Integrating Youth Perspectives: Adopting a Human Rights and Public Health Approach to Climate Action.

Climate change is a multidimensional issue that affects all aspects of society, including public health and human rights. Climate change is already severely impacting people's health and threatening people's guaranteed fundamental rights, including those to life, health, self-determination, and education, among others. Across geographical regions, population groups and communities who are already marginalized due to age, gender, ethnicity, income, and other socioeconomic factors, are those who are disproportionately affected by climate impacts despite having contributed the least to global emissions. Although scholars have been calling for a human rights-based approach and a health perspective to climate action, the literature looking at this multidisciplinary intersection is still nascent, and governments have yet to implement such intersectoral policies. This commentary begins to reflect on the relationship between climate change, human rights, and public health from the perspective of young people engaged in climate action and discourse at the national and international levels. It presents a way forward on what we, as youth climate advocates and researchers, believe is a priority to bring intersectoral integration of human rights and public health approaches to climate change to fruition. First, scholars and practitioners should examine and support youth-led climate interventions that tackle human rights and public health violations incurred by the climate crisis. Second, participatory approaches to climate change must be designed by working synergistically with climate-vulnerable groups, including children and young people, practitioners and scholars in public health and human rights sectors to holistically address the social, health, and environmental impacts of the climate crisis and root causes of injustice. Finally, we recommend more holistic data collection to better inform evidence-based climate policies that operationalize human rights and public health co-benefits.

Retrospective study revealed that Zn relate to improvement of swallowing function in the older adults.

BACKGROUND: Zinc is an essential micronutrient for maintaining biological activity. The level of zinc in the blood is known to decrease with age, especially in those over 75 years of age. In older adults patients with impaired functional status, aspiration pneumonia based on dysphagia often becomes problematic. However, the relationship between zinc deficiency and swallowing function has not been studied before. METHODS: A total of 52 older adults subjects (15 males and 37 females) living in a nursing home were enrolled for this study. At the time of enrollment, data of gender, age, body weight, serum zinc levels, serum albumin levels, and the time in a simple 2-step swallowing provocation test (S-SPT) were collected. In patients with serum zinc levels < 60 µg/dL, we initiated 2 months of oral zinc supplementation therapy with a 34 mg/day zinc load. Those who underwent zinc supplementation were re-evaluated after the treatment period and serum zinc levels and S-SPT time were measured. RESULTS: At the time of enrollment, serum zinc level was significantly correlated with serum albumin levels (Pearson's R = 0.58, p < 0.0001) and time in the S-SPT (Spearman's rho = - 0.32, p = 0.0219). Twenty-five of the 52 patients had zinc deficiency with a serum zinc level < 60 µg/dL. After 2 months of oral zinc supplementation, both serum zinc levels (p < 0.0001) and time in the S-SPT (p = 0.04) significantly improved. Meanwhile, serum albumin level (p = 0.48) or body weight (p = 0.07) did not significantly change following zinc supplementation. Zinc supplementation significantly improved swallowing function, especially in the older adults who had comorbid dysphagia and zinc deficiency. CONCLUSIONS: Zinc deficiency is associated with compromised swallowing function in older adults patients with impaired general functions. Oral zinc supplementation can alleviate dysphagia in older adults patients with zinc deficiency even though this is a retrospective study. Further study will be needed to confirm this positive effect.

The influence of autogenic training on the physical properties of skin and cardiac autonomic activity in postmenopausal women: an exploratory study.

BACKGROUND: Autogenic training (AT) is a major relaxation training technique whose clinical efficacy has been verified in dermatology. Many reports demonstrate ameliorated skin conditions in AT-treated subjects with reduced psychological stress. However, no studies have examined the effects of AT on the skin of postmenopausal women. OBJECTIVES: We examine the influences of AT on the physical properties of skin and cardiac autonomic activity in postmenopausal women. METHODS: Postmenopausal women were classed into an AT group and a control one. The women in the AT group were mentored by a professional to practice AT twice a day for 7 weeks. The women in the control group were instructed to close their eyes for 3 minutes instead of AT. Hydration of the stratum corneum (SC), transepidermal water loss (TEWL), skin elasticity and heart-rate variability (HRV) were measured before and after the study period to examine how they changed. RESULTS: SC hydration and skin elasticity of the cheek, increased in both groups, and the increase was significantly higher in the AT group (n = 14) than in the control group (n = 12) (P < 0.05, Cohen's d = 1.03; P < 0.05, Cohen's d = 0.99; respectively). TEWL did not change in either group. LF/HF was lower in the AT group than in the control group (P < 0.05, Cohen's d = 0.91). CONCLUSION: AT increased SC hydration and skin elasticity with changes in the balance of autonomic nervous system activity in postmenopausal women, implying that AT may have improvement effects on aged skin by menopause.

Effect of dietary Maitake (Grifola frondosa) mushrooms on plasma cholesterol and hepatic gene expression in cholesterol-fed mice.

To investigate the effects of dietary Grifola frondosa on cholesterol, normal mice were fed a diet containing 1% cholesterol (HC group) or 1% cholesterol and 10% freeze-dried G. frondosa powder (HC+G group) for 4 weeks and hepatic and plasma lipid levels were compared with those of a cholesterol-free diet-fed mice (N group). Hepatic total cholesterol (TC), triacylglycerol contents were considerably increased and plasma TC / phospholipid (PL) was also increased significantly in the HC group compared with the N group. However, plasma TC content decreased in the HC+G group compared with the HC group. To characterize the mechanisms responsible for lowered plasma cholesterol in G. frondosa-supplemented mice, hepatic gene expression was profiled using DNA microarray and gene ontology. Genome analyses revealed that de novo cholesterol synthesis genes were suppressed following cholesterol intake. However, expression of bile acid biosynthesis and low-density lipoprotein receptor genes showed little change. Scarb1, Abcg5, and Abcg8, involved in cholesterol transport and excretion, were slightly upregulated in the HC+G group compared with the HC group. These data indicate the plasma cholesterol-lowering effect of G. frondosa. Moreover, fatty acid (FA) ß-oxidation was promoted via adipocytokine signaling pathways, and Saa, encodes serum amyloid A related to arteriosclerosis, was suppressed in the HC+G group.

Calpain system regulates the differentiation of adult primitive mesenchymal ST-13 adipocytes.

The activity of calpain, a calcium-activated protease, is required during the mitotic clonal expansion phase of 3T3-L1 embryonic preadipocyte differentiation. Here we examined the role of calpain in the adipogenesis of ST-13 preadipocytes established from adult primitive mesenchymal cells, which do not require mitotic clonal expansion. After exposure to the calpain inhibitor, N-benzyloxycarbonyl-L-leucyl-L-leucinal or overexpression of calpastatin, a specific endogenous inhibitor of calpain, ST-13 preadipocytes acquired the adipocyte phenotype. Overexpression of calpastatin in ST-13 adipocytes stimulated the expression of adipocyte-specific CCAAT/enhancer-binding protein-alpha (C/EBPalpha), peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-gamma, sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1, and the insulin signaling molecules, insulin receptor alpha, insulin-receptor substrates, and GLUT4. However, insulin-stimulated glucose uptake was reduced by approximately 52%. The addition of calpain to the nuclear fraction of ST-13 adipocytes resulted in the Ca(2+)-dependent degradation of PPARgamma and C/EBPalpha but not sterol regulatory element-binding protein 1. Exposing ST-13 adipocytes to A23187 also led to losses of endogenous PPARgamma and C/EBPalpha. Under both conditions, calpain inhibitors almost completely prevented C/EBPalpha cleavage but partially blocked the decrease of PPARgamma. Two ubiquitous forms of calpain, mu- and m-calpain, localized to the cytosol and the nucleus, whereas the activated form of mu- but not m-calpain was found in the nucleus. Finally, stable dominant-negative mu-calpain transfectants showed accelerated adipogenesis and increase in the levels of PPARgamma and C/EBPalpha during adipocyte program. These results support evidence that the calpain system is involved in regulating the differentiation of adult primitive mesenchymal ST-13 preadipocytes.

Frequency and resistance of CD95 (Fas/Apo-1) gene-transfected tumor cells to CD95-mediated apoptosis by the elimination and methylation of integrated DNA.

It is important for more effective gene therapies to clarify the mechanisms by which cDNA integrated into cells can maintain or lose its function in vivo. We evaluated genetic and epigenetic events leading to alternation of the introduced CD95 (Fas/Apo-1) gene as a model of gene therapy. Solid tumors formed by CD95 cDNA-transfected hepatoma cells (F6b) were almost completely cured by a single treatment of anti-CD95 monoclonal antibody (mAb) but recurred in gld/gld lpr/lpr mice after initial complete response. Recurred tumors were resistant to repeated mAb treatment. The ratio of resistant cells in tumors was estimated as 4.2 cells per 10(6) cells. The CD95-resistant tumor contained CD95-vanished and CD95-decreased cells. CD95-vanished cells were due to the deletion of CD95cDNA. However, CD95-decreased cells retained CD95cDNA, which was highly methylated when determined with methylation-dependent enzymes and a demethylation reagent, indicating that DNA methylation was responsible for the reduced CD95 expression and resistance to mAb. CD95-decreased cells reduced the CD95 expression further but did not delete cDNA after a second in vivo treatment with anti-CD95 mAb, suggesting that the elimination of cDNA is not induced after its methylation and that cells containing methylated genes became more resistant by further methylation. Thus, the elimination and methylation of integrated cDNA appear to occur through different mechanisms. Our study of resistant tumor cells, which arose by both mutational and epigenetic modifications of the introduced CD95 plasmid, provides important and fundamental information about the fate of introduced cDNA, augmenting the efficiency of gene therapy.

Effects of exogenous mevalonic acid on sterol lipid classes in Larix kaempferi callus.

In Japanese larch (Larix kaempferi (Lamb.) Carr.) calli, free sterol (FS), acylsterol (AS) and glycosylsterol, including the acylated type, were found in the proportion of 1.0:0.1:0.8. When the calli were cultured in the presence of 10 mM mevalonic acid (MVA), the content of AS, but not FS and glycosylsterol, was increased remarkably. The major component sterol in each sterol lipid class was usually sitosterol (more than 90%) with campesterol as a minor one. There were no differences on the sterol compositions between the calli cultured with or without MVA. When the calli cultured with 10 mM MVA for 6 weeks were transferred to the control medium without exogenous MVA, AS contents decreased to the level of the control calli. Thus, it was shown that sterol lipids, such as FS and glycosylsterols, with the structural functions was maintained in the constant content and the excess sterol biosynthesized from exogenous MVA was esterified to form AS for storage of sterol components.

Dehydrotrametenolic acid induces preadipocyte differentiation and sensitizes animal models of noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus to insulin.

We recently discovered that the triterpene acid compound dehydrotrametenolic acid promotes adipocyte differentiation in vitro and acts as an insulin sensitizer in vivo. This natural product has been isolated from dried sclerotia of Poria cocos WOLF (Polyporaceae), a well-known traditional Chinese medicinal plant. We examined the effects of dehydrotrametenolic acid on plasma glucose concentration in obese hyperglycemic db/db mice. Dehydrotrametenolic acid can reduce hyperglycemia in mouse models of noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM) and act as an insulin sensitizer as indicated by the results of the glucose tolerance test. These terpenoids and thiazolidine type of antidiabetic agents such as Ciglitazone, although structurally unrelated, share many biological activities: both induce adipose conversion, activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma (PPAR gamma) in vitro, and reduce hyperglycemia in animal models of NIDDM. Dehydrotrametenolic acid is a promising candidate for a new type of insulin-sensitizing drug. This finding is very important for the development of insulin sensitizers that are not of the thiazolidine type.

Parâmetros para o controle da qualidade de folhas de Casearia sylvestris SW. - Guaçatonga / Parameters to control the quality of leaves of Casearia sylvestris SW. - Guaçatonga

O objetivo deste trabalho foi estabelecer parâmetros farmacognósticos de Casearia sylvestris Sw., Flacourtiaceae, conhecida na medicina popular como guacatonga, para melhorar o controle de qualidade da droga. A espécie é oficializada na Farmacopéia Brasileira I, onde estão descritas apenas as características macroscópicas e microscópicas. São sugeridos novos parâmetros para determinação de resíduo de incineração, extrato seco e doseamento de taninos, como também um perfil cromatográfico em camada delgada.

The aim of this work was to establish pharmacognostic parameters of Casearia sylvestris Swartz, known in the folk medicine as guaçatonga, to improve the quality control of the drug. The species is official in the Farmacopéia Brasileira I, where only macroscopic and microscopic characters are described. We suggest new parameters for ash content, water extract and evaluation of tannins, as well as its profile in thin layer chromatography.

Estudo da estabilidade de uma formulaçäo na forma gel, veiculando o extrato fluido de Casearia sylvestris Sw., Flacourtiaceae ("guaçatonga") / Stability study of a formulation in gel status, introducing the fluid extract of Casearia sylvestris Sw., Flacourtiaceae (\"guaçatonga\")

A Casearia sylvestris Swartz, da família Flacourtiaceae, popularmente conhecida como "guaçatonga" é extremamente difundida na medicina popular, atribuindo-lhes propriedades medicinais como anti-sépticas, anti-virais, anti-úlcera e cicatrizantes. Atualmente é uma planta que vem sendo amplamente estudada, do ponto de vista botânico, fitoquímico e farmacológico, na tentativa de encontrar respaldo científico para este emprego diversificado. Esta planta está oficializada na Farmacopéia Brasileira de 1929, com a sinonímia de "herva de bugre", e os dados constantes säo as descriçöes macroscópicas e microscópicas da folha. Devido ao principal emprego terapêutico ser a nível tópico, o presente trabalho desenvolveu um medicamento fitoterápico compatível à esta via, escolhendo-se, deste modo, a forma gel. Os estudos iniciaram-se no controle farmacognóstico da droga, matéria-prima, associados aos estudos dos componentes intermediários da formulaçäo, até o produto acabado, priorizando-se as normas atuais vigentes no Brasil, para os medicamentos fitoterápicos, a Portaria SVS nº 06 de 31.01.95...