Defending Nature Against Rodenticides

Anticoagulant rodenticides (i.e., rat poisons) are highly toxic compounds that have been recognized for decades to have devastating effects on wildlife species and the wider ecosystem. In this paper, I argue that the continued use of anticoagulant rodenticides is entirely inconsistent with the provincial and federal governments\u27 obligations to citizens and the environment under their respective pesticide legislation, and that the governments\u27 failure to fulfill these obligations is due in part to the refusal to acknowledge rights of nature. I provide an overview of the current statutory and regulatory framework for pesticides in Canada and examine the practical effects of the legislation, evidencing the harms associated with rodenticide use and inefficacy of these products to illustrate the dubious value of their continued registration. I further discuss the inadequacy of the implemented risk mitigation measures and viability of existing alternative methods of rodent control to support my argument that the use of rodenticides is inconsistent with the current regulatory framework. To address these inconsistencies, this paper sets out recommendations for action that can be taken in British Columbia by municipal governments and the provincial government, as well as the federal government of Canada. Examples of similar action taken in other jurisdictions are also provided

A study of female adult offenders from the Metropolitan area of Providence who have been placed on probation on the charge of neglect of children by the Rhode Island Juvenile Court from its inception, July 1, 1944 to July 1, 1947

Thesis (M.S.)--Boston University, 1948. This item was digitized by the Internet Archive

Towards flexible evaluation schemes using the available information: a case of waste governance in Mexico

Local governments face the need to achieve sustainability in the provision of public services and, to do so, proper governance is essential. This work proposes a method to assess governance in local WM systems based on a set of indicators that are flexible and robust enough to allow objective and reliable evaluation even where the information that is available is deficient. The proposal is based on a set of indicators divided into six categories which represent an increasing order of governance maturity: Institutional framework, Government effectiveness, Transparency and accountability, Network creation, Participation, and Corruption control. The paper presents the proposal and a first test in two Mexican municipalities, as an example of MSWM systems in an incipient stage of development, where there may be serious limitations in terms of access to information. The results show that the methodology can be replicated in different contexts and can be useful for making decisions about improvements in MSWM or for comparing them with others. In addition, sufficient information was obtained for a fist diagnosis of the cases studied, which indicates the coherence of the proposed framework: the results in the lower categories are better, and get worse as we progress through the following ones

Multifractal Fluctuations in Seismic Interspike Series

Multifractal fluctuations in the time dynamics of seismicity data have been analyzed. We investigated the interspike intervals (times between successive earthquakes) of one of the most seismically active areas of central Italy by using the Multifractal Detrended Fluctuation Analysis (MF-DFA). Analyzing the time evolution of the multifractality degree of the series, a loss of multifractality during the aftershocks is revealed. This study aims to suggest another approach to investigate the complex dynamics of earthquakes

Clinical Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Mexican Patients with Thoracic Malignancies

BACKGROUND: Accumulated evidence indicates that patients with lung cancer are a vulnerable population throughout the pandemic. Limited information is available in Latin America regarding the impact of the pandemic on medical care. The goal of this study was to describe the clinical and social effect of COVID-19 on patients with thoracic cancer and to ascertain outcomes in those with a confirmed diagnosis. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This cohort study included patients with thoracic neoplasms within a single institution between March 1, 2020, and February 28, 2021. All variables of interest were extracted from electronic medical records. During this period, the Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale 21 (DASS-2) was applied to evaluate and identify more common psychological disorders. RESULTS: The mean age for the total cohort (n = 548) was 61.5 ± 12.9 years; non-small cell lung cancer was the most frequent neoplasm (86.9%), advanced stages predominated (80%), and most patients were under active therapy (82.8%). Any change in treatment was reported in 23.9% of patients, of which 78.6% were due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Treatment delays (≥7 days) were the most frequent modifications in 41.9% of cases, followed by treatment suspension at 37.4%. Patients without treatment changes had a more prolonged progression-free survival and overall survival (hazard ratio [HR] 0.21, p < .001 and HR 0.28, p < .001, respectively). The mean DASS-21 score was 10.45 in 144 evaluated patients, with women being more affected than men (11.41 vs. 9.08, p < .001). Anxiety was reported in 30.5% of cases, followed by depression and distress in equal proportions (18%). Depressed and stressed patients had higher odds of experiencing delays in treatment than patients without depression (odds ratio [OR] 4.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.53–13.23, p = .006 and OR 3.18, 95% CI 1.2–10.06, p = .006, respectively). CONCLUSION: Treatment adjustments in patients with thoracic malignancies often occurred to avoid COVID-19 contagion with detrimental effects on survival. Psychological disorders could have a role in adherence to the original treatment regimen