Researching Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Hate Crime Using Semi-Structured Interviews: A Case Study of Combining Overt Interview Data With Data Obtained Covertly

This case study is based on the issues brought up by a research participant who requested a copy of their interview data, given for a lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender hate crime project. The co-authors of this study are the two stakeholders involved in this exchange. James, the researcher, was approached by Chloe, the participant, who wished to use the interview recording in combination with a meeting recording that they had carried out secretly, for the purposes of an art project. The authors reflect on the ethical dimensions of this request, concluding that the ownership of data is unclear. Although using both recordings together risked contaminating the overt data gathered for the project, the dilemma was resolved by a consent agreement that allowed access to the interview data for the sole purposes of the art project. This case study highlights the ethical complexities of both covert and overt data gathering. Readers are encouraged to question the ethical integrity of gathering covert data and to reflect on the ethical ramifications of using both methods in conjunction

Potential repellency of cedarwood oil from a novel extraction method to stored product insects

Producers lose 10-30% of crops during storage, processing, and marketing after harvest each year to stored product insects (1,2). Globally, there has been a rise in insecticide resistance to phosphine, the most common fumigant for these pests (3). As a result, producers need to diversify post-harvest IPM methods to preserve existing tools. One alternative strategy is push-pull, whereby a repellent is used to “push” an insect away from the commodity of interest, while also simultaneously “pulling” the insects to an alternate location away from the commodity using an attractant (4)(Fig. 1). This system notably requires a long-distance repellent. One potential repellent includes cedarwood oil, which has shown repellency to termites and ants (5,6). A novel extraction process for this compound has been developed, which leaves many of its main constituents intact (7). However, to date, this compound has never been assessed for repellency to post-harvest insects

A Hybrid Sequencing Approach Completes the Genome Sequence of Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus JW 200

Thermoanaerobacter ethanolicus JW 200 has been identified as a potential sustainable biofuel producer due to its ability to readily ferment carbohydrates to ethanol. A hybrid sequencing approach, combining Oxford Nanopore and Illumina DNA sequence reads, was applied to produce a single contiguous genome sequence of 2,911,280 bp

Cover crop biomass production is more important than diversity for weed suppression

Biotic resistance theory suggests that diverse cover crop mixes may be more effective at weed suppression than a cover crop monoculture. However, evidence for this has so far been inconsistent. To investigate, we designed a trial to explicitly test the role of cover crop diversity in weed suppression by comparing eight cover crop mixes that varied in species diversity, functional diversity, and composition. Mixes contained either one, four, or eight species, in equal proportions. Three mixes contained only cereal species, three contained only legumes, and two contained a mix of cereals, legumes, and brassicas. Research was conducted on two farms in South Africa’s winter rainfall region, replicated over 2 yr. Indicators of resource uptake by each mix in terms of light, soil N, and water were measured at three time points throughout the season, approximately 50, 85, and 110 d after emergence (DAE). Aboveground biomass (dry weight) of cover crops and weeds within each mix was measured twice, at approximately 70 and 120 DAE. Regression analyses indicated that cover crop biomass was key to resource uptake and weed suppression, and that early-season N and later-season light availability had the strongest influence on weed biomass. Neither species diversity nor functional diversity affected resource uptake or weed suppression by cover crops. These results indicate that it is important to consider the competitiveness of individual species when designing cover crop mixes. Diverse mixes remain valuable to perform multiple functions but may contribute to weed problems if composed of poorly competitive species

Interference-free gas-phase thermometry at elevated pressure using hybrid femtosecond/picosecond rotational coherent anti- Stokes Raman scattering

Rotational-level-dependent dephasing rates and nonresonant background can lead to significant uncertainties in coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) thermometry under high-pressure, lowtemperature conditions if the gas composition is unknown. Hybrid femtosecond/picosecond rotational CARS is employed to minimize or eliminate the influence of collisions and nonresonant background for accurate, frequency-domain thermometry at elevated pressure. The ability to ignore these interferences and achieve thermometric errors of \u3c5% is demonstrated for N2 and O2 at pressures up to 15 atm. Beyond 15 atm, the effects of collisions cannot be ignored but can be minimized using a short probe delay (~6.5 ps) after Raman excitation, thereby improving thermometric accuracy with a time- and frequency-resolved theoretical model

UK landscape ecology: trends and perspectives from the first 25 years of ialeUK

Context The 25th anniversary of the founding of the UK chapter of the International Association for Landscape Ecology (ialeUK) was marked in 2017. Objectives To assess trends in UK landscape ecology research over ialeUK’s first 25 years, to compare these trends to changes elsewhere in the world, and to consider how ialeUK can continue to support landscape ecology research and practice. Methods A database of conference abstracts was compiled and examined in combination with a questionnaire that surveyed existing and former active members of ialeUK. Results Across 1992–2017 we observe noticeable trends including the declining roles of statutory bodies, the development of the ecosystem services concept, and a decrease in use of empirical methods. Analysis of questionnaire results highlighted four key areas: Developing new researchers; Facilitating conferences for networking, learning and discussion; Linking policy with practice; and Driving the continued growth of landscape ecology as a discipline. Challenges were also noted, especially regarding the adoption of a wider understanding of landscape ecological principles in management. Conclusions Increases in qualitative research, decreases in studies explicitly examining connectivity/fragmentation and an absence of landscape genetics studies in the UK are seemingly distinct from US landscape ecology and elsewhere around the world, based on published accounts. ialeUK has had success in increasing the role of landscape ecology in policy and practice, but needs to continue to aim for improved collaboration with other landscape-related professional bodies and contributions to wider sustainability agendas

A blueprint of state-of-the-art techniques for detecting quasi-periodic pulsations in solar and stellar flares

Quasi-periodic pulsations (QPPs) appear to be a common feature observed in the light curves of both solar and stellar ares. However, their quasi-periodic nature, along with the facts that they can be small in amplitude and short-lived, make QPPs difficult to unequivocally detect. In this paper, we test the strengths and limitations of state-of-the-art methods for detecting QPPs using a series of hare-and-hounds exercises. The hare simulated a set of ares, both with and without QPPs of a variety of forms, while the hounds attempted to detect QPPs in blind tests. We use the results of these exercises to create a blueprint for anyone who wishes to detect QPPs in real solar and stellar data. We present eight, clear recommendations to be kept in mind for future QPP detections, with the plethora of solar and stellar are data from new and future satellites. These recommendations address the key pitfalls in QPP detection, including detrending, trimming data, accounting for coloured noise, detecting stationary-period QPPs, detecting QPP with non-stationary periods, and ensuring detections are robust and false detections are minimized. We find that QPPs can be detected reliably and robustly by a variety of methods, which are clearly identied and described, if the appropriate care and due diligence is taken

CCR5AS lncRNA variation differentially regulates CCR5, influencing HIV disease outcome.

Multiple genome-wide studies have identified associations between outcome of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection and polymorphisms in and around the gene encoding the HIV co-receptor CCR5, but the functional basis for the strongest of these associations, rs1015164A/G, is unknown. We found that rs1015164 marks variation in an activating transcription factor 1 binding site that controls expression of the antisense long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) CCR5AS. Knockdown or enhancement of CCR5AS expression resulted in a corresponding change in CCR5 expression on CD4+ T cells. CCR5AS interfered with interactions between the RNA-binding protein Raly and the CCR5 3' untranslated region, protecting CCR5 messenger RNA from Raly-mediated degradation. Reduction in CCR5 expression through inhibition of CCR5AS diminished infection of CD4+ T cells with CCR5-tropic HIV in vitro. These data represent a rare determination of the functional importance of a genome-wide disease association where expression of a lncRNA affects HIV infection and disease progression