Approximately one-in-ten reproductive age adults in the USA follow a plant-based diet, yet there is limited information on the influence of vegan and vegetarian diets on the mineral composition of breast milk. This study explored the major and trace mineral composition in breast milk and associations with maternal diet patterns. We used a cross-sectional design to collect a single sample of breast milk from individuals following vegan (n 23), vegetarian (n 19) and omnivore (n 21) diet patterns. Plant-based diet (n 42) was defined as following either vegan or vegetarian diets. Sixteen minerals were assessed using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry and inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry. Data were evaluated using traditional statistical techniques and five different machine learning approaches. The distribution of Se (median; quartile 1 and 3) was significantly different between groups (vegetarians 21, 18–26 µg/l; vegans 19, 18–25 µg/l and omnivores 17, 14–20 µg/l; P = 0·007) using a Kruskal–Wallis test. Machine learning techniques also identified Se as a potential biomarker for differentiating breast milk by maternal diet pattern. Individuals following a plant-based diet generally had a lower BMI, higher breast milk Se and lower breast milk I and Fe concentrations compared with those following omnivore diets. This suggests that maternal dietary pattern (plant-based v. omnivore) may be helpful clinical information to consider when caring for the breast-feeding dyad, with the strongest evidence related to differences in Se concentration.

Manen et al. provide here a reply to the critical comment published by A. J. Ammerman regarding their article “The Neolithic Transition in the Western Mediterranean: a complex and non-linear diffusion process—the radiocarbon record revisited,” published in 2019 in Radiocarbon. They also use this occasion to reaffirm the need to elaborate novel interpretive frameworks that combine both geo-chronological and cultural data.

From November 2019 to April 2020, the prototypical red supergiant Betelgeuse experienced an unexpected and historic dimming. This event was observed worldwide by astrophysicists, and also by the general public with the naked eye. We present here the results of our observing campaign with ESO’s VLT and VLTI in the visible and infrared domains. The observations with VLT/SPHERE-ZIMPOL, VLT/SPHERE-IRDIS, VLTI/GRAVITY and VLTI/MATISSE provide spatially resolved diagnostics of this event. Using PHOENIX atmosphere models and RADMC3D dust radiative transfer simulations, we built a consistent model reproducing the images and the photometry.

Carbon-14 (radiocarbon, 14C) is a long-lived radionuclide (5730 yr) of interest regarding the safety for the management of intermediate level wastes (ILW). The present study gives an overview of the release of 14C from irradiated Zircaloy cladding in alkaline media. 14C is found either in the alloy part of Zircaloy cladding due to the neutron activation of 14N impurities by 14N(n,p)14C reaction, or in the oxide layer (ZrO2) formed at the metal surface by the neutron activation of 17O from UO2 or (U-Pu)O2 fuel and water from the primary circuit in the reactor by 17O(n,α)14C reaction. Various irradiated and unirradiated Zircaloys have been studied. The total 14C inventory has been determined both experimentally and by calculations. The results seem to be in good agreement. Leaching experiments were conducted in alkaline media for several time durations. 14C was mainly released as carboxylic acids. Further, corrosion measurements were performed by using both hydrogen measurements and electrochemical measurements. The corrosion rate (CR) ranges from a few nm/yr to 100 nm/yr depending on the surface conditions and the method used for measurement. From a safety assessment point of view, the instant release fraction (IRF) was determined on irradiated Zircaloy-2. The results showed that the 14C inventory in the oxide was significantly below the 20% commonly used in safety case assessments.

The Neolithic transition is a particularly favorable field of research for the study of the emergence and evolution of cultures and cultural phenomena. In this framework, high-precision chronologies are essential for decrypting the rhythms of emergence of new techno-economic traits. As part of a project exploring the conditions underlying the emergence and dynamics of the development of the first agro-pastoral societies in the Western Mediterranean, this paper proposes a new chronological modeling. Based on 45 new radiocarbon (14C) dates and on a Bayesian statistical framework, this work examines the rhythms and dispersal paths of the Neolithic economy both on coastal and continental areas. These new data highlight a complex and far less unidirectional dissemination process than that envisaged so far.

Objectives: Good glycemic control is an important goal of diabetes management. Late adolescents with type 1 diabetes (T1D) are at risk for poor glycemic control as they move into young adulthood. For a subset of these patients, this dysregulation is extreme, placing them at risk for life-threatening health complications and permanent cognitive declines. The present study examined whether deficiency in emotional decision making (as measured by the Iowa Gambling Task; IGT) among teens with T1D may represent a neurocognitive risk factor for subsequent glycemic dysregulation. Methods: As part of a larger longitudinal study, a total of 241 high-school seniors (147 females, 94 males) diagnosed with T1D underwent baseline assessment that included the IGT. Glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c), which reflects glycemic control over the course of the past 2 to 3 months, was also assessed at baseline. Of the 241,189 (127 females, 62 males, mean age=17.76, mean HbA1c=8.11) completed HbA1c measurement 1 year later. Results: Baseline IGT performance in the impaired range (per norms) was associated with greater dysregulation in glycemic control 1 year later, as evidenced by an average increase in HbA1c of 2%. Those with normal IGT scores (per norms) exhibited a more moderate increase in glycemic control, with an HbA1c increase of 0.7%. Several IGT scoring approaches were compared, showing that the total scores collapsed across all trials was most sensitive to change in glycemic control. Conclusions: IGT assessment offers promise as a tool for identifying late adolescents at increased risk for glycemic dysregulation. (JINS, 2017, 23, 204–213)

Over the last 5 years France gained a feedback on its NORM industries situation. Regulation imposes to the operators to assess effective doses for workers and members of the public. Theses data were used to update the list of industrial sectors to be regulated for NORM use or storage.

We prove that the quantum cohomology ring of any minuscule or cominuscule homogeneous space, specialized at $q\,=\,1$, is semisimple. This implies that complex conjugation defines an algebra automorphism of the quantum cohomology ring localized at the quantum parameter. We check that this involution coincides with the strange duality defined in our previous article. We deduce Vafa–Intriligator type formulas for the Gromov–Witten invariants.

The practical adhesion of equine pericardium membranes bonded with surgical glue has been measured by the bulge-and-blister technique under injection of pressurized distilled water. The value of the interfacial crack propagation energy can be estimated from the critical debonding pressure. The measured practical adhesion energies are weak with regards to those of engineering structural adhesives, but they are reliable enough to allow a comparison between different surgical glues and a study of the influence of the bonding experimental conditions.

The development of steel refining operations at ArcelorMittalFCWE for the production of ULS steels is reported. Several plants with different equipments produce grades with S <30 ppm, thus permitting to identify the most efficient process, from hot metal desulfurization to secondary metallurgy. For sites producing steels with S <30 ppm, four secondary metallurgy routes coexist in ArcelorMittal FCWE. The Vacuum Tank Degasser makes it possible to reach very low S and N contents simultaneously. To face the increase of the share of Ultra Low Sulfur products, it is necessary to further enhance the kinetics of desulfurization by steel - slag stirring at the atmospheric pressure.

A method has been devised to show that malaria parasites can be detected serologically in infected blood with a high degree of sensitivity. Using a murine malaria model, parasites were demonstrated in a solid-phase radio-immunoassay which measured antibody-binding inhibition. Lysed red blood cells (r.b.c.) were incubated with labelled specific antibody and were then reacted in antigen-coated tubes. The degree of inhibition of antibody binding in the tubes correlated with the level of parasitaemia in the test blood. Using homologous antisera the test detected infection at a level of 1 parasite/million r.b.c. The specificity of the method was shown by comparison of antibody-binding inhibition in normal and infected r.b.c. and in r.b.c. from non-infected mice with induced reticulocytosis. The sensitivity was shown in vitro in tests of serially diluted blood of high parasitaemia and in vivo for the detection of early infection. The presence of antibody in the test blood did not significantly affect the sensitivity of parasite detection.

We present results of X-ray emission by the rear side of gold thin targets irradiated by the Phebus laser at λ = 0.35 μm, τ = 0.7 and 1.3 ns, and EL = 1.5 kJ. A streak camera coupled with a transmission grating gave the time-resolved X-ray emission of the rear side. Also, a streak camera coupled with a slit allowed us to obtain information about the space and time evolution of the plasma. Some other diagnostics gave information about the energy balance and the X-ray conversion efficiency. The results are in good agreement with previous ones obtained with the Octal laser, particularly on optimum thicknesses for X-ray conversion efficiencies. Values of the thermal flux limiter are deduced. Simulations with FCI 1 code with multigroup radiative transfer and non-LTE ionization reproduce the experimental results only about some points. A number of reasons, such as 2-D effects and problems of opacity, are invoked.

We present some significant results of collisional excitation X-ray laser experiments in plasmas produced by a laser. We studied the amplification in Ne- and Ni-like ions by varying both the nature and the thickness of targets, the irradiation, and the wavelength of the driving laser. Some potentially interesting scalings as a function of the atomic number of the lasing element are demonstrated in the Ne-like system. An order-of-magnitude increase in gain in the Ni-like experiments was determined.