PIPE: Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education

The arrival of soybean rust in the fall of 2004 set in motion an unprecedented coordinated effort of education, research, monitoring, and information distribution. The Pest Information Platform for Extension and Education (PIPE) was developed to provide electronic access to distribution data for soybean rust. In 2006, soybean aphid was added to the system and in time, other crops and pests will be added to PIPE. The PIPE Web address is www.sbrusa.net

Diary of Anne Frank: Analysis and Design

The script The Diary of Anne Frank, by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett, and its historical background were studied and researched. After analyzing the play and its given circumstances, a design concept was developed, goals were set, and then the play was directed and produced in a high school setting. The project notebook contains the documented dramaturgy, a written concept statement, the visual plans and materials, the production notes and journal, and production evaluations. The project goal was to implement the aspects of theatre production learned during the course of study, and to educate high school theatre students. The results of the project met or exceeded its educational objectives. The director/designer learned, through trial and error, how to apply the teachings of the Master\u27s degree courses, and the high school students learned not only theatre skills, but an invaluable understanding of the Holocaust and its implications for tolerance in today\u27s world

Combining cellular and gene therapy approaches for treatment of intracranial tumors.

New treatments are needed for brain metastasis, which is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Two novel cellular and gene therapy modalities were evaluated in xenograft models for human breast cancer. The individual and especially the combined treatments with alloreactive cytotoxic T lymphocytes and replicating retroviral vectors coding for prodrug activating enzymes followed later with nontoxic prodrug demonstrated efficacy without off-target effects

5-Fluorouracil: A Metabolism Model of the Rat Liver

A metabolism model of 5-fluorouracil (FU), a nucleotide synthesis interference chemical, was created based on rat liver metabolism data. The model of the adult rat predicted that 0.1% of the original FU dose will become 5-fluorodeoxyuridine monophosphate (FdUMP), a thymidine synthetase inhibiting metabolite. Model parameters were derived from enzyme activity information. It can be concluded from the results of this model that a very small percentage of the initial FU dose actually becomes the metabolite FdUMP. This is the first model to focus on the anabolism portion of the overall metabolism of FU. The overall goal of the research program is to help in the develop of a pharmacokinetic, biologically based dose-response model of FU to test the feasibility for modeling nucleotide synthesis inhibitors. The rat liver metabolism is merely one part of the modeling picture which is needed to look at developmental effects due to interference with nucleotide synthesis, but it is a place to begin.Master of Science in Public Healt

Fungicide applications in corn may be increasing

In the past, fungicide applications on hybrid corn were mostly regarded as uneconomical. The increased corn-following-corn acres and associated increased disease risk, together with the higher price of corn and fungicide marketing, are responsible for changes in corn production practices. As a result, fungicide applications on corn may be more common in 2007. It is anticipated that most of these foliar fungicide applications will occur during corn tasseling stage and will be aerial applications

Use of TD-GC-TOF-MS to assess volatile composition during post harvest storage in seven accessions of rocket salad (Eruca sativa)

An important step in breeding for nutritionally enhanced varieties is determining the effects of the post-harvest supply chain on phytochemicals and the changes in VOCs produced over time. TD- GC-TOF-MS was used and a technique for the extraction of VOCs from the headspace using portable tubes is described. Forty-two compounds were detected; 39 were identified by comparison to NIST libraries. Thirty-five compounds had not been previously reported in Eruca sativa. Seven accessions were assessed for changes in headspace VOCs over 7 days. Relative amounts of VOCs across 3 time points were significantly different - isothiocyanate-containing molecules being abundant on 'Day 0'. Each accession showed differences in proportions/types of volatiles produced on each day. PCA revealed a separation of VOC profiles according to the day of sampling. Changes in VOC profiles over time could provide a tool for assessment of shelf-life

The economic cost to households of childhood malaria in Papua New Guinea: a focus on intra-country variation

Background We compare direct and indirect household costs associated with malaria treatment for children <3 years in two provinces of Papua New Guinea. In particular, we explore the role of uncertainty around mean household costs and whether assuming a normal distribution for household costs limits the accuracy of any direct cost comparisons. Methods Exit surveys were undertaken at inpatient and outpatient health facilities. In order to handle uncertainty and facilitate comparisons, parametric and non-parametric bootstrap methods were used to estimate direct and indirect costs at the individual data level. The inpatient and outpatient incremental costs from Madang and Maprik health facilities were compared and significant differences between provinces were identified. Results Differences were noted between provinces for both inpatient and outpatient household costs. Total arithmetic mean costs for an outpatient malaria episode were US$7.54 in Madang and US$9.20 in Maprik. Total mean inpatient malaria episode costs were US$25.20 in Madang and US$14.08 in Maprik. As cost distributions were not normal, non-parametric bootstrap techniques were used for cost comparisons. Total household costs per outpatient episode of malaria were lower, although not significantly, in Maprik than in Madang (incremental cost of US$−1.67; 95$11.16; 95% CI 5.47, 25.33). A difference was noted between provinces in the proportion of indirect costs in total household costs for an outpatient visit: 76% in Madang vs 94% in Maprik. The proportion for indirect costs associated with inpatient visits varied less: 63% in Madang vs 68% in Maprik. Conclusions Intra-country differences need to be considered in estimating household costs for both outpatient and inpatient malaria treatment. Our findings suggest that it is important to recognize the impact of both direct and indirect costs on individuals' capacity to afford treatment. Certain indirect costs are difficult to measure accurately, particularly respondents' interpretations of their productive versus non-productive time. Despite this, exploring intra-country cost variation can provide important information to health policy maker

Small X-Band Oscillator Antennas

A small, segmented microstrip patch antenna integrated with an X-band feedback oscillator on a high-permittivity substrate has been built and tested. This oscillator antenna is a prototype for demonstrating the feasibility of such devices as compact, low-power-consumption building blocks of advanced, lightweight, phased antenna arrays that would generate steerable beams for communication and remotesensing applications

SeaWiFS Technical Report Series

This document provides brief reports, or case studies, on a number of investigations sponsored by the Calibration and Validation Team (CVT) within the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) Project. Chapter I describes the calibration and characterization of the GSFC sphere, which was used in the recent recalibration of the SeaWiFS instrument. Chapter 2 presents a revision of the diffuse attenuation coefficient, K(490), algorithm based on the SeaWiFS wavelengths. Chapter 3 provides an implementation scheme for an algorithm to remove out-of-band radiance when using a sensor calibration based on a finite width (truncated) spectral response function, e.g., between the 1% transmission points. Chapter 4 describes the implementation schemes for the stray light quality flag (local area coverage [LAC] and global area coverage [GAC]) and the LAC stray light correction

Re-emergence of Tobacco streak virus Infecting Soybean in the United States and Canada

Tobacco streak virus (TSV), an Ilarvirus, was first confirmed as a viral pathogen of tobacco in 1936 (Johnson 1936) and first reported in North American soybean in 1969 (Fagbenle and Ford 1970). TSV has a wide host range with strains able to infect at least 140 different plant genera, including crop, ornamental, and wild species (Fulton 1948). Due to its extensive host range and strain adaptations, TSV is found in commercial crops worldwide. Since 1969, however, TSV has not been a problem on soybean or commonly reported until the 2013 season, when it was found in fields throughout Iowa. A similar situation is found throughout the Midwest, with TSV being reported in recent years in Illinois, Kansas, and Wisconsin, as well as Ontario, Canada