Foraging Interference and Fruit Palatability in Pteropus Scapulatus (Megachiroptera: Pteropodidae): Management Implications

The “residents and raiders” theory emphasizes the importance of conspecific feeding interference in seed dispersal by frugivorous megachiropterans. Agonistic interactions at fruiting trees frequently result in the “ejection” of one bat, which has often first obtained some fruit. The ejected bat then flies to an unoccupied tree, thus dispersing non-consumed seeds. For seeds too large to be swallowed this may be the sole method of dispersal. Raiding and subsequent seed spread only occur when bat populations are sufficiently large, relative to resources, to cause competition for food. If competition similarly affects nectarivorous bats and their floral resources, decline in a bat population could lead to reduced seed set and genetic diversity in their food-plant species. Pteropus scapulatus (Little Red Flying Fox) visit the flowers of dozens of Australian and New Guinean species and are believed to play an important role in the pollination of Eucalyptus and Melaleuca. Feeding-interference and raiding “success” by P. scapulatus eating fruit at Wellington Zoo (New Zealand) was studied to infer the importance of population size on cross-pollination. Decrease in population-to-resource ratio was correlated with decrease in raiding frequency, suggesting a decreased likelihood of cross pollination. These results highlight the value of management practices that promote the maintenance of large populations of nectarivorous megachiropterans. The effects of dominance and food preference on these behaviours were also evaluated. Dominance was inversely correlated to both dispersal and maturity. Contrary to many reports, females were not always subordinate to males. Fruit preference data may be useful for selecting “distracter” trees in orchards prone to damage by fruit bats and for ex situ husbandry concerns. Implications for population-, orchard-, and captive-management are discussed

Spring 1959

Seed testing - A Service for You by Miss Jessie L. Anderson (page 1) Increased Interest in Two-Year Turf Course by Fred P. Jeffrey - Director of Stockbridge (4) From the Editor (4) Message From Winter School President of 1959 (5) Turf club News (6) Number One Graduate (8) Liquid Fertilization by A.B. Longo (9) Public School Grounds by James Woodhouse (12) Comments on the 1959 Winter School (14) Picture - Stockbridge Turf Majors (16) Picture - Honorary Members of Turf Management Club (17) Letter on Chemical Compatibility (18) The Most Outstanding Turf Senior for 1958 (19) What it Means to be a Turf Manager by R. Russell (20) 10 Steps to a Better Lawn by P. Pedrazzi (24) A Scene to Remember (25) I switched from Hots to Cools by J. Spodnik (26) Why Attend Turfgrass Conferences (27) Picture - Winter School for Turf Managers - 1959 (29) Picture - University of Masssachusetts Annual Turfgrass Conference (30) Organic Fertilizers by O.J. Noer (A-1) Inorganic Fertilizers by Charles Winchell (A-1) Urea Formaldehyde by G.F. Stewart (A-2) Phosphorus and Potash Fertilization by Raph Donaldson (A-3) Questions on Fertilization to the Panel (A-4) Cemetery Maintenance by S.E. Robbins (A-6) Lime by Anson Brewer (A-6) Limited Budgets by R.W. Sharkey (A-7) Fertilization of Park Turf by E.J. Pyle (A-7) Disease and Insect Control by Orlando Capizzi (A-8) Cost of Establishing Turf by Victor Taricano (A-9) Question and Answers (A-10) Control of Pests of Ornamentals and Turf Occuring on Golf Courses by John C. Schread (A-12) Behind the Scenes in Soil Testing and What it Means to You Bertram Gersten and Wm. G. Colby (A-19) Lessons Learned from the 1958 Season as Applied to Golf Course Maintenance by A.M. Radko (A-21) The Outlook in Chemical Weed Control on Fine Turf by John Gallagher (A-24) New Developments in Turfgrass Disease Diagnosis and Control by Frank Howard (A-26

The age of homo naledi and associated sediments in the rising star cave, South Africa

New ages for flowstone, sediments and fossil bones from the Dinaledi Chamber are presented. We combined optically stimulated luminescence dating of sediments with U-Th and palaeomagnetic analyses of flowstones to establish that all sediments containing Homo naledi fossils can be allocated to a single stratigraphic entity (sub-unit 3b), interpreted to be deposited between 236 ka and 414 ka. This result has been confirmed independently by dating three H. naledi teeth with combined U-series and electron spin resonance (US-ESR) dating. Two dating scenarios for the fossils were tested by varying the assumed levels of222Rn loss in the encasing sediments: a maximum age scenario provides an average age for the two least altered fossil teeth of 253 +82/-70 ka, whilst a minimum age scenario yields an average age of 200 +70/-61 ka. We consider the maximum age scenario to more closely reflect conditions in the cave, and therefore, the true age of the fossils. By combining the US-ESR maximum age estimate obtained from the teeth, with the U-Th age for the oldest flowstone overlying Homo naledi fossils, we have constrained the depositional age of Homo naledi to a period between 236 ka and 335 ka. These age results demonstrate that a morphologically primitive hominin, Homo naledi, survived into the later parts of the Pleistocene in Africa, and indicate a much younger age for the Homo naledi fossils than have previously been hypothesized based on their morphologyWe would also like to thank the many funding agencies that supported various aspects of this work. In particular we would like to thank the National Geographic Society, the National Research Foundation and the Lyda Hill Foundation for significant funding of the discovery, recovery and initial analysis of this material. Further support was provided by ARC (DP140104282: PHGMD, ER, JK, HHW; FT 120100399: AH). The ESR dosimetry study undertaken by CENIEH and Griffith University has been supported by a Marie Curie International Outgoing Fellowship (under REA Grant Agreement n˚ PIOF-GA-2013–626474) of the European Union’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) and an Australian Research Council Future Fellowship (FT150100215). ESR and U-series dating undertaken at SCU were supported by ARC (DP140100919: RJB)

Global prevalence and genotype distribution of hepatitis C virus infection in 2015 : A modelling study

Publisher Copyright: © 2017 Elsevier LtdBackground The 69th World Health Assembly approved the Global Health Sector Strategy to eliminate hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection by 2030, which can become a reality with the recent launch of direct acting antiviral therapies. Reliable disease burden estimates are required for national strategies. This analysis estimates the global prevalence of viraemic HCV at the end of 2015, an update of—and expansion on—the 2014 analysis, which reported 80 million (95% CI 64–103) viraemic infections in 2013. Methods We developed country-level disease burden models following a systematic review of HCV prevalence (number of studies, n=6754) and genotype (n=11 342) studies published after 2013. A Delphi process was used to gain country expert consensus and validate inputs. Published estimates alone were used for countries where expert panel meetings could not be scheduled. Global prevalence was estimated using regional averages for countries without data. Findings Models were built for 100 countries, 59 of which were approved by country experts, with the remaining 41 estimated using published data alone. The remaining countries had insufficient data to create a model. The global prevalence of viraemic HCV is estimated to be 1·0% (95% uncertainty interval 0·8–1·1) in 2015, corresponding to 71·1 million (62·5–79·4) viraemic infections. Genotypes 1 and 3 were the most common cause of infections (44% and 25%, respectively). Interpretation The global estimate of viraemic infections is lower than previous estimates, largely due to more recent (lower) prevalence estimates in Africa. Additionally, increased mortality due to liver-related causes and an ageing population may have contributed to a reduction in infections. Funding John C Martin Foundation.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Global relative paleointensity and regional paleosecular variation: High resolution signals in New Zealand marine sediments

Advancement in understanding paleosecular variation and its driving mechanisms is hindered by the current paucity of paleomagnetic records from the Southern Hemisphere. To date, the record from New Zealand is limited, and dominated by data from volcanic rocks, with a distinct lack of continuous paleointensity data. Seven cores from the Waipaoa Basin, Bay of Plenty and northern Chatham Rise have been subjected to Alternating Field demagnetisation to derive records of paleosecular variation (PSV) and relative paleointensity (RPI) of Earth's magnetic field over historic and millennial timescales. Artificial remanence parameters saturation ARM and saturation IRM are used to assess the level of compliance with magnetic uniformity criteria of King et al. (1983), which is prerequisite for deriving relative paleointensity from sediments. Tephrochronology and 210Pb isotope analyses have provided independent sedimentation rates for some cores. The Laschamp (41 ka) and Mono Lake (34.6 ka) geomagnetic excursion events are identified in piston core JPC95, from the Bay of Plenty. The Laschamp excursion is manifest as the lowest (7% of maximum) intensity between ~ 47 ka and the present day, accompanied by an abrupt (~ 1ky) shallowing of inclination by 45°. The path of the dipole field during the Laschamp excursion is constrained longitudinally between 87.44° E and 99. 77° E; and the magnitude of the latitudinal deviation from geographic north estimated to be 80°-110°. Both excursions and other millennial-scale features of the JPC95 RPI record are manifest in the GLOPIS-75 paleointensity stack of Laj et al. (2004); and in the numerous records compiled to produce the stack. Such correspondence lends testimony to the fidelity of the RPI records, and to the global and thus dipolar nature of the millennial scale RPI signal; whilst validating the use of sARM as a normalising parameter, and demonstrating the potential of New Zealand marine sediments to provide reliable records of RPI back to ~ 47 ka. Identification and correlation of features with time constants similar to the shortest associated with the dipole field (600-700 years; Hulot & Le Mouel, 1994) suggests that the JPC95 record approaches the maximum resolution of the dipole RPI signal. Cores from the Waipaoa Basin provide higher resolution, recording continuous PSV and RPI variability on a decadal scale back to 300 yrs B.P. More records of comparable resolution, with independent age control, will constrain the spatial extent of this signal and assess its potential application as a high-resolution correlation tool. Available records of paleosecular vanat10n are not globally correlative over the period investigated (0-47 ka). Features of the JPC95 PSV record are identified in records from the South Atlantic, but not in Northern Hemisphere records of comparable temporal resolution. This implies manifestation of a regional, non-dipole signal that is hemispheric in extent, and persistent hemispheric asymmetry in conditions at the core-mantle boundary over the time frame explored here. An inclination anomaly of -8.1° from core JPC95 is greater than previously estimated for New Zealand, but is consistent with the proposition of Elmelah et al. (2001), of a negative inclination anomaly characterising the southwest Pacific. Alternatively, the negative inclination anomaly, together with the far-sided virtual geomagnetic poles from core JPC95 constitute evidence for a northward displacement in the axial dipole, as modelled by Wilson (1971)

Global relative paleointensity and regional paleosecular variation: High resolution signals in New Zealand marine sediments

Advancement in understanding paleosecular variation and its driving mechanisms is hindered by the current paucity of paleomagnetic records from the Southern Hemisphere. To date, the record from New Zealand is limited, and dominated by data from volcanic rocks, with a distinct lack of continuous paleointensity data. Seven cores from the Waipaoa Basin, Bay of Plenty and northern Chatham Rise have been subjected to Alternating Field demagnetisation to derive records of paleosecular variation (PSV) and relative paleointensity (RPI) of Earth's magnetic field over historic and millennial timescales. Artificial remanence parameters saturation ARM and saturation IRM are used to assess the level of compliance with magnetic uniformity criteria of King et al. (1983), which is prerequisite for deriving relative paleointensity from sediments. Tephrochronology and 210Pb isotope analyses have provided independent sedimentation rates for some cores. The Laschamp (41 ka) and Mono Lake (34.6 ka) geomagnetic excursion events are identified in piston core JPC95, from the Bay of Plenty. The Laschamp excursion is manifest as the lowest (7% of maximum) intensity between ~ 47 ka and the present day, accompanied by an abrupt (~ 1ky) shallowing of inclination by 45°. The path of the dipole field during the Laschamp excursion is constrained longitudinally between 87.44° E and 99. 77° E; and the magnitude of the latitudinal deviation from geographic north estimated to be 80°-110°. Both excursions and other millennial-scale features of the JPC95 RPI record are manifest in the GLOPIS-75 paleointensity stack of Laj et al. (2004); and in the numerous records compiled to produce the stack. Such correspondence lends testimony to the fidelity of the RPI records, and to the global and thus dipolar nature of the millennial scale RPI signal; whilst validating the use of sARM as a normalising parameter, and demonstrating the potential of New Zealand marine sediments to provide reliable records of RPI back to ~ 47 ka. Identification and correlation of features with time constants similar to the shortest associated with the dipole field (600-700 years; Hulot & Le Mouel, 1994) suggests that the JPC95 record approaches the maximum resolution of the dipole RPI signal. Cores from the Waipaoa Basin provide higher resolution, recording continuous PSV and RPI variability on a decadal scale back to 300 yrs B.P. More records of comparable resolution, with independent age control, will constrain the spatial extent of this signal and assess its potential application as a high-resolution correlation tool. Available records of paleosecular vanat10n are not globally correlative over the period investigated (0-47 ka). Features of the JPC95 PSV record are identified in records from the South Atlantic, but not in Northern Hemisphere records of comparable temporal resolution. This implies manifestation of a regional, non-dipole signal that is hemispheric in extent, and persistent hemispheric asymmetry in conditions at the core-mantle boundary over the time frame explored here. An inclination anomaly of -8.1° from core JPC95 is greater than previously estimated for New Zealand, but is consistent with the proposition of Elmelah et al. (2001), of a negative inclination anomaly characterising the southwest Pacific. Alternatively, the negative inclination anomaly, together with the far-sided virtual geomagnetic poles from core JPC95 constitute evidence for a northward displacement in the axial dipole, as modelled by Wilson (1971)

Foraging Interference and Fruit Palatability in Pteropus Scapulatus (Megachiroptera: Pteropodidae): Management Implications

The “residents and raiders” theory emphasizes the importance of conspecific feeding interference in seed dispersal by frugivorous megachiropterans. Agonistic interactions at fruiting trees frequently result in the “ejection” of one bat, which has often first obtained some fruit. The ejected bat then flies to an unoccupied tree, thus dispersing non-consumed seeds. For seeds too large to be swallowed this may be the sole method of dispersal. Raiding and subsequent seed spread only occur when bat populations are sufficiently large, relative to resources, to cause competition for food. If competition similarly affects nectarivorous bats and their floral resources, decline in a bat population could lead to reduced seed set and genetic diversity in their food-plant species. Pteropus scapulatus (Little Red Flying Fox) visit the flowers of dozens of Australian and New Guinean species and are believed to play an important role in the pollination of Eucalyptus and Melaleuca. Feeding-interference and raiding “success” by P. scapulatus eating fruit at Wellington Zoo (New Zealand) was studied to infer the importance of population size on cross-pollination. Decrease in population-to-resource ratio was correlated with decrease in raiding frequency, suggesting a decreased likelihood of cross pollination. These results highlight the value of management practices that promote the maintenance of large populations of nectarivorous megachiropterans. The effects of dominance and food preference on these behaviours were also evaluated. Dominance was inversely correlated to both dispersal and maturity. Contrary to many reports, females were not always subordinate to males. Fruit preference data may be useful for selecting “distracter” trees in orchards prone to damage by fruit bats and for ex situ husbandry concerns. Implications for population-, orchard-, and captive-management are discussed

The psychogenesis of the self and the emergence of ethical relatedness: Klein in light of Merleau-Ponty

This paper presents a theory of the emergence of ethical relatedness, which is developed through a synthetic reading of the developmental theories of Melanie Klein and Maurice Merleau-Ponty. Klein\u27s theory of the paranoidschizoid and depressive positions are found to roughly parallel Merleau-Ponty\u27s distinction between the lived and the symbolic. With the additional contributions of Thomas Ogden and Martin C. Dillon, the theories of Klein and Merleau-Ponty are refined to accommodate the insights of each developmental perspective. Implications of the paper\u27s analysis include: Opportunities to clarify key concepts in object relations theory, including projective identification; insight into the development of selfconscious emotions such as shame, guilt, embarrassment and gratitude; the articulation of a phenomenologically oriented object relations perspective which allows for human agency and therefore genuine altruism and compassion; and, finally, a validation of previous assertions that theory cannot and should not be meaningfully distinguished from ethics

Construction of Candida albicans Strains with ATP-Analog-Sensitive Protein Kinase A and Hog1

ABSTRACT Candida albicans is an opportunistic human fungal pathogen and a member of the mucosal microbiota. To survive in the host and cause disease, C. albicans utilizes several virulence traits, including the ability to respond and adapt to diverse stressors, as well as the morphogenetic switch between yeast and filamentous morphologies. While complex cellular circuitry governs these virulence attributes, the following two kinase-mediated signaling pathways play particularly critical roles in controlling these processes: the Hog1 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) cascade and the protein kinase A (PKA) pathway. Here, we describe the construction of C. albicans strains harboring substitutions in the ATP-binding pockets of Hog1 and the catalytic subunits of PKA, Tpk1, and Tpk2 to render their activities sensitive to the addition of bulky ATP analogs. Specifically, inhibition by the ATP analog 1NM-PP1 resulted in phenotypes characteristic of the corresponding homozygous deletion mutants for each kinase gene. These strains represent a toolset for the rapid and specific inhibition of PKA and Hog1 kinase activity to further understand their roles in regulating C. albicans morphogenesis and stress responses. IMPORTANCE As an opportunistic pathogen in humans, the fungus Candida albicans relies on virulence traits to cause disease. They include the ability to transition from yeast to filamentous morphologies and the ability to grow in diverse environmental stress conditions, including nutrient limitation, as well as osmotic and heat shock. Previous work identified the following two kinases that play a critical role in regulating these responses: Hog1 and PKA. Here, we generated versions of each kinase that are sensitive to inhibition by a bulky ATP analog, 1NM-PP1. In the presence of the analog, kinase activity is inhibited rapidly and specifically, facilitating the analysis of both kinases in regulating C. albicans morphogenesis and stress responses. Together, these strains represent an important toolset to further our understanding of C. albicans biology and virulence