Anthony S. Noonan IRA, LLC v. U.S. Bank, 136 Nev. Adv. Op. 41 (July 9, 2020)

In an opinion drafted by Justice Silver, the Nevada Supreme Court considered whether a Homeowner’s Association (“HOA”) lien under NRS. § 116.3116 can include the entire amount of a yearly assessment as a superpriority debt. The Court concluded that a yearly assessment that became due in the nine months preceding the HOA’s notice of delinquent assessments is entitled to superpriority status in its entirety

Lathigee v. British Columbia Securities Commission, 136 Nev. Adv. Op. 79 (Dec. 10, 2020)

In an opinion drafted by Justice Pickering, the Nevada Supreme Court considered whether the disgorgement portion of a securities-fraud judgment from British Columbia could be enforced in Nevada. The Court concluded that disgorgement judgments that serve as restitution do not constitute a penalty or fine under NRS 17.740(2)(b), and that the Canadian judgment was properly recognized by the district court under principles of comity

Using satellite telemetry and environmental niche modelling to inform conservation targets for a long-distance migratory raptor in its wintering grounds

Understanding the ecology of migratory birds during the non-breeding season is necessary for ensuring their conservation. Using satellite telemetry data we describe winter ranging behaviour and movements of pallid harriers Circus macrourus that bred in Kazakhstan. We developed an ecological niche model for the species in Africa, to identify the most suitable wintering areas for pallid harriers and the importance of habitat in determining the location of those areas. We also assessed how well represented suitable areas are in the network of protected areas. Individual harriers showed relatively high fidelity to wintering areas but with potential for interannual changes. The ecological niche model highlighted the importance of open habitats with natural vegetation. Most suitable areas for the species were located in eastern Africa. Suitable areas had a patchy distribution but were relatively well included in the network of protected areas. The preferential use of habitats with natural vegetation by wintering pallid harriers and the patchiness of the most suitable areas highlight the harrier's vulnerability to land-use changes and the associated loss of natural vegetation in Africa. Conservation of harriers could be enhanced by preserving natural grasslands within protected areas and improving habitat management in the human-influenced portions of the species' core wintering areas.We thank to the Natural Research Ltd for funding. R. Limiñana benefited from a postdoctoral grant (reference 10/12-C) co-funded by ‘Consejería de Educación y Ciencia’ and the European Social Fund.Peer Reviewe

Using satellite telemetry and environmental niche modelling to inform conservation targets for a long-distance migratory raptor in its wintering grounds

Understanding the ecology of migratory birds during the non-breeding season is necessary for ensuring their conservation. Using satellite telemetry data we describe winter ranging behaviour and movements of pallid harriers Circus macrourus that bred in Kazakhstan. We developed an ecological niche model for the species in Africa, to identify the most suitable wintering areas for pallid harriers and the importance of habitat in determining the location of those areas. We also assessed how well represented suitable areas are in the network of protected areas. Individual harriers showed relatively high fidelity to wintering areas but with potential for interannual changes. The ecological niche model highlighted the importance of open habitats with natural vegetation. Most suitable areas for the species were located in eastern Africa. Suitable areas had a patchy distribution but were relatively well included in the network of protected areas. The preferential use of habitats with natural vegetation by wintering pallid harriers and the patchiness of the most suitable areas highlight the harrier's vulnerability to land-use changes and the associated loss of natural vegetation in Africa. Conservation of harriers could be enhanced by preserving natural grasslands within protected areas and improving habitat management in the human-influenced portions of the species’ core wintering areas.R. Limiñana benefited from a postdoctoral grant (reference 10/12-C) co-funded by ‘Consejería de Educación y Ciencia’ and the European Social Fund

Further studies in caries and fluorosis

The main drivers for this body of work were a systematic review on water fluoridation by the NHS Centre for Research Dissemination (known as the York Report) and a report by the Medical Research Council entitled 'Water Fluoridation & Health'. Both documents highlighted shortcomings in the evidence base on water fluoridation. Two major projects form the basis of this thesis in an attempt to address some of the issues raised. The first project in Chiang Mai, Thailand aimed to determine the ability of QLF to discriminate between populations with differing exposures to fluoride. Populations with differing exposures to fluoride were identified through the analysis of drinking water and cooking water. Subjects were examined for fluorosis with standardized photographs and QLF to evaluate software techniques for fluorescence image analysis. The results in Thailand demonstrated that QLF was able to discriminate between populations with differing exposures to fluoride in water to a similar degree to blinded, subjective clinical scoring. There was significant agreement between the two methods (ICC 0.65 Spearman's rho). However, confounding factors for QLF were found. The aim of the second project was to assess the use of blinded and objective methods for assessing caries and fluorosis in fluoridated Newcastle and non-fluoridated Manchester in northern England. This study involved clinical and intra-oral photographic caries examinations using ICDAS, together with standardized photography and QLF imaging for fluorosis examinations. The results in Newcastle and Manchester suggested that there were significantly lower levels of caries in the fluoridated population compared to the non-fluoridated population. For early caries (Newcastle mean DMFT 2.94[clinical]/2.51[photo], Manchester mean DMFT 4.48 [clinical]/3.44[photo]) and caries into dentine (Newcastle Mean DMFT 0.65[clinical]/0.58[photo], Manchester mean DMFT 1.07 [clinical]/0.98 [photo]). This was reflected as an increase in caries as the level of deprivation increased (confirmed through intra-oral photographic scoring). The reduction in caries levels was associated with increased levels of fluorosis in Newcastle. The prevalence of fluorosis from photographic scores in fluoridated Newcastle was 55%, in non-fluoridated Manchester it was 27%. In Newcastle, 48% of subjects had TF scores of 1 or 2 and 7.1% of subjects had TF scores of 3 or greater. QLF showed significant associations with the clinical scores for fluorosis (ICC 0.405 Kendall's tau) and suggested a fluorosis prevalence for TF 3 or greater of 19% in Newcastle and 10% in Manchester. The integration of technologies such as intra-oral photographs for blind caries scoring and QLF for the detection and objective quantification of fluorosis may still prove to be useful adjunctive tools when used alongside clinical indices. The data derived from the methodologies under investigation suggest a benefit in caries reduction from community water fluoridation and this may help to reduce inequalities in oral health by reducing the social gradient between deprivation and caries.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Dental fluorosis in populations from Chiang Mai, Thailand with different fluoride exposures - Paper 2: The ability of fluorescence imaging to detect differences in fluorosis prevalence and severity for different fluoride intakes from water

BACKGROUND: To assess the ability of fluorescence imaging to detect a dose response relationship between fluorosis severity and different levels of fluoride in water supplies compared to remote photographic scoring in selected populations participating in an observational, epidemiological survey in Chiang Mai, Thailand. METHODS: Subjects were male and female lifetime residents aged 8-13 years. For each child the fluoride content of cooking water samples (CWS) was assessed to create categorical intervals of water fluoride concentration. Fluorescence images were taken of the maxillary central incisors and analyzed for dental fluorosis using two different software techniques. Output metrics for the fluorescence imaging techniques were compared to TF scores from blinded photographic scores obtained from the survey. RESULTS: Data from 553 subjects were available. Both software analysis techniques demonstrated significant correlations with the photographic scores. The metrics for area effected by fluorosis and the overall fluorescence loss had the strongest association with the photographic TF score (Spearman’s rho 0.664 and 0.652 respectively). Both software techniques performed well for comparison of repeat fluorescence images with ICC values of 0.95 and 0.85 respectively. CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the potential use of fluorescence imaging for the objective quantification of dental fluorosis. Fluorescence imaging was able to discriminate between populations with different fluoride exposures on a comparable level to remote photographic scoring with acceptable levels of repeatability