Strawberry Leaf-roller Control

The strawberry leaf-roller is the most serious insect pest on the strawberry in Iowa. It feeds on the plants thruout the summer, increasing in abundance if not controlled, so that the plants may suffer severe injury after the crop has been removed. In the larva or worm stage, the insect feeds between the two halves of a leaf, which is folded along the midrib and fastened together with web. The presence of such leaves in a patch is the best indication of infestation by the leaf-roller. The larvae feed only on one leaf surface, leaving the other intact so that it dries and turns brown

Why more diverse police forces may not solve the problems which exist between police and disadvantaged communities of color

In the wake of the tragedies of the past year in places such as Ferguson and New York and Baltimore where black men have been killed by police officers, many have called for reforms to the police, pushing for greater diversity among police departments. But do black officers have an advantage over white officers in building relationships with black citizens? In new research which examines police–community relations in East St. Louis, Jacinta M. Gau and Rod K. Brunson find that the black community expressed concern over under-policing, slow response times, and police misconduct both on and off duty, even though the city’s police department also reflected the population’s black majority

How do the many etiologies of West syndrome lead to excitability and seizures? The corticotropin releasing hormone excess hypothesis.

West syndrome (WS) is associated with diverse etiological factors. This fact has suggested that there must be a 'final common pathway' for these etiologies, which operates on the immature brain to result in WS only at the maturational state present during infancy. Any theory for the pathogenesis of WS has to account for the unique features of this disorder. For example, how can a single entity have so many etiologies? Why does WS arise only in infancy, even when a known insult had occurred prenatally, and why does it disappear? Why is WS associated with lasting cognitive dysfunction? And, importantly, why do these seizures--unlike most others--respond to treatment by a hormone, ACTH? The established hormonal role of ACTH in human physiology is to function in the neuroendocrine cascade of the responses to all stressful stimuli, including insults to the brain. As part of this function, ACTH is known to suppress the production of corticotropin releasing hormone (CRH), a peptide that is produced in response to diverse insults and stressors.The many etiologies of WS all lead to activation of the stress response, including increased production and secretion of the stress-neurohormone CRH. CRH has been shown, in infant animal models, to cause severe seizures and death of neurons in areas involved with learning and memory. These effects of CRH are restricted to the infancy period because the receptors for CRH, which mediate its action on neurons, are most abundant during this developmental period. ACTH administration is known to inhibit production and release of CRH via a negative feedback mechanism. Therefore, the efficacy of ACTH for WS may depend on its ability to decrease the levels of the seizure-promoting stress-neurohormone CRH.This CRH-excess theory for the pathophysiology of WS is consistent not only with the profile of ACTH effects, but also with the many different 'causes' of WS, with the abnormal ACTH levels in the cerebrospinal fluid of affected infants and with the spontaneous disappearance of the seizures. Furthermore, if CRH is responsible for the seizures, and CRH-mediated neuronal injury contributes to the worsened cognitive outcome of individuals with WS, then drugs which block the actions of CRH on its receptors may provide a better therapy for this disorder

Palmar Creases: Classification, Reliability and Relationships to Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD)

A normal human palm contains 3 major creases: the distal transverse crease; the proximal transverse crease; and the thenar crease. Because permanent crease patterns are thought to be laid down during the first trimester, researchers have speculated that deviations in crease patterns could be indicative of insults during fetal development. The purpose of this study was twofold: 1) to compare the efficacy and reliability of two coding methods, the first (M1) classifying both “simian” and Sydney line variants and the second (M2) counting the total number of crease points of origin on the radial border of the hand; and 2) to ascertain the relationship between palmar crease patterns and fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). Bilateral palm prints were taken using the carbon paper and tape method from 237 individuals diagnosed with FASD and 190 unexposed controls. All prints were coded for crease variants under M1 and M2. Additionally, a random sample of 98 matched (right and left) prints was selected from the controls to determine the reliabilities of M1 and M2. For this analysis, each palm was read twice, at different times, by two readers. Intra-observer Kappa coefficients were similar under both methods, ranging from 0.804-0.910. Inter-observer Kappa coefficients ranged from 0.582–0.623 under M1 and from 0.647–0.757 under M2. Using data from the entire sample of 427 prints and controlling for sex and ethnicity (white v. non-white), no relationship was found between palmar crease variants and FASD. Our results suggest that palmar creases can be classified reliably, but palmar crease patterns may not be affected by fetal alcohol exposure

Costs and Savings Associated With Community Water Fluoridation Programs in Colorado

INTRODUCTION: Local, state, and national health policy makers require information on the economic burden of oral disease and the cost-effectiveness of oral health programs to set policies and allocate resources. In this study, we estimate the cost savings associated with community water fluoridation programs (CWFPs) in Colorado and potential cost savings if Colorado communities without fluoridation programs or naturally high fluoride levels were to implement CWFPs. METHODS: We developed an economic model to compare the costs associated with CWFPs with treatment savings achieved through averted tooth decay. Treatment savings included those associated with direct medical costs and indirect nonmedical costs (i.e., patient time spent on dental visit). We estimated program costs and treatment savings for each water system in Colorado in 2003 dollars. We obtained parameter estimates from published studies, national surveys, and other sources. We calculated net costs for Colorado water systems with existing CWFPs and potential net costs for systems without CWFPs. The analysis includes data for 172 public water systems in Colorado that serve populations of 1000 individuals or more. We used second-order Monte Carlo simulations to evaluate the inherent uncertainty of the model assumptions on the results and report the 95% credible range from the simulation model. RESULTS: We estimated that Colorado CWFPs were associated with annual savings of $148.9 million (credible range,$115.1 million to $187.2 million) in 2003, or an average of$60.78 per person (credible range, $46.97 to$76.41). We estimated that Colorado would save an additional $46.6 million (credible range,$36.0 to $58.6 million) annually if CWFPs were implemented in the 52 water systems without such programs and for which fluoridation is recommended. CONCLUSION: Colorado realizes significant annual savings from CWFPs; additional savings and reductions in morbidity could be achieved if fluoridation programs were implemented in other areas