An Invasive Species Assessment Protocol: Evaluating Non-Native Plants for Their Impact on Biodiversity, Version 1

NatureServe, in cooperation with The Nature Conservancy and the U.S. National Park Service, developed this Invasive Species Assessment Protocol as a tool for assessing, categorizing, and listing non-native invasive vascular plants according to their impact on native species and natural biodiversity in a large geographical area such as a nation, state, province, or ecological region. This protocol is designed to make the process of assessing and listing invasive plants objective and systematic, and to incorporate scientific documentation of the information used to determine each species’ rank. NatureServe’s methodology has previously included assessments of the conservation significance of native species; this protocol extends that scope to non-native species as well. The protocol is used to assess species (or infraspecific taxa, as appropriate) individually for a specified “region of interest” and to assign each species an Invasive Species Impact Rank (I-Rank) of High, Medium, Low, or Insignificant to categorize its negative impact on natural biodiversity within that region. The protocol includes 20 questions, each with four scaled responses (A-D, plus U = unknown). The 20 questions are grouped into four sections: Ecological Impact, Current Distribution and Abundance, Trend in Distribution and Abundance, and Management Difficulty. Each species is assessed by considering these questions, with the answers used to calculate a subrank for each of the four sections. An overall I-Rank is then calculated from the subranks. Text comments and citations to information sources should be provided as documentation for each answer selected, along with a concise text summary of the major considerations leading to the overall rank. While designed for use in a specified large, contiguous, biogeographically diverse region, the protocol can be adapted to specified noncontiguous regions (such as the 50 states of the United States), and may also be applied to assess the impact in the non-native range of a species that is also present elsewhere in a region as a native. NatureServe is now using this protocol to assess the biodiversity impact of the approximately 3,500 non-native vascular plant species established outside cultivation in the United States. The protocol is offered here in generalized form for others who might wish to use it to conduct similar assessments and create lists of invasive plants for other nations, states, provinces, ecological regions, or comparable areas

FUV and X-ray Observations of the Reverse Shock in the SMC SNR 1E 0102.2-7219

We present FUSE and XMM-Newton data for the reverse shock of the O-rich SNR 1E0102.2-7219 in the SMC. The FUSE observations cover three regions with significantly different optical [O III] intensities, all associated with the relatively bright part of the X-ray ring. Emission lines of O VI 1032, 1038 are clearly detected in the FUSE spectra. By combining this O VI doublet emission with the O VII triplet and O VIII Lyalpha fluxes from the XMM-Newton spectra and assuming a non-equilibrium ionization model with a single ionization timescale for the spectra, we are able to find a narrow range of temperatures and ionization timescales that are consistent with the respective line ratios. However, if we assume a plane-parallel shock model with a distribution of ionization timescales, the O VI emission appears to be inconsistent with O VII and O VIII in X-rays. We also analyze the total XMM-Newton EPIC-MOS 1/2 spectra for the three regions. The X-ray spectra are dominated by strong emission lines of O, Ne, and Mg, however, we detect an emission component that accounts for 14 - 25% of the flux and can be attributed to shocked ISM. We find that there is no consistent set of values for the temperature and ionization timescale which can explain the observed line ratios for O, Ne, and Mg. This would be consistent with a structured distribution of the ejecta as the O, Ne, Mg would have interacted with the reverse shock at different times.Comment: 28 pages, 5 figues, Fig. 1 as JPEG. To be published in ApJ (01 May 2006, v. 642, 1 issue

Casimir effect in a six-dimensional vortex scenario

Recently Randjbar-Daemi and Shaposhnikov put forward a 4-dimensional effective QED coming from a Nielsen-Olesen vortex solution of the abelian Higgs model with fermions coupled to gravity in D=6. However, exploring possible physical consequences of such an effective QED was left open. In this letter we study the corresponding effective Casimir effect. We find that the extra dimensions yield fifth and third inverse powers in the separation between plates for the modified Casimir force which are in conflict with known experiments, thus reducing the phenomenological viability of the model.Comment: 12 pages, references added, comparison with experimental data clarified. v4 published versio

Lived experience researchers partnering with consumers and carers to improve mental health research: Reflections from an Australian initiative

Consumer and carer involvement in mental health research is a growing and developing field. Whilst there has been policy and in-principle support for such involvement from governments around the world, lived experience researchers conducting academic research in partnership with other consumers and carers remains uncommon. ACACIA: The Australian Capital Territory Consumer and Carer Mental Health Research Unit is based at The Australian National University and employs academic researchers with lived experience to undertake research directly relevant to the needs of mental health consumers and carers with the aim of influencing policy and practice. In this study, we share our experience of developing and conducting research within ACACIA to provide a model for meaningfully engaging mental health consumers and carers throughout the research process.This research was supported by ACT Health (Contracts 2013.21920.590 to KG and 2015.275404.340 to MB). At the time of undertaking the research, MB was supported by Australian Research Council Discovery Early Career Researcher Award DE150100637 and KG was supported by National Health and Medical Research Council Senior Research Fellowship 1059620

Genome-wide analysis of transcriptional dependence and probable target sites for Abf1 and Rap1 in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Abf1 and Rap1 are general regulatory factors (GRFs) that contribute to transcriptional activation of a large number of genes, as well as to replication, silencing and telomere structure in yeast. In spite of their widespread roles in transcription, the scope of their functional targets genome-wide has not been previously determined. Here, we use microarrays to examine the contribution of these essential GRFs to transcription genome-wide, by using ts mutants that dissociate from their binding sites at 37°C. We then combine this data with published ChIP-chip studies and motif analysis to identify probable direct targets for Abf1 and Rap1. We also identify a substantial number of genes likely to bind Rap1 or Abf1, but not affected by loss of GRF binding. Interestingly, the results strongly suggest that Rap1 can contribute to gene activation from farther upstream than can Abf1. Also, consistent with previous work, more genes that bind Abf1 are unaffected by loss of binding than those that bind Rap1. Finally, we show for several such genes that the Abf1 C-terminal region, which contains the putative activation domain, is not needed to confer this peculiar ‘memory effect’ that allows continued transcription after loss of Abf1 binding

Why do women invest in pre-pregnancy health and care? A qualitative investigation with women attending maternity services

Background Despite the importance attributed to good pre-pregnancy care and its potential to improve pregnancy and child health outcomes, relatively little is known about why women invest in pre-pregnancy health and care. We sought to gain insight into why women invested in pre-pregnancy health and care. Methods We carried out 20 qualitative in-depth interviews with pregnant or recently pregnant women who were drawn from a survey of antenatal clinic attendees in London, UK. Interviewees were purposively sampled to include high and low investors in pre-pregnancy health and care, with variation in age, partnership status, ethnicity and pre-existing medical conditions. Data analysis was conducted using the Framework method. Results We identified three groups in relation to pre-pregnancy health and care: 1) The “prepared” group, who had high levels of pregnancy planning and mostly positive attitudes to micronutrient supplementation outside of pregnancy, carried out pre-pregnancy activities such as taking folic acid and making changes to diet and lifestyle. 2) The “poor knowledge” group, who also had high levels of pregnancy planning, did not carry out pre-pregnancy activities and described themselves as having poor knowledge. Elsewhere in their interviews they expressed a strong dislike of micronutrient supplementation. 3) The “absent pre-pregnancy period” group, had the lowest levels of pregnancy planning and also expressed anti-supplement views. Even discussing the pre-pregnancy period with this group was difficult as responses to questions quickly shifted to focus on pregnancy itself. Knowledge of folic acid was poor in all groups. Conclusion Different pre-pregnancy care approaches are likely to be needed for each of the groups. Among the “prepared” group, who were proactive and receptive to health messages, greater availability of information and better response from health professionals could improve the range of pre-pregnancy activities carried out. Among the “poor knowledge” group, better response from health professionals might yield greater uptake of pre-pregnancy information. A different, general health strategy might be more appropriate for the “absent pre-pregnancy period” group. The fact that general attitudes to micronutrient supplementation were closely related to whether or not women invested in pre-pregnancy health and care was an unanticipated finding and warrants further investigation.This report is independent research commissioned and funded by the Department of Health Policy Research Programme Pre-Pregnancy Health and Care in England: Exploring Implementation and Public Health Impact, 006/0068