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On the High Plains of the USA, herbicides specific for broad-leaf weeds are regularly applied to winter wheat in the early spring, sometimes late enough to coincide with the colonization of fields by cereal aphids and their natural enemies. We tested the toxicity of three such herbicides, Ally (Dupont), Rave (Syngenta) and 2,4-D ester (generic), to neonate larvae of two coccinellid species important in cereal aphid biocontrol, Coleomegilla maculata DeGeer and Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville. Topical treatment of larvae with 2,4-D resulted in 25% and 60% mortality in the two species, respectively, with surviving C. maculata larvae experiencing a 5% increase in developmental time. No significant effects were noted for the other two materials, save for a 2.5% increase in developmental time for C. maculata larvae exposed to Rave. No material caused significant mortality in either species when larvae were fed on prey ( Schizaphis graminum Rondani) treated with herbicide 24 h earlier, although 2,4-D reduced developmental time slightly in C. maculata. When herbicide applications are delayed enough in spring to coincide with aphid activity in wheat, farmers can reduce the risk of disrupting biological control by selecting an alternative to 2,4-D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biotype 2 of the Russian wheat aphid, Diuraphis noxia (Mordvilko), was identified in the United States in 2003 and is virulent to all commercially available cultivars of winter wheat, Triticum aestivum L., that are resistant to biotype 1. We compared the development and reproduction of biotype 2 D. noxia at 21.7 ± 0.12°C on ‘Trego’ (PI 612576), a susceptible commercial cultivar, and on lines CI 2401 and 03GDI378027 that represent putative resistance sources. CI 2401 is a pure wheat line originating in the former USSR (Tajikistan), whereas 03GD1378027 is a USDA-ARS breeding line originally developed from crosses with a South African line that carried a large rye translocation conferring D. noxia resistance. Both lines previously showed resistance to biotype 1 and are currently being used in the development of D. noxia-resistant wheat cultivars. Both solitary apterous virginoparae of biotype 2 and their progeny experienced a reduction in survival and prolonged developmental times on CI 2401 and 03GD1378027 compared with Trego, but the former lines did not differ significantly from each other with respect to either measure of aphid performance. Progeny developed faster than did their foundress mothers on CI 2401 and Trego, but not on 03GD1378027. Mean foundress fecundity did not differ between C12401 and 03GD1378027 but was reduced on these lines relative to Trego. Foundresses also were more often found off plants of CI2401 and 03GD1378027 than Trego. Estimates of intrinsic rate of increase were higher on Trego than on either CI 2401 or 03GD1378027, the latter two lines yielding similar values. The negative impacts of CI 2401 and 03GD1378027 on development and reproduction of biotype 2 indicate that these lines represent sources of resistance effective against this biotype. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary1. A field study was conducted in which colonies of Toxoptera citricida (Kirkaldy) were initiated with different numbers of foundresses on ungrafted citrus trees var. ‘Carrizo’ within an existing citrus grove in central Florida. 2. The growth rate, longevity, and final size of T. citricida colonies were all positively correlated with number of foundresses. 3. Colonies initiated by many foundresses produced alatae earlier than those initiated by fewer foundresses. 4. Nymphal developmental time was reduced in colonies initiated by more foundresses but the mean number of grand-progeny per foundress was lower when only surviving colonies were compared. 5. The longevity of foundresses was unaffected by their number but foundress fecundity and nymphal survival decreased as foundress number increased. 6. The most abundant natural enemies were Diptera: Syrphidae, primarily Pseudodorus clavatus (F.), and Chamaemiidae (Leucopis sp.), followed by Coleoptera: Coccinellidae, primarily Cycloneda sanguinea (L). 7. Colonies initiated with more foundresses attracted more oviposition by dipteran predators than did colonies initiated with fewer foundresses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Triticum mosaic virus (TriMV) is a newly discovered virus found infecting wheat (Trificum aestivuni) in Kansas. This study was conducted to determine if the wheat curl mite (WCM, Aceria tosichella) and the bird cherry oat aphid (Rhopalosiphum padi) could transmit TriMV. Using different sources of WCM and two different isolates of TriMV, we were able to show the WCM is the vector of TriM V. Field analysis by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) demonstrated natural infection patterns of wheat infected with TriMV, Wheat streak mosaic virus (WSMV), or both TriMV and WSMV, putatively infected by viruliferous WCM from a volunteer source growing adjacent to the wheat. Moreover, by single WCM transfers using WCM obtained from different wheat plants naturally infected with TriMV and WSMV and naturally infested with WCM, we showed that these WCM also transmitted TriMV only to wheat or transmitted both TriMV and WSMV to wheat. The infection rates of wheat with TriMV only using WCM transmission was low in both laboratory and field analyses. However, field analyses by ELISA showed that levels of infection of wheat by both TriMV and WSMV were high. No transmission of TriMV to wheat by R. padi occurred in our studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To investigate magnitude and sources of discrepancy in quality metrics using claims versus electronic health record (EHR) data., Study Design: Assessment of proportions of HbA1c and LDL testing for people ascertained as diabetic from the respective sources. Qualitative interviews and review of EHRs of discrepant cases., Data Collection/extraction: Claims submitted to Rhode Island Medicaid by three practice sites in 2013; program-coded EHR extraction; manual review of selected EHRs., Principal Findings: Of 21,030 adult Medicaid beneficiaries attributed to a primary care patient at a site by claims or EHR data, concordance on assignment ranged from 0.30 to 0.41. Of patients with concordant assignment, the ratio of patients ascertained as diabetic by EHR versus claims ranged from 1.06 to 1.14. For patients with concordant assignment and diagnosis, the ratio based on EHR versus claims ranged from 1.08 to 18.34 for HbA1c testing, and from 1.29 to 14.18 for lipid testing. Manual record review of 264 patients discrepant on diagnosis or testing identified problems such as misuse of ICD-9 codes, failure to submit claims, and others., Conclusions: Claims data underestimate performance on these metrics compared to EHR documentation, by varying amounts. Use of claims data for these metrics is problematic., (© Health Research and Educational Trust.)

Health has long been intertwined with the foreign policies of states. In recent years, however, global health issues have risen to the highest levels of international politics and have become accepted as legitimate issues in foreign policy. This elevated political priority is in many ways a welcome development for proponents of global health, and it has resulted in increased funding for and attention to select global health issues. However, there has been less examination of the tensions that characterize the relationship between global health and foreign policy and of the potential effects of linking global health efforts with the foreign-policy interests of states. In this paper, the authors review the relationship between global health and foreign policy by examining the roles of health across 4 major components of foreign policy: aid, trade, diplomacy, and national security. For each of these aspects of foreign policy, the authors review current and historical issues and discuss how foreign-policy interests have aided or impeded global health efforts. The increasing relevance of global health to foreign policy holds both opportunities and dangers for global efforts to improve health.