Group Outdoor Health Walks Using Activity Trackers: Measurement and Implementation Insight from a Mixed Methods Feasibility Study.

Outdoor walking groups are nature-based interventions (NBIs) that promote health and wellbeing by modifying individual behaviour. The challenges of such NBIs include the motivation of inactive adults to participate and measurement issues. This feasibility study investigates a 12-week group outdoor health walk (GOHW) incorporating activity trackers and use of a holistic health and wellbeing measure, the Self-sasessment of Change (SAC) scale.

Vulnerability and resistance in the spatial heterogeneity of soil microbial communities under resource additions.

Spatial heterogeneity in composition and function enables ecosystems to supply diverse services. For soil microbes and the ecosystem functions they catalyze, whether such heterogeneity can be maintained in the face of altered resource inputs is uncertain. In a 50-ha northern California grassland with a mosaic of plant communities generated by different soil types, we tested how spatial variability in microbial composition and function changed in response to nutrient and water addition.

Differential effects of habitat loss on occupancy patterns of the eastern green lizard Lacerta viridis at the core and periphery of its distribution range.

The effects of habitat loss on the distribution of populations are often linked with species specialization degree. Specialist species can be more affected by changes in landscape structure and local patch characteristics compared to generalist species. Moreover, the spatial scale at which different land covers (eg.

Explorative Meta-Analysis of 377 Extant Fungal Genomes Predicted a Total Mycobiome Functionality of 42.4 Million KEGG Functions.

Unveiling the relationship between taxonomy and function of the microbiome is crucial to determine its contribution to ecosystem functioning. However, while there is a considerable amount of information on microbial taxonomic diversity, our understanding of its relationship to functional diversity is still scarce. Here, we used a meta-analysis of completely annotated extant genomes of 377 taxonomically distinct fungal species to predict the total fungal microbiome functionality on Earth with accumulation curves (ACs) of all known functions from the level 3 of KEGG Orthology using both parametric and non-parametric estimates in an explorative data-mining approach.

Site fertility drives temporal turnover of vegetation at high latitudes.

Experimental evidence shows that site fertility is a key modulator underlying plant community changes under climate change. Communities on fertile sites, with species having fast dynamics, have been found to react more strongly to climate change than communities on infertile sites with slow dynamics. However, it is still unclear whether this generally applies to high-latitude plant communities in natural environments at broad spatial scales.

Groundwater protection under water scarcity; from regional risk assessment to local wastewater treatment solutions in Jordan.

The infiltration of untreated wastewater into aquifers highly endangers the availability of fresh-water for human consumption in semi-arid areas. This growing problem of potable water scarcity urgently requires solutions for groundwater protection. Decision support systems for local wastewater treatments in settlements already exist.

The total microbiome functions in bacteria and fungi.

Unveiling the relationship between phylogeny and function of the microbiome is crucial to determine its contribution to ecosystem functioning. However, while there is a considerable amount of information on microbial phylogenetic diversity, our understanding of its relationship to functional diversity is still scarce. Here we predicted the total microbiome functions of bacteria and fungi on Earth using the total known functions from level 3 of KEGG Orthology by modelling the increase of functions with increasing diversity of bacteria or fungi.

uap: reproducible and robust HTS data analysis.

Background: A lack of reproducibility has been repeatedly criticized in computational research. High throughput sequencing (HTS) data analysis is a complex multi-step process. For most of the steps a range of bioinformatic tools is available and for most tools manifold parameters need to be set.

A Self-Organizing Map of the Fathead Minnow Liver Transcriptome to Identify Consistent Toxicogenomic Patterns across Chemical Fingerprints.

Lack of consistent findings in different experimental settings remains a major challenge in toxicogenomics. The present study investigated whether consistency between findings of different microarray experiments can be improved when the analysis is based on a common reference frame ("toxicogenomic universe"), which can be generated using the machine learning algorithm of the self-organizing map (SOM). This algorithm arranges and clusters genes on a 2-dimensional grid according to their similarity in expression across all considered data.

Soil net nitrogen mineralisation across global grasslands.

Soil nitrogen mineralisation (N), the conversion of organic into inorganic N, is important for productivity and nutrient cycling. The balance between mineralisation and immobilisation (net N) varies with soil properties and climate. However, because most global-scale assessments of net N are laboratory-based, its regulation under field-conditions and implications for real-world soil functioning remain uncertain.

Deficits of biodiversity and productivity linger a century after agricultural abandonment.

At the global scale, human activities are threatening the extinction of many species. It remains debated, however, whether there has been corresponding loss of biodiversity at the smaller spatial scales at which species loss often erodes ecosystem functioning, stability and services. Here we consider changes in local biodiversity and productivity over 37 years in 21 grasslands and savannahs with known agricultural land-use histories.

Integrating the underlying structure of stochasticity into community ecology.

Stochasticity is a core component of ecology, as it underlies key processes that structure and create variability in nature. Despite its fundamental importance in ecological systems, the concept is often treated as synonymous with unpredictability in community ecology, and studies tend to focus on single forms of stochasticity rather than taking a more holistic view. This has led to multiple narratives for how stochasticity mediates community dynamics.

Global change effects on plant communities are magnified by time and the number of global change factors imposed.

Global change drivers (GCDs) are expected to alter community structure and consequently, the services that ecosystems provide. Yet, few experimental investigations have examined effects of GCDs on plant community structure across multiple ecosystem types, and those that do exist present conflicting patterns. In an unprecedented global synthesis of over 100 experiments that manipulated factors linked to GCDs, we show that herbaceous plant community responses depend on experimental manipulation length and number of factors manipulated.

Potential of mixed hydraulic barriers to remediate seawater intrusion.

Remediation measures are crucial to prevent or reverse seawater intrusion deteriorating coastal fresh groundwater resources. The mixed hydraulic barrier approach, as a combination of positive and negative hydraulic barriers, holds promising advantages especially for arid areas because extracted water provides a resource for injection after treatment. However, transient remediation mechanisms and impact of parameters are still unsatisfyingly understood.

Collembola interact with mycorrhizal fungi in modifying oak morphology, C and N incorporation and transcriptomics.

Soil detritivores such as Collembola impact plant growth, tissue nutrient concentration and gene expression. Using a model system with pedunculate oak () microcuttings that display a typical endogenous rhythmic growth with alternating shoot (SF) and root flushes (RF), we investigated the transcriptomic response of oak with and without mycorrhiza () to the presence of Collembola (), and linked it to changes in resource allocation by pulse labelling the plants with C and N. Collembola impacted Gene Ontology (GO) terms as well as plant morphology and elemental ratios with the effects varying markedly with developmental phases.

Adaptive observation-based subsurface conceptual site modeling framework combining interdisciplinary methodologies: a case study on advancing the understanding of a groundwater nitrate plume occurrence.

Traditional site characterization and laboratory testing methods are insufficient to quantify and conceptualize subsurface contaminant source-pathway-receptor heterogeneity issues, as they hamper groundwater risk assessment and water resource management using mathematical modeling. To address these issues, we propose an adaptive observation-based conceptual site modeling framework, which emphasizes the need for the iterative testing of hypotheses centered on specific questions with clearly defined objectives using interdisciplinary tools (including, but not limited to, geology, microbiology, hydrogeology, geophysics, and the chemistry of solute fate and transport). Under this framework, we present a case study aimed at a goal-oriented investigation of the source and occurrence of a groundwater nitrate plume previously identified using chemical concentration data from sparsely distributed, conventional, and regional groundwater monitoring wells.

Incomplete cell disruption of resistant microbes.

Biomolecules for OMIC analysis of microbial communities are commonly extracted by bead-beating or ultra-sonication, but both showed varying yields. In addition to that, different disruption pressures are necessary to lyse bacteria and fungi. However, the disruption efficiency and yields comparing bead-beating and ultra-sonication of different biological material have not yet been demonstrated.

Vertical flow constructed wetlands for decentralized wastewater treatment in Jordan: Optimization of total nitrogen removal.

The baseline performance of two full-scale vertical flow (VF) constructed wetlands operating in the arid climate of Jordan is presented in this study, within the context of the Jordanian Standards for reuse of treated wastewater. One system was a recirculating VF wetland, and the other was a single-pass two-stage VF wetland. Operational modifications were made to each treatment system, with the aim of improving Total Nitrogen (TN) removal.

Electron balancing under different sink conditions reveals positive effects on photon efficiency and metabolic activity of sp. PCC 6803.

Background: Cyanobacteria are ideal model organisms to exploit photosynthetically derived electrons or fixed carbon for the biotechnological synthesis of high value compounds and energy carriers. Much effort is spent on the rational design of heterologous pathways to produce value-added chemicals. Much less focus is drawn on the basic physiological responses and potentials of phototrophs to deal with natural or artificial electron and carbon sinks.

Traits linked with species invasiveness and community invasibility vary with time, stage and indicator of invasion in a long-term grassland experiment.

Much uncertainty remains about traits linked with successful invasion - the establishment and spread of non-resident species into existing communities. Using a 20-year experiment, where 50 non-resident (but mostly native) grassland plant species were sown into savannah plots, we ask how traits linked with invasion depend on invasion stage (establishment, spread), indicator of invasion success (occupancy, relative abundance), time, environmental conditions, propagule rain, and traits of invaders and invaded communities. Trait data for 164 taxa showed that invader occupancy was primarily associated with traits of invaders, traits of recipient communities, and invader-community interactions.

pH-Dependent Uptake and Sublethal Effects of Antihistamines in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) Embryos.

Reported off-target effects of antihistamines in humans draw interest in ecotoxicity testing of first- and second-generation antihistamines, the latter of which have fewer reported side effects in humans. Because antihistamines are ionizable compounds, the pH influences uptake and toxicity and thus is highly relevant when conducting toxicity experiments. Zebrafish embryo toxicity tests were performed with the 3 first-generation antihistamines ketotifen, doxylamine, and dimethindene and the 2 second-generation antihistamines cetirizine and levocabastine at pH 5.

Hydrothermal treatment for regeneration of activated carbon loaded with organic micropollutants.

Hydrothermal treatment (HT) at 200 °C and 240 °C for 4 and 16 h was studied for the regeneration of granular activated carbon (AC) loaded with a range of organic micropollutants having a broad range of physico-chemical properties. Carbamazepine, diazinon, diclofenac, estrone, iohexol, metoprolol and sulfamethoxazole were fully converted. Limits were seen for the conversion of caffeine, ibuprofen and perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS).

Leaf nutrients, not specific leaf area, are consistent indicators of elevated nutrient inputs.

Leaf traits are frequently measured in ecology to provide a 'common currency' for predicting how anthropogenic pressures impact ecosystem function. Here, we test whether leaf traits consistently respond to experimental treatments across 27 globally distributed grassland sites across 4 continents. We find that specific leaf area (leaf area per unit mass)-a commonly measured morphological trait inferring shifts between plant growth strategies-did not respond to up to four years of soil nutrient additions.