Probing the distance and morphology of the Large Magellanic Cloud with RR Lyrae stars

We present a Bayesian analysis of the distances to 15,040 Large Magellanic Cloud (LMC) RR Lyrae stars using $V$- and $I$-band light curves from the Optical Gravitational Lensing Experiment, in combination with new $z$-band observations from the Dark Energy Camera. Our median individual RR Lyrae distance statistical error is 1.89 kpc (fractional distance error of 3.76 per cent). We present three-dimensional contour plots of the number density of LMC RR Lyrae stars and measure a distance to the core LMC RR Lyrae centre of ${50.2482\pm0.0546 {\rm(statistical)} \pm0.4628 {\rm(systematic)} {\rm kpc}}$, equivalently ${\mu_{\rm LMC}=18.5056\pm0.0024 {\rm(statistical)} \pm0.02 {\rm(systematic)}}$. This finding is statistically consistent with and four times more precise than the canonical value determined by a recent meta-analysis of 233 separate LMC distance determinations. We also measure a maximum tilt angle of $11.84^{\circ}\pm0.80^{\circ}$ at a position angle of $62^\circ$, and report highly precise constraints on the $V$, $I$, and $z$ RR Lyrae period--magnitude relations. The full dataset of observed mean-flux magnitudes, derived colour excess ${E(V-I)}$ values, and fitted distances for the 15,040 RR Lyrae stars produced through this work is made available through the publication's associated online data.Comment: 7 pages, 8 figure

Contextualizing Family Food Decisions: The Role of Household Characteristics, Neighborhood Deprivation, and Local Food Environments

We employ multilevel models with neighborhood and state effects (fixed effects and random effects) to analyze the associations between household characteristics, neighborhood characteristics, regional attributes and dietary quality. We use data from the USDA National Household Food Acquisition and Purchase Survey. Our dependent variable is a Healthy Eating Index that incorporates dollars spent and amount of food in several categories. Key explanatory variables at the household level include variables household financial condition, housing burden, home ownership, car access, household size. We include a variable for the number of large food stores in the neighborhood, a neighborhood deprivation index, and a regional food price index, along with neighborhood and state random effects. Our model shows that at the household level, financial condition and home ownership are significantly and positively related to dietary quality, while U.S. citizenship status and living in a rural area were negatively associated with dietary quality. The number of large food stores in the neighborhood is significantly and positively associated with dietary quality. Neighborhood deprivation is not significantly associated with dietary quality, nor is the regional food price index. However, the neighborhood and state random effects variables were both significant, and the neighborhood variable explains close to half of the variation in household dietary quality. Our results highlight the complexity of understanding factors at different spatial scales that influence dietary quality. Food environments are important in shaping household food decisions, as are household finances. Future research should work on untangling additional neighborhood-level factors that matter for dietary quality

Incorporating Farmers’ Market Tours into the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program: Best Practices and Lessons Learned

Research indicates that low-income consumers are less likely to shop at farmers’ markets and that these individuals are often those with the lowest intake of fresh fruits and vegetables. This project aimed to improve familiarity with farmers’ markets among low-income consumers through guided tours of farmers’ markets, implemented as part of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). EFNEP Program Assistants (PAs) in five counties in North Carolina received training and partnered with a local Cooperative Extension agent to deliver a farmers’ market tour at the mid-point of a nine-lesson series on healthy eating. Forty-eight participants completed the series, completing a pre-and post-class series behavior change assessment and dietary recall. At entry, 54% of participants said they ate food that came from a local farm, compared to 94% at exit. Interviews with all PAs found that participants: plan to visit the farmers’ market again in the future, tried new recipes with foods purchased at the market, and learned how to talk with and ask questions of farmers’ market vendors. We argue that farmers’ market tours are a promising strategy for increasing familiarity with local foods, when carried out as part of a series of nutrition education classes

Local Food Systems Course for Extension Educators in North Carolina: Summary of an Innovative Program

Interest in local foods began in the early 2000s and has grown substantially over the past decade and a half. Although Extension is addressing local food systems in many states, training and materials in this program area are nascent. To address this circumstance, we developed a graduate course on local food systems for Extension educators. Post-course evaluations indicate increased confidence and knowledge related to local food system facilitation, implementation, and evaluation. Students cited site tours and panel presentations as the most effective course aspects and suggested improving the course by adjusting content to account for varying levels of familiarity with local food systems

Incorporating Nutrition Education Classes into Food Pantry Settings: Lessons Learned in Design and Implementation

The project reported here evaluated the effectiveness of nutrition education at food pantries. We offer best practices for future Extension-based nutrition programming with this clientele. Three classes were offered at food pantries through the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP). Entry and exit surveys were collected for each series, including 24-hour food recalls. Seventy-three percent of participants reported an increase in vegetable consumption, and 82% reported positive changes in consumption of at least one food group. Nutrition education in food pantries is promising, particularly for Extension-led programs like SNAP-Ed and EFNEP, to address nutrition behaviors among food insecure populations

Planning, Delivering, and Evaluating an Extension In-Service Training Program for Developing Local Food Systems: Lessons Learned

The social movement focused on re-localizing food systems is oriented toward recreating relationships between producers, consumers, and other community stakeholders. Sustaining community efforts to build local food systems requires preparation of county Extension educators to understand how food supply chains function as systems, facilitate community partnerships, and create equitable access to locally produced food. This paper shares how North Carolina Cooperative Extension designed, delivered, and evaluated a local foods in-service training on these three topics, as well as shares lessons learned through the process. The implications of this study are helpful for Extension educators planning, delivering, and evaluating in-service training programs that support development of local food systems

Automated Three-Dimensional Detection and Shape Classification of Dendritic Spines from Fluorescence Microscopy Images

A fundamental challenge in understanding how dendritic spine morphology controls learning and memory has been quantifying three-dimensional (3D) spine shapes with sufficient precision to distinguish morphologic types, and sufficient throughput for robust statistical analysis. The necessity to analyze large volumetric data sets accurately, efficiently, and in true 3D has been a major bottleneck in deriving reliable relationships between altered neuronal function and changes in spine morphology. We introduce a novel system for automated detection, shape analysis and classification of dendritic spines from laser scanning microscopy (LSM) images that directly addresses these limitations. The system is more accurate, and at least an order of magnitude faster, than existing technologies. By operating fully in 3D the algorithm resolves spines that are undetectable with standard two-dimensional (2D) tools. Adaptive local thresholding, voxel clustering and Rayburst Sampling generate a profile of diameter estimates used to classify spines into morphologic types, while minimizing optical smear and quantization artifacts. The technique opens new horizons on the objective evaluation of spine changes with synaptic plasticity, normal development and aging, and with neurodegenerative disorders that impair cognitive function

Logistic support provided to Australian disaster medical assistance teams: results of a national survey of team members

Background: It is likely that calls for disaster medical assistance teams (DMATs) continue in response to international disasters. As part of a national survey, the present study was designed to evaluate the Australian DMAT experience and the need for logistic support.\ud \ud Methods: Data were collected via an anonymous mailed survey distributed via State and Territory representatives on the Australian Health Protection Committee, who identified team members associated with Australian DMAT deployments from the 2004 Asian Tsunami disaster.\ud \ud Results: The response rate for this survey was 50% (59/118). Most of the personnel had deployed to the South East Asian Tsunami affected areas. The DMAT members had significant clinical and international experience. There was unanimous support for dedicated logistic support with 80% (47/59) strongly agreeing. Only one respondent (2%) disagreed with teams being self sufficient for a minimum of 72 hours. Most felt that transport around the site was not a problem (59%; 35/59), however, 34% (20/59) felt that transport to the site itself was problematic. Only 37% (22/59) felt that pre-deployment information was accurate. Communication with local health providers and other agencies was felt to be adequate by 53% (31/59) and 47% (28/59) respectively, while only 28% (17/59) felt that documentation methods were easy to use and reliable. Less than half (47%; 28/59) felt that equipment could be moved easily between areas by team members and 37% (22/59) that packaging enabled materials to be found easily. The maximum safe container weight was felt to be between 20 and 40 kg by 58% (34/59).\ud \ud Conclusions: This study emphasises the importance of dedicated logistic support for DMAT and the need for teams to be self sufficient for a minimum period of 72 hours. There is a need for accurate pre deployment information to guide resource prioritisation with clearly labelled pre packaging to assist access on site. Container weights should be restricted to between 20 and 40 kg, which would assist transport around the site, while transport to the site was seen as problematic. There was also support for training of all team members in use of basic equipment such as communications equipment, tents and shelters and water purification systems

CropPol: a dynamic, open and global database on crop pollination

Seventy five percent of the world's food crops benefit from insect pollination. Hence, there has been increased interest in how global change drivers impact this critical ecosystem service. Because standardized data on crop pollination are rarely available, we are limited in our capacity to understand the variation in pollination benefits to crop yield, as well as to anticipate changes in this service, develop predictions, and inform management actions. Here, we present CropPol, a dynamic, open and global database on crop pollination. It contains measurements recorded from 202 crop studies, covering 3,394 field observations, 2,552 yield measurements (i.e. berry weight, number of fruits and kg per hectare, among others), and 47,752 insect records from 48 commercial crops distributed around the globe. CropPol comprises 32 of the 87 leading global crops and commodities that are pollinator dependent. Malus domestica is the most represented crop (32 studies), followed by Brassica napus (22 studies), Vaccinium corymbosum (13 studies), and Citrullus lanatus (12 studies). The most abundant pollinator guilds recorded are honey bees (34.22% counts), bumblebees (19.19%), flies other than Syrphidae and Bombyliidae (13.18%), other wild bees (13.13%), beetles (10.97%), Syrphidae (4.87%), and Bombyliidae (0.05%). Locations comprise 34 countries distributed among Europe (76 studies), Northern America (60), Latin America and the Caribbean (29), Asia (20), Oceania (10), and Africa (7). Sampling spans three decades and is concentrated on 2001-05 (21 studies), 2006-10 (40), 2011-15 (88), and 2016-20 (50). This is the most comprehensive open global data set on measurements of crop flower visitors, crop pollinators and pollination to date, and we encourage researchers to add more datasets to this database in the future. This data set is released for non-commercial use only. Credits should be given to this paper (i.e., proper citation), and the products generated with this database should be shared under the same license terms (CC BY-NC-SA). This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved

Civil Society in Hybrid Governance: Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) Legitimacy in Mediating Wal-Mart’s Local Produce Supply Chains in Honduras

This paper challenges the notion that the incorporation of actors from civil society into hybrid governance arrangements improves outcomes and legitimacy. Multi-stakeholder collaborations are a popular hybrid governance approach to development, including NGOs’ work to integrate smallholder farmers into supermarket supply chains. As a result, NGOs’ service provision role has expanded to include market facilitation, often necessitating NGOs act as market intermediaries. This paper explores how this new role may jeopardize NGOs’ organizational legitimacy in the eyes of their constituents, other development organizations, and supermarket partners, and therefore ultimately affect their ability to represent civil society in hybrid governance arrangements. Drawing on qualitative data collected in the Central American country of Honduras, this paper focuses on NGOs’ role organizing producer associations to facilitate access to Wal-Mart supermarkets. Findings suggest that a lack of supply chain transparency, NGOs’ negotiation between commercial and aid-oriented goals, and the potential to exclude producers from development projects threaten NGOs’ legitimacy. These findings illustrate the difficulties of embedding philanthropic activities in market-based systems, and demonstrate how multi-stakeholder collaborations may be influenced more by commercial priorities than the elements of a partnership. Ultimately, development NGOs are products of neoliberal, hybrid governance, even as their activities are expected to ease the transition of small-scale producers into this system