Associations of HDL metrics with coronary artery calcium score and density among women traversing menopause

The cardioprotective association of high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) may vary by menopause stage or estradiol level. We tested whether associations of comprehensive HDL metrics (HDL subclasses, phospholipid and triglyceride content, and HDL cholesterol efflux capacity [HDL-CEC]) with coronary artery calcium (CAC) score and density vary by menopause stage or estradiol level in women transitioning through menopause. Participants (N = 294; mean age [SD]: 51.3 [2.9]) had data on HDL metrics and CAC measures at one or two time points during the menopause transition. Generalized estimating equations were used for analyses. Effect modifications by menopause stage or estradiol level were tested in multivariable models. In adjusted models, menopause stage modified the associations of specific HDL metrics with CAC measures. Higher small HDL particles (HDL-P) concentrations (p-interaction = 0.008) and smaller HDL size (p-interaction = 0.02) were associated with greater odds of CAC presence in late perimenopause than in pre/early perimenopause stage. Women in the highest estradiol tertile, but not the lower tertiles, showed a protective association of small HDL-P with CAC presence (p-interaction = 0.007). Lower large HDL-P concentrations (p-interaction = 0.03) and smaller HDL size (p-interaction = 0.03) were associated with lower CAC density in late perimenopause than in postmenopause stage. Associations of HDL phospholipid and triglyceride content and HDL-CEC with CAC measures did not vary by menopause stage or estradiol level. We concluded that HDL subclasses may impact the likelihood of CAC presence and the stability of coronary plaque differently over the menopause transition. Endogenous estradiol levels may contribute to this observation

Improved estimates of preindustrial biomass burning reduce the magnitude of aerosol climate forcing in the Southern Hemisphere.

Fire plays a pivotal role in shaping terrestrial ecosystems and the chemical composition of the atmosphere and thus influences Earth's climate. The trend and magnitude of fire activity over the past few centuries are controversial, which hinders understanding of preindustrial to present-day aerosol radiative forcing. Here, we present evidence from records of 14 Antarctic ice cores and 1 central Andean ice core, suggesting that historical fire activity in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) exceeded present-day levels. To understand this observation, we use a global fire model to show that overall SH fire emissions could have declined by 30% over the 20th century, possibly because of the rapid expansion of land use for agriculture and animal production in middle to high latitudes. Radiative forcing calculations suggest that the decreasing trend in SH fire emissions over the past century largely compensates for the cooling effect of increasing aerosols from fossil fuel and biofuel sources

Improved estimates of preindustrial biomass burning reduce the magnitude of aerosol climate forcing in the Southern Hemisphere.

Fire plays a pivotal role in shaping terrestrial ecosystems and the chemical composition of the atmosphere and thus influences Earth's climate. The trend and magnitude of fire activity over the past few centuries are controversial, which hinders understanding of preindustrial to present-day aerosol radiative forcing. Here, we present evidence from records of 14 Antarctic ice cores and 1 central Andean ice core, suggesting that historical fire activity in the Southern Hemisphere (SH) exceeded present-day levels. To understand this observation, we use a global fire model to show that overall SH fire emissions could have declined by 30% over the 20th century, possibly because of the rapid expansion of land use for agriculture and animal production in middle to high latitudes. Radiative forcing calculations suggest that the decreasing trend in SH fire emissions over the past century largely compensates for the cooling effect of increasing aerosols from fossil fuel and biofuel sources

Second Human Case of Cache Valley Virus Disease

We document the second known case of Cache Valley virus disease in a human. Cache Valley virus disease is rarely diagnosed in North America, in part because laboratories rarely test for it. Its true incidence, effect on public health, and full clinical spectrum remain to be determined

A horizontal ice core from Taylor Glacier, its implications for Antarctic climate history, and an improved Taylor Dome ice core time scale

Ice core records from Antarctica show mostly synchronous temperature variations during the last deglacial transition, an indication that the climate of the entire continent reacted as one unit to the global changes. However, a record from the Taylor Dome ice core in the Ross Sea sector of East Antarctica has been suggested to show a rapid warming, similar in style and synchronous with the Oldest Dryas—Bølling warming in Greenland. Since publication of the Taylor Dome record, a number of lines of evidence have suggested that this interpretation is incorrect and reflects errors in the underlying time scale. The issues raised regarding the dating of Taylor Dome currently linger unresolved, and the original time scale remains the de facto chronology. We present new water isotope and chemistry data from nearby Taylor Glacier to resolve the confusion surrounding the Taylor Dome time scale. We find that the Taylor Glacier record is incompatible with the original interpretation of the Taylor Dome ice core, showing that the warming in the area was gradual and started at ∼18 ka BP (before 1950) as seen in other East Antarctic ice cores. We build a consistent, up‐to‐date Taylor Dome chronology from 0 to 60 ka BP by combining new and old age markers based on synchronization to other ice core records. The most notable feature of the new TD2015 time scale is a gas age—ice age difference of up to 12,000 years during the Last Glacial Maximum, by far the largest ever observed

Recommendations for the clinical management of patients receiving macitentan for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH): A Delphi consensus document

In patients treated with macitentan (Opsumit®, Actelion Pharmaceuticals Ltd., Basel, Switzerland) for pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), prevention and/or effective management of treatment-related adverse events may improve adherence. However, management of these adverse events can be challenging and the base of evidence and clinical experience for macitentan is limited. In the absence of evidence, consensus recommendations from physicians experienced in using macitentan to treat PAH may benefit patients and physicians who are using macitentan. Consensus recommendations were developed by a panel of physicians experienced with macitentan and PAH using a modified Delphi process. Over three iterations, panelists developed and refined a series of statements on the use of macitentan in PAH and rated their agreement with each statement on a Likert scale. The panel of 18 physicians participated and developed a total of 118 statements on special populations, add-on therapy, drug-drug interactions, warnings and precautions, hospitalization and functional class, and adverse event management. The resulting consensus recommendations are intended to provide practical guidance on real-world issues in using macitentan to treat patients with PAH

Spatial pattern of accumulation at Taylor Dome during the last glacial inception: stratigraphic constraints from Taylor Glacier

A new ice core retrieved from the Taylor Glacier blue ice area contains ice and air spanning the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5/4 transition (74 to 65 ka), a period of global cooling and glacial inception. Dating the ice and air bubbles in the new ice core reveals an ice age-gas age difference (Δage) approaching 10 ka during MIS 4, implying very low accumulation at the Taylor Glacier accumulation zone on the northern flank of Taylor Dome. A revised chronology for the Taylor Dome ice core (80 to 55 ka), situated to the south of the Taylor Glacier accumulation zone, shows that Δage did not exceed 2.5 ka at that location. The difference in Δage between the new Taylor Glacier ice core and the Taylor Dome ice core implies a spatial gradient in snow accumulation across Taylor Dome that intensified during the last glacial inception and through MIS 4

Using ice core measurements from Taylor Glacier, Antarctica, to calibrate in situ cosmogenic 14 C production rates by muons

Cosmic rays entering the Earth’s atmosphere produce showers of secondary particles such as protons, neutrons, and muons. The interaction of these particles with oxygen-16 (16O) in minerals such as ice and quartz can produce carbon-14 (14C). In glacial ice, 14C is also incorporated through trapping of 14C-containing atmospheric gases (14CO2, 14CO, and 14CH4). Understanding the production rates of in situ cosmogenic 14C is important to deconvolve the in situ cosmogenic and atmospheric 14C signals in ice, both of which contain valuable paleoenvironmental information. Unfortunately, the in situ 14C production rates by muons (which are the dominant production mechanism at depths of > 6m solid ice equivalent) are uncertain. In this study, we use measurements of in situ 14C in ancient ice (> 50 ka) from the Taylor Glacier, an ablation site in Antarctica, in combination with a 2D ice flow model to better constrain the compound-specific rates of 14C production by muons and the partitioning of in situ 14C between CO2, CO, and CH4. Our measurements show that 33.7% (11.4%; 95% confidence interval) of the produced cosmogenic 14C forms 14CO and 66.1% (11.5%; 95% confidence interval) of the produced cosmogenic 14C forms 14CO2. 14CH4 represents a very small fraction (< 0.3%) of the total. Assuming that the majority of in situ muogenic 14C in ice forms 14CO2, 14CO, and 14CH4, we also calculated muogenic 14C production rates that are lower by factors of 5.7 (3.6–13.9; 95% confidence interval) and 3.7 (2.0–11.9; 95% confidence interval) for negative muon capture and fast muon interactions, respectively, when compared to values determined in quartz from laboratory studies (Heisinger et al., 2002a, b) and in a natural setting (Lupker et al., 2015). This apparent discrepancy in muogenic 14C production rates in ice and quartz currently lacks a good explanation and requires further investigation