Climate Change and the New Normal for Cardiorespiratory Disease

Climate change is already affecting the cardiorespiratory health of populations around the world, and these impacts are expected to increase. The present overview serves as a primer for respirologists who are concerned about how these profound environmental changes may affect their patients. The authors consider recent peer-reviewed literature with a focus on climate interactions with air pollution. They do not discuss in detail cardiorespiratory health effects for which the potential link to climate change is poorly understood. For example, pneumonia and influenza, which affect >500 million people per year, are not addressed, although clear seasonal variation suggests climate-related effects. Additionally, large global health impacts in low-resource countries, including migration precipitated by environmental change, are omitted. The major cardiorespiratory health impacts addressed are due to heat, air pollution and wildfires, shifts in allergens and infectious diseases along with respiratory impacts from flooding. Personal and societal choices about carbon use and fossil energy infrastructure should be informed by their impacts on health, and respirologists can play an important role in this discussion

Confusion in the courtroom: the effect of confusing questions on eye-witness recall.

This paper examines the influence of confusing questions on the accuracy and confidence of adolescents' recall of a mock crime by answering either simple or confusing questions in written form. One hundred and twenty four adolescents (aged between 13 and 17 years) viewed a brief video of an unusual criminal event and were then asked to complete a question booklet addressing what they had seen. Half of the participants were given four categories of confusing questions (negatives, double negatives, complex syntax, and complex vocabulary - all question types typically used within courtroom examinations); the other half were asked simpler forms of the same questions. The confusing questions did reduce accurate recall of an unusual event. The results also suggested that confusing questions weakened the relationship between confidence and accuracy. Poorly worded questions, exacerbated by repetition, potentially corrupt eyewitness memory and derail investigations. The interaction of retrieval access dynamics with traditionally complicated and intimidating courtroom questioning is also addressed

Aeroallergens in Canada: Distribution, Public Health Impacts, and Opportunities for Prevention

Aeroallergens occur naturally in the environment and are widely dispersed across Canada, yet their public health implications are not well-understood. This review intends to provide a scientific and public health-oriented perspective on aeroallergens in Canada: their distribution, health impacts, and new developments including the effects of climate change and the potential role of aeroallergens in the development of allergies and asthma. The review also describes anthropogenic effects on plant distribution and diversity, and how aeroallergens interact with other environmental elements, such as air pollution and weather events. Increased understanding of the relationships between aeroallergens and health will enhance our ability to provide accurate information, improve preventive measures and provide timely treatments for affected populations

The relationship between particulate pollution levels in Australian cities, meteorology, and landscape fire activity detected from MODIS hotspots

Generally, sigmoid curves are used to describe the growth of animals over their lifetime. However, because growth rates often differ over an animal\u27s lifetime a single curve may not accurately capture the growth. Broken-stick models constrained to pass through a common point have been proposed to describe the different growth phases, but these are often unsatisfactory because essentially there are still two functions that describe the lifetime growth. To provide a single, converged model to age animals with disparate growth phases we developed a smoothly joining two-phase nonlinear function (SJ2P), tailored to provide a more accurate description of lifetime growth of the macropod, the Tasmanian pademelon Thylogale billardierii. The model consists of the Verhulst logistic function, which describes pouch-phase growth - joining smoothly to the Brody function, which describes post-pouch growth. Results from the model demonstrate that male pademelons grew faster and bigger than females. Our approach provides a practical means of ageing wild pademelons for life history studies but given the high variability of the data used to parametrise the second growth phase of the model, the accuracy of ageing of post-weaned animals is low: accuracy might be improved with collection of longitudinal growth data. This study provides a unique, first robust method that can be used to characterise growth over the lifespan of pademelons. The development of this method is relevant to collecting age-specific vital rates from commonly used wildlife management practices to provide crucial insights into the demographic behaviour of animal populations

L-5-methyltetrahydrofolate supplementation increases blood folate concentrations to a greater extent than folic acid supplementation in Malaysian women

Background: Folic acid fortification of grains is mandated in many countries to prevent neural tube defects. Concerns regarding excessive intakes of folic acid have been raised. A synthetic analog of the circulating form of folate, l-5-methyltetrahydrofolate (l-5-MTHF), may be a potential alternative. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of folic acid or l-5-MTHF supplementation on blood folate concentrations, methyl nutrient metabolites, and DNA methylation in women living in Malaysia, where there is no mandatory fortification policy. Methods: In a 12-wk, randomized, placebo-controlled intervention trial, healthy Malaysian women (n = 142, aged 20–45 y) were randomly assigned to receive 1 of the following supplements daily: 1 mg (2.27 μmol) folic acid, 1.13 mg (2.27 μmol) l-5-MTHF, or a placebo. The primary outcomes were plasma and RBC folate and vitamin B-12 concentrations. Secondary outcomes included plasma total homocysteine, total cysteine, methionine, betaine, and choline concentrations and monocyte long interspersed nuclear element-1 (LINE-1) methylation. Results: The folic acid and l-5-MTHF groups had higher (P < 0.001) RBC folate (mean ± SD: 1498 ± 580 and 1951 ± 496 nmol/L, respectively) and plasma folate [median (25th, 75th percentiles): 40.1 nmol/L (24.9, 52.7 nmol/L) and 52.0 nmol/L (42.7, 73.1 nmol/L), respectively] concentrations compared with RBC folate (958 ± 345 nmol/L) and plasma folate [12.6 nmol/L (8.80, 17.0 nmol/L)] concentrations in the placebo group at 12 wk. The l-5-MTHF group had higher RBC folate (1951 ± 496 nmol/L; P = 0.003) and plasma folate [52.0 nmol/L (42.7, 73.1 nmol/L); P = 0.023] at 12 wk than did the folic acid group [RBC folate, 1498 ± 580 nmol/L; plasma folate, 40.1 nmol/L (24.9, 52.7 nmol/L)]. The folic acid and l-5-MTHF groups had 17% and 15%, respectively, lower (P < 0.001) plasma total homocysteine concentrations than did the placebo group at 12 wk; there were no differences between the folic acid and l-5-MTHF groups. No differences in plasma vitamin B-12, total cysteine, methionine, betaine, and choline and monocyte LINE-1 methylation were observed. Conclusion: These findings suggest differential effects of l-5-MTHF compared with folic acid supplementation on blood folate concentrations but no differences on plasma total homocysteine lowering in Malaysian women. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT01584050

First report of generalized face processing difficulties in möbius sequence.

Reverse simulation models of facial expression recognition suggest that we recognize the emotions of others by running implicit motor programmes responsible for the production of that expression. Previous work has tested this theory by examining facial expression recognition in participants with Möbius sequence, a condition characterized by congenital bilateral facial paralysis. However, a mixed pattern of findings has emerged, and it has not yet been tested whether these individuals can imagine facial expressions, a process also hypothesized to be underpinned by proprioceptive feedback from the face. We investigated this issue by examining expression recognition and imagery in six participants with Möbius sequence, and also carried out tests assessing facial identity and object recognition, as well as basic visual processing. While five of the six participants presented with expression recognition impairments, only one was impaired at the imagery of facial expressions. Further, five participants presented with other difficulties in the recognition of facial identity or objects, or in lower-level visual processing. We discuss the implications of our findings for the reverse simulation model, and suggest that facial identity recognition impairments may be more severe in the condition than has previously been noted

The G-protein-coupled receptor CLR is upregulated in an autocrine loop with adrenomedullin in clear cell renal cell carcinoma and associated with poor prognosis

Purpose: The G-protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) calcitonin receptor-like receptor (CLR) and its ligand peptide adrenomedullin (encoded by ADM gene) are implicated in tumor angiogenesis in mouse models but poorly defined in human cancers. We therefore investigated the diagnostic/prognostic use for CLR in human tumor types that may rely on adrenomedullin signaling and in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (RCC), a highly vascular tumor, in particular. Experimental Design: In silico gene expression mRNA profiling microarray study (n = 168 tumors) and cancer profiling cDNA array hybridization (n=241 pairs of patient-matched tumor/normal tissue samples) were carried out to analyze ADM mRNA expression in 13 tumor types. Immunohistochemistry on tissue microarrays containing patient-matched renal tumor/normal tissues (n = 87 pairs) was conducted to study CLR expression and its association with clinicopathologic parameters and disease outcome. Results: ADM expression was significantly upregulated only in RCC and endometrial adenocarcinoma compared with normal tissue counterparts (P < 0.01). CLR was localized in tumor cells and vessels in RCC and upregulated as compared with patient-matched normal control kidney (P < 0.001). Higher CLR expression was found in advanced stages (P < 0.05), correlated with high tumor grade (P < 0.01) and conferred shorter overall survival (P < 0.01). Conclusions: In human tissues ADM expression is upregulated in cancer type-specific manner, implicating potential role for adrenomedullin signaling in particular in RCC, where CLR localization suggests autocrine/paracrine mode for adrenomedullin action within the tumor microenvironment. Our findings reveal previously unrecognized CLR upregulation in an autocrine loop with adrenomedullin in RCCwith potential application for this GPCR as a target for future functional studies and drug development. © 2013 AACR

The Holy Grail: A road map for unlocking the climate record stored within Mars' polar layered deposits

In its polar layered deposits (PLD), Mars possesses a record of its recent climate, analogous to terrestrial ice sheets containing climate records on Earth. Each PLD is greater than 2 ​km thick and contains thousands of layers, each containing information on the climatic and atmospheric state during its deposition, creating a climate archive. With detailed measurements of layer composition, it may be possible to extract age, accumulation rates, atmospheric conditions, and surface activity at the time of deposition, among other important parameters; gaining the information would allow us to “read” the climate record. Because Mars has fewer complicating factors than Earth (e.g. oceans, biology, and human-modified climate), the planet offers a unique opportunity to study the history of a terrestrial planet’s climate, which in turn can teach us about our own planet and the thousands of terrestrial exoplanets waiting to be discovered. During a two-part workshop, the Keck Institute for Space Studies (KISS) hosted 38 Mars scientists and engineers who focused on determining the measurements needed to extract the climate record contained in the PLD. The group converged on four fundamental questions that must be answered with the goal of interpreting the climate record and finding its history based on the climate drivers. The group then proposed numerous measurements in order to answer these questions and detailed a sequence of missions and architecture to complete the measurements. In all, several missions are required, including an orbiter that can characterize the present climate and volatile reservoirs; a static reconnaissance lander capable of characterizing near surface atmospheric processes, annual accumulation, surface properties, and layer formation mechanism in the upper 50 ​cm of the PLD; a network of SmallSat landers focused on meteorology for ground truth of the low-altitude orbiter data; and finally, a second landed platform to access ~500 ​m of layers to measure layer variability through time. This mission architecture, with two landers, would meet the science goals and is designed to save costs compared to a single very capable landed mission. The rationale for this plan is presented below. In this paper we discuss numerous aspects, including our motivation, background of polar science, the climate science that drives polar layer formation, modeling of the atmosphere and climate to create hypotheses for what the layers mean, and terrestrial analogs to climatological studies. Finally, we present a list of measurements and missions required to answer the four major questions and read the climate record. 1. What are present and past fluxes of volatiles, dust, and other materials into and out of the polar regions? 2. How do orbital forcing and exchange with other reservoirs affect those fluxes? 3. What chemical and physical processes form and modify layers? 4. What is the timespan, completeness, and temporal resolution of the climate history recorded in the PLD