Invasive species risk assessments need more consistent spatial abundance data

Spatial abundance information is a critical component of invasive plant risk assessment. While spatial occurrence data provide important information about potential establishment, abundance data are necessary to understand invasive species’ populations, which ultimately drive environmental and economic impacts. In recent years, the collective efforts of numerous management agencies and public participants have created unprecedented spatial archives of invasive plant occurrence, but consistent information about abundance remains rare. Here, we develop guidelines for the collection and reporting of abundance information that can add value to existing data collection efforts and inform spatial ecology research. In order to identify the most common methods used to report abundance, we analyzed over 1.6 million invasive plant records in the Early Detection and Distribution Mapping System (EDDMapS). Abundance data in some form are widely reported, with 58.9% of records containing qualitative or quantitative information about invasive plant cover, density, or infested area, but records vary markedly in terms of standards for reporting. Percent cover was the most commonly reported metric of abundance, typically collected in bins of trace (25%). However, percent cover data were rarely reported along with an estimate of area, which is critical for ensuring accurate interpretation of reported abundance data. Infested area is typically reported as a number with associated units of square feet or acres. Together, an estimate of both cover and infested area provides the most robust and interpretable information for spatial research and risk assessment applications. By developing consistent metrics of reporting for abundance, collectors can provide much needed information to support spatial models of invasion risk

Climate Change, Carbon Dioxide, and Pest Biology, Managing the Future: Coffee as a Case Study

The challenge of maintaining sufficient food, feed, fiber, and forests, for a projected end of century population of between 9–10 billion in the context of a climate averaging 2–4 °C warmer, is a global imperative. However, climate change is likely to alter the geographic ranges and impacts for a variety of insect pests, plant pathogens, and weeds, and the consequences for managed systems, particularly agriculture, remain uncertain. That uncertainty is related, in part, to whether pest management practices (e.g., biological, chemical, cultural, etc.) can adapt to climate/CO2 induced changes in pest biology to minimize potential loss. The ongoing and projected changes in CO2, environment, managed plant systems, and pest interactions, necessitates an assessment of current management practices and, if warranted, development of viable alternative strategies to counter damage from invasive alien species and evolving native pest populations. We provide an overview of the interactions regarding pest biology and climate/CO2; assess these interactions currently using coffee as a case study; identify the potential vulnerabilities regarding future pest impacts; and discuss possible adaptive strategies, including early detection and rapid response via EDDMapS (Early Detection & Distribution Mapping System), and integrated pest management (IPM), as adaptive means to improve monitoring pest movements and minimizing biotic losses while improving the efficacy of pest control

Problematic Facebook use and problematic video gaming as mediators of relationship between impulsivity and life satisfaction among female and male gamers

Over the past few decades, many new technologies have emerged, such as portable computers, the internet and smartphones, which have contributed to improving the lives of individuals. While the benefits of these new technologies are overwhelmingly positive, negative consequences are experienced by a minority of individuals. One possible negative aspect of new technologies is their problematic use due to impulsive use which may lead to lower life satisfaction. The present study investigated the mediating role of problematic video gaming (PVG) and problematic Facebook use (PFU) in the relationship between impulsivity dimensions and life satisfaction as well as the relationship between impulsivity dimensions and problematic behaviors. Additionally, the potential impact of gender differences was also examined. The study comprised 673 gamers (391 females) aged 17–38 years (M = 21.25 years, SD = 2.67) selected from 1365 individuals who completed an offline survey. PFU was assessed using the Facebook Intrusion Scale, and PVG was assessed using the nine-item Internet Gaming Disorder Scale–Short-Form (IGDS9-SF). Impulsivity dimensions such as attention, cognitive instability, motor, perseverance, self-control, and cognitive complexity were assessed using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11), and life satisfaction was assessed using the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Depending on the specific impulsivity dimension, findings showed both positive and negative relationships between impulsivity and life satisfaction. Attention and perseverance subtypes of impulsivity were primarily associated with problematic behaviors. Additionally, cognitive complexity was associated with PFU among female gamers, whereas cognitive instability was associated with PVG among male gamers. Additionally, PVG was primarily associated with lower life satisfaction. However, there was no mediation effects between impulsivity dimensions and life satisfaction via PFU or PVG. These findings provide a better understanding of the relationship between problematic behaviors, life satisfaction, and impulsivity among gamers and the differences between male and female gamers

Influence of Staple-Length Variations on the Spinning Performance and Yarn Quality of Cotton

Four natural mixes (each having 100 percent of one staple length), 7 blended mixes with an average staple length of thirty-four thirty-seconds of an inch, and 6 blended mixes with an average staple length of thirty-five thirty-seconds of an inch were established from cottons having all fiber properties, except staple length, within the smallest possible range to determine the influence of staple length and staple-length distribution on spinning performance and yarn quality. The test data showed that the blends with an average staple length of thirty-four thirty-seconds of an inch were equal to or better than the natural mix of the same staple length. However, the weighted average prices of these blends were less than the price of the natural mix; the price difference ranged from 0.29 to 0.84 cent per pound. Among the mixes with an average staple length of thirty-five thirty-seconds of an inch, the natural mix rated best, and it had the highest weighted average price. Generally, the mixes that performed best were those with the highest 2.5-percent span length and highest percentage of long fiber. The results from this study indicate that mixes can be obtained by blending over a range of staple lengths without having a detrimental effect on spinning performance and yarn quality. This information should be useful to researchers and textile-mill operators for determining the most efficient cotton mix and for indicating the relative use values of cottons of varying staple lengths and staple-length distributions

Recognizing freeform digital ink annotations

Abstract. Annotations on digital documents have clear advantages over annotations on paper. They can be archived, shared, searched, and easily manipulated. Freeform digital ink annotations add the flexibility and natural expressiveness of pen and paper, but sacrifice some of the structure inherent to annotations created with mouse and keyboard. For instance, current ink annotation systems do not anchor the ink so that it can be logically reflowed as the document is resized or edited. If digital ink annotations do not reflow to keep up with the portions of the document they are annotating, the ink can become meaningless or even misleading. In this paper, we describe an approach to recognizing digital ink annotations to infer this structure, restoring the strengths of more structured digital annotations to a preferable freeform medium. Our solution is easily extensible to support new annotation types and allows us to efficiently resolve ambiguities between different annotation elements in real-time

Effects of Selected Micronaire Levels of ‘Acala 1517’ Cotton on the Quality of Ring and Open-End Yarns

Bales of a genetically fine-fibered cotton, 'Acala 1517', were blended at micronaire levels of 3.0, 3.3, 3.9, and 4.4 to make lots for mill processing. Tests were conducted on each lot to determine the fiber properties of raw stock and finisher-drawing sliver, the opening, picking, and carding wastes and nep contents of processed cottons, and the properties of ring and open-end yarns. Variations in the fiber properties of raw stock for the four selected micronaire levels were small. Variations in fiber properties were greater for finisher-drawing sliver than for raw stock, reflecting the different effects that processing has on fibers of varying maturity. The micronaire levels of finisher-drawing sliver were higher than those of corresponding raw stock, apparently a result of breakage and subsequent removal of the low-maturity (low-micronaire) fibers as waste during processing. From a practical standpoint, opening, picking, and carding wastes were similar for the four micronaire levels, although the waste level was significantly lower for the 3.3-micronaire, cotton. Card neps were highest for the 3.0-micronaire cotton and lowest for the 4.4-micronaire cotton. The effects of micronaire level on processing and yarn quality were more pronounced for the ring yarns than for the open-end yarns. For the ring yarns, as micronaire level increased, spinning end breakage increased, strength decreased, elongation decreased, evenness remained the same, wet-processing losses decreased, and dyeing quality improved. With the exception of dyeing quality and wet-processing losses, the performances of the 3.0- and 3.3-micronaire cottons were equal or superior to those of the cottons inside the premium micronaire range (3.5 to 4.9). Therefore, cottons with micronaire levels outside the premium range may perform equally as well as those inside the premium range. In this study, differences in micronaire levels inside the premium micronaire range caused significant differences in processing and yarn quality

Evaluation of Multiple-Stage Lint and Mill Cleaning for Controlling Cotton-Dust Levels in Cardrooms

Spindle-picked cotton was ginned with multiple lint-cleaning sequences and two mill-cleaning setups to determine the effects of gin- and mill-cleaning levels on the quantity of airborne dust in a model cardroom, the rate of microdust buildup in open-end spinning-frame rotors, and other manufacturing and yarn-quality factors. The experiment showed that using supernormal quantities of lint cleaning at the gin in combination with maximum mill cleaning reduced cardroom dust levels but did not provide enough reduction in airborne dust levels to suggest that gin lint cleaning can offer a real expectation of reaching the low level of 0.2 milligram per cubic meter of cardroom dust proposed by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. The loss of one staple length (one thirty-second of an inch) resulting from treatment with four saw-cylinder lint cleaners, along with the accompanying lowered yarn strength, are warnings that the use value of cotton fibers as competitive textile raw materials may likely be destroyed by multiple-stage lint cleaning before the proposed allowable dust level in the cardroom is attained