Association Between Hispanic Parents’ Attitudes and Knowledge Regarding Obesity and Their Children’s Body Mass Index

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 13.7 million children experience obesity nationally and Hispanic children display the highest occurrences of obesity for all racial/ethnic groups (Hales et al., 2020). Because parents have a significant influence on their children’s overall health, we were interested in examining whether parents’ attitudes and knowledge about obesity impacted their child’s body mass index (BMI) for their age. We surveyed 210 adult Hispanic parents whose children were receiving general healthcare services at a pediatric medical clinic located near the U.S.-Mexico border. A multiple regression analysis was conducted to evaluate the estimation between the independent variables (knowledge about obesity, socioeconomic status, education, physical activity, dietary habits, medical history, age, and gender) and the dependent variable (attitudes toward obesity). Specifically, the study examined the relationship between Hispanic children’s BMI-for-age and their parents’ attitudes toward obesity, and the relationship between Hispanic children’s BMI-for-age and their parents’ knowledge regarding obesity-related risks. The results indicated the level of physical activity, dietary habits, and level of knowledge were predictive of Hispanic parents’ attitudes toward obesity. Implications of the study and recommendations for researchers, educators, and counselors to minimize the obesity epidemic are provided

U–Pb Zircon Ages, Mapping, and Biostratigraphy of the Payette Formation and Idaho Group North of the Western Snake River Plain, Idaho: Implications for Hydrocarbon System Correlation

Sedimentary deposits north of the western Snake River Plain host Idaho’s first and only producing oil and gas field. They consist of the lower to middle Miocene Payette Formation, the middle to upper Miocene Poison Creek and Chalk Hills Formations, and the Pliocene to lower Pleistocene Glenns Ferry Formation. Using new geochronology, palynomorph biostratigraphy, and geologic mapping, we connect updip surface features to subsurface petroleum play elements. The Payette Formation is a likely main source of the hydrocarbons, and acts as one of the reservoirs in the unnamed basin. Here, we redefine the Payette Formation as 0 to ~3,500 ft (0 to ~1,000 m) of mudstone, with lesser amounts of sandstone overlying and interbedded with the Columbia River Basalt Group and Weiser volcanic field. Index palynomorphs, including Liquidambar and Pterocarya, present in Idaho during and immediately after the middle Miocene climatic optimum, and new U–Pb ages of 16.39 and 15.88 Ma, help establish the thickness and extent of the formation. For the first time, these biostratigraphic markers have been defined for the oil and gas wells. The Poison Creek Formation is sandstone interbedded with mudstone that is ~800–1,800 ft (250–550 m) thick. The Chalk Hills Formation is a tuffaceous siltstone, claystone, and sandstone that is as much as ~4,200 ft (1,280 m) thick. New U–Pb ages are 10.1, 9.04, and 9.00 for the Poison Creek Formation, along with maximum depositional ages of 10.7 to 9.9 Ma for four samples from the Poison Creek Formation. A single U–Pb age of 7.78 Ma was determined from pumice low in the Chalk Hills Formation. Like the Payette Formation, the Poison Creek Formation can be a reservoir, whereas the Chalk Hills Formation acts as a sealing mudstone facies. The overlying sandstone, siltstone, and conglomerate of the Glenns Ferry Formation act as the overburden to the petroleum system in the subsurface, and were important for burial and hydrocarbon maturation. The Glenns Ferry Formation is up to 500 ft (150 m) thick in the study area, as much has been eroded. Whereas the Payette and Poison Creek Formations were deposited during the mid-Miocene climatic optimum amongst and above volcanic flows, the Chalk Hills and Glenns Ferry Formations were deposited within ancient Lake Idaho during an overall increase in aridity and cooling after the mid-Miocene climatic optimum

EMF1 and PRC2 Cooperate to Repress Key Regulators of Arabidopsis Development

EMBRYONIC FLOWER1 (EMF1) is a plant-specific gene crucial to Arabidopsis vegetative development. Loss of function mutants in the EMF1 gene mimic the phenotype caused by mutations in Polycomb Group protein (PcG) genes, which encode epigenetic repressors that regulate many aspects of eukaryotic development. In Arabidopsis, Polycomb Repressor Complex 2 (PRC2), made of PcG proteins, catalyzes trimethylation of lysine 27 on histone H3 (H3K27me3) and PRC1-like proteins catalyze H2AK119 ubiquitination. Despite functional similarity to PcG proteins, EMF1 lacks sequence homology with known PcG proteins; thus, its role in the PcG mechanism is unclear. To study the EMF1 functions and its mechanism of action, we performed genome-wide mapping of EMF1 binding and H3K27me3 modification sites in Arabidopsis seedlings. The EMF1 binding pattern is similar to that of H3K27me3 modification on the chromosomal and genic level. ChIPOTLe peak finding and clustering analyses both show that the highly trimethylated genes also have high enrichment levels of EMF1 binding, termed EMF1_K27 genes. EMF1 interacts with regulatory genes, which are silenced to allow vegetative growth, and with genes specifying cell fates during growth and differentiation. H3K27me3 marks not only these genes but also some genes that are involved in endosperm development and maternal effects. Transcriptome analysis, coupled with the H3K27me3 pattern, of EMF1_K27 genes in emf1 and PRC2 mutants showed that EMF1 represses gene activities via diverse mechanisms and plays a novel role in the PcG mechanism

Comparative cellular analysis of motor cortex in human, marmoset and mouse

The primary motor cortex (M1) is essential for voluntary fine-motor control and is functionally conserved across mammals1. Here, using high-throughput transcriptomic and epigenomic profiling of more than 450,000 single nuclei in humans, marmoset monkeys and mice, we demonstrate a broadly conserved cellular makeup of this region, with similarities that mirror evolutionary distance and are consistent between the transcriptome and epigenome. The core conserved molecular identities of neuronal and non-neuronal cell types allow us to generate a cross-species consensus classification of cell types, and to infer conserved properties of cell types across species. Despite the overall conservation, however, many species-dependent specializations are apparent, including differences in cell-type proportions, gene expression, DNA methylation and chromatin state. Few cell-type marker genes are conserved across species, revealing a short list of candidate genes and regulatory mechanisms that are responsible for conserved features of homologous cell types, such as the GABAergic chandelier cells. This consensus transcriptomic classification allows us to use patch-seq (a combination of whole-cell patch-clamp recordings, RNA sequencing and morphological characterization) to identify corticospinal Betz cells from layer 5 in non-human primates and humans, and to characterize their highly specialized physiology and anatomy. These findings highlight the robust molecular underpinnings of cell-type diversity in M1 across mammals, and point to the genes and regulatory pathways responsible for the functional identity of cell types and their species-specific adaptations

Effect of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor and angiotensin receptor blocker initiation on organ support-free days in patients hospitalized with COVID-19

IMPORTANCE Overactivation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) may contribute to poor clinical outcomes in patients with COVID-19. Objective To determine whether angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor or angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB) initiation improves outcomes in patients hospitalized for COVID-19. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS In an ongoing, adaptive platform randomized clinical trial, 721 critically ill and 58 non–critically ill hospitalized adults were randomized to receive an RAS inhibitor or control between March 16, 2021, and February 25, 2022, at 69 sites in 7 countries (final follow-up on June 1, 2022). INTERVENTIONS Patients were randomized to receive open-label initiation of an ACE inhibitor (n = 257), ARB (n = 248), ARB in combination with DMX-200 (a chemokine receptor-2 inhibitor; n = 10), or no RAS inhibitor (control; n = 264) for up to 10 days. MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES The primary outcome was organ support–free days, a composite of hospital survival and days alive without cardiovascular or respiratory organ support through 21 days. The primary analysis was a bayesian cumulative logistic model. Odds ratios (ORs) greater than 1 represent improved outcomes. RESULTS On February 25, 2022, enrollment was discontinued due to safety concerns. Among 679 critically ill patients with available primary outcome data, the median age was 56 years and 239 participants (35.2%) were women. Median (IQR) organ support–free days among critically ill patients was 10 (–1 to 16) in the ACE inhibitor group (n = 231), 8 (–1 to 17) in the ARB group (n = 217), and 12 (0 to 17) in the control group (n = 231) (median adjusted odds ratios of 0.77 [95% bayesian credible interval, 0.58-1.06] for improvement for ACE inhibitor and 0.76 [95% credible interval, 0.56-1.05] for ARB compared with control). The posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitors and ARBs worsened organ support–free days compared with control were 94.9% and 95.4%, respectively. Hospital survival occurred in 166 of 231 critically ill participants (71.9%) in the ACE inhibitor group, 152 of 217 (70.0%) in the ARB group, and 182 of 231 (78.8%) in the control group (posterior probabilities that ACE inhibitor and ARB worsened hospital survival compared with control were 95.3% and 98.1%, respectively). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE In this trial, among critically ill adults with COVID-19, initiation of an ACE inhibitor or ARB did not improve, and likely worsened, clinical outcomes. TRIAL REGISTRATION ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT0273570

Comparing Components of Flexography Printing for the Application of Oxygen Barrier Inks on Films

The purpose of this study is to appraise typical components used in flexographic printing to provide more knowledge on the use of printing with functional inks on filmic substrates when printing packaged products inline. An oxygen barrier coating was applied using different plate-screening technologies and anilox rolls. Comparing two plate-screening technologies and three different anilox rolls using oxygen permeability tests helped to conclude the optimum plate and anilox roll solution that best apply the ink for proper functionality of the coating, with minimal ink application as to reduce waste. Further knowledge of printing oxygen barrier coatings inline will yield results that benefit in both production and cost areas. Selecting the right combination of plate technology and anilox roll that achieves similar results of barrier properties available in pretreated films will allow companies to achieve maximum barrier assets in their packaging in a more cost effective manner. The first print run comparing the different plate screening technologies, revealed that the capped plate technology provided much higher barrier properties than the cell patterned technology. As the capped plate technology was used with the second print run comparing the anilox rolls, optimum results disclose the combination of these two flexographic components for achieving maximum functionality of barrier inks. Using the 360 CPI, 6.53 BCM anilox roll with the capped plate technology provides barrier properties that are competitively comparable with pretreated films. Benefits of inline printing versus pretreated films are found in both cost and production areas of the company

Self-Incrimination and the Constitution: A Brief Rejoinder to Professor Kamisar

Professor Yale Kamisar has been writing in the field of criminal procedure for many years, and we are grateful that he has chosen to respond to our ideas. At the outset of his long and lively response to Fifth Amendment First Principles, Professor Kamisar promises to analyze our constitutional argument, with special attention to current doctrines or trends. But in what follows, he offers almost no analysis of, well, the Constitution - its text, its history, its structure. We believe that constitutional law should, ideally, bear some relation to, well, the Constitution. Professor Kamisar, it seems, does not. He also sidesteps most of our main points