Alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) production and persistence in the Lower South of the USA are dependent on climate, soil, and competition from warm‐season perennial grasses such as bermudagrass Cynodon ...dactylon (L.) Pers.. A 3‐year study was conducted at Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Overton, to evaluate ‘Alfagraze’ alfalfa persistence on a Darco loamy fine sand (loamy, siliceous thermic Grossarenic Paleudult) when sod‐seeded at three row spacings (10, 20, and 30 inches) into a well‐established ‘Coastal’ bermudagrass pasture. Alfagraze was rotationally stocked with animal residence time from 5 to 13 d and deferment periods ranging from 18 to 27 d. In Year 1, during the first three grazing periods (1 April to 31 May), alfalfa was the dominant species (P < 0.05). Thereafter, from 30 June to 3 October, bermudagrass was dominant (P < 0.05). At the initiation of harvest in Year 2 (1 April), alfalfa dry matter (DM) was 1353, 783, and 690 lb/acre, respectively, at 10‐, 20‐, and 30‐inch drill‐row spacing prior to bermudagrass growth. At the end of Year 2 (3 October), alfalfa DM was 33, 10, and 0.90 lb/acre, respectively, at 10‐, 20‐, and 30‐inch spacings while bermudagrass DM was 1424, 1557, and 1080 lb/acre. At the beginning of Year 3, the percent stands of alfalfa were 14, 11, and 5%, respectively, for 10‐, 20‐, and 30‐inch spaced alfalfa plantings, while the respective percent stands of bermudagrass were 86, 89, and 95%. Under the climatic and sandy Coastal Plains soils of this vegetation region, Alfagraze was not persistent under grazing at any row spacing for more than 3 years when sod‐seeded into a well‐established Coastal bermudagrass pasture.
Medicare Advantage (MA) has grown rapidly since the Affordable Care Act; nearly one-third of Medicare beneficiaries now choose MA. An assessment of the comparative value of the 2 options is ...confounded by an apparent selection bias favoring MA, as reflected in mortality differences. Previous assessments have been hampered by lack of access to claims diagnosis data for the MA population. An indirect comparison of mortality as an outcome variable was conducted by modeling mortality on a traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare data set, applying the model to an MA data set, and then evaluating the ratio of actual-to-predicted mortality in the MA data set. The mortality model adjusted for clinical conditions and demographic factors. Model development considered the effect of potentially greater coding intensity in the MA population. Further analysis calculated ratios for subpopulations. Predicted, risk-adjusted mortality was lower in the MA population than in FFS Medicare. However, the ratio of actual-to-predicted mortality (0.80) suggested that the individuals in the MA data set were less likely to die than would be predicted had those individuals been enrolled in FFS Medicare. Differences between actual and predicted mortality were particularly pronounced in low income (dual eligibility), nonwhite race, high morbidity, and Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) subgroups. After controlling for baseline clinical risk as represented by claims diagnosis data, mortality differences favoring MA over FFS Medicare persisted, particularly in vulnerable subgroups and HMO plans. These findings suggest that differences in morbidity do not fully explain differences in mortality between the 2 programs.
Auditory and Visual Continuous Performance Tests Lehman, Elyse Brauch; Olson, Vanessa A.; Aquilino, Sally A. ...
Journal of psychoeducational assessment,
03/2006, Letnik:
24, Številka:
1
Journal Article
Recenzirano
Elementary school children in three grade groups (Grades K/1, 3, and 5/6) completed either the auditory or the visual 1/9 vigilance task from the Gordon Diagnostic System (GDS) as well as subtests ...from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children–Third Edition and auditory or visual processing subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Cognitive Ability–Revised (WJ-R). Teachers rated the children's classroom attentional and self-control behaviors on the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and the Self-Control Observation Scale (SCOS). Although performance on both auditory and visual continuous performance tests (CPTs) improved with age, gender effects were small and limited to the visual CPT. Neither auditory nor visual CPT scores were related to IQ scores. However, auditory CPT scores were related to classroom behaviors as reported by teachers whereas visual CPT scores were related to visual processing.
Medicare Advantage (MA) has grown rapidly since the Affordable Care Act; nearly one-third of Medicare beneficiaries now choose MA. An assessment of the comparative value of the 2 options is ...confounded by an apparent selection bias favoring MA, as reflected in mortality differences. Previous assessments have been hampered by lack of access to claims diagnosis data for the MA population. An indirect comparison of mortality as an outcome variable was conducted by modeling mortality on a traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare data set, applying the model to an MA data set, and then evaluating the ratio of actual-to-predicted mortality in the MA data set. The mortality model adjusted for clinical conditions and demographic factors. Model development considered the effect of potentially greater coding intensity in the MA population. Further analysis calculated ratios for subpopulations. Predicted, risk-adjusted mortality was lower in the MA population than in FFS Medicare. However, the ratio of actual-to-predicted mortality (0.80) suggested that the individuals in the MA data set were less likely to die than would be predicted had those individuals been enrolled in FFS Medicare. Differences between actual and predicted mortality were particularly pronounced in low income (dual eligibility), nonwhite race, high morbidity, and Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) subgroups. After controlling for baseline clinical risk as represented by claims diagnosis data, mortality differences favoring MA over FFS Medicare persisted, particularly in vulnerable subgroups and HMO plans. These findings suggest that differences in morbidity do not fully explain differences in mortality between the 2 programs.
Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) has been used as a pasture, conservation, and most recently, a biomass energy crop and has also been grown in mixtures with big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii Vitman) ...and indiangrass Sorghastrum nutans (L.) Nash. The objectives of this study were to: (1) determine the effects of harvest timing, and N rate on yield and biomass characteristics of monoculture switchgrass stands and warm-season grass mixtures, and (2) evaluate the impact of harvest management on species composition and persistence over time. Five N rates (annual spring application of 0, 56, 112, and 224 kg ha−1 and 224 kg ha−1 evenly split between spring and fall), two harvest timings (anthesis and post-killing frost) were applied to plots in South Dakota. Harvesting after a killing frost produced higher yields and lignocellulose concentrations, along with maintaining switchgrass and big bluestem persistence. Low to moderate rates of N tended to increase total biomass.
Successful establishment of pregnancy requires adhesion of an embryo to the endometrium and subsequent invasion into the maternal tissue. Abnormalities in this critical process of implantation and ...placentation lead to many pregnancy complications. Here we present a microenigneered system to model a complex sequence of orchestrated multicellular events that plays an essential role in early pregnancy. Our implantation-on-a-chip is capable of reconstructing the three-dimensional structural organization of the maternal-fetal interface to model the invasion of specialized fetal extravillous trophoblasts into the maternal uterus. Using primary human cells isolated from clinical specimens, we demonstrate in vivo-like directional migration of extravillous trophoblasts towards a microengineered maternal vessel and their interactions with the endothelium necessary for vascular remodeling. Through parametric variation of the cellular microenvironment and proteomic analysis of microengineered tissues, we show the important role of decidualized stromal cells as a regulator of extravillous trophoblast migration. Furthermore, our study reveals previously unknown effects of pre-implantation maternal immune cells on extravillous trophoblast invasion. This work represents a significant advance in our ability to model early human pregnancy, and may enable the development of advanced in vitro platforms for basic and clinical research of human reproduction.
exon 14 deletion (
ex14 del) mutations represent a novel class of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) driver mutations. We evaluated glesatinib, a spectrum-selective MET inhibitor exhibiting a type II ...binding mode, in
ex14 del-positive nonclinical models and NSCLC patients and assessed its ability to overcome resistance to type I MET inhibitors.
As most MET inhibitors in clinical development bind the active site with a type I binding mode, we investigated mechanisms of acquired resistance to each MET inhibitor class utilizing
and
models and in glesatinib clinical trials.
Glesatinib inhibited MET signaling, demonstrated marked regression of
ex14 del-driven patient-derived xenografts, and demonstrated a durable RECIST partial response in a
ex14 del mutation-positive patient enrolled on a glesatinib clinical trial. Prolonged treatment of nonclinical models with selected MET inhibitors resulted in differences in resistance kinetics and mutations within the
activation loop (i.e., D1228N, Y1230C/H) that conferred resistance to type I MET inhibitors, but remained sensitive to glesatinib.
models exhibiting
ex14 del/A-loop double mutations and resistance to type I inhibitors exhibited a marked response to glesatinib. Finally, a
ex14 del mutation-positive NSCLC patient who responded to crizotinib but later relapsed, demonstrated a mixed response to glesatinib including reduction in size of a
Y1230H mutation-positive liver metastasis and concurrent loss of detection of this mutation in plasma DNA.
Together, these data demonstrate that glesatinib exhibits a distinct mechanism of target inhibition and can overcome resistance to type I MET inhibitors.
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