Media and Prison Sexual Assault: How We Got to the “Don’t Drop the Soap” Culture

Sexual assault among inmates has become a topic which is generating considerable interest. For many years, public perceptions have been nonchalant and dismissive of this phenomenon. Because the general public has little practical knowledge of the correctional system, these attitudes are likely, at least in part, a result of the media depiction of sexual assault among the incarcerated population. This paper will seek to understand the ways which popular movies characterize sexual misconduct that occurs among inmates. Ultimately, this discussion will help not only understand why individuals hold their beliefs of prison sexual assault, but also allow the public to understand the seriousness this topic

Design for ground beetle abundance and diversity sampling within the National Ecological Observatory Network

The National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) will monitor ground beetle populations across a network of broadly distributed sites because beetles are prevalent in food webs, are sensitive to abiotic factors, and have an established role as indicator species of habitat and climatic shifts. We describe the design of ground beetle population sampling in the context of NEON's long-term, continentalscale monitoring program, emphasizing the sampling design, priorities, and collection methods. Freely available NEON ground beetle data and associated field and laboratory samples will increase scientific understanding of how biological communities are responding to land-use and climate change.Peer reviewe

New Insights into the Role of MHC Diversity in Devil Facial Tumour Disease

Devil facial tumour disease (DFTD) is a fatal contagious cancer that has decimated Tasmanian devil populations. The tumour has spread without invoking immune responses, possibly due to low levels of Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) diversity in Tasmanian devils. Animals from a region in north-western Tasmania have lower infection rates than those in the east of the state. This area is a genetic transition zone between sub-populations, with individuals from north-western Tasmania displaying greater diversity than eastern devils at MHC genes, primarily through MHC class I gene copy number variation. Here we test the hypothesis that animals that remain healthy and tumour free show predictable differences at MHC loci compared to animals that develop the disease

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Specimens in a Broader Context: The National Ecological Observatory Network and the extended specimen

Community innovations in both specimen digitization (e.g., Morphbank; SlideAtlas; Inselect, Hudson et al. 2015) and data standards (e.g., the National Science Foundation initative "Advancing Digitization of Biodiversity Collections", Page et al. 2015, Nelson and Shari 2019; Darwin Core (Darwin Core Task Group 2009)), have resulted in digitized specimens with rich contextual metadata and the capacity to share such specimen information widely. These extended specimens have allowed for the exploration of cross-scale research questions that traverse multiple taxonomic, spatial and temporal scales. As a relatively new collection organization, the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON; Keller et al. 2008) has curated and archived >200,000 specimens to date and is projected to archive between 80,000 and 120,000 specimens annually through its 30-year, continental-scale environmental monitoring program. NEON has embraced the Extended Specimen paradigm (introduced by Webster 2017; NEON's implementation described in Lendemer et al. 2020), and each sample is physically and digitally curated from the point of collection enabling sample discoverability that maximizes specimen Findability, Accessibility, Interoperability, and Reusability (the FAIR standard; Wilkinson et al. 2016). All archived specimens are associated with precise spatial and temporal information and (where available/applicable) NEON also integrates specimen images, morphometrics, genetic sequences and taxonomic data with the specimen records within a Symbiota platform. Any additional analyses or derived specimens created by the research community are also linked in the specimen record. NEON has benefited substantially from community development of tools and standards, but the process of data integration has not been without problems. Here, we will discuss challenges NEON has faced in the implementation of the extended specimen as well as solutions

The broader ecological effects of species invasion on protection mutualisms /

Species introductions dramatically alter the diversity and abundance of native species via competitive and predatory interactions that negatively influence native biota. Although invasive species sometimes form mutualisms within their introduced range, the role of mutualistic interactions on species abundance and food web composition is less known. In this study I examined the invasive Argentine ant (Linepithema humile), a species which readily interacts with carbohydrate-producers within its introduced range. This study investigates these (presumably) reciprocally beneficial food-for-protection mutualisms to determine the broader ecological effects of the mutualism on species external to mutualism. Using field experiments and molecular techniques, I quantify the effects of the Argentine ant on food web structure, diversity, and plant reproduction. This study identifies the broader ecological effects of invasion, and provides insight into management strategies that may minimize the ecological impacts of invasive social insects on native biot

Sample Management Across the National Ecological Observatory Network

From 81 study sites across the United States, the US National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON), generates >75,000 samples per year. Samples range from soil and dust deposition material, tissue samples (e.g., small mammals and fish), DNA extracts, and whole organisms (e.g., ground beetles and ticks). Samples are collected, processed, and documented according to protocols that are standardized across study sites and according to the needs of the ecological research community for future studies. NEON has faced numerous challenges with managing data related to these many diverse physical samples, particularly when data are gathered at numerous steps throughout processing. Here, we share these challenges as well as solutions, including innovative semantically driven software tools and processing pipelines that manage data from each sample's point of collection to its ultimate fate (consumption, archive facility, or partnering data repository) while maintaining links across sample hierarchies

Space, Time, and Reflexive Interviewing: Implications for Qualitative Research with Active, Incarcerated, and Former Criminal Offenders

Space and time are concepts familiar to physicists, philosophers, and social scientists; they are operationalized with varying degrees of specificity but are both heralded as important to contextualizing research and understanding individual, cultural, and historical differences in perception and the social construction of reality. Space can range from, at the macro level, geographic region, to at the micro level, the immediate physical surroundings of an individual or group of persons. Similarly, a conceptualization of time can range from era or epoch to the passing of seconds and minutes within a situational dynamic of human interaction. In this article we examine the microcosmic end of the space-time spectrum, specifically as it relates to doing qualitative interviews with current or former criminal offenders. Through a comparative discussion of interviews with incarcerated, recently released, and active offenders, we pose questions and offer insights regarding how interviewers and interviewees perceive physical space and the passage of time and, most importantly, how these perceptions relate to the interview process and resulting data. Notably, we suggest that interviewer reflexivity should take into account not only the relationship, dialogue, and discourse between interviewer and interviewee but also space and time as perceived and constructed by both parties. Finally, we offer several key strategies for incorporating these considerations into the interviewer toolkit

Appendix C. The relationship between aphid abundance and (a) number of seeds and (b) mass per seed produced by hand cross-pollinated plants under greenhouse conditions. Closed circles are plants in the high aphid density treatment, open circles are plants in the low aphid density treatment.

The relationship between aphid abundance and (a) number of seeds and (b) mass per seed produced by hand cross-pollinated plants under greenhouse conditions. Closed circles are plants in the high aphid density treatment, open circles are plants in the low aphid density treatment