Why Human Health and Health Ethics Must Be Central to Climate Change Deliberations

Jerome Singh argues that health ethics principles must be afforded equal status to economics principles in climate change deliberations, and that the health community must play more of a leadership role

Comparative evaluation of Bacillus licheniformis 5A5 and Aloe variegata milk-clotting enzymes

The properties of a milk clotting enzyme (MCE) produced by bacteria (Bacillus licheniformis 5A5) were investigated and compared to those of rennet extracted from a plant (Aloe variegata). Production of MCE by B. licheniformis 5A5 was better in static than in shaken cultures. Maximum activity (98.3 and 160.3 U/ml) of clotting was obtained at 75ºC and 80ºC with bacterial and plant rennet, respectively. In the absence of substrate, the clotting activity of Aloe MCE was found to be less sensitive to heat inactivation up to 80ºC for 75 min, retaining 63.8% of its activity, while bacterial MCE was completely inhibited. CaCl2 stimulated milk clotting activity (MCA) up to 2% and 1.5% for bacterial and plant enzymes. NaCl inhibited MCA for both enzymes, even at low concentration (1%). Plant MCE was more sensitive to NaCl at 3% concentration it retained 30.2% of its activity, whereas bacterial MCE retained 64.1%. Increasing skim milk concentration caused a significant increase in MCA up to 6% for both enzymes. Mn2+ stimulated the activity of bacterial and plant enzymes to 158.6 and 177.9%, respectively. EDTA and PMSF increased the activity of plant MCE by 34.4 and 41.1%, respectively, which is higher than those for the bacterial MCE (19.1 and 20.9%). Some natural materials activated MCE, the highest activation of bacterial MCE (128.1%) was obtained in the presence of Fenugreek (with acid extraction). However Lupine Giza 1 (with neutral extraction) gave the highest activation of plant MCE (137.9%). All extracts from Neem plant increased MCA at range from 105.6% to 136.4%. Plant MCE exhibited much better stability when stored at room temperature (25-30ºC) for 30 days, retaining 51.2% of its activity. Bacterial MCE was highly stabile when stored under freezing (-18ºC), retaining 100% of its activity after 30 days. Moreover, bacterial MCE was highly tolerant to repeated freezing and thawing without loss of activity for 8 months

Differential diagnosis of illness in travelers arriving from sierra Leone, Liberia, or guinea: A cross-sectional study from the Geosentinel surveillance network: A cross-sectional study from the Geosentinel surveillance network

Background: The largest-ever outbreak of Ebola virus disease (EVD), ongoing in West Africa since late 2013, has led to export of cases to Europe and North America. Clinicians encountering ill travelers arriving from countries with widespread Ebola virus transmission must be aware of alternate diagnoses associated with fever and other nonspecific symptoms. Objective: To define the spectrum of illness observed in persons returning from areas of West Africa where EVD transmission has been widespread. Design: Descriptive, using GeoSentinel records. Setting: 57 travel or tropical medicine clinics in 25 countries. Patients: 805 ill returned travelers and new immigrants from Sierra Leone, Liberia, or Guinea seen between September 2009 and August 2014. Measurements: Frequencies of demographic and travelrelated characteristics and illnesses reported. Results: The most common specific diagnosis among 770 nonimmigrant travelers was malaria (n = 310 [40.3%]), with Plasmodium falciparum or severe malaria in 267 (86%) and non-P. falciparum malaria in 43 (14%). Acute diarrhea was the second most common diagnosis among nonimmigrant travelers (n= 95 [12.3%]). Such common diagnoses as upper respiratory tract infection, urinary tract infection, and influenza-like illness occurred in only 26, 9, and 7 returning travelers, respectively. Few instances of typhoid fever (n = 8), acute HIV infection (n = 5), and dengue (n = 2) were encountered

Technical Summary. In Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The Working Group I (WGI) contribution to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) assesses the physical science basis of climate change. As part of that contribution, this Technical Summary (TS) is designed to bridge between the comprehensive assessment of the WGI Chapters and its Summary for Policymakers (SPM). It is primarily built from the Executive Summaries of the individual chapters and Atlas and provides a synthesis of key findings based on multiple lines of evidence (e.g., analyses of observations, models, paleoclimate information and understanding of physical, chemical and biological processes and components of the climate system). All the findings and figures here are supported by and traceable to the underlying chapters, with relevant chapter sections indicated in curly brackets

Progress in the field of aspartic proteinases in cheese manufacturing: structures, functions, catalytic mechanism, inhibition, and engineering

International audienceAspartic proteinases are an important class of proteinases which are widely used as milk-coagulating agents in industrial cheese production. They are available from a wide range of sources including mammals, plants, and microorganisms. Various attempts have been made in order to get insights into enzyme structure/function relationships for designing improved biocatalysts. This review provides an overview of historical background and recent achievements on the classification and structural characteristics of such enzymes as related to their functional properties, mechanism of catalysis, pH, and temperature dependence, substrate specificities, mechanism of inhibition, enzyme engineering, and technological applications with the focus on cheese manufacturing