The Ursinus Weekly, March 1, 1965

Junior class extends invitation to Carousel: Al Raymond band at Sunnybrook • Pi Nu Epsilon sponsors annual Greek song fest • Students and faculty contribute to art show: Prizes awarded to varied entries in 3 day exhibit • Spring Festival adopts South Pacific theme, selects committees • WSGA plans to adopt a child • Students to dramatize un-American hearing • Collegeville coffee house provides weekend activity • Whitians greet scholastic women in biannual tea • Rushing, or - a puzzled frosh asks Why am I so popular? • Baseball season starts tomorrow • Editorial: Cheating • Frosh to receive colors in annual ceremony • Letters to the editor • Customs: Its development and its demise • Bears end week 1 for 2; Finish season 8-9: Troster and Parker standouts • Ursinus splits two games; Beats Beaver, loses to W.C. • Ursinus matmen lose two; Swath. & Drexel are close • Badminton team • Year in review • Advice columnhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1241/thumbnail.jp

How should we incentivize private landowners to "produce" more biodiversity?

Globally, much biodiversity is found on private land. Acting to conserve such biodiversity thus requires the design of policies which influence the decision-making of farmers and foresters. In this paper, we outline the economic characteristics of this problem, before reviewing a number of policy options such as conservation auctions and conservation easements. We then discuss a number of policy design problems, such as need for spatial coordination and the choice between paying for outcomes rather than actions, before summarizing what the evidence and theory developed to date tells us about those aspects of biodiversity policy design which need careful attention from policy makers and environmental regulators

Farmers’ perceptions of climate change : identifying types

Ambitious targets to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from agriculture have been set by both national governments and their respective livestock sectors. We hypothesize that farmer self-identity influences their assessment of climate change and their willingness to im- plement measures which address the issue. Perceptions of climate change were determined from 286 beef/sheep farmers and evaluated using principal component analysis (PCA). The analysis elicits two components which evaluate identity (productivism and environmental responsibility), and two components which evaluate behavioral capacity to adopt mitigation and adaptation measures (awareness and risk perception). Subsequent Cluster Analyses reveal four farmer types based on the PCA scores. ‘The Productivist’ and ‘The Countryside Steward’ portray low levels of awareness of climate change, but differ in their motivation to adopt pro-environmental behavior. Conversely, both ‘The Environmentalist’ and ‘The Dejected’ score higher in their awareness of the issue. In addition, ‘The Dejected’ holds a high sense of perceived risk; however, their awareness is not conflated with an explicit understanding of agricultural GHG sources. With the exception of ‘The Environmentalist’, there is an evident disconnect between perceptions of agricultural emission sources and their contribution towards GHG emissions amongst all types. If such linkages are not con- ceptualized, it is unlikely that behavioral capacities will be realized. Effective communication channels which encour- age action should target farmers based on the groupings depicted. Therefore, understanding farmer types through the constructs used in this study can facilitate effective and tai- lored policy development and implementation

Influence of Gelatin-Thrombin Matrix Tissue Sealant on Bacterial Colony Formation and Risk of Pelvic Infection

Objective. Gelatin-thrombin matrix (GTM) tissue sealant use was previously identified as an independent predictor of pelvic infection following hysterectomies. We aim to elucidate contributing factors by assessing influence of GTM on bacterial colony formation and characterizing bacteria present at the vaginal cuff. Methods. Escherichia coli was incubated in phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) and pelvic washings with and without GTM to assess influence on colony formation. Pelvic washings of the vaginal cuff were collected from hysterectomies occurring from June through October 2015. In vitro techniques, 16S rRNA gene qPCR, and 16S amplicon sequencing were performed with washings to characterize bacteria at the vaginal cuff. Results. Mean bacterial colony formation in PBS was greater for E. coli incubated in the presence of GTM (1.48 × 107 CFU/mL) versus without (9.95 × 105 CFU/mL) following 20-hour incubation (p=0.001). Out of 61 pelvic washings samples, 3 were culture positive (≥5000 CFU/mL) with Enterococcus faecalis. Conclusion. In vitro experiments support a facilitating role of GTM on colony formation of E. coli in PBS. However, given the negative results of surgical site washings following adequate disinfection, the role of GTM in promoting posthysterectomy pelvic infections may be limited. Analysis of pelvic washings revealed presence of E. faecalis, but results were inconclusive. Further studies are recommended