Integrating Greenhouse Cherry Tomato Production with Biofloc Tilapia Production

Integration of intensive aquaculture systems with greenhouse plant production has been shown to improve aquaculture water quality conditions and improve plant nutrient use efficiency. The majority of the focus of integrated systems has involved raft culture or true hydroponics. Little work has been done on soilless culture utilizing drip irrigation. This study investigates the feasibility of integrating biofloc Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) production with greenhouse cherry tomato production (Solanum lycopersicum var. cerasiforme). Nile tilapia (157 g/fish) were stocked at 40 fish/m3 and grown for 149 days. The cherry tomato cvs. “Favorita” and “Goldita” were grown with aquaculture effluent (AE) waste and compared to plants grown with conventional fertilizer (CF) in soilless culture. Plants were grown for 157 days. Few differences in yield occurred between treatments until fish harvest (117 DAT). Post fish harvest, there was an 18.4% difference in total yield between CF and AE at crop termination for “Favorita”. Differences in yield between AE and CF were observed for “Goldita” at fish harvest (117 DAT) and crop termination (157 DAT). Results from this study suggest the potential for successful integration of cherry tomato grown in a substrate-based system with AE from a tilapia biofloc production system

Epidemiology of HIV among US Air Force Military Personnel, 1996-2011.

The objectives of this study were to describe the epidemiology of HIV in the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1996 through 2011 and to assess whether socio-demographic characteristics and service-related mobility, including military deployments, were associated with HIV infection.We conducted a retrospective cohort analysis of USAF personnel who were HIV-infected during the study period January 1, 1996 through December 31, 2011 and a matched case-control study. Cases were USAF personnel newly-diagnosed with HIV during the study period. Five randomly-selected HIV-uninfected controls were matched to each case by age, length of service, sex, race, service, component, and HIV test collection date. Socio-demographic and service-related mobility factors and HIV diagnosis were assessed using conditional logistic regression.During the study period, the USAF had 541 newly diagnosed HIV-infected cases. HIV incidence rate (per 100,000 person-years) among 473 active duty members was highest in 2007 (16.78), among black/ African-American USAF members (26.60) and those aged 25 to 29 years (10.84). In unadjusted analysis restricted to personnel on active duty, 10 characteristics were identified and considered for final multivariate analysis. Of these single (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 8.15, 95% confidence interval [CI] 5.71-11.6) or other marital status (aOR 4.60, 95% CI 2.72-7.75), communications/ intelligence (aOR 2.57, 95% CI 1.84-3.60) or healthcare (aOR 2.07, 95% CI 1.28-3.35) occupations, and having no deployment in the past 2 years before diagnosis (aOR 2.02, 95% CI 1.47-2.78) conferred higher odds of HIV infection in adjusted analysis.The highest risk of HIV infection in the USAF was among young unmarried deployment-naïve males, especially those in higher risk occupation groups. In an era when worldwide military operations have increased, these analyses identified potential areas where targeted HIV prevention efforts may be beneficial in reducing HIV incidence in the USAF military population

Incidence rates of new HIV diagnoses (and 95% confidence intervals) among active duty Air Force personnel, 1996–2011.

<p>Incidence rates of new HIV diagnoses (and 95% confidence intervals) among active duty Air Force personnel, 1996–2011.</p

Socio-demographic factors of HIV-infected and matched HIV-uninfected United States Air Force active duty personnel, 1996–2011.

<p>*Other marital status included individuals who reported that they were neither married nor single on their personnel records.</p><p>**The occupation category, engineer, included non-combat engineer; ‘Other’ occupations included infantry/ combat engineer/ Special Forces/ artillery/ armor/ motor transport/ administration and other categories.^A service member’s residence at the time of entrance to the US military.</p><p>Socio-demographic factors of HIV-infected and matched HIV-uninfected United States Air Force active duty personnel, 1996–2011.</p

Frequencies and incidence rates of HIV among United States Air Force personnel in service at any time from 1996 through 2011^*.

<p>*All personnel with available demographic records were included in this analysis.</p><p>**Other race included Asians or Pacific Islanders, American Indians or Alaskan natives, and individuals who self-reported their race as ‘Other’ on their personnel records.</p><p>Frequencies and incidence rates of HIV among United States Air Force personnel in service at any time from 1996 through 2011^{<a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0126700#t001fn001" target="_blank">*</a>}.</p

Mobility-related factors among HIV-infected and matched HIV-uninfected United States Air Force active duty personnel, 1996–2011.

<p>Mobility-related factors among HIV-infected and matched HIV-uninfected United States Air Force active duty personnel, 1996–2011.</p