Staying on Track from Paris: Advancing the Key Elements of the Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement adopted in December 2015 provides essential building blocks for universal action to address climate change. Now, much work is needed to breathe life into the provisions and commitments of the Agreement in order to realize the globally agreed vision to limit temperature rise, build the ability to adapt to climate impacts, and align financial flows toward zerocarbon and climate-resilient development. The Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) must continue to cooperate effectively to unpack and clarify the key tasks and activities outlined in the Agreement in order to provide a well-defined pathway to implementation. This paper takes an in-depth look at the Paris Agreement, highlighting important outcomes and the tasks and activities that now need to be undertaken to elaborate and develop the critical rules and processes under the Agreement. Ensuring that these rules and processes are strong and effective will be essential to promoting ambitious climate action and accelerating it in the coming years

Building Climate Equity: Creating a New Approach from the Ground Up

The report draws on 30 real-world examples from developing and developed countries that demonstrate how this "capabilities approach" can achieve ambitious low-carbon and adaptation goals while simultaneously enhancing access to decent livelihoods, healthy food, quality housing, physical safety and other capabilities for individuals, communities and nations.The report's emphasis on capabilities can also help advance discussions in the UN climate negotiations about the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities.

Empowerment von MigrantInnen und Geringverdienenden zum Umwelt- und Klimaschutz - Ein Leitfaden für die Gestaltung aktivierender Maßnahmen

Der Leitfaden wendet sich an Akteure aus Kommunen und Einrichtungen der Umwelt- und Verbraucherberatung, der Umweltbildung und an Umweltverbände, die verbraucherbezogene Klimaschutzmaßnahmen planen und umsetzen. Der Leitfaden soll diese Akteure dabei unterstützen, Geringverdienende und Personen mit Migrationshintergrund zielgrup-penspezifisch anzusprechen, zu motivieren und zu befähigen umwelt- und klimaschonender Verhaltensweisen im Alltag umzusetzen. Dabei will der Leitfaden für die Potenziale und Besonderheiten dieser Gruppen sensibilisieren und erste Hinweise und Hilfestellungen für die Konzeption, Kommunikation und Umsetzung von Maßnahmen geben, die umwelt- und klimafreundliches Verhalten stärken. Der Leitfaden ist im Rahmen Projektes "IndUK - Individuelles Umwelthandeln und Klimaschutz - Ergebnisintegration und transdisziplinäre Verwertung von Erkenntnissen aus der SÖF-Forschung zu den sozialen Dimensionen von Klimaschutz und Klimawandel" entstanden. Von April bis Dezember 2014 wurden in diesm Projekt die Forschungsergebnisse und empirischen Erkenntnisse der ebenfalls BMBF-geförderten Projekte EMIGMA und KlimaAlltag für die praktische Anwendung aufbereitet. Der Leitfaden entstand in enger Zusammenarbeit mit Praxisakteuren aus Kommunen, Verbraucherzentralen, Migrantenselbstorganisationen und sozialen Diensten, die bereits Maßnahmen zum Umwelt- und Klimaschutz initiieren und durchführen

Biomechanical evolution of solid bones in large animals: a microanatomical investigation

International audienc

In Vivo Expansion of Co-Transplanted T Cells Impacts on Tumor Re-Initiating Activity of Human Acute Myeloid Leukemia in NSG Mice

Human cells from acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients are frequently transplanted into immune-compromised mouse strains to provide an in vivo environment for studies on the biology of the disease. Since frequencies of leukemia re-initiating cells are low and a unique cell surface phenotype that includes all tumor re-initiating activity remains unknown, the underlying mechanisms leading to limitations in the xenotransplantation assay need to be understood and overcome to obtain robust engraftment of AML-containing samples. We report here that in the NSG xenotransplantation assay, the large majority of mononucleated cells from patients with AML fail to establish a reproducible myeloid engraftment despite high donor chimerism. Instead, donor-derived cells mainly consist of polyclonal disease-unrelated expanded co-transplanted human T lymphocytes that induce xenogeneic graft versus host disease and mask the engraftment of human AML in mice. Engraftment of mainly myeloid cell types can be enforced by the prevention of T cell expansion through the depletion of lymphocytes from the graft prior transplantation

Civil defense: Both red and dead

https://stars.library.ucf.edu/prism/1104/thumbnail.jp

The hematopoietic bone marrow niche ecosystem

The bone marrow (BM) microenvironment, also called the BM niche, is essential for the maintenance of fully functional blood cell formation (hematopoiesis) throughout life. Under physiologic conditions the niche protects hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) from sustained or overstimulation. Acute or chronic stress deregulates hematopoiesis and some of these alterations occur indirectly via the niche. Effects on niche cells include skewing of its cellular composition, specific localization and molecular signals that differentially regulate the function of HSCs and their progeny. Importantly, while acute insults display only transient effects, repeated or chronic insults lead to sustained alterations of the niche, resulting in HSC deregulation. We here describe how changes in BM niche composition (ecosystem) and structure (remodeling) modulate activation of HSCs in situ . Current knowledge has revealed that upon chronic stimulation, BM remodeling is more extensive and otherwise quiescent HSCs may be lost due to diminished cellular maintenance processes, such as autophagy, ER stress response, and DNA repair. Features of aging in the BM ecology may be the consequence of intermittent stress responses, ultimately resulting in the degeneration of the supportive stem cell microenvironment. Both chronic stress and aging impair the functionality of HSCs and increase the overall susceptibility to development of diseases, including malignant transformation. To understand functional degeneration, an important prerequisite is to define distinguishing features of unperturbed niche homeostasis in different settings. A unique setting in this respect is xenotransplantation, in which human cells depend on niche factors produced by other species, some of which we will review. These insights should help to assess deviations from the steady state to actively protect and improve recovery of the niche ecosystem in situ to optimally sustain healthy hematopoiesis in experimental and clinical settings

GM-CSF Inhibits c-Kit and SCF Expression by Bone Marrow-Derived Dendritic Cells.

Stem cell factor (SCF), the ligand of c-kit, is a key cytokine for hematopoiesis. Hematopoietic precursors express c-kit, whereas differentiated cells of hematopoietic lineage are negative for this receptor, with the exception of NK cells, mast cells, and a few others. While it has long been recognized that dendritic cells (DCs) can express c-kit, several questions remain concerning the SCF/c-kit axis in DCs. This is particularly relevant for DCs found in those organs wherein SCF is highly expressed, including the bone marrow (BM). We characterized c-kit expression by conventional DCs (cDCs) from BM and demonstrated a higher proportion of c-kit+ cells among type 1 cDC subsets (cDC1s) than type 2 cDC subsets (cDC2s) in both humans and mice, whereas similar levels of c-kit expression were observed in cDC1s and cDC2s from mouse spleen. To further study c-kit regulation, DCs were generated with granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) from mouse BM, a widely used protocol. CD11c+ cells were purified from pooled non-adherent and slightly adherent cells collected after 7 days of culture, thus obtaining highly purified BM-derived DCs (BMdDCs). BMdDCs contained a small fraction of c-kit+ cells, and by replating them for 2 days with GM-CSF, we obtained a homogeneous population of c-kit+ CD40hi MHCIIhi cells. Not only did BMdDCs express c-kit but they also produced SCF, and both were striking upregulated if GM-CSF was omitted after replating. Furthermore, a small but significant reduction in BMdDC survival was observed upon SCF silencing. Incubation of BMdDCs with SCF did not modulate antigen presentation ability of these cells, nor it did regulate their membrane expression of the chemokine receptor CXCR4. We conclude that the SCF/c-kit-mediated prosurvival circuit may have been overlooked because of the prominent use of GM-CSF in DC cultures in vitro, including those human DC cultures destined for the clinics. We speculate that DCs more prominently rely on SCF in vivo in some microenvironments, with potential implications for graft-versus-host disease and antitumor immunity

Mulheres e letras : práticas de cultura escrita na Revista Atenéia (Academia Literária Feminina do Rio Grande do Sul, 1949-1972)

A dissertação examina a revista Atenéia, produzida pela Academia Literária Feminina do Rio Grande do Sul (ALFRS) entre os anos de 1949 e 1972. Insere-se na perspectiva da História Cultural e da História da Cultura Escrita, em suas contribuições ao campo da História da Educação e, como aporte de reflexão teórica, inspira-se especialmente nos postulados de Roger Chartier. Para estabelecer o contexto de investigação, ocupa-se em historicizar a educação feminina e a produção de periódicos no Brasil, atendo-se, sobremaneira, à imprensa produzida por mulheres entre meados do século XIX e do século XX. A partir da análise da coleção completa da revista, composta por 55 números distribuídos em 48 edições, propõe-se a investigar as intervenções editoriais realizadas pelas acadêmicas com vistas à difusão da cultura literária entre a comunidade de leitura almejada. Investiga aspectos relacionados à materialidade, tanto na capa quanto nas páginas internas, considerando elementos como características do suporte, periodicidade, escolhas tipográficas, ocupação do espaço gráfico e utilização de fotografias e ilustrações. Tais escolhas evidenciam a intenção de produzir uma revista colecionável, que formasse um conjunto harmônico nos seus 23 anos de circulação e remetesse, em suas dimensões físicas, ao formato de um livro. A dissertação examina também a concepção textual do periódico, dividida entre textos literários e de caráter institucional. Com especial atenção a estes últimos, é possível afirmar que o propósito sinalizado no subtítulo do impresso – Órgão de Intercâmbio Cultural e de Defesa dos Interesses da Academia Literária Feminina do Rio Grande do Sul – pautou a atuação das acadêmicas enquanto editoras, por meio de seções que favorecessem a troca de correspondências entre intelectuais, o papel institucional da Academia e a difusão da cultura literária, graças a resenhas e divulgação de livros novos. As intervenções editoriais dão a ver um propósito de continuidade e estabilidade, apesar das mudanças perceptíveis nas mais de duas décadas de circulação. Com base nas evidências sugeridas pela publicação, pode-se inferir que as editoras atuaram em uma posição de mediação entre o “mundo do texto” e o “mundo do leitor”, no sentido de promover e ampliar a rede de sociabilidades da ALFRS perante uma comunidade interpretativa com a qual partilhavam interesses e habilidades literárias.This dissertation examines the journal Atenéia, produced by the Literary Academy of Rio Grande do Sul (ALFRS) between the years 1949 and 1972. It is inserted in the perspective of Cultural History and History of Written Culture, in its contributions to the field of the History of Education and, as a contribution of theoretical reflection, is inspired by Roger Chartier's postulates. In order to establish the context of investigation, it occupies itself in historicizing the feminine education and the production of periodicals in Brazil, attending, to a large extent, to the press produced by women between the middle of century XIX and of century XX. From the analysis of the complete collection of the magazine, composed of 55 issues distributed in 48 editions, it aims to investigate the editorial interventions made by the scholars with a view to the distribution of literary culture among the reading community sought. It investigates aspects related to materiality, both on the cover and on the internal pages, considering elements such as characteristics of the media, periodicity, typographic choices, occupancy of graphic space and use of photographs and illustrations. Such choices show the intention of producing a collectible magazine, which formed a harmonious set in its 23 years of circulation and referred in its physical dimensions to the format of a book. The dissertation also examines the textual conception of the periodical, divided between literary and institutional texts. With special attention to the latter, it is possible to affirm that the purpose indicated in the subtitle of the print - Organ of Cultural Interchange and Defense of the Interests of the Feminine Literary Academy of Rio Grande do Sul - guided the work of the academics as publishers, through sections that would favor the exchange of correspondences between intellectuals, the institutional role of the Academy and the promotion of literary culture, thanks to reviews and the dissemination of new books. The editorial interventions show a purpose of continuity and stability, despite the perceptible changes in the more than two decades of circulation. Based on the evidence suggested by the publication, it can be inferred that the publishers acted in a position of mediation between the "text world" and the "reader world", in order to promote and expand the ALFRS network of sociabilities in front of an interpretive community with which they shared literary interests and skills

A hitchhiker's guide to myeloid cell subsets: practical implementation of a novel mononuclear phagocyte classification system

The classification of mononuclear phagocytes as either dendritic cells or macrophages has been mainly based on morphology, the expression of surface markers, and assumed functional specialization. We have recently proposed a novel classification system of mononuclear phagocytes based on their ontogeny. Here, we discuss the practical application of such a classification system through a number of prototypical examples we have encountered while hitchhiking from one subset to another, across species and between steady-state and inflammatory settings. Finally, we discuss the advantages and drawbacks of such a classification system and propose a number of improvements to move from theoretical concepts to concrete guidelines