An evaluation of 1, 8-naphtholic anhydride as a chemical antidote to prevent alacholar injury to grain sorghum

A study was conducted to determine: (1) the tolerance of grain sorghum to 2-chloro-2\u27, 6\u27-diethyl-N-(methoxymethyl) acetanilide (alachlor) applied at rates commonly used for weed control, (2) the effectiveness of 1,8-naphthalic anhydride (hereafter referred to as anhydride) seed treatment in protecting grain sorghum from alachlor injury, and (3) the differential response of various grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench.) cultivars to alachlor and anhydride. In a greenhouse experiment, the effects of four anhydride rates and five alachlor rates on grain sorghum cultivar AKS 614 were studied. The effects measured were percent vigor reduction, percent emergence, height, and dry weight of seedlings. Anhydride protected grain sorghum from severe alachlor injury; however, rates above 0.5% w/w did not provide significant additional protection. The lowest rate of alachlor (2.24 kg/ha) resulted in a sig-nificant decrease in each measurement from the untreated control and there was a trend for further reduction as the alachlor rate was increased to 3.36 and 4.48 kg/ha. The effects of anhydride at two rates and alachlor at four rates on three grain sorghum cultivars (AKS 614, BR 64, and McNair 546) were studied in an experiment conducted at the Plant Science Farm, Knoxville, Tennessee during 1971. The parameters measured were percent vigor reduction, plant population, plant height, whole plant weight, whole panicle weight, and seed yield. The plant vigor of grain sorghum cultivar BR 64, without an anhydride seed treatment was reduced more severely than cultivars AKS 614 and McNair 546. Anhydride seed treatment protected all three cul-tivars from alachlor injury to some extent; however, the injury grad-ually became worse as the alachlor rate increased. Without anhydride, there was a trend for the plant population, whole plant weight, whole panicle weight, and seed yield of cultivar BR 64 to be lower than those of cultivars AKS 614 and McNair 546. Cultivar McNair 546 was shorter than the other two cultivars at all alachlor rates regardless of anhydride seed treatment. This height dif-ferential was probably due to the genetic differences between the cultivars. The anhydride seed treatment protected all three grain sorghum cultivars from severe alachlor injury. Cultivars AKS 614 and McNair 546 appeared to be more promising for commercial use than cul-tivar BR 64

Multi-Nation WPT Demonstration Experiments

A project originating with Georgia Institute of Technology is described in which the International Space Station (ISS) serves as an experimental platform for the relay of energy from space to earth. The multi-nation test will feature the transmission of small amounts of solar-generated electric power from the ISS using millimeter waves, for the purposes of collecting atmospheric propagation data and testing technologies for power beaming, aiming, and reception. This initiative represents an early first-step towards installation of a global Space Solar Power Grid emphasizing international collaboration, synergy with the terrestrial energy industry and with retail power beaming markets. The technical paper on which this visualization is based is listed in References below. Advisors: Prof. N. Komerath, Prof. D. Flournoy, Kyle Perkins (Designer) Five-Nation - Broadband from Space Journal on Vimeo

Genome-wide Association Meta-analysis of Childhood and Adolescent Internalizing Symptoms

Objective: To investigate the genetic architecture of internalizing symptoms in childhood and adolescence. Method: In 22 cohorts, multiple univariate genome-wide association studies (GWASs) were performed using repeated assessments of internalizing symptoms, in a total of 64,561 children and adolescents between 3 and 18 years of age. Results were aggregated in meta-analyses that accounted for sample overlap, first using all available data, and then using subsets of measurements grouped by rater, age, and instrument. Results: The meta-analysis of overall internalizing symptoms (INToverall) detected no genome-wide significant hits and showed low single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) heritability (1.66%, 95% CI = 0.84-2.48%, n(effective) = 132,260). Stratified analyses indicated rater-based heterogeneity in genetic effects, with self-reported internalizing symptoms showing the highest heritability (5.63%, 95% CI = 3.08%-8.18%). The contribution of additive genetic effects on internalizing symptoms appeared to be stable over age, with overlapping estimates of SNP heritability from early childhood to adolescence. Genetic correlations were observed with adult anxiety, depression, and the well-being spectrum (vertical bar r(g)vertical bar > 0.70), as well as with insomnia, loneliness, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, autism, and childhood aggression (range vertical bar r(g)vertical bar = 0.42-0.60), whereas there were no robust associations with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, or anorexia nervosa. Conclusion: Genetic correlations indicate that childhood and adolescent internalizing symptoms share substantial genetic vulnerabilities with adult internalizing disorders and other childhood psychiatric traits, which could partially explain both the persistence of internalizing symptoms over time and the high comorbidity among childhood psychiatric traits. Reducing phenotypic heterogeneity in childhood samples will be key in paving the way to future GWAS success.Peer reviewe

Genetic association study of childhood aggression across raters, instruments, and age

Childhood aggressive behavior (AGG) has a substantial heritability of around 50%. Here we present a genome-wide association metaanalysis (GWAMA) of childhood AGG, in which all phenotype measures across childhood ages from multiple assessors were included. We analyzed phenotype assessments for a total of 328 935 observations from 87 485 children aged between 1.5 and 18 years, while accounting for sample overlap. We also meta-analyzed within subsets of the data, i.e., within rater, instrument and age. SNP-heritability for the overall meta-analysis AGGoverall was 3.31% (SE= 0.0038). We found no genome-wide significant SNPs for AGGoverall. The gene-based analysis returned three significant genes: ST3GAL3 (P= 1.6E-06), PCDH7 (P= 2.0E-06), and IPO13 (P= 2.5E-06). All three genes have previously been associated with educational traits. Polygenic scores based on our GWAMA significantly predicted aggression in a holdout sample of children (variance explained = 0.44%) and in retrospectively assessed childhood aggression (variance explained = 0.20%). Genetic correlations rg among rater-specific assessment of AGG ranged from rg= 0.46 between self- and teacher-assessment to rg= 0.81 between mother- and teacher-assessment. We obtained moderate-to-strong rgs with selected phenotypes from multiple domains, but hardly with any of the classical biomarkers thought to be associated with AGG. Significant genetic correlations were observed with most psychiatric and psychological traits (range |rg|: 0.19-1.00), except for obsessive-compulsive disorder. Aggression had a negative genetic correlation (rg=∼-0.5) with cognitive traits and age at first birth. Aggression was strongly genetically correlated with smoking phenotypes (range |rg| : 0.46-0.60). The genetic correlations between aggression and psychiatric disorders were weaker for teacher-reported AGG than for mother- and self-reported AGG. The current GWAMA of childhood aggression provides a powerful tool to interrogate the rater-specific genetic etiology of AGG.</p

Reclaiming Gin-Loss Cotton

Excerpts from the report: Gin-loss cotton is a byproduct of the ginning process, and its utilization has received increased attention in recent years. Lint cleaners, used in all modern gins, are the main source of gin-loss cotton. Gin stand moting systems are another source of this material in the gin plant. In 1964 the U.S. Cotton Ginning Research Laboratory at Stoneville, Miss., and the Economic Research Service began a cooperative study to develop and evaluate a machine that would reclaim and clean gin-loss cotton. Major objectives of the study were: 1, Design a machine that would efficiently reclaim and clean usable or spinnable fibers of gin-loss cotton; 2, evaluate the machine in terms of its ability to separate fiber from trash; 3, determine fiber quality of reclaimed lint; 4, test the possibility of blending reclaimed gin-loss fibers with lint ginned from the same original bale; 5, evaluate the spinning performance of reclaimed gin-loss fiber and of blended lint; and 6, evaluate the economic aspects of reclaiming gin-loss cotton

Preoperative SPECT imaging as a tool for surgical planning in patients with axial neck and back pain

OBJECTIVEHybrid SPECT with CT imaging has been used to help elucidate pain generators in patients with axial neck and back pain, identifying potential sites for treatment. Few studies have examined its role in spine surgery and most literature focuses on its use postoperatively. The authors describe the largest series to date of patients with symptomatic spondylosis who underwent preoperative SPECT imaging for surgical planning.METHODSA retrospective medical and imaging record review was conducted to identify patients who underwent SPECT or SPECT/CT studies between January 2014 and May 2018. Patients who underwent spine surgical intervention for spondylosis with primary symptoms of axial neck or back pain and who had evidence of hypermetabolic foci on spinal SPECT imaging were included. Only those patients who subsequently underwent surgery on a spinal level associated with increased radiotracer uptake were included in the analysis. Patient baseline and demographic information, and data pertaining to SPECT imaging, surgical planning, and postoperative care were collected and analyzed.RESULTSA total of 23 patients with an average age at surgery of 60.0 ± 11.0 years were included. Fifteen patients (65.2%) were male. A total of 53 spinal levels were treated, with an average of 2.30 levels treated per patient. All patients underwent fusion surgery, either lumbar (n = 14), with interbody fusion most commonly used (64.2%); or cervical (n = 9), with anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (66.6%) being the most common. The average length of hospital stay was 3.45 ± 2.32 days. One patient developed a wound infection postoperatively, requiring readmission. At the 3-month follow-up, 18 patients (78.3%) reported clinical improvement in pain. Eleven patients (47.8%) reported complete symptom resolution at the 6-month follow-up. At 1 year postoperatively, 19 patients (82.6%) reported significant relief of their symptoms following surgery.CONCLUSIONSThis is the largest series to date describing patients with axial neck and back pain who underwent preoperative SPECT imaging and subsequent surgical intervention on the affected spinal levels. The results demonstrate that SPECT imaging may be a useful adjunct to guide surgical planning, resulting in substantial clinical improvement following surgery

Physical Activity and Healthy Eating Programming in Schools to Support Student’s Health-Related Fitness: An Observational Study

Centers for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines recommend schools use a coordinated health approach to support healthy eating and physical activity. This study examines whether the number of healthy eating and physical activity programs and activities used by schools and their perceived success relate to students’ health-related fitness. This observational study used data from the Healthy Zone Schools Program. Data (collected in 2017–2019) were integrated from three sources: (1) school surveys, (2) FitnessGram®, and (3) the Texas Education Agency. Independent variables were the number of health promotion programs and activities and their perceived success; dependent variables were meeting Healthy Fitness Zone Standards (HFZ) for aerobic capacity and body mass index (BMI). We used mixed-effects logistic regression models. Fifty-six schools were in the analytic sample (n = 15,096 students with aerobic capacity data and n = 19,969 with BMI data). Results indicated the perceived success of physical activity programs/activities was significantly associated with students meeting HFZ standards for aerobic capacity (OR = 1.32, CI = 1.06–1.63). There was a significant direct association between the number of physical activity and healthy eating activities implemented (OR = 1.04, CI = 1.01–1.06) and students meeting HFZ for BMI. Schools using multiple health programs and activities need to balance the number provided with their capacity to maintain success