Fine-scale Explosive Energy Release at Sites of Prospective Magnetic Flux Cancellation in the Core of the Solar Active Region Observed by Hi-C 2.1, IRIS, and SDO

The second Hi-C flight (Hi-C 2.1) provided unprecedentedly high spatial and temporal resolution (~250 km, 4.4 s) coronal EUV images of Fe ix/x emission at 172 Å of AR 12712 on 2018 May 29, during 18:56:21–19:01:56 UT. Three morphologically different types (I: dot-like; II: loop-like; III: surge/jet-like) of fine-scale sudden-brightening events (tiny microflares) are seen within and at the ends of an arch filament system in the core of the AR. Although type Is (not reported before) resemble IRIS bombs (in size, and brightness with respect to surroundings), our dot-like events are apparently much hotter and shorter in span (70 s). We complement the 5 minute duration Hi-C 2.1 data with SDO/HMI magnetograms, SDO/AIA EUV images, and IRIS UV spectra and slit-jaw images to examine, at the sites of these events, brightenings and flows in the transition region and corona and evolution of magnetic flux in the photosphere. Most, if not all, of the events are seated at sites of opposite-polarity magnetic flux convergence (sometimes driven by adjacent flux emergence), implying likely flux cancellation at the microflare's polarity inversion line. In the IRIS spectra and images, we find confirming evidence of field-aligned outflow from brightenings at the ends of loops of the arch filament system. In types I and II the explosion is confined, while in type III the explosion is ejective and drives jet-like outflow. The light curves from Hi-C, AIA, and IRIS peak nearly simultaneously for many of these events, and none of the events display a systematic cooling sequence as seen in typical coronal flares, suggesting that these tiny brightening events have chromospheric/transition region origin

Parent-reported child appetite moderates relationships between child genetic obesity risk and parental feeding practices

BackgroundFood parenting practices are associated with child weight. Such associations may reflect the effects of parents' practices on children's food intake and weight. However, longitudinal, qualitative, and behavioral genetic evidence suggests these associations could, in some cases, reflect parents' response to children's genetic risk for obesity, an instance of gene–environment correlation. We tested for gene–environment correlations across multiple domains of food parenting practices and explored the role of parent-reported child appetite in these relationships.Materials and methodsData on relevant variables were available for N = 197 parent–child dyads (7.54 ± 2.67 years; 44.4% girls) participating in RESONANCE, an ongoing pediatric cohort study. Children's body mass index (BMI) polygenic risk score (PRS) were derived based on adult GWAS data. Parents reported on their feeding practices (Comprehensive Feeding Practices Questionnaire) and their child's eating behavior (Child Eating Behavior Questionnaire). Moderation effects of child eating behaviors on associations between child BMI PRS and parental feeding practices were examined, adjusting for relevant covariates.ResultsOf the 12 parental feeding practices, 2 were associated with child BMI PRS, namely, restriction for weight control (β = 0.182, p = 0.011) and teaching about nutrition (β = −0.217, p = 0.003). Moderation analyses demonstrated that when children had high genetic obesity risk and showed moderate/high (vs. low) food responsiveness, parents were more likely to restrict food intake to control weight.ConclusionOur results indicate that parents may adjust their feeding practices in response to a child's genetic propensity toward higher or lower bodyweight, and the adoption of food restriction to control weight may depend on parental perceptions of the child's appetite. Research using prospective data on child weight and appetite and food parenting from infancy is needed to further investigate how gene–environment relationships evolve through development

Global wealth disparities drive adherence to COVID-safe pathways in head and neck cancer surgery

Peer reviewe

State of Obesity 2021: Better Policies for a Healthier America

In 2020, 16 states had adult obesity rates at or above 35 percent, up from 12 states the previous year. These and other emerging data show that the COVID-19 pandemic changed eating habits, worsened levels of food insecurity, created obstacles to physical activity, and heightened stress, all exacerbating the decades long pattern of obesity in America.This report is based in part on newly released 2020 data from the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factors Surveillance System and analysis by Trust for America's Health (TFAH). It provides an annual snapshot of rates of overweight and obesity by age, race/ethnicity and state of residence for U.S. adults. In the report, TFAH calls for addressing the social determinants of obesity, for example, by ensuring access to no cost healthy school meals for all students, a program started during the pandemic

Microsoft Word - Ost rejoinder2.doc

Recently, I (Gaudiano, 2009) criticized the methodology used by Öst (2008) when he attempted to create a matched sample of traditional cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) studies to compare with acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) studies for evaluating their relative methodological rigor. My reanalysis clearly demonstrated that Öst did not create a matched sample of studies as he had claimed. He erroneously reported that there was not a significant difference in grant support for the ACT and CBT studies used in his analyses. After correcting a few errors in Öst's data, it became clear that the CBT studies were significantly more likely to have been supported by grants compared with the ACT studies (80% vs 38%, respectively). In addition, the average amount of grant support for funded ACT versus CBT studies clearly favored the latter (by a factor of over 5 to 1). Furthermore, I showed that the ACT and CBT studies also were mismatched in terms of treatment population. All the CBT studies chosen by Öst were in depression or anxiety disorder populations, whereas only 38% of the ACT studies were conducted in similar groups. In contrast, many of the ACT trials were in difficult-to-treat populations, including inpatient psychosis, drug dependence, and borderline personality disorder. Öst's inadvertent matching of apples and oranges appeared to be the result of his questionable decision to develop a CBT comparison sample solely by choosing studies that appeared in the same journal ± one year of a corresponding ACT study. However, Öst was not able to adhere to even this minimal matching criterion fully because he could not identify a corresponding CBT study for 38% of ACT studies, and instead completed his sample by selecting CBT studies appearing in top-tier clinical psychology journals (e.g., Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology). To put it another way: Öst's methodology would be analogous to matching a white, 14-year old female with a 58-year old African-American male in a study because both are human beings who happened to shop at the same department store in the same month. Since Öst's stated goal was to compare the relative methodological rigor of ACT and CBT studies, a legitimately matched sample was necessary. Clearly the CBT and ACT studies were not actually matched as Öst had previously claimed and I believed that it was important to point this out. In his reply to my critique, Öst (2009) now appears to concede that the studies were indeed mismatched, but then inexplicably goes on to conclude that this is largely irrelevant to the interpretation of his findings. Öst also makes several additional claims about ACT research that I believe require further clarification. I will respond to Öst's most recent statements and also discuss the larger, and from my perspective, mor

Ready or Not? Protecting the Public From Diseases, Disasters, and Bioterrorism 2017

In the 16 years since the 9/11 and anthrax tragedies, the country has had countless reminders demonstrating the need for a sufficient response to the public's health needs during major incidents—be they caused by extreme weather events, disease outbreaks or a contaminated food supply.The 2017 Atlantic Hurricane Season was particularly historic. After Hurricane Harvey made landfall in Texas, it hovered over Houston for days—dropping several feet of rain that caused unprecedented flooding and sank the Earth's crust around Houston two centimeters. Harvey was followed by two Category 5 storms–Hurricanes Irma and Maria, which had a profound impact on many Caribbean nations, Puerto Rico, the Florida Keys and other areas in the region. Out West, rain was scarce as communities were ravaged by one of the worst wildfire seasons ever.The fast-moving blaze in California's wine country killed 43 people, scorched 250,000 square miles and destroyed 8,900 structures.Despite the frequency of health threats, often the country is not adequately prepared to address them, even with all the prior lessons about what is needed for an effective response. Emergencies are a matter of when, not if; there is no reason to continue to be caught off guard when a new threat arises.The good news is that considerable progress has been made to effectively prepare for and respond to public health emergencies of all types and sizes,and much of what it takes to prepare for bioterrorism, major disease threats or major disasters is also essential to respond to ongoing health threats. The bad news is that the accomplishments achieved to improve public health and preparedness for all hazards are being undermined due to severe budget cuts and lack of prioritization

Effects of clonal integration and light availability on the growth and physiology of two invasive herbs

Clonal plants benefit from the ability to translocate resources among interconnected ramets to colonize heterogeneous habitats. Clonal integration affects the resource level and morphological traits of ramets, and thus may influence their physiology and general performance. Although leaf gas exchange and its associated physiological adjustments are key traits to assess plant fitness, the effect of clonal integration on these functional traits is insufficiently understood. 2. In a glasshouse experiment, we addressed how clonal integration affects gas exchange properties, leaf characters and growth of ramets in two invasive plants, Alternanthera philoxeroides and Phyla canescens, under full sun and 85%shade. We also used stable-isotope labelling to assess the maternal subsidy to daughter ramets. 3. Similar effects of connection were observed in both species for most gas exchange parameters and leaf characters. Clonal integration did not affect photosynthetic capacity and respiratory rates of ramets.When grown in shade, ramets connected with an unshaded mother plant displayed higher area-based leaf nitrogen and chlorophyll content than severed ramets, but the additional nitrogen and chlorophyll was not translated to increased photosynthetic capability. Overall, severed ramets displayed significant light response for leaf nitrogen (area-based), photosynthetic nitrogen use efficiency, chlorophyll to nitrogen ratio, and nitrogen stable-isotope signature, but the light response was eliminated by clonal integration in connected ramets. 4. Both species displayed substantial maternal carbohydrate subsidy that benefited the growth of daughter ramets, but species-specific patterns were observed in the growth of daughter ramets and the amount of subsidy. The amount of subsidy was independent of ramet growth light levels for P. canescens, but shaded, connected ramets of A. philoxeroides received more subsidy than unshaded controls, facilitating a larger growth improvement relative to severed counterparts than P. canescens. 5. Synthesis. We observed increased leaf nitrogen and chlorophyll in shaded, connected ramets of two clonal invasive plants. Clonal integration may facilitate nitrogen assimilation and allow preacclimation to high-light conditions for shaded, connected ramets, thus promoting the opportunistic expansion of these invaders on site scale. The species-specific maternal subsidy pattern demonstrated that clonal plants possess different strategies to subsidize ramets under light-limited conditions