Suicide and Undetermined Deaths among Youths and Young Adults in Latin America: Comparison with the 10 Major Developed Countries - A source of hidden suicides?

In Latin American (LA) and the major developed countries’ (MDC) suicide and undetermined deaths are analyzed as methods of suicide and the number of undetermined deaths are similar, possibly containing hidden suicides. The goal was to test the likelihood that LA cultural attitudes lead to higher undetermined rates and more hidden suicides. We used 3-year WHO average mortality data to compare LA and MDC mortality by age and gender, and χ² tests to examine any differences. In 13 LA countries younger-aged (15–34) men and women’s suicides were higher than all-age rates, and undetermined deaths exceeded the suicide rates. Nine LA countries had significantly more undetermined younger-aged male deaths than females. Sixteen of 18 LA countries had significantly higher undetermined death rates than the MDC. LA younger-aged malefs24 146s differential suicide: Undetermined rates indicated they may contain substantial numbers of hidden suicides. Inadvertently, cultural attitudes to suicide may hinder prevention

Administrative Justice in Wales

This article examines some of the synergies between Phil Thomas’ work and the authors’ research into administrative justice in Wales. Like him, they have examined the impact of new rights-based legislation on access to justice, and also share with him an interest in connections between politics, social policy, and access to justice. The article argues that Wales is not yet taken seriously as ‘a site in which [administrative] justice is done’, and that there remains an ‘implementation gap’ when it comes to putting innovative social policy into practice. The limited development of an administrative justice culture can hamper the achievement of social and economic justice in Wales; such a culture could be fostered with leadership from the Welsh Government and the Senedd, alongside improved training for administrators, and the potential addition of ‘a just Wales’ to the well-being goals contained in the Well-being of Future Generations (Wales) Act 2015

Administrative Justice and the Legacy of Executive Devolution: Establishing a Tribunals System for Wales

Uniquely, Wales has a primary legislature, but remains part of a single legal jurisdiction with England. It does not have responsibility for administering civil and criminal justice but has long had a range of devolved tribunals. Given this jurisdictional and constitutional context, a distinctively Welsh approach to administrative law and administrative justice, tribunal reform, and “integrity” institutions has developed. Welsh tribunals have become a test bed for further devolution of justice powers and the eventual establishment of a separate Welsh courts and tribunals service. In this article we examine reforms to Welsh tribunals, alongside the potential for building a broader justice system from the foundations of administrative justice

Molecular evidence for sediment nitrogen fixation in a temperate New England estuary

Primary production in coastal waters is generally nitrogen (N) limited with denitrification outpacing nitrogen fixation (N2-fixation). However, recent work suggests that we have potentially underestimated the importance of heterotrophic sediment N2-fixation in marine ecosystems. We used clone libraries to examine transcript diversity of nifH (a gene associated with N2-fixation) in sediments at three sites in a temperate New England estuary (Waquoit Bay, Massachusetts, USA) and compared our results to net sediment N2 fluxes previously measured at these sites. We observed nifH expression at all sites, including a site heavily impacted by anthropogenic N. At this N impacted site, we also observed mean net sediment N2-fixation, linking the geochemical rate measurement with nifH expression. This same site also had the lowest diversity (non-parametric Shannon = 2.75). At the two other sites, we also detected nifH transcripts, however, the mean N2 flux indicated net denitrification. These results suggest that N2-fixation and denitrification co-occur in these sediments. Of the unique sequences in this study, 67% were most closely related to uncultured bacteria from various marine environments, 17% to Cluster III, 15% to Cluster I, and only 1% to Cluster II. These data add to the growing body of literature that sediment heterotrophic N2-fixation, even under high inorganic nitrogen concentrations, may be an important yet overlooked source of N in coastal systems

Fresh Mudd: Transforming a Subject Branch

Re-think it: Libraries for a New Age is a national conference that brings together academic, public and K-12 librarians, administrators, technologists, architects, designers, furniture manufacturers, and educators. Participants gathered to collectively re-think the increasingly important role libraries play in the communities they serve. The conference was held January 8-10, 2018 at the University of Texas and other locations in Austin. In its second edition, Re-think it 2018 is co-hosted by The UT Libraries, the Austin Public Library, the Austin Community College Library Services, and seven additional local library partners.UT Librarie

Impact of slash loading on soil temperatures and aspen regeneration

Natural regeneration is used to restock trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) cutblocks and factors controlling regeneration are areas of interest and concern to the forest industry. Harvest operations in Manitoba require that coarse woody debris, or slash, be left and distributed in cutblocks. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of slash loading on soil temperatures and aspen regeneration, and implications for harvest operations in the Duck Mountain area. Early sucker growth, initiation, and soil temperatures were surveyed in six winter and six summer cutblocks under different levels of slash loadings. A growth chamber study, using field temperature data as a guideline, examined the effects of diurnal temperature variation on sucker initiation and production. In winter and summer cutblocks, mean depths to sucker initiation from the parent root were 4.6 + 2.4 cm and 3.4 + 2.1 cm, respectively, and initiation of suckers occurred mainly from parental roots located in the LFH layer. Daily mean soil temperatures during the growing season were significantly lower under higher levels of slash (difference of 3.6 oC during May). Higher amounts of slash also significantly shortened the length of the growing season (89 fewer days above 0 oC in one season) and decreased the number of suckers produced (150 000 ha–1 decreased to 14 000 ha-1), sucker volume (decreased by 256 cm3m-2) and leaf area index (decreased by 0.9). There was no difference in sucker production between any diurnal temperature treatments in the growth chamber study. Shallow depth to sucker initiation has important implications for harvest operations using heavy machinery especially those occurring during the summer season. Moderate levels of slash in summer cutblocks, and heavy levels of slash in winter cutblocks limit sucker growth. Although slash decreases diurnal temperature amplitudes, this may not be the reason for the decrease in sucker production associated with increased levels of slash. Both soil temperature and early sucker growth are strongly affected by slash loading; by monitoring harvest operations and the distribution of slash within cutblocks, the negative effect of heavy machine traffic and heavy piles of slash can be reduced and ensure successful forest regeneration

Labeless and reversible immunosensor assay based upon an electrochemical current-transient protocol

A novel labeless and reversible immunoassay based upon an electrochemical current-transient protocol is reported which offers many advantages in comparison to classical immuno-biochemical analyses in terms of simplicity, speed of response, reusability and possibility of multiple determinations. Conducting polypyrrole films containing antibodies against 1) Bovine Serum Albumin (BSA) and 2) Digoxin were deposited on the surface of platinum electrodes to produce conductive affinity matrices having clearly defined binding characteristics. The deposition process has been investigated using 125I labelled anti-digoxin to determine optimal fabrication protocols. Antibody integrity and activity, together with non-specific binding of antigen on the conducting matrix have also been investigated using tritiated digoxin to probe polypyrrole/anti-digoxin films. Amperometric responses to digoxin were recorded in flow conditions using these films, but the technique was limited in use mainly due to baseline instability. Anti-BSA - polypyrrole matrices were investigated in more detail in both flow and quiescent conditions. No observable response was found in flow conditions, however under quiescent conditions (in non-stirred batch cell), anti-BSA – polypyrrole films have been demonstrated to function as novel quantitative chronoamperometric immuno-biosensors when interrogated using a pulsed potential waveform. The behaviour of the electrodes showed that the antibody/antigen binding and/or interaction process underlying the response observed was reversible in nature, indicating that the electrodes could be used for multiple sensing protocols. Calibration profiles for BSA demonstrated linearity for a concentration range of 0-50 ppm but tended towards a plateau at higher concentrations. Factors relating to replicate sensor production, sample measurement and reproducibility are discuss

Similarities and Differences In Adolescence-Onset Versus Adulthood-Onset Sexual Abuse Incidents

A sample of males who had first committed sexual offences against children in either adolescence (n= 230; M= 14.0 years, SD= 1.5) or adulthood (n= 280; M= 34.4 years, SD= 11.7) were compared on measures relating to the circumstances of their first known sexual abuse incident. Considerable diversity in the circumstances of these first incidents was observed for both groups. However, adulthood-onset sexual abuse most often occurred following a long-standing familial relationship with a female victim, and in a home setting. The first incident for adolescence-onset offenders also tended to occur in the context of a long-term relationship and against a female child in a home setting, but more commonly against a nonfamilial victim. Adulthood-onset offenders abused older children, were more likely to engage in penetrative sexual behaviors, and went on to abuse over a longer duration than adolescence-onset offenders. Adolescence-onset offences were more likely to be witnessed by a third party. Findings and their implications for prevention are considered from a situational crime prevention perspective. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd

The effect of luminance on simulated driving speed

AbstractPerceived speed is modulated by a range of stimulus attributes such as contrast, luminance and adaptation duration. It has been suggested that such changes in perceived speed may influence driving behaviour. In order to evaluate the effect of luminance on driving speed we have measured subjects’ driving speed in a driving simulator for a range of luminance and speed over time. The results indicate that reducing luminance results in a decrease in driving speed for all speeds measured. This reduction in driving speed at low luminance is consistent with previous findings that perceived speed increases at low luminance. However, the results also indicated that driving speed remained stable over a 30s period. The stability of driving speed over time is inconsistent with previous findings that perceived speed reduces exponentially as a function of adaptation duration. The results are suggestive of a scheme whereby driving speed is consistent with the known effects of luminance upon perceived speed but may also be modulated by higher order processes that serve to maintain a constant speed over time