Global Farm Animal Production and Global Warming: Impacting and Mitigating Climate Change

BACKGROUND: The farm animal sector is the single largest anthropogenic user of land, contributing to many environmental problems, including global warming and climate change. OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to synthesize and expand upon existing data on the contribution of farm animal production to climate change. METHODS: We analyzed the scientific literature on farm animal production and documented greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, as well as various mitigation strategies. DISCUSSIONS: An analysis of meat, egg, and milk production encompasses not only the direct rearing and slaughtering of animals, but also grain and fertilizer production for animal feed, waste storage and disposal, water use, and energy expenditures on farms and in transporting feed and finished animal products, among other key impacts of the production process as a whole. CONCLUSIONS: Immediate and far-reaching changes in current animal agriculture practices and consumption patterns are both critical and timely if GHGs from the farm animal sector are to be mitigated

Using virtual environments to investigate wayfinding in 8- to 12-year-olds and adults

Wayfinding is the ability to learn and recall a route through an environment. Theories of wayfinding suggest that for children to learn a route successfully, they must have repeated experience of it, but in this experiment we investigated whether children could learn a route after only a single experience of the route. A total of 80 participants from the United Kingdom in four groups of 20 8-year-olds, 10-year-olds, 12-year-olds, and adults were shown a route through a 12-turn maze in a virtual environment. At each junction, there was a unique object that could be used as a land- mark. Participants were ‘‘walked” along the route just once (with- out any verbal prompts) and then were asked to retrace the route from the start without any help. Nearly three quarters of the 12- year-olds, half of the 10-year-olds, and a third of the 8-year-olds retraced the route without any errors the first time they traveled it on their own. This finding suggests that many young children can learn routes, even with as many as 12 turns, very quickly and without the need for repeated experience. The implications for theories of wayfinding that emphasize the need for extensive experience are discussed

Effects of antiplatelet therapy on stroke risk by brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases: subgroup analyses of the RESTART randomised, open-label trial

Background Findings from the RESTART trial suggest that starting antiplatelet therapy might reduce the risk of recurrent symptomatic intracerebral haemorrhage compared with avoiding antiplatelet therapy. Brain imaging features of intracerebral haemorrhage and cerebral small vessel diseases (such as cerebral microbleeds) are associated with greater risks of recurrent intracerebral haemorrhage. We did subgroup analyses of the RESTART trial to explore whether these brain imaging features modify the effects of antiplatelet therapy

Maternal Feeding Practices Become More Controlling After and Not Before Excessive Rates of Weight Gain

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/93708/1/oby.2009.54.pd

Functional Role of Kallikrein 6 in Regulating Immune Cell Survival

Kallikrein 6 (KLK6) is a newly identified member of the kallikrein family of secreted serine proteases that prior studies indicate is elevated at sites of central nervous system (CNS) inflammation and which shows regulated expression with T cell activation. Notably, KLK6 is also elevated in the serum of multiple sclerosis (MS) patients however its potential roles in immune function are unknown. Herein we specifically examine whether KLK6 alters immune cell survival and the possible mechanism by which this may occur.Using murine whole splenocyte preparations and the human Jurkat T cell line we demonstrate that KLK6 robustly supports cell survival across a range of cell death paradigms. Recombinant KLK6 was shown to significantly reduce cell death under resting conditions and in response to camptothecin, dexamethasone, staurosporine and Fas-ligand. Moreover, KLK6-over expression in Jurkat T cells was shown to generate parallel pro-survival effects. In mixed splenocyte populations the vigorous immune cell survival promoting effects of KLK6 were shown to include both T and B lymphocytes, to occur with as little as 5 minutes of treatment, and to involve up regulation of the pro-survival protein B-cell lymphoma-extra large (Bcl-XL), and inhibition of the pro-apoptotic protein Bcl-2-interacting mediator of cell death (Bim). The ability of KLK6 to promote survival of splenic T cells was also shown to be absent in cell preparations derived from PAR1 deficient mice.KLK6 promotes lymphocyte survival by a mechanism that depends in part on activation of PAR1. These findings point to a novel molecular mechanism regulating lymphocyte survival that is likely to have relevance to a range of immunological responses that depend on apoptosis for immune clearance and maintenance of homeostasis

Activity-Based Funding of Hospitals and Its Impact on Mortality, Readmission, Discharge Destination, Severity of Illness, and Volume of Care: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Background: Activity-based funding (ABF) of hospitals is a policy intervention intended to re-shape incentives across health systems through the use of diagnosis-related groups. Many countries are adopting or actively promoting ABF. We assessed the effect of ABF on key measures potentially affecting patients and health care systems: mortality (acute and post-acute care); readmission rates; discharge rate to post-acute care following hospitalization; severity of illness; volume of care.     Methods: We undertook a systematic review and meta-analysis of the worldwide evidence produced since 1980. We included all studies reporting original quantitative data comparing the impact of ABF versus alternative funding systems in acute care settings, regardless of language. We searched 9 electronic databases (OVID MEDLINE, EMBASE, OVID Healthstar, CINAHL, Cochrane CENTRAL, Health Technology Assessment, NHS Economic Evaluation Database, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, and Business Source), hand-searched reference lists, and consulted with experts. Paired reviewers independently screened for eligibility, abstracted data, and assessed study credibility according to a pre-defined scoring system, resolving conflicts by discussion or adjudication.     Results: Of 16,565 unique citations, 50 US studies and 15 studies from 9 other countries proved eligible (i.e. Australia, Austria, England, Germany, Israel, Italy, Scotland, Sweden, Switzerland). We found consistent and robust differences between ABF and no-ABF in discharge to post-acute care, showing a 24% increase with ABF (pooled relative risk = 1.24, 95% CI 1.18–1.31). Results also suggested a possible increase in readmission with ABF, and an apparent increase in severity of illness, perhaps reflecting differences in diagnostic coding. Although we found no consistent, systematic differences in mortality rates and volume of care, results varied widely across studies, some suggesting appreciable benefits from ABF, and others suggesting deleterious consequences.     Conclusions: Transitioning to ABF is associated with important policy- and clinically-relevant changes. Evidence suggests substantial increases in admissions to post-acute care following hospitalization, with implications for system capacity and equitable access to care. High variability in results of other outcomes leaves the impact in particular settings uncertain, and may not allow a jurisdiction to predict if ABF would be harmless. Decision-makers considering ABF should plan for likely increases in post-acute care admissions, and be aware of the large uncertainty around impacts on other critical outcomes