Wireworm Control using Fodder Rape and Mustard – evaluating the use of brassica green manures for the control of wireworm (Agriotes spp.) in organic crops

In a field experiment at ADAS Pwllpeiran in 2001, brassica green manures were grown for 6 weeks and dug in before planting King Edward potatoes, to see if they suppressed wireworm in the crop. There was a trend for potatoes grown after mustard to suffer less damage from both wireworms and slugs than potatoes grown after fodder rape or no green manure, but the differences were not significant. Further trials, with longer green manuring periods, are needed to establish if there is a benefit, and whether the breakdown products of brassica green manures are toxic to wireworms

Addressing School Dropout in Texas: A Summary for Administrators and Policymakers of "Dropout Prevention: A Practice Guide"

This booklet summarizes the information from: Dropout Prevention: A Practice Guide, available on the Institute of Education Sciences web site at http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc.Educatio

Clonal analysis of meningococci during a 26 year period prior to the introduction of meningococcal serogroup C vaccines

Meningococcal disease remains a public health burden in the UK and elsewhere. Invasive Neisseria meningitidis, isolated in Scotland between 1972 and 1998, were characterised retrospectively to examine the serogroup and clonal structure of the circulating population. 2607 isolates causing invasive disease were available for serogroup and MLST analysis whilst 2517 were available for multilocus sequence typing (MLST) analysis only. Serogroup distribution changed from year to year but serogroups B and C were dominant throughout. Serogroup B was dominant throughout the 1970s and early 1980s until serogroup C became dominant during the mid-1980s. The increase in serogroup C was not associated with one particular sequence type (ST) but was associated with a number of STs, including ST-8, ST-11, ST-206 and ST-334. This is in contrast to the increase in serogroup C disease seen in the 1990s that was due to expansion of the ST-11 clonal complex. While there was considerable diversity among the isolates (309 different STs among the 2607 isolates), a large proportion of isolates (59.9%) were associated with only 10 STs. These data highlight meningococcal diversity over time and the need for ongoing surveillance during the introduction of new meningococcal vaccines

The association of neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and lymphocyte-monocyte ratio with 3-month clinical outcome after mechanical thrombectomy following stroke

Background and aim Neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) and lymphocyte-monocyte ratio (LMR) are associated with clinical outcomes in malignancy, cardiovascular disease and stroke. Here we investigate their association with outcome after acute ischaemic stroke treated by mechanical thrombectomy (MT). Methods Patients were selected using audit data for MT for acute anterior circulation ischaemic stroke at a UK centre from May 2016–July 2017. Clinical and laboratory data including neutrophil, lymphocyte and monocyte count tested before and 24 h after MT were collected. Poor functional outcome was defined as modified Rankin Scale (mRS) of 3–6 at 3 months. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were performed to explore the relationship of NLR and LMR with functional outcome. Results One hundred twenty-one patients (mean age 66.4 ± 16.7, 52% female) were included. Higher NLR (adjusted OR 0.022, 95% CI, 0.009–0.34, p = 0.001) and lower LMR (adjusted OR − 0.093, 95% CI (− 0.175)−(− 0.012), p = 0.025) at 24-h post-MT were significantly associated with poorer functional outcome when controlling for age, baseline NIHSS score, infarct size, presence of good collateral supply, recanalisation and symptomatic intracranial haemorrhage on multivariate logistic regression. Admission NLR or LMR were not significant predictors of mRS at 3 months. The optimal cut-off values of NLR and LMR at 24-h post-MT that best discriminated poor outcome were 5.5 (80% sensitivity and 60% specificity) and 2.0 (80% sensitivity and 50% specificity), respectively on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis. Conclusion NLR and LMR tested at 24 h after ictus or intervention may predict 3-month functional outcome

Active galactic nucleus feedback in clusters of galaxies

Observations made during the last ten years with the Chandra X-ray Observatory have shed much light on the cooling gas in the centers of clusters of galaxies and the role of active galactic nucleus (AGN) heating. Cooling of the hot intracluster medium in cluster centers can feed the supermassive black holes found in the nuclei of the dominant cluster galaxies leading to AGN outbursts which can reheat the gas, suppressing cooling and large amounts of star formation. AGN heating can come in the form of shocks, buoyantly rising bubbles that have been inflated by radio lobes, and the dissipation of sound waves.Comment: Refereed review article published in Chandra's First Decade of Discovery Special Feature edition of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science

A Lagrangian model of the evolution of the particulate size distribution of vehicular emissions

The emission inventory for London indicates that nearly 80% of the particulate emissions derive from vehicular sources. Most of this mass is in the form of ultrafine submicrometer particles which are of concern because of their influence on lung function. The prediction of their dispersion in the atmosphere coupled to the physical and chemical transformations which affect their size distribution and concentration are of great importance. This paper reports the first results from a new meso-scale Lagrangian model which follows the particulate emissions and the evolution of their size distribution across the city. The vehicular emissions are based on the published inventory, corrected to time of day, while other emissions are assumed steady. The initial size distributions of background and emitted particles are represented by the sum of three lognormal distributions. Meteorological data are derived from Meteorological Office reports and are preprocessed to obtain the hourly values of boundary layer depth, Monin–Obukov (MO) length, friction velocity, etc., needed for the computation of the vertical dispersion process via eddy diffusivities and the aerodynamic component of the dry deposition process. In the vertical direction, three layers are assumed—surface layer (typically 50 m), canopy layer and one further layer up to the prevailing boundary layer depth. Currently, the model includes wet and dry deposition and coagulation but not chemical reaction, nucleation or deliquescence. Trajectories are evolved for several hours across the city and the number size distributions and mass concentrations (PM10, PM2.5, PM1 and PM0.1) output at each step. This enables the vehicular contributions over and above the background concentration in each size range to be studied in detail. Data from the model have been compared with experimental data for one of the London background sites where particle number size distribution up to 450 nm (SMPS), plus PM10 and PM2.5 (TEOM) data are available

The effectiveness of heart failure disease management: Initial findings from a comprehensive program

A prevalent, chronic condition among members of the mushrooming elderly population in the United States, heart failure (HF) is a logical focus for population-based disease management. Evidence supporting the premise that multidisciplinary interventions can significantly improve clinical outcomes while decreasing the cost of medical care for people with HF is steadily mounting. A growing number of controlled and observational studies focus on the effects of HF disease management on re-admission rates, length of stay, and improvement in appropriate diagnostic testing and prescribing. This paper describes a large-scale, comprehensive HF program and reports on clinical quality, utilization, and financial outcomes observed after 1 year. The preliminary findings strengthen the case for comprehensive HF disease management as an effective means for improving clinical outcomes and reducing total medical costs for large patient populations

Copper cable theft: revisiting the price–theft hypothesis

Objectives: To test the commonly espoused but little examined hypothesis that fluctuations in the price of metal are associated with changes in the volume of metal theft. Specifically, we analyze the relationship between the price of copper and the number of police recorded 'live’ copper cable thefts from the British railway network (2006 to 2012)