Transgenic maize engineered to express insecticidal proteins from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) has become widely adopted in U.S. agriculture. In 2009, Bt maize was planted on more than ...22.2 million hectares, constituting 63% of the U.S. crop. Using statistical analysis of per capita growth rate estimates, we found that areawide suppression of the primary pest Ostrinia nubilalis (European corn borer) is associated with Bt maize use. Cumulative benefits over 14 years are an estimated $3.2 billion for maize growers in Illinois, Minnesota, and Wisconsin, with more than $2.4 billion of this total accruing to non-Bt maize growers. Comparable estimates for Iowa and Nebraska are $3.6 billion in total, with $1.9 billion for non-Bt maize growers. These results affirm theoretical predictions of pest population suppression and highlight economic incentives for growers to maintain non-Bt maize refugia for sustainable insect resistance management.
Summary Objective The prevalence of radiographic osteoarthritis (OA) after anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) approaches 50%, yet the prevalence of significant knee pain is unknown. We ...applied three different models of Knee injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Score (KOOS) thresholds for significant knee pain to an ACLR cohort to identify prevalence and risk factors. Design Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network (MOON) prospective cohort patients with a unilateral primary ACLR and normal contralateral knee were assessed at 2 and 6 years. Independent variables included patient demographics, validated Patient Reported Outcomes (PRO; Marx activity score, KOOS), and surgical characteristics. Models included: (1) KOOS criteria for a painful knee = quality of life subscale <87.5 and ≥2 of: KOOSpain <86.1, KOOSsymptoms <85.7, KOOSADL <86.8, or KOOSsports/rec <85.0; (2) KOOSpain subscale score ≤72 (≥2 standard deviations below population mean); (3) 10-point KOOSpain drop from 2 to 6 years. Proportional odds models (alpha ≤ 0.05) were used. Results 1761 patients of median age 23 years, median body mass index (BMI) 24.8 kg/m2 and 56% male met inclusion, with 87% (1530/1761) and 86% (1506/1761) follow-up at 2 and 6 years, respectively. At 6 years, n = 592 (39%), n = 131 (9%) and n = 169 (12%) met criteria for models #1 through #3, respectively. The most consistent and strongest independent risk factor at both time-points was subsequent ipsilateral knee surgery. Low 2-year Marx activity score increased the odds of a painful knee at 6 years. Conclusions Significant knee pain is prevalent after ACLR; with those who undergo subsequent ipsilateral surgery at greatest risk. The relationship between pain and structural OA warrants further study.
The production of gas-phase hydroperoxyl radicals, HO
2
, is observed directly from sub-micron airborne TiO
2
nanoparticles irradiated by 300-400 nm radiation. The rate of HO
2
production as a ...function of O
2
pressure follows Langmuir isotherm behaviour suggesting O
2
is involved in the production of HO
2
following its adsorption onto the surface of the TiO
2
aerosol. Reduction of adsorbed O
2
by photogenerated electrons is likely to be the initial step followed by reaction with a proton produced
via
oxidation of adsorbed water with a photogenerated hole. The rate of HO
2
production decreased significantly over the range of relative humidities between 8.7 and 36.9%, suggesting competitive adsorption of water vapour inhibits HO
2
production. From the data, the adsorption equilibrium constants were calculated to be:
K
O
2
= 0.27 ± 0.02 Pa
−1
and
K
H
2
O
= 2.16 ± 0.12 Pa
−1
for RH = 8.7%, decreasing to
K
O
2
= 0.18 ± 0.01 Pa
−1
and
K
H
2
O
= 1.33 ± 0.04 Pa
−1
at RH = 22.1%. The increased coverage of H
2
O onto the TiO
2
aerosol surface may inhibit HO
2
production by decreasing the effective surface area of the TiO
2
particle and lowering the binding energy of O
2
on the aerosol surface, hence shortening its desorption lifetime. The maximum yield (
i.e.
when O
2
is projected to atmospherically relevant levels) for production of gas-phase HO
2
, normalised for surface area and light intensity, was found to be
at a RH of 8.7% for the 80% anatase and 20% rutile formulation of TiO
2
used here. This yield decreased to
as the RH was increased to 22.1%. Using this value, the rate of production of HO
2
from TiO
2
surfaces under atmospheric conditions was estimated to be in the range 5 × 10
4
-1 × 10
6
molecule cm
−3
s
−1
using observed surface areas of mineral dust at Cape Verde, and assuming a TiO
2
fraction of 4.5%. For the largest loadings of dust in the troposphere, the rate of this novel heterogeneous production mechanism begins to approach that of HO
2
production from the gas-phase reaction of OH with CO in unpolluted regions. The production of gas-phase OH radicals could only be observed conclusively at high aerosol surface areas, and was attributed to the decomposition of H
2
O
2
at the surface by photogenerated electrons.
Production of HO
2
radicals is observed directly following the near-UV irradiation of airborne TiO
2
nanoparticles.
A long-standing prediction of nuclear models is the emergence of a region of long-lived, or even stable, superheavy elements beyond the actinides. These nuclei owe their enhanced stability to closed ...shells in the structure of both protons and neutrons. However, theoretical approaches to date do not yield consistent predictions of the precise limits of the 'island of stability'; experimental studies are therefore crucial. The bulk of experimental effort so far has been focused on the direct creation of superheavy elements in heavy ion fusion reactions, leading to the production of elements up to proton number Z = 118 (refs 4, 5). Recently, it has become possible to make detailed spectroscopic studies of nuclei beyond fermium (Z = 100), with the aim of understanding the underlying single-particle structure of superheavy elements. Here we report such a study of the nobelium isotope 254No, with 102 protons and 152 neutrons-the heaviest nucleus studied in this manner to date. We find three excited structures, two of which are isomeric (metastable). One of these structures is firmly assigned to a two-proton excitation. These states are highly significant as their location is sensitive to single-particle levels above the gap in shell energies predicted at Z = 114, and thus provide a microscopic benchmark for nuclear models of the superheavy elements.
To reveal how cells exit human pluripotency, we designed a CRISPR-Cas9 screen exploiting the metabolic and epigenetic differences between naïve and primed pluripotent cells. We identify the tumor ...suppressor, Folliculin(FLCN) as a critical gene required for the exit from human pluripotency. Here we show that FLCN Knock-out (KO) hESCs maintain the naïve pluripotent state but cannot exit the state since the critical transcription factor TFE3 remains active in the nucleus. TFE3 targets up-regulated in FLCN KO exit assay are members of Wnt pathway and ESRRB. Treatment of FLCN KO hESC with a Wnt inhibitor, but not ESRRB/FLCN double mutant, rescues the cells, allowing the exit from the naïve state. Using co-immunoprecipitation and mass spectrometry analysis we identify unique FLCN binding partners. The interactions of FLCN with components of the mTOR pathway (mTORC1 and mTORC2) reveal a mechanism of FLCN function during exit from naïve pluripotency.
We determined the fecal carriage rate of serotype K1
Klebsiella pneumoniae
in healthy Koreans and studied their genetic relationship with liver abscess isolates. We compared the carriage according to ...the country of residence. The stool specimens were collected through health promotion programs in Korea.
K. pneumoniae
strains were selected and tested for K1 by PCR. Serotype K1 isolates were characterized by multilocus sequence typing and pulsed field gel electrophoresis. A total of 248
K. pneumoniae
isolates were obtained from 1,174 Koreans. Serotype K1 was identified in 57 (4.9%), of which 54 (94.7%) were ST 23 and were closely related to the liver abscess isolates. Participants aged >25 years showed a higher fecal carriage rate than those ≤ 25 (
P
= 0.007). The proportion of serotype K1 out of
K. pneumoniae
isolates in foreigners of Korean ethnicity who had lived in other countries was lower compared with those who had lived in Korea (5.6% vs 24.1%,
P
= 0.024). A substantial proportion of Koreans >25 years carries serotype K1
K. pneumoniae
ST23 strains, which are closely related to liver abscess isolates. Differences in carriage rates by country of residence suggests that environmental factors might play an important role in the carriage of this strain.
Glomerular visceral epithelial cells, namely podocytes, are highly specialized cells and give rise to primary processes, secondary processes, and finally foot processes. The foot processes of ...neighboring podocytes interdigitate, leaving between them filtration slits. These are bridged by an extracellular substance, known as the slit diaphragm, which plays a major role in establishing size-selective barrier to protein loss. Furthermore, podocytes are known to synthesize matrix molecules to the glomerular basement membrane (GBM), including type IV collagen, laminin, entactin, and agrin. Because diabetic nephropathy is clinically characterized by proteinuria and pathologically by glomerular hypertrophy and GBM thickening with foot process effacement, podocytes have been the focus in the field of research on diabetic nephropathy. As a result, many investigations have demonstrated that the diabetic milieu per se, hemodynamic changes, and local growth factors such as transforming growth factor-β and angiotensin II, which are considered mediators in the pathogenesis of diabetic nephropathy, induce directly and/or indirectly hypertrophy, apoptosis, and structural changes, and increase type IV collagen synthesis in podocytes. This review explores some of the structural and functional changes of podocytes under diabetic conditions and their role in the development and progression of diabetic nephropathy.
A power-efficient complementary voltage-to-time converter (CVTC) is proposed for a flash ADCs. The alternating reset direction according to the signal development direction reduces the power consumed ...by the reset operation and the operational frequency of the CVTC is effectively reduced by half. Accordingly, the logic circuits following the CVTC work in a time-interleaved manner, resulting in significant power saving. A 5-bit 2.5 GS/s flash ADC designed for a 40 nm CMOS process shows a 27% power reduction over the conventional voltage-to-time conversion-based flash ADC.
The objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a commercial vacuum fly trap (CowVac, Spalding Laboratories, Reno, NV) in on-farm organic dairy production systems to control horn flies, ...stable flies, and face flies. As cows walk through the trap, flies are brushed off the face, flank, and back with hanging flaps and blown off the belly, udder, and legs from one side, and then vacuumed from the air into a chamber from vacuum inlets opposite the blower and above the cow. The study included 8 organic dairy farms during the summer of 2015 in Minnesota, and herds ranged from 30 to 350 cows in size. The farms were divided into pairs by location; during the first period of the summer (June to July), the trap was set up on 1 farm, whereas during the second period of the summer (August to September) the trap was sent to its paired farm. Farms were visited once per week to collect and count flies from the trap as well as count and record flies on cows. Bulk tank milk, fat, and protein production and somatic cell count were collected on farms during the entire study period. Data were analyzed using the GLM procedure of SAS (version 9.3, SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). Independent variables for analyses were the fixed effects of farm, trap presence, housing scenario, and summer period. Horn fly numbers on cows were lower by 44% on farm in the presence of a trap (11.4 vs. 20.5 flies/cow-side) compared with the absence of a trap. Stable fly (5.4 vs. 7.1 flies/leg) and face fly (1.0 vs. 1.0 flies/cow) numbers were similar on farm whether the trap was present or absent on farms, respectively. Milk production was similar for farms with the trap (15.5 kg/d) compared to without (15.3 kg/d) the trap. Bulk tank milk, milk components, and somatic cell count were statistically similar in the presence and absence of the trap, so potential benefits of the trap for those measures were not evident at low fly populations observed during the study. The presence of a trap on farm reduced horn fly population growth rates (−1.01 vs. 1.00 flies/d) compared with the absence of a trap. Cows on farms with no housing (100% pasture) tended to have reduced horn fly numbers (11.7 vs. 28.3 flies/cow-side) in the presence of a trap compared with the absence of a trap on farm. Cows on farms with housing had similar horn fly numbers (11.2 vs. 14.8 flies/cow-side) in the presence of a trap compared with the absence of a trap on farm. In summary, these results indicate the trap was effective in reducing horn fly numbers on cows and reduced horn fly growth rates during the pasture season in organic dairy production systems, but benefits in improved milk production were not evident likely because of relatively low fly populations.
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