Linaria vulgaris (common toadflax).

Author(s):  
André Gassmann ◽  
Chris Parker

Abstract L. vulgaris is a perennial flowering plant with a spreading root system. It forms dense mats which can compete with crops and suppress native vegetation, reducing pasture productivity and/or biodiversity (ISSG, 2015). Native to temperate areas of Europe and Asia, it has been widely introduced to North America, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, and is regarded as noxious in many of these countries. By inclusion in indexes of invasive species it is regarded as invasive widely in Canada and in the USA (Alberta Invasive Species Council, 2014; Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States, 2015). L. vulgaris received an invasive index of 69 (out of a maximum of 100) in Alaska, USA (ANHP, 2011). It is also regarded as invasive within its native range in Serbia (Dzigurski and Nikolic, 2014).

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanine Vélez-Gavilán

Abstract S. occidentalis is an annual to short lived perennial herb to small shrub with a pantropical distribution (PROTA, 2016). It is reported as invasive throughout Oceania, and various countries in Asia and Africa, where is reported as introduced (BioNET-EAFRINET, 2016; PIER, 2016). Within its native range S. occidentalis is listed as invasive for Cuba by Oviedo Prieto et al. (2012). This species is recognised as an invasive herb or a problematic weed that affects crops and plantations all over its range (PIER, 2016). For example, in the Northern Territory, Australia, it is a class B declared weed, i.e. spread to be controlled in all of the Territory (Flanagan, 1998). This weed is a problem in seven states of the USA and is increasing in eight others (Teem et al., 1980). Its ability to colonize a wide range of climatic and edaphic conditions is epitomized by its occurrence in East Africa where it is found at altitudes of 0-1740 metres above sea level (Brenan, 1967). Though probably less important than the related weeds, S. obtusifolia and S. tora, S. occidentalis has the potential to become a weed of more widespread significance. In the USA it is on the regulated invasive list for Florida (Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States, 2016).


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeanine Vélez-Gavilán

Abstract S. occidentalis is an annual to short lived perennial herb to small shrub with a pantropical distribution (PROTA, 2016). It is reported as invasive throughout Oceania, and various countries in Asia and Africa, where is reported as introduced (BioNET-EAFRINET, 2016; PIER, 2016). Within its native range S. occidentalis is listed as invasive for Cuba by Oviedo Prieto et al. (2012). This species is recognised as an invasive herb or a problematic weed that affects crops and plantations all over its range (PIER, 2016). For example, in the Northern Territory, Australia, it is a class B declared weed, i.e. spread to be controlled in all of the Territory (Flanagan, 1998). This weed is a problem in seven states of the USA and is increasing in eight others (Teem et al., 1980). Its ability to colonize a wide range of climatic and edaphic conditions is epitomized by its occurrence in East Africa where it is found at altitudes of 0-1740 metres above sea level (Brenan, 1967). Though probably less important than the related weeds, S. obtusifolia and S. tora, S. occidentalis has the potential to become a weed of more widespread significance. In the USA it is on the regulated invasive list for Florida (Invasive Plant Atlas of the United States, 2016).


2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clayton Barrows ◽  
Michael Robinson

Private clubs have existed for as long as people have desired to gather in groups to do things together. It has been suggested that private clubs (and their predecessors) date to the Roman baths but probably pre-date even those. It is doubtful that the Roman baths represented the first time people congregated in groups to socialize, discuss commerce, politics, or just engage in a mutually agreeable activity. Certainly, most agree that the ‘modern’ clubs (in the English speaking world) originated in England, were limited to ‘gentlemen’ and organized for social, political, business and/or pleasure reasons. The concept was then ‘exported’ along with ex-patriots all around the world. Clubs have since evolved to the point where they exist in countries around the world although they are embraced to a greater or lesser extent in different places. Examples of private clubs can be found in such countries as England (and the greater UK), Ireland, the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, South Africa, Switzerland, Hong Kong, India, Pakistan, Japan, Singapore, and the UAE. Perhaps no country has adopted the idea of clubs as much as the USA, where they have evolved into a veritable industry, are protected by law, and number into the thousands. Humans, being social creatures, long to spend quality time with others – ‘others’, historically, representing those of their own kind. Perhaps it is for this reason that clubs have, rightly or wrongly, developed a reputation for being discriminatory. People generally find benefits from spending time with others. These benefits may accrue in many forms, including personal, professional, and political.


Author(s):  
Sarah Elizabeth Stockwell

This chapter considers processes of decolonization in Britain’s ‘empires’, incorporating discussion not just of the key dynamics and manifestations of decolonization in the colonial empire in India, Africa, the Caribbean and elsewhere, but also in Britain’s residual ‘informal’ empire in the Middle East, and in the ‘old’ Commonwealth countries of Australia, Canada, New Zealand and South Africa. The chapter argues that decolonization across these different contexts was driven by geo-political forces operating across the European empires, as the international order was reconfigured by two world wars, tilting power away from Britain and other European imperial powers. Stockwell nevertheless identifies elements of British imperial exceptionalism. She suggests that these were not to be found, as contemporaries liked to claim, in the form of a British liberal imperialism. Rather, Britain, which was at the centre of an empire larger than any other, retained a semblance of great power status, shaping British relations with the United States and Britain’s ambitions to exercise influence after empire.


Subject COVID-19-related disruptions to the mining supply chain. Significance The severity and length of COVID-19-related lockdowns has varied by country, but disruptions have quickly affected production. While West Africa, Russia and initially Mexico struggled to define a clear policy for mining, strict initial prohibition hit production in New Zealand, Peru, Argentina, South Africa, Ecuador and India in late March and into April. Spain, Australia, Chile, Quebec and Finland stuck to the middle ground, phasing policies in and out and permitting selected activity. Impacts Key plants, including iron ore mines in Australia and copper mines in Chile and the United States, are seeing little disruption so far. Mongolia, the first nation to close its borders with China, has also been the first to resume coal exports to its southern neighbour. Western Australia banned some fly-in, fly-out commuting arrangements to mines; similar such bans could persist elsewhere for months.


PeerJ ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
pp. e7986
Author(s):  
Jeffery A. DeLong ◽  
Jane E. Stewart ◽  
Alberto Valencia-Botín ◽  
Kerry F. Pedley ◽  
James W. Buck ◽  
...  

Uromyces transversalis, the causal agent of Gladiolus rust, is an invasive plant pathogen in the United States and is regulated as a quarantine pathogen in Europe. The aim of this research was to: (i) determine the origin of introductions of U. transversalis to the United States, (ii) track the movement of genotypes, and (iii) understand the worldwide genetic diversity of the species. To develop molecular markers for genotyping, whole genome sequencing was performed on three isolates collected in the United States. Genomes were assembled de novo and searched for microsatellite regions. Primers were developed and tested on ten isolates from the United States resulting in the identification of 24 polymorphic markers. Among 92 isolates collected from Costa Rica, Mexico, New Zealand, Australia, and the United States there were polymorphisms within isolates with no genotypic diversity detected among isolates; however, missing data among the New Zealand and Australia isolates due to either poor amplification of degraded DNA or null alleles as a result of genetic differences made it difficult to generate conclusions about these populations. The microsatellite loci and flanking regions showed high diversity and two divergent genomes within dikaryotic individuals, yet no diversity among individuals, suggesting that the invasive U. transversalis populations from North America are strictly clonal.


Author(s):  
Enrique Miguel Tébar Martínez

While adequate for English-speaking users in the United States, as well as many Commonwealth countries and other English-speaking jurisdictions (e.g., Canada, Australia, New Zealand or South Africa among others), typing in Romance Languages (Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian) by using a standard US-QWERTY Keyboard is not easy since it is not adapted to special characters such as accented vowels, tildes and cedillas or ligatures, used in Romance Languages. With regard to the International Layout, intended to enable access to the most common diacritics used in Western European Languages, the problem comes from the fact that accented vowels are spread throughout the Keyboard layout, and their uppercase versions need chord combinations which can require good manual dexterity. This paper will analyze how the Spanish or Portuguese Keyboards are the best options for these users since they are QWERTY-based and the most compatible ones for the different character sets in Spanish, French, Portuguese and Italian Languages.


2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. p119
Author(s):  
Ansia Storm

Purpose—The purpose of this paper was to compare three first-world countries’ law enforcement agencies to those of South Africa. The aim was to identify areas where South Africa’s agencies can improve to take the fighting of corruption to a higher level, and in doing so, improve their ranking on Transparency International’s scale, and their Corruption Perception Index.Design/methodology/approach—The author compared South Africa’s law enforcement agencies to those of the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia to identify possible areas where South Africa’s agencies can improve.Findings—The results indicate preliminary support for areas in South Africa’s law enforcement agencies that need restructuring and improvement.Practical implications—Improved law enforcement agencies will assist in the fight against corruption, improving South Africa’s corruption perception index (among others), which might encourage foreign investment.Originality/value—The results of this study point to opportunities to strengthen law enforcement agencies in South Africa, which will result in improved crime-fighting abilities, higher prosecution rates, and improved crime statistics.Research limitations—Law enforcement agencies (which deals with corruption in general) from the USA, the U.K., and Australia will be explored and compared with those of South Africa.


Polar Record ◽  
1951 ◽  
Vol 6 (42) ◽  
pp. 179-184
Author(s):  
Anders K. Orvin

By a treaty signed in Paris on 9 February 1920, Norway was given the sovereignty of Svalbard, comprising all the islands situated between longs. 10° and 35° E. and lats. 74° and 81° N., thus including Spitsbergen, Bjørnøya (Bear Island), Hopen (Hope Island), Kong Karls Land, and Kvitøya (White Island). The treaty, which has since been recognized by a number of other states, was signed by the United States of America, Denmark, France, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Great Britain and Ireland, the Dominions of Canada and New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, India, and Sweden. The U.S.S.R. recognized Norway's sovereignty of Svalbard in 1924 but did not sign the treaty until 1935; Germany signed the treaty in 1925. On 14 August 1925, Norway formally took possession and the Norwegian flag was hoisted in Longyearbyen. Since then, twenty-five years have elapsed, and in honour of the occasion the anniversary was celebrated at Longyearbyen in 1950.


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