We argue that heritability estimates cannot be used to make informed judgments about the populations from which they are drawn. Furthermore, predicting changes in heritability from population changes is likely impossible, and of limited value. We add that the attempt to separate human environments into cultural and non-cultural components does not advance our understanding of the environmental multiplier effect.

We have developed high affinity Molecularly Imprinted Polymers (MIPs) for neurotransmitters such as dopamine, noradrenaline and caffeine. These polymer particles are mixed within the bulk of screen-printed ink allowing masss-producible bulk modified MIP Screen-Printed Electrodes (MIP-SPEs) to be realised. We have explored different SPE supporting surfaces, such as polyester, tracing paper and household-printing paper. The performance of those MIP-SPEs is studied using the Heat-Transfer Method (HTM), a patented thermal method. With the combination of screen-printing techniques and thermal detection, it is possible to develop a portable sensor platform that is capable of low-cost and straightforward detection of biomolecules on-site. In the future, this unique sensor architecture holds great promise for the use in biomedical devices.

Prickly lettuce is an annual weed that germinates in both the fall and the spring. It is often found in no-till soybeans and winter wheat in Ontario, Canada, as well as along the edges of fields. Field studies were conducted from 2001 to 2004 to estimate crop yield losses, and to characterize the phenology and seed production of prickly lettuce in relation to time of emergence. Prickly lettuce had a large impact on soybean yield, with losses of 60 to 80% at densities of 50 plants m−2 or more. Prickly lettuce density estimated to cause a 10% soybean yield loss varied from 0.2 plants m−2 in 2002 to 1.2 plants m−2 in 2003 and 2004. In winter wheat, prickly lettuce at densities up to 200 plants m−2 caused no detectable yield loss in this study. Plants that emerged in the fall generally were larger, flowered earlier. and produced more seeds than those emerging in spring, but size and fecundity were strongly density-dependent. The number of flowers produced per plant could be estimated from the height of the main stem. Seed production per plant ranged from 2,200 to 67,000 in soybeans, and up to 87,000 in a noncrop area at the edge of the field. Winter wheat harvest interrupted prickly lettuce flowering, and only about 25 to 30% of the plants present in the wheat crop survived harvest and flowered in untreated stubble. These plants produced less than 4,000 seeds per plant. Postharvest control with glyphosate, mowing, or cultivation prevented prickly lettuce seed production in wheat stubble. This study suggests that prickly lettuce populations could build up quickly in continuous no-till soybeans, but rotation with winter wheat and control of plants at the edge of the field would help to limit population growth.

Root traits and growth of spreading orach and common lambsquarters were compared in response to soil compaction, drought, and waterlogging under controlled environment conditions. On the basis of the typical habitats occupied, the hypothesis was that spreading orach would be more tolerant of compaction and waterlogging and common lambsquarters more tolerant of drought. When grown in buckets with two soil bulk densities (1.2 and 1.6 g cm−3) for 8 wk, the two species responded similarly to compaction, with the fraction of fine roots reduced by 10%, total root length by 70%, root and shoot dry weight and leaf area by 50 to 60%, and plant height by 30% at the high compared with the low bulk density. When grown for 6 wk in soil columns 1 m long, which were watered daily or allowed to dry, common lambsquarters was deeper rooted than spreading orach at both moisture levels and better able to sustain growth in the drying columns. The watering regime did not alter the rooting depth of either species. Total root length in successive 10-cm increments declined exponentially from the top to the bottom of the watered columns, but root proliferation was reduced in the upper 20 cm of the drying columns. The average root diameter of both species decreased with drought and increased with soil compaction. When grown in waterlogged soil at 10 or 20 C for 4 wk, seedlings of spreading orach survived with little reduction in growth, whereas survival and growth of common lambsquarters were drastically reduced, particularly under cool soil conditions.

Horseweed is a winter annual weed that has evolved resistance to multiple herbicide modes of action in 11 countries worldwide. A paraquat-resistant horseweed population in an Ontario orchard that was being managed by a rotation of herbicides began to show increased tolerance to the herbicide linuron. Experiments were conducted in the greenhouse to compare the response of this population and several paraquat-susceptible populations to linuron, diquat, and oxyfluorfen. Plants were sprayed with a range of doses of each herbicide when they were from 5 to 10 wk old, and the ED50, or dose at which shoot dry weight was reduced by 50%, was estimated. There was a sevenfold difference in the ED50 values of the paraquat-resistant and -susceptible populations in response to diquat and a threefold difference in response to linuron. The response to oxyfluorfen was age dependent. The ratio of resistance to susceptible ED50 values was estimated as 57 for 5-wk-old plants and 11 for 8-wk-old plants in response to oxyfluorfen. Ten-week-old plants from both populations showed no response to oxyfluorfen at rates up to 4.8 kg ai ha−1.

The subsurface exploration of other planetary bodies can be used to unravel their geological history and assess their habitability. On Mars in particular, present-day habitable conditions may be restricted to the subsurface. Using a deep subsurface mine, we carried out a program of extraterrestrial analog research – MINe Analog Research (MINAR). MINAR aims to carry out the scientific study of the deep subsurface and test instrumentation designed for planetary surface exploration by investigating deep subsurface geology, whilst establishing the potential this technology has to be transferred into the mining industry. An integrated multi-instrument suite was used to investigate samples of representative evaporite minerals from a subsurface Permian evaporite sequence, in particular to assess mineral and elemental variations which provide small-scale regions of enhanced habitability. The instruments used were the Panoramic Camera emulator, Close-Up Imager, Raman spectrometer, Small Planetary Linear Impulse Tool, Ultrasonic drill and handheld X-ray diffraction (XRD). We present science results from the analog research and show that these instruments can be used to investigate in situ the geological context and mineralogical variations of a deep subsurface environment, and thus habitability, from millimetre to metre scales. We also show that these instruments are complementary. For example, the identification of primary evaporite minerals such as NaCl and KCl, which are difficult to detect by portable Raman spectrometers, can be accomplished with XRD. By contrast, Raman is highly effective at locating and detecting mineral inclusions in primary evaporite minerals. MINAR demonstrates the effective use of a deep subsurface environment for planetary instrument development, understanding the habitability of extreme deep subsurface environments on Earth and other planetary bodies, and advancing the use of space technology in economic mining.

The Commission-based process of local government electoral redistricting in England seeks to balance the tensions between both neutral and party political and mathematic and organic approaches to boundary drawing. We evaluate the success of this process by assessing the impact of redistricting on electoral equality and the strength of the political parties in each local authority. On one hand, the Commission appears to be effective in achieving vote equality by reducing the variability between electoral units in the ratio of electors to councillors. On the other hand, the way that submissions are made to the Commission, together with aspects of social and electoral geography over which it has no influence, can allow one party to receive more electoral benefit than another from redistricting.