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Describes an integrated curriculum project for fourth graders in a Hawaiian elementary school with a highly transient population. The project, ALOHA (Active Learners on Hawaiian Adventures) was developed to motivate students in learning about Hawaii's culture and ecosystems. Cooperation between the library media specialist, technology coordinator, and principal is discussed. (Author/LRW)

Introduces three Chinese-American writers who live in Hawaii: Wing Tek Lum, Darrell H. Y. Lum, and Eric Chock. Discussion and excerpts illustrate island influence on central Chinese-American themes--kinship relations, the struggle against racism, and the legacy of traditional Chinese culture in both its positive and oppressive aspects. (DM)

Biocultural conservation approaches recognise the relationships between nature and humans, and are built on local cultural perspectives. Hawai'i has been described as a model for biocultural conservation, and a biocultural approach can be applied in endangered ecosystems such as tropical dry forests that are often found in human settlement areas. The extent of native tropical dry forest cover remaining in Hawai'i is as low as 1% on some islands, with 45% of the tropical dry forest plant species at risk of extinction. Despite the long-running relationship of tropical dry forests with 'Indigenous people and local communities', there has been little assessment of the potential social–ecological outcomes of a biocultural approach to tropical dry forest restoration. Two Hawai'i forest restoration projects, located within Ka'ūpūlehu and Auwahi, have been excluding ungulates and removing alien plant species for >20 years, and have applied biocultural approaches. Drawing on these two sites as case-studies, we explore the motivations for, and components of, a biocultural approach, and highlight four categories (ecological, social, cultural, and spiritual) of biocultural measures of success. We show that a biocultural approach to restoration can provide purpose and meaning to a person's relationship to place, and can transform conservation biology through Indigenous perspectives. We also address challenges and provide recommendations to those interested in engaging in a biocultural approach. This paper examines the relationship of tropical dry forests with 'Indigenous people and local communities' in the Hawaiian Islands. Drawing on two case-studies, Ka'ūpūlehu and Auwahi, this study explores the motivations for, outcomes, and components of, a biocultural approach to restoring tropical dry forests. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Medically accurate, comprehensive sex education has many benefits, including lower rates of sexually transmitted infections, unintended pregnancy, and intimate partner violence. This descriptive study aimed to understand the current strengths and weaknesses of school-based sex education and gather insights for future improvement. We conducted semi-structured focus groups with students aged 18 or 19 who graduated from a high school in Hawaii and were currently enrolled at University of Hawaii college campuses. Participants were recruited via social media and email fliers distributed to University of Hawaii undergraduate instructors. Focus groups were led by an obstetrician-gynecologist and focused on participants' experiences with sex education, including content, instructors, information sources, and teaching approaches. Focus groups continued until thematic saturation was reached and were analyzed using a grounded theory approach through the iterative content analysis process using the qualitative software ATLAS.ti Mac (Version 22.0.6.0). This study was approved by the University of Hawaii Institutional Review Board (CHS #2017-00770). We interviewed a total of 24 young people in 8 focus groups. We identified seven major themes: (1) Discussing sex with parents was embarrassing and awkward, even when parents were open to the discussion; (2) Sex education was not inclusive of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals; (3) Teaching techniques varied, with more memorable techniques including props, demonstrations, and gender separation; (4) Sex education content centered on abstinence brought out feelings of shame and fear in students; (5) Students were resourceful, seeking information from other sources, particularly the internet, when not in the curriculum; (6) instructors should be comfortable, knowledgeable, and educated on the subject matter; and (7) comprehensive sex education should be age-appropriate, inclusive, medically accurate, and provided throughout the educational curriculum. These results demonstrate that sex education remains narrow in scope, focused on abstinence, limited to heterosexual relationships, and minimally useful for students, both when they receive it and into the future. Students desire medically accurate sex education provided by knowledgeable instructors that includes attention to non-heterosexual relationships and is provided through the school curriculum with age-appropriate content. These insights highlight the role that young people can play in improving school-based sexual health education to better address their reproductive needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beach sand and seawater taken from the coastlines of the North-East Pacific Ocean and Hawaii State were investigated to determine the causes of global chemical contamination from polystyrene (PS). All samples were found to contain styrene monomer (SM), styrene dimers (SD), and styrene trimers (ST) with a concentration distribution of styrene analogues in the order of ST > SD > SM. The contamination by styrene analogues along the West Coast proved more severe than in Alaska and other regions. The Western Coastlines of the USA seem be affected by both land- and ocean-based pollution sources, which might result from it being a heavily populated area as the data suggest a possible proportional relationship between PS pollution and population. Our results suggest the presence of new global chemical contaminants derived from PS in the ocean, and along coasts. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The partial solubility of mineral aerosols collected on the windward side of Oahu, Hawaii, was determined by suspending aerosol laden filters in samples of filtered surface seawater and determining the amount of dissolved Al released over a period of four days. The results showed that 80% of the dissolvable Al was released rapidly, within the first 24 h, and that a further 20% was released slowly over the next three days. The mass-based fractional solubility varied from 0.087–14.3% with a mean value of 4.6%. The total dissolvable Al (1st plus 2nd mode) was well correlated with the total charge of nitrate and non seasalt sulphate (nss) (R 2 =0.78, R 2 =0.84) on replicate filters. These results imply that the abundance of atmospheric acids (derived from nitrate and sulphur species) in the atmosphere appears to be one of the major factors controlling the fractional solubility of atmospheric dust in this region. In addition, the results indicate that as this field of study develops there is an urgent need to develop a consensus on the matrix used for defining the solubility of dusts and the development of protocols that eliminate artefacts associated with the determining solubilities that will permit comparison of data between different research groups working in different regions. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Recently, animal-borne accelerometers have been used to record the pitch angle of aquatic animals during swimming. When evaluating pitch angle, it is necessary to consider a discrepancy between the angle of an accelerometer and the long axis of an animal. In this study, we attached accelerometers to 17 free-ranging scalloped hammerhead shark (Sphyrna lewini) pups from Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. Although there are methods to calibrate attachment angles of accelerometers, we confirmed that previous methods were not applicable for hammerhead pups. According to raw data, some sharks ascended with a negative angle, which differs from tank observations of captive sharks. In turn, we developed a new method to account for this discrepancy in swimming sharks by estimating the attachment angle from the relationship between vertical speed (m/s) and pitch angle obtained by each accelerometer. The new method can be utilized for field observation of a wide range of species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Skunk vine, Paederia foetida (Rubiaceae), is native to Asia and has been recognized as an invasive weedy vine of natural areas in Florida and Hawaii. Two insects, Trachyaphthona sordida and Trachyaphthona nigrita (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) from Japan are being considered as potential biological control agents against skunk vine. To gather fundamental information on their biology, we carried out field surveys and laboratory experiments in Kyushu, southern Japan, between 2003 and 2006. We found that T. sordida is commonly distributed in Kyushu and T. nigrita is restricted to the southern parts of Kagoshima Prefecture on the southern part of Kyushu. These species are fundamentally univoltine and adults appear in late April to early July. Trachyaphthona sordida overwinters as mature larvae and T. nigrita as mature larvae or rarely as adults. Larvae of both species feed on fine roots of P. foetida in the field and Serissa foetida (Rubiaceae) under rearing conditions, and they appear to have tribe-level host specificity in their host range. On the basis of these results, we suggest that both species are suitable as biological control agents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Examines the compliance of cancer patients to therapy in Hawaii. Concept of health locus of control; Self-esteem of the patient; Influence of anxiety to the patient's ability to learn health care information; Patient's understanding of illness; Severity of symptoms; Patient's perceptions of nurses' care and concern.

Currently, the carriage rate for Community-Acquired Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CAMRSA) is unknown in Hawai'i. This survey focuses on a healthy population of 95 college students and 5 faculty who completed a survey related to possible risk factors for colonization of Staphylococcus aureus and were sampled for S. aureus from their anterior nares. Thirty-three (33%) subjects were carrying Staphylococcus aureus and of those, 3 (3%) carried MRSA. There was no significant association between Staphylococcus aureus carriage and ethnicity, gender, exposure to seawater, prior Staphylococcus aureus infections, recent antibiotic use, or pets. Additional testing of a larger group of healthy individuals would be beneficial in assessing factors associated with CA-MRSA and Methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA ) carriage in Hawai'i. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The previously reported Fung double tube (FDT) for Clostridium perfringens and the newly developed EasyPhage test for F-specific RNA coliphages were evaluated as screening tests for fecal contamination of fresh and marine recreational waters in Hawaii. These two tests were used to analyze water samples from marine swimming beaches, streams, nonswimming coastal waters and raw sewage. The major advantages of the FDT test include formation of anaerobic conditions without the need of anaerobic chamber systems and enumeration of colonies of C. perfringens in the tubes within 6 h. The results showed that 5 mL of water sample and 20 mL of 2× Shahidi Ferguson Perfringens medium were the best combination for the enumeration of C. perfringens in 5–6 h at 42C. This is a candidate, rapid beach monitoring method which can be used to close the beach on the same day the water samples were collected. The major advantages of the EasyPhage method include the rapid formation of gel without the use of heat, and addition of streptomycin and ampicillin to control interfering bacterial contamination. These two test methods allow most water laboratories to monitor environmental waters for C. perfringens and F-specific RNA coliphages as indicators of fecal contamination. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Monitoring fecal contamination in water around the world is of great importance in public health. This paper presents rapid and efficient methods to monitor Clostridium perfringens and F-specific RNA coliphages in waters in Hawaii, USA. The 6-hour Fung-Double Tube (FDT) system for enumeration of C. perfringens in water by use of SFP agar and incubation at 42C was perfected. The EasyPhage method by Scientific Methods, LLC (Grander, IN) for enumeration of FRNA coliphages in water using an ingenious nonthermal gelling system incubated for 12–16 h at 35C was tested. A Fung/Fujioka Scale (I = uncontaminated, acceptable, II = nonpoint contamination, III = sewage contamination, and VI = elevated sewage contamination, unacceptable) was developed to group the contamination level of recreational water for Hawaii. Forty-six water samples were evaluated by both methods with excellent information concerning C. perfringens and FRNA phage in water in Hawaii. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Waianae Diet Program (WDP) is a community-based program designed at the Waianae Coast Comprehensive Health Center in response to the high rates of obesity and chronic disease among Native Hawaiians. Its foundation is a 3-week program of traditional Hawaiian diet and cultural teachings. It employs 8 innovations in clinical nutrition and health promotion theory: 1. Non-calorie restricted weight loss protocol, 2. Dietary clinical intervention, 3. Cultural sensitivity, 4. Transition diet, 5. Whole-person approach, 6. Group ohana (family) support, 7. Community intervention, and 8. Role modeling. It has demonstrated significant weight loss with no calorie restriction, improvement in blood pressure, serum glucose, and serum lipids. It appears to have wide acceptance in the Hawaiian community. More studies are warranted to determine the long-term effect of this program.