B822: The Economic Benefits of Late-Season Black Fly Control

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) contracted with the Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at the University of Maine to study the economic benefits of black fly control. The DEP requested that the study focus on the benefits of late-season black fly control. This decision was based on the belief that any control program for black flies would be initially directed toward the late-season varieties since they primarily exist along the Penobscot River between the towns of Millinocket and Howland. The purpose of this report is to present the results of a study to measure the economic benefits of late-season black fly control. The study objectives were to (I) determine the attitudes of residents toward early- and late-season black flies and other pests in the study area; (2) Measure the economic benefits of late-season black fly control that would accrue to residents of the study area; and (3) determine the factors that influence the magnitude of the economic benefits of late-season black fly control.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/aes_bulletin/1052/thumbnail.jp

The 1<z<5 Infrared Luminosity Function of Type I Quasars

We determine the rest-frame 8 micron luminosity function of type I quasars over the redshift range 1<z<5. Our sample consists of 292 24 micron sources brighter than 1 mJy selected from 7.17 square degrees of the Spitzer Space Telescope MIPS survey of the NOAO Deep Wide-Field Survey Bootes field. The AGN and Galaxy Evolution Survey (AGES) has measured redshifts for 270 of the R<21.7 sources and we estimate that the contamination of the remaining 22 sources by stars and galaxies is low. We are able to select quasars missed by ultra-violet excess quasar surveys, including reddened type I quasars and 2.2<z<3.0 quasars with optical colors similar to main sequence stars. We find reddened type I quasars comprise 20% of the type I quasar population. Nonetheless, the shape, normalization, and evolution of the rest-frame 8 micron luminosity function is comparable to that of quasars selected from optical surveys. The 8 micron luminosity function of type I quasars is well approximated by a power-law with index -2.75(+/-0.14). We directly measure the peak of the quasar space density to be at z=2.6(+/-0.3).Comment: Accepted for publication in the ApJ, 19 pages, 12 figure

Adjuvant enzalutamide for the treatment of early-stage androgen-receptor positive, triple-negative breast cancer: a feasibility study.

PURPOSE: Chemotherapy with or without immunotherapy remains the mainstay of treatment for triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC). A subset of TNBCs express the androgen receptor (AR), representing a potential new therapeutic target. This study assessed the feasibility of adjuvant enzalutamide, an AR antagonist, in early-stage, AR-positive (AR +) TNBC. METHODS: This study was a single-arm, open-label, multicenter trial in which patients with stage I-III, AR ≥ 1% TNBC who had completed standard-of-care therapy were treated with enzalutamide 160 mg/day orally for 1 year. The primary objective of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of 1 year of adjuvant enzalutamide, defined as the treatment discontinuation rate of enzalutamide due to toxicity, withdrawal of consent, or other events related to tolerability. Secondary endpoints included disease-free survival (DFS), overall survival (OS), safety, and genomic features of recurrent tumors. RESULTS: Fifty patients were enrolled in this study. Thirty-five patients completed 1 year of therapy, thereby meeting the prespecified trial endpoint for feasibility. Thirty-two patients elected to continue with an optional second year of treatment. Grade ≥ 3 treatment-related adverse events were uncommon. The 1-year, 2-year, and 3-year DFS were 94%, 92% , and 80%, respectively. Median OS has not been reached. CONCLUSION: This clinical trial demonstrates that adjuvant enzalutamide is a feasible and well-tolerated regimen in patients with an early-stage AR + TNBC. Randomized trials in the metastatic setting may inform patient selection through biomarker development; longer follow-up is needed to determine the effect of anti-androgens on DFS and OS in this patient population

Azimuthal anisotropy of neutral pion production in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV: Path-length dependence of jet quenching and the role of initial geometry

We have measured the azimuthal anisotropy of pi0's for 1 < pT < 18 GeV/c for Au+Au collisions at sqrt s_NN = 200 GeV. The observed anisotropy shows a gradual decrease in 3 < pT < 7 - 10 GeV/c, but remains positive beyond 10 GeV/c. The magnitude of this anisotropy is under-predicted, up to at least 10 GeV/c, by current perturbative QCD (pQCD) energy-loss model calculations. An estimate of the increase in anisotropy expected from initial-geometry modification due to gluon saturation effects and initial-geometry fluctuations is insufficient to account for this discrepancy. Calculations which implement a path length dependence steeper than what is implied by current pQCD energy-loss models, show reasonable agreement with the data.Comment: 384 authors, 6 pages text, 3 figures. Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Transverse momentum and centrality dependence of dihadron correlations in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=200 GeV: Jet-quenching and the response of partonic matter

Azimuthal angle \Delta\phi correlations are presented for charged hadrons from dijets for 0.4 < p_T < 10 GeV/c in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. With increasing p_T, the away-side distribution evolves from a broad to a concave shape, then to a convex shape. Comparisons to p+p data suggest that the away-side can be divided into a partially suppressed "head" region centered at Delta\phi ~ \pi, and an enhanced "shoulder" region centered at Delta\phi ~ \pi +/- 1.1. The p_T spectrum for the "head" region softens toward central collisions, consistent with the onset of jet quenching. The spectral slope for the "shoulder" region is independent of centrality and trigger p_T, which offers constraints on energy transport mechanisms and suggests that the "shoulder" region contains the medium response to energetic jets.Comment: 420 authors from 58 institutions, 6 pages, 4 figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letters. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Transverse momentum dependence of J/psi polarization at midrapidity in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV

We report the measurement of the transverse momentum dependence of inclusive J/psi polarization in p+p collisions at sqrt(s)=200 GeV performed by the PHENIX Experiment at RHIC. The polarization is studied in the helicity, Gottfried-Jackson, and Collins-Soper frames for p_T < 5 GeV/c and |y| < 0.35. The J/psi polarization in the helicity and Gottfried-Jackson frames is consistent with zero for all transverse momenta, with a slight (1.8 sigma) trend towards longitudinal polarization for transverse momenta above 2 GeV/c. No conclusion is allowed due to the limited acceptance in the Collins-Soper frame and the uncertainties of the current data. The results are compared to observations for other collision systems and center of mass energies and to different quarkonia production models.Comment: 384 authors from 62 institutions, 11 pages, 9 figures, 2 tables. v2 is expanded version submitted to Physical Review D. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures are available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Particle-species dependent modification of jet-induced correlations in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV

We report PHENIX measurements of the correlation of a trigger hadron at intermediate transverse momentum (2.5<p_{T,trig}<4 GeV/c), with associated mesons or baryons at lower p_{T,assoc}, in Au+Au collisions at sqrt(s_NN) = 200 GeV. The jet correlations for both baryons and mesons show similar shape alterations as a function of centrality, characteristic of strong modification of the away-side jet. The ratio of jet-associated baryons to mesons for this jet increases with centrality and p_{T,assoc} and, in the most central collisions, reaches a value similar to that for inclusive measurements. This trend is incompatible with in-vacuum fragmentation, but could be due to jet-like contributions from correlated soft partons which recombine upon hadronization.Comment: 344 authors, 4 pages text, RevTeX, 4 figures. Submitted to Physical Review Letters. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm

Sustainable Diets: another hurdle or a better food future?,

The notion of sustainable diets has emerged forcibly onto the food policy agenda in recent years, but has also met resistance. The article reviews the case for sustainable diets. It counterbalances the current dominant policy emphasis on raising food output as the best route to a sustainable food future. The article suggests that a process of democratic experimentation is underway. Some official guidelines have emerged alongside a mix of civil society and academic formulations. More coherence of data, principles and purpose is needed at the global and regional policy-making levels for these to become effective in the common task of reducing the food system’s negative impact on health, environment and economies

High p_T Direct Photon and pi^0 Triggered Azimuthal Jet Correlations in sqrt(s)=200 GeV p+p Collisions

Correlations of charged hadrons of 1 < pT < 10 GeV/c with high pT direct photons and pi^ 0 mesons in the range 5 <pT < 15 GeV/c are used to study jet fragmentation in the photon+jet and di-jet channels, respectively. The magnitude of the partonic transverse momentum, kT, is obtained by comparing to a model incorporating a Gaussian kT smearing. The sensitivity of the associated charged hadron spectra to the underlying fragmentation function is tested and the data are compared to calculations using recent global fit results. The shape of the direct photon-associated hadron spectrum as well as its charge asymmetry are found to be consistent with a sample dominated by quark-gluon Compton scattering. No significant evidence of fragmentation photon correlated production is observed within experimental uncertainties.Comment: 431 authors, 18 pages, 18 figures, 4 tables, RevTeX-4. Submitted to Physical Review D. Plain text data tables for the points plotted in figures for this and previous PHENIX publications are (or will be) publicly available at http://www.phenix.bnl.gov/papers.htm