Redbird Buzz Episode 22: Elisabeth Reed, April 18, 2023

Interview with the director of the Office of Sustainability at Illinois State University, Elisabeth Reed. The interview was conducted by John Twork from University Marketing and Communications on April 18, 2023, for the Illinois State University Redbird Buzz Podcast

Challenges and Benefits of Made in the USA Manufacturing: A Study of Small Business Owners

Investigating current companies and entrepreneurs who practice United States-based manufacturing and/or production is an area of study that can provide direction for future market growth. The purpose of this study is to investigate the manufacturers who produce their products through US production. This study targeted the owners of small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) and employed Brush\u27s (1992) integrative model to explore the SME owners. Challenges and benefits experienced by a small sample of producers within the Made in the USA apparel sector were identified. Through domestic production, study respondents could have close oversight and strong relationships with supply chain participants, which may result in a more responsibly produced product. Production based in the US can also support smaller production runs, a more sustainable option for newer apparel brands and those that target a smaller market

Quality management in heavy duty manufacturing industry: TQM vs. Six Sigma

‘Is TQM a management fad?’ This question has been extensively documented in the quality management literature; and will be tackled in this research though a critical literature review on the area. ‘TQM versus Six-Sigma’ debate, which has also been a fundamental challenge in this research filed, is addressed by a thematic and chronological review on the peer papers. To evaluate this challenge in practice, a primary research in heavy duty machinery production industry have been conducted using a case-study on, J C Bamford Excavators Ltd (JCB), the largest European construction machinery producer. The result highlights that TQM is a natural foundation to build up Six-Sigma upon; and not surprisingly the quality yield in a TQM approach complemented by Six-sigma is far higher and more stable than when TQM with no Six-Sigma focus is being put in place; thus presenting the overall finding that TQM and Six Sigma are compliments, not substitutes. The study will be concluded with an overview on quality management approaches in the heavy duty manufacturing industry to highlight the way forward for the industry

Integrin α11β1 is expressed in breast cancer stroma and associates with aggressive tumor phenotypes

Cancer‐associated fibroblasts are essential modifiers of the tumor microenvironment. The collagen‐binding integrin α11β1 has been proposed to be upregulated in a pro‐tumorigenic subtype of cancer‐associated fibroblasts. Here, we analyzed the expression and clinical relevance of integrin α11β1 in a large breast cancer series using a novel antibody against the human integrin α11 chain. Several novel monoclonal antibodies against the integrin α11 subunit were tested for use on formalin‐fixed paraffin‐embedded tissues, and Ab 210F4B6A4 was eventually selected to investigate the immunohistochemical expression in 392 breast cancers using whole sections. mRNA data from METABRIC and co‐expression patterns of integrin α11 in relation to αSMA and cytokeratin‐14 were also investigated. Integrin α11 was expressed to varying degrees in spindle‐shaped cells in the stroma of 99% of invasive breast carcinomas. Integrin α11 co‐localized with αSMA in stromal cells, and with αSMA and cytokeratin‐14 in breast myoepithelium. High stromal integrin α11 expression (66% of cases) was associated with aggressive breast cancer features such as high histologic grade, increased tumor cell proliferation, ER negativity, HER2 positivity, and triple‐negative phenotype, but was not associated with breast cancer specific survival at protein or mRNA levels. In conclusion, high stromal integrin α11 expression was associated with aggressive breast cancer phenotypes.publishedVersio

ULTRA-SHORT-PERIOD PLANETS IN K2 WITH COMPANIONS: A DOUBLE TRANSITING SYSTEM FOR EPIC 220674823

Two transiting planets have been identified orbiting K2 target EPIC 220674823. One object is an ultra-short-period planet (USP) with a period of just 0.57 days (13.7 hr), while the other has a period of 13.3 days. Both planets are small, with the former having a radius of R_(p1) = 1.5 R⊕ and the latter R_(p2) = 2.5 R⊕. Follow-up observations, including radial velocity (with uncertainties of 110 m s−1) and high-resolution adaptive optics imagery, show no signs of stellar companions. EPIC 220674823 is the 12th confirmed or validated planetary system in which a USP (i.e., having an orbital period less than 1 day) is accompanied by at least one additional planet, suggesting that such systems may be common and must be accounted for in models for the formation and evolution of such extreme systems

Comparative Effectiveness of Biologics Across Subgroups of Patients with Moderate-to-Severe Plaque Psoriasis: Results at Week 12 from the PSoHO Study in a Real-World Setting

Introduction: In routine clinical care, important treatment outcomes among patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis (PsO) have been shown to vary according to patient demographics and disease characteristics. This study aimed to provide direct comparative effectiveness data at week 12 between anti-interleukin (IL)-17A biologics relative to other approved biologics for the treatment of PsO across seven clinically relevant patient subgroups in the real-world setting. Methods: From the international, non-interventional Psoriasis Study of Health Outcomes (PSoHO), 1981 patients with moderate-to-severe PsO were grouped a priori according to seven clinically relevant demographic and disease variables with binary categories, which were sex (male or female), age ( 30 kg/m2), race (White or Asian), PsO disease duration (< 15 or ≥ 15 years), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) comorbidity (present or absent), and prior biologic use (never or ≥ 1). Across these subgroups, effectiveness was compared between the anti-IL-17A cohort (ixekizumab, secukinumab) versus all other approved biologics and ixekizumab versus five individual biologics. The proportion of patients in each subgroup who achieved 90% improvement in Psoriasis Area and Severity Index (PASI90) and/or static Physician Global Assessment (sPGA) 0/1, PASI100, or PASI90 at week 12 were assessed. Comparative analyses were conducted using frequentist model averaging (FMA). Missing data were imputed using non-responder imputation. Results: Patients in each of the seven subgroups achieved similar response rates to those of the overall treatment cohort, apart from patients with PsA treated with other biologics who had 7-10% lower response rates. Consequently, patients with comorbid PsA had significantly higher odds of achieving skin clearance at week 12 with anti-IL-17A biologics compared to other biologics. Patients in all subgroups had significantly higher odds of achieving PASI90 and/or sPGA (0,1), PASI100, and PASI90 in the anti-IL-17A cohort relative to the other biologics cohort, except for the Asian subgroup. No sex- or age-specific differences in treatment effectiveness after 12 weeks were identified, neither between the treatment cohorts nor between the individual treatment comparisons. Conclusions: Despite relative consistency of comparative treatment effectiveness across subgroups, the presence of comorbid PsA may affect a patient's clinical response to some treatments. Keywords: Biologic; Comorbidity; Demographic; Effectiveness; Psoriasis; Real-world; Subgroup; Treatment

Assessment of Osteoporosis in Injured Older Women Admitted to a Safety-Net Level One Trauma Center: A Unique Opportunity to Fulfill an Unmet Need

Background. Older trauma patients often undergo computed tomography (CT) as part of the initial work-up. CT imaging can also be used opportunistically to measure bone density and assess osteoporosis. Methods. In this retrospective cohort study, osteoporosis was ascertained from admission CT scans in women aged ≥65 admitted to the ICU for traumatic injury during a 3-year period at a single, safety-net, level 1 trauma center. Osteoporosis was defined by established CT-based criteria of average L1 vertebral body Hounsfield units <110. Evidence of diagnosis and/or treatment of osteoporosis was the primary outcome. Results. The study cohort consisted of 215 women over a 3-year study period, of which 101 (47%) had evidence of osteoporosis by CT scan criteria. There were no differences in injury severity score, hospital length of stay, cost, or discharge disposition between groups with and without evidence of osteoporosis. Only 55 (59%) of the 94 patients with osteoporosis who survived to discharge had a documented osteoporosis diagnosis and/or corresponding evaluation/treatment plan. Conclusion. Nearly half of older women admitted with traumatic injuries had underlying osteoporosis, but 41% had neither clinical recognition of this finding nor a treatment plan for osteoporosis. Admission for traumatic injury is an opportunity to assess osteoporosis, initiate appropriate intervention, and coordinate follow-up care. Trauma and acute care teams should consider assessment of osteoporosis in women who undergo CT imaging and provide a bridge to outpatient services

The pervasive and multifaceted influence of biocrusts on water in the world's drylands

The capture and use of water are critically important in drylands, which collectively constitute Earth's largest biome. Drylands will likely experience lower and more unreliable rainfall as climatic conditions change over the next century. Dryland soils support a rich community of microphytic organisms (biocrusts), which are critically important because they regulate the delivery and retention of water. Yet despite their hydrological significance, a global synthesis of their effects on hydrology is lacking. We synthesized 2,997 observations from 109 publications to explore how biocrusts affected five hydrological processes (times to ponding and runoff, early [sorptivity] and final [infiltration] stages of water flow into soil, and the rate or volume of runoff) and two hydrological outcomes (moisture storage, sediment production). We found that increasing biocrust cover reduced the time for water to pond on the surface (−40%) and commence runoff (−33%), and reduced infiltration (−34%) and sediment production (−68%). Greater biocrust cover had no significant effect on sorptivity or runoff rate/amount, but increased moisture storage (+14%). Infiltration declined most (−56%) at fine scales, and moisture storage was greatest (+36%) at large scales. Effects of biocrust type (cyanobacteria, lichen, moss, mixed), soil texture (sand, loam, clay), and climatic zone (arid, semiarid, dry subhumid) were nuanced. Our synthesis provides novel insights into the magnitude, processes, and contexts of biocrust effects in drylands. This information is critical to improve our capacity to manage dwindling dryland water supplies as Earth becomes hotter and drier.This work was conducted as part of the Powell Working Group “Completing the dryland puzzle: creating a predictive framework for biological soil crust function and response to climate change” supported by the John Wesley Powell Center for Analysis and Synthesis, funded by the US Geological Survey. J.B. and S.R. were funded by USGS Ecosystems and Land Use Change Mission Areas, by the US Department of Energy (DESC-0008168), and by the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (RC18-1322). J.D. is supported by grants from the Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment & The Ecological Society of Australia, and a scholarship from China Scholarship Council (No. 201706040073). B.C. is supported by grants from the National Science Foundation (award DEB-1844531) and DePaul University. M.A.B. is supported by a grant from the National Science Foundation (award DEB-1638966). B.W. was supported by the Max Planck Society and a Paul Crutzen Nobel Laureate Fellowship. E.H.-S. was supported by CONACYT grant 251388 B. F.T.M. was supported by the European Research Council (ERC grant agreement 647038 [BIODESERT]) and Generalitat Valenciana (CIDEGENT/2018/041)

Rotation of planet-harbouring stars

The rotation rate of a star has important implications for the detectability, characterisation and stability of any planets that may be orbiting it. This chapter gives a brief overview of stellar rotation before describing the methods used to measure the rotation periods of planet host stars, the factors affecting the evolution of a star's rotation rate, stellar age estimates based on rotation, and an overview of the observed trends in the rotation properties of stars with planets.Comment: 16 pages, 4 figures: Invited review to appear in 'Handbook of Exoplanets', Springer Reference Works, edited by Hans J. Deeg and Juan Antonio Belmont

Broader Impacts for Ecologists: Biological Soil Crust as a Model System for Education

Biological soil crusts (biocrusts) are a complex community of algae, cyanobacteria, lichens, bryophytes, and assorted bacteria, fungi, archaea, and bacteriophages that colonize the soil surface. Biocrusts are particularly common in drylands and are found in arid and semiarid ecosystems worldwide. While diminutive in size, biocrusts often cover large terrestrial areas, provide numerous ecosystem benefits, enhance biodiversity, and are found in multiple configurations and assemblages across different climate and disturbance regimes. Biocrusts have been a focus of many ecologists, especially those working in semiarid and arid lands, as biocrusts are foundational community members, play fundamental roles in ecosystem processes, and offer rare opportunities to study biological interactions at small and large spatial scales. Due to these same characteristics, biocrusts have the potential to serve as an excellent teaching tool. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the utility of biocrust communities as a model system in science education. Functioning as portable, dynamic mini ecosystems, biocrusts can be used to teach about organisms, biodiversity, biotic interactions, abiotic controls, ecosystem processes, and even global change, and can be easy to use in nearly every classroom setup. For example, education principles, such as evolution and adaptation to stress, or structure and function (patterns and processes) can be applied by bringing biocrusts into the classroom as a teaching tool. In addition, discussing the utility of biocrusts in the classroom &ndash; including theory, hypothesis testing, experimentation, and hands-on learning &ndash; this document also provides tips and resources for developing education tools and activities geared toward impactful learning.</p