Undercounted, Underserved: Immigrant and Refugee Families in the Child Welfare System

Focuses on the specific needs of immigrant and refugee children in the child welfare system and presents best practices and policy recommendations for better serving these populations

Physiological Response of the Giant Acorn Barnacle, Balanus nubilus, to Air Exposure

The giant acorn barnacle, Balanus nubilus, is a resident of the subtidal and low intertidal rocky shoreline on the Pacific Coast of North America (Alaska to Baja California). B. nubilusis notable for having the largest muscle fibers in the animal kingdom; fiber diameters that can exceed 3mm in adults! At such extreme sizes these muscle cells may be at risk for insufficient oxygen delivery to mitochondria owing to low SA:V ratios and long intracellular diffusion distances. Oxygen limitation to these muscles may be further exacerbated during low tide air exposure (emersion) or environmental hypoxia events, which are increasing in frequency and duration along the world’s coastlines. We are interested in characterizing the internal oxygen conditions of B. nubilus during air emersion and anoxia so that we can ultimately investigate the physiologic mechanisms by which B. nubilus maintains function in their giant muscle fibers during environmental oxygen limitation. To this end, we examined the effects of air emersion and anoxia on 1) hemolymph gas, pH and ion levels, 2) oxygen consumption rates (MO2; emersion only), and 3) respiratory behaviors (e.g., cirri beating). In the first experiment, we measured hemolymph pO2, pCO2, pH and ion ([Na+], [Cl-], [K+], [Ca2+]) concentrations at 0, 3, 6 and 9h of exposure to air emersion, anoxic immersion and normoxic immersion (control). Next, we compared the average MO2 of barnacles held in water and air for 6h at three common temperatures (10, 15, or 20°C) using intermittent (aquatic) and closed-system (air) respirometry. Lastly, we investigated the respiratory behaviors (% time operculum open, %time testing, % time pumping, % time cirri beating, cirri beat frequency, opercular pulse frequency) of B. nubilusduring acute (6h) exposure to air emersion, anoxic immersion and normoxic immersion (control). Our data revealed that hemolymph pO­2 was significantly decreased in the anoxic barnacles by 3h and remained significantly depressed relative to the normoxic control for 9h. The air-exposed barnacles, however, maintained hemolymph oxygen levels that were intermediate to the control and anoxia barnacles for the entire experiment, achieving levels that were significantly lower than normoxic barnacles only by 9h. We also found that oxygen consumption rates for B. nubilus held at ecologically realistic temperatures were similar in air and water. From these data we conclude that B. nubilus is relatively adept at taking up oxygen from the environment while out of the water, which is common for certain barnacle species, and that air emersion represents a relatively mild environmental stress for this species (at least from a gas-exchange perspective). Efficient aerial gas-exchange by the giant acorn barnacle is likely facilitated by seawater pools stored in the mantle cavity, which can directly take up oxygen from the air and make it accessible to soft tissues and gill-like structures on the inside of the shell. This strategy, however, would require complementary behaviors aimed at oxygenating the mantle cavity fluid (e.g, aperture opening, cirri extensions to facilitate mixing), and this is exactly what we see. In our behavior experiment we found that air-exposed barnacles (and, more surprisingly, anoxic barnacles) spent significantly more time with their cirri extended than our control animals, who engaged more in an aperture pumping behavior with their cirri retracted. These behavioral preferences existed even though there were no significant differences in the total time spent with their aperture open (regardless of the behavior occurring while open) between any of the treatments. There were also interesting findings in the ion data. While there were no significant treatment effects on [Na+], [Cl-], or [Ca2+], we did observe significantly higher [K+] by 6h in both the emersion and anoxic groups relative to the normoxic group. We predict that this change in [K+] is likely attributable to its role in acid-base buffering. There was a strong correlation between pCO2 levels and pH across all treatments; however, decreases in pO2 levels in the hemolymph, which corresponded with increases in pCO2 levels, had only minimal effects on the hemolymph pH, indicating a well-buffered system. In conclusion, we found that air exposure does not inhibit aerobic metabolism in B. nubilus, owing largely to efficient aerial oxygen uptake and perhaps also effective acid base-buffering. We therefore predict that muscle function would be preserved during periods of low-tide emersion. Anoxia, on the other hand led to a significant decline in hemolymph oxygen content, which suggests that environmental hypoxia is likely to diminish functionality of their giant muscle fibers. In a parallel study, we intend to investigate the plastic response of B. nubilus muscle fibers to the same conditions (air emersion and anoxic immersion)

Exploring structural and electronic effects in three isomers of tris{bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl}borane: Towards the combined electrochemical-frustrated Lewis pair activation of H2

Three structural isomers of tris{bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl}borane have been studied as the acidic com- ponent of frustrated Lewis pairs. While the 3,5-substituted isomer is already known to heterolytically cleave H2 to generate a bridging-hydride; ortho-substituents in the 2,4- and 2,5-isomers quench such reactivity through electron donation into the vacant boron pz orbital and steric blocking of the boron centre; as shown by electrochemical, structural and computational studies. Electrochemical studies of the corresponding borohydrides identify that the two-electron oxidation of terminal-hydrides occurs at more positive potentials than observed for [HB(C6F5)3]−, while the bridging-hydride oxidizes at a higher poten- tial still, comparable to that of free H2

1991: Abilene Christian College Bible Lectures - Full Text

PRAISING GOD: THEMES FROM THE PSALMS Being the Abilene Christian University Annual Bible Lectures 1991 Published by ACU PRESS 1648 Campus Court Abilene, Texas 7960

From Their Perspectives: Untold Stories of LGBTQ Youth in the Los Angeles Foster Care System Photographic Analysis

The purpose of this research project is to merge narrative approaches with Photovoice methodology to better understand the reasons behind the overrepresentation of LGBTQ youth in the foster care system in LA County. The study aimed to explore the experiences of LGBTQ former foster youth as they visually narrate their experiences of life before, during, and after foster care. Specifically, this study aimed to find the major themes that emerged in the photographs taken by LGBTQ foster care alumni based on the assigned prompts. This research study is classified as secondary research. The research design used in the preliminary collection of data was Photovoice. The researcher utilized a Within-Case Analysis and Cross-Case Analysis to identify the themes within the photographs. The research suggested that the participants' responses fell into one of six broader themes: resilience, coping mechanisms, empowerment, gender identity, goals and aspirations, and importance of significant relationships. The research also suggested that more cultural humility and gender and sexual identity-focused training for Social Workers, especially DCFS workers, must be implemented to better serve youth within the Child Welfare system. While this preliminary research serves as a purposeful means to finding the general themes experienced by former foster youth within the child welfare system, further research should be completed to gather a larger body of evidence for future policy implementation.California State University, Northridge. Department of Social Work.Includes bibliographical references (pages 23-24

Impacts of earthworm bioturbation on elemental cycles in soils: An application of a geochemical mass balance to an earthworm invasion chronosequence in a sugar maple forest in Northern Minnesota.

University of Minnesota M.S. thesis. June 2013. Major: Soil Science. Advisor: Kyungsoo Yoo. 1 computer file (PDF); v, 165 pages.Earthworms are arguably the best known soil bioturbator, yet their impacts on soil biogeochemistry are difficult to quantify as a function of their roles in physically mixing soils. In glaciated regions of North America, northern hardwood forests have evolved without native earthworms since the last glacial retreat. However, earthworms have invaded northern hardwood forests owing to agricultural expansion, fishing, recreational, and logging activities. Earthworm consumption of the organic horizon in Minnesota hardwood forests has resulted in dramatically changing forest floor ecology and soil morphology, yet their impacts on soil biogeochemistry remain largely unknown. An earthworm invasion chronosequence near Leech Lake in Northern Minnesota provides an ideal outdoor laboratory to quantify the interactions between biogeochemical and physical processes associated with different earthworm species and biomasses. Across the earthworm invasion transect, the A horizon elemental chemistry profiles show that earthworms have vertically relocated minerals, which is consistent with 210-Pb activity profiles. While soil elemental depth profiles confirm increased mixing with earthworm invasion, the depth profiles cannot be solely explained by mixing. I used a geochemical mass balance model to examine soils' biogeochemical responses to invasive earthworms. Fractional and absolute mass losses/gains of biologically important elements such as Ca, P, K, Fe, and Si, relative to the parent material, are substantially altered by invasive earthworm species. The arrival of A-horizon-mixing, endogeic earthworms most dramatically reduces the level of the elemental enrichments in the A horizons. The declined elemental enrichments are likely derived from the consumption of particulate organic matter by endogeic species, which leads to the mineralization and leaching of Ca, P, K. The dramatic losses of the enrichments also suggest that the newly mineralized nutrients are in excess of the nutrient demand from understory plants. Our results indicate the significant and potentially negative impacts of invasive earthworms on the soil nutrient cycling and consequently the sustainability of the hardwood forests in the Great Lakes Region

Descriminalização do aborto: a busca pelo direito de disposição do próprio corpo e o combate à desigualdade de gêneros

TCC(graduação) - Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina. Centro de Ciências Jurídicas. Direito.O presente trabalho aborda a problemática da relação histórica de dominação do corpo feminino a partir de uma leitura da coerção do Estado e os seus reflexos na sociedade atual. Para tanto analisa-se a sociedade patriarcal e a influência da mesma na concepção histórica da mulher como o indivíduo carente de proteção e submisso ao universo masculino e a construção social da diferenciação de gêneros. Em seguida operou-se uma análise do ordenamento jurídico, no tocante à legislação sexual, e a desconsideração com que eram tratadas muitas mulheres pelo sistema penal, bem como as mudanças legislativas e jurisprudenciais. Por fim, evidenciou-se a problemática da interrupção voluntária da gravidez demonstrando-se como a ilegalidade da conduta constitui-se em uma eficiente forma de controle sobre o corpo feminino e para a manutenção da desigualdade de gêneros.Our aim in this essay is to address the historical relation problem of domination of the female body from a review of the state‟s coercion and its impact in today's society. To do so, we analyze the patriarchal society and its influence on the historic conception of women as an individual protection-needy and submissive to the male universe and to the social construction of the gender differentiation. After this review, we operate an analysis of the legal system regarding the sexual laws, the female denial situation on the penal system as well as the legislative and jurisprudential changes. Finally, it becomes clear that the problem of abortion demonstrates how the illegality of this conduct is reported as an effective form of control over women's body, maintaining the gender‟s inequality