On Physical Anthropological Aspects of the Mesolithic-Neolithic Transition in the Iberian Peninsula

https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/20467

Bicaudal C mutation causes myc and TOR pathway up-regulation and polycystic kidney disease-like phenotypes in Drosophila

Progressive cystic kidney degeneration underlies diverse renal diseases, including the most common cause of kidney failure, autosomal dominant Polycystic Kidney Disease (PKD). Genetic analyses of patients and animal models have identified several key drivers of this disease. The precise molecular and cellular changes underlying cystogenesis remain, however, elusive. Drosophila mutants lacking the translational regulator Bicaudal C (BicC, the fly ortholog of vertebrate BICC1 implicated in renal cystogenesis) exhibited progressive cystic degeneration of the renal tubules (so called ªMalpighianº tubules) and reduced renal function. The BicC protein was shown to bind to Drosophila (d-) myc mRNA in tubules. Elevation of d-Myc protein levels was a cause of tubular degeneration in BicC mutants. Activation of the Target of Rapamycin (TOR) kinase pathway, another common feature of PKD, was found in BicC mutant flies. Rapamycin administration substantially reduced the cystic phenotype in flies. We present new mechanistic insight on BicC function and propose that Drosophila may serve as a genetically tractable model for dissecting the evolutionarily-conserved molecular mechanisms of renal cystogenesis

Planning for Sustainability in Small Municipalities: The Influence of Interest Groups, Growth Patterns, and Institutional Characteristics

How and why small municipalities promote sustainability through planning efforts is poorly understood. We analyzed ordinances in 451 Maine municipalities and tested theories of policy adoption using regression analysis.We found that smaller communities do adopt programs that contribute to sustainability relevant to their scale and context. In line with the political market theory, we found that municipalities with strong environmental interests, higher growth, and more formal governments were more likely to adopt these policies. Consideration of context and capacity in planning for sustainability will help planners better identify and benefit from collaboration, training, and outreach opportunities

Agricultural mitigation and adaptation to climate change in Yolo County, CA

This place‐based case study in an agricultural county in California’s Central Valley focused on the period of 2010–2050, and dealt with biophysical and socioeconomic issues related to both mitigation of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and to adaptation to an uncertain climate. In the past 100 years, changes in crop acreage has been more related to crop price and availability of irrigation water than to growing degree days during summer, and in fact, summer temperatures have increased less than winter temperatures. Econometric analysis indicated that warmer winters, as projected by Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory‐Bias Corrected Constructed Analog during 2035–2050, could result in less wheat acreage, more alfalfa and tomato acreage, and slight effects on tree and vine crops. The Water Evaluation and Planning (WEAP) model showed that these econometric projections did not reduce irrigation demand under either the B1 or A2 scenarios, but a diverse, water‐efficient cropping pattern combined with improved irrigation technology reduced demand to 12 percent below the historic mean. Collaboration during development of Yolo County’s Climate Action Plan showed that nitrous oxide (mainly from nitrogen fertilizers) was the main source (≅40 percent) of agricultural emissions. Emissions from cropland and rangeland were several orders of magnitude lower than urbanized land per unit area. A survey distributed to 570 farmers and ranchers achieved a 34 percent response rate. Farmers concerned about climate change were more likely to implement water conservation practices, and adopt voluntary GHG mitigation practices. Use of the urban growth model (UPlan) showed that channeling much or all future urban development into existing urban areas will increase ecosystem services by preserving agricultural land and open space, immensely reducing the Yolo County’s GHG emissions, and greatly enhancing agricultural sustainability

Du Mésolithique au Néolithique en Méditerranée occidentale: l’impact africain - MeNeMOIA

[EN] Between the 8th and 5th millennia BC, the human societies of the Western Mediterranean underwent several major changes. The first occurred during the 7th millennium with the appearance of the ‘Second Mesolithic’. It can be seen mainly in the material productions of these populations, in particular their stone tool industries, by a fundamental change in production, operating sequences and technical procedures. Deeper changes in the social organization of these societies are also perceptible, in particular through changes in rites and funeral practices. The precise origin of these changes escapes us at present, but they seem to occur initially in North Africa before spreading rapidly along the Mediterranean shores and reaching Western Europe. A second major upheaval took place a few centuries later, with the appearance of the Neolithic. In this extensive process, the southern shores of the Mediterranean should not be ignored. Recent data suggest that, during the 6th millennium before our era, human communities practicing hunting and gathering and having acquired ceramic technology, occupied parts of the Maghreb. Interactions with spheres of the Impresso / Cardial complex occurred in southern Italy and, at the other end, southern Spain. This seems to be indicated by some traits of the technical systems of the first Neolithic communities of Andalusia. These hypotheses should now be tested by close examination of timelines and technical systems which if confirmed may offer a possible alternative to the strictly European scenarios. The international program of research, MeNeMOIA, financed for 2016 and 2017, will attempt to estimate the importance of a North African impact on European societies of recent prehistory (Second Mesolithic, Early Neolithic), a scenario breaking with the traditional scenario which, since decolonization, has recognized in Europe only movements of east-west diffusion and completely ignored any that might indicate movement from the south northward (or from the north southward) on both shores of the western Mediterranean.[FR] Entre les viiie et ve millénaires avant notre ère, les sociétés humaines du Bassin occidental de la Méditerranée connaissent plusieurs évolutions majeures. La première d’entre elles se déroule durant le viie millénaire avec l’apparition du «Second Mésolithique». Elle se matérialise principalement dans les productions matérielles de ces populations, et notamment dans leurs industries lithiques par un bouleversement des modes de production, des séquences opératoires et des gestes techniques. Des évolutions plus profondes, dans l’organisation sociale même de ces sociétés, sont également sensibles, notamment au travers de l’évolution des rites et pratiques funéraires. L’origine précise de ces évolutions nous échappe encore actuellement, mais elles semblent se produire initialement en Afrique du Nord avant de diffuser ensuite le long des rivages méditerranéens de manière rapide, et gagner ensuite l’ensemble de l’Europe occidentale. Un second bouleversement majeur se déroule quelques siècles après le précédent, avec l’apparition du Néolithique. Dans ce vaste processus, les rives sud de la Méditerranée ne doivent pas être ignorées. De récentes données suggèrent en effet que, durant le vie millénaire avant notre ère, des communautés humaines pratiquant chasse et cueillette et ayant acquis la technologie céramique occupaient certaines parties du Maghreb. Des interactions avec les sphères du complexe Impresso / Cardial ont ainsi pu voir le jour dans le Sud italien et, à l’autre extrémité, dans le sud de l’Espagne. C’est d’ailleurs ce que semblent montrer certains caractères des systèmes techniques des premières communautés néolithiques d’Andalousie. Ces hypothèses qu’il faut désormais confirmer par la confrontation étroite des chronologies et des systèmes techniques offrent donc une alternative possible aux scénarios classiques strictement européens. Le programme international de recherche MeNeMOIA, financé par l’IDEX toulousain pour 2016 et 2017, va donc s’attacher à évaluer l’importance des impacts nord-africains sur les sociétés européennes de la Préhistoire récente (Second Mésolithique, Néolithique ancien), scénario rompant avec les schémas traditionnels qui, depuis la décolonisation, se cantonnent à ne reconnaitre en Europe que des mouvements de diffusion est-ouest et ignorent complètement ceux allant du sud vers le nord (ou du nord vers le sud) de part et d’autre du Bassin occidental de la Méditerranée.Peer Reviewe

The impact of an intervention to introduce malaria rapid diagnostic tests on fever case management in a high transmission setting in Uganda: A mixed-methods cluster-randomized trial (PRIME).

Rapid diagnostic tests for malaria (mRDTs) have been scaled-up widely across Africa. The PRIME study evaluated an intervention aiming to improve fever case management using mRDTs at public health centers in Uganda. A cluster-randomized trial was conducted from 2010-13 in Tororo, a high malaria transmission setting. Twenty public health centers were randomized in a 1:1 ratio to intervention or control. The intervention included training in health center management, fever case management with mRDTs, and patient-centered services; plus provision of mRDTs and artemether-lumefantrine (AL) when stocks ran low. Three rounds of Interviews were conducted with caregivers of children under five years of age as they exited health centers (N = 1400); reference mRDTs were done in children with fever (N = 1336). Health worker perspectives on mRDTs were elicited through semi-structured questionnaires (N = 49) and in-depth interviews (N = 10). The primary outcome was inappropriate treatment of malaria, defined as the proportion of febrile children who were not treated according to guidelines based on the reference mRDT. There was no difference in inappropriate treatment of malaria between the intervention and control arms (24.0% versus 29.7%, adjusted risk ratio 0.81 95\% CI: 0.56, 1.17 p = 0.24). Most children (76.0\%) tested positive by reference mRDT, but many were not prescribed AL (22.5\% intervention versus 25.9\% control, p = 0.53). Inappropriate treatment of children testing negative by reference mRDT with AL was also common (31.3\% invention vs 42.4\% control, p = 0.29). Health workers appreciated mRDTs but felt that integrating testing into practice was challenging given constraints on time and infrastructure. The PRIME intervention did not have the desired impact on inappropriate treatment of malaria for children under five. In this high transmission setting, use of mRDTs did not lead to the reductions in antimalarial prescribing seen elsewhere. Broader investment in health systems, including infrastructure and staffing, will be required to improve fever case management

Variation of health-related quality of life assessed by caregivers and patients affected by severe childhood infections.

BACKGROUND: The agreement between self-reported and proxy measures of health status in ill children is not well established. This study aimed to quantify the variation in health-related quality of life (HRQOL) derived from young patients and their carers using different instruments. METHODS: A hospital-based cross-sectional survey was conducted between August 2010 and March 2011. Children with meningitis, bacteremia, pneumonia, acute otitis media, hearing loss, chronic lung disease, epilepsy, mild mental retardation, severe mental retardation, and mental retardation combined with epilepsy, aged between five to 14 years in seven tertiary hospitals were selected for participation in this study. The Health Utilities Index Mark 2 (HUI2), and Mark 3 (HUI3), and the EuroQoL Descriptive System (EQ-5D) and Visual Analogue Scale (EQ-VAS) were applied to both paediatric patients (self-assessment) and caregivers (proxy-assessment). RESULTS: The EQ-5D scores were lowest for acute conditions such as meningitis, bacteremia, and pneumonia, whereas the HUI3 scores were lowest for most chronic conditions such as hearing loss and severe mental retardation. Comparing patient and proxy scores (n = 74), the EQ-5D exhibited high correlation (r = 0.77) while in the HUI2 and HUI3 patient and caregiver scores were moderately correlated (r = 0.58 and 0.67 respectively). The mean difference between self and proxy-assessment using the HUI2, HUI3, EQ-5D and EQ-VAS scores were 0.03, 0.05, -0.03 and -0.02, respectively. In hearing-impaired and chronic lung patients the self-rated HRQOL differed significantly from their caregivers. CONCLUSIONS: The use of caregivers as proxies for measuring HRQOL in young patients affected by pneumococcal infection and its sequelae should be employed with caution. Given the high correlation between instruments, each of the HRQOL instruments appears acceptable apart from the EQ-VAS which exhibited low correlation with the others

Major Reduction in Anti-Malarial Drug Consumption in Senegal after Nation-Wide Introduction of Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Tests

BACKGROUND: While WHO recently recommended universal parasitological confirmation of suspected malaria prior to treatment, debate has continued as to whether wide-scale use of rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) can achieve this goal. Adherence of health service personnel to RDT results has been poor in some settings, with little impact on anti-malarial drug consumption. The Senegal national malaria control programme introduced universal parasite-based diagnosis using malaria RDTs from late 2007 in all public health facilities. This paper assesses the impact of this programme on anti-malarial drug consumption and disease reporting. METHODS AND FINDINGS: Nationally-collated programme data from 2007 to 2009 including malaria diagnostic outcomes, prescription of artemisinin-based combination therapy (ACT) and consumption of RDTs in public health facilities, were reviewed and compared. Against a marked seasonal variation in all-cause out-patient visits, non-malarial fever and confirmed malaria, parasite-based diagnosis increased nationally from 3.9% of reported malaria-like febrile illness to 86.0% over a 3 year period. The prescription of ACT dropped throughout this period from 72.9% of malaria-like febrile illness to 31.5%, reaching close equivalence to confirmed malaria (29.9% of 584,873 suspect fever cases). An estimated 516,576 courses of inappropriate ACT prescription were averted. CONCLUSIONS: The data indicate high adherence of anti-malarial prescribing practice to RDT results after an initial run-in period. The large reduction in ACT consumption enabled by the move from symptom-based to parasite-based diagnosis demonstrates that effective roll-out and use of malaria RDTs is achievable on a national scale through well planned and structured implementation. While more detailed information on management of parasite-negative cases is required at point of care level to assess overall cost-benefits to the health sector, considerable cost-savings were achieved in ACT procurement. Programmes need to be allowed flexibility in management of these funds to address increases in other programmatic costs that may accrue from improved diagnosis of febrile disease