The Drought and Humanitarian Crisis in Central and Southwest Asia: A Climate Perspective

A persistent multi-year drought in Central and Southwest Asia has affected close to 60 million people as of November 2001. Chronic political instability in many parts of this region and the recent military action in Afghanistan have further complicated the situation. This report provides a climatic perspective on the severity and spatial extent of the ongoing drought and its social and economic impacts. The target audience for this report includes national, regional and international policymakers, humanitarian relief agencies, members of the research community as well as others with a general interest in Central and Southwest Asia and the causes and consequences of the persistent drought in the region. The report discusses underlying climatic mechanisms that might explain the causes for the persistent drought, and presents seasonal climate forecasts and their implications for the region. The principal conclusions of this report are as follows: Central and Southwest Asia represents the largest region of persistent drought over the past three years anywhere in the world. From a regional perspective, the ongoing drought is the most severe in the past several decades. Significant shortfalls in precipitation have led to widespread social and economic impacts, particularly in Iran, Afghanistan, Western Pakistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Agriculture, animal husbandry, water resources, and public health have been particularly stressed throughout the region. Preliminary analysis suggests that the drought is related to large-scale variations in the climate across the Indian and Pacific Oceans, including the recent “La Niña” in the eastern Pacific. Current seasonal climate forecasting skill in Central and Southwest Asia is modest. IRI seasonal forecasts for the period November 2001-April 2002 are consequently for climatology or equal likelihood of above-, near-, or below-normal precipitation in the region. While not indicative of any pronounced trends, a climatology forecast is less dire than one indicating enhanced probabilities for below normal precipitation

Financing Sustainable Value Creation

Addressing the contribution of EU financial markets to unsustainable business practices is vital to realising the EU’s commitments on sustainability. In this chapter, we assess recent EU legislative progress in this field. We argue that legislative and regulatory mechanisms in the field of financial regulation are progressing too slowly to meet the EU’s self-imposed targets for sustainability. We argue that, on current trajectories, a fundamental recalibration of reform efforts is required in relation to financial system participants if a reduction in the funding of activities that cause damage to the environment and to the social foundation of humanity is to be achieved. To this end, we provide a menu of rapid and meaningful policy interventions.Peer reviewe

Antipsychotic treatment patterns in refugees and their Swedish-born peers with first-episode non-affective psychosis: findings from the REMAIN study

Background Previous studies suggest that migrants tend to utilise antipsychotics less often than their native-born peers. However, studies examining antipsychotic use among refugees with psychosis are lacking. Aims To compare the prevalence of antipsychotic drug use during the first 5 years of illness among refugees and Swedish-born individuals with a newly diagnosed non-affective psychotic disorder, and to identify sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with antipsychotic use. Method The study population included refugees (n = 1656) and Swedish-born persons (n = 8908) aged 18–35 years during 2007–2018, with incident diagnosis of non-affective psychotic disorder recorded in the Swedish in-patient or specialised out-patient care register. Two-week point prevalence of antipsychotics use was assessed every 6 months in the 5 years following first diagnosis. Factors associated with antipsychotic use (versus non-use) at 1 year after diagnosis were examined with modified Poisson regression. Results Refugees were somewhat less likely to use antipsychotics at 1 year after first diagnosis compared with Swedish-born persons (37.1% v. 42.2%, age- and gender-adjusted risk ratio 0.88, 95% CI 0.82–0.95). However, at the 5-year follow-up, refugees and Swedish-born individuals showed similar patterns of antipsychotic use (41.1% v. 40.4%). Among refugees, higher educational level (>12 years), previous antidepressant use and being diagnosed with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder at baseline were associated with an increased risk of antipsychotics use, whereas being born in Afghanistan or Iraq (compared with former Yugoslavia) was associated with decreased risk. Conclusions Our findings suggest that refugees with non-affective psychotic disorders may need targeted interventions to ensure antipsychotic use during the early phase of illness

Складова духовної культури та запорука стабільності політичного режиму Марокко

Головною тенденцією останніх десятиліть стали процеси глобалізації, які по-різному впливають на країни, так би мовити, „старого центру” та „периферії”. У „центрі” зосередились країни, в яких демократія має давні традиції, що зміцнювалися на засадах західноєвропейської християнської культури. Якщо взяти африканський континент, то побачимо там сукупність специфічних проблем, які одночасно наближають і віддаляють країни, що її складають, від глобалізаційних процесів. Отже, природно, що увага спеціалістів з проблем світового демократичного транзиту, культурології, політології, хоча й з різних причин, прикута до „чорного континенту”. Однією з проблем, що викликає небуденний інтерес дослідників, є стосунки, взаємодія західної та східної цивілізацій

An ocean model's response to North Atlantic Oscillation like wind forcing

The response of the Atlantic Ocean to North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)-like wind forcing was investigated using an ocean-only general circulation model coupled to an atmospheric boundary layer model. A series of idealized experiments was performed to investigate the interannual to multi-decadal frequency response of the ocean to a winter wind anomaly pattern. Overall, the strength of the SST response increased slightly with longer forcing periods. In the subpolar gyre, however, the model showed a broad response maximum in the decadal band (12-16 years)

Change in diet, physical activity, and body weight among young-adults during the transition from high school to college

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The freshmen year of college is likely a critical period for risk of weight gain among young-adults.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>A longitudinal observational study was conducted to examine changes in weight, dietary intake, and other health-related behaviors among first-year college students (n = 186) attending a public University in the western United States. Weight was measured at the beginning and end of fall semester (August – December 2005). Participants completed surveys about dietary intake, physical activity and other health-related behaviors during the last six months of high school (January – June 2005) in August 2005 and during their first semester of college (August – December 2005) in December 2005.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>159 students (n = 102 women, 57 men) completed both assessments. The average BMI at the baseline assessment was 23.0 (standard deviation (SD) 3.8). Although the average amount of weight gained during the 15-week study was modest (1.5 kg), 23% of participants gained ≥ 5% of their baseline body weight. Average weight gain among those who gained ≥ 5% of baseline body weight was 4.5 kg. Those who gained ≥ 5% of body weight reported less physical activity during college than high school, were more likely to eat breakfast, and slept more than were those who did not gain ≥ 5% of body weight.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Almost one quarter of students gained a significant amount of weight during their first semester of college. This research provides further support for the implementation of education or other strategies aimed at helping young-adults entering college to achieve or maintain a healthy body weight.</p

Snx3 Regulates Recycling of the Transferrin Receptor and Iron Assimilation

Sorting of endocytic ligands and receptors is critical for diverse cellular processes. The physiological significance of endosomal sorting proteins in vertebrates, however, remains largely unknown. Here we report that sorting nexin 3 (Snx3) facilitates the recycling of transferrin receptor (Tfrc) and thus is required for the proper delivery of iron to erythroid progenitors. Snx3 is highly expressed in vertebrate hematopoietic tissues. Silencing of Snx3 results in anemia and hemoglobin defects in vertebrates due to impaired transferrin (Tf)-mediated iron uptake and its accumulation in early endosomes. This impaired iron assimilation can be complemented with non-Tf iron chelates. We show that Snx3 and Vps35, a component of the retromer, interact with Tfrc to sort it to the recycling endosomes. Our findings uncover a role of Snx3 in regulating Tfrc recycling, iron homeostasis, and erythropoiesis. Thus, the identification of Snx3 provides a genetic tool for exploring erythropoiesis and disorders of iron metabolism.National Institutes of Health (U.S.) (P01 HL032262

The NEID precision radial velocity spectrometer: Commissioning of the Port Adapter

In October 2019, the NEID instrument (PI Suvrath Mahadevan, PSU) was delivered to the WIYN 3.5 m Telescope at Kitt Peak National Observatory. Commissioning began shortly after delivery, but was paused due to a COVID-19 imposed observatory shutdown in March 2020. The observatory has recently reopened and NEID commissioning has resumed. NEID is an optical (380-930 nm), fiber-fed, precision Doppler radial velocity system developed as part of the NN-EXPLORE partnership. While the spectrometer and calibration system are maintained in a highly controlled environment on the basement level of the WIYN, the NEID Port Adapter mounts directly to a bent-Cassegrain port on the telescope and is responsible for precisely and stably placing target light on the science fibers. Here we present a brief overview of the as-built Port Adapter and its sub-components. We then discuss preliminary on-sky performance compared to requirements as well as next steps as we complete commissioning