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6–11-year-old children provide a critical window for physical activity (PA) interventions. The Virtual Fitness Buddy ecosystem is a precision health PA intervention for children integrating mixed reality technology to connect people and devices. A cluster randomized, controlled trial was conducted across 19 afterschool sites over two 6-month cohorts to test its efficacy in increasing PA and decreasing sedentary behavior. In the treatment group, a custom virtual dog via a mixed reality kiosk helped children set PA goals while sharing progress with parents to receive feedback and support. Children in the control group set PA goals using a computer without support from the virtual dog or parents. 303 children had 8+ hours of PA data on at least one day of each of the 3 intervention time intervals. Conversion of sedentary time was primarily to light-intensity PA and was strongest for children with low baseline moderate-to-vigorous PA than children above 45 min of baseline moderate-to-vigorous PA. Findings suggest that the VFB ecosystem can promote sustainable PA in children and may be rapidly diffused for widespread public health impact. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research distinguishing terrorist groups has employed categorical schemes that are (1) ideologically broad and ambiguous (e.g., right‐wing versus left‐wing) or (2) focused on single‐issues (e.g., guns, abortion). Broad schemes often fail to clearly distinguish groups' motivations, and single‐issue schemes provide no coherent theoretical structure for understanding terrorist behavior. To address these limitations, we applied the conceptual framework of moral foundations theory (MFT) to derive a content‐analytic scheme identifying universal instincts we term "moral motivations." We then applied this scheme to classify descriptions found in the Profiles of Perpetrators of Terrorism in the United States, an open‐sourced dataset providing information on terrorist organizations that committed violence on U.S. soil. Analyses examined how terrorist‐group activities are associated with specific moral motivations in order to distinguish dominant motives among different groups. Results showed that extremist right‐wing, religious, and ethno‐nationalist/separatist ideologies were associated with the binding motivations of loyalty, authority, and purity. Extremist left‐wing and single‐issue ideologies were associated with the individualizing motivations of care and fairness. These findings are discussed regarding the value of using MFT's motivations to distinguish terrorist groups and how describing their moral motivations might advance efforts to curtail their activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the effects of the U.S. Great Depression on the Chicago Public Library (CPL) in Chicago, Illinois. According to the author, the Depression precipitated significant changes in internal and external library relations. Particular focus is given to the efforts of chief librarian Carl B. Roden to reform U.S. public libraries and to initiate adult education programs at the CPL. It is suggested that the effects of Roden's outreach programs, including the development of a local history collection and a series of community discussion forums, have had lasting significance to the community and illustrate the larger historical transformation of libraries from book repositories to community centers. Other topics include fiction, book purchasing, and library patrons.

Land-use regression models (LUR) estimate outdoor air pollution at high spatial resolution. Previous LURs have generally focused on individual cities. Here, we present an LUR for year-2006 ground-level NO2 concentrations throughout the contiguous United States. Our approach employs ground- and satellite-based NO2 measurements, and geographic characteristics such as population density, land-use (based on satellite data), and distance to major and minor roads. The results provide reliable estimates of ambient NO2 air pollution as measured by the U.S. EPA (R² = 0.78; bias = 22%) at a spatial resolution (30 m) that is capable of capturing within-urban and near-roadway gradients in NO2. We explore several aspects of temporal (time-of-day; day-of-week; season) and spatial (urban versus rural; U.S. region) variability in the model. Results are robust to spatial autocorrelation, to selection of an alternative input data set, and to minor perturbations in input data (using 90% of the data to predict the remaining 10%). The modeled population-weighted (unweighted) mean outdoor concentration in the United States is 10.7 (4.8) ppb. Our approach could be implemented in other areas of the world given sufficient road network and pollutant monitoring data. To facilitate future use and evaluation of the results, concentration estimates for the 8 million U.S. Census blocks in the contiguous United States are publicly available via the Supporting Information. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The chloride concentrations of urban lakes where road de-icing salt (NaCl) is used have increased to levels that can change natural lake-mixing behavior and influence aquatic life. A zero-dimensional model was formulated to project the long-term accumulation of chloride in urban lakes receiving runoff from roads on which road salt is applied. Four model parameters and an initial concentration were obtained by calibrating the model with 5 years (2004–2008) of monthly salinity data from seven lakes in the Minneapolis/St. Paul Twin Cities Metropolitan Area of Minnesota, USA. Three of the seven lakes appear headed towards year-round volume averaged chloride concentrations above the 230-mg/L chronic standard for impairment to aquatic habitat. The two lakes with the lowest projected equilibrium concentrations of chloride have already reached equilibrium. One lake is projected to take an additional 40 years to reach equilibrium under current climate conditions and current road salt application rates. If road salt application rates are reduced in future winters, it is projected that the lakes will respond with noticeably lower chloride concentrations within 5 to 10 years. If road salt applications are discontinued altogether, chloride concentrations are projected to drop to natural levels within 10 to 30 years in all seven lakes. A reduction of application rates by 50% would result in annual volumetric average chloride concentrations below the chronic standard. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Deals with a study on the role of U.S. libraries in the Americanization process. Changes in the focus of public librarians; Services to immigrant communities; Delivery system of the Chicago Public Library in Illinois.

The article examines the response of the Chicago Public Library to the financial challenges faced during the Great Depression in the U.S. during the 1930s. The effects of increased unemployment on library use, demands on library hours, and library staffing are discussed and the effect of budget cuts on library priorities is explored. The impact of reduced book budgets on circulation, appeals to the public for financial support, and dependence on state aid are also discussed. Comparisons between the effect of the Depression and the global financial crisis of 2008-2009 on U.S. public libraries are explored.

Land-use regression models (LUR) estimate outdoor air pollution at high spatial resolution. Previous LURs have generally focused on individual cities. Here, we present an LUR for year-2006 ground-level NO(2) concentrations throughout the contiguous United States. Our approach employs ground- and satellite-based NO(2) measurements, and geographic characteristics such as population density, land-use (based on satellite data), and distance to major and minor roads. The results provide reliable estimates of ambient NO(2) air pollution as measured by the U.S. EPA (R(2) = 0.78; bias = 22%) at a spatial resolution (∼ 30 m) that is capable of capturing within-urban and near-roadway gradients in NO(2). We explore several aspects of temporal (time-of-day; day-of-week; season) and spatial (urban versus rural; U.S. region) variability in the model. Results are robust to spatial autocorrelation, to selection of an alternative input data set, and to minor perturbations in input data (using 90% of the data to predict the remaining 10%). The modeled population-weighted (unweighted) mean outdoor concentration in the United States is 10.7 (4.8) ppb. Our approach could be implemented in other areas of the world given sufficient road network and pollutant monitoring data. To facilitate future use and evaluation of the results, concentration estimates for the ∼ 8 million U.S. Census blocks in the contiguous United States are publicly available via the Supporting Information.