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Endemic Hawaiian ecosystems evolved without ungulate herbivores. Feral goats, a common nonnative ungulate on Pacific Islands, browse and trample vegetation which can denude watersheds and expose them to soil erosion. Since 1993, the Hawaiʻi Division of Forestry and Wildlife has actively suppressed feral goat populations to protect critical watersheds in a 1600-ha management area on Mount Kaʻala in the leeward Waiʻanae mountain range of Oʻahu. Despite these ongoing efforts, total eradication has not been achieved to date. This study examined the movement patterns of one male and one female feral goat in this management area over one year in 2015-16 with GPS collars. The primary objective was to determine if feral goat movements are related to seasonality, moon phase and precipitation to inform future management efforts. The male goat exhibited a large range, extending out 2.5 km from its starting point and over an 800m elevation range within the year, traveling to lower elevations during the summer months. The female goat, in turn, had a much smaller range and stayed relatively close to its initial starting point. The male goat exhibited greater movement at night than during the day, and this was particularly evident during full moon phases; animals also exhibited aversion to movement during precipitation events. Hot spot analyses showed that the female was largely confined to one location throughout the course of the study, while the male moved to multiple locations but displayed a strong affinity to the eastern portion of the management area in the Fall season. These initial findings help build knowledge on local patterns of feral goat movement within this managed area that can be used for control efforts. GPS collars provided useful high-resolution data to support further adoption of this technology to better inform management decisions. Future management strategies should incorporate longer-term movement data sets from multiple individuals to better understand habituation (e.g., return to favored locations), patterns of sexual segregation and rutting. This would allow a more demographic approach for maintaining populations below levels that are considered detrimental to this critical habitat.

Objective To investigate human papillomavirus (HPV) DNA testing and p16/Ki-67 staining for detecting cervical intraepithelial grade 2 or worse (CIN2+) and CIN3 in women referred to colposcopy with minor abnormal cervical cytology low-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (LSIL) and atypical squamous cells of undermined significance (AS C-US). The clinical performance of both tests was evaluated as stand-alone tests and combined, for detection CIN2+ and CIN3 over 2 years. Methods ThinPrep® liquid-based cytology ( LBC) specimens were collected from 1349 women with repeat LSIL or ASC- US. HPV DNA was performed using Hybrid Capture. Where adequate material remained ( n = 471), p16/Ki-67 overexpression was assessed. Clinical performance for detection of histologically diagnosed CIN2+ and CIN3 was calculated. Results Approximately 62.2% of the population were positive for HPV DNA, and 30.4% were positive for p16/Ki-67. p16/Ki-67 showed no significant difference in positivity between LSIL and ASC- US referrals (34.3% versus 28.6%; P = 0.189). Women under 30 years had a higher rate of p16/Ki-67 compared to those over 30 years (36.0% versus 26.6%; P = 0.029). Overall HPV DNA testing produced a high sensitivity for detection of CIN3 of 95.8% compared to 79.2% for p16/Ki-67. In contrast, p16/Ki-67 expression offered a higher specificity, 75.2% versus 40.4% for detection of CIN3. Combining p16/Ki-67 with HPV DNA improved the accuracy in distinguishing between CIN3 and < CIN3. The absolute risk of CIN3 increased from 15.6% in women who were HPV DNA positive to 27% in women positive for HPV DNA and p16/Ki-67. Those negative for HPV DNA and p16/Ki-67 had a low risk of 1.2% of CIN3. Conclusion The addition of p16/Ki-67 to HPV DNA testing leads to a more accurate stratification of CIN in women presenting with minor cytological abnormalities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since 2012, the Herbicide Ballistic Technology (HBT) platform has been deployed in helicopter operations with a mission to eliminate nascent populations of the invasive plant species miconia (Miconia calvescens DC), which is spreading across the East Maui Watershed in Hawaii. The HBT platform is a refined pesticide application system that pneumatically delivers encapsulated herbicide projectiles (i.e., paintballs) from a long range (up to ~30 m) and varying attitude. This onboard system provides accurate, effective treatment of individual plant targets occupying remote, inaccessible portions of the forested landscape. Statistics of operational performance are acquired through GIS analyses of recorded GPS data assigned to treated plant targets. Recently, we have developed a telemetry system for HBT applications (HBT-TS) to enhance the attribute data of target treatments. The HBT-TS integrates a hardware sensor with the electropneumatic marker that is actuated by the trigger to generate time-stamped, geo-referenced attribute data, including target assignment, azimuth, tilt, and range determined from the applicator position, for every projectile discharged. With target assignments, the HBT-TS records the estimated dose applied to each target. Furthermore, the time stamps show that the actual time to administer projectiles (i.e., target treatment) is a minor component of the total time on target. By tracking the orientation and distance of the discharged projectile, we can calculate a precise offset target location relative to the applicator position and provide a more accurate interpretation of the herbicide use rate (g acid equivalent ha-1) based on the known amount of herbicide contained in each projectile and the final placement on the landscape. We acknowledge the challenges of GPS inaccuracies while recording in a dynamic environment (i.e., a moving platform in extreme topography), albeit with increased precision. Regardless, the current state of the HBT-TS technology enhances operational intelligence relevant to landscape-scale invasive species management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidation of magnesium metal in air has been used as an introductory experiment for determining the formula of a compound. The experiment described employs essentially the same laboratory procedure but is significantly more advanced in terms of information sought. Procedures and sample calculations/results are provided. (JN)