A preliminary study of the vegetation of vernal pools of Acadia National Park, Mount Desert Island

We conducted a preliminary floristic study of six vernal pools in Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, Maine. Plant species were recorded on three sampling dates from April to October, 2008. Sixty-five vascular plant species from 26 families were recorded. Of these, 27 are considered occasional or uncommon in Acadia National Park. Thirteen species are new reports for vernal pools in the northeastern United States. This represents the first published study of the vernal pool flora of Acadia National Par

Lichens of six vernal pools in Acadia National Park, ME, USA

Whereas lichen-habitat relations have been well-documented globally, literature on lichens of vernal pools is scant. We surveyed six vernal pools at Acadia National Park on Mount Desert Island, Maine, USA for their lichen diversity. Sixty-seven species were identified, including seven species that are new reports for Acadia National Park: Fuscidea arboricola, Hypogymnia incurvoides, Lepraria finkii, Phaeographis inusta, Ropalospora viridis, Usnea flammea, and Violella fucata. Five species are considered uncommon or only locally common in New England: Everniastrum catawbiense, Hypogymnia krogiae, Pseudevernia cladonia, Usnea flammea, and Usnea merrillii. This work represents the first survey of lichens from vernal pools in Acadia National Park and strongly suggests that previous efforts at documenting species at the Park have underestimated its species diversity. More work should be conducted to determine whether a unique assemblage of lichens occurs in association with this unique habitat type

A study of cultivation and sowing systems for cereals.

End of Project ReportDue to the pressure on cereal margins growers are seeking ways of reducing their costs of production. Reduced cultivation may provide cheaper and faster crop establishment, but in the past has been subject to problems with (poor crop establishment) weeds and soil compaction. With modern cultivation and sowing technology and methodology it may be possible to overcome these difficulties. In addition reduced cultivation is considered to be more environmentally friendly and sustainable than the conventional plough-based system. With these considerations in mind it was decided to start an experiment in autumn 2000 to compare the conventional system (PL) with reduced cultivation (RC) for crop establishment, and to examine the effect of incorporating the straw into then soil or baling and removing it. The treatments were assessed on winter wheat, and winter and spring barley. The parameters assessed included – crop establishment, yield and quality effects on disease levels, invertebrate pests and beneficials (aphids, slugs, earthworms, beetles), and soil conditions. The work reported here was conducted on four trial sites at Oak Park, Carlow and Knockbeg, Co. Laois from 2000 to 2003. the objectives were to establish the efficacy of RC compared with PL and to its effects on the parameters outlined above. Plant establishment was lower after RC in most of the experiments. Winter wheat yields were good irrespective of the number of plants established and there were no significant differences between cultivation or straw disposal method. The relative yields of the PL and RC treatments in winter barley varied over the three years; in 2001 there was no difference, in 2002 PL yielded 1 t/ha more than RC, while in 2003 the PL area produced 2 t/ha extra. Spring barley yields were similar on the PL and RC treatments. Broadleaved weeds were not a problem on the PL or RC treatments but there were more annual grass weeds on the RC plots. This was particularly serious in the winter barley experiments where sterile brome (Bromus sterilis) had a big effect on yield by 2003. annual meadow grass (Poa annua) was a problem in both PL and RC areas if not controlled by timely herbicide application; this was particularly so on the headland areas in the spring barley field. Disease assessment on the winter wheat trail showed no significant differences in Take-all or Eyespot levels between cultivation or straw disposal methods, although Take-all levels tended to be lower on the RC plots. Soil strength as measured by cone penetrometer and shear vane was higher on the RC treatments. In the winter wheat there was no difference in slug numbers between any of the treatments. Leaf damage by slugs increased in RC relative to PL but not significantly, in 2003. No below ground slug damage was found. Earthworm numbers in the winter barley increased significantly on the RC treatment relative to the PL as the study progressed. Straw incorporation increased earthworm numbers on both PL and RC treatments. Allolobophora chlorotia was the most common species in 2004. In the winter wheat the RC and straw incorporation increased earthworm numbers. Cultivation method had a greater effect on ground beetle numbers than method of straw disposal. Large species (e.g. Pterostichies malanarius) were favoured by RC while smaller species (e.g. Bembidon species) were more numerous in the PL plots. Molecular studies on virus diseases, vectors and vector-predators are underway in progress. In the invertebrate pests and beneficials investigations the RC winter barley had 11% fewer aphids and 27% less BYDV than the PL. Incorporating straw reduced aphid numbers and virus incidence by 36% and 32% respectively; the comparable values for the PL + straw treatment were 15% and 15%. In the winter wheat there was less BYDV in the RC plots than the PL + less were the straw was incorporated than where the straw was removed. Aphid infestation of wheat ears was low in the three years of the experiment. The insecticide seed treatment imidacloprid significantly reduced aphid numbers and virus incidence in winter barley but was less effective than a single insecticide spray in controlling the disease. The seed treatment was more effective in controlling BYDV in RC than in the PL plots. Estimations of slug numbers in the winter barley showed that the dominant species was the grey field slug (Deroceras reticulatum). Slug numbers increased significantly on all treatments between 2001 and 2004. In November 2004, slugs were significantly more numerous in the RC treatments than in the PL areas. Leaf damage was proportional to slug populations, but the slugs did not damage the barely seed or reduce plant populations in continuous winter barley under RC. Root and stem diseases (Take-all and Eyespot) were not nay worse under RC than after PL. In fact there was a tendency towards lower disease levels on the RC areas and there was significantly less sharp eyespot on the RC treatment

Discerning suicide in drug intoxication deaths: Paucity and primacy of suicide notes and psychiatric history

Objective A paucity of corroborative psychological and psychiatric evidence may be inhibiting detection of drug intoxication suicides in the United States. We evaluated the relative importance of suicide notes and psychiatric history in the classification of suicide by drug intoxication versus firearm (gunshot wound) plus hanging/suffocation—the other two major, but overtly violent methods. Methods This observational multilevel (individual/county), multivariable study employed a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) to analyze pooled suicides and undetermined intent deaths, as possible suicides, among the population aged 15 years and older in the 17 states participating in the National Violent Death Reporting System throughout 2011–2013. The outcome measure was relative odds of suicide versus undetermined classification, adjusted for demographics, precipitating circumstances, and investigation characteristics. Results A suicide note, prior suicide attempt, or affective disorder was documented in less than one-third of suicides and one-quarter of undetermined deaths. The prevalence gaps were larger among drug intoxication cases than gunshot/hanging cases. The latter were more likely than intoxication cases to be classified as suicide versus undetermined manner of death (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 41.14; 95% CI, 34.43–49.15), as were cases documenting a suicide note (OR, 33.90; 95% CI, 26.11–44.05), prior suicide attempt (OR, 2.42; 95% CI, 2.11–2.77), or depression (OR, 1.61; 95% CI, 1.38 to 1.88), or bipolar disorder (OR, 1.41; 95% CI, 1.10–1.81). Stratification by mechanism/cause intensified the association between a note and suicide classification for intoxication cases (OR, 45.43; 95% CI, 31.06–66.58). Prior suicide attempt (OR, 2.64; 95% CI, 2.19–3.18) and depression (OR, 1.48; 95% CI, 1.17–1.87) were associated with suicide classification in intoxication but not gunshot/hanging cases. Conclusions Without psychological/psychiatric evidence contributing to manner of death classification, suicide by drug intoxication in the US is likely profoundly under-reported. Findings harbor adverse implications for surveillance, etiologic understanding, and prevention of suicides and drug deaths

Countering the Australian 'ndrangheta: The criminalisation of mafia behaviour in Australia between national and comparative criminal law

Mafia-type criminal groups belonging to, or originated from, the Calabrian ‘ndrangheta from Southern Italy, have been object of recent academic research and media attention in Australia. The Australian ‘ndrangheta, as qualified form of organised crime, poses new challenges for law enforcement in the country. This paper briefly looks at the strategies to fight organised crime in Australia, with specific focus on anti-association laws. By using a comparative approach, the paper will look at the criminalisation of mafias as qualified forms of organised crime in other two jurisdictions, Italy and the USA, to advocate for an effective mafia criminalisation in Australia. In conclusion, this paper will argue that, in order to also fight mafia phenomena, criminal law in Australia should focus on behaviours of organised crime groups rather than only on the criminalisation of proscribed associations and their illegal activities

Codes of Fair Competition: The National Recovery Act, 1933-1935, and the Women’s Dress Manufacturing Industry

Controversial issues prevalent in today’s ready-to-wear apparel industry include the right of workers to join unions, the proliferation of sweatshops and sweatshop conditions, and design piracy. The idea of forming codes of conduct to establish criteria of ethical business practices is not new to the apparel industry. Indeed, the women’s dress manufacturing industry discussed and debated codes of fair competition under the New Deal Policies of the National Recovery Act (NRA) of 1933 to 1935. Primary sources for this study included governmental hearings in the establishment of the NRA Dress Code, The New York Times, Women’s Wear Daily, and the Journal of the Patent Office Society. The history of the NRA codes implemented in the U.S. women’s ready-to-wear apparel industry provides an important case study highlighting the difficulties and complexities of creating and achieving industry-wide standard practices through self-regulation. The failure of the NRA demonstrates that even with the joint cooperation of industry, labor, and consumer groups and the backing of the force of law, codes of fair competition proved impossible to enforce

Depression, Rational Identity and the Educational Imperative: Concordance-Finding in Tricky Diagnostic Moments

It is well-documented, within most medical and much health psychology, that many individuals find diagnoses of depression confusing or even objectionable. Within a corpus of research and practical clinical guidance dominated by the social-cognitive paradigm, the explanation for resistance to a depression diagnosis (or advice pertaining to it) within specific interactions is bordering on the canonical; patients misunderstand depression itself, often as an output of an associated social stigma that distorts public knowledge. The best way to overcome corollary resistance in situ is, logically thus, taken to be a clarification of the true (clinical) nature of depression. In this paper, exploring the diagnosis of depression in UK primary care contexts, the social-cognitive position embedded in contemporary medical reasoning around this matter is critically addressed. It is firstly highlighted how, even in a great deal of extant public health research, the link between an individual holding “correct” medical knowledge and being actively compliant with it is far from inevitable. Secondly, and with respect to concerns around direct communication in clinical contexts, a body of research emergent of Discursive Psychology and Conversation Analysis is explored so as to shed light on how non-cognitive concerns (not least those around the local interactional management of a patient’s social identity) that can inform the manner in which ostensibly “tricky” medical talk plays-out in practice, especially in cases where a mental illness is at stake. Finally, observations are drawn together in a formal Discursive Psychological analysis of a small but highly illustrative sample of three cases where a depression diagnosis is initially questioned or disputed by a patient in primary care but, following further in-consultation activity, concordance with the diagnosis is ultimately reached—a specific issue hitherto unaddressed in either DP or CA fields. These cases specifically reveal the coordinative attention of interlocutors to immediate concerns regarding how the patient might maintain a sense of being an everyday and rational witness to their own lives; indeed, the very act of challenging the diagnosis emerges as a means by which a patient can open up conversational space within the consultation to address such issues. While the veracity of the social-cognitive model is not deemed to be without foundation herein, it is concluded that attention to local interactional concerns might firstly be accorded, such that the practical social concerns and skills of practitioners and patients alike might not be overlooked in the endeavour to produce generally applicable theories