Strategic Basis for License Application Planning for a Potential Yucca Mountain Repository

If Yucca Mountain, Nevada is designated as the site for development of a geologic repository for disposal of spent nuclear fuel and high-level radioactive waste, the Department of Energy (DOE) must obtain Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) approval first for repository construction, then for an operating license, and, eventually, for repository closure and decommissioning. The licensing criteria defined in Code of Federal Regulations, Title 10, Part 63 (10 CFR Part 63) establish the basis for these NRC decisions. Submittal of a license application (LA) to the NRC for authorization to construct a repository at the Yucca Mountain site is, at this point, only a potential future action by the DOE. The policy process defined in the Nuclear Waste Policy Act (NWPA), as amended, for recommendation and designation of Yucca Mountain as a repository site makes it difficult to predict whether or when the site might be designated. The DOE may only submit a LA to the NRC if the site designation takes effect. In spite of this uncertainty, the DOE must take prudent and appropriate action now, and over the next several years, to prepare for development and timely submittal of a LA. This is particularly true given the need for the DOE to develop, load, and certify the operation of its electronic information system to provide access to its relevant records as part of the licensing support network (LSN) in compliance with NRC requirements six months prior to LA submittal. The DOE must also develop a LA, which is a substantially different document from those developed to support a Site Recommendation (SR) decision. The LA must satisfy NRC licensing criteria and content requirements, and address the acceptance criteria defined by the NRC in its forthcoming Yucca Mountain Review Plan (YMRP). The content of the LA must be adequate to facilitate NRC acceptance and docketing for review, and the LA and its supporting documents must provide the documented basis for the NR C findings required for a construction authorization. The LA must also support a licensing proceeding before an Atomic Safety and Licensing Board panel prior to NRC action on any decision to authorize construction. The DOE has established a strategic basis for planning that is intended to provide the framework for development of an integrated plan for activities leading to preparation and submittal of a LA

"My Children and I Will no Longer Suffer from Malaria": A Qualitative Study of the Acceptance and Rejection of Indoor Residual Spraying to Prevent Malaria in Tanzania.

The objective of this study was to identify attitudes and misconceptions related to acceptance or refusal of indoor residual spraying (IRS) in Tanzania for both the general population and among certain groups (e.g., farmers, fishermen, community leaders, and women). This study was a series of qualitative, semi-structured, in-depth interviews and focus group discussions conducted from October 2010 to March 2011 on Mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar. Three groups of participants were targeted: acceptors of IRS (those who have already had their homes sprayed), refusers (those whose communities have been sprayed, but refused to have their individual home sprayed), and those whose houses were about to be sprayed as part of IRS scale-up. Interviews were also conducted with farmers, fishermen, women, community leaders and members of non-government organizations responsible for community mobilization around IRS. Results showed refusers are a very small percentage of the population. They tend to be more knowledgeable people such as teachers, drivers, extension workers, and other civil servants who do not simply follow the orders of the local government or the sprayers, but are skeptical about the process until they see true results. Refusal took three forms: 1) refusing partially until thorough explanation is provided; 2) accepting spray to be done in a few rooms only; and 3) refusing outright. In most of the refusal interviews, refusers justified why their houses were not sprayed, often without admitting that they had refused. Reasons for refusal included initial ignorance about the reasons for IRS, uncertainty about its effectiveness, increased prevalence of other insects, potential physical side effects, odour, rumours about the chemical affecting fertility, embarrassment about moving poor quality possessions out of the house, and belief that the spray was politically motivated. To increase IRS acceptance, participants recommended more emphasis on providing thorough public education, ensuring the sprayers themselves are more knowledgeable about IRS, and asking that community leaders encourage participation by their constituents rather than threatening punishment for noncompliance. While there are several rumours and misconceptions concerning IRS in Tanzania, acceptance is very high and continues to increase as positive results become apparent

Production diseases in smallholder pig systems in rural Lao PDR

Pigs in Lao People’s Democratic Republic are important for income and food security, particularly in rural households. The majority of pigs are reared in smallholder systems, which may challenge the implementation of any disease control strategies. To investigate risk factors for pig production diseases in such farming systems in the country a serological survey was conducted during 2011. A total of 647 pigs were sampled, accounting for 294 households in Luang Prabang and 353 in Savannakhet province representing upland and lowland, respectively. The results demonstrated that pigs in Lao PDR had antibodies against erysipelas (45.2%), CSF (11.2%), PRRS (8.6%), FMD O (17.2%) and FMD Asia 1, (3.5%). Differences in the housing systems influenced disease risk, for example, penned pigs had reduced odds of FMD and CSF, compared to those in scavenger systems. Pigs owned by farms using a sanaam (a communal area where pigs are kept for some time of the year) had 3.93 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09–14.7) times the odds of having pigs seropositive for FMD. Farms on which sudden piglet deaths had been experienced were more likely to have pigs seropositive for FMD O and erysipelas. These diseases constrain the development of village farming and the wider livestock industry due to their impact on productivity and trade. Vaccination coverage for FMD and CSF was low and there was a lack of national funding for livestock disease control at the time of the study. Further investigation into sustainable low-cost control strategies for these pathogens is warranted

Production diseases in smallholder pig systems in rural Lao PDR

Pigs in Lao People’s Democratic Republic are important for income and food security, particularly in rural households. The majority of pigs are reared in smallholder systems, which may challenge the implementation of any disease control strategies. To investigate risk factors for pig production diseases in such farming systems in the country a serological survey was conducted during 2011. A total of 647 pigs were sampled, accounting for 294 households in Luang Prabang and 353 in Savannakhet province representing upland and lowland, respectively. The results demonstrated that pigs in Lao PDR had antibodies against erysipelas (45.2%), CSF (11.2%), PRRS (8.6%), FMD O (17.2%) and FMD Asia 1, (3.5%). Differences in the housing systems influenced disease risk, for example, penned pigs had reduced odds of FMD and CSF, compared to those in scavenger systems. Pigs owned by farms using a sanaam (a communal area where pigs are kept for some time of the year) had 3.93 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.09–14.7) times the odds of having pigs seropositive for FMD. Farms on which sudden piglet deaths had been experienced were more likely to have pigs seropositive for FMD O and erysipelas. These diseases constrain the development of village farming and the wider livestock industry due to their impact on productivity and trade. Vaccination coverage for FMD and CSF was low and there was a lack of national funding for livestock disease control at the time of the study. Further investigation into sustainable low-cost control strategies for these pathogens is warranted

Quality and Safety Aspects of Infant Nutrition

Quality and safety aspects of infant nutrition are of key importance for child health, but oftentimes they do not get much attention by health care professionals whose interest tends to focus on functional benefits of early nutrition. Unbalanced diets and harmful food components induce particularly high risks for untoward effects in infants because of their rapid growth, high nutrient needs, and their typical dependence on only one or few foods during the first months of life. The concepts, standards and practices that relate to infant food quality and safety were discussed at a scientific workshop organized by the Child Health Foundation and the Early Nutrition Academy jointly with the European Society for Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition, and a summary is provided here. The participants reviewed past and current issues on quality and safety, the role of different stakeholders, and recommendations to avert future issues. It was concluded that a high level of quality and safety is currently achieved, but this is no reason for complacency. The food industry carries the primary responsibility for the safety and suitability of their products, including the quality of composition, raw materials and production processes. Introduction of new or modified products should be preceded by a thorough science based review of suitability and safety by an independent authority. Food safety events should be managed on an international basis. Global collaboration of food producers, food-safety authorities, paediatricians and scientists is needed to efficiently exchange information and to best protect public health. Copyright (C) 2012 S. Karger AG, Base

‘Even though it might take me a while, in the end, I understand it’: a longitudinal case study of interactions between a conceptual change strategy and student motivation, interest and confidence

Although there have been many investigations of the social, motivational, and emotional aspects of conceptual change, there have been few studies investigating the intersection of these factors with cognitive aspects in the regular classroom. Using a conceptual change approach, this case study reports experiences of a student of low to average prior attainment who achieved high levels of conceptual gains in five science topics over a two-year period. Her experience in the cognitive, social and affective domains was probed through analysis of interviews, student artefacts, video recordings of classroom learning, pre/post-tests and questionnaire results. For this student, peripheral or incidental persuasion of belonging to a supportive small group initially led to greater engagement with the construction of understanding through production of multiple student-generated representations, resulting in improved self-confidence and high levels of conceptual change. Evidence of transfer from performance to mastery approach goals, adoption of positive activating emotions and increased interest in science were observed. This study highlights that adoption of a multidimensional conceptual change approach with judicious organisation of small groups to support construction of verbal, pictorial and written representations of understanding may bring about changes in motivational stance, self-confidence and emotions to maximise conceptual change

Endoskeletal structure in Cheirolepis (Osteichthyes, Actinopterygii), An early ray-finned fish

As the sister lineage of all other actinopterygians, the Middle to Late Devonian (Eifelian–Frasnian) Cheirolepis occupies a pivotal position in vertebrate phylogeny. Although the dermal skeleton of this taxon has been exhaustively described, very little of its endoskeleton is known, leaving questions of neurocranial and fin evolution in early ray‐finned fishes unresolved. The model for early actinopterygian anatomy has instead been based largely on the Late Devonian (Frasnian) Mimipiscis, preserved in stunning detail from the Gogo Formation of Australia. Here, we present re‐examinations of existing museum specimens through the use of high‐resolution laboratory‐ and synchrotron‐based computed tomography scanning, revealing new details of the neuro‐cranium, hyomandibula and pectoral fin endoskeleton for the Eifelian Cheirolepis trailli. These new data highlight traits considered uncharacteristic of early actinopterygians, including an uninvested dorsal aorta and imperforate propterygium, and corroborate the early divergence of Cheirolepis within actinopterygian phylogeny. These traits represent conspicuous differences between the endoskeletal structure of Cheirolepis and Mimipiscis. Additionally, we describe new aspects of the parasphenoid, vomer and scales, most notably that the scales display peg‐and‐socket articulation and a distinct neck. Collectively, these new data help clarify primitive conditions within ray‐finned fishes, which in turn have important implications for understanding features likely present in the last common ancestor of living osteichthyans

Antigen-driven colonic inflammation is associated with development of dysplasia in primary sclerosing cholangitis

© The Author(s). Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC) is an immune-mediated disease of the bile ducts that co-occurs with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in almost 90% of cases. Colorectal cancer is a major complication of patients with PSC and IBD, and these patients are at a much greater risk compared to patients with IBD without concomitant PSC. Combining flow cytometry, bulk and single-cell transcriptomics, and T and B cell receptor repertoire analysis of right colon tissue from 65 patients with PSC, 108 patients with IBD and 48 healthy individuals we identified a unique adaptive inflammatory transcriptional signature associated with greater risk and shorter time to dysplasia in patients with PSC. This inflammatory signature is characterized by antigen-driven interleukin-17A (IL-17A)+ forkhead box P3 (FOXP3)+ CD4 T cells that express a pathogenic IL-17 signature, as well as an expansion of IgG-secreting plasma cells. These results suggest that the mechanisms that drive the emergence of dysplasia in PSC and IBD are distinct and provide molecular insights that could guide prevention of colorectal cancer in individuals with PSC.This work was supported by the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable trust (SHARE), the Digestive Diseases Research Core Center C-IID P30 DK42086 at the University of Chicago, the PSC Partners Seeking a Cure Canada and the Sczholtz Family Foundation. K.R.M. is supported by grant no. NS124187. S.C.S. is supported by an American Gastroenterological Association Research Scholar Award, Veterans Affairs Career Development Award (no. ICX002027A01) and the San Diego Digestive Diseases Research Center (no. P30 DK120515). C.Q. is supported by the BBSRC Core Strategic Programme Grant (BB/CSP1720/1, BBS/E/T/000PR9818 and BBS/E/T/000PR9817). I.H.J. is supported by a Rosalind Franklin Fellowship from the University of Groningen and a Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research VIDI grant no. 016.171.047. D.G.S. is supported by grant no. F30DK121470.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Quercetin improves and protects Calu-3 airway epithelial barrier function

Introduction: In light of the impact of airway barrier leaks in COVID-19 and the significance of vitamin D in COVID-19 outcomes, including airway barrier protection, we investigated whether the very common dietary flavonoid quercetin could also be efficacious in supporting airway barrier function.Methods: To address this question, we utilized the widely used airway epithelial cell culture model, Calu-3.Results: We observed that treating Calu-3 cell layers with quercetin increased transepithelial electrical resistance while simultaneously reducing transepithelial leaks of 14C-D-mannitol (Jm) and 14C-inulin. The effects of quercetin were concentration-dependent and exhibited a biphasic time course. These effects of quercetin occurred with changes in tight junctional protein composition as well as a partial inhibition of cell replication that resulted in decreased linear junctional density. Both of these effects potentially contribute to improved barrier function. Quercetin was equally effective in reducing the barrier compromise caused by the pro-inflammatory cytokine TNF-α, an action that seemed to derive, in part, from reducing the elevation of ERK 1/2 caused by TNF-α.Discussion: Quercetin improved Calu-3 barrier function and reduced TNF-α-induced barrier compromise, mediated in part by changes in the tight junctional complex