7 research outputs found
Ep. #033 - Standing Rock (feat. Jaskiran Dhillon & Nick Estes)
No full textThis recording and transcript form part of a collection of podcasts conducted by the Cultures of Energy at Rice University. Cultures of Energy brings writers, artists and scholars together to talk, think and feel their way into the Anthropocene. We cover serious issues like climate change, species extinction and energy transition. But we also try to confront seemingly huge and insurmountable problems with insight, creativity and laughter.Until a few weeks ago, most of us hadn’t heard about the lawsuit and protest of the Standing Rock Sioux against the Dakota Access Pipeline project. Now the resistance is the subject of national and international media coverage. Still, there is much we do not understand about the history and stakes of what is happening at Standing Rock in terms of Indigenous rights and sovereignty, climate justice, and the struggle for energy transition. By way of comparison, Cymene and Dominic briefly discuss Indigenous resistance to energy projects in their fieldwork in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec. Then (11:08) we welcome to the podcast Jaskiran Dhillon and Nick Estes. Jaskiran is a first generation academic and advocate who grew up on Treaty Six Cree/Métis Territory in Saskatchewan. She is currently an Assistant Professor of Global Studies and Anthropology at The New School and author of the forthcoming Prairie Rising: Indigenous Youth, Decolonization, and the Politics of Intervention (U Toronto, 2017). Nick Estes is Kul Wicasa from the Lower Brule Sioux Tribe. He is a doctoral candidate in American Studies at the University of New Mexico, an Andrew W. Mellon Dissertation Fellow, and a co-founder of activist organization The Red Nation. A winner of a Native American Journalist Association award for his writing, Nick’s research focuses on the history and politics of the Oceti Sakowin (The Great Sioux Nation), border town violence, colonialism and decolonization, and Indigenous internationalism and human rights. Together we discuss what led to opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline, the legacies of settler colonialism and empire in the region, and the impact Indigenous youth are having on the climate justice movement. Jaskiran and Nick explain to us why what is happening at Standing Rock is truly unprecedented and why it might give us hope despite how deeply pipeline politics remain invested in traditions of settler violence. Finally, we discuss what they think will happen next and how people wishing to support the resistance can help; for those with the resources to help, donations to the legal defense fund and to support the community can be made at standingrock.org PS special thanks to Audra Simpson for helping to make this episode possible
Home-based narrowband UVB, topical corticosteroid or combination for children and adults with vitiligo: HI-light vitiligo three-arm RCT
No full textBackground: Systematic reviews suggest that narrowband ultraviolet B light combined with treatments such as topical corticosteroids may be more effective than monotherapy for vitiligo. Objective: To explore the clinical effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of topical corticosteroid monotherapy compared with (1) hand-held narrowband ultraviolet B light monotherapy and (2) handheld narrowband ultraviolet B light/topical corticosteroid combination treatment for localised vitiligo. Design: Pragmatic, three-arm, randomised controlled trial with 9 months of treatment and a 12-month follow-up. Setting: Sixteen UK hospitals - participants were recruited from primary and secondary care and the community. Participants: Adults and children (aged ≥ 5 years) with active non-segmental vitiligo affecting ≤ 10% of their body area. Interventions: Topical corticosteroids [mometasone furoate 0.1% (Elocon®, Merck Sharp & Dohme Corp., Merck & Co., Inc., Whitehouse Station, NJ, USA) plus dummy narrowband ultraviolet B light]; narrowband ultraviolet B light (narrowband ultraviolet B light plus placebo topical corticosteroids); or combination (topical corticosteroids plus narrowband ultraviolet B light). Topical corticosteroids were applied once daily on alternate weeks and narrowband ultraviolet B light was administered every other day in escalating doses, with a dose adjustment for erythema. All treatments were home based. Main outcome measures: The primary outcome was self-assessed treatment success for a chosen target patch after 9 months of treatment ('a lot less noticeable' or ʼno longer noticeable' on the Vitiligo Noticeability Scale). Secondary outcomes included blinded assessment of primary outcome and percentage repigmentation, onset and maintenance of treatment response, quality of life, side effects, treatment burden and cost-effectiveness (cost per additional successful treatment). Results: In total, 517 participants were randomised (adults, n = 398; and children, n = 119; 52% male; 57% paler skin types I-III, 43% darker skin types IV-VI). At the end of 9 months of treatment, 370 (72%) participants provided primary outcome data. The median percentage of narrowband ultraviolet B light treatment-days (actual/allocated) was 81% for topical corticosteroids, 77% for narrowband ultraviolet B light and 74% for combination groups; and for ointment was 79% for topical corticosteroids, 83% for narrowband ultraviolet B light and 77% for combination. Target patch location was head and neck (31%), hands and feet (32%), and rest of the body (37%). Target patch treatment 'success' was 20 out of 119 (17%) for topical corticosteroids, 27 out of 123 (22%) for narrowband ultraviolet B light and 34 out of 128 (27%) for combination. Combination treatment was superior to topical corticosteroids (adjusted risk difference 10.9%, 95% confidence interval 1.0% to 20.9%; p = 0.032; number needed to treat = 10). Narrowband ultraviolet B light was not superior to topical corticosteroids (adjusted risk difference 5.2%, 95% confidence interval -4.4% to 14.9%; p = 0.290; number needed to treat = 19). The secondary outcomes supported the primary analysis. Quality of life did not differ between the groups. Participants who adhered to the interventions for > 75% of the expected treatment protocol were more likely to achieve treatment success. Over 40% of participants had lost treatment response after 1 year with no treatment. Grade 3 or 4 erythema was experienced by 62 participants (12%) (three of whom were using the dummy) and transient skin thinning by 13 participants (2.5%) (two of whom were using the placebo). We observed no serious adverse treatment effects. For combination treatment compared with topical corticosteroids, the unadjusted incremental cost-effectiveness ratio was £2328.56 (adjusted £1932) per additional successful treatment (from an NHS perspective). Limitations: Relatively high loss to follow-up limits the interpretation of the trial findings, especially during the post-intervention follow-up phase. Conclusion: Hand-held narrowband ultraviolet B light plus topical corticosteroid combination treatment is superior to topical corticosteroids alone for treatment of localised vitiligo. Combination treatment was relatively safe and well tolerated, but was effective in around one-quarter of participants only.Whether or not combination treatment is cost-effective depends on how much decision-makers are willing to pay for the benefits observed. Future work: Development and testing of new vitiligo treatments with a greater treatment response and longer-lasting effects are needed
Costs of testing for ocular Chlamydia trachomatis infection compared to mass drug administration for trachoma in the Gambia: application of results from the PRET study.
No full textBACKGROUND: Mass drug administration (MDA) treatment of active trachoma with antibiotic is recommended to be initiated in any district where the prevalence of trachoma inflammation, follicular (TF) is ≥ 10% in children aged 1-9 years, and then to continue for at least three annual rounds before resurvey. In The Gambia the PRET study found that discontinuing MDA based on testing a sample of children for ocular Chlamydia trachomatis(Ct) infection after one MDA round had similar effects to continuing MDA for three rounds. Moreover, one round of MDA reduced disease below the 5% TF threshold. We compared the costs of examining a sample of children for TF, and of testing them for Ct, with those of MDA rounds. METHODS: The implementation unit in PRET The Gambia was a census enumeration area (EA) of 600-800 people. Personnel, fuel, equipment, consumables, data entry and supervision costs were collected for census and treatment of a sample of EAs and for the examination, sampling and testing for Ct infection of 100 individuals within them. Programme costs and resource savings from testing and treatment strategies were inferred for the 102 EAs in the study area, and compared. RESULTS: Census costs were 108.79. MDA with donated azithromycin cost 796.90 per EA, with Ct testing kits costing 1.38 per result. However stopping or deciding not to initiate treatment in the study area based on testing a sample of EAs for Ct infection (or examining children in a sample of EAs) creates savings relative to further unnecessary treatments. CONCLUSION: Resources may be saved by using tests for chlamydial infection or clinical examination to determine that initial or subsequent rounds of MDA for trachoma are unnecessary
Quantitative single cell monitoring of protein synthesis at subcellular resolution using fluorescently labeled tRNA
No full textWe have developed a novel technique of using fluorescent tRNA for translation monitoring (FtTM). FtTM enables the identification and monitoring of active protein synthesis sites within live cells at submicron resolution through quantitative microscopy of transfected bulk uncharged tRNA, fluorescently labeled in the D-loop (fl-tRNA). The localization of fl-tRNA to active translation sites was confirmed through its co-localization with cellular factors and its dynamic alterations upon inhibition of protein synthesis. Moreover, fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET) signals, generated when fl-tRNAs, separately labeled as a FRET pair occupy adjacent sites on the ribosome, quantitatively reflect levels of protein synthesis in defined cellular regions. In addition, FRET signals enable detection of intra-populational variability in protein synthesis activity. We demonstrate that FtTM allows quantitative comparison of protein synthesis between different cell types, monitoring effects of antibiotics and stress agents, and characterization of changes in spatial compartmentalization of protein synthesis upon viral infection. © The Author(s) 2011. Published by Oxford University Press
Genome-wide meta-analysis implicates mediators of hair follicle development and morphogenesis in risk for severe acne
No full textAcne vulgaris is a highly heritable common, chronic inflammatory disease of the skin for which five genetic risk loci have so far been identified. Here, we perform a genome-wide association study of 3823 cases and 16,144 controls followed by meta-analysis with summary statistics from a previous study, with a total sample size of 26,722. We identify 20 independent association signals at 15 risk loci, 12 of which have not been previously implicated in the disease. Likely causal variants disrupt the coding region of WNT10A and a P63 transcription factor binding site in SEMA4B. Risk alleles at the 1q25 locus are associated with increased expression of LAMC2, in which biallelic loss-of-function mutations cause the blistering skin disease epidermolysis bullosa. These findings indicate that variation affecting the structure and maintenance of the skin, in particular the pilosebaceous unit, is a critical aspect of the genetic predisposition to severe acne.</p
Genome-wide association study identifies three novel susceptibility loci for severe <em>Acne vulgaris</em>
No full textAcne vulgaris (acne) is a common inflammatory disorder of the cutaneous pilo-sebaceous unit. Here we perform a genome-wide association analysis in the United Kingdom, comparing severe cases of acne (n=1,893) with controls (n=5,132). In a second stage, we genotype putative-associated loci in a further 2,063 acne cases and 1,970 controls. We identify three genome-wide significant associations: 11q13.1 (rs478304, P combined=3.23 × 10-11 , odds ratio (OR)=1.20), 5q11.2 (rs38055, Pcombined =4.58 × 10-9, OR=1.17) and 1q41 (rs1159268, Pcombined =4.08 × 10-8, OR=1.17). All three loci contain genes linked to the TGFß cell signalling pathway, namely OVOL1, FST and TGFB2. Transcripts of OVOL1 and TFGB2 have decreased expression in affected compared with normal skin. Collectively, these data support a key role for dysregulation of TGFß-mediated signalling in susceptibility to acne.</p
