Genetic diversity in curtoviruses: a highly divergent strain of Beet mild curly top virus associated with an outbreak of curly top disease in pepper in Mexico

A full-length curtovirus genome was PCR-amplified and cloned from peppers in Mexico with symptoms of curly top disease. The cloned DNA of this isolate, MX-P24, replicated in Nicotiana tabacum protoplasts and was infectious in N. benthamiana plants. Sequence analysis revealed that the MX-P24 isolate had a typical curtovirus genome organization and was most similar to beet mild curly top virus (BMCTV). However, sequence identities were at the threshold value for establishment of a new curtovirus species. To further investigate the biological properties of MX-P24, an agroinoculation system was generated. Agroinoculated shepherd’s purse plants developed typical curly top symptoms, and virus from these plants was transmissible by the beet leafhopper (Circulifer tenellus). The host range of MX-P24 was similar to that of BMCTV, with curly top symptoms induced in common bean, pepper, pumpkin, shepherd’s purse and tomato plants and mild or no symptoms induced in sugar beet plants. Together, these results indicate that MX-P24 is a highly divergent strain of BMCTV associated with an outbreak of curly top disease in peppers in Mexico

Self-reported safety belt use among emergency department patients in Boston, Massachusetts

BACKGROUND: Safety belt use is 80% nationally, yet only 63% in Massachusetts. Safety belt use among potentially at-risk groups in Boston is unknown. We sought to assess the prevalence and correlates of belt non-use among emergency department (ED) patients in Boston. METHODS: A cross-sectional survey with systematic sampling was conducted on non-urgent ED patients age ≥18. A closed-ended survey was administered by interview. Safety belt use was defined via two methods: a single-item and a multiple-item measure of safety belt use. Each was scored using a 5-point frequency scale. Responses were used to categorize safety belt use as 'always' or less than 'always'. Outcome for multivariate logistic regression analysis was safety belt use less than 'always'. RESULTS: Of 478 patients approached, 381 (80%) participated. Participants were 48% female, 48% African-American, 40% White, median age 39. Among participants, 250 (66%) had been in a car crash; 234 (61%) had a valid driver's license, and 42 (11%) had been ticketed for belt non-use. Using two different survey measures, a single-item and a multiple-item measure, safety belt use 'always' was 51% and 36% respectively. According to separate regression models, factors associated with belt non-use included male gender, alcohol consumption >5 drinks in one episode, riding with others that drink and drive, ever receiving a citation for belt non-use, believing that safety belt use is 'uncomfortable', and that 'I just forget', while 'It's my usual habit' was protective. CONCLUSION: ED patients at an urban hospital in Boston have considerably lower self-reported safety belt use than state or national estimates. An ED-based intervention to increase safety belt use among this hard-to-reach population warrants consideration

Energy security and shifting modes of governance

The concept of energy security fits uneasily into contemporary security debates. It is neither a clearly traditional nor a fully ‘non-traditional’ security issue. There are also limits to the social constructedness of the concept. This article argues that, while it is important to identify the differing securitizations of energy, these must be contextualized within the material realities and the differing historical modes of governance of the political economy of resources. This is essential for understanding the differing meanings accorded to energy security, the shifting modes through which energy is governed, and the extent to which energy security concerns drive international politics. In this context, contemporary concerns over energy security have both material and ideological dimensions: anxiety over the dual shift of power from West to East and from resource-importing to resource-exporting countries; and concern over the normative weakening of the neo-liberal mode of energy governance

Older driver self-screening based on health concerns. Volume II: Appendices

The objective of this project was to create a valid and effective self-screening instrument that provided individualized information for older adult drivers. The project intended to improve upon existing self-screening instruments by focusing on health concerns rather than the medical condition or medications that produced the concern, allowing for a much more comprehensive self-screening than has been possible previously. By linking the severity of health concerns to their effect on critical driving skills, the instrument provides five types of individualized feedback: general awareness; self awareness; individualized recommendations for behavioral changes; individualized recommendations for further evaluation; and individualized recommendations for vehicle modifications. Development involved a literature review, expert panel, focus groups, workbook logic, and programming the instrument. The evaluation portion of the study involved administering a questionnaire to 68 older adult participants after they had completed the self-screening instrument. The validation portion of the activity involved statistically comparing participants’ results from the self-screening instrument to results from an on-road driving assessment and a series of clinical tests to evaluate cognitive, visual, and psychomotor abilities. Both the clinical evaluation and on-road driving assessment were administered through a driving assessment program operated by the University of Michigan. The results showed that more than three-fourths of subjects indicated that the workbook made them more aware of how changes can affect driving and more than 90 percent thought the workbook information was useful as a reminder. More than one-third of subjects discovered a change in themselves for which they were previously unaware. Large percentages of subjects indicated plans to engage in behaviors to maintain safe transportation with 42 percent planning to change how they drive; 33 percent planning to take a driving refresher course; and 53 percent planning to talk with a doctor. More than three-fourths would use it again in the future; more than 90 percent would recommend it older family members and friends; and 94 percent thought the workbook would serve as a useful way to discuss driving concerns with family members. Overall, subjects’ scores on the workbook were significantly correlated with the clinical evaluation scores and on-road driving performance scores. In conclusion, the SAFER Driving: Enhanced Driving Decisions Workbook is a useful, valid, and effective self-screening instrument for older adult drivers. The tool is free and in the public domain at: http://www.um-saferdriving.org.National Highway Traffic Safety Administration Office of Behavioral Safety Research, Washington D.C.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/64050/1/102325.pd