The modification of a gravity current past a thin two-dimensional barrier is studied experimentally, focusing on propagation characteristics as well as turbulence and mixing at the gravity-current head near the obstacle. The broader aim is to develop an eddy-diffusivity parametrisation based on local governing variables to represent gravity-current/obstacle interactions in numerical weather prediction models. A gravity current is produced in a rectangular tank by releasing a salt solution via a lock-exchange mechanism into an aqueous ethanol solution with matched refractive index, and it is allowed to interact with the barrier. A combined particle image velocimetry and planar laser-induced fluorescence system is used to obtain instantaneous velocity and density fields. The experiments span two Reynolds numbers and four obstacle heights, with each case replicated ten times for conducting phase-aligned ensemble averaging. Four evolutionary stages of the front are identified: approach, vertical deflection, collapse and reattachment. Particular focus is placed on the vertical deflection and collapse stages (dubbed collision phase), which includes flow (hydraulic) adjustment, flow modulation over the obstacle, instabilities, turbulence and mixing, and relaxation to a gravity current downstream. The time scales for various flow stages were identified. The results demonstrate that the normalised eddy diffusivity changes significantly throughout these stages and with the dimensionless height of the obstacle.

We investigated experimentally the settling behaviour of vertically aligned spherical particles within various quiescent media at different release frequencies. The particles had a diameter of $d = 4$ mm and density of $\rho _s = 2200$ kg m$^{-3}$, and were released near the free surface of water, ethanol, a G60 water–glycerine mixture (60 % glycerine by weight) and oil media at frequencies of $f_P = 4$, 6 and 8 Hz, thereby allowing study of Galileo numbers, $Ga \in [16, 976]$. Particle tracking velocimetry quantified the motion of nearly 800 particles in a 600 mm high tank, and particle image velocimetry examined flow patterns around the particles. Results revealed that the centre of mass of the particle trajectories exhibited preferential in-plane motions, with significant lateral dispersion and large $Ga$ in water and ethanol, and nearly vertical paths with low $Ga$ in the G60 mixture and oil media. Varying degrees of particle separation resulted in higher terminal velocities than for a single particle. Hence, particle drag decreased in all cases, with the oil medium showing the highest drag reduction under the closest particle separation, reaching up to nearly 70 % of that for the single particle. The vertical and lateral pair dispersions, $R^2_z$ and $R^2_L$, exhibited ballistic scaling, with dependences on the initial separation, $r_0$, and the type of medium. With large $Ga$, $R^2_z$ displayed a ballistic regime followed by a slower rate, whereas with small $Ga$, $R^2_z$ maintained a consistent ballistic regime throughout settling. Finally, normalized $R^2_z$ demonstrated distinct scaling (exponent 2/3 and 1) dependent on the normalized initial separation and $Ga$.

The distinct turbulence dynamics and transport modulated by a common seagrass species were investigated experimentally using a flexible surrogate canopy in a refractive-index-matching environment that enabled full optical access. The surrogate seagrass replicated the dynamic behaviour and morphological properties of its natural counterpart. The flows studied were subcritical with Froude numbers $Fr<0.26$ and concerned five Reynolds numbers $Re\in [3.4\times 10^{4}, 1.1\times 10^{5}]$ and Cauchy numbers $Ca\in [120, 1200]$. Complementary rigid canopy experiments were also included to aid comparative insight. The flow was quantified in wall-normal planes in a developed region using high-frame-rate particle image velocimetry. Results show that the deflection and coordinated waving motion of the blades redistributed the Reynolds stresses above and below the canopy top. Critically, in-canopy turbulence associated with the seagrass lacked periodic stem wake vortex shedding present in the rigid canopy, yet the flexible canopy induced vortex shedding from the blade tips. Inspection of spatial and temporal characteristics of coherent flow structures using spectral proper orthogonal decomposition reveals that Kelvin–Helmholtz-type vortices are the dominant flow structures associated with the waving motion of the seagrass and that modulated the local flow exchange in both rigid and flexible canopies. A barrier-like effect produced by the blade deflections blocked large-scale turbulence transport, thereby reducing vortex penetration into the canopy. In addition, we uncovered a transition from sweep-dominated to ejection-dominated behaviour in the surrogate seagrass. We hypothesise that the vortices created during the upward blade motion period play a major role in the sweep-to-ejection-dominated transition. Conditionally averaged quadrant analysis on the downward and upward blade motion supports this contention.

This SHEA white paper identifies knowledge gaps and challenges in healthcare epidemiology research related to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with a focus on core principles of healthcare epidemiology. These gaps, revealed during the worst phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, are described in 10 sections: epidemiology, outbreak investigation, surveillance, isolation precaution practices, personal protective equipment (PPE), environmental contamination and disinfection, drug and supply shortages, antimicrobial stewardship, healthcare personnel (HCP) occupational safety, and return to work policies. Each section highlights three critical healthcare epidemiology research questions with detailed description provided in supplementary materials. This research agenda calls for translational studies from laboratory-based basic science research to well-designed, large-scale studies and health outcomes research. Research gaps and challenges related to nursing homes and social disparities are included. Collaborations across various disciplines, expertise and across diverse geographic locations will be critical.

Free surface oscillations in a narrow gap between elongated parallel bodies are studied numerically. As this represents both a highly resonant system and an arrangement of relevance to offshore operations, the nature of the damping is of primary interest, and has a critical role in determining the response. Previous experimental work has suggested that the damping could be attributed to laminar boundary layers; here our numerical wave tank successfully resolves both wave and boundary layer scales to provide strong numerical evidence in support of this conclusion. The simulations follow the experiments in using wave groups so that the computation is tractable, and both linear and second harmonic excitation of the gap are demonstrated.

The response of soil microbial communities to soil quality changes is a sensitive indicator of soil ecosystem health. The current work investigated soil microbial communities under different fertilization treatments in a 31-year experiment using the phospholipid fatty acid (PLFA) profile method. The experiment consisted of five fertilization treatments: without fertilizer input (CK), chemical fertilizer alone (MF), rice (Oryza sativa L.) straw residue and chemical fertilizer (RF), low manure rate and chemical fertilizer (LOM), and high manure rate and chemical fertilizer (HOM). Soil samples were collected from the plough layer and results indicated that the content of PLFAs were increased in all fertilization treatments compared with the control. The iC15:0 fatty acids increased significantly in MF treatment but decreased in RF, LOM and HOM, while aC15:0 fatty acids increased in these three treatments. Principal component (PC) analysis was conducted to determine factors defining soil microbial community structure using the 21 PLFAs detected in all treatments: the first and second PCs explained 89.8% of the total variance. All unsaturated and cyclopropyl PLFAs except C12:0 and C15:0 were highly weighted on the first PC. The first and second PC also explained 87.1% of the total variance among all fertilization treatments. There was no difference in the first and second PC between RF and HOM treatments. The results indicated that long-term combined application of straw residue or organic manure with chemical fertilizer practices improved soil microbial community structure more than the mineral fertilizer treatment in double-cropped paddy fields in Southern China.

Introduction: Inspired by the Choosing Wisely® campaign, St. Michaels Hospital (SMH) launched an initiative to reduce unnecessary tests, treatments and procedures that may cause patient harm. Stakeholder engagement identified inappropriate ordering of urine culture & sensitivities (C&S) in the emergency department (ED) as a focus area. Inappropriate urine C&S increase workload, healthcare costs and detection of asymptomatic bacteriuria which can lead to unnecessary antibiotics. The project’s purposes were to describe the scope of inappropriately ordered urine C&S in the SMH ED and to conduct a root-cause analysis to inform future quality improvement interventions. Methods: Criteria for determining appropriateness was developed a priori using evidence-based guidelines from the University Health Network together with additional literature review. A retrospective chart review was performed on all urine C&S ordered in the ED from Jun 1 Aug 30, 2016. Each chart was reviewed for order appropriateness, demographic information and ordering provider. All inappropriate urine C&S were reviewed to identify root causes which were then grouped into common themes. A pareto chart was constructed to analyze the frequency of causes. Results: Of 425 urine C&S ordered, 75 (17.7%) were inappropriate. The top 3 reasons were: inappropriate urosepsis work-ups (53%), order processing errors (17%) and inappropriate work-ups for weakness (16%). Inappropriate urosepsis work-ups were defined as urine C&S that were ordered empirically despite there being a clear focus for infection elsewhere (i.e. cough, cellulitis) and in the absence of urinary symptoms. Order processing errors were defined as urine C&S which were sent despite there being no documented order. Inappropriate testing was more likely to occur overnight, in females and when a urine routine and microscopy was not ordered prior to C&S. 29% of patients with inappropriate C&S received antibiotics. Conclusion: 17.7% of urine C&S ordered in the SMH ED during the 3-month study period were inappropriate. The top cause was septic patients who were empirically tested despite having another source for infection identified from the outset. A possible reason for this is the recent ED emphasis on early recognition of sepsis which may encourage early use of antibiotics and empiric urine C&S. One question to resolve is whether a 17.7% overutilization rate is sufficient to make it a target for change. Interventions designed to reduce inappropriate urine C&S may inadvertently increase the number of missed cultures in patients admitted with sepsis not yet diagnosed. Next steps involve discussions between the ED, Internal Medicine, Infectious Disease and Microbiology, and patient partners to identify patient-centered change ideas and sustainable strategies. This may involve establishing guidelines for ordering urine C&S and incorporating lab services to provide oversight into urine C&S processing.

Animal proteins are naturally 15N enriched relative to the diet and the extent of this difference (Δ15Nanimal-diet or N isotopic fractionation) has been correlated to N use efficiency (NUE; N gain or milk N yield/N intake) in some recent ruminant studies. The present study used meta-analysis to investigate whether Δ15Nanimal-diet can be used as a predictor of NUE across a range of dietary conditions, particularly at the level of between-animal variation. An additional objective was to identify variables related to N partitioning explaining the link between NUE and Δ15Nanimal-diet. Individual values from eight publications reporting both NUE and Δ15Nanimal-diet for domestic ruminants were used to create a database comprising 11 experimental studies, 41 treatments and individual animal values for NUE (n=226) and Δ15Nanimal-diet (n=291). Data were analyzed by mixed-effect regression analysis taking into account experimental factors as random effects on both the intercept and slope of the model. Diets were characterized according to the INRA feeding system in terms of N utilization at the rumen, digestive and metabolic levels. These variables were used in a partial least squares regression analysis to predict separately NUE and Δ15Nanimal-diet variation, with the objective of identifying common variables linking NUE and Δ15Nanimal-diet. For individuals reared under similar conditions (within-study) and at the same time (within-period), the variance of NUE and Δ15Nanimal-diet not explained by dietary treatments (i.e. between-animal variation plus experimental error) was 35% and 55%, respectively. Mixed-effect regression analysis conducted with treatment means showed that Δ15Nanimal-diet was significantly and negatively correlated to NUE variation across diets (NUE=0.415 −0.055×Δ15Nanimal-diet). When using individual values and taking into account the random effects of study, period and diet, the relationship was also significant (NUE=0.358 −0.035×Δ15Nanimal-diet). However, there may be a biased prediction for animals close to zero, or in negative, N balance. When using a novel statistical approach, attempting to regress between-animal variation in NUE on between-animal variation in Δ15Nanimal-diet (without the influence of experimental factors), the negative relationship was still significant, highlighting the ability of Δ15Nanimal-diet to capture individual variability. Among the studied variables related to N utilization, those concerning N efficiency use at the metabolic level contributed most to predict both Δ15Nanimal-diet and NUE variation, with rumen fermentation and digestion contributing to a lesser extent. This study confirmed that on average Δ15Nanimal-diet can predict NUE variation across diets and across individuals reared under similar conditions.

We describe the performance of the Boolardy Engineering Test Array, the prototype for the Australian Square Kilometre Array Pathfinder telescope. Boolardy Engineering Test Array is the first aperture synthesis radio telescope to use phased array feed technology, giving it the ability to electronically form up to nine dual-polarisation beams. We report the methods developed for forming and measuring the beams, and the adaptations that have been made to the traditional calibration and imaging procedures in order to allow BETA to function as a multi-beam aperture synthesis telescope. We describe the commissioning of the instrument and present details of Boolardy Engineering Test Array’s performance: sensitivity, beam characteristics, polarimetric properties, and image quality. We summarise the astronomical science that it has produced and draw lessons from operating Boolardy Engineering Test Array that will be relevant to the commissioning and operation of the final Australian Square Kilometre Array Path telescope.

Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CRAB) with diverse multilocus sequence typing emerged among our nursing home residents (6.5%) with a high background rate of MRSA (32.2%). Rectal swabs yielded a higher rate of CRAB detection than axillary or nasal swabs. Bed-bound status, use of adult diapers, and nasogastric tube were risk factors for CRAB colonization.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2016;37:983–986

Floral organ development influences plant reproduction and crop yield. The mechanism of floral organ specification is generally conserved in angiosperms as demonstrated by the ‘ABC’ model. However, mechanisms underlying the development of floral organs in specific groups of species such as grasses remain unclear. In the genus Oryza (rice), a spikelet consists of a fertile floret sub-tended by a lemma, a palea, two sterile lemmas and rudimentary glumes. To understand how the lemma is formed, a curve-shaped lemma-distortion1 (ld1) mutant was identified. Genetic analysis confirmed that the ld1 mutant phenotype was due to a single recessive gene mutation. Using a large F 2 population, the LD1 gene was mapped between markers Indel-7-15 and Indel-7-18, which encompassed a region of 15·6 kilo base pairs (kbp). According to rice genome annotations, two putative genes, LOC_Os07g32510 and LOC_Os07g32520, were located in this candidate region. However, DNA sequencing results indicated only 1 base pair (bp) substitution (T⇨C) was found in LOC_Os07g32510 between the wild-type and the ld1 mutant. Thus LOC_Os07g32510, encoding a DNA binding with one zinc finger (DoF) containing protein, was the candidate gene for LD1. Further analysis showed that mutation of the amino acid cysteine (C) to arginine (R) was likely to lead to zinc finger protein deactivation. Phylogenetic and conservation analysis of the gene from different species revealed that cysteine was critical to LD1 function. As a new gene controlling lemma development, the study of LD1 could provide insights into rice floral organ formation mechanisms.

We determined the prevalence and seasonality of infections by Fasciola of goats and bovine species (cattle and water buffalo) in Hubei and Anhui provinces of China. Faecal samples were collected at 2- to 3-month intervals from 200 goats in Hubei province and from 152 bovine species in Anhui province. All faecal samples were examined for the presence of parasites. We determined the nucleotide sequences of the first and second internal transcribed spacers (ITS-1 and ITS-2) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA (rDNA) of 39 Fasciola worms from Anhui province. The prevalence of Fasciola infection in goats ranged between 3.5 and 37.0%, with mean eggs per gram (EPG) ranging between 29.0 and 166.0. Prevalence and EPG exhibited downward trends over time with significant differences. The prevalence of Fasciola infection in cattle ranged between 13.3 and 46.2% (mean EPG, 36.4–100.0), and that of water buffalo ranged between 10.3 and 35.4% (mean EPG, 25.0–89.6), with a higher prevalence of infection and EPG from June to October compared with December to March. Analysis of ITS-1 and ITS-2 sequences revealed that F. hepatica and F. gigantica were present in all bovine species of Anhui province and that F. gigantica mainly infected water buffalo. This is the first demonstration of Fasciola infection in Hubei province and detection of F. hepatica and F. gigantica in Anhui province. The present study of Hubei province shows that mass treatment of livestock with closantel sodium injections in April and August/September controlled Fasciola infection effectively.

A tuberculosis (TB) case was reported May 2008 in Kelowna, British Columbia, leading to a multi-year outbreak in homeless persons. The epidemiological characteristics and social networks of cases are described. Outbreak-related cases were identified from epidemiological information in medical records and from genotyping of TB isolates. Social network information from case interviews were used to identify potential locations of TB transmission, where symptom screening and tuberculin skin testing was conducted. Fifty-two cases that were predominantly male (47/52), Canadian-born (44/50), and were homeless or associated with homeless individuals (42/52) were reported from May 2008 to May 2014. Many isolates (40/49) had partial resistance to isoniazid. Transmission primarily occurred at two homeless shelters, with potential further transmission at sites visited by the general population. TB outbreaks in homeless populations can occur in small, low-incidence cities. Social network information helped prioritize sites for TB screening, thereby improving detection of persons with TB disease or latent infection for treatment.

Co-infections of cystic echinococcosis (CE) and HIV/AIDS is rare. We report four CE cases that were HIV positive. Three out of the four patients underwent a surgical operation to remove the hydatid cysts in their livers. The operation confirmed that in two of the cases their cysts had ruptured. These patients were given 3 months of albendazole after the operation. Follow-up showed they were remarkably improved in term of their health, although they were still HIV antibody positive 6 months after surgical treatment. Interestingly, the treatment remarkably increased their CD4+ cell population. We showed that surgery is suitable for treating hepatic cystic echinococcosis with HIV/AIDS co-infection.

The Australian Centre for Advanced Photovoltaics (ACAP) co-ordinates the activities of the six Australian research institutions and a group of industrial partners in the Australia-US Institute for Advanced Photovoltaics (AUSIAPV) to develop the next generations of photovoltaic device technology and to provide a pipeline of opportunities for performance increase and cost reduction. AUSIAPV links ACAP with US-based partners. These national and international research collaborations provide a pathway for highly visible, structured photovoltaic research collaboration between Australian and US researchers, institutes and agencies with significant joint programs based on the clear synergies between the participating organizations. The research program is organized in five collaborative Program Packages (PPs). PP1 deals with silicon wafer-based cells, focusing on three main areas: cells from solar grade silicon, rear contact and silicon-based tandem cells. PP2 involves research into a range of organic solar cells, organic/inorganic hybrid cells, "earth abundant" thin-film materials and "third generation" approaches. PP3 is concerned with optics and characterization. PP4 will deliver a substantiated methodology for assessing manufacturing costs of the different technologies and PP5 involves education, training and outreach. The main research topics, results and plans for the future are presented.

This paper describes the system architecture of a newly constructed radio telescope – the Boolardy engineering test array, which is a prototype of the Australian square kilometre array pathfinder telescope. Phased array feed technology is used to form multiple simultaneous beams per antenna, providing astronomers with unprecedented survey speed. The test array described here is a six-antenna interferometer, fitted with prototype signal processing hardware capable of forming at least nine dual-polarisation beams simultaneously, allowing several square degrees to be imaged in a single pointed observation. The main purpose of the test array is to develop beamforming and wide-field calibration methods for use with the full telescope, but it will also be capable of limited early science demonstrations.