Beyond Food Deserts: Measuring and Mapping Racial Disparities in Neighborhood Food Environments

Given the emerging focus on improving food environments and food systems through planning, this article investigates racial disparities in neighborhood food environments. An empirical case of Erie County, New York tests the hypothesis that people belonging to different racial groups have access to different neighborhood food destinations. Using multiple methods—Gini coefficients and Poisson regression—we show that contrary to studies elsewhere in the country there are no food deserts in Erie County. However, like other studies, we find an absence of supermarkets in neighborhoods of color when compared to white neighborhoods. Nonetheless, our study reveals an extensive network of small grocery stores in neighborhoods of color. Rather than soliciting supermarkets, supporting small, high-quality grocery stores may be a more efficient strategy for ensuring access to healthful foods in minority neighborhoods

Food Environment, Built Environment, and Women\u27s BMI: Evidence from Erie County, New York

The authors present the results of a neighborhood-scaled exploratory study that tests the association of the food environment and the built environment with women’s body mass index (BMI) in Erie County, New York. The proximity of women’s homes to a supermarket relative to a convenience store is associated with lower BMI. A diverse land use mix in a neighborhood is positively associated with women’s BMI, especially when restaurants dominate nonresidential land use. The article offers suggestions for how food environments may be improved using planning strategies

The Utility of a High-intensity Exercise Protocol to Prospectively Assess ACL Injury Risk.

This study investigated the utility of a 5-min high-intensity exercise protocol (SAFT(5)) to include in prospective cohort studies investigating ACL injury risk. 15 active females were tested on 2 occasions during which their non-dominant leg was analysed before SAFT(5) (PRE), immediately after (POST0), 15 min after (POST15), and 30 min after (POST30). On the first occasion, testing included 5 maximum isokinetic contractions for eccentric and concentric hamstring and concentric quadriceps and on the second occasion, 3 trials of 2 landing tasks (i. e., single-leg hop and drop vertical jump) were conducted. Results showed a reduced eccentric hamstring peak torque at POST0, POST15 and POST30 (p<0.05) and a reduced functional HQ ratio (Hecc/Qcon) at POST15 and POST30 (p<0.05). Additionally, a more extended knee angle at POST30 (p<0.05) and increased knee internal rotation angle at POST0 and POST15 (p<0.05) were found in a single-leg hop. SAFT(5) altered landing strategies associated with increased ACL injury risk and similar to observations from match simulations. Our findings therefore support the utility of a high-intensity exercise protocol such as SAFT(5) to strengthen injury screening tests and to include in prospective cohort studies where time constraints apply

Altered vascular smooth muscle function in the ApoE knockout mouse during the progression of atherosclerosis

Objectives: Relaxation of vascular smooth muscle (VSM) requires re-uptake of cytosolic Ca2+ into the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) via the Sarco/Endoplasmic Reticulum Ca2+ ATPase (SERCA), or extrusion via the Plasma Membrane Ca2+ ATPase (PMCA) or sodium Ca2+ exchanger (NCX). Peroxynitrite, a reactive species formed in vascular inflammatory diseases, upregulates SERCA activity to induce relaxation but, chronically, can contribute to atherogenesis and altered vascular function by escalating endoplasmic reticulum stress. Our objectives were to determine if peroxynitrite-induced relaxation and Ca2+ handling processes within vascular smooth muscle cells were altered as atherosclerosis develops.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Methods: Aortae from control and ApoE−/− mice were studied histologically, functionally and for protein expression levels of SERCA and PMCA. Ca2+ responses were assessed in dissociated aortic smooth muscle cells in the presence and absence of extracellular Ca2+.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Results: Relaxation to peroxynitrite was concentration-dependent and endothelium-independent. The abilities of the SERCA blocker thapsigargin and the PMCA inhibitor carboxyeosin to block this relaxation were altered during fat feeding and plaque progression. SERCA levels were progressively reduced, while PMCA expression was upregulated. In ApoE−/− VSM cells, increases in cytosolic Ca2+ [Ca2+]c in response to SERCA blockade were reduced, while SERCA-independent Ca2+ clearance was faster compared to control.&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt; Conclusion: As atherosclerosis develops in the ApoE−/− mouse, expression and function of Ca2+ handling proteins are altered. Up-regulation of Ca2+ removal via PMCA may offer a potential compensatory mechanism to help normalise the dysfunctional relaxation observed during disease progression

Angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy reveals spin charge separation in metallic MoSe2 grain boundary

Material line defects are one-dimensional structures but the search and proof of electron behaviour consistent with the reduced dimension of such defects has been so far unsuccessful. Here we show using angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy that twin-grain boundaries in the layered semiconductor MoSe2 exhibit parabolic metallic bands. The one-dimensional nature is evident from a charge density wave transition, whose periodicity is given by kF/p, consistent with scanning tunnelling microscopy and angle resolved photoemission measurements. Most importantly, we provide evidence for spin- and charge-separation, the hallmark of one-dimensional quantum liquids. Our studies show that the spectral line splits into distinctive spinon and holon excitations whose dispersions exactly follow the energy-momentum dependence calculated by a Hubbard model with suitable finite-range interactions. Our results also imply that quantum wires and junctions can be isolated in line defects of other transition metal dichalcogenides, which may enable quantum transport measurements and devices.The USF group acknowledges support from the National Science Foundation (DMR-1204924). V.K., R.D. and M.-H. P. acknowledges support from the Army Research Office (W911NF-15-1-0626) and thank Prof. Hari Srikanth for resistance measurements in his laboratory. M.C.A., J.A. and C.C. thank enlightening exchanges with Gabriel Kotliar and Zhi-Xun Shen. The Synchrotron SOLEIL is supported by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and the Commissariat a` l’Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives (CEA), France. T.Cˇ. and J.M.P.C. thank Eduardo Castro, Hai-Qing Lin and Pedro D. Sacramento for illuminating discussions. The theory group acknowledges the support from NSAF U1530401 and computational resources from CSRC (Beijing), the Portuguese FCT through the Grant UID/FIS/04650/2013 and the NSFC Grant 11650110443.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Development and Characterization of Gallium-Doped Bioactive Glasses for Potential Bone Cancer Applications

In this study, we have developed a series of novel gallium oxide doped bioactive glasses to specifically target osteosarcoma cells while aiding new bone formation. The results show that osteosarcoma (Saos-2) cell death is induced through the addition of gallium oxide. Relative to the gallium-free control glass (0% Ga) glasses containing 1, 2, and 3% Ga decreased Saos-2 cell viability in a dose dependent manner. After 72 h in media preconditioned with 3% Ga Saos-2 cell viability was reduced by over 50%. Corresponding studies undertaken on primary normal human osteoblast cells (NHOst) demonstrated no adverse effects to the gallium containing glasses. Hydroxyapatite formation was observed for all glasses when exposed to simulated body fluid

Interference Mitigation Based on Radio Aware Channel Assignment for Wireless Mesh Networks

© 2018, Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature. An intricate network deployment for high demand users leads to simultaneous transmission in wireless mesh networks. Multiple radios are adapted to individual nodes for improving network performance and Quality of Service (QoS). However, whenever multiple radios are assigned to the same channel, co-located radio interference occurs, which poses a major drawback. This paper proposes a Radio aware Channel Assignment (Ra-CA) mechanism based on a direct graphical model for mitigation of interference in multi-radio multi-channel networks. Initially, the co-located radio interference is identified by classifying non-interfering links for simultaneous transmission in the network. Proposed channel assignment mechanism helps in allocating the minimal number of channels to the network that mitigate co-located radio interference. Performance analysis of the proposed Ra-CA strategy is carried out compared with other existing techniques, like Breadth First Search-Channel Assignment (BFS-CA) and Maximal Independent Set Channel Assignment (MaIS-CA), in multi-radio networks. Simulation results demonstrate that the proposed channel assignment scheme is more efficient compared to the existing ones, in terms of QoS parameters like, packet drop rate, packet delivery ratio, transmission delay and throughput

Mechanical Player Load™ using trunk-mounted accelerometry in football: Is it a reliable, task- and player-specific observation?

The aim of the present study was to examine reliability and construct convergent validity of Player Load™ (PL) from trunk-mounted accelerometry, expressed as a cumulative measure and an intensity measure (PL · min(-)(1)). Fifteen male participants twice performed an overground football match simulation that included four different multidirectional football actions (jog, side cut, stride and sprint) whilst wearing a trunk-mounted accelerometer inbuilt in a global positioning system unit. Results showed a moderate-to-high reliability as indicated by the intra-class correlation coefficient (0.806-0.949) and limits of agreement. Convergent validity analysis showed considerable between-participant variation (coefficient of variation range 14.5-24.5%), which was not explained from participant demographics despite a negative association with body height for the stride task. Between-task variations generally showed a moderate correlation between ranking of participants for PL (0.593-0.764) and PL · min(-)(1) (0.282-0.736). It was concluded that monitoring PL(®) in football multidirectional actions presents moderate-to-high reliability, that between-participant variability most likely relies on the individual's locomotive skills and not their anthropometrics, and that the intensity of a task expressed by PL · min(-)(1) is largely related to the running velocity of the task

Utilisation of Postnatal Care among Rural Women in Nepal

Background: Postnatal care is uncommon in Nepal, and where it is available the quality is often poor. Adequate utilisation of postnatal care can help reduce mortality and morbidity among mothers and their babies. Therefore, our study assessed the utilisation of postnatal care at a rural community level. Methods: A descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out in two neighbouring villages in early 2006. A total of 150 women who had delivered in the previous 24 months were asked to participate in the study using a semi-structured questionnaire. Results: The proportion of women who had received postnatal care after delivery was low (34%). Less than one in five women (19%) received care within 48 hours of giving birth. Women in one village had less access to postnatal care than women in the neighbouring one. Lack of awareness was the main barrier to the utilisation of postnatal care. The woman's own occupation and ethnicity, the number of pregnancies and children and the husband's socio-economic status, occupation and education were significantly associated with the utilisation of postnatal care. Multivariate analysis showed that wealth as reflected in occupation and having attended antenatal are important factors associated with the uptake of postnatal care. In addition, women experiencing health problems appear strongly motivated to seek postnatal care. Conclusion: The postnatal care has a low uptake and is often regarded as inadequate in Nepal. This is an important message to both service providers and health-policy makers. Therefore, there is an urgent need to assess the actual quality of postnatal care provided. Also there appears to be a need for awareness-raising programmes highlighting the availability of current postnatal care where this is of sufficient quality