Urinary metabolic profiling of liver fluke-induced cholangiocarcinoma—a follow-up study

Background/Aims: Global liquid chromatography mass spectrometry (LC-MS) profiling in a Thai population has previously identified a urinary metabolic signature in Opisthorchis viverrini-induced cholangiocarcinoma (CCA), primarily characterised by disturbance in acylcarnitine, bile acid, steroid, and purine metabolism. However, the detection of thousands of analytes by LC-MS in a biological sample in a single experiment potentially introduces false discovery errors. To verify these observed metabolic perturbations, a second validation dataset from the same population was profiled in a similar fashion. Methods: Reverse-phase ultra-performance liquid-chromatography mass spectrometry was utilised to acquire the global spectral profile of 98 spot urine samples (from 46 healthy volunteers and 52 CCA patients) recruited from Khon Kaen, northeast Thailand (the highest incidence of CCA globally). Results: Metabolites were differentially expressed in the urinary profiles from CCA patients. High urinary elimination of bile acids was affected by the presence of obstructive jaundice. The urine metabolome associated with non-jaundiced CCA patients showed a distinctive pattern, similar but not identical to published studies. A panel of 10 metabolites achieved a diagnostic accuracy of 93.4% and area under the curve value of 98.8% (CI = 96.3%–100%) for the presence of CCA. Conclusions: Global characterisation of the CCA urinary metabolome identified several metabolites of biological interest in this validation study. Analyses of the diagnostic utility of the discriminant metabolites showed excellent diagnostic potential. Further larger scale studies are required to confirm these findings internationally, particularly in comparison to sporadic CCA, not associated with liver fluke infestation

Climate Change Impacts on West African Agriculture: An Integrated Regional Assessment (CIWARA)

The West African Sub-Saharan region (Fig. 1) is home to some 300 million people, with at least 60% engaged in agricultural activity. Climate change is now recognized as a major constraint to development worldwide. While climate change primarily relates to the future, historical trends give evidence of climate change already occurring. Temperature increases of 1 to 1.5◦C have been observed over the last 30 years in West Africa (EPA Ghana, 2001; IPCC, 2007) and there are projections of further warming of the West African region in the foreseeable future (2040–2069; Fig. 2a). The impact of climate change on West African rainfall is less clear. The analysis of historical data over the last 30 years shows that, whereas some zones experienced increased rainfall by as much as 20% to 40%, other locations experienced a decline in annual rainfall by about 15%. Future projections suggest a drier western Sahel (e.g., Senegal) but a wetter eastern Sahel (e.g., Mali, Niger; Fig. 2b). The southern locations of WestAfrica (e.g., Ghana) are projected to experience no change or slight increases in annual rainfall (Hulme et al., 2001). Irrespective of whether these zones will be dryer or not, there is historical evidence of shifts in rainfall patterns with extreme events (i.e., droughts and floods) becoming more frequent (Adiku and Stone, 1995) and it is probable that this trend may persist into the future..

Green Climate Fund (GCF): Role, Capacity Building, and Directions as a Catalyst for Climate Finance

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is one of the several special climate change funds that have been established under Article 11 of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). These funds aim to finance climate change activities in developing countries. Previously established funds did not catalyze sufficient funding nor did they balance adaptation and mitigation measures. In 2010, the parties of the UNFCCC sought to change this by establishing the GCF which is expected to be one of the biggest funds for climate finance. It should provide “additional and new” funds of up to $100 billion a year, starting from 2020, through the mobilization of public and private sources and development aid (see Cui and Huang 2018). At the Paris meeting in 2015, the negotiating parties decided that the GCF should serve the Paris Agreement, alongside other funds. The GCF is located in Incheon, South Korea

Characterisation of the serum metabolic signature of cholangiocarcinoma in a United Kingdom cohort

Background A distinct serum metabonomic pattern has been previously revealed to be associated with various forms of liver disease. Here, we aimed to apply mass spectrometry to obtain serum metabolomic profiles from individuals with cholangiocarcinoma and benign hepatobiliary diseases to gain an insight into pathogenesis and search for potential early-disease biomarkers. Methods Serum samples were profiled using a hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography platform, coupled to a mass spectrometer. A total of 47 serum specimens from 8 cholangiocarcinoma cases, 20 healthy controls, 8 benign disease controls (bile duct strictures) and 11 patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (as malignant disease controls) were included. Data analysis was performed using univariate and multivariate statistics. Results The serum metabolome disparities between the metabolite profiles from healthy controls and patients with hepatobiliary disease were predominantly related to changes in lipid and lipid-derived compounds (phospholipids, bile acids and steroids) and amino acid metabolites (phenylalanine). A metabolic pattern indicative of inflammatory response due to cirrhosis and cholestasis was associated with the disease groups. The abundance of phospholipid metabolites was altered in individuals with liver disease, particularly cholangiocarcinoma, but no significant difference was seen between profiles from patients with benign biliary strictures and cholangiocarcinoma. Conclusion The serum metabolome in cholangiocarcinoma exhibited changes in metabolites related to inflammation, altered energy production and phospholipid metabolism. This study serves to highlight future avenues for biomarker research in large-scale studies