Vincent de Paul and Saul Alinsky: Community Organizers

In this annual Saint Vincent de Paul lecture at DePaul University, Charles Plock explores the similarities between Vincent and Saul Alinsky as community organizers. Alinksy founded the Industrial Areas Foundation and organized different types of laborers in different parts of the United States so that they gained better working conditions. According to Plock, Vincent and Alinsky were practical people who were able to meet short-term needs while addressing the larger injustices that caused those needs. Plock writes, “Organizing people and empowering men and women is a truly Vincentian way of evangelizing” especially if it is done in partnership with the poor. He goes on to discuss coalition building, how it can be done, and what it can accomplish, citing specific successes and failures of community organizing

Residential mobility and childhood leukemia.

AimsStudies of environmental exposures and childhood leukemia studies do not usually account for residential mobility. Yet, in addition to being a potential risk factor, mobility can induce selection bias, confounding, or measurement error in such studies. Using data collected for California Powerline Study (CAPS), we attempt to disentangle the effect of mobility.MethodsWe analyzed data from a population-based case-control study of childhood leukemia using cases who were born in California and diagnosed between 1988 and 2008 and birth certificate controls. We used stratified logistic regression, case-only analysis, and propensity-score adjustments to assess predictors of residential mobility between birth and diagnosis, and account for potential confounding due to residential mobility.ResultsChildren who moved tended to be older, lived in housing other than single-family homes, had younger mothers and fewer siblings, and were of lower socioeconomic status. Odds ratios for leukemia among non-movers living <50 meters (m) from a 200+ kilovolt line (OR: 1.62; 95% CI: 0.72-3.65) and for calculated fields ≥ 0.4 microTesla (OR: 1.71; 95% CI: 0.65-4.52) were slightly higher than previously reported overall results. Adjustments for propensity scores based on all variables predictive of mobility, including dwelling type, increased odds ratios for leukemia to 2.61 (95% CI: 1.76-3.86) for living < 50 m from a 200 + kilovolt line and to 1.98 (1.11-3.52) for calculated fields. Individual or propensity-score adjustments for all variables, except dwelling type, did not materially change the estimates of power line exposures on childhood leukemia.ConclusionThe residential mobility of childhood leukemia cases varied by several sociodemographic characteristics, but not by the distance to the nearest power line or calculated magnetic fields. Mobility appears to be an unlikely explanation for the associations observed between power lines exposure and childhood leukemia

Use of materials in nest construction by Pied Flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca reflects localised habitat and geographical location.

Capsule Pied Flycatchers use different materials to construct their nests according to localised habitat and geographical location. Aims This study tested the hypotheses that birds would use the leaves they normally encountered within their breeding territories and that nest composition varied between geographical locations. Methods In Lancashire, Pied Flycatcher nests were collected from nestboxes built in locations dominated by different tree species and were deconstructed to determine which materials were used. Results Materials found in nests generally reflected the localised habitat around the nest rather than showing evidence of active collection from distant sources of material. Nests from Lancashire were significantly different in composition when compared with published data for nests from north Wales and central Spain. The use of moss was dominated by the use of one species in all but two nests. Conclusion Pied Flycatchers exhibit plasticity in nest construction behaviour because they were opportunistic in their choice of most nesting materials although they may be selective in their choice of moss

The association of depressive symptoms and pulmonary function in healthy adults

Objective: Chronic lung disease is exacerbated by comorbid psychiatric issues and treatment of depression may improve disease symptoms. We sought to add to the literature as to whether depression is associated with pulmonary function in healthy adults. Methods: In 2551 healthy adults from New York State, we studied the association of depression via the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression scale (CES-D) scale score and forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) and forced vital capacity (FVC) using general linear models and a cross-sectional design. Results: We identified statistically significant inverse trends in FEV1, FVC, FEV1%, and FVC% by CES-D category, especially in ever-smokers and men. When adjusted for covariates, the difference in FEV1 and FEV1% for smokers with more than 18.5 lifetime pack-years from CES-D scores 0 to 3 to 16 or more (depressed) is approximately 0.25 l and 5.0% (adjusted p values for trend are <.001 and .019, respectively). In men, we also observed statistically significant inverse trends in pulmonary function with increasing CES-D. Conclusions: We identified an inverse association of depressive symptoms and pulmonary function in healthy adults, especially in men and individuals with a heavy smoking history. Further studies of these associations are essential for the development and tailoring of interventions for the prevention and treatment of chronic lung disease

Les mammifères frugivores arboricoles nocturnes d'une forêt guyanaise : inter-relations plantes-animaux

The relationships between a community of nine nocturnal frugivorous mammal species and the plants on which they feed were studied during 14 consecutive months in a secondary forest near Cayenne, French Guiana. Two major trophic groups can be defined : 1. - The seed eaters, which open unripe fruits to eat their seeds. All are rodents : Coendou prehensilis (average adult weight 4 000 g), Echimys armatus (400 g) and Oryzomys concolor (35 g). 2. - The pulp eaters, which specialize in ripe fruits. They eat the pulp and swallow most of the seeds which are disseminated with their feces. Five of them are marsupials : Didelphis marsupialis (1 000 g), Philander opossum (400 g), Caluromys philander (300 g), Marmosa cinerea (80 g) and Marmosa murina (45 g). The sixth species is a Procyonid Carnivore : Potos flavus (3 000 g). These differing types of feeding strategies are discussed in relation to the morphology of the teeth and digestive tract of the species. Species with a similar diet and comparable body size generally live in different forest layers. The population density and biomass of these nocturnal frugivorous mammals were estimated on the basis of direct counts along forest trails at night, trapping results and radio-tracking. Out of the 127 plant species listed, 26 play a major role as a food source for the mammals studied. The trunk diameter (DBH) of the 13 most common species was measured, and the distribution of these trees mapped in the 8.5 ha study area. These 13 tree species account for approximately half of the total basal area, which is considered here as an index of standing crop biomass. The same 13 species account for 25 % of the total number of individual trees. Fruit production was measured during 13 months by weighing all fallen fruits along 1 200 m of trails. Fruit production and consumption of the same species were also estimated by the use of fruit collectors located under fruiting trees. Special attention was given to the phenological cycles of trees. Three types of fruiting cycles could thus be related to three different foraging strategies of the sympatric frugivorous mammals : 1. - Species with a low fruit production spread over an extended time period. Only a few fruit ripen at the same time, but fruiting takes place almost all year long. Such trees are early - or late - pionneer species ; their fruits have tiny seeds which are mainly eaten by small vertebrates which scatter them more or less homogeneously. 2. - Species with synchronous, but irregular cycles of fruit production. Such trees have rather large seeds which are very attractive to seed-eating rodents. These animals even destroy part of the fruit crop before ripening. The massive, irregular, and unpredictable fruiting cycles of these species may reduce seed predation by rodents . The few trees belonging to this category which do not bear fruit synchronously with their conspecifics may have their crop totally destroyed by rodents. 3. - Species with synchronous and regular cycles of fruit production. Such trees have rather large seeds, which are ingested by large frugivorous vertebrates and spread through their feces. Chemical or physical deterrents are generally present in such fruits before ripening. The tree species belonging to this category have successive and partly overlapping periods of fruit production. In this way, food is made available for pulp-eaters during most of the year. This pattern of fructification is presumably the end-result of a long lasting mutual interaction between plants and seed-scattering vertebrales. Frugivorous mammals apparently need two different kinds of fruit in their diet, sorne rich in sugar and others rich in fat. Trees producing these two categories of fruit produce their crop successively, so that the necess ary nutrients are made available throughout the year. A definite decrease in fruit production takes place in our study are ajust before the beginning of the dry season. The marsupial pulp-eaters have adapted to this temporary food shortage by storing fat during the season of plenty. However, their production of young is strongly affected by this seasonal food shortage, as shawn by an increased mortality rate of pouch young