AN ECONOMIC EVALUATION OF SOYBEAN STINK BUG CONTROL ALTERNATIVES FOR THE SOUTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

Methyl parathion or Penncap M (an encapsulated methyl parathion) are used extensively throughout the United States for controlling stink bug pests in soybeans, Glycine Max (L.) Merrill. However, this insecticide is highly toxic to mammals, birds, and non-target arthropods, and thus is less environmentally sound than other insecticides. For environmental and human health considerations, investigating alternative insecticides for control is desired. For this investigation, research based on field experimental data from Florida, Georgia, and Louisiana during the 1988 and 1989 growing seasons were employed. Results indicate that alternative, currently available, and less toxic insecticides may reduce producer costs, increase yield, and improve soybean quality. These alternative insecticides include Scout (tralomethrin), Karate (lambda-cyhalothrin), Orthene (acephate), and Baythroid (cyfluthrin). In terms of improved profits these alternative insecticides may dominate methyl parathion or encapsulated methyl parathion.Crop Production/Industries,

River Flowing from the Sunrise: An Environmental History of the Lower San Juan

The authors recount twelve millennia of history along the lower San Juan River, much of it the story of mostly unsuccessful human attempts to make a living from the river\u27s arid and fickle environment. From the Anasazi to government dam builders, from Navajo to Mormon herders and farmers, from scientific explorers to busted miners, the San Juan has attracted more attention and fueled more hopes than such a remote, unpromising, and muddy stream would seem to merit.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/usupress_pubs/1127/thumbnail.jp

Are Birth-preparedness Programmes Effective? Results From a Field Trial in Siraha District, Nepal

The birth-preparedness package (BPP) promotes active preparation and decision-making for births, including pregnancy/postpartum periods, by pregnant women and their families. This paper describes a district-wide field trial of the BPP implemented through the government health system in Siraha, Nepal, during 2003–2004. The aim of the field trial was to determine the effectiveness of the BPP to positively influence planning for births, household-level behaviours that affect the health of pregnant and postpartum women and their newborns, and their use of selected health services for maternal and newborn care. Community health workers promoted desired behaviours through inter-personal counselling with individuals and groups. Content of messages included maternal and newborn-danger signs and encouraged the use of healthcare services and preparation for emergencies. Thirty-cluster baseline and endline household surveys of mothers of infants aged less than one year were used for estimating the change in key outcome indicators. Fifty-four percent of respondents (n=162) were directly exposed to BPP materials while pregnant. A composite index of seven indicators that measure knowledge of respondents, use of health services, and preparation for emergencies increased from 33% at baseline to 54% at endline (p=0.001). Five key newborn practices increased by 19 to 29 percentage points from baseline to endline (p values ranged from 0.000 to 0.06). Certain key maternal health indicators, such as skilled birth attendance and use of emergency obstetric care, did not change. The BPP can positively influence knowledge and intermediate health outcomes, such as household practices and use of some health services. The BPP can be implemented by government health services with minimal outside assistance but should be comprehensively integrated into the safe motherhood programme rather than implemented as a separate intervention

Exome sequencing identifies nonsegregating nonsense ATM and PALB2 variants in familial pancreatic cancer.

We sequenced 11 germline exomes from five families with familial pancreatic cancer (FPC). One proband had a germline nonsense variant in ATM with somatic loss of the variant allele. Another proband had a nonsense variant in PALB2 with somatic loss of the variant allele. Both variants were absent in a relative with FPC. These findings question the causal mechanisms of ATM and PALB2 in these families and highlight challenges in identifying the causes of familial cancer syndromes using exome sequencing

The Fluids Integrated Rack and Combustion: Integrated Rack Provide Key Research Facilities on the ISS

No abstract availabl

Are Birth-preparedness Programmes Effective? Results From a Field Trial in Siraha District, Nepal

The birth-preparedness package (BPP) promotes active preparation and decision-making for births, including pregnancy/postpartum periods, by pregnant women and their families. This paper describes a district-wide field trial of the BPP implemented through the government health system in Siraha, Nepal, during 2003-2004. The aim of the field trial was to determine the effectiveness of the BPP to positively influence planning for births, household-level behaviours that affect the health of pregnant and postpartum women and their newborns, and their use of selected health services for maternal and newborn care. Community health workers promoted desired behaviours through inter-personal coun\uadselling with individuals and groups. Content of messages included maternal and newborn-danger signs and encouraged the use of healthcare services and preparation for emergencies. Thirty-cluster baseline and endline household surveys of mothers of infants aged less than one year were used for estimating the change in key outcome indicators. Fifty-four percent of respondents (n=162) were directly exposed to BPP materials while pregnant. A composite index of seven indicators that measure knowledge of respondents, use of health services, and preparation for emergencies increased from 33% at baseline to 54% at endline (p=0.001). Five key newborn practices increased by 19 to 29 percentage points from baseline to endline (p values ranged from 0.000 to 0.06). Certain key maternal health indicators, such as skilled birth attendance and use of emergency obstetric care, did not change. The BPP can positively influence knowledge and intermediate health outcomes, such as household practices and use of some health services. The BPP can be implemented by government health services with minimal outside assistance but should be comprehensively integrated into the safe motherhood programme rather than implemented as a separate intervention

Lymphatic filariasis epidemiology in Samoa in 2018: geographic clustering and higher antigen prevalence in older age groups

Background: Samoa conducted eight nationwide rounds of mass drug administration (MDA) for lymphatic filariasis (LF) between 1999 and 2011, and two targeted rounds in 2015 and 2017 in North West Upolu (NWU), one of three evaluation units (EUs). Transmission Assessment Surveys (TAS) were conducted in 2013 (failed in NWU) and 2017 (all three EUs failed). In 2018, Samoa was the first in the world to distribute nationwide triple-drug MDA using ivermectin, diethylcarbamazine, and albendazole. Surveillance and Monitoring to Eliminate LF and Scabies from Samoa (SaMELFS Samoa) is an operational research program designed to evaluate the effectiveness of triple-drug MDA on LF transmission and scabies prevalence in Samoa, and to compare the usefulness of different indicators of LF transmission. This paper reports results from the 2018 baseline survey and aims to i) investigate antigen (Ag) prevalence and spatial epidemiology, including geographic clustering; ii) compare Ag prevalence between two different age groups (5–9 years versus ≥10 years) as indicators of areas of ongoing transmission; and iii) assess the prevalence of limb lymphedema in those aged ≥15 years. Methods: A community-based cluster survey was conducted in 30 randomly selected and five purposively selected clusters (primary sampling units, PSUs), each comprising one or two villages. Participants were recruited through household surveys (age ≥5 years) and convenience surveys (age 5–9 years). Alere Filariasis Test Strips (FTS) were used to detect Ag, and prevalence was adjusted for survey design and standardized for age and gender. Adjusted Ag prevalence was estimated for each age group (5–9, ≥10, and all ages ≥5 years) for random and purposive PSUs, and by region. Intraclass correlation (ICC) was used to quantify clustering at regions, PSUs, and households. Results: A total of 3940 persons were included (1942 children aged 5–9 years, 1998 persons aged ≥10 years). Adjusted Ag prevalence in all ages ≥5 years in randomly and purposively selected PSUs were 4.0% (95% CI 2.8–5.6%) and 10.0% (95% CI 7.4–13.4%), respectively. In random PSUs, Ag prevalence was lower in those aged 5–9 years (1.3%, 95% CI 0.8–2.1%) than ≥10 years (4.7%, 95% CI 3.1–7.0%), and poorly correlated at the PSU level (R-square = 0.1459). Adjusted Ag prevalence in PSUs ranged from 0% to 10.3% (95% CI 5.9–17.6%) in randomly selected and 3.8% (95% CI 1.3–10.8%) to 20.0% (95% CI 15.3–25.8%) in purposively selected PSUs. ICC for Ag-positive individuals was higher at households (0.46) compared to PSUs (0.18) and regions (0.01). Conclusions: Our study confirmed ongoing transmission of LF in Samoa, in accordance with the 2017 TAS results. Ag prevalence varied significantly between PSUs, and there was poor correlation between prevalence in 5–9 year-olds and older ages, who had threefold higher prevalence. Sampling older age groups would provide more accurate estimates of overall prevalence, and be more sensitive for identifying residual hotspots. Higher prevalence in purposively selected PSUs shows local knowledge can help identify at least some hotspots

Medication use, renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, and acute care utilization after hospitalization in patients with chronic kidney disease.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of this secondary analysis were to: (a) characterize medication use following hospital discharge for patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD), and (b) investigate relationships of medication use with the primary composite outcome of acute care utilization 90 days after hospitalization. METHODS: The CKD-Medication Intervention Trial (CKD-MIT) enrolled acutely ill hospitalized patients with CKD stages 3-5 not dialyzed (CKD 3-5 ND). In this post hoc analysis, data for medication use were characterized, and the relationship of medication use with the primary outcome was evaluated using Cox proportional hazards models. RESULTS: Participants were taking a mean of 12.6 (standard deviation=5.1) medications, including medications from a wide variety of medication classes. Nearly half of study participants were taking angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors or angiotensin II receptor blockers (ARB). ACE inhibitor/ARB use was associated with decreased risk of the primary outcome (hazard ratio=0.51; 95% confidence interval 0.28-0.95; CONCLUSIONS: A large number, variety, and complexity of medications were used by hospitalized patients with CKD 3-5 ND. ACE inhibitor or ARB use at hospital discharge was associated with a decreased risk of 90-day acute care utilization

Communications Biophysics

Contains reports on five research projects.National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 P01 GM14940-03)National Institutes of Health (Grant 5 TOl GM01555-03)National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Grant NGL 22-009-304

Evaluating Molecular Xenomonitoring as a Tool for Lymphatic Filariasis Surveillance in Samoa, 2018–2019

Molecular xenomonitoring (MX), the detection of filarial DNA in mosquitoes using molecular methods (PCR), is a potentially useful surveillance strategy for lymphatic filariasis (LF) elimination programs. Delay in filarial antigen (Ag) clearance post-treatment is a limitation of using human surveys to provide an early indicator of the impact of mass drug administration (MDA), and MX may be more useful in this setting. We compared prevalence of infected mosquitoes pre- and post-MDA (2018 and 2019) in 35 primary sampling units (PSUs) in Samoa, and investigated associations between the presence of PCR-positive mosquitoes and Ag-positive humans. We observed a statistically significant decline in estimated mosquito infection prevalence post-MDA at the national level (from 0.9% to 0.3%, OR 0.4) but no change in human Ag prevalence during this time. Ag prevalence in 2019 was higher in randomly selected PSUs where PCR-positive pools were detected (1.4% in ages 5–9; 4.8% in ages ≥10), compared to those where PCR-positive pools were not detected (0.2% in ages 5–9; 3.2% in ages ≥10). Our study provides promising evidence for MX as a complement to human surveys in post-MDA surveillance