Unweighted Unifrac is a theoretically better measure for dietary and cardiometabolic data

The objective of this report was to compare unweighted and weighted Unifrac statistical methods and decide which method is best for analyzing dietary and cardiometabolic data. The Freshmen Health Study (n=77), a study on exclusively Hispanic college students collected anthropometric, dietary, cardiometabolic, and microbiome data. Weighted and unweighted Unifrac were used to analyze differences in the microbiome between groups of dietary and cardiometabolic variables. The results showed that unweighted Unifrac was the only significant measure and is statistically better for analyzing this type of data because of the sampling method of selecting only unique sequences to each community and analyzing their similarities. This is important for detecting subtle changes in different groups because diets are composed of different compositions that can influence the gut microbiome in small amounts.Statistic

Understanding infant feeding choice from the Great Depression to the baby boom in the U.S.

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to describe the rates of and factors associated with exclusive breastfeeding (XBR), exclusive breast feeding + breast and bottle-feeding (Ever BR), and of exclusive bottle-feeding (XBOT) from 1925-1964 among mothers of the nurse daughters in the Nurses’ Health Cohort Studies. Methods: The Nurses' Maternal Cohort Study (N= 39,743) is a retrospective cohort of the mothers of the nurse daughters who completed a questionnaire on reproductive characteristics and infant feeding. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate the adjusted odds ratios for Ever BR and XBR compared to XBOT by birth year and other covariates. Results: Ever BR rates steadily declined from 80% in the Great Depression to 37% in 1964; similarly XBR rates declined from 41% to 10%, respectively. Factors positively associated with Ever BR included: any maternal college education compared to <12 years of education and delivering a low or high compared to normal birth weight nurse daughter. Factors negatively associated with Ever BR were: smoking during pregnancy, C-section delivery, prematurity, birth orders 2+, and nurse daughters born 1940-1964. Factors differed by birth cohort, e.g. maternal education was positively associated with XBR only from 1950-64. Among the XBOT, the majority used canned evaporated milk until 1959 and then switched to commercial infant formula. Conclusions: This study documents declining rates of XBR and factors influencing infant feeding choice from 1925-1964, with results varying by birth cohort that differ from current determinants.Nutritional Science

Emplacement of the Foy, Hess and Pele Offset Dykes at the Sudbury impact structure, Canada

The 1.85 Ga Sudbury impact structure is the remnant of what is generally considered to have been an ~150–200 km diameter impact basin in central Ontario, Canada. The so-called Offset Dykes are impact melt dykes that are found concentrically around – and extending radially outward from – the Sudbury Igneous Complex (SIC), a ~3 km thick differentiated impact melt sheet. The dykes are typically composed of two main phases of granodiorite: an inclusion- and sulfide-rich granodiorite in the centre of the dyke, and an inclusion- and sulfide-poor granodiorite along the margins of the dyke. This study uses a combination of field mapping, petrography, electron microprobe analyses and geochemical data to address two outstanding questions regarding the temporal relationships of the Offset Dykes: (1) When were the Offset Dykes emplaced relative to the impact cratering process and differentiation of the SIC and; (2) What is the relationship between the internal phases of the Offset Dykes (i.e., inclusion-rich and inclusion-poor granodiorite). New exposures of the Foy and Hess Offset dykes, along with the recent discovery of the Pele Offset Dyke, provide an excellent opportunity to understand the relationship between the Offset Dykes in the North Range of the SIC. From this research, a number of conclusions can be drawn: (1) The Foy and Hess were intruded after the SIC had undergone some degree of differentiation; (2) The Hess is slightly less evolved than the Foy with respect to the SIC, but the two dykes co-existed as melts and mixed at the intersection; (3) The Foy was likely emplaced during a single prolonged event, which carried the clasts and sulfides, and subsequent flow differentiation moved the clasts and sulfides towards the centre of the dyke, forming the inclusion-poor and inclusion-rich phases and; (4) The Pele is composed of only the inclusion-poor phase, is chemically more evolved than the other North Range Offset Dykes, and may have been one of the last Offset Dykes to have been emplaced. These results suggest that emplacement of the Offset Dykes took place over an extended period of time and not as a single early injection event

Die Parabel vom klugen / betrügerischen Verwalter Lk 16,1-8a(8b-13)

Der Text Lk 16,1-8a(8b-13) wird zunächst synchron gelesen und anhand des exegetischen Methodenkanons erschlossen. Dabei fließen schrittweise diachrone Fragestellungen ein. Das frühe Ringen um das Verständnis des Textes kommt in den Blick sowie die darin sich widerspiegelnden Probleme und Auseinandersetzungen der urchristlichen Gemeinde. Zentrale Fragen in diesem Zusammenhang sind: Wer ist der kyrios in Vers 8a, und wo ist das Ende der ursprünglichen Parabel anzusetzen? Die Positionen verschiedener Forscher zu diesen Fragestellungen werden diskutiert und mit eigenen Interpretationsansätzen ergänzt. Das Lob des Herrn für den „Verwalter der Ungerechtigkeit“ in Vers 8a ist eine Provokation, die sich nicht auflösen lässt, unabhängig davon, welcher Interpretation man folgt. Der aufmerksame Leser / die aufmerksame Leserin wird im Zuge der Parabellektüre „herausgerufen“ (vgl. provocare), vor allem aber herausgefordert, die eigenen Deutungsmuster kritisch zu hinterfragen. Obwohl die Verwalterparabel zum SLk gehört, steht sie doch nicht isoliert im Text des NT, sondern weist Bezüge und Querverbindungen innerhalb des NT auf. Einige dieser Querverbindungen (semantisch, motivlich) werden diskutiert und dargestellt. Dabei werden unterschiedliche Beziehungsmuster zwischen Vorgesetzten und Untergebenen im NT analysiert sowie Rückschlüsse in Bezug auf die Verwalterparabel thematisiert. Die Anregung von J. Ernst, hinter to alethinón (Vers 11) eine mögliche Anspielung auf das „Wort der Wahrheit“ in der Briefliteratur (2 Tim 2,15; Jak 1,18) zu sehen, wird aufgegriffen und analysiert. Die erwähnten Stellen werden durch weitere, im Zuge der Recherchen entdeckte, ergänzt. Eine Zusammenführung unterschiedlicher bibeltheologischer Aussagen in den jeweiligen Zeitkontexten soll im Sinne einer zeitgenössischen Hermeneutik verstanden werden. Es geht um die Frage: Wie zeitliche Fragestellungen auf die Leseweise und Interpretation des Textes einwirken? Die unterschiedlichen Positionen, vor allem neuere Zugänge zu diesem durchaus sperrigen Text, werden dargestellt. Abschließend wird der Versuch unternommen, einige Fäden des exegetischen Polylogs zusammenzuführen

The associations between nutrient intake and eating patterns with adiposity, metabolic risk factors, and the gut microbiome in Hispanic college freshmen

Hispanics are at an increased risk of obesity and metabolic disease in the United States. Some studies have shown 70% of college students gain weight during their freshman year and is a critical transition period contributing to the rise in obesity rates. Research indicates that obesity is associated with an altered gut microbiome, a dynamic community of microbes that encode for proteins that perform diverse metabolic roles, are associated with disease states and may be affected by dietary intake. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the gut microbiome and dietary intake, eating patterns, adiposity, and metabolic measures in a population of college Hispanic freshmen. This cross-sectional study and secondary analysis was performed at The University of Texas at Austin and involved Hispanic college freshmen (18-19 years of age). The first aim was to examine the relationship between dietary intake, adiposity, and metabolic markers. Fiber intake was negatively associated with hepatic fat (HF), glucose, insulin, and leptin. Saturated fat intake was positively associated with HF, subcutaneous adipose tissue (SAT), total body fat, cholesterol, insulin, insulin resistance, leptin, and C-reactive protein (CRP). Saturated fat intake was also associated with increased odds of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). The second aim was to examine the relationship between the gut microbiome and the diet. Subjects who met saturated fat recommendations compared to those who exceeded recommendations had a more diverse microbiome. The third aim was to evaluate the relationship between the gut microbiome, adiposity, and metabolic measures. Subjects who had a low percent body fat, low insulin values, and high LDL values had a more diverse microbiome compared to subjects with a high percent body fat, high insulin values, and low LDL values. Collectively, these data suggest that an intake of saturated fat is associated with unfavorable health outcomes and the microbiome may be a possible mechanism and/or target for treatment and prevention.Nutritional Science

Triplet‐Induced Lesion Formation at CpT and TpC Sites in DNA

UV irradiation induces DNA lesions particularly at dipyrimidine sites. Using time‐resolved UV pump (250 nm) and mid‐IR probe spectroscopy the triplet pathway of cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer (CPD) formation within TpC and CpT sequences was studied. The triplet state is initially localized at the thymine base but decays with 30 ns under formation of a biradical state extending over both bases of the dipyrimidine. Subsequently this state either decays back to the electronic ground state on the 100 ns time scale or forms a cyclobutane pyrimidine dimer lesion (CPD). Stationary IR spectroscopy and triplet sensitization via 2′‐methoxyacetophenone (2‐M) in the UVA range shows that the lesions are formed with an efficiency of approximately 1.5 %. Deamination converts the cytosine moiety of the CPD lesions on the time scale of 10 hours into uracil which gives CPD(UpT) and CPD(TpU) lesions in which the coding potential of the initial cytosine base is vanished

Identification of charge separated states in thymine single strands

UV excitation of the DNA single strand (dT)(18) leads to electronically excited states that are potential gateways to DNA photolesions. Using time-resolved infrared spectroscopy we characterized a species with a lifetime of similar to 100 ps and identified it as a charge separated excited state between two thymine bases

Identification of charge separated states in thymine single strands

UV excitation of the DNA single strand (dT)(18) leads to electronically excited states that are potential gateways to DNA photolesions. Using time-resolved infrared spectroscopy we characterized a species with a lifetime of similar to 100 ps and identified it as a charge separated excited state between two thymine bases

Field and laboratory validation of remote rover operations Science Team findings: The CanMars Mars Sample Return analogue mission

The CanMars Mars Sample Return Analogue Deployment (MSRAD) was a closely simulated, end-to-end Mars Sample Return (MSR) mission scenario, with instrumentation, goals, and constraints modeled on the upcoming NASA Mars 2020 rover mission; this paper reports on the post-mission validation of the exercise. The exercise utilized the CSA Mars Exploration Science Rover (MESR) rover, deployed to Utah, USA, at a Mars-analogue field site. The principal features of the field site located near Green River, Utah are Late Jurassic inverted, fluvial paleochannels, analogous to features on Mars in sites being considered for the ESA ExoMars rover mission and present within the chosen landing site for the Mars 2020 rover mission. The in-simulation (“in-sim”) mission operations team worked remotely from The University of Western Ontario, Canada. A suite of MESR-integrated and hand-held spectrometers was selected to mimic those of the Mars 2020 payload, and a Utah-based, on-site team was tasked with field operations to carry out the data collection and sampling as commanded by the in-sim team. As a validation of the in-sim mission science findings, the field team performed an independent geological assessment. This paper documents the field team's on-site geological assessment and subsequent laboratory and analytical results, then offers a comparison of mission (in-sim) and post-mission (laboratory) science results. The laboratory-based findings were largely consistent with the in-sim rover-derived data and geological interpretations, though some notable exceptions highlight the inherent difficulties in remote science. In some cases, available data was insufficient for lithologic identification given the absence of other important contextual information (e.g., textural information). This study suggests that the in-sim instruments were largely adequate for the Science Team to characterize samples; however, rover-based field work is necessarily hampered by mobility and time constraints with an obvious effect on efficiency but also precision, and to some extent, accuracy of the findings. The data show a dearth of preserved total organic carbon (TOC) – used as a proxy for ancient biosignature preservation potential – in the fluvial-lacustrine system of this field site, suggesting serious consideration with respect to the capabilities and opportunities for addressing the Mars exploration goals. We therefore suggest a thorough characterization of terrestrial sites analogous to those of Mars rover landing sites, and in-depth field studies like CanMars as important, pre-mission strategic exercises