Transformation in a changing climate: a research agenda

The concept of transformation in relation to climate and other global change is increasingly receiving attention. The concept provides important opportunities to help examine how rapid and fundamental change to address contemporary global challenges can be facilitated. This paper contributes to discussions about transformation by providing a social science, arts and humanities perspective to open up discussion and set out a research agenda about what it means to transform and the dimensions, limitations and possibilities for transformation. Key focal areas include: (1) change theories, (2) knowing whether transformation has occurred or is occurring; (3) knowledge production and use; (4), governance; (5) how dimensions of social justice inform transformation; (6) the limits of human nature; (7) the role of the utopian impulse; (8) working with the present to create new futures; and (9) human consciousness. In addition to presenting a set of research questions around these themes the paper highlights that much deeper engagement with complex social processes is required; that there are vast opportunities for social science, humanities and the arts to engage more directly with the climate challenge; that there is a need for a massive upscaling of efforts to understand and shape desired forms of change; and that, in addition to helping answer important questions about how to facilitate change, a key role of the social sciences, humanities and the arts in addressing climate change is to critique current societal patterns and to open up new thinking. Through such critique and by being more explicit about what is meant by transformation, greater opportunities will be provided for opening up a dialogue about change, possible futures and about what it means to re-shape the way in which people live

An Extreme Starburst in the Core of a Rich Galaxy Cluster at z = 1.7

We have discovered an optically rich galaxy cluster at z = 1.7089 with star formation occurring in close proximity to the central galaxy. The system, SpARCS104922.6+564032.5, was detected within the Spitzer Adaptation of the red-sequence Cluster Survey, and confirmed through Keck-MOSFIRE spectroscopy. The rest-frame optical richness of N_(gal) (500 kpc) = 30 ± 8 implies a total halo mass, within 500 kpc, of ~3.8 ± 1.2 × 10^(14) M⊙, comparable to other clusters at or above this redshift. There is a wealth of ancillary data available, including Canada–France–Hawaii Telescope optical, UKIRT-K, Spitzer-IRAC/MIPS, and Herschel-SPIRE. This work adds submillimeter imaging with the SCUBA2 camera on the James Clerk Maxwell Telescope and near-infrared imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope. The mid/far-infrared (M/FIR) data detect an Ultra-luminous Infrared Galaxy spatially coincident with the central galaxy, with L_(IR) = 6.2 ± 0.9 × 10^(12) L⊙. The detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons at z = 1.7 in a Spitzer-IRS spectrum of the source implies the FIR luminosity is dominated by star formation (an Active Galactic Nucleus contribution of 20%) with a rate of ~860 ± 130 M⊙ yr^(−1). The optical source corresponding to the IR emission is likely a chain of >10 individual clumps arranged as "beads on a string" over a linear scale of 66 kpc. Its morphology and proximity to the Brightest Cluster Galaxy (BCG) imply a gas-rich interaction at the center of the cluster triggered the star formation. This system indicates that wet mergers may be an important process in forming the stellar mass of BCGs at early times

A genome-wide association study of resistance to HIV infection in highly exposed uninfected individuals with hemophilia A

Human genetic variation contributes to differences in susceptibility to HIV-1 infection. To search for novel host resistance factors, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in hemophilia patients highly exposed to potentially contaminated factor VIII infusions. Individuals with hemophilia A and a documented history of factor VIII infusions before the introduction of viral inactivation procedures (1979-1984) were recruited from 36 hemophilia treatment centers (HTCs), and their genome-wide genetic variants were compared with those from matched HIV-infected individuals. Homozygous carriers of known CCR5 resistance mutations were excluded. Single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and inferred copy number variants (CNVs) were tested using logistic regression. In addition, we performed a pathway enrichment analysis, a heritability analysis, and a search for epistatic interactions with CCR5 Δ32 heterozygosity. A total of 560 HIV-uninfected cases were recruited: 36 (6.4%) were homozygous for CCR5 Δ32 or m303. After quality control and SNP imputation, we tested 1 081 435 SNPs and 3686 CNVs for association with HIV-1 serostatus in 431 cases and 765 HIV-infected controls. No SNP or CNV reached genome-wide significance. The additional analyses did not reveal any strong genetic effect. Highly exposed, yet uninfected hemophiliacs form an ideal study group to investigate host resistance factors. Using a genome-wide approach, we did not detect any significant associations between SNPs and HIV-1 susceptibility, indicating that common genetic variants of major effect are unlikely to explain the observed resistance phenotype in this populatio

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

A double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of maraviroc in treatment-experienced patients infected with non-R5 HIV-1

SCOPUS: ar.jinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

TILT:a randomized controlled trial of interruption of antiretroviral therapy with or without interleukin-2 in HIV-1 infected individuals

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to see if structured treatment interruption (STI) could be supported safely with the use of two cycles of IL-2 (4.5 MIU q12h subcutaneously 5 days) before STI to prolong the time before therapy restarted. METHODS: Subjects were randomly allocated to either A - continuous ART; B - continue for 9 weeks, then STI; restart with the same ART when the CD4 count falls below 200 cells; or C - two cycles of IL-2, 8 weeks apart, while still on ART; at week 9 stop ART and use a new cycle of IL-2 alone whenever the CD4 count falls < 300 cells. Patients were followed until week 105. RESULTS: 86 mostly white middle aged homosexual men with a baseline median CD4 count of 754 cells/ml (range 240-1400) and a nadir CD4 count of 268 cells/ml (range 62-822) enrolled. By 96 weeks there was a 66% probability of having restarted ART in arm B compared with 34% in arm C (p = 0.002; log rank test). New drugs were used in 60% in arm A, 57% in arm B and 45% in arm C. 4 subjects had a dose modification in the first cycle due to toxicity with 2 interrupting. There were 39 SAEs with 21 in arm C. There were no deaths. CONCLUSIONS: The primary aim of the trial was to gain experience in using IL-2. IL-2 delayed restarting drugs and fewer new drugs were used

Concomitant use of an active boosted protease inhibitor with enfuvirtide in treatment-experienced, HIV-infected individuals: recent data and consensus recommendations

Recent data from clinical trials investigating the efficacy of enfuvirtide, a fusion inhibitor, in treatment-experienced patients have revealed that the addition of enfuvirtide (ENF) to an active boosted protease inhibitor regimen doubles the rate of virological response. At week 48 of the TORO studies, 55% of patients previously naive to and receiving lopinavir/ritonavir (LPV/r) with ENF achieved a viral load of <400 copies/mL compared with 24% of patients treated with LPV/r alone. At week 24 of the RESIST studies, 70% of previously ENF-naive patients who took both ENF and tipranavir/ritonavir (TPV/r) achieved a ≥1 log10 reduction in viral load compared with 37% of such patients treated with TPV/r alone. Similarly, concomitant use of TMC114/ritonavir (TMC114/r) with ENF, compared with TMC114/r alone, increased the number of patients with <50 copies/mL from 46% to 64% in a combined 24-week analysis from the POWER trials. Data from these trials suggest that combining one agent from a new class with a new agent from a previously exposed class offers a greater chance of achieving full virological control than either type of agent alone. Undetectable viraemia should be the primary objective for treatment-experienced patients requiring a switch in therapy, and the present data support the combination of an active boosted protease inhibitor with an agent from a new class (e.g., ENF) for triple-class-experienced patients