Mountain West Research Articles

Associations Among Trauma Exposure, Posttraumatic Dissociation, Reckless/Self-Destructive Behavior, and Adolescent Offending

ABSTRACT Previous research has established that trauma exposure and subsequent posttraumatic stress symptoms confer risk for adolescent offending and involvement in the juvenile justice system. However, recent research and theory have called attention to the contributions of specific posttraumatic reactions, including posttraumatic dissociation (PD) and reckless or self-destructive behavior (RSDB), to offending behavior among adolescents. Therefore, this study investigated direct and indirect associations among trauma exposure, PD, RSDB, and offending in a sample of justice-involved adolescents. Participants were 301 adolescents (Mage = 16.03, SD = 1.24; 21% girls) recruited from a detention center in the Mountain West. The sample was racially and ethnic diverse, with 63% identifying as a racial or ethnic minority. Youth completed self-report measures of trauma exposure, PD, RSDB, and offending. As hypothesized, results of multiple mediation analysis demonstrated a significant indirect effect linking trauma exposure and offending through PD and RSDB. Results testing an alternative multiple mediation model were non-significant. These findings suggest that PD and RSDB may serve as key links accounting for the association between trauma exposure and offending behavior and reinforce the value of incorporating trauma-informed practices within juvenile justice systems.

Colonial Conditions

Colonial Conditions Brandon Taylor (bio) The election was on tuesday, but first, the Halloween bonfire. When Carson and Roma arrived, Roma discreetly removed her mask and said that she had to find the host, who had spent most of the late summer and fall cycling across the Mountain West. Carson knew this because the host had documented the trip with a string of photos manipulated to look like Polaroids and posted to social media. He was long-haired and from Rhode Island, and he wrote long, flabby essays about having played football in high school and how his father was kind of a mean drunk. Stranded as he was by Roma, Carson gave some real thought to leaving. Then he dropped down into a battered chair and squinted through the smoke from the petering fire across the yard at the [End Page 13] other guests, who stood breathing into each other's faces without masks on. These were not his people. One woman wore a red plastic dress with a high slit and a cutout over a silicon breastplate, as well as a long fur coat constructed out of Christmas tinsel. She looked like a drag queen. There was a man in a skinny suit with a skinny tie and platinum hair who looked like an FBI agent or someone from a mid-2000s music video. And then a man in a loosely deconstructed cowboy outfit. Carson felt insecure because he had come in jeans. He wore a flannel under a navy-blue chore coat. It seemed a little ridiculous to be the only one wearing a mask, so he pulled the mask down under his chin. Besides, he tended to assume a kind of honor system even though he had been told that such an assumption betrayed an overreliance on rugged American individualism. Just then, a man pulled his own chair over the lawn, digging ruts in the grass. He was a sommelier, he said, and he lived in Des Moines. He'd had plans to open a cocktail bar in Iowa City that ended up getting scuttled after the shutdown, so he moved laterally into wine distro. "Didn't change my registration though," he said. "Totally slipped my mind." "I see what you mean." From the way the sommelier sat back on the lawn chair and crossed his legs, Carson sensed that he was a socialist. Carson was not a socialist, but he was interested in having sex, so he nodded along when the sommelier talked about tax code reform and the moral urgency of health care for all. It wasn't that Carson didn't believe in the need for health care and the redistribution of wealth and all those other things. But something in the socialist fervor among people his age made it seem like their politics were just something they had picked up from their friends at a party, something tantamount to attitudes or styles that would go out of fashion as they got older. They would stop caring quite so much. Or else they'd turn into people who were just rounding into early middle age and still went to protests and composted and had slightly more children than they could [End Page 14] afford. There was nothing sadder, Carson thought, than being thirty-eight, married, with a kid, and still complaining about the environment on Twitter or at potlucks. But this Carson kept to himself, and when asked if he'd like to try some of a Pét-Nat that the sommelier had been working on getting into broader distribution, Carson said yes. The cold wine had a deep but tart flavor. He swished it between his teeth and then gulped it back. "You can really taste the grapes," he said. "That's the beauty of it," the sommelier said. "Nothing gets between you and the taste. It's all natural." "I'm not much of a wine guy. I don't know the lexicon. But it's good. Not too sweet." "Yeah, it's a lighter wine, for sure. Not too acerbic." The coolness of the wine and the silvery pop of the bubbles made Carson's mouth feel slippery...

Ain’t No Mountain Pine Enough: A Case Study of How Mountain Pine Beetles are Affecting Ecosystem Processes

This case study engages students in generating hypotheses and predictions, analyzing and interpreting data, critically evaluating contrasting results in science, and thinking about feedbacks between biota and abiotic ecosystem dynamics. To address these areas, students use primary literature and simulated data about the interactions between mountain pine beetles and terrestrial carbon cycling. Mountain pine beetles are causing unprecedented mortality in forests in the mountain west, serving as a particularly relevant issue for our students in Colorado. The case is designed for three 50-minute class periods or two 75-minute class periods and should be implemented after students have learned the basics of terrestrial carbon cycling. During implementation of this case in a lower-division ecology course, we found that 1) content knowledge increased for most questions regarding student comprehension of carbon cycling, 2) students were better able to identify reasons for contrasting scientific results beyond scientist bias or human error, and 3) including a narrative in the assignment did not increase student perceptions of topic relevance. <em>Primary image:&nbsp;</em>Mountain Pine Beetle Kill in the Gore Range, Colorado. Forest with trees that have been attacked by the mountain pine beetle, in front of mountains in the Gore Range in Colorado. Photo by Dr. Jeff Mitton, reprinted with written permission.

Tiny You: A Western History of the Anti-Abortion Movement by Jennifer L. Holland

Reviewed by: Tiny You: A Western History of the Anti-Abortion Movement by Jennifer L. Holland Nancy Elizabeth Baker Tiny You: A Western History of the Anti-Abortion Movement. By Jennifer L. Holland. (Oakland: University of California Press, 2020. Pp. 324. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index.) Twentieth-century feminists are known for the slogan, "The personal is political." In Tiny You, University of Oklahoma historian Jennifer Holland neatly flips this motto in her argument that anti-abortion activists sought to make the political a personal issue for Americans, in the process shaping not just how people saw the issue of abortion, but also how they saw their own identities. A regional case study with national implications, Holland's work focuses on four states, Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah. She traces the development of the anti-abortion movement throughout the post-World War II period, specifically from the 1960s to the 1990s. In the book's first half, Holland examines the early phase of the anti-abortion movement by studying its origins and the subsequent evolution of its strategies over a decade alongside the emergence of a new form of White, Christian identity centered on opposition to abortion in the later 1960s and 1970s. In the book's second half, which looks at the 1980s and 1990s, Holland explores how anti-abortion activists sought to shape the identities of women, children, and families through the use of crisis pregnancy centers, schools, homes, and churches as locations for indoctrination into the radical ideas that pregnant women needed rescuing and protection as much as their fetuses did, that children were "survivors" of abortion, and that a new definition of the traditional family as the protector of fetuses was the paramount concern of the state. Along the way, an overwhelmingly anti-feminist, White movement co-opted the language of feminism and the civil rights movement. Holland argues that the seismic political and cultural changes she describes in four western states speak to major shifts nationally. The author concludes that the anti-abortion movement has profoundly changed American culture and politics, particularly in the regions of the South, the Great Plains, the Midwest, and the Mountain West, primarily by persuading voters and politicians in those areas that abortion is the root of all violence and the cause of all social ills (therefore neatly dismissing the need to attempt any other solutions to systemic, nationwide problems of discrimination or violence). Holland predicts that what anti-abortion activists have accomplished cannot be undone and that Americans will [End Page 500] have to adapt to a changed nation, one in which abortion is accepted as the moral equivalent to murder. Holland's book relies upon a foundation of meticulous research at multiple archives. She draws on the records of anti-abortion and abortion rights groups, religious organizations, governors, legislatures, and law enforcement, as well as oral history interviews and myriad newspapers. Holland shines in her ability to craft a narrative of sweeping social and political change that is studded throughout with dozens of individuals' personal stories of the movement. Her handling of anti-abortion activists' accounts is both respectful and maintains an appropriate scholarly detachment from her subjects. For example, when Colorado housewife Margaret Sebesta claims that the anti-abortion movement developed spontaneously in her neighborhood, Holland reminds the reader that, prior to becoming involved in that movement, Sebesta belonged to an extensive network of politically conservative, White Catholics who had participated in previous grassroots crusades against birth control and pornography (52). An incisively argued and well-supported study of a timely issue, Tiny You is suitable for use in the college or graduate school classroom, but will also be of interest to the general reader with a passion for politics. Nancy Elizabeth Baker Sam Houston State University Copyright © 2021 The Texas State Historical Association

Art, Indigenous Sovereignty, and Resistance in the Age of Big Oil: Corwin Clairmont’s Two-Headed Arrow/The Tar Sands Project

This article analyzes an art installation performed and exhibited in 2018 by the Séliš u Ksanka/Salish and Kootenai artist Corwin Clairmont: Two-Headed Arrow/The Tar Sands Project. Clairmont is a printmaker and creator of inventive and playful installations that follow conceptualist principles, which designate ideas and action as inherently aesthetic, but he is also and primarily a traditionally oriented Séliš u Ksanka artist. Concerned with petromodernity in the North American Rocky Mountain West and Great Plains, Clairmont’s installation charts the material and ideological routes of the oil flow between the Flathead Indian Reservation (and Missoula, Montana) and the Fort McMurray tar sands site located adjacent to Abathasca Chipewyan and Mikisew Cree First Nations land in Alberta. The history of energy extraction in Indian Country is largely occluded in the newly emergent interdisciplinary field of “energy humanities” and similarly rendered opaque in most official and unofficial discourses of the “West.” Clairmont’s installation responds to this social silence around indigeneity and petroleum production in this “sacrifice zone” via a collage of artworks that includes, among other things, gummy bears (a key oil commodity), lava lamps, prints, and photographs. The installation creates new historical and affective insights in the unsettling juxtapositions of its materials. Plastic functions in place of hides in Clairmont’s new “winter counts” and the focus on gummy bears allows for the unveiling of the longstanding kinship between the animals and Indigenous people. The installation participates in a powerful and historically long-standing tradition of Indigenous resistance, by challenging state forms of extractive settler colonialism.

Rapid Response to Ready RNs for the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Rapid response is a common term in hospital settings, reflecting immediate clinical response to a critical challenge. In preparation for the oncoming pandemic of novel coronavirus 2019, nurse leaders within a large health system in the Mountain West region implemented a rapid response to prepare nondirect care registered nurses for deployment to the bedside. This article highlights the prompt action, organization, and implementation of this process, as well as the lessons learned for future events.

Controls on the 14C Content of Dissolved and Particulate Organic Carbon Mobilized Across the Mackenzie River Basin, Canada

AbstractThe Mackenzie River Basin (MRB) delivers large quantities of organic carbon (OC) into the Arctic Ocean, with significant implications for the global C budgets and ocean biogeochemistry. The amount and properties of OC in the Mackenzie River's delta have been well monitored in the last decade, but the spatial variability in OC sources transported by its different tributaries is still unclear. Here we present new data on the radiocarbon (14C) content of dissolved and particulate OC (Δ14C‐DOC and Δ14C‐POC) across the mainstem and major tributaries of the MRB, comprising 19 different locations, to identify factors controlling spatial patterns in riverine OC sources. The Δ14C‐DOC and Δ14C‐POC varied across a large range, from −179.9‰ to 62.9‰, and −728.8‰ to −9.0‰, respectively. Our data reveal a positive spatial coupling between the Δ14C of DOC and POC across the MRB, whereby the most 14C‐depleted waters were issued from the mountainous west bank of the MRB. This 14C‐depleted DOC and POC likely originates from a combination of petrogenic sources, connected with the presence of kerogens in the bedrock, and biogenic sources, mobilized by thawing permafrost. Our analysis also reveals intriguing relationships between Δ14C of DOC and POC with turbidity, water stable isotope ratio and catchment elevation, indicating that hydrology and geomorphology are key to understanding riverine OC sources in this landscape. A closer examination of the specific mechanisms giving rise to these relationships is recommended. For now, this study provides a road map of the key OC sources in this rapidly changing river basin.

Engaging (or not) in coalition politics: a case study of Black and Latinx community advocacy toward educational equity

ABSTRACT The potential for cross-racial coalitions between minoritized communities in educational advocacy and policymaking is enhanced as communities become increasingly diverse. In this qualitative case study, we use interviews and archival data to explore coalition politics between Black and Latinx community leaders in a large, metropolitan school district in the U.S. Mountain West. Utilizing postcolonial feminist theory and critical race theory, we explore how and why Black and Latinx communities engage (or not) in coalition politics to advocate for educational equity. We found that although these communities rarely engaged in coalition politics, they sometimes developed what we termed micro-coalitions. This is a small, yet powerful and promising coalition grounded in a deep understanding of historical racial injustices and explicit efforts to navigate tensions and support both communities. We further highlight how district and state leaders leveraged existing tensions and adopted broadened but weakened policies to appease these communities.

Syringotropic Melanoma Identified During Mohs Micrographic Surgery.

*Mountain West Dermatology, Grand Junction, Colorado †Department of Dermatology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, Utah The authors have indicated no significant interest with commercial supporters.

An American Disgrace

An American Disgrace

Byzantine Monasticism on the Black Mountain West of Antioch in the 10th-11th Centuries

This article sheds light on a hitherto unexplored phenomenon that alters our picture of Byzantine monasticism: the monastic culture of the Black Mountain outside Antioch. From 969-1084, the Black Mountain thrived as a destination for a variety of Chalcedonian monks: Greek-speaking Romans, Arabic-speaking Melkites, Georgians, and Armenians. I illustrate the prosperity of monastic life on the Black Mountain, the scholarly activity flourishing in and between languages, and the networks connecting the mountain to monasteries inside and outside of Byzantium. In this paper, I examine three bodies of source material: manuscripts produced at the Black Mountain, texts produced by its scholars, and the letters of Nikon of the Black Mountain. Colophons in Greek, Arabic, Syriac, and Georgian manuscripts display the active scribal culture of these monasteries. Scholars centered at St. Symeon produced scores of translations from Greek into Arabic and Georgian that illustrate the lasting impact of this multilingual intellectual atmosphere. Nikon’s letters provide the basis for a cultural history of Antiochene monasticism. From these and other sources, I show that the Black Mountain was a major hub in middle Byzantine monastic networks. At the same time when Athos was assuming a primary role in the western Orthodox monastic world, the Black Mountain was performing a similar function in the east.

Spatial variation in socio-ecological vulnerability to Covid-19 in the contiguous United States

The health and economic impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic vary across space because social, economic, health and ecological factors are also spatially variable. Social vulnerability indices are attempts to create a relative ranking of vulnerability to a natural or anthropogenic hazard across space and have been widely used to quantify community vulnerability to natural disasters. Here, we develop a hierarchical socio-ecological vulnerability index that compares counties in the contiguous United States based on 18 variables grouped into four dimensions (ecological, social, health, and economic) in order to capture a range of factors that might contribute to community vulnerability to Covid-19. Variables were chosen based on a review of the emerging literature about the factors associated with poor health outcomes from Covid-19, information about the economic sectors most at risk from the pandemic and pandemic response, and existing social vulnerability indices. We find that socio-ecological vulnerability to Covid-19 and its related economic effects varies across the contiguous U.S., with especially high vulnerability in the Southeast U.S. and especially low vulnerability in the Upper Midwest, Great Plains, and Mountain West.

The Impact of Police Attitudes Towards Offenders on Law-Enforcement Assisted Diversion Decisions

Diversion is a prevalent alternative to traditional criminal justice processing, especially at the pre-trial stage. More recently, pre-arrest diversion has been implemented to avert the consequences of arrest, pre-trial proceedings, and future incarceration. Pre-booking diversion programs rely on the willingness of officers to use their discretionary authority to divert low-level offenders to community-based treatment programs in lieu of arrest, raising considerations about how law enforcement view offenders. Using data collected from a survey distributed during a Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) training session for officers in one jurisdiction in the Rocky Mountain West (N = 118), the current study examines the impact of officer attitudes toward offenders on their decision to divert individuals. Findings indicate that officers who hold an optimistic view toward offender rehabilitation are more likely to divert offenders. Results and their significance for practical implementation of law enforcement pre-arrest diversion efforts are discussed.

The Impact of the Clinical and Translational Research Infrastructure Network (CTR-IN) Program on Oncology Research in the Mountain West (MW) Region

The MW CTR-IN grant is a U-54 Institutional Development Award (IDeA) funded by the NIH / NIGMS to increase and enhance research capacity. The CTR-IN Program (ctrin.unlv.edu) is only one of 11 clinical and translational research centers funded by NIGMS in the US. The CTR-IN involves a partnership with the 13 major public universities in the MW region (i.e., Nevada, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Alaska and Hawaii) that covers 1/3rd of the US land mass and almost 1/3rd of all IDeA states. Of the 13 CTR-IN partner public universities, only 4 have schools of medicine (SOM). In order to increase and enhance research capacity, the CTR-IN Program initiated a pilot grant (PG) program for eligible research faculty of the 13 MW University partners in 2013 that is now in its 7th year with a very successful track record of producing independent extramural grant funding. We conducted a retrospective review of our CTR-IN PGs to determine their impact on oncology research in the Mountain West region. All of our PGs undergo a rigorous "NIH-like” review process and our funding percentile is typically in the 25th - 30% range. The typical funding range for our PGs is usually $60 - $66k each with a duration of one year. During the initial grant cycle (2013 - 2017), a total of 83 PGs were funded for approximately $60 - $66k each in many different areas including cancer. Eight (9.6%) of the 83 PGs had a cancer focus. We analyzed and compared various major outcome metrics such as the Journal Impact Factor (JIF) of the published manuscripts, the Extramural Grant Funding (EMGF) and Return on Investment (ROI = total EMGF amount / total awarded PG amount x 100%) for the cancer focused PGs (n=8) vs. the non-cancer PG awards (n=75). Exact comparisons of the means of the major outcomes (i.e., JIF, EMGF, ROI) between the cancer focused PGs vs. the non-cancer PGs were conducted. Of the 8 pilot grants funded in cancer research, only 2 were funded for faculty at a SOM while the others were funded at other schools (i.e., Biological Sciences, Allied Health, Social Work, Nursing and Computer / Mathematical Sciences) at our 13 partner universities. The major outcomes for the cancer focused PGs vs. the non-cancer focused PGs were as follows, respectively: (1) Mean JIF = 3.94 (SD = 4.83) for 24 publications for the cancer focused PGs vs. Mean JIF = 3.05 (SD = 1.69) for 126 publications for the non-cancer focused PGs, p = 0.102; (2) Mean Amount of EMGF = $1,255,913 (SD = $294,931) for a total EMGF amount of $2,511,826 involving 4 grants (all from faculty at non-SOM Universities) vs. Mean Amount of EMGF = $2,317,870 (SD = $3,669,986) for a total EMGF amount of $46,358,174 involving 43 grants, p = 0.765; (3) ROI was 2,002% (SD = 792%) vs. 3,644 % (SD = 6,643%), p = 0.789. Hence, there were no statistically significant differences between the cancer focused PGs awardees as compared to the non-cancer focused PG awardees as measured by the major scholarship outcomes (i.e., JIF, EMGF and ROI). Despite not having medical schools at majority of our 13 partner institutions, our comparative analysis reveals that our cancer focused PG awardees were just as competitive and successful as our non-cancer focused PG awardees as measured by the major scholarship outcomes (i.e., JIF, EMGF and ROI). The MW CTR-IN Program has been instrumental in seeding a culture of investigator initiated clinical and translational research through its pilot grant program including oncology research despite the sparsity of medical schools in the MW region.

Signatures of selection reveal candidate genes involved in economic traits and cold acclimation in five Swedish cattle breeds

BackgroundThousands of years of natural and artificial selection have resulted in indigenous cattle breeds that are well-adapted to the environmental challenges of their local habitat and thereby are considered as valuable genetic resources. Understanding the genetic background of such adaptation processes can help us design effective breeding objectives to preserve local breeds and improve commercial cattle. To identify regions under putative selection, GGP HD 150 K single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) arrays were used to genotype 106 individuals representing five Swedish breeds i.e. native to different regions and covering areas with a subarctic cold climate in the north and mountainous west, to those with a continental climate in the more densely populated south regions.ResultsFive statistics were incorporated within a framework, known as de-correlated composite of multiple signals (DCMS) to detect signatures of selection. The obtained p-values were adjusted for multiple testing (FDR < 5%), and significant genomic regions were identified. Annotation of genes in these regions revealed various verified and novel candidate genes that are associated with a diverse range of traits, including e.g. high altitude adaptation and response to hypoxia (DCAF8, PPP1R12A, SLC16A3, UCP2, UCP3, TIGAR), cold acclimation (AQP3, AQP7, HSPB8), body size and stature (PLAG1, KCNA6, NDUFA9, AKAP3, C5H12orf4, RAD51AP1, FGF6, TIGAR, CCND2, CSMD3), resistance to disease and bacterial infection (CHI3L2, GBP6, PPFIBP1, REP15, CYP4F2, TIGD2, PYURF, SLC10A2, FCHSD2, ARHGEF17, RELT, PRDM2, KDM5B), reproduction (PPP1R12A, ZFP36L2, CSPP1), milk yield and components (NPC1L1, NUDCD3, ACSS1, FCHSD2), growth and feed efficiency (TMEM68, TGS1, LYN, XKR4, FOXA2, GBP2, GBP5, FGD6), and polled phenotype (URB1, EVA1C).ConclusionsWe identified genomic regions that may provide background knowledge to understand the mechanisms that are involved in economic traits and adaptation to cold climate in cattle. Incorporating p-values of different statistics in a single DCMS framework may help select and prioritize candidate genes for further analyses.

Bird response to hydrologic restoration of montane riparian meadows

Montane riparian meadows foster biodiversity and support critical ecosystem services. A history of exploitation has left most riparian meadows throughout the Mountain West of the United States with incised channels, severely compromising their functionality. Hydrologic restoration of riparian meadows aims to increase overbank flow during spring run‐off and elevate groundwater levels in the dry season. Outcome‐based evaluations of the dominant meadow restoration methods are lacking and needed to ensure objectives are being met and to guide modifications where needed. We completed 1,282 point count surveys from 2009 to 2017 at 173 sampling locations across 31 montane riparian meadows in California restored using partial channel fill techniques (e.g. pond‐and‐plug) to evaluate the expected outcome of increased abundance of meadow birds. We analyzed trends in abundance for 12 focal bird species from 1 to 18 years after hydrologic restoration, substituting space for time in our mixed effects Poisson regression models that included covariates for the amount of riparian deciduous vegetation (RDV) before restoration, stream flow, precipitation, and temperature. We found evidence for a positive effect of time since restoration on abundance for 6 of the 12 species. Although pre‐restoration RDV cover was the most frequently supported predictor of abundance, high pre‐restoration cover of RDV slowed response rates for only two species, suggesting other elements of hydrologic function are also important for meadow birds. Drawing on our results, we provide suggestions for enhancing hydrologic restoration efforts in riparian meadows so that benefits may accrue more quickly to more bird species.

“Postconcussive” Symptoms Explained by PTSD Symptom Severity in U.S. National Guard Personnel

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the unique associations between self-report history of mild traumatic brain injury (mTBI) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms on functional outcomes years after head injury. National Guard personnel (n = 608) from the mountain west who denied history of head injury (n = 342, 56.3%) and with history of mTBI (n = 266, 43.7%) were included in the present analyses. Participants completed self-report study measures of emotional (i.e., depression, PTSD symptoms), social (i.e., relationship satisfaction and perceived social support), and other general (i.e., concentration difficulties and sleep disturbance) functioning through an online survey. PTSD symptoms explained unique variance in emotional, social, and general functioning above and beyond history of mTBI. After controlling for PTSD symptoms, mTBI was not associated with current depression symptoms, relationship satisfaction, social support, concentration, or sleep difficulties. Self-report of PTSD symptoms account for emotional, social, and general functioning impairments often attributed to mTBI and labeled postconcussive syndrome. Symptoms often described as postconcussive syndrome in patients with mild traumatic brain injury may be better explained from a psychological standpoint. Patients with history of mTBI and persistent complaints should be screened for mental health conditions. If mental health concerns are present, treatment of that disorder may be indicated.

In vitro digestibility of mountain-grown irrigated perennial legume, grass and forb forages is influenced by elevated non-fibrous carbohydrates and plant secondary compounds.

Perennial legumes cultivated under irrigation in the Mountain West USA have non-fibrous carbohydrate (NFC) concentrations exceeding 400 g kg-1 , a level commonly found in concentrate-based ruminant diets. Our objective was to determine the influence of NFC concentration and plant secondary compounds on in vitro rumen digestion of grass, legume and forb forages compared with digestion of their isolated neutral detergent fiber (NDF) fraction. Forages were composited from ungrazed paddocks of rotationally stocked, irrigated monoculture pastures between May and August 2016, frozen in the field, freeze-dried, and ground. The maximum rate (RMax ) of gas production was greater for the legumes alfalfa (ALF; Medicago sativa L.) and birdsfoot trefoil (BFT; Lotus corniculatus L.) than for the legume cicer milkvetch (CMV; Astragalus cicer L.) the grass meadow brome (MBG; Bromus riparius Rehm.) and the non-legume forb small burnet (SMB; Sanguisorba minor Scop.), and intermediate for the legume sainfoin (SNF; Onobrychis viciifolia Scop.). The RMax of isolated NDF was greatest for BFT and CMV, intermediate for ALF, SNF and SMB and least for MBG. More than 900 g of organic matter kg-1 dry matter of legumes was digested after 96 h. Across forages, the extent of whole-plant digestion increased with NFC and crude protein concentrations, decreased with NDF concentrations, and was modulated by secondary compounds. The extent of digestion of isolated NDF decreased with concentration of lignin and residual tannins. © 2020 Society of Chemical Industry.

Comprehensive School Physical Activity Programming and Health Behavior Knowledge

No study to date has examined the effect of a multicomponent school-based physical activity program on health behavior knowledge in a large sample of low-income children from the US. The purpose of this study was to explore the change in physical activity and nutrition knowledge during a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP) in children. Participants were a convenience sample of 789 children recruited from the 4th to 6th grades from five low-income Title I schools located within the Mountain West Region of the US. Students completed two questionnaires consisting of a physical activity and a nutrition knowledge assessment. Questionnaires were administered at baseline before the commencement of CSPAP and at a 36-week follow-up. Data were analyzed using a 3 × 2 × 2 doubly MANOVA test. Physical activity knowledge scores significantly improved from pretest to posttest during the intervention (p = 0.045, Cohen's d = 0.18). Grade level modified the time effects, with older children in grades 5 and 6 displaying greater improvements in physical activity knowledge than younger children in grade 4 (p = 0.044, Cohen's d = 0.33). There were no significant improvements in nutrition knowledge scores during the CSPAP (p = 0.150). These findings demonstrate that improvements in physical activity knowledge can occur during a multicomponent school-based intervention. Improvements in physical activity knowledge may translate to improvements in habitual physical activity behaviors and positively influence children's health outcomes, especially in older children.

NEPA Substantive Effectiveness Under a Procedural Mandate: Assessment of Oil and Gas EISs in the Mountain West

This paper empirically evaluates whether Environmental Impact Statements (EISs) for oil and natural gas field development projects lead to a significant reduction in environmental impacts. Based on our statistical analysis of projects within a four-state region, we conclude that EIS preparation does appear to produce final decisions that are substantially less impactive on the environment when compared to initially proposed projects. Impact reductions occur primarily between the Draft EIS and Final EIS, with minor reductions occurring between the Final EIS and Record of Decision. While reductions may be partially attributable to other legal requirements (such as Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, or Endangered Species Act compliance or intervening economic and technological factors), external factors alone do not adequately explain impact reductions. We also found that the number of alternatives considered within an EIS affects the magnitude of impact reduction. EISs that consider a broader range of alternatives are more effective at reducing environmental impacts.