PREDICTORS OF PELVIC ACCELERATION DURING TREADMILL RUNNING AT DIFFERENT STRIDE FREQUENCIES

The aim of this study was to examine predictors of peak vertical and anteroposterior pelvic acceleration during treadmill running. Participants ran at 9 km∙h-1 at their preferred stride frequency and at ± 5% of their preferred stride frequency. Coordinate and acceleration data were collected using a motion capture system and inertial measurement units. Linear mixed models showed that for every one standard deviation increase in the anteroposterior displacement from knee to ankle at initial contact, vertical pelvic acceleration increased by 2.18 m∙s-2 (p = 0.046). Additionally, for every one standard deviation increase in stride frequency, peak anteroposterior pelvic acceleration increased by 0.68 m∙s-2 (p = 0.035). Runners who suffer from injuries or pain at the pelvis may benefit from decreasing the anteroposterior displacement from their knee to their ankle at initial contact and reducing their stride frequency

Trajectories of Childhood Weight Gain: The Relative Importance of Local Environment versus Individual Social and Early Life Factors

Objective: To determine the association between local environmental factors with child weight status in a longitudinal study, using a semi-parametric, group-based method, while also considering social and early life factors. Methods: Standardized, directly measured BMI from 4-10 y of age, and group-based trajectory modeling (PROC TRAJ) were used to estimate developmental trajectories of weight change in a Québec birth cohort (n = 1,566). Associations between the weight trajectories and living location, social cohesion, disorder, and material and social deprivation were estimated after controlling for social and early life factors. Results: Four weight trajectory groups were estimated: low-increasing (9.7%); low-medium, accelerating (36.2%); medium-high, increasing (43.0%); and high-stable (11.1%). In the low-increasing and medium-high trajectory groups, living in a semi-urban area was inversely related to weight, while living in a rural area was positively related to weight in the high-stable group. Disorder was inversely related to weight in the low-increasing group only. Other important risk factors for high-stable weight included obesity status of the mother, smoking during pregnancy, and overeating behaviors. Conclusions: In this study, associations between local environment factors and weight differed by trajectory group. Early life factors appear to play a more consistent role in weight status. Further work is needed to determine the influence of place on child weight. © 2012 Carter et al

An Examination of Commercial Aviation Accidents and Incidents Related to Integrated Vehicle Health Management

The Integrated Vehicle Health Management (IVHM) Project is one of the four projects within the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) Aviation Safety Program (AvSafe). The IVHM Project conducts research to develop validated tools and technologies for automated detection, diagnosis, and prognosis that enable mitigation of adverse events during flight. Adverse events include those that arise from system, subsystem, or component failure, faults, and malfunctions due to damage, degradation, or environmental hazards that occur during flight. Determining the causal factors and adverse events related to IVHM technologies will help in the formulation of research requirements and establish a list of example adverse conditions against which IVHM technologies can be evaluated. This paper documents the results of an examination of the most recent statistical/prognostic accident and incident data that is available from the Aviation Safety Information Analysis and Sharing (ASIAS) System to determine the causal factors of system/component failures and/or malfunctions in U.S. commercial aviation accidents and incidents

A stem-cell-derived platform enables complete Cryptosporidium development in vitro and genetic tractability

Despite being a frequent cause of severe diarrheal disease in infants and an opportunistic infection in immunocompromised patients, Cryptosporidium research has lagged due to a lack of facile experimental methods. Here, we describe a platform for complete life cycle development and long-term growth of C. parvum in vitro using air-liquid interface (ALI) cultures derived from intestinal epithelial stem cells. Transcriptomic profiling revealed that differentiating epithelial cells grown under ALI conditions undergo profound changes in metabolism and development that enable completion of the parasite life cycle in vitro. ALI cultures support parasite expansion \u3e 100-fold and generate viable oocysts that are transmissible in vitro and to mice, causing infection and animal death. Transgenic parasite lines created using CRISPR/Cas9 were used to complete a genetic cross in vitro, demonstrating Mendelian segregation of chromosomes during meiosis. ALI culture provides an accessible model that will enable innovative studies into Cryptosporidium biology and host interactions

Brief report: how adolescents with ASD process social information in complex scenes. Combining evidence from eye movements and verbal descriptions

We investigated attention, encoding and processing of social aspects of complex photographic scenes. Twenty-four high-functioning adolescents (aged 11–16) with ASD and 24 typically developing matched control participants viewed and then described a series of scenes, each containing a person. Analyses of eye movements and verbal descriptions provided converging evidence that both groups displayed general interest in the person in each scene but the salience of the person was reduced for the ASD participants. Nevertheless, the verbal descriptions revealed that participants with ASD frequently processed the observed person’s emotion or mental state without prompting. They also often mentioned eye-gaze direction, and there was evidence from eye movements and verbal descriptions that gaze was followed accurately. The combination of evidence from eye movements and verbal descriptions provides a rich insight into the way stimuli are processed overall. The merits of using these methods within the same paradigm are discussed

Dust in Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin)

We report optical imaging, optical and near-infrared polarimetry, and Spitzer mid-infrared spectroscopy of comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin). Polarimetric observations were obtained in R (0.676 micron) at phase angles from 0.44 degrees to 21 degrees with simultaneous observations in H (1.65 micron) at 4.0 degrees, exploring the negative branch in polarization. Comet C/2007 N3 (Lulin) shows typical negative polarization in the optical as well as a similar negative branch near-infrared wavelengths. The 10 micron silicate feature is only weakly in emission and according to our thermal models, is consistent with emission from a mixture of silicate and carbon material. We argue that large, low-porosity (akin to Ballistic Particle Cluster Aggregates) rather absorbing aggregate dust particles best explain both the polarimetric and the mid-infrared spectral energy distribution.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, 3 table

Primary HIV-1 Infection Among Infants in sub-Saharan Africa: HPTN 024.

Our objectives were to assess clinical signs and diagnoses associated with primary HIV-1 infection among infants. We analyzed data from a clinical trial (HIV Prevention Trials Network Protocol 024) in sub-Saharan Africa. Study visits were conducted at birth, at 4-6 weeks, and at 3, 6, 9, and 12 months. The study population comprised live born, singleton, first-born infants of HIV-1-infected women with negative HIV-1 RNA assays who were still breastfeeding at 4-6 weeks. Of 1317 HIV-1-exposed infants, 84 became HIV-1 infected after 4-6 weeks and 1233 remained uninfected. There were 102 primary and 5650 nonprimary infection visits. The most common signs were cough and diarrhea, and the most common diagnoses were malaria and pneumonia. Primary infection was associated with significantly increased odds of diarrhea [odds ratio (OR) = 2.4], pneumonia (OR = 3.5), otitis media (OR = 3.1), and oral thrush (OR = 2.9). For the clinical signs and diagnoses evaluated, sensitivity was low (1%-16.7%) and specificity was high (88.2%-99%). Positive predictive values ranged from 0.1%-1.4%. Negative predictive values ranged from 28.0%-51.1%. Certain clinical signs and diagnoses, although more common during primary HIV-1 infection, had low sensitivity and high specificity. Efforts to expand access to laboratory assays for the diagnosis of primary HIV-1 infection among infants of HIV-1-infected women should be emphasized

anti-1′,6′,7′,8′,9′,14′,15′,16′-Octa­chloro­dispiro­[1,3-dioxolane-2,17′-penta­cyclo­[12.2.1.16,9.02,13.05,10]octa­decane-18′,2′′-1,3-dioxolane]-7′,15′-diene

The title compound, C22H20Cl8O4, was prepared as part of the synthesis of precursors for the preparation of fluorinated mol­ecular tweezers. The mol­ecule sits on an inversion center, thus requiring that the cyclo­octane ring adopt a chair conformation