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Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii var. menziesii) is an important species in the Pacific Northwest including California forests. Due to the increasing need for reforestation in this region after widespread disturbances related to changes in climate (i.e., drought, megafires, beetle mortality), it is necessary to examine the factors that contribute to performance and survival of planted seedlings in reforestation projects. While most conifer planting in northern California is done in spring, fall planting is also an alternative practice used. With the recent increase in demand of seedlings for reforestation projects beyond which the current infrastructure is capable of, particularly in spring, expanding the fall planting season has potential to mitigate this and constraints to the spring labor force. Here, we studied the first-year performance of both spring and fall planted Douglas-fir seedlings for different seed sources and nursery cultural timings at a single site in northern California. We found that the fall planting can be successful in October or November, while planting earlier requires immediately favorable temperature and soil moisture conditions. Later sowing and blackout regimes also resulted in increases in height growth and bud development while also reducing damage due to spring freezes. For spring planting, early sow and blackout resulted in earlier bud break, while later sow, blackout, and lift dates benefited the first-year growth of height and diameter.

The closure of the FSA investigation came more than a year after it fined Royal Dutch/Shell Pounds 17m for overstating its oil and gas reserves between 1998 and 2003. The regulator said in a statement: \"The FSA has been pursuing inquiries into the roles of certain individuals in the misstatement of Shell's hydrocarbon reserves. Those inquiries have reached a conclusion and the FSA will be taking no further action.\" Lawyers for Walter van de Vijver, Shell's former head of exploration and production, said they were delighted that the FSA move had also confirmed his innocence. Last year the oil company accepted the FSA fine and a Dollars 125m penalty from the SEC without admitting wrongdoing.

Abstract Social isolation is associated with adverse health outcomes among older adults but can be attenuated through increased social contact and support. Long-term services and supports (LTSS) are a potential mechanism to increase social contact and provide socially isolated older adults with the help needed to perform routine activities. Using a nationally representative sample of 6,705 community-dwelling older adults from the 2015 National Health and Aging Trends Study (NHATS), we examined associations between social isolation, functional difficulty, adverse consequences due to unmet needs, and indicators of the LTSS environment (e.g., Meals on Wheels). About 22% of older adults were socially isolated. Socially isolated older adults had greater functional difficulty compared to those who were not socially isolated (45.3% vs 38.3%; p<0.0001). Socially isolated older adults were more likely to be Medicaid enrollees (17.5% vs 8.4%; p<0.0001) and use LTSS including SNAP benefits (12.7% vs 5.5%; p<0.0001), Meals on Wheels (4.1% vs 1.6%; p<0.0001), energy/gas financial assistance (7.5% vs 4.2%; p<0.0001), and transportation services for older adults or people with disabilities (4.6% vs 2.7%; p=0.001). Despite greater LTSS use, socially isolated older adults more often experienced adverse consequences due to unmet needs compared to those who were not socially isolated (12.5% vs 7.7%; p<0.0001). Findings suggest that LTSS in the form of social and senior services are critical in supporting those lacking social connection, but they may not be adequate to support aging in place in the absence of informal support.