1968

Maintenance of Golf Carts by Thomas Pepe (page 1) Why a Golf Course Superintendent Should Play Golf by Stephen Skowronski (2) Tree Pruning by Martin Walsh (3) Golf Course Labor: A Dilemma by Robert Barber (5) Turf Problems by Alexander M. Radko (A-1) 1967 Turfgrass Problems by Lee Record (A-3) Southern Turfgrass Production and Problems by Ralph W. White Jr. (A-5) Canadian Turf Grass Production and Problems by David Moote (A-8) Turf Research Abroad by C.R. Skogley (A-13) Turf Research at Home by Victor B. Younger (A-14) Turfgrass Research - An Industrial Approach by J. A. Simmons (A-16) Cutting Labor Costs in Turfgrass Managemnt by Tom Mascaro (A-24) The Reluctant human by John W. Denison (A-28) The Problem Drinker - Management Responsibility by G.E. Osburn (A-31) Contemporary Design Standards by Geoffrey S. Cornish (A-34) Construction - Superintendents\u27 Viewpoint by Robert E. Grant (A-36) Construction b Contract and the Role of the Superintendent by David Canavan (A-39) Seed Production by Robert J. Peterson (A-41) Cemetery Turf Maintenance on a High and Low Budget by Stanley Sosenski (A-45) Ten Steps to a Good Lawn by John Zak (A-49) Review of Herbicides for Turf Weed Control by Alvin A. Baber (A-53

GRAB: A Dataset of Whole-Body Human Grasping of Objects

Training computers to understand, model, and synthesize human grasping requires a rich dataset containing complex 3D object shapes, detailed contact information, hand pose and shape, and the 3D body motion over time. While "grasping" is commonly thought of as a single hand stably lifting an object, we capture the motion of the entire body and adopt the generalized notion of "whole-body grasps". Thus, we collect a new dataset, called GRAB (GRasping Actions with Bodies), of whole-body grasps, containing full 3D shape and pose sequences of 10 subjects interacting with 51 everyday objects of varying shape and size. Given MoCap markers, we fit the full 3D body shape and pose, including the articulated face and hands, as well as the 3D object pose. This gives detailed 3D meshes over time, from which we compute contact between the body and object. This is a unique dataset, that goes well beyond existing ones for modeling and understanding how humans grasp and manipulate objects, how their full body is involved, and how interaction varies with the task. We illustrate the practical value of GRAB with an example application; we train GrabNet, a conditional generative network, to predict 3D hand grasps for unseen 3D object shapes. The dataset and code are available for research purposes at https://grab.is.tue.mpg.de.Comment: ECCV 202

Definitions and outcome measures for bullous pemphigoid: Recommendations by an international panel of experts

Our scientific knowledge of bullous pemphigoid (BP) has dramatically progressed in recent years. However, despite the availability of various therapeutic options for the treatment of inflammatory diseases, only a few multicenter controlled trials have helped to define effective therapies in BP. A major obstacle in sharing multicenter-based evidences for therapeutic efforts is the lack of generally accepted definitions for the clinical evaluation of patients with BP. Common terms and end points of BP are needed so that experts in the field can accurately measure and assess disease extent, activity, severity, and therapeutic response, and thus facilitate and advance clinical trials. These recommendations from the International Pemphigoid Committee represent 2 years of collaborative efforts to attain mutually acceptable common definitions for BP and proposes a disease extent score, the BP Disease Area Index. These items should assist in the development of consistent reporting of outcomes in future BP reports and studies. © 2011 by the American Academy of Dermatology, Inc

Interferon and Biologic Signatures in Dermatomyositis Skin: Specificity and Heterogeneity across Diseases

BACKGROUND: Dermatomyositis (DM) is an autoimmune disease that mainly affects the skin, muscle, and lung. The pathogenesis of skin inflammation in DM is not well understood. METHODOLOGY AND FINDINGS: We analyzed genome-wide expression data in DM skin and compared them to those from healthy controls. We observed a robust upregulation of interferon (IFN)-inducible genes in DM skin, as well as several other gene modules pertaining to inflammation, complement activation, and epidermal activation and differentiation. The interferon (IFN)-inducible genes within the DM signature were present not only in DM and lupus, but also cutaneous herpes simplex-2 infection and to a lesser degree, psoriasis. This IFN signature was absent or weakly present in atopic dermatitis, allergic contact dermatitis, acne vulgaris, systemic sclerosis, and localized scleroderma/morphea. We observed that the IFN signature in DM skin appears to be more closely related to type I than type II IFN based on in vitro IFN stimulation expression signatures. However, quantitation of IFN mRNAs in DM skin shows that the majority of known type I IFNs, as well as IFN g, are overexpressed in DM skin. In addition, both IFN-beta and IFN-gamma (but not other type I IFN) transcript levels were highly correlated with the degree of the in vivo IFN transcriptional response in DM skin. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: As in the blood and muscle, DM skin is characterized by an overwhelming presence of an IFN signature, although it is difficult to conclusively define this response as type I or type II. Understanding the significance of the IFN signature in this wide array of inflammatory diseases will be furthered by identification of the nature of the cells that both produce and respond to IFN, as well as which IFN subtype is biologically active in each diseased tissue

Development and Application of Microsatellites in Carcinus maenas: Genetic Differentiation between Northern and Central Portuguese Populations

Carcinus maenas, the common shore crab of European coastal waters, has recently gained notoriety due to its globally invasive nature associated with drastic ecological and economic effects. The native ubiquity and worldwide importance of C. maenas has resulted in it becoming one of the best-studied estuarine crustacean species globally. Accordingly, there is significant interest in investigating the population genetic structure of this broadly distributed crab along European and invaded coastlines. Here, we developed polymerase chain reaction (PCR) primers for one dinucleotide and two trinucleotide microsatellite loci, resulting from an enrichment process based on Portuguese populations. Combining these three new markers with six existing markers, we examined levels of genetic diversity and population structure of C. maenas in two coastal regions from Northern and Central Portugal. Genotypes showed that locus polymorphism ranged from 10 to 42 alleles (N = 135) and observed heterozygosity per locus ranged from 0.745 to 0.987 with expected heterozygosity ranging from 0.711 to 0.960; values typical of marine decapods. The markers revealed weak, but significant structuring among populations (global FST = 0.004) across a 450 km (over-water distance) spatial scale. Combinations of these and existing markers will be useful for studying population genetic parameters at a range of spatial scales of C. maenas throughout its expanding species range

Promotoras as Mental Health Practitioners in Primary Care: A Multi-Method Study of an Intervention to Address Contextual Sources of Depression

We assessed the role of promotoras—briefly trained community health workers—in depression care at community health centers. The intervention focused on four contextual sources of depression in underserved, low-income communities: underemployment, inadequate housing, food insecurity, and violence. A multi-method design included quantitative and ethnographic techniques to study predictors of depression and the intervention’s impact. After a structured training program, primary care practitioners (PCPs) and promotoras collaboratively followed a clinical algorithm in which PCPs prescribed medications and/or arranged consultations by mental health professionals and promotoras addressed the contextual sources of depression. Based on an intake interview with 464 randomly recruited patients, 120 patients with depression were randomized to enhanced care plus the promotora contextual intervention, or to enhanced care alone. All four contextual problems emerged as strong predictors of depression (chi square, p < .05); logistic regression revealed housing and food insecurity as the most important predictors (odds ratios both 2.40, p < .05). Unexpected challenges arose in the intervention’s implementation, involving infrastructure at the health centers, boundaries of the promotoras’ roles, and “turf” issues with medical assistants. In the quantitative assessment, the intervention did not lead to statistically significant improvements in depression (odds ratio 4.33, confidence interval overlapping 1). Ethnographic research demonstrated a predominantly positive response to the intervention among stakeholders, including patients, promotoras, PCPs, non-professional staff workers, administrators, and community advisory board members. Due to continuing unmet mental health needs, we favor further assessment of innovative roles for community health workers

Demographic, clinical and antibody characteristics of patients with digital ulcers in systemic sclerosis: data from the DUO Registry

OBJECTIVES: The Digital Ulcers Outcome (DUO) Registry was designed to describe the clinical and antibody characteristics, disease course and outcomes of patients with digital ulcers associated with systemic sclerosis (SSc). METHODS: The DUO Registry is a European, prospective, multicentre, observational, registry of SSc patients with ongoing digital ulcer disease, irrespective of treatment regimen. Data collected included demographics, SSc duration, SSc subset, internal organ manifestations, autoantibodies, previous and ongoing interventions and complications related to digital ulcers. RESULTS: Up to 19 November 2010 a total of 2439 patients had enrolled into the registry. Most were classified as either limited cutaneous SSc (lcSSc; 52.2%) or diffuse cutaneous SSc (dcSSc; 36.9%). Digital ulcers developed earlier in patients with dcSSc compared with lcSSc. Almost all patients (95.7%) tested positive for antinuclear antibodies, 45.2% for anti-scleroderma-70 and 43.6% for anticentromere antibodies (ACA). The first digital ulcer in the anti-scleroderma-70-positive patient cohort occurred approximately 5 years earlier than the ACA-positive patient group. CONCLUSIONS: This study provides data from a large cohort of SSc patients with a history of digital ulcers. The early occurrence and high frequency of digital ulcer complications are especially seen in patients with dcSSc and/or anti-scleroderma-70 antibodies

Canagliflozin and Renal Outcomes in Type 2 Diabetes and Nephropathy

BACKGROUND Type 2 diabetes mellitus is the leading cause of kidney failure worldwide, but few effective long-term treatments are available. In cardiovascular trials of inhibitors of sodium–glucose cotransporter 2 (SGLT2), exploratory results have suggested that such drugs may improve renal outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes. METHODS In this double-blind, randomized trial, we assigned patients with type 2 diabetes and albuminuric chronic kidney disease to receive canagliflozin, an oral SGLT2 inhibitor, at a dose of 100 mg daily or placebo. All the patients had an estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) of 30 to 300 to 5000) and were treated with renin–angiotensin system blockade. The primary outcome was a composite of end-stage kidney disease (dialysis, transplantation, or a sustained estimated GFR of <15 ml per minute per 1.73 m 2), a doubling of the serum creatinine level, or death from renal or cardiovascular causes. Prespecified secondary outcomes were tested hierarchically. RESULTS The trial was stopped early after a planned interim analysis on the recommendation of the data and safety monitoring committee. At that time, 4401 patients had undergone randomization, with a median follow-up of 2.62 years. The relative risk of the primary outcome was 30% lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group, with event rates of 43.2 and 61.2 per 1000 patient-years, respectively (hazard ratio, 0.70; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.59 to 0.82; P=0.00001). The relative risk of the renal-specific composite of end-stage kidney disease, a doubling of the creatinine level, or death from renal causes was lower by 34% (hazard ratio, 0.66; 95% CI, 0.53 to 0.81; P<0.001), and the relative risk of end-stage kidney disease was lower by 32% (hazard ratio, 0.68; 95% CI, 0.54 to 0.86; P=0.002). The canagliflozin group also had a lower risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (hazard ratio, 0.80; 95% CI, 0.67 to 0.95; P=0.01) and hospitalization for heart failure (hazard ratio, 0.61; 95% CI, 0.47 to 0.80; P<0.001). There were no significant differences in rates of amputation or fracture. CONCLUSIONS In patients with type 2 diabetes and kidney disease, the risk of kidney failure and cardiovascular events was lower in the canagliflozin group than in the placebo group at a median follow-up of 2.62 years

Cultural transmission and biological markets

Active cultural transmission of fitness-enhancing behavior (sometimes called “teaching”) can be seen as a costly strategy: one for which its evolutionary stability poses a Darwinian puzzle. In this article, we offer a biological market model of cultural transmission that substitutes or complements existing kin selection-based proposals for the evolution of cultural capacities. We explicitly demonstrate how a biological market can account for the evolution of teaching when individual learners are the exclusive focus of social learning (such as in a fast-changing environment). We also show how this biological market can affect the dynamics of cumulative culture. The model works best when it is difficult to have access to the observation of the behavior without the help of the actor. However, in contrast to previous non-mathematical hypotheses for the evolution of teaching, we show how teaching evolves even when innovations are insufficiently opaque and therefore vulnerable to acquisition by emulators via inadvertent transmission. Furthermore, teaching in a biological market is an important precondition for enhancing individual learning abilitie

Large-scale climatic phenomena drive fluctuations in macroinvertebrate assemblages in lowland tropical streams, Costa Rica: The importance of ENSO events in determining long-term (15y) patterns

Understanding how environmental variables influence the distribution and density of organisms over relatively long temporal scales is a central question in ecology given increased climatic variability (e.g., precipitation, ENSO events). The primary goal of our study was to evaluate long-term (15y time span) patterns of climate, as well as environmental parameters in two Neotropical streams in lowland Costa Rica, to assess potential effects on aquatic macroinvertebrates. We also examined the relative effects of an 8y whole-stream P-enrichment experiment on macroinvertebrate assemblages against the backdrop of this long-term study. Climate, environmental variables and macroinvertebrate samples were measured monthly for 7y and then quarterly for an additional 8y in each stream. Temporal patterns in climatic and environmental variables showed high variability over time, without clear inter-annual or intra-annual patterns. Macroinvertebrate richness and abundance decreased with increasing discharge and was positively related to the number of days since the last high discharge event. Findings show that fluctuations in stream physicochemistry and macroinvertebrate assemblage structure are ultimately the result of large-scale climatic phenomena, such as ENSO events, while the 8y P-enrichment did not appear to affect macroinvertebrates. Our study demonstrates that Neotropical lowland streams are highly dynamic and not as stable as is commonly presumed, with high intra- and inter-annual variability in environmental parameters that change the structure and composition of freshwater macroinvertebrate assemblages.This study was financed by National Science Foundation (DEB 1122389) to Catherine M. Pringle. The funder had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Básicas::Centro de Investigación en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología (CIMAR