A Plant-Based Dietary Intervention Improves Beta-Cell Function and Insulin Resistance in Overweight Adults: A 16-Week Randomized Clinical Trial.

The aim of this study was to test the effect of a plant-based dietary intervention on beta-cell function in overweight adults with no history of diabetes. Participants (n = 75) were randomized to follow a low-fat plant-based diet (n = 38) or to make no diet changes (n = 37) for 16 weeks. At baseline and 16 weeks, beta-cell function was quantified with a mathematical model. Using a standard meal test, insulin secretory rate was calculated by C-peptide deconvolution. The Homeostasis Model Assessment (HOMA-IR) index was used to assess insulin resistance while fasting. A marked increase in meal-stimulated insulin secretion was observed in the intervention group compared with controls (interaction between group and time, Gxt, p \u3c 0.001). HOMA-IR index fell significantly (p \u3c 0.001) in the intervention group (treatment effect −1.0 (95% CI, −1.2 to −0.8); Gxt, p = 0.004). Changes in HOMA-IR correlated positively with changes in body mass index (BMI) and visceral fat volume (r = 0.34; p = 0.009 and r = 0.42; p = 0.001, respectively). The latter remained significant after adjustment for changes in BMI (r = 0.41; p = 0.002). Changes in glucose-induced insulin secretion correlated negatively with BMI changes (r = −0.25; p = 0.04), but not with changes in visceral fat. Beta-cell function and insulin sensitivity were significantly improved through a low-fat plant-based diet in overweight adult

Evaluating Utah\u27s Rural Online Initiative: Empowering Rural Communities Through Remote Work

Utah\u27s rural counties have experienced high levels of unemployment compared to the state\u27s urban counties. Utah State University Extension developed a remote work educational program intended to reduce rural unemployment. We conducted a descriptive study to gather data from May–August 2019 participants (N = 1,025). Our results indicate that short-term outcomes from the course were realized. On average, participants experienced increases in knowledge, improved skills, and positive intentions toward seeking remote employment. We recommended formative evaluation for continuous course improvement and follow-up procedures to measure participants\u27 success in securing remote employment. Extension professionals can plan and evaluate their programs using the framework presented in this article

Preparing Rural Youth for the Future of Work through Remote Work Education

With population migration out of Utah\u27s rural communities threatening the future workforce in small towns, Utah State University Extension recognized an opportunity to provide remote work education to rural youth to empower them to remain in their communities and seek remote employment. Teaming up with Utah\u27s Rural Online Initiative program, Utah State University Extension created the virtual 4-H Remote Skills Camp: For College and Career Readiness

Power-Law Time Distribution of Large Earthquakes

We study the statistical properties of time distribution of seimicity in California by means of a new method of analysis, the Diffusion Entropy. We find that the distribution of time intervals between a large earthquake (the main shock of a given seismic sequence) and the next one does not obey Poisson statistics, as assumed by the current models. We prove that this distribution is an inverse power law with an exponent $\mu=2.06 \pm 0.01$. We propose the Long-Range model, reproducing the main properties of the diffusion entropy and describing the seismic triggering mechanisms induced by large earthquakes.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures. Revised version accepted for publication. Typos corrected, more detailed discussion on the method used, refs added. Phys. Rev. Lett. (2003) in pres

Evaluating Utah\u27s Rural Online Initiative: Empowering Organizational Leaders Through Remote Work

Compared to urban counties, Utah\u27s rural counties experienced high levels of unemployment. Informed by a statewide needs assessment, Utah State University Extension developed a remote work leadership course to equip business leaders with knowledge and skills to create remote jobs as a solution to rural unemployment. This descriptive evaluation study collected data from course participants (N = 62). Findings showed short-term outcomes were achieved; participants experienced increases in knowledge and skills and had more positive intentions toward creating remote jobs and hiring employees from rural counties. Extension professionals can design and evaluate their programs using the framework in this study

Relative sea-level change in Connecticut (USA) during the last 2200 yrs

We produced a relative sea-level (RSL) reconstruction from Connecticut (USA) spanning the last ∼2200 yrs that is free from the influence of sediment compaction. The reconstruction used a suite of vertically- and laterally-ordered sediment samples ≤2 cm above bedrock that were collected by excavating a trench along an evenly-sloped bedrock surface. Paleomarsh elevation was reconstructed using a regional-scale transfer function trained on the modern distribution of foraminifera on Long Island Sound salt marshes and supported by bulk-sediment δ13C measurements. The history of sediment accumulation was estimated using an age-elevation model constrained by radiocarbon dates and recognition of pollution horizons of known age. The RSL reconstruction was combined with regional tide-gauge measurements spanning the last ∼150 yrs before being quantitatively analyzed using an error-in-variables integrated Gaussian process model to identify sea-level trends with formal and appropriate treatment of uncertainty and the temporal distribution of data. RSL rise was stable (∼1 mm/yr) from ∼200 BCE to ∼1000 CE, slowed to a minimum rate of rise (0.41 mm/yr) at ∼1400 CE, and then accelerated continuously to reach a current rate of 3.2 mm/yr, which is the fastest, century-scale rate of the last 2200 yrs. Change point analysis identified that modern rates of rise in Connecticut began at 1850–1886 CE. This timing is synchronous with changes recorded at other sites on the U.S. Atlantic coast and is likely the local expression of a global sea-level change. Earlier sea-level trends show coherence north of Cape Hatteras that are contrasted with southern sites. This pattern may represent centennial-scale variability in the position and/or strength of the Gulf Stream. Comparison of the new record to three existing and reanalyzed RSL reconstructions from the same site developed using sediment cores indicates that compaction is unlikely to significantly distort RSL reconstructions produced from shallow (∼2–3 m thick) sequences of salt-marsh peat

Delivery status of the ELI-NP gamma beam system

International audienceThe ELI-NP GBS is a high intensity and monochromatic gamma source under construction in Magurele (Romania). The design and construction of the Gamma Beam System complex as well as the integration of the technical plants and the commissioning of the overall facility, was awarded to the Eurogammas Consortium in March 2014. The delivery of the facility has been planned in for 4 stages and the first one was fulfilled in October 31st 2015. The engineering aspects related to the delivery stage 1 are presented

Comparison of Care Patterns and Rehospitalizations for Mechanically Ventilated Patients in New York and Ontario

Rationale: Mechanically ventilated patients require complex care and are at high risk for rehospitalization, but different systems of care may result in different hospital discharge practices and rates of rehospitalization. Objectives: To compare lengths of hospitalization, discharge patterns, and rehospitalization rates in New York (NY) in the US and Ontario (ON) in Canada. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of mechanically ventilated patients who survived an acute care hospitalization in NY or ON from 2010-2012, using linkable administrative healthcare data. Measurements and Main Results: The primary outcome was the cumulative incidence of first rehospitalization within 30 days of discharge, accounting for the competing risk of death. Of 71,063 mechanically ventilated patients in NY, and 41,875 in ON who survived to hospital discharge, median length of initial hospital stay was similar in NY versus ON (15 days, Interquartile range (IQR) 8-28 vs 16 (9-30)), but was systematically shorter in NY when stratified by patient subgroups of different illness severity. Fewer patients in NY were discharged directly home (53.6% versus 71.4%). Of patients in NY, 15,527 (cumulative incidence 21.9%) had a first rehospitalization within 30 days versus 5,531 (cumulative incidence 13.2%) in Ontario, p<0.001. Incidence of rehospitalization was higher in NY across all subgroups assessed, with the greatest differences among patients with a tracheostomy (29.8% versus 13.3%, p<0.001), those who received dialysis during the hospitalization (31.9% versus 17.0%, p<0.001), and for patients not discharged directly home (27.6% versus 13.1% p<0.001). Conclusions: Mechanically ventilated patients who survive to hospital discharge in NY have shorter hospital stays, with higher rehospitalization rates within 30 days compared with ON

Recipient mucosal-associated invariant T cells control GVHD within the colon

Mucosal-associated invariant T (MAIT) cells are a unique innate-like T cell subset that responds to a wide array of bacteria and yeast through recognition of riboflavin metabolites presented by the MHC class I–like molecule MR1. Here, we demonstrate using MR1 tetramers that recipient MAIT cells are present in small but definable numbers in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) target organs and protect from acute GVHD in the colon following bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Consistent with their preferential juxtaposition to microbial signals in the colon, recipient MAIT cells generate large amounts of IL-17A, promote gastrointestinal tract integrity, and limit the donor alloantigen presentation that in turn drives donor Th1 and Th17 expansion specifically in the colon after BMT. Allogeneic BMT recipients deficient in IL-17A also develop accelerated GVHD, suggesting MAIT cells likely regulate GVHD, at least in part, by the generation of this cytokine. Indeed, analysis of stool microbiota and colon tissue from IL-17A–/– and MR1–/– mice identified analogous shifts in microbiome operational taxonomic units (OTU) and mediators of barrier integrity that appear to represent pathways controlled by similar, IL-17A–dependent mechanisms. Thus, MAIT cells act to control barrier function to attenuate pathogenic T cell responses in the colon and, given their very high frequency in humans, likely represent an important population in clinical BMT

Energy Transduction of Isothermal Ratchets: Generic Aspects and Specific Examples Close to and Far from Equilibrium

We study the energetics of isothermal ratchets which are driven by a chemical reaction between two states and operate in contact with a single heat bath of constant temperature. We discuss generic aspects of energy transduction such as Onsager relations in the linear response regime as well as the efficiency and dissipation close to and far from equilibrium. In the linear response regime where the system operates reversibly the efficiency is in general nonzero. Studying the properties for specific examples of energy landscapes and transitions, we observe in the linear response regime that the efficiency can have a maximum as a function of temperature. Far from equilibrium in the fully irreversible regime, we find a maximum of the efficiency with values larger than in the linear regime for an optimal choice of the chemical driving force. We show that corresponding efficiencies can be of the order of 50%. A simple analytic argument allows us to estimate the efficiency in this irreversible regime for small external forces.Comment: 16 pages, 10 figure