Methane removal and the proportional reductions in surface temperature and ozone

Mitigating climate change requires a diverse portfolio of technologies and approaches, including negative emissions or removal of greenhouse gases. Previous literature focuses primarily on carbon dioxide removal, but methane removal may be an important complement to future efforts. Methane removal has at least two key benefits: reducing temperature more rapidly than carbon dioxide removal and improving air quality by reducing surface ozone concentration. While some removal technologies are being developed, modelling of their impacts is limited. Here, we conduct the first simulations using a methane emissions-driven Earth System Model to quantify the climate and air quality co-benefits of methane removal, including different rates and timings of removal. We define a novel metric, the effective cumulative removal, and use it to show that each effective petagram of methane removed causes a mean global surface temperature reduction of 0.21 ± 0.04°C and a mean global surface ozone reduction of 1.0 ± 0.2 parts per billion. Our results demonstrate the effectiveness of methane removal in delaying warming thresholds and reducing peak temperatures, and also allow for direct comparisons between the impacts of methane and carbon dioxide removal that could guide future research and climate policy. This article is part of a discussion meeting issue 'Rising methane: is warming feeding warming? (part 1)'.

Investigation of Johne's disease in Tasmanian fallow deer (Dama dama)

In 2012 when many sheep flocks in northern-central Tasmania were experiencing a high prevalence of ovine Johne's disease, 34 wild adult fallow deer shot on or near infected properties were negative to microscopic Mptb lesions of the ileo-caecal valve, terminal ileum and ileo-caecal lymph nodes. This study demonstrated 95% confidence of detecting Johne's disease in this fallow deer population if ≥10% of animals were shedding Mycobacterium avium subsp. paratuberculosis in their faeces, or if ≥21% of animals were sub-clinically infected.

Traditional plant functional groups explain variation in economic but not size-related traits across the tundra biome

AIM

Plant functional groups are widely used in community ecology and earth system modelling to describe trait variation within and across plant communities. However, this approach rests on the assumption that functional groups explain a large proportion of trait variation among species. We test whether four commonly used plant functional groups represent variation in six ecologically important plant traits.

LOCATION

Tundra biome.

TIME PERIOD

Data collected between 1964 and 2016.

MAJOR TAXA STUDIED

295 tundra vascular plant species.

METHODS

We compiled a database of six plant traits (plant height, leaf area, specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content, leaf nitrogen, seed mass) for tundra species. We examined the variation in species-level trait expression explained by four traditional functional groups (evergreen shrubs, deciduous shrubs, graminoids, forbs), and whether variation explained was dependent upon the traits included in analysis. We further compared the explanatory power and species composition of functional groups to alternative classifications generated using post hoc clustering of species-level traits.

RESULTS

Traditional functional groups explained significant differences in trait expression, particularly amongst traits associated with resource economics, which were consistent across sites and at the biome scale. However, functional groups explained 19% of overall trait variation and poorly represented differences in traits associated with plant size. Post hoc classification of species did not correspond well with traditional functional groups, and explained twice as much variation in species-level trait expression.

MAIN CONCLUSIONS

Traditional functional groups only coarsely represent variation in well-measured traits within tundra plant communities, and better explain resource economic traits than size-related traits. We recommend caution when using functional group approaches to predict tundra vegetation change, or ecosystem functions relating to plant size, such as albedo or carbon storage. We argue that alternative classifications or direct use of specific plant traits could provide new insights for ecological prediction and modelling.

Avian influenza in Australia: a summary of 5 years of wild bird surveillance

BACKGROUND

Avian influenza viruses (AIVs) are found worldwide in numerous bird species, causing significant disease in gallinaceous poultry and occasionally other species. Surveillance of wild bird reservoirs provides an opportunity to add to the understanding of the epidemiology of AIVs.

METHODS

This study examined key findings from the National Avian Influenza Wild Bird Surveillance Program over a 5-year period (July 2007-June 2012), the main source of information on AIVs circulating in Australia.

RESULTS

The overall proportion of birds that tested positive for influenza A via PCR was 1.9 ± 0.1%, with evidence of widespread exposure of Australian wild birds to most low pathogenic avian influenza (LPAI) subtypes (H1-13, H16). LPAI H5 subtypes were found to be dominant and widespread during this 5-year period.

CONCLUSION

Given Australia's isolation, both geographically and ecologically, it is important for Australia not to assume that the epidemiology of AIV from other geographic regions applies here. Despite all previous highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks in Australian poultry being attributed to H7 subtypes, widespread detection of H5 subtypes in wild birds may represent an ongoing risk to the Australian poultry industry.

Water Use and Management in the Bakken Shale Oil Play in North Dakota

Oil and natural gas development in the Bakken shale play of North Dakota has grown substantially since 2008. This study provides a comprehensive overview and analysis of water quantity and management impacts from this development by (1) estimating water demand for hydraulic fracturing in the Bakken from 2008 to 2012; (2) compiling volume estimates for maintenance water, or brine dilution water; (3) calculating water intensities normalized by the amount of oil produced, or estimated ultimate recovery (EUR); (4) estimating domestic water demand associated with the large oil services population; (5) analyzing the change in wastewater volumes from 2005 to 2012; and (6) examining existing water sources used to meet demand. Water use for hydraulic fracturing in the North Dakota Bakken grew 5-fold from 770 million gallons in 2008 to 4.3 billion gallons in 2012. First-year wastewater volumes grew in parallel, from an annual average of 1,135,000 gallons per well in 2008 to 2,905,000 gallons in 2012, exceeding the mean volume of water used in hydraulic fracturing and surpassing typical 4-year wastewater totals for the Barnett, Denver, and Marcellus basins. Surprisingly, domestic water demand from the temporary oilfield services population in the region may be comparable to the regional water demand from hydraulic fracturing activities. Existing groundwater resources are inadequate to meet the demand for hydraulic fracturing, but there appear to be adequate surface water resources, provided that access is available.

New tracers identify hydraulic fracturing fluids and accidental releases from oil and gas operations

Identifying the geochemical fingerprints of fluids that return to the surface after high volume hydraulic fracturing of unconventional oil and gas reservoirs has important applications for assessing hydrocarbon resource recovery, environmental impacts, and wastewater treatment and disposal. Here, we report for the first time, novel diagnostic elemental and isotopic signatures (B/Cl, Li/Cl, δ11B, and δ7Li) useful for characterizing hydraulic fracturing flowback fluids (HFFF) and distinguishing sources of HFFF in the environment. Data from 39 HFFFs and produced water samples show that B/Cl (>0.001), Li/Cl (>0.002), δ11B (25-31‰) and δ7Li (6-10‰) compositions of HFFF from the Marcellus and Fayetteville black shale formations were distinct in most cases from produced waters sampled from conventional oil and gas wells. We posit that boron isotope geochemistry can be used to quantify small fractions (∼0.1%) of HFFF in contaminated fresh water and likely be applied universally to trace HFFF in other basins. The novel environmental application of this diagnostic isotopic tool is validated by examining the composition of effluent discharge from an oil and gas brine treatment facility in Pennsylvania and an accidental spill site in West Virginia. We hypothesize that the boron and lithium are mobilized from exchangeable sites on clay minerals in the shale formations during the hydraulic fracturing process, resulting in the relative enrichment of boron and lithium in HFFF.

Water subsidies from mountains to deserts: their role in sustaining groundwater-fed oases in a sandy landscape

In arid regions throughout the world, shallow phreatic aquifers feed natural oases of much higher productivity than would be expected solely from local rainfall. In South America, the presence of well-developed Prosopis flexuosa woodlands in the Monte Desert region east of the Andes has puzzled scientists for decades. Today these woodlands provide crucial subsistence to local populations, including descendants of the indigenous Huarpes. We explore the vulnerability and importance of phreatic groundwater for the productivity of the region, comparing the contributions of local rainfall to that of remote mountain recharge that is increasingly being diverted for irrigated agriculture before it reaches the desert. We combined deep soil coring, plant measurements, direct water-table observations, and stable-isotopic analyses (2H and 18O) of meteoric, surface, and ground waters at three study sites across the region, comparing woodland stands, bare dunes, and surrounding shrublands. The isotopic composition of phreatic groundwaters (delta2H: -137 per thousand +/- 5 per thousand) closely matched the signature of water brought to the region by the Mendoza River (-137 per thousand +/- 6 per thousand), suggestin that mountain-river infiltration rather than in situ rainfall deep drainage (-39 per thousand +/- 19 per thousand) was the dominant mechanism of recharge. Similarly, chloride mass balances determined from deep soil profiles (> 6 m) suggested very low recharge rates. Vegetation in woodland ecosystems, where significant groundwater discharge losses, likely >100 mm/yr occurred, relied on regionally derived groundwater located from 6.5 to 9.5 m underground. At these locations, daily water-table fluctuations of 10 mm, and stable-isotopic measurements of plant water, indicated groundwater uptake rates of 200-300 mm/yr. Regional scaling suggests that groundwater evapotranspiration reaches 18-42 mm/yr across the landscape, accounting for 7 17% of the Mendoza River flow regionally. Our study highlights the reliance of ecosystem productivity in natural oases on Andean snowmelt, which is increasingly being diverted to one of the largest irrigated regions of the continent. Understanding the ecohydrological coupling of mountain and desert ecosystems here and elsewhere should help managers balance production agriculture and conservation of unique woodland ecosystems and the rural communities that rely on them.

Nutrient uptake as a contributing explanation for deep rooting in arid and semi-arid ecosystems

Explanations for the occurrence of deep-rooted plants in arid and semi-arid ecosystems have traditionally emphasized the uptake of relatively deep soil water. However, recent hydrologic data from arid systems show that soil water potentials at depth fluctuate little over long time periods, suggesting this water may be rarely utilized or replenished. In this study, we examine the distributions of root biomass, soil moisture and nutrient contents to 10-m depths at five semi-arid and arid sites across southwestern USA. We couple these depth distributions with strontium (Sr) isotope data that show deep (>1 m) nutrient uptake is prevalent at four of the five sites. At all of the sites, the highest abundance of one or more of the measured nutrients occurred deep within the soil profile, particularly for P, Ca2+ and Mg2+. Phosphate contents were greater at depth than in the top meter of soil at three of five sites. At Jornada, for example, the 2-3 m depth increment had twice the extractable P as the top meter of soil, despite the highest concentrations of P occurring at the surface. The prevalence of such deep resource pools, and our evidence for cation uptake from them, suggest nutrient uptake as a complementary explanation for the occurrence of deep-rooted plants in arid and semi-arid systems. We propose that hydraulic redistribution of shallow surface water to deep soil layers by roots may be the mechanism through which deep soil nutrients are mobilized and taken up by plants.

Standard obstetric record charting system: evaluation of a new electronic medical record

OBJECTIVE

To develop, implement, and evaluate an electronic record that tracks antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum care.

METHODS

The Standard Obstetric Record Charting system (STORC) was created by a group of programmers and clinicians who developed screen designs, reports, pick lists, and standard notes, and ensured a flexible, yet standard system. To evaluate data within the system, ORYX (Joint Commission) performance measures were collected retrospectively and compared with STORC data.

RESULTS

The STORC, officially implemented as our complete inpatient and outpatient obstetric record in March 1998, provided seamless integration of antepartum, intrapartum, and postpartum care records, standard forms, and standard and ad hoc reports. Data for customizable case and procedure lists are generated easily. Unplanned and total cesarean deliveries were identified retrospectively in 0% (0 of 18) of charts reviewed for ORYX; however, STORC identified the actual rates of each as 8.3% (23 of 276) and 12.3% (34 of 276), respectively. Other critical ORYX measures not identified by retrospective data collection, but accurately provided by STORC, included rates of third and fourth degree lacerations, postpartum hemorrhage, low and extremely low birth weights, and macrosomia.

CONCLUSION

After implementation in a large referral center, completeness and accuracy of charting and rapid access to obstetric outcome data were improved. Provider acceptance of the system also was dramatic and improved over time as a result of direct development oversight by obstetric health care providers, local control of system changes, and immediate access to outcome data. (Obstet Gynecol 2000;96:1003-8.)

Root water uptake and transport: using physiological processes in global predictions

Plant water loss, regulated by stomata and driven by atmospheric demand, cannot exceed the maximum steady-state supply through roots. Just as an electric circuit breaks when carrying excess current, the soil-plant continuum breaks if forced to transport water beyond its capacity. Exciting new molecular, biophysical and ecological research suggests that roots are the weakest link along this hydraulic flow path. We attempt here to predict rooting depth and water uptake using the hydraulic properties of plants and the soil, and also to suggest how new physiological tools might contribute to larger-scale studies of hydraulic lift, the water balance and biosphere-atmosphere interactions.

A universal molecular method for identifying underground plant parts to species

As part of a large project to determine rooting depth and resource uptake on the Edwards Plateau of central Texas, we developed a DNA-based technique that allows the below-ground parts of all plants to be identified to the level of genus and usually to species. Identification is achieved by comparing DNA sequences of the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the 18S-26S nuclear ribosomal DNA repeat, derived from below-ground plant material, with a reference ITS region database for plants at a site. The method works throughout plants because the plant ITS region can be PCR amplified using a set of universal primers. Congeneric species can usually be identified because the ITS region evolves relatively rapidly. In our study, all roots were easily identified to the level of genus; most congeneric species were identified solely by ITS sequence differences but some required a combination of ITS sequence data and above-ground surveys of species at a site. In addition to showing the feasibility and efficacy of our technique, we compare it with another DNA-based technique used to identify below-ground plant parts. Finally, we also describe a DNA extraction and purification technique that reliably provides high-quality DNA of sufficient quantity from roots so that PCR can be readily accomplished. Our technique should allow the below-ground parts of plants in any system to be identified and thereby open new possibilities for the study of below-ground plant communities.

Early legal cases on appeal that became case law for osteopaths and chiropractors

This is a limited chronology of some early legal cases wherein doctors of osteopathy and chiropractic were charged with practicing without a license prior to legalization of their respective professions. This is followed by appeals of their guilty verdicts to higher courts for what they hoped would be a favorable verdict. Not all medical-practice acts contained identical language to thwart empiricism in states, thus court verdicts became pivotal for future trials, to appeals, as case law examples of statue interpretation by the same or other states.

Elevated CO2 enhances resprouting of a tropical savanna tree

The savannas (cerrado) of south-central Brazil are currently subjected to frequent anthropogenic burning, causing widespread reduction in tree density. Increasing concentrations of atmospheric CO₂ could reduce the impact of such frequent burning by increasing the availability of nonstructural carbohydrate, which is necessary for resprouting. We tested the hypotheses that elevated CO₂ stimulates resprouting and accelerates replenishment of carbohydrate reserves. Using a factorial experiment, seedlings of a common Brazilian savanna tree, Keilmeyera coriacea, were grown at 350 ppm and 700 ppm CO₂ and at two nutrient levels. To simulate burning, the plants were either clipped at 15 weeks or were left unclipped. Among unclipped plants, CO₂ and nutrients both stimulated growth, with no significant interaction between nutrient and CO₂ effects. Among clipped plants, both CO₂ and nutrients stimulated resprouting. However, there was a strong interaction between CO₂ and nutrient effects, with CO₂ having a significant effect only in the presence of high nutrient availability. Under elevated CO₂, carbohydrate reserves remained at higher levels following clipping. Root total nonstructural carbohydrate remained above 36% in all treatments, so carbohydrate reserves did not limit regrowth. These results indicate that under elevated CO₂ this species may be better able to endure the high frequency of anthropogenic burning in the Brazilian savannas.

Global biodiversity scenarios for the year 2100

Scenarios of changes in biodiversity for the year 2100 can now be developed based on scenarios of changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide, climate, vegetation, and land use and the known sensitivity of biodiversity to these changes. This study identified a ranking of the importance of drivers of change, a ranking of the biomes with respect to expected changes, and the major sources of uncertainties. For terrestrial ecosystems, land-use change probably will have the largest effect, followed by climate change, nitrogen deposition, biotic exchange, and elevated carbon dioxide concentration. For freshwater ecosystems, biotic exchange is much more important. Mediterranean climate and grassland ecosystems likely will experience the greatest proportional change in biodiversity because of the substantial influence of all drivers of biodiversity change. Northern temperate ecosystems are estimated to experience the least biodiversity change because major land-use change has already occurred. Plausible changes in biodiversity in other biomes depend on interactions among the causes of biodiversity change. These interactions represent one of the largest uncertainties in projections of future biodiversity change.

Global biodiversity scenarios for the year 2100

Scenarios of changes in biodiversity for the year 2100 can now be developed based on scenarios of changes in atmospheric carbon dioxide, climate, vegetation, and land use and the known sensitivity of biodiversity to these changes. This study identified a ranking of the importance of drivers of change, a ranking of the biomes with respect to expected changes, and the major sources of uncertainties. For terrestrial ecosystems, land-use change probably will have the largest effect, followed by climate change, nitrogen deposition, biotic exchange, and elevated carbon dioxide concentration. For freshwater ecosystems, biotic exchange is much more important. Mediterranean climate and grassland ecosystems likely will experience the greatest proportional change in biodiversity because of the substantial influence of all drivers of biodiversity change. Northern temperate ecosystems are estimated to experience the least biodiversity change because major land-use change has already occurred. Plausible changes in biodiversity in other biomes depend on interactions among the causes of biodiversity change. These interactions represent one of the largest uncertainties in projections of future biodiversity change.

California's Radiation Protection Act: first in the nation, 1969

This is a chronology of events, of bills introduced, those that died in committee or were vetoed by the Governor before enactment of California's Radiation Control Act, first in the nation and enacted in 1969. Seeing confidential documents from Committee and Governor's Office for the first time adds color to the article. This article also memorializes Senator Walter W. Stiern and Mr. Gordon H. Garland who carried the chiropractic torch to make our inclusion into this act a reality.

Ecosystem rooting depth determined with caves and DNA

Belowground vertical community composition and maximum rooting depth of the Edwards Plateau of central Texas were determined by using DNA sequence variation to identify roots from caves 5-65 m deep. Roots from caves were identified by comparing their DNA sequences for the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region of the 18S-26S ribosomal DNA repeat against a reference ITS database developed for woody plants of the region. Sequencing the ITS provides, to our knowledge, the first universal method for identifying plant roots. At least six tree species in the system grew roots deeper than 5 m, but only the evergreen oak, Quercus fusiformis, was found below 10 m. The maximum rooting depth for the ecosystem was approximately 25 m. (18)O isotopic signatures for stem water of Q. fusiformis confirmed water uptake from 18 m underground. The availability of resources at depth, coupled with small surface pools of water and nutrients, may explain the occurrence of deep roots in this and other systems.

Commonwealth laws of Massachusetts v. early chiropractic pioneers, 1911-1915

The first few chiropractors in Massachusetts practiced as they desired, unmolested by the authorities. All this changed after Joe Shelby Riley, D.C., established his New England College of Chiropractic in Boston in 1911. Printed publicity got out as to the tuition costs, length of the course and what graduates could expect to earn in a short time, when the police stepped in. They arrested first J.O. Zimmerman, D.C., of Boston, followed by Dr. Riley, a school president, then Samuel Mendelson, D.C., in Lynn, all for illegal practices. From the judical decision in Commonwealth v Zimmerman, 1915 by the Supreme Judicial Court (State Supreme Court), the high court held that the practice of chiropractic to be the illegal practice of medicine without a license, according to the Commonwealth laws of 1902. Next came the Commonwealth v New England College of Chiropractic; this case was shortly followed on appeal from the Municipal Court in Boston, to the Suffolk County Superior Court, to the Supreme Judicial Court like Zimmerman. In this case against Dr. Riley and his school, the high court affirmed the school to be illegal because Dr. Riley had failed to receive authority from the Great General Court (the Legislature) to get a bill passed authorizing the school to have the right of granting degrees. According to the Boston Herald, all this legal action was the culmination of a campaign spearheaded by the Massachusetts Medical Society.

Downward flux of water through roots (i.e. inverse hydraulic lift) in dry Kalahari sands

Downward transport of water in roots, in the following termed "inverse hydraulic lift," has previously been shown with heat flux techniques. But water flow into deeper soil layers was demonstrated in this study for the first time when investigating several perennial grass species of the Kalahari Desert under field conditions. Deuterium labelling was used to show that water acquired by roots from moist sand in the upper profile was transported through the root system to roots deeper in the profile and released into the dry sand at these depths. Inverse hydraulic lift may serve as an important mechanism to facilitate root growth through the dry soil layers underlaying the upper profile where precipitation penetrates. This may allow roots to reach deep sources of moisture in water-limited ecosystems such as the Kalahari Desert.

A global budget for fine root biomass, surface area, and nutrient contents

Global biogeochemical models have improved dramatically in the last decade in their representation of the biosphere. Although leaf area data are an important input to such models and are readily available globally, global root distributions for modeling water and nutrient uptake and carbon cycling have not been available. This analysis provides global distributions for fine root biomass, length, and surface area with depth in the soil, and global estimates of nutrient pools in fine roots. Calculated root surface area is almost always greater than leaf area, more than an order of magnitude so in grasslands. The average C:N:P ratio in living fine roots is 450:11:1, and global fine root carbon is more than 5% of all carbon contained in the atmosphere. Assuming conservatively that fine roots turn over once per year, they represent 33% of global annual net primary productivity.

Photosynthetic Electron Transport in Single Guard Cells as Measured by Scanning Electrochemical Microscopy

Scanning electrochemical microscopy (SECM) is a powerful new tool for studying chemical and biological processes. It records changes in faradaic current as a microelectrode ([less than equal]7 [mu]m in diameter) is moved across the surface of a sample. The current varies as a function of both distance from the surface and the surface's chemical and electrical properties. We used SECM to examine in vivo topography and photosynthetic electron transport of individual guard cells in Tradescantia fluminensis, to our knowledge the first such analysis for an intact plant. We measured surface topography at the micrometer level and concentration profiles of O2 evolved in photosynthetic electron transport. Comparison of topography and oxygen profiles above single stomatal complexes clearly showed photosynthetic electron transport in guard cells, as indicated by induction of O2 evolution by photosynthetically active radiation. SECM is unique in its ability to measure topography and chemical fluxes, combining some of the attributes of patch clamping with scanning tunneling microscopy. In this paper we suggest several questions in plant physiology that it might address.

The chiropractic heritage of Paul Caster: magnetic healer

Magnetic healers were a phenomenon in America's heartland, from Iowa, Kansas, Missouri in Illinois in the late 1860s. Three noted magnetics in this region were Paul Caster, Andrew Still and Daniel Palmer; the first and third would have a chiropractic legacy, while Dr. Andrew Taylor Still would found osteopathy. This is the story of the chiropractic heritage from Paul Caster via his son, Jacob, to his grandson, Charles E. Caster, D.C. Magnetic healing in this family was considered by Paul to be a divine gift, while Still and Palmer would be rejected by the clergy and believed their skills could be learned, thus passed on.

Rooting depth, water availability, and vegetation cover along an aridity gradient in Patagonia

Above-and belowground biomass distribution, isotopic composition of soil and xylem water, and carbon isotope ratios were studied along an aridity gradient in Patagonia (44-45°S). Sites, ranging from those with Nothofagus forest with high annual rainfall (770 mm) to Nothofagus scrub (520 mm), Festuca (290 mm) and Stipa (160 mm) grasslands and into desert vegetation (125 mm), were chosen to test whether rooting depth compensates for low rainfall. Along this gradient, both mean above-and belowground biomass and leaf area index decreased, but average carbon isotope ratios of sun leaves remained constant (at-27‰), indicating no major differences in the ratio of assimilation to stomatal conductance at the time of leaf growth. The depth of the soil horizon that contained 90% of the root biomass was similar for forests and grasslands (about 0.80-0.50 m), but was shallower in the desert (0.30 m). In all habitats, roots reached water-saturated soils or ground water at 2-3 m depth. The depth profile of oxygen and hydrogen isotope ratios of soil water corresponded inversely to volumetric soil water contents and showed distinct patterns throughout the soil profile due to evaporation, water uptake and rainfall events of the past year. The isotope ratios of soil water indicated that high soil moisture at 2-3 m soil depth had originated from rainy periods earlier in the season or even from past rainy seasons. Hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios of xylem water revealed that all plants used water from recent rain events in the topsoil and not from water-saturated soils at greater depth. However, this study cannot explain the vegetation zonation along the transect on the basis of water supply to the existing plant cover. Although water was accessible to roots in deeper soil layers in all habitats, as demonstrated by high soil moisture, earlier rain events were not fully utilized by the current plant cover during summer drought. The role of seedling establishment in determining species composition and vegetation type, and the indirect effect of seedling establishment on the use of water by fully developed plant cover, are discussed in relation to climate change and vegetation modelling.

"Empyricism" in Kansas: Chiropractic's legal struggle, 1906-1915

Empiricism plagued the Kansas Territory even as it entered into statehood and was caused by numerous dabblers into the health care field. They were 'wannabe' doctors of all kinds: pure charlatans, fakers of all type, faith healers and even osteopaths and chiropractors, all practicing in violation of Kansas law from 1854-1914. This was not an unusual finding in any of the western territories, before or since. This article describes the chiropractic struggle for licensure from 1906-1915. Numerous chiropractors suffered the indignity of arrest, trial, fines or even jail while pursuing the ultimate goal of an independent chiropractic act. The enacted Kansas chiropractic act of 1913 became the focal point of the battle for a board of examiners to issue licenses. The specific language therein set forth a requirement for the first appointed board members; it mandated practice of a stipulated number of years before licensure. Only in Kansas, and later California, would this language cause dire consequences.

Willard Carver, LL.B., 1866-1943: doctor, lawyer, Indian chief, prisoner and more

Willard Carver was a pioneer in chiropractic education who founded seven schools, and ardent legislative leader in Oklahoma, who later suffered indignation from authorities that brought him to the Senate's bar of justice, was convicted and sent to jail. How this episode fostered defeat by a referendum petition of a proposed medical practice act at the polls, laying groundwork for passage of Oklahoma's Chiropractic Act in 1921, is recalled in this paper. Carver became a prolific author of textbooks, a life-long antagonist to Dr. B.J. Palmer, both invested as Indian chiefs, loved and hated by equal numbers of tribesmen and a remarkable chiropractic pioneer of great proportion.

Local reduction of mycorrhizal arbuscule frequency in enriched soil microsites

Increased nutrient availability reduces vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizal (VAM) associations with plants, but whether increased nutrients in small volumes of soil affect local VAM colonization is not known. In a field experiment we investigated VAM colonization at different times following fertilization of small soil patches. Soil volumes of ~ 1000 cm3 were treated with a nutrient solution (enriched patch) or distilled water (control patch) on opposite sides of individual plants of the tussock grass Agropyron desertorum and the shrub Artemisia tridentata. Agropyron had significantly lower (p = 0.03) arbuscular infection in the locally enriched patches compared to control patches (32 and 40%, respectively). This reduced arbuscule frequency was apparent at the first sampling (3 days following treatment application) and remained lower in each subsequent sampling (as much as 30% lower than the control patches). Artemisia revealed a similar pattern in arbuscule frequency but was not statistically significant. Our results suggest that a plant can locally reduce VAM development, since arbuscule frequency specifically was locally reduced even though vesicle and overall infection was not. Since mycorrhizal infection does not increase, we conclude that increased plant root proliferation and uptake capacity are likely to be more important for the exploitation of temporary nutrient pulses or patches than is increased mycorrhizal activity. Key words: arbuscule, nutrient exploitation, phosphorus, reduced development, regulation of colonization, soil heterogeneity, vesicular–arbuscular mycorrhizae.

"Quo warranto": only in California--challenging early chiropractic law

In California from 1907-1925 two writs of quo warranto were filed against the first two chiropractic boards. Thirteen of the fifty original medical practice acts and at least eleven original chiropractic acts contained an eligibility requirement for first appointed board members, a stipulated pre-practice period. Twenty-three of these combined boards suffered no legal challenges by practicing colleagues, the attorney general or the courts, for what appeared to be unlicensed practice. Only in California were the first two boards so challenged. In California, there were other unique forces at work that no chiropractor suspected would prematurely expunge the first appointed board. These legal quagmires delayed the systematic licensing for many months. Only in California did this unique history take place.

Origins of the LACC, 1901-1922

The Los Angeles College of Chiropractic (LACC) can trace its history from D. D. Palmer through Thomas H. Storey, D.C. to Charles A. Cale, D.C., N.D., the LACC's founder. The formation and early history of the College is intimately intertwined with the naturopathic movement and to a lesser extent the osteopathic profession in southern California during the first two decades of this century. Although the school would eventually become the largest producer of chiropractors in the densest chiropractic jurisdiction in the world, its early survival was not always certain, and its later status as a bellwether for the rest of the profession was not yet in evidence. Organized by Charles Cale in 1910 and chartered in 1911, the school would suspend operations for several years (1914-6) while Charles and Linnie Cale acquired osteopathic credentials. The school's rebirth in 1916 marked the beginning of the final push for the initiative act of 1922 that licensed chiropractors and ended some of the most intensive legal persecutions by organized medicine that chiropractors would ever experience. This initial phase of LACC's history (through 1922) set the stage for at least 12 subsequent mergers and reorganizations to form today's LACC. The College would later lead the state's and the profession's efforts to broaden and deepen the chiropractic curriculum during the middle ages of chiropractic.

Production, behaviour and fertility of merino wethers, hemi-castrates with reduced testicular parenchyma and induced cryptorchids

Greasy wool production, body weight, behaviour and fertility of male, fine wool Merino sheep were studied from 10 to 21 months of age to assess their suitability for wool production. The males were either castrated (wethers), or were hemi-castrated with a vasectomy and reduction (either partially or in full) of the parenchyma of the retained testicle, or the testicles pushed up into the inguinal canal and the scrotum shortened (induced cryptorchids). There were significant differences among all groups in body weight, with increases being associated with the larger amounts of testicular tissue present. Fertility was low in the induced cryptorchids at 19 months of age. The hemi-castrates with reduced testicular parenchyma were infertile. The hemi-castrates with reduced testicular parenchyma had significantly heavier greasy fleece weights than the wethers and induced cryptorchids, which had similar fleece weights. The wether group suffered a higher prevalence of posthitis in spring and autumn than the hemi-castrate or induced cryptorchid groups. Those hemi-castrates with the largest amount of testicular parenchyma retained and the induced cryptorchids exhibited masculine behaviour patterns and had an increased incidence of fly strike to the head. The principle of hemi-castration and reduction of the testicular parenchyma is shown to be applicable in wool producing flocks with the potential to increase greasy wool production while minimising the management and marketing limitations previously associated with induced cryptorchids.

Shading and the capture of localized soil nutrients: nutrient contents, carbohydrates, and root uptake kinetics of a perennial tussock grass

The ability to exploit spatial and temporal heterogeneity in soil resources can be one factor important to the competitive balance of plants. Competition above-ground may limit selective plant responses to below-ground heterogeneity, since mechanisms such as root proliferation and alterations in uptake kinetics are energy-dependent processes. We studied the effect of shading on the ability of the perennial tussock grassAgropyron desertorum to take up nutrients from enriched soil microsites in two consecutive growing seasons. Roots of unshaded plants selectively increased phosphate uptake capacity in enriched soil microsites (mean increases of up to 73%), but shading eliminated this response. There were no changes in ammonium uptake capacity for roots in control and enriched patches for either shaded or unshaded plants. The 9-day shade treatments significantly reduced total nonstructural carbohydrate (TNC) concentrations for roots in 1990, but had no apparent effect on root carbohydrates in 1991 despite dramatic reductions in shoot TNC and fructan concentrations. Enrichment of the soil patches resulted in significantly greater phosphate concentrations in roots of both shaded and unshaded plants, with less dramatic differences for nitrogen and no changes in potassium concentrations. In many respects the shaded plants did surprisingly well, at least in terms of apparent nutrient acquisition. The effects of aboveground competition on nutrient demand, energy requirements, and belowground processes are discussed for plants exploiting soil resource heterogeneity.

Inflammatory pseudotumor of the liver

Inflammatory pseudotumor of the liver is an extremely rare entity. Because of its unusual clinical presentation and confusing histologic picture, a diagnosis of malignancy is frequently made. Thus the surgeon is closely involved with the case and extensive procedures are not uncommon. However, this lesion is benign and will even regress spontaneously, making radical surgical procedures contraindicated. The difficulty lies in establishing an accurate diagnosis and the histologic pitfalls of this particular process. Conservative therapy can then be applied, avoiding surgical morbidity.

Nonsteady-State Photosynthesis following an Increase in Photon Flux Density (PFD) : Effects of Magnitude and Duration of Initial PFD

The response of photosynthesis to an increase in photon flux density (PFD) from low to higher PFD was investigated using spinach (Spinacia oleracea L.). The time-course for this response was qualitatively similar to that observed for a dark-to-high-PFD transition, showing an initial, rapid increase in photosynthesis over the first minute or so, followed by a slower increase lasting 5 to 10 minutes. This slow increase was approximately exponential and could be linearized using a semilogarithmic plot. The relaxation time (tau) for this slow phase was found to be a function of the starting PFD value. At starting PFD values below approximately 135 micromoles per square meter per second (including darkness), tau for the slow phase was approximately twice that observed for starting PFD values above 135 micromoles per square meter per second. This indicates a slower approach to steady state for leaves starting at PFD values below this threshold and a greater loss of potential photosynthesis. tau was relatively insensitive to starting PFD values below or above this transition value. The contribution of the slow phase to the total increase in photosynthesis following a low-to-high-PFD transition increased approximately exponentially with time at the lower PFD. The tau for the increase in the contribution of slow phase was determined to be 10.1 minutes. The implications of these data for activation and deactivation of ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase and for the functioning of the leaf in a fluctuating light environment are discussed.