System-of-systems approaches for integrated assessments have become prevalent in recent years. Such approaches integrate a variety of models from different disciplines and modeling paradigms to ...represent a socio-environmental (or social-ecological) system aiming to holistically inform policy and decision-making processes. Central to the system-of-systems approaches is the representation of systems in a multi-tier framework with nested scales. Current modeling paradigms, however, have disciplinary-specific lineage, leading to inconsistencies in the conceptualization and integration of socio-environmental systems. In this paper, a multidisciplinary team of researchers, from engineering, natural and social sciences, have come together to detail socio-technical practices and challenges that arise in the consideration of scale throughout the socio-environmental modeling process. We identify key paths forward, focused on explicit consideration of scale and uncertainty, strengthening interdisciplinary communication, and improvement of the documentation process. We call for a grand vision (and commensurate funding) for holistic system-of-systems research that engages researchers, stakeholders, and policy makers in a multi-tiered process for the co-creation of knowledge and solutions to major socio-environmental problems.
•Scale incompatibilities among system representations are a key challenge in socio-environmental systems modeling.•Issues of scale arise from the complexity, size and heterogeneity of the constituent systems and their interactions.•A more holistic systems-of-systems modeling framework is needed within which to integrate current approaches and tools.•Socio-technical considerations for system-of-systems modeling is presented from a range of disciplinary perspectives.
stella is a novel gene specifically expressed in primordial germ cells, oocytes, preimplantation embryos, and pluripotent cells 1, 2. It encodes a protein with a SAP-like domain 3 and a splicing ...factor motif-like structure, suggesting possible roles in chromosomal organization or RNA processing. Here, we have investigated the effects of a targeted mutation of stella in mice. We show that while matings between heterozygous animals resulted in the birth of apparently normal stella null offspring, stella-deficient females displayed severely reduced fertility due to a lack of maternally inherited Stella-protein in their oocytes. Indeed, we demonstrate that embryos without Stella are compromised in preimplantation development and rarely reach the blastocyst stage. stella is thus one of few known mammalian maternal effect genes 4–9, as the phenotypic effect on embryonic development is mainly a consequence of the maternal stella mutant genotype. Furthermore, we show that STELLA that is expressed in human oocytes 10 is also expressed in human pluripotent cells and in germ cell tumors. Interestingly, human chromosome 12p, which harbours STELLA, is consistently overrepresented in these tumors 11. These findings suggest a similar role for STELLA during early human development as in mice and a potential involvement in germ cell tumors.
We show a method to control magnetic interfacial effects in multilayers with Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction (DMI) using helium (HeFormula: see text) ion irradiation. We report results from SQUID ...magnetometry, ferromagnetic resonance as well as Brillouin light scattering results on multilayers with DMI as a function of irradiation fluence to study the effect of irradiation on the magnetic properties of the multilayers. Our results show clear evidence of the HeFormula: see text irradiation effects on the magnetic properties which is consistent with interface modification due to the effects of the HeFormula: see text irradiation. This external degree of freedom offers promising perspectives to further improve the control of magnetic skyrmions in multilayers, that could push them towards integration in future technologies.
Management: Very low- to low-certainty evidence indicated that running technique retraining (i.e., 10% increase in running cadence combined with the use of minimalist footwear and transitioning to a ...non-rearfoot-strike pattern), medial-wedged foot orthoses, multicomponent exercise-therapy and osteopathic manipulation can reduce running-related patellofemoral pain in the short-term (standardised mean difference range: -4.96 to -0.90). Discussion/Conclusion: Running technique retraining to land softer may reduce the risk of running-related knee injuries. When managing running-related patellofemoral pain, exercise-therapy, running technique retraining, prefabricated medial-wedged foot orthoses, and osteopathic manipulation may be considered to reduce pain in the short-term.
AbstractIntroduction and aimObservations of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection in adults with hemochromatosis are limited. Materials and methodsWe determined associations of serum ferritin (SF) with ...anti-HCV in non-Hispanic white North American adults in a post-screening examination. Cases included p.C282Y homozygotes (regardless of screening transferrin saturation (TS) and SF) and participants (regardless of HFE genotype) with high screening TS/SF. Controls included participants without p.C282Y or p.H63D who had normal screening TS/SF. Participants with elevated alanine aminotransferase underwent anti-HCV testing. We determined prevalence of chronic HCV infection in consecutive Alabama and Ontario referred adults with HFE p.C282Y homozygosity. ResultsIn post-screening participants, anti-HCV prevalence was 0.3% 95% CI: 0.02, 2.2 in 294 p.C282Y homozygotes, 9.5% 7.2, 12.3 in 560 Cases without p.C282Y homozygosity, and 0.7% 0.2, 2.3 in 403 Controls. Anti-HCV was detected in 7.2% of 745 participants with and 0.8% of 512 participants without elevated SF (odds ratio 9.9 3.6, 27.6; p< 0.0001). Chronic HCV infection prevalence in 961 referred patients was 1.0% (10/961) 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.5, 2.0. Ten patients with chronic HCV infection had median age 45 y (range 29–67) and median SF 1163 μg/L (range 303–2001). Five of eight (62.5%) patients had biopsy-proven cirrhosis. ConclusionsOdds ratio of anti-HCV was increased in post-screening participants with elevated SF. Prevalence of anti-HCV in post-screening participants with HFE p.C282Y homozygosity and chronic HCV infection in referred adults with HFE p.C282Y homozygosity in North America is similar to that of Control participants with HFE wt/wt and normal screening TS/SF.
We examined multistate outbreaks attributed to raw tomatoes in the United States from 1990 to 2010. We summarized the demographic and epidemiological characteristics of 15 outbreaks resulting in 1959 ...illnesses, 384 hospitalizations, and three deaths. Most (80%) outbreaks were reported during 2000–2010; 73% occurred May–September. Outbreaks commonly affected adult (median age 34 years) women (median 58% of outbreak cases). All outbreaks were caused by Salmonella serotypes Newport (n = 6 outbreaks), Braenderup (n = 2), Baildon, Enteritidis, Javiana, Montevideo, Thompson, Typhimurium (n = 1 each); multiple serotypes (n = 1). Red, round (69% of outbreaks), Roma (23%), and grape (8%) tomatoes were implicated. Most (93%) outbreaks were associated with tomatoes served predominantly in restaurants. However, traceback investigations suggested that contamination occurred on farms, at packinghouses, or at fresh-cut processing facilities. Government agencies, academia, trade associations, and the fresh tomato industry should consider further efforts to identify interventions to reduce contamination of tomatoes during production and processing.
Interactive and immersive technologies such as video games, exergames, and virtual reality are typically regarded as entertainment mediums. They also offer a multitude of health and well-being ...benefits. They have the capacity to incorporate established well-being techniques (e.g., mindfulness, exercise, and play) and expose users to beneficial environment settings with greater ease, improved access, and a broader appeal. The authors conducted a scoping review to explore whether these technologies could be used to benefit attention in healthy adults, that is, in a regulatory sense such as during periods of cognitive fatigue or attention-critical tasks. Research efforts have typically focused on long-term practice methods for attention enhancement with these technologies. Instead, this review provides the first attempt to unify a broad range of investigations concerned with their immediate impact on attention through state-change mechanisms. This applies the concept of attention state training and a growing evidence base, which suggests that meditative practices, exercise bouts, and nature exposures can provide short-term improvements in attentional performance following brief interactions. A systematic search of MEDLINE, Embase, and PsycINFO databases resulted in 11 peer-reviewed articles (13 experimental trials) each including at least one objective measure of attention directly following the use of an interactive or immersive technology. Most studies involved interactive technologies (i.e., video games and exergames), whereas there were three immersive interventions in the form of virtual reality. The comparisons between baseline and postintervention showed mostly no effect on attention, although there were five cases of improved attention. There were no instances of negative effects on attention. The results are significant considering mounting concerns that technology use could be detrimental for cognitive functioning. The positive effects reported here indicate a need to specify the type of technology in question and bring attention to positive vs. negative technology interactions. Implications for the literature concerning attention state training are discussed considering promising effects of technology exposures geared toward flow state induction. Significant gaps in the literature are identified regarding the implementation of traditional attention state training practices.
Gait retraining is no different, and like pharmacotherapies, different prescriptions (e.g. step rate or changing strike pattern) will possess different risks and may lead to different clinical ...outcomes....tailoring retraining strategies to specific conditions and individual running biomechanics has the potential to optimise outcomes and improve safety of use in clinical practice....optimisting and sustaining exercise therapy benefits may take a number of months in the injured runner due to associated muscle atrophy (Giles et al., 2013), along with likely muscular strength (Rathleff et al., 2014) and power (Nunes, Barton, & Serrão, 2017) deficits....calf, foot and ankle soreness is common during transition (Barton et al., 2016; Breen et al., 2015; Diebal et al., 2012; Esculier et al., 2017)....preparatory strength and conditioning programs (intrinsic and calf strengthening, jumping, hopping) are recommended prior to initiating, or during transition, and retraining should be gradually introduced (Barton et al., 2016)....results from new research evaluating the biomechanical and clinical outcomes of altering footwear and running retraining strategies are provided, and the reader is encouraged to consider the RISK framework when interpreting the results from these studies and how they might be used in with their patients.
Appalachian USA surface coal mines face public and regulatory pressure to reduce total dissolved solids (TDS) in discharge waters, primarily due to effects on sensitive macroinvertebrates. Specific ...conductance (SC) is an accurate surrogate for TDS and relatively low levels of SC (300–500 μS cm−1) have been proposed as regulatory benchmarks for instream water quality. Discharge levels of TDS from regional coal mines are frequently >1000 μS cm−1. The primary objectives of this study were to (a) determine the effect of rock type and weathering status on SC leaching potentials for a wide range of regional mine spoils; (b) to relate leachate SC from laboratory columns to actual measured discharge SC from field sites; and (c) determine effective rapid lab analyses for SC prediction of overburden materials. We correlated laboratory unsaturated column leaching results for 39 overburden materials with a range of static lab parameters such as total-S, saturated paste SC, and neutralization potential. We also compared column data with available field leaching and valley fill discharge SC data. Leachate SC is strongly related to rock type and pre-disturbance weathering. Fine-textured and non-weathered strata generally produced higher SC and pose greater TDS risk. High-S black shales produced the highest leachate SC. Lab columns generated similar range and overall SC decay response to field observations within 5–10 leaching cycles, while actual reduction in SC in the field occurs over years to decades. Initial peak SC can be reliably predicted (R2 > 0.850; p < 0.001) by simple lab saturated paste or 1:2 spoil:water SC procedures, but predictions of longer-term SC levels are less reliable and deserve further study. Overall TDS release risk can be accurately predicted by a combination of rock type + S content, weathering extent, and simple rapid SC lab measurements.
•TDS leaching risk was evaluated for 39 rock spoils from 3 Appalachian USA coal mining states.•Materials were evaluated by lab leaching and static analyses and compared with field results.•Rock type and pre-mine weathering extent have dominant influences on TDS risk.•Peak TDS (specific conductance) was accurately predicted (R2 > 0.8) by saturated paste extracts.•Overall TDS risk is accurately predicted by rock type, weathering, total-S and paste conductance.
Release of total dissolved solids (TDS) to streams in the Appalachian USA coalfields is reliably predicted by simple lab saturated paste conductance, rock type and weathering extent.
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