Texas Children's Center for Vaccine Development, Departments of Pediatrics and Molecular Virology & Microbiology, National School of Tropical Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA; Department of Biology, Baylor University, Waco, TX, USA; Hagler Institute for Advanced Study at Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA; James A Baker III Institute for Public Policy, Rice University, Houston, TX, USA; Scowcroft Institute of International Affairs, Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, USA. Electronic address: hotez@bcm.edu.
The last five years has seen a sharp rise in anti-science rhetoric in the United States, especially from the political far right, mostly focused on vaccines and, of late, anti-COVID-19 prevention approaches. Vaccine coverage has declined in more than 100 US counties leading to measles outbreaks in 2019, while in 2020 the US became the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Now the anti-science movement in America has begun to globalize, with new and unexpected associations with extremist groups and the potential for tragic consequences in terms of global public health. A new anti-science triumvirate has emerged, comprised of far right groups in the US and Germany, and amplified by Russian media.
This review provides a synopsis of the main findings of individual papers in the special issue Terrestrial Biodiversity in a Rapidly Changing Arctic. The special issue was developed to inform the State of the Arctic Terrestrial Biodiversity Report developed by the Circumpolar Biodiversity Monitoring Program (CBMP) of the Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna (CAFF), Arctic Council working group. Salient points about the status and trends of Arctic biodiversity and biodiversity monitoring are organized by taxonomic groups: (1) vegetation, (2) invertebrates, (3) mammals, and (4) birds. This is followed by a discussion about commonalities across the collection of papers, for example, that heterogeneity was a predominant pattern of change particularly when assessing global trends for Arctic terrestrial biodiversity. Finally, the need for a comprehensive, integrated, ecosystem-based monitoring program, coupled with targeted research projects deciphering causal patterns, is discussed.
Myasnikov Research Institute of Clinical Cardiology. FSBI "National medical research center of Cardiology" of the Ministry of Health of Russia, Moscow, Russia.
Arterial hypertension (AH) refers to the most common cardiovascular diseases. The expert community regularly creates recommendations on the definition, diagnostics and treatment of hypertension. The most significant documents are recommendations American Medical Societies and the European Society for Hygiene in association with the European cardiological society. The latter document, as a rule, is fundamental for the creation of Russian recommendations on AH. Similarities are discussed in the article and differences in perceptions of the classification of hypertension, target levels of blood pressure, approaches to non-drug and drug therapy of the disease.
MD, PhD, Specialist in Clinical Pathology/Transfusion Medicine. Consulting Physician, Department of Transfusion Medicine, Landspitalinn. Clinical Associate Professor, University of Iceland. Acting chair, Landspitali Medical Board.
