Initial Changes in Ground Beetle (Carabidae: Coleoptera) Assemblages after Creating Gaps of Varying Sizes in Mature Northern Hardwoods Forests in Wisconsin

Managers of northern hardwood forests in the Great Lakes region create gaps in the forest canopy of various sizes during harvesting to achieve different silvicultural objectives. Single-tree harvesting favors recruitment of shade-tolerant tree species by creating small gaps in the canopy, whereas group selection creates larger gaps that can favor shade-intolerant tree species. We evaluated changes in carabid beetle abundance and diversity in harvest-created gaps of five sizes (gap diameters of 6, 10, 20, 30, and 46 m) and uncut forests in northern Wisconsin where sugar maple (Acer saccharum) was the dominant tree species. Gaps were cut during the fall/winter of 1994 and 1995. Pitfall traps were used to sample carabids during the summers of 1994 (pre-harvesting) and 1997 (2nd or 3rd summer post-harvesting). Overall, 27,111 carabids (60 species) were collected in both years, with 15,036 (25 species) collected in 1994 and 12,075 (55 species) collected in 1997. Carabid species richness increased while catch rate decreased with increasing gap size. Similarly, as gap size increased, carabid abundance declined for forest specialists but increased for open-habitat species. The carabid assemblages in the 6- and 10-m-diameter gaps were most like the intact forest, while those in the 30- and 46-m-diameter gaps were most distinct. Results are discussed in terms of harvesting strategies in northern hardwood forests to maintain high biodiversity

Color Variation In Strangalia Bicolor (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae)

[Excerpt] Many species of Lepturinae are noted for their great variation in color, while some are quite uniform in coloration. Strangalia bicolor (Swederus) is one of the Iatter type and usually shows virtually no variation. The elytra are uniformly blue-black with the exception of the inflexed corner of the humerus which is reddish-yellow. The wings and eyes are black, and the rest of the beetle is entirely reddish-yellow. Until recently, the only variation I had observed was one female with a small, triangular, reddish-yellow spot on the basal margin of each elytron near the scutellum. Linsley and Chemsak (1977) recorded a female with the elytra darkened only along the lateral margins

130nm Chip Design

The purpose of this project is to research, test, design, and fabricate a custom microchip. The focus is on CMOS VLSI with an emphasis on digital logic design, design methodology, and testing techniques. The microchip is designed using Verilog and simulated using a suite of tools and testbenches such as Cocotb, GTKWave, and Icarus Verilog. Once verified, the design is submitted to Tiny Tapeout for fabrication. The chip functions as a base-60 binary clock that displays time in a 12-hour format using 16 LEDs. The time can be set using a switch and a few control buttons, allowing it to be synchronized with the real-world time. This project demonstrates the full workflow from digital design to physical chip fabrication, with a key objective of validating the design before production. The expected outcome is a functional, fabricated microchip that successfully implements the binary clock design. Through this work, insights are gained into the design process of ASICs, from an HDL to real-world hardware. This research contributes to the understanding of digital design and chip prototyping methods

Moths of the Douglas Lake Region (Emmet and Cheboygan Counties), Michigan: VIII. Gelechiidae (Lepidoptera)

98 species of Gelechiidae (Lepidoptera) including 46 state records are documented from Emmet and Cheboygan Counties at the northern tip of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan. This is the first comprehensive listing of this family from anywhere in the region, probably because positive identification in this family often requires genitalic dissection. This list brings the total number of Lepidopteran species known from the University of Michigan Biological Station area to 1265

Who’s That?: Prevalence of Anthropomorphism in Children’s Literature

Anthropomorphism, the attribution of human characteristics to animals or objects, is often present in children’s literature. Research has shown personification of non-human entities affects the way children experience the world and their thinking about non-human entities (Ganea et al., 2014). The rates of anthropomorphism that children are exposed to is unknown. Therefore, in our study, we analyzed the prevalence rates of anthropomorphism in children’s literature from the 100 most checked out books from two Indiana counties: Porter and Stark (a rural and an urban county), based on circulation data from 2023. To analyze the prevalence of anthropomorphism in children’s books, we developed a coding scheme that characterizes the main character’s species, environment, and features. We expect anthropomorphism to be very prevalent in children’s books. We created a composite score to indicate the amount of variation in anthropomorphism present across the books, ranging from 0 to 12, with higher scores indicating more anthropomorphic features. Once all 200 books are coded, we will run a t-test to determine if there is a difference in the composite score between counties. We will also run a chi square test to understand if there are similar rates of the types of main characters among the counties. This study is foundational in understanding the base rate of anthropomorphism in children’s literature, which will allow researchers to explore the impacts that this has on children’s view of the world

A Comparison of Gender Representation in Children’s Books

The American Academy of Pediatrics (2021) recommends daily reading for children from birth. While the importance of books is clear, little is known about the language used in them. Books expose children to concepts that shape their real-world understanding (Strouse et al., 2018). In languages like English, many terms are male-biased, which can reinforce gender stereotypes and inequalities (Vainapel et al., 2015). We predict that male representation in children’s books will outnumber female representation. This study assesses the top 50 picture books from four Indiana counties (N=200), based on circulation data. We used LIWC to examine gender references in these books. Preliminary results from two counties indicate a male bias, with males represented more than females (M=2.91, SD=3.72 vs. M=1.54, SD=2.76). We will conduct a mixed ANOVA to test if this pattern holds, using county as a between-group factor and gender as a within-group factor. Gender representation influences life outcomes, with women holding only 25% of US Senate seats, 10.6% of Fortune 500 CEO positions, and 32.8% of university presidencies (Schaeffer, 2023). This study helps understand current gender disparities and guide efforts for more equitable representation. The findings will be useful for parents, teachers, and librarians seeking to promote gender equality in children’s literature

A Search for Correlations between Binary Stars and Carbon Chemistry in Planetary Nebulae

Planetary nebulae are one of the last stages of stellar evolution for low-mass stars, those that have a mass of less than about eight times the mass of the Sun. As the star ejects its outer layers at the end of its life, the high temperature of the remaining core, what we call the central star, can ionize the gaseous ejected layers and make them glow. Many complex carbon-based and oxygen-based molecules can form in these ejected layers, and their presence can be detected through spectroscopy. Also detected in some planetary nebulae are binary central stars, where another object is in orbit with the central star of the planetary nebula. We gathered previously published data about binary planetary nebulae, as well as previously published data about planetary nebulae with detection and measurements of carbon and oxygen. We are looking for correlations between pieces of data such as the amount of carbon and oxygen, the shape, whether the planetary nebula is a binary, and the masses of the two stars for these systems, and how they compare in the context of the overall sample

CFD Analysis Comparison of Spoiler Effect on Airflow around Airbus 320 Midspan Airfoil

Modern airplanes typically have a line of spoilers on the back edge of the wing that when extended disrupt airflow over the surface of the airfoil. The broken-up air flow reduces the lift force and increases the drag force which slows down the plane. I am seeking to model the airflow around the wings that leads to the change in forces. Computational fluid dynamics (CFD) applications can model the flow around objects and find characteristics of the flow such as pressure, velocity, temperature, and force distributions. I made the Airbus A320 midspan airfoil in SolidWorks and imported the geometry into SimScale software for CFD analysis. Spoilers are usually deployed during the landing of the aircraft to decrease speed, and with that important function, it is vital to know the fluid flow around the airplane wing when spoilers are and are not deployed. I am conducting a CFD analysis in SimScale to model the airflow around the airfoil with and without the spoiler extended. The goal is to compare the effects of spoiler extension on airflow velocity around the airfoils. This study gives a greater understanding of spoiler effect on airflow around airplane wings