Improving Habitat Restoration for Native Pollinators in San Francisco

Pollinators are responsible for 67 to 98% of flowering plant reproduction while 90% of all plants are flowering. This does not change in urban environments and focusing on habitat restoration in cities is important for the conservation of species. This paper focuses on urban habitat restoration in San Francisco for three species: Callophrys viridis, Icaricia icarioides missionensis, and Bombus californicus. These three species are all native of San Francisco and are all threatened by loss of habitat within the city. The problems these species face in urban environments, as well as the successes and failures of other habitat conservation programs, can help conservationists better design projects to improve native pollinator population. The organizations planning these restoration projects need to understand how the species interact with the environment. Bombus californicus requires ground-nesting habitat while Icaricia icarioides missionensis requires three lupine species for larval feeding. As seen with New York City’s sidewalk gardens and the success of I. icarioides missionensis population restoration on San Bruno Mountain, having a combination of scientific, community, government, and non-for-profit interest helps restoration projects become a success. C. viridis only has community and non-for-profit interest in the form of Nature in the City while B. californicus has some scientific interest, but little else. To ensure that these species, as well as others are properly conserved, the City of San Francisco must get involved with planning efforts, especially when it comes to caring for parks. It is also important that non-for-profits and community involvement be encouraged in the form of citizen science and smaller gardens and sidewalk gardens to create pollinator networks. By having this level of involvement, the city of San Francisco can become a haven for native pollinators

Effect of seasonality and processing on physicochemical characteristics of goat and sheep milk : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Food Technology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Figures are re-used with the publishers' permission.The interest toward goat and sheep milk consumption is growing with the scientific evidence for the unique health benefits of milk from non-bovine species. However, it is not fully understood whether goat and sheep milk will have the same processability when subjected to standard dairy processing developed for cow milk. Besides, it is of interest to the dairy industry how seasonality interacts with the processing treatments in affecting the properties of goat and sheep milk. The aim of this research was to understand the interspecies difference in physicochemical characteristics of milk, and the processing-induced changes as influenced by seasonality. Fresh goat and sheep milk samples were collected from local producers and characterised for their compositional and physicochemical properties over three different seasons. The fresh whole milk (goat and sheep) was subjected to various processing conditions: 75°C/15s with or without homogenisation and 95°C/5 min with homogenisation. The seasonal and processing-induced changes in goat and sheep milk were analysed using conventional methods. The gelation properties of the milk (acid and rennet) were also investigated. Goat milk was similar to cow milk in major components, but the protein composition was different. It contained a significantly lower amount of αs1-casein. Seasonality showed minimal effect on the composition and physicochemical properties of goat milk due to non-seasonal kidding management. Sheep milk was characterised with a higher content of macronutrients and minerals, and the casein micelle was more mineralised. It had higher buffering capacity and higher viscosity due to the rich amount of buffering components and total solids. The composition and physicochemical properties were broadly same across early and mid-season but changed during late milking season. Heat treatment (95°C/5 min) increased the size of casein micelles in both types of milk, and the effect was more pronounced for sheep milk (48% versus 24% increase in goat milk). The heat-induced increase in micelles size was much bigger in goat and sheep milk than in cow milk, suggesting different mechanisms of casein micelle modification. After heated at 95°C for 5 min, the denaturation level of whey protein and their association was lower in goat milk than in sheep milk. The goat α-lactalbumin was found more heat stable than the sheep counterpart. Goat milk formed weak gels when inoculated with rennet or acidified. Homogenisation decreased final storage modulus (G') and the final loss tangent of goat milk rennet gel. Heating (95°C/5 min) increased the final G' of acid gels made from goat milk, but the impact was far less pronounced than that in cow milk. Sheep milk formed much stronger rennet and acid gels compared to goat milk. Heat treatment (95°C/5 min) improved the acid gelation properties of sheep milk significantly (shorter gelation time, higher gelation pH and increased G' value). However, the extent of improvement was less pronounced in the late season despite the higher protein content

Semiología de las alteraciones vesicales después de las exéresis del recto canceroso

Presented at session 12th November 1958Presentado en sesión de 12 de noviembre de 195

A prototype urine collection device for female aircrew

Women are gaining increased access to small military cockpits. This shift has stimulated the search for practical urine containment and disposal methods for female aircrew. There are no external urine collection devices (UCD) for women that are comfortable, convenient, and leak free. We describe a prototype UCD that begins to meet this need. Materials used to make custom aviator masks were adapted to mold a perineal mask. First, a perineal cast (negative) was used to make a mold (positive). Next, a perineal mask made of wax was formed to fit the positive mold. Finally, a soft, pliable perineal mask was fabricated using the wax model as a guide. The prototype was tested for comfort, fit, and leakage. In the sitting position, less than 5 cc of urine leakage occurred with each 600 cc of urine collected. Comfort was mostly satisfactory, but ambulation was limited and the outlet design could lead to kinking and obstruction. We concluded that a perineal mask may serve as a comfortable and functional external UCD acceptable for use by females in confined environments. Changes are needed to improve comfort, fit, and urine drainage. Integration into cockpits, pressure suits, chemical defense gear, and environments where access to relief facilities is restricted is planned

Identification of adverse selection and moral hazard: evidence from a randomised experiment in Mongolia

Insurance market failures are common in developing countries and one commonly proposed explanation for this is the presence of asymmetric information. In this paper I test for the relative importance of adverse selection and moral hazard for car insurance using a randomised experiment at the largest insurance company in Mongolia, randomly upgrading low coverage buyers to a higher coverage. With this experiment, I find significant ex-ante adverse selection for third party and theft risks, while there is no evidence of ex-post moral hazard for either risk. Moreover, I find no evidence of adverse selection or moral hazard for coverages differing in co-payment rates. I also discuss how certain market features, likely to be perceived as specific to this context, are common in other insurance markets in developing countries, and whether these factors are likely to be driving the results in this paper