Home birth midwifery in the United States: evolutionary origins and modern challenges

Human childbirth is distinct in requiring-or at least strongly profiting from-the assistance of a knowledgeable attendant to support the mother during birth. With economic modernization, the role of that attendant is transformed, and increased access to obstetric interventions may bring biomedicine into conflict with anatomical, physiological, and behavioral adaptations for childbirth. This article provides an overview of the role of midwifery in human evolution and ways in which this evolutionary heritage is reflected in home birth in the contemporary United States. Opportunities remain for evolutionary scholars to apply their knowledge and skills to strengthen culturally consonant, evolutionarily grounded maternity care within a complex, multilevel, pluralistic medical system

Multiple ways of understanding Peru's changing climate

Published versio

Di-μ-oxido-bis-[(1,4,8,11-tetra-aza-cyclo-tetra-decane-κN,N',N'',N''')dimangan-ese(III,IV)] bis-(tetra-phenyl-borate) chloride acetonitrile disolvate.

The title compound, [Mn(2)O(2)(C(10)H(24)N(4))(2)](C(24)H(20)B)(2)Cl·2CH(3)CN, is a mixed-valent Mn(III)/Mn(IV) oxide-bridged mangan-ese dimer with one chloride and two tetra-phenyl-borate counter-anions. There are two non-coordinated mol-ecules of acetonitrile in the formula unit. A center of inversion is present between the two metal atoms, and, consequently, there is no distinction between Mn(III) and Mn(IV) metal centers. In the Mn(2)O(2) core, the Mn-O distances are 1.817 (3) and 1.821 (3) Å. The cyclam ligand is in the cis configuration. The chloride counter-anion resides on a center of symmetry, whereas the tetra-phenyl-borate counter-anion is in a general position. The cyclam ligand is hydrogen bonded to the acetonitrile as well as to the chloride anion. One of the phenyl rings of the anion and the acetonitrile solvent molecule are each disordered over two sets of sites

White Like Me film kicks off series

On Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, in the Bumps Room of the Memorial Union, students gathered to enjoy Chinese food and watch the film “White Like Me.” The showing was the first of the new “Dine-In Discourse” series hosted by the University of Maine Women’s Resource Center (WRC)

International Coffee Hour helps spreading culture across campus

Carrying supplies, treats and decorations through the halls of the Memorial Union, members of the International Student Association (ISA), Office of International Programs and Black Student Union (BSU) gathered together to host their weekly Coffee Hour. Held every Friday at 4 p.m. in the North Pod of the Union, International Coffee Hour is a sponsored event meant to share and spread diverse cultures represented on campus. The hour of celebration also gives students and staff a chance to connect with students from different countries and backgrounds. “This event was in celebration of Black History Month, and it went better than we could have expected, with a great turnout,” Silvestre Guzman, director of the Office of Multicultural Student Life, said. “These activities expose international students to the different types of heritage months we have here in America, and also what kinds of programs and fun things we do at UMaine. It helps us build an inclusive community where international students, as well as multicultural and domestic students, can feel comfortable learning and growing.

White Like Me film kicks off series

On Tuesday, Feb. 19, 2019, in the Bumps Room of the Memorial Union, students gathered to enjoy Chinese food and watch the film “White Like Me.” The showing was the first of the new “Dine-In Discourse” series hosted by the University of Maine Women’s Resource Center (WRC).https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/racial_justice/1141/thumbnail.jp

Modeling Impacts of Light Absorbing Particles on Glacial Melt and Albedo: Construction, Quantified Impacts, and Simulations from the Cordillera Blanca, Peru

Glaciers act as important water storage units that supply both human and ecological communities. However, glacial systems are threatened by rising global temperatures as well as light absorbing particles (LAPs) on the surface and within the snowpack that increase energy absorption and decrease albedo. The majority of hydrological models used to examine glacial melt at the watershed level assume a constant albedo of 0.75 for all snow surfaces. This assumption neglects the impact that LAPs have on albedo, energy processes, and melt rates. Additionally, current models used to simulate changes in albedo due to LAPs do not separate the impacts of LAPs on the surface and LAPs within the snowpack. The model presented in this study aims to separate the impacts of LAPs on the surface, LAPs within the snowpack, and temperature on melt and albedo within the glacial snowpack system. Scenarios aimed at quantifying such impacts as well as identifying the behavior of the model within specified input ranges were run using experimental data. The concentration of LAPs in the snowpack had the greatest impact on all output variables from the model. Additionally, simulations of LAP accumulation at the col and summit of Pisco in the Cordillera Blanca, Peru were run in order to compare model outputs with raw field data. The model produced simulated LAP concentrations within ±22.1 ng g-1 of the measured value at the col and ±0.01 ng g-1 at the summit. Finally, scenarios were run in order to simulate towers created through anthropogenic tampering of the surface albedo. The model produced simulated tower heights of up to 2.5 meters. This model may be constructed further in order to be integrated into a larger hydrological model, which could have broad implications for the impact of glacial melt due to LAPs within watershed systems

Celebrating diversity through a Multicultural Thanksgiving

On the evening of Thursday, Nov. 9, 2017, dozens of people celebrated Thanksgiving in the the North Pod of the Memorial Union at the University of Maine to celebrate the annual Multicultural Thanksgiving potluck. Hosted and organized by the Office of Multicultural Student Life (OMSL) and the Student Heritage Alliance Council (SHAC), the purpose of this event was to celebrate and share the real meaning of Thanksgiving by bringing together people of all religions, cultures and ethnicities for a diverse meal. “This event is a great way to meet new people and experience foods and traditions from other countries and cultures. The wide variety and range of ethnic foods meantthat there was something for everybody, and there was a great turnout,” Toni Tello, a first-year student, said.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/racial_justice/1151/thumbnail.jp