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Military training is characterized by high daily energy expenditures which are difficult to match with energy intake, potentially resulting in negative energy balance (EB) and low energy availability (EA). The aim of this study was to quantify EB and EA during British Army Officer Cadet training. Thirteen (seven women) Officer Cadets (mean ± SD: age 24 ± 3 years) volunteered to participate. EB and EA were estimated from energy intake (weighing of food and food diaries) and energy expenditure (doubly labeled water) measured in three periods of training: 9 days on-camp (CAMP), a 5-day field exercise (FEX), and a 9-day mixture of both CAMP and field-based training (MIX). Variables were compared by condition and gender with a repeated-measures analysis of variance. Negative EB was greatest during FEX (−2,197 ± 455 kcal/day) compared with CAMP (−692 ± 506 kcal/day; p p −1·day−1) compared with FEX (1 ± 16 kcal·kg FFM−1·day−1; p = .002) and MIX (10 ± 7 kcal·kg FFM−1·day−1; p = .003), with no apparent difference between FEX and MIX (p = .071). Irrespective of condition, there were no apparent differences between gender in EB (p = .375) or EA (p = .385). These data can be used to inform evidenced-based strategies to manage EA and EB during military training, and enhance the health and performance of military personnel.

Businesses are struggling to re-open as the world continues to deal with the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The reopening of businesses will require employers to implement safe return-to-work strategies through evaluation, testing, work modifications, and development of appropriate workplace policies. There will be unique challenges along the way as no one approach will be ideal for all workplaces and industries. This document is intended to provide return-to-work guidance for both employers and the occupational and environmental medicine physicians who will be supporting businesses in implementing safe return-to-work strategies.

For the past two decades the Canadian Penning Trap mass spectrometer (CPT) has been utilized to study various disciplines of nuclear physics through precision mass measurements. Since moving to the Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) facility, the CPT experimental program has focused on neutron-rich nuclei whose masses may play an important role in the astrophysical r process. Through a recent upgrade of the detector system, the phase-imaging ion-cyclotron-resonance (PI-ICR) technique has been successfully implemented. This method offers several benefits which drastically improve the experimental sensitivity of the CPT to the most neutron-rich nuclei produced at CARIBU. Here we describe the PI-ICR procedure at the CPT, give an overview of the systematic sources of uncertainty in the system, and provide new mass results for 142I, 146La, and 163Gd which were made possible through this upgrade.

Wearable physical activity (PA) monitors have improved the ability to estimate free-living total energy expenditure (TEE) but their application during arduous military training alongside more well-established research methods has not been widely documented. This study aimed to assess the validity of two wrist-worn activity monitors and a PA log against doubly-labelled water (DLW) during British Army Officer Cadet (OC) training. For 10 days of training, twenty (10 male and 10 female) OCs (mean ± SD: age 23 ± 2 years, height 1.74 ± 0.09 m, body mass 77.0 ± 9.3 kg) wore one research-grade accelerometer (GENEActiv, Cambridge, UK) on the dominant wrist, wore one commercially-available monitor (Fitbit SURGE, USA) on the non-dominant wrist and completed a self-report PA log. Immediately prior to this 10-day period, participants consumed a bolus of DLW and provided daily urine samples, which were analysed by mass spectrometry to determine TEE. Bivariate correlations and limits of agreement (LoA) were employed to compare TEE from each estimation method to DLW. Average daily TEE from DLW was 4112 ± 652 kcal·day against which the GENEActiv showed near identical average TEE (mean bias ± LoA: -15 ± 851 kcal day ) while Fitbit tended to underestimate (-656 ± 683 kcal·day ) and the PA log substantially overestimate (+1946 ± 1637 kcal·day ). Wearable physical activity monitors provide a cheaper and more practical method for estimating free-living TEE than DLW in military settings. The GENEActiv accelerometer demonstrated good validity for assessing daily TEE and would appear suitable for use in large-scale, longitudinal military studies.

Whole-body dual X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) accurately measures lean mass but is not routinely used in clinical practice. Hip and spine DXA are used in the diagnosis of osteoporosis, and with the common co-occurrence of sarcopenia with osteoporosis, regional DXA scans provide an opportunity for assessment of lean mass. The aim of this study is to develop predictive equations for the estimation of whole-body lean mass (WBLM), appendicular lean mass (ALM) and whole-body fat mass (WBFM) from regional DXA scans. A total of 2427 participants (ages 20-96 year; 57.7% men) from the Geelong Osteoporosis Study who underwent both regional and whole-body DXA were included in the analysis. Using forward stepwise multivariable linear regression, percentage fat (spine%fat, hip%fat) values from lumbar spine and femoral neck DXA were used in combination with clinical data to develop and validate equations for the estimation of WBLM, WBFM and ALM. Mean age was 53.5 year (± 19.2), weight 78.2 kg (± 15.4), height 169.6 cm (± 9.4), WBLM 50.4 kg (± 11.1), ALM 22.8 kg (± 5.4) and WBFM 24.3 kg (± 10.4). Spine%fat (r = 0.21) and hip%fat (r = - 0.34) were correlated with whole-body lean mass (p 0.001). Final predictive equations included age, sex, weight, height, spine%fat, and hip%fat and possessed high predictive value (Adj R

Objective To estimate the seroprevalence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) antibodies in health care personnel. Methods The Mayo Clinic Serology Screening Program was created to provide a voluntary, two-stage testing program for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies to health care personnel. The first stage used a dried blood spot screening test initiated on June 15, 2020. Those participants identified as reactive were advised to have confirmatory testing via a venipuncture. Venipuncture results through August 8, 2020, were considered. Consent and authorization for testing was required to participate in the screening program. This report, which was conducted under an institutional review board–approved protocol, only includes employees who have further authorized their records for use in research. Results A total of 81,113 health care personnel were eligible for the program, and of these 29,606 participated in the screening program. A total of 4284 (14.5%) of the dried blood spot test results were "reactive" and warranted confirmatory testing. Confirmatory testing was completed on 4094 (95.6%) of the screen reactive with an overall seroprevalence rate of 0.60% (95% CI, 0.52% to 0.69%). Significant variation in seroprevalence was observed by region of the country and age group. Conclusion The seroprevalence for SARS-CoV-2 antibodies through August 8, 2020, was found to be lower than previously reported in other health care organizations. There was an observation that seroprevalence may be associated with community disease burden.

The ground-state properties of neutron-rich $^{106}\mathrm{Nb}$ and its $\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay into $^{106}\mathrm{Mo}$ have been studied using the CARIBU radioactive-ion-beam facility at Argonne National Laboratory. Niobium-106 ions were extracted from a $^{252}\mathrm{Cf}$ fission source and mass separated before being delivered as low-energy beams to the Canadian Penning Trap, as well as the X-Array and SATURN $\ensuremath{\beta}$-decay-spectroscopy station. The measured $^{106}\mathrm{Nb}$ ground-state mass excess of $\ensuremath{-}66202.0(13)$ keV is consistent with a recent measurement but has three times better precision; this work also rules out the existence of a second long-lived, $\ensuremath{\beta}$-decaying state in $^{106}\mathrm{Nb}$ above 5 keV in excitation energy. The decay half-life of $^{106}\mathrm{Nb}$ was measured to be 1.097(21) s, which is $8%$ longer than the adopted value. The level scheme of the decay progeny, $^{106}\mathrm{Mo}$, has been expanded up to $\ensuremath{\approx}4\phantom{\rule{4pt}{0ex}}\mathrm{MeV}$. The distribution of decay strength and considerable population of excited states in $^{106}\mathrm{Mo}$ of $J\ensuremath{\ge}3$ emphasizes the need to revise the adopted ${J}^{\ensuremath{\pi}}={1}_{}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ ground-state spin-parity assignment of $^{106}\mathrm{Nb}$; it is more likely to be $J\ensuremath{\ge}3$.

Masses of neutron-rich, odd-odd Pm, Eu, and Tb nuclei near $N=98$ were measured using the Canadian Penning Trap mass spectrometer at the Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) facility. High-resolution mass measurements yielded the discovery of spin-trap isomers at $N=97$ in $^{162}\mathrm{Tb}$, and in the $N=99$ isotones of $^{160}\mathrm{Pm}$ and $^{164}\mathrm{Tb}$. Furthermore, no evidence of long-lived isomers were observed at $N=95$ in $^{158}\mathrm{Eu}$, at $N=97$ in $^{158}\mathrm{Pm}$, nor at $N=101$ in $^{164}\mathrm{Eu}$ and $^{166}\mathrm{Tb}$. These experimental observations are compared to results from multiquasiparticle blocking calculations.

In an experiment performed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's 88-inch cyclotron, the isotope ^{244}Md was produced in the ^{209}Bi(^{40}Ar,5n) reaction. Decay properties of ^{244}Md were measured at the focal plane of the Berkeley Gas-filled Separator, and the mass number assignment of A=244 was confirmed with the apparatus for the identification of nuclide A. The isotope ^{244}Md is reported to have one, possibly two, α-decaying states with α energies of 8.66(2) and 8.31(2) MeV and half-lives of 0.4_{-0.1}^{+0.4} and ∼6 s, respectively. Additionally, first evidence of the α decay of ^{236}Bk was observed and is reported.

In an experiment performed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's 88-inch cyclotron, the isotope ^{244}Md was produced in the ^{209}Bi(^{40}Ar,5n) reaction. Decay properties of ^{244}Md were measured at the focal plane of the Berkeley Gas-filled Separator, and the mass number assignment of A=244 was confirmed with the apparatus for the identification of nuclide A. The isotope ^{244}Md is reported to have one, possibly two, α-decaying states with α energies of 8.66(2) and 8.31(2) MeV and half-lives of 0.4_{-0.1}^{+0.4} and ∼6 s, respectively. Additionally, first evidence of the α decay of ^{236}Bk was observed and is reported.

Excited states in $^{160}\mathrm{Gd}$ were populated via $\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay from the low- and high-spin isomers in $^{160}\mathrm{Eu}$. The high-spin, ${K}^{\ensuremath{\pi}}={5}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ state feeds several two-quasiparticle levels, as well as a sequence associated with a $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ vibration and a ${K}^{\ensuremath{\pi}}={4}^{+}$, hexadecapole vibrational structure. The decay scheme was significantly improved with the observation of new transitions and states when compared with the two competing level schemes from over four decades ago. Configuration assignments for some of the multiquasiparticle levels have been suggested, based upon decay properties, systematics from neighboring nuclei, and comparisons with theoretical calculations. In addition, 15 new low-spin states and approximately 60 new transitions were observed resulting from the decay of the low-spin $^{160}\mathrm{Eu}$ isomer.

A detailed study of the $\ensuremath{\beta}$-delayed neutron emission properties of $^{137,138}\mathrm{I}$ and $^{144,145}\mathrm{Cs}$ has been performed by confining ions in the Beta-decay Paul Trap. The daughter ions following $\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay emerge from the trapped-ion cloud with negligible scattering allowing reconstruction of the recoil-ion energy from the time of flight. From this information, the neutron-emission branching ratios and neutron-energy spectra were deduced. The results for the $^{137}\mathrm{I}$ and $^{144,145}\mathrm{Cs}$ decays are in agreement with previous results performed using direct neutron-detection techniques. In the case of $^{138}\mathrm{I}$, a branching ratio of 6.18(50)% is obtained, yielding a value consistent with the more recent results, which are a factor of two larger than measurements made prior to 1978.

Beta-delayed-neutron ($\ensuremath{\beta}n$) spectroscopy was performed using the Beta-decay Paul Trap and an array of radiation detectors. The $\ensuremath{\beta}n$ branching ratios and energy spectra for $^{135,136}\mathrm{Sb}$ and $^{140}\mathrm{I}$ were obtained by measuring the time of flight of recoil ions emerging from the trapped ion cloud. These nuclei are located at the edge of an isotopic region identified as having $\ensuremath{\beta}n$ branching ratios that impact the $r$-process abundance pattern around the $A\ensuremath{\approx}130$ peak. For $^{135,136}\mathrm{Sb}$ and $^{140}\mathrm{I}, \ensuremath{\beta}n$ branching ratios of $14.6(13)%, 17.6(29)%$, and $7.6(28)%$ were determined, respectively. The $\ensuremath{\beta}n$ energy spectra obtained for $^{135}\mathrm{Sb}$ and $^{140}\mathrm{I}$ are compared with results from direct neutron measurements, and the $\ensuremath{\beta}n$ energy spectrum for $^{136}\mathrm{Sb}$ has been measured for the first time.

Rationale Variation in 18 O natural abundance can lead to errors in the calculation of total energy expenditure (TEE) when using the doubly labelled water (DLW) method. The use of Bayesian statistics allows a distribution to be assigned to 18 O natural abundance, thus allowing a best-fit value to be used in the calculation. The aim of this study was to calculate within-subject variation in 18 O natural abundance and apply this to our original working model for TEE calculation. Methods Urine samples from a cohort of 99 women, dosed with 50 g of 20% 2 H2 O, undertaking a 14-day breast milk intake protocol, were analysed for 18 O. The within-subject variance was calculated and applied to a Bayesian model for the calculation of TEE in a separate cohort of 36 women. This cohort of 36 women had taken part in a DLW study and had been dosed with 80 mg/kg body weight 2 H2 O and 150 mg/kg body weight H2 18 O. Results The average change in the δ18 O value from the 99 women was 1.14‰ (0.77) [0.99, 1.29], with the average within-subject 18 O natural abundance variance being 0.13‰2 (0.25) [0.08, 0.18]. There were no significant differences in TEE (9745 (1414), 9804 (1460) and 9789 (1455) kJ/day, non-Bayesian, Bluck Bayesian and modified Bayesian models, respectively) between methods. Conclusions Our findings demonstrate that using a reduced natural variation in 18 O as calculated from a population does not impact significantly on the calculation of TEE in our model. It may therefore be more conservative to allow a larger variance to account for individual extremes.

Beta-delayed neutron emission is being studied by detecting the β particles and recoiling ions emerging from the Beta-decay Paul Trap. For β decays to the ground state or γ -emitting states of the daughter nucleus, the fraction of recoiling ions which reach the ion detector in coincidence with a β particle has been determined for 134, 135Sb, 137, 138, 140I, and 144, 145Cs. This value is needed for the determination of the β -delayed neutron emission branching ratio solely from the recoil-ion time-of-flight (TOF) spectrum. The β -particle energy and recoil-ion TOF spectra were used to constrain a simple decay model, which can be used to determine the detection efficiency. The method is compared to simulations to estimate the uncertainty introduced by incomplete knowledge of the decay pattern. By fitting the simulation results to several β -ion coincidence properties measured during the experiment, the fraction of ions which reach the microchannel plate detector can be determined to within ± 4 % . This result opens the possibility of using the recoil-ion TOF spectra for high precision β -delayed neutron branching-ratio measurements.

This article presents an approach to calibrate the energy response of double-sided silicon strip detectors (DSSDs) for low-energy nuclear-science experiments by utilizing cosmic-ray muons . For the 1-mm-thick detectors used with the Beta-decay Paul Trap, the minimum-ionizing peak from these muons provides a stable and time-independent in situ calibration point at around 300 keV, which supplements the calibration data obtained above 3 MeV from α sources. The muon-data calibration is achieved by comparing experimental spectra with detailed Monte Carlo simulations performed using GEANT4 and CRY codes. This additional information constrains the calibration at lower energies, resulting in improvements in quality and accuracy.

For many fission products, the γ rays emitted following β decay provide an easily-detectable signature that can be used to identify their quantities and distributions in a sample. As a result, γ -ray spectroscopy is often exploited to study fission-product yields, provided sufficiently accurate information on the γ -ray intensity is available. However, in many cases, the uncertainties in the existing nuclear data are large enough that they compromise the precision achievable for modern experiments and applications. To address this need, we have developed a new experimental method that is well suited to precisely measure absolute γ -ray intensities in the β decay of long-lived fission products. The approach involves the production of a radiopure sample by implantation of a mass-separated ion beam from the CAlifornium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) facility on a thin carbon foil. The emitted β -decay radiation is detected with a 4 π gas proportional counter and a meticulously efficiency-calibrated high-purity germanium (HPGe) detector. As a first measurement to demonstrate the approach, we studied the absolute γ -ray intensities of the strongest transitions following the β decay of 95 Zr and its decay-daughter 95 Nb, and determined them to fractional precisions of better than 1–2%. In addition, with a larger sample of activity produced through neutron irradiation of an isotopically-enriched Zr foil, we performed a high-precision measurement of the relative γ -ray intensities following the decay of 95 Zr with just the HPGe detector. The sample-production method at CARIBU and the coincidence detection approach demonstrated here can be applied to study fission products with half-lives longer than a day, which includes isotopes important not only for nuclear-energy and national-security applications, but also for medical-isotope research and environmental monitoring.

The Beta-decay Paul Trap (BPT) at Argonne National Laboratory has proven to be an extremely effective tool for high-precision tests of the Standard Model via measurements of the β − ν correlation in mass-8 isotopes. Using four double-sided silicon strip detectors (DSSDs) backed by plastic scintillators and surrounding the ions confined by the BPT, the kinematics of the decays of the mirror nuclei lithium-8 and boron-8 are overdetermined when all charged decay products are measured. The most stringent low-energy limit on an intrinsic tensor current in the weak interaction was set using the BPT in 2015 (Sternberg, M.G., et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 115, 182501 2015) utilizing trapped lithium-8. Since then, similar data for boron-8 and higher statistics data for lithium-8 have been collected and are currently being analyzed. With the elimination of radio-frequency (RF) pickup from the DSSDs and a detailed investigation of experimental systematic errors, the uncertainty is now dominated by the contribution from recoil-order terms in the decay rate. Our eventual goal is to limit tensor currents in the weak interaction with relative precision at or below 0.1%.

The recent installation of a Multi-Reflection Time-of-Flight (MR-TOF) isobar separator at the CARIBU facility has the promising potential to significantly improve the mass separation and selection of short-lived neutron-rich beams. Ions cycled in the km-long isochronous trajectories between two electrostatic mirrors can be separated to high levels of mass-resolving power within a short time (tens of ms). The installation process is described and results from the first operation are discussed. Following an optimization of the mirror voltages a mass-resolving power of 6.8 · 10 4 was achieved and a separation of isobars was demonstrated. The higher purity beams provided by the MR-TOF and delivered to the Canadian Penning Trap (CPT) will provide access to further measurements of neutron-rich nuclei along the astrophysical r-process path.

© 2018 American Physical Society. An experiment was performed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory's 88-in. Cyclotron to determine the mass number of a superheavy element. The measurement resulted in the observation of two α-decay chains, produced via the Am243(Ca48,xn)291-xMc reaction, that were separated by mass-to-charge ratio (A/q) and identified by the combined BGS+FIONA apparatus. One event occurred at A/q=284 and was assigned to Nh284 (Z=113), the α-decay daughter of Mc288 (Z=115), while the second occurred at A/q=288 and was assigned to Mc288. This experiment represents the first direct measurements of the mass numbers of superheavy elements, confirming previous (indirect) mass-number assignments.

BACKGROUND Dietary changes have led to the growing prevalence of type 2 diabetes and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. A hallmark of both disorders is hepatic lipid accumulation, derived in part from increased de novo lipogenesis. Despite the popularity of high-protein diets for weight loss, the effect of dietary protein on de novo lipogenesis is poorly studied. We aimed to characterize the effect of dietary protein on de novo lipid synthesis. METHODS We use a 3-way crossover interventional study in healthy males to determine the effect of high-protein feeding on de novo lipogenesis, combined with in vitro models to determine the lipogenic effects of specific amino acids. The primary outcome was a change in de novo lipogenesis–associated triglycerides in response to protein feeding. RESULTS We demonstrate that high-protein feeding, rich in glutamate, increases de novo lipogenesis–associated triglycerides in plasma (1.5-fold compared with control; P < 0.0001) and liver-derived very low-density lipoprotein particles (1.8-fold; P < 0.0001) in samples from human subjects (n = 9 per group). In hepatocytes, we show that glutamate-derived carbon is incorporated into triglycerides via palmitate. In addition, supplementation with glutamate, glutamine, and leucine, but not lysine, increased triglyceride synthesis and decreased glucose uptake. Glutamate, glutamine, and leucine increased activation of protein kinase B, suggesting that induction of de novo lipogenesis occurs via the insulin signaling cascade. CONCLUSION These findings provide mechanistic insight into how select amino acids induce de novo lipogenesis and insulin resistance, suggesting that high-protein feeding to tackle diabetes and obesity requires greater consideration. FUNDING The research was supported by UK Medical Research Council grants MR/P011705/1, MC_UP_A090_1006 and MR/P01836X/1. JLG is supported by the Imperial Biomedical Research Centre, National Institute for Health Research (NIHR)., A subset of amino acids may induce de novo lipogenesis in humans, suggesting that use of high-protein diets to tackle diabetes requires greater consideration.

The structure of deformed neutron-rich nuclei in the rare-earth region is of significant interest for both the astrophysics and nuclear structure fields. At present, a complete explanation for the observed peak in the elemental abundances at $A\ensuremath{\sim}160$ eludes astrophysicists, and models depend on accurate quantities, such as masses, lifetimes, and branching ratios of deformed neutron-rich nuclei in this region. Unusual nuclear structure effects are also observed, such as the unexpectedly low energies of the first ${2}^{+}$ levels in some even-even nuclei at $N=98$. In order to address these issues, mass and $\ensuremath{\beta}$-decay spectroscopy measurements of the $^{160}{\mathrm{Eu}}_{97}$ and $^{162}{\mathrm{Eu}}_{99}$ nuclei were performed at the Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade radioactive beam facility at Argonne National Laboratory. Evidence for a gap in the single-particle neutron energies at $N=98$ and for large deformation (${\ensuremath{\beta}}_{2}\ensuremath{\sim}0.3$) is discussed in relation to the unusual phenomena observed at this neutron number.

The structure of deformed neutron-rich nuclei in the rare-earth region is of significant interest for both the astrophysics and nuclear structure fields. At present, a complete explanation for the observed peak in the elemental abundances at A∼160 eludes astrophysicists, and models depend on accurate quantities, such as masses, lifetimes, and branching ratios of deformed neutron-rich nuclei in this region. Unusual nuclear structure effects are also observed, such as the unexpectedly low energies of the first 2^{+} levels in some even-even nuclei at N=98. In order to address these issues, mass and β-decay spectroscopy measurements of the ^{160}Eu_{97} and ^{162}Eu_{99} nuclei were performed at the Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade radioactive beam facility at Argonne National Laboratory. Evidence for a gap in the single-particle neutron energies at N=98 and for large deformation (β_{2}∼0.3) is discussed in relation to the unusual phenomena observed at this neutron number.

The low-energy recoiling ions from the $\ensuremath{\beta}$ decay of $^{134}\mathrm{Sb}$ were studied by using the Beta-decay Paul Trap. Using this apparatus, singly charged ions were suspended in vacuum at the center of a detector array used to detect emitted $\ensuremath{\beta}$ particles, $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rays, and recoil ions in coincidence. The recoil ions emerge from the trap with negligible scattering, allowing $\ensuremath{\beta}$-decay properties and the charge-state distribution of the daughter ions to be determined from the $\ensuremath{\beta}$-ion coincidences. First-forbidden $\ensuremath{\beta}$-decay theory predicts a $\ensuremath{\beta}\text{\ensuremath{-}}\ensuremath{\nu}$ correlation coefficient of nearly unity for the ${0}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ to ${0}^{+}$ transition from the ground state of $^{134}\mathrm{Sb}$ to the ground state of $^{134}\mathrm{Te}$. Although this transition was expected to have a nearly 100% branching ratio, an additional 17.2(52)% of the $\ensuremath{\beta}$-decay strength must populate high-lying excited states to obtain an angular correlation consistent with unity. The extracted charge-state distribution of the recoiling ions was compared with existing $\ensuremath{\beta}$-decay results and the average charge state was found to be consistent with the results from lighter nuclei.

The Canadian Penning Trap mass spectrometer at the Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade (CARIBU) facility was used to measure the masses of eight neutron-rich isotopes of Nd and Sm. These measurements are the first to push into the region of nuclear masses relevant to the formation of the rare-earth abundance peak at $A\ensuremath{\sim}165$ by the rapid neutron-capture process. We compare our results with theoretical predictions obtained from ``reverse engineering'' the mass surface that best reproduces the observed solar abundances in this region through a Markov chain Monte Carlo technique. Our measured masses are consistent with the reverse-engineering predictions for a neutron star merger wind scenario.

The number of chemicals in our society and in our daily lives continues to increase. Accompanying this is an increasing risk of human exposure to and injury from hazardous substances. Chemical hazards can range from those present in industrial manufacturing processes, to those under the kitchen sink of the average household. Performing regular, structured surveillance of chemical exposures and events allows a greater situational awareness with respect to the common chemical hazards causing injury and the frequency of their occurrence as well as providing a better understanding of exposures. This information can be used to introduce measures to better protect public health from hazardous chemical exposures. This chapter aims to give an overview of surveillance for chemical events, including some of the sources which may be used, examples of the types of chemicals involved in exposures and the rationale for conducting regular surveillance and implementing a structured surveillance strategy.

A centrifugal cryogenic pump has been designed at Argonne National Laboratory to circulate liquid nitrogen (LN2) in a closed circuit allowing the recovery of excess fluid. The pump can circulate LN2 at rates of 2–10 L/min, into a head of 0.5–3 m. Over four years of laboratory use the pump has proven capable of operating continuously for 50–100 days without maintenance.

A number of European and international IT platforms are used to notify competent authorities of new potential chemical exposures. Recently the European Parliament and the Council of European Union adopted new legislation that aims to improve the co-ordinated response to cross border health threats (Decision 1082/2013/EU). The Decision, inter alia, sets provisions on notification, ad hoc monitoring and coordination of public health measures following serious cross border threats to health from biological, chemical and environmental events as well as events that have an unknown origin. The legal instrument applies to all European Union Member States and is comparable to the International Health Regulations in its content, requirements and adoption of a multiple hazards approach. An inter-sectoral and multidisciplinary response to events with potentially dangerous cross border exposure pathways is often required. For example, European Poisons Centres may be aware of cases of toxic exposure to a product and, in parallel, trading standards may be aware of the same product due to a breach of consumer product standards. Whilst both cases would have been recorded for separate purposes in different alerting systems, they relate to the same exposure pathway; therefore a process for linking these records would allow a more robust approach to risk assessment and risk mitigation. The Decision seeks to reconcile this issue for serious threats by linking relevant platforms into one overarching higher level risk management IT platform called the Early Warning Response System (EWRS). This system will serve to link other sectors within the European Commission (EC) to public health (e.g. medicines), as well as other EU agencies and international bodies via co-notification features. Other European alert systems will be linked to EWRS to facilitate information sharing at both the assessment and management levels. This paper provides a timely overview of the main systems run by the EC and other international organisations that provide alerts following chemical incidents that have, or may have, the potential to affect public health. The advantages and further considerations of linking these different systems and sectors are also highlighted. Recommendations are made with the purpose of ensuring that modifications to these systems made to satisfy with EU legislation enable a more timely coordinated response and greater awareness of events in Europe, thereby reducing the public health impact from chemical exposures. Keywords: Chemicals, Hazards, Reporting, Alerting, RASCHEM, EWRS

The European Union (EU) Decision (1082/2013/EU) on serious cross border threats to health was adopted by the European Parliament in November 2013, in recognition of the need to strengthen the capacity of Member States to coordinate the public health response to cross border threats, whether from biological, chemical, environmental events or events which have an unknown origin. Although mechanisms have been in place for years for reporting cross border health threats from communicable diseases, this has not been the case for incidents involving chemicals and/or environmental events. A variety of collaborative EU projects have been funded over the past 10 years through the Health Programme to address gaps in knowledge on health security and to improve resilience and response to major incidents involving chemicals. This paper looks at the EU Health Programme that underpins recent research activities to address gaps in resilience, planning, responding to and recovering from a cross border chemical incident. It also looks at how the outputs from the research programme will contribute to improving public health management of transnational incidents that have the potential to overwhelm national capabilities, putting this into context with the new requirements as the Decision on serious cross border threats to health as well as highlighting areas for future development. Keywords: Chemical incident, Public health risk assessment and management, Cross border health threats, CBRN, Emergency response, Alerting and notification

The role of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) for adults in regional centres with low numbers of patients receiving ECMO is unclear. A robust service delivery model may assist in the quality provision of ECMO.To describe a novel ECMO service delivery model in a regional Australian hospital, reporting on patient characteristics and outcomes before and after its implementation.An observational cohort study of all patients receiving ECMO at the University Hospital Geelong intensive care unit before and after implementation of a new ECMO clinical service model. The program included intensivist training in cannulation and care for ECMO patients, nurse accreditation in ECMO maintenance, and establishing a relationship with an ECMO centre caring for a high number of patients. Data included ECMO caseload, circuit configuration, complications, durations of therapy, and survival to ECMO weaning and ICU and hospital discharge.During the 14-year period for which we collected data, 61 adults received ECMO: 21 (35%) before and 40 (65%) after implementation of the structured program. The median annual case rate increased significantly between periods from two (range, 0-5 cases) to 10 (range, 5-13 cases) (P0.01). Other changes from before to after implementation included more medical indications for ECMO (48% v 80%; P0.01), higher peripheral cannulation configuration (57% v 98%; P0.01) and greater intensivist involvement as cannulation proceduralists (29% v 80%; P0.01). There were no significant differences between cohorts in ECMO weaning or duration, complication rates or ICU or in-hospital mortality.Provision of ECMO in a tertiary regional hospital within a multifaceted clinical service model is feasible and safe. Partnership with a centre providing ECMO for a high number of patients during service development and delivery is desirable.

Properties of neutron-rich nuclei in the A˜160 region are important for achieving a better understanding of the nuclear structure in this region where little is known owing to diffculties in the production of these nuclei at the present nuclear physics facilities. These properties are essential ingredients in the interpretation of the rareearth peak at A˜160 in the r process abundance distribution, since theoretical models are sensitive to nuclear structure input. Predicated on these ideas, we have initiated a new experimental program at Argonne National Laboratory. During the first experiment, beams from the Californium Rare Isotope Breeder Upgrade radioactive beam facility were used in conjunction with the SATURN decay station and the X-array. We focused initially on several odd-odd nuclei, where β decays of both the ground state and an excited isomer were investigated. Because of the spin difference, a variety of structures in the daughter nuclei were selectively populated and characterized based on their decay properties. Mass measurements using the Canadian Penning Trap aimed at establishing the excitation energy of the β-decaying isomers were also carried out. Evidence was found for a change in the single-particle structure, which in turn results in the formation of a sizable N=98 sub-shell gap at large deformation. Results from the first experimental campaign using the newly-commissioned β-decay station at Gammasphere are also presented.

Summary To test the hypothesis that competitor density and time spent at a food resource influences aggressive behaviour in male swordtail, Xiphophorus sp., fish were kept at two densities (low: 18 fish m−3; high: 54 fish m−3) and aggressive behaviour was recorded with the time at the food resource used as a covariate. Competitor density is likely to affect the cost:benefit ratio of food defence. When density is low, there should be sufficient food for all individuals and intra-specific interactions are expected to be rare, while at high densities, increased intra-specific encounter rates mean that individuals may spend more time defending a resource than utilising it. Food resource defence should occur at intermediate densities. The frequency of aggression, i.e. bites, chases, and display behaviour was significantly positively influenced by time spent at the food resource (Bites: F1,31 = 8.186, P = 0.007; Chases: F1,31 = 6.439, P = 0.016; Displays: F1,31 = 4.435, P = 0.043) suggesting that food resource defence occurred. Competitor density had no effect on food resource defence and minimal effect on the frequency of aggression with only one type of aggressive behaviour, male–male displays, showing a difference between densities (F1,31 = 6.975, P = 0.013). This finding is suggested to be a result of the formation of dominance hierarchies in this species. Aggression from the dominant individual may be directed at only subordinates of the next dominance rank and subordinate behaviour may be restricted by status rather than immediate threat. In such a situation, aggression may be independent of competitor density.

Objectives: European legislation requires reporting from Member States on acute poisoning incidents involving pesticides. However, standard rules for data collection and reporting have not yet been set out. The new categorization system presented in this paper is aimed at enabling Member States to gather comparable data and provide standard reporting on pesticide poisoning exposures. Materials and methods: European Regulations providing separate official categorization of biocidal and plant protection pesticides, were used as a basis to build up a unified pesticide categorization and coding system. Data on selected pesticide exposures collected by Poison Control Centres in six EU countries were reviewed, categorized and reported according to the proposed system. Results: The resulting pesticide categorization system has two dimensions. The first part identifies the main category of use, i.e. biocide/plant protection pesticide/unknown, and the secondary category of use, e.g. Rodenticides, Insecticides and acaricides. The second part of the system is organized into two levels: level one identifies chemical grouping, e.g. Coumarins, Pyrethrins/pyrethroids, while level two identifies the active compound by using its Chemical Abstract Service Registry Number. The system was used to provide a unified categorization to compare exposures to plant protection and biocidal Rodenticides and Pyrethrins/pyrethroids Insecticides and acaricides identified by six EU member states. Conclusion: The developed pesticide categorization system was successfully applied to data extracted from different databases and was able to make the required information comparable. The data reported filling in common templates containing a pre-ordinate list of active compounds categorized according the proposed system, highlighted different capabilities in data collection and recording, showing that some of the collaborating centres were not able to distinguish between main categories of pesticide products or provide information on active compounds. The results indicate that a special effort should be dedicated to support detailed data recording at national level. Providing common tools to systematically report to the EU Commission hazardous exposures to pesticides, as well as to other selected categories of products, could allow for data comparability between Member States and greatly improve post marketing surveillance and alerting systems in Europe. Keywords: Surveillance, Poisonings, Plant protection products, Biocides, EU legislation, Poison Control Centres