Spatial variability overwhelms seasonal patterns in bacterioplankton communities across a river to ocean gradient

Few studies of microbial biogeography address variability across both multiple habitats and multiple seasons. Here we examine the spatial and temporal variability of bacterioplankton community composition of the Columbia River coastal margin using 16S amplicon pyrosequencing of 300 water samples collected in 2007 and 2008. Communities separated into seven groups (ANOSIM, P<0.001): river, estuary, plume, epipelagic, mesopelagic, shelf bottom (depth<350 m) and slope bottom (depth>850 m). The ordination of these samples was correlated with salinity (ρ=−0.83) and depth (ρ=−0.62). Temporal patterns were obscured by spatial variability among the coastal environments, and could only be detected within individual groups. Thus, structuring environmental factors (for example, salinity, depth) dominate over seasonal changes in determining community composition. Seasonal variability was detected across an annual cycle in the river, estuary and plume where communities separated into two groups, early year (April–July) and late year (August–Nov), demonstrating annual reassembly of communities over time. Determining both the spatial and temporal variability of bacterioplankton communities provides a framework for modeling these communities across environmental gradients from river to deep ocean.     

Research in Turbulent Environments: Slums in Chennai,India and the Impact of the December 2004 Tsunami on an Ecohealth Project

On December 26, 2004, a tsunami struck coastal areas in the Bay of Bengal. Among the communities affected were Pallavan Nagar and Anju Kudasai slums in Chennai India. These communities have been collaborating, with some success, on a project to manage the urban environment for human health that employs an adaptive ecosystem approach framework, and is heavily influenced by participatory action research methodology. The tsunami resulted in loss of life, shelter, property and livelihoods in these communities. This profile presents an overview of the project, the two settlements, and the impact of the tsunami on the communities. This article also discusses the impact of the disaster on the direction and nature of the ecohealth project.     

International,interdisciplinary research in ecology: Some problems of organization and execution. The case of the man and the biosphere (MAB) programme

Ecological problems — because they involve interactions and interfaces — require for their solution a flexible, interdisciplinary approach. Ecological research can best be supported in an international, intergovernmental framework, but, at first sight, the requirements of such a framework may seem unwieldy to traditionally trained natural and social scientists. Experience acquired in implementing UNESCO's Man and the Biosphere (MAB) Programme indicates that it is possible to overcome the difficulties of conducting integrated research and to achieve internationally comparable results. The MAB Programme is a good example of both the potential and the limitations of integrated, international ecological research programs. There seem to be three imperatives for success: (1) research must be problem oriented, (2) the. unit selected for study must be sufficiently comprehensive and based on human use systems, and (3) research workers in various natural and social science disciplines and the administrative decision-makers must share responsibility for planning and execution.     

Health related virtual communities and electronic support groups: systematic review of the effects of online peer to peer interactions

Objective To compile and evaluate the evidence on the effects on health and social outcomes of computer based peer to peer communities and electronic self support groups, used by people to discuss health related issues remotely.Design and data sources Analysis of studies identified from Medline, Embase, CINAHL, PsycINFO, Evidence Based Medicine Reviews, Electronics and Communications Abstracts, Computer and Information Systems Abstracts, ERIC, LISA, ProQuest Digital Dissertations, Web of Science.Selection of studies We searched for before and after studies, interrupted time series, cohort studies, or studies with control groups; evaluating health or social outcomes of virtual peer to peer communities, either as stand alone interventions or in the context of more complex systems with peer to peer components.Main outcome measures Peer to peer interventions and co-interventions studied, general characteristics of studies, outcome measures used, and study results.Results 45 publications describing 38 distinct studies met our inclusion criteria: 20 randomised trials, three meta-analyses of n of 1 trials, three non-randomised controlled trials, one cohort study, and 11 before and after studies. Only six of these evaluated “pure” peer to peer communities, and one had a factorial design with a “peer to peer only” arm, whereas 31 studies evaluated complex interventions, which often included psychoeducational programmes or one to one communication with healthcare professionals, making it impossible to attribute intervention effects to the peer to peer community component. The outcomes measured most often were depression and social support measures; most studies did not show an effect. We found no evidence to support concerns over virtual communities harming people.Conclusions No robust evidence exists of consumer led peer to peer communities, partly because most peer to peer communities have been evaluated only in conjunction with more complex interventions or involvement with health professionals. Given the abundance of unmoderated peer to peer groups on the internet, research is required to evaluate under which conditions and for whom electronic support groups are effective and how effectiveness in delivering social support electronically can be maximised.     

A Framework to Link International Clinical Research to the Promotion of Justice in Global Health

How international research might contribute to justice in global health has not been substantively addressed by bioethics. Theories of justice from political philosophy establish obligations for parties from high‐income countries owed to parties from low and middle‐income countries. We have developed a new framework that is based on Jennifer Ruger's health capability paradigm to strengthen the link between international clinical research and justice in global health. The ‘research for health justice’ framework provides direction on three aspects of international clinical research: the research target, research capacity strengthening, and post‐trial benefits. It identifies the obligations of justice owed by national governments, research funders, research sponsors, and investigators to trial participants and host communities. These obligations vary from those currently articulated in international research ethics guidelines. Ethical requirements of a different kind are needed if international clinical research is to advance global health equity.     

Building International Indigenous People’s Partnerships for Community-Driven Health Initiatives

In this article we present an international Indigenous people’s partnership project co-led by two Indigenous communities, Musqueam (Coast Salish, Canada) and Totoras (Quichua, Ecuador), as a community-driven health initiative. The Musqueam-Totoras partnership includes Indigenous organizations, universities, international agencies, government, and nongovernmental organizations to address Indigenous health concerns in both communities. Our collaborative approach provides a framework to (a) increase the development expertise of Indigenous people internationally, (b) increase skills among all participants, and (c) facilitate Indigenous knowledge mobilization and translation to promote cultural continuity. This international Indigenous people’s partnership between north and south reflects the diversity and commonalities of Indigenous knowledge, contributes to cultural revitalization, and minimizes the impact of assimilation, technology, and globalization. Indigenous people’s partnerships contribute to self-determination, which is a prerequisite to the building and maintenance of healthy communities and the promotion of social justice. The exchange of Indigenous knowledge upholds Indigenous values of respect, reciprocity, relevance, and responsibility. Given the history of colonization and the negligence of governments in the exercising of these values with respect to Indigenous communities, this contemporary exchange among Indigenous people in the Americas serves to reclaim these values and practices. International cooperation empowering Indigenous people and other marginalized groups has become fundamental for their advancement and participation in globalized economies. An international Indigenous people’s partnership provides opportunities for sharing cultural, historical, social, environmental, and economic factors impacting Indigenous health. These partnerships also create beneficial learning experiences in community-based participatory research and community-driven health initiatives, provide culturally sensitive research ethics frameworks, increase capacity building, and address basic human needs identified by participating communities.     

Changes in Cognitive Functions in the Elderly Living in Temporary Housing after the Great East Japan Earthquake

On March 11, 2011, Japan experienced an earthquake of magnitude 9.0 and subsequent enormous tsunamis. This disaster destroyed many coastal cities and caused nearly 20,000 casualties. In the aftermath of the disaster, many tsunami survivors who lost their homes were forced to live in small temporary apartments. Although all tsunami survivors were at risk of deteriorating health, the elderly people were particularly at a great risk with regard to not only their physical health but also their mental health. In the present study, we performed a longitudinal cohort study to investigate and analyze health conditions and cognitive functions at 28, 32, and 42 months after the disaster in the elderly people who were forced to reside in temporary apartments in Kesennuma, a city severely damaged by the tsunamis. The ratio of people considered to be cognitively impaired significantly increased during the research period. On the other hand, the mean scores of the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale-6 and Athens Insomnia Scale improved based on the comparison between the data at 24 and 42 months. The multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that frequency of “out-of-home activities” and “walking duration” were independently associated with an increase in the ratio of people with cognitive impairment. We concluded that the elderly people living in temporary apartments were at a high risk of cognitive impairment and “out-of-home activities” and “walking” could possibly maintain the stability of cognitive functions.     

Impacts of Florida red tides on coastal communities

Over the last few decades, scientific research has helped to describe the disease neurotoxic shellfish poisoning (NSP) by identifying the causative organism, Karenia brevis, and by characterizing the disease-causing toxins, a suite of polyether toxins called brevetoxins. In addition to causing disease in exposed human populations, K. brevis blooms and associated management responses have been linked to other effects on coastal communities. Some of these effects are negative, such as the loss of tourism dollars and the increased burden on local health care services caused by increases in human disease incidence. However, some of the effects are positive, such as the significant improvement in detecting brevetoxins in environmental samples and clinical specimens. This review discusses the health and economic effects from K. brevis blooms on Florida coastal communities and the current efforts to identify the data needed to assess social and cultural effects.     

Characterizing the role benthos plays in large coastal seas and estuaries: A modular approach

Ecologists studying coastal and estuarine benthic communities have long taken a macroecological view, by relating benthic community patterns to environmental factors across several spatial scales. Although many general ecological patterns have been established, often a significant amount of the spatial and temporal variation in soft-sediment communities within and among systems remains unexplained. Here we propose a framework that may aid in unraveling the complex influence of environmental factors associated with the different components of coastal systems (i.e. the terrestrial and benthic landscapes, and the hydrological seascape) on benthic communities, and use this information to assess the role played by benthos in coastal ecosystems. A primary component of the approach is the recognition of system modules (e.g. marshes, dendritic systems, tidal rivers, enclosed basins, open bays, lagoons). The modules may differentially interact with key forcing functions (e.g. temperature, salinity, currents) that influence system processes and in turn benthic responses and functions. Modules may also constrain benthic characteristics and related processes within certain ecological boundaries and help explain their overall spatio-temporal variation. We present an example of how benthic community characteristics are related to the modular structure of 14 coastal seas and estuaries, and show that benthic functional group composition is significantly related to the modular structure of these systems. We also propose a framework for exploring the role of benthic communities in coastal systems using this modular approach and offer predictions of how benthic communities may vary depending on the modular composition and characteristics of a coastal system.     

Challenges and Opportunities: What Can We Learn from Patients Living with Chronic Musculoskeletal Conditions,Health Professionals and Carers about the Concept of Health Literacy Using Qualitative Methods of Inquiry?

The field of health literacy continues to evolve and concern public health researchers and yet remains a largely overlooked concept elsewhere in the healthcare system. We conducted focus group discussions in England UK, about the concept of health literacy with older patients with chronic musculoskeletal conditions (mean age  = 73.4 years), carers and health professionals. Our research posed methodological, intellectual and practical challenges. Gaps in conceptualisation and expectations were revealed, reiterating deficiencies in predominant models for understanding health literacy and methodological shortcomings of using focus groups in qualitative research for this topic. Building on this unique insight into what the concept of health literacy meant to participants, we present analysis of our findings on factors perceived to foster and inhibit health literacy and on the issue of responsibility in health literacy. Patients saw health literacy as a result of an inconsistent interactive process and the implications as wide ranging; healthcare professionals had more heterogeneous views. All focus group discussants agreed that health literacy most benefited from good inter-personal communication and partnership. By proposing a needs-based approach to health literacy we offer an alternative way of conceptualising health literacy to help improve the health of older people with chronic conditions.     

Review of Florida Red Tide and Human Health Effects

This paper reviews the literature describing research performed over the past decade on the known and possible exposures and human health effects associated with Florida red tides. These harmful algal blooms are caused by the dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, and similar organisms, all of which produce a suite of natural toxins known as brevetoxins. Florida red tide research has benefited from a consistently funded, long term research program, that has allowed an interdisciplinary team of researchers to focus their attention on this specific environmental issue-one that is critically important to Gulf of Mexico and other coastal communities. This long-term interdisciplinary approach has allowed the team to engage the local community, identify measures to protect public health, take emerging technologies into the field, forge advances in natural products chemistry, and develop a valuable pharmaceutical product. The Review includes a brief discussion of the Florida red tide organisms and their toxins, and then focuses on the effects of these toxins on animals and humans, including how these effects predict what we might expect to see in exposed people.     

From Reef to Table: Social and Ecological Factors Affecting Coral Reef Fisheries,Artisanal Seafood Supply Chains,and Seafood Security

Ocean and coastal ecosystems provide critical fisheries, coastal protection, and cultural benefits to communities worldwide, but these services are diminishing due to local and global threats. In response, place-based strategies involve communities and resource users in management have proliferated. Here, we present a transferable community-based approach to assess the social and ecological factors affecting resource sustainability and food security in a small-scale, coral reef fishery. Our results show that this small-scale fishery provides large-scale benefits to communities, including 7,353 ± 1547 kg yr^-1 (mean ± SE) of seafood per year, equating to >30,000 meals with an economic value of $78,432. The vast majority of the catch is used for subsistence, contributing to community food security: 58% is kept, 33.5% is given away, and 8.5% is sold. Our spatial analysis assesses the geographic distribution of community beneficiaries from the fishery (the “food shed” for the fishery), and we document that 20% of seafood procured from the fishery is used for sociocultural events that are important for social cohesion. This approach provides a method for assessing social, economic, and cultural values provided by small-scale food systems, as well as important contributions to food security, with significant implications for conservation and management. This interdisciplinary effort aims to demonstrate a transferable participatory research approach useful for resource-dependent communities as they cope with socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental change.     

Public health 2020.

The aim of public health is to improve the health of people in communities and in populations (protection from environmental hazards and provision for health needs). The challenge for public health doctors is to re-establish public health leadership of communities, address social and environmental causes of ill health, and link with primary care (a) to improve the health of neighbourhoods and (b) to combine perspectives in commissioning services. Current threats derive from organisational philosophies. For example, focusing on market development does not allow for population based functions and so neglects the main influences on health. The way forward is a network model of organisation in which small teams collaborate with each other to the common good. For example, successful commissioning authorities would have the public health leadership of the director of public health and the support of the chief executive, treasurer, and representatives of primary care, including a medical adviser from the family health services authority.     

Marine Coastal Resources as an Engine of Development for the Lafkenche and Williche Populations of Southern Chile

Abstract

Lafkenche and Williche, the Mapuche coastal population in Chile, used coastal marine areas and resources for centuries. The Spanish colonization and the subsequent establishment of the Republic of Chile curtailed these access rights and traditional uses. In 2008, the government of Chile introduced the “Lafkenche Law” establishing exclusive access rights for traditional indigenous use of coastal marine areas and resources, but the law has not led to effective self-determination or the development of the ethnic Mapuche populations. Interviews with indigenous community leaders in October 2014 confirmed their dissatisfaction with this law. This article discusses whether the experience of other nations, such as the innovative Community Development Quota Program in Alaska in the United States, which allocates a portion of certain species in the Bering Sea to coastal communities, can help overcome marine resources access barriers affecting the Mapuche people.     

Causal models for a risk-based assessment of stressor pathways for an operational uranium mine

Protection of the environment and people from the potential impacts of uranium mining and milling is a global issue as the world's demand for power generation derived from uranium increases. We present a framework for deriving multiple stressor-pathway causal models for an operational uranium mine that can be used to identify research and monitoring needs for environmental protection. Additionally the framework enabled us to categorize the importance of pathways in the system. An interdisciplinary approach to causal model development was undertaken in order to ensure the potential impacts of mining on the natural environment and human health were identified and assessed by researchers with the appropriate knowledge. An example of a causal model and supporting narrative is provided for the most important stressor pathway, transport of inorganic toxicants via the surface water to surface water pathway. This risk-based screening approach can be applied to mining operations where environmental protection (including human health) is underpinned by quantitative interdisciplinary research and monitoring.     

Determining indicator taxa across spatial and seasonal gradients in the Columbia River coastal margin

Bacterioplankton communities are deeply diverse and highly variable across space and time, but several recent studies demonstrate repeatable and predictable patterns in this diversity. We expanded on previous studies by determining patterns of variability in both individual taxa and bacterial communities across coastal environmental gradients. We surveyed bacterioplankton diversity across the Columbia River coastal margin, USA, using amplicon pyrosequencing of 16S rRNA genes from 596 water samples collected from 2007 to 2010. Our results showed seasonal shifts and annual reassembly of bacterioplankton communities in the freshwater-influenced Columbia River, estuary, and plume, and identified indicator taxa, including species from freshwater SAR11, Oceanospirillales, and Flavobacteria groups, that characterize the changing seasonal conditions in these environments. In the river and estuary, Actinobacteria and Betaproteobacteria indicator taxa correlated strongly with seasonal fluctuations in particulate organic carbon (ρ=−0.664) and residence time (ρ=0.512), respectively. In contrast, seasonal change in communities was not detected in the coastal ocean and varied more with the spatial variability of environmental factors including temperature and dissolved oxygen. Indicator taxa of coastal ocean environments included SAR406 and SUP05 taxa from the deep ocean, and Prochlorococcus and SAR11 taxa from the upper water column. We found that in the Columbia River coastal margin, freshwater-influenced environments were consistent and predictable, whereas coastal ocean community variability was difficult to interpret due to complex physical conditions. This study moves beyond beta-diversity patterns to focus on the occurrence of specific taxa and lends insight into the potential ecological roles these taxa have in coastal ocean environments.     

Monitoring coastal wetland communities in north-eastern NSW using ASTER and Landsat satellite data

The coastal wetland communities of north-eastern New South Wales (NSW) Australia exist in a subtropical climate with high biodiversity and are affected by anthropogenic and natural stressors such as urbanization and climate change. The aim of the research is to map and monitor the coastal wetland communities in north eastern NSW using satellite data. Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflectance Radiometer, Landsat ETM+ and Landsat TM satellite imagery of November 2003, June 2001 and September 1989 respectively were used to identify and monitor the wetland communities. Supervised classification was performed using the maximum likelihood standard algorithm. Normalized Difference Vegetation Index was produced and the health of the wetland vegetation was evaluated. The wetland maps present significant changes in the coastal wetland communities in the months of September 1989, June 2001 and November 2003. This information could be used by coastal wetland managers in order to enhance the management of these ecosystems.     

Cultural Specificity and Comparison in Psychiatric Epidemiology: Walking the Tightrope in American Indian Research

Increasingly, the mental health needs of populations are measured using large-sample surveys with standardized measures and methods. Such efforts, however, rarely include sufficient number of smaller, culturally defined populations to draw defensible conclusions about their needs. Furthermore, without some adaptation, the standardized methods and measures may yield invalid results in such populations. Using a recently completed psychiatric epidemiology and services study with American Indian populations as a case example, this paper outlines issues facing epidemiologists working in such culturally diverse contexts. The issues discussed include the following: (1) persuading the scientific community and potential sponsors that work with distinct or culturally defined populations is important; (2) framing research questions and activities to meet the needs of communities; (3) defining a population of inference; (4) balancing the needs for comparability and cultural specificity; (5) maximizing scientific validity in light of the challenges in sample acquisition; and (6) developing and implementing data collection methods that uphold scientific standards but are also realistic given the context. The authors draw on their experiences—most recently in the American Indian Service Utilization, Psychiatric Epidemiology, Risk and Protective Factors Project (AI-SUPERPFP)—to illustrate these issues and suggest ways to address each. A goal of this paper is to challenge those invested in conducting culturally valid epidemiologic work in such populations to better articulate the nature of these efforts.     

Neurological illnesses associated with Florida red tide (Karenia brevis) blooms

Human respiratory and gastrointestinal illnesses can result from exposures to brevetoxins originating from coastal Florida red tide blooms, comprising the marine alga Karenia brevis (K. brevis). Only limited research on the extent of human health risks and illness costs due to K. brevis blooms has been undertaken to date. Because brevetoxins are known neurotoxins that are able to cross the blood-brain barrier, it is possible that exposure to brevetoxins may be associated with neurological illnesses. This study explored whether K. brevis blooms may be associated with increases in the numbers of emergency department visits for neurological illness. An exposure-response framework was applied to test the effects of K. brevis blooms on human health, using secondary data from diverse sources. After controlling for resident population, seasonal and annual effects, significant increases in emergency department visits were found specifically for headache (ICD-9 784.0) as a primary diagnosis during proximate coastal K. brevis blooms. In particular, an increased risk for older residents (≥55 years) was identified in the coastal communities of six southwest Florida counties during K. brevis bloom events. The incidence of headache associated with K. brevis blooms showed a small but increasing association with K. brevis cell densities. Rough estimates of the costs of this illness were developed for hypothetical bloom occurrences.