Children with asthma face serious mental health risk, but the pathways remain unclear. This study aimed to examine bullying victimisation and perpetration in children with asthma and a comparison sample without a chronic health condition, and the role of bullying in moderating psychosocial adjustment outcomes for those with asthma. A sample of children with (n = 24) and without asthma (n = 39), and their parents, were recruited from hospital clinics. Parents rated children’s psychosocial adjustment; children provided self-report of bullying victimisation and perpetration; from which co-occurring bully/victim status was derived. No differences in mean perpetration or victimisation were found, but children with asthma were more likely to be bully/victims (involved both as target and perpetrator), compared to those without asthma. Children with asthma who were victims of bullying had greater peer problems and overall adjustment problems; bully/victims did not show this pattern. Children with asthma may be more likely to be bully/victims, and those who are victims of bullying may be at elevated risk for psychosocial adjustment problems and require particular support in this area from school counsellors and psychologists.

Despite nematodes routinely being the most frequent soil- and bryophyte-associated animals in maritime Antarctica, there is a lack of clarity about the influence of warming on their populations in the region. Here, we report the results of a field experiment on Adelaide Island that tested the effects of warming with open-top chambers (OTCs) for 37 months on nematodes associated with the bryophytes Cephaloziella varians and Sanionia uncinata. Over the experiment's duration, OTCs increased the population density of the nematode Plectus belgicae in mats of both bryophytes by six-fold, with four- to seven-fold increases in the abundances of male, female and juvenile P. belgicae in warmed mats, and with the largest effects on the abundances of juveniles. Despite C. varians, which is black in colour, warming to a greater extent than S. uncinata during summer, no interactive effects of OTCs and bryophyte species were recorded on the population density of P. belgicae. Our results corroborate a previous study showing that warming increases Plectus population densities in maritime Antarctic soils, with implications for the region's terrestrial food webs.

This paper provides a metric for determining whether a given pair of English words is perceived to be morphologically related, based on objective measurements of the words’ orthographic, phonetic, and semantic similarity to each other. The metric is developed on the basis of results from a behavioural study in which participants were asked to judge the relative similarity of pairs of words. The metric is intended to help researchers determine which forms in a language plausibly have segments that alternate; as an example, it is applied to the lexicon of English to illustrate its utility in calculating the frequency of alternation of [s] and [ʃ].

Auxinic herbicides are widely used for control of broadleaf weeds in cereal crops and turfgrass. These herbicides are structurally similar to the natural plant hormone auxin, and induce several of the same physiological and biochemical responses at low concentrations. After several decades of research to understand the auxin signal transduction pathway, the receptors for auxin binding and resultant biochemical and physiological responses have recently been discovered in plants. However, the precise mode of action for the auxinic herbicides is not completely understood despite their extensive use in agriculture for over six decades. Auxinic herbicide-resistant weed biotypes offer excellent model species for uncovering the mode of action as well as resistance to these compounds. Compared with other herbicide families, the incidence of resistance to auxinic herbicides is relatively low, with only 29 auxinic herbicide-resistant weed species discovered to date. The relatively low incidence of resistance to auxinic herbicides has been attributed to the presence of rare alleles imparting resistance in natural weed populations, the potential for fitness penalties due to mutations conferring resistance in weeds, and the complex mode of action of auxinic herbicides in sensitive dicot plants. This review discusses recent advances in the auxin signal transduction pathway and its relation to auxinic herbicide mode of action. Furthermore, comprehensive information about the genetics and inheritance of auxinic herbicide resistance and case studies examining mechanisms of resistance in auxinic herbicide-resistant broadleaf weed biotypes are provided. Within the context of recent findings pertaining to auxin biology and mechanisms of resistance to auxinic herbicides, agronomic implications of the evolution of resistance to these herbicides are discussed in light of new auxinic herbicide-resistant crops that will be commercialized in the near future.

Sub-Antarctic Marion Island was the site of extensive volcanism as well as glaciation during both the Quaternary and the Holocene. Initial reconstructions suggested a link between deglaciation and the initiation of faulting which, in turn, facilitated lava eruptions during the interglacials. However, our reassessment of the faulting, volcanic rock, and palaeoglacier distribution indicate that these original interpretations were erroneous. Features thought to be due to faulting are shown to be erosional scarps and this significantly changes interpretations of former glacier distribution. Further, the loss of the former ice cap has revealed new information on former glaciers and their flow directions, thereby allowing reconstruction of palaeoglaciers. Our new reconstruction fits with information from invertebrate genetic mapping that suggest some lava outcrops were nunataks and, therefore, refuges during the Last Glacial period. The new findings of glacial landforms in areas previously covered by snow suggest there was a significant ice advance during the Little Ice Age. Although Holocene volcanic rocks overlie and mask much of the glacial evidence, it has been possible to develop a proposed new reconstruction for glaciation, which is presented together with some of the implications.

Predicting the magnitude and rate of weight gain for a given increase of energy intake requires a model of whole-body energy expenditure that includes the energy cost of tissue deposition. Here, I introduce a mathematical framework for modelling energy expenditure that elucidates conceptual problems with the classical Kielanowski method for estimating the efficiencies of body fat and protein deposition. An alternative approach uses the theoretical biochemical efficiencies for protein and fat synthesis in combination with models of energy expenditure that include body fat and protein turnover costs. I illustrate this alternative approach using a simple mathematical model applied to previously published data from growing rats and human infants and compare the simple model results with the classical Kielanowski model. While both models fit the data reasonably well (R2>0·87 in rats and R2>0·67 in infants), the Kielanowski method resulted in parameter estimates that varied widely across experiments, had poor precision, and occasionally produced efficiency estimates greater than 1. In contrast, the new method provided precise parameter values and revealed consistencies across different experiments. The proposed mathematical framework has implications for interpreting studies of animal nutrition as well as providing a roadmap for future modelling efforts.

Landforms with the appearance of cryoplanation terraces were studied on Alexander Island in an attempt to better understand their formation and growth. Developed on sub-horizontal sedimentary rocks, with 360° exposure around a nunatak, the terraces show a distinct equatorward orientational preference and an increase in terrace size with elevation. Available data fail to indicate any evidence of freeze-thaw weathering and information relating to present-day debris transport is singularly absent. Thermal data from the rock exposures showed variability that could cause thermal fatigue but no rates of change of temperature commensurate with thermal shock were recorded. Terrace development appears to be connected with lithological differences in the local sandstones, with growth along sedimentary junctions. Although presently in a permafrost environment, the available information on these landforms does not appear to be compatible with that generally accepted for cryoplanation terraces.