Role Of Environmental Factors Research Articles

Single Cell Biology: Exploring Somatic Cell Behaviors, Competition and Selection in Chronic Disease.

The full range of cell functions is under-determined in most human diseases. The evidence that somatic cell competition and clonal imbalance play a role in non-neoplastic chronic disease reveal a need for a dedicated effort to explore single cell function if we are to understand the mechanisms by which cell population behaviors influence disease. It will be vital to document not only the prevalent pathologic behaviors but also those beneficial functions eliminated or suppressed by competition. An improved mechanistic understanding of the role of somatic cell biology will help to stratify chronic disease, define more precisely at an individual level the role of environmental factors and establish principles for prevention and potential intervention throughout the life course and across the trajectory from wellness to disease.

Antibiotic Consumption Patterns in European Countries Might Be Associated with the Prevalence of Type 1 and 2 Diabetes.

Several publications have raised the issue that the development of diabetes precedes the alteration of the microbiome (dysbiosis) and the role of environmental factors. Antibiotic use induces dysbiosis, and we wanted to estimate the associations between the consumption of antibiotics and the prevalence of diabetes (both types 1 and 2; T1D and T2D, respectively) in European countries. If such an association exists, the dominant use antibiotic classes might be reflected in the prevalence rates of T1D and T2D in different countries. Comparisons were performed between the prevalence of diabetes estimated for 2019 and featured in the Diabetes Atlas and the average yearly consumption of antibiotic classes between 2010 and 2109, calculated from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) yearly reports on antibiotic consumption in Europe. Pearson’s correlation and variance analyses were used to estimate the possible relationship. Strong positive (enhancer) associations were found between the prevalence of T1D and the consumption of tetracycline (J01A: p = 0.001) and the narrow-spectrum penicillin (J01CE: p = 0.006; CF: p = 0.018). A strong negative (inhibitor) association was observed with broad-spectrum, beta-lactamase-resistant penicillin (J01CR: p = 0.003), macrolide (J01F: p = 0.008), and quinolone (J01M: p = 0.001). T2D showed significant positive associations with cephalosporin (J01D: p = 0.048) and quinolone (J01M: p = 0.025), and a non-significant negative association was detected with broad-spectrum, beta-lactamase-sensitive penicillin (J01CA: p = 0.067). Countries showing the highest prevalence rates of diabetes (top 10) showed concordance with the higher consumption of “enhancer” and the lower consumption of “inhibitor” antibiotics (top 10), as indicated by variance analysis. Countries with high prevalence rates of T1D showed high consumption of tetracycline (p = 0.015) and narrow-spectrum, beta-lactamase sensitive penicillin (p = 0.008) and low consumption of “inhibitor” antibiotics [broad-spectrum, beta-lactamase-resistant, combination penicillin (p = 0.005); cephalosporin (p = 0.036); and quinolone (p = 0.003)]. Countries with high prevalence rates of T2D consumed more cephalosporin (p = 0.084) and quinolone (p = 0.054) and less broad-spectrum, beta-lactamase-sensitive penicillin (p = 0.012) than did other countries. The development of diabetes-related dysbiosis might be related to the higher consumption of specific classes of antibiotics, showing positive (enhancer) associations with the prevalence of diabetes, and the low consumption of other classes of antibiotics, those showing negative (inhibitory) associations. These groups of antibiotics are different in T1D and T2D.

Environmental Susceptibility and Resistance to Coronavirus Disease-19 (COVID-19): A Review

It is believed that certain environmental factors modulate coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19). This review outlines the role of environmental factors in COVID-19 infectivity, spread, and severity. Relevant articles were retrieved from Google Scholar, SpringerLink, and Scopus, then pooled and duplicates removed with EndNote software. Available information reveals that temperature, relative humidity (RH), sunlight, pollutants, and population density modulate COVID-19 infectivity and pathogenicity. COVID-19 spread is promoted by low temperature (< 25 °C) and RH (< 40%), whereas it is inhibited by high temperature (> 25 °C) and RH (> 40%). Sunlight exposure alters the virus’s genetic material and boosts the host’s immune function by raising serum vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitanim D), reducing the virus’s viability and replication. Prolonged indoor stays with poor ventilation cause re-breathing of the air and increase carbon dioxide concentration, particularly in crowded rooms, predisposing to COVID-19. Pollutants, including particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and sulphur dioxide, may overexpress the virus’s receptor called angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2), thereby increasing the virus’s infectivity. Pollutants may also induce inflammation of the respiratory tract, weakening the immune function and thereby increasing susceptibility to COVID-19. High population density increases body contact and thus susceptibility to the virus. To stem the incidence and mortality of COVID-19, the mentioned environmental factors must be kept at healthy levels.

Pitch-Luminance Crossmodal Correspondence in the Baby Chick: An Investigation on Predisposed and Learned Processes.

Our senses are constantly reached by a multitude of stimuli from all different sensory modalities. To create a coherent representation of the environment, we must integrate the various unimodal inputs that refer to the same object into a single multimodal representation. In some cases, however, we tend to bind certain properties of the stimuli without any apparent reason, which is a phenomenon named crossmodal correspondence. For instance, we match a spiky or a rounded shape with the sound “Kiki” or “Bouba”, respectively. Similarly, we associate the left hemispace with low luminance and the right one with high luminance. Instances of crossmodal correspondences were described also in other mammals, and recently, a case of space-luminance crossmodal correspondence was reported in birds (i.e., domestic chicks). Here, we investigate the presence of pitch–luminance crossmodal correspondence in three-day-old chicks, employing experimental methods that exploit either predisposed or learned processes. While failing to report evidence for this phenomenon, we discuss the difference between statistical and structural crossmodal correspondences and the possible role of environmental factors in determining their emergence. Moreover, we discuss the importance of the different experimental methodologies to investigate distinct aspects of this perceptual phenomenon to reach a deeper understanding and unveil the role of innate vs. learned mechanisms.

The UK Antimicrobial Resistance Strategy 2013–18: A Qualitative Study of International and Domestic Policy and Action Related to Livestock and the Food Chain

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an increasingly important challenge within global health, and growing action is being taken by countries across the world. The UK Government established a national AMR Strategy in 2013, encompassing human and animal health. An evaluation of the implementation of the Strategy was commissioned, to feed into a refresh of the Strategy in 2018. This article addresses the implementation of the parts of the Strategy related to food sourced from animals. It is based on 15 semi-structured interviews with policy officials and professionals from UK and international agencies. Four themes comprise the findings from thematic analysis. (1) The UK's advocacy and leadership at the global level to encourage international action, which was praised. However, the UK's actions were limited in permeating complex international food supply chains. (2) Integrating a One Health approach, adopted in the Strategy, which had successfully facilitated bringing together human and animal health sectors, but still lacked input from environmental agencies and integration of the role of environmental factors in understanding and tackling AMR. (3) Changes in antimicrobial use and attempts to reduce AMR brought about by the Strategy, including the disparity in variations of actions and progress between livestock sectors, the pros and cons of antimicrobial usage reduction targets—felt to be best when adapted for each livestock species sector, the preference for voluntary sector-led approaches to reduction in antimicrobial use, and the need for changes in production systems and animal husbandry. (4) The challenges relating to costs, drivers and incentives identified to reduce antimicrobial use, and how research, data and surveillance systems support continued action. In particular, the need for adequate investment and financial incentives to enable changes in production and husbandry to take a more preventative approach, the importance of working with different actors throughout the food chain in each livestock sector, and the need for adequate and consistent surveillance data to measure antimicrobial use and continued research to understand AMR. The findings have implications for how to implement further changes at both farm and policy level, how to implement harmonized surveillance whilst maintaining sectoral autonomy, the need for a whole food chain approach, and greater integration of research, actions and actors working on environmental factors of AMR.

Genome-Wide Interaction Study of Late-Onset Asthma With Seven Environmental Factors Using a Structured Linear Mixed Model in Europeans.

Asthma is among the most common chronic diseases worldwide, creating a substantial healthcare burden. In late-onset asthma, there are wide global differences in asthma prevalence and low genetic heritability. It has been suggested as evidence for genetic susceptibility to asthma triggered by exposure to multiple environmental factors. Very few genome-wide interaction studies have identified gene-environment (G×E) interaction loci for asthma in adults. We evaluated genetic loci for late-onset asthma showing G×E interactions with multiple environmental factors, including alcohol intake, body mass index, insomnia, physical activity, mental status, sedentary behavior, and socioeconomic status. In gene-by-single environment interactions, we found no genome-wide significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms. However, in the gene-by-multi-environment interaction study, we identified three novel and genome-wide significant single-nucleotide polymorphisms: rs117996675, rs345749, and rs17704680. Bayes factor analysis suggested that for rs117996675 and rs17704680, body mass index is the most relevant environmental factor; for rs345749, insomnia and alcohol intake frequency are the most relevant factors in the G×E interactions of late-onset asthma. Functional annotations implicate the role of these three novel loci in regulating the immune system. In addition, the annotation for rs117996675 supports the body mass index as the most relevant environmental factor, as evidenced by the Bayes factor value. Our findings help to understand the role of the immune system in asthma and the role of environmental factors in late-onset asthma through G×E interactions. Ultimately, the enhanced understanding of asthma would contribute to better precision treatment depending on personal genetic and environmental information.

Reproductive adaptations of sea urchins with planktotrophic larvae

The brief review summarizes the authors' original data on the role of environmental factors in triggering and synchronization of spawning in natural populations of two species of sea urchins with planktotrophic larvae. It is shown that both species exhibit similar reproductive adaptations aimed at enhancing reproductive success. The high sensitivity of sea urchins, primarily males, to environmental signal(s), most likely to phytoplankton, can be considered as a large-scale adaptation characteristic of many marine invertebrates with external fertilization and planktotrophic larvae and promoting the development of mass spawning events. Night time, as well as the new moon and full moon phases, are modulating factors that increase the likelihood of mass spawning. Longer duration of spawning in males compared to females, longer duration of sperm release during mass spawning compared to that during solitary spawning, longer duration of spawning in males living in an environment with higher level of phytoplankton, and approach of males and females during mass spawning can be considered as small-scale adaptations that increase the likelihood of fertilization.

Dynamic Behaviour of Abandoned Underground Mines: Insights from Numerical Simulations

The Apulian region (south-east of Italy) is characterized by the presence of old underground cavities used for the extraction of soft calcarenite rocks and then abandoned over time. The assessment of stability of these caves represents a challenging problem, especially for the areas of possible interaction of the caves with overlying structures and infrastructures. The role of environmental factors in triggering disruption processes in the cave has been extensively studied in the literature, but the instability effect related to dynamic loads is often underestimated. Consequently, the purpose of the present work is to propose some advancements in this field by evaluating the effects of dynamic loads, consistent with the regional seismicity, on the stability of calcarenite underground cavities. A large number of two-dimensional parametric finite element analyses has been carried out on ideal cases of single rectangular cavities. The study allowed to detect appreciable instability effects caused by the dynamic input, depending on the cavity width, the thickness of the roof, and the energy content of the dynamic input. The interaction between twin cavities under dynamic conditions has been also studied from a numerical point of view. The results show that plastic failure in the septum is reached earlier under dynamic conditions than static and it is again dependent on the cavity width and the roof thickness. Lastly, a numerical procedure to calculate factor of safety against either shear failure or tensile failure mechanisms has been proposed, which allows to quantify the change of the stability conditions from static to dynamic conditions.

Microbes, memory and moisture: Predicting microbial moisture responses and their impact on carbon cycling

Abstract Soil moisture is a major driver of microbial activity and thus, of the release of carbon (C) into the Earth's atmosphere. Yet, there is no consensus on the relationship between soil moisture and microbial respiration, and as a result, moisture response functions are a poorly constrained aspect of C models. In addition, models assume that the response of microbial respiration to moisture is the same for all ecosystems, regardless of climate history, an assumption that many empirical studies have challenged. These gaps in understanding of the microbial respiration response to moisture contribute to uncertainty in model predictions. We review our understanding of what drives microbial moisture response, highlighting evidence that historical precipitation can influence both responses to moisture and sensitivity to drought. We present two hypotheses, the ‘climate history hypothesis’, where we predict that baseline moisture response functions change as a function of precipitation history, and the ‘drought legacy hypothesis’, in which we suggest that the intensity and frequency of historical drought have shaped microbial communities in ways that will control moisture responses to contemporary drought. Underlying mechanisms include biological selection and filtering of the microbial community by rainfall regimes, which result in microbial traits and trade‐offs that shape function. We present an integrated modelling and empirical approach for understanding microbial moisture responses and improving models. Standardized measures of moisture response (respiration rate across a range of moistures) and accompanying microbial properties are needed across sites. These data can be incorporated into trait‐based models to produce generalized moisture response functions, which can then be validated and incorporated into conventional and microbially explicit ecosystem models of soil C cycling. Future studies should strive to analyse realistic moisture conditions and consider the role of environmental factors and soil structure in microbial response. Microbes are the engines that drive C storage and are sensitive to changes in rainfall. A greater understanding of the factors that govern this sensitivity could be a key part of improving predictions of soil C dynamics, climate change and C‐climate feedbacks. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.

Evaluation of the role of environmental factors on the transmission of West Nile Virus in the European Union and Mediterranean countries

Evaluation of the role of environmental factors on the transmission of West Nile Virus in the European Union and Mediterranean countries

Emotional Labor Mediates the Relationship between Clan Culture and Teacher Burnout: An Examination on Gender Difference

Teacher burnout is a psychological syndrome affecting many teachers across the globe. Therefore, numerous studies have investigated antecedents of teacher burnout in order to provide recommendations to alleviate it. Although the studies pay attention to either the role of environmental factors, such as school culture, or individual factors, such as gender, in contributing to teacher burnout, they less frequently examine how teacher burnout is concurrently influenced by both factors. Thus, this study aims to understand the relationship between clan culture and burnout by examining the mediation effect of emotional labor and the moderating effect of gender. A sample of 467 primary and secondary schoolteachers from China participated in this study. The result demonstrated the following: (1) clan culture was negatively related to teacher burnout; (2) deep acting mediated the relationship between clan culture and teacher burnout, while surface acting did not; (3) the mediating effect of deep acting was only significant in the female group of teachers, not the male group.

Species compositions mediate biomass conservation: The case of lake fish communities.

Environmental and geographical factors are known to influence the number, distribution, and combination of species that coexist within ecological communities. This, in turn, should influence ecosystem functions such as biomass conservation, or the ability of a community to sustain biomass from small to large organisms. We tested this hypothesis by assessing the role of environmental factors in determining how biomass is conserved in over 600 limnetic fish communities spread across a broad geographic gradient in Canada. Comprehensive and accurate information on water conditions and community characteristics such as taxonomy, abundance, biomass, and size distributions were used in our assessment. Results showed that species combinations emerge as one of the main predictors of biomass conservation among the effects of individual species and abiotic factors. Our study highlights the strong role that geographic patterns in the distribution of species can play in shaping key ecosystem functions, with consequences for ecosystem services such as the provision of harvestable fish biomass.

Mediterranean Diet as a Shield against Male Infertility and Cancer Risk Induced by Environmental Pollutants: A Focus on Flavonoids.

The role of environmental factors in influencing health status is well documented. Heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), polychlorinated biphenyls, dioxins, pesticides, ultrafine particles, produced by human activities put a strain on the body’s entire defense system. Therefore, together with public health measures, evidence-based individual resilience measures are necessary to mitigate cancer risk under environmental stress and to prevent reproductive dysfunction and non-communicable diseases; this is especially relevant for workers occupationally exposed to pollutants and/or populations residing in highly polluted areas. The Mediterranean diet is characterized by a high intake of fruits and vegetables rich in flavonoids, that can promote the elimination of pollutants in tissues and fluids and/or mitigate their effects through different mechanisms. In this review, we collected evidence from pre-clinical and clinical studies showing that the impairment of male fertility and gonadal development, as well as cancers of reproductive system, due to the exposure of organic and inorganic pollutants, may be counteracted by flavonoids.

Associations between genetic loci, environment factors and mental disorders: a genome-wide survival analysis using the UK Biobank data

It is well-accepted that both environment and genetic factors contribute to the development of mental disorders (MD). However, few genetic studies used time-to-event data analysis to identify the susceptibility genetic variants associated with MD and explore the role of environment factors in these associations. In order to detect novel genetic loci associated with MD based on the time-to-event data and identify the role of environmental factors in them, this study recruited 376,806 participants from the UK Biobank cohort. The MD outcomes (including overall MD status, anxiety, depression and substance use disorders (SUD)) were defined based on in-patient hospital, self-reported and death registry data collected in the UK Biobank. SPACOX approach was used to identify the susceptibility loci for MD using the time-to-event data of the UK Biobank cohort. And then we estimated the associations between identified candidate loci, fourteen environment factors and MD through a phenome-wide association study and mediation analysis. SPACOX identified multiple candidate loci for overall MD status, depression and SUD, such as rs139813674 (P value = 8.39 × 10–9, ZNF684) for overall MD status, rs7231178 (DCC, P value = 2.11 × 10–9) for depression, and rs10228494 (FOXP2, P value = 6.58 × 10–10) for SUD. Multiple environment factors could influence the associations between identified loci and MD, such as confide in others and felt hated. Our study identified novel candidate loci for MD, highlighting the strength of time-to-event data based genetic association studies. We also observed that multiple environment factors could influence the association between susceptibility loci and MD.

The Role of Environmental Factors in the Flexible Job-Shop Scheduling Problem: A Literature Review

The Flexible Job-Shop Scheduling Problem (FJSP) has been extensively studied due to its importance in manufacturing. However, as a consequence of the increasing environmental issues, the FJSP has been modified to tackle these crucial problems. This article presents a literature review focusing on the FJSP and its intersection with environmental strategies (i.e., energy consumption, carbon emission and noise). Articles are classified according to each environmental consideration and their solution methods. This work highlights potential research areas and serves as a starting point for developing future research.

Role of environmental factors on development of cumin wilt incited by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. Cumini

Wilt of cumin incited by Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cumini is one of the important diseases and a big constraint in successful cultivation. Disease occurs at all the stages of crop growth. The fungus produces toxic substances that are responsible for inducing wilt symptoms in susceptible cultivars. Keeping in view of the above, present study was undertaken to study correlation of disease with environmental factors. The relationship of various environmental factors viz. maximum and minimum temperature, morning and evening relative humidity, rainfall and sunshine hours on the disease development was studied during Rabi 2014–15 and 2015–16. The disease first appeared during second week of January, conspicuous from third week of January to last week of February and declined from first week of March. Correlation coefficients of per cent disease incidence with meteorological factors were worked out and regression equation were formulated. Correlation analysis of per cent disease incidence with weather parameter indicated that maximum (18.2 to 35.5°C) and minimum (2.4 to 18.7°C) temperature had significant positive correlation, while morning (65–91 per cent) relative humidity had negative significant correlation during both the years and evening (25–73 per cent) relative humidity had negative non-significant correlation during both the years. However, statistical analysis between rainfall and disease incidence showed a positive correlation but non-significant.

Adolescent student-athletes dual career construction and well-being in dual career development environments: the role of environmental factors

The purpose of the scientific research was to study the career growth and well-being of adolescent athletes in conditions of dual career growth. The study revealed the features of adaptability to a career in high school of sports school. The article presents data on the extent to which self-esteem and gender are associated with adaptability to a dual career, the profiles of adaptation to the career of adolescent athletes have been defined, it is also revealed how the expectations of student-athletes depending on their success in sports and studies and the corresponding expectations of their parents are associated with their profiles of adaptation to a career. The new data on how the organizational culture of a sports school affects the career development of teenage athletes have been obtained.

A wake-up call: signaling in regulating ornamental geophytes dormancy

Ornamental geophytes are a group of important flowers worldwide. As perennial plants, geophytes go through several rounds of life cycle under seasonal climates. The dormant trait of underground modified organs in geophytes is critical for the process of storage, planting as well as breeding. Although the dormant physiology in geophytes is complex and largely unknown, several advancements have been achieved in this field. Here, we review the knowledge on the role of environmental factors, endogenous hormones, carbohydrates, and epigenetics in the regulation of geophytes dormancy and release (GDR). We also discuss dormancy release (DR) methods and their roles in geophytes, including small molecular chemicals and wounding treatments.

Influence of environmental factors on the evolution of phytocenoses of reclamation objects of the Ryazan Meschera

The limiting influence of weather conditions on agricultural crops is known, but from an ecological point of view, the preservation of the biological diversity of phyto- cenoses is important. In 2010-2020, within the framework of soil-reclamation monitoring, the climatic features of the territory of the Ryazan Meschera were analyzed and the evolution of phytocenoses of two reclamation objects in the Ryazan and Klepikovsky districts of the Ryazan region was tracked. Ryazan Meschera has a number of climatic features due to the distinctive features of heat and moisture availability, terrain, air humidity and other indicators. A high degree of coverage, a large number of individuals, but a small number of species have been established at the Tinki-II and Makeyevsky Cape reclamation sites. More moist soil was determined at the Makeyevsky Cape object, which is reflected to a greater extent by the development of grasses belonging to the hygrophytic group Alopecurus pratensis , Dactylis glomerata , Glycerria maxima , etc., less water-demanding cereals were identified at the Tinki-II object, for example, Bromopsis inermis , Dactylis glomerata , Festuca pratensis , Phlum pratense , etc. Summarizing the results of the research, the primary role of environmental factors on the evolution of phytocenoses of reclamation objects in the Ryazan Meschera is established.

Geographic Location Determines Differentially Methylated Gene Expressions in Autoimmune Diseases

Further observations support the role of environmental factors in autoimmune diseases via the alteration of the epigenetic machinery. In this context, ultraviolet light, smoking, chemicals, and psychological stress have been described as likely examples of this phenomenon. For this study, we took advantage of the PRECISESADS IMI project, which gathered joint data from 2500 individuals with systemic autoimmune diseases, including systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), systemic sclerosis (SSc), primary Sjögren’s syndrome (pSS), rheumatoid arthritis (RA), primary antiphospholipid syndrome (PAPS), and mixed connective tissue disease (MCTD), and aimed to determine such epigenetic modifications in SLE, SSc, pSS, and RA patients. Here, we performed a set of measures in several countries from the north and south of Europe. We observed that autoimmune patients from the north of Europe presented a higher hypomethylated profile associated with an increased gene expression than patients from the south. These genes were associated with interferon (IFN) pathways, immunity, and the pathways associated with cellular metabolism. Since the IFN scores were increased in this population, these patients presented a more inflammatory profile. To conclude, the geographical location of patients with autoimmune diseases has an impact on DNA methylation, RNA expression, and immunological profiles.