Bullet Fragmentation and Lead Deposition in White-Tailed Deer and Domestic Sheep

In February 2008, a private physician in North Dakota radiographed hunterharvested venison and found that 60 of 100 packages contained metal fragments. This discovery had implications for public-funded venison donation programs, and it prompted several Midwest states to examine their programs. Approximately 500,000 deer hunters harvest \u3e200,000 deer annually in Minnesota, and the state has a donation program similar to North Dakota’s program. Therefore, we analyzed fragmentation patterns and lead deposition in carcasses of 8 white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and 72 domestic sheep (Ovis aries). We fired 5 different bullet types from centerfire rifles, and we also fired projectiles from both a shotgun and a black-powder muzzleloader. Centerfire bullets, which are designed to expand quickly upon impacting the animal, left bullet fragments and lead deposits throughout the entire abdominal cavity of carcasses. We also used 2 types of centerfire bullets that were purportedly designed to resist fragmentation. One of these bullet types had fragmentation patterns and lead deposition rates similar to the rapid-expanding bullets; the other bullet type resisted fragmentation, and no lead was detected in muscle tissue that we sampled. Centerfire bullets made from copper resisted fragmentation, and of course did not deposit any lead in muscle tissues. Projectiles fired from the shotgun and black-powder muzzleloader did deposit lead into carcasses but did not fragment as much as bullets fired from centerfire rifles. Our study suggests that rinsing the abdominal cavity may spread the lead contaminant to other areas of the carcass, thereby worsening the contamination situation. We suggest that hunters who use centerfire rifles and are concerned about lead exposure should purchase a bullet type that resists fragmentation

GRAIN OVERLOAD AND SECONDARY EFFECTS AS POTENTIAL MORTALITY FACTORS OF MOOSE IN NORTH DAKOTA

The intent of this article is to alert biologists of a potential mortality factor of moose in agricultural areas. It has long been recognized that ruminants switching from a natural diet of browse (a cellulose-based diet) to one of more readily digestible carbohydrates (a starch-based diet), such as corn and wheat, are predisposed to developing conditions such as enterotoxemia, polioencephalomalacia, acute rumenitis, liver abscesses, laminitis, and to sudden death. These are often secondary to grain overload (acute acidosis) and are frequently documented in cattle and sheep which are moved from pasture to feedlot. Necropsies of 4 moose in North Dakota were not entirely conclusive, but suggested that grain overload occurred and was a cause of mortality. Necropsy findings that supported grain overload as a contributing factor to death included acute rumenitis, isolation of Clostridium perfringens coupled with hemorrhagic enteritis, chronic laminitis, and polioencephalomalacia. Four likely scenarios exist in which grain overload occurs in North Dakota moose including consumption of planted crops such as corn and wheat, access to bait piles mainly intended for deer, access to cattle feeding sites, and access to recreational feeding sites. These findings have important implications for the regulation of baiting and recreational feeding practices in North Dakota and elsewhere in moose range of similar situation

4D porosity evolution during pressure-solution of NaCl in the presence of phyllosilicates

Pressure-solution creep is one of the most common crustal deformation mechanisms, inducing changes in the porosity and permeability of rocks. For a variety of rock types undergoing pressure solution, it has been shown that the presence of phyllosilicates may significantly enhance the rate of the pressure-solution process. In this experimental investigation, we present 4-dimensional (three dimensions + time) X-ray microtomographic data that contrast deformation by pressure-solution of a pure NaCl aggregate with that of a mixture of NaCl and biotite. The results show that for mixed samples (NaCl+biotite), phyllosilicates induce a marked reduction in porosity and pore connectivity and contribute to an increase in the local strain rates by an order of magnitude over pure NaCl samples. At the same time, phyllosilicates do not induce strain localization in the sample. We discuss various possible explanations for these observations including a possible positive feedback between the porosity distribution and pressure solution. Our study yields novel insights into the local effects of phyllosilicates during pressure-solution creep and provides full 4-dimensional imaging and characterization of the coupled evolution of porosity and pore connectivity over previously unprecedented experimental time scales

The Milky Way Bulge extra-tidal star survey: BH 261 (AL 3)

The Milky Way Bulge extra-tidal star survey (MWBest) is a spectroscopic survey with the goal of identifying stripped globular cluster stars from inner Galaxy clusters. In this way, an indication of the fraction of metal-poor bulge stars that originated from globular clusters can be determined. We observed and analyzed stars in and around BH 261, an understudied globular cluster in the bulge. From seven giants within the tidal radius of the cluster, we measured an average heliocentric radial velocity of = -61 +- 2.6 km/s with a radial velocity dispersion of \sigma = 6.1 +- 1.9 km/s. The large velocity dispersion may have arisen from tidal heating in the cluster's orbit about the Galactic center, or because BH 261 has a high dynamical mass as well as a high mass-to-light ratio. From spectra of five giants, we measure an average metallicity of = -1.1 +- 0.2 dex. We also spectroscopically confirm an RR Lyrae star in BH 261, which yields a distance to the cluster of 7.1 +- 0.4~kpc. Stars with 3D velocities and metallicities consistent with BH 261 reaching to ~0.5 degrees from the cluster are identified. A handful of these stars are also consistent with the spatial distribution of that potential debris from models focussing on the most recent disruption of the cluster.Comment: accepted for publication in The Astronomical Journa

Declining Intensive Care Unit Mortality of COVID-19: A Multi-Center Study

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality has waned significantly over time; however, factors contributing towards this reduction largely remain unidentified. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the trend in mortality at our large tertiary academic health system and factors contributing to this trend. Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of intensive care unit (ICU) patients diagnosed with COVID-19 between March and August 2020 admitted across 14 hospitals in the Philadelphia area. Collected data included demographics, comorbidities, admission risk of mortality score, laboratory values, medical interventions, survival outcomes, hospital and ICU length of stay (LOS) and discharge disposition. Chi-square (χ2) test, Fisher exact test, Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel method, multinomial logistic regression models, independent sample t-test, Mann-Whitney U test and one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) were used. Results: A total of 1,204 patients were included. Overall mortality was 39%. Mortality declined significantly from 46% in March to 14% in August 2020 (P \u3c 0.05). The most common underlying comorbidities were hypertension (60.2%), diabetes mellitus (44.7%), dyslipidemia (31.6%) and congestive heart failure (14.7%). Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) use was more commonly associated with the patients who died, while the use of remdesivir, tocilizumab, steroids and duration of these medications were not significantly different. Peak values of ferritin, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), C-reactive protein (CRP) and D-dimer levels were significantly higher in patients who died (P \u3c 0.05). The mean hospital LOS was significantly longer in the patients who survived compared to the patients who died (18 vs. 12, P \u3c 0.05). Conclusions: The mortality of patients admitted to our ICU system significantly decreased over time. Factors that may have contributed to this may be the result of a better understanding of COVID-19 pathophysiology and treatments. Further research is needed to elucidate the factors contributing to a reduction in the mortality rate for this patient population

Improving the sensitivity to gravitational-wave sources by modifying the input-output optics of advanced interferometers

We study frequency dependent (FD) input-output schemes for signal-recycling interferometers, the baseline design of Advanced LIGO and the current configuration of GEO 600. Complementary to a recent proposal by Harms et al. to use FD input squeezing and ordinary homodyne detection, we explore a scheme which uses ordinary squeezed vacuum, but FD readout. Both schemes, which are sub-optimal among all possible input-output schemes, provide a global noise suppression by the power squeeze factor, while being realizable by using detuned Fabry-Perot cavities as input/output filters. At high frequencies, the two schemes are shown to be equivalent, while at low frequencies our scheme gives better performance than that of Harms et al., and is nearly fully optimal. We then study the sensitivity improvement achievable by these schemes in Advanced LIGO era (with 30-m filter cavities and current estimates of filter-mirror losses and thermal noise), for neutron star binary inspirals, and for narrowband GW sources such as low-mass X-ray binaries and known radio pulsars. Optical losses are shown to be a major obstacle for the actual implementation of these techniques in Advanced LIGO. On time scales of third-generation interferometers, like EURO/LIGO-III (~2012), with kilometer-scale filter cavities, a signal-recycling interferometer with the FD readout scheme explored in this paper can have performances comparable to existing proposals. [abridged]Comment: Figs. 9 and 12 corrected; Appendix added for narrowband data analysi

Upper limits on the strength of periodic gravitational waves from PSR J1939+2134

The first science run of the LIGO and GEO gravitational wave detectors presented the opportunity to test methods of searching for gravitational waves from known pulsars. Here we present new direct upper limits on the strength of waves from the pulsar PSR J1939+2134 using two independent analysis methods, one in the frequency domain using frequentist statistics and one in the time domain using Bayesian inference. Both methods show that the strain amplitude at Earth from this pulsar is less than a few times $10^{-22}$.Comment: 7 pages, 1 figure, to appear in the Proceedings of the 5th Edoardo Amaldi Conference on Gravitational Waves, Tirrenia, Pisa, Italy, 6-11 July 200

Search for gravitational wave bursts in LIGO's third science run

We report on a search for gravitational wave bursts in data from the three LIGO interferometric detectors during their third science run. The search targets subsecond bursts in the frequency range 100-1100 Hz for which no waveform model is assumed, and has a sensitivity in terms of the root-sum-square (rss) strain amplitude of hrss ~ 10^{-20} / sqrt(Hz). No gravitational wave signals were detected in the 8 days of analyzed data.Comment: 12 pages, 6 figures. Amaldi-6 conference proceedings to be published in Classical and Quantum Gravit

At-risk registers integrated into primary care to stop asthma crises in the UK (ARRISA-UK): study protocol for a pragmatic, cluster randomised trial with nested health economic and process evaluations

Background: Despite effective treatments and long-standing management guidelines, there are approximately 1400 hospital admissions for asthma weekly in the United Kingdom (UK), many of which could be avoided. In our previous research, a secondary analysis of the intervention (ARRISA) suggested an improvement in the management of at-risk asthma patients in primary care. ARRISA involved identifying individuals at risk of adverse asthma events, flagging their electronic health records, training practice staff to develop and implement practice-wide processes of care when alerted by the flag, plus motivational reminders. We now seek to determine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of ARRISA in reducing asthma-related crisis events. Methods: We are undertaking a pragmatic, two-arm, multicentre, cluster randomised controlled trial, plus health economic and process evaluation. We will randomise 270 primary care practices from throughout the UK covering over 10,000 registered patients with ‘at-risk asthma’ identified according to a validated algorithm. Staff in practices randomised to the intervention will complete two 45-min eLearning modules (an individually completed module giving background to ARRISA and a group-completed module to develop practice-wide pathways of care) plus a 30-min webinar with other practices. On completion of training at-risk patients’ records will be coded so that a flag appears whenever their record is accessed. Practices will receive a phone call at 4 weeks and a reminder video at 6 weeks and 6 months. Control practices will continue to provide usual care. We will extract anonymised routine patient data from primary care records (with linkage to secondary care data) to determine the percentage of at-risk patients with an asthma-related crisis event (accident and emergency attendances, hospitalisations and deaths) after 12 months (primary outcome). We will also capture the time to crisis event, all-cause hospitalisations, asthma control and any changes in practice asthma management for at-risk and all patients with asthma. Cost-effectiveness analysis and mixed-methods process evaluations will also be conducted. Discussion: This study is novel in terms of using a practice-wide intervention to target and engage with patients at risk from their asthma and is innovative in the use of routinely captured data with record linkage to obtain trial outcomes. Trial registration: ISRCTN95472706. Registered on 5 December 2014