Long-term trophectoderm (TE) cell culture provides a powerful model to investigate placenta-specific factors to better understand mechanisms relevant to pregnancy establishment and placental development. However, current TE culture systems rely on costly commercial media and extracellular matrix (ECM) components, which limit their scalability and accessibility. This study evaluated cost-effective alternatives to established conditions by testing modified DMEM/F-12 and a biphasic TE culture system as substitutes for commercial Advanced DMEM/F-12 and for continuous TE culture, and by assessing 0.1% gelatine as an ECM alternative to collagen IV. Trophectoderm outgrowths cultured on collagen IV or gelatine did not differ in attachment timing (P = 0.78) or in expression of placental and differentiation markers PLAC8 (P = 0.78), GATA2 (P = 0.18), and PAG10 (P = 0.39). Similarly, blastocysts cultured in commercial Advanced DMEM/F-12 or base DMEM/F-12 exhibited no differences in attachment day (P = 0.98), TE growth area from days 10–20 (P > 0.05), or expression of PLAC8 (P = 0.35) and PAG10 (P = 0.08), although PAG7 differed between treatments (P < 0.05). Embryos cultured in continuous TE attached later (P = 0.01) than those cultured in TE media, but no differences were observed in TE growth area or expression of PLAC8, PAG7, or PAG10 (P > 0.05). Collectively, these results indicate that affordable media formulations and gelatine-coated cultureware support TE attachment, proliferation, and differentiation. This cost-effective culture framework enables broader application of TE models and supports extended studies of trophoblast function, placental signalling, and early conceptus development.

Management of broadleaf weeds in chile pepper may be improved by including a rotation with sorghum treated with selective, non-residual herbicides. However, herbicides applied to sorghum specifically for managing weeds in subsequent chile pepper crops have not been evaluated. This study evaluated two herbicide treatments applied to sorghum for their effects on broadleaf weed density and hand hoeing time in chile pepper crops the following year, and compared the treatments for their net economic benefits across sorghum and chile pepper growing seasons. Treatments included 1) a sorghum nontreated control; 2) one herbicide application, which was a premix combination of 2,4-D (0.35 kg ai ha−1), bromoxynil (0.35 kg ai ha−1), and fluroxypyr (0.14 kg ai ha−1) applied at the 4-leaf stage of sorghum; 3) two herbicide applications, which included the aforementioned premix combination followed by bromoxynil (0.28 kg ai ha−1) applied at the 6-leaf stage of sorghum; and 4) weed-free sorghum using hand hoeing. Results indicated that broadleaf weeds covered less than 10% of the ground where sorghum had been treated with herbicides. The two-application treatment resulted in 24% fewer broadleaf weeds in chile pepper than in sorghum that had been hoed by hand, and 63% fewer than the one-application treatment. Hand hoeing time for chile pepper was similar among the two-application treatment, one-application treatment, and weed-free sorghum. A partial budget analysis indicated that the one-application treatment provided greater net economic benefit than the two-application treatment (US$6,550 ha−1 vs. US$5,894 ha−1), due to lower input costs and greater overall gross revenue. These findings indicate that a two-application treatment maximizes reductions of broadleaf weeds in chile pepper caused by rotational sorghum; however, the one-application treatment may be a cost-effective approach to reducing broadleaf weeds in chile pepper.

Low-accruing clinical trials delay translation of research breakthroughs into the clinic, expose participants to risk without providing meaningful clinical insight, increase the cost of therapies, and waste limited resources. By tracking patient accrual, Clinical and Translational Science Awards hubs can identify at-risk studies and provide them the support needed to reach recruitment goals and maintain financial solvency. However, tracking accrual has proved challenging because relevant patient- and protocol-level data often reside in siloed systems. To address this fragmentation, in September 2020 the South Carolina Clinical and Translational Research Institute, with an academic home at the Medical University of South Carolina, implemented a clinical trial management system (CTMS), with its access to patient-level data, and incorporated it into its Research Integrated Network of Systems (RINS), which links study-level data across disparate systems relevant to clinical research. Within the first year of CTMS implementation, 324 protocols were funneled through CTMS/RINS, with more than 2600 participants enrolled. Integrated data from CTMS/RINS have enabled near-real-time assessment of patient accrual and accelerated reimbursement from industry sponsors. For institutions with bioinformatics or programming capacity, the CTMS/RINS integration provides a powerful model for tracking and improving clinical trial efficiency, compliance, and cost-effectiveness.

Sheep blowfly strike (ovine cutaneous myiasis) is a widespread economic and welfare problem in sheep husbandry in many parts of the world. Strike incidence is determined by a complex interaction of fly abundance, host susceptibility and climate, combined with farmer husbandry and intervention strategies. Sheep farmers adopt a range of approaches to the type and timing of the management used for the control of blowfly strike, the rational basis for which is often not robust. Here a deterministic model, based on existing data relating to fly abundance, seasonal risk and strike incidence, is used to compare the variable costs associated with different strike management strategies. The model shows that not employing prophylactic treatment is the lowest cost strategy only where strike risk is low. In all other circumstances, prophylactic treatment incurs lower costs than not doing so, because the deaths associated with strike outweigh the costs of prophylactic treatment. Lamb treatment, in particular, has a substantial effect on strike and cost reduction, since lambs are the most abundant age-class of animals and are at the highest risk over the period when fly abundance is the greatest. Early-season treatment of ewes before shearing is also an important component of the lowest cost strategies, particularly when the blowfly season is extended. While the rational choice of the most appropriate strike management strategy is essential in the context of farm economics, welfare considerations lend added importance to treatment decisions that reduce strike incidence.

Participant recruitment is often the rate-limiting step in clinical trials, but the methods used and the processes involved in recruitment are rarely reported. Although various methods will often be adopted, there is a dearth of information about the factors which facilitate or impede recruitment to trials. Such information is potentially very valuable to researchers. The present pilot study aimed to recruit a minimum of 30 participants through primary care to a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of three interventions for older adults with depression. The aim was to determine how recruitment to RCTs in primary care may be optimized. A wide range of recruitment methods was used, including both direct general practitioner (GP) referrals and self-referrals. Potential participants were informed about the study in a variety of ways, including GP recruitment when attending surgeries, contacting suitable patients identified from the GP database, posters and leaflets in the GP surgery, and the specific targeting of older people by the distribution of leaflets at 'flu clinics. Both GP referrals and direct referrals were successful. Interestingly and rather unexpectedly, the greatest numbers of individuals were recruited by self-referral. No differences were found between these two groups as to the severity of their depression. Recruiting from primary care can be successful, if primary health care teams are willing to work in partnership with researchers, and if researchers are willing to be flexible and try many approaches. In particular, the study found that cultivating self-referrals was a profitable strategy, which was not what had been initially expected with this particular target group of older people with depression. These self-referrals were a cost-effective method of recruitment, each costing around one-third less than those recruited by other methods, and without them the recruitment targets would not have been met.