EVALUATION OF DORMANT-SEASON HERBICIDE TREATMENT METHODS FOR CHINESE PRIVET AT CONGAREE NATIONAL PARK

Chinese privet (Ligustrum sinense Lour.) is a non-native invasive shrub that has become ubiquitous throughout the southeastern United States. There is a large infestation of privet at Congaree National Park in South Carolina, and the National Park Service is interested in controlling it with dormant-season foliar herbicide treatments. The primary objective of this study was to determine which combination of herbicide and applicator provides the most effective control of privet, while minimizing damage to non-target plants. Another objective was to document impacts of privet invasion on Congaree\u27s plant communities. Seven vegetation plots were installed in each of five large privet populations, and one plot outside of each population in a similar un-invaded area. Herbicide treatments were applied in January of 2012, and consisted of the herbicides glyphosate, metsulfuron, and a combination applied with both backpack sprayers and mistblowers. Measurement plots were set up using the protocols of the Carolina Vegetation Survey. Chinese privet invasion significantly affected native plant communities at Congaree National Park. Density of canopy tree stems from 1-5cm dbh was lower in invaded than un-invaded plots, suggesting that privet may inhibit canopy regeneration. Invaded areas had a lower density of native shrubs and understory trees and lower cover of sedges. A significant negative correlation was found between privet abundance and species richness, herbaceous cover, and density of canopy tree stems. However, cover of Microstegium vimineum was higher in un-invaded plots, suggesting that Chinese privet may also inhibit the establishment of other invasive species. The efficacy of Chinese privet control did not differ among herbicide types, but it did differ between the two applicators. Mistblowers achieved more effective control of privet, in part due to their greater height of spray. All treatments appeared to be highly effective below the maximum height of spray. The height of some privet stems exceeded the reach of both applicator types. Tests for non-target impacts showed that for most variables, no treatments differed from control plots. The greatest non-target impacts detected were to sedges and winter-green species from treatments containing glyphosate. The backpack-metsulfuron treatment showed a significant decrease in tree and shrub cover (\u3c50cm \u3eheight), and the mistblower-glyphosate treatment showed a small decrease in fern cover as compared to the control. Mistblowers showed fewer impacts overall. No treatments significantly impacted species richness. No single combination of herbicide and applicator met all objectives. However, mistblowers showed a number of advantages for both privet control and non-target impacts. Glyphosate, despite greater impacts to some graminoid species, may be preferred for its soil-binding properties. Height of privet must be considered in planning treatments. Benefits from the removal of privet are expected to outweigh the negative impacts of herbicide application

The Constructs of Trust in Close Interpersonal Relationships

While most would agree that trust is an essential element of healthy relationships and families, there is widespread disagreement regarding the most important aspects of trust. Researchers disagree about the definitions of this very important aspect of relationship and few studies have specifically explored trust as it relates to our close interpersonal relationships. In addition, most studies on this important issue are conducted with convenience samples of undergraduate college students. This study attempted to address the convenience sample issue by recruiting a large sample with a broader range of age, marital status, time in relationship, socioeconomic status, education, and ethnicity. Also, with improved technology, a larger sample was obtained through the use of the Internet. The resulting 605 participants represented undergraduate psychology courses, graduate students, a large representation of older, non-traditional students, as well as retired persons with long-term relationships. Participants were either presented pencil and paper surveys to complete or on line surveys as well as demographic data and several rankings of the importance they placed on relationship trust, level of relationship trust, mutuality, and satisfaction. Duplication of previous research emerged with three factors of trust from The Trust Scale which were Faith, Dependability, and Predictability. When another survey, The Relationship Confidence Scale was added, another factor emerged and was named "Benevolence". Additional results revealed strong correlations between subjects' scores and Total Trust. This study explored the constructs that are most closely correlated to trust and then extended the study to examine the relationships between those constructs and anxious, avoidant, and secure attachment styles. Significant results at the .001 level were found in the associations between total trust and the constructs of Faith, Dependability, Predictability, and Benevolence. The constructs of Faith, Dependability, and Benevolence were found to be significant predictors of Total Trust. Additionally, Total Trust was significantly associated with Secure Attachment style, significantly and negatively correlated with Avoidant attachment style but not significantly associated with Anxious Attachment Style. There was not a significant relationship between education level and trust. Together, the four constructs accounted for more variance in Total Trust than in attachment style and Faith accounted for most of the unique variance in Total Trust. The implications for use of these results in therapeutic relationships, couple and family counseling are also discussed

Antibiotic stewardship teams and Clostridioides difficile practices in United States hospitals: A national survey in The Joint Commission antibiotic stewardship standard era

OBJECTIVE: Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) can be prevented through infection prevention practices and antibiotic stewardship. Diagnostic stewardship (ie, strategies to improve use of microbiological testing) can also improve antibiotic use. However, little is known about the use of such practices in US hospitals, especially after multidisciplinary stewardship programs became a requirement for US hospital accreditation in 2017. Thus, we surveyed US hospitals to assess antibiotic stewardship program composition, practices related to CDI, and diagnostic stewardship. METHODS: Surveys were mailed to infection preventionists at 900 randomly sampled US hospitals between May and October 2017. Hospitals were surveyed on antibiotic stewardship programs; CDI prevention, treatment, and testing practices; and diagnostic stewardship strategies. Responses were compared by hospital bed size using weighted logistic regression. RESULTS: Overall, 528 surveys were completed (59% response rate). Almost all (95%) responding hospitals had an antibiotic stewardship program. Smaller hospitals were less likely to have stewardship team members with infectious diseases (ID) training, and only 41% of hospitals met The Joint Commission accreditation standards for multidisciplinary teams. Guideline-recommended CDI prevention practices were common. Smaller hospitals were less likely to use high-tech disinfection devices, fecal microbiota transplantation, or diagnostic stewardship strategies. CONCLUSIONS: Following changes in accreditation standards, nearly all US hospitals now have an antibiotic stewardship program. However, many hospitals, especially smaller hospitals, appear to struggle with access to ID expertise and with deploying diagnostic stewardship strategies. CDI prevention could be enhanced through diagnostic stewardship and by emphasizing the role of non-ID-trained pharmacists and clinicians in antibiotic stewardship

The Splicing Efficiency of Activating HRAS Mutations Can Determine Costello Syndrome Phenotype and Frequency in Cancer

Costello syndrome (CS) may be caused by activating mutations in codon 12/13 of the HRAS proto-oncogene. HRAS p.Gly12Val mutations have the highest transforming activity, are very frequent in cancers, but very rare in CS, where they are reported to cause a severe, early lethal, phenotype. We identified an unusual, new germline p.Gly12Val mutation, c.35_36GC>TG, in a 12-year-old boy with attenuated CS. Analysis of his HRAS cDNA showed high levels of exon 2 skipping. Using wild type and mutant HRAS minigenes, we confirmed that c.35_36GC>TG results in exon 2 skipping by simultaneously disrupting the function of a critical Exonic Splicing Enhancer (ESE) and creation of an Exonic Splicing Silencer (ESS). We show that this vulnerability of HRAS exon 2 is caused by a weak 3' splice site, which makes exon 2 inclusion dependent on binding of splicing stimulatory proteins, like SRSF2, to the critical ESE. Because the majority of cancer- and CS- causing mutations are located here, they affect splicing differently. Therefore, our results also demonstrate that the phenotype in CS and somatic cancers is not only determined by the different transforming potentials of mutant HRAS proteins, but also by the efficiency of exon 2 inclusion resulting from the different HRAS mutations. Finally, we show that a splice switching oligonucleotide (SSO) that blocks access to the critical ESE causes exon 2 skipping and halts proliferation of cancer cells. This unravels a potential for development of new anti-cancer therapies based on SSO-mediated HRAS exon 2 skipping

“And it was all my choice but it didn’t feel like a choice”: a re-examination of interpretation of data using a ‘rhetoric of choice’ lens

This research aims to re-examine interpretations of data collected from second-time 2 mothers about their experiences of becoming a mother to a second child using lenses of 3 rhetoric of choice and choice feminism. The interpretations are reconsidered to identify 4 ways in which tensions between maternal status and researcher positionality have 5 influenced the ways they were reached. The paper describes two studies, each conducted 6 by one of the authors, and the interpretations of the data made at the time the research 7 was carried out. It discusses alternative interpretations and how they challenge both the 8 researcher role and theoretical explanations of gender inequity and attachment. The paper 9 concludes that feminist research can be strengthened by attending to the intersections 10 between maternal status, and positioning as feminist, woman and researche

A bacterial inflammation sensor regulates c-di-GMP signaling, adhesion, and biofilm formation

Bacteria that colonize animals must overcome, or coexist, with the reactive oxygen species products of inflammation, a front-line defense of innate immunity. Among these is the neutrophilic oxidant bleach, hypochlorous acid (HOCl), a potent antimicrobial that plays a primary role in killing bacteria through nonspecific oxidation of proteins, lipids, and DNA. Here, we report that in response to increasing HOCl levels, Escherichia coli regulates biofilm production via activation of the diguanylate cyclase DgcZ. We identify the mechanism of DgcZ sensing of HOCl to be direct oxidation of its regulatory chemoreceptor zinc-binding (CZB) domain. Dissection of CZB signal transduction reveals that oxidation of the conserved zinc-binding cysteine controls CZB Zn2+ occupancy, which in turn regulates the catalysis of c-di-GMP by the associated GGDEF domain. We find DgcZ-dependent biofilm formation and HOCl sensing to be regulated in vivo by the conserved zinc-coordinating cysteine. Additionally, point mutants that mimic oxidized CZB states increase total biofilm. A survey of bacterial genomes reveals that many pathogenic bacteria that manipulate host inflammation as part of their colonization strategy possess CZB-regulated diguanylate cyclases and chemoreceptors. Our findings suggest that CZB domains are zinc-sensitive regulators that allow host-associated bacteria to perceive host inflammation through reactivity with HOCl

Whitefield News

File includes: January 2016 Volume 3, Issue 7 February 2016 Volume 3, Issue 8 March 2016 Volume 3, Issue 9 April 2016 Volume 3, Issue 10 May 2016 Volume 3, Issue 11 June 2016 Volume 3, Issue 12 July 2016 Volume 4, Issue 1 August 2016 Volume 4, Issue 2 September 2016, Volume 4, Issue 3 October 2016, Volume 4, Issue 4 November 2016, Volume 4, Issue 5 December 2016, Volume 4, Issue

Attitudes About Sex and Marital Sexual Behavior in Hai Duong Province, Vietnam

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/74926/1/j.1728-4465.2005.00047.x.pd

Synaptic Defects in the Spinal and Neuromuscular Circuitry in a Mouse Model of Spinal Muscular Atrophy

Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a major genetic cause of death in childhood characterized by marked muscle weakness. To investigate mechanisms underlying motor impairment in SMA, we examined the spinal and neuromuscular circuitry governing hindlimb ambulatory behavior in SMA model mice (SMNΔ7). In the neuromuscular circuitry, we found that nearly all neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) in hindlimb muscles of SMNΔ7 mice remained fully innervated at the disease end stage and were capable of eliciting muscle contraction, despite a modest reduction in quantal content. In the spinal circuitry, we observed a ∼28% loss of synapses onto spinal motoneurons in the lateral column of lumbar segments 3–5, and a significant reduction in proprioceptive sensory neurons, which may contribute to the 50% reduction in vesicular glutamate transporter 1(VGLUT1)-positive synapses onto SMNΔ7 motoneurons. In addition, there was an increase in the association of activated microglia with SMNΔ7 motoneurons. Together, our results present a novel concept that synaptic defects occur at multiple levels of the spinal and neuromuscular circuitry in SMNΔ7 mice, and that proprioceptive spinal synapses could be a potential target for SMA therapy