Observations on the Conservation of the Chesapeake Blue Crab, Callinectes sapidus Rathbun

It is a matter of common knowledge among conservationists that the blue crab supply of the Chesapeake is rapidly declining, being reduced from a level of about 17 millions in 1931 to that of about 10 million crabs in 1937. (Md. Rept. 1937). Numerous explanations have been advanced to account for this decline. One outstanding reason is the taking of such large numbers of sponge (berried) crabs and mated female crabs, a practice which undoubtedly reduces the potential supply of young crabs for the ensuing year. Another menace to the survival of the blue crab lies in the way in which soft crabs are handled in the industry. The current methods of transporting and holding crabs on shedding floats are responsible for the loss of a very significant percentage of the total numbers taken. From a standpoint of practical conservation, no single one of our Chesapeake commercial fisheries merits more immediate attention than the blue crab fishery. This paper embodies the results of observations made on the current practices followed by the industry in handling crabs, and the effect of these practices on survival rate from a conservation viewpoint

Intracanopy adjustment of leaf-level thermal tolerance is associated with microclimatic variation across the canopy of a desert tree (\u3ci\u3eAcacia papyrocarpa\u3c/i\u3e)

Tree crowns are spatially heterogeneous, sometimes resulting in significant variation in microclimate across the canopy, particularly with respect to temperature. Yet it is not known whether such localised temperature variation equates to intracanopy variation in leaf-level physiological thermal tolerance. Here, we studied whether microclimate variation across the canopy of a dominant desert tree equated to localised variation in leaf thermal thresholds (T50) among four canopy positions: upper south, upper north, lower south, lower north. Principal component analysis was used to generate a composite climatic stress variable (CSTRESS) from canopy temperature, vapour pressure deficit, and relative humidity. We also determined the average number of days that maximum temperatures exceeded the air temperature equating to this species’ critical threshold of 49 °C (AT49). To estimate how closely leaf temperatures track ambient temperature, we predicted the thermal time constant (τ) for leaves at each canopy position. We found that CSTRESS and AT49 were significantly greater in lower and north-facing positions in the canopy. Differences in wind speed with height resulted in significantly longer predicted τ for leaves positioned at lower, north-facing positions. Variation in these drivers was correlated with significantly higher T50 for leaves in these more environmentally stressful canopy positions. Our findings suggest that this species may optimise resources to protect against thermal damage at a whole-plant level. They also indicate that, particularly in desert environments with steep intracanopy microclimatic gradients, whole-plant carbon models could substantially under- or overestimate productivity under heat stress, depending on where in the canopy T50 is measured

Spatiotemporal dynamics of high-temperature tolerance in Australian arid-zone plants

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Science.Many aspects of the Earth’s climate are predicted with high certainty to undergo substantial and rapid changes in the near future, potentially resulting in a plethora of new high stress conditions to which plants must respond to survive. Living in extreme environments, desert plants are expected to be among the most vulnerable. Due to the thermal dependence of photosynthesis, changes in temperature are particularly important for plants. Extreme high-temperature events are becoming more frequent and intense and projected to increase in many regions. General expectations are that species’ vulnerability to increased temperatures varies with latitude, but less is known about how local-scale habitat variation influences thermal tolerance. Variation in the ability to plastically adjust thermal tolerance will undoubtedly influence the distribution of different species and affect community composition. Yet, the extent of variation in thermal acclimatisation in plant species is poorly understood. The overall objective of my PhD research was to provide insight into leaf-level thermal responses of plants under extreme high temperatures in light of a warming climate. Through a series of linked experiments, my research demonstrates how dynamic and varied the heat stress response can be, including cross-species variation of critical thermal limits, heat stress recovery, acclimatisation patterns within and among species over time, and spatial differences relating to native microhabitat. I developed a novel protocol for measuring biologically relevant, species-specific thermal damage thresholds (Chapter 2), which I subsequently used to demonstrate seasonal and spatial effects on species’ thermal responses (Chapters 3 and 4). The latter findings emphasise that a deeper understanding of plant thermal responses requires insight into their capacity to shift their thermal response over time and space. I then showed that species’ innate physiological thermal tolerance aligns in multi-trait space with two alternative leaf-level morphological pathways of thermal protection (Chapter 5). This raises the possibility that other thermal protective processes, e.g., heat shock protein production and increased membrane stability, may also sit along these axes. Lastly, I demonstrated intracanopy variation in leaf-level physiological response, which expands our mechanistic understanding of plant-environment interactions and could benefit models predicting the cost to species of a warming climate (Chapter 6). By revealing these and other key thermal response patterns, this thesis offers a meaningful contribution to the field of plant ecophysiology, and provides information that is crucial for our understanding and management of desert– and potentially many other – ecosystems

The cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance impacts police-civilian interaction

This research examines how the cultural dimension of uncertainty avoidance—a person’s (in)tolerance for uncertain or unknown situations—impacts communication alignment in crisis negotiations. We hypothesized that perpetrators high on uncertainty avoidance would respond better to negotiators who use formal language and legitimize their position with reference to law, procedures, and moral codes. Data were transcriptions of 53 negotiations from a Dutch–German police training initiative, where police negotiators interacted with a high (German) and low (Dutch) uncertainty-avoidant mock perpetrator. Consistent with accounts of cross-cultural interaction, negotiators tended to achieve more alignment in within-culture interactions compared to cross-cultural interactions. Moreover, German negotiators, who scored higher on uncertainty avoidance than the Dutch negotiators, were found to use more legitimizing messages and more formal language than their Dutch counterparts. Critically, irrespective of the negotiators cultural background, the use of these behaviors was a significant moderator of the degree to which negotiator and perpetrator aligned their communicative frames: Using legitimizing and formal language helped with German perpetrators but had no effect on Dutch perpetrators. Our findings show the effects of cultural background on communication alignment and demonstrate the benefits of using more formal language and messages that emphasize law and regulations when interacting with perpetrators high on uncertainty avoidanc

ImageJ2: ImageJ for the next generation of scientific image data

ImageJ is an image analysis program extensively used in the biological sciences and beyond. Due to its ease of use, recordable macro language, and extensible plug-in architecture, ImageJ enjoys contributions from non-programmers, amateur programmers, and professional developers alike. Enabling such a diversity of contributors has resulted in a large community that spans the biological and physical sciences. However, a rapidly growing user base, diverging plugin suites, and technical limitations have revealed a clear need for a concerted software engineering effort to support emerging imaging paradigms, to ensure the software's ability to handle the requirements of modern science. Due to these new and emerging challenges in scientific imaging, ImageJ is at a critical development crossroads. We present ImageJ2, a total redesign of ImageJ offering a host of new functionality. It separates concerns, fully decoupling the data model from the user interface. It emphasizes integration with external applications to maximize interoperability. Its robust new plugin framework allows everything from image formats, to scripting languages, to visualization to be extended by the community. The redesigned data model supports arbitrarily large, N-dimensional datasets, which are increasingly common in modern image acquisition. Despite the scope of these changes, backwards compatibility is maintained such that this new functionality can be seamlessly integrated with the classic ImageJ interface, allowing users and developers to migrate to these new methods at their own pace. ImageJ2 provides a framework engineered for flexibility, intended to support these requirements as well as accommodate future needs

Intersecting race and gender stereotypes:Implications for group-level attitudes

Two studies examined the relationship between explicit stereotyping and prejudice by investigating how stereotyping of minority men and women may be differentially related to prejudice. Based on research and theory related to the intersectional invisibility hypothesis (Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2008), we hypothesized that stereotyping of minority men would be more strongly related to prejudice than stereotyping of minority women. Supporting our hypothesis, in both the United Kingdom (Study 1) and the United States (Study 2), when stereotyping of Black men and women were entered into the same regression model, only stereotyping of Black men predicted prejudice. Results were inconsistent in regard to South Asians and East Asians. Results are discussed in terms of the intersectional invisibility hypothesis (Purdie-Vaughns & Eibach, 2008) and the gendered nature of the relationship between stereotyping and attitudes

A retrospective cohort study of predictors and interventions that influence cooperation with mask induction in children

BackgroundUncooperative pediatric mask induction is linked to perioperative anxiety. Although some risk factors for uncooperative inductions have been reported, there are no large cohort studies that identify intrinsic patient characteristics associated with cooperation.AimThe primary aim was to identify patient characteristics associated with cooperative mask inductions. The secondary aim was to determine whether preoperative interventions were associated with increased cooperation.MethodsThis retrospective cohort study included patients 2- 11 years old and ASA class I- IV who underwent mask induction. Our primary outcome of interest was cooperation with mask induction, which was correlated against the Induction Compliance Checklist. The variables analyzed for association with cooperation were age, sex, ASA class, class of surgery, preferred language, and race. Interventions examined for association with induction cooperation included premedication with midazolam, exposure to distraction technology, parental presence, and the presence of a Child Life Specialist. Multivariate mixed- effects logistic regression was used to assess the relationship between patient characteristics and cooperation. A separate multivariate mixed- effects logistic regression was used to examine the association between preoperative interventions and cooperation.Results9692 patients underwent 23 474 procedures during the study period. 3372 patients undergoing 5980 procedures met inclusion criteria. The only patient characteristic associated with increased cooperation was age (OR 1.20, p- value 0.03). Involvement of Child Life Specialists was associated with increased cooperation (OR 4.44, p- value = 0.048) while parental/guardian presence was associated with decreased cooperation (OR 0.38, p- value = 0.002).ConclusionIn this cohort, increasing age was the only patient characteristic found to be associated with increased cooperation with mask induction. Preoperative intervention by a Child Life Specialists was the sole intervention associated with improved cooperation.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162757/2/pan13930.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/162757/1/pan13930_am.pd