The Clover Root Weevil Invasion: Impact and Response of the New Zealand Pastoral Industry 1996-2012

Clover root weevil, Sitona lepidus Gyllenhall (Curculionidae: Coleoptera), was first reported in New Zealand in 1996. With few natural enemies or competitors, it rapidly became a major pest of white clover. Its strong flight capability, tendency to be transported in agricultural machinery and vehicles, and wide climatic tolerance enabled it to spread the length of the country (1,600 km) by 2010. The most damaging stage is the larva, which attacks the roots, root nodules and stolons of clovers, reducing herbage production (particularly in spring), pasture clover content, and nitrogen fixation. From the time of the initial invasion, the pastoral industry supported research into management as insecticides were not a viable option. Nitrogen fertiliser applications after grazing were recommended to maintain production. Field evaluations showed that white clovers with good general agronomic adaptation survived better under weevil pressure than less-adapted clovers. In 2006, a parasitic wasp, Microctonus aethiopoides Loan (Braconidae: Hymenoptera), was introduced from Ireland for biological control of S. lepidus. It has also established and dispersed very rapidly, and often suppresses weevil populations within 2 – 3 years of its establishment in a new locality. Involvement of industry field consultants was an essential aspect of the biological control release programme in the North Island where the weevil was already widespread before M. aethiopoides was introduced

A first--order irreversible thermodynamic approach to a simple energy converter

Several authors have shown that dissipative thermal cycle models based on Finite-Time Thermodynamics exhibit loop-shaped curves of power output versus efficiency, such as it occurs with actual dissipative thermal engines. Within the context of First-Order Irreversible Thermodynamics (FOIT), in this work we show that for an energy converter consisting of two coupled fluxes it is also possible to find loop-shaped curves of both power output and the so-called ecological function against efficiency. In a previous work Stucki [J.W. Stucki, Eur. J. Biochem. vol. 109, 269 (1980)] used a FOIT-approach to describe the modes of thermodynamic performance of oxidative phosphorylation involved in ATP-synthesis within mithochondrias. In that work the author did not use the mentioned loop-shaped curves and he proposed that oxidative phosphorylation operates in a steady state simultaneously at minimum entropy production and maximum efficiency, by means of a conductance matching condition between extreme states of zero and infinite conductances respectively. In the present work we show that all Stucki's results about the oxidative phosphorylation energetics can be obtained without the so-called conductance matching condition. On the other hand, we also show that the minimum entropy production state implies both null power output and efficiency and therefore this state is not fulfilled by the oxidative phosphorylation performance. Our results suggest that actual efficiency values of oxidative phosphorylation performance are better described by a mode of operation consisting in the simultaneous maximization of the so-called ecological function and the efficiency.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures, submitted to Phys. Rev.

Publishing and sharing multi-dimensional image data with OMERO

Imaging data are used in the life and biomedical sciences to measure the molecular and structural composition and dynamics of cells, tissues, and organisms. Datasets range in size from megabytes to terabytes and usually contain a combination of binary pixel data and metadata that describe the acquisition process and any derived results. The OMERO image data management platform allows users to securely share image datasets according to specific permissions levels: data can be held privately, shared with a set of colleagues, or made available via a public URL. Users control access by assigning data to specific Groups with defined membership and access rights. OMERO’s Permission system supports simple data sharing in a lab, collaborative data analysis, and even teaching environments. OMERO software is open source and released by the OME Consortium at www.openmicroscopy.org

Acceleration of infectious disease drug discovery and development using a humanized model of drug metabolism

A key step in drug discovery, common to many disease areas, is preclinical demonstration of efficacy in a mouse model of disease. However, this demonstration and its translation to the clinic can be impeded by mouse-specific pathways of drug metabolism. Here we show that a mouse line extensively humanized for the cytochrome P450 gene superfamily (“8HUM”) can circumvent these problems. The pharmacokinetics, metabolite profiles and magnitude of drug-drug interactions of a test set of approved medicines were in much closer alignment with clinical observations than in wild-type mice. Infection with Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Leishmania donovani and Trypanosoma cruzi was well tolerated in 8HUM, permitting efficacy assessment. During such assessments, mouse-specific metabolic liabilities were bypassed while the impact of clinically relevant active metabolites and DDI on efficacy were well-captured. Removal of species differences in metabolism by replacement of wild-type mice with 8HUM therefore reduces compound attrition while improving clinical translation, accelerating drug discovery

Genetic structuring across alternative life history tactics and small spatial scales in brown trout (Salmo trutta)

Facultative migration occurs when, in response to prevailing conditions, individuals in a population may (or may not) undertake a migration. The brown trout (Salmo trutta) is a species that exhibits facultative migration, where some individuals within populations may move to mainstem rivers (fluvial–adfluvial migration), lakes (lacustrine–adfluvial migration), estuaries (partial anadromy) or sea (anadromy) to feed, while others remain resident. This study attempts to separate two alternative hypotheses for the population structuring that underpins the expression of facultative migration in this species: (a) that anadromous and nonanadromous fish comprise two gene pools; (b) that individual genetic variation or individual variation in gene–environment interactions is responsible for the expression of different life‐history tactics within the same gene pool. The study design involved sampling and analyses of anadromous and nonanadromous brown trout from three independent tributary rivers known to produce (sea‐run) trout within the same catchment. Results indicate that, in all cases, population genetic divergence was linked to geographical location and not to life‐history tactics. Two genetically distinct coexisting population pairs were identified in two separate tributaries. Despite similar environmental conditions in both tributaries, the frequency of each life‐history tactic (anadromy vs. nonanadromous) within these population pairs differed significantly. The results of this study support the hypothesis that facultative migration in brown trout is likely to be driven by a quantitative threshold trait, where the threshold value varies both among populations and among individuals within populations

Soil type influences crop mineral composition in Malawi

Food supply and composition data can be combined to estimate micronutrient intakes and deficiency risks among populations. These estimates can be improved by using local crop composition data that can capture environmental influences including soil type. This study aimed to provide spatially resolved crop composition data for Malawi, where information is currently limited. Six hundred and fifty-two plant samples, representing 97 edible food items, were sampled from N150 sites in Malawi between 2011 and 2013. Samples were analysed by ICP-MS for up to 58 elements, including the essential minerals calcium (Ca), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), magnesium (Mg), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn). Maize grain Ca, Cu, Fe, Mg, Se and Zn concentrations were greater from plants grown on calcareous soils than those from the more widespread low-pH soils. Leafy vegetables from calcareous soils had elevated leaf Ca, Cu, Fe and Se concentrations, but lower Zn concentrations. Several foods were found to accumulate high levels of Se, including the leaves of Moringa, a crop not previously been reported in East African food composition data sets. New estimates of national dietary mineral supplies were obtained for non-calcareous and calcareous soils. High risks of Ca (100%), Se (100%) and Zn (57%) dietary deficiencies are likely on non-calcareous soils. Deficiency risks on calcareous soils are high for Ca (97%), but lower for Se (34%) and Zn (31%). Risks of Cu, Fe and Mg deficiencies appear to be low on the basis of dietary supply levels

Evolutionary, multi-scale analysis of river bank line retreat using continuous wavelet transforms: Jamuna River, Bangladesh

In this study continuous wavelet transforms are used to explore spatio-temporal patterns of multi-scale bank line retreat along a 204 km reach of the Jamuna River, Bangladesh. A sequence of eight bank line retreat series, derived from remotely-sensed imagery for the period 1987-1999, is transformed using the Morlet mother wavelet. Bank erosion is shown to operate at several characteristic spatial and temporal scales. Local erosion and bank line retreat are shown to occur in short, well defined reaches characterised by temporal persistence at the same location, and separated by relatively stable reaches. In contrast, evidence of downstream propagation of bank line retreat patterns is evident at larger spatial scales. The intensity of localised bank line retreat (i.e. at scales of 0 - 20 km) is strongly related to the magnitude of monsoonal peak discharge, but this relationship weakens as the spatial scale of erosion increases. The potential of continuous wavelet analysis to enhancing our understanding of morphological evolution in complex fluvial systems with multi-channel planforms is discussed

Resolving the paradox of shame: differentiating among specific appraisal-feeling combinations explains pro-social and self-defensive motivation

Research has shown that people can respond both self-defensively and pro-socially when they experience shame. We address this paradox by differentiating among specific appraisals (of specific self-defect and concern for condemnation) and feelings (of shame, inferiority, and rejection) often reported as part of shame. In two Experiments (Study 1: N = 85; Study 2: N = 112), manipulations that put participants’ social-image at risk increased their appraisal of concern for condemnation. In Study 2, a manipulation of moral failure increased participants’ appraisal that they suffered a specific self-defect. In both studies, mediation analyses showed that effects of the social-image at risk manipulation on self-defensive motivation were explained by appraisal of concern for condemnation and felt rejection. In contrast, the effect of the moral failure manipulation on pro-social motivation in Study 2 was explained by appraisal of a specific self-defect and felt shame. Thus, distinguishing among the appraisals and feelings tied to shame enabled clearer prediction of pro-social and self-defensive responses to moral failure with and without risk to social-image

Metadata management for high content screening in OMERO

High content screening (HCS) experiments create a classic data management challenge—multiple, large sets of heterogeneous structured and unstructured data, that must be integrated and linked to produce a set of “final” results. These different data include images, reagents, protocols, analytic output, and phenotypes, all of which must be stored, linked and made accessible for users, scientists, collaborators and where appropriate the wider community. The OME Consortium has built several open source tools for managing, linking and sharing these different types of data. The OME Data Model is a metadata specification that supports the image data and metadata recorded in HCS experiments. Bio-Formats is a Java library that reads recorded image data and metadata and includes support for several HCS screening systems. OMERO is an enterprise data management application that integrates image data, experimental and analytic metadata and makes them accessible for visualization, mining, sharing and downstream analysis. We discuss how Bio-Formats and OMERO handle these different data types, and how they can be used to integrate, link and share HCS experiments in facilities and public data repositories. OME specifications and software are open source and are available at https://www.openmicroscopy.org