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The legacy of intentional freshwater fish introductions across the western United States has fostered social tensions over the control of nonnative species in some contexts. Overcoming tensions and implementing effective control programs is important for mitigating impacts to native species. We modeled the efficacy of incentivized harvest for controlling nuisance smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieu) using empirical responses measured during fishing tournaments on two reservoirs that are sources of nonnative predators to critical habitat of native species. Simulations demonstrated that anglers could suppress adult smallmouth bass by 90%–99% in under 30 years, but were contingent on program participation and density dependence in harvest efficiency (i.e., catchability) and population demographics. Catchability differed between systems and varied temporally within the same system, thereby suggesting tournament structure could be adapted to increase harvest rates. Incentivized harvest should not be dismissed as a viable control strategy alone or in tandem with other methods in small lentic systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to determine whether anterior plating is better tolerated than superior plating for midshaft clavicle fractures. Methods: This was a prospective non-randomized observational cohort study following operative vs. non-operative management of clavicle fractures from 2003 to 2018 at 7 level 1 academic trauma centers in the USA. The subset of patients treated with plate and screws is the basis for this comparative study. Adults aged 18–85 with closed clavicle fractures displaced over 100% or shortened by more than 1.5 cm were eligible for enrollment. Patients were followed for 2 years following enrollment. Allowable fixation methods at the discretion of the surgeon consisted of anterior–inferior or superior plating. A total of 412 patients were enrolled. Of these, 192 patients received either superior or anterior plating for a displaced clavicle fracture with complete documented prospective research forms capturing type of plating technique. The primary outcome measure was hardware removal (HWR). Secondary outcomes were Disability of the Arm Shoulder and Hand (DASH) score and Visual Analog Pain (VAP) score, and satisfaction score (1 = high satisfaction; 5 = low satisfaction). Results: There was no difference in HWR rates (7.1% superior 9/127; 6.2% anterior 4/65, p = 0.81), VAP score (mean 1.5 SD 1.0 superior; mean 1.7 SD 0.6 anterior, p = 0.21), DASH score (mean 7.5 SD 12.4 superior; mean 5.2 SD 15.2 anterior; p = 0.18) or satisfaction score (mean 1.6 SD 1.0 superior; mean 1.7 SD 0.60 anterior, p = 0.18). Conclusion: There is no difference in HWR rates or functional outcomes when using a superior vs. anterior plating technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Craft brewing is continually gaining popularity in the United States. Craft brewers are committed to producing a wide variety of products and have a vested interest in product quality. Therefore, these brewers have the expectation that the beer poured at the tap will match the quality product that left the brewery. The presence of biofilm in draught lines is hypothesized as a contributing factor when this expectation is not achieved. Clean in place strategies based on the Sinner's Circle of Cleaning are used to remediate organic and inorganic accumulation in beer draught lines, including controlling biofilm accumulation. A study was conducted to determine if repeated exposure to chemical cleaning of vinyl beer tubing impacted biofilm growth, kill/removal, and subsequent regrowth of a mixed species biofilm. The tubing was conditioned to simulate one, two, and five years of use. The data collected demonstrates a clear trend between simulated age of the tubing and biofilm accumulation on the surface. Bacterial log densities ranged from 5.6 Log 10 (CFU/cm2) for the new tubing to 6.6 Log 10 (CFU/cm2) for tubing aged to simulate five years of use. The counts for the yeast were similar. Caustic cleaning of the tubing, regardless of starting biofilm coverage, left less than 2.75 Log 10 (CFU/cm2) viable bacteria and yeast cells remaining on the tubing surface. This demonstrated the effectiveness of the caustic at controlling biofilm accumulation in the simulated beer draught line. The biofilm that accumulated in the five-year aged tubing was able to recover more quickly, reaching 3.6 Log 10 (CFU/cm2) within 24 h indicating the treatment did not fully eradicate the biofilm, suggesting that the strong chemistry used in this study would cease to be as effective over time. • The presence of biofilm in beer draught lines contributes to off flavors of the beer. • While effective at controlling biofilm, repeated exposure to caustic cleaning damages tubing. • Over time, strong chemical cleaning of draught lines will cease to be effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To characterise the frequency of and predictors of contraceptive implant discontinuation within 12 months of insertion in our clinical setting.Materials and methods: This retrospective cohort study included women receiving the etonogestrel contraceptive implant at our hospital between May 2007 and May 2012. We abstracted data from charts including implant removal date, bleeding complaints, reproductive and demographic characteristics, prior contraceptive use, tobacco use and implant insertion timing. Our primary outcome was implant discontinuation within 12 months following insertion. SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA) was used to generate frequencies, bivariate analyses and multivariate logistic regression models.Results: Implant discontinuation was documented in 16% of implant users prior to 12 months (89/544). Women with documented bleeding complaints in the medical record were more likely to discontinue within 12 months (OR: 4.36, CI: 2.71, 7.00). No other demographic or clinical characteristics were associated with premature discontinuation. Having less than two prior pregnancies and tobacco use were associated with documented bleeding complaints.Conclusions: Discontinuation of the implant is associated with bleeding complaints. Women with lower parity and tobacco users may be more likely to experience bleeding or to find it intolerable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the enduring ways that racial politics are masked by discourses of place and family in the history of juvenile justice in the USA. The tropes of place and family have been invoked since the inception of the USA’s juvenile justice system and have influenced the processes of policing, removal, and return, even as the latest incarnation of reforms focus on building juvenile justice facilities and alternatives to incarceration within urban areas. By pointing to recent manifestations of this rhetoric in New York, the article identifies the thread that links these claims together: the desire by social control agents for submission by the primarily impoverished and young people of color who defy legal authority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The United States removes from its territory almost 400,000 noncitizens annually-- Germany removes about 50,000 people each year, France 26,000, and Canada 12,000. In this article, we focus on the impact of removal, and we argue that many individuals-- often those who are best integrated in their countries of long-term residence-- will suffer significant physical, psychological, economic, and social harm upon their return. Democratic states have normative reasons for taking the harm of deportation into consideration, and we also find qualified support for this position in existing refugee and immigration law. In response, we articulate jus noci as a normative principle for harm avoidance in deportation practice. According to jus noci, democratic states must take into consideration the expected harmful effects of territorial removal and refrain from deporting individuals whose removal is, all other things being equal, likely to impose significant harm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The detection and removal of child pornography online is a vexing process, weighted with moral urgency. In recent years, this process has become increasingly digitally automated. In 2016, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reported that they had reviewed over 500,000 image and video files suspected to contain child pornography; and since 2002 they had reviewed an aggregate of 192 million images in order to identify 12,500 child victims. NCMEC is a nonprofit that serves as the United States main clearinghouse for child exploitation content, and works directly with federal and local law enforcement to produce case files in criminal investigations of missing children, child abuse, and child exploitation recorded for the intent of commercial distribution. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Riparian zones are an important strategy to mitigate N and P export to streams. However, their efficiency with respect to nitrate (NO), ammonium (NH), or soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) in groundwater remains uncertain in the US Midwest. This study investigates water table fluctuations and NO, NH, and SRP concentration dynamics in two riparian zone types (outwash vs. glacial till) common in the upper US Midwest. During low water table periods, NO removal was 93 % at WR (outwash site), and 75 % at LWD (glacial till site); but during high water table periods, NO removal efficiencies dropped to 50 % at WR, and 14 % at LWD. Median seasonal mass fluxes of NO removed at WR (9.4-21.7 mg N day m of stream length) and LWD (0.4-1.9 mg N day m) were small compared to other riparian zones in glaciated landscapes. The WR site was a small SRP sink (0.114 and 0.118 mg day m during the dry period and wet period, respectively), while LWD acted as a small SRP source to the stream (0.004 mg day m during the dry period; 0.075 mg day m during the wet period). Both LWD and WR acted as sources of NH to the stream with mass fluxes ranging from 0.17 to 7.75 mg N day m. Although riparian zones in the US Midwest provide many ecosystem services, results suggest they are unlikely to efficiently mitigate N and P pollution in subsurface flow. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Native Americans were increasingly excluded from the American social body and from national space. This article explores that exclusion from three perspectives: through dominant national ideologies that represented tribal groups as 'Other' and inferior to European Americans; through federal policies - including removal, reservation, and allotment - that increasingly confined 'Indians' to specific parts of the national landscape; and through the cartographic delineation of the national territory, which produced a Cartesian gridded landscape alien to Native understandings of land. This latter focus includes a case study of Indian Territory, which was incorporated into the state of Oklahoma in 1907. These three strands are explored through a theoretical framework that combines ideas about governmentality and territory, discourses of otherness and exclusion, and the power of maps. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed at assessing the effectiveness of 4 wastewater treatment plants of the Gauteng Province, namely Zeekoegat, Baviaanspoort, Rayton and Refilwe Water Care Works (WCW), in the removal of Cryptosporidium and Giardia (oo)cysts. Wastewater influent and treated effluent samples were taken weekly between January and April 2008. Cryptosporidium and Giardia (oo)cysts were detected by immunofluorescence and immunomagnetic separation, according to a modified US EPA 1623 method. Effluent samples were subjected to a molecular study for the identification of Cryptosporidium parvum Genotype I and Giardia lamblia Assemblage A. The 18S rRNA gene for restriction digests was therefore used to characterise these (oo)cysts. Cryptosporidium oocysts were repeatedly detected in effluent samples collected from all wastewater treatments at lower concentration (range <1 to 40 oocysts/L) levels than Giardia cysts (range <1 to 175 cysts/ℓ). The mean removal efficiencies of Cryptosporidium and Giardia at the 4 wastewater treatment plants ranged from 67.40% to 98.26% and from 86.81% to 99.96%, respectively. For all effluent samples, except Zeekoegat WCW, 29% and 41% contained oocysts of Cryptosporidium parvum Genotype I and cysts of Giardia lamblia Assemblage A, respectively. Both C. Parvum and G. lamblia are human pathogens. This stresses the potential risk of discharging these parasites into receiving water bodies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents study which identifies by-parity nonproductive female days (NPD or NPDs) as well as mating and culling measurements of female pigs in commercial breeding herds in the U.S. The study aims to determine herd productivity measurements and compare by-parity NPDs between three herd groups with different reproductive productivities. It shows that the monitor of by-parity NPD and mating and culling measurements is good in herd productivity improvement. It recommends the use of by-parity measurements in three herd groups.

Abstract: Burn/low-till management of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) is being practiced by some growers in the higher rainfall areas of the Pacific Northwestern Winter Wheat Region of the US. Residue burning eliminates the numerous seedbed tillage operations that are normally required to reduce residues and control weeds and diseases in continuous winter wheat production. The detrimental effects of burn and till systems on soil erosion are well documented. However, there is little or no data on the effects of burning with no-till or low-till annual cropping on either erosion or soil quality. A 3-year field study comparing winter season erosion resulting from burn/low-till (BLT) seeded winter wheat following winter wheat and conventionally managed (CM) winter wheat following various crops was completed in 1997. Results indicate soil loss from the BLT fields was not significantly different from that of the CM fields with various crops preceding winter wheat. For the BLT fields, soil loss was as closely related to soil disturbance (number of tillage operations) as to the amount of surface residue. When residue and crop cover did not differ with the number of tillage operations, an increased number of tillage operations after burning loosened the soil and resulted in greater soil loss. No adverse effects on soil loss or soil quality from using the BLT with one or two-pass seeding of winter wheat following winter wheat were found in this study. The results have implications for harvesting wheat stubble as a source of biomass, or as an alternative technique for initiating conversion from a conventional tillage to a no-till seeding system, without high initial investment in new seeding equipment. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

This article examines the tendency of emergency child removal decisions-by social workers, police officers, and judges-to become self-reinforcing and self-perpetuating in subsequent child protective proceedings. This snowball effect, as one court has referred to it, is widely acknowledged by lawyers who practice in juvenile court, yet is largely unknown beyond those circles. The article explores the causes and consequences of this phenomenon in the age of the 1997 federal Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), which converts every day that a child spends in foster care into one more tick of the clock in a countdown toward termination of parental rights. The article provides some background on the law and practice of emergency child removal in the United States today, analyzes the factors that make initial removals outcome determinative in many child protection cases, considers the implications of this phenomenon in light of ASFA, and identifies possible solutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake Apopka is a large (125 km2), shallow (mean depth 1.6 m) lake in Florida, USA. The lake was made hypereutrophic by phosphorus loading from floodplain farms and has high levels of nutrients, phytoplankton (Chl a 80 μg l−1), and suspended matter. The restoration plan developed by the St. Johns River Water Management District encompasses the biomanipulation concept in which the critical step for large shallow lakes is increasing the transparency of the water to allow the re-establishment of submerged macrophytes. Restoration includes operation of a treatment wetland, reduction in external P loading, harvest of fish, fluctuation of lake levels, and littoral planting. The District constructed a 2-km2 pilot-scale treatment wetland to test nutrient-removal and hydraulic performance. Lake water was recirculated for 29 months, and the removal of suspended solids and particle-bound nutrients was assessed. Hydraulic loading rate varied from 6.5 to 65 m year−l with a mean hydraulic residence time of about 7 days. The inflow contained 40–180 mg l−l TSS, 80–380 μg l−l TP (mostly particulate organic), and 3–9 mg l−l TN (mostly dissolved and particulate organic). Overall, particulate matter was removed (> 90%) by the wetland, and soluble organic compounds were unaffected. Soluble inorganic compounds such as nitrate, ammonia, and soluble reactive phosphate (SRP) were low in the lake water but increased during passage through the wetland. Particulate matter at the outlet was enriched in both N (2-fold) and P (5-fold) compared to particles in the inflow. Mass removal efficiencies were 89–99 (TSS), 30–67 (TP), and 30–52% (TN), but efficiency fell when hydraulic short-circuiting occurred. First-order removal coefficients were 107 (TSS), 63 m year−1 (TP) and 98 m year−l (particulate N). Areal particulate removal rates were 5.4 g dry matter m−2 day−l, 0.18 g PON m−2 day−l, and 0.006 g POP m−2 day−l. The ratio of N:P removal was 28:1. Total sedimentation rate was 0.4 mm day−l of very light matter (4.4 g dw l−l). About 40% of the dry matter and nitrogen removed and about 80% of the phosphorus was found in the new sediments. Relative to the inflow of lake water, evapotranspiration (4.3%), seepage (2.6%), and rainfall (2.8%) were low. Major problems were initial leaching of SRP, but not ammonia, from native organic soils and vegetation when this former farmland was flooded; hydraulic short-circuiting via former drainage ditches; and low inflows under drought conditions. After 6 months SRP release declined, and initial SRP leaching could be prevented with soil treatment. Hydraulic short-circuiting occurred only after modifications were made. Low gravity flows were augmented with pumped inflows. With these improvements P-removal should increase from the measured 0.48 to at least 3 g P m−2 year−l. Based on the pilot project results, the first phase of an improved 14-km2 wetland filter has been constructed. This project should accelerate improvements in the water quality of Lake Apopka and, ultimately, create a new, large wildlife-rich marsh. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The innocuity test was indicated as a quality control test to release pharmaceutical and biological products to the market. The test was intended to detect possible extraneous toxic contaminants derived from the manufacturing processes of the product. The test was included in WHO Recommendations and Guidelines for vaccines, biotherapeutics and blood products and in some monographs on antibiotics in The International Pharmacopoeia. Over the past years, the requirements in WHO Recommendations/Guidelines for conducting the test evolved such that it could be waived for routine release of product once consistency of production was established to the satisfaction of the NRA, or that the need for this test should be discussed and agreed with the NRA. However, some users of WHO written standards for biologicals (i.e., Recommendations, Guidelines) and WHO specifications for pharmaceuticals (i.e., The International Pharmacopoeia) requested that the innocuity test be deleted from WHO written standards based on its lack of specificity and scientific relevance. In response to that request, we studied the history of this test and its use by the member states of WHO, and the recommendations in WHO written standards. The outcomes of the study were reviewed by the relevant WHO Expert Committee on Biological Standardization and Expert Committee on Specifications for Pharmaceutical Products who then decided to discontinue this test in WHO Recommendations for vaccines and biologicals and to omit the test from The International Pharmacopoeia., (Copyright © 2020. Published by Elsevier Ltd.)

Background & Aims: Endoscopic submucosal dissection (ESD) is widely used in Asia to resect early-stage gastrointestinal neoplasms, but use of ESD in Western countries is limited. We collected data on the learning curve for ESD at a high-volume referral center in the United States to guide development of training programs in the Americas and Europe., Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis of consecutive ESDs performed by a single operator at a high-volume referral center in the United States from 2009 through 2017. ESD was performed in 540 lesions: 449 mucosal (10% esophageal, 13% gastric, 5% duodenal, 62% colonic, and 10% rectal) and 91 submucosal. We estimated case volumes required to achieve accepted proficiency benchmarks (>90% for en bloc resection and >80% for histologic margin-negative (R0) resection) and resection speeds >9cm 2 /hr., Results: Pathology analysis of mucosal lesions identified 95 carcinomas, 346 premalignant lesions, and 8 others; the rate of en bloc resection increased from 76% in block 1 (50 cases) to a plateau of 98% after block 5 (250 cases). The rate of R0 resection improved from 45% in block 1 to >80% after block 5 (250 cases) and ∼95% after block 8 (400 cases). Based on cumulative sum analysis, approximately 170, 150, and 280 ESDs are required to consistently achieve a resection speed >9cm 2 /hr in esophagus, stomach, and colon, respectively., Conclusions: In an analysis of ESDs performed at a large referral center in the United States, we found that an untutored, prevalence-based approach allowed operators to achieve all proficiency benchmarks after ∼250 cases. Compared with Asia, ESD requires more time to learn in the West, where the untutored, prevalence-based approach requires resection of challenging lesions, such as colon lesions and previously manipulated lesions, in early stages of training., (Copyright © 2020 AGA Institute. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

Background: The number of screws used for sliding calcaneal osteotomy fixation has not been examined in the literature. The purpose of this paper is to examine this topic., Methods: Retrospective chart review was performed on 190 patients who met selection criteria. We compared complication risk for single versus double screw, headed versus headless screw, and short versus longitudinal incision cases., Results: The mean age was 48.4 (18-83) years and average follow up was 28 (12-150) weeks. All cases achieved radiographic union. Overall complication rate was 19.5% (37/190). Risk of complication did not differ significantly between single and double screw (RR: 1.170; 95% CI: 0.66-2.09; p=0.594) or short and extended incision groups (RR: 0.868; 95% CI: 0.42-1.80; p=0.704). Risk of complication differed significantly between headed and headless screw fixation (RR: 5.558; 95% CI: 2.69-11.50; p<0.0001)., Conclusions: Single screw fixation of sliding calcaneal osteotomy achieves similar outcomes as double screw fixation. Headless screws are advantageous for minimizing hardware pain and subsequent hardware removal., (Copyright © 2017 European Foot and Ankle Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Background: Little is known about the outcomes in patients who are removed from the heart transplant (HT) waiting list before receiving a transplant. We sought to analyze outcomes in such patients in the United States (U.S.) in the current era., Methods: All patients aged ≥ 18 years old listed for a primary HT in the U.S. between July 2004 and September 2010 were identified. Outcomes in those removed from the list by March 2011 (survival, relisting, HT) were examined using time-to-event analyses., Results: Of 15,061 patients listed for primary HT, 10,168 (68%) received a HT, 1,393 (9%) died on the waiting list, and 1,871(12%) were removed before receiving HT. Of patients removed from the list, 560 (30%) were removed due to clinical improvement, 692 (37%) due to deterioration, and 619 (33%) due to other reasons. After removal, 30-day and 1-year survival were 99.6% and 94%, respectively, in patients removed due to improvement and 44% and 26%, respectively, in patients removed due to deterioration. Multivariable predictors of death after removal were removal due to clinical deterioration, hypertrophic or restrictive cardiomyopathy, United Network of Organ Sharing status 1A/1B at listing, and renal dysfunction. Only 27 patients (4.8%) among those removed due to improvement, 21 (3.0%) removed due to deterioration, and 46 (7.4%) removed due to other reasons were relisted., Conclusions: One in 8 patients listed for HT in the U.S. are removed from the waiting list before receiving HT. The indication for removal (clinical deterioration vs improvement) is the strongest independent predictor of survival after removal from the list., (Copyright © 2014 International Society for Heart and Lung Transplantation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)