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Soy Consumption in Childhood May Decrease Breast Cancer Risk, Epidemiologic Study Suggests
Breast Cancer,
BOSTONConsuming soy during childhood, adolescence, and adult life is associated with a decreased risk of breast cancer, but the strongest and most consistent effect is childhood consumption, according to a recent collaborative study led by researchers from the National Cancer Institute (NCI), and presented at the AACR Frontiers in Cancer Prevention Research meeting (abstract B163).
The scientists reported that women who ate the most soy-based foods such as tofu, miso, and natto (a traditional Japanese food made from soybeans) during ages 5 to 11 reduced their risk of breast cancer by 58%, compared with the women who ate the least amount. The reductions for adolescence and adulthood were about 25%. "In our study, soy intake during childhood is strongly protective against breast cancer later in life," said Larissa Korde, MD, MPH, of the NCI's Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics.
The study was a case-control analysis of Asian-American women living in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Oahu, Hawaii. Dr. Korde collaborated with epidemiologists at the University of Hawaii, Northern California Cancer Center, and University of Southern California.
The researchers interviewed approximately 1,500 women of Chinese, Japanese, and Filipino descent, ages 20 to 55, about their diet and lifestyle over the course of their lives597 were breast cancer cases and 966 were controls. For study participants whose mothers were alive and living in the United States, the researchers also interviewed 255 mothers about their daughters' early exposures.
Soy intake was divided into thirds, based on frequency of consumption. Women in the highest category consumed, on average, 2 servings per week while those in the lowest category ate soy an average of once a month, resulting in a 10-fold difference in exposure to soy between the two extremes. By comparing the highest category to the lowest, the researchers found inverse associations between the risk of developing breast cancer and the amount of soy consumed. The strongest effect was for childhood consumption.
It is well known that women living in China and Japan have lower breast cancer rates than those living in western nations. Many studies have also shown that the breast cancer rates of women who migrate from Asian countries to the United States rise over several generations and approach that of US white women. This change in rates suggests that environmental or lifestyle factors play a role in the changing rates. One leading candidate is soy.
One of the advantages of working with migrant populations is that as they acculturate, they begin to acquire the habits of the host country over time and as a group have a wide range of exposures to environmental factors. This range of exposures would be difficult to observe outside a migrant community. |
Creating Generous Cultures in Our Nonprofit Organizations
By Barbara Bonner
I've worked in leadership positions in nonprofits all my life, and my study of the quality of generosity for my book Inspiring Generosity has led me to ponder how our organizational lives could be dramatically transformed by imbuing these cultures with a greater spirit of generosity. All too often, we restrict our thinking about generosity to the contributions of our donors in support of our organizations and their missions. But if we are to bring the concept home, we owe our organizations, our colleagues and ourselves a greater breadth and depth of generosity in the cultures we create at work. We need to walk the talk in new ways. My experience is that the rewards of this shift in culture can well exceed our imaginations.
What follows are some musings on how such a culture might begin to take shape.
Let's be more open to new ideas, whether we initially like them or not. We pay lip service to this notion, but do we really practice it? We all know that the world if full of bad ideas -- some organizations seem to specialize in them. But I believe that an organization that welcomes all ideas and encourages freewheeling, creative brainstorming is acting generously to both its employees and those it serves. We need to erase the culture of dismissing or belittling those who step forward with a new idea that we don't like. We need to abolish the phrase "But that's the way we've always done it." Let's remember that openness to new ideas is where innovation is born.
An organization that honors generosity is clear in its mission and encourages bold implementation. Because the stakes are high and our resources are limited, we are all too often afraid of boldness. But timidity and great caution will not move mountains. Sometimes generosity is required in order to act with courage.
Generous cultures make their members eager to give the credit away. No one in these cultures scrambles for credit for the new ideas or the latest fundraising gift. They truly feel part of a generous and creative community that is its own reward.
We can help create generous organizational cultures by making them gossip-free zones. Consider efficiency alone -- think about how much time gossip takes up in our days. I never fully realized this until I became a consultant; working for myself, largely divorced from the water cooler, I saw how many working hours could be consumed by negative energy. We can foster positive morale in so many such seemingly small ways.
Celebrate small successes. A generous culture of celebration renews mission and fosters a sense of close community. It's also just a lot more fun to work with the celebrators.
Make a habit of "five-minute favors." This concept comes from Adam Grant's wonderful new book, Give and Take. You're late for a deadline, your computer has frozen, your child needs to be picked up early from daycare ... and a colleague arrives at your door in distress, asking for five minutes of your time. Try to give it. It's not always possible, but try -- and read Adam's book for inspiration about how and why. His thesis, which he supports with compelling data, is that generous people become successful people, not the other way around.
Listen. I can't emphasize this one enough. And don't just listen -- stop and listen. Focused and thoughtful listening with total attention is a powerful force. I believe that the best leaders are great listeners. The best fundraisers are certainly listeners. But isn't it odd that, in both fields, what we teach is how to talk, how to take hold of the microphone, make our point, be forceful? I believe that there is untapped power in focused listening, which is essentially generous communication among individuals and groups.
Unplug and be present. Has all that information really made us smarter or more connected? Of course we're all grateful for modern technology (some of us less than others), and we can all relish long-distance connections with colleagues, heroes, classmates and long-lost lovers, but real connection does not lie in that screen. Give yourself the gift of unplugging periodically during the workday, not just on weekends. Long ago, I made a rule for myself that when someone is in my office, I don't answer the phone. People who don't know me get a bewildered look on their faces when the phone rings and I stay focused on our conversation. Invariably, they ask, "Don't you need to answer that?" No, I tell them, I'm with you now. I'll take care of that later. "But it might be important!" Actually it is the current conversation that is important.
Mentor others. Giving to the next professional generation is one of the great joys of this stage of my career. There's no clear career path for success in nonprofit leadership, particularly in fundraising, so all of us who have been successful owe it to our younger colleagues to share what we know. Mentoring is a gift to the younger person, to the profession, and to yourself.
Give honest, respectful feedback. This is not just good business advice. Responding honestly, openly, kindly, and at the right time is generosity in action -- even when it's not what someone wants to hear. I've been astonished at the number of times over the years that employees who I have actually had to fire have come back to me, often many years later, to thank me for what they learned from that very uncomfortable situation.
Volunteer your time and expertise for other causes. None of us doing this work has enough time, staff, or money, so it's very easy to become single-mindedly focused on what's right in front of us. But do yourself a favor and volunteer your time to another cause that's important to you. You'll not only refresh yourself and your skills in the process, but you'll likely have the opportunity to spread the word about your own organization, do some good, and learn a lot.
Abolish the culture of exhaustion. Why is it such a badge of courage in our work to talk about how busy we are? How often do you greet a colleague, ask how they are, and get a one-word answer: "Busy." Really? Busy is at the top of the list of how we are? Another common answer is "exhausted." Very well-meaning leaders who are devoted to their work can inadvertently create organizational cultures of exhaustion, where there's an undeclared prize for staying late, coming in before anyone else, and working through weekends. Where do those batteries get recharged? How can innovation take place here? Be generous to yourself and erase "exhaustion" from your vocabulary. The very best director of development I ever hired (and mentored) had very clear time boundaries. She had a full life, with young children at home, and was very clear that she would arrive a few minutes before 9:00, give her all during the workday, and leave promptly at 5:00. And, although her responsibilities at home would be enough to exhaust most of us, her boundaries kept her fresh, present, and more productive than any of her "busy" colleagues.
Don't hold grudges. It's the opposite of generosity. It hurts you and it hurts the team. It hurts your organizational morale. It emits destructive energy. Move on. Enough said.
Give the benefit of the doubt. You won't always be right. But, more often than not, you will be glad you made the generous gesture. We need to make extra space for the fact that we each learn and communicate in enormously different ways. And sometimes we trip over our own feet as we try to get a point across. Go easy.
Give yourself the gift of inspiration. Instead of one more nonprofit management book, read a biography about a remarkable person. Read poetry. Listen to great music. Pick up a paintbrush. Go outdoors. This will inspire you far more than the last issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy, I promise you. It's a gift to yourself, and the perspective you gain actually makes you better at what you do. It's also a great burnout inhibitor.
There are many books emphasizing the importance of the cultures that we create for ourselves and others at work (in particular, see Sharon Salzberg's wonderful new Real Happiness at Work). Imbuing these cultures with a spirit of true generosity brings a sense of much greater meaning to us, to our colleagues, and to all those touched by the work we do.
Follow Barbara Bonner on Twitter: www.twitter.com/bonner_barbara
Barbara Bonner Author, Inspiring Generosity
Philanthropy Generosity Funding Nonprofits Inspiration Volunteer |
Plants Appear To Cluster The Genes Needed For Defense
Norwich BioScience Institutes
Plants may cluster the genes needed to make defense chemicals, which may provide a way to discover new natural plant products of use as drugs, herbicides or crop protectants. Using a gene cluster that makes an antifungal compound in oats as a template, they uncovered a previously unknown gene cluster making a related compound in a different species, and now want to extend the search to other plants.
Oat roots producing avenacin, which is fluorescent under UV light.
Credit: JIC
John Innes Centre scientists have found that plants may cluster the genes needed to make defence chemicals. Their findings may provide a way to discover new natural plant products of use as drugs, herbicides or crop protectants. Using a gene cluster that makes an antifungal compound in oats as a template, they uncovered a previously unknown gene cluster making a related compound in a very different species, and now want to extend the search to other plants.
Anne Osbourn and colleagues previously found that the genes needed to make an antifungal compound in oats, called avenacin, were next to each other in the genome. One of a group of chemicals known as triterpenes, avenacin is produced exclusively by oats and protects the roots against a wide spectrum of fungal diseases. Gene clusters are common in bacteria and fungi but extremely rare in plants. Maize has a gene cluster for a defence-related compound, and another possible cluster has been reported in rice.
Could other plant gene clusters exist, and how do they arise? To investigate this, the researchers used the 'signature' of the avenacin genes to scan the genome of the model plant Arabidopsis. Publishing in the journal Science, they identified a gene cluster for a new pathway that makes and modifies a triterpene called thalianol, which has not been found in plants before.
The thalianol gene cluster consists of four genes next to each other in the Arabidopsis genome. The first gene, responsible for making thalianol, is from the same family as the gene for the first step of the avenacin pathway in oats. The next three genes in the thalianol cluster are responsible for making sequential modifications to thalianol. Having successfully discovered one gene cluster, the researchers now plan to look for other gene clusters that may produce novel natural products of value for crop protection or as medicines, and investigate how and why these clusters evolve.
Although the oat, maize, rice and this new Arabidopsis gene clusters make related products, they have been assembled independently of each other as a result of relatively recent evolutionary events. This suggests that plant species are able to show remarkable plasticity in their genomes to assemble these gene clusters. Understanding the evolutionary driving forces behind their assembly will give insights into why some plant product pathways are maintained in these clusters whilst others are not, and this may have implications for our understanding of plant metabolism.
Clustering genes together lets plants easily inherit an entire pathway. The thalianol gene cluster is one of the most conserved areas of the genome, suggesting that this beneficial combination of genes has recently and rapidly spread throughout the population. Breaking up a gene cluster can have severe consequences. When the avenacin pathway is blocked then unfinished intermediates accumulate that can have a toxic effect on the roots, making them deformed and ineffective. Intermediates which affect plant growth also accumulate when the thalianol synthesis pathway is blocked. If these intermediates accumulate in parts of the plant where the thalianol pathway is usually not present then they cause severe stunting of growth. Dr Ben Field, who contributed to the research, said "This suggests that gene clusters, as well as keeping beneficial combinations of genes together, may prevent toxic side-effects by strictly controlling where and when the pathway is switched on."
Journal reference: Ben Field and Anne Osbourn. Metabolic diversification -- Independent assembly of operon-like gene clusters in different plants. Science. April 20, 2008. DOI: 10.1126/science.1154990
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Norwich BioScience Institutes. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Norwich BioScience Institutes. "Plants Appear To Cluster The Genes Needed For Defense." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 24 March 2008. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150030.htm>.
Norwich BioScience Institutes. (2008, March 24). Plants Appear To Cluster The Genes Needed For Defense. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 29, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150030.htm
Norwich BioScience Institutes. "Plants Appear To Cluster The Genes Needed For Defense." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/03/080320150030.htm (accessed November 29, 2015).
New Method of DNA Editing Allows Synthetic Biologists to Unlock Secrets of a Bacterial Genome
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CEOS Data Cube Platform version 2 (CEOS2)
The Australian Water Detection from Space (WOFS) algorithm was applied to Data Cubes over Lake Baringo, Kenya (left) and the Meta River in Colombia (right). These time-series pixel stacks are used to identify surface water to assess drought and flood extremes. The results show the percent of observations detected as water over the entire 11+ year time series. The CEOS Data Cube architecture allows significant improvements in computation time compared to typical scene-based approaches.
The Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS) has long recognized a need for data processing infrastructure to support Earth science objectives in developing countries. Forest preservation initiatives, carbon measurement initiatives, water management and agricultural monitoring are just few examples of causes that can benefit greatly from remote sensing data. Currently, however, many developing nations lack the in-country expertise and computational infrastructure to utilize remote sensing data.
The CEOS Data Cube Platform version 2 (CEOS2) provides a flexible model to address these needs. The CEOS Data Cube Platform is a data processing platform for Earth science data, with a focus on remote-sensing data. The platform provides a data ingestion framework that includes support for automated ingestion of a wide variety of remote sensing data products. The data products are ingested into an N-dimensional data array that abstracts away management of distinct acquisitions. The platform has a tiered API for data processing and a data/application platform layer for higher-level access. |
Leg Work: Bath and Brunswick earn national designation of Bicycle Friendly Community
What are they doing right?
By SHOSHANA HOOSE
William Wilkoff marks the changing attitudes toward bicycling in Brunswick by looking at his own family. When his children were in elementary school a generation ago, they pooh-poohed the idea of commuting by bike. “Dad,” they told him, “No one does that!”
Now, two of his grandchildren bike regularly to Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School, and they have lots of company. One day last June, nearly a quarter of the students arrived on bike.
Signs in Brunswick notify motorists to give at least 3 feet of clearance when passing bicyclists. Courtesy photo
Courtesy photo Bicyclists use a new bike lane on Federal Street in Brunswick.
BRINGING HOME THE BRONZE
THE LEAGUE OF AMERICAN BICYCLISTS has identified 350 Bicycle Friendly Communities throughout the country. Communities apply by providing detailed descriptions of everything from the amount of bicycle parking in town to the miles of bike lanes, number of bicycle crashes and the percentage of bicycle commuters.
COMMUNITIES MAY BE awarded honorable mention status, or they may receive designation at five levels, from bronze (the lowest) to diamond (the highest). Both Brunswick and Bath qualified for the bronze level. The league suggested ways each community could improve bicycling conditions.
TO KEEP THE DESIGNATION, communities must reapply every four years. Learn more at www.bikeleague.org.
Wilkoff, who co-chairs the Brunswick Bicycle & Pedestrian Advisory Committee, describes the change as “dramatic and heartening.”
Brunswick’s efforts to encourage bicycling helped it become Maine’s first nationally recognized Bicycle Friendly Community in 2005. A decade later, Brunswick and neighboring Bath are the only communities in the state to achieve that designation from the League of American Bicyclists. Their efforts to improve bicycling also have created better conditions for pedestrians and people with disabilities.
There’s nothing particularly flashy about the area that advertises it as a bicycling hot spot. But look closely, and you will see many small signs of progress.
Brunswick recently added a bike lane and sharrows on Federal Street, which runs parallel to the main business district. (Sharrows are pavement markings alerting motorists that bicyclists can ride in the full lane.) The Federal Street improvements are part of a larger effort to provide cyclists and pedestrians with safer access to downtown.
Several crashes involving cyclists led Brunswick police to step up enforcement of Maine’s 3-foot law. Brunswick was the first community in Maine to post signs notifying motorists about the law, which requires them to give at least 3 feet of clearance when passing bicyclists.
One day each spring, Brunswick’s Walmart parking lot is transformed into a bicycle safety course. Children hone their biking skills, get safety checks for their bicycles and get fitted for free bicycle helmets provided by the Rotary Club.
Bicycle-pedestrian committee members helped identify the safest routes for children to bike or walk to local schools. The town is installing flashing lights at four key crosswalks along those routes. Every student at Harriet Beecher Stowe Elementary School takes a bicycle safety class each year.
Bath’s citywide effort to improve bicycling began about six years ago.
Among the ideas launched there was a Get Back on Your Bike class for adults who knew how to ride but had stopped doing so. Students from their 40s to 70s reviewed rules of the road, learned about bicycle maintenance and took practice rides together.
Perhaps Bath’s most significant achievement was adoption of a Complete Streets policy earlier this year.
The policy ensures that the needs of cyclists, pedestrians and people with disabilities are considered whenever Bath undertakes a road project. The benefits of Complete Streets are taking shape on North Street, as the city narrows vehicle lanes, installs new sidewalks and paints sharrows.
I recently met with Kevin Shute, chair of Bath’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, and Rich Cromwell, co-chair of the Brunswick bicycle-pedestrian committee. Here is some advice, gleaned from their experiences that could help other communities improve cycling conditions.
• Gather a dedicated group of people to work on bicycle and pedestrian issues. Seek support from local businesses, land trusts, health organizations and other partners.
Bath and Brunswick are fortunate to have a local bicycle club, the Merrymeeting Wheelers, that pitches in on lots of projects. Club members conduct bikeability audits of Brunswick streets to identify maintenance needs. They helped rebuild Bowdoin College’s old bicycle racks and install others throughout Brunswick. In Bath, the club paid for and installed signs about the three-foot law.
• Create a plan for bicycle and pedestrian improvements, and review it regularly. Tell the community what you’ve accomplished.
• Involve local officials. Bath’s police chief and a city councilor both serve on the city’s bicycle-pedestrian committee. The directors of public works, planning and development, and parks and recreation all attend meetings regularly. That helps keep them abreast of major issues involving cycling.
• Tap all available grants, technical help and other resources.
• Learn from your mistakes, and try a different approach.
Brunswick’s bicycle-pedestrian committee “got slapped down pretty hard” when it tried to win approval for bicycling improvements on Maine Street, in the middle of downtown, Cromwell said. Business owners objected strongly to losing parking spaces, he said.
In retrospect, Cromwell believes that business owners should have been consulted earlier about the project. The committee decided to shift its efforts to two streets running parallel to Maine Street on either side of downtown.
• Keep trying to improve.
Brunswick’s bicycle-pedestrian committee set a simple goal: They want children of middle-school age to feel safe riding anywhere in town. “It’s a tough test to pass,” admits Cromwell. But he sees “slow but sure” progress.
Shoshana Hoose is a freelance writer who bicycles in Greater Portland and beyond. Contact her at [email protected]
Green Plate Special
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LR Guidance on Partial Filling of LNG Tanks
Lloyd’s Register has published a set of comprehensive guidelines to help owners, operators and builders of membrane-type LNG tankers to assess the ability of a containment system to withstand sloshing loads. The guidelines are entitled Comparative sloshing analysis of LNG ship containment systems and provide a means of fulfilling the requirement to take sloshing into account during containment system design in Lloyd’s Register’s Rules and Regulations for the Construction and Classification of Ships for the Carriage of Liquefied Gases in Bulk. In addition, owners and operators now have a robust method for examining site-specific and voyage-specific partial filling of membrane cargo tanks in both ships and offshore floating structures.
The guidelines adopt a ‘comparative’ approach which involves comparing a proposed design with one for an LNG tanker of 135,000 to 140,000 cu m with conventional tank shape and size to ascertain the ability of the containment system to withstand the sloshing loads it is likely to experience based on the proposed trading pattern of the vessel.
This approach was pioneered by Lloyd’s Register in association with the Norwegian maritime research institute MARINTEK and containment system designer GazTransport & Technigaz during a research project completed in early 2003 to investigate the effects of sloshing in partially-filled LNG membrane tanks based on model experiments. The key advantage of the comparative approach is that it eliminates much of the uncertainty associated with the application of more traditional strength assessment techniques for such structures. This approach is now becoming the industry’s standard method for assessing the impact of sloshing loads for partially-filled or larger LNG tankers of up to around 250,000 cu m.
A key feature of the model tests carried out at MARINTEK was the use of a five-degree-of-freedom motion sloshing rig simulating cargo tank motions in irregular waves – a more accurate means of recreating the sea states an LNG tanker is likely to
encounter, giving a better reflection of the true sloshing loads experienced and ultimately leading to enhanced safety for membrane-type LNG tankers.
“These guidelines are based on long in-service experience of conventional LNG tankers and groundbreaking, in-depth research,” says Tony Bingham, Global LNG Business Manager, Lloyd’s Register. “The conclusions reached and the resulting guidelines we have issued will serve to further help enhance LNG ship safety, building on the industry’s experience of vessels of conventional size and giving us the basis for moving forward with the new, larger vessel designs being built by shipyards in the Far East.”
Lloyd’s Register is the chosen classification society for four of the eight large LNG tankers of more than 200,000 cu m ordered for the Qatargas project, to be built at Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering.
Maritime Cyber Security: The Wrong Formula
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Cooperation Key Among Maritime Universities
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Executable Biology: Computer Science Sheds Light On Animal Development
By applying the techniques of computer engineering to a mechanistic diagram describing the development of the Nematode C. elegans, a group of researchers in Switzerland has been able to tease out how the crucial cross-talk between cellular signaling pathways takes place.
By applying the techniques of computer engineering to a mechanistic diagram describing the development of the Nematode C. elegans, a group of researchers in Switzerland has been able to tease out what laboratory experiments have not -- how and when the crucial cross-talk between cellular signaling pathways takes place in order to determine the fates of individual cells. The novel in silico model is described in the open-access journal PLoS Computational Biology. During C. elegans development, uncommitted precursor cells differentiate into two distinct cell types in response to a series of complex biochemical signaling events. Cancer cells respond to the same cellular signals, so understanding the dynamic orchestration in the cellular environment has important implications in our understanding of cancer metastasis as well as normal development. Traditional biological models give a fairly static picture of cellular processes, and this limits understanding of the details involved. Biologists and computer scientists from the EPFL (Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne) and the University of Zurich have taken a new approach, using formal methods of computer science to translate this picture into a dynamic representation that can capture time-dependent processes. Results from the model can then be compared to data from the lab, revealing gaps in our understanding of the processes taking place. Researchers can use the model to test hypotheses that would fill in the missing pieces in silico before performing actual lab experiments.
By running their model with a wide variety of gene mutation scenarios and comparing results with available laboratory data, they found that the fate of C. elegans vulval precursor cells depends upon the time-sequence of two cellular signaling pathways, as well as a negative feedback loop that had not been described before. These kinds of models hold great promise for future exploration of a variety of biological systems, explains lead EPFL researcher and biologist Dr. Jasmin Fisher. "Once a robust model has been built of a particular system, it can be used to get a global, dynamic picture of how the system responds to a variation -- such as a drug or a genetic mutation. Preliminary studies could be quickly done using the model, saving valuable laboratory time and resources for only the most promising research avenues. We call this Executable Biology."
Article: Fisher J, Piterman N, Hajnal A, Henzinger TA (2007) Predictive modeling of signaling crosstalk during C. elegans vulval development. PLoS Comput Biol 3(5): e92. doi:10.1371/journal.pcbi.0030092
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Public Library of Science. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Public Library of Science. "Executable Biology: Computer Science Sheds Light On Animal Development." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 May 2007. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070518062424.htm>.
Public Library of Science. (2007, May 18). Executable Biology: Computer Science Sheds Light On Animal Development. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 14, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070518062424.htm
Public Library of Science. "Executable Biology: Computer Science Sheds Light On Animal Development." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/05/070518062424.htm (accessed February 14, 2016).
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Scientists Create Ultrathin Semiconductor Heterostructures for New Technologies
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Feb. 10, 2016 Scientists have succeeded in experimentally verifying the properties of crystals of chiral magnetic materials, which may lead to the development of new types of magnetic ... read more New Lens Ready for Its Close-Up
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Bridging Education Gender Gaps in Developing Countries: The Role of Female Teachers
Recruiting female teachers is frequently suggested as a policy option for improving girls' education outcomes in developing countries, but there is surprisingly little evidence on the effectiveness of such a policy. The authors study gender gaps in learning outcomes, and the effectiveness of female teachers in reducing these gaps using a large, representative, annual panel data set on learning outcomes in rural public schools in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
There are six main results in this paper:
(1) The authors find a small but significant negative trend in girls' test scores in both math (0.02_/year) and language (0.01_/year) as they progress through the public primary school system;
(2) Using five years of panel data, school-grade and student gender by grade fixed effects, The authors find that both male and female teachers are more effective at teaching students of their own gender;
(3) However, female teachers are more effective overall, resulting in girls' test scores improving by an additional 0.036_ in years when they are taught by a female teacher, with no adverse effects on boys when they are taught by female teachers;
(4) The overall gains from having a female teacher are mainly attributable to their greater effectiveness at improving math test scores than male teachers (especially for girls);
(5) The authors find no effect of having a same-gender teacher on student attendance, suggesting that the mechanism for the impact on learning outcomes is not on the extensive margin of increased school participation, but on the intensive margin of more effective classroom interactions;
(6) Finally, the increasing probability of having a male teacher in higher grades can account for around 10-20% of the negative trend we find in girls' test scores as they move to higher grades.
Posted by Jonathan Kantrowitz at 6:20 AM |
Active Surveillance for Prostate Cancer: Overview and Update.
OPINION STATEMENT: Low-risk prostate cancer: How I would treat it?Overtreatment of many conditions diagnosed by screening has become increasingly recognized as a contemporary malady associated with modern medicine's efforts at earlier detection. The diagnosis of low-grade prostate cancer clearly qualifies as an example of potential overdiagnosis and overtreatment. Active surveillance for low-risk prostate cancer is an attempt to reduce the overtreatment of the disease. The approach involves initial expectant management rather than immediate therapy. Curative treatment is deferred while the patient is monitored and offered for evidence of risk reclassification to a more aggressive form of the disease. The basis for this approach is substantial evidence confirming the long natural history of most prostate cancers. The objective is to balance the risks of overtreatment and associated adverse quality of life effects, against the risk of progression of disease and a missed opportunity for curative therapy. Low-risk prostate cancer is more accurately viewed as one of several risk factors for the patient harboring higher-grade disease, rather than a life-threatening condition. This approach is similar to that taken historically for so-called precancerous conditions, such as PIN or ASAP, where patients were managed with close follow-up but without radical intervention unless clear evidence of more aggressive disease is identified. Active surveillance is increasingly viewed as the management of choice for patients with very low-risk (low-grade, low-volume prostate cancer) and low-risk (low-grade but higher volume) disease.
Laurence Klotz
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Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2013-1-15
Title: Current treatment options in oncology Volume: - ISSN: 1534-6277 ISO Abbreviation: Curr Treat Options Oncol Publication Date: 2013 Jan
Created Date: 2013-1-15 Completed Date: - Revised Date: -
Nlm Unique ID: 100900946 Medline TA: Curr Treat Options Oncol Country: -
Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, University of Toronto, 2075 Bayview Ave MG 408, Toronto, M4N 3M5, Ontario, Canada, [email protected].
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Asian Maize Conference Develops Strategies for Sustainable Intensification of Maize in Asia
Bangkok – 29 October 2014 – More than 350 leading agricultural researchers, policy makers, farmers and service providers from across the public and private sectors gathered in Bangkok from 30th October – 1st November for the 12th Asian Maize Conference. Organized by the Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions (APAARI), the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the Thai Department of Agriculture, the “Maize for Food, Feed, Nutrition and Environmental Security” conference will culminate in 10 major recommendations to set in place a roadmap for a sustainable intensification strategy for maize in Asia.
From left to right: Awan Suwannarat (Director General, DoA Thailand), Hiroyuki Konuma (Acting DG, FAO-RAP), Raj Paroda (Executive secretary, APAARI) and Thomas Lumpkin (DG, CIMMYT) reveal the accompanying Books of Extended Summaries and Abstracts in the opening session of the 12th Asian Maize Conference.
Guest of honor Mr. Anan Suwannarat, Director General of the Thai Department of Agriculture, “this forum provides us with a platform to create synergies among institutions and stakeholders, all of whom recognize the enormous value of maize as a food and feed crop.”
The objectives of the conference are to assess specific priorities to enhance maize production and productivity in the region, share the latest knowledge on cutting-edge maize technologies and generate awareness among institutions and stakeholders of better uses of maize as food, feed, fodder and as an industrial crop in Asia.
The area, production and yield of maize have increased several-fold over the last 50 years; much of that growth has occurred in the developing world. Compared to other cereals, maize has recorded the fastest annual growth (around 4 percent) in Asia. The demand for maize in Asia has been growing in response to changing consumer interests, in particular to feed the growing livestock sector.
At the same time, maize production and productivity in several Asian countries is severely constrained by an array of factors, including lack of access to improved seeds and other critical production-related inputs, lack of training and knowledge transfer for resource-poor farmers, and abiotic and biotic stresses, the magnitude and dynamics of which are rapidly increasing due to climate change. However, there still remains great scope to increase the area under maize production in the region, as well as tremendous opportunities for productivity increases and innovations in crop improvement, management and diversification.
“Among cereals, maize offers immense opportunities to address both food and nutrition security in Asia,” said Dr. Raj Paroda, APAARI executive secretary and conference co-chair. “Exciting scientific achievements in the recent past have led to higher annual growth in maize than all other cereals in the region. We now need to effectively harness the existing potential by out-scaling innovations in maize to have greater impact on livelihood of smallholder farmers.”
According to Dr. Thomas A. Lumpkin, CIMMYT director general and the other conference co-chair, “Sustainably increasing yields and stabilizing prices requires a concerted effort at the policy level, deployment of new technologies and long-term research investments to ensure that Asian farmers are prepared to respond to the enormous challenges facing agriculture.”
APAARI
Chanerin Maneechansook
[email protected]
02 282 2918, 0805868348
Genevieve Renard
[email protected]
About APAARI
APAARI’s mission is to promote the development of National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in the Asia-Pacific region through inter-regional and inter-institutional cooperation. It contributes to sustainable improvements in the productivity of agricultural systems and to the quality of the natural resource base that underpins agriculture, thereby enhancing food and nutrition security, economic and social well-being of communities and the integrity of the environment and services it provides.
About CIMMYT
Headquartered in Mexico, CIMMYT is the global leader in research for development in wheat and maize and wheat- and maize-based farming systems. CIMMYT works throughout the developing world with hundreds of partners to sustainably increase the productivity of maize and wheat systems to improve global food security and livelihoods.
Fifty percent of modern maize varieties grown in developing countries come from CIMMYT improved seeds. CIMMYT is a member of the CGIAR Consortium and leads the Consortium Research Programs WHEAT and MAIZE. CIMMYT receives support from national governments, foundations, development banks and other public and private agencies.
Tags: #12AMC, APAARI, Asia, conference, FAO |
Migraines 101: Symptoms, Triggers, Treatment
Email About 30 million people in the United States are believed to suffer from migraine headaches, with women three times more likely than men to experience them.
Unlike the typical tension headache experienced every now and then, migraines are often genetic and have a tendency to be physically disabling once set off by specific triggers.
Here's how to know if you are a sufferer and ways to catch a migraine before it begins.
The start of a migraine is usually noted by a change in vision or "aura," a blind spot or wavy lines in the left or right field of vision that grows larger. Severe, pulsing pain on one side of the head or face, which can last anywhere from a few hours to more than a day, is also common. In many cases the person afflicted will develop nausea and vomiting that is dramatically worsened by light and movement.
Migraines can also be only ocular, with all of the visual symptoms but no actual headache. In such a case, the person will have a blind spot, or feel a thickening or numbing of the tongue.
Migraines can be brought on by a variety of causes, including a lack of sleep, stress, alcohol use and even chocolate or other food. Hormonal changes in women, such as during menstruation or pregnancy, can also spark migraines. Triggers can vary from person to person, so it is helpful to keep a headache journal in order to identify what elicits a migraine in your own life.
Some people are affected by migraines only once or twice in their lifetime, though others suffer more frequently. In the rarest instances, migraines have been known to be chronic, even occurring on a daily basis.
Migraines are typically relieved with an anti-inflammatory pain reliever , such as Motrin or Alleve, along with a prescription triptan medication, which is used specifically for headaches.
Treximet is a new FDA-approved combination pill, which costs more than taking each separately, but fewer pills to take overall.
There are other medications you can take on a daily basis that can reduce the risk of getting a migraine -- antiseizure medications like Topamax, antidepressants like Elevil, heart medicines and beta blockers such as Inderal and calcium blockers such as Verapmil.
These medications aren't safe for everyone so your doctor would have to determine which one is right for you.
Another treatment now being utilized in effort to relieve chronic migraines (15 or more migraines a month) is Botox, best known for its cosmetic use to reduce wrinkles. Through injection, Botox paralyzes muscles of the scalp/forehead, lightening the muscle tension accompanying headaches.
There are some new treatments that may provide relief for sufferers in the future, although they still are not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration. The first is Telcagepant, a drug that stops migraine pain right at the nerves, preventing them from firing. Telcagepant may receive approval from the FDA within a year or so.
The second new treatment is Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), a portable 2.5-pound device equipped with two noninvasive paddles that you apply to your head sending a magnet current at the onset of an aura. TMS interrupts the electrical storm, but studies have only been done on patients that get auras as warning of a migraine's impending arrival. Around the size of a hair dryer, TMS could cost around $2,000.
The easiest way to try to stop a migraine before it starts is to steer clear of any observed triggers that may generate one. There are also some medications that, when taken on a daily basis after consulting with a physician, may cut the risk of migraines in half, such as anti-seizure, antidepressants, heart medicines, beta blockers and calcium blockers. If your migraine is hormone-related, low dose patches of estrogen can also provide aid.
Migraine sufferers may also benefit from certain lifestyle alterations. Little things like getting a couple more hours of sleep or hitting the gym can help. Avoiding alcohol, quitting smoking and remaining more relaxed are also useful changes to keep headaches away.
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You are here: Home / News / Symposium Highlights: Malaria: Current Situation in Puerto Rico
Symposium Highlights: Malaria: Current Situation in Puerto Rico
The Research Centers in Minority Institutions (RCMI) Infectious and Global Disease Program and the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus sponsored the symposium “Malaria: La situación actual en Puerto Rico” (Malaria: Current situation in Puerto Rico). The symposium was held as a community engagement activity to provide a comprehensive overview of the disease and an assessment of the current situation regarding recently imported malaria cases in Puerto Rico.
Speakers: Adelfa E. Serrano, José Rigau-Pérez, Roberto Barrera, Iván Ferrer-Rodríguez,
Diana Otero, Keith Carter, Brenda Rivera, and Bernard Christenson
Renowned and prestigious scientists and health professionals from the academia, federal agencies, international organizations, and the public and private health sectors participated and shared their expertise on malaria.
The symposium was coordinated by Dr. Adelfa E. Serrano, Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Medical Zoology at the UPR-Medical Sciences Campus and Key-Activity Coordinator of the Infectious and Global Diseases Program-RCMI. Dr. Keith Carter, Senior Advisor on Malaria at the Pan American Health Organization (OPS, by its Spanish acronym) and World Health Organization (WHO) summarized the current malaria situation in the Americas and the Caribbean, as well as the efforts to eradicate the disease in the region. Dr. Carter emphasized the importance of surveillance to avoid reintroduction of autochthonous malaria in Puerto Rico. During the symposium Dr. Serrano provided an overview of the natural history of the disease and shared the latest results of her research on malaria. The audience had the opportunity to learn about the history of malaria in Puerto Rico, presented by Dr. José Rigau-Pérez; Ad Honorem Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics, School of Medicine, at the UPR-Medical Sciences Campus.
Information about the presence of Anopheline mosquitoes in Puerto Rico was presented by Dr. Roberto Barrera, from the Centers of Disease Control (CDC), Dengue Branch, and Dr. Iván Ferrer-Rodríguez, from the Interamerican University and the Department of Health of Puerto Rico, discussed current methods for malaria diagnosis. Infectious diseases specialists, Drs. Diana Otero and Bernard Christenson, HIMA Hospitals, shared their experiences and challenges treating malaria patients. Last but not least, Dr. Brenda Rivera, Puerto Rico’s State Epidemiologist, Department of Health of Puerto Rico, discussed and recommended preventive measures for travellers. Time was allocated at the end of the presentations for a questions and answers section, with an active participation from health professionals and the general public attending the symposium.
Attendance to the symposium exceeded 150 participants including researchers, graduate students, and health professionals. This special activity not only served to educate about the pathophysiology, risks and prevention of malaria, but also fostered the exchange of ideas among multidisciplinary professionals who are committed to identify and implement the best strategies to prevent the transmission of malaria from endemic areas to Puerto Rico. |
Home » Research Area » Cardiovascular Research » Thrombosis & Hemostasis Research
Thrombosis & Hemostasis Research
Thrombosis is a crucial hemostatic process for maintaining blood volume (hemostasis) following injury, yet aberrant thrombosis can trigger pathological conditions including myocardial infarction and stroke. Therefore the initiation of thrombosis is tightly controlled under physiological conditions.
Thrombosis & Hemostasis Research Product Areas
Cell Adhesion Molecules
Chemokine Receptors
Cyclooxygenases
Nitric Oxide Signaling
Phosphodiesterases
Phospholipases
PPARs
Prostanoid Receptors
Protease-Activated Receptors
Purinergic (P2Y) Receptors
Tachykinin Receptors
Mechanisms of Thrombosis and Hemostasis
Platelets are a central component of thrombosis and exhibit a rapid, exponential activation in the event of tissue damage. Produced in the bone marrow, platelets are anucleate cell fragments of megakaryocytes. Despite having no nucleus, platelets possess two different types of granules within the cytoplasm - alpha granules and dense granules - and also express a number of different receptors on their plasma membranes. Both alpha and dense granules contain a variety of bioactive mediators including ADP, calcium and 5-HT as well as growth factors such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) and transforming growth factor (TGF) β1. Upon activation, platelets undergo degranulation; this releases granule contents into the surrounding environment and promotes the activation and aggregation of neighboring platelets.
Receptors present on the platelet plasma membrane include the purinergic (P2X) receptors P2X1, P2Y1 and P2Y12; the 5-HT receptor 5-HT2A; the thromboxane A2 (TXA2) receptor TP; and the protease-activated receptors PAR1 and PAR4. Platelet signaling may also be activated by exposure to collagen via the glycoprotein receptor, GPVI. Key downstream mediators of these receptors include the plasma membrane phospholipid phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP2), which is cleaved by phospholipase C to form inositol triphosphate (IP3) and diacylglycerol (DAG). IP3 receptor (InsP3R) activation triggers the efflux of calcium ions from intracellular calcium stores such as the endoplasmic reticulum, leading to a rise in intracellular calcium and subsequent platelet aggregation through the activation of integrin receptors.
Agonist stimulation of platelets also initiates the production of arachidonic acid from membrane phospholipids in a reaction catalyzed by cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2). Arachidonic acid can be utilized by both cyclooxygenases (COX) to form prostaglandin H2 (PGH2), and also by lipoxygenases (LOX) to form the lipid mediator hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid (HPETE). PGH2 is further metabolized to form prothrombotic eicosanoids including TXA2.
Regulation of Vascular Reactivity by GPCRs
Written by J.J. Maguire and A.P. Davenport
Our Cardiovascular poster highlights the key G protein-coupled receptors involved in the regulation of vascular reactivity. Request copy
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New Vaccines Protect Against Asian H5N1 Influenza A Viruses In Domestic Ducks
Scientists are looking at a novel strategy to prevent the spread of pandemic avian influenza. They have developed a vaccine that protects ducks, a known natural reservoir for the virus.
Waterfowl are considered to be the natural reservoir of influenza A viruses due to the isolation of all subtypes from these hosts. Current research indicates that influenza A viruses are continuously evolving within their natural environment and can be transmitted to a variety of animals, including humans. H5N1 avian influenza A viruses are now endemic in domestic poultry in many Asian countries and ducks are believed to be the primary source of infection. Reducing the spread of H5N1 in ducks could play a key role in minimizing the risk of a pandemic outbreak.
In the study researchers first identified dominant pathogenic strains of H5N1 influenza A viruses circulating in Asian poultry and found that four caused symptomatic illness in domestic ducks, but not all were lethal. In addition the researchers reversed the genetics of the viruses in domestic ducks to develop three different inactivated oil emulsion whole-virus H5 influenza vaccines. Following one round of inoculation with the vaccines ducks were completely protected when challenged with a lethal dose of the H5N1 virus.
"The vaccines provided complete protection against the lethal challenge of the homologous and heterologous H5N1 avian influenza A virus with no evidence of morbidity, mortality, or shedding of the challenge virus," say the researchers. "The complete protection offered by these vaccines will be useful for reducing the shedding of H5N1 avian influenza A viruses among vaccinated agricultural avian populations."
J.K. Kim, P. Seiler, H.L. Forrest, A.M. Khalenkov, J. Franks, M. Kumar, W.B. Karesh, M. Gilbert, R. Sodnomdarjaa, B. Douangngeun, E.A. Govorkova, R.G. Webster. Pathogenicity and vaccine efficacy of different clades of Asian H5N1 avian influenza A viruses in domestic ducks. Journal of Virology, 82. 22: 11374-11382
American Society for Microbiology. "New Vaccines Protect Against Asian H5N1 Influenza A Viruses In Domestic Ducks." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 1 December 2008. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081125224013.htm>.
American Society for Microbiology. (2008, December 1). New Vaccines Protect Against Asian H5N1 Influenza A Viruses In Domestic Ducks. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 6, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081125224013.htm
American Society for Microbiology. "New Vaccines Protect Against Asian H5N1 Influenza A Viruses In Domestic Ducks." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081125224013.htm (accessed October 6, 2015).
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Global spread of H5N1
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Nov. 17, 2010 New research examines the limitations of currently available influenza vaccines and offers direction for developing more efficient and reliable strategies to make vaccines to protect against seasonal ... read more Strange & Offbeat |
New remedy helps bats survive white-nose syndrome
Scientists have successfully treated and released dozens of bats that had white-nose syndrome, an invasive fungal epidemic that's wiping out some of North America's most important insect-eaters.
Russell McLendon May 20, 2015, 8:48 a.m.
A little brown bat shows symptoms of white-nose syndrome.
(Photo: University of Illinois/Steve Taylor/flickr)
If you like organic produce and hate mosquitoes, you should care about white-nose syndrome.
The fungal epidemic has killed about 6 million bats in 26 U.S. states and five Canadian provinces since 2006, pushing several species near the brink of extinction. Losing any species is bad, but bats are especially helpful to humans. One little brown bat can eat hundreds of mosquitoes per hour on summer nights, and insect-eating bats overall save U.S. farmers an estimated $23 billion per year by eating crop pests like moths and beetles. Many insects simply avoid areas where they hear bat calls.
But while the outlook is still bleak for North America's bats, there are finally a few glimmers of hope. In one of the brightest glimmers yet, scientists released several dozen bats in Missouri on May 19 after successfully ridding them of white-nose syndrome. The disease often wipes out entire bat colonies in a single winter, and it has long defied our best efforts to control it, so that's a pretty big deal.
"We are very, very optimistic" about this new treatment, says U.S. Forest Service researcher Sybill Amelon, one of the scientists who helped heal the infected bats. "Cautious, but optimistic."
White-nose syndrome (WNS) is caused by a cold-loving fungus, Pseudogymnoascus destructans, that attacks bats while their body temperatures are low during hibernation. It's named after the telltale white fuzz that grows on the noses, ears and wings of infected bats. After its 2006 debut at a cave in New York, the fungus is now obliterating bat colonies from Ontario to Alabama, threatening to wipe out some species forever. Scientists think P. destructans invaded North America from Europe, where hibernating bats seem resistant to similar fungi. It's not clear how it crossed the Atlantic, but a leading theory suggests traveling spelunkers unwittingly carried spores on their shoes, clothes or equipment.
A lab culture of P. destructans, which causes bats to wake up too early from hibernation and starve. (Photo: Raudabaugh DB/Wikipedia)From saving bananas to saving bats
So how did the Missouri bats survive? The researchers enlisted a common bacterium, Rhodococcus rhodochrous (strain DAP-96253), that's native to an array of North American soils. Humans already use R. rhodochrous for a few industrial purposes like bioremediation and food preservation, and microbiologist Chris Cornelison of Georgia State University found its bat-saving potential on a whim.
"Originally, we were investigating the bacteria for various industrial activities," Cornelison tells MNN. "In some of those earliest experiments, in addition to delaying the ripening of bananas, we noticed the bananas also had a lower fungal burden. I was just learning about white-nose syndrome at the time. But I thought that if this bacterium could prevent mold from growing on a banana, perhaps it could prevent mold from growing on a bat."
Apparently it can. And while another team of researchers also recently identified bat-wing bacteria that suppress WNS, Cornelison has shown that R. rhodochrous can help bats recover without even touching them. That's because the bacteria produce certain volatile organic compounds (VOCs) that stop P. destructans from growing. That's a key detail, since applying any medicine directly to entire colonies of hibernating bats is inefficient at best. It's also not easy to find a treatment that kills P. destructans without also killing harmless native fungi or otherwise disrupting the cave ecosystem.
Cornelison began studying R. rhodochrous and WNS in 2012, along with Amelon and wildlife biologist Dan Linder, also of the Forest Service. Backed by funding from Bat Conservation International, he published a study about R. rhodochrous last year, describing the discovery as "a major milestone in the development of viable biological control options" for WNS. Since then, he has worked at caves in northeastern Missouri with Amelon and Linder to investigate how these VOCs affect bats with WNS.
A few species of Rhodococcus bacteria are pathogenic, according to the CDC, but the majority are 'benign soil inhabitants.' (Photo: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)A wing and a prayer
"The bats were treated for 48 hours, and they were exposed in the same areas where they hibernate," Amelon says. "We put the bats into small mesh containers where they're comfortable. Then we put them inside a cooler, and placed volatiles in the cooler but not in direct contact, so the volatiles filled the air."
The researchers did this with 150 bats, about half of which were released May 19 at Mark Twain Cave in Hannibal, Missouri. Those survivors — mostly little brown bats, but also some northern long-eareds — are seemingly cured of WNS, with no detectable signs of the fungus or the disease, and they all took test flights before the release. Still, Amelon adds, it's too soon to know if they're really out of the woods.
"It's a complicated process with this disease," she says. "These guys could certainly be considered survivors of this winter. But we are not sure if they have any long-term benefits, or whether they could redevelop the disease next season. Prevention is much better than a cure in this case."
Cornelison agrees, noting that rehabbing and releasing bats isn't the long-term plan. Now that they've shown what R. rhodochrous can do, the real goal is to stop WNS before it gets out of hand. That will require more research, he adds, into how exactly the treatment works and how broadly it might protect healthy bat colonies. "We think it has the highest potential for prevention," he says. "We're exploring a number of different application technologies that target the spores. If you can prevent the spores from germinating and proliferating, you can greatly reduce transmission and disease severity."
Researcher Sybill Amelon holds a recovered little brown bat before its release on May 19, 2015. (Photo: Bat Conservation International)The researchers decided to release half of the recovered bats now because May is when they would normally emerge from hibernation. Some of the treated bats have too much wing damage to be released, but some healthy ones are also being kept for further study of their long-term recovery. The released bats are wearing ID tags on their forearms (pictured above), so researchers will be keeping an eye on their progress, too. "We still have a lot of data to analyze," Amelon says.
There hasn't been much good news about WNS in the past decade, so breakthroughs like this are cause for celebration. But the epidemic is still spreading ferociously across the continent, and with lots of physical and ecological variables at bat caves, it's unlikely a silver bullet will be found. Instead, Cornelison says, we'll need a deep arsenal of science to fend off this fungus.
"It's very promising, but what we need are a variety of tools to take an integrated disease-management approach," he says. "They use a lot of diverse habitats and different hibernacula, so we may need to use a lot of different tools. And the more tools we have, the more flexibility we have."
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Exercise Training Prevents Cardiovascular Derangements Induced by Fructose Overload in Developing Rats
Daniela Farah,
Affiliations Laboratory of Metabolic Cardiovascular and Renal Physiopharmacology, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, Sao Paulo, Brazil, Laboratory Experimental Hypertension, Heart Institute (INCOR), School of Medicine, Sao Paulo University (FMUSP), Sao Paulo, Brazil
Jonas Nunes,
Affiliation Laboratory of Metabolic Cardiovascular and Renal Physiopharmacology, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Michelle Sartori,
Affiliations Laboratory Experimental Hypertension, Heart Institute (INCOR), School of Medicine, Sao Paulo University (FMUSP), Sao Paulo, Brazil, Laboratory of Translational Physiology, Universidade Nove de Julho, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Danielle da Silva Dias,
Affiliation Laboratory of Translational Physiology, Universidade Nove de Julho, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Raquel Sirvente,
Affiliation Laboratory Experimental Hypertension, Heart Institute (INCOR), School of Medicine, Sao Paulo University (FMUSP), Sao Paulo, Brazil
Maikon B. Silva,
Patrícia Fiorino,
Mariana Morris,
Affiliation Institute Neuro Immune Medicine, Nova Southeastern University, Fort Lauderdale, United States of America
Susana Llesuy,
Affiliation Department of General and Inorganic Chemistry, University of Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Vera Farah,
Maria-Cláudia Irigoyen,
Kátia De Angelis
* E-mail: [email protected]
Vera Farah
The risks of chronic diseases associated with the increasing consumption of fructose-laden foods are amplified by the lack of regular physical activity and have become a serious public health issue worldwide. Moreover, childhood eating habits are strongly related to metabolic syndrome in adults. Thus, we aimed to investigate the preventive role of exercise training undertaken concurrently with a high fructose diet on cardiac function, hemodynamics, cardiovascular autonomic modulation and oxidative stress in male rats after weaning. Male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups (n = 8/group): Sedentary control (SC), Trained control (TC), Sedentary Fructose (SF) and Trained Fructose (TF). Training was performed on a treadmill (8 weeks, 40–60% of maximum exercise test). Evaluations of cardiac function, hemodynamics, cardiovascular autonomic modulation and oxidative stress in plasma and in left ventricle (LV) were performed. Chronic fructose overload induced glucose intolerance and an increase in white adipose tissue (WAT) weight, in myocardial performance index (MPI) (SF:0.42±0.04 vs. SC:0.24±0.05) and in arterial pressure (SF:122±3 vs. SC:113±1 mmHg) associated with increased cardiac and vascular sympathetic modulation. Fructose also induced unfavorable changes in oxidative stress profile (plasmatic protein oxidation- SF:3.30±0.09 vs. SC:1.45±0.08 nmol/mg prot; and LV total antioxidant capacity (TRAP)- SF: 2.5±0.5 vs. SC:12.7±1.7 uM trolox). The TF group showed reduced WAT, glucose intolerance, MPI (0.35±0.04), arterial pressure (118±2mmHg), sympathetic modulation, plasmatic protein oxidation and increased TRAP when compared to SF group. Therefore, our findings indicate that cardiometabolic dysfunctions induced by fructose overload early in life may be prevented by moderate aerobic exercise training.
Citation: Farah D, Nunes J, Sartori M, Dias DdS, Sirvente R, Silva MB, et al. (2016) Exercise Training Prevents Cardiovascular Derangements Induced by Fructose Overload in Developing Rats. PLoS ONE 11(12): e0167291. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0167291
Editor: Michael Bader, Max Delbruck Centrum fur Molekulare Medizin Berlin Buch, GERMANY
Received: August 31, 2016; Accepted: November 11, 2016; Published: December 8, 2016
Copyright: © 2016 Farah et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Funding: This study was supported by CNPq (457200/2014-6; 309292/2014-0) and FAPESP (2015/11223-6; 2012/01873-5); CAPES (88881.062178/2014-01). Kátia De Angelis and Maria-Cláudia Irigoyen are recipients of CNPq Fellowship (CNPq-BPQ). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
The world is consuming each year more sugar from high fructose corn syrup (HFCS) containing 42–55% of fructose and commonly found in beverages and industrial foods [1]. The resulting increase in cases of morbidity and mortality such as obesity, hypertension and diabetes [2] have encouraged several studies to focus on the risk factors posed by this trend [3, 4] and the preventive strategies to fight them [5].
High-fructose diet in rats can cause metabolic syndrome, as previously demonstrated by our group [6, 7]. We have shown that a high fructose diet negatively affects the cardiovascular autonomic control on both sexes in adult rats [6, 8]. Experimental models of metabolic syndrome have demonstrated increased oxidative stress by decreasing catalase concentration and increasing lipoperoxidation [9, 10, 11]. Girard et al. [12] have demonstrated that a fructose-enriched diet alters the redox balance in the blood and in the lipid metabolism in spontaneously hypertensive rats.
On the other hand, the benefits of non-pharmacological and non-invasive therapies, such as exercise training (ET), are becoming increasingly acknowledged. In this context, ET may be implemented to modify lifestyle and reduce risk factors associated with metabolic syndrome, since it has been shown to be clinically relevant to fight the negative effects of the Western diet [13, 14]. The ET-associated autonomic nervous system benefits have been largely demonstrated by several studies. ET improves baroreflex control of heart rate (HR) in both sexes and also plays an important role on resting HR [15, 16]. Studies have suggested that these improvements in HR may be due to increased vagal activity [17]. Boa et al. [18] have demonstrated that aerobic ET undertaken for 4 weeks, following 20 weeks of fructose overload in young male hamsters, may improve microvascular and endothelium dysfunction.
However, there have been very few studies focusing on recent weaned rats. In this sense, 9 weeks of fructose-rich diet immediately after weaning display impaired hepatic insulin sensitivity, but did not cause significant changes in the liver antioxidant enzymes or markers of damage induces by oxygen reactive species, suggesting that hepatic changes might be attributed to molecular mechanisms other than redox imbalance in this model [19].
Therefore, the childhood eating habits are strongly related to metabolic syndrome in adults and the risks of chronic diseases associated with the increasing consumption of fructose-laden foods are amplified by the lack of regular physical activity. Considering these, in the present study we aimed to investigate the preventive role of exercise training undertaken concurrently with a high fructose diet (10% on the drinking water) on cardiac function, hemodynamics, cardiovascular autonomic modulation and oxidative stress in male rats after weaning.
Experiments were performed in male Wistar rats (21-days-old to 50 ± 10 g). Animals were obtained from the University of Sao Paulo, Sao Paulo, Brazil. Rats received standard laboratory chow and water ad libitum. The animals were housed in cages with four each in a temperature-controlled room (22°C) with a 12-h dark-light cycle. The rats were randomly assigned to one of the four groups: sedentary control (SC; n = 8), trained control (TC; n = 8) sedentary high-fructose (SF; n = 8), and trained high-fructose (TF; n = 8). All protocols were in accordance with the Guidelines for Ethical Care of Experimental Animals from the International Animal Care and Use Committee. This study was approved by the Mackenzie University Ethical Committee (CEAU-UPM 053/08/2009) and by Universidade Nove de Julho Ethical committee (CEAU-UNINOVE 003/2012).
High-fructose diet
The SF and TF groups received an overload of 10% of D-fructose (LabSynth, Sao Paulo, Brazil) in the drinking water for 8 weeks after weaning (21 days old). Control animals received only water [8].
Moderate-intensity exercise training (40–60% maximal running speed, 0% inclination) was performed on a treadmill once a day at the same time every day, 5 days/week during 8 weeks, as described in detail elsewhere [5]. The protocol was initially carried out with the concurrent administration of fructose.
All animals were adapted to the procedure (10 min/day; 0.3 km/h) for 1 week before the beginning of the exercise training protocol. Sedentary and trained groups underwent a maximal treadmill test [20]. The tests were performed in weeks 1, 4, and 8 of exercise training to determine aerobic capacity and adequate exercise training intensity.
Metabolic evaluations
Chow and water (with or without fructose) consumption were measured weekly. The total caloric intake was calculated using 2.89 kcal per gram of chow consumed and that each ingested gram of fructose corresponds to 4.0 kcal.
After 8 week of fructose overload, glucose tolerance test of all animals was performed after a 12-h fasting with a specific device (Accu-Check Advantage Blood Glucose Monitor, Roche Diagnostic Corporation, Indianapolis. IN). Animals received a dose of 1.5 g/kg body weight intraperitoneally (intraperitoneal glucose) and a drop of blood from the end of the tail was collected at baseline and 15, 30, 60, 90 and 120 minutes after the glucose injection [21]. Triglycerides and total cholesterol were analyzed in the serum by the chemiluminescent method (Lab test, Brazil).
Echocardiographic evaluation
In the final week of training, echocardiography was performed according to the guidelines of the American Society of Echocardiography. The rats were anesthetized with ketamine 80 mg/kg + xylazine 12 mg/kg IP, and images were obtained with the transducer on each animal's shaved chest (lateral recumbence) using a 10–14 MHz linear transducer in a SEQUOIA 512 (ACUSON, Mountain View, CA, USA) to measure morphometric parameters such as left ventricular mass (LVM), LV cavity in diastole correct by weight (LVd weight), and relative wall thickness (RWT); systolic function was evaluated by ejection fraction (LVEF), fractional shortening (FEFS); while diastolic function was evaluated by the relation between maximal early diastolic peak velocity and late peak velocity (E/A), deceleration of early diastolic peak velocity, and isovolumetric relaxation time (IVRT). A global index was quantified by the myocardial performance index (MPI). All measurements were based on the average of 3 consecutive cardiac cycles. Echocardiography parameters were measured as previously described [21, 22].
Cardiovascular assessments
After 24 hours of the last training session, a catheter filled with 0.06 mL of saline was implanted into the femoral artery while the animals were anesthetized (Ketamine 80 mg/kg + Xylazine 12 mg/kg) for direct measurements of arterial pressure (AP).
Rats were studied 24 hours after catheter placement. The animals were conscious and allowed to move freely during the experiments. An arterial cannula was connected to a strain-gauge transducer (Blood Pressure XDCR, Kent Scientific, Litchfield, CT, USA), and AP signals were recorded over a 30-min period by a microcomputer equipped with an analog-to-digital converter board (Windaq, 2-kHz sampling frequency; Dataq Instruments, Akron, OH). The recorded data were analyzed on a beat-to-beat basis to quantify changes in mean AP and heart rate (HR). HR variability (HRV) was determined by using the standard deviation of the basal HR recording period [5].
Arterial pressure and pulse interval variability evaluation
The overall variability of pulse interval (PI) and systolic arterial pressure (SAP) was assessed in the time domain by means of variance. PI and SAP fluctuations were assessed in the frequency domain using autoregressive spectral analysis, as described elsewhere [23, 24]. Briefly, PI and SAP series were divided in segments of 300 beats and overlapped by 50%; a spectrum was obtained for each of the segments via the Levinson-Durbin recursion, with the model order chosen according to Akaike's criterion, ranging between 10 and 14. The oscillatory components were quantified in the low- (LF; 0.1 to 1 Hz) and high-frequency ranges (HF; 1 to 5.0 Hz). The LF band for SAP and PI oscillations was similar to that used by Janssen et al. [25]. However, unlike these authors, we set the upper limit for the HF band at 5 Hz, since no spectral component was found beyond this frequency. The power spectrum density was calculated for each recognizable component in the LF and HF bands by integrating the spectrum of the components. Segments that presented very slow oscillations (<0.1 Hz), which contributed to >70% of the overall variability, were considered nonstationary and discarded from the study. The sympathovagal balance was defined by the LF normalized unit (nu) to HF nu ratio. The alpha index analysis evaluates short-term changes in the systolic blood pressure and in the RR interval. This method has been proposed to quantify cause-and-effect events linked with the baroreflex [5].
Oxidative stress evaluation
After all metabolic and cardiovascular measurements were taken animals were pre anesthetized (Ketamine 80 mg/kg + Xylazine 12 mg/kg) and were euthanized by decapitation. The LV was immediately removed, rinsed in saline, and trimmed to remove fat tissue and visible connective tissue, and also, plasma was collected. The LV was cut into small pieces, placed in ice-cold buffer, and homogenized in an ultra-Turrax blender with 1 g of tissue per 5 mL of 150 mmol/L KCl and 20 nmol/L phosphate buffer, pH 7.4. The homogenates were centrifuged at 600g for 10 minutes at −2°C. Proteins were assayed by the method of Lowry et al [26].
Lipoperoxidation was evaluated by TBARS assay and by chemiluminescence initiated by tert-butil (CL). For TBARS the trichloroacetic acid (10%. w/v) was added to the LV homogenates to precipitate proteins and to acidify the samples (LV and plasma) [27]. This mixture was then centrifuged (1000G. 3 minutes), the protein-free sample was extracted, and thiobarbituric acid (0.67%. w/v) was added to the reaction medium. The tubes were placed in a water bath (100°C) for 15 minutes. Absorbance was measured at 535 nm using a spectrophotometer. The CL assay was performed in LV and carried out with an LKB Rack Beta liquid scintillation spectrometer 1215 (LKB Producer AB), in the out-of-coincidence mode at room temperature (25°C to 27°C). Supernatants were diluted in 140mmol/L KCl and 20mmol/L phosphate buffer, pH 7.4, and added to glass tubes, which were placed in scintillation vials; 3mmol/L tert-butylhydroperoxide was added, and CL was determined up to the maximal level of emission [9,28].
Protein oxidation uses the reaction of protein carbonyl groups with 2.4- dinitro phenylhydrazine (DNPH) to form a 2.4-dinitrophenylhydrazone. The product of the reaction was measured at 360 nm, as previously described [29]. The concentration of the carbonyl in the cardiac tissue and plasma was standardized by protein concentration (nmol carbonyl group/mg protein). The amount of protein oxidation was calculated from bovine serum albumin dissolved in guanidine hydrochloride and read at 280 nm.
Catalase (CAT) activity in the heart was measured spectrophotometrically by monitoring the decrease in H2O2 concentration over time. Aliquots of the samples were added to 50 mmol/L phosphate buffer in a quartz cuvette. After determining the baseline of the instrument, H2O2 was added to a final concentration of 10 mmol/L in 0.9 mL, and absorbance was measured at 240 nm [30]. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity was measured in the heart and plasma by measuring the inhibition of the rate of autocatalytic adrenochrome formation at 480 nm in a reaction medium containing 1 mmol/L epinephrine and 50 mmol/L glycine-NaOH, pH 10.5 [31]. Glutathione peroxidase (GPx) activity was assessed at the heart by adding to the assay a mixture of 1 U/mL glutathione reductase and 2 mmol/L glutathione in 1 mL phosphate buffer. Mixtures were preincubated at 37°C for 30 minutes. Subsequently, NADPH and tert-butylhydroperoxide were added, and the change in absorbance at 340 nm was recorded to calculate GPx activity, as previously described [32].
The level of total antioxidant capacity (TRAP) was determined by measuring luminol chemiluminescence intensity induced by the thermolysis of 2.2'-azobis(2-amidinopropane) dihydrochloride in plasma and LV. The results are expressed as μM of 6-hydroxy-2.5.7.8-tetramethylchroman-2-carboxylic acid per mg of protein [33].
For evaluation of glutathione redox balance (GSH/GSSG) the LV was deproteinized with 2 mol/L perchloric acid and centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1,000g, and the supernatant was neutralized with 2 mol/L potassium hydroxide. The reaction medium to determination of reduced glutathione (GSH) and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) concentrations contained 100mmol/L phosphate buffer (pH7.2), 2mmol/L nicotinamidedinucleotide phosphate acid, 0.2 U/mL glutathione reductase, and 70 mmol/L 5,50dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoicacid). For determination of GSSG concentration, the supernatant was neutralized with 2 mol/L potassium hydroxide for reaction with 70 mmol/L 5,50 dithiobis (2-nitrobenzoic acid), and absorbance values were measured at 420 nm [9,28].
Data were analyzed post-intervention and are reported as means ± SE. Levene’s test was used to assess variance homogeneity. ANOVA (two-way) was used to compare groups, followed by the Student-Newman-Keuls post hoc test when applied. Significance was considered when p < 0.05.
The group SF was significant higher in glucose tolerance as analyzed by area under curve when compared to all groups, and the group TC was lower when compared to all groups. The plasmatic levels of total cholesterol was increased in SF group in relation to SC and TC groups (SF: 138 ± 15 vs. SC: 90 ± 11 TC: 72 ± 7 mg/dl). The TF group (113 ± 16 mg/dl) presented similar values of total cholesterol than sedentary groups. The plasmatic levels of triglycerides were increased in SF group among all studied groups (SF: 151 ± 7 vs. SC: 74 ± 4, TC: 52 ± 4, TF: 126 ± 8 mg/dl). The trained groups showed reduced triglycerides when compared to sedentary groups.
The body weight gain was similar between groups (SC: 259 ± 8, TC: 263 ± 8, SF: 256 ± 10, TF: 253 ± 7 g). However, the SF group showed increased abdominal fat tissue when compared to others (Fig 1). Chow consumption was higher in control groups (SC: 28 ± 0.6 and TC: 28 ± 0.1 g·day-1·rat-1) in relation to fructose-fed groups (SF: 19 ± 1.7 and TF: 20 ± 0.8 g·day-1·rat-1). The fructose-fed animals, however, presented statistically significant greater water consumption (SF: 65 ± 5.4 and TF: 60 ± 0.9 ml·day-1·rat-1) compared to control rats (SC: 44 ± 2.4 and TC: 50 ± 1.6 ml·day-1·rat-1). The total caloric intake (chow + fructose) was similar between groups SC: 81 ±1.8; TC: 81 ± 0.3; SF: 82 ± 4.2; TF: 81 ± 2.5 kcal/day).
Fig 1. Abdominal fat tissue and glucose intolerance (AUC) in sedentary control (SC), trained control (TC), sedentary fructose (SF) and trained fructose (TF) rats.
* p<0.05 vs SC; # p<0.05 vs TC; † p<0.05 vs SF.
The trained groups showed better performance when compared to sedentary at the end of protocol (TC: 2.15±0.05; TF: 2.18±0.07 vs. SC: 1.5±0.05; SF: 1.89±0.07 Km/h). SF showed statistically better performance than SC.
Echocardiography evaluations
No differences were found in morphological parameters, such as LVM correct by weight, LVDIA correct by weight and RWT between groups. Likewise, no differences were found among groups in both systolic and diastolic function in all parameters measured (Table 1).
Table 1. Echocardiographic evaluations in sedentary control (SC), trained control (TC), sedentary fructose (SF) and trained fructose (TF) groups.
MPI, an index of cardiac overload, was increased in SF group when compared to SC and TC groups (SC: 0.24±0.05; TC: 0.26±0.03; SF: 0.42±0.04; TF: 0.35±0.04) (Fig 2).
Fig 2. Cardiac global function was evaluated by the myocardial performance index (MPI) in sedentary control (SC), trained control (TC), sedentary fructose (SF) and trained fructose (TF) rats.
* p<0.05 vs SC.
Hemodynamic and autonomic modulation
When compared to SC group, the SF group showed a significant increase in MAP, along with increased DAP. The TF group showed decreased DAP when compared to SF group, but no change in MAP was found. The trained groups presented resting bradycardia when compared to sedentary groups (Table 2).
Table 2. Hemodynamic and autonomic modulation in sedentary control (SC), trained control (TC), sedentary fructose (SF) and trained fructose (TF) groups.
Data regarding HRV and SAPV in the time and frequency domains are shown in Table 2. Standard deviation of PI (SD-PI), PI variance (PI-var), and HF did not show significant differences among groups. The LF of PI showed a significant increase in SF when compared to the other groups. Sympathovagal balance was greater on SF when compared to the other groups (Fig 3).
Fig 3. Sympathovagal balance (LF/HF) in sedentary control (SC), trained control (TC), sedentary fructose (SF) and trained fructose (TF) groups.
The standard deviation of SAP (SD-SAP), SAP variability (SAP-var) and LF-SAP were significant greater in SF group.
The alpha index, which indicates spontaneously barorreflex sensitivity, was not different among the groups (SC: 0.53 ± 0.06; TC: 0.77 ± 0.14; SF: 0.57 ± 0.07; TF: 0.73 ± 0.05 ms/mmHg).
Oxidative stress parameters are shown in Table 3. Lipoperoxidation in LV, as evaluated by TBARS, was decreased in TF group when compared to all groups. The CL evaluation demonstrated increased lipoperoxidation in LV in SF group as compared to other studied groups. Protein oxidation was also reduced in TF rats when compared to SC. Regarding antioxidant enzymes in LV, CAT was increased in TC group in relation to SC group. A decrease in SOD was observed in SF group when compared to SC group. The GPx in LV was not different between the groups (Table 3). The evaluation of TRAP in LV was decreased in the groups consuming fructose when compared to controls (SC: 12.70 ± 1.70; TC: 8.83 ± 2.62 vs. SF: 2.06 ± 0.52; TF: 4.48 ± 0.20 μM trolox). The TF group presented increased TRAP in when compared to SF group (Fig 4). The glutathione redox balance, evaluated by GSH/GSSG, was increased in TF group in relation to other studied groups (Table 3).
Table 3. Oxidative stress assessment in left ventricle (LV) and plasma in sedentary control (SC), trained control (TC), sedentary fructose (SF) and trained fructose (TF) groups.
Fig 4. Total antioxidant capacity (TRAP) on left ventricle (LV) and plasma in sedentary control (SC), trained control (TC), sedentary fructose (SF) and trained fructose (TF) groups.
The evaluations of oxidative stress on plasma showed an increase in lipoperoxidation and protein oxidation in the fructose groups when compared to groups consuming water. No significant changes in plasmatic SOD were found between the groups (Table 3).
TRAP on plasma showed an increase in trained groups when compared to the sedentary ones (TC: 28.8 ± 3.49; TF: 28.04 ± 3.05 vs SC: 10.60 ± 2.34; SF: 15.98 ± 1.98 μM trolox) (Fig 4).
Our results showed metabolic, hemodynamic and autonomic dysfunction accompanied by oxidative stress derangements in animals treated with fructose and an attenuation of these changes in trained animals.
The metabolic alterations observed in our results are in accordance with others studies from our group. The fructose overload induced glucose intolerance and/or insulin resistance, unfavorable changes in lipid profile, as well as an increase in adipose tissue in male and female adults and developing animals [6, 7, 8, 21]. Indeed, our study showed that physical training was able to prevent these metabolic alterations induced by fructose overload as previous reported by others studies [5, 17, 34, 35, 36].
Regarding physical capacity evaluation, the trained animals showed improvement in physical capacity when compared to sedentary groups. In the literature, the improvement in physical function is viewed as a marker of physical training protocol efficiency; this improvement has been widely reported after training in control, diabetic, old and hypertensive rats [17, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40] as well as in healthy men and hypertensive and in post-myocardial infarction patients [41, 42, 43]. Our group also demonstrated cardiovascular autonomic improvement after aerobic exercise training in adult male and ovariectomized rats undergoing a fructose overload [34, 36]. Additionally, we observed an increase in the maximum exercise test in hypertensive ovariectomized rats undergoing a fructose consumption and aerobic exercise training [35]. Interestingly, the SF group reached a higher speed in the maximum exercise test than the SC group. This finding could be linked to the sympathetic activation induced by chronic consumption of fructose, as observed in this study. However, it should be noted that an earlier study by Farah et al. [8] showed no change in motor activity performed in adult mice undergoing fructose overload. Thus, further studies should be conducted to elucidate the mechanisms underlying this adaptation induced by fructose consumption during child development.
We observed an increase in the MPI parameter, which shows the global status of the heart, in SF group when compared to SC and TC groups, thus indicating a cardiac stress induced by fructose overload. In fact, our group has previously shown that fructose overload in adult male rats exhibited diastolic dysfunction and increased MPI [21], and exercise training performed during the same period eliminated all of these derangements [36]. A study conducted with patients with metabolic syndrome showed reversed E/A ratio, suggesting impaired LV relaxation, the first stage of LV diastolic dysfunction, and combined exercise training undertaken for a year did not improve LV diastolic function in those individuals [28, 44].
Concerning hemodynamic values, an increase in MAP and DAP in the SF group and resting bradycardia in the trained animals were observed, as expected. Resting bradycardia has been used as a marker of cardiovascular exercise training effectiveness. These findings may be associated with the improvement in cardiac autonomic modulation observed in TF animals when compared to SF animals. Additionally, we hypothesized that changes in cardiac pacemaker, as noted earlier in adult male rats [40] or old trained rats [17], or even changes in the autonomic control of heart rate (vagal and sympathetic tone), might be involved in the bradycardia observed in the TC group, since there were no differences between SC and TC groups in cardiac modulation in both time and frequency domain.
The increase in AP after chronic consumption of fructose in rodents has often been reported [8, 21, 36]. Giacchetti et al. [45] associated hypertension induced by fructose overload with increased expression of AT1a receptors in rats. Shinozaki et al. [46] demonstrated increased expression of angiotensin AT1 receptor and the angiotensin II pressor response in rats fed with a fructose-rich diet. Furthermore, there is evidence to support the role of a sympathetic nervous system fructose-induced hypertension. Verma et al. [47] showed that sympathectomy attenuated the elevation of AP in rats treated with fructose. Urinary excretion of catecholamine and adrenergic receptor expression were increased in animals treated with a fructose-rich diet [48]. Studies by our group observed increased AP, together with autonomic dysfunction, in male rats and mice treated with fructose, as well as in healthy females or hypertensive ovariectomized rats undergoing chronic consumption of fructose [6, 7, 8, 35, 37, 45].
These findings were associated with vascular and cardiac autonomic dysfunction. Indeed, in the present study we observed an increase in sympathetic-vagal balance (LF / HF) as well as in vascular sympathetic modulation, as demonstrated by the different indexes evaluated by the variation in SAP; however, we did not find any difference in spontaneous baroreflex sensitivity in sedentary animals chronically treated with fructose. As such, our results point to an important sympathetic activation in cardiac and vascular tissues in animals treated with fructose, thus corroborating the other investigations above mentioned.
An important finding of this study was the normalization of MAP in the trained fructose group, which was accompanied by the normalization of the changes in the HR and SAP variability. In fact, this finding suggests that hemodynamic and autonomic dysfunctions in post-weaning rats treated with fructose and evaluated at a young age may be attenuated by moderate physical training when compared with those kept sedentary. These results are consistent with the findings previously published by our group for adult male rats [34, 39] and hypertensive ovariectomized female rats [35]. In this regard, it is notable that changes in the SAP variability have been related to lesions in target organs and worse prognosis [49].
In addition, please note that there is some evidence suggesting that the autonomic nervous system may be the triggering factor of the biomolecule secretion involved in the genesis of cardiometabolic disorders [50, 51]. Moreover, studies have reported that insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia increased lipid peroxidation and decreased antioxidant systemically, suggesting that the two are interconnected [10, 11]. This hypothesis is supported by a recent study conducted by our group, in which we found that chronic consumption of fructose in male mice promoted increase in SAP and MAP and in cardiac and vascular sympathetic modulation along with attenuation of baroreflex from the 15th day of fructose consumption. However, it induced insulin resistance, increased plasma levels of cholesterol, triglycerides and leptin only after 60 days of fructose consumption. Such findings show that dysfunction of cardiovascular autonomic modulation occurred before any metabolic change [14].
In the present study lipid peroxidation (evaluated by CL) in LV was increased in the SF group, without any change in the protein damage profile. Such responses involved adaptations in antioxidant systems, such as: reduction of TRAP and SOD in LV of SF group when compared to the SC group. Moreover, systemically there was evidence of protein damage and lipid peroxidation in the SF group when compared to the SC group. In fact, Thirunavukkarasau and colleagues [52] showed an increase in systemic lipid peroxidation in mice consuming fructose. Furthermore, physical training reduced lipid peroxidation when compared to the sedentary group, and this improvement is associated with increased CAT and maintenance of the concentration of SOD in skeletal muscle [53]. Our group also found a reduction of membrane lipid peroxidation in old Wistar rats and hypertensive male rats undergoing physical training, as well as in female ovariectomized rats. Such changes were accompanied by an increase in enzymatic antioxidant defenses, and were correlated with improved cardiovascular and/or autonomic function [17, 54]. In this sense, in the present study we observed a reduction in LV and in plasmatic protein damage in TF group when compared to the SF group. Moreover, the TF group showed reduced lipoperoxidation evaluated by CL and TBARS when compared to SF group. Interesting, the TF group levels of lipoperoxidation (TBARS) and protein oxidation in LV was lower than TC rats, despite similar values of lipoperoxidation (evaluated by CL) was observed between TF and TC groups. These data suggest that training in fructose fed-rats during lifespan may induce additional adaptation in oxidative stress status than in control rats. Furthermore, exercise training induced ventricular increase in non-enzymatic antioxidants, as demonstrated by increased TRAP, and a normalization of SOD activity in TF group, as compared to just an increase in CAT activity in TC group. The higher antioxidant capacity in TF group is probably related with markedly improvement in glutathione redox balance on LV in TF group as compared to all other groups. Thus, we hypothesize that exercise training induced by improvement in redox balance in fructose fed-rats is associated with additional reduction in levels of lipid and protein damage, probably leading to prevention of cardiac and autonomic dysfunctions.
Although some limitations of the present study have to be addressed for instance, for example, the lack of corporal composition and insulin levels, the evaluation of citrate synthase in the muscle to better characterize the efficacy of training, as well as, further investigations on the mechanisms underlying preventive role of exercise training, our observations on the metabolic, cardiovascular, autonomic and oxidative stress profiles led us to conclude that exercise training proved to be an effective approach to prevent the derangements promoted by a high-fructose diet in rats after weaning.
In conclusion, our findings indicates that cardiac, hemodynamic, autonomic and oxidative stress dysfunctions induced by fructose overload early in life in male rats may be prevented by moderate aerobic exercise training and may mitigate metabolic syndrome in adults.
We thank all collaborators for their support and help in carrying out this study. This study was supported by CNPq (457200/2014-6; 309292/2014-0) and FAPESP (2015/11223-6; 2012/01873-5); CAPES (88881.062178/2014-01). Kátia De Angelis and Maria-Cláudia Irigoyen are recipients of CNPq Fellowship (CNPq-BPQ). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
Conceptualization: DF MM VF MCI KDA.
Formal analysis: DF JN RS DD MS SL.
Funding acquisition: DF KDA MCI.
Investigation: DF JN MS DD RS MBS.
Methodology: DF PF VF MCI KDA SL.
Project administration: KDA VF.
Resources: MBS RS MS MCI KDA DD PF.
Supervision: VF KDA MCI.
Visualization: DF KDA VF.
Writing – original draft: DF VF KDA.
Writing – review & editing: DF MM VF KDA MCI SL.
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Fructoses
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Ancient Agriculture: Roots and Application of Sustainable Farming
by Gabriel Alonso De Herrera
GABRIEL ALONSO DE HERRERA, considered the father of modern-day Spanish agriculture, lived in central Spain from the time of his birth, in the 1470s, until his death, around 1540. He learned about agriculture from working in the fields of Talavera de la Reina with his father, in Granada with the Moors, studying Spanish Arabic and classical Roman texts on the subject, and traveling extensively throughout Europe. JUAN ESTEVAN ARELLANO, a journalist and farmer native to northern New Mexico, has roots reaching back to the 1725 settlement of the Embudo Valley. A poet and novelist as well, he is the 1994 recipient of Mexico's Premio Nacional de Literatura Jose Fuentes Mares prize.
The Art of Agriculture is the first English edition of Obra de Agricultura by Gabriel Alonso de Herrera, an agriculture instruction manual originally written in Granada, Spain, in 1513 and published there in 1539. Herrera, widely considered the Father of Modern Spanish Agriculture, wrote this treatise nearly five centuries ago, thoughtfully recounting traditional farming techniques of the Moors before their expulsion from Spain, the Spanish colonizers in the early 1600s, and the rural Indo-Hispano bioregion spanning northern New Mexico and southern Colorado. Today, farmers, gardeners, and ecological horticulturists are striving to work in harmony with nature, using traditional irrigation methods (involving acequias, sangras, and arroyos) to transform barren high-desert landscapes into fields supporting crop growth. This book speaks to today's farmers, no matter their size or output, in drought-ridden areas with land patterns characterized by natural ditches (acequias) and community water distribution systems (suertes). This type of agriculture exists not only in the American Southwest but from the Philippines to India to the Middle East. With global warming, water usage, and increased populations today, this book is more pertinent now than ever. Practical as well as philosophical, The Art of Agriculture will fascinate anyone interested in organic farming, sustainable agriculture, and permaculture worldwide.
The Art of Agriculture is the first English edition of Obra de Agricultura by Gabriel Alonso de Herrera, an agriculture instruction manual originally written in Granada, Spain, in 1513 and published there in 1539. Herrera, widely considered the Father of Modern Spanish Agriculture, wrote this treatise nearly five centuries ago, thoughtfully recounting traditional farming techniques of the Moors before their expulsion from Spain, the Spanish colonizers in the early 1600s, and the rural Indo-Hispano bioregion spanning northern New Mexico and southern Colorado.
Ancient City Press
Gabriel De Herrera
Bryan Romero
Juan Estevan Arellano
Gabriel Alonso De Herrera
Agriculture-Sustainable Living
Engineering » Engineering
Engineering » Engineering » History
Home and Garden » Gardening
Home and Garden » Gardening » History and Theory
Home and Garden » Sustainable Living
Home and Garden » Sustainable Living » Permaculture
Science and Mathematics » Agriculture
Science and Mathematics » Agriculture » Crop Science
Science and Mathematics » Agriculture » General
Science and Mathematics » Agriculture » Sustainable Living
Science and Mathematics » History of Science
Science and Mathematics » History of Science » Technology |
Murdoch Theses Establishment of Eucalyptus gomphocephala (Tuart) woodland species in an abandoned limestone quarry: Effects after 12 years
Ruthrof, K.X., Bell, R. and Calver, M.C.
Establishment of Eucalyptus gomphocephala (Tuart) woodland species in an abandoned limestone quarry: Effects after 12 years.
Pacific Conservation Biology, 15
Surface mining and quarrying profoundly affect landscapes and vegetation, so restoration of abandoned quarries attempts to create species-rich ecosystems for erosion control and fauna habitat. This study examined the success after 12 years of imported topsoil, sewage sludge, micronutrients, and fertiliser tablets applied at planting (all with and without broadcast fertiliser) on the survival, growth and health of six-month old seedlings of Eucalyptus gomphocephala, Acacia saligna, Banksia prionotes, B. attenuata, E. decipiens, Templetonia retusa and Dodonaea aptera in an abandoned limestone quarry in a mediterranean type climate in south-west Western Australia. Natural recruitment of seedlings of these species was also noted. After 12 years, overall survival was 17.4%, ranging from 42% in E. gomphocephala to 1% in T. retusa. Treatment combinations did not influence survival of any species, nor did growth (measured as height and DBHOB) vary in response to treatment. Treatment did not influence the health of any species significantly, with the exceptions of E. decipiens (healthiest in the All treatment) and B. attenuata (significantly lower levels of health when exposed to broadcast fertiliser). A. saligna, D. aptera and other local species from surrounding woodlands had naturally recruited seedlings. To date, although there is no evidence that any of the treatments tested is a panacea for success in re-establishing the study species in the medium-term, the study shows that vegetation native to the area can be re-established in abandoned limestone quarries at this site.
Centre of Excellence for Climate Change and Forest and Woodland HealthSchool of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology
Surey Beatty & Sons |
Social Networks and Japanese Democracy
The Beneficial Impact of Interpersonal Communication in East Asia
By Ken'ichi Ikeda, Sean Richey
164 pages | 8 B/W Illus.
Many who critique democracy as practiced in East Asia suggest that the Confucian political culture of these nations prevents democracy from being the robust participatory type, and limits it to a spectacle designed to create obedience from the public. Certainly some East Asian nations have had elections for decades, but for democracy to be meaningful, a country needs an active public sphere, political tolerance, egalitarian beliefs, and vigorous political participation. The Asian-values debate focuses on whether the creation of this optimal version of democracy in East Asian nations will be hindered by their shared Confucian cultural heritage and at the centre of this debate is whether there is an active political culture in East Asia that allows citizens to freely discuss, debate, and disagree about politics.
With Japan as its focus, this book examines the role of social networks and political discussion in Japanese political culture and asks whether discursive participatory democracy is indeed possible in East Asia. In order to answer this question the authors undertook the largest academic political survey ever conducted in Japan to give the book exceptional empirical credence. This data reveals how the Japanese people interact politically, concluding that through the powerful influence of social networks on Japanese political behaviour, Japan has a more globalized and less hierarchical society where Confucian culture is not dominant and where creation of a vibrant civil society is possible.
This book will be invaluable for students and scholars of Japanese politics, democracy, civil society, and globalization.
"This is an interesting book that deals with the essential topic of the generalizability of democracy in countries with East Asian cultural values and, specifically, Confucian values in Japan… The text will be of clear benefit to scholars of politics and democracy in Japan as well as those interested in Japan studies, in general." - Gloria Garcia, ICADE Business School, University of Tokyo; Journal of International and Global Studies Volume 4, Number 1, (November 2012).
1 Introduction 2 Asian-values and Japan 3 Measuring Social Networks 4 Determinants of Social Networking 5 Social Networks, Participation and Vote Similarity 6 Social Sources of Political Knowledge in Japan 7 Social Influence on Policy Preferences 8 Tolerance and Network Diversity 9 Creating Social Networks 10 Conclusion
Ken'ichi Ikeda is Professor of Social Psychology at the University of Tokyo, Japan. Sean Richey is Assistant Professor of Political Science at Georgia State University, USA.
Routledge Contemporary Japan Series
The aim of this series is to publish original, high-quality work by both new and established scholars on all aspects of contemporary Japan.
Asian Studies (General)
Japanese Politics
Political Behavior and Participation
Sociology & Social Policy
POLITICAL SCIENCE / General
POLITICAL SCIENCE / Political Ideologies / Democracy
SOC008000
SOCIAL SCIENCE / Ethnic Studies / General
Introducing Sociology Using the Stuff of Everyday Life
Crafting Phenomenological Research |
Chemotherapy drug effective at preventing breast cancer's return, gives patients a better quality of life
The chemotherapy drug capecitabine gives patients a better quality of life and is as effective at preventing breast cancer from returning as the alternative regimen called CMF, when given following epirubicin. These are the results of a clinical trial part-funded by Cancer Research UK and published in The Lancet Oncology today (Tuesday).
Around 4,400 patients on the TACT2 clinical trial were treated with the chemotherapy drug epirubicin followed by either capecitabine or CMF, after surgery.
Researchers at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, and the Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre found that capecitabine resulted in patients experiencing fewer side effects and having a better quality of life, and it was as effective at preventing cancer's return as CMF.
Most patients experienced some side effects regardless of the treatment they were given. But those taking CMF were more likely to experience severe side effects including early menopause, nausea, infection, thrombosis, and anemia.
During the trial, patients were followed up after 12, 18 and 24 months, and then yearly for at least 10 years, to see if their cancer had returned and to monitor side effects. More than 85 per cent of patients did not experience their cancer returning for at least five years.
Professor Judith Bliss, director of the Clinical Trials and Statistics Unit at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, who led the management of the trial said: "The TACT2 trial is the largest single study to look at the benefits of these different treatment approaches and schedules for chemotherapy to treat breast cancer.
"We've been able to show that capecitabine can be used as an alternative to CMF for part of the chemotherapy regime, giving patients a better quality of life without reducing their chances of survival."
Breakthrough research could potentially improve detection and treatment of anal cancer
Women with a medical history of breast or ovarian cancer often fail to test for inherited genetic changes
Study finds link between outdoor light at night and breast cancer risk
The researchers also tested whether having an accelerated course of epirubicin - given every two weeks instead of three - was more effective or better tolerated by patients, but the results showed that it wasn't.
This trial was the first to look in detail at experience of accelerated chemotherapy from the patient's perspective, with some patients completing self-assessments of their symptoms and side effects.
Professor David Cameron, clinical chief investigator on TACT2, clinical director of the Cancer Research UK Edinburgh Centre and director of cancer services in NHS Lothian, said: "Using patient-reported data was extremely valuable because we could learn what patients find tolerable and where they struggle to cope during treatment.
"This new approach to chemotherapy may benefit a range of breast cancer patients, including younger women who want to preserve their fertility."
Professor Arnie Purushotham, Cancer Research UK's senior clinical adviser, said: "Treatment for many breast cancer patients is very successful and now it's important to research how to improve patient experience and minimize the adverse effects of treatment.
"The results of this trial will form an important part of the discussions doctors have with patients when deciding on the most appropriate chemotherapy."
https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-us/cancer-news/press-release/2017-06-06-new-chemotherapy-approach-offers-breast-cancer-patients-a-better-quality-of-life
9cd50ab9-8077-4ad9-9c66-31333c5f5d27|1|3.0
Posted in: Medical Procedure News | Medical Research News | Women's Health News | Pharmaceutical News
Tags: Anaemia, Anemia, Breast Cancer, Cancer, Capecitabine, Chemotherapy, Clinical Trial, Epirubicin, Fertility, Menopause, Nausea, Oncology, Surgery, Thrombosis
Sanford Health launches solid tumor oncolytic virus clinical trial
Scientists discover novel therapeutic strategy to treat aggressive subgroup of lung cancer
Novel nanolaser can serve as super-bright probe to detect and kill metastasized cancer cells
Female patients with esophageal cancer have superior response to treatment, study reveals
Immunotherapy drug shows favorable safety profile in patients with advanced small cell lung cancer
Vaginal estrogens do not increase cancer, cardiovascular disease risk in post-menopausal women
UC Santa Cruz researchers fight pediatric cancer using big data
Research suggests novel approach to treating deadly pancreatic cancer
Cancer treatment with alternative medicine can double risk of dying: Study finds |
Karen people call for a peace park instead of big hydropower in their homeland
The Salween Peace Park, which would encompass the site slated for the Hat Gyi Dam, presents an alternative vision for development in Myanmar. by Demelza Stokes on 14 December 2016
Mongabay Series: Mekong dams, Southeast Asian infrastructure
Despite decades of conflict and widespread deforestation, the Salween Basin is one of Asia-Pacific’s most biodiverse ecoregions.
To protect this diversity, a group of Karen leaders, local people and NGOs have called for the creation of a 5,200-square kilometer park that would function as an indigenous-led protected area. The proposed park includes existing community forests, as well as the site of the planned Hat Gyi dam.
The stated aspirations of the park are “peace and self-determination, environmental integrity, and cultural survival,” a stark contrast to the conflict, environmental degradation and oppression of minorities that have historically defined development projects in Myanmar.
“To most people on earth — even biodiversity scientists — the Salween Basin is like the dark side of the moon.” So begins a 2008 study of the flora and fauna of a single bend of the Salween River by environmental NGO Karen Environmental Social Action Network (KESAN). “But it is precisely this obscurity that makes the Salween Basin a place of great biodiversity,” wrote the study’s authors, and with good reason. In a single patch of land hemmed in by the Salween, they documented 194 plant species and 42 endangered mammal species, among them the Asiatic black bear, sun bear, eastern hoolock gibbon, slow loris, dhole, Sunda pangolin, Chinese pangolin, great hornbill, as well as several previously unidentified plant and animal species.
This spectacular array of little-studied biodiversity is evidence of the resilience of the wildlife that has managed to survive here, despite seventy years of civil war and multiple other threats including habitat destruction for large infrastructure projects such as dams, roads and pipelines. It exemplifies the ecological wealth that a large protected area in Karen (Kayin) state could support — and what is at risk here if large-scale development projects continue without wildlife and indigenous peoples in mind.
Great hornbills are among the many species currently found in the Salween Basin. Photo by Rhett A. Butler.
The Salween Peace Park would set aside a 5,200 square kilometer (around 2,000 square miles) swathe of Myanmar’s southeastern Karen state as an indigenous Karen-led protected area — including the site slated for the large, export-oriented Hat Gyi dam. Born out of collective experience of the negative impacts of large-scale development projects elsewhere in Karen state and across Myanmar, the project aims to forge a peaceful and more sustainable economic development pathway for the Karen lands west of the Salween River.
Much of the terrain is rugged and textured with limestone mountains that crumple the land with sharp rises and high ridges dropping into steep verdant valleys. The region’s wild beauty is indebted to the Indian and Eurasian continental plates that collided and gave Earth the Himalayas, 50 million years ago. Along the entire eastern edge of the proposed park, striking mountains drop off into the mighty Salween, which has forged its way south from its glacial source in the Himalayas. The Salween Peace Park lies in the heart of the ecoregion the WWF has termed the “Kayah-Karen Montane Rain Forests,” which is the fourth richest ecoregion in the Indo-Pacific in terms of mammal species (168), and the second highest for bird species, which number 568.
This is the third article in a five-part series exploring Myanmar’s Salween landscape amid galvanizing plans to develop hydropower projects along its course.
Part I outlined plans being made by businesses and governments in China, Thailand and Myanmar to harness the Salween’s vast hydroelectric potential.
Part II looked at the Salween dams’ already bloody legacy and the projects’ direct or indirect relationship with perpetuating instability and conflict in Myanmar’s Shan and Karen states.
Part III uncovered some of the ethnic and ecological biodiversity at stake, focusing on the Kun Heng “thousand islands,” a unique riverine ecology facing submersion under the Mong Ton dam reservoir in Shan State.
Part V focuses on downstream Salween communities’ livelihoods and ongoing changes facing the broader Salween landscape due to Myanmar’s rapid economic development.
Map of the proposed boundaries for the Salween Peace Park (left), and forest cover in the surrounding area as of 2014. Courtesy of the Karen Environmental Social Action Network - KESAN (left) and Map for Environment (right).
War has wreaked its effects on Karen state’s forests, their wildlife and their biodiversity, either through plundering of the trees by armed groups selling timber, or by the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) over the decades who have fled to the forest to escape persecution. IDPs with no other means of survival have had to clear the forest to cut small paddy farms or to use resources that ordinarily would be protected either by customary law or by geography.
[quote_colored name=”” icon_quote=”no”]”The war is directly affecting the nature of the Salween River”[/quote_colored]
“Two decades ago, the riverbank was completely covered in forest,” Lieutenant Colonel Kyaw Mue of the Karen National Liberation Army’s (KNLA) Brigade 5 told Mongabay in November from his base on the Salween River. “There were no people inhabiting the riverbank. Very few places on the riverbank were occupied. Before it was like a wild forest, rich in trees and bamboos and wildlife. But due to the armed conflicts, villagers from different places in Karen State fled home and kept moving until they reached the border. They then built shelters and resided on the riverbank. Now, you can see many shelters, camps on the riverbank. And so there are less trees and bamboos as people cut them to build their houses and buildings. People also do farming. There is deforestation at some places on the riverbank. So the war is directly affecting the nature of Salween River.”
Lieutenant Colonel Kyaw Mue of the KNLA’s 5th Brigade shows tons of illegally logged timber seized by his brigade earlier this year. He told Mongabay the Karenni National People’s Liberation Front had asked permission to transport the logs down the river through the brigade’s territory, but were refused. Photo by Demelza Stokes.
For over 20 years, Kyaw Mue has seen the ravages of interminable civil war reflected here in the riverscape. The Karen National Union (and their armed wing, the KNLA) have struggled against the government and its army to gain political autonomy and territorial control over their lands, a conflict that has propelled thousands of IDPs to the very edge of the country, or over the border into Thailand’s refugee camps. “There used to be a lot of wildlife such as deer and jungle pigs,” said Kyaw Mue, “We could easily hunt them, but as more and more people move and reside here on the riverbank, there is more hunting. They hunt wildlife animals and sell them to make a living. But now it’s very difficult to hunt wildlife as they are decreasing.”
Peace talks between the KNU and Myanmar’s newly elected government, however, have presented a window of opportunity for the Salween Peace Park partners to advance their conservation initiative amid Myanmar’s evolving development scenario. The three core aspirations of the Salween Peace Park — peace and self-determination, environmental integrity, and cultural survival — are wrought from their polar opposites, war and oppression, widespread environmental degradation and persecution of ethnic minorities that have characterized the face of Karen state over the decades.
The Forestry Department of the Karen National Union (KFD), along with local Karen communities and environmental NGO KESAN, are key partners in the initiative. May 2016 saw the first Peace Park consultation attended by 300 people from communities across Karen state’s Mutraw district (Hpa-Pun). The plan is in its infancy and a charter is currently being drafted. “It is important to note that the Salween Peace Park will only proceed if the local and indigenous people give their consent,” Saw Paul Sein Twa, director of KESAN told Mongabay. The Peace Park’s charter drafting process will continue throughout 2017, and the aim is to hold charter consultations in each of the 23 village tracts lying within the peace park boundary, he added.
General Baw Kyaw Heh, Vice Chief of Staff of the KNLA (the Karen National Union’s armed wing) spoke at the first Salween Peace Park consultation meeting this May. Photo courtesy of the Karen Environmental Social Action Network - KESAN.
Under Myanmar’s military regime, large development projects such as dams — and sometimes the creation of protected areas — have lacked sufficient (if any) consultation with local people, and have often resulted in displacement and loss of livelihoods due to land grabbing. The Salween Peace Park aims to counter that trend. Saw Gay Htoo, a villager from Lu Thaw township and participant in the first consultation meeting told KESAN, “If we can successfully establish this peace park, it will protect and guarantee land security in our district level. Since we will have a detail defined boundary, outsiders will not be able to exploit our resources. They will not be able to grab our land and exploit our natural resources. They wouldn’t be able to dam our rivers.”
Myanmar’s political situation, decades of conflict, corruption and lack of capacity have seen the country’s protected area system lag grievously behind neighboring countries. The Hukawng Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in northern Kachin state, designated in 2001, was heralded as the world’s largest tiger reserve (when it was expanded in 2004), but cronyism and corruption led to massive encroachment in the area. Land grabs by companies associated with the former military regime led to displacement of hundreds of local Kachin families.
The codification of indigenous stewardship of the land via the Salween Peace Park aims to defy continued land-grabbing for industrial development in Karen state. Recently Phil Robertson, deputy director of Human Rights Watch’s Asia Division, commented on the scale of land confiscation in Karen state by local militia leaders, local government and businessmen. He called it “open season” for those in power, who seize land from local people who have not had time or opportunity to secure their land rights through formal systems. Fear of the negative impacts of large-scale infrastructure has led the KNU to call for a halt to mega-development projects until a political settlement is reached with the government, Naw Zipporah Sein, vice chairperson of the KNU, told Mongabay. She was speaking specifically of the Hat Gyi dam, one of the five large dams planned for Salween, up until now Southeast Asia’s longest free-flowing river. “For the national-level recognition [of the Salween Peace Park], existing laws and policies need to be reformed which will recognize the indigenous people’s rights to self-determination.… To be effective and sustainable, the national laws and policy must be changed — that is, the devolution of political power in the form of a democratic federal system,” said Saw Paul Sein Twa.
Displaced from their homes due to conflict this year, Karen IDPS gather in the shade at Htee Htay Khee village on the border with Thailand. Photo by Demelza Stokes.
Around 1,400 square kilometers of the Salween Peace Park area are part of existing community forests, reserve forests, customary lands and wildlife sanctuaries. The Karen have an indigenous system called “kaw” which they use as a form of traditional land and natural resources governance system. Each “kaw” forms a particular area, and there are 29 kaw in the customary lands and community forests within the Peace Park boundary. The “kaw” is deeply rooted in Karen people’s social and cultural identity. Recognized by KNU Land Policy, it integrates “indigenous ecological knowledge, protected wildlife areas, rotational upland fields, taboos against hunting keystone species, and peaceful conflict resolution mechanisms.” The Salween Peace Park initiative aims to revitalize this indigenous Karen system and promote it as a sustainable alternative to “megadams, strip mines, top-down protected areas like national parks, all of which require the colonization of indigenous land,” according to KESAN and the KNU.
“There has been deforestation in all the KNU’s seven districts, including Mutraw district, but Mutraw has the best quality of forest and biodiversity,” said Padoh Mahn Ba Htun, the head of the KNU’s forestry department. “We even aim to make it become a recognized world heritage site.” The KFD’s forest rangers will patrol the peace park and protect against illegal logging, illegal hunting, and wildlife trafficking. But they are currently understaffed. “There are 100 or less than 100 employees of the KNU Forestry Department in each district of the KNU. We don’t have enough employees,” said Padoh Mahn Ba Htun.
The Peace Park envisions the area as a confluence of biodiversity conservation, eco-tourism, and greener energy solutions such as small hydropower and decentralized solar power. “It is an explicit alternative to potentially destructive development in the Salween River basin, proposed by the previous Myanmar government, dam companies and foreign advisors,” Jeff Rutherford, a consultant who has studied the Salween basin for over a decade, told Mongabay. The World Commission on Dams’ report (2000) concluded over fifteen years ago that most mega-dams had unleashed many problems and that the losses suffered usually outweighed the benefits. By contrast, the report found, “Decentralized, small-scale options (micro hydro, home-scale solar electric systems, and wind and biomass system) based on local renewable sources offer an important near-term, and possibly long-term, potential particularly in rural areas far away from centralized supply networks.”
Riding on the Salween Basin near the Hat Gyi dam site. Photo by Pianporn Deetes/International Rivers.
Plans to build the Hat Gyi dam on the Salween River have been blamed by civil society groups, and leaders of the ethnic and political armed groups for fueling further conflict in Karen state. A 1,360-megawatt project, it will be developed by a consortium of Chinese, Thai and Myanmar developers, along with Myanmar’s ministry of electricity and energy, and its reservoir would flood two wildlife sanctuaries. According to International Rivers, a second environmental impact assessment has been completed for Hat Gyi, but the full version of the report has not been made available to the public. Despite the KNU calling for a moratorium on all large development projects until a last political settlement has been reached, Myanmar’s ministry of electricity and energy still predicts an estimated completion date for the Hat Gyi dam in 2020-2021. Although Myanmar desperately needs to increase its electricity supply, Thailand’s EGAT (Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand) will purchase the majority of the electricity from the Hat Gyi dam.
It remains to be seen if Myanmar’s rapid political and economic reforms will accommodate an ethnic Karen-led protected area as an alternative development pathway for this part of the country, either in tandem with, or without the large hydropower development plan for the Salween River. Stressing the importance of Karen participation in the Salween Peace Park, Saw Paul Sein Twa said, “Talk with the Myanmar government is important but it will come at the right time. Now it is important to lay the groundwork and start building the peace park from the bottom.”
Continue to Part 5, which looks at the livelihoods of downstream communities, and the broader impacts of economic development in Myanmar.
Banner image: a baby sun bear, one of the many mammals found in the Salween Basin. Photographed in Malaysia by Rhett A. Butler.
Article published by Isabel Esterman
Activism, Biodiversity, Community Forestry, Conservation, Dams, Energy, Environment, Featured, Forests, Hydropower, Indigenous Peoples, Indigenous Rights, Infrastructure, Protected Areas, Renewable Energy, Tropical Forests |
Cell research could help with heart tissue transplants
A new technique developed by a UBC researcher could make tissue regeneration cheaper and safer for health-care systems and their patients.
A study, conducted by UBC researcher Keekyoung Kim while at Harvard University, has identified new ways in which proteins and various biological molecules–known as growth factors–can work together to turn cells on the surface into cells that form the middle layer of the heart valve.
"Science has long been working towards ways to minimize or eliminate the rejection risks faced by tissue transplant patient," says Keekyoung Kim, assistant professor of engineering at UBC's Okanagan campus. "While the goal of using a patient's own genetic material to grow a body tissue is still a long way off, this study has moved us further towards that goal.
"This new technique essentially allows us to use less material to study heart-valve regeneration process more quickly and at a lower cost."
As part of his study, Kim used a microarray (technology that allows various groups of microscopic materials to be "printed" on a slide) to place proteins, growth-influencing biological molecules and simple cells in various combinations on top of a gel-like substance, known as hydrogel.
Kim then looked at which combinations influenced the transition of a simple cell into a more complex cell used in heart-valve growth. He found there were specific patterns of proteins and molecules that promoted growth.
"We're confident this process can be used for other types of tissue, so we are currently in the process of building a microarray in the Okanagan so we can continue testing," he says.
Kim conducted the study along with UBC researcher Zongjie Wang, ETH Zurich researcher Blaise Calpe and Prof. Ali Khademhosseini of Harvard's Medical School. The research was recently published in the journal, Biotechnology and Bioengineering.
http://ok.ubc.ca/welcome.html
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N.M. museum highlights culture of Mexican horsemen
An ornate saddle is on display at the Albuquerque Museum as part of the exhibition "Arte en la Charreria: The Artisanship of Mexican Equestrian Culture." The artifacts, some dating to the 1800s, were culled from prestigious collections throughout Mexico.
ASSOCIATED PRESS/ARTE EN LA CHARRERIA
A silver inlaid spur is on display at the Albuquerque Museum as part of the exhibition "Arte en la Charreria: The Artisanship of Mexican Equestrian Culture." Each item reflects different elements of the culture of the legendary charro, the Mexican horseman.
By Susan Montoya Bryan, Associated Press
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. -- There's no mass production here, just evidence of the slow and patient work that went into handcrafting the costumes and tools behind one of Mexico's most important traditions.
From fine embroidery to ornate saddles and silver inlaid spurs, more than 150 pieces are on display at the Albuquerque Museum as part of the exhibition "Arte en la Charreria: The Artisanship of Mexican Equestrian Culture," which is on display through March 30.
The artifacts, some dating to the 1800s, were culled from prestigious collections throughout Mexico. Each item reflects different elements of the culture of the legendary charro -- the Mexican horseman.
"Too often, we in the West get lost in the stories of cowboy culture, unwary of its foundation," said museum director Cathy Wright. "'Arte en la Charreria' gives our visitors a chance to experience the beauty, color and expressiveness of this wonderful Mexican tradition, which continues to inform Southwestern fashion and material culture today."
The roots of the charreria culture first emerged centuries ago with the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors and their horses. By the 19th century, celebrations similar to rodeos were being organized around Mexico in which charros would compete, showing off their skills. In the early 1930s, the colorful equestrian style was declared the national sport of Mexico.
Museum curators say there's meaning behind every component of the costumes worn by charros and charras. In some cases, layers of leather are applied to fabric and then adorned with intricate silver buttons. Embroidery, sequins and beading often provide another layer. Even the sculptural iron spurs are decorated with tooled and stamped silver.
All the leather, velvet and suede make for an exploration of texture and detail, not just a history lesson.
It would be impossible to pick a favorite from the items in the exhibition, said Deb Slaney, the museum's curator of history.
"There is no best example. They're all fabulous," she said.
If you go ...
Where: 2000 Mountain Road, Albuquerque, N.M.
Info: albuquerquemuseum.org or (505) 243-7255
Hours: 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Sunday
Admission: Adults $4; teens $3; seniors $2; and children 4-12 $1 |
In relationships based on mutuality, number of individuals involved can determine rate at which species evolve
Sep 24, 2012 Enlarge
The beginning of a beautiful friendship? In some interspecies relationships, ants "tend" to a single caterpillar, preventing it from being attacked by predators. In return for such protection services, they are rewarded with the larva's sugary secretions. New research has now shown that the rate of evolution in a mutualistic relationship does not depend only on the type of interactions, but also on the number of individuals involved. Credit: MPI for Chemical Ecology/ Ian Baldwin / Alexander Weinhold
(Phys.org)—The relationship between species determines how rapidly they evolve. Parasites and their hosts coevolve more rapidly, and partners in a mutualistic relationship can evolve more slowly. But this view is obviously too simplistic. The rate of evolution in a mutualistic relationship does not depend only on the type of interactions, but also on the number of individuals involved, according to a model developed by researchers of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology in Plön, Germany. Therefore, while partners can benefit from slow evolution if only two individuals interact, a higher rate of evolution may be favoured if several individuals are involved.
Parasites and hosts conduct an arms race with one another in which the parasite must constantly find new ways to circumvent the defensive measures of the host. As a result, they both constantly evolve. This is similar to the situation of the Red Queen in the book "Through the Looking Glass, and What Alice Found There" by British author Lewis Carroll, and is therefore labelled the Red Queen Hypothesis. The counterpart to it is the Red King's Hypothesis, first posited in 2003: in mutualistic relationships, evolving more slowly can be favoured. This occurs, namely, when the partners behave egotistically in the beginning and then attempt to become more altruistic. The partner holding back and evolving more slowly benefits, as it does not have to invest anything in improving the partnership.
Up to now, researchers have explored the Red King Hypothesis only in models for which two individuals come into contact with one another. However, this does not reflect reality for the most part. It is much more often the case in nature that several individuals are in a relationship with one another. Thus, several ants protect a single butterfly larva in order to be rewarded with its honeydew. For the ant, the relationship is therefore between two individuals; however, from the perspective of the caterpillar, there are multiple partners interacting.
The scientists in Plön have therefore tested the Red King's Hypothesis in a multiplayer model. According to this, it was confirmed that the Red King's Hypothesis is only valid in pairwise mutualistic relationships. As soon as several parties are involved, it becomes considerably more complicated. "Then more rapid evolution can be favoured for a party as well," explains Chaitanya Gokhale from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Biology.
Explore further: Slipped discs provide a window into human evolutionary past
More information: Chaitanya S. Gokhale and Arne Traulsen, Mutualism and evolutionary multiplayer games: revisiting the Red King, Proc. R. Soc. B published online 12 September 2012 (doi: 10. 1098/rspb. 2012. 1697
Provided by Max Planck Society
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Feasts are for Reflection
Feasts are times to reflect. The Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows, September 15th, is an important feast for my community, the Passionists. Mary is the first disciple of Jesus and a model for anyone who wishes to follow him.
The gospel reading for the feast from St. John says simply that Mary stood by the cross of Jesus. She’s a brave woman, not afraid to come close to the fearful place where Jesus was put to death. The Book of Judith, ordinarily the 1st reading for the feast, praises Judith, the brave and wise Jewish woman who’s not afraid to stand with her people at a dangerous moment in their history. Two women of courage face suffering and the challenge it brings.
The prayers, traditions and art of this feast take up the theme of Mary standing by the cross. She’s remembered in poetry, music and art. “Stabat Mater” Here’s an example in Gregorian Chant and Pergolesi’s magnificent baroque setting.
At the cross her station keeping
Stood the mournful mother keeping
Close to Jesus to the last.
Blessed Dominic Barberi, in his reflections on Mary’s sorrows, emphasizes that Mary is a mother, the new Eve and a follower of Abraham, who hopes even as his son faces death. Dominic places particular emphasis on Mary’s ties to Jesus as his mother, ties of flesh and blood.
Her motherhood provides another strong tradition that appears in early medieval art – the Pieta– the Mother holding her dead Son in her arms on Calvary. Where did this come from? Some say it comes, not from the gospels which make no mention of it, but from the writings of mystics like St. Bridgid of Sweden, a mother who saw the life of Jesus, particularly his passion, through a mother’s eyes.
The women mystics, many of them pilgrims to the Holy Land, could not imagine Mary not taking the body of her dead Son into her arms when taken down from the cross.
The 13th century icon above, from the Ryerson collection from the Art Institute of Chicago once belonged to a European pilgrim to the Holy Land who brought it back as a reminder of a pilgrimage. It probably reflects the two traditions. Mary, a mother, holds her Son at birth and she stands at his cross at death.
An alternate gospel for the feast recalls Mary’s loss of the Child Jesus in the temple. Mary’s sorrows were not limited to Calvary; they were lifelong.
A study of the Pieta in art in early medieval France explores the diversity of this scene before Michaelangelo’s Pieta became an overpowering icon. “Often she is viewed as caught up in the horror of the moment, but she is also shown praying or even gazing into the distance, as if contemplating comforting memories or the reunion to come. Her demeanor ranges from youthful innocence—the Purity that Time cannot age—to careworn maturity—Our Lady of Sorrows.”
Sorrow has a range of faces.
Filed under art, Inspiration, Passionists, poetry, Religion, spirituality, Travel
Morning Thoughts: Other People
by Howard Hain
Other people. That’s when things get complicated.
Being patient, forgiving, meek, honest, prudent, wise…when it comes to our own wellbeing is hard enough…but when it comes to dealing with the world’s offenses against those we love—especially those put into our care—things can really get out of hand.
For living a life of integrity and peace, of “turning the other cheek”, seems somewhat possible when it’s my cheek, but to ask me to act the same when it comes to witnessing an injustice against my mother, my wife, or my daughter, then it’s a whole other ballgame.
The lamb becomes a lion. I want justice. Now. A roaring lion. Game on. And it is no longer about defense. No, a full-frontal offensive attack is launched. Crush the opponent. Leave no opportunity for the “hyena” to not fully understand: “Not on my watch, you vile creature—you don’t stand a chance—and now you’ll pay tenfold.”
This is all figure of speech, of course. But internally, this hypothetical dialogue is somewhat close.
But then there comes the question of action itself.
What do we actually do?
What should we actually do?
Each situation of course has its own set of circumstances.
But Truth and Wisdom apply to every situation and circumstance.
And that hits upon what is perhaps the biggest affront the world inflicts upon those placed in our care: The lie that Truth, Morality, Virtue, Justice, and Goodness are relevant to time and place, to culture and historical period.
Truth is Truth. Moral Virtue is Moral Virtue. Justice is Justice. And offenses against Eternal Truths are offenses against Eternal Truths, whether you live in Poland, the United States, Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, or Zimbabwe.
And yes, I am fully aware that the above statement makes the assumption that there are Eternal Truths. There are. Period. God’s Love and His demand for Human Dignity are real. God’s reality insists upon it.
Perhaps then this is the best first step in truly defending our families: To know the Truth. To stand in the Truth. To anchor ourselves in and to the Truth.
Day by day. Hour by hour. One Eucharistic encounter at a time.
Here then is such a nugget* that might help us navigate the turbulent waters of this new day:
“The rash man has no integrity; but the just man, because of his faith, shall live.”
—Habakkuk 2:4
* nug·get
/ˈnəɡət/
a small lump of gold or other precious metal found ready-formed in the earth.
Filed under art, contemplation, Inspiration, Motivational, philosophy, poetry, Religion, spirituality
Tagged as Catholic, Christ, Christian, Christianity, faith, God, hope, Howard Hain, integrity, Jesus, joy, life, love, peace, prayer, wisdom
by vhoagland | September 9, 2017 · 10:24 am
23rd Sunday a: Telling People They’re Wrong
For today’s homily, please play the video below:
Filed under Inspiration, Passionists, poetry, Religion, spirituality, Travel
Tagged as 23rd Sunday, Correcting people, drink., drugs, forgiveness, Matthew's gospel, Passonists, Prodigal Son
by vhoagland | September 8, 2017 · 6:40 am
Friday Thoughts: A Common Question
Does it make any sense to ask “why” but not want to know why?
It depends on how we see an answer. For there is one answer that applies to each and every question, that fully satisfies each and every query—one certainty that fully answers all wonderings.
All other answers—true although they may be—are subordinate to this one primary and exhaustive answer.
And this one answer has many expressions, but only one meaning. It has several names, but only one significance. It has billions of manifestations, but only one divine presence.
The answer is “I AM”…
The answer is “Truth”…
The answer is “Pure Existence”…
And on and on….
But let us express it one additional way: “The Perfect Will of God”.
If we believe this—if we believe in God we must believe this—then we have no questions to ask. Unless of course we ask for a different reason—a reason other than wanting an answer. And what may that reason be?
To experience God.
To “know” He is real.
To feel He cares.
For does an infant question his mother’s love?
Does he wonder if she will offer her breast?
Does he ask any questions at all?
No. He cries.
He prays with utter faith to a power beyond his capacity to wonder why.
For the newborn “knows” why.
The infant “knows” he is loved.
Yet he cries.
And we do too. We cry “why” to a God who knows our every need and has preordained our every righteous desire.
We pray like infants—like newborn children—when we ask our all-knowing and all-caring God a question we instinctively “know” is already forever answered.
We pray when we cry out loud in the direction of Him whom we believe exists—no matter the form of the cry.
For prayer is active believing. Asking is simply a common language.
Either way, the translation is the same.
“Why Lord?” (I believe in You)
“Why God?” (I trust in You)
“Why, Lord, why? (I love You)
And God always answers.
He always nurses.
More faith…more hope…more love.
Tagged as Catholic, Christ, Christian, Christianity, confidence, contemplation, faith, God, hope, Howard Hain, Jesus, joy, life, love, peace, prayer, trust, truth
Morning Thoughts: Beyond
F. Hain, “Untitled”, ~2014
Beyond “Yes”
Beyond “Amen”
Beyond “I love You”
You are beyond
Beyond prayer
Beyond is my prayer
It looks a lot like sitting still
Like not thinking
Not remembering
Not planning
Not wanting
It looks a lot like pure existence
A lot like being free
Infinitely free
You, Lord, are the Lord of Freedom, if only we’d accept Your declaration—if only we’d love the person we most imprison with jealousy and petty dislikes.
Free us Lord from ourselves, from our most secret possession, from our deeply hidden pride.
Grant us, Lord of Infinite Freedom, the grace to fly upward, and inward, all toward You.
Tagged as Catholic, Christ, Christian, Christianity, faith, freedom, God, hope, Howard Hain, Jesus, joy, liberty, life, love, peace, prayer, solitude, truth
Friday Thoughts: Can’t Be Afraid
No matter what it is. All good options are on the table. All goodness is on the table. For God sets a banquet before us, a great breakfast. Liberty first. We must be free. Drink deep of letting go of the past, repentance is not an aftertaste. Repentance sets the table. A table held in place by belief. Upon which God’s goodness gives life. It is always about life. More of it. More letting go, less picking up the scraps. Of course, if scraps are all we have, by all means let us be grateful. But I have a sneaky suspicion there’s a whole lot more—if only we’d tell “fear” to take a hike—and then take our proper place at the table.
So much goodness is in store.
Tagged as Catholic, Christ, Christian, Christianity, confidence, courage, faith, God, hope, Howard Hain, Jesus, joy, life, love, peace, prayer, trust, truth
by vhoagland | August 25, 2017 · 7:38 am
Friday Thoughts: The Laugh’s On Us
No matter what I’m going through I feel the urge to laugh when I speak to a brother in Christ—and now I know why—true fellowship reminds us that God laughs at our trifling fears.
Rembrandt, “Self-Portrait”, (1668)
Tagged as Catholic, Christ, Christian, Christianity, faith, God, hope, Howard Hain, Jesus, joy, life, love, peace, prayer, truth |
Exhaust Fumes And Genetic Predisposition Increase Childhood Asthma Risk
Children who carry variations in specific genes that metabolize vehicle emissions are more susceptible to developing asthma, particularly if they live near major roadways, a new study suggests. Researchers found that children who carried variations in two genes and lived within 75 meters of a major road were up to nine times more likely to develop asthma than children who lived further away.
Asthma is the most common chronic disease in children, and previous studies have shown that traffic-related pollution near the home increases asthma risk and reduces lung growth, according to USC experts.
Credit: iStockphoto/Rob Hill
Children who carry variations in specific genes that metabolize vehicle emissions are more susceptible to developing asthma, particularly if they live near major roadways, a study led by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) suggests.
Gluten-free, casein-free diet
Automobile emissions control
Growth hormone treatment
Researchers found that children who carried variations in two genes and lived within 75 meters of a major road were up to nine times more likely to develop asthma than children who lived further away, says Muhammad T. Salam, Ph.D. candidate at the Keck School of Medicine of USC, and the study's lead author. "This is one of the first studies to report that children with certain genetic backgrounds are even more susceptible to asthma than if they lived near major roads and did not carry the variations," Salam says. "We are working to understand how traffic-related exposures may interact with these genes, leading to asthma development."
Researchers drew upon data from the Children's Health Study (CHS), a longitudinal study of respiratory health among school-age children in 12 Southern California communities. They compared associations between number of genetic variants and exposure to toxins among more than 3,000 study participants.
Researchers found that high levels of microsomal epoxide hydrolase (EPHX1)--an enzyme that metabolizes polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) in vehicle emissions--was associated with an increased risk for lifetime asthma. Children with high EPHX1 levels who also carried variations in glutathione S-transferase P1 (GSTP1) genes were four times more likely to have asthma.
Among children who lived within 75 meters of a major road, those with high EPHX1 activity were three times more likely to have asthma than those with lower activity. Children who carried both variations and lived within 75 meters of a major road were at the highest asthma risk. The results were consistent for current, early and late onset asthma. "This finding demonstrates the critical role of gene environment interaction in determining disease susceptibility," says David A. Schwartz, M.D., director of the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. "The investigators at USC have identified key genetic variations in biological pathways related to PAH metabolism that are associated with the occurrence of asthma in children who live in close proximity to traffic."
Approximately 12 percent of children in the study carried both of the variations and three percent were in the highest risk group based on where they lived. However, there are a number of genes that could be linked with asthma, and researchers are just beginning to study the associations between genes and environmental factors, Salam says.
"It is difficult to say that if parents with an asthmatic child move further from busy streets, the child will definitely have fewer symptoms," he explains. "All that can be said at this moment is that data from this and other studies show strong evidence that living near heavy traffic increases asthma risks and exacerbates symptoms in children who already have asthma."
Funding for this study came from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, the California Air Resources Board and the Hastings Foundation.
The study will appear in the journal Thorax, and may be available online. Muhammad T. Salam, Pi-Chu Lin, Edward L. Avol, W. James Gauderman, Frank D. Gilliland, "Microsomal Epoxide Hydrolase, Glutathione S-transferase P1, Traffic and Childhood Asthma." Thorax, 2007; doi: 10.1136/thx.2007.080127.�
The above story is based on materials provided by University of Southern California. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
University of Southern California. "Exhaust Fumes And Genetic Predisposition Increase Childhood Asthma Risk." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 23 August 2007. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070820194635.htm>.
University of Southern California. (2007, August 23). Exhaust Fumes And Genetic Predisposition Increase Childhood Asthma Risk. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 31, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070820194635.htm
University of Southern California. "Exhaust Fumes And Genetic Predisposition Increase Childhood Asthma Risk." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070820194635.htm (accessed October 31, 2014).
Transportation Science
Automotive and Transportation |
Emily Singer in Quanta Magazine:
In his fourth-floor lab at Harvard University, Michael Desai has created hundreds of identical worlds in order to watch evolution at work. Each of his meticulously controlled environments is home to a separate strain of baker’s yeast. Every 12 hours, Desai’s robot assistants pluck out the fastest-growing yeast in each world — selecting the fittest to live on — and discard the rest. Desai then monitors the strains as they evolve over the course of 500 generations. His experiment, which other scientists say is unprecedented in scale, seeks to gain insight into a question that has long bedeviled biologists: If we could start the world over again, would life evolve the same way?
Michael Desai, a biologist at Harvard University, uses statistical methods to study basic questions in evolution. Many biologists argue that it would not, that chance mutations early in the evolutionary journey of a species will profoundly influence its fate. “If you replay the tape of life, you might have one initial mutation that takes you in a totally different direction,” Desai said, paraphrasing an idea first put forth by the biologist Stephen Jay Gould in the 1980s.
Desai’s yeast cells call this belief into question. According to results published in Science in June, all of Desai’s yeast varieties arrived at roughly the same evolutionary endpoint (as measured by their ability to grow under specific lab conditions) regardless of which precise genetic path each strain took. It’s as if 100 New York City taxis agreed to take separate highways in a race to the Pacific Ocean, and 50 hours later they all converged at the Santa Monica pier.
The findings also suggest a disconnect between evolution at the genetic level and at the level of the whole organism. Genetic mutations occur mostly at random, yet the sum of these aimless changes somehow creates a predictable pattern. The distinction could prove valuable, as much genetics research has focused on the impact of mutations in individual genes. For example, researchers often ask how a single mutation might affect a microbe’s tolerance for toxins, or a human’s risk for a disease. But if Desai’s findings hold true in other organisms, they could suggest that it’s equally important to examine how large numbers of individual genetic changes work in concert over time.
H/t 3 Quarks Daily.
Labels: biology, evolution |
Innovation Doesn’t Need to be Shrouded in Secrecy
By Jonathan Gagliardi
How do you bridge the realities facing your institution with the real need for a future vision? Such was the question posed by Rick Staisloff, principal of RPK Group, to a group of college and university presidents at ACE2017.
The answer isn’t easy, and it’s often a glaring omission of college and university innovation efforts. Without it, faculty and staff might view efforts at change with skepticism, and they aren’t necessarily wrong to do so.
When improperly used, the word innovation is often associated with the corporatization of higher education, or with disruption. Staff get concerned about their jobs. Faculty worry that administrators and bureaucrats are toying with core academic principles. It’s also perceived as a cost-cutting move. People dig in their heels, and things remain as they are to the detriment of the entire campus community.
Conversations about higher education innovation are too often oversimplified, as if it’s something that can happen anywhere, in any way, at the snap of a finger. But it can’t. Innovation is a messy business that’s innately contextual.
A major hiccup in efforts to innovate is that these efforts aren’t always completely communicated. Picture this: a president walks into a room of faculty talking about return on investment and efficiencies without connecting it to a shared vision for the future. Crickets chirp, but it could be worse. After all, Frankenstein was chased up to the windmill by the town folk with pitchforks and flaming torches.
It’s important to speak to resources—not just dollars—with a focus on the future. Discussing strategic investment, and sometimes, reinvestment, while making it clear that it will help preserve the core elements of your institution’s brand and identity . . . and maybe even grow them, sounds completely different. Having a little data to back it up also helps. Investing in innovation and optimizing what you do best aren’t mutually exclusive. They’re symbiotic, and help shift the conversation from cost-cutting to maximizing return on investment for those who depend so much on the value provided by higher education.
Innovation without intent may as well not happen. It has to be based on a future vision, buy-in, the right incentives, sound implementation, data and evidence, and a focus on student success. That’s the kind of innovation that, while incremental, holds vast potential for colleges and universities nationwide. By doing these things, many colleges and universities could find themselves in a much different—and better—place in the coming years.
Here’s to hoping that happens.
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Jonathan S. Gagliardi
Jonathan Gagliardi serves as associate director for ACE’s Center for Policy Research and Strategy, where he aids in the development and execution of the Center’s research agenda which focuses on issues of diversity and equity in 21st century higher education, public finance and higher education systems, and transformational leadership. His career began in enrollment management… Read more »
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Viral-induced demyelination and neural stem cell-mediated remyelination
Lane, Thomas E. University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
See 64 grants from Thomas Lane
See 14101 grants from University of California Irvine
Tracing the origins of chromosomal translocations in prostate cancer
Optogenetic investigation of olivary inputs to the deep cerebellar nuclei
The Cyto-Protective Role of Hexokinase II During Metabolic Stress
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic disease of the central nervous system (CNS) characterized by multifocal regions of inflammation and myelin destruction. Typically, MS runs a protracted clinical course lasting over several decades with episodes of exacerbation followed by variable periods of remission. Available evidence indicates that the cause of MS is multifactorial and includes the genetic background of the individual as well as environmental influences e.g. viral infection. The development of animal models in which the clinical and histologic pathology is similar to that observed in the majority of MS patients is imperative in order to attempt to better understand the underlying pathological mechanisms contributing to MS. Viral models of demyelination are important tools for studying the pathogenesis of disease. Persistent infection of mice with the neurotropic JHM strain of mouse hepatitis virus (MHV) is characterized by ongoing demyelination mediated by inflammatory T cells and macrophages that is similar both clinically and histologically with the human demyelinating disease multiple sclerosis (MS). Combined with the fact that an environmental agent such as a virus is considered to be a contributing cause of MS, the MHV system offers an excellent model in which to study both the underlying immunopathological mechanisms that may drive demyelination in MS patients as well as novel therapeutic methods for promoting remyelination. Stem cells offer an exciting new avenue for treatment of many autoimmune diseases including MS. We have previously demonstrated that surgical engraftment of self-derived neural stem cells (NSCs) into MHV- infected mice with established demyelination results in improved motor skills associated with extensive remyelination. In addition, we have data supporting that the improvement in both clinical and histologic disease is the result of the engrafted NSCs. We have now focused our attention on how to prolong the life- span of transplanted stem cells as we believe these cells are critical in improving functional outcome. This is clinically relevant in that if human stem cells are used for treatment of MS or other human demyelinating diseases, it is likely they will be derived from a donor source that is not genetically similar to an MS patient;therefore, these cells will be rejected early following transplantation as they are not "self-derived". This research proposal will examine clinically-relevant strategies that may be used for improving the survival of transplanted stem cells by dampening immune responses in the recipient host.
Engraftment of syngeneic mouse neural stem cells (NSCs) into mice with established demyelination results in remyelination associated with recovery of motor skills. However, transplantation of allogeneic mouse NSCs results in rapid rejection associated with no remyelination nor clinical recovery. This proposal will define mechanisms associated with immune-mediated rejection of NSCs as well as methods to dampen the immunogenicity of allogeneic NSCs.
Study SectionClinical Neuroimmunology and Brain Tumors Study Section (CNBT) Program OfficerUtz, Ursula Project Start2011-07-01
NameUniversity of California Irvine DepartmentBiochemistry
CityIrvine
Viral-induced demyelination and neural stem cell-mediated remyelinationLane, Thomas E. / University of California Irvine
Viral-Induced Demyelination and Neural Stem Cell-Mediated RemyelinationLane, Thomas E. / University of Utah
Marro, Brett S; Blanc, Caroline A; Loring, Jeanne F et al. (2014) Promoting remyelination: utilizing a viral model of demyelination to assess cell-based therapies. Expert Rev Neurother 14:1169-79
Chucair-Elliott, Ana J; Conrady, Christopher; Zheng, Min et al. (2014) Microglia-induced IL-6 protects against neuronal loss following HSV-1 infection of neural progenitor cells. Glia 62:1418-34
Weinger, Jason G; Plaisted, Warren C; Maciejewski, Sonia M et al. (2014) Activating receptor NKG2D targets RAE-1-expressing allogeneic neural precursor cells in a viral model of multiple sclerosis. Stem Cells 32:2690-701
Plaisted, Warren C; Weinger, Jason G; Walsh, Craig M et al. (2014) T cell mediated suppression of neurotropic coronavirus replication in neural precursor cells. Virology 449:235-43
Greenberg, Milton L; Weinger, Jason G; Matheu, Melanie P et al. (2014) Two-photon imaging of remyelination of spinal cord axons by engrafted neural precursor cells in a viral model of multiple sclerosis. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 111:E2349-55
Fan, Rong; Bonde, Sabrina; Gao, Peng et al. (2012) Dynamic HoxB4-regulatory network during embryonic stem cell differentiation to hematopoietic cells. Blood 119:e139-47
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Women in Leadership Strategy
Promoting equality and dismantling barriers
The Women in Leadership initiative was announced by the Secretary, Peter N Varghese AO, in December 2014 to look into the reasons why women’s career progression in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) is not equal to that of men. The department can only perform at its best if all staff have the opportunity to reach their full potential. Unequal representation of men and women at our senior levels suggests we are not maximising our capability.
An external consultant, Deborah May, was engaged in February 2015 to look into the barriers to women reaching leadership positions in the department and make recommendations. At the same time, internal data analysis was undertaken to examine gender trends across the department’s operations. The actions set out in this strategy have been developed from the findings and recommendations of the May Review, the “Women in DFAT” data paper and staff feedback and suggestions. The strategy should be read in conjunction with the DFAT Strategic Workforce Planning Framework 2015-17.
Purpose and context
Over 57 per cent of the department’s staff are women, yet women make up fewer than 34 per cent of our Senior Executive Service (SES) and only 27 per cent of our heads of missions and posts. Women are applying for senior leadership roles at proportionally lower rates than men, despite performance data showing that women are performing as well as or better than men at all levels across the department. This suggests that the department’s culture constrains women’s choices and it is not applying the merit principle fully or making the most of its talent.
The May Review has identified a number of factors which disadvantage women in DFAT, including fundamental aspects of our culture and organisational norms and practices. This strategy aims to address the barriers to women reaching their full potential in their DFAT careers, including by addressing subtle and underlying issues which may hold women back. This strategy is about strengthening our capability by enabling all of our staff to reach their full potential. Workforce flexibility is not just a gender issue. It is ultimately about productivity. That said, the strategy is also about promoting gender equality and ensuring our culture and practices are non-discriminatory. Change will require not just new policy approaches, but committed and accountable leadership. There is a strong business case for improving gender diversity. Empirical evidence shows that diverse teams produce stronger outcomes. Various research studies have demonstrated that organisations with a critical mass of women in senior management perform better across a range of performance markers than organisations with less gender diversity in senior management. Improving the diversity of our Senior Executive Service will broaden the range of views and ideas we bring to our work and improve our ability to understand and respond to a fast-changing world. A more diverse department will also reflect better the community we represent and the global environment in which we operate. The Women in Leadership initiative is about shaping the department to achieve the best outcomes under the Strategic Framework and bringing to life our Values Statement. It sits alongside the Leadership Charter and the department’s broader commitment to workplace diversity in setting out our expectations of the values and qualities which all staff will incorporate into their daily work practices. The actions identified in this strategy are not exhaustive. Achieving genuine gender equality and effecting cultural change will be an iterative process and work areas should take the initiative to explore additional and new ideas. We should seek to be a leader in modelling gender equality wherever we are located. Posts should consider how best to apply this strategy in their local circumstances and are encouraged to develop post-specific strategies to address gender equality and career progression for locally engaged staff (LES). This should draw on feedback from LES and the actions outlined here and take into account the local cultural context, work practices and post structure. The WIL Secretariat is available to assist posts as required.
Our goal is a workplace which maximises performance and capability by enabling all women and men to thrive equally. All staff should be able to participate and progress commensurate with their talent and aspirations and feel valued and inspired to do their best.
What is inclusive leadership?
Inclusive leadership involves fostering, seeking out and listening to diverse perspectives to strengthen work practices, policy development and decision making. Staff who feel included as valuable team members in their workplace are more likely to be motivated and to feel trusted and empowered to perform well. Fostering an inclusive workplace culture can set in motion a virtuous cycle: inclusive cultures attract and retain diverse talent while diverse talent drives a more inclusive culture. This virtuous cycle is correlated with strengthened capability.
Inclusive leadership guiding principles
Change for gender equality requires a commitment from all staff. Managers in particular need to understand the case for gender diversity and how their actions contribute. Executive level staff play a particular role as ‘keepers of the culture’ and future leaders. In accordance with the Leadership Charter, all managers are expected to lead by example and to be aware of their power as role models in embedding change.
All staff are expected to practice inclusive leadership in the workplace. All managers will be assessed on whether they:
Lead by example to build a more inclusive culture and make gender diversity a business priority. Understand their impact as managers and consider: what I say; how I act; what I prioritise; what I measure. Seek feedback.
Take responsibility and demonstrate trust. Are creative, ambitious and ‘can-do’ in identifying strategies to promote diversity, including relating to flexible and part-time work for men and women.
Recognise and reward behaviour that is inclusive and challenge behaviour that is not. Take issues up the line where needed.
Find opportunities to talk about gender diversity with teams.
Share career-enhancing opportunities equally among staff and are accountable for doing so.
Discuss career aspirations and planning with staff. Ensure part-time and flexible workers and staff returning from maternity/parental leave are not penalised or assumptions made about their interest in development opportunities or availability for short-term missions.
Identify high-potential female staff and support their career progression, with particular strategies for those with flexible or part-time work arrangements, or returning from maternity/parental leave.
Manage meetings to accommodate different styles and ensure diverse voices are heard. For example, rotate chair responsibilities where appropriate, seek out women’s voices, introduce a ‘no interruptions’ rule.
Aim for gender balance on departmental committees and among speakers for panels and conferences. Showcase female and male role models who work part time or flexibly. Foster a culture which recognises and celebrates the contribution of women.
Our strategy: dismantling the barriers
A range of interconnected actions are required to address the barriers to women’s career progression and create a culture in which all staff can thrive. Action areas under this strategy have been divided into four headings:
Leadership and culture
Accountability and inclusion Embedding substantive equality
Mainstreaming flexible work and dismantling barriers for carers
Through strengthening our leadership culture, reinforcing the DFAT values and mainstreaming flexible work practices, the actions proposed are expected to bring benefits to men and women alike. This strategy refers to substantive equality: while policies and procedures may provide equal opportunity at face value, they do not always deliver intended outcomes due to other subtle and complex dynamics which can indirectly discriminate. Substantive equality means our focus is on achieving equitable outcomes anchored in the merit principle. A. Leadership and culture
Inclusive, accountable leadership from the top down sets the tone and creates momentum for change. Signals of cultural change empower staff. All staff take responsibility for implementing change.
The Secretary and senior leadership take responsibility as visible lead advocates and role models for change. Timeline: immediate and ongoing
Inclusive leadership to be reflected in performance agreements and assessments at all levels and become a tested criterion in EL2 and SES postings and promotion/recruitment rounds. Responsible area and timeline: all managers and CMD; immediate and ongoing
Reward inclusive leadership through the Secretary’s annual Leadership Award and other departmental Australia Day citations. Responsible area and timeline: Secretary, CMD, Protocol; immediate and ongoing
Rename appropriate DFAT meeting rooms after inspirational women in Australian diplomacy, trade and development cooperation. Consider new ways to promote female and male role models and champions and inspire staff, for example, by profiling senior staff, holding seminars and using appropriate opportunities to highlight the achievements of women in the department. Responsible area and timeline: CMD, PCD; 6 months
Designate the WIL Secretariat to advise staff and managers on implementation of this strategy, to be the go to point when difficulties arise and to advocate for staff as required. Appoint an SES Band 3 advocate to promote implementation of the strategy and respond to issues where necessary. Responsible area and timeline: CMD; immediate
B. Accountability and inclusion
Gender data is routinely collected and made available. Changes are based on fact-based processes and monitored to understand progress. Gender diversity objectives are integrated into business processes and managers held to account.
Sex-disaggregated data to be reported more systematically to staff annually and measured against previous years to track progress (data to include staff composition by gender and level, staff distribution by area/region, promotions, postings – including HOM/HOPs, flexible/part-time work, graduate intakes, performance management).
Responsible area and timeline: CMD; ongoing
Sex-disaggregated data to be published systematically for all recruitment/promotion rounds, graduate intakes, postings processes and HOM/HOP appointments, showing gender breakdown for applications, interviews and outcomes.
Responsible area and timeline: CMD; immediate and ongoing
Targets are set for the representation of women at the SES Band 1 and Band 2 levels, with the goal of achieving 40-40-20 gender balance at these levels by 2020. That is, 40 per cent women, 40 per cent men and 20 per cent either. Evidence indicates that workplace culture becomes more gender inclusive in organisations with over 40 per cent women in senior leadership positions. The targets are based on workforce planning data and are designed to be ambitious but achievable. They take into account a number of variable factors which will impact on our ability to meet them. These include: the anticipated attrition rate of SES Band 1 and 2 men and women; the anticipated number of positions available; and the need to replace women who are promoted from SES Band 1 before percentages increase at that level. For the sake of projections, the targets assume overall 50-50 outcomes by gender in aggregate promotion/recruitment rounds to SES Band 1 and 2. The targets will be reviewed and reported on annually.
40 per cent by end 2018 for SES Band 1 (currently 36 per cent)
43 per cent by end 2020 for SES Band 1
With CMD, divisions to work towards an internal gender balance within a 40 to 60 per cent bandwidth (ie, within each division) where this is not already the case.
Responsible area and timeline: all divisions and CMD; immediate and ongoing
Questions relevant to the successful implementation of this strategy to be included in DFAT corporate surveys and/or the APS Census, for example, on the link between career progression and flexible work and/or inclusive leadership in practice.
Responsible area and timeline: CMD; from the launch of the next survey
C. Embedding substantive equality
The barriers to gender equality are understood and specific measures introduced to address unconscious bias and ensure women are getting the right experience and support to develop and advance their careers. Policies and practices around workforce planning and promotions and postings are reviewed and adjusted to support substantive equality.
Ask ‘50/50 if not, why not?’ for gender balance in all shortlisting processes and include female candidates in all HOM/HOP fields. Take a long view of experience to evaluate the suitability of candidates so that those returning from maternity/parental or other long leave are not disadvantaged.
Responsible area and timeline: CMD; immediate
Introduce a briefing on unconscious bias for all selection panels and committees, including placements, postings, promotions/recruitment, before the panel meets. Consider ways to strengthen the application of the merit principle in recruitment/promotion processes and take unconscious bias into account.
Responsible area and timeline: CMD, by mid-2016
Introduce mandatory unconscious bias training for all managers, as well as key human resources staff.
Responsible area and timeline: CMD, roll-out from second quarter 2016
CMD to review options for sponsorship, talent management programs and/or career coaching to support career development, including of high-potential staff.
Responsible area and timeline: CMD; first quarter 2016
Initiate a DFAT Women’s Network and encourage and leverage other collegial networks (such as the EL2 Network, Families Network, Disability Network, LGBTI Network and Indigenous Employees Network) to support an inclusive workplace environment.
Responsible area and timeline: CMD; take steps to initiate a Women’s Network by end 2015
Review options for career development which accommodates non-linear career paths and provides increased opportunities for Canberra-based career paths and gaining deep expertise, including for part-time staff.
Responsible area and timeline: CMD; discussion paper first quarter 2016
Ensure HOMs and senior managers properly mentor staff proceeding on their first posting to provide support, help identify and resolve issues and reduce potential feelings of isolation.
Responsible area and timeline: HOM/HOPs, CMD; immediate
D. Mainstreaming flexible work and dismantling barriers for carers
Promote flexibility and work-life balance from the top down and explore and enable flexible work formats. Measure take-up and outcomes. Ensure flexible workers are not penalised and that workloads are fairly balanced, including for non-flexible workers. Have clear policies around maternity/parental leave and help make it a positive experience. Remove barriers to workforce participation. Encourage and support men to take up flexible work opportunities and use parental leave.
As a six-month trial across six or more Canberra divisions, adopt an ‘if not why not?’ approach to flexible work when a request for flexible work arrangements is made. When a request is made, a position will be presumed suitable for flexible work, including flexible, part-time, work from home or job-sharing, unless it is demonstrated why it is not suitable for sound operational reasons. Build on experience and roll out the policy for all Canberra and STO positions by mid-2016. Posts to consider ways to improve access to flexible working arrangements where possible. CMD to trial a job share register and develop guidance for divisions and managers on managing staff in flexible work arrangements. Further consideration to be given to the role of technology/portable devices in enabling flexible work.
Responsible area and timeline: CMD to coordinate; trial to commence in fourth quarter 2015
Require divisions to report quarterly to CMD on the take up of flexible work arrangements, including numbers of male and female staff working part-time, remotely from a post or STO, from home or in job sharing arrangements, and include data in annual gender reporting.
Responsible area and timeline: all divisions, CMD; from fourth quarter 2015
Further explore and strengthen creative options to provide ongoing employment, including remote working opportunities, for DFAT spouses accompanying a partner to post or other remote work location and create a register of interested staff to ensure equal opportunity.
Review policies to improve conditions for families at post, including: consideration of childcare arrangements and costs, particularly for children aged under three; setting out post expectations for out of hours representation requirements in post reports and position descriptions; and support for spouses, including to find employment.
Responsible area and timeline: CMD; 2016
Review and clarify policies around maternity/adoption/parental leave to make the experience as positive as possible, including for staff at post. Capture all relevant information in an easy to access and understand format. Wherever feasible, give positive consideration to requests to backfill maternity/adoption leave at posts.
Take steps to engage staff on long-term leave, including maternity/adoption/parental leave, by facilitating remote IT access as possible. Encourage line areas to stay in touch and extend invitations to work place events and functions.
Responsible area and timeline: CMD, PCD, IMD; first quarter 2016
Clarify policies around workplace support for breastfeeding mothers, including to undertake work-related travel. Review breastfeeding facilities in DFAT offices in Canberra and enhance to maintain Australian Breastfeeding Association accreditation. For all other DFAT offices improve breastfeeding facilities as required.
Review the emergency childcare provisions to give broader scope to funding childcare requirements arising from peak work periods.
Actions for consideration by divisions, posts and State and Territory Offices
Divisions, posts and STOs are encouraged to discuss this strategy as a work unit and identify ways in which they can implement and embed the change it envisages. Actions for work areas to consider are listed below. This is not intended to be an exhaustive list and work areas should be creative in identifying new approaches to promote gender equality and work-life balance for all staff.
Review leadership messaging and role modelling to reflect the Guiding Principles.
Review flexible work arrangements and identify new and creative approaches. Discuss ways to manage flexible work arrangements as a team and balance workloads fairly. Hold regular meetings or events at times which enable the participation of flexible workers.
Identify career enhancing opportunities in the work unit. Measure and report on how these are distributed between staff.
Consider strategies for achieving a 40 to 60 per cent gender diversity bandwidth in divisions/posts/STOs, where this is not the case.
Identify high-potential women. Discuss and map out career aspirations and development opportunities, including training. Encourage them to apply for promotion.
Review performance assessments of part-time and flexible workers and identify any discrepancies between ratings for full time and part time/flexible workers. Where discrepancies exist, take steps to understand why and address if necessary. Ensure events are gender balanced wherever feasible.
Take the Secretary’s lead and adopt the Panel Pledge: http://malechampionsofchange.com/commit-to-the-panel-pledge/
Identify successful flexible work practices and replicate them.
Showcase female and male role models.
Consider how technology, such as blackberries, access tokens and ipads, can support your flexible workers and allocate accordingly.
Meet to discuss and review progress twice a year.
This initiative is overseen by the Women in Leadership Steering Group, which was established in February 2015 and is chaired by the Secretary. The Steering Group will review progress under the strategy twice a year and provide an annual progress report to staff. Reviews will include updates to the strategy as required.
The Steering Group is supported by the Women in Leadership Secretariat, based in the Corporate Management Division. The Secretariat will work with line areas to identify potential issues and risks associated with action items and to monitor progress, measure outcomes and make suggestions. It will report biannually to the Steering Group.
Queries, suggestions and requests for further information regarding this strategy should be directed to the Women in Leadership Secretariat: [email protected]
Women in Leadership Steering Group Membership
Peter Varghese, Secretary
External Members
Elizabeth Broderick, former Sex Discrimination Commissioner
Simon Rothery, CEO Goldman Sachs, Australia & New Zealand
Ex Officio Members
John Fisher, FAS CMD
Greg Ralph, WRC Representative
Samantha Keech-Marx, DFAT Families Network
Staff Representatives
Katrina Cooper
Minoli Perera
Jennifer Noble
Cheryl Seeto
Claire Ripley
Adviser to the Steering Group
Sally Moyle, Principal Gender Sector Specialist
Women in Leadership Secretariat
Sophia McIntyre, Director
Cathy McWilliam, Assistant Director
Category: Corporate
Women in Leadership Strategy [PDF 2.13mb]
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Chris Rosenblum | Children’s Dyslexia Center builds reading, writing skills along with self-confidence
The Children’s Dyslexia Center, a private, nonprofit school in Ferguson Township, helps children with dyslexia or related learning disabilities unlock the secrets of reading, spelling and writing.
David Klein, 11, goes over exercises with his tutor Andrea Mills at the Children’s Dyslexia Center on Thursday.
By Chris Rosenblum LinkedIn
Tucked into a tiny room, David Klein works with the concentration of a cryptologist.
David, 11, is indeed deciphering a mysterious code — the English language.
On a Thursday evening, he’s having a lesson at the Children’s Dyslexia Center, a private, nonprofit school in Ferguson Township that helps children with dyslexia or related learning disabilities unlock the secrets of reading, spelling and writing.
At a brisk pace during the 45-minute session, David and his tutor, Andrea Mills, review suffixes such as “-ful,” spell words, practice reading and analyze vowel sounds.
“Good,” Mills says as David copies “sinking” along with other words containing the “nk” combination. “Oh, I like how you did that little ‘g’ on there.”
At one point, the sixth-grader writes a dictated sentence, practicing cursive. Frequently, at Mills’ prompt, he “codes” words: marking long or short vowels, consonants, syllable types and digraphs like “ai.”
“What’s a digraph?” Mills says.
“A digraph is two letters, one sound,” David correctly answers.
David, a bright boy from Boalsburg who loves Civil War history and historical fiction, has plenty of company in his quest to master the blizzard of linguistic rules and exceptions that most native English speakers consider second nature.
Dyslexia, a neurologically based disorder, affects about 20 percent of schoolchildren. People associate it with transposing letters, but that only scratches the surface. According to the center, dyslexia is a disability that “interferes with the acquisition and processing of language, including phonological processing in reading, writing, spelling, handwriting, and sometimes in arithmetic.”
Dyslexic children often show huge gaps between their natural intelligence and zeal for learning and their reading and writing abilities and test scores — a common warning flag. Frustrated in school, many suffer from teasing and diminished self-confidence.
Marsha Landis, the center’s director, likens the disability to a storage problem. Dyslexic people, she said, struggle to recognize vowel and consonant sounds, letter combinations and spellings because the information isn’t stored in their brain for easy retrieval as it is for non-dyslexics.
They also may take longer to think of the right vocabulary when speaking, leading to difficulty expressing themselves.
“I tell the kids it’s like if your mom says to clean up the room and you throw everything under the bed,” Landis said. “Then when it’s time to get something out of there, you reach under it and it’s not the green sock. It’s the red sock because you can’t see under there and you’re just grabbing whatever it is.”
In a sense, the center’s mission since 2007 has amounted to fostering organization, building efficient mental folders and shelves so that children can recognize words faster for smoother reading and writing.
“It’s training their brains and getting (linguistic information) stored in the correct part of their brains,” Landis said.
Located in the Cato Park office complex, the center serves 15 counties, yet Landis said it’s still something of a secret among teachers and families who could benefit from the resource. It shouldn’t be. Instruction is free, the $5,000 cost to tutor a child for one school year supported by funding from the Scottish Rite Masons of the Northern Masonic Jurisdiction and tax-exempt donations.
“Word needs to get out,” Landis said. “It’s kind of ridiculous that nobody knows we’re here and we can do such good things for the kids.”
A formal dyslexia diagnosis isn’t necessary to enroll, but applications must include achievement and cognitive abilities assessments done in the recent past.
Children receive two lessons weekly from paid tutors, typically for two years but sometimes for three. Teachers and substitutes often work as tutors, taking advantage of the fact that the training counts toward the state’s required Act 48 hours for ongoing professional education. But the job is open to anyone with a bachelor’s degree.
To become certified, applicants complete 24 hours of lectures and coursework, and then about 100 teaching hours, with 10 of the last lessons observed and evaluated.
Currently, Landis said, she needs more tutors to carry out the center’s multisensory approach to building reading and writing skills — a standard practice with dyslexia instruction. During lessons, children repeat sounds, words and definitions; trace letters with their fingers and “sky write” words, often all at the same time.
“So they’re feeling it while they’re seeing it and hearing themselves say the sound,” Landis said. “Because they have to hear themselves say it, not hear somebody else say it.”
David started at the center last June. From an early age, he loved hearing stories, asking his parents to read books for older children. He loved reading, too, but began to struggle with more sophisticated material.
“Before, I would skip through books and look at the pictures,” he said.
His mother, Michelle Klein, noticed David could discuss history and other subjects eloquently, but when it came time to write, he chose “short, factual sentences using basic words.”
“Which is in no way how he talks,” Klein said. “That’s how I knew it was such a big difference for him.”
David still finds writing and spelling hard, but they’re not as perplexing as before.
“It’s been getting better,” he said. “They teach me the rules. I feel like I can get my words out on paper better.”
His mother sees the confidence. The instruction, she said, has “unlocked many doors for him.”
“I think it helped him connect to the fact that reading is a way to explore the world and find out things,” Klein said. “Now he enjoys on his own reading longer fiction books. We didn’t have that before.”
Stefania Rhoades, of Spring Mills, also appreciates the boost the center has given her 8-year-old, Luca Hipp, after about 18 months.
“Just in the first year, he grew so much,” Rhoades said. “He uses what he’s learned from the learning center every day in school.”
Like David, Luca enjoyed being read to, but he never wanted to read back.
Not any more.
“He loves to read,” Rhoades said. “We still have a ways to go. You can tell his mind gets exhausted, but I feel we have gotten so far.”
Landis treasures all her success stories — the boy who arrived practically illiterate and now holds an A average in the ninth grade and plans to go to college; the girl once unable to read or spell who’s taking Penn State courses as a high school junior.
She loves every memory of students diving into Harry Potter or Agatha Christie books by the end of their tutoring.
But she reserves a special place in her heart for the annual summer graduation picnic. Each child receives a gift. Tutors share stories from the year. Everyone cries, parents and teachers alike.
“We all get teary,” Landis said. “It’s like we know (progress) is going to happen, and we’ve seen it over and over, but you still get that really good feeling.”
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Researchers create superhard diamond-denting material that may be used in protective coatings
A superhard mixture of crushed carbon spheres and a hydrocarbon solvent is the world's first hybrid crystalline/amorphous material. Its creation by an international scientific team that included Wendy Mao, a Stanford University professor and SLAC researcher, was announced in the most recent issue of Science magazine.
The new material is one of a class that is hard enough to dent diamond, the hardest known material. The team created it by squeezing a mixture of soccer-ball-shaped carbon-60 molecules (popularly known as "buckyballs") and a xylene solvent to extremely high pressures - up to 600,000 times atmospheric pressure - in a device called a diamond anvil cell. The cell holds a tiny amount of material that is pressed between the flattened tips of two opposing diamonds. Scientists can shine lasers or X-rays through the transparent diamonds to observe and identify any atomic-scale changes caused by the rising pressure.
These new materials were created at Argonne National Laboratory's Advanced Photon Source by a team mostly associated with the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Washington. A former Geophysical Lab scientist herself, Mao has continued to collaborate on projects there since she moved to Stanford and SLAC in 2007.
Unlike earlier pressure-created carbon materials that Mao has created, this one retained its superhard compressed structure after the pressure was released, so it may ultimately find some industrial application, such as a wear-resistant protective coating.
"Although we haven't yet tested its properties directly, we know it's superhard because it dented the diamond anvil face," Mao said. "Our next step is to test this new material's properties. If they prove desirable, then we'd want to devise an economical way of making it. The diamond anvil cell is a great tool for discovery, but not for high-volume manufacturing."
Most intriguing scientifically is that this material retained the long-range, regular molecular pattern that is characteristic of crystals even after the intense pressure crushed its major constituents - the buckyballs - into jumbled, amorphous blobs of carbon. The scientists determined that the solvent molecules played a crucial role in preserving the material's crystallinity.
"Hybridization of crystalline and amorphous structures at an atomic level hasn't been experimentally observed, although scientists believed such structures could be created," said the paper's first author, Carnegie scientist Lin Wang. "The finding in this paper should be the first of its kind."
Mao is a member of the Stanford Institute for Materials and Energy Sciences, a joint institute of SLAC and Stanford.
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The United Methodist Church (2008) *
We recognize science as a legitimate interpretation of God’s natural world. We affirm the validity of the claims of science in describing the natural world and in determining what is scientific. We preclude science from making authoritative claims about theological issues and theology from making authoritative claims about scientific issues. We find that science’s descriptions of cosmological, geological, and biological evolution are not in conflict with theology. We recognize medical, technical, and scientific technologies as legitimate uses of God’s natural world when such use enhances human life and enables all of God’s children to develop their God-given creative potential without violating our ethical convictions about the relationship of humanity to the natural world. We reexamine our ethical convictions as our understanding of the natural world increases. We find that as science expands human understanding of the natural world, our understanding of the mysteries of God’s creation and word are enhanced.
In acknowledging the important roles of science and technology, however, we also believe that theological understandings of human experience are crucial to a full understanding of the place of humanity in the universe. Science and theology are complementary rather than mutually incompatible. We therefore encourage dialogue between the scientific and theological communities and seek the kind of participation that will enable humanity to sustain life on earth and, by God’s grace, increase the quality of our common lives together. |
The New Demography of American Motherhood
By Gretchen Livingston and D’Vera Cohn
This report examines the changing demographic characteristics of U.S. mothers by comparing women who gave birth in 2008 with those who gave birth in 1990. It is based on data from the National Center for Health Statistics and the Census Bureau. It also presents results of a nationwide Pew Research Center survey that asked a range of questions about parenthood.
Among the key findings of this report:
Age: Mothers of newborns are older now than their counterparts were two decades ago. In 1990, teens had a higher share of all births (13%) than did women ages 35 and older (9%). In 2008, the reverse was true — 10% of births were to teens, compared with 14% to women ages 35 and older. Each race and ethnic group had a higher share of mothers of newborns in 2008 who are ages 35 and older, and a lower share who are teens, than in 1990.
Marital Status: A record four-in-ten births (41%) were to unmarried women in 2008, including most births to women in their early 20s. In 1990, 28% of births were to unmarried women. The unmarried-mother share of births has increased most sharply for whites and Hispanics, although the highest share is for black women.
Race and Ethnicity: White women made up 53% of mothers of newborns in 2008, down from 65% in 1990. The share of births to Hispanic women has grown dramatically, to one-in-four.
Education: Most mothers of newborns (54%) had at least some college education in 2006, an increase from 41% in 1990. Among mothers of newborns who were ages 35 and older, 71% had at least some college education.
Explaining the Trends: All the trends cited above reflect a complex mix of demographic and behavioral factors. For example, the higher share of college-educated mothers stems both from their rising birth rates and from women’s increasing educational attainment. The rise in births to unmarried women reflects both their rising birth rates and the shrinking share of adults who are married.
Attitudes about Parenthood: When asked why they decided to have their first (or only) child, the overwhelming majority of parents (87%) answer, “The joy of having children.” But nearly half (47%) also say, “There wasn’t a reason; it just happened.”
The demography of motherhood in the United States has shifted strikingly in the past two decades. Compared with mothers of newborns in 1990, today’s mothers of newborns are older and better educated. They are less likely to be white and less likely to be married.
In 1990, there were more births to teenagers than to women ages 35 and older. By 2008, that had reversed — 14% of births were to older women and 10% were to teens. Births to women ages 35 and older grew 64% between 1990 and 2008, increasing in all major race and ethnic groups.
Another notable change during this period was the rise in births to unmarried women. In 2008, a record 41% of births in the United States were to unmarried women, up from 28% in 1990. The share of births that are non-marital is highest for black women (72%), followed by Hispanics (53%), whites (29%) and Asians (17%), but the increase over the past two decades has been greatest for whites — the share rose 69%.
Just over half of births (53%) in 2008 were to white women, and a quarter (24%) were to Hispanic women. More than half of the mothers of newborns (54% in 2006) had at least some college education. One-in-four (24% in 2004) was foreign born.
The shift in characteristics of motherhood over the past two decades is linked to a complex mixture of demographic and behavioral changes. This analysis examines and explains these trends using data from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) and the U.S. Census Bureau. A separate section (found in the complete report), based on a Pew Research Center survey, explores the reasons people say they became parents and examines public attitudes about key trends shaping today’s birth patterns.
The recasting of American motherhood takes place against a backdrop of relative stability in the total number of births — 4.3 million in 2008, compared with 4.2 million in 1990. The number had risen each year from 2003 to 2007 before declining by about 66,000; the decrease appears to be linked to the economic downturn.
The nation’s birth rate (births per 1,000 women of childbearing age) has declined 20% from 1990. Rates have declined for all major race and ethnic groups. The birth rate for married women is stable, but it has risen for unmarried women.
Population changes are a key factor influencing birth patterns in recent decades. There are fewer women in the prime childbearing years now than in 1990, as the youngest members of the giant Baby Boom generation have aged into their mid-40s. But changes in the race and ethnic makeup of young women — chiefly, the growth of the Hispanic population, which has higher birth rates than other groups — have helped keep birth numbers relatively level.
Another influence on births is the nation’s growing number of immigrants, who tend to have higher birth rates than the native born (although those rates have declined in recent years). The share of births to foreign-born mothers, 15% of U.S. births in 1990, has grown at least 60% through 2004. Births to foreign-born women in 2004 accounted for the majority of Hispanic (61%) and Asian (83%) births.
According to Pew Research Center population projections, 82% of the nation’s population growth through 2050 will be accounted for by immigrants who arrived in the U.S. after 2005 and their descendants, assuming current trends continue. Of the 142 million people added to the population from 2005 to 2050, according to the projections, 50 million will be the children or grandchildren of new immigrants.
Attitudes about Birth Trends
Americans are marrying later in life, or not at all, which has contributed to the growth in births outside marriage. Most Americans say they know at least one woman who had a baby while she was not married, and one man who fathered a child while he was not married, according to a Pew Research Center survey. Americans have softened slightly in their disapproval of unmarried parenthood, but most say it is bad for society.
The survey found that Americans are neutral or approving of two other trends that have an impact on birth patterns. One is the growing number of women ages 40 and older who have babies, a group whose relatively small birth rate has tripled since 1990. The other is the increasing number of women, often those over 30, who undergo fertility treatment in order to have a baby.
When Americans are asked what is the ideal number of children for a family, the most popular answer, according to the survey, is “two” — as it has been since the 1970s. And, indeed, among women with childre
n at the end of their reproductive years — ages 40-44 in 2006 — the largest share (43%) had two. An additional 22% each had one or three children, 8% had four and 4% had five or more.
There are race and ethnic variations in family sizes. Nearly half of Hispanic women ages 40-44 with children (48%) have three or more, compared with 27% of Asian women.
The Pew Research Center survey also asked parents why they decided to have their first child, and for the overwhelming majority, the answer is, “the joy of having children.” However, a half century after the Food and Drug Administration approved the sale of birth control pills, nearly half of parents say “there wasn’t a reason; it just happened.”
Older Mothers
The average age for U.S. mothers who had their first baby in 2008 was 25, a year older than the average first-time mother in 1990. Among all women who had a baby in 2008, the average age is 27, up from 26 in 1990. The prime child-bearing years remain 20-34 — three-quarters of mothers of newborns are in this age range. Birth rates peak among women in their late 20s.
Since 1990, birth rates have risen for all women ages 30 and older. Although in some cases the number of births is small, the rate increases have been sharpest for women in the oldest age groups — 47% for women ages 35-39 and 80% for women ages 40-44, for example.
This delay in age of motherhood is associated with delay in age of marriage and with growing educational attainment. The more education a woman has, the later she tends to marry and have children. Birth rates also have risen for the most educated women, those with at least some college education, while being relatively stable for women with less education. These dual factors have worked together to increase the education levels of mothers of newborns.
Fertility Higher Than in Other Developed Nations
Another measure of birth levels is the total fertility rate, or number of children the average woman is predicted to have, based on current age-specific birth rates. That rate for the United States, 2.10 in 20081, is about what it was in 1990. The number is about or slightly below the “replacement rate” — that is, the level at which enough children are born to replace their parents in the population — and has been for most years since the baby bust of the early 1970s.
Compared with Canada, and most nations in Europe and Asia, the U.S. has a higher total fertility rate. Rates such as 1.4 in Austria, Italy and Japan have produced concern about whether those nations will have enough people of working age in the future to support their elderly populations, and whether their total populations could decline in size.
Why are fertility rates somewhat higher in the United States than in other developed nations? Some researchers contend that fertility rates are low in some other developed countries-Italy and Japan, for example-in part because of lack of support for mothers who also hold paid employment. Those countries also have a lower share of births to unmarried women. The religiosity of the U.S. population also has been suggested as a factor, because it is associated with a desire for larger families.2
Read the full report for more details.
The rate before rounding, according to the Population Reference Bureau, is 2.098. According to preliminary 2008 birth data from the National Center for Health Statistics, the rate is 2.086. The replacement rate is 2.100. ↩
Preston, Samuel H. and Caroline Sten Hartnett. “The Future of American Fertility.” National Bureau of Economic Research. Working Paper 14498. 2008. ↩
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HPV declining among U.S. teens thanks to vaccine
A pediatrician (L) gives an HPV vaccination to a 13-year-old girl on September 21, 2011 in Miami (AFP)
The number of US girls with the sexually transmitted disease HPV has dropped by about half even though relatively few youths are getting the vaccine, research showed on Wednesday.
Human papillomavirus is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States and has been linked to cervical cancer in women as well as in oral, head and neck cancers, particularly among men, health officials said.
Since a vaccine against HPV was introduced in 2006, 56 percent fewer girls age 14-19 have become infected, said the research announced by the US Centers for Disease Control and published in The Journal of Infectious Diseases.
CDC Director Tom Frieden described the findings as a “wake-up call” that the vaccine works and should be more widely used. Currently, about one-third of girls age 13-17 are fully vaccinated.
“It is possible to protect a generation from cancer and we have got to do it,” Frieden told reporters.
The study used nationwide survey data to compare HPV rates before the HPV vaccine was widely available (2003-2006) to afterward (2007-2010).
“The decline in vaccine type prevalence is higher than expected,” said lead author Lauri Markowitz.
Possible reasons for the decline include “herd immunity, high effectiveness with less than a complete three-dose series and/or changes in sexual behavior we could not measure,” she said.
US health officials urge routine vaccination for both boys and girls age 11-12, before sexual activity begins. A series of three shots is recommended over six months.
The CDC says about 79 million Americans, most in their late teens and early 20s, are infected with HPV, and every year some 14 million people become newly infected.
Often the virus clears the body on its own but some strains, if left unchecked, can lead to cancer.
HPV is believed to cause 19,000 cancers per year among women in the United States, with cervical cancer being the most common.
About 8,000 cancers caused by HPV occur in men each year in the United States, mainly throat cancers. |
Structure of Enzyme Topoisomerase II Alpha Unravelled Providing Basis for More Accurate Design of Chemotherapeutic Drugs
Reports new study in Journal of Molecular Biology
Cambridge, MA, November 15, 2012 – A group of researchers at the University of California, Berkeley have for the first time described the structure of the active site core of topoisomerase II alpha, an important target for anti-cancer drugs.
The type II topoisomerases are important enzymes that are involved in maintaining the structure of DNA and chromosome segregation during both replication and transcription of DNA. One of these enzymes, topoisomerase II alpha, is involved in the replication of DNA and cell proliferation, and is highly expressed in rapidly dividing cancer cells. As such, this enzyme is the primary target of chemotherapeutic small molecule inhibitors such as etoposide. A major drawback to the use of these drugs is their association with secondary malignancies in some patients -- a side effect believed to be caused by a cross-reaction with topoisomerase II beta, another member of this family that is involved in DNA transcription.
In their study the group of researchers, led by Professor James Berger, report securing the structure of the active site core of topoisomerase II alpha in complex with DNA. They describe the conformational changes undergone by the enzyme during DNA binding and cleavage. While the structure of etoposide-inhibited topoisomerase II beta has been previously established by others, this is the first time similar structural information has been available for topoisomerase II alpha. Comparing the structures of these enzymes could assist in the design of more specific etoposide-like drugs, and reduce the risk of secondary malignancies.
“We hope this work will lead to an improved understanding of the mechanisms by which select small-molecule agents inhibit type II topoisomerase function, as well as help guide the development of new or improved antibacterial and anticancer drugs against enzymes of this class,” said Professor Berger.
In a commentary accompanying the article, Professor N. Patrick Higgins of the University of Alabama, states that, together with the previously published structure of topoisomerase II beta, “...these two structures provide key information that will be relevant to understanding how these closely related proteins perform different roles during cell growth and tissue development. The newly described structure could also provide the basis for the design of more selective drugs, with a lower risk of side effects.”
The article is “The Structure of DNA-Bound Human Topoisomerase II Alpha: Conformational Mechanisms for Coordinating Inter-Subunit Interactions with DNA Cleavage” by Timothy J. Wendorff, Bryan H. Schmidt, Pauline Heslop, Caroline A. Austin, and James M. Berger (doi:10.1016/j.jmb.2012.07.014). The article appears in Journal of Molecular Biology, Volume 424, Issue 3-4, pages 109–124 (7 December 2012), published by Elsevier.
Full text of the article is available to credentialed journalists upon request; contact Meghan Jendrysik at +1 617 397 2845 or [email protected]. Journalists wishing to interview the authors may contact James Berger at +1 510 643 9483 or [email protected].
About Journal of Molecular Biology
The Journal of Molecular Biology provides high quality, comprehensive and broad coverage in all areas of molecular biology. The journal publishes original scientific research papers that provide functional and mechanistic insights and report a significant advance to the field. The journal encourages the submission of multidisciplinary studies that use complementary experimental and computational approaches to address challenging biological questions. http://www.journals.elsevier.com/journal-of-molecular-biology/
Meghan Jendrysik
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Educating Americans for the 21st Century
Highly Recommended: Teaching Climate Change And Evolution in Science Class
On Tuesday, United States educators unveiled a new science curriculum that includes new subjects like climate change and evolution
By Rose Eveleth
Image: Marie
School kids these days are dealing with all sorts of new pressures—gun violence, fierce competition to get into college, cyber bullying, regular bullying. One of the only parts of school that hasn’t changed much is the material students actually have to learn. But on Tuesday, United States educators unveiled a revamped science curriculum that includes new subjects like climate change and evolution.
Called the Next Generation Science Standards, the curriculum is the first change in science instruction standards since 1996. For context, 1996 was the year that we first sequenced the yeast genome, that scholarly journals went on the world wide web for the first time, and that Dolly the sheep was born. The consortium that created the guidelines has this to say:
Quality science education is based on standards that are rich in content and practice, with aligned curricula, pedagogy, assessment, and teacher preparation and development. It has been nearly 15 years since the National Research Council and the American Association for Advancement in Science produced the seminal documents on which most state standards are based. Since that time, major advances in science and our understanding of how students learn science have taken place and need to be reflected in state standards. The time is right to forge Next Generation Science Standards.
The standards come from a consortium of 26 state governments, and while they aren’t mandatory, they’re strongly recommended. So far 26 states have adopted the standards, while other are sure to resist them. Here’s how the New York Times describes the new guidelines:
The focus would be helping students become more intelligent science consumers by learning how scientific work is done: how ideas are developed and tested, what counts as strong or weak evidence, and how insights from many disciplines fit together into a coherent picture of the world.
Leaders of the effort said that teachers may well wind up covering fewer subjects, but digging more deeply into the ones they do cover. In some cases, traditional classes like biology and chemistry may disappear entirely from high schools, replaced by courses that use a case-study method to teach science in a more holistic way.
As a part of that new method of teaching science in action, educators pushed to include evolution and climate change in the curriculum. Which has some people quite unhappy. Already, conservative and religious groups are speaking out against the changes. The group Citizen for Objective Public Education claim that teaching children about the science of evolution and climate change will “take away the right of parents to direct the religious education of their children.”
Others argue that teaching evolution and climate change should be included in a science curriculum because…well, because it’s science. Others claim not teaching the topics would short-change students who might go to college and, introduced to the concepts for the first time, find themselves far behind their peers. Most likely, places where teachers are already voluntarily teaching the two topics will adopt the standards and places where teachers oppose these science lessons will refuse, creating what climate scientists call a positive feedback loop and a country in which only half of the kids will understand that phrase.
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About Rose Eveleth
Rose Eveleth is a writer for Smart News and a producer/designer/ science writer/ animator based in Brooklyn. Her work has appeared in the New York Times, Scientific American, Story Collider, TED-Ed and OnEarth.
Read more from this author | Follow @Roseveleth
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THE POWER OF STRESS-FREE TESTING(For Teachers)
The requirements of our present-day economically-competitive, growth-centric society—and its dated yet accepted approach to education—mean that testing is viewed as an evaluation tool. It is rarely viewed as a learning tool. This is unfortunate, for testing, if performed under stress-free conditions, and if timed appropriately, can produce better recall of facts—as well as a deeper and more nuanced understanding—than can be achieved by learning without testing.
When testing is applied as a learning tool, it is commonly called retrieval practice. The premise for using this tool is that every time a piece of information is recollected from memory, the memory itself changes. The neurological structure of the memory becomes stronger, more stable and requires less energy and effort when accessed in the future.
Furthermore, fMRI studies have shown that recalling information from memory, as compared with simply rereading it, generates significantly higher levels of activity in areas of the brain associated with consolidation. And it was shown that high activation in these areas while learning results in superior long-term retention.
Some experts would venture so far as to say that recalling what we already know is a more powerful learning event than storing that same information in the first place.
Interestingly, testing not only improves retention for the information being retrieved, but also stimulates and improves retention for related information—i.e., information that was not specifically tested but is somehow connected.
Moreover, the act of testing—of consciously calling to mind information from memory and applying it to a challenge—also promotes what is commonly referred to as deep learning. Practitioners immersed in deep learning are able to understand the underlying principles of a topic and to draw inferences from these; they are able to connect the individual pieces of information, and they are able to apply this understanding in different contexts and circumstances (which is commonly referred to as transfer). For all the abovementioned reasons, teachers should aim to make testing a central part of the students learning process. Alas, given the way by which testing can ultimately determine one’s future, and the way that such a dependency has been embedded in the education system for so long, it is challenging to reintroduce innocent, stress-free testing as a learning tool. Nonetheless, for teachers and schools that want to make a real impact on their students, here is a proposed recipe:
Preparatory steps
First, teach them how to learn. This topic is typically missing from most countries’ education curriculum. It is unfortunate, as some students with high potential but with a neurological makeup that deviates slightly from the norm, and, frequently, students from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds (with no access to tutoring as well as other socioeconomic and psychological factors), are simply left behind. What is more, and unnecessarily so, a portion of these students may even become caught in a self-fulfilling vicious cycle of “learning difficulties”, which often persists and dominates their careers and later life. And what a loss this is. Teach them how to learn—precisely what steps are required—and you equip them with the single most important piece of information you, as a teacher, could possibly impart. Then teach them about Revision. Related to the previous point, another topic that is often neglected is Revision. It is either assumed that students—uninstructed in the need to do so—will spend their free time maintaining their knowledge of that which had already been taught, or it is assumed that their memories are infallible and persist perpetually. Neither of the two assumptions are likely to apply. Emphasize that to master more advanced topics, knowledge of the basic principles must be maintained. Crucially, explain that performing a revision does not mean simply rereading a set of notes. This is a significant misconception. Such approach had been scientifically shown to be suboptimal. Performing an effective revision involves testing one’s knowledge.
After setting up the groundwork, introduce stress-free testing The key is to balance inconsequentiality with engagement. The testing environment has to be playful and fun. The results of the tests should have no impact on the student’s final grade. One approach is to anonymize the results. This permits the teacher to gauge the progress of the class while assuring the student that the test will not affect their grade (note, however, that targeting individuals that are lagging behind is not possible once anonymized). But how to keep it engaging? The class as a group can be rewarded (with treats, a movie, an activity, a game chosen by the class, etc.—all depending, of course, on the age group involved) if certain targets are met (e.g., everyone was able to score 95% or above). Keep it short and reinforce during the optimal window. The teacher’s role is then to identify the topics that require further work and to deliver that knowledge immediately after the gap has been identified. The timing is crucial: the act of testing stimulates the brain to accept/relearn/reinforce the material being tested. So allow sufficient time for testing as well as targeted teaching. Test format. The specifications will vary between topics, the level of the class, as well as the age group of the students involved. Multiple-choice is the easiest form to use; however, in its basic form, it merely targets the recall of facts. Yet it can—and gradually should—be modified to test deeper levels of understanding. (For example, a question could require knowledge of basic facts in combination with deductive reasoning based on taught methodologies to arrive at the answer—which can be selected from the multiple choices available.) Low-tech approach: mix the stack of anonymized test papers and let each student mark one paper. Evaluate weak areas and focus the rest of the session on improving the class’s understanding of the ideas involved. High-tech approach: use digital tools (e.g. the Socrative app) to verify the results and identify areas that require further instruction. Apply regularly. Testing should not be a one-off event—that is only relevant when it plays an evaluation role. For revision and knowledge accumulation, testing should be applied regularly to newly taught material as well as to the absolute basics taught long ago. References
Agarwal, Pooja K., Patrice M. Bain, and Roger W. Chamberlain. 2012. "The value of applied research: Retrieval practice improves classroom learning and recommendations from a teacher, a principal, and a scientist." Educational Psychology Review (Springer US) 24 (3): 437-448.
Dunlosky, John, Katherine A. Rawson, Elizabeth J. Marsh, Mitchell J. Nathan, and Daniel T. Willingham. 2013. "Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology." Psychological Science in the Public Interest (SAGE Publications) 14 (1): 4-58.
Karpicke, Jeffrey D., and Henry L. Roediger. 2008. "The critical importance of retrieval for learning." Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 319 (5865): 966-968.
Paul, Annie M. 2015. "A new vision for testing." Scientific American 313 (2): 54-61.
Rod Bremer is the author of The Manual: A Guide to the Ultimate Study Method (Second Edition), ISBN 978-0993496424. The Manual is the definitive guide to Enhanced Concentration, Super Memory, Speed Reading, Optimal Note-Taking, Rapid Mental Arithmetic, and the Ultimate Study Method (USM). The techniques presented are the culmination of decades of practical experience combined with the latest scientific research and time-tested practices.
(For more about The Manual, see here.)
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Genomics/Proteomics
Tipping the Gender Scale in Biotech
by Bevin Fletcher
Helen Torley, M.B, Ch.B., came across an interesting statistic last year. Out of the 44 publicly traded biotech companies in the thriving life science hub of San Diego, there was only one female CEO: her.
The report, released in 2016 by UK-based executive recruitment firm Liftstream, found that only 2 percent of biotech companies in San Diego have a female CEO, while the national average is between 7 and 9 percent.
Since taking the reins as CEO of Halozyme Therapeutics three years ago, Torley knew from first-hand experience that the gender balance was skewed, as she was often one of only a few women among 50 men at CEO networking events. However to find out that the numbers were quite so low was “certainly a surprise,” she told Bioscience Technology.
That trend in biotech is not exclusive to the CEO role, though. A new study this year from Liftstream of 177 biotechs that went public from 2012 through 2015 found that women held only 10 percent of board positions. One positive note was that nearly 58 percent of the studied boards had a woman on them, which is up from 48 percent reported in Lifstream’s 2014 survey.
The new report also found that gender diversity at the leadership level is associated with business advantages. Companies that had at least one female board member saw an average share price increase of 19 percent, while those with all-male board members showed a 9 percent decrease.
So why are women being underrepresented in the top levels of biotech organizations?
Torley, who has become more interested in and vocal about this topic since seeing recent statistics, broke this question down into three parts:
Are women graduating with the basic qualifications to be able to move into senior roles?
Looking at the pipeline of women, are they being trained to be able to assume the roles of CEOs?
When companies have women candidates, are they being selected equally for promotions or is there an unintentional bias happening?
When it comes to the first factor, Torley does not think it is a matter of under training. “If you look at the graduates of all the major business schools, 40 percent of Columbia, Harvard, MIT are women,” she said. “So certainly we’re getting business-trained women.”
The same goes for the percentage of women graduating with STEM degrees, which is rising all the time, Torley, who first started out as a physician training in rheumatology, said.
As for the pipeline of women, Torley referenced a 2016 McKinsey & Company study about the state of women in corporate America.
“What we see is that women, in general, are less likely to be promoted, less likely to get developmental opportunities, and less likely to have meaningful interactions with senior management or have a sponsor for their career,” she said.
The concept of sponsorship, which will be discussed later, is very important to Torley.
Women drop off at every promotional level, according the McKinsey report, with the percentage getting lower and lower at each higher rung of the corporate ladder.
For first time CEO’s, the majority come from what in biotech is called a line function position, where they’re in a role such as the head or VP of a business unit, Torley said. At senior levels, studies show that women often shift from line to staff roles, such as in human resources or finance. By the time they reach the SVP level, women hold only 20 percent of line roles, which hurts their chances of getting a CEO position, the McKinsey report found.
“So women are not moving up the chain and being given the types of jobs you need to have to prepare you to be a CEO,” Torley said.
While Torley said women are obviously making progress in getting to higher levels, she noted there is certainly data to suggest an unconscious bias can be at play during the selection process where companies don’t develop a diverse candidate pool or choose a male over a female.
Also, from her own experience, though not while at Halozyme, she said she has seen unconscious bias at play and been in “plenty of discussions” where a promotion is on the table and people in the room discussing candidates would say things like ‘well she won’t be able to move she’s got young children’ or ‘I know her husband and he’s got a great job so they won’t move,’ or even worry that a female candidate could become pregnant.
It’s very important that filters aren’t on, and companies should understand that in today’s world work life balance issues are just as important for males as females, she noted.
The good news, Torley said, is that all of these issues can be addressed with attention and effort.
“It’s a multifactorial situation, and there’s room for improvement at every step.”
Sponsor vs. mentor
One important aspect of career development that many women lack is a sponsor. Women tend to have mentors, which are great and can give advice and guidance, but as a general rule, Torley said, mentors are not in a position to specifically advance a woman’s career.
In contrast, men tend to have a network that includes sponsorship—a person who is actively engaged in helping them find jobs and provide opportunities.
It is only in retrospect that Torley realized how important sponsors were to her success and advancement, and that she was extremely fortunate to have numerous ones as her career progressed.
For example, when she was up for a big promotion early in her career as a rheumatologist, she admits she may not have been the most scientifically qualified but the head consultant sponsored her to be the person he wanted in that role.
Then, when she moved to Novartis to head up ongoing phase 3 studies, she wanted to switch from the medical side of the company to marketing and business. She tried for a year, but no one listened to her until a new head of marketing came in. When Torley asked to be moved, he decided to take a chance on her and the next day she found herself heading up a launch.
Later, Torley had the same experience at Amgen, where she was working on the rheumatoid arthritis drug Enbrel. The head of sales and marketing came into her office and asked if she wanted to head up a business unit, and that opportunity helped her make the difficult transition to enter into a line leadership function that helped prepare her for her future as a CEO.
Torley credits having these sponsors who were willing to take a chance on her.
“I was probably at 80 percent of the qualifications, but they said ‘I think she’s got the potential, let me sponsor her in this role, support her and help her to be successful.”
Unfortunately, women don’t have sponsors as often as men.
Dr. Helen Torley
President, CEO, Halozyme Therapeutics
Diversity of opinion
After the Liftstream report came out Torley decided to take a closer look at Halozyme’s own workforce and she was pleasantly surprised to find that without any initiatives, mandates or quotas, the company had a pretty balanced workforce. Of her 10 person executive team, 50 percent are men and 50 percent are women. As for managers, 47 percent are female and 53 percent are male.
How does this happen?
Torley believes diversity begets diversity.
“A lot of women who join our company say they were attracted to the company because we have so many women in leadership roles and so when I say diversity begets diversity, I think this concept of having role models, people who show it can be done, it’s very inspirational for people who want to progress and see there’s a path,” she said.
Torley was also fortunate to have female role models during her 12 years at Bristol Myers Squib. It was the late 90s and Torley said she found it amazingly progressive that she was a VP there, reporting to a female VP who in turn reported to an female executive VP — and that was just her direct line. She also noted there were other women role models who weren’t in her direct line of command but who she interacted with frequently.
“I think that role modeling created a great atmosphere for me, certainly to see what is possible and the importance of the diversity of opinion.”
Putting gender diversity efforts into practice
Torley believes the heads of companies are becoming more aware of data that show a company has stronger performance with more female board members and leaders, and sees the dialogue among her CEO peers growing, but there’s a disconnect between thinking about it and putting efforts into practice.
She cited the McKinsey report, which says almost 80 percent of CEOs state gender diversity is a priority, but this doesn’t always translate to senior management, noting that according to the survey only 20 to 40 percent of employees say senior leaders ever talk about gender diversity’s importance.
“They never have a candid dialogue about it and people aren’t held accountable to improve diversity,” Torley said. “I think there’s a gap between people recognizing it’s important and a potential competitive advantage, to how they’re operationalizing it and making it happen within the company.”
The issue is becoming more of a business imperative, Torley said, which is bringing greater attention to making sure there is more diversity.
“I think people are aware that investors, such as pension funds, are now asking questions before investing about the diversity numbers of companies.”
Companies don’t need to have mandates or quotas to achieve gender diversity, but Torley believes they need to focus on where they’re losing women, which from the studies she has seen show it’s generally the promotion to manager and then on to a VP position. They also need to have adequate training to ward off against unintentional bias.
After reading the reports, Torley asked the chair of the search committee who hired her if they were trying to find a female CEO or if it was just by chance.
The board was very aware of the data that suggests having a female CEO and having more diversity of women on the board is associated with improved performance. So while it wasn’t a mandatory goal, they certainly were interested in having a diverse candidate pool, which is something all companies could aim to do.
Taking a step like insisting on diverse boards would also help. However, to do so, boards, which in general are mostly male, should go outside of their networks to find talented women. Often a board wants someone with prior CEO experience, but because there is a lack of female CEOs in the industry, they might need to go one level down and take women with C-suite experience and sponsor them into the role of board member, Torley said.
“The fun statistic is that the tipping point for high performing boards is to have three women,” Torley said. “So my advice to boards is don’t pick one – pick three – because that’s where performance starts to excel.”
The future of female leadership in biotech
When asked if we will see more women in leadership and board member positions at biotech companies in the future, Torley is optimistic but feels things need to move faster.
“We will definitely see more [women in leadership roles], but there needs to be a call to action to make things move faster, because progress is happening at a very glacial pace.”
At the current rate of progress, based on the number of women holding line leadership roles and therefore being eligible for CEO positions, an equal split of 50/50 would not be reached until 2070.
“We’re under 10 percent today and it’s progressing very slowly, that’s a pretty frightening statistic.”
Another thing Torley thinks women can do is take more ownership of their careers, identify where they want to go and what additional skills and experiences they need and then go ask for assignments. It also helps to have more confidence in their experience and what they would be capable of learning on the job.
“Women want to have 100 percent of the skills before they move on, but they’ve got to get comfortable moving into new roles before having all of the experiences.”
Men, on the other hand, don’t hesitate as often to put themselves forward for new roles, even if they don’t have all of the needed experience.
Overall, Torley thinks that companies are coming around to seeing gender diversity as a benefit, and can take simple steps, like building diverse candidate pools, training against unconscious bias and introducing sponsorship programs, which is something Halozyme is currently evaluating. Still, she wants the conversation to keep going and has shared her story in hopes of bringing more attention to the issue.
“We need to have more focus on [gender diversity], and there needs to be more of a rallying cry—from both management and companies—but employees can do a lot of this,” she said. “We’ve just got to create an environment where people feel comfortable talking it out with somebody, finding a sponsor and managing their own career.”
San Diego-based Halozyme Therapeutics is a publicly traded biotech company with a $1.8 billion market cap that is focused on developing and commercializing novel cancer therapies that target the tumor microenvironment. Their lead investigational drug PEGPH20 is an enzyme that targets and degrades hyaluronan (HA) in the tumor microenvironment, potentially allowing higher concentrations of therapeutic agents to reach the targeted tumor. The company is currently enrolling patients for a Phase 3 study at 200 sites in 22 countries around the world for advanced pancreatic cancer patients. The company also signed a clinical collaboration agreement with Roche at the end of last year to perform combination studies of PEGPH20 with Roche’s anti PDL-1 therapy. Halozyme is also working to generate data in breast, lung, and gastric cancer in patients who have high HA.
Halozyme and Genentech to Collaborate on Clinical Cancer Trials
Halozyme Reports Topline Results for Phase 2 Pancreatic Cancer Trial
Female Researchers Pay More Attention to Sex, Gender in Medical Research
Women in Science Ask Fewer Questions than Men
Bevin Fletcher
Contributing Editor/Science Writer
@biosciencetech
Connect with Bioscience Technology |
Commissioner’s Welcome
Gretchen Corbin, Commissioner
Gretchen Corbin was sworn in as commissioner of the Technical College System of Georgia (TCSG) in January 2015 by Governor Nathan Deal. She oversees the state’s 22 technical colleges, adult literacy programs, and a host of economic and workforce development programs, including Georgia Quick Start, the nation’s number one workforce training program.
As an avid supporter of Georgia’s economic success and passionate enthusiast for a highly educated, skilled and motivated workforce, Commissioner Corbin serves the mission and the 244,000 students of the Technical College System of Georgia by leading its divisions in a multi-faceted approach to meet the economic needs of the state. She is committed to meeting the goals of Complete College Georgia while building the system’s reputation as the state’s primary resource for workforce development.
Commissioner Corbin joined TCSG from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs (DCA), where she also served as Commissioner as well as Executive Director of the Georgia Housing and Finance Authority. At DCA, she oversaw 65 programs and was responsible for more than $71 million in investment in Georgia communities. Previously she served 15 years at the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD), holding a variety of roles leading economic development teams at global, statewide, regional and local levels. During her time as Deputy Commissioner for Global Commerce, GDEcD brought nearly 69,000 jobs and over $13 billion in capital investment to Georgia.
With her leadership experience at these agencies, Commissioner Corbin has a unique understanding of the way education and business must join together to ensure that Georgia has a globally competitive workforce. Global giants like Baxalta (formerly Baxter), Caterpillar, and Gulfstream are just some of the hundreds of companies she continues to help grow in Georgia through providing the workforce development and training assets of the technical colleges.
During her tenure, TCSG has seen numerous advances, including an influx of dual enrollment students thanks to new legislation; new options for GED® completion and transcript acquisition; a new tax credit program for employers who encourage GED completion, the opening of the Georgia BioScience Training Center and other new facilities, and a new mobile app that will facilitate college registration.
Corbin is a native Georgian and is involved in a number of professional and civic organizations, including Leadership Georgia, where she has served as president and chairman. She is a member of the Georgia Tech Manufacturing Institute External Advisory Board, the University of Georgia’s Board of Visitors, and the Fanning Institute board of directors. She is also a Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow and has been named the last three years as one of Georgia Trend magazine’s 100 most influential Georgians.
She, her husband David, and their two daughters reside in Rome, Georgia. |
Comprehensive in vivo mapping of the human basal ganglia and thalamic connectome in individuals using 7T MRI.
Basal ganglia circuits are affected in neurological disorders such as Parkinson's disease (PD), essential tremor, dystonia and Tourette syndrome. Understanding the structural and functional connectivity of these circuits is critical for elucidating the mechanisms of the movement and neuropsychiatric disorders, and is vital for developing new therapeutic strategies such as deep brain stimulation (DBS). Knowledge about the connectivity of the human basal ganglia and thalamus has rapidly evolved over recent years through non-invasive imaging techniques, but has remained incomplete because of insufficient resolution and sensitivity of these techniques. Here, we present an imaging and computational protocol designed to generate a comprehensive in vivo and subject-specific, three-dimensional model of the structure and connections of the human basal ganglia. High-resolution structural and functional magnetic resonance images were acquired with a 7-Tesla magnet. Capitalizing on the enhanced signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and enriched contrast obtained at high-field MRI, detailed structural and connectivity representations of the human basal ganglia and thalamus were achieved. This unique combination of multiple imaging modalities enabled the in-vivo visualization of the individual human basal ganglia and thalamic nuclei, the reconstruction of seven white-matter pathways and their connectivity probability that, to date, have only been reported in animal studies, histologically, or group-averaged MRI population studies. Also described are subject-specific parcellations of the basal ganglia and thalamus into sub-territories based on their distinct connectivity patterns. These anatomical connectivity findings are supported by functional connectivity data derived from resting-state functional MRI (R-fMRI). This work demonstrates new capabilities for studying basal ganglia circuitry, and opens new avenues of investigation into the movement and neuropsychiatric disorders, in individual human subjects.
Published version (via Digital Object Identifier)
Link to Item
Duke Authors Sapiro, Guillermo
Cited Authors Lenglet, C; Abosch, A; Yacoub, E; De Martino, F; Sapiro, G; Harel, N
Published Date 2012
Published In PloS one Volume / Issue
e29153 - PubMed ID 22235267
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) 10.1371/journal.pone.0029153
Conference Location United States
Animals Basal Ganglia Brain Mapping Humans Magnetic Resonance Imaging Nerve Net Rats Species Specificity Thalamus About |
Researchers discover therapeutic target for pulmonary fibrosis
[ScienceNology] - Successful genetic and pharmacologic treatment in mice that could impact other fibrotic diseases, as shown by a research published in Nature Medicine.A diagnosis of Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis is not much better than a death sentence: there is no treatment and the survival rate is less than three years.But researchers at the University of Michigan have discovered that targeting of a novel gene utilizing genetic and pharmacologic strategies was successful in treating pulmonary fibrosis in mice and will be developed for future testing in humans.The treatments attack an oxidant-generating enzyme, NOX4, that researchers discovered is involved in the fibrotic process — which involves scar-like tissue formation in an organ such as the lung. The researchers’ findings will be published in the September issue of the journal Nature Medicine.“We’ve identified the target. We know the enemy now,” said Subramaniam Pennathur, M.D., assistant professor of internal medicine/nephrology. “This is the first study that shows pulmonary fibrosis is driven by this NOX4 enzyme.“But what’s really significant is this discovery may have relevance to fibrosis in other organ systems, not just the lung.”So those suffering from common cardiac or kidney diseases, which often involve fibrosis, also may benefit from treatments stemming from this research, Pennathur said.Pennathur said continued support from the National Institutes of Health will eventually allow researchers to take the treatment to human studies. The University of Michigan also has filed for patent protection and is currently looking for a licensing partner to help bring the technology to market.The discovery was made in the University of Michigan lab of Victor J. Thannickal, M.D. He was assisted by Louise Hecker, Ph.D., a post-doctoral research fellow.Thannickal said the study points to a very viable treatment strategy for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, and researchers saw success both in mouse models of lung fibrosis and in fibrogenic cells isolated from lungs of patients with Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis.“It remains to be seen if fibrosis is reversible,” he said. “But therapeutic targeting of this pathway this may allow us to halt the progression of fibrosis and preserve lung function.”The lung disease often affects older people, Thannickal said, and its cause is generally unknown. It is possible that cumulative injuries like exposure to environmental toxins and pollutants in genetically susceptible individuals could contribute to causing fibrosis.There is a gradual scarring of the lung, thickening and contracting the organ until it loses its ability to exchange oxygen with blood, Hecker said. Patients experience extreme fatigue, rapid weight loss, chronic cough and shortness of breath.There are five million people worldwide that are affected by this disease, according to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation. In the United States there are over 100,000 patients with Pulmonary Fibrosis.When U-M researchers induced the fibrotic process in the mice, they discovered that the NOX4 enzyme was elevated. By knocking down that enzyme at the genetic level or inhibiting its activity, the fibrosis was stopped, Hecker said.“So we may be able to halt lung scarring even after the injury has occurred and fibrosis is set in motion,” she said. “This research provides proof of concept that we can target this pathway for therapeutic benefit, which could potentially be used in humans.”Both Hecker and Thannickal left U-M this summer for the University of Alabama at Birmingham, but they plan to continue to work with Pennathur and other U-M researchers on anti-fibrotic therapies based on these studies. The patent will stay with U-M.A Press release from University of Michigan Health System , 23 August 2009
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Home > On the Pulse Seattle Children’s creates Youth Concussion Research Program
Rose Ibarra (Egge) March 3, 2014 | Health and Safety, Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, Philanthropy, ResearchComments
Print this Article Seattle Children’s clinicians do everything they can to accurately diagnose concussions and recommend the most appropriate treatment. But those tasks are difficult without definitive diagnostic tools to determine when concussions have occurred or objective evidence to prove which treatments are best.
To provide better care, physicians need better research. That is why Seattle Children’s Research Institute has created the Youth Concussion Research Program.
The new program, made possible by a generous $5 million gift from The Satterberg Foundation, is designed to develop new concussion diagnostic tools; measure sports impacts using real-time sensors; and begin clinical trials to determine which concussion treatments are most effective.
“There are so many people who want to know how to prevent concussions and long-term effects,” said Frederick Rivara, MD, MPH, who will lead the Youth Concussion Research Program. “I hope we will soon be able to answer a lot of their questions.”
Between 1.6 and 3.8 million sports and recreational concussions occur in the United States each year. In the past, Seattle Children’s partnered with Harborview Medical Center to create the clinical Seattle Sports Concussion Program, providing the best care possible for these injuries. But experts continued to question concussion diagnosis and treatment, prompting the need for a concussion research program.
“We use clinical expertise to diagnose concussions but we could be better,” said Stanley Herring, MD, co-medical director of the sports concussion program. “If we can combine our expertise with other information that can be measured on injured athletes then that would be helpful.”
Unlike other concussion research programs, which typically focus on collegiate or professional athletes, Seattle Children’s will use the data from its clinical program to study concussions in children.
“A lot is still unknown about concussions, especially in younger kids,” Rivara said. “Their brains are undergoing enormous changes during childhood and adolescence, but we don’t know if concussions in the developing brain differ from mature brains.”
Seeking better diagnostics
There is currently no objective test to prove if an injury qualifies as a concussion. Standard imaging – such as a CT or MRI, and routine blood tests – rarely reveal signs of a brain injury. Without a definitive diagnosis doctors struggle to accurately identify concussions or determine how long the brain is vulnerable to reinjury.
The Youth Concussion Research Program will address these challenges by searching for concussion biomarkers, which will be used with advanced imaging to track patients over time to better understand who is at risk for significant concussion affects.
Seattle Children’s researchers will also use tiny sensors to discover how intense impact must be for a child to have a concussion. The Youth Concussion Research Program has partnered with Seattle-based X2 Biosystems, which developed a sensor that can be placed behind an athlete’s ear and detect forces to the head and brain. A sideline computer displays the sensor’s signal in real time and stores the information.
While similar sensors have been used in the football helmets of college and professional players, the X2 Biosystems sensors will also be able to record impacts in sports where helmets are not worn, such as soccer or basketball for both boys’ and girls’ sports. Researchers will use the sensor data to help determine what type and magnitude of forces are most likely to result in concussions in younger athletes.
Additionally, the sensors will be able to alert healthcare providers when a player has suffered a head injury that might result in a concussion without relying on the child to report it.
“We need to better understand the true prevalence of concussions in children,” Rivara said. “There is a whole culture in sports that does not want to recognize concussions as injuries, so kids don’t always report them.”
Finding the best treatment
Just as diagnosing a concussion is difficult, determining the most effective treatment is also challenging for physicians due to a lack of objective research. While the standard treatment is physical and relative mental rest, there is limited data to support these recommendations.
Seattle Children’s researchers hope to identify the most effective treatment for concussion by leading randomized controlled trials to find out when children should return to mental and physical activities and if rehabilitation is appropriate. This will help physicians treat sports concussions as well as brain injuries resulting from car accidents or other trauma.
“We want kids to live active lives but keep their brains healthy too,” Rivara said.
Study participants will come from the Seattle Sports Concussion Program, Seattle Children’s Hospital and teams in the community.
“If we want to research concussions and improve outcomes we have to go where they are occurring – in the communities,” said Dimitri Christakis, MD, MPH, director of the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Research Institute. “We have a very supportive community that we hope will participate enthusiastically in this project.”
Seattle Sports Concussion Program
X2 Biosystems
Signs and Symptoms of Concussion
If you are interested in supporting the Youth Concussion Research Program contact Brenda Majercin at [email protected] or 206-987-4979.
If you would like to arrange an interview with Dr. Fred Rivara please contact Seattle Children’s PR team at 206-987-4500 or [email protected].
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Plastic bottles are not sustainable, no matter what we've been told. Using vast quantities of fossil fuels and water, these bottles are manufactured, filled, and shipped around the globe. (Not a good carbon footprint!) Neither are bottles biodegradable in any meaningful way: what you drink in a few minutes can stick around for a thousand years. Even with recycling efforts, 6 out of 7 plastic bottles consumed in the U.S. are "downcycled"—sent somewhere out of sight and out of mind where, for the next millennia, toxins from degrading plastic containers can leach into watersheds and soil. That's just not something we need to give to global neighbors and future generations. Most bottled water is glorified tap water at 10,000 times the cost. The label on your bottled water may depict a peaceful mountain stream, but that doesn't mean the water inside is pure and pristine. Only some bottled water comes from springs or groundwater sources. It turns out that approximately 25% of bottled water is sourced from ... the tap. Sure, some companies filter or radiate the tap water with ultraviolet light before selling it to you at several thousand times the cost of municipal tap water. (Examples include Aquafina, Dasani, and many other brands.)
Important Facts about Bottled Water and the need for an Alkaline Water Machine
Moreover, studies show that bottled water samples can contain phthalates, mold, microbes, benzene, trihalomethanes, even arsenic. And only recently did the FDA start regulating bottled water for E. Coli, thanks to advocacy by the Natural Resources Defense Council. Upshot: bottled water markup is extreme. Health standards are often a wash and may even favor tap water. If you're concerned about municipal water supply and want to know more, check out this helpful resource, which can help you learn about your municipal water supply and decide if filtration or purification is right for you. Many bottled waters contain toxins, even if they've nixed BPA. Plastic isn't just bad for the planet, It's not good for you, either. Bottled water companies increasingly use BPA-free plastic, but laced into plastic bottles are other chemicals that can seep out if bottles are exposed to heat or sit around for a long time. Some of these chemicals are possible endocrine disruptors. No one knows for sure what the health outcomes are. Do you really want your body to undergo that experiment? . 325
Hair is made up of proteins. L-Cysteine is an amino acid that is known to promote hair growth. It improves hair quality and texture, and it is known to double the length of hair. L-Cysteine also prevents hair from falling out, and it has a detoxifying effect in the body.
The PESE and Vegetable proteins also provide a very potent dose of Arginine. Arginine is a precursor of nitric oxide and these effect the modulation of the hair cycle.
Taken regularly over a period of time, NAC will remove many toxic heavy metals from the body. NAC has been shown to be a protective agent in many diseases and conditions in which free radicals play a role. This includes cancer, AIDS, cirrhosis, as well as pollution damage from smoking or other chemicals. The added potent dose of Glycine, from our marine protein, further enhances the anti aging effect of glutathione in the body. Buy Stemfit Active Glycine from the marine protein also builds collagen, making the skin look healthier and less wrinkled.
Through electrolysis large tap mineral clusters are reduced from their original size. The smaller cluster size gives the water excellent hydrating properties, high solubility and good permeability." Just How Stressed Out Is Your Drinking Water? Small clusters? Is this stuff for real? Well, yes and no, I discovered, after reaching out to Kenneth Jordan, distinguished professor of computational chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh. Well known for his work on water clusters—groups of water molecules linked together—he collaborated on a number of studies on water structure that Science magazine listed as among the top ten scientific breakthroughs of 2004. There are dozens of companies that claim to convert water into clustered water or to otherwise rearrange water and sell products based on this. Essentially, all of these claims are bogus," he wrote in an email. "Take clustered water as an example
Here's Some information I learned about Alkaline Water Machine
. One can make this in a laboratory at very low temperatures and very low pressures (i.e., in a vacuum). This keeps the clusters from touching one another. If they touch, they coalesce into bulk water, which is more stable. Alternative-health guru Andrew Weil used that word as well in response to a question about Kangen Water in 2010. "It is the latest variation of so-called alkaline water, which promoters claim is essential for elimination of the acidity in our bodies—attributed to all the evils of the modern world .... The human body needs absolutely no help in adjusting its pH." He added, Unless you have serious respiratory or kidney problems, body pH will remain in balance no matter what you eat or drink .... Bottom line: The health claims for water ionizers and for alkaline water are bogus. It's tempting to close with just one word—"ditto." But in fairness, alkaline water, like any clean water, is a far better choice for hydrating than soda or an additive-filled sports drink. If you choose to see an expensive machine as a gateway to a healthier lifestyle or to give you an edge when competing in sports, then jump right in. It's part and parcel of an alkaline diet, after all, a mostly-vegetarian regimen that I haven't really addressed here. (Why not? Scroll back up and take another look at the question.) But if you think alkaline water will allow you to avoid illnesses that fall into the "Sometimes Stuff Happens" category or live forever, then you are bound to be disappointed.
Judges 7.
And the men of Ephraim said unto him, Why hast thou served us thus, that thou calledst us not, when thou wentest to fight with the Midianites? And they did chide with him sharply.
And he said unto them, What have I done now in comparison of you? Is not the gleaning of the grapes of Ephraim better than the vintage of Abiezer?
God hath delivered into your hands the princes of Midian, Oreb and Zeeb: and what was I able to do in comparison of you? Then their anger was abated toward him, when he had said that.
And Gideon came to Jordan, and passed over, he, and the three hundred men that were with him, faint, yet pursuing them.
And he said unto the men of Succoth, Give, I pray you, loaves of bread unto the people that follow me; for they be faint, and I am pursuing after Zebah and Zalmunna, kings of Midian.
And the princes of Succoth said, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thine army?
And Gideon said, Therefore when the LORD hath delivered Zebah and Zalmunna into mine hand, then I will tear your flesh with the thorns of the wilderness and with briers.
And he went up thence to Penuel, and spake unto them likewise: and the men of Penuel answered him as the men of Succoth had answered him.
And he spake also unto the men of Penuel, saying, When I come again in peace, I will break down this tower.
Now Zebah and Zalmunna were in Karkor, and their hosts with them, about fifteen thousand men, all that were left of all the hosts of the children of the east: for there fell an hundred and twenty thousand men that drew sword.
And Gideon went up by the way of them that dwelt in tents on the east of Nobah and Jogbehah, and smote the host; for the host was secure.
And when Zebah and Zalmunna fled, he pursued after them, and took the two kings of Midian, Zebah and Zalmunna, and discomfited all the host.
And Gideon the son of Joash returned from battle before the sun was up,
And caught a young man of the men of Succoth, and inquired of him: and he described unto him the princes of Succoth, and the elders thereof, even threescore and seventeen men.
And he came unto the men of Succoth, and said, Behold Zebah and Zalmunna, with whom ye did upbraid me, saying, Are the hands of Zebah and Zalmunna now in thine hand, that we should give bread unto thy men that are weary?
And he took the elders of the city, and thorns of the wilderness and briers, and with them he taught the men of Succoth.
And he beat down the tower of Penuel, and slew the men of the city.
Then said he unto Zebah and Zalmunna, What manner of men were they whom ye slew at Tabor? And they answered, As thou art, so were they; each one resembled the children of a king.
And he said, They were my brethren, even the sons of my mother: as the LORD liveth, if ye had saved them alive, I would not slay you.
And he said unto Jether his firstborn, Up, and slay them. But the youth drew not his sword: for he feared, because he was yet a youth.
Then Zebah and Zalmunna said, Rise thou, and fall upon us: for as the man is, so is his strength. And Gideon arose, and slew Zebah and Zalmunna, and took away the ornaments that were on their camels' necks.
Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son's son also: for thou hast delivered us from the hand of Midian.
And Gideon said unto them, I will not rule over you, neither shall my son rule over you: the LORD shall rule over you.
And Gideon said unto them, I would desire a request of you, that ye would give me every man the earrings of his prey. (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)
And they answered, We will willingly give them. And they spread a garment, and did cast therein every man the earrings of his prey.
And the weight of the golden earrings that he requested was a thousand and seven hundred shekels of gold; beside ornaments, and collars, and purple raiment that was on the kings of Midian, and beside the chains that were about their camels' necks.
Thus was Midian subdued before the children of Israel, so that they lifted up their heads no more. And the country was in quietness forty years in the days of Gideon.
And Jerubbaal the son of Joash went and dwelt in his own house.
And Gideon had threescore and ten sons of his body begotten: for he had many wives.
And his concubine that was in Shechem, she also bare him a son, whose name he called Abimelech.
And Gideon the son of Joash died in a good old age, and was buried in the sepulchre of Joash his father, in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
And it came to pass, as soon as Gideon was dead, that the children of Israel turned again, and went a whoring after Baalim, and made Baalberith their god.
And the children of Israel remembered not the LORD their God, who had delivered them out of the hands of all their enemies on every side:
Neither showed they kindness to the house of Jerubbaal, namely, Gideon, according to all the goodness which he had showed unto Israel.
Judges 9
Notes on Chapter 8
© 1998-2000 by johnhurt.com |
Rivers and Lakes Transport and House Volcanic MaterialVolcanic hazards posed by the dynamic combination of water, sediment, and gravity can be persistent, costly, and deadly. Monitoring hydrologic hazards helps USGS scientists understand and help mitigate the risks due to destructive lahars and excess sediment in volcanic river channels.
Monitoring volcanic rivers and lakes helps alleviate lahar and flood hazards.
Many young volcanoes are covered with sparsely vegetated deposits consisting of fine ash and loose, fragmented rocks. In these landscapes rain, that elsewhere would fall on vegetation and soak into mature soil, instead falls directly on the ground and flows freely overland. This water easily erodes volcanic ash and rock debris from hill slopes quickly carving broad channels and transporting enormous quantities of sediment to areas tens of kilometers downstream. This excess sediment can fill channels farther away from the volcano, resulting in raised riverbeds, impounded lakes, and more frequent flooding. Water flowing vigorously in these settings has the force to cut through lake impoundments to release lahar-generating floods.
Long-term sediment monitoring aids remediation plans to avoid economic losses.
Since the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption, rivers leading from the volcano have acted as redistribution channels for large volumes of volcanic sediment. The Toutle River consistently transports up to 100 times more sediment than it did prior to the eruption even though erosion in the upper valley has decreased two-fold since the late 1980's. As a long-term strategy to remediate excess sedimentation and prevent flooding, a sediment retention structure was built across the North Fork Toutle River in 1987 to trap sediment before it could be carried downstream to the Cowlitz and Columbia Rivers. The lower Cowlitz River is subject to riverbed aggradation (increased sediment accumulation), which puts several communities at increased flood risk. The Columbia River is a primary U.S. shipping channel and sediment continues to be a significant economic burden to industry. |
T-cell responses to oncogenic merkel cell polyomavirus proteins distinguish patients with merkel cell carcinoma from healthy donors
Skou, Rikke Birgitte Lyngaa3; Pedersen, Natasja Wulff1; Schrama, David4; Thrue, Charlotte Albæk1; Ibrani, Dafina4; Met, Ozcan1; thor Straten, Per1; Nghiem, Paul4; Becker, Jürgen C4; Hadrup, Sine Reker1
1 Department of Haematology, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, The Capital Region of Denmark2 Oncology, Herlev and Gentofte Hospital, The Capital Region of Denmark3 Clinical Research Centre, Amager and Hvidovre Hospital, The Capital Region of Denmark4 unknown
PURPOSE: Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a highly aggressive skin cancer with strong evidence of viral carcinogenesis. The association of MCC with the Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV) may explain the explicit immunogenicity of MCC. Indeed, MCPyV-encoded proteins are likely targets for cytotoxic immune responses to MCC as they are both foreign to the host and necessary to maintain the oncogenic phenotype. However, to date only a single MCPyV-derived CD8 T-cell epitope has been described, thus impeding specific monitoring of T-cell responses to MCC. Method: To overcome this limitation, we scanned the MCPyV oncoprotein large T and small T antigens and the virus capsid protein VP1 for potential T-cell epitopes, and tested for MHC class I affinity. We confirmed the relevance of these epitopes using a high-throughput platform for T-cell enrichment and combinatorial encoding of MHC class I multimers. RESULTS: In peripheral blood from 38 patients with MCC and 30 healthy donors, we identified 53 MCPyV-directed CD8 T-cell responses against 35 different peptide sequences. Strikingly, T-cell responses against oncoproteins were exclusively present in patients with MCC, but not in healthy donors. We further demonstrate both the processing and presentation of the oncoprotein-derived epitopes, as well as the lytic activity of oncoprotein-specific T cells toward MHC-matched MCC cells. Demonstrating the presence of oncoprotein-specific T cells among tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes further substantiated the relevance of the identified epitopes. CONCLUSION: These T-cell epitopes represent ideal targets for antigen-specific immune therapy of MCC, and enable tracking and characterization of MCPyV-specific immune responses.
Clinical Cancer Research, 2014, Vol 20, Issue 7, p. 1768-78 |
Home » Agriculture, Federal Agency, Federal Legislation, Federal Regulation, Funding/Financing/Investing, Green Jobs, Opinions, Policy, Sustainability
House Committee Debates Future Federal Support of Biofuels
by Sara Taginawa (Environmental and Energy Study Institute) On Tuesday, July 25, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology held a hearing examining the future of biofuels and the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). According to Emily Skor, chief executive officer of Growth Energy, biofuels added $42.1 billion to the U.S. economy in 2016 and supported nearly 340,000 U.S. jobs. According to data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, corn ethanol reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 43 percent compared to conventional gasoline, and advanced biofuels could reduce emissions upwards of 90 percent, according to research from Argonne National Laboratory.
Skor stated that the RFS sets a “long-term predictable energy strategy” to increase biofuels in the fuel supply, encouraging investment and innovation in biofuels.
But as the industry advances, some want to reduce federal support for biofuels and eliminate the RFS. According to John DeCicco, a research professor at the University of Michigan Energy Institute, biofuels have higher carbon emissions than petroleum. DeCicco said this is because biofuel production has led to the expansion of croplands, and changes in land use release carbon into the atmosphere. However, credible research has found the opposite to be true. For example, a 2017 report issued by the USDA states that “despite the increase in corn ethanol production, deforested land in Brazil decreased over the same period.”
Biogas allows farms, dairies, and industries to use their own organic waste to produce energy, requiring no additional cropland. Rep. Neal Dunn (R-FL) noted that with biogas, a dairy farm in his district generates more energy than the farm is able to use. Currently, biogas is over 90 percent of the cellulosic fuels category.
Nick Loris, a research fellow at The Heritage Foundation, argued that biofuels have hurt rural America and low-income families with rising costs of land and food. Though according to Skor, ethanol production has stabilized U.S. corn prices, which are now lower than they were before the RFS was implemented.
On July 26, Environment Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Andy Biggs (R-AZ) introduced the FUEL Reform Act (Farewell to Unnecessary Energy Lifelines) which would eliminate the Farm Bill’s Energy Title (IX), which provides loans and grants to farmers, ranchers and small businesses to encourage investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency and the production of renewable bioproducts such as fuels and chemicals. According to Biggs, “The biofuels subsidies in the farm bill don’t benefit the market; instead, they pervert it. If biofuels succeed, it should be based on their benefit to our nation’s energy economy.” The bill is co-sponsored by Reps. Gohmert (R-TX), Trent (R-AZ), and Jones (R-NC).
Similarly, both the House and Senate appropriations bills significantly reduce funding for renewable energy programs. This includes the Biomass Crop Assistance Program, which provides financial assistance for production and utilization of biomass for heat, power, biobased products or advanced biofuels. READ MORE
Pushing for Year-Round Access to E15 (Ethanol Producer Magazine)
Renewable Fuels a Potential Election-Year Issue for Iowa Voters
Missouri Organizes for Energy Independence
Global Renewable Fuels Alliance to UN FAO: Oil Prices Are Driving Up the Cost of Food
Big Oil and Biofuels Clash over UK’s 2020 Biofuels Target
Tags: Biogas, Biomass Crop Assistance Program (BCAP), Brazil, corn ethanol, corn prices, D-3 (cellulosic) RINs, deforestation, Department of Agriculture (USDA), Farm Bill, Federal Legislation, Federal Regulation, food vs fuel, GHG (Greenhouse Gas Emissions), government investment, Green Jobs, ILUC (Indirect Land Use Change), Investing, land use change, life cycle analysis, Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS and RFS2), Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS2) revisions/repeal, Sustainability, Transportation Fuels Policy |
Could A Low-Carb Diet Be An Alternative To Antipsychotic Meds? Evidence Finds It’s Just As Effective, Without The Negative Side Effects
Healthy food results in healthy bodies. With the rise of fast food, processed meats, and genetically-modified vegetables, is it any wonder why researchers keep reporting numerous diseases year after year? Mental health issues, like other physical health issues, are aggravated by bad diets. Doctors reveal that a ketogenic diet may significantly improve the conditions of people who suffer from mental disorders.
In 2015, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) urged people to lower the use of antipsychotic medication for elderly patients suffering from symptoms of dementia, because of the drug’s dangerous side effects. These antipsychotic drugs cause dull behaviors, sedation, and an increased risk of falling down. Bradley Williams, a geriatric pharmacist from the University of Southern California, states that the symptoms and effects of depression and anxiety can be controlled and decreased through proper dietary and other lifestyle changes.
Massachussetts psychiatrist and pharmacologist Dr Georgia Ede reports two interesting cases where low-carb diets helped improve conditions in patients who have been prescribed antipsychotic medications. Dr Chris Palmer, a psychiatrist from Harvard’s McLean Hospital in Belmont, states that the strongest antipsychotic and mood stabilizing medications don’t bring enough relief and have too many severe side effects. He then described experiences of two adults suffering from schizoaffective disorder, before and after practicing a ketogenic diet.
A schizoaffective disorder involves people who have to cope with psychosis, which includes paranoia, auditory and visual hallucinations, and disorganized thinking. This disorder also includes overlapping periods of severe mood symptoms like depression, euphoria, irritability, rage, and suicidal thoughts.
The first case was of a 31-year old woman with a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder for eight years. She had tried 12 different medications, and underwent 23 rounds of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). After all these, she remained troubled by the symptoms. She decided to try the ketogenic diet in order to lose weight. After four weeks on the diet, the rate of delusions lessened, and she lost 10 pounds. After four months, she lost 30 pounds and her symptoms were cut in half.
The second case involved a 33-year old man with a 14-year diagnosis of the same disorder. After 17 different types of medications, there had been no significant improvement. He also tried the ketogenic diet for weight loss, and a dramatic reduction in auditory hallucinations and delusions were noted after three weeks. After a year, he lost 104 pounds, and results of tests showed a 75 percent decrease in symptoms. His daily function and quality of life improved, and he started living like a normal person.
In both cases reported, the negative side effects returned after abandoning the ketogenic diet, showing that this healthy lifestyle was powerful enough to treat and stabilize mental disorders.
A ketogenic diet or a low-carb diet, is a nutritional plan that prompts the body to produce ketone bodies in the liver to be used as energy. These ketone bodies, or ketones, are water-soluble molecules that are alternate sources of energy when carbohydrates are unavailable. This type of diet is safe, even for type-2 diabetics and individuals suffering from cardiovascular disease.
Here’s an example of what a ketogenic diet looks like:
Breakfast — No-flour cream cheese pancakes with butter and sugar free syrup; coffee with heavy cream; bacon or sugar-free breakfast sausage.
Snack — Two to three pieces of string cheese.
Lunch — Ham and cheese rolled in cream cheese pancakes, with mayonnaise and arugula or spinach.
Snack — Half an avocado with salt and pepper.
Dinner — Classic buffalo wings with sugar-free blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.
Dessert — one serving of chocolate mousse or chocolate truffles.
Even if a person does not suffer from any type of mental illness, a ketogenic diet can help them achieve wellness by eliminating unhealthy sugars from the body. To simplify what a keto diet is, it is simply removing carbohydrate intake (or limiting it to 20 grams per day) from the daily nutrition plan, which will then cause the liver to produce the ketones that serve as the body’s energy source.
by Rita Winters |
Visitor Center at The Huntington
Home » Destinations & Landmarks » Visitor Center at The Huntington
Posted By Imaan Jalali
There aren’t too many places in Southern California, let alone in the world, that combine the arts, history, nature, and pedagogy. On April 4th, the Steven S. Koblik Education and Visitor Center at The Huntington will become a site worth frequenting for individuals of all ages.
Undoubtedly, the appeal of the San Marino-based attraction stretches wide, figuratively and literally. The $68-million, 52,000-square-footed establishment—which came together as a result of gifts and pledges alone—will attract five types of audiences, according to President of The Huntington, Koblik, whose name is eponymous with the new center. They are teachers, students, scholars, the official members of The Huntington and, of course, the general public.
Certainly, teachers and students will be more at home than ever with the four classrooms that have been installed to support K-12 educational aims in Southern California, especially on the subject of Biology. Scholars will be able to use the library of materials and the art collection to further their research. Likewise, the members and the general public will have the opportunity to attend lectures and performances (many of them free) while enjoying the luxurious amenities on the grounds.
Furthermore, visitors who have an eye for design and layout will appreciate how the buildings and gardens seamlessly complement one another. For Stephen Farneth and Cheryl Barton, the principal architects, the goal has always been about landscape functionality, having buildings independent of each other, yet integrated as part of a larger whole. The conception of the center, for Farneth, was also about keeping in line with the fact that it is in SoCal and thus people particularly want “outdoor space that will serve academic and social activities.” Even the gardens were seeded with SoCal in mind. “It’s not just about roses and lawn; we have color, movement, plants in their natural California habitat, and gardens that are not only low-water but drought-tolerant,” explained landscape construction coordinator, Scott Kleinrock.
Any visitor will also want to check out the 400-seat auditorium that is an acoustical masterwork with carved wall panels and fabric that are conducive to the best and most resounding sound. Serving a versatile purpose, the auditorium will house light-hearted fare, such as plays and concerts, in addition to interesting multidisciplinary lectures, in the coming months and years. Similarly, the breathtaking dome courtyard is also acoustically fashioned to prevent echoing. Not to mention, it is a prime location to lounge and cool off during hot summer days, as it is usually ten degrees cooler than its surroundings.
For history buffs who want to learn more about the olden days of Southern California, Henry Huntington is as good a historical figure as any to be informed about—and the center’s orientation gallery has many photos, short films, and information on Huntington’s impact on land development and the Southern California railway system as we know it today.
Last but not least, foodies will be pleased to know that not only is there a coffee shop at the entrance, but a café that offers a salad bar, sandwiches, oven-fired pizza, and wine! Best of all, the outdoor-dining seating is oriented in such a way as to allow visitors optimal views of the beautiful and eye-catching scenery!
For more information, visit: http://tinyurl.com/pxuek4p
Address: 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino, CA 91108
Photo credit: Tim Street-Porter
Imaan Jalali
When he isn't writing, Imaan can be found doing 360-degree layups on neighborhood basketball courts. He is also an avid reader of non-fiction, particularly Social Psychology. Nothing fascinates him more than human motivation, behavior, and attitudes. In trying to understanding others, he is beginning to come to terms with his alien self.
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Southern California’s Signature Stairways - May 22, 2017
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SKIN Exhibit Has Important Message on Diversity - April 3, 2016
Author: Imaan Jalali |
Author: Jack Kennedy
I think the icy plumes of Enceladus will yield incredible scientific results. Saturn's largest Moon, Titan was of particular interest to scientists because they thought it was the most able body of harbouring life in our solar system besides Earth. Since then Enceladus has grasped the scientific enthusiasm that Titan once held. In contrast to Titan, Enceladus is a lot smaller, 10.2 times smaller. Although it is small and exerts quite a week gravitational force, scientists believe that it has the greatest potential in the Solar system for harbouring extra-terrestrial life. The 30-kilometer thick ice sheets that cover the surface of Enceladus float on top of an ocean that is likely 10 kilometres deep. This would explain the slight wobble that Enceladus has. It is still hard to determine whether this ocean is a global body of water or just an ocean confined to the south pole of Enceladus. Cryovolcanoes expel large amounts of water vapour travelling at a speed of 0.556 km/s. This is a sufficient speed for the contents of the expulsion to escape Enceladus's gravity as the escape velocity is only 0.239 km/s. The particles are then caught in the gravitational pull of Saturn where they have become the primary contributor to Saturn's E-ring, a much fainter ring compared to the rest. Enceladus's atmosphere is composed of 91% water vapour which may have once been part of the subsurface ocean but was ejected from the cryovolcanoes. When Cassini performed a daring flyby of Enceladus it analysed the particles discharged from the cryovolcanoes and determined that they contained the mineral salt. This further supports the claim of a subsurface salt water ocean. As many of us know liquid water must maintain a temperature of between 0 and 99 degrees celsius in order to maintain it's liquid state. This would require Enceladus to possess a source of heat or have it generated by other means. New evidence, thanks to the Cassini mission, suggests that Enceladus's ocean floor could be at near-boiling temperatures. It would be the first evidence of hydrothermal vents on a solar body other than our home, Earth. This is one plausible theory. However, there is another more likely theory. It is could all be down to what we call tidal heating. Heat can be generated by tidal forces as a result of orbital resonance between Enceladus and another Saturnian moon twice as large called Dione. The heat would be no greater than 1.1 gigawatts. That's enough power to power 750,000 homes. The presence of radioactive material could add an extra 0.3 gigawatts to the total power generated on Enceladus. The possibility of a subsurface ocean being heated to the point of boiling is incredibly fascinating on its own, but maybe there could be life. It may only be microbial but it would be revolutionary. There may even be remnants of past life frozen in the ice waiting to be found. These are questions we hope to answer and can answer with further investigation.
< Previous article: 13-15 years old: The lakes of Titan Next article: 16-18 years old: Ice plumes at the south pole of Enceladus > |
You are here: Home Page > Law > International Law > Unimaginable Atrocities
Unimaginable Atrocities
Justice, Politics, and Rights at the War Crimes Tribunals
William Schabas
Highlights critical debates and controversies facing international criminal courts and tribunals, such as the tensions between peace and justice, and between fair trial rights and the need to secure a conviction
Presents fresh analysis of these issues from an interdisciplinary perspective and offers innovative solutions
Written by one of the undisputed authorities on international crimes and war crimes tribunals
Accessible and clear style makes the book a good read for lawyers and non-specialists alike
As international criminal courts and tribunals have proliferated and international criminal law is increasingly seen as a key tool for bringing the world's worst perpetrators to account, the controversies surrounding the international trials of war criminals have grown. War crimes tribunals have to deal with accusations of victors' justice, bad prosecutorial policy and case management, and of jeopardizing fragile peace in post-conflict situations. In this exceptional book, one of the leading writers in the field of international criminal law explores these controversial issues in a manner that is accessible both to lawyers and to general readers.
Professor William Schabas begins by considering the discipline of international criminal law, outlining the differing approaches to the description of international crimes and examining the frequent claims relating to the retroactive application of these crimes. The book then discusses the relationship between genocide and crimes against humanity, studying the fascination with what Schabas calls the 'genocide mystique'. International criminal tribunals have often been stigmatized as an exercise in victors' justice. This book traces how this critique developed and the difficulty it poses to the identification of situations for prosecution by the International Criminal Court. The claim that amnesty for international crimes is prohibited by international law is challenged, with a more nuanced approach to the relationship between justice and peace being proposed. Throughout the book there is a strong historical perspective, with constant reference to the early experiments in international justice at Nuremberg and Tokyo. The work also analyses the growing pains of the International Criminal Court as it enters its second decade.
1. 'Unimaginable Atrocities': Identifying International Crimes
2. Nullum Crimen Sine Lege
3. Victors' Justice? Selecting Targets for Prosecution
4. The Genocide Mystique
5. Mens Rea, Actus Reus, and the Role of the State
6. History, International Justice, and the Right to Truth
7. No Peace Without Justice? The Amnesty Quandary
8. Crimes Against Peace
William Schabas, Professor of International Law, University of Middlesex
Professor William A. Schabas is professor of international law at Middlesex University in London. He also has appointments at the National University of Ireland Galway, where he is professor of human rights law, at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, in Beijing, as honorary professor, Kellogg College of the University of Oxford, where he is a visiting fellow, and at the Universite du Quebec a Montreal, as professeur associe. Prof. Schabas practices from the chambers of 9 Bedford Row, in London.
"Schabas proves an expansive (historical) background knowledge and provides the reader with a fresh view to a number of 'givens' in international criminal law." - Jane A. Hofbauer, Austrian Review of International and European Law
What are the most important issues in international criminal justice today?
While human history is not without crime and slaughter, it is only in the twentieth century, especially following the Nuremberg and Tokyo trials, that people sought justice in the name of all humanity. To mark the World Day for International Justice we invited our authors and editors to answer the question: What do you consider to be the most important issue in international criminal justice today?
Covert Policing
Simon McKay
Livingstone, Owen, and Macdonald on Prison Law
Tim Owen QC and Alison Macdonald
THE GLOBAL COMMUNITY YEARBOOK OF INTERNATIONAL LAW AND JURISPRUDENCE 2014
Giuliana Ziccardi Capaldo
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Home > New Patient Center > Patient Education > Keratoconus
Keratoconus: What It Is and What You Can Do About It
Keratoconus is a condition that affects the cornea, the transparent, dome-shaped structure on the surface of the eye. Keratoconus causes the cornea to become thinner and gradually bulge out into a cone shape. Changes in vision are common, and Dr. Mohanan can also diagnose the condition based on corneal changes. Keratoconus is a degenerative condition that can progress over the course of 10 years or more. Treatment can involve corrective lenses and even surgery.
Symptoms and Treatment of Keratoconus
Keratoconus can run in families, and people with certain conditions are more prone to it. These conditions include:
Osteogensis imperfecta
Leber's congenital amaurosis
Most people begin to develop keratoconus symptoms between ages 10 and 25. Symptoms can include:
Distorted or blurred vision
Problems seeing at night
Frequent need for new eyeglass prescriptions
Growing sensitivity to glare or bright lights
Trouble seeing up close and far away
Seeing afterimages or multiple images
Light streaking or halos surrounding lights
Clouding or worsening of vision that comes on suddenly
If you know you have astigmatism, or an abnormal curvature of the cornea, and your eyesight suddenly starts getting a lot worse very quickly, you may have keratoconus. Schedule an appointment with Dr. Mohanan right away.
Treatment for keratoconus depends on how far the condition has advanced. In the early stages of the disease, eyeglasses are enough to correct the vision changes brought on by keratoconus. As the condition progresses, however, contact lenses will become necessary.
Contact lenses help correct vision and strengthen the cornea. As corneal changes become more severe, patients will need to wear rigid, gas permeable contact lenses to support the cornea. Hybrid lenses, which have a soft outer edge and a firm center, may be more comfortable. You can also try scleral lenses, which touch the white of the eye and not the cornea. Eventually, you may need surgery to correct the shape of the cornea, or in the most severe cases, corneal transplants.
Do you know anyone who has been affected by keratoconus?
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Brown / Hasbro team to design smart robotic companions to assist seniors
Thu, 11/02/2017 - 07:12 - Laurie Orlov
PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — A group of academic researchers, led by cognitive and computer scientists from Brown University, is teaming up with a cross-functional team from global play and entertainment leader Hasbro to design a smart robotic companion capable of assisting older people with simple but sometimes challenging tasks of everyday living.
The project, dubbed ARIES (Affordable Robotic Intelligence for Elderly Support), will add artificial intelligence capabilities to Hasbro’s current Joy for All Companion Pets — animatronic dogs and cats designed to provide interactive companionship, comfort and joy for older adults. The research team’s goal is to develop additional capabilities for the ARIES companions to help older adults with simple tasks that could include help in finding lost objects, medication reminders or other tasks that sometimes become challenging, especially those who may have mild dementia.
The work is supported by a $1 million grant from the National Science Foundation and will be led by Brown’s Humanity-Centered Robotics Initiative (HCRI), a group of computer and social science researchers who explore the societal opportunities and challenges presented by robotics. The academic project team also includes researchers from Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School, Butler and Bradley hospitals in Providence, R.I., and the University of Cincinnati.
“Hasbro did a great job developing a product that can provide comfort and joy for older people,” said Bertram Malle, a professor in Brown’s Department of Cognitive, Linguistic and Psychological Sciences, co-director of HCRI and the principal investigator on the grant. “What we want to do now is leverage our expertise in cognitive and computer science to add capabilities to this robotic pet. Neither of us could do this on our own, but together we have the expertise to potentially develop something truly beneficial.”
Over the next three years, the group plans to perform a variety of user studies to understand how ARIES might best assist older adults. Then they’ll work on developing and integrating a variety of artificial intelligence technologies that will meet the needs identified in the user studies. These could include sensor systems that allow the ARIES companion to identify and keep track of important objects around the house, such as keys or eyeglasses, help the person remember important tasks and events, and enhance safety.
The team will also study means of effective communication between the ARIES companion and users.
The researchers will conduct user studies to learn the kinds of tasks in which a robotic companion might be helpful.
“The Joy for All Companion Pets currently make some realistic pet sounds and gestures,” Malle said. “We may want to expand those capacities and add intelligence to them, so the companions give meaningful clues — gestures, nudges, purrs — that help to guide users toward misplaced objects or let them know that it’s time to do something.”
The early user studies will play a key role in how the project unfolds, Malle says.
“There are some things — like locating objects and taking medications — that we know from the literature people find useful,” he said. “But in our first year we want to find out what other challenges people face that we don’t know about, and then see if we can develop technologies to address them.”
One critical factor the researchers will keep in mind is cost.
“The ‘A’ in ARIES stands for ‘affordable,’ and that's something we're taking very seriously,” said Michael Littman, a professor of computer science at Brown and co-principal investigator on the grant. “This is one of the important reasons Hasbro is a great industry partner for this project. The current Joy for All pets cost roughly $100 while similar robotic products can cost $5,000 to $6,000. We want the ARIES robot to be available to anyone who needs it.”
Ultimately, the team hopes to complete a prototype and test it with target users by the end of the three project years. The researchers stress that they don’t intend this to be a technology that can take the place of human caregivers. They hope instead that it can complement the work of caregivers and help in a small way to meet the challenge presented by an aging population.
“To us, this project really represents what we do at HCRI, which is to let societal needs drive technology development,” Malle said. “We know that caring for an aging population will be a tremendous challenge in the coming years, and we think technologies like ARIES could play a small but potentially important role in helping people meet that challenge.”
Ted Fischer, vice president for business development at Hasbro, says the company has been excited by the response to its Joy for All line. “Social isolation and loneliness are growing issues for older adults and our companion pets make people smile, Fischer said. “Hasbro’s expertise in play and engaging experiences in collaboration with leading scientists from Brown’s HCRI is a powerful combination to explore additional impactful uses for ARIES companions.”
The research team will include Peter Haas, associate director of HCRI; HCRI postdoctoral researchers Maartje de Graaf and Elizabeth Philips; Michael Armey from Butler Hospital and Brown’s Warren Alpert Medical School; Gary Epstein-Lubow from Butler, Brown and Hebrew Senior Life; Claudia Rébola, an industrial design professor at the University of Cincinnati; Ron Seifer of Bradley Hospital; and a multidisciplinary team from Hasbro including designers, engineers and marketing professionals.
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'People Habitat': Inspiring Public Spaces From Around the World
Dysfunctional public spaces inhibit pride and make a community feel abandoned. Great ones can become the heart and soul of a place.
Kaid Benfield
Environmental advocates have long given priority to protecting natural ecosystems and wildlife habitat. The organization I work for is called the Natural Resources Defense Council for a reason. (Never mind the lamentable fact that many people think our first name is "National.")
Few aspects of people habitat affect the character and beauty of our neighborhoods as much as our public spaces.
But I believe that one of the best ways to protect nature is to create and support great "people habitat" in cities and towns. That's where we want humans to reside and prosper, rather than building more pavement and development across natural landscapes. This is one of the many reasons that making cities strong and hospitable (as well as greener) is so important to the environment.
Few aspects of people habitat affect the character, strength, and beauty of our neighborhoods and downtowns as much as our public spaces -- the streets, parks, plazas, and gathering places that physically knit our communities together. Dysfunctional public spaces inhibit pride and make a community feel abandoned, unsafe, and unwelcoming. Great ones can become the heart and soul of a place, attracting residents, businesses, and life to towns and cities.
The Project for Public Spaces and the planning news aggregator Planetizen just sponsored an online poll to determine America's favorite public spaces. (The recently announced top ten winners were somewhat surprising.) This inspired me to go into my photo library and pull together a slideshow that illustrates many of the qualities that can make public spaces great.
We are excited to be hosting these images as a video, People Habitat, on our new YouTube channel for NRDC Sustainable Communities. The site will be both a place for original content generated by NRDC's sustainable communities team and an evolving library of our favorite videos from others (including NRDC colleagues) on green neighborhoods, cities, and metro regions. Pay us a visit and, if you like what you see, please consider subscribing or favoriting us.
Unlike those in the PPS-Planetizen poll, many of the scenes in People Habitat are from outside the U.S., and I make no claim that they are necessarily the "best." But, to me, they are inspirational. I hope they will be to you as well:
Image: yawper/Creative Commons.
This post also appears on NRDC Switchboard, an Atlantic partner site.
Kaid Benfield is the director of the Sustainable Communities and Smart Growth program at the Natural Resources Defense Council, co-founder of the LEED for Neighborhood Development rating system, and co-founder of Smart Growth America. |
How hospitals use kiosks to serve patients and visitors
From train stations to shopping centers and health care facilities, kiosks are growing in popularity, and for good reason. Interactive touchscreens are helping hospitals and practitioners schedule surgical procedures, provide information to patients and serve as virtual receptionists. The result? A happier, less stressful health care experience. Consider how the following can enhance patient engagement and customer experiences: Electronic patient information Interactive multimedia consoles save costs in printing and paper as brochures and other literature are removed from circulation. More important, patients can sign in for appointments without assistance. Also, wait times are reduced and staffers are freed up to focus on helping others. Kiosks also help people with visual or hearing impairments and those who might have difficulties communicating in English. For example, many kiosks provide a hearing loop that enables people to listen to information, rather than reading it on a screen. In addition, patients can circumvent reading and instead tap buttons to make language selections. This is a significant benefit to folks whose first language is not English. Navigation Navigational technology shows patients—via interactive 2D and 3D maps—the location of their appointment within the facility and the fastest route to get there. This can help people get to their appointments on time, enhancing operational processes in offices and labs. Payment The National Health Service has turned to payment kiosks to let patients pay for prescriptions and other health-related services and products without devoting staff to process transactions. This can help health care facilities and physicians to save money. Entertainment Interactive kiosks are an engaging way to pass time and occupy visitors. They provide access to TV and Internet browsing in waiting areas and in hospital wards. The technology is often used as a resource for patient education, too. In addition, touchscreens can be used in staff areas in the form of vending machines and TV hubs. George H M Webb is a content media executive for Cammax Limited, a leading kiosk and touchscreen provider. (Image via ) This article was first published in April 2016.
HealthCareCommunication.com
Hospitals, kiosks, Patients, serve, Visitors Google + Disqus |
People with impaired glucose tolerance can show cognitive dysfunction
Institute of Food Technologists (IFT)
People with impaired glucose tolerance—the precursor to Type 2 diabetes—often show impaired cognitive function that may be alleviated through a diet designed specifically for their condition, according to new research.
People with impaired glucose tolerance -- the precursor to Type 2 diabetes -- often show impaired cognitive function that may be alleviated through a diet designed specifically for their condition, according to a panel discussion at the 2013 Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) Annual Meeting & Expo�.
Impaired glucose tolerance is a pre-diabetic state of hyperglycemia that is associated with insulin resistance and a higher risk of cardiovascular disease. It can precede Type 2 diabetes by several years, and some lifestyle changes, such as getting to a normal weight and increasing exercise, can help pre-diabetic people avoid that progression completely.
Louise Dye, Ph.D., professor of nutrition and behavior in the Human Appetite Research Unit at the Institute of Psychological Sciences, University of Leeds, presented research in which she examined 31 previous studies regarding cognitive performance under various dietary conditions. She found that the impaired glucose tolerance group showed difficulties in 12 of 27 cognitive test outcomes, including word recognition, visual verbal learning test, visual spatial learning test, psychomotor test and Corsi block-tapping. The impaired glucose tolerance group was made up of all middle-aged women who appeared to be in general good health.
"There was significant impairment in those women who were impaired glucose tolerant," Dye said. "To me, that feels like a ticking time bomb. We need to use food -- the diet and food industry -- to help us shift these people back from impaired glucose tolerance. By the time they get to Type 2 diabetes, the impairments are much more evident."
She pointed to a 2009 Japanese study of 129 people in their 80s, 55 of whom had impaired glucose tolerance or Type 2 diabetes. All the subjects in the study consumed more than 30 grams of dietary fiber per day and exercised two to four times per week over a two-year period. Within that timeframe, the 36 people with impaired glucose tolerance showed improvements in delayed recall and block design tests. The Type 2 diabetes group showed improvement in dementia, delayed recall and their mental state.
"That tells us something about how improving glucose regulation through dietary fiber and exercise could improve cognitive functions," Dye said.
She called on the food industry to continue researching the best products for consumers with glucose tolerance issues, such as those foods with increased fiber and those with limited glycemic impact.
Another panelist, Nicolas Bordenave, Ph.D., associate principal scientist in the analytical department of PepsiCo Global R&D, said a key aspect to consider in glucose management is satiety. He said two proven avenues for doing that are a shift toward slowly digestible starch and resistant starch in foods and enhanced viscosity of food through digestion. However, he noted that a challenge for food manufacturers is to create foods with these characteristics that taste appealing to consumers, another challenge being the application of new discoveries on the mechanisms of satiety into food products.
“From the consumer standpoint there is still a lot to understand,” he said. “Right now, people think of glucose management in terms of satiety. They are not aware yet of the effect of glucose delivery on their mental performance, for example, and of all the possible ways to achieve proper glucose management. It’s really about consumer education.”
The above story is based on materials provided by Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). "People with impaired glucose tolerance can show cognitive dysfunction." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 July 2013. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130716115721.htm>.
Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). (2013, July 16). People with impaired glucose tolerance can show cognitive dysfunction. ScienceDaily. Retrieved July 23, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130716115721.htm
Institute of Food Technologists (IFT). "People with impaired glucose tolerance can show cognitive dysfunction." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/07/130716115721.htm (accessed July 23, 2014). |
How Green Engineering Works
by Akweli Parker
Green Engineering Technologies
Solar panels integrated in the roof of a fire station at Houten, near Utrecht, in the Netherlands.
Paul Oomen/Getty Images
So what does green engineering look like, exactly, when it's applied to stuff in the real world? Chances are you're surrounded by green-engineered technologies, since sustainability has become such an important consideration in our lives. Here we'll take a quick look at the three major areas you'll most likely encounter green technologies.
Chemistry brings us so many amenities of modern life that it boggles the mind: plastics, computer chips, fuel for our vehicles, paints and pigments, adhesives, batteries, and so much more. The problem is that making these products often creates nasty byproducts that are toxic to people and the environment. To combat this, the technologies of green chemistry use "the design of chemical products and processes that reduce or eliminate the use and generation of hazardous substances" [source: Great Lakes Green Chemistry Network].
One company, LS9 Inc., has developed microbes that create a fuel called UltraDiesel. Produced from biomass, the fuel eliminates toxic compounds such as sulfur, benzene and heavy metals found in traditional petroleum diesel.
Biopesticides use non-toxic or less-toxic chemicals to disrupt the life cycles of pest insects without killing non-pests and without posing a danger to species higher up on the food chain -- including people.
The construction industry used to be notorious for how much waste it generated. Odd lengths of two-by-four, scrap drywall and anything else left over after a building was complete would head to the landfill by the Dumpster-load. What's more, the architecture and material for buildings was often made optimal for aesthetics and/or low initial cost, but not optimal for efficiency.
Today, on the other hand, a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification on a building is considered a badge of sophistication, environmental stewardship and smart business. Some green engineering technologies for buildings you're probably already familiar with include compact fluorescent light bulbs, energy-efficient windows and high-efficiency heating and cooling systems. But there are others that have yet to catch on and be so widely adopted:
"Green roofs" help regulate building temperature, control storm-water runoff and can even provide food for people in the form of rooftop gardens
Modular, pre-fabricated housing fits together on a construction site like a gigantic Lego set; the house gets built faster, less material goes to waste and the buyer saves thousands of dollars compared to building a traditional new home.
Passive heating and cooling use the building's design plus its orientation to the sun and wind to keep indoor temperatures in a comfortable range without having to crank up the air conditioning or fire up the furnace.
Cars, trucks and other vehicles are rightfully a major focus of companies' green engineering efforts. Not only do they contribute heavily to greenhouse gases that artificially heat up the planet, but vast resources are consumed in making them and maintaining them. Six Sigma and Lean methodologies and the ISO 14001 management system aim to make manufacturing more standardized, less wasteful and overall greener.
Hybrid and full-electric technology aim to make vehicles less polluting by minimizing their use of fossil fuels. Even the materials that cars are made out of are getting the green engineering treatment. Less and less steel is going into vehicle construction as manufacturers look to cut weight with lighter materials such as aluminum, plastics, and even carbon fiber. They have ample incentive -- consumers are demanding more efficient vehicles as fuel prices pummel their pocketbooks with increasing regularity.
For lots more information on green engineering, follow the links on the next page.
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The effect of long-term climate change on the vertebrate fauna of Mariepskop South Africa
Perold, Vonica
Climate change is leading to loss of global and local biodiversity through changes in the ecology of fauna and flora. Changes in environmental temperature influence species distributional ranges. They respond by either migrating along with the shift in ecological zones or adapting to the new environmental conditions within a habitat. If neither adaptation nor migration is possible, local extinction of the species can result. This study was performed at Mariepskop mountain which served as the ideal environment for quantifying species distribution along an altitudinal gradient within different vegetation types. The information collected was used to quantify the factors shaping species distribution and to predict the fate of these species at Mariepskop with future climate change scenarios.
In this study I identified vertebrate taxa with restricted distribution along the altitudinal gradient representing low, high and generalist species. Regional geographical distribution and temperature data were analysed to create geographical distribution and temperature profiles for each species. Local distribution data and temperature profiles created from data recorded at automated weather stations within the study area and long-term interpolated data were compared to the geographical profiles for each species. Habitat requirements at a geographical scale were investigated for each species and related to the local habitat selection rationale at Mariepskop. Quantifying vegetation types and land types in the study area I predicted the possible shifts in vegetation zones with future climate change. Using this rationale we predicted which species at Mariepskop were most likely to be affected by future temperature increases and to what extent. A detailed study focussing on the factors shaping the local restricted altitudinal distribution of the Drakensberg crag lizard (Pseudocordylus melanotus melanotus) to the highest altitudinal site was also performed. Factors investigated were suitable shelter and prey availability, ambient temperature conditions and operative temperatures recorded with copper lizard models. A behaviour study on focal lizards at the highest altitudinal sites was also performed to create diurnal activity pattern profiles for crag lizards. Activity profiles were related to temperature data and diurnal activity time budgets were calculated. We established that the restriction provided by the upper thermal limit of this species is the factor most likely responsible for limiting it to the highest altitudinal site. A temperature simulation model based on laboratory experiments and field data was designed to simulate future increased temperature scenarios at Mariepskop. It revealed a reduction in the diurnal activity time budget for P. m. melanotus with increased temperature. In summation we predicted that future climate change could affect three vertebrate species at Mariepskop due to shifts in vegetation zones. The Drakensberg crag lizard is however unlikely to be affected by a future 2?C increase in environmental temperature.
Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2016.
Perold_Effect_2016.pdf
Theses and Dissertations (Zoology and Entomology) |
Learning in community
Native American youth are improving their chances for success in college and beyond through Konaway Nika Tillicum, a weeklong camp at Southern Oregon University.
John Darling
The residential Native American academy, open to youth in seventh through 12th grades, teaches writing, theater, math, humanities, culture and other subjects.
"They learn what it takes to succeed in higher education by taking college-level classes," says instructor Brent Florendo, who is also SOU's academic programs coordinator. Fellow instructor David West is director of the Native American Studies Program.
"We bring in native students to inform them what it takes, not just with academics, but to help empower and motivate them in all areas, networking, finances, romantic relationships, balancing stress and dealing with being a minority," says Florendo.
Konaway is an academic camp, not a culture camp, he says. But students, counselors and teachers "do speak the truth about Native American history" and how prejudice and oppression have created a situation in which the suicide rate among American Indians is four times the national average and the school dropout rate is eight times the national average, he says.
The academy also helps build friendships and personal and professional networks. Speakers include past Konaway students who have gone on to earn doctorates and become professors, lawyers, doctors, etc., says head resident Joe Dupris, formerly of Klamath Falls and now working on his doctorate in Native American linguistics at University of Arizona.
"We develop a community of support for students, mostly from Oregon and California," says Dupris, though noting that one student is a Mayan from Guatemala.
Another head resident, Promise Grace, of Hawaii, is in her second year at Konaway and plans on a career as a professor. She notes, "What we're doing is planning for the seventh generation, with the knowledge that our students now need to be the change makers for that to happen."
A Chiloquin native and high school student in Eugene, Paul Wilson is in his fourth year at Konaway.
"It's helped me develop and retain my indigenous identification while in academia," he says, "so I can apply it in school, making it a richer environment for my education. Without doubt, the networks I've made here have motivated me to success. My best friend is a PhD candidate. My life goal is happiness while implementing critical pedagogies in standardized education."
Attendance at Konaway improves grade point averages by at least half a point a year for each year, develops leadership skills and takes away fears of being on a college campus and being isolated as an ethnic minority, according to its SOU page, http://sou.edu/natam/konaway.html.
A student in the first year of Konaway, 19 years ago, Roseburg native Amanda Mendoza overcame painful shyness, she says, and went on to get her master's degree in special education at SOU. She now teaches it in Beaverton schools.
"Konaway kept me connected to my culture, got me motivated for college and taught me to work outside my comfort zone," says Mendoza, who teaches writing at the academy. "It's super-awesome, a great sense of family with positive role models."
Third-year senior counselor Jet Ward, a Filipino-African-American from Oakland, Calif., says she wants to work with youth, helping natives "break down the wall of stereotypes that America has put on us ... so we can achieve as much as the people who've broken us down."
Doctoral candidate D.J. Worley, a math teacher and regular at Konaway over the last 15 years, said the academy helped him bounce back from being a college dropout.
"I couldn't relate to anyone, but with Konaway, I was inspired. It grounded me," says Worley. "I was able to see other natives go through similar situations and succeed. I developed abstract thinking and critical engagement skills."
The school's name means "All my relations," a traditional Indian honorific, said in the Chinook tongue.
John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. |
EU sends funds for Swahili rescue
Swahili culture in Kenya, under threat from urban modernisation, is to receive Pounds 2.5 million from the European Union towards its preservation. Most of the money will be used to restore historical buildings in the old towns of Lamu, Malindi and Mombasa.
Archaeologists from the University of Nairobi will work with national museum curators to decide on how best to conserve the art, carvings, buildings and other architecture of Swahili culture which flourished on the east coast of Africa for centuries.
The Commonwealth Association of Museums and Commonwealth Association of Architects have also promised to send experts if necessary to help on the project, which will be integrated with the United Nations Development Programme projects on rehabilitation of old towns on the east coast of Africa.
EU money will fund the compilation of a photographic index of the endangered architectural styles that date from at least the 16th century. Swahili is Kenya's national language. It is also spoken by many people in eastern and central Africa.
According to Omar Bwana, a leading Kenyan curator, building programmes and changing lifestyles have endangered most of the fragile designs found on old walls and doors. In Lamu alone about 200 doors, carvings and paintings are at risk, says Mr Bwana, who is a deputy director of National Museums of Kenya, and an expert on East African coastal archaeology.
Judith Aldrick, a 19th-century specialist on carved wooden doors of east coast old towns, has warned for some time of the threat to the material culture of the Swahili, a Bantu-speaking people who inhabited Zanzibar and the adjacent coastal areas. In her study of carved doors, rare motifs and other Swahili artistic forms, Dr Aldrick identified a variety of tastes and traditions of the Swahili people.
Simiyu Wandibba, an archaeologist at the University of Nairobi, says the complex relationships of Swahili culture, a fusion of Arabic, Hindu, and African influences, could only be studied and conserved through careful restoration of the existing infrastructure.
Urban modernisation, souvenir hunting and antique dealers have all had a harmful effect.
A historic building has been acquired as the project's headquarters. There training workshops will be given in masonry work, carved plasterwork and wood carving, harnessing the expertise of artisans who have restored old buildings in Lamu and Malindi.
There will also be workshops and seminars on Swahili history, motifs in carvings, designs and architecture, songs and folklore, says Mr Bwana. Experts will explore the factors that have made such towns as Lamu, Pate and Siyu, part of the Lamu archipelago, retain patterns of pre-industrialisation urbanisation.
Lamu, particularly, is expected to yield clues about why it fell into economic decline during the Portuguese occupation and the role of Oman Araba in the Islamisation of the East African coast and the Busaidi Sultans' introduction of their architectural designs.
According to Dr Aldrick, who studied at Durham University and is a former secretary to the Friends of Fort Jesus, the islands of Pate and Siyu with art forms on hard wood and stone, should give an insight into the relationship between local and Hindu art that flourished here in the 14th and 15th centuries.
The project will allow scholars and curators from the University of Nairobi and National Museums of Kenya to carry out a morphological study of the Bajuni people. These are usually regarded as the northern branch of the Swahili people and are credited for building dhows painted with geometric patterns and zigzag designs that are unique only to Swahili culture.
Historical sources reveal that old Swahili towns dating between the 14th and 15th centuries flourished before they went into decline, with little economic or artistic activity during the Portuguese occupation of the 15th to 18th centuries.
The project will also make a detailed map of Swahili heritage in Kenya. The researchers from the museums, the University of Nairobi and those from UNDP, are also expected to write manuals that show past glories of the east coast of Africa. This spans from Kenya, Tanzania and the rest of the East African islands, such as Zanzibar, Pemba and Comoros.
However, Mr Livi says the success of the project will depend on local people's awareness. He wants the government to launch a campaign on conservation as well as to discourage souvenir collecting by tourists. The EU estimates cultural tourism spin-offs from the project will increase National Museums of Kenya revenue by some 20 per cent. |
Carbon buried deep in ancient soils
(Phys.org) —The unearthing of significant carbon stores in deep soils by scientists from the UK and Australia has substantial implications for climate change activities globally.
Professor Mark Tibbett of Cranfield University and Professor Richard Harper of Murdoch University in Australia found carbon stocks buried in deep soils. The levels were between two and five times more than would commonly be reported in soils sampled to depths of only 30cm.
Reports on the carbon content of soils only exist to depths of a few metres, although it is known that many soils are much deeper than this, particularly outside of the glaciated landscapes of northern Europe and North America.
Professor Tibbett said: "An understanding of carbon cycling is vital for combatting global warming and soils are crucial as they hold the largest terrestrial store of carbon worldwide. This discovery has profound implications for carbon accounting as there is now a significant pool of soil carbon that has not been reported previously. We anticipate this work will demonstrate the need for a reassessment of the current IPCC sampling depths and may require a revision of global soil carbon estimates."
An extensive soil sampling program in the abundant deeply weathered terrain of southern Australia analysed soils to depths of nearly 40 metres and found carbon in small concentrations but in significant total amounts.
The results of this research have further implications, as Professor Tibbett explains; "This study poses a series of fascinating questions that now need to be examined such as; how abundant are these stores globally? What is the composition of this deep carbon and what is its fate in relation to land use and climate change in regions where deep soils exist? In particular we need to consider what the effects of land use and climate change are on deep carbon stores; how stable are they and are they growing or shrinking? The answers could have major implications for worldwide CO2 estimations."
The paper entitled "The hidden organic carbon in deep mineral soils" was published this week in Plant & Soil.
More information: http://www.springerlink.com/openurl.asp?genre=article&id=doi:10.1007/s11104-013-1600-9
Provided by Cranfield University
Wood not so green a biofuel
Using wood for energy is considered cleaner than fossil fuels, but a Dartmouth College-led study finds that logging may release large amounts of carbon stored in deep forest soils. The results appear in the journal Global Ch ...
Soils in newly forested areas store substantial carbon that could help offset climate change
Surface appearances can be so misleading: In most forests, the amount of carbon held in soils is substantially greater than the amount contained in the trees themselves.
Biochar reduces nasty nitrous oxide emissions on farms
(Phys.org) —In the quest to decrease the world's greenhouse gases, Cornell scientists have discovered that biochar – a charcoal-like substance – reduces the nemesis nitrous oxide from agricultural soil ...
Researchers create online tool to estimate greenhouse gas reductions through conservation agriculture
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The glutamatergic neurons in the spinal cord of the sea lamprey: an in situ hybridization and immunohistochemical study.
Blanca Fernández-López, Verona Villar-Cerviño, Silvia M Valle-Maroto, Antón Barreiro-Iglesias, Ramón Anadón, María Celina Rodicio.
Glutamate is the main excitatory neurotransmitter involved in spinal cord circuits in vertebrates, but in most groups the distribution of glutamatergic spinal neurons is still unknown. Lampreys have been extensively used as a model to investigate the neuronal circuits underlying locomotion. Glutamatergic circuits have been characterized on the basis of the excitatory responses elicited in postsynaptic neurons. However, the presence of glutamatergic neurochemical markers in spinal neurons has not been investigated. In this study, we report for the first time the expression of a vesicular glutamate transporter (VGLUT) in the spinal cord of the sea lamprey. We also study the distribution of glutamate in perikarya and fibers. The largest glutamatergic neurons found were the dorsal cells and caudal giant cells. Two additional VGLUT-positive gray matter populations, one dorsomedial consisting of small cells and another one lateral consisting of small and large cells were observed. Some cerebrospinal fluid-contacting cells also expressed VGLUT. In the white matter, some edge cells and some cells associated with giant axons (Müller and Mauthner axons) and the dorsolateral funiculus expressed VGLUT. Large lateral cells and the cells associated with reticulospinal axons are in a key position to receive descending inputs involved in the control of locomotion. We also compared the distribution of glutamate immunoreactivity with that of ?-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glycine. Colocalization of glutamate and GABA or glycine was observed in some small spinal cells. These results confirm the glutamatergic nature of various neuronal populations, and reveal new small-celled glutamatergic populations, predicting that some glutamatergic neurons would exert complex actions on postsynaptic neurons.
Fast Micro-iontophoresis of Glutamate and GABA: A Useful Tool to Investigate Synaptic Integration
Authors: Christina Müller, Stefan Remy.
One of the fundamental interests in neuroscience is to understand the integration of excitatory and inhibitory inputs along the very complex structure of the dendritic tree, which eventually leads to neuronal output of action potentials at the axon. The influence of diverse spatial and temporal parameters of specific synaptic input on neuronal output is currently under investigation, e.g. the distance-dependent attenuation of dendritic inputs, the location-dependent interaction of spatially segregated inputs, the influence of GABAergig inhibition on excitatory integration, linear and non-linear integration modes, and many more. With fast micro-iontophoresis of glutamate and GABA it is possible to precisely investigate the spatial and temporal integration of glutamatergic excitation and GABAergic inhibition. Critical technical requirements are either a triggered fluorescent lamp, light-emitting diode (LED), or a two-photon scanning microscope to visualize dendritic branches without introducing significant photo-damage of the tissue. Furthermore, it is very important to have a micro-iontophoresis amplifier that allows for fast capacitance compensation of high resistance pipettes. Another crucial point is that no transmitter is involuntarily released by the pipette during the experiment. Once established, this technique will give reliable and reproducible signals with a high neurotransmitter and location specificity. Compared to glutamate and GABA uncaging, fast iontophoresis allows using both transmitters at the same time but at very distant locations without limitation to the field of view. There are also advantages compared to focal electrical stimulation of axons: with micro-iontophoresis the location of the input site is definitely known and it is sure that only the neurotransmitter of interest is released. However it has to be considered that with micro-iontophoresis only the postsynapse is activated and presynaptic aspects of neurotransmitter release are not resolved. In this article we demonstrate how to set up micro-iontophoresis in brain slice experiments.
Spinal Cord Electrophysiology
Authors: Allyn Meyer, Benjamin W. Gallarda, Samuel Pfaff, William Alaynick.
Institutions: Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Gene Expression Laboratory, University of California San Diego - UCSD.
The neonatal mouse spinal cord is a model for studying the development of neural circuitries and locomotor movement. We demonstrate the spinal cord dissection and preparation of recording bath artificial cerebrospinal fluid used for locomotor studies. Once dissected, the spinal cord ventral nerve roots can be attached to a recording electrode to record the electrophysiologic signals of the central pattern generating circuitry within the lumbar cord.
Neuroscience, Issue 35, Electrophysiology, central pattern generator, spinal cord, artificial cerebrospinal fluid
Studying the Integration of Adult-born Neurons
Authors: Yan Gu, Stephen Janoschka, Shaoyu Ge.
Institutions: State University of New York at Stony Brook.
Neurogenesis occurs in adult mammalian brains in the sub-ventricular zone (SVZ) of the lateral ventricle and in the sub-granular zone (SGZ) of the hippocampal dentate gyrus throughout life. Previous reports have shown that adult hippocampal neurogenesis is associated with diverse brain disorders, including epilepsy, schizophrenia, depression and anxiety (1). Deciphering the process of normal and aberrant adult-born neuron integration may shed light on the etiology of these diseases and inform the development of new therapies. SGZ adult neurogenesis mirrors embryonic and post-natal neuronal development, including stages of fate specification, migration, synaptic integration, and maturation. However, full integration occurs over a prolonged, 6-week period. Initial synaptic input to adult-born SGZ dentate granule cells (DGCs) is GABAergic, followed by glutamatergic input at 14 days (2). The specific factors which regulate circuit formation of adult-born neurons in the dentate gyrus are currently unknown. Our laboratory uses a replication-deficient retroviral vector based on the Moloney murine leukemia virus to deliver fluorescent proteins and hypothesized regulatory genes to these proliferating cells. This viral technique provides high specificity and resolution for analysis of cell birth date, lineage, morphology, and synaptogenesis. A typical experiment often employs two or three viruses containing unique label, transgene, and promoter elements for single-cell analysis of a desired developmental process in vivo. The following protocol describes a method for analyzing functional newborn neuron integration using a single green (GFP) or red (dTomato) fluorescent protein retrovirus and patch-clamp electrophysiology.
Neuroscience, Issue 49, dentate gyrus, neurogenesis, newborn dentate granule cells, functional integration
DiI-Labeling of DRG Neurons to Study Axonal Branching in a Whole Mount Preparation of Mouse Embryonic Spinal Cord
Authors: Hannes Schmidt, Fritz G. Rathjen.
Institutions: Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine.
Here we present a technique to label the trajectories of small groups of DRG neurons into the embryonic spinal cord by diffusive staining using the lipophilic tracer 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI)1. The comparison of axonal pathways of wild-type with those of mouse lines in which genes are mutated allows testing for a functional role of candidate proteins in the control of axonal branching which is an essential mechanism in the wiring of the nervous system. Axonal branching enables an individual neuron to connect with multiple targets, thereby providing the physical basis for the parallel processing of information. Ramifications at intermediate target regions of axonal growth may be distinguished from terminal arborization. Furthermore, different modes of axonal branch formation may be classified depending on whether branching results from the activities of the growth cone (splitting or delayed branching) or from the budding of collaterals from the axon shaft in a process called interstitial branching2 (Fig. 1). The central projections of neurons from the DRG offer a useful experimental system to study both types of axonal branching: when their afferent axons reach the dorsal root entry zone (DREZ) of the spinal cord between embryonic days 10 to 13 (E10 - E13) they display a stereotyped pattern of T- or Y-shaped bifurcation. The two resulting daughter axons then proceed in rostral or caudal directions, respectively, at the dorsolateral margin of the cord and only after a waiting period collaterals sprout from these stem axons to penetrate the gray matter (interstitial branching) and project to relay neurons in specific laminae of the spinal cord where they further arborize (terminal branching)3. DiI tracings have revealed growth cones at the dorsal root entry zone of the spinal cord that appeared to be in the process of splitting suggesting that bifurcation is caused by splitting of the growth cone itself4 (Fig. 2), however, other options have been discussed as well5. This video demonstrates first how to dissect the spinal cord of E12.5 mice leaving the DRG attached. Following fixation of the specimen tiny amounts of DiI are applied to DRG using glass needles pulled from capillary tubes. After an incubation step, the labeled spinal cord is mounted as an inverted open-book preparation to analyze individual axons using fluorescence microscopy.
Neuroscience, Issue 58, neurons, axonal branching, DRG, Spinal cord, DiI labeling, cGMP signaling
Mapping Inhibitory Neuronal Circuits by Laser Scanning Photostimulation
Authors: Taruna Ikrar, Nicholas D. Olivas, Yulin Shi, Xiangmin Xu.
Institutions: University of California, Irvine, University of California, Irvine.
Inhibitory neurons are crucial to cortical function. They comprise about 20% of the entire cortical neuronal population and can be further subdivided into diverse subtypes based on their immunochemical, morphological, and physiological properties1-4. Although previous research has revealed much about intrinsic properties of individual types of inhibitory neurons, knowledge about their local circuit connections is still relatively limited3,5,6. Given that each individual neuron's function is shaped by its excitatory and inhibitory synaptic input within cortical circuits, we have been using laser scanning photostimulation (LSPS) to map local circuit connections to specific inhibitory cell types. Compared to conventional electrical stimulation or glutamate puff stimulation, LSPS has unique advantages allowing for extensive mapping and quantitative analysis of local functional inputs to individually recorded neurons3,7-9. Laser photostimulation via glutamate uncaging selectively activates neurons perisomatically, without activating axons of passage or distal dendrites, which ensures a sub-laminar mapping resolution. The sensitivity and efficiency of LSPS for mapping inputs from many stimulation sites over a large region are well suited for cortical circuit analysis. Here we introduce the technique of LSPS combined with whole-cell patch clamping for local inhibitory circuit mapping. Targeted recordings of specific inhibitory cell types are facilitated by use of transgenic mice expressing green fluorescent proteins (GFP) in limited inhibitory neuron populations in the cortex3,10, which enables consistent sampling of the targeted cell types and unambiguous identification of the cell types recorded. As for LSPS mapping, we outline the system instrumentation, describe the experimental procedure and data acquisition, and present examples of circuit mapping in mouse primary somatosensory cortex. As illustrated in our experiments, caged glutamate is activated in a spatially restricted region of the brain slice by UV laser photolysis; simultaneous voltage-clamp recordings allow detection of photostimulation-evoked synaptic responses. Maps of either excitatory or inhibitory synaptic input to the targeted neuron are generated by scanning the laser beam to stimulate hundreds of potential presynaptic sites. Thus, LSPS enables the construction of detailed maps of synaptic inputs impinging onto specific types of inhibitory neurons through repeated experiments. Taken together, the photostimulation-based technique offers neuroscientists a powerful tool for determining the functional organization of local cortical circuits.
Neuroscience, Issue 56, glutamate uncaging, whole cell recording, GFP, transgenic, interneurons
A New Clarification Method to Visualize Biliary Degeneration During Liver Metamorphosis in Sea Lamprey (Petromyzon marinus)
Authors: Yu-Wen Chung-Davidson, Peter J. Davidson, Anne M. Scott, Erin J. Walaszczyk, Cory O. Brant, Tyler Buchinger, Nicholas S. Johnson, Weiming Li.
Institutions: Michigan State University, U.S. Geological Survey.
Biliary atresia is a rare disease of infancy, with an estimated 1 in 15,000 frequency in the southeast United States, but more common in East Asian countries, with a reported frequency of 1 in 5,000 in Taiwan. Although much is known about the management of biliary atresia, its pathogenesis is still elusive. The sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) provides a unique opportunity to examine the mechanism and progression of biliary degeneration. Sea lamprey develop through three distinct life stages: larval, parasitic, and adult. During the transition from larvae to parasitic juvenile, sea lamprey undergo metamorphosis with dramatic reorganization and remodeling in external morphology and internal organs. In the liver, the entire biliary system is lost, including the gall bladder and the biliary tree. A newly-developed method called “CLARITY” was modified to clarify the entire liver and the junction with the intestine in metamorphic sea lamprey. The process of biliary degeneration was visualized and discerned during sea lamprey metamorphosis by using laser scanning confocal microscopy. This method provides a powerful tool to study biliary atresia in a unique animal model.
Developmental Biology, Issue 88, Biliary atresia, liver development, bile duct degeneration, Petromyzon marinus, metamorphosis, apoptosis
Detection of the Genome and Transcripts of a Persistent DNA Virus in Neuronal Tissues by Fluorescent In situ Hybridization Combined with Immunostaining
Authors: Frédéric Catez, Antoine Rousseau, Marc Labetoulle, Patrick Lomonte.
Institutions: CNRS UMR 5534, Université de Lyon 1, LabEX DEVweCAN, CNRS UPR 3296, CNRS UMR 5286.
Single cell codetection of a gene, its RNA product and cellular regulatory proteins is critical to study gene expression regulation. This is a challenge in the field of virology; in particular for nuclear-replicating persistent DNA viruses that involve animal models for their study. Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) establishes a life-long latent infection in peripheral neurons. Latent virus serves as reservoir, from which it reactivates and induces a new herpetic episode. The cell biology of HSV-1 latency remains poorly understood, in part due to the lack of methods to detect HSV-1 genomes in situ in animal models. We describe a DNA-fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) approach efficiently detecting low-copy viral genomes within sections of neuronal tissues from infected animal models. The method relies on heat-based antigen unmasking, and directly labeled home-made DNA probes, or commercially available probes. We developed a triple staining approach, combining DNA-FISH with RNA-FISH and immunofluorescence, using peroxidase based signal amplification to accommodate each staining requirement. A major improvement is the ability to obtain, within 10 µm tissue sections, low-background signals that can be imaged at high resolution by confocal microscopy and wide-field conventional epifluorescence. Additionally, the triple staining worked with a wide range of antibodies directed against cellular and viral proteins. The complete protocol takes 2.5 days to accommodate antibody and probe penetration within the tissue.
Neuroscience, Issue 83, Life Sciences (General), Virology, Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV), Latency, In situ hybridization, Nuclear organization, Gene expression, Microscopy
Non-radioactive in situ Hybridization Protocol Applicable for Norway Spruce and a Range of Plant Species
Authors: Anna Karlgren, Jenny Carlsson, Niclas Gyllenstrand, Ulf Lagercrantz, Jens F. Sundström.
Institutions: Uppsala University, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences.
The high-throughput expression analysis technologies available today give scientists an overflow of expression profiles but their resolution in terms of tissue specific expression is limited because of problems in dissecting individual tissues. Expression data needs to be confirmed and complemented with expression patterns using e.g. in situ hybridization, a technique used to localize cell specific mRNA expression. The in situ hybridization method is laborious, time-consuming and often requires extensive optimization depending on species and tissue. In situ experiments are relatively more difficult to perform in woody species such as the conifer Norway spruce (Picea abies). Here we present a modified DIG in situ hybridization protocol, which is fast and applicable on a wide range of plant species including P. abies. With just a few adjustments, including altered RNase treatment and proteinase K concentration, we could use the protocol to study tissue specific expression of homologous genes in male reproductive organs of one gymnosperm and two angiosperm species; P. abies, Arabidopsis thaliana and Brassica napus. The protocol worked equally well for the species and genes studied. AtAP3 and BnAP3 were observed in second and third whorl floral organs in A. thaliana and B. napus and DAL13 in microsporophylls of male cones from P. abies. For P. abies the proteinase K concentration, used to permeablize the tissues, had to be increased to 3 g/ml instead of 1 g/ml, possibly due to more compact tissues and higher levels of phenolics and polysaccharides. For all species the RNase treatment was removed due to reduced signal strength without a corresponding increase in specificity. By comparing tissue specific expression patterns of homologous genes from both flowering plants and a coniferous tree we demonstrate that the DIG in situ protocol presented here, with only minute adjustments, can be applied to a wide range of plant species. Hence, the protocol avoids both extensive species specific optimization and the laborious use of radioactively labeled probes in favor of DIG labeled probes. We have chosen to illustrate the technically demanding steps of the protocol in our film. Anna Karlgren and Jenny Carlsson contributed equally to this study. Corresponding authors: Anna Karlgren at [email protected] and Jens F. Sundström at [email protected]
Plant Biology, Issue 26, RNA, expression analysis, Norway spruce, Arabidopsis, rapeseed, conifers
Production of RNA for Transcriptomic Analysis from Mouse Spinal Cord Motor Neuron Cell Bodies by Laser Capture Microdissection
Authors: Urmi Bandyopadhyay, Wayne A. Fenton, Arthur L. Horwich, Maria Nagy.
Institutions: Yale School of Medicine, Howard Hughes Medical Institute.
Preparation of high-quality RNA from cells of interest is critical to precise and meaningful analysis of transcriptional differences among cell types or between the same cell type in health and disease or following pharmacologic treatments. In the spinal cord, such preparation from motor neurons, the target of interest in many neurologic and neurodegenerative diseases, is complicated by the fact that motor neurons represent <10% of the total cell population. Laser capture microdissection (LMD) has been developed to address this problem. Here, we describe a protocol to quickly recover, freeze, and section mouse spinal cord to avoid RNA damage by endogenous and exogenous RNases, followed by staining with Azure B in 70% ethanol to identify the motor neurons while keeping endogenous RNase inhibited. LMD is then used to capture the stained neurons directly into guanidine thiocyanate lysis buffer, maintaining RNA integrity. Standard techniques are used to recover the total RNA and measure its integrity. This material can then be used for downstream analysis of the transcripts by RNA-seq and qRT-PCR.
Neuroscience, Issue 83, Laser capture microdissection, Motor neuron, Spinal cord, Azure B, RNA, RNA-seq, qRT-PCR
Retrograde Loading of Nerves, Tracts, and Spinal Roots with Fluorescent Dyes
Authors: Dvir Blivis, Michael J. O'Donovan.
Institutions: National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health.
Retrograde labeling of neurons is a standard anatomical method1,2 that has also been used to load calcium and voltage-sensitive dyes into neurons3-6. Generally, the dyes are applied as solid crystals or by local pressure injection using glass pipettes. However, this can result in dilution of the dye and reduced labeling intensity, particularly when several hours are required for dye diffusion. Here we demonstrate a simple and low-cost technique for introducing fluorescent and ion-sensitive dyes into neurons using a polyethylene suction pipette filled with the dye solution. This method offers a reliable way for maintaining a high concentration of the dye in contact with axons throughout the loading procedure.
Neuroscience, Issue 62, Retrograde labeling, Fluorescent dyes, Spinal cord, Nerves, Spinal tracts, Optical imaging, Electrophysiology, Calcium-sensitive dyes
Presynaptically Silent Synapses Studied with Light Microscopy
Authors: Krista L. Moulder, Xiaoping Jiang, Amanda A. Taylor, Ann M. Benz, Steven Mennerick.
Institutions: Washington University School of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine, Washington University School of Medicine.
Synaptic plasticity likely underlies the nervous system's ability to learn and remember and may also represent an adaptability that prevents otherwise damaging insults from becoming neurotoxic. We have been studying a form of presynaptic plasticity that is interesting in part because it is expressed as a digital switching on and off of a presynaptic terminal s ability to release vesicles containing the neurotransmitter glutamate. Here we demonstrate a protocol for visualizing the activity status of presynaptic terminals in dissociated cell cultures prepared from the rodent hippocampus. The method relies on detecting active synapses using staining with a fixable form of the styryl dye FM1-43, commonly used to label synaptic vesicles. This staining profile is compared with immunostaining of the same terminals with an antibody directed against the vesicular glutamate transporter 1 (vGluT-1), a stain designed to label all glutamate synapses regardless of activation status. We find that depolarizing stimuli induce presynaptic silencing. The population of synapses that is silent under baseline conditions can be activated by prolonged electrical silencing or by activation of cAMP signaling pathways.
Neurobiology, Issue 35, glutamate, synaptic plasticity, cAMP, excitotoxicity, homeostasis, FM1-43, presynaptic plasticity
Deriving the Time Course of Glutamate Clearance with a Deconvolution Analysis of Astrocytic Transporter Currents
Authors: Annalisa Scimemi, Jeffrey S. Diamond.
Institutions: National Institutes of Health.
The highest density of glutamate transporters in the brain is found in astrocytes. Glutamate transporters couple the movement of glutamate across the membrane with the co-transport of 3 Na+ and 1 H+ and the counter-transport of 1 K+. The stoichiometric current generated by the transport process can be monitored with whole-cell patch-clamp recordings from astrocytes. The time course of the recorded current is shaped by the time course of the glutamate concentration profile to which astrocytes are exposed, the kinetics of glutamate transporters, and the passive electrotonic properties of astrocytic membranes. Here we describe the experimental and analytical methods that can be used to record glutamate transporter currents in astrocytes and isolate the time course of glutamate clearance from all other factors that shape the waveform of astrocytic transporter currents. The methods described here can be used to estimate the lifetime of flash-uncaged and synaptically-released glutamate at astrocytic membranes in any region of the central nervous system during health and disease.
Neurobiology, Issue 78, Neuroscience, Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Cellular Biology, Anatomy, Physiology, Biophysics, Astrocytes, Synapses, Glutamic Acid, Membrane Transport Proteins, Astrocytes, glutamate transporters, uptake, clearance, hippocampus, stratum radiatum, CA1, gene, brain, slice, animal model
Patch Clamp Recordings from Embryonic Zebrafish Mauthner Cells
Authors: Birbickram Roy, Declan William Ali.
Institutions: University of Alberta.
Mauthner cells (M-cells) are large reticulospinal neurons located in the hindbrain of teleost fish. They are key neurons involved in a characteristic behavior known as the C-start or escape response that occurs when the organism perceives a threat. The M-cell has been extensively studied in adult goldfish where it has been shown to receive a wide range of excitatory, inhibitory and neuromodulatory signals1. We have been examining M-cell activity in embryonic zebrafish in order to study aspects of synaptic development in a vertebrate preparation. In the late 1990s Ali and colleagues developed a preparation for patch clamp recording from M-cells in zebrafish embryos, in which the CNS was largely intact2,3,4. The objective at that time was to record synaptic activity from hindbrain neurons, spinal cord neurons and trunk skeletal muscle while maintaining functional synaptic connections within an intact brain-spinal cord preparation. This preparation is still used in our laboratory today. To examine the mechanisms underlying developmental synaptic plasticity, we record excitatory (AMPA and NMDA-mediated)5,6 and inhibitory (GABA and glycine) synaptic currents from developing M-cells. Importantly, this unique preparation allows us to return to the same cell (M-cell) from preparation to preparation to carefully examine synaptic plasticity and neuro-development in an embryonic organism. The benefits provided by this preparation include 1) intact, functional synaptic connections onto the M-cell, 2) relatively inexpensive preparations, 3) a large supply of readily available embryos 4) the ability to return to the same cell type (i.e. M-cell) in every preparation, so that synaptic development at the level of an individual cell can be examined from fish to fish, and 5) imaging of whole preparations due to the transparent nature of the embryos.
Neuroscience, Issue 79, Synapses, Zebrafish, Ligand-Gated Ion Channels, Neurosciences, Mauthner cells, reticulospinal neurons, Zebrafish, synapse, ion channels, AMPA receptors, NMDA receptors, action potentials, glycine receptors
Acute Dissociation of Lamprey Reticulospinal Axons to Enable Recording from the Release Face Membrane of Individual Functional Presynaptic Terminals
Authors: Shankar Ramachandran, Simon Alford.
Institutions: University of Illinois at Chicago.
Synaptic transmission is an extremely rapid process. Action potential driven influx of Ca2+ into the presynaptic terminal, through voltage-gated calcium channels (VGCCs) located in the release face membrane, is the trigger for vesicle fusion and neurotransmitter release. Crucial to the rapidity of synaptic transmission is the spatial and temporal synchrony between the arrival of the action potential, VGCCs and the neurotransmitter release machinery. The ability to directly record Ca2+ currents from the release face membrane of individual presynaptic terminals is imperative for a precise understanding of the relationship between presynaptic Ca2+ and neurotransmitter release. Access to the presynaptic release face membrane for electrophysiological recording is not available in most preparations and presynaptic Ca2+ entry has been characterized using imaging techniques and macroscopic current measurements – techniques that do not have sufficient temporal resolution to visualize Ca2+ entry. The characterization of VGCCs directly at single presynaptic terminals has not been possible in central synapses and has thus far been successfully achieved only in the calyx-type synapse of the chick ciliary ganglion and in rat calyces. We have successfully addressed this problem in the giant reticulospinal synapse of the lamprey spinal cord by developing an acutely dissociated preparation of the spinal cord that yields isolated reticulospinal axons with functional presynaptic terminals devoid of postsynaptic structures. We can fluorescently label and identify individual presynaptic terminals and target them for recording. Using this preparation, we have characterized VGCCs directly at the release face of individual presynaptic terminals using immunohistochemistry and electrophysiology approaches. Ca2+ currents have been recorded directly at the release face membrane of individual presynaptic terminals, the first such recording to be carried out at central synapses.
Neuroscience, Issue 92, reticulospinal synapse, reticulospinal axons, presynaptic terminal, presynaptic calcium, voltage-gated calcium channels, vesicle fusion, synaptic transmission, neurotransmitter release, spinal cord, lamprey, synaptic vesicles, acute dissociation
An Ex Vivo Laser-induced Spinal Cord Injury Model to Assess Mechanisms of Axonal Degeneration in Real-time
Authors: Starlyn L. M. Okada, Nicole S. Stivers, Peter K. Stys, David P. Stirling.
Institutions: University of Louisville, University of Calgary.
Injured CNS axons fail to regenerate and often retract away from the injury site. Axons spared from the initial injury may later undergo secondary axonal degeneration. Lack of growth cone formation, regeneration, and loss of additional myelinated axonal projections within the spinal cord greatly limits neurological recovery following injury. To assess how central myelinated axons of the spinal cord respond to injury, we developed an ex vivo living spinal cord model utilizing transgenic mice that express yellow fluorescent protein in axons and a focal and highly reproducible laser-induced spinal cord injury to document the fate of axons and myelin (lipophilic fluorescent dye Nile Red) over time using two-photon excitation time-lapse microscopy. Dynamic processes such as acute axonal injury, axonal retraction, and myelin degeneration are best studied in real-time. However, the non-focal nature of contusion-based injuries and movement artifacts encountered during in vivo spinal cord imaging make differentiating primary and secondary axonal injury responses using high resolution microscopy challenging. The ex vivo spinal cord model described here mimics several aspects of clinically relevant contusion/compression-induced axonal pathologies including axonal swelling, spheroid formation, axonal transection, and peri-axonal swelling providing a useful model to study these dynamic processes in real-time. Major advantages of this model are excellent spatiotemporal resolution that allows differentiation between the primary insult that directly injures axons and secondary injury mechanisms; controlled infusion of reagents directly to the perfusate bathing the cord; precise alterations of the environmental milieu (e.g., calcium, sodium ions, known contributors to axonal injury, but near impossible to manipulate in vivo); and murine models also offer an advantage as they provide an opportunity to visualize and manipulate genetically identified cell populations and subcellular structures. Here, we describe how to isolate and image the living spinal cord from mice to capture dynamics of acute axonal injury.
Neuroscience, Issue 93, spinal cord injury, axon, myelin, two-photon excitation microscopy, Nile Red, axonal degeneration, axonal dieback, axonal retraction
Complete Spinal Cord Injury and Brain Dissection Protocol for Subsequent Wholemount In Situ Hybridization in Larval Sea Lamprey
Authors: Antón Barreiro-Iglesias, Guixin Zhang, Michael E. Selzer, Michael I. Shifman.
Institutions: University of Edinburgh, Temple University School of Medicine, Temple University School of Medicine.
After a complete spinal cord injury, sea lampreys at first are paralyzed below the level of transection. However, they recover locomotion after several weeks, and this is accompanied by short distance regeneration (a few mm) of propriospinal axons and spinal-projecting axons from the brainstem. Among the 36 large identifiable spinal-projecting neurons, some are good regenerators and others are bad regenerators. These neurons can most easily be identified in wholemount CNS preparations. In order to understand the neuron-intrinsic mechanisms that favor or inhibit axon regeneration after injury in the vertebrates CNS, we determine differences in gene expression between the good and bad regenerators, and how expression is influenced by spinal cord transection. This paper illustrates the techniques for housing larval and recently transformed adult sea lampreys in fresh water tanks, producing complete spinal cord transections under microscopic vision, and preparing brain and spinal cord wholemounts for in situ hybridization. Briefly, animals are kept at 16 °C and anesthetized in 1% Benzocaine in lamprey Ringer. The spinal cord is transected with iridectomy scissors via a dorsal approach and the animal is allowed to recover in fresh water tanks at 23 °C. For in situ hybridization, animals are reanesthetized and the brain and cord removed via a dorsal approach.
Neuroscience, Issue 92, spinal cord injury, axonal guidance molecules, neurofilaments, regeneration
Inhibitory Synapse Formation in a Co-culture Model Incorporating GABAergic Medium Spiny Neurons and HEK293 Cells Stably Expressing GABAA Receptors
Authors: Laura E. Brown, Celine Fuchs, Martin W. Nicholson, F. Anne Stephenson, Alex M. Thomson, Jasmina N. Jovanovic.
Institutions: University College London.
Inhibitory neurons act in the central nervous system to regulate the dynamics and spatio-temporal co-ordination of neuronal networks. GABA (γ-aminobutyric acid) is the predominant inhibitory neurotransmitter in the brain. It is released from the presynaptic terminals of inhibitory neurons within highly specialized intercellular junctions known as synapses, where it binds to GABAA receptors (GABAARs) present at the plasma membrane of the synapse-receiving, postsynaptic neurons. Activation of these GABA-gated ion channels leads to influx of chloride resulting in postsynaptic potential changes that decrease the probability that these neurons will generate action potentials. During development, diverse types of inhibitory neurons with distinct morphological, electrophysiological and neurochemical characteristics have the ability to recognize their target neurons and form synapses which incorporate specific GABAARs subtypes. This principle of selective innervation of neuronal targets raises the question as to how the appropriate synaptic partners identify each other. To elucidate the underlying molecular mechanisms, a novel in vitro co-culture model system was established, in which medium spiny GABAergic neurons, a highly homogenous population of neurons isolated from the embryonic striatum, were cultured with stably transfected HEK293 cell lines that express different GABAAR subtypes. Synapses form rapidly, efficiently and selectively in this system, and are easily accessible for quantification. Our results indicate that various GABAAR subtypes differ in their ability to promote synapse formation, suggesting that this reduced in vitro model system can be used to reproduce, at least in part, the in vivo conditions required for the recognition of the appropriate synaptic partners and formation of specific synapses. Here the protocols for culturing the medium spiny neurons and generating HEK293 cells lines expressing GABAARs are first described, followed by detailed instructions on how to combine these two cell types in co-culture and analyze the formation of synaptic contacts.
Neuroscience, Issue 93, Developmental neuroscience, synaptogenesis, synaptic inhibition, co-culture, stable cell lines, GABAergic, medium spiny neurons, HEK 293 cell line
Membrane Potentials, Synaptic Responses, Neuronal Circuitry, Neuromodulation and Muscle Histology Using the Crayfish: Student Laboratory Exercises
Authors: Brittany Baierlein, Alison L. Thurow, Harold L. Atwood, Robin L. Cooper.
Institutions: University of Kentucky, University of Toronto.
The purpose of this report is to help develop an understanding of the effects caused by ion gradients across a biological membrane. Two aspects that influence a cell's membrane potential and which we address in these experiments are: (1) Ion concentration of K+ on the outside of the membrane, and (2) the permeability of the membrane to specific ions. The crayfish abdominal extensor muscles are in groupings with some being tonic (slow) and others phasic (fast) in their biochemical and physiological phenotypes, as well as in their structure; the motor neurons that innervate these muscles are correspondingly different in functional characteristics. We use these muscles as well as the superficial, tonic abdominal flexor muscle to demonstrate properties in synaptic transmission. In addition, we introduce a sensory-CNS-motor neuron-muscle circuit to demonstrate the effect of cuticular sensory stimulation as well as the influence of neuromodulators on certain aspects of the circuit. With the techniques obtained in this exercise, one can begin to answer many questions remaining in other experimental preparations as well as in physiological applications related to medicine and health. We have demonstrated the usefulness of model invertebrate preparations to address fundamental questions pertinent to all animals.
Neuroscience, Issue 47, Invertebrate, Crayfish, neurophysiology, muscle, anatomy, electrophysiology
The Use of Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy as a Tool for the Measurement of Bi-hemispheric Transcranial Electric Stimulation Effects on Primary Motor Cortex Metabolism
Authors: Sara Tremblay, Vincent Beaulé, Sébastien Proulx, Louis-Philippe Lafleur, Julien Doyon, Małgorzata Marjańska, Hugo Théoret.
Institutions: University of Montréal, McGill University, University of Minnesota.
Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a neuromodulation technique that has been increasingly used over the past decade in the treatment of neurological and psychiatric disorders such as stroke and depression. Yet, the mechanisms underlying its ability to modulate brain excitability to improve clinical symptoms remains poorly understood 33. To help improve this understanding, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) can be used as it allows the in vivo quantification of brain metabolites such as γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and glutamate in a region-specific manner 41. In fact, a recent study demonstrated that 1H-MRS is indeed a powerful means to better understand the effects of tDCS on neurotransmitter concentration 34. This article aims to describe the complete protocol for combining tDCS (NeuroConn MR compatible stimulator) with 1H-MRS at 3 T using a MEGA-PRESS sequence. We will describe the impact of a protocol that has shown great promise for the treatment of motor dysfunctions after stroke, which consists of bilateral stimulation of primary motor cortices 27,30,31. Methodological factors to consider and possible modifications to the protocol are also discussed.
Neuroscience, Issue 93, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy, transcranial direct current stimulation, primary motor cortex, GABA, glutamate, stroke
Inducing Plasticity of Astrocytic Receptors by Manipulation of Neuronal Firing Rates
Authors: Alison X. Xie, Kelli Lauderdale, Thomas Murphy, Timothy L. Myers, Todd A. Fiacco.
Institutions: University of California Riverside, University of California Riverside, University of California Riverside.
Close to two decades of research has established that astrocytes in situ and in vivo express numerous G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) that can be stimulated by neuronally-released transmitter. However, the ability of astrocytic receptors to exhibit plasticity in response to changes in neuronal activity has received little attention. Here we describe a model system that can be used to globally scale up or down astrocytic group I metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) in acute brain slices. Included are methods on how to prepare parasagittal hippocampal slices, construct chambers suitable for long-term slice incubation, bidirectionally manipulate neuronal action potential frequency, load astrocytes and astrocyte processes with fluorescent Ca2+ indicator, and measure changes in astrocytic Gq GPCR activity by recording spontaneous and evoked astrocyte Ca2+ events using confocal microscopy. In essence, a “calcium roadmap” is provided for how to measure plasticity of astrocytic Gq GPCRs. Applications of the technique for study of astrocytes are discussed. Having an understanding of how astrocytic receptor signaling is affected by changes in neuronal activity has important implications for both normal synaptic function as well as processes underlying neurological disorders and neurodegenerative disease.
Neuroscience, Issue 85, astrocyte, plasticity, mGluRs, neuronal Firing, electrophysiology, Gq GPCRs, Bolus-loading, calcium, microdomains, acute slices, Hippocampus, mouse
Promotion of Survival and Differentiation of Neural Stem Cells with Fibrin and Growth Factor Cocktails after Severe Spinal Cord Injury
Authors: Paul Lu, Lori Graham, Yaozhi Wang, Di Wu, Mark Tuszynski.
Institutions: Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Diego, University of California, San Diego.
Neural stem cells (NSCs) can self-renew and differentiate into neurons and glia. Transplanted NSCs can replace lost neurons and glia after spinal cord injury (SCI), and can form functional relays to re-connect spinal cord segments above and below a lesion. Previous studies grafting neural stem cells have been limited by incomplete graft survival within the spinal cord lesion cavity. Further, tracking of graft cell survival, differentiation, and process extension had not been optimized. Finally, in previous studies, cultured rat NSCs were typically reported to differentiate into glia when grafted to the injured spinal cord, rather than neurons, unless fate was driven to a specific cell type. To address these issues, we developed new methods to improve the survival, integration and differentiation of NSCs to sites of even severe SCI. NSCs were freshly isolated from embryonic day 14 spinal cord (E14) from a stable transgenic Fischer 344 rat line expressing green fluorescent protein (GFP) and were embedded into a fibrin matrix containing growth factors; this formulation aimed to retain grafted cells in the lesion cavity and support cell survival. NSCs in the fibrin/growth factor cocktail were implanted two weeks after thoracic level-3 (T3) complete spinal cord transections, thereby avoiding peak periods of inflammation. Resulting grafts completely filled the lesion cavity and differentiated into both neurons, which extended axons into the host spinal cord over remarkably long distances, and glia. Grafts of cultured human NSCs expressing GFP resulted in similar findings. Thus, methods are defined for improving neural stem cell grafting, survival and analysis of in vivo findings.
Neuroscience, Issue 89, nervous system diseases, wounds and injuries, biological factors, therapeutics, surgical procedures, neural stem cells, transplantation, spinal cord injury, fibrin, growth factors
Deciphering Axonal Pathways of Genetically Defined Groups of Neurons in the Chick Neural Tube Utilizing in ovo Electroporation
Authors: Oshri Avraham, Sophie Zisman, Yoav Hadas, Lilach Vald, Avihu Klar.
Institutions: Institute for Medical Research Israel Canada, Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School.
Employment of enhancer elements to drive expression of reporter genes in neurons is a widely used paradigm for tracking axonal projection. For tracking axonal projection of spinal interneurons in vertebrates, germ line-targeted reporter genes yield bilaterally symmetric labeling. Therefore, it is hard to distinguish between the ipsi- and contra-laterally projecting axons. Unilateral electroporation into the chick neural tube provides a useful means to restrict expression of a reporter gene to one side of the central nervous system, and to follow axonal projection on both sides 1 ,2-5. This video demonstrates first how to handle the eggs prior to injection. At HH stage 18-20, DNA is injected into the sacral level of the neural tube, then tungsten electrodes are placed parallel to the embryo and short electrical pulses are administered with a pulse generator. The egg is sealed with tape and placed back into an incubator for further development. Three days later (E6) the spinal cord is removed as an open book preparation from embryo, fixed, and processed for whole mount antibody staining. The stained spinal cord is mounted on slide and visualized using confocal microscopy.
Neuroscience, Issue 39, in ovo electroporation, neural tube, chick, interneurons, axonal pathway |
Ecosystems Program
To monitor, maintain, enhance, and restore the biodiversity and ecology of Illinois' landscapes through local partnerships.
The purpose of the Ecosystems Program is to integrate the interests and participation of local communities and private, public and corporate landowners to enhance and protect watersheds through ecosystem-based management. The Ecosystems Program is funded through Partners for Conservation (PFC), a comprehensive long-term approach to protecting and managing Illinois' natural resources. The Ecosystems Program is a voluntary, broad-based incentive program.
The Ecosystems Program consists of four components
Assessment and Monitoring
Integrated Technical Assistance
Ecosystem Project, Planning, and Support Grants
Ecosystem Interpretation and Education
The Ecosystems Program is made up of Ecosystem Partnerships, which are coalitions of local stakeholders -- private landowners, businesses, scientists, environmental organizations, recreational enthusiasts, and policy makers. They are united by a common interest in the natural resources of their areas' watershed. Partnership designation brings financial and technical support, which is integral in addressing watershed concern. Currently, there are 41 Ecosystem Partnerships covering 84% of Illinois. More impressive is the fact that 98% of the state's citizens live in an Ecosystem Partnership area.
The Illinois Department of Natural Resources provides scientific, technical, administrative, and financial support to designated Ecosystem Partnerships for the protection, promotion, and enhancement of the biodiversity and natural resources of ecosystems.
Individuals and organizations that are cooperating to improve the natural resource base of where they live, work and play while promoting compatible sustainable economic activity can apply for designation as an Ecosystem Partnership. They must identify natural resource protection and enhancement as their primary goal, include all major stakeholders in the watershed(s), and support the goals of the Department's Ecosystems Program.
Coalitions may request Ecosystem Partnership designation by writing to the Director of the Department. Requests should include partnership area boundaries, partnership mission statement, a list of members with their affiliation, and a description of the proposed Ecosystem Partnership's natural resource condition or natural resource significance.
Once designated, partnerships can apply for a Vision Plan grant and a Support grant. They are also eligible to apply for competitive Ecosystem Project grants. Project grants are funded in six categories: habitat protection, land acquisition and easement, planning, outreach and education, research, and resource economics.
38 Ecosystem Partnerships covering 80% of the state.
610 projects have been funded with $23.6 million in Partners for Conservation (formerly C2000) Ecosystem Project grants.
To date more than 70,500 acres have been restored. Nearly 5,600 acres have been protected through conservation easements or simple acquisition. More than $34.9 million in project grants have been awarded. Recipients have provided another $33.4 million in match. Nearly a half million citizens of all ages have been educated on natural resource protection.
Contact Ecosystems Program
State Funding / Technical Resources
Illinois Department of Natural Resources
Office of Realty and Environmental Planning
Ecosystems Division
One Natural Resources Way
Email Ecosystems Program
Statewide Program in: |
How Mammals Distinguish Different Odors
Researchers have wondered how small amounts of a particular chemical can smell enticing, while large amounts of the same chemical are overpowering. Now, researchers from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) at Harvard Medical School and colleagues from Japan have solved one of olfactory research’s biggest puzzles: How can the nose – with a relatively small number of olfactory receptors – have the sensitivity to discriminate roughly 10,000 different odors?
March 5, 1999 -— Smell is perhaps the most exquisitely sensitive and complex of all the senses, and it has also been the most perplexing for scientists to decipher. Researchers have wondered, for example, how small amounts of a particular chemical can smell enticing, while large amounts of the same chemical are overpowering. Now, researchers from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) at Harvard Medical School and colleagues from Japan have solved one of olfactory research’s biggest puzzles: How can the nose – with a relatively small number of olfactory receptors – have the sensitivity to discriminate roughly 10,000 different odors?
HHMI investigator Linda Buck and HHMI associate Bettina Malnic at Harvard Medical School, and colleagues Junzo Hirono and Takaaki Sato at the Life Electronics Research Center in Amagasaki, Japan, appear to have solved this puzzle with one stunning finding. In the March 5, 1999, issue of the journal Cell, they report that the sense of smell in mammals is based on a combinatorial approach to recognizing and processing odors. Instead of dedicating an individual odor receptor to a specific odor, the olfactory system uses an "alphabet" of receptors to create a specific smell response within the neurons of the brain.
"Each receptor is used over and over again to define an odor, just like letters are used over and over again to define different words," said Buck. As in language, the olfactory system appears to use combinations of receptors (words) to greatly reduce the number of actual receptor types (letters) required to convey a broad range of odors (vocabulary).
Nature is not unaccustomed to using combinatorial code: The four "letters" in the genetic code – A, C, G and T (abbreviations for the nucleotides adenine, cytosine, guanine and thymine) – allow the creation of a nearly infinite number of genetic sequences. The findings of Buck and her colleagues are, however, the first confirmation that the nerves that constitute the mammalian olfactory system also use a combinatorial approach.
As odors enter the nose and negotiate a hairpin-like turn at the top of the nasal cavity, they encounter the olfactory epithelium, a patch of cells on the wall of the nasal cavity. The olfactory epithelium contains about five million olfactory neurons. Buck and her colleagues had previously discovered that each olfactory neuron expresses only one of roughly 1,000 types of olfactory receptors on its surface.
When an odor excites a neuron, the signal travels along the nerve cell's axon and is transferred to the neurons in the olfactory bulb. This structure, located in the very front of the brain, is the clearinghouse for the sense of smell. From the olfactory bulb, odor signals are relayed to both the brain's higher cortex, which handles conscious thought processes, and to the limbic system, which generates emotional feelings.
"This is probably why an odor can evoke powerful emotional responses as well as convey factual information," Buck explained. "But this also leads to an interesting question: Where exactly does information about different odors end up? It may be that signals generated by some receptors – for example, those that recognize rotting food – can elicit an innate rather than a learned response."
Buck's group has also uncovered other clues about the sense of smell. In 1994, they reported in Cell that neurons expressing the same kind of odor receptor were scattered throughout the olfactory epithelium, but their axons all converged at very specific points in the olfactory bulb. The dispersion within the epithelium, says Buck, can help protect the sense of smell should a portion of the epithelium become damaged by infection. And at the other end, convergence of signals from thousands of neurons with the same receptor may increase sensitivity to low concentrations of odors.
In their current study, the investigators exposed individual mouse neurons to a range of odorants. Using a technique called calcium imaging, the researchers detected which nerve cells were stimulated by a particular odor. When an odorant molecule binds to its odor receptor, calcium channels in the membranes of the nerves open and calcium ions pour inside. This generates an electrical charge that travels down the axon as a nerve signal. Calcium imaging measures this influx of calcium ions.
"Using this method we were able to show three things," said Buck. "First, a single receptor can recognize multiple odorants. Second, a single odorant is typically recognized by multiple receptors. And third, we also found that different odorants are recognized by different combinations of receptors. This indicates that the olfactory system uses a combinatorial coding scheme to encode, or represent, the identities of odors.
"In other words, different combinations explain how 1,000 receptors can describe many thousands of odors," she added.
In one set of experiments, for example, Buck and her colleagues demonstrated that even slight changes in chemical structure activate different combinations of receptors. Thus, octanol smells like oranges, but the similar compound octanoic acid smells like sweat. Similarly, the investigators found that large amounts of a chemical bind to a wider variety of receptors than do small amounts of the same chemical. This would explain why a large whiff of the chemical indole smells putrid, while a trace of the same chemical smells flowery.
"It's just a matter of the alphabet," said Buck.
The above story is based on materials provided by Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "How Mammals Distinguish Different Odors." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 March 1999. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/03/990305071120.htm>.
Howard Hughes Medical Institute. (1999, March 5). How Mammals Distinguish Different Odors. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 21, 2014 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/03/990305071120.htm
Howard Hughes Medical Institute. "How Mammals Distinguish Different Odors." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1999/03/990305071120.htm (accessed August 21, 2014). |
The Effect of Epidural Fentanyl on Immune Function
Verified June 2014 by McGill University Health Center
McGill University Health Center Information provided by (Responsible Party):
Albert Moore, McGill University Health Center
Background: For cancer to grow and metastasize, inflammatory and immunologic conditions in the host must be favorable. The perioperative period provides inflammatory and immunologic changes that may be pro-malignant. Anesthetic medications, including the use of opioid medication, may contribute to these changes.
Hypothesis: The investigators hypothesize that perioperative immunologic changes in patients undergoing resection of hepatic colorectal cancer recurrence, as measured by natural killer cell function and cytokine levels, will undergo less alterations in those who receive only epidural bupivacaine, as compared to those who receive epidural bupivacaine and fentanyl.
Methods: In this double blind control trial patients with no extra-hepatic evidence of cancer, undergoing a planned curative resection of hepatic recurrence of colorectal cancer, will be randomized to receive an epidural with bupivacaine and fentanyl, or bupivacaine alone. No other perioperative opioid medication will be given, and post-operative analgesia will be supplemented with acetaminophen and gabapentin. Blood samples and pain ratings using a verbal analogue scale will be obtained preoperatively, immediately and 6 hours postoperatively, and then daily until removal of the epidural catheter. Samples will be analyzed for levels of interleukin 2, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 17,TNF-α, TGF α and β, MCP-1, CRP, and NK cell activity. Cytokines will be measured using a suspension bead array immunoassay kit, and NK activity will be measured using flow cytometry of isolated peripheral blood mononuclear cells exposed to the K562 cell line and treated with fluorescent antibodies to intracellular markers of activation. Data will be compared between groups using t-tests, or Mann-Whitney tests as appropriate. To demonstrate a 50% smaller decrease of NK cell activity in the bupivacaine group as compared to the bupivacaine and fentanyl group the investigators will need to randomize a total of 30 patients.
Drug: epidural fentanyl
Allocation: RandomizedEndpoint Classification: Safety StudyIntervention Model: Parallel AssignmentMasking: Double Blind (Subject, Caregiver, Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)Primary Purpose: Basic Science
The Effect of Perioperative Epidural Opioids on Inflammatory Cytokines and Immune Function
Further study details as provided by McGill University Health Center:
Natural Killer cell activity. [ Time Frame: 24 hours ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Visual analogue pain scores [ Time Frame: 4days ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
opioid side effects [ Time Frame: 4 days ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
incidence of infections [ Time Frame: 1 week ] [ Designated as safety issue: No ]
Experimental: Epidural bupivacaine
withold epidural fentanyl
Active Comparator: Epidural bupivacaine and fentanyl
We will consider for inclusion any adult patient undergoing a planned curative hepatic resection of a colorectal carcinoma liver recurrence.
E 3. Patients Excluded Any patient unable to communicate in English or French. Any patient with evidence of extra-hepatic metastasis. Any patient with contra-indications to epidural anesthesia, or any of the medications used in the study.
Any patient with evidence of coronary artery disease or congestive heart failure, either previously or currently.
Any patient with insulin treated diabetes. Any patient with a BMI greater than 40. Any patient who has received steroids in the past 2 months. Any patient who has taken any pain medication the week before surgery. Any pregnant or breast feeding patient. Any patient with a chronic inflammatory disease, including but not limited to Lupus, rheumatoid arthritis, and inflammatory bowel disease.
Contact: Albert Moore
[email protected]
Royal Victoria Hospital
Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3A 1A1 Contact: Albert Moore [email protected] Sponsors and Collaborators
McGill University Health Center
Albert Moore, MD
Albert Moore, Assistant Professor, McGill University Health Center
11-186-SDR
Keywords provided by McGill University Health Center:
opioid
Adjuvants, Anesthesia
Anesthetics, Intravenous |
Cdc42-dependent activation of NADPH oxidase is involved in ethanol-induced neuronal oxidative stress.
Xin Wang, Zunji Ke, Gang Chen, Mei Xu, Kimberly A Bower, Jacqueline A Frank, Zhuo Zhang, Xianglin Shi, Jia Luo.
It has been suggested that excessive reactive oxygen species (ROS) and oxidative stress play an important role in ethanol-induced damage to both the developing and mature central nervous system (CNS). The mechanisms underlying ethanol-induced neuronal ROS, however, remain unclear. In this study, we investigated the role of NADPH oxidase (NOX) in ethanol-induced ROS generation. We demonstrated that ethanol activated NOX and inhibition of NOX reduced ethanol-promoted ROS generation. Ethanol significantly increased the expression of p47(phox) and p67(phox), the essential subunits for NOX activation in cultured neuronal cells and the cerebral cortex of infant mice. Ethanol caused serine phosphorylation and membrane translocation of p47(phox) and p67(phox), which were prerequisites for NOX assembly and activation. Knocking down p47(phox) with the small interfering RNA was sufficient to attenuate ethanol-induced ROS production and ameliorate ethanol-mediated oxidative damage, which is indicated by a decrease in protein oxidation and lipid peroxidation. Ethanol activated cell division cycle 42 (Cdc42) and overexpression of a dominant negative (DN) Cdc42 abrogate ethanol-induced NOX activation and ROS generation. These results suggest that Cdc42-dependent NOX activation mediates ethanol-induced oxidative damages to neurons.
Visualization of Vascular Ca2+ Signaling Triggered by Paracrine Derived ROS
Authors: Karthik Mallilankaraman, Rajesh Kumar Gandhirajan, Brian J. Hawkins, Muniswamy Madesh.
Institutions: Temple University , University of Washington.
Oxidative stress has been implicated in a number of pathologic conditions including ischemia/reperfusion damage and sepsis. The concept of oxidative stress refers to the aberrant formation of ROS (reactive oxygen species), which include O2•-, H2O2, and hydroxyl radicals. Reactive oxygen species influences a multitude of cellular processes including signal transduction, cell proliferation and cell death1-6. ROS have the potential to damage vascular and organ cells directly, and can initiate secondary chemical reactions and genetic alterations that ultimately result in an amplification of the initial ROS-mediated tissue damage. A key component of the amplification cascade that exacerbates irreversible tissue damage is the recruitment and activation of circulating inflammatory cells. During inflammation, inflammatory cells produce cytokines such as tumor necrosis factor-α (TNFα) and IL-1 that activate endothelial cells (EC) and epithelial cells and further augment the inflammatory response7. Vascular endothelial dysfunction is an established feature of acute inflammation. Macrophages contribute to endothelial dysfunction during inflammation by mechanisms that remain unclear. Activation of macrophages results in the extracellular release of O2•- and various pro-inflammatory cytokines, which triggers pathologic signaling in adjacent cells8. NADPH oxidases are the major and primary source of ROS in most of the cell types. Recently, it is shown by us and others9,10 that ROS produced by NADPH oxidases induce the mitochondrial ROS production during many pathophysiological conditions. Hence measuring the mitochondrial ROS production is equally important in addition to measuring cytosolic ROS. Macrophages produce ROS by the flavoprotein enzyme NADPH oxidase which plays a primary role in inflammation. Once activated, phagocytic NADPH oxidase produces copious amounts of O2•- that are important in the host defense mechanism11,12. Although paracrine-derived O2•- plays an important role in the pathogenesis of vascular diseases, visualization of paracrine ROS-induced intracellular signaling including Ca2+ mobilization is still hypothesis. We have developed a model in which activated macrophages are used as a source of O2•- to transduce a signal to adjacent endothelial cells. Using this model we demonstrate that macrophage-derived O2•- lead to calcium signaling in adjacent endothelial cells.
Molecular Biology, Issue 58, Reactive oxygen species, Calcium, paracrine superoxide, endothelial cells, confocal microscopy
Determination of Mitochondrial Membrane Potential and Reactive Oxygen Species in Live Rat Cortical Neurons
Authors: Dinesh C. Joshi, Joanna C. Bakowska.
Institutions: Loyola University Chicago.
Mitochondrial membrane potential (ΔΨm) is critical for maintaining the physiological function of the respiratory chain to generate ATP. A significant loss of ΔΨm renders cells depleted of energy with subsequent death. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are important signaling molecules, but their accumulation in pathological conditions leads to oxidative stress. The two major sources of ROS in cells are environmental toxins and the process of oxidative phosphorylation. Mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress have been implicated in the pathophysiology of many diseases; therefore, the ability to determine ΔΨm and ROS can provide important clues about the physiological status of the cell and the function of the mitochondria. Several fluorescent probes (Rhodamine 123, TMRM, TMRE, JC-1) can be used to determine Δψm in a variety of cell types, and many fluorescence indicators (Dihydroethidium, Dihydrorhodamine 123, H2DCF-DA) can be used to determine ROS. Nearly all of the available fluorescence probes used to assess ΔΨm or ROS are single-wavelength indicators, which increase or decrease their fluorescence intensity proportional to a stimulus that increases or decreases the levels of ΔΨm or ROS. Thus, it is imperative to measure the fluorescence intensity of these probes at the baseline level and after the application of a specific stimulus. This allows one to determine the percentage of change in fluorescence intensity between the baseline level and a stimulus. This change in fluorescence intensity reflects the change in relative levels of ΔΨm or ROS. In this video, we demonstrate how to apply the fluorescence indicator, TMRM, in rat cortical neurons to determine the percentage change in TMRM fluorescence intensity between the baseline level and after applying FCCP, a mitochondrial uncoupler. The lower levels of TMRM fluorescence resulting from FCCP treatment reflect the depolarization of mitochondrial membrane potential. We also show how to apply the fluorescence probe H2DCF-DA to assess the level of ROS in cortical neurons, first at baseline and then after application of H2O2. This protocol (with minor modifications) can be also used to determine changes in ∆Ψm and ROS in different cell types and in neurons isolated from other brain regions.
Neuroscience, Issue 51, Mitochondrial membrane potential, reactive oxygen species, neuroscience, cortical neurons
Profiling Thiol Redox Proteome Using Isotope Tagging Mass Spectrometry
Authors: Jennifer Parker, Ning Zhu, Mengmeng Zhu, Sixue Chen.
Institutions: University of Florida , University of Florida , University of Florida , University of Florida .
Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato strain DC3000 not only causes bacterial speck disease in Solanum lycopersicum but also on Brassica species, as well as on Arabidopsis thaliana, a genetically tractable host plant1,2. The accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in cotyledons inoculated with DC3000 indicates a role of ROS in modulating necrotic cell death during bacterial speck disease of tomato3. Hydrogen peroxide, a component of ROS, is produced after inoculation of tomato plants with Pseudomonas3. Hydrogen peroxide can be detected using a histochemical stain 3'-3' diaminobenzidine (DAB)4. DAB staining reacts with hydrogen peroxide to produce a brown stain on the leaf tissue4. ROS has a regulatory role of the cellular redox environment, which can change the redox status of certain proteins5. Cysteine is an important amino acid sensitive to redox changes. Under mild oxidation, reversible oxidation of cysteine sulfhydryl groups serves as redox sensors and signal transducers that regulate a variety of physiological processes6,7. Tandem mass tag (TMT) reagents enable concurrent identification and multiplexed quantitation of proteins in different samples using tandem mass spectrometry8,9. The cysteine-reactive TMT (cysTMT) reagents enable selective labeling and relative quantitation of cysteine-containing peptides from up to six biological samples. Each isobaric cysTMT tag has the same nominal parent mass and is composed of a sulfhydryl-reactive group, a MS-neutral spacer arm and an MS/MS reporter10. After labeling, the samples were subject to protease digestion. The cysteine-labeled peptides were enriched using a resin containing anti-TMT antibody. During MS/MS analysis, a series of reporter ions (i.e., 126-131 Da) emerge in the low mass region, providing information on relative quantitation. The workflow is effective for reducing sample complexity, improving dynamic range and studying cysteine modifications. Here we present redox proteomic analysis of the Pst DC3000 treated tomato (Rio Grande) leaves using cysTMT technology. This high-throughput method has the potential to be applied to studying other redox-regulated physiological processes.
Genetics, Issue 61, Pseudomonas syringae pv. tomato (Pst), redox proteome, cysteine-reactive tandem mass tag (cysTMT), LTQ-Orbitrap mass spectrometry
Bioenergetics and the Oxidative Burst: Protocols for the Isolation and Evaluation of Human Leukocytes and Platelets
Authors: Philip A. Kramer, Balu K. Chacko, Saranya Ravi, Michelle S. Johnson, Tanecia Mitchell, Victor M. Darley-Usmar.
Mitochondrial dysfunction is known to play a significant role in a number of pathological conditions such as atherosclerosis, diabetes, septic shock, and neurodegenerative diseases but assessing changes in bioenergetic function in patients is challenging. Although diseases such as diabetes or atherosclerosis present clinically with specific organ impairment, the systemic components of the pathology, such as hyperglycemia or inflammation, can alter bioenergetic function in circulating leukocytes or platelets. This concept has been recognized for some time but its widespread application has been constrained by the large number of primary cells needed for bioenergetic analysis. This technical limitation has been overcome by combining the specificity of the magnetic bead isolation techniques, cell adhesion techniques, which allow cells to be attached without activation to microplates, and the sensitivity of new technologies designed for high throughput microplate respirometry. An example of this equipment is the extracellular flux analyzer. Such instrumentation typically uses oxygen and pH sensitive probes to measure rates of change in these parameters in adherent cells, which can then be related to metabolism. Here we detail the methods for the isolation and plating of monocytes, lymphocytes, neutrophils and platelets, without activation, from human blood and the analysis of mitochondrial bioenergetic function in these cells. In addition, we demonstrate how the oxidative burst in monocytes and neutrophils can also be measured in the same samples. Since these methods use only 8-20 ml human blood they have potential for monitoring reactive oxygen species generation and bioenergetics in a clinical setting.
Immunology, Issue 85, bioenergetics, translational, mitochondria, oxidative stress, reserve capacity, leukocytes
Monitoring the Reductive and Oxidative Half-Reactions of a Flavin-Dependent Monooxygenase using Stopped-Flow Spectrophotometry
Authors: Elvira Romero, Reeder Robinson, Pablo Sobrado.
Institutions: Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
Aspergillus fumigatus siderophore A (SidA) is an FAD-containing monooxygenase that catalyzes the hydroxylation of ornithine in the biosynthesis of hydroxamate siderophores that are essential for virulence (e.g. ferricrocin or N',N",N'''-triacetylfusarinine C)1. The reaction catalyzed by SidA can be divided into reductive and oxidative half-reactions (Scheme 1). In the reductive half-reaction, the oxidized FAD bound to Af SidA, is reduced by NADPH2,3. In the oxidative half-reaction, the reduced cofactor reacts with molecular oxygen to form a C4a-hydroperoxyflavin intermediate, which transfers an oxygen atom to ornithine. Here, we describe a procedure to measure the rates and detect the different spectral forms of SidA using a stopped-flow instrument installed in an anaerobic glove box. In the stopped-flow instrument, small volumes of reactants are rapidly mixed, and after the flow is stopped by the stop syringe (Figure 1), the spectral changes of the solution placed in the observation cell are recorded over time. In the first part of the experiment, we show how we can use the stopped-flow instrument in single mode, where the anaerobic reduction of the flavin in Af SidA by NADPH is directly measured. We then use double mixing settings where Af SidA is first anaerobically reduced by NADPH for a designated period of time in an aging loop, and then reacted with molecular oxygen in the observation cell (Figure 1). In order to perform this experiment, anaerobic buffers are necessary because when only the reductive half-reaction is monitored, any oxygen in the solutions will react with the reduced flavin cofactor and form a C4a-hydroperoxyflavin intermediate that will ultimately decay back into the oxidized flavin. This would not allow the user to accurately measure rates of reduction since there would be complete turnover of the enzyme. When the oxidative half-reaction is being studied the enzyme must be reduced in the absence of oxygen so that just the steps between reduction and oxidation are observed. One of the buffers used in this experiment is oxygen saturated so that we can study the oxidative half-reaction at higher concentrations of oxygen. These are often the procedures carried out when studying either the reductive or oxidative half-reactions with flavin-containing monooxygenases. The time scale of the pre-steady-state experiments performed with the stopped-flow is milliseconds to seconds, which allow the determination of intrinsic rate constants and the detection and identification of intermediates in the reaction4. The procedures described here can be applied to other flavin-dependent monooxygenases.5,6
Bioengineering, Issue 61, Stopped-flow, kinetic mechanism, SidA, C4a-hydroperoxyflavin, monooxygenase, Aspergillus fumigatus
Assessment of Vascular Function in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease
Authors: Kristen L. Jablonski, Emily Decker, Loni Perrenoud, Jessica Kendrick, Michel Chonchol, Douglas R. Seals, Diana Jalal.
Institutions: University of Colorado, Denver, University of Colorado, Boulder.
Patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) have significantly increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) compared to the general population, and this is only partially explained by traditional CVD risk factors. Vascular dysfunction is an important non-traditional risk factor, characterized by vascular endothelial dysfunction (most commonly assessed as impaired endothelium-dependent dilation [EDD]) and stiffening of the large elastic arteries. While various techniques exist to assess EDD and large elastic artery stiffness, the most commonly used are brachial artery flow-mediated dilation (FMDBA) and aortic pulse-wave velocity (aPWV), respectively. Both of these noninvasive measures of vascular dysfunction are independent predictors of future cardiovascular events in patients with and without kidney disease. Patients with CKD demonstrate both impaired FMDBA, and increased aPWV. While the exact mechanisms by which vascular dysfunction develops in CKD are incompletely understood, increased oxidative stress and a subsequent reduction in nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability are important contributors. Cellular changes in oxidative stress can be assessed by collecting vascular endothelial cells from the antecubital vein and measuring protein expression of markers of oxidative stress using immunofluorescence. We provide here a discussion of these methods to measure FMDBA, aPWV, and vascular endothelial cell protein expression.
Medicine, Issue 88, chronic kidney disease, endothelial cells, flow-mediated dilation, immunofluorescence, oxidative stress, pulse-wave velocity
Assessing Anti-fungal Activity of Isolated Alveolar Macrophages by Confocal Microscopy
Authors: Melissa J. Grimm, Anthony C. D'Auria, Brahm H. Segal.
Institutions: Roswell Park Cancer Institute, University of Buffalo.
The lung is an interface where host cells are routinely exposed to microbes and microbial products. Alveolar macrophages are the first-line phagocytic cells that encounter inhaled fungi and other microbes. Macrophages and other immune cells recognize Aspergillus motifs by pathogen recognition receptors and initiate downstream inflammatory responses. The phagocyte NADPH oxidase generates reactive oxygen intermediates (ROIs) and is critical for host defense. Although NADPH oxidase is critical for neutrophil-mediated host defense1-3, the importance of NADPH oxidase in macrophages is not well defined. The goal of this study was to delineate the specific role of NADPH oxidase in macrophages in mediating host defense against A. fumigatus. We found that NADPH oxidase in alveolar macrophages controls the growth of phagocytosed A. fumigatus spores4. Here, we describe a method for assessing the ability of mouse alveolar macrophages (AMs) to control the growth of phagocytosed Aspergillus spores (conidia). Alveolar macrophages are stained in vivo and ten days later isolated from mice by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Macrophages are plated onto glass coverslips, then seeded with green fluorescent protein (GFP)-expressing A. fumigatus spores. At specified times, cells are fixed and the number of intact macrophages with phagocytosed spores is assessed by confocal microscopy.
Immunology, Issue 89, macrophage, bronchoalveolar lavage, Aspergillus, confocal microscopy, phagocytosis, anti-fungal activity, NADPH oxidase
Sex Stratified Neuronal Cultures to Study Ischemic Cell Death Pathways
Authors: Stacy L. Fairbanks, Rebekah Vest, Saurabh Verma, Richard J. Traystman, Paco S. Herson.
Institutions: University of Colorado School of Medicine, Oregon Health & Science University, University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Sex differences in neuronal susceptibility to ischemic injury and neurodegenerative disease have long been observed, but the signaling mechanisms responsible for those differences remain unclear. Primary disassociated embryonic neuronal culture provides a simplified experimental model with which to investigate the neuronal cell signaling involved in cell death as a result of ischemia or disease; however, most neuronal cultures used in research today are mixed sex. Researchers can and do test the effects of sex steroid treatment in mixed sex neuronal cultures in models of neuronal injury and disease, but accumulating evidence suggests that the female brain responds to androgens, estrogens, and progesterone differently than the male brain. Furthermore, neonate male and female rodents respond differently to ischemic injury, with males experiencing greater injury following cerebral ischemia than females. Thus, mixed sex neuronal cultures might obscure and confound the experimental results; important information might be missed. For this reason, the Herson Lab at the University of Colorado School of Medicine routinely prepares sex-stratified primary disassociated embryonic neuronal cultures from both hippocampus and cortex. Embryos are sexed before harvesting of brain tissue and male and female tissue are disassociated separately, plated separately, and maintained separately. Using this method, the Herson Lab has demonstrated a male-specific role for the ion channel TRPM2 in ischemic cell death. In this manuscript, we share and discuss our protocol for sexing embryonic mice and preparing sex-stratified hippocampal primary disassociated neuron cultures. This method can be adapted to prepare sex-stratified cortical cultures and the method for embryo sexing can be used in conjunction with other protocols for any study in which sex is thought to be an important determinant of outcome.
Neuroscience, Issue 82, male, female, sex, neuronal culture, ischemia, cell death, neuroprotection
Screening Assay for Oxidative Stress in a Feline Astrocyte Cell Line, G355-5
Authors: Maria Pia Testa, Omar Alvarado, Andrea Wournell, Jonathan Lee, Frederick T. Guilford, Steven H. Henriksen, Tom R. Phillips.
Institutions: Western University of Health Sciences, Western University of Health Sciences, Products.
An often-suggested mechanism of virus induced neuronal damage is oxidative stress. Astrocytes have an important role in controlling oxidative stress of the Central Nervous System (CNS). Astrocytes help maintain a homeostatic environment for neurons as well as protecting neurons from Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS). CM-H2DCFDA is a cell-permeable indicator for the presence of ROS. CM-H2DCFDA enters the cell as a non-fluorescent compound, and becomes fluorescent after cellular esterases remove the acetate groups, and the compound is oxidized. The number of cells, measured by flow cytometry, that are found to be green fluorescing is an indication of the number of cells that are in an oxidative state. CM-H2DCFDA is susceptible to oxidation by a large number of different ROS. This lack of specificity, regarding which ROS can oxidize CM-H2DCFDA, makes this compound a valuable regent for use in the early stages of a pathogenesis investigation, as this assay can be used to screen for an oxidative cellular environment regardless of which oxygen radical or combination of ROS are responsible for the cellular conditions. Once it has been established that ROS are present by oxidation of CM-H2DCFDA, then additional experiments can be performed to determine which ROS or combination of ROSs are involved in the particular pathogenesis process. The results of this study demonstrate that with the addition of hydrogen peroxide an increase in CM-H2DCFDA fluoresce was detected relative to the saline controls, indicating that this assay is a valuable test for detecting an oxidative environment within G355-5 cells, a feline astrocyte cell line.
Neuroscience, Issue 53, Astrocytes, oxidative stress, flow cytometry, CM-H2DCFDA
Production and Detection of Reactive Oxygen Species (ROS) in Cancers
Authors: Danli Wu, Patricia Yotnda.
Institutions: Baylor College of Medicine.
Reactive oxygen species include a number of molecules that damage DNA and RNA and oxidize proteins and lipids (lipid peroxydation). These reactive molecules contain an oxygen and include H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide), NO (nitric oxide), O2- (oxide anion), peroxynitrite (ONOO-), hydrochlorous acid (HOCl), and hydroxyl radical (OH-). Oxidative species are produced not only under pathological situations (cancers, ischemic/reperfusion, neurologic and cardiovascular pathologies, infectious diseases, inflammatory diseases 1, autoimmune diseases 2, etc…) but also during physiological (non-pathological) situations such as cellular metabolism 3, 4. Indeed, ROS play important roles in many cellular signaling pathways (proliferation, cell activation 5, 6, migration 7 etc..). ROS can be detrimental (it is then referred to as "oxidative and nitrosative stress") when produced in high amounts in the intracellular compartments and cells generally respond to ROS by upregulating antioxidants such as superoxide dismutase (SOD) and catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and glutathione (GSH) that protects them by converting dangerous free radicals to harmless molecules (i.e. water). Vitamins C and E have also been described as ROS scavengers (antioxidants). Free radicals are beneficial in low amounts 3. Macrophage and neutrophils-mediated immune responses involve the production and release of NO, which inhibits viruses, pathogens and tumor proliferation 8. NO also reacts with other ROS and thus, also has a role as a detoxifier (ROS scavenger). Finally NO acts on vessels to regulate blood flow which is important for the adaptation of muscle to prolonged exercise 9, 10. Several publications have also demonstrated that ROS are involved in insulin sensitivity 11, 12. Numerous methods to evaluate ROS production are available. In this article we propose several simple, fast, and affordable assays; these assays have been validated by many publications and are routinely used to detect ROS or its effects in mammalian cells. While some of these assays detect multiple ROS, others detect only a single ROS.
Medicine, Issue 57, reactive oxygen species (ROS), stress, ischemia, cancer, chemotherapy, immune response
Gene-environment Interaction Models to Unmask Susceptibility Mechanisms in Parkinson's Disease
Authors: Vivian P. Chou, Novie Ko, Theodore R. Holman, Amy B. Manning-Boğ.
Institutions: SRI International, University of California-Santa Cruz.
Lipoxygenase (LOX) activity has been implicated in neurodegenerative disorders such as Alzheimer's disease, but its effects in Parkinson's disease (PD) pathogenesis are less understood. Gene-environment interaction models have utility in unmasking the impact of specific cellular pathways in toxicity that may not be observed using a solely genetic or toxicant disease model alone. To evaluate if distinct LOX isozymes selectively contribute to PD-related neurodegeneration, transgenic (i.e. 5-LOX and 12/15-LOX deficient) mice can be challenged with a toxin that mimics cell injury and death in the disorder. Here we describe the use of a neurotoxin, 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP), which produces a nigrostriatal lesion to elucidate the distinct contributions of LOX isozymes to neurodegeneration related to PD. The use of MPTP in mouse, and nonhuman primate, is well-established to recapitulate the nigrostriatal damage in PD. The extent of MPTP-induced lesioning is measured by HPLC analysis of dopamine and its metabolites and semi-quantitative Western blot analysis of striatum for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme for the synthesis of dopamine. To assess inflammatory markers, which may demonstrate LOX isozyme-selective sensitivity, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and Iba-1 immunohistochemistry are performed on brain sections containing substantia nigra, and GFAP Western blot analysis is performed on striatal homogenates. This experimental approach can provide novel insights into gene-environment interactions underlying nigrostriatal degeneration and PD.
Medicine, Issue 83, MPTP, dopamine, Iba1, TH, GFAP, lipoxygenase, transgenic, gene-environment interactions, mouse, Parkinson's disease, neurodegeneration, neuroinflammation
Quantification of the Respiratory Burst Response as an Indicator of Innate Immune Health in Zebrafish
Authors: Michelle F. Goody, Eric Peterman, Con Sullivan, Carol H. Kim.
The phagocyte respiratory burst is part of the innate immune response to pathogen infection and involves the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS). ROS are toxic and function to kill phagocytized microorganisms. In vivo quantification of phagocyte-derived ROS provides information regarding an organism's ability to mount a robust innate immune response. Here we describe a protocol to quantify and compare ROS in whole zebrafish embryos upon chemical induction of the phagocyte respiratory burst. This method makes use of a non-fluorescent compound that becomes fluorescent upon oxidation by ROS. Individual zebrafish embryos are pipetted into the wells of a microplate and incubated in this fluorogenic substrate with or without a chemical inducer of the respiratory burst. Fluorescence in each well is quantified at desired time points using a microplate reader. Fluorescence readings are adjusted to eliminate background fluorescence and then compared using an unpaired t-test. This method allows for comparison of the respiratory burst potential of zebrafish embryos at different developmental stages and in response to experimental manipulations such as protein knockdown, overexpression, or treatment with pharmacological agents. This method can also be used to monitor the respiratory burst response in whole dissected kidneys or cell preparations from kidneys of adult zebrafish and some other fish species. We believe that the relative simplicity and adaptability of this protocol will complement existing protocols and will be of interest to researchers who seek to better understand the innate immune response.
Immunology, Issue 79, Phagocytes, Immune System, Zebrafish, Reactive Oxygen Species, Immune System Processes, Host-Pathogen Interactions, Respiratory Burst, Immune System Phenomena, innate immunity, bacteria, virus, infection]
Detection of Nitric Oxide and Superoxide Radical Anion by Electron Paramagnetic Resonance Spectroscopy from Cells using Spin Traps
Authors: Bhavani Gopalakrishnan, Kevin M. Nash, Murugesan Velayutham, Frederick A. Villamena.
Institutions: The Ohio State University, College of Medicine, The Ohio State University.
Reactive nitrogen/oxygen species (ROS/RNS) at low concentrations play an important role in regulating cell function, signaling, and immune response but in unregulated concentrations are detrimental to cell viability1, 2. While living systems have evolved with endogenous and dietary antioxidant defense mechanisms to regulate ROS generation, ROS are produced continuously as natural by-products of normal metabolism of oxygen and can cause oxidative damage to biomolecules resulting in loss of protein function, DNA cleavage, or lipid peroxidation3, and ultimately to oxidative stress leading to cell injury or death4. Superoxide radical anion (O2•-) is the major precursor of some of the most highly oxidizing species known to exist in biological systems such as peroxynitrite and hydroxyl radical. The generation of O2•- signals the first sign of oxidative burst, and therefore, its detection and/or sequestration in biological systems is important. In this demonstration, O2•- was generated from polymorphonuclear neutrophils (PMNs). Through chemotactic stimulation with phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate (PMA), PMN generates O2•- via activation of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate (NADPH) oxidase5. Nitric oxide (NO) synthase which comes in three isoforms, as inducible-, neuronal- and endothelial-NOS, or iNOS, nNOS or eNOS, respectively, catalyzes the conversion of L- arginine to L-citrulline, using NADPH to produce NO6. Here, we generated NO from endothelial cells. Under oxidative stress conditions, eNOS for example can switch from producing NO to O2•- in a process called uncoupling, which is believed to be caused by oxidation of heme7 or the co-factor, tetrahydrobiopterin (BH4)8. There are only few reliable methods for the detection of free radicals in biological systems but are limited by specificity and sensitivity. Spin trapping is commonly used for the identification of free radicals and involves the addition reaction of a radical to a spin trap forming a persistent spin adduct which can be detected by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy. The various radical adducts exhibit distinctive spectrum which can be used to identify the radicals being generated and can provide a wealth of information about the nature and kinetics of radical production9. The cyclic nitrones, 5,5-dimethyl-pyrroline-N-oxide, DMPO10, the phosphoryl-substituted DEPMPO11, and the ester-substituted, EMPO12 and BMPO13, have been widely employed as spin traps--the latter spin traps exhibiting longer half-lives for O2•- adduct. Iron (II)-N-methyl-D-glucamine dithiocarbamate, Fe(MGD)2 is commonly used to trap NO due to high rate of adduct formation and the high stability of the spin adduct14.
Molecular Biology, Issue 66, Cellular Biology, Physics, Biophysics, spin trap, eNOS, ROS, superoxide, NO, EPR
Detecting, Visualizing and Quantitating the Generation of Reactive Oxygen Species in an Amoeba Model System
Authors: Xuezhi Zhang, Thierry Soldati.
Institutions: University of Geneva.
Reactive oxygen species (ROS) comprise a range of reactive and short-lived, oxygen-containing molecules, which are dynamically interconverted or eliminated either catalytically or spontaneously. Due to the short life spans of most ROS and the diversity of their sources and subcellular localizations, a complete picture can be obtained only by careful measurements using a combination of protocols. Here, we present a set of three different protocols using OxyBurst Green (OBG)-coated beads, or dihydroethidium (DHE) and Amplex UltraRed (AUR), to monitor qualitatively and quantitatively various ROS in professional phagocytes such as Dictyostelium. We optimised the beads coating procedures and used OBG-coated beads and live microscopy to dynamically visualize intraphagosomal ROS generation at the single cell level. We identified lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from E. coli as a potent stimulator for ROS generation in Dictyostelium. In addition, we developed real time, medium-throughput assays using DHE and AUR to quantitatively measure intracellular superoxide and extracellular H2O2 production, respectively.
Microbiology, Issue 81, Biology (general), Biochemistry, Reactive oxygen species, Superoxide, Hydrogen peroxide, OxyBurst Green, Carboxylated beads, Dihydroethidium, Amplex UltraRed, Phagocytosis, Dictyostelium discoideum
In vivo Imaging Method to Distinguish Acute and Chronic Inflammation
Authors: Jen-Chieh Tseng, Andrew L. Kung.
Institutions: Harvard Medical School, Columbia University Medical Center.
Inflammation is a fundamental aspect of many human diseases. In this video report, we demonstrate non-invasive bioluminescence imaging techniques that distinguish acute and chronic inflammation in mouse models. With tissue damage or pathogen invasion, neutrophils are the first line of defense, playing a major role in mediating the acute inflammatory response. As the inflammatory reaction progresses, circulating monocytes gradually migrate into the site of injury and differentiate into mature macrophages, which mediate chronic inflammation and promote tissue repair by removing tissue debris and producing anti-inflammatory cytokines. Intraperitoneal injection of luminol (5-amino-2,3-dihydro-1,4-phthalazinedione, sodium salt) enables detection of acute inflammation largely mediated by tissue-infiltrating neutrophils. Luminol specifically reacts with the superoxide generated within the phagosomes of neutrophils since bioluminescence results from a myeloperoxidase (MPO) mediated reaction. Lucigenin (bis-N-methylacridinium nitrate) also reacts with superoxide in order to generate bioluminescence. However, lucigenin bioluminescence is independent of MPO and it solely relies on phagocyte NADPH oxidase (Phox) in macrophages during chronic inflammation. Together, luminol and lucigenin allow non-invasive visualization and longitudinal assessment of different phagocyte populations across both acute and chronic inflammatory phases. Given the important role of inflammation in a variety of human diseases, we believe this non-invasive imaging method can help investigate the differential roles of neutrophils and macrophages in a variety of pathological conditions.
Immunology, Issue 78, Infection, Medicine, Cellular Biology, Molecular Biology, Biomedical Engineering, Anatomy, Physiology, Cancer Biology, Stem Cell Biology, Inflammation, Phagocytes, Phagocyte, Superoxides, Molecular Imaging, chemiluminescence, in vivo imaging, superoxide, bioluminescence, chronic inflammation, acute inflammation, phagocytes, cells, imaging, animal model
Biochemical Measurement of Neonatal Hypoxia
Authors: Megan S. Plank, Teleka C. Calderon, Yayesh Asmerom, Danilo S. Boskovic, Danilyn M. Angeles.
Institutions: Loma Linda University, Loma Linda University.
Neonatal hypoxia ischemia is characterized by inadequate blood perfusion of a tissue or a systemic lack of oxygen. This condition is thought to cause/exacerbate well documented neonatal disorders including neurological impairment 1-3. Decreased adenosine triphosphate production occurs due to a lack of oxidative phosphorylation. To compensate for this energy deprived state molecules containing high energy phosphate bonds are degraded 2. This leads to increased levels of adenosine which is subsequently degraded to inosine, hypoxanthine, xanthine, and finally to uric acid. The final two steps in this degradation process are performed by xanthine oxidoreductase. This enzyme exists in the form of xanthine dehydrogenase under normoxic conditions but is converted to xanthine oxidase (XO) under hypoxia-reperfusion circumstances 4, 5. Unlike xanthine dehydrogenase, XO generates hydrogen peroxide as a byproduct of purine degradation 4, 6. This hydrogen peroxide in combination with other reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced during hypoxia, oxidizes uric acid to form allantoin and reacts with lipid membranes to generate malondialdehyde (MDA) 7-9. Most mammals, humans exempted, possess the enzyme uricase, which converts uric acid to allantoin. In humans, however, allantoin can only be formed by ROS-mediated oxidation of uric acid. Because of this, allantoin is considered to be a marker of oxidative stress in humans, but not in the mammals that have uricase. We describe methods employing high pressure liquid chromatography (HPLC) and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GCMS) to measure biochemical markers of neonatal hypoxia ischemia. Human blood is used for most tests. Animal blood may also be used while recognizing the potential for uricase-generated allantoin. Purine metabolites were linked to hypoxia as early as 1963 and the reliability of hypoxanthine, xanthine, and uric acid as biochemical indicators of neonatal hypoxia was validated by several investigators 10-13. The HPLC method used for the quantification of purine compounds is fast, reliable, and reproducible. The GC/MS method used for the quantification of allantoin, a relatively new marker of oxidative stress, was adapted from Gruber et al 7. This method avoids certain artifacts and requires low volumes of sample. Methods used for synthesis of MMDA were described elsewhere 14, 15. GC/MS based quantification of MDA was adapted from Paroni et al. and Cighetti et al. 16, 17. Xanthine oxidase activity was measured by HPLC by quantifying the conversion of pterin to isoxanthopterin 18. This approach proved to be sufficiently sensitive and reproducible.
Medicine, Issue 54, hypoxia, Ischemia, Neonate, Hypoxanthine, Xanthine, Uric Acid, Allantoin, Xanthine Oxidase, Malondialdehyde |
CHILE: Picking up the pieces
The Piñera government aimed to boost productivity. But the sheer scale of reconstruction needed after the earthquake may postpone longer-term plans
By Ruth Bradley
Faced with the devastation wreaked by the earthquake that struck in the early hours of February 27, Chile has been left a poorer country. With hundreds dead and thousands displaced, and as much as 8% of the nations physical assets in ruins, rebuilding will be protracted, extensive and expensive.Yet despite the tragedy, the Andean nation was spared the worst: for one of the worlds largest earthquakes in more than a century, the death toll was relatively low a tribute to high building standards. The disaster also found the country on a sound economic footing for the long haul of recovery. The IMF noted in March that Chiles strong economic fundamentals, the result of many years of sound policies, will serve the country well as it responds to the tragedy. The drive for recovery will fall to Sebastián Piñera, a centre-right businessman and former senator, who took office as Chiles president on March 11. Replacing the centre-left Concertación coalition that governed Chile for the previous 20 years, Piñera promised that, by invigorating economic growth, he would put Chile on track to achieve its aim of becoming a developed country by 2018, with an income similar to that of Portugal today.Piñera, a Harvard-trained economist, believes that, after its rapid expansion in the 1990s, Chile had been sleeping a siesta. And, before the February 27 earthquake, his plan was to wake it up to stronger growth, driven by higher productivity and more efficient government. After the economys estimated 1.7% contraction last year, activity was fast regaining momentum, with consensus local forecasts pointing to a 4.5% year-on-year expansion in the first quarter. Now, disruption of activity by the earthquake means it may suffer a double dip, warns Alberto Ramos, senior economist at Goldman Sachs. Copper mining, by far Chiles largest export sector, was unaffected because it takes place mostly in the unscathed north of the country. But its forestry industry, which produces the pulp, paper and wood that add up to its second most important export, is located mainly in the worst-hit areas of the south. Damage to plants, as well as to roads and ports, has caused a production stoppage that is initially expected to last at least a month.Growth over the whole year may be affected, says Leonardo Suárez, senior economist at LarrainVial, a local investment bank. In the immediate aftermath of the quake, it cut its previous projection from 5.4% ahead of a local consensus of 4.9% to 5.0%.Others, however, have raised their forecasts. JP Morgan, for example, has increased its projection to 5.5%, up from a pre-quake 5%. Therell be a drop for a couple of months but we expect reconstruction to start kicking in during the second half, says executive director Vladimir Werning. OPPORTUNITIESThe earthquake has, indeed, created new opportunities for the private investment that the government had tipped to be the motor of growth over its four-year term. Its a setback, of course, but we expect the private sector to be quite responsive, says Werning. Manufacturers report that insurance an estimated 90% of which is reinsured abroad will cover a large part of the cost for the damaged infrastructure as well as the lost business. That is also the case for roads and airports, built and operated by private companies under a concessions programme launched in the mid-1990s. The central bank may also provide a helping hand. It had been expected to start tightening monetary policy in the second quarter but, despite a likely short-term spike in inflation due to transport-related supply difficulties, may hold its benchmark interest rate at 0.5% for longer.Chile is in a strong fiscal position. It is one of the worlds few net sovereign creditors, with central government debt a low 6% of GDP and, as of early March, over $11 billion is held in a counter-cyclical sovereign wealth fund, the Economic and Social Stabilization Fund (FEES), built up during the 200308 boom in copper prices. As a result, it should be able to raise money at attractive rates in the local or international debt markets. It will also receive assistance from multilateral organizations. There is, however, concern about the impact of reconstruction on Chiles traditional fiscal discipline. President Piñera had promised that, in line with a fiscal rule in force since 2001, he would maintain a structurally balanced programme that is, spend only the revenues the government would have received if the economy were growing at its medium-term potential, and copper prices were at their expected average for the next 10 years. Now, with reconstruction as his justification, he will be able to increase spending without being seen as profligate. I wouldnt be particularly worried to see the sovereign wealth fund emptied and Chile become a small net borrower, says Ramos. I expect the fiscal situation to remain solid, but we do still have to see how responsible the government is. There is also another important risk, says Werning. As insurance claims and foreign financing start to flow in, they will put pressure on the exchange rate, tending to strengthen the peso bad news for the competitiveness of the export industries that account for around a third of the countrys GDP. Resources are, moreover, only as good as the way in which they are mobilized, says Esteban Jadresic, senior economist at Moneda Asset Management and a former director at the central bank. That is why developed countries recover more quickly from disasters than less developed ones, he says. HIDDEN RISKSStill, the general view among analysts is that, beyond the short-term dip in activity, reconstruction will put extra medium-term wind behind the economys sails. Before the earthquake, local forecasts for growth in 2011 had averaged 5%, but were subsequently revised to 6% and even 7%. That would, however, mean that the economy would be growing well above its potential. Even before the loss of a significant part of its capital stock, this was estimated at just 4.2%. The slack after last years recession means that this shouldnt be a problem for a couple of years, says Werning. But what of the longer term? At Goldman Sachs, Ramos is optimistic. He estimates that reconstruction can be completed in two to three years and should leave Chile with a more modern, technologically advanced and efficient production structure than it would otherwise have had. Jadresic is also sanguine. I dont expect a persistent effect on Chileans standard of living, he says. But there are some hidden risks. One of the main pre-earthquake aims of Piñeras government was to increase the economys productivity. In comparison to the 1990s, when it was boosted by structural reforms, including the privatization of state enterprises, and the development of new industries like fruit farming, productivity has been dropping since 2006. The governments plans to reverse this trend include reforms in education, public healthcare and labour legislation from which it may now be sidetracked. Theyll have to worry about whether children have schools, not what pupils attain inside them, says one former government official. The risk is that, in this case, it would achieve high growth itself but without increasing future growth capacity. The earthquake does, however, provide the government with an unexpected opportunity to shine. Piñera said he would like to be remembered as the president who restored a culture of doing things well in Chile. He wont be short of a chance to show that he can do so. The measure of his success or failure will be whether, despite a huge setback, he can still leave Chile poised to become a developed country by 2018. |
Nanowires could be the key to the transistors of tomorrow
Dario Borghino
Researchers are closer to using semiconducting nanowires to create a new generation of small transistors and more powerful computer chips.
Researchers agree that chip manufacturers will soon reach a hard limit in terms of transistor miniaturization, disproving rule-of-thumb predictions that transistor density roughly doubles every 18 to 24 months. But a collaboration between IBM, Purdue University and the University of California in Los Angeles may have found a way to squeeze more transistor in the same area by building them vertically rather than horizontally.
The key to the researchers' discovery is the use of nanowires, tiny structures that can be produced with industry-standard lithography techniques and have the potential to perform much better than traditional silicon transistor, as the scientific community has known for some time.
Despite taking up comparatively more space than nanowires, traditional transistors have been a preferred choice so far mainly because they are formed by so-called heterostructures, meaning each part is very precisely spatially confined, which improves the control over the flow of electrons traveling in it. Up to now, researchers weren't able to recreate the same kind of sharply defined structures in nanowires, but this new discovery paves the way to their more widespread application in the electronics industry.
The researchers elaborated a complex procedure to manufacture efficient nanowires: tiny particles of a gold-aluminum alloy were first heated and melted inside a vacuum chamber, and then silicon gas was introduced into the chamber saturating the mixture and causing the silicon to precipitate and form wires. Each wire was then covered with a liquid bead of gold-aluminum, making the structure resemble a mushroom. Finally, the chamber temperature was decreased allowing the structure to solidify, and germanium was deposited onto the silicon.
What's even more interesting about the process, the group commented in a paper published on the journal Science, is that it can be modified to produce different kinds of heterostructures, which allows scientists to experiment further and could provide a new method for creating small and efficient nanowire transistors.
The work was funded by the National Science Foundation through the Electronic and Photonic Materials Program.
Nanowires could be the key to the transistors of tomorrow1 / 3
#Moore's Law
#Nanowires
#Purdue University
#Transistor
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Molecular breast imaging protocol unmasks more cancer
Patients with advanced breast cancer that may have spread to their lymph nodes could benefit from a more robust dose of a molecular imaging agent called Tc-99m filtered sulfur colloid when undergoing lymphoscintigraphy, a functional imaging technique that scouts new cancer as it begins to metastasize. Best results also indicate that imaging could be improved by injecting the agent the day prior to surgical resection, according to research.
Patients with advanced breast cancer that may have spread to their lymph nodes could benefit from a more robust dose of a molecular imaging agent called Tc-99m filtered sulfur colloid when undergoing lymphoscintigraphy, a functional imaging technique that scouts new cancer as it begins to metastasize. Best results also indicate that imaging could be improved by injecting the agent the day prior to surgical resection, according to research unveiled at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging's 2014 Annual Meeting.
"The innovative aspect of this study was our recent introduction of day-before-surgery injections for breast cancer patients," said Donald Neumann, MD, research scientist and practicing physician from the department of nuclear medicine at Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio. "Prior to this, we routinely injected patients on the day of surgery. There were several motivating factors for us to do this. Typically, surgeries begin very early in the morning, and it is very difficult to arrange all the necessary equipment, personnel and radiotracers early enough in the morning for patients to be injected, scanned, have their images interpreted and travel (or be transported) to surgical check-in."
The researchers also enhanced the activity of the agent as imaged by lymphoscintigraphy by increasing the standard patient dose to 3.0 millicuries of Tc-99m filtered sulfur colloid up from 0.4 millicuries.
The change in injection timing from the morning of surgery to the day prior to surgery was based on study data. Of a group of 51 patients who were imaged the day prior, 39 had cancer that had spread to their lymph nodes and 12 patients' scans showed multiple lymph node malignancy. A separate group of 49 patients were injected with the agent the morning of their surgery. Of these, 24 patients had cancer that had metastasized to their lymph nodes. Imaging the morning prior ended up being more sensitive for the detection of advanced breast cancer than the day of, 76 percent sensitive versus 49 percent, respectively.
An estimated 232,670 new cases of invasive breast cancer will be diagnosed in women this year, according to 2014 data from the American Cancer Society. Approximately 40,000 women will die from breast cancer this year.
The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Society of Nuclear Medicine. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.
Society of Nuclear Medicine. "Molecular breast imaging protocol unmasks more cancer." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 9 June 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140609140859.htm>.
Society of Nuclear Medicine. (2014, June 9). Molecular breast imaging protocol unmasks more cancer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved February 6, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140609140859.htm
Society of Nuclear Medicine. "Molecular breast imaging protocol unmasks more cancer." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140609140859.htm (accessed February 6, 2016).
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NASA's Swift Monitors Departing Comet Garradd
Gabriella Brianna
, Posted in NASA News
An outbound comet that provided a nice show for skywatchers late last year is the target of an ongoing investigation by NASA's Swift satellite. Formally designated C/2009 P1 (Garradd), the unusually dust-rich comet provides a novel opportunity to characterize how cometary activity changes at ever greater distance from the sun.
A comet is a clump of frozen gases mixed with dust. These "dirty snowballs" cast off gas and dust whenever they venture near the sun. What powers this activity is frozen water transforming from solid ice to gas, a process called sublimation. Jets powered by ice sublimation release dust, which reflects sunlight and brightens the comet. Typically, a comet's water content remains frozen until it comes within about three times Earth's distance to the sun, or 3 astronomical units (AU), so astronomers regard this as the solar system's "snow line."
"Comet Garradd was producing lots of dust and gas well before it reached the snow line, which tells us that the activity was powered by something other than water ice," said Dennis Bodewits, an assistant research scientist at the University of Maryland, College Park, and the study's lead investigator. "We plan to use Swift's unique capabilities to monitor Garradd as it moves beyond the snow line, where few comets are studied."
Comets are known to contain other frozen gases, such as carbon monoxide and dioxide (CO and CO2), which sublimate at colder temperatures and much farther from the sun. These are two of the leading candidates for driving cometary activity beyond the snow line, but phase transitions between different forms of water ice also may come into play.
C/2009 P1 was discovered by Gordon J. Garradd at Siding Spring Observatory, Australia, in August 2009. Astronomers say that the comet is "dynamically new," meaning that this is likely its first trip through the inner solar system since it arrived in the Oort cloud, the cometary cold-storage zone located thousands of AU beyond the sun.
Comet Garradd was closest to the sun on Dec. 23, 2011, and passed within 118 million miles (1.27 AU) of Earth on March 5, 2012. The comet remains observable in small telescopes this month as it moves south though the constellations Ursa Major and Lynx.
Although Swift's prime task is to detect and rapidly locate gamma-ray bursts in the distant universe, novel targets of opportunity allow the mission to show off its versatility. One of Swift's instruments, the Ultraviolet/Optical Telescope (UVOT) is ideally suited for studying comets.
For more information visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/swift/bursts/comet-garradd.html
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A View from the Top of the Tower
UCR's second carillonneur recalls her fondest memories of the UCR carillon and bell tower on its 50th birthday
By Margo Halsted
Some of my fondest UCR memories happened in a space that is 162 feet in the air and smaller than the average household kitchen. But what a big sound we made together.
The story of the UCR Bell Tower and its carillon have several important characters. And a 50th birthday party is a good time to tell it.
For the inaugural celebration on Oct. 2, 1966, an estimated crowd of 500 persons gathered for the opening ceremony, and particularly to hear Professor Lowell J. Smith play the 48 carillon bells for the first time.
The UCR Bell Tower dedication in 1966
I became acquainted with the carillon in December of 1966 when I visited from my home in Pacific Palisades. Professor James B. Angell, my former carillon teacher at Stanford, joined me and we met Lowell and played UCR’s bells. I was hooked, and immediately asked Lowell if I could study with him. From then on, until June of 1987, I was in Riverside several days a week, playing whenever I could. First, I earned a UCR masters degree in performance practice of carillon. Then, the UCR Music Department hired me as a lecturer in 1977 to play and teach carillon, organ, and other music classes after Lowell Smith resigned in 1976.
Why do I love the bells so much? It’s exhilarating to move your whole body to play, and there’s usually no one else there you can see who could make you nervous. It’s a marvelous — and sometimes powerful — feeling. I’ve also been able to perform on carillons all over the world and to consult for eight new carillons.
The present carillonneur, David Christensen, another student of Lowell Smith, took over the duties of playing and teaching the carillon when I left to become carillonist and assistant professor of music at the University of Michigan School of Music. David regularly plays the UCR carillon for an hour on Monday noontimes throughout the school year. The tower playing room is open after David’s quarterly recitals, and one may watch the carillon played and look at the bells.
But, what is the carillon that the tower holds high up at its top? A carillon is a musical instrument consisting of at least 23 cup-shaped bells, tuned in chromatic series and played by a direct mechanical action connection from a keyboard that allows variation of touch (louds and softs). When a key is depressed about two inches, a wire attached to the middle of the key pulls the clapper into the side of its stationary bell above, and the bell sounds. The UCR carillon has four octaves of bells, which qualifies it as a concert carillon. The bells are exceptionally well-tuned and have a mellow sound. The largest bell weighs 5,091 pounds and the smallest bell 28 pounds. Note the position of the clappers and the various wires in the photo at the very top of this article. The playing room is located near the top of the tower just under the bell chamber, and a trap door is opened so that the performer can hear the bells well. (If the trap door is not opened, the performer will not hear the bells well.)
A well-trained and musical pianist very likely would have little trouble learning to play the carillon, even though one plays the carillon keys with fists — and also with feet because the larger bells have heavier clappers. The music looks like piano music, and many of the aspects of piano playing (such as phrasing, controlling volume, accenting notes) are the same.
Watch this carillon performance by David Christensen on YouTube; the foot pedals are out of view from the camera, but one can see the hand keys going down on the left side because the feet are playing those low notes.
Of course, it is necessary to learn and practice the music before playing it from the tower. A practice keyboard with tuned bar pitches, located in a Department of Music practice room, is a crucial element in the carillon program.
Carillonneurs Margo Halsted, left, with David Christensen
There are over 650 carillons in the world, 175 in the United States and five in California. New carillons are added every year. UCR is one of 64 schools, colleges and universities in the country that have a carillon. Other carillons in California are at Stanford University, Christ Cathedral, and two other campuses of the University of California: Berkeley and Santa Barbara.
David Christensen has been the UCR carillonneur for the past 29 years, and his two music degrees were earned at University of Redlands. He is also the music director and organist at Eden Lutheran Church in Riverside. You’ve already read some about me. My diplomas are from Stanford, UCR, and the Netherlands Carillon School. I was at the University of Michigan for 16 years and retired as an associate professor emeritus to Southern California, near to my children and grandchildren. I am now carillonist at UC Santa Barbara. Lowell J. Smith, who played and taught at UCR from 1966-1976, has diplomas from Indiana University and the Netherlands Carillon School. Aside from teaching David Christensen and I, he taught a significant number of other students in the 10 years he was at UCR. At least four of his students went on to play the carillon professionally.
Then-UC Regent Philip Boyd, member of the UCR Citizens University Committee, and his wife Dorothy were the donors of the tower and carillon. What foresight they had to make such an intriguing gift! Music chair and Professor William Reynolds was the key person researching and planning the instrument in 1964 to 65. He listened to carillons all over the United States, and after finding one particular carillon whose bells he loved, he chose the same maker — bell founder Paccard of France — to create the bells. The firm of A. Quincy Jones and Frederick Emmons designed the tower, and the contractor was Brezina Construction.
UCR has a particularly fine musical instrument, and its 50th birthday celebration cheers all who love its bells.
Now, here is some information about the birthday party, to which you all are invited: there will be four special concerts on consecutive Mondays at noon. At the first one, on Oct. 17, Chancellor Kim A. Wilcox will speak, a Scottish dancer and a bagpipe player will perform, and University Carillonneur David Christensen will play the bells. There will also be a reception near the tower.
The next three Monday noontime concerts will feature:
Oct. 24: Joey Brink, University of Chicago carillonneur and 2014 worldwide carillon performance competition winner;
Oct. 31: David Christensen, a Halloween program; and
Nov. 7: Melissa Weidner, organist, piano technician and carillonneur at Christ Cathedral (formerly the Crystal Cathedral) in Garden Grove.
— Adjunct Associate Professor Margo Halsted is the carillonneur at UC Santa Barbara. She was UCR’s second carillonneur. |
Fake ID Use Tied to High-Risk Drinking by Underage Students
THURSDAY, Oct. 17 (HealthDay News) -- Among students who had already consumed alcohol by their first year of college, two-thirds of those who were underage used fake identification to buy booze, a new study of U.S. students finds.
Underage students tend to drink less frequently than older students, but the use of fake IDs might lead them to drink more often and increase their risk of developing drinking problems, the researchers said.
The study, published online Oct. 17 and in an upcoming print issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, included 529 females and 486 males. All had consumed alcohol at least once by their first year of college, and were followed-up for the first four years of college. About 66 percent of the underage students used false IDs, and of those, they used the fake IDs about one-fourth of the time they drank before turning 21, corresponding study author Amelia Arria said in a journal news release.
The study also "demonstrated that false ID use led to increases in drinking frequency and quantity," said Arria, director of the Center on Young Adult Health and Development at the University of Maryland School of Public Health.
In addition, "we showed that while false ID use wasn't directly related to [alcohol use disorders] risk; it indirectly predicted increases in [alcohol use disorders] risk over time through its contribution to increases in drinking frequency," she said.
The study also identified "younger age at first drink of alcohol, greater levels of alcohol and drug involvement during high school, higher levels of sensation-seeking, Greek life involvement and living off-campus" as predictors of how often students used false IDs, Arria noted.
She said it's not clear whether the findings would apply to young adults under 21 who aren't in college and said further research is needed to determine if that's the case.
Jennifer Read is an associate professor in the department of psychology at the State University of New York at Buffalo. "I think some of the most important findings to come out of this study have to do with how widespread this problem is," Read stated in the news release.
"I was surprised that almost two-thirds of the students used false IDs. It will be interesting to see if this reflects something specific to this university or region in Dr. Arria's study, or if the use of false IDs is this ubiquitous across campuses in the U.S.," said Read, who was not involved in the study.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has more about underage drinking.
SOURCE: Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research, news release, Oct. 17, 2013
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Avoiding corrosion in electrical systems
Properly specifying electrical products for highly corrosive environments will reduce overall long-term cost and risk of failure.
Stephanie Ellis, Corrosion College, Gilmer, Texas
Product failure due to corrosion is estimated to cost $1 trillion annually. A key role of consulting and specifying engineers is to help ensure effective specification of products. This responsibility is especially critical when applications are in highly corrosive environments where product failure not only is extremely costly, but also raises the risk of catastrophe and human harm. There is reason to believe that many professionals, although aware of general facts specific to corrosion, do not maintain adequate knowledge of how and why diverse methodologies for corrosion prevention work well in some applications but are ineffective in others.
The foundation for preventing corrosion damage is continuous education in the causes of corrosion. Understanding product life predictions as well as performance assessment methods is essential for determining which products will truly survive in a corrosive environment. Last, knowing how to follow through with proper specification using third-party product testing results will result in tremendous long-term cost savings.
Short course: Corrosion
A basic knowledge of corrosion is essential for prevention. It starts with a definition of corrosion; this one is from the National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE):
Corrosion is the deterioration of a substance, usually a metal, or its properties, because of an undesirable reaction with its environment.
Corrosion is a natural and inevitable process that once understood can be mitigated so that preventive measures and controlled outages can take place.
The next task is to consider the environmental conditions in which the electrical components will be placed. Conditions such as moisture, dust, and temperature can affect the rate of corrosion.
Moisture: The level of corrosion typically increases with moisture content. Common atmospheric sources of moisture are rain, dew, and condensation.
Dust: Dust particles can cling to surfaces and retain moisture. Typical sources of dust include soil/sand, smoke, and soot particles or salts.
Temperature: Increasing the temperature of a corrosive environment will generally increase the rate of corrosion. For every 10 C rise in the temperature, the corrosion rate can double.
Common types of metal corrosion
Knowing common types of corrosion will aid in determining the best methods of prevention. Here are just a few of the types of corrosion that consulting and specifying engineers might face on the job.
General corrosion attack is the most common type of corrosion. It is typically caused by a chemical reaction that results in the deterioration of the entire exposed surface of a metal in a uniform manner. Ultimately, the metal deteriorates to the point of failure.
Galvanic corrosion occurs between two dissimilar metals. If these metals are placed in contact (or otherwise electrically connected), this potential difference produces electron flow between them, causing corrosion.
Crevice corrosion is a localized corrosion that is associated with a stagnant solution located in material flaws, holes, gasket surfaces, lap joints, surface deposits, and crevices under bolt and rivet heads.
Pitting is a form of corrosion caused by a localized attack resulting in holes in the metal.
Erosion corrosion results when a protective layer of oxide on a metal surface is dissolved or removed by wind or water, exposing the underlying metal to further corrode and deteriorate.
Corrosion fatigue is the mechanical degradation of a material under the joint action of corrosion and cyclic loading or alternating stress.
High-temperature corrosion can be caused by compounds that are very corrosive toward metal alloys normally resistant to corrosion, such as stainless steel.
Once corrosion is discovered, it must be addressed. However, corrosion is unpredictable, and the most effective way of controlling corrosion is by preventing it. A recent study by the Executive Branch and Government Accountability Office determined that the annual cost of corrosion could be decreased by as much as 40% (or $400 billion) by preventing corrosion instead of treating it as it occurs.
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Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) Expression in Primary Angiosarcoma
Gerardo Botti1*, Giosuè Scognamiglio1*, Laura Marra1, Antonio Pizzolorusso2, Maurizio Di Bonito1, Rossella De Cecio1, Monica Cantile1✉, Annarosaria De Chiara1
1. Pathology Unit, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione “G. Pascale”, via Mariano Semmola, 80131 Napoli, Italy;
2. Department of Muscle-skeletal Oncology, Istituto Nazionale Tumori Fondazione “G. Pascale”, via Mariano Semmola, 80131 Napoli, Italy.
* Equal contributors
Angiosarcomas are rare malignant endothelial-cell tumors of vascular or lymphatic origin, and are among the most aggressive subtypes of soft-tissue sarcomas. The prognosis is poor and treatment is challenging in many cases. PD-1/PD-L1 pathway plays a critical role in immune escape of tumor cells. Recent studies described that PD-L1 is widely expressed in various types of cancer, providing the basis for the development of PD1/PD-L1 antibodies as anti-cancer immunotherapy. Despite the well-known potential of PD-L1 as prognostic and predictive biomarker, only few studies described its IHC expression in cancer subtypes for the extreme difficulty in developing standard protocol with the different antibody clones available.
We analyzed the IHC expression of PD-L1 on a series of angiosarcomas at different body location, showing its aberrant expression in about 66% of samples with no relation with prognosis. Our study allowed us to correctly define PD-L1 staining in angiosarcoma tumor tissues with final purpose to stratify patients for immune checkpoint inhibitors therapies.
Keywords: angiosarcoma, PD-L1, IHC evaluation.
Botti G, Scognamiglio G, Marra L, Pizzolorusso A, Di Bonito M, De Cecio R, Cantile M, De Chiara A. Programmed Death Ligand 1 (PD-L1) Expression in Primary Angiosarcoma. J Cancer 2017; 8(16):3166-3172. doi:10.7150/jca.19060. Available from http://www.jcancer.org/v08p3166.htm |
Practice Policy 4: Confidentiality
Respecting confidentiality of all interactions with Clients, along with any information about them, is a fundamental requirement for keeping trust. The management of confidentiality requires the protection of personally identifiable and sensitive information from unauthorised disclosure.
The obligation to maintain confidentiality continues after the therapeutic relationship has ended.
A court of law or similar statutory body may require disclosures. Any disclosures should be undertaken in ways that best protect the Client’s trust.
Where disclosure is made without consent of the Client Psychotherapists should be willing to be accountable to their Clients and to CSRP for their management of such disclosure.
Circumstances when confidentiality may be breached include situations such as supervision or consultancy, and where there may be a risk of harm to the Client or others with whom the Client may be involved
In the circumstances of possible danger to the Psychotherapist, the service, or to others, there are particular legal and social dimensions that the Psychotherapist must bear in mind, for example within the provision of the Children Act 1998, the Children (Scotland) Act 1995, the Terrorism Act 2000 and the Drug Trafficking Act 1994.
When sexual and relationship psychotherapy, supervision and training in a group format is offered, the Psychotherapist must recognise the increased difficulty in maintaining confidentiality and discuss this with potential participants.
If a Psychotherapist is formally accused of wrongful conduct, then the need for the Psychotherapist to divulge information about a Client is recognised. The breaking of confidentiality will be kept to a minimum in consultation with advisors. The Psychotherapist will continue to have regard for the wellbeing of the Client.
When only one partner of a couple consents to the release of information, the Psychotherapist may only release information relating to the consenting Client, and should protect the identity and the confidentiality of all information deriving from the non-consenting Client.
Working online brings particular issues of confidentiality, (see section G: Conducting psychotherapy online, in Guidance for Ethical Practice) and particular attention is paid to security over the method of payment.
Informed written consent must be obtained before any information from the clinical work may be used for publication, training or research. |
The BBHTC Challenge has six strategic research programmes that will operate over the first five years of the Challenge:
1. Kāinga Tahi Kāinga Rua
2. Future neighbourhoods in cities
3. Supporting success in regional settlements
4. Next-generation information
5. Transforming the building industry
6. Improving the architecture of decision-making
The following sections describe in brief the research programmes and how they will contribute to Challenge objectives (highlighted in italics).
Research programmes delivering to Challenge objectives
The Kāinga Tahi Kāinga Rua Strategic Research Area recognises the dual and complex nature of our Māori identities and the many communities we construct our lives in. Simply all Māori by whakapapa originate from a specific place, rohe, marae, kāinga but are more likely now to live at their Kāinga Rua in a city. Many Māori may consider their Kāinga Tahi being the city now and their Kāinga Rua their marae.
The research area will deliver solutions for how we collaboratively finance, design and build developments, with buy-in from multiple stakeholders, to overcome discriminatory policy and legislative barriers to actively support Māori aspirations for long-term affordable and healthy housing that meets the needs of their communities.
Shaping places: Future Neighbourhoods
Liveable and well-designed neighbourhoods, including houses, benefit their inhabitants. These also contribute to successful towns and cities. In other words, both the physical and social structure of neighbourhoods are critical to their success.
This research will focus on the larger cities - home to around half of all New Zealanders. It will lead to an understanding of the principles and processes that create more successful neighbourhoods.
One way it will do this is by investigating the complex factors involved in urban design, especially in relation to New Zealand cities. This will improve future urban environments through better planning and better integrating affordable housing in future communities.
In collaboration with stakeholders, the research will also evaluate real neighbourhoods, including ones with a high proportion of Māori residents, to discover how successful they are and why. This will improve future urban environments as communities can implement practices known to be successful with support from experienced communities. Also, it will inform better land use decision-making about the structure of successful communities.
The research will also create co-innovative communities of practice in major New Zealand cities. This will enhance uptake of innovation across the country in regard to improved urban communities.
Next-generation information for better outcomes
There is an expanding wealth of digital information, particularly geospatial data, which could be better used to inform the development of better homes, towns and cities. This is particularly relevant to better urban planning. However, much of this data is underutilised or not being translated into good information. And very little data is easily scaled from local to regional and national, or vice versa.
Modern technology offers opportunities to use a wider range of data. For example, crowd-sourced data can help shape and improve the function and flow of our communities. But currently we are not realising the potential of these sources.
So, this programme will:
increase the understanding, management and use of geospatial information, including knowledge of the existing data and its use
identify critical new data, to improve planning of urban environments
develop a framework for data collection and collation as well as a geospatial toolkit, to support improved urban planning
determine the role of sensor and crowd-sourced data in improving planning of urban environments
It will determine the relevance of geospatial information to Māori. It will also develop information infrastructure and geospatial urban planning tools collaboratively with users, particularly local and central government. This is to maximise the use of geospatial data, so potential users are more likely to take up the innovations.
Transforming the building industry
This research aims to transform the current conservative, constrained and fragmented building industry into a productive, innovative industry for the 21st century. Under the overarching theme of innovation, the research will focus on three areas: new technologies, appropriate upskilling of labour, and improving processes with a focus on whole-of-building, whole-of-life performance.
The research will:
improve the quality and functionality of new buildings through the use of technology and education to improve housing stock
use new technologies and education to reduce the cost of building, thus meeting future demand for affordable housing
co-innovate with numerous industry organisations and upskill the labour force to increase the likely uptake of innovation
draw on values embedded in mātauranga Māori in upskilling the Māori labour force.
Understanding and retooling the architecture and logics of decision-making
Our built environments are produced through a complex of interactions between three major groups:
resource holders (physical and financial)
critical actors in supply and demand (developers, builders, consumers, financiers, investors)
regulating agencies.
These groups and individuals are all influenced by economic, financial and cultural imperatives. Together, these actors and their logics comprise the architecture of decision-making. The architecture complexity obscures even to the actors many of the effects of decisions.
So this programme will improve decision-making about controls on, incentives for and costs of new buildings through a systemic approach rather than a silver bullet one. This will lead to improved housing stock and will meet future demand for affordable housing.
The programme will also involve decision-makers in improving their own system, making them more likely to take up the innovations. It will improve decision-making for urban environments and land use through a systemic approach, which should improve urban environments and residents' wellbeing.
It will directly improve decision-making on land use. And it will pay particular attention to Māori in terms of resource holding and critical actor positioning of iwi, hapu and Māori trusts, as well as the two-tiered regulatory environment Māori operate in. |
Environmental implications of nanoparticle aging
(Nanowerk Spotlight) Several studies in the literature have highlighted that as nanomaterials "age" they can undergo oxidation; sintering (coalescence); surface ligand displacement; smaller nanoparticle formation; and surface carbonate formation. Nevertheless, no studies are available on how these changes affect the physicochemical properties of the nanomaterials. The aging of nanomaterials is expected to be rapid even under ambient environmental conditions. With the consequence that pristine, as synthesized materials – which are commonly used in nanotechnology-relevant environmental health and safety (EHS) studies – are never really encountered under natural environmental conditions. Which means that researchers who investigate the applications and implications of nanomaterials need to have a clear understanding of the aging process of these materials and need to take its effects into consideration. "Most, if not all, nano EHS related research is conducted using freshly synthesized or newly purchased nanomaterials" Vicki H. Grassian, F. Wendell Miller Professor in the Departments of Chemistry and Chemical and Biochemical Engineering, and Director of the Nanoscience and Nanotechnology Institute at the University of Iowa (UI), tells Nanowerk. "However a number of publications over the recent years have indicated that these nanomaterials are highly dynamic in nature and change over time as they age under ambient conditions and in the environment. This results in changes in size, morphology, composition and surface functionality. Thus there can be significant deviations from the predicted behavior from the EHS studies conducted with fresh samples."
New research by Grassian's group, reported in a recent edition of Environmental Science & Technology ("Environmental Implications of Nanoparticle Aging in the Processing and Fate of Copper-Based Nanomaterials"), first-authored by Imali A. Mudunkotuwa and co-authored with Dr. John M. Pettibone, shows clear differences between the aged and new copper nanoparticle processing under same environmental conditions which can lead to differences in their fate, transformation and toxicity. The basic findings of this work is that copper-based nanoparticles age in the ambient environment and change over time. Furthermore, these aged nanoparticles show different behavior in aqueous suspensions with respect to dissolution. The figure above shows a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image of aged copper nanoparticles. These nanoparticles are oxidized giving a core shell morphology with a metallic copper (Cu) core and a fully oxidized copper oxide (CuO) shell (see cartoon representation). Additionally, there appear to be larger particles in the image from particle coalescence. These aged nanoparticles show different chemical behavior compared to new Cu nanoparticles and fully oxidized CuO nanoparticles. (Image: Imali A. Mudunkotuwa, Grassian research group, University of Iowa)
"Our study highlights the important of oxidation and the thickness of the oxide layer on copper nanoparticles behavior," says Grassian. "These aged materials show different behavior when compared to metallic new (Cu) nanoparticles and fully oxidized copper oxide (CuO) nanoparticles. Although aged copper and copper oxide nanoparticles have the same surface composition the adsorption of organic acids showed distinct differences between the two samples indicating potential coupling of the surface with the underlying core."
She notes that in many nano EHS studies the samples are pretreated by sonication, dispersing in buffers and biological media. These can result in conditions which can either mitigate or enhance the aging process. "In situations where the aging is enhanced, the responses obtained may arise not from the initially characterized materials but from the aged materials," says Grassian. "For example, our studies show that sonication of copper nanoparticle suspension – which is used in animal studies – increase the Cu2O fraction of the sample and therefore the amount of copper in the Cu(I) oxidation state; which can play a role in the production of reactive oxygen species. Thus when considering the toxicological responses it will be important to account for this oxidized fraction as well."
Furthermore, when a study is conducted over a long period of time aging of nanomaterials can result in inconsistent data from different laboratories or even the same laboratory. Thus, it is important to characterize these materials for each study conducted. Copper and copper oxide nanoparticles have shown toxicological responses particularly in aquatic species and animal studies (see for instance: "Copper nanoparticles harm zebrafish"). That is why the UI team has undertaken a study of three different types of copper nanoparticles that differ in their level of oxidation. As Grassian points out, a comparison of the aqueous behavior between newly purchased commercially manufactured copper nanoparticles to nanoparticles that were allowed to sit in the laboratory environment for several years under ambient conditions is particularly interesting as it probes potential effects of aging on environmental processing and the fate and transport of these materials.
"The aged materials exhibit differences in solubility, aggregation and reactivity that can affect the mobility and toxicity of these materials," she says. "Having a clear understanding of how these nanomaterials will change upon aging and consequent alterations in their physicochemical properties will enable establishing reliable structure-activity correlations. This is crucial in mitigating any unfavorable consequences of nanotechnology."
As this work clearly shows, EHS researchers need to conduct studies on understanding the thermodynamics and the kinetics of the aging process for nanomaterials. Aging is strongly affected by environmental conditions. Additionally, as with all the properties of nanoscale materials, the thermodynamic and kinetic behavior will depend on their size and morphology. By Michael Berger. Copyright © Nanowerk
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The Historical Jesus in the Twentieth Century, 1900-1950
Walter P. Weaver
T & T CLARK US
In the present volume, Walter P. Weaver tells the fascinating story of Jesus research during the first half of the twentieth century. Written in a clear and engaging style, Weaver's story chronicles not only the progress of Jesus research but also the cultural drifts and sociological phenomena that relate to the varying pictures of Jesus that scholarship has produced.
The story begins at the turn of the century with Albert Schweitzer and the publication of The Quest of the Historical Jesus. Making its way through two world wars, during which Jesus scholarship was mesmerized by national peril and driven to a period of pause, the story ends with the remarkable discovery in the 1940s of the Dead Sea Scrolls and Nag Hammadi documents-- discoveries that would stir the world of biblical scholarship for years to come. Throughout this period, Weaver points out, a struggle went on for the Jewish soul of Jesus. The period was also characterized by many attempts to popularize the results of Jesus research and to present Jesus as a public icon.
Walter P. Weaver is Emeritus Professor of Religion at Florida Southern College and former Chair of the Humanities Division and Department of Religion and Philosophy, and Pendergrass Professor of Religion. He is co-editor of the Faith and Scholarship Colloquies series published by Trinity Press. |
By MELISSA MICELI
Across the globe, media channels are throwing Amanda Knox back into the spotlight as
many debate whether or not America will allow Italy to extradite Knox for a retrial. In 2007, Knox gained worldwide attention and media scrutiny after her roommate, Meredith Kercher, a London women studying abroad in Perugia, Italy, was brutally murdered.
Now, one year after her acquittal, Knox could face the same pressures and legal processes
of the intense Italian courtrooms. This has shaped itself into an ethical debate while the world watches how drastically one country’s legal system differs from the other. If Knox is extradited, the Italian trial will expose her to “double jeopardy.” This concept violates the U.S. Constitution’s Fifth Amendment. The double jeopardy clause states “…no person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb.”
The media have clearly highlighted this difference through heated arguments between
the prosecution and defense, provoking polarized reactions throughout Italy and America. Audiences to the Knox case are beginning to see that double jeopardy is just one of many differences between the American and the Italian legal system. Compared to the United States, the Italian courts differ in their practice of interpreting law and delivering justice. Here are the six most prominent differences:
1. Defendants do not have to take an oath to tell the truth.
2. Convicted criminals can automatically appeal.
3. The jury is not sequestered until deliberations.
4. Juries for criminal cases include two judges and six citizens. One of the judges presides over the trial.
5. Verdicts do not need to be unanimous; only a majority is required for a murder conviction.
6. The jury has 90 days to file its explanation of why it made the decisions it did.
Russell Dalferes, a 2001 graduate of Tulane University Law School in New Orleans who
focused on international law while there, has elaborated on these six differences and offered insight on the Amanda Knox case. He is a licensed attorney from Louisiana and now lives in Atlanta after hurricane Katrina forced him out of New Orleans. Dalferes does a lot of work with the International Law Students Association, an organization dedicated to promoting the study of international law, and help administer ILSA’s Jessup international Law Moot Court Competition, which is the largest law-student competition in the world. This year, 600 teams from 90 different countries participated in the competition.
Double Jeopardy Provision in U.S. Law Prevents Hasty Criminal Charges
Focusing first on the double jeopardy provision, Dalferes noted that the United
States/Italy extradition treaty and most other countries call it “ne bis in idem,” which translates from Latin as “not twice in the same.” Provisions are the very basis of the appearance of an unbiased legal system. Without them, governments could just keep prosecuting someone for the same crime until a jury that will convict is found. Such
provisions also ensure that the government doesn’t act too hastily in bringing criminal charges against accused criminals. This practice ensures that governments have sufficient evidence to proceed against the accused or risk not being able to try again.
So does the double jeopardy provision protect the innocent or enable the guilty in
avoiding conviction?
“More than anything else in the legal system,” Dalferes said, “including appeal rights, rules of evidence and the right against self-incrimination, I think the concept of double jeopardy gives the appearance of a fair legal system.”
One of the biggest differences between the U.S. and Italian court system is that defendants in Italy do not have to take an oath to tell the truth. The reasoning not being that Europeans are more trustworthy, but as a result of how a judge operates in either system.
The U.S. operates as an adversarial system with the prosecution versus the defense and a neutral judge playing referee. The judge is essentially there to assure procedural fairness and to make decisions affecting the case that are solely based on law rather than fact. On the other hand, in the Italian system and in most European civil law jurisdictions, the
judge is both a procedural referee and an active participant in the proceedings. This allows judges to question the witnesses and order further investigations for more evidence.
“I think the system in Italy gives more discretion to the judge to weigh the trustworthiness of each individual’s testimony and that’s why they may not require the oath,” Dalferes said. “To be honest, I don’t know why they don’t require the oath, because it’s a pretty standard part of the process around the world.”
The jury system was originally created as part of the English common law system during a time when not every village or town had a sitting judge. It was a panel of upstanding men in the area who were called upon to decide the guilt or innocence of the accused. Taking an oath to tell the truth was a way for the common men serving on juries to judge the worthiness of the testimony. In continental Europe where the civil law system is utilized, juries have never been quite as prevalent. Perhaps that is why an oath is not as important in Italy.
Jury Sequestering Prevents Biased, Wrong Information
Not sequestering the jury is another major difference between Italy and the United States. For complicated cases or cases with a lot of media scrutiny, sequestering the jury from outside influences is beneficial. With 24-hour news cycles and the rush to get the scoop, false information gets aired before checking the facts. Just look at all the misinformation that came out in response to the Boston bombers. We see that media commentary on certain issues can have a pretty drastic effect on public perception.
“The rights of the accused to be considered innocent until proven guilty outweigh the rights of media pundits to speculate on the facts of the case,” Dalferes said.
The composition of judges and juries in Italy also differs from the U.S. There are two judges and six citizens, with one judge presiding over the entire trial. Judges in continental Europe generally have more of an active role in proceedings than they do in America. Judges in Europe are for the most part considered the fact finders, where the jury is considered the fact finder in criminal cases in America. Judges are more investigative in Italy.
Also, Italy’s system combines criminal and civil proceedings. Remember the O.J. Simpson trial? There was a criminal trial (at which he was acquitted), and then the family of the victims brought a separate civil suit for wrongful death against him (at which he was held liable for their deaths).
In Italy, the criminal prosecution and the wrongful death claims from the family are combined into one criminal proceeding. That is why you have the parents of the murdered girl appealing the decision to set aside the guilty verdict. This would not happen in the United States; once an intermediate appellate court reverses a conviction, the prosecution is no longer allowed to appeal to have the conviction reinstated.
“This clearly has an effect on the double jeopardy issue as well,” Dalferes said. “Because the American view of double jeopardy would not allow an appeal by the prosecution.”
Unanimity Not required
The fifth biggest difference is that verdicts do not need to be unanimous; only a majority is required for a murder conviction. In the United States, many states allow 9 out of 12 votes sufficient for criminal cases. But for capital cases, unanimity is required almost everywhere, except in Italy. Majority voting on cases of this intensity can be detrimental.
“I think unanimity is a very important concept when the possible punishment is to give up either the rest of your life or a large chunk to prison,” Dalferes said. “There should be as many protections as possible to prevent inaccurate convictions for such major crimes.”
In Italy, the jury also has 90 days to file its explanation of why it made a particular decision. In the United States, a juror does not need to explain his or her reasoning.
The Italian court differs from the U.S. court in the way the law is written. America uses common law. For the most part, the public understands the rules, because they are written clearly. Civil law, practiced in Italy, literally means “law of the city.” It is a system of law derived from the laws of the Roman Empire about 2000 years ago. Most civil law
jurisdictions of continental Europe have as the very first provision in their Civil Codes that “law is legislation and custom.” So, the only two sources of law are (1) laws that are passed by the legislature and written down for all to see, and (2) longstanding custom; either local, regional, or national. The result of this system is that civil law jurisdictions usually have more laws written down, and those laws usually cover a much more detailed set of circumstances than in the common law system. There is very little discretion left for the judges to decide on the “gray areas” of the law, because there are so many laws that the gray areas don’t really exist.
A final difference, perhaps the most important of them all, is that in the U.S. you are innocent until proven guilty. In Italy, Knox was thrown into jail cells and held for a year before she could even begin to prove her innocence. During that year, the media had influenced much of the public beyond repair. Life Time Network for women even released a film before her trial was over, in which Knox was portrayed as a gruesome, intoxicated and brutal murderer.
The Italian court system is similar to that of America in the sense that media influence can sway one side or another. Politics and media come down to the dollar as with any other business. This is influential in any country’s legal system. As for Italy, they have had about 60 governments since the end of WWII. The country has a pattern of electing communist leaders, admitted mobsters like Berlusconi or someone equally ineffective. But from the O.J. Simpson trial in America to the sensational Amanda Knox trial in Italy, each
country has demonstrated its flaws. Italy seems rather brutal, but maybe that’s
the media using a sympathy card for the sweet, innocent-looking girl, Amanda
Knox.
“It’s quite a sensational case,” Dalferes said, “so it’s hard not to have a visceral
reaction to it.”
April 24, 2013 Amanda Knox, Civil law, Common law, double jepardy, international treaties, Italian legal system, U.S. Constitution
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From Fingerprints to DNA: Biometric Data Collection in U.S. Immigrant Communities and Beyond
New White Paper from EFF and the Immigration Policy Center Outlines Privacy and Security Concerns
San Francisco - Today the Immigration Policy Center (IPC) and the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) release "From Fingerprints to DNA: Biometric Data Collection in U.S. Immigrant Communities and Beyond." The paper outlines the current state of U.S. government collection of biometric information and the problems that could arise from these growing databases of records. It also points out how immigrant communities are immediately affected by the way this data is collected, stored, and shared.
There is a growing push to link biometric collection with immigration enforcement. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) takes approximately 300,000 fingerprints per day from non-U.S. citizens crossing the border into the United States, and it collects biometrics from noncitizens applying for immigration benefits and from immigrants who have been detained. In addition, state and local law enforcement officers regularly collect fingerprints and DNA, as well as face prints and even iris scans. All of these government databases are growing and are being increasingly interconnected. For example, the Secure Communities program takes the fingerprints of people booked into local jails, matches them to prints contained in large federal immigration databases, and then uses this information to deport people.
"Some people believe biometrics and databases are the silver-bullets that will solve the immigrant enforcement dilemma. But biometrics are not infallible, and databases contain errors. These problems can result in huge negative consequences for U.S. citizens and legal immigrants mistakenly identified," said Michele Waslin, Senior Policy Analyst at the IPC.
"Biometric data collection can lead to racial profiling and can disproportionately affect immigrants," said EFF Staff Attorney Jennifer Lynch. "It also gives the government a new way to find and track people throughout the United States. The government needs to act now to limit unnecessary biometric collection and address the serious privacy issues regarding the amount and type of data collected, as well as what triggers that data collection, with whom the data is shared, and the security of that data."
For the full white paper "From Fingerprints to DNA: Biometric Data Collection in U.S. Immigrant Communities":
https://www.eff.org/document/fingerprints-dna-biometric-data-collection-us-immigrant-communities-and-beyond
For "From Fingerprints to DNA: By the Numbers":
https://www.eff.org/document/fingerprints-dna-numbers
For more on biometrics:
https://www.eff.org/issues/biometrics
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Frequently Asked Questions about Montessori Education
Enrolment and General Information
Where did “Montessori Education” come from?
Montessori (pronounced MON-tuh-SORE-ee) education was founded in 1907 by Dr Maria Montessori, the first woman in Italy to become a physician. She based her educational methods on scientific observations of children’s learning processes. Guided by her discovery that children teach themselves, Dr Montessori designed a prepared learning environment in which children could freely choose from a number of developmentally appropriate activities. Now, nearly a century after Dr Montessori’s first casa dei bambini (Children’s House) in Rome, Montessori education is found all over the world, spanning ages from birth to adolescence.
What is the difference between Montessori and Traditional Education?
Montessori Education emphasizes learning through all of the senses, not just listening, watching or reading. Children in Montessori classes learn at their own individual pace, and according to their own choice of activities from hundreds of possibilities. Learning becomes an exciting process of discovery, leading to concentration, motivation, self-discipline and a love of learning. Montessori classes place children in three-year age groups (0-3, 3-6, 6-9, 9-12, 12-15, 15-18) – called VERTICAL GROUPING – forming communities in which older children spontaneously share their knowledge with the younger children.
Is Montessori Education good for children with learning difficulties? What about gifted children?
Montessori Education is designed to help all children reach their fullest potential at their own pace. A classroom whose children have varying abilities is a community in which everyone learns from one another and everyone has the opportunity to contribute in some way. Moreover, multi-age grouping allows each child to find his or her own pace without feeling superior or inferior to its peer group. A policy of Inclusion allows children to realise similarities and differences in all. A key factor in successful inclusive education is parents support and commitment, and working with the school.
Can I do Montessori at home with my child and can anyone just “do Montessori”?
Only a trained and qualified Montessori teacher (also known as a directress) should assume responsibility for more formal Montessori Education by using the specialised equipment of the prepared environment, and her skilled knowledge of the complete philosophy and system. However, parents are educated in and encouraged to use the basic principles everywhere and whenever they can: Montessori Education is intended to be an Education for Life and an Aid to Life. To help parents, we suggest looking at your home through your child’s eyes. Children need a sense of belonging, and they get it by participating fully in the routines of everyday life. “Help me to do it by myself” is the life theme for the toddler and pre-school aged child. Find ways to help your child participate in meal preparation, cleaning, gardening, caring for their rooms etc. Provide opportunities for independence is the surest way to build your child’s self-esteem.
Through our school’s Parent Education programme, we aim to give parents as many skills and tools to enhance their child’s life.
What training do Montessori teachers have?
Montessori Teachers have at least 2 years, usually 3 years, training for each stage of Montessori Education i.e. there is a qualification for 3-6 teaching, an additional one for 6-9, and so on. In other words, teaching at 9-12 level means at least 6 years of training. Montessori teachers often have other qualifications, too, such as traditional teaching diplomas, degrees etc.
Montessori teachers, like all educators, are required to register with the South African Council for Educators.
The Port Elizabeth Montessori School is a training centre for Integral Montessori.
Are Montessori children successful later in life?
Research has shown that Montessori children are well prepared for later life academically, socially and emotionally. In addition to scoring well on standardised tests, Montessori children are ranked above average on such criteria as following directions, handing in work on time, listening attentively, using basic skills, showing responsibility, asking provocative questions, showing enthusiasm for learning and adapting to new situations.
Some famous Montessori graduates include the Founders of Google, the Founder of Amazon, the Founder of Wikipedia, Princes William and Harry and many, many more. Just Google it to find out!
Our own graduates have proven the success of Montessori Education too.
What happens after Montessori?
Montessori Education focuses on the development of life skills, in all areas of a child’s development. Because of this emphasis, we have found our children adjust quickly and easily to a more traditional environment.
How a child adjusts is very much dependent on who they are as people, and is not only dependent on the fact that they have attended a Montessori school. When a child is going to leave our school, every effort is made to communicate with the new school. We offer any information about the child that would help facilitate an easy transition and support the child in the move.
Any good teacher will meet a child at that child’s own level of development. It is important for parents to monitor their child’s work in the new environment and keep close contact with new teachers.
The habits and skills that a child develops in a Montessori class are there for a lifetime. They will help him or her work more efficiently, to observe carefully, concentrate well and respect his/her fellow human beings. When a child moves into a new environment, his self-education, will continue.
Are Montessori schools registered and accredited?
Montessori schools, which extend into formal education are required to register as Independent schools with the provincial Department of Education, and therefore adhere to the laws governing these schools. Through the Rights and Responsibilities for Independent Schools (from the Department of Basic Education) allows for the right to implement a Montessori curriculum. Our school is also a member of the Independent Schools Association of Southern Africa (ISASA). Please see the link to our Quality Assurance Report, conducted by the Independent Quality Assurance Agency (IQAA) in 2011.
IQAA Report
Our school, either in its own right or through Sam as the principal, is also members of the following organisations:
The Montessori Professions Council of Southern Africa
Association Montessori Internationale (AMI)
North American Montessori Teachers Association (NAMTA)
American Montessori Society (AMS)
South African Montessori Association (SAMA)
How do I know I am making the right decision?
We can never really answer that question. However, parents need to make sure they are informed enough to make a decision that will work best for their child.
Ask questions when visiting schools: do you have vertical grouping? Do you have a good range of Montessori equipment? Is your staff Montessori trained? What is the long-term growth plan of the school? How do you manage discipline? …The questions are endless and you are entitled to ask them.
Remember too to trust your gut feeling/instinct. You know your child better than anyone ever will and so know best what will work for him/her.
You are welcome to contact us at The Port Elizabeth Montessori School to answer any questions you may have.
There are many misconceptions about Montessori Education. Please ask a qualified and experienced Montessorian to give you an accurate perspective.
Informed decisions require education and information. We are always happy to help you in any way we can.
P.O.Box 5505, Walmer, Port Elizabeth, 6065
Tel/Fax: (+27) (41) 581 3057 | Cell: 082 411 7154
E-mail: [email protected]
Copyright © 2017 Port Elizabeth Montessori School.
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Help realize justice worldwide
Kristine Berey
Many of us are concerned about the world beyond our personal experience and, when hearing of tragedies that strike others far away, will send money to charity with the hope that we have made a difference. But while every little bit helps, there is much more to be done.
Founded by Ernie Schibli in 1975, the Social Justice Committee has been informing Canadians about international human-rights issues with the aim of generating discussion and encouraging involvement.
“There is a lot people can do,” says Leah Gardner, education programs co-ordinator. “We focus on keeping people engaged in the decision-making process here in Canada. We ask people to learn about the issues and write or meet their MPs to try to change Canadian policy for the better.”
The committee speaks with CEGEP students, church groups, at the Y or universities. It has created three interactive workshops on world debt, international trade and the effect of the Canadian mining industry operating in poor countries.
“A lot of the structural causes of global poverty originate in rich countries and they affect us as well,” Gardner says. “Our goal is to make the information available to people and encourage them to act.”
According to Gardner, the biggest human-rights issue of all time is poverty, the result of human-rights violations. She gives an example: “There are global impediments to development. You go to a country and start doing lots of charity work but if the country has just signed a very unfair trade agreement with a developed country, the charity work will be less effective. The trade agreement is one of the causes [of poverty], illegitimate debt interest that was paid on debt repaid long ago.”
If interest rates are raised, that country is trapped in a cycle of repaying the debt “over and over again” and cannot put money into social programs that would help countries develop.
In keeping with its mission, the Social Justice Committee has put together a five-week certificate course on economic, social and cultural rights. “The course began with a group discussion on global poverty, and we really thought human rights were a precursor to development. So we talked about defining social and cultural rights, whether they are as important as civil and political rights. Social and cultural rights are harder to realize and often treated as not important.”
The course is based on the UN convention of social and cultural rights, Gardner says.
“Countries are obliged to follow UN conventions, but in implementation, citizens all play a role. Oftentimes it can be very frustrating, countries sign and ratify, are obliged to follow but often these laws are not implemented.”
The course promises to be exciting, with local speakers paired up with people who have worked in human rights internationally. Speakers and organizations include Children’s Care International; Head & Hands; Handicap International; PINAY, a non-profit organization of Filipino migrant and immigrant female workers; the LGBT Family Coalition; Chief Ghislain Picard of the Assembly of First Nations of Quebec; and Labrador and Canadian Crossroadds International (CCI), a development organization that works to reduce poverty and promote women’s rights around the world.
The course costs $35 and takes place Tuesdays at 6 p.m., September 20 to October 18 at 1212 Panet. 514-933-6797Labels: Features |
Intellectual Center
Supporting People Who Think
Two Foods That May Sabotage Your Brain
Green Med Info | Mar 20, 2014 | Dr Kelly Brogan MD
Could there be a food-based cure for schizophrenia, bipolar, and depressive disorders? It is my firm conviction that diet – both what it may be deficient in as well as its potential toxicity – can cause what we label as mental illness. In medical school, we learn about the mental repercussions of nutrient deficiencies such as Beriberi (thiamin), Pellagra (niacin), and B12-deficiency induced dementia. We know that minerals such as magnesium and zinc are critical cofactors for basic functions, and that fatty acids are essential in the support of cell membrane health.
I believe in a partnership with my patients; however, my most paternalistic mandate, as a psychiatrist, is that of a gluten and casein free dietary trial.
What's that? they often ask.
Gluten, from the Latin, "glue" is a composite of proteins comprised of gliadin and glutenin, found in wheat, with similar 'glutinous' proteins known as prolamines found in related grains such as rye (secalin), corn (zein), and barley (horedin), and casein is the name for a family of proteins in mammalian milk. How does this relate to the average patient scheduling an appointment with a psychiatrist? Is it possible that our modern, post-industrial foods – sugar, gluten, processed dairy, and genetically modified soy and corn are conspiring with nutrient deficiencies in an incendiary collaboration that will give rise to gut/brain pathology?
Gut-Brain Axis
If we accept an inflammatory model of mental illness as having the strongest prospects for guiding preventive medicine interventions and non-toxic, reparative treatment approaches, then we must look at underlying drivers of inflammation.
Immune activating and inflammatory proteins, such as those found in wheat and dairy products, may be critical triggers to consider. One of the mostly highly processed foods in our diet - wheat – is almost exclusively rendered as high-glycemic flour, prepared with sugar, and often genetically modified vegetable oils which are oxidized (rancid). Dairy is homogenized and pasteurized, creating a dead, high-sugar liquid with distorted fats, denatured proteins and unabsorbable or thoroughly destroyed vitamins.
Cross-reactivity and stimulation of antibody response by foods like dairy, oats, corn, millet was examined in this study, suggesting that there is important overlap between grains and dairy. Why and how would these foods cause the problems that they do? There are a number of identified reasons for the disturbances caused by America's darling duo, cheese and bread:
Lectins in grains and nightshade plants, and proteins in dairy and gluten – namely casein, gliadin and glutenin – can trigger intestinal changes, local, and systemic inflammation. Only recently have we begun to understand how and why. In the case of gluten, zonulin-mediated permeability affords gut contents, including bacterial toxins, access to the bloodstream, where they can play a significant role in driving inflammation and associated psychiatric symptoms, as discussed here.
Bugging the Bugs
It turns out that diet can be a major determinant of what bugs are most active in our guts, and that the bacteria in our guts may also determine the degree to which we are sensitive to local inflammatory effects of gluten. Gut bacteria are the gatekeepers sounding the alarm by sending inflammatory messages to the rest of the body including the brain.
Molecular mimicry
When the immune system reacts to a perceived threat such as a food protein, antibodies formed in response may also bind to tissue in glands and organs that share overlapping amino acid sequences. Antibodies can be formed against brain cells, specifically, at times with permanent resultant damage. A study of 400 volunteers found that half of those who reacted to wheat also reacted to brain-based peptides, and the same was found in the subgroup reacting to dairy, suggesting a clustering of reactivity to both brain tissue and these foods.
The Pleasure of Pizza
Digested proteins from cow dairy and gluten, termed exorphins, interact with opiate receptors in the brain, which accounts for the potentially addictive quality of these foods, and the associated withdrawal when they are taken off the menu.
What does the evidence suggest?
Research into the etiology or cause of syndromes centers around two primary outcomes of interest – associative data that suggests a relationship between an exposure and a cluster of symptoms (% of people with gluten sensitivity who have psychiatric problems), and treatment data that suggests a causative role for that exposure based on the therapeutic effects of its removal (cutting out dairy leads to treatment of depression).
Suspect # 1: Gluten
Assessment of psychiatric pathology in celiac patients has supported a statistically significant incidence of anxiety (panic), depression (21% in this study), bipolar patients, and schizophrenia (27% in this study).[1] When we consider the available evidence base, we have to zoom out to appreciate its inherent limitations – antibody-mediated immune response is just one mechanism by which the body can be alerted to a perceived threat. If you ask to be screened for gluten intolerance, that screening will typically include antibodies to only alpha gliadin, endomesial antibody, and one type of tissue transglutaminase. This testing neglects the role of the innate immune system in non-celiac gluten enteropathy, an inflammatory disorder that often has extra-intestinal manifestations. According to gluten-researcher, Dr. Hadjivassiliou, "gluten sensitivity can be primarily, and at times, exclusively, a neurological disease".
Since 1953, there have been observations linking schizophrenia and Celiac disease, suggesting that the role of the immune system plays prominently in this poorly understood disorder.
A recent study contributes to the literature suggesting a bidrectional relationship between schizophrenia and autoimmune diseases. In this Danish cohort, individuals with schizophrenia and infectious exposures (hospitalization), the incidence of autoimmune disease was almost 3x as frequent.
The role of antibody complexes feature prominently in the work of Severance et al. who have explored gluten and casein in mental illness, primarily in a cohort of recent onset schizophrenics, non-recent onset schizophrenics, and non-psychiatric controls. In this study, they use complement fixation as an indication of immune reactivity to food/immune complexes that disrupt cellular functioning, demonstrating that those with immune reactions were 4.36 times more likely to be chronic schizophrenics. There is speculation as to the significance of in utero exposure to these foods, and how this may lead to changes to brain modeling, also supported by this study which found a 70% increase in adult schizophrenia in those who had gliadin antibodies at birth.
Even more compelling is the following case presentation:
"a 33-year-old patient, with pre-existing diagnosis of 'schizophrenic' disorder, came to our observation for severe diarrhoea and weight loss. A gluten-free diet was started, resulting in a disappearance of psychiatric symptoms, and normalization of histological duodenal findings and of SPECT pattern."
This means that someone avoided a lifetime of medication with antipsychotics by eliminating gluten from their diet.
In a related report, a case series of three patients treated for depressive syndromes without active intestinal complaints experienced resolution of symptoms on a gluten free diet within 2-3 months, including one patient who was medicated during pregnancy and was able to stop medication within 2 months of dietary change
But I don't have Celiac!
When I suggest elimination of gluten to patients, they sometimes tell me that they have already been tested, and "don't have Celiac". The limitations of currently available conventional testing are very real as most physicians who do a "Celiac panel" are only testing for alpha gliadin, tissue transglutaminase 2, and endomesial antibody, a small portion of the potential immune responses to this food. In a grain consisting of 6 sets of chromosomes, capable of producing greater than 23,000 proteins, this testing may just be too small a window into a very complex space. In one study, inflammatory response was noted in healthy volunteers, suggesting that gluten may cause reactions in everyone.
Suspect # 2 Dairy
The molecular similarity between gluten and casein makes them coconspirators. With quantitatively less literature; however, dairy immune provocation appears to be more variable from person to person. In cow dairy, there are 6 types of protein milk – 4 casein comprising 80% and 2 whey. Within the casein category, A1-beta casein is most commonly present in American cows (Holstein) and is thought to represent a mutated form of the protein, only 5,000 years old. Casomorphin, an opiate-stimulating compound, is released from A1-beta casein. A2-beta casein is found in the milk of sheep, goats, and Jersey cows.
Severence et al. have also identified elevated antibodies to alpha, kappa, and whole casein in new onset and treated schizophrenic patients, stating:
"The elevated IgG and unique patterns of antibody specificity to bovine casein among diagnostic groups provide a rationale for clinical trials to evaluate efficacies of dietary modifications in individuals with neuropsychiatric diseases."
In patients with casein antibodies, there was a 7-8x increase in the diagnosis of schizophrenia, and they have similarly demonstrated a 3-5x increased risk of Bipolar disorder in patients with casein antibodies (IgG), stating:
"anti-casein IgG associations with bipolar I diagnoses, psychotic symptom history, and mania severity scores suggest that casein-related immune activation may relate to the psychosis and mania components of this mood disorder."
Beyond direct brain stimulation and poor digestion with local inflammation, cow dairy may also be a source of folate antibodies which can gum up receptors responsible for transporting this critical nutrient to the brain. This study established a linear relationship between these antibodies and exposure to milk – demonstrating resolution of antibodies on a milk-free diet and return with reintroduction of milk.
Gluten and casein free diets have been systematically studied in the autistic population, including in randomized trials; however, no such study design could account for the potential high yield outcomes in any given individual. For this reason, I recommend an empirical trial of at least one month in all individuals struggling with psychiatric symptoms. There are many wonderful and freely available guides to converting to a gluten free life, but the basic principle is to eliminate rye, barley, wheat, and unspecified oats. The difficulty is in identifying the hidden sources of gluten in sauces, condiments, soups, and flavorings. Essentially, going gluten-free should mean eliminating processed food from your life, which is why I have a low threshold to also recommend elimination of co-reactive foods like dairy (casein), corn, soy, and in some cases legumes (including peanuts), and gluten free grains like rice and millet. Dairy elimination would include all milk-based foods and products including yogurt, cheese, and ice cream. Think of these changes as a prescription for brain healing and for bringing your wellness onto a higher plane.
Dr. Brogan is allopathically and holistically trained in the care of women at all stages of the reproductive cycle experiencing mood and anxiety symptoms, including premenstrual dysphoria (PMDD), pregnancy and postpartum symptomatology, as well as menopause-related illness.
Originally published on www.kellybroganmd.com
Labels: Celiac Disease, Corn, Dairy, Digestion, Dr Kelly Brogan MD, Gluten, Health, Inflammation, Lectins, Magnesium, Protein, Psyche, Schizophrenia, Vitamin B complexes, Vitamins, Wheat, Zinc
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Why Is The Food Industry Poisoning Us With Trillions of Nanoparticles?
Christina Sarich
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Paul Fassa
Melissa Melton
Heather Callaghan
Marco Torres
Tom Philpott
Barbara H. Peterson
Colin Todhunter
Natasha Longo
Andrea Germanos
J.D. Heyes
Aaron Dykes
Daisy Luther
Dr. Mark Sircus
Susanne Posel
Catherine J. Frompovich
Gary Null
Lisa Garber
April McCarthy
Christina England
Claire Robinson
Martha Rosenberg
Dr Kelly Brogan MD
Jeffrey M. Smith
PF Louis
Ronnie Cummins
Mae Chan
Rady Ananda
Arjun Walia
Bruce E. Levine
Case Adams Ph.D.
Margie King
Michele Simon
Anne Gordon RN
David Gutierrez
L.J. Devon
Lauren McCauley
Arnie Gunderson
Brandon Turbeville
Craig Stellpflug
Dr. Suzanne Humphries
Gaye Levy
Jeffrey Jaxen
Rachael Rettner
Susan Patterson
Tia Ghose
Alex Pietrowski
Gabriela Segura MD.
Jill Ettinger
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Natalie Wolchover
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More Cities, States Adopt Green Building Practices
The movement toward sustainable building design gathered momentum
recently as cities and states across the U.S. added their support with
green building legislation.
Nevada became the second state, behind Washington, to legislate
that all building construction using state funds will meet certain
green standards, when Gov. Kenny Guinn signed the bill into law in June.
The bill requires state-funded projects to meet the LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design) standards of the U.S. Green Building
Council (USGBC). Regulations in the law relate to energy, conservation,
construction and renovation. In addition, the law creates tax
incentives that allow for the abatement of taxes of up to 50% of
property taxes for up to 10 years on buildings meeting the LEED silver
Miami-Dade County, Fla., created incentives for green
construction standards for commercial and industrial buildings with an
ordinance passed by the Board of County Commissioners in May. The
ordinance also created incentives to attract solar energy equipment
manufacturers to the county.
Businesses that build to meet the LEED standard or standards of the
Florida Green Building Coalition, can be eligible to receive the
county’s Targeted Jobs incentives, and those that also incorporate
solar thermal, photovoltaic, fuel cell or cogeneration energy
technology can receive additional credits.
The Phoenix, Ariz., City Council approved green building
guidelines for new facilities in a June meeting. The city’s building
standards will be revised to require construction to the basic LEED
certification standards. Phoenix has run a pilot program for several years to gain experience
building to the LEED standard, in which a fire station, libraries and a
convention center were built. The pilot program indicated that
construction to the basic LEED standard cost some 2-3% more, but that
the additional costs were recovered from reduced operation and
maintenance costs.
Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson decreed by executive order
in July that all future city-owned buildings will be “environmentally
friendly.” The city will use the LEED standards.
“Heating and cooling buildings is consistently one of the largest uses
of energy in the country,” Anderson said. “If we are able to
effectively cut greenhouse gases and other pollutants at the city
level, the benefits and long-term energy savings will far outweigh the
initial building costs.”
Salt Lake City joins more than 25 other cities across the U.S. that have adopted the LEED standards. |
YaleNews
New video gallery helps broadcast media promote unbiased coverage of obesity
By Megan Orciari
The Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity has launched a new, free resource to aid members of broadcast media in the creation and delivery of fair, unbiased video coverage of obesity and weight-related topics on television, video, and online.
With more than one-third of U.S. adults obese, the media is an influential source of information about obesity and shapes the public’s attitudes. Several decades of research show that obese people are highly stigmatized in the U.S. and suffer from inequalities in employment, education, and health care as a result of weight discrimination.
Additional research shows that the media is an especially pervasive source of stigmatization against obese persons. A 2011 Rudd Center study of popular news websites found that 65 percent of video footage accompanying online news stories about obesity stigmatized overweight and obese adults, and 77 percent of news videos addressing childhood obesity portrayed overweight and obese youth in a stigmatizing manner.
The Rudd Center’s new video gallery provides more than 80 b-roll clips for use by content creators in the news media to help ensure that stigmatizing and pejorative portrayals of overweight and obese persons are avoided in broadcast media. The clips include footage of obese persons walking in public parks, gardening, shopping for produce at the supermarket, and in professional employment settings.
“We are pleased to now offer professional, high quality video footage that portrays obese individuals in non-stereotypical ways, and does not contribute to the depersonalization and stigmatization of overweight and obese persons,” said Rebecca Puhl, Rudd Center director of research and weight stigma initiatives. “We encourage members of the media to accurately cover obesity-related topics and to avoid stigmatizing people affected by obesity.”
The Rudd Center’s video gallery can be accessed online. The Rudd Center offers other free resources to help reduce weight stigma, including an updated image gallery with a current collection of almost 450 professional photographs that portray obese adults and youth in non-stigmatizing ways.
Megan Orciari: [email protected], 203-432-8520
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University of Maryland-Baltimore County
Development of in-situ Mercury Remediation Approaches Based on Methylmercury Bioavailability
Project Leader: Upal Ghosh
Funding Period: 2014-2018
Hazardous Waste Sites
The goal of this study is to advance the development of in situ remediation tools for mercury (Hg). There are few available remediation options for Hg contaminated sediments and soils, short of capping and dredging. In situ remediation has not been widely used for mercury, but offers significant advantages in cost and in preservation of ecosystem services especially for large areas with low/moderate levels of contamination.
Two recent major advances improve the chances for development of effective in situ remediation options for Hg. First, recent lab and field trials show that in situ activated carbon amendments, applied as a thin layer to undisturbed sediments or soils, can significantly reduce methylmercury (MeHg) exposure from contaminated sites. Second, the identification of the gene pair responsible for microbial Hg methylation earlier this year (hgcAB) will allow the distribution and activity of Hg- methylating microorganisms in the environment to be established for the first time. Organisms that contain these genes appear to be relatively rare, and their distribution in nature remains unknown. This has the potential to significantly improve models of MeHg production. This research study takes advantage of both of these developments, and several other novel tools, to develop a better understanding of the controls on MeHg production and bioavailability, to develop in situ remediation approaches, and to identify biogeochemical characteristics that may make sites appropriate for these technologies.
Using this new information, the goal of the research team is to develop an empirical model of the factors influencing Hg and MeHg bioavailability in contaminated areas to identify characteristics that make Hg- contaminated sites suitable for in situ sorbent remediation and design sorbent amendment/thin capping strategies that reduce MeHg bioavailability.
The main study site is a salt marsh in Berry's Creek, NJ, where they began a field trial of in situ sorbent remediation using activated carbon. Additional field trials in the Berry's Creek marsh are being done to evaluate the relative efficacy of a wider range of black carbons. This intensive work in Berry's Creek is supplemented with laboratory microcosm studies using sediments and soils from other Hg-contaminated sites. This approach will be used to evaluate the efficacy of a variety of black carbons across a wider range of biogeochemical and site conditions. |
The growing use of programmable logic in mobile handsets
Subra Chandramouli, Lattice Semiconductor
The pace of innovation in the mobile handset industry has never been higher, with users continuing to demand more from these devices. Smart phones, tablets and other battery powered devices have evolved beyond communication devices and now offer personal assistance by unifying “always connected” features such as navigation, email, phone, Internet access and camera. Choosing between the two leading smartphone operating systems, smartphone designers depend on their physical hardware to differentiate their products and position them against competitive products. This is an area where programmable logic devices add direct value by providing mobile handset system architects a way to quickly innovate and add new functionality to their products. Below are some examples of why and how low cost, low power programmable logic devices are successfully adding value to mobile handset design.
Asynchronous product development cycles within the handset industry
Readers of this article may not be surprised to learn that the product design life cycles of mobile handset and chipset vendors are fundamentally different. It is fairly common to see new phone models being introduced every other month, while chipset vendors release newer versions of their chipsets in a much slower product cycle cadence. While there are solid and obvious reasons for this, the challenge faced by handheld system architects is also real; i.e. keeping up with product innovation cycles that are faster than what the chipset vendors are capable of supporting. A good example of this is the recent announcement of the MIPI battery interface (BIF) standard.
The MIPI battery interface (BIF) standard
The use of dual-core and quad-core processors, along with the marketing imperative to create a compelling user experience, increases power consumption that has direct downstream effects on power delivery, battery life and longevity. Striking a balance among optimal power delivery, battery capacity, chemistry, safety, and form factor is a significant design challenge. The communication protocol established by MIPI-BIF provides a method for system designers to read parameters on demand to optimize power consumption during device use and to optimize battery charging. It also provides a method to authenticate batteries for systems that need to ensure user safety. Although the MIPI standard has already been announced, chipset vendors will still need time to adopt this standard in their products. However, handset designers may want to take advantage of MIPI-BIF much sooner. Programmable logic devices are perfectly suited in such situations, because they enable mobile system architects to adopt new standards using existing chipset or application processors. In fact, soon after MIPI released the BIF standard, Lattice Semiconductor announced its support for the standard and that it is engaged with key customers on implementing it.
Figure 1 illustrates the use of a low cost, low power FPGA to create a bridge between an existing application processor and the recently released MIPI-BIF standard. Communication over the BIF battery communication line (BCL) is enabled using the low power FPGA. On the application processor side, I2C, because it is commonly available, is a natural choice to connect the host application processor to the FPGA. A simple protocol is defined on top of the I2C standard to communicate between the host and the FPGA.
Figure 1. Using a low power FPGA to implement new standards
If needed, the host interface can be easily customized using the FPGA solution. In addition, further customization of the BIF interface / protocol can also be achieved when using an FPGA. Furthermore, the FPGA offers the flexibility for customers to even integrate other functions within the same low power FPGA device. By using a low power FPGA as a companion chip to the application processor, handset manufacturers can enable cutting edge features / standards into their products on demand to create clear product differentiation.
Loss of flexibility due to unsupported standards by chipset vendors
Although system-on-a-chip and holistic integration are the mantras of most chipset manufacturers, chipsets are often designed to meet broad market needs and therefore may not support certain standards. This denies handset system architects valuable flexibility. Also, as new standards are adopted by chipset manufacturers, they often completely drop older ones from their portfolio. This again takes away valuable flexibility from both the system architect and the component procurement teams of handset manufacturers. Often in such cases, system architects may want to use the latest chipset solutions based on their merits, while the procurement team may wish to continue using certain older standards, even if not supported by the latest chipsets, to provide supply flexibility. Here again FPGAs provide considerable value.
Figure 2 illustrates how a low cost, low power FPGA can be used to regain design flexibility by providing an easy way to bridge between two different standards.
Figure 2. Low power FPGA used as an interface bridge.
This figure illustrated how a terrestrial TV broadcast tuner chip with a custom interface can be used with an applications processor that does not support that interface. Figure 2 shows the host interface through the SPI bus that is commonly available in application processors. Here again, communication to the application processor can be customized as needed when using a FPGA.
Sensor management
The number of sensors included in smartphones has grown dramatically. High-end smartphones include several sensors like gyroscope, multiple cameras, touch, accelerometers, magnetometers, an ambient light sensor, and GPS, among others. In the future, phones are expected to be even more aware of their surroundings (sensing altitude, temperature, humidity, etc.) while providing more value-added features such as the monitoring of human vital signs.
The proliferation of sensors has a profound impact on the user experience. For example, most smartphone users can confirm that the use of GPS navigation has a direct and noticeable impact on battery life. In addition, some smartphone operating systems mandate the frequency of polling from certain critical sensors, such as touch. Touch sensors may need to be polled at frequencies of several hundred KHz to ensure a compelling user experience. In architectures where the application processors are connected to sensors directly, sensors need to be actively managed by the application processor(s), which has a direct impact on power consumption.
Figure 3 illustrates an implementation of a low power FPGA used as a companion chip to the application processor to manage sensors in a mobile platform. Independent I2C masters may be used to manage different sensors to ensure the right throughput is achieved from each sensor. Sensors, such as touch, that require higher throughput may be interfaced to the FPGA using an independent I2C bus, if required.
Figure 3. Using an FPGA as a smart sensor hub.
The smart sensor hub may be designed with intelligence to aggregate interrupts generated from different sensors and, based on pre-defined conditions, to interrupt the application processor. This design approach would enable the application processor to go into a standby state for longer periods of time and thereby reduce power consumption, or would free the application processor to perform other important tasks.
The mobile handset market is extremely competitive, with many handset models offered by multiple manufacturers. The product development cadence of handset manufacturers is different from those of chipsets or application processors. In some cases, this creates a bottleneck for handset manufacturers to enable cutting edge features in their products on demand.
In addition, product differentiation has become a key challenge that is magnified because handsets using the same operating system appear to deliver a similar user experience to consumers. Therefore, handset manufacturers use hardware features to differentiate their products. Handset system architects are constantly trying to strike a balance among new feature inclusion, reducing power consumption and keeping cost in check.
In such a dynamic environment, low cost, low power FPGAs, such as the iCE40 devices offered by Lattice Semiconductor, are a perfect choice to help handset architects design new features to differentiate their products.
Subra Chandramouli is a Sr. Marketing Manager in the Consumer/Mobility Business Unit at Lattice Semiconductor. He has been working in the mobile handheld industry for the last 14 years. Prior to joining Lattice, Subra was a successful entrepreneur and has also worked at Cypress semiconductors and Intel Corporation.
Subra has one patent and four patent applications on file, all in the field of Flash memory design. He has an MBA from Duke University and a M.S.EE from Wright State University, Ohio.
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re: The growing use of programmable logic in mobile handsets
cedricfau 5/30/2012 12:44:47 PM
Thank you Subra and Max for sharing this information. This is a very interesting topic.
Your URLs seem to be messed up somehow -- try the following instead: http://www.techrepublic.com/photos/cracking-open-the-2011-barnes-noble-nook-e-book-reader-wi-fi/6243892?seq=36&tag=thumbnail-view-selector;get-photo-roto (Image 36 of 44) http://www.techrepublic.com/photos/samsung-focus-windows-phone-7-teardown/492287?seq=50&tag=content;siu-container#photopaging (Image 50 of 67) http://www.eetimes.com/General/DisplayPrintViewContent?contentItemId=4207606
Subrac 5/25/2012 9:14:09 PM
Firstly, I’d like to say that programmable chips are being used as companion chips to mobile chipsets in systems. Programmable chips are not a part of the mobile chipset itself. There are several commercially available mobile devices that use Lattice programmable devices. I can share with you some publicly available teardown reports that have programmable chips from Lattice as examples, below. With regards to your question of price, there are several variables that influence the price of our products. Depending on the functionality required, we have a range of products that are priced anywhere from under $1 to few dollars while meeting the basic low cost, low power requirements of mobile applications. 1. http://www.techrepublic.com/photos/cracking-open-the-2011-barnes-noble-nook-e-book-reader-wi-fi/6243892?seq=36&tag=thumbnail-view-selector;get-photo-roto : Image 36 of 44 2. http://www.techrepublic.com/photos/samsung-focus-windows-phone-7-teardown/492287?seq=50&tag=content;siu-container#photopaging: Image 50 of 67 3. http://www.eetimes.com/General/DisplayPrintViewContent?contentItemId=4207606 -Subra
Do you have examples of current mobile chipset including such kind of FPGA ? What is the cost of such FPGA in a chipset ?
brianlk 5/22/2012 8:38:39 PM
Yes, we do plan on offering BIF master IP under NDA with our customers who meet MIPI’s legal criteria.
DrFPGA 5/21/2012 2:49:28 PM
Are there any plans to make the BIF Master design available as IP? Seems like a natural. |
Sport and Social Justice in South Africa
By Gemma Mcdonald | October 4th, 2017 | No Comments
Nelson Mandela would have been proud of Colin Kaepernick and the black (as well as a few white) U.S. athletes involved in the national anthem demonstrations against police violence and systemic racism. “Sport has the power to change the world,” Mandela believed. “It has the power to inspire. It has the power to unite people in a way that little else does. It speaks to youth in a language they understand. Sport can create hope where once there was only despair.”
This weekend I am presenting a paper that puts some of these issues in historical perspective at the 14th North Eastern Workshop on Southern Africa.
Using a mix of primary and secondary sources, “Sport and Social Justice in South Africa: Historical Reflections” shows how soccer, rugby, cricket and other sports carved out spaces in which to contest white power and raise awareness among athletes, coaches, officials, and fans of the evils of racism. It explores how black (and some white) sportsmen and women, South African and not, over the course of the 20th century worked hard to connect sport to advocacy for equal rights, citizenship, and the reduction (or elimination) of unjust inequalities.
After the rise of apartheid in 1948, a number of sports activists overtly challenged segregation, mainly by launching a global boycott of white South African sport. Sports sanctions, beginning with a FIFA suspension in 1961 and continuing with expulsion from the Olympics in 1970 and eventually from nearly every major sport, propelled the Anti-Apartheid Movement and contributed to the struggle for national liberation.
In the final section, the paper grapples with the impact of the commercialization of sport in the 1980s and 1990s and its changing social and political role during the transition from apartheid to democracy. In doing so, it notes the increasing marginalization of social justice initiatives and discourses in sports. Since the end of the boycott in 1992, the lion’s share of the medals, money, glory, and career opportunities has gone to a few historically advantaged white men and some members of the new black upper-middle class.
For just about everyone else, the pride elicited by Olympic and world champions Caster Semenya and Wayde Van Niekerk sits alongside sport’s fading willingness to meaningfully address inequality and injustice in the age of Jacob Zuma, Marikana, and #FeesMustFall.
Filed under: Fútbology
In Soccer and Society, Black Lives Matter
By Mohlomi Maubane | August 22nd, 2017 | 6 Comments
A desolate Orlando Stadium for a PSL fixture, February 15, 2017. Photo by Njabulo Ngidi.
The welfare of South African football used to matter beyond its borders.
In 1974, for example, the Brazilian João Havelange won the FIFA presidency in a fiercely contested election against the conservative English incumbent, Sir Stanley Rous. He canvassed for votes in Africa, Asia and the Americas, sometimes with Pelé in tow. The businessman and former Olympic swimmer promised marginalized FIFA constituencies additional berths in the World Cup finals and greater funding for soccer development programs. Havelange also sided with African activists and the global Anti-Apartheid Movement to keep South Africa out of FIFA. Africa’s delegates reciprocated with their votes and the Brazilian supremo went on to transform FIFA into a massive global business, which he ruled with an iron fist for the next quarter century.
Since readmission to FIFA in 1992, South Africa has won two continental titles at club level and one at senior national team level. Its Premier Soccer League, according to World Soccer magazine, ranks 25th in the world (alongside Scotland). The women’s game has also grown, though significant challenges remain. The country’s successful hosting of the 2010 World Cup symbolized the great advances in South African football, particularly its organizational sophistication and financial resources.
Despite such undeniable progress, local football hardly resonates internationally anymore. In fact, many South African fans and pundits are disillusioned about the state of the domestic game.
Like almost everyone else in the early 1990s, my peers and I were fascinated by the exciting new times ushered in by the demise of apartheid. We were scrawny young boys who, like kids anywhere, lived for the game. We believed readmission into world football ignited the possibility of a future professional playing career. Things worked out differently for us.
On a recent visit to the Lebanon neighborhood of Mabopane, the township of my teenage years, it was disheartening to see how the game was no longer a central part of social life in the community in which I grew up. The dusty fields where we contested many epic duels are covered with shrubs. Those pitches that are still in playable condition are occupied by charismatic churches, which are flourishing in many poor African communities by selling salvation to people in hardship.
Grassroots football, at its best, can serve as a bulwark for a wide range of social ills that thrive where recreational resources, human and material, are scant. Any community with “redundant youth” who have lots of free time is a recipe for disaster. No wonder Mabopane and other townships on the outskirts of Pretoria are at the epicentre of the nyaope street drug epidemic ravaging South Africa today.
The grassroots game has more players and coaches than the formal game administered by the South African Football Association. Even though informal football is neither expensive to play nor to administer, it receives minimal financial investment and is wracked by insecurity and instability. This is why residents of Mabopane, like thousands of fútbol-loving South Africans, take it upon themselves to ensure the vitality of the grassroots game.
Blaming the administrators and corporate sponsors entrusted with the game’s welfare is understandable, but communities can ill-afford to delegate responsibility for social health to people and structures who do not genuinely have their interests at heart. The July 29 tragedy at FNB Stadium, which killed two fans and injured more than a dozen people in a gate crush at the Kaizer Chiefs-Orlando Pirates derby, is a case in point.
The tragedy showed how South African soccer’s leadership struggles with ensuring spectator safety at big matches while continuing to do very little for the development of the sport at the bottom of the the pyramid. Until these fundamental issues are resolved, black families will continue to worry every time their loved ones go to a football match, whether at the neighborhood sandlot or at a World Cup stadium.
Pan-African Sports Studies
By Gemma Mcdonald | July 27th, 2017 | No Comments
The University of Zambia will host the 12th Sports Africa conference on March 26-28, 2018. The theme of the conference is: “Pan-African Sports Studies: Beyond Physical Education.”
The conference in Lusaka will bring together sports scholars and practitioners from African, North American, and European Universities working on a diversity of topics in a wide range of disciplines.
The event builds on the April 2017 conference hosted by The Institute of Reconciliation and Social Justice at the University of the Free State in South Africa. I joined scholars from around the continent and the world for three days of presentations, workshops, and discussions in Bloemfontein around the theme of “Sporting Subalternities and Social Justice” (see photo above). In my keynote address, “Black Sport Matters: A History of Sporting Subalterns’ Quest for Social Justice in Africa,” I told stories about African athletes, administrators, and fans who used their visibility and influence to make powerful claims for equal rights and to advance a variety of social justice causes. Ranging from the colonial era to the contemporary period, I looked at the factors that motivated African sports activism, strategies and tactics, successes and failures, and connected this history with struggles against racism, sexism, and homophobia waged by black athletes today.
At next year’s conference I may present a co-authored paper with Liz Timbs, which examines aspects of youth sports development in South Africa through a history of the Izichwe Youth Football Academy in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal. More on this project as things develop, of course.
For more information about the 2018 Lusaka conference visit: http://sportinafrica.org/conference2018/
The Aging of “The Soccer Tribe”: A Tale of Socio-biology
By Editor | July 17th, 2017 | No Comments
This post was originally published on Andrew Guest’s Sports and Ideas Tumbler page. It is cross-posted here with permission of the author.
I recently stumbled across a new (2016) edition of The Soccer Tribe by Desmond Morris, the peculiar tome originally published in 1981 with a mix of text and illustrations making a case for what amounts to an evolutionary socio-biology of soccer. Morris, most famous for The Naked Ape, explains that he was motivated by anthropological curiosity: “Hardly anyone seems to query the importance attached to the game. For those who do the kicking and those who watch it so avidly, the whole matter is taken for granted. Football is football, and of course it is fascinating, so what is there to question? For those who ignore it, it is plainly a stupid waste of time, so why bother with it? It is not worth discussing. Both sides overlook the fact that, viewed objectively, it is one of the strangest patterns of human behaviour to be seen in the whole of modern society.”
In seven sections and 44 chapters full of pictures, illustrations, and quirky charts, Morris then lays out an analysis of soccer in its ‘tribal’ dimensions: roots, rituals, heroes, trappings, elders, followers, and tongue. The whole thing is amazingly odd; in its scope, it compares to nothing else I’ve seen or read about soccer. In analyzing uniforms as tribal costumes, referees as tribal judges, or fan songs as tribal chants the book exhibits an imagination and ambition that I love (and have cited before here).
But since initially stumbling upon the first 1981 edition a decade ago something has always felt just a bit off about the book. It took this new edition, which seems to have been updated mostly in its illustrations (along with a few minor segments of text), to make me dig into that feeling.
The couple hundred words José Mourinho ‘wrote’ as a foreword to the new edition sets the tone: ““Total football has led to global football—on and off the field. And whoever fails to realize it doesn’t understand anything. Those who only know football know nothing about football.”
This blustering certainty is familiar from Mourinho, but it is also fundamental to the underlying premise of The Soccer Tribe – that all the patterns and rituals of modern soccer, and modern society, are a direct inheritance from humanity’s hunter-gatherer past. If Mourinho would have gone the academic route, I realized, he would have been a socio-biologist.
To be fair, Mourinho goes onto say something more interesting: “Those who only see twenty-two men chasing after a ball fail to understand its geometry, its ballet, its psychological depth, its true nature. It is the most faithful representation of human nature and its may faces. It is a tribe where the rationale of tactics, emotion, and the fun of the game all prevail.”
Though still a bit grandiose (and not overly convincing as to the question of whether Mourinho actually read the book), the basic idea of their being more to the see than ‘chasing after a ball’ is the real value of The Soccer Tribe.
The problem, however, was well articulated back in a 1983 review of the original book by Ian Taylor in the journal Theory, Culture, & Society.
What is it that is objectionable and in need of challenge in this account of association football? It is not, as we might at first think, an empirical matter (much of what is said about the origins, the present form of the game and its surrounding rituals is quite accurate and consistent with other well-respected accounts). But there are empirical silences. In the familiar fashion of most sociobiology, there is a great emphasis on football as a (naturally-evolving) form of male-bonding and, indeed, of male “warriors” (who proceed, we are told, to create homes for the “warrior mates” that are peaceful retreats from the violence and stress of the field of play”) (p 181). The account is therefore silent on the considerable growth of women’s participation in the playing of soccer In recent years, especially in North America. Again, the celebratory discussion of soccer’s present status as a world sport is couched as if some other universal and natural logic is at work. This reads very oddly in 1982, not only for the British, German and other soccer lovers worried for the future of the sport in the light of the massive reductions in attendances, but also for students of sport who have noticed the spectacular growth of a genuine plurality of spectator and participant sports in most developed countries.
The Soccer Tribe and socio-biology, in other words, present a totalizing account of human behavior that ignores the dynamism of culture. Women’s soccer is a key counter-example. If soccer is a male warrior ritual to satisfy our hunting and fighting brain modules, what to make of women’s soccer and women fans? Taylor phrases it nicely (if academically): “The empirical display of soccer as a natural form, spanning all cultures and time, masks the specificity of the game’s significance in particular social formations.”
The game itself, in the phrasing I tend to prefer, is mostly just an empty cultural form.
And, speaking of empty, the other substantive review of the original 1981 Soccer Tribe book that I could find was by the novelist Martin Amis for the London Review of Books. Amis, after a strange and extended prattling on about the English national team’s performance in qualifiers for the 1986 World Cup, dismisses Morris in two withering paragraphs, starting by noting that a soccer manager left alone with the book might “die of inanition”:
“In The Soccer Tribe Morris maps out the connection between ‘ancient blood sports’ and ‘the modern ball game’. Nowadays, the goalmouth is ‘the prey’, the ball ‘the weapon’, and the attempt to score ‘a ritual aim at a pseudo-prey’. Is this true? Or, more important, is this interesting? Morris goes on to say that ‘in England, there are four “divisions”, presenting a parody of the social class system.’ He then traces the analogies between football and religion: ‘Star players are “worshipped” by their adoring fans and looked upon as “young gods”.’ Later on, he develops a far more compelling thesis, arguing that . . .
Ah, but the sands of space are running out. That’s enough football for today. I only have time to add that Morris’s book is handsomely packaged, that the pictures are great, magic, brill etc, and that the text is an austere, an unfaltering distillation of the obvious and the obviously false.”
Amis’s point, beyond being arrogant and dismissive, seems to be that it is hard to be an intellectual interested in football—and Morris fails unreservedly.
But I think that is too harsh. The Soccer Tribe is like much socio-biology (and contemporary evolutionary psychology): simultaneously problematically reductionist and thought-provoking in a challenging way. I find it interesting, for example, that The Soccer Tribe shows up as ‘cited by’ 250 academic works in Google Scholar – though a crude marker, it is clear from browsing those citing works that the book inspired some academics to new ways to think about the game.
But it doesn’t yet seem to have inspired another similar effort–I’ve yet to see another book that takes on the totality of soccer culture in an intentional way. The 2016 ‘new edition’ ofThe Soccer Tribe thus doesn’t need much updating beyond the pictures both because the analysis freezes culture as permanently set by evolution, and because not enough of significance has come out since 1981 to offer a more dynamic theory of the game as a whole. That may no longer be the way of academic work on soccer – which has indeed done much to chip away at understanding pieces of the game – but it sure would be fun to see.
Why Nigerians Love Arsenal . . . and the EPL
By Gemma Mcdonald | May 23rd, 2017 | No Comments
The English Premier League is an obsession for millions of African fans. Author and fútbologist David Goldblatt recently traveled to Lagos, Nigeria, to find out what this cultural phenomenon looks like and why there is such deep reverence for Arsenal, Manchester United, Chelsea, Spurs, and . . . Bournemouth.
In a newly released piece for Bleacher Report, Goldblatt hears from Emeka Onyenufuro, founder of Arsenal Nigeria, who tells him that “Monday to Friday lunchtime, I’m working in my job [as a manager in the power industry], but from Friday afternoon to Monday morning, it is all Arsenal.”
The quality of EPL play and the excitement of watching some of the world’s best players, including N’Golo Kanté, Victor Moses, Yaya Touré, and many other African superstars, partly explains the intensity of local passion for and dedication to the EPL. But another explanation is that the middle-class Nigerian men at the heart of this piece have willingly capitulated to the EPL’s “attention merchants” (Tim Wu docet): “It’s the branding. . . it’s just so professional,” a fan explains.
The author takes us into various public viewing spaces where the South African-owned satellite provider DSTV beams in live games, highlights, and talk shows that collectively stoke the obsessive compulsions of the Nigerian EPL fan. When not watching matches (and praying that frequent power cuts don’t ruin crucial moments in the broadcast), the lads follow their favorite clubs on social media for several hours a day.
The piece also features a fascinating description of the Socialiga, a football and basketball league and “social space to network with their peers, flirt and raise some money for charity.” It left me wanting to know even more about this astonishing kind of grassroots social entrepreneurship.
The Nigerian photographer Andrew Esiebo’s images complement the prose quite beautifully. And Esiebo’s camera does not lie: David Godlblatt seemed most at home in Lagos among his Spurs Nation mates (see photo above).
Tags: David Goldblatt Arsenal, EPL, Lagos, Nigeria, Premier LEague
Racial Bias in U.S. Soccer Culture?
By Gemma Mcdonald | January 26th, 2017 | 2 Comments
Is there an implicit racial bias in Major League Soccer and other U.S. leagues?
A piercing SB Nation story this week grappled with the implications of a recent study‘s disturbing findings “that black players are 14 percent more likely to be called for cautions than their non-black counterparts.” The study by Paste magazine also found that “black players are [. . .] more than twice as likely to receive red card ejections.”
In the article, I share my thoughts on this important issue with the SB Nation reporter, Tyler Tynes. I point out that “while finding empirical data is difficult, there’s plenty of soft and hard discrimination to believe that bias can take hold in refereeing. American soccer is not excused.” In fact, officiating bias can be understood as part of a broader pattern of racism in soccer, in the U.S. and internationally, one characterized by the practice of “stacking,” the presence of very few black coaches on the sidelines, and multiple forms of racist fan behavior.
“It can’t be denied,” I say in the piece. “Racism in soccer, in Europe certainly, is very real. And, regrettably, despite all the progress that’s been made in terms of messaging and tolerance in local football culture, it’s still there. And everybody knows it.”
But don’t take my word for it, click here to read the full story.
Tags: Major League Soccer, MLS, race, racism, United States, USA
Filed under: Fútbology, Players
Football and Politics in Africa: A Not-To-Be-Missed BBC Radio Documentary
By Gemma Mcdonald | January 11th, 2017 | No Comments
“Beyond the Pitch” is a riveting BBC World Service radio documentary that explores the close links between the “beautiful game” of football and the “dirty game” of politics in multiple African countries.
Produced by Farayi Mungazi and Penny Dale, the 50-minute feature aired on the eve of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Gabon, which marks the 60th anniversary of the continent’s most prestigious sporting event.
The documentary opens with Nigeria’s boycott of AFCON 1996 in South Africa. The last-minute withdrawal of the Super Eagles came in retaliation for President Nelson Mandela’s scathing criticism of Nigerian dictator Sani Abacha’s regime, which in November 1995 had executed author Ken Saro Wiwa and eight more Ogoni environmental activists in a sham trial.
The next segment is captivating and among the most historically significant. It tells the story of how football helped Algeria’s struggle for independence from France through mesmerizing interviews with Mohamed and Khadidja Maouche. He was a young professional footballer in France in the late 1950s, but the newlyweds were also members of the National Liberation Front (FLN), the main Algerian liberation movement. The couple reveals how they secretly worked together to facilitate an exodus of Algerian-born footballers from their French clubs to play for the FLN “national” team. “No-one knew I was married to Maouche,” Khadidja says. “They would just be told a FLN activist wanted to speak to them. I would talk to them individually to say: ‘It’s an order, that’s it,’ and they all agreed.” In 1960 Mohamed Maouche eventually joined the FLN team, which played matches in front of large crowds in North Africa, the Middle East, East Asia, and Eastern Europe. “We were the first ambassadors of the revolution and the Algerian people,” he recalls with profound emotion half a century later.
Burundi’s current President Pierre Nkurunziza, a qualified football coach and owner of Hallelujah FC, is mentioned as a bridge to a terrific interview with Dr. Hikabwa Chipande, an historian and Michigan State University alumnus (PhD, 2015). Now a lecturer in African history at the University of Zambia, Chipande brings the BBC reporter through the archives in Lusaka where he conducted doctoral research on the history of Zambian football. As they look at sources documenting former president Kenneth Kaunda’s passion for and involvement in the game, Chipande points to a 1974 photograph of Kaunda serving food to the national team—quite an endearing, populist image. Mungazi then travels to Luanshya, on the Copperbelt, to talk football and politics with Dickson Makwaza, one of the players served by Kaunda in 1974, and with 91-year-old Tom Mtine, a legendary football administrator.
In the second half of the documentary we leap ahead to AFCON 2010 in Angola. The Togo national team bus was targeted by armed separatists from the enclave of Cabinda at the border with the Republic of Congo: “probably the most dramatic moment ‘off the pitch’ in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations,” Mungazi says. The armed attack killed two men and wounded several others: “one of the worst experiences I’ve had in my life,” said Togolese striker and English Premier League veteran, Emmanuel Adebayor.
The last time Uganda qualified for AFCON was in 1978 when the infamous Idi Amin was still in power. A local academic and former national team players explain how Amin, a keen boxer himself, bankrolled sports during his dictatorship (1971-79) to boost nationalism and also as a weapon of mass distraction. But we also hear of the traumatic experiences of John Ntensibe and Mama Baker. The former was imprisoned and forced to load bodies onto trucks after scoring the winning goal for Express FC against the army team, Simba, while Baker, a devoted Express supporter, was arrested twice for little more than being Uganda’s biggest soccer fan.
Fast forward again to the 21st century: we hear about George Weah, Africa’s only World Player of the Year (1995), who launched a career in politics in Liberia after retiring from the game. Weah lost a presidential election in 2004 (to future Nobel Peace laureate Ellen Sirleaf Johnson), but recently won a Senate seat and may run again for his country’s highest office.
The final chapter in the story of the links between politics and football focuses on Ghana. There, top clubs Accra Hearts of Oak and Kumasi Asante Kotoko have long been entangled in party politics and presidential contests. Veteran Ghanaian reporter Kwabena Yeboah also describes the emergence of Real Republikans, a super club of the 1960s closely connected to President Kwame Nkrumah. Subsequent regimes in Ghana, it is noted, used the men’s national team, the Black Stars, to strengthen their popularity and “perpetuate their reign.”
As a scholar who has been writing about African football history, culture, and politics for a long time, I found Farayi Mungazi and Penny Dale’s “Beyond the Pitch” documentary to be finely researched and evocatively presented through African voices. The producers did well to carefully bring out the game’s contradictory capacity to be a force for empowerment and disempowerment. What a great way to get ready for the upcoming 2017 AFCON in Gabon. And what a wonderful resource for teaching and research.
Click here to listen and download the podcast version of the documentary.
Tags: AFCON 2017, Algeria, BBC, CAF, Farayi Mungazi, FLN, Ghana, Hikabwa Chipande, Uganda, Zambia
African Nations Cup 2014 World Cup World Cup David Goldblatt Izichwe Brazil Hikabwa Chipande development Spain South Africa Football Scholars Forum Algeria History PSL Uruguay CAF Nigeria Mexico Gemma Mcdonald youth Vuvuzela Zambia England Egypt SAFA Goal of the Week Cameroon United States Confederations Cup Bafana Bafana FIFA Africa Germany Chris Bolsmann Cape Town France Italy Maradona Ghana African Women's Championship 2010 World Cup Orlando Pirates women stadiums Argentina |
Polarimetry
Synthetic aperture radar image of Death Valley colored using polarimetry.
Polarimetry is the measurement and interpretation of the polarization of transverse waves, most notably electromagnetic waves, such as radio or light waves. Typically polarimetry is done on electromagnetic waves that have traveled through or have been reflected, refracted, or diffracted by some material in order to characterize that object.[1][2]
2 Equipment
2.1 Astronomical polarimetry
3 Measuring optical rotation
Applications[edit]
Polarimetry of thin films and surfaces is commonly known as ellipsometry.
Polarimetry is used in remote sensing applications, such as planetary science and weather radar.
Polarimetry can also be included in computational analysis of waves. For example, radars often consider wave polarization in post-processing to improve the characterization of the targets. In this case, polarimetry can be used to estimate the fine texture of a material, help resolve the orientation of small structures in the target, and, when circularly-polarized antennas are used, resolve the number of bounces of the received signal (the chirality of circularly polarized waves alternates with each reflection).
Equipment[edit]
A polarimeter is the basic scientific instrument used to make these measurements, although this term is rarely used to describe a polarimetry process performed by a computer, such as is done in polarimetric synthetic aperture radar.
Polarimetry can be used to measure various optical properties of a material, including linear birefringence, circular birefringence (also known as optical rotation or optical rotary dispersion), linear dichroism, circular dichroism and scattering.[3] To measure these various properties, there have been many designs of polarimeters. Some are archaic and some are in current use. The most sensitive polarimeters are based on interferometers, while more conventional polarimeters are based on arrangements of polarising filters, wave |
Insights Into Locally Advanced Breast Cancer
Scientists are reporting two findings that could influence the way researchers screen for, treat and assess prognosis for women with locally advanced breast cancer, an aggressive form of the disease. One finding offers a critical message regarding treatment strategy, they say.
"Women with locally advanced breast cancer and their clinicians need to be aware that a growing breast mass should not be ignored even if someone has had a recent normal mammogram," says Laura Esserman, MD, UCSF professor of surgery and radiology and director of the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center.
The findings emerged from I-SPY, a multi-center clinical trial designed to evaluate the impact of chemotherapy before surgery on patients with locally advanced breast cancer. Assessments in the trial focus on biological markers as predictors of pathological complete response and survival. Locally advanced breast cancer tumors develop in younger patients, have a worse prognosis and are large (min. 3 cm.).
The results were reported in the scientific session "Oral Abstract Session-Breast Cancer -- Local-Regional and Adjuvant Therapy (Esserman) and the Oral Abstract Session- Cancer Prevention,(Lin 4pm)" at the American Society of Clinical Oncology annual meeting on May 30, 2009.
One study revealed that most locally advanced breast cancers are discovered in the interval between routine mammogram exams, which are conducted every one or two years. Of the women who were receiving regular screening mammograms, 83 percent had developed such so-called interval cancers.
"This finding suggests that the growth rate of locally advanced breast cancers precludes early detection by conventional screening," says the senior author of the study, Laura Esserman, MD, UCSF professor of surgery and radiology and director of the UCSF Carol Franc Buck Breast Care Center.
"We need to develop a better understanding of the molecular signatures of these tumors. Understanding their biology will be important for developing better strategies for prevention and early detection."
The study, led by Cheryl Lin, MD, postdoctoral research fellow in surgery, contains a critical message, says Esserman. "For these faster growing cancers, patients with' interval cancers' should explore the potential of standard chemotherapy and/or clinical studies that add novel agents in addition to standard therapy in advance of surgery (so called neoadjuvant chemotherapy), which is increasingly the standard of care in this set of patients, says Esserman.
In another report of the findings from the I SPY trial, scientists determined that the molecular profiles of locally advanced breast cancer tumors predicted the response of the tumors to chemotherapy drugs given in advance of surgery. The scientists identified one subset of patients who fared well regardless of how they responded to the chemotherapy treatment. The team also determined that in those patients with poor prognosis profiles response to the chemotherapy was a very good predictor of long term outcome.
"The study demonstrated that locally advanced breast cancers have aggressive biology," says first author Esserman. "Response to therapy and outcome can be predicted by many biomarkers. The I-SPY data set provides a platform to study marker signatures to tailor therapy and demonstrates the power of the neoadjuvant setting."
The response to therapy of the 216 patients examined was measured by serial magnetic resonance imaging, pathologic complete response and residual cancer burden. The study revealed that residual cancer burden was a more refined way to measure pathologic complete response .The study also revealed that magnetic resonance volume is highly predictive of pathologic complete response and residual cancer burden (reported in Sunday Poster Discussion (Local/Regional Breast Cancer).
I-SPY 1, the first phase of a longer term clinical study series, is a collaboration of numerous cancer centers nationwide, and the National Cancer Institute. The second phase, I-SPY 2, now in development, is a collaboration of the NIH Foundation, Food and Drug Administration, NCI, and pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies.
I-SPY 2 is designed to efficiently screen multiple novel agents to see if their addition to standard chemotherapy will improve outcomes. The trial will test a number of new concepts, including "adaptive design" in which drugs are assessed over the course of months – rather than decades – and the information used in real time to direct the course of a trial. It also will test the qualification of biomarkers to help accelerate the path to the identification and availability of successful tailored treatment options for women with locally advanced breast cancer..
The I-SPY series is designed to accelerate and improve the efficiency with which experimental breast cancer therapies are assessed. The goals are to establish a clinical trials model that supports the identification of drugs targeting the molecular profiles of aggressive breast cancers, and to reduce the duration of the drug-assessment process from the current 15 to 20 years down to a few years.
Co-authors of the first study were Cheryl Lin, Angie DeMichele, David Ollila, Leslie Montgomery, Minetta Liu, Helen Krontiras, Rachel Gomez, and Laura Esserman, and the I SPY Investigators.
Co-authors of the second study were Laura Esserman, Charles Perou, Maggie Cheang, Laura Van't Veer, Joe Gray, Emanuel Petricoin, Angie DeMichele, Lisa Carey, Kathy Conway-Dorsey, Baljit Singh, Debo Das, Sarah Davis, Don Berry, and Nola Hylton and the I SPY investigators.
Materials provided by University of California - San Francisco. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
University of California - San Francisco. "Insights Into Locally Advanced Breast Cancer." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 9 June 2009. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090602092257.htm>.
University of California - San Francisco. (2009, June 9). Insights Into Locally Advanced Breast Cancer. ScienceDaily. Retrieved May 23, 2017 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090602092257.htm
University of California - San Francisco. "Insights Into Locally Advanced Breast Cancer." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/06/090602092257.htm (accessed May 23, 2017).
New Possibility in Treating Aggressive Ovarian Cancer, Study Shows
Nov. 30, 2016 A recent discovery may lead to a new treatment strategy for an aggressive ovarian cancer subtype. Ovarian cancer is the most deadly gynecological cancer and it is the seventh most common cancer in ... read more New Cancer Marker Identified; Possible Therapeutic Target for Breast Cancer
July 31, 2015 Basal-like breast cancer (BLBC) is an aggressive form of breast cancer and is often referred to as "triple negative," which means it is not responsive to the common medical therapeutics. BLBC is more ... read more Family History of Breast Cancer Doesn't Mean a Poor Prognosis for Women Who Develop the Disease
May 20, 2015 Women who are diagnosed with breast cancer and have a family history of the disease face no worse of a prognosis after treatment than other women with breast cancer, a new study concludes. The ... read more New Biomarker Highly Promising for Predicting Breast Cancer Outcomes
Aug. 25, 2014 A protein named p66ShcA shows promise as a biomarker to identify breast cancers with poor prognoses, according to research. The ability to predict prognosis is critical to management of treatment. A ... read more RELATED TERMS |
Is Figuring Out What Makes You Happy the Government’s Job?
by Iain Murray
What is happiness? Aristotle, one of the first to examine that question, concluded that “happiness depends on ourselves.” He was right about this, although he then went on to devote much of the Nicomachean Ethics to what he thought everyone should do about it.
The trouble is that much of the analytical research on happiness that is going on around the world suffers from the same problem of subjectivity. Unfortunately, public officials around the world are building on this subjective research to craft supposedly objective public programs.
The central question in making happiness the focus of government decision making is: How do you measure it? Proponents of happiness research have developed metrics and indices which they say are firmly grounded in the scientific method. When you lift the stone, though, all sorts of unpleasantness is revealed. These measures are essentially subjective.
Designed to Show Progress Doesn’t Matter
The first measure in assessing happiness is obtained by asking people how happy they are. Yet the questions that are commonly asked in such surveys are vague and unscientific, such as: “Taken altogether, how would you say that things are these days?”; “Do you think of yourself as very happy, pretty happy, or not too happy?”; and “Have you felt you are playing a useful part in things?”
The answers to these questions cannot be empirically tested or verified. They are subject to all sorts of vagaries up to and including what mood the person being questioned is in.
Moreover, in an attempt to quantify the findings, the responses are normally coded on a scale from one to 10 or even from one to three. An obvious problem presents itself: What happens to respondents who say they are “very happy,” thus receiving the top mark on the scale, but then their situation improves?
The indices, quite simply, have a built-in bias against measuring improvements in people’s conditions. A person at the top of the scale who feels worse when asked a question for a second time will drive his ranking down, but one who feels happier will have no effect.
Inconsistent and Subjective Measures
Yet these dubious measures aren’t the only ones included in happiness indices. Other measures judged by the researchers to affect quality of life go into the mix, yet the selection of those measures is subjective by itself.
For instance, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s Better Life Index contains two measures of the effects of crime: the homicide rate and the assault rate. Measuring the assault rate depends on accurate reporting of such crimes (which may be inadequate in countries with ineffective or corrupt police forces), and is therefore problematic in itself.
Also, the category is obviously incomplete as there is no measure of property crime. Someone who has his or her meager belongings stolen regularly is unlikely to be happy, even when subjected to no other crimes.
Doesn’t Freedom Count?
Even if these measures were meaningful, it is difficult to see how they can helpfully inform public policy.
Presumably, they could be used to promote some activities and restrict or prohibit others on the basis of whether they seem to increase or decrease happiness. But this runs slap bang into what Nobel Prize winning economist Friederich Hayek called “the knowledge problem.” Individuals know how to augment their own happiness better than any public officials acting on their behalf.
Finally, these indices, which normally show that the Western world has not become happier since the 1940s, plainly miss something. Not only are we healthier and wealthier and more educated, but our society has changed fundamentally for the better in a lot of ways.
American society has improved leaps and bounds in terms of extending rights and freedoms to previously disenfranchised citizens. None of this is reflected in the measures that happiness researchers like to cite.
Perhaps we should instead learn from an empirical experiment with happiness as a policy guide—the tiny mountain Kingdom of Bhutan. As sustainability guru Jeffrey Sachs like to point out, “Forty years ago, Bhutan’s fourth king, young and newly installed, made a remarkable choice: Bhutan should pursue ‘gross national happiness’ rather than gross national product.”
Yet this is the same king who presided over what was essentially a medieval theocracy until his abdication in 2008. In the first peaceful transition of power under the new democracy there, a government was elected that declares itself “happiness skeptical.”
The new Prime Minister Tshering Togbay, facing crippling debt levels, recently said: “If the government of the day were to spend a disproportionate amount of time talking about GNH rather than delivering basic services, then it is a distraction.”
Looks like we can learn something from Bhutan, after all.
Mr. Murray is director of the Center for Economic Freedom at the Competitive Enterprise Institute. A version of this article was first published by Fox News. For a more detailed look at the problems with happiness research, see Murray and Blake Taylor’s study “What Is the Happiness Lobby? Growing Body of Questionable Research Lends Support to Paternalistic Policies,” published by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. |
Baby Products May Contain Harmful Chemicals
A new study released proposes that baby products including lotion, baby powder, and baby shampoo may be exposing babies to harmful chemicals called phthalates. Phthalates are used to make plastics flexible and stabilize fragrances and are found in many consumer products.
The journal Pediatrics, Sathyanarayana, from the University of Washington, Seattle, and colleagues measured the levels of nine different phthalate products in urine from diapers of 163 infants aged 2 to 28 months. All of the urine samples contained at least one phthalate at measurable levels and 81 percent of the samples had measurable amounts of seven or more phthalates.
“At this time, we do not know what the potential long-term health effects might be, but there is a large body of animal studies to suggest developmental and reproductive toxicity (from phthalates) and a few human studies with changes in health outcomes as well,” Dr. Sheela Sathyanarayana told Reuters Health.
Currently U.S. manufacturers are not required to list phthalate contents on package labels. |
Forest Ecosystems In A Changing World
Data & Findings
Burning fossil fuels contributes to high levels of nitrogen (N) deposition onto large areas of the Earth. These elevated inputs are unprecedented and likely to continue if the increased consumption of fossil fuels outpaces improvements in combustion efficiency. After decades of elevated N inputs, symptoms of N saturation are evident in some forests - but not in all. When the supply of N exceeds the demand by living things, it can result in soil and stream acidification, the loss of nutrient cations from forest soils, high levels of toxic aluminum in the soil solution, and it may contribute to forest decline.
Thanks to funding from NSF's Long Term Research in Environmental Biology (LTREB) program, scientists from the US Forest Service and West Virginia University are continuing long-term experimental manipulations and long-term monitoring efforts at the Fernow Experimental Forest in central Appalachia.
By continuing these efforts, new insights are resulting that deepen our understanding of how forest ecosystems respond to enhanced N additions and to soil acidification. Among the questions being examined are:
What lies beyond N saturation?
Will the growth of important tree species change?
Will soil fertility and water quality be significantly altered?
Why are some forests more resistant to change than others?
Can long-term patterns of nutrient availability be linked to climate variability?
Can trends in long-term records be associated with the implimentation of regulatory policies? |
Women's Initiative provides high-potential, low-income women with the training, funding and ongoing support to start their own businesses and become financially self sufficient. The women who go through our program significantly increase their income and assets while launching businesses, creating jobs and stimulating the local economy.
We have two urban hubs to serve women throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and are expanding to New York City and Chicago.
Microbusinesses as Assets
By: Karuna Jaggar, Women's Initiative Director of Public Policy and Research
CFED's Assets and Opportunity Scorecard for California gives us a C overall, although we get an A for business development opportunities.
California's citizens face mixed prospects when it comes to their opportunities to build and preserve assets. On one hand, the state's households have the 11th highest average net worth in the country. On the other, the state ranks 36th in asset poverty — the proportion of households without sufficient assets to subsist above the poverty level for three months if income were to be interrupted.
Long-term financial independence requires assets as well as adequate income. Families must be able to both cover their basic needs, and have enough in reserve to keep them from slipping into poverty when circumstances change unexpectedly.
Furthermore, assets are critical in obtaining adequate income to begin with. For instance: education and even car ownership are strongly linked to earnings. Anecdotal stories from Women’s Initiative’s clients indicate that owning assets often leads to additional asset acquisition: home-equity loans pay for children’s college, stocks provide down payments on homes or capital for business growth, and so on. It's this combination of sufficient income and assets that allows families to be truly self-sufficient in the long term.
Businesses are a unique and powerful type of asset. They increase income, in the way that education does, and they also increase in value over time like real estate. Microenterprises typically have very low start-up costs, making them a relatively accessible asset for low income individuals, particularly compared to buying a home.
For asset-poor individuals with no credit or poor credit, starting a business is a uniquely accessible way to build on work experience, ingenuity and vision to grow an asset. This can then be leveraged to acquire additional assets. Starting one’s own business can be a critical strategy for low income individuals to build powerful assets that are transferable across generations, helping to break the cycle of inter-generational poverty.
While asset poverty is a grave problem for all California families, current research has shown that women and people of color own disproportionately fewer assets than men and whites. Strikingly, the median net worth of a white-headed household in California is nearly $151,000 while that of a minority-headed household is just over $16,500. There is a need for additional research on the linkages between microenterprise and assets, with particular focus on inequalities linked to race and gender.
Data analysis of the most recent Women's Initiative client outcome data shows an overall trend of increasing wealth, with asset growth outpacing liabilities resulting overall gains in net worth. Average wealth at program entry is $9,288. Survey respondents report that their wealth increases a remarkable four-fold to $38,626 within twelve months.
Posted by Women's Initiative for Self-Employment at 12:52 PM
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Charitable value must be earned
By Todd Cohen Many charities seem to operate with a split personality. In working to serve people and places in need, nonprofits and philanthropic organizations are hard-working, resourceful heroes in our communities. But in assuming their good work entitles them to special treatment, and whining when they do not get what they want, too many nonprofits and foundations seem spoiled and smug. Make no mistake: The charitable marketplace is a treasure of our democracy, addressing the symptoms and causes of our most urgent social and global problems, and independently taking on the tough jobs that government and business either cannot or will not handle. But many nonprofits and foundations, and the trade groups that represent them, apparently infected with the increasingly toxic mindset that pollutes much of our culture, also are quick to blame others for the organizational challenges they face, and to stamp their feet when they don’t get their way. Instead of pouting and pointing fingers, nonprofits and foundations should do what they do best, which is to build strong organizations that can sustain themselves in helping the communities they serve improve themselves. Consider the recent report by the Johns Hopkins Listening Post Project that says local governments in recent years, with little public attention, have burdened a lot of nonprofits with taxes and fees, and now are planning hikes that could damage nonprofits and local governments alike. Nonprofits and foundations receive special tax treatment because lawmakers in the past concluded their work provides an important service to the public. But that special treatment is a gift based on a policy decision, not a constitutional or innate right, and nonprofits and foundations must continue to earn the tax and regulatory privileges they enjoy. Nonprofits, for example, consume local services like water, roads, and police and fire protection, yet they seem to believe their charitable mission should free them from paying their fair share of the cost to a community of those services. But are nonprofits prepared to make the case, complete with metrics, that the value they provide to the community, based on a calculation that accounts both for their impact and their cost of doing business, justifies the taxpayer investment the community makes in them? That can be a tough case to make, and some nonprofits act as if it is beneath them to have to make it. What is more, some nonprofits – all along the spectrum of ideological orientation -- are quick to complain about special spending or tax breaks for wealthy people, corporations, special-interest groups or vulnerable social groups. And organized philanthropy, which collectively controls over half-a-trillion dollars in invested assets, screams bloody murder any time a lawmaker suggests private foundations should have to pay out more than the currently-required 5 percent of their assets each year in grants and overhead expenses. But why should wealthy donors get up-front tax breaks for parking their fortunes in charitable foundations, which then get to invest that wealth and enjoy the power it gives them, while hoarding most of the funds even though their tax-exemption is based on the expectation the funds will be used to address social needs? Like any other organization, interest group or individual, nonprofits and foundations can and do make the case for tax breaks and other public policies they believe will support the common good. Instead of just moaning about not getting what they assume they are owed, however, nonprofits should make a clear and compelling case about the value they add to their communities in return for the taxpayer investment they believe they should get. Equally important, if not more so, nonprofits and foundations should make sure their own houses are in order and that they truly are adding to their communities the value they claim to be adding and in return for which they received their tax-exempt status in the first place.
A wake-up call for nonprofits
Corporate volunteers a community asset
Diversity trips up nonprofits, foundations
Collaboration takes much more than just talk
Nonprofits should hold their ground
Nonprofits need leaders who listen
NPR mess reflects wider pandering to donors
Nonprofits should trust themselves
Public universities must adapt to market
Public service embodies America’s spirit |
Modern biology is being greatly enriched by an infusion of ideas from computational and mathematical fields, including computer science, information science, mathematics, operations research and statistics. In turn, biological problems are motivating innovations in these computational sciences. There is a high demand for scientists who can bridge these disciplines. The goal of the Curriculum in Bioinformatics and Computational Biology is to train such scientists through a rigorous and balanced curriculum that transcends traditional departmental boundaries.
Required: BCB720 (2 credits) plus five 1 credit modules: BCB712, 715, 716, 717, 722.
Electives: Electives are required for in depth training in a particular area of Bioinformatics and Computational Biology. Elective are chosen from courses offered by various other departments, and also BCB. Please see http://bcb.unc.edu/degree-requirements/ for more information.
Written Exam: The written exam will be given at the end of the first year (May). The exam is designed to test the material covered in the 7 BCB modules. The exam requires students to apply various methods and analytical tools learned in the modules to specific biological problems. Students are assigned a reading list of 10-15 research papers and a list of key analytical skills that should have been acquired from core coursework. These lists are released two weeks prior to the exam date. The exam itself is administered in a common room over the course of two days, four hours each day. Exams are graded either pass or fail. Students who do not pass have the option to take the exam again the following year. Students who do not pass on a second attempt do not proceed to Ph. D. candidacy.
Oral Defense: The oral exam must be taken before the end of the third academic year. Students are expected to submit a 15-page proposal to their respective thesis committees based upon their dissertation research project. Students are then required to defend their proposals during an oral exam before their committee. The specific format and content of these oral exams are dictated by the thesis committees and moderated by committee chairs. Students who fail have the option to take the exam again at a later date under terms and conditions set by their committees. |
Cryotherapy: Making it Safe for Patients and Providers
Cryotherapy has been getting plenty of attention of late. Over the past year, growing media coverage has featured people who swear by it for pain reduction and all kinds of other health conditions. There are distinct types of cryotherapy, from whole-body cylinders to freezing rooms to localized administration to extremities. Generally, they involve nitrogen gas or some other freezing cold source.
Like many new therapies, cryotherapy enthusiasts are making all kinds of claims about its benefits – not just pain reduction but for fibromyalgia, arthritis, weight loss, depression, osteoporosis, and a host of other treatments. Celebrities are lining up to praise its benefits.
And, like many new therapies, critics are decrying the lack of oversight. The death last month of Chelsea Ake-Salvacion, an employee who froze to death using a cryotherapy chamber in Las Vegas, has drawn nationwide attention. There have been a number of complaints of lesser injuries, such as frostbite, garnering negative attention.
So what’s the story? Is cryotherapy safe? Where are the risks for providers and patients? Some people are calling for new regulations to address it. The State of Nevada just released guidelines, including recommendations that include limiting users to one 3-minute session per day, blood pressure checks before and after use, CPR training of staff, emergency kits and defibrillators onsite, nitrogen monitors, and all kinds of risk disclosures.
While detailed regulations can’t hurt, they shouldn’t strictly be necessary. After all, existing state laws governing the practice of medicine and federal regulations offer a ready-made framework for consumers and providers alike to assess and ensure that cryotherapy is conducted safely.
FDA and Medical Device Compliance for Cryotherapy
The first question to ask about any therapeutic treatment is its status with the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The FDA is responsible for oversight of the safety, efficacy and security of medical devices throughout the United States. Under the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act (FDCA), the FDA regulates the approval of devices, as well as the labeling and marketing claims that can be made about the. The FDA is also responsible for ensuring that manufacturers produce consistent quality devices for consumers.
Are cryotherapy chambers and other means of administration medical device? Absolutely. The FDCA defines a medical device to include a “machine . . . or other similar or related article . . . which is: . . . intended for use in the diagnosis of disease or other conditions, or in the cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease …” (FDCA § 201(h).) This broad definition certainly includes any device used in cryotherapy.
Through the Medical Device Amendments of 1976, the FDA categorizes medical devices in three categories: Class I devices that are low risk and require only “general controls,” which generally translates to appropriate labelling, compliance with FDA quality systems regulations, current good manufacturing practice, and adverse event reporting requirements. Class II devices are higher risk devices than Class I and require greater regulatory oversight – “special controls” to provide reasonable assurance of the device’s safety and effectiveness. Special controls can include special labeling requirements, mandatory performance standards, postmarket surveillance, and, typically, a premarket notification submission requirement known as 510(k). In a 510(k) submission, the manufacturer relates the device to one already on the market (a “predicate” device) and gets approval to make similar approved marketing claims. Finally, Class III devices are the highest risk to patients and typically require specific Pre-Market Approval (PMA) by the FDA before being marketed.
What about devices that are unclassified or unapproved? These two terms mean significantly different things. Some unclassified or not-yet-classified devices were not classified after the Medical Device Amendments of 1976, and yet remain on the market. Devices that are unapproved, by contrast, are not legal to use in the United States. They may be approved in another country, but it is against the law to bring them into the U.S., or to buy, sell, or use these devices. Recent media reports have suggested that many of the cryotherapy chambers being utilized at the present time are not yet approved, which should sound alarm bells both for cryotherapy operators who may be using unapproved devices, and for manufacturers and resellers who have sold the devices into the U.S. market. The FDA status of cryotherapy equipment is a serious issue: any business that bought or sold a cryotherapy device not approved with the FDA may be at risk of criminal liability under the FDCA.
In many instances, there is simply too much international commerce going on for the FDA to police the introduction into the United States of unapproved devices. The FDA has to be selective about where to focus its limited resources and attention. The surest way to attract FDA interest, however, is media reports of events like deaths associated with devices. Once the FDA is involved, any person who buys, sells, or utilizes an unapproved device in commerce is potentially liable of a crime known as misbranding. It is safe to assume that Ms. Ake-Salvacion’s death has set in motion FDA scrutiny.
Given the growing popularity and consumer interest in cryotherapy, it would seem that the market opportunity for cryotherapy in the United States would justify the investment by operators in seeking approval, as opposed to circumventing federal laws and regulations. While the FDA approval process is expensive and time-consuming, it will be far cheaper than the potential liability for defiance of federal law.
Even for those cryotherapy operators who are FDA compliance, the issue of marketing claims about its therapeutic benefits should be an issue of concern. While physicians make “off-label” claims about the ways in which they believe a particular therapy can be used beyond FDA-approved indications, they have a recognized right of “free speech” to do so. Manufacturers and resellers of the device, however, have to take great care not to engage in “off-label” marketing by exceeding FDA-approved labelling claims in their marketing. Off-label marketing is also potentially criminal as misbranding.
Finally, the FDA status of cryotherapy devices will also clarify who can utilize the machines. It is almost certain that any approved FDA device will be deliberately labelled by the manufacturer to be for use only under physician prescription and supervision, precisely because of the danger involved and the inability to provide adequate instruction through manuals or safety videos. With this in mind, we turn to the related subject of insufficient physician oversight of cryotherapy to dates.
Practice of Medicine Issues
In addition to the seeming inadequate attention to FDA medical device compliance issue, the other glaring problem with weak cryotherapy oversight relates to enforcement of state laws governing the practice of medicine. In utilizing cold temperatures to treat physical health conditions, cryotherapy falls squarely within the practice of medicine, which is defined under the laws of each state. Our experience has been that many cryotherapy operators are unaware of the implications of being regulated as a form of medical practice.
First, in many states, corporate practice of medicine laws restrict ownership and control to physicians, who are better trained to take safety precautions and deal with complications and who are subject to oversight of their professional licenses by state medical boards. Adherence to these rules would limit the risk associated with therapeutic choices and control of machines by unqualified personnel.
Second, compliance with requirements of medical practice would lead to a proper informed consent process, medical recordkeeping standard, and establishment of standards of care for the field. It would also lead to clear supervision and scope of practice requirements for staff. Many cryotherapy clinics are run by “cryotherapists” who are unlicensed. In most states, however, a small handful of non-physicians, such as registered nurses and physicians’ assistants, may legally utilize complex medical devices (such as cosmetic lasers) under appropriate physician supervision and with appropriate training, while unlicensed personnel cannot do so. Even without specific cryotherapy regulations, enforcement of these existing rules related to the practice of medicine would go a long way to improving safety.
Third, federal and state laws impose marketing restrictions to prohibit excessive marketing claims about the promising but unproven healing powers of cryotherapy. Similarly, many states impose insurance requirements, such as malpractice insurance coverage, that would protect patients and staff.
Rather than wait for states to develop new regulations for cryotherapy, the simplest solution is enforcement of laws and regulations already on the books by FDA and state medical board personnel. Consumers interested in cryotherapy should ask questions, like the name and model of the device, to check it on the FDA website, www.fda.gov, and should steer clear of operators who are offering unapproved devices. Business operators who have not been paying attention to medical practice rules should not delay in speaking to lawyers and getting their business into compliance; the practice of medicine without a license is a crime. It would be far better for entrepreneurs who are unlicensed to find legitimate roles on the “business” side and to ensure that clinical administration is left to physicians and appropriate personnel under physician supervision.
published on Nov 24, 2015 @ 5:38 pm author: Harry Nelson comments: 1 category: Consumer-Directed Care tags: and Cosmetic Act, Consumer, Cryotherapy, Drug, Federal Food, Food and Drug Administration, Health, Medical device, Medicine, Pain, Physician, Regulatory compliance, Standard of care
One comment to “Cryotherapy: Making it Safe for Patients and Providers”
Harry Nelson (post author)
Thanks, I appreciate the insights-will check it out.
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"The implications of the findings of this trial are immediate and global: international experts in cervical-cancer prevention should now adapt HPV testing for widespread implementation," wrote Drs. Mark Schiffman and Sholom Wacholder of the U.S. National Cancer Institute in an editorial that accompanied the study in the NEJM. "The remarkable promise of the Indian trial presents a worthy global challenge to implement smart, regionally tailored strategies that will efficiently save millions of lives in the years ahead."
Following this milestone study, over the next five years QIAGEN will donate one million HPV tests, with a total estimated value of over US$30 million (based on U.S. list prices), as part of its broader global access program to provide the highest quality cervical cancer screening technologies to women in developing countries. Nearly 300,000 women die of cervical cancer every year, with 80% of deaths occurring in developing countries. QIAGEN's commitment to expanded access to HPV screening includes:
HPV test donation programs, in partnership with leading public health institutions and health non-governmental organizations (NGOs) Development of next-generation HPV technologies, including the careHPV test - designed specifically for low-resource, developing countries Tiered-pricing initiatives for low-resource countries
"This landmark study further validates the value of QIAGEN's HPV test as the gold standard for cervical cancer screening and demonstrates that the incidence of advanced cervical cancer and deaths are actually reduced -- and hence lives saved -- when HPV screening is implemented," said Peer Schatz, Chief Executive Officer of QIAGEN. "QIAGEN's HPV testing technology is already being used to routinely screen millions of women in the United States and Europe. We're committed to working together with the public health community to ensure that women everywhere have access to the best cervical cancer prevention tools." Moving forward QIAGEN will collaborate with a team of global health partners -- including the International Planned Parenthood Federation and Jhpiego, an international non-profit health organization affiliated with Johns Hopkins University -- on the administration of the donation program.
Led by Dr. Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan of the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), the randomized, controlled trial compared the efficacy of three methods of cervical cancer screening: VIA, Pap testing (cytology) and HPV testing with QIAGEN's hybrid capture 2 (hc2) DNA testing technology (called the digene HPV Test). The study was conducted in the Maharashtra state of India, and was supported with funding by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It is the first randomized controlled trial to measure incidence of cervical cancer and associated rates of death as the primary outcomes, using different tools for screening. In addition to being "associated with a significant reduction in the numbers of advanced cervical cancers and deaths from cervical cancer," QIAGEN's hc2 HPV testing platform "was the most objective and reproducible of all cervical cancer screening tests and was less demanding in terms of training and quality assurance," the study authors state. The study is posted to http://content.nejm.org/. QIAGEN broadens access to HPV testing
QIAGEN's donation of 1 million HPV tests builds upon the company's programs to increase access to HPV testing and cervical cancer prevention technologies for women worldwide through QIAGENcares, a corporate social responsibility program to improve the access to better screening methods for infectious diseases in emerging and developing countries. Current commitments include donation programs, development of next generation HPV technologies, tiered-pricing initiatives and on-the-ground pilot cervical cancer screen-and-treat projects.
To ensure that HPV testing can reach women in all regions of the world, QIAGEN is working with PATH and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop a new version of its state-of-the-art HPV test -- to be called the careHPV test -- for public-health programs in low-resource, developing countries. The careHPV test, currently in development, can be performed without electricity or running water and offers HPV detection results in a matter of hours -- a critical characteristic for women traveling to clinics from isolated villages and for those women who may need to be treated the same day. Both QIAGEN HPV screening technologies -- careHPV and the digene HPV Test -- are expected to play a key role in reducing cervical cancer worldwide. Both will be included in the donation program.
As part of its on-the-ground programs, QIAGEN is preparing to launch a mobile cervical cancer screening clinic in India. India has more cervical cancer cases than any other country in the world and cervical cancer is the number one cause of cancer related death among women. Additionally, in China, QIAGEN is providing HPV testing products to 29 hospitals as part of a nationwide prevention campaign organized by the Cancer Foundation of China. For more information on QIAGENcares and the donation program, visit www.qiagen.com/QIAGENcares. About the digene HPV test
QIAGEN's digene HPV Test is approved in the United States and Europe for use together with a Pap in women 30 and older. FDA-approved since 1999, the digene HPV Test has been published in more than 300 peer-reviewed journal articles and studied in clinical trials involving more than 825,000 women worldwide. More than 40 million tests for carcinogenic HPV have been performed with the digene HPV Test.
About HPV and cervical cancer
Worldwide, cervical cancer affects approximately 500,000 women annually and, after breast cancer, is the second-most-common malignancy found in women. Since the cause of cervical cancer -- HPV -- is known and women who have it can be identified, it is a highly preventable and treatable disease if women have access to organized prevention programs. However, the World Health Organization estimates that only about 5 percent of women in the developing world have been screened for cervical disease in the previous five years, compared to 40-50 percent in the developed world. For more information about HPV and cervical cancer, visit www.theHPVtest.com. About QIAGEN QIAGEN N.V., a Netherlands holding company, is the leading global provider of sample and assay technologies. Sample technologies are used to isolate and process DNA, RNA and proteins from biological samples such as blood or tissue. Assay technologies are used to make such isolated biomolecules visible. QIAGEN has developed and markets more than 500 consumable products as well as automated solutions for such consumables. The company provides its products to molecular diagnostics laboratories, academic researchers, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and applied testing customers for purposes such as forensics, animal or food testing and pharmaceutical process control. QIAGEN's assay technologies include one of the broadest panels of molecular diagnostic tests available worldwide. This panel includes the digene HPV Test, which is regarded as the "gold standard" in testing for high-risk types of human papillomavirus (HPV), the primary cause of cervical cancer. QIAGEN employs more than 3,000 people in over 30 locations worldwide. Further information about QIAGEN can be found at http://www.qiagen.com/ '/>"/>SOURCE QIAGENCopyright©2009 PR Newswire.All rights reserved0GOODRelated medicine technology :1. Video: Landmark Study in The Lancet: Patients Treated With Betaseron(R) After First MS Attack Experienced Significant Delay in MS Progression2. Viatronix V3D-Colon Utilized in Another Landmark Study3. Long-Term Data from a Landmark Phase III Trial Show Survival Benefit at Three- and Four-Years in Patients with Glioblastoma multiforme4. Hospital Launches Landmark Emergency Medicine Project5. JACC Identifies DEFER with 5-year Outcomes as Landmark Trial6. Landmark ONTARGET(TM) Trial Demonstrates Micardis(R) is Equally Effective as Ramipril, with Fewer Discontinuations, in a Broad High-Risk Cardiovascular Population7. TYKERB(R) (Lapatinib) to be Investigated in Landmark Early Breast Cancer Trial8. Landmark ATHENA Study Findings With Multaq(R) (dronedarone) Shows 24% Reduction In Cardiovascular Hospitalization or Death in Patients With Atrial Fibrillation9. Landmark HIV/AIDS Publication Launches at International AIDS Society Conference in Mexico City10. Established Safety Profile of Spiriva Confirmed by 30 Rigorously Controlled Clinical Trials and the Landmark Trial UPLIFT11. Landmark COPD Trial UPLIFT(R) Shows SPIRIVA(R) HandiHaler(R) Sustained Lung Function Improvements Over Four Years
Post Your Comments: *Name:*Comment: *Email: (Date:5/5/2016)... , May 5, 2016 ... addition of the "Europe Thalassaemia Market and ... their offering. (Logo: ... Europe Thalassaemia Market and Competitive Landscape Highlights ... pipeline products, Thalassaemia epidemiology, Thalassaemia market valuations ... (Date:5/4/2016)... Holdings (NYSE: CODI ) ("CODI," "we," "our" ... businesses, announced today its consolidated operating results for the ... Quarter 2016 Highlights , Generated Cash Flow Available ... $13.6 million for the first quarter of 2016; ... first quarter of 2016; , Paid a first ... (Date:5/4/2016)... It,s time for an upgrade. There are many medical recorders on the market ... the illustrious DVMAXX HD offers unparalleled connectivity and functionality. Ampronix is a renowned ... manufacturer of innovative technology. Photo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20160503/363416 ... ... ... Breaking Medicine Technology:[0] Europe Thalassaemia Market Analysis - Trends, Technologies & Opportunities Report 2016-2020 - Research and Markets[0] Compass Diversified Holdings Reports First Quarter 2016 Financial Results[0] Medical Recorders and HD Medical Imaging Technology Helps Surgical Procedures by Utilizing High Definition Imaging Functionality and Image Capture Capability by Ampronix(Date:5/5/2016)... ... May 05, 2016 , ... Derrin Doty Group has unveiled the latest ... Orchard and communities west of Seattle. The insurance provider’s caring team has been so ... died suddenly due to complications from the flu, that they have decided to extend ... (Date:5/5/2016)... ... 05, 2016 , ... Michael Lanteri Agency in Fort Collins, ... the people of their local community. The agency pledges to select a new ... hope is to bring awareness to important local causes with fundraising and other ... (Date:5/5/2016)... ... May 05, 2016 , ... 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Edge Density Key To Controlling Gypsy Moth Spread
Controlling population peaks on the edges of the gypsy moth range may help to slow their invasion into virgin territory, according to a team of researchers.
The Gypsy moth is highly destructive to trees. Pictured here are the adult European/North American female (top) and male (bottom). Introduced in Massachusetts in 1869, the Gypsy moth is a plain-looking insect, usually noticeable in its caterpillar stage. A female moth lays a cluster of eggs on and near trees, and each cluster can hatch up to a thousand tiny caterpillars. They are one of the most destructive leaf eaters of hard and softwood trees, and feed on over 500 species of trees and shrubs. Credit: USDA APHIS PPQ
Controlling population peaks on the edges of the gypsy moth range may help to slow their invasion into virgin territory, according to a team of researchers. "Slowing the spread of the gypsy moth is a priority in forest management in the U.S.," says Ottar Bjornstad, associate professor of entomology and biology, Penn State. "Understanding the underlying patterns in the spread of invasive species is important for successful management." The accidental release of the gypsy moth in 1869 in Massachusetts has led to an infestation covering more than 386,000 square miles of the U.S. Northeast. Native to Europe and Asia, gypsy moths are currently found from Maine to North Carolina and west into Wisconsin where they defoliate trees and occasionally, cause extensive damage to northern deciduous forests. "We analyzed historical data on the spread of the gypsy moth in the U.S. and found that its invasion has been characterized by regular periods of rapid spread interspersed between periods of little expansion," says Bjornstad. "This is the first identification of pulsed invasions for an invading species." Bjornstad; Derek M. Johnson, Department of Biology, University of Louisiana, and Andrew M. Liebhold and Patrick C. Tobin, U.S. Forest Service, used historical, county-level quarantine records as well as forest service data from more than 100,000 pheromone traps set along the expanding gypsy moth population front for their theoretical model. The pheromone trap data were collected from 1988 to 2004. They used a theoretical model to show how an interaction between negative population growth at low densities -- "the Allee effect" -- and the existence of a few satellite seed colonies created by human transfer of the insects over long distances, explain the invasion pulses, the researchers explain today (Nov. 16) in Nature. The gypsy moth adult is flightless and usually only spreads a short distance beyond infestation boundaries. External colonies occur when moths hitch a ride on vehicles or other items relocated by people. Without an Allee effect, these colonies would establish, but because gypsy moths exhibit an Allee effect, the low populations are insufficient for establishment of permanent populations. This is also true at the edges of the population area. If the population density is low, the Allee effect prevents growth across the boundaries. The model showed that no pulsed expansion exists for populations unaffected by the Allee effect. However, when the it is a factor, not only does pulsed expansion occur, but it mimics the historic pulses of the gypsy moth population from 1960 to 2002 found in the quarantine records. Currently, the containment program for gypsy moths aims at controlling outbreaks outside the current population boundaries. The researchers suggest that "the invasion might also be slowed by suppressing outbreaks near the invasion front (within the populated area), to reduce the number of dispersers to below the donor threshold." This would decrease edge populations and prevent the periodic surges of growth that expand the territory. Other invading species may also exhibit pulsed spreading. If researchers can determine that the Allee effect is in place, than this same plan of containment might aid in controlling a variety of pests. The National Research Initiative of the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service supported this research.
Materials provided by Penn State. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.
Penn State. "Edge Density Key To Controlling Gypsy Moth Spread." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 20 November 2006. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061116084149.htm>.
Penn State. (2006, November 20). Edge Density Key To Controlling Gypsy Moth Spread. ScienceDaily. Retrieved October 21, 2016 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061116084149.htm
Penn State. "Edge Density Key To Controlling Gypsy Moth Spread." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/11/061116084149.htm (accessed October 21, 2016).
Insects (including Butterflies)
Difference between a butterfly and a moth
Biological pest control
Paving the Way for Cyborg Moth 'Biobots'
Aug. 20, 2014 Researchers have developed methods for electronically manipulating the flight muscles of moths and for monitoring the electrical signals moths use to control those muscles. The work opens the door to ... read more Ailanthus Tree's Status as Invasive Species Offers Lesson in Human Interaction
June 24, 2013 An exotic tree species that changed from prized possession to forest management nightmare serves as a lesson in the unpredictability of non-native species mixing with human interactions, according to ... read more Biologists Use Diag Trees to Help Solve Gypsy Moth Mystery
Jan. 30, 2013 Working beneath towering oaks and maples, researchers have helped explain an observation that had puzzled insect ecologists who study voracious leaf-munching gypsy moth ... read more Can Blue Tits Can Save Our Conker Trees?
Aug. 30, 2012 Blue tits, a familiar garden bird in the U.K., could be the salvation of our imperiled conker trees (horse-chestnut trees), which are under severe attack by a tiny non-native moth that has spread ... read more Strange & Offbeat |
(Redirected from Physical Therapy)
Physical therapy is the provision of services to people and populations to develop, maintain and restore maximum movement and functional ability throughout their lifespan. It includes the provision of services in circumstances where movement and function are threatened by the process of aging or that of injury or disease. Physical therapy sees full and functional movement as the heart of what it means to be healthy.
Physical therapy is concerned with identifying and maximizing movement potential, within the spheres of promotion, prevention, treatment and rehabilitation. It involves the interaction between physical clients, families and care givers, in a process of assessing movement potential and in establishing agreed upon goals and objectives using knowledge and skills unique to physical therapists.
The physical therapists’ distinctive view of the body and its movement needs and potential is central to determining a diagnosis and an intervention strategy and is consistent whatever the setting in which practice is undertaken. These settings will vary in relation to whether physical therapy is concerned with health promotion, prevention, treatment or rehabilitation.
Physical therapy interventions may include:
"Manual handling; movement enhancement electrotherapeutic and mechanical agents; functional training; provision of aids and appliances; patient related instruction and counseling; documentation and coordination, and communication. Intervention may also be aimed at prevention of impairments, functional limitations, disability and injury including the promotion and maintenance of health, quality of life, and fitness in all ages and populations."
Some of the conditions that physical therapists manage include:
back and neck pain
spinal and joint conditions, such as arthritis
biomechanical problems and muscular control
cerebral palsy and spina bifida
heart and lung conditions, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and atelectasis
sport-related injuries
headaches (cervicogenic and tension-type headache)
neurological conditions, such as stroke and multiple sclerosis
Physical therapists (PTs) are health care professionals who diagnose and treat people of all ages who have medical problems or other health-related conditions that limit their abilities to move and perform functional activities in their daily lives. PTs also help prevent conditions associated with loss of mobility through fitness and wellness programs that achieve healthy and active lifestyles. PTs examine individuals and develop plans using treatment techniques that promote the ability to move, reduce pain, restore function, and prevent disability. They provide care in hospitals, clinics, schools, sports facilities, and more.
Retrieved from "http://atwiki.assistivetech.net/index.php/Physical_therapy"
Category: AT Professionals |
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