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Nutritional and Oxidative Stress Risk Factors for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
Get PDFFetal alcohol spectrum disorder is a leading preventable cause of neurodevelopmental disability. Prenatal alcohol exposure causes these disorders, but maternal nutritional status and oxidative stress responses can modify fetal vulnerability. Animal studies demonstrate that alcohol induces oxidative stress and disrupts maternal micronutrient homeostasis. Human studies linking these physiological disruptions to infant outcomes are lacking.
We analyzed alcohol consumption patterns in pregnant Ukrainian women using growth mixture modeling to identify longitudinal alcohol trajectories. Women who maintained very high drinking levels throughout pregnancy showed elevated oxidative stress markers, lower plasma zinc and copper, and activation of the acute phase response. These biochemical changes correlated with impaired infant growth and neurodevelopment.
The highest alcohol exposure group showed elevated inflammatory markers and compromised micronutrient status. This combination predicted poorer infant outcomes, with effects varying by infant sex. Multivitamin/multimineral supplementation during pregnancy partially improved maternal biochemical markers but did not prevent adverse developmental outcomes.
Our findings provide the first human evidence suggesting that alcohol exposure, acute phase response, and conditional nutrient deficiency may interact to magnify teratogenicity beyond alcohol's direct effects alone. Maternal biochemical status mediates the relationship between prenatal alcohol exposure and developmental outcomes. Preventing FASD may require comprehensive interventions that address both alcohol cessation and maternal physiological support
Potential Contribution of Differential Cooling to Deep Mixing and Reoxygenation of Lake Tahoe
No full textCharacterizing oxygen dynamics in lakes is essential for assessing ecosystem performance but challenging due to the variety of processes that shape oxygen spatial and temporal changes. In deep oligotrophic lakes, like Lake Tahoe, biochemical processes may not impact deep oxygen dynamics significantly. This study explores differential cooling and its impact on deep water reoxygenation. Differential cooling is a physical process by which the shallow littoral region of the lake cools faster during uniform heat loss than the deep pelagic water. To evaluate potential contributions of differential cooling to deep mixing and reoxygenation in Lake Tahoe, field observations were collected from January to April 2024 using five ADCPs and seven moorings equipped with temperature and dissolved oxygen sensors along a 10.5% average transect slope in the northwestern shelf of Lake Tahoe. The moorings were located at depths of 16m, 20m, 55m, 140m, 220m, 280m, and 450m with ADCPs located at the first five moorings, respectively. Data confirmed the occurrence of differential cooling in Lake Tahoe evident by significant cross-shore flow, wind speeds ≤ 0.5 m/s, and a fully-mixed water column preceding cold plume formation and descent. During differential cooling events, dissolved oxygen concentrations only varied by approximately 0.02 mg/L, suggesting limited contribution of differential cooling to the hypolimnion reoxygenation occurred in Winter 2024. Interestingly, an oscillatory pattern in dissolved oxygen concentration was observed from the epilimnion to 300 meters deep, indicating internal waves may play a larger role in transporting oxygen to deep waters when full-lake mixing is absent
Assessing the Quantification Methodology for the Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities Program
Get PDFDo affordable housing projects in high-quality transit-oriented development areas reduce auto use? By how much? Under what conditions? These questions are complex but highly relevant for the state of California. Its Affordable Housing and Sustainable Communities (AHSC) program estimates reductions in vehicle miles traveled (VMT) associated with project applications, and scores applications partly on this basis. Building on a large set of existing empirical literature, we carried out a new analysis of how the built environment affects travel in California. We relied on several data sources including movement data from cell phones purchased from a private firm; travel diary data from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey (the most recent household travel survey for the state); data on housing characteristics and commuting from the 2017 American Housing Survey; and neighborhood, community, and regional built environment and public transportation data from Federal and local sources. Consistent with previous literature, we did not find evidence that parcel-level characteristics influenced auto use, but our study reinforced the evidence in existing empirical literature about the importance of larger-scale built environment factors influencing VMT, from the scale of the Census block group up to the radius of a 45-minute drive from home. We recommend that the AHSC calculator be modified to take these factors into account, in addition to including the availability of off-street parking, when calculating VMT reductions. We also recommend that the calculator use a counterfactual assumption about alternative development locations using our quantitative estimates and based on a more appropriate spatial scale
Aggregation Dynamics of Colloidal Particles in Tin Perovskite Crystalline Film Formation
Get PDFWe present an approach to understanding the crystallization of tin-based perovskite films for photovoltaic applications, starting from precursor suspensions processed via spin-coating. By integrating colloidal theory with the fluid dynamics of suspensions, this approach elucidates the influence of both chemical variables and process parameters on the crystallization pathways of perovskite suspensions and the resulting microstructural features of the solid films. Specifically, the incorporation of SnCl2 as an additive was found to accelerate crystallization, whereas tBP induces a slowdown of the process leading, however, to a marked improvement in film uniformity and microstructural quality
Association of genetic scores related to insulin resistance with neurological outcomes in ancestrally diverse cohorts from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program
Get PDFTo better characterize the potential biological mechanisms underlying insulin resistance (IR) and dementia, we derive cross-population and population specific polygenic scores [PSs] for fasting insulin and IR-related partitioned PSs [pPSs]. We conduct a cross-sectional study of the associations of these genetic scores with neurological outcomes in >17k participants (36% men, mean age 55 yrs) from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program (50% Non-Hispanic White, 23% Black/African American, 21% Hispanic/Latino American, and 4% Asian American). We report significant negative associations (P < 0.002) of the cross-population (P = 1.3 × 10-5) and European (PEA = 3.0 × 10-8) fasting insulin PSs with total cranial volume, and of a metabolic syndrome European PS with general cognitive function (BEA = -0.13, PEA = 0.0002) and lateral ventricular volume (BEA = 0.09, PEA = 0.002). We identify suggestive negative associations (P < 0.007) of metabolic syndrome and obesity pPSs with general cognitive function, and of lipodystrophy pPSs with total cranial volume. A higher genetic predisposition to IR is associated with lower brain size, and a genetic predisposition to specific IR-related type 2 diabetes subtypes, such as metabolic syndrome and mechanisms of IR mediated through obesity and lipodystrophy, is potentially involved in cognitive decline
On compact uniformly recurrent subgroups
No full textAbstract Let a group Γ act on a paracompact, locally compact, Hausdorff space M by homeomorphisms and let 2 M denote the set of closed subsets of M . We endow 2 M with the Chabauty topology, which is compact and admits a natural Γ-action by homeomorphisms. We show that for every minimal Γ-invariant closed subset of 2 M consisting of compact sets, the union has compact closure. As an application, we deduce that every compact uniformly recurrent subgroup of a locally compact group is contained in a compact normal subgroup. This generalizes a result of Ušakov on compact subgroups whose normalizer is compact
Congregation of cusk‐eels (Genypterus chilensis, Ophidiiformes) at a deep‐sea methane seep off Chile
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Demo: Balboa Park Alive!: Exploring Biodiversity through Mobile AR
Get PDFBalboa Park Alive is a mobile augmented reality (AR) application that transforms outdoor exploration into an immersive educational experience centered on biodiversity and conservation. Designed for families and informal learners, the app uses gesture-based AR to connect users with ecological phenomena in the San Diego-Tijuana region. Integrating Niantic Lightship ARDK, Mapbox SDK, and MediaPipe Hands, the system creates inquiry-driven moments that engage users through embodied interaction, geospatial storytelling, and environmental awareness. Early user testing suggests the app fosters curiosity, intergenerational dialogue, and stewardship, offering a replicable model for mobile, location-based environmental education
Balanced Creative Coding for Motivation and Learning Transfer
Get PDFA three-week creative coding module was implemented as part of an introductory high school computer science class using a novel programming platform in virtual reality. This paper examines students' open-ended, independent final projects to assess how they leveraged coding concepts covered during lessons and guided practices. Projects reflected mastery of fundamentals such as input and output, lists, and events, but limited use of more complex structures, such as conditionals or loops. Strategies for improving transfer of learning from structured lessons to more independent, creative work are discussed