Environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGOs) exist worldwide, and since the 1980s they have increasingly influenced global environmental politics and environmental discourse. We analyze an ...original dataset of 679 ENGOs participating in global environmental conventions in the mid-2010s, and we apply quantitative content analysis to ENGO mission statements to produce an inductive typology of global environmental discourse. Discourse categories are combined with ENGO attribute data to visualize the political topology of this globally-networked ENGO sector. Our results confirm some common assertions and provide new insights. ENGOs are more diverse than conventionally recognized. Quantitative evidence confirms strong North-South disparities in human and financial resources. Four primary discourses are identified: Environmental Management, Climate Politics, Environmental Justice, and Ecological Modernization. We compare our typology to existing literature, where Climate Politics and Environmental Justice are under-appreciated, and we discuss ways to expand on the data and methods of this study. Synoptic empirical ENGO research is essential to accurately understanding the ENGO sector and global environmental politics.
Photochemistry taking place in atmospheric aerosol droplets has a significant impact on the Earth's climate. Nanofocusing of electromagnetic radiation inside aerosols plays a crucial role in their ...absorption behaviour, since the radiation flux inside the droplet strongly affects the activation rate of photochemically active species. However, size-dependent nanofocusing effects in the photokinetics of small aerosols have escaped direct observation due to the inability to measure absorption signatures from single droplets. Here we show that photoacoustic measurements on optically trapped single nanodroplets provide a direct, broadly applicable method to measure absorption with attolitre sensitivity. We demonstrate for a model aerosol that the photolysis is accelerated by an order of magnitude in the sub-micron to micron size range, compared with larger droplets. The versatility of our technique promises broad applicability to absorption studies of aerosol particles, such as atmospheric aerosols where quantitative photokinetic data are critical for climate predictions.
Purpose
The aim of the present study was to evaluate the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on joint arthroplasty service in Europe by conducting an online survey of arthroplasty surgeons.
...Methods
The survey was conducted in the European Hip Society (EHS) and the European Knee Associates (EKA). The survey consisted of 20 questions (single, multiple choice, ranked). Four topics were addressed: (1) origin and surgical experience of the participant (four questions); (2) potential disruption of arthroplasty surgeries (12 questions); (3) influence of the COVID-19 pandemic on the particular arthroplasty surgeon (four questions); (4) a matrix provided 14 different arthroplasty surgeries and the participant was asked to state whether dedicated surgery was stopped, delayed or cancelled.
Results
Two-hundred and seventy-two surgeons (217 EHS, 55 EKA) from 40 different countries participated. Of the respondents, 25.7% stated that all surgeries were cancelled in their departments, while 68.4% responded that elective inpatient procedures were no longer being performed. With regard to the specific surgical procedures, nearly all primary TJA were cancelled (92.6%) as well as aseptic revisions (94.7%). In most hospitals, periprosthetic fractures (87.2%), hip arthroplasty for femoral neck fractures and septic revisions for acute infections (75.8%) were still being performed.
Conclusion
During the current 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, we are experiencing a near-total shutdown of TJA. A massive cutback was observed for primary TJA and revision TJA, even in massively failed TJA with collapse, dislocation, component failure or imminent dislocation. Only life-threatening pathologies like periprosthetic fractures and acute septic TJA are currently undergoing surgical treatment.
Level of evidence
V.
Purpose
Due to the lack of evidence, it was the aim of the study to investigate current possible cutbacks in orthopaedic healthcare due to the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic (COVID-19).
Methods
An ...online survey was performed of orthopaedic surgeons in the German-speaking Arthroscopy Society (Gesellschaft für Arthroskopie und Gelenkchirurgie, AGA). The survey consisted of 20 questions concerning four topics: four questions addressed the origin and surgical experience of the participant, 12 questions dealt with potential cutbacks in orthopaedic healthcare and 4 questions addressed the influence of the pandemic on the particular surgeon.
Results
Of 4234 contacted orthopaedic surgeons, 1399 responded. Regarding arthroscopic procedures between 10 and 30% of the participants stated that these were still being performed—with actual percentages depending on the specific joint and procedure. Only 6.2% of the participants stated that elective total joint arthroplasty was still being performed at their centre. In addition, physical rehabilitation and surgeons’ postoperative follow-ups were severely affected.
Conclusion
Orthopaedic healthcare services in Austria, Germany, and Switzerland are suffering a drastic cutback due to COVID-19. A drastic reduction in arthroscopic procedures like rotator cuff repair and cruciate ligament reconstruction and an almost total shutdown of elective total joint arthroplasty were reported. Long-term consequences cannot be predicted yet. The described disruption in orthopaedic healthcare services has to be viewed as historic.
Level of evidence
V.
In early-stage mycosis fungoides (MF), the most common primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma, limited skin involvement with patches and plaques is associated with a favorable prognosis. Nevertheless, ...approximately 20-30% of cases progress to tumors or erythroderma, resulting in poor outcome. At present, factors contributing to this switch from indolent to aggressive disease are only insufficiently understood.
In patients with advanced-stage MF, we compared patches with longstanding history to newly developed plaques and tumors by using single-cell RNA sequencing, and compared results with early-stage MF as well as nonlesional MF and healthy control skin.
Despite considerable inter-individual variability, lesion progression was uniformly associated with downregulation of the tissue residency markers CXCR4 and CD69, the heat shock protein HSPA1A, the tumor suppressors and immunoregulatory mediators ZFP36 and TXNIP, and the interleukin 7 receptor (IL7R) within the malignant clone, but not in benign T cells. This phenomenon was not only found in conventional TCR-αβ MF, but also in a case of TCR-γδ MF, suggesting a common mechanism across MF subtypes. Conversely, malignant cells in clinically unaffected skin from MF patients showed upregulation of these markers.
Our data reveal a specific panel of biomarkers that might be used for monitoring MF disease progression. Altered expression of these genes may underlie the switch in clinical phenotype observed in advanced-stage MF.
Swidden has historically been one of the most widespread land uses in upland Southeast Asia. In recent decades, swidden systems across the region have undergone rapid transformation. While most ...analyses focus on swidden as a livelihood practice, we direct attention to the political nature of swidden. Drawing on qualitative fieldwork and household surveys from two villages in East Kalimantan Province, Indonesia, we examine the politics of swidden along two key dimensions. First, at the household level, we describe swidden as a land control strategy. We identify territorialization and speculation as drivers of 'contentious land change' in swidden systems under pressure from expanding plantations and mines. Second, at the village and district levels, we examine the politics of swidden within new forest governance arrangements. Control of swidden has provided a focus for multi-stakeholder forest governance, but with ambivalent effects, developing village land management and livelihoods at a cost of temporary increases in swidden clearing and with minimal impact on deforestation for industrial land uses. Our analysis suggests forest governance efforts will be ineffective in eliminating contentious land change or reducing district-level deforestation until they address plantation and mining expansion as the dominant direct and indirect drivers of forest conversion.
The broad acceptance of electromobility depends heavily on the performance and service life of the battery technology used. Lithium-ion battery technology is currently the most promising energy ...storage technology for mobile applications, but the performance and capacity of the cells are extremely temperature sensitive. Especially in these new complex and powerful applications, there is a significant need for thermal management. Depending on the ambient conditions, part of the effective battery energy must, therefore, be used to temper the system. So far, mainly active components have been used for this task. This not only reduces the overall efficiency but also increases the weight, volume, and maintenance requirements of the system. In the present work, an alternative battery temperature management system was developed. A concept based on latent heat storage materials was created, which uses the advantages of thermal energy storage and the design freedom of additive manufacturing technology, and its suitability for use in battery applications was checked. On the one hand, the use of systems for storing thermal energy was researched and, on the other hand, an innovative cooling concept was created considering new production possibilities.
Atopic dermatitis (AD) typically starts in infancy or early childhood, showing spontaneous remission in a subset of patients, while others develop lifelong disease. Despite an increased understanding ...of AD, factors guiding its natural course are only insufficiently elucidated. We thus performed suction blistering in skin of adult patients with stable, spontaneous remission from previous moderate-to-severe AD during childhood. Samples were compared to healthy controls without personal or familial history of atopy, and to chronic, active AD lesions. Skin cells and tissue fluid obtained were used for single-cell RNA sequencing and proteomic multiplex assays, respectively. We found overall cell composition and proteomic profiles of spontaneously healed AD to be comparable to healthy control skin, without upregulation of typical AD activity markers (e.g., IL13, S100As, and KRT16). Among all cell types in spontaneously healed AD, melanocytes harbored the largest numbers of differentially expressed genes in comparison to healthy controls, with upregulation of potentially anti-inflammatory markers such as PLA2G7. Conventional T-cells also showed increases in regulatory markers, and a general skewing toward a more Th1-like phenotype. By contrast, gene expression of regulatory T-cells and keratinocytes was essentially indistinguishable from healthy skin. Melanocytes and conventional T-cells might thus contribute a specific regulatory milieu in spontaneously healed AD skin.
Mycosis fungoides (MF) is the most common primary cutaneous T-cell lymphoma. While initially restricted to the skin, malignant cells can appear in blood, bone marrow and secondary lymphoid organs in ...later disease stages. However, only little is known about phenotypic and functional properties of malignant T cells in relationship to tissue environments over the course of disease progression. We thus profiled the tumor micromilieu in skin, blood and lymph node in a patient with advanced MF using single-cell RNA sequencing combined with V-D-J T-cell receptor sequencing. In skin, we identified clonally expanded T-cells with characteristic features of tissue-resident memory T-cells (T
,
). In blood and lymph node, the malignant clones displayed a transcriptional program reminiscent of a more central memory-like phenotype (
), while retaining tissue-homing receptors (CLA
). The skin tumor microenvironment contained potentially tumor-permissive myeloid cells producing regulatory (
) and Th2-associated mediators (
). Given their expression of
and
, they might be under direct control by
tumor cells. In sum, this study highlights the adaptive phenotypic and functional plasticity of MF tumor cell clones. Thus, the T
-like phenotype enables long-term skin residence of MF cells. Their switch to a T
-like phenotype with persistent skin homing molecule expression in the circulation might explain the multi-focal nature of MF.
•‘Model municipalities’ are nodes in the evolution of a governance frontier in the Amazon.•This governance frontier regulates and stabilizes ‘green’ agro-industrial development.•A political geography ...approach reveals the political dimensions of frontiers and the spatial dimensions of governance.
The ‘frontier’ is central to a new wave of development scholarship, but the broad deployment of the concept has blurred several key dimensions of frontier development. We focus on the Brazilian Amazon to synthesize classical frontier theory and emerging perspectives with special attention to the role of governance in frontier development. Since 2004, primary deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon has declined over 70 percent while agricultural production in the region has increased. Contrary to narratives that view this transition as the result of ‘frontier governance’ – i.e., the imposition of order on a pre-existing frontier – we propose the concept of a ‘governance frontier,’ which recognizes the role of politics in constructing and transforming frontier spaces. This concept politicizes economic accounts of frontier development and spatializes abstract notions of governance. We employ a ‘follow the policy’ methodology to trace the evolution of a governance frontier in the eastern Brazilian Amazon, drawing on original fieldwork across four Amazonian municipalities and inside an environmental non-governmental organization. We show that a key feature of the Amazonian governance frontier has been a distinct geographical configuration of ‘model municipalities’ that function as nodes of policy experimentation, legitimation, and transfer. Our findings support an integration of frontier theory and governance theory in a place-based, political geography approach to regional political-economic transformation, which demands greater attention to the political dimensions of frontiers and to the spatial dimensions of governance.
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