721 research outputs found
PARCS: A Safety Net Community-Based Fitness Center for Low-Income Adults
Background: Physical activity (PA) and fitness are critical to maintaining health and avoiding chronic disease. Limited access to fitness facilities in low-income urban areas has been identified as a contributor to low PA participation and poor fitness.
Objectives: This research describes community-based fitness centers established for adults living in low-income, urban communities and characterizes a sample of its members.
Methods: The community identified a need for physical fitness opportunities to improve residents’ health. Three community high schools were host sites. Resources were combined to renovate and staff facilities, acquire equipment, and refer patients to exercise. The study sample included 170 members older than age 18 who completed demographic, exercise self-efficacy, and quality of life surveys and a fitness evaluation. Neighborhood-level U.S. Census data were obtained for comparison.
Results: The community-based fitness centers resulted from university, public school, and hospital partnerships offering safe, accessible, and affordable exercise opportunities. The study sample mean body mass index was 35 + 7.6 kg/m2 (class II obesity), mean age was 50 ± 12.5 years, 66% were Black, 72% were female, 66% completed some college or greater, and 71% had an annual household income of less than $25,000 and supported 2.2 dependents. Participants had moderate confidence for exercise participation and low fitness levels. When compared with census data, participants were representative of their communities.
Conclusion: This observational study reveals a need for affordable fitness centers for low-income adults. We demonstrate a model where communities and organizations strategically leverage resources to address disparities in physical fitness and health
LC3 and STRAP regulate actin filament assembly by JMY during autophagosome formation.
During autophagy, actin filament networks move and remodel cellular membranes to form autophagosomes that enclose and metabolize cytoplasmic contents. Two actin regulators, WHAMM and JMY, participate in autophagosome formation, but the signals linking autophagy to actin assembly are poorly understood. We show that, in nonstarved cells, cytoplasmic JMY colocalizes with STRAP, a regulator of JMY's nuclear functions, on nonmotile vesicles with no associated actin networks. Upon starvation, JMY shifts to motile, LC3-containing membranes that move on actin comet tails. LC3 enhances JMY's de novo actin nucleation activity via a cryptic actin-binding sequence near JMY's N terminus, and STRAP inhibits JMY's ability to nucleate actin and activate the Arp2/3 complex. Cytoplasmic STRAP negatively regulates autophagy. Finally, we use purified proteins to reconstitute LC3- and JMY-dependent actin network formation on membranes and inhibition of network formation by STRAP. We conclude that LC3 and STRAP regulate JMY's actin assembly activities in trans during autophagy
Fano resonances in plasmonic core-shell particles and the Purcell effect
Despite a long history, light scattering by particles with size comparable
with the light wavelength still unveils surprising optical phenomena, and many
of them are related to the Fano effect. Originally described in the context of
atomic physics, the Fano resonance in light scattering arises from the
interference between a narrow subradiant mode and a spectrally broad radiation
line. Here, we present an overview of Fano resonances in coated spherical
scatterers within the framework of the Lorenz-Mie theory. We briefly introduce
the concept of conventional and unconventional Fano resonances in light
scattering. These resonances are associated with the interference between
electromagnetic modes excited in the particle with different or the same
multipole moment, respectively. In addition, we investigate the modification of
the spontaneous-emission rate of an optical emitter at the presence of a
plasmonic nanoshell. This modification of decay rate due to electromagnetic
environment is referred to as the Purcell effect. We analytically show that the
Purcell factor related to a dipole emitter oriented orthogonal or tangential to
the spherical surface can exhibit Fano or Lorentzian line shapes in the near
field, respectively.Comment: 28 pages, 10 figures; invited book chapter to appear in "Fano
Resonances in Optics and Microwaves: Physics and Application", Springer
Series in Optical Sciences (2018), edited by E. O. Kamenetskii, A. Sadreev,
and A. Miroshnichenk
Orbifold equivalence for finite density QCD and effective field theory
In the large N_c limit, some apparently different gauge theories turn out to
be equivalent due to large N_c orbifold equivalence. We use effective field
theory techniques to explore orbifold equivalence, focusing on the specific
case of a recently discovered relation between an SO(2N_c) gauge theory and
QCD. The equivalence to QCD has been argued to hold at finite baryon chemical
potential, \mu_B, so long as one deforms the SO(2N_c) theory by certain
"double-trace" terms. The deformed SO(2N_c) theory can be studied without a
sign problem in the chiral limit, in contrast to SU(N_c) QCD at finite \mu_B.
The purpose of the double-trace deformation in the SO(2N_c) theory is to
prevent baryon number symmetry from breaking spontaneously at finite density,
which is necessary for the equivalence to large N_c QCD to be valid. The
effective field theory analysis presented here clarifies the physical
significance of double-trace deformations, and strongly supports the proposed
equivalence between the deformed SO(2N_c) theory and large N_c QCD at finite
density.Comment: 39 pages, 5 figures, 2 tables. v2: Minor typo fixes and
clarification
Synchronous bursts on scale-free neuronal networks with attractive and repulsive coupling
This paper investigates the dependence of synchronization transitions of
bursting oscillations on the information transmission delay over scale-free
neuronal networks with attractive and repulsive coupling. It is shown that for
both types of coupling, the delay always plays a subtle role in either
promoting or impairing synchronization. In particular, depending on the
inherent oscillation period of individual neurons, regions of irregular and
regular propagating excitatory fronts appear intermittently as the delay
increases. These delay-induced synchronization transitions are manifested as
well-expressed minima in the measure for spatiotemporal synchrony. For
attractive coupling, the minima appear at every integer multiple of the average
oscillation period, while for the repulsive coupling, they appear at every odd
multiple of the half of the average oscillation period. The obtained results
are robust to the variations of the dynamics of individual neurons, the system
size, and the neuronal firing type. Hence, they can be used to characterize
attractively or repulsively coupled scale-free neuronal networks with delays.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures; accepted for publication in PLoS ONE [related
work available at http://arxiv.org/abs/0907.4961 and
http://www.matjazperc.com/
Mechanisms, Then and Now: From Metaphysics to Practice
For many old and new mechanists, Mechanism is both a metaphysical position and a thesis about scientific methodology. In this paper we discuss the relation between the metaphysics of mechanisms and the role of mechanical explanation in the practice of science, by presenting and comparing the key tenets of Old and New Mechanism. First, by focusing on the case of gravity, we show how the metaphysics of Old Mechanism constrained scientific explanation, and discuss Newton’s critique of Old Mechanism. Second, we examine the current mechanistic metaphysics, arguing that it is not warranted by the use of the concept of mechanism in scientific practice, and motivate a thin conception of mechanism (the truly minimal view), according to which mechanisms are causal pathways for a certain effect or phenomenon. Finally, we draw analogies between Newton’s critique of Old Mechanism and our thesis that the metaphysical commitments of New Mechanism are not necessary in order to illuminate scientific practice
Microservice Transition and its Granularity Problem: A Systematic Mapping Study
Microservices have gained wide recognition and acceptance in software
industries as an emerging architectural style for autonomic, scalable, and more
reliable computing. The transition to microservices has been highly motivated
by the need for better alignment of technical design decisions with improving
value potentials of architectures. Despite microservices' popularity, research
still lacks disciplined understanding of transition and consensus on the
principles and activities underlying "micro-ing" architectures. In this paper,
we report on a systematic mapping study that consolidates various views,
approaches and activities that commonly assist in the transition to
microservices. The study aims to provide a better understanding of the
transition; it also contributes a working definition of the transition and
technical activities underlying it. We term the transition and technical
activities leading to microservice architectures as microservitization. We then
shed light on a fundamental problem of microservitization: microservice
granularity and reasoning about its adaptation as first-class entities. This
study reviews state-of-the-art and -practice related to reasoning about
microservice granularity; it reviews modelling approaches, aspects considered,
guidelines and processes used to reason about microservice granularity. This
study identifies opportunities for future research and development related to
reasoning about microservice granularity.Comment: 36 pages including references, 6 figures, and 3 table
How Individualized Niches Arise: Defining Mechanisms of Niche Construction, Niche Choice, and Niche Conformance
This is the final version. Available on open access from Oxford University Press via the DOI in this recordOrganisms interact with their environments in various ways. We present a conceptual framework that distinguishes three mechanisms of organism-environment interaction. We call these NC3 mechanisms: niche construction, in which individuals make changes to the environment; niche choice, in which individuals select an environment; and niche conformance, in which individuals adjust their phenotypes in response to the environment. Each of these individual-level mechanisms affects an individual's phenotype-environment match, its fitness, and its individualized niche, defined in terms of the environmental conditions under which the individual can survive and reproduce. Our framework identifies how individuals alter the selective regimes that they and other organisms experience. It also places clear emphasis on individual differences and construes niche construction and other processes as evolved mechanisms. The NC3 mechanism framework therefore helps to integrate population-level and individual-level research.German Research Foundation (DFG)European Union Horizon 202
"They brought you back to the fact you're not the same": Sense of self after traumatic brain injury
This paper considers contexts following traumatic brain injury, exploring what may be at stake when dominant expectations predict a ‘lost’ or ‘broken’ self. I explore stories co-constructed with one young man and his mother to illustrate their personal and intersubjective understandings of identity, at times conflicting, within family interactions and when encountering normative practices of neurorehabilitation clinicians. The ower relations portrayed confront this man’s narrative attempts to align his present and pre-injury self, including standard assessments delineating change, administered by healthcare professionals. I consider a need for greater attention to interaction-generated disruption to sense of self, wthin contemporary conceptualisations of ‘person-centred care’
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