If Nobody Hears Us, Do We Really Make a Sound? Investigating Agriculture Faculty Members’ Engagement in Science Communication

Science communication is a crucial factor for ensuring scientific work in food and agriculture reaches intended end-users. Unfortunately, research faculty may not be willing or able to engage in science communication activities. This study was organized using the Faculty Engagement Framework to evaluate the personal, professional, and institutional factors that influence University of Tennessee faculty members’ engagement in public-facing science communication. Results indicated faculty members in this study were overall not highly engaged in science communication activities. Factors that significantly predicted their degree of engagement included knowledge of and attitudes toward communicating their science to public audiences. While the results of this study provide valuable insight for future training design and support measures to enhance faculty members’ engagement, further research with a larger sample size at multiple institutes is needed to better evaluate the relationship between the variables proposed in the model of the current study

Media Portrayal of GM Science and Citrus Greening in State and National Newspapers

Huanglongbing (HLB), commonly known as citrus greening, is a bacterial disease severely affecting the profitability and continuation of the citrus industry in Florida and is threatening the citrus industry in other states as well. Currently, the disease only can be managed, not cured. Gene-based therapies, such as GM science, have been identified as a viable long-term solution. However, consumer acceptance of genetically modified food is low and their understanding and acceptance of new technologies is largely dependent on what they receive through mass media. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to understand news coverage of both citrus greening and gene modification science. This content analysis studied news articles of either citrus greening or gene modification science in national and state-specific newspapers and identified that while citrus greening is not highly covered by newspapers, it is accurately described via appropriate terminology. Genetic modification science is more commonly a topic of news coverage and is somewhat neutral and balanced in coverage. This research shows that source use in media coverage of gene modification science is balanced, but sources are most commonly chosen from organizations with a directed opinion or position on the topic

Identifying Publics in Citrus Producing States to Address the Issue of Citrus Greening

Citrus greening is a critical issue facing the agricultural industry in the United States. The disease has been identified in residential and commercial areas, and there is a need to identify best practices in communicating with the public about the disease. The Situational Theory of Publics (STOPs) uses audience segmentation to determine how to best communicate with target consumers and was used to guide this study. The purpose of the study was to determine the types of publics present in the citrus producing states of Florida, California, and Texas as they relate to citrus greening. An online survey was completed by 1,541 respondents in the states of interest. The majority of respondents in all three states had low issue involvement and high knowledge related to citrus greening. The publics were categorized as active, aware, aroused, and inactive, and differences were noted across demographic categories. There were also differences in the types of publics present across states; Florida had the largest percent of active publics. Communication in Florida should use calls to action to encourage specific behaviors from the active public, but agricultural communicators in Texas and California need to focus messages and campaigns on increasing issue involvement related to citrus greening. Future research should test messages about citrus greening using focus groups to gain a greater understanding of consumers’ information seeking behaviors related to the disease

Comparing the Use of Visual Analogue Scales and Likert-type Scales in International Agricultural and Extension Education Surveys

Data collected using survey methodology is readily used to provide insight into improving international agricultural and extension education programs. The evolution of survey technology has allowed educators access to a growing number of audiences; however, the escalating quantity of surveys contributes to greater survey fatigue. Utilizing multiple forms of response, such as Likert-type scales and visual analog scales, may relieve some symptoms of survey fatigue. The use of visual analog scales may allow respondents the ability to respond more freely to questions where fractional differences can hold a wealth of information. This study examined the possible advantages of utilizing visual analog scales rather than Likert-type scales in surveys. A Web-based survey was conducted with respondents randomly assigned to one of two treatments: comparison constructs in traditional Likert-type scale presentation form using radio buttons or comparison constructs with a Visual Analog Scale presentation. Results indicated responses from visual analog scales were similar to those on Likert-type scale questions. No significant additional time to complete the constructs was found; however, a significantly lower non-response rate existed for one construct using the Likert-type scale (10% compared to 32%). Seventy-five percent of the respondents given visual analog scales utilized the freedom to select increments between the restricted points of radio buttons

Meta-analyses of randomized controlled trials show suboptimal validity of surrogate outcomes for overall survival in advanced colorectal cancer

Objectives: To quantify and compare the treatment effects on three surrogate end points, progression-free survival (PFS), time to progression (TTP), and tumor response rate (TR) vs. overall survival (OS) based on a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) of drug interventions in advanced colorectal cancer (aCRC). Study Design and Setting: We systematically searched for RCTs of pharmacologic therapies in aCRC between 2003 and 2013. Trial characteristics, risk of bias, and outcomes were recorded based on a predefined form. Univariate and multivariate random-effects meta-analyses were used to estimate pooled summary treatment effects. The ratio of hazard ratios (HRs)/odds ratios (ORs) and difference in medians were used to quantify the degree of difference in treatment effects on the surrogate end points and OS. Spearman ρ, surrogate threshold effect (STE), and R2 were also estimated across predefined trial-level covariates. Results: We included 101 RCTs. In univariate and multivariate meta-analyses, we found larger treatment effects for the surrogates than for OS. Compared with OS, treatment effects were on average 13% higher when HRs were measured and 3% to 45% higher when ORs were considered; differences in median PFS/TTP were higher than on OS by an average of 0.5 month. Spearman ρ ranged from 0.39 to 0.80, mean R2 from 0.06 to 0.65, and STE was 0.8 for HRPFS, 0.64 for HRTTP, or 0.28 for ORTR. The stratified analyses revealed high variability across all strata. Conclusion: None of the end points in this study were found to achieve the level of evidence (ie, mean R2trial > 0.60) that has been set to select high or excellent correlation levels by common surrogate evaluation tools. Previous surrogacy relationships observed between PFS and TTP vs. OS in selected settings may not apply across other classes or lines of therapy

A Mixed-Methods Comparison of Self-Reported and Conversational Trust in Science

The development of science and technology highly relies on public trust in science. However, previous studies have shown that the public trust may vary across different scientific issues. This research explored how the public trust in science varied between a general and context specific environment. A convergent mixed-methods design was conducted. The results indicated participants’ self-reported general trust in in science did not change significantly between two measures. However, in conversation four major themes related to distrust were revealed. Future research is recommended to further explore how trust in science evolves in conversation and among different contexts

Δ⁹-tetrahydrocannabinol and 2-AG decreases neurite outgrowth and differentially affects ERK1/2 and Akt signaling in hiPSC-derived cortical neurons

Endocannabinoids regulate different aspects of neurodevelopment. In utero exposure to the exogenous psychoactive cannabinoid Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (Δ9-THC), has been linked with abnormal cortical development in animal models. However, much less is known about the actions of endocannabinoids in human neurons. Here we investigated the effect of the endocannabinoid 2-arachidonoyl glycerol (2AG) and Δ9-THC on the development of neuronal morphology and activation of signaling kinases, in cortical neurons derived from human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). Our data indicate that the cannabinoid type 1 receptor (CB1R), but not the cannabinoid 2 receptor (CB2R), GPR55 or TRPV1 receptors, is expressed in young, immature hiPSC-derived cortical neurons. Consistent with previous reports, 2AG and Δ9-THC negatively regulated neurite outgrowth. Interestingly, acute exposure to both 2AG and Δ9-THC inhibited phosphorylation of serine/threonine kinase extracellular signal-regulated protein kinases (ERK1/2), whereas Δ9-THC also reduced phosphorylation of Akt (aka PKB). Moreover, the CB1R inverse agonist SR 141716A attenuated the decrease in neurite outgrowth and ERK1/2 phosphorylation induced by 2AG and Δ9-THC. Taken together, our data suggest that hiPSC-derived cortical neurons express CB1Rs and are responsive to exogenous cannabinoids. Thus, hiPSC-neurons may represent a good cellular model for investigating the role of the endocannabinoid system in regulating cellular processes in developing human neurons

Perceptions of HIV Risk and Explanations of Sexual Risk Behavior Offered by Heterosexual Black Male Barbershop Patrons in Brooklyn, NY

Objective: To describe HIV risk factors among adult heterosexual Black men recruited from four barbershops located in high HIV seroprevalent neighborhoods of Brooklyn, NY. Methods: Data on HIV-risk related behaviors and other characteristics were collected from barbershop clients. All participants (n=60) completed brief risk assessments; and a subset (n=22) also completed focus groups and/or individual interviews. Results: Of the subset of 22 men, 68% were US born, 59% had been in jail/prison, 32% were unemployed; and during the 3 months before the interviews, 68% reported at least two partners and 45% reported unprotected vaginal or anal sex with two or more women. Emergent themes included: 1) the psychological function of multiple partnerships; 2) calculated risk taking regarding condom use; 3) the role of emotional attachment and partner trust in condom use; 4) low perceived HIV risk and community awareness; and 5) lack of relationship between HIV testing and safer sex practices. Conclusions: Interventions among heterosexual Black men should focus not only on increasing HIV awareness and reducing sexual risk, but also on contextual and interpersonal factors that influence sexual risk

Flamingo Vol. I N 3

Voo-Doo. Untitled. Prose. 1. Widow. Untitled. Prose. 1. Tiger. Untitled. Prose. 1. Purple Cow. Untitled. Prose. 1. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 1. Life. Untitled. Prose. 2. Yale Record. Untitled. Prose. 2. Voo-Doo. Untitled. Prose. 2. Sour Owl. Untitled. Prose. 2. Puppet. Untitled. Prose. 2. Sun Dial. Untitled. Prose. 2. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 2. Nottingham, Ruth. Teddy . Prose. 5. Grogan. Untitled. Picture. 7. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 7. Anonymous. An Easy One . Prose. 7. Anonymous. How Terrible! Prose. 7. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 7. Anonymous. Untitled. Poem. 7. F.H.G. Untitled. Picture. 7. Wood, J.E.F. When mother Went to College . Prose. 8. E.D.T. Chicago Corn Exchange . Poem. 8. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 8. Anonymous. Untitled. Poem. 8. Anonymous. All But . Prose. 8. R.D.B. Roscoe to The Rescue . Prose. 9. Leet, L.D. On The Efficacy of Dreams . Prose. 10. Orange Ade. The Fable of the Coffin Nailer . Prose. 11. Orange Ade. Time Wasted . Prose. 11. Orange Ade. The Americanized Boy . Prose. 11. Orange Ade. Anything to Oblige . Prose. 11. Orange Ade. Tit For Tat . Prose. 11. Orange Ade. Good Alibi . Prose. 11. Orange Ade. Untitled. Prose. 11. Grogan. Untitled. Picture. 11. Lusk, R.G. On The Absurdity of Catching Fish When A-Fishing . Prose. 12. Anonymous. Co-eds and Plain Eds in 1950 . Picture. 13. Potter, W.M. Letters of A Japanese Sandman . Prose. 13. Anonymous. Ex Facultate . Prose. 13. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 13. R.J.S. An Uplifting Influence . Picture. 13. Anonymous. Consider the Luxite Girl . Poem. 14. Anonymous. Shades of Orpheus . Poem. 14. Anonymous. With The Gospel Team . Poem. 14. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 14. Anonymous. Untitled. Poem. 14. Anonymous. A Dirty Trick . Prose. 14. Taylor, Elsie D. Vestigial Customs . Prose. 15. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 16. Anonymous. A New version of Anthropology . Prose. 18. Anonymous. A New version of Anthropology . Picture. 18. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 18. Funk, Dorothy K. Untitled. Picture. 18. Anonymous. A Deep one . Prose. 18. Anonymous. Take His Name . Prose. 18. Olney, Clarke. The Evolution of An Intellectual . Prose. 19. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 19. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 20. W.A.W. On Getting Up For Breakfast . Prose. 20. McCann. Untitled. Picture. 21. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 21. Anonymous. S.S.S. . Prose. 21. Anonymous. The Judge Disagreed . Prose. 21. Anonymous. The Modern Woman . Prose. 21. Anonymous. Denison Slang in Japan . Prose. 22. Anonymous. Being Specific . Prose. 22. Anonymous. Then The Fun Began . Prose. 22. Anonymous. Then The Fun Began . Prose. 22. Anonymous. Chess Nuts . Poem. 22. Anonymous. Chess Nuts . Picture. 22. Funk, Dorothy K. Untitled. Picture. 22. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 22. Reel, Virginia. Untitled. Prose. 22. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 23. Anonymous. Take This to Heart . Prose. 23. Anonymous. Stepping Out . Picture. 23. Olney, Clarke. Untitled. Picture. 23. Anonymous. To Lalage . Prose. 23. Anonymous. Untitled. Poem. 24. Anonymous. Description of the Day . Prose. 25. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 25. Voo-Doo. Good Bizziness . Prose. 26. Anonymous. Fore! . Prose. 26. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 26. Brelsford, Ernest C. Souveniring . Prose. 27. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 30. Burr. Sweet Dreams . Prose. 30. Jester. Untitled. Prose. 30. Judge. Untitled. Prose. 30. Goblin. Untitled. Prose. 30. Cracker. Sanitation . Poem. 32. Anonymous. Untitled. Prose. 32. Jester. Untitled. Prose. 32. Goblin. Untitled. Prose. 32. Record. Untitled. Prose. 32. Linotype. Untitled. Prose. 32. Holt, Kilburn. The Schemer\u27s Lament . Poem. 7. Owen, Ernest t. Mother . Poem. 3. Owen, Ernest T. To--- . Poem. 24

Large Scale Structure Formation with Global Topological Defects. A new Formalism and its implementation by numerical simulations

We investigate cosmological structure formation seeded by topological defects which may form during a phase transition in the early universe. First we derive a partially new, local and gauge invariant system of perturbation equations to treat microwave background and dark matter fluctuations induced by topological defects or any other type of seeds. We then show that this system is well suited for numerical analysis of structure formation by applying it to seeds induced by fluctuations of a global scalar field. Our numerical results are complementary to previous investigations since we use substantially different methods. The resulting microwave background fluctuations are compatible with older simulations. We also obtain a scale invariant spectrum of fluctuations with about the same amplitude. However, our dark matter results yield a smaller bias parameter compatible with $b\sim 2$ on a scale of $20 Mpc$ in contrast to previous work which yielded to large bias factors. Our conclusions are thus more positive. According to the aspects analyzed in this work, global topological defect induced fluctuations yield viable scenarios of structure formation and do better than standard CDM on large scales.Comment: uuencoded, compressed tar-file containing the text in LaTeX and 12 Postscript Figures, 41 page