Cube law, condition factor and weight-length relationships: history, meta-analysis and recommendations

This study presents a historical review, a meta-analysis, and recommendations for users about weight–length relationships, condition factors and relative weight equations. The historical review traces the developments of the respective concepts. The meta-analysis explores 3929 weight–length relationships of the type W = aLb for 1773 species of fishes. It shows that 82% of the variance in a plot of log a over b can be explained by allometric versus isometric growth patterns and by different body shapes of the respective species. Across species median b = 3.03 is significantly larger than 3.0, thus indicating a tendency towards slightly positive-allometric growth (increase in relative body thickness or plumpness) in most fishes. The expected range of 2.5 < b < 3.5 is confirmed. Mean estimates of b outside this range are often based on only one or two weight–length relationships per species. However, true cases of strong allometric growth do exist and three examples are given. Within species, a plot of log a vs b can be used to detect outliers in weight–length relationships. An equation to calculate mean condition factors from weight–length relationships is given as Kmean = 100aLb−3. Relative weight Wrm = 100W/(amLbm) can be used for comparing the condition of individuals across populations, where am is the geometric mean of a and bm is the mean of b across all available weight–length relationships for a given species. Twelve recommendations for proper use and presentation of weight–length relationships, condition factors and relative weight are given

New species and nomenclatural notes in Lobobrachus Sharp (Coleoptera, Carabidae, Pterostichini)

A new species of Lobobrachus Sharp, 1885, Lobobrachus cleidecostae sp.&nbsp;nov., from Piauí state, Brazil, is described and illustrated. The genus and Lobobrachus lacerdae Sharp, 1885, are redescribed and the identity of L.&nbsp;alternans Tschitschérine, 1901, is discussed. Based on study of all available specimens and published descriptions it appears that L.&nbsp;alternans cannot be diagnosed and is a synonym of L.&nbsp;lacerdae. However, the syntypes of L.&nbsp;alternans cannot be located, thereby making a final decision on synonymy impossible to substantiate fully. Photographs of the aedeagi of L.&nbsp;lacerdae, L.&nbsp;cleidecostae, and specimens that best correspond to L.&nbsp;alternans, including those putatively identified by Tschitschérine, are presented for the first time

Maternal deaths in Pakistan : intersection of gender, class and social exclusion.

Background: A key aim of countries with high maternal mortality rates is to increase availability of competent maternal health care during pregnancy and childbirth. Yet, despite significant investment, countries with the highest burdens have not reduced their rates to the expected levels. We argue, taking Pakistan as a case study, that improving physical availability of services is necessary but not sufficient for reducing maternal mortality because gender inequities interact with caste and poverty to socially exclude certain groups of women from health services that are otherwise physically available. Methods: Using a critical ethnographic approach, two case studies of women who died during childbirth were pieced together from information gathered during the first six months of fieldwork in a village in Northern Punjab, Pakistan. Findings: Shida did not receive the necessary medical care because her heavily indebted family could not afford it. Zainab, a victim of domestic violence, did not receive any medical care because her martial family could not afford it, nor did they think she deserved it. Both women belonged to lower caste households, which are materially poor households and socially constructed as inferior. Conclusions: The stories of Shida and Zainab illustrate how a rigidly structured caste hierarchy, the gendered devaluing of females, and the reinforced lack of control that many impoverished women experience conspire to keep women from lifesaving health services that are physically available and should be at their disposal

Ensembles of global climate model variants designed for the quantification and constraint of uncertainty in aerosols and their radiative forcing

Tropospheric aerosol radiative forcing has persisted for many years as one of the major causes of uncertainty in global climate model simulations. To sample the range of plausible aerosol and atmospheric states and perform robust statistical analyses of the radiative forcing, it is important to account for the combined effects of many sources of model uncertainty, which is rarely done due to the high computational cost. This paper describes the designs of two ensembles of the HadGEM-UKCA global climate model and provides the first analyses of the uncertainties in aerosol radiative forcing and their causes. The first ensemble was designed to comprehensively sample uncertainty in the aerosol state, while the other samples additional uncertainties in the physical model related to clouds, humidity and radiation, thereby allowing an analysis of uncertainty in the aerosol effective radiative forcing. Each ensemble consists of around 200 simulations of the pre-industrial and present-day atmospheres. The uncertainty in aerosol radiative forcing in our ensembles is comparable to the range of estimates from multi-model intercomparison projects. The mean aerosol effective radiative forcing is –1.45 W m–2 (credible interval –2.07 to –0.81 W m–2), which encompasses but is more negative than the –1.17 W m–2 in the 2013 Atmospheric Chemistry and Climate Model Intercomparison Project and –0.90 W m–2 in the IPCC 5th Assessment Report. The ensembles can be used to reduce aerosol radiative forcing uncertainty by challenging them with multiple measurements as well as to isolate potential causes of multi-model differences

Soil acidity and eastern wheatbelt plant nutrition.

1. Affects of soil acidity on subterranean clover growth in the cropping areas of Western Australia. Trial 87AL35, 87NO2, 87No3, 88NO76, 88NO77, 88TS54 To investigate the responsiveness to lime of subterranean clover based pastures on acid soil and the cropping areas of Western Australia.To determine the reasons for responses to line in the field, particularly the possible involvement of legume nodulation effects and the alleviation of soil/water repellence.To develop practical identification and management strategies for acid soils problems. Trial 87AL35. Liming in crop/pasture rotation on acid soils Location: Woogenellup. History: 1987 Lime applied, sown to barley 1988 Clover regenerated. Lime increased October production by 10%. 1989 Sown to oats - before being sown pasture growth was measured. Trial 87NO2. Lime in crop/pasture rotations on acid soils. Location: York History 1987 Lime applied and Dalkeith sub. clover sown. No response. 1988 Wheat 1989 Sub clover regenerated. Trial 87NO3 Lime in crop/pasture rotations on acid soils. Location: Grass Valley History 1987 Lime applied and Dalkeith sub. clover sown. Small response to lime. 1988 Wheat. 1989 Sub. clover regenerated. Trial 88NO76 Lime in crop/pasture rotations on acid soils. Location: Goomalling. History 1988 Lime applied and sub.clover sown. 1989 Sown to wheat. Before cropping pasture growth was measured. Trial 88NO77 Lime in crop/pasture rotation on acid soils Location: East Ejanding History: 1988 Lime applied and sub clover sown 1989 Sown to wheat. Before cropping, pasture growth was observed. Trial 88TS54 Lime in crop/pasture rotations on acid soils. Location: Three Springs. History: 1988 Lime applied and sub. clover sown. Lime increased September dry matter by 65%. 1989 Sown to wheat. Before cropping pasture, growth was measured. Trial 88ME102 The interaction of lime and nitrogen in a lupin/wheat rotation. Location: Corrigin Hisory: 1987 Lupins with Super, Cu Zn Mo. 1988 Lime applied, sown to wheat with rates of nitrogen. 1989 Apr. early Super (100 kg/ha) topdressed. Also added Simazine Brodal Sertin and Fusilade. No visual response in July and September. September - Sampled 20 plants per plot, reps 1 and 2, just prior to flowering. Trial 88ME103 The effect of lime in a lupin/cereal rotation. Location: Corrigin. History: 1987 Lupins with Super Cu Zn Mo. 1988 Lime applied, sown to five wheat varieties. 1989 As for 88ME102 (Interaction of lime and nitrogen in a lupin/wheat rotation).\u27 Trial 80M30 Effect of lime on wheat/lupin rotations on acid, eastern wheatbelt yellow sandplain soil. Location: Merredin Research Station. History: Between 1980 and 1989 Lime (Wheat/Clover) x 2 Molybdenum rates. Wheat plots sown to wheat. Clover to triticale. Added 200 g Super/ha, 90 g Mo/ha and 73 kg Agran/ha. yielded 1.5 t/ha. No lime response.Lime increased grain yield in 1986. Sown Wheat and Yorrel, September 1989 sampled 30 plants/plot rep 1 only. November 1989 Harvested. Trial 8OM31 Lime applications in a wheat/lupin rotation. Location: Merredin Research Station. The large effect of lime on wheat yield (75% increase) does not appear to be due to the alleviation of a molybdenum deficiency. the molybdenum treatment is confounded with rate of Agras. A slightly higher rate of Agras was applied in the nil molybdenum plots compared to plus molybdenum plots (123 kg/ha). Trial 88NA82 The effect of lime on gegenerating clover. Location: Yealering. History: Between 1986 and 1989 pasture was very clover dominant Crop sown with 90 kg/ha DAP appeared very N deficient. (cereal variety trial). Rates of lime applied, cultivated and sown to sub. clover Topdressed 210 kg super/ha and 90 KG KC1/ha. Cultivated. Sown to Dalyup Oates with double super (70 kg/ha( and Agran (60 kg/ha). Then harvested. Trial 89ME62 Demonstratino of liming recommendations. Location: Bruce Rock History: 1989 Topdressed lime. Cultivated across pots with cone seeder to 6 cm. Sown to Gutha (50 kg/ha) with super Cu Zn Mo, rates of nitrogen (topdressed). Sprayseed (1.5 L/ha) Brominil M (1 L/ha) and Hoegrass (1 L/ha) No lime response visible. Sampled 50 plants/plot, anthesis. Trial 89ME92, 89ME93, 89ME94. 89MO50 Gypsum for amelioration of acid soils. Location: Burracoppin, N.W. Trayning, Welbungin, Dalwallin

Addressing disparities in maternal health care in Pakistan: gender, class and exclusion

Background: After more than two decades of the Safe Motherhood Initiative and Millennium Development Goals aimed at reducing maternal mortality, women continue to die in childbirth at unacceptably high rates in Pakistan. While an extensive literature describes various programmatic strategies, it neglects the rigorous analysis of the reasons these strategies have been unsuccessful, especially for women living at the economic and social margins of society. A critical gap in current knowledge is a detailed understanding of the root causes of disparities in maternal health care, and in particular, how gender and class influence policy formulation and the design and delivery of maternal health care services. Taking Pakistan as a case study, this research builds upon two distinct yet interlinked conceptual approaches to understanding the phenomenon of inequity in access to maternal health care: social exclusion and health systems as social institutions. Methods/Design: This four year project consists of two interrelated modules that focus on two distinct groups of participants: (1) poor, disadvantaged women and men and (2) policy makers, program managers and health service providers. Module one will employ critical ethnography to understand the key axes of social exclusion as related to gender, class and zaat and how they affect women’s experiences of using maternal health care. Through health care setting observations, interviews and document review, Module two will assess policy design and delivery of maternal health services. Discussion: This research will provide theoretical advances to enhance understanding of the power dynamics of gender and class that may underlie poor women’s marginalization from health care systems in Pakistan. It will also provide empirical evidence to support formulation of maternal health care policies and health care system practices aimed at reducing disparities in maternal health care in Pakistan. Lastly, it will enhance inter-disciplinary research capacity in the emerging field of social exclusion and maternal health and help reduce social inequities and achieve the Millennium Development Goal No. 5

The Memory Politics of Becoming European: The East European Subalterns and the Collective Memory of Europe

The situation in collective memory studies that share a nexus with the discipline of International Relations (IR) is currently reflective of the traditionally West-centric writing of European history. This order of things has become increasingly challenged after the eastern enlargement of the European Union (EU). This article examines Poland’s and the Baltics’ recent attempts to enlarge the mnemonic vision of ‘the united Europe’ by placing their ‘subaltern pasts’ in contest with the conventionally Western European-bent understanding of the consequences of World War II in Europe. I argue that their endeavours to wrench the ‘European mnemonical map’ apart in order to become more congruent with the different historical experiences within the enlarged EU encapsulate the curious trademark of Polish and Baltic post-Cold War politics of becoming European: their combination of simultaneously seeking recognition from and resisting the hegemonic ‘core European’ narrative of what ‘Europe’ is all about

Determinants of National Guard Mental Health Service Utilization in VA versus Non‐VA Settings

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134155/1/hesr12446.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134155/2/hesr12446-sup-0001-AppendixSA1.pdfhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/134155/3/hesr12446_am.pd