Food addiction (FA) appears among bariatric weight loss surgery candidates who struggle to control the intake of hyperpalatable/refined foods have high rates of psychopathology and related health problems. Despite this, prevalence rates of FA in the bariatric sector are reported as low or variable. We investigated the prevalence of FA and the applicability of conventionally used metrics for 166 pre-surgery candidates from a weight management centre (USA) and a major metropolitan hospital (Australia). Self-report measures assessed FA (Yale Food Addiction Scale (YFAS)), body mass index (BMI), disordered eating, addictive personality, psychopathology, and diet. Consistent with prior research, standard YFAS scoring, requiring the endorsement of a distress/impairment (D/I) criterion (FA + D/I), yielded a FA prevalence rate of 12.7%, compared to 37.3% when D/I was omitted (FA − D/I). We compared profiles for those with FA using each scoring method against those ‘without’, who did not meet a minimum of three YFAS symptoms (non-FA ≤ 2). Both methods differentiated those with and without FA on addictive traits, disordered eating and hyperpalatable food consumption. Only FA + D/I differentiated markers of psychological distress or impairment, including depression, anxiety and quality of life. Results indicate a need for further FA research in bariatric settings.

Seven half-day regional listening sessions were held between December 2016 and April 2017 with groups of diverse stakeholders on the issues and potential solutions for herbicide-resistance management. The objective of the listening sessions was to connect with stakeholders and hear their challenges and recommendations for addressing herbicide resistance. The coordinating team hired Strategic Conservation Solutions, LLC, to facilitate all the sessions. They and the coordinating team used in-person meetings, teleconferences, and email to communicate and coordinate the activities leading up to each regional listening session. The agenda was the same across all sessions and included small-group discussions followed by reporting to the full group for discussion. The planning process was the same across all the sessions, although the selection of venue, time of day, and stakeholder participants differed to accommodate the differences among regions. The listening-session format required a great deal of work and flexibility on the part of the coordinating team and regional coordinators. Overall, the participant evaluations from the sessions were positive, with participants expressing appreciation that they were asked for their thoughts on the subject of herbicide resistance. This paper details the methods and processes used to conduct these regional listening sessions and provides an assessment of the strengths and limitations of those processes.

Herbicide resistance is ‘wicked’ in nature; therefore, results of the many educational efforts to encourage diversification of weed control practices in the United States have been mixed. It is clear that we do not sufficiently understand the totality of the grassroots obstacles, concerns, challenges, and specific solutions needed for varied crop production systems. Weed management issues and solutions vary with such variables as management styles, regions, cropping systems, and available or affordable technologies. Therefore, to help the weed science community better understand the needs and ideas of those directly dealing with herbicide resistance, seven half-day regional listening sessions were held across the United States between December 2016 and April 2017 with groups of diverse stakeholders on the issues and potential solutions for herbicide resistance management. The major goals of the sessions were to gain an understanding of stakeholders and their goals and concerns related to herbicide resistance management, to become familiar with regional differences, and to identify decision maker needs to address herbicide resistance. The messages shared by listening-session participants could be summarized by six themes: we need new herbicides; there is no need for more regulation; there is a need for more education, especially for others who were not present; diversity is hard; the agricultural economy makes it difficult to make changes; and we are aware of herbicide resistance but are managing it. The authors concluded that more work is needed to bring a community-wide, interdisciplinary approach to understanding the complexity of managing weeds within the context of the whole farm operation and for communicating the need to address herbicide resistance.

Field experiments were conducted in Oklahoma to determine the effects of row spacing, cultivar, seeding rate, and water or ammonium polyphosphate fertilizer injection in the row at seeding, on the competitiveness of hard red winter wheat with cheat. Decreasing row spacing from 23 to 8 cm increased yield of weed-free wheat at two of three locations and cheat-infested wheat in six of ten experiments. Increasing seeding rate from 265 to 530 seeds m-2 increased wheat yield. Injecting water at 20 ml m-1 of row at seeding did not increase wheat emergence or yield. Cheat seed production was not consistently suppressed by any one cultivar. Juvenile growth habit was unrelated to wheat competitiveness.

Field experiments were conducted in Oklahoma to determine the effects of winter wheat seeding date and cheat infestation level on cultural cheat control obtained by increasing winter wheat seeding rates and decreasing row spacing. Seeding rate and row spacing interactions influenced cheat density, biomass, or seed in harvested wheat (dockage) at two of three locations. Suppressive effects on cheat of increasing wheat seeding rates and reduced row spacings were greater in wheat seeded in September than later. At two other locations, increasing seeding rate from 67 to 101 kg ha–1 or reducing row spacings from 22.5 to 15 cm increased winter wheat yield over a range of cheat infestation levels.

Merchandisers of landscape plants can increase the effectiveness of their marketing strategies by identifying target markets. Using a full information maximum likelihood tobit procedure on a system of three equations, target markets for different types of retail outlets in Georgia were identified. The results lend support and empirical evidence to the premise that different retail outlet types have different target markets and thus should develop different market strategies. The estimated target markets are identified and possible marketing strategies suitable for each type of retail outlet are suggested.

The purpose of this study was to develop a procedure for estimating future rail traffic that considers the relationship between the structure of a state's economy and rail freight traffic. The study expands the use of input-output models to include the forecasting of transportation demand. Georgia and Michigan case studies were used to test the forecasting capability of the input-output procedure. For Michigan's 1980 rail movements, the model predicted rail traffic to within 0.15 percent of actual traffic. For 1979 Georgia traffic, the model predicted within 4.3 percent of actual traffic. Various statistical tests indicate that the procedure was effective in forecasting rail freight traffic.