Foramina of bones are beginning to yield more information about metabolic rates and activity levels of living and extinct species. This study investigates the relationship between estimated blood flow rate to the femur and body mass among cursorial birds extending back to the Late Cretaceous. Data from fossil foramina are compared with those of extant species, revealing similar scaling relationships for all cursorial birds and supporting crown bird–like terrestrial locomotor activity. Because the perfusion rate in long bones of birds is related to the metabolic cost of microfracture repair due to stresses applied during locomotion, as it is in mammals, this study estimates absolute blood flow rates from sizes of nutrient foramina located on the femur shafts. After differences in body mass and locomotor behaviors are accounted for, femoral bone blood flow rates in extinct species are similar to those of extant cursorial birds. Femoral robustness is generally greater in aquatic flightless birds than in terrestrial flightless and ground-dwelling flighted birds, suggesting that the morphology is shaped by life-history demands. Femoral robustness also increases in larger cursorial bird taxa, probably associated with their weight redistribution following evolutionary loss of the tail, which purportedly constrains femur length, aligns it more horizontally, and necessitates increased robustness in larger species.

Despite considerable achievements in the field of conservation, biodiversity continues to decline and conservation initiatives face numerous barriers. Although many of these barriers are well known, for example insufficient funding and capacity, there has been no systematic attempt to catalogue and categorize them into a typology. Because risks compromise the conservation mission, any barrier to success is a risk. Here we present the first attempt at identifying key barriers. We analyse extensive interviews with 74 conservationists, primarily from Africa but with international experience, to identify potential risks to their projects and use that information to create a typology of barriers to conservation success. We draw on the literature to explain the prevalence of some of the barriers identified. We suggest that this typology could form the basis of heuristic tools that conservationists can use to identify and manage potential risks to their projects, thereby improving decision-making, strategic planning and, ultimately, overall impact. The typology is also useful for the conservation community (comprising conservationists and funders) to help implement better practices and improve the likelihood of success. We present examples of such work already underway and suggest more can be done to continue to improve.

The need for hollow microneedle arrays is important for both drug delivery and wearable sensor applications; however, their fabrication poses many challenges. Hollow metal microneedle arrays residing on a flexible metal foil substrate were created by combining additive manufacturing, micromolding, and electroplating approaches in a process we refer to as electromolding. A solid microneedle with inward facing ledge was fabricated with a two photon polymerization (2PP) system utilizing laser direct write (LDW) and then molded with polydimethylsiloxane. These molds were then coated with a seed layer of Ti/Au and subsequently electroplated with pulsed deposition to create hollow microneedles. An inward facing ledge provided a physical blocking platform to restrict deposition of the metal seed layer for creation of the microneedle bore. Various ledge sizes were tested and showed that the resulting seed layer void could be controlled via the ledge length. Mechanical properties of the PDMS mold was adjusted via the precursor ratio to create a more ductile mold that eliminated tip damage to the microneedles upon removal from the molds. Master structures were capable of being molded numerous times and molds were able to be reused. SEM/EDX analysis showed that trace amounts of the PDMS mold were transferred to the metal microneedle upon removal. The microneedle substrate showed a degree of flexibility that withstood over 100 cycles of bending from side to side without damaging. Microneedles were tested for their fracture strength and were capable of puncturing porcine skin and injecting a dye.

Dietary fatty acid (FA) composition may influence metabolism, possibly affecting weight management. The purpose of this study was to compare the effects of a 5-d diet rich in PUFA v. MUFA. A total of fifteen normal-weight men participated in a randomised cross-over design with two feeding trials (3 d lead-in diet, pre-diet visit, 5-d PUFA- or MUFA-rich diet, post-diet visit). The 5-d diets (50 % fat) were rich in either PUFA (25 % of energy) or MUFA (25 % of energy). At pre- and post-diet visits, subjects consumed breakfast and lunch test meals, rich in the FA for that 5-d diet. Indirect calorimetry was used for 4 h after each meal. There were no treatment differences in fasting metabolism acutely or after the 5-d diet. For acute meal responses before diet, RER was higher for PUFA v. MUFA (0·86 (sem 0·01) v. 0·84 (sem 0·01), P<0·05), whereas diet-induced thermogenesis (DIT) was lower for PUFA v. MUFA (18·91 (SEM 1·46) v. 21·46 (SEM 1·34) kJ, P<0·05). After the 5-d diets, the change in RER was different for PUFA v. MUFA (−0·02 (sem 0·01) v. 0·00 (sem 0·01), P<0·05). Similarly, the change in fat oxidation was greater for PUFA v. MUFA (0·18 (sem 0·07) v. 0·04 (sem 0·06) g, P<0·05). In conclusion, acutely, a MUFA-rich meal results in lower RER and greater DIT. However, after a 5-d high-fat diet, the change in metabolic responses was greater in the PUFA diet, showing the metabolic adaptability of a PUFA-rich diet.

In this study, we analyzed the patterns of socioeconomic and demographic factors along with health services provider availability for the current Zika outbreak in Miami-Dade County, South Florida. We used Center for Consumer Information & Insurance Oversight (CCIIO) Machine-Readable Public Use Files (MR-PUFs) to examine provider availability in combination with socioeconomic and demographic factors that could potentially lead to healthcare disparities between any underserved population of the Wynwood neighborhood and the broader population of Miami-Dade County. MR-PUFs contain public provider-level data from states that are participating in the Federally Facilitated Marketplace. According to CCIIO, an issuer of a Qualified Health Plan that uses a provider network must maintain a network that is sufficient in the number and types of providers, including providers that specialize in mental-health and substance-use disorder services, to assure that all services will be accessible to enrollees without unreasonable delay. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2018;12:455–459)

Coapplication of herbicides and insecticides affords growers an opportunity to control multiple pests with one application, given that efficacy is not compromised. Glufosinate was applied at 470 g ai/ha both alone and in combination with the insecticides acephate, acetamiprid, bifenthrin, cyfluthrin, dicrotophos, emamectin benzoate, imidacloprid, indoxacarb, lambda-cyhalothrin, methoxyfenozide, spinosad, or thiamethoxam to determine coapplication effects on control of some of the more common and/or troublesome broadleaf weeds infesting cotton. Hemp sesbania, pitted morningglory, prickly sida, redroot pigweed, and sicklepod were treated at the three- to four- or the seven- to eight-leaf growth stage. When applied at the earlier application timing, glufosinate applied alone provided complete control at 14 d after treatment, and control was unaffected by coapplication with insecticides. When glufosinate application was delayed to the later application timing, visual weed control was unaffected by insecticide coapplication. Fresh-weight reduction from the herbicide applied to larger weeds was negatively impacted by addition of the insecticides dicrotophos and imidacloprid with respect to redroot pigweed and prickly sida, but only in one of two experiments. In most cases, delaying application of glufosinate to larger weeds resulted in reduced control compared to that from a three- to four-leaf application, with the extent of reduction varying by species. Results indicate that when applied according to the herbicide label (three- to four-leaf stage), glufosinate/ insecticide coapplications offer producers the ability to integrate pest management strategies and to limit application costs without sacrificing control of the broadleaf weeds evaluated.

Field studies were conducted to evaluate weed control with combinations of glyphosate at 750 g ae/ha and the insecticides acephate (370 g ai/ha), dicrotophos (370 g ai/ha), dimethoate (220 g ai/ha), fipronil (56 g ai/ha), imidacloprid (53 g ai/ha), lambda-cyhalothrin (37 g ai/ha), oxamyl (280 g ai/ha), or endosulfan (420 g ai/ha) and insect control with coapplication of the herbicide with insecticides acephate, dicrotophos, dimethoate, and imidacloprid. Applying lambda-cyhalothrin or fipronil with glyphosate reduced control of hemp sesbania by 19 and 9 percentage points, respectively, compared with glyphosate alone. Acephate, dicrotophos, dimethoate, imidacloprid, lambda-cyhalothrin, oxamyl, and endosulfan did not affect hemp sesbania, pitted morningglory, prickly sida, and redweed control by glyphosate. Lambda-cyhalothrin and fipronil did not affect glyphosate control of weeds other than hemp sesbania. Addition of glyphosate to dicrotophos improved cotton aphid control 4 d after treatment compared with dicrotophos alone. Thrips control was improved with addition of glyphosate to imidacloprid. Insect control was not reduced by glyphosate regardless of insecticide.

Field trials were conducted in 2005 and 2006 to evaluate application of glyphosate alone or plus the plant growth regulator mepiquat chloride with 20 different insecticides to second-generation glyphosate-resistant cotton at the pinhead square or first bloom growth stages. At 7 DAT, averaged across cotton growth stages and herbicide treatments, combination with insecticides profenofos and methomyl resulted in 5 and 9% plant injury, respectively, and were the only insecticide combinations that resulted in injury greater than glyphosate or glyphosate plus mepiquat chloride applied alone. By 14 DAT, cotton injury was less than 2% for all treatments. Averaged across cotton growth stages and insecticides, addition of mepiquat chloride to glyphosate resulted in a 4 and 6 cm height reduction at 7 and 28 DAT, respectively. Seed cotton yield and percent first harvest were similar for all treatments, indicating that cotton injury and height reductions observed after application did not result in yield reductions or maturity delays. Glyphosate combined with insecticides and mepiquat chloride, in accordance with herbicide labeling for second-generation glyphosate-resistant cotton, offers producers the ability to integrate pest and crop management strategies and reduce application costs with minimal effect on the crop.

Field research was conducted for 2 yr to determine the effects of reduced rates of bromoxynil on growth and yield of non–bromoxynil-resistant cotton. Rates of 4.5, 9, 17, 35, 70, and 140 g ha−1, representing 0.008, 0.016, 0.031, 0.063, 0.125, and 0.25 fractions of the maximum labeled use rate per application (560 g ha−1), were applied to cotton at the two-, five-, or nine-node growth stage. Visual injury was reduced because application timing was delayed from two- to five-node stage in all experiments and from five- to nine-node stage in two of three experiments. Although negatively affected at all application timings, plant height reduction response decreased with increasing cotton maturity. Plant dry weight was most negatively affected after application at the two-node stage. Bromoxynil application, based on the node above white flower number, did not result in maturity delays but did promote earlier maturity when applied at 140 g ha−1 to two- and five-node stage cotton in one of the three experiments. Final plant population was reduced only at the two- and five-node timings, with response more pronounced at the initial timing. Seedcotton yield after bromoxynil application at the highest rate to two-leaf cotton was reduced 34% compared with other rates and the nontreated control. Bromoxynil applied to five- or nine-node cotton did not significantly reduce yield.

On 4 July 1986, dye was injected at a point slightly above the equilibrium line on Storglaciären, a small valley glacier in northern Sweden. Just below the equilibrium line, the glacier bed is over-deepened. The dye re-appeared in a stream at the glacier terminus over the next 35 d. This stream normally carries relatively little sediment, in constrast to the situation in another nearby stream that also emerges from the glacier. This suggests that the dye traveled in englacial rather than subglacial conduits. Tracer tests utilizing salt in bore holes in the overdeepening support this interpretation, as the bore holes were draining well above the bed. The dye appeared during three distinct events, suggesting that it became divided into at least three separate parcels shortly after injection. This probably occurred in the crevassed area in the vicinity of the injection point.

The englacial location of the drainage may be explained by the fact that, in order to remain at the pressure melting-point, water in subglacial conduits coming out of the overdeepening may have had to warm up faster than would be possible by viscous heating alone. Such conduits would thus tend to freeze closed.

Field research was conducted in 1999 and 2000 to determine the effect of reduced glyphosate rates on growth and yield of nonglyphosate-resistant cotton. Rates of 9, 18, 35, 70, 140, and 280 g ha−1, representing 0.008, 0.016, 0.031 0.063, 0.125, and 0.25, respectively, of the maximum use rate per application (1,120 g ha−1), were applied to cotton at the two-, five-, or nine-node growth stage. On the basis of visual injury estimates, cotton was more tolerant to glyphosate at the nine-node than at earlier growth stages. Plant dry weight was reduced with 70 g ha−1 of glyphosate or higher, when applied at the two- and five-node growth stages in two of three experiments. Dry weight was not affected by glyphosate at the nine-node stage. Plant height also was unaffected by glyphosate rates below 70 g ha−1, but height reduction was noted for all growth stages by experiment combinations, with the exception of the nine-node application for both experiments in 2000, with herbicide rates of 70 g ha−1 or higher. Cotton maturity delay, as noted by an increase in node above white flower number, was observed only at the highest glyphosate rate applied to two- and five-node cotton in one of three experiments. Percent open boll data analysis indicated a decreased opportunity of observing an open boll with increasing glyphosate rate, and this effect was greater at the five-node compared with the two- and nine-node stages in two of three experiments. Seedcotton yield after all glyphosate applications was equivalent to that for the nontreated control.

Field studies investigated possible interactions associated with early-season coapplication of the herbicide pyrithiobac and various insecticides. Pyrithiobac at 70 g ai/ha, in combination with the insecticides acephate or dicrotophos at 370 g ai/ha, fipronil at 56 g ai/ha, imidacloprid at 52 g ai/ha, lambda-cyhalothrin at 37 g ai/ha, or oxamyl, carbofuran, or dimethoate at 280 g ai/ha did not reduce cotton leaf area, height, main stem node number, main stem nodes to first square, days to first square or flower, main stem nodes above white flower, or seed cotton yield compared with pyrithiobac alone. Pyrithiobac alone reduced dry weight of pitted morningglory, hemp sesbania, prickly sida, velvetleaf, and entireleaf–ivyleaf morningglory 28 d after treatment (DAT) 86, 98, 51, 94, and 91%, respectively, and weed control was not affected by the coapplication of insecticides. Control of thrips (adult plus larvae) 5 DAT with insecticides was unaffected by pyrithiobac addition at the P = 0.05 level of significance. At the P = 0.1 level, however, addition of pyrithiobac to dimethoate resulted in a reduction in insecticide efficacy in one of three experiments. Efficacy of other insecticides was unaffected.

Field research was conducted for 2 yr to determine the effect of reduced rates of glufosinate on growth and yield of non–glufosinate-resistant cotton. Rates of 3.4, 6.7, 13, 26.5, 52.5, and 105 g ha−1, representing 0.008, 0.016, 0.031, 0.063, 0.125, and 0.25 of an effective use rate (420 g ha−1), were applied to cotton at the two-, five-, or nine-node growth stage. Based on analysis of visual injury, cotton response decreased as application timing was delayed in one of the three experiments. Injury response was increased slightly with application at the five- compared with the two-node growth stage and was not significant for the latest application timing (nine-node stage) in two of three experiments. In two of the three experiments, plant height reduction response was lowest at the five-node stage and greatest at the nine-node stage. Regardless of application timing, plant dry weight was negatively affected only with the highest rate of glufosinate. Glufosinate application, based on node above white flower number and percent open boll, did not result in a delay in maturity. Final plant population was reduced in all experiments at the two-node application and in one of the three experiments at the five-node stage. Glufosinate application did not adversely affect final plant population when applied to nine-node cotton. Negative effects on cotton growth were not manifested in seedcotton yield reduction after glufosinate application.