Predatory Insects and Spiders From Suburban Lawns in Lexington, Kentucky

Predatory arthropods were caught in pitfall traps in suburban lawns in Lexington, Kentucky. The relative abundance of species of Lycosidae, Carabidae, and Staphylinidae was compared in Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue turf. Nine species of Lycosidae were collected from both the bluegrass and tall fescue lawns. More species or phena of Carabidae were collected from bluegrass than from tall fescue turf. More than 40 species or phena of staphylinids were collected from each grass habitat. Both Kentucky bluegrass and tall fescue are inhabited by an abundant and diverse array of predatory arthropods

Hierarchical Event Descriptors (HED): Semi-Structured Tagging for Real-World Events in Large-Scale EEG.

Real-world brain imaging by EEG requires accurate annotation of complex subject-environment interactions in event-rich tasks and paradigms. This paper describes the evolution of the Hierarchical Event Descriptor (HED) system for systematically describing both laboratory and real-world events. HED version 2, first described here, provides the semantic capability of describing a variety of subject and environmental states. HED descriptions can include stimulus presentation events on screen or in virtual worlds, experimental or spontaneous events occurring in the real world environment, and events experienced via one or multiple sensory modalities. Furthermore, HED 2 can distinguish between the mere presence of an object and its actual (or putative) perception by a subject. Although the HED framework has implicit ontological and linked data representations, the user-interface for HED annotation is more intuitive than traditional ontological annotation. We believe that hiding the formal representations allows for a more user-friendly interface, making consistent, detailed tagging of experimental, and real-world events possible for research users. HED is extensible while retaining the advantages of having an enforced common core vocabulary. We have developed a collection of tools to support HED tag assignment and validation; these are available at hedtags.org. A plug-in for EEGLAB (sccn.ucsd.edu/eeglab), CTAGGER, is also available to speed the process of tagging existing studies

Impact of target site distribution for Type I restriction enzymes on the evolution of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) populations.

A limited number of Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) clones are responsible for MRSA infections worldwide, and those of different lineages carry unique Type I restriction-modification (RM) variants. We have identified the specific DNA sequence targets for the dominant MRSA lineages CC1, CC5, CC8 and ST239. We experimentally demonstrate that this RM system is sufficient to block horizontal gene transfer between clinically important MRSA, confirming the bioinformatic evidence that each lineage is evolving independently. Target sites are distributed randomly in S. aureus genomes, except in a set of large conjugative plasmids encoding resistance genes that show evidence of spreading between two successful MRSA lineages. This analysis of the identification and distribution of target sites explains evolutionary patterns in a pathogenic bacterium. We show that a lack of specific target sites enables plasmids to evade the Type I RM system thereby contributing to the evolution of increasingly resistant community and hospital MRSA

3rd Joint Conference of the New Zealand Ecological Society and the Ecological Society of Australia

The modification of natural woodland tree densities through tree removal or clearing has been used by landholders to increase native grass production for livestock grazing. This paper describes studies that aim to determine if vegetation management by graziers affect floristic composition, species richness and plant cover (including production attributes) in the Traprock wool-producing region of southern Queensland, Forty-seven sites were sampled across the study area according to vegetation type (ironbark/gum woodland and box woodland), density of mature trees (low: 6 trees/ha, medium: 6-20 trees/ha, and high >20 trees/ha), and the presence or absence of woody regrowth in the understorey to determine vegetation patterns, A subset of 18 sites was selected to establish grazing exclusion experiments in both vegetation types under varying mature tree densities. This paper describes the general patterns in vegetation under differing mature tree densities and provides preliminary results of the 12-month grazing exclusion experiments

Veg Futures 08: Australia's National Vegetation Conference 2008

In low-input, low-productivity grazing systems, the modification of natural woodlands through overstorey tree and woody regrowth removal are management options used by graziers to increase native grass production for livestock grazing. This paper describes studies that determine if vegetation management by graziers affect floristic composition, species richness and plant cover in the Traprock wool-producing region of southern Queensland. Forty-seven sites in the region were sampled according to vegetation type (ironbark/gum woodland and box woodland), density of mature trees (low: 6 trees/ha, medium: 6-20 trees/ha, and high: >20 trees/ha), and the presence or absence of woody regrowth in the understorey to determine vegetation patterns. A subset of 18 sites was selected to establish grazing exclusion experiments in both vegetation types under varying mature tree densities. Here we describe the general patterns in vegetation under differing mature tree densities and provide some preliminary results of the 4-year grazing exclusion experiment. While grass production is low under high overstorey tree densities, no differences between medium tree densities and open paddock areas is apparent, suggesting retaining trees in a low-input, low-productivity grazing system can provide biodiversity benefits without adversely impacting upon production

What are they thinking? Consumer attitudes to meat production in Australia

Meat production has come under increasing scrutiny from consumers and citizens who feel that certain practices are unethical and negatively affect farm-animal welfare. Animal welfare can be viewed as both a scientific and social concept, and purchasing products with animal welfare claims can be considered an act of ‘ethical consumption’. The present paper reviews research that examines consumer attitudes to animal welfare and highlights tensions between consumer and citizen attitudes and behaviours, and assumptions that are made within these studies. We present our own research into motivations to purchase free-range eggs as an example of research that attempts to unpack these assumptions, in particular, that such purchases are made out of concern for animal welfare. We present a further example of our own research that attempts to identify how attitudes to meat production are socially constructed. We conclude with recommended strategies to engage the broader community in discussions about animal production, so as to improve industry–community communication about farm-animal welfare in meat-production industries.H. J. Bray, E. A. Buddle and R. A. Anken

Genome sequence of a recently emerged, highly transmissible, multi-antibiotic- and antiseptic-resistant variant of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, sequence type 239 (TW)

The Sanger Institute is core funded by the Wellcome Trust. Funding for the sequencing of the TW20 genome was provided by Guy’s and St. Thomas’ Charity. J.D.E. receives funding from the Department of Health via the NIHR comprehensive Biomedical Research Centre award to Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in partnership with King’s College London.The 3.1-Mb genome of an outbreak methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strain (TW20) contains evidence of recently acquired DNA, including two large regions ( 635 kb and 127 kb). The strain is resistant to a wide range of antibiotics, antiseptics, and heavy metals due to resistance genes encoded on mobile genetic elements and also mutations in housekeeping genes.Peer reviewe

The New Politics of Global Tax Governance: Taking Stock a Decade After the Financial Crisis

The financial crisis of 2007–2009 is now broadly recognised as a once-in-a-generation inflection point in the history of global economic governance. It has also prompted a reconsideration of established paradigms in international political economy (IPE) scholarship. Developments in global tax governance open a window onto these ongoing changes, and in this essay we discuss four recent volumes on the topic drawn from IPE and beyond, arguing against an emphasis on institutional stability and analyses that consider taxation in isolation. In contrast, we identify unprecedented changes in tax cooperation that reflect a significant contemporary reconfiguration of the politics of global economic governance writ large. To develop these arguments, we discuss the links between global tax governance and four fundamental changes underway in IPE: the return of the state through more activist policies; the global power shift towards large emerging markets; the politics of austerity and populism; and the digitalisation of the economy