Garlic Mustard (Alliaria petiolata) Management Effectiveness and Plant Community Response

The control and eradication of the invasive biennial herb garlic mustard (Alliaria petiolata) and the restoration of invaded forest habitats present important linked challenges to land managers in North America. Removing garlic mustard by hand and by glyphosate herbicide application have both been used as eradication strategies with mixed results. Each method has advantages and disadvantages, but they are rarely compared for effectiveness and community impact across multiple years of management. Some previous studies have shown improvements in species diversity and plant community composition following management, while others have found no differences. To better understand both garlic mustard population and native plant community responses to these two methods across a broad geographic range, we tested these two management methods for four years in seven northern hardwood forests in Massachusetts and New York State. We found that pulling juvenile and adult garlic mustard plants for four years significantly reduced adult abundance, while spraying had no effect compared to invaded control plots. In the plant community, we found no negative impacts of garlic mustard on species diversity nor increased diversity in managed plots following three consecutive years of management. Our results suggest that increased diversity should not be the primary goal of garlic mustard management at these sites and plant community monitoring at the site-specific scale should be explored. This study highlights how complicated decisions can be for managers when deciding which invasions to prioritize and how to measure plant community recovery

How Can You Recognize Success? Individual Responses to Food System Policy Aimed at Children

Farm-to-school (FTS) programs and similar programs are gaining attention for many reasons, one of which is the recognition that they could help stem the increase in childhood overweight and obesity. Most programs that have been evaluated have increased students\u27 selection or intake of fruits and vegetables following the incorporation of FTS components. However, the wide range of activities that are typically part of FTS programs make it difficult to pinpoint which components have the greatest potential to improve students\u27 health behaviors. Within the field of nutrition education, theory-based interventions that target the key underlying factors influencing health behavior offer the most promise.https://scholarworks.uvm.edu/fss2014/1016/thumbnail.jp

Vulvar contact dermatitis

Contact dermatitis is a common problem in the world of dermatology as well as women’s health, where vulvar irritation is a frequent complaint among women. It occurs following exposure to exogenous irritants (irritant contact dermatitis) or allergens (allergic contact dermatitis), and can present in acute, subacute, or chronic forms. While vulvar pruritus and pain can be seen in a number of different conditions, contact dermatitis is one of the most common causes encountered in clinical practice, and its effects on patient quality of life can be dramatic. With a thorough history and a complete physical exam, this prevalent condition can be diagnosed and addressed. Treatment is aimed at identifying and eliminating the underlying cause, restoring the damaged epithelial barrier, and calming the inflammation. Although numerous options are available for addressing the itch and pain, the only true ”cure” for contact dermatitis is to avoid the responsible exposures

Sampling, Quantifying, and Navigating Odor Plumes

Aquatic and terrestrial animals, from single-celled organisms to human beings, enhance their survival by sending, receiving, and interpreting chemical cues (odors) within their fluid environment. Chemical perception &ndash; olfaction &ndash; enables communication between individuals, mating, predation, foraging, and migration among other vital tasks. Because these critical functions are carried out within a fluid media (i.e., air or water), the process of olfaction is intrinsically linked to environmental fluid mechanics. This work leverages a combined numerical and experimental fluid mechanics approach to offer insight into odor sampling, characterization, and navigation in an odor environment. The first study presented considers the efficiency with which animals actively sample their environment through respiration and sniffing. I utilized an experimentally validated numerical model of an idealized naris through which a fixed volume of fluid is cyclically inhaled and exhaled through the same opening. The resulting non-linear fluid interactions produced dynamic spatiotemporal flow patterns unique to this class of flows, with features such as sink- like and jet-like flows, saddle points, and starting vortices. The timeresolved flow fields show that the amount of fluid re-inhaled from the previous exhalation depends on the symmetry of the flow structures between the inhale and exhale. This symmetry is most sensitive to the Reynolds number, but also somewhat sensitive to the Strouhal number and ratio of the time spent inhaling to the time spent exhaling. By adjusting sniffing rate or constricting nares, for example, organisms have the potential to modify or manipulate these parameters. Therefore, this study suggests a means by which animals might optimize by the intake of fresh nutrients or odors from their surroundings. In the second study presented, I quantified scalar concentrations in biologically-relevant airborne plumes using planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) with acetone as a surrogate odor. When comparing different plume release configurations into the test section of a benchtop-scale wind tunnel, notable differences in plume characteristics are observed in the spatial distributions of time-dependent (e.g., spatially iii varying time histories) and time-averaged characteristics (e.g., intermittency). This non-invasive measurement technique provides full-field, time-resolved plume measurements that are otherwise inaccessible using probe-based techniques such as photoionization detectors (PID). In this context, I also conducted a direct quantitative comparison between odor plume measurements obtained using PLIF and PID. The two measurement techniques correlated in the temporal variation of the concentration signal for all plume conditions tested. Results were also consistent with previous studies which showed that the majority of the temporal structure in an airborne odor plume has a frequency of &asymp;10 Hz or less. Consequently, the PLIF system, with its current temporal resolution (15 Hz), is adequate for characterizing most airborne odor plumes, and the PID system minimally distorts the odor signal by its active suction. In the third and final study presented, I used the spatio-temporally resolved maps of concentration from the previous chapter to create a virtual reality environment for testing alternative approaches to odor navigation. Two models commonly used in the context of olfaction, infotaxis and random walk, served as benchmarks for comparison to the results of human navigation experiments implemented in the same virtual odor environments. When considering the separate portions of the searchers&rsquo; trajectories before and after their first encounter with the plume , the growth rate of the mean square displacement (MSD) showed the human participants behaved more similarly to infotaxis in the initial, plume searching state but more similarly to a random walk in the later, plume following state. These initial investigations suggest further areas of study to consider how the individuals&rsquo; sense of direction might manifest in the distinguishing features of their search trajectories and odor navigation strategies. The relatively nascent field of olfaction requires a varied and multidisciplinary approach. The studies herein adapt quantitative experimental and numerical techniques from fluid mechanics to environmental flows pertinent to olfaction. These techniques elucidate the dynamic flow structures and scalar transport processes upon which olfaction depends. A fundamental understanding of olfaction, informed by a flow physics perspective, provides a valuable basis for advancing the neuroscience of stimulus perception and biologically-inspired source location strategies.</p

Dietary Patterns and Cognitive Function among Older Community-Dwelling Adults.

Diet may be an important modifiable risk factor for maintenance of cognitive health in later life. This study aimed at examining associations between common dietary indices and dietary patterns defined by factor analysis and cognitive function in older community-dwelling adults. Dietary information for 1499 participants from the Rancho Bernardo Study was collected in 1988⁻1992 and used to calculate the alternate Mediterranean diet score, Alternate Healthy Eating Index (AHEI)-2010 score and factor scores derived from factor analysis of nutrients. Global cognitive function, executive function, verbal fluency and episodic memory were assessed at approximate four-year intervals from 1988⁻2016. Linear mixed models were used to examine associations between dietary patterns and cognitive trajectories. Estimates for the highest vs. lowest tertile in models adjusting for age, sex, education, energy intake, lifestyle variables and retest effect showed greater adherence to the Mediterranean score was associated with better baseline global cognitive function (β (95% CI) = 0.33 (0.11, 0.55)). The AHEI-2010 score was not significantly associated with cognitive performance. Higher loading on a plant polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA)/vitamin E factor was associated with better baseline global cognitive function and executive function (β = 0.22 (0.02, 0.42) and β = -7.85 (-13.20, -2.47)). A sugar/low protein factor was associated with poorer baseline cognitive function across multiple domains. Dietary patterns were not associated with cognitive decline over time. Adherence to a healthy diet with foods high in PUFA and vitamin E and a low sugar to protein ratio, as typified by a Mediterranean diet, may be beneficial for cognitive health in late life

Graduation Policies in a Public High School (A Case Study)

This report shares research conducted in a case study of one higher performing high school to examine the practices, challenges and facilitators of implementing a standards-based curriculum and proficiency-based diploma systems

The Vessel for Autonomous Research Underwater (The VARUNA)

Humans are intimately connected to the Earth’s ocean, and yet only 5% of it has been explored. Learning more about marine life and ocean chemistry can only improve our stewardship efforts. The addition of an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle to the Santa Clara University Robotic Systems Laboratory’s collection of marine robots will contribute to this quest for knowledge. It will assist researchers by providing a low-cost, easy-to-use, portable, reliable, and safe alternative to operator-controlled vehicles. This report describes our motivations for this project, the decisions we made in the design and manufacturing of the VARUNA, and tradeoff analyses of possible options. We also include descriptions of the subsystems, an account of testing, a summary of our accomplishments, and suggestions for the future of the project

Neoadjuvant chemotherapy is associated with a high rate of perioperative blood transfusion at the time of interval cytoreductive surgery

Abstract Background The oncologic safety of allogeneic blood transfusion in ovarian cancer patients is unknow. We sought to determine the prevalence and oncologic safety of perioperative allogeneic blood transfusion during interval cytoreduction surgery among women receiving neoadjuvant chemotherapy for ovarian cancer. Methods We utilized retrospective chart review to identify a cohort of patients undergoing interval cytoreduction at a large academic tertiary referral center. We compared outcomes in patients who were exposed to perioperative blood transfusion compared with patients who were not exposed. Our primary endpoint was progression free survival; our secondary endpoint was overall survival. Baseline clinical characteristics were collected for patients in each group. Results Sixty-six women were included in the final cohort of women undergoing interval cytoreductive surgery after NACT. A total of 51 women (77%) were exposed to allogeneic perioperative pRBC transfusion. Fifteen women (23%) were not exposed to transfusion. The baseline characteristics were generally well matched. Women who were not exposed to a perioperative blood transfusion were more likely to have a normalized CA125 prior to undergoing cytoreductive surgery. Preoperative hemoglobin concentration was lower in the transfusion group (10.5 g/dLvs 11.5 g/dL, p < 0.009). Perioperative transfusion was not associated with a significant difference in progression free survival (PFS = 7.6 months for transfused, 9.4 months for not transfused; log-rank test p = 0.4617). Similarly, there was no observed difference between groups for overall survival (OS = 23.6 months for transfused, 22.5 months for not transfused; log-rank test p = 0.1723). Conclusions Women undergoing neoadjuvant chemotherapy for ovarian cancer are at high risk of exposure to blood transfusion at the time of interval cytoreductive surgery. Future studies will continue to evaluate the safety and impact of transfusion on ovarian cancer survival in this at risk population.https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/146137/1/12885_2018_Article_4882.pd