Ozone depletion, greenhouse gases, and climate change

This symposium was organized to study the unusual convergence of a number of observations, both short and long term that defy an integrated explanation. Of particular importance are surface temperature observations and observations of upper atmospheric temperatures, which have declined significantly in parts of the stratosphere. There has also been a dramatic decline in ozone concentration over Antarctica that was not predicted. Significant changes in precipitation that seem to be latitude dependent have occurred. There has been a threefold increase in methane in the last 100 years; this is a problem because a source does not appear to exist for methane of the right isotopic composition to explain the increase. These and other meteorological global climate changes are examined in detail

Impact of the Lymphatic Filariasis Control Program towards elimination of filariasis in Vanuatu, 1997-2006

Background: Lymphatic filariasis (LF) occurs when filarial parasites are transmitted to humans through mosquitoes. The filarial worms affect the lymphatic system which leads to abnormal enlargement of body parts, chronic pain, disability, and social discrimination. In 1999, a commitment was made to eliminate LF from the Pacific Region by 2010. The Pacific Program to Eliminate LF began, with Vanuatu being one of the 16 endemic countries included in this program. Methods: In 1997/1998 a LF prevalence baseline survey was conducted to determine the need for mass drug administration (MDA) in Vanuatu. In 1999, the Vanuatu Lymphatic Filariasis Control Program was established, and nationwide MDA was implemented from 2000 to 2004. LF prevalence was collected during the MDA through sentinel site and spot check surveys, and after 5 years of MDA. MDA implementation methods included health worker training, social mobilization, and culturally appropriate health promotion strategies. Results: LF prevalence at baseline was 4.79%; after MDA this declined to 0.16% in 2005/2006. Average MDA coverage ranged from 75.5–81.5% across 5 years. All three evaluation units surveyed in 2005/2006 were below the 1% threshold required to stop MDA. Conclusions: The LF Control Program between 1997 and 2006 was successful in reducing LF prevalence to <1%. High MDA coverage was a critical component of this success. This period of the Vanuatu LF Control Program played an important role in helping to eliminate LF in Vanuatu

MicroRNA-143 activation regulates smooth muscle and endothelial cell crosstalk in pulmonary arterial hypertension

Rationale: The pathogenesis of PAH remains unclear. The four microRNAs representing the miR-143 and miR-145 stem loops are genomically clustered. Objective: To elucidate the transcriptional regulation of the miR-143/145 cluster, and the role of miR-143 in PAH. Methods and Results: We identified the promoter region that regulates miR-143/145 miRNA expression in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs). We mapped PAH-related signalling pathways, including estrogens receptor (ER), liver X factor/retinoic X receptor (LXR/RXR), TGF-β (Smads), and hypoxia (HRE) that regulated levels of all pri-miR stem loop transcription and resulting miRNA expression. We observed that miR-143-3p is selectively upregulated compared to miR-143-5p during PASMC migration. Modulation of miR-143 in PASMCs significantly altered cell migration and apoptosis. In addition, we found high abundance of miR-143-3p in PASMCs-derived exosomes. Using assays with pulmonary arterial endothelial cells (PAECs) we demonstrated a paracrine pro-migratory and pro-angiogenic effect of miR-143-3p enriched exosomes from PASMC. Quantitative PCR and in situ hybridisation showed elevated expression of miR-143 in calf models of PAH as well as in samples from PAH patients. Moreover, in contrast to our previous findings that had not supported a therapeutic role in vivo, we now demonstrate a protective role for miR-143 in experimental PH in vivo in miR-143-/- and antimiR143-3p-treated mice exposed to chronic hypoxia in both preventative and reversal settings. Conclusions: MiR-143-3p modulated both cellular and exosome-mediated responses in pulmonary vascular cells, while inhibition of miR-143-3p blocked experimental PH. Taken together these findings confirm an important role for the miR-143/145 cluster in PAH pathobiology

Nurses Alumni Association Bulletin, Fall 1988

Alumni Meeting Calendar Officers and Committee Chairmen The President\u27s Message The Jefferson Hospital School Of Nursing Roll Of Honor Treasurer\u27s Report Glimpses From An Earlier Time Accentuate The Positive I Have Noticed Reaching A Cherished Goal Special Achievement Award Archives And The Nursing Experience Happy Birthday Fiftieth Anniversary CAHS Alumni Directory. Resume Of Minutes Of Alumni Association Meetings Alumni Office News Committee Reports Relief Fund Satellite Scholarship Social Bulletin Finance Do Something Volunteers Needed Bequests Have We Changed? The Original Coal Miners Daughter Remembers Congratulations From The Alumni Association Luncheon Photos The Butterfly And The Caterpillar Forty Three Attend Fortieth In Memoriam, Names of Deceased Graduates Class News Change of Address Form Pins, Transcripts, Class Address List Relief Fund Application Scholarship Fund Application The Jefferson Hospital School of Nursing Roll of Honor Nomination Application Membership Application Ma

Resource Planning for Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Control Programs: Feasibility Study of the Tool for Integrated Planning and Costing (TIPAC).

<p>Resource Planning for Neglected Tropical Disease (NTD) Control Programs: Feasibility Study of the Tool for Integrated Planning and Costing (TIPAC)</p

A Novel Plaque Enriched Long Noncoding RNA in Atherosclerotic Macrophage Regulation (PELATON)

Objective: Long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) are an emergent class of molecules with diverse functional roles, widely expressed in human physiology and disease. Although some lncRNAs have been identified in cardiovascular disease, their potential as novel targets in the prevention of atherosclerosis is unknown. We set out to discover important lncRNAs in unstable plaque and gain insight into their functional relevance. Approach and Results: Analysis of RNA sequencing previously performed on stable and unstable atherosclerotic plaque identified a panel of 47 differentially regulated lncRNAs. We focused on LINC01272, a lncRNA upregulated in unstable plaque previously detected in inflammatory bowel disease, which we termed PELATON (plaque enriched lncRNA in atherosclerotic and inflammatory bowel macrophage regulation). Here, we demonstrate that PELATON is highly monocyte- and macrophage-specific across vascular cell types, and almost entirely nuclear by cellular fractionation (90%-98%). In situ hybridization confirmed enrichment of PELATON in areas of plaque inflammation, colocalizing with macrophages around the shoulders and necrotic core of human plaque sections. Consistent with its nuclear localization, and despite containing a predicted open reading frame, PELATON did not demonstrate any protein-coding potential in vitro. Functionally, knockdown of PELATON significantly reduced phagocytosis, lipid uptake and reactive oxygen species production in high-content analysis, with a significant reduction in phagocytosis independently validated. Furthermore, CD36, a key mediator of phagocytic oxLDL (oxidized low-density lipoprotein) uptake was significantly reduced with PELATON knockdown. Conclusions: PELATON is a nuclear expressed, monocyte- and macrophage-specific lncRNA, upregulated in unstable atherosclerotic plaque. Knockdown of PELATON affects cellular functions associated with plaque progression

A Role for the Long Noncoding RNA SENCR in Commitment and Function of Endothelial Cells

Despite the increasing importance of long non-coding RNA in physiology and disease, their role in endothelial biology remains poorly understood. Growing evidence has highlighted them to be essential regulators of human embryonic stem cell differentiation. SENCR, a vascular-enriched long non-coding RNA, overlaps the Friend Leukemia Integration virus 1 (FLI1) gene, a regulator of endothelial development. Therefore, we wanted to test the hypothesis that SENCR may contribute to mesodermal and endothelial commitment as well as in endothelial function. We thus developed new differentiation protocols allowing generation of endothelial cells from human embryonic stem cells using both directed and haemogenic routes. The expression of SENCR was markedly regulated during endothelial commitment using both protocols. SENCR did not control the pluripotency of pluripotent cells; however its overexpression significantly potentiated early mesodermal and endothelial commitment. In HUVEC, SENCR induced proliferation, migration and angiogenesis. SENCR expression was altered in vascular tissue and cells derived from patients with critical limb ischemia and premature coronary artery disease compared to controls. Here, we showed that SENCR contributes to the regulation of endothelial differentiation from pluripotent cells and controls the angiogenic capacity of HUVEC. These data give novel insight into the regulatory processes involved in endothelial development and function

Committing to ecological restoration: Efforts around the globe need legal and policy clarification

At the September 2014 United Nations Climate Summit, governments rallied around an international agreement—the New York Declaration on Forests—that underscored restoration of degraded ecosystems as an auspicious solution to climate change. Ethiopia committed to restore more than one-sixth of its land. Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Guatemala, and Colombia pledged to restore huge areas within their borders. In total, parties committed to restore a staggering 350 million hectares by 2030.Fil: Suding, Kathering. State University Of Colorado-boulder; Estados UnidosFil: Higgs, Eric. University Of Victoria; CanadáFil: Palmer, Margaret. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Callicott, J. Baird. University Of North Texas; Estados UnidosFil: Anderson, Christopher Brian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Baker, Matthew. University Of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Gutrich, John J.. Southern Oregon University; Estados UnidosFil: Hondula, Kelly L.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Lafevor, Matthew C.. University of Maryland; Estados UnidosFil: Larson, Brendon M. H.. University Of Waterloo; CanadáFil: Randall, Alan. Ohio State University; Estados Unidos. University Of Sidney; AustraliaFil: Ruhl, J. B.. Vanderbilt University; Estados UnidosFil: Schwartz, Katrina Z. S.. Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; Estados Unido

Jekyll and Hyde: men's constructions of feminism and feminists

Research and commentary on men's responses to feminism has demonstrated the range of ways in which men have mobilised both against and for feminist principles. This paper argues that further analyses of men's responses require a sophisticated theory of discourse acknowledging the fragmented and contradictory nature of representation. A corpus of men's talk on feminism and feminists was studied to identify the pervasive patterns in men's accounting and regularities in rhetorical organisation. Material from two samples of men was included: a sample of white middle-class 17-18 year old school students and a sample of 60 interviews with a more diverse sample of older men aged 20 to 64. Two interpretative repertoires of feminism and feminists were identified. These set up a 'Jekyll and Hyde' binary and positioned feminism along with feminists very differently as reasonable versus extreme and monstrous. Both repertoires tended to be deployed together and the paper explores the ideological and interactional consequences of typical deployments along with the identity work accomplished by the men as they positioned themselves in relation to these

Risk factors for high anti-HHV-8 antibody titers (≥1:51,200) in black, HIV-1 negative South African cancer patients: a case control study

Background: Infection with human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) is the necessary causal agent in the development of Kaposi's sarcoma (KS). Infection with HIV-1, male gender and older age all increase risk for KS. However, the geographic distribution of HHV-8 and KS both prior to the HIV/AIDS epidemic and with HIV/AIDS suggest the presence of an additional co-factor in the development of KS. Methods: Between January 1994 and October 1997, we interviewed 2576 black in-patients with cancer in Johannesburg and Soweto, South Africa. Blood was tested for antibodies against HIV-1 and HHV-8 and the study was restricted to 2191 HIV-1 negative patients. Antibodies against the latent nuclear antigen of HHV-8 encoded by orf73 were detected with an indirect immunofluorescence assay. We examined the relationship between high anti-HHV-8 antibody titers (≥1:51,200) and sociodemographic and behavioral factors using unconditional logistic regression models. Variables that were significant at p = 0.10 were included in multivariate analysis. Results: Of the 2191 HIV-1 negative patients who did not have Kaposi's sarcoma, 854 (39.0%) were positive for antibodies against HHV-8 according to the immunofluorescent assay. Among those seropositive for HHV-8, 530 (62.1%) had low titers (1:200), 227 (26.6%) had medium titers (1:51,200) and 97 (11.4%) had highest titers (1:204,800). Among the 2191 HIV-1 negative patients, the prevalence of high anti-HHV-8 antibody titers (≥1:51,200) was independently associated with increasing age (ptrend = 0.04), having a marital status of separated or divorced (p = 0.003), using wood, coal or charcoal as fuel for cooking 20 years ago instead of electricity (p = 0.02) and consuming traditional maize beer more than one time a week (p = 0.02; p-trend for increasing consumption = 0.05) although this may be due to chance given the large number of predictors considered in this analysis. Conclusions: Among HIV-negative subjects, patients with high anti-HHV-8 antibody titers are characterized by older age. Other associations that may be factors in the development of high anti- HHV-8 titers include exposure to poverty or a low socioeconomic status environment and consumption of traditional maize beer. The relationship between these variables and high anti- HHV-8 titers requires further, prospective study