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INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE:Whilst there has been much written about female surgeons and motherhood, there has been no attempt to characterize the journey of male surgeons with respect to fatherhood...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE:Improvements in cancer therapy have enhanced survivorship for many young cancer patients, resulting in heightened interest for future family building. Fertility preservat...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE:Epigenetic studies have highlighted the relationship between lifestyle and fertility, including effects of alcohol, smoking, and obesity on DNA methylation profiles withi...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE:Post graduate fellowships involve a spectrum of training opportunities that include reproductive and sexual medicine. Herein we seek to develop metrics defining the outco...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE:Seminal oxidative stress and DNA fragmentation have been associated with male infertility, poor embryo development, and recurrent miscarriage. Oxidative stress can be mea...

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE:Men presenting to infertility clinics with idiopathic azoospermia must often undergo surgical sperm extraction to proceed with assisted reproductive therapy. These men ar...

This chapter explores labor shifts in online cultural production by examining emerging production cultures in podcasting. Scholars excitedly cataloged the cultural shift enabled by new content-sharing platforms online, arguing that online digital distribution had effectively leveled the playing field between media corporations and everyday citizens, allowing for a more democratic, “grass roots” economy. The entrepreneurial energy surrounding podcasting is fueling what scholars call formalization. Formalization describes the process by which “media systems become progressively more rationalized, consolidated and financially transparent”. Podcasting is currently in the process of formalization, both from the top down and from the bottom up. The process underlying these shifts in labor practice is professionalism, which indicates the ongoing, emergent process of introducing professionalism into a given community of workers or creators. The podcasting advice outlined earlier often contrasted with other discourses that emphasized the unique aspects of podcasting labor as an engaging, interactive experience for both hosts and audiences.

Background Massachusetts began newborn screening (NBS) for severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) using measurement of T-cell receptor excision circles (TRECs) from dried blood spots. Objective We describe developments and outcomes from the first 10 years of this program (February 1, 2009, to January 31, 2019). Methods TREC values, diagnostic, and outcome data from all patients screened for SCID were evaluated. Results NBS of 720,038 infants prompted immunologic evaluation of 237 (0.03%). Of 237, 9 were diagnosed with SCID/leaky SCID (4% of referrals vs 0.001% general population). Another 7 were diagnosed with other combined immunodeficiencies, and 3 with athymia. SCID/leaky SCID incidence was approximately 1 in 80,000, whereas approximately 1 in 51,000 had severe T-cell lymphopenia for which definitive treatment was indicated. All patients with SCID/leaky SCID underwent hematopoietic cell transplant or gene therapy with 100% survival. One patient with athymia underwent successful thymus transplant. No known cases of SCID were missed. Compared with outcomes from the 10 years before SCID NBS, survival trended higher (9 of 9 vs 4 of 7), likely due to a lower rate of infection before treatment. Conclusions Our data support a single NBS testing-and-referral algorithm for all gestational ages. Despite lower median TREC values in premature infants, the majority for all ages are well above the TREC cutoff and the algorithm, which selects urgent (undetectable TREC) and repeatedly abnormal TREC values, minimizes referral. We also found that low naive T-cell percentage is associated with a higher risk of SCID/CID, demonstrating the utility of memory/naive T-cell phenotyping as part of follow-up flow cytometry.

Podcasting has thrived since its popularization in 2004 as a bastion for amateur media production. Over the past ten years, however, entrepreneurs and legacy media companies have rapidly expanded their interests in podcasting, bringing with them professional standards and the logics of capital. Breakout hits such as 2014’s Serial (with nearly 40 million downloads) and This American Life have demonstrated to both programmers and advertisers the potential for podcasting to emerge as a commercially viable media industry (O’Connell, 2015). According to a recent nationwide survey by Edison Research (2019), an estimated 90 million listeners reported having listened to a podcast in the previous month. Despite the medium’s homespun, DIY roots, this dramatic expansion of the podcast audience and interest from legacy media has begun to transform it “from a do-it-yourself, amateur niche medium into a commercial mass medium” (Bonini, 2015, p. 27). This proposed panel aims to explore the transitions currently underway in podcasting. Specifically, each of the papers on this panel address in some way the process of formalization, or the process by which “media systems become progressively more rationalized, consolidated and financially transparent” (Lobato &Thomas, 2015, p. 27). Formalization is not a monolithic process, but rather one that is responsive to existing institutional, regulatory, and cultural structures. It is also historically contingent. The first paper, entitled “Podcasting as a cultural form between old and new media” utilizes a historical lens to link the current trajectory of the medium’s development to the development and domestication of radio in the 1920s as well as the rise of online streaming services in the 21st Century. In particular, this paper situates podcasting in the context of these earlier technologies, arguing that the medium is best understood as a complex interplay between networks of market actors. This complex interplay of actors is explored in more detail by papers 2 and 3. In the second paper, entitled “Formalising the informal: BBC commissions and the shape of podcasts,” the author explores the powerful role of the BBC in providing an institutional and creative framework for podcasting production via its BBC Sounds online radio platform. Through the efforts of this venerable public service broadcaster to reach new audiences by developing podcast content specific to this platform, this paper argues that the medium’s amateur and informal ethos stands to be re-shaped. The third paper, entitled “Protecting public podcasting: Are U.S. news, public affairs, and learning podcasts at risk?”, takes a macro-level view of the formalization process, focusing on podcasts within the U.S. context. Nothing that the most popular podcasts in the U.S. are either learning or information-oriented, this paper argues that the podcast ecosystem fulfills an important public service function. The introduction of platform services like Spotify as power players in podcast distribution, coupled with the rise of advertising as a means of monetization, presents new risks for perpetuation of the medium as an aural public service resource. The fourth paper expands the arguments surrounding podcast formalization by exploring the introduction of market information regimes within the medium. Specifically, this paper explores the development of audience metrics for podcasting, beginning in the mid-2000’s. This paper makes clear that powerful industry players such as Apple and the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) are quickly standardizing the measurement of podcast audiences. These standards create a more transparent market for advertisers, but in so doing they also shift the focus away from the unique nature of podcast content and move it toward notions of audience size. This has the potential to move the medium further away from its amateur roots. Finally, the fifth paper on the panel attempts to reframe the formalization debate by pulling the discussion away from the confining binaries of utopian or dystopian narratives. Instead, this paper situates podcasting within a much broader context by leveraging Don Idhe’s phenomenological philosophy of technology to “speculate on a potential future of reified oral/aural meditation.” This paper considers the nature of the medium itself as a unique “techno-sonic experience”. Here, podcasting is not considered as a medium being shaped by the formalization efforts of institutions or legacy forms of media. Instead, podcasting emerges as a transformational technology that promises a new era of sound integration.

The United States transportation sector consumes 5 billion barrels of petroleum annually to move people and freight around the country by car, truck, train, ship and aircraft, emitting significant greenhouse gases in the process. Making the transportation system more sustainable by reducing these emissions and increasing the efficiency of this multimodal system can be achieved through several vehicle-centric strategies. We focus here on one of these strategies – reducing vehicle mass – and on collecting and developing a set of physics-based expressions to describe the effect of vehicle mass reduction on fuel consumption across transportation modes in the U.S. These expressions allow analysts to estimate fuel savings resulting from vehicle mass reductions (termed fuel reduction value, FRV), across modes, without resorting to specialized software or extensive modeling efforts, and to evaluate greenhouse gas emission and cost implications of these fuel savings. We describe how FRV differs from fuel intensity (FI) and how to properly use both of these metrics, and we provide a method to adjust FI based on mass changes and FRV. Based on this work, we estimate that a 10% vehicle mass reduction (assuming constant payload mass) results in a 2% improvement in fuel consumption for trains and light, medium, and heavy trucks, 4% for buses, and 7% for aircraft. When a 10% vehicle mass reduction is offset by an increase in an equivalent mass of payload, fuel intensity (fuel used per unit mass of payload) increases from 6% to 23%, with the largest increase being for aircraft.

Freight transportation by truck, train, and ship accounts for 5% of the United States’ annual energy consumption (U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2017a). Much of this freight is transported in shipping containers. Lightweighting containers is an unexplored strategy to decrease energy and GHG emissions. We evaluate life cycle fuel savings and environmental performance of lightweighting scenarios applied to a forty-foot (12.2 meters) container transported by ship, train, and truck. Use phase burdens for both conventional and lightweighted containers (steel reduction, substitution with aluminum, or substitution with high tensile steel) were compared to life cycle burdens. The study scope ranged from the transportation of one container 100 km to the lifetime movement of the global container fleet on ships. Case studies demonstrated the impact of lightweighting on typical multimodal freight deliveries to the United States. GREET 1 and 2 (Argonne National Laboratory, 2016a,b) were used to estimate the total fuel cycle burdens associated with use phase fuel consumption. Fuel consumption was determined using modal Fuel Reduction Values (FRV), which relate mass reduction to fuel reduction. A lifetime reduction of 21% in the fuel required to transport a container, and 1.4% in the total fuel required to move the vehicles, cargo, and containers can be achieved. It was determined that a 10% reduction in mass of the system will result in a fuel reduction ranging from 2% to 8.4%, depending on the mode. Globally, container lightweighting can reduce energy demand by 3.6 EJ and GHG emissions by 300 million tonnes CO2e over a 15-year lifetime.

Use phase fuel consumption is responsible for the majority of an automobile's life cycle energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Lightweighting is an important strategy to reduce use phase fuel consumption and potentially reduce vehicle life cycle impacts. A popular lightweighting technique is material substitution, in which conventional materials (e.g., iron, steel) are replaced with lighter ones (e.g., aluminum, magnesium). Material substitution, however, often results in higher material production impacts. A life cycle approach is useful in evaluating these material tradeoffs and assessing the overall energy and emissions benefits of lightweighting technologies. Thin-wall ductile cast iron (TWDCI) is a lightweighting fabrication technology that can provide comparable weight reduction to aluminum while having better mechanical properties. This study develops a parametric life cycle model to assess the life cycle performance of TWDCI compared to conventional cast iron and cast aluminum in terms of energy (MJ) and GHGs (as carbon dioxide equivalents - kg CO2e). This model was applied to three lightweighting cases: a differential casing, an engine block, and replacement of all cast iron parts. Fuel reduction values (FRVs) are used to calculate change in fuel consumption due to lightweighting. A sensitivity analysis on these lightweighting cases is employed to determine the mass reduction required to achieve net life cycle benefits and to show the effect of alloy composition on life cycle energy and emissions. Lightweighting by 2% results in equal life cycle energy and GHGs for TWDCI and conventional cast iron while 37% lightweighting is required for TWDCI to equal cast aluminum impacts. The implications of powertrain resizing afforded by lightweighting are also explored.

A large portion of life cycle transportation impacts occur during vehicle operation, and key improvement strategies include increasing powertrain efficiency, vehicle electrification, and lightweighting vehicles by reducing their mass. The potential energy benefits of vehicle lightweighting are large, given that 29.5 EJ was used in all modes of U.S. transportation in 2016, and roughly half of the energy spent in wheeled transportation and the majority of energy spent in aircraft is used to move vehicle mass. We collect and review previous work on lightweighting, identify key parameters affecting vehicle environmental performance (e.g., vehicle mode, fuel type, material type, and recyclability), and propose a set of 10 principles, with examples, to guide environmental improvement of vehicle systems through lightweighting. These principles, based on a life cycle perspective and taken as a set, allow a wide range of stakeholders (designers, policy-makers, and vehicle manufacturers and their material and component suppliers) to evaluate the trade-offs inherent in these complex systems. This set of principles can be used to evaluate trade-offs between impact categories and to help avoid shifting of burdens to other life cycle phases in the process of improving use-phase environmental performance.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: It has been proposed that some individuals with musculoskeletal pain may perceive themselves as victims of injustice. Perception of injustice can have a significant impact on several pain-related outcomes, major depressive symptoms, disabilities, and absenteeism. The objective of this study consisted of a transcultural adaptation of the original instrument in English, Injustice Experience Questionnaire into a final version to be used in Brazil. METHODS: The whole translation process consisted of translation, back-translation and the review by a committee of experts. The pre-test was applied to 90 participants (41 participants with chronic musculoskeletal pain). For the psychometric analysis, the translated version was applied to 120 participants with chronic musculoskeletal pain. The internal consistency was verified by the Cronbach’s alpha coefficient, and the construct validity was analyzed using factorial exploratory analysis. RESULTS: After the conclusion of the pre-test, there were no difficulties in understanding the translated questionnaire by more than 20% of the sample. The Cronbach alpha calculation for the 12 items of the Injustice Experience Questionnaire/Port-BR was 0.86 [CI (95%) = 0.83 to 0.90; p

This study examines the vehicle-cycle and vehicle total life-cycle impacts of substituting lightweight materials into vehicles. We determine part-based greenhouse gas (GHG) emission ratios by collecting material substitution data and evaluating that alongside known mass-based GHG ratios (using and updating Argonne National Laboratory's GREET model) associated with material pair substitutions. Several vehicle parts are lightweighted via material substitution, using substitution ratios from a U.S. Department of Energy report, to determine GHG emissions. We then examine fuel-cycle GHG reductions from lightweighting. The fuel reduction value methodology is applied using FRV estimates of 0.15-0.25, and 0.25-0.5 L/(100km·100 kg), with and without powertrain adjustments, respectively. GHG breakeven values are derived for both driving distance and material substitution ratio. While material substitution can reduce vehicle weight, it often increases vehicle-cycle GHGs. It is likely that replacing steel (the dominant vehicle material) with wrought aluminum, carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CRFP), or magnesium will increase vehicle-cycle GHGs. However, lifetime fuel economy benefits often outweigh the vehicle-cycle, resulting in a net total life-cycle GHG benefit. This is the case for steel replaced by wrought aluminum in all assumed cases, and for CFRP and magnesium except for high substitution ratio and low FRV.

Lightweighting is a key strategy to improve vehicle fuel economy. Assessing the life-cycle benefits of lightweighting requires a quantitative description of the use-phase fuel consumption reduction associated with mass reduction. We present novel methods of estimating mass-induced fuel consumption (MIF) and fuel reduction values (FRVs) from fuel economy and dynamometer test data in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) database. In the past, FRVs have been measured using experimental testing. We demonstrate that FRVs can be mathematically derived from coast down coefficients in the EPA vehicle test database avoiding additional testing. MIF and FRVs calculated for 83 different 2013 MY vehicles are in the ranges 0.22-0.43 and 0.15-0.26 L/(100 km 100 kg), respectively, and increase to 0.27-0.53 L/(100 km 100 kg) with powertrain resizing to retain equivalent vehicle performance. We show how use-phase fuel consumption can be estimated using MIF and FRVs in life cycle assessments (LCAs) of vehicle lightweighting from total vehicle and vehicle component perspectives with, and without, powertrain resizing. The mass-induced fuel consumption model is illustrated by estimating lifecycle greenhouse gas (GHG) emission benefits from lightweighting a grille opening reinforcement component using magnesium or carbon fiber composite for 83 different vehicle models.

The revival of the BBC series Doctor Who in 2005 heralded the successful rebirth of a defunct science fiction series that had been cancelled in 1989. While the 2005 incarnation was designed as a slick, high-budget media product with cross-national appeal, the initial series, which was broadcast regularly from 1963 to 1989, was quite different – quirky, low-budget and distinctly British. In fact, the roll-out of Doctor Who on American television screens in the late 1970s was marred by missteps thanks in part to structural differences between the US and British broadcasting systems. This essay explores the initial expansion of Doctor Who into the United States beginning in the late 1960s, first via syndication to commercial stations with Time Life Television and later to Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) stations nationwide through the BBC's US distribution arm, Lionheart Television. The attempt to internationalise the Doctor Who audience in its first two decades is examined through the larger lens of shared British and American broadcasting history and policy before and during the Thatcher era. Ironically, while the BBC scrapped Doctor Who in the 1980s due to market pressures and personal rivalries, it attracted an engaged and loyal fan base in the United States, ultimately boosting the fortunes of American public television.

The Greenhouse gases, Regulated Emissions, and Energy use in Transportation (GREET) model developed by Argonne National Laboratory quantifies the life cycle energy consumption and air emissions resulting from the production and use of light-duty vehicles in the United States. GREET is comprised of two components: GREET 1 represents the fuel cycle of various energy carriers, including automotive fuels, and GREET 2 represents the vehicle cycle, which accounts for the production of vehicles and their constituent materials. The GREET model was updated in 2012 and now includes higher-resolution material processing and transformation data. This study evaluated how model updates influence material and vehicle life cycle results. First, new primary energy demand and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions results from GREET 2 for steel, aluminum, and plastics resins are compared herein with those from the previous version of the model as well as industrial results. A part of the comparison is a discussion about causes of differences between results. Included in this discussion is an assessment of the impact of the new material production data on vehicle life cycle results for conventional internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by comparing the energy and GHG emission values in the updated and previous versions of GREET 2. Finally, results from a sensitivity analysis are presented for identifying life cycle parameters that most affect vehicle life cycle estimates.

The primary aim of this study was to measure HIV-1 persistence following combination antiretroviral therapy (cART) in infants and children. Peripheral blood mononuclear cell (PBMC) HIV-1 DNA was quantified prior to and after 1 year of cART in 30 children, stratified by time of initiation (early, age 3 months-2 years, LT). Pre-therapy PBMC HIV-1 DNA levels correlated with pre-therapy plasma HIV-1 levels (r = 0.59, p

Recent studies have reported that founder viruses play unique roles in establishing HIV-1 infection. Understanding the biological and immunological features of envelope glycoproteins (Env) from such viruses may facilitate the development of effective vaccines against HIV-1. In this report, we evaluated the immunogenicity of gp120 immunogens from two pairs of clade B and two pairs of clade C mother-to-child transmitted (MTCT) HIV-1 variants that had various levels of sensitivity to broadly neutralizing monoclonal antibodies. Individual gp120 DNA and protein vaccines were produced from each of the eight MTCT Env antigens included in the current study. Rabbits were immunized with these gp120 immunogens by the DNA prime-protein boost approach. High level Env-specific antibody responses were elicited by all MTCT gp120 immunogens. However, their abilities to elicit neutralizing antibody (NAb) responses differed and those from relatively neutralization-resistant variants tended to be more effective in eliciting broader NAb. Results of this pilot study indicated that not all MTCT Env proteins have the same potential to elicit NAb. Understanding the mechanism(s) behind such variation may provide useful information in formulating the next generation of HIV vaccines.

This paper addresses the environmental burdens (energy consumption and air emissions, including greenhouse gases, GHGs) of the material production, assembly, and recycling of automotive lithium-ion batteries in hybrid electric, plug-in hybrid electric, and battery electric vehicles (BEV) that use LiMn(2)O(4) cathode material. In this analysis, we calculated the energy consumed and air emissions generated when recovering LiMn(2)O(4), aluminum, and copper in three recycling processes (hydrometallurgical, intermediate physical, and direct physical recycling) and examined the effect(s) of closed-loop recycling on environmental impacts of battery production. We aimed to develop a U.S.-specific analysis of lithium-ion battery production and in particular sought to resolve literature discrepancies concerning energy consumed during battery assembly. Our analysis takes a process-level (versus a top-down) approach. For a battery used in a BEV, we estimated cradle-to-gate energy and GHG emissions of 75 MJ/kg battery and 5.1 kg CO(2)e/kg battery, respectively. Battery assembly consumes only 6% of this total energy. These results are significantly less than reported in studies that take a top-down approach. We further estimate that direct physical recycling of LiMn(2)O(4), aluminum, and copper in a closed-loop scenario can reduce energy consumption during material production by up to 48%.

A population of drivers was simulated using a microsimulation model. Consistent with the 2001 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS), a wide range of daily driving distance was observed. This heterogeneity implies that some drivers will realize greater fuel savings from driving a plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) than others, therefore, consumers who choose to purchase PHEVs may tend to be those who drive farther than average. The model was used to examine the effects of this difference in driving by estimating fuel use, electricity demand and GHG emissions by two populations, one assigned PHEVs at random to some fraction of drivers, and the other assigned PHEVs to drivers who realized operating cost savings at least as great as the amortized incremental cost of the PHEV relative to a comparable conventional vehicle. These two populations showed different distributions of daily driving distance, with the population of PHEV drivers selected on the basis of operating cost savings driving 40% farther per day on average than average drivers. This difference indicates the possible range of driving patterns of future PHEV drivers, which should be taken into account when estimating fuel savings and GHG reductions from PHEVs. For example, if 20% of U.S. vehicles were PHEVs, we find a potential reduction of fuel use of 0.17 gal per day per vehicle if PHEVs substitute randomly for conventional vehicles, whereas the fuel savings is as large as 0.26 gal per day per vehicle if PHEVs are substituted according to operating cost savings. Similar differences in GHG emissions were estimated as well. The effects of electricity demand management on charging PHEVs was examined for these two populations. It was found for both that only a small fraction of PHEVs were impacted by interruptible electricity service (no charging permitted during peak hours). Most PHEV drivers were able to charge sufficiently during off-peak hours and saw little change in operating costs. This implies that interruptible electricity service may impact operating costs of only a small fraction of PHEV drivers.

Summary A model is presented for calculating the environmental burdens of the part manufacturing and vehicle assembly (VMA) stage of the vehicle life cycle. The model is based on a process-level approach, accounting for all significant materials by their transformation processes (aluminum castings, polyethylene blow molding; etc.) and plant operation activities (painting; heating, ventilation, and air conditioning [HVAC], etc.) germane to VMA. Using quantitative results for these material/transformation process pairings, a percent-by-weight material/transformation distribution (MTD) function was developed that permits the model to be applied to a range of vehicles, both conventional and advanced (e.g., hybrid electric, light weight, aluminum intensive). Upon consolidation of all inputs, the model reduces to two terms: one proportional to vehicle mass and a plant overhead per vehicle term. When the model is applied to a materially well-characterized conventional vehicle, reliable estimates of cumulative energy consumption (34 gigajoules/vehicle) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions (2 tonnes/vehicle) with coefficients of variation are computed for the VMA life cycle stage. Due to the more comprehensive coverage of manufacturing operations, our energy estimates are on the higher end of previously published values. Nonetheless, they are still somewhat underestimated due to a lack of data on overhead operations in part manufacturing facilities and transportation of parts and materials between suppliers and vehicle manufacturing operations. For advanced vehicles, the material/transformation process distribution developed above needs some adjusting for different materials and components. Overall, energy use and CO2 emissions from the VMA stage are about 3.5% to 4.5% of total life cycle values for vehicles.

This study reviews existing life-cycle inventory (LCI) results for cradle-to-gate (ctg) environmental assessments of lead-acid (PbA), nickel–cadmium (NiCd), nickel-metal hydride (NiMH), sodium-sulfur (Na/S), and lithium-ion (Li-ion) batteries. LCI data are evaluated for the two stages of cradle-to-gate performance: battery material production and component fabrication and assembly into purchase ready batteries. Using existing production data on battery constituent materials, overall battery material production values were calculated and contrasted with published values for the five battery technologies. The comparison reveals a more prevalent absence of material production data for lithium ion batteries, though such data are also missing or dated for a few important constituent materials in nickel metal hydride, nickel cadmium, and sodium sulfur batteries (mischmetal hydrides, cadmium, β-alumina). Despite the overall availability of material production data for lead acid batteries, updated results for lead and lead peroxide are also needed. On the other hand, LCI data for the commodity materials common to most batteries (steel, aluminum, plastics) are up to date and of high quality, though there is a need for comparable quality data for copper. Further, there is an almost total absence of published LCI data on recycled battery materials, an unfortunate state of affairs given the potential benefit of battery recycling. Although battery manufacturing processes have occasionally been well described, detailed quantitative information on energy and material flows are missing. For each battery, a comparison of battery material production with its manufacturing and assembly counterpart is discussed. Combustion and process emissions for battery production have also been included in our assessment. In cases where emissions were not reported in the original literature, we estimated them using fuels data if reported. Whether on a per kilogram or per watt-hour capacity basis, lead-acid batteries have the lowest cradle-to-gate production energy, and fewest carbon dioxide and criteria pollutant emissions. The other batteries have higher values in all three categories.

Materials play a major role in defining the sustainability performance of automobiles throughout their materials-production, manufacturing, use, and end-of-life stages. Materials production and manufacturing raise many sustainability issues, including resource scarcity and materials sourcing, energy and carbon intensity, and materials efficiency in parts fabrication. In the use stage, materials properties such as density and strength directly affect materials-mass requirements, which influence two dominant sustainability parameters for vehicles: fuel economy and service life. For conventional vehicles, the operation segment of the use stage accounts for about 85% of the total life-cycle energy consumption and greenhouse-gas emissions. Consequently, powertrain technologies and efficiencies as well as fuel-cycle processes control these impacts. Future trends in vehicle electrification will shift the magnitude and distribution of life-cycle impacts and the effectiveness of materials strategies for improving sustainability, such as lightweighting. In many cases, the materials-production stage could become a greater determinant in life-cycle impacts. With current vehicle end-of-life management infrastructure, 85% of materials are recyclable, but recovery of plastics and segregation of metal alloys represent opportunities for improvement. Life-cycle assessment and cost analysis provide the most comprehensive methods for evaluating the sustainability of materials strategies. Using a life-cycle framework, this article highlights the current and future materials challenges and opportunities driving vehicle sustainability performance.

This article argues that the rhetorical discourse found among free, open source software (F/OSS) movements is being expanded beyond the traditional constituency of software hackers to encompass a larger group of non-expert users and other advocacy organizations. In so doing, the initial goals of free software advocates are being dramatically expanded to include broader aims of digital freedom and social justice. Utilizing the concept of social movements from political sociology, this article first outlines the key aims and discourses surrounding the free software movement by discussing the emergence and development of F/OSS efforts such as the GNU/Linux operating system and the GNU Public License (GPL). Second, I provide examples of how the free software discourses have been adopted, altered, and expanded by a number of organized groups over the past decade. These groups, such as the Creative Commons, digital privacy advocates, and global development agencies, have adopted some of the core concep...

This paper discusses what is known about the life-cycle burdens of lithium ion batteries. Constituent-material production and the subsequent manufacturing of batteries are emphasized. Of particular interest is estimation of the impact of battery material recycling on battery manufacturing. Because some materials come from comparatively less plentiful resources, the recycling of lithium ion batteries and the potential impact on battery-production life-cycle burdens are discussed. This effort represents the early stage of lithium ion battery life-cycle analysis, in which processes are characterized preparatory to detailed data acquisition. Notwithstanding the lack of data on production of battery materials, it is estimated that the energy use and greenhouse gas emissions associated with battery manufacturing make up only a small percentage of a plug-in hybrid vehicle's total life-cycle energy use. Further, the recycling of battery materials potentially can significantly reduce the material production energy.

Background Children with HIV will be on antiretroviral therapy (ART) longer than adults, and therefore the durability of first-line ART and timing of switch to second-line are key questions. We assess the long-term outcome of protease inhibitor and non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor (NNRTI) first-line ART and viral load switch criteria in children. Methods In a randomised open-label factorial trial, we compared effectiveness of two nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitors (NRTIs) plus a protease inhibitor versus two NRTIs plus an NNRTI and of switch to second-line ART at a viral load of 1000 copies per mL versus 30,000 copies per mL in previously untreated children infected with HIV from Europe and North and South America. Random assignment was by computer-generated sequentially numbered lists stratified by age, region, and by exposure to perinatal ART. Primary outcome was change in viral load between baseline and 4 years. Analysis was by intention to treat, which we defined as all patients that started treatment. This study is registered with ISRCTN, number ISRCTN73318385. Findings Between Sept 25, 2002, and Sept 7, 2005, 266 children (median age 6.5 years; IQR 2.8-12.9) were randomly assigned treatment regimens: 66 to receive protease inhibitor and switch to second-line at 1000 copies per mL (PI-low), 65 protease inhibitor and switch at 30,000 copies per mL (PI-higher), 68 NNRTI and switch at 1000 copies per mL (NNRTI-low), and 67 NNRTI and switch at 30,000 copies per mL (NNRTI-higher). Median follow-up was 5.0 years (IQR 4.2-6.0) and 188 (71%) children were on first-line ART at trial end. At 4 years, mean reductions in viral load were -3.16 log(10) copies per mL for protease inhibitors versus -3.31 log(10) copies per mL for NNRTIs (difference -0.15 log(10) copies per mL, 95% CI -0.41 to 0.11; p=0.26), and -3.26 log(10) copies per mL for switching at the low versus -3.20 log(10) copies per mL for switching at the higher threshold (difference 0.06 log(10) copies per mL, 95% CI -0.20 to 0.32; p=0.56). Protease inhibitor resistance was uncommon and there was no increase in NRTI resistance in the PI-higher compared with the PI-low group. NNRTI resistance was selected early, and about 10% more children accumulated NRTI mutations in the NNRTI-higher than the NNRTI-low group. Nine children had new CDC stage-C events and 60 had grade 3/4 adverse events; both were balanced across randomised groups. Interpretation Good long-term outcomes were achieved with all treatments strategies. Delayed switching of protease-inhibitor-based ART might be reasonable where future drug options are limited, because the risk of selecting for NRTI and protease-inhibitor resistance is low. Funding Paediatric European Network for Treatment of AIDS (PENTA) and Pediatric AIDS Clinical Trials Group (PACTG/IMPAACT).

Memory T cells cross-reactive with epitopes encoded by related or even unrelated viruses may alter the immune response and pathogenesis of infection by a process known as heterologous immunity. Because a challenge virus epitope may react with only a subset of the T cell repertoire in a cross-reactive epitope-specific memory pool, the vigorous cross-reactive response may be narrowly focused, or oligoclonal. We show in this article, by examining human T cell cross-reactivity between the HLA-A2–restricted influenza A virus-encoded M158–66 epitope (GILGFVFTL) and the dissimilar Epstein-Barr virus-encoded BMLF1280–288 epitope (GLCTLVAML), that, under some conditions, heterologous immunity can lead to a significant broadening, rather than a narrowing, of the TCR repertoire. We suggest that dissimilar cross-reactive epitopes might generate a broad, rather than a narrow, T cell repertoire if there is a lack of dominant high-affinity clones; this hypothesis is supported by computer simulation.

In an attempt to understand the extent to which racism and sexism influenced affect toward Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, we analyze data from a national survey conducted in October 2008. Situating our investigation in previous examinations of modern racism and modern sexism, we test competing hypotheses about the role of these attitudes in the 2008 presidential election. Our results suggest that racism had a significant impact on candidate evaluations while sexism did not. We find that respondents who hold racist attitudes expressed negative attitudes toward Obama and positive attitudes toward Palin. When interacted with party identification, racism continued to exert a strong effect, indicating findings that are robust across partisan affiliations. Sexism, on the other hand, did not significantly influence evaluations of either Palin or Obama.

Public support for civil liberties has undergone important changes in the past 50 years, as has scholarship on this topic. Whereas the American public was very intolerant of communists, socialists, and atheists in the 1950s and 1960s, current intolerance is now focused more on Muslim Americans and right-wing racists, among other groups. What has remained consistent is the important role played in shaping citizens’ tolerant and intolerant attitudes by their individual characteristics, such as education, authoritarianism, dogmatism, religiosity, and race. Although threat perceptions have always played an important role in explaining citizens’ support for civil liberties, this variable has gained new meaning in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. Meanwhile, improved survey methodology now allows us to understand better the extent of democratic tolerance among Americans. In this article, we review the state of the literature on public support for civil liberties prior to 9/11 and, because we believe the terrorist attacks dramatically changed the political context, after 9/11.