Authorship in IPCC AR5 and its implications for content: climate change and Indigenous populations in WGII

This essay examines the extent to which we can expect Indigenous Knowledge, understanding, and voices on climate change (‘Indigenous content’) to be captured in WGII of the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report (AR5), based on an analysis of chapter authorship. Reviewing the publishing history of 309 chapter authors (CAs) to WGII, we document 9 (2.9%) to have published on climate change and Indigenous populations and involved as authors in 6/30 chapters. Drawing upon recent scholarship highlighting how authorship affect structure and content of assessment reports, we argue that, unaddressed, this will affect the extent to which Indigenous content is examined and assessed. While it is too late to alter the structure of AR5, there are opportunities to prioritize the recruitment of contributing authors and reviewers with expertise on Indigenous issues, raise awareness among CAs on the characteristics of impacts, adaptation, and vulnerability faced by Indigenous peoples, and highlight how Indigenous perspectives can help broaden our understanding of climate change and policy interventions. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s10584-011-0350-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Optical coherence tomography with a Fizeau interferometer configuration

We report the investigation of a Fizeau interferometer-based OCT system. A secondary processing interferometer is necessary in this configuration, to compensate the optical path difference formed in the Fizeau interferometer between the end of the fibre and the sample. The Fizeau configuration has the advantage of 'downlead insensitivity', which eliminates polarisation fading. An optical circulator is used in our system to route light efficiently from the source to the sample, and backscattered light from the sample and the fibre end through to the Mach-Zehnder processing interferometer. The choice of a Mach- Zehnder processing interferometer, from which both antiphase outputs are available, facilitates the incorporation of balanced detection, which often results in a large improvement in the Signal-to-Noise ratio (SNR) compared with the use of a single detector. Balanced detection comprises subtraction of the two antiphase interferometer outputs, implying that the signal amplitude is doubled and the noise is well reduced. It has been discerned that the SNR drops when the refractive index variation at a boundary is small. Several OCT images of samples (resin, resin + crystals, fibre composite) are presented

Estimating Future Costs for Infrastructure in the Proposed Canadian Northern Corridor at Risk From Climate Change

This paper reviews current climate change projections for northern Canada and considers what these mean for infrastructure development in the proposed Canadian Northern Corridor (CNC). We focus on chokepoints along the corridor’s notional route and estimate future costs of infrastructure along the chokepoints. We draw upon climate change projections at the end of the century (2100) using information from several climate variables sourced on the CMIP6 and CMIP5 reports. Climate variables include means and extreme values for temperature, precipitation, wind and their indirect impacts on physical features: permafrost, freezing rain and wildfires. In terms of infrastructure costs, we investigate investment costs and the useful life of nine sectors within transportation, energy and buildings infrastructures. The findings of our analysis show that mean temperatures within the CNC area could increase by 10.9oC, and precipitation by 45 per cent by 2100. Climate change could create chokepoints along the CNC route, affecting key areas essential for transportation flow. Central regions of the corridor are projected to have a higher probability of receiving concomitant impacts on several chokepoints, including combined threats from the increasing frequency of wildfires, freezing rain and permafrost thaw. Adding a climatic layer to investment costs within CNC chokepoints can increase infrastructure costs by more than 101 per cent. Transportation engineering infrastructure, electric power infrastructure and the institutional buildings sectors are most likely to be impacted. Just considering a climate layer to current infrastructure increases costs by more than $12 billion for several hazards such as freezing precipitation (especially Alberta and BC),$7 billion for wildfires (especially BC) and more than $400 million for permafrost (especially Alberta and BC). Infrastructure built along the CNC route will need to be designed to remain functional under different climatic conditions that predominate today. Chokepoints will dictate how buildings and transportation infrastructure should be planned

Toward understanding ambulatory activity decline in Parkinson disease

BACKGROUND: Declining ambulatory activity represents an important facet of disablement in Parkinson disease (PD). OBJECTIVE: The primary study aim was to compare the 2-year trajectory of ambulatory activity decline with concurrently evolving facets of disability in a small cohort of people with PD. The secondary aim was to identify baseline variables associated with ambulatory activity at 1- and 2-year follow-up assessments. DESIGN: This was a prospective, longitudinal cohort study. METHODS: Seventeen people with PD (Hoehn and Yahr stages 1-3) were recruited from 2 outpatient settings. Ambulatory activity data were collected at baseline and at 1- and 2-year annual assessments. Motor, mood, balance, gait, upper extremity function, quality of life, self-efficacy, and levodopa equivalent daily dose data and data on activities of daily living also were collected. RESULTS: Participants displayed significant 1- and 2-year declines in the amount and intensity of ambulatory activity concurrently with increasing levodopa equivalent daily dose. Worsening motor symptoms and slowing of gait were apparent only after 2 years. Concurrent changes in the remaining clinical variables were not observed. Baseline ambulatory activity and physical performance variables had the strongest relationships with 1- and 2-year mean daily steps. LIMITATIONS: The sample was small and homogeneous. CONCLUSIONS: Future research that combines ambulatory activity monitoring with a broader and more balanced array of measures would further illuminate the dynamic interactions among evolving facets of disablement and help determine the extent to which sustained patterns of recommended daily physical activity might slow the rate of disablement in PD.This study was funded primarily by the Davis Phinney Foundation and the Parkinson Disease Foundation. Additional funding was provided by Boston University Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health (K12 HD043444), the National Institutes of Health (R01NS077959), the Utah Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA), the Greater St Louis Chapter of the APDA, and the APDA Center for Advanced PD Research at Washington University. (Davis Phinney Foundation; Parkinson Disease Foundation; K12 HD043444 - Boston University Building Interdisciplinary Research Careers in Women's Health; R01NS077959 - National Institutes of Health; Utah Chapter of the American Parkinson Disease Association (APDA); Greater St Louis Chapter of the APDA; APDA Center for Advanced PD Research at Washington University

Cabazitaxel in platinum pre-treated patients with locally advanced or metastatic transitional cell carcinoma who developed disease progression after platinum based chemotherapy : results of the phase II CAB-B1 trial

There is a paucity of chemotherapy options for patients with urothelial cancers who have relapsed following platinum based chemotherapy (CT). CAB-B1 was a single centre phase II randomised controlled trial of Cabazitaxel (CAB; 25mg/m2 q3 week for 6 cycles) versus best supportive care (BSC) in patients with histologically proven transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), locally advanced or metastatic, who had recurred after receiving platinum based treatment. Primary outcome was overall response rate (ORR) using RESIST. Secondary outcomes included Progression Free Survival (PFS) and Overall Survival (OS). Between January 2013 and October 2016, 20 patients were randomised (10 on each arm). BSC included paclitaxel CT for 9 patients and radiotherapy for 1 patient. 8 patients completed 6 cycles of CT (3 on CAB; 5 on BSC). 2 patients had an ORR on CAB and 1 patient on BSC. Median OS was 5.8 months (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.7-14.6) for CAB patients and 7.5 months (95% CI 1.0-10.8) for BSC patients. Median PFS was 4.8 months (95% CI 0.7-8.3) for CAB patients and 3.7 months (95% CI 1.0-7.0) for BSC patients. CAB-B1 successfully reached the efficacy target for 1st stage, showing that there could be a role for CAB in these patients