Molten salts are being widely considered for use as high-temperature coolants in advanced nuclear reactors. There are a serious lack of experimental data pertaining to their thermophysical ...properties, especially thermal conductivity, which are paramount to safe thermal hydraulic design. This study seeks to measure the thermal conductivity of several molten fluoride and chloride salts using a modified transient hot-wire needle probe. Building on previous work by the same authors, the multilayered heat transfer model is expanded to account for thermal radiation interactions across the salt layer and is validated using a commercial finite-element package. Sensitivity and correlation analyses are performed to assess the time-dependent influence of critical parameters in the model, including the new radiative terms. Finally, thermal conductivity measurements are presented for LiF–NaF–KF, NaF–KF–MgF
2
, and LiCl–KCl up to 750 °C and are compared against reference correlations. Total measurement uncertainty is also quantified and tabulated, with the resulting range between ± 14.2 % and ± 29.0 %.
Abstract
Objective
Telephone-based cognitive assessment (TBCA) has long been studied but less widely adopted in routine neuropsychological practice. Increased interest in remote neuropsychological ...assessment techniques in the face of the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic warrants an updated review of relevant remote assessment literature. While recent reviews of videoconference-based neuropsychological applications have been published, no updated compilation of empirical TBCA research has been completed. Therefore, this scoping review offers relevant empirical research to inform clinical decision-making specific to teleneuropsychology.
Method
Peer-reviewed studies addressing TBCA were included. Broad search terms were related to telephone, cognitive, or neuropsychological assessment and screening. After systematic searching of the PubMed and EBSCO databases, 139 relevant articles were retained.
Results
In total, 17 unique cognitive screening measures, 20 cognitive batteries, and 6 single-task measures were identified as being developed or adapted specifically for telephone administration. Tables summarizing the identified cognitive assessments, information on diagnostic accuracy, and comparisons to face-to-face cognitive assessment are included in supplementary materials.
Conclusions
Overall, literature suggests that TBCA is a viable modality for identifying cognitive impairment in various populations. However, the mode of assessment selected clinically should reflect an understanding of the purpose, evidence, and limitations for various tests and populations. Most identified measures were developed for research application to support gross cognitive characterization and to help determine when more comprehensive testing was needed. While TBCA is not meant to replace gold-standard, face-to-face evaluation, if appropriately utilized, it can expand scope of practice, particularly when barriers to standard neuropsychological assessment occur.
The eastern bettong (
), a medium-sized digging marsupial, was reintroduced to a predator-free reserve after 100 years of absence from the Australian mainland. The bettong may have the potential to ...restore temperate woodlands degraded by a history of livestock grazing, by creating numerous small disturbances by digging. We investigated the digging capacity of the bettong and compared this to extant fauna, to answer the first key question of whether this species could be considered an ecosystem engineer, and ultimately if it has the capacity to restore lost ecological processes. We found that eastern bettongs were frequent diggers and, at a density of 0.3-0.4 animals ha
, accounted for over half the total foraging pits observed (55%), with echidnas (
), birds and feral rabbits (
) accounting for the rest. We estimated that the population of bettongs present dug 985 kg of soil per ha per year in our study area. Bettongs dug more where available phosphorus was higher, where there was greater basal area of
spp. and where kangaroo grazing was less. There was no effect on digging of eucalypt stem density or volume of logs on the ground. While bettong digging activity was more frequent under trees, digging also occurred in open grassland, and bettongs were the only species observed to dig in scalds (areas where topsoil has eroded to the B Horizon). These results highlight the potential for bettongs to enhance soil processes in a way not demonstrated by the existing fauna (native birds and echidna), and introduced rabbit.
This article analyses Australian law and literature to identify the key cultural and legal considerations that can arise in medical treatment decision-making with Aboriginal and Torres Strait ...Islander peoples at the end-of-life. The authors explore how First Nation peoples' cultural values, connection to Country, family, and community, history, and health care experiences, intersect with end-of-life medical treatment laws, providing valuable insights for lawyers, policymakers and health practitioners.
Native to South Africa and Madagascar, the invasive fireweed, Senecio madagascariensis Poiret (Asteraceae), is a target for biological control in Australia and Hawaii, where substantial infestations ...persist. Earlier studies in the weed's region of origin, namely KwaZulu-Natal Province in South Africa, assessed the seasonal abundance of stem-boring insect herbivores in S. madagascariensis populations. The weevil Gasteroclisus tricostalis (Thunberg) (Curculionidae) and moth Metamesia elegans (Walsingham) (Tortricidae) were prioritised as candidate agents for Australia due to their persistence across seasons. In this study, the host ranges of these two candidate agents were assessed by comparing the stem-boring curculionids and lepidopterans that are associated with S. madagascariensis with those associated with non-target Senecio species in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands region. DNA barcoding of the adults and endophagous larvae recovered during field sampling of S. madagascariensis and 17 non-target Senecio species in 2017/18, as well as those from earlier field surveys, was used to differentiate the insect species and elucidate their host-plant affinities. Although weevil larvae were recovered from the stems of seven non-target Senecio species, G. tricostalis was associated only with Senecio inaequidens DC. and Senecio skirrhodon DC., both in the S. madagascariensis species complex. Lepidopteran larvae were associated with three non-target Senecio species, all in the S. madagascariensis species complex, with M. elegans associated only with Senecio harveianus MacOwan and S. inaequidens. These results suggest that G. tricostalis and M. elegans have restricted host ranges and that further host-specificity studies in quarantine are warranted to demonstrate their suitability for release.
The antiviral drug molnupiravir was licensed for treating at-risk patients with COVID-19 on the basis of data from unvaccinated adults. We aimed to evaluate the safety and virological efficacy of ...molnupiravir in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals with COVID-19.
This randomised, placebo-controlled, double-blind, phase 2 trial (AGILE CST-2) was done at five National Institute for Health and Care Research sites in the UK. Eligible participants were adult (aged ≥18 years) outpatients with PCR-confirmed, mild-to-moderate SARS-CoV-2 infection who were within 5 days of symptom onset. Using permuted blocks (block size 2 or 4) and stratifying by site, participants were randomly assigned (1:1) to receive either molnupiravir (orally; 800 mg twice daily for 5 days) plus standard of care or matching placebo plus standard of care. The primary outcome was the time from randomisation to SARS-CoV-2 PCR negativity on nasopharyngeal swabs and was analysed by use of a Bayesian Cox proportional hazards model for estimating the probability of a superior virological response (hazard ratio HR>1) for molnupiravir versus placebo. Our primary model used a two-point prior based on equal prior probabilities (50%) that the HR was 1·0 or 1·5. We defined a priori that if the probability of a HR of more than 1 was more than 80% molnupiravir would be recommended for further testing. The primary outcome was analysed in the intention-to-treat population and safety was analysed in the safety population, comprising participants who had received at least one dose of allocated treatment. This trial is registered in ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT04746183, and the ISRCTN registry, ISRCTN27106947, and is ongoing.
Between Nov 18, 2020, and March 16, 2022, 1723 patients were assessed for eligibility, of whom 180 were randomly assigned to receive either molnupiravir (n=90) or placebo (n=90) and were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. 103 (57%) of 180 participants were female and 77 (43%) were male and 90 (50%) participants had received at least one dose of a COVID-19 vaccine. SARS-CoV-2 infections with the delta (B.1.617.2; 72 40% of 180), alpha (B.1.1.7; 37 21%), omicron (B.1.1.529; 38 21%), and EU1 (B.1.177; 28 16%) variants were represented. All 180 participants received at least one dose of treatment and four participants discontinued the study (one in the molnupiravir group and three in the placebo group). Participants in the molnupiravir group had a faster median time from randomisation to negative PCR (8 days 95% CI 8–9) than participants in the placebo group (11 days 10–11; HR 1·30, 95% credible interval 0·92–1·71; log-rank p=0·074). The probability of molnupiravir being superior to placebo (HR>1) was 75·4%, which was less than our threshold of 80%. 73 (81%) of 90 participants in the molnupiravir group and 68 (76%) of 90 participants in the placebo group had at least one adverse event by day 29. One participant in the molnupiravir group and three participants in the placebo group had an adverse event of a Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events grade 3 or higher severity. No participants died (due to any cause) during the trial.
We found molnupiravir to be well tolerated and, although our predefined threshold was not reached, we observed some evidence that molnupiravir has antiviral activity in vaccinated and unvaccinated individuals infected with a broad range of SARS-CoV-2 variants, although this evidence is not conclusive.
Ridgeback Biotherapeutics, the UK National Institute for Health and Care Research, the Medical Research Council, and the Wellcome Trust.
Fireweed, Senecio madagascariensis Poiret (Asteraceae), is a target for biological control in Australia and Hawaii. Candidate agents recorded in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa, the region of ...origin of the invasive populations, include stem-boring insects. The seasonal abundance of stem borers associated with S. madagascariensis populations was studied at four field sites in the KwaZulu-Natal Midlands region, during 2017/18. DNA barcoding was used to differentiate and link insect taxa with their endophagous larvae. Monthly sampling revealed that stem-boring larvae comprised largely Diptera (42% of specimens) and Curculionidae (38.9%), with Lepidoptera (19.8%) the least abundant. Differences in larval herbivore loads between sites were statistically significant, with the warmer and drier sites supporting 59% higher larval numbers. DNA barcoding focused on Curculionidae and Lepidoptera, which took precedence due to restricted host ranges. Of the four lineages of weevil larvae recorded, 95% of sequenced specimens comprised two maternal lineages of Gasteroclisus tricostalis (Thunberg). Collectively, G. tricostalis was detected across nine months of the year, with peaks in abundance in autumn and summer. Similarly, of the three lineages of lepidopteran larvae recorded, 83% of sequenced specimens comprised Metamesia elegans (Walsingham) (Tortricidae). Metamesia elegans was collected across six months of the year, with an autumn peak. These results support the prioritisation of G. tricostalis and M. elegans as the most promising stem-boring agents for S. madagascariensis. The higher seasonal abundance of G. tricostalis, together with the good track record of weevils in weed biocontrol, suggest that it should take precedence in subsequent laboratory host-range assessments.
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