Who you live with and what you duet for: a review of the function of primate duets in relation to their social organization.

Duets are one of the most fascinating displays in animal vocal communication, where two animals fine-tune the timing of their emissions to create a coordinated signal. Duetting behavior is widespread in the animal kingdom and is present in insects, birds, and mammals. Duets are essential to regulate activities within and between social units. Few studies assessed the functions of these vocal emissions experimentally, and for many species, there is still no consensus on what duets are used for. Here, we reviewed the literature on the function of duets in non-human primates, investigating a possible link between the social organization of the species and the function of its duetting behavior. In primates and birds, social conditions characterized by higher promiscuity might relate to the emergence of duetting behavior. We considered both quantitative and qualitative studies, which led us to hypothesize that the shift in the social organization from pair living to a mixed social organization might have led to the emergence of mate defense and mate guarding as critical functions of duetting behavior. Territory/resource ownership and defense functions are more critical in obligate pair-living species. Finally, we encourage future experimental research on this topic to allow the formulation of empirically testable predictions.

Singing more, singing harsher: occurrence of nonlinear phenomena in a primate' song.

Nonlinear phenomena (NLP) in animal vocalizations arise from irregularities in the oscillation of the vocal folds. Various non-mutually exclusive hypotheses have been put forward to explain the occurrence of NLP, from adaptive to physiological ones. Non-human primates often display NLP in their vocalizations, yet the communicative role of these features, if any, is still unclear. We here investigate the occurrence of NLP in the song of a singing primate, the indri (Indri indri), testing for the effect of sex, age, season, and duration of the vocal display on their emission. Our results show that NLP occurrence in indri depends on phonation, i.e., the cumulative duration of all the units emitted by an individual, and that NLP have higher probability to be emitted in the later stages of the song, probably due to the fatigue indris may experience while singing. Furthermore, NLP happen earlier in the vocal display of adult females than in that of the adult males, and this is probably due to the fact that fatigue occurs earlier in the former because of a greater contribution within the song. Our findings suggest, therefore, that indris may be subjected to physiological constraints during the singing process which may impair the production of harmonic sounds. However, indris may still benefit from emitting NLP by strengthening the loudness of their signals for better advertising their presence to the neighboring conspecific groups.

The role of ecotoxicology in the health impact assessment: an innovative ecosystem approach for the protection of human health in Italy.

BACKGROUND: The Health Impact Assessment (HIA) is a procedure with the aim to protect the populations exposed to the impacts deriving from the establishment or upgrading of large industrial enterprises, i.e. large combustion plants (>300 MWth). In Italy a guideline for the HIA procedure has been published in compliance with the 2014/52/EU Directive on the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) requirements. Italian HIA procedure. An ecotoxicological approach has been included for the first time in the HIA procedure with the aim to detect toxic effects caused by unknown not-monitored contaminants or mixtures in the ecosystem components affected by the potential emissions, discharges and releases of large industrial enterprises. Ecotoxicology plays an important bridge role between environment and human health in the scoping and monitoring step of the HIA procedure with a key function of early warning system and screening. The aim of this paper is to present the Italian experience in the first three years of the application of the new approach, proposing recommendations on specific case studies. Conclusion and future perspective. 80% of enterprises, that applied HIA, have delivered a robust, integrated and detailed documentation in relation to the ecotoxicological assessment, this positive feedback will generate environmental and human health benefits to the areas where the plants are established.

There You Are! Automated Detection of Indris' Songs on Features Extracted from Passive Acoustic Recordings.

The growing concern for the ongoing biodiversity loss drives researchers towards practical and large-scale automated systems to monitor wild animal populations. Primates, with most species threatened by extinction, face substantial risks. We focused on the vocal activity of the indri (Indri indri) recorded in Maromizaha Forest (Madagascar) from 2019 to 2021 via passive acoustics, a method increasingly used for monitoring activities in different environments. We first used indris' songs, loud distinctive vocal sequences, to detect the species' presence. We processed the raw data (66,443 10-min recordings) and extracted acoustic features based on the third-octave band system. We then analysed the features extracted from three datasets, divided according to sampling year, site, and recorder type, with a convolutional neural network that was able to generalise to recording sites and previously unsampled periods via data augmentation and transfer learning. For the three datasets, our network detected the song presence with high accuracy (>90%) and recall (>80%) values. Once provided the model with the time and day of recording, the high-performance values ensured that the classification process could accurately depict both daily and annual habits of indris' singing pattern, critical information to optimise field data collection. Overall, using this easy-to-implement species-specific detection workflow as a preprocessing method allows researchers to reduce the time dedicated to manual classification.

Aspectos epidemiológicos dos acidentes por animais peçonhentos no Nordeste brasileiro / Epidemiological aspects of accidents by poisony animals in Northeast Brazil / Aspectos epidemiológicos de accidentes por animales venenosos en el Noreste de Brasil

Objetivo: Descrever os aspectos epidemiológicos dos acidentes por animais peçonhentos no Nordeste do Brasil. Método: estudo descritivo, retrospectivo, construído a partir de dados secundários disponíveis no portal do Departamento de Informática do Sistema Único de Saúde do Brasil referente aos casos de acidentes com animais peçonhentos no período de 2015 a 2019. Resultados: percebeu-se que entre 2015 e 2019 houve um crescimento percentual médio de 74,25% nos casos, sendo registrados cerca de 4 mil acidentes com animais peçonhentos por mês. Quanto aos aspectos sociodemográficos, predominou o sexo feminino (51,35%), pardos (62,51%), com faixa etária de 20-59 anos (57,5%). Além disso, nos aspectos clínicos dos acidentes, nota-se a maior ocorrência de acidentes com escorpiões (72,70%). Conclusão: vê-se a importância em analisar aspectos epidemiológicos a fim de subsidiar ações de promoção, proteção e gestão em saúde

Objective: to analyze the epidemiological aspects of accidents by venomous animals in Northeastern Brazil. Method: descriptive, retrospective study, constructed from secondary data available on the website of the Department of Informatics of the Brazilian Unified Health System regarding cases of accidents with venomous animals in the period from 2015 to 2019. Results: it was noticed that between 2015 and 2019 there was an average percentage increase of 74.25% in cases, with approximately 4 thousand accidents involving venomous animals per month. As for the sociodemographic aspects, there was a predominance of females (51.35%), browns (62.51%), aged 20-59 years (57.5%). In addition, in the clinical aspects of accidents, there is a higher occurrence of accidents with scorpions (72.70%). Conclusion: we see the importance of analyzing epidemiological aspects in order to support health promotion, protection and management actions

Objetivo: analizar los aspectos epidemiológicos de los accidentes por animales venenosos en el noreste de Brasil. Método: estudio descriptivo, retrospectivo, construido a partir de datos secundarios disponibles en el sitio web del Departamento de Informática del Sistema Único de Salud de Brasil sobre los casos de accidentes con animales venenosos en el período de 2015 a 2019. Resultados: se notó que entre 2015 y 2019 fue un aumento porcentual promedio de 74,25% en los casos, con aproximadamente 4 mil accidentes con animales venenosos por mes. En cuanto a los aspectos sociodemográficos, hubo predominio del sexo femenino (51,35%), marrones (62,51%), de 20 a 59 años (57,5%). Además, en los aspectos clínicos de los accidentes, hay una mayor ocurrencia de accidentes con escorpiones (72,70%). Conclusión: vemos la importancia de analizar los aspectos epidemiológicos para apoyar las acciones de promoción, protección y gestión de la salud

Entraves e desafios na atuação do enfermeiro nos serviços de urgência e emergência / Barriers and challenges in nursing's performance in emergency and emergency services / Barreras y retos en el desempeño de enfermería en servicios de emergencia y emergencia

Objetivo: identificar os principais entraves e desafios enfrentados pelo enfermeiro atuante nos serviços de urgência e emergência. Método: trata-se de uma revisão narrativa. Utilizou-se artigos publicados nos últimos cinco anos, disponíveis nas principais bases de dados, em três idiomas, contemplando a temática em seu título, resumo ou assunto. Inicialmente encontrou-se 12.370 arquivos, que ao passarem pelos critérios de exclusão e leitura simplificada culminou na abordagem de 28 artigos. Resultados: dentre os principais achados destacam-se: a grande demanda do serviço, carga horária exaustiva, baixos salários, situações de estresse, eventos adversos, além da falha na comunicação e relação interprofissional. Conclusão: há a prevalência dos entraves nos diversos serviços de urgência e emergência, contudo, são apontadas diversas soluções com potencial de aplicabilidade, na tentativa de gerir os entraves e sanar os desafios identificados

Objective: to identify the main obstacles and challenges faced by nurses working in urgent and emergency services. Method: this is a narrative review. Articles published in the last five years, available in the main databases, in three languages, covering the theme in its title, abstract or subject, were used. Initially, 12,370 files were found, which when passing through the criteria of exclusion and simplified reading culminated in the approach of 28 articles. Results: among the main findings, we highlight: the great demand for the service, exhaustive workload, low wages, stressful situations, adverse events, in addition to the failure in communication and interprofessional relationship. Conclusion: there is a prevalence of obstacles in the various urgency and emergency services, however, several solutions with potential applicability are pointed out, in an attempt to manage the obstacles and solve the identified challenges

Objetivo: identificar los principales obstáculos y desafíos que enfrentan los enfermeros que trabajan en los servicios de urgencias y emergencias. Método: esta es una revisión narrativa. Se utilizaron artículos publicados en los últimos cinco años, disponibles en las principales bases de datos, en tres idiomas, cubriendo el tema en su título, resumen o tema. Inicialmente se encontraron 12.370 expedientes, que al pasar por los criterios de exclusión y lectura simplificada culminaron en el abordaje de 28 artículos. Resultados: entre los principales hallazgos se destacan: la gran demanda del servicio, la carga de trabajo exhaustiva, los bajos salarios, las situaciones estresantes, los eventos adversos, además de fallas en la comunicación y relación interprofesional. Conclusión: existe un predominio de obstáculos en los distintos servicios de urgencia y emergencia, sin embargo, se señalan varias soluciones con potencial aplicabilidad, en un intento de gestionar los obstáculos y resolver los desafíos identificados

An integrated approach for chemical water quality assessment of an urban river stretch through Effect-Based Methods and emerging pollutants analysis with a focus on genotoxicity.

The impact of emerging chemical pollutants, on both status and functionality of aquatic ecosystems is worldwide recognized as a relevant issue of concern that should be assessed and managed by researchers, policymakers, and all relevant stakeholders. In Europe, the Reach Regulation has registered more than 100.000 chemical substances daily released in the environment. Furthermore, the effects related to the mixture of substances present in aquatic ecosystems may not be predictable on the basis of chemical analyses alone. This evidence, coupled with the dramatic effects of climate changes on water resources through water scarcity and flooding, makes urgent the application of innovative, fast and reliable monitoring methods. In this context, Effect-Based Methods (EBMs) have been applied in the urban stretch of the Tiber River (Central Italy) with the aim of understanding if detrimental pressures affect aquatic environmental health. In particular, different eco-genotoxicological assays have been used in order to detect genotoxic activity of chemicals present in the river, concurrently characterized by chemical analysis. Teratogenicity and embryo-toxicity have been studied in order to cover additional endpoints. The EBMs have highlighted the presence of diffuse chemical pollution and ecotoxicological effects in the three sampling stations, genotoxicological effects have been also detected through the use of different tests and organisms. The chemical analyses confirmed that in the aquatic ecosystems there is a diffuse presence, even at low concentrations, of emerging contaminants such as pharmaceuticals, not routinely monitored pesticides, personal care products, PFAS. The results of this study can help to identify an appropriate battery of EBMs for future studies and the application of more appropriate measures in order to monitor, mitigate or eliminate chemical contamination and remediate its adverse/detrimental effects on the ecosystem health.

Need for a sustainable use of medicinal products: environmental impacts of ivermectin.

It is worldwide recognized that the use of pharmaceuticals for human and veterinary purposes could lead to unsustainable effects on the environment. A strategy to reduce the impact of pharmaceuticals on the environment has been recently established at European level, where guidelines to evaluate the impacts of veterinary drugs used to treat animal diseases are in place. The aim of this article is to focus on the worldwide used antiparasitic drug ivermectin (IVM) and its potential impact on the environment. A specific section is related to the IVM resistance that the massive use of this drug could generate enhancing the risk scenarios also for human health. The application of stringent measures for the veterinary use of this substance, in line with the recommendations provided by International frameworks such as One Health and EcoHealth, is recommended.

Application of effect-based methods (EBMs) in a river basin: a preliminary study in Central Italy.

INTRODUCTION: Effect-based methods (EBMs), i.e. in vitro and in vivo bioassays, represent innovative tools for the effect detection of environmental chemical pollutants on living organisms. The aim of this study was to evaluate the water quality of a river ecosystem implementing two in vivo bioassays on target freshwater animal species: the crustacean Daphnia magna and the small fish Danio rerio, also known as zebrafish. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The methods applied in this study, i.e. the Daphnia sp. Acute Immobilisation assay and the Fish Embryo Acute Toxicity (FET) test, are commonly used in water quality research and their application in short-term ecotoxicity detection is suggested by recent European projects. Two sampling sites were chosen in the urban part of the Tiber River in Rome, while a third one was chosen as a reference site in the Farfa River, a tributary upstream of the city. The sites in the Tiber River are potentially affected by different pollution sources, including urban and industrial wastewater discharges, the pesticide release, livestock waste products, and waste dumps. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: The results of the study showed wide differences between the two applied bioassays. The FET test was generally more sensitive in detecting even low effects in all the water samples, but the strongest statistically results were observed with the D. magna Acute Immobilisation test. The results of this research confirm the effectiveness of EBMs in investigating and monitoring water chemical pollution, and stress the need for performing further studies, e.g. chemical analyses and other bioassays, to improve the knowledge of the health status of the Tiber River basin. CONCLUSIONS: Further results will aim to support the local authorities in adopting measures to reduce and to eliminate the sources of chemical pollution in the study area.