From Food to Food Justice: Pathways and Narratives of Young Food Activists in New York City

With a rise in obesity and other non-communicable, diet-related health problems and the persistence of food insecurity among many vulnerable populations, the involvement of young people in the current, burgeoning food-justice movement has the potential to bring forth transformative changes to our food system and thus improve population health. While much is known about the outcomes of providing opportunities for young people to be actively and civically engaged in their communities, there is a lack of research on the pathways, narratives, and experiences that bring young people into food justice activism. Through semi-structured, in-depth interviews with 25 young food activists in New York City, this dissertation identifies the key factors that contribute to young people’s involvement in food justice, with a focus on processes and pathways toward food-justice work, participation in the movement, and identity as activists. Analysis yielded numerous findings. First, food and food memories are central to these activists’ past, present, and imagined future. And while there are countless “moments” when they realized they wanted to pursue social justice as a career, the motivations were grounded in broader processes of exploration, hands-on learning and work experiences, needing to do something meaningful, and recognizing the role and impact of injustice, power, and privilege. Second, this path toward food justice is driven by the unique and powerful ways in which food can bridge and build communities, something that is crucially important to this group of young people. This finding is further related to their identity as activists, which is inextricably tied to the notion of work and commitment, as opposed to any labels or terminology. The work they do is a reflection of their personal identity, family values, ethics, culture, and past. This study brings forward the powerful, intricate, and intimate stories of young people working to positively change their food systems, voices that have generally been missing from the narrative of the food movement. Results from this study thus seek to inform how public health practitioners and researchers can better support this thriving youth food movement and create pathways for future activists

The effects of oncology social workers involvement on cancer patients\u27 decisions about end-of-life care

The purpose of this study is to explore oncology social workers\u27 level of involvement with cancer patients in a hospital setting and the effects this involvement might have on cancer patients\u27 end-of-life care decisions. Ten oncology social workers were recruited through a snowball sampling process. They completed demographic questionnaires and participated in semi-structured interviews. The narrative data was studied for prominent themes using thematic analysis. The findings underscored the importance of early social workers\u27 involvement with cancer patients to provide guidance, support, and address emotional aspects of their cancer experiences. This study also notes that each cancer type follows a different disease and treatment courses that may influence when and how end-of-life issues are being handled. Although most patients seem to have an overall cognitive understanding of their medical conditions, the emotional integration and implications of this understanding might take time to process. Social workers\u27 ability to facilitate communication among patients, families, and the medical team is one of their crucial roles in the interdisciplinary treatment team. Social workers\u27 consistent support, hopeful approach and the on-going discussions with their patients promote understanding and readiness as patients\u27 experiences with their illnesses evolves

New TRUS Techniques and Imaging Features of PI-RADS 4 or 5: Influence on Tumor Targeting

PurposeTo determine if the new transrectal ultrasound (TRUS) techniques and imaging features contribute to targeting Prostate Imaging and Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) 4 or 5.Materials and MethodsBetween December 2018 and February 2020, 115 men underwent cognitive biopsy by radiologist A, who was familiar with the new TRUS findings and biopsy techniques. During the same period, 179 men underwent magnetic resonance imaging–TRUS image fusion or cognitive biopsy by radiologist B, who was unfamiliar with the new biopsy techniques. Prior to biopsy, both radiologists knew MRI findings such as the location, size, and shape of PI-RADS 4 or 5. We recorded how many target biopsies were performed without systematic biopsy and how many of these detected higher Gleason score (GS) than those detected by systematic biopsy. The numbers of biopsy cores were also obtained. Fisher Exact or Mann–Whitney test was used for statistical analysis.ResultsFor PI-RADS 4, target biopsy alone was performed in 0% (0/84) by radiologist A and 0.8% (1/127) by radiologist B (p>0.9999). Target biopsy yielded higher GSs in 57.7% (30/52) by radiologist A and 29.5% (23/78) by radiologist B (p = 0.0019). For PI-RADS 5, target biopsy alone was performed in 29.0% (9/31) by radiologist A and 1.9% (1/52) by radiologist B (p = 0.0004). Target biopsy yielded higher GSs in 50.0% (14/28) by radiologist A and 18.2% (8/44) by radiologist B (p = 0.0079). Radiologist A sampled fewer biopsy cores than radiologist B (p = 0.0008 and 0.0023 for PI-RADS 4 and 5), respectively.ConclusionsPI-RADS 4 or 5 can be more precisely targeted if the new TRUS biopsy techniques are applied

Global analysis of patterns of gene expression during Drosophila embryogenesis

Embryonic expression patterns for 6,003 (44%) of the 13,659 protein-coding genes identified in the Drosophila melanogaster genome were documented, of which 40% show tissue-restricted expression

Automated cattle counting using Mask R-CNN in quadcopter vision system

The accurate and reliable counting of animals in quadcopter acquired imagery is one of the most promising but challenging tasks in intelligent livestock management in the future. In this paper we demonstrate the application of the cutting-edge instance segmentation framework, Mask R-CNN, in the context of cattle counting in different situations such as extensive production pastures and also in intensive housing such as feedlots. The optimal IoU threshold (0.5) and the full-appearance detection for the algorithm in this study are verified through performance evaluation. Experimental results in this research show the framework's potential to perform reliably in offline quadcopter vision systems with an accuracy of 94% in counting cattle on pastures and 92% in feedlots. Compared with the existing typical competing algorithms, Mask R-CNN outperforms both in the counting accuracy and average precision especially on the datasets with occlusion and overlapping. Our research shows promising steps towards the incorporation of artificial intelligence using quadcopters for enhanced management of animals

DNA replication stress restricts ribosomal DNA copy number

Ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) in budding yeast are encoded by ~100–200 repeats of a 9.1kb sequence arranged in tandem on chromosome XII, the ribosomal DNA (rDNA) locus. Copy number of rDNA repeat units in eukaryotic cells is maintained far in excess of the requirement for ribosome biogenesis. Despite the importance of the repeats for both ribosomal and non-ribosomal functions, it is currently not known how “normal” copy number is determined or maintained. To identify essential genes involved in the maintenance of rDNA copy number, we developed a droplet digital PCR based assay to measure rDNA copy number in yeast and used it to screen a yeast conditional temperature-sensitive mutant collection of essential genes. Our screen revealed that low rDNA copy number is associated with compromised DNA replication. Further, subculturing yeast under two separate conditions of DNA replication stress selected for a contraction of the rDNA array independent of the replication fork blocking protein, Fob1. Interestingly, cells with a contracted array grew better than their counterparts with normal copy number under conditions of DNA replication stress. Our data indicate that DNA replication stresses select for a smaller rDNA array. We speculate that this liberates scarce replication factors for use by the rest of the genome, which in turn helps cells complete DNA replication and continue to propagate. Interestingly, tumors from mini chromosome maintenance 2 (MCM2)-deficient mice also show a loss of rDNA repeats. Our data suggest that a reduction in rDNA copy number may indicate a history of DNA replication stress, and that rDNA array size could serve as a diagnostic marker for replication stress. Taken together, these data begin to suggest the selective pressures that combine to yield a “normal” rDNA copy number

Моделирование формирования структуры металломатричных композитов в процессе синтеза с оценкой эффективных свойств

Работа посвящена моделированию процесса кристаллизации композита с металлической матрицей и твердыми включениями с учетом условий синтеза (давление, скорость охлаждения), моделированию процесса формирования переходной зоны между частицами и матрицей и расчету эффективных свойств получаемых композитов.The work is devoted to modeling the crystallization process of metal matrix composite with solid inclusions, taking into account the synthesis conditions (pressure, cooling rate), to modeling the formation of the transition zone between particles and matrix, and calculating the effective properties of the resulting composites