Handling the Misalignment of Interests in Assisted Reproductive Technology Practices

One of the major problems we see in the use of reproductive technology at this time is that there is very little regulation of embryo transfer practices that lead to multigestational pregnancies. While the FDA must approve assisted reproductive technology (ART) devices and drugs that stimulate ovulation, it has no jurisdiction over the practice of medicine, how these drugs and devices are used on the ground, often in off-label procedures. The only current regulation of these practices is at the state level in the form of tort suits and actions against practitioners’ licenses by medical boards and informally through professional society guidelines. Tort suits are uncommon because reproductive technology is generally used by vulnerable couples, who consent to the practices that cause multiple gestation pregnancies. What suits have been brought are rarely reported and generally settle. Where couples fail to bring suit, the state guardian ad litem could intervene to bring a wrongful life suit on behalf of the resulting children, but these claims have little traction because a preterm baby may have medical problems but often does not have a life not worth living. The dangers to mothers also go unrecognized because of their consent to the procedure. State medical boards generally only act when they receive complaints, unlikely based on the alignment of interests of the target population, and, while professional societies have made strides in improving embryo transfer guidelines, they have little beyond symbolic means of enforcing their best practices. The U.S. has a history of leaving health professionals a wide degree of autonomy to practice medicine. While it may be difficult to interfere in the relationship of individuals or couples and their relationship to their doctor, there is a strong population level dictate to intervene. This could be accomplished through federal legislation or b state action. Many sick babies are brought into the world through increased use of assisted reproductive technology and the lives of mothers are put at risk. We need to find a way to line up incentives to stop or significantly reduce the number of multiple infant births

Vieillissement des géomembranes : mécanismes et essais

La politique en matière d'environnement implique la modernisation des décharges et donc une plus grande technicité et technologie dans l'exploitation et l'aménagement nécessaires à la sécurité des systèmes et aux garanties de bonnes protections de l'environnement. Un Centre de stockage de déchets (CSD) est donc devenu un véritable ouvrage de génie civil où les fonctions à remplir sont multiples : le système d'étanchéité est composé de différents matériaux avec, pour chacun, une fonction bien spécifique : - La fonction étanchéité, satisfaite par une double barrière : naturelle (composée d'argile) et synthétique ( géomembrane ou géocomposite bentonitique). Une géomembrane est un produit adapté au génie civil, mince, souple, continu, étanche aux liquide même sous déformation en service et principalement en traction

Critical Incidents and Librarian Professional Identity in LIS Pedagogy: Research Methodology as Pedagogical Tool Embedded in Reflexive Practice

Traditional conceptualisations of the library profession have been challenged due to persistent societal change, similarly affecting professional education. Challenges resulting from such change can be understood as uncertainty of definition and fit in society, and thus a questioning of professional identity. Examinations of professional identity offers potential in practice when introduced in the educational context. This paper outlines a pedagogical tool adapted from a method used in research investigating public librarian professional identity in New Zealand. The tool leverages the elicitation of critical incidents, along with guided questions, to prompt examination of professional identity. The tool is embedded within reflexive practice, creating a framework to understand and engage within increasingly interconnected and changing contexts

piRNAs and Aubergine cooperate with Wispy poly(A) polymerase to stabilize mRNAs in the germ plasm

Piwi-interacting RNAs (piRNAs) and PIWI proteins play a crucial role in germ cells by repressing transposable elements and regulating gene expression. In Drosophila, maternal piRNAs are loaded into the embryo mostly bound to the PIWI protein Aubergine (Aub). Aub targets maternal mRNAs through incomplete base-pairing with piRNAs and can induce their destabilization in the somatic part of the embryo. Paradoxically, these Aub-dependent unstable mRNAs encode germ cell determinants that are selectively stabilized in the germ plasm. Here we show that piRNAs and Aub actively protect germ cell mRNAs in the germ plasm. Aub directly interacts with the germline-specific poly(A) polymerase Wispy, thus leading to mRNA polyadenylation and stabilization in the germ plasm. These results reveal a role for piRNAs in mRNA stabilization and identify Aub as an interactor of Wispy for mRNA polyadenylation. They further highlight the role of Aub and piRNAs in embryonic patterning through two opposite functions

Hydrologically driven seasonal changes in the sources and production mechanisms of dissolved organic carbon in a small lowland catchment

International audienceTo obtain better constraints on the control of seasonal hydrological variations on dissolved organic carbon (DOC) dynamics in headwater catchments, we combined hydrometric monitoring with high-frequency analyses of DOC concentration and DOC chemical composition (specific UV adsorption, 13C) in soil and stream waters during one complete hydrological cycle in a small lowland catchment of western France. We observed a succession of four hydrological periods, each corresponding to specific DOC signatures. In particular, the rise of the upland water table at the end of the rewetting period yielded to a strong increase of the specific UV absorbance (from 2.5 to 4.0 L mg C 1 m 1) and of the 13C values (from 29 to 27%) of the soil DOC. Another striking feature was the release of large amounts of DOC during reduction of soil Fe-oxyhydroxides at the end of the highflow period. Comparison of hydrometric data with DOC composition metrics showed that soils from the upland domains were rapidly DOC depleted after the rise of the water table in these domains, whereas wetland soils acted as quasi-infinite DOC sources. Results from this study showed that the composition and ultimate source of the DOC exported to the stream will depend on the period within the annual hydrological cycle. However, we found that the aromatic DOC component identified during the high-flow period will likely represent the dominant DOC component in stream waters on an annual basis, because most of the annual stream DOC flux is exported during such periods

Nanoscale relationships between uranium and carbonaceous material in alteration halos around unconformity-related uranium deposits of the Kiggavik camp, Paleoproterozoic Thelon Basin, Nunavut, Canada

International audienceConcentrations of 7% U and 1% Cu were identified in massive, brecciated, and amorphous carbonaceous materials (CM) characterized by strongly negative values of carbon stable isotopes (δ13C = − 39.1‰ relative to PDB). The anomalies are restricted to clay alteration halos developed in Neoarchean Woodburn Lake group metagreywacke that is the predominant host of unconformity-related uranium (U) deposits in the Kiggavik exploration camp. Petrographic and microstructural analyses by SEM, X-Ray Diffraction, HR-TEM and RAMAN spectroscopy identified carbon veils, best described as graphene-like carbon, upon which nano-scale uraninite crystals are distributed. CM are common in U systems such as the classic Cretaceous roll-front deposits and the world-class Paleoproterozoic unconformity-related deposits. However, the unusual spatial and textural association of U minerals and CM described herein raises questions on mechanisms that may have been responsible for the precipitation of the CM followed by crystallization of U oxides on its surfaces. Based on the characteristics presented herein, the CMs at Kiggavik are interpreted as hydrothermal in origin. Furthermore, the nanoscale organization and properties of these graphene-like layers that host U oxide crystallites clearly localized U oxide nucleation and growth

Sources of dissolved organic matter during storm and inter-storm conditions in a lowland headwater catchment: constraints from high-frequency molecular data

International audienceThe transfer of dissolved organic matter (DOM) at soil–river interfaces controls the biogeochemistry of mi-cropollutants and the equilibrium between continental and oceanic C reservoirs. Understanding the mechanisms controlling this transfer is fundamental to ecology and geochem-istry. DOM delivery to streams during storms is assumed to come from the flushing of preexisting soil DOM reservoirs mobilized by the modification of water flow paths. We tested this hypothesis by investigating the evolution of the composition of stream DOM during inter-storm conditions and five storm events monitored with high-frequency sampling. The composition of DOM was analyzed using thermally assisted hydrolysis and methylation (THM) with tetramethylammo-nium hydroxide (TMAH) coupled to a gas chromatograph and mass spectrometer. In inter-storm conditions, stream DOM is derived from the flushing of soil DOM, while during storm events, the modification of the distribution of chemical biomarkers allows the identification of three additional mechanisms. The first one corresponds to the destabilization of microbial biofilms due to the increase in water velocity, resulting in the fleeting export of a microbial pool. The second mechanism corresponds to the erosion of soils and river banks, leading to a partition of organic matter between particulate and dissolved phases. The third mechanism is linked to the increase in water velocity in soils that could induce the erosion of macropore walls, leading to an in-soil partition between soil microparticles and dissolved phase. The contribution of this in-soil erosive process would be linked to the magnitude of the hydraulic gradient following the rise of the water table and could persist after the recession, which could explain why the return to inter-storm composition of DOM does not follow the same temporal scheme as the discharge. These results are the most important factors in understanding the transfer of nutrients and micropollutants at the soil–river interfaces during the hot moments that are storm events

Revisiting the neuropathology of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS)

Background: Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is one of the leading causes of infant mortality in the United States (US). The extent to which SIDS manifests with an underlying neuropathological mechanism is highly controversial. SIDS correlates with markers of poor prenatal and postnatal care, generally rooted in the lack of access and quality of healthcare endemic to select racial and ethnic groups, and thus can be viewed in the context of health disparities. However, some evidence suggests that at least a subset of SIDS cases may result from a neuropathological mechanism. To explain these issues, a triple-risk hypothesis has been proposed, whereby an underlying biological abnormality in an infant facing an extrinsic risk during a critical developmental period SIDS is hypothesized to occur. Each SIDS decedent is thus thought to have a unique combination of these risk factors leading to their death. This article reviews the neuropathological literature of SIDS and uses machine learning tools to identify distinct subtypes of SIDS decedents based on epidemiological data. Methods: We analyzed US Period Linked Birth/Infant Mortality Files from 1990 to 2017 (excluding 1992–1994). Using t-SNE, an unsupervised machine learning dimensionality reduction algorithm, we identified clusters of SIDS decedents. Following identification of these groups, we identified changes in the rates of SIDS at the state level and across three countries. Results: Through t-SNE and distance based statistical analysis, we identified three groups of SIDS decedents, each with a unique peak age of death. Within the US, SIDS is geographically heterogeneous. Following this, we found low birth weight and normal birth weight SIDS rates have not been equally impacted by implementation of clinical guidelines. We show that across countries with different levels of cultural heterogeneity, reduction in SIDS rates has also been distinct between decedents with low vs. normal birth weight. Conclusions: Different epidemiological and extrinsic risk factors exist based on the three unique SIDS groups we identified with t-SNE and distance based statistical measurements. Clinical guidelines have not equally impacted the groups, and normal birth weight infants comprise more of the cases of SIDS even though low birth weight infants have a higher SIDS rate.Fil: Blackburn, Jessica. The Ohio State University College Of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Chapur, Valeria Fernanda. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. Instituto de Ecorregiones Andinas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Salta. Instituto de Ecorregiones Andinas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Jujuy. Instituto de Biología de la Altura; ArgentinaFil: Stephens, Julie A.. The Ohio State University College Of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Zhao, Jing. The Ohio State University College Of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Shepler, Anne. The Ohio State University College Of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Pierson, Christopher R.. The Ohio State University College Of Medicine; Estados UnidosFil: Otero, José Javier. The Ohio State University College Of Medicine; Estados Unido

The Iowa Homemaker vol.41, no.1

Spring Fever Victims Are Missing Out, Anne Collison, page 4 Horticulture, Flowers to Grow… Or to Go, Karen Nielsen, page 5 In Step with Veishea, Anne Collison and Sherry Stoddard, page 6 Leave Hotdogs at Home, Alice Warren, page 7 Where There’s Will, There’s Europe, Marilyn Bratten, page 8 Three Symbols Bring Orient to America, Karen Scott, page 10 Ways to M.S. Differ, Barb Pierson, page 11 Here’s An Idea, Barb Jackson, page 14 The Creek Awakened, Melva Lafrenz, page 1