The Socioeconomics of Lynching in Central Mississippi

https://aquila.usm.edu/blackstudies_theredrecord/1002/thumbnail.jp

Seed predation by insects across a tropical forest precipitation gradient

1. Pre‐dispersal predation of seeds by insects can be an important source of plant mortality, with consequences for plant population dynamics and community diversity. 2. The intensity and host‐specificity of natural enemies, including seed predators, is predicted to vary systematically across environmental gradients. These trends could contribute to large‐scale patterns in diversity, such as the widely observed positive relationship between plant species richness and precipitation. However, fundamental information on inter‐ and intraspecific seed predation is lacking at the landscape scale. 3. We assessed the intensity of seed predation by insects at eight forest sites spanning a steep precipitation and plant species‐richness gradient in Panama. We dissected freshly abscised fruits and seeds of woody plants to measure rates of predation, and assessed host‐specificity by rearing insects from them. 4. On average, 22.6% of dissected seeds were predated across 31 host species. Species‐specific and site‐level seed predation rates and the number of seed predator species reared per host were not significantly associated with annual rainfall or dry season water deficit. 5. In total, 45 seed predator morphospecies were reared from seeds of 16 plant species. Host‐specificity was high, with 91% of seed predator morphospecies associated with just one plant species. 6. Our results support evidence that pre‐dispersal insect seed predators are highly host‐specific and exhibit great intraspecific, interspecific and landscape‐scale (i.e. between‐site) variation in seed predation intensity. Host‐specific seed predators, particularly those causing moderate to high seed predation rates, could influence plant population dynamics and local community structure

Microplastic contamination has limited effects on coral fertilisation and larvae

Microplastics are ubiquitous throughout the world's oceans and contaminate coral reef ecosystems. There is evidence of microplastic ingestion by corals and passive contact with coral tissues, causing adverse health effects that include energy expenditure for particle removal from the tissue surface, as well as reduced growth, tissue bleaching, and necrosis. Here, it was examined whether microplastic contamination impairs the success of gamete fertilisation, embryo development and larval settlement of the reef-building coral Acropora tenuis. Coral gametes and larvae were exposed to fifteen microplastic treatments using two types of plastic: (1) weathered polypropylene particles and (2) spherical polyethylene microbeads. The treatments ranged from five to 50 polypropylene pieces L-1 and 25 to 200 microbeads L-1. Fertilisation was only negatively affected by the largest weathered microplastics (2 mm2), but the effects were not dose dependent. Embryo development and larval settlement were not significantly impacted by either microplastic type. The study shows that moderate-high levels of marine microplastic contamination, specifically particles <2 mm2, will not substantially interfere with the success of critical early life coral processes

Uncovering Shakespeare\u27s Sisters in Special Collections and College Archives, Musselman Library

Foreword by Professor Suzanne J. Flynn I have taught the first-year seminar, Shakespeare’s Sisters, several times, and over the years I have brought the seminar’s students to the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C. There, the wonderful librarians have treated the students to a special exhibit of early women’s manuscripts and first editions, beginning with letters written by Elizabeth I and proceeding through important works by seventeen and eighteenth-century women authors such as Aemelia Lanyer, Anne Finch, Aphra Behn, and Mary Wollstonecraft. This year I worked with Carolyn Sautter, the Director of Special Collections and College Archives, to give my 2018 seminar students the opportunity to produce a sequel to the Folger exhibit of early modern women writers. Special Collections houses an impressive array of first editions from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many of them acquired from Thomas Y. Cooper, the former editor of the Hanover Evening Sun newspaper, who donated over 1600 items to Musselman Library in 1965. Working with Kerri Odess-Harnish, we chose first editions of eight significant works of literature written by American and British women from the mid-nineteenth through the mid-twentieth centuries. The students worked in pairs, researching a single book and producing a report that outlines important biographical facts about the author, the book’s publication and reception history, and finally the significance of the book in the years since its publication. We hope that our project will draw attention to the wealth of literary treasures housed in Special Collections at Musselman Library, but especially to these works by eight of “Shakespeare’s Sisters.

The Grizzly, November 6, 2014

Dr. Peter Small Appointed as Interim Dean • Berman Receives Large Grant • Graduates Granted Campus Housing • Campus Safety Handles Thefts • Senate Changes Organization • Learning to Embrace American Foods • Watson Fellowship Nominees Announced • Myrin Undergoes Renovations • Dr. Jennifer Fleeger Writes Book on Mismatched Female Voices in Film • Opinion: The Francis Effect Alters Public Perception of Roman Catholic Church; How Proactive is Rape Prevention Nail Polish? • Men\u27s Swim Hoping to Make a Splash • Pinning Down Success • Field Hockey to Host Centennial Playoffshttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/grizzlynews/1915/thumbnail.jp

Effect of Plain Versus Sugar-Sweetened Breakfast on Energy Balance and Metabolic Health : A Randomized Crossover Trial

We would like to thank Pippa Heath for her help with randomization, our participants, and Dr. Graham Horgan for statistical advice. Funding Information Economic and Social Research Council. Grant Number: ES/J50015X/1 Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) GlaxoSmithKline Lucozade Ribena Suntory Kellogg’s Nestlé PepsiCo Sugar Nutrition UK Danone Baby Nutrition the Alpro Foundation Kellogg Europe Unilever Volac International The Collagen Research Institute British Summer FruitsPeer reviewedPublisher PD

Aeciospore ejection in the rust pathogen Puccinia graminis is driven by moisture ingress

Fungi have evolved an array of spore discharge and dispersal processes. Here, we developed a theoretical model that explains the ejection mechanics of aeciospore liberation in the stem rust pathogen Puccinia graminis. Aeciospores are released from cluster cups formed on its Berberis host, spreading early-season inoculum into neighboring small-grain crops. Our model illustrates that during dew or rainfall, changes in aeciospore turgidity exerts substantial force on neighboring aeciospores in cluster cups whilst gaps between spores become perfused with water. This perfusion coats aeciospores with a lubrication film that facilitates expulsion, with single aeciospores reaching speeds of 0.053 to 0.754 m·s−1. We also used aeciospore source strength estimates to simulate the aeciospore dispersal gradient and incorporated this into a publicly available web interface. This aids farmers and legislators to assess current local risk of dispersal and facilitates development of sophisticated epidemiological models to potentially curtail stem rust epidemics originating on Berberis

Happy feet in a hostile world? The future of penguins depends on proactive management of current and expected threats

Penguins face a wide range of threats. Most observed population changes have been negative and have happened over the last 60 years. Today, populations of 11 of the 18 penguin species are decreasing. Here we present a review that synthesizes details of threats faced by the world’s 18 species of penguins. We discuss alterations to their environment at both breeding sites on land and at sea where they forage. The major drivers of change appear to be climate, and food web alterations by marine fisheries. In addition, we also consider other critical and/or emerging threats, namely human disturbance near nesting sites, pollution due to oil, plastics and chemicals such as mercury and persistent organic compounds. Finally, we assess the importance of emerging pathogens and diseases on the health of penguins. We suggest that in the context of climate change, habitat degradation, introduced exotic species and resource competition with fisheries, successful conservation outcomes will require new and unprecedented levels of science and advocacy. Successful conservation stories of penguin species across their geographical range have occurred where there has been concerted effort across local, national and international boundaries to implement effective conservation planning

Understanding a constellation of eight COVID-19 disease prevention behaviours using the COM-B model and the theoretical domains framework: a qualitative study using the behaviour change wheel.

Background The use of behavioural science and behaviour change within local authorities and public health has supported healthful change; as evidenced by its importance and contribution to reducing harm during the COVID-19 pandemic. It can provide valuable information to enable the creation of evidence-based intervention strategies, co-created with the people they are aimed at, in an effective and efficient manner. Aim This study aimed to use the COM-B model to understand the Capability, Opportunity and Motivation of performing a constellation of eight COVID-19 disease prevention behaviours related to the slogans of ‘Hands, Face, Space, Fresh Air’; ‘Find, Isolate, Test, (FIT), and Vaccinate’ in those employed in workplaces identified as high risk for transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2) to support intervention development. Methods This qualitative study recruited twenty-three participants (16 female, 7 male), who were interviewed from three environments (schools, care homes, warehouses) across three local authorities. Semi-structured interviews were analysed using thematic analysis. Findings Ten core themes were identified inductively; (1) knowledge and skills, (2) regulating the behaviour, (3) willingness to act, (4) necessity and concerns, (5) emotional impact, (6) conducive environment, (7) societal influence, (8) no longer united against COVID-19, (9) credible leadership, and (10) inconsistent adherence to COVID-19 prevention behaviours. Themes were then deductively mapped to the COM-B model of behaviour change and the theoretical domains framework and a logic model using the behaviour change wheel (BCW) was produced to inform intervention design. Conclusion This study offers a novel approach to analysis that has included eight behaviours within a single thematic analysis and COM-B diagnosis. This will enable local authorities to direct limited resources to overarching priorities. Of key importance, was the need for supportive and credible leadership, alongside developing interventions collaboratively with the target audience. COVID-19 has had an emotional toll on those interviewed, however, promoting the value of disease prevention behaviours, over and above their costs, can facilitate behaviour. Developing knowledge and skills, through education, training, marketing and modelling can further facilitate behaviour. This supports guidance produced by the British Psychological Society COVID-19 behavioural science and disease prevention taskforce