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Wolbachia versus dengue: Evolutionary forecasts.

A novel form of biological control is being applied to the dengue virus. The agent is the maternally transmitted bacterium Wolbachia, naturally absent from the main dengue vector, the mosquito Aedes aegypti. Three Wolbachia-based control strategies have been proposed. One is suppression of mosquito populations by large-scale releases of males incompatible with native females; this intervention requires ongoing releases. The other interventions transform wild mosquito populations with Wolbachia that spread via the frequency-dependent fitness advantage of Wolbachia-infected females; those interventions potentially require just a single, local release for area-wide disease control. One of these latter strategies uses Wolbachia that shortens mosquito life, indirectly preventing viral maturation/transmission. The other strategy uses Wolbachia that block viral transmission. All interventions can be undermined by viral, bacterial or mosquito evolution; viral virulence in humans may also evolve. We examine existing theory, experiments and comparative evidence to motivate predictions about evolutionary outcomes. (i) The life-shortening strategy seems the most likely to be thwarted by evolution. (ii) Mosquito suppression has a reasonable chance of working locally, at least in the short term, but long-term success over large areas is challenging. (iii) Dengue blocking faces strong selection for viral resistance but may well persist indefinitely at some level. Virulence evolution is not mathematically predictable, but comparative data provide no precedent for Wolbachia increasing dengue virulence. On balance, our analysis suggests that the considerable possible benefits of these technologies outweigh the known negatives, but the actual risk is largely unknown

Forward Error Correction and Functional Programming

This thesis contains a collection of work I have performed while working on Dr. Erik Perrins' Efficient Hardware Implementation of Iterative FEC Decoders project. The following topics and my contributions to those topics are included in this thesis. The first topic is a Viterbi decoder implemented in the Haskell programming language. Next, I will briefly introduce Kansas Lava, a Haskell DSL developed by my advisor, Dr. Andy Gill, and other students and staff. The goal of Kansas Lava is to generate efficient synthesizable VHDL for complex circuits. I will discuss one such circuit, a large-scale LDPC decoder implemented in Kansas Lava that has been synthesized and tested on FPGA hardware. After discussing the synthesis and simulation results of the decoder circuit, I will discuss a memory interface that was developed for use in our HFEC system. Finally, I tie these individual projects together in a discussion on the benefits of functional programming in hardware design

A token found at Lyme Regis, Dorset, England, apparently associated with Mary Anning (1799–1847), fossil collector

A lettered metal disc bearing the date 1810 and found on the beach at Lyme Regis appears, but cannot conclusively be proven, to be a childhood possession of the young Mary Anning (1799–1847), later the famous fossil collector whose name and age it bears. An alternative, but problematical, possibility is that it is a retrospective commemorative token produced for sale to tourists in later years

Antarctic glaciology and meteorites

The state of knowledge of meteorites and glaciology is summarized, and directions for research are suggested.by Colin Bull and Michael E. Lipschutz.Contributions from oxygen isotope studies to paleoclimatology and the knowledge of ice flow conditions / Grootes, P.M. -- Weathering effects in antarctic meteorites / Lipschutz, Michael E. -- Mineralogy and petrology of unique and rare meteorites recovered in Antarctica / Keil, Klaus -- Radar sounding of ice sheet inland of Transantarctic Mountains / Drewry, D.J. -- Transantarctic Mountains glacial history-general problems / Mayewski, Paul

Social enterprise as a socially rational business

Purpose: This paper examines the discourses that influence policy and practice in social enterprises. In institutional circles, arguments are shaped by the desire to protect assets for the community, while entrepreneurial discourses favour a mixture of investment sources, surplus sharing and inclusive systems of governance. A critique is outlined that challenges policy-makers and academics to move beyond the heated debate on ‘business-like’ activity through a deeper understanding of the social relations entered into (and created by) different social entrepreneurial activities. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper is wholly theoretical. Firstly, contradictions are exposed through a review of practitioner and scholarly literature. Thereafter, empirically grounded studies are used to develop a theoretical model that accommodates and accounts for diverse practices. A broader perspective, that views human behaviour as a product of, and support system for, our socio-sexual choices, is deployed to extend understanding of social capital. By integrating this into governance theory, workplaces come to be seen as complex centres of community building replete with economic and social goals. The concept of ‘social rationality’ is elaborated as an alternative way to understand the legitimacy of social entrepreneurial activity and management practice. Originality/Value: The paper concludes by developing a framework and typology that theorises social enterprise as a heterogeneous business movement. Each form of social enterprise integrates socially rational thinking into its policies and practices. This suggests a different educational agenda for social entrepreneurs oriented towards the equitable distribution, and not accumulation, of social and economic capital. Keywords: Social Enterprise, Governance, Social Rationality, Social Capital, Co-operative Practice Paper Type: Conceptual pape

Visual conspecific cues will not help in pygmy bluetongue lizard translocations

Author version made available in accordance with the Publisher's policy, after an embargo period of 24 months from the date of publication. © 2015. Licensed under the CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/Where a translocation program is used to reinforce an existing population of an endangered species, the response of the introduced individuals to cues from conspecific residents will have an important impact on the success of the translocation. If those cues induce the translocated individuals to stay at the release site the translocation is more likely to succeed than if the cues cause individuals to move away. We used conspecific models of the endangered Australian pygmy bluetongue lizard to identify behavioural parameters relevant to translocation success, that change when the visual conspecific cues are presented. Pygmy bluetongue lizards typically remain in or at the entrance of their refuge burrows. In the presence of conspecific models, introduced lizards significantly increased, and nearly doubled, the number of movements out of their burrows (mean (SE) number of movements with models = 0.44 (0.03); without models = 0.25 (0.03); P = 0.012) and more than doubled the number of movements away from the release area (mean (SE) number of movements with models = 0.28 (0.03); without models = 0.08 (0.02); P = 0.003), suggesting they would be less likely to remain within a resident population where they were released. We found that, by the end of the first day of experimental trials 11 of 16 lizards in treatments with models present had occupied burrows that did not have a model nearby, and that number increased to 14 of 16 lizards by the fourth day. The results suggest that cues from conspecifics will not encourage translocated lizards to stay at a release site."We would like to thank all of our sponsored in this project, which include Australian Research Council