Climate Change and Cognition: Towards A Pedagogy

In the aftermath of 9/11, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP), and the Earth Institute of Columbia University launched the American Preparedness Project in order to survey public perceptions on disaster preparedness. The report found that 65% of Americans expressed worry that climate change will have an impact on their community's exposure to disasters. The NCDP recommended integrating the impact of climate change into communications and preparedness programs, given that a comprehensive understanding of the concerns of individuals and families is critical to emergency planning efforts. The NCDP adopted a user-centered design approach to create more informed risk communications and instructional decisions to work towards a pedagogy of climate change. Today, the NCDP deploys online and in-person trainings across the United States where the Center directly engages with the public on disaster preparedness, response, recovery, and resiliency. Leveraging these experiences, the NCDP collects data to analyze the learning efficacy of communication methods of disaster focused curricula. However, despite these strides toward a methodology of teaching climate change, there are several discrepancies in the U.S. public opinion on the degree of urgency in which to prepare for the risks of climate change. Discrepancies are tied to a multitude of factors including partisan affinity, dynamics of in-group or out-group, impersonal versus personal interaction, and perceived thresholds of distance and time. A key relationship between public discourse, cognition, and instruction are introduced in this paper to better set the foundation for a pedagogy of climate change. This paper also provides data-driven recommendations derived from satisfaction surveys and belief statements from learners that have participated in the NCDP's course content on climate change. The recommendations focus on risk communication strategies that can adequately address public opinion discrepancies on the risk of climate change, impact decision making, as well as improve learner understanding of climate change. The solution is not simply to provide more information but to evaluate how to implement different delivery methods aligned with public learning needs and capacities

Le Livre du Courtisan en France aux XVIe et XVIIe siècles

Sin dalla prima pubblicazione a Venezia nel 1528, per i tipi dell’editoreD’Asolo, Il libro del Cortegiano di Baldassarre Castiglione ottieneun enorme successo. Sono soprattutto le traduzioni a contribuirealla diffusione dell’opera in Europa. Per quanto riguarda laFrancia, la prima traduzione, attribuita a Jacques Colin d’Auxerre,è pubblicata nel 1537 e nel corso del secolo diverse traduzioni sisusseguono. Di particolare interesse risulta quella pubblicata ad opera di Gabriel Chappuis nel 1580 e quella realizzata dall’abateJean-Baptiste Duhamel nel 1690. Partendo da un’analisi puntualedelle diverse traduzioni francesi, questo lavoro intende cogliere iprincipi che regolano il lavoro di traduzione nel Rinascimento mostrandonel’evoluzione fino alla fine del XVII secolo

Enhancing Capacity in Adult Climate Literacy: Investigating Sustainability Mindsets in the U.S. Emergency Management Profession

The purpose of this exploratory collective case study is to understand how climate change education can meet the learning needs of emergency management professionals to prepare and adapt to the impacts of climate change on communities throughout the United States. The primary research question guiding the study was: How do emergency managers experience, learn about, and from, the impacts of climate change in their work? Throughout the study, significant attention was paid to emergent themes in emergency managers’ personal and professional learning and development in the form of multiple data collection methods and analysis. The following sub-questions were also investigated:A. How do perceptions of climate change influence the ways in which emergency managers engage with climate literacy? B. What do emergency managers perceive as important for the content and design of climate literacy training and education programs to support their learning? This collective case study involved the participation of six (N = 6) certified emergency management (CEM) professionals currently practicing in the U.S. as the study’s key informants (KIs). The sequential data collection methods encompassed a survey, semi-structured interviews, and the utilization of the Sustainability Mindset Indicator (SMI) assessment. Additionally, the survey administered to the six KIs was also distributed to a larger sample (N = 56), known as a “boosted sample,” to compare and contrast wider trends, transferability and uncover broader training needs. Data analysis leveraged coding to identify similarities and differences among emergency managers’ lived experiences, approaches, and expert recommendations on learning about climate change-related themes. The theoretical framework that guided this research analysis was the Sustainability Mindset Principles (SMPs). This study aimed to inform future training and education programs for emergency managers on climate change as well as provide researchers and practitioners working in climate science with insights on how to engage emergency management. The study found that emergency managers in the U.S. are increasingly recognizing the multifaceted impacts of climate change on their roles and responsibilities. Emergency managers reported a preference for localized climate information that extends beyond geography to encompass cognitive, social, political, and historical dimensions. Participants reported a preference for climate-related training to be presented in practical ways with an emphasis on increasing long-term thinking skills in their training. The study observed that emergency managers exhibited strong motivation, preparation for future learning, and sense of purpose that can be applied to integrating climate change information into existing emergency management frameworks. Emergency managers acknowledged the need to refine roles and collaborate across sectors to effectively address climate change given resource limitations, including funding, workforce development, and technology. Building upon a robust training infrastructure in emergency management, climate literacy can facilitate an understanding of climate within the field as well as the widespread effects that transcend a single profession, sector and generation

An Organ Culture Technique for Maintaining the Pulp Tissue of Intact Human Teeth

The size of explants in organ culture is limited by their ability to feed, respire, and excrete by diffusion. The perfusion procedure described in this report is not limited to a particular explant size. The test tissue was the adult human tooth. In order to maintain the pulp tissue of the intact human tooth in organ culture, special precautions were taken to prevent internal necrosis and to allow diffusion of nutrients and waste products. Using aseptic technique, a standard tissue culture medium plus appropriate antibiotics were delivered to a glass manifold housed in an incubator with an atmosphere at 100% humidity containing about 5% CO2. Tubing from the manifold led to small needles which were threaded from the apex of each tooth to the pulp horns. The teeth covered with a layer of saturated gauze rested in modified petri dishes. Adenosine triphosphate concentrations in perfused, nonperfused and immediately extracted teeth were compared to determine the success of the procedure. The mean ATP level in 25 immediately extracted teeth was 0.15 micrograms ATP/mg wet weight. The mean ATP level in 24 teeth successfully perfused for up to 11 days was 0.14 micrograms ATP/mg wet weight, while the ATP level in all non-perfused teeth was 0. 01 micrograms ATP/mg. Eighty-six percent of all teeth were considered successfully perfused. A histologic study on perfused, non-perfused, and immediately fixed teeth revealed good cellular detail, collagen fiber integrity, and normal appearing odontoblasts in many areas of the pulp in teeth perfused for periods up to 14 days. The non-perfused counterparts demonstrated little cellular detail, no odontoblastic layer, and frank necrosis in many areas. In some areas of the pulp of perfused teeth numerous tissue histiocytes could be seen. Using standard tissue culture techniques, explants of pulp perfused for 72 hours showed extensive monolayer outgrowth of fibroblast-like cells. Non-perfused pulp tissue after 72 hours in saline showed no such outgrowth. It is concluded that the perfusion procedure maintained viability of the pulp tissue of intact teeth for extended periods of time

Time and Out-of-Pocket Costs Associated with Respiratory Syncytial Virus Hospitalization of Infants

AbstractObjectiveThe objective of this study was to quantify time spent plus out-of-pocket costs associated with confirmed respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) hospitalization of infants not prophylaxed against RSV.MethodsA prospective survey was carried out at multiple tertiary care hospitals in the United States.PatientsThe patients consisted of a consecutive sample of infants <12 months, born between 33 and 35 weeks of gestation. One site also enrolled full-term infants hospitalized with confirmed RSV. Daily patient census identified eligible patients. Consenting caregivers of eligible subjects (n=84, 1 refusal) were interviewed on discharge day and by telephone ∼30 days following discharge regarding time and out-of-pocket costs due to RSV.ResultsTotal average out of pocket expenses were $643.69 (range$21–$16,867; SD$2,403) for premature and $214.42 (range$6–$827; SD$218) (P=.0158) for full-term subjects. Total average economic burden per admission was $4517.07 for premature and$2135.30 for full-term infants, including the value of lost productivity but excluding inpatient hospital and physician bills and lost income. Premature infants (n=48) had longer hospital stays (mean 6.9 days; SD 7.5 vs. 3.4 days; SD 2.6 days) (P=.001) with an associated mean total time spent by up to 5 adults of 281.7 hours (range 25–2819.7 hours; SD 465.8 hours) versus a mean of 139.7 hours (range 31.8–561.3 hours; SD 118.1 hours) for term infants (P=.109). Time and out-of-pocket costs continued after discharge.ConclusionsRSV hospitalization of infants is associated with substantial, previously unmeasured time and monetary losses. These losses continued following discharge. The economic burden on families and society appears heavier for infants born at 33 to 35 weeks of gestation than for full-term infants

Elevated levels of type 2 respiratory innate lymphoid cells in human infants with severe respiratory syncytial virus bronchiolitis

© 2019 by the American Thoracic Society. Rationale: Studies of the immune responses at the site of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection are sparse despite nearly five decades of research into understanding RSV disease. Objectives: To investigate the role of mucosal innate immune responses to RSV and respiratory viral load in infants hospitalized with the natural disease. Methods: Cytokines, viral load, and type 2 innate lymphoid cell (ILC2) levels in nasal aspirates, collected within 24 hours of enrollment, from infants hospitalized with RSV infection were quantified. Measurements and Main Results: RSV severity in infants was categorized based on admission to the general ward (moderate) or the pediatric ICU (severe). Evaluable subjects included 30 patients with severe and 63 patients with moderate disease (median age, 74 d; range, 9-297 d). ILC2s were found in the nasal aspirates of patients with severe disease (0.051% of total respiratory CD451 cells) to a significantly greater extent than in patients with moderate disease (0.018%, P = 0.004). Levels of IL-4, IL-13, IL-33, and IL-1b were significantly higher in nasal aspirates of patients with severe disease compared with those of patients with moderate disease. Factors associated with disease severity were gestational age (odds ratio, 0.49; 95% confidence interval, 0.29-0.82; P = 0.007) and IL-4 (odds ratio, 9.67; 95% confidence interval, 2.45-38.15; P = 0.001). Conclusions: This study shows, for the first time, that elevated levels of ILC2s is associated with infant RSV severity. The findings highlight the dominance of type-2 responses to RSV infection in infants and suggest an important role of ILC2 in shaping the immune response early during RSV infection

Altered gut microbiota in infants is associated with respiratory syncytial virus disease severity

© 2020 The Author(s). Background: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) is the number one cause of lower respiratory tract infections in infants. There are still no vaccines or specific antiviral therapies against RSV, mainly due to the inadequate understanding of RSV pathogenesis. Recent data suggest a role for gut microbiota community structure in determining RSV disease severity. Our objective was to determine the gut microbial profile associated with severe RSV patients, which could be used to help identify at-risk patients and develop therapeutically protective microbial assemblages that may stimulate immuno-protection. Results: We enrolled 95 infants from Le Bonheur during the 2014 to 2016 RSV season. Of these, 37 were well-babies and 58 were hospitalized with RSV. Of the RSV infected babies, 53 remained in the pediatric ward (moderate) and 5 were moved to the pediatric intensive care unit at a later date (severe). Stool samples were collected within 72 h of admission; and the composition of gut microbiota was evaluated via 16S sequencing of fecal DNA. There was a significant enrichment in S24_7, Clostridiales, Odoribacteraceae, Lactobacillaceae, and Actinomyces in RSV (moderate and severe) vs. controls. Patients with severe RSV disease had slightly lower alpha diversity (richness and evenness of the bacterial community) of the gut microbiota compared to patients with moderate RSV and healthy controls. Beta diversity (overall microbial composition) was significantly different between all RSV patients (moderate and severe) compared to controls and had significant microbial composition separating all three groups (control, moderate RSV, and severe RSV). Conclusions: Collectively, these data demonstrate that a unique gut microbial profile is associated with RSV disease and with severe RSV disease with admission to the pediatric intensive care unit. More mechanistic experiments are needed to determine whether the differences observed in gut microbiota are the cause or consequences of severe RSV disease

Giovanni Canestrini's heritage at the Zoology Museum of Padova University (Italy): a rediscovery of his arachnological collections and described species

Giovanni Canestrini (1835–1900) was the pioneer of arachnology in Italy, who published the first catalogue of Italian spiders and a total of 87 papers in the field. His interests covered almost all the Italian arachnid orders, although in the last part of his life he focused on acarology, in which he became a leading world expert. The remains of Canestrini's arachnological collection deposited in the Zoology Museum of Padova University are represented by spiders (about 850 tubes), mites (438 microscope slides, 115 tubes), harvestmen (120), pseudoscorpions (63), scorpions (19) and solifuges (1). The collection is now part of a large revision project aiming at better understanding and clarifying the scientific heritage of Canestrini, including an inventory of the type material from Canestrini and other European arachnologists who contributed to his collection (e.g., T. Thorell). The first results of the collection revision outlining different arachnid orders and highlighting the occurrence of type material are presented here. Brief historical information on Canestrini and his pupils is also provided