Child rearing Inc : On the perils of political paralysis Down Under

In his 2007 PESA keynote address, Paul Smeyers discussed the increasing regulation of child-rearing through government intervention and the generation of “experts,” citing particular examples from Europe where cases of childhood obesity and parental neglect have stirred public opinion and political debate. In his paper (this issue), Smeyers touches on a number of tensions before concluding that child rearing qualifies as a practice in which liberal governments should be reluctant to intervene. In response, I draw on recent experiences in Australia and argue that certain tragic events of late are the result of an ethical, moral and social vacuum in which these tensions coalesce. While I agree with Smeyers that governments should be reluctant to “intervene” in the private domain of the family, I argue that there is a difference between intervention and support. In concluding, I maintain that if certain Western liberal democracies did a more comprehensive job of supporting children and their families through active social investment in primary school education, then both families and schools would be better equipped to deal with the challenges they now face.

Structure of the immature retroviral capsid at 8 Å resolution by cryo-electron microscopy

The assembly of retroviruses such as HIV-1 is driven by oligomerization of their major structural protein, Gag. Gag is a multidomain polyprotein including three conserved folded domains: MA (matrix), CA (capsid) and NC (nucleocapsid)(1). Assembly of an infectious virion proceeds in two stages(2). In the first stage, Gag oligomerization into a hexameric protein lattice leads to the formation of an incomplete, roughly spherical protein shell that buds through the plasma membrane of the infected cell to release an enveloped immature virus particle. In the second stage, cleavage of Gag by the viral protease leads to rearrangement of the particle interior, converting the non-infectious immature virus particle into a mature infectious virion. The immature Gag shell acts as the pivotal intermediate in assembly and is a potential target for anti-retroviral drugs both in inhibiting virus assembly and in disrupting virus maturation(3). However, detailed structural information on the immature Gag shell has not previously been available. For this reason it is unclear what protein conformations and interfaces mediate the interactions between domains and therefore the assembly of retrovirus particles, and what structural transitions are associated with retrovirus maturation. Here we solve the structure of the immature retroviral Gag shell from Mason-Pfizer monkey virus by combining cryo-electron microscopy and tomography. The 8-angstrom resolution structure permits the derivation of a pseudo-atomic model of CA in the immature retrovirus, which defines the protein interfaces mediating retrovirus assembly. We show that transition of an immature retrovirus into its mature infectious form involves marked rotations and translations of CA domains, that the roles of the amino-terminal and carboxy-terminal domains of CA in assembling the immature and mature hexameric lattices are exchanged, and that the CA interactions that stabilize the immature and mature viruses are almost completely distinct.

Conserved and variable features of gag structure and arrangement in immature retrovirus particles

The assembly of retroviruses is driven by oligomerization of the Gag polyprotein. We have used cryo-electron tomography together with subtomogram averaging to describe the three-dimensional structure of in vitro-assembled Gag particles from human immunodeficiency virus, Mason-Pfizer monkey virus, and Rous sarcoma virus. These represent three different retroviral genera: the lentiviruses, betaretroviruses and alpharetroviruses. Comparison of the three structures reveals the features of the supramolecular organization of Gag that are conserved between genera and therefore reflect general principles of Gag-Gag interactions and the features that are specific to certain genera. All three Gag proteins assemble to form approximately spherical hexameric lattices with irregular defects. In all three genera, the N-terminal domain of CA is arranged in hexameric rings around large holes. Where the rings meet, 2-fold densities, assigned to the C-terminal domain of CA, extend between adjacent rings, and link together at the 6-fold symmetry axis with a density, which extends toward the center of the particle into the nucleic acid layer. Although this general arrangement is conserved, differences can be seen throughout the CA and spacer peptide regions. These differences can be related to sequence differences among the genera. We conclude that the arrangement of the structural domains of CA is well conserved across genera, whereas the relationship between CA, the spacer peptide region, and the nucleic acid is more specific to each genus.

The effect of testing protocol on immature bovine thoracic spine segment stiffness

Introduction. In vitro spine biomechanical testing has been central to many advances in understanding the physiology and pathology of the human spine. Owing to the difficulty in obtaining sufficient numbers of human samples to conduct these studies, animal spines have been accepted as a substitute model. However, it is difficult to compare results from different studies, as they use different preparation, testing and data collection methods. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of repeated cyclic loading on bovine spine segment stiffness. It also aimed to quantify the effect of multiple freeze-thaw sequences, as many tests would be difficult to complete in a single session [1-3]. Materials and Methods. Thoracic spines from 6-8 week old calves were used. Each spine was dissected and divided into motion segments including levels T4-T11 (n=28). These were divided into two equal groups. Each segment was potted in polymethylemethacrylate. An Instron Biaxial materials testing machine with a custom made jig was used for testing. The segments were tested in flexion/extension, lateral bending and axial rotation at 37 degrees C and 100% humidity, using moment control to a maximum plus/minus 1.75 Nm with a loading rate of 0.3 Nm per second. Group (A) were tested with continuous repeated cyclic loading for 500 cycles with data recorded at cycles 3, 5, 10, 25, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500. Group (B) were tested with 10 load cycles after each of 5 freeze thaw sequences. Data was collected from the tenth load cycle after each sequence. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using paired samples t-tests, ANOVA and generalized estimating equations. Results. The data were confirmed as having a normal distribution. 1. There were significant reductions in mean stiffness in flexion/extension (-20%; P=0.001) and lateral bending (-17%; P=0.009) over the 500 load cycles. However, there was no statistically significant change in axial rotation (P=0.152) 2. There was no statistically significant difference between mean stiffness over the five freeze-thaw sequences in flexion/extension (p=0.879) and axial rotation (p=0.07). However, there was a significant reduction in stiffness in lateral bending (-26%; p=0.007) Conclusion. Biomechanical testing of immature bovine spine motion segments requires careful interpretation. The effect of the number of load cycles as well as the number of freeze-thaw cycles on the stiffness of the motion segments depends on the axis of main movement.

Structure and assembly of immature HIV

The major structural components of HIV are synthesized as a 55-kDa polyprotein, Gag. Particle formation is driven by the self-assembly of Gag into a curved hexameric lattice, the structure of which is poorly understood. We used cryoelectron tomography and contrast-transfer-function corrected subtomogram averaging to study the structure of the assembled immature Gag lattice to approximate to 17-angstrom resolution. Gag is arranged in the immature virus as a single, continuous, but incomplete hexameric lattice whose curvature is mediated without a requirement for pentameric defects. The resolution of the structure allows positioning of individual protein domains. High-resolution crystal structures were fitted into the reconstruction to locate protein-protein interfaces involved in Gag assembly, and to identify the structural transformations associated with virus maturation. The results of this study suggest a concept for the formation of nonsymmetrical enveloped viruses of variable sizes.

The effect of repeated loading and freeze-thaw cycling on immature bovine thoracic motion segment stiffness

There is growing interest in the biomechanics of ‘fusionless’ implant constructs used for deformity correction in the thoracic spine, however, there are questions over the comparability of in vitro biomechanical studies from different research groups due to the various methods used for specimen preparation, testing and data collection. The aim of this study was to identify the effect of two key factors on the stiffness of immature bovine thoracic spine motion segments: (i) repeated cyclic loading and (ii) multiple freeze-thaw cycles, to aid in the planning and interpretation of in vitro studies. Two groups of thoracic spine motion segments from 6-8 week old calves were tested in flexion/extension, right/left lateral bending, and right/left axial rotation under moment control. Group (A) were tested with continuous repeated cyclic loading for 500 cycles with data recorded at cycles 3, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, 200, 300, 400 and 500. Group (B) were tested after each of five freeze-thaw sequences, with data collected from the 10th load cycle in each sequence. Group A: Flexion/extension stiffness reduced significantly over the 500 load cycles (-22%; P=0.001), but there was no significant change between the 5th and 200th load cycles. Lateral bending stiffness decreased significantly (-18%; P=0.009) over the 500 load cycles, but there was no significant change in axial rotation stiffness (P=0.137). Group B: There was no significant difference between mean stiffness over the five freeze-thaw sequences in flexion/extension (P=0.813) and a near significant reduction in mean stiffness in axial rotation (-6%; P=0.07). However, there was a statistically significant increase in stiffness in lateral bending (+30%; P=0.007). Comparison of in vitro testing results for immature thoracic bovine spine segments between studies can be performed with up to 200 load cycles without significant changes in stiffness. However, when testing protocols require greater than 200 cycles, or when repeated freeze-thaw cycles are involved, it is important to account for the effect of cumulative load and freeze-thaw cycles on spine segment stiffness.

Percutaneous insertion of Dual Growth Rods using a new mobile bearing implant

Growth rods are commonly used for the treatment of scoliosis in the immature spine. Many variations have been proposed but breakage of implants is a common problem. Growth rod insertion commonly involves large exposures at initial insertion followed by multiple smaller procedures for lengthening. We present our early experiences using a percutaneous technique of insertion of a new titanium mobile bearing implant (Medtronic Inc). The implant allows some rotatory motion in the middle of the construct thus reducing construct stresses and thus possibly reducing rod breakage risk. Based on this small initial series with 12 months follow-up, percutaneous insertion of growth rods using the new implant is a safe and reliable technique although the infection rate in our sample was of note. This may be related to the titanium wear and inflammation seen in the soft tissues at time of operation and visualised on histology. No implants have required removal due to infection, and all infections were treated with debridement at next lengthening and suppressive antibiotics. Propionibacterium is one of the commonest infections seen with spinal implants and sometimes does not respond to simple antibiotic suppression. The technique allows preservation of the soft tissues until definitive fusion is needed and may lead to a decrease in hospital stay. The implant is low profile and seems to offer advantages over other systems on the market. Further follow up is needed to look at longer term outcomes with this new implant type.

Anterior vertebral stapling for the fusionless correction of scoliosis

Fusionless scoliosis surgery is an emerging treatment for idiopathic scoliosis as it offers theoretical advantages over current forms of treatment. Currently the treatment options for idiopathic scoliosis are observation, bracing and fusion. While brace treatment is non-invasive, and preserves the growth, motion, and function of the spine, it does not correct deformity and is only modestly successful in preventing curve progression. In adolescents who fail brace treatment, surgical treatment with an instrumented spinal fusion usually results in better deformity correction but is associated with substantially greater risk. Furthermore in younger patients requiring surgical treatment, fusion procedures are known to adversely effect the future growth of the chest and spine. Fusionless treatments have been developed to allow effective surgical treatment of patients with idiopathic scoliosis who are too young for fusion procedures. Anterior vertebral stapling is one such fusionless treatment which aims to modulate the growth of vertebra to allow correction of scoliosis whilst maintaining normal spinal motion The Mater Misericordiae Hospital in Brisbane has begun to use anterior vertebral stapling to treat patients with idiopathic scoliosis who are too young for fusion procedures. Currently the only staple approved for clinical use is manufactured by Medtronic Sofamor Danek (Memphis, TN). This thesis explains the biomechanical and anatomical changes that occur following anterior vertebral staple insertion using in vitro experiments performed on an immature bovine model. Currently there is a paucity of published information about anterior vertebral stapling so it is hoped that this project will provide information that will aid in our understanding of the clinical effects of staple insertion. The aims of this experimental study were threefold. The first phase was designed to determine the changes in the bending stiffness of the spine following staple insertion. The second phase was designed to measure the forces experienced by the staple during spinal movements. The third and final phase of testing was designed to describe the structural changes that occur to a vertebra as a consequence of staple insertion. The first phase of testing utilised a displacement controlled testing robot to compare the change in stiffness of a single spinal motion segment following staple insertion for the three basic spinal motions of flexion-extension, lateral bending, and axial rotation. For the second phase of testing strain gauges were attached to staples and used to measure staple forces during spinal movement. In the third and final phase the staples were removed and a testing specimen underwent micro-computed tomography (CT) scanning to describe the anatomical changes that occur following staple insertion. The displacement controlled testing showed that there was a significant decrease in bending stiffness in flexion, extension, lateral bending away from the staple, and axial rotation away from the staple following staple insertion. The strain gauge measurements showed that the greatest staple forces occurred in flexion and the least in extension. In addition, a reduction in the baseline staple compressive force was seen with successive loading cycles. Micro-CT scanning demonstrated that significant damage to the vertebral body and endplate occurred as a consequence of staple insertion. The clinical implications of this study are significant. Based on the findings of this project it is likely that the clinical effect of the anterior vertebral staple evaluated in this project is a consequence of growth plate damage (also called hemiepiphysiodesis) causing a partial growth arrest of the vertebra rather than simply compression of the growth plate. The surgical creation of a unilateral growth arrest is a well established treatment used in the management of congenital scoliosis but has not previously been considered for use in idiopathic scoliosis.

Thermal requirements, field mortality and population phenology modelling of Paropsis atomaria Olivier, an emergent pest in subtropical hardwood plantations

Paropsis atomaria is a recently emerged pest of eucalypt plantations in subtropical Australia. Its broad host range of at least 20 eucalypt species and wide geographical distribution provides it the potential to become a serious forestry pest both within Australia and, if accidentally introduced, overseas. Although populations of P. atomaria are genetically similar throughout its range, population dynamics differ between regions. Here, we determine temperature-dependent developmental requirements using beetles sourced from temperate and subtropical zones by calculating lower temperature thresholds, temperature-induced mortality, and day-degree requirements. We combine these data with field mortality estimates of immature life stages to produce a cohort-based model, ParopSys, using DYMEX™ that accurately predicts the timing, duration, and relative abundance of life stages in the field and number of generations in a spring–autumn (September–May) field season. Voltinism was identified as a seasonally plastic trait dependent upon environmental conditions, with two generations observed and predicted in the Australian Capital Territory, and up to four in Queensland. Lower temperature thresholds for development ranged between 4 and 9 °C, and overall development rates did not differ according to beetle origin. Total immature development time (egg–adult) was approximately 769.2 ± S.E. 127.8 DD above a lower temperature threshold of 6.4 ± S.E. 2.6 °C. ParopSys provides a basic tool enabling forest managers to use the number of generations and seasonal fluctuations in abundance of damaging life stages to estimate the pest risk of P. atomaria prior to plantation establishment, and predict the occurrence and duration of damaging life stages in the field. Additionally, by using local climatic data the pest potential of P. atomaria can be estimated to predict the risk of it establishing if accidentally introduced overseas. Improvements to ParopSys’ capability and complexity can be made as more biological data become available.

Using honeypots to analyse anomalous Internet activities

Monitoring Internet traffic is critical in order to acquire a good understanding of threats to computer and network security and in designing efficient computer security systems. Researchers and network administrators have applied several approaches to monitoring traffic for malicious content. These techniques include monitoring network components, aggregating IDS alerts, and monitoring unused IP address spaces. Another method for monitoring and analyzing malicious traffic, which has been widely tried and accepted, is the use of honeypots. Honeypots are very valuable security resources for gathering artefacts associated with a variety of Internet attack activities. As honeypots run no production services, any contact with them is considered potentially malicious or suspicious by definition. This unique characteristic of the honeypot reduces the amount of collected traffic and makes it a more valuable source of information than other existing techniques. Currently, there is insufficient research in the honeypot data analysis field. To date, most of the work on honeypots has been devoted to the design of new honeypots or optimizing the current ones. Approaches for analyzing data collected from honeypots, especially low-interaction honeypots, are presently immature, while analysis techniques are manual and focus mainly on identifying existing attacks. This research addresses the need for developing more advanced techniques for analyzing Internet traffic data collected from low-interaction honeypots. We believe that characterizing honeypot traffic will improve the security of networks and, if the honeypot data is handled in time, give early signs of new vulnerabilities or breakouts of new automated malicious codes, such as worms. The outcomes of this research include: • Identification of repeated use of attack tools and attack processes through grouping activities that exhibit similar packet inter-arrival time distributions using the cliquing algorithm; • Application of principal component analysis to detect the structure of attackers’ activities present in low-interaction honeypots and to visualize attackers’ behaviors; • Detection of new attacks in low-interaction honeypot traffic through the use of the principal component’s residual space and the square prediction error statistic; • Real-time detection of new attacks using recursive principal component analysis; • A proof of concept implementation for honeypot traffic analysis and real time monitoring.

How environmental and organizational complexity affects opportunity recognition and exploitation in development projects

Principal Topic: Project structures are often created by entrepreneurs and large corporate organizations to develop new products. Since new product development projects (NPDP) are more often situated within a larger organization, intrapreneurship or corporate entrepreneurship plays an important role in bringing these projects to fruition. Since NPDP often involves the development of a new product using immature technology, we describe development of an immature technology. The Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) F-35 aircraft is being developed by the U.S. Department of Defense and eight allied nations. In 2001 Lockheed Martin won a $19 billion contract to develop an affordable, stealthy and supersonic all-weather strike fighter designed to replace a wide range of aging fighter aircraft. In this research we define a complex project as one that demonstrates a number of sources of uncertainty to a degree, or level of severity, that makes it extremely difficult to predict project outcomes, to control or manage project (Remington & Zolin, Forthcoming). Project complexity has been conceptualized by Remington and Pollock (2007) in terms of four major sources of complexity; temporal, directional, structural and technological complexity (See Figure 1). Temporal complexity exists when projects experience significant environmental change outside the direct influence or control of the project. The Global Economic Crisis of 2008 - 2009 is a good example of the type of environmental change that can make a project complex as, for example in the JSF project, where project managers attempt to respond to changes in interest rates, international currency exchange rates and commodity prices etc. Directional complexity exists in a project where stakeholders' goals are unclear or undefined, where progress is hindered by unknown political agendas, or where stakeholders disagree or misunderstand project goals. In the JSF project all the services and all non countries have to agree to the specifications of the three variants of the aircraft; Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL), Short Take Off/Vertical Landing (STOVL) and the Carrier Variant (CV). Because the Navy requires a plane that can take off and land on an aircraft carrier, that required a special variant of the aircraft design, adding complexity to the project. Technical complexity occurs in a project using technology that is immature or where design characteristics are unknown or untried. Developing a plane that can take off on a very short runway and land vertically created may highly interdependent technological challenges to correctly locate, direct and balance the lift fans, modulate the airflow and provide equivalent amount of thrust from the downward vectored rear exhaust to lift the aircraft and at the same time control engine temperatures. These technological challenges make costing and scheduling equally challenging. Structural complexity in a project comes from the sheer numbers of elements such as the number of people, teams or organizations involved, ambiguity regarding the elements, and the massive degree of interconnectedness between them. While Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor, they are assisted in major aspects of the JSF development by Northrop Grumman, BAE Systems, Pratt & Whitney and GE/Rolls-Royce Fighter Engineer Team and innumerable subcontractors. In addition to identifying opportunities to achieve project goals, complex projects also need to identify and exploit opportunities to increase agility in response to changing stakeholder demands or to reduce project risks. Complexity Leadership Theory contends that in complex environments adaptive and enabling leadership are needed (Uhl-Bien, Marion and McKelvey, 2007). Adaptive leadership facilitates creativity, learning and adaptability, while enabling leadership handles the conflicts that inevitably arise between adaptive leadership and traditional administrative leadership (Uhl-Bien and Marion, 2007). Hence, adaptive leadership involves the recognition and opportunities to adapt, while and enabling leadership involves the exploitation of these opportunities. Our research questions revolve around the type or source of complexity and its relationship to opportunity recognition and exploitation. For example, is it only external environmental complexity that creates the need for the entrepreneurial behaviours, such as opportunity recognition and opportunity exploitation? Do the internal dimensions of project complexity, such as technological and structural complexity, also create the need for opportunity recognition and opportunity exploitation? The Kropp, Zolin and Lindsay model (2009) describes a relationship between entrepreneurial orientation (EO), opportunity recognition (OR), and opportunity exploitation (OX) in complex projects, with environmental and organizational contextual variables as moderators. We extend their model by defining the affects of external complexity and internal complexity on OR and OX. ---------- Methodology/Key Propositions: When the environment complex EO is more likely to result in OR because project members will be actively looking for solutions to problems created by environmental change. But in projects that are technologically or structurally complex project leaders and members may try to make the minimum changes possible to reduce the risk of creating new problems due to delays or schedule changes. In projects with environmental or technological complexity project leaders who encourage the innovativeness dimension of EO will increase OR in complex projects. But projects with technical or structural complexity innovativeness will not necessarily result in the recognition and exploitation of opportunities due to the over-riding importance of maintaining stability in the highly intricate and interconnected project structure. We propose that in projects with environmental complexity creating the need for change and innovation project leaders, who are willing to accept and manage risk, are more likely to identify opportunities to increase project effectiveness and efficiency. In contrast in projects with internal complexity a much higher willingness to accept risk will be necessary to trigger opportunity recognition. In structurally complex projects we predict it will be less likely to find a relationship between risk taking and OP. When the environment is complex, and a project has autonomy, they will be motivated to execute opportunities to improve the project's performance. In contrast, when the project has high internal complexity, they will be more cautious in execution. When a project experiences high competitive aggressiveness and their environment is complex, project leaders will be motivated to execute opportunities to improve the project's performance. In contrast, when the project has high internal complexity, they will be more cautious in execution. This paper reports the first stage of a three year study into the behaviours of managers, leaders and team members of complex projects. We conduct a qualitative study involving a Group Discussion with experienced project leaders. The objective is to determine how leaders of large and potentially complex projects perceive that external and internal complexity will influence the affects of EO on OR. ---------- Results and Implications: These results will help identify and distinguish the impact of external and internal complexity on entrepreneurial behaviours in NPDP. Project managers will be better able to quickly decide how and when to respond to changes in the environment and internal project events.

Post-WTO China : competition and technology transfer laws in the 'new' socialist market economy

China has been the focus of much academic and business scrutiny of late. Its economic climate is changing and its huge new market opportunities seem quite tantalizing to the would-be 'technology entrepreneur'. But China's market is a relatively immature one; it is still in the process of being opened up to real competition. The corollary of this is that, at this stage of the transitional process, there is still significant State control of market function. This article discusses Chinese competition law, the technology transfer system, how the laws are being reformed and how the technology entrepreneur fares under them. The bottom line is that while opportunities beckon, the wise entrepreneur will nevertheless continue to exercise caution.

Market access of Papua New Guinea bananas (Musa spp.) with particular respect to banana fly (Bactrocera musae (Tryon)) (Diptera: Tephritidae)

International market access for fresh commodities is regulated by international accepted phytosanitary guidelines, the objectives of which are to reduce the biosecurity risk of plant pest and disease movement. Papua New Guinea (PNG) has identified banana as a potential export crop and to help meet international market access requirements, this thesis provides information for the development of a pest risk analysis (PRA) for PNG banana fruit. The PRA is a three step process which first identifies the pests associated with a particular commodity or pathway, then assesses the risk associated with those pests, and finally identifies risk management options for those pests if required. As the first step of the PRA process, I collated a definitive list on the organisms associated with the banana plant in PNG using formal literature, structured interviews with local experts, grey literature and unpublished file material held in PNG field research stations. I identified 112 organisms (invertebrates, vertebrate, pathogens and weeds) associated with banana in PNG, but only 14 of these were reported as commonly requiring management. For these 14 I present detailed information summaries on their known biology and pest impact. A major finding of the review was that of the 14 identified key pests, some research information occurs for 13. The single exception for which information was found to be lacking was Bactrocera musae (Tryon), the banana fly. The lack of information for this widely reported ‘major pest on PNG bananas’ would hinder the development of a PNG banana fruit PRA. For this reason the remainder of the thesis focused on this organism, particularly with respect to generation of information required by the PRA process. Utilising an existing, but previously unanalysed fruit fly trapping database for PNG, I carried out a Geographic Information System analysis of the distribution and abundance of banana in four major regions of PNG. This information is required for a PRA to determine if banana fruit grown in different parts of the country are at different risks from the fly. Results showed that the fly was widespread in all cropping regions and that temperature and rainfall were not significantly correlated with banana fly abundance. Abundance of the fly was significantly correlated (albeit weakly) with host availability. The same analysis was done with four other PNG pest fruit flies and their responses to the environmental factors differed to banana fly and each other. This implies that subsequent PRA analyses for other PNG fresh commodities will need to investigate the risk of each of these flies independently. To quantify the damage to banana fruit caused by banana fly in PNG, local surveys and one national survey of banana fruit infestation were carried out. Contrary to expectations, infestation was found to be very low, particularly in the widely grown commercial cultivar, Cavendish. Infestation of Cavendish fingers was only 0.41% in a structured, national survey of over 2 700 banana fingers. Follow up laboratory studies showed that fingers of Cavendish, and another commercial variety Lady-finger, are very poor hosts for B. musae, with very low host selection rates by female flies and very poor immature survival. An analysis of a recent (within last decade) incursion of B. musae into the Gazelle Peninsula of East New Britain Province, PNG, provided the final set of B. musae data. Surveys of the fly on the peninsular showed that establishment and spread of the fly in the novel environment was very rapid and thus the fly should be regarded as being of high biosecurity concern, at least in tropical areas. Supporting the earlier impact studies, however, banana fly has not become a significant banana fruit problem on the Gazelle, despite bananas being the primary starch staple of the region. The results of the research chapters are combined in the final Discussion in the form of a B. musae focused PRA for PNG banana fruit. Putting the thesis in a broader context, the Discussion also deals with the apparent discrepancy between high local abundance of banana fly and very low infestation rates. This discussion focuses on host utilisation patterns of specialist herbivores and suggests that local pest abundance, as determined by trapping or monitoring, need not be good surrogate for crop damage, despite this linkage being implicit in a number of international phytosanitary protocols.