Urban ecosystems cover less than 3% of the Earth's land surface, yet more than half of the human population lives in urban areas. The process of urbanization stresses biodiversity and other ecosystem functions within and far beyond the city. To understand the mechanisms underlying observed changes in biodiversity patterns, several observational and experimental studies were performed in the metropolitan area of Phoenix, Arizona, and the surrounding Sonoran Desert. The first study was comprised of seven years of arthropod monitoring using pitfall traps in common urban land-use types. This study revealed differences in community structure, diversity and abundance over time and between urban and wildland habitats. Urban habitats with high productivity had higher abundances of arthropods, but lower diversity compared to wildland habitats. Arthropod abundance in less-productive urban habitats was positively correlated with precipitation, but abundance in high-productivity urban habitats was completely decoupled from annual fluctuations in precipitation. This study showed the buffering capacity and the habitat heterogeneity of urban areas. To test the mechanisms controlling community diversity and structure in urban areas, a major field experiment was initiated. Productivity of the native shrub Encelia farinosa and bird predation of associated arthropods were manipulated to test whether bottom-up or top-down forces were more important in urban habitats compared to wildland habitats. Abundance, richness and similarity were monitored, revealing clear differences between urban and wildland habitats. An unusually cold and dry first season had a negative effect on plant growth and arthropod abundance. Plants in urban habitats were relatively unaffected by the low temperature. An increase in arthropod abundance with water availability indicated bottom-up forces in wildland habitats, whereas results from bird exclusions suggested that bird predation may not be as prominent in cities as previously thought. In contrast to the pitfall study, arthropod abundance was lower in urban habitats. A second field experiment testing the sheltering effect of urban structures demonstrated that reduced wind speed is an important factor facilitating plant growth in urban areas. A mathematical model incorporating wind, water and temperature demonstrated that urban habitats may be more robust than wildland habitats, supporting the empirical results.
Maternal morbidity and mortality rates in the United States continues to rise, with a wide range of contributing factors such as mental illness, cardiovascular disease and systemic inequality. This metastudy provides a holistic view of the research that has been published on the issue of U.S. maternal healthcare from 2000-2022. The patterns of publications on specific topics over time can tell us what is perceived as a current major cause by physicians, public leaders, researchers, and the public. A deeper dive into systemic inequality as a cause of maternal morbidity and mortality highlights it as a major contributor to these high rates, but that progress is slowly being made through the implementation of detection and prevention tactics, as well as accessible prenatal programs and care.
This meta-study analyzes the shift in research literature that focuses on the various shared causes of type 2 diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease from the years 2000 to 2022. Examining literature trends over the past two decades can offer valuable insight into the evolving emphasis on various topics. Altogether, a total of 154 publications were collected from the Pubmed and ResearchGate databases using a non-biased protocol and methodology. Each paper was then categorized by the topics it discussed. Visual representation of the data such as bar graphs and tables were created to comprehend the trends presented in the group of papers. The collection of publications were then differentiated into years of early (prior to 2005 or 2010) and late (after 2006 or 2011) periods to perform a statistical analysis of the patterns in the timeline. The increase in publications discussing Alzheimer’s disease, amyloid beta deposition, gut microbiota, mitochondrial dysfunction, type 2 diabetes, and tau hyperphosphorylation from the early to the late period were statistically significant. This means that the increase was not due to random chance, but rather supported by evidence. This can be attributed to researchers and physicians discovering more evidence that establishes a link between specific factors, type 2 diabetes, and Alzheimer’s disease. This reflects a genuine acknowledgment of the importance of understanding and addressing the relationship between these two pathologies. Research in the trends of literature can provide information in which areas of research are the most studied or understudied. Based on these findings, the identification of areas with limited knowledge and potential research directions can be inferred, ultimately leading to the enhancement of preventive measures and therapeutic approaches for these conditions.