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Background: Biofilms affect >80% bacterial infections in human and are usually difficult to eradicate because of their inherent drug resistance.Methods: We investigated the effectiveness of antimicrobial blue light (aBL) (wavelength, 415 nm) for inactivating Acinetobacter baumannii or Pseudomonas aeruginosa biofilms in 96-well microplates or infected mouse burn wounds.Results: In vitro, in 96-well microplates, exposure of 24-hour-old and 72-hour-old A. baumannii biofilms to 432 J/cm(2) aBL resulted in inactivation of 3.59 log10 and 3.18 log10 colony-forming units (CFU), respectively. For P. aeruginosa biofilms, similar levels of inactivation-3.02 log10 and 3.12 log10 CFU, respectively-were achieved. In mouse burn wounds infected with 5 × 10(6) CFU ofA. baumannii, approximately 360 J/cm(2) and 540 J/cm(2) aBL was required to inactivate 3 log10 CFU in biofilms when delivered 24 and 48 hours, respectively, after bacterial inoculation. High-performance liquid chromatography analysis revealed the presence of endogenous porphyrins in both A. baumannii and P. aeruginosa TUNEL assay detected no apoptotic cells in aBL-irradiated mouse skin at up to 24 hours after aBL exposure (540 J/cm(2)).Conclusions: aBL has antimicrobial activity in biofilms ofA. baumannii and P. aeruginosa and is a potential therapeutic approach for biofilm-related infections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Master Marketer program is an intensive commodity marketing and risk management educational program for agricultural producers. This program combines three successful educational concepts -- intensive educational programming, master volunteers, and marketing clubs -- into a unique marketing and risk management program. This study analyzes the effects of the Master Marketer program on participants' market knowledge, adoption of risk management practices, and relative prices received. While the program positively affects participants' market knowledge, adoption of marketing practices, and commodity prices received, this analysis suggests that graduates' reported benefits are correlated with certain demographic characteristics and farm attributes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a multivariate exponential series estimator (ESE) to estimate copula densities nonparametrically. It notes that the ESE has an information-theoretic interpretation, attaining the optimal rate of convergence for nonparametric density estimation. It uses Monte Carlo studies to show that the proposed estimators outperform the kernel and the log-spline estimators in copula estimation. It provides an empirical examination of the Asian financial markets using the proposed method.

The article discusses the joint conditional distribution of health and income growth, and its evolution over time. It describes the conditional distribution of health and income which are obtained by applying non-parametric methods to a bivariate non-parametric regression system of equations. It shows the non-stochastic dominance by non-Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) over OECD countries in each period.

We use two experimental valuation methods to estimate consumer demand for genetically modified golden rice. The first is an open-ended choice experiment (OECE) where participants name the quantities of golden rice and conventional rice demanded at each of several price combinations, one of which will be randomly chosen as binding. This allows us to estimate market demand by aggregating demand across participants. This estimate of market demand also allows us to estimate own-price elasticity and consumer surplus for golden rice. Comparing willingness-to-pay (WTP) estimates from the OECE with those from a uniform-price auction, we find that OECE WTP estimates exhibit less affiliation across rounds, and the effects of positive and negative information under the OECE are more consistent with prior expectations and existing studies. We also find that, while auction WTP estimates more than double across five rounds, OECE WTP estimates are stable across rounds and are always roughly equal to those from the final auction round. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article reports on the stationarity of climate change. Analysis of crop yields depend on the assumption of stationarity of variance while the mean changes with time. Due to climate change, mean and variance of crop yields may be changed as well as stationarity of distribution. The article examines crop yields while changing the mean and variance. It studies the stationarity of different climates and their effects on crop yields. Information on climate changes and models for their analysis are presented. An overview of the report is also provided.

We propose a partially adaptive estimator based on information theoretic maximum entropy estimates of the error distribution. The maximum entropy (maxent) densities have simple yet flexible functional forms to nest most of the mathematical distributions. Unlike the non-parametric fully adaptive estimators, our parametric estimators do not involve choosing a bandwidth or trimming, and only require estimating a small number of nuisance parameters, which is desirable when the sample size is small. Monte Carlo simulations suggest that the proposed estimators fare well with non-normal error distributions. When the errors are normal, the efficiency loss due to redundant nuisance parameters is negligible as the proposed error densities nest the normal. The proposed partially adaptive estimator compares favourably with existing methods, especially when the sample size is small. We apply the estimator to a stochastic frontier model, whose error distribution is usually non-normal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The poor operational stability of perovskite light-emitting diodes (PeLEDs) remains a major obstacle to their commercial application. Achieving high brightness and quantum efficiency at low driving voltages, thus effectively reducing heat accumulation, is key to enhancing the operational lifetime of PeLEDs. Here, we present a breakthrough, attaining a record-low driving voltage while maintaining high brightness and efficiency. By thoroughly suppressing interface recombination and ensuring excellent charge transport, our PeLEDs, with an emission peak at 515 nanometers, achieve a maximum brightness of 90,295 candelas per square meter and a peak external quantum efficiency of 27.8% with an ultralow turn-on voltage of 1.7 volts (~70% bandgap voltage). Notably, Joule heat is nearly negligible at these low driving voltages, substantially extending the operational lifetime to 7691.1 hours. Our optimized strategies effectively tackle stability issue through thermal management, paving the way for highly stable PeLEDs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents an overview of the impact of immigration and possible consequences of policy reforms on U.S. agriculture, labor market and rural communities. According to the article that enhancing border security poses a negative impact on the labor market because farms rely heavily on foreign workers. If private-public partnerships share the costs of integrating migrant workers, it will increase immigrant workforce that benefit both local agriculture and community development.