Invasibility of three major non-native invasive shrubs and associated factors in Upper Midwest U.S. forest lands

We used non-native invasive plant data from the US Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, spatial statistical methods, and the space (cover class)-for-time approach to quantify the invasion potential and success (‘‘invasibility”) of three major invasive shrubs (multiflora rose, non-native bush honeysuckles, and common buckthorn) in broadly classified forest-type groups in seven Upper Midwest states. Smoothed maps of presence and cover percent showed a strong clustering pattern for all three invasive shrubs despite their different ranges. The species are clustered around major cities or urban areas (e.g., Chicago, Illinois, and Des Moines, Iowa), indicating the potential role humans played in their invasion and spread on the landscape and throughout the Midwest. Conditional inference tree (ctree) models further quantified the significant factors contributing to the observed regional patterns: for distribution of multiflora rose, percentage of forest cover in the county (measuring human disturbance intensity) and stand density index; for distribution of common buckthorn, distance to major highways. Non-native bush honeysuckles were not associated with any disturbance and site/stand variables except for latitude and longitude. The infested FIA plots by cover class were positively associated in space, signifying a concentric-like spread trend from previously infested sites (hot spots) to surrounding areas. By forest-type groups or as a whole, the three species spread slowly at earlier stages, but recently have increased significantly in presence/ expansion. Oak/hickory and elm/ash/cottonwood forests were more susceptible to the three invasive shrubs compared to other forests. We recommend that resource managers and planners prescribe control and mitigation treatments for non-native invasive plants by forest types and spatial locations close to highways and residences

UC-508 Memories: Echoes of Resilience

Memories: Echoes of Resilience is a first-person narrative experience that takes players through different experiences of a boy with autism. The game aims to show how everyday interactions can be different to someone with autism. Experiences such as making friends in school, being in overstimulating environments, or managing adult life are experiences we want to simulate for the player. The player will be able to interact with the world around them but will also have to be aware of how their environment impacts them, so they don’t become overstimulated

Invasibility of three major non-native invasive shrubs and associated factors in Upper Midwest U.S. forest lands

We used non-native invasive plant data from the US Forest Service’s Forest Inventory and Analysis (FIA) program, spatial statistical methods, and the space (cover class)-for-time approach to quantify the invasion potential and success (‘‘invasibility”) of three major invasive shrubs (multiflora rose, non-native bush honeysuckles, and common buckthorn) in broadly classified forest-type groups in seven Upper Midwest states. Smoothed maps of presence and cover percent showed a strong clustering pattern for all three invasive shrubs despite their different ranges. The species are clustered around major cities or urban areas (e.g., Chicago, Illinois, and Des Moines, Iowa), indicating the potential role humans played in their invasion and spread on the landscape and throughout the Midwest. Conditional inference tree (ctree) models further quantified the significant factors contributing to the observed regional patterns: for distribution of multiflora rose, percentage of forest cover in the county (measuring human disturbance intensity) and stand density index; for distribution of common buckthorn, distance to major highways. Non-native bush honeysuckles were not associated with any disturbance and site/stand variables except for latitude and longitude. The infested FIA plots by cover class were positively associated in space, signifying a concentric-like spread trend from previously infested sites (hot spots) to surrounding areas. By forest-type groups or as a whole, the three species spread slowly at earlier stages, but recently have increased significantly in presence/ expansion. Oak/hickory and elm/ash/cottonwood forests were more susceptible to the three invasive shrubs compared to other forests. We recommend that resource managers and planners prescribe control and mitigation treatments for non-native invasive plants by forest types and spatial locations close to highways and residences

African Americans and Land Loss in Texas: Government Duplicity and Discrimination Based on Race and Class

African American Farmers and Land Loss in Texas, surveys the ways that discrimination at the local, state, and national levels constrained minority farmers during the twentieth century. It considers the characteristics of small-scale farming that created liabilities for landowners regardless of race, including state and federal programs that favored commercial and agribusiness interests. In addition to economic challenges African American farmers had to negotiate racism in the Jim Crow South. The Texas Agricultural Extension Service, the state branch of the USDA\u27s Extension Service, segregated in 1915. The Negro division gave black farmers access to information about USDA programs, but it emphasized their subordinate position relative to white farmers. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 did not reverse decades of racial discrimination. Instead, USDA officials relied on federalism, a theory as old as the Constitution, to justify their tolerance of civil rights violations in Texas and elsewhere. Then, special needs legislation passed during the 1970s and 1980s did not realize its potential to serve ethnically diverse and economically disadvantaged rural Texans. Discrimination based on race combined with a bias toward commercial production. This crippled most black farmers and led to their near extinction

31st Annual Meeting and Associated Programs of the Society for Immunotherapy of Cancer (SITC 2016) : part two

Background The immunological escape of tumors represents one of the main ob- stacles to the treatment of malignancies. The blockade of PD-1 or CTLA-4 receptors represented a milestone in the history of immunotherapy. However, immune checkpoint inhibitors seem to be effective in specific cohorts of patients. It has been proposed that their efficacy relies on the presence of an immunological response. Thus, we hypothesized that disruption of the PD-L1/PD-1 axis would synergize with our oncolytic vaccine platform PeptiCRAd. Methods We used murine B16OVA in vivo tumor models and flow cytometry analysis to investigate the immunological background. Results First, we found that high-burden B16OVA tumors were refractory to combination immunotherapy. However, with a more aggressive schedule, tumors with a lower burden were more susceptible to the combination of PeptiCRAd and PD-L1 blockade. The therapy signifi- cantly increased the median survival of mice (Fig. 7). Interestingly, the reduced growth of contralaterally injected B16F10 cells sug- gested the presence of a long lasting immunological memory also against non-targeted antigens. Concerning the functional state of tumor infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs), we found that all the immune therapies would enhance the percentage of activated (PD-1pos TIM- 3neg) T lymphocytes and reduce the amount of exhausted (PD-1pos TIM-3pos) cells compared to placebo. As expected, we found that PeptiCRAd monotherapy could increase the number of antigen spe- cific CD8+ T cells compared to other treatments. However, only the combination with PD-L1 blockade could significantly increase the ra- tio between activated and exhausted pentamer positive cells (p= 0.0058), suggesting that by disrupting the PD-1/PD-L1 axis we could decrease the amount of dysfunctional antigen specific T cells. We ob- served that the anatomical location deeply influenced the state of CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes. In fact, TIM-3 expression was in- creased by 2 fold on TILs compared to splenic and lymphoid T cells. In the CD8+ compartment, the expression of PD-1 on the surface seemed to be restricted to the tumor micro-environment, while CD4 + T cells had a high expression of PD-1 also in lymphoid organs. Interestingly, we found that the levels of PD-1 were significantly higher on CD8+ T cells than on CD4+ T cells into the tumor micro- environment (p < 0.0001). Conclusions In conclusion, we demonstrated that the efficacy of immune check- point inhibitors might be strongly enhanced by their combination with cancer vaccines. PeptiCRAd was able to increase the number of antigen-specific T cells and PD-L1 blockade prevented their exhaus- tion, resulting in long-lasting immunological memory and increased median survival

International Consensus Statement on Rhinology and Allergy: Rhinosinusitis

Background: The 5 years since the publication of the first International Consensus Statement on Allergy and Rhinology: Rhinosinusitis (ICAR‐RS) has witnessed foundational progress in our understanding and treatment of rhinologic disease. These advances are reflected within the more than 40 new topics covered within the ICAR‐RS‐2021 as well as updates to the original 140 topics. This executive summary consolidates the evidence‐based findings of the document. Methods: ICAR‐RS presents over 180 topics in the forms of evidence‐based reviews with recommendations (EBRRs), evidence‐based reviews, and literature reviews. The highest grade structured recommendations of the EBRR sections are summarized in this executive summary. Results: ICAR‐RS‐2021 covers 22 topics regarding the medical management of RS, which are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Additionally, 4 topics regarding the surgical management of RS are grade A/B and are presented in the executive summary. Finally, a comprehensive evidence‐based management algorithm is provided. Conclusion: This ICAR‐RS‐2021 executive summary provides a compilation of the evidence‐based recommendations for medical and surgical treatment of the most common forms of RS

Classification of tracheal stenosis in children based on computational aerodynamics

Tracheal stenosis is a health condition in which local narrowing of the upper trachea can cause breathing difficulties and increased incidence of infection, among other symptoms. Occurring most commonly due to intubation of infants, tracheal stenosis often requires corrective surgery. It is challenging to determine the most effective surgical strategy for a given patient as current clinical methods used to assess tracheal stenosis are simplistic and subjective, and are not rigorously based on aerodynamic considerations. This paper summarizes a non-invasive approach based on computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and medical imaging to establish relationships between trachea anatomy and inspiration performance. Though patient-specific CFD analysis has gained recent popularity, an objective of this study is to computationally formulate dimensionless analytical correlations between anatomy and performance that are applicable to any member of a class of patients and that can be interpreted within the context of the Myer-Cotton stenotic airway classification system. These correlations can provide aerodynamics-based insight for the development of more robust stenosis evaluation methods and may allow for time-efficient assessment of corrective surgical strategies

Spatio-Temporal Trends of Oak Decline and Mortality under Periodic Regional Drought in the Ozark Highlands of Arkansas and Missouri

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Image-Based 3-Dimensional Characterization of Laryngotracheal Stenosis in Children

Objectives Describe a technique for the description and classification of laryngotracheal stenosis in children using 3-dimensional reconstructions of the airway from computed tomography (CT) scans. Study Design Cross-sectional. Setting Academic tertiary care children’s hospital. Subjects and Methods Three-dimensional models of the subglottic airway lumen were created using CT scans from 54 children undergoing imaging for indications other than airway disease. The base lumen models were deformed in software to simulate subglottic airway segments with 0%, 25%, 50%, and 75% stenoses for each subject. Statistical analysis of the airway geometry was performed using metrics extracted from the lumen centerlines. The centerline analysis was used to develop a system for subglottic stenosis assessment and classification from patient-specific airway imaging. Results The scaled hydraulic diameter gradient metric derived from intersectional changes in the lumen can be used to accurately classify and quantitate subglottic stenosis in the airway based on CT scan imaging. Classification is most accurate in the clinically relevant 25% to 75% range of stenosis. Conclusions Laryngotracheal stenosis is a complex diagnosis requiring an understanding of the airway lumen configuration, anatomical distortions of the airway framework, and alterations of respiratory aerodynamics. Using image-based airway models, we have developed a metric that accurately captures subglottis patency. While not intended to replace endoscopic evaluation and existing staging systems for laryngotracheal stenosis, further development of these techniques will facilitate future studies of upper airway computational fluid dynamics and the clinical evaluation of airway disease