Methods for Estimating Seed Production of Two Summer-Active Grass Weeds, \u3cem\u3eSetaria pumila\u3c/em\u3e and \u3cem\u3eDigitaria sanguinalis\u3c/em\u3e, in New Zealand Dairy Pastures

Undesirable C4 annual grasses such as summer grass (Digitaria sanguinalis, (L.) Scop., SG) and yellow bristle grass (Setaria pumila (Poir.) Roem. et Schult., YBG) are prevalent in dairying regions in the North Island of New Zealand. Field surveys of 39 dairy pastures in the central North Island demonstrated that their percentage ground cover has tripled over the last four years (Tozer et al. 2012). The prolific seed production of these species is thought be facilitating this increase in ground cover. However, little information is available on their fecundity in dairy pastures. Counting the number of seeds in a panicle is slow and laborious, therefore a rapid and robust method to assess fecundity is required. In USA crops, Forcella et al. (2000) found a significant curvilinear relationship between YBG seeds per panicle and panicle length, regardless of crop identity, year and weed density. A study was therefore established to determine if panicle length or weight could be used to estimate YBG and SG fecundity in intensively managed dairy pastures in New Zealand

Historical data and modern methods reveal insights in measles epidemiology: a retrospective closed cohort study

OBJECTIVES Measles was endemic in England during the early 1800s; however, it did not arrive in Australia until 1850 whereas other infectious diseases were known to have arrived much earlier-many with the First Fleet in 1788-leading to the question of why there was a difference. DESIGN Ships surgeons' logbooks from historical archives, 1829-1882, were retrospectively reviewed for measles outbreak data. Infectious disease modelling techniques were applied to determine whether ships would reach Australia with infectious measles cases. SETTING Historical ship surgeon logbooks of measles outbreaks occurring on journeys from Britain to Australia were examined to provide new insights into measles epidemiology. PRIMARY AND SECONDARY OUTCOME MEASURES Serial intervals and basic reproduction numbers (R(0)), immunity, outbreak generations, age-distribution, within-family transmission and outbreak lengths for measles within these closed cohorts. RESULTS Five measles outbreaks were identified (163 cases). The mean serial interval (101 cases) was 12.3 days (95% CI 12.1 to 12.5). Measles R(0) (95 cases) ranged from 7.7-10.9. Immunity to measles was lowest among children ≤10 years old (range 37-42%), whereas 94-97% of adults appeared immune. Outbreaks ranged from 4-6 generations and, before 1850, were 41 and 38 days in duration. Two outbreaks after 1850 lasted longer than 70 days and one lasted 32 days. CONCLUSIONS Measles syndrome reporting in a ship surgeon's logs provided remarkable detail on prevaccination measles epidemiology in the closed environment of ship voyages. This study found lower measles R(0) and a shorter mean clinical serial interval than is generally reported. Archival ship surgeon log books indicate it was unlikely that measles was introduced into Australia before 1850, owing to high levels of pre-existing immunity in ship passengers, low numbers of travelling children and the journey's length from England to Australia.g BP was supported by a Master of Applied Epidemiology scholarship from the Australian Government and a Hunter Medical Research Institute Research Fellowshi

Preparing for a Northwest Passage: A Workshop on the Role of New England in Navigating the New Arctic

Preparing for a Northwest Passage: A Workshop on the Role of New England in Navigating the New Arctic (March 25 - 27, 2018 -- The University of New Hampshire) paired two of NSF\u27s 10 Big Ideas: Navigating the New Arctic and Growing Convergence Research at NSF. During this event, participants assessed economic, environmental, and social impacts of Arctic change on New England and established convergence research initiatives to prepare for, adapt to, and respond to these effects. Shipping routes through an ice-free Northwest Passage in combination with modifications to ocean circulation and regional climate patterns linked to Arctic ice melt will affect trade, fisheries, tourism, coastal ecology, air and water quality, animal migration, and demographics not only in the Arctic but also in lower latitude coastal regions such as New England. With profound changes on the horizon, this is a critical opportunity for New England to prepare for uncertain yet inevitable economic and environmental impacts of Arctic change

An Examination of Gender Differences in the Construct Validity of the Silencing the Self Scale

Jack’s (1991) theory of self-silencing was originally designed to explain higher rates of depression in women in comparison to men. However, research finding that men score equal or even higher than women on measures of self-silencing has led theorists to speculate that self-silencing tendencies may be driven by different motivations and have different consequences for women versus men (Jack & Ali, 2010). Using a sample of 247 college students, we examined gender differences in the construct validity of the Silencing the Self Scale (STSS; Jack & Dill, 1992). We hypothesized that women would score higher on the Externalized Self-Perception subscale, but not in the other three subscales. Gender differences in the relationship between the STSS subscales and theoretically relevant constructs were also explored. The results indicated that women on average scored higher than men on the Externalized Self-Perception subscale, whereas men scored higher on the Care as Self-Sacrifice subscale. Further, there was a significant Gender × Care as Self-Sacrifice subscale interaction in the prediction of depression, such that this subscale was negatively correlated to depression in men and uncorrelated in women. These results clarify how self-silencing might translate into different mental health outcomes for women and men. Highlights: As hypothesized, women scored higher on the Externalized Self-Perception subscale of the STSS. * We examined Gender × Subscale interactions in prediction of theoretically-relevant constructs. * The Gender × Care as Self-Sacrifice subscale interaction significantly predicted depression

No Evidence That Salt Water Ingestion Kills Adult Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae)

Various products and insecticides are available that purport to reduce wild populations of adult mosquitoes. Recently, several manufacturers and general public comments on the internet have promoted devices that claim that ingestion of salt will significantly reduce populations of wild mosquitoes to near zero; there are no known scientific efficacy data that support these claims. We tested the survival of nine mosquito species of pest and public health importance across four adult diets: Water Only, Sugar Water Only (8.00%), Salt Water Only (1.03%), and Sugar + Salt Water. Species included the following: Aedes aegypti (L.), Aedes albopictus (Skuse), Aedes dorsalis (Meigen), Aedes notoscriptus (Skuse), Aedes vigilax (Skuse), Anopheles quadrimaculatus (Say), Culex pipiens (L.), Culex quinquefasciatus (Say), and Culex tarsalis (Coquillett). Male and female mosquitoes were placed in cages and allowed to feed on liquid diets under controlled environmental conditions for 1 wk. For seven of the nine species, adult survival was significantly higher in the presence (Sugar Water, Sugar + Salt Water) versus the absence (Water Only, Salt Only) of sugar, with no indication that salt had any effect on survival. Anopheles quadrimaculatus showed intermediate survival in Sugar + Salt to either Sugar Only or no sugar diets, whereas Aedes dorsalis showed low survival in Salt Only versus other diets. Based on our data and coupled with the fact that mosquitoes have physiological and behavioral adaptations that allow them to avoid or process excess salt (as found in blood meals), we conclude that there is no scientific foundation for salt-based control methods of mosquitoes

The determination of copper and zinc in W-1 by the atomic absorption flame photometry

Copper and zinc in W-1 have been determined using a Jarrell-Ash Model 82-360 atomic absorption flame photometer. The results are 116 ± 3 ppm for Cu and 86 ± 3 ppm for Zn. (Errors are expressed by the probable error of the mean of four determinations.) These results compare favorably with the recently reported values, thereby suggesting that the background absorption effect is practically negligible in these concentration ranges. Net sample consumption was about 20 mg of W-1 powder per element

Adolescents negotiating romantic relationships in a culturally diverse, urban community

Sherpa Romeo blue journal. Open access article. Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0) appliesIn this study we examined the negotiation of romantic relationships by urban youth, as discussed in focus groups, in a multicultural community. We compared these urban-student findings for an emergent fit with previously reported findings from more homogeneous groups of rural students. The unifying category, wrestling with gender expectations, which was identified in the rural studies, also emerged in the present study. A new unifying category represented urban participants’ balancing cultural expectations in the contexts of their families and social groups. Three categories from the former rural studies emerged in the present urban study: making sacrifices, showing respect, and standing up for oneself; and a new category emerged: communicating. While the rural students identified media as critical contextual conditions for romantic relationships, the current urban teens identified digital and social media as crucial contextual conditions in dating relationships. Together, these findings suggest the importance of considering cultural and contextual aspects of youths’ dating processes for developing a grounded theory that reflects aspects of teens’ relational lives. Implications of this emergent theory are explored, and directions for future research are suggested.Ye

Barley heads east: Genetic analyses reveal routes of spread through diverse Eurasian landscapes

One of the world’s most important crops, barley, was domesticated in the Near East around 11,000 years ago. Barley is a highly resilient crop, able to grown in varied and marginal environments, such as in regions of high altitude and latitude. Archaeobotanical evidence shows that barley had spread throughout Eurasia by 2,000 BC. To further elucidate the routes by which barley cultivation was spread through Eurasia, simple sequence repeat (SSR) analysis was used to determine genetic diversity and population structure in three extant barley taxa: domesticated barley (Hordeum vulgare L. subsp. vulgare), wild barley (H. vulgare subsp. spontaneum) and a six-rowed brittle rachis form (H. vulgare subsp. vulgare f. agriocrithon (Åberg) Bowd.). Analysis of data using the Bayesian clustering algorithm InStruct suggests a model with three ancestral genepools, which captures a major split in the data, with substantial additional resolution provided under a model with eight genepools. Our results indicate that H. vulgare subsp. vulgare f. agriocrithon accessions and Tibetan Plateau H. vulgare subsp. spontaneum are closely related to the H. vulgare subsp. vulgare in their vicinity, and are therefore likely to be feral derivatives of H. vulgare subsp. vulgare. Under the eight genepool model, cultivated barley is split into six ancestral genepools, each of which has a distinct distribution through Eurasia, along with distinct morphological features and flowering time phenotypes. The distribution of these genepools and their phenotypic characteristics is discussed together with archaeological evidence for the spread of barley eastwards across Eurasia

Successful Establishment of Oversown Chicory and Plantain on Uncultivatable Hill Country

All-year grazing of livestock on steep, non-arable hill country (\u3e 20o slope angle, \u3c 1,000 m elevation) is a significant feature of New Zealand agriculture. Hill country pastures are in various states of improvement depending on factors such as extent of subdivision, fertiliser inputs, plant species introduction, and grazing management. Numerous introduced grass, legume and herb species are available to match the many micro-sites in steep hill country (Kemp et al. 1999). There has been increasing use of the perennial herbs chicory (Chicorium intybus L.) and plantain (Plantago lanceolata L.) in seed mixtures used on a range of topographies, mostly flat to undulating terrain. Advantages of these species include tolerance of drought and high summer temperatures, highly palatable foliage, enhanced mineral content, and high animal growth rates (Stewart 1996; Li and Kemp 2005). Farmers have sown these species on hill country but there is negligible information on their establishment in such landscapes. As part of a large, New Zealand-wide programme to increase pasture productivity on non-arable hill country through new germplasm introduction, chicory and plantain were included in a seed mixture broadcast-sown at a range of sites. This paper reports on the seedling establishment of these two species