Seeking Clarity on Nature-Based Climate Solutions for Adaptation

While there is increasing policy momentum for NbS, criticisms and controversy cloud its application and upscaling. This guidance note clarifies the concepts behind NbS and related terms and shines a light on how to achieve equitable outcomes through a focus on gender responsiveness, social inclusion, and positive outcomes for biodiversity and ecosystems.As the world witnesses and experiences the impacts of climate change, turning to nature could be a pragmatic way to adapt. Governments are being urged to implement ecosystem-based approaches, which include conservation, restoration, and improved land management, in both adaptation and mitigation. Such approaches, framed under the umbrella concept of nature-based solutions (NbS), are expected to be a key component of the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and are already integrated into many countries' National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).However, controversy remains about what constitutes as NbS and how to achieve equitable outcomes while enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem resilience. Compounding this challenge is the unprecedented scale of biodiversity loss as a result of climate change and other interrelated drivers of change.This guidance note aims to clarify the concepts of NbS and nature-based climate solutions (NBCS) with an emphasis on climate adaptation. These adaptation-focused NbS are captured using the widely known term ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA). Beyond awareness and knowledge of these terms, it is vital to unpack the social and biodiversity safeguards necessary for NbS to ensure that solutions are gender responsive, socially inclusive, and deliver biodiversity benefits. This guidance note is a knowledge product of the Nature for Climate Adaptation Initiative (NCAI)

English Learners in Boston Public Schools: Enrollment and Educational Outcomes of Native Speakers of Chinese Dialects

In November 2002, the voters of Massachusetts approved Referendum Question 2. This referendum spelled an end to Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) as the primary program available for children requiring language support in Massachusetts. In its place came a radically different policy called Sheltered English Immersion (SEI). Unlike TBE, which relies on the English learners’ own language to facilitate the learning of academic subjects as they master English, SEI programs rely on the use of simple English in the classroom to impart academic content; teachers use students’ native language only to assist them in completing tasks or to answer a question. This change represented a dramatic shift in the philosophy and practice of teaching English to populations of English Learners. Five years after the start of the implementation of SEI in Massachusetts, there is still scant information about the impact of this change on language education. Models of implementation have varied across the state, with those districts that approach the process most flexibly exhibiting the most substantial gains or the least losses (DeJong, Gort, & Cobb, 2005; Rennie Center, 2007). But there has been no analysis of the outcomes for students under SEI at the state level or in the city of Boston, where the largest number of English Learners in Massachusetts live and attend school. Aside from providing an account of the performance of English Learners in Boston between academic years 2003 and 2006, this study has allowed for a unique look at the performance of groups of students defined by language. This specific report is one of five reports focusing on the enrollment and academic outcomes of the largest groups of native speakers of languages other than English: speakers of Spanish, Chinese dialects, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, and Cape Verdean Creole. For Chinese, Vietnamese, Haitian, and Cape Verdean students and families, this is one of the first looks at the performance of students from these groups in Boston schools. Usually reported as part of aggregates defined by race (e.g., “Asian” or “Black”), information specific to these ethnic groups is seldom reported separately. Our presentation is limited to the data available data which does not allow us to determine the outcomes of all students from these groups but only of those students within these groups who are designated native speakers of their particular language. It also precludes the presentation of the standardized testing (MCAS) outcomes of students from these groups who attend programs for English Learners

Chromatin Modification by PSC Occurs at One PSC per Nucleosome and Does Not Require the Acidic Patch of Histone H2A

Chromatin architecture is regulated through both enzymatic and non-enzymatic activities. For example, the Polycomb Group (PcG) proteins maintain developmental gene silencing using an array of chromatin-based mechanisms. The essential Drosophila PcG protein, Posterior Sex Combs (PSC), compacts chromatin and inhibits chromatin remodeling and transcription through a non-enzymatic mechanism involving nucleosome bridging. Nucleosome bridging is achieved through a combination of nucleosome binding and self-interaction. Precisely how PSC interacts with chromatin to bridge nucleosomes is not known and is the subject of this work. We determine the stoichiometry of PSC-chromatin interactions in compact chromatin (in which nucleosomes are bridged) using Scanning Transmission Electron Microscopy (STEM). We find that full compaction occurs with one PSC per nucleosome. In addition to compacting chromatin, we show that PSC oligomerizes nucleosome arrays. PSC-mediated oligomerization of chromatin occurs at similar stoichiometry as compaction suggesting it may also involve nucleosome bridging. Interactions between the tail of histone H4 and the acidic patch of histone H2A are important for chromatin folding and oligomerization, and several chromatin proteins bind the histone H2A acidic patch. However, mutation of the acidic patch of histone H2A does not affect PSC’s ability to inhibit chromatin remodeling or bridge nucleosomes. In fact, PSC does not require nucleosomes for bridging activity but can bridge naked DNA segments. PSC clusters nucleosomes on sparsely assembled templates, suggesting it interacts preferentially with nucleosomes over bare DNA. This may be due to the ability of PSC to bind free histones. Our data are consistent with a model in which each PSC binds a nucleosome and at least one other PSC to directly bridge nucleosomes and compact chromatin, but also suggest that naked DNA can be included in compacted structures. We discuss how our data highlight the diversity of mechanisms used to modify chromatin architecture.Molecular and Cellular Biolog

English Learners in Boston Public Schools: Enrollment, Engagement and Academic Outcomes of Native Speakers of Cape Verdean Creole, Chinese Dialects, Haitian Creole, Spanish, and Vietnamese

This study focuses on the academic experience of English Learners (ELs) in Boston’s public schools in the year before and in the three years following the implementation of Referendum Question 2. In 2002, this referendum spelled an end to Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) as the primary program available for children requiring language support in Massachusetts public schools, replacing it with Sheltered English Immersion (SEI). Specifically, this report focuses on the enrollment and academic outcomes of the five largest groups of native speakers of languages other than English in the Boston Public Schools: speakers of Spanish, Chinese dialects, Vietnamese, Haitian Creole, and Cape Verdean Creole and explores the different effects of the implementation of Question 2 on each of the groups. It does so by analyzing data on identification, program participation, engagement and achievement for each group and comparing the outcomes for students in programs for ELs with native speakers of these languages enrolled in General Education programs. In this report we list the findings for each group separately and conclude with discussion which compares the outcomes for the groups. For Chinese, Vietnamese, Haitian, and Cape Verdean students and families, this is one of the first looks at the performance of students from these groups in Boston schools. Usually reported as part of aggregates defined by race (e.g., “Asian” or “Black”), information specific to these ethnic groups is seldom reported separately. We present here a limited view, since the available data do not allow us to ascertain the outcomes of all students from these groups but only of those students within these groups who are designated native speakers of their particular language

Obesidad: alternativas al paradigma pesocéntrico y patologizante. Primera entrega

Si bien para los médicos la obesidad es una palabra técnica, para muchas personas tiene la implicancia de un largo sufrimiento en relación a su cuerpo. Históricamente, la medicina tradicional se ha comportado como una barrera en la atención a las personas con exceso de peso debido a la gordofobia y a una perspectiva reduccionista pesocentrista. Es preocupante que las ciencias y prácticas de la salud aún tengan esta mirada sobre la gordura, ya que supone un sesgo que impide que las personas sean atendidas integralmente, vulnerando sus derechos en nombre de una preocupación médica y anteponiendo el descenso de peso frente a otras necesidades de los pacientes. Este artículo, si bien intenta modestamente abrir una reflexión filosófica sobre el cuerpo, la medicina hegemónica y la enfermedad, también tiene como objetivo brindar herramientas técnicas y no técnicas para abordar la obesidad desde otro lugar. En esta primera entrega, desarrollaremos el abordaje integral de la persona con cuerpo gordo. La segunda entrega estará enfocada en los tratamientos farmacológicos, no farmacológicos y quirúrgicos de la obesidad

The Impact of multimorbidity burden, frailty risk scoring, and 3-directional morphological indices vs. testing for CSF responsiveness in normal pressure hydrocephalus

Objective: Multimorbidity burden across disease cohorts and variations in clinico-radiographic presentations within normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) confound its diagnosis, and the assessment of its amenability to interventions. We hypothesized that novel imaging techniques such as 3-directional linear morphological indices could help in distinguishing between hydrocephalus vs. non-hydrocephalus and correlate with responsiveness to external lumbar drainage (CSF responsiveness) within NPH subtypes.Methodology: Twenty-one participants with NPH were recruited and age-matched to 21 patients with Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) and 21 healthy controls (HC) selected from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative (ADNI) database. Patients with NPH underwent testing via the NPH programme with external lumbar drainage (ELD); pre- and post-ELD MRI scans were obtained. The modified Frailty Index (mFI-11) was used to stratify the NPH cohort, including Classic and Complex subtypes, by their comorbidity and frailty risks. The quantitative imaging network tool 3D Slicer was used to derive traditional 2-dimensional (2d) linear measures; Evans Index (EI), Bicaudate Index (BCI) and Callosal Angle (CA), along with novel 3-directional (3d) linear measures; z-Evans Index and Brain per Ventricle Ratio (BVR). 3-Dimensional (3D) ventricular volumetry was performed as an independent correlate of ventriculomegaly to CSF responsiveness.Results: Mean age for study participants was 71.14 ± 6.3 years (18, 85.7% males). The majority (15/21, 71.4%) of participants with NPH comprised the Complex subtype (overlay from vascular risk burden and AD); 12/21 (57.1%) were Non-Responders to ELD. Frailty alone was insufficient in distinguishing between NPH subtypes. By contrast, 3d linear measures distinguished NPH from both AD and HC cohorts, but also correlated to CSF responsiveness. The z-Evans Index was the most sensitive volumetric measure of CSF responsiveness (p = 0.012). Changes in 3d morphological indices across timepoints distinguished between Responders vs. Non-Responders to lumbar testing. There was a significant reduction of indices, only in Non-Responders and across multiple measures (z-Evans Index; p = 0.001, BVR at PC; p = 0.024). This was due to a significant decrease in ventricular measurement (p = 0.005) that correlated to independent 3D volumetry (p = 0.008).Conclusion. In the context of multimorbidity burden, frailty risks and overlay from neurodegenerative disease, 3d morphological indices demonstrated utility in distinguishing hydrocephalus vs. non-hydrocephalus and degree of CSF responsiveness. Further work may support the characterization of patients with Complex NPH who would best benefit from the risks of interventions

Early Diffusion of SARS-CoV-2 Infection in the Inner Area of the Italian Sardinia Island

Background: Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been responsible for the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which started as a severe pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. Italy has been the first European country affected by the pandemic, registering a total of 300,363 cases and 35,741 deaths until September 24, 2020. The geographical distribution of SARS-CoV-2 in Italy during early 2020 has not been homogeneous, including regions severely affected as well as administrative areas being only slightly interested by the infection. Among the latter, Sardinia represents one of the lowest incidence areas likely due to its insular nature. Methods: Next-generation sequencing of a small number of complete viral genomes from clinical samples and their virologic and phylogenetic characterization was performed. Results: We provide a first overview of the SARS-CoV-2 genomic diversity in Sardinia in the early phase of the March–May 2020 pandemic based on viral genomes isolated in the most inner regional hospital of the island. Our analysis revealed a remarkable genetic diversity in local SARS-CoV-2 viral genomes, showing the presence of at least four different clusters that can be distinguished by specific amino acid substitutions. Based on epidemiological information, these sequences can be linked to at least eight different clusters of infection, four of which likely originates from imported cases. In addition, the presence of amino acid substitutions that were not previously reported in Italian patients has been observed, asking for further investigations in a wider population to assess their prevalence and dynamics of emergence during the pandemic. Conclusion: The present study provides a snapshot of the initial phases of the SARS-CoV-2 infection in inner area of the Sardinia Island, showing an unexpected genomic diversity

Structural and Functional Analysis of a Multimodular Hyperthermostable Xylanase-Glucuronoyl Esterase from Caldicellulosiruptor kristjansonii

The hyperthermophilic bacterium Caldicellulosiruptor kristjansonii encodes an unusual enzyme, CkXyn10C-GE15A, which incorporates two catalytic domains, a xylanase and a glucuronoyl esterase, and five carbohydrate-binding modules (CBMs) from families 9 and 22. The xylanase and glucuronoyl esterase catalytic domains were recently biochemically characterized, as was the ability of the individual CBMs to bind insoluble polysaccharides. Here, we further probed the abilities of the different CBMs from CkXyn10C-GE15A to bind to soluble poly- and oligosaccharides using affinity gel electrophoresis, isothermal titration calorimetry, and differential scanning fluorimetry. The results revealed additional binding properties of the proteins compared to the former studies on insoluble polysaccharides. Collectively, the results show that all five CBMs have their own distinct binding preferences and appear to complement each other and the catalytic domains in targeting complex cell wall polysaccharides. Additionally, through renewed efforts, we have achieved partial structural characterization of this complex multidomain protein. We have determined the structures of the third CBM9 domain (CBM9.3) and the glucuronoyl esterase (GE15A) by X-ray crystallography. CBM9.3 is the second CBM9 structure determined to date and was shown to bind oligosaccharide ligands at the same site but in a different binding mode compared to that of the previously determined CBM9 structure from Thermotoga maritima. GE15A represents a unique intermediate between reported fungal and bacterial glucuronoyl esterase structures as it lacks two inserted loop regions typical of bacterial enzymes and a third loop has an atypical structure. We also report small-angle X-ray scattering measurements of the N-terminal CBM22.1-CBM22.2-Xyn10C construct, indicating a compact arrangement at room temperature

An Ancient Egyptian Multilayered Polychrome Wooden Sculpture Belonging to the Museo Egizio of Torino: Characterization of Painting Materials and Design of Cleaning Processes by Means of Highly Retentive Hydrogels

This contribution focuses on the conservation of an Egyptian wooden sculpture (Inventory Number Cat. 745) belonging to the Museo Egizio of Torino in northwest Italy. A preliminary and interdisciplinary study of constituent painting materials and their layering is here provided. It was conducted by means of a multi-technique approach starting from non-invasive multispectral analysis on the whole object, and subsequently, on selected micro-samples. In particular, visible fluorescence induced by ultraviolet radiation (UVF), infrared reflectography (IRR) and visible--induced infrared luminescence were used on the whole object. The micro-samples were analysed by means of an optical microscope with visible and UV light sources, a scanning electron microscope (SEM) with an energy-dispersive X-ray spectrometer (EDX), Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometer, pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometer (Py-GC/MS) and micro-particle induced X-ray emission (PIXE). The characterization of the painting materials allowed the detection of Egyptian blue and Egyptian green, and also confirmed the pertinence of the top brown layer to the original materials, which is a key point to design a suitable surface treatment. In fact, due to the water sensitiveness of the original materials, only few options were available to perform cleaning operations on this artwork. To setup the cleaning procedure, we performed several preliminary tests on mockups using dry cleaning materials, commonly used to treat reactive surfaces, and innovative highly water retentive hydrogels, which can potentially limit the mechanical action on the original surface while proving excellent cleaning results. Overall, this study has proved fundamental to increase our knowledge on ancient Egyptian artistic techniques and contribute to hypothesize the possible provenance of the artefact. It also demonstrated that polyvinyl alcohol-based retentive gels allow for the safe and efficient cleaning of extremely water sensitive painted surfaces, as those typical of ancient Egyptian artefacts