Right place. Right time. Right tool: guidance for using target analysis to increase the likelihood of invasive species detection

In response to the National Invasive Species Council’s 2016–2018 Management Plan, this paper provides guidance on applying target analysis as part of a comprehensive framework for the early detection of and rapid response to invasive species (EDRR). Target analysis is a strategic approach for detecting one or more invasive species at a specific locality and time, using a particular method and/or technology(ies). Target analyses, which are employed across a wide range of disciplines, are intended to increase the likelihood of detection of a known target in order to maximize survey effectiveness and cost-efficiency. Although target analyses are not yet a standard approach to invasive species management, some federal agencies are employing target analyses in principle and/or in part to improve EDRR capacities. These initiatives can provide a foundation for a more standardized and comprehensive approach to target analyses. Guidance is provided for improving computational information. Federal agencies and their partners would benefit from a concerted effort to collect the information necessary to perform rigorous target analyses and make it available through open access platforms

The neutron and its role in cosmology and particle physics

Experiments with cold and ultracold neutrons have reached a level of precision such that problems far beyond the scale of the present Standard Model of particle physics become accessible to experimental investigation. Due to the close links between particle physics and cosmology, these studies also permit a deep look into the very first instances of our universe. First addressed in this article, both in theory and experiment, is the problem of baryogenesis ... The question how baryogenesis could have happened is open to experimental tests, and it turns out that this problem can be curbed by the very stringent limits on an electric dipole moment of the neutron, a quantity that also has deep implications for particle physics. Then we discuss the recent spectacular observation of neutron quantization in the earth's gravitational field and of resonance transitions between such gravitational energy states. These measurements, together with new evaluations of neutron scattering data, set new constraints on deviations from Newton's gravitational law at the picometer scale. Such deviations are predicted in modern theories with extra-dimensions that propose unification of the Planck scale with the scale of the Standard Model ... Another main topic is the weak-interaction parameters in various fields of physics and astrophysics that must all be derived from measured neutron decay data. Up to now, about 10 different neutron decay observables have been measured, much more than needed in the electroweak Standard Model. This allows various precise tests for new physics beyond the Standard Model, competing with or surpassing similar tests at high-energy. The review ends with a discussion of neutron and nuclear data required in the synthesis of the elements during the "first three minutes" and later on in stellar nucleosynthesis.Comment: 91 pages, 30 figures, accepted by Reviews of Modern Physic

Oxygen Binding to Cobalt and Iron Phthalocyanines As Determined from in Situ X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

Cobalt phthalocyanine (CoPc) and iron phthalocyanine (FePc) are possible oxygen reduction catalysts in fuel cells, but the exact functioning and deactivation of these catalysts is unknown. The electronic structure of the CoPc and FePc has been studied in situ under hydrogen and oxygen atmospheres by a combination of ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and X-ray absorption spectroscopy. The results show that when oxygen is introduced, the iron changes oxidation state while the cobalt does not. The data show that oxygen binds in an end-on configuration in CoPc, while for FePc side-on binding is most likely

Utjecaj izloženosti mješavini organskih otapala na krvni tlak nepušačica koje rade u farmaceutskoj tvrtki

Some studies suggest that exposure to industrial solvents can affect blood pressure. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of a mixture of organic solvents on blood pressure in women working in a pharmaceutical company in Iran. Four hundred and thirty-three women were included in the study. Women working in packing units (group 1) were not exposed to the mixture of organic solvents, women in new laboratory units (group 2) were exposed to the mixture within the permitted range and women working in old laboratory units (group 3) were exposed to the mixture above the permitted limit. We compared systolic and diastolic blood pressures (SBP & DBP) and prevalence of hypertension and prehypertension among groups. The results revealed a signifi cant difference in SBP and pre-hypertension (p<0.001) and hypertension (p<0.05) prevalence between the exposed and the control group, but DBP did not differ signifi cantly. Logistic regression analysis showed a signifi cant association between hypertension and exposure to mixed solvents. Odds ratio for hypertension in the group 2 and group 3 (exposed) workers was 2.36 and 3, respectively, compared to controls. Our results suggest that exposure to a mixture of organic solvents may increase SBP and hypertension and pre-hypertension prevalence in drug manufacture workers. Therefore, more attention should be paid to workers that work in such settings by periodically measuring blood pressure and implementing accurate and comprehensive programs to reduce exposure to organic solvents.smo istraživanju nastojali ispitati utjecaj mješavine organskih otapala na krvni tlak žena koje rade u farmaceutskoj tvrtki u Iranu. Četiristo trideset i tri žene bile su uključene u istraživanje. Žene koje rade u pakirnicama (G1) nisu bile izložene mješavini organskih otapala, žene koje rade u novim laboratorijskim jedinicima (G2) bile su izložene dozvoljenoj granici mješavine, a žene u starim laboratorijskim jedinicama (G3) bile su izložene količini mješavine koja je viša od dozvoljene granične vrijednosti. Usporedili smo sistolički i dijastolički krvni tlak (eng. systolic blood pressure, krat. SBP i eng. diastolic blood pressure, krat. DBP) i prevalenciju hipertenzije i prehipertenzije između navedenih skupina. Otkrili smo značajnu razliku u vrijednostima SBP-a i prevalencije prehipertenzije (p<0,001) i (p<0,05) hipertenzije između skupina G2 i G3, te kontrolne skupine (G1), ali se vrijednosti za DBP nisu značajno razlikovale. Logistička regresijska analiza pokazala je značajnu poveznicu između hipertenzije i izlaganja mješavini otapala. U usporedbi s radnicama koje nisu bile izložene mješavini, omjer izgleda za nastanak hipertenzije u skupini G2 iznosio je 2,36, a u skupini G3 3. Naši rezultati pokazuju da izlaganje mješavini organskih otapala može povisiti vrijednost SBP-a i prevalencije hipertenzije i prehipertenzije kod radnika koji rade u proizvodnji lijekova. Stoga je potrebno posvetiti veću pozornost osobama koje rade u takvim okruženjima, a mjere koje bi valjalo poduzimati uključuju redovito mjerenje krvnog tlaka i provedbu preciznih i sveobuhvatnih programa za smanjenje izlaganja organskim otapalima