Second International Lygus Symposium: Asilomar Conference Grounds, Pacific Grove, California, April 15-19 2007

The Second International Lygus Symposium brought together 52 entomologists from six nations and 11 states representing universities, public agencies, and private entities to discuss the latest research on Lygus species and their relatives. Symposium topics included Lygus biology, behavior and ecology, IPM, insecticides and resistance, and biological control. Papers and posters dealt with Lygus as a pest of several crops, including cotton, strawberries, seed alfalfa, canola, dry beans, cucumbers, cereals, peaches, and new crops guayule and lesquerella. Intercrop movement of Lygus2008200820082008 species was another important topic of many presentations. In the capstone session, participants identified needs and priorities for ongoing Lygus research and education (available at http://ag.arizona.edu/apmc/Arid_SWPMC_RAMP.html). The conference was sponsored in part by FMC Corporation, the University of Arizona Arizona Pest Management Center, the University of California Statewide IPM Program, and a grant to Ellsworth et al. (CRIS# 0207436) from the USDA-CSREES, Risk Avoidance and Mitigation Program (RAMP)

Impact of Electronic Chronic Pain Questions on patient-reported outcomes and healthcare utilization, and attitudes toward eCPQ use among patients and physicians: prospective pragmatic study in a US general practice setting

OBJECTIVE: The Electronic Chronic Pain Questions (eCPQ) has been developed to help healthcare providers systematically capture chronic pain data. This study evaluated the impact of using the eCPQ on patient-reported outcomes (PROs) and healthcare resource utilization (HCRU) in a primary care setting, and patient and physician perceptions regarding use of, and satisfaction with, the eCPQ. METHODS: This was a prospective pragmatic study conducted at the Internal Medicine clinic within the Henry Ford Health (HFH) Detroit campus between June 2017 and April 2020. Patients (aged ≥18 years) attending the clinic for chronic pain were allocated to an Intervention Group to complete the eCPQ in addition to regular care, or a control group to receive regular care only. The Patient Health Questionnaire-2 and a Patient Global Assessment were assessed at baseline, 6-months, and 12-months study visits. HCRU data were extracted from the HFH database. Telephone qualitative interviews were conducted with randomly selected patients and physicians who used the eCPQ. RESULTS: Two hundred patients were enrolled, 79 in each treatment group completed all 3 study visits. No significant differences (p \u3e 0.05) were found in PROs and HCRU between the 2 groups. In qualitative interviews, physicians and patients reported the eCPQ as useful, and using the eCPQ improved patient-clinician interactions. CONCLUSION: Adding the eCPQ to regular care for patients with chronic pain did not significantly impact the PROs assessed in this study. However, qualitative interviews suggested that the eCPQ was a well-accepted and potentially useful tool from a patient and physician perspective. By using the eCPQ, patients were better prepared when they attended a primary care visit for their chronic pain and the quality of patient-physician communication was increased

Emotions in context: examining pervasive affective sensing systems, applications, and analyses

Pervasive sensing has opened up new opportunities for measuring our feelings and understanding our behavior by monitoring our affective states while mobile. This review paper surveys pervasive affect sensing by examining and considering three major elements of affective pervasive systems, namely; “sensing”, “analysis”, and “application”. Sensing investigates the different sensing modalities that are used in existing real-time affective applications, Analysis explores different approaches to emotion recognition and visualization based on different types of collected data, and Application investigates different leading areas of affective applications. For each of the three aspects, the paper includes an extensive survey of the literature and finally outlines some of challenges and future research opportunities of affective sensing in the context of pervasive computing

Seismic imaging in Long Valley, California, by surface and borehole techniques: An investigation of active tectonics

The search for silicic magma in the upper crust is converging on the Long Valley Caldera of eastern California, where several lines of geophysical evidence show that an active magma chamber exists at mid‐to lower‐crustal depths. There are also other strong indications that magma may be present at depths no greater than about 5 km below the surface. In this paper, we review the history of the search for magma at Long Valley. We also present the preliminary results from a coordinated suite of seismic experiments, conducted by a consortium of institutions in the summer and fall of 1984, that were designed to refine our knowledge of the upper extent of the magma chamber. Major funding for the experiments was provided by the Geothermal Research Program of the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and by the Magma Energy Technology Program of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), a program to develop the technology necessary to extract energy directly from crustal magma. Additional funding came from DOE's Office of Basic Energy Sciences and the National Science Foundation (NSF). Also, because extensive use was made of a 0.9‐km‐deep well lent to us by Santa Fe Geothermal, Inc., the project was conducted partly under the auspices of the Continental Scientific Drilling Program (CSDP). As an integrated seismic study of the crust within the caldera that involved the close cooperation of a large number of institutions, the project was moreover viewed as a prototype for future scientific experiments to be conducted under the Program for Array Seismic Studies of the Continental Lithosphere (PASSCAL). The experiment thus represented a unique blend of CSDP and PASSCAL methods, and achieved goals consistent with both programs

Investigating goal conflict as a source of mixed emotions

This research investigated whether (1) the experience of mixed emotions is a consequence of activating conflicting goals and (2) mixed emotions are distinct from emotional conflict. A preliminary experiment (Study 1, N = 35) showed that an elicited goal conflict predicted more mixed emotions than a condition where the same goals were not in conflict. The second experiment was based on naturally occurring goal activation (Study 2, N = 57). This illustrated that mixed emotions were experienced more following conflicting goals compared with a facilitating goals condition—on both a direct self-report measure of mixed emotions and a minimum index measure. The results also showed that mixed emotions were different to emotional conflict. Overall, goal conflict was found to be a source of mixed emotions, and it is feasible that such states have a role in resolving personal dilemmas

Genetically Engineered Crops: Importance of Diversified Integrated Pest Management for Agricultural Sustainability

As the global population continues to expand, utilizing an integrated approach to pest management will be critically important for food security, agricultural sustainability, and environmental protection. Genetically engineered (GE) crops that provide protection against insects and diseases, or tolerance to herbicides are important tools that complement a diversified integrated pest management (IPM) plan. However, despite the advantages that GE crops may bring for simplifying the approach and improving efficiency of pest and weed control, there are also challenges for successful implementation and sustainable use. This paper considers how several GE traits, including those that confer protection against insects by expression of proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), traits that confer tolerance to herbicides, and RNAi-based traits that confer resistance to viral pathogens, can be key elements of a diversified IPM plan for several different crops in both developed and developing countries. Additionally, we highlight the importance of community engagement and extension, strong partnership between industry, regulators and farmers, and education and training programs, for achieving long-term success. By leveraging the experiences gained with these GE crops, understanding the limitations of the technology, and considering the successes and failures of GE traits in IPM plans for different crops and regions, we can improve the sustainability and versatility of IPM plans that incorporate these and future technologies

Perspectives on Fully Synthesized Sustainable Aviation Fuels: Direction and Opportunities

13-C-AJFF-UD-024This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. Please cite this article as: Kramer S, Andac G, Heyne J, Ellsworth J, Herzig P and Lewis KC (2022) Perspectives on Fully Synthesized Sustainable Aviation Fuels: Direction and Opportunities. Front. Energy Res. 9:782823. doi: 10.3389/fenrg.2021.782823The aviation sector seeks to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with manufacturers and airlines announcing \u201czero-emission\u201d goals and plans. Reduced carbon aviation fuels are central to meeting these goals. However, current and near-term aircraft, which will remain flying for decades, are designed around the combustion of petroleum-based aviation kerosene (e.g., Jet A/A-1). Therefore, the industry has focused on the qualification and approval of synthesized (e.g., non-petroleum-based) aviation fuel components with maximum blend limit percentages to avoid the blended fuel having properties outside the accepted ranges for Jet A/A-1. The synthesized components approved for blending are not necessarily interchangeable with Jet A/A-1. They may lack certain required chemical components, such as aromatics, or may have other characteristics outside the allowable ranges. To ensure safety, these synthesized aviation fuel components are only qualified to be used in commercial aviation when blended up to approved limits. The sector seeks to move toward the capability of using 100% synthesized aviation fuels that also meet sustainability criteria, known as sustainable aviation fuels, or SAF. However, these fuels must be developed, assessed, and deployed appropriately