Aim: Climate change can lead to decreased climatic suitability within species' distributions, increased fragmentation of climatically suitable space, and/or emergence of newly suitable areas outside present distributions. Each of these extrinsic threats and opportunities potentially interacts with specific intrinsic traits of species, yet this specificity is seldom considered in risk assessments. We present an analytical framework for examining projections of climate change-induced threats and opportunities with reference to traits that are likely to mediate species' responses, and illustrate the applicability of the framework.
Location: Sub-Saharan Africa.
Methods: We applied the framework to 195 sub-Saharan African amphibians with both available bioclimatic envelope model projections for the mid-21st century and trait data. Excluded were 500 narrow-ranging species mainly from montane areas. For each of projected losses, increased fragmentation and gains of climate space, we selected potential response-mediating traits and examined the spatial overlap with vulnerability due to these traits. We examined the overlap for all species, and individually for groups of species with different combinations of threats and opportunities.
Results: In the Congo Basin and arid Southern Africa, projected losses for wide-ranging amphibians were compounded by sensitivity to climatic variation, and expected gains were precluded by poor dispersal ability. The spatial overlap between exposure and vulnerability was more pronounced for species projected to have their climate space contracting or shifting to distant geographical areas. Our results exclude the potential exposure of narrow-ranging species to shrinking climates in the African tropical mountains.
Main Conclusions: We illustrate the application of a framework combining spatial projections of climate change exposure with traits that are likely to mediate species' responses. Although the proposed framework carries several assumptions that require further scrutiny, its application adds a degree of realism to familiar assessments that consider all species to be equally affected by climate change-induced threats and opportunities.
Department of Immunohematology and Blood Transfusion, Kasturba Medical College, Manipal, Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Manipal, Karnataka 576104, India.
Background And Objective: SWOT and TOWS analysis is a strategic planning tool for identifying internal and external factors influencing a field. It helps to identify areas for improvement and growth by maximizing strengths and opportunities while minimizing weaknesses and threats. Transfusion medicine specialists can better understand the field's current status and plan potential growth using SWOT and TWOS strategic tools.
The development of effective antivirals is of great importance due to the threat associated with the rapid spread of viral infections. The accumulation of data in scientific publications and in databases of biologically active compounds provides an opportunity to extract specific information about interactions between chemicals and their viral and host targets. This information can be used for elucidation of knowledge about potential antiviral activity of chemical compounds, their side effects and toxicities.
The International Humanitarian Award recognizes extraordinary humanitarian services and activism by psychologists, including professional and volunteer work conducted primarily in the field with underserved populations. Sayed Jafar Ahmadi and Zeinab Musavi cofounded the Behrawan Research and Psychology Services Organization (BRPSO) in 2015 to provide psychological and crisis intervention mental health services to vulnerable communities in Afghanistan. The BRPSO supported children and families during and after terrorist attacks, in the aftermath of explosions and earthquakes, and during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Centre for Journalology, Clinical Epidemiology Program, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute; School of Epidemiology and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
This viewpoint examines the use of generative AI (genAI) models in medical writing, discusses the opportunities and threats they represent, and highlights avenues for improvement and future research.
When we use language to communicate, we must choose what to say, what not to say, and how to say it. That is, we must decide how to the message. These linguistic choices matter: Framing a discussion one way or another can influence how people think, feel, and act in many important domains, including politics, health, business, journalism, law, and even conversations with loved ones.
