Internal environmental displacement : a growing challenge to the United States welfare state

While the greatest potential for environmental displacement occurs in poorer nations, internal displacement has resulted from environmental change and disasters in the United States; and climate change will likely amplify this movement. I describe how environmental displacement is a policy drift that reduces the effectiveness of current welfare state policies to protect US populations from the risk of impoverishment. Evidence from previous disasters indicates environmental displacees have particular assistance needs. I identify the four main assistance needs in my Environmental Displacement and Resilience Model then use this model to evaluate whether current policies address housing, finances, health, and discrimination needs of those displaced. My analysis highlights a gap between the country’s response to disasters and the current welfare state social safety nets. Without disaster and welfare policy changes environmental displacement will continue to be a policy drift that leave displacees vulnerable to social and economic marginalization. Mientras que el mayor potencial de desplazamientos por causas medioambientales se da en los países más pobres, en los Estados Unidos se ha producido un desplazamiento interno como resultado de cambios ambientales y desastres; y es probable que el cambio climático aumente estos movimientos. Se describe cómo los desplazamientos por causas ambientales suponen un fallo político que reduce la eficacia de las actuales políticas del estado de bienestar que se deben desarrollar para proteger a la población de Estados Unidos contra el riesgo de empobrecimiento. Evidencias de desastres anteriores indican que los desplazados por causas medioambientales tienen necesidades de asistencia especiales. Se identifican las cuatro necesidades de asistencia principales que recoge Modelo de Desplazamiento Medioambiental y Resiliciencia de la autora, para después usar este modelo para evaluar si las políticas actuales cubren las necesidades de vivienda, finanzas, salud y discriminación de los desplazados. Este análisis demuestra que hay una brecha entre la respuesta del país ante los desastres y las actuales redes de protección del estado de bienestar. Si no hay cambios en las políticas de desastres y bienestar, los desplazamientos por causas medioambientales seguirá siendo una deriva política que deja a los desplazados en una posición vulnerable frente a la marginalización social y económica

Estimating the abundance of common dolphins on the southern coast of South Africa

Sightings made on an aerial survey in December 1982 and on a ship-based survey in January/February 1983 have been used to assess the size of the population of common dolphins (Delphinus capensis) occurring over the continental shelf south of South Africa. Thirteen sightings (12 primary) were made in 2,445.7 n. miles flown on the aerial survey and 10 sightings (6 primary) in 1,772.2 n. miles steamed on the ship-based survey. Sightings and effort in both surveys have been stratified by water depth (0-100 m, 100- 200 m) and geographical region (west coast, south coast). Because of difficulties in accurately estimating the size of schools in this highly gregarious species, numbers of individuals were counted in composite aerial photographs taken of the school. Radial distance and angle estimates to sightings from the ship were smeared to allow for estimation errors. Assuming g(0) = 1.0, both data sets resulted in roughly similar estimates of the number of schools (52-58 for aerial, 40-59 for ship-based across a range of sensitivity tests), but mean school size estimates differed significantly (454 SE 90 for aerial, 159 SE 27 for ship-based). As the aerial estimates were based on counts of animals in composite vertical photographs, they are considered more reliable than the ship-based estimates that were made from a lower vantage point and at a greater angle. Given the small number of primary sightings on each survey, it was considered preferable to produce a combined estimate using school density estimates from both surveys weighted by their inverse variances but applying the mean school size from the aircraft. The resultant population estimate of 49 schools (CV = 0.29) and 22200 individuals (CV = 0.35) is discussed in relation to known or estimated incidental mortalities in South African waters

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Epithelial laminin α5 is necessary for distal epithelial cell maturation, VEGF production, and alveolization in the developing murine lung

AbstractLaminin α5 is prominent in the basement membrane of alveolar walls, airways, and pleura in developing and adult lung. Targeted deletion of laminin α5 in mice causes developmental defects in multiple organs, but embryonic lethality has precluded examination of the latter stages of lung development. To identify roles for laminin α5 in lung development, we have generated an inducible lung epithelial cell-specific Lama5 null (SP-CLama5fl/−) mouse through use of the Cre/loxP system, the human surfactant protein C promoter, and the reverse tetracycline transactivator. SP-CLama5fl/− embryos exposed to doxycycline from E6.5 died a few hours after birth. Compared to control littermates, SP-CLama5fl/− lungs had dilated, enlarged distal airspaces, but basement membrane ultrastructure was preserved. Distal epithelial cell differentiation was perturbed, with a marked reduction of alveolar type II cells and a virtual absence of type I cells. Cell proliferation was reduced and apoptosis was increased. Capillary density was diminished, and this was associated with a decrease in total lung VEGF production. Overall, these findings indicate that epithelial laminin α5, independent of its structural function, is necessary for murine lung development, and suggest a role for laminin α5 in signaling pathways that promote alveolar epithelial cell differentiation and VEGF expression

Association of Central Arterial Stiffness and Pressure Pulsatility with Mild Cognitive Impairment and Dementia: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study-Neurocognitive Study (ARIC-NCS)

The association of central arterial stiffness and pressure pulsatility with mild cognitive impairment and dementia is not well characterized in the population-based setting

Prospects of micromass culture technology in tissue engineering

Tissue engineering of bone and cartilage tissue for subsequent implantation is of growing interest in cranio- and maxillofacial surgery. Commonly it is performed by using cells coaxed with scaffolds. Recently, there is a controversy concerning the use of artificial scaffolds compared to the use of a natural matrix. Therefore, new approaches called micromass technology have been invented to overcome these problems by avoiding the need for scaffolds. Technically, cells are dissociated and the dispersed cells are then reaggregated into cellular spheres. The micromass technology approach enables investigators to follow tissue formation from single cell sources to organised spheres in a controlled environment. Thus, the inherent fundamentals of tissue engineering are better revealed. Additionally, as the newly formed tissue is devoid of an artificial material, it resembles more closely the in vivo situation. The purpose of this review is to provide an insight into the fundamentals and the technique of micromass cell culture used to study bone tissue engineering

Carotid artery intima-media thickness in polycystic ovary syndrome: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common reproductive endocrine disorder associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factors and metabolic disturbances. This systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to determine whether carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), a marker of subclinical atherosclerosis, is higher in women with PCOS compared with women without PCOS

Adipocytes promote pancreatic cancer cell proliferation via glutamine transfer

AbstractAdipocytes promote progression of multiple cancers, but their role in pancreatic intraepithelial neoplasia (PanIN) and ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) is poorly defined. Nutrient transfer is a mechanism underlying stromal cell-cancer crosstalk. We studied the role of adipocytes in regulating in vitro PanIN and PDAC cell proliferation with a focus on glutamine metabolism. Murine 3T3L1 adipocytes were used to model adipocytes. Cell lines derived from PKCY mice were used to model PanIN and PDAC. Co-culture was used to study the effect of adipocytes on PanIN and PDAC cell proliferation in response to manipulation of glutamine metabolism. Glutamine secretion was measured with a bioanalyzer. Western blotting was used to study the effect of PanIN and PDAC cells on expression of glutamine-related enzymes in adipocytes. Adipocytes promote proliferation of PanIN and PDAC cells, an effect that was amplified in nutrient-poor conditions. Adipocytes secrete glutamine and rescue PanIN and PDAC cell proliferation in the absence of glutamine, an effect that was glutamine synthetase-dependent and involved PDAC cell-induced down-regulation of glutaminase expression in adipocytes. These findings suggest glutamine transfer as a potential mechanism underlying adipocyte-induced PanIN and PDAC cell proliferation

Detection of mostly viral pathogens and high proportion of antibiotic treatment initiation in hospitalised children with community-acquired pneumonia in Switzerland – baseline findings from the first two years of the KIDS-STEP trial

AIMS OF THE STUDY: Globally, since the introduction of conjugate-vaccines against encapsulated bacteria, respiratory viruses have caused most hospitalisations for community-acquired pneumonia. The aim of this study was to describe pathogens detected and their association with clinical findings in Switzerland. METHODS: Baseline data were analysed for all trial participants enrolled between September 2018 and September 2020 into the KIDS-STEP Trial, a randomised controlled superiority trial on the effect of betamethasone on clinical stabilisation of children admitted with community-acquired pneumonia. Data included clinical presentation, antibiotic use and results of pathogen detection. In addition to routine sampling, nasopharyngeal specimens were analysed for respiratory pathogens using a panel polymerase chain reaction test covering 18 viral and 4 bacterial pathogens. RESULTS: 138 children with a median age of 3 years were enrolled at the eight trial sites. Fever (obligatory for enrolment) had been present for median 5 days before admission. Most common symptoms were reduced activity (129, 93.5%) and reduced oral intake (108, 78.3%). Oxygen saturation <92% was found in 43 (31.2%). Forty-three participants (29.0%) were already on antibiotic treatment prior to admission and 104 participants (75.4%) received antibiotic treatment on admission. Pathogen testing results were available from 132 children: 31 (23.5%) had respiratory syncytial virus detected, 21 (15.9%) human metapneumovirus. The pathogens detected showed expected seasonal and age preponderance and were not associated with chest X-ray findings. CONCLUSIONS: In the context of the predominantly viral pathogens detected, the majority of antibiotic treatment is probably unnecessary. The ongoing trial, as well as other studies, will be able to provide comparative pathogen detection data to compare pre- and post-COVID-19-pandemic settings