A Tribute to Clarence Frankton 1906-2000

First paragraph:Two events which say much about the way botanist Clarence (“Clarrie’) Frankton viewed the world and the study of its natural environment occurred in mid-May 2000, only weeks before his death 11 June. Although succumbing to the ravages of cancer and strokes which left him confined to his west-end Ottawa, Ontario home, he could only be described as “chipper” and even buoyant when botanical discoveries were put before him. Days earlier he had directed his wife Enid back to the shores of the Ottawa River to collect a particular specimen. Clarrie had been working on the identity of this non descript shrub since the previous fall and he was sure it would be in flower now. It was, and despite his substantial physical challenges, he worked the specimen through and determined it to be Prunus americana, precisely the rare (for the Ottawa Valley) introduced taxon that he had argued for all along. And in light of my earlier skepticism regarding that possibility, he made sure I was reminded right away how it all had turned out. His playful and inspiring competitiveness, however, was just as quickly put aside a few days later as he lauded the discovery of a locally rare native species (Cardamine bulbosa) and enthusiastically assessed the implications of the find. Clarrie was like that, always looking forward, always building upon what he already knew, always keenly anticipating the new challenge ahead

Origins and History of The Ottawa Field-Naturalists' Club

The Ottawa Field-Naturalists’ Club (OFNC) represents an unbroken chain of organized, non-governmental natural history investigation and education dating back to the early days of the city of Ottawa itself. The Club originated in 1863 with the formation of the Ottawa Natural History Society which became the Natural History branch of the Ottawa Literary and Scientific Society in 1870, from which the OFNC formally separated in March 1879. Since that time, it has grown into Canada’s oldest and largest regional natural history organization and has produced a diverse and internationally recognized publication program. Since 1880 The Canadian Field-Naturalist and its predecessors have constituted the scientific core of the OFNC’s publication program, with Trail & Landscape being an important Ottawa Valley publication since the late 1960s. The importance of both publications to the growth and health of the organization is reflected in the major surges in Club membership experienced when each of these publications was established. The focus of membership activities has changed over the history of the OFNC, with enlightened natural resource management, then original scientific research and local exploration directing energies in the early decades. By the early years of the 20th century the publications program become the raison d’etre of the Club, almost to the exclusion of local field activities. A renewed interest in field discovery and the growth of conservation awareness in the 1960s, however, rekindled local activities and re-established the balance which has sustained the organization throughout its history. Natural environment education has remained a critical theme within OFNC programs and activities. Over and above inspiring the professional careers and private interests of thousands of individuals for more than a century, the OFNC has had an important and lasting impact on the conservation of natural environment features and landscapes in Canada and North America

Observations on the water distribution and extractable sugar content in carrot slices after pulsed electric field treatment

peer-reviewedThe impact of pulsed electric field (PEF) processing conditions on the distribution of water in carrot tissue and extractability of soluble sugars from carrot slices was studied. Time domain NMR relaxometry was used to investigate the water proton mobility in PEF-treated carrot samples. Three distinct transverse relaxation peaks were observed in untreated carrots. After PEF treatment only two slightly-overlapping peaks were found; these were attributed to water present in the cytoplasm and vacuole of carrot xylem and phloem tissues. This post-treatment observation indicated an increase in water permeability of tissues and/or a loss of integrity in the tonoplast. In general, the stronger the electric field applied, the lower the area representing transverse relaxation (T2) values irrespective of treatment duration. Moreover an increase in sucrose, β- and α-glucose and fructose concentrations of carrot slice extracts after PEF treatment suggested increases in both cell wall and vacuole permeability as a result of exposure to pulsed electric fields.The authors acknowledge financial support from the Irish Phytochemical Food Network (IPFN) project funded under the Food Institutional Research Measure (FIRM, 06/TNI/AFRC6) of the Irish Department of Agriculture, Food and Marine. Dr. Aguiló-Aguayo thanks Generalitat of Catalonia for the postdoctoral grant Beatriu de Pinós (BP-DGR2010). E. Balagueró thanks the Lifelong Learning Programme for the internship grant Leonardo da Vinci MOTIVA3 (201 1-1-ES1-LEO02-34225)

The effectiveness of community engagement in public health interventions for disadvantaged groups: a meta-analysis

BACKGROUND: Inequalities in health are acknowledged in many developed countries, whereby disadvantaged groups systematically suffer from worse health outcomes such as lower life expectancy than non-disadvantaged groups. Engaging members of disadvantaged communities in public health initiatives has been suggested as a way to reduce health inequities. This systematic review was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of public health interventions that engage the community on a range of health outcomes across diverse health issues. METHODS: We searched the following sources for systematic reviews of public health interventions: Cochrane CDSR and CENTRAL, Campbell Library, DARE, NIHR HTA programme website, HTA database, and DoPHER. Through the identified reviews, we collated a database of primary studies that appeared to be relevant, and screened the full-text documents of those primary studies against our inclusion criteria. In parallel, we searched the NHS EED and TRoPHI databases for additional primary studies. For the purposes of these analyses, study design was limited to randomised and non-randomised controlled trials. Only interventions conducted in OECD countries and published since 1990 were included. We conducted a random effects meta-analysis of health behaviour, health consequences, self-efficacy, and social support outcomes, and a narrative summary of community outcomes. We tested a range of moderator variables, with a particular emphasis on the model of community engagement used as a potential moderator of intervention effectiveness. RESULTS: Of the 9,467 primary studies scanned, we identified 131 for inclusion in the meta-analysis. The overall effect size for health behaviour outcomes is d = .33 (95% CI .26, .40). The interventions were also effective in increasing health consequences (d = .16, 95% CI .06, .27); health behaviour self-efficacy (d = .41, 95% CI .16, .65) and perceived social support (d = .41, 95% CI .23, .65). Although the type of community engagement was not a significant moderator of effect, we identified some trends across studies. CONCLUSIONS: There is solid evidence that community engagement interventions have a positive impact on a range of health outcomes across various conditions. There is insufficient evidence to determine whether one particular model of community engagement is more effective than any other

Modern sedative agents and techniques used in dentistry for patients with special needs: A review

According to the World Health Organisation, approximately 1.3 billion people worldwide experience substantial disability due to physical, mental or sensory impairment. People with special needs require special consideration and more time or altered delivery methods when receiving dental treatments. Various factors, such as patients' lack of cooperation, cognitive impairment and complex medical status, may lead dental practitioners to recommend conscious sedation. Several pharmacological agents and administrative routes are available, which achieve varying levels of sedation ranging from minimal to deep. Pre-operative assessment and careful case selection are necessary to determine the appropriate sedative agent, route of administration and level of sedation for each patient. Thus, a thorough understanding of the pharmacokinetics, risks and benefits, and implications of various sedatives available for PSN is essential to achieve the desired clinical outcomes. This review critically presents the considerations associated with the use of various sedative agents for PSN in dentistry. Considerations include patients' pre-anaesthesia medical comorbidities, cardiorespiratory adverse effects and cooperativeness, and the viable alternative treatment modalities

A randomized clinical trial investigating the effect of three vital tooth bleaching protocols on oral health-related quality of life

Objectives: This study aimed to compare changes in oral health-related quality of life (OHRQoL) resulting from three vital tooth bleaching protocols. Methods: The participants (n = 105) were randomly assigned to one of three vital bleaching treatment groups: home bleaching (HB), in-office bleaching (IOB), or combined bleaching (CB). HB involved the use of custom-made trays and 10% carbamide peroxide for a 14-day treatment period. IOB utilized 37.5% hydrogen peroxide applied in three cycles. CB treatment involved the use of IOB followed by HB. Tooth colour change was evaluated using a shade guide (ΔVS) and a digital spectrophotometry device (ΔES). The Oral Health Impact Profile-14 (OHIP-14) and Oral Impact on Daily Performance-22 (OIDP-22) instruments were used to assess changes in OHRQoL at baseline, 15-days and 6-month recalls. Linear mixed models were used to estimate between- and within-group differences. Results: All bleaching protocols led to significant improvements in overall OHIP-14 scores at the 6-month recall (p ≤ 0.037). CB and IOB treatments were associated with more substantial positive impacts on overall scores, psychological discomfort, physical disability (CB only), and psychological disability (CB only) compared to HB (p ≤ 0.011). Significant enhancements in OIDP-22 scores were observed in the CB and HB groups at the 6-month recall compared to baseline (p ≤ 0.006), with evidence indicating that these improvements were greater in the CB group compared to the IOB group (p = 0.007). Conclusion: All bleaching treatments demonstrated a positive impact on OHRQoL. However, the positive impact was most consistent across domains and age groups in the CB group. The positive impact was less pronounced in older age groups

The Infestation of Fungus Cultures by Mites.(Its Nature and Control, together with some Remarks on the toxic Properties of Pyridine.)

RESP-33

Development of a biodegradable plastic film extruded with the addition of a Brazilian propolis by-product

The development of new materials environmentally friendly has become an important market niche for the food industry. The agro-industrial wastes and by-products can be an alternative for the production of biodegradable food packaging. The work aimed to produce biodegradable plastic film extruded with antioxidant and antibacterial properties by the joining of cassava starch and Brazilian propolis by-product (BPB). The volatile profile of BPB, Brazilian propolis by-product film (BPBF), and control film (CF) were analyzed by gas chromatography. The mechanical, antioxidant, and antibacterial properties of the films were also assessed. Eighty-seven volatile compounds were detected with aldehydes and terpenoids predominating in the samples. The major terpenoid detected in the samples was the 2-pinen-10-ol followed by α-copaene. Benzaldehyde and benzenepropanoic acid ethyl ester were the major aldehyde and ester classes present in the films. The BPBF exhibited promising mechanical properties showing the highest Elasticity modulus (11.96 Mpa) and excellent antioxidant (8.45 mmol Trolox equivalent/g) and antibacterial (12.5 mg/mL against Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella Typhimurium) activities. The valorization of agro-industrial by-products following the current trends to environmental care can be a sustainable alternative for the development of a plastic into which the propolis by-product is incorporated in biodegradable packaginginfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio