Control of barnyardgrass is becoming increasingly difficult as plants evolve resistance to herbicides. ROXY oxyfluorfen-resistant rice (ROXY® Rice Production System) has been developed to allow for an alternative mode of action to control barnyardgrass and other weeds. In 2021 and 2022, field trials were conducted at the Pine Tree Research Station near Colt, AR, the Northeast Research and Extension Center in Keiser, AR, and the University of Arkansas Pine Bluff Small Farm Research Center near Lonoke, AR to determine the level of weed control and crop tolerance following oxyfluorfen applied preemergence or postemergence relative to herbicides currently labeled for use in rice. When applied post-plant preemergence on silt loam soil, oxyfluorfen alone at 1,120 and 1,680 g ai ha-1 resulted in barnyardgrass control comparable to clomazone alone at 336 g ha-1. Still, injury to rice was often greater than with clomazone, ranging from 20% to 45%. On clay soil, oxyfluorfen at 1,680 g ha-1 resulted in barnyardgrass control comparable to clomazone alone in both site-years at three weeks after emergence but caused up to 18% injury to rice. When oxyfluorfen was applied at 560 to 1,680 g ha-1 at the 2-leaf rice growth stage, barnyardgrass control was ≥85% in three of four site-years one week after treatment. However, injury to rice ranged from 38% to 73% for the rates evaluated. Propanil caused the greatest injury by a herbicide currently labeled for use in rice at 34%. Oxyfluorfen should be used as a post-plant preemergence herbicide rather than a postemergence herbicide due to the injury observed after a postemergence application. The data indicates that if used as a preemergence herbicide, oxyfluorfen should be applied at 560 g ha-1 to reduce the injury observed on silt loam and clay soils.

Impaired facial emotion recognition is a transdiagnostic risk factor for a range of psychiatric disorders. Childhood behavioral difficulties and parental emotional environment have been independently associated with impaired emotion recognition; however, no study has examined the contribution of these factors in conjunction. We measured recognition of negative (sad, fear, anger), neutral, and happy facial expressions in 135 children aged 5–7 years referred by their teachers for behavioral problems. Parental emotional environment was assessed for parental expressed emotion (EE) – characterized by negative comments, reduced positive comments, low warmth, and negativity towards their child – using the 5-minute speech sample. Child behavioral problems were measured using the teacher-informant Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Child behavioral problems and parental EE were independently associated with impaired recognition of negative facial expressions specifically. An interactive effect revealed that the combination of both factors was associated with the greatest risk for impaired recognition of negative faces, and in particular sad facial expressions. No relationships emerged for the identification of happy facial expressions. This study furthers our understanding of multidimensional processes associated with the development of facial emotion recognition and supports the importance of early interventions that target this domain.

Background: Increasing Emergency Department (ED) stretcher occupancy with admitted patients at our tertiary care hospital has contributed to long Physician Initial Assessment (PIA) times. As of Oct 2019, median PIA was 2.3 hours and 90th percentile PIA was 5.3 hours, with a consequent 71/74 PIA ranking compared to all Ontario EDs. Ambulatory zone (AZ) models are more commonly used in community EDs compared to tertiary level EDs. An interdisciplinary team trialled an AZ model for five days in our ED to improve PIA times. Aim Statement: We sought to decrease the median PIA for patients in our ED during the AZ trial period as compared to days with similar occupancy and volume. Measures & Design: The AZ was reserved for patients who could walk from a chair to stretcher. In this zone, ED rooms with stretchers were for patient assessment only; when waiting for results or receiving treatment, patients were moved into chairs. We removed nursing assignment ratios to increase patient flow. Our outcome measure was the median PIA for all patients in our ED. Our balancing measure was the 90th percentile PIA, which could increase if we negatively impacted patients who require stretchers. The median and 90th percentile PIA during the AZ trial were compared to similar occupancy and volume days without the AZ. Additional measures included ED Length of Stay (LOS) for non-admitted patients, and patients who leave without being seen (LWBS). Clinicians and patients provided qualitative feedback through surveys. Evaluation/Results: The median PIA during the AZ trial was 1.5 hours, compared to 2.1 hours during control days. Our balancing measure, the 90th percentile PIA was 3.7 hours, compared to 5.0 during control days. A run chart revealed both median and 90th percentile PIA during the trial were at their lowest points over the past 18 months. The number of LWBS patients decreased during the trial; EDLOS did not change. The majority of patients, nurses, and physicians felt the trial could be implemented permanently. Discussion/Impact: Although our highly specialized tertiary care hospital faces unique challenges and high occupancy pressures, a community-hospital style AZ model was successful in improving PIA. Shorter PIA times can improve other quality metrics, such as timeliness of analgesia and antibiotics. We are working to optimize the model based on feedback before we cycle another trial. Our findings suggest that other tertiary care EDs should consider similar AZ models.

Background: Most emergency departments (ED) utilize medical directives to initiate lab investigations for patients prior to physician assessment. This practice facilitates expedited patient care in the ED, resulting in safer and efficient care. However, some patients choose to leave the ED prior to seeing a physician due to prolonged waiting. Previously, at our hospital there was no defined process for identifying and following up on abnormal test results on patients that leave without being seen (LWBS), resulting in lab results often not being reviewed by a nurse or physician. Aim Statement: By April 2020, we aim to have 90% of ED LWBS patients with abnormal results identified and followed up. Measures & Design: A series of consultations and information gathering occurred that included an environmental scan of other EDs and discussions with emergency nurses, emergency physicians, Risk Management, Legal Department, College of Nurses of Ontario and Canadian Medical Protective Association. A process map was developed collaboratively to standardize the process to identify and follow up on abnormal investigations of LWBS patients and a new hospital policy was developed to officially outline this process. The following are the family of measures: Outcome measure – % LWBS patients with abnormal tests that had follow-up documented in chart Process measure – Number LWBS patients with investigations initiated by medical directive, Number LWBS patients, % LWBS patients Balancing measure – Satisfaction of nurses with new process for LWBS patients Evaluation/Results: At baseline, 29% of LWBS patients with abnormal lab results had follow up documented in the chart. After implementation of the new standardized process and policy, the follow up rate of LWBS patients with abnormal results in August, September and October 2019 was 47%, 28% and 29% respectively. Discussion/Impact: These results indicate that standardization and new policy implementation is insufficient to change practice, even one that aims to provide safer patient care. Nevertheless, these interventions are important first steps to improving the safety for ED LWBS patients. We plan to implement an audit and feedback approach to encourage nursing staff to routinely check lab results on LWBS patients.

Current measures for major depressive disorder focus primarily on the assessment of depressive symptoms, while often omitting other common features. However, the presence of comorbid features in the anxiety spectrum influences outcome and may effect treatment. More comprehensive measures of depression are needed that include the assessment of symptoms in the anxiety–depression spectrum. This study examines the reliability and validity of the Symptoms of Depression Questionnaire (SDQ), which assesses irritability, anger attacks, and anxiety symptoms together with the commonly considered symptoms of depression. Analysis of the factor structure of the SDQ identified 5 subscales, including one in the anxiety–depression spectrum, with adequate internal consistency and concurrent validity. The SDQ may be a valuable new tool to better characterize depression and identify and administer more targeted interventions.

Efforts to respond to performance-based accountability mandates for public health emergency preparedness have been hindered by a weak evidence base linking preparedness activities with response outcomes. We describe an approach to measure development that was successfully implemented in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Public Health Emergency Preparedness Cooperative Agreement. The approach leverages insights from process mapping and experts to guide measure selection, and provides mechanisms for reducing performance-irrelevant variation in measurement data. Also, issues are identified that need to be addressed to advance the science of measurement in public health emergency preparedness.

Determining the rate of hoof horn growth in sheep is important for understanding the physiology and pathology of the foot and the impact of the environment and the treatment of diseased feet on foot health. It could lead to improved understanding of the interaction between hoof horn and pasture/barn floor characteristics and in methods for prevention and treatment of ovine foot diseases. In the current study, the hoof horn was measured using a previously tested protocol on all eight digits of 21 healthy yearling mule ewes on a farm in North Wales on four occasions over a period of 53 days. The mean hoof horn growth rate was 0·11 mm (s.e.m. 0·02) per day; the residual error variance was 0·024 and the R2 was 0·245. There were no significant differences between hoof horn growth rates in front and hind feet or between medial and lateral claws or over time.

Fourteen young wether sheep were fed freshly cut Lotus pedunculatus as a sole diet to examine the effects of condensed tannins (CT; 55 g/kg lotus DM) on nitrogenous aspects of digestion. The experiment was carried out indoors at Palmerston North, New Zealand over 32 days with one group of sheep receiving an intraruminal infusion of polyethylene glycol (PEG; 100 g/day) to preferentially bind CT (PEG group) so that the lotus was essentially ‘CT-free'. The other sheep, not given PEG, were termed the ‘Tannin’ group.

The principal effects of CT were to increase the flow of feed nitrogen (N) to the abomasum despite a 12% reduction in DM intake of the Tannin sheep. Rumen microbial N turnover rate was slower in Tannin animals than in those receiving PEG (1·86 v. 2·63/day) but microbial N flux to the abomasum was similar in both treatments. The proportion of N intake disappearing from the rumen was lower in Tannin (0·13) than in PEG sheep (0·26) and the N digestibility was 0·67 and 0·81 for the respective treatments (P < 0·001).

The beneficial effects of CT in reducing rumen degradation of feed protein were negated in part by a reduction in fractional absorption of amino acids (AA) from the small intestine. Fractional absorption of essential AA was 0·66 in Tannin and 0·79 in PEG sheep; values for non-essential AA were 0'59 in Tannin and 0·73 in PEG groups. Amino acid concentrations in blood were similar for both groups, but Tannin sheep had lower plasma urea concentrations, a more rapid plasma urea turnover rate and a higher irreversible loss than those receiving PEG. Growth hormone concentrations in plasma were similar for both treatments.

Lotus pedunculatus was grown under high fertility conditions and its nutritive value was determined in a feeding trial with sheep at Palmerston North, New Zealand in 1989. The condensed tannins (CT) accounted for 5·5 % of lotus dry matter (DM) and its effect on digestion was evaluated by giving an intraruminal infusion of polyethylene glycol (PEG) to six of the sheep (PEG group). PEG preferentially binds with CT so that the lotus becomes essentially CT-free.

The experiment was carried out with 14 sheep (six PEG and eight ‘Tannin’) held in metabolism crates indoors and given freshly cut lotus hourly, for 32 days. This paper presents data relating to carbohydrate and mineral digestion, together with aspects of rumen function.

Digestibility of lotus DM was 68%, and the digestibility of fibre was not affected by CT. Infusion of PEG increased rumen concentrations of NH3 and volatile fatty acids (P < 0·001) but effects on molar ratios of VFA were inconsistent with time. CT reduced rumen degradation and absorption of sulphur and increased net absorption of both phosphorus and zinc, but other effects on mineral digestion were small.

Although the lotus was offered at c. 90% of ad libitum, intakes of the tannin sheep began to decline after c. 15 days of feeding and were c. 12% lower than those of the PEG sheep at the end of the trial (P < 0·05). At slaughter, rumen pool sizes were similar for the two treatments but the Tannin sheep had a lower fractional outflow rate, which suggests a slower rate of digestion in the rumen. Growth rate and wool production were similar for sheep on both treatments. It is concluded that the CT in Lotus pedunculatus grown under high fertility conditions had little effect on fibre and mineral digestion but the depression in DM intake reduced its nutritive value for sheep.

An experiment was conducted at Palmerston North, New Zealand, to determine the effect of condensed tannins (CT) on the true and apparent digestion of methionine and cysteine in the small intestine (SI) of sheep fed fresh Lotus comkulatus. The lotus contained c. 30 g total CT/kg dry matter (DM) and was fed hourly to sheep in metabolism crates. Four sheep were prepared with rumen and abomasal cannulae which enabled the indigestible liquid phase marker, chromium ethylene diamine tetra-acetic acid (Cr-EDTA), to be infused into the rumen to estimate digesta flow. True digestibility of plant methionine and cysteine in the SI and their site of absorption in the SI were determined from 35S-labelled L. corniculatus homogenate continuously infused into the abomasum. After 9 h infusion of the 35S-labelled lotus homogenate, the sheep were slaughtered and digesta samples were taken at intervals along the small and large intestines. The effect of CT was determined by comparing two control sheep (CT-acting) with two sheep given a continuous intraruminal infusion of polyethylene glycol (PEG, MW 3500) to bind and inactivate the CT.

The CT reduced the true digestibility of plant methionine (0·72 v. 0·88) and cysteine (0·65 v. 0·81) in the SI relative to sheep receiving PEG. Condensed tannins also appeared to alter the site of digestion of both [35S]methionine and [35S]cysteine in the SI, and increased the flux of both amino acids in the mid and latter thirds of the SI. CT did not affect the apparent digestibility of total methionine (0·82 v. 0·84) in the SI but reduced the apparent digestibility of total cysteine from 0·77 to 0·66. In control sheep CT increased the abomasal flux (as a proportion of eaten) of total digesta methionine (0·88 v. 0·76) and total digesta cysteine (0·74 v. 0·62). The apparent absorption of total methionine (plant + microbial + endogenous) was increased by the action of CT (0·72 v. 0·63 g/g eaten) but was similar for total cysteine (0·49 v. 0·48 g/g eaten) in both groups. It was concluded that CT reduced the true digestibility of plant methionine and cysteine in the SI. However, it was calculated that the action of CT actually increased the total amounts (g/g eaten) of plant methionine and cysteine absorbed from the SI, due to its effect in increasing abomasal flux.

A field experiment was conducted to assess the effect of competition between a leucaena hybrid and maize (Zea mays L.) when planted simultaneously in an alley cropping system. The leucaena hybrid (a cross between L. diversifolia and L. leucocephala) was planted at hedgerow spacings of 3 and 5.25 m, while maize was planted in rows 75 cm apart between the hedgerows. The spacing between the leucaena hedgerow and maize was varied by removal of 0, l or 2 rows of maize to give three spacing treatments of 37.5, 75 or 112.5 cm between leucaena and maize. A control plot of leucaena alone was also included in the treatments. The growth and yield of individual maize rows were virtually unaffected by the presence of leucaena, but maize had a significant influence on the growth and yield of leucaena. At full maize canopy development, photosynthetically active radiation reaching the leucaena was reduced in all treatments, resulting in a 75% yield reduction in leucaena at the closest spacing. Overall, maize grain yield reached 10.3 t ha−1 in the continuous maize plots (37.5 cm treatment). This was reduced by up to 40% after removal of two maize rows in the closest leucaena row spacing treatment. The implications of these results for the practical establishment of leucaena hedgerows with a maize crop are discussed.