The U.S. Department of Agriculture–Agricultural Research Service (USDA-ARS) has been a leader in weed science research covering topics ranging from the development and use of integrated weed management (IWM) tactics to basic mechanistic studies, including biotic resistance of desirable plant communities and herbicide resistance. ARS weed scientists have worked in agricultural and natural ecosystems, including agronomic and horticultural crops, pastures, forests, wild lands, aquatic habitats, wetlands, and riparian areas. Through strong partnerships with academia, state agencies, private industry, and numerous federal programs, ARS weed scientists have made contributions to discoveries in the newest fields of robotics and genetics, as well as the traditional and fundamental subjects of weed–crop competition and physiology and integration of weed control tactics and practices. Weed science at ARS is often overshadowed by other research topics; thus, few are aware of the long history of ARS weed science and its important contributions. This review is the result of a symposium held at the Weed Science Society of America’s 62nd Annual Meeting in 2022 that included 10 separate presentations in a virtual Weed Science Webinar Series. The overarching themes of management tactics (IWM, biological control, and automation), basic mechanisms (competition, invasive plant genetics, and herbicide resistance), and ecosystem impacts (invasive plant spread, climate change, conservation, and restoration) represent core ARS weed science research that is dynamic and efficacious and has been a significant component of the agency’s national and international efforts. This review highlights current studies and future directions that exemplify the science and collaborative relationships both within and outside ARS. Given the constraints of weeds and invasive plants on all aspects of food, feed, and fiber systems, there is an acknowledged need to face new challenges, including agriculture and natural resources sustainability, economic resilience and reliability, and societal health and well-being.

Objectives: The present study examined differences in neurocognitive outcomes among non-Hispanic Black and White stroke survivors using the NIH Toolbox-Cognition Battery (NIHTB-CB), and investigated the roles of healthcare variables in explaining racial differences in neurocognitive outcomes post-stroke. Methods: One-hundred seventy adults (91 Black; 79 White), who participated in a multisite study were included (age: M=56.4; SD=12.6; education: M=13.7; SD=2.5; 50% male; years post-stroke: 1–18; stroke type: 72% ischemic, 28% hemorrhagic). Neurocognitive function was assessed with the NIHTB-CB, using demographically corrected norms. Participants completed measures of socio-demographic characteristics, health literacy, and healthcare use and access. Stroke severity was assessed with the Modified Rankin Scale. Results: An independent samples t test indicated Blacks showed more neurocognitive impairment (NIHTB-CB Fluid Composite T-score: M=37.63; SD=11.67) than Whites (Fluid T-score: M=42.59, SD=11.54; p=.006). This difference remained significant after adjusting for reading level (NIHTB-CB Oral Reading), and when stratified by stroke severity. Blacks also scored lower on health literacy, reported differences in insurance type, and reported decreased confidence in the doctors treating them. Multivariable models adjusting for reading level and injury severity showed that health literacy and insurance type were statistically significant predictors of the Fluid cognitive composite (p<.001 and p=.02, respectively) and significantly mediated racial differences on neurocognitive impairment. Conclusions: We replicated prior work showing that Blacks are at increased risk for poorer neurocognitive outcomes post-stroke than Whites. Health literacy and insurance type might be important modifiable factors influencing these differences. (JINS, 2017, 23, 640–652)

In 2010, a grower survey was administered to 1,299 growers in 22 states to determine changes in weed management in the United States from 2006 to 2009. The majority of growers had not changed weed management practices in the previous 3 yr; however, 75% reported using weed management practices targeted at glyphosate-resistant (GR) weeds. Growers were asked to rate their efforts at controlling GR weeds and rate the effectiveness of various practices for controlling/preventing GR weeds regardless of whether they were personally using them. Using the herbicide labeled rate, scouting fields, and rotating crops were among the practices considered by growers as most effective in managing GR weeds. Sixty-seven percent of growers reported effective management of GR weeds. Between the 2005 and 2010 Benchmark surveys, the frequency of growers using specific actions to manage GR weeds increased markedly. Although the relative effectiveness of practices, as perceived by growers, remained the same, the effectiveness rating of tillage and the use of residual and POST herbicides increased.

A segment of the debate surrounding the commercialization and use of glyphosate-resistant (GR) crops focuses on the theory that the implementation of these traits is an extension of the intensification of agriculture that will further erode the biodiversity of agricultural landscapes. A large field-scale study was initiated in 2006 in the United States on 156 different field sites with a minimum 3-yr history of GR-corn, -cotton or -soybean in the cropping system. The impact of cropping system, crop rotation, frequency of using the GR crop trait, and several categorical variables on seedbank weed population density and diversity was analyzed. The parameters of total weed population density of all species in the seedbank, species richness, Shannon's H′ and evenness were not affected by any management treatment. The similarity between the seedbank and aboveground weed community was more strongly related to location than management; previous year's crops and cropping systems were also important while GR trait rotation was not. The composition of the weed flora was more strongly related to location (geography) than any other parameter. The diversity of weed flora in agricultural sites with a history of GR crop production can be influenced by several factors relating to the specific method in which the GR trait is integrated (cropping system, crop rotation, GR trait rotation), the specific weed species, and the geographical location. Continuous GR crop, compared to fields with other cropping systems, only had greater species diversity (species richness) of some life forms, i.e., biennials, winter annuals, and prostrate weeds. Overall diversity was related to geography and not cropping system. These results justify further research to clarify the complexities of crops grown with herbicide-resistance traits to provide a more complete characterization of their culture and local adaptation to the weed seedbank.

Almost 1,650 corn, cotton, and soybean growers in 22 states participated in a 2010 telephone survey to determine their attitudes with regard to which weed species were most problematic in glyphosate-resistant (GR) crop production systems for corn, cotton, and soybean. The survey is a follow-up to a previous 2005 to 2006 survey that utilized a smaller set of growers from fewer states. In general, growers continued to estimate weed populations as low and few challenges have been created following adoption of GR cropping systems. Pigweed and foxtail species were dominant overall, whereas other species were more commodity and state specific. Corn, cotton, and soybean growers cited velvetleaf, annual morningglory, and waterhemp, respectively, as predominant weeds. Growers in the South region were more likely to report pigweed and waterhemp (Amaranthus spp.), whereas growers in the East and West reported horseweed. When growers were asked with which GR weeds they had experienced personally, horseweed was reported in all regions, but growers in the South more frequently reported pigweed, whereas growers in the East and West regions more frequently reported waterhemp. Comparisons with the previous 2005 survey indicated that more growers believed they were experiencing GR weeds and were more aware of specific examples in their state. In particular, the Amaranthus complex was of greatest concern in continuously cropped soybean and cotton.

A 2010 survey of 1,299 corn, cotton, and soybean growers was conducted to determine their attitudes and awareness regarding glyphosate-resistant (GR) weeds and resultant implications on weed management practices. An additional 350 growers included in the current study participated in a 2005 survey, and these answers were compared across time so that cross-sectional and longitudinal comparisons of responses could be made. Most growers surveyed in 2010 were aware of the potential for weeds to evolve resistance to glyphosate; however, many growers were not aware of glyphosate resistance in specific weeds in their county or state. Growers in the South were different from growers in other geographic regions and were significantly more aware of local cases of GR weeds. Awareness of GR weeds did not increase appreciably from 2005 to 2010, but the percentage who reported GR weeds as problematic was significantly higher. Grower reports of GR weeds on-farm in 2010 were up considerably from 2005, with growers in the South reporting significantly more instances than growers in other regions. Growers in the South were also more likely to consider glyphosate resistance a serious problem. Overall, 30% of growers did not consider GR weeds to be a problem. It appears that most growers received information about glyphosate resistance from farm publications, although in the South this percentage was less than for other geographic regions. Growers in the South received more information from universities and extension sources.

Thermoluminescence (TL) age determinations of alluvial sediments in the tropics are evaluated by comparison with U/Th age determinations of pedogenic accumulations in the alluvium of the lower Gilbert River, a large fan delta in the wet-dry tropics of northern Queensland, Australia. This study extends U/Th dating by applying it not only to calcretes, but also to Fe/Mn oxyhydroxide/oxide accumulations. While a direct correlation cannot be made between U/Th dates from secondary minerals and TL dates from the host sediments, both sets of data show broad consistency. In addition to providing a minima for acceptable TL ages, U/Th dates are useful for determining the chronology of pedogenesis/diagenesis. They show that calcretes and ferricretes have formed under similar climatic conditions in the wet-dry tropics of northern Australia during the late pleistocene. Beneath about 5–12 m the Gilbert fan delta consists of an extensive sand body older than 85,000 yr and probably about 120,000 yr in age, representative of a period of major fluvial activity not repeated since this time. Above are muds and fine sandy muds that extend uninterrupted to the present surface except in the downstream fan where they are bisected by a thin unit of medium sand that TL dates at 40,000–50,000 yr B.P. A system of sandy distributary channels over the fan surface represents an early Holocene fluvial phase probably more active than at present.

Thirteen field experiments were conducted in Illinois, Indiana, Ohio, and Ontario from 2005 to 2007 to determine the effects of simulated glyphosate drift followed by in-crop applications of nicosulfuron/rimsulfuron plus dicamba/diflufenzopyr or foramsulfuron plus bromoxynil plus atrazine on nontransgenic corn injury, height, stand count, shoot dry weight, and yield. Simulated glyphosate drift at 100 and 200 g/ha, resulted in 11 to 61% visual crop injury and a 19 to 45% decrease in corn height. Simulated glyphosate drift at 200 g/ha caused a reduction in shoot dry weight by 46%, stand count by 28% and yield by 49 to 56%. Generally, simulated glyphosate drift followed by the in-crop herbicides resulted in an additive response with respect to visual crop injury, height, stand count, shoot dry weight, and yield.

Field experiments were conducted across the north-central United States to determine the benefits of various weed control strategies in corn. Weed control, corn yield, and economic return increased when a preemergence (PRE) broad-spectrum herbicide was followed by (fb) postemergence (POST) herbicides. Weed control decisions based on field scouting after a PRE broad-spectrum herbicide application increased weed control and economic return. Application of a PRE grass herbicide fb a POST herbicide based on field scouting resulted in less control of velvetleaf and morningglory species, corn yield, and economic return compared with a PRE broad-spectrum herbicide application fb scouting. Cultivation after a PRE broad-spectrum herbicide application increased weed control and corn yield compared with the herbicide applied alone, but economic return was not increased. An early-postemergence herbicide application fb cultivation resulted in the highest level of broadleaf weed control, the highest corn yield, and the greatest economic return compared with all other strategies. Weed control based on scouting proved to be useful in reducing the effect of weed escapes on corn yield and increased economic return compared with PRE herbicide application alone. However, economic return was not greater than the PRE fb planned POST or total POST strategies.

Approximately 1,300 growers from 22 states were surveyed during 2010 to determine herbicide use. Cropping systems included continuous glyphosate-resistant corn, cotton, and soybean, and various combinations of these crops and rotations with non–glyphosate-resistant crops. The most commonly used herbicide for both fall and spring applications was glyphosate followed by synthetic auxin herbicides. Herbicide application in spring was favored over application in the fall. The percentage of growers in a glyphosate-only system was as high as 69% for some cropping systems. Excluding glyphosate, the most frequently used herbicides included photosystem II, mitotic, and protoporphyrinogen oxidase inhibitors. A higher percentage of growers integrated herbicides other than glyphosate during 2010 compared with 2005. Extensive educational efforts have promoted resistance management by increasing the diversity of herbicides in glyphosate-resistant cropping systems. However, a considerable percentage of growers continued use of only glyphosate from the period of 2005 to 2010, and this practice most likely will continue to exert a high level of selection for evolved glyphosate-resistant weed species.

A wetland deposit from the southern Appalachian mountains of North Carolina, USA, has been radiocarbon dated and shows continuous deposition from the early Holocene to the present. Non-coastal records of Holocene paleoenvironments are rare from the southeastern USA. Increased stable carbon isotope ratios (?13C) of sedimentary organic matter and pollen percentages indicate warm, dry early- to mid-Holocene conditions. This interpretation is also supported by n-alkane biomarker data and bulk sedimentary C/N ratios. These warm, dry conditions coincide with a mid-Holocene hypsithermal, or altithermal, documented elsewhere in North America. Our data indicate that the southeastern USA warmed concurrently with much of the rest of the continent during the mid-Holocene. If the current "warming hole" in the southeastern USA persists, during a time of greenhouse gas-induced warming elsewhere, it will be anomalous both in space and time.

The largest known trilobite fossil, a virtually complete articulated dorsal shield of the asaphid Isotelus rex new species, has been recovered from Upper Ordovician (Cincinnatian, Richmondian) nearshore carbonates of the Churchill River Group in northern Manitoba. At over 700 mm in length, it is almost 70 percent longer than the largest previously documented complete trilobite, and provides the first unequivocal evidence of maximum trilobite length in excess of one-half metre. Comparisons with other fossil and extant members of the phylum suggest that in terms of maximum linear dimensions it was among the biggest arthropods ever to have lived. Sediments of the Churchill River Group were deposited in an equatorial epeiric setting and the extremely large size of I. rex n. sp. thus marks a striking example of low-latitude gigantism, in sharp contrast to the widespread phenomenon of “polar gigantism” in many modern marine benthic arthropods. Lack of extensive epibiontic colonization of the exoskeletal surface and the presence of large distinctive trace fossils in the same unit suggest that I. rex n. sp. may have been a semi-infaunal predator and scavenger that employed a shallow furrowing and probing mode of benthic feeding. The extinction of the isotelines (and virtually the entire asaphide lineage) at the end of the Ordovician cannot be related to the near contemporaneous achievement of exceptionally large adult size in some representatives. Failure to survive the terminal Ordovician extinction event was most likely a consequence of a pelagic larval life-style that proved ill-adapted to the rapid onset of global climatic cooling and loss of tropical shelf habitats.

The room temperature electronic characteristics of resonant tunneling diodes (RTDs) containing AlAs/InGaAs quantum wells are studied. Differences in the peak current and voltages, associated with device-to-device variations in the structure and width of the quantum well are analyzed. A method to use these differences between devices is introduced and shown to uniquely identify each of the individual devices under test. This investigation shows that quantum confinement in RTDs allows them to operate as physical unclonable functions.