A study of ordering patterns of extension agents in Tennessee counties for selected Tennessee Agricultural Extension publications with agricultural titles during the two year period, July 1, 1965-June 30, 1967

This benchmark study was concerned with the problem of too rapidly increasing expenditures for publishing and distributing agricultural-titled Extension publications. Publication ordering patterns for all 95 Tennessee county Extension staffs were studied. Also, ten variables concerning county Extension programs and four variables concerning agricultural-titled Extension publication ordering patterns per county were investigated. The purpose was to obtain information concerning publication ordering patterns which would be helpful to Extension administrators in the future allocation of funds and to identify the association between certain county Extension program variables and the publication ordering patterns of the county Extension staffs. Data were drawn from publication order forms on file from all Tennessee counties for the period, 1965-1967, and from other secondary sources. Tabulated data were reported in numbers, per-cents and averages where appropriate for total, high order (numerically ranking from first through thirty-second in numbers of copies of publications ordered), medium order (numerically ranking from 33-63), and low order (numerically ranking from 64-95) counties. Main comparisons were between high and low order counties. Also, a step-wise multiple regression analysis was made with the assistance of the University of Tennessee Computer Center. Findings disclosed that the county Extension staffs for the state, high order and low order counties tended to use order Form 559 (Ordering Procedure A) and have the county agricultural agent initiate the order (Ordering Procedure B) as recommended; but that the staffs did not tend to follow recommended Ordering Procedures C and D, namely; averaging no more than one order every two months (excepting for low order county staffs), and pooling orders, respectively., Three of the eleven Extension publication title classes, namely; (1) farm crops and fertilizers, (2) fruits and vegetables, and (3) insects, plant diseases and pests accounted for almost two—thirds of all copies of agricultural titled Extension publications ordered, 1965-1967, and approximately one-half of the total copies on hand at inventory time, 1967. Slightly less than two-thirds of all copies of publications ordered by county staffs in the state 1965-1967 were accounted for in the inventory, 1967. Three-fifths of all copies of publications ordered in the state were ordered by the 32 high order counties. One-half of all copies of publications ordered in the state was ordered during the months of January, February and March. Furthermore, it was disclosed that, as the total number of full-time farm family equivalents per county, total number of county Extension staff members per county, total appropriation to county agricultural agents per county and total real and personal assessed taxable property per county increased, the numbers of copies of agricultural-titled Extension publications ordered for the state also increased. Multiple correlation analysis disclosed that when five selected county Extension program variables were correlated with the total number of copies of publications ordered, the county appropria-tion to county agricultural agents was the most accurate predictor of the total number of copies of publications ordered for the state. The numbers of full-time farm family equivalents constituted the best indicator for low order counties. It was implied that state staffs responsible for funding and distributing such publications, and district supervisors responsible for training county personnel should make appropriate use of findings. Recommendations for further study were included

A Framework for Understanding Noise Impacts on Wildlife: An Urgent Conservation Priority

Anthropogenic noise is an important environmental stressor that is rapidly gaining attention among biologists, resource managers, and policy makers. Here we review a substantial literature detailing the impacts of noise on wildlife and provide a conceptual framework to guide future research. We discuss how several likely impacts of noise exposure have yet to be rigorously studied and outline how behavioral responses to noise are linked to the nature of the noise stimulus. Chronic and frequent noise interferes with animals’ abilities to detect important sounds, whereas intermittent and unpredictable noise is often perceived as a threat. Importantly, these effects can lead to fitness costs, either directly or indirectly. Future research should consider the range of behavioral and physiological responses to this burgeoning pollutant and pair measured responses with metrics that appropriately characterize noise stimuli. This will provide a greater understanding of the mechanisms that govern wildlife responses to noise and help in identifying practical noise limits to inform policy and regulation

Background Acoustics in Terrestrial Ecology

The way in which terrestrial organisms use the acoustic realm is fundamentally important and shapes behavior, populations, and communities, but how background acoustics, or noise, influence the patterns and processes in ecology is still relatively understudied. In this review, we summarize how background acoustics have traditionally been studied from the signaling perspective, discuss what is known from a receiver\u27s perspective, and explore what is known about population- and community-level responses to noise. We suggest that there are major gaps linking animal physiology and behavior in noise to fitness; that there is a limited understanding of variation in hearing within and across species, especially in the context of real-world acoustic conditions; and that many puzzling responses to noise could be clarified with a community-level lens that considers indirect effects. Failing to consider variation in acoustic conditions, and the many ways organisms use and interact via this environmental dimension, risks a limited understanding of natural systems

Evidence-Based Progressive Passage to Reopening American Societies Post COVID-19

In the United States, the total number of confirmed reported cases of Covid-19 had reached  1.36 million with a total death of 80,574 and a total confirmed recoveries of 210,000 cases. Significant efforts have been invested to flatten the curve and control new cases appearing in the societies. Meanwhile, the governments has imposed a lockdown with the objective of controlling the transmission of the virus. The re-opening of societies is challenging and might involve threats, many of them remain unseen. We describe here a dynamic scenario to un-locking and re-opening societies using an evidence-based design, suggested by an algorithm of screening using RT-PCR and antibodies in a large population

Availability, use and quality of care for medical abortion services in private facilities in Kenya

The overall goal of this study was to generate evidence on the availability, use, and quality of care for medical abortion services in private facilities (pharmacies and clinics) in Kenya. With the passing of a new constitution in 2010, there was renewed interest in the right to health and the need to reduce the high levels of maternal morbidity and mortality arising from unsafe abortion in the country. In spite of recent developments, there is limited understanding of the extent to which the changes have influenced the provision of medical abortion information and services in the country, the acceptability of the practice among providers and clients, and the content of care offered. Implications of the findings indicate a need for: widespread dissemination of the existing policies and guidelines regarding abortion among private providers to ensure that they offer services within existing regulations; improvement of the supply chain for medical abortion drugs in private clinics; and strategies to improve the capacity of private providers to offer appropriate family planning services to clients seeking abortion, especially long-term methods given the high rate of repeat abortions

Combating antibiotic resistance using guidelines and enhanced stewardship in Kenya: a protocol for an implementation science approach

Introduction: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing problem globally especially in Sub-Saharan Africa including Kenya. Without any intervention, lower/middle-income countries (LMICs) will be most affected due to already higher AMR levels compared with higher income countries and due to the far higher burden of diseases in the LMICs. Studies have consistently shown that inappropriate use of antimicrobials is the major driver of AMR. To address this challenge, hospitals are now implementing antibiotic stewardship programmes (ASPs), which have been shown to achieve reduced antibiotic usage, to decrease the prevalence of resistance and lead to significant economic benefits. However, the implementation of the guideline is highly dependent on the settings in which they are rolled out. This study, employing an implementation science approach, aims to address the knowledge gap in this area and provide critical data as well as practical experiences when using antibiotic guidelines and stewardship programmes in the public health sector. This will provide evidence of ASP performance and potentially contribute to the county, national and regional policies on antibiotics use. Methods and analysis: The study will be conducted in three geographically diverse regions, each represented by two hospitals. A baseline study on antibiotic usage, resistance and de-escalation, duration of hospital stay, rates of readmission and costs will be carried out in the preimplementation phase. The intervention, that is, the use of antibiotic guidelines and ASPs will be instituted for 18 months using a stepwise implementation strategy that will facilitate learning and continuous improvement of stewardship activities and updating of guidelines to reflect the evolving antibiotic needs. Ethics and dissemination: Approvals to carry out the study have been obtained from the National Commission for Science, Technology and Innovation and the Mount Kenya University Ethics Review Committee. The approvals from the two institutions were used to obtain permission to conduct the study at each of the participating hospitals. Study findings will be presented to policy stakeholders and published in peer-reviewed scientific journals. It is anticipated that the findings will inform the appropriate antibiotic use guidelines within our local context

Cost effectiveness analysis of clinically driven versus routine laboratory monitoring of antiretroviral therapy in Uganda and Zimbabwe.

BACKGROUND: Despite funding constraints for treatment programmes in Africa, the costs and economic consequences of routine laboratory monitoring for efficacy and toxicity of antiretroviral therapy (ART) have rarely been evaluated. METHODS: Cost-effectiveness analysis was conducted in the DART trial (ISRCTN13968779). Adults in Uganda/Zimbabwe starting ART were randomised to clinically-driven monitoring (CDM) or laboratory and clinical monitoring (LCM); individual patient data on healthcare resource utilisation and outcomes were valued with primary economic costs and utilities. Total costs of first/second-line ART, routine 12-weekly CD4 and biochemistry/haematology tests, additional diagnostic investigations, clinic visits, concomitant medications and hospitalisations were considered from the public healthcare sector perspective. A Markov model was used to extrapolate costs and benefits 20 years beyond the trial. RESULTS: 3316 (1660LCM;1656CDM) symptomatic, immunosuppressed ART-naive adults (median (IQR) age 37 (32,42); CD4 86 (31,139) cells/mm(3)) were followed for median 4.9 years. LCM had a mean 0.112 year (41 days) survival benefit at an additional mean cost of $765 [95$7386 [3277,dominated] per life-year gained and $7793 [4442,39179] per quality-adjusted life year gained. Routine toxicity tests were prominent cost-drivers and had no benefit. With 12-weekly CD4 monitoring from year 2 on ART, low-cost second-line ART, but without toxicity monitoring, CD4 test costs need to fall below$3.78 to become cost-effective (<3xper-capita GDP, following WHO benchmarks). CD4 monitoring at current costs as undertaken in DART was not cost-effective in the long-term. CONCLUSIONS: There is no rationale for routine toxicity monitoring, which did not affect outcomes and was costly. Even though beneficial, there is little justification for routine 12-weekly CD4 monitoring of ART at current test costs in low-income African countries. CD4 monitoring, restricted to the second year on ART onwards, could be cost-effective with lower cost second-line therapy and development of a cheaper, ideally point-of-care, CD4 test

Mars Image Content Classification: Three Years of NASA Deployment and Recent Advances

The NASA Planetary Data System hosts millions of images acquired from the planet Mars. To help users quickly find images of interest, we have developed and deployed content-based classification and search capabilities for Mars orbital and surface images. The deployed systems are publicly accessible using the PDS Image Atlas. We describe the process of training, evaluating, calibrating, and deploying updates to two CNN classifiers for images collected by Mars missions. We also report on three years of deployment including usage statistics, lessons learned, and plans for the future.Comment: Published at the Thirty-Third Annual Conference on Innovative Applications of Artificial Intelligence (IAAI-21). IAAI Innovative Application Award. 10 pages, 11 figures, 6 table

Virological and molecular characterization of a simian human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) encoding the envelope and reverse transcriptase genes from HIV-1

Simian-human immunodeficiency virus encoding both reverse transcriptase (RT) and envelope genes of HIV-1 (RT Env SHIV) is important for evaluating biomedical prevention modalities for HIV/AIDS. We describe virological characterization of a clade B RT Env SHIV following infection of macaques via multiple routes. In vivo passage of the RT Env SHIV through Indian rhesus macaque enhanced infectivity. Expanded virus had minimal envelope heterogeneity and was inhibited by NNRTIs and CCR5 antagonists. Infection of macaques with RT Env SHIV via mucosal or intravenous routes resulted in stable infection accompanied by peak plasma viremia of approximately 5×10 6 copies/ml that was controlled beyond set point. Molecular homogeneity of the virus was maintained following in vivo passage. Inhibition of RT Env SHIV by RT and entry inhibitors and ease of in vivo transmission make it a useful model for testing the efficacy of combinations of entry and RT inhibitors in nonhuman primates. © 2012 Elsevier Inc