APPLE PRODUCTION, VOLE CONTROL, AND WILD TURKEYS: FINDING A BALANCE IN VERMONT

Meadow voles (Crotus pennsylvanicus) and pine voles (Crotus inetorum) cause extensive damage to apple trees by gnawing and girdling trunk and root systems. In 1991, approximately 70% of Vermont\u27s 90 commercial apple producers were using zinc phosphide (ZP) treated cracked corn to manage vole damage. From November 1991 throughout January 1992, 36 confirmed wild turkey deaths were attributed to the broadcast application of ZP treated cracked coin in Vermont orchards. As a result of public concern regarding impacts to nontarget wild turkeys, a working group was formed with representation of various state and federal agencies as well as the apple industry to address this issue and review current vole damage management strategies. Since 1992, statewide voluntary compliance with working group recommendations that included shifting to ZP treated rolled oats have reduced the risk of wild turkey exposure to ZP. In this paper we discuss the effectiveness of the working group recommendations as measured by a mail survey of apple producers as well as a preliminary 4-year analysis of statewide rodenticide sales

Photoabsorption Spectra of Atoms in Parallel Electric and Magnetic Fields

Measurements have been made of the absorption spectrum of Ba from the 6s6p 1P1 level to states near the ionization threshold in parallel electric and magnetic fields. The absorption spectrum shows oscillations superposed on a smooth background. Each oscillation is correlated with a closed orbit of the electron. At strong electric fields, trajectories are regular, and closed orbits form orderly patterns. For weak electric fields, trajectories are chaotic, and many more closed orbits are present. Many of these are produced by bifurcations as the electric field is reduced

Strophatrypa, a new genus of Brachiopoda (Atrypidae), from upper Silurian strata of the Alexander terrane, Southeast Alaska

The atrypid brachiopod Strophatrypa skaflestadi gen. et sp. nov. occurs in unnamed upper Silurian strata exposed near the town of Hoonah on northeast Chichagof Island, Southeast Alaska. The new genus represents the first strophic atrypoid with many characters otherwise similar to those of the Atrypidae. Although this genus is known from only a single bed at one Alaskan locality, its unique morphology is worth noting in anticipation that similar forms may be discovered elsewhere in the Alexander terrane, or especially somewhere in Siberia where other taxa restricted to the Silurian of the Alexander terrane are shared. This paper represents a further contribution to our limited knowledge of the Silurian brachiopods of the Alexander terrane of Southeast Alaska.Keywords: new genus, Southeast Alaska, U.S.A., palaeogeography, Alexander terrane, late Silurian, Brachiopoda, palaeoecology, slope facie

Device-measured physical activity and cardiometabolic health: the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting, and Sleep (ProPASS) consortium

Background and Aims: Physical inactivity, sedentary behaviour (SB), and inadequate sleep are key behavioural risk factors of cardiometabolic diseases. Each behaviour is mainly considered in isolation, despite clear behavioural and biological interdependencies. The aim of this study was to investigate associations of five-part movement compositions with adiposity and cardiometabolic biomarkers.Methods: Cross-sectional data from six studies (n = 15 253 participants; five countries) from the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep consortium were analysed. Device-measured time spent in sleep, SB, standing, light-intensity physical activity (LIPA), and moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) made up the composition. Outcomes included body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, HDL cholesterol, total:HDL cholesterol ratio, triglycerides, and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). Compositional linear regression examined associations between compositions and outcomes, including modelling time reallocation between behaviours.Results: The average daily composition of the sample (age: 53.7 ± 9.7 years; 54.7% female) was 7.7h sleeping, 10.4h sedentary, 3.1h standing, 1.5h LIPA, and 1.3h MVPA. A greater MVPA proportion and smaller SB proportion were associated with better outcomes. Reallocating time from SB, standing, LIPA, or sleep into MVPA resulted in better scores across all outcomes. For example, replacing 30min of SB, sleep, standing, or LIPA with MVPA was associated with-0.63 (95% confidence interval-0.48,-0.79),-0.43 (-0.25,-0.59),-0.40 (-0.25,-0.56), and-0.15 (0.05,-0.34) kg/m2 lower BMI, respectively. Greater relative standing time was beneficial, whereas sleep had a detrimental association when replacing LIPA/MVPA and positive association when replacing SB. The minimal displacement of any behaviour into MVPA for improved cardiometabolic health ranged from 3.8 (HbA1c) to 12.7 (triglycerides) min/day. Conclusions: Compositional data analyses revealed a distinct hierarchy of behaviours. Moderate-vigorous physical activity demonstrated the strongest, most time-efficient protective associations with cardiometabolic outcomes. Theoretical benefits from reallocating SB into sleep, standing, or LIPA required substantial changes in daily activity.</p

Estimating uncertainty in ecosystem budget calculations

© The Authors, 2010. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial License. The definitive version was published in Ecosystems 13 (2010): 239-248, doi:10.1007/s10021-010-9315-8.Ecosystem nutrient budgets often report values for pools and fluxes without any indication of uncertainty, which makes it difficult to evaluate the significance of findings or make comparisons across systems. We present an example, implemented in Excel, of a Monte Carlo approach to estimating error in calculating the N content of vegetation at the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest in New Hampshire. The total N content of trees was estimated at 847 kg ha−1 with an uncertainty of 8%, expressed as the standard deviation divided by the mean (the coefficient of variation). The individual sources of uncertainty were as follows: uncertainty in allometric equations (5%), uncertainty in tissue N concentrations (3%), uncertainty due to plot variability (6%, based on a sample of 15 plots of 0.05 ha), and uncertainty due to tree diameter measurement error (0.02%). In addition to allowing estimation of uncertainty in budget estimates, this approach can be used to assess which measurements should be improved to reduce uncertainty in the calculated values. This exercise was possible because the uncertainty in the parameters and equations that we used was made available by previous researchers. It is important to provide the error statistics with regression results if they are to be used in later calculations; archiving the data makes resampling analyses possible for future researchers. When conducted using a Monte Carlo framework, the analysis of uncertainty in complex calculations does not have to be difficult and should be standard practice when constructing ecosystem budgets

National culture and tourist destination choice in the UK and Venezuela: an exploratory and preliminary study

National culture determines consumer attitudes and behaviour. While this holds true for tourism consumption, little research has sought to better understand the effect of culture on tourist destination choice. The geographical scope of analysis has also been restricted. This study employs the Hofstede’s cultural dimensions framework to conduct an exploratory, qualitative evaluation of the influence of the tourist cultural background on destination choice. It focuses on the UK and Venezuela, the two countries with significant cultural differences and forecast growth in outbound tourism. The study shows the distinct role of culture in tourist preferences for destination choice and structure of travel groups. The effect of culture is also recorded in how tourists research destinations prior to visit and perceive travel risks, thus ultimately influencing their motivation to travel. Recommendations are developed on how to integrate knowledge on the cultural background of tourists into tourism management and policy-making practices

Device-measured physical activity and cardiometabolic health: the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting, and Sleep (ProPASS) consortium

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Physical inactivity, sedentary behaviour (SB), and inadequate sleep are key behavioural risk factors of cardiometabolic diseases. Each behaviour is mainly considered in isolation, despite clear behavioural and biological interdependencies. The aim of this study was to investigate associations of five-part movement compositions with adiposity and cardiometabolic biomarkers. METHODS: Cross-sectional data from six studies (n = 15 253 participants; five countries) from the Prospective Physical Activity, Sitting and Sleep consortium were analysed. Device-measured time spent in sleep, SB, standing, light-intensity physical activity (LIPA), and moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) made up the composition. Outcomes included body mass index (BMI), waist circumference, HDL cholesterol, total:HDL cholesterol ratio, triglycerides, and glycated haemoglobin (HbA1c). Compositional linear regression examined associations between compositions and outcomes, including modelling time reallocation between behaviours. RESULTS: The average daily composition of the sample (age: 53.7 ± 9.7 years; 54.7% female) was 7.7 h sleeping, 10.4 h sedentary, 3.1 h standing, 1.5 h LIPA, and 1.3 h MVPA. A greater MVPA proportion and smaller SB proportion were associated with better outcomes. Reallocating time from SB, standing, LIPA, or sleep into MVPA resulted in better scores across all outcomes. For example, replacing 30 min of SB, sleep, standing, or LIPA with MVPA was associated with -0.63 (95% confidence interval -0.48, -0.79), -0.43 (-0.25, -0.59), -0.40 (-0.25, -0.56), and -0.15 (0.05, -0.34) kg/m2 lower BMI, respectively. Greater relative standing time was beneficial, whereas sleep had a detrimental association when replacing LIPA/MVPA and positive association when replacing SB. The minimal displacement of any behaviour into MVPA for improved cardiometabolic health ranged from 3.8 (HbA1c) to 12.7 (triglycerides) min/day. CONCLUSIONS: Compositional data analyses revealed a distinct hierarchy of behaviours. Moderate-vigorous physical activity demonstrated the strongest, most time-efficient protective associations with cardiometabolic outcomes. Theoretical benefits from reallocating SB into sleep, standing, or LIPA required substantial changes in daily activity