Bark Beetle Influence on Diversity of Leaf Litter Communities

The abstract for this presentation can be downloaded by clicking on the blue download button

Ant and Detrital Communities Impacted by Bluestain Fungi (Ascomycota: Ophiostomatoid) Inoculation in Coarse Woody Debris

Casey Morin is a graduate student in the School of Biological Sciences at Louisiana Tech University. Juliet Tang is a member of the Forest Service in the United States Department of Agriculture. Courtney Siegert is in the College of Forest Resources at Mississippi State University. Nathan Little is a part of the USDA Forest Service in the Forest Products Laboratory, in the Durability and Wood Protection department, in Starkville, MS. John Riggins is in the department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, Entomology, & Plant Pathology at Mississippi State University. Natalie Clay is in the School of Biological Sciences at Louisiana Tech University. To view the abstract for their presentation Ant and Detrital Communities Impacted by Bluestain Fungi (Ascomycota: Ophiostomatoid) Inoculation in Coarse Woody Debris click on the blue download button

Field evaluation of physical barriers against subterranean termites and ambrosia beetles in a CLT wall envelope system

The effectiveness of physical barriers against subterranean termites was evaluated in a 34-week field test in coastal Mississippi by installing Obex11, a commercial polyethylene flashing, and Termimesh, a stainless-steel mesh in 3-ply 280mm(width) x 450mm(length) cross laminated timber (CLT) walls. Damage showed that both barriers performed significantly better than the no barrier control with respect to termite damage as evaluated by visual rating and mud tube length.  Obex11, however, like the no barrier control, was more vulnerable to attack by Ambrosiodmus minor (Stebbing), an invasive ambrosia beetle, with both treatments exhibiting significantly longer bore trails than those found in Termimesh.&nbsp

Crowdsourcing to Improve HIV and Sexual Health Outcomes: a Scoping Review.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: This review synthesizes evidence on the use of crowdsourcing to improve HIV/sexual health outcomes. RECENT FINDINGS: We identified 15 studies, including four completed randomized controlled trials (RCTs), one planned RCT, nine completed observational studies, and one planned observational study. Three of the four RCTs suggested that crowdsourcing is an effective, low-cost approach for improving HIV testing and condom use among key populations. Results from the observational studies revealed diverse applications of crowdsourcing to inform policy, research, and intervention development related to HIV/sexual health services. Crowdsourcing can be an effective tool for informing the design and implementation of HIV/sexual health interventions, spurring innovation in sexual health research, and increasing community engagement in sexual health campaigns. More research is needed to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of crowdsourcing interventions, particularly in low- and middle-income countries

Gene Profiling of Aortic Valve Interstitial Cells under Elevated Pressure Conditions: Modulation of Inflammatory Gene Networks

The study aimed to identify mechanosensitive pathways and gene networks that are stimulated by elevated cyclic pressure in aortic valve interstitial cells (VICs) and lead to detrimental tissue remodeling and/or pathogenesis. Porcine aortic valve leaflets were exposed to cyclic pressures of 80 or 120 mmHg, corresponding to diastolic transvalvular pressure in normal and hypertensive conditions, respectively. Linear, two-cycle amplification of total RNA, followed by microarray was performed for transcriptome analysis (with qRT-PCR validation). A combination of systems biology modeling and pathway analysis identified novel genes and molecular mechanisms underlying the biological response of VICs to elevated pressure. 56 gene transcripts related to inflammatory response mechanisms were differentially expressed. TNF-α, IL-1α, and IL-1β were key cytokines identified from the gene network model. Also of interest was the discovery that pentraxin 3 (PTX3) was significantly upregulated under elevated pressure conditions (41-fold change). In conclusion, a gene network model showing differentially expressed inflammatory genes and their interactions in VICs exposed to elevated pressure has been developed. This system overview has detected key molecules that could be targeted for pharmacotherapy of aortic stenosis in hypertensive patients

An investigation into manipulations of format and predictability on the description of viewed sequences

A person's ability to convey events is an integral part of everyday communication. In the clinic, clients with aphasia are often asked to describe visually presented events to assess their event description abilities. Although there is a growing literature on the visual and cognitive factors that may facilitate event description for clients with aphasia, there has been very little research on whether dynamic depictions such as video, rather than static ones such as line drawing or photographs, would affect the quantity and quality of the descriptions. This study investigated the effect of visual format on the event descriptions of typical (non-aphasic) and atypical (aphasic) participants. Participants were shown four narrative sequences depicted in video clips and photos derived from the videos. The number and type of situations and the characters involved were matched across formats. Language output was analysed for quantity of output, syntactic complexity, and informational content. No advantage for video was found for either the controls or the people with aphasia. In fact, two of the people with aphasia showed some advantage for photographs. The study also considered whether varying the cognitive load by using event sequences of lower or higher predictability would affect the quantity or semantic accuracy of the descriptions. No advantage was found in using more predictable sequences indeed, two of the participants with aphasia produced better descriptions for the more unpredictable sequences

Crowdsourcing Methods to Enhance HIV and Sexual Health Services: A Scoping Review and Qualitative Synthesis.

BACKGROUND:Crowdsourcing is increasingly used to improve community engagement in HIV and sexual health research. In this scoping review, we reviewed studies using crowdsourcing approaches in HIV and sexual health research to identify strengths, opportunities for expansion, and limitations of such approaches. METHODS:We searched CINAHL, Web of Science, Embase, and PubMed. Studies were included if they involved crowdsourcing activities, were in the field of HIV or sexual health, and described the methodology in sufficient detail. We conducted a qualitative synthesis of eligible articles. RESULTS:Our search strategy yielded 431 nonduplicate articles. After screening, 16 articles met the inclusion criteria, including 4 publications that described research from high-income countries, 7 from middle-income countries, 1 from a low-income country, and 4 that had a global focus. There were 4 categories of crowdsourcing: open contests, hackathons, open forums, and incident reporting systems. We identified common phases for data acquisition and dissemination: (1) preparation; (2) problem framing and crowd solicitation; (3) judging submissions; and (4) sharing selected submissions. Strengths of using crowdsourcing approaches include greater innovation due to crowd heterogeneity, encouragement of multisectoral collaboration, empowerment of vulnerable populations, cost-effectiveness, and relevance to local cultures and styles. Weaknesses among some methods include reliance on the internet, temporal transience, and difficulty in sustaining long-term community engagement. CONCLUSIONS:Crowdsourcing may be useful for HIV implementation research. Further research on crowdsourcing related to HIV and sexual health is needed

Protecting an ecosystem service: approaches to understanding and mitigating threats to wild insect pollinators

Insect pollination constitutes an ecosystem service of global importance, providing significant economic and aesthetic benefits as well as cultural value to human society, alongside vital ecological processes in terrestrial ecosystems. It is therefore important to understand how insect pollinator populations and communities respond to rapidly changing environments if we are to maintain healthy and effective pollinator services. This paper considers the importance of conserving pollinator diversity to maintain a suite of functional traits to provide a diverse set of pollinator services. We explore how we can better understand and mitigate the factors that threaten insect pollinator richness, placing our discussion within the context of populations in predominantly agricultural landscapes in addition to urban environments. We highlight a selection of important evidence gaps, with a number of complementary research steps that can be taken to better understand: i) the stability of pollinator communities in different landscapes in order to provide diverse pollinator services; ii) how we can study the drivers of population change to mitigate the effects and support stable sources of pollinator services; and, iii) how we can manage habitats in complex landscapes to support insect pollinators and provide sustainable pollinator services for the future. We advocate a collaborative effort to gain higher quality abundance data to understand the stability of pollinator populations and predict future trends. In addition, for effective mitigation strategies to be adopted, researchers need to conduct rigorous field-testing of outcomes under different landscape settings, acknowledge the needs of end-users when developing research proposals and consider effective methods of knowledge transfer to ensure effective uptake of actions

The 4 Youth By Youth mHealth Photo Verification App for HIV Self-testing in Nigeria: Qualitative Analysis of User Experiences.

BACKGROUND: Despite the global expansion of HIV self-testing (HIVST), many research studies still rely on self-reported outcomes. New HIVST verification methods are needed, especially in resource-limited settings. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to evaluate the user experience of a mobile health (mHealth) app to enhance HIVST result reporting and verification. METHODS: Semistructured, in-depth interviews were used to evaluate the user experience of the 4 Youth By Youth mHealth photo verification app for HIVST. We used a think-aloud approach, and participants performed usability tasks and completed a qualitative exit interview. The app included HIV educational resources, step-by-step video instructions for performing HIVST, a 20-minute timer, a guide on interpreting results with linkages to care, an offline version, and a photo verification system. Demographic characteristics were reported by using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data were analyzed by using thematic analysis. RESULTS: A total of 19 users-12 women and 7 men-with a mean age of 22 years, participated in the study. The users completed the usability tasks and successfully uploaded a photo of their test results by using the app without assistance. Four main themes were identified in the data. First, in terms of user-friendly design, the participants noted the user-friendly features of the offline version and the app's low data use. However, some wanted the app to work in the background when using their mobile phone, and the font used should be more youth friendly. Second, in terms of ease of use, participants remarked that the app's self-explanatory nature and instructions that guided them on how to use the app enhanced its use. Third, in terms of a user's privacy, many participants reinforced the importance of privacy settings and tools that protect confidentiality among users. Finally, in terms of linkage to care, participants noted that the app's linkage to care features were useful, particularly in relation to referrals to trained counselors upon the completion of the test. All the participants noted that the app provided a convenient and private means of verifying the HIV test results. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings demonstrated the importance of engaging end users in the development phase of health technology innovations that serve youth. Clinical trials are needed to determine the efficacy of using an mHealth app to verify HIVST results among young people