Did Revisions to the WIC Program Affect Household Expenditures on Whole Grains?

The food packages provided by the Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) program changed in 2009. This article examines purchases of whole grain products before and after the change. Nielsen Homescan panel data from 2008 to 2010 provide information on households’ food purchases, demographics, and self-reported WIC participation status. We estimate the effect of WIC participation and the 2009 package change on whole grains purchases using a difference-in-difference method, and find that participation in the WIC program was associated with more whole grain purchases during the observed period; the package change in 2009 roughly doubled the associated effect of WIC participation on the purchases of whole grain products. These results are consistent with recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and suggest that moderate innovations in the design of food assistance programs can lead to beneficial dietary choices

Genome-Wide Meta-Analyses of Smoking Behaviors in African Americans

The identification and exploration of genetic loci that influence smoking behaviors have been conducted primarily in populations of the European ancestry. Here we report results of the first genome-wide association study meta-analysis of smoking behavior in African Americans in the Study of Tobacco in Minority Populations Genetics Consortium (n=32 389). We identified one non-coding single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; rs2036527[A]) on chromosome 15q25.1 associated with smoking quantity (cigarettes per day), which exceeded genome-wide significance ($\beta$=0.040, s.e.=0.007, P=1.84 × 10$^{−8}$). This variant is present in the 5′-distal enhancer region of the CHRNA5 gene and defines the primary index signal reported in studies of the European ancestry. No other SNP reached genome-wide significance for smoking initiation (SI, ever vs never smoking), age of SI, or smoking cessation (SC, former vs current smoking). Informative associations that approached genome-wide significance included three modestly correlated variants, at 15q25.1 within PSMA4, CHRNA5 and CHRNA3 for smoking quantity, which are associated with a second signal previously reported in studies in European ancestry populations, and a signal represented by three SNPs in the SPOCK2 gene on chr10q22.1. The association at 15q25.1 confirms this region as an important susceptibility locus for smoking quantity in men and women of African ancestry. Larger studies will be needed to validate the suggestive loci that did not reach genome-wide significance and further elucidate the contribution of genetic variation to disparities in cigarette consumption, SC and smoking-attributable disease between African Americans and European Americans

Terrestrial Planet Optical Phase Curves. I. Direct Measurements of the Earth

NASA's EPOXI mission used the Deep Impact spacecraft to observe the disk-integrated Earth as an analog to terrestial exoplanets' appearance. The mission took five 24 hr observations in 2008-2009 at various phase angles (57. 7-86. 4) and ranges (0.11-0.34 au), of which three equatorial (E1, E4, E5) and two polar (P1, North and P2, South). The visible data taken by the HRIV instrument ranges from 0.3 to 1.0 μm, taken trough seven spectral filters that have spectral widths of about 100 nm, and which are centered about 100 nm apart, from 350 to 950 nm. The disk-integrated, 24 hr averaged signal is used in a phase angle analysis. A Lambertian-reflecting, spherical planet model is used to estimate geometric albedo for every observation and wavelength. The geometric albedos range from 0.143 (E1, 950 nm) to 0.353 (P2, 350 nm) and show wavelength dependence. The equatorial observations have similar values, while the polar observations have higher values due to the ice in view. Therefore, equatorial observations can be predicted for other phase angles, but (Earth-like) polar views (with ice) would be underestimated.Astrodynamics & Space Mission