Viability of Leveraging Spent Coffee Grounds

We recommend that Starbucks continues to allocate spent coffee grounds to composting. ● Compared to composting, anaerobic digestion saves energy when creating biogas and fertilizer, but emits more carbon dioxide. ● Anaerobic digestion and using SCG to make PHA is more efficient than market alternatives. However, because these alternatives require more energy and GHG than composting we do not recommend pursuing them at scale. ● Embracing public-private partnerships with schools and communities to 1) divert SCG from landfill, 2) engage public on environmental education, and 3) educate the next generation on composting practicesMaster of ScienceSchool for Environment and SustainabilityUniversity of Michiganhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/167242/1/386_Starbucks_project.pd

Characterization of Physical Activity and its Association with Self-Rated Health among a Large Homeless Population

Background: Homelessness affects approximately 6 percent of the United States population, which is known to have multiple health disparities potentially affected by lack of physical activity. Here we characterize physical activity and its association with self-rated health among a large sample of homeless adults. Methods: Homeless adult participants recruited from Dallas and Oklahoma (N=711, 66.4% men, Mage = 43.6+12) self-reported quantity and frequency of physical activity in minutes using items from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Physical Activity Questionnaire. Based on the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Self-rated health was assessed with an item asking participants to rate their health in general (excellent/very good/good vs. fair/poor). Associations between variables were examined using biserial correlations adjusted for age, sex, race, education, weight status, number of months homeless, at-risk drinking, serious mental illness, smoking status, and recruitment site. Results: On average, participants reported 812.9+1459.8 minutes (13.5+24 hours) of physical activity a week and 34.2% of the sample reported fair/poor health. Physical activity was negatively associated with fair/poor health (p=.0036). Discussion: Results suggest that physical activity promotion may hold promise for improvement of overall health within an adult homeless population.Honors CollegePsychological, Health, and Learning Sciences, Department o

Striking intrafamilial phenotypic variability and spastic paraplegia in the presence of similar homozygous expansions of the FRDA1 gene.

We report on a Friedreich's ataxia (FA) family with 3 affected siblings with markedly different phenotypic presentations, including one with spastic paraplegia. Molecular analysis showed midsize GAA repeat expansion sizes in all 3 individuals. Gait spasticity in FA, although rare, has been described in a few patients who are compound heterozygotes for a point mutation, or who had GAA expansions of less than 200 repeats. The occurrence of spastic paraplegia in our family, in the presence of homozygous midsize GAA repeat expansions, is an unusual finding. Spasticity can be the main feature in both sporadic and familial patients with FA, either as an isolated finding, or in addition to other neurological abnormalities, and should be included as a rare feature in the clinical spectrum of FA. This family also demonstrates that in FA, marked intrafamilial phenotypic variability can arise in the presence of similar GAA expansion sizes. Therefore, in familial FA, the disease course in relatives therefore cannot be predicted solely from repeat length. Factors such as somatic mosaicism, repeat interruptions, modifying mutations and environmental factors must also be considered.Case ReportsJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tReviewFLWINinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishe