Observations on the ecology and conservation status of Haloragis exalata subsp. exalata (Haloragaceae) in southern New South Wales

Haloragis exalata F. Muell. subspecies exalata (family Haloragaceae), a perennial forb, is currently listed as Vulnerable, under both national and New South Wales threatened species conservation legislation. Very few herbarium records existed until recently. Recent discoveries of Haloragis exalata subsp. exalata in new sites on the NSW South Coast and Southern Tablelands prompted us to carry out surveys for the two varieties of the taxon, var. exalata and var. laevis. Our surveys in 2004– 2007 aimed to relocate historical collection sites and target areas of potentially suitable habitat in these areas. Our work has substantially increased the number of known localities for Haloragis exalata subsp. exalata var. exalata. It can be locally abundant. Ecologically it appears to function as a gap species whose populations are almost invariably found at sites where disturbance through temporary inundation, physical disturbance, or fire, has exposed bare earth with higher levels of light at ground level than would be present when the local vegetation community is intact. There are morphological differences between populations in disjunct areas. Haloragis exalata subsp. exalata var. laevis is much more restricted. As a result, the conservation status of Haloragis exalata subsp. exalata may need revision, considering that a) var. exalata is more widespread than previously known, but that b) there is only one known extant population of var. laevis, and that c) the population from Geehi area may be a distinct taxon

An investigation of selected soil properties influencing the management and playability of New Zealand cricket pitches : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Horticultural Science in soil science, Massey University

The 1980's has been a period of growth for New Zealand cricket. The advent of the one day game plus international success has developed spectator interest and support to an unprecedented level. Cricket is certainly one game where player performance is very much dependent on the surface provided. It is perhaps fair to say that the standard of many New Zealand first class pitches has not allowed the development of entertaining cricket. As a result, pitches have been the target of increasing criticism from spectators, administrators, and players 'alike. Cricket pitch preparation has been said to be an 'art'. But the groundsman has limited scope to practice the art if the suitability of the soil used for pitch preparation is wanting. In an attempt to gain an understanding of the contribution of soil properties to good pitch preparation, the New Zealand Cricket Council and Soil Bureau of the Department of Scientific and Industrial Research (DSIR) provided funding for a research programme. It was hoped that improved playability and pitch performance could be achieved by combining the 'art' of pitch preparation with sound scientific principles. The objectives of the research programme were: 1. To develop and standardise a set of laboratory procedures aimed at selecting soils and characterizing their suitability for cricket pitches. 2. To establish a comprehensive inventory of physical and chemical soil properties for a number of current pitch soils which can be used as a reference for selection of new pitch soils. 3. To relate sound scientific principles to field management techniques and pitch performance in an attempt to assist the groundsman with pitch preparation. 4. To investigate the contributions of playability, and their interactions with soil properties. 5. To elucidate the value of the nuclear moisture-density method for in situ measurement of pitch soil water content and bulk density. 6. To develop and implement a soil monitoring system for groundsmen who can then use it to evaluate changes in soil properties during pitch preparation. This would allow the development of specific management programmes for individual venues. 7. To suggest areas for future research. To meet these objectives a preliminary study (Cameron-Lee, 1984) was carried out to identify three soil parameters, namely clay content, clay type, and pitch soil profile, which affect pitch performance. An expansion of the findings of the preliminary study form the basis of this research programme. This investigation incorporated a field trial using four soils commonly known as the Palmerston North1 , St John, Ward, and Kakanui. The soils have different chemical and physical properties. They are all currently in use throughout New Zealand on first class pitches. In addition, three pitch soils, namely the Marton, Redhill and Naike were evaluated, along with the field trial soils in the laboratory to provide a greater comparative analysis of pitch soil properties

Double-averaged velocity and stress distributions for hydraulically-smooth and transitionally-rough turbulent flows

Peer reviewedPreprin

Kadison-Kastler stable factors

A conjecture of Kadison and Kastler from 1972 asks whether sufficiently close operator algebras in a natural uniform sense must be small unitary perturbations of one another. For n≥3 and a free, ergodic, probability measure-preserving action of SL<sub>n</sub>(Z) on a standard nonatomic probability space (X,μ), write M=(L<sup>∞</sup>(X,μ)⋊SL<sub>n</sub>(Z))⊗¯¯¯R, where R is the hyperfinite II1-factor. We show that whenever M is represented as a von Neumann algebra on some Hilbert space H and N⊆B(H) is sufficiently close to M, then there is a unitary u on H close to the identity operator with uMu∗=N. This provides the first nonamenable class of von Neumann algebras satisfying Kadison and Kastler’s conjecture. We also obtain stability results for crossed products L<sup>∞</sup>(X,μ)⋊Γ whenever the comparison map from the bounded to usual group cohomology vanishes in degree 2 for the module L<sup>2</sup>(X,μ). In this case, any von Neumann algebra sufficiently close to such a crossed product is necessarily isomorphic to it. In particular, this result applies when Γ is a free group

Rearrangement of {α-P2W15} to {PW6} moieties during the assembly of transition-metal-linked polyoxometalate clusters

We report the formation of two polyoxotungstates of the general formula [M6(PW6O26)(α-P2W15O56)2(H2O)2]23− (M = CoII or MnII), which contain {PW6} fragments generated from the [P2W15O56]12− precursor, which demonstrates for the first time the transformation of a Dawson lacunae into a Keggin lacunary building block. Solution analysis of the clusters has been conducted via electrospray ionisation mass spectrometry

A remark on the similarity and perturbation problems

In this note we show that Kadison's similarity problem for C*-algebras is equivalent to a problem in perturbation theory: must close C*-algebras have close commutants?Comment: 6 Pages, minor typos fixed. C. R. Acad. Sci. Canada, to appea

Eco‐evolutionary dynamics in response to selection on life‐history

Understanding the consequences of environmental change on ecological and evolutionary dynamics is inherently problematic because of the complex interplay between them. Using invertebrates in microcosms, we characterise phenotypic, population and evolutionary dynamics before, during and after exposure to a novel environment and harvesting over 20 generations. We demonstrate an evolved change in life-history traits (the age- and size-at-maturity, and survival to maturity) in response to selection caused by environmental change (wild to laboratory) and to harvesting (juvenile or adult). Life-history evolution, which drives changes in population growth rate and thus population dynamics, includes an increase in age-to-maturity of 76% (from 12.5 to 22 days) in the unharvested populations as they adapt to the new environment. Evolutionary responses to harvesting are outweighed by the response to environmental change (~ 1.4 vs. 4% change in age-at-maturity per generation). The adaptive response to environmental change converts a negative population growth trajectory into a positive one: an example of evolutionary rescue. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS

A comparison of spectroscopic methods for detecting starlight scattered by transiting hot Jupiters, with application to Subaru data for HD 209458b and HD 189733b

The measurement of the light scattered from extrasolar planets informs atmospheric and formation models. With the discovery of many hot Jupiter planets orbiting nearby stars, this motivates the development of robust methods of characterisation from follow up observations. In this paper we discuss two methods for determining the planetary albedo in transiting systems. First, the most widely used method for measuring the light scattered by hot Jupiters (Collier Cameron et al.) is investigated for application for typical echelle spectra of a transiting planet system, showing that detection requires high signal-to-noise ratio data of bright planets. Secondly a new Fourier analysis method is also presented, which is model-independent and utilises the benefits of the reduced number of unknown parameters in transiting systems. This approach involves solving for the planet and stellar spectra in Fourier space by least-squares. The sensitivities of the methods are determined via Monte Carlo simulations for a range of planet-to-star fluxes. We find the Fourier analysis method to be better suited to the ideal case of typical observations of a well constrained transiting system than the Collier Cameron et al. method. We apply the Fourier analysis method for extracting the light scattered by transiting hot Jupiters from high resolution spectra to echelle spectra of HD 209458 and HD 189733. Unfortunately we are unable to improve on the previous upper limit of the planet-to-star flux for HD 209458b set by space-based observations. A 1{\sigma}upper limit on the planet-to-star flux of HD 189733b is measured in the wavelength range of 558.83-599.56 nm yielding {\epsilon} < 4.5 \times 10-4. Improvement in the measurement of the upper limit of the planet-to-star flux of this system, with ground-based capabilities, requires data with a higher signal-to-noise ratio, and increased stability of the telescope.Comment: 15 pages, 8 figures, 2 tables. Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society, in press. Accepted 2011 March 17. Received 2011 March 17; in original form 2010 June 2

Wearable activity technology and action-planning (WATAAP) to promote physical activity in cancer survivors: Randomised controlled trial protocol

Background/Objective: Colorectal and gynecologic cancer survivors are at cardiovascular risk due to comorbidities and sedentary behaviour, warranting a feasible intervention to increase physical activity. The Health Action Process Approach (HAPA) is a promising theoretical frame-work for health behaviour change, and wearable physical activity trackers offer a novel means of self-monitoring physical activity for cancer survivors. Method: Sixty-eight survivors of colorectal and gynecologic cancer will be randomised into 12- week intervention and control groups. Intervention group participants will receive: a Fitbit AltaTM to monitor physical activity, HAPA-based group sessions, booklet, and support phone-call. Participants in the control group will only receive the HAPA-based booklet. Physical activity (using accelerometers), blood pressure, BMI, and HAPA constructs will be assessed at baseline, 12-weeks (post-intervention) and 24-weeks (follow-up). Data analysis will use the Group x Time interaction from a General Linear Mixed Model analysis. Conclusions: Physical activity interventions that are acceptable and have robust theoretical underpinnings show promise for improving the health of cancer survivors