Trail cameras are a key monitoring tool for determining target and non-target bait-take during rodent removal operations: evidence from Desecheo Island rat eradication

Efforts to remove invasive rodents (e.g. Rattus spp. and Mus musculus) from islands often use toxicant-laced baits containing the anticoagulants brodifacoum or diphacinone. Rodenticide baits are generally delivered through aerialor hand-broadcast, or in bait stations. These baits are not rodent-specific and are subject to non-target consumption or secondary exposure (e.g. an individual preying upon another individual that has consumed bait). During rodenticide applications, it is generally unknown which animals are visiting and consuming bait; and to quantify this, we recommend using trail cameras (e.g. Reconyxtm motion-activated infra-red) positioned to monitor individual bait pellets. To demonstrate the importance and effectiveness of using trail cameras during such operations, we report results of target (Rattus rattus, black rat) and non-target (native land crab, lizard, insect) bait-interactions after an aerial-broadcast of (Rattus rattus, black rat) and non-target (native land crab, lizard, insect) bait-interactions after an aerial-broadcast of Brodifacoum-25D Conservation to eradicate rats from Desecheo Island, Puerto Rico. During the first five days following bait application, trail cameras (n = 15) revealed that there were 40 incidences of animals contacting bait pellets: 50% rat, 32% hermit crab, 13% Ameiva lizard, and 5% insect. Trail cameras provide temporal and spatial information regarding the eff ectiveness of rodent removal, and the last rat pictured by trail cameras on Desecheo was six days after bait application began. Trail cameras revealed 30 incidences of animals contacting bait pellets 6–20 days after bait application began: 47% hermit crab, 37% Ameiva lizard, 13% insect, and 3% black crab. Despite viewing ~69,000 images from trail cameras, lizards were never pictured consuming bait on Desecheo; therefore, any brodifacoum exposure to Desecheo lizards likely occurred via secondary pathways (e.g. consumption of contaminated insects). Scaling up, we estimate that \u3e 75% of the total bait distributed on Desecheo was not consumed by rats. Trail cameras help inform the hazards of rodenticide use and can be easily incorporated into rodent removal operations

Blockchain for Power Grids

Sharing information is an important part of regulating and maintaining efficient and safe power grids. This project’s goal is to develop a way of using blockchain technology to share transaction information among different power grids in a secure, controlled, monitored, and efficient manner. The biggest concern regarding the data is integrity. By leveraging blockchain technology, the data will be reliable and resilient to attacks, such as man-in-the-middle and data spoofing attacks. The Hyperledger Fabric implementation provides a permissioned network in which power grids will act as nodes that maintain ledger information. By using a distributed ledger to validate transactions through the process of consensus, the system can share information in a manner that is more secure and transparent than traditional information sharing systems in which data is less secure and takes longer to validate. The additional layers of security and speed that Hyperledger technology provides help to prevent issues, such as power grid failures, that could stem from the latency or integrity issues involved with traditional methods of validating, processing, and reacting to shared data

Heavy quarkonium: progress, puzzles, and opportunities

A golden age for heavy quarkonium physics dawned a decade ago, initiated by the confluence of exciting advances in quantum chromodynamics (QCD) and an explosion of related experimental activity. The early years of this period were chronicled in the Quarkonium Working Group (QWG) CERN Yellow Report (YR) in 2004, which presented a comprehensive review of the status of the field at that time and provided specific recommendations for further progress. However, the broad spectrum of subsequent breakthroughs, surprises, and continuing puzzles could only be partially anticipated. Since the release of the YR, the BESII program concluded only to give birth to BESIII; the $B$-factories and CLEO-c flourished; quarkonium production and polarization measurements at HERA and the Tevatron matured; and heavy-ion collisions at RHIC have opened a window on the deconfinement regime. All these experiments leave legacies of quality, precision, and unsolved mysteries for quarkonium physics, and therefore beg for continuing investigations. The plethora of newly-found quarkonium-like states unleashed a flood of theoretical investigations into new forms of matter such as quark-gluon hybrids, mesonic molecules, and tetraquarks. Measurements of the spectroscopy, decays, production, and in-medium behavior of c\bar{c}, b\bar{b}, and b\bar{c} bound states have been shown to validate some theoretical approaches to QCD and highlight lack of quantitative success for others. The intriguing details of quarkonium suppression in heavy-ion collisions that have emerged from RHIC have elevated the importance of separating hot- and cold-nuclear-matter effects in quark-gluon plasma studies. This review systematically addresses all these matters and concludes by prioritizing directions for ongoing and future efforts.Comment: 182 pages, 112 figures. Editors: N. Brambilla, S. Eidelman, B. K. Heltsley, R. Vogt. Section Coordinators: G. T. Bodwin, E. Eichten, A. D. Frawley, A. B. Meyer, R. E. Mitchell, V. Papadimitriou, P. Petreczky, A. A. Petrov, P. Robbe, A. Vair

Measurement of three-jet differential cross sections d sigma-3jet / d M-3jet in p anti-p collisions at sqrt(s)=1.96 TeV

We present the first measurement of the inclusive three-jet differential cross section as a function of the invariant mass of the three jets with the largest transverse momenta in an event in p anti-p collisions at sqrt(s) = 1.96 TeV. The measurement is made in different rapidity regions and for different jet transverse momentum requirements and is based on a data set corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 0.7 fb^{-1} collected with the D0 detector at the Fermilab Tevatron Collider. The results are used to test the three-jet matrix elements in perturbative QCD calculations at next-to-leading order in the strong coupling constant. The data allow discrimination between parametrizations of the parton distribution functions of the proton.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 2 tables, submitted to Phys. Lett. B, corrected chi2 values for NNPD

Factors associated with syphilis seroprevalence in women with and at-risk for HIV infection in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (1994-2015)

Objective Syphilis rates among women in the USA more than doubled between 2014 and 2018. We sought to identify correlates of syphilis among women enrolled in the Women's Interagency HIV Study (WIHS) to inform targeted interventions. Methods The retrospective cross-sectional analysis of secondary data included women with HIV or at-risk of HIV who enrolled in the multisite US WIHS cohort between 1994 and 2015. Syphilis screening was performed at baseline. Infection was defined serologically by a positive rapid plasma reagin test with confirmatory treponemal antibodies. Sociodemographic and behavioural characteristics stratified by baseline syphilis status were compared for women enrolled during early (1994-2002) and recent (2011-2015) years. Multivariable binomial modelling with backward selection (p>0.2 for removal) was used to model correlates of syphilis. Results The study included 3692 women in the early cohort and 1182 women in the recent cohort. Syphilis prevalence at enrolment was 7.5% and 3.7% in each cohort, respectively (p100 lifetime sex partners (all p<0.05). In the recent cohort, age (adjusted prevalence OR (aPOR) 0.2, 95% CI 0.1 to 0.6 for 30-39 years; aPOR 0.5, 95% CI 0.2 to 1.0 for 40-49 years vs ≥50 years), hepatitis C seropositivity (aPOR 2.1, 95% CI 1.0 to 4.1) and problem alcohol use (aPOR 2.2, 95% CI 1.1 to 4.4) were associated with infection. Conclusions Syphilis screening is critical for women with HIV and at-risk of HIV. Targeted prevention efforts should focus on women with hepatitis C and problem alcohol use

WGS-based telomere length analysis in Dutch family trios implicates stronger maternal inheritance and a role for RRM1 gene

Telomere length (TL) regulation is an important factor in ageing, reproduction and cancer development. Genetic, hereditary and environmental factors regulating TL are currently widely investigated, however, their relative contribution to TL variability is still understudied. We have used whole genome sequencing data of 250 family trios from the Genome of the Netherlands project to perform computational measurement of TL and a series of regression and genome-wide association analyses to reveal TL inheritance patterns and associated genetic factors. Our results confirm that TL is a largely heritable trait, primarily with mother’s, and, to a lesser extent, with father’s TL having the strongest influence on the offspring. In this cohort, mother’s, but not father’s age at conception was positively linked to offspring TL. Age-related TL attrition of 40 bp/year had relatively small influence on TL variability. Finally, we have identified TL-associated variations in ribonuclease reductase catalytic subunit M1 (RRM1 gene), which is known to regulate telomere maintenance in yeast. We also highlight the importance of multivariate approach and the limitations of existing tools for the analysis of TL as a polygenic heritable quantitative trait

RANTES/CCL5 and risk for coronary events: Results from the MONICA/KORA Augsburg case-cohort, Athero-express and CARDIoGRAM studies

Background: The chemokine RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted)/CCL5 is involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in mice, whereas less is known in humans. We hypothesised that its relevance for atherosclerosis should be reflected by associations between CCL5 gene variants, RANTES serum concentrations and protein levels in atherosclerotic plaques and risk for coronary events. Methods and Findings: We conducted a case-cohort study within the population-based MONICA/KORA Augsburg studies. Baseline RANTES serum levels were measured in 363 individuals with incident coronary events and 1,908 non-cases (mean follow-up: 10.2±

Measurement of W± and Z-boson production cross sections in pp collisions at √s=13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

See paper for full list of authors - 17 pages plus author list + cover pages (34 pages total), 5 figures, 3 tables, submitted to Phys. Lett. B, All figures including auxiliary figures are available at https://atlas.web.cern.ch/Atlas/GROUPS/PHYSICS/PAPERS/STDM-2015-03/International audienceMeasurements of the $W^{\pm} \rightarrow \ell^{\pm} \nu$ and $Z \rightarrow \ell^+ \ell^-$ production cross sections (where $\ell^{\pm}=e^{\pm},\mu^{\pm}$) in proton-proton collisions at $\sqrt{s}=13$ TeV are presented using data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to a total integrated luminosity of 81 pb$^{-1}$. The total inclusive $W^{\pm}$-boson production cross sections times the single-lepton-flavour branching ratios are $\sigma_{W^+}^{tot}= 11.78 \pm 0.02 (stat) \pm 0.32 (sys) \pm 0.59 (lumi)$ nb and $\sigma_{W^-}^{tot} = 8.75 \pm 0.02 (stat) \pm 0.24 (sys) \pm 0.44 (lumi)$ nb for $W^+$ and $W^-$, respectively. The total inclusive $Z$-boson production cross section times leptonic branching ratio, within the invariant mass window $66 < m_{\ell\ell} < 116$ GeV, is $\sigma_{Z}^{tot} = 1.97 \pm 0.01 (stat) \pm 0.04 (sys) \pm 0.10 (lumi)$ nb. The $W^+$, $W^-$, and $Z$-boson production cross sections and cross-section ratios within a fiducial region defined by the detector acceptance are also measured. The cross-section ratios benefit from significant cancellation of experimental uncertainties, resulting in $\sigma_{W^+}^{fid}/\sigma_{W^-}^{fid} = 1.295 \pm 0.003 (stat) \pm 0.010 (sys)$ and $\sigma_{W^{\pm}}^{fid}/\sigma_{Z}^{fid} = 10.31 \pm 0.04 (stat) \pm 0.20 (sys)$. Theoretical predictions, based on calculations accurate to next-to-next-to-leading order for quantum chromodynamics and next-to-leading order for electroweak processes and which employ different parton distribution function sets, are compared to these measurements

Dijet production in √s = 7 TeV pp collisions with large rapidity gaps at the ATLAS experiment

A 6.8 nb−¹ sample of pp collision data collected under low-luminosity conditions at √s = 7 TeV by the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider is used to study diffractive dijet production. Events containing at least two jets with pT > 20 GeV are selected and analysed in terms of variables which discriminate between diffractive and non-diffractive processes. Cross sections are measured differentially in ΔηF, the size of the observable forward region of pseudorapidity which is devoid of hadronic activity, and in an estimator, ξ˜, of the fractional momentum loss of the proton assuming single diffractive dissociation (pp → p X). Model comparisons indicate a dominant non-diffractive contribution up to moderately large ηF and small ξ˜, with a diffractive contribution which is significant at the highest ΔηF and the lowest ξ˜. The rapidity-gap survival probability is estimated from comparisons of the data in this latter region with predictions based on diffractive parton distribution functions

Factors Associated with Revision Surgery after Internal Fixation of Hip Fractures

Background: Femoral neck fractures are associated with high rates of revision surgery after management with internal fixation. Using data from the Fixation using Alternative Implants for the Treatment of Hip fractures (FAITH) trial evaluating methods of internal fixation in patients with femoral neck fractures, we investigated associations between baseline and surgical factors and the need for revision surgery to promote healing, relieve pain, treat infection or improve function over 24 months postsurgery. Additionally, we investigated factors associated with (1) hardware removal and (2) implant exchange from cancellous screws (CS) or sliding hip screw (SHS) to total hip arthroplasty, hemiarthroplasty, or another internal fixation device. Methods: We identified 15 potential factors a priori that may be associated with revision surgery, 7 with hardware removal, and 14 with implant exchange. We used multivariable Cox proportional hazards analyses in our investigation. Results: Factors associated with increased risk of revision surgery included: female sex, [hazard ratio (HR) 1.79, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.25-2.50; P = 0.001], higher body mass index (fo