Enhancing wind erosion monitoring and assessment for U.S. rangelands

Wind erosion is a major resource concern for rangeland managers because it can impact soil health, ecosystem structure and function, hydrologic processes, agricultural production, and air quality. Despite its significance, little is known about which landscapes are eroding, by how much, and when. The National Wind Erosion Research Network was established in 2014 to develop tools for monitoring and assessing wind erosion and dust emissions across the United States. The Network, currently consisting of 13 sites, creates opportunities to enhance existing rangeland soil, vegetation, and air quality monitoring programs. Decision-support tools developed by the Network will improve the prediction and management of wind erosion across rangeland ecosystems. © 2017 The Author(s)The Rangelands archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact [email protected] for further information

Active Trachoma among Children in Mali: Clustering and Environmental Risk Factors

Active trachoma is not uniformly distributed in endemic areas, and local environmental factors influencing its prevalence are not yet adequately understood. Determining whether clustering is a consistent phenomenon may help predict likely modes of transmission and help to determine the appropriate level at which to target control interventions. In this work, we estimated the magnitude of clustering at different levels and investigated the influence of socio-economic factors and environmental features on active trachoma prevalence among children in Mali (1996–1997 nationwide survey). Clustering revealed significant results at the child, caretaker, household, and village levels. Moreover, beyond some well-established individual risk factors (age between 3 and 5, dirty face, and flies on the face), we found that temperature, sunshine fraction, and presence of rainy days were negatively associated with active trachoma prevalence. This study clearly indicates the importance of directing control efforts both at children with active trachoma as well as those with close contact, and at communities. These results support facial cleanliness and environmental improvements as population-health initiatives to combat blinding trachoma

Managing formalization to increase global team effectiveness and meaningfulness of work in multinational organizations

Global teams may help to integrate across locations, and yet, with formalized rules and procedures, responsiveness to those locations’ effectiveness, and the team members’ experiences of work as meaningful may suffer. We employ a mixed-methods approach to understand how the level and content of formalization can be managed to resolve these tensions in multinationals. In a sample of global teams from a large mining and resources organization operating across 44 countries, interviews, observations, and a quantitative 2-wave survey revealed a great deal of variability between teams in how formalization processes were enacted. Only those formalization processes that promoted knowledge sharing were instrumental in improving team effectiveness. Implementing rules and procedures in the set-up of the teams and projects, rather than during interactions, and utilizing protocols to help establish the global team as a source of identity increased this knowledge sharing. Finally, we found members’ personal need for structure moderated the effect of team formalization on how meaningful individuals found their work within the team. These findings have significant implications for theory and practice in multinational organizations

The Acquisition of Sexual Information by Young People

Examines the impact of the mass media on the sexual expectations and satisfactions of young people in the U.S. Potential of peers and mass as powerful agents in the acquisition of sexual information of young people; Role of media in the socialization of the young person; Contribution of experience in the information acquisition process

Outcomes of Treatment with the Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cell Therapy Lisocabtagene Maraleucel (liso-cel) in the Nonuniversity Setting: Initial Results from the Outreach Study

Background: Currently approved CAR T cell therapies are generally administered as inpatient treatment at university medical centers due to concerns about the frequency, onset, severity, and management of AEs, including cytokine release syndrome (CRS) and neurological events (NEs). Infusion and monitoring of patients who receive CAR T cell therapy at nonuniversity medical centers and in outpatient settings have not been specifically studied. Liso-cel is an investigational, CD19-directed, defined composition, 4-1BB CAR T cell product administered at equal target doses of CD8+ and CD4+ CAR+ T cells. The liso-cel clinical program allows outpatient treatment per investigator discretion, with standardized guidelines for safety monitoring and AE management. Here we present preliminary safety and efficacy outcomes of liso-cel in relapsed/refractory (R/R) aggressive large B-cell lymphoma (LBCL) across inpatient and outpatient settings at nonuniversity medical centers in the OUTREACH study (NCT03744676). Methods: This open-label, multicenter, phase 2 study enrolled adult patients with R/R LBCL at nonuniversity medical centers, including those with university affiliations and centers naïve to CAR T cell therapy. Inclusion criteria included ECOG PS of 0-1, PET-positive disease, adequate organ function, and R/R disease after ≥2 lines of prior systemic therapy including chemoimmunotherapy. Prior autologous HSCT was permitted, but prior allogeneic HSCT was prohibited. After leukapheresis and 3 days of lymphodepleting chemotherapy, patients received liso-cel infusion at a dose of 100 × 106 CAR+ T cells. The primary endpoint was incidence of grade ≥3 CRS, NEs, prolonged cytopenias through day 29, and infections. Secondary endpoints included safety and overall response rate (ORR). All study sites had a multidisciplinary CAR T cell therapy team and standard operating procedures for toxicity monitoring/management of patients treated and/or monitored as outpatients. CRS was graded as per 2014 Lee criteria; NEs were defined as liso-cel-related investigator-assessed events and graded as per NCI CTCAE v4.03. Results: At data cutoff, 34 patients were treated with liso-cel (inpatients, n = 12; outpatients, n = 22); 5 patients were treated at non-Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy (FACT)-accredited sites. Demographics and baseline disease characteristics were similar between inpatients and outpatients (Table); overall, median age was 66 years (range, 34-83), 68% had diffuse LBCL not otherwise specified, and 88% were refractory to last therapy. CRS was reported in 4 inpatients (33%) and 9 outpatients (41%), with no grade ≥3 events. NEs were reported in 3 inpatients (25%) and 6 outpatients (27%), with 1 grade 3 event in the outpatient group. Median (range) time to onset of CRS and NEs, respectively, was 2.5 (1-3) and 10 (5-16) days for inpatients and 6 (2-9) and 8.5 (6-13) days for outpatients. Tocilizumab and/or corticosteroid use for CRS and/or NE management was generally low (inpatients, n = 2 [17%]; outpatients, n = 5 [23%]). Overall, the most common (≥45%) treatment-emergent AEs (TEAEs) were neutropenia (76%), leukopenia (50%), and anemia (47%). Prolonged cytopenias (grade ≥3 lab values at Day 29) were reported for 7 (21%) patients. No grade 5 TEAEs were reported. Early (≤ study Day 4) and overall hospitalization in outpatients was 18% and 50%, respectively; median time to hospitalization was 5 (2-9) days and median length of stay was 6 (1-18) days. Among efficacy-evaluable patients (n = 31), ORR was 75% for inpatients and 84% for outpatients; CR rate was 50% and 68%, respectively. Of the 5 patients treated at non-FACT-accredited sites (inpatients, n = 1; outpatients, n = 4), 2 had CRS and/or NEs, but none were grade ≥3 events; none of these patients received tocilizumab or corticosteroids. Of these 5 patients, 1 achieved CR and 1 achieved PR; 2 had stable disease and 1 had progressive disease. Conclusions: Patients with R/R aggressive LBCL were successfully treated with liso-cel and monitored for CAR T cell therapy-related toxicities at nonuniversity medical centers in inpatient and outpatient settings using standard operating procedures and multidisciplinary teams. Incidences of severe CRS and NEs were low, as was tocilizumab and/or corticosteroid use. Liso-cel showed encouraging preliminary efficacy in both inpatients and outpatients. This trial is ongoing and actively recruiting