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The GRACE Risk Score is a well-validated tool for estimating short- and long-term risk in acute coronary syndrome (ACS). GRACE Risk Score 2.0 substitutes several variables that may be unavailable to clinicians and, thus, limit use of the GRACE Risk Score. GRACE Risk Score 2.0 performed well in the original GRACE cohort. We sought to validate its performance in a contemporary multiracial ACS cohort, in particular in black patients with ACS. We evaluated the performance of the GRACE Risk Score 2.0 simplified algorithm for predicting 1-year mortality in 2,131 participants in Transitions, Risks, and Actions in Coronary Events Center for Outcomes Research and Education (TRACE-CORE), a multiracial cohort of patients discharged alive after an ACS in 2011 to 2013 from 6 hospitals in Massachusetts and Georgia. The median age of study participants was 61 years, 67% were men, and 16% were black. Half (51%) of the patients experienced a non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (NSTEMI) and 18% STEMI. Eighty patients (3.8%) died within 12 months of discharge. The GRACE Risk Score 2.0 simplified algorithm demonstrated excellent model discrimination for predicting 1-year mortality after hospital discharge in the TRACE-CORE cohort (c-index = 0.77). The c-index was 0.94 in patients with STEMI, 0.78 in those with NSTEMI, and 0.87 in black patients with ACS. In conclusion, the GRACE Risk Score 2.0 simplified algorithm for predicting 1-year mortality exhibited excellent model discrimination across the spectrum of ACS types and racial/ethnic subgroups and, thus, may be a helpful tool to guide routine clinical care for patients with ACS., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), infestations in most of North America north of Mexico arise from annual migrations of populations that overwinter in southern Texas and Florida. A comparison of the cytochrome oxidase I haplotype profiles within the fall armyworm corn-strain, the subgroup that preferentially infests corn (Zea mays L.) and sorghum (Sorghum vulgare Pers.), identified significant differences in the proportions of certain haplotypes between the Texas and Florida populations. These proportional differences were preserved as the populations migrated, providing a molecular metric by which the source of a migrant population could be identified. The migratory pattern derived from this method for several southeastern states was shown to be consistent with predictions based on analysis of historical agricultural and fall armyworm infestation data. These results demonstrate the utility of haplotype proportions to monitor fall armyworm migration, and they also introduce a potential method to predict the severity of cotton crop infestations in the short term.