Sociology Podcast on Local Farms

The beginning portion of our project draft introduces the importance of supporting local food systems, and the challenges that workers face within local farms. At first, we have a broader discussion surrounding the economic challenges of smaller businesses due to competition with big industrial agriculture. We get into different sustainable tactics that small farms may use in comparison to big corporations. This includes practices like crop rotation, reduced pesticide and fertilizer use, and the preservation of open space. We then move into the sense of community that family-owned and smaller-scale farms enhance. Much of the time there are regular customers, which is definitely rewarding to the farmers, and allows them to have the assurance of knowing people will continue to support their business. Finally, we move into a brief discussion of Amish families, and how their way of life may contribute to differences that we see in farming markets and efficiencies. We acknowledge how they are typically less inclined to reach out to the outside world for beneficial, modernized technological resources. After this, we moved into our interviews with specific farms. The farms that we got the opportunity to speak to were the Old Mill Creamery and Dream Catcher Farm. They gave us specific details about their farm and their experiences working on a farm. We discuss challenges and traditions that are important to both owners of the farm. We ended our podcast by describing how much we learned about Lewisburg food systems, and hope that others who listened to our podcast will get a better understanding as well.https://digitalcommons.bucknell.edu/soci258/1012/thumbnail.jp

Fluctuating survival selection explains variation in avian group size

Most animal groups vary extensively in size. Because individuals in certain sizes of groups often have higher apparent fitness than those in other groups, why wide group size variation persists in most populations remains unexplained. We used a 30-y mark– recapture study of colonially breeding cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) to show that the survival advantages of different colony sizes fluctuated among years. Colony size was under both stabilizing and directional selection in different years, and reversals in the sign of directional selection regularly occurred. Directional selection was predicted in part by drought conditions: birds in larger colonies tended to be favored in cooler and wetter years, and birds in smaller colonies in hotter and drier years. Oscillating selection on colony size likely reflected annual differences in food availability and the consequent importance of information transfer, and/or the level of ectoparasitism, with the net benefit of sociality varying under these different conditions. Averaged across years, there was no net directional change in selection on colony size. The wide range in cliff swallow group size is probably maintained by fluctuating survival selection and represents the first case, to our knowledge, in which fitness advantages of different group sizes regularly oscillate over time in a natural vertebrate population

Fluctuating survival selection explains variation in avian group size

Most animal groups vary extensively in size. Because individuals in certain sizes of groups often have higher apparent fitness than those in other groups, why wide group size variation persists in most populations remains unexplained. We used a 30-y mark– recapture study of colonially breeding cliff swallows (Petrochelidon pyrrhonota) to show that the survival advantages of different colony sizes fluctuated among years. Colony size was under both stabilizing and directional selection in different years, and reversals in the sign of directional selection regularly occurred. Directional selection was predicted in part by drought conditions: birds in larger colonies tended to be favored in cooler and wetter years, and birds in smaller colonies in hotter and drier years. Oscillating selection on colony size likely reflected annual differences in food availability and the consequent importance of information transfer, and/or the level of ectoparasitism, with the net benefit of sociality varying under these different conditions. Averaged across years, there was no net directional change in selection on colony size. The wide range in cliff swallow group size is probably maintained by fluctuating survival selection and represents the first case, to our knowledge, in which fitness advantages of different group sizes regularly oscillate over time in a natural vertebrate population

Using framework-based synthesis for conducting reviews of qualitative studies

Framework analysis is a technique used for data analysis in primary qualitative research. Recent years have seen its being adapted to conduct syntheses of qualitative studies. Framework-based synthesis shows considerable promise in addressing applied policy questions. An innovation in the approach, known as 'best fit' framework synthesis, has been published in BMC Medical Research Methodology this month. It involves reviewers in choosing a conceptual model likely to be suitable for the question of the review, and using it as the basis of their initial coding framework. This framework is then modified in response to the evidence reported in the studies in the reviews, so that the final product is a revised framework that may include both modified factors and new factors that were not anticipated in the original model. 'Best fit' framework-based synthesis may be especially suitable in addressing urgent policy questions where the need for a more fully developed synthesis is balanced by the need for a quick answer

Microevolution during the emergence of a monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium epidemic in the United Kingdom

Microevolutionary events associated with the emergence and clonal expansion of new 27 epidemic clones of bacterial pathogens hold the key to understanding the drivers of 28 epidemiological success. We describe a comparative whole genome sequence and 29 phylogenomic analysis of monophasic Salmonella Typhimurium isolates from the UK 30 and Italy from 2005-2012. Monophasic isolates from this time formed a single clade 31 distinct from recent monophasic epidemic clones described previously from North 32 America and Spain. The current UK monophasic epidemic clones encode a novel 33 genomic island encoding resistance to heavy metals (SGI-3), and composite transposon 34 encoding antibiotic resistance genes not present in other Typhimurium isolates, that 35 may have contributed to the epidemiological success. We also report a remarkable 36 degree of genotypic variation that accumulated during clonal expansion of a UK 37 epidemic including multiple independent acquisitions of a novel prophage carrying the 38 sopE gene and multiple deletion events affecting the phase II flagellin locus

Use of Self-Care and Practitioner-Based Forms of Complementary and Alternative Medicine before and after a Diagnosis of Breast Cancer

Purpose. We examine factors associated with self-care, use of practitioner-based complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and their timing in a cohort of women with breast cancer. Methods. Study participants were women with breast cancer who participated in the Long Island Breast Cancer Study Project. Self-care is defined as the use of multivitamins, single vitamins, botanicals, other dietary supplements, mind-body practices, special diets, support groups, and prayer. Within each modality, study participants were categorized as continuous users (before and after diagnosis), starters (only after diagnosis), quitters (only before diagnosis), or never users. Multivariable logistic regression was used for the main analyses. Results. Of 764 women who provided complete data, 513 (67.2%) initiated a new form of self-care following breast cancer diagnosis. The most popular modalities were those that are ingestible, and they were commonly used in combination. The strongest predictor of continuous use of one type of self-care was continuous use of other types of self-care. Healthy behaviors, including high fruit/vegetable intake and exercise, were more strongly associated with continuously using self-care than starting self-care after diagnosis. Conclusions. Breast cancer diagnosis was associated with subsequent behavioral changes, and the majority of women undertook new forms of self-care after diagnosis. Few women discontinued use of modalities they used prior to diagnosis

The colonial ascidian Didemnum sp. A: Current distribution, basic biology and potential threat to marine communities of the northeast and west coasts of North America

Author Posting. © The Author(s), 2006. This is the author's version of the work. It is posted here by permission of Elsevier B.V. for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology 342 (2007): 99-108, doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2006.10.020.Didemnum sp. A is a colonial ascidian with rapidly expanding populations on the east and west coasts of North America. The origin of Didemum sp. A is unknown. Populations were first observed on the northeast coast of the U.S. in the late 1980s and on the west coast during the 1990s. It is currently undergoing a massive population explosion and is now a dominant member of many subtidal communities on both coasts. To determine Didemnum sp. A’s current distribution, we conducted surveys from Maine to Virginia on the east coast and from British Columbia to southern California on the west coast of the U.S. between 1998 and 2005. In nearshore locations Didemnum sp. A currently ranges from Eastport, Maine to Shinnecock Bay, New York on the east coast. On the west coast it has been recorded from Humboldt Bay to Port San Luis in California, several sites in Puget Sound, Washington, including a heavily fouled mussel culture facility, and several sites in southwestern British Columbia on and adjacent to oyster and mussel farms. The species also occurs at deeper subtidal sites (up to 81 m) off New England, including Georges, Stellwagen and Tillies Banks. On Georges Bank numerous sites within a 147 km2 area are 50-90% covered by Didemnum sp. A; large colonies cement the pebble gravel into nearly solid mats that may smother infaunal organisms. These observations suggest that Didemnum sp. A has the potential to alter marine communities and affect economically important activities such as fishing and aquaculture.Funding for this project was provided by EPA (STAR) grant GZ1910464 to R.B. Whitlatch, NSF-DGE 0114432 to J. Byrnes, NSF-OCE 0117839 to R. Etter and R.J. Miller, MIT Sea Grant NA86RG0074 and USEPA Grant GX83055701-0 to J. Pederson. RI Sea Grant NA07R90363 to J.S. Collie. Funding for A.N. Cohen and G. Lambert was provided by Mass. Sea Grant, U.S. EPA, Smithsonian Envl. Research Center Invasions Lab, Natl. Geographic Soc., San Francisco Bay-Delta Science Consortium and CALFED Science Program, Calif. Coastal Conservancy and the Rose Foundation. Additional funding and support was provided by the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary

Characterizing degradation of palm swamp peatlands from space and on the ground: an exploratory study in the Peruvian Amazon

Peru has the fourth largest area of peatlands in the Tropics. Its most representative land cover on peat is a Mauritia flexuosa dominated palm swamp (thereafter called dense PS), which has been under human pressure over decades due to the high demand for the M. flexuosa fruit often collected by cutting down the entire palm. Degradation of these carbon dense forests can substantially affect emissions of greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change. The first objective of this research was to assess the impact of dense PS degradation on forest structure and biomass carbon stocks. The second one was to explore the potential of mapping the distribution of dense PS with different degradation levels using remote sensing data and methods. Biomass stocks were measured in 0.25 ha plots established in areas of dense PS with low (n = 2 plots), medium (n = 2) and high degradation (n = 4). We combined field and remote sensing data from the satellites Landsat TM and ALOS/PALSAR to discriminate between areas typifying dense PS with low, medium and high degradation and terra firme, restinga and mixed PS (not M. flexuosa dominated) forests. For this we used a Random Forest machine learning classification algorithm. Results suggest a shift in forest composition from palm to woody tree dominated forest following degradation. We also found that human intervention in dense PS translates into significant reductions in tree carbon stocks with initial (above and below-ground) biomass stocks (135.4 ± 4.8 Mg C ha−1) decreased by 11 and 17% following medium and high degradation. The remote sensing analysis indicates a high separability between dense PS with low degradation from all other categories. Dense PS with medium and high degradation were highly separable from most categories except for restinga forests and mixed PS. Results also showed that data from both active and passive remote sensing sensors are important for the mapping of dense PS degradation. Overall land cover classification accuracy was high (91%). Results from this pilot analysis are encouraging to further explore the use of remote sensing data and methods for monitoring dense PS degradation at broader scales in the Peruvian Amazon. Providing precise estimates on the spatial extent of dense PS degradation and on biomass and peat derived emissions is required for assessing national emissions from forest degradation in Peru and is essential for supporting initiatives aiming at reducing degradation activities

Centerscope

Centerscope, formerly Scope, was published by the Boston University Medical Center "to communicate the concern of the Medical Center for the development and maintenance of improved health care in contemporary society.

If we build it they will come: targeting the immune response to breast cancer.

Historically, breast cancer tumors have been considered immunologically quiescent, with the majority of tumors demonstrating low lymphocyte infiltration, low mutational burden, and modest objective response rates to anti-PD-1/PD-L1 monotherapy. Tumor and immunologic profiling has shed light on potential mechanisms of immune evasion in breast cancer, as well as unique aspects of the tumor microenvironment (TME). These include elements associated with antigen processing and presentation as well as immunosuppressive elements, which may be targeted therapeutically. Examples of such therapeutic strategies include efforts to (1) expand effector T-cells, natural killer (NK) cells and immunostimulatory dendritic cells (DCs), (2) improve antigen presentation, and (3) decrease inhibitory cytokines, tumor-associated M2 macrophages, regulatory T- and B-cells and myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs). The goal of these approaches is to alter the TME, thereby making breast tumors more responsive to immunotherapy. In this review, we summarize key developments in our understanding of antitumor immunity in breast cancer, as well as emerging therapeutic modalities that may leverage that understanding to overcome immunologic resistance