T Cell Activation and Senescence Predict Subclinical Carotid Artery Disease in HIV-Infected Women

Background. Individuals infected with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) have increased risk of cardiovascular events. It is unknown whether T cell activation and senescence, 2 immunologic sequelae of HIV infection, are associated with vascular disease among HIV-infected adults

Astro2020 Must Issue Actionable Recommendations Regarding Diversity, Inclusion, and Harassment

The 2010 Decadal survey failed to issue any recommendations on diversity and inclusion.Astro2020 cannot make the same mistake. Findings can be ignored by funding agencies;recommendations cannot. In the past decade, multiple groups have assembled detailed actionplans to fix a broken climate within our profession. Astro2020 should play a key role, bysynthesizing this work to produce actionable recommendations to support diversity andinclusion and stop harassment within our profession

Fluvial sediment supply to a mega-delta reduced by shifting tropical-cyclone activity

© 2016 Macmillan Publishers Limited, part of Springer Nature. All rights reserved. The world's rivers deliver 19 billion tonnes of sediment to the coastal zone annually, with a considerable fraction being sequestered in large deltas, home to over 500 million people. Most (more than 70 per cent) large deltas are under threat from a combination of rising sea levels, ground surface subsidence and anthropogenic sediment trapping, and a sustainable supply of fluvial sediment is therefore critical to prevent deltas being 'drowned' by rising relative sea levels. Here we combine suspended sediment load data from the Mekong River with hydrological model simulations to isolate the role of tropical cyclones in transmitting suspended sediment to one of the world's great deltas. We demonstrate that spatial variations in the Mekong's suspended sediment load are correlated (r = 0.765, P < 0.1) with observed variations in tropical-cyclone climatology, and that a substantial portion (32 per cent) of the suspended sediment load reaching the delta is delivered by runoff generated by rainfall associated with tropical cyclones. Furthermore, we estimate that the suspended load to the delta has declined by 52.6 ± 10.2 megatonnes over recent years (1981-2005), of which 33.0 ± 7.1 megatonnes is due to a shift in tropical-cyclone climatology. Consequently, tropical cyclones have a key role in controlling the magnitude of, and variability in, transmission of suspended sediment to the coast. It is likely that anthropogenic sediment trapping in upstream reservoirs is a dominant factor in explaining past, and anticipating future, declines in suspended sediment loads reaching the world's major deltas. However, our study shows that changes in tropical-cyclone climatology affect trends in fluvial suspended sediment loads and thus are also key to fully assessing the risk posed to vulnerable coastal systems

Data from: Association of orthostatic hypotension with incident dementia, stroke, and cognitive decline

Objective: To examine associations between orthostatic hypotension (OH) with dementia and long-term cognitive decline, and update previously published results in the same cohort for stroke with an additional 16 years of follow-up. Methods: We analyzed data from 11709 participants without a history of coronary heart disease or stroke who attended the baseline exam (1987-1989) of the prospective Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. OH was defined as a drop in systolic blood pressure (BP) of at least 20 mmHg or a drop in diastolic BP of at least 10 mmHg, upon standing. Dementia was ascertained via examination, contact with participants or their proxy, or medical record surveillance. Ischemic stroke was ascertained via cohort-surveillance of hospitalizations, cohort follow-up, and linkage with registries. Both outcomes were adjudicated. Cognitive function was ascertained via three neuropsychological tests administered in 1990-1992, 1996-1998, and a full battery of tests in 2011-2013. Scores were summarized and reported as standard deviations (SDs). We used adjusted Cox regression and linear mixed models. Results: Over approximately 25 years, 1068 developed dementia and 842 participants had an ischemic stroke. Compared to persons without OH at baseline, those with OH had a higher risk of dementia (HR=1.54, 95% CI 1.20-1.97) and ischemic stroke (HR=2.08, 95% CI:1.65-2.62). Persons with OH had greater, though non-significant, cognitive decline over 20 years (SD=0.09, 95% CI:-0.02-0.21). Conclusions: OH assessed in midlife was independently associated with incident dementia and ischemic stroke. Additional studies are needed to elucidate potential mechanisms for these associations and possible applications for prevention