Focusing on the Americas - home to 40 to 50 million Indigenous people - this book explores the history and current state of Indigenous language revitalization across this vast region. Complementary ...chapters on the USA and Canada, and Latin America and the Caribbean, offer a panoramic view while tracing nuanced trajectories of "top down" (official) and "bottom up" (grass roots) language planning and policy initiatives. Authored by leading Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars, the book is organized around seven overarching themes: Policy and Politics; Processes of Language Shift and Revitalization; The Home-School-Community Interface; Local and Global Perspectives; Linguistic Human Rights; Revitalization Programs and Impacts; New Domains for Indigenous Languages
Providing a comprehensive, hemisphere-wide scholarly and practical source, this singular collection simultaneously fills a gap in the language revitalization literature and contributes to Indigenous language revitalization efforts.
Newborns in neonatal intensive care units (NICUs) are in contact with a variety of medical products whose production might include synthetic chemicals with hormonal activity.
Our aim was to assess ...the content of bisphenol A (BPA) and parabens (PBs) and the hormone-like activities of a subset of medical products commonly used in NICUs in prolonged intimate contact with NICU newborns.
Fifty-two NICU items were analyzed, determining the concentrations of BPA and PBs methyl- (MeP), ethyl- (EtP), propyl- (PrP), and butylparaben (BuP) and using the E-Screen and PALM-luciferase assays to measure the
(anti-)estrogenic and (anti-)androgenic activity, respectively, of the extracts. Items found to have elevated BPA/PB content or hormone-like activities were further extracted using leaching methodologies.
BPA was found in three-fifths and PBs in four-fifths of tested NICU items, and
and
of extracts evidenced estrogenic and anti-androgenic activity, respectively. The highest BPA content was found in the three-way stopcock (
), followed by patterned transparent film dressing, gastro-duodenal feeding tubes, sterile gloves, single-lumen umbilical catheters, and intravenous (IV) infusion extension sets (concentrations ranged from 100 to
BPA). A total PB concentration (
)
was observed in several items, including light therapy protection glasses, patterned transparent film dressing, winged IV catheters, IV infusion extension sets, and textile tape. The highest estrogenic activity
estradiol equivalent (
) was found in small dummy nipples, three-way stopcocks, and patterned transparent film dressing and the highest anti-androgenic activity
procymidone equivalent units per gram (
) in small dummy nipples and three-way stopcocks.
According to these findings, neonates might be exposed to multiple sources of BPA and PBs in NICUs via inhalation, dermal, oral, and IV/parenteral routes. There is a need to address the future health implications for these extremely vulnerable patients and to adopt precautionary preventive measures as a matter of urgency. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP5564.
There is increasing evidence that environmental factors play an important role in the development of type 2 diabetes. Several persistent organic pollutants are suspected to contribute to the ...increasing prevalence and risk of type 2 diabetes. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of the body burden of three organochlorine pesticides and three polychlorinated biphenyls and the overall estrogenic activity with the risk of type 2 diabetes in a sample of adults from Southern Spain.
Samples of adipose tissue and serum were obtained from 386 subjects undergoing non-cancer-related surgery and were extracted using validated methodologies. Residues of persistent organic pollutants were analyzed by means of high-resolution gas chromatography with a mass spectrometry detector in tandem mode. The overall estrogenicity of the adipose tissue extracts was measured by using the total effective xenoestrogen burden (TEXB) biomarker. Data on lifestyle, dietary habits, and health status were gathered from face-to-face interviews and clinical records. Statistical analyses were performed with unconditional logistic regression and different adjustment levels.
In the models adjusted for adipose tissue origin, sex, age, and body mass index, the 2nd and 3rd tertiles of adipose tissue concentrations of p,p′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene (p,p′-DDE) were positively associated with the risk of diabetes odds ratios (95% confidence interval)=3.6 (0.8–17.3) and 4.4 (1.0–21.0), respectively. A positive association with β-hexachlorocyclohexane was also found when body mass index and adipose tissue origin were removed from the models, with odds ratios (95% confidence interval) of 3.3 (1.0–10.4) and 5.5 (1.7–17.3), for the 2nd and 3rd tertiles of exposure, respectively. In addition, a statistically significant interaction was observed between p,p′-DDE and body mass index, such that the risk of diabetes increased with tertiles of exposure in a linear manner in non-obese subjects but not in the obese, in whom an inverted U-shape pattern was observed.
► We investigated the association between 6 persistent pollutants and type 2 diabetes. ► The biomarker total effective xenoestrogen burden was also analyzed. ► Samples of adipose tissue and serum from an adult cohort were extracted and analyzed. ► Unconditional logistic regression models were calculated. p,p′-DDE in adipose tissue was positively associated with the risk of diabetes.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common inherited cardiovascular disease. HCM is a highly complex and heterogeneous disease regarding not only the number of associated mutations but also ...the severity of phenotype, symptom burden, and the risk of complications, such as heart failure and sudden death. The penetrance is incomplete and it is age and gender dependent. It is accepted as a disease of the sarcomere. Sixty percent of HCM cases carry mutations in 1 of 8 sarcomere protein genes, mainly non‐sense MYBPC3 and missense MYH7 variants. Young patients with severe phenotype and other clinical features are included in proposed scores for prediction of high positive genetic result. The number of genes reported as disease‐causing has increased in the last few years, in some cases without robust evidence. Currently available in silico tools are not always useful for differentiation between benign and deleterious variants. There is enough information on genotype‐phenotype correlations to start understanding the mechanisms of the disease. Genetic and environmental modifiers have been explored with some interesting insights from miRNA studies with potential as biomarkers and therapeutic agents. There is an additional value of genetic testing in HCM for prognosis. Knowledge about genetics and functional studies are the basis of near future therapies.
A bottom‐up, multiscale modeling approach is presented to carry out high‐fidelity virtual mechanical tests of composite materials and structures. The strategy begins with the in situ measurement of ...the matrix and interface mechanical properties at the nanometer‐micrometer range to build up a ladder of the numerical simulations, which take into account the relevant deformation and failure mechanisms at different length scales relevant to individual plies, laminates and components. The main features of each simulation step and the information transferred between length scales are described in detail as well as the current limitations and the areas for further development. Finally, the roadmap for the extension of the current strategy to include functional properties and processing into the simulation scheme is delineated.
A bottom‐up, multiscale modeling approach is presented to carry out high‐fidelity virtual mechanical tests of composite materials and structures. The strategy begins with the in situ measurement of the matrix and interface mechanical properties from the nanometer to micrometer range to build up a “ladder” of the numerical simulations, which take into account the relevant deformation and failure mechanisms at different length scales relevant to individual plies, laminates, and components.
Traces of antimicrobials in milk are of great concern for public health. The European Union has established maximum residue limits in milk; these, however, by themselves do not guarantee the absence ...of drug residues in milk and related products. Currently, very little information is available on the transfer of antibiotic residues from milk to other dairy products and their potential effect on food safety. This work evaluated the presence of antibiotic residues in pasteurized fluid milk and fresh cheeses from goat's milk containing these veterinary drugs at legal safety levels (maximum residue limits) and assessed the safety margin of these dairy products for consumers. Eight antibiotics (amoxicillin, benzylpenicillin, cloxacillin, neomycin, erythromycin, ciprofloxacin, enrofloxacin, and oxytetracycline) were selected, and three batches of fresh cheese were made from pasteurized goat's milk spiked with each of these drugs. Drug residues in milk and cheese samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The safety margin of goat's milk products was calculated taking into account different age groups (children, teenagers, and adults). Results showed that most antibiotics present in raw milk remained in pasteurized milk and were transferred to cheese to a high extent; retention was above 50% in most cases. The minimum safety margin in pasteurized milk was obtained for enrofloxacin, ciprofloxacin, and erythromycin for the children's group. For fresh cheese, an elevated safety margin was obtained for all antibiotics and age groups considered. However, the large amounts of antibiotics retained in the cheese might contribute to the development and spread of antimicrobial resistance. Considering the differences in milk from different species and the great variety of cheeses, it would be advisable to continue the traceability study of antibiotics in order to increase the safety margin of dairy products.
Chemotherapy-resistant urothelial carcinoma has no uniformly curative therapy. Understanding how selective pressure from chemotherapy directs the evolution of urothelial carcinoma and shapes its ...clonal architecture is a central biological question with clinical implications. To address this question, we performed whole-exome sequencing and clonality analysis of 72 urothelial carcinoma samples, including 16 matched sets of primary and advanced tumors prospectively collected before and after chemotherapy. Our analysis provided several insights: (i) chemotherapy-treated urothelial carcinoma is characterized by intra-patient mutational heterogeneity, and the majority of mutations are not shared; (ii) both branching evolution and metastatic spread are very early events in the natural history of urothelial carcinoma; (iii) chemotherapy-treated urothelial carcinoma is enriched with clonal mutations involving L1 cell adhesion molecule (L1CAM) and integrin signaling pathways; and (iv) APOBEC-induced mutagenesis is clonally enriched in chemotherapy-treated urothelial carcinoma and continues to shape the evolution of urothelial carcinoma throughout its lifetime.
The liver is a complex organ performing numerous vital physiological functions. For that reason, it possesses immense regenerative potential. The capacity for repair is largely attributable to the ...ability of its differentiated epithelial cells, hepatocytes and biliary epithelial cells, to proliferate after injury. However, in cases of extreme acute injury or prolonged chronic insult, the liver may fail to regenerate or do so suboptimally. This often results in life-threatening end-stage liver disease for which liver transplantation is the only effective treatment. In many forms of liver injury, bipotent liver progenitor cells are theorized to be activated as an additional tier of liver repair. However, the existence, origin, fate, activation, and contribution to regeneration of liver progenitor cells is hotly debated, especially since hepatocytes and biliary epithelial cells themselves may serve as facultative stem cells for one another during severe liver injury. Here, we discuss the evidence both supporting and refuting the existence of liver progenitor cells in a variety of experimental models. We also debate the validity of developing therapies harnessing the capabilities of these cells as potential treatments for patients with severe and chronic liver diseases.
In recent decades, there has been growing concern regarding worsening global climate conditions for agricultural production, especially in Mediterranean climate and other semi-arid areas where the ...scarcity of water is a major problem. The objective of the study was to estimate the long-term evolution (in Spain, over 1922–2016) of the decoupling between crop's water requirements and the green water available, and to analyze the causes of the changes. The FA0–56 methodology was followed to estimate the green water, blue water and water stress of crops, via an explicit territorial distribution, using 0.5o grid cells. We propose a new indicator called Violet Water. This indicator groups together the water stress of the rainfed croplands and the blue water of the irrigated croplands, representing the components of this decoupling. Our results show that crops´ water requirements increased by 21% and violet water by 30% over the study period. The decomposition analysis used to study the drivers of these changes suggests that increasing reference evapotranspiration, caused by global warming, was the major driver triggering the growth of crop water requirements. Meanwhile, the changes in violet water values were mainly driven by the coupling of the cropland's spatiotemporal structure and climate change. The sensitivity analysis performed showed that the increasing trends in water stress, blue water and violet water were consistent for almost all the tested scenarios, but significant differences on the scale aroused depending on the climate data used (climate normal or each year climate) and specially on the geographical and historical Kc adjustment (crop-fixed Kc versus adjusted Kc). This highlights the importance of considering simultaneously the effect of the different factors, but also the need for refining this type of adjustment in future research.
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•Violet Water (VW) combines water stress (rainfed) and blue water (irrigated).•Long-term, spatially explicit modelling based on agronomic and pedoclimatic data.•Crop water requirements (CWR) increased by 21% and VW 30% over the study period.•Decomposition analysis showed that CWR increase was mainly driven by global warming.•VW was driven by the combination of climate and cropland structural changes.
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a high-production-volume chemical with endocrine disrupting properties commonly used as color developer in thermal paper. Concerns about the potential hazards of human BPA ...exposure have led to the increasing utilization of alternatives such as bisphenol S (BPS) and bisphenol F (BPF). This study was designed to assess: (i) BPA, BPS, and BPF concentrations in 112 thermal paper receipts from Brazil, France, and Spain by liquid chromatography coupled to mass spectrometry (LC-MS); and (ii) hormone-like activities of these receipts using two receptor-specific bioassays, the E-Screen for (anti-)estrogenicity and PALM luciferase assay for (anti-)androgenicity. BPA was present in 95.3% of receipts from Spain, 90.9% of those from Brazil, and 51.1% of those from France at concentrations up to 20.27 mg/g of paper. Only two samples from Brazil, two from Spain, and ten from France had a BPS concentration ranging from 6.46 to 13.29 mg/g; no BPA or BPS was detected in 27.7% of French samples. No BPF was detected in any receipt. Estrogenic activity was observed in all samples from Brazil and Spain and in 74.5% of those from France. Anti-androgenic activity was observed in > 90% of samples from Brazil and Spain and in 53.2% of those from France. Only 25.5% of French samples were negative for both estrogenic and anti-androgenic activity. Estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities per gram of paper were up to 1.411 µM estradiol (E2) equivalent units (E2eq) and up to 359.5 mM procymidone equivalent units (Proceq), respectively. BPA but not BPS concentrations were positively correlated with both estrogenic and anti-androgenic activities. BPA still dominates the thermal paper market in Brazil and Spain, and BPS appears to be one of the main alternatives in France. There is an urgent need to evaluate the safety of alternatives proposed to replace BPA as developer in thermal printing. The large proportion of samples with hormonal activity calls for the adoption of preventive measures.
•BPA or BPS but not BPF was present in nearly all thermal paper receipts.•Hormone-like activity was detected in > 80% of the receipts.•BPA levels were 30- to 100-fold higher than the EU-recommended level (0.2 mg/g).•BPS only appears to be an alternative to BPA in thermal paper from France.
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