Hasil untuk "Ecology"

Samir K. Banerjee, Klaus Schlaeppi, M. V. D. van der Heijden

Kassem Makki, E. Deehan, J. Walter et al.

Food is a primordial need for our survival and well-being. However, diet is not only essential to maintain human growth, reproduction, and health, but it also modulates and supports the symbiotic microbial communities that colonize the digestive tract-the gut microbiota. Type, quality, and origin of our food shape our gut microbes and affect their composition and function, impacting host-microbe interactions. In this review, we will focus on dietary fibers, which interact directly with gut microbes and lead to the production of key metabolites such as short-chain fatty acids, and discuss how dietary fiber impacts gut microbial ecology, host physiology, and health. Hippocrates' notion "Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food" remains highly relevant millennia later, but requires consideration of how diet can be used for modulation of gut microbial ecology to promote health.

N. Dingemanse, N. Dochtermann

J. Dickinson, Jennifer Shirk, David N. Bonter et al.

M. Turner

Katalin Csilléry, M. Blum, O. Gaggiotti et al.

R. Foelix

N. Becker, D. Petrić, C. Boase et al.

A. Briscoe, L. Chittka

S. Chapman

D. Cushing

Douglas H. Boucher, S. James, K. Keeler

T. J. Walker, R. Baker

Leigh Ann Simmons, Jennifer E. Phipps, Sebastian Castro-Alvarez et al.

Abstract Background Rising rates of overweight and obesity globally have led to an increasing number of women who enter pregnancy with excess weight, posing significant health risks to mothers and infants. Mobile health interventions, such as smartphone apps, may be a solution to improving pregnancy outcomes, however, limited randomized studies have examined this approach for gestational weight gain (GWG) and postpartum weight retention (PPWR). We report results from a double-blinded, randomized control trial of Goals for Reaching Optimal Wellness (GROWell), a mobile app and text-based intervention designed to improve diet quality and associated weight outcomes in pregnant and postpartum women. Methods Women living in California with BMI = 25–42 kg/m2 and a singleton, uncomplicated pregnancy were recruited via social media or clinic in early pregnancy from January 2021 through March 2023. After completing a baseline survey, participants were randomized to GROWell or an educational control. Participants completed online surveys of diet quality and other health behaviors and self-weighed using study-provided Bluetooth scales. Modified Poisson regression tested for differences in excess GWG and 6-month PPWR. Results Using block randomization in permuted blocks of three based on prepregnancy BMI, race/ethnicity, and recruitment source) 453 racially and ethnically diverse participants (237 attention control, 216 intervention) were enrolled. Mean age was 33.6 ± 4.1 years and mean BMI was 30.9 ± 4.28 kg/m2. Excess GWG was observed in 36% of the control group and 35% of the intervention group. PPWR was observed in 26% of the control group and 23% of the intervention group. Conclusions Compared to an attention control, GROWell was not associated with lower rates of excess GWG or PPWR. However, study rates of excess GWG and PPWR were lower in both groups compared to averages in the US and several Western nations. Future studies should investigate the potential of text-based educational support on weight and other health indicators among childbearing women. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT04449432. Registered on June 26, 2020.

M. Sands, C. Gimingham

Anil Madhavapeddy, Sam Reynolds, Alec P. Christie et al.

The Internet has grown from a humble set of protocols for end-to-end connectivity into a critical global system with no builtin "immune system". In the next decade the Internet will likely grow to a trillion nodes and need protection from threats ranging from floods of fake generative data to AI-driven malware. Unfortunately, growing centralisation has lead to the breakdown of mutualism across the network, with surveillance capitalism now the dominant business model. We take lessons from from biological systems towards evolving a more resilient Internet that can integrate adaptation mechanisms into its fabric. We also contribute ideas for how the Internet might incorporate digital immune systems, including how software stacks might mutate to encourage more architectural diversity. We strongly advocate for the Internet to "re-decentralise" towards incentivising more mutualistic forms of communication.

Martin Heidelman, Dervis Can Vural

The roots of some coastal and wetland trees grow peculiar vertical protrusions, the function of which remains unclear. Here, using computational simulations based on first-principles fluid and sedimentation dynamics, we argue that the protrusions work together to create an elevated patch of sediment downstream of the tree, thereby creating its own fertile flood-protected breeding grounds for the seedlings. In our simulations, we vary the vertical root diameter, root spacing and total root area and show that there is an optimal vertical root spacing that depends on root thickness. Next, we quantify and discuss the cooperative effects between adjacent vertical root patches. Lastly, by varying vertical root spacing of a patch of trees, we estimate a maximal vegetation density for which vertical root production has a beneficial geomorphological response. Our hypothesis suggests that vertical roots, such as the "knee roots" of baldcypress trees, have an important role in shaping riparian geomorphology and community structure.

Elena Rovenskaya, Alexey Ivanov, Sarah Hathiari et al.

Abstract Economic and social interactions are shifting to digital platforms which grow into vast ecosystems where user engagement creates value for members while ecosystem orchestrators harvest massive revenue. The digital ecosystem business model succeeds by adeptly navigating fast-changing environments, including new technologies and volatile demands, through dynamic innovation in a decentralized decision-making setting. This renders digital platform ecosystems complex adaptive systems. Recognizing that natural ecosystems are a prime example of complex adaptive systems, we propose a systematic hierarchical framework for describing and understanding digital ecosystems, rooted in ecology and evolution. Our framework compares digital ecosystems hosted by societies to natural ecosystems embedded in biomes, products to species, and technologies and elements of business strategy to the genetic makeup of a species. As digital platforms face heightened scrutiny about their socio-economic power and societal value, our approach contributes to the development of deeper understanding and sustainable governance of the digital economy.

BY F. H. Bronson

S. Jørgensen