Computer-Assisted Proofs of Some Identities for Bessel Functions of Fractional Order

We employ computer algebra algorithms to prove a collection of identities involving Bessel functions with half-integer orders and other special functions. These identities appear in the famous Handbook of Mathematical Functions, as well as in its successor, the DLMF, but their proofs were lost. We use generating functions and symbolic summation techniques to produce new proofs for them.Comment: Final version, some typos were corrected. 21 pages, uses svmult.cl

Mapping the VCU Campus Food Environment

Preliminary research from a related VCU faculty team indicated that roughly ⅓ of all VCU students experience some level of food insecurity. Inventions to remedy this dire situation will require a more complete picture of the campus food environment. This project documented aspects of that environment. Our research team surveyed vending machines within Monroe Park buildings and facilities, along with nearby corner stores that were easily accessible to the university. Our team employed two instruments from the nationally recognized Nutritional Environment Measure Survey (NEMS), a toolkit created by Penn State University, to determine the nutritional quality of the campus food environment through direct observation. In addition to the NEMS data collection, our research team administered virtual student questionnaires to gauge general usage and attitudes towards food options on campus. VCU students were surveyed between Fall 2020 and Spring 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic; and our data collection pivoted to incorporate the effects of the pandemic on campus. Findings are compiled in a geospatial map of the Monroe Park campus and surrounding areas. Within the interactive map, vending and corner store options were identified by the NEMS award systems along with their observation notes. Our findings concluded all snack and some beverage machines on campus received no NEMS award due to the lack of healthy options. Our hope in representing the data in a visually informed layout will incite action by the university administration to implement new opportunities to ensure a healthy and balanced food environment for the VCU community.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1135/thumbnail.jp

Native Solitary Bees Provide Economically Significant Pollination Services to Confection Sunflowers (\u3ci\u3eHelianthus annuus\u3c/i\u3e L.) (Asterales: Asteraceae) Grown Across the Northern Great Plains

The benefits of insect pollination to crop yields depend on genetic and environmental factors including plant selffertility, pollinator visitation rates, and pollinator efficacy. While many crops benefit from insect pollination, such variation in pollinator benefits across both plant cultivars and growing regions is not well documented. In this study, across three states in the northern Great Plains, United States, from 2016 to 2017, we evaluated the pollinatormediated yield increases for 10 varieties of confection sunflowers, Helianthus annuus L. (Asterales: Asteraceae), a plant that is naturally pollinator-dependent but was bred for self-fertility. We additionally measured pollinator visitation rates and compared per-visit seed set across pollinator taxa in order to determine the most efficacious sunflower pollinators. Across all locations and hybrids, insect pollination increased sunflower yields by 45%, which is a regional economic value of over $40 million and a national value of over$56 million. There was, however, some variation in the extent of pollinator benefits across locations and plant genotypes, and such variation was significantly related to pollinator visitation rates, further highlighting the value of pollinators for confection sunflowers. Female Andrena helianthi Robertson (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae) and Melissodes spp. (Hymenoptera: Apidae) were the most common and effective pollinators, while other bees including managed honey bees (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), Apis mellifera L. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), small-bodied sweat bees (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), bumble bees Bombus spp. (Hymenoptera: Apidae), and male bees were either infrequent or less effective on a per-visit basis. Our results illustrate that wild bees, in particular the sunflower specialists A. helianthi and Melissodes spp., provide significant economic benefits to confection sunflower production

Adjustment to colostomy: stoma acceptance, stoma care self-efficacy and interpersonal relationships

‘The definitive version is available at www.blackwell-synergy.com.’ Copyright Blackwell Publishing. DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.2007.04446.xThis paper is a report of a study to examine adjustment and its relationship with stoma acceptance and social interaction, and the link between stoma care self-efficacy and adjustment in the presence of acceptance and social interactions.Peer reviewe

Farmers' Perspectives of the Benefits and Risks in Precision Livestock Farming in the EU Pig and Poultry Sectors

Simple Summary Smart farming is a concept of agricultural innovation that combines technological, social, economic and institutional changes. It employs novel practices of technologies and farm management at various levels (specifically with a focus on the system perspective) and scales of agricultural production, helping the industry meet the challenges stemming from immense food production demands, environmental impact mitigation and reductions in the workforce. Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) systems will help the industry meet consumer expectations for more environmentally and welfare-friendly production. However, the overwhelming majority of these new technologies originate from outside the farm sector. The adoption of new technologies is affected by the development, dissemination and application of new methodologies, technologies and regulations at the farm level, as well as quantified business models. Subsequently, the utilization of PLF in the pig and especially the poultry sectors should be advocated (the latter due to the foreseen increase in meat production). Therefore, more significant research efforts than those that currently exist are mainly required in the poultry industry. The investigation of farmers' attitudes and concerns about the acceptance of technological solutions in the livestock sector should be integrally incorporated into any technological development.Abstract More efficient livestock production systems are necessary, considering that only 41% of global meat demand will be met by 2050. Moreover, the COVID-19 pandemic crisis has clearly illustrated the necessity of building sustainable and stable agri-food systems. Precision Livestock Farming (PLF) offers the continuous capacity of agriculture to contribute to overall human and animal welfare by providing sufficient goods and services through the application of technical innovations like digitalization. However, adopting new technologies is a challenging issue for farmers, extension services, agri-business and policymakers. We present a review of operational concepts and technological solutions in the pig and poultry sectors, as reflected in 41 and 16 European projects from the last decade, respectively. The European trend of increasing broiler-meat production, which is soon to outpace pork, stresses the need for more outstanding research efforts in the poultry industry. We further present a review of farmers' attitudes and obstacles to the acceptance of technological solutions in the pig and poultry sectors using examples and lessons learned from recent European projects. Despite the low resonance at the research level, the investigation of farmers' attitudes and concerns regarding the acceptance of technological solutions in the livestock sector should be incorporated into any technological development

Evaluation of APOBEC3B Recognition Motifs by NMR Reveals Preferred Substrates.

APOBEC3B (A3B) deamination activity on ssDNA is considered a contributing factor to tumor heterogeneity and drug resistance in a number of human cancers. Despite its clinical impact, little is known about A3B ssDNA substrate preference. We have used nuclear magnetic resonance to monitor the catalytic turnover of A3B substrates in real-time. This study reports preferred nucleotide sequences for A3B substrates, including optimized 4-mer oligonucleotides, and reveals a breadth of substrate recognition that includes DNA sequences known to be mutated in drug-resistant cancer clones. Our results are consistent with available clinical and structural data and may inform the design of substrate-based A3B inhibitors

Target and reality of adjuvant endocrine therapy in postmenopausal patients with invasive breast cancer

Previous research evaluating the use of adjuvant endocrine therapy among postmenopausal breast cancer patients showed with 15–50% wide ranges of non-adherence rates. We evaluated this issue by analysing an unselected study group comprising of 325 postmenopausal women, diagnosed from 1997 to 2003 with hormonal receptor-positive invasive breast cancer. The different clinical situations that led to the discontinuation of adjuvant endocrine therapy were clearly defined and differentiated: non-adherence was not simply the act of stopping medication, but rather the manifestation of an intentional behaviour of the patient. Of the 287 patients who initiated endocrine therapy, 191 (66.6%) fully completed this treatment. Thirty-one patients (10.8%) showed non-adherence to therapy. Patients who had follow-up with a general practitioner, rather than in an oncologic unit, were more likely to be non-adherent (P=0.0088). Of 25 patients who changed medication due to therapy-related adverse effects, 20 (80%) patients fully completed the therapy after drug change. In adjuvant endocrine therapy, a lowering of the non-adherence rate to 10.8%, the lowest reported in the literature, is realistic when patients are cared for by a specialised oncologic unit focusing on the individual needs of the patients

Discovery of Potent, Selective, and Orally Bioavailable Small-Molecule Modulators of the Mediator Complex-Associated Kinases CDK8 and CDK19.

The Mediator complex-associated cyclin-dependent kinase CDK8 has been implicated in human disease, particularly in colorectal cancer where it has been reported as a putative oncogene. Here we report the discovery of 109 (CCT251921), a potent, selective, and orally bioavailable inhibitor of CDK8 with equipotent affinity for CDK19. We describe a structure-based design approach leading to the discovery of a 3,4,5-trisubstituted-2-aminopyridine series and present the application of physicochemical property analyses to successfully reduce in vivo metabolic clearance, minimize transporter-mediated biliary elimination while maintaining acceptable aqueous solubility. Compound 109 affords the optimal compromise of in vitro biochemical, pharmacokinetic, and physicochemical properties and is suitable for progression to animal models of cancer