TB98: Oxygen Diffusion Rate Relationships under Three Soil Conditions

The objective of this study was to determine the oxygen diffusion rate (ODR)—soil moisture relationship for three sieved, root-free soils to determine if there are basic ODR-soil characteristic differences that might influence data at different soil water contents in the presence of plant roots. Advanced knowledge of ODR-soil moisture relationships would also help scientists to evaluate the effect of variation in the water table on plant growth.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_techbulletin/1105/thumbnail.jp

Isolation and in vitro cultivation of adrenal cells from mice

The adrenal gland consists of two tissues, cortex and medulla, united under one capsule. Adrenal stem/progenitor cells play a key role in development and homeostasis. Here, we describe a protocol for generating primary cultures of adrenal cells from mice. We describe techniques for separating the cortex and medulla, generating spheroid cultures containing stem- and progenitor cells, and for the differentiation into steroidogenic and chromaffin cells, respectively. This protocol enables analysis of various treatments before, during, or after differentiation. For complete details on the use and execution of this protocol, please refer to Rubin de Celis et al. (2015), Steenblock et al. (2018), and Werdermann et al. (2021)

Philanthropy or solidarity? Ethical dilemmas about humanitarianism in crisis afflicted Greece

That philanthropy perpetuates the conditions that cause inequality is an old argument shared by thinkers such as Karl Marx, Oscar Wilde and Slavoj Zizek. I recorded the same argument in conversations regarding a growing humanitarian concern in austerity-ridden Greece. At the local level a number of solidarity initiatives provide the most impoverished families with humanitarian help. Some citizens participate in such initiatives wholeheartedly, while some other citizens criticize solidarity movements drawing primarily from Marxist-inspired arguments, such as, for example, that humanitarianism rationalises state inaction. The local narratives presented in this article bring forward two parallel possibilities engendered by the humanitarian face of social solidarity: first, its empowering potential (where solidarity initiatives enhance local social awareness), and second, the de-politicisation of the crisis and the experience of suffering (a liability that stems from the effectiveness of humanitarianism in ameliorating only temporarily the superficial consequences of the crisis). These two overlapping possibilities can help us problematise the contextual specificity and strategic employment of humanitarian solidarity in times of austerity

Observed sea breeze life cycle in and around NYC: Impacts on UHI and ozone patterns

This observational study investigates New York City (NYC) impacts on summer sea breeze fronts (SBFs) during a 2018 LISTOS Campaign day with a regional heat wave and O3 episode. A morning urban heat island peaked at 8.3 °C and then induced convergences into the City, trapping its NO2 emissions. SBFs came ashore at 0700 EST from the Atlantic along southern Long Island (LI), and from the LI Sound along northern LI and southern Connecticut; 2-h later another formed over New Jersey. The Ocean front was retarded over NYC at noon, while all fronts merged by 1400 EST and continued inland for four more hours. High O3 first appeared at 0900 EST downwind of NYC. By 1100 EST, a new surface peak formed north of the City in the Hudson River Valley (HRV). The maxima merged, peaking at 143 ppb at 1300 EST behind the SBF and near the maximum temperatures of 39 °C. Trajectories ending at the northern LI site with a PBL O3 peak first passed NYC, arrived before the episode, and then recirculated back in its SB flow. Trajectories ending in the HRV showed pollutant transport over NYC twice, before advection northward into the narrow Valley by the ocean SBF

Mothers' beliefs about children's learning in Hong Kong and the United States: Implications for mothers' child-based worth

Chinese and American mothers’ beliefs about children’s learning and parents’ role in it were examined using notions salient in Chinese culture. Mothers from Hong Kong (n = 66) and the United States (n = 69) indicated their endorsement of the ideas that children’s learning reflects children’s morality, and parents’ support of children’s learning reflects parents’ love and duty. Mothers also reported on the extent to which their worth is based on children’s performance. Chinese (vs. American) mothers believed more that children’s learning reflects morality and parents’ support of children’s learning reflects love; these differences accounted for their feelings of worth being more dependent on children’s performance. Chinese (vs. American) mothers believed less that parents’ support is a duty.postprin

Professionally responsible coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination counseling of obstetrical and gynecologic patients

© 2021 Elsevier Inc. The development of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines in the current and planned clinical trials is essential for the success of a public health response. This paper focuses on how physicians should implement the results of these clinical trials when counseling patients who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed about vaccines with government authorization for clinical use. Determining the most effective approach to counsel patients about coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination is challenging. We address the professionally responsible counseling of 3 groups of patients—those who are pregnant, those planning to become pregnant, and those breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed. We begin with an evidence-based account of the following 5 major challenges: the limited evidence base, the documented increased risk for severe disease among pregnant coronavirus disease 2019-infected patients, conflicting guidance from government agencies and professional associations, false information about coronavirus disease 2019 vaccines, and maternal mistrust and vaccine hesitancy. We subsequently provide evidence-based, ethically justified, practical guidance for meeting these challenges in the professionally responsible counseling of patients about coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination. To guide the professionally responsible counseling of patients who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, and breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed, we explain how obstetrician-gynecologists should evaluate the current clinical information, why a recommendation of coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination should be made, and how this assessment should be presented to patients during the informed consent process with the goal of empowering them to make informed decisions. We also present a proactive account of how to respond when patients refuse the recommended vaccination, including the elements of the legal obligation of informed refusal and the ethical obligation to ask patients to reconsider. During this process, the physician should be alert to vaccine hesitancy, ask patients to express their hesitation and reasons for it, and respectfully address them. In contrast to the conflicting guidance from government agencies and professional associations, evidence-based professional ethics in obstetrics and gynecology provides unequivocal and clear guidance: Physicians should recommend coronavirus disease 2019 vaccination to patients who are pregnant, planning to become pregnant, and breastfeeding or planning to breastfeed. To prevent widening of the health inequities, build trust in the health benefits of vaccination, and encourage coronavirus disease 2019 vaccine and treatment uptake, in addition to recommending coronavirus disease 2019 vaccinations, physicians should engage with communities to tailor strategies to overcome mistrust and deliver evidence-based information, robust educational campaigns, and novel approaches to immunization

The functional architecture of mother-infant communication, and the development of infant social expressiveness in the first two months

By two-three months, infants show active social expressions during face-to-face interactions. These interactions are important, as they provide the foundation for later emotional regulation and cognition, but little is known about how infant social expressiveness develops. We considered two different accounts. One emphasizes the contingency of parental responsiveness, regardless of its form; the other, the functional architecture account, emphasizes the preparedness of both infants and parents to respond in specific ways to particular forms of behaviour in their partner. We videotaped mother-infant interactions from one to nine weeks, and analysed them with a micro-analytic coding scheme. Infant social expressiveness increased through the nine-week period, particularly after 3 weeks. This development was unrelated to the extent of maternal contingent responsiveness, even to infant social expressions. By contrast, specific forms of response that mothers used preferentially for infant social expressions - mirroring, marking with a smile- predicted the increase in these infant behaviours over time. These results support a functional architecture account of the perceptual and behavioural predispositions of infants and parents that allows young infants to capitalize on relatively limited exposure to specific parental behaviours, in order to develop important social capacities

Multipotent glia-like stem cells mediate stress adaptation

The neural crest-derived adrenal medulla is closely related to the sympathetic nervous system; however, unlike neural tissue, it is characterized by high plasticity which suggests the involvement of stem cells. Here, we show that a defined pool of glia-like nestin–expressing progenitor cells in the adult adrenal medulla contributes to this plasticity. These glia-like cells have features of adrenomedullary sustentacular cells, are multipotent, and are able to differentiate into chromaffin cells and neurons. The adrenal is central to the body’s response to stress making its proper adaptation critical to maintaining homeostasis. Our results from stress experiments in vivo show the activation and differentiation of these progenitors into new chromaffin cells. In summary, we demonstrate the involvement of a new glia-like multipotent stem cell population in adrenal tissue adaptation. Our data also suggest the contribution of stem and progenitor cells in the adaptation of neuroendocrine tissue function in general

Social preferences, accountability, and wage bargaining

We assess the extent of preferences for employment in a collective wage bargaining situation with heterogeneous workers. We vary the size of the union and introduce a treatment mechanism transforming the voting game into an individual allocation task. Our results show that highly productive workers do not take employment of low productive workers into account when making wage proposals, regardless of whether insiders determine the wage or all workers. The level of pro-social preferences is small in the voting game, while it increases as the game is transformed into an individual allocation task. We interpret this as an accountability effect