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Increasing human pressures on freshwater resources have led to global declines in fish populations and have made the protection of instream flows critical to the conservation of riverine ecosystems. However, uncertainty in predicting ecological responses to flow variability has hindered implementation of successful environmental flow management. An improved understanding of the relationships between streamflows and Pacific salmon Oncorhynchus spp. population persistence is particularly needed in semiarid regions such as California, where streamflows during the dry season are highly variable and increasingly threatened by withdrawals to meet human water demands. To examine the effects of summer low flows on a threatened salmonid species, we analyzed 9 years of count data for juvenile steelhead O. mykiss from nine stream reaches in four coastal California watersheds. We used a Bayesian modeling framework to examine the relative influences of streamflow, land use, and habitat quality on juvenile steelhead oversummer survival. An estimated mean survival of 30% suggested that the dry season is a significant period of stress for juvenile steelhead rearing in tributary streams. The models indicated that the magnitude of summer flow and the duration of low-flow conditions were both important in explaining interannual variation in juvenile survival rates, which showed a consistent increasing trend with higher early and late-summer flows among all sites. The results also suggested an adverse effect of intensive agricultural land use on juvenile steelhead populations, while local habitat suitability had a positive effect. Although additional research is needed to identify the mechanisms by which flow influences fish survival in the dry season, these findings indicate that water quantity is a potential limiting factor to juvenile steelhead survival in coastal California watersheds and suggest that protection of summer streamflows is important for the conservation of threatened salmonid populations. Received March 29, 2011; accepted October 31, 2011 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses a court case Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association Inc. v. Santa Clara County Open Space Authority, wherein the plaintiff filed the suit to invalidate the assessment basis in California. The plaintiff sued the OSA under the Proposition 218's procedural and substantive requirements. However, the trial court favored the OSA that was affirmed by the Court of Appeals.

This article reports on capital punishment in the United States in light of the provisions governing executions under California law. A court ruled that the condemned could not die in excessive pain, as dictated in the 8th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which forbids "cruel and unusual punishments." Michael Morales was scheduled to die by lethal injection in February 2006, but the execution was postponed by a U.S. District Court Judge, when it was found that no one medically qualified to participate in the execution was available. Two anesthesiologists who had volunteered to observe the execution withdrew when they were asked to intervene should Morales appear to regain consciousness. The execution warrant expired before they could be replaced. The American Medical Association, the American College of Physicians, and the American Society of Anesthesiology forbid doctors from participating in executions.

Reports that officials at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) say professor John Fahey violated university and federal rules when he helped a Chinese researcher, Xiao Peng Chen, evaluate data and biological samples from a trial done in China in which malaria parasites were injected into HIV-infected patients. Belief that malariotherapy stimulates a reaction that boosts the immune system of patients infected with HIV; Description of the human trail in China, which was supported by Henry Heimlich.

Discusses the use of imaging and intraoperative monitoring techniques to remove vascular malformations in the brain that had been considered unoperable. Steinberg et al of Stanford University in Palo Alto, California removing angiographically occult vascular malformations (AOVM) located in deep brain structures; Use of stereotactic techniques.

Reports that routine testing for human papillomavirus (HPV) in women with borderline Papanicolaou (Pap) tests is effective in detecting precancerous cervical lesions. Research by Michele Manos et al of the Kaiser Permanente Division of Research in Oakland, California; Details on the testing of cervical cells from women with atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASCUS).

Reports that Los Angeles, California Mayor Richard J. Riordan has declared a local state of emergency to the spread of AIDS and HIV infection. State crackdown on the distribution of clean needles to drug users; Riordan's support for responsible needle-exchange programs.

Reports on a study conducted by University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center and research firm Lewin-VHI Inc. which shows that California taxpayers save on average $7 for every dollar they spend on drug and alcohol treatment programs. Respondents of survey; Savings from reduction in criminal activity; Effectiveness of treatment for stimulant use compared with treatment for heroin addiction.

Reports on the creation of an initiative that aims to weaken California's anti-smoking laws through petition signatures and funds from Philip Morris Companies Incorporated. Ordinances mandating smoke-free workplaces and restaurants; California Uniform Tobacco Control Act as initiative's name; Implications of the initiative.

Reports on the approval by the National Institute of Health Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee of two gene-therapy protocols for Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) patients. Research at the University of California San Diego; Research at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington.

Reports on the passing of an ordinance banning smoking in more than 7000 restaurants in Los Angeles, California. Opponents of local ordinances; Tobacco apartheid; Backing by the California Medical Association; Petitions calling for a repeal of the law.

Explains that Glendale, California, police are investigating reports that a respiratory therapist confessed to committing numerous mercy killings on patients. Possible crimes by Efren Saldivar at the Glendale Adventist Medical Center; Number of patients involved; How Saldivar chose patients to die; Steps taken by hospital and Glendale police.

Looks at the case of a California woman found guilty of abuse of her obese daughter. The death of the thirteen year-old due to heart failure from obesity; The weight of the child; The conviction of the mother to a maximum of 6 months in jail; The possibility that the child had Prader-Willi syndrome.

Air quality data collected in the California Regional PM10/ PM2.5 Air Quality Study (CRPAQS) are analyzed to qualitatively assess the processes affecting secondary aerosol formation in the San Joaquin Valley (SJV). This region experiences some of the highest fine particulate matter (PM2.5) mass concentrations in California (≤188 µg/m³ 24-hr average), and secondary aerosol components (as a group) frequently constitute over half of the fine aerosol mass in winter. The analyses are based on 15 days of high-frequency filter and canister measurements and several months of wintertime continuous gas and aerosol measurements. The phase-partitioning of nitrogen oxide (NOx)-related nitrogen species and carbonaceous species shows that concentrations of gaseous precursor species are far more abundant than measured secondary aerosol nitrate or estimated secondary organic aerosols. Comparisons of ammonia and nitric acid concentrations indicate that ammonium nitrate formation is limited by the availability of nitric acid rather than ammonia. Time-resolved aerosol nitrate data collected at the surface and on a 90-m tower suggest that both the daytime and nighttime nitric acid formation pathways are active, and entrainment of aerosol nitrate formed aloft at night may explain the spatial homogeneity of nitrate in the SJV. NOx and volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions plus background O3 levels are expected to determine NOx oxidation and nitric acid production rates, which currently control the ammonium nitrate levels in the SJV. Secondary organic aerosol formation is significant in winter, especially in the Fresno urban area. Formation of secondary organic aerosol is more likely limited by the rate of VOC oxidation than the availability of VOC precursors in winter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]