Racial Differences Among LGBT Adults in the US: LGBT Well-Being at the Intersection of Race

This final report in the series, LGBT Well-Being at the Intersection of Race, uses data from the 2012-2017 Gallup Survey and the Generations/Transpop studies to assess whether LGBT people of color (POC) differ from White LGBT people on several areas of health and socioeconomic well-being. We find that more LGBT people of color report economic instability compared to White LGBT people on many indicators. Additionally, disparities for POC LGBT adults persist in the health domain, except for measures of depression where more White LGBT adults report having depression compared with POC LGBT adults. Further, more women of color who identify as LGBT reported living in a low-income household, and experiencing unemployment and food insecurity compared to all other groups. We also found differences in outcomes among LGBT POC on some economic and health indicators. Overall, the series of papers demonstrate that the relationship between race and LGBT status is a complicated one that differs by outcome and racialized group. Regardless of these complexities, the data point to the need for social and policy interventions that address economic and health disparities along racial, gender and LGBT statuses, separately and at their intersection

New active safety device dedicated to light all-terrain vehicle stability: Application to quad bike and off-road mobile robot

International audienceAccording to their specific geometric and dynamic characteristics (small weight, huge reachable speeds ), All-Terrain Vehicles (ATVs - as quad bikes) and off-road mobile robots are very compact and driveable. They permit to realize extra agricultural tasks (spreading, spraying ) in an easier way than using once more a heavy farm tractor. However such vehicles require highly accurate control laws, able to preserve their stability even at high speed. In this paper, the prevention of off-road vehicle and mobile robot rollover are addressed by using a new active safety device. It consists in using Predictive Functional Control (PFC) so as to compute, on-line, the maximum vehicle velocity, compatible with a safe motion over some horizon of prediction, and can be applied, if needed, to the vehicle actuator to prevent from rollover. The capabilities of the proposed device are demonstrated and discussed thanks to both advanced simulations and real experimentation

Aluminum Tolerance in the Model Legume \u3cem\u3eMedicago Truncatula\u3c/em\u3e

Aluminum (Al) is the most abundant metal found in the earth\u27s crust, comprising up to 7% of its mass. At low pH, Al becomes soluble and available to plants, resulting in inhibition of root elongation and reduced plant growth. Aluminum toxicity associated with acid soils has been a major obstacle in alfalfa (Medicago sativa) production. The objective of this study is to identify genes that are differentially expressed under normal and Al stress conditions in the model legume M. truncatula, with the long term goal of using these genes to improve cultivated alfalfa

Deciding the Winner of an Arbitrary Finite Poset Game is PSPACE-Complete

A poset game is a two-player game played over a partially ordered set (poset) in which the players alternate choosing an element of the poset, removing it and all elements greater than it. The first player unable to select an element of the poset loses. Polynomial time algorithms exist for certain restricted classes of poset games, such as the game of Nim. However, until recently the complexity of arbitrary finite poset games was only known to exist somewhere between NC^1 and PSPACE. We resolve this discrepancy by showing that deciding the winner of an arbitrary finite poset game is PSPACE-complete. To this end, we give an explicit reduction from Node Kayles, a PSPACE-complete game in which players vie to chose an independent set in a graph

Aluminum Tolerance QTL in Diploid Alfalfa

Aluminum (Al) toxicity associated with acid soils greatly inhibits alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) productivity throughout much of the world’s major grassland areas. In this paper, we report the identification of quantitative trait loci (QTL) controlling aluminum tolerance in diploid alfalfa (Medicago sativa L). An in vitro callus growth bioassay was used to select aluminum tolerant and aluminum sensitive parents, and to screen an F2 population for aluminum tolerance. Fifty-eight cDNA probes were mapped to nine linkage groups, and the F2 genotypic classes were contrasted with means from the callus growth bioassay using ANOVA. We also used Mapmaker-QTL to identify markers associated with aluminum tolerance. Four markers, UGAc044, UGAc053, UGAc141, and UGAc782, were found to be associated with aluminum tolerance. UGAc044 had the greatest effect, accounting for 15% (LOD 2.3) of the variation in aluminum tolerance

Clinically Significant Gains in Skillful Grasp Coordination by an Individual With Tetraplegia Using an Implanted Brain-Computer Interface With Forearm Transcutaneous Muscle Stimulation

© 2019 American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine Objective: To demonstrate naturalistic motor control speed, coordinated grasp, and carryover from trained to novel objects by an individual with tetraplegia using a brain-computer interface (BCI)-controlled neuroprosthetic. Design: Phase I trial for an intracortical BCI integrated with forearm functional electrical stimulation (FES). Data reported span postimplant days 137 to 1478. Setting: Tertiary care outpatient rehabilitation center. Participant: A 27-year-old man with C5 class A (on the American Spinal Injury Association Impairment Scale) traumatic spinal cord injury Interventions: After array implantation in his left (dominant) motor cortex, the participant trained with BCI-FES to control dynamic, coordinated forearm, wrist, and hand movements. Main Outcome Measures: Performance on standardized tests of arm motor ability (Graded Redefined Assessment of Strength, Sensibility, and Prehension [GRASSP], Action Research Arm Test [ARAT], Grasp and Release Test [GRT], Box and Block Test), grip myometry, and functional activity measures (Capabilities of Upper Extremity Test [CUE-T], Quadriplegia Index of Function-Short Form [QIF-SF], Spinal Cord Independence Measure–Self-Report [SCIM-SR]) with and without the BCI-FES. Results: With BCI-FES, scores improved from baseline on the following: Grip force (2.9 kg); ARAT cup, cylinders, ball, bar, and blocks; GRT can, fork, peg, weight, and tape; GRASSP strength and prehension (unscrewing lids, pouring from a bottle, transferring pegs); and CUE-T wrist and hand skills. QIF-SF and SCIM-SR eating, grooming, and toileting activities were expected to improve with home use of BCI-FES. Pincer grips and mobility were unaffected. BCI-FES grip skills enabled the participant to play an adapted “Battleship” game and manipulate household objects. Conclusions: Using BCI-FES, the participant performed skillful and coordinated grasps and made clinically significant gains in tests of upper limb function. Practice generalized from training objects to household items and leisure activities. Motor ability improved for palmar, lateral, and tip-to-tip grips. The expects eventual home use to confer greater independence for activities of daily living, consistent with observed neurologic level gains from C5-6 to C7-T1. This marks a critical translational step toward clinical viability for BCI neuroprosthetics