Carphophis amoenus

Number of Pages: 7Integrative BiologyGeological Science

An Evaluation of the Economic, Environmental and Social Impacts of NSW DPI Investments in IPM Research in Invertebrate Rice Pests

Research into IPM technologies has been conducted by NSW DPI for over 20 years. Evaluating the returns from investment in specific research and development projects is an important component of the NSW DPI science and research program. An economic evaluation has been conducted of IPM in managing invertebrate pests in rice in NSW. We found that there has been widespread adoption of many IPM practices amongst NSW rice growers leading to a flow of economic benefits to the rice industry and the community. Important environmental and human health benefits were also identified. A benefit-cost ratio of 9.05 was calculated for the return to NSW DPI investment in rice invertebrate pests IPM research. The net present value of the benefits of this research to 2020 was $67.9 million. Important environmental and human health benefits were not valued nor were ‘spillover’ benefits to other States.benefit cost analysis, rice, IPM, invertebrate pests, evaluation, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Production Economics, Q160,

An Evaluation of the Economic, Environmental and Social Impacts of NSW DPI Investments in IPM Research in Lettuce

Research into IPM technologies has been conducted by NSW DPI for over 20 years. Evaluating the returns from investment in specific research and development projects is an important component of the NSW DPI science and research program. An economic evaluation has been conducted of IPM in managing invertebrate pests in lettuce in NSW. We found that there has been widespread adoption of IPM practices amongst NSW lettuce growers leading to a flow of economic benefits to the lettuce industry and the community. Important environmental and human health benefits were also identified. A benefit-cost ratio of 2 was calculated for the return to NSW DPI investment in lettuce IPM research which while satisfactory, is lower than returns calculated for other agricultural R&D. It does not include ‘spillover’ benefits to other States nor have human health or environmental benefits been valued.research, benefit-cost, evaluation, IPM (Integrated Pest Management), lettuce, Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy, Farm Management, Production Economics, Q160,

Returns to investment in IPM research in lettuce by NSW DPI

Research into IPM technologies has been conducted by NSW DPI for over 20 years. Evaluating the returns from investment in specific research and development projects is an important component of the NSW DPI science and research program. An economic evaluation has been conducted of IPM in managing invertebrate pests in lettuce in NSW. We found that there has been widespread adoption of IPM practices amongst NSW lettuce growers leading to a flow of economic benefits to the lettuce industry and the community. Important environmental and human health benefits were also identified. A benefit-cost ratio of 2 was calculated for the return to NSW DPI investment in lettuce IPM research which while satisfactory, is lower than returns calculated for other agricultural R&D evaluations. It does not include ‘spillover’ benefits to other States nor have human health or environmental benefits been valued.research, benefit-cost, evaluation, IPM (Integrated Pest Management), lettuce, Crop Production/Industries, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

Influence of native roadside plants on biological control of Iowa crop pests

Boundaries between cropland and natural plant communities provide food, water, and cover for wildlife. Similarly, field borders com­ posed of natural plant communities, especially those that include flowering plants, may have a marked effect on natural enemies of crop pests within crop fields. Monoculture crops typical of much of the Midwest do not provide adequate sources of food (nectar, pollen) or shelter and breeding sites for these natural enemies. Nectar and pollen are produced by a variety of native Midwestern plants; as these plants flower in succession throughout the growing season, they provide a continuous food source for the natural enemies (parasites) of pests attacking adjacent crops

Carphophis vermis

Number of Pages: 4Integrative BiologyGeological Science

Predictive Screening of M1 and M2 Macrophages Reveals the Immunomodulatory Effectiveness of Post Spinal Cord Injury Azithromycin Treatment

Spinal cord injury (SCI) triggers a heterogeneous macrophage response that when experimentally polarized toward alternative forms of activation (M2 macrophages) promotes tissue and functional recovery. There are limited pharmacological therapies that can drive this reparative inflammatory state. In the current study, we used in vitrosystems to comprehensively defined markers of macrophages with known pathological (M1) and reparative (M2) properties in SCI. We then used these markers to objectively define the macrophage activation states after SCI in response to delayed azithromycin treatment. Mice were subjected to moderate-severe thoracic contusion SCI. Azithromycin or vehicle was administered beginning 30 minutes post-SCI and then daily for 3 or 7 days post injury (dpi). We detected a dose-dependent polarization toward purportedly protective M2 macrophages with daily AZM treatment. Specifically, AZM doses of 10, 40, or 160 mg/kg decreased M1 macrophage gene expression at 3 dpi while the lowest (10 mg/kg) and highest (160 mg/kg) doses increased M2 macrophage gene expression at 7 dpi. Azithromycin has documented immunomodulatory properties and is commonly prescribed to treat infections in SCI individuals. This work demonstrates the utility of objective, comprehensive macrophage gene profiling for evaluating immunomodulatory SCI therapies and highlights azithromycin as a promising agent for SCI treatment

NMFS / Interagency Working Group Evaluation of CITES Criteria and Guidelines.

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: At present, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) criteria used to assess whether a population qualifies for inclusion in the CITES Appendices relate to (A) size of the population, (B) area of distribution of the population, and (C) declines in the size of the population. Numeric guidelines are provided as indicators of a small population (less than 5,000 individuals), a small subpopulation (less than 500 individuals), a restricted area of distribution for a population (less than 10,000 km2), a restricted area of distribution for a subpopula-tion (less than 500 km2), a high rate of decline (a decrease of 50% or more in total within 5 years or two generations whichever is longer or, for a small wild population, a decline of 20% or more in total within ten years or three generations whichever is longer), large fluctuations (population size or area of distribution varies widely, rapidly and frequently, with a variation greater than one order of magnitude), and a short-term fluctuation (one of two years or less). The Working Group discussed several broad issues of relevance to the CITES criteria and guidelines. These included the importance of the historical extent of decline versus the recent rate of decline; the utility and validity of incorporating relative population productivity into decline criteria; the utility of absolute numbers for defining small populations or small areas; the appropriateness of generation times as time frames for examining declines; the importance of the magnitude and frequency of fluctuations as factors affecting risk of extinction; and the overall utility of numeric thresh-olds or guidelines

miR-196b target screen reveals mechanisms maintaining leukemia stemness with therapeutic potential.

We have shown that antagomiR inhibition of miRNA miR-21 and miR-196b activity is sufficient to ablate MLL-AF9 leukemia stem cells (LSC) in vivo. Here, we used an shRNA screening approach to mimic miRNA activity on experimentally verified miR-196b targets to identify functionally important and therapeutically relevant pathways downstream of oncogenic miRNA in MLL-r AML. We found Cdkn1b (p27Kip1) is a direct miR-196b target whose repression enhanced an embryonic stem cell–like signature associated with decreased leukemia latency and increased numbers of leukemia stem cells in vivo. Conversely, elevation of p27Kip1 significantly reduced MLL-r leukemia self-renewal, promoted monocytic differentiation of leukemic blasts, and induced cell death. Antagonism of miR-196b activity or pharmacologic inhibition of the Cks1-Skp2–containing SCF E3-ubiquitin ligase complex increased p27Kip1 and inhibited human AML growth. This work illustrates that understanding oncogenic miRNA target pathways can identify actionable targets in leukemia

Monotonicity of Fitness Landscapes and Mutation Rate Control

A common view in evolutionary biology is that mutation rates are minimised. However, studies in combinatorial optimisation and search have shown a clear advantage of using variable mutation rates as a control parameter to optimise the performance of evolutionary algorithms. Much biological theory in this area is based on Ronald Fisher's work, who used Euclidean geometry to study the relation between mutation size and expected fitness of the offspring in infinite phenotypic spaces. Here we reconsider this theory based on the alternative geometry of discrete and finite spaces of DNA sequences. First, we consider the geometric case of fitness being isomorphic to distance from an optimum, and show how problems of optimal mutation rate control can be solved exactly or approximately depending on additional constraints of the problem. Then we consider the general case of fitness communicating only partial information about the distance. We define weak monotonicity of fitness landscapes and prove that this property holds in all landscapes that are continuous and open at the optimum. This theoretical result motivates our hypothesis that optimal mutation rate functions in such landscapes will increase when fitness decreases in some neighbourhood of an optimum, resembling the control functions derived in the geometric case. We test this hypothesis experimentally by analysing approximately optimal mutation rate control functions in 115 complete landscapes of binding scores between DNA sequences and transcription factors. Our findings support the hypothesis and find that the increase of mutation rate is more rapid in landscapes that are less monotonic (more rugged). We discuss the relevance of these findings to living organisms