Facemask use for community protection from air pollution disasters : an ethical overview and framework to guide agency decision making.

Disasters involving severe air pollution episodes create a pressing public health issue. During such emergencies, there may be pressure on agencies to provide solutions to protect affected communities. One possible intervention to reduce exposure during such crises is facemasks. Ethical values need to be considered as part of any decision-making process to assess whether to provide advice on, recommend and/or distribute any public health intervention. In this paper, we use principles from public health ethics to analyse the critical ethical issues that relate to agencies providing advice on, recommending and/or distributing facemasks in air pollution disasters, given a lack of evidence of both the specific risk of some polluting events or the effectiveness of facemasks in community settings. The need for reflection on the ethical issues raised by the possible recommendation/use of facemasks to mitigate potential health issues arising from air pollution disasters is critical as communities progressively seek personal interventions to manage perceived and actual risks. This paper develops an ethical decision-making framework to assist agency deliberations. We argue that clarity around decision-making by agencies, after using this framework, may help increase trust about the intervention and solidarity within and between populations affected by these disasters and the agencies who support public health or provide assistance during disasters

Rotavirus vaccination: cost-effectiveness and impact on child mortality in developing countries.

BACKGROUND: Rotavirus is the leading cause of severe gastroenteritis in children 500,000 deaths annually; approximately 85% of this burden is in low-income countries eligible for financial support from the GAVI Alliance. We projected the uptake, health impact, and cost-effectiveness of introducing rotavirus vaccination in GAVI-eligible countries to help policy makers in prioritizing resources to gain the greatest health improvements for their constituencies. METHODS: A demand forecast model was used to predict adoption of rotavirus vaccine in the poorest countries in the world. We then modeled health outcomes and direct costs of a hypothetical birth cohort in the target population for scenarios with and without a rotavirus vaccine with use of data on health outcomes of rotavirus infection, vaccine effectiveness, and immunization rates. RESULTS: Vaccination would prevent 2.4 million rotavirus deaths and >82 million disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) in 64 of the 72 GAVI-eligible countries introducing vaccine from 2007 through 2025. The cost per DALY averted decreases over time, from a high of US$450 per DALY averted in the first year to a sustained low of$30 per DALY during 2017-2025, with a cumulative figure of $43 per DALY averted during 2008-2025. By applying the baseline scenario with an initial vaccine price of$7 per dose for a 2-dose vaccine, with a gradual decrease beginning in 2012 and stabilizing at $1.25 per dose by 2017, vaccination was very cost-effective in all GAVI-eligible countries with use of each country's gross domestic product per DALY averted as a threshold. CONCLUSIONS: Introduction of rotavirus vaccines into the world's poorest countries is very cost-effective and is projected to substantially reduce childhood mortality

Cost-effectiveness of rotavirus vaccines.

Rotaviruses are the commonest cause of severe watery diarrheal disease in infants and young children, causing an estimated 352,000-592,000 deaths per year, mostly in developing countries. In 1999, the first rotavirus vaccine to be licensed in the USA (RotaShield) was withdrawn . However, before use of the vaccine was suspended, several economic evaluations were performed. Recently, two rotavirus vaccines, Rotarix and RotaTeq, have completed Phase III clinical trials. The first economic evaluations of these new rotavirus vaccines are now appearing. The purpose of this paper is to review the existing cost-effectiveness evidence-base, and to provide methodologic suggestions for future analyses

The ASPET Mentoring Network: Enhancing Diversity and Inclusion through Career Coaching Groups within a Scientific Society

Over the past decades, two persisting priorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) training have been: 1) increasing the knowledge of and access to careers beyond academic scientist; and 2) increasing the diversity of the STEM workforce. Previous studies show that a uniquely constructed career coaching group provides strong support and progress for both priorities. This report extends this design into a more sustainable model that is positioned within the professional context of rising young scientists. This new model is based in the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET)—the ASPET Mentoring Network. Groups of PhD students and postdocs were assigned to an ASPET professional (academic or other career) member (the coach) with an initial meeting held the day before the society’s annual meeting. The coaching groups interacted during the meeting and then virtually for a year. Extensive survey and interview evaluation data gathered from the first three cohorts (12 coaching groups) in 2016– 2018 provided strong evidence of the perceived and real benefits of the network. This new version of career coaching groups is both feasible and linked to career success due to its close association with a scientific society, peers, and coaches who share scientific identities and aspirations

Selective Heart Rate Reduction Improves Metabolic Syndrome–related Left Ventricular Diastolic Dysfunction

International audienceEnhanced heart rate observed in metabolic syndrome (MS) contributes to the deterioration of left ventricular (LV) function via impaired LV filling and relaxation, increased myocardial O2 consumption, and reduced coronary perfusion. However, whether heart rate reduction (HRR) opposes LV dysfunction observed in MS is unknown

The ASPET Mentoring Network: Enhancing Diversity and Inclusion through Career Coaching Groups within a Scientific Society

Over the past decades, two persisting priorities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) training have been: 1) increasing the knowledge of and access to careers beyond academic scientist; and 2) increasing the diversity of the STEM workforce. Previous studies show that a uniquely constructed career coaching group provides strong support and progress for both priorities. This report extends this design into a more sustainable model that is positioned within the professional context of rising young scientists. This new model is based in the American Society for Pharmacology and Experimental Therapeutics (ASPET)—the ASPET Mentoring Network. Groups of PhD students and postdocs were assigned to an ASPET professional (academic or other career) member (the coach) with an initial meeting held the day before the society’s annual meeting. The coaching groups interacted during the meeting and then virtually for a year. Extensive survey and interview evaluation data gathered from the first three cohorts (12 coaching groups) in 2016– 2018 provided strong evidence of the perceived and real benefits of the network. This new version of career coaching groups is both feasible and linked to career success due to its close association with a scientific society, peers, and coaches who share scientific identities and aspirations

Short- and long-term administration of the non-steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist finerenone opposes metabolic syndrome-related cardio-renal dysfunction

International audienceAim: To determine whether non-steroidal mineralocorticoid receptor (MR) antagonists oppose metabolic syndrome-related end-organ, i.e. cardiac, damage. Materials and methods: In Zucker fa/fa rats, a rat model of metabolic syndrome, we assessed the effects of the non-steroidal MR antagonist finerenone (oral 2 mg/kg/day) on left ventricular (LV) function, haemodynamics and remodelling (using echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging and biochemical methods). Results: Long-term (90 days) finerenone modified neither systolic blood pressure nor heart rate, but reduced LV end-diastolic pressure and LV end-diastolic pressure-volume relationship, without modifying LV end-systolic pressure and LV end-systolic pressure-volume relationship. Simultaneously , long-term finerenone reduced both LV systolic and diastolic diameters, associated with reductions in LV weight and LV collagen density, while proteinuria and renal nGAL expression were reduced. Short-term (7 days) finerenone improved LV haemodynamics and reduced LV systolic diameter, without modifying LV diastolic diameter. Moreover, short-term finerenone increased myocardial tissue perfusion and reduced myocardial reactive oxygen species, while plasma nitrite levels, an indicator of nitric oxide (NO) bio-availability, were increased. Conclusions: In rats with metabolic syndrome, the non-steroidal MR antagonist finerenone opposed metabolic syndrome-related diastolic cardiac dysfunction and nephropathy. This involved acute effects, such as improved myocardial perfusion, reduced oxidative stress/ increased NO bioavailability, as well as long-term effects, such as modifications in the myocar-dial structure. K E Y W O R D S animal pharmacology, cardiovascular disease, diabetes complications, drug development, experimental pharmacology, type 2 diabete

MINI-FOCUS: INFLAMMATION IN CARDIAC INJURY The IL-1b Antibody Gevokizumab Limits Cardiac Remodeling and Coronary Dysfunction in Rats With Heart Failure

International audienceHIGHLIGHTS Immediate IL-1b antibody gevokizumab administration reduces ischemia/ reperfusion related infarct size. Immediate and late IL-1b antibody gevokizumab administration improves heart failure related left ventricular remodeling. IL-1b antibody gevokizumab improves heart failure related coronary dysfunction. Fro