Disruption of normal body axis formation after teratogen exposure

International audienceUrban transport plans in France (UTPs) aim to develop mobility for everyone and to find a balance between cars, public transport and other transport modes, this in order to favour sustainable mobility. In this article, the question of the utility derived from such policies is raised for the inhabitants of Nantes, which was designated the ‘European Green Capital’ in 2013. We analyse the capitalization of various effects of urban transport policies in housing values. Using a hedonic price model, we show that housing values in Nantes are significantly determined by improved accessibility to the city centre. We highlight contrasting effects of UTPs on housing values depending on the location of apartments and on the mode of public transport. Households also internalize air and noise pollution generated by transportation, but they attach only a low value to pollution exposure

USMA Space Cadets: The First Class

The United States Military Academy (USMA) at West Point has been developing leaders of character since 1802. This year’s graduating class, the Class of 2020, includes West Point’s first Space Science majors. The United States Army has officially had space professionals in its ranks since 1997 with the inception Space Operations Officer career field, also known as Functional Area 40 (FA40). It is only recently that the Army has shifted its focus to building the FA40 ranks from officer accessions programs (USMA, ROTC, and OCS). The establishment of the Space and Missile Defense Program under USMA’s Physics and Nuclear Engineering (PaNE) Department shows the heightened priority of building space professionals for the Army. This program, that was first discussed in a paper submitted to the 23rd annual AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites, has been twelve years in the making. Now, West Point has risen to the level of its fellow-service academies in the realm of space education and research

Impact of High-Latitude Ionospheric E Region Enhancements on Global Positioning System Scintillations in the Alaskan Sector

A reduction in Arctic sea ice extent is driving an increase in Arctic Circle ship traffc and a requirement for communications in the region. High-latitude ionospheric behavior can significantly impact Ultra High Frequency (UHF) transmissions including degradation of Global Positioning System (GPS) position solutions. To address these operational concerns, a need arises to identify and understand the ionospheric structures that lead to disturbed conditions in Arctic latitudes. This research focuses on determining those structures that occur within the Alaskan high-latitude sector, and comparing their local relative importance to that across the broader northern high-latitudes. The goal is to identify correlative features between GPS scintillation, electron densities and their gradients, as seen by ground GPS receivers in Alaska and the Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar (PFISR), as well as other instruments and models available for context. Several case studies are examined, specifically global and local geomagnetically disturbed times that allow for the isolation of ionospheric sources associated with GPS scintillation. Upon determination of known scintillating E and F region structures, the relative importance of each is compared in terms of the frequency, duration, and extent of operational impact. These results are compared across the broader high-latitude region to gain insight into the timing and location of physical mechanisms that drive GPS scintillations in the Arctic. Analysis indicates that E region auroral activity is the primary driver in Alaska. This differs from the Arctic European sector where F region auroral blobs structured by precipitating particles have been reported as the primary causal structures. Geomagnetic conditions vary greatly across the Arctic, so differences between sectors is not surprising. While further modeling and studies are required to understand why the differences exist, the observed differences themselves give observational insight into potential causes. The uniqueness of this work lies in the use of a predictive conjunction analysis between the PFISR beam array and known GPS satellite signal paths to determine experiment times and both single and multi-beam experiment configurations. This is coupled with all sky imagery for broader contextual interpretation; and, the approach can be transitioned to future work conducted across other high-latitude sectors.</p

Attentive and Pre-Attentive Processes in Change Detection and Identification

In studies of change blindness, observers often have the phenomenological impression that the blindness is overcome all at once, so that change detection, localization and identification apparently occur together. Three experiments are described that explore dissociations between these processes using a discrete trial procedure in which 2 visual frames are presented sequentially with no intervening inter-frame-interval. The results reveal that change detection and localization are essentially perfect under these conditions regardless of the number of elements in the display, which is consistent with the idea that change detection and localization are mediated by pre-attentive parallel processes. In contrast, identification accuracy for an item before it changes is generally poor, and is heavily dependent on the number of items displayed. Identification accuracy after a change is substantially better, but depends on the new item’s duration. This suggests that the change captures attention, which substantially enhances the likelihood of correctly identifying the new item. However, the results also reveal a limited capacity to identify unattended items. Specifically, we provide evidence that strongly suggests that, at least under these conditions, observers were able to identify two items without focused attention. Our results further suggest that spatial pre-cues that attract attention to an item before the change occurs simply ensure that the cued item is one of the two whose identity is encoded

Healthier prisons: The role of a prison visitors' centre

Since the inception of the prison as a ‘setting’ for health promotion, there has been a focus on how the health of those men and women who spend ‘time inside’ can at least be maintained and if possible, enhanced, during their prison sentence. This paper presents findings from a mainly qualitative evaluation of a prison visitors' centre in the UK. It reports experiences of prisoners' families, prisoners, prison staff, the local community and the ways in which the visitors' centre has contributed positively to their health and well-being. In addition, key stakeholders were interviewed to ascertain the role this visitors' centre has in policy frameworks related to re-offending. The findings from this evaluation underscore how the visitors' centre improved the quality of visits, and contributed towards the maintenance of family ties through the help and support it provides for families and prisoners. The paper concludes by suggesting that visitors' centres are an essential part of a modern prison service helping to address the government's health inequalities agenda

Urinary Perchlorate and Thyroid Hormone Levels in Adolescent and Adult Men and Women Living in the United States

BACKGROUND: Perchlorate is commonly found in the environment and known to inhibit thyroid function at high doses. Assessing the potential effect of low-level exposure to perchlorate on thyroid function is an area of ongoing research. OBJECTIVES: We evaluated the potential relationship between urinary levels of perchlorate and serum levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) and total thyroxine (T(4)) in 2,299 men and women, ≥ 12 years of age, participating in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) during 2001–2002. METHODS: We used multiple regression models of T(4) and TSH that included perchlorate and covariates known to be or likely to be associated with T(4) or TSH levels: age, race/ethnicity, body mass index, estrogen use, menopausal status, pregnancy status, premenarche status, serum C-reactive protein, serum albumin, serum cotinine, hours of fasting, urinary thiocyanate, urinary nitrate, and selected medication groups. RESULTS: Perchlorate was not a significant predictor of T(4) or TSH levels in men. For women overall, perchlorate was a significant predictor of both T(4) and TSH. For women with urinary iodine < 100 μg/L, perchlorate was a significant negative predictor of T(4) (p < 0.0001) and a positive predictor of TSH (p = 0.001). For women with urinary iodine ≥ 100 μg/L, perchlorate was a significant positive predictor of TSH (p = 0.025) but not T(4) (p = 0.550). CONCLUSIONS: These associations of perchlorate with T(4) and TSH are coherent in direction and independent of other variables known to affect thyroid function, but are present at perchlorate exposure levels that were unanticipated based on previous studies

Nanoscale regulation of L-type calcium channels differentiates between ischemic and dilated cardiomyopathies.

Background Subcellular localization and function of L-type calcium channels (LTCCs) play an important role in regulating contraction of cardiomyocytes. Understanding how this is affected by the disruption of transverse tubules during heart failure could lead to new insights into the disease. Methods Cardiomyocytes were isolated from healthy donor hearts, as well as from patients with cardiomyopathies and with left ventricular assist devices. Scanning ion conductance and confocal microscopy was used to study membrane structures in the cells. Super-resolution scanning patch-clamp was used to examine LTCC function in different microdomains. Computational modeling predicted the impact of these changes to arrhythmogenesis at the whole-heart level. Findings We showed that loss of structural organization in failing myocytes leads to re-distribution of functional LTCCs from the T-tubules to the sarcolemma. In ischemic cardiomyopathy, the increased LTCC open probability in the T-tubules depends on the phosphorylation by protein kinase A, whereas in dilated cardiomyopathy, the increased LTCC opening probability in the sarcolemma results from enhanced phosphorylation by calcium-calmodulin kinase II. LVAD implantation corrected LTCCs pathophysiological activity, although it did not improve their distribution. Using computational modeling in a 3D anatomically-realistic human ventricular model, we showed how LTCC location and activity can trigger heart rhythm disorders of different severity. Interpretation Our findings demonstrate that LTCC redistribution and function differentiate between disease aetiologies. The subcellular changes observed in specific microdomains could be the consequence of the action of distinct protein kinases. Funding This work was supported by NIH grant (ROI-HL 126802 to NT-JG) and British Heart Foundation (grant RG/17/13/33173 to JG, project grant PG/16/17/32069 to RAC). Funders had no role in study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation, writing of the repor

Automatic tool path generation for finish machining

A system for automatic tool path generation was developed at Sandia National Laboratories for finish machining operations. The system consists of a commercially available 5-axis milling machine controlled by Sandia developed software. This system was used to remove overspray on cast turbine blades. A laser-based, structured-light sensor, mounted on a tool holder, is used to collect 3D data points around the surface of the turbine blade. Using the digitized model of the blade, a tool path is generated which will drive a 0.375 inch diameter CBN grinding pin around the tip of the blade. A fuzzified digital filter was developed to properly eliminate false sensor readings caused by burrs, holes and overspray. The digital filter was found to successfully generate the correct tool path for a blade with intentionally scanned holes and defects. The fuzzified filter improved the computation efficiency by a factor of 25. For application to general parts, an adaptive scanning algorithm was developed and presented with simulation results. A right pyramid and an ellipsoid were scanned successfully with the adaptive algorithm

Learning to Teach Argumentation: Research and development in the science classroom

The research reported in this study focuses on an investigation into the teaching of argumentation in secondary science classrooms. Over a one-year period, a group of 12 teachers from schools in the greater London area attended a series of workshops to develop materials and strategies to support the teaching of argumentation in scientific contexts. Data were collected at the beginning and end of the year by audio and video recording lessons where the teachers attempted to implement argumentation. To assess the quality of argumentation, analytical tools derived from Toulmin's argument pattern (TAP) were developed and applied to classroom transcripts. Analysis shows there was development in teachers' use of argumentation across the year. Results indicate that the pattern of use of argumentation is teacher-specific, as is the nature of change. To inform future professional development programmes, transcripts of five teachers, three showing a significant change and two no change, were analysed in more detail to identify features of teachers' oral contributions that facilitated and supported argumentation. The analysis showed that all teachers attempted to encourage a variety of processes involved in argumentation and that the teachers whose lessons included the highest quality of argumentation (TAP analysis) also encouraged higher order processes in their teaching. The analysis of teachers' facilitation of argumentation has helped to guide the development of in-service materials and to identify the barriers to learning in the professional development of less experienced teachers

The relation between athletic sports and prevalence of amenorrhea and oligomenorrhea in Iranian female athletes

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>In 1992, the concept of female athlete triad was introduced to describe the interrelated problems of amenorrhea, eating disorders and osteoporosis seen in female athletes. To gain a clearer picture of amenorrhea/oligomenorrhea in Iran, one of the main components of the female athlete triad, we therefore established this study on the prevalence of amenorrhea/oligomenorrhea in elite Iranian female athletes, also evaluating the risk factors of these disorders in the same population.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This study performed as a cross-sectional study. All elite Iranian female athletes of 34 sports federation, including female athletes in national teams and medalists of Tehran were invited to participate. A total of 788 (95% response rate) returned the questionnaires and were examined. Younger athletes under the age of menarche were excluded. Each athlete completed a self-administered questionnaire, which covered the following questions about participant's demographic information, athletic history, history of injuries and menstrual pattern. In order to diagnose the causes of amenorrhea/Oligomenorrhea including polycystic ovary syndrome(PCOS), participants with amenorrhea/Oligomenorrhea underwent further investigation. They were evaluated by following Para clinic investigation, and an ultrasonographic study of ovary.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The age ranged from 13–37 (mean = 21.1, SD = 4.5). Seventy one (9.0%) individuals had amenorrhea/oligomenorrhea, among those, 11 (15.5%) had PCOS.</p> <p>There was also a positive association between amenorrhea/oligomenorrhea and the following: age under 20 OR; 2.67, 95%CI(1.47 – 4.85), weight class sports OR; 2.09, 95%CI(1.15 – 3.82), endurance sports OR; 2.89, 95%CI(1.22 – 6.84), late onset of menarche OR; 3.32 95%CI(1.04–10.51), and use of oral contraceptive pills OR; 6.17, 95%CI(3.00 – 12.69). Intensity of training sport or BMI were not risk factors.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>These findings support the previous findings in the literature that the prevalence of amenorrhea/oligomenorrhea is high in athletes. Furthermore, we provided the first report on the prevalence of PCOS in female athletes with amenorrhea/oligomenorrhea. Athletes would be greatly benefited by greater general awareness about the complications of amenorrhea/oligomenorrhea.</p> <p>To increase awareness of exercise-associated menstrual cycle irregularities, it is necessary to design complete and comprehensive education programs for female athletes, their parents, their coaches, and the relevant authorities.</p