Gardening Series Scores Well With Agents; Senior Staff at International Research Centers

Two Research Briefs: Gardening Series Scores Well With Agents, by William F. Braden; and, Senior Communication Staff at International Centers, by Cynthia L. Garver, with Olivia Vent

Social Competence Treatment after Traumatic Brain Injury: A Multicenter, Randomized, Controlled Trial of Interactive Group Treatment versus Non-Interactive Treatment

Objective To evaluate the effectiveness of a replicable group treatment program for improving social competence after traumatic brain injury (TBI). Design Multicenter randomized controlled trial comparing two methods of conducting a social competency skills program, an interactive group format versus a classroom lecture. Setting Community and Veteran rehabilitation centers. Participants 179 civilian, military, and veteran adults with TBI and social competence difficulties, at least 6 months post-injury. Experimental Intervention Thirteen weekly group interactive sessions (1.5 hours) with structured and facilitated group interactions to improve social competence. Alternative (Control) Intervention Thirteen traditional classroom sessions using the same curriculum with brief supplemental individual sessions but without structured group interaction. Primary Outcome Measure Profile of Pragmatic Impairment in Communication (PPIC), an objective behavioral rating of social communication impairments following TBI. Secondary Outcomes LaTrobe Communication Questionnaire (LCQ), Goal Attainment Scale (GAS), Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder Checklist – (PCL-C), Brief Symptom Inventory 18 (BSI-18), Scale of Perceived Social Self Efficacy (PSSE). Results Social competence goals (GAS) were achieved and maintained for most participants regardless of treatment method. Significant improvements in the primary outcome (PPIC) and two of the secondary outcomes (LCQ and BSI) were seen immediately post-treatment and at 3 months post-treatment in the AT arm only, however these improvements were not significantly different between the GIST and AT arms. Similar trends were observed for PSSE and PCL-C. Conclusions Social competence skills improved for persons with TBI in both treatment conditions. The group interactive format was not found to be a superior method of treatment delivery in this study

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Robber Barons Rising: The Potential for Resource Conflict in Ghazni, Afghanistan

The article of record as published may be located at http://dx.doi.org/10.5334/sta.dgSecurity and governance in Ghazni Province, Afghanistan are threatened by resource conflict dynamics: groups focus on exploiting lootable resources in the short term while weak institutions and conflict persist. Elements within the Afghan government and insurgent organizations alike expand their power and influence in this manner. Understanding how criminal organizations operate within the regional political economy is essential to reducing the leverage these networks, associated criminal syndicates, and corrupt government officials have on the community. We proffer three hypotheses for development and stability practitioners to monitor as transition approaches in 2014, as well as recommendations for mitigating the onset of resource conflict in Ghazni as the province experiences a downgrade in foreign security forces. Adopting effective, anti-insurgency policies will be fundamental to mitigating the malicious effects on the population and providing incentives for peace, rather than continuing conflict

Dietary Supplementation with Botanical Blends Modified Intestinal Microbiota and Metabolomics of Weaned Pigs Experimentally Infected with Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

The objective of this study was to investigate supplementation of botanical blends (BB) comprised of 0.3% capsicum oleoresin and 12% garlic oil on gut microbiota and metabolomic profiles in serum and ileal mucosa of Escherichia coli infected pigs. Sixty weaned pigs were assigned to one of five treatments: negative control (CON-), positive control (CON+), dietary supplementation of 100 ppm BB1, 50 or 100 ppm BB2. All pigs, except CON-, were orally inoculated with 1010 CFU F18 ETEC/3-mL dose for 3 consecutive days after 7 d adaption. Feces, ileal digesta and cecal content were collected for 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Serum and ileal mucosa underwent primary metabolomics analysis. Supplementing 100 ppm BB1 increased (p < 0.05) relative abundances of Enterobacteriaceae and Escherichia-Shigella in ileum, and the relative abundances of Bacteroidota and Prevotellaceae in cecum than CON+ on d 5 post-inoculation (PI). Supplementing 100 ppm BB2 upregulated serum pinitol on d 4 PI and serum cholesterol and aminomalonic acids on d 21 PI, while supplementing 50 ppm BB2 reduced asparagine in ileal mucosa on d 5 PI than CON+. Supplementation with botanical blends modulated ileal and cecal microbiota and serum metabolomics profiles in weaned pigs under Escherichia coli challenge

Effects of supplementation of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens on performance, systemic immunity, and intestinal microbiota of weaned pigs experimentally infected with a pathogenic enterotoxigenic E. coli F18

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation of Bacillus (B.) amyloliquefaciens on growth performance, diarrhea, systemic immunity, and intestinal microbiota of weaned pigs experimentally infected with F18 enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC). A total of 50 weaned pigs (7.41 ± 1.35 kg BW) were individually housed and randomly allotted to one of the following five treatments: sham control (CON-), sham B. amyloliquefaciens (BAM-), challenged control (CON+), challenged B. amyloliquefaciens (BAM+), and challenged carbadox (AGP+). The experiment lasted 28 days, with 7 days of adaptation and 21 days after the first ETEC inoculation. ETEC challenge reduced (P < 0.05) average daily gain (ADG) of pigs. Compared with CON+, AGP+ enhanced (P < 0.05) ADG, while B. amyloliquefaciens supplementation tended (P < 0.10) to increase ADG in pigs from days 0 to 21 post-inoculation (PI). The ETEC challenge increased (P < 0.05) white blood cell (WBC) count on days 7 and 21 PI, while BAM+ pigs tended (P < 0.10) to have low WBC on day 7 PI and had lower (P < 0.05) WBC on day 21 PI compared with CON+. In comparison to AGP+ fecal microbiota, BAM+ had a lower (P < 0.05) relative abundance of Lachnospiraceae on day 0 and Clostridiaceae on day 21 PI, but a higher (P < 0.05) relative abundance of Enterobacyeriaceae on day 0. In ileal digesta, the Shannon index was higher (P < 0.05) in BAM+ than in AGP+. Bray-Curtis PCoA displayed a difference in bacterial community composition in ileal digesta collected from sham pigs vs. ETEC-infected pigs on day 21 PI. Pigs in BAM+ had a greater (P < 0.05) relative abundance of Firmicutes, but a lower (P < 0.05) relative abundance of Actinomycetota and Bacteroidota in ileal digesta than pigs in AGP+. Ileal digesta from AGP+ had a greater (P < 0.05) abundance of Clostridium sensu stricto 1 but lower (P < 0.05) Bifidobacterium than pigs in BAM+. In conclusion, supplementation of B. amyloliquefaciens tended to increase ADG and had limited effects on the diarrhea of ETEC-infected pigs. However, pigs fed with B. amyloliquefaciens exhibit milder systemic inflammation than controls. B. amyloliquefaciens differently modified the intestinal microbiota of weaned pigs compared with carbadox

Dietary Supplementation with Botanical Blends Modified Intestinal Microbiota and Metabolomics of Weaned Pigs Experimentally Infected with Enterotoxigenic <i>Escherichia coli</i>

The objective of this study was to investigate supplementation of botanical blends (BB) comprised of 0.3% capsicum oleoresin and 12% garlic oil on gut microbiota and metabolomic profiles in serum and ileal mucosa of Escherichia coli infected pigs. Sixty weaned pigs were assigned to one of five treatments: negative control (CON−), positive control (CON+), dietary supplementation of 100 ppm BB1, 50 or 100 ppm BB2. All pigs, except CON−, were orally inoculated with 1010 CFU F18 ETEC/3-mL dose for 3 consecutive days after 7 d adaption. Feces, ileal digesta and cecal content were collected for 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Serum and ileal mucosa underwent primary metabolomics analysis. Supplementing 100 ppm BB1 increased (p Enterobacteriaceae and Escherichia–Shigella in ileum, and the relative abundances of Bacteroidota and Prevotellaceae in cecum than CON+ on d 5 post-inoculation (PI). Supplementing 100 ppm BB2 upregulated serum pinitol on d 4 PI and serum cholesterol and aminomalonic acids on d 21 PI, while supplementing 50 ppm BB2 reduced asparagine in ileal mucosa on d 5 PI than CON+. Supplementation with botanical blends modulated ileal and cecal microbiota and serum metabolomics profiles in weaned pigs under Escherichia coli challenge

Dietary Supplementation with Botanical Blends Modified Intestinal Microbiota and Metabolomics of Weaned Pigs Experimentally Infected with Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli

The objective of this study was to investigate supplementation of botanical blends (BB) comprised of 0.3% capsicum oleoresin and 12% garlic oil on gut microbiota and metabolomic profiles in serum and ileal mucosa of Escherichia coli infected pigs. Sixty weaned pigs were assigned to one of five treatments: negative control (CON&minus;), positive control (CON+), dietary supplementation of 100 ppm BB1, 50 or 100 ppm BB2. All pigs, except CON&minus;, were orally inoculated with 1010 CFU F18 ETEC/3-mL dose for 3 consecutive days after 7 d adaption. Feces, ileal digesta and cecal content were collected for 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing. Serum and ileal mucosa underwent primary metabolomics analysis. Supplementing 100 ppm BB1 increased (P &lt; 0.05) relative abundances of Enterobacteriaceae and Escherichia&ndash;Shigella in ileum, and the relative abundances of Bacteroidota and Prevotellaceae in cecum than CON+ on d 5 post-inoculation (PI). Supplementing 100 ppm BB2 upregulated serum pinitol on d 4 PI and serum cholesterol and aminomalonic acids on d 21 PI, while supplementing 50 ppm BB2 reduced asparagine in ileal mucosa on d 5 PI than CON+. Supplementation with botanical blends modulated ileal and cecal microbiota and serum metabolomics profiles in weaned pigs under Escherichia coli challenge