Mallinghale4578

The deployment of adaptation plans to limit the threat of climate change often hinges on the capacity of various national and local institutions. An observed decline in South Africa's maize production over the last few decades has raised questions about the capacity of institutions responsible for providing climate change-related adaptive support to maize farmers in the country. This study assessed the adaptive capacity of management institutions in South Africa supporting maize producers, using a combination of literature review, document analysis, and in-depth interviews applied in the adaptive capacity wheel (ACW) assessment tool. On the basis of the results obtained from this analysis, the adaptive capacity of South African institutions responsible for climate change response processes was scored as medium. Findings from the research suggest that the advances made to date in South Africa in terms of climate change-related policy development, resource allocation, and capacity development could be inadequate, given the extent of identified institutional weaknesses, capacity constraints, knowledge, and information limitations. The study concludes that an inability to address current institutional limitations, considering the threats associated with climate change, may result in intensified social and economic challenges in the maize production sector. The study recommends the consistent revision and capacitation of these institutions to enable them to provide the type of support that will ensure effective adaptive responses for farmers involved in maize production in the country. Integr Environ Assess Manag 2021;001-14. © 2021 SETAC.

Endoscopic radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is an emerging technique for the palliation of inoperable malignant biliary strictures (MBSs). We aimed to systemically investigate the long-term outcome of RFA in a large cohort of patients.

We recruited 883 patients with various MBSs who underwent endoscopic interventions at two large-volume centers; 124 patients underwent RFA and stenting, whereas 759 underwent stenting alone. To overcome selection bias, we performed 14 propensity score matching (PSM). The main outcome was overall survival (OS).

Following PSM, patients in the RFA group showed significantly longer OS (9.5months; 95% CI 7.7-11.3months) than those in the stenting alone group (6.1months; 95% CI 5.6-6.6months; P<.001). In stratified analyses, the improved OS was only demonstrated in the subgroup of extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma (11.3months 95% CI 10.2-12.4 vs 6.9months 95% CI 6.0-7.8; P<.001), but not in the subgroups of gallbladder cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma, intrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma, pancreatic cancer, and other metastatic cancers (all P>.05). The survival benefits were noted only in the patients with non-metastatic cholangiocarcinoma (11.5 vs 7.4months, P<.001).

The survival benefits of endoscopic RFA appear to be limited to patients with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma without distant metastasis.

The survival benefits of endoscopic RFA appear to be limited to patients with extrahepatic cholangiocarcinoma without distant metastasis.Histone methylation plays important roles in mediating the onset and progression of various cancers, and lysine-specific demethylase 5B (KDM5B), as a histone demethylase, is reported to be an oncogene in hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). However, the mechanism underlying its tumorigenesis remains undefined. Hence, we explored the regulatory role of KDM5B in HCC cells, aiming to identify novel therapeutic targets for HCC. Gene Expression Omnibus database and StarBase were used to predict important regulatory pathways related to HCC. Then, the expression of KDM5B and microRNA-448 (miR-448) in HCC tissues was detected by RT-qPCR and Western blot analysis. The correlation between KDM5B and miR-448 expression was analysed by Pearson's correlation coefficient and ChIP experiments, and the targeting of YTH N6-methyladenosine RNA binding protein 3 (YTHDF3) by miR-448 was examined by luciferase assay. Ivacaftor molecular weight Additionally, the effect of KDM5B on the proliferation, migration, invasion and apoptosis as well as tumorigenicity of transfected cells was assessed using ectopic expression and depletion experiments. KDM5B was highly expressed in HCC cells and was inversely related to miR-448 expression. KDM5B demethylated H3K4me3 on the miR-448 promoter and thereby inhibited the expression of miR-448, which in turn targeted YTHDF3 and integrin subunit alpha 6 (ITGA6) to promote the malignant phenotype of HCC. Moreover, KDM5B accelerated HCC progression in nude mice via the miR-448/YTHDF3/ITGA6 axis. Our study uncovered that KDM5B regulates the YTHDF3/ITGA6 axis by inhibiting the expression of miR-448 to promote the occurrence of HCC.Protein kinase D (PKD) is a serine/threonine kinase family belonging to the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase group. Since its discovery two decades ago, many efforts have been put in elucidating PKD's structure, cellular role and functioning. The PKD family consists of three highly homologous isoforms PKD1, PKD2 and PKD3. Accumulating cell-signaling research has evidenced that dysregulated PKD plays a crucial role in the pathogenesis of cardiac hypertrophy and several cancer types. These findings led to a broad interest in the design of small-molecule protein kinase D inhibitors. In this review, we present an extensive overview on the past and recent advances in the discovery and development of PKD inhibitors. The focus extends from broad-spectrum kinase inhibitors used in PKD signaling experiments to intentionally developed, bioactive PKD inhibitors. Finally, attention is paid to PKD inhibitors that have been identified as an off-target through large kinome screening panels.

To determine the association between plasma free fatty acid (FFA) levels and primary angle-closure glaucoma (PACG).

Free fatty acid (FFA) levels in patients with PACG (n=181) and people without glaucoma (n=340) were compared. Twenty-two FFAs and six lipid classes were measured using metabolomics analysis. Odds ratio (OR) of these metabolites and their 95% confidence intervals (95%CI) for PACG were obtained by logistic regression. Stepwise forward selection was performed to identify FFAs that influenced PACG risk. Areas under the curve (AUC) were applied to assess the predictive performance. Spearman's rank correlation was used to assess the relationship between ocular parameters and FFAs.

Most FFAs in the PACG group were lower than those in the non-glaucoma group. Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; OR for fourth quartile (Q4) vs. first quartile (Q1) 0.32 (0.16-0.66); per standard deviation (SD) increase 0.64 (0.49-0.83); p for trend 0.0007) and total saturated fatty acids (SFAs; OR for Q4 versus Q1 0.27 (0.13-0.