Imperatives for integrated science and policy in managing greenhouse gas risks to the Southern Polar Region.

The Southern Polar Region (Antarctica and the Southern Ocean) is threatened by climate change, and ocean warming and acidification. Reducing climate risks through direct human interventions in the region or through biological adaptation is not possible. Resilience of the region to global warming needs the establishment of climate refugia and science-based, climate-informed, ecosystem-based management, but long-term conservation will only be assured by global reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Utility of thermal image scanning in screening for febrile patients in cold climates.

BACKGROUND: Infrared thermography (IRT) for fever screening systems was introduced in not only general hospitals, but also orthopedic hospitals as a countermeasure against the spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Despite the widespread use of IRT, various results have shown low and high efficacies, so the utility of IRT is controversial, especially in cold climates. The aims of this study were to investigate the utility of IRT in screening for fever in a cold climate and to devise suitable fever screening in orthopedic surgery for COVID-19. METHODS: A total of 390 orthopedic surgery patients were enrolled to the outdoor group and 210 hospital staff members were enrolled to the indoor group. Thermographic temperature at the front of the face in the outdoor group was immediately measured after entering our hospital from a cold outdoor environment. Measurements for the indoor group were made after staying in the hospital (environmental temperature, 28 °C) for at least 5 h. Body temperature was then measured using an axillary thermometer >15 min later in both groups. RESULTS: In the outdoor group, mean thermographic temperature was significantly lower than axillary temperature and IRT could not detect febrile patients with axillary temperatures >37.0 °C. Mean thermographic temperature was significantly lower in the outdoor group than in the indoor group. Sensitivity was 11.5% for the outdoor group, lower than that for the indoor group. CONCLUSIONS: We verified that IRT was not accurate in a cold climate. IRT is inadequate as a screening method to accurately detect febrile individuals, so we believe that stricter countermeasures for second screening need to be employed to prevent nosocomial infections and disease clusters of COVID-19, even in orthopedic hospitals.

Plan multisectorial ante heladas y friaje 2022 ­ 2024 / Multi-sector plan for frost and cold 2022 ­ 2024

El presente documento describe el claro enfoque de garantizar la continuidad de las intervenciones que se han venido implementando en el marco del Plan Multisectorial ante Heladas y Friaje 2019-2021, por lo cual mantiene el planteamiento de una atención integral a los territorios más vulnerables a los efectos de estos fenómenos climatológicos, y propone intensificar el cierre de brechas prioritarias de viviendas, escuelas, cobertizos y pastos, atendiendo con intervenciones sostenibles y de entrega directa, a la población más vulnerable a los impactos de las heladas y friaje

Increased cancer incidence in "cold" countries: An (un)sympathetic connection?

Published data has shown that there is an unexpected, significantly increased cancer mortality and incidence in countries with low or subnormal environmental temperatures. There have been several hypotheses developed to elucidate the mechanisms behind these findings. It is well documented that cold represents a very efficient stressor that activates sympathetic nerves and increases tissue and plasma norepinephrine levels. Importantly, recently accumulated data indicate that norepinephrine can stimulate carcinogenesis and the progression of cancer. Therefore, we suggest that the effect of a cold environment on cancer incidence and mortality might be mediated, at least partially, by norepinephrine released from sympathetic nerves in response to cold. Data supporting this hypothesis are discussed here and potential preventive approaches are described.

Cold climate adaptation is a plausible cause for evolution of multicellular sporulation in Dictyostelia.

Unicellular protozoa that encyst individually upon starvation evolved at least eight times into organisms that instead form multicellular fruiting bodies with spores. The Dictyostelia are the largest and most complex group of such organisms. They can be subdivided into 4 major groups, with many species in groups 1-3 having additionally retained encystment. To understand fitness differences between spores and cysts, we measured long-term survival of spores and cysts under climate-mimicking conditions, investigated spore and cyst ultrastructure, and related fitness characteristics to species ecology. We found that spores and cysts survived 22 °C equally well, but that spores survived wet and dry frost better than cysts, with group 4 spores being most resilient. Spore walls consist of three layers and those of cysts of maximally two, while spores were also more compacted than cysts, with group 4 spores being the most compacted. Group 4 species were frequently isolated from arctic and alpine zones, which was rarely the case for group 1-3 species. We inferred a fossil-calibrated phylogeny of Dictyostelia, which showed that its two major branches diverged 0.52 billion years ago, following several global glaciations. Our results suggest that Dictyostelium multicellular sporulation was a likely adaptation to a cold climate.

Next generation sequencing and microbiome's taxonomical characterization of frozen soil of north western Himalayas of Jammu and Kashmir, India

BACKGROUND: Traditionally, microbial genome sequencing has been restrained to the species grown in pure culture. The development of culture-independent techniques over the last decade allows scientists to sequence microbial communities directly from environmental samples. Metagenomics is the study of complex genome by the isolation of DNA of the whole community. Next generation sequencing (NGS) of metagenomic DNA gives information about the microbial and taxonomical characterization of a particular niche. The objective of the present research is to study the microbial and taxonomical characterization of the metagenomic DNA, isolated from the frozen soil sample of a glacier in the north western Himalayas through NGS. RESULTS: The glacier community comprised of 16 phyla with the representation of members belonging to Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria. The number of genes annotated through the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), GO, Pfam, Clusters of Orthologous Groups of proteins (COGs), and FIG databases were generated by COGNIZER. The annotation of genes assigned in each group from the metagenomics data through COG database and the number of genes annotated in different pathways through KEGG database were reported. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that the glacier soil taken in the present study, harbors taxonomically and metabolically diverse communities. The major bacterial group present in the niche is Proteobacteria followed by Acidobacteria, and Actinobacteria, etc. Different genes were annotated through COG and KEGG databases that integrate genomic, chemical, and systemic functional information.

Is there a seasonal variation of survival after systemic chemotherapy for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer in a rural part of North Norway?

The winter darkness or polar night induces endocrine and metabolic mechanisms, which might reduce the efficacy of cancer treatment and thus contribute to shorter survival. Moreover, season-and weather-related treatment delays and irregularities might also cause reduced efficacy of anti-cancer drugs. Therefore, this study evaluated the prognostic impact of timing of chemotherapy (start during winter darkness or outside of this season), in terms of overall survival, in patients with metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (MCRPC) who received oncology care at the Nordland hospital Bodø. The study included 111 patients treated with first-line docetaxel chemotherapy for MCRPC. Twenty patients (18%) started their treatment during winter darkness (arbitrarily defined as ±4 weeks around 21 December). In unadjusted univariate analysis, survival was shorter in this group (median 10.2 vs. 18.9 months, p = 0.055). However, not all baseline parameters were equally distributed between the two groups. In multivariable-adjusted Cox regression analysis accounting for several confounding variables, only one factor was statistically significant: pre-chemotherapy serum lactate dehydrogenase level (a surrogate marker of disease burden). Thus, the present results suggest that seasonal variation is not a major contributor to the diverging survival outcomes observed after docetaxel chemotherapy.

Frente al friaje y las heladas: Prácticas saludables ante la presencia de bajas temperaturas. Rotafolio / Facing the cold and frost: Practices healthy in the presence of low temperatures. Flipchart

El rotafolio describe la información sobre las prácticas para prevenir las infecciones respiratorias agudas ante el friaje y heladas, con énfasis en niños y niñas menores de 5 años, mayores de 60 años de edad o personas con enfermedades crónicas

Prácticas para generar entornos saludables en temporada de friajes. Cartilla informativa para gobiernos locales de la región selva / Practices to generate healthy environments in the cold season. Information card for local governments of the jungle region

El documento contiene prácticas saludables frente a las temporadas de bajas temperaturas para que los gobiernos locales fortalezcan los conocimientos de su comunidad para que desarrollen prácticas saludables frente a esta temporada de bajas temperaturas, de manera que puedan organizar la vigilancia comunal de su población vulnerable y posibilite la reducción del efecto negativo del friaje en la salud de la población.

Promoviendo comportamientos y entornos saludables frente a los friajes en la selva. Cartilla informativa para comunidad educativa / Promoting healthy behaviors and environments in the jungle. Information card for educational community

El documento contiene prácticas saludables frente a las temporadas de bajas temperaturas para que la comunidad educativa fortalezcan sus labores en la promoción de hábitos, comportamiento y entornos saludables en el ámbito escolar.

Prácticas para mantener una buena salud en temporada de friaje: Cartilla informativa para el agente comunitario en salud de la región selva / Practices to maintain good health during the cold season: Information card for the community agent in health of the jungle region

El documento contiene prácticas saludables frente a las temporadas de bajas temperaturas para que el personal de salud. fortalezcan sus labores en la promoción de hábitos saludables.

Emerging investigator series: effect-based characterization of mixtures of environmental pollutants in diverse sediments.

This study investigated whether cell-based bioassays were suitable to characterize profiles of mixture effects of hydrophobic pollutants in multiple sediments covering remote Arctic and tropical sites to highly populated sites in Europe and Australia. The total contamination was determined after total solvent extraction and the bioavailable contamination after silicone-based passive equilibrium sampling. In addition to cytotoxicity, we observed specific responses in cell-based reporter gene bioassays: activation of metabolic enzymes (arylhydrocarbon receptor: AhR, peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma: PPARγ) and adaptive stress responses (oxidative stress response: AREc32). No mixture effects were found for effects on the estrogen, androgen, progesterone and glucocorticoid receptors, or they were masked by cytotoxicity. The bioanalytical equivalent concentrations (BEQ) spanned several orders of magnitude for each bioassay. The bioavailable BEQs (passive equilibrium sampling) typically were 10-100 times and up to 420 times lower than the total BEQ (solvent extraction) for the AhR and AREc32 assays, indicating that the readily desorbing fraction of the bioactive chemicals was substantially lower than the fraction bound strongly to the sediment sorptive phases. Contrarily, the bioavailable BEQ in the PPARγ assay was within a factor of five of the total BEQ. We identified several hotspots of contamination in Europe and established background contamination levels in the Arctic and Australia.

Infecciones respiratorias agudas bajas en niños menores de 2 años: hospitalizaciones durante el invierno del año 2014 / Low acute respiratory infections in children under 2 years: 2014 winter hospitalizations / Infecções agudas das vias respiratórias inferiores em crianças menores de 2 anos: hospitalizações em 2014

Durante el invierno las infecciones respiratorias agudas bajas (IRAB) determinan un incremento en la demanda asistencial, afectando sobre todo a los niños más pequeños. El objetivo de la investigación fue describir las características clínicas, modalidades de tratamiento y evolución de los menores de 2 años hospitalizados en el Hospital Pediátrico-Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell por IRAB de etiología viral durante el invierno de 2014. Se realizó un estudio descriptivo, retrospectivo, describiendo las características de los menores de 2 años hospitalizados del 9/6 al 21/9/2014 por IRAB de probable etiología viral. Se describieron las características epidemiológicas y clínicas, el tratamiento realizado y la evolución de los pacientes. En el período evaluado egresaron 742 niños (34% de los egresos de la institución). Tenían una mediana de edad de 4 meses; 18% presentaba al menos un factor de riesgo de IRAB grave. Se identificó al virus respiratorio sincicial en 59,6%. La estadía hospitalaria tuvo una mediana de 4 días. En las salas de cuidados moderados se aplicó ventilación no invasiva a 46 niños, y oxigenación de alto flujo a 129 niños, logrando una mejoría clínica en el 87,0% y el 87,6% respectivamente. Ingresaron a unidades de cuidados intensivos 217 niños, 54% requirió asistencia ventilatoria mecánica. Dos pacientes fallecieron. En el período evaluado los niños pequeños con IRAB representaron una importante proporción de los egresos, con importante carga asistencial. La mayoría eran niños sin factores de riesgo. La aplicación de las técnicas de tratamiento en cuidados moderados fue efectiva, permitiendo disminuir la demanda de camas de cuidados intensivos.

During the winter, low acute respiratory infections (LARI) determine an increase in care demand, especially affecting younger children. The objective of the research was to describe the clinical characteristics, treatment modalities and evolution of children under 2 years of age hospitalized at the Hospital Pediátrico-Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell for viral etiology LARI during the 2014 winter. A descriptive, retrospective study was conducted, describing the characteristics of children under 2 years hospitalized between 9/6 and 9/21/2014 for LARI of probable viral etiology. The following features were described: epidemiological and clinical characteristics, treatment performed and patient's evolution. During the period evaluated, 742 children were discharged (34% of the institution's admissions). They had a median age of 4 months; 18% had at least one risk factor for severe LARI. Respiratory syncytial virus was identified in 59.6%. The hospital stay had a median of 4 days. In moderate care rooms noninvasive ventilation was applied to 46 children, and high flow oxygenation to 129 children, achieving clinical improvement in 87.0% and 87.6%, respectively. Two hundred and seventeen children were admitted 54% required mechanical ventilation. Two patients died. In the evaluated period small children with LARI represented a significant proportion of the discharges, with an important burden of care. The majority were children without risk factors. The application of treatment techniques in moderate care was effective, allowed a decrease in the demand for intensive care beds.

Durante o inverno, as infecções respiratórias agudas baixas (IRAB) determinam o aumento da demanda de cuidados, afetando especialmente as crianças menores. O objetivo da pesquisa foi descrever as características clínicas, as modalidades de tratamento e a evolução de crianças menores de dois anos hospitalizados no Hospital Pediátrico-Centro Hospitalario Pereira Rossell devido a IRAB de etiologia viral, durante o inverno de 2014. Foi realizado um estudo descritivo e retrospectivo, descrevendo as características das crianças menores de 2 anos hospitalizadas entre 9/6 e 21/9/2014 devido a IRAB de provável etiologia viral. Descreveram-se: características epidemiológicas e clínicas, tratamento realizado e evolução dos pacientes. Durante o período avaliado, 742 crianças foram hospitalizadas (34% dos ingressos da instituição). Tinham uma idade média de 4 meses; 18% tinham pelo menos um fator de risco para IRAB severa. O vírus sincicial respiratório foi identificado em 59,6%. A estadia hospitalaria teve uma mediana de 4 dias. Em salas de cuidados moderados, a ventilação não invasiva foi aplicada a 46 crianças e a oxigenação de alto fluxo a 129 crianças, atingindo melhora clínica em 87,0% e 87,6%, respectivamente. Foram internadas em unidades de terapia intensiva 217 crianças, 54% necessitaram de ventilação mecânica. Dois pacientes faleceram. No período avaliado, as crianças pequenas com IRAB representaram uma proporção significativa das despesas, com um carga importante de atendimento. A maioria carecia de fatores de risco. A aplicação de técnicas de tratamento em cuidados moderados foi eficaz, permitindo uma diminuição da demanda por leitos de terapia intensiva.

Environmental selection during the last ice age on the mother-to-infant transmission of vitamin D and fatty acids through breast milk.

Because of the ubiquitous adaptability of our material culture, some human populations have occupied extreme environments that intensified selection on existing genomic variation. By 32,000 years ago, people were living in Arctic Beringia, and during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 28,000-18,000 y ago), they likely persisted in the Beringian refugium. Such high latitudes provide only very low levels of UV radiation, and can thereby lead to dangerously low levels of biosynthesized vitamin D. The physiological effects of vitamin D deficiency range from reduced dietary absorption of calcium to a compromised immune system and modified adipose tissue function. The ectodysplasin A receptor (EDAR) gene has a range of pleiotropic effects, including sweat gland density, incisor shoveling, and mammary gland ductal branching. The frequency of the human-specific EDAR V370A allele appears to be uniquely elevated in North and East Asian and New World populations due to a bout of positive selection likely to have occurred circa 20,000 y ago. The dental pleiotropic effects of this allele suggest an even higher occurrence among indigenous people in the Western Hemisphere before European colonization. We hypothesize that selection on EDAR V370A occurred in the Beringian refugium because it increases mammary ductal branching, and thereby may amplify the transfer of critical nutrients in vitamin D-deficient conditions to infants via mothers' milk. This hypothesized selective context for EDAR V370A was likely intertwined with selection on the fatty acid desaturase (FADS) gene cluster because it is known to modulate lipid profiles transmitted to milk from a vitamin D-rich diet high in omega-3 fatty acids.

Effects of dietary crude oil exposure on molecular and physiological parameters related to lipid homeostasis in polar cod (Boreogadus saida).

Polar cod is an abundant Arctic key species, inhabiting an ecosystem that is subjected to rapid climate change and increased petroleum related activities. Few studies have investigated biological effects of crude oil on lipid metabolism in this species, despite lipids being a crucial compound for Arctic species to adapt to the high seasonality in food abundance in their habitat. This study examines the effects of dietary crude oil exposure on transcription levels of genes related to lipid metabolism (peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors [ppar-α, ppar-γ], retinoic X receptor [rxr-ß], palmitoyl-CoA oxidase [aox1], cytochrome P4507A1 [cyp7α1]), reproduction (vitellogenin [vtg-ß], gonad aromatase [cyp19a1]) and biotransformation (cytochrome P4501A1 [cyp1a1], aryl hydrocarbon receptor [ahr2]). Exposure effects were also examined through plasma chemistry parameters. Additional fish were exposed to a PPAR-α agonist (WY-14,643) to investigate the role of PPAR-α in their lipid metabolism. The dose-dependent up-regulation of cyp1a1 reflected the activation of genes related to PAH biotransformation upon crude oil exposure. The crude oil exposure did not significantly alter the mRNA expression of genes involved in lipid homeostasis except for cyp7α1 transcription levels. Plasma levels of cholesterol and alanine transaminase showed significant alterations in fish exposed to crude oil at the end of the experiment. WY exposure induced a down-regulation of ppar-α, an effect contrary to studies performed on other fish species. In conclusion, this study showed clear effects of dietary crude oil exposure at environmentally relevant concentrations on xenobiotic biotransformation but revealed only weak alterations in the lipid metabolism of polar cod.

Host Specificity in Subarctic Aphids.

Plants and herbivorous (or parasitic) insects form the majority of macroscopic life. The specificity of interaction between host plant and parasitic insect depends on the adaptations of both the host and the parasite. Over time, these interactions evolve and change as a result of an 'arms race' between host and parasite, and the resulting species-specific adaptations may be maintained, perpetuating these interactions across speciation events. This can lead to specialisation between species or clades. With speciation and species sorting over time, complex interactions evolve. Here, we elucidate a three-tier method to test these interactions using the aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) and plants of Churchill (Manitoba, Canada) as a model system. We analyzed these interactions by testing for three patterns in host specificity: monophagy, phylogenetic clustering, and cophylogeny. We defined monophagy strictly as one species feeding exclusively upon a single host plant species (an association likely driven by arms races in morphology, chemical resistance/tolerance, and visual appearance) and observed this in 7 of 22 aphid species. In all the remaining 'polyphagous' cases, there was a strong trend toward monophagy (80% of individuals were found on a single host plant species). Second, we observed two separate examples of phylogenetic clustering where groups of closely related aphid species fed upon individual plant species. Finally, we found no support for cophylogenetic relationships where both aphids and plants cospeciate to form congruent phylogenetic trees (evidence of coadaptation through an ongoing arms race). One explanation for uncovering species-specific interactions in a recently deglaciated, subarctic locality is that the species involved in the associations moved north together. Testing different levels of specificity in the most predominant species-species interactions on the planet will allow us to elucidate these patterns accurately and gives us insight into where to direct future research.

Thermal perception thresholds among workers in a cold climate.

PURPOSE: To investigate whether exposure to cold could influence the thermal perception thresholds in a working population. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was comprised of 251 males and females and was carried out at two mines in the northern part of Norway and Sweden. The testing included a baseline questionnaire, a clinical examination and measurements of thermal perception thresholds, on both hands, the index (Digit 2) and little (Digit 5) fingers, for heat and cold. RESULTS: The thermal perception thresholds were affected by age, gender and test site. The thresholds were impaired by experiences of frostbite in the fingers and the use of medication that potentially could affect neurosensory functions. No differences were found between the calculated normative values for these workers and those in other comparative investigations conducted in warmer climates. CONCLUSIONS: The study provided no support for the hypothesis that living and working in cold climate will lead to impaired thermal perception thresholds. Exposure to cold that had caused localized damage in the form of frostbite was shown to lead to impaired thermal perception.

Neurovascular hand symptoms in relation to cold exposure in northern Sweden: a population-based study.

PURPOSE: To describe the self-reported ambient cold exposure in northern Sweden and to relate the level of cumulative cold exposure to the occurrence of sensory and vascular hand symptoms. We hypothesize that cold exposure is positively related to reporting such symptoms. METHODS: A questionnaire about cold exposure and related symptoms was sent out to 35,144 subjects aged 18-70 years and living in northern Sweden. RESULTS: A total of 12,627 out of 35,144 subjects returned the questionnaire (response rate 35.9%). Subjects living in the rural alpine areas reported more extensive cold exposure both during work and leisure time compared to the urbanized coastal regions. Frostbite in the hands was present in 11.4% of men and 7.1% of women, cold sensitivity was present in 9.7 and 14.4%, and Raynaud's phenomenon was present in 11.0% of men and 14.0% of women. There was a positive association between cumulative cold exposure and neurovascular hand symptoms. CONCLUSION: The present study demonstrates that the cold environment in northern Sweden might be an underestimated health risk. Our hypothesis that cold exposure is positively related to reporting of neurovascular hand symptoms was supported by our findings. In addition, such symptoms were common not only in conjunction with an overt cold injury. Our results warrant further study on pathophysiological mechanisms and suggest the need for confirmatory prevalence studies to support national public health planning.

Prácticas para mantener una buena salud en temporada de friaje: Cartilla informativa para el agente comunitario en salud de la región selva / Practices to maintain good health during the cold season: Information card for the community agent in health of the jungle region

Todos los años, diversos departamentos de la selva están experimentando la presencia de bajas temperaturas caracterizado por el fenómeno denominado friaje. Este evento afecta negativamente la forma de vida de la población, principalmente la salud; lo cual se manifiesta con el incremento de casos de infecciones respiratorias agudas (IRA) como la gripe, influenza y neumonías. Las poblaciones más expuestas son las que se encuentran en situación de pobreza y pobreza extrema, y los grupos vulnerables de niños y niñas, adultos mayores y enfermos crónicos principalmente, que se ven afectados por el súbito descenso de la temperatura. Como Agente Comunitario en Salud, permite usar esta guía para que, junto al personal de salud fortalezcan sus labores en la promoción de prácticas saludables frente a las temporadas de bajas temperaturas

Prácticas para generar entornos saludables en temporada de friajes. Cartilla informativa para gobiernos locales de la región selva / Practices to generate healthy environments in the cold season. Information card for local governments of the jungle region

Todos los años departamentos de la selva de nuestro país experimentan la presencia de bajas temperatura, fenómeno climatológico caracterizado por el friaje. Los daños a la salud reportados durante la temporada de frío en algunas zonas del país son preocupantes, las que coincidentemente son producto de múltiples determinantes tales como pobreza extrema, deficiencias en el acceso a la salud, insuficiente educación para la percepción de los riesgos, las que se traducen en vulnerabilidades. En términos de salud, este fenómeno climatológico se refleja en incremento de neumonías y defunciones en la población vulnerable como son los menores de cinco años y adultos mayores. Reducir el riesgo de los efectos de la temporada de friaje requiere de una intervención y participación conjunta, tanto de las autoridades de todos los sectores (salud, educación, vivienda entre otros), de todos los niveles de gobierno (central, regional y local), y en especial de las familias, agentes comunitarios en salud y de la comunidad en general. La presente cartilla informativa útil para los gobiernos locales que fortalezcan los conocimientos de su comunidad para que desarrollen prácticas saludables frente a esta temporada de bajas temperaturas, de manera que puedan organizar la vigilancia comunal de su población vulnerable y posibilite la reducción del efecto negativo del friaje en la salud de la población