The roles of mosquito and bird communities on the prevalence of West Nile virus in urban wetland and residential habitats

This study investigated the impacts of urban wetlands and their adjacent residential environments on the transmission dynamics of West Nile virus (WNV) within the state of New Jersey (USA). A working hypothesis was that urban wetlands decrease the local prevalence of WNV through the dilution effect from increased bird diversity, and through relative reductions in the numbers of competent avian host and mosquito species commonly associated with WNV. Surveys of mosquito and bird communities were undertaken at six urban wetlands and their adjacent residential environments over two seasons (2009, 2010). The community compositions of both avian and mosquito species differed significantly across habitats, and over relatively short geographical distances. Residential areas contained significantly higher proportions of WNV-competent mosquito species (31.25?±?5.3?%; e.g. Culex pipiens and Culex restuans), and WNV-competent avian host species (62.8?±?2.3?%, e.g. House Sparrow and American Robin) when compared to adjacent urban wetlands (13.5?±?2.1?%; 35.4?±?2.1?% respectively). Correspondingly, WNV infection rates within local Culex spp. populations indicate that WNV was more prevalent within residential areas (28.53/1000) compared to wetlands (16.77/1000). Large urban wetlands (>100?ha) produced significantly lower weekly WNV infection rates in local Culex spp. (6.67?±?2.84/1000) compared to small (<15?ha) wetlands (22.57?±?6.23/1000). Avian species richness was also influenced by patch size. Large urban wetlands contained significantly more species than small wetland patches. These results confirm that the community compositions of mosquito and avian hosts are important drivers in WNV infections, and that the ecological conditions that favor transmission are more strongly associated with urban residential environments than with adjacent urban wetlands.     

Status,Intertemporal Choice,and Risk‐Taking

This paper studies endogenous risk‐taking by embedding a concern for status (relative consumption) into an otherwise conventional model of economic growth. We prove that if the intertemporal production function is strictly concave, an equilibrium must converge to a unique steady state in which there is recurrent endogenous risk‐taking. (The role played by concavity is clarified by considering a special case in which the production function is instead convex, in which there is no persistent risk‐taking.) The steady state is fully characterized. It displays features that are consistent with the stylized facts that individuals both insure downside risk and gamble over upside risk, and it generates similar patterns of risk‐taking and avoidance across environments with quite different overall wealth levels. Endogenous risk‐taking here is generally Pareto‐inefficient. A concern for status thus implies that persistent and inefficient risk‐taking hinders the attainment of full equality.     

Does Charity Begin at Home? National Identity and Donating to Domestic Versus International Charities

VOLUNTAS: International Journal of Voluntary and Nonprofit Organizations - Despite the increased social significance currently attached to national identity, little is known about how national...     

The Intersectionality of Postsecondary Pathways: The Case of High School Students with Special Education Needs

Utilisant des données du Toronto District School Board, cette étude examine les parcours postsecondaires des étudiants qui ont besoin de services d’éducation de l'enfance en difficulté. Nous observons les parcours qui mènent au collège ainsi que ceux menant à l'université et nous nous servons de régression logistique multinomiale à plusieurs niveaux afin de situer nos résultats dans le contexte du cycle de vie. Nos résultants démontrent que les étudiants qui ont besoin de services d'éducation de l'enfance en difficulté ont moins de chances d'accepter une offre d'une université mais plus de chances d'accepter une offre d'un collège. Nous analysons un groupe de facteurs connus et bien documentés qui influencent le parcours postsecondaire afin de connaître leur rôle quant au parcours des étudiants qui ont besoin de services d'éducation de l'enfance en difficulté. Nos résultats démontrent que le niveau d'éducation des parents, le revenu du quartier, la race et la filière scolaire ont tous un impact sur le parcours postsecondaire de cette population étudiante. Using data from the Toronto District School Board, we examine the postsecondary pathways of students with special education needs (SEN). We consider both university and college pathways, employing multilevel multinomial logistic regressions, conceptualizing our findings within a life course and intersectionality framework. Our findings reveal that having SEN reduces the likelihood of confirming university, but increases the likelihood of college confirmation. We examine a set of known determinants of postsecondary education (PSE) pathways that were derived from the literature and employ exploratory statistical interactions to examine if the intersection of various traits differentially impacts upon the PSE trajectories of students with SEN. Our findings reveal that parental education, neighborhood wealth, race, and streaming impact on the postsecondary pathways of students with SEN in Toronto.     

Rural out-migration and resource-dependent communities in Mexico and India

Resource regimes are complex social–ecological systems that operate at multiple levels. Using data from two distinct cultural and environmental contexts (Mexico and India), this paper looks at the susceptibility and response of such regimes to rural out-migration. As a driver of demographic and cultural change, out-migration impacts both the practices and institutional arrangements that define territorial resource use and management. The research shows that critical yet poorly recognised shifts in migration dynamics can increase the pressures felt locally and serve to reduce the effectiveness of institutional adaptations at the community level. From an environmental perspective, the research adds to the body of work examining the impacts of rural depopulation on land and seascapes and associated biological diversity. We question the assumption that rural–urban migration necessarily simulates ecosystem recovery and aids conservation. This finding is timely as funding agencies and government programs show belated interest in the consequences of out-migration for environmental management, resource use and rural livelihoods in tropical country settings.     

Perinatal and social factors predicting caesarean birth in a 2004 Australian birth cohort

Background

The proportion of babies born by caesarean section in Australia has almost doubled over the last 25 years. Factors known to contribute to caesarean such as higher maternal age, mothers being overweight or obese, or having had a previous caesarean do not completely account for the increased rate and it is clear that other influences exist.

Fringing trees may provide a refuge from prolonged drying for urban wetland invertebrates

Climate change is causing prolonged drying in many seasonal wetlands, including urban wetlands, potentially affecting aquatic invertebrates that take refuge in wetland sediment during dry periods and thereby threatening wetland biodiversity. We collected sediment from two habitats: open water (OW) and fringing trees (FT), in eight urban wetlands after seasonal inundation had ended. Both habitats are inundated during winter–spring and dry in summer–autumn. Each sediment sample was divided into subsamples. One set of subsamples were inundated in the laboratory to test the hypothesis that emerging invertebrate assemblages would differ between OW and FT sediments. Another set of subsamples was dried, stored for a year, and inundated to test the hypothesis that prolonged drying would reduce the abundance and taxa richness of emerging invertebrates. The composition of emerging invertebrate assemblages differed between habitats, with more amphibious species found in FT sediment. Invertebrate responses to prolonged drying and storage varied among species: for some, effects depended on habitat type, while others delayed emergence or showed no response. Microcrustacean abundance was unaffected by drying, suggesting that their productivity during refilling may resist drier water regimes. Surface temperatures of dry sediment are cooler beneath FT, and this sediment has higher organic matter, holds more water and is less dense than OW sediment; and FT sediment remained cooler than OW sediment in the laboratory, despite the absence of shading. Fringing trees may therefore provide a refuge for some freshwater invertebrates relying on dormant stages in the sediment to survive drying in urban wetlands.     

Strengthening Partnership

When is the best time to bring in the service users?

This article, extracted from a wealth of material generated during UEL's first user/carer consultation, reveals a most useful day, enhancing the social work department's existing teaching partnerships with service users. Everything has to begin somewhere and small beginnings, where nurtured properly, harvest rich results. The day at the University of East London testifies that partnership works best when people are involved from the very beginning.