The effects of improvement of upland, marginal grasslands on breeding waders (charadriiformes) and invertebrates

Between 1985 and 1987, ten areas of upland, marginal grassland were surveyed for breeding waders; eight areas west of the Pennines in the Eden Valley, Cumbria, and two East of the Pennines at Alston, Cumbria and Teesdale, Co. Durham. Grassland improvement resulted in the virtual disappearance of snipe and marked decreases in both the density and the proportion of fields used by breeding lapwing, curlew and redshank. The absence of snipe following improvement was due to land drainage, whereas reduced curlew densities resulted from vegetation changes, redshank were relatively unaffected provided wet areas persisted nearby. Data on lapwing breeding success were obtained from a study of 637 clutches. Fewer clutches suffered predation on unimproved than on improved pastures and resulted in higher hatching success. This, combined with more failed clutches being replaced and better survival by young chicks, resulted in higher productivity on unimproved than on improved pastures. The role of predation in reducing hatching success was confirmed experimentally. In addition, more clutches were destroyed by agricultural activities on improved than on unimproved meadows, resulting in lower productivity. Productivity on unimproved areas was enough to sustain the population, but was insufficient on improved areas and it is suggested that this, together with high philopatry, causes the decline in density of lapwings on improved areas. Invertebrates were sampled by chemical expellents, soil cores and pitfall traps. Grassland improvement resulted in increased earthworms and beetles other than carabids, but decreased spiders and carabic beetles. Fewer species of spider after improvement were largely due to lowered vegetation architecture diversity, whilst fewer species of tipulids resulted from reduced soil moisture and loss of food plants. Changes in species composition were apparent when comparing the seasonal pattern of pitfall catches on unimproved and improved grassland

\u3ci\u3eAcrobasis\u3c/i\u3e Shoot Moth (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) Infestation-Tree Height Link in a Young Black Walnut Plantation

Acrobasis shoot moth infestations were evaluated in a young black walnut progeny test for 4 years, from ages 3 to 6. Infestation levels were greatest on the largest trees in the fourth and fifth year after plantation establishment, and were declining by the sixth year. Acrobasis infestation appears to be a problem primarily on young trees less than 2.5 m in height. There was no evidence for genetic resistance to Acrobasis infestation in black walnut

Community as object or action? Reconceptualising the purpose and practices of local media and journalism

Corporately-owned local media and journalism are in crisis and solutions are being sought to maintain delivery of trusted local news and information to sustain local de- mocracy. This paper demonstrates that the culture, values and practices of the field have been informed – even determined – by that ownership model and that emergent and established independent local media are questioning and renegotiating journalistic practices and values. But they are hindered by the lack of a conceptual scaffolding which makes sense of the project. This paper argues that the conceptualisation of ‘community’ as object, geographically-located groups sharing symbolic, discursive or kinship ties, has informed the habitus of the field. Furthermore, the focus on journal- ism’s role in democratic processes has concealed value inherent in wider public bene- fits which local media facilitate. The paper applies an alternative conceptual lens of ‘community’ as action, process, practice (Walkerdine and Studdert 2012) to develop a theoretical paradigm which can better inform and explain the transformations local media and journalism are undergoing. The paper tests the efficacy of this reconceptual- ization by applying it to the analysis of five case studies of successful, innovative, local media organisations undertaken between 2015 and 2020

Smoking out carcinogens

Smoked foods are becoming increasingly popular and are being produced by large and small food operations, artisan producers, chefs and consumers themselves. Epidemiological studies conducted over a number of decades have linked the consumption of smoked foods with various cancers and these findings have been supported by animal testing. Smoke contains a group of dangerous carcinogens that are responsible for lung cancer in cigarette smokers and implicated as causative agents for colorectal and other human cancers resulting from the consumption of smoked and barbequed food products. This article describes a new innovation in smoke filtration technology that can significantly reduce the presence of carcinogens in aerosol smoke used to produce smoked food products and hence largely remove a group of dangerous chemicals from the food supply

Cellular excitability and the regulation of functional neuronal identity: from gene expression to neuromodulation

The intrinsic properties of a neuron determine the translation of synaptic input to axonal output. It is this input– output relationship that is the heart of all nervous system activity. As such, the overall regulation of the intrinsic excitability of a neuron directly determines the output of that neuron at a given point in time, giving the cell a unique “functional identity.” To maintain this distinct functional output, neurons must adapt to changing patterns of synaptic excitation. These adaptations are essential to prevent neurons from either falling silent as synaptic excitation falls or becoming saturated as excitation increases. In the absence of stabilizing mechanisms, activity-dependent plasticity could drive neural activity to saturation or quiescence. Furthermore, as cells adapt to changing patterns of synaptic input, presumably the overall balance of intrinsic conductances of the cell must be maintained so that reliable output is achieved (Daoudal and Debanne, 2003; Turrigiano and Nelson, 2004; Frick and Johnston, 2005). Although these regulatory phenomena have been well documented, the molecular and physiological mechanisms involved are poorly understood

The Efficacy of a Regime-Switching Asset Pricing Model Conditioned on Market Volatility

In an attempt to explain stock prices in a simple and articulate manner, researchers in asset pricing have long employed a “one model fits all prices over time” approach. In this thesis, a regime-switching linear asset pricing model, conditioned on trailing market volatility, is introduced in an attempt to map specific linear model specifications to specific macroeconomicconditions which are quantifiable and observable at t. Called the Time-Robust Iterative Adaptive LASSO (TRIAL) model, this model computes the expected return more efficiently out-of-sample than a benchmark model which does not use volatility-defined regimes, yielding a risk-adjusted mean monthly return of 1.36%, compared to the “no regime” model return of 1.12%. Compared to a seminal model in asset pricing, the Fama-French 3-Factor Model (“FF3”), the TRIAL model evinces a higher monthly return than the FF3’s return of 1.23%, while also providing lower monthly volatility than the FF3, at 6.31% and 6.97%, respectively. The TRIAL model fits its distinct regimes well, having statistically significant, unique linear specifications for each regime. The TRIAL model is asymmetric to the popular size and value factors across the regimes: it estimates big firms better than small firms and value firms better than growth firms. When four single-sort out-of-sample portfolios are created on size and value, the “big firm” portfolio yields a risk-adjusted mean monthly return of 2.38% and a Sharpe ratio of 1.27 over the 17-year testing period, well above any other benchmark model in the study

A tail-like assembly at the portal vertex in intact herpes simplex type-1 virions

Herpes viruses are prevalent and well characterized human pathogens. Despite extensive study, much remains to be learned about the structure of the genome packaging and release machinery in the capsids of these large and complex double-stranded DNA viruses. However, such machinery is well characterized in tailed bacteriophage, which share a common evolutionary origin with herpesvirus. In tailed bacteriophage, the genome exits from the virus particle through a portal and is transferred into the host cell by a complex apparatus (i.e. the tail) located at the portal vertex. Here we use electron cryo-tomography of human herpes simplex type-1 (HSV-1) virions to reveal a previously unsuspected feature at the portal vertex, which extends across the HSV-1 tegument layer to form a connection between the capsid and the viral membrane. The location of this assembly suggests that it plays a role in genome release into the nucleus and is also important for virion architecture

Short-term genome stability of serial Clostridium difficile ribotype 027 isolates in an experimental gut model and recurrent human disease

Copyright: © 2013 Eyre et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are creditedClostridium difficile whole genome sequencing has the potential to identify related isolates, even among otherwise indistinguishable strains, but interpretation depends on understanding genomic variation within isolates and individuals.Serial isolates from two scenarios were whole genome sequenced. Firstly, 62 isolates from 29 timepoints from three in vitro gut models, inoculated with a NAP1/027 strain. Secondly, 122 isolates from 44 patients (2–8 samples/patient) with mostly recurrent/on-going symptomatic NAP-1/027 C. difficile infection. Reference-based mapping was used to identify single nucleotide variants (SNVs).Across three gut model inductions, two with antibiotic treatment, total 137 days, only two new SNVs became established. Pre-existing minority SNVs became dominant in two models. Several SNVs were detected, only present in the minority of colonies at one/two timepoints. The median (inter-quartile range) [range] time between patients’ first and last samples was 60 (29.5–118.5) [0–561] days. Within-patient C. difficile evolution was 0.45 SNVs/called genome/year (95%CI 0.00–1.28) and within-host diversity was 0.28 SNVs/called genome (0.05–0.53). 26/28 gut model and patient SNVs were non-synonymous, affecting a range of gene targets.The consistency of whole genome sequencing data from gut model C. difficile isolates, and the high stability of genomic sequences in isolates from patients, supports the use of whole genome sequencing in detailed transmission investigations.Peer reviewe

Retrospective comparisons of competing demographic models give clarity from “messy” management on a Scottish grouse moor

Retrospective comparison of predictive models that describe competing hypotheses regarding system function can shed light on regulatory mechanisms within the framework of adaptive resource management. We applied this approach to a 28-year study of red grouse (Lagopus lagopus scotica) in Scotland, with the aims of reducing uncertainty regarding important drivers of grouse population dynamics, and of evaluating the efficacy of using seasonal versus annual model assessments. We developed three sets of models that predicted pre-breeding and post-breeding grouse density, matching the timing of grouse counts on the ground. We updated conditions and management through time in the spirit of a real-time, adaptive management program and used a Bayesian model weight updating process to compare model predictions with empirical grouse densities. The first two model sets involved single annual updates from either pre-breeding or post-breeding counts; the third set was updated twice a year. Each model set comprised seven models representing increasingly complex hypotheses regarding potentially important drivers of grouse: the baseline model included weather and parasite effects on productivity, shooting losses and density-dependent overwinter survival; subsequent models incorporated the effect of habitat gain/loss (HAB), control of non-protected predators (NPP) and predation by protected hen harriers (Circus cyaneus, HH) and buzzards (Buteo buteo, BZ). The weight of evidence was consistent across model sets, settling within 10 years on the harrier (NPP + HH), buzzard (NPP + HH + BZ) and buzzard + habitat (NPP + HH + BZ + HAB) models, and downgrading the baseline + habitat, non-protected predator, and non-protected predator + habitat models. By the end of the study only the buzzard and buzzard + habitat models retained substantial weights, emphasizing the dynamical complexity of the system. Habitat inclusion failed to improve model predictions, implying that over the period of this study habitat quantity was unimportant in determining grouse abundance. Comparing annually and biannually assessed model sets, the main difference was in the baseline model, whose weight increased or remained stable when assessed annually, but collapsed when assessed biannually. Our adaptive modeling approach is suitable for many ecological situations in which a complex interplay of factors makes experimental manipulation difficult

Spatial and Temporal Dynamics of Pacific Oyster Hemolymph Microbiota across Multiple Scales

Unveiling the factors and processes that shape the dynamics of host associated microbial communities (microbiota) under natural conditions is an important part of understanding and predicting an organism's response to a changing environment. The microbiota is shaped by host (i.e., genetic) factors as well as by the biotic and abiotic environment. Studying natural variation of microbial community composition in multiple host genetic backgrounds across spatial as well as temporal scales represents a means to untangle this complex interplay. Here, we combined a spatially-stratified with a longitudinal sampling scheme within differentiated host genetic backgrounds by reciprocally transplanting Pacific oysters between two sites in the Wadden Sea (Sylt and Texel). To further differentiate contingent site from host genetic effects, we repeatedly sampled the same individuals over a summer season to examine structure, diversity and dynamics of individual hemolymph microbiota following experimental removal of resident microbiota by antibiotic treatment. While a large proportion of microbiome variation could be attributed to immediate environmental conditions, we observed persistent effects of antibiotic treatment and translocation suggesting that hemolymph microbial community dynamics is subject to within-microbiome interactions and host population specific factors. In addition, the analysis of spatial variation revealed that the within-site microenvironmental heterogeneity resulted in high small-scale variability, as opposed to large-scale (between-site) stability. Similarly, considerable within-individual temporal variability was in contrast with the overall temporal stability at the site level. Overall, our longitudinal, spatially-stratified sampling design revealed that variation in hemolymph microbiota is strongly influenced by site and immediate environmental conditions, whereas internal microbiome dynamics and oyster-related factors add to their long-term stability. The combination of small and large scale resolution of spatial and temporal observations therefore represents a crucial but underused tool to study host-associated microbiome dynamics