CIVIL RIGHTS/ANTI-DISCRIMINATION—HOW THE MASSACHUSETTS LEAD POISONING PREVENTION AND CONTROL ACT CODIFIES SYSTEMIC HOUSING DISCRIMINATION AGAINST FAMILIES WITH CHILDREN IN VIOLATION OF THE FEDERAL FAIR HOUSING ACT

This Article asserts that the Massachusetts Lead Poisoning Prevention and Control Act violates the federal Fair Housing Act (FHA) by discriminating against families with children under age six. The Massachusetts Lead Law was hailed as a ground-breaking effort to prevent childhood lead poisoning when it was enacted in 1971. However, because it requires landlords to incur the costs of lead abatement only when a child under age six resides in a dwelling, it has created a profoundly discriminatory rental housing market for these families. Part I of this Article discusses the scope of the problem for families with children under age six and provides an overview of the Massachusetts Lead Law. Part II advances the argument that the Massachusetts Lead Law violates the FHA. Part III explores the problems of housing instability and homelessness caused by housing discrimination against families with young children. The Conclusion recommends that the legislature amend the Massachusetts Lead Law to avoid discriminating against families with children under age six for three reasons: (1) to eliminate the harm of systemic discrimination; (2) to fully comply with the FHA; and (3) to achieve the original goal of the statute—to end childhood lead poisoning through a housing approach that requires property owners to abate lead hazards

Marcel Tanner, global health specialist "Extraordinaire" incl supplementary materials with personal contributions from renowned experts

Marcel Tanner, President of the Swiss Academy of the Sciences, Director emeritus of the Swiss Tropical and Public Health Institute (Swiss TPH), and Professor of Epidemiology and Medical Parasitology at the University of Basel, Switzerland, is indeed extraordinary, especially when considering the broad set of global health issues covered by his research [...

Chemical pump study

Sorption pumps applicable to the Pioneer Venus Mass Spectrometer Experiment were investigated. The pump requirements are discussed, and a survey of the existing pumps presented. Zirconium and zirconium graphite products were found to be the most promising among the getter materials surveyed. A preliminary pump design for the noble gas experiment is discussed

Low toxicity radiation sensitizer

This invention relates to cisplatin type fluorescently labeled compounds. In particular, the compounds are bis (5-aminofluorescein)-dichloroplatinum (II) or certain substituted analogues thereof. The compounds are useful as radiation sensitivity enhancers and as fluorescent biological tracers. The invention also relates to a unique, single step synthesis for preparing said compounds

Low toxicity radiation sensitizer

Bis(5-aminofluorescein)dichloroplatinum(II), and substituted fluoresceinamine derivatives of this compound are disclosed as highly effective radiation sensitizers which enhance the effect of ionizing radiation on tumor cells, but uniquely do so without the usual accompanying high toxicity level to surrounding normal cells. A direct combination, single step reaction synthesis is disclosed for preparing bis(5-aminofluorescein)dichloroplatinum(II) from the reaction between an alkali metal tetrachloroplatinate(II) and 5-aminofluorescein

Direct excitation of the forbidden clock transition in neutral 174Yb atoms confined to an optical lattice

We report direct single-laser excitation of the strictly forbidden (6s^2)^1S_0 -(6s6p)^3P_0 clock transition in the even 174Yb isotope confined to a 1D optical lattice. A small (~1.2 mT) static magnetic field was used to induce a nonzero electric dipole transition probability between the clock states at 578.42 nm. Narrow resonance linewidths of 20 Hz (FHWM) with high contrast were observed, demonstrating a record neutral-atom resonance quality factor of 2.6x10^13. The previously unknown ac Stark shift-canceling (magic) wavelength was determined to be 759.35+/-0.02 nm. This method for using the metrologically superior even isotope can be easily implemented in current Yb and Sr lattice clocks, and can create new clock possibilities in other alkaline earth-like atoms such as Mg and Ca.Comment: Submitted to Physics Review Letter

Altered adrenal and gonadal steroids biosynthesis in patients with burn injury

Peer reviewe

Novel biocatalytic modules for the cell-free conversion of cellodextrins to glucaric acid

Cell-free biocatalysis offers a versatile platform for the biomanufacturing of bulk or specialty chemicals due to the flexibility in assembling enzymes from different organisms in synthetic reaction pathways. Current challenges of this approach include costly enzyme preparation, low enzyme stability and efficient enzyme recycling. To overcome these challenges, we present a molecular toolbox that facilitates the simple construction of enzymes as low-cost and recyclable biocatalytic modules. The toolbox is composed of three interchangeable components: (i) inorganic matrices; (ii) matrix-specific solid-binding peptides (SBPs); and (iii) thermostable enzymes. SBPs are short amino acid sequences that can be fused genetically to proteins and direct the orientated immobilization of the resulting protein fusion onto solid matrices (1, 2). The biocatalytic module design relies on the affinity of the SBP for inorganic matrices. Single enzyme biocatalytic modules can be prepared easily consisting of one type of enzyme immobilized per matrix while a multiple enzyme biocatalytic module consists of multiple enzymes immobilized simultaneously onto the matrix. The modules can be combined rationally to generate product-specific reaction pathways and their subsequent removal from the reaction medium allows for a ‘pick, mix, and reuse’ approach, which can be optimized easily for low-cost cell-free biomanufacturing. Recently, we have shown that it is possible to assemble single and multiple enzyme biocatalytic modules using thermostable polysaccharide-degrading enzymes and that the enzymes retain their specific hydrolytic activities upon several rounds of recycling at high temperatures (2). Here, we applied the biocatalytic modules concept for the cell-free conversion of cellodextrins to glucaric acid, via a more complex seven enzyme synthetic pathway. Glucaric acid is one of the 12 top candidates for bio-based building blocks and is a precursor for polymers, including nylons and hyperbranched polyesters (3). Its bioproduction from cellodextrins, which can be derived from organic waste, provides a sustainable alternative to the fossil-derived production of polymers. Initially, single enzyme biocatalytic modules were prepared with a silica-specific SBP fused to two enzymes of the synthetic pathway allowing for their selective immobilization onto an inexpensive silica-based matrix. The SBP mediated the binding of each enzyme onto the matrix with over 85% immobilization efficiency. When comparing the enzyme activities of the biocatalytic modules against the free enzymes, 85 and 93% of their initial activities were retained upon immobilization, respectively. Furthermore, co-immobilization of these two enzymes as a multiple enzyme module resulted in similar immobilization yields. Performance of both enzymes in the multiple enzyme module in a successive reaction revealed that they retained 70% of their activity when compared to the free enzymes. Currently, the silica-specific SBP has been incorporated into other 5 enzymes of the pathway and we are proceeding with the construction of the single and multiple enzyme biocatalytic modules and pathway assembly. (1) Care A, Bergquist PL, Sunna A (2015) Trends in Biotechnology, 33: 259-268. (2) Care A, Petroll K, Gibson ESY, Bergquist PL, Sunna A (2017) Biotechnology for Biofuels 10:29. (3) Werpy T and G Petersen (2004). Results of Screening for Potential Candidates from Sugars and Synthesis Gas. National Renewable Energy Lab

SCHISTOSOMIASIS: GEOSPATIAL SURVEILLANCE AND RESPONSE SYSTEMS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA

Geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing (RS) from Earth-observing satellites offer opportunities for rapid assessment of areas endemic for vector-borne diseases including estimates of populations at risk and guidance to intervention strategies. This presentation deals with GIS and RS applications for the control of schistosomiasis in China and the Philippines. It includes large-scale risk mapping including identification of suitable habitats for Oncomelania hupensis, the intermediate host snail of Schistosoma japonicum. Predictions of infection risk are discussed with reference to ecological transformations and the potential impact of climate change and the potential for long-term temperature increases in the North as well as the impact on rivers, lakes and water resource developments. Potential integration of geospatial mapping and modeling in schistosomiasis surveillance and response systems in Asia within Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS) guidelines in the health societal benefit area is discussed

Evaluating display color capability

Although the CIE recommends using the 3D CIELAB color space to assess displays, a 3D CIELAB gamut plot can be difficult to calculate, render, and interpret. Here, a team of experts demonstrates why the gamut rings plot may be a better alternative