Rebecca J. Cook and the contributors to this volume seek to analyze how international human rights law applies specifically to women in various cultures worldwide, and to develop strategies to ...promote equitable application of human rights law at the international, regional, and domestic levels. Their essays present a compelling mixture of reports and case studies from various regions in the world, combined with scholarly assessments of international law as these rights specifically apply to women.
Δ6-Desaturase (Fads2) is widely regarded as rate-limiting in the conversion of dietary α-linolenic acid (18:3n-3; ALA) to the long-chain omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid docosahexaenoic acid ...(22:6n-3; DHA). However, increasing dietary ALA or the direct Fads2 product, stearidonic acid (18:4n-3; SDA), increases tissue levels of eicosapentaenoic acid (20:5n-3; EPA) and docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-3; DPA), but not DHA. These observations suggest that one or more control points must exist beyond ALA metabolism by Fads2. One possible control point is a second reaction involving Fads2 itself, since this enzyme catalyses desaturation of 24:5n-3 to 24:6n-3, as well as ALA to SDA. However, metabolism of EPA and DPA both require elongation reactions. This study examined the activities of two elongase enzymes as well as the second reaction of Fads2 in order to concentrate on the metabolism of EPA to DHA.
The substrate selectivities, competitive substrate interactions and dose response curves of the rat elongases, Elovl2 and Elovl5 were determined after expression of the enzymes in yeast. The competitive substrate interactions for rat Fads2 were also examined. Rat Elovl2 was active with C(20) and C(22) polyunsaturated fatty acids and this single enzyme catalysed the sequential elongation reactions of EPA→DPA→24:5n-3. The second reaction DPA→24:5n-3 appeared to be saturated at substrate concentrations not saturating for the first reaction EPA→DPA. ALA dose-dependently inhibited Fads2 conversion of 24:5n-3 to 24:6n-3.
The competition between ALA and 24:5n-3 for Fads2 may explain the decrease in DHA levels observed after certain intakes of dietary ALA have been exceeded. In addition, the apparent saturation of the second Elovl2 reaction, DPA→24:5n-3, provides further explanations for the accumulation of DPA when ALA, SDA or EPA is provided in the diet. This study suggests that Elovl2 will be critical in understanding if DHA synthesis can be increased by dietary means.
Drawing on domestic and international law, as well as on judgments given by courts and human rights treaty bodies,Gender Stereotypingoffers perspectives on ways gender stereotypes might be eliminated ...through the transnational legal process in order to ensure women's equality and the full exercise of their human rights. A leading international framework for debates on the subject of stereotypes, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, was adopted in 1979 by the UN General Assembly and defines what constitutes discrimination against women. It also establishes an agenda to eliminate discrimination in all its forms in order to ensure substantive equality for women. Applying the Convention as the primary framework for analysis, this book provides essential strategies for eradicating gender stereotyping. Its proposed methodology requires naming operative gender stereotypes, identifying how they violate the human rights of women, and articulating states' obligations to eliminate and remedy these violations. According to Rebecca J. Cook and Simone Cusack, in order to abolish all forms of discrimination against women, priority needs to be given to the elimination of gender stereotypes. While stereotypes affect both men and women, they can have particularly egregious effects on women, often devaluing them and assigning them to subservient roles in society. As the legal perspectives offered inGender Stereotypingdemonstrate, treating women according to restrictive generalizations instead of their individual needs, abilities, and circumstances denies women their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
It is increasingly implausible to speak of a purely domestic abortion law, as the legal debates around the world draw on precedents and influences of different national and regional contexts. While ...the United States and Western Europe may have been the vanguard of abortion law reform in the latter half of the twentieth century, Central and South America are proving to be laboratories of thought and innovation in the twenty-first century, as are particular countries in Africa and Asia.Abortion Law in Transnational Perspectiveoffers a fresh look at significant transnational legal developments in recent years, examining key judicial decisions, constitutional texts, and regulatory reforms of abortion law in order to envision ways ahead.
The chapters investigate issues of access, rights, and justice, as well as social constructions of women, sexuality, and pregnancy, through different legal procedures and regimes. They address the promises and risks of using legal procedure to achieve reproductive justice from different national, regional, and international vantage points; how public and courtroom debates are framed within medical, religious, and human rights arguments; the meaning of different narratives that recur in abortion litigation and language; and how respect for women and prenatal life is expressed in various legal regimes. By exploring how legal actors advocate, regulate, and adjudicate the issue of abortion, this timely volume seeks to build on existing developments to bring about change of a larger order.
Contributors:Luis Roberto Barroso, Paola Bergallo, Rebecca J. Cook, Bernard M. Dickens, Joanna N. Erdman, Lisa M. Kelly, Adriana Lamačková, Julieta Lemaitre, Alejandro Madrazo, Charles G. Ngwena, Rachel Rebouché, Ruth Rubio-Marín, Sally Sheldon, Reva B. Siegel, Verónica Undurraga, Melissa Upreti.
The use of multiple chromophores as photosensitizers for catalysts involved in energy-demanding redox reactions is often complicated by electronic interactions between the chromophores. These ...interchromophore interactions can lead to processes, such as excimer formation and symmetry-breaking charge separation (SB-CS), that compete with efficient electron transfer to or from the catalyst. Here, two dimers of perylene bound either directly or through a xylyl spacer to a xanthene backbone were synthesized to probe the effects of interchromophore electronic coupling on excimer formation and SB-CS using ultrafast transient absorption spectroscopy. Two time constants for excimer formation in the 1–25 ps range were observed in each dimer due to the presence of rotational isomers having different degrees of interchromophore coupling. In highly polar acetonitrile, SB-CS competes with excimer formation in the more weakly coupled isomers followed by charge recombination with τCR = 72–85 ps to yield the excimer. The results of this study of perylene molecular dimers can inform the design of chromophore–catalyst systems for solar fuel production that utilize multiple perylene chromophores.
This chapter reviews the evolving consensus in international human rights law, first supporting the liberalization of criminal abortion laws to improve access to care and now supporting their repeal ...or decriminalization as a human rights imperative to protect the health, equality, and dignity of people. This consensus is based on human rights standards or the authoritative interpretations of U.N. and regional human rights treaties in general comments and recommendations, individual communications and inquiry reports of treaty monitoring bodies, and in the thematic reports of special rapporteurs and working groups of the U.N. and regional human rights systems. This chapter explores the reach and influence of human rights standards, especially how high courts in many countries reference these standards to hold governments accountable for the reform and repeal of criminal abortion laws.
•Human rights require the withdrawal of punitive abortion measures.•Human rights require access to abortion atleast on grounds of life health, sexual crime, and fetal impairment.•Human rights require timely access to information of the pregnancy and grounds for its possible termination, written reasons for denials, and review mechanisms for denials.•Human rights require that abortion services be available to all, irrespective of their specific circumstance.•Decriminalization of abortion is the removal of abortion from the criminal law.
The pediatric lysosomal storage disorder mucopolysaccharidosis type II is caused by mutations in IDS, resulting in accumulation of heparan and dermatan sulfate, causing severe neurodegeneration, ...skeletal disease, and cardiorespiratory disease. Most patients manifest with cognitive symptoms, which cannot be treated with enzyme replacement therapy, as native IDS does not cross the blood–brain barrier. We tested a brain‐targeted hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy approach using lentiviral IDS fused to ApoEII (IDS.ApoEII) compared to a lentivirus expressing normal IDS or a normal bone marrow transplant. In mucopolysaccharidosis II mice, all treatments corrected peripheral disease, but only IDS.ApoEII mediated complete normalization of brain pathology and behavior, providing significantly enhanced correction compared to IDS. A normal bone marrow transplant achieved no brain correction. Whilst corrected macrophages traffic to the brain, secreting IDS/IDS.ApoEII enzyme for cross‐correction, IDS.ApoEII was additionally more active in plasma and was taken up and transcytosed across brain endothelia significantly better than IDS via both heparan sulfate/ApoE‐dependent receptors and mannose‐6‐phosphate receptors. Brain‐targeted hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy provides a promising therapy for MPS II patients.
Synopsis
The use of an ApoEII‐tag to increase uptake of the lysosomal enzyme IDS greatly improved the efficacy of hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy in MPS II mice, providing encouraging therapeutic promise to treat the severe neurodegeneration seen in MPS II patients, for which there is currently no cure.
Lentiviral mediated delivery of IDS.ApoEII following hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy was superior to delivery of unmodified IDS.
LV.IDS.ApoEII increased IDS enzyme activity in non‐hematopoietic organs and restored normal skeletal development.
IDS.ApoEII delivered into the brain of MPS II mice through corrected monocyte‐derived macrophages normalized lysosomal storage of glycosaminoglycans and restored glycosaminoglycan sulfation patterning.
IDS.ApoEII rectified behavioral abnormalities and corrected global neuro‐inflammation and neuro‐pathology.
IDS.ApoEII shows increased uptake and transcytosis by brain endothelial cells.
The use of an ApoEII‐tag to increase uptake of the lysosomal enzyme IDS greatly improved the efficacy of hematopoietic stem cell gene therapy in MPS II mice, providing encouraging therapeutic promise to treat the severe neurodegeneration seen in MPS II patients, for which there is currently no cure.
HIV-related stigma is a key contributor to poor HIV-related health outcomes. The purpose of this study is to explore implementing a stigma measure into routine HIV care focusing on the 10-item ...Medical Monitoring Project measure as a proposed measure. Healthcare providers engaged in HIV-related care in Florida were recruited. Participants completed an interview about their perceptions of measures to assess stigma during clinical care. The analysis followed a directed content approach. Fifteen participants completed the interviews (87% female, 47% non-Hispanic White, case manager 40%). Most providers thought that talking about stigma would be helpful (89%). Three major themes emerged from the analysis: acceptability, subscales of interest, and utility. In acceptability, participants mentioned that assessing stigma could encourage patient-centered care and serve as a conversation starter, but some mentioned not having enough time. Participants thought that the disclosure concerns and negative self-image subscales were most relevant. Some worried they would not have resources for patients or that some issues were beyond their influence. Participants were generally supportive of routinely addressing HIV-related stigma in clinical care, but were concerned that resources, especially to address concerns about disclosure and negative self-image, were not available.
Reducing stigma in reproductive health Cook, Rebecca J.; Dickens, Bernard M.
International journal of gynaecology and obstetrics,
April 2014, Volume:
125, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
Stigmatization marks individuals for disgrace, shame, and even disgust—spoiling or tarnishing their social identities. It can be imposed accidentally by thoughtlessness or insensitivity; incidentally ...to another purpose; or deliberately to deter or punish conduct considered harmful to actors themselves, others, society, or moral values. Stigma has permeated attitudes toward recipients of sexual and reproductive health services, and at times to service providers. Resort to contraceptive products, to voluntary sterilization and abortion, and now to medically assisted reproductive care to overcome infertility has attracted stigma. Unmarried motherhood has a long history of shame, projected onto the “illegitimate” (bastard) child. The stigma of contracting sexually transmitted infections has been reinvigorated with HIV infection. Gynecologists and their professional associations, ethically committed to uphold human dignity and equality, especially for vulnerable women for whom they care, should be active to guard against, counteract, and relieve stigmatization of their patients and of related service providers.
The evolution of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has resulted in the emergence of new variant lineages that have exacerbated the COVID-19 pandemic. Some of those variants ...were designated as variants of concern/interest (VOC/VOI) by national or international authorities based on many factors including their potential impact on vaccine-mediated protection from disease. To ascertain and rank the risk of VOCs and VOIs, we analyze the ability of 14 variants (614G, Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Delta, Epsilon, Zeta, Eta, Theta, Iota, Kappa, Lambda, Mu, and Omicron) to escape from mRNA vaccine-induced antibodies. The variants show differential reductions in neutralization and replication by post-vaccination sera. Although the Omicron variant (BA.1, BA.1.1, and BA.2) shows the most escape from neutralization, sera collected after a third dose of vaccine (booster sera) retain moderate neutralizing activity against that variant. Therefore, vaccination remains an effective strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic.
PDF
