United Empire Loyalists: their case and their influence on the political life of Canada

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

SUB-SURFACE MIGRATION OF AN OIL POLLUTANT INTO AQUIFERS

The risk to groundwater quality following a sub-surface spillage of immiscible pollutants such as oil, petroleum and other organic chemicals is an increasingly potent threat, through escalating industrial application of such pollutants. This study significantly enhances the understanding of the flow of immiscible pollutants within soil, through field scale investigations to define the spatial variability and extent of a contaminated area and the development of a comprehensive framework for the analysis of oil pollutant migration. This study represents a first attempt by researchers to analyse oil pollutant migration on a wide range of scales, from pore- to field-level. The research shows that quantity of pollutant is a critical factor in determining the extent of oil migration. Permeability and porosity of the sample material are also important secondary factors. High permeability assists the migration of oil pollutants. Soils with a high porosity allow the pollutant to migrate vertically under the influence of gravity, whereas soils with low porosity induce lateral oil migration, as the oil spreads from the point of injection. A Jull scale field study using contrasting soil types determines that oil migration is approximately symmetrical about the point of injection. Experimental data is used to establish modelling capabilities for the characterisation of pollutant migration. Modelling is undertaken at two levels. The first consists of the development of simple Gaussian equations based upon observations of oil glomuses. The glomus approach, newly developed in this work, can be compared to a fractal model, with the glomuses observed in each of the different scales studied

The effect of rural placements on future rural general practice

Background: Providing health care to rural populations is a major issue in Australia. Disease burdenand health risk factorsincrease with remoteness, but the access to appropriate service decrease. The introduction of Rural Clinical Schools, rural locations for internship and residency, and decentralisation of the Australian General Practitioner Training Programaim to address this disparity. This systematic review aimed at determining if rural placements throughout medical training are associated with future rural general practice in Australia.Methods: Medline (Ovid), Pubmed, CINAHL and Science Direct were searched for the period January 2000 to July 2019. Included studies related specifically to rural general practitioners in Australia and studies were excluded if they reported only on intention to practice rurally. Evidence was assessed using the Standards for Quality Improvement Reporting Excellence Guidelines.Results: Eleven articles met the inclusion criteria. Three studies examined the effect of rural placements in medical school on future rural general practice. Three studies looked at placements as a junior doctor on future rural general practice. Four studies looked at the effect of rural general practitioner training on future rural general practice. One study reported on the effect of rural placements during both medical school and junior doctor years on future rural general practice. The studies supported an association between rural placements and future rural general practice, particularly for Australian born doctors, Australian graduates and individuals from rural backgrounds.Discussion: This review suggests that rural placements during medical training increase the likelihood of future rural general practice. The interplay of personal and professional life influence whether rural intention is sufficient to result in rural practice. Addressing human factors that influence rural practice will contribute to achieving equitable rural health care

The utilization of heat from electric surface units by certain cooking utensils

1. The distribution of temperature over the surface of an electric unit was fairly uniform. The temperature at the outer edge was slightly lower than at any other position on the unit. 2. Enamelware, copper and black-bottom aluminum pans of the same size, shape, thickness and bottom surface contour were practically equal in cooking efficiency for heating water and for typical short time and long time cooking processes. The natural finish aluminum pan was slightly less efficient. 3. The encased units, Calrod, Chromalox and Corox, required the least time to complete various typical cooking processes. Open units required slightly longer time, and enclosed labyrinth, cast-in and cone reflector units took the longest time. 4. When preheated units were used the encased units required the least time for cooking. The open, cast-in and enclosed labyrinth units required a slightly longer time, while the cone reflector type required considerably longer time. 5. Teakettles and stew pans of the same material and of the same capacity required approximately the same time for heating water. 6. The material of the pan has comparatively little effect on the cooking efficiency of the pan. 7. A black bottom finish tends to increase to a slight degree the cooking efficiency of aluminum pans but does not increase the efficiency of enamelware utensils. 8. Various cooking operations require slightly less time on encased electric surface units than on the open, enclosed, cast-in, or cone reflector types. 9. A utensil for use on an electric unit should fit the unit and should have straight sides, a flat bottom surface and a well-fitting lid

Northeast Folklore volume 4: Eight Folktales From Miramichi

Volume 4 of Northeast Archives marked a change in the publication. No longer was it published in four editions throughout the year with a variety of small articles, but now it was a single monograph published generally once a year. The focus of the first monograph is Wilmot MacDonald, a singer and storyteller from Miramichi, New Brunswick. Helen Creighton and Edward D. Ives had both collected from MacDonald and this publication came from their collaboration on that material. Eight Folktales from Miramichi: as Told by Wilmot MacDonald Table of Contents: Wilmot MacDonald by Louise Manny Introduction 1) The Bull Story 2) The Christmas Story 3) Jack and the Beanstalk 4) Three Gold Hairs from the Giant’s Back 5) The Sword of Brightness 6) Out-Riddling the Judge 7) John the Cobbler 8) The Haunted House and the Headless Ghosthttps://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/nf/1000/thumbnail.jp

Female teat size is a reliable indicator of annual breeding success in European badgers: Genetic validation

Assessing which females have bred successfully is a central requirement in many ecological field studies, providing an estimate of the effective female population size. Researchers have applied teat measurements previously to assess whether females, in a variety of mammalian species, have bred; however, this technique has not been validated genetically. Furthermore, several analytical techniques are available to classify individuals, but their misclassification rates have not been compared. We used 22 microsatellite loci to assign maternity, with 95% confidence, within a high-density population of European badgers Meles meles, as plural and subterranean breeding means that maternity cannot be inferred from behavioural observations. The teat lengths and diameters of 136 females, measured May–July 1994–2005, from social groups in which all offspring were assigned a mother, were reliable indicators of recent breeding success. A Generalised Linear Mixed Model (GLMM) classified both breeding and non-breeding females with lower error rates than discriminant analyses and crude teat-size criteria. The GLMM model logit probability = −20 + 1.8 month + 1.6 mean teat length + 1.0 mean teat diameter can be applied quickly in the field to assess the probability with which a female badger should be assigned maternity. This is a low-cost measure which, after validation, could be used in other badger or mammalian populations to assess the breeding success of females. This may be a particularly useful welfare tool for veterinary practitioners, especially during badger culls

Influence of riparian harvesting on boreal understory vegetation

In the boreal forest, understory vegetation accounts for the majority of floristic diversity and affects overstory succession and productivity, nutrient cycling, and wildlife habitat. In riparian forests, understory vegetation also plays an important functional role by reducing erosion, stabilizing the stream channel, and regulating water quality and quantity. Despite this critical importance, effects of harvesting on understory plant communities in riparian forests are still poorly understood. This study uses data from two boreal ecozones in Canada to quantify how overstory harvesting affects understory vegetation communities and how disturbance-response relationships vary from stream edge to uplands. Using data collected during the summer before harvesting (Yr 0), and three summers after harvesting (Yrs 1, 5 and 7) from headwater stream sites on the Boreal Plain study area (Central Alberta), compositional stability (i.e., the measure of change in community membership and abundance) was measured following disturbance. Non-metric multidimensional scaling was used to ordinate vegetation plots using species cover, and then measured vector length in the ordination space to quantify floristic dissimilarity (i.e., inverse of compositional stability) of each sample plot. Streamside understory plant communities were compositionally more stable relative to upland communities following clearcut harvesting. Compositional stability was positively related to pre-harvest species richness and negatively related to pre-harvest bryoid cover. Changes in species diversity, abundance and turnover following harvesting were also examined. Streamside communities harvested with or without a 30 m riparian buffer, were maintained to a condition similar to uncut forests. However, upland communities were less resistant to overstory harvest, relative to streamside communities, and subsequently colonized by grasses, forbs, and tall shrubs; many of which were present in pre-harvest riparian plots

Changes in dietary patterns and body composition within 12 months of liver transplantation

Background: Cardiometabolic risk factors are increasing in liver transplant recipients (LTR). Influencing dietary factors have not been assessed. The aim of this observational study was to assess changes in weight, metabolic function, dietary intake and eating behaviours in the first year after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). Methods: Consecutive recruitment of 17 patients (14 males) awaiting OLT at a single tertiary hospital. Dietary intake, food behaviours and anthropometry were recorded at baseline, and 6 and 12 months posttransplant. Results: By 12 months, patients had gained on average 7.3% of body weight. The prevalence of overweight or obesity increased from baseline 53% to 77% (P=0.001). By 6 months, 65% (n=11/17) of patients had altered glucose metabolism. Dietary intake was consistent with a Western-style dietary pattern with high saturated fat. Over half of the patients (69%, n=11/16) reported low to no depressive feelings and rated their self-esteem as good (53%, n=9/16). The Power of Food Scale increased between pre and post-transplant, indicating a stronger appetitive drive. Conclusions: Weight gain occurs early post-transplant, with significant metabolic dysfunction present within 6 months, however is not associated with significant psychological distress. Early dietary intervention designed to limit weight gain and target cardiometabolic health is recommended for this unique patient population

The earth sciences in the scientific letters of Giovanni Capellini

Giovanni Capellini (1833-1922) was one of the leading representatives of the Italian and international scientific community from the mid-19th century until 1922, the year of his death. Professor of Geology at the University of Bologna from 1860, geologist, palaeontologist and archaeologist, in 1871 he organised, straight after the unification of Italy, the 5th International Congress in Archaeology and Prehistoric Anthropology, first in Italy, and in 1881 brought to Bologna, for the first time ever in Italy, the 2nd International Geological Congress. His studies and publications strongly influenced the geological thinking of his times. At the Archiginnasio Library in Bologna there are as many as 30,000 documents from his scientific letters (The Capellini Archive), the result of an intense correspondence he had with geologists, seismologists, astronomers and meteorologists, but also with people from the world of culture and politics. The letters relating to the earth sciences, from scientific but also political point of view, are the majority. The archive includes letters from more then 4,300 senders, of which at least 25% foreign ones incuding Charles Lyell (geologist), Emmanuel Friedlaender (volcanologist), Philip Eduard De Verneuil (naturalist), Henry James Johnston Lavis (volcanologist)

Genetic dissection of MHC-associated susceptibility to Lepeophtheirus salmonis in Atlantic salmon

Background: Genetic variation has been shown to play a significant role in determining susceptibility to the salmon louse, Lepeophtheirus salmonis. However, the mechanisms involved in differential response to infection remain poorly understood. Recent findings in Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) have provided evidence for a potential link between marker variation at the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and differences in lice abundance among infected siblings, suggesting that MHC genes can modulate susceptibility to the parasite. In this study, we used quantitative trait locus (QTL) analysis to test the effect of genomic regions linked to MHC class I and II on linkage groups (LG) 15 and 6, respectively. Results: Significant QTL effects were detected on both LG 6 and LG 15 in sire-based analysis but the QTL regions remained unresolved due to a lack of recombination between markers. In dam-based analysis, a significant QTL was identified on LG 6, which accounted for 12.9% of within-family variance in lice abundance. However, the QTL was located at the opposite end of DAA, with no significant overlap with the MHC class II region. Interestingly, QTL modelling also revealed evidence of sex-linked differences in lice abundance, indicating that males and females may have different susceptibility to infection. Conclusion: Overall, QTL analysis provided relatively weak support for a proximal effect of classical MHC regions on lice abundance, which can partly be explained by linkage to other genes controlling susceptibility to L. salmonis on the same chromosom