Re-assessing the vertical distribution of testate amoeba communities in surface peats: Implications for palaeohydrological studies.

Testate amoeba-derived transfer functions are frequently used in peatland palaeohydrological studies and involve the development of training sets from surficial peats. However, within acrotelmic peats, considerable vertical variation in assemblage composition can occur, particularly along Sphagnum stems, which may limit the representation of the associated 'contemporary' testate amoeba samples as analogues for the peatland surface. This paper presents contiguous testate amoeba assemblage data from nine monoliths collected from different peatland microforms (hummock, hollow, lawn) in three Sphagnum dominated ombrotrophic peatlands in Ontario and Quebec, eastern Canada. The aim is to: (i) gain a greater understanding of the vertical distribution of xerophilous/hygrophilous taxa along Sphagnum stems; (ii) determine the vertical extent of live/encysted taxa along this gradient; and (iii) assess the significance of this distribution on surface sampling protocols. The results show that testate amoeba communities in the uppermost acrotelmic peat layers display considerable variability. This may reflect a complex interplay of abiotic and biotic controls, including moisture, temperature, light and other characteristics, food availability, and mineral particle availability for test construction. These findings underline the complexity of testate amoeba community structure and highlight the importance of analysing both living and dead Sphagnum stem sections when developing calibration sets.

Drug-facilitated sexual assault: educating women about the risks.

"Andrea," an 18-year-old college freshman, walked into her first fraternity party with a few of her sorority sisters. As she walked through the crowded house, one of the fraternity boys handed the girls large plastic cups. Another boy circulated through the crowd, filling up the cups of all guests from two pitchers of beer. When he filled Andrea's cup, he smiled and was polite and charming. She thought his act of filling her cup was kind and gentlemanly, and was flattered by his attention. She didn't notice he used a different pitcher for her than he had for her friends. She and her friends continued to mill through the crowd, sipping their beer. About 20 minutes later, Andrea suddenly had trouble focusing her vision. She felt disoriented and "drunk" even though she had only consumed a third of her beer. She started feeling nauseated, and tried to find her friends. The polite boy who had poured her beer asked her if she was all right, and offered to take her up to his room so she could rest. She followed him, grateful to be able to lie down. Forty-five minutes later, her concerned friends searched the house for Andrea. They found her upstairs passed out in a bedroom, lying on her side; she had vomited and her clothes were disheveled. Suspecting only alcohol intoxication; they picked her up, and walked her out of the party. After Andrea slept for about two hours, she woke up and told her friends something wasn't right. She had only drunk a small amount of her beer, and had no recollection after she walked up the stairs with the boy. She burst into tears, stating she feels some vaginal discomfort, and is afraid she may have been raped. Her friends looked at each other, thinking, "How did this happen and what are we supposed to do?"