Validating a Human Trafficking Screening Tool for Women Returning to Uganda From the Middle East

Human trafficking is a global issue. Denying its existence creates an atmosphere where it can thrive. Therefore, visibility is a key step in prevention. Human trafficking screening tools bring visibility to this hidden issue. Identifying individuals who have experienced human trafficking is essential for preventing it from happening in the future. Identifying survivors of trafficking allows them to be provided aftercare and opens the doors for prosecuting those who perpetrate harm against others. This study validated a human trafficking screening tool and developed a standard for interpreting the results. This study aimed to develop a tool that could identify human trafficking victims among women who return to Uganda after migrating to the Gulf States for domestic work. It is designed for use at Entebbe Airport by immigration officials to determine a decision in less than three minutes. The tool was validated through content and face validation, as well as through testing its sensitivity and specificity. The tools classified 100% of the previously known trafficking survivor participants in the study as trafficking survivors. It also identified an additional nine women who were not known to be trafficking survivors prior to the study as individuals who experienced conditions consistent with human trafficking. The research identified three questions for each of the three areas critical to human trafficking. These areas are referred to as Ends, Means, and Process

Sulfur amino acid requirements of broilers from two to five weeks of age

Phase-feeding (PF) in broiler chickens has been researched as a way to reduce feed costs without reducing growth performance and yield. Predicted amino acid requirements for PF are generated using linear regression equations derived from best estimates of lysine (Lys), sulfur amino acid (SAA), and threonine (Thr) requirements. During the late starter and early grower periods, predicted requirements for the SAA methionine (Met) and cysteine (Cys) are higher than levels recommended by the National Research Council (NRC), and previous research suggests that SAA may be lowered during the grower period without sacrificing growth performance or yield. The objective of this study was to estimate Met and Cys requirements for broilers from 2 to 5 weeks of age. In Experiment 1, a Met-deficient corn-peanut meal diet was formulated to contain excess Cys, so that supplemental Met was not utilized for Cys synthesis. The basal diet for Experiment 2 met the Met requirement but was deficient in Cys. Graded levels of Met (0, 0.045, 0.09, 0.135, and 0.225%) and Cys (0, 0.035, 0.070, 0.105, 0.140, 0.175%) were added in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively, and diets were fed to five replicates of five broilers per pen. Broken-line analysis was used to estimate SAA requirements. The digestible Met and Cys requirements from 2 to 5 weeks of age were 0.33% and 0.31%, respectively. Requirement estimates were lower than those predicted by PF or recommended by NRC, indicating that lower SAA levels may be utilized in a PF progra

Factors influencing recruitment of walleye and white bass to three distinct early ontogenetic stages

Determining the factors that influence recruitment to sequential ontogenetic stages is critical for understanding recruitment dynamics of fish and for effective management of sportfish, particularly in dynamic and unpredictable environments. We sampled walleye (Sander vitreus) and white bass (Morone chrysops) at 3 ontogenetic stages (age 0 during spring: ‘age-0 larval’; age 0 during autumn: ‘age-0 juvenile’; and age 1 during autumn: ‘age-1 juvenile’) from 3 reservoirs. We developed multiple linear regression models to describe factors influencing age-0 larval, age-0 juvenile and age-1 juvenile walleye and white bass abundance indices. Our models explained 40–80% (68 ± 9%; mean ± SE) and 71%–97% (81 ± 6%) of the variability in catch for walleye and white bass respectively. For walleye, gizzard shad were present in the candidate model sets for all three ontogenetic stages we assessed. For white bass, there was no unifying variable in all three stage-specific candidate model sets, although walleye abundance was present in two of the three white bass candidate model sets. We were able to determine several factors affecting walleye and white bass year-class strength at multiple ontogenetic stages; comprehensive analyses of factors influencing recruitment to multiple early ontogenetic stages are seemingly rare in the literature. Our models demonstrate the interdependency among early ontogenetic stages and the complexities involved with sportfish recruitment

Phase-feeding affects crude protein intake, excretion, and retention of broilers from 21 to 63 days

An experiment was conducted to assess effects of phase-feeding (PF) on crude protein (CP) intake, excretion, and retention of broilers. Six birds were housed individually and were fed diets formulated using recommendations from National Research Council (NRC) or linear regression equations. Two PF treatments were prepared: standard (PF) and low (PF10), in which predicted lysine, sulfur amino acids, and threonine recommendations were reduced by 10%. For PF and PF10, two diets (high-nutrient and low-nutrient density) were blended in variable quantities to produce rations matching predicted amino acid requirements over two intervals. Birds were fed a single NRC grower and finisher diet or a series of PF and PF10 diets that were switched every other day. With the exception of weight gain, which was lower for PF than for birds fed the NRC and PF10 diets, no differences in growth performance were observed. Both PF diets reduced CP intake numerically from 21-43 d and 21-63 d, and significantly from 43-63 d (P \u3c 0.055). Retention of CP was not impacted by diet although there was a tendency toward increased CP retention in birds fed the PF10 diet from 43-63 d (P = 0.071). Excretion of CP during the finisher period was reduced (P \u3c 0.05) for birds fed PF and PF10 diets, and total CP excretion was numerically reduced (4.0% and 8.6%, respectively). These data indicate that in addition to economic benefits, PF may result in environmental benefits

Metering Plan: Monitoring Energy and Potable Water Use in PNNL EMS4 Buildings

This Plan presents progress toward the metering goals shared by all national laboratories and discusses PNNL's contemporary approach to the installation of new meters. In addition, the Plan discusses the data analysis techniques with which PNNL is working to mature using endless data streams made available as a result of increased meter deployment

Metering Plan: Monitoring Energy and Potable Water Use in PNNL EMS4 Buildings

This Plan presents progress toward the metering goals shared by all national laboratories and discusses PNNL's contemporary approach to the installation of new meters. In addition, the Plan discusses the data analysis techniques with which PNNL is working to mature using endless data streams made available as a result of increased meter deployment

Guiding Principles for Sustainable Existing Buildings: Radiochemical Processing Laboratory

In 2006, the United States (U.S.) Department of Energy (DOE) signed the Federal Leadership in High Performance and Sustainable Buildings Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), along with 21 other agencies. Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) is exceeding this requirement and, currently, about 25 percent of its buildings are High Performance and Sustainable Buildings. The pages that follow document the Guiding Principles conformance effort for the Radiochemical Processing Laboratory (RPL) at PNNL. The RPL effort is part of continued progress toward a building inventory that is 100 percent compliant with the Guiding Principles

CO J=2-1 line emission in cluster galaxies at z~1: fueling star formation in dense environments

We present observations of CO J=2-1 line emission in infrared-luminous cluster galaxies at z~1 using the IRAM Plateau de Bure Interferometer. Our two primary targets are optically faint, dust-obscured galaxies (DOGs) found to lie within 2 Mpc of the centers of two massive (>10^14 Msun) galaxy clusters. CO line emission is not detected in either DOG. We calculate 3-sigma upper limits to the CO J=2-1 line luminosities, L'_CO < 6.08x10^9 and < 6.63x10^9 K km/s pc^2. Assuming a CO-to-H_2 conversion factor derived for ultraluminous infrared galaxies in the local Universe, this translates to limits on the cold molecular gas mass of M_H_2 < 4.86x10^9 Msun and M_H_2 < 5.30x10^9 Msun. Both DOGs exhibit mid-infrared continuum emission that follows a power-law, suggesting that an AGN contributes to the dust heating. As such, estimates of the star formation efficiencies in these DOGs are uncertain. A third cluster member with an infrared luminosity, L_IR < 7.4x10^11 Lsun, is serendipitously detected in CO J=2-1 line emission in the field of one of the DOGs located roughly two virial radii away from the cluster center. The optical spectrum of this object suggests that it is likely an obscured AGN, and the measured CO line luminosity is L'_CO = (1.94 +/- 0.35)x10^10 K km/s pc^2, which leads to an estimated cold molecular gas mass M_H_2 = (1.55+/-0.28)x10^10 Msun. A significant reservoir of molecular gas in a z~1 galaxy located away from the cluster center demonstrates that the fuel can exist to drive an increase in star-formation and AGN activity at the outskirts of high-redshift clusters.Comment: 22 pages, 4 figures; accepted for publication in Ap

Factors influencing recruitment of walleye and white bass to three distinct early ontogenetic stages

Determining the factors that influence recruitment to sequential ontogenetic stages is critical for understanding recruitment dynamics of fish and for effective management of sportfish, particularly in dynamic and unpredictable environments. We sampled walleye (Sander vitreus) and white bass (Morone chrysops) at 3 ontogenetic stages (age 0 during spring: ‘age-0 larval’; age 0 during autumn: ‘age-0 juvenile’; and age 1 during autumn: ‘age-1 juvenile’) from 3 reservoirs. We developed multiple linear regression models to describe factors influencing age-0 larval, age-0 juvenile and age-1 juvenile walleye and white bass abundance indices. Our models explained 40–80% (68 ± 9%; mean ± SE) and 71%–97% (81 ± 6%) of the variability in catch for walleye and white bass respectively. For walleye, gizzard shad were present in the candidate model sets for all three ontogenetic stages we assessed. For white bass, there was no unifying variable in all three stage-specific candidate model sets, although walleye abundance was present in two of the three white bass candidate model sets. We were able to determine several factors affecting walleye and white bass year-class strength at multiple ontogenetic stages; comprehensive analyses of factors influencing recruitment to multiple early ontogenetic stages are seemingly rare in the literature. Our models demonstrate the interdependency among early ontogenetic stages and the complexities involved with sportfish recruitment

A refined, controlled 16S rRNA gene sequencing approach reveals limited detection of cerebrospinal fluid microbiota in children with bacterial meningitis

Advances in both laboratory and computational components of high-throughput 16S amplicon sequencing (16S HTS) have markedly increased its sensitivity and specificity. Additionally, these refinements have better delineated the limits of sensitivity, and contributions of contamination to these limits, for 16S HTS that are particularly relevant for samples with low bacterial loads, such as human cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The objectives of this work were to (i) optimize the performance of 16S HTS in CSF samples with low bacterial loads by defining and addressing potential sources of error, and (ii) perform refined 16S HTS on CSF samples from children diagnosed with bacterial meningitis and compare results with those from microbiological cultures. Several bench and computational approaches were taken to address potential sources of error for low bacterial load samples. We compared DNA yields and sequencing results after applying three different DNA extraction approaches to an artificially constructed mock-bacterial community. We also compared two postsequencing computational contaminant removal strategies, decontam R and full contaminant sequence removal. All three extraction techniques followed by decontam R yielded similar results for the mock community. We then applied these methods to 22 CSF samples from children diagnosed with meningitis, which has low bacterial loads relative to other clinical infection samples. The refined 16S HTS pipelines identified the cultured bacterial genus as the dominant organism for only 3 of these samples. We found that all three DNA extraction techniques followed by decontam R generated similar DNA yields for mock communities at the low bacterial loads representative of CSF samples. However, the limits of detection imposed by reagent contaminants and methodologic bias precluded the accurate detection of bacteria in CSF from children with culture-confirmed meningitis using these approaches, despite rigorous controls and sophisticated computational approaches. Although we did not find current DNA-based diagnostics to be useful for pediatric meningitis samples, the utility of these methods for CSF shunt infection remains undefined. Future advances in sample processing methods to minimize or eliminate contamination will be required to improve the sensitivity and specificity of these methods for pediatric meningitis