Boundaries: A Boundary Setting and Social Competence Program for Parents and Youth

Learning to set age-appropriate boundaries is an integral element of positive youth development. Both parents and youth need guidance in rule-rsetting and negotiating boundaries. North Dakota State University Extension created Boundaries, a program using parent-youth relationships to teach the importance of setting and following rules or boundaries in various environments. Boundaries was written for 7th- through 12th-grade youth and their parents. This study provides an overview of the program’s objectives and curriculum and shares findings from evaluation efforts conducted with over 60 youth and adults during the program’s pilot phase. In six pilot sessions, respondents completed single-session retrospective questionnaires and answered open-ended questions, which were analyzed using descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, and thematic review. Adults reported higher satisfaction than youth with program content and instruction. Both youth and adults increased their knowledge of program-specific content related to boundaries and relationships. Open-ended responses offered positive feedback and suggestions for program improvement. Results suggested the program was perceived positively and increased youth and adult knowledge of boundary setting and social competence in family life and other settings. Key recommendations include increased rigorous evaluation to measure program impacts and focus on effective implementation strategies for the program

First Record of Pseudorabies in Feral Swine in Nebraska

In 2007, two new populations of feral swine were discovered in Nance and Valley counties, Nebraska, USA. Necropsies and serologic testing was done on two individuals from the Nance County herd. Results indicated that a lactating sow had positive antibodies for pseudorabies virus (PRV). Investigations conducted by Nebraska Game and Parks Commission Law Enforcement division confirmed that the infected individual was transported illegally to Nebraska, USA, from Texas, USA. All domestic swine herds located within an 8 km radius of the infected individual tested negative for antibodies to PRV. Our results provide a clear example of how diseases can spread because of anthropogenic activities and highlight the need for disease surveillance and monitoring in the import of invasive species

Artificial turf: chemical flux and development of silicone wristband partitioning coefficients

This work uses passive samplers to identify PAHs and OPAHs not previously associated with artificial turf, and to provide the first quantitative measure of in situ flux of semi-volatile contaminants on artificial turf fields. Both air (1.5-m height) and turf air (immediately above turf surface) were sampled using two sampling materials: low-density polyethylene and silicone. Utilizing a broad targeted screen, we assess both artificial turf and samples of crumb rubber for over 1530 chemicals including pesticides, phthalates, and personal care products. We report the presence of 25 chemicals that have not yet been reported in artificial turf literature, including some with known human effects. The samplers were also quantitatively analyzed for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons yielding gas-phase concentrations at breathing height and surface level—the first such report on an artificial turf outdoor field. Turf pore-air and air chemicals were highly correlated at all sites, and particularly at the recently installed indoor site. Flux of chemicals between air and turf surface appear to follow field age although more research is needed to confirm this trend. The thermal extraction process and silicone passive samplers used are suitable for larger-scale environmental sampling campaigns that aim for less solvent and sample processing. By co-deploying silicone passive samplers and conventional low-density polyethylene, partitioning coefficients are derived that can be used for future silicone passive air sampling environmental assessment. This study provides an initial demonstration that passive samplers can be used to quantify volatile and semi-volatile organic chemicals from artificial turf.publishedVersio

Conflicting Loyalties Facing In-House Counsel: Ethical Care and Feeding of the Ravenous Multi-Headed Client The Fifth Annual Symposium on Legal Malpractice and Professional Responsibility.

Because of corporate scandals that shook the business world, legislative, corporate, and public fingers immediately pointed at corporate attorneys for allowing such egregious conduct to occur. In 1983, the American Bar Association (ABA) passed Model Rule 1.13, which promoted the entity theory. Under the entity theory, the organization is the in-house counsel’s only client; and the in-house counsel’s primary duty is to act in the best interest of the organization. Whether the issue is deciding to make an executive compensation disclosure in a proxy statement, taking on a dual role within the organization, acting in compliance with heightened professional responsibility requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), or preparing witnesses for corporate investigations, in-house counsel will avoid ethical hot water if they consistently act in the best interest of the organization. In an effort to protect stakeholders, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) passed Rule 205. Rule 205 is designed to increase confidence in public companies by ensuring that attorneys who represent issuers report up the corporate ladder evidence of material violations by their officers and employees. The result is that Rule 205 has made corporate attorneys into “gatekeepers.” Rule 205’s permissive disclosure provision acts essentially as a whistleblower license for attorneys to use in a last-ditch effort to protect third parties when the highest authorities within the organization fail to take appropriate remedial measures. Thus, in-house counsel is expected to be the first line of defense against corporate irresponsibility and is expected to take a stand against impropriety

Conflicting Loyalties Facing In-House Counsel: Ethical Care and Feeding of the Ravenous Multi-Headed Client The Fifth Annual Symposium on Legal Malpractice and Professional Responsibility.

Because of corporate scandals that shook the business world, legislative, corporate, and public fingers immediately pointed at corporate attorneys for allowing such egregious conduct to occur. In 1983, the American Bar Association (ABA) passed Model Rule 1.13, which promoted the entity theory. Under the entity theory, the organization is the in-house counsel’s only client; and the in-house counsel’s primary duty is to act in the best interest of the organization. Whether the issue is deciding to make an executive compensation disclosure in a proxy statement, taking on a dual role within the organization, acting in compliance with heightened professional responsibility requirements under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (SOX), or preparing witnesses for corporate investigations, in-house counsel will avoid ethical hot water if they consistently act in the best interest of the organization. In an effort to protect stakeholders, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) passed Rule 205. Rule 205 is designed to increase confidence in public companies by ensuring that attorneys who represent issuers report up the corporate ladder evidence of material violations by their officers and employees. The result is that Rule 205 has made corporate attorneys into “gatekeepers.” Rule 205’s permissive disclosure provision acts essentially as a whistleblower license for attorneys to use in a last-ditch effort to protect third parties when the highest authorities within the organization fail to take appropriate remedial measures. Thus, in-house counsel is expected to be the first line of defense against corporate irresponsibility and is expected to take a stand against impropriety

Vaccination of Rhesus Macaques with a Recombinant Measles Virus Expressing Interleukin-12 Alters Humoral and Cellular Immune Responses

Lack of a vaccine for infants and immunosuppression after infection are problems associated with measles virus (MV). Because interleukin (IL)-12 has been used successfully as a vaccine adjuvant and because inhibition of IL-12 expression has been associated with immunosuppression during measles, the addition of IL-12 may enhance the immune response to MV. To determine the effect of IL-12 supplementation, rhesus macaques were vaccinated with a recombinant MV expressing IL-12; these macaques had increased interferon-γ production by CD4+ T cells, decreased production of IL-4, and lower levels of MV-specific immunoglobulin G4 and neutralizing antibody. Lymphoproliferative responses to mitogen were not improved. IL-12 supplementation altered the T helper type 2 bias of the immune response after MV vaccination, had a detrimental effect on the protective neutralizing antibody response, and did not improve other manifestations of immunosuppression. Reduced IL-12 levels are not the sole factor in MV-induced immunosuppressio

Damage Tolerance Analysis of a Pressurized Liquid Oxygen Tank

A damage tolerance assessment was conducted of an 8,000 gallon pressurized Liquid Oxygen (LOX) tank. The LOX tank is constructed of a stainless steel pressure vessel enclosed by a thermal-insulating vacuum jacket. The vessel is pressurized to 2,250 psi with gaseous nitrogen resulting in both thermal and pressure stresses on the tank wall. Finite element analyses were performed on the tank to characterize the stresses from operation. Engineering material data was found from both the construction of the tank and the technical literature. An initial damage state was assumed based on records of a nondestructive inspection performed on the tank. The damage tolerance analyses were conducted using the NASGRO computer code. This paper contains the assumptions, and justifications, made for the input parameters to the damage tolerance analyses and the results of the damage tolerance analyses with a discussion on the operational safety of the LOX tank

Multicentury changes in ocean and land contributions to the climate-carbon feedback

Author Posting. © American Geophysical Union, 2015. This article is posted here by permission of American Geophysical Union for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Global Biogeochemical Cycles 29 (2015): 744–759, doi:10.1002/2014GB005079.Improved constraints on carbon cycle responses to climate change are needed to inform mitigation policy, yet our understanding of how these responses may evolve after 2100 remains highly uncertain. Using the Community Earth System Model (v1.0), we quantified climate-carbon feedbacks from 1850 to 2300 for the Representative Concentration Pathway 8.5 and its extension. In three simulations, land and ocean biogeochemical processes experienced the same trajectory of increasing atmospheric CO2. Each simulation had a different degree of radiative coupling for CO2 and other greenhouse gases and aerosols, enabling diagnosis of feedbacks. In a fully coupled simulation, global mean surface air temperature increased by 9.3 K from 1850 to 2300, with 4.4 K of this warming occurring after 2100. Excluding CO2, warming from other greenhouse gases and aerosols was 1.6 K by 2300, near a 2 K target needed to avoid dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Ocean contributions to the climate-carbon feedback increased considerably over time and exceeded contributions from land after 2100. The sensitivity of ocean carbon to climate change was found to be proportional to changes in ocean heat content, as a consequence of this heat modifying transport pathways for anthropogenic CO2 inflow and solubility of dissolved inorganic carbon. By 2300, climate change reduced cumulative ocean uptake by 330 Pg C, from 1410 Pg C to 1080 Pg C. Land fluxes similarly diverged over time, with climate change reducing stocks by 232 Pg C. Regional influence of climate change on carbon stocks was largest in the North Atlantic Ocean and tropical forests of South America. Our analysis suggests that after 2100, oceans may become as important as terrestrial ecosystems in regulating the magnitude of the climate-carbon feedback.We are grateful for support from the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science and the National Science Foundation (NSF). J.T.R. and F.H. received support from the Regional and Global Climate Modeling Program in the Climate and Environmental Sciences Division of the Biological and Environmental Research (BER) Program in the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Science. J.T.R., K.L., E.M., W.F., J.K.M., S.C.D., and N.N.M. received funding from the NSF project “Collaborative Research: Improved Regional and Decadal Predictions of the Carbon Cycle“ (AGS-1048827, AGS-1021776, and AGS-1048890). The Community Earth System Modeling project receives support from both NSF and BER.2015-12-0

It Takes Two to Tango: When and Where Dual Nutrient (N & P) Reductions Are Needed to Protect Lakes and Downstream Ecosystems

Preventing harmful algal blooms (HABs) is needed to protect lakes and downstream ecosystems. Traditionally, reducing phosphorus (P) inputs was the prescribed solution for lakes, based on the assumption that P universally limits HAB formation. Reduction of P inputs has decreased HABs in many lakes, but was not successful in others. Thus, the "P-only" paradigm is overgeneralized. Whole-lake experiments indicate that HABs are often stimulated more by combined P and nitrogen (N) enrichment rather than N or P alone, indicating that the dynamics of both nutrients are important for HAB control. The changing paradigm from P-only to consideration of dual nutrient control is supported by studies indicating that (1) biological N fixation cannot always meet lake ecosystem N needs, and (2) that anthropogenic N and P loading has increased dramatically in recent decades. Sediment P accumulation supports long-term internal loading, while N may escape via denitrification, leading to perpetual N deficits. Hence, controlling both N and P inputs will help control HABs in some lakes and also reduce N export to downstream N-sensitive ecosystems. Managers should consider whether balanced control of N and P will most effectively reduce HABs along the freshwater-marine continuum