Estimating the Economic Value of Narwhal and Beluga Hunts in Hudson Bay, Nunavut

Hunting of narwhal (Monodon monoceros) and beluga (Delphinapterus leucas) in Hudson Bay is an important activity, providing food and income in northern communities, yet few studies detail the economic aspects of these hunts. We outline the uses of narwhal and beluga and estimate the revenues, costs, and economic use value associated with the hunt on the basis of the harvests in 2007. We also explore the effects of cost sharing and inclusion of opportunity cost of labour on model outputs. For the communities participating in each hunt, the average economic use value was negative (-$9399) for beluga and positive ($133 278) for narwhal. The corresponding per capita value estimates were -$1 for beluga and$44 for narwhal. Including the effects of costEvaluation of a Technique to Trap Lemmings Under the Snow sharing with one other hunting activity in the model increased the economic use values to $266 504 for beluga and$321 500 for narwhal. Narwhals provide a higher value per whale, in addition to a higher per capita total economic value to the community, compared to belugas because resources are shared among fewer communities. However, the beluga hunt overall provides greater revenue because more belugas are harvested. In keeping with literature on other hunting activities in the Arctic, our results indicate that the value of whales to communities is largely due to their food value. Dans la baie d’Hudson, la chasse au narval (Monodon monoceros) et au béluga (Delphinapterus leucas) représente une activité importante en ce sens qu’elle est à la fois une source de nourriture et de revenu pour les collectivités du Nord. Pourtant, peu d’études se penchent sur les aspects économiques de cette activité. Nous faisons mention des utilités du narval et du béluga, puis nous estimons les revenus, les coûts et la valeur utilitaire économique liée à ces activités de chasse en fonction des récoltes de 2007. De plus, nous explorons les effets du partage des coûts et de l’inclusion du coût de substi­tution de la main-d’oeuvre à l’égard des sorties de modèles. Pour les collectivités qui participent à chaque chasse, la valeur utilitaire économique moyenne était négative (‑9 399 $) dans le cas du béluga et positive (133 278$) dans le cas du narval. Les estimations correspondantes des valeurs par habitant étaient de - 1 $pour le béluga et de 44$ pour le narval. L’inclusion des effets du partage des coûts avec une autre activité de chasse au modèle a pour effet d’accroître la valeur utilitaire économique à 266 504 $pour le béluga, et à 321 500$ pour le narval. Les narvals donnent une plus grande valeur par baleine, ainsi qu’une valeur économique totale plus élevée par habitant pour la collectivité, comparativement aux bélugas car les ressources sont partagées entre un moins grand nombre de collectivités. Cependant, dans son ensemble, la chasse au béluga procure un revenu plus élevé parce qu’un plus grand nombre de bélugas est récolté. Conformément à la documentation publiée sur d’autres activités de chasse dans l’Arctique, nos résultats indiquent que pour les collectivités, la valeur des baleines réside princi­palement dans leur valeur alimentaire

Retropharyngeal Abscess and Pott’s Disease Due to Tuberculosis: A Case Report

Introduction: Extrapulmonary mycobacterial infection can lead to vertebral spondylitis and osteomyelitis (Pott’s disease). Retropharyngeal abscess with concurrent spinal osteomyelitis is a rare presentation of tuberculosis in the US. Chart review on a patient was completed, and the relevant published literature was reviewed. Case Presentation: A previously healthy 34-year-old male originally from Sudan presented to an outside hospital with a 2-month history of neck pain, sore throat, odynophagia, fevers, and chills. MRI showed a retropharyngeal abscess and suspected cervical spine osteomyelitis. Acid-fast bacillus (AFB) smear was positive from a neck drain specimen, but sputum was negative. Chest imaging did not show findings consistent with pulmonary tuberculosis. He was treated with rifampin, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, and ethambutol (RIPE) along with moxifloxacin and linezolid due to concern for possible multidrug resistant tuberculosis and transferred to our center for further care. Culture isolated Mycobacterium tuberculosis. CT neck showed vertebral tuberculous osteomyelitis (Pott’s disease) of C1-C3 with a multiloculated retropharyngeal and prevertebral abscess (Figure 1). The patient was taken to the OR for posterior spinal fusion from occiput to C4 and transoral incision and drainage of the abscess. The post-operative course was uneventful, and moxifloxacin and linezolid were discontinued when Xpert MTB/RIF test revealed rifampin susceptibility. At follow-up the patient’s symptoms had resolved. Patient consent was obtained to utilize this case for educational purposes. Conclusions: This report presents the multidisciplinary treatment of this patient requiring infection control measures and antibiotic therapy by infectious disease, posterior spine fusion by orthopedic surgery, and retropharyngeal abscess drainage by otolaryngology

Mechanics and Quantum Supermechanics of a Monopole Probe Including a Coulomb Potential

A supersymmetric Lagrangian used to study D-particle probes in a D6-brane background is exactly soluble. We present an analysis of the classical and quantum mechanics of this theory, including classical trajectories in the bosonic theory, and the exact quantum spectrum and wavefunctions, including both bound and unbound states.Comment: 34 pages with 4 black&white eps figures. v2: Reference corrected and a reference added. Figure files are significantly smaller; colour figures are included with the source (use \colorfigtrue). v3: Reference adde

Bostonia: 1993-1994, no. 2-3

Founded in 1900, Bostonia magazine is Boston University's main alumni publication, which covers alumni and student life, as well as university activities, events, and programs

Evaluating the impact of post-qualifying social work education.

Post-qualifying awards in social work are well established within the continuing professional development agenda for qualified social workers in the UK. The evaluation of education and training should be an integral part of this agenda because it is important to ensure that programmes continue to meet standards of delivery, are successful in meeting their aims and objectives and are making an impact on practice. However, there is limited amount of published work on the evaluation of post-qualifying social work education, with studies often focusing on programme delivery rather than on their impact on practice. This paper explores evaluative work within the current post-qualifying social work framework, and discusses the results of an evaluation of the Vulnerable Adults and Community Care Practice programme, a specialist post-qualifying social work education programme run by a UK university, as an example of an evaluation of the impact on practice. The results indicate positive evidence of impact on practice and demonstrate examples of how the programme has had a direct effect on individuals, teams, organisations and on people who use services

Possible detection of two giant extrasolar planets orbiting the eclipsing polar UZ Fornacis

We present new high-speed, multi-observatory, multi-instrument photometry of the eclipsing polar UZ For in order to measure precise mid-eclipse times with the aim of detecting any orbital period variations. When combined with published eclipse times and archival data spanning ~27 years, we detect departures from a linear and quadratic trend of ~60 s. The departures are strongly suggestive of two cyclic variations of 16(3) and 5.25(25) years. The two favoured mechanisms to drive the periodicities are either two giant extrasolar planets as companions to the binary (with minimum masses of 6.3(1.5)M(Jupiter) and 7.7(1.2)M(Jupiter)) or a magnetic cycle mechanism (e.g. Applegate's mechanism) of the secondary star. Applegate's mechanism would require the entire radiant energy output of the secondary and would therefore seem to be the least likely of the two, barring any further refinements in the effect of magnetic fieilds (e.g. those of Lanza et al.). The two planet model can provide realistic solutions but it does not quite capture all of the eclipse times measurements. A highly eccentric orbit for the outer planet would fit the data nicely, but we find that such a solution would be unstable. It is also possible that the periodicities are driven by some combination of both mechanisms. Further observations of this system are encouraged.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 2 table

Hypertension in Pregnancy Is a Risk Factor for Microalbuminuria Later in Life

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/99687/1/jch12116.pd

Range-Wide Declines of Northern Spotted Owl Populations in the Pacific Northwest: A Meta-Analysis

The northern spotted owl (Strix occidentalis caurina) inhabits older coniferous forests in the Pacific Northwest and has been at the center of forest management issues in this region. The immediate threats to this federally listed species include habitat loss and competition with barred owls (Strix varia), which invaded from eastern North America. We conducted a prospective meta-analysis to assess population trends and factors affecting those trends in northern spotted owls using 26 years of survey and capture-recapture data from 11 study areas across the owls\u27 geographic range to analyze demographic traits, rates of population change, and occupancy parameters for spotted owl territories. We found that northern spotted owl populations experienced significant declines of 6–9% annually on 6 study areas and 2–5% annually on 5 other study areas. Annual declines translated to ≤35% of the populations remaining on 7 study areas since 1995. Barred owl presence on spotted owl territories was the primary factor negatively affecting apparent survival, recruitment, and ultimately, rates of population change. Analysis of spotted and barred owl detections in an occupancy framework corroborated the capture-recapture analyses with barred owl presence increasing territorial extinction and decreasing territorial colonization of spotted owls. While landscape habitat components reduced the effect of barred owls on these rates of decline, they did not reverse the negative trend. Our analyses indicated that northern spotted owl populations potentially face extirpation if the negative effects of barred owls are not ameliorated while maintaining northern spotted owl habitat across their range