An Examination of Concussion Legislation in the United States

There is legislation in the United States designed to protect children and adolescents from the risks associated with concussion. The scope and reach of these laws vary greatly. Purpose: It is important that health care professionals are aware of the limitations of each law. Since 2009, every state in the nation and the District of Columbia passed legislation designed to protect student-athletes who suffer from concussions resulting from participation in sport. Method: Therefore, select components of state policies were identified including: 1) Affected entities, 2) Stipulations for concussion awareness/education, 3) Requirements for removal/return to play, and 4) Requirements for return to the classroom. Results: There is significant variance between the laws and not all children/adolescents are protected equally. Conclusion: Concussion policies are a minimum standard and, when available, best practices should be followed

Upper Midwest Climate Variations: Farmer Responses to Excess Water Risks

Persistent above average precipitation and runoff and associated increased sediment transfers from cultivated ecosystems to rivers and oceans are due to changes in climate and human action. The US Upper Midwest has experienced a 37% increase in precipitation (1958–2012), leading to increased crop damage from excess water and off-farm loss of soil and nutrients. Farmer adaptive management responses to changing weather patterns have potential to reduce crop losses and address degrading soil and water resources. This research used farmer survey (n = 4778) and climate data (1971–2011) to model influences of geophysical context, past weather, on-farm flood and saturated soils experiences, and risk and vulnerability perceptions on management practices. Seasonal precipitation varied across six Upper Midwest subregions and was significantly associated with variations in management. Increased warm-season precipitation (2007–2011) relative to the past 40 yr was positively associated with no-till, drainage, and increased planting on highly erodible land (HEL). Experience with saturated soils was significantly associated with increased use of drainage and less use of no-till, cover crops, and planting on HEL. Farmers in counties with a higher percentage of soils considered marginal for row crops were more likely to use no-till, cover crops, and plant on HEL. Respondents who sell corn through multiple markets were more likely to have planted cover crops and planted on HEL in 2011.This suggests that regional climate conditions may not well represent individual farmers’ actual and perceived experiences with changing climate conditions. Accurate climate information downscaled to localized conditions has potential to influence specific adaptation strategies

WISEA J114724.10-204021.3: A Free-Floating Planetary Mass Member of the TW Hya Association

We present WISEA J114724.10−204021.3, a young, low-mass, high probability member of the TW Hya association. WISEA J114724.10−204021.3 was discovered based on its red AllWISE color (W1−W2 = 0.63 mag) and extremely red 2MASS J−K_S color (> 2.64 mag), the latter of which is confirmed with near-infrared photometry from the VISTA Hemisphere Survey (J−K_S = 2.57±0.03). Follow-up near-infrared spectroscopy shows a spectral type of L7 ± 1 as well as several spectroscopic indicators of youth. These include a peaked H-band shape and a steeper K-band slope, traits typically attributed to low surface gravity. The sky position, proper motion, and distance estimates of WISEA J114724.10−204021.3 are all consistent with membership in the ∼10 Myr old TW Hya association. Using the age of the TW Hya association and evolutionary models, we estimate the mass of WISEA J114724.10−204021.3 to be 5−13 M_(Jup), making it one of the youngest and lowest mass free-floating objects yet discovered in the Solar neighborhood

Nothing Generic About It: Promoting Therapeutic Access by Overcoming Regulatory and Legal Barriers to a Robust Generic Medical Device Market

This Article addresses a paradox in American healthcare technology: a thriving market for generic drugs but a paucity of generic medical devices. Despite the success of generic pharmaceuticals in reducing healthcare costs, no analogous market exists for generic medical devices. This plays a part in keeping prices high while limiting access to affordable therapies. In this Article, we highlight the regulatory and legal barriers currently impeding the development of a generic medical device market in the United States. We explore differences between generic drugs and generic devices in FDA regulation, products liability, and patentability, all of which contribute to the absence of medical devices in clinical practice. We conclude with recommendations to foster more widespread development of generic medical devices

Hubble Space Telescope Spectroscopy of Brown Dwarfs Discovered with the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer

We present a sample of brown dwarfs identified with the {\it Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer} (WISE) for which we have obtained {\it Hubble Space Telescope} ({\it HST}) Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) near-infrared grism spectroscopy. The sample (twenty-two in total) was observed with the G141 grism covering 1.10$-$1.70 $\mu$m, while fifteen were also observed with the G102 grism, which covers 0.90$-$1.10 $\mu$m. The additional wavelength coverage provided by the G102 grism allows us to 1) search for spectroscopic features predicted to emerge at low effective temperatures (e.g.\ ammonia bands) and 2) construct a smooth spectral sequence across the T/Y boundary. We find no evidence of absorption due to ammonia in the G102 spectra. Six of these brown dwarfs are new discoveries, three of which are found to have spectral types of T8 or T9. The remaining three, WISE J082507.35$+$280548.5 (Y0.5), WISE J120604.38$+$840110.6 (Y0), and WISE J235402.77$+$024015.0 (Y1) are the nineteenth, twentieth, and twenty-first spectroscopically confirmed Y dwarfs to date. We also present {\it HST} grism spectroscopy and reevaluate the spectral types of five brown dwarfs for which spectral types have been determined previously using other instruments.Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 20 pages, 18 figures, 7 table

The Leishmania donovani Ortholog of the Glycosylphosphatidylinositol Anchor Biosynthesis Cofactor PBN1 Is Essential for Host Infection

Visceral leishmaniasis is a deadly infectious disease caused by Leishmania donovani, a kinetoplastid parasite for which no licensed vaccine is available. To identify potential vaccine candidates, we systematically identified genes encoding putative cell surface and secreted proteins essential for parasite viability and host infection. We identified a protein encoded by LdBPK_061160 which, when ablated, resulted in a remarkable increase in parasite adhesion to tissue culture flasks. Here, we show that this phenotype is caused by the loss of glycosylphosphatidylinositol (GPI)-anchored surface molecules and that LdBPK_061160 encodes a noncatalytic component of the L. donovani GPI-mannosyltransferase I (GPI-MT I) complex. GPI-anchored surface molecules were rescued in the LdBPK_061160 mutant by the ectopic expression of both human genes PIG-X and PIG-M, but neither gene could complement the phenotype alone. From further sequence comparisons, we conclude that LdBPK_061160 is the functional orthologue of yeast PBN1 and mammalian PIG-X, which encode the noncatalytic subunits of their respective GPI-MT I complexes, and we assign LdBPK_061160 as LdPBN1. The LdPBN1 mutants could not establish a visceral infection in mice, a phenotype that was rescued by constitutive expression of LdPBN1. Although mice infected with the null mutant did not develop an infection, exposure to these parasites provided significant protection against subsequent infection with a virulent strain. In summary, we have identified the orthologue of the PBN1/PIG-X noncatalytic subunit of GPI-MT I in trypanosomatids, shown that it is essential for infection in a murine model of visceral leishmaniasis, and demonstrated that the LdPBN1 mutant shows promise for the development of an attenuated live vaccine

Spatial Patterns and Sequential Sampling Plans for Estimating Densities of Stink Bugs (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) in Soybean in the North Central Region of the United States

Stink bugs are an emerging threat to soybean (Fabales: Fabaceae) in the North Central Region of the United States. Consequently, region-specific scouting recommendations for stink bugs are needed. The aim of this study was to characterize the spatial pattern and to develop sampling plans to estimate stink bug population density in soybean fields. In 2016 and 2017, 125 fields distributed across nine states were sampled using sweep nets. Regression analyses were used to determine the effects of stink bug species [Chinavia hilaris (Say) (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) and Euschistus spp. (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae)], life stages (nymphs and adults), and field locations (edge and interior) on spatial pattern as represented by variance–mean relationships. Results showed that stink bugs were aggregated. Sequential sampling plans were developed for each combination of species, life stage, and location and for all the data combined. Results for required sample size showed that an average of 40–42 sample units (sets of 25 sweeps) would be necessary to achieve a precision of 0.25 for stink bug densities commonly encountered across the region. However, based on the observed geographic gradient of stink bug densities, more practical sample sizes (5–10 sample units) may be sufficient in states in the southeastern part of the region, whereas impractical sample sizes (\u3e100 sample units) may be required in the northwestern part of the region. Our findings provide research-based sampling recommendations for estimating densities of these emerging pests in soybean

An orbital perspective on the starvation, stripping, and quenching of satellite galaxies in the EAGLE simulations

Using the EAGLE suite of simulations, we demonstrate that both cold gas stripping {\it and} starvation of gas inflow play an important role in quenching satellite galaxies across a range of stellar and halo masses, $M_{\star}$ and $M_{200}$. By quantifying the balance between gas inflows, outflows, and star formation rates, we show that even at $z=2$, only $\approx30\%$ of satellite galaxies are able to maintain equilibrium or grow their reservoir of cool gas - compared to $\approx50\%$ of central galaxies at this redshift. We find that the number of orbits completed by a satellite is a very good predictor of its quenching, even more so than the time since infall. On average, we show that intermediate-mass satellites with $M_{\star}$ between $10^{9}{\rm M}_{\odot}-10^{10}{\rm M}_{\odot}$ will be quenched at first pericenter in massive group environments, $M_{200}>10^{13.5}{\rm M}_{\odot}$; and will be quenched at second pericenter in less massive group environments, $M_{200}<10^{13.5}{\rm M}_{\odot}$. On average, more massive satellites ($M_{\star}>10^{10}{\rm M}_{\odot}$) experience longer depletion time-scales, being quenched between first and second pericenters in massive groups; while in smaller group environments, just $\approx30\%$ will be quenched even after two orbits. Our results suggest that while starvation alone may be enough to slowly quench satellite galaxies, direct gas stripping, particularly at pericenters, is required to produce the short quenching time-scales exhibited in the simulation.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Groundwater investigations to support irrigated agriculture at La Grange, Western Australia: 2013–18 results

The Broome Sandstone aquifer is the main aquifer and groundwater resource in the La Grange area, near Broome in the West Kimberley, Western Australia. Land use is dominated by cattle grazing on pastoral stations, dispersed mining and tourism. Irrigated agriculture has developed at a small scale, with about 470 hectares under cultivation in 2014. Groundwater abstraction is licensed under the La Grange groundwater allocation plan (Department of Water 2010) and managed by the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation. The La Grange groundwater allocation area is split into the La Grange North subarea and La Grange South subarea, with groundwater allocation limits of 35 gigalitres per year (GL/y) and 15GL/y, respectively. The volume of water licensed, committed and requested as of October 2016 was 13.15GL/y. The Department of Agriculture and Food, Western Australia (DAFWA), now part of DPIRD, conducted the four-year La Grange project to help determine the level of irrigated agriculture the aquifer can sustain. This report describes the methods, data analyses and outcomes of a project designed to give a better understanding of the hydrogeological processes of the Broome Sandstone aquifer at La Grange, the interactions between all of its users, and its environmental and cultural assets. As part of the project, DPIRD coordinated development of a bore monitoring network and developed a water balance model to run irrigation scenarios