A Re-Examination of the Taxonomic Boundaries of \u3cem\u3eSymphysia\u3c/em\u3e (Ericaceae)

DNA sequence data were generated for the nuclear ITS region for Symphysia racemosa and for 26 additional Vaccinieae representing 12 sections in the genus Vaccinium plus one species from each of five additional segregate genera. Our focus is on the placement of S. racemosa relative to Vaccinium sensu scricto and Vaccinium sect. Oreades (represented by V. poasanum). Maximum parsimony analysis of 608 bp of nrITS region suggests that S. racemosa and V. poasanum form a well-supported clade in spite of substantial morphological divergence. Futhermore, this clade is a sister group to a clade consisting of all segregate genera examined. These molecular results led us to undertake a morphological cladistic analysis of all of the other Central American green-flowered taxa. We suggest that the genus Symphysia should be expanded to encompass these 15 taxa, despite the lack of phylogenetic resolution within this group. This will necessitate eight new combinations, via. Symphysia almedae (= V. almedae), Symphysia costaricensis (= V. costaricense), Symphysia jefensis (= V. jefense), Symphysia orosiensis (= V. orosiense), Symphysia ovata (= Lateropora ovata), Symphysia perardua (= V. santafeënsis), Symphysia poasana (= Vaccinium poasanum), Symphysia santafeënsis (= L. santafeënsis), and Symphysia tubulifera (= L. tubulifera)

Evaluating the Effect of Manufacturing Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV)-Contaminated Feed on Subsequent Feed Mill Environmental Surface Contamination

This study aimed to utilize the only known pilot feed mill facility approved for pathogenic feed agent use in the United States to evaluate the effect of manufacturing Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea Virus (PEDV)-contaminated feed on subsequent feed mill environmental surface contamination. In this study, PEDV inoculated feed was manufactured and conveyed on equipment along with four subsequent batches of PEDV-free feed. Equipment and environmental surfaces were sampled using swabs and analyzed for the presence of PEDV RNA by PCR. The experiment was replicated three times with decontamination of the feed mill and all equipment between replications. Overall, environmental swabs indicated widespread surface contamination of the equipment and work area after a PEDV contaminated batch of feed was processed. There was little difference in environmental sample cycle threshold (Ct) values after manufacturing each of the subsequent PEDV-negative feed batches. In summary, introduction of PEDV-infected feed into a feed mill will likely result in widespread contamination of equipment and surfaces, even after several batches of PEDV-free feed are produced. Eliminating the PEDV RNA from the feed mill environment was challenging and required procedures that are not practical to apply on a regular basis in a feed mill. This data suggests that it is extremely important to prevent the introduction of PEDV-contaminated feed, ingredients, or other vectors of transmission to minimize PEDV-risk. More research should be conducted to determine if contaminated surfaces can lead to PEDV infectivity and to determine the best feed mill PEDV-decontamination strategies

Laboring to Mother in the Context of Past Trauma: The Transition to Motherhood

The occurrence of interpersonal trauma is a reality for many women, with effects that often persist long after the traumatic events end. The purpose of this feminist grounded theory study was to examine how past trauma shaped the lives of women as they became new mothers. We recruited a purposive sample of 32 women from two Canadian communities and conducted semistructured, dialogic interviews during the second trimester of pregnancy. We analyzed data using thematic content analytic methods, including open coding whereby we read transcripts line by line and applied codes to portions of text that illustrated concepts or themes. The substantive grounded theory, “laboring to mother in the context of past trauma,” describes the exceedingly difficult emotional and cognitive work undertaken by pregnant women with histories of trauma as they anticipate becoming mothers. In this article, we present key components of the theory and offer recommendations for health and social service providers

The Farthest Known Supernova: Support for an Accelerating Universe and a Glimpse of the Epoch of Deceleration

We present photometric observations of an apparent Type Ia supernova (SN Ia) at a redshift of ~1.7, the farthest SN observed to date. SN 1997ff, was discovered in a repeat observation by the HST of the HDF-), and serendipitously monitored with NICMOS on HST throughout the GTO campaign. The SN type can be determined from the host galaxy type:an evolved, red elliptical lacking enough recent star formation to provide a significant population of core-collapse SNe. The class- ification is further supported by diagnostics available from the observed colors and temporal behavior of the SN, both of which match a typical SN Ia. The photo- metric record of the SN includes a dozen flux measurements in the I, J, and H bands spanning 35 days in the observed frame. The redshift derived from the SN photometry, z=1.7+/-0.1, is in excellent agreement with the redshift estimate of z=1.65+/-0.15 derived from the U_300,B_450,V_606,I_814,J_110,J_125,H_160, H_165,K_s photometry of the galaxy. Optical and near-infrared spectra of the host provide a very tentative spectroscopic redshift of 1.755. Fits to observations of the SN provide constraints for the redshift-distance relation of SNe~Ia and a powerful test of the current accelerating Universe hypothesis. The apparent SN brightness is consistent with that expected in the decelerating phase of the preferred cosmological model, Omega_M~1/3, Omega_Lambda~2/3. It is inconsistent with grey dust or simple luminosity evolution, candidate astro- physical effects which could mimic past evidence for an accelerating Universe from SNe Ia at z~0.5.We consider several sources of possible systematic error including lensing, SN misclassification, selection bias, and calibration errors. Currently, none of these effects appears likely to challenge our conclusions.Comment: Accepted to the Astrophysical Journal 38 pages, 15 figures, Pretty version available at http://icarus.stsci.edu/~stefano/ariess.tar.g

Effect of EMIC waves on relativistic and ultrarelativistic electron populations: Ground-based and Van Allen Probes observations

Abstract We study the effect of electromagnetic ion cyclotron (EMIC) waves on the loss and pitch angle scattering of relativistic and ultrarelativistic electrons during the recovery phase of a moderate geomagnetic storm on 11 October 2012. The EMIC wave activity was observed in situ on the Van Allen Probes and conjugately on the ground across the Canadian Array for Real-time Investigations of Magnetic Activity throughout an extended 18 h interval. However, neither enhanced precipitation of \u3e0.7 MeV electrons nor reductions in Van Allen Probe 90° pitch angle ultrarelativistic electron flux were observed. Computed radiation belt electron pitch angle diffusion rates demonstrate that rapid pitch angle diffusion is confined to low pitch angles and cannot reach 90°. For the first time, from both observational and modeling perspectives, we show evidence of EMIC waves triggering ultrarelativistic (~2-8 MeV) electron loss but which is confined to pitch angles below around 45° and not affecting the core distribution. Key Points EMIC wave activity is not associated with precipitation of MeV electrons EMIC waves do not deplete the ultra-relativistic belt down to 90° EMIC waves cause loss of low pitch angle electrons with energies ~2-8 MeV

Understanding young people's transitions in university halls through space and time

This article contributes to the theoretical discussion about young people's transitions through space and time. Space and time are complex overarching concepts that have creative potential in deepening understanding of transition. The focus of this research is young people's experiences of communal living in university halls. It is argued that particular space-time concepts draw attention to different facets of experience and in combination deepen the understanding of young people's individual and collective transitions. The focus of the article is the uses of the space-time concepts 'routine', 'representation', 'rhythm' and 'ritual' to research young people's experiences. The article draws on research findings from two studies in the North of England. © 2010 SAGE Publications

Use of POES SEM-2 observations to examine radiation belt dynamics and energetic electron precipitation into the atmosphere

The coupling of the Van Allen radiation belts to the Earth's atmosphere through precipitating particles is an area of intense scientific interest. Currently, there are significant uncertainties surrounding the precipitating characteristics of medium energy electrons (> 20 keV), and even more uncertainties for relativistic electrons. In this paper we examine roughly 10 years of measurements of trapped and precipitating electrons available from the Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES)/Space Environment Monitor (SEM-2), which has provided long-term global data in this energy range. We show that the POES SEM-2 detectors suffer from some contamination issues that complicate the understanding of the measurements, but that the observations provide insight into the precipitation of energetic electrons from the radiation belts, and may be developed into a useful climatology for medium energy electrons. Electron contamination also allows POES/SEM-2 to provide unintended observations of > 700 keV relativistic electrons. Finally, there is an energy-dependent time delay observed in the POES/SEM-2 observations, with the relativistic electron enhancement (electrons > 800 keV) delayed by approximately one week relative to the > 30 keV electron enhancement, probably due to the timescales of the acceleration processes. Observations of trapped relativistic electron fluxes near the geomagnetic equator by GOES show similar delays, indicating a "coherency" to the radiation belts at high and low orbits, and also a strong link between trapped and precipitating particle fluxes. Such large delays should have consequences for the timing of the atmospheric impact of geomagnetic storms

Comparing electron precipitation fluxes calculated from pitch angle diffusion coefficients to LEO satellite observations

Particle precipitation is a loss mechanism from the Radiation Belts whereby particles trapped by the Earth’s magnetic field are scattered into the loss cone due to wave‐particle interactions. Energetic electron precipitation creates ozone destroying chemicals which can affect the temperatures of the polar regions, therefore it is crucial to accurately quantify this impact on the Earth’s atmosphere. We use bounce‐averaged pitch angle diffusion coefficients for whistler mode chorus waves, plasmaspheric hiss and atmospheric collisions to calculate magnetic local time (MLT) dependent electron precipitation inside the field of view of the Polar Orbiting Environmental Satellites (POES) T0 detector, between 26‐30 March 2013. These diffusion coefficients are used in the BAS Radiation Belt Model (BAS‐RBM) and this paper is a first step towards testing the loss in this model via comparison with real world data. We find the best agreement between the calculated and measured T0 precipitation at L* > 5 on the dawnside for the > 30keV electron channel, consistent with precipitation driven by lower band chorus. Additional diffusion is required to explain the flux at higher energies and on the dusk side. The POES T0 detector underestimates electron precipitation as its field of view does not measure the entire loss cone. We demonstrate the potential for utilizing diffusion coefficients to reconstruct precipitating flux over the entire loss cone. Our results show that the total precipitation can exceed that measured by the POES > 30 keV electron channel by a factor that typically varies from 1 to 10 for L* = 6, 6.5 and 7

HIV testing within general practices in Europe : A mixed-methods systematic review

Funding Information: This work was supported by IWT (Belgium) and the ANRS (France) through the framework of HIVERA JTC 2014. Publisher Copyright: © 2018 The Author(s).Background: Late diagnosis of HIV infection remains a key challenge in Europe. It is acknowledged that general practitioners (GPs) may contribute greatly to early case finding, yet there is evidence that many diagnostic opportunities are being missed. To further promote HIV testing in primary care and to increase the utility of available research, the existing evidence has been synthesised in a systematic review adhering to the PRISMA guidelines. Methods: The databases PubMed, Scopus and Embase were searched for the period 2006-2017. Two authors judged independently on the eligibility of studies. Through a mixed-methods systematic review of 29 studies, we provide a description of HIV testing in general practices in Europe, including barriers and facilitators. Results: The findings of the study show that although various approaches to target patients are used by GPs, most tests are still carried out based on the patient's request. Several barriers obstruct HIV testing in general practice. Included are a lack of communication skills on sexual health, lack of knowledge about HIV testing recommendations and epidemic specificities, difficulties with using the complete list of clinical HIV indicator diseases and lack of experience in delivering and communicating test results. The findings also suggest that the provision of specific training, practical tools and promotion programmes has an impact on the testing performance of GPs. Conclusions: GPs could have an increased role in provider-initiated HIV-testing for early case finding. To achieve this objective, solutions to the reported barriers should be identified and testing criteria adapted to primary healthcare defined. Providing guidance and training to better identify priority groups for HIV testing, as well as information on the HIV epidemic's characteristics, will be fundamental to increasing awareness and testing by GPs.publishersversionPeer reviewe