We have employed the VULCAN laser facility to generate a laser plasma X-ray source for use in photoionization experiments. A nanosecond laser pulse with an intensity of order 1015 Wcm−2 was used to irradiate thin Ag or Sn foil targets coated onto a parylene substrate, and the L-shell emission in the 3.3–4.4 keV range was recorded for both the laser-irradiated and nonirradiated sides. Both the experimental and simulation results show higher laser to X-ray conversion yields for Ag compared with Sn, with our simulations indicating yields approximately a factor of two higher than those found in the experiments. Although detailed angular data were not available experimentally, the simulations indicate that the emission is quite isotropic on the laser-irradiated side but shows close to a cosine variation on the nonirradiated side of the target as seen experimentally in the previous work.

Contact with livestock and consumption of unpasteurised dairy products are associated with an increased risk of zoonotic and foodborne infection, particularly among populations with close animal contact, including pastoralists and semi-pastoralists. However, there are limited data on disease risk factors among pastoralists and other populations where livestock herding, particularly of dromedary camels, is common. This cross-sectional study used a previously validated survey instrument to identify risk factors for self-reported symptoms. Adults (n = 304) were randomly selected from households (n = 171) in the Somali Region of Ethiopia, a region characterised by chronic food insecurity, population displacement, recurrent droughts and large semi-pastoralist and pastoralist populations. Multivariable logistic regression assessed associations between self-reported symptoms and type of milk consumed, controlling for demographics and human-animal interaction. Consumption of days-old unrefrigerated raw camel milk was significantly associated with symptoms in the 30 days prior to the survey (AOR = 5.07; 95% CI 2.41–10.66), after controlling for age, refugee status, sanitation, camel ownership and source of drinking water and accounting for clustering. Consumption of days-old unrefrigerated raw ruminant milk was significantly associated with symptoms (AOR = 4.00, 95% CI 1.27–12.58). Source of drinking water and camel ownership, a proxy for camel contact, were significantly associated with the outcome in each model. There were no significant associations between self-reported symptoms and fresh or soured animal milk consumption. Research is needed to identify pathogens and major routes of transmission. Tailored communication campaigns to encourage safe food preparation should also be considered.

Eggs contain important compounds related to enhanced cognition, but it is not clear if egg consumption, as a whole, has a direct impact on memory decline in older adults. This study aimed to determine whether egg intake levels predict the rate of memory decline in healthy older adults after sociodemographic and dietary controls. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from 470 participants, age 50 and over, from the Biospsychosocial Religion and Health Study. Participants completed a food frequency questionnaire, which was used to calculate egg intake and divide participants into Low (<23 g/week, about half an egg), Intermediate (24–63 g/week, half to 1½ eggs) and High (≥63 g/week, about two or more eggs) tertiles. Participants were administered the California Verbal Learning Test – 2nd Edition (CVLT-II) Short Form in 2006–2007, and 294 of them were again tested in 2010–2011. Using linear mixed model analysis, no significant cross-sectional differences were observed in CVLT-II performance between egg intake levels after controlling for age, sex, race, education, body mass index, cardiovascular risk, depression and intake of meat, fish, dairy and fruits/vegetables. Longitudinally, the Intermediate egg group exhibited significantly slower rates of decline on the CVLT-II compared to the Low egg group. The High egg group also exhibited slower rates of decline, but not statistically significant. Thus, limited consumption of eggs (about 1 egg/week) was associated with slower memory decline in late life compared to consuming little to no eggs, but a dose-response effect was not clearly evident. This study may help explain discrepancies in previous research that did not control for other dietary intakes and risk factors.

Conservation tillage adoption continues to be threatened by glyphosate and acetolactate synthase–resistant Palmer amaranth and other troublesome weeds. Field experiments were conducted from autumn 2010 through crop harvest in 2013 at two locations in Alabama to evaluate the effect of integrated management practices on weed control and seed cotton yield in glyphosate-resistant cotton. The effects of a cereal rye cover crop using high- or low-biomass residue, followed by wide or narrow within-row strip tillage and three PRE herbicide regimens were evaluated. The three PRE regimens were (1) pendimethalin at 0.84 kg ae ha−1 plus fomesafen at 0.28 kg ai ha−1 applied broadcast, (2) pendimethalin plus fomesafen applied banded on the row, or (3) no PRE. Each PRE treatment was followed by (fb) glyphosate (1.12 kg ae ha−1) applied POST fb layby applications of diuron (1.12 kg ai ha−1) plus monosodium methanearsonate (2.24 kg ai ha−1). Low-residue plots ranged in biomass from 85 to 464 kg ha−1, and high-biomass residue plots ranged from 3,119 to 6,929 kg ha−1. In most comparisons, surface disturbance width, residue amount, and soil-applied herbicide placement did not influence within-row weed control; however, broadcast PRE resulted in increased carpetweed, large crabgrass, Palmer amaranth, tall morning-glory, and yellow nutsedge weed control in row middles compared with plots receiving banded PRE. In addition, high-residue plots had increased carpetweed, common purslane, large crabgrass, Palmer amaranth, sicklepod, and tall morning-glory weed control between rows. Use of banded PRE herbicides resulted in equivalent yield and revenue in four of six comparisons compared with those with broadcast PRE herbicide application; however, this would likely result in many between-row weed escapes. Thus, conservation tillage cotton would benefit from broadcast soil-applied herbicide applications regardless of residue amount and tillage width when infested with Palmer amaranth and other troublesome weed species.

We report key learning from the public health management of the first two confirmed cases of COVID-19 identified in the UK. The first case imported, and the second associated with probable person-to-person transmission within the UK. Contact tracing was complex and fast-moving. Potential exposures for both cases were reviewed, and 52 contacts were identified. No further confirmed COVID-19 cases have been linked epidemiologically to these two cases. As steps are made to enhance contact tracing across the UK, the lessons learned from earlier contact tracing during the country's containment phase are particularly important and timely.

Downloading a mobile health (m-health) app on your smartphone does not mean you will ever use it. Telling another person about an app does not mean you like it. Using an online intervention does not mean it has had an impact on your well-being. Yet we consistently rely on downloads, clicks, ‘likes’ and other usage and popularity metrics to measure m-health app engagement. Doing so misses the complexity of how people perceive and use m-health apps in everyday life to manage mental health conditions. This article questions commonly used behavioural metrics of engagement in mental health research and care, and proposes a more comprehensive approach to measuring in-app engagement.

Investigations into an outbreak of foodborne disease attempt to identify the source of illness as quickly as possible. Population-based reference values for food consumption can assist in investigation by providing comparison data for hypothesis generation and also strengthening the evidence associated with a food product through hypothesis testing. In 2014–2015 a national phone survey was conducted in Canada to collect data on food consumption patterns using a 3- or 7-day recall period. The resulting food consumption values over the two recall periods were compared. The majority of food products did not show a significant difference in the consumption over 3 days and 7 days. However, comparison of reference values from the 3-day recall period to data from an investigation into a Salmonella Infantis outbreak was shown to support the conclusion that chicken was the source of the outbreak whereas the reference values from a 7-day recall did not support this finding. Reference values from multiple recall periods can assist in the hypothesis generation and hypothesis testing phase of foodborne outbreak investigations.

US Africa Command’s Disaster Preparedness Program (DPP), implemented by the Center for Disaster and Humanitarian Assistance Medicine, partnered with US Government agencies and international organizations to promote stability and security on the African continent by engaging with African Partner Nations’ (PN) civil and military authorities to improve disaster management capabilities. From 2008 to 2015, DPP conducted disaster preparedness and response programming with 17 PNs. DPP held a series of engagements with each, including workshops, strategic planning, developing preparedness and response plans, tabletop exercises, and prioritizing disaster management capability gaps identified through the engagements. DPP partners collected data for each PN to further capacity building efforts. Thus far, 9 countries have completed military pandemic plans, 10 have developed national pandemic influenza plans, 9 have developed military support to civil authorities plans, and 11 have developed disaster management strategic work plans. There have been 20 national exercises conducted since 2009. DPP was cited as key in implementation of Ebola response plans in PNs, facilitated development of disaster management agencies in DPP PNs, and trained nearly 800 individuals. DPP enhanced PNs’ ability to prepare and respond to crises, fostering relationships between international agencies, and improving civil-military coordination through both national and regional capacity building. (Disaster Med Public Health Preparedness. 2019;13:319–329)

Exposure to prenatal hypoxia in rats leads to intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), decreases fetal cardiomyocyte proliferation and increases the risk to develop cardiovascular diseases (CVD) later in life. The tumor necrosis factor-related weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) induces cardiomyocyte proliferation through activation of the fibroblast growth factor-inducible molecule 14 (Fn-14) receptor. The TWEAK/Fn-14 pathway becomes quiescent shortly after birth, however, it becomes upregulated with CVD; suggesting that it could be a link between the increased susceptibility to CVD in pregnancies complicated by hypoxia/IUGR. We hypothesized that offspring exposed to prenatal hypoxia will exhibit reduced cardiomyocyte proliferation due to reduced Fn-14 expression and that the TWEAK/Fn-14 pathway will be expressed in those adult offspring. We exposed pregnant Sprague Dawley rats to control (21% oxygen) or hypoxic (11% oxygen) conditions from gestational days 15 to 21. Ventricular cardiomyocytes were isolated from male and female, control and hypoxic offspring at postnatal day 1. Proliferation was assessed in the presence or absence of r-TWEAK (72 h, 100 ng/ml). Prenatal hypoxia was not associated with differences in Fn-14 protein expression in either male or female offspring. Cardiomyocytes from prenatal hypoxic male, but not female, offspring had decreased proliferation compared with controls. Addition of r-TWEAK increased cardiomyocyte proliferation in all offspring. In adult offspring of all groups, the TWEAK/Fn-14 pathway was not detectable. Cardiomyocyte proliferation was reduced in only male offspring exposed to prenatal hypoxia but this was not due to changes in the Fn-14 pathway. Studies addressing other pathways associated with CVD and prenatal hypoxia are needed.

We present radiocarbon (14C) in tree rings from Mexico City and a reconstruction of fossil CO2 concentrations for the last five decades, as part of a research program to understand the 14C dynamics in this complex urban area. Background values were established by 14C concentrations in tree rings from a nearby clean area. Agreement between background and NH-zone 2 values indicate Taxodium mucronatum is a good biomonitor for annual atmospheric 14C variations. Values for the urban tree rings were significantly lower than background values, indicating a 14C depletion from fossil CO2 emissions. There is an increasing trend of fossil CO2 between 1960 and 1990, in agreement with the population growth and the increasing demand for fossil fuels in Mexico City. Between 1990 and 2000, there is an apparent decrease in fossil CO2 concentration, increasing again after 2000. The decrease in 2000, despite being of the same magnitude as the overall uncertainty, may reflect environmental policies that improved the energy efficiency and reduced CO2 emissions in the area. The increase in fossil CO2 concentration between 2000 and 2010 may be attributable to the significant growth of motor vehicle usage in Mexico City, which made transportation the main energy-demanding and -emitting sector.

Herbicides 4-amino-3,5,6-trichloropicolinic acid (picloram) and 5-bromo-3-sec-butyl-6-methyluracil (bromacil) effectively controlled live oak (Quercus virginiana Mill.) when applied in the spring and fall in south Texas. A mixture of picloram plus (2,4,5-trichlorophenoxy)acetic acid (2,4,5-T) also was effective. Higher rates of bromacil were required than for picloram or picloram plus 2,4,5-T for effective control. Bromacil was more injurious to herbaceous vegetation. The phenoxy herbicides (2,4-dichlorophenoxy)acetic acid (2,4-D) and 2,4,5-T were ineffective.

Field studies were conducted in Michigan, Minnesota, and Wisconsin to explore interactions among DPX-V9360 herbicide applied postemergence, terbufos insecticide applied as an in-furrow treatment, and the environment. Field corn (‘Pioneer 3751’) and sweet corn (‘Jubilee’) were planted with and without an in-furrow application of terbufos. DPX-V9360 was applied postemergence when the corn was in the 4- to 6-leaf stage at 0, 35, 70, 140, and 280 g ai ha-1 with nonionic surfactant and 28% N fertilizer solution. Crop response to DPX-V9360 was similar at all three locations, varying only in magnitude of injury. Crop injury was greater with Jubilee sweet corn than with Pioneer 3751 field corn. Injury to both hybrids increased as DPX-V9360 application rate increased. Application of terbufos increased injury from DPX-V9360 to both hybrids. Significant yield reduction did not occur with either hybrid when DPX-V9360 was applied at rates of 140 g ha-1 or less and no terbufos was applied.