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Since 2012, the Herbicide Ballistic Technology (HBT) platform has been deployed in helicopter operations with a mission to eliminate nascent populations of the invasive plant species miconia (Miconia calvescens DC), which is spreading across the East Maui Watershed in Hawaii. The HBT platform is a refined pesticide application system that pneumatically delivers encapsulated herbicide projectiles (i.e., paintballs) from a long range (up to ~30 m) and varying attitude. This onboard system provides accurate, effective treatment of individual plant targets occupying remote, inaccessible portions of the forested landscape. Statistics of operational performance are acquired through GIS analyses of recorded GPS data assigned to treated plant targets. Recently, we have developed a telemetry system for HBT applications (HBT-TS) to enhance the attribute data of target treatments. The HBT-TS integrates a hardware sensor with the electropneumatic marker that is actuated by the trigger to generate time-stamped, geo-referenced attribute data, including target assignment, azimuth, tilt, and range determined from the applicator position, for every projectile discharged. With target assignments, the HBT-TS records the estimated dose applied to each target. Furthermore, the time stamps show that the actual time to administer projectiles (i.e., target treatment) is a minor component of the total time on target. By tracking the orientation and distance of the discharged projectile, we can calculate a precise offset target location relative to the applicator position and provide a more accurate interpretation of the herbicide use rate (g acid equivalent ha-1) based on the known amount of herbicide contained in each projectile and the final placement on the landscape. We acknowledge the challenges of GPS inaccuracies while recording in a dynamic environment (i.e., a moving platform in extreme topography), albeit with increased precision. Regardless, the current state of the HBT-TS technology enhances operational intelligence relevant to landscape-scale invasive species management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective To investigate human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing and p16/Ki-67 staining for detecting cervical intraepithelial grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) and CIN3 in women referred to colposcopy with minor abnormal cervical cytology low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) and atypical squamous cells of undermined significance (AS C-US). The clinical performance of both tests was evaluated as stand-alone tests and combined, for detection CIN2+ and CIN3 over 2 years. Methods ThinPrep® liquid-based cytology ( LBC) specimens were collected from 1349 women with repeat LSIL or ASC- US. HPV DNA was performed using Hybrid Capture. Where adequate material remained ( n = 471), p16/Ki-67 overexpression was assessed. Clinical performance for detection of histologically diagnosed CIN2+ and CIN3 was calculated. Results Approximately 62.2% of the population were positive for HPV DNA, and 30.4% were positive for p16/Ki-67. p16/Ki-67 showed no significant difference in positivity between LSIL and ASC- US referrals (34.3% versus 28.6%; P = 0.189). Women under 30 years had a higher rate of p16/Ki-67 compared to those over 30 years (36.0% versus 26.6%; P = 0.029). Overall HPV DNA testing produced a high sensitivity for detection of CIN3 of 95.8% compared to 79.2% for p16/Ki-67. In contrast, p16/Ki-67 expression offered a higher specificity, 75.2% versus 40.4% for detection of CIN3. Combining p16/Ki-67 with HPV DNA improved the accuracy in distinguishing between CIN3 and < CIN3. The absolute risk of CIN3 increased from 15.6% in women who were HPV DNA positive to 27% in women positive for HPV DNA and p16/Ki-67. Those negative for HPV DNA and p16/Ki-67 had a low risk of 1.2% of CIN3. Conclusion The addition of p16/Ki-67 to HPV DNA testing leads to a more accurate stratification of CIN in women presenting with minor cytological abnormalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Acyclovir (ACV) resistant herpes simplex virus (HSV) isolates can be readily selected in animal infection models receiving suboptimal ACV treatment, however no comparative studies of the emergence of resistance following suboptimal treatment with valacyclovir (VCV) or famciclovir (FCV), the prodrugs of acyclovir and penciclovir, respectively, have been reported.Methods: Mice (n = 30) were infected with HSV type 1 or 2 in the ear pinnae and administered oral prodrugs at one fifth a dose previously shown to be effective. To select and amplify drug-resistant HSV, a total of seven consecutive in vivo passages with suboptimal treatment were performed for each virus sample and progeny virus from each passage was characterized by the plaque reduction (PRA) and plating efficiency assays (PEA).Results: No drug-resistant HSV-2 and only a single drug-resistant HSV-1 variant were identified. Virus recovered from the first three sequential passages of this HSV-1 sample was susceptible by PRA, although the proportion of resistant virus recovered gradually increased upon passage. The resistant HSV-1 phenotype was confirmed by PRA after four sequential passages in mice. Unexpectedly, this in vivo-selected drug-resistant HSV-1 failed to yield an infection completely refractory to treatment in subsequent passages.Conclusions: Sub-optimal therapy of immunocompetent mice with either VCV or FCV did not readily select for HSV-mutants resistant to either ACV or PCV, suggesting that selection of resistance with either prodrug remains difficult using this system. Futhermore, this study suggests that the PEA may represent a useful adjunct to the PRA for monitoring alterations in the proportion of drug-resistant virus even when no change in IC50 is apparent. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]