Israel decides to cancel sweetened beverage tax in setback to public health

As members of the World Federation of Public Health Associations NonCommunicable Diseases Prevention & Health Promotion and Policy Working Groups, and other leading scholars of nutrition policy, health sciences, and economics, we would like to convey extreme concern over the Israeli Finance Minister’s decision to revoke the sweetened beverage tax as his first act on his first day in office

Baseline gene signatures of reactogenicity to Ebola vaccination: a machine learning approach across multiple cohorts

Introduction: The rVSVDG-ZEBOV-GP (Ervebo®) vaccine is both immunogenic and protective against Ebola. However, the vaccine can cause a broad range of transient adverse reactions, from headache to arthritis. Identifying baseline reactogenicity signatures can advance personalized vaccinology and increase our understanding of the molecular factors associated with such adverse events.Methods: In this study, we developed a machine learning approach to integrate prevaccination gene expression data with adverse events that occurred within 14 days post-vaccination.Results and Discussion: We analyzed the expression of 144 genes across 343 blood samples collected from participants of 4 phase I clinical trial cohorts: Switzerland, USA, Gabon, and Kenya. Our machine learning approach revealed 22 key genes associated with adverse events such as local reactions, fatigue, headache, myalgia, fever, chills, arthralgia, nausea, and arthritis, providing insights into potential biological mechanisms linked to vaccine reactogenicity.Immunogenetics and cellular immunology of bacterial infectious disease

Pervasive gaps in Amazonian ecological research

Biodiversity loss is one of the main challenges of our time, and attempts to address it require a clear understanding of how ecological communities respond to environmental change across time and space. While the increasing availability of global databases on ecological communities has advanced our knowledge of biodiversity sensitivity to environmental changes, vast areas of the tropics remain understudied. In the American tropics, Amazonia stands out as the world's most diverse rainforest and the primary source of Neotropical biodiversity, but it remains among the least known forests in America and is often underrepresented in biodiversity databases. To worsen this situation, human-induced modifications may eliminate pieces of the Amazon's biodiversity puzzle before we can use them to understand how ecological communities are responding. To increase generalization and applicability of biodiversity knowledge, it is thus crucial to reduce biases in ecological research, particularly in regions projected to face the most pronounced environmental changes. We integrate ecological community metadata of 7,694 sampling sites for multiple organism groups in a machine learning model framework to map the research probability across the Brazilian Amazonia, while identifying the region's vulnerability to environmental change. 15%–18% of the most neglected areas in ecological research are expected to experience severe climate or land use changes by 2050. This means that unless we take immediate action, we will not be able to establish their current status, much less monitor how it is changing and what is being lost

Maupertuis, D'arcy, D'alembert And The Principle Of Least Action In Optics: A Critical Analysis [maupertuis, D'arcy, D'alembert E O Princípio De Ação Mínima Na óptica: Uma Análise Crítica]

Maupertuis proposed in 1744 the "principle of least action", applying it to the refraction of light. This paper discusses the foundation of Maupertuis' work and the criticism it received from d'Alembert and d'Arcy. This analysis shows that the principle of least action was not well grounded, since the reflection and refraction of light do not obey a general principle of minimum.293455463P.L.M. Maupertuis, Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences, année M.DCCXLIV, avec les Mémoires de Mathématique et de Physique tirez des Registres de cette Académie, 417 (1748)Moreira, I.C., (1999) Revista Brasileira de Ensino de Física, 21, p. 172Newton, I., (1952) Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy, , Encyclopaedia Britannica, ChicagoJ.R. d'Alembert, Action, in: D. Diderot e J.R. d'Alembert (eds), Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers, par une 'Societé de Gens de Lettres (Briasson, Paxis, 1751-1782), v. 1, p. 119-120, 17 + 11 vRadelet, P., Grave, D., (1998) Llull, Revista de la Sociedad Española de Historia de la Ciencias y las Técnicas, 21, p. 439J.F. Michaud e L.G. Michaud (eds) Biographie Universelle Ancienne et Moderne. Nouvelle édition (Mme. C. Desplaces/Michaud, Paris, 1843-1865), 45 vP. d'Arcy, Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences, année M.DCCXLIX, avec les Mémoires de Mathématique et de Physique tirés des Registres de cette Académie, 531 (1753)[Anônimo], Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences, année M.DCCXLIX, avec les Mémoires de Mathématique et de Physique tirés des Registres de cette Académie, p. 179-181 (1743)J.R. d'Alembert, Causes Finales, in: D. Diderot e J.R. d'Alembert (eds), Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers, par une Societé de Gens de Lettres (Briasson, Paxis, 1751-1782), v. 2, p. 789, 17 + 11 vA. Tacquet, Opera Mathematica (Iacobum Meursium, Antuerpia, 1969)J.R. d'Alembert, Cosmologie, in: D. Diderot e J.R. d'Alembert (eds.), Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers, par une Societé de Gens de Lettres (Briasson, Paxis, 1751-1782), v. 4, p. 294-297, 17 + 11 vP. d'Arcy, Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences, année M.DCCLII, avec les Mémoires de Mathématique et de Physique tirés des Registres de cette Académie, 503 (1756)P.E.B. Jourdain, The Principle of Least Action (Open Court, Chicago, 1913). Reimpresso em B. Cohen (org), The Conservation of Energy and the Principle of Least Action (Arno Press, Nova Iorque, 1981)Schrecker, P., (1941) Isis, 33, p. 329Meyerson, E., (1951) Identité et Réalité, , J. Vrin, Paris, 5a e

Maupertuis And The Principle Of Least Action In Mechanics: A Critical Analysis [maupertuis E O Princípio Mecânico De Ação Mínima: Uma Análise Crítica]

In a paper presented in 1746 Maupertuis communicated the principle of least action as a general and universal principle. He claimed that it could not only explain the laws of motion but also prove the existence of God. He applied the principle to the study of the collision between elastic and inelastic bodies and to the equilibrium of a lever, finding correct results. In this article we present a detailed analysis of Maupertuis' demonstrations and we show that they had serious problems. His mistakes were criticized by d'Alembert and d'Arcy shortly after the publication of his work. Copyright by the Sociedade Brasileira de Física.294625633Roberto de Andrade Martins e Ana Paula Bispo da Silva, Revista. Brasileira de Ensino de Fisica 29, 455 (2007)Pierre de Castro Moreau, Revista Brasileira de Ensino de Física 21, 172 (1999)Louis, P., Maupertuis, M., (1746) Histoire de l'Academie Royale des Sciences et Belles Lettres de Berlin 267Bentley Glas. in Dictionory of Scientific Biography. editado por C.C. Gilliespie (Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, 1970), v. 8, p. 186-189Louis, P., Maupertuis, M., (1768) Essai de Cosmologie, , Librairie Philosophique J. Vrin, ParisGuéroult, M., (1934) Dynamique et Métaphysique Leibniziènnes, , Belles Lettres, ParisG.W. Leibniz, Mathematische Schriften, org. por C.I. Gerhardt (Georg Olms, Nova Iorque, 1971), 7 vHankins, T.L., (1967) Journal of the History of Ideas, 28, p. 193Nicolas de Malebranche, De la Recherche de la Vérité (Henry Desbordes, Amsterdam, 1688), Nouvelle Edition Reveue, Corrigée & AugmentteeJean le Rond d'Alembert, Action, in D. Diderot e J.R. d'Alembert (eds), Encyclopédie ou Dictionnaire Raisonné des Sciences, des Arts et des Métiers, par une Societé de Gens de Lettres (Briasson, Paris, 1751-1782), v. 1, p. 119-120, 17+11 vD'Arcy, P., (1753) Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences avec les Mémoires de kathématique et de Physique tirés des Resgistres de cette Academie 531König, S., (1751) Nova Acta Eruditorum, 125, p. 162Radelet-De Grave, P., (1998) LLULL, Revista de la, Sociedad Espanola de Historia de la, Ciensas y las Tecnicas, 21, p. 439Roberto de Andrade Martins e Ana Paula Bispo da Silva, Filosofia Unisinos 8, 146 (2007)Euler, L., (1744) Methodus Inveniendi Lineas Curvas Maximi Minimive Proprietate Gaudentes, Sive Solutio Problematis Isoperimetrici Latissimo Sensu Accepti, , Mercum-Michaelem Bousquet & Socios, Lausanne & GenèveEuler, L., (1843) Lettres a une princesse d'Allemagne sur divers sujets de physique et de philosophie, , Charpentier, Paris, Nouvelle Edition, avec une Introduction et des Notes par Émile Saisse

Batoid nurseries: definition, use and importance

Nursery areas are crucial for many elasmobranch species, providing benefits that increase fitness and survival. Shark nurseries are well studied and our knowledge of their function and importance has expanded over the past few decades. However, little attention has been given to batoid nurseries, with studies covering less than 6% of the 663 currently described species. Threats of extinction faced by batoids reinforce the importance of defining these critical habitats. This review synthesises current knowledge of batoid nursery areas to provide a better understanding of their ecological roles and importance. Historically, different criteria have been used to define viviparous and oviparous batoid nurseries, causing confusion that could lead to failure of conservation and management strategies by under-or overestimating the importance of areas and delaying effective action. We suggest the criteria used to identify shark nurseries be applied to juvenile batoids, standardizing this nursery definition for all elasmobranchs, but we also advocate for a second set of criteria that identifies egg case nurseries. Batoids are thought to play 3 main ecological roles in nursery areas: energetic links, bioturbators and mesopredators. Biotic and abiotic features affect abundance and distribution of batoids within nurseries and likely play a key role in their habitat use. However, analysis of batoid ecological roles in nursery areas is limited by the lack of research on their early life history stages. Thus, identification of areas that support sensitive life stages and an improved understanding of early life history are crucial for the efficient management and conservation of batoid species and their nurseries