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Carcasses from pasture-finished early-maturing (EM), rather than late-maturing (LM), breed bulls may be more suited to meet the minimum carcass fatness classification of 2+ (6.0 on a 15-point scale) required for some markets. The comparative colour and eating quality of beef from grass-fed bulls of different maturities are unknown. Sixty yearling suckler-bred bulls were assigned to a 2 (maturities: EM and LM) × 2 (finishing strategies: grass only (G0) or grass + 4.0 kg concentrate daily (GC)) factorial design. Bulls were at pasture from 7 April, concentrates were introduced (or not) 97 days later, and bulls were slaughtered at 192 d post-turnout (approximately 19 mo of age). Carcass fat scores averaged 5.02, 6.20, 6.33 and 7.30 for LMG0, LMGC, EMG0 and EMGC bulls, respectively. Muscle colour did not differ between treatments. Muscle from LM had lower intramuscular fat concentration, collagen solubility and a tendency (p < 0.1) towards lower ratings for tenderness, texture, and acceptability of 14 d aged beef. Concentrate supplementation decreased the ratings for muscle tenderness but ratings for acceptability were not affected. Achieving the minimum carcass fatness was therefore not required to produce beef of acceptable eating quality and suckler bulls can access the “grass-fed” beef market.

The objective was to compare the quality of beef from bulls reared in typical Irish indoor systems or in novel grass-based systems. Bulls were assigned to one of the following systems: (a) grass silage plus barley-based concentrate ad libitum (CON); (b) grass silage ad libitum plus 5 kg of concentrate (SC); (c) grazed grass without supplementation (G0); (d) grazed grass plus 0.5 kg of the dietary dry matter intake as concentrate (GC) for (100 days) until slaughter (14.99 months). Carcass characteristics and pH decline were recorded. Longissimus thoracis was collected for analytical and sensory analysis. Lower carcass weight, conformation and fatness scores were found for grazing compared to CON and SC groups. CON bulls had highest intramuscular fat and lighter meat colour compared with grazing bulls. The SC meat (14 days aged) was rated higher for tenderness, texture, flavour and acceptability compared with grazing groups. CON saturated and monounsaturated fatty acid (FA) concentration was highest, conversely, omega-3 FA concentration was higher for GC compared with CON, while no differences were found in polyunsaturated FA. In conclusion, while market fatness specification was not reached by grazed grass treatments, beef eating quality was not detrimentally affected and nutritional quality was improved.

The twolined spittlebug, Prosapia bicincta (Say), is a major economic pest of forage grass and turfgrass. Prosapia bicincta was first detected in rangelands on Hawai'i Island in 2016 and has since spread to an estimated 72,000 ha in the North and South Kona districts. This study aimed to quantify P. bicincta abundance, plant associations, and impacts on groundcover over time. Monthly surveys of P. bicincta nymphs and adults were conducted from February 2018 to September 2022 along 17 established 100-m transects at 4 ranches located in Kona, Hawai'i Island, spanning an elevation gradient from 519 to 1,874 m above sea level (a.s.l.). Monitoring revealed P. bicincta occurs from 519 to 1,679 m a.s.l., primarily in Kikuyu grass (Cenchrus clandestinus (Hochst. ex Chiov.)) Morrone (Poales: Poaceae) pastures. Peaks in P. bicincta abundance coincided with the wet season, with most activity occurring from April to October and little to no activity between November and March. Mid elevation (1,000-1,300 m) transects had significantly higher mean P. bicincta abundance (126 nymphs/m2) relative to low (500-999 m) (64 nymphs/m2) and high elevations (>1,300 m) (20 nymphs/m2). Sites with the highest abundance of P. bicincta were also associated with the greatest decrease in mean grass cover (30%) and were replaced by forbs, bare ground, and shrubs. Grasses accounted for 72% of the total P. bicincta detections, with the remaining plants comprised of legumes (16%), sedges (6%), and forbs (6%). Twenty new P. bicincta plant associations were found. This information will help improve the effectiveness of management to suppress populations below economic thresholds., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.)

Parkinsonian syndromes are a heterogeneous group of progressive neurodegenerative disorders involving the nigrostriatal dopaminergic pathway and are characterized by a wide spectrum of motor and nonmotor symptoms. These syndromes are quite common and can profoundly impact the lives of patients and their families. In addition to classic Parkinson disease, parkinsonian syndromes include multiple additional disorders known collectively as Parkinson-plus syndromes or atypical parkinsonism. These are characterized by the classic parkinsonian motor symptoms with additional distinguishing clinical features. Dopamine transporter SPECT has been developed as a diagnostic tool to assess the levels of dopamine transporters in the striatum. This imaging assessment, which uses iodine 123 ( 123 I) ioflupane, can be useful to differentiate parkinsonian syndromes caused by nigrostriatal degeneration from other clinical mimics such as essential tremor or psychogenic tremor. Dopamine transporter imaging plays a crucial role in diagnosing parkinsonian syndromes, particularly in patients who do not clearly fulfill the clinical criteria for diagnosis. Diagnostic clarification can allow early treatment in appropriate patients and avoid misdiagnosis. At present, only the qualitative interpretation of dopamine transporter SPECT is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, but quantitative interpretation is often used to supplement qualitative interpretation. The authors provide an overview of patient preparation, common imaging findings, and potential pitfalls that radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians should know when performing and interpreting dopamine transporter examinations. Alternatives to 123 I-ioflupane imaging for the evaluation of nigrostriatal degeneration are also briefly discussed. © RSNA, 2024 Test Your Knowledge questions for this article are available in the supplemental material. See the invited commentary by Intenzo and Colarossi in this issue.

There is continued focus on the development of new biomaterials and associated biological testing methods needed to reduce the time taken for their entry to clinical use. The application of Raman spectroscopy to the study of individual cells that have been in contact with biomaterials offers enhanced in vitro information in a potentially non-destructive testing regime. The work presented here reports the Raman spectral analysis of discreet U-2 OS bone cells after exposure to hydroxyapatite (HA) coated titanium (Ti) substrates in both the as-deposited and thermally annealed states. These data show that cells that were in contact with the bioactive HA surface for 7 days had spectral markers similar to those cultured on the Ti substrate control for the same period. However, the spectral features for those cells that were in contact with the annealed HA surface had indicators of significant differentiation at day 21 while cells on the as-deposited surface did not show these Raman changes until day 28. The cells adhered to pristine Ti control surface showed no spectral changes at any of the timepoints studied. The validity of these spectroscopic results has been confirmed using data from standard in vitro cell viability, adhesion, and proliferation assays over the same 28-day culture period. In this case, cell maturation was evidenced by the formation of natural bone apatite, which precipitated intracellularly for cells exposed to both types of HA-coated Ti at 21 and 28 days, respectively. The properties of the intracellular apatite were markedly different from that of the synthetic HA used to coat the Ti substrate with an average particle size of 230 nm, a crystalline-like shape and Ca/P ratio of 1.63 ± 0.5 as determined by SEM-EDX analysis. By comparison, the synthetic HA particles used as a control had an average size of 372 nm and were more-rounded in shape with a Ca/P ratio of 0.8 by XPS analysis and 1.28 by SEM-EDX analysis. This study shows that Raman spectroscopy can be employed to monitor single U-2 OS cell response to biomaterials that promote cell maturation towards de novo bone thereby offering a label-free in vitro testing method that allows for non-destructive analyses., (© 2021. The Author(s).)

Background: Outbreaks of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have been reported in nursing homes and assisted living facilities; however, the extent of asymptomatic and presymptomatic severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection in this high-risk population remains unclear., Methods: We conducted an investigation of the first known outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 at a skilled nursing facility (SNF) in Illinois on 15 March 2020 and followed residents for 30 days. We tested 126/127 residents for SARS-CoV-2 via reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction and performed symptom assessments. We calculated the point prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and assessed symptom onset over 30-day follow-up to determine: (1) the proportion of cases who were symptomatic, presymptomatic, and asymptomatic and (2) incidence of symptoms among those who tested negative. We used the Kaplan-Meier method to determine the 30-day probability of death for cases., Results: Of 126 residents tested, 33 had confirmed SARS-CoV-2 on 15 March. Nineteen (58%) had symptoms at the time of testing, 1 (3%) developed symptoms over follow-up, and 13 (39%) remained asymptomatic. Thirty-five residents who tested negative on 15 March developed symptoms over follow-up; of these, 3 were re-tested and 2 were positive. The 30-day probability of death among cases was 29%., Conclusions: SNFs are particularly vulnerable to SARS-CoV-2, and residents are at risk of severe outcomes. Attention must be paid to preventing outbreaks in these and other congregate care settings. Widespread testing and infection control are key to help prevent COVID-19 morbidity and mortality in these high-risk populations., (© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Oxford University Press for the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Male Annihilation Technique (MAT) is a key tool to suppress or eradicate pestiferous tephritid fruit flies for which there exist powerful male lures. In the case of Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), a highly invasive and destructive species, current implementations of MAT utilize a combination of the male attractant methyl eugenol (ME) and a toxicant such as spinosad ("SPLAT-MAT-ME") applied at a high density with the goal of attracting and killing an extremely high proportion of males. We conducted direct comparisons of trap captures of marked B. dorsalis males released under three experimental SPLAT-MAT-ME site densities (110, 220, and 440 per km2) near Hilo, Hawaii using both fresh and aged traps to evaluate the effectiveness of varying densities and how weathering of the SPLAT-MAT-ME formulation influenced any density effects observed. Counterintuitively, we observed decreasing effectiveness (percent kill) with increasing application density. We also estimated slightly higher average kill for any given density for weathered grids compared with fresh. Spatial analysis of the recapture patterns of the first trap service per replicate x treatment reveals similar positional effects for all grid densities despite differences in overall percent kill. This study suggests that benefits for control and eradication programs would result from reducing the application density of MAT against B. dorsalis through reduced material use, labor costs, and higher effectiveness. Additional research in areas where MAT programs are currently undertaken would be helpful to corroborate this study's findings., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Introduction: Metabolic bone disease is a malady that causes significant morbidity and mortality to a patient who has sustained a fragility fracture. There is currently no protocol to prevent secondary fragility fracture at our institution. The objective of this study was to create an appropriate protocol for implementing clinical pathways for physicians to diagnose and treat osteoporosis and fragility fractures by educating patients., Methods: A multidisciplinary team created an appropriate protocol that could be implemented in an inpatient setting. A thorough literature review was conducted to evaluate potential barriers and efficacious methods of protocol design., Results: A bone health improvement protocol was developed. Any patient over the age of 50 who sustains a fracture from low energy trauma, such as a fall from standing or less, should be considered to place into this protocol. These patients received education on metabolic bone disease, a prescription for high dose vitamin D therapy, and laboratory testing to determine the etiology of their metabolic bone disease. Continuity of care of these patients with their primary care provider was provided for further management of their metabolic bone disease and evaluation of their disease after discharged from the hospital., Discussion: Comprehensive secondary prevention should consist of osteoporosis assessment and treatment together with a fall risk assessment. With this protocol, secondary fragility fractures potentially could be prevented.

Background: Human Papillomavirus (HPV) leads to serious health issues and remains the most common sexually transmitted infection. Despite availability of effective vaccines, HPV vaccination rates are suboptimal. Furthermore, providers recommend the HPV vaccine less than half the time for eligible patients. Prior informatics research has demonstrated the effectiveness of computer-based clinical decision support (CDS) in changing provider behavior, especially in the area of preventative services., Methods: Following a randomized clinical trial to test the effect of a CDS intervention on HPV vaccination rates, we conducted semi-structured interviews with health care providers to understand whether they noticed the CDS reminders and why providers did or did not respond to the prompts. Eighteen providers, a mix of medical doctors and nurse practitioners, were interviewed from five publicly-funded, urban health clinics. Interview data were qualitatively analyzed by two independent researchers using inductive content analysis., Results: While most providers recalled seeing the CDS reminders, few of them perceived the intervention as effective in changing their behavior. Providers stated many reasons for why they did not perceive a change in their behavior, yet the results of the trial showed HPV vaccination rates increased as a result of the intervention., Conclusions: CDS reminders may be effective at changing provider behavior even if providers perceive them to be of little use., Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT02551887 Registered on September 15, 2015.

Among the identified barriers to HPV vaccination is the concern that women may compensate for their reduced susceptibility to cervical cancers by reducing cervical cancer screening. This exploratory study examined the relationship between cervical cancer screening rates and HPV vaccination. We conducted a cross-sectional survey using a convenience sample of women aged 21-35 attending a local minority health fair in July 2015. Data were analyzed in 2015-2016. Outcomes assessed were: receiving a Pap test within the last three years, awareness and comfort with current Pap test recommendations, and knowledge regarding the purpose of a Pap test. A total of 291 women were included in the analyses. Mean age was 28.5 years and 62% were non-Hispanic black. 84% had received a Pap test in the last three years and 33% had received at least one HPV vaccine. Logistic regression results showed that women who had been vaccinated did not have lower odds of having a Pap test in the past three years (OR = 1.32; 95% CI = 0.66-2.65). In an adjusted regression model controlling for age and race, vaccinated women were significantly more likely to have had a Pap test (AOR = 3.06; 95% CI = 1.37-6.83). Yet only 26% of women knew the purpose of a Pap test and the proportion who answered correctly was higher among non-Hispanic white women. Women who have been vaccinated for HPV are more likely to have been screened for cervical cancer. These results suggest areas for more robust studies examining pro-health attitudes, behaviors, and communication regarding vaccination and preventive screening.

Background: Provider recommendation is a significant predictor of HPV vaccine uptake. Prior research suggests that concerns regarding risk compensation could cause some providers to hesitate recommending the HPV vaccine., Methods: During 15-30 minute semi-structured interviews in early 2015, 22 U.S. pediatric providers were asked about their beliefs regarding sexual risk compensation and cervical cancer screening following HPV vaccination. Providers were asked if these beliefs result in reservations recommending the vaccine. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using inductive content analysis., Results: None of the providers believed the HPV vaccine would result in risky sexual behavior. Half indicated it was better to start vaccination early, before sexual activity was a worry. Others noted that patients' risky behavior decisions happen independently of vaccination. When providers were asked if they were concerned about decreased cervical cancer screening, half said they did not know and some stated they had never thought about it before. The main themes addressed were the significant time lapse between vaccination and screening and that women tend to get over-screened as opposed to under-screened., Conclusion: Providers were generally in favor of HPV vaccination and do not perceive risk compensation as a barrier to HPV recommendation.

The 9-valent Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine, 9vHPV, was licensed in the U.S. in December, 2014. We assessed healthcare provider (HCP) awareness of the newly approved vaccine and identified questions HCPs have about the vaccine. As part of a larger study, we used semi-structured interviews to ask 22 pediatric HCPs about their awareness of 9vHPV, questions they have about the vaccine, and questions they anticipate from patients and parents. Interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed then analyzed using inductive content analysis. Over half were aware of the vaccine but few HCPs claimed to be familiar with it. HCPs indicated several questions with common themes pertaining to efficacy, side effects, and cost. Only half of HCPs believed patients or parents would have questions. The results suggest strategies and areas for health systems and public health organizations to target in order to resolve unmet educational needs among HCPs regarding 9vHPV., Competing Interests: The authors are investigators on research funded by Merck & Co. in the last year, Gregory Zimet served as a consultant to Merck & Co., Inc., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Mesothelioma is a malignancy of the mesothelium and current treatments are generally ineffective. One promising area of anticancer drug development is to explore tumor susceptibility to targeted therapy. To achieve efficient, targeted intracellular delivery of therapeutic agents to mesothelioma cells, we selected a naive human single-chain (scFv) phage antibody display library directly on the surface of live mesothelioma cells to identify internalizing antibodies that target mesothelioma-associated cell surface antigens. We have identified a panel of internalizing scFvs that bind to mesothelioma cell lines derived from both epithelioid (M28) and sarcomatous (VAMT-1) types of this disease. Most importantly, these antibodies stain mesothelioma cells in situ and therefore define a panel of clinically represented tumor antigens. We have further exploited the internalizing function of these scFvs to achieve targeted intracellular drug delivery to mesothelioma cells. We showed that scFv-targeted immunoliposomes were efficiently and specifically taken up by both epithelioid and sarcomatous mesothelioma cells, but not control cells, and immunoliposomes encapsulating the small-molecule drug topotecan caused targeted killing of both types of mesothelioma cells in vitro.

Purpose: To determine the antitumor activity of the anti-mesothelin immunotoxin SS1P in combination with gemcitabine against mesothelin-expressing tumor xenografts., Experimental Design: The in vitro activity of SS1P in combination with gemcitabine against the mesothelin-expressing cell line A431/K5 was evaluated using cytotoxicity and apoptosis assays. The antitumor activity of this combination was evaluated in nude mice bearing A431/K5 tumor xenografts. Tumor-bearing mice were treated with different doses and schedules of gemcitabine alone, SS1P alone (0.2 mg/kg i.v. every other day x three doses), or with both agents together, and tumor volumes were measured over time., Results: In vitro studies failed to show the synergy of SS1P plus gemcitabine against the mesothelin-expressing A431/K5 cells. In contrast, in the in vivo setting, there was a marked synergy when SS1P was combined with gemcitabine for the treatment of mesothelin-expressing tumor xenografts. This synergy was present using different doses and schedules of gemcitabine administration. In mice treated with fractionated doses of gemcitabine in combination with SS1P, complete tumor regression was observed in all mice and was long-lasting in 60% of the animals. Also, this antitumor activity was specific to SS1P because HA22, an immunotoxin targeting CD22 not expressed on A431/K5 cells, did not increase the efficacy of gemcitabine., Conclusions: SS1P in combination with gemcitabine results in marked antitumor activity against mesothelin-expressing tumors. This combination could be potentially useful for the treatment of human cancers that express mesothelin and are responsive to gemcitabine therapy.

Soybean ranks among the "big 8" of the most allergenic foods, and with increasing consumption of soybean products, the incidence of soy-caused allergies is expected to escalate. Soybean and its derivatives have become ubiquitous in vegetarian and many meat-based food products, and as a result, dietary avoidance has become difficult. However, soybeans can be manipulated in a variety of ways to alter their allergenicity. Several studies have focused on reducing the allergenicity of soybeans by changing the structure of the immunodominant allergen P34 using food processing, agronomic, or genetic manipulation techniques. A review of the literature pertaining to these studies is presented here.