Are Community Food Assistance Programs Meeting the Needs Of Food-Insecure Households in Pittsburgh\u27s North Side Neighborhoods?

Semi-structured interviews with three householders and three community food program managers were conducted to explore if food assistance programs meet the needs of residents in Pittsburgh\u27s North Side neighborhoods. Findings show that insufficient income is the main factor contributing to household food insecurity. North Side residents also have difficulty obtaining nutritious and affordable foods because fresh produce is often too expensive and supermarket food quality is considered low. Farm stands and other food access programs are well received, but only provide access to nutritious foods during the summer. Limited income and limited food access increase reliance on food pantries and Produce to People. Householders use multiple programs to meet their food needs. Householders appreciate the food programs and seem satisfied; however, responses suggest some needs are unfulfilled and householders face monotonous diets. This may not be apparent to providers because householders may mask dissatisfaction to avoid appearing unappreciative. North Side food assistance programs provide sufficient food and usually complementary food to residents, but there appears to be a lack of variety in household diets and seasonal access to fresh and nutritious foods

A monitoring study confirming the safe use of DuPont Steward insecticide (a.s. indoxacarb) for natural bumblebee populations in flowering apple orchards and recommendations for the use of commercial bumble bee hives in flowering apple and pear orchards tr

contribution to session II Bumblebees and other bee specie

Моделі динаміки пружних збурень у неоднорідно деформованому континуумі

Розвинуто нелінійну теорію пружності стосовно задач томографії тензорних полів у неоднорідно деформованих твердих тілах. За визначальні параметри локального термодинамічного стану, що відповідають процесові деформування, прийнято тензорні характеристики, означені щодо актуальної (деформованої) конфігурації — тензор напружень Коші та міри деформації Альманзі або Фінґера. У рамках запропонованої нелінійної теорії побудовано декілька варіантів системи рівнянь динаміки малих пружних збурень у неоднорідно деформованому твердому континуумі, лінеаризованої стосовно деформації збурення. Коефіцієнти отриманих рівнянь залежать від локальних параметрів початкового напружено-деформованого стану, заданих в актуальній конфігурації. У такому вигляді їх зручно застосовувати для опису хвильових процесів, які збуджують у неоднорідно деформованих тілах, щоб отримати апостеріорну інформацію про актуальний напружено-деформований стан цих об’єктів.A nonlinear theory of elasticity as applied to problems of tensor fields tomography in non-uniformly strained solids has been developed. As constitutive thermodynamic parameters of the theory, corresponding the process of deformation, the tensor characteristics determinate in the actual configuration — tensors Almansi’s and Finger’s have been used. In the frame of the theory several variants of system equations for dynamics of small elastic disturbances in non-uniformly strained continuum, linearized with respect to the amplitude of the disturbance, have been built. These equations coefficients are depended on local parameters of the body stress-strained state, determined in local base of the actual configuration. In such a form they are convenient to use for describing of the wave processes in non-uniformly strained solids activated to obtain some a posteriori information about the actual stress-strained state of such objects.Развита нелинейная теория упругости применительно к задачам томографии тензорных полей в неоднородно деформированных твердых телах. В качестве определяющих параметров локального термодинамического состояния, соответствующих процессу деформирования, приняты тензорные характеристики, определяемые относительно актуальной (деформированной) конфигурации — тензор напряжений Коши и меры деформации Альманзи или Фингера. В рамках предложенной нелинейной теории построено несколько вариантов системы уравнений динамики малых упругих возмущений в неоднородно деформированном твердом континууме, линеаризированной относительно деформации возмущения. Коэффициенты полученных уравнений зависят от локальных параметров напряженно-деформированного состояния, заданных в актуальной конфигурации. В таком виде их удобно применять для описания волновых процессов, которые возбуждают в неоднородно деформированных телах для получения апостериорной информации об актуальном напряженно-деформированном состоянии этих объектов

Diversity and Agronomic Performance of Lupinus mutabilis Germplasm in European and Andean Environments

Original ResearchThe introduction of Lupinus mutabilis (Andean lupin) in Europe will provide a new source of protein and oil for plant-based diets and biomass for bio-based products, while contributing to the improvement of marginal soils. This study evaluates for the first time the phenotypic variability of a large panel of L. mutabilis accessions both in their native environment and over two cropping conditions in Europe (winter crop in the Mediterranean region and summer crop in North-Central Europe), paving the way for the selection of accessions adapted to specific environments. The panel of 225 accessions included both germplasm pools from the Andean region and breeding lines from Europe. Notably, we reported higher grain yield in Mediterranean winter-cropping conditions (18 g/plant) than in the native region (9 g/plant). Instead, North European summercropping conditions appear more suitable for biomass production (up to 2 kg/plant). The phenotypic evaluation of 16 agronomical traits revealed significant variation in the panel. Principal component analyses pointed out flowering time, yield, and architecturerelated traits as the main factors explaining variation between accessions. The Peruvian material stands out among the top-yielding accessions in Europe, characterized by early lines with high grain yield (e.g., LIB065, LIB072, and LIB155). Bolivian and Ecuadorian materials appear more valuable for the selection of genotypes for Andean conditions and for biomass production in Europe. We also observed that flowering time in the different environments is influenced by temperature accumulation. Within the panel, it is possible to identify both early and late genotypes, characterized by different thermal thresholds (600 C–700 C and 1,000–1,200 C GDD, respectively). Indications on top-yielding and early/late accessions, heritability of morpho-physiological traits, and their associations with grain yield are reported and remain largely environmental specific, underlining the importance of selecting useful genetic resources for specific environments. Altogether, these results suggest that the studied panel holds the genetic potential for the adaptation of L. mutabilis to Europe and provide the basis for initiating a breeding program based on exploiting the variation described hereininfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Vegetation and peat accumulation steer Holocene tidal–fluvial basin filling and overbank sedimentation along the Old Rhine River, The Netherlands

In the transformation from tidal systems to freshwater coastal landscapes, plants act as eco-engineering species that reduce hydrodynamics and trap sediment, but nature and timing of the mechanisms of land creation along estuaries remains unclear. This article focuses on the Old Rhine estuary (The Netherlands) to show the importance of vegetation in coastal landscape evolution, predominantly regarding tidal basin filling and overbank morphology. This estuary hosted the main outflow channel of the river Rhine between ca 6500 to 2000 cal bp, and was constrained by peat during most of its existence. This study reconstructs its geological evolution, by correlating newly integrated geological data and new field records to varying conditions. Numerical modelling was performed to test the inferred mechanisms. It was found that floodbasin vegetation and resulting organic accumulation strongly accelerated back-barrier infill, by minimizing tidal influence. After tidal and wave transport had already sufficiently filled the back-barrier basin, reed rapidly expanded from its edges under brackish conditions, as shown by diatom analysis and datings. Reed growth provided a positive infilling feedback by reducing tidal flow and tidal prism, accelerating basin infilling. New radiocarbon dates show that large-scale crevassing along the Old Rhine River – driven by tidal backwater effect – only started as nutrient-rich river water transformed the floodbasin into an Alder carr in a next phase of estuary evolution. Such less dense vegetation promotes crevassing as sediments are more easily transported into the floodbasin. As river discharge increased and estuary mouth infilling progressed, crevasse activity diminished around 3800 to 3000 cal bp, likely due to a reduced tidal backwater effect. The insights from this data-rich Holocene study showcase the dominant role that vegetation may have in the long-term evolution of coastal wetlands. It provides clues for effective use of vegetation in vulnerable wetland landscapes to steer sedimentation patterns to strategically adapt to rising water levels

Targeting pediatric cancers via T-cell recognition of the monomorphic MHC class I-related protein MR1

Human leukocyte antigen (HLA) restriction of conventional T-cell targeting introduces complexity in generating T-cell therapy strategies for patients with cancer with diverse HLA-backgrounds. A subpopulation of atypical, major histocompatibility complex-I related protein 1 (MR1)-restricted T-cells, distinctive from mucosal-associated invariant T-cells (MAITs), was recently identified recognizing currently unidentified MR1-presented cancer-specific metabolites. It is hypothesized that the MC.7.G5 MR1T-clone has potential as a pan-cancer, pan-population T-cell immunotherapy approach. These cells are irresponsive to healthy tissue while conferring T-cell receptor(TCR) dependent, HLA-independent cytotoxicity to a wide range of adult cancers. Studies so far are limited to adult malignancies. Here, we investigated the potential of MR1-targeting cellular therapy strategies in pediatric cancer. Bulk RNA sequencing data of primary pediatric tumors were analyzed to assess MR1 expression. In vitro pediatric tumor models were subsequently screened to evaluate their susceptibility to engineered MC.7.G5 TCR-expressing T-cells. Targeting capacity was correlated with qPCR-based MR1 mRNA and protein overexpression. RNA expression of MR1 in primary pediatric tumors varied widely within and between tumor entities. Notably, embryonal tumors exhibited significantly lower MR1 expression than other pediatric tumors. In line with this, most screened embryonal tumors displayed resistance to MR1T-targeting in vitro MR1T susceptibility was observed particularly in pediatric leukemia and diffuse midline glioma models. This study demonstrates potential of MC.7.G5 MR1T-cell immunotherapy in pediatric leukemias and diffuse midline glioma, while activity against embryonal tumors was limited. The dismal prognosis associated with relapsed/refractory leukemias and high-grade brain tumors highlights the promise to improve survival rates of children with these cancers

Field Intercomparison of Radiometers Used for Satellite Validation in the 400–900 nm Range

An intercomparison of radiance and irradiance ocean color radiometers (the second laboratory comparison exercise—LCE-2) was organized within the frame of the European Space Agency funded project Fiducial Reference Measurements for Satellite Ocean Color (FRM4SOC) May 8–13, 2017 at Tartu Observatory, Estonia. LCE-2 consisted of three sub-tasks: (1) SI-traceable radiometric calibration of all the participating radiance and irradiance radiometers at the Tartu Observatory just before the comparisons; (2) indoor, laboratory intercomparison using stable radiance and irradiance sources in a controlled environment; (3) outdoor, field intercomparison of natural radiation sources over a natural water surface. The aim of the experiment was to provide a link in the chain of traceability from field measurements of water reflectance to the uniform SI-traceable calibration, and after calibration to verify whether different instruments measuring the same object provide results consistent within the expected uncertainty limits. This paper describes the third phase of LCE-2: The results of the field experiment. The calibration of radiometers and laboratory comparison experiment are presented in a related paper of the same journal issue. Compared to the laboratory comparison, the field intercomparison has demonstrated substantially larger variability between freshly calibrated sensors, because the targets and environmental conditions during radiometric calibration were different, both spectrally and spatially. Major differences were found for radiance sensors measuring a sunlit water target at viewing zenith angle of 139° because of the different fields of view. Major differences were found for irradiance sensors because of imperfect cosine response of diffusers. Variability between individual radiometers did depend significantly also on the type of the sensor and on the specific measurement target. Uniform SI traceable radiometric calibration ensuring fairly good consistency for indoor, laboratory measurements is insufficient for outdoor, field measurements, mainly due to the different angular variability of illumination. More stringent specifications and individual testing of radiometers for all relevant systematic effects (temperature, nonlinearity, spectral stray light, etc.) are needed to reduce biases between instruments and better quantify measurement uncertainties

Laboratory Intercomparison of Radiometers Used for Satellite Validation in the 400–900 nm Range

An intercomparison of radiance and irradiance ocean color radiometers (The Second Laboratory Comparison Exercise—LCE-2) was organized within the frame of the European Space Agency funded project Fiducial Reference Measurements for Satellite Ocean Color (FRM4SOC) May 8–13, 2017 at Tartu Observatory, Estonia. LCE-2 consisted of three sub-tasks: 1) SI-traceable radiometric calibration of all the participating radiance and irradiance radiometers at the Tartu Observatory just before the comparisons; 2) Indoor intercomparison using stable radiance and irradiance sources in controlled environment; and 3) Outdoor intercomparison of natural radiation sources over terrestrial water surface. The aim of the experiment was to provide one link in the chain of traceability from field measurements of water reflectance to the uniform SI-traceable calibration, and after calibration to verify whether different instruments measuring the same object provide results consistent within the expected uncertainty limits. This paper describes the activities and results of the first two phases of LCE-2: the SI-traceable radiometric calibration and indoor intercomparison, the results of outdoor experiment are presented in a related paper of the same journal issue. The indoor experiment of the LCE-2 has proven that uniform calibration just before the use of radiometers is highly effective. Distinct radiometers from different manufacturers operated by different scientists can yield quite close radiance and irradiance results (standard deviation s < 1%) under defined conditions. This holds when measuring stable lamp-based targets under stationary laboratory conditions with all the radiometers uniformly calibrated against the same standards just prior to the experiment. In addition, some unification of measurement and data processing must be settled. Uncertainty of radiance and irradiance measurement under these conditions largely consists of the sensor’s calibration uncertainty and of the spread of results obtained by individual sensors measuring the same object

H3K27ac acetylome signatures reveal the epigenomic reorganization in remodeled non-failing human hearts

BACKGROUND: H3K27ac histone acetylome changes contribute to the phenotypic response in heart diseases, particularly in end-stage heart failure. However, such epigenetic alterations have not been systematically investigated in remodeled non-failing human hearts. Therefore, valuable insight into cardiac dysfunction in early remodeling is lacking. This study aimed to reveal the acetylation changes of chromatin regions in response to myocardial remodeling and their correlations to transcriptional changes of neighboring genes. RESULTS: We detected chromatin regions with differential acetylation activity (DARs; Padj. < 0.05) between remodeled non-failing patient hearts and healthy donor hearts. The acetylation level of the chromatin region correlated with its RNA polymerase II occupancy level and the mRNA expression level of its adjacent gene per sample. Annotated genes from DARs were enriched in disease-related pathways, including fibrosis and cell metabolism regulation. DARs that change in the same direction have a tendency to cluster together, suggesting the well-reorganized chromatin architecture that facilitates the interactions of regulatory domains in response to myocardial remodeling. We further show the differences between the acetylation level and the mRNA expression level of cell-type-specific markers for cardiomyocytes and 11 non-myocyte cell types. Notably, we identified transcriptome factor (TF) binding motifs that were enriched in DARs and defined TFs that were predicted to bind to these motifs. We further showed 64 genes coding for these TFs that were differentially expressed in remodeled myocardium when compared with controls. CONCLUSIONS: Our study reveals extensive novel insight on myocardial remodeling at the DNA regulatory level. Differences between the acetylation level and the transcriptional level of cell-type-specific markers suggest additional mechanism(s) between acetylome and transcriptome. By integrating these two layers of epigenetic profiles, we further provide promising TF-encoding genes that could serve as master regulators of myocardial remodeling. Combined, our findings highlight the important role of chromatin regulatory signatures in understanding disease etiology