University of East Anglia

About: University of East Anglia is a education organization based out in Norwich, Norfolk, United Kingdom. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Climate change. The organization has 13250 authors who have published 37504 publications receiving 1669060 citations. The organization is also known as: UEA.

Computer-aided psychotherapy for anxiety disorders: a meta-analytic review

Abstract: Computer-aided psychotherapy (CP) is said to (1) be as effective as face-to-face psychotherapy, while requiring less therapist time, for anxiety disorder sufferers, (2) speed access to care, and (3) save traveling time. CP may be delivered on stand-alone or Internet-linked computers, palmtop computers, phone-interactive voice response, DVDs, and cell phones. The authors performed a meta-analysis of 23 randomised controlled studies (RCTs) that compared CP with non-CP in anxiety disorders: phobias, n = 10; panic disorder/agoraphobia, n = 9; PTSD, n = 3; obsessive-compulsive disorder, n = 1. Overall mean effect size of CP compared with non-CP was 1.08 (95% confidence interval: 0.84-1.32). CP and face-to-face psychotherapy did not differ significantly from each other (13 comparisons, d = -0.06). Much caution is needed when interpreting the findings indicating that outcome was unrelated to type of disorder, type of comparison group, mode of CP delivery (Internet, stand-alone PC, palmtop), and recency of the CP system and that effect size decreased when more therapist time was replaced by the computer. Because CP as a whole was as effective as face-to-face psychotherapy, certain forms of CP deserve to be integrated into routine practice.

Innovations for conservation and development

Abstract: This paper examines attempts to integrate the objectives of biodiversity conservation and social and economic development through a variety of approaches associated with different forms of protected areas and generally labelled as ‘integrated conservation and development’. It examines how the linkages between conservation and development are conceptualized, and the types of policy prescriptions and associated models and practice of integrating conservation and development. It identifies misconceptions about four key aspects that are common in conventional integrated conservation and development approaches. These difficulties involve the conceptualization of community, participation, empowerment and sustainability. Integrated conservation and development projects have often floundered as a result of over-simplification of these factors. It assesses attempts made to overcome these common misconceptions through examining the experiences of two innovative approaches to integrating conservation and development in the Caribbean and in Amazonia. It concludes that fundamental changes are necessary to institutions and management and decision-making strategies to address these issues and to effectively meet conservation and development objectives.

The radiative forcing potential of different climate geoengineering options

Abstract: . Climate geoengineering proposals seek to rectify the Earth's current and potential future radiative imbalance, either by reducing the absorption of incoming solar (shortwave) radiation, or by removing CO2 from the atmosphere and transferring it to long-lived reservoirs, thus increasing outgoing longwave radiation. A fundamental criterion for evaluating geoengineering options is their climate cooling effectiveness, which we quantify here in terms of radiative forcing potential. We use a simple analytical approach, based on energy balance considerations and pulse response functions for the decay of CO2 perturbations. This aids transparency compared to calculations with complex numerical models, but is not intended to be definitive. It allows us to compare the relative effectiveness of a range of proposals. We consider geoengineering options as additional to large reductions in CO2 emissions. By 2050, some land carbon cycle geoengineering options could be of comparable magnitude to mitigation "wedges", but only stratospheric aerosol injections, albedo enhancement of marine stratocumulus clouds, or sunshades in space have the potential to cool the climate back toward its pre-industrial state. Strong mitigation, combined with global-scale air capture and storage, afforestation, and bio-char production, i.e. enhanced CO2 sinks, might be able to bring CO2 back to its pre-industrial level by 2100, thus removing the need for other geoengineering. Alternatively, strong mitigation stabilising CO2 at 500 ppm, combined with geoengineered increases in the albedo of marine stratiform clouds, grasslands, croplands and human settlements might achieve a patchy cancellation of radiative forcing. Ocean fertilisation options are only worthwhile if sustained on a millennial timescale and phosphorus addition may have greater long-term potential than iron or nitrogen fertilisation. Enhancing ocean upwelling or downwelling have trivial effects on any meaningful timescale. Our approach provides a common framework for the evaluation of climate geoengineering proposals, and our results should help inform the prioritisation of further research into them.

Shedding of syndecan-1 and -4 ectodomains is regulated by multiple signaling pathways and mediated by a TIMP-3-sensitive metalloproteinase.

Abstract: The syndecan family of four transmembrane heparan sulfate proteoglycans binds a variety of soluble and insoluble extracellular effectors. Syndecan extracellular domains (ectodomains) can be shed intact by proteolytic cleavage of their core proteins, yielding soluble proteoglycans that retain the binding properties of their cell surface precursors. Shedding is accelerated by PMA activation of protein kinase C, and by ligand activation of the thrombin (G-protein–coupled) and EGF (protein tyrosine kinase) receptors (Subramanian, S.V., M.L. Fitzgerald, and M. Bernfield. 1997. J. Biol. Chem. 272:14713–14720). Syndecan-1 and -4 ectodomains are found in acute dermal wound fluids, where they regulate growth factor activity (Kato, M., H. Wang, V. Kainulainen, M.L. Fitzgerald, S. Ledbetter, D.M. Ornitz, and M. Bernfield. 1998. Nat. Med. 4:691–697) and proteolytic balance (Kainulainen, V., H. Wang, C. Schick, and M. Bernfield. 1998. J. Biol. Chem. 273:11563–11569). However, little is known about how syndecan ectodomain shedding is regulated. To elucidate the mechanisms that regulate syndecan shedding, we analyzed several features of the process that sheds the syndecan-1 and -4 ectodomains. We find that shedding accelerated by various physiologic agents involves activation of distinct intracellular signaling pathways; and the proteolytic activity responsible for cleavage of syndecan core proteins, which is associated with the cell surface, can act on unstimulated adjacent cells, and is specifically inhibited by TIMP-3, a matrix-associated metalloproteinase inhibitor. In addition, we find that the syndecan-1 core protein is cleaved on the cell surface at a juxtamembrane site; and the proteolytic activity responsible for accelerated shedding differs from that involved in constitutive shedding of the syndecan ectodomains. These results demonstrate the existence of highly regulated mechanisms that can rapidly convert syndecans from cell surface receptors or coreceptors to soluble heparan sulfate proteoglycan effectors. Because the shed ectodomains are found and function in vivo, regulation of syndecan ectodomain shedding by physiological mediators indicates that shedding is a response to specific developmental and pathophysiological cues.