Economic footprint of California wildfires in 2018

Recent increases in the frequency and scale of wildfires worldwide have raised concerns about the influence of climate change and associated socioeconomic costs. In the western United States, the hazard of wildfire has been increasing for decades. Here, we use a combination of physical, epidemiological and economic models to estimate the economic impacts of California wildfires in 2018, including the value of destroyed and damaged capital, the health costs related to air pollution exposure and indirect losses due to broader economic disruption cascading along with regional and national supply chains. Our estimation shows that wildfire damages in 2018 totalled $148.5 (126.1–192.9) billion (roughly 1.5$27.7 billion (19%) in capital losses, $32.2 billion (22$88.6 billion (59%) in indirect losses (all values in US$). Our results reveal that the majority of economic impacts related to California wildfires may be indirect and often affect industry sectors and locations distant from the fires (for example, 52% of the indirect losses—31% of total losses—in 2018 were outside of California). Our findings and methods provide new information for decision makers tasked with protecting lives and key production sectors and reducing the economic damages of future wildfires

Immunotherapy for neuroblastoma using syngeneic fibroblasts transfected with IL-2 and IL-12

Cytokine-modified tumour cells have been used in clinical trials for immunotherapy of neuroblastoma, but primary tumour cells from surgical biopsies are difficult to culture. Autologous fibroblasts, however, are straightforward to manipulate in culture and easy to transfect using nonviral or viral vectors. Here we have compared the antitumour effect of fibroblasts and tumour cells transfected ex vivo to coexpress interleukin-2 (IL-2) and IL-12 in a syngeneic mouse model of neuroblastoma. Coinjection of cytokine-modified fibroblasts with Neuro-2A tumour cells abolished their in vivo tumorigenicity. Treatment of established tumours with three intratumoral doses of transfected fibroblasts showed a significant therapeutic effect with reduced growth or complete eradication of tumours in 90% of mice, associated with extensive leukocyte infiltration. Splenocytes recovered from vaccinated mice showed enhanced IL-2 production following Neuro-2A coculture, and increased cytotoxicity against Neuro-2A targets compared with controls. Furthermore, 100% of the tumour-free mice exhibited immune memory against tumour cells when rechallenged three months later. The potency of transfected fibroblasts was equivalent to that of tumour cells in all experiments. We conclude that syngeneic fibroblasts cotransfected with IL-2 and IL-12 mediate therapeutic effects against established disease, and are capable of generating immunological memory. Furthermore, as they are easier to recover and manipulate than autologous tumour cells, fibroblasts provide an attractive alternative immunotherapeutic strategy for the treatment of neuroblastoma

Dendritic and T Cell Response to Influenza is Normal in the Patients with X-Linked Agammaglobulinemia

Introduction Influenza virus is a potential cause of severe disease in the immunocompromised. X-linked agammaglobu-linemia (XLA) is a primary immunodeficiency characterized by the lack of immunoglobulin, B cells, and plasma cells, secondary to mutation in Bruton’s tyrosine kinase (Btk) gene