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Variability and Error in Measurement of Infant Formula Powder and Water: An Experimental Study
Get PDFIntroduction: Formula feeding is the only viable nutrition alternative for infants 0–6mos who cannot breastfeed. Among the drawbacks of formula feeding, however, is potential dilution or concentration errors in the formula during preparation that may lead to infant health issues. The present study aimed to investigate the accuracy of caregiver measurements as they prepared infant formula under multiple conditions, compared with manufacturer specifications.
Methods: A diverse sample of caregivers (N = 84) participated in this cross-over experimental study. Participants hand-scooped infant formula powder and poured water to prepare 4oz. and 7oz. feedings, using both a standardized set of infant formula products and participants’ own products. Linear mixed effects models were used to estimate fixed effects of target amount (4oz. versus 7oz) and products (participant versus researcher) on mean absolute percent error (MAPE) of measurement.
Results: Across all conditions MAPE was significantly greater for measuring powder than for water (9.0% vs. 4.4%; p \u3c 0.001) with a combined powder and water MAPE at 13.0%. Greater measurement error was associated with the odd-sized 7oz. preparation and participants’ own products.
Discussion: We observed considerable variability and substantial error during infant formula preparation, particularly for hand-scooping of powder, which tended toward higher values than the theoretical gold standard
Educating Queerness: An Exploration of Identity Construction Through the Schooling Experiences of Transgender and Non Binary Adults
Get PDFTransgender people and youth have been disproportionately denied their civil and human rights in educational and societal institutions. At the foundation of these actions and legislations that deny transgender people their rights is the rooted belief in the gender binary as a naturally occurring, accurate, system of defining gender which is pre prescribed at birth based on sex. It is imperative to explore the ways in which the gender binary has been socially constructed like other constructed identities such as race and ability in the effort to continue to eradicate transphobia and transphobic practices. This study explored the experience of transgender young adults as they matriculated through U.S. schooling institutions to contribute data to the conversation regarding schooling experience and its impact on the formation and application of gender binary identity construction for transgender people
Unfolding Cascading Impacts of Changing South Asia Monsoon on a Hindu Kush Himalayas Basin
Get PDFStudy region Indrawati River Basin (IRB) in Nepal. Study focus We employ the Soil and Water Assessment Tool model, calibrated and validated with historical data, to assess the hydrological responses of the IRB to future climate scenarios. These scenarios are projected using an ensemble of five bias-corrected CMIP6 climate models under Shared Socioeconomic Pathways 2-4.5 and SSP 5-8.5 for three-time frames: Near Future (2025–2050), Mid Future (MF) (2051–2075), and Far Future (2076–2100). The bias correction was done using Robust Empirical Quantiles for precipitation and linear parametric transformation functions for temperature. New hydrological insights for the region The study reveals significant shifts in the IRB\u27s hydrological patterns, including an extended rainy season—most pronounced under SSP 5-8.5 in the MF scenario—and an increase in annual discharge, especially during the South Asian Monsoon. Notably, there is an amplified flood risk due to heightened extreme flow events. Additionally, the analysis indicates increasing risks of wildfires and landslides given the rise in pre-monsoon dry spells, which exacerbates the cascading devastation such as debris flow. These insights underscore the urgent need for tailored water resource management, resilient infrastructure, and forward-looking policies to mitigate the impending hydro-meteorological challenges of climate change
AlphaFold2-Enabled Atomistic Modeling of Structure, Conformational Ensembles, and Binding Energetics of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2.86 Spike Protein with ACE2 Host Receptor and Antibodies: Compensatory Functional Effects of Binding Hotspots in Modulating Mechanisms of Receptor Binding and Immune Escape
No full textThe latest wave of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variants displayed a growth advantage and increased viral fitness through convergent evolution of functional hotspots that work synchronously to balance fitness requirements for productive receptor binding and efficient immune evasion. In this study, we combined AlphaFold2-based structural modeling approaches with atomistic simulations and mutational profiling of binding energetics and stability for prediction and comprehensive analysis of the structure, dynamics, and binding of the SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.2.86 spike variant with ACE2 host receptor and distinct classes of antibodies. We adapted several AlphaFold2 approaches to predict both the structure and conformational ensembles of the Omicron BA.2.86 spike protein in the complex with the host receptor. The results showed that the AlphaFold2-predicted structural ensemble of the BA.2.86 spike protein complex with ACE2 can accurately capture the main conformational states of the Omicron variant. Complementary to AlphaFold2 structural predictions, microsecond molecular dynamics simulations reveal the details of the conformational landscape and produced equilibrium ensembles of the BA.2.86 structures that are used to perform mutational scanning of spike residues and characterize structural stability and binding energy hotspots. The ensemble-based mutational profiling of the receptor binding domain residues in the BA.2 and BA.2.86 spike complexes with ACE2 revealed a group of conserved hydrophobic hotspots and critical variant-specific contributions of the BA.2.86 convergent mutational hotspots R403K, F486P, and R493Q. To examine the immune evasion properties of BA.2.86 in atomistic detail, we performed structure-based mutational profiling of the spike protein binding interfaces with distinct classes of antibodies that displayed significantly reduced neutralization against the BA.2.86 variant. The results revealed the molecular basis of compensatory functional effects of the binding hotspots, showing that BA.2.86 lineage may have evolved to outcompete other Omicron subvariants by improving immune evasion while preserving binding affinity with ACE2 via through a compensatory effect of R493Q and F486P convergent mutational hotspots. This study demonstrated that an integrative approach combining AlphaFold2 predictions with complementary atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and robust ensemble-based mutational profiling of spike residues can enable accurate and comprehensive characterization of structure, dynamics, and binding mechanisms of newly emerging Omicron variants
Rap Rhyme, Prison Time: How Prosecutors Use Rap Evidence in Gang Cases
Get PDFIn this Article, we call for greater nuance and careful treatment of rap-related evidence in the courtroom, which includes recognizing rap’s history, conventions, and practices generally, and acknowledging rap’s complicated and complex intersection with gangs specifically. Greater nuance and more careful treatment will enable courtroom members, including judges and jurors, to make better informed evaluations regarding whether rap evidence, despite being prejudicial, is sufficiently probative and if so, what relevance it may have to the case. We preface this argument with a review of punitive policies and practices associated with gangs in the criminal justice system, and with a discussion of how prosecutors use rap evidence in actual gangrelated rap on trial cases. We conclude with recommendations. While gang affiliation through rap misrepresentation is prevalent throughout the United States, its epicenter is California—our focus in this Article
A National Analysis of P–12 Equity Director Role Establishment
No full textDistrict “equity director” (ED) roles have grown rapidly over the past decade. Drawing on interviews and surveys with over 70 EDs across nearly 30 states, this study documents dramatic ED role growth from 2018 to 2022 specifically and examines why, according to EDs, such roles were established locally. Findings, drawing on scholarship on social activism, demonstrate how insider influence from district educators and leaders; intermediate pressure from community coalitions, parents, and students; and external coercion from state and federal education departments and civil rights agencies spurred ED role establishment. Challenges to ED efficacy are discussed, including ED role establishment as “checkbox” work and politicized attacks on district diversity, equity, and inclusion work
Strategic Rhetorics: Apartheid South Africa/Apartheid Israel: Address to Chapman University’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment, May 2024
Get PDFOn 2 May 2024, Chapman University faculty were asked to participate in a \u27faculty speak out\u27 in support of the Chapman Students For Justice In Palestine’s Gaza solidarity encampment. We were invited to speak \u27from our expertise and/or personal experiences in a call for a ceasefire in Gaza\u27 (Leitz, 2024). This is a slightly expanded version of what I said[.
Bibliography for Open Access Week Display
Get PDFA bibliography created to support a display about Open Access Week at the Leatherby Libraries during October 2024 at the Leatherby Libraries at Chapman University
Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on Emergency Department Visits for Opioid Use Disorder Across University of California Health Centers
Get PDFIntroduction: Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) has had a devastating impact on mental health and access to addiction treatment in the United States, including in California, which resulted in the highest rates of emergency department visits (ED) for opioid poisoning in 2020. As California slowly returns to pre-pandemic normalcy, it remains uncertain whether the rates of opioid-related events have slowed down over time. We hypothesized that the number of opioid-related ED visits were exacerbated after the period of the COVID-19 pandemic and continue at a high rate in the present.
Methods: In this analysis we searched the University of California (UC) Health Data Warehouse—a database of electronic health records from six UC health centers—for opioid-related ED visits, identifiying using the following International Classification of Diseases, 10th Ed, Clinical Modification codes: F11 codes, and T40.0*, T40.1*, T40.2*, T40.3*, T40.4*, T40.6*. Opioid overdose-associated visits were classified by types of opioids involved: heroin (T40.1*); prescription opioids (T40.2* or T40.3*); and synthetic opioids (T40.4*). We performed interrupted time analysis to estimate the immediate (level) change and change-in-time trend (trend change), from before (January 2018–October 2019) and during the pandemic (April 2020–December 2022). Monthly visit rates were evaluated with negative binomial regression adjusted for first-order autoregression and using all-cause ED counts as the offset. We present effect sizes as rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI), tested at α = .05.
Results: Before COVID-19, a steadily increasing trend in ED visit rates was observed for all outcomes (P \u3c 0.05) except synthetic opioids. Total opioid-related ED visit rates increased by 15% (RR 1.15, 95%CI 1.02–1.29, P = 0.20) immediately after March 2020 before decreasing by 0.5% every month, albeit without statistical significance (RR .995, 95% CI .991–1.00, P = 0.06). Similar trends were observed with prescription opioid overdoses, with a step increase of 44% (RR 1.44, 95% CI 1.10–1.89, P = .008) before plateauing after March 2020 (RR 1.01, 95% CI .998–1.02, P = 0.12). After March 2020, ED visit rates for synthetic opioid overdoses were increasing steadily by 4% every month (RR 1.04, 95% CI 1.02–1.06, P = .001), unlike with heroin, which was observed with an 8% monthly reduction (RR .92, 95% CI .90–.93, P \u3c .001). No immediate increase in visit rates was observed for either opioid.
Conclusion: While opioid-related ED admissions among the UC health centers showed an overall decrease, prescription and synthetic opioid overdoses remained significantly higher than pre-pandemic trends as of December 2022. A multilevel approach to improve awareness of new opioid health policies could ameliorate these alarming rises in the post-pandemic era
Course-Skill Atlas: A National Longitudinal Dataset of Skills Taught in U.S. Higher Education Curricula
Get PDFHigher education plays a critical role in driving an innovative economy by equipping students with knowledge and skills demanded by the workforce. While researchers and practitioners have developed data systems to track detailed occupational skills, such as those established by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), much less effort has been made to document which of these skills are being developed in higher education at a similar granularity. Here, we fill this gap by presenting Course-Skill Atlas – a longitudinal dataset of skills inferred from over three million course syllabi taught at nearly three thousand U.S. higher education institutions. To construct Course-Skill Atlas, we apply natural language processing to quantify the alignment between course syllabi and detailed workplace activities (DWAs) used by the DOL to describe occupations. We then aggregate these alignment scores to create skill profiles for institutions and academic majors. Our dataset offers a large-scale representation of college education’s role in preparing students for the labor market. Overall, Course-Skill Atlas can enable new research on the source of skills in the context of workforce development and provide actionable insights for shaping the future of higher education to meet evolving labor demands, especially in the face of new technologies