168 research outputs found
The Social and Political Dimensions of the Ebola Response: Global Inequality, Climate Change, and Infectious Disease
The 2014 Ebola crisis has highlighted public-health vulnerabilities in Liberia, Sierra
Leone, and Guinea – countries ravaged by extreme poverty, deforestation and
mining-related disruption of livelihoods and ecosystems, and bloody civil wars in
the cases of Liberia and Sierra Leone. Ebola’s emergence and impact are grounded
in the legacy of colonialism and its creation of enduring inequalities within African
nations and globally, via neoliberalism and the Washington Consensus. Recent
experiences with new and emerging diseases such as SARS and various strains of
HN influenzas have demonstrated the effectiveness of a coordinated local and
global public health and education-oriented response to contain epidemics. To what
extent is international assistance to fight Ebola strengthening local public health and
medical capacity in a sustainable way, so that other emerging disease threats, which
are accelerating with climate change, may be met successfully? This chapter
considers the wide-ranging socio-political, medical, legal and environmental factors
that have contributed to the rapid spread of Ebola, with particular emphasis on the
politics of the global and public health response and the role of gender, social
inequality, colonialism and racism as they relate to the mobilization and
establishment of the public health infrastructure required to combat Ebola and other
emerging diseases in times of climate change
Hypothermia following antipsychotic drug use
Objective: Hypothermia is an adverse drug reaction (ADR) of
antipsychotic drug (APD) use. Risk factors for hypothermia in
ADP users are unknown. We studied which risk factors for
hypothermia can be identified based on case reports.
Method: Case reports of hypothermia in APD-users found in
PUBMED or EMBASE were searched for risk factors. The
WHO international database for Adverse Drug Reactions was
searched for reports of hypothermia and APD use.
Results: The literature search resulted in 32 articles containing
43 case reports. In the WHO database, 480 reports were
registered of patients developing hypothermia during the
use of APDs which almost equals the number of reports for
hyperthermia associated with APD use (n=524). Hypothermia
risk seems to be increased in the first days following start
or dose increase of APs. APs with strong 5-HT2 antagonism
seem to be more involved in hypothermia; 55% of hypothermia
reports are for atypical antipsychotics. Schizophrenia was
the most prevalent diagnosis in the case reports.
Conclusion: Especially in admitted patients who are not able
to control their own environment or physical status, frequent
measurements of body temperature (with a thermometer that
can measure low body temperatures) must be performed in
order to detect developing hypothermia
Sugar-fermenting yeast as an organic source of carbon dioxide to attract the malaria mosquito Anopheles gambiae s.s.
<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Carbon dioxide (CO<sub>2</sub>) plays an important role in the host-seeking process of opportunistic, zoophilic and anthropophilic mosquito species and is, therefore, commonly added to mosquito sampling tools. The African malaria vector <it>Anopheles gambiae sensu stricto </it>is attracted to human volatiles augmented by CO<sub>2</sub>. This study investigated whether CO<sub>2</sub>, usually supplied from gas cylinders acquired from commercial industry, could be replaced by CO<sub>2 </sub>derived from fermenting yeast (yeast-produced CO<sub>2</sub>).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Trapping experiments were conducted in the laboratory, semi-field and field, with <it>An. gambiae s.s</it>. as the target species. MM-X traps were baited with volatiles produced by mixtures of yeast, sugar and water, prepared in 1.5, 5 or 25 L bottles. Catches were compared with traps baited with industrial CO<sub>2</sub>. The additional effect of human odours was also examined. In the laboratory and semi-field facility dual-choice experiments were conducted. The effect of traps baited with yeast-produced CO<sub>2 </sub>on the number of mosquitoes entering an African house was studied in the MalariaSphere. Carbon dioxide baited traps, placed outside human dwellings, were also tested in an African village setting. The laboratory and semi-field data were analysed by a χ<sup>2</sup>-test, the field data by GLM. In addition, CO<sub>2 </sub>concentrations produced by yeast-sugar solutions were measured over time.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Traps baited with yeast-produced CO<sub>2 </sub>caught significantly more mosquitoes than unbaited traps (up to 34 h post mixing the ingredients) and also significantly more than traps baited with industrial CO<sub>2</sub>, both in the laboratory and semi-field. Adding yeast-produced CO<sub>2 </sub>to traps baited with human odour significantly increased trap catches. In the MalariaSphere, outdoor traps baited with yeast-produced or industrial CO<sub>2 </sub>+ human odour reduced house entry of mosquitoes with a human host sleeping under a bed net indoors. <it>Anopheles gambiae s.s</it>. was not caught during the field trials. However, traps baited with yeast-produced CO<sub>2 </sub>caught similar numbers of <it>Anopheles arabiensis </it>as traps baited with industrial CO<sub>2</sub>. Addition of human odour increased trap catches.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Yeast-produced CO<sub>2 </sub>can effectively replace industrial CO<sub>2 </sub>for sampling of <it>An. gambiae s.s</it>.. This will significantly reduce costs and allow sustainable mass-application of odour-baited devices for mosquito sampling in remote areas.</p
Lithium suppression of tau induces brain iron accumulation and neurodegeneration
Lithium is a first-line therapy for bipolar affective disorder. However, various adverse effects, including a Parkinson-like hand tremor, often limit its use. The understanding of the neurobiological basis of these side effects is still very limited. Nigral iron elevation is also a feature of Parkinsonian degeneration that may be related to soluble tau reduction. We found that magnetic resonance imaging T2 relaxation time changes in subjects commenced on lithium therapy were consistent with iron elevation. In mice, lithium treatment lowers brain tau levels and increases nigral and cortical iron elevation that is closely associated with neurodegeneration, cognitive loss and parkinsonian features. In neuronal cultures lithium attenuates iron efflux by lowering tau protein that traffics amyloid precursor protein to facilitate iron efflux. Thus, tau- and amyloid protein precursor-knockout mice were protected against lithium-induced iron elevation and neurotoxicity. These findings challenge the appropriateness of lithium as a potential treatment for disorders where brain iron is elevated (for example, Alzheimer’s disease), and may explain lithium-associated motor symptoms in susceptible patients
Exploring new physics frontiers through numerical relativity
The demand to obtain answers to highly complex problems within strong-field gravity has been met with significant progress in the numerical solution of Einstein's equations - along with some spectacular results - in various setups. We review techniques for solving Einstein's equations in generic spacetimes, focusing on fully nonlinear evolutions but also on how to benchmark those results with perturbative approaches. The results address problems in high-energy physics, holography, mathematical physics, fundamental physics, astrophysics and cosmology
Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger
On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta
The role of earnout financing on the valuation effects of global diversification
This article examines the impact of earnout financing on the value of acquiring firms engaged in cross-border acquisitions (CBAs), using a dataset of UK, US, Canadian and Australian firms from 1992 to 2012. The results show that firms initiating international business operations via earnout-financed CBAs enhance their value more than acquirers in (a) domestic acquisitions and (b) remaining CBAs by established multinational corporations (MNCs). Our findings demonstrate the superiority of earnout financing in CBAs announced by acquirers that have no prior international business experience. The results are robust to the firms’ endogenous choice to diversify globally and to the use of earnout financing. We contend that earnouts contribute to the reduction of valuation risk faced by firms acquiring a foreign target firm for the first time. Our empirical findings contribute to the existing debate on the merit of international expansion through CBAs and the role of earnout contingent payment
A common biological basis of obesity and nicotine addiction
J. Kaprio ja J. Tuomilehto työryhmien jäseniä (yht. 281).Peer reviewe
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