Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is one of the most important wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.) diseases worldwide, and host resistance displays complex genetic control. A genome‐wide association study (GWAS) was performed on 273 winter wheat breeding lines from the midwestern and eastern regions of the United States to identify chromosomal regions associated with FHB resistance. Genotyping‐by‐sequencing (GBS) was used to identify 19,992 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) covering all 21 wheat chromosomes. Marker–trait associations were performed with different statistical models, the most appropriate being a compressed mixed linear model (cMLM) controlling for relatedness and population structure. Ten significant SNP–trait associations were detected on chromosomes 4A, 6A, 7A, 1D, 4D, and 7D, and multiple SNPs were associated with Fhb1 on chromosome 3B. Although combination of favorable alleles of these SNPs resulted in lower levels of severity (SEV), incidence (INC), and deoxynivalenol concentration (DON), lines carrying multiple beneficial alleles were in very low frequency for most traits. These SNPs can now be used for creating new breeding lines with different combinations of favorable alleles. This is one of the first GWAS using genomic resources from the International Wheat Genome Sequencing Consortium (IWGSC).

Genomic selection (GS) is a breeding method that uses marker–trait models to predict unobserved phenotypes. This study developed GS models for predicting traits associated with resistance to Fusarium head blight (FHB) in wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.). We used genotyping‐by‐sequencing (GBS) to identify 5054 single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), which were then treated as predictor variables in GS analysis. We compared how the prediction accuracy of the genomic‐estimated breeding values (GEBVs) was affected by (i) five genotypic imputation methods (random forest imputation [RFI], expectation maximization imputation [EMI], k ‐nearest neighbor imputation [kNNI], singular value decomposition imputation [SVDI], and the mean imputation [MNI]); (ii) three statistical models (ridge‐regression best linear unbiased predictor [RR‐BLUP], least absolute shrinkage and operator selector [LASSO], and elastic net); (iii) marker density ( p = 500, 1500, 3000, and 4500 SNPs); (iv) training population (TP) size ( n TP = 96, 144, 192, and 218); (v) marker‐based and pedigree‐based relationship matrices; and (vi) control for relatedness in TPs and validation populations (VPs). No discernable differences in prediction accuracy were observed among imputation methods. The RR‐BLUP outperformed other models in nearly all scenarios. Accuracies decreased substantially when marker number decreased to 3000 or 1500 SNPs, depending on the trait; when sample size of the training set was less than 192; when using pedigree‐based instead of marker‐based matrix; or when no control for relatedness was implemented. Overall, moderate to high prediction accuracies were observed in this study, suggesting that GS is a very promising breeding strategy for FHB resistance in wheat.

The Affordable Care Act requires state Medicaid programs to cover substance use disorder treatment for their Medicaid expansion population but allows states to decide which individual services are reimbursable. To examine how states have defined substance use disorder benefit packages, we used data from 2013-14 that we collected as part of an ongoing nationwide survey of state Medicaid programs. Our findings highlight important state-level differences in coverage for substance use disorder treatment and opioid use disorder medications across the United States. Many states did not cover all levels of care required for effective substance use disorder treatment or medications required for effective opioid use disorder treatment as defined by American Society of Addiction Medicine criteria, which could result in lack of access to needed services for low-income populations.

Journal Article Garveyism as a Religious Movement: The Institutionalization of a Black Civil Religion. By Randall K. Burkett. (Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow/American Theological Library Association, 1978. xxvi + 216 pp. Illustrations, notes, works cited, and index. $11.00.) Get access James A. Burran James A. Burran Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Search for other works by this author on: Oxford Academic Google Scholar Journal of American History, Volume 66, Issue 2, September 1979, Pages 453–454, https://doi.org/10.2307/1900986 Published: 01 September 1979

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) dramatically expands health insurance for addiction treatment and provides unprecedented opportunities for service growth and delivery model reform. Yet most addiction treatment programs lack the staffing and technological capabilities to respond successfully to ACA-driven system change. In light of these challenges, we conducted a national survey to examine how Single State Agencies for addiction treatment--the state governmental organizations charged with overseeing addiction treatment programs--are helping programs respond to new requirements under the ACA. We found that most Single State Agencies provide little assistance to addiction treatment programs. Most agencies are helping programs develop collaborations with other health service programs. However, fewer than half reported providing help in modernizing systems to support insurance participation, and only one in three provided assistance with enrollment outreach. In the absence of technical assistance, it is unlikely that addiction treatment programs will fully realize the ACA's promise to improve access to and quality of addiction treatment.

OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted 1) to determine the feasibility of using computer programs to measure radiographic joint space width and estimate erosion volume in the hands of patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), and 2) to compare the new computer-based methods with established scoring methods. METHODS: To measure the joint space width in the finger and wrist joints of RA patients, hand and wrist radiographic films were scanned using a tabletop scanner and analyzed with programs written using the "macro" capabilities of NIH Image software. Estimation of erosion volume was determined by utilizing gray-scale intensity to calibrate bone density units per mm3, which made possible comparisons between the erosions and noneroded, anatomically similar sites. RESULTS: In 3 sets of duplicate measurements of joint space width on 79, 48, and 48 finger and wrist joints, the mean absolute deviation from the mean of the 2 measurements was 0.036 mm (SD 0.034), 0.032 mm (SD 0.049), and 0.021 mm (SD 0.016), respectively. Joint space measurements and scoring of joint space narrowing both demonstrated a difference between active treatment and placebo in an old trial set on gold therapy (P = 0.03 and P = 0.01, respectively). Two repeated measurements of bone density units in the bones of 3 different hands differed from the mean of the measurement by 2.29-4.04%. In 2 experiments, estimates of erosion volume showed a greater difference between gold therapy and placebo than did erosion scores in the trial set (P = 0.049 and P = 0.016 versus P = 0.27). CONCLUSION: Computer-based methods for measuring finger and wrist joint spaces and estimating erosion volume in patients with RA agree with the results of radiographic scoring of erosions and joint space narrowing.

An increase in cytosolic free Ca 2+ concentration ([Ca 2+ ] cyt ) in pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) triggers pulmonary vasoconstriction and stimulates PASMC proliferation leading to vascular wall thickening. Here, we report that STIM2 (stromal interaction molecule 2), a Ca 2+ sensor in the sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane, is required for raising the resting [Ca 2+ ] cyt in PASMCs from patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and activating signaling cascades that stimulate PASMC proliferation and inhibit PASMC apoptosis. Downregulation of STIM2 in PAH-PASMCs reduces the resting [Ca 2+ ] cyt , whereas overexpression of STIM2 in normal PASMCs increases the resting [Ca 2+ ] cyt . The increased resting [Ca 2+ ] cyt in PAH-PASMCs is associated with enhanced phosphorylation (p) of CREB (cAMP response element–binding protein), STAT3 (signal transducer and activator of transcription 3), and AKT, increased NFAT (nuclear factor of activated T-cell) nuclear translocation, and elevated level of Ki67 (a marker of cell proliferation). Furthermore, the STIM2-associated increase in the resting [Ca 2+ ] cyt also upregulates the antiapoptotic protein Bcl-2 in PAH-PASMCs. Downregulation of STIM2 in PAH-PASMCs with siRNA (1) decreases the level of pCREB, pSTAT3, and pAKT and inhibits NFAT nuclear translocation, thereby attenuating proliferation, and (2) decreases Bcl-2, which leads to an increase of apoptosis. In summary, these data indicate that upregulated STIM2 in PAH-PASMCs, by raising the resting [Ca 2+ ] cyt , contributes to enhancing PASMC proliferation by activating the CREB, STAT3, AKT, and NFAT signaling pathways and stimulating PASMC proliferation. The STIM2-associated increase in the resting [Ca 2+ ] cyt is also involved in upregulating Bcl-2 that makes PAH-PASMCs resistant to apoptosis, and thus plays an important role in sustained pulmonary vasoconstriction and excessive pulmonary vascular remodeling in patients with PAH.

Many children have negative attitudes about older persons. This study used a pre‐posttest control group experimental design to investigate the effects of a guidance unit about older persons upon elementary school children in two schools. Significant results are reported. The experimental unit also proved effective for both boys and girls. Perceptions of children about the aging process and the elderly can be positively changed.

Analizamos aproximadamente 4.000 registros correspondientes a 426 especies/subespecies de carbidos presentes en la regin de Amrica del Sur austral mediante anlisis de endemicidad, considerando diferentes tamaos de celda.Para este anlisis usamos el programa NDM/VNDM el cual implementa una funcin de llenado (R. fill) que permite inferir presencias potenciales de especies a partir de los datos de presencia observados.En este anlisis exploramos el uso de diferentes valores de esta funcin y observamos sus efectos en los resultados obtenidos.Las reas de endemismo encontradas se compararon con regionalizaciones biogeogrficas propuestas previamente.Se obtuvieron numerosas reas de endemismo, coincidentes en forma total o parcial con reas naturales anteriormente descritas para la zona.Algunas de estas reas fueron recuperadas en todos los tamaos de celda usados, mientras que otras solo se identificaron bajo un tamao de celda especfico.En general, el empleo de celdas pequeas facilit la identificacin de reas de endemismo disyuntas y reas de corta extensin, mientras el uso de celdas mayores permiti la identificacin de reas de gran extensin geogrfica que resultan fragmentadas al usar celdas ms pequeas.Con el aumento en los valores de R. fill usados se observ un incremento en el nmero de reas de endemismo y especies endmicas.Nuestros resultados muestran que reas de endemismo de diversas caractersticas se manifiestan al emplear diferentes combinaciones de R. fill y tamao de grilla, enfatizando la importancia de explorar distintas opciones en los anlisis durante la bsqueda de patrones de distribucin.

Vascular endothelial cell growth factor (VEGF) binds to 2 related receptor tyrosine kinases, known as kinase insert domain-containing receptor (KDR) and fms-like tyrosine kinase (Flt-1). The KDR has been shown to mediate VEGF-stimulated endothelial cell mitogenesis, migration, and permeability. The Flt-1 receptor has been suggested to mediate VEGF-stimulated endothelial branching morphogenesis, a process whereby endothelial cells, in the presence of a 3D milieu composed of extracellular matrix components and a mixture of growth factors, undergo a morphological transition into a tubular network with many lumina. In the present study, we have used 2 independent endothelial cell tube formation models and highly selective VEGF mutants for the KDR and Flt-1 receptors. We demonstrate that KDR, not Flt-1, stimulation is responsible for the induction of endothelial tubulogenesis. In addition, we demonstrate a modulatory role for Flt-1 in VEGF-mediated tube formation. We also report that VEGF-driven endothelial tube formation is inhibited by selective inhibitors of mitogen-activated protein kinase activation and p38 protein kinase.

BACKGROUND: Clinical reasoning is an essential skill in physicians, required to address the challenges of accurate patient diagnoses. The goal of the study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy in Family Medicine residents, with and without the use of a clinical decision support tool (DXplain http://www.mghlcs.org/projects/dxplain). METHODS: A total of 87 first-year Family Medicine residents, training at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) Postgraduate Studies Division in Mexico City, participated voluntarily in the study. They were randomized to a control group and an intervention group that used DXplain. Both groups solved 30 clinical diagnosis cases (internal medicine, pediatrics, gynecology and emergency medicine) in a multiple-choice question test that had validity evidence. RESULTS: The percent-correct score in the Diagnosis Test in the control group (44 residents) was 74.1±9.4 (mean±standard deviation) whereas the DXplain intervention group (43 residents) had a score of 82.4±8.5 (p<0.001). There were significant differences in the four knowledge content areas of the test. CONCLUSIONS: Family Medicine residents have appropriate diagnostic accuracy that can improve with the use of DXplain. This could help decrease diagnostic errors, improve patient safety and the quality of medical practice. The use of clinical decision support systems could be useful in educational interventions and medical practice.

Abstract Tobacco thrips, Frankliniella fusca Hinds, are a major pest of many southeastern crops; however, very little information is available on the internal microflora of these insects. Pantoea ananatis (Serrano) Mergaert and Pantoea agglomerans (Beijerinck) Mergaert were each isolated from 9.6% of the 73 thrips tested from our laboratory colony. These bacteria were isolated from the same individual only once; in all remaing bacteria-infected thrips, only one bacterium was found. Tobacco thrips from our laboratory colony contained between 3.7 × 103 and 1.1 × 105 colony forming units (CFU)/ml/thrips of P. ananatis and between 1.2 × 103 and 2.5 × 105 CFU of P. agglomerans. Between 2.0 × 103 and 3.2 × 107 CFU of P. ananatis were isolated from leaflets exposed to thrips harboring P. ananatis. Leaflets on which thrips harboring P. agglomerans fed contained between 9.6 × 104 and 3.0 × 106 CFU of P. agglomerans. Field populations of tobacco thrips collected from onion plants harbored an average of 1.3 × 104 CFU/ml/thrips of P. ananatis, whereas those collected from peanut plants harbored an average 4.3 × 103 CFU of this bacterium. P. agglomerans was not isolated from field-collected thrips. Our data support a strong relationship between thrips feeding and the presence of these bacteria on the leaf surface. The fact that tobacco thrips are so strongly associated with P. ananatis, a known plant pathogen, is of particular importance. The leaf disk assay provided a consistently reliable method of detecting bacteria within the thrips body. Bacteria were not recovered from leaves unless the corresponding thrips also contained bacteria. This correlation suggests that this assay can be used to detect P. ananatis and P. agglomerans within the body of an individual thrips without homogenizing and plating the individual insect.

Cohesive sediment detachment is typically modeled for channels, levees, spillways, earthen dams, and internal erosion by using a linear excess shear stress approach. However, mechanistic nonlinear detachment models, such as the Wilson model, have recently been proposed in the literature. Questions exist as to the appropriateness of nonlinear relationships between applied shear stress and the erosion rate. Therefore, the objective of this research was to test the appropriateness of linear and nonlinear detachment models for cohesive sediment detachment using three data sets: (1) rill erodibility studies across a limited range of applied shear stress (0.9–21.4 Pa), (2) hole erosion tests (HETs) across a wide range of applied shear stress (12.6–62.0 Pa), and (3) streambank erodibility as quantified by jet erosion tests (JETs) for the linear excess shear stress equation and the nonlinear Wilson model across a small range of shear stress (1–4 Pa). The Wilson model was also incorporated into the bank stability and toe erosion model (BSTEM) as an option for simulating fluvial erosion and used to simulate bank retreat in the streambank erodibility study. The Wilson model was shown to be an appropriate particle detachment rate model from previously published data on rill erodibility, HETs, and JETs. Using a nonlinear detachment model also alleviated questions about the most appropriate solution technique for deriving erodibility parameters from JETs. In situ and laboratory tests sometimes use a limited range of applied shear stress, and therefore users of these measurement techniques should be aware of the potential nonlinear behavior of cohesive sediment detachment especially at higher shear stress. The results suggest advantages for the nonlinear Wilson detachment model and also identify the need for additional research to evaluate the various detachment models for laboratory HETs and in situ JETs across a wider range of soil types and additional reach-scale streambank erosion studies.

UNLABELLED: • PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Local adaptation in plants often involves changes in flowering time in response to day length and temperature. Many crops have been selected for uniformity in flowering time. In contrast, variable flowering may be important for increased competitiveness in weed species invading the agricultural environment. Given the shared species designation of cultivated rice (Oryza sativa) and its the invasive conspecific weed, weedy rice, we assessed the extent to which flowering time differed between these groups. We further assessed whether genes affecting flowering time variation in rice could play a role in the evolution of weedy rice in the United States.• METHODS: We quantified flowering time under day-neutral conditions in weedy, cultivated, and wild Oryza groups. We also sequenced two candidate gene regions: Hd1, a locus involved in promotion of flowering under short days, and the promoter of Hd3a, a locus encoding the mobile signal that induces flowering.• KEY RESULTS: We found that flowering time has diverged between two distinct weedy rice groups, such that straw-hull weeds tend to flower earlier and black-hull awned weeds tend to flower later than cultivated rice. These differences are consistent with weed Hd1 alleles. At both loci, weeds share haplotypes with their cultivated progenitors, despite significantly different flowering times.• CONCLUSIONS: Our phenotypic data indicate the existence of multiple flowering strategies in weedy rice. Flowering differences between weeds and ancestors suggest this trait has evolved rapidly. From a weed management standpoint, there is the potential for overlap in flowering of black-hull awned weeds and crops in the United States, permitting hybridization and the potential escape of genes from crops.

The wheat stem sawfly, Cephus cinctus, is a major pest of wheat and key ecological player in the grasslands of western North America. It also represents the distinctive Cephoidea superfamily of sawflies (Symphyta) that appeared early during the hymenopteran radiation, but after three early-branching eusymphytan superfamilies that form the base of the order Hymenoptera. We present a high-quality draft genome assembly of 162 Mb in 1,976 scaffolds with a scaffold N50 of 622 kb. Automated gene annotation identified 11,210 protein-coding gene models and 1,307 noncoding RNA models. Thirteen percent of the assembly consists of ∼58,000 transposable elements partitioned equally between Class-I and Class-II elements. Orthology analysis reveals that 86% of Cephus proteins have identifiable orthologs in other insects. Phylogenomic analysis of conserved subsets of these proteins supports the placement of the Cephoidea between the Eusymphyta and the parasitic woodwasp superfamily Orussoidea. Manual annotation and phylogenetic analysis of families of odorant, gustatory, and ionotropic receptors, plus odorant-binding proteins, shows that Cephus has representatives for most conserved and expanded gene lineages in the Apocrita (wasps, ants, and bees). Cephus has also maintained several insect gene lineages that have been lost from the Apocrita, most prominently the carbon dioxide receptor subfamily. Furthermore, Cephus encodes a few small lineage-specific chemoreceptor gene family expansions that might be involved in adaptations to new grasses including wheat. These comparative analyses identify gene family members likely to have been present in the hymenopteran ancestor and provide a new perspective on the evolution of the chemosensory gene repertoire.

BACKGROUND: Most patients with neuroblastoma who present with opsomyoclonus have a good prognosis. Neuroblastomas from such patients have been reported to contain a single copy of the N-myc gene. The authors describe three cases of patients with advanced neuroblastoma with opsomyoclonus, which had poor outcomes despite multimodal therapy. METHODS: Amplification and expression of the N-myc gene were examined in these three primary tumors using Southern and Northern blot analyses. Then, flow cytometric analysis of the cellular DNA contents of these tumors was performed. RESULTS: N-myc amplification was observed in two tumors and N-myc RNA overexpression was observed in all three. Analysis of the cellular DNA contents of the tissue specimens revealed hyperdiploidy in all three tumors; one had a triploid index and the other two had hypotetraploid indexes. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that a poor outcome for patients with opsomyoclonus may be associated with N-myc gene activation (amplification and/or overexpression) and that a hyperdiploid tumor is not always associated with a good prognosis.

The purpose of the qualitative study was to explore how middle and secondary school agriscience teachers define remote instruction and distance education. This research was conducted as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Data for the study were collected during the time schools were closed and/or offering remote instruction. A purposive sample of seventeen agriscience education teachers in the States of Alabama and Georgia were selected for this qualitative study. Data were collected using a structured interview questionnaire and analyzed using constant comparisons. The conceptual framework of this study was developed using transactional distance theory and bound by strategic analysis. Findings showed that secondary agriscience education teachers did not collectively define remote instruction and distance education in the same manner. Some defined them similarly, and some noted specific differences in how the terms are defined and used. These teachers identified strengths and opportunities that should be exploited and weaknesses and threats that should be mitigated. Recommendations for training in appropriate use of distance education delivery strategies are provided. Recommendations for additional research into the impact on student learning are provided.

The results of 139 consecutive buffy‐coat collections from 21 normal donors are presented. Modifications of procedure and technic produced greatly increased granulocyte harvests. These modifications are described in detail and include the use of arteriovenous silastic shunts in the donors and use of two continuous flow centrifuges arranged in parallel.

This paper presents the design and implementation of a learning controller for the Automatic Generation Control (AGC) in power systems based on a reinforcement learning (RL) framework. In contrast to the recent RL scheme for AGC proposed by us, the present method permits handling of power system variables such as Area Control Error (ACE) and deviations from scheduled frequency and tie-line flows as continuous variables. (In the earlier scheme, these variables have to be quantized into finitely many levels). The optimal control law is arrived at in the RL framework by making use of Q-learning strategy. Since the state variables are continuous, we propose the use of Radial Basis Function (RBF) neural networks to compute the Q-values for a given input state. Since, in this application we cannot provide training data appropriate for the standard supervised learning framework, a reinforcement learning algorithm is employed to train the RBF network. We also employ a novel exploration strategy, based on a Learning Automata algorithm, for generating training samples during Q-learning. The proposed scheme, in addition to being simple to implement, inherits all the attractive features of an RL scheme such as model independent design, flexibility in control objective specification, robustness etc. Two implementations of the proposed approach are presented. Through simulation studies the attractiveness of this approach is demonstrated.

Abstract The essential G 1 -cyclin, CCND1 , is a collaborative nuclear oncogene that is frequently overexpressed in cancer. D-type cyclins bind and activate CDK4 and CDK6 thereby contributing to G 1 –S cell-cycle progression. In addition to the nucleus, herein cyclin D1 was also located in the cytoplasmic membrane. In contrast with the nuclear-localized form of cyclin D1 (cyclin D1 NL ), the cytoplasmic membrane-localized form of cyclin D1 (cyclin D1 MEM ) induced transwell migration and the velocity of cellular migration. The cyclin D1 MEM was sufficient to induce G 1 –S cell-cycle progression, cellular proliferation, and colony formation. The cyclin D1 MEM was sufficient to induce phosphorylation of the serine threonine kinase Akt (Ser473) and augmented extranuclear localized 17β-estradiol dendrimer conjugate (EDC)-mediated phosphorylation of Akt (Ser473). These studies suggest distinct subcellular compartments of cell cycle proteins may convey distinct functions.