Alien Registration- Macdonald, Ellen S. (Paris, Oxford County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/21116/thumbnail.jp

Global development of children’s palliative care: the picture in 2017

Background: The growing interest in tracking the global development of palliative care provision is not matched by research on the development of palliative care services specifically for children. Yet it is estimated that worldwide, 21 million children annually could benefit from the provision of palliative care. We report on a global study of children’s palliative care development and offer suggestions for further improvement in design and method. Methods: Primary data on the level of children’s palliative care development in 2017 was collected from in-country experts through a specific question in an online questionnaire that sought to measure the overall level of palliative care provision globally. Countries were assigned to one of six categories on the basis of the responses obtained. Conflicting responses from the same country were resolved with reference to a hierarchy of preferred respondents. Results: Our data allowed the categorisation of 113 countries, accounting for 65% of the global population aged under 20. Number of countries (% of global child population) in each category were as follows: 1) no known activity, 21 (4%); 2) capacity-building, 16 (24%); 3a) isolated provision, 55 (30%); 3b) generalized provision, 5 (1%); 4a) preliminary integration into mainstream provision, 14 (8%); 4b) advanced integration, 7 (2%). Conclusions: Children’s palliative care at the highest level of provision is available in just 21 countries, accounting for fewer than 10% of the global population aged under 20. It is concentrated in high income settings, whilst the majority of the global need for such care is in low- and middle-income countries. Our study is a useful tool for global advocacy relating to children’s palliative care and a stimulus for the creation of improved indicators to measure it at the country level

“These Trees Have Stories to Tell”: Linking Dënesǫ́łıné Oral History of Caribou Use with Trample Scar Frequency on Black Spruce Roots at Ɂedacho Kué

For thousands of years Ɂedacho Kué (Artillery Lake, Northwest Territories) has been a key water crossing site for barren-ground caribou (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus). Human disturbance of barren-ground caribou habitat in northern Canada has emerged as an important focus of study in the last decade; particularly in the Bathurst range of the Northwest Territories where caribou populations have declined by more than 95% since the 1980s. Guided by local Indigenous leaders and Elders, a collaborative research project was developed with the Dënesǫ́łıné people of Łutsël K’e Dëne First Nation (2012 – 14). This paper describes linkages between knowledge derived from Dënesǫ́łıné oral history and quantitative dendroecological analysis of trample scars on black spruce (Picea mariana) root samples collected at Ɂedacho Kué to provide a better understanding of caribou use at this location. Findings from oral histories and dendroecology analysis were consistent with one another and with previous dendroecology study in the region, although some discrepancies were detected in data from 1995 – 2006 that require further study to elucidate. Key findings include relatively low caribou use at Ɂedacho Kué during the 1930s and late 1960s, with use increasing into the 1970s and peaking in the late 1980s, as well as Elder and hunter reports of no caribou in some years between 2005 and 2012. This work addresses a gap in scientific data about barren-ground caribou movements at Ɂedacho Kué prior to satellite collar use in 1996 and corroborates previously documented oral histories about the enduring value of Ɂedacho Kué as critical habitat to barren-ground caribou. Given the drastic decline of the Bathurst caribou over the last two decades, more research is needed to understand movements and their relationship to population dynamics. In this context, the research approach described in this paper could be used as an example of how to meaningfully bring together place-based Indigenous knowledge and science in addressing an urgent issue of Arctic sustainability.    Depuis des milliers d’années, Ɂedacho Kué (lac Artillery, Territoires du Nord-Ouest) sert d’important point de franchissement de cours d’eau pour le caribou de la toundra (Rangifer tarandus groenlandicus). La perturbation anthropique de l’habitat du caribou de la toundra dans le Nord canadien a fait l’objet d’études importantes ces dix dernières années, plus particulièrement dans l’aire de répartition de Bathurst, dans les Territoires du Nord-Ouest, où les populations de caribous ont chuté de plus de 95 % depuis les années 1980. Un projet de recherche collaborative guidé par des chefs et des aînés autochtones locaux a été conçu en consultation avec le peuple Dënesǫ́łıné de la Première Nation Łutsël K’e Dëne (2012 – 2014). Cet article décrit les liens entre les connaissances dérivées de l’histoire orale des Dënesǫ́łınés et l’analyse dendroécologique quantitative des cicatrices de piétinement se trouvant sur les échantillons de racines d’épinettes noires (Picea mariana) prélevés à Ɂedacho Kué afin de mieux comprendre l’utilisation de ce lieu par les caribous. Les constatations découlant de l’histoire orale et de l’analyse dendroécologique concordaient ensemble ainsi qu’avec une étude dendroécologique antérieure de la région, bien que certains écarts aient été décelés dans les données de 1995 à 2006, écarts qui se doivent d’être étudiés afin d’être élucidés. Parmi les principales constatations, notons l’utilisation relativement faible de Ɂedacho Kué par les caribous pendant les années 1930 et la fin des années 1960, une utilisation accrue dans les années 1970 ayant atteint un sommet vers la fin des années 1980, ainsi que le signalement de l’absence de caribous par les aînés et les chasseurs au cours de certaines années entre 2005 et 2012. Notre recherche comble un manque de données scientifiques relativement aux déplacements du caribou de la toundra à Ɂedacho Kué avant que les colliers émetteurs à transmission par satellite ne commencent à être employés en 1996. Elle corrobore l’histoire orale documentée précédemment au sujet de la valeur durable de ?edacho Kué en tant qu’habitat critique du caribou de la toundra. En raison de la chute importante de la population du caribou de Bathurst ces deux dernières décennies, de plus amples recherches s’imposent afin de comprendre les déplacements et leur lien avec la dynamique de la population. Dans ce contexte, la démarche de recherche décrite dans cet article pourrait servir d’exemple montrant comment concilier les connaissances autochtones d’un endroit avec la science pour faire face à un enjeu urgent de durabilité de l’Arctique.

Edge influence on vegetation at natural and anthropogenic edges of boreal forests in Canada and Fennoscandia

Although anthropogenic edges are an important consequence of timber harvesting, edges due to natural disturbances or landscape heterogeneity are also common. Forest edges have been well studied in temperate and tropical forests, but less so in less productive, disturbance-adapted boreal forests. We synthesized data on forest vegetation at edges of boreal forests and compared edge influence among edge types (fire, cut, lake/wetland; old vs. young), forest types (broadleaf vs. coniferous) and geographic regions. Our objectives were to quantify vegetation responses at edges of all types and to compare the strength and extent of edge influence among different types of edges and forests. Research was conducted using the same general sampling design in Alberta, Ontario and Quebec in Canada, and in Sweden and Finland. We conducted a meta-analysis for a variety of response variables including forest structure, deadwood abundance, regeneration, understorey abundance and diversity, and non-vascular plant cover. We also determined the magnitude and distance of edge influence (DEI) using randomization tests. Some edge responses (lower tree basal area, tree canopy and bryophyte cover; more logs; higher regeneration) were significant overall across studies. Edge influence on ground vegetation in boreal forests was generally weak, not very extensive (DEI usually < 20 m) and decreased with time. We found more extensive edge influence at natural edges, at younger edges and in broadleaf forests. The comparison among regions revealed weaker edge influence in Fennoscandian forests. Synthesis. Edges created by forest harvesting do not appear to have as strong, extensive or persistent influence on vegetation in boreal as in tropical or temperate forested ecosystems. We attribute this apparent resistance to shorter canopy heights, inherent heterogeneity in boreal forests and their adaptation to frequent natural disturbance. Nevertheless, notable differences between forest structure responses to natural (fire) and anthropogenic (cut) edges raise concerns about biodiversity implications of extensive creation of anthropogenic edges. By highlighting universal responses to edge influence in boreal forests that are significant irrespective of edge or forest type, and those which vary by edge type, we provide a context for the conservation of boreal forests. Edges created by forest harvesting do not appear to have as strong, extensive or persistent influence on vegetation in boreal as in tropical or temperate forested ecosystems. We attribute this apparent resistance to shorter canopy heights, inherent heterogeneity in boreal forests and their adaptation to frequent natural disturbance. Nevertheless, notable differences between forest structure responses to natural (fire) and anthropogenic (cut) edges raise concerns about biodiversity implications of extensive creation of anthropogenic edges. By highlighting universal responses to edge influence in boreal forests that are significant irrespective of edge or forest type, and those which vary by edge type, we provide a context for the conservation of boreal forests

Ocean ecosystem-based management mandates and implementation in the North Atlantic

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) necessarily requires a degree of coordination across countries that share ocean ecosystems, and among national agencies and departments that have responsibilities relating to ocean health and marine resource utilization. This requires political direction, legal input, stakeholder consultation and engagement, and complex negotiations. Currently there is a common perception that within and across national jurisdictions there is excessive legislative complexity, a relatively low level of policy coherence or alignment with regards to ocean and coastal EBM, and that more aligned legislation is needed to accelerate EBM adoption. Our Atlantic Ocean Research Alliance (AORA) task group was comprised of a small, focused and interdisciplinary mix of lawyers, social scientists, and natural scientists from Canada, the USA, and the EU. We characterized, compared, and synthesized the mandates that govern marine activities and ocean stressors relative to facilitating EBM in national and international waters of the North Atlantic, and identified formal mandates across jurisdictions and, where possible, policy and other non-regulatory mandates. We found that irrespective of the detailed requirements of legislation or policy across AORA jurisdictions, or the efficacy of their actual implementation, most of the major ocean pressures and uses posing threats to ocean sustainability have some form of coverage by national or regional legislation. The coverage is, in fact, rather comprehensive. Still, numerous impediments to effective EBM implementation arise, potentially relating to the lack of integration between agencies and departments, a lack of adequate policy alignment, and a variety of other socio-political factors. We note with concern that if challenges regarding EBM implementation exist in the North Atlantic, we can expect that in less developed regions where financial and governance capacity may be lower, that implementation of EBM could be even more challenging

Interspecific Germline Transmission of Cultured Primordial Germ Cells

In birds, the primordial germ cell (PGC) lineage separates from the soma within 24 h following fertilization. Here we show that the endogenous population of about 200 PGCs from a single chicken embryo can be expanded one million fold in culture. When cultured PGCs are injected into a xenogeneic embryo at an equivalent stage of development, they colonize the testis. At sexual maturity, these donor PGCs undergo spermatogenesis in the xenogeneic host and become functional sperm. Insemination of semen from the xenogeneic host into females from the donor species produces normal offspring from the donor species. In our model system, the donor species is chicken (Gallus domesticus) and the recipient species is guinea fowl (Numida meleagris), a member of a different avian family, suggesting that the mechanisms controlling proliferation of the germline are highly conserved within birds. From a pragmatic perspective, these data are the basis of a novel strategy to produce endangered species of birds using domesticated hosts that are both tractable and fecund

Design and Feasibility of an Intervention to Support Cancer Genetic Counselees in Informing their At-Risk Relatives

Cancer genetic counselees receive individualized information regarding heightened risks and medical recommendations which is also relevant for their at-risk relatives. Unfortunately, counselees often insufficiently inform these relatives. We designed an intervention aimed at improving counselees' knowledge regarding which at-risk relatives to inform and what information to disclose, their motivation to disclose, and their self-efficacy. The intervention, offered by telephone by trained psychosocial workers, is based on the principles of Motivational Interviewing. Phase 1 of the intervention covers agenda setting, exploration, and evaluation, and phase 2 includes information provision, enhancing motivation and self-efficacy, and brainstorming for solutions to disseminate information within the family. Fidelity and acceptability of the intervention were assessed using recordings of intervention sessions and by counselee self-report. A total of 144 counselees participated. Psychosocial workers (n = 5) delivered the intervention largely as intended. Counselees highly appreciated the content of the intervention and the psychosocial workers who delivered the intervention. In the sessions, psychosocial workers provided additional and/or corrective information, and brainstorming for solutions was performed in 70 %. These results indicate that this intervention is feasible and warrants testing in clinical practice. For this, a randomized controlled trial is currently in progress to test the intervention's efficacy

Translational pharmacology of an inhaled small molecule αvβ6 integrin inhibitor for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

The αvβ6 integrin plays a key role in the activation of transforming growth factor-β (TGFβ), a pro-fibrotic mediator that is pivotal to the development of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). We identified a selective small molecule αvβ6 RGD-mimetic, GSK3008348, and profiled it in a range of disease relevant pre-clinical systems. To understand the relationship between target engagement and inhibition of fibrosis, we measured pharmacodynamic and diseaserelated end points. Here we report, GSK3008348 binds to αvβ6 with high affinity in human IPF lung and reduces downstream pro-fibrotic TGFβ signaling to normal levels. In human lung epithelial cells, GSK3008348 induces rapid internalization and lysosomal degradation of the αvβ6 integrin. In the murine bleomycin-induced lung fibrosis model, GSK3008348 engages αvβ6, induces prolonged inhibition of TGFβ signaling and reduces lung collagen deposition and serum C3M, a marker of IPF disease progression. These studies highlight the potential of inhaled GSK3008348 as an anti-fibrotic therapy