Does monitoring pests pay off? a bioeconomic assessment of Drosophila suzukii controls.

BACKGROUND: Drosophila suzukii is a significant invasive pest that has caused high management costs and economic losses for blueberry growers in the United States. The status quo control strategy commonly used by growers is to apply pesticides proactively and frequently to reduce infestation. Recent studies have shown that the calendar-based spraying strategy might be unsustainable in the long term, making the reduction of pesticide reliance a top priority for the berry industry. Incorporating pest monitoring into the control strategy could be an option to improve efficiency while reducing pesticide usage. This study assesses the economic implications of monitoring-based control strategies compared to calendar-based spraying control strategies for organic blueberry production in Oregon. We combine a D. suzukii population model into the economic simulation framework, evaluate two monitoring methods (adult trapping and fruit sampling), and identify the profit-maximizing control strategy under different scenarios. RESULTS: In the baseline scenario, control strategies that incorporate fruit sampling exhibit the highest average profits. Although the status quo control strategy (spraying every 3 days) generates higher average revenue than monitoring-based strategies, the cost from the higher number of pesticide application offsets the returns. CONCLUSION: This study uses a novel bioeconomic simulation framework to show that incorporating fruit sampling can be a promising tool to reduce pesticide reliance while controlling D. suzukii infestation. These findings provide clearer information on the economic viability of using monitoring-based pest control strategies in organic berry production, and the assessment framework sheds light on the economics of pest management. © 2023 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Changes in the supply chain outcomes of food regionalization, 2007-2017: Broccoli in the eastern United States.

Local and regional food supply chains are gaining increasing support from public and private sectors for their contributions to economic development and promoting sustainability. However, the impacts of regionalization are not well understood. We employ a spatial-temporal model of production and transportation to evaluate the supply chain outcomes of a decade-long process of food regionalization for fresh broccoli in the eastern United States (US). Our results indicate that eastern broccoli supply chains displaced products sourced from the western US and met over 15% of the annual demand in eastern markets in 2017. We find that total broccoli supply chain costs and food miles increased in the period 2007-2017. Nevertheless, eastern-grown broccoli has contributed to reducing regional food miles in the eastern region (from 365 miles in 2007 to 255 miles in 2017) and experienced only modest increases in supply chains costs (a 3.4% increase, compared to a 16.5% increase for broccoli shipped from western US) during the same period. Our results provide valuable information for policymakers and the fresh produce industry interested in promoting regional food supply chains.

Multilayer Membranes of Glycosaminoglycans and Collagen I Biomaterials Modulate the Function and Microvesicle Release of Endothelial Progenitor Cells.

Multilayer composite membrane of biomaterials can increase the function of adipose stem cells or osteoprogenitor cells. Recent evidence indicates endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs) and EPCs released microvesicles (MVs) play important roles in angiogenesis and vascular repair. Here, we investigated the effects of biomaterial multilayer membranes of hyaluronic acid (HA) or chondroitin sulfate (CS) and Collagen I (Col I) on the functions and MVs release of EPCs. Layer-by-layer (LBL) technology was applied to construct the multilayer composite membranes. Four types of the membranes constructed by adsorbing either HA or CS and Col I alternatively with different top layers were studied. The results showed that all four types of multilayer composite membranes could promote EPCs proliferation and migration and inhibit cell senility, apoptosis, and the expression of activated caspase-3. Interestingly, these biomaterials increased the release and the miR-126 level of EPCs-MVs. Moreover, the CS-Col I membrane with CS on the top layer showed the most effects on promoting EPCs proliferation, EPCs-MV release, and miR-126 level in EPCs-MVs. In conclusion, HA/CS and Collagen I composed multilayer composite membranes can promote EPCs functions and release of miR-126 riched EPCs-MVs, which provides a novel strategy for tissue repair treatment.

Hepatic Stellate Cell-Derived Microvesicles Prevent Hepatocytes from Injury Induced by APAP/H2O2.

Hepatic stellate cells (HSCs), previously described for liver-specific mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), appear to contribute to liver regeneration. Microvesicles (MVs) are nanoscale membrane fragments, which can regulate target cell function by transferring contents from their parent cells. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of HSC-derived MVs on xenobiotic-induced liver injury. Rat and human hepatocytes, BRL-3A and HL-7702, were used to build hepatocytes injury models by n-acetyl-p-aminophenol n-(APAP) or H2O2 treatment. MVs were prepared from human and rat HSCs, LX-2, and HST-T6 and, respectively, added to injured BRL-3A and HL-7702 hepatocytes. MTT assay was utilized to determine cell proliferation. Cell apoptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry and hoechst33258 staining. Western blot was used for analyzing the expression of activated caspase-3. Liver injury indicators, alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) in culture medium were also assessed. Results showed that (1) HSC-MVs derived from LX-2 and HST-T6 were positive to CD90 and annexin V surface markers; (2) HSC-MVs dose-dependently improved the viability of hepatocytes in both injury models; (3) HSC-MVs dose-dependently inhibited the APAP/H2O2 induced hepatocytes apoptosis and activated caspase-3 expression and leakage of LDH, ALT, and AST. Our results demonstrate that HSC-derived MVs protect hepatocytes from toxicant-induced injury.

Microvascular endothelial cells-derived microvesicles imply in ischemic stroke by modulating astrocyte and blood brain barrier function and cerebral blood flow.

BACKGROUND: Endothelial cell (EC) released microvesicles (EMVs) can affect various target cells by transferring carried genetic information. Astrocytes are the main components of the blood brain barrier (BBB) structure in the brain and participate in regulating BBB integrity and blood flow. The interactions between ECs and astrocytes are essential for BBB integrity in homeostasis and pathological conditions. Here, we studied the effects of human brain microvascular ECs released EMVs on astrocyte functions. Additionally, we investigated the effects of EMVs treated astrocytes on regulating BBB function and cerebral ischemic damage. RESULTS: EMVs prepared from ECs cultured in normal condition (n-EMVs) or oxygen and glucose deprivation (OGD-EMVs) condition had diverse effects on astrocytes. The n-EMVs promoted, while the OGD-EMVs inhibited the proliferation of astrocytes via regulating PI3K/Akt pathway. Glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) expression (marker of astrocyte activation) was up-regulated by n-EMVs, while down-regulated by OGD-EMVs. Meanwhile, n-EMVs inhibited but OGD-EMVs promoted the apoptosis of astrocytes accompanied by up/down-regulating the expression of Caspase-9 and Bcl-2. In the BBB model of ECs-astrocytes co-culture, the n-EMVs, conversely to OGD-EMVs, decreased the permeability of BBB accompanied with up-regulation of zonula occudens-1(ZO-1) and Claudin-5. In a transient cerebral ischemia mouse model, n-EMVs ameliorated, while OGD-EMVs aggravated, BBB disruption, local cerebral blood flow (CBF) reduction, infarct volume and neurological deficit score. CONCLUSIONS: Our data suggest that EMVs diversely modulate astrocyte functions, BBB integrity and CBF, and could serve as a novel therapeutic target for ischemic stroke.