Book review: networks of New York: an internet infrastructure field guide by Ingrid Burrington

In Networks of New York: An Internet Infrastructure Field Guide, Ingrid Burrington takes readers on an illustrated tour of the material objects and networks of New York City upon which internet provision depends, from road markings to manhole covers and underground cables. Joe Shaw welcomes this as an accessible and enjoyable introduction to the growing research into internet infrastructure

GLM+ Delivers Improved Natural Resource Management and Production Outcomes to Extensive Grazing Properties in the Savannas of Semi-Arid North Queensland, Australia

Native pastures are the main feed resource on extensive cattle grazing properties (each usually \u3e25,000 ha) in the savannas of semi-arid north Australia and it is widely accepted that condition of many important land types is declining. A wealth of resource information is publicly available but it is usually complex in nature, diffuse and not presented in terms readily understood by land managers. Extension agencies have also moved towards information delivery using group processes that are not readily accepted by remote land managers. The GLM+ program uses concepts and tools from the Grazing Land Management (GLM) workshop (Chilcott et al., 2003) and also incorporates and builds on producer experience. It is delivered on-property to individual management teams who identify their own resources, the condition of those resources, and opportunities to manage for improved land condition. Its use is described in this paper

Session A, 2017 First Place: Changes in activity levels of Rock Bass, Golden Shiner, and Brown Bullhead species in response to alarm pheromones released by Banded Killifish and Eastern Blacknose Dace

Alarm pheromones are vital to the survival of many fish, and are detected by both conspecifics and heterospecifics. We aim to show how different species of fish respond to the pheromones of minnows they live with, versus pheromones from minnows of unfamiliar origin. We hypothesize fish activity will be greater in the presence of pheromone released by prey found in their habitat than in the presence of pheromone released by prey from another habitat. Individual fish collected from Cranberry Lake were placed in separate tanks and baseline activity levels were recorded. After 30 minutes, water with alarm pheromones from killifish or dace was dumped into each tank and activity levels were observed. Thirteen rock bass, nine brown bullhead, and nine golden shiner were tested. ANOVA and Tukey tests were used to compare the percent change in activity of fish when presented with pheromone. Results will be discussed during our presentation. Our anticipated findings are significant in that they will show how some species increase activity when presented with alarm pheromones, while others decrease their activity in order to avoid potential predators

Effects of Problem Solving Training in Science upon Utilization of Problem Solving Skills in Science and Social Studies

Higher Educatio

Identification of the [FeFe]-Hydrogenase Responsible for Hydrogen Generation in Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum and Demonstration of Increased Ethanol Yield via Hydrogenase Knockout

Three putative hydrogenase enzyme systems in Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum were investigated at the genetic, mRNA, enzymatic, and phenotypic levels. A four-gene operon containing two [FeFe]-hydrogenase genes, provisionally termed hfs (hydrogenase-Fe-S), was found to be the main enzymatic catalyst of hydrogen production. hfsB, perhaps the most interesting gene of the operon, contains an [FeFe]-hydrogenase and a PAS sensory domain and has several conserved homologues among clostridial saccharolytic, cellulolytic, and pathogenic bacteria. A second hydrogenase gene cluster, hyd, exhibited methyl viologen-linked hydrogenase enzymatic activity, but hyd gene knockouts did not influence the hydrogen yield of cultures grown in closed-system batch fermentations. This result, combined with the observation that hydB contains NAD(P)+ and FMN binding sites, suggests that the hyd genes are specific to the transfer of electrons from NAD(P)H to hydrogen ions. A third gene cluster, a putative [NiFe]-hydrogenase with homology to the ech genes, did not exhibit hydrogenase activity under any of the conditions tested. Deletion of the hfs and hydA genes resulted in a loss of detectable methyl viologen-linked hydrogenase activity. Strains with a deletion of the hfs genes exhibited a 95% reduction in hydrogen and acetic acid production. A strain with hfs and ldh deletions exhibited an increased ethanol yield from consumed carbohydrates and represents a new strategy for engineering increased ethanol yields in T. saccharolyticum

Natural Competence in Thermoanaerobacter and Thermoanaerobacterium Species

Low-G+C thermophilic obligate anaerobes in the class Clostridia are considered among the bacteria most resistant to genetic engineering due to the difficulty of introducing foreign DNA, thus limiting the ability to study and exploit their native hydrolytic and fermentative capabilities. Here, we report evidence of natural genetic competence in 13 Thermoanaerobacter and Thermoanaerobacterium strains previously believed to be difficult to transform or genetically recalcitrant. In Thermoanaerobacterium saccharolyticum JW/SL-YS485, natural competence- mediated DNA incorporation occurs during the exponential growth phase with both replicating plasmid and homologous recombination-based integration, and circular or linear DNA. In T. saccharolyticum, disruptions of genes similar to comEA, comEC, and a type IV pilus (T4P) gene operon result in strains unable to incorporate further DNA, suggesting that natural competence occurs via a conserved Gram-positive mechanism. The relative ease of employing natural competence for gene transfer should foster genetic engineering in these industrially relevant organisms, and understanding the mechanisms underlying natural competence may be useful in increasing the applicability of genetic tools to difficult-to-transform organisms

A contemporary assessment of land condition in the Northern Gulf region of Queensland

A framework using assessments of soil condition, pasture composition and woodland density was applied to describe 14 grazing land types as being in A (100% of original carrying capacity), B (75%), C (45%) or D (20%) condition. We assessed the condition of 260 sites, principally along public and some station roads, to provide a benchmark for current land condition. Land types were also assigned relative grazing values between 10 (best) and 0, reflecting soil fertility and potential biomass production. The method identifies particular, 'at-risk' land types for priority investment of resources, while the rationale behind assessments might point to management interventions to improve the condition of those land types. Across all land types, 47% of sites were in A condition, 34% in B condition, 17% in C condition and only 2% in D condition. Seventy-five percent of land types with grazing values >5 were in A or B condition, compared with 88% for those with grazing values ?5. For Georgetown granites, only 27% of sites were in A or B condition, with values for other land types being: alluvials 59%, black soils 64% and red duplex soils 57%, suggesting that improving management of these land types is a priority issue. On land types with high grazing value, the major discounting factor was pasture composition (72% of sites discounted), while increasing woodland density was the main discount (73% of sites discounted) on low grazing value land types