For comparing impacts of bird and bat collisions with wind turbines, investigators estimate fatalities/megawatt (MW) of rated capacity/year, based on periodic carcass searches and trials used to estimate carcasses not found due to scavenger removal and searcher error. However, scavenger trials typically place ≥10 carcasses at once within small areas already supplying scavengers with carcasses deposited by wind turbines, so scavengers may be unable to process and remove all placed carcasses. To avoid scavenger swamping, which might bias fatality estimates low, we placed only 1–5 bird carcasses at a time amongst 52 wind turbines in our 249.7‐ha study area, each carcass monitored by a motion‐activated camera. Scavengers removed 50 of 63 carcasses, averaging 4.45 days to the first scavenging event. By 15 days, which corresponded with most of our search intervals, scavengers removed 0% and 67% of large‐bodied raptors placed in winter and summer, respectively, and 15% and 71% of small birds placed in winter and summer, respectively. By 15 days, scavengers removed 42% of large raptors as compared to 15% removed in conventional trials, and scavengers removed 62% of small birds as compared to 52% removed in conventional trials. Based on our methodology, we estimated mean annual fatalities caused by 21.9 MW of wind turbines in Vasco Caves Regional Preserve (within Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, California, USA) were 13 red‐tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), 12 barn owls (Tyto alba), 18 burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia), 48 total raptors, and 99 total birds. Compared to fatality rates estimated from conventional scavenger trials, our estimates were nearly 3 times higher for red‐tailed hawk and barn owl, 68% higher for all raptors, and 67% higher for all birds. We also found that deaths/gigawatt‐hour of power generation declined quickly with increasing capacity factor among wind turbines, indicating collision hazard increased with greater intermittency in turbine operations. Fatality monitoring at wind turbines might improve by using scavenger removal trials free of scavenger swamping and by relating fatality rates to power output data in addition to rated capacity (i.e., turbine size). The resulting greater precision in mortality estimates will assist wildlife managers to assess wind farm impacts and to more accurately measure the effects of mitigation measures implemented to lessen those impacts.
Context Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders in older adults; however, few data exist to guide clinicians in efficacious and safe treatment. Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) are efficacious for younger adults with GAD, but benefits and risks may be different in older adults. Objective To examine the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of the SSRI escitalopram in older adults with GAD. Design, Setting, and Participants A randomized controlled trial in primary care practices and related specialty clinics in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, of 177 participants aged 60 years or older with a principal diagnosis of GAD randomized to receive either escitalopram or placebo and conducted between January 2005 and January 2008. Interventions Twelve weeks of 10 to 20 mg/d of escitalopram (n=85) or matching placebo (n=92). Main Outcome Measures Cumulative response defined by Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement score of much or very much improved; time to response; and anxiety and role functioning changes measured by the Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement scale, Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale, Penn State Worry Questionnaire, Late-Life Function and Disability Instrument activity limitations subscale, and the role-emotional impairment and social function subscales of the Medical Outcome Survey 36-item Short Form. Results In the primary analytic strategy in which participants (n=33) were censored at the time of dropout, mean cumulative response rate for escitalopram was 69% (95% confidence interval [CI], 58%-80%) vs 51% (95% CI, 40%-62%) for placebo (P=.03). A conservative intention-to-treat analysis showed no difference in mean cumulative response rate between escitalopram and placebo (57%; 95% CI, 46%-67%; vs 45%; 95% CI, 35%-55%; P=.11). Participants treated with escitalopram showed greater improvement than with placebo in anxiety symptoms and role functioning (Clinical Global Impressions-Improvement scale: effect size, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.50-1.36; P<.001; Penn State Worry Questionnaire: 0.30; 95% CI, 0.23-0.48; P=.01; activity limitations: 0.32; 95% CI, 0.01-0.63; P=.04; and the role-emotional impairment and social function: 0.96; 95% CI, 0.03-1.90; P=.04). Adverse effects of escitalopram (P<.05 vs placebo) were fatigue or somnolence (35 patients [41.1%]), sleep disturbance (12 [14.1%]), and urinary symptoms (8 [9.4%]). Conclusions Older adults with GAD randomized to escitalopram had a higher cumulative response rate for improvement vs placebo over 12 weeks; however, response rates were not significantly different using an intention-to-treat analysis. Further study is required to assess efficacy and safety over longer treatment durations. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier: NCT00105586
Previous research has demonstrated that the use of emotion regulation strategies can vary by sociocultural context. In a previous study, we reported changes in the use of two different emotion regulation strategies at an annual alternative cultural event, Burning Man (McRae et al., 2011). In this sociocultural context, as compared to typically at home, participants reported less use of expressive suppression (a strategy generally associated with maladaptive outcomes), and greater use of cognitive reappraisal (a strategy generally associated with adaptive outcomes). What remained unclear was whether these changes in self-reported emotion regulation strategy use were characterized by changes in the regulation of positive emotion, negative emotion, or both. We addressed this issue in the current study by asking Burning Man participants separate questions about positive and negative emotion. Using multiple datasets, we replicated our previous findings, and found that the decreased use of suppression is primarily driven by reports of decreased suppression of positive emotion at Burning Man. By contrast, the increased use of reappraisal is not characterized by differential reappraisal of positive and negative emotion at Burning Man. Moreover, we observed novel individual differences in the magnitude of these effects. The contextual changes in self-reported suppression that we observe are strongest for men and younger participants. For those who had previously attended Burning Man, we observed lower levels of self-reported suppression in both sociocultural contexts: Burning Man and typically at home. These findings have implications for understanding the ways in which certain sociocultural contexts may decrease suppression, and possibly minimize its associated maladaptive effects.
Trials involving volitionally placed carcasses are often used to estimate the portion of the collision-caused fatality population that is undetected by periodic fatality searches at wind turbines. Huso and Erickson criticized our paper reporting on a comparison of carcass persistence rates between what we termed conventional versus novel approaches to these trials. In our novel approach, we measured carcass persistence rates by placing only 1-2 fresh carcasses per week, instead of the typical 10 or more carcasses at a time, often using found carcasses of unknown time since death. Huso and Erickson directed most of their critique to this novel aspect of our approach, although the novelty of our approach also included the use of event-triggered camera traps, which we used to record exact times of removals and to identify vertebrate scavenger species responsible for the removals. In our replies to Huso and Erickson's major criticisms, we acknowledge flaws in our field methods for arriving at fatality rate estimates, but we also point out the larger flaws in the methods used by Huso and Erickson, especially in their use of mean days to removal as a measure of carcass persistence. We conclude by introducing a more appropriate detection trial, which combines searcher detection and scavenger removal trials, and integrates this detection trial into periodic fatality monitoring. ß 2013 The Wildlife Society.
BackgroundAdolescents experience high rates of depression, initiation of sexual activity, and substance use.ObjectivesTo better understand the demographics of adolescents presenting to an adolescent clinic in Uganda, and to elucidate which factors are associated with depressive symptoms, sexual initiation, and substance use.MethodsA retrospective review was performed on intake forms obtained during interviews with adolescents presenting to the Makerere/Mulago Columbia Adolescent Health Clinic (MMCAH) in Kampala, Uganda.ResultsDepressive symptoms in adolescents were correlated with having a chronic illness (p=.026), and reported poor quality of home life (p<.001). Initiation of sexual activity was also correlated with chronic illness (p=.008) and poor quality of home life (p=.006). Substance use was correlated with maternal death (p=.041), chronic illness (p=.038), and substance use among family members (p<.001) and friends (p<.001).ConclusionsKnowing the aforementioned risk factors can help us better understand the needs of adolescents presenting to MMCAH, and allows us to develop targeted interventions aimed at decreasing health risks in Kampala's adolescent population.
Roads can negatively impact the survival of wildlife populations through additional mortality from road kill and population fragmentation caused by road avoidance behaviors. The 11.9 mile section of State Route 101 between the towns of San Luis Obispo and Atascadero, CA, USA, crosses a mountain lion movement corridor and an area important to maintaining ecological connectivity between protected lands in the Los Padres National Forest to the north and south. I examined the spatial patterns and landscape and roadway factors associated with road kill occurrence for six taxa; large mammals, mesocarnivores, squirrels, rabbits, birds and raptors. Between 1 May 2009 and 30 June 2010 road kills were documented using vehicle-based surveys. Small mammals were the most common road kill (58.3%), followed by mesocarnivores (10.9%), birds (10.6%), rabbits (5.1%), large mammals (3.3%) and raptors (3.2%). Twenty-nine large mammal road kills were observed; eighteen mule deer, six black bears and five feral pigs. Road kill was highest in the middle of the survey area between the top of Cuesta Grade and the southern edge of Atascadero and lowest along the Cuesta Grade. I modeled road kill occurrence using logistic regression to identify landscape and roadway characteristics that were associated with road kill locations. Large mammal and mesocarnivore road kills were more likely to occur near riparian corridors. Mesocarnivore and squirrel road kills were associated with locations with greater roadside tree cover. Squirrel and rabbit road kills were more likely to occur along sections of the road with large grassy center medians. I documented animal activity patterns around the roadway during three survey periods (summer 2009, fall 2009 and spring 2010) using remote cameras placed on game trails and underpasses along the roadway. Mule deer displayed crepuscular activity patterns with peaks in activity in the morning between 05:00h and 07:00h and in the evening between 16:00h and 18:00h. Mesocarnivores generally displayed a nocturnal activity pattern with most activity occurring between 18:00h and 06:00h. I used logistic regression to determine if there was a relationship between animal activity patterns and traffic patterns while controlling for time of day, day of the week, and season. Mule deer and mesocarnivore activity patterns varied significantly by time of day and mule deer activity also varied significantly by season; however only mesocarnivore activity varied significantly in relation to traffic volume suggesting that mesocarnivores were less active when traffic volume was high. Using traffic volume and animal activity patterns I calculated a collision potential value for both mule deer and mesocarnivores. Collision potential for mule deer was high in the morning, between 06:00h and 08:00h, and in the evening, between 16:00h and 18:00h in all three seasons. Collision potential for mesocarnivores was high in the evening in fall 2009 (18:00h and 21:00) and spring 2010 (17:00h), and high in the morning in summer 2009 (09:00h). ...
The Eric Garner case was unique because this police-induced death was caught on video from before the moment of physical confrontation. A mixed-methods representative household survey and Garner's arrest video were used to determine NYS voters' opinions (n D 119) about police indictment and Governor Cuomo's request for expanded authority. Respondents were asked whether the officers should face indictment, shown the arrest video, and then asked again about indictment. Prior to the video, a majority of respondents (n D 86; 57.4%) believed involved officers should have been indicted. After viewing, the proportion increased by 13.7%. A majority supported Cuomo's call for expanded authority to appoint a special prosecutor in cases where police are involved in civilian deaths. Study limitations include prior exposure to the footage and a low response rate. NYS voters generally supported Cuomo's proposal for appointing a special prosecutor; however, a quarter of respondents disagreed with the method of reform and expressed a: 1) preference for every case to go to trial; 2) preference for a case-bycase basis; or 3) distrust in state-appointed special prosecutors. This research could inform discussions regarding proposed system reforms. Future research with a less well-circulated video is needed to determine the extent to which videos of police-induced deaths affect public opinion.
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