High resolution studies of low-energy electron attachment to SF5Cl: Product anions and absolute cross sections

Low energy electron attachment to SF$_5$Cl was studied at high energy resolution by mass spectrometric detection of the product anions. Two variants of the laser photoelectron attachment (LPA) technique (Kaiserslautern) were used for determining the threshold behaviour of the yield for SF$_5^-$ formation at about 1 meV resolution, and to investigate the relative cross sections for Cl$^-$, FCl$^-$, and SF$_5^-$ formation towards higher energies (up to 1 eV) at about 20 meV resolution. Thermal swarm measurements (Birmingham) were used to place the relative LPA cross sections on an absolute scale. A trochoidal electron monochromator (Innsbruck) was used for survey measurements of the relative cross sections for the different product anions over the energy range of 0-14 eV with a resolution of 0.30 eV. Combined with earlier beam data (taken at Berlin, J. Chem. Phys. 88 (1988) 149), the present experimental results provide a detailed set of partial cross sections for anion formation in low-energy electron collisions with SF$_5$Cl

Does service integration improve technical quality of care in low-resource settings? An evaluation of a model integrating HIV care into family planning services in Kenya.

The aim of this study was to investigate association between HIV and family planning integration and technical quality of care. The study focused on technical quality of client-provider consultation sessions. The cross-sectional study observed 366 client-provider consultation sessions and interviewed 37 health care providers in 12 public health facilities in Kenya. Multilevel random intercept and linear regression models were fitted to the matched data to investigate relationships between service integration and technical quality of care as well as associations between facility-level structural and provider factors and technical quality of care. A sensitivity analysis was performed to test for hidden bias. After adjusting for facility-level structural factors, HIV/family planning integration was found to have significant positive effect on technical quality of the consultation session, with average treatment effect 0.44 (95% CI: 0.63-0.82). Three of the 12 structural factors were significantly positively associated with technical quality of consultation session including: availability of family planning commodities (9.64; 95% CI: 5.07-14.21), adequate infrastructure (5.29; 95% CI: 2.89-7.69) and reagents (1.48; 95% CI: 1.02-1.93). Three of the nine provider factors were significantly positively associated with technical quality of consultation session: appropriate provider clinical knowledge (3.14; 95% CI: 1.92-4.36), job satisfaction (2.02; 95% CI: 1.21-2.83) and supervision (1.01; 95% CI: 0.35-1.68), while workload (-0.88; 95% CI: -1.75 to - 0.01) was negatively associated. Technical quality of the client-provider consultation session was also determined by duration of the consultation and type of clinic visit and appeared to depend on whether the clinic visit occurred early or later in the week. Integration of HIV care into family planning services can improve the technical quality of client-provider consultation sessions as measured by both health facility structural and provider factors

Building integrated health systems: lessons from HIV, sexual and reproductive health integration.

A synthetic strategy to access 2,6-disubstituted pyridines from triazolopyridines through a regioselective nickel-catalyzed alkenylation reaction of the C7–H bond is described. The N₂ fragment embedded in the resulting C–H functionalized triazolopyridine can be readily excised using acidic or oxidative conditions to unmask the pyridine

Evaluation of dredged material proposed for ocean disposal from MOTBY

The National Park Service, US Department of the Interior requested U.S. Army Corps of Engineers/New York District (USACE-NYD) to evaluate sediments around the Military Ocean Terminal (MOTBY) in Bayonne, New Jersey for unconfined ocean disposal at the Mud Dump Site. Sediment samples were collected from MOTBY. Tests and analyses were conducted on MOTBY sediment core samples. The evaluation of proposed dredged material from MOTBY included grain size and total organic carbon (TOC) analyses and one acute toxicity test with the amphipod Ampelisca abdita. In addition to this benthic toxicity test, a bioaccumulation test (28-day exposure) was conducted

Threats from the air: damselfly predation on diverse prey taxa

To understand the diversity and strength of predation in natural communities, researchers must quantify the total amount of prey species in the diet of predators. Metabarcoding approaches have allowed widespread characterization of predator diets with high taxonomic resolution. To determine the wider impacts of predators, researchers should combine DNA techniques with estimates of population size of predators using mark–release–recapture (MRR) methods, and with accurate metrics of food consumption by individuals. Herein, we estimate the scale of predation exerted by four damselfly species on diverse prey taxa within a well‐defined 12‐ha study area, resolving the prey species of individual damselflies, to what extent the diets of predatory species overlap, and which fraction of the main prey populations are consumed. We identify the taxonomic composition of diets using DNA metabarcoding and quantify damselfly population sizes by MRR. We also use predator‐specific estimates of consumption rates, and independent data on prey emergence rates to estimate the collective predation pressure summed over all prey taxa and specific to their main prey (non‐biting midges or chironomids) of the four damselfly species. The four damselfly species collectively consumed a prey mass equivalent to roughly 870 (95% CL 410–1,800) g, over 2 months. Each individual consumed 29%–66% (95% CL 9.4–123) of its body weight during its relatively short life span (2.1–4.7 days; 95% CL 0.74–7.9) in the focal population. This predation pressure was widely distributed across the local invertebrate prey community, including 4 classes, 19 orders and c. 140 genera. Different predator species showed extensive overlap in diets, with an average of 30% of prey shared by at least two predator species. Of the available prey individuals in the widely consumed family Chironomidae, only a relatively small proportion (0.76%; 95% CL 0.35%–1.61%) were consumed. Our synthesis of population sizes, per‐capita consumption rates and taxonomic distribution of diets identifies damselflies as a comparatively minor predator group of aerial insects. As the next step, we should add estimates of predation by larger odonate species, and experimental removal of odonates, thereby establishing the full impact of odonate predation on prey communities.Peer reviewe

Numbers, systems, people: how interactions influence integration. Insights from case studies of HIV and reproductive health services delivery in Kenya.

Drawing on rich data from the Integra evaluation of integrated HIV and reproductive-health services, we explored the interaction of systems hardware and software factors to explain why some facilities were able to implement and sustain integrated service delivery while others were not. This article draws on detailed mixed-methods data for four case-study facilities offering reproductive-health and HIV services between 2009 and 2013 in Kenya: (i) time-series client flow, tracking service uptake for 8841 clients; (ii) structured questionnaires with 24 providers; (iii) in-depth interviews with 17 providers; (iv) workload and facility data using a periodic activity review and cost-instruments; and (v) contextual data on external activities related to integration in study sites. Overall, our findings suggested that although structural factors like stock-outs, distribution of staffing and workload, rotation of staff can affect how integrated care is provided, all these factors can be influenced by staff themselves: both frontline and management. Facilities where staff displayed agency of decision making, worked as a team to share workload and had management that supported this, showed better integration delivery and staff were able to overcome some structural deficiencies to enable integrated care. Poor-performing facilities had good structural integration, but staff were unable to utilize this because they were poorly organized, unsupported or teams were dysfunctional. Conscientious objection and moralistic attitudes were also barriers.Integra has demonstrated that structural integration is not sufficient for integrated service delivery. Rather, our case studies show that in some cases excellent leadership and peer-teamwork enabled facilities to perform well despite resource shortages. The ability to provide support for staff to work flexibly to deliver integrated services and build resilient health systems to meet changing needs is particularly relevant as health systems face challenges of changing burdens of disease, climate change, epidemic outbreaks and more

Giving VCU A Choice... VCUHS ChoiceCare

Virginia Commonwealth University has the opportunity to promote the quality health care services being rendered by the VCU Health System and the VCU School of Dentistry to its staff and faculty. Our project proposes that the VCUHS ChoiceCARE Health Plan be made available as an option to the entire University community. The VCUHS ChoiceCARE Health Plan is currently being offered to all employees of the Virginia Commonwealth University Health System. This is an exceptional health care plan that encourages employees to utilize the services ofthe MCV Physicians/Hospitals and VCU Dentists/Oral Dentistry practitioners. Through financial incentives of lower or no copays required and competitive monthly premiums, employees will benefit from this alternative. The VCU Health System and the VCU School of Dentistry will benefit from an improved insured patient base and from maintaining a healthy workforce. As the third largest employer in the Richmond metropolitan area, VCU employees and their families are an obvious market for the health care services. This project is another step in helping University programs become less financially dependent on governmental funding