Distribution and establishment of introduced parasitoids of the alfalfa weevil in Tennessee

The alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal), is the most important pest of alfalfa, Medicago sativa L., in North America since its introduction into Utah in 1904. By the mid-1950s, the alfalfa weevil had spread into the northeastern United States. In Tennessee, the alfalfa weevil was first detected in 1959, and within five years, the weevil had spread throughout the entire state. In 1994, a two-year research project was initiated to study the alfalfa weevil and its biological control agents. One objective of this research was to initiate an intensive study to determine seasonality and life history of the alfalfa weevil in Tennessee. Additional objectives of this research included monitoring the establishment and distribution of introduced parasitoids of the alfalfa weevil, determining parasitism levels of the alfalfa weevil, and monitoring disease incidence of the alfalfa weevil. A state wide survey was established to monitor the alfalfa weevil and its biological control agents in 27 alfalfa fields in nine counties. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to all agricultural extension agents in Tennessee to evaluate alfalfa production and the status of the alfalfa weevil. Alfalfa fields in the intensified study were sampled each week from January to December in Giles and McMinn Counties. Alfalfa fields in the state-wide study were sampled twice in 1994 and twice in 1995. In Tennessee, alfalfa weevils overwintered in both the egg and adult stages. Densities of alfalfa weevil adults and larvae peaked in April during 1994 and 1995. During this two-year study, approximately 11.39% of all field-collected larvae (n=6,215) and only about 0.43% of all field-collected adults (n=460) were parasitized. Bathyplectes anurus (Thomson) and Bathyplectes curculionis (Thomson), parasitoids of alfalfa weevil larvae, were recovered in all counties sampled. Bathyplectes anurus was the predominant larval parasitoid, suggesting B. anurus has displaced B. curculionis in Tennessee. Percent parasitism of alfalfa weevil larvae by B. anurus was 7.12% (n=6,215), and 4.12% (n=6,215) by B. curculionis. State-wide, Microctonus aethiopoides (Loan) was recovered in low numbers, suggesting poor establishment of alfalfa weevil adult parasitoids in Tennessee. Erynia sp., a fungal pathogen of alfalfa weevil larvae, was detected from early March to late April. The number of field-collected alfalfa weevil larvae infected by Erynia sp. was greater in 1994 [436 infected larvae (n=2,439)] than in 1995 [45 infected larvae (n=3,320)]. As a result of the alfalfa management questionnaire, agricultural extension agents provided solid information concerning alfalfa production and the impact of the alfalfa weevil in Tennessee. The alfalfa weevil is responsible for 15 % reduction in alfalfa yield, and 78% of the extension agents listed the alfalfa weevil as the major pest of alfalfa. The number one limiting factor of alfalfa production in Tennessee is expenses. Much of these expenses are attributed to insecticide applications for the alfalfa weevil. Growers in 96% of the alfalfa-producing counties applied insecticides to control the alfalfa weevil. The absence of a successful adult weevil parasitoid allows alfalfa weevils to produce at much greater numbers, and larval parasitoids will not sufficiently reduce alfalfa weevil densities below the economic threshold level. Parasitism of alfalfa weevil adults is greater in northern states than in southern states, and the low parasitism of alfalfa weevil adults in Tennessee indicates that M. aethiopoides may not be adapted to the southern climate. Therefore, data from this research will provide information needed to develop and implement effective biological control methods for the alfalfa weevil in Tennessee

SP742 Camphor Shot Borer: A New Nursery and Landscape Pest in Tennessee

Tennessee State University/UT Extension joint publicatio

Towards nationally curated data archives for clinical radiology image analysis at scale: Learnings from national data collection in response to a pandemic

The prevalence of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 disease has resulted in the unprecedented collection of health data to support research. Historically, coordinating the collation of such datasets on a national scale has been challenging to execute for several reasons, including issues with data privacy, the lack of data reporting standards, interoperable technologies, and distribution methods. The coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 disease pandemic has highlighted the importance of collaboration between government bodies, healthcare institutions, academic researchers and commercial companies in overcoming these issues during times of urgency. The National COVID-19 Chest Imaging Database, led by NHSX, British Society of Thoracic Imaging, Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust and Faculty, is an example of such a national initiative. Here, we summarise the experiences and challenges of setting up the National COVID-19 Chest Imaging Database, and the implications for future ambitions of national data curation in medical imaging to advance the safe adoption of artificial intelligence in healthcare

Real world hospital costs following stress echocardiography in the UK: a costing study from the EVAREST/BSE-NSTEP multi-entre study

Background: Stress echocardiography is widely used to detect coronary artery disease, but little evidence on downstream hospital costs in real-world practice is available. We examined how stress echocardiography accuracy and downstream hospital costs vary across NHS hospitals and identifed key factors that afect costs to help inform future clinical planning and guidelines. Methods: Data on 7636 patients recruited from 31 NHS hospitals within the UK between 2014 and 2020 as part of EVAREST/BSE-NSTEP clinical study, were used. Data included all diagnostic tests, procedures, and hospital admissions for 12 months after a stress echocardiogram and were costed using the NHS national unit costs. A decision tree was built to illustrate the clinical pathway and estimate average downstream hospital costs. Multi-level regression analysis was performed to identify variation in accuracy and costs at both patient, procedural, and hospital level. Linear regression and extrapolation were used to estimate annual hospital cost-savings associated with increasing predictive accuracy at hospital and national level. Results: Stress echocardiography accuracy varied with patient, hospital and operator characteristics. Hypertension, presence of wall motion abnormalities and higher number of hospital cardiology outpatient attendances annually reduced accuracy, adjusted odds ratio of 0.78 (95% CI 0.65 to 0.93), 0.27 (95% CI 0.15 to 0.48), 0.99 (95% CI 0.98 to 0.99) respectively, whereas a prior myocardial infarction, angiotensin receptor blocker medication, and greater operator experience increased accuracy, adjusted odds ratio of 1.77 (95% CI 1.34 to 2.33), 1.64 (95% CI 1.22 to 2.22), and 1.06 (95% CI 1.02 to 1.09) respectively. Average downstream costs were £646 per patient (SD 1796) with signifcant variation across hospitals. The average downstream costs between the 31 hospitals varied from £384–1730 per patient. False positive and false negative tests were associated with average downstream costs of £1446 (SD £601) and £4192 (SD 3332) respectively, driven by increased non-elective hospital admissions, adjusted odds ratio 2.48 (95% CI 1.08 to 5.66), 21.06 (95% CI 10.41 to 42.59) respectively. We estimated that an increase in accuracy by 1 percentage point could save the NHS in the UK £3.2 million annually. Conclusion: This study provides real-world evidence of downstream costs associated with stress echocardiography practice in the UK and estimates how improvements in accuracy could impact healthcare expenditure in the NHS. A real-world downstream costing approach could be adopted more widely in evaluation of imaging tests and interventions to refect actual value for money and support realistic planning

Predictable disorder versus polymorphism in the rationalization of structural diversity: A multidisciplinary study of eniluracil

Detailed analysis of X-ray diffraction data from four single crystals of eniluracil, prepared under different crystallization conditions, confirms a picture in which the crystals exhibit different degrees of disorder, which is also suggested by the computed low energy crystal structures. Since several of these crystal structures that effectively differ by an interchange of the oxygen and hydrogen atoms on C(4) and C(6) are essentially equi-energetic, growth errors that may be difficult to reverse are practically inevitable. The structural variations observed for the crystals of eniluracil studied are more appropriately described in terms of variable degrees of disorder rather than polymorphism. Analysis of the computed crystal energy landscape for interchangeable hydrogen-bonded (or other strong) motifs is, therefore, shown to be a valuable complement to X-ray diffraction and solid-state NMR for understanding and characterizing disorder in organic solid state systems. In the case of eniluracil, this detailed picture probably accounts for the challenges in devising a robust production process for this anticancer agent in the 1990s. The specific nature of the disorder accounts for different structures being obtained from powder X-ray diffraction data of different samples, and the possibility of publishable single crystal X-ray refinements also being interpreted as polymorphism rather than disorder