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Coconut production in the Pacific Islands is threatened by coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB). Distinctive feeding damage caused by adults is often the first indicator of CRB activity in a new location. Multiple approaches to damage assessment have been used, reflecting observers' experience. The lack of standardisation makes it difficult to compare CRB impacts on coconut palms over time. We examine damage assessment from three perspectives: participants, power and purpose. Participants applied binary, 3-point and 5-point damage scales consecutively to photographs of damaged palms. Participant responses were more accurate using the binary scale compared with the 5-point scale. Experience with CRB improved accuracy, but this did not wholly compensate for the effect of scale complexity. Calculations of statistical power determined minimum sample sizes to detect a 20% change in palm damage was 50 palms for the binary scale, 150 palms for the 3-point scale and > 200 palms for the 5-point scale, when the change in damage was spread across damage categories. More complex damage scales did not increase the likelihood of detecting significant changes in palm damage. With real-world examples, including detecting new outbreaks and managing established populations, recommendations were developed to standardise damage assessment for CRB on coconut palms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The inaugural Pacific Ecological Security Conference (PESC) was held in October 2022, bringing together over 100 island leaders, policy-makers, natural resource managers and global and regional invasive species experts to prioritise the critical issue of invasive species in the Pacific Islands Region. Participants confirmed that invasive species are a major threat to building and maintaining climate resilience and adaptability of Pacific Island ecosystems, as well as food security, biodiversity, sustainable livelihoods and the protection of cultural resources and way of life. Three region-wide strategic action plans were developed to guide interventions focused on the topics of invasive ants, coconut rhinoceros beetle and the use of biological control as a pest and weed management tool. These plans were the major outcome of the PESC and, when implemented, will result in coordinated activities that take a "whole-of-Pacific" approach to invasive species biosecurity and management. Here, we briefly describe the background, planning and engagement process for the three plans, summarise any country- and territory-level data obtained through the process and detail what is planned to occur over the next few years. In addition to the adoption and implementation of the strategies as a result of this inaugural PESC, we anticipate that the PESC will become the premier regional conference aimed at reducing the entry and impacts of invasive species to improve sustainability of environments and peoples of the Pacific. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This essay interrogates the carceral geography of the California Central Valley by examining Rachel Kushner's novel The Mars Room (2018), which unfolds the life and limiting circumstances of a woman serving two life sentences. With capitalism as the driving force and background of this novel, this article examines the problem of representation posed by the prison in American society. Does the novel allow for a sharper perception of the loss wrought by the carceral state? I argue that Kushner uses the novel form to represent the slow violence of incarceration, which is a biopolitical project of the United States. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An introduction is presented in which editor discusses various articles within the issue on topics including economic narrative of rise and fall in political battles; journalist John McDonald, who popularised game theory as a tool for business strategy; and power of the economic growth narrative.

The coconut rhinoceros beetle, Oryctes rhinoceros (L.), (CRB) is a major pest of coconut and oil palms that causes significant damage in the Asia/Pacific region. Traditional methods for surveillance and detection of CRB involve in‐person inspections, but these are expensive to carry out and were made impossible by travel restrictions during the COVID‐19 pandemic. In this paper, a method to remotely detect possible CRB incursions and assess damage levels using publicly available images is described. The method involves searching for pictures of palms and identifying those with the distinctive V‐shaped cuts in fronds characteristic of CRB feeding. The method was validated by examining palm images from known outbreak areas and those free from the pest. We found evidence of CRB damage in the previously unreported site of Dili, Timor Leste and possible evidence of CRB in the Solomon Islands even before it was first reported in 2015. Potential limitations and broader applications of this approach are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Coconut rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros; CRB) was discovered in 2015 in a small outbreak in Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands. This was the first record of CRB from Solomon Islands and a response plan was prepared. An awareness programme was launched and where CRB sightings were confirmed, delimitation surveys were carried out. Following the launch of the awareness programme, later in 2015, CRB was also reported from the Shortland Islands in the Western Province. Other islands were surveyed from 2015 to 2020. If CRB presence was confirmed, beetles were collected and analysed for haplotype and presence of the classical biological control agent, Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV). A distribution map and timeline of invasion were developed. The initial populations belonged to two distinct haplotypes: CRB-G (clade IA) in Honiara and CRB-S (clade II) in Shortland Islands. Despite control measures, by 2020 CRB-G had spread to islands in eight provinces and CRB-S had spread to islands in seven provinces. CRB-S and CRB-G co-occur in Guadalcanal and Malaita provinces. In 2019, OrNV was detected from field collected CRB from Guadalcanal and has since spread to Malaita Island. In both cases the virus was detected where CRB-G and CRB-S co-occur. Other outbreak areas in Solomon Islands remain OrNV-free. The two haplotypes appear to have spread following patterns of air and sea movement between the point of origin (CRB-G from Honiara and CRB-S from the Shortland Islands) to other islands/provinces. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reward Positivity (RewP) is a feedback‐locked event‐related potential component that is specifically elicited by rewarding feedback and scales with positive reward prediction error, a hallmark of reinforcement learning models. The RewP is also diminished in depression, suggesting that it may be a novel marker of anhedonia. Here, we examined if a sad mood induction offered an opportunity to causally induce a mood‐related alteration of the RewP and reward‐related learning. In Experiment 1 (N = 50 total), participants were randomly assigned to previously established sad or neutral mood induction procedures before a probabilistic selection task. This manipulation failed to induce changes in affect, suggesting that standard methods are inadequate. In Experiment 2 (N = 50 total), participants were randomly assigned to newly developed happy versus sad mood manipulations, which successfully induced large changes in affect. While the RewP was unaffected by mood induction, positive mood moderated the relationship between prediction error encoding in the RewP and reward learning, such that low positive mood and low prediction error encoding resulted in poorer reward learning. These findings provide a mechanistic example of how reduced positive affect moderates reward learning via poorer information encoding in the RewP. Our findings provide a mechanistic example of how mood affects reward learning and information content conveyed in the Reward Positivity. Additionally, our findings challenge the viability of standard mood manipulation procedures for investigating the impact of mood on reward processing and advancing a novel manipulation that is more effective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the financial crisis of 2008 and the publication in 2014 of Thomas Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century , income and wealth inequality have returned to public and scholarly interest. Most subsequent discussion has focused on the fall and rise of inequality in the twentieth century, but meanwhile another body of economic history literature has reconstructed long-run inequality dynamics in early modern Europe. This article surveys the new history of old inequality and discusses its three principal findings: first, that between about 1300 and about 1900 inequality increased continuously almost everywhere, meaning there is no clear link between economic growth and inequality. Secondly, the only phenomena that substantially reduced inequality were unprecedented catastrophes. Thirdly, although few things have decreased inequality, many strategies of elite wealth defence have increased it, motivating new comparative concepts like the 'inequality possibility frontier' and the 'extraction ratio'. Inequality will continue to be a subject of urgent political and moral attention, and this field opens up a research agenda that could bridge the methodological divide between economic history as practised by economists and by historians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the cerebellum contributes to nonmotor task performance, the specific contributions of the structure remain unknown. One possibility is that the cerebellum allows for the offloading of cortical processing, providing support during task performance, using internal models. Here we used transcranial direct current stimulation to modulate cerebellar function and investigate the impact on cortical activation patterns. Participants (n = 74; 22.03 ± 3.44 years) received either cathodal, anodal, or sham stimulation over the right cerebellum before a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan during which they completed a sequence learning and a working memory task. We predicted that cathodal stimulation would improve, and anodal stimulation would hinder task performance and cortical activation. Behaviorally, anodal stimulation negatively impacted behavior during late‐phase sequence learning. Functionally, we found that anodal cerebellar stimulation resulted in increased bilateral cortical activation, particularly in parietal and frontal regions known to be involved in cognitive processing. This suggests that if the cerebellum is not functioning optimally, there is a greater need for cortical resources. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB: Oryctes rhinoceros L.) is one of the most damaging pests of coconut and oil palms in the Asia/Pacific region but has not been reported from the Western Hemisphere. Here, we report a possible establishment of CRB in Nayarit, Mexico, based on an analysis of social media reports and photographs indicating the presence of the beetle and the distinctive v‐shaped notches in palm fronds caused by the beetle feeding. CRB populations are destructive once established, therefore, urgent actions are required to contain the pest and prevent damage to coconut and oil palm in the Americas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In I Misers: British Responses to Extreme Saving, 1700-1860 i , Timothy Alborn has written a lively and engaging history of the cultural representation of misers, understood as individuals with an extreme preference for hoarding rather than spending money. "Before 1789", Alborn argues, "misers mainly resided in poems, novels, and plays or existed as abstractions in sermons and treatises. With earlier books on corporate governance, life insurance, and the cultural power of gold, Alborn has ranged widely across the experience of economic life in eighteenth and nineteenth century Britain. [Extracted from the article]

There is an increasing sense that capitalism may have broken time itself and now is rushing human society toward a catastrophic extinction event. But despite a substantial body of literature on capitalist temporalities and another on the ruptures in historicity that attended the French Revolution, there has not yet been an exploration of the fact that the two intersect in the figure of Georges Cuvier. He and his followers formed a school of "catastrophists," who raised questions about the finitude of time and of the natural world. Their ideas were ultimately defeated, relegating catastrophism to the category of pseudoscience until it returned under a variety of different scientific, philosophical, and political guises in the 1980s. Since capital is predicated on future returns, capitalism on continual growth, and continual growth on unlimited natural resources, the lost "chrono-economics" of finitude and catastrophe offers a repressed alternative to the intellectual preconditions for industrial capitalism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Multiple graft options exist for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction in an adolescent athlete. Patellar tendon harvest can lead to anterior knee pain, while hamstring tendon harvest can affect knee flexion strength and alter mechanics. Allograft is less desirable in pediatric patients due to the higher failure rate and slight risk of disease transmission. Quadriceps tendon autograft has rarely been reported for adolescent ACL reconstruction in the USA, but is an excellent option due to its large size, low donor site morbidity, and versatility. The purpose of this study is to report the outcomes of adolescents who have undergone ACL reconstruction using quadriceps tendon autograft. Methods: Twenty-two ACL reconstructions using the quadriceps autograft were performed on 21 pediatric patients by the senior author between 2010 and 2017. The patient's demographics, injury characteristics, imaging, physical examination findings, operative findings, outcomes and sports were recorded. Results: The average age at the time of surgery was 15 years. Two patients had open physes; the remainder had closing physes. 64% of patients had additional meniscal tears and 76% had bony contusions. The average duration of follow-up was 2.8 years (range 2–5 years). At final follow-up, there were no angular deformities or leg length discrepancies. The average quadriceps atrophy of the operative leg was 4 mm. The average Lysholm score was 98. 86% of patients returned to sports. No patients had re-rupture of their operative ACL. No incidences of infections, numbness, or anterior knee pain were reported. Two patients had a second arthroscopy for re-injury, revealing new meniscal tears but intact ACL grafts. Conclusions: Use of quadriceps tendon autograft for ACL reconstruction in adolescent patients allows reliable return to sport with minimal complications. Level of evidence: Level IV, retrospective case series. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB) is one of the major pests of coconut and oil palms in the Asia-Pacific region. Since its accidental introduction in Samoa in 1909, the invasive CRB has spread to several countries and territories within the Pacific and Indian Oceans, severely damaging coconut palms and affecting peoples' livelihoods. In the 100 years since CRB established on Samoa, it remains the primary pest on the island with periods of heavy damage when integrated pest management (IPM) breaks down. The Samoan case is an excellent example of implementing biocontrol and IPM in a dynamic Pacific environment. As society and the economics of production in Samoa have changed, the level of control has varied, with recent concern about surges of the pest. The review synthesizes historical lessons and provide recommendations on how to protect coconut palms in the changing environment of Samoa which are also applicable for protection of palms in the wider Asia/Pacific region. It is now more than 100 years since the coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB: Oryctes rhinoceros L.) was first detected in the Pacific Island state of Samoa. The exotic pest from Asia became the principal pest of coconut palms in Samoa and, from this first point of invasion, spread to several surrounding countries in the South-West Pacific Ocean. An intensive control operation was initiated, but the beetle could not be eliminated. Various pest management strategies were attempted but had limited success until the introduction of a biological control agent (BCA), Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus (OrNV), during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The biocontrol release was very successful and became the prime example of "classical biological control" of an insect pest by a virus. Changing economic and social conditions in Samoa and other islands of the Pacific require a re-evaluation of the threat of CRB to coconut production to suggest how the IPM system may be modified to meet future needs. Therefore, it is timely to review the history of CRB in Samoa and summarize experiences in development of an integrated pest management (IPM) system limiting the impact of the pest. We also present results from a recent study conducted in 2020 on the island of Upolu to define the current status of the CRB population and its BCA, OrNV. The lessons from Samoa, with its long history of containment and management of CRB, are applicable to more recent invasion sites. Recommendations are provided to modify the IPM programme to enhance the sustainable control of CRB and support the ongoing coconut replantation program promoted by the Samoan government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EEG feature known as the Reward Positivity (RewP) is elicited by reward receipt and appears to reflect sensitively and specifically positive prediction errors during reinforcement learning. Yet, the RewP also is modulated by state and trait affect, suggesting that it has a more complex computational role than simple reinforcement surprise. We conducted a series of experiments aimed to investigate underlying affect processing reflected in the RewP during a reinforcement learning task. In the first experiment (N = 25), we manipulated the type of rewards a person could win (simple points or hedonically-appraised pictures). Although there were no differences in the amplitudes of the RewP for different types of rewards, there was a significant correlation between the individual rating of liking for the images and RewP amplitude. In a second experiment (N = 25), we manipulated reinforcement rates (easy vs. hard) and affective picture content (liked vs. ambivalent) to examine the potential interaction of prediction error and liking on RewP amplitude. We again found a significant relationship between liking and RewP amplitude, however, only in the hard condition. These findings suggest that the RewP reflects cortical computations of reward surprise as well as hedonic liking, identifying it as a possible nexus where multidimensional value is computed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article examines the case of modernity (as an enclosing device) and the impact its pervasive epistemological assumptions have on its subjects. In particular, I propose several heavily freighted examples from Cormac McCarthy's Child of God in order to foreground the ways in which the central character Lester Ballard's ideas arise from the social circumstances out of which he comes and from which he takes his cues. To do so, this article first contextualizes modernity and its system of social and official recursiveness where authenticity is compromised before moving to specific scenes from the novel. It examines three incidents of Ballard's actions, including his encounters with and encouragement by the legal system, his performances of hypermasculinity and the endorsement of rape culture, and his voyeurism before returning to the two accusatory quotations where the novel addresses the reader to clarify the position of our social responsibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cerebellar contributions to behavior in advanced age are of interest and importance, given its role in motor and cognitive performance. There are differences and declines in cerebellar structure in advanced age and cerebellar resting state connectivity is lower. However, the work on this area to date has focused on the cerebellar cortex. The deep cerebellar nuclei provide the primary cerebellar inputs and outputs to the cortex, as well as the spinal and vestibular systems. Dentate networks can be dissociated such that the dorsal region is associated with the motor cortex, whereas the ventral aspect is associated with the prefrontal cortex. However, whether dentato-thalamo-cortical networks differ across adulthood remains unknown. Here, using a large adult sample (n = 590) from the Cambridge Center for Ageing and Neuroscience, we investigated dentate connectivity across adulthood. We replicated past work showing dissociable resting state networks in the dorsal and ventral aspects of the dentate. In both seeds, we demonstrated that connectivity is lower with advanced age, indicating that connectivity differences extend beyond the cerebellar cortex. Finally, we demonstrated sex differences in dentate connectivity. This expands our understanding of cerebellar circuitry in advanced age and underscores the potential importance of this structure in age-related performance differences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beauveria pseudobassiana formed three-dimensional aggregates of cells (CAs) in liquid culture. CAs were formed mainly by blastospores and conidia, distinct from microsclerotia formed through adhesion of hyphae. The formation, germination and sporulation of CAs were studied, as well as the pathogenicity of conidia produced from them against adults of black beetle. After 4 days of culture, CAs were formed, becoming compact and melanised after 10 days of incubation. Electron microscopy showed three-dimensional CAs averaging 431.65 µm in length with irregular shapes and rough surfaces, where cells were trapped within an extracellular matrix. CAs germinated after 2 days of incubation on agar-plates producing hyphae and forming phialides and conidia after 4 days. Produced conidia caused 45% mortality of black beetle adults. CAs germination and sporulation on soil were directly correlated with soil moisture, reaching 80% and 100% germination on the surface of soil with 17% and 30% moisture, respectively. CAs maintained 100% germination after 2 years of storage under refrigeration. These CAs could have a similar function as microsclerotia in nature, acting as resistant structures able to protect internal cells and their ability to sporulate producing infective conidia, suggesting their potential to be used as bioinsecticides to control soil-dwelling insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coconut rhinoceros beetle (CRB: Oryctes rhinoceros Linnaeus) is one of the most damaging pests to coconut and oil palms in Asia and the Pacific Islands. Adults bore into the crown and damage developing fronds, which affects tree development and yield. The insect is native to South and Southeast Asia and was inadvertently introduced into the Pacific in 1909. It has since spread to several Pacific island nations and territories, causing significant economic impact on these important coconut and palm-growing regions. In the 1950s and 1960s, an international biological control effort was initiated to search for and release natural enemy species. Release of the Oryctes rhinoceros nudivirus Huger (OrNV) and the species complex of Metarhizium Sorokin (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) was successful in controlling CRB in its invaded range. Recently a new biotype of the beetle, known as CRB-G, has spread into the Pacific Islands causing unprecedented levels of damage due to the failure of previously successful biological control agents (BCAs) to suppress this biotype. The re-emergence of CRB as a serious pest warrants a rigorous re-evaluation of potential BCAs and a new search for effective natural enemies if necessary. In this article, we review literature on CRB to 1) analyze past introductions of BCAs and their effectiveness; 2) identify potentially important natural enemies and their geo- graphical origins; and 3) assess possible approaches for utilization of BCAs against the new wave of CRB invasion. Research gaps and directions deserving future attention are highlighted and a strategy for renovation of biological controls for CRB suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Distal radius fractures are extremely common injuries affecting a wide range of patient demographics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of distal radius fractures managed initially with closed reduction and immobilization in either a below elbow volar–dorsal splint versus sugar-tong splint prior to conversion into a short arm cast. Methods: We performed a retrospective study of patients with distal radius fractures placed in a sugar-tong (n = 45) and volar–dorsal splint (n = 36). Anteroposterior and lateral radiographs were evaluated immediately after closed reduction and placement into either a sugar-tong or volar–dorsal splint. The radial inclination, radial length, volar tilt, and intra-articular displacement were measured. Results: The average age was not significantly different between groups (Diff: 1.1 years, P = 0.8766). Initial clinic follow-up radiographs illustrated significantly lower radial inclination in the sugar-tong group than volar–dorsal group (17.1 vs. 19, P = 0.0443). Follow-up mean radial length was not significantly lower in the sugar-tong than volar–dorsal group (8.4 vs. 9.2, P = 0.0858). Palmar tilt and articular step-off was not significantly different between splint types. The loss of reduction was 28.8% for the sugar-tong and 25.0% for the volar–dorsal group (P = 0.696). Conclusion: Our results did not demonstrate a significant difference in loss of reduction rates between the two splint groups. There was no significant difference between the sugar-tong and volar–dorsal groups in terms of loss of radial length and volar tilt. Loss of reduction was similar between groups suggesting no advantage of a volar–dorsal splint compared to a sugar-tong splint. Level of evidence: Therapeutic level III. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An invasive population of the coconut rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes rhinoceros; CRB) was discovered in Honiara, Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands in 2015. The beetle has caused severe damage to coconut palms in the outbreak area and its continued spread threatens the food security and livelihood of thousands of smallholder farmers in the region. Spread and abundance of the beetle were monitored using bucket traps baited with the aggregation pheromone, ethyl-4 methyloctanoate. Beetles were collected from traps approximately bi-weekly for two periods; one during 2017-18 and the other during 2019-2020. Trap catches showed that CRB was present throughout the whole survey region with significantly higher numbers of female CRB trapped than males. Results indicate a significant 1.5-fold increase in CRB trap catch numbers from 2017-2018 to 2019-2020 despite control efforts. The number of CRB adults trapped also varied between sites and months during both time periods but with no clear patterns. Removal of breeding sites along with strong local quarantine should remain the top priority of the local government to contain CRB expansion within Solomon Islands and beyond. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim Heightened craving among individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) has been attributed to a hypersensitivity to alcohol cues in attentional brain networks. Active mindfulness training has been shown to help improve attentional control. Here, we examined alcohol cue-related hypersensitivity among individuals with AUD who received rolling group mindfulness-based relapse prevention (MBRP) in combination with transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), over right inferior frontal gyrus. Methods Participants (n  = 68) viewed a series of emotionally negative, emotionally neutral and alcohol-related images. Following image presentation, participants were asked to rate their level of craving for the alcohol cues, and their level of negative affect evoked by neutral and negative cues. During the task, electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded to capture an event-related component shown to relate to emotionally salient stimuli: the late positive potential (LPP). Participants who completed a follow-up EEG (n  = 37) performed the task a second time after up to eight sessions of MBRP coupled with active or sham tDCS. Results We found that both craving ratings and the LPP significantly decreased in response to alcohol cues from pre- to post-treatment, but not for other image cues. The magnitude of alcohol image craving reductions was associated with the number of MBRP group sessions attended. Active tDCS was not associated with craving ratings, but it was associated with greater LPP amplitudes across image types. Conclusions Taken together, these results suggest that disruption of alcohol-cue hypersensitivity in people with AUD may be a target mechanism of MBRP. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Behavior is the product of interconnected brain regions that work together as networks. This case study examines whether there are differences between a participant with a large congenital left temporal lobe cyst, which impacted the volume of structures in the region, and control subjects of similar age on cognitive tasks and network connectivity as measured by resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI). Participants and Methods: The case participant (CP; 71 year old female) and controls (CON; n = 25; 48% female) were recruited as part of a larger aging study. CON were chosen from the larger study population by age (+/- 10 years from CP; Range = 68-86 years). Cognitive tasks included: Shopping list memory task, Montreal Cognitive Assessment, WAIS-IV subtests: Digit Span, Digit-Symbol, Symbol Span, and Letter-Number Sequencing. For rs-fMRI, we administered four blood-oxygen level dependent (BOLD) functional connectivity (rs-fMRI) scans at 6 minutes each. Image processing was conducted using the CONN toolbox. Independent sample t-tests evaluated differences between CP and CON. Segregation was evaluated in the Auditory (Au), Cerebellar-basal ganglia (CBBG), Cingulo-Opercular Task Control (COTC), Dorsal Attention (DA), Default Mode (DMN), Fronto-Parietal Task Control (FPTC), Salience (Sa), Sensory Somatomotor Hand (SSH), Sensory Somatomotor Mouth (SSM), Visual (Vi), and Ventral Attention (VA) networks to assess CP's functional segregation by network throughout the brain. Bonferroni correction was applied to account for multiple comparisons in cognitive testing (.05/7 for significance at p < 0.007) and network segregation (.05/11 for significance at p <.005). Results: Independent samples t-tests did not reveal significant differences across cognitive tasks (t(24) <1.04, p >.05). Network segregation did not reveal significant differences between CP and CON across networks examined (t(24) < 1.269, p >.005). However, DMN and DA segregation trended toward significance (t(24) = -2.724, p =.006 and t(24) =-2.006, p =.028), respectively) with CP demonstrating lower segregation as compared to CON. Conclusions: CP performed similarly on cognitive testing to CON, indicating that the congenital presence of a large temporal lobe cyst did not impact global cognition, list learning and memory, working memory, or processing speed. CP did not demonstrate significantly different segregation across networks of interest after Bonferroni correction. Our cognitive performance results are consistent with a similar case-study examining language, which revealed intact linguistic abilities (Tuckete et al., 2022). The lack of differences in cognitive performance and segregation highlight the capacity for plasticity in the human brain, even in the presence of a large structural abnormality. This also suggests that the processes of aging in this case are not markedly different from controls. In future research we intend to expand on this case study by evaluating right temporal to hippocampal seeds and language network seeds to delve deeper into memory and language functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

I Casanova's Lottery i proceeds through sixteen chapters, plus an introduction and conclusion, so each chapter averages eleven to twelve pages. It took some practice to learn how to manage the logistics, and how to weight the odds, and how to teach people, for instance, that 'an investment of 15 francs could return as large a sum as 32,865 francs, not bothering to tell them that for this bet the expected payoff was much lower, only 9.2 francs' (p. 36). It is easy to associate statistics with death, thanks to actuarial tables and life expectancies, but the history of statistics also contains its libidinal opposite. [Extracted from the article]

Some entomopathogenic fungi such as Metarhizium and Beauveria not only have the ability to infect and kill insects but also the capability to associate with plant roots. The potential benefits from this plant-fungus association include nutrient acquisition, plant growth promotion and protection against stressors. The objective of this study was to evaluate the delivery of entomopathogenic fungi in seed coating to determine whether the fungal presence affected maize performance. Additionally, fungal biocontrol ability was assessed in terms of plant resistance to the larvae of Costelytra giveni (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) and to the fungus Fusarium graminearum (Nectriaceae). Maize seeds were coated with conidia from Metarhizium spp. or Beauveria bassiana and plant performance was evaluated as seed germination and plant dry weight. Larval mortality and the presence of Fusarium root rot symptoms were also determined. The entomopathogenic fungal persistence on the maize rhizosphere was demonstrated with a M. anisopliae isolate expressing the green fluorescent protein. Presence of both challengers was detrimental to maize performance with 33% reduction in root dry weight in control plants while no variation was observed when the entomopathogenic fungi were used to coat seeds. Some seed coatings resulted in up to 67% mycosis of C. giveni larvae and a reduction in Fusarium rot root symptoms between 24 – 44%. This study showed that seed coating with conidia of Metarhizium or Beauveria can be used as a delivery system for pests and plant pathogen control, while at the same time hyphae formed a close association with plant roots after conidial germination. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The invertebrate pests most commonly affecting New Zealand's pastoral-based production in 'average' years cause losses of between $1.7B and $2.3B p.a. of which up to $0.9B occur on sheep and beef farms and $1.4B on dairy farms. The native scarab grass grub is the most costly pest causing losses of $140-380 M on dairy farms and $75-205 M on sheep and beef farms annually. The exotic scarab, black beetle, although only affecting approximately 1 M ha, costs dairy farmers up to $223 M and sheep and beef farmers up to $19 M annually. Porina cause losses up to $84 M and $88 M respectively. Pasture nematodes are estimated to cost up to $274 M p.a. for dairy farmers and $326 M p.a. for sheep and beef farmers. Two exotic pests, Argentine stem weevil (ASW) and clover root weevil (CRW) are causing damage estimated at up to $200 M p.a. and $235 M p.a. respectively in dairy and sheep and beef pastures. While CRW is subject to successful biological control management it still causes considerable losses. Lesser pests also contribute to lost production, particularly as they often coexist with more major pests. However, their economic cost to New Zealand is difficult to calculate due to the variable nature of infestations on both temporal and spatial scales. At farm and paddock level, it is abundantly clear that substantial savings could be made if pest management is achieved. It is equally clear that in many instances the tools to do so are limited but if developed would contribute substantially to farm profitability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Beauveria bassiana is the only species from the Beauveria genus that has been previously described as forming microsclerotia [Wang, H.-H., Wang, J.-L., Li, Y.-P., Liu, X., Wen, J.-Z., & Lei, Z.-R. (2011). Liquid culturing of microsclerotia of Beauveria bassiana, an entomopathogenic fungus to control western flower thrip, Frankliniella occidentalis in Journal of Applied Entomology, 48(3), 588-595]. Microsclerotia (MS) are compact, melanised aggregates that have been recognised in plant pathogenic fungi as overwintering structures. MS were successfully produced in shake flask cultures from three different Beauveria species (B. bassiana, B. brogniartii and B. pseudobassiana) using liquid media containing a low carbon to nitrogen ratio and replacing glucose with a complex carbon source. Maximum MS yield after 10 days fermentation was 8.46 × 103 MS/mL obtained with B. pseudobassiana AgR-F704, a New Zealand fungus isolated from the African black beetle (Heteronychus arator F.). Using this isolate, MS were produced using two C:N compositions, formulated with diatomaceous earth and air dried and monitored for germination and storage stability. Germination of MS granules varied with C:N ratio and storage temperature. MS produced using a higher carbon concentration maintained 100% germination after six months of storage at 4°C, but when stored at 20°C, the germination rate was reduced to 68%. In contrast, MS produced using a lower carbon concentration showed reduced germination (0 to 18%) after storage for more than two months at either temperature and had lost viability completely after six months. Conidia production from surviving MS was estimated at 109 conidia/g of granules. Results demonstrated that Beauveria species are able to form MS in submerged culture and those produced in the relatively higher carbon medium were capable of surviving under low moisture, ambient temperature storage and are able to produce conidia after germination; all of these attributes suggest that MS can be incorporated into granules as a new sustained release strategy to control soil-dwelling insects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some species in the genus Pyronota are known to be serious pests of pasture. The establishment of new dairy pastures on recently flipped soils on Cape Foulwind, Buller provided a unique opportunity to investigate the flight behaviour and biology of Pyronota festiva and P. setosa from 2008-2012. Flight behaviour was monitored by fixed-vane interruption traps and by field observations. Adults of both species flew through late spring/ early summer (Nov-Dec) of each year and seasonal flight timing was consistent between years. Pyronota festiva flight timing and duration were similar to those previously reported in the literature and were slightly female dominated. Pyronota setosa flights started one to two weeks in advance of P. festiva and were dominated by males (>95%). Female P. setosa were rarely observed flying and were rarely caught in sweep-net sampling. Pyronota setosa beetles were never observed swarming or congregating and feeding on the foliage of mānuka. These differences in flight behaviour may help to explain the field observations that P. festiva can rapidly invade new pastures while P. setosa populations appear to spread more slowly. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The nonspore-forming bacteriumSerratia entomophilamay be used to control the New Zealand grass grub (Costelytra giveni) but is sensitive to environmental stress and must be formulated to improve survival. Existing formulations require subsurface application limiting the area that can be treated. Formulations that allow delivery by broadcast methods are desirable to reduce application costs and increase the potential for aerial application to inaccessible areas. Two formulations were prepared for use in experiments examining the persistence and movement of inoculum through soil. When granules were applied to the soil surface, bacterial survival was negligible in uncoated core, but improved with increasing thickness of the coating. Both survival of bacteria and release into the soil were influenced by soil moisture content. Granules at <12% soil moisture showed high bacterial mortality and reduced delivery to the soil, while at 28% soil moisture most bacteria were released to the soil. There was a high level of survival of the applied bacteria within granules at 20% and 28% soil moisture. The formulations maintained viability ofS. entomophilain granules stored under ambient conditions for more than 6 months. In laboratory and field tests, the application of granules caused disease in the target grass grub larvae, whether application was applied to the surface or subsurface. In field trials, broadcast applied granules could produce equivalent disease to thin-coat granules drilled into the soil, but these levels of disease were associated with the occurrence of precipitation shortly after application. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Fat emboli syndrome is a rare but well-described complication of long-bone fractures classically characterised by a triad of respiratory failure, mental status changes and petechial rash. In this paper, we present the case of a patient who sustained bilateral femoral fractures and subsequently developed FES. Our aim was to review and summarise the current literature regarding the pathophysiology and management of fat emboli syndrome (FES) and propose an algorithm for treating patients with bilateral femoral fractures to reduce the risk of FES.Methods: A literature analysis was performed to determine implications in the clinical setting.Results: Currently, there exists little high-quality evidence to guide the orthopaedic surgeon in identifying patients at highest risk of FES or in preventing FES in patients with multiple long-bone fractures. However, the literature does suggest that the risk is directly related to the volume of marrow displaced and inversely related to both the time to fracture stabilisation and the respiratory reserve of the patient. Based on these correlations, we propose an algorithm for treating patients with bilateral femoral fractures, taking into consideration haemodynamic and pulmonary stability.Conclusions: Our algorithm for managing bilateral femoral fractures prioritises early stabilisation with external fixation, staged intramedullary nailing and conversion to plate fixation if FES develops. This protocol is meant to be the basis of future investigations of optimal treatment strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Antigua is a small island at the northern end of the Lesser Antilles chain. Its geology is largely limited to the Upper Oligocene and it records with unusual fidelity the transition from island arc volcanism to quiescence and limestone deposition. Despite the apparent limitation of a rock record confined to a short stratigraphical interval, Antigua has a geodiversity that ranges from thick andesites through silicified logs and freshwater snails in cherts to limestones that include both shallow and deeper water facies, and fine karstic features. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Biocontrol of the whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) using entomopathogenic fungi has been a difficult challenge under greenhouse conditions. In order to select fungal isolates adapted to high temperature and extremely low moisture nine isolates of Lecanicillium lecanii (Zimmerman) Zare & W. Gams, L. attenuatum Zare & W. Gams and L. longisporum (Petch) Zare & W. Gams (Hypocreales: Clavicipitaceae) were evaluated. In vitro assays were performed to determine colony radial growth, conidial production and conidial germination in three water activity media (a = 0.97, 0.98 and 1.00) at 28 and 32 °C. Virulence of Lecanicillium spp. isolates was evaluated against third instar T. vaporariorum on tomato plants at 23 °C. Colony radial growth, conidial production and germination decreased with the reduction in water activity, while 32 °C was extremely detrimental for all fungal isolates. However, some isolates were able to grow and produce conidia at low water activity and high temperature. Additionally, mortality above 60 % was recorded for one of these isolates. Practical implementation of biocontrol of T. vaporariorum under greenhouse production systems should consider the selection of those Lecanicillium isolates that show tolerance to the adverse environmental conditions in greenhouses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the last few years, there have been numerous developments in the commercialisation of bionematicides. Here we briefly review the commercial status of four key active ingredients backed by large international companies and which are, or are likely to become widely available soon. We also identify research priorities. While scientists have intensively researched Pasteuria spp. and Purpureocillium lilacinus as potential nematicides, little research has been done on Bacillus firmus and Myrothecium verrucaria fermentation products. Conversely, a survey of the trade press suggests that these latter two agents, particularly B. firmus, are the most widely used. There is a clear need to further understand the ecology and mode of action of B. firmus when used as a bionematicide. Furthermore, while all active ingredients have proven efficacy in laboratory and/or small plot trials, there is a paucity of independent data showing product efficacy in target markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carriacou is one of the small islands in the Grenadine chain in the southern Lesser Antilles. It preserves two Miocene successions, that on the south coast shallowing upwards and separated by a probable fault from the extensively exposed turbidite sequence, called the Grand Bay Formation, on the east coast. These formations show a range of features beautifully exposed in coastal sections, including unconformities, turbidites and a starfish bed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The island of Tobago is only about 40 km in length and to the geologist is a demonstration of the old saying that good things come in small packages. Situated in the southeast corner of the Caribbean Plate, it is the eastern extremity of the Caribbean Mountain System of northern South America, and is divided into three geologic provinces, one metamorphic, one igneous and one sedimentary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a research paper on the fossiliferous Miocene limestones deposits that formed common clasts in the late Pleistocene red beds of Farquahar's Beach in Jamaica. As stated, the only common fossils that are reworked free of matrix are tubes of the endolithic teredinid bivalve Kuphus. The two Kuphus tube specimens which were found during the research include NNM RGM 544 452 and NNM RGM 544 453. It demonstrates the relationship of these specimens with the boring organisms.

Cellulose and hemicelluloses are the most prevalent sources of carbon in nature. Currently many approaches employ micro-organisms and their enzyme products to degrade plant feedstocks for production of bioenergy. Scarab larvae are one such model. They consume celluloses from a variety of sources including plant roots, soil organic matter and decaying wood, and are able to extract nutrients and energy from these sources. In this paper, we review the physicochemical properties of the scarab larval gut, the diversity and digestive role that microflora play in the scarab gut and discuss the potential for applying these digestive processes in bioreactors for improving bio-fuel production. Scarab larvae are characterised by their highly alkaline midgut which is dominated by serine proteinase enzymes, and a modified hindgut which harbors the majority of the intestinal microbiota under anaerobic conditions. Evidence suggests that digestion of recalcitrant organic matter in scarab larvae likely results from a combination of endogenous gut proteinases and cellulolytic enzymes produced by symbiotic micro-organisms. Most of the easily digestible proteins are mobilized and absorbed in the midgut by endogenous proteinases. The hindgut contents of scarab larvae are characterized by high concentrations of volatile fatty acids, the presence of fermenting bacteria, and typical anaerobic activities, such as methanogenesis. The hindgut typically contains a wide diversity of micro-organisms, some of which appear to be obligate symbionts with cellulolytic potential. As a result, the scarab larval gut can be regarded as a small bioreactor resembling the rumen of sheep or cattle, where solid food particles composed of cellulose, hemicellulose, pectin and polysaccharides are degraded through enzymatic and fermentation processes. Together these observations suggest scarab larvae have potential to assist the bio-fuel industry by providing new sources of (hemi)cellulolytic bacteria and bacterial (hemi)cellulolytic enzymes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the effect of an educational intervention and documentary pro forma on the adequacy of documentation of intubation in an adult ED. Methods: A structured medical record review was performed before and after a multi-pronged educational programme and introduction of a specifically designed guide to documentation. Records were assessed for adequacy of documentation by the presence or absence of predetermined elements. Analysis focused on five aspects considered to be most important for future clinical care: drugs and doses used, grade of view, size of endotracheal tube, confirmation of placement and adverse events/difficulties encountered. Results: Sixty-one and sixty-eight charts were included in the pre-intervention and post-intervention groups, respectively. The drugs and doses used were documented in 92% and 93%. The endotracheal tube size was recorded 82% and 91% of the time. Grade of laryngoscopy was documented in 35% and 46%. Confirmation of endotracheal tube placement was 69% and 84%. Presence or absence of adverse events was recorded in 37% and 54%. All five elements were present in 8.2% and 25% of medical records. Conclusion: Documentation improved slightly following the intervention, but was still unsatisfactory. We believe that to achieve an adequate level of documentation in the medical record for an episode of intubation, there needs to be a formal and structured mechanism, either via mandatory use of a specifically designed form and/or by participation in an organized data registry. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The bacterium Serratia entomophila (Enterobacteriaceae) has been developed as a commercially available biopesticide for control of the pasture pest Costelytra zealandica. The influence of culture medium composition, dissolved oxygen (DO) concentration and harvesting time were investigated in order to optimise the production of S. entomophila. In batch fermentations, highest yields were achieved using sucrose (40 g L-1) as the carbon source, followed closely by fructose and molasses. The effect of yeast extract (YE), marmite and bakery yeast as cell growth enhancers was also examined in both batch and fed-batch mode. Culture medium containing 20 g L-1 of YE (fed-batch) produced the highest cell density. No significant effect on cell yield was detected when cultures were supplemented with bakery yeast or marmite. The DO concentration influenced biomass production: a 5-fold increase in cell density was achieved when the concentration of DO was maintained in the range of 20-50% (5.7×1010 CFUs mL-1) in comparison with 1% (1.2×1010 CFUs mL-1). In cultures maintained at 1 and 20% DO concentration, cells harvested from the exponential growth phase survived for less than 2 weeks when stored at 4°C. In contrast, high cell survival (85-100%) was achieved when cells were harvested after they had entered the stationary growth phase. Recommendations are provided for the production of robust, high cell density cultures of S. entomophila. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Serratia entomophila and Serratia proteamaculans cause amber disease of the grass grub Costelytra zealandica ( Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). Three genes required for virulence, sepABC, are located on a large plasmid, pADAP. The translated products of the sep genes are members of the toxin complex (Tc) family of insecticidal toxins that reside in the genomes of some Enterobacteriaceae. Each of the sep genes was placed either singly or as various combinations under the control of an inducible arabinose promoter, allowing their inductive expression. Western Immunoblot confirmed that each of the Sep proteins migrated at their predicted size on sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis gel. Bioassays of sonicated filtrates derived from the various arabinose-induced para-SEP constructs showed that only when sepA, sepB and sepC were coexpressed were amber disease symptoms observed in grass grub larvae. Fourteen days after ingestion of the Sep protein filtrate, ∼64% of the larvae reverted from a diseased to a healthy phenotype. Redosing the revertents with a fresh Sep protein filtrate reinitiated the amber pathotype, indicating that the Sep proteins are needed to be continuously present to exert an effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Serratia entomophila antifeeding prophage (Afp) is thought to form a virus-like structure that has activity towards the New Zealand grass grub, Costelytra zealandica. Through the trans based expression of AnfA1, an RfaH – like transcriptional antiterminator, the Afp, was able to be induced. The expressed Afp was purified and visualized by electron microscopy. The Afp resembled a phage tail-like bacteriocin, exhibiting two distinct morphologies: an extended and a contracted form. The purified Afp conferred rapid activity towards C. zealandica larvae, causing cessation of feeding and a change to an amber colouration within 48 h postinoculation, with increased dose rates causing larval mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]