Delineating neuroinflammation, parasite CNS invasion, and blood-brain barrier dysfunction in an experimental murine model of human African trypanosomiasis

Although Trypanosoma brucei spp. was first detected by Aldo Castellani in CSF samples taken from sleeping sickness patients over a century ago there is still a great deal of debate surrounding the timing, route and effects of transmigration of the parasite from the blood to the CNS. In this investigation, we have applied contrast-enhance magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to study the effects of trypanosome infection on the blood-brain barrier (BBB) in the well-established GVR35 mouse model of sleeping sickness. In addition, we have measured the trypanosome load present in the brain using quantitative Taqman PCR and assessed the severity of the neuroinflammatory reaction at specific time points over the course of the infection. Contrast enhanced – MRI detected a significant degree of BBB impairment in mice at 14 days following trypanosome infection, which increased in a step-wise fashion as the disease progressed. Parasite DNA was present in the brain tissue on day 7 after infection. This increased significantly in quantity by day 14 post-infection and continued to rise as the infection advanced. A progressive increase in neuroinflammation was detected following trypanosome infection, reaching a significant level of severity on day 14 post-infection and rising further at later time-points. In this model stage-2 disease presents at 21 days post-infection. The combination of the three methodologies indicates that changes in the CNS become apparent prior to the onset of established stage-2 disease. This could in part account for the difficulties associated with defining specific criteria to distinguish stage-1 and stage-2 infections and highlights the need for improved staging diagnostics

Pacific Bananas: Complex Origins, Multiple Dispersals?

This paper reviews recent genetic evidence for the origins of the traditional cultivated bananas of the Pacific, and shows that they are unexpectedly complex. Current assumption of their prevailing west-to-east spread from Southeast Asia into the Pacific thus needs modification. Although bananas are widely assumed to have been part of the set of crops transported to Polynesia at first settlement, the linguistic evidence on which this is based underestimates the diversity of bananas in the New Guinea region and is suspect. Archaeological evidence of bananas is so far very tenuous. Recent genetic evidence of the parentage of most groups of cultivated bananas shows that the primary step toward edibility occurred in the Philippines New Guinea region. Early movements westward across Island Southeast Asia must have occurred, and the complexity of hybrids makes regionally dispersed development likely. There is no demonstrable link with Taiwan or the adjacent coast of China. There is no evidence that the genetically distinct lineages of bananas found in Polynesia were brought together in the putatively ancestral Lapita crop assemblage of the northern New Guinea region. The complex phylogeny of the cultivated Pacific bananas may thus suggest multiple prehistoric introductions of bananas to Polynesia. If bananas were part of the founding set of crops of Remote Oceania, the question "which bananas?" is currently unanswered. KEYWORDS: Indo-Pacific migration and colonization; banana domestication, taxonomy, and genetics; Pacific plantains, Fe'i bananas, New Guinea archaeobotany, banana phytoliths

Bananas and People in the homeland of Genus Musa: not just pretty fruit

Bananas, perhaps the most recognizable of fruits, are nowhere more genetically diverse than in the southwest Pacific, where parthenocarpic fruit originated according to recent biomolecular evidence. In the wider Indo-Malesian area, homeland of the genus Musa L., understanding the domestication of bananas must include consideration of a much greater range of Musa species than just the few implicated in the parentage of the modern cultivars with seedless fruit. Despite ethnobotanical evidence that the genus has been valued for many more products than the edible fruit, the role of other products in the process of domestication is seldom considered. As well as documenting the development and spread of seedless cultivars, we need to develop models of the fundamental Indo-Malesian practices through which the greater range of species and products, seeds and all, were managed in diverse socio-cultural and environmental circumstances

SHARE Ireland: First Results

The study team gratefully acknowledges funding support from the Irish Research Council for Humanities and Social Sciences under the Thematic Research Programmes initiative. Mark McGovern from UCD and Dr. Berengere Davin from NUIG provided substantial and excellent assistance in the drafting of this document. Christianne Hellmanzik, Lorna Sweeney and Fearghal O.hAodha also provided excellent research assistance at various stages of this project. We would like to thank Dr. Dorothy Watson of the ESRI who co-ordinated the field-work and her team of interviewers. Dr. Marcel Das of CenTERdata in Tilburg University and Simon Holroyd of NATCEN provided substantial technical assistance. This study would not have been possible in Ireland without the support of Professor Axel Boersch-Supan of the Mannheim Institute of Aging (MEA) who leads the European SHARE study. We would also like to sincerely thank the many participants who gave their time for this important study.share, ireland, results

A hybrid Delphi-SWOT paradigm for oil and gas pipeline strategic planning in Caspian Sea basin

The Caspian Sea basin holds large quantities of both oil and natural gas that could help meet the increasing global demand for energy resources. Consequently, the oil and gas potential of the region has attracted the attention of the international oil and gas industry. The key to realizing the energy producing potential of the region is the development of transnational export routes to take oil and gas from the landlocked Caspian Sea basin to world markets. The evaluation and selection of alternative transnational export routes is a complex multi-criteria problem with conflicting objectives. The decision makers (DMs) are required to consider a vast amount of information concerning internal strengths and weaknesses of the alternative routes as well as external opportunities and threats to them. This paper presents a hybrid model that combines strength, weakness, opportunity and threat (SWOT) analysis with the Delphi metho

Public Perceptions of the Dioxin Crisis in Irish Pork

In early December 2008, a global recall of Irish pork was initiated as a result of a subset of the national pork output being contaminated with dioxin. In this study, members of a panel from an internet-based longitudinal monitor of public opinion on food and health, was used to assess public perceptions about the dioxin incident in late December. A larger proportion of respondents reported that that there was a 'very high' health risk from pork (8.6 %) than any other food of animal origin. The risk posed to human health from dioxins was considered to be relatively high compared to a broad range of potential food and non-food risks. The majority of respondents (70.5 %) accepted that the way in which the authorities managed the crisis was 'adequate' or 'very efficient'. These findings should be considered in light of the following facts: the European Food Safety Authority and the Irish authorities announced that there was no risk to human health from the dioxins in pork, there was extensive media attention about the dioxin incident, and the Irish Government had to introduce a 200 million euro compensation package for the Irish pork industry which was funded by the Irish taxpayer.food risk, dioxins, consumer risk perception

HOW MARGINALIZED STUDENTS FIND THEMSELVES INCLUDED IN SYLLABI: AN INTERPRETATIVE PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

This dissertation presents the first known Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) investigation of how marginalized students are included in syllabi. This study fills a gap in the literature due to the changing demographic of college students, the absence of faculty who share these marginalized identities, the syllabus being the first point of contact with students, and syllabi studies not including student voices. There were two research questions: how do marginalized students understand themselves as included in syllabi? and, how do marginalized students make meaning of their experiences with syllabi through their intersecting identities? This study used IPA to analyze each participant\u27s syllabus experience. A purposeful homogenous sampling yielded seven marginalized third- and fourth-year undergraduate students from four Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern universities. Individual semi-structured recorded interviews that lasted between 51–128 minutes collected the data. After data analysis, member-checking confirmed the researcher\u27s interpretations. Five themes emerged through the analysis: Expressing feelings from syllabi policies; Centering identities in course materials; The link between syllabus, faculty, and course; Creating equitable partnerships; and Providing solutions for identities. The participants understood themselves as not included in syllabi policies and course materials. They found policies had a punitive nature, lack of flexibility, and did not include their identities. There were negative and positive effects on their well-being, and they provided a link between the syllabus and syllabus day. Through their experiences, they offered ideas and solutions to help them feel inclusion not only for themselves but for other marginalized identities. This study contributes to the field by providing insight into the experiences of marginalized students and syllabi. Based on this study, there is work that must be done by faculty, administration, faculty developers, accessibility and disability services offices to implement inclusive pedagogy and universal design for learning (UDL) in all courses. Further studies can add to this study, examine the change with the incorporation of inclusive pedagogy and UDL, syllabus day, faculty resistance to change, and syllabi policy reform

Improving the Lives of Transgender Older Adults: Recommendations for Policy and Practice

Transgender and gender non-conforming adults face a myriad of challenges as they age. While very limited, the existing research on transgender people paints a picture of many people aging in isolation and without a network of knowledgeable or welcoming providers in the aging, health and social services arenas. Further, transgender elders often experience extreme disparities in access to health care and low rates of health insurance coverage due in large part to systemic discrimination from providers and insurance companies, as well as economic instability resulting from discrimination in employment and housing, among other areas. An overarching challenge for policymakersand practitioners isthe dearth in research examining the challenges facing this population--and the types of policies and programmatic interventions that would improve their lives. While the need for better data and more research on lesbian, gay and bisexual communities has gained support over the last few years, gender identity remains largely absent from the scope of social research and analysis. Moreover, few studies have addressed the specific challenges facing transgender elders. Research focused on transgender people of color is even more limited, despite some studies suggesting that they experience high levels of violence and discrimination