Network metrics can guide nearly-optimal management of invasive species at large scales

Invasive species harm biodiversity and ecosystem services, with global economic costs of invasions exceeding $40 billion annually. Widespread invasions are a particular challenge because they involve large spatial scales with many interacting components. In these contexts, typical optimization-based approaches to management may fail due to computational or data constraints. Here we evaluate an alternative solution that leverages network science, representing the invasion as occurring across a network of connected sites and using network metrics to prioritize sites for intervention. Such heuristic network-guided methods require less data and are less computationally intensive than optimization methods, yet network-guided approaches have not been bench-marked against optimal solutions for real-world invasive species management problems. We provide the first comparison of the performance of network-guided management relative to optimal solutions for invasive species, examining the placement of watercraft inspection stations for preventing spread of invasive zebra mussels through recreational boat movement within 58 Minnesota counties in the United States. To additionally test the promise of network-based approaches in limited data contexts, we evaluate their performance when using only partial data on network structure and invaded status. Metric-based approaches can achieve a median of 100% of optimal performance with full data. Even with partial data, 80% of optimal performance is achievable. Finally, we show that performance of metric-guided management improves for counties with denser and larger networks, suggesting this approach is viable for large-scale invasions. Together, our results suggest network metrics are a promising approach to guiding management actions for large-scale invasions.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, 3 table

Size dependent magnetic properties and cation inversion in chemically synthesized MnFe2O4 nanoparticles

MnFe2O4nanoparticles with diameters ranging from about 4to50nm were synthesized using a modified coprecipitation method. X-ray diffractograms revealed a pure phase spinel ferrite structure for all samples. Transmission electron microscopy showed that the particles consist of a mixture of both spherical (smaller) and cubic (larger) particles dictated by the reaction kinetics. The Néel temperatures (TN) of MnFe2O4 for various particle sizes were determined by using high temperature magnetometry. The ∼4nm MnFe2O4 particles showed a TN of about 320°C whereas the ∼50nm particles had a TN of about 400°C. The high Néel temperature, compared with the bulk MnFe2O4 TN of 300°C, is due to a change in cation distribution between the tetrahedral and octahedral sites of the spinel lattice. Results of extended x-ray absorption fine structure measurements indicate a systematic change in the cation distribution dependent on processing conditions

How does reputation win trust? A customer-based mediation analysis

This study investigates the relationship between customer-based corporate reputation (CBR) and customer trust, in particular, the mediating role of customer perceived risk in this relationship. We propose and test a model comprising of four components: cognitive CBR, affective CBR, customer perceived risk, and customer trust using a sample of 156 customers from the fast-food services industry in Pakistan. The results suggest that the cognitive and affective dimensions of CBR behave differently in developing customer trust. Affective CBR has a direct positive relationship with customer trust; whereas, customer perceived risk and affective CBR mediate the relationship between cognitive CBR and customer trust. Implications for future researchers and practicetioners are proposed based on the study results

Purine synthesis promotes maintenance of brain tumor initiating cells in glioma

Brain tumor initiating cells (BTICs), also known as cancer stem cells, hijack high-affinity glucose uptake active normally in neurons to maintain energy demands. Here we link metabolic dysregulation in human BTICs to a nexus between MYC and de novo purine synthesis, mediating glucose-sustained anabolic metabolism. Inhibiting purine synthesis abrogated BTIC growth, self-renewal and in vivo tumor formation by depleting intracellular pools of purine nucleotides, supporting purine synthesis as a potential therapeutic point of fragility. In contrast, differentiated glioma cells were unaffected by the targeting of purine biosynthetic enzymes, suggesting selective dependence of BTICs. MYC coordinated the control of purine synthetic enzymes, supporting its role in metabolic reprogramming. Elevated expression of purine synthetic enzymes correlated with poor prognosis in glioblastoma patients. Collectively, our results suggest that stem-like glioma cells reprogram their metabolism to self-renew and fuel the tumor hierarchy, revealing potential BTIC cancer dependencies amenable to targeted therapy

Development of inclusive education in England: Impact on children with special educational needs and disabilities

This is an accepted manuscript of a book chapter published by Springer Routledge in the Handbook on Promoting Social Justice in Education, available online: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-74078-2_151-1 The accepted version of the publication may differ from the final published version. Please refer to the publisher's terms and conditions for re-use.This chapter considers a historical account of the development of inclusion in England and the changes made to the education of children with SEND since the 1940s. The chapter details the development of inclusive education, the complexity of defining inclusion, and what inclusion has come to mean in current practice. This historical account is considered alongside the development and dominance of the standards agenda. In considering inclusion in this manner, the original intentions of its agenda are questioned against the practical implementation of inclusive education in current practice. The chapter concludes by proposing that significant progress has not been made with inclusion because it has not been possible to accommodate it within the competing political agendas replete in England’s education system

Acartia tonsa Body Size Measurements

Prosome length measurements for mature male and female Acartia tonsa individuals from Florida and Connecticut populations. Measurements were made using Image-J

Thermal Survivorship Data

Results from individual survivorship assays after 24-hour acute heat stress. Columns correspond to Population of origin, Developmental temperature, Stress temperature, Individual's sex, and Survivorship (0 = mortality, 1 = survival)

Data from: Complex interactions between local adaptation, phenotypic plasticity, and sex affect vulnerability to warming in a widespread marine copepod

Predicting the response of populations to climate change requires knowledge of thermal performance. Genetic differentiation and phenotypic plasticity affect thermal performance, but the effects of sex and developmental temperatures often go uncharacterized. We used common garden experiments to test for effects of local adaptation (Florida versus Connecticut temperatures), developmental phenotypic plasticity (18oC vs. 22oC), and individual sex on thermal performance of the ubiquitous copepod, Acartia tonsa. Females had higher thermal tolerance than males in both populations, while the Florida population had higher thermal tolerance compared to the Connecticut population. An effect of developmental phenotypic plasticity on thermal tolerance was observed only in the Connecticut population. Ignoring sex-specific differences may result in a severe underestimation of population-level impacts of warming (i.e. - population decline due to sperm limitation). Further, despite having a higher thermal tolerance, Southern populations may be more vulnerable to warming as they lack the ability to respond to increases in temperature through phenotypic plasticity