Commentary on A Tale of Two States

While both California and Texas have experienced declines in teen birth rates over the past three decades, declines in California have been larger, particularly among Hispanic teens. Differences in state policies may have shaped this disparity, as suggested by Tortolero and her colleagues in their article “A Tale of Two States: What We Learn from California and Texas”. Fundamental differences exist between Texas and California in their approaches to sex education, access to family planning services for teens, and public-private partnerships. However, methodological challenges are present when drawing state comparisons, including the limitations of available public health data and the difficulty of disaggregating state characteristics from state policies. Based on their comparison of state data and policies, Tortolero and her colleagues issue sensible recommendations for reducing the teen birth rate in Texas. History suggests that state policies are most effective when political commitment is linked to scientifically effective approaches. Based on our understanding of the scientific literature, the most effective strategies for reducing rates of teen childbearing in Texas would be providing comprehensive school sexuality education and improving teen access to contraceptive services

What works best in sex/HIV education?

There are numerous factors affecting adolescent sexual behavior and use of protection. Some of these factors have little to do with sex, such as growing up in disadvantaged communities, having little attachment to parents or failing at school. Other factors are sexual in nature, such as beliefs, values, perceptions of peer norms, attitudes and skills involving sexual behavior and using condoms or contraception. It is these sexual factors that sex/HIV education programs can potentially affect, thereby impacting behavior. Sex/HIV education programs alone cannot totally reduce sexual risk-taking, but they can be an effective part of a more comprehensive initiative

Isolated deep earthquakes beneath the North Island of New Zealand

Seismicity shallows towards the south along the Tonga-Kermadec-Hikurangi margin, deep and intermediate seismicity being absent altogether in the South Island of New Zealand. Beneath the Taranaki region of the North Island the maximum depth of the main seismicity is 250 km, but very rare events occur directly below at 600 km. These could be associated with a detached slab or a vertical, aseismic continuation of the subducted Pacific Plate. Six small events that occurred in the 1990s were recorded extensively by digital instruments of the New Zealand National Network (NZNN) and temporary deployments. We relocate these events by a joint hypocentre determination (JHD) method and find their focal mechanisms using first motions and relative amplitudes of P and S arrivals. The earthquakes relocate to a remarkably uniform depth of 603 +/- 3 kmrelative error (+/- 10 km absolute error) in a line 30- km long orientated 40 NE, roughly parallel to the strike of the intermediate- depth seismicity. The only consistent component of the focal mechanisms is the tension axis: all lie close to horizontal and tend to align with the line of hypocentres. We interpret this deep seismic zone as a detached sliver of plate lying horizontally with the same orientation as the main subducted plate above. Volume change caused by a phase change controlled by the pressure at 600 km and temperature in the sliver produces a pattern of strain that places the sliver under tension along its lengt

Pliocene–Pleistocene basin evolution along the Garlock fault zone, Pilot Knob Valley, California

Exposed Pliocene–Pleistocene terrestrial strata provide an archive of the spatial and temporal development of a basin astride the sinistral Garlock fault in California. In the southern Slate Range and Pilot Knob Valley, an ∼2000-m-thick package of Late Cenozoic strata has been uplifted and tilted to the northeast. We name this succession the formation of Pilot Knob Valley and provide new chronologic, stratigraphic, and provenance data for these rocks. The unit is divided into five members that record different source areas and depositional patterns: (1) the lowest exposed strata are conglomeratic rocks derived from Miocene Eagle Crags volcanic field to the south and east across the Garlock fault; (2) the second member consists mostly of fine-grained rocks with coarser material derived from both southern and northern sources; and (3) the upper three members are primarily coarse-grained conglomerates and sandstones derived from the adjacent Slate Range to the north. Tephrochronologic data from four ash samples bracket deposition of the second member to 3.6–3.3 Ma and the fourth member to between 1.1 and 0.6 Ma. A fifth tephrochronologic sample from rocks south of the Garlock fault near Christmas Canyon brackets deposition of a possible equivalent to the second member of the formation of Pilot Knob Valley at ca. 3.1 Ma. Although the age of the base of the lowest member is not directly dated, regional stratigraphic and tectonic associations suggest that the basin started forming ca. 4–5 Ma. By ca. 3.6 Ma, the northward progradation fanglomerate sourced in the Eagle Crags region waned, and subsequent deposition occurred in shallow lacustrine systems. At ca. 3.3 Ma, southward progradation of conglomerates derived from the Slate Range began. Circa 1.1 Ma, continued southward progradation of fanglomerate with Slate Range sources is characterized by a shift to coarser grain sizes, interpreted to reflect uplift of the Slate Range. Overall, basin architecture and the temporal evolution of different source regions were controlled by activity on three regionally important faults—the Garlock, the Marine Gate, and the Searles Valley faults. The timing and style of motions on these faults appear to be directly linked to patterns of basin development

The refined transfer, bundle structures and algebraic K-theory

We give new homotopy theoretic criteria for deciding when a fibration with homotopy finite fibers admits a reduction to a fiber bundle with compact topological manifold fibers. The criteria lead to a new and unexpected result about homeomorphism groups of manifolds. A tool used in the proof is a surjective splitting of the assembly map for Waldhausen's functor A(X). We also give concrete examples of fibrations having a reduction to a fiber bundle with compact topological manifold fibers but which fail to admit a compact fiber smoothing. The examples are detected by algebraic K-theory invariants. We consider a refinement of the Becker-Gottlieb transfer. We show that a version of the axioms described by Becker and Schultz uniquely determines the refined transfer for the class of fibrations admitting a reduction to a fiber bundle with compact topological manifold fibers. In an appendix, we sketch a theory of characteristic classes for fibrations. The classes are primary obstructions to finding a compact fiber smoothing.Comment: This version contains mostly minor revision

MSFC Robotic Lunar Lander Testbed and Current Status of the International Lunar Network (ILN) Anchor Nodes Mission

The lunar lander robotic exploration testbed at Marshall Spaceflight Center provides a test environment for robotic lander test articles, components and algorithms to reduce the risk on the airless body designs during lunar landing. Also included is a chart comparing the two different types of Anchor nodes for the International Lunar Network (ILN): Solar/Battery and the Advanced Stirling Radioisotope generator (ARSG.

Crystal Structures of Human Carboxylesterase 1 in Covalent Complexes with the Chemical Warfare Agents Soman and Tabun † , ‡

The organophosphorus nerve agents sarin, soman, tabun, and VX exert their toxic effects by inhibiting the action of human acetylcholinesterase, a member of the serine hydrolase superfamily of enzymes. The current treatments for nerve agent exposure must be administered quickly to be effective and they often do not eliminate long-term toxic side effects associated with organophosphate poisoning. Thus, there is significant need for effective prophylactic methods to protect at-risk personnel from nerve agent exposure, and protein-based approaches have emerged as promising candidates. We present the 2.7 Å resolution crystal structures of the serine hydrolase human carboxylesterase 1 (hCE1), a broad-spectrum drug metabolism enzyme, in covalent acyl-enzyme intermediate complexes with the chemical weapons soman and tabun. The structures reveal that hCE1 binds stereoselectively to these nerve agents; for example, hCE1 appears to react preferentially with the 104-fold more lethal PS stereoisomer of soman relative to the PR form. In addition, structural features of the hCE1 active site indicate that the enzyme may be resistant to dead-end organophosphate aging reactions that permanently inactivate other serine hydrolases. Taken together, these data provide important structural details toward the goal of engineering hCE1 into an organophosphate hydrolase and protein-based therapeutic for nerve agent exposure

Evaluation of the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of Families for Health V2 for the treatment of childhood obesity : study protocol for a randomized controlled trial

Background: Effective programs to help children manage their weight are required. Families for Health focuses on a parenting approach, designed to help parents develop their parenting skills to support lifestyle change within the family. Families for Health V1 showed sustained reductions in overweight after 2 years in a pilot evaluation, but lacks a randomized controlled trial (RCT) evidence base. Methods/design: This is a multi-center, investigator-blind RCT, with parallel economic evaluation, with a 12-month follow-up. The trial will recruit 120 families with at least one child aged 6 to 11 years who is overweight (≥91st centile BMI) or obese (≥98th centile BMI) from three localities and assigned randomly to Families for Health V2 (60 families) or the usual care control (60 families) groups. Randomization will be stratified by locality (Coventry, Warwickshire, Wolverhampton). Families for Health V2 is a family-based intervention run in a community venue. Parents/carers and children attend parallel groups for 2.5 hours weekly for 10 weeks. The usual care arm will be the usual support provided within each NHS locality. A mixed-methods evaluation will be carried out. Child and parent participants will be assessed at home visits at baseline, 3-month (post-treatment) and 12-month follow-up. The primary outcome measure is the change in the children’s BMI z-scores at 12 months from the baseline. Secondary outcome measures include changes in the children’s waist circumference, percentage body fat, physical activity, fruit/vegetable consumption and quality of life. The parents’ BMI and mental well-being, family eating/activity, parent–child relationships and parenting style will also be assessed. Economic components will encompass the measurement and valuation of service utilization, including the costs of running Families for Health and usual care, and the EuroQol EQ-5D health outcomes. Cost-effectiveness will be expressed in terms of incremental cost per quality-adjusted life year gained. A de novo decision-analytic model will estimate the lifetime cost-effectiveness of the Families for Health program. Process evaluation will document recruitment, attendance and drop-out rates, and the fidelity of Families for Health delivery. Interviews with up to 24 parents and children from each arm will investigate perceptions and changes made. Discussion: This paper describes our protocol to assess the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of a parenting approach for managing childhood obesity and presents challenges to implementation. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN4503220

Within-home versus between-home variability of house dust endotoxin in a birth cohort

Endotoxin exposure has been proposed as an environmental determinant of allergen responses in children. To better understand the implications of using a single measurement of house dust endotoxin to characterize exposure in the first year of life, we evaluated room-specific within-home and between-home variability in dust endotoxin obtained from 470 households in Boston, Massachusetts. Homes were sampled up to two times over 5–11 months. We analyzed 1,287 dust samples from the kitchen, family room, and baby’s bedroom for endotoxin. We fit a mixed-effects model to estimate mean levels and the variation of endotoxin between homes, between rooms, and between sampling times. Endotoxin ranged from 2 to 1,945 units per milligram of dust. Levels were highest during summer and lowest in the winter. Mean endotoxin levels varied significantly from room to room. Cross-sectionally, endotoxin was moderately correlated between family room and bedroom floor (r = 0.30), between family room and kitchen (r = 0.32), and between kitchen and bedroom (r = 0.42). Adjusting for season, the correlation of endotoxin levels within homes over time was 0.65 for both the bedroom and kitchen and 0.54 for the family room. The temporal within-home variance of endotoxin was lowest for bedroom floor samples and highest for kitchen samples. Between-home variance was lowest in the family room and highest for kitchen samples. Adjusting for season, within-home variation was less than between-home variation for all three rooms. These results suggest that room-to-room and home-to-home differences in endotoxin influence the total variability more than factors affecting endotoxin levels within a room over time

"The ripples are big": Storying the impact of doping in sport beyond the sanctioned athlete

Objective: The purpose of this paper was to extend current doping research efforts by shifting the focus away from a doping-user perspective to examine the experiences of elite athletes that have been personally affected by other athletes doping behaviours. Design: This research works within the interpretive paradigm, adopting relativist ontology and transactional/subjectivist epistemology. Method: Conversational interviews were conducted with ‘competitive’ (N = 2) and ‘retired’ (N = 2) elite Track and Field athletes from multiple countries. In order to communicate the findings in a way that captures the complexity of the issue, whilst also appealing to the athletes this issue affects, creative non-fiction stories were used to present the findings. Results: Two stories were created; one incorporating the ‘competitive’ athletes’ experiences and one presenting the ‘retired’ athletes’ accounts. The stories detail financial, emotional, and relational implications stemming from others’ use of performance enhancing drugs. Critically, the impact is not ephemeral; the retired athletes detailed the long-term implications of their experiences. Meanwhile, the competitive athletes suggest that given the current state of sport, they regularly have to defend their status as ‘clean athletes’. Thus, the ripples of doping in sport appear to be far reaching and enduring. Conclusions: Incorporating a novel mode of knowledge production within the doping literature, the stories presented here demonstrate elite athletes’ candid accounts of being impacted by others’ doping behaviours in sport. This study also emphasises the value of adopting novel and creative approaches to data collection and representation within the field of doping research