The feminization of aging: How will this impact on health outcomes and services?

We conducted an integrative review to identify issues and challenges that face aging women and to distinguish areas for future research. We found that many older women continue to face inequities related to health and often are invisible within the discourse of aging policy. In this article we argue for a greater focus on the unique needs of women, a gendered approach to policy and intervention development, and promotion of the health of women across the life span. Policymakers, health care workers, and researchers need to consider the perspective of gender as well as age when implementing and evaluating effective interventions. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC

London Borough of Wandsworth report on lake monitoring programme April 1999-January 2000

This is the second annual report commissioned by Wandsworth Borough Council to assess the progress of the London Lakes Project. The first report, produced in April 1999, made an assessment of the success of the Lakes Project following the major lake management programme carried out in 1994. It examined monitoring data collected by SGS Environment Ltd. between 1994 and 1996 in addition to the monitoring data collected by ENSIS Ltd. since October 1997. This second annual report follows a second year of standardised monitoring (April 1999-January 2000) that enables a clearer comparison with the previously monitored year (April 1998-January 1999). In particular the report focuses on whether the lake improvements are progressing, levelling out, or declining. This question is examined on a site-by-site basis for all seven monitored sites (Battersea Park Main Lake, Battersea Park Ladies Pool, King George's Park Lake, Tooting Common Lake, Graveney Common Pond and Wandsworth Common Lake and Stock Pond), followed by a general summary

Spectrum of Clinical Signs and Genetic Characterization of Gelatinous Drop-Like Corneal Dystrophy in a Colombian Family

PURPOSE: To describe the clinical signs of gelatinous drop-like corneal dystrophy (GDLD) in a consanguineous Colombian family and determine the underlying genetic cause. METHODS: We performed ocular examination of available family members and bidirectionally Sanger sequenced the GDLD-associated gene, TACSTD2. In one individual, the presence of subepithelial amyloid was confirmed with biopsy. RESULTS: The parents were consanguineous and 5 of their 10 children had GDLD. Typical mulberry subepithelial deposits with subepithelial vascularization were present in 3 individuals; 2 individuals only had mild polymorphic anterior stromal opacity. We identified a homozygous TACSTD2 missense mutation, c.551A>G, p.(Tyr184Cys), in the affected family members. Both parents were heterozygous for the mutation, and unaffected siblings were either heterozygous or homozygous wild-type for this allele. In the Colombian population, this mutation has a minor allele frequency of 0.53%. CONCLUSION: The clinical presentation of GDLD in this family was variable and does not solely support an age-dependent progression of the phenotype, suggesting that environmental or other genetic factors can modify phenotypic expression. The relatively high prevalence of this mutation in the Colombian population suggests that other individuals may have undiagnosed subclinical disease

Genotype-Phenotype Correlation for TGFBI Corneal Dystrophies Identifies p.(G623D) as a Novel Cause of Epithelial Basement Membrane Dystrophy.

Purpose: The majority of anterior corneal dystrophies are caused by dominant mutations in TGFBI (transforming growth factor β-induced) collectively known as the epithelial-stromal TGFBI dystrophies. Most cases of epithelial basement membrane dystrophy (EBMD) are thought to result from a degenerative (nongenetic) process; however, a minority of cases are associated with specific TGFBI mutations. We evaluated the spectrum of TGFBI mutations and associated phenotypes in a United Kingdom cohort with typical epithelial-stromal TGFBI dystrophies and an EBMD cohort. Methods: We recruited 68 probands with a clinical diagnosis of epithelial-stromal TGFBI dystrophy and 23 probands with bilateral EBMD. DNA was extracted from peripheral leukocytes, and TGFBI was bi-directly Sanger sequenced. Results: Nine TGFBI mutations were identified. The most common occurred at the mutation hot-spot residues R124 and R555 in 61 probands; these individuals had a genotype-phenotype correlation consistent with prior reports. Four probands with lattice corneal dystrophy carried a mutation in exon 14: p.(A620D), p.(V625D), and p.(H626R). We identified a p.(G623D) mutation in five probands, including two probands from the EBMD cohort. These subjects typically had an onset of severe recurrent corneal epithelial erosion in the fourth decade with mild diffuse or geographic subepithelial corneal opacities and only small anterior stromal lattice structures in older individuals. Symptoms of painful epithelial erosion improved markedly following phototherapeutic keratectomy. Conclusions: There was a strong correlation between genotype and phenotype for the majority of TGFBI mutations. In this cohort, the p.(G623D) mutation caused a greater proportion of TGFBI-associated disease than anticipated, associated with variable phenotypes including individuals diagnosed with EBMD

Response of CO₂ and CH₄ emissions from Arctic tundra soils to a multifactorial manipulation of water table, temperature and thaw depth

Significant uncertainties persist concerning how Arctic soil tundra carbon emission responds to environmental changes. In this study, 24 cores were sampled from drier (high centre polygons and rims) and wetter (low centre polygons and troughs) permafrost tundra ecosystems. We examined how soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes responded to laboratory-based manipulations of soil temperature (and associated thaw depth) and water table depth, representing current and projected conditions in the Arctic. Similar soil CO2 respiration rates occurred in both the drier and the wetter sites, suggesting that a significant proportion of soil CO2 emission occurs via anaerobic respiration under water-saturated conditions in these Arctic tundra ecosystems. In the absence of vegetation, soil CO2 respiration rates decreased sharply within the first 7 weeks of the experiment, while CH4 emissions remained stable for the entire 26 weeks of the experiment. These patterns suggest that soil CO2 emission is more related to plant input than CH4 production and emission. The stable and substantial CH4 emission observed over the entire course of the experiment suggests that temperature limitations, rather than labile carbon limitations, play a predominant role in CH4 production in deeper soil layers. This is likely due to the presence of a substantial source of labile carbon in these carbon-rich soils. The small soil temperature difference (a median difference of 1 ◦C) and a more substantial thaw depth difference (a median difference of 6 cm) between the high and low temperature treatments resulted in a non-significant difference between soil CO2 and CH4 emissions. Although hydrology continued to be the primary factor influencing CH4 emissions, these emissions remained low in the drier ecosystem, even with a water table at the surface. This result suggests the potential absence of a methanogenic microbial community in high-centre polygon and rim ecosystems. Overall, our results suggest that the temperature increases reported for these Arctic regions are not responsible for increases in carbon losses. Instead, it is the changes in hydrology that exert significant control over soil CO2 and CH4 emissions

The coming and going of a marl lake: multi-indicator palaeolimnology reveals abrupt ecological change and alternative views of reference conditions

Eutrophication is the most pressing threat to highly calcareous (marl) lakes in Europe. Despite their unique chemistry and biology, comprehensive studies into their unimpacted conditions and eutrophication responses are underrepresented in conservation literature. A multi-indicator palaeolimnological study spanning ca. 1260–2009 was undertaken at Cunswick Tarn (UK), a small, presently eutrophic marl lake, in order to capture centennial timescales of impact. Specific aims were to (1) establish temporal patterns of change (gradual/abrupt) across biological groups, thereby testing theories of resistance of marl lake benthic communities to enrichment, and (2) compare the core record of reference condition with prevailing descriptions of high ecological status. Analyses of sediment calcium (Ca), phosphorus (P), pigments, diatoms, testate amoebae, cladocerans, and macrofossils, revealed three abrupt changes in ecosystem structure. The first (1900s), with biomass increases in charophytes and other benthic nutrient-poor indicators, supported ideas of resistance to eutrophication in Chara lakes. The second transition (1930s), from charophyte to angiosperm dominance, occurred alongside reductions in macrophyte cover, increases in eutrophic indicators, and a breakdown in marling, in support of ideas of threshold responses to enrichment. Core P increased consistently into the 1990s when rapid transitions into pelagic shallow lake ecology occurred and Cunswick Tarn became biologically unidentifiable as a marl lake. The moderate total P at which these changes occurred suggests high sensitivity of marl lakes to eutrophication. Further, the early record challenges ideas of correlation between ecological condition, charophyte biomass and sediment Ca. Instead, low benthic production, macrophyte cover, and Ca sedimentation, was inferred. Management measures must focus on reducing external nutrient and sediment loads at early stages of impact in order to preserve marl lakes

Management of Acute Particulate Fouling in a Titanium Dioxide Reactor System

The gas-phase manufacture of titanium dioxide is subject to acute fouling in the cooler unit located directly downstream of the reactor which quenches the reaction. A model of the cooler system was constructed, incorporating aspects of compressible flow, multimode heat transfer, fouling, and changes in geometry. This indicated that deposition could be very rapid. The effect of deposit layer buildup required measurement of the thermal conductivity of the porous layer; this was achieved using a novel testing device similar to that reported by Tan et al. (2006), for measuring the thermal conductivity of surface coatings. Active mitigation techniques are employed to reduce the effect of rapid fouling. The effectiveness of adding an erodent, in this case sand, to the flow was appraised by studying the breakup of deposit layers by impinging particles. The experimental conditions (high-temperature chlorine gas, high flow velocities) were simulated in cold experiments by matching the inertia and size of test particles to those of the sand. These studies showed that sand at the feed size would detach deposits, but could result in breakage of the sand particles. Mitigation efficiency is then determined by sand distribution and redistribution.Funding for VYL from Huntsman is gratefully acknowledged