Criminal groups often avoid the limelight, shunning publicity. However, in some instances, they overtly communicate, such as with banners or signs. This article explains the competition dynamics behind public criminal communication and provides theory and evidence of the conditions under which it emerges. Relying on a new dataset of approximately 1,800 banners publicly deployed by Mexican criminal groups from 2007 to 2010, the study identifies the conditions behind such messaging. The findings suggest that criminal groups “go public” in the presence of interorganizational contestation, violence from authorities, antagonism toward the local media, local demand for drugs, and local drug production. Some of these factors are associated only with communication toward particular audiences: rivals, the state, or the public. An interesting finding is that the correlates of criminal propaganda are sometimes distinct from those of criminal violence, suggesting that these phenomena are explained by separate dynamics.

Natural living conductive biofilms transport electrons between electrodes and cells, as well as among cells fixed within the film, catalyzing an array of reactions from acetate oxidation to CO2 reduction. Synthetic biology offers tools to modify or improve electron transport through biofilms, creating a new class of engineered living conductive materials. Engineered living conductive materials could be used in a range of applications for which traditional conducting polymers are not appropriate, including improved catalytic coatings for microbial fuel-cell electrodes, self-powered sensors for austere environments, and next-generation living components of bioelectronic devices that interact with the human microbiome.

Seven half-day regional listening sessions were held between December 2016 and April 2017 with groups of diverse stakeholders on the issues and potential solutions for herbicide-resistance management. The objective of the listening sessions was to connect with stakeholders and hear their challenges and recommendations for addressing herbicide resistance. The coordinating team hired Strategic Conservation Solutions, LLC, to facilitate all the sessions. They and the coordinating team used in-person meetings, teleconferences, and email to communicate and coordinate the activities leading up to each regional listening session. The agenda was the same across all sessions and included small-group discussions followed by reporting to the full group for discussion. The planning process was the same across all the sessions, although the selection of venue, time of day, and stakeholder participants differed to accommodate the differences among regions. The listening-session format required a great deal of work and flexibility on the part of the coordinating team and regional coordinators. Overall, the participant evaluations from the sessions were positive, with participants expressing appreciation that they were asked for their thoughts on the subject of herbicide resistance. This paper details the methods and processes used to conduct these regional listening sessions and provides an assessment of the strengths and limitations of those processes.

Herbicide resistance is ‘wicked’ in nature; therefore, results of the many educational efforts to encourage diversification of weed control practices in the United States have been mixed. It is clear that we do not sufficiently understand the totality of the grassroots obstacles, concerns, challenges, and specific solutions needed for varied crop production systems. Weed management issues and solutions vary with such variables as management styles, regions, cropping systems, and available or affordable technologies. Therefore, to help the weed science community better understand the needs and ideas of those directly dealing with herbicide resistance, seven half-day regional listening sessions were held across the United States between December 2016 and April 2017 with groups of diverse stakeholders on the issues and potential solutions for herbicide resistance management. The major goals of the sessions were to gain an understanding of stakeholders and their goals and concerns related to herbicide resistance management, to become familiar with regional differences, and to identify decision maker needs to address herbicide resistance. The messages shared by listening-session participants could be summarized by six themes: we need new herbicides; there is no need for more regulation; there is a need for more education, especially for others who were not present; diversity is hard; the agricultural economy makes it difficult to make changes; and we are aware of herbicide resistance but are managing it. The authors concluded that more work is needed to bring a community-wide, interdisciplinary approach to understanding the complexity of managing weeds within the context of the whole farm operation and for communicating the need to address herbicide resistance.

Dynamic ice-sheet models are used to assess the contribution of mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet to sea-level rise. Mass transfer from ice sheet to ocean is in a large part through outlet glaciers. Bed topography plays an important role in ice dynamics, since the acceleration from the slow-moving inland ice to an ice stream is in many cases caused by the existence of a subglacial trough or trough system. Problems are that most subglacial troughs are features of a scale not resolved in most ice-sheet models and that radar measurements of subglacial topography do not always reach the bottoms of narrow troughs. The trough-system algorithm introduced here employs mathematical morphology and algebraic topology to correctly represent subscale features in a topographic generalization, so the effects of troughs on ice flow are retained in ice-dynamic models. The algorithm is applied to derive a spatial elevation model of Greenland subglacial topography, integrating recently collected radar measurements (CReSIS data) of the Jakobshavn Isbræ, Helheim, Kangerdlussuaq and Petermann glacier regions. The resultant JakHelKanPet digital elevation model has been applied in dynamic ice-sheet modeling and sea-level-rise assessment.

Spray application of 24 and 46 g ha−1 MON 37500 was used in efficacy studies, and vacuum infiltration or droplet application of radiolabeled MON 37500 was used in metabolism studies to evaluate temperature and soil moisture on MON 37500 efficacy and metabolism. Day/night temperatures before vs. after application of MON 37500 of 25/23 vs. 25/23, 25/23 vs. 5/3, 5/3 vs. 25/23, and 5/3 vs. 5/3 C were evaluated for the efficacy study, whereas day/night temperatures of 5/3 and 25/23 C were used for the metabolism study. Soil moisture of one-third and full pot capacities was evaluated for both studies. No Triticum aestivum injury was observed at the different temperatures or soil moistures because of rapid metabolism of MON 37500 by T. aestivum. Weed control was greater when the temperature after application was 25/23 C or soil moisture was at full pot capacity than when the temperature was at 5/3 C after application or soil moisture was at one-third pot capacity. Susceptibility to MON 37500 was greatest for Bromus tectorum, moderate for Avena fatua, and least for Aegilops cylindrica. This pattern of susceptibility for the weed species was related to their ability to metabolize MON 37500. Aegilops cylindrica metabolized more MON 37500 in the first 24 h than did A. fatua, whereas B. tectorum metabolized the least MON 37500. Cool air temperatures decreased MON 37500 metabolism in all species, whereas soil moisture had no effect.

The evolution of glyphosate resistance in weedy species places an environmentally benign herbicide in peril. The first report of a dicot plant with evolved glyphosate resistance was horseweed, which occurred in 2001. Since then, several species have evolved glyphosate resistance and genomic information about nontarget resistance mechanisms in any of them ranges from none to little. Here, we report a study combining iGentifier transcriptome analysis, cDNA sequencing, and a heterologous microarray analysis to explore potential molecular and transcriptomic mechanisms of nontarget glyphosate resistance of horseweed. The results indicate that similar molecular mechanisms might exist for nontarget herbicide resistance across multiple resistant plants from different locations, even though resistance among these resistant plants likely evolved independently and available evidence suggests resistance has evolved at least four separate times. In addition, both the microarray and sequence analyses identified non–target-site resistance candidate genes for follow-on functional genomics analysis.

Field experiments were conducted in grain sorghum at five locations in Kansas in 2009 and 2010, to evaluate the efficacy and crop safety of early- to mid-POST (EMPOST) and late-POST (LPOST) applications of premixed pyrasulfotole and bromoxynil (PYRA&BROM) in tank mix combinations with atrazine or atrazine plus 2,4-D ester or dicamba compared to bromoxynil plus atrazine. PYRA&BROM at 244 or 300 g ai ha−1 plus atrazine at 560 g ai ha−1 applied EMPOST controlled pigweed species (Palmer amaranth, tumble pigweed, and redroot pigweed), kochia, velvetleaf, common sunflower, ivyleaf morningglory, and common lambsquarters 93% or greater. Puncturevine control among three locations ranged from 85 to 99%. Control of most weed species was not improved by increasing PYRA&BROM rate from 244 to 300 g ha−1 or by tank mixing 2,4-D or dicamba with PYRA&BROM plus atrazine. However, ivyleaf morningglory control was improved at the LPOST timing by adding 2,4-D or dicamba at 140 g ae ha−1. In no instance did any PYRA&BROM treatment provide greater weed control than bromoxynil plus atrazine at 281 + 560 g ha−1 when applied EMPOST, but in most instances PYRA&BROM treatments were more effective than bromoxynil plus atrazine when applied LPOST. Generally, PYRA&BROM treatments were more effective when applied EMPOST than LPOST, especially when 2,4-D or dicamba was added. PYRA&BROM plus atrazine treatments caused foliar bleaching in sorghum within 7 ± 3 d after treatment, but recovery was complete within 3 to 4 wk and grain yields were not reduced. Tank mixing dicamba with PYRA&BROM and atrazine occasionally reduced visible crop response compared to PYRA&BROM plus atrazine. Our results indicate that PYRA&BROM plus atrazine with or without 2,4-D or dicamba selectively controls several troublesome broadleaf weeds in grain sorghum. Foliar bleaching of sorghum leaves can occur but the symptoms are transient, and grain yields are not likely to be reduced.

Field research was conducted to determine effects of application rate, spray adjuvants, and spray carriers on visible control of downy brome, jointed goatgrass, and cheat and potential injury to wheat by MON 37500. MON 37500 at 24 and 46 g/ha with and without a methylated seed oil or nonionic surfactant and carriers of water, urea ammonium nitrate (UAN), and a 1:1 water/UAN combination were applied to the weeds at the one- to four-leaf stage. Cheat was the most susceptible weed to MON 37500, with control consistently above 87% with all treatments except MON 37500 at 24 g/ha in water 26 weeks after treatment. Downy brome control was more variable, with ratings ranging from 50 to 99% among treatments. For jointed goatgrass, only moderate stunting was observed from all MON 37500 applications. Both wheat varieties showed early season injury after MON 37500 was applied with UAN and either adjuvant; however, no visible injury or yield reduction to either wheat variety was noticed at harvest.

Correlated climate patterns, dispersal, and similar management practices may synchronise dynamics of populations in close proximity, which tends to reduce metapopulation persistence. However, synchronising and desynchronising mechanisms can act at multiple spatial scales, which means that for wide-ranging species, patterns of spatial synchrony and their causes might vary across the species’ range. We examined the relationships of spatial autocorrelation in winter climate, dispersal distance and predator management to the spatio-temporal dynamics of the Western Snowy Plover Charadrius nivosus nivosus, a threatened shorebird that breeds along the Pacific coast of the United States. We investigated how signals and drivers of plover population growth dynamics vary among populations occupying northern, central, and southern regions of the species’ U.S. range. Across the metapopulation and specifically the core of the species’ range in the south, we found that plover populations within 132 km of each other exhibited detectable levels of synchrony, which fell within published estimates of dispersal distance. Furthermore, similar predator management among sites increased the degree to which nearby populations were synchronised. There was, however, no evidence of spatial synchrony in populations of the northern and central regions. Regional differences in synchrony were associated with different population drivers and structure; prolonged cold periods had the strongest influence on the growth of northern populations while predator management had the strongest influence on southern populations. Northern populations were also smaller than the south, which likely reduced our ability to detect spatial synchrony because of increased demographic stochasticity. Neither climatic nor management variables had a detectable influence on central populations. Although the primary objective of threatened and endangered species management is to increase populations to viable levels, we recommend that conservation biologists and land managers acknowledge region-specific processes when considering the long-term persistence of wide-ranging species and coordinate inter-agency efforts to manage neighbouring populations effectively.