A Post-Pneumonia Epizootic Evaluation of the Rapid City, South Dakota Bighorn Sheep Herd

Pneumonia is a major factor affecting populations of free-ranging bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) across western North America. Pneumonia can occur in large-scale epizootics, during which greater than half of the population typically dies. After these epizootics, surviving ewes continue to conceive and bear lambs. However, lamb recruitment may remain low due to periodic or annual pneumonia outbreaks causing high lamb mortality rates, sometimes greater than 90%. Our study focused on the Rapid City, South Dakota bighorn sheep (BHS) herd that has recorded pneumonia-induced population decline since 2009. The first objective was to improve lamb health and survival by identifying and removing individuals that chronically carry the pathogen (Mycoplasma ovipneumoniae [Movi]). A previous study that treated the Custer State Park, South Dakota BHS herd during 2016–2017 with the same techniques successfully eliminated chronic Movi carriers and increased lamb recruitment. We treated the Rapid City BHS herd from January 2018 to November 2020. We tested individual BHS for Movi upper respiratory infections using real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and exposure to Movi by a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). If individual sheep tested positive via RT-PCR for the presence of Movi twice consecutively it was considered a chronic carrier and was removed from the herd. We identified an intermittent carrier as testing positive and negative on different occasions and non-carriers as testing negative for every test. We identified patterns of Movi carriage using Movi testing data from 2016–2020 and deemed individuals as chronic, intermittent, or non-carriers. Over the course of the study, we removed four chronic and five intermittent carriers, and our results suggested that removing intermittent carriers may be necessary to reduce or eliminate Movi persistence in a BHS herd. We monitored the survival of lambs prior to and during carrier removal and our analysis indicated that carrier removal increased lamb survival up to six months in both sub-herds in the Rapid City BHS herd (Spring Creek survival prior to removal= 35.3% [95% CI 15.5%, 56.6%], Spring Creek Survival during removal= 75.5% [95% CI 51.4%, 91.3%]; Rapid Creek survival prior to removal= 8.54% [95% CI 0.45%, 27.4%], Rapid Creek survival during removal= 50.8% [95% CI 28.3%, 72.6%]). Subsequent field testing revealed that we removed all known chronic carriers from the herd and thereafter we documented no pneumonia-related mortalities supporting previous conclusions that carrier removal can increase lamb survival and health. The second objective was to quantify the body condition, diet quality, and diet composition of the ewes (14) in the Rapid City BHS herd post-pneumonia epizootic to better understand the current herd productivity to use as a baseline for future management. Further, we focused on how a ewe\u27s lactation status (i.e., lactating or not lactating) affected its digestive capabilities and diet selection. We collected data from March–August 2020. We used ultrasonography technology and body palpations to obtain body condition data and assessed diet quality and composition through percent fecal nitrogen and metabarcoding analyses, respectively. No significant relationships were found in the body condition and diet data collected. However, we identified that browse species were the primary forage consumed, making up 86.8% of lactating ewe samples and 58.3% of non-lactating ewe samples. This study represents the first attempt to understand the potential effects of nutritional condition post-pneumonia epizootic and provided an additional case study that illuminates diet composition differences between lactating and non-lactating ungulates

Evaluating the friction velocity of flat-roofed buildings in relation to snow erosion using numerical simulations

Snow loads are often the most significant loads for large flat roof buildings in the Nordics. The relevant building code for snow loads for this area, EN-1991-1-3, conservatively oversimplifies the effect of wind on snow loads. Additionally, EN-1991-1-3 does not contain a direct method to calculate the design snow load for flat buildings exceeding 50 meters. The oversimplifications are intended to make engineers’ snow load calculations easy to perform. They also result in increased construction costs due to their conservative approach. This study examines the friction velocities u∗ on the roof using 3D single-phase CFD simulations completed in ANSYS CFX. Outliers are labeled by use of the Modified Z method and then removed. Then the roofs’ median friction velocity is calculated based on the filtered dataset. Further analysis of the friction velocities is performed in Python. This thesis examines two instances. In both cases, a power-law wind profile with α = 0.18 and α = 0.28, and the wind directions simulated are θ = 0◦, 22.5◦, 45◦. Case 1 is a 50x50 m square roof without a parapet and heights of 10,20 and 30 m. Case 2 is a square 50x50 m roof with a parapet at 10,20, and 30 m height. The parapet extends to a height of 0.5 meters and a width of 0.2 meters. Between the two cases, the difference in median friction velocities was negligible. The median friction velocity increases with height and varies significantly depending on the direction of the wind. The expressions for normalized friction velocity were calculated based on the CFD simulations. The expressions obtained for the normalized friction velocity can be implemented in a future snow model to predict the roof’s design snow load more accurately.M-B

Bridging the Gap: Supporting Transition-Age Youth Living with Mental Health Conditions

The transition from adolescence to adulthood is a crucial time in a person’s life. For young people living with mental health conditions, becoming an independent, well-functioning, and productive adult can be especially challenging. It is imperative that supports be put in place to ensure transition-age youth have a smooth passage from child to adult mental health services. Nearly half of all life-long diagnosable conditions present by age 14. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) finds the co-occurrence of serious illnesses and substance use disorders exist among transition-age youth more than any other developmental age. When left untreated, depression and other adolescent mental health concerns can lead to negative consequences, including violence and bullying, dropping out of school, and suicide. The programs and services that vulnerable young people receive during childhood and adolescence represent our country\u27s acknowledgment of their special needs. Similar supports and services must be available to support their transition to adulthood. Minnesota needs to invest in an effective model to bridge the gap between child and adult mental health services. The Transition to Independence Process (TIP) model should be adopted by the state of Minnesota to support youth between the ages of 14 and 25 living with mental health conditions to become independent, well-functioning, productive adults

Kjøper vi det vi trenger?: IKT investeringer i Luftforsvaret – et resultat av rasjonelle prosesser eller tilfeldigheter?

Over forsvarsbudsjettet bevilges årlig store summer til investeringer i Forsvaret, som skal benyttes til å øke den operative evnen. Til dette benyttes investeringsprosessen som kan sammenlignes med et system hvor kvaliteten på det som kommer ut, henger sammen med kvaliteten på det som puttes inn. Behovene som mates inn i prosessen må derfor være av en så god kvalitet at de sikrer et produkt på andre siden som bidrar til øke eller fornye den operative evnen. Denne studien undersøker hvordan IKT behov oppsto, og ble beslutte som investeringsinitiativ i Luftforsvaret for perioden 2018 2020. Perioden er interessant fordi det ble gjennomført en prosess fram til et Fagmilitært råd (FMR) i 2019. Studien ser derfor både på behovsinnspill, i form av en Prosjektidé, som kommer fra grasrota i Forsvaret og behovene som kommer fra FMR- og Langtidsplanarbeidet i 2019. Et todelt design fører studien mot å forklare hvordan Luftforsvaret jobber. Gjennom en dokumentstudie undersøkes det om det finnes noen normative beskrivelser av hvordan behov skal produseres. Fire intervjuer står for en deduktiv tilnærming av hvordan dette faktisk gjøres. De kvalitative dataene analyseres og med Grounded Theory og resultatene drøftes mot forklaringsmodellen Garbage Can Modellen. Funnene viser at Luftforsvaret, i perioden som er undersøkt, opplever at mange eksterne (utenfor Luftforsvaret) faktorer påvirker deres operasjonsvilkår. Eksterne beslutninger skaper problemer for en organisasjon med lav bemanning. Manglende kompetanse på investeringsprosessen gjør at det ikke er tilstrekkelig med personell til å følge behovene fram til realisering. Den teknologiske utviklingen løper fra IKT investeringer som bruker veldig lang tid før de kommer i operativ drift. Tendensen etter 2020 er at flere tiltak er igangsatt i Luftforsvaret for å involvere brukerne mer og sette IKT-behov mer i syste

Investigation of the association of weight loss with radiographic hip osteoarthritis in older community-dwelling female adults

Objective: Most guidelines recommending weight loss for hip osteoarthritis are based on research on knee osteoarthritis. Prior studies found no association between weight loss and hip osteoarthritis, but no previous studies have targeted older adults. Therefore, we aimed to determine whether there is any clear benefit of weight loss for radiographic hip osteoarthritis in older adults because weight loss is associated with health risks in older adults. Methods: We used data from white female participants aged ≥65 years from the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures. Our exposure of interest was weight change from baseline to follow-up at 8 years. Our outcomes were the development of radiographic hip osteoarthritis (RHOA) and the progression of RHOA over 8 years. Generalized estimating equations (clustering of 2 hips per participant) were used to investigate the association between exposure and outcomes adjusted for major covariates. Results: There was a total of 11,018 hips from 5509 participants. There was no associated benefit of weight loss for either of our outcomes. The odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for the development and progression of RHOA were 0.99 (0.92–1.07) and 0.97 (0.86–1.09) for each 5% weight loss, respectively. The results were consistent in sensitivity analyses where participants were limited to those who reported trying to lose weight and who also had a body mass index in the overweight or obese range. Conclusion: Our findings suggest no associated benefit of weight loss in older female adults in the structure of the hip joint as assessed by radiography

En kvalitativ studie av to deltagere i grunnleggende literacy gjennom et skoleår på voksenopplæringen.

I dette prosjektet setter jeg søkelyset på to deltageres egne erfaringer med grunnleggende norskopplæring. Formålet var å se etter fellestrekk som kan bidra til en mer nyttig og læringsfremmende opplæring. Jeg gjennomførte semistrukturerte intervjuer med tolk to ganger i løpet av ett skoleår. Å bruke tolk var nødvendig, men det kan også være en begrensende faktor, blant annet med tanke på ordvalg eller ikke-språklige forhold som kan bli utelatt i tolkningen. Resultatene viser at deltagerne investerer og bruker varierte strategier i sin literacy-tilegnelse på norsk. De mener at deltagelse i opplæringen med støtte fra læreren er en av de viktigste strategiene. De investerer i sin norskopplæring med hovedmål om å snakke godt norsk og få en jobb. Den kvinnelige informanten er spesielt opptatt av å kunne være mer sosial, mens den mannlige informanten investerer med mål om å forsørge sin familie. Begge informantene opplevde liten progresjon i sin literacy-tilegnelse fra første til andre intervju. Diskusjonen peker på hvordan Covid-19 pandemien med rimelighet har begrenset deres muligheter for investering og valg av strategier. I andre intervju konkretiseres spørsmålene om lesing og skriving med oppgaver. Resultatene viser blant annet at begge leser både fonologisk og ortografisk, men at forståelsen av egen lesing er det viktigste. Dette kom fram i lesingen av nonordet fame, ettersom begge antok det sto familie. Dermed avslutter jeg med å foreslå videre forskning på en dreining i opplæringen, til å i større grad kombinere analytisk- og syntetisk lesemetode for å bidra til en mer nyttig og læringsfremmende opplæring.A qualitative study of two participants in basic literacy during a school year in adult education. In this project, my focus was to examine two L2 learners’ own experiences with literacy acquisition in a Norwegian context. The purpose was to investigate for common features that can contribute to more useful learning approaches. I used semi-structured interviews with an interpreter twice over the course of a school year. Using an interpreter was necessary, but it can also be a limiting factor, including in terms of word choice or non-linguistic factors that may be omitted in the interpretation. The results show that the participants invest and use varied strategies in their literacy acquisition. They believe participation in the class with support from the teacher is one of the most important strategies. They invest in their language acquisition with the main goal of speaking Norwegian well and getting a job. The female informant was particularly concerned with being able to socialize with the Norwegian-speaking populace, while the male informant invests with the aim of providing for his family. Both informants experienced little progression in their literacy acquisition from the first to the second interview. The discussion points to how the Covid-19 pandemic has reasonably limited their opportunities for investment and choice of strategies. In the second interview, the questions about reading and writing are made more concrete with tasks. The results reveals both participants are reading phonologically and orthographically, but that understanding of their own reading is most important to them. This came out clearly in the reading of the nonword fame, as both assumed they read familie (family). In conclusion, further research combining analytical and synthetic reading methods in basic Norwegian education could be a useful suggestion. This to increase the salience, and as such facilitate more meaningful and directed methods of teaching the language

Natural and anthropogenic factors influencing abundance of the benthic macrofauna along the shelf and slope of the Gulf of Guinea, a large marine ecosystem off West Africa

The West African continental margin belongs to the least known areas in terms of the ecology of benthic ecosystems. At the same time, this region is influenced by various threats associated with human activities, including industrialisation and oil excavation. Here, we analyse the abundance and distribution patterns of macrozoobenthic communities along the coast of Ghana. The material was collected in 2012 on nine transects at depths ranging from 25 to 1000 m. Over 200 quantitative samples were collected using a 0.1-m2 van Veen grab. Generally, the mean density of macrozoobenthos decreased gradually from the shallow zone (25 m: 231.4 ± 262.2 ind./0.1 m2) down to bathyal depths (1000 m: 55.4 ± 51.4 ind./0.1 m2), but we observed intermediate scale variability in distribution patterns among the transects along the Ghanaian coast. Analysis of environmental factors showed no evidence of substantial pollution, although levels of hydrocarbons, barium and some other toxic metals show some local increases at particular stations, especially on the continental slope. Cluster analysis based on Bray–Curtis similarity and abundance of higher taxonomic groups of macrofauna yielded five groups of stations, while SIMPER analysis demonstrated that polychaetes and amphipods contributed most significantly to within-group similarity. Canonical Correspondence Analysis demonstrated that PAH, THC and toxic metal levels (Ba, Cd, Pb), as well as oxygen concentration, were the most important factors structuring benthic communities.publishedVersio