In Memoriam, Picturing Richard Parker: Our Enthusiastic Colleague

These remarks honor the memory of Richard W. Parker, Professor of Law, Director of the Semester in DC Program, and Policy Director of the Center for Energy and Environmental Law at the University of Connecticut School of Law

Developing a Model of Sexual Satisfaction in Younger Women Living with HIV (YWLWH) in Serodifferent Relationships

HIV is a virus that, without medication, can be sexually transmitted. This can make sexual relationships harder for women living with HIV (WLWH), particularly those in serodifferent relationships (relationships with people who don’t have HIV). Sexual difficulties among WLWH are common. However, medical advances are making it possible for WLWH to live longer, healthier lives and engage in sexual relationships without fear of transmission (Rodger et al., 2016; 2019). While sexual satisfaction (SS) among older women living with HIV has been explored (e.g., Taylor et al., 2017), younger WLWH’s (YWLWH) experiences of sexual satisfaction after HIV diagnosis have not. Seven YWLWH (aged 22-49) were recruited through two UK HIV advocacy forums and social media. Participants took part in semi-structured interviews about their sexual experiences in past/current serodifferent relationships. Grounded Theory analysis identified eight theoretical codes: (1) Beliefs about future sexual relationships after HIV diagnosis (2) Sexual behaviour after HIV diagnosis, (3) Feeling sexually satisfied due to individual factors, (4) Feeling sexually satisfied due to relational factors, (5) Feeling sexually satisfied due to HIV-related factors, (6) Other emotional/cognitive factors linked to SS, (7) Experiences of status sharing with HIV-negative partners and (8) Feeling supported living with HIV. A theoretical model indicating the relationship between codes highlighted how fears of HIV transmission, rejection from sexual partner, and internalised HIV-stigma influences sexual behaviour and beliefs about sex after HIV diagnosis. However, SS is facilitated by factors that assist YWLWH to overcome such fears, including professional and peer support, partner acceptance, knowledge of transmission risk, and positive re-interpretations of HIV. SS is then maintained through dyadic relational factors (e.g., communication) and individual factors (e.g., sexual pleasure). Increased access to peer support and information sharing regarding negligible transmission risk with undetectable viral loads may improve WLWH’s sexual wellbeing. Findings also suggested HIV services could focus more on asking about WLWH’s sexual wellbeing

Insurance and Climate Change

Climate change started as a scientific theory, became the subject of environmental policy and international negotiation, and today manifests itself within the courts in a series of boundary testing cases that challenge the settled concepts of risk and redress available under both environmental and insurance law. As our climate becomes increasingly unstable and the causal link between damage from sea-level rise and severe weather events becomes ever more tangible and traceable, courts at all levels wrestle with varying avenues of legal authority, including: the limitations of legal redress through the political question doctrine the appropriateness of traditional federal and state nuisance law, and the viability of addressing climate change through established environmental statutory apparatus, such as the Clean Air Act, which had primarily regulated only traditional air pollution. By 2014, the first wave of climate law cases reached resolution. Yet, through (or perhaps despite) this process, clarity is emerging as it relates to an insured\u27s liability for past emissions and insurer\u27s obligations. This paper will synthesize the developing field of climate law with the insurance industry\u27s practice and policy. The first part of this paper will discuss the evolving legal posture of climate liability law by summarizing the long timescale of climate change\u27s awareness; reviewing a selection of the leading climate liability cases involving emitters, specifically Massachusetts v. Environmental Protection Agency and the recent modifying case of Utility Air Group v. Environmental Protection Agency, Connecticut v. American Electric Power, Native Village of Kivalina v. ExxonMobil; and finally assessing the impact of climate change litigation on the insurer by presenting the Supreme Court of Virginia case of AES v. Steadfast. The second part of this paper examines the insurance industry\u27s response to this evolving legal environment, drawing from policy and the diverse public image presented by insurance companies as it relates to this evolving risk category

An Introduction to Climate Change Liability Litigation and a View to the Future

This article discusses the advancement of climate change litigation. It explores two approaches to climate change litigation; the first is to use the federal regulatory apparatus and the second is to use the tort system. The article explores key questions in climate change litigation such as, who is responsible for deciding the appropriate level of harmful emissions? How should courts handle the long tail effects of climate change? What are the proper forums to litigate in? And, what is the role of the federal government in climate change litigation

Obese gene expression at in vivo levels by fat pads derived from s.c. implanted 3T3-F442A preadipocytes

Udgivelsesdato: 1997-Apr-293T3-F442A preadipocytes implanted s.c. into athymic mice develop into fat pads that are indistinguishable from normal adipose tissue. Implanted preadipocytes harboring a beta-galactosidase transgene gave rise to fat pads in which almost all adipocytes expressed beta-galactosidase. This finding proved that the implanted 3T3-F442A preadipocytes, rather than endogenous preadipose cells, gave rise to the newly developed "adipose tissue." 3T3-F442A preadipocytes, when differentiated into adipocytes in cell culture, express the obese gene at an unexpectedly low level, i.e.

Active immunization of swine against zearalenone

Thesis (M.S.)--Michigan State University. Department of Animal Science, 1988Includes bibliographical references (pages 63-72

Chemical Genetic Identification of the Histamine H1 Receptor as a Stimulator of Insulin-Induced Adipogenesis

AbstractA large collection of bioactive compounds with diverse biological effects can be used as probes to elucidate new biological mechanisms that influence a particular cellular process. Here we analyze the effects of 880 well-known small-molecule bioactives or drugs on the insulin-induced adipogenesis of 3T3-L1 fibroblasts, a cell-culture model of fat cell differentiation. Our screen identified 86 compounds as modulators of the adipogenic differentiation of 3T3-L1 cells. Examination of their chemical and pharmacological information revealed that antihistamine drugs with distinct chemical scaffolds inhibit differentiation. Histamine H1 receptor is expressed in 3T3-L1 cells, and its knockdown by small interfering RNA impaired the insulin-induced adipogenic differentiation. Histamine receptors and histamine-like biogenic amines may play a role in inducing adipogenesis in response to insulin

Role of AMP-activated protein kinase in adipose tissue metabolism and inflammation

AMPK (AMP-activated protein kinase) is a key regulator of cellular and whole-body energy balance. AMPK phosphorylates and regulates many proteins concerned with nutrient metabolism, largely acting to suppress anabolic ATP-consuming pathways while stimulating catabolic ATP-generating pathways. This has led to considerable interest in AMPK as a therapeutic target for the metabolic dysfunction observed in obesity and insulin resistance. The role of AMPK in skeletal muscle and the liver has been extensively studied, such that AMPK has been demonstrated to inhibit synthesis of fatty acids, cholesterol and isoprenoids, hepatic gluconeogenesis and translation while increasing fatty acid oxidation, muscle glucose transport, mitochondrial biogenesis and caloric intake. The role of AMPK in the other principal metabolic and insulin-sensitive tissue, adipose, remains poorly characterized in comparison, yet increasing evidence supports an important role for AMPK in adipose tissue function. Obesity is characterized by hypertrophy of adipocytes and the development of a chronic sub-clinical pro-inflammatory environment in adipose tissue, leading to increased infiltration of immune cells. This combination of dysfunctional hypertrophic adipocytes and a pro-inflammatory environment contributes to insulin resistance and the development of Type 2 diabetes. Exciting recent studies indicate that AMPK may not only influence metabolism in adipocytes, but also act to suppress this pro-inflammatory environment, such that targeting AMPK in adipose tissue may be desirable to normalize adipose dysfunction and inflammation. In the present review, we discuss the role of AMPK in adipose tissue, focussing on the regulation of carbohydrate and lipid metabolism, adipogenesis and pro-inflammatory pathways in physiological and pathophysiological conditions