Tick IPM Outreach and Research Activities, NYS IPM Program, 2018

NYS IPM Type: Project ReportTicks and tick-borne diseases have become a significant public health issue in the Northeastern United States, including New York. With Lyme disease representing the number one vector-borne pathogen in the US, researchers are working to better understand the biology and ecology of ticks, while the medical community works toward improving diagnostic techniques and treatment. Despite these efforts, individuals continue to encounter ticks that may harbor pathogens. Therefore, starting in 2014 the New York State IPM Program established a new priority to develop, confirm, and/or promote methods for reducing the impact of ticks in community settings in a measureable way. By providing education about tick biology and ecology, combined with recommendations for personal protection, the goal is to reduce human interactions with ticks. To this end, the Community IPM program has engaged diverse audiences in learning about tick and host management, conducted research, assisted other organizations in disseminating their message, and applied for and received monies to create a tick outreach campaign, Don’t Get Ticked, NY, launched in 2018

School IPM Outreach and Research Activities, NYS IPM Program, 2017

NYS IPM Type: Project ReportNYS schools need assistance in reducing risks to children and others from both pests and the overuse of pesticides. In 2017, NYS IPM Program activities have resulted in school personnel becoming better informed and able to implement IPM in their school districts. Managing geese on school grounds was the focus of a demonstration project and associated outreach. A school IPM assessment tool was developed and began to be piloted. A phone survey of BOCES health & safety officers is providing input into school IPM outreach and implementation. The NYS IPM Program made several blogs and tweets throughout the year with IPM stories of relevance to the state’s schools and childcare facilities. NYS IPM Program staff made visits to several schools trouble shooting specific pest-related situations, collaborated with Cornell faculty on research of relevance to school IPM, and were involved in statewide, regional, and national collaborations involving school IPM outreach

Risk stratification using coronary artery calcium scoring based on low tube voltage computed tomography

To determine if coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring using computed tomography at 80 kilovolt-peak (kVp) and 70-kVp and tube voltage-adapted scoring-thresholds allow for accurate risk stratification as compared to the standard 120-kVp protocol. We prospectively included 170 patients who underwent standard CAC scanning at 120-kVp and 200 milliamperes and additional scans with 80-kVp and 70-kVp tube voltage with adapted tube current to normalize image noise across scans. Novel kVp-adapted thresholds were applied to calculate CAC scores from the low-kVp scans and were compared to those from standard 120-kVp scans by assessing risk reclassification rates and agreement using Kendall’s rank correlation coefficients (Τb) for risk categories bounded by 0, 1, 100, and 400. Interreader reclassification rates for the 120-kVp scans were assessed. Agreement for risk classification obtained from 80-kVp and 70-kVp scans as compared to 120-kVp was good (Τb = 0.967 and 0.915, respectively; both p < 0.001) with reclassification rates of 7.1% and 17.2%, respectively, mostly towards a lower risk category. By comparison, the interreader reclassification rate was 4.1% (Τb = 0.980, p < 0.001). Reclassification rates were dependent on body mass index (BMI) with 7.1% and 13.6% reclassifications for the 80-kVp and 70-kVp scans, respectively, in patients with a BMI < 30 kg/m2 (n = 140), and 2.9% and 7.4%, respectively, in patients with a BMI < 25 kg/m2 (n = 68). Mean effective radiation dose from the 120-kVp, the 80-kVp, and 70-kVp scans was 0.54 ± 0.03, 0.42 ± 0.02, and 0.26 ± 0.02 millisieverts. CAC scoring with reduced tube voltage allows for accurate risk stratification if kVp-adapted thresholds for calculation of CAC scores are applied

A Heretic from a Good Family? A New Look at Why Levi b. Abraham b. Ḥayim Was Hounded

Levi b. Abraham b. Ḥayim, a popularizer of rationalist philosophy active around 1300 in Occitania, was identified as a transgressor by proponents of a ban on the study of philosophy. The nature of Levi's transgressive activities and the reasons why he was targeted have remained elusive, though a consensus view suggests that his socioeconomic standing and genuinely radical ideas contributed to his being singled out. In fact, a careful reassessment of the extant sources demonstrates that Levi, as an established member of the elite class, was an inadvertent target, identified in the course of a misunderstanding between Solomon Ibn Adret and his confidant in Perpignan, Crescas Vidal. No more radical than others and one of many popularizers of rationalism, Levi became a convenient exemplar and test case for ban proponents. They struggled to define the nature of Levi's potentially dangerous effects on his students, however, and Levi remained an equivocal figure even to his detractors. Though vilified and forced out of the home of his patron, Levi was accorded basic respect and often defended; he was never subject to excommunication, censure, or any type of halakhic prosecution

Barbarians at the British Museum: Anglo-Saxon Art, Race and Religion

A critical historiographical overview of art historical approaches to early medieval material culture, with a focus on the British Museum collections and their connections to religion

School IPM Outreach and Research Activities, NYS IPM Program, 2016

NYS IPM Type: Project ReportNYS schools need assistance in reducing risks to children and others from both pests and the overuse of pesticides. In 2016, NYS IPM Program activities have resulted in school personnel becoming better informed and able to implement IPM in their school districts. Managing geese on school grounds was the focus of a demonstration project including the production and wide distribution of a fact sheet. A school IPM assessment tool was developed and will be piloted in 2017. The NYS IPM Program made several blogs and tweets throughout the year with IPM stories of relevance to the state’s schools and childcare facilities. NYS IPM Program staff made visits to several schools trouble shooting specific pest-related situations, collaborated on a multi-state school turf overseeding research project, and were involved in statewide and national collaborations involving school IPM outreach

School IPM Outreach and Research Activities, NYS IPM Program

NYS schools need assistance in reducing risks to children and others from both pests and the overuse of pesticides. In 2014, NYS IPM Program activities have resulted in school personnel becoming better informed and able to implement IPM in their school districts. A school IPM best management practices website was developed and piloted and evaluated in three states. School IPM outreach to rural schools was conducted in the Southern Tier and the Catskills. The state’s public school districts were surveyed on their pest management policies and practices. NYS IPM staff initiated a blog with IPM stories of relevance to the state’s schools and childcare facilities. NYS IPM Program staff made visits to more than ten schools trouble shooting specific pest-related situations

School IPM Outreach and Research Activities, NYS IPM Program, 2017

NYS IPM Type: Project ReportNYS schools need assistance in reducing risks to children and others from both pests and the overuse of pesticides. In 2017, NYS IPM Program activities have resulted in school personnel becoming better informed and able to implement IPM in their school districts. Managing geese on school grounds was the focus of a demonstration project and associated outreach. A school IPM assessment tool was developed and began to be piloted. A phone survey of BOCES health & safety officers is providing input into school IPM outreach and implementation. The NYS IPM Program made several blogs and tweets throughout the year with IPM stories of relevance to the state’s schools and childcare facilities. NYS IPM Program staff made visits to several schools trouble shooting specific pest-related situations, collaborated with Cornell faculty on research of relevance to school IPM, and were involved in statewide, regional, and national collaborations involving school IPM outreach

School IPM Outreach and Research Activities, NYS IPM Program, 2018

NYS IPM Type: Project ReportNYS schools need assistance in reducing risks to children and others from both pests and the overuse of pesticides. In 2018, NYS IPM Program activities have resulted in school personnel becoming better informed and able to implement IPM in their school districts. A school IPM assessment tool was developed and continues to be refined and piloted. A phone survey of BOCES health & safety officers is providing input into school IPM outreach and implementation. NYS IPM Program staff worked with the Northeast School IPM Working Group to upgrade the Best Practices in School IPM website. We are working with a BOCES district to develop a school IPM policy development workshop. NYS IPM Program staff made numerous presentations, posters, and displays to and about school stakeholders. The NYS IPM Program made several blogs and tweets throughout the year with IPM stories of relevance to the state’s schools and childcare facilities. NYS IPM Program staff collaborated with Cornell faculty on research of relevance to school IPM and were involved in statewide, regional, and national collaborations promoting school IPM