Bounded gaps between primes with a given primitive root, II

Let $m$ be a natural number, and let $\mathcal{Q}$ be a set containing at least $\exp(C m)$ primes. We show that one can find infinitely many strings of $m$ consecutive primes each of which has some $q\in\mathcal{Q}$ as a primitive root, all lying in an interval of length $O_{\mathcal{Q}}(\exp(C'm))$. This is a bounded gaps variant of a theorem of Gupta and Ram Murty. We also prove a result on an elliptic analogue of Artin's conjecture. Let $E/\mathbb{Q}$ be an elliptic curve with an irrational $2$-torsion point. Assume GRH. Then for every $m$, there are infinitely many strings of $m$ consecutive primes $p$ for which $E(\mathbb{F}_p)$ is cyclic, all lying an interval of length $O_E(\exp(C'' m))$. If $E$ has CM, then the GRH assumption can be removed. Here $C$, $C'$, and $C''$ are absolute constants

Physicians' Practice of Dispensing Medicines: A Qualitative Study

Objectives: The physical act of giving medication to patients to administer away from a health care setting, dispensing, is normally performed by pharmacists. Dispensing of medication by physicians is a neglected patient safety issue, and having observed considerable variation in practice, the lead author sought to explore this issue further. A literature review yielded zero articles pertaining to this, so an exploratory study was commenced. The qualitative arm, relating to junior physicians' experience of, and training in, dispensing, is reported here. Methods: Focus groups were conducted to explore the beliefs, ideas, and experiences of physicians-in-training pertaining to dispensing of medication. These were recorded and transcribed. The transcriptions were thematically analyzed using the grounded theory. Results: The emergency department was the most common site of dispensing. No formal training in dispensing had been received. Informal training was variable in content and utility. The physicians felt that dispensing was part of their role. Conclusions: Despite being expected to dispense, and the patient safety issues involved in giving drugs to patients to use at home, physicians do not feel that they have been trained to undertake this task. These findings from 1 hospital raise questions about thewider quality and safety of this practic

Foraging Populations of Tube Building Termites, Gnathamitermes perplexus (Banks), Associated With Termiticide Experiments in Southern Arizona (Isoptera: Termitidae)

In the southwestern desert region of Arizona, a common non-structure invading species is the tube building termite Gnathamitermes perplexus. It is a valuable species from an ecological point of view due to its role in the decomposition of dead wood in desert environments and its capacity to enrich and aerate vast quantities of soil. Since it has no economic importance, very little is known of the effects of termite control measures on it. However, G. perplexus is likely exposed to termiticides used to manage more damaging termite species with which it co-occurs. Since most common termiticides have relatively generalized modes of action, we hypothesized that G. perplexus populations would decrease significantly as a result of termiticide application. The results reported here are part of a larger study in which we were primarily interested in evaluating foraging termite populations of Heterotermes aureus, associated with circular grids that were treated with termiticides. Termites were collected monthly from 9 plots located at the Santa Rita Experimental Range (Pima Co., AZ) over a 3-year period. Plots were equally and randomly assigned to three treatments: a control and two insecticide treatments of either fipronil (Termidor®, BASF) or chlorfenapyr (Phantom®, BASF). Within the chlorfenapyr (Phantom®) treatment, we saw a significant increase in termite foraging populations after termiticide application. This effect showed a spatial pattern in which more termites were found near the center of plots. However, the number of G. perplexus collected in the fipronil (Termidor®) plots was reduced with respect to controls. This reduction in the number of termites also showed a spatial distribution with the decrease in termite numbers being stronger near the center of plots within the treated zone