Policymaking ‘under the radar': a case study of pesticide regulation to prevent intentional poisoning in Sri Lanka

Background Suicide in Sri Lanka is a major public health problem and in 1995 the country had one of the highest rates of suicide worldwide. Since then reductions in overall suicide rates have been largely attributed to efforts to regulate a range of pesticides. The evolution, context, events and implementation of the key policy decisions around regulation are examined. Methods This study was undertaken as part of a broader analysis of policy in two parts—an explanatory case study and stakeholder analysis. This article describes the explanatory case study that included an historical narrative and in-depth interviews. Results A timeline and chronology of policy actions and influence were derived from interview and document data. Fourteen key informants were interviewed and four distinct policy phases were identified. The early stages of pesticide regulation were dominated by political and economic considerations and strongly influenced by external factors. The second phase was marked by a period of local institution building, the engagement of local stakeholders, and expanded links between health and agriculture. During the third phase the problem of self-poisoning dominated the policy agenda and closer links between stakeholders, evidence and policymaking developed. The fourth and most recent phase was characterized by strong local capacity for policymaking, informed by evidence, developed in collaboration with a powerful network of stakeholders, including international researchers. Conclusions The policy response to extremely high rates of suicide from intentional poisoning with pesticides shows a unique and successful example of policymaking to prevent suicide. It also highlights policy action taking place ‘under the radar', thus avoiding policy inertia often associated with reforms in lower and middle income countrie

2007 AAPP Monograph Series

The African American Professors Program (AAPP) at the University of South Carolina is proud to publish the seventh edition of its annual monograph series. Furthermore, it is an honor to celebrate the remarkable tenth anniversary of AAPP through these manuscripts. The program recognizes the significance of offering its scholars a venue to engage actively in research and publish papers related thereto. Parallel with the publication of their refereed manuscripts is the opportunity to gain visibility among scholars throughout institutions worldwide. Scholars who have contributed papers for this monograph are to be commended for adding this responsibility to their academic workload. Writing across disciplines adds to the intellectual diversity of these papers. From neophytes, relatively speaking, to an array of very experienced individuals, the chapters have been researched and comprehensively written. Founded in 1997 through the Department of Educational Leadership and Policies in the College of Education, AAPP was designed to address the underrepresentation of African American professors on college and university campuses. Its mission is to expand the pool of these professors in critical academic and research areas. Sponsored by the University of South Carolina, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the South Carolina General Assembly, the program recruits doctoral students for disciplines in which African Americans currently are underrepresented among faculty in higher education. The continuation of this monograph series is seen as responding to a window of opportunity to be sensitive to an academic expectation of graduates as they pursue career placement and, at the same time, one that allows for the dissemination of products to a broader community. The importance of this monograph series has been voiced by one of our 2002 AAPP graduates, Dr. Shundele LaTjuan Dogan, formerly an Administrative Fellow at Harvard University and a Program Officer for the Southern Education Foundation. She is currently a Program Officer for the Arthur M. Blank Foundation in Atlanta. Dr. Dogan wrote: One thing in particular that I want to thank you for is having the African American Professors Program scholars publish articles for the monograph. have to admit that writing the articles seemed like extra work at the time. However, in my recent interview process, organizations have asked me for samples of my writing. Including an article from a published monograph helped to make my portfolio much more impressive. You were \u27right on target\u27 in having us do the monograph series. (AAPP 2003 Monograph, p. xi) The African American Professors Program dedicates this 2007 tenth anniversary publication as a special contribution to its readership and hopes that each will be inspired by this interdisciplinary group of manuscripts. John McFadden, Ph.D. The Benjamin Elijah Mays Distinguished Professor Emeritus Director, African American Professors Program University of South Carolinahttps://scholarcommons.sc.edu/mcfadden_monographs/1009/thumbnail.jp

2006 AAPP Monograph American Series

The African American Professors Program (AAPP) at the University of South Carolina is proud to publish the sixth edition of its annual monograph series. The program recognizes the significance of offering its scholars a venue for engaging actively in research and for publishing papers related thereto. Parallel with the publication of their refereed manuscripts is the opportunity to gain visibility among scholars throughout institutions worldwide. Scholars who have contributed manuscripts for this monograph are to be commended for adding this additional responsibility to their academic workloads. Writing across disciplines adds to the intellectual diversity of these papers. From neophytes, relatively speaking, to an array of very experienced individuals, the chapters have been researched and comprehensively written. Founded in 1997 through the Department of Educational Leadership and Policies in the College of Education, AAPP was designed to address the underrepresentation of African American professors on college and university campuses. Its mission is to expand the pool of these professors in critical academic and research areas. Sponsored by the University of South Carolina, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and the South Carolina General Assembly, the program recruits doctoral students for disciplines in which African Americans currently are underrepresented among faculty in higher education. The continuation of this monograph series is seen as responding to a window of opportunity to be sensitive to an academic expectation of graduates as they pursue career placement and, at the same time, one that allows for the dissemination of AAPP products to a broader community. The importance of this monograph series has been voiced by one of our 2002 AAPP graduates, Dr. Shundele LaTjuan Dogan, a former Program Officer for the Southern Education Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia, a former Administrative Fellow at Harvard University, and currently a Senior Program Officer with the Arthur M. Blank Foundation, focusing on the Pathways to Success Initiative. Dr. Dogan wrote: One thing in particular that I want to thank you for is having the African American Professors Program scholars publish articles for the monograph. I have to admit that writing the articles seemed like extra work at the time. However, in my recent interview process, organizations have asked me for samples of my writing. Including an article from a published monograph helped to make my portfolio much more impressive. You were \u27right on target\u27 in having us do the monograph series. {AAPP 2003 Monograph, p xi) The African American Professors Program offers this 2006 publication as a contribution to its readership and hopes that you will be inspired by this select group of manuscripts. John McFadden, Ph.D. The Benjamin Elijah Mays Professor Director, African American Professors Program University of South Carolinahttps://scholarcommons.sc.edu/mcfadden_monographs/1008/thumbnail.jp

2005 AAPP Monograph Series

The African American Professors Program (AAPP) at the University of South Carolina is proud to publish the fifth edition of its annual monograph series. The program recognizes the significance of offering its scholars avenue to engage actively in research and publish papers related thereto. Parallel with the publication of their refereed manuscripts is the opportunity to gain visibility among scholars throughout institutions worldwide. Scholars who have contributed manuscripts for this monograph are to be commended for adding this additional responsibility to their academic workload. Writing across disciplines adds to the intellectual diversity of these papers. From neophytes, relatively speaking, to an array of very experienced individuals, the chapters have been researched and comprehensively written. Founded in 1997 through the Department of Educational Leadership and Policies in the College of Education, AAPP was designed to address the underrepresentation of African American professors on college and university campuses. Its mission is to expand the pool of these professors in critical academic and research areas. Sponsored by the University of South Carolina, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and the South Carolina General Assembly, the program recruits doctoral students for disciplines in which African Americans currently are underrepresented among faculty in higher education. The continuation of this monograph series is seen as responding to a window of opportunity to be sensitive to an academic expectation of graduates as they pursue career placement and, at the same time, one that allows for the dissemination of AAPP products to a broader community. The importance of this monograph series has been voiced by one of our 2002 AAPP graduates, Dr. Shundele LaTjuan Dogan, a recent Administrative Fellow at Harvard University and now a Program Officer for the Southern Education Foundation, Atlanta, Georgia. Dr. Dogan wrote: One thing in particular that I want to thank you for is having the African American Professors Program scholars publish articles for the monograph. I have to admit that writing the articles seemed like extra work at the time. However, in my recent interview process, organizations have asked me for samples of my writing. Including an article from a published monograph helped to make my portfolio much more impressive. You were \u27right on target\u27 in having us do the monograph series. (MPP 2003 Monograph, p. xi) The African American Professors Program offers this 2005 publication as a contribution to its readership and hopes that you will be inspired by this select group of manuscripts. John McFadden, Ph.D. The Benjamin Elijah Mays Professor Director, African American Professors Program University of South Carolinahttps://scholarcommons.sc.edu/mcfadden_monographs/1007/thumbnail.jp

College student sleep quality and mental and physical health are associated with food insecurity in a multi-campus study

Objective: To assess the relationship between food insecurity, sleep quality, and days with mental and physical health issues among college students. Design: An online survey was administered. Food insecurity was assessed using the ten-item Adult Food Security Survey Module. Sleep was measured using the nineteen-item Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Mental health and physical health were measured using three items from the Healthy Days Core Module. Multivariate logistic regression was conducted to assess the relationship between food insecurity, sleep quality, and days with poor mental and physical health. Setting: Twenty-two higher education institutions. Participants: College students (n 17 686) enrolled at one of twenty-two participating universities. Results: Compared with food-secure students, those classified as food insecure (43·4 %) had higher PSQI scores indicating poorer sleep quality (P \u3c 0·0001) and reported more days with poor mental (P \u3c 0·0001) and physical (P \u3c 0·0001) health as well as days when mental and physical health prevented them from completing daily activities (P \u3c 0·0001). Food-insecure students had higher adjusted odds of having poor sleep quality (adjusted OR (AOR): 1·13; 95 % CI 1·12, 1·14), days with poor physical health (AOR: 1·01; 95 % CI 1·01, 1·02), days with poor mental health (AOR: 1·03; 95 % CI 1·02, 1·03) and days when poor mental or physical health prevented them from completing daily activities (AOR: 1·03; 95 % CI 1·02, 1·04). Conclusions: College students report high food insecurity which is associated with poor mental and physical health, and sleep quality. Multi-level policy changes and campus wellness programmes are needed to prevent food insecurity and improve student health-related outcomes

Gene targeting in adult rhesus macaque fibroblasts

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Gene targeting in nonhuman primates has the potential to produce critical animal models for translational studies related to human diseases. Successful gene targeting in fibroblasts followed by somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been achieved in several species of large mammals but not yet in primates. Our goal was to establish the protocols necessary to achieve gene targeting in primary culture of adult rhesus macaque fibroblasts as a first step in creating nonhuman primate models of genetic disease using nuclear transfer technology.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A primary culture of adult male fibroblasts was transfected with hTERT to overcome senescence and allow long term <it>in vitro </it>manipulations. Successful gene targeting of the HPRT locus in rhesus macaques was achieved by electroporating S-phase synchronized cells with a construct containing a SV40 enhancer.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The cell lines reported here could be used for the production of null mutant rhesus macaque models of human genetic disease using SCNT technology. In addition, given the close evolutionary relationship and biological similarity between rhesus macaques and humans, the protocols described here may prove useful in the genetic engineering of human somatic cells.</p

Differential Expression of Chemokine and Matrix Re-Modelling Genes Is Associated with Contrasting Schistosome-Induced Hepatopathology in Murine Models

The pathological outcomes of schistosomiasis are largely dependent on the molecular and cellular mechanisms of the host immune response. In this study, we investigated the contribution of variations in host gene expression to the contrasting hepatic pathology observed between two inbred mouse strains following Schistosoma japonicum infection. Whole genome microarray analysis was employed in conjunction with histological and immunohistochemical analysis to define and compare the hepatic gene expression profiles and cellular composition associated with the hepatopathology observed in S. japonicum-infected BALB/c and CBA mice. We show that the transcriptional profiles differ significantly between the two mouse strains with high statistical confidence. We identified specific genes correlating with the more severe pathology associated with CBA mice, as well as genes which may confer the milder degree of pathology associated with BALB/c mice. In BALB/c mice, neutrophil genes exhibited striking increases in expression, which coincided with the significantly greater accumulation of neutrophils at granulomatous regions seen in histological sections of hepatic tissue. In contrast, up-regulated expression of the eosinophil chemokine CCL24 in CBA mice paralleled the cellular influx of eosinophils to the hepatic granulomas. Additionally, there was greater down-regulation of genes involved in metabolic processes in CBA mice, reflecting the more pronounced hepatic damage in these mice. Profibrotic genes showed similar levels of expression in both mouse strains, as did genes associated with Th1 and Th2 responses. However, imbalances in expression of matrix metalloproteinases (e.g. MMP12, MMP13) and tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinases (TIMP1) may contribute to the contrasting pathology observed in the two strains. Overall, these results provide a more complete picture of the molecular and cellular mechanisms which govern the pathological outcome of hepatic schistosomiasis. This improved understanding of the immunopathogenesis in the murine model schistosomiasis provides the basis for a better appreciation of the complexities associated with chronic human schistosomiasis

SN 2022crv: IIb, Or Not IIb: That is the Question

We present optical and near-infrared observations of SN~2022crv, a stripped envelope supernova in NGC~3054, discovered within 12 hrs of explosion by the Distance Less Than 40 Mpc Survey. We suggest SN~2022crv is a transitional object on the continuum between SNe Ib and SNe IIb. A high-velocity hydrogen feature ($\sim$$-$20,000 -- $-$16,000 $\rm km\,s^{-1}$) was conspicuous in SN~2022crv at early phases, and then quickly disappeared around maximum light. By comparing with hydrodynamic modeling, we find that a hydrogen envelope of $\sim 10^{-3}$ \msun{} can reproduce the behaviour of the hydrogen feature observed in SN~2022crv. The early light curve of SN~2022crv did not show envelope cooling emission, implying that SN~2022crv had a compact progenitor with extremely low amount of hydrogen. The analysis of the nebular spectra shows that SN~2022crv is consistent with the explosion of a He star with a final mass of $\sim$4.5 -- 5.6 \msun{} that has evolved from a $\sim$16 -- 22 \msun{} zero-age main sequence star in a binary system with about 1.0 -- 1.7 \msun{} of oxygen finally synthesized in the core. The high metallicity at the supernova site indicates that the progenitor experienced a strong stellar wind mass loss. In order to retain a small amount of residual hydrogen at such a high metallicity, the initial orbital separation of the binary system is likely larger than $\sim$1000~$\rm R_{\odot}$. The near-infrared spectra of SN~2022crv show a unique absorption feature on the blue side of He I line at $\sim$1.005~$\mu$m. This is the first time that such a feature has been observed in a Type Ib/IIb, and could be due to \ion{Sr}{2}. Further detailed modelling on SN~2022crv can shed light on the progenitor and the origin of the mysterious absorption feature in the near infrared.Comment: 33 pages, 23 figures, submitted to Ap