Farmers Markets and Single-Use Plastic: Why Environmentally Conscious Consumers Don’t Bring Reusable Bags

This study looks at the role of Extension in helping local officials reduce plastic bag use at farmers markets in three Lake County, OH communities. We distributed free reusable bags to shoppers and conducted an education and outreach program. We then took observations to determine if the free reusable bags were being used. We also invited shoppers to take a voluntary survey about their environmental attitudes, why or why not they use the reusable bags, and how best to reduce plastic bag use moving forward. Results from the study suggest that supplying free reusable bags at farmer markets is not an effective strategy for Extension professionals attempting to reduce plastic bag use. Instead, we recommend working with local officials to develop financial incentives and disincentives tied to the type of bag option shoppers use, implement plastic bag bans at markets, and conduct locally-focused education and outreach. Although shoppers’ environmental literacy and desire for sustainability is high, it is shown that behavior change is unlikely to occur without financial or policy incentives

Microchip Capillary Electrophoresis

For the study of neuromodulation in Cancer borealis we have designed a microfluidic device to separate and detect bioamine concentrations with a high temporal resolution. Our goal is to use this device to measure the concentration of continuous bioamine microdialysis samples directly from the pericardial cavity (the area surrounding the heart) of Cancer borealis. The microfluidic device that we designed is made from polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) and exhibits an off-channel configuration of capillary electrophoresis (CE) by incorporating micellar electrokinetic chromatography (MEKC). CE is used to separate bioamines based on charge and size due to the applied electrical potential. In the off-channel configuration, the potential is applied across the separation channel and grounded by the palladium decoupler, which lies just before the detector. Microchip CE is advantageous because it uses small amounts of analyte and completes fast run times. We will use MEKC to separate dopamine and octopamine, since they are structural isomers, by their difference in affinity to sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) micelles. This results in different elution times for dopamine and octopamine. We were able to drive the fluid in the correct direction. The creation of this device has valuable implications, allowing for baseline concentrations of neuromodulators with the Cancer borealis to be established. The effect of different stimuli on these crabs can then be more accurately determined

Morelli v. Cedel: Ignoring Jurisdictional Limits and Outflanking Congress Towards the Internationalization of the ADEA

Throughout the Twentieth Century, legislatures at all levels of American government have sought admirably to protect workers from a host of economic and societal ills by enacting broad-based remedial legislation. At times, these same legislatures have abdicated responsibility to the executive bureaucracy for further regulatory development. Without ensuring the attendant transfer of political accountability commensurate with the authority of the regulatory state, the delicate balance of powers crafted by the founders becomes skewed. Armed with the combined might of legislative fiat and unfettered enforcement power, the heavy hand of an over-zealous executive bureaucracy extends itself beyond the bounds initially established by the legislature in what is known as “mission creep.” And, in the modern economy, the ramifications of mission creep are global.\u

Novel phosphite and nutrient application to control Phytophthora cinnamomi disease

Systemic treatment of stems with injections of phosphite liquid and novel soluble capsule implants of phosphite, PHOSCAP® (phosphorous, potassium, iron, manganese, zinc, boron, copper, magnesium and molybdenum) and MEDICAP MD® (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, iron, manganese, and zinc), were applied to Banksia grandis and Eucalyptus marginata trees to control Phytophthora cinnamomi. Four weeks after treatment application, excised branches were under-bark inoculated with P. cinnamomi. In B. grandis, phosphite implants and liquid injections significantly reduced lesion length compared to the control, and MEDICAP MD® implants; however, there was no significant difference in lesion length between trees treated with phosphite implants and liquid injections and PHOSCAP implants. In E. marginata, phosphite implants and liquid injections significantly reduced lesion length compared to the control, PHOSCAP® and MEDICAP MD® implants. In B. grandis and E. marginata, PHOSCAP® and MEDICAP MD® implants reduced the average lesion length compared to the control; however, the interactions were not significant. Results show that both liquid phosphite injections and novel phosphite implants are effective at controlling lesion extension in B. grandis and E. marginata, caused by P. cinnamomi. Further work is required to determine if nutrient application reduces Phytophthora disease through improving plant health

Adolescent mental health: Challenges with maternal noncompliance

The leading cause of suicide ideation, attempts, and completion in adolescents is persistent and unresolved parental conflict. National statistics show extremely high rates of childhood neglect and abuse are perpetrated most often by single mothers. Psychiatric disorders arising from maternal–child dysfunction are well-documented. However, resources to prevent offspring victimization are lacking. Here, we report maternal neglect of a 15-year-old male brought to the psychiatric emergency room for suicidal ideation. An inpatient treatment plan including pharmacotherapy, family therapy and psychological testing was initiated. The patient’s mother failed to attend clinic appointments or family therapy sessions. Clinician attempts to engage the mother in the treatment plan was met with verbal assaults, aggression, and threatening behavior. The patient decompensated in relation to the mother’s actions. Child Protective Services were contacted and a follow-up assessment with the patient and mother is pending. Psychiatric treatment of the mother may be a necessary intervention and prevention regimen for both the adolescent and the mother. Without consistent Child Protective Services oversight, medical and psychosocial follow-up, the prognosis and quality of life for this adolescent is considered very poor. Stringent mental health law and institutional policies are needed to adequately intercede and protect adolescents with mental illness

Community Response to Coastal Storm Hazards: Analyzing Vulnerability & Resilience

Coastal storms and flooding are among the most destructive natural hazards worldwide. Climatic changes are predicted to worsen these hazards by producing increased precipitation and more frequent and severe storms. For some populations, the physical and economic impact of storm hazards are difficult to absorb due to a lack of institutional resources and large percentage of low-income home and business owners. Residents can be at risk due to environmental factors, such as proximity of housing to flood zones, as well as sociodemographic challenges like poverty. In response, applied research is needed to identify communities that are increasingly vulnerable to storm hazards, and to support municipalities and local residents with building resilience. This study accomplishes this by analyzing the vulnerability of 42 communities in Northeast Ohio in the United States. Communities are categorized for vulnerability according to an index of fivebiophysical and fivesociodemographic indicators. All indicators are combined to produce a vulnerability index, which will be used to support climate mitigation strategies.AUTHOR AFFILIATION: Scott Hardy, OSU Extension educator, Ohio Sea Grant, [email protected] (Corresponding Author)Coastal storms and flooding are among the most destructive natural hazards worldwide. Climatic changes are predicted to worsen these hazards by producing increased precipitation and more frequent and severe storms. For some populations, the physical and economic impact of storm hazards are difficult to absorb due to a lack of institutional resources and large percentage of low-income home and business owners. Residents can be at risk due to environmental factors, such as proximity of housing to flood zones, as well as sociodemographic challenges like poverty. In response, applied research is needed to identify communities that are increasingly vulnerable to storm hazards, and to support municipalities and local residents with building resilience. This study accomplishes this by analyzing the vulnerability of 42 communities in Northeast Ohio. Communities are categorized for vulnerability according to an index of five biophysical and five sociodemographic indicators

Local cloning of entangled states

We investigate the conditions under which a set \SC of pure bipartite quantum states on a $D\times D$ system can be locally cloned deterministically by separable operations, when at least one of the states is full Schmidt rank. We allow for the possibility of cloning using a resource state that is less than maximally entangled. Our results include that: (i) all states in \SC must be full Schmidt rank and equally entangled under the $G$-concurrence measure, and (ii) the set \SC can be extended to a larger clonable set generated by a finite group $G$ of order $|G|=N$, the number of states in the larger set. It is then shown that any local cloning apparatus is capable of cloning a number of states that divides $D$ exactly. We provide a complete solution for two central problems in local cloning, giving necessary and sufficient conditions for (i) when a set of maximally entangled states can be locally cloned, valid for all $D$; and (ii) local cloning of entangled qubit states with non-vanishing entanglement. In both of these cases, a maximally entangled resource is necessary and sufficient, and the states must be related to each other by local unitary "shift" operations. These shifts are determined by the group structure, so need not be simple cyclic permutations. Assuming this shifted form and partially entangled states, then in D=3 we show that a maximally entangled resource is again necessary and sufficient, while for higher dimensional systems, we find that the resource state must be strictly more entangled than the states in \SC. All of our necessary conditions for separable operations are also necessary conditions for LOCC, since the latter is a proper subset of the former. In fact, all our results hold for LOCC, as our sufficient conditions are demonstrated for LOCC, directly.Comment: REVTEX 15 pages, 1 figure, minor modifications. Same as the published version. Any comments are welcome

Gravitational Microlensing Near Caustics I: Folds

We study the local behavior of gravitational lensing near fold catastrophes. Using a generic form for the lensing map near a fold, we determine the observable properties of the lensed images, focusing on the case when the individual images are unresolved, i.e., microlensing. Allowing for images not associated with the fold, we derive analytic expressions for the photometric and astrometric behavior near a generic fold caustic. We show how this form reduces to the more familiar linear caustic, which lenses a nearby source into two images which have equal magnification, opposite parity, and are equidistant from the critical curve. In this case, the simplicity and high degree of symmetry allows for the derivation of semi-analytic expressions for the photometric and astrometric deviations in the presence of finite sources with arbitrary surface brightness profiles. We use our results to derive some basic properties of astrometric microlensing near folds, in particular we predict for finite sources with uniform and limb darkening profiles, the detailed shape of the astrometric curve as the source crosses a fold. We find that the astrometric effects of limb darkening will be difficult to detect with the currently planned accuracy of the Space Interferometry Mission. We verify our results by numerically calculating the expected astrometric shift for the photometrically well-covered Galactic binary lensing event OGLE-1999-BUL-23, finding excellent agreement with our analytic expressions. Our results can be applied to any lensing system with fold caustics, including Galactic binary lenses and quasar microlensing.Comment: 37 pages, 7 figures. Revised version includes an expanded discussion of applications. Accepted to ApJ, to appear in the August 1, 2002 issue (v574