The Envirolution Revolution: Raising Awareness of Climate Change Creatively Through Free and Accessible Community Engagement Festivals

The use of Freirean praxis and pedagogy is a powerful lens to use in understanding, and advancing, impactful place-based climate action. Using non-judgemental and holistic approaches, free community festivals have the capacity to engage large sections of society and therefore have the potential to mobilise shifts towards societal change

The Envirolution Revolution: Raising Awareness of Climate Change Creatively Through Free and Accessible Community Engagement Festivals

The use of Freirean praxis and pedagogy is a powerful lens to use in understanding, and advancing, impactful place-based climate action. Using non-judgemental and holistic approaches, free community festivals have the capacity to engage large sections of society and therefore have the potential to mobilise shifts towards societal change

Regulation of carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) in human adipose tissue

Carboxylesterase 1 (CES1) has recently been suggested to play a role in lipolysis. Our aim was to Study the regulation of CES1 expression in human adipose tissue. In the SOS Sib Pair Study, CES1 expression was higher in obese compared with lean sisters (n = 78 pairs, P = 8.7 x 10(-18)) and brothers (n = 12 Pairs, P = 0.048). CES1 expression was higher in subcutaneous compared with omental adipose tissue in lean (P = 0.027) and obese Subjects (P = 0.00036), and reduced during diet-induced weight loss (it = 24, weeks 8, 16, and 18 compared to baseline, P < 0.0001 for all time points). CES1 expression was higher in isolated adipocytes compared with intact adipose tissue (P = 0.0018) and higher in large compared with small adipocytes (P = 4.1 x 10(-6)). Basal and Stimulated lipolysis was not different in individuals with high, intermediate, and low expression of CES1. Thus, CES1 expression was linked to body fat and adipocyte fat content but not to lipolytic activity. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved

Household Wildfire Risk and the Community Preparedness: A Case Study of Rural Villages of Central Highlands of Sri Lanka

Belihuloya forest reserve, an environmentally sensitive zone serves as a vital catchment in the central highlands, spans altitudes ranging from 589 m to 1,237 m. The range is home to a diverse array of flora and fauna, hosting numerous endemics, indigenous, and threatened species. The region faces recurrent threats from bush fires during May to August, driest and windiest season that significantly impact local agriculture, tea cultivation, and the tourism. The objectives of this study were to conduct scoping study on heavily bushfire affected villages of central high lands of Sri Lanka, to find out the bushfire vulnerability levels of villages and their properties and to identify the status of early warning, community preparedness and fire management. Case study approach was used, followed by in-depth interviews with community members in three GN divisions; Wiharawela, Passaramulla, and Kubalgama in Imbulpe DS division and with institutions such as Disaster Management Centre, Department of Forest, Sri Lanka Army, and Tourism Service providers. As per the results of our study, Imbulpe, Passaramulla, Wiharawela, and Medagedaragoda GN divisions encountered bushfires in Hagala forest, Helamalkadiya, Wewkadura, and Kabaragala forests areas. The villages encounter annual bushfires resulted from unconfirmed causes, including land preparation for Chena cultivation, hunting, camping sites, and other human interventions. Bush fire threat of human lives and properties are high but no recorded incidents on causalities keep them away from preparedness. Highly protected and sensitive forest reserves recorded as highest vulnerable. However, those residing in the forest buffer zone experienced significant impacts and property exposure. A lack of preparedness for bushfire incidents was identified, characterized by the absence of an alarming system, lack of awareness, complacency, and inefficient communication among villagers. However, the community involvement and the participation of Sri Lanka army were noted as key bushfire management strategies

Tenomodulin is highly expressed in adipose tissue, increased in obesity, and down-regulated during diet-induced weight loss

Context: Tenomodulin (TNMD), a putative angiogenesis inhibitor, is expressed in hypovascular connective tissues. Global gene expression scans show that the TNMD gene also is expressed in human adipose tissue and that its expression is regulated in response to weight reduction; however, more detailed information is lacking. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate TNMD tissue distribution and TNMD gene expression in human adipose tissue in relation to obesity and metabolic disease. Design, Patients, and Interventions: TNMD gene expression, tissue distribution, and TNMD gene expression in adipose tissue from different depots, from lean and obese subjects, and during diet-induced weight reduction were analyzed by DNA microarray and real-time PCR. Main Outcome Measure: We primarily measured TNMD gene expression. Results: The TNMD gene was predominantly expressed in sc adipose tissue. TNMD gene expression was higher in sc than omental adipose tissue both in lean (P = 0.002) and obese subjects (P = 0.014). In both women and men, TNMD gene expression was significantly higher in the obese subjects compared to the lean subjects (P = 1.1 x 10(-26) and P = 0.010, respectively). In a multiple linear regression analysis, BMI was a significant independent predictor of TNMD gene expression. TNMD gene expression was down-regulated during diet-induced weight loss, with a 65% decrease after 18 wk of diet (P < 0.0001). Conclusions: We conclude that human adipose tissue TNMD gene expression is highly affected by obesity, adipose tissue location, and weight loss, indicating that TNMD may play a role in adipose tissue function. (J Clin Endocrinol Metab 94: 3987-3994, 2009

Association of sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) gene SNPs and transcript expression levels with severe obesity

Recent studies have reported associations of sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to both obesity and BMI. This study was designed to investigate association between SIRT1 SNPs, SIRT1 gene expression and obesity. Case-control analyses were performed using 1,533 obese subjects (896 adults, BMI >40 kg/m(2) and 637 children, BMI >97th percentile for age and sex) and 1,237 nonobese controls, all French Caucasians. Two SNPs (in high linkage disequilibrium (LD), r(2) = 0.96) were significantly associated with adult obesity, rs33957861 (P value = 0.003, odds ratio (OR) = 0.75, confidence interval (CI) = 0.61–0.92) and rs11599176 (P value: 0.006, OR = 0.74, CI = 0.61–0.90). Expression of SIRT1 mRNA was measured in BMI-discordant siblings from 154 Swedish families. Transcript expression was significantly correlated to BMI in the lean siblings (r(2) = 0.13, P value = 3.36 × 10(−7)) and lower SIRT1 expression was associated with obesity (P value = 1.56 × 10(−35)). There was also an association between four SNPs (rs11599176, rs12413112, rs33957861, and rs35689145) and BMI (P values: 4 × 10(−4), 6 × 10(−4), 4 × 10(−4), and 2 × 10(−3)) with the rare allele associated with a lower BMI. However, no SNP was associated with SIRT1 transcript expression level. In summary, both SNPs and SIRT1 gene expression are associated with severe obesity