European Beech (Fagus Sylvatica) Observations

The location of tree #604 is by the walkway to the library, and right across the street from the Salve Regina Mercy Center. I observed this tree from September 24, 2021 until December 9, 2021. This tree is a European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) tree.https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/bio140_arboretum/1034/thumbnail.jp

iWaste: Analyzing Apple\u27s Sustainable Technology Production

Electronic waste is a global issue that has not received the attention it deserves; there is an enormous amount of e-waste from the rapid industrialization of many countries throughout the world. Apple is the largest technology company in the world, with the highest revenue and the largest number of products manufactured. Therefore, it is important to see what they are doing to mitigate their efforts to the electronic waste crisis that is expected to increase in the next seven years. Three policy options are examined in this paper to evaluate and determine how well Apple is following the goals within their 2022 Environmental Progress Report.https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/glo100/1004/thumbnail.jp

Outcomes of a Pharmacist-Managed Clinic for Underserved Persons with Unmanaged Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Background A multidisciplinary approach is recommended for the management of type 2 diabetes mellitus (DM). Aim To evaluate the impact of a pharmacist intervention on haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c), systolic blood pressure (SBP), diastolic blood pressure (DBP), and diabetes-related hospitalisations in an underserved cohort with unmanaged type 2 DM. Methods This analysis was a retrospective cohort study. Criteria for inclusion were persons with unmanaged type 2 DM defined as HbA1c values ≥8% at time of enrolment, ≥18 years old, and enrolment in a pharmacist-managed clinic for ≥12 months. Pre- and post-intervention differences in HbA1c, SBP and DBP values were assessed using repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA). The risk of diabetes-related hospitalisations was estimated during the 12 months prior and during the 12 months post-intervention, and the relative risk (RR) was calculated. Results Mean HbA1c values at 3, 6 and 12 months post-intervention were lower than baseline values (p \u3c 0.05). There was no significant difference in mean HbA1c values at 6 or 12 months compared to 3 months post intervention. Mean SBP values at 3, 6 and 12 months were lower than baseline (p \u3c 0.05). Likewise, mean DBP values at 6 and 12 months were lower than baseline (p \u3c 0.05). The estimated RR of diabetes-related hospitalisations was 0.40 (95% CI: 0.20–0.83; p = 0.013). Conclusion Enrolment in a pharmacist-managed diabetes program was associated with a significant reduction in HbA1c, SBP and DBP and reduction in risk of diabetes-related hospitalisations in an underserved cohort of patients with diabetes over a 12-month period

Spatially organizing future genders: an artistic intervention in the creation of a hir-toilet

Toilets, a neglected facility in the study of human relations at work and beyond, have become increasingly important in discussions about future experiences of gender diversity. To further investigate the spatial production of gender and its potential expressions, we transformed a unisex single-occupancy toilet at Uppsala University into an all-gender or ‘hir-toilet’.1 With the aim to disrupt and expose the dominant spatial organization of the two binary genders, we inaugurated the hir-toilet with the help of a performance artist. We describe and analyse internal and external responses thereto, using Lefebvre’s work on dialectics and space. Focusing on how space is variously lived, conceived and perceived, our analysis questions the very rationale of gender categorizations. The results contribute to a renewed critique of binary thinking in the organization of workplaces by extending our understanding of how space and human relations mutually constitute each other

Social marketing and social influences: Using social ecology as a theoretical framework

Social marketing has traditionally been dominated by an individualistic model of design. In this work, the authors apply a social ecology model to the theory and practice of social marketing, demonstrating that a multilevel framework is required to fully expose and account for the complexity of sociocultural and environmental effects. The authors have generated a diagnostic tool for this use. The paper then provides a detailed demonstration of the potential power of the tool by applying it to three illustrative case studies: one on encouraging safer driving, the second promoting sustainable travel, and the third increasing early detection of lung cancer. © 2010 Westburn Publishers Ltd

Fish Intelligence, Sentience and Ethics

Fish are one of the most highly utilised vertebrate taxa by humans; they are harvested from wild stocks as part of global fishing industries, grown under intensive aquaculture conditions, are the most common pet and are widely used for scientific research. But fish are seldom afforded the same level of compassion or welfare as warm-blooded vertebrates. Part of the problem is the large gap between people’s perception of fish intelligence and the scientific reality. This is an important issue because public perception guides government policy. The perception of an animal’s intelligence often drives our decision whether or not to include them in our moral circle. From a welfare perspective, most researchers would suggest that if an animal is sentient, then it can most likely suffer and should therefore be offered some form of formal protection. There has been a debate about fish welfare for decades which centres on the question of whether they are sentient or conscious. The implications for affording the same level of protection to fish as other vertebrates are great, not least because of fishing-related industries. Here, I review the current state of knowledge of fish cognition starting with their sensory perception and moving on to cognition. The review reveals that fish perception and cognitive abilities often match or exceed other vertebrates. A review of the evidence for pain perception strongly suggests that fish experience pain in a manner similar to the rest of the vertebrates. Although scientists cannot provide a definitive answer on the level of consciousness for any nonhuman vertebrate, the extensive evidence of fish behavioural and cognitive sophistication and pain perception suggests that best practice would be to lend fish the same level of protection as any other vertebrate

Tempo and Pattern of Avian Brain Size Evolution

Relative brain sizes in birds can rival those of primates, but large-scale patterns and drivers of avian brain evolution remain elusive. Here, we explore the evolution of the fundamental brain-body scaling relationship across the origin and evolution of birds. Using a comprehensive dataset sampling> 2,000 modern birds, fossil birds, and theropod dinosaurs, we infer patterns of brain-body co-variation in deep time. Our study confirms that no significant increase in relative brain size accompanied the trend toward miniaturization or evolution of flight during the theropod-bird transition. Critically, however, theropods and basal birds show weaker integration between brain size and body size, allowing for rapid changes in the brain-body relationship that set the stage for dramatic shifts in early crown birds. We infer that major shifts occurred rapidly in the aftermath of the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction within Neoaves, in which multiple clades achieved higher relative brain sizes because of a reduction in body size. Parrots and corvids achieved the largest brains observed in birds via markedly different patterns. Parrots primarily reduced their body size, whereas corvids increased body and brain size simultaneously (with rates of brain size evolution outpacing rates of body size evolution). Collectively, these patterns suggest that an early adaptive radiation in brain size laid the foundation for subsequent selection and stabilization

European Beech (Fagus Sylvatica) Observations

The location of tree #604 is by the walkway to the library, and right across the street from the Salve Regina Mercy Center. I observed this tree from September 24, 2021 until December 9, 2021. This tree is a European Beech (Fagus sylvatica) tree.https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/bio140_arboretum/1034/thumbnail.jp

iWaste: Analyzing Apple\u27s Sustainable Technology Production

Electronic waste is a global issue that has not received the attention it deserves; there is an enormous amount of e-waste from the rapid industrialization of many countries throughout the world. Apple is the largest technology company in the world, with the highest revenue and the largest number of products manufactured. Therefore, it is important to see what they are doing to mitigate their efforts to the electronic waste crisis that is expected to increase in the next seven years. Three policy options are examined in this paper to evaluate and determine how well Apple is following the goals within their 2022 Environmental Progress Report.https://digitalcommons.salve.edu/glo100/1004/thumbnail.jp

Collagen fingerprinting of Caribbean archaeological fish bones: Methodological implications for historical fisheries baselines and anthropogenic change

The Caribbean Sea is the most species-rich sea in the Atlantic, largely due to its vast coral reef systems. However, its high biodiversity and endemism face unprecedented anthropogenic threats, including synergistic modern pressures from overfishing, climate change and bioinvasion. Archaeological data indicate initial human settle- ment of the Caribbean ~7000 years before present (yr BP), with regionally variable human impacts on fisheries through time based on standard morphological identification of fish bone. Such studies, however, are challenged by the low taxonomic resolution of archaeological fish bone identifications due to high species diversity and morphological similarity between members of different families or genera. Here, we present collagen finger- printing (Zooarchaeology by Mass Spectrometry; ZooMS) as a method to overcome this challenge, applying it to 1000 archaeological bone specimens identified morphologically as ray-finned fish (superclass Actinopterygii) from 13 circum-Caribbean sites spanning ca. 3150–300 yr BP (years before present). The method successfully identified collagen-containing samples (n = 720) to family (21%), genus (57%), and species (13%) level. Of the 209 samples that were morphologically identified below superclass, collagen fingerprinting verified the taxo- nomic identity of 94% of these, but also refined the identifications to a lower [more precise] taxon in 45% of cases. The remaining 6% of morphological identifications were found to be incorrectly assigned. This study represents the largest application of ZooMS to archaeological fish bones to date and advances future research through the identification of up to 20 collagen biomarkers for 45 taxa in 10 families and 2 orders. The results indicate that refinement of ZooMS archaeological fish identifications in this study is limited not by the quality of the preserved collagen but by the extent of the available modern collagen reference collection. Thus, efforts should be directed towards expanding collagen fingerprint databases in the first instance. Significantly, the high- resolution taxonomic identifications of archaeological bone that ZooMS can offer make ancient fisheries data highly relevant to modern sustainability and conservation efforts in the Caribbean. Additionally, more precise identifications will allow archaeologists to address a variety of questions related to cultural fishing practices and changes in fish stocks through time. This study supports the use of ZooMS as an effective biochemical tool available for mass-taxonomic identification of archaeological fish bone samples spanning century to millennial time scales in the circum-Caribbean