Candidates from established political families are more likely to win than their non-dynastic counterparts because their political inheritance often includes significant advantages in resources and reputation. Yet dynastic candidates also bring their own set of experiences and qualities to the game. Is it the case that their individual characteristics can explain their electoral success, or is their success due to their family legacy? Theoretically, how and when are political resources transferred to the new generation? We examine these questions by looking at non-incumbent candidates in city and county council elections in Taiwan from 2009 to 2014, drawing on unique data on politicians' backgrounds. The profile of dynastic candidates differs from that of non-dynastic candidates: they are younger, have less electoral experience and list experience in different sorts of organizations and jobs. However, these differences are not what drives their electoral success; indeed, they tend to win despite these qualities rather than because of them. Even after controlling for candidate quality, dynastic status remains a powerful predictor, conveying roughly a 20 percentage point increase in the probability of winning. This suggests that while dynastic candidates accrue some of their advantage long before they run for office, a large part of the inheritance is transferred during the campaign.

Given the equivocal literature on the relationship between internalizing symptoms and early adolescent alcohol use (AU) and AU disorder (AUD), the present study took a developmental perspective to understand how internalizing and externalizing symptoms may operate together in the etiology of AU and AUD. We pit the delayed onset and rapid escalation hypothesis (Hussong et al., 2011) against a synthesis of the dual failure model and the stable co-occurring hypothesis (Capaldi, 1992; Colder et al., 2013, 2018) to test competing developmental pathways to adolescent AU and AUD involving problem behavior, peer delinquency, and early initiation of AU. A latent transactional and mediational framework was used to test pathways to AUD spanning developmental periods before AU initiation (Mage = 11) to early and high risk for AUD (Mage = 14–15 and Mage = 17–18). The results supported three pathways to AUD. The first started with “pure” externalizing symptoms in early childhood and involved multiple mediators, including the subsequent development of co-occurring symptoms and peer delinquency. The second pathway involved stable co-occurring symptoms. Interestingly, chronically elevated pure internalizing symptoms did not figure prominently in pathways to AUD. Selection and socialization effects between early AU and peer delinquency constituted a third pathway.

We demonstrate the potential of X-ray photo-emission electron microscopy (XPEEM) to reveal valence-state images of the spatial distribution and relative concentration of metals in specific oxidation states. Additionally, XPEEM allows X-ray absorption spectra to be extracted from chosen pixel areas of the images. Using an in-house-built XPEEM instrument we show an application of the method in providing valence-state images of complex mineral intergrowths. The image resolution achieved with this instrument of simple design was ∼5 μm and reasonable quality X-ray absorption spectra were extracted from areas of ∼5×5 μm. These initial results suggest that by using commercial XPEEM instruments on 3rd generation, high-brightness synchrotron sources a spatial resolution of 100 nm or better could be achieved, with the ability to extract high-quality X-ray absorption spectra from areas of 0.1 μm2. Given that standard thin sections or polished blocks can be studied by XPEEM, and that each XPEEM image records ∼1000 μm2, XPEEM can be used in conjunction with other analytical methods such as EMPA and TEM-EELS/PEELS.

We report daptomycin minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) for vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium isolated from bloodstream infections over a 4-year period. The daptomycin MIC increased over time hospital-wide for initial isolates and increased over time within patients, culminating in 40% of patients having daptomycin-nonsusceptible isolates in the final year of the study.

Infect Control Hosp Epidemiol 2018;39:226–228

The rapid rise in syphilis cases has prompted a number of public health campaigns to assist men who have sex with men (MSM) recognize and present early with symptoms. This study aimed to investigate the temporal trend of the duration of self-report symptoms and titre of rapid plasma reagin (RPR) in MSM with infectious syphilis. Seven hundred and sixty-one syphilis cases in MSM diagnosed at the Melbourne Sexual Health Centre (MSHC) from 2007–2013 were reviewed. Median duration of symptoms and RPR titres in each year were calculated. The median durations of symptoms with primary and secondary syphilis were 9 [interquartile range (IQR) 6–14] days and 14 (IQR 7–30) days, respectively. The overall median titre of RPR in secondary syphilis (median 128, IQR 64–256) was higher than in primary syphilis (median 4, IQR 1–32) and in early latent syphilis (median 32, IQR 4–64). The median duration of symptoms for primary syphilis, secondary syphilis and titre of RPR level did not change over time. Public health campaigns were not associated with a significant shorter time from onset of symptoms to treatment. Alternative strategies such as more frequent testing of MSM should be promoted to control the syphilis epidemic in Australia.

The leaf tier or webworm, Cnephasia virgaureana Treit., was first reported in Newfoundland in 1916, but no further records were noted from that area until 1957 when it was found causing severe damage to certain crops. An infestation of this webworm was discovered in Prince Edward Island in 1955, and severe infestations were reported in areas of Bavaria and Boden, Germany, in 1954. It was assumed that importations of the pest must have been made into Canada about 1954 or 1955. The life history of the pest is discussed and the parasites found during the period of study are listed.

The group G streptococcus has generally not been considered a prominent pathogen. In a 1982 study of the colonization rate by β-haemoly tic streptococci in apparently healthy children, age 5–11 years, 25 of 69 isolates belonged to group G. This surprisingly high rate of group G colonization (14·3%) led to a retrospective study of school surveys in 1967 which showed that the colonization rate with this organism was 2·3% (range 1·3–3·5%). A review of bacitracin-sensitive streptococcal isolates from hospital admissions of patients with acute glomerulonephritis (AGN), rheumatic fever, and their siblings, between January 1967 and July 1980, was conducted. Of 1063 bacitracin-sensitive isolates, 63 were group G, and 52 of these were isolated from AGN patients and their siblings, i.e. 7 from skin lesions of AGN patients, 40 from the throats of siblings and only 5 from the skins of the siblings. The other 11 group G isolates were from rheumatic-fever patients and their siblings. Thus, the group G colonization rate fluctuates in the population. The isolation of only group G streptococci from skin lesions of patients with AGN suggests a possible association between group G streptococcal pyoderma and acute post-streptococcal glomerulonephritis.

The south to north development of the spring bloom in the North Atlantic Ocean was observed during four cruises from April to August 1989. Transects with towed undulating instrumentation packages and CTD profiles on station were made between 42°N and 54°N, along 17°W and 20°W in April and between 47°N and 60°N along 20°N in May, June and July/August, giving vertical sections of temperature and chlorophyll concentration derived from in vivo fluorescence. These sections show the relationship between the onset of seasonal stratification and the initiation of the spring bloom. Supporting data from microscopic analysis of the major phytoplankton species show that the seasonal succession commenced with diatoms, followed in turn by coccolithophores, flagellates and dinoflagellates. During the development of summer stratification the mesoscale distribution of chlorophyll was strongly determined by the depth of the mixed layer, but once stratification had been firmly established higher chlorophyll values tended to be found within the warmer eddies (meanders). One possible explanation of this result is that phytoplankton growth is higher in the warmer eddies.

Molecular characterization of the Plasmodium falciparum genome has led to identification of polymorphic loci and the mechanisms generating genetic diversity in this parasite. This information has resulted in the development of molecular methods to type parasite diversity in the field. Consequently, we are now in a position to describe the population genetics and dynamics of P. falciparum. The limited number of field studies that have been conducted to date have revealed an extraordinary degree of genetic diversity in natural parasite populations. Heterozygous recombination which occurs during meiosis appears to be one mechanism for generating genetic diversity. The rate at which such recombination occurs in natural parasite populations defines the genetic structure of the parasite population and can influence the ability of the parasite to respond to selection pressure. The high frequency of single genotype infections and the female-biased gametocyte sex ratios found in hyperendemic malaria areas suggest that self-fertilization occurs frequently. Population- wide surveys of allele frequencies in endemic areas have, however, shown no evidence of linkage disequilibrium and are consistent with a panmictic population structure. We argue that these studies have only sampled symptomatic infections, within which rare or recombinant genotypes may be disproportionately represented. They also take no account of the spatial structure of P. falciparum populations. Systematic investigations of the amount of heterozygosity in small areas as part of population-wide surveys are required to define the genetic structure of P. falciparum populations. Population dynamic studies which consider genetic heterogeneity of P. falciparum have shown fluctuations of different serotypes in space and time. The host immune response appears to play an important role in generating these dynamics. Integrated field and laboratory studies, which consider the interaction between population genetics and dynamics, will be necessary to describe the population biology of P. falciparum.

Migration by nematode larvae through the tissues of their mammalian hosts can cause considerable pathology, and yet the evolutionary factors responsible for this migratory behaviour are poorly understood. The behaviour is particularly paradoxical in genera such as Ascaris and Strongylus in which larvae undergo extensive migrations which begin and end in the same location. The orthodox explanation for this apparently pointless behaviour is that a tissue phase is a developmental requirement following the evolutionary loss of skin penetration or intermediate hosts. Yet tissue migration is not always necessary for development, and navigation and survival in an array of different habitats must require costly biochemical and morphological adaptations. Migrating larvae also risk becoming lost or killed by the host. Natural selection should therefore remove such behaviour unless there are compensating benefits. Here we propose that migration is a selectively advantageous life-history strategy. We show that taxa exploiting tissue habitats during development are, on average, bigger than their closest relatives that develop wholly in the gastrointestinal tract. Time to reproduction is the same, indicating that worms with a tissue phase during development grow faster. This previously unsuspected association between juvenile habitat and size is independent of any effects of adult habitat, life-cycle, or host size, generation time or diet. Because fecundity is intimately linked with size in nematodes, this provides an explanation for the maintenance of tissue migration by natural selection, analogous to the pre-spawning migrations of salmon.

The frequency of recombination between unlike genotypes is central to understanding the generation of genetic diversity in natural populations of malaria. Here we suggest a way of investigating the problem which could complement conventional biochemical approaches to the population genetics of malaria. Sex allocation theory is one of the most successful areas of evolutionary biology. A well-supported prediction is that progressively less female-biased sex ratios are favoured with more outcrossing; equal numbers of males and females being evolutionarily stable in randomly mating outbred populations. We present a simple game theory model to support the idea that outcrossing rates in malaria will be correlated with the sex ratio of gametocytes in the peripheral blood of vertebrate hosts. Blood films from epidemiological surveys and culture-adapted isolates from Madang Province, Papua New Guinea, were used to estimate average gametocyte sex ratio of Plasmodium falciparum in the area. The geometric mean proportion of males in the population was 0.18 (95% confidence limits: 0.15–0.22). From our model, we estimate that, on average, 36% of zygotes are the result of outcrossing. This estimate assumes that most microgametes released following exflagellation are capable of fertilization. If, on average, fewer than about 70% of microgametes are capable of fertilization (as is the case in at least one other species of Plasmodium), the observed sex ratio would be consistent with between zero and 36% of zygotes being the result of outcrossing. These estimates suggest that there is usually a numerically dominant genotype in the gametocyte population in a blood meal, and that a considerable amount of selfing is occurring in P. falciparum populations in the Madang region, even though it is an area of intense year-round transmission.

Parasitism was recognized as a potent evolutionary force by Haldane as early as 1949 but was then largely ignored by evolutionary biologists until the mid-1970s. Interest has since been rekindled, and parasites have now been attributed major roles in areas of evolutionary biology as fundamental and diverse as social behaviour, sexual reproduction, ornamentation and speciation. These ideas have their roots in evolutionary theory, and parasitologists have as yet contributed little to their development and testing. Likewise, evolutionary biologists have been slow to assimilate the parasitological literature. This year's BSP Autumn Symposium was thus organized with the aim of promoting constructive interchange between the two disciplines.

Cryptosporidium is an important cause of diarrhoeal disease worldwide and, as several recent waterborne outbreaks have shown, poses a significant threat to public health in Ireland. We identified the Cryptosporidium spp. in 199 positive human stool samples by PCR–RFLP of the 18S rRNA and COWP gene loci. Subspecies were identified in 104 samples by sequence analysis of the 60 kDa glycoprotein (gp60) gene fragment. Overall C. parvum was identified in 80%, and C. hominis in 20% of cases. No other Cryptosporidium spp. were detected. C. parvum was by far the most common species in the rural, more sparsely populated west of Ireland and exhibited a pronounced spring peak coincident with a peak in the national cryptosporidiosis incidence rate. Our data indicated a trend towards higher proportions of C. hominis in older age groups. Nine