Implementing long-lasting insecticide netting as a tool for diversifying integrated pest management programs of stored product insects

Master of ScienceDepartment of EntomologyRob MorrisonKun Yan ZhuStored products represent an enormous economic output, but insects regularly immigrate into these stored products from the surrounding landscape throughout the post-harvest supply chain, feed on these products, and cause extensive economic losses. Integrated pest management (IPM) holistically combines multiple management techniques to control an insect within a system. A key component of an IPM program is prevention. Deploying effective prevention strategies is a proactive approach to managing insects prior to them contacting and infesting food facilities and products. Long-lasting insecticide netting (LLIN), which usually contains an incorporated pyrethroid, has been used as part of a strategy to reduce the spread of malaria in tropical regions since the 1990’s, and has only recently been considered for its application in pre- and post-harvest agricultural contexts as a preventative IPM tool. The goals of this thesis were to evaluate the behavioral effects of LLIN (0.4% deltamethrin) on the movement and dispersal ability of three stored product insect species: Tribolium castaneum, Rhyzopertha dominica, and Trogoderma variabile in laboratory tests. Additionally, the efficacy of LLIN in semi-field, release-recapture assays was evaluated by deploying the netting in pilot-scale warehouses alone or within attract-and-kill (AK) traps to intercept insects immigrating into food facilities and attempting to enter commodities. Within the parameters of this thesis, LLIN was found to significantly reduce distance traveled and velocity of all three focal species. The ability of the insects to disperse to a novel food resource after exposure to LLIN was significantly reduced as well. Immature stages of T. castaneum and T. variabile were also significantly reduced in their movement and dispersal ability after exposure to the netting. Both life stages showed reductions in mobility after short exposure times to the netting, and these effects were long-lasting. In the semi-field experiments, pilot-scale warehouses that deployed LLIN had significantly fewer infestations and subsequent progeny production inside their commodities compared to warehouses without LLIN. Among the three tested methods of netting deployment, the efficacy of each deployment type was similarly effective. Finally, the efficacy of LLIN was evaluated in combination with another IPM tool, AK traps, which contained a small amount of grain and a commercial lure, all confined within two pieces of LLIN as the kill mechanism. Deploying these tools, alone or together, resulted in significant numbers of affected individuals recaptured inside the warehouse, yet outside of the commodity. Overall, LLIN is a promising tool for diversifying prevention tactics of stored product IPM. Future work should evaluate the performance of the netting in commercial food facilities and with other IPM tactics to create novel management strategies and continue evolving alongside these post-harvest pests

Discrete Homotopy Theory and Critical Values of Metric Spaces

Utilizing the discrete homotopy methods developed for uniform spaces by Berestovskii-Plaut, we define the critical spectrum Cr(X) of a metric space, generalizing to the non-geodesic case the covering spectrum defined by Sormani-Wei and the homotopy critical spectrum defined by Plaut-Wilkins. If X is geodesic, Cr(X) is the same as the homotopy critical spectrum, which differs from the covering spectrum by a factor of 3/2. The latter two spectra are known to be discrete for compact geodesic spaces, and correspond to the values at which certain special covering maps, called delta-covers (Sormani-Wei) or epsilon-covers (Plaut-Wilkins), change equivalence type. In this paper we initiate the study of these ideas for non-geodesic spaces, motivated by the need to understand the extent to which the accompanying covering maps are topological invariants. We show that discreteness of the critical spectrum for general metric spaces can fail in several ways, which we classify. The "newcomer" critical values for compact, non-geodesic spaces are completely determined by the homotopy critical values and refinement critical values, the latter of which can, in many cases, be removed by changing the metric in a bi-Lipschitz way.Comment: 5 figures, 23 pages. This third version includes updated references, additions to the introduction that further motivate the investigation of the critical spectrum for non-geodesic spaces, and an answer to a question posed by the authors in the first version regarding the topological relevance of refinement critical value

Understanding Loyalty and Motivation of Professional Sports Fans

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the factors which create continuous and permanent commitment to a specific professional sports team. Statement of Objectives: There is no denying that the current economic standing of the United States does not promote spending large sums of money on entertainment and leisure. Since taking a family to a professional sports game gets rather expensive, families are lead to pursue other alternatives while deciding how to spend free time. The costs of game attendance, including tickets, parking, food, beverages and souvenirs, can easily surpass one hundred dollars, which is undoable for many individuals and families at this time. Long enduring fandom can still be achieved through television viewership, however it is more difficult to accomplish and measure. Without enduring fans, the business of professional sports would be unable to maintain its status as a multi-billion dollar industry. While discounted and lower cost tickets can be offered, the problem of how to offset an economic recession continuously arises. Justifications: One cannot refute the massive impact professional sports have on the economy. It is therefore imperative to do everything one can to maintain the revenue generated by the sports industry, and this is done by creating and maintaining a withstanding fan base. Without these enduring fans attending games and purchasing team merchandise, the sports industry would flounder and perhaps not be able to survive, creating an even greater economic deficit which may not be offset by other industries. This paper will evaluate different factors which induce emotional responses in individuals that lead to lifelong fandom while accounting for varying levels of attachment one feels for a chosen team. This is done in order to present implications of the best practices to increase fan loyalty and incite future research throughout the professional sports industry

Late-life depression with comorbid cognitive impairment and disability: nonpharmacological interventions

Less than half of older adults with depression achieve remission with antidepressant medications, and rates of remission are even poorer for those with comorbid conditions. Psychosocial interventions have been effective in treating geriatric depression, either alone or better yet, in combination with antidepressant medications. Traditional strategies for nonpharmacological treatment of late-life depression do not specifically address the co-occurring cognitive impairment and disability that is prevalent in this population. Newer therapies are recognizing the need to simultaneously direct treatment efforts in late-life depression towards the triad of depressive symptoms, cognitive dysfunction, and functional disability that is so often found in geriatric depression, and this comprehensive approach holds promise for improved treatment outcomes

Religion, spirituality, and psychological distress in cardiovascular disease

In recent years, mounting evidence has pointed to a relationship between religion, spirituality, and health. This has been especially notable in individuals with cardiovascular disease. While religion and spirituality have been studied in various ways with this disease group, a multidimensional approach to measuring religion and spirituality has yet to occur. This study implemented a multidimensional measure of religious and spiritual constructs with a sample of cardiac patients in a cross-sectional study of religion and spirituality, psychological distress risk factors, and health status. Results indicated significant associations between religious support and both depression and anxiety, as well as between organized religiousness and systolic blood pressure. Other religious/spiritual variables of religious preference, history, private religious practices, forgiveness, and commitment were implicated in the results, along with contrasts involving age, race, employment, and marital status. The results of this study lend support to previous research that has highlighted the significance of religious attendance and religious social support as indicators of better cardiovascular health.Ph.D., Clinical Psychology -- Drexel University, 200

The Association between Care Experiences and Parent Ratings of Care for Different Racial, Ethnic, and Language Groups in a Medicaid Population: Association between Care Experiences and Parent Ratings of Care

To examine the association between care experiences and parent ratings of care within racial/ethnic/language subgroups

Coping, Mental Health, and Subjective Well-being among Mental Health Staff working in Secure Forensic Psychiatric Settings: Results from a Workplace Health Assessment

Given raised rates of patient suicide and violence in secure psychiatric facilities, staff in such settings are arguably at increased risk for burnout and reduced mental health. The present paper responds to the recent UK National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) call to assess workforce well-being. This paper held the following aims: (1) to quantify existing levels of mental health (i.e., depression, anxiety, distress, and post-traumatic stress) and subjective well-being (i.e., job satisfaction, life satisfaction, and four domains of burnout), and (2) to evaluate Coping Self-Efficacy (CSE) and Need for Affect (NFA) as factors associated with staff mental health and subjective well-being. We conducted a voluntary cross-sectional health needs assessment of forensic mental health staff (N=170) between 2017 and 2018 from one National Health Service (NHS) Trust. Descriptive findings suggest staff possessed non-clinical average ranges of mental health symptoms. Subjective well-being findings showed burnout was relatively low, whereas job and life satisfaction were modest. Regression models demonstrated that: (a) thought/emotion stopping beliefs were negatively associated with psychological exhaustion; (b) social support beliefs were positively associated with life satisfaction and job enthusiasm; (c) NFA Avoidance was linked with poor mental health and burnout, and; (d) NFA Approach was positively associated with two health subjective well-being indicators. Overall, assessment results suggest NHS forensic mental health staff reported relatively good health. Cognitive- and emotion-focused coping beliefs demonstrate promise as content for prevention programming. Using Emotional Labour Theory, we offer psychological services-based recommendations for future prevention programming and research

Randomised, single-masked non-inferiority trial of femtosecond laser-assisted versus manual phacoemulsification cataract surgery for adults with visually significant cataract : the FACT trial protocol

The study is supported by a grant from the National Institute for Health (NIHR) Health and Technologies Assessment (HTA) programme (reference 13/04/46). The corneal endothelial cell counter used at the Moorfields St Ann's Hospital site was purchased by a grant from the Special Trustees of Moorfields Eye Hospital (reference ST1503D).Introduction Cataract is one of the leading causes of low vision in the westernised world, and cataract surgery is one of the most commonly performed operations. Laser platforms for cataract surgery are now available, the anticipated advantages of which are broad and may include better visual outcomes through greater precision and reproducibility, and improved safety. FACT is a randomised single masked non-inferiority trial to establish whether laser-assisted cataract surgery is as good as or better than standard manual phacoemulsification. Methods and analysis 808 patients aged 18 years and over with visually significant cataract will be randomised to manual phacoemulsification cataract surgery (standard care) or laser-assisted cataract surgery (intervention arm). Outcomes will be measured at 3 and 12 months after surgery. The primary clinical outcome is uncorrected distance visual acuity (UDVA, logMAR) at 3 months in the study eye recorded by an observer masked to the trial group. Secondary outcomes include UDVA at 12 months, corrected distance visual acuity at 3 and 12 months, complications, endothelial cell loss, patient-reported outcome measures and a health economic analysis conforming to National Institute for Health and Care Excellence standards. Ethics and dissemination Research Ethics Committee Approval was obtained on 6 February 2015, ref: 14/LO/1937. Current protocol: v2.0 (08/04/2015). Study findings will be published in peer-reviewed journals. Trial registration number: ISRCTN: 77602616.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe