The grass-free lawn: floral performance and management implications

Grass lawns are a ubiquitous feature of urban green-space throughout much of the temperate world. Species poor and intensively managed, lawns are ecologically impoverished, however environmentally aware lawn owners are reluctant to implement alternatives due to aesthetic concerns. Developing an alternative lawn format which is both biodiversity friendly and aesthetically pleasing is an imperative for urban greening. We suggest that such an alternative can be provided by replacing the grass lawn by a forb-based mix. To advance this, we tested the floral performance of three groups of clonal perennial forbs (native, non-native and mixed), each maintained using standard lawn management mowing regimes. Our findings show that both the frequency of mowing and the height at which mowing is applied influence floral performance and lawn aesthetics. Species origin was found to influence floral productivity, floral visibility and floral variety within grass-free lawns, with native species providing the greatest floral performance. The behaviour and management of grass lawns was not found to be a suitable analogue for the management of grass-free lawns and grass-free lawns are sufficiently different from grass lawns to require an entirely original management approach. We suggest that the grass-free lawn can provide an aesthetically and environmentally relevant replacement for the ubiquitous and ecologically-poor grass lawn

New antlion records (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) from Paraguay

New records of Myrmeleontidae from Paraguay are presented: Dimares elegans (Perty, 1833), Glenurus croesus Banks, 1922, Glenurus penningtoni (Navás, 1918a) and Vella fallax (Rambur, 1842). The total number of species now recorded from the country is fourteen among 11 genera. Specimens of Dimares elegans from east (Cerrado) and west (Chaco) of the Paraguay River are phenotypically distinct; those west of the Paraguay River are assigned to the form “lepida” Navás, 1912. More research is required to understand the taxonomic limits in this genus

New antlion records (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) from Paraguay

New records of Myrmeleontidae from Paraguay are presented: Dimares elegans (Perty, 1833), Glenurus croesus Banks, 1922, Glenurus penningtoni (Navás, 1918a) and Vella fallax (Rambur, 1842). The total number of species now recorded from the country is fourteen among 11 genera. Specimens of Dimares elegans from east (Cerrado) and west (Chaco) of the Paraguay River are phenotypically distinct; those west of the Paraguay River are assigned to the form “lepida” Navás, 1912. More research is required to understand the taxonomic limits in this genus

New antlion records (Neuroptera: Myrmeleontidae) from Paraguay

New records of Myrmeleontidae from Paraguay are presented: Dimares elegans (Perty, 1833), Glenurus croesus Banks, 1922, Glenurus penningtoni (Navás, 1918a) and Vella fallax (Rambur, 1842). The total number of species now recorded from the country is fourteen among 11 genera. Specimens of Dimares elegans from east (Cerrado) and west (Chaco) of the Paraguay River are phenotypically distinct; those west of the Paraguay River are assigned to the form “lepida” Navás, 1912. More research is required to understand the taxonomic limits in this genus

Comparative genomics of Aeschynomene symbionts : insights into the ecological lifestyle of nod-independent photosynthetic Bradyrhizobia

Tropical aquatic species of the legume genus Aeschynomene are stem- and root-nodulated by bradyrhizobia strains that exhibit atypical features such as photosynthetic capacities or the use of a nod gene-dependent (ND) or a nod gene-independent (NI) pathway to enter into symbiosis with legumes. In this study we used a comparative genomics approach on nine Aeschynomene symbionts representative of their phylogenetic diversity. We produced draft genomes of bradyrhizobial strains representing different phenotypes: five NI photosynthetic strains (STM3809, ORS375, STM3847, STM4509 and STM4523) in addition to the previously sequenced ORS278 and BTAi1 genomes, one photosynthetic strain ORS285 hosting both ND and NI symbiotic systems, and one NI non-photosynthetic strain (STM3843). Comparative genomics allowed us to infer the core, pan and dispensable genomes of Aeschynomene bradyrhizobia, and to detect specific genes and their location in Genomic Islands (GI). Specific gene sets linked to photosynthetic and NI/ND abilities were identified, and are currently being studied in functional analyses

A prospective evaluation of treatment with Selective Internal Radiation Therapy (SIR-spheres) in patients with unresectable liver metastases from colorectal cancer previously treated with 5-FU based chemotherapy

BACKGROUND: To prospectively evaluate the efficacy and safety of selective internal radiation (SIR) spheres in patients with inoperable liver metastases from colorectal cancer who have failed 5FU based chemotherapy. METHODS: Patients were prospectively enrolled at three Australian centres. All patients had previously received 5-FU based chemotherapy for metastatic colorectal cancer. Patients were ECOG 0–2 and had liver dominant or liver only disease. Concurrent 5-FU was given at investigator discretion. RESULTS: Thirty patients were treated between January 2002 and March 2004. As of July 2004 the median follow-up is 18.3 months. Median patient age was 61.7 years (range 36 – 77). Twenty-nine patients are evaluable for toxicity and response. There were 10 partial responses (33%), with the median duration of response being 8.3 months (range 2–18) and median time to progression of 5.3 mths. Response rates were lower (21%) and progression free survival shorter (3.9 mths) in patients that had received all standard chemotherapy options (n = 14). No responses were seen in patients with a poor performance status (n = 3) or extrahepatic disease (n = 6). Overall treatment related toxicity was acceptable, however significant late toxicity included 4 cases of gastric ulceration. CONCLUSION: In patients with metastatic colorectal cancer that have previously received treatment with 5-FU based chemotherapy, treatment with SIR-spheres has demonstrated encouraging activity. Further studies are required to better define the subsets of patients most likely to respond

Investigation of wall normal electromagnetic actuator for seawater flow control

Submitted versio

Phase 1 trial of rituximab, lenalidomide, and ibrutinib in previously untreated follicular lymphoma: Alliance A051103

Chemoimmunotherapy in follicular lymphoma is associated with significant toxicity. Targeted therapies are being investigated as potentially more efficacious and tolerable alternatives for this multiply-relapsing disease. Based on promising activity with rituximab and lenalidomide in previously untreated follicular lymphoma (overall response rate [ORR] 90%-96%) and ibrutinib in relapsed disease (ORR 30%-55%), the Alliance for Clinical Trials in Oncology conducted a phase 1 trial of rituximab, lenalidomide, and ibrutinib. Previously untreated patients with follicular lymphoma received rituximab 375 mg/m 2 on days 1, 8, 15, and 22 of cycle 1 and day 1 of cycles 4, 6, 8, and 10; lenalidomide as per cohort dose on days 1 to 21 of 28 for 18 cycles; and ibrutinib as per cohort dose daily until progression. Dose escalation used a 3+3 design from a starting dose level (DL) of lenalidomide 15 mg and ibrutinib 420 mg (DL0) to DL2 (lenalidomide 20 mg, ibrutinib 560 mg). Twenty-two patients were enrolled; DL2 was determined to be the recommended phase II dose. Although no protocol-defined dose-limiting toxicities were reported, a high incidence of rash was observed (all grades 82%, grade 3 36%). Eleven patients (50%) required dose reduction, 7 because of rash. The ORR for the entire cohort was 95%, and the 12-month progression-free survival was 80% (95% confidence interval, 57%-92%). Five patients developed new malignancies; 3 had known risk factors before enrollment. Given the increased toxicity and required dose modifications, as well as the apparent lack of additional clinical benefit to the rituximab-lenalidomide doublet, further investigation of the regimen in this setting seems unwarranted. The study was registered with www.ClinicalTrials.gov as #NCT01829568

Science and Ideology in Economic, Political, and Social Thought

This paper has two sources: One is my own research in three broad areas: business cycles, economic measurement and social choice. In all of these fields I attempted to apply the basic precepts of the scientific method as it is understood in the natural sciences. I found that my effort at using natural science methods in economics was met with little understanding and often considerable hostility. I found economics to be driven less by common sense and empirical evidence, then by various ideologies that exhibited either a political or a methodological bias, or both. This brings me to the second source: Several books have appeared recently that describe in historical terms the ideological forces that have shaped either the direct areas in which I worked, or a broader background. These books taught me that the ideological forces in the social sciences are even stronger than I imagined on the basis of my own experiences. The scientific method is the antipode to ideology. I feel that the scientific work that I have done on specific, long standing and fundamental problems in economics and political science have given me additional insights into the destructive role of ideology beyond the history of thought orientation of the works I will be discussing