Search

Abstract This Anaphylaxis Manifesto calls on communities to prioritise 10 practical actions to improve the lives of people at risk of serious allergic reactions. The Global Allergy and Asthma European Network and the European Federation of Allergy and Airways Diseases Patients' Associations (EFA) compiled patient‐centric priorities. We used qualitative consensus methods, research evidence and feedback from over 200 patient groups, stakeholder organisations and healthcare professionals. We encourage healthcare, education and food organisations to collaborate with people at risk of serious allergic reactions to tackle safety, anxiety and financial burdens for individuals and societies. Key priorities for prevention include awareness‐raising campaigns for the public and professionals, school and workplace initiatives and mandatory precautionary allergen labels on food. Priorities for improving immediate and long‐term management include educating healthcare professionals, patients and schools about when and how to use adrenaline, funding two approved adrenaline devices for everyone at risk, and facilitating access to allergy specialists. Integrated care pathways should include clinical and non‐clinical management options such as individualised risk assessment and quality of life assessment, self‐management plans, dietetic and psychosocial support and peer support. Organisations around the world are committing to work together towards these priorities.

Ecosystem services are essential for human survival and wellbeing, and the quantity and quality of the services delivered by an ecosystem are dependent on its underlying condition. With many ecosystems degraded or in poor condition, the capacity to deliver key ecosystem services can be affected. The System of Environmental Economic Accounting – Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) is the international statistical framework developed to estimate and monitor changes in ecosystem extent, condition, and flow of ecosystem services. Although the condition of ecosystems underpins their capacity to supply a service, the connection between ecosystem condition and ecosystem services accounts is underdeveloped. This is because condition is usually assessed relative to an ideal reference state, whereas capacity to supply ecosystem services depends on both the condition of the ecosystem and the ecosystem service being considered. For example, a forest in one condition may have very different capacities to supply ecosystem services such as timber provisioning and recreational services. We propose a methodology to better integrate condition and ecosystem services accounts through development of an ecosystem capacity index. Building on condition accounts, we derived a capacity index and related capacity accounts, reflecting the capacity of each ecosystem asset to support the delivery of selected ecosystem services. We show that an ecosystem with a particular condition profile may have different capacity index values depending on the ecosystem service that is expected to be delivered. We provide case studies from two sites in the Republic of Ireland to illustrate the integration of capacity indices into ecosystem services accounts. This approach is an extension to ecosystem accounting that enables more rigorous connection of condition to ecosystem service supply by accounting for capacity.

Indigenous cultural heritage (ICH) is threatened worldwide, driven by factors like development, private property rights, and colonial planning. Indigenous communities are increasingly navigating the inadequacies of ICH protection by exerting their rights through laws, protocols, and policies. These initiatives assert sovereignty and relational responsibility to ancestral cultural heritage outside of the mandated colonial systems of management. This study centers on the Comox Valley in British Columbia, where the ICH of K'ómoks First Nation is under increasing threat of erasure due to private and commercial development. In response, the K'omoks First Nation has developed their own Cultural Heritage Policy (CHP), and accompanying archaeological permits to protect their cultural heritage where provincial archaeological legislation fails to. In the context of the K'omoks First Nation, we explore three interconnected questions associated with the assertion of Indigenous Peoples' rights and responsibilities around protecting their ICH: how do Indigenous communities exert self-determination over their ICH, how does ICH interact with local planning processes, and how can local (settler) governments strengthen ICH protection at the local level? Our findings reveal that local level implementation of Indigenous cultural heritage policies help to ensure that ICH protection strategies are effective and meet the needs of Indigenous Indigenous communities. Challenges remain, however, regarding jurisdictional barriers to formal policy adoption within the colonial regulatory regime, capacity limitations, and the need for public education and communications regarding Indigenous-led heritage policies.

This study explored the potential of machine learning techniques, specifically decision trees and artificial neural networks (ANNs), to detect Parkinson's Disease (PD) using data collected from the mPower mobile iOS app. Released in 2016 by Sage Bionetworks, mPower enables individuals, both with and without PD, to assess their cognitive and physical abilities through various tasks related to memory, tapping, voice, and movement. The main focus of this study is on the walking task within the app's version 1.0 build 7. Participants were required to walk unassisted for approximately 20 steps in a straight line, followed by a 30-second period of standing still, and then returning with 20 steps. The smartphone's accelerometer and gyroscope captured three-dimensional (3D) rotation data (x, y, z) during these movements, with the device placed in the participant's pocket or bag. A convolutional neural network was applied to the movement dataset to assess confirmed PD cases, utilizing accelerometer and gyroscope readings during outward walking, return walking, and rest periods.

The Koka hydropower dam is one of the oldest large dams in Ethiopia. Damming is one of the anthropogenic activities impacting the distribution of aquatic life forms. However, to date, little attention has been focused on the dam’s impacts on the river macroinvertebrate assemblages in Ethiopia. The objective of this study was, therefore, to assess the impacts of the Koka hydropower dam on macroinvertebrate assemblages in the Awash River basin in Ethiopia. In the three river reaches on the Awash River (upstream near the source of the river, midstream above the dam, and downstream below the dam), a total of 15 sites were selected for sampling. The statistical analysis tested the null hypothesis that there are no differences in macroinvertebrate assemblage patterns or a range of univariate metrics between the three river reaches. Additional analyses involved the identification of taxa responsible for significant differences in macroinvertebrate structure (e.g., percentage similarity) and an exploration of the variables that structure macroinvertebrates (e.g., canonical correspondence analysis). In the upstream, midstream, and downstream reaches of the Awash River, we recorded a total of 73 taxa belonging to 43 families and 12 orders. Trichoptera was the dominant order in the upstream river reach, whereas Diptera dominated the midstream and downstream river reaches. The diversity of macroinvertebrates decreased from upstream to midstream and downstream. The three river reaches differed significantly in Shannon and Simpson diversity indices, % EPT, EPT taxa abundance, total taxa richness, evenness index, % collectors, and % scrapers. In this study, we observed that macroinvertebrate assemblage differences and spatial patterns were significantly associated with values of river flow changes (velocity), phosphate concentration, and substrate index. The findings of this study have broad implications for the assessment of the impacts of dam construction on the rivers of the studied region in the future.

Abstract Bacteria in the Shigella genus remain a major cause of dysentery in sub-Saharan Africa, and annually cause an estimated 600,000 deaths worldwide. Being spread by contaminated food and water, this study highlights how wild caught food, in the form of freshwater catfish, can act as vectors for Shigella flexneri in Southern Kenya. A metatranscriptomic approach was used to identify the presence of Shigella flexneri in the catfish which had been caught for consumption from the Galana river. The use of nanopore sequencing was shown to be a simple and effective method to highlight the presence of Shigella flexneri and could represent a potential new tool in the detection and prevention of this deadly pathogen. Rather than the presence/absence results of more traditional testing methods, the use of metatranscriptomics highlighted how primarily one SOS response gene was being transcribed, suggesting the bacteria may be dormant in the catfish. Additionally, COI sequencing of the vector catfish revealed they likely represent a cryptic species. Morphological assignment suggested the fish were widehead catfish Clarotes laticeps, which range across Africa, but the COI sequences from the Kenyan fish are distinctly different from C. laticeps sequenced in West Africa.

Background: Menstrual hygiene management (MHM) service provision and improving schoolgirls' hygienic practices in schools are among the major challenges for low and middle income countries, including Ethiopia, in meeting the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals. This study was conducted to assess schoolgirls’ MHM practices and what influences those practices in Addis Ababa, the capital city of Ethiopia. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on 401 adolescent schoolgirls and 98 school directors that were selected using a multistage sampling method. Pretested semi-structured interviewer-administered questionnaires and observational checklists were used to collect data. Results: During menstruation, about 90% of schoolgirls used commercially made disposable sanitary pads. However, only 45.9% of girls had access to emergency pads from their schools. Of the 98 directors, 79 (80.6%) responded that they had MHM provisions for schoolgirls. However, 42 (42.9%) schools had no water and soap in the pad changing rooms/toilets, and 70% lacked a covered dustbin for disposal/storage of soiled sanitary pads. Besides, more than 55% of the schools practiced open burning and dumping to dispose of used menstrual materials. More than half of the schools had no sanitary pad changing rooms, three-quarters of them lack MHM education, and only 2.5% had a bathing area. The location of schools (AOR = 5.44, 95% CI: (2.34–12.66)), health club availability (AOR = 3.14, 95% CI: (1.53, 6.42)), being informed about MHM before menarche (AOR = 2.04, 95% CI: (1.04, 4.00)), and availability of emergency sanitary pad at schools (AOR = 2.59, 95% CI: (1.36, 4.91)) were significantly associated with the status of schoolgirls menstrual hygiene practices. Conclusions: About one-quarter of the schoolgirls had poor menstrual hygiene practices. Being a student in inner-city schools, attending a school that had a health club, being informed about MHM before menarche, and having access to emergency pads from schools were the determinant factors for good menstrual hygiene practices. However, most schools lack water, soap, and a covered dustbin in the pad changing rooms/toilets. Moreover, only a few schools provided MHM education and emergency pads. Improving water and sanitation services along with tailored MHM education are urgently needed to circumvent unsafe MHM practices among adolescent schoolgirls.

Colorado River agricultural producers are facing the prospect of substantial water use reductions over the coming years in the face of overuse, drought, and the impacts of climate change. To inform management decisions and to ensure that water can be allocated efficiently and equitably, decisionmakers and stakeholders will require new methods of agricultural water use accounting (WUA) that are consistent, transparent, and fast. Here we provide estimates of agricultural water use across the entire Colorado River Basin using publicly available data from OpenET, and we demonstrate strong agreement with available WUA from the US Bureau of Reclamation. Crucially, the methods employed here allow basin-wide agricultural water accounting to be completed in a matter of hours—a process that currently takes months or even years. We demonstrate how these same data can also be used to inform water conservation strategies at the field scale, thereby synchronizing basin-scale water accounting with project-scale conservation planning. We discuss key sources of uncertainty inherent in the methodology, along with strategies for managing those uncertainties to improve agricultural water conservation planning.

The United Nations System of Environmental and Economic Accounting - Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA EA) is a geospatial approach, whereby existing data on ecosystem stocks and flows are collated to show changes over time. The framework has been proposed as a means to track and monitor ecosystem restoration targets across the EU. Condition is a key consideration in the conservation assessment of habitats protected under the EU Habitats Directive and ecosystem condition accounts are also integral to the SEEA EA. While SEEA EA accounts have been developed at EU level for an array for ecosystem types, condition accounts remain the least developed. Collating available datasets under the SEEA EA framework, we developed extent and rudimentary condition accounts for peatland ecosystems at catchment scale in Ireland. Information relating to peatland ecosystem sub-types or habitat types was collated for peatland habitats listed under Annex I of the EU Habitats Directive, as well as degraded peatlands not included in EU nature conservation networks. While data relating to peatland condition were limited, understanding changes in ecosystem extent and incorporating knowledge of habitat types and degradation served as a proxy for ecosystem condition in the absence of more comprehensive data. This highlighted the importance of the ecosystem extent account, which underpins all other accounts in the SEEA EA framework. Reflecting findings at EU level, drainage, disturbance and land conversion were identified as the main pressures affecting peatland condition. We highlighted a number of options to gather data to build more robust, time-series extent and condition accounts for peatlands at varying accounting scales. Overall, despite the absence of comprehensive data, bringing information under the SEEA EA framework is considered a good starting point, with the integration of expert ecological opinion considered essential to ensure development of reliable accounts, particularly when working at ecosystem sub-type (habitat type) and catchment scale.

Ecosystem accounting is a tool to integrate nature into decision-making in a more structured way. Applying the use of nationally available datasets at catchment scale and following the System of Environmental Economic Accounting-Ecosystem Accounting (SEEA-EA) framework, we present results from a catchment case study in Ireland, highlighting findings specifically in relation to the development of ecosystem extent and condition accounts. In the absence of a national ecosystem map, CORINE landcover mapping formed the basic data for extent and type of ecosystems, distinguishing woodlands and forest, peatland and heathland, grasslands and cropland and urban areas, with limited coverage of linear freshwater rivers, hedgerows and coastal ecosystems. Additional remote sensing data provided higher resolution at catchment scale, while limited site-level survey data were available. Condition data gathered for reporting under the EU Water Framework Directive were available at sub-basin level for surface waterbodies. Data were available at national level for habitats reported for the EU under the Habitats Directive (59 habitats reported), covering ~ 25% of the study area. Data for ecosystem types outside of these reporting frameworks were in the form of ancillary data only, providing information on pressures, threats and intensity of use. Our findings in Ireland reflect work across the European region, highlighting the role of data gathering and stakeholder engagement. We outline some of the data gaps to provide information for future research and alignment of data for the purpose of NCA, both at catchment and national scale.

Abstract The Akaki River and its tributaries, in the city of Addis Ababa, are polluted by potentially toxic elements (PTEs) (Sb, Zn, Cd, As, Hg, Cu, Pb, Fe, V, Ni, Co, Mn, Cr, B, Sr and Ba) in varying degrees due to the significantly fast urban expansion and the industrial activities. The water samples collected from twenty-six different locations or sampling sites along the River and some of its tributaries were analyzed by ICP-MS to determine PTEs. The multivariate component analysis was used to evaluate the relationship and interdependency among the PTEs. The results showed that the mean concentrations for most of PTEs exceeded the recommended limits of drinking and irrigation water quality guidelines. A strong and positive relationship was observed among many of PTEs in the river water indicating common sources. The concentrations of many PTEs in the study area exceeded those previously reported and also varied with site or location, signifying localized contributions of the different contaminants associated with municipal, domestic, industrial, hospitals, garages and other activities. These findings of this study should help highlight and focus water quality management on key PTEs of concern and prioritize efforts to mitigate their release into surface waters in the city. Given the potential health implications of the PTEs mitigation measures should be sought as a matter of urgency by the relevant authorities in Ethiopia.

1. Riparian zones are vital areas of interaction between land and rivers and are often degraded by several pressures such as urbanisation, intensive agriculture and river engineering works. 2. This policy brief provides five key policy messages and recommendations to be considered by policy-makers, scientists, managers, and stakeholders to enhance riparian zone management. 3. Adopting an integrated socio-economic and environmentally dynamic view will ensure the sustainable management of riparian zones. 4. In light of climate change, it is critically important to conserve and/or restore the ecological integrity of riparian zones. 5. European Union Directives and national-scale legislation and regulations need updating to ensure coordinated implementation of riparian zone-related policies. 6. Stakeholder knowledge exchange, policy co-creation and adaptive management are key to enhancing riparian zone functions.

Abstract Background Vegetables grown at contaminated sites can take up and accumulate toxic and potentially toxic elements at concentrations that are toxic to human health. The present study determined the levels of potentially toxic elements/PTEs in irrigation water, soil and vegetable samples grown along contaminated river and assessed the potential health risks to consumers. Results The average concentrations of Mn, Sr and Cr in the irrigation water were higher than the international guideline values. The levels of As, Cr, B and Ni in most of the farm soils were also found to be higher than the guideline values. Other PTEs, although not exceeding the recommended limits were relatively high in the soil and water samples. The study also revealed that the mean levels of Cr, Cd and Fe in most vegetables were higher than the maximum recommended limits. Swiss chard was maximally contaminated with PTEs followed by lettuce, cabbage, Ethiopian kale, carrot and potato. Hence, frequent consumption of lettuce and Swiss chard may cause serious health risks to consumers. Conclusion The levels of many elements were varied with location, suggesting localized inputs of the various contaminants related to industrial and other activities that generate wastewater.

This paper outlines the research being undertaken by the recently-initiated four-year (to March 2022) project on the small stream network in Ireland (SSNet) funded by the Irish Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The overarching objective of SSNet is to advance knowledge on the role of small streams in water quality, biodiversity and ecosystem services protection that will inform policy, measures and management options to meet water quality and other resources protection targets. The project will start with a synthesis of available information on the importance of small streams to initiate communication with stakeholders and introduce the project. This will be followed by a compilation and analysis of existing data on small streams in Ireland to inform the selection of sites for the proposed research. Three work packages will collect new data on hydrochemistry with a focus on the nutrient retention potential of headwater streams, hydromorphology and biodiversity. All three investigations will share common sites to enable interconnections between the three elements to be explored and provide an integrated approach to the research. Modelling based on the results from each of the aforementioned tasks will be used to estimate the level of intervention in the small stream network required to have measurable effects throughout a catchment on both water quality (N, P & sediment) and flows, and overall delivery/maintenance of ecosystem services. We will also engage volunteers in both biological water quality and hydromorphological assessments and evaluate the potential of citizen science in facilitating greater monitoring coverage of the small stream network.

The EU Water Framework Directive aims to ensure restoration of Europe’s water bodies to “good ecological status” by 2027. Many Member States will struggle to meet this target, with around half of EU river catchments currently reporting below standard water quality. Diffuse pollution from agriculture represents a major pressure, affecting over 90% of river basins. Accumulating evidence shows that recent improvements to agricultural practices are benefiting water quality but in many cases will be insufficient to achieve WFD objectives. There is growing support for land use change to help bridge the gap, with a particular focus on targeted tree planting to intercept and reduce the delivery of diffuse pollutants to water. This form of integrated catchment management offers multiple benefits to society but a significant cost to landowners and managers. New economic instruments, in combination with spatial targeting, need to be developed to ensure cost effective solutions – including tree planting for water benefits - are realised. Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) are flexible, incentive-based mechanisms that could play an important role in promoting land use change to deliver water quality targets. The PESFOR-W COST Action will consolidate learning from existing woodlands for water PES schemes in Europe and help standardize approaches to evaluating the environmental effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of woodland measures. It will also create a European network through which PES schemes can be facilitated, extended and improved, for example by incorporating other ecosystem services linking with aims of the wider forests-carbon policy nexus.

The protection, preservation and restoration of aquatic ecosystems and their functions are of global importance. For European states it became legally binding mainly through the EU-Water Framework Directive (WFD). In order to assess the ecological status of a given water body, aquatic biodiversity data are obtained and compared to a reference water body. The quantified mismatch obtained determines the extent of potential management actions. The current approach to biodiversity assessment is based on morpho-taxonomy. This approach has many drawbacks such as being time consuming, limited in temporal and spatial resolution, and error-prone due to the varying individual taxonomic expertise of the analysts. Novel genomic tools can overcome many of the aforementioned problems and could complement or even replace traditional bioassessment. Yet, a plethora of approaches are independently developed in different institutions, thereby hampering any concerted routine application. The goal of this Action is to nucleate a group of researchers across disciplines with the task to identify gold-standard genomic tools and novel eco-genomic indices for routine application in biodiversity assessments of European fresh- and marine water bodies. Furthermore, DNAqua-Net will provide a platform for training of the next generation of European researchers preparing them for the new technologies. Jointly with water managers, politicians, and other stakeholders, the group will develop a conceptual framework for the standard application of eco-genomic tools as part of legally binding assessments.

Neotropical cloud forests are a critically endangered ecosystem characterised by their unusual hydrological conditions which frequently make them important sources of clean potable water. To facilitate any meaningful research on cloud forest streams it is necessary to first describe the structure and composition of the local lotic aquatic communities and to establish which environmental factors structure them under natural conditions. The present study sampled the macroinvertebrate communities of rivers draining the montane cloud forests of Cucuso National Park in Honduras, where increasing anthropogenic pressures are threatening water quality. Using multivariate techniques a bottom-up approach was adopted to establish groups of similar sites and identify environmental factors driving the differences between these. Three site groupings emerged based largely on differences in taxon composition driven mainly by pH and altitude.

Cusuco National Park, a cloud forest park situated in the Merendon Mountains region of Honduras, is home to considerable biodiversity with a very high degree of endemism. Like many other cloud forest parks in Central America, it was declared a protected area not because of its biodiversity, but mainly because of its function in protecting river water quality in the headwaters draining the park. Illegal and authorised forest clearance for agricultural activity such as coffee production and pasture for animals and diffuse inputs from settlements are expected to affect aquatic macroinvertebrate communities and the water quality of the rivers in the park. There is however very limited water quality monitoring, mainly because biological indices such as those in use in Europe and the United States among others have not been developed in Honduras. A research project based on macroinvertebrates was initiated in 2009 to develop a water quality index for the area. Sampling was undertaken between June and August 2009 and set out to sample minimally disturbed upper catchments of reference rivers. This paper evaluates the performance of several indices. A version of the ASPT based on the BMWP calibrated for Costa Rica (BMWP(CR)) performed best. KEY WORDS Biomonitoring, Honduras, macroinvertebrates, neotropics, upland stream, water quality

Upland headwater streams are dynamic systems, responding rapidly to changes in climatic conditions. This study examined the effects of a catastrophic rainfall event, that occured on 24 October 2011 on the east coast of Ireland, on the macroinvertebrate community composition and structure of four headwater streams in the river Liffey catchment located in the Wicklow Mountains. The ecological status before and after the storm were also evaluated. The water level and pH of each stream were recorded using continuous monitoring equipment, while rainfall data for the study period were sourced from a local weather station. Benthic macroinvertebrates were investigated before and after the storm event using Surber sampling. Results showed rapid and large increases in water level and significant declines in stream pH in response to intensive rainfall during the storm. The high water levels also caused major physical damage and abrasion in all four streams, that significantly altered instream habitats. The storm event induced significant losses to the richness and/or density of most taxonomic groups, with the exception of the Plecoptera. Furthermore, the overall community composition and structure changed significantly, most likely as a result of physical disturbance, given the relative persistence of acid-sensitive taxa and the relatively short period of harsh acidic conditions (

Niemann-Pick Disease, type C (NPC) is a fatal, neurodegenerative, lysosomal storage disorder. It is a rare disease with broad phenotypic spectrum and variable age of onset. These issues make it difficult to develop a universally accepted clinical outcome measure to assess urgently needed therapies. To this end, clinical investigators have defined emerging, disease severity scales. The average time from initial symptom to diagnosis is approximately 4 years. Further, some patients may not travel to specialized clinical centers even after diagnosis. We were therefore interested in investigating whether appropriately trained, community-based assessment of patient records could assist in defining disease progression using clinical severity scores. In this study we evolved a secure, step wise process to show that pre-existing medical records may be correctly assessed by non-clinical practitioners trained to quantify disease progression. Sixty-four undergraduate students at the University of Notre Dame were expertly trained in clinical disease assessment and recognition of major and minor symptoms of NPC. Seven clinical records, randomly selected from a total of thirty seven used to establish a leading clinical severity scale, were correctly assessed to show expected characteristics of linear disease progression. Student assessment of two new records donated by NPC families to our study also revealed linear progression of disease, but both showed accelerated disease progression, relative to the current severity scale, especially at the later stages. Together, these data suggest that college students may be trained in assessment of patient records, and thus provide insight into the natural history of a disease.

The population of Dublin City and its suburbs currently stands at 1.3 million and is projected to reach 2.1 million by 2022. There is pressure on its water supply system (inadequate catchment sources, ageing infrastructure including treatment facilities, and distribution network) with little or no spare capacity despite Ireland's relatively high rainfall that is well distributed throughout the year; albeit the greatest rainfall occurs in the west and southwest and at some remove from Dublin. The current governance approach to addressing the projected water supply deficit relies heavily on a combination of identifying new supply sources to secure the long-term water supply needs of the city together with an intense drive toward achieving "demand-side" reduced usage and conservation targets in accordance with EU benchmarks for various individual and sectoral users. This potentially emerging crisis of water scarcity in Dublin, with drivers including population growth, greater industrial and institutional demands, migration, and climate change, has generated one of the most significant public water works projects proposed in Irish history, which is to abstract raw water from the Shannon River Basin in the midland region and, following treatment, pump it to a storage reservoir in a cut-away bog before piping to the Greater Dublin Area. The preparations for this scheme have brought to the forefront some longstanding Irish water resources governance issues and challenges. This provides a unique opportunity and imperative at this time to take a more comprehensive look at the decision-making process in this regard, one done in the context of new European and national policies requiring incorporation of integrated planning to sustain ecosystem services, water resources management, water services management, and flood defense principles, and one taking account of the current unprecedented state of flux in which water resources management institutions in Ireland, and in particular Dublin, find themselves following years of unconsolidated legislation and stand-alone institutions.

The scientist-practitioner model provided by the Boulder Conference has served as an invaluable training model for clinical psychology. However, the goal of this article is to expand the understanding of the role of the scientist-practitioner model to the domain of educational psychology by providing readers with an understanding of the scope of the traditional educational psychology degree and what the authors, as scientist-practitioners, do in educational psychology. Information presented includes a brief history and definition of educational psychology, as well as a demonstration of the authors' roles as psychologists and the positions they take as educational psychologists in their communities. Keywords: scientist-practitioner; educational psychology; history of educational psychology; roles of educational psychologists

The article reviews the textile-based mixed media installation "Notebook of No Return to the Native Land."

An essay is presented in which the author explores the trials of death penalty case Strickler v. Greene. Topics discussed include charges of robbery, abduction, and murder against Tommy David Strickler, who is a borderline mentally retarded, relief to Strickler by the U.S. Supreme Court by allowing judicial review of the exculpatory statements, and the grant of habeas corpus to Strickler.

An essay is presented on the North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission as of April 2012 and a call for the active participation of citizens as a means of enduring that criminals who have been wrongly convicted are exonerated. It states that the use of DNA evidence has been crucial in overturning the convictions of close to 290 people since 1989. The North Carolina Innocence Inquiry Commission was reportedly established in 2006 by the state's General Statute Article 92.

Despite the widespread use of the Bou-Rouch method in obtaining hyporheic samples in ecological studies, problems persist in comparing data because of differences in volume and number of samples taken in various studies. Towards standardising this method, we conducted a study in the Delour River, Ireland, between March and September 2006. The hyporheic habitat was divided into three lateral zones: the flowing stream (SS); the stream–terrestrial ecotone (EC); and the terrestrial margin (TM). Between 3 and 6 random insertions of the stand pipe were made into the hyporheic habitat at 0.2 m and 0.5 m in each zone. Ten consecutive 1-L samples were pumped at each point to determine an optimum sample volume and replicates needed to estimate taxon richness and abundance. The optimum sample combinations range between 6 and 15 3- to 10-L samples depending on depth and habitat zone. Our results show that both spatial and temporal scales are important factors in considering the optimum combinations of sample volume and number of independent spatial replicates needed to sample stream hyporheos, with the zone closer to the flowing stream requiring many small-volume samples whereas areas further away towards the alluvial groundwater need larger volumes with small numbers of replicates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Autism is a neurological disorder characterized by significant impairments in language/communication, deficits in social interaction and restricted interests/ stereotypical behavior. A primary concern is the significant communication deficits exhibited by learners with autism. These deficits place learners with autism at risk for poor outcomes (e.g., maladaptive behavior, academic and social deficits). These communication deficits are commonly addressed by both speech/language pathologists and behavior analysts. While both disciplines generally address similar goals, the tools used for the intervention process often differ. This paper reviews some of the key components for effective intervention for communication disorders in learners with autism from each discipline. Strategies for effective collaboration between these two fields to promote comprehensive programming and improve quality of service are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Academic nursing administrators and faculty must remember the special character and purpose of the parent university or college when determining nursing curricula, extrainstitutional service roles, and faculty qualifications and expectations. The program must reflect its role as an accepted professional discipline of the institution. (MSE)

Discusses the significance of politics in the nursing profession. Insights on planning for change; Experiences on failure for change; Insights on changing health care policies.