Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve is one of China's most popular tourist attractions, drawing more than five million visitors per year to the sparsely populated mountains of north-western Sichuan. The reserve has been home to farmer-herders for thousands of years, but to conserve the biodiversity and scenic quality of the reserve, park policies prohibit residents from farming, herding and wood cutting.

(University of York) An international team of scientists, led by researchers at the University of York, analysed the molecular remains of food left in pottery used by the first farmers who settled along the Atlantic Coast of Europe from 7,000 to 6,000 years ago.

Fatty liver involves ectopic lipid accumulation and dysregulated hepatic oxidative metabolism, which can progress to a state of elevated inflammation and fibrosis referred to as nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). The factors that control progression from simple steatosis to NASH are not fully known. Here, we tested the hypothesis that dietary vitamin E (VitE) supplementation would prevent NASH progression and associated metabolic alterations induced by a Western diet (WD). Hyperphagic melanocortin-4 receptor-deficient (MC4R^–/–) mice were fed chow, chow+VitE, WD, or WD+VitE starting at 8 or 20 weeks of age. All groups exhibited extensive hepatic steatosis by the end of the study (28 weeks of age). WD feeding exacerbated liver disease severity without inducing proportional changes in liver triglycerides. Eight weeks of WD accelerated liver pyruvate cycling, and 20 weeks of WD extensively upregulated liver glucose and oxidative metabolism assessed by ²H/¹³C flux analysis. VitE supplementation failed to reduce the histological features of NASH. Rather, WD+VitE increased the abundance and saturation of liver ceramides and accelerated metabolic flux dysregulation compared with 8 weeks of WD alone. In summary, VitE did not limit NASH pathogenesis in genetically obese mice, but instead increased some indicators of metabolic dysfunction.

Infants born to mothers with obesity have a greater risk for childhood obesity and metabolic diseases; however, the underlying biological mechanisms remain poorly understood. We used a Japanese macaque model to investigate whether maternal obesity combined with a western-style diet (WSD) impairs offspring muscle insulin action. Adult females were fed a control or WSD prior to and during pregnancy through lactation, and offspring subsequently weaned to a control or WSD. Muscle glucose uptake and signaling were measured ex vivo in fetal (n=5-8/group) and juvenile offspring (n=8/group). In vivo signaling was evaluated after an insulin bolus just prior to weaning (n=4-5/group). Maternal WSD reduced insulin-stimulated glucose uptake and impaired insulin signaling at the level of Akt phosphorylation in fetal muscle. In juvenile offspring, insulin-stimulated glucose uptake was similarly reduced by both maternal and post-weaning WSD and corresponded to modest reductions in insulin-stimulated Akt phosphorylation relative to controls. We conclude that maternal WSD leads to a persistent decrease in offspring muscle insulin-stimulated glucose uptake even in the absence of increased offspring adiposity or markers of systemic insulin resistance. Switching offspring to a healthy diet did not reverse the effects of maternal WSD on muscle insulin action suggesting earlier interventions may be warranted.

Western Bureau: A number of swimming officials in western Jamaica say that the region’s struggles with underdevelopment will continue even if the COVID-19 pandemic is brought under control. They say this is because they still lack proper pools to...

With thousands more migrants potentially traveling through the Western Balkans this year, this MPI Europe webinar explores the implications of the buttressed EU border on the bloc’s neighbors, including the issues of outsourcing migration control, EU support for addressing irregular migration in neighboring countries, and considerations for EU policymakers.

With thousands migrants potentially traveling through the Western Balkans this year, this MPI Europe webinar explores the implications of the buttressed EU border on the bloc’s neighbors, the migrants transiting these routes, and the local communities. Experts also explored how the European Union can support efforts to address irregular migration in neighboring countries, and what are the tradeoffs and considerations that policymakers must weigh. 

"We investigate the potential of using high-resolution seismic methods for rock characterization and for targeting of gold deposits at the St. Ives gold camp. The application of seismic methods in hard-rock environments is challenged by complex structures, intrinsically low signal-to-noise ratio, regolith distortions, and access restrictions. If these issues can be addressed, then the unparalleled resolving power of reflection seismic can be used for mineral exploration. Appropriate spatial sampling of the wavefield combined with a survey geometry design and rigorous data processing to incorporate high fold and long offsets are necessary for creation of high-quality seismic images. In the hard-rock environment of Western Australia, accurate static corrections and multiphase velocity analysis are essential processing steps. This is followed by a rigorous quality control following each processing step. In such a case, we show that the role of reflection seismic could be lifted from mere identification of first-order structures to refined lithological analyses. Five deep boreholes with sonic logs and core sample test data wer eused to calibrate 2D seismic images. Despite seismic images were produced with relatively robust scaling it was possible to achieve reasonably high seismic-log correlation across three of the tightly spaced boreholes using a single composite wavelet. Amplitude-versus-offset (AVO) analysis indicated that gold-bearing structures may be related to elevated AVO effect and increased reflectivity. Consequently, partial stack analysis and acoustic and elastic inversions were conducted. These results and impedance crossplots were then evaluated against known gold occurrences. While still in the preliminary stages, hard-rock seismic imaging, inversion, and the application of AVO techniques indicated significant potential for targeting mineral reserves" -- Summary.

Peace (Philosophy)

It's been more than a week since there were any new or active cases of COVID-19 in the catchment area for the Northwestern Health Unit (NWHU), and staff can not focus increasing testing.

Hope you didn't pack away those winter boots yet: southwestern Manitoba, from Riding Mountain south to the Canada-U.S. border, is expected to get heavy rain and snow Friday night.

We can expect to see more seasonable temperatures by next weekend, says a meteorologist from Environment Canada.

Schools in western Quebec are getting ready to welcome students back next week, but things will look a lot different — and classrooms will likely be far from full. 

The bonspiel took place in Edmonton March 11-14, starting the same day COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic.

A former student of OM Panama brings the world to her small church in western Panama.

The National Labor Relations Board unanimously declined jurisdiction Monday in the case involving Northwestern University football players attempting to unionize.

Male circumcision reduces risk of HIV acquisition in men by 60% and is associated with other health benefits. Compared with adult circumcision, infant male circumcision is safer, less expensive, and represents a cost-saving intervention for HIV prevention in many settings.

IMC is little known in East Africa and is not routinely practiced. This is the first study to assess acceptability and uptake of IMC in East Africa among parents who were actually offered the procedure. (Read the full article)

Pennsylvania College of Technology’s National Sustainable Structures Center is adding a training site in Westmoreland County to enhance delivery of building science and energy efficiency training for the U.S. Department of Energy’s Weatherization Assistance Program.

Gauteng, the Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal are the hot spots for card fraud in South Africa, according to a report on global fraud activity.

Capacities range from 2TB right up to 12TB, with the P50 Game Drive boasting a 'first-to-industry' USB 3.2 gen 2x2 connection and 2,000MB/s read speeds.

Somerset West stands out as one of the fastest growing property areas – commercial, residential and industrial - in the Western Cape, according to a new report on the state of the property sector in the Western Cape.

All three property sectors – residential, commercial and industrial – are currently experiencing a so-called buyers’ market in the Western Cape, says David Maynier, Western Cape Minister of Finance and Economic Opportunities.

High-resolution images on Delaware Forest Service’s Facebook Photo Album DOVER – The Delaware Forest Service has sent a second wildfire crew to the western United States as 41 active large fires are burning over 700,000 acres across five western states, with most concentrated in California, Oregon, and Washington, with 10 each. So far this year, […]

The Vietnamese Government has extended visa-free travel by additional year for the travelers from France, Germany, United Kingdom, Spain and Italy. The foreign nationals who visit Vietnam can stay for 15 days. Any passport holder from the countries…

[Daily Maverick] The Eastern Cape Department of Health has confirmed that 80 of a group of 188 seasonal farmworkers who returned to the province from the Western Cape over the past two weeks have tested positive for coronavirus. The taxis were 'intercepted' on the province's back roads near Elliotdale. Some drivers were allegedly in possession of fake permits. The positive test results come as nearly 10,000 people returned home during the window period allowed for interprovincial travel.

The Skeleton Creek project will be located in three Oklahoma counties

NorthWestern Energy has announced plans to upgrade its 8-MW Madison Powerhouse with the installation of four new turbine-generator units.

Findings in a recently published European Union report showed that the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia make up over 30 percent of the EU countries that have already met their 2020 renewable energy targets.

The Skeleton Creek project will be located in three Oklahoma counties

The city utility for Lethbridge, Alberta is starting a voltage optimization trial that is expected to deliver energy savings for customers while reducing overall energy usage in the city’s electricity distribution system.

Findings in a recently published European Union report showed that the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia make up over 30 percent of the EU countries that have already met their 2020 renewable energy targets.

The Skeleton Creek project will be located in three Oklahoma counties

Findings in a recently published European Union report showed that the Baltic States of Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia make up over 30 percent of the EU countries that have already met their 2020 renewable energy targets.

The Skeleton Creek project will be located in three Oklahoma counties

Six Western-Balkans leaders will sit down with the 27 EU ones in a videoconference summit on Wednesday that was to have taken place in Zagreb as the centrepiece of the Croatian EU presidency. "The summit itself is the message, to say: we want you to join," an EU diplomat told Reuters, adding: "We will also say that you cannot pander to the Chinese and the Russians when it suits you".

Western Cape Premier Alan Winde said that issue of bringing the province back to Level 5 had not been discussed either at the provincial government level or with the health minister despite a call from the ANC to do so.

A long-term struggle between the Beijing and Washington is at a turning point, with the United States rolling out new weapons and strategy in a ...

[News24Wire] *Note: Due to different reporting times, the provincial numbers will differ to the national numbers for given provinces by a few cases per day.

[News24Wire] As the Western Cape ramps up its screenings and testing for Covid-19 as confirmed cases rise, the ANC in the province is calling for the return to Level 5 lockdown to be considered.

[Daily Maverick] With more than 42 school days lost to the coronavirus crisis, educators in Western Cape have been counting costs and making plans to resume classes.