The importance of leadership knowledge and skills as perceived by selected agricultural industry professionals

The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of selected agricultural industry professionals regarding leadership concepts skills and traits. To achieve this purpose, the following research objectives were developed, (1) identify perceptions of agricultural industry professionals regarding selected leadership concepts, (2) identify leadership skills important for new agricultural employees to possess, (3) determine the extent to which selected traits influence leadership development in the agricultural industry, (4) identify selected demographic data and compare selected variables. The study was conducted using a descriptive survey method. A questionnaire consisting of four sections was e-mailed to (120) agricultural professionals who were exhibitors at the Iowa State University Agricultural Career Fair. The sections of the survey instrument all related to leadership perceptions, leadership skills, leadership traits and demographic information. Respondents were asked for such demographic information as gender, age, position with company, length of time with company, educational background, size of the company, if a leadership course was taken in high school or college and if the company provides leadership training. Response rate for the questionnaire was 40%. The data were analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software program. Statistical procedures used included descriptive, frequencies, means, standard deviations and analysis of variance. The major findings of this study indicate selected leadership concepts, skills and traits are important to agricultural professionals. Representatives of the companies, businesses and organizations surveyed in this study reported that their companies, businesses and organizations value training in leadership. Leadership education appears to be rare in higher education institutions attended by these respondents. A set of basic principles for leadership education could be developed using the findings from this study. Recommendations were to continue the focus on receiving feedback from industry professionals regarding leadership education. Their input should be used in developing curriculum and internship programs. Continuous focus needs to be placed on providing leadership training to high school and college students to enhance their professional skills. Education programs should be offered based on the highest rated leadership skills and traits identified by industry professionals

Mycoflora, toxicity and nutritive value of mouldy maize

Large populations of fungi developed in naturally infested mouldy maize stored under conditions that led to self-heating. Mould counts as high as 50 X 10⁶ propagules per gram of meal were recorded in mouldy maize meal with a moisture content of 30% stored at 10°C. The fungal population of this meal included several known toxigenic species. Pure cultures on autoclaved maize of some of these fungi isolated from the mouldy meal (Aspergillus candidus Link., A. clavatus Desm., A. fumigatus Fres., Fusarium moniliforme (Sheld.) Snyd. et Hans., F. tricinctum (Corda) Snyd. et Hans. and Trichothecium roseum Link.) were extremely toxic to chickens and rats. The natural mouldy maize meal caused significant reductions in mass gain and feed efficiency of chickens and pigs without causing mortality or significant pathological changes. Chemical analyses of the meal for aflatoxins (Aspergillus flavus Link.) and T-2 toxin (Fusarium tricinctum) were negative. In some cases chickens fed mouldy diets consumed 1,3 times more feed than the controls per gram of mass gain.The articles have been scanned in colour with a HP Scanjet 5590;300dpi. adobe Acrobat XI Pro was used to OCR the text and also for the merging and conversion to the final presentation PDF-format

Modifiable lifestyle factors associated with risk of sessile serrated polyps, conventional adenomas, and hyperplastic polyps

ObjectiveTo identify modifiable factors associated with sessile serrated polyps (SSPs) and compare the association of these factors with conventional adenomas (ADs) and hyperplastic polyps (HPs).DesignWe used data from the Tennessee Colorectal Polyp Study, a colonoscopy-based case–control study. Included were 214 SSP cases, 1779 AD cases, 560 HP cases and 3851 polyp-free controls.ResultsCigarette smoking was associated with increased risk for all polyps and was stronger for SSPs than for ADs (OR 1.74, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.62, for current vs never, ptrend=0.008). Current regular use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs was associated with a 40% reduction in SSP risk in comparison with never users (OR 0.68, 95% CI 0.48 to 0.96, ptrend=0.03), similar to the association with AD. Red meat intake was strongly associated with SSP risk (OR 2.59, 95% CI 1.41 to 4.74 for highest vs lowest intake, ptrend&lt;0.001) and the association with SSP was stronger than with AD (ptrend=0.003). Obesity, folate intake, fibre intake and fat intake were not associated with SSP risk after adjustment for other factors. Exercise, alcohol use and calcium intake were not associated with risk for SSPs.ConclusionsSSPs share some modifiable risk factors for ADs, some of which are more strongly associated with SSPs than ADs. Thus, preventive efforts to reduce risk for ADs may also be applicable to SSPs. Additionally, SSPs have some distinctive risk factors. Future studies should evaluate the preventive strategies for these factors. The findings from this study also contribute to an understanding of the aetiology and biology of SSPs.</jats:sec

Comparison of Biomarker Expression between Proximal and Distal Colorectal Adenomas: The Tennessee-Indiana Adenoma Recurrence Study

It is unclear if proximal and distal traditional adenomas present with differences in molecular events which contribute to cancer heterogeneity by tumor anatomical subsite. Participants from a colonoscopy-based study (n=380) were divided into subgroups based on the location of their most advanced adenoma: proximal, distal, or “equivalent both sides”. Eight biomarkers in the most advanced adenomas were evaluated by immunohistochemistry (Ki-67, COX-2, TGFβRII, EGFR, β-catenin, cyclin D1, c-Myc) or TUNEL (apoptosis). After an adjustment for pathological features, there were no significant differences between proximal and distal adenomas for any biomarker. Conversely, expression levels did vary by other features, such as their size, villous component, and synchronousness. Large adenomas had higher expression levels of Ki-67(P<0.001), TGFβRII (P<0.0001), c-Myc (P<0.001), and cyclin D1 (P<0.001) in comparison to small adenomas, and tubulovillous/villous adenomas also were more likely to have similar higher expression levels in comparison to tubular adenomas. Adenoma location is not a major determinant of the expression of these biomarkers outside of other pathological features. This study suggests similarly important roles of Wnt/β-catenin and TGF-β pathways in carcinogenesis in both the proximal and distal colorectum

Dissidents and God-Talk in the Johannine Epistles

Peer reviewe

Prenylation Inhibition-Induced Cell Death in Melanoma: Reduced Sensitivity in BRAF Mutant/PTEN Wild-Type Melanoma Cells.

While targeted therapy brought a new era in the treatment of BRAF mutant melanoma, therapeutic options for non-BRAF mutant cases are still limited. In order to explore the antitumor activity of prenylation inhibition we investigated the response to zoledronic acid treatment in thirteen human melanoma cell lines with known BRAF, NRAS and PTEN mutational status. Effect of zoledronic acid on proliferation, clonogenic potential, apoptosis and migration of melanoma cells as well as the activation of downstream elements of the RAS/RAF pathway were investigated in vitro with SRB, TUNEL and PARP cleavage assays and videomicroscopy and immunoblot measurements, respectively. Subcutaneous and spleen-to-liver colonization xenograft mouse models were used to evaluate the influence of zoledronic acid treatment on primary and disseminated tumor growth of melanoma cells in vivo. Zoledronic acid more efficiently decreased short-term in vitro viability in NRAS mutant cells when compared to BRAF mutant and BRAF/NRAS wild-type cells. In line with this finding, following treatment decreased activation of ribosomal protein S6 was found in NRAS mutant cells. Zoledronic acid demonstrated no significant synergism in cell viability inhibition or apoptosis induction with cisplatin or DTIC treatment in vitro. Importantly, zoledronic acid could inhibit clonogenic growth in the majority of melanoma cell lines except in the three BRAF mutant but PTEN wild-type melanoma lines. A similar pattern was observed in apoptosis induction experiments. In vivo zoledronic acid did not inhibit the subcutaneous growth or spleen-to-liver colonization of melanoma cells. Altogether our data demonstrates that prenylation inhibition may be a novel therapeutic approach in NRAS mutant melanoma. Nevertheless, we also demonstrated that therapeutic sensitivity might be influenced by the PTEN status of BRAF mutant melanoma cells. However, further investigations are needed to identify drugs that have appropriate pharmacological properties to efficiently target prenylation in melanoma cells

Pan-RAF and MEK vertical inhibition enhances therapeutic response in non-V600 BRAF mutant cells

BACKGROUND: Currently, there are no available targeted therapy options for non-V600 BRAF mutated tumors. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of RAF and MEK concurrent inhibition on tumor growth, migration, signaling and apoptosis induction in preclinical models of non-V600 BRAF mutant tumor cell lines. METHODS: Six BRAF mutated human tumor cell lines CRL5885 (G466 V), WM3629 (D594G), WM3670 (G469E), MDAMB231 (G464 V), CRL5922 (L597 V) and A375 (V600E as control) were investigated. Pan-RAF inhibitor (sorafenib or AZ628) and MEK inhibitor (selumetinib) or their combination were used in in vitro viability, video microscopy, immunoblot, cell cycle and TUNEL assays. The in vivo effects of the drugs were assessed in an orthotopic NSG mouse breast cancer model. RESULTS: All cell lines showed a significant growth inhibition with synergism in the sorafenib/AZ628 and selumetinib combination. Combination treatment resulted in higher Erk1/2 inhibition and in increased induction of apoptosis when compared to single agent treatments. However, single selumetinib treatment could cause adverse therapeutic effects, like increased cell migration in certain cells, selumetinib and sorafenib combination treatment lowered migratory capacity in all the cell lines. Importantly, combination resulted in significantly increased tumor growth inhibition in orthotropic xenografts of MDAMB231 cells when compared to sorafenib - but not to selumetinib - treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggests that combined blocking of RAF and MEK may achieve increased therapeutic response in non-V600 BRAF mutant tumors