Mia Park Interview

Bio: Mia Park is a multidisciplinary artist acting, writing, playing music, producing events, teaching yoga, and volunteering in Chicago, IL. She shares her passion for discovery and self-inquiry with hope and optimism. Mia began professionally acting in 1997 hosting the cult favorite cable access dance show Chic-A-Go-Go. Her acting career has brought her on stage, in film, on television and on the radio. Mia currently plays the recurring character Nurse Beth Cole on NBC\u27s Chicago Med. She has advocated for Asian American representation in acting since 2006 when she co-founded A-Squared Theatre and hosted educational theater workshops for the Chicago Asian American Acting Industry Group. Mia now curates Chicago\u27s first Asian American play reading series, Our Perspective: Asian American Play Readings” and is the Chicago coordinator for the national Asian American Theater Conference and Festival. Bio from http://www.miapark.com

A Combined View of Sterile-Neutrino Constraints from CMB and Neutrino Oscillation Measurements

We perform a comparative analysis of constraints on sterile neutrinos from the Planck experiment and from current and future neutrino oscillation experiments (MINOS, IceCube, SBN). For the first time, we express the Planck constraints on $N_{\rm eff}$ and $m_{\rm eff}^{\rm sterile}$ from the Cosmic Microwave Background in the parameter space used by oscillation experiments using both mass-squared differences and mixing angles. In a model with a single sterile neutrino species and using standard assumptions, we find that the Planck data and the oscillation experiments measuring muon-neutrino disappearance have similar sensitivity.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, Version accepted by Physics Letters B, minor changes to text, results unchange

Investing in Online Peer to Peer Loans: A Platform for Alpha

Peer to peer (P2P) lending is an emerging asset class that potentially offers investors relatively high risk adjusted returns and a good way to diversify portfolios. However, little research has empirically explored the returns of P2P loans. This study explores the investment returns of P2P loans and the impact of P2P loans on investment portfolios. We draw data from the leading P2P lending platform, Lending Club, and compare the 2007-2014 investment returns from Lending Club to other assets and look at how P2P loans affect the efficiency of portfolios. The results suggest that P2P loans offer relatively high risk adjusted returns that can improve the efficiency of investment portfolios and can help investors achieve alph

Which anticoagulant is safest for frail elderly patients with nonvalvular A-fib?

Consider apixaban, which demonstrated a lower adverse event (AE) rate than warfarin regardless of frailty status, for anticoagulation treatment of older patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation (AF); by comparison, AE rates for dabigatran and rivaroxaban were lower vs warfarin only among nonfrail individuals.J. Scott Earwood, MD; Justin L. Wilkie, MD; Jennifer L. Fernandez-Vasquez, MD, (Dwight David Eisenhower Army Medical Center, Fort Gordon)Includes bibliographical reference

Cellular and humoral immunity protect against vaginal Zika virus infection in mice

ABSTRACT Zika virus (ZIKV), which can cause devastating disease in fetuses of infected pregnant women, can be transmitted by mosquito inoculation and sexual routes. Little is known about immune protection against sexually transmitted ZIKV. In this study, we show that previous infection through intravaginal or subcutaneous routes with a contemporary Brazilian strain of ZIKV can protect against subsequent intravaginal challenge with a homologous strain. Both routes of inoculation induced high titers of ZIKV-specific and neutralizing antibody in serum and the vaginal lumen. Virus-specific T cells were recruited to and retained in the female reproductive tract after intravaginal and subcutaneous ZIKV infection. Studies in mice with genetic or acquired deficiencies in B and/or T cells demonstrated that both lymphocyte populations redundantly protect against intravaginal challenge in ZIKV-immune animals. Passive transfer of ZIKV-immune IgG or T cells significantly limited intravaginal infection of naive mice, although antibody more effectively prevented dissemination throughout the reproductive tract. Collectively, our experiments begin to establish the immune correlates of protection against intravaginal ZIKV infection, which should inform vaccination strategies in nonpregnant and pregnant women. IMPORTANCE The recent ZIKV epidemic resulted in devastating outcomes in fetuses and may affect reproductive health. Unlike other flaviviruses, ZIKV can be spread by sexual contact as well as a mosquito vector. While previous studies have identified correlates of protection for mosquito-mediated infection, few have focused on immunity against sexual transmission. As exposure to ZIKV via mosquito bite has likely occurred to many living in areas where ZIKV is endemic, our study addresses whether this route of infection can protect against subsequent sexual exposure. We demonstrate that subcutaneous ZIKV infection can protect against subsequent vaginal infection by generating both local antiviral T cell and antibody responses. Our research begins to define the immune correlates of protection for ZIKV infection in the vagina and provides a foundation for testing ZIKV vaccines against sexual transmission. </jats:p

Understanding the form and function in Chinese bound foot from last-generation cases

Purpose: Foot adaptation in the typically developed foot is well explored. In this study, we aimed to explore the form and function of an atypical foot, the Chinese bound foot, which had a history of over a thousand years but is not practised anymore.Methods: We evaluated the foot shape and posture via a statistical shape modelling analysis, gait plantar loading distribution via gait analysis, and bone density adaptation via implementing finite element simulation and bone remodelling prediction.Results: The atypical foot with binding practice led to increased foot arch and vertically oriented calcaneus with larger size at the articulation, apart from smaller metatarsals compared with a typically developed foot. This shape change causes the tibia, which typically acts as a load transfer beam and shock absorber, to extend its function all the way through the talus to the calcaneus. This is evident in the bound foot by i) the reduced center of pressure trajectory in the medial–lateral direction, suggesting a reduced supination–pronation; ii) the increased density and stress in the talus–calcaneus articulation; and iii) the increased bone growth in the bound foot at articulation joints in the tibia, talus, and calcaneus.Conclusion: Knowledge from the last-generation bound foot cases may provide insights into the understanding of bone resorption and adaptation in response to different loading profiles