Field Evaluation of Herbicides on Small Fruit, Vegetable, and Ornamental Crops, 1997

Growers generally use herbicides to efficiently produce high-quality fruit and vegetables for processing or fresh market sales. Due to the smaller acreage of these crops compared to major field crops, fewer herbicides are registered for use in fruit and vegetable crops than for field crops. Each year, new herbicides are evaluated under Arkansas growing conditions with the objective of improving the herbicide technology for the grower, processor, and ultimately the consumer. This report includes studies on the control of many of the more serious weed problems in important crops of this region, including snapbeans, spinach, southern pea, watermelon, cantaloupe, tomato, blackberry, and grape. In addition, the report includes information on the tolerance of selected bedding plants to some effective herbicides

Impact of Submaximal versus Supramaximal High-Intensity Interval Training on Blood Glucose Regulation in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is an efficient form of exercise that can potentially induce significant and clinically meaningful blood glucose improvements in patients with Type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). It is unknown whether certain HIIT interval intensities may be more effective than others in combating hyperglycemia in T2DM. PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to determine if submaximal or supramaximal HIIT reduces blood glucose or improves markers of insulin resistance more than the other in T2DM patients using a systematic review and meta-analytical approach. METHODS: Three databases (Embase/MEDLINE, CENTRAL, and PubMed) were systematically searched in July 2021 and again in April 2022 to identify studies that used submaximal or supramaximal HIIT interventions on T2DM patients. Seventy-eight articles were compared to the defined inclusion and exclusion criteria, with a total of twenty-one selected for this meta-analysis. Six glycemic control outcome variables were analyzed, including HbA1c, FBG, and HOMA-IR. Pre- and post-HIIT means and SDs were used to calculate effect sizes, which were corrected and weighted to produce Hedges’ g values. 95% confidence intervals and p values were also reported. RESULTS: Multivariate meta-analytical analysis found that submaximal HIIT produces an effect size of -0.399 (95% CI [-0.916, -0.226], p = 0.000) in blood glucose metrics, while supramaximal HIIT produces a similar, but non-significant, effect size of -0.366 (95% CI [-0.916, 0.184], p = 0.192). Across five of six outcome variables, submaximal HIIT had a significant small to medium effect, while supramaximal HIIT had a negligible to medium effect. For both HbA1c (%) and fasting blood glucose (FBG), supramaximal HIIT produced effect size values 48% and 67.4% larger, respectively, when compared to submaximal HIIT. Graphing HIIT intensity and training load against HbA1c effect size revealed R2values of 0.08 and 0.2, respectively. CONCLUSION: Submaximal HIIT effectively reduces markers of blood glucose in T2DM patients. Supramaximal HIIT may induce greater and more clinically meaningful improvements in hyperglycemia, but more research is needed. Neither exercise intensity nor training load alone explain improvements to blood glucose homeostasis as measured by HbA1c

Association between genotypic diversity and biofilm production in group B Streptococcus

Background: Group B Streptococcus (GBS) is a leading cause of sepsis and meningitis and an important factor in premature and stillbirths. Biofilm production has been suggested to be important for GBS pathogenesis alongside many other elements, including phylogenetic lineage and virulence factors, such as pili and capsule type. A complete understanding of the confluence of these components, however, is lacking. To identify associations between biofilm phenotype, pilus profile and lineage, 293 strains from asymptomatic carriers, invasive disease cases, and bovine mastitis cases, were assessed for biofilm production using an in vitro assay. Results: Multilocus sequence type (ST) profile, pilus island profile, and isolate source were associated with biofilm production. Strains from invasive disease cases and/or belonging to the ST-17 and ST-19 lineages were significantly more likely to form weak biofilms, whereas strains producing strong biofilms were recovered more frequently from individuals with asymptomatic colonization. Conclusions: These data suggest that biofilm production is a lineage-specific trait in GBS and may promote colonization of strains representing lineages other than STs 17 and 19. The findings herein also demonstrate that biofilms must be considered in the treatment of pregnant women, particularly for women with heavy GBS colonization

The Asymmetric Thick Disk: A Star Count and Kinematic Analysis. II The Kinematics

We report a kinematic signature associated with the observed asymmetry in the distribution of thick disk/inner halo stars interior to the Solar circle described in Paper I. In that paper we found a statistically significant excess (20% to 25 %) of stars in quadrant I (l ~ 20 deg to 55 deg) both above and below the plane (b ~ +/- 25 deg to +/- 45 deg) compared to the complementary region in quadrant IV. We have measured Doppler velocities for 741 stars, selected according to the same magnitude and color criteria, in the direction of the asymmetry and in the corresponding fields in quadrant IV. We have also determined spectral types and metallicities measured from the same spectra. We not only find an asymmetric distribution in the V_LSR velocities for the stars in the two regions, but the angular rate of rotation, w, for the stars in quadrant I reveals a slower effective rotation rate compared to the corresponding quadrant IV stars. We use our [Fe/H] measurements to separate the stars into the three primary population groups, halo, thick disk, and disk, and conclude that it is primarily the thick disk stars that show the slower rotation in quadrant I. A solution for the radial, tangential and vertical components of the V_LSR velocities, reveals a significant lag of ~ 80 to 90 km/s in the direction of Galactic rotation for the thick disk stars in quadrant I, while in quadrant IV, the same population has only a ~ 20 km/s lag. The results reported here support a rotational lag among the thick disk stars due to a gravitational interaction with the bar as the most likely explanation for the asymmetry in both the star counts and the kinematics. The affected thick disk stars, however, may be associated with the recently discovered Canis Major debris stream or a similar merger event (abridged).Comment: Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journa

Health Researchers' Use of Social Media: Scoping Review.

BackgroundHealth researchers are increasingly using social media in a professional capacity, and the applications of social media for health researchers are vast. However, there is currently no published evidence synthesis of the ways in which health researchers use social media professionally, and uncertainty remains as to how best to harness its potential.ObjectiveThis scoping review aimed to explore how social media is used by health researchers professionally, as reported in the literature.MethodsThe scoping review methodology guided by Arksey and O'Malley and Levac et al was used. Comprehensive searches based on the concepts of health research and social media were conducted in MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, PsycINFO, ERIC, and Web of Science databases, with no limitations applied. Articles were screened at the title and abstract level and at full text by two reviewers. One reviewer extracted data that were analyzed descriptively to map the available evidence.ResultsA total of 8359 articles were screened at the title and abstract level, of which 719 were also assessed at full text for eligibility. The 414 articles identified for inclusion were published in 278 different journals. Studies originated from 31 different countries, with the most prevalent being the United States (52.7% [218/414]). The health discipline of the first authors varied, with medicine (33.3% [138/414]) being the most common. A third of the articles covered health generally, with 61 health-specific topics. Papers used a range of social media platforms (mean 1.33 [SD 0.7]). A quarter of the articles screened reported on social media use for participant recruitment (25.1% [104/414]), followed by practical ways to use social media (15.5% [64/414]), and use of social media for content analysis research (13.3% [55/414]). Articles were categorized as celebratory (ie, opportunities for engagement, 72.2% [299/414]), contingent (ie, opportunities and possible limitations, 22.7% [94/414]) and concerned (ie, potentially harmful, 5.1% [21/414]).ConclusionsHealth researchers are increasingly publishing on their use of social media for a range of professional purposes. Although most of the sentiment around the use of social media in health research was celebratory, the uses of social media varied widely. Future research is needed to support health researchers to optimize their social media use

Kate Loves Topshop: Celebrity Endorsements and the Lovemarks Concept in a Fashion Retail Context

Fashion designers and retailers often employ celebrities as endorsers due to celebrities’ power to influence consumer attitudes, drive sales and command loyalty. This power may be predicated on the transfer of a celebrity’s perceived personality to the promoted brand, thus enhancing consumer attitudes toward it. Celebrity endorsement is regarded as one component of contemporary brand management, the practice of which has two consequences: first, consumers increasingly expect ‘good’ brand performance from ALL brands; second, brands correspondingly find it difficult to continually distinguish themselves. One response has been the Lovemarks concept (Roberts 2005). A Lovemark is distinguished from conventional brands by inspiring deep, long-lasting relationships based on emotional responses invoked by the characteristics and personality it represents. While the Lovemark model is considered useful to practitioners (Bain 2004; Cooper & Pawle 2006), its academic study is limited, especially in its application to established marketing concepts. Here, a qualitative case-study explores the Lovemark concept in context of celebrity endorsement by examining the congruency between emotions felt for UK fashion retailer Topshop, and its associated celebrity, Kate Moss. Findings suggest that emotional responses to a celebrity have resonance on attitudes toward a brand; these and implications for practice and theory will be presented

Risk management for drinking water safety in low and middle income countries - cultural influences on water safety plan (WSP) implementation in urban water utilities

AbstractWe investigated cultural influences on the implementation of water safety plans (WSPs) using case studies from WSP pilots in India, Uganda and Jamaica. A comprehensive thematic analysis of semi-structured interviews (n=150 utility customers, n=32 WSP ‘implementers’ and n=9 WSP ‘promoters’), field observations and related documents revealed 12 cultural themes, offered as ‘enabling’, ‘limiting’, or ‘neutral’, that influence WSP implementation in urban water utilities to varying extents. Aspects such as a ‘deliver first, safety later’ mind set; supply system knowledge management and storage practices; and non-compliance are deemed influential. Emergent themes of cultural influence (ET1 to ET12) are discussed by reference to the risk management, development studies and institutional culture literatures; by reference to their positive, negative or neutral influence on WSP implementation. The results have implications for the utility endorsement of WSPs, for the impact of organisational cultures on WSP implementation; for the scale-up of pilot studies; and they support repeated calls from practitioner communities for cultural attentiveness during WSP design. Findings on organisational cultures mirror those from utilities in higher income nations implementing WSPs – leadership, advocacy among promoters and customers (not just implementers) and purposeful knowledge management are critical to WSP success