Isolated Voices: Perspectives of Teachers, School Nurses, and Administrators Regarding Implementation of Sexual Health Education Policy.

BackgroundComprehensive sexual health education (SHE) reduces risky sexual behavior and increases protective behavior in adolescents. It is important to understand how professionals responsible for implementing SHE policy interpret state and local policy and what influences their commitment to formal SHE policy implementation.MethodsThis descriptive study explored content and delivery of SHE policy in a rural, southwestern state with high levels of poverty, unintended adolescent pregnancy, and sexually transmitted infections. The social ecological model (SEM) was used to better understand levels of influence on the implementation of SHE policy.ResultsWe conducted telephone surveys with 38 teachers, 63 nurses, and 21 administrators in public secondary schools. There was substantial local variability in the scope and content of SHE curricula. Respondents identified significant barriers to the delivery of SHE content and minimal evaluation of whether educational objectives were met. Based on participant responses, community and organizational SEM levels had the greatest influence on SHE policy implementation, although examples of all SEM levels were identified.ConclusionsGiven perceived challenges regarding subject matter, successful SHE implementation at the local level requires committed stakeholders working in concert at the school and community levels, backed by strong policy commitment at the state level

Breeding Biology of Red-throated Loons in the Canadian Beaufort Sea Region

The breeding biology of the red-throated loon in the Canadian Beaufort Sea region was investigated 1985 to 1989. Five study plots were established with a total area of 276 sq. km and over 200 pairs of loons on territory each breeding season. Loon densities ranged from 0.6 pairs/sq. km on the Yukon coast to 1.8 pairs/sq. km at Toker Point on the Tuktoyaktuk Peninsula. An average of 73% of the pairs on territory nested each year. Productivity averaged 0.63 young/nesting pair. The median date of egg laying ranged from 19 to 24 June in four years, but was 3 July in a year when spring thaw was late. The chicks fledged a mean of 47 d after hatch (n=10), the first clutch chicks leaving the nesting pond in late August to mid-September. In all but one year, the mortality rate was higher for eggs than chicks, with egg losses peaking in the second half of incubation. Most (82%) chick losses occurred within three weeks of hatch (n=61). Just 13% of the ponds were occupied in all five years of the study, while 39% were used in only one year. At two of the study plots, ponds with pairs that successfully reared at least one chick had a greater tendency to be occupied the following year than did ponds with unsuccessful pairs. At the other three plots, reuse of ponds was independent of breeding success the previous year.Key words: red-throated loon (Gavia stellata), breeding biology, Beaufort SeaOn a étudié la reproduction du huart à gorge rousse dans la partie canadienne de la mer de Beaufort de 1985 à 1989. À chacune des périodes de reproduction, on a observé plus de 200 couples de huarts territoriaux répartis dans cinq zones expérimentales couvrant une superficie totale de 276 km². La densité des huarts a varié de 0.6 couple par km² sur la côte du Yukon à 1.8 couple par km² à Toker Point sur la péninsule de Tuktoyaktuk. Le nombre moyen annuel de couples nicheurs territoriaux s'est élevé à 73%. La productivité moyenne a été de 0.63 oisillon par couple nicheur. La date médiane de ponte s'est située du 19 au 24 juin pour quatre des cinq années; l'autre année la date médiane de ponte a été le 3 juillet à cause d'un dégel printanier tardif. Le premier vol des oisillons a eu lieu en moyenne 47 jours après l'éclosion (n = 10), la première couvée quittant l'étang de nidification entre la fin août et la mi-septembre. À l'exception d'une année, le taux de mortalité a toujours été plus élevé dans le cas des oeufs que dans celui des oisillons et a été maximal pendant la deuxième moitié de l'incubation. La mortalité des oisillons a particulièrement été forte (82%) au cours des trois premières semaines suivant l'éclosion (n = 61). Seuls 13% des étangs ont été utilisés pendant les cinq années de l'étude alors que 39% l'ont été pendant seulement une année. Le succès de la reproduction n'a eu un effet sur la réutilisation d'un étang l'année suivante que dans deux des cinq zones expérimentales.Mots clés: huart à gorge rousse (Gavia stellata), reproduction, mer de Beaufor

A Geographical Location Model for Targeted Implementation of Lure-and-Kill Strategies Against Disease-Transmitting Mosquitoes in Rural Areas

Outdoor devices for luring and killing disease-transmitting mosquitoes have been proposed as potential com- plementary interventions alongside existing intra-domiciliary methods namely insecticide treated nets and house spraying with residual insecticides. To enhance effectiveness of such outdoor interventions, it is essential to optimally locate them in such a way that they target most of the outdoor mosquitoes. Using odour-baited lure and kill stations (OBS) as an example, we describe a map model derived from: 1) com-munity participatory mapping conducted to identify mosquito breeding habitats, 2) entomological field studies conducted to estimate outdoor mosquito densities and to determine safe distances of the OBS from human dwellings, and 3) field surveys conducted to map households, roads, outdoor human aggregations and landmarks. The resulting data were combined in a Ge- ographical Information Systems (GIS) environment and analysed to determine optimal locations for the OBS. Separately, a GIS-interpolated map produced by asking community members to rank different zones of the study area and show where they expected to find most mosquitoes, was visually compared to another map interpolated from the entomological survey of outdoor mosquito densities. An easy-to-interpret suitability map showing optimal sites for placing OBS was produced, which clearly depicted areas least suitable and areas most suitable for locating the devices. Comparative visual interpretation of maps derived from interpolating the community knowledge and entomological data revealed major similarities between the two maps. Using distribution patterns of human and mosquito populations as well as characteristics of candidate outdoor interventions, it is possible to readily determine suitable areas for targeted positioning of the interventions, thus improve effectiveness. This study also highlights possibilities of relying on community knowledge to approximate areas where mosquitoes are most abundant and where to locate outdoor complementary interventions such as odour-baited lure and kill stations for controlling disease-transmitting mosquitoes.\u

The effect of flight line spacing on radioactivity inventory and spatial feature characteristics of airborne gamma-ray spectrometry data

Airborne Gamma Spectrometry (AGS) is well suited to the mapping of radioactivity in the environment. Flight parameters (e.g. speed and line spacing) directly affect the rate of area coverage, cost, and data quality of any survey. The influences of line spacing have been investigated for data from inter‐tidal, coastal and upland environments with a range of <sup>137</sup>Cs activity concentrations and depositional histories. Estimates of the integrated <sup>137</sup>Cs activity (‘inventory’) within specified areas and the shapes of depositional features were calculated for subsets of the data at different line spacings. Features with dimensions greater than the line spacing show variations in inventory and area of less than 3%, and features with dimensions less than the line spacing show larger variations and a decreased probability of detection. The choice of line spacing for a task is dependent on the dimensions of the features of interest and required edge definition. Options for line spacing for different tasks are suggested. It is noted that for regional mapping, even 5–10 km line spacing can produce useful data

Traumatic injury to a wrist with incidental Madelung's deformity

SummaryWe present a longstanding case of subtle Madelung's deformity in association with a new traumatic radial styloid fracture. Magnetic resonance imaging accurately distinguished this deformity from an acute fracture and highlighted the correct cause of the patient's pain. An unnecessary procedure was avoided

Probing the Processes of Planet Formation via Studies of the ϵ Chameleonitis Association

Nearby Young Moving Groups (NYMGs), i.e., loose groups of stars of age \u3c100 Myr in the solar vicinity, present ideal, accessible observational laboratories for studies on star and planet formation. Studying individual members of NYMGs, especially those hosting protoplanetary disks, in the infrared and millimeter regimes gives astronomers key information on disk evolution and the planet formation process. In this dissertation, I present an analysis of newly available data for members of one of the youngest known NYMGs, the Epsilon Chameleonitis Association (ECA), including detailed studies of two ECA members that host protoplanetary disks viewed at high inclinations (i.e. within ~30 degrees of edge-on). Through analysis of Gaia Space Astrometry Mission data for the ECA, I present updated constraints on the Galactic positions and kinematics and color-magnitude diagram positions of ECA members and candidates. I reassess their membership status and refine estimates of the multiplicity and disk fraction of the group. I determine a mean distance to ECA of 101.0±4.6 pc and confirm that, at an age of 5±3 Myr, it represents the youngest stellar group within ~100 pc of Earth. The two nearly edge-on star-disk systems studied here are representative of the diversity of planet-forming environments around young stars. The first, 2M1155-79B, was discovered during the aforementioned Gaia study of the ECA. Near-infrared spectra of 2M1155-79B, along with analysis of photometry from Gaia EDR3, 2MASS, VHS, and WISE, reveal that 2M1155-79B is most likely a young, late-M, star near the hydrogen-burning limit that is partially obscured by, and actively accreting from, a nearly edge-on circumstellar disk. The second planet-forming disk studied here orbits T Cha, a near solar-mass ECA member. I present archival Atacama Large Millimeter Array images of the millimeter continuum and 12CO (3-2) and 13CO (3-2) emission from the highly inclined (i~73°) T Cha disk. Radial brightness profiles show a limb-brightened ring of CO gas orbiting inside of the large dust grains generating the millimeter continuum, surrounded by a radially and vertically extended region of CO gas out to radii of ~200 AU that modelling reveals is likely probing the vertical freeze-out. These analyses illustrate the future potential of the ECA for providing new insights into star and planet formation processes