Report for NMDGF Permit: 3573, 2015

Document from New Mexico Department of Game & Fish Educational permit

Alien Registration- Cochrane, Donald G. (Monticello, Aroostook County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/33938/thumbnail.jp

GPS Technology for Semi-Aquatic Turtle Research

Global positioning system (GPS) telemetry units are now small enough to be deployed on terrestrial and semi-aquatic turtles. Many of these GPS units use snapshot technology which collects raw satellite and timestamp data during brief periods of data recording to minimize size. We evaluated locations from snapshot GPS units in stationary tests and on wood turtles (Glyptemys insculpta) in northeastern Minnesota. Stationary GPS units were placed in wood turtle habitat to evaluate location accuracy, fix success rate, and directional bias. The GPS fix success rate and accuracy were reduced in closed canopy conditions and when the stationary GPS unit was placed under a log to simulate wood turtle hiding behavior. We removed GPS location outliers and used a moving average calculation to reduce mean location error in stationary tests from 27 m (SD = 38) to 10 m (SD = 8). We then deployed GPS units and temperature loggers on wood turtles and collected 122,657 GPS locations and 242,781 temperature readings from 26 turtles from May to September 2015 and 2016. Location outliers accounted for 12% of locations when the GPS receiver was on a turtle. We classified each wood turtle location based on the GPS location and by comparing temperature profiles from river, sun, and shaded locations to the temperature logger on the turtle. We estimated that wood turtles were on land 68% (SD = 12) of the time from May to September. The fix success rate for land locations was 38% (SD = 9), indicating that wood turtles often use habitats with obstructed views of the sky. Mean net daily movement was 55 m (SD = 192). Our results demonstrate that snapshot GPS units and temperature loggers provide fine-scale GPS data useful in describing spatial ecology and habitat use of semi-aquatic turtles

In the Face of Anti-LGBQ Behaviour: Saskatchewan High-school Students' Perceptions of School Climate and Consequential Impact

In Canada, there is a dearth of research on school climate for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and questioning (LGBQ) students. Using social networking, sixty students from high-schools in Saskatchewan participated in a climate survey. Results indicated that anti-LGBQ speech is widespread, as were other forms of harassment. The more victimization that was reported by students known, or perceived to be, LGBQ, the more deleterious were the consequences for their academic performance, social lives, participation in sports and extra-curricular activities, and overall enjoyment of school. Limitations associated with the study and directions for future research are detailed.

Food Availability for Wood Turtles (Glyptemys Insculpta) in Managed and Natural Woodlands

University Honors Capstone Project Poster, University of Minnesota Duluth, 2016. Advisor: Dr. Ron Moen; IBS graduate student: Maddy Cochrane. UMD Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program (UROP) and BURST programs.A study on wood turtles was started in the spring of 2015 by UMD scientists and the MN DNR to assess habitat use and responses to management actions. Turtles were fitted with GPS units and VHF transmitters for tracking purposes. Wood turtles are largely terrestrial and use forested areas for foraging.MN DNR - funding the wood turtle project

Deriving Current Cost Requirements from Future Targets:Case Studies for Emerging Offshore Renewable Energy Technologies

This work investigates potential cost reduction trajectories of three emerging offshore renewable energy technologies (floating offshore wind, tidal stream, and wave) with respect to meeting ambitious cost targets set out in the Strategic Energy Technology Implementation Plans (SET-Plans) for Offshore Wind and Ocean Energy. A methodology is presented which calculates target costs for current early-stage devices, starting from the 2030 SET-Plan levelised cost targets. Component-based experience curves have been applied as part of the methodology, characterised through the comparative maturity level of each technology-specific cost centre. The resultant early-stage target costs are then compared with actual costs for current devices to highlight where further cost reduction is still required. It has been found that innovation and development requirements to reach these targets vary greatly between different technologies, based on their current level of technological maturity. Future funding calls and programmes should be designed with these variables in mind to support innovative developments in offshore renewables. The method presented in this paper has been applied to publicly available cost data for emerging renewable technologies and is fully adaptable to calculate the innovation requirements for specific early-stage renewable energy devices

Field measurements of trace gases and aerosols emitted by peat fires in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, during the 2015 El Niño

Peat fires in Southeast Asia have become a major annual source of trace gases and particles to the regional-global atmosphere. The assessment of their influence on atmospheric chemistry, climate, air quality, and health has been uncertain partly due to a lack of field measurements of the smoke characteristics. During the strong 2015 El Niño event we deployed a mobile smoke sampling team in the Indonesian province of Central Kalimantan on the island of Borneo and made the first, or rare, field measurements of trace gases, aerosol optical properties, and aerosol mass emissions for authentic peat fires burning at various depths in different peat types. This paper reports the trace gas and aerosol measurements obtained by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, whole air sampling, photoacoustic extinctiometers (405 and 870 nm), and a small subset of the data from analyses of particulate filters. The trace gas measurements provide emission factors (EFs; grams of a compound per kilogram biomass burned) for up to ∼ 90 gases, including CO2, CO, CH4, non-methane hydrocarbons up to C10, 15 oxygenated organic compounds, NH3, HCN, NOx, OCS, HCl, etc. The modified combustion efficiency (MCE) of the smoke sources ranged from 0.693 to 0.835 with an average of 0.772 ± 0.053 (n = 35), indicating essentially pure smoldering combustion, and the emissions were not initially strongly lofted. The major trace gas emissions by mass (EF as g kg-1) were carbon dioxide (1564 ± 77), carbon monoxide (291 ± 49), methane (9.51 ± 4.74), hydrogen cyanide (5.75 ± 1.60), acetic acid (3.89 ± 1.65), ammonia (2.86 ± 1.00), methanol (2.14 ± 1.22), ethane (1.52 ± 0.66), dihydrogen (1.22 ± 1.01), propylene (1.07 ± 0.53), propane (0.989 ± 0.644), ethylene (0.961 ± 0.528), benzene (0.954 ± 0.394), formaldehyde (0.867 ± 0.479), hydroxyacetone (0.860 ± 0.433), furan (0.772 ± 0.035), acetaldehyde (0.697 ± 0.460), and acetone (0.691 ± 0.356). These field data support significant revision of the EFs for CO2 (g-8 %), CH4 (g-55 %), NH3 (g-86 %), CO (+39 %), and other gases compared with widely used recommendations for tropical peat fires based on a lab study of a single sample published in 2003. BTEX compounds (benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylenes) are important air toxics and aerosol precursors and were emitted in total at 1.5 ± 0.6 g kg-1. Formaldehyde is probably the air toxic gas most likely to cause local exposures that exceed recommended levels. The field results from Kalimantan were in reasonable agreement with recent lab measurements of smoldering Kalimantan peat for overlap species, lending importance to the lab finding that burning peat produces large emissions of acetamide, acrolein, methylglyoxal, etc., which were not measurable in the field with the deployed equipment and implying value in continued similar efforts. The aerosol optical data measured include EFs for the scattering and absorption coefficients (EF Bscat and EF Babs, m2 kg-1 fuel burned) and the single scattering albedo (SSA) at 870 and 405 nm, as well as the absorption Ångström exponents (AAE). By coupling the absorption and co-located trace gas and filter data we estimated black carbon (BC) EFs (g kg-1) and the mass absorption coefficient (MAC, m2 g-1) for the bulk organic carbon (OC) due to brown carbon (BrC). Consistent with the minimal flaming, the emissions of BC were negligible (0.0055 ± 0.0016 g kg-1). Aerosol absorption at 405 nm was ∼ 52 times larger than at 870 nm and BrC contributed ∼ 96 % of the absorption at 405 nm. Average AAE was 4.97 ± 0.65 (range, 4.29-6.23). The average SSA at 405 nm (0.974 ± 0.016) was marginally lower than the average SSA at 870 nm (0.998 ± 0.001). These data facilitate modeling climate-relevant aerosol optical properties across much of the UV/visible spectrum and the high AAE and lower SSA at 405 nm demonstrate the dominance of absorption by the organic aerosol. Comparing the Babs at 405 nm to the simultaneously measured OC mass on filters suggests a low MAC (∼ 0.1) for the bulk OC, as expected for the low BC/OC ratio in the aerosol. The importance of pyrolysis (at lower MCE), as opposed to glowing (at higher MCE), in producing BrC is seen in the increase of AAE with lower MCE (r2 = 0.65)

Investigation of activation energies for dissociation of host-guest complexes in the gas phase using low-energy collision induced dissociation

International audienceA low-energy collision induced dissociation CID (low-energy CID) approach that can determine both activation energy and activation entropy has been used to evaluate gas-phase binding energies of host-guest (H-G) complexes of a heteroditopic hemicryptophane cage host (Zn(II)@1) with a series of biologically-relevant guests. In order to use this approach, preliminary calibration of the effective temperature of ions undergoing resonance excitation is required. This was accomplished by employing blackbody infrared radiative dissociation (BIRD) which allows direct measurement of activation parameters. Activation energies and pre-exponential factors were evaluated for more than 10 host-guest (H-G) complexes via the use of low-energy CID. The relatively long residence time of the ions inside the linear ion trap (maximum of 60 s) allowed the study of dissociations with rates below 1 s-1. This possibility, along with the large size of the investigated ions, ensures the fulfilment of rapid energy exchange (REX) conditions, and as a consequence, accurate application of the Arrhenius equation. Compared to the BIRD technique, low-energy CID allows access to higher effective temperatures, thereby permitting one to probe more endothermic decomposition pathways. Based on the measured activation parameters, guests bearing a phosphate (-OPO3 2-) functional group were found to bind more strongly with the encapsulating cage than those having a sulfonate (-SO3-) group; however, the latter ones make stronger bonds than those with a carboxylate (-CO2-) group. In addition, it was observed that the presence of trimethylammonium (-N(CH3)3 +) or phenyl groups in the guest's structure, improves the strength of host-guest interactions. The use of this technique is very straightforward, and it does not require any instrumental modifications. Thus, it can be applied to other H-G chemistry studies where comparison of bond dissociation energies is of paramount importance

Computerized clinical decision support systems for therapeutic drug monitoring and dosing: A decision-maker-researcher partnership systematic review

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Some drugs have a narrow therapeutic range and require monitoring and dose adjustments to optimize their efficacy and safety. Computerized clinical decision support systems (CCDSSs) may improve the net benefit of these drugs. The objective of this review was to determine if CCDSSs improve processes of care or patient outcomes for therapeutic drug monitoring and dosing.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted a decision-maker-researcher partnership systematic review. Studies from our previous review were included, and new studies were sought until January 2010 in MEDLINE, EMBASE, Evidence-Based Medicine Reviews, and Inspec databases. Randomized controlled trials assessing the effect of a CCDSS on process of care or patient outcomes were selected by pairs of independent reviewers. A study was considered to have a positive effect (<it>i.e.</it>, CCDSS showed improvement) if at least 50% of the relevant study outcomes were statistically significantly positive.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Thirty-three randomized controlled trials were identified, assessing the effect of a CCDSS on management of vitamin K antagonists (14), insulin (6), theophylline/aminophylline (4), aminoglycosides (3), digoxin (2), lidocaine (1), or as part of a multifaceted approach (3). Cluster randomization was rarely used (18%) and CCDSSs were usually stand-alone systems (76%) primarily used by physicians (85%). Overall, 18 of 30 studies (60%) showed an improvement in the process of care and 4 of 19 (21%) an improvement in patient outcomes. All evaluable studies assessing insulin dosing for glycaemic control showed an improvement. In meta-analysis, CCDSSs for vitamin K antagonist dosing significantly improved time in therapeutic range.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>CCDSSs have potential for improving process of care for therapeutic drug monitoring and dosing, specifically insulin and vitamin K antagonist dosing. However, studies were small and generally of modest quality, and effects on patient outcomes were uncertain, with no convincing benefit in the largest studies. At present, no firm recommendation for specific systems can be given. More potent CCDSSs need to be developed and should be evaluated by independent researchers using cluster randomization and primarily assess patient outcomes related to drug efficacy and safety.</p