Consensus and controversy in the discipline of invasion science

Approaches, values and perceptions in invasion science are highly dynamic, and like in other disciplines, views among different people can be somewhat divergent. This has led to debate in the field specifically surrounding the core themes relating to values, management, impacts, and terminology. Considering these debates, we surveyed the views of 698 scientists and practitioners to assess levels of polarization (opposing views) on core and contentious invasion science topics. Our results indicate that although there are generally high levels of consensus in the field, there are still some areas of polarization. Relating to values, there was high polarization regarding claims of invasive species denialism, if invasive species contribute to biodiversity, and, how biodiversity reporting should be conducted. Linking to management there were polarized views on banning the commercial use of beneficial invasive species, the extent to which stakeholders’ perceptions should influence management, if invasive species utilization alone is an appropriate control strategy, and, whether the eradication of invasive plants is possible. For impacts, there was high polarization concerning whether invasive species drive, or are a side effect of degradation, and, if invasive species benefits are understated. For terminology, polarized views related to defining invasive species based only on spread, if labelling species as invasive in their native ranges, and, if language used is too xenophobic. Factor and regression analysis revealed that views were particularly divergent between people working on different invasive taxa (plants and mammals) and in different disciplines (especially between biologists and social scientists), between academics and practitioners, and between world regions (especially between Africa and the Global North). Unlike in other studies, age and gender had a limited influence on response patterns. We highlight that better integration globally and between disciplines, taxa and sectors (e.g., academic vs. practitioners), could help build broader understanding and consensus in the field

Effect of disorder on the vortex-lattice melting transition

We use a three dimensional stacked triangular network of Josephson junctions as a model for the study of vortex structure in the mixed state of high Tc superconductors. We show that the addition of disorder destroys the first order melting transition occurring for clean samples. The melting transition splits in two different (continuous) transitions, ocurring at temperatures Ti and Tp (>Ti). At Ti the perpendicular-to-field superconductivity is lost, and at Tp the parallel-to-field superconductivity is lost. These results agree well with recent experiments in YBaCuO.Comment: 4 pages + 2 figure

The phase diagram of high-Tc's: Influence of anisotropy and disorder

We propose a phase diagram for the vortex structure of high temperature superconductors which incorporates the effects of anisotropy and disorder. It is based on numerical simulations using the three-dimensional Josephson junction array model. We support the results with an estimation of the internal energy and configurational entropy of the system. Our results give a unified picture of the behavior of the vortex lattice, covering from the very anysotropic BiSrCaCuO to the less anisotropic YBaCuO, and from the first order melting ocurring in clean samples to the continuous transitions observed in samples with defects.Comment: 8 pages with 7 figure

1-(1-Carboxy­methyl-1,4-anhydro-2,3-O-isopropyl­idene-α-d-erythrofuranos­yl)thymine

X-Ray crystallography unequivocally determined the stereochemistry of the thymine base in the title compound, C14H18N2O7. The absolute stereochemistry was determined from the use of d-ribose as the starting material. There are two independent mol­ecules in the asymmetric unit (Z′ = 2) which exist as N—H⋯O hydrogen-bonded pairs in the crystal structure

Vortex structure and resistive transitions in high-Tc superconductors

The nature of the resistive transition for a current applied parallel to the magnetic field in high-Tc materials is investigated by numerical simulation on the three dimensional Josephson junction array model. It is shown by using finite size scaling that for samples with disorder the critical temperature Tp for the c axis resistivity corresponds to a percolation phase transition of vortex lines perpendicularly to the applied field. The value of Tp is higher than the critical temperature for j perpendicular to H, but decreases with the thickness of the sample and with anisotropy. We predict that critical behavior around Tp should reflect in experimentally accessible quantities, as the I-V curves.Comment: 8 pages + 6 figure

Golimumab induction and maintenance for moderate to severe ulcerative colitis: results from GO-COLITIS (Golimumab: a Phase 4, UK, open label, single arm study on its utilization and impact in ulcerative Colitis)

Objective GO-COLITIS aimed to measure the effectiveness of subcutaneous golimumab in tumour necrosis factor-α antagonist–naive patients with moderate to severe ulcerative colitis (UC) despite conventional treatment. Design GO-COLITIS was an open label, single arm, phase 4 study with a pragmatic design which reflected UK clinical practice. Adult patients were eligible if diagnosed with UC ≥3 months, partial Mayo score (PMS) 4–9. Patients received subcutaneous golimumab induction (200 mg initially and 100 mg at week 2) followed at week 6 by 50 mg or 100 mg (depending on weight) every 4 weeks until week 54 with a 12-week follow-up. Efficacy was measured by PMS at baseline, week 6, 30, 54 and 66. Health-related quality of life (HRQoL; Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (IBDQ) and EuroQol Group 5 Dimensions Health Questionnaire (EQ-5D)) was assessed at baseline, week 6 and week 54. All safety adverse events (AEs) were recorded. Results 207 patients were enrolled and 205 received golimumab (full analysis set (FAS)205). At week 6, 68.8% (95% CI 62.0% to 75.1%) and 38.5% (95% CI 31.8% to 45.6%) of patients were in response and remission, respectively, using PMS. At the end of the induction phase, 140/141 patients in clinical response continued into the maintenance phase (Maintenance FAS). Sustained clinical response through week 54 was achieved in 51/205 (24.9%) of the FAS205 population and 51/140 (36.4%) of the Maintenance FAS population. Statistically significant improvements from baseline to week 6 were observed for the IBDQ total score and for each IBDQ domain score (bowel symptoms, emotional function, systemic symptoms and social function), as well as the EQ-5D index score and associated visual analogue scale score (p<0.0001). Improvement of HRQoL was sustained through week 54. Serious AEs leading to treatment discontinuation occurred in 8.8% of patients. Conclusion In this study measuring patient-reported outcomes in patients with moderate to severe UC, golimumab induced and maintained response as measured by PMS and significantly improved quality of life measures. Trial registration number NCT02092285; 2013-004583-56

Planktonic Protist Diversity across Contrasting Subtropical and Subantarctic Waters of the Southwest Pacific.

Planktonic protists are an essential component of marine pelagic ecosystems where they mediate important trophic and biogeochemical functions. Although these functions are largely influenced by their taxonomic affiliation, the composition and spatial variability of planktonic protist communities remain poorly characterized in vast areas of the ocean. Here, we investigated the diversity of these communities in contrasting oceanographic conditions of the southwest Pacific (33–58 °S) using DNA metabarcoding of the 18S rRNA gene. Seawater samples collected during twelve cruises ( = 482, 0–3100 m) conducted east of New Zealand were used to characterize protist communities in Subtropical (STW) and Subantarctic (SAW) surface water masses and the Subtropical Front (STF) that separates them. Diversity decreased with increasing latitude and increasing temperature but tended to be lowest in the STF. Sample ordination resulting from the abundance of amplicon single variants (ASVs) corresponded to the different water masses. Overall, Dinoflagellata (Syndiniales, 27%; Dinophyceae, 24% of standardized number of reads) dominated the euphotic zone followed by Chlorophyta (20%), but their relative abundance and composition at class and lower taxonomic levels varied consistently between water masses. Among Chlorophyta, several picoplanktonic algae species of the Mamiellophyceae class including Ostreococcus lucimarinus dominated in STW, while the Chloropicophyceae species Chloroparvula pacifica was most abundant in SAW. Bacillariophyta (5%), Prymnesiophyceae (5%), and Pelagophyceae (2%) classes were less abundant but showed analogous water mass specificity at class and finer taxonomic levels. Protist community composition in the STF had mixed characteristics and showed regional differences with the southern STF (50 °S) having more resemblance with subantarctic communities than the STF over the Chatham Rise region (42–44 °S). Below the euphotic zone, Syndiniales sequences (40%) dominated the dataset followed by Radiolaria (31%), Dinophyceae (14%) and other heterotrophic groups like Marine Stramenopiles and ciliates (1–1.5%). Among Radiolaria, several unidentified ASVs assigned to Spumellaria were most abundant, but showed significantly different distributions between STW and SAW highlighting the need to further investigate the taxonomy and ecology of this group. The present study represents a significant step forward towards characterizing protistan communities composition in relation to major physical oceanographic features in the southwest Pacific providing new insights about the biogeography and ecological preferences of different planktonic protist taxa from class to species and genotypic level

First-Order Melting and Dynamics of Flux Lines in a Model for YBa2_2Cu3_3O7−δ_{7-\delta}

We have studied the statics and dynamics of flux lines in a model for YBCO, using both Monte Carlo simulations and Langevin dynamics. For a clean system, both approaches yield the same melting curve, which is found to be weakly first order with a heat of fusion of about $0.02 k_BT_m$ per vortex pancake at a field of $50 {\rm kG}.$ The time averaged magnetic field distribution experienced by a fixed spin is found to undergo a qualitative change at freezing, in agreement with NMR and $\mu {\rm SR}$ experiments. Melting in the clean system is accompanied by a proliferation of free disclinations which show a clear B-dependent 3D-2D crossover from long disclination lines parallel to the c-axis at low fields, to 2D ``pancake'' disclinations at higher fields. Strong point pins produce a logarithmical $\ln t$ relaxation which results from slow annealing out of disclinations in disordered samples.Comment: 31 pages, latex, revtex, 12 figures available upon request, No major changes to the original text, but some errors in the axes scale for Figures 6 and 7 were corrected(new figures available upon request), to be published in Physical Review B, July 199

Expression and Differential Responsiveness of Central Nervous System Glial Cell Populations to the Acute Phase Protein Serum Amyloid A

Acute-phase response is a systemic reaction to environmental/inflammatory insults and involves hepatic production of acute-phase proteins, including serum amyloid A (SAA). Extrahepatically, SAA immunoreactivity is found in axonal myelin sheaths of cortex in Alzheimer's disease and multiple sclerosis (MS), although its cellular origin is unclear. We examined the responses of cultured rat cortical astrocytes, microglia and oligodendrocyte precursor cells (OPCs) to master pro-inflammatory cytokine tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-\u3b1 and lipopolysaccaride (LPS). TNF-\u3b1 time-dependently increased Saa1 (but not Saa3) mRNA expression in purified microglia, enriched astrocytes, and OPCs (as did LPS for microglia and astrocytes). Astrocytes depleted of microglia were markedly less responsive to TNF-\u3b1 and LPS, even after re-addition of microglia. Microglia and enriched astrocytes showed complementary Saa1 expression profiles following TNF-\u3b1 or LPS challenge, being higher in microglia with TNF-\u3b1 and higher in astrocytes with LPS. Recombinant human apo-SAA stimulated production of both inflammatory mediators and its own mRNA in microglia and enriched, but not microglia-depleted astrocytes. Co-ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide/luteolin, an established anti-inflammatory/neuroprotective agent, reduced Saa1 expression in OPCs subjected to TNF-\u3b1 treatment. These last data, together with past findings suggest that co-ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide/luteolin may be a novel approach in the treatment of inflammatory demyelinating disorders like MS