Impact of prescribed fire on soil microbial communities in a Southern Appalachian Forest clear-cut.

Escalating wildfire frequency and severity, exacerbated by shifting climate patterns, pose significant ecological and economic challenges. Prescribed burns, a common forest management tool, aim to mitigate wildfire risks and protect biodiversity. Nevertheless, understanding the impact of prescribed burns on soil and microbial communities in temperate mixed forests, considering temporal dynamics and slash fuel types, remains crucial. Our study, conducted at the University of Tennessee Forest Resources AgResearch and Education Center in Oak Ridge, TN, employed controlled burns across various treatments, and the findings indicate that low-intensity prescribed burns have none or minimal short-term effects on soil parameters but may alter soil nutrient concentrations, as evidenced by significant changes in porewater acetate, formate, and nitrate concentrations. These burns also induce shifts in microbial community structure and diversity, with Proteobacteria and Acidobacteria increasing significantly post-fire, possibly aiding soil recovery. In contrast, Verrucomicrobia showed a notable decrease over time, and other specific microbial taxa correlated with soil pH, porewater nitrate, ammonium, and phosphate concentrations. Our research contributes to understanding the intricate relationships between prescribed fire, soil dynamics, and microbial responses in temperate mixed forests in the Southern Appalachian Region, which is valuable for informed land management practices in the face of evolving environmental challenges.

The changing nature of agoraphobic fears.

Recent factor analytic studies have emphasized the importance of both somatic and situational fears in agoraphobia. Franklin (1980) proposed a developmental model of agoraphobic fears in which somatic changes (interoceptive fears), and feared consequences such as panic (outcome fears), produce situational fears through misattribution. Five hypotheses derived from this model were tested on 60 agoraphobics who rated their original and current fears. In all subjects interoceptive and outcome fears relating to panic attacks developed before situational fear and avoidance. Initially outcome fears were significantly greater than interoceptive fears, which were in turn significantly greater than situational fears. Over time situational fears increased significantly, eventually equalling outcome fears, and exceeding interoceptive fears. Panic attack frequency and severity also reduced significantly. All hypotheses were confirmed and the implications for research and treatment are outlined.

Mothers, daughters and dieting: investigating the transmission of weight control.

OBJECTIVES: Research by Pike & Rodin (1991) found higher levels of weight concern and dissatisfaction with family functioning in mothers of eating disordered adolescent girls. The present study sought to extend this research by examining the maternal influences on weight and dieting concerns at a younger age. DESIGN: A cross-sectional comparison of high and low dietary restraint girls and their mothers was used. METHODS: Two groups of 20 11-year-old girls and their mothers completed assessments of dietary restraint, body shape preference, self-perception, family functioning and body weight and height. RESULTS: Mothers of high restraint girls did not differ from comparison mothers in their current level of dieting, but did report more between-meal snacking and fasting. In addition, they rated their daughters' attractiveness significantly lower than the other mothers. Furthermore, families with a highly restrained daughter scored significantly lower on perceived family cohesion, organization and moral-religious emphasis. CONCLUSIONS: The parallel with the findings of Pike & Rodin supports the role that mothers may play in the transmission of cultural values regarding weight, shape and appearance. Importantly, it also places early dieting within a wider context of dissatisfaction with family functioning.

Effects of consolidated tailings water on red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera Michx) seedlings.

As part of their tailings management, the oil sand industries plan on producing consolidated (composite) tailings (CT), in which an inorganic coagulant aid (gypsum) is added to create a non-segregating deposit. The water associated with this treatment contains potentially phytotoxic levels of sodium, sulfate, chloride, boron, aluminum, fluoride and strontium. Since CT water is expected to saturate deposits in the reclamation areas, it may affect successful reclamation of these sites. Red-osier dogwood (Cornus stolonifera Michx) was demonstrated to be relatively salt resistant and to have high potential for the reclamation of mining areas. In the present study, we used red-osier dogwood to examine the effects of CT water on the accumulation of ions within plant tissue, growth, gas exchange, water potentials and chlorophyll concentration. CT water reduced shoot lengths and dry weights in treated plants. The roots of treated plants accumulated higher concentrations of sodium and chloride than did shoots. The accumulation of sodium and chloride was accompanied by an increase in magnesium and calcium and a decrease in potassium in the roots, while the levels of potassium increased in the leaves. CT water altered gas exchange and water potentials in seedlings, and resulted in a decrease in chlorophyll's a and b. The results suggest that the mechanisms of salt resistance in red-osier dogwood seedlings involve the restriction of sodium transport from roots to shoots.

Hurricane Floyd. Response of the Pitt County Medical Community.

The financial impact of Hurricane Floyd on the medical community is still being tabulated. Initial estimates indicate a $5.8 million loss to UHS in operating revenue. Additional hospital costs include $568,000 for overtime pay, $310,000 for special equipment including helicopters and general supplies, and $1.2 million in "bonus pay" to the hospital's 6000 employees. The ECU School of Medicine suffered losses estimated at $3.6 million, including lost revenue, overtime, and salaries paid when clinics and services were shut down. Most private offices suffered from lost revenues and occasionally from flood damage to property. Hurricane Floyd was the most costly disaster to hit Eastern North Carolina and the Mid-Atlantic United States. The medical community and its patients were severely challenged from the terrible effects of flooding, but the collaborative efforts of a great number of individuals and a spirit of teamwork came together to provide continued health care to the region. It is very likely that the preventive measures enacted both before and after the storm averted illness and injury, and saved lives. Ingenuity, innovation, and optimal use of available resources allowed Pitt County Memorial Hospital and its surrounding medical community to stay in operation. We have learned a great deal from these experiences that will help us plan for future natural disasters.

A scale to measure locus of control of behaviour.

Many behaviour, psychotherapy and healthy life-style programmes require subjects to take responsibility for the control of the old unwanted behaviours or to be responsible for maintaining new desired behaviours after therapy has ended. A scale to measure the locus of control of behaviour would be valuable if it could predict persons likely to relapse following apparently successful therapy. A 17-item Likert-type scale to measure this construct was developed and shown to have satisfactory internal reliability, to be test-retest reliable in the absence of treatment, to be independent of age, sex and social desirability, and to distinguish clinical disorder from normal non-clinical subjects. Furthermore, change towards internality (a reduced LCB score) during therapy was shown to predict maintenance or, alternatively, change towards externality (an increase or no change in the LCB score) was shown to predict relapse 10 months later in treated stutterers. The scale was shown to be related to the personal control factor of the Rotter I-E scale but to be more powerful a predictor of relapse than this personal control subscale or the full Rotter scale.