Distribution and diversity of exotic plant species in montane to alpine areas of Kosciuszko National Park

Diversity and distribution of exotic plant taxa in Kosciuszko National Park in south-eastern Australia were reviewed based on 1103 records of exotics from 18 vegetation surveys conducted between 1986 and 2004. 154 taxa from 23 families were recorded in the alpine to montane zones, with eleven taxa in the alpine, 128 taxa in the subalpine and 69 taxa in the montane zone. Nearly all taxa were associated with anthropogenic disturbance with only four taxa exclusively recorded in natural areas. 62 taxa were recorded from subalpine ski resort gardens, and although not recorded as naturalised in the vegetation surveys, their presence in the Park is a concern. Road verges provided habitat for numerous exotics (65 taxa). 44 taxa were recorded in both disturbed and natural locations but most were uncommon (33 taxa < 2% frequency). Nine common taxa Acetosella vulgaris, Achillea millefolium, Agrostis capillaris, Anthoxanthum odoratum, Cerastium spp., Dactylis glomerata, Hypochaeris radicata, Taraxacum officinale and Trifolium repens comprised 68% of records. These species are common to disturbed areas in other areas of Kosciuszko National Park, NSW and worldwide. The forb Acetosella vulgaris was the most ubiquitous species particularly in natural areas where it was recorded at 36% frequency. Based on the data presented here and a recent review of other data sets, there are at least 231 exotic taxa in the Park (including exotics in gardens). The increasing diversity and abundance of exotics is a threat to the natural values of this Park

A cross-syndrome comparison of sleep-dependent learning on a cognitive procedural task

Sleep plays a key role in the consolidation of newly acquired information and skills into long term memory. Children with Down syndrome (DS) and Williams syndrome (WS) frequently experience sleep problems, abnormal sleep architecture and difficulties with learning; thus, we predicted that children from these clinical populations would demonstrate impairments in sleep-dependent memory consolidation relative to children with typical development (TD) on a cognitive procedural task: The Tower of Hanoi. Children with DS (n = 17), WS (n = 22) and TD (n = 34) completed the Tower of Hanoi task. They were trained on the task either in the morning or evening, then completed it again following counterbalanced retention intervals of daytime wake and night time sleep. Children with TD and with WS benefitted from sleep for enhanced memory consolidation and improved their performance on the task by reducing the number of moves taken to completion, and by making fewer rule violations. We did not find any large effects of sleep on learning in children with DS, suggesting that these children are not only delayed, but atypical in their learning strategies. Importantly, our findings have implications for educational strategies for all children, specifically considering circadian influences on new learning and the role of children’s night time sleep as an aid to learning.<br/

An epidemiological analysis of potential associations between C-reactive protein, inflammation, and prostate cancer in the male US population using the 2009–2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) data

Prostate cancer is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in US males, yet much remains to be learned about the role of inflammation in its etiology. We hypothesized that preexisting exposure to chronic inflammatory conditions caused by infectious agents or inflammatory diseases increase the risk of prostate cancer. Using the 2009-2010 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we examined the relationships between demographic variables, inflammation, infection, circulating plasma C-reactive protein (CRP), and the risk of occurrence of prostate cancer in US men over 18 years of age. Using IBM SPSS, we performed bivariate and logistic regression analyses using high CRP values as the dependent variable and five study covariates including prostate cancer status. From 2009 – 2010, an estimated 5,448,373 men reported having prostate cancer of which the majority were Caucasian (70.1%) and were aged 40 years and older (62.7%). Bivariate analyses demonstrated that high CRP was not associated with an increased risk of prostate cancer. Greater odds of having prostate cancer were revealed for men that had inflammation related to disease (OR = 1.029, CI 1.029-1.029) and those who were not taking drugs to control inflammation (OR = 1.330, CI 1.324-1.336). Men who did not have inflammation resulting from non-infectious diseases had greater odds of not having prostate cancer (OR = 1.031, CI 1.030-1.031). Logistic regression analysis yielded that men with the highest CRP values had greater odds of having higher household incomes and lower odds of having received higher education, being aged 40 years or older, being of a race or ethnicity different from other, and of having prostate cancer. Our results show that chronic inflammation of multiple etiologies is a risk factor for prostate cancer and that CRP is not associated with this increased risk. Further research is needed to elucidate the complex interactions between inflammation and prostate cancer

Introduction

[Extract] Stream 2 of the Commonwealth Government's Regional NRM Planning for Climate Change Fund supports the project "Knowledge to manage land and sea: A framework for the future" run by a consortium of scientists from James Cook University (JCU) and CSIRO. This report is the second major product of the consortium project, building on the first report: Climate Change Issues and Impacts in the Wet Tropics NRM Cluster Region (Hilbert et al. 2014). This second report provides syntheses of current knowledge about potential adaptation pathways and opportunities in response to climate change in the Wet Tropics Cluster (WTC) region (see below) across all relevant NRM sectors. The report is framed by the specific topics and issues defined by the NRM groups in the Wet Tropics Cluster (WTC) region (Appendix A), reflecting the planning processes and priorities of these groups as well as the characteristics of their regional communities. This report has two major aims: 1. To provide a review of potential adaptation pathways and opportunities across all NRM sectors in the WTC region, including a review of potential options for adaptation of species to climate change 2. To provide preliminary information about particular directions for adaptation in the Wet Tropics Cluster, based on collaboration with the four NRM bodies via the Brokering Hub

Primate crop feeding behaviour, crop protection and conservation

Many species across a range of primate genera, irrespective of dietary and locomotory specializations, can and will incorporate agricultural crops in their diets. However, while there is little doubt that rapid, extensive conversion of natural habitats to agricultural areas is significantly impacting primate populations, primate crop foraging behaviours cannot solely be understood in terms of animals shifting to cultivated crops to compensate for reduced wild food availability. To fully understand why, how and when primates might incorporate crops in their dietary repertoire, we need to examine primate crop foraging behaviour in the context of their feeding strategies and nutritional ecology. In this paper I briefly outline current debates about the use of terms such as 'human-wildlife conflict' and 'crop raiding' and why they are misleading, summarise current knowledge about primate crop foraging behaviour, and highlight some key areas for future research to support human-primate coexistence in an increasingly anthropogenic world

Crop foraging, crop losses, and crop raiding

Crop foraging or crop raiding concerns wildlife foraging and farmers’ reactions and responses to it. To understand crop foraging and its value to wildlife or its implications for humans requires a cross disciplinary approach that considers the behavior and ecology of wild animals engaging in this behavior, the types and levels of competition for resources between people and wildlife, people’s perceptions of and attitudes towards wildlife including those that forage on crops, and discourse about animals and their behaviors and how these can be used for expressing dissent and distress about other social conflicts. So, to understand and respond to ‘conflicts’ about crop damage we need to look beyond what people lose, i.e., crop loss and economic equivalence, and focus more on what people say about wildlife and why they say it

Achievement, productivity, and participation as a function of task feedback among kindergarten students

There has been little research which specifically explores the effects of visually charted feedback techniques with kindergarten aged students working independently in a classroom setting. Consequently, the role of feedback, an externally observable event, is not well understood. Using a learning centers approach in which kindergartners worked daily at an independent task, the present study investigated the relationship between two feedback conditions (a) teacher-charting of student progress and (b) student self-charting of progress and the measures of student achievement, productivity, and participation. Subjects were twenty white, middle-class students who were enrolled in a kindergarten in a mid-western school district. A self-instructional auditory discrimination program was used as the independent task for the three weeks preceding and the three weeks following a break for Christmas vacation. Students were pre-tested and post-tested using a criterion-referenced measure of student achievement. In addition, both student productivity as measured by the accuracy of responses and student participation as measured by the number of lessons completed were also examined. Data were analyzed to determine what effect teacher-charting and student-charting of progress had upon student achievement, productivity, and participation. Upon examination of pre-test data, ten subjects were eliminated from all analyses due to scores at or near the ceiling on the achievement measure, leaving five subjects in each group. The results of the analysis of the gains in achievement indicated that student self-charting of progress was superior to teacher-charting of progress. Examination of both the productivity and participation data indicated no significant differences between groups on either measure

The importance of sleep: attentional problems in school-aged children with Down syndrome and Williams syndrome

In typically developing (TD) children, sleep problems have been associated with day-time attentional difficulties. Children with developmental disabilities often suffer with sleep and attention problems, yet their relationship is poorly understood. The present study investigated this association in school-aged children with Down syndrome (DS) and Williams syndrome (WS). Actigraphy and pulse oximetry assessed sleep and sleep-disordered breathing respectively, and attention was tested using a novel visual Continuous Performance Task (CPT).Attentional deficits were evident in both disorder groups. In the TD group, higher scores on the CPT were related to better sleep quality, higher oxyhemoglobin saturation (SpO2), and fewer desaturation events. Sleep quality, duration, and SpO2 variables were not related to CPT performance for children with DS and WS. Publisher statement: This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor &amp; Francis in Behavioral Sleep Medicine on 15th Aug 2014, available online: www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15402002.2014.940107

CCAFS Gender and Social Inclusion Strategy

The CCAFS Gender and Social Inclusion (GSI) Strategy is an update of the CCAFS 2012 Gender Strategy. The new strategy addresses gender as well as social inclusion for different social groups while bearing in mind that women are central to agriculture in developing countries. The CCAFS approach to GSI allies with the CGIAR objectives to create opportunities for women, young people and marginalized groups and to promote equitable access to resources, information and power in the agri-food system for men and women in order to close the gender gap by 2030