Are our actions aligned with our evidence? The skinny on changing the landscape of obesity.

Recent debate about the role of food deserts in the United States (i.e., places that lack access to healthy foods) has prompted discussion on policies being enacted, including efforts that encourage the placement of full-service supermarkets into food deserts. Other initiatives to address obesogenic neighborhood features include land use zoning and parks renovations. Yet, there is little evidence to demonstrate that such policies effect change. While we suspect most researchers and policymakers would agree that effective neighborhood change could be a powerful tool in combating obesity, we desperately need strong and sound evidence to guide decisions about where and how to invest

Bringing the Pieces Back Together: An Organic Inquiry Into Women’s Spiritual Transformation Through Depression

Women experience depression at twice the rate of men. Researchers have focused on biomedical and psychosocial factors in their extensive exploration into the causes and treatments of women’s depression. When viewed from a holistic lens of mind, body, and spirit, the spiritual experience of depression is missing in the literature. The purpose of this research study is to describe how a woman\u27s spiritual self transforms through depression. Organic Inquiry incorporates transpersonal psychology and feminist spirituality and was used in this study to collect and analyze the stories of 12 women through unstructured interviews. Results suggest the women\u27s spiritual transformation involved five themes: letting go, change in belief system, finding power within, bringing the pieces back together, and connection to all. For these women, depression was the catalyst for awakening consciousness. Integrating the whole person (mind, body, and spirit) in recovery from depression has implications for how society views, supports, and celebrates women’s depression as a transformative experience

Look Who\u27s Talking: Differences in Rates of Interruptions and Proportion of Time Used by Male and Female U.S. Courts of Appeals Judges

During oral arguments, attorneys are given the chance to elaborate on their written briefs and answer questions from the judges deciding the case. Studying oral arguments can be a window into the power dynamics between judges and attorneys, and can shed light onto how factors like gender may affect judicial decision-making. While a growing body of research has examined gender dynamics in oral arguments in the United States Supreme Court, no existing studies have examined whether these findings hold up in the U.S. Court of Appeals, the second highest courts in the country. We collected data on two years of oral arguments from the 4th Circuit in order to test theories about gender and speech patterns, including interruptions and verbosity

Effect of Bt Broccoli or Plants Treated With Insecticides on Ovipositional Preference and Larval Survival of Plutella xylostella (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae)

The diamondback moth, Plutella xylostella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae), a major pest of cruciferous crops throughout the world, has demonstrated an ability to develop resistance to many different classes of insecticides, including proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis that are expressed in plants (Bt plants). The ovipositional preferences and larval survival of strains (resistant strain, RR; heterozygous strain, RS; susceptible strain, SS) of P. xylostella to Cry1Ac-expressing broccoli or broccoli plants treated with lambda-cyhalothrin or spinosad were studied under greenhouse condition. Numbers of eggs per plant did not differ between Bt broccoli and non-Bt broccoli for Bt-RR, Bt-RS, and Bt-SS adults. Ovipositing adults (spinosad-RR, spinosad-RS, and spinosad-SS) also could not discriminate between spinosad-treated and untreated plants, and oviposition did not increase over the 13 d after spinosad treatment. For broccoli treated with lambda-cyhalothrin at the diagnostic dose of 20 ppm, all three insect strains (lc-RR, lc-RS, and lc-SS) had constant oviposition over time based on linear regressions. At the field dose of 80 ppm, the lc-RR strain had constant oviposition over time. The lc-SS susceptible strain had increasing oviposition over time, but the oviposition pattern on the nonsprayed broccoli also increased over time. Susceptible females layed fewer eggs on plants sprayed with lambda-cyhalothrin than on unsprayed plants. A residue-persistence test showed that spinosad and lambda-cyhalothrin could effectively control SS P. xylostella larvae for 7-9 d after application. These results are discussed in relation to their potential impact on insecticide resistance management strategie

Surveys for desert tortoise on the proposed site of a high-level nuclear waste repository at the Nevada Test Site

The National Waste Terminal Storage Program is a national search for suitable sites to isolate commercial spent nuclear fuel or high-level radioactive waste. The Nevada Nuclear Waste Storage Investigation (NNWSI) managed by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Nevada Operations Office, was initiated to study the suitability of a portion of Yucca Mountain on the DOE`s Nevada Test Site (NTS) as a location for such a repository. EG and G was contracted to provide information concerning the ecosystems encountered on the site. A comprehensive literature survey was conducted to evaluate the status and completeness of the existing biological information for the previously undisturbed area. Site specific studies were begun in 1981 when preliminary field surveys confirmed the presence of the desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizi) within the project area FY82 studies were designed to determine the overall distribution and abundance of the tortoise within the area likely to be impacted by NNWSI activities. The Yucca Mountain area of the Nevada Test Site is situated close to the northern range limit of the desert tortoise. Prior to the 1982 surveys, the desert tortoise was reported from only nine locations on NTS. A known population had been under study in Rock Valley about 25 miles southeast of the project area. However, the distribution and population densities of tortoise in the southwest portion of NTS were virtually unknown. Results of our surveys indicate that desert tortoise can be expected, albeit in small numbers, in a wide range of Mojavean and Transitional habitats

DNA condensation in live E. coli provides evidence for transertion

Condensation studies of chromosomal DNA in E. coli with a tetra nuclear ruthenium complex are carried out and images obtained with wide-field fluorescence microscopy. Remarkably different condensate morphologies resulted, depending upon the treatment protocol. The occurrence of condensed nucleoid spirals in live bacteria provides evidence for the transertion hypothesis

The Malcolm Boat (38CH803): Discovery, Stabilization, Excavation, and Preservation of an Historic Sea Going Small Craft in the Ashley River, Charleston County, South Carolina

The following report details the results of an investigation of the remains of a small historic sailing craft, The Malcolm Boat (38CH803), discovered in a mud bank of the Ashley River in 1985. The investigation, conducted in June of 1992, with partial funding support from the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, revealed that the vessel was a small ocean-going hull dating to the last quarter of the eighteenth century and the first quarter of the nineteenth. The analysis presented discusses the vessel\u27s age, method of construction and function as a coastal or possibly inter-islander trader, and places the vessel within a regional maritime historical context. Historical context is provided in the form of the background history of shipbuilding in South Carolina and a preliminary typology of local small craft. Methods of site stabilization for intertidal zone sites are discussed with recommendations for future work in this new area of investigation in the state.https://scholarcommons.sc.edu/archanth_books/1194/thumbnail.jp

QCD Corrections and the Endpoint of the Lepton Spectrum in Semileptonic B Decays

Recently, Neubert has suggested that a certain class of nonperturbative corrections dominates the shape of the electron spectrum in the endpoint region of semileptonic $B$ decay. Perturbative QCD corrections are important in the endpoint region. We study the effects of these corrections on Neubert's proposal. The connection between the endpoint of the electron spectrum in semileptonic $B$ decay and the photon spectrum in $b\rightarrow s\gamma$ is outlined.Comment: 18 pages, uses REVTeX, UCSD/PTH 93-38, CALT-68-1910, JHU-TIPAC-930029 (some changes to the discussion of subleading radiative corrections, and minor typos fixed

Rebound activation of 5-HT neurons following SSRI discontinuation

Cessation of therapy with a selective serotonin (5-HT) reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) is often associated with an early onset and disabling discontinuation syndrome, the mechanism of which is surprisingly little investigated. Here we determined the effect on 5-HT neurochemistry of discontinuation from the SSRI paroxetine. Paroxetine was administered repeatedly to mice (once daily, 12 days versus saline controls) and then either continued or discontinued for up to 5 days. Whereas brain tissue levels of 5-HT and/or its metabolite 5-HIAA tended to decrease during continuous paroxetine, levels increased above controls after discontinuation, notably in hippocampus. In microdialysis experiments continuous paroxetine elevated hippocampal extracellular 5-HT and this effect fell to saline control levels on discontinuation. However, depolarisation (high potassium)-evoked 5-HT release was reduced by continuous paroxetine but increased above controls post-discontinuation. Extracellular hippocampal 5-HIAA also decreased during continuous paroxetine and increased above controls post-discontinuation. Next, immunohistochemistry experiments found that paroxetine discontinuation increased c-Fos expression in midbrain 5-HT (TPH2 positive) neurons, adding further evidence for a hyperexcitable 5-HT system. The latter effect was recapitulated by 5-HT1A receptor antagonist administration although gene expression analysis could not confirm altered expression of 5-HT1A autoreceptors following paroxetine discontinuation. Finally, in behavioural experiments paroxetine discontinuation increased anxiety-like behaviour, which partially correlated in time with the measures of increased 5-HT function. In summary, this study reports evidence that, across a range of experiments, SSRI discontinuation triggers a rebound activation of 5-HT neurons. This effect is reminiscent of neural changes associated with various psychotropic drug withdrawal states, suggesting a common unifying mechanism

The Time is Right for an Antarctic Biorepository Network

Antarctica is a central driver of the Earth’s climate and health. The Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica serves as a major sink for anthropogenic CO2 and heat (1), and the loss of Antarctic ice sheets contributes significantly to sea level rise and will continue to do so as the loss of ice sheets accelerates, with sufficient water stores to raise sea levels by 58 m (2). Antarctica\u27s marine environment is home to a number of iconic species, and the terrestrial realm harbors a remarkable oasis for life, much of which has yet to be discovered (3). Distinctive oceanographic features of the Southern Ocean—including the Antarctic Circumpolar Current, the Antarctic Polar Front, and exceptional depths surrounding the continent—coupled with chronically cold temperatures have fostered the evolution of a vast number of uniquely coldadapted species, many of which are found nowhere else on the Earth (4). The Antarctic marine biota, for example, displays the highest level of species endemism on the Earth (5). However, warming, ocean acidification, pollution, and commercial exploitation threaten the integrity of Antarctic ecosystems (6). Understanding changes in the biota and its capacities for adaptation is imperative for establishing effective policies for mitigating the impacts of climate change and sustaining the Antarctic ecosystems that are vital to global health