"Prairie Grouse", Tympanuchus cupido × phasianellus, Hybridization on Manitoulin Island, Ontario

Greater Prairie Chickens started their range expansion from Wisconsin about 1900. They reached Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, by 1925 and completed colonization of Manitoulin Island by 1945. In the fall of 1932, an irruption of Northern Sharp-tailed Grouse from the Hudson Bay Lowlands occurred. Residents of Manitoulin distinguished the two species and reported the presence of “square-tails” and “sharp-tails” in the winter of 1932-1933. There is no specimen evidence or verbal reports that Northern Sharp-tailed Grouse reached Michigan during that irruption. Prairie Sharp-tailed Grouse were in the northern peninsula of Michigan by 1930. In 1941, Michigan Department of Natural Resources made a planting of 37 Prairie Sharptailed Grouse on Drummond Island. Thence they spread east and the first lek was found at the west end of Manitoulin Island in 1952. By 1960, these birds had virtually colonized the whole island. Development of a hybrid index from the morphology of specimens of skins and skeletons from Manitoulin indicated that more than 50% of all birds in the 1960s were hybrids. In Michigan, less than 1% of the birds necropsied or checked in hunters’ bags were hybrid. It seems likely that ethological isolation broke down on Manitoulin Island. The booming display of the Prairie Chicken and the tail rattling display of the Sharp-tailed Grouse can be broken down into their component parts. They appear to be homologous to five discrete displays of the Spruce Grouse, grouped in different patterns in each of the two lek species. There was little hybridization between Prairie Sharptailed Grouse and Prairie Chickens that had lived sympatrically for thousands of years. Northern Sharp-tailed Grouse had probably never lived sympatrically with Prairie Chickens and the evolution of the perception of species distinctions may not have evolved to the point where hybridization was restricted to a rare event

Rhythms of moving in and between digital media: a study on video diaries of young people with physical disabilities

This article develops a new framework for analysing digital media use and access by drawing on the concepts of ‘rhythm’ and ‘wayfaring.’ It unravels how young people with physical disabilities move in and between digital media devices, online sites and activities in an embodied and rhythmic way that happens at a fast or slow pace. The framework is used to analyse the video diaries of three male secondary school students with physical disabilities on their use of digital media at home. We propose methodological advances in studying digital media use as dynamic movement and provide alternative insights on digital inequalities

The Effect of Right-to-Work Laws on Unionization in the United States

State right-to-work laws, the subject of considerable controversy in the industrial relations field, typically state that no person will be required to become a union member or, conversely, be required to abstain from union membership as a condition of obtaining or retaining employment. Little hard evidence exists on the effect of right-to-work laws. Meyers (1955) concludes that in Texas the law does not appear to have had a noticeable impact on union strength. Kuhlman (1955) finds that the Virginia law has caused little change in hiring practices, and he cites lack of enforcement as a major cause. Novit (1969), in examining Indiana as the only state to pass a right-to-work law and subsequently repeal it, argues that the law was ineffective because unions found ways to circumvent its restrictions. During the period 1957-65 when the law was in force in Indiana, there was a dramatic increase in the agency shop which allows nonunion workers but which requires all employees to pay union dues. A Fortune (1957) survey of employers and union leaders in states with right-to-work laws concluded that the laws had little effect on overall union strength. In many states the laws were not being enforced, and in some instances employers were unwilling or unable to avoid de facto union shops. For example, in Arizona it was reported that the attempt to hire a nonunion worker resulted in the union labor force calling in sick. Similarly, in Nevada, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Iowa, the survey found that unions were able to maintain union shop practices in spite of legislation to the contrary. One North Dakota legislator expressed his frustration by remarking, It\u27s a beneficial law to have, but there is no specific use for it right now (Fortune 1957, p. 236). In this paper we pursue the question of the effect of right-to-work laws beyond the impressionistic and fragmented evidence just cited and attempt to determine whether such laws significantly affect union membership. Since measuring the impact of right-to-work laws necessitates holding other things constant, a secondary product of this study is the assessment of the effect of other variables on union membership

The Causes of HIV-Associated Cardiomyopathy: A Tale of Two Worlds

Antiretroviral therapy (ART) has transformed the clinical profile of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from an acute infection with a high mortality into a treatable, chronic disease. As a result, the clinical sequelae of HIV infection are changing as patients live longer. HIV-associated cardiomyopathy (HIVAC) is a stage IV, HIV-defining illness and remains a significant cause of morbidity and mortality among HIV-infected individuals despite ART. Causes and clinical manifestations of HIVAC depend on the degree of host immunosuppression. Myocarditis from direct HIV toxicity, opportunistic infections, and nutritional deficiencies are implicated in causing HIVAC when HIV viral replication is unchecked, whereas cardiac autoimmunity, chronic inflammation, and ART cardiotoxicity contribute to HIVAC in individuals with suppressed viral loads. The initiation of ART has dramatically changed the clinical manifestation of HIVAC in high income countries from one of severe, left ventricular systolic dysfunction to a pattern of subclinical cardiac dysfunction characterized by abnormal diastolic function and strain. In low and middle income countries, however, HIVAC is the most common HIV-associated cardiovascular disease. Clear diagnostic and treatment guidelines for HIVAC are currently lacking but should be prioritized given the global burden of HIVAC

Understanding the IT-Related Attitudes and Needs of Persons with Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Case Study

In the UK, 20 per cent of people aged 75 years and over are living with sight loss; this percentage is expected to increase as the population ages (RNIB, 2011). Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) is the UK’s leading cause of severe visual impairment amongst the elderly. It accounts for 16,000 blind/partial sight registrations per year and is the leading cause of blindness among people aged 55 years and older in western countries (Bressler, 2004). Our ultimate goal is to develop an assistive mobile application to support accurate and convenient diet data collection on which basis to then provide customised dietary advice and recommendations in order to help support individuals with AMD to mitigate their ongoing risk and retard the progression of the disease. In this paper, we focus on our knowledge elicitation activities conducted to help us achieve a deep and relevant understanding of our target user group. We report on qualitative findings from focus groups and observational studies with persons with AMD and interviews with domain experts which enable us to fully appreciate the impact that technology may have on our intended users as well as to inform the design and structure of our proposed mobile assistive application

Probing discs around massive young stellar objects with CO first overtone emission

We present high resolution (R~50,000) spectroastrometry over the CO 1st overtone bandhead of a sample of seven intermediate/massive young stellar objects. These are primarily drawn from the red MSX source (RMS) survey, a systematic search for young massive stars which has returned a large, well selected sample of such objects. The mean luminosity of the sample is approximately 5 times 10^4 L_\odot, indicating the objects typically have a mass of ~15 solar masses. We fit the observed bandhead profiles with a model of a circumstellar disc, and find good agreement between the models and observations for all but one object. We compare the high angular precision (0.2-0.8 mas) spectroastrometric data to the spatial distribution of the emitting material in the best-fitting models. No spatial signatures of discs are detected, which is entirely consistent with the properties of the best-fitting models. Therefore, the observations suggest that the CO bandhead emission of massive young stellar objects originates in small-scale disks, in agreement with previous work. This provides further evidence that massive stars form via disc accretion, as suggested by recent simulations.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRA

Near-infrared integral field spectroscopy of Massive Young Stellar Objects

We present medium resolution ($R\approx5300$) $K$-band integral field spectroscopy of six MYSOs. The targets are selected from the RMS survey, and we used the NIFS on the Gemini North telescope. The data show various spectral line features including Br$\gamma$, CO, H$_2$, and \mbox{He\,{\sc i}}. The Br$\gamma$ line is detected in emission in all objects with $v_\mathrm{FWHM}\sim100$ -- 200 kms$^{-1}$. V645 Cyg shows a high-velocity P-Cygni profile between -800 kms$^{-1}$ and -300 kms$^{-1}$. We performed three-dimensional spectroastrometry to diagnose the circumstellar environment in the vicinity of the central stars using the Br$\gamma$ line. We measured the centroids of the velocity components with sub-mas precision. The centroids allow us to discriminate the blueshifted and redshifted components in a roughly east--west direction in both IRAS 18151--1208 and S106 in Br$\gamma$. This lies almost perpendicular to observed larger scale outflows. We conclude, given the widths of the lines and the orientation of the spectroastrometric signature, that our results trace a disc wind in both IRAS 18151--1208 and S106. The CO $\nu=2-0$ absorption lines at low $J$ transitions are detected in IRAS 18151--1208 and AFGL 2136. We analysed the velocity structure of the neutral gas discs. In IRAS 18151--1208, the absorption centroids of the blueshifted and redshifted components are separated in a direction of north-east to south-west, nearly perpendicular to that of the larger scale $H_2$ jet. The position-velocity relations of these objects can be reproduced with central masses of 30 M_{\sun} for IRAS 18151--1208 and 20 M_{\sun} for AFGL 2136. We also detect CO $\nu=2-0$ bandhead emission in IRAS 18151--1208, S106 and V645 Cyg. The results can be fitted reasonably with a Keplerian rotation model, with masses of 15, 20 and 20 M_{\sun} respectively.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, accepted by MNRA