Connecting to Care

Chiropractic BioPhysics® 44th Annual Convention, Abstracts of Oral Presentations

Este artigo trata da natureza do acontecimento público dentro da perspectiva da microssociologia pragmática. Esta perspectiva inverte e confronta a perspectiva de acontecimento midiático, cuja abordagem centra apenas na ótica do acontecimento público e sua relação com a mídia. Tratamos aqui da natureza perturbadora do acontecimento público e sua recepção dentro de uma ordem social estabelecida, das operações, práticas e debates que engendra e seus desdobramentos em ações e reações na esfera pública. A agonia e morte do presidente eleito e não-empossado Tancredo Neves são retomadas para fundamentarmos uma análise sobre como e sob quais condições o caso tornou-se um acontecimento público individualizado, socializado e configurado como problema público no processo de redemocratização do Brasil.

Although the conditions that render forests likely to support nonnative plants are well documented, there are surprisingly few data on the long-term dynamics of nonnative invasive species in eastern temperate forests. We examined 11 years of compositional and structural change in a small (60 ha) forest preserve in Connecticut with abundant invasive plants, a diverse land use history, and varied edaphic characteristics. We quantified the extent to which vegetation composition changed at the species, life form, and community scales and then assessed the possible factors driving these changes. Fifty-four plots were sampled in 2004, 2009, and 2015; these plots spanned two major forest types, (a) Acer rubrum L.-Fraxinus americana L and (b) Quercus montana Willd.-Quercus coccinea Muenchh. Significant changes in composition occurred over time with a greater magnitude of change in the Acer-Fraxinus forest than in the Quercus forest at all scales of analysis. Large increases in the abundance of the invasive Microstegium vimineum (Trin.) A. Camus (+1760%), Berberis thunbergii DC. (+180%), and Rosa multiflora Thunb. ex Murr (+1790%), along with a surprisingly large decline in the dominant Alliaria petiolata (Bieb.) Cavara & Grande (–86%) occurred in the Acer-Fraxinus forest. Native shrub and herb life forms growing alongside these invasive species remained unchanged or increased in abundance. Soil moisture predicted change in abundance of R. multiflora and B. thunbergii. Our results suggest that A. petiolata may be less persistent over time than previously believed and underscore the difficulties of generalizing about invasive species dynamics and relationships with native plants.

Ungulates are leading drivers of plant communities worldwide, with impacts linked to animal density, disturbance and vegetation structure, and site productivity. Many ecosystems have more than one ungulate species; however, few studies have specifically examined the combined effects of two or more species on plant communities. We examined the extent to which two ungulate browsers (moose [Alces americanus]) and white‐tailed deer [Odocoileus virginianus]) have additive (compounding) or compensatory (opposing) effects on herbaceous layer composition and diversity, 5–6 years after timber harvest in Massachusetts, USA. We established three combinations of ungulates using two types of fenced exclosures – none (full exclosure), deer (partial exclosure), and deer + moose (control) in six replicated blocks. Species composition diverged among browser treatments, and changes were generally additive. Plant assemblages characteristic of closed canopy forests were less abundant and assemblages characteristic of open/disturbed habitats were more abundant in deer + moose plots compared with ungulate excluded areas. Browsing by deer + moose resulted in greater herbaceous species richness at the plot scale (169 m2) and greater woody species richness at the subplot scale (1 m2) than ungulate exclusion and deer alone. Browsing by deer + moose resulted in strong changes to the composition, structure, and diversity of forest herbaceous layers, relative to areas free of ungulates and areas browed by white‐tailed deer alone. Our results provide evidence that moderate browsing in forest openings can promote both herbaceous and woody plant diversity. These results are consistent with the classic grazing‐species richness curve, but have rarely been documented in forests.

The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act will not prove to be the reform for which physicians were long hoping. Private insurance rates will climb sharply, forcing people onto government programs; physician reimbursement will plummet; the physician shortage will worsen; rationing in the form of waiting lists is certain; health care as a whole will worsen; and once fully engaged, nationalization of health care will be irreversible.

Fragility functions are developed to predict the method of repair required for older reinforced concrete beam‐column joints damaged due to earthquake loading. The results of previous experimental studies are used to develop empirical relationships between damage states and engineering demand parameters, such as interstory drift, joint deformation, and number of load cycles. Damage states are proposed and linked deterministically with commonly employed methods of repair; these damage states are characterized by parameters such as concrete crack width, extent of concrete spalling, and yielding and buckling of reinforcement. Probability distributions are fit to the empirical data and evaluated using standard statistical methods. The results of this effort are families of fragility functions that predict the required method of repair for a damaged joint.