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Rural adolescents are at risk for firearm-related injury and death. In response, professional organizations have called for communication between adolescents, parents, and providers about firearms. A shared understanding of firearms between providers and families can facilitate effectiveness of health interventions. However, few studies engage adolescents in identifying their perception of common firearm terminology. The current study aimed to understand how adolescents in rural communities defined firearm-related terms including firearm, carrying, and handling, and differences in terms based on prior firearm training. Data were from a mixed methods community-based participatory study of 93 adolescents from rural Washington state. Thematic qualitative coding identified themes for firearm (gun, weapon, projectile, and tool), carrying (on you/your person, transportation, and holding), and handling (actively using, safe use, and holding) and differences between those with prior firearms training. Findings provide insight into perceptions of firearm-related terms for adolescents, an often-neglected voice, and inform rural policy and prevention efforts.

Microorganisms interact with all biological components in a variety of ways. They contribute to increase the efficiency of marine food webs and facilitate the adaptation of multicellular organisms to climate change and other human-induced impacts. Increasing evidence suggests that microbiomes are essential for the health of marine species, for maintaining productive marine ecosystems, and thus for the sustainable functioning of the global biosphere. Marine microbiomes are typically species- or habitat-specific and are susceptible to environmental and human-driven changes. The microbiota of seagrasses, macroalgae, mangroves or tropical corals benefits their hosts by increasing their fitness, contributing to the removal of toxic compounds, conferring protection against pathogens, and/or supporting nutrient requirements. Alterations of the microbiomes might have negative consequences on species’ health, survival, and overall ecosystem functioning. Despite the key ecological role of microbiomes in all ecosystems, their potential for the restoration of degraded habitats is still largely unexplored. Here we present a literature survey of the existing information on the microbiota associated with habitat-forming species and suggest that the resilience/recovery of damaged marine habitats can depend largely on the changes in the microbiota. Nature-based solutions relying on microbiome analyses (also through omics approaches) enable health monitoring of transplanted organisms/metacommunities and potential identification/production of probiotics/bio-promoters to stabilize unhealthy conditions of transplants. In the context of international strategies concerning ecological restoration, the use of the scientific knowledge acquired on the marine microbiome deserves to be exploited to assist both traditional and innovative restoration approaches. The success of habitat restoration may depend on our ability to maintain, along with the restored species and habitats, a functional microbiota.

The Mediterranean Sea is one of the most exploited regions of the world’s oceans. Here industrial activities have determined either acute or long-term impacts on coastal marine ecosystems. In this study, we investigated macrofauna distribution and diversity, and food-web functioning in a coastal area of the Mediterranean Sea facing an industrial chemical plant abandoned in the ‘90s to assess benthic ecosystem health. This area has been identified as a Site of National Interest (SNI) since 2002 and has been closed to any human activity awaiting to be remediated according to national laws. Our results indicate that, two decades after the SNI declaration (a decade after the plant decommissioning), there is no longer any sign of the impact of historical contaminations on macrofauna and benthic food web functioning. Overall, all the thirty-six sites showed high/good ecological quality according to the score assigned by AMBI and M-AMBI indexes, reflecting the absence of chronic impacts. Our findings reveal, for the first time, the positive effects of passive restoration (i.e., unassisted, or spontaneous recovery following cessation of anthropogenic impacts) on historically impacted coastal ecosystems since their health conditions, in terms of both abiotic (environmental variables and contaminant concentration) and biotic (macrofauna diversity and community composition, and benthic food-web structure) factors, were indistinguishable from surrounding non-impacted areas. These findings also suggest that other effective area-based conservation measures (OECMs) could be useful not only for biodiversity conservation of vulnerable and priority habitats in larger ocean sectors but also to promote the passive recovery of historically contaminated ecosystems.

Hadal trenches host abundant and diversified benthic prokaryotic assemblages, but information on benthic fungi is still extremely limited. We investigated the fungal abundance and diversity in the Challenger Deep (at ca. 11,000 m depth) and the slope of the Mariana Trench in comparison with three sites of the adjacent abyssal plain. Our results indicate that trench sediments are a hotspot of fungal abundance in terms of the 18S rRNA gene copy number. The fungal diversity (as the number of amplicon sequence variants, ASVs) was relatively low at all sites (10–31 ASVs) but showed a high turnover diversity among stations due to the presence of exclusive fungal taxa belonging to Aspergillaceae, Trichosphaeriaceae, and Nectriaceae. Fungal abundance and diversity were closely linked to sediment organic matter content and composition (i.e., phytopigments and carbohydrates), suggesting a specialization of different fungal taxa for the exploitation of available resources. Overall, these findings provide new insights into the diversity of deep-sea fungi and the potential ecological role in trench sediments and pave the way for a better understanding of their relevance in one of the most extreme ecosystems on Earth.

The Anthropocene is characterized by dramatic ecosystem changes driven by human activities. The impact of these activities can be assessed by different geochemical and paleontological proxies. However, each of these proxies provides only a fragmentary insight into the effects of anthropogenic impacts. It is highly challenging to reconstruct, with a holistic view, the state of the ecosystems from the preindustrial period to the present day, covering all biological components, from prokaryotes to multicellular eukaryotes. Here, we used sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) archives encompassing all trophic levels of biodiversity to reconstruct the two century-natural history in Bagnoli-Coroglio (Gulf of Pozzuoli, Tyrrhenian Sea), one of the most polluted marine-coastal sites in Europe. The site was characterized by seagrass meadows and high eukaryotic diversity until the beginning of the 20th century. Then, the ecosystem completely changed, with seagrasses and associated fauna as well as diverse groups of planktonic and benthic protists being replaced by low diversity biota dominated by dinophyceans and infaunal metazoan species. The sedaDNA analysis revealed a five-phase evolution of the area, where changes appear as the result of a multi-level cascade effect of impacts associated with industrial activities, urbanization, water circulation and land-use changes. The sedaDNA allowed to infer reference conditions that must be considered when restoration actions are to be implemented.

Corinaldesi et al. investigated the biological responses to microplastic contamination of the red coral Corallium rubrum, a genus with near global distribution. Microplastics caused feeding impairment, tissue damage, altered gene expression, oxidative DNA damage and microbiome alteration. Such diverse deleterious effects may be generalizable to other habitat-forming suspension and filter feeders given the burgeoning levels of microplastic contamination across the world’s oceans.

Present and past industrial activities in coastal areas have left us a legacy of contamination and habitat degradation with potential implications for human health. Here, we investigated a coastal marine area enclosed in a Site of National Interest (SNI) of the central-western Adriatic (Mediterranean Sea), where priority actions of environmental remediation are required by governmental laws due the high environmental and human risk, and that is off-limits to any human activity since 2002. In particular, our investigation was focused on an area located in front of a chemical industry dismissed more than 3 decades ago. We report that the concentrations of heavy-metal and organic contaminants in the investigated sediments were generally lower than those expected to induce detrimental biological effects. Meiofaunal abundance, biomass and community structure changed among stations, but regardless of the distance from the abandoned industrial plant. Taxa richness within the SNI did not change significantly compared to the controls and the lack of some taxa in the SNI transects was not due to the contamination of the SNI area. The results of this study suggest a natural recovery of the marine area over 2 decades of restrictions on human activities, including fishing and shipping bans. If the hypothesis of the natural recovery of this SNI will be further confirmed by other studies, the plans for the identification and monitoring of the most polluted areas in Italy should necessarily be redefined also in the light of the Water Framework, the Marine Strategy Framework and the Environmental Quality Standard Directives.

This paper represents Part I of a two-part study examining preservice teachers' development of a personalized, research-based Science Teaching Rationale (STR). Researchers have historically documented the application of the "rationale paper" (Clough, 1992; Veronesi, 1998) using qualitative methodologies. Since the rationale paper continues to receive attention at conferences (e.g., at the annual conference of the Association for the Education of Teachers in Science) and grow in popularity as a term assignment among science educators, further study was warranted. This quantitatively dominant study, using the "Self-Report Instrument for the STR," is the first work of its kind on the STR. It adds to the body of understanding regarding its impact on the thinking and dispositions toward science teaching of preservice elementary teachers. Discussion on development, implications, and elements of instrument reliability and validity are included. (Contains 3 tables.)

Fungi are a ubiquitous component of marine systems, but their quantitative relevance, biodiversity and ecological role in benthic deep-sea ecosystems remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated fungal abundance, diversity and assemblage composition in two benthic deep-sea sites of the Ross Sea (Southern Ocean, Antarctica), characterized by different environmental conditions (i.e., temperature, salinity, trophic availability). Our results indicate that fungal abundance (estimated as the number of 18S rDNA copies g−1) varied by almost one order of magnitude between the two benthic sites, consistently with changes in sediment characteristics and trophic availability. The highest fungal richness (in terms of Amplicon Sequence Variants−ASVs) was encountered in the sediments characterized by the highest organic matter content, indicating potential control of trophic availability on fungal diversity. The composition of fungal assemblages was highly diverse between sites and within each site (similarity less than 10%), suggesting that differences in environmental and ecological characteristics occurring even at a small spatial scale can promote high turnover diversity. Overall, this study provides new insights on the factors influencing the abundance and diversity of benthic deep-sea fungi inhabiting the Ross Sea, and also paves the way for a better understanding of the potential responses of benthic deep-sea fungi inhabiting Antarctic ecosystems in light of current and future climate changes.

We present the results of a longitudinal evaluation of the Western Region 4-H Institute, a 5-day training program designed to enhance the skill sets of early-career Extension professionals organized around the 4-H professional research, knowledge, and competencies model. Programs such as this often are assessed for their short-term relevance and effectiveness; we expanded the scope of our evaluation by following up with program participants 12 months after the program. Both short- and medium-term results indicated that networking and developing effective programs for youth were paramount for participants, suggesting the importance of providing professional development opportunities for early-career professionals.

The Antarctic Ocean is one of the most remote and inaccessible environments on our planet and hosts potentially high biodiversity, being largely unexplored and undescribed. Fungi have key functions and unique physiological and morphological adaptations even in extreme conditions, from shallow habitats to deep-sea sediments. Here, we summarized information on diversity, the ecological role, and biotechnological potential of marine fungi in the coldest biome on Earth. This review also discloses the importance of boosting research on Antarctic fungi as hidden treasures of biodiversity and bioactive molecules to better understand their role in marine ecosystem functioning and their applications in different biotechnological fields.

Deep-sea hypersaline anoxic basins (DHABs) are considered to be among the most extreme ecosystems on our planet, allowing only the life of polyextremophilic organisms. DHABs’ prokaryotes exhibit extraordinary metabolic capabilities, representing a hot topic for microbiologists and biotechnologists. These are a source of enzymes and new secondary metabolites with valuable applications in different biotechnological fields. Here, we review the current knowledge on prokaryotic diversity in DHABs, highlighting the biotechnological applications of identified taxa and isolated species. The discovery of new species and molecules from these ecosystems is expanding our understanding of life limits and is expected to have a strong impact on biotechnological applications.

Diatoms are dominant photosynthetic organisms in the world’s oceans and represent a major food source for zooplankton and benthic filter-feeders. However, their beneficial role in sustaining marine food webs has been challenged after the discovery that they produce secondary metabolites, such as polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUAs), which negatively affect the reproductive success of many invertebrates. Here, we report the effects of two common diatom PUAs, heptadienal and octadienal, which have never been tested before at the molecular level, using the sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus, as a model organism. We show that both PUAs are able to induce teratogenesis (i.e., malformations), as already reported for decadienal, the better-studied PUA of this group. Moreover, post-recovery experiments show that embryos can recover after treatment with all three PUAs, indicating that negative effects depend both on PUA concentrations and the exposure time of the embryos to these metabolites. We also identify the time range during which PUAs exert the greatest effect on sea urchin embryogenesis. Finally, we report the expression levels of thirty one genes (having a key role in a broad range of functional responses, such as stress, development, differentiation, skeletogenesis and detoxification processes) in order to identify the common targets affected by PUAs and their correlation with morphological abnormalities. This study opens new perspectives for understanding how marine organisms afford protection from environmental toxicants through an integrated network of genes.

Deep-sea hypersaline anoxic basins (DHABs) are one of the most hostile environments on Earth. Even though DHABs have hypersaline conditions, anoxia and high hydrostatic pressure, they host incredible microbial biodiversity. Among eukaryotes inhabiting these systems, recent studies demonstrated that fungi are a quantitatively relevant component. Here, fungi can benefit from the accumulation of large amounts of organic material. Marine fungi are also known to produce bioactive molecules. In particular, halophilic and halotolerant fungi are a reservoir of enzymes and secondary metabolites with valuable applications in industrial, pharmaceutical, and environmental biotechnology. Here we report that among the fungal taxa identified from the Mediterranean and Red Sea DHABs, halotolerant halophilic species belonging to the genera Aspergillus and Penicillium can be used or screened for enzymes and bioactive molecules. Fungi living in DHABs can extend our knowledge about the limits of life, and the discovery of new species and molecules from these environments can have high biotechnological potential.

Marine organisms possess a series of cellular strategies to counteract the negative effects of toxic compounds, including the massive reorganization of gene expression networks. Here we report the modulated dose-dependent response of activated genes by diatom polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUAs) in the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus. PUAs are secondary metabolites deriving from the oxidation of fatty acids, inducing deleterious effects on the reproduction and development of planktonic and benthic organisms that feed on these unicellular algae and with anti-cancer activity. Our previous results showed that PUAs target several genes, implicated in different functional processes in this sea urchin. Using interactomic Ingenuity Pathway Analysis we now show that the genes targeted by PUAs are correlated with four HUB genes, NF-κB, p53, δ-2-catenin and HIF1A, which have not been previously reported for P. lividus. We propose a working model describing hypothetical pathways potentially involved in toxic aldehyde stress response in sea urchins. This represents the first report on gene networks affected by PUAs, opening new perspectives in understanding the cellular mechanisms underlying the response of benthic organisms to diatom exposure.

Investigates how Russian teachers interested in adopting aspects of the U.S. science education reform movement compared with two groups, traditional U.S. science teachers and constructivist U.S. science teachers. Analyzes the total rubric score and Russian/traditional U.S., and Russian/constructivist U.S. groups. (Contains 20 references.) (Author/YDS)

Although the negative effects of inorganic UV filters have been documented on several marine organisms, sunscreen products containing such filters are available in the market and proposed as eco-friendly substitutes for harmful, and already banned, organic UV filters (e.g. octinoxate and oxybenzone). In the present study, we investigated the effects of four sunscreen products, labelled by cosmetic companies as "eco-friendly", on the early developmental stages of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus , a keystone species occurring in vulnerable coastal habitats. Among sunscreens tested, those containing ZnO and TiO 2 or their mix caused severe impacts on sea urchin embryos. We show that inorganic UV filters were incorporated by larvae during their development and, despite the activation of defence strategies (e.g. phagocytosis by coelomocytes), generated anomalies such as skeletal malformations and tissue necrosis. Conversely, the sunscreen product containing only new-generation organic UV filters (e.g. methylene bis-benzotriazolyl tetramethyl, ethylhexyl triazone, butylphenol diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate) did not affect sea urchins, thus resulting actually eco-compatible. Our findings expand information on the impact of inorganic UV filters on marine life, corroborate the need to improve the eco-friendliness assessment of sunscreen products and warn of the risk of bioaccumulation and potential biomagnification of inorganic UV filters along the marine food chain. [Display omitted] • Eco-labelled sunscreens containing inorganic UV filters can affect marine life. • Inorganic UV filters-based sunscreens can harm P. lividus populations. • Zn and Ti contained in sunscreens may accumulate in sea urchin larvae. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is now unequivocal evidence that sunscreen can severely affect marine ecosystems. However, so far, most studies have focused on the impact of single sunscreen ingredients rather than on the whole sunscreen products, which are released into the marine environment. In the present work, we investigated the ecological impact of six formulations, which represent the "new generation" organic UV filters such as diethylamino hydroxybenzoyl hexyl benzoate (DHHB), methylene bis-benzotriazolyl tetramethylbutylphenol (MBBT), ethylhexyl triazone (EHT), and bis-ethylhexyloxyphenol methoxyphenyl triazine (BEMT), which are progressively replacing the "old generation" organic UV filters (e.g., oxybenzone, octinoxate) banned in several countries of the world. The six formulations tested were characterized by a different combination of ingredients, on a model species particularly sensitive to environmental alterations: the sea urchin, Paracentrotus lividus. We investigated the sea urchin responses both in terms of gene expression and anomalies in embryonic development. We found that all sunscreen products containing only MBBT, DHHB, BEMT, and EHT as UV filters, are more eco-compatible than those also containing also ES, or other ingredients such as emollients and texturizing compounds, which may act synergistically causing molecular stress, morphological anomalies, and ultimately possible death. Overall, the results presented here provide new insights on the effects of sunscreen products based on "new generation" UV filters, and highlights the urgency of testing complete formulations, rather than just specific UV filters to ascertain the eco-compatibility of sunscreen products, to effectively minimize their impact on marine ecosystems. [Display omitted] • Sunscreen products based on new organic UV filters can have different ecological impacts. • The impact of sunscreen products on marine life is not only due to UV filters. • Molecular stress analyses are a very sensitive tool to assess sunscreens' impact. • Sunscreens eco-compatibility should be tested on the whole product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]