Surface disinfection challenges for Candida auris: an in-vitro study

The emerging pathogenic multidrug-resistant yeast Candida auris is an important source of healthcare-associated infections and of growing global clinical concern. The ability of this organism to survive on surfaces and withstand environmental stressors creates a challenge for eradicating it from hospitals. A panel of C. auris clinical isolates was evaluated on different surface environments against the standard disinfectant sodium hypochlorite and high-level disinfectant peracetic acid. C. auris was shown to selectively tolerate clinically relevant concentrations of sodium hypochlorite and peracetic acid in a surface-dependent manner, which may explain its ability to successfully persist within the hospital environment

Test-retest reliability of TRIMP in collegiate ice hockey players

The utility of the heart rate derived variable TRaining IMPulse (TRIMP) for assessing internal training load in ice hockey players is not clear. Having a reliable measure of internal training load during on-ice training sessions would help coaches program exercise training. This study determined the reliability of TRIMP during on-ice training sessions in ice hockey players. Twelve Division I collegiate male ice hockey players (aged 18–23 years) had their heart rate (HR) data recorded during two on-ice practice sessions separated by two weeks. TRIMP and other descriptive HR variables were compared between sessions. TRIMP demonstrated moderate reliability during on-ice sessions. Systematic error, quantified as standardized change in means was negligible (–0.19); random error quantified as the percent typical error (%TE) was moderate (12.2%); and, test-retest correlation was very strong (0.75). TRIMP is suitable for quantifying training load during intermittent work in hockey athletes. The results from our study can be used to determine the threshold for meaningful change in TRIMP, which may aid in informing decisions by coaches and strength training staff regarding on-ice training session difficulty and composition

Spectral Type and Radial Velocity Variations in Three SRC Variables

SRC variables are M supergiants, precursors to Type II supernovae, that vary in brightness with moderately regular periods of order 100-1000 days. Although identified as pulsating stars that obey their own period-luminosity relation, few have been examined in enough detail to follow the temperature and spectral changes that they undergo during their long cycles. The present study examines such changes for several SRC variables revealed by CCD spectra obtained at the Dominion Astrophysical Observatory (DAO) during 2005-2009, as well as by archival spectra from the DAO (and elsewhere) for some stars from the 1960s to 1980s, and Cambridge radial velocity spectrometer measures for Betelgeuse. Described here is our classification procedure and information on the spectral type and radial velocity changes in three of the stars. The results provide insights into the pulsation mechanism in M supergiants.Comment: To appear in the Odessa Variable Stars 2010 conference proceedings (see http://uavso.org.ua/?page=vs2010), edited by I. Andronov and V. Kovtyuk

High Time for Conservation: Adding the Environment to the Debate on Marijuana Liberalization

The liberalization of marijuana policies, including the legalization of medical and recreational marijuana, is sweeping the United States and other countries. Marijuana cultivation can have significant negative collateral effects on the environment that are often unknown or overlooked. Focusing on the state of California, where by some estimates 60% -- 70% of the marijuana consumed in the United States is grown, we argue that (a) the environmental harm caused by marijuana cultivation merits a direct policy response, (b) current approaches to governing the environmental effects are inadequate, and (c) neglecting discussion of the environmental impacts of cultivation when shaping future marijuana use and possession policies represents a missed opportunity to reduce, regulate, and mitigate environmental harm

Using SFOC to fly the Magellan Venus mapping mission

Traditionally, spacecraft flight operations at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) have been performed by teams of spacecraft experts utilizing ground software designed specifically for the current mission. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory set out to reduce the cost of spacecraft mission operations by designing ground data processing software that could be used by multiple spacecraft missions, either sequentially or concurrently. The Space Flight Operations Center (SFOC) System was developed to provide the ground data system capabilities needed to monitor several spacecraft simultaneously and provide enough flexibility to meet the specific needs of individual projects. The Magellan Spacecraft Team utilizes the SFOC hardware and software designed for engineering telemetry analysis, both real-time and non-real-time. The flexibility of the SFOC System has allowed the spacecraft team to integrate their own tools with SFOC tools to perform the tasks required to operate a spacecraft mission. This paper describes how the Magellan Spacecraft Team is utilizing the SFOC System in conjunction with their own software tools to perform the required tasks of spacecraft event monitoring as well as engineering data analysis and trending

Strong nonlocality: A trade-off between states and measurements

Measurements on entangled quantum states can produce outcomes that are nonlocally correlated. But according to Tsirelson's theorem, there is a quantitative limit on quantum nonlocality. It is interesting to explore what would happen if Tsirelson's bound were violated. To this end, we consider a model that allows arbitrary nonlocal correlations, colloquially referred to as "box world". We show that while box world allows more highly entangled states than quantum theory, measurements in box world are rather limited. As a consequence there is no entanglement swapping, teleportation or dense coding.Comment: 11 pages, 2 figures, very minor change

A Model to Predict the Density Profile of Particleboard

Certain mechanical properties of particleboard panels depend on the density variations that occur through the panel thickness (density profile). Particleboard density profiles result from the felting and hot pressing operations. Repeatedly altering a commercial particleboard manufacturing process to produce a predetermined density profile is undesirable from economic and production standpoints. An analytical tool to predict density profile as a function of the manufacturing processes was needed. Computer simulation modeling was employed to satisfy this need. A multilayer description of the density and moisture gradients resulting from the felting process provides input for this model. Inputs for the pressing process include platen temperature and press closing rate.The model simulates the physical and mechanical processes that occur in the press and mat system. Heat conduction, gas transport, layer compaction, and water phase changes were included in the model. Thermal properties were taken from the literature, and gas transport properties required approximation.A steeper density gradient with increasing platen temperature was predicted by the model. This result conforms to general expectations. Changes in press closing rates resulted in model-predicted density profiles that contradict the expected pattern. The probable reason for this effect is that the core layers remained at or near the ambient temperature, and the maximum mat resistance increased as closing rate increased. Simulation of an initially uneven moisture gradient resulted in increased heat penetration, as expected