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Focusing on the energy history of Southern Pacific Company in Southern California between 1865 and 1926, this paper emphasizes the resilience of private property as a pillar of oil-based capitalism in the United States. As the western segment of the first transcontinental railroad, and as a consequence of land grants provided by the federal government, the Southern Pacific emerged at the turn of the twentieth century as the largest private owner of proven oil territory in California. Based on this ownership, the Southern Pacific became a major producer, consumer and transporter of oil-based energy in Southern California. Even when the federal government threatened this ownership as part of a strategy to conserve fossil fuels in the first two decades of the twentieth century, the rights of private property remained firm and continued to reinforce the dominance of the Southern Pacific as a major regional developer of oil-based energy. This article contributes to existing literature on the political economy of fossil fuels by emphasizing how the durability of private property has culminated in a strong inertia that sustains the dominance of oil-based capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: To date more intact dog remains have been found on San Nicolas than on any of the other seven California Channel Islands. However, little is known about them. During the 2007 summer field season we excavated a medium sized young male dog in a flexed burial position from a pit at CA-SNI-25, a large Native American village site. The dog exhibits hypodontia, noticeable tooth attrition, severe scapular trauma, and vertebral, rib, and phalanx pathologies. Most of the injuries appear to have resulted from a severe blunt force trauma of unknown origin and it is likely the dog would not have survived without human care. The results of our analysis contribute to the, somewhat limited, published data on archaeological dogs in California. In this paper we describe the biological characteristics of the dog especially his anomalies and pathologies and compare them with published reports of other North American archaeological dogs with similar conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This paper uses census microdata to examine five aspects of residential assimilation in the greater Los Angeles area. A double cohort method is used to separate the effect of duration in the US from the effect of aging. We track a single arrival cohort that came in 1970–79, and analyze the processes and determinants of their residential assimilation between 1990 and 2000. Groups compared are Mexican, Korean, and Chinese immigrants, along with a common reference group of native-born, non-Hispanic whites. We find that while the Mexicans follow the traditional path of residential assimilation, they are more likely to reside in ethnic districts once they become homeowners. The Chinese are most unusual, locating in the suburbs and attaining very high homeownership soon after arrival, but moving into areas of co-ethnics over time. The Koreans exhibit a strong preference for urban lifestyle, often remaining in the city and renting in districts with whites and Latinos. Residential assimilation is a multifaceted process and the dynamics of residential adjustment are much more complex than previously revealed. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

We analysed 108 owl pellets of the barn owl, Tyto alba, collected daily in winter, from December 1998 to March 1999. Pellet analysis gave us the opportunity to study variation in daily diet relative to effects of lunar phases, and to evaluate owl preference for rodents in urban or rural areas. The nest was in a suburban area, 200 m from a large arroyo and 400 m west of a densely occupied city. The diameter of each pellet was measured with a caliper (0.01 mm precision) and the specimens were stored in individual paper bags. Each pellet was disaggregated into its components to evaluate the biomass of the prey. As indicators, we used skull, pelvic, and long bones. The average dry weight of pellet was 5.0±1.8 g, and the average of number of specimens per pellet was 2.58±1.5 (1–7). Of 282 rodent skulls, 74.4% were of Heteromyidae family 11.3% of Muridae, and 14.3% of Geomyidae. Plant and insect remains (55.5% and 9.2%, respectively) were also present. Sub-adult rodents were present in 61.9% of the pellets, and rural rodents composed 83.3% of the prey. The average daily biomass of food consumed was estimated at 55.7±33.5 g (12–152). During the full moon, we found fewer rodents (18.8%) and that represented a smaller portion of biomass (19.4%) compared to other lunar phases. These long-term data showed that heteromyid rodents were most frequently consumed, especially Chaetodipus arenarius. Hurricane Isis appears to have had an extraordinary impact on heteromyid rodent reproduction. The results show a higher-than-normal density of juveniles and sub-adult prey in the pellets. The low number of species from the urban area can be explained by human activity, mainly by the presence of electric power lines that cause accidents to owls. Fourier series analysis showed major feeding events every 8 days, during which an increase in biomass per pellet was detected. These facts confirmed that Tyto alba is an opportunistic species that preys mainly on small rodents of 7–24 g and eats only necessary number of rodents to cover biomass requirements. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The resistance levels of different human head louse populations from the USA to 1% permethrin were evaluated using permethrin-impregnated, filter paper disk-contact bioassay. Populations from southern California, south Florida and south central Texas showed 1.5-, 3.1-, and 1.5- to 5.1-fold resistance compared to insecticide-susceptible head louse populations from Panama or Ecuador. Permethrin-resistant or permethrin-susceptible homozygous or heterozygous genotypes were determined from sequences of PCR-amplified genomic DNA fragments of the voltage-sensitive sodium channel α-subunit gene by the presence of a T or C, or both, respectively, at nucleotide positions 36 and 44 in the sequence. The presence of a T at both these positions resulted in the amino acid substitutions, T929I and L932F, respectively. Of the 424 louse samples examined that had the T929I mutation, all also possessed the L932F mutation, indicating that the two mutations were tightly linked. The southern California population was phenotypically determined by bioassay to be comprised of 45% resistant individuals and had a resistant allele frequency of 0.53 by DNA sequence analysis. The south Florida population was phenotypically determined to consist of 87% resistant individuals and had a resistant allele frequency of 0.97. The four Texas populations varied in the level of resistance and in resistant allele frequency. The Mathis population was phenotypically determined to consist of 15% resistant individuals and had a resistant allele frequency of 0.33. However, the populations from San Antonio, Mansfield, and Corpus Christi were likewise phenotyped to have 91%, 94%, and 100%, respectively, resistant individuals and a 0.98, 1.00 and 1.00, respectively, resistant allele frequency. The log survival time versus logit mortality regression lines of susceptible-homozygotes, resistant-homozygotes, and heterozygotes determined that the resistance trait was complete recessive. Thus, the presence of homozygotes of the T929I and L932F mutations in the voltage-sensitive sodium channel correlated well with increased survival time following exposure to permethrin and indicates that a knockdown-type nerve insensitivity mechanism is functioning as the major mechanism causing permethrin resistance in USA head louse populations. Our results substantiate that permethrin resistance in human head louse population in the USA is widespread but variable. Permethrin resistance is highly correlated with the presence of the T929I and L932F point mutations, which are suitable for detection by a variety of DNA-based diagnostic techniques [Pest Manag. Sci. 57 (2001) 968]. Large-scale monitoring of permethrin resistance is possible utilizing these techniques and would provide critical information necessary for the development of an effective resistance management program for pediculosis. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

During the early 1990s, Section 8 vouchers were touted by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) as the way to provide greater housing choice for the poor while also deconcentrating them. Toward the end of the 1990s, however, evidence mounted that the voucher system was not deconcentrating the poor. In response, HUD developed a set of five major demonstration programs that supplemented the vouchers with various arrays of social services. While waiting for results of these programs to return, HUD discovered that Section 8 participants in local housing authorities in Alameda County, California, were experiencing an unexpected amount of interjurisdictional mobility toward suburban locations. Using a local database of 16,951 Section 8 families and both logit and multinomial logit analysis, this paper presents a cursory examination into the motivations of their suburban mobility. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]