Influence of water temperature on the efficacy of diquat and endothall versus curlyleaf pondweed

determine the impact of water temperature on the efficacy of the contact herbicides diquat (6,7-dihydrodipyrido [1,2- α:2’,1’-c] pyrazinediium ion) and endothall (7-oxabicyclo [2.2.1] heptane-2,3-dicarboxylic acid) for control of the exotic nuisance species curlyleaf pondweed (Potamogeton crispus L.) across a range of water temperatures

A Thousand Contradictory Ways: Addiction, Neuroscience, and Expert Autobiography

Neuroscientific accounts of addiction are increasingly influential in health and medical circles. At the same time a diverse, if equally scientifically focused, opposition to addiction neuroscience is emerging. In this struggle over the merits of addiction neuroscience are elements of a uniquely 21st-century public engagement with science. No longer trusted by the public as the unerring source of objective knowledge about the world, science is, at least in some contexts, increasingly treated as just one voice among many. Observing the difficulties this loss of faith in science poses for effective action on pressing issues such as climate change, philosopher Bruno Latour develops a different (ecological) approach to scientific knowledge, one that for the first time allows scientists (and other “moderns”) to understand it for what it really is and locate it “diplomatically” alongside other modes of knowing. In this article, I ask whether a similar innovation is needed to allow more effective understanding of addiction. I explore this question by analyzing two recent, widely discussed, popular books (Marc Lewis’s Memoirs of an Addicted Brain: A Neuroscientist Examines His Former Life on Drugs, 2011 and Carl Hart’s High Price: A Neuroscientist’s Journey of Self-discovery that Challenges Everything You Think You Know About Drugs and Society, 2013) as well as reviews of these books. Written by neuroscientists, and drawing heavily on personal memoir to illustrate and ratify their competing views on drugs and addiction, both books crystallize contemporary dilemmas about science, empiricism, and the nature of evidence and truth. How are we to understand their mix of “scientific fact” and individual self-observation, what does this mix suggest about scientific knowledge, and what are its implications for dominant notions of “evidence-based” drug policy and treatment? I argue that these books both trouble and reinforce our taken-for-granted distinctions between science and personal stories, between objectivity and subjectivity, and note the lost opportunities the books represent for a more searching and productive (Latour might say “ecological”) engagement with science

The choice of self-rated health measures matter when predicting mortality: evidence from 10 years follow-up of the Australian longitudinal study of ageing

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Self-rated health (SRH) measures with different wording and reference points are often used as equivalent health indicators in public health surveys estimating health outcomes such as healthy life expectancies and mortality for older adults. Whilst the robust relationship between SRH and mortality is well established, it is not known how comparable different SRH items are in their relationship to mortality over time. We used a dynamic evaluation model to investigate the sensitivity of time-varying SRH measures with different reference points to predict mortality in older adults over time.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We used seven waves of data from the Australian Longitudinal Study of Ageing (1992 to 2004; N = 1733, 52.6% males). Cox regression analysis was used to evaluate the relationship between three time-varying SRH measures (global, age-comparative and self-comparative reference point) with mortality in older adults (65+ years).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>After accounting for other mortality risk factors, poor global SRH ratings increased mortality risk by 2.83 times compared to excellent ratings. In contrast, the mortality relationship with age-comparative and self-comparative SRH was moderated by age, revealing that these comparative SRH measures did not independently predict mortality for adults over 75 years of age in adjusted models.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We found that a global measure of SRH not referenced to age or self is the best predictor of mortality, and is the most reliable measure of self-perceived health for longitudinal research and population health estimates of healthy life expectancy in older adults. Findings emphasize that the SRH measures are not equivalent measures of health status.</p

Cannabinoid Receptor 2 Signaling Does Not Modulate Atherogenesis in Mice

BACKGROUND:Strong evidence supports a protective role of the cannabinoid receptor 2 (CB(2)) in inflammation and atherosclerosis. However, direct proof of its involvement in lesion formation is lacking. Therefore, the present study aimed to characterize the role of the CB(2) receptor in Murine atherogenesis. METHODS AND FINDINGS:Low density lipoprotein receptor-deficient (LDLR(-/-)) mice subjected to intraperitoneal injections of the selective CB(2) receptor agonist JWH-133 or vehicle three times per week consumed high cholesterol diet (HCD) for 16 weeks. Surprisingly, intimal lesion size did not differ between both groups in sections of the aortic roots and arches, suggesting that CB(2) activation does not modulate atherogenesis in vivo. Plaque content of lipids, macrophages, smooth muscle cells, T cells, and collagen were also similar between both groups. Moreover, CB(2) (-/-)/LDLR(-/-) mice developed lesions of similar size containing more macrophages and lipids but similar amounts of smooth muscle cells and collagen fibers compared with CB(2) (+/+)/LDLR(-/-) controls. While JWH-133 treatment reduced intraperitoneal macrophage accumulation in thioglycollate-elicited peritonitis, neither genetic deficiency nor pharmacologic activation of the CB(2) receptor altered inflammatory cytokine expression in vivo or inflammatory cell adhesion in the flow chamber in vitro. CONCLUSION:Our study demonstrates that both activation and deletion of the CB(2) receptor do not relevantly modulate atherogenesis in mice. Our data do not challenge the multiple reports involving CB(2) in other inflammatory processes. However, in the context of atherosclerosis, CB(2) does not appear to be a suitable therapeutic target for reduction of the atherosclerotic plaque

What does 'acceptance' mean? Public reflections on the idea that addiction is a brain disease

Public responses to the dissemination of neuroscientific explanations of addiction and other mental disorders are an interesting sociocultural phenomenon. We investigated how 55 members of the Australian public deliberated on the idea that 'addiction is a brain disease'. Our findings point to the diverse ways in which the public understands and utilises this proposition. Interviewees readily accepted that drugs affect brain functioning but were ambivalent about whether to label addiction as a 'disease'. Contrary to the prediction of neuroscientific advocates and social science critics, acceptance of a neurobiological conception of addiction did not necessarily affect beliefs about addicted persons' responsibility for their addiction. We discuss the theoretical and applied implications of these findings. Theoretically, we examine the complexity surrounding how people adopt new knowledge and its role in reshaping ethical beliefs. We also discuss the implications of these findings for the ethics of communication of neuroscientific information to reduce stigma and enhance social support for the treatment of addicted individuals

Phylogeography of the Peninsula Crowned Snake (Tantilla relicta relicta) on the Lake Wales Ridge in central Florida

Concordant phylogeographic patterns among species indicate similar ecological and/or evolutionary histories. A concordant phylogeographic pattern exists among two fossorial skinks inhabiting Florida scrub habitat on the Lake Wales Ridge in central Florida. We evaluate whether the Peninsula Crowned Snake (Tantilla relicta relicta), a fossorial species similarly adapted to xeric upland habitats in central Florida, follows the same phylogeographic pattern. We collected 51 Peninsula Crowned Snakes from 13 sites on the Lake Wales Ridge. The sites spanned Josephine Creek, a location identified as a potential phylogeographic break-point for the species studied previously. We screened the genetic variation of a portion of the mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene and the mitochondrial control region. Phylogenetic analysis indicated that the Peninsula Crowned Snake has central and southern groups, which is similar, yet not identical, to other reptiles on the Lake Wales Ridge. Tests of differentiation detected population structure among three Peninsula Crowned Snake populations within 10 km of Archbold Biological Station. Our results support the presence of at least two major phylogeographic segments for scrub reptiles on the Lake Wales Ridge and suggest that the Peninsula Crowned Snake may have a genetic population structure, even in connected habitats