Identifying Invasive Species Educational Needs in Florida: Opportunities for Extension

Florida\u27s ecology has been adversely affected by invasive species. In Florida, a study was conducted to explore opportunities for Extension educators to contribute to combating the issue of invasive species. Florida residents\u27 responses were captured through the use of an online public opinion survey. The findings revealed a need for invasive species education and respondent interest in learning about invasive species. Potential communication strategies Extension educators should use for invasive species programming also are discussed

Understanding Public Engagement in Water Conservation Behaviors and Knowledge of Water Policy: Promising Hints for Extension

Sustaining water resources is a primary issue facing Florida Extension. The study reported here identified how experience with water issues and familiarity with water policies affected individuals\u27 engagement in water conservation behaviors. A public opinion survey was conducted online to capture Florida residents\u27 responses. The findings indicated experience with water issues and familiarity with water policies were predictors of individuals\u27 engagement in civic water conservation behaviors. Given this, Extension educators developing programs and educational materials about water conservation behaviors should cover information related to water policies because participants will be more inclined to engage if they are familiar with policies

Impact of Experience and Participation in Extension Programming on Perceptions of Water Quality Issues

Water is an essential resource for human activities and the global ecosystem. However, issues related to water quality have been reported internationally for quite some time with little to no action taken by the public to alter practices to ensure a future sustainable water supply. International extension educators have taken a role in educating about water quality but issues continue to exist. In order to understand current public perceptions of water quality issues and the influence of extension programming, an online survey was conducted in Florida, a part of the U.S. where water is readily accessible but water quality issues are pervasive, leading to a disconnect between what the public thinks about water and the realities of the water scarcity situation. Individuals’ experiences with water quality issues, participation in extension programs, perceptions on water quality, and the importance of clean water were collected and the relationships were examined. The findings indicated respondents who had experienced water quality issues perceived water quality was getting worse and that clean water was important. However, the respondents who had participated in extension programs perceived water quality was getting better, but their perceptions of the importance of clean water were inconsistent based upon their extension programming engagement. Recommendations provide insight into how international extension educators can enhance public awareness of water quality issues globally through programming designed to drive behavior changes that will result in enhanced water quality around the world

Public Opinions of Farmer-Oriented Environmentally Friendly Extension Programs: A Case of Best Management Practices

Public concern about environmental protection has been developing for decades. However, a knowledge gap exists between farmers and consumers regarding the implementation of environmental protection practices through the use of Best Management Practices (BMPs). Extension can bridge this knowledge gap by developing effective educational programs about BMP use. This study sought to identify consumers’ perceptions of BMPs and preferred communication channels to facilitate the development of farmer-oriented Extension programs which assist with direct communication between farmers and consumers. Residents in seven Florida counties (N = 700) were surveyed for this descriptive study. Respondents were asked about their perceptions, beliefs, trust, and attitudes related to BMPs, as well as preferred communication channels for farming practices. The findings indicated the respondents either agreed or were undecided if farmers practice BMPs properly, and the majority perceived farmers’ engagement in BMPs as important. Over 60% of the respondents believed farmers practicing BMPs care about the environment and would trust and purchase products from BMPpracticing farmers. The respondents indicated their preferred information sources were mass media and communicating directly with farmers at farmers’ markets and local festivals. Therefore, Extension educators should develop educational programs for farmers emphasizing the need to communicate with consumers using consumers

Enhancing Extension Program Effectiveness by Examining Regional Differences in High Water Users

Competition for water sources in urban areas of Florida has increased due to increased population and human activities. High water users have been identified as a specific group on which Extension should focus water conservation education due to their low awareness of water issues and active landscape water use. In order to ensure the effectiveness of Extension programs targeting high water users statewide, this study sought to explore regional differences in water conservation behavior engagement within Florida high water users. An online survey was conducted to capture responses of high water users (N = 932) in three distinct regions for this comparative study. Respondents were asked to indicate their current engagement in water use behavior, application of water conservation strategies, and likelihood of engaging in water conservation and related societal behaviors. Regional differences were found in all four examined constructs. The findings imply Extension educators should tailor educational programs to regional audiences’ behavior patterns instead of designing statewide programs to ensure program effectiveness

IsaB Inhibits Autophagic Flux to Promote Host Transmission of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus.

Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) has emerged as a major nosocomial pathogen that is widespread in both health-care facilities and in the community at large, as a result of direct host-to-host transmission. Several virulence factors are associated with pathogen transmission to naive hosts. Immunodominant surface antigen B (IsaB) is a virulence factor that helps Staphylococcus aureus to evade the host defense system. However, the mechanism of IsaB on host transmissibility remains unclear. We found that IsaB expression was elevated in transmissible MRSA. Wild-type isaB strains inhibited autophagic flux to promote bacterial survival and elicit inflammation in THP-1 cells and mouse skin. MRSA isolates with increased IsaB expression showed decreased autophagic flux, and the MRSA isolate with the lowest IsaB expression showed increased autophagic flux. In addition, recombinant IsaB rescued the virulence of the isaB deletion strain and increased the group A streptococcus (GAS) virulence in vivo. Together, these results reveal that IsaB diminishes autophagic flux, thereby allowing MRSA to evade host degradation. These findings suggest that IsaB is a suitable target for preventing or treating MRSA infection

Regulation of axon repulsion by MAX-1 SUMOylation and AP-3.

During neural development, growing axons express specific surface receptors in response to various environmental guidance cues. These axon guidance receptors are regulated through intracellular trafficking and degradation to enable navigating axons to reach their targets. In Caenorhabditis elegans, the UNC-5 receptor is necessary for dorsal migration of developing motor axons. We previously found that MAX-1 is required for UNC-5-mediated axon repulsion, but its mechanism of action remained unclear. Here, we demonstrate that UNC-5-mediated axon repulsion in C. elegans motor axons requires both max-1 SUMOylation and the AP-3 complex β subunit gene, apb-3 Genetic interaction studies show that max-1 is SUMOylated by gei-17/PIAS1 and acts upstream of apb-3 Biochemical analysis suggests that constitutive interaction of MAX-1 and UNC-5 receptor is weakened by MAX-1 SUMOylation and by the presence of APB-3, a competitive interactor with UNC-5. Overexpression of APB-3 reroutes the trafficking of UNC-5 receptor into the lysosome for protein degradation. In vivo fluorescence recovery after photobleaching experiments shows that MAX-1 SUMOylation and APB-3 are required for proper trafficking of UNC-5 receptor in the axon. Our results demonstrate that SUMOylation of MAX-1 plays an important role in regulating AP-3-mediated trafficking and degradation of UNC-5 receptors during axon guidance

One-Bit Spectrum Sensing for Cognitive Radio

Spectrum sensing in cognitive radio necessitates effective monitoring of wide bandwidths, which requires high-rate sampling. Traditional spectrum sensing methods employing high-precision analog-to-digital converters (ADCs) result in increased power consumption and expensive hardware costs. In this paper, we explore blind spectrum sensing utilizing one-bit ADCs. We derive a closed-form detector based on Rao's test and demonstrate its equivalence with the second-order eigenvalue-moment-ratio test. Furthermore, a near-exact distribution based on the moment-based method, and an approximate distribution in the low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) regime with the use of the central limit theorem, are obtained. Theoretical analysis is then performed and our results show that the performance loss of the proposed detector is approximately $2$ dB ($\pi/2$) compared to detectors employing $\infty$-bit ADCs when SNR is low. This loss can be compensated for by using approximately $2.47$ ($\pi^2/4$) times more samples. In addition, we unveil that the efficiency of incoherent accumulation in one-bit detection is the square root of that of coherent accumulation. Simulation results corroborate the correctness of our theoretical calculations