NFMA and Ecosystem Management

8 pages. Contains 1 page of references

NFMA and Ecosystem Management

8 pages. Contains 1 page of references

Impacts of recreation on biodiversity in wilderness

We discuss seven recreational impacts on biodiversity in wilderness areas. These include: 1) construction of trails, 2) trampling of vegetation and soils on trails and campsites, 3) collection and burning of wood in campfires, 4) water pollution associated with camping activities, 5) unintentional harassment of animals, 6) hunting, fishing, and associated management programs, and 7) grazing by processes and functions of ecosystems. The activities which have caused the greatest impact on diversity at a regional scale are fishing, hunting and associated management practices. None of these perturbations, however, have been studied in insufficient detail to assess their long-term impact

The conceptual relevance of assessment measures in patients with mild/mild-moderate Alzheimer\u27s disease

Introduction: This study aims to evaluate the conceptual relevance of four measures of disease activity in patients with mild/mild-moderate Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD): (1) the Alzheimer\u27s Disease Assessment Scale–Cognitive Subscale; (2) the Alzheimer\u27s Disease Cooperative Study–Activities of Daily Living Inventory; (3) the Neuropsychiatry Inventory; and (4) the Dependence Scale. Methods: A conceptual model depicting patient experience of mild AD was developed via literature review; concepts were compared with the items of the four measures. Relevance of the concepts included in the four measures was evaluated by patients with mild AD in a survey and follow-up interviews. Results: The four measures assessed few of the symptoms/impacts of mild AD identified within the literature. Measured items addressing emotional impacts were deemed most relevant by participants but were included in the measures only superficially. Discussion: The four assessment measures do not appear to capture the concepts most relevant to/important to patients with mild/mild-moderate AD. © 2018 The Author

Development of Low CO2 Durable Concrete Using Geopolymer and Related Chemically-Activated Cements

Concrete is a vital construction material in modern society as it is used to shape the built environment in many ways. Its use can be seen in the construction of road and rail infrastructure, buildings, dams, runways, and water and sewerage systems. It is the most widely used man-made material in the world. Not to be confused with cement, concrete is essentially a mixture of aggregates and paste which are combined to form a solid, rock like mass. Aggregates are typically sand and gravel or crushed stone, and the paste is typically water and Portland cement (more commonly known as ordinary Portland cement (OPC). There are many aspects of OPC concrete production that appear to be coming under increased scrutiny from an environmental and sustainability perspective. OPC concrete traditionally relies on the quarrying of non-renewable raw materials, and significant amounts of coal are used in the production of Portland cement. Electricity is needed to run the machinery for grinding, blending, and processing, and the concrete industry typically has high fuel use and a need for heavy transport in the supply and distribution chain. These factors mean that concrete production is commonly associated with the depletion of the world’s natural resources and significant CO2 emissions. The increased awareness of environmental and sustainability issues in the concrete industry is leading to the development of new source materials for concrete production. Recent innovations in this area include the use of Portland cement-free, low CO2 binders, commonly referred to as geopolymers binders, which result in concrete mixes (i.e. geopolymer concretes) with similar mechanical properties to OPC concrete, but which offer a lower carbon footprint. Geopolymer concrete has garnered attention in recent years, mainly as a result of being more ‘environmentally friendly’ than OPC concrete. Sometimes referred to as ‘green’ or ‘low carbon’ concrete, previous studies have proven geopolymer concretes to be environmentally superior through the use of binders manufactured from waste / industrial by-products (e.g. fly ash and blast furnace slag), rather than virgin raw materials extracted by quarrying. Previous experimental work has shown that geopolymer concrete can offer similar mechanical properties to OPC concrete, with comparable compressive strengths, elastic moduli, and Poisson’s ratio. In some instances, geopolymers can exhibit properties superior to OPC concrete, such as better heat resistance and low creep and drying shrinkage properties. Geopolymers can also offer enhanced resistance to many common concrete durability issues. With these factors in mind, vii geopolymer concrete appears to offer many of the attributes of OPC concrete and should therefore be considered as a suitable replacement. Despite the potential advantages of geopolymer concrete, widespread acceptance and increased commercial use appears to be a long way off. The construction industry is often cautious and safety conscious when it comes to embracing new building materials. A thorough and detailed understanding of a new material and how it will react in critical design conditions may often be required before widespread utilisation and acceptance will take place. In this regard, it was the intention that this research project would assist in advancing the geopolymer cause. With this in mind, the main objective of this research project was to strengthen the position of geopolymer concrete via experimental investigations that helped gain a deeper understanding of how differing activator solution ratios and their concentration affect strength, along with different binder ratios. Different geopolymer concrete mix designs were developed to have a target compressive strength of 30MPa, with varying activator solution ratios and binder ratios. Several important mechanical properties for the different mix designs were established via experimental testing (e.g. compressive strength, stress / strain characteristics, and modulus of elasticity). It was found that the tested geopolymer mixes were comparable with OPC concrete mixes in this regard. During this research project one potential drawback discovered early on was the fast setting time for the tested mix designs, samples hardening to an unworkable hardness within minutes, even when submerged in water. Results: During this project testing phase, some of the Compression results that did not fall into what was logical logically expected. Thus, there were no quantifiable results achieved and the findings to be presented. What did eventuate, using logic and the principle of differentiation, was to replace suspected corrupted data with predicted values and plot the hypothesized results. While not tangible they have resulted in a sound and intriguing hypothesis into a direct cause and effect ration for the change in modulus. Using data derived using this method, in the near future, it may be possible to predict the effect that changes to the modulus will have on different fly ash to blast furnace slag mix ratios. Conclusion: While concrete results eluded the research project certain conclusions can be assumed, cursory evidence points to a direct relationship between the modulus and the compression strength of the viii casting. Currently, the data is insufficient to state this conclusively, but initial data indurates this to be the case. Industry acceptance and widespread use of fly-ash/slag based geopolymer concrete, as an alternative building material, is still some time away. At this stage of understanding, there are still too many unknowns and potential complications that need to investigated and rectified. However, fly ash/slag based Geopolymer concrete has demonstrated that it has exciting potential within the construction industry when these challenges are overcome

Evolving approaches to profiling the microbiome in skin disease

Despite its harsh and dry environment, human skin is home to diverse microbes, including bacteria, fungi, viruses, and microscopic mites. These microbes form communities that may exist at the skin surface, deeper skin layers, and within microhabitats such as the hair follicle and sweat glands, allowing complex interactions with the host immune system. Imbalances in the skin microbiome, known as dysbiosis, have been linked to various inflammatory skin disorders, including atopic dermatitis, acne, and psoriasis. The roles of abundant commensal bacteria belonging to Staphylococcus and Cutibacterium taxa and the fungi Malassezia, where particular species or strains can benefit the host or cause disease, are increasingly appreciated in skin disorders. Furthermore, recent research suggests that the interactions between microorganisms and the host’s immune system on the skin can have distant and systemic effects on the body, such as on the gut and brain, known as the “skin-gut” or “skin-brain” axes. Studies on the microbiome in skin disease have typically relied on 16S rRNA gene sequencing methods, which cannot provide accurate information about species or strains of microorganisms on the skin. However, advancing technologies, including metagenomics and other functional ‘omic’ approaches, have great potential to provide more comprehensive and detailed information about the skin microbiome in health and disease. Additionally, inter-species and multi-kingdom interactions can cause cascading shifts towards dysbiosis and are crucial but yet-to-be-explored aspects of many skin disorders. Better understanding these complex dynamics will require meta-omic studies complemented with experiments and clinical trials to confirm function. Evolving how we profile the skin microbiome alongside technological advances is essential to exploring such relationships. This review presents the current and emerging methods and their findings for profiling skin microbes to advance our understanding of the microbiome in skin disease

Feline head trauma: a CT analysis of skull fractures and their management in 75 cats

The aim of this study was to describe and evaluate the configurations and management of feline skull fractures and concurrent injuries following head trauma

Neural Correlates of Attentional and Mnemonic Processing in Event-Based Prospective Memory

Prospective memory (PM), or memory for realizing delayed intentions, was examined with an event-based paradigm while simultaneously measuring neural activity with high-density EEG recordings. Specifically, the neural substrates of monitoring for an event-based cue were examined, as well as those perhaps associated with the cognitive processes supporting detection of cues and fulfillment of intentions. Participants engaged in a baseline lexical decision task (LDT), followed by a LDT with an embedded PM component. Event-based cues were constituted by color and lexicality (red words). Behavioral data provided evidence that monitoring, or preparatory attentional processes, were used to detect cues. Analysis of the event-related potentials (ERP) revealed visual attentional modulations at 140 and 220 ms post-stimulus associated with preparatory attentional processes. In addition, ERP components at 220, 350, and 400 ms post-stimulus were enhanced for intention-related items. Our results suggest preparatory attention may operate by selectively modulating processing of features related to a previously formed event-based intention, as well as provide further evidence for the proposal that dissociable component processes support the fulfillment of delayed intentions

Sliding wear properties of HVOF thermally sprayed nylon-11 and nylon-11/ceramic composites on steel

Journal of Thermal Spray Technology, 16(5-6): pp. 927-932.Polymer and polymer/ceramic composite coatings were produced by ball-milling 60 μm Nylon- 11 together with nominal 10 vol.% of nano and multi-scale ceramic reinforcements and HVOF spraying these composite feedstocks onto steel substrates to produce semi-crystalline micron and nano-scale reinforced coatings polymer matrix composites. Room temperature dry sliding wear performance of pure Nylon-11, Nylon-11 reinforced with 7 nm silica, and multi-scale Nylon- 11/silica composite coatings incorporating 7-40 nm and 10 μm ceramic particles was characterized using a pin-on-disk tribometer. Coefficient of friction and wear rate were determined as a function of applied load and coating composition. Surface profilometry and scanning electron microscopy were used to characterize and analyze the coatings and wear scars. The pure Nylon-11 coating experienced less wear than the composites due to the occurrence of two additional wear mechanisms: abrasive and fatigue wear