Alien Registration- Price, Alice (Wade, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/32740/thumbnail.jp

Status and habitat requirements of Physaria thamnophila, an endangered species of Tamaulipan thornscrub

	Physaria (Lesquerella) thamnophila (Brassicaceae; henceforth Physaria) is an endangered herbaceous perennial plant of remnant patches of Tamaulipan thornscrub near the southern Texas border. Six years of censuses of four populations of Physaria were analyzed. Quantitative data were collected to describe the plant community in the four sites. There was no overall trend in population size, but fluctuations in observed numbers of plants among years were extremely large: a single census cannot provide a reliable assessment of a population of this species. Seedling numbers were positively related with shrub canopy cover. However, there were many more Physaria plants in the brush-cleared portion of one site than in its uncleared portion. Seedling survival may be facilitated by anything that reduces movement of the highly erodible soils of these sites

Hand hygiene techniques:Still a requirement for evidence for practice?

Introduction Two hand hygiene techniques are promoted internationally: the World Health Organisation’s 6 step and the Centre for Disease Control’s 3 step techniques; both of which may be considered to have suboptimum levels of empirical evidence for use with alcohol based hand rub (ABHR). Objectives The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of the two techniques in clinical practice. Methods A prospective parallel group randomised controlled trial (RCT) was conducted with 1:1 allocation of 6 step versus the 3 step ABHR hand hygiene technique in a clinical setting. The primary outcome was residual microbiological load. Secondary outcomes were hand surface coverage and duration. The participants were medical and nursing participants (n=120) in a large teaching hospital. Results The 6 step technique was statistically more effective at reducing the bacterial count 1900cfu/ml (95% CI 1300, 2400cfu/ml) to 380cfu/ml (95% CI 150, 860 cfu/ml) than the 3 step 1200cfu/ml (95% CI 940, 1850cfu/ml) to 750cfu/ml (95% CI 380, 1400cfu/ml) (p=0.016) but even with direct observation by two researchers and use of an instruction card demonstrating the technique, compliance with the 6 step technique was only 65%, compared to 100% compliance with 3 step technique. Further those participants with 100% compliance with 6 step technique had a significantly greater log reduction in bacterial load with no additional time or difference in coverage compared to those with 65% compliance with 6 step technique (p=0.01). Conclusion To our knowledge this is the first published RCT to demonstrate the 6 step technique is superior to the 3 step technique in reducing the residual bacterial load after hand hygiene using alcohol based hand rub in clinical practice. What remains unknown is whether the residual bacterial load after the 3 step technique is low enough to reduce risk of transmission from the hands and whether the 6 step technique can be adapted to enhance compliance in order to maximise reduction in residual bacterial load and reduce duration

On planet formation in HL Tau

We explain the axisymmetric gaps seen in recent long-baseline observations of the HL Tau protoplanetary disc with the Atacama Large Millimetre/Submillimetre Array (ALMA) as being due to the different response of gas and dust to embedded planets in protoplanetary discs. We perform global, three dimensional dusty smoothed particle hydrodynamics calculations of multiple planets embedded in dust/gas discs which successfully reproduce most of the structures seen in the ALMA image. We find a best match to the observations using three embedded planets with masses of 0.2, 0.27 and 0.55 $M_{\rm J}$ in the three main gaps observed by ALMA, though there remain uncertainties in the exact planet masses from the disc model.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRAS Letters. The movie of the simulation is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKenxfslBMY and https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mGCfjrb5bT

Subjective sensory sensitivities as a transdiagnostic experience: characterisation, impact, and the development of the Cardiff Hypersensitivity Scale

Subjective sensory sensitivity refers to first person reports of experiencing sensory information as aversive, distracting, or overwhelming. Precursors to the experience occur across sensory modalities, ranging from bright lights and loud noises to rough fabrics and strong tastes. Study of subjective sensitivities commonly focuses on specific groups; for example, sensitivities are well studied in individuals with autism. This thesis sought to extend this work, and reports that subjective sensitivities are both present and cross-modal in a range of diagnoses and areas of neurodiversity, and in the general population. Similarities and differences in the nature of experience across groups is considered, and the implications for our understanding of mechanism are described. Throughout empirical chapters, the role and relevance of anxiety to the occurrence of subjective sensitivities is also explored, with results suggesting a possible pivotal role for somatic anxiety symptoms. Beyond characterizing these experiences, thematic analysis was also used to understand the impact of subjective sensitivities, and participants described varied and extensive effects upon daily functioning, personal relationships, and wellbeing. Exacerbating factors and associated coping mechanisms were also defined to ultimately support the need for enhanced understanding and support for sensory differences in clinical management (where appropriate) but additionally in educational, healthcare, and commercial settings. Finally, investigation into possible subtypes of subjective visual sensitivities using a novel self-report measure is described. Across four large samples, four highly replicable factors of visual sensitivity were found using bifactor modelling of the newly developed Cardiff Hypersensitivity Scale (visual). This has clear implications for existing measures which often use only a limited number of items to assess what appears to be a multidimensional construct and provides a useful tool for future work to investigate causes and correlates of these experiences

NTS MC&A History

Within the past three and a half years, the Nevada Test Site (NTS) has progressed from a Category IV to a Category I nuclear material facility. In accordance with direction from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary and National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) Administrator, NTS received shipments of large quantities of special nuclear material from Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) and other sites in the DOE complex. December 2004 was the first occurrence of Category I material at the NTS, with the exception of two weeks of sub-critical underground testing in 2001, since 1992. The Material Control and Accountability (MC&A) program was originally a jointlab effort by LANL, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and Bechtel Nevada, but in March 2006 the NNSA Nevada Site Office appointed the NTS Management and Operations contractor with sole responsibility. This paper will discuss the process and steps taken to transition the NTS MC&A program from multiple organizations to a single entity and from a Category IV to a Category I program. This transition flourished as MC&A progressed from the 2004 Office of Assessment (OA) rating of “Significant Weakness” to the 2007 OA assessment rating of “Effective Performance.” The paper will provide timelines, funding and staffing issues, OA assessment findings and corrective actions, and future expectations. The process has been challenging, but MC&A’s innovative responses to the challenges have been very successful

Seasonal patterns of oral antihistamine and intranasal corticosteroid purchases from Australian community pharmacies : a retrospective observational study

Acknowledgments The abstract of this paper was presented at the Respiratory Effectiveness Group 2016 Annual Summit as a poster presentation with interim findings. The poster’s abstract was published in “Poster Abstracts” in The Journal of Thoracic Disease (Vol. 8, Supplement 5, 5 July 2016). http://jtd.amegroups.com/article/view/8504.Peer reviewedPublisher PD