Port Elizabeth Circuit: St John's, Havelock Street

Bequests made to St. John's Wesleyan Church, Havelock Street, Port Elizabeth

A demographic study based upon income, age and education variables as related to the willingness or unwillingness to accept foster children

The research problem in this thesis can be briefly stated as a study of a general population to test certain demographic variables, in particular those of income, age and education, which may or may not have a significant relationship to an expressed willingness to care for foster children; and to further examine whether certain special characteristics of a child, in particular those of increased age, physical handicap, minor emotional problems or mental retardation, further increase unwillingness to care for foster children. The sample was selected by a two- stage cluster sampling taken from the Southeast catchment area of metropolitan Portland, Oregon. From this sample of 787 individuals, the survey was conducted by trained interviewers, using a questionnaire and personal interview. The data used in this research project were then extracted from the larger survey, and computed to determine the relationship of age, income and education to willingness to care for foster children. The data were extracted on the basis of the chosen variables of income, age and education and five questions relating specifically to willingness to care for foster children. As had been anticipated, the findings showed that the general population is not willing to care for foster children. However, certain significant findings were related to willingness to care for foster children. A significant relationship was found between income and willingness to care for foster children in that those respondents with incomes between $4,000-$20,000 expressed the most willingness to care for foster children while there was significant underrepresentation in both the highest and lowest income groupings to express a willingness to care for foster children with an almost lineal relationship of decreasing age with increasing willingness to care for foster children. There is no significant relationship, it was found, between education of the respondent and willingness to care for foster children. There is a lineal relationship of increasing willingness to care for foster children with increasing age of the foster child. Of those individuals expressing a willingness to care for foster children, there is no significant decrease in willingness because of physical disability, minor emotional problems or mental retardation. The results of this study have certain implication for recruitment and selection of foster parents. The findings indicate the need for further research to explore why more individuals in the population do not express a willingness to care for foster children, how such an interest can be encouraged and what criteria can be used in recruitment and selection

Successional change in phosphorus stoichiometry explains the inverse relationship between herbivory and lupin density on Mount St. Helens

Background: The average nitrogen-to-phosphorus ratio (N:P) of insect herbivores is less than that of leaves, suggesting that P may mediate plant-insect interactions more often than appreciated. We investigated whether succession-related heterogeneity in N and P stoichiometry influences herbivore performance on N-fixing lupin (Lupinus lepidus) colonizing primary successional volcanic surfaces, where the abundances of several specialist lepidopteran herbivores are inversely related to lupin density and are known to alter lupin colonization dynamics. We examined larval performance in response to leaf nutritional characteristics using gelechiid and pyralid leaf-tiers, and a noctuid leaf-cutter. Methodology/Principal Findings: We conducted four studies. First, growth of larvae raised on wild-collected leaves responded positively to leaf %P and negatively to leaf carbon (%C), but there was no effect of %N or quinolizidine alkaloids (QAs). Noctuid survival was also positively related to %P. Second, we raised gelechiid larvae on greenhouse-grown lupins with factorial manipulation of competitors and soil N and P. In the presence of competition, larval mass was highest at intermediate leaf N:P and high %P. Third, survival of gelechiid larvae placed on lupins in high-density patches was greater when plant competitors were removed than on controls. Fourth, surveys of field-collected leaves in 2000, 2002, and 2003 indicated that both %P and %N were generally greater in plants from low-density areas. QAs in plants from low-density areas were equal to or higher than QAs in high-density areas. Conclusions/Significance: Our results demonstrate that declines in lupin P content under competitive conditions are associated with decreased larval growth and survival sufficient to cause the observed negative relationship between herbivore abundance and host density. The results support the theoretical finding that declines in stoichiometric resource quality (caused here by succession) have the potential to cause a decrease in consumer abundance despite very dense quantities of the resource. © 2009 Apple et al

Increasing farm production and earnings on claypan soils in southern Illinois

Cover title

Geotechnical Characterization of TriNet Sites: A Status Report

The TriNet project, launched in 1997, created an improved, real-time seismic monitoring network in Southern California. Planning of the network began in 1995 (e.g., Heaton et al., 1996), building on the success of the earlier TERRAscope network, which included 24 digital broadband and strongmotion instruments throughout Southern California (e.g., Kanamori et al., 1993). At the end of the five-year TriNet project the network comprised 150 real-time digital broadband stations and another 400 strong-motion sensors, 50 of which were also real-time. This network is now recording digital broadband data for Southern California earthquakes at an unprecedented rate, data that are already proving valuable for investigations of earthquake sources and regional wave propagation, as well as earthquake response

Evaluation of FTIR Spectroscopy as a diagnostic tool for lung cancer using sputum

BACKGROUND: Survival time for lung cancer is poor with over 90% of patients dying within five years of diagnosis primarily due to detection at late stage. The main objective of this study was to evaluate Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) as a high throughput and cost effective method for identifying biochemical changes in sputum as biomarkers for detection of lung cancer. METHODS: Sputum was collected from 25 lung cancer patients in the Medlung observational study and 25 healthy controls. FTIR spectra were generated from sputum cell pellets using infrared wavenumbers within the 1800 to 950 cm(-1 )"fingerprint" region. RESULTS: A panel of 92 infrared wavenumbers had absorbances significantly different between cancer and normal sputum spectra and were associated with putative changes in protein, nucleic acid and glycogen levels in tumours. Five prominent significant wavenumbers at 964 cm(-1), 1024 cm(-1), 1411 cm(-1), 1577 cm(-1 )and 1656 cm(-1 )separated cancer spectra from normal spectra into two distinct groups using multivariate analysis (group 1: 100% cancer cases; group 2: 92% normal cases). Principal components analysis revealed that these wavenumbers were also able to distinguish lung cancer patients who had previously been diagnosed with breast cancer. No patterns of spectra groupings were associated with inflammation or other diseases of the airways. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that FTIR applied to sputum might have high sensitivity and specificity in diagnosing lung cancer with potential as a non-invasive, cost-effective and high-throughput method for screening. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT0089926

Developing and Implementing FBA-BIPs in Elementary Classrooms: A Conceptual Replication

The majority of students with disabilities and behavioral challenges are taught in general education classrooms. Although these students may receive interventions resulting in positive behavioral changes, little is known about the collateral effects of implementing behavior intervention plans (BIP) on classroom peers with similar behavioral problems who are not receiving an intervention. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of functional behavioral assessments (FBAs) and BIPs for students with challenging behavior as well as their peers. We measured target student and peer academic engagement, as well as treatment integrity and social validity. As a result of the intervention, target students demonstrated increased academic engagement. In addition, results suggest that the FBA-BIPs had small effects on engagement for some peers