The behaviour and ecology of the American mink Mustela vison (Schreber) in a coastal habitat.

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An analysis of the Poly-dimensionality of living: an experiment in the application of 3-dimensional self-organising maps to evolve form.

The architect and sculptor Fredrick Kiesler opposed the linear mechanics of modernity. As so efficiently defined in Margarette Shutte Lihotsky’s Frankfurt kitchen, his work expressed the ‘act of body motion’, in the view that people inhabit buildings in a dynamic and vicissitudinous way. Representative of a world essentially understood to be deterministic and ordered, the Frankfurt Kitchen encapsulated the dweller in a standardised, industrial environment. Opposed to the scientific ordering of task management, Kiesler argued that the linearly devised two-dimensional methodology of architectural design is out of context with the dynamic of living and developed his ideas in the endless house; a form in which its inhabitants could live in a poly-dimensional way. This work focuses on the development of a design process, which may reflect the character and sinuous properties of an individual’s pattern of living. The study will develop a process, investigating the application of self-organising maps as a tool for the definition of space, towards a result which is emergent. The parameters that define an individual’s pattern of living, will be instigated in an array of three-dimensional self-organising activity maps, towards the development of form

Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT) for Substance Use Disorders in Title X Facilities: Assessing Barriers, Change of Provider Behavior, and Patient Outcomes

Introduction: Substance use disorders, specifically opioids, are an increasing problem in the US. Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) is a method to identify and treat patients at risk, or currently using illicit substances. Integrating SBIRT into Title X facilities, which provide reproductive healthcare to lower income populations, may allow identification and treatment of individuals that do not seek healthcare elsewhere. Objective: We aim to assess the efficacy of a longitudinal training program in Title X facilities. The program provides a structured approach to implementing new protocols, including an educational session on SBIRT and motivational interviewing (MI). Methods: We conducted a trial of assessments during the first of two cohorts to determine their value as assessments for learner outcomes based on SBIRT/MI training. One assessment measured SBIRT/MI knowledge, while the other measured attitudes about substance users. Data was collected using electronic forms with personalized and de-identified codes. Results: 3 of 35 providers responded, representing 3 of 5 facilities. All respondents thought the assessments were ‘Very relevant’ to their training, the knowledge assessment was ‘Appropriately difficult’ (mean score of 8/10 ± 1), and the training program improved their skills to identify and address patients with concerns of substance use. Conclusion: Despite limitations, results suggest the knowledge and attitude assessments were appropriate for our population. In the second cohort, we will conduct pre- and post-testing. These measures will be used to assess the efficacy of training, as well as compare the attitude outcomes with values in the literature

Casimir force in discrete scalar fields I: 1D and 2D cases

We calculate the Casimir force between parallel plates for a discrete massless scalar field. The scalar field forms a periodic lattice in continuous spacetime. The dispersion relation for both the square and triangular lattices allows for the accurate reproduction of the subtle Casimir effect without encountering infinite quantities. Our findings demonstrate that the Casimir force is independent of the type of periodic lattice used. At low frequencies, we observe a high level of rotational symmetry in both lattices. However, at high frequencies, both lattices lose their rotational symmetry, although the propagation of high-frequency waves becomes significantly limited as their group velocity approaches zero. We claim that the behavior of physics in discrete fields becomes similar to that in the continuous case, with the exception that we now have a natural and smooth cutoff mechanism that proves useful in cases requiring regularization. It appears that we have found an alternative approach to regularization using lattices with different symmetries in the background of continuous spacetime.Comment: 10 pages, 9 figure

The Binary White Dwarf LHS 3236

The white dwarf LHS 3236 (WD1639+153) is shown to be a double-degenerate binary, with each component having a high mass. Astrometry at the U.S. Naval Observatory gives a parallax and distance of 30.86 +/- 0.25 pc and a tangential velocity of 98 km/s, and reveals binary orbital motion. The orbital parameters are determined from astrometry of the photocenter over more than three orbits of the 4.0-year period. High-resolution imaging at the Keck Observatory resolves the pair with a separation of 31 and 124 mas at two epochs. Optical and near-IR photometry give a set of possible binary components. Consistency of all data indicates that the binary is a pair of DA stars with temperatures near 8000 and 7400 K and with masses of 0.93 and 0.91 M_solar; also possible, is a DA primary and a helium DC secondary with temperatures near 8800 and 6000 K and with masses of 0.98 and 0.69 M_solar. In either case, the cooling ages of the stars are ~3 Gyr and the total ages are <4 Gyr. The combined mass of the binary (1.66--1.84 M_solar) is well above the Chandrasekhar limit; however, the timescale for coalescence is long.Comment: Accepted for the Astrophysical Journa

Precision single mode fibre integral field spectroscopy with the RHEA spectrograph

The RHEA Spectrograph is a single-mode echelle spectrograph designed to be a replicable and cost effective method of undertaking precision radial velocity measurements. Two versions of RHEA currently exist, one located at the Australian National University in Canberra, Australia (450 - 600nm wavelength range), and another located at the Subaru Telescope in Hawaii, USA (600 - 800 nm wavelength range). Both instruments have a novel fibre feed consisting of an integral field unit injecting light into a 2D grid of single mode fibres. This grid of fibres is then reformatted into a 1D array at the input of the spectrograph (consisting of the science fibres and a reference fibre capable of receiving a white-light or xenon reference source for simultaneous calibration). The use of single mode fibres frees RHEA from the issue of modal noise and significantly reduces the size of the optics used. In addition to increasing the overall light throughput of the system, the integral field unit allows for cutting edge science goals to be achieved when operating behind the 8.2 m Subaru Telescope and the SCExAO adaptive optics system. These include, but are not limited to: resolved stellar photospheres; resolved protoplanetary disk structures; resolved Mira shocks, dust and winds; and sub-arcsecond companions. We present details and results of early tests of RHEA@Subaru and progress towards the stated science goals

The IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY in 2018: updates and expansion to encompass the new guide to IMMUNOPHARMACOLOGY.

The IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY (GtoPdb, www.guidetopharmacology.org) and its precursor IUPHAR-DB, have captured expert-curated interactions between targets and ligands from selected papers in pharmacology and drug discovery since 2003. This resource continues to be developed in conjunction with the International Union of Basic and Clinical Pharmacology (IUPHAR) and the British Pharmacological Society (BPS). As previously described, our unique model of content selection and quality control is based on 96 target-class subcommittees comprising 512 scientists collaborating with in-house curators. This update describes content expansion, new features and interoperability improvements introduced in the 10 releases since August 2015. Our relationship matrix now describes ∼9000 ligands, ∼15 000 binding constants, ∼6000 papers and ∼1700 human proteins. As an important addition, we also introduce our newly funded project for the Guide to IMMUNOPHARMACOLOGY (GtoImmuPdb, www.guidetoimmunopharmacology.org). This has been 'forked' from the well-established GtoPdb data model and expanded into new types of data related to the immune system and inflammatory processes. This includes new ligands, targets, pathways, cell types and diseases for which we are recruiting new IUPHAR expert committees. Designed as an immunopharmacological gateway, it also has an emphasis on potential therapeutic interventions

Authigenic carbonates from the Cascadia subduction zone and their relation to gas hydrate stability

Authigenic carbonates are intercalated with massive gas hydrates in sediments of the Cascadia margin. The deposits were recovered from the uppermost 50 cm of sediments on the southern summit of the Hydrate Ridge during the RV Sonne cruise SO110. Two carbonate lithologies that differ in chemistry, mineralogy, and fabric make up these deposits. Microcrystalline high-magnesium calcite (14 to 19 mol% MgCO3) and aragonite are present in both semiconsolidated sediments and carbonate-cemented clasts. Aragonite occurs also as a pure phase without sediment impurities. It is formed by precipitation in cavities as botryoidal and isopachous aggregates within pure white, massive gas hydrate. Variations in oxygen isotope values of the carbonates reflect the mineralogical composition and define two end members: a Mg-calcite with δ18O =4.86‰ PDB and an aragonite with δ18O =3.68‰ PDB. On the basis of the ambient bottom-water temperature and accepted equations for oxygen isotope fractionation, we show that the aragonite phase formed in equilibrium with its pore-water environment, and that the Mg-calcite appears to have precipitated from pore fluids enriched in 18O. Oxygen isotope enrichment probably originates from hydrate water released during gas-hydrate destabilization

Extreme Ultra-Violet Spectroscopy of the Lower Solar Atmosphere During Solar Flares

The extreme ultraviolet portion of the solar spectrum contains a wealth of diagnostic tools for probing the lower solar atmosphere in response to an injection of energy, particularly during the impulsive phase of solar flares. These include temperature and density sensitive line ratios, Doppler shifted emission lines and nonthermal broadening, abundance measurements, differential emission measure profiles, and continuum temperatures and energetics, among others. In this paper I shall review some of the advances made in recent years using these techniques, focusing primarily on studies that have utilized data from Hinode/EIS and SDO/EVE, while also providing some historical background and a summary of future spectroscopic instrumentation.Comment: 34 pages, 8 figures. Submitted to Solar Physics as part of the Topical Issue on Solar and Stellar Flare