American Association for the Advancement of Science

About: American Association for the Advancement of Science is a nonprofit organization based out in Washington D.C., District of Columbia, United States. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Science education & Government. The organization has 353 authors who have published 897 publications receiving 18841 citations. The organization is also known as: AAAS.

Evaluation of an extended-release formulation of ceftiofur crystalline-free acid in koi (Cyprinus carpio)

Abstract: The use of an extended release ceftiofur crystalline-free acid formulation (CCFA, Excede For Swine(®) , Pfizer Animal Health) in koi was evaluated after administration of single intramuscular (i.m.) or intracoelomic (i.c.) doses. Twenty koi were divided randomly into a control group and four treatment groups (20 mg/kg i.m., 60 mg/kg i.m., 30 mg/kg i.c., and 60 mg/kg i.c.). Serum ceftiofur-free acid equivalents (CFAE) concentrations were quantified. The pharmacokinetic data were analyzed using a nonlinear mixed-effects approach. Following a CCFA injection of 60 mg/kg i.m., time durations that serum CFAE concentrations were above the target concentration of 4 μg/mL ranged from 0.4 to 2.5 weeks in 3 of 4 fish, while serum CFAE concentrations remained below 4 μg/mL for lower doses evaluated. Substantial inter-individual variations and intra-individual fluctuations of CFAE concentrations were observed for all treatment groups. Histological findings following euthanasia included aseptic granulomatous reactions, but no systemic adverse effects were detected. Given the unpredictable time vs. CFAE concentration profiles for treated koi, the authors would not recommend this product for therapeutic use in koi at this time. Further research would be necessary to correlate serum and tissue concentrations and to better establish MIC data for Aeromonas spp. isolated from naturally infected koi.

Focus Issue: From Genomic Mutations to Oncogenic Pathways

Abstract: This two-issue series focuses on how understanding how signaling pathways are altered in cancer cells can enable researchers to develop more effective therapies. Cancer is a pleiotropic disease. Tumor cells change over time and, even within a specific tumor, cells may have different mutations and dependencies on different signaling pathways for survival or for metastatic potential. New tools and technologies for genomic- or systems-level analysis, as well as conventional biochemistry and cell biology approaches, are revealing how signaling pathways contribute to cancer development, cancer evolution, and drug resistance.

Define the human right to science

Abstract: The adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly will mark its 70th anniversary on 10 December. One right enshrined in the UDHR is the right of everyone to “share in scientific advancement and its benefits.” In 1966, this right was incorporated into the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, a treaty to which 169 countries have voluntarily agreed to be bound. Unlike most other human rights, however, the right to science has never been legally defined and is often ignored in practice by the governments bound to implement it. An essential first step toward giving life to the right to science is for the UN to legally define it. The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization began a process for defining the right to science in 2005. Five years later, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS, the publisher of Science ) recognized the right as lying at the heart of the organization's mission and began engaging the scientific community, broadly defined, in delineating the right. The scientific community has contributed three key insights to the ongoing UN process. One is that the right to science is not only a right to benefit from material products of science and technology. It is also a right to benefit from the scientific method and scientific knowledge, whether to empower personal decision-making or to inform evidence-based policy. In addition, access to science needs to be understood as nuanced and multifaceted. People must be able to access scientific information, translated and actionable by a nonspecialist audience. Scientists must have access to the materials necessary to conduct their research, and access to the global scientific community. Essential tools for ensuring access include science education for all, adequate funding, and an information technology infrastructure that serves as a tool of science and a conduit for the diffusion of scientific knowledge. Also, scientific freedom is not absolute but is linked to and must be exercised in a manner consistent with scientific responsibility. In October 2018, the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights released a list of 29 questions related to defining the right to science. Three of the most important questions were: What should be the relationship between the right to benefit from science and intellectual property rights? How should government obligations under the right differ based on the available national resources? What is scientific knowledge and how should it be differentiated, if at all, from traditional knowledge? It is vital that the committee decide which of these and the remaining 26 questions truly need to be answered, which have been sufficiently answered already, and which are beyond the immediate scope of the task. The effort to define the right must not become mired in demands to resolve questions a priori that can only be answered over time. Insights from the scientific and engineering communities provide responses to many of the questions. Civil society must continue to illustrate how the right to science complements existing human rights protections. The scientific community, particularly in the 169 countries bound to implement the right, must demonstrate how the right can be instantiated within their own national contexts. And all interested parties should take the opportunity to contribute their input and insights to the UN process. The power and potential of the right to science for empowering individuals, strengthening communities, and improving the quality of life can hardly be overstated. It is time for the UN process to reach a responsible and productive end and for the right to science to be put into practice as was intended when it was first recognized by the United Nations in 1948.

Diagnosis and treatment of urolithiasis in client-owned chelonians: 40 cases (1987–2012)

Abstract: Objective—To calculate the prevalence of urolithiasis in client-owned chelonians examined at a veterinary teaching hospital and to describe the clinical signs, diagnosis, and treatment of urolithiasis in chelonians. Design—Retrospective case series. Animals—40 client-owned turtles and tortoises with urolithiasis. Procedures—The medical record database of a veterinary teaching hospital was searched from 1987 through 2012 for records of client-owned chelonians with urolithiasis. The prevalence of urolithiasis was calculated for client-owned chelonians examined at the hospital. Signalment and physical examination, hematologic, biochemical, urinalysis, diagnostic imaging, treatment, and necropsy results were described. Results—The mean prevalence of urolithiasis in client-owned chelonians for the study period was 5.1 cases/100 client-owned chelonians examined. Thirty-one of the 40 chelonians were desert tortoises. Only 5 of 40 chelonians had physical examination abnormalities associated with the urogenital tr...