The Environmental Kuznets Curve and Israel

Empirical analyses of the environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) estimate a turning point at an average of US$8,910 per capita income. The purpose of this paper is to explore the political economy aspects of the EKC summarizing the main tenets and then relating to the empirical evidence, primarily the case of Israel. The study shows if the EKC does exist within Israel and the implications for the development of environmental policy. The implications for social change could show whether focusing scarce resources on economic development and raising per capita GDP is one way to reduce environmental degradation. Recommended Citation Cave, L. A. (2020, October 1-2). The environmental Kuznets curve and Israel [Poster presentation]. Walden University Research Conference 2020 (online). https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/researchconference/2020/posters/7

Acupuncture or auricular electro-acupuncture as adjuncts to lifestyle interventions for weight management in PCOS: protocol for a randomised controlled feasibility study

Background Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a prevalent women’s health condition with reproductive, metabolic, and psychological manifestations. Weight loss can improve these symptoms and is a key goal; however, many women find this difficult to achieve. Acupuncture is a Chinese medical treatment that involves insertion of very fine metal needles into specific areas of the body and has been shown to be efficacious for weight loss in non-PCOS populations. However, few studies have been conducted in women with PCOS. A variant of acupuncture, auricular electro-acupuncture (AEA), may have beneficial effects on sympathetic tone, which is associated with insulin resistance, obesity and PCOS. Methods This prospective three-arm open label parallel randomised controlled trial will assess feasibility and acceptability of acupuncture and/or AEA for weight loss in women with PCOS. We will enrol 39 women from the community aged between 18 and 45 years, with physician diagnosis of PCOS according to the Rotterdam criteria: body mass index (BMI) between 25 and 40 kg/m2. Women will be randomly allocated to receive one of three treatments for 12 weeks duration: body electro-acupuncture + lifestyle interventions, AEA + lifestyle interventions, or lifestyle interventions alone. The lifestyle intervention in this study is telephone-based health coaching (between 4 and 13 phone calls, depending on individual need), provided by the Get Healthy Service. Primary outcomes of the study are feasibility and acceptability of trial methods as determined by recruitment and retention rates, adherence, acceptability, credibility, and safety. Secondary outcomes include anthropometric (body weight, BMI, waist and hip circumference), metabolic (glucose tolerance and insulin sensitivity obtained from a 2-h 75 g oral glucose tolerance test with area under the curve insulin calculated using the trapezoid rule), reproductive (androgen levels, menstrual cyclicity, clinical hyperandrogenism using the Ferriman-Gallwey scoring system), autonomic (heart rate variability, blood pressure), lifestyle (physical activity levels, diet quality, weight self-efficacy), quality of life, and psychological (depression and anxiety symptoms, internal health locus of control). Discussion This study addresses the feasibility and acceptability of novel interventions to treat overweight/obesity in PCOS. Study findings have the potential to generate a new understanding of the role of acupuncture and auricular acupuncture in weight management

Robust estimation of bacterial cell count from optical density

Optical density (OD) is widely used to estimate the density of cells in liquid culture, but cannot be compared between instruments without a standardized calibration protocol and is challenging to relate to actual cell count. We address this with an interlaboratory study comparing three simple, low-cost, and highly accessible OD calibration protocols across 244 laboratories, applied to eight strains of constitutive GFP-expressing E. coli. Based on our results, we recommend calibrating OD to estimated cell count using serial dilution of silica microspheres, which produces highly precise calibration (95.5% of residuals <1.2-fold), is easily assessed for quality control, also assesses instrument effective linear range, and can be combined with fluorescence calibration to obtain units of Molecules of Equivalent Fluorescein (MEFL) per cell, allowing direct comparison and data fusion with flow cytometry measurements: in our study, fluorescence per cell measurements showed only a 1.07-fold mean difference between plate reader and flow cytometry data

Antibodies against endogenous retroviruses promote lung cancer immunotherapy

B cells are frequently found in the margins of solid tumours as organized follicles in ectopic lymphoid organs called tertiary lymphoid structures (TLS). Although TLS have been found to correlate with improved patient survival and response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICB), the underlying mechanisms of this association remain elusive. Here we investigate lung-resident B cell responses in patients from the TRACERx 421 (Tracking Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Evolution Through Therapy) and other lung cancer cohorts, and in a recently established immunogenic mouse model for lung adenocarcinoma. We find that both human and mouse lung adenocarcinomas elicit local germinal centre responses and tumour-binding antibodies, and further identify endogenous retrovirus (ERV) envelope glycoproteins as a dominant anti-tumour antibody target. ERV-targeting B cell responses are amplified by ICB in both humans and mice, and by targeted inhibition of KRAS(G12C) in the mouse model. ERV-reactive antibodies exert anti-tumour activity that extends survival in the mouse model, and ERV expression predicts the outcome of ICB in human lung adenocarcinoma. Finally, we find that effective immunotherapy in the mouse model requires CXCL13-dependent TLS formation. Conversely, therapeutic CXCL13 treatment potentiates anti-tumour immunity and synergizes with ICB. Our findings provide a possible mechanistic basis for the association of TLS with immunotherapy response

Environmental policy in the European Union: Fostering the development of pollution havens?

A pollution haven occurs when dirty industries from developed nations relocate to developing nations in order to avoid strict environmental standards or developed nations imports of dirty industries expand replacing domestic production. The purpose of this study is to determine whether the European Union (EU) has increased its imports of "dirty" goods from poorer, less democratic countries during a period of more stringent environmental standards. Previous empirical studies such as those by Levinson and Taylor [Levinson, A., and Taylor, M.S., in press. Unmasking the Pollution Haven Effect. International Economic Review.], Ederington, Levinson and Minier [Ederington, J., Levinson, A., and Minier, J., 2005. Footloose and Pollution-Free. Review of Economics and Statistics., 87: 92-99.], Kahn and Yoshino (2004), and Ederington and Minier [Ederington, J., and Minier. J., 2003. Is Environmental Policy a Secondary Trade Barrier? An Empirical Analysis. Canadian Journal of Economics., 36: 137-54.] find evidence that United States imports are responsive to changes in environmental stringency, but the effects of EU policy have not been examined as thoroughly. Our study follows Kahn [Kahn, M.E., 2003. The Geography of Us Pollution Intensive Trade: Evidence from 1958 to 1994. Regional Science and Urban Economics., 33: 383-400.] and examines the impact of industry energy intensity and toxicity, measured by an energy index and a Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) index, on imports into the EU, at the 2-digit industry level from 1970 to 1999. We use the signing of the Maastricht Treaty to signify a period of more uniform and stringent community wide environmental standards (1993-1999), and identify the level of per capita GDP within an EU trading partner. We find an increased amount of EU energy intensive trade with poorer countries during the period with more stringent EU environmental standards. This result is not robust, however, when poorer countries are defined by OECD membership and geographic region. We do not find an increased amount of EU toxic intensive trade with poorer countries although there is some evidence of increased EU imports of toxic goods from poorer OECD and non-EU European countries. For our full sample of trading partners in all regions, the evidence supports the PHH for EU energy intensive trade, but not for toxic intensive trade. Results for regional trade analysis are less clear.

Overexpression of CEBPA resulting from the translocation t(14;19)(q32;q13) of human precursor B acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Subtle variation in the expression or function of a small group of transcription factors can drive leukemogenesis. The CEBPA protein is known to regulate the balance between cell proliferation and differentiation during early hematopoietic development and myeloid differentiation. In human myeloid leukemia, CEBPA is frequently inactivated by mutation and indirect and posttranslational mechanisms, in keeping with tumor suppressor properties. We report that CEBPA is activated by juxtaposition to the immunoglobulin gene enhancer upon its rearrangement with the immunoglobulin heavy-chain locus in precursor B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia harboring t(14;19)(q32;q13). Overexpression of apparently normal CEBPA RNA or protein was observed in 6 patients. These data indicate that CEBPA may exhibit oncogenic as well as tumor suppressor properties in human leukemogenesis.<br/

Interleukin-7 (IL-7) Treatment Accelerates Neutrophil Recruitment through γδ T-Cell IL-17 Production in a Murine Model of Sepsis ▿

The sepsis syndrome represents an improper immune response to infection and is associated with unacceptably high rates of mortality and morbidity. The interactions between T cells and the innate immune system while combating sepsis are poorly understood. In this report, we observed that treatment with the potent, antiapoptotic cytokine interleukin-7 (IL-7) accelerated neutrophil recruitment and improved bacterial clearance. We first determined that T cells were necessary for the previously observed IL-7-mediated enhanced survival. Next, IL-7 increased Bcl-2 expression in T cells isolated from septic mice as early as 3 h following treatment. This treatment resulted in increased gamma interferon (IFN-γ) and IP-10 production within the septic peritoneum together with local and systemic increases of IL-17 in IL-7-treated mice. We further demonstrate that the increase in IL-17 was largely due to increased recruitment and production by γδ T cells, which express CXCR3. Consistent with increased IL-17 production, IL-7 treatment increased CXCL1/KC production, neutrophil recruitment, and bacterial clearance. Significantly, end-organ tissue injury was not significantly different between vehicle- and IL-7-treated mice. Collectively, these data illustrate that IL-7 can mediate the cross talk between Th1 and Th17 lymphocytes during sepsis such that neutrophil recruitment and bacterial clearance is improved while early tissue injury is not increased. All together, these observations may underlay novel potential therapeutic targets to improve the host immune response to sepsis