Naturally Occurring Asbestos in Alaska and Experiences and Policy of Other States Regarding its Use

INE/AUTC 09.0

Alien Registration- Perkins, John A H. (Wilton, Franklin County)

https://digitalmaine.com/alien_docs/19567/thumbnail.jp

System model development for nuclear thermal propulsion

A critical enabling technology in the evolutionary development of nuclear thermal propulsion (NTP) is the ability to predict the system performance under a variety of operating conditions. This is crucial for mission analysis and for control subsystem testing as well as for the modeling of various failure modes. Performance must be accurately predicted during steady-state and transient operation, including startup, shutdown, and post operation cooling. The development and application of verified and validated system models has the potential to reduce the design, testing, and cost and time required for the technology to reach flight-ready status. Since Oct. 1991, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Defense (DOD), and NASA have initiated critical technology development efforts for NTP systems to be used on Space Exploration Initiative (SEI) missions to the Moon and Mars. This paper presents the strategy and progress of an interagency NASA/DOE/DOD team for NTP system modeling. It is the intent of the interagency team to develop several levels of computer programs to simulate various NTP systems. The first level will provide rapid, parameterized calculations of overall system performance. Succeeding computer programs will provide analysis of each component in sufficient detail to guide the design teams and experimental efforts. The computer programs will allow simulation of the entire system to allow prediction of the integrated performance. An interagency team was formed for this task to use the best capabilities available and to assure appropriate peer review

Simulating Collisions for Hydrokinetic Turbines. FY2010 Annual Progress Report.

Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) simulations of turbulent flow and particle motion are being conducted to evaluate the frequency and severity of collisions between marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) energy devices and debris or aquatic organisms. The work is part of a collaborative research project between Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and Sandia National Laboratories , funded by the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Wind and Water Power Program. During FY2010 a reference design for an axial flow MHK turbine was used to develop a computational geometry for inclusion into a CFD model. Unsteady simulations of turbulent flow and the moving MHK turbine blades are being performed and the results used for simulation of particle trajectories. Preliminary results and plans for future work are presented

Perception of High Alcohol Use of Peers Is Associated With High Personal Alcohol Use in First-Year University Students in Three Central and Eastern European Countries

Objectives: The objectives of this study were to assess discrepancies between estimated peer and personal drinking behavior and to determine associations between perceptions of peer and personal drinking behavior among university students from Hungary (HU), Lithuania (LT), and the Slovak Republic (SK). Methods: 2,554 freshman university students completed an online questionnaire on the frequency of their personal alcohol use, the number of heavy drinking occasions and on their perception concerning the corresponding drinking behavior of a typical student. Associations between perceived peer and personal use were analyzed by means of logistic regression, adjusting for sex. Results: The majority of students across all countries thought their peers drink more frequently and are more often involved in heavy drinking occasions than themselves. Students who perceived the frequency of peer alcohol use to be higher were more likely to drink alcohol twice a week or more often (SR: OR = 3.81, 95% CI = 2.51–5.79; LT: OR = 3.16, 95% CI = 2.11–4.75; HU: OR = 2.10, 95% CI = 1.53–2.87) compared with students who drink alcohol monthly or less. Those who perceived the number of peer heavy drinking occasions as high were more likely to report heavy drinking weekly or more often (SR: OR = 3.16, 95% CI = 1.92–5.20; LT:OR = 3.56, 95% CI = 2.14–5.94; HU:OR = 1.41, 95% CI = 0.79–2.51) compared with students who report heavy drinking less than monthly. Conclusions/Importance: University students perceived peer alcohol use to be higher than their personal use. Given the association between perceptions and personal alcohol use, future research should investigate if targeting perceptions in the surveyed countries may have an impact on alcohol use

Body size data collected non-invasively from drone images indicate a morphologically distinct Chilean blue whale (Blaenoptera musculus) taxon

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Leslie, M. S., Perkins-Taylor, C. M., Durban, J. W., Moore, M. J., Miller, C. A., Chanarat, P., Bahamonde, P., Chiang, G., & Apprill, A. Body size data collected non-invasively from drone images indicate a morphologically distinct Chilean blue whale (Blaenoptera musculus) taxon. Endangered Species Research, 43, (2020): 291-304, https://doi.org/10.3354/esr01066.The blue whale Balaenoptera musculus (Linnaeus, 1758) was the target of intense commercial whaling in the 20th century, and current populations remain drastically below pre-whaling abundances. Reducing uncertainty in subspecific taxonomy would enable targeted conservation strategies for the recovery of unique intraspecific diversity. Currently, there are 2 named blue whale subspecies in the temperate to polar Southern Hemisphere: the Antarctic blue whale B. m. intermedia and the pygmy blue whale B. m. brevicauda. These subspecies have distinct morphologies, genetics, and acoustics. In 2019, the Society for Marine Mammalogy’s Committee on Taxonomy agreed that evidence supports a third (and presently unnamed) subspecies of Southern Hemisphere blue whale subspecies, the Chilean blue whale. Whaling data indicate that the Chilean blue whale is intermediate in body length between pygmy and Antarctic blue whales. We collected body size data from blue whales in the Gulfo Corcovado, Chile, during the austral summers of 2015 and 2017 using aerial photogrammetry from a remotely controlled drone to test the hypothesis that the Chilean blue whale is morphologically distinct from other Southern Hemisphere blue whale subspecies. We found the Chilean whale to be morphologically intermediate in both overall body length and relative tail length, thereby joining other diverse data in supporting the Chilean blue whale as a unique subspecific taxon. Additional photogrammetry studies of Antarctic, pygmy, and Chilean blue whales will help examine unique morphological variation within this species of conservation concern. To our knowledge, this is the first non-invasive small drone study to test a hypothesis for systematic biology.We are thankful to Foundation MERI (Melimoyu Ecosystem Research Institute) for logistical and funding support. Cruise support in 2017 was provided by the Dalio Foundation (now ‘OceanX’)

A national survey of the diagnosis and management of suspected ventilator-associated pneumonia.

BACKGROUND: Ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) affects up to 20% of patients admitted to intensive care units (ICU). It is associated with increased morbidity, mortality and healthcare costs. Despite published guidelines, variability in diagnosis and management exists, the extent of which remains unclear. We sought to characterise consultant opinions surrounding diagnostic and management practice for VAP in the UK. METHODS: An online survey was sent to all consultant members of the UK Intensive Care Society (n=∼1500). Data were collected regarding respondents' individual practice in the investigation and management of suspected VAP including use of diagnostic criteria, microbiological sampling, chest X-ray (CXR), bronchoscopy and antibiotic treatments. RESULTS: 339 (23%) responses were received from a broadly representative spectrum of ICU consultants. All respondents indicated that microbiological confirmation should be sought, the majority (57.8%) stating they would take an endotracheal aspirate prior to starting empirical antibiotics. Microbiology reporting services were described as qualitative only by 29.7%. Only 17% of respondents had access to routine reporting of CXRs by a radiologist. Little consensus exists regarding technique for bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) with the reported volume of saline used ranging from 5 to 500 mL. 24.5% of consultants felt inadequately trained in bronchoscopy. CONCLUSIONS: There is wide variability in the approach to diagnosis and management of VAP among UK consultants. Such variability challenges the reliability of the diagnosis of VAP and its reported incidence as a performance indicator in healthcare systems. The data presented suggest increased radiological and microbiological support, and standardisation of BAL technique, might improve this situation