Mapping and Analysis of US State and Urban Local Sodium Reduction Laws.

Context: Excessive sodium consumption contributes to high blood pressure, which is a risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

Objectives: To (1) identify state and urban local laws addressing adult or general population sodium consumption in foods and beverages and (2) align findings to a previously published evidence classification review, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Sodium Quality and Impact of Component (QuIC) evidence assessment.

Design: Systematic collection of sodium reduction laws from all 50 states, the 20 most populous counties in the United States, and the 20 most populous cities in the United States, including Washington, District of Columbia, effective on January 1, 2019.

Distribution and Community Assembly of Trees Along an Andean Elevational Gradient.

Highlighting patterns of distribution and assembly of plants involves the use of community phylogenetic analyses and complementary traditional taxonomic metrics. However, these patterns are often unknown or in dispute, particularly along elevational gradients, with studies finding different patterns based on elevation. We investigated how patterns of tree diversity and structure change along an elevation gradient using taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity metrics.

Greater than the sum of the parts: how the species composition in different forest strata influence ecosystem function.

The mechanisms underpinning forest biodiversity-ecosystem function relationships remain unresolved. Yet, in heterogeneous forests, ecosystem function of different strata could be associated with traits or evolutionary relationships differently. Here, we integrate phylogenies and traits to evaluate the effects of elevational diversity on above-ground biomass across forest strata and spatial scales.

The use of DNA barcodes to estimate phylogenetic diversity in forest communities of southern China.

To elucidate potential ecological and evolutionary processes associated with the assembly of plant communities, there is now widespread use of estimates of phylogenetic diversity that are based on a variety of DNA barcode regions and phylogenetic construction methods. However, relatively few studies consider how estimates of phylogenetic diversity may be influenced by single DNA barcodes incorporated into a sequence matrix (conservative regions vs. hypervariable regions) and the use of a backbone family-level phylogeny.

Impact of Different Gums on Textural and Microbial Properties of Goat Milk Yogurts during Refrigerated Storage.

In this study, the impact of seven different gums on textural and microbiological properties of goat milk yogurt during refrigerated storage was investigated. The results showed that yogurt containing xanthan and locust bean gums had enhanced firmness, consistency, cohesiveness, and viscosity during four weeks of storage compared to the control and yogurt fortified with other gums ( < 0.05).

Upward elevation and northwest range shifts for alpine species in the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains region.

Climate change may impact the distribution of species by shifting their ranges to higher elevations or higher latitudes. The impacts on alpine plant species may be particularly profound due to a potential lack of availability of future suitable habitat. To identify how alpine species have responded to climate change during the past century as well as to predict how they may react to possible global climate change scenarios in the future, we investigate the climatic responses of seven species of , a representative genus endemic in the alpine meadow and subnival region of the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains.

Distributional responses to climate change for alpine species of and endemic to the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains.

Global warming increases the vulnerability of plants, especially alpine herbaceous species, to local extinction. In this study, we collected species distribution information from herbarium specimens for ten selected and alpine species endemic to the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains (HHM). Combined with climate data from WorldClim, we used Maximum Entropy Modeling (MaxEnt) to project distributional changes from the current time period to 2070.

Effect of iron fortification on microstructural, textural, and sensory characteristics of caprine milk Cheddar cheeses under different storage treatments.

In this study, we manufactured 3 types of caprine milk Cheddar cheese: a control cheese (unfortified) and 2 iron-fortified cheeses, one of which used regular ferrous sulfate (RFS) and the other used large microencapsulated ferrous sulfate (LMFS). We then compared the iron recovery rates and the microstructural, textural, and sensory properties of the 3 cheeses under different storage conditions (temperature and duration). Compositional analysis included fat, protein, ash, and moisture contents.

Life Course Trajectories of Negative and Positive Marital Experiences and Loneliness in Later Years: Exploring Differential Associations.

Loneliness is relatively common among older adults in the United States, and there can be significant physical, psychological, and cognitive impairments associated with feelings of loneliness. Consequently, this study seeks to uncover determinants of loneliness, particularly the impact of couples' negative and positive marital experiences (i.e.

Biodiversity explains maximum variation in productivity under experimental warming, nitrogen addition, and grazing in mountain grasslands.

Anthropogenic global warming, nitrogen addition, and overgrazing alter plant communities and threaten plant biodiversity, potentially impacting community productivity, especially in sensitive mountain grassland ecosystems. However, it still remains unknown whether the relationship between plant biodiversity and community productivity varies across different anthropogenic influences, and especially how changes in multiple biodiversity facets drive these impacts on productivity. Here, we measured different facets of biodiversity including functional and phylogenetic richness and evenness in mountain grasslands along an environmental gradient of elevation in Yulong Mountain, Yunnan, China.

Incomplete reproductive isolation between Rhododendron taxa enables hybrid formation and persistence.

The evolutionary consequences of hybridization ultimately depend on the magnitude of reproductive isolation between hybrids and their parents. We evaluated the relative contributions of pre- and post-zygotic barriers to reproduction for hybrid formation, hybrid persistence and potential for reproductive isolation of hybrids formed between two Rhododendron species, R. spiciferum and R.

DNA barcoding herbaceous and woody plant species at a subalpine forest dynamics plot in Southwest China.

Although DNA barcoding has been widely used to identify plant species composition in temperate and tropical ecosystems, relatively few studies have used DNA barcodes to document both herbaceous and woody components of forest plot. A total of 201 species (72 woody species and 129 herbaceous species) representing 135 genera distributed across 64 families of seed plants were collected in a 25 ha CForBio subalpine forest dynamics plot. In total, 491 specimens were screened for three DNA regions of the chloroplast genome (, , and -) as well as the internal transcribed spacers (ITS) of nuclear ribosomal DNA.

Functional trade-offs and the phylogenetic dispersion of seed traits in a biodiversity hotspot of the Mountains of Southwest China.

The diversity of traits associated with plant regeneration is often shaped by functional trade-offs where plants typically do not excel at every function because resources allocated to one function cannot be allocated to another. By analyzing correlations among seed traits, empirical studies have shown that there is a trade-off between seedling development and the occupation of new habitats, although only a small range of taxa have been tested; whether such trade-off exists in a biodiverse and complex landscape remains unclear. Here, we amassed seed trait data of 1,119 species from a biodiversity hotspot of the Mountains of Southwest China and analyzed the relationship between seed mass and the number of seeds and between seed mass and time to germination.

Green synthesis of new pyrrolidine-fused spirooxindoles three-component domino reaction in EtOH/HO.

An efficient, green and sustainable approach for the synthesis of novel polycyclic pyrrolidine-fused spirooxindole compounds was developed. The synthesis included a one-pot, three-component, domino reaction of ()-3-(2-nitrovinyl)-indoles, isatins and chiral polycyclic α-amino acids under catalyst-free conditions at room temperature in EtOH-HO. The salient features of this methodology are eco-friendliness, high yields and the ease of obtaining target compounds without the involvement of toxic solvents and column chromatography.

Asymmetrical natural hybridization varies among hybrid swarms between two diploid Rhododendron species.

Background And Aims: The extent to which hybridization leads to gene flow between plant species depends on the structure of hybrid populations. However, if this varies between locations, species barriers might prove permeable in some locations but not in others. To assess possible variation in hybrid population structure, the magnitude and direction of natural hybridization between two Chinese endemic species, Rhododendron spiciferum and Rhododendron spinuliferum , were evaluated.

A Statewide Strategy for Expanding Graduate Medical Education by Establishing New Teaching Hospitals and Residency Programs.

The graduate medical education (GME) system in the United States is in need of reform to ensure that the physician workforce being trained is able to meet the current and future health care needs of the population. However, GME funding to existing teaching hospitals and programs relies heavily on support from Medicare, which was capped in 1997. Thus, new, innovative models to expand GME are needed.

Premature menopause and risk of neurological disease: basic mechanisms and clinical implications.

Since basic scientific studies in the 1990s revealed dramatic gender differences in neurological damage from cerebral ischemia, significant evidence has accumulated for a neuroprotective role of ovarian-derived 17β-Estradiol (E2). Intriguingly, observational studies have further suggested that early and prolonged loss of ovarian E2 (premature menopause) leads to a doubled lifetime risk for dementia and a fivefold increased risk of mortality from neurological disorders, but some controversy remains. Here, we briefly summarize and analyze clinical cohort studies assessing the detrimental neurological outcomes of premature menopause.

Exposure of grass shrimp to sediments receiving highway runoff: Effects on reproduction and DNA.

A grass shrimp bioassay was carried out on sediments from three estuarine stations which were different distances from a highway storm drain. Total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations were 29, 1.5 and 0.

Comet assays to assess DNA damage and repair in grass shrimp embryos exposed to phototoxicants.

Exposure of grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) embryos to four compounds (anthracene, pyrene, alpha-terthienyl, methylene blue) along with solar exposure resulted in extensive DNA strand damage using the comet assay. DNA tail moments of embryos exposed to these chemicals in the dark ranged from 1.8 to 4.

Benchmarking mechanical ventilation services in teaching hospitals.

The purpose of this investigation was to examine the technical efficiency of mechanical ventilation nonsurgery (DRG 475) among University Hospital Consortium (UHC) hospitals that consists of volunteer, teaching hospitals across the nation. The data for this study was retrieved from the 1997 UHC database that includes charge and discharge information for 69 hospitals. Data on 7961 patients classified with mechanical ventilation were aggregated to the hospital level.

Physiologic factors contributing to a transition in oral immunity among mechanically ventilated adults.

Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP), a specific type of nosocomial pneumonia, occurs in approximately 21% of patients in intensive care, and the mortality can be as high as 71%. VAP causes considerable mortality and morbidity, and it exponentially increases health care costs. The incidence of VAP is associated with oropharyngeal colonization of gram-negative bacteria.

DNA strand breaks (comet assay) and embryo development effects in grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) embryos after exposure to genotoxicants.

Grass shrimp embryos develop in egg sacs (stages 1-10) attached to the female for 14-20 days after which they 'hatch' from the egg sacs into a swimming zoea stage (stage 11). Until they emerge from the egg sacs, embryos depend on lipids and lipovitellin stored within the egg. The percent of embryos which hatch after exposure to toxicants relative to controls was the basis of an embryo development assay.