The Intersectionality of Race and Gender in Financial Planner Use

Using the 2019 Survey of Consumer Finances, this study examined the role of race and gender regarding the use of financial planners through the lens of intersectionality. More specifically, this study investigated whether there was an association between race and gender, notably for Black women, and financial planner use compared to White women, Black men, and White men. Results of the interaction analyses in the probit model show that Black women were more likely to use financial planners than other groups. A follow-up analysis indicated that results were significant when comparing Black women to White men but there was no significant difference when comparing Black women to Black men and White women. This study adds to the literature by taking into consideration the implications of dual minority status on Black women’s financial well-being and decision-making. Implications are provided for financial therapists and professionals, policymakers, and funders

Observations and radio tagging of Balaenoptera edeni near Puerto La Cruz, Venezuela

The 23 October to 13 November 1979 Venezuelan radio tagging and tracking experiments on whales (Balaenoptera edeni, Fig. 1) provided essential field tests of the new modifications to the WHOI radio whale tag (see list of tag reports), and the chance to try it on a new species. We found that we could approach and tag these whales from a slow (4 to 6 kt) vessel. Good radio tracking with automatic direction finding equipment was possible within 12 to 20 km, with longer ranges probable. In addition, the radio tags provided new information about the behavior of these whales.Prepared for the Office of Naval Research under Contract N00014-79-C-OO71; NR 083-004

Association between plasma endocannabinoids and appetite in hemodialysis patients: A pilot study

Uremia-associated anorexia may be related to altered levels of long chain n-6 and n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) derived circulating endocannabinoids (EC) and EC-like compounds that are known to mediate appetite. Our study's hypothesis was that such molecules are associated with appetite in patients with end-stage renal disease. A cross-sectional observational study was performed in 20 chronic hemodialysis patients (9 females, 11 males) and 10 healthy female controls in whom appetite was assessed using the Simplified Nutritional Appetite Questionnaire (SNAQ) and blood drawn in the fasting (and when applicable) pre-dialysis state. Blood levels of PUFA and EC were also measured. Higher blood levels of the long chain n-6 fatty acid 20:4n6 (arachidonic acid) and lower levels of the long chain n-3 fatty acid 20:5n3 (eicosapentaenoic acid) were observed in female hemodialysis patients compared to controls. No differences were observed between male and female patients. In female study participants strong correlations between specific EC-like compounds and total SNAQ scores were noted, including with the n-6 PUFA derived linoleoyl ethanolamide (L-EA; ρ=-0.60, P<.01) and the n-3 PUFA derived docosahexaenoyl ethanolamide (DH-EA; ρ=0.63, P<.01). The L-EA:DH-EA ratio was most strongly associated with the SNAQ score (ρ=-0.74, P≤.001), and its questions associated with appetite (ρ=-0.69, P≤.01) and satiety (ρ=-0.81, P≤.001). These findings support a link between circulating EC and appetite in hemodialysis patients

A Gpr120-selective agonist improves insulin resistance and chronic inflammation in obese mice.

It is well known that the ω-3 fatty acids (ω-3-FAs; also known as n-3 fatty acids) can exert potent anti-inflammatory effects. Commonly consumed as fish products, dietary supplements and pharmaceuticals, ω-3-FAs have a number of health benefits ascribed to them, including reduced plasma triglyceride levels, amelioration of atherosclerosis and increased insulin sensitivity. We reported that Gpr120 is the functional receptor for these fatty acids and that ω-3-FAs produce robust anti-inflammatory, insulin-sensitizing effects, both in vivo and in vitro, in a Gpr120-dependent manner. Indeed, genetic variants that predispose to obesity and diabetes have been described in the gene encoding GPR120 in humans (FFAR4). However, the amount of fish oils that would have to be consumed to sustain chronic agonism of Gpr120 is too high to be practical, and, thus, a high-affinity small-molecule Gpr120 agonist would be of potential clinical benefit. Accordingly, Gpr120 is a widely studied drug discovery target within the pharmaceutical industry. Gpr40 is another lipid-sensing G protein-coupled receptor, and it has been difficult to identify compounds with a high degree of selectivity for Gpr120 over Gpr40 (ref. 11). Here we report that a selective high-affinity, orally available, small-molecule Gpr120 agonist (cpdA) exerts potent anti-inflammatory effects on macrophages in vitro and in obese mice in vivo. Gpr120 agonist treatment of high-fat diet-fed obese mice causes improved glucose tolerance, decreased hyperinsulinemia, increased insulin sensitivity and decreased hepatic steatosis. This suggests that Gpr120 agonists could become new insulin-sensitizing drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and other human insulin-resistant states in the future

Applying scale-free mass estimators to the Local Group in Constrained Local Universe Simulations

We use the recently proposed scale-free mass estimators to determine the masses of the Milky Way (MW) and Andromeda (M31) galaxy in a dark matter only Constrained Local UniversE Simulation (CLUES). While these mass estimators work rather well for isolated spherical host systems, we examine here their applicability to a simulated binary system with a unique satellite population similar to the observed satellites of MW and M31. We confirm that the scale-free estimators work also very well in our simulated Local Group galaxies with the right number of satellites which follow the observed radial distribution. In the isotropic case and under the assumption that the satellites are tracking the total gravitating mass, the power-law index of the radial satellite distribution $N(<r)\propto r^{3-\gamma}$ is directly related to the host's mass profile $M(<r)\propto r^{1-\alpha}$ as $\alpha=\gamma-2$. The use of this relation for any given $\gamma$ leads to highly accurate mass estimations which is a crucial point for observer, since they do not know a priori the mass profile of the MW and M31 haloes. We discuss possible bias in the mass estimators and conclude that the scale-free mass estimators can be satisfactorily applied to the real MW and M31 system.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figures, 6 tables. Accepted in MNRAS 2012 March 29. Received 2012 March 29; in original form 2011 September 2

Site Specific Management of Row and Vegetable Crops with Center Pivot Irrigation Under Traditional and Conservation Tillage

In March of 2002, Nyland Falkenberg was awarded a $5,000 grant from TWRI to work with researcher Giovanni Piccinni at the Texas A&M Agricultural Research and Extension Center in Uvalde. The focus of this project, which is supported by U.S. Geological Survey funds, is to develop a way to assess all the various stresses that crops go through in their growth cycle, and to implement management strategies that will alleviate the adverse effects of these stressors. This paper was written by a team of Texas Agricultural Experiment researchers, including Piccinni, Falkenberg, and many others, and it presents some of the research Nyland is doing for TWRI in this project

Satellite galaxies in hydrodynamical simulations of Milky Way sized galaxies

Collisionless simulations of the CDM cosmology predict a plethora of dark matter substructures in the halos of Milky Way sized galaxies, yet the number of known luminous satellites galaxies is very much smaller, a discrepancy that has become known as the `missing satellite problem'. The most massive substructures have been shown to be plausibly the hosts of the brightest satellites, but it remains unclear which processes prevent star formation in the many other, purely dark substructures. We use high-resolution hydrodynamic simulations of the formation of Milky Way sized galaxies in order to test how well such self-consistent models of structure formation match the observed properties of the Galaxy's satellite population. For the first time, we include in such calculations feedback from cosmic rays injected into the star forming gas by supernovae as well as the energy input from supermassive black holes growing at the Milky Way's centre and its progenitor systems. We find that non-thermal particle populations quite strongly suppress the star formation efficiency of the smallest galaxies. In fact, our cosmic ray model is able to reproduce the observed faint-end of the satellite luminosity function, while models that include only the effects of cosmic reionization, or galactic winds, do significantly worse. Our simulated satellite population approximately matches available kinematic data on the satellites and their observed spatial distribution. We conclude that a proper resolution of the missing satellite problem likely requires the inclusion of non-standard physics for regulating star formation in the smallest halos, and that cosmic reionization alone may not be sufficient.Comment: 20 pages, 17 figure

Recruitment and representativeness of blood donors in the INTERVAL randomised trial assessing varying inter-donation intervals.

BACKGROUND: The interpretation of trial results can be helped by understanding how generalisable they are to the target population for which inferences are intended. INTERVAL, a large pragmatic randomised trial of blood donors in England, is assessing the effectiveness and safety of reducing inter-donation intervals. The trial recruited mainly from the blood service's static centres, which collect only about 10 % of whole-blood donations. Hence, the extent to which the trial's participants are representative of the general blood donor population is uncertain. We compare these groups in detail. METHODS: We present the CONSORT flowchart from participant invitation to randomisation in INTERVAL. We compare the characteristics of those eligible and consenting to participate in INTERVAL with the general donor population, using the national blood supply 'PULSE' database for the period of recruitment. We compare the characteristics of specific groups of trial participants recruited from different sources, as well as those who were randomised versus those not randomised. RESULTS: From a total of 540,459 invitations, 48,725 donors were eligible and consented to participate in INTERVAL. The proportion of such donors varied from 1-22 % depending on the source of recruitment. The characteristics of those consenting were similar to those of the general population of 1.3 million donors in terms of ethnicity, blood group distribution and recent deferral rates from blood donation due to low haemoglobin. However, INTERVAL participants included more men (50 % versus 44 %), were slightly older (mean age 43.1 versus 42.3 years), included fewer new donors (3 % versus 22 %) and had given more donations over the previous 2 years (mean 3.3 versus 2.2) than the general donor population. Of the consenting participants, 45,263 (93 %) donors were randomised. Compared to those not randomised, the randomised donors showed qualitatively similar differences to those described above. CONCLUSIONS: There was broad similarity of participants in INTERVAL with the general blood donor population of England, notwithstanding some differences in age, sex and donation history. Any heterogeneity of the trial's results according to these characteristics will need to be studied to ensure its generalisability to the general donor population. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN24760606 . Registered on 25 January 2012.The trial is funded by NHS Blood and Transplant. The trial’s coordinating centre at the Department of Public Health and Primary Care at the University of Cambridge has received core support from the UK Medical Research Council, the British Heart Foundation and the UK National Institute of Health Research (Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre). Investigators at the University of Oxford have been supported by the Research and Development Programme of NHSBT, the NHSBT Howard Ostin Trust Fund, the UK National Institute of Health Research (Oxford Biomedical Research Centre) through the programme grant NIHR-RP-PG-0310-1004 and the Oxford Biomedical Research Centre.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from BioMed Central via http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13063-016-1579-

Vomocytosis: Too Much Booze, Base, or Calcium?

Macrophages are well known for their phagocytic activity and their role in innate immune responses. Macrophages eat non-self particles, via a variety of mechanisms, and typically break down internalized cargo into small macromolecules. However, some pathogenic agents have the ability to evade this endosomal degradation through a nonlytic exocytosis process termed vomocytosis. This phenomenon has been most often studied for Cryptococcus neoformans, a yeast that causes roughly 180,000 deaths per year, primarily in immunocompromised (e.g., human immunodeficiency virus [HIV]) patients. Existing dogma purports that vomocytosis involves distinctive cellular pathways and intracellular physicochemical cues in the host cell during phagosomal maturation. Moreover, it has been observed that the immunological state of the individual and macrophage phenotype affect vomocytosis outcomes. Here we compile the current knowledge on the factors (with respect to the phagocytic cell) that promote vomocytosis of C. neoformans from macrophages