists visiting Antarctica is on the rise and, despite the management framework for environmental protection, some coastal areas, particularly in the Antarctic Peninsula region, are affected by plastic contamination. The few data available on the occurrence of microplastics (<5 mm) are difficult to compare, due to the different methodologies used in monitoring studies. However, indications are emerging to guide future research and to implement environmental protocols. In the surface and subsurface waters of the Southern Ocean, plastic debris >300 µm appears to be scarce and far less abundant than paint chips released from research vessels. Yet, near some coastal scientific stations, the fragmentation and degradation of larger plastic items, as well as microbeads and microfibers released into wastewater from personal care products and laundry, could potentially affect marine organisms. Some studies indicate that, through long-range atmospheric transport, plastic fibers produced on other continents can be deposited in Antarctica. Drifting plastic debris can also cross the Polar Front, with the potential to carry alien fouling organisms into the Southern Ocean. Sea ice dynamics appear to favor the uptake of microplastics by ice algae and Antarctic krill, the key species in the Antarctic marine food web. Euphausia superba apparently has the ability to fragment and expel ingested plastic particles at the nanoscale. However, most Antarctic organisms are endemic species, with unique ecophysiological adaptations to extreme environmental conditions and are likely highly sensitive to cumulative stresses caused by climate change, microplastics and other anthropogenic disturbances. Although there is limited evidence to date that micro- and nanoplastics have direct biological effects, our review aims at raising awareness of the problem and, in order to assess the real potential impact of microplastics in Antarctica, underlines the urgency to fill the methodological gaps for their detection in all environmental matrices, and to equip scientific stations and ships with adequate wastewater treatment plants to reduce the release of microfibers.

Immediate and cumulative stresses associated with the multiscale impacts of ecotourism on ecological status and resilience

Immediate and cumulative stresses associated with the multiscale impacts of ecotourism on ecological status and resilience

Improving patient and clinician safety during COVID-19 through rapidly adaptive simulation and a randomised controlled trial: a study protocol

IntroductionCOVID-19 required healthcare systems to iteratively adapt for safe and up-to-date care as knowledge of the disease rapidly evolved. Rates of COVID-19 infections continue to fluctuate and patients without COVID-19...

Severe MAC increases shear stresses on particles traversing the mitral valve: an in vitro study

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Mitral annular calcification (MAC) is a strong predictor of stroke but mechanism(s) are poorly defined. Severe MAC can produce a gradient across the mitral valve (MV) and, when studied in vitro, disturbs normal flow across the valve resulting in increased viscous energy dissipation. Purpose We hypothesized that severe MAC would increase shear stress on particles traveling across the MV into the left ventricle (LV). Given that shear stresses cause platelet activation this might represent a mechanism by which MAC could increase stroke risk. Methods A silicone model MV was created using a 3D TEE dataset. 3D printed calcium phantoms were incorporated into the valve simulate severe MAC. The valve was tested in a left heart duplicator under rest and exercise conditions and compared with a duplicate valve without the calcium phantoms. Fine particles suspended in a water/glycerol blood analogue allowed for measurement of vortex formation and shear stresses using particle image velocimetry (PIV). Particle residence time (PRT) maps were created to assess how long blood particles would remain in the LV. Particle residence index (PRI - ratio of remaining particles in LV/initial number of particles) is a more quantitative measure of how fast particles leave the LV. These calculations were used to approximate viscous shear stresses on blood particles. For each particle the induced viscous shear stress was evaluated for the entire duration of residence in the LV. Results For the normal MV all released particles left the LV by the 3rd cycle; with severe MAC particles completely left the LV shortly after the 7th cycle. PRI measurements confirmed that particles remained longer in the LV in the presence of severe MAC (figure 1). MAC also induced a shift in the accumulated shear stress levels from the high range > 0.4 Pa.s and the low range < 0.1 towards the middle region (0.16-0.32 Pa.s, figure 2). As shear stress is reported for one cycle, one may expect MAC to lead to higher accumulated higher viscous stresses as particles reside in the LV for a longer time. Conclusions In the presence of severe MAC blood particles remain longer in the LV and are exposed to greater cumulative shear stresses vs the normal situation. Given that shear stress is known to cause platelet activation this may be a mechanism by which MAC increases risk of ischemic stroke. Abstract Figure 1 Abstract Figure 2

Cryogenic forming of AA6065 by ECAP

Due to the difficulty of deforming high-strength aluminium alloys, the use of traditional Spartan plastic deformation procedures, concept that supports the creation of extremely fine granular microstructures and higher strength. The use of cryogenic Equal Channel Angular Pressing (ECAP) deformation as an alternate method of deforming a 6065 alloy is investigated in this study. A tool with a 90° internal angle is utilised here. Cryogenic ECAP (followed by proper temperature treatments) outcomes in higher deformation, strength, and ductility, according to our findings. To demonstrate that cryogenic forming can enhance the characteristics such as high aluminium alloys, early outcomes on the effects of cryogenic Equal Channel Angular Pressing on micro - structure and mechanical characteristics changes in the 6065 alloy. Due to the alloy's increased strain-hardening capabilities, low deformation temperatures improve ductility and workability. It was possible to perform up to three Equal-Channel Angular Pressing passes without strain localization or cracking at 610 °C using various cumulative plastic stresses.

The prevalence of MSDs and the associated risk factors in nurses of China

Musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) are one of the most serious health problems facing nurses all over the world, but few studies have assessed the prevalence of MSDs together with associated risk factors for nurses representing multiple regions of China. Therefore, the current cross-sectional study investigated 645 registered nurses from four regions of China using a previously validated musculoskeletal survey. Survey includes questions to understand and identify individual characteristics of nurses, biomechanical and psychosocial risk factors associated with MSDs. There was an 84.2% overall 12-month prevalence of MSDs, which were most common in the lower back (73.5%), neck (73.2%) and shoulders (66.2%). A logistic regression including all risk factors was performed for MSDs at each body site. Among individual factors, weekly working hours, gender, BMI, age, and alcohol use significantly affected the odds ratios of MSDs. The most influential biomechanical risk factors identified were cumulative characteristics of the stress, such as time in awkward posture, time of manual material handling, and sustained squat posture. Statistically significant psychosocial risk factors included support from supervisors and/or colleagues, work control and demands, nurse staffing, and medical device supply. The prevalence of MSDs in Chinese nurses in the current study was high compared with previous studies. Exposures from cumulative physical stresses appeared to increase the risk of MSDs and the development of the associated guidelines on these cumulative exposures is merited. Sufficient nurse staffing, sufficient and proper medical equipment should be provided to reduce the risk of MSDs.

Modeling of Forest Ecosystem Degradation Due to Anthropogenic Stress: The Case of Rohingya Influx into the Cox’s Bazar–Teknaf Peninsula of Bangladesh

Overdependence and cumulative anthropogenic stresses have caused world forests to decrease at an unprecedented rate, especially in Southeast Asia. The Cox’s Bazar–Teknaf Peninsula of Bangladesh is not an exception and follows the global deforestation trend. Despite being one of the country’s richest forest ecosystems with multiple wildlife sanctuaries, reserve forests, and influential wildlife habitats, the peninsula is now providing shelter for nearly one million Rohingya refugees. With the global deforestation trend coupled with excessive anthropogenic stresses from the Rohingya population, the forests in the peninsula are continuously deteriorating in terms of quality and integrity. In response to deforestation, the government invested in conservation efforts through afforestation and restoration programs, although the peninsula faced a refugee crisis in August 2017. The impact of this sudden increase in population on the forest ecosystem is large and has raised questions and contradictions between the government’s conservation efforts and the humanitarian response. Relocation of the refugees seems to be a lengthy process and the forest ecosystem integrity needs to be preserved; therefore, the degree of stresses, level of impacts, and pattern of deforestation are crucial information for forest conservation and protection strategies. However, there are a lack of quantitative analyses on how the forest ecosystem is deteriorating and what future results would be in both space and time. In this study, the impact of the sudden humanitarian crisis (i.e., Rohingya refugees) as anthropogenic stress in Cox’s Bazar–Teknaf peninsula has been spatiotemporally modeled and assessed using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery and other collateral data. Using the density and accessibility of the Rohingya population along with the land cover and other physiographic data, a multi-criteria evaluation (MCE) technique was applied through the Markov cellular automata technique to model the forest vegetation status. The impact of deforestation differs in cost due to variability of the forest vegetation covers. The study, therefore, developed and adopted three indices for assessment of the forest ecosystem based on the variability and weight of the forest cover loss. The spatial severity of impact (SSI) index revealed that out of 5415 ha of total degraded forest lands, 650 ha area would have the highest cost from 2017 to 2027. In the case of the ecosystem integrity (EI) index, a rapid decline in ecosystem integrity in the peninsula was observed as the integrity value fell to 1190 ha (2019) from 1340 ha (2017). The integrity is expected to further decline to 740 ha by 2027, if the stress persists in a similar fashion. Finally, the findings of ecosystem integrity depletion (EID) elucidated areas of 540 and 544 hectares that had a severe EID score of (−5) between 2017 and 2019 and 2017 and 2027, respectively. The displacement and refugee crisis is a recurrent world event that, in many cases, compromises the integrity and quality of natural space. Therefore, the findings of this study are expected to have significant global and regional implications to help managers and policymakers of forest ecosystems make decisions that have minimal or no impact to facilitate humanitarian response.

Computer-Aided Reengineering towards Plastic Part Failure Minimization.

The work reported here intends to identify and mitigate the causes for failure in a plastic faucet holder, a part of an integral float faucet with a well-documented history of fracture occurrence. A methodology for the identification of hidden internal defects in plastic parts and the elaboration of the required corrective actions towards quality improvement is, therefore, presented. Firstly, part defects were identified via injection moulding process numerical simulation. The latter has enabled the prediction of an excessive volumetric shrinkage at the core of the faucet holder, highlighting the presence of internal voids and, hence, the possible deterioration of the load-bearing capacity. The supposition was later confirmed by X-ray topography scans. Part reengineering, consisting of localized thickness reduction, was the option chosen for decreasing the high shrinkage at the core. For validation purposes, structural analyses were carried out, with and without accounting for the injection moulding processing history. The results obtained during part structural analysis have enabled us to conclude that, when taking into account the residual stresses generated during injection moulding, the analysis more closely reflects the experimental data and allows us to implicitly envisage the propensity to fracture. Moreover, the part modifications, undertaken during the faucet holder reengineering, led to the reduction of the cumulative (processing and imposed by load) stresses by 50%, when compared to the original design analysed.

Studying drought-induced forest mortality using high spatiotemporal resolution evapotranspiration data from thermal satellite imaging

Drought can have pervasive and wide-spread impacts to forest health, as evidenced in several severe events occurring over the recent decades. Extensive forest die-off due to drought can impair the ecological functioning of forests, impacting habitat, water yield and quality from forested lands, and altering forest fire dynamics and intensity. Satellite remote sensing provides an effective means for detecting and monitoring spatial patterns of forest mortality over large areas, exploiting free and open long-term image archives available at a range in spatial and temporal resolutions. While remotely sensed surface reflectances and vegetation indices have been widely used to study optical response of forest canopies to drought events, retrievals of evapotranspiration (ET) derived from thermal satellite imagery – particularly at resolutions approaching crown scale - can provide insights into cumulative tree stresses that can incite disease and trigger mortality. In this study, we applied a multi-sensor satellite data fusion approach to estimate daily 30-m resolution ET and an associated Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) to study drought-induced mortality in a temperate forest at the Missouri Ozark AmeriFlux (MOFLUX) site, located in the central United States. The study covered the period from 2010 to 2014, including an exceptional drought year of 2012. Modeled ET agreed well with eddy flux measurements from the MOFLUX tower, with average monthly relative errors of 15%. Plot-scale ESI, describing temporal anomalies in the ratio of actual-to-reference ET, was used as an index of relative forest health to investigate relationships between forest mortality and drought severity. ESI showed good agreement with observed predawn leaf water potential, especially during the drought year. Furthermore, plot-scale ESI was also correlated with the subsequent year's tree mortality, suggesting the importance of considering the forest health condition prior to drought when studying drought-induced forest impacts. This study demonstrates the utility of multi-year ET remote sensing data at the stand or plot scale as an indicator of forest health and as a predictor of future mortality due to drought.

A predictive multiscale model for simulating flow-induced platelet activation: Correlating in silico results with in vitro results

Flow-induced platelet activation prompts complex filopodial formation. Continuum methods fail to capture such molecular-scale mechanisms. A multiscale numerical model was developed to simulate this activation process, where a Dissipative Particle Dynamics (DPD) model of viscous blood flow is interfaced with a Coarse Grained Molecular Dynamics (CGMD) platelet model. Embedded in DPD blood flow, the macroscopic dynamic stresses are interactively transferred to the CGMD model, inducing intra-platelet associated events. The platelets activate by a biomechanical transductive linkage chain and dynamically change their shape in response. The models are fully coupled via a hybrid-potential interface and multiple time-stepping (MTS) schemes for handling the disparity between the spatiotemporal scales. Cumulative hemodynamic stresses that may lead to platelet activation are mapped on the surface membrane and simultaneously transmitted to the cytoplasm and cytoskeleton. Upon activation, the flowing platelets lose their quiescent discoid shape and evolve by forming filopodia.The model predictions were validated by a set of in vitro experiments, Platelets were exposed to various combinations of shear stresses and durations in our programmable hemodynamic shearing device (HSD). Their shape change was measured at multiple time points using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The CGMD model parameters were fine-tuned by interrogating a parameter space established in these experiments. Segmentation of the SEM imaging streams was conducted by a deep machine learning system. This model can be further employed to simulate shear mediated platelet activation thrombosis initiation and to study the effects of modulating platelet properties to enhance their shear resistance via mechanotransduction pathways.

Perinatal mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Perinatal mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Кумулятивный стресс как источник возникновения утомленности или усталости

The paper reveals the peculiarities of cumulative stress arising as a result of professional activities of law enforcement officers carrying out special official tasks as members of the United Nations peacekeep-ing forces, the Organization for Security and Coop-eration in Europe and other organizations whose goal is to maintain peace and stability. The work claims that stress is a normal reaction to abnormal situations, it provides the body with self-protection in a risk situation and allows a person to concen-trate on a specific threat, mobilize the energy mech-anism, and prepare for adequate actions. Cumulative stresses are the result of frequent, prolonged and intense tension. Prolonged stress can cause a state of fatigue (professional and personal exhaustion). In the absence of the necessary reaction, it leads to tiredness. In this regard, ways to counteract cumula-tive stress are proposed. Foreign sources are widely used in the paper, many technical factors and illus-trations are touched upon.

Combined climate change and nutrient load impacts on future habitats and eutrophication indicators in a eutrophic coastal sea

AbstractEutrophication and climate change will affect habitats of species and more generally, the structure and functioning of ecosystems. We used a three‐dimensional, coupled hydrodynamic‐biogeochemical model to investigate potential future changes in size and location of potential habitats of marine species during the 21st century in a large, eutrophicated brackish sea (the Baltic Sea, northern Europe). We conducted scenario projections under the combined impact of nutrient load and climate change. Possible future changes of the eutrophication state of this sea were also assessed through two policy‐relevant indicators. The results imply a physiologically more stressful environment for marine species by the end of the 21st century: volumes of higher salinity water become more hypoxic/anoxic and the volumes of low salinity, oxic water increase. For example, these results impact and reduce cod reproductive habitats. The decrease is mainly climate change induced in the Baltic basins less directly influenced by inflows of saline, oxic water to the Baltic Sea (E Gotland and Gdansk Basins). In basins more directly influenced by such inflows (Arkona and Bornholm Basins), the combined effect from climate change and nutrient loads is of importance. The results for the eutrophication state indicators clearly indicate a more eutrophic sea than at present without a rigorous nutrient reduction policy, that is, the necessity to implement the Baltic Sea Action Plan. The multidisciplinary, multiscenario assessment strategy presented here provides a useful concept for the evaluation of impacts from cumulative stresses of changing climate and socioeconomic pressures on future eutrophication indicators and habitats of marine species.