In the last four decades, dugong (Dugong dugon) aggregations have been rarely reported from the geographically isolated, vast seascape of the Andaman Islands, India. The Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004, hunting, coastal development, and habitat loss are the major causes of this change in the social system of dugongs in …
The three mammalian orders Chiroptera, Rodentia, and Eulipotyphla constitute the bulk of small mammalian species. In spite of their diversity, numerical preponderance, and widespread distribution, they are the least explored mammals with serious information gap on the diversity and distribution especially in the context of northeastern India. Original Content Link: …
Black carbon (BC) from fossil fuel and biomass combustion darkens the snow and makes it melt sooner. The BC footprint of research activities and tourism in Antarctica has likely increased as human presence in the continent has surged in recent decades. Researchers report on measurements of the BC concentration in …
This study develops a plant-level, technical-specific, and time-series global refinery CO2 emission inventory, covering 1,056 refineries from 2000 to 2018. Original Source
Nitrogen-use efficiency (NUE) is a function of N-response and yield that is controlled by many genes and phenotypic parameters that are poorly characterized. This study compiled all known yield-related genes in rice and mined them from the N-responsive microarray data to find 1,064 NUE-related genes. Original Source
Microbiological characterisation of co-infections and secondary infections in patients with COVID-19 is lacking, and antimicrobial use is high. The researchers aimed to describe microbiologically confirmed co-infections and secondary infections, and antimicrobial use, in patients admitted to hospital with COVID-19. Original Source
As humanity’s demand on natural resources is increasingly exceeding Earth’s biological rate of regeneration, environmental deterioration such as greenhouse gas accumulation in the atmosphere, ocean acidification and groundwater depletion is accelerating. As a result, the capacity of ecosystems to renew biomass, herein referred to as ‘biocapacity’, is becoming the material …
Insecticide-treated mosquito nets (ITNs) are highly effective for the control of malaria. Yet widely distributed ITNs have been repurposed as fishing nets throughout the world. Original Source
Maternal exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM2·5) is associated with pregnancy loss (ie, stillbirth and miscarriage). South Asia has the highest burden of pregnancy loss globally and is one of the most PM2·5 polluted regions in the world. However, knowledge of the relevant exposure–response function for mothers is insufficient. Original …
African swine fever (ASF) is one of the most important transboundary diseases of pigs. ASF has been identified in India for the first time in domestic pigs from outbreaks reported in two of the northeastern states, Arunachal Pradesh and Assam in 2020. A total of 11 ASF outbreaks in different …
Sulawesi is an important island for primates. All 17 species that are found there are endemics. The island also includes contact zones between species of macaques (genus Macaca) where hybrids may arise. Sulawesi continues to be deforested, especially in the lowlands most suitable for estate crops and other agricultural products. …
Between 1992 and 2015, nearly 148 million hectares (Mha) within biodiversity hotspots – biologically rich but threatened terrestrial regions – worldwide underwent land‐cover changes, equating to 6% of the total areal extent of hotspots. Forest losses in hotspots amounted to 54 Mha (–7% of the forest area present in 1992), …
There is an urgent need to assess the linkages between diet patterns and environmental sustainability in order to meet global targets for reducing premature mortality and improving sustainable management of natural resources. This study fills an important research gap by evaluating the relationship between incremental differences in diet quality and …
Accurate and up-to-date assessment of demographic metrics is crucial for understanding a wide range of social, economic, and public health issues that affect populations worldwide. The Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD) 2019 produced updated and comprehensive demographic assessments of the key indicators of fertility, mortality, …
Biological invasions have steadily increased over recent centuries. However, we still lack a clear expectation about future trends in alien species numbers. In particular, we do not know whether alien species will continue to accumulate in regional floras and faunas, or whether the pace of accumulation will decrease due to …
This study aims to assess correlations of the time from symptom onset to diagnosis and treatment with the time to disease resolution and CT scores as based on findings from sequential chest CT examinations. Original Source
Human-wildlife interactions resulting in conflict remains a global conservation challenge, requiring innovative solutions to ensure the persistence of wildlife amidst people. Wild Seve was established in July 2015 as a conservation intervention program to assist people affected by conflict to file and monitor claims and receive ex-gratia payments from the …
Early infections with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 in Europe were detected in travelers from Wuhan, China, in January 2020. In 1 tour group, 5 of 30 members were ill; 3 cases were laboratory confirmed. In addition, a healthcare worker was infected. This event documents early importation and subsequent …
Southwestern China (SWC) has suffered from increasing frequency of heat wave (HW) in recent summers. While the local drought-HW connection is one obvious mechanism for this change, remote controls remain to be explored. Based on ERA-5 reanalysis, it is found that the SWC summer HWs are significantly correlated with sea-ice …
The researchers estimate the distribution of serial intervals for 468 confirmed cases of 2019 novel coronavirus disease reported in China as of February 8, 2020. The mean interval was 3.96 days (95% CI 3.53–4.39 days), SD 4.75 days (95% CI 4.46–5.07 days); 12.6% of case reports indicated presymptomatic transmission.
