Turfgrass Industry Practitioners and the Pesticide Label

A seminar for green industry professionals was used to conduct a survey on the use and perception of the pesticide label. The audience was composed of those in lawn care/grounds maintenance, golf course turfgrass management, and other areas (e.g., sports turf, parks and recreation, etc.). Overall, turfgrass professionals among all three industry segments are well-informed of their responsibilities for the legal and safe use of pesticides, although industry personnel could improve their practice of keeping up with pesticide label changes and revisions

Targetable Signaling Pathway Mutations Are Associated with Malignant Phenotype in IDH-Mutant Gliomas

Purpose: Isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH) gene mutations occur in low-grade and high-grade gliomas. We sought to identify the genetic basis of malignant phenotype heterogeneity in IDH-mutant gliomas. Methods: We prospectively implanted tumor specimens from 20 consecutive IDH1-mutant glioma resections into mouse brains and genotyped all resection specimens using a CLIA-certified molecular panel. Gliomas with cancer driver mutations were tested for sensitivity to targeted inhibitors in vitro. Associations between genomic alterations and outcomes were analyzed in patients. Results: By 10 months, 8 of 20 IDH1-mutant gliomas developed intracerebral xenografts. All xenografts maintained mutant IDH1 and high levels of 2-hydroxyglutarate on serial transplantation. All xenograft-producing gliomas harbored “lineage-defining” mutations in CIC (oligodendroglioma) or TP53 (astrocytoma), and 6 of 8 additionally had activating mutations in PIK3CA or amplification of PDGFRA, MET, or N-MYC. Only IDH1 and CIC/TP53 mutations were detected in non–xenograft-forming gliomas (P = 0.0007). Targeted inhibition of the additional alterations decreased proliferation in vitro. Moreover, we detected alterations in known cancer driver genes in 13.4% of IDH-mutant glioma patients, including PIK3CA, KRAS, AKT, or PTEN mutation or PDGFRA, MET, or N-MYC amplification. IDH/CIC mutant tumors were associated with PIK3CA/KRAS mutations whereas IDH/TP53 tumors correlated with PDGFRA/MET amplification. Presence of driver alterations at progression was associated with shorter subsequent progression-free survival (median 9.0 vs. 36.1 months; P = 0.0011). Conclusion: A subset of IDH-mutant gliomas with mutations in driver oncogenes has a more malignant phenotype in patients. Identification of these alterations may provide an opportunity for use of targeted therapies in these patients.Koch Institute Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Bridge Projec

Foraging distribution of breeding northern fulmars is predicted by commercial fisheries

Funding: J.H.D. was funded by the Irish Research Council Enterprise Partnership Scheme, supported by the Petroleum Infrastructure Program. Field work on Little Saltee in 2018 and 2019 and S.d.G. were funded by the BlueFish project, funded by the European Regional Development fund through the Ireland Wales Cooperation Programme 2014−2020. Fieldwork on Eynhallow and St. Kilda was supported by Orkney Islands Council, the University of Aberdeen, the National Trust for Scotland and Talisman Energy (UK) Ltd. E.W.J.E. was funded by a Marine Alliance for Science and Technology for Scotland and University of Aberdeen studentship. Fieldwork elsewhere was funded by the EU Atlantic area INTERREG program via the Future of the Atlantic Marine Environment (FAME) project and by the RSPB, JNCC, Fair Isle Bird Observatory Trust and Marine Scotland, through the Seabird Tracking And Research (STAR) project. G.E.A. was funded by the MarPAMM project supported by the EU INTERREG VA Programme, managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).Habitat-use and distribution models are essential tools of conservation biology. For wide-ranging species, such models may be challenged by the expanse, remoteness and variability of their habitat, these challenges often being compounded by the species' mobility. In marine environments, direct observations and sampling are usually impractical over broad regions, and instead remotely sensed proxies of prey availability are often used to link species abundance or foraging behaviour to areas that are expected to provide food consistently. One source of food consumed by many marine top predators is fisheries waste, but habitat-use models rarely account for this interaction. We assessed the utility of commercial fishing effort as a covariate in foraging habitat models for northern fulmars Fulmarus glacialis, a species known to exploit fisheries waste, during their summer breeding season. First, we investigated the prevalence of fulmar-vessel interactions using concurrently tracked fulmars and fishing vessels. We infer that over half of our study individuals associate with fishing vessels while foraging, mostly with trawl-type vessels. We then used hidden Markov models to explain the spatio-temporal distribution of putative foraging behaviour as a function of a range of covariates. Persistent commercial fishing effort was a significant predictor of foraging behaviour, and was more important than commonly used environmental covariates retained in the model. This study demonstrates the effect of commercial fisheries on the foraging distribution and behaviour of a marine top predator, and supports the idea that, in some systems, incorporating human activities into distribution studies can improve model fit substantially.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

A Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial for a Multi-Level, Clinic-Based Smoking Cessation Program with Women in Appalachian Communities: Study Protocol for the Break Free Program

BACKGROUND: The cervical cancer burden is high among women living in Appalachia. Cigarette smoking, a cervical cancer risk factor, is also highly prevalent in this population. This project aims to increase smoking cessation among women living in Appalachia by embedding a smoking cessation program within a larger, integrated cervical cancer prevention program. METHODS: The broader program, the Take CARE study, is a multi-site research collaborative designed to address three risk factors for cervical cancer incidence and mortality: tobacco use, human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, and cervical cancer screening. Break Free is a primary care clinic-based implementation program that aims to promote smoking cessation among female smokers in Appalachia by standardizing clinical practice protocols. Break Free includes: (1) implementation of a tobacco user identification system in the Electronic Health Record, (2) clinic staff and provider training on the Ask, Advise and Refer (AAR) model, (3) provider implementation of AAR to identify and treat women who want to quit smoking within the next 6 months, (4) facilitated access to cessation phone counseling plus pharmacotherapy, and (5) the bundling of Break Free tobacco cessation with HPV vaccination and cervical cancer screening interventions in an integrated approach to cervical cancer prevention. The study spans 35 Appalachian health clinics across 10 healthcare systems. We aim to enroll 51 adult female smokers per health system (total N = 510). Baseline and follow-up data will be obtained from participant (provider and patient) surveys. The primary outcome is self-reported 12-month point prevalence abstinence among enrolled patients. All randomized patients are asked to complete follow-up surveys, regardless of whether they participated in tobacco treatment. Data analysis of the primary aims will follow intent-to-treat methodology. Secondary outcomes will assess program implementation and cost effectiveness. DISCUSSION: Addressing high tobacco use rates is critical for reducing cervical cancer morbidity and mortality among women living in Appalachia. This study evaluates the implementation and effectiveness of a smoking cessation program in increasing smoking cessation among female smokers. If results demonstrate effectiveness and sustainability, implementation of this program into other health care clinics could reduce both rates of smoking and cervical cancer. Trial registration NCT04340531 (April 9, 2020)

The US influence in shaping Iraq's sectarian media

After the Anglo-American invasion, the US neo-conservative administration established the Iraqi Governing Council in July 2003, which included 25 members selected for their ethnic and religious origins; it was the most obvious sign of the US political separatist strategy. As a result of the new political reality, the Iraqi media was divided into ethno-sectarian lines, resulting from previous policies followed by the US administration. This article argues that the US media policy prior and after the US invasion of Iraq played a part in enhancing and encouraging the sectarian divisions in the Iraqi society. This was mainly done by sending biased media messages through the state-run Iraqi Media Network (IMN) and other US-aligned channels and allowing militant voices from different Iraqi sides to wage wars of words without interfering. In fact, the only time US officials interfered is when they were criticized by Iraqi media outlets. This study cites different US government reports, accounts from media practitioners who worked for IMN and other journalists that monitored the Iraqi media

International Society for Extracellular Vesicles and International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy statement on extracellular vesicles from mesenchymal stromal cells and other cells: considerations for potential therapeutic agents to suppress coronavirus disease-19

STATEMENT: The International Society for Cellular and Gene Therapies (ISCT) and the International Society for Extracellular Vesicles (ISEV) recognize the potential of extracellular vesicles (EVs, including exosomes) from mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) and possibly other cell sources as treatments for COVID-19. Research and trials in this area are encouraged. However, ISEV and ISCT do not currently endorse the use of EVs or exosomes for any purpose in COVID-19, including but not limited to reducing cytokine storm, exerting regenerative effects or delivering drugs, pending the generation of appropriate manufacturing and quality control provisions, pre-clinical safety and efficacy data, rational clinical trial design and proper regulatory oversight

The Acute Environment, Rather than T Cell Subset Pre-Commitment, Regulates Expression of the Human T Cell Cytokine Amphiregulin

Cytokine expression patterns of T cells can be regulated by pre-commitment to stable effector phenotypes, further modification of moderately stable phenotypes, and quantitative changes in cytokine production in response to acute signals. We showed previously that the epidermal growth factor family member Amphiregulin is expressed by T cell receptor-activated mouse CD4 T cells, particularly Th2 cells, and helps eliminate helminth infection. Here we report a detailed analysis of the regulation of Amphiregulin expression by human T cell subsets. Signaling through the T cell receptor induced Amphiregulin expression by most or all T cell subsets in human peripheral blood, including naive and memory CD4 and CD8 T cells, Th1 and Th2 in vitro T cell lines, and subsets of memory CD4 T cells expressing several different chemokine receptors and cytokines. In these different T cell types, Amphiregulin synthesis was inhibited by an antagonist of protein kinase A, a downstream component of the cAMP signaling pathway, and enhanced by ligands that increased cAMP or directly activated protein kinase A. Prostaglandin E2 and adenosine, natural ligands that stimulate adenylyl cyclase activity, also enhanced Amphiregulin synthesis while reducing synthesis of most other cytokines. Thus, in contrast to mouse T cells, Amphiregulin synthesis by human T cells is regulated more by acute signals than pre-commitment of T cells to a particular cytokine pattern. This may be appropriate for a cytokine more involved in repair than attack functions during most inflammatory responses