Trends in illegal wildlife trade: Analyzing personal baggage seizure data in the Pacific Northwest.

This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.The illegal import of wildlife and wildlife products is a growing concern, and the U.S. is one of the world’s leading countries in the consumption and transit of illegal wildlife and their derivatives. Yet, few U.S. studies have analyzed the illegal wildlife trade (IWT) on a national or local scale. Moreover, to our knowledge, no studies have specifically examined the trends associated with IWT moving through personal baggage. This work aimed to better understand the magnitude of illegal wildlife importation into U.S. ports of entry by determining trends associated with illegal wildlife products from personal baggage seizures, using the Pacific Northwest (PNW) as a specific case study. To identify the most influential factors determining the numbers and types of personal baggage seizures into PNW, we analyzed 1,731 records between 1999 and 2016 from the Fish and Wildlife Service’s (FWS) Law Enforcement Management Information System (LEMIS) database. We found five significant contributors: taxonomic classification of wildlife, categorical import date, wildlife product, source region, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) status. While wildlife seizures across taxonomic categories have generally decreased in the PNW since 2008, other findings provide a reason for concern. More specifically, mammals were identified as the largest animal group of seized wildlife, and temporal trends indicate increases in seizures for this and several other taxonomic groups. Many of the seizures originated from overseas, with East Asia serving as the largest source. Our PNW case study can be a model for how large-scale geographical seizure data can be used to inform about the major factors that have historically and presently contribute to IWT, with conservation implications globally.ECU Open Access Publishing Support Fun

Collaboration between Science and Religious Education teachers in Scottish Secondary schools

The article reports on quantitative research that examines: (1) the current practice in collaboration; and (2) potential for collaboration between Science and Religious Education teachers in a large sample of Scottish secondary schools. The authors adopt and adapt three models (conflict; concordat and consonance) to interrogate the relationship between science and religion (and the perceived relation between these two subjects in schools) (Astley and Francis 2010). The findings indicate that there is evidence of limited collaboration and, in a few cases, a dismissive attitude towards collaboration (conflict and concordat and very weak consonance). There is, however, evidence of a genuine aspiration for greater collaboration among many teachers (moving towards a more robust consonance model). The article concludes by discussing a number of key factors that must be realised for this greater collaboration to be enacted

Method of forming electronically conducting polymers on conducting and nonconducting substrates

The present invention provides electronically conducting polymer films formed from photosensitive formulations of pyrrole and an electron acceptor that have been selectively exposed to UV light, laser light, or electron beams. The formulations may include photoinitiators, flexibilizers, solvents and the like. These solutions can be used in applications including printed circuit boards and through-hole plating and enable direct metallization processes on non-conducting substrates. After forming the conductive polymer patterns, a printed wiring board can be formed by sensitizing the polymer with palladium and electrolytically depositing copper

Veterinary aid clinic assessments of working ponies in West Nusa Tenggara province, Indonesia: A retrospective study

Working ponies in the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) province of Indonesia are relied upon as the principal mode of transport. They have important cultural, logistical and One Health significance for the local community. Given the tropical climate, these ponies face well recognised health and welfare challenges . Parameters relating to the general health and welfare of the ponies were assessed following data analysis of clinical records from three veterinary clinics held in 2018 and 2019. Records relating to 454 clinical examinations of ponies (n=365 stallions) aged between 1 to 25 years (mean 7.59 ± 4.70) were analysed. The mean body condition score (1 to 5 scoring system) across all clinics was 2.89 (±0.49; range 1.5, 4.5), with no significant difference between clinics (P= 0.297). The majority of ponies (84.57%; 95% CI 80.50, 87.92; 307/363) assessed presented with tachypnoea, 37.24% presented with tachycardia (95% CI 32.78, 41.92; 159/427), 14.80% (95% CI 11.10, 19.46; 41/277) recorded rectal temperatures considered hyperthermic (>38.5°C), and 38.0% did not show obvious evidence of sweating (95% CI 32.21, 44.16; 95/250). Ponies examined at the April/May 2019 clinic were more likely to be considered hyperthermic (P=0.009) and/or presented with tachycardia (P<0.001), whereas ponies examined in the November 2019 clinic were more likely to present with tachypnoea (P=0.001). In general, the objective measures of body condition and health indices of these ponies were considered adequate. Some abnormalities relating to prolonged recovery following exercise whilst working were considered likely related to thermoregulatory stress. Parasite burdens were found to be low, no haemoprotozoan parasites were detected and median faecal egg count was zero. Measures to encourage cooling and greater frequent rest periods continued surveillance and monitoring the health of these ponies will result in both enhanced welfare and advances in One Health initiatives

From toothpick legs to dropping vaginas: Gender and sexuality in Joan Rivers' stand-up comedy performance

This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below. Copyright @ 2011 Intellect.This article employs sociocultural analysis to examine Joan Rivers’ stand-up comedy performances in order to reveal how she successfully operates in a sphere of artistic expression that has been, and continues to be, male-dominated. The analysis uncovers how Rivers’ stand-up comedy performance involves a complex combination of elements and how it fuses features that are regarded as ‘traditionally masculine’, such as aggression, with features frequently used by other female stand-up comedians, such as self-deprecating comedy and confessional comedy. Furthermore, the analysis exposes the complex ways in which constructions of gender and sexuality are negotiated and re-negotiated in Rivers’ stand-up comedy performance, and illustrates how dominant ideological identity constructions can be simultaneously reinforced and subverted within the same comic moment

On religion and cultural policy: notes on the Roman Catholic Church

This paper argues that religious institutions have largely been neglected within the study of cultural policy. This is attributed to the inherently secular tendency of most modern social sciences. Despite the predominance of the ‘secularisation paradigm’, the paper notes that religion continues to promote powerful attachments and denunciations. Arguments between the ‘new atheists’, in particular, Richard Dawkins, and their opponents are discussed, as is Habermas’s conciliatory encounter with Joseph Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI). The paper then moves to a consideration of the Roman Catholic Church as an agent of cultural policy, whose overriding aim is the promotion of ‘Christian consciousness’. Discussion focuses on the contested meanings of this, with reference to (1) the deliberations of Vatican II and (2) the exercise of theological and cultural authority by the Pope and the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). It is argued that these doctrinal disputes intersect with secular notions of social and cultural policy and warrant attention outside the specialist realm of theological discourse

Polynitroxyl Albumin and Albumin Therapy After Pediatric Asphyxial Cardia Arrest: Effects on Cerebral Blood Flow and Neurologic Outcome

Postresuscitation cerebral blood flow (CBF) disturbances and generation of reactive oxygen species likely contribute to impaired neurologic outcome after pediatric cardiac arrest (CA). Hence, we determined the effects of the antioxidant colloid polynitroxyl albumin (PNA) versus albumin or normal saline (NS) on CBF and neurologic outcome after asphyxial CA in immature rats. We induced asphyxia for 9 minutes in male and female postnatal day 16 to 18 rats randomized to receive PNA, albumin, or NS at resuscitation from CA or sham surgery. Regional CBF was measured serially from 5 to 150 minutes after resuscitation by arterial spin-labeled magnetic resonance imaging. We assessed motor function (beam balance and inclined plane), spatial memory retention (water maze), and hippocampal neuronal survival. Polynitroxyl albumin reduced early hyperemia seen 5 minutes after CA. In contrast, albumin markedly increased and prolonged hyperemia. In the delayed period after resuscitation (90 to 150 minutes), CBF was comparable among groups. Both PNA- and albumin-treated rats performed better in the water maze versus NS after CA. This benefit was observed only in males. Hippocampal neuron survival was similar between injury groups. Treatment of immature rats with PNA or albumin resulted in divergent acute changes in CBF, but both improved spatial memory retention in males after asphyxial CA