ASSESSING THE ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT: LESSONS FROM THE PAST, DIRECTIONS FOR THE FUTURE

This paper reviews the literature assessing the economic impacts of integrated pest management (IPM). Definitions of IPM are categorized as input- or outcome-oriented, and an outcome- oriented definition is recommended for public program assessment. The literature on economic impact assessment of IPM is divided according to focus on expected profit, profitability risk, environment, and health. Measuring diverse impacts on the environment and health poses a challenge, as does placing a value on those impacts. Evaluation of environment and health variables has been accomplished either by comparing individual attributes (multiple criteria approach) or else by constructing a weighted index (index approach), which may be measured in monetary or non- monetary terms. While partial budgeting represents an accepted measure of short-term expected profitability effects of IPM practices, the three other focal areas are much more costly and complicated to measure. For routine IPM project assessments, simple indicators of health and environmental impacts are needed that can be used to extrapolate upon valuation measures from prior, published studies.Crop Production/Industries,

Pilot Study of the Effects of Supraliminal Bipolar Primes on Occupational Educators\u27 Viewing Time and Perceived Confidence with Desktop Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) has been demonstrated to offer learning benefits over traditional instructional methods in many technical and occupational areas. However, in the framework of Rogers’ innovation diffusion theory, adoption of VR in Career and Technical Education and occupational programs appears to be lagging. This study used experimental methodology to test the possibility of positively influencing the dispositions of occupational educators toward desktop VR through application of prime theory in a context of supplantation and technology self-efficacy theory. Supraliminal bipolar primes were used to test whether a positive disposition more conducive to VR adoption could be created in a sample of 30 occupational educators prior to introduction of a desktop VR presentation, with “disposition” defined as a pair of specific performance measures. Intended as a pilot study, this inquiry used ANOVA and correlation statistical analyses to produce sufficient indications of relationships between positive primes, VR viewing time, and perceived confidence in VR to merit recommendation of further investigation

A Migration Study of \u3ci\u3eStelidota Geminata\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)

The strawberry sap beetle, Stelidota geminata (Say), is a major pest of strawberries in the northeastern United States. Further knowledge of the migratory habits of this insect pest can enhance the effectiveness of pest management strategies. This nitidulid was shown to migrate from its overwintering sites to one of its primary reproductive sites, strawberry fields, in late May. The beetle population peaked in the third week in July, 1993 in the strawberry field and then gradually declined. In 1994, the peak, as well as the total population, was much greater than in 1993. Furthermore, S. geminata was concentrated in the transition areas surrounding the strawberry fields prior to the ripening of the fruit

A novel method of non-clinical dispatch is associated with a higher rate of critical Helicopter Emergency Medical Service intervention

Background - Helicopter Emergency Medical Services (HEMS) are a scarce resource that can provide advanced emergency medical care to unwell or injured patients. Accurate tasking of HEMS is required to incidents where advanced pre-hospital clinical care is needed. We sought to evaluate any association between non-clinically trained dispatchers, following a bespoke algorithm, compared with HEMS paramedic dispatchers with respect to incidents requiring a critical HEMS intervention. Methods - Retrospective analysis of prospectively collected data from two 12-month periods was performed (Period one: 1st April 2014 – 1st April 2015; Period two: 1st April 2016 – 1st April 2017). Period 1 was a Paramedic-led dispatch process. Period 2 was a non-clinical HEMS dispatcher assisted by a bespoke algorithm. Kent, Surrey & Sussex HEMS (KSS HEMS) is tasked to approximately 2500 cases annually and operates 24/7 across south-east England. The primary outcome measure was incidence of a HEMS intervention.Results - A total of 4703 incidents were included; 2510 in period one and 2184 in period two. Variation in tasking was reduced by introducing non-clinical dispatchers. There was no difference in median time from 999 call to HEMS activation between period one and two (period one; median 7 min (IQR 4–17) vs period two; median 7 min (IQR 4–18). Non-clinical dispatch improved accuracy of HEMS tasking to a mission where a critical care intervention was required (OR 1.25, 95% CI 1.04–1.51, p = 0.02).Conclusion - The introduction of non-clinical, HEMS-specific dispatch, aided by a bespoke algorithm improved accuracy of HEMS tasking. Further research is warranted to explore where this model could be effective in other HEMS services.Peer reviewedFinal Published versio

Characterizing and correcting for the effect of sensor noise in the dynamic mode decomposition

Dynamic mode decomposition (DMD) provides a practical means of extracting insightful dynamical information from fluids datasets. Like any data processing technique, DMD's usefulness is limited by its ability to extract real and accurate dynamical features from noise-corrupted data. Here we show analytically that DMD is biased to sensor noise, and quantify how this bias depends on the size and noise level of the data. We present three modifications to DMD that can be used to remove this bias: (i) a direct correction of the identified bias using known noise properties, (ii) combining the results of performing DMD forwards and backwards in time, and (iii) a total least-squares-inspired algorithm. We discuss the relative merits of each algorithm, and demonstrate the performance of these modifications on a range of synthetic, numerical, and experimental datasets. We further compare our modified DMD algorithms with other variants proposed in recent literature

Impact of COVID-19 on mortality in coastal Kenya: a longitudinal open cohort study

The mortality impact of COVID-19 in Africa remains controversial because most countries lack vital registration. We analysed excess mortality in Kilifi Health and Demographic Surveillance System, Kenya, using 9 years of baseline data. SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence studies suggest most adults here were infected before May 2022. During 5 waves of COVID-19 (April 2020-May 2022) an overall excess mortality of 4.8% (95% PI 1.2%, 9.4%) concealed a significant excess (11.6%, 95% PI 5.9%, 18.9%) among older adults ( ≥ 65 years) and a deficit among children aged 1–14 years (−7.7%, 95% PI −20.9%, 6.9%). The excess mortality rate for January 2020-December 2021, age-standardised to the Kenyan population, was 27.4/100,000 person-years (95% CI 23.2-31.6). In Coastal Kenya, excess mortality during the pandemic was substantially lower than in most high-income countries but the significant excess mortality in older adults emphasizes the value of achieving high vaccine coverage in this risk group

Injustice perceptions about pain: parent–child discordance is associated with worse functional outcomes

Pain is experienced within and influenced by social environments. For children with chronic pain, the child–parent relationship and parental beliefs about pain are particularly important and may influence pain outcomes. Pain-related injustice perceptions have recently been identified as an important cognitive–emotional factor for children with pain. The current study aimed to better understand the pain-related injustice perceptions of children with chronic pain and their parents. The sample consisted of 253 pediatric chronic pain patients (mean age = 14.1 years, 74% female) presenting to a tertiary pain clinic. Patients completed measures of pain intensity, pain-related injustice perceptions, stress, functional disability, and quality of life. Parents completed a measure of pain-related injustice perceptions about their child's pain. Child–parent dyads were categorized into 1 of 4 categories based on the degree of concordance or discordance between their scores on the injustice measures. One-way analysis of variances examined differences in pain intensity, stress, functional disability, and quality of life across the 4 dyad categories. Our findings indicated that both the degree (concordant vs discordant) and direction (discordant low child–high parent vs discordant high child–low parent) of similarity between child and parent injustice perceptions were associated with child-reported pain intensity, stress, functional disability, and quality of life. The poorest outcomes were reported when children considered their pain as highly unjust, but their parents did not. These findings highlight the important role of parents in the context of pain-related injustice perceptions in pediatric chronic pain