Treating the placenta to prevent adverse effects of gestational hypoxia on fetal brain development.

Some neuropsychiatric disease, including schizophrenia, may originate during prenatal development, following periods of gestational hypoxia and placental oxidative stress. Here we investigated if gestational hypoxia promotes damaging secretions from the placenta that affect fetal development and whether a mitochondria-targeted antioxidant MitoQ might prevent this. Gestational hypoxia caused low birth-weight and changes in young adult offspring brain, mimicking those in human neuropsychiatric disease. Exposure of cultured neurons to fetal plasma or to secretions from the placenta or from model trophoblast barriers that had been exposed to altered oxygenation caused similar morphological changes. The secretions and plasma contained altered microRNAs whose targets were linked with changes in gene expression in the fetal brain and with human schizophrenia loci. Molecular and morphological changes in vivo and in vitro were prevented by a single dose of MitoQ bound to nanoparticles, which were shown to localise and prevent oxidative stress in the placenta but not in the fetus. We suggest the possibility of developing preventative treatments that target the placenta and not the fetus to reduce risk of psychiatric disease in later life

A framework for remission in SLE: consensus findings from a large international task force on definitions of remission in SLE (DORIS)

Objectives Treat-to-target recommendations have identified 'remission' as a target in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), but recognise that there is no universally accepted definition for this. Therefore, we initiated a process to achieve consensus on potential definitions for remission in SLE. Methods An international task force of 60 specialists and patient representatives participated in preparatory exercises, a face-to-face meeting and follow-up electronic voting. The level for agreement was set at 90%. Results The task force agreed on eight key statements regarding remission in SLE and three principles to guide the further development of remission definitions: 1. Definitions of remission will be worded as follows: remission in SLE is a durable state characterised by . (reference to symptoms, signs, routine labs). 2. For defining remission, a validated index must be used, for example, clinical systemic lupus erythematosus disease activity index (SLEDAI)=0, British Isles lupus assessment group (BILAG) 2004 D/E only, clinical European consensus lupus outcome measure (ECLAM)=0; with routine laboratory assessments included, and supplemented with physician's global assessment. 3. Distinction is made between remission off and on therapy: remission off therapy requires the patient to be on no other treatment for SLE than maintenance antimalarials; and remission on therapy allows patients to be on stable maintenance antimalarials, low-dose corticosteroids (prednisone ≤5 mg/day), maintenance immunosuppressives and/or maintenance biologics. The task force also agreed that the most appropriate outcomes (dependent variables) for testing the prognostic value (construct validity) of potential remission definitions are: death, damage, flares and measures of health-related quality of life. Conclusions The work of this international task force provides a framework for testing different definitions of remission against long-term outcomes

2021 DORIS definition of remission in SLE: final recommendations from an international task force.

OBJECTIVE: To achieve consensus on a definition of remission in SLE (DORIS). BACKGROUND: Remission is the stated goal for both patient and caregiver, but consensus on a definition of remission has been lacking. Previously, an international task force consisting of patient representatives and medical specialists published a framework for such a definition, without reaching a final recommendation. METHODS: Several systematic literature reviews were performed and specific research questions examined in suitably chosen data sets. The findings were discussed, reformulated as recommendations and voted on. RESULTS: Based on data from the literature and several SLE-specific data sets, a set of recommendations was endorsed. Ultimately, the DORIS Task Force recommended a single definition of remission in SLE, based on clinical systemic lupus erythematosus disease activitiy index (SLEDAI)=0, Evaluator's Global Assessment <0.5 (0-3), prednisolone 5 mg/day or less, and stable antimalarials, immunosuppressives, and biologics. CONCLUSION: The 2021 DORIS definition of remission in SLE is recommended for use in clinical care, education, and research including clinical trials and observational studies

The University of British Columbia Food System Project (UBCFSP) : scenario 1

The UBC Food System Project is in its third year and aims to assess and improve the sustainability of the UBC Food System. Building on the best of the general models prepared for this purpose in 2003, we examine the sustainability of one specific part of the UBC Food System, namely Agora, the student-run food outlet in the Faculty of Agricultural Science’s MacMillan Building. We select a total of four indicators to represent and measure economic, social and ecological sustainability, and we assess Agora’s current business model against these indicators. While we find that Agora does well with respect to ecological sustainability, we find significant room for improvement in economic and social sustainability. Several recommendations are made with respect to each indicator, and instruments are provided for measuring and assessing progress over time. Disclaimer: “UBC SEEDS provides students with the opportunity to share the findings of their studies, as well as their opinions, conclusions and recommendations with the UBC community. The reader should bear in mind that this is a student project/report and is not an official document of UBC. Furthermore readers should bear in mind that these reports may not reflect the current status of activities at UBC. We urge you to contact the research persons mentioned in a report or the SEEDS Coordinator about the current status of the subject matter of a project/report.”Land and Food Systems, Faculty ofUnreviewedUndergraduat

Geochemical and mineralogical investigation of the Permian-Triassic boundary in the Continental Realm of the Southern Karoo Basin, South Africa

Mineralogical and geochemical studies of the non-marine Permian–Triassic (P–Tr) boundary across two stratigraphically wellconstrained sections (Commando Drift Dam and Wapadsberg, Eastern Cape Province) in the southern Karoo Basin, South Africa, have been undertaken to provide further input on the cause of this mass extinction event, and so has a sedimentological and geochemical evaluation of a third P–Tr boundary section at Injusiti (Kwazulu-Natal) in the eastern Karoo Basin, South Africa. The Commando Drift Dam section has been constrained by previous palaeontological and palaeomagnetic work, with a palaeomagnetic reversal positioned 5.3m above the palaeontological P–Tr boundary. The Wapadsberg section has been constrained palaeontologically. All these P–Tr sections studied here mostly comprise mudstones, together with siltstones, sandstones, and in the southern Karoo Basin, carbonate nodular horizons. A change in colour of the mudstones from green-grey to red-brown takes place at the palaeontologically defined boundary. Variations in the major and trace element abundance profiles are usually limited to the carbonate nodular horizons, besides the overall effects of weathering. Bulk carbon isotopic studies of the Commando Drift Dam section revealed a negative δ13Cbulk excursion (background values of −15 to −20‰, with total extent of excursion to −24.9‰) 2 cm below the palaeontological boundary, followed by a gradual recovery and then another decrease in values leading towards the palaeomagnetic boundary. Above this boundary recovery to less negative δ13Cbulk values (ca. −18‰) occurs. The organic carbon record from the Commando Drift Dam (southern Karoo Basin) and Injusiti (eastern Karoo Basin) oscillates between −26.1 and −28.9‰, which is comparable to previous studies of different sections in the southern Karoo Basin. The magnitude of both the bulk and organic carbon isotopic variation can be interpreted to indicate a number of inputs (due to the fluctuating values) of organic carbon. The carbon isotope data for carbonates in the Injusiti section are different from the results on carbonates from other studies, but more work to expand this dataset is necessary. The palynological studies on the Commando Drift Dam section reveal the presence of a low diversity flora composed principally of bryophytes, lycophytes, and gymnosperms. These forms, including several Late Permian key-species, are traces of the surviving plants enduring after the major extinction-pulse. The presence of fungal palynomorphs and dearth of pollen/spores related to photosynthetic plants some metres above the palaeontological P–Tr boundary demonstrate similarities to the pattern of floral extinction at the Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K–Pg) boundary. The timing of vertebrate extinctions in the Karoo Basin has so far not been determined, but the 252.5 Ma age for a single zircon crystal from Commando Drift Dam dated here gives a maximum constraint on the age of the event bed, which is in agreement with the accepted age of the boundary. No evidence for impact-produced microdeformation features were found in quartz grains from either the Wapadsberg or Commando Drift Dam sections. Also, siderophile element data (including platinum group element (PGE)concentrations) do not support the possible presence of a meteoritic component at the boundary. Thus, a link between impact and P–Tr extinction is not indicated by the results of this study

Diversity of limno-terrestrial tardigrades of the Americas in relation to the Great American Biotic Interchange hypothesis (GABI)

Zoogeographical studies on Tardigrada are limited by the extent of our knowledge on tardigrade taxonomy and faunistics. In this paper we analyse the relationships between the tardigrade fauna of North, Central and South America (Nearctic and Neotropical regions) and provide the first test of whether the tardigrade fauna of the Americas has undergone the great American interchange. Our analyses were based on 384 tardigrade species records obtained for 1702 localities in North, South and Central America. We found that (1) some tardigrade species are distributed, as predicted by the Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI) hypothesis, on both sides of the Panama Isthmus; (2) the Central American tardigrade fauna is specific and different from both the South and the North American faunas, although it is closer to the tropical areas of South America; (3) either the tardigrade fauna of South and North America appear to be more similar to each other than to that of Central America, or there is a Nearctic–Neotropic division of the faunas; and (4) endemism in Central America suggests a more complex biogeographical process than predicted by the connection of two continents