Sustainable consumption: towards action and impact. : International scientific conference November 6th-8th 2011, Hamburg - European Green Capital 2011, Germany: abstract volume

This volume contains the abstracts of all oral and poster presentations of the international scientific conference „Sustainable Consumption – Towards Action and Impact“ held in Hamburg (Germany) on November 6th-8th 2011. This unique conference aims to promote a comprehensive academic discourse on issues concerning sustainable consumption and brings together scholars from a wide range of academic disciplines. In modern societies, private consumption is a multifaceted and ambivalent phenomenon: it is a ubiquitous social practice and an economic driving force, yet at the same time, its consequences are in conflict with important social and environmental sustainability goals. Finding paths towards “sustainable consumption” has therefore become a major political issue. In order to properly understand the challenge of “sustainable consumption”, identify unsustainable patterns of consumption and bring forward the necessary innovations, a collaborative effort of researchers from different disciplines is needed

Future of 5-fluorouracil in cancer therapeutics, current pharmacokinetics issues and a way forward

Background: In addition to exhibiting antitumor potential, antitumor drugs exhibit toxicity due to a poor pharmacokinetic profile. An enormous amount of research has been carried out and is still ongoing to obtain more targeted, potent, and safe drugs to treat cancer, and pharmacokinetic evaluations of anticancer drugs are needed. Objectives: The present review examined different delivery systems and methodologies designed in recent years to investigate the pharmacokinetics of the anticancer drug, 5-fluorouracil (5-FU). These methodologies highlight how the issues of bioavailability, absorption, half-life, targeted neoplastic cell potential, and high therapeutic index of 5-FU are resolved. Results: A number of naturally occurring macromolecules such as modified starch, porphyran, peptides, and folic acids have been found to be successful in vitro to improve the permeability and retention effect of 5-FU against solid tumors. A promising approach for targeted 5-FU delivery to oncoproteins has resulted in a number of potentially sound anticancer nanocomposites. Chitosan nanoparticles loaded with 5-FU have been shown to exhibit cytotoxicity equivalent to 5-FU injections against gastric carcinoma. At the level of inter- and intra-molecular interactions, the co-crystal approach has been found to be successful against colorectal cancer proteins. Because of the 5-FU ligand-like nature and its metal-binding potential, researchers have shifted attention toward the synergistic co-administration of gold complexes with this drug. Conclusions: This study highlighted the techniques used to improve the pharmacokinetics of 5-FU and that “nanocarriers” are a promising approach in this field. The conclusion is supported by solid evidence

The Use of Art Therapy with the Blind to Impact a Sense of Capability

This study looked at the ways in which the practice of art therapy could potentially help blind individuals cope with the loss of sight, and feel more capable in accomplishment through the use of tactile art materials. While art is primarily considered a visual tool, the physical nature of some materials can provide relief and autonomy for those without sight. The research was conducted by looking at the psychosocial aspects of dealing with blindness, researching the therapeutic benefits of art therapy, and conveying examples of successful case studies that used tactile materials in different ways. Based on several findings and a case study, this study concluded that the intervention of art therapy with tactile mediums did relatively have a positive impact on blind clients’ sense of capability. Overall, art therapy with the visually impaired experiencing mental health and behavioral issues was shown to provide moderate improvement in quality of life, therapeutic relief, a sense of self-accomplishment, and a better understanding of themselves through physical materials

Investigation of Three-Way (TWC), Lean NOx Trap (LNT) and Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) Catalysts For Control of NOx Emissions from Lean-Burn Engines

Lean-burn gasoline engines are approximately 10% more fuel efficient than conventional, stoichiometric-burn ones. Although relatively modest, if implemented across the entire U.S. automotive fleet, this improvement in fuel economy could have far-reaching implications on the amount of gasoline imported in the country on an annual basis. However, the development of a cost-effective catalytic converter catalyst capable of meeting emission regulations for lean-burn vehicles still represents a major technical challenge. Currently, lean NOX trap (LNT) and selective catalytic reduction (SCR) catalysts are used for this purpose, but both systems suffer from significant drawbacks. For example, LNT catalysts generally require high platinum group metal (PGM) loadings and are highly susceptible to sulfur poisoning. SCR catalysts require a costly urea-dosing system for delivery of urea as the reducing agent into the exhaust stream, as well as a secondary fuel tank for on-board storage of urea. LNT catalysts are typically favored for smaller gasoline engines and are designed for periodic operation in lean and rich environments. NOX is stored on the LNT system during a longer (e.g., 60 - 120 s) lean period and rapidly reduced during a much shorter (e.g., 1- 5 s) rich period. The mechanism for NOX storage is fairly well understood, but the NOX reduction mechanism is still the subject of considerable debate. Lean/rich cycling monitored by in situ Fourier Transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) confirmed the presence of surface isocyanate (NCO) species during reduction. Quantification of the FTIR results confirmed that surface NCO species could account for as much as 30% of the N2 formed during the rich period. Hydrolysis of the NCO species to NH3 in the presence of water vapor could also play a significant role. The effect of the lean/rich cycle timing on NH3 formation over a commercial LNT catalyst was also considered. At low temperatures, both the release and reduction of stored NOX was kinetically limited and longer rich periods favored increased NOX conversion and NH3 formation. At elevated temperatures, the opposite was true and shorter rich periods favored increased NOX conversion and NH3 formation. The effects of cycle timing were most pronounced in the 250 - 400 °C temperature range, where optimization of the cycle timing could potentially decrease the PGM requirements of the LNT, especially in a coupled LNT-SCR system. SCR catalysts are typically favored for heavy-duty applications, but General Motors (GM) recently developed a urea-less, passive-NH3, three way catalyst SCR approach (TWC-SCR) for lean-gasoline vehicles. This TWC-SCR approach also relies on lean/rich cycling, but in this case NH3 is intentionally formed over a TWC during rich periods and stored on a downstream SCR catalyst. The stored NH3 is then used during a subsequent lean period to reduce lean-NOX. NH3 generation over TWCs under steady and cycling conditions was investigated. The temperature, catalytic formulation and reductant concentration all affected NH3 formation. Storage of NH3 on the downstream SCR catalyst was also considered. At low temperatures, the selective reduction of NOX by stored NH3 was favored over a Cu-zeolite SCR catalyst. Above 350 °C, NH3 oxidation was favored over NOX reduction. Recent bench reactor screening using a two-reactor, bench-core reactor configuration demonstrated the viability of the TWC-SCR configuration and NOX conversions exceeding 98% were measured

Multiomics modeling of the immunome, transcriptome, microbiome, proteome and metabolome adaptations during human pregnancy.

MotivationMultiple biological clocks govern a healthy pregnancy. These biological mechanisms produce immunologic, metabolomic, proteomic, genomic and microbiomic adaptations during the course of pregnancy. Modeling the chronology of these adaptations during full-term pregnancy provides the frameworks for future studies examining deviations implicated in pregnancy-related pathologies including preterm birth and preeclampsia.ResultsWe performed a multiomics analysis of 51 samples from 17 pregnant women, delivering at term. The datasets included measurements from the immunome, transcriptome, microbiome, proteome and metabolome of samples obtained simultaneously from the same patients. Multivariate predictive modeling using the Elastic Net (EN) algorithm was used to measure the ability of each dataset to predict gestational age. Using stacked generalization, these datasets were combined into a single model. This model not only significantly increased predictive power by combining all datasets, but also revealed novel interactions between different biological modalities. Future work includes expansion of the cohort to preterm-enriched populations and in vivo analysis of immune-modulating interventions based on the mechanisms identified.Availability and implementationDatasets and scripts for reproduction of results are available through: https://nalab.stanford.edu/multiomics-pregnancy/.Supplementary informationSupplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online

The importance of team in transforming practice

Nursing leadership is a crucial component of a healthy and happy workplace. Involved nursing leadership encouraged attention to self-care, which resulted in staff ownership of clinical initiatives. The resulting team was integral to the transformation of a nurse-led, grant-funded health center to a federally qualified health center

Neuroinflammation and structural injury of the fetal ovine brain following intra-amniotic Candida albicans exposure.

BackgroundIntra-amniotic Candida albicans (C. Albicans) infection is associated with preterm birth and high morbidity and mortality rates. Survivors are prone to adverse neurodevelopmental outcomes. The mechanisms leading to these adverse neonatal brain outcomes remain largely unknown. To better understand the mechanisms underlying C. albicans-induced fetal brain injury, we studied immunological responses and structural changes of the fetal brain in a well-established translational ovine model of intra-amniotic C. albicans infection. In addition, we tested whether these potential adverse outcomes of the fetal brain were improved in utero by antifungal treatment with fluconazole.MethodsPregnant ewes received an intra-amniotic injection of 10(7) colony-forming units C. albicans or saline (controls) at 3 or 5 days before preterm delivery at 0.8 of gestation (term ~ 150 days). Fetal intra-amniotic/intra-peritoneal injections of fluconazole or saline (controls) were administered 2 days after C. albicans exposure. Post mortem analyses for fungal burden, peripheral immune activation, neuroinflammation, and white matter/neuronal injury were performed to determine the effects of intra-amniotic C. albicans and fluconazole treatment.ResultsIntra-amniotic exposure to C. albicans caused a severe systemic inflammatory response, illustrated by a robust increase of plasma interleukin-6 concentrations. Cerebrospinal fluid cultures were positive for C. albicans in the majority of the 3-day C. albicans-exposed animals whereas no positive cultures were present in the 5-day C. albicans-exposed and fluconazole-treated animals. Although C. albicans was not detected in the brain parenchyma, a neuroinflammatory response in the hippocampus and white matter was seen which was characterized by increased microglial and astrocyte activation. These neuroinflammatory changes were accompanied by structural white matter injury. Intra-amniotic fluconazole reduced fetal mortality but did not attenuate neuroinflammation and white matter injury.ConclusionsIntra-amniotic C. albicans exposure provoked acute systemic and neuroinflammatory responses with concomitant white matter injury. Fluconazole treatment prevented systemic inflammation without attenuating cerebral inflammation and injury

Reading comprehension for first grade readers with autism.

The goal of this curriculum project is to present effective strategies to differentiate instruction to develop reading comprehension in emergent readers with autism. I designed a supplementary curriculum in reading comprehension for first grade students with autism, based on the Scott Foresman Reading Street program. In the literature review I address research that connects to reading comprehension and young readers with autism. I discuss the definition of autism, and how the disability has grown recently. I also discuss reading comprehension for typical emergent readers, along with emergent readers with autism. Finally, I discuss differentiated instruction, and how to differentiate for students with autism. I created 15 supplemental lesson plans that contain strategies to help students with autism for 15 stories that are included in this basal reading program. The lesson plans align with both the Common Core Standards and the New York State English Language Arts standards.SUNY at Fredoni

An examination of the current status of civic education and the need for a civic core

The purpose of this project is to consider the effectiveness of the American Government course as it is being taught in my school district from the perspective of those that teach it. Five American Government teachers from a North County San Diego school district participated in this study. The participants were interviewed and data were collected regarding teaching practices specific to the American Government course. Qualitative analysis suggested the need to improve curricular consistency among American Government/Civics teachers in the district. Specifically, this study offers recommendations to amend the course so that it more closely aligns with California State Standards. Upon completion of this study, collaborative in-service meetings will bring civics teachers together to reevaluate and consider district objectives, and further develop the curriculum for the American Government course.Committee Members: Kimberley Woo (Chair), Gib Stuv