Red imported fire ant impacts on the endangered Florida grasshopper sparrow

Red imported fire ants (Solenopsis invicta) invaded peninsular Florida more than 30 years ago. Highlands and Polk counties, Florida, were probably first invaded in the late 1960s. Since then, fire ants have continued both to spread and to increase in abundance. Experimental evidence has shown that red imported fire ants may have a detrimental impact on native species, both invertebrate and vertebrate, and that these impacts may be both direct and indirect. This segment of research was designed to determine if fire ants have a negative impact on Florida grasshopper sparrow (Ammodramus savannarumfloridanus) populations at Avon Park Air Force Bombing Range, Florida. The sampling reported herein was conducted during June and October, 1997, and all analyses are restricted to data collected during those periods. As assessed by baits, fire ants were dominant on about half the sites, and absent from others. In particular, OQ Range sites tended to have fewer fire ants present, while Delta Trail sites were more heavily infested, although there were exceptions. June fire ant abundance was strongly negatively correlated with both native ant abundance (r = -0.743, P = 0.006) and native ant species richness (r = -0.730, P = 0.007). October fire ant abundance was strongly negatively correlated with both native ant abundance (r = -0.690, P = 0.013) and native ant species richness (r = -0.736, P = 0.006). The patterns of fire ant abundance as assessed by pitfalls were very similar to those determined from bait sampling. June fire ant abundance was negatively correlated (p < 0.05) with native ant richness, but other June comparisons were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). October fire ant abundance was negatively correlated (P < 0.05) with native ant richness and abundance, but other comparisons were not statistically significant (P > 0.05). There was no significant correlation between overall insect biomass as assessed by light traps and fire ant abundance as assessed by baits or pitfalls. Total biomass varied considerably among the two sample periods because of changes in overall insect abundance during different seasons. There was a negative spatial correspondence between fire ants and native invertebrates. Over most of the intensive study areas, there was a negative spatial relationship between fire ants and the abundance of native invertebrates. Over about 50% of the intensive study areas, there was a negative spatial relationship between fire ants and the abundance of Florida grasshopper sparrows, although the relationship was not as strong as that between fire ants and native invertebrates. Fire ant and native invertebrates were negatively correlated at grasshopper sparrow count locations (r =0.347, P = 0.03). A multiple regression model was fit to the data, using fire ants and native invertebrates as independent variables, and grasshopper sparrow 100-m population estimates (n = 39) as the dependent variable. The influence of fire ants on grasshopper sparrows was negative while the influence of native invertebrates was positive. However, the overall model, while suggestive, was not significant (r = 0.304, P = 0.17). Fire ant abundance was a better (negative) predictor of sparrow populations (P = 0.13) than was invertebrate abundance (P = 0.59). The overall model and influence of fire ants on sparrow populations was suggestive of a negative influence warranting analyses of data for 1998 and 1999. (Document has 93 pages

On Aharonov-Casher bound states

In this work bound states for the Aharonov-Casher problem are considered. According to Hagen's work on the exact equivalence between spin-1/2 Aharonov-Bohm and Aharonov-Casher effects, is known that the $\boldsymbol{\nabla}\cdot\mathbf{E}$ term cannot be neglected in the Hamiltonian if the spin of particle is considered. This term leads to the existence of a singular potential at the origin. By modeling the problem by boundary conditions at the origin which arises by the self-adjoint extension of the Hamiltonian, we derive for the first time an expression for the bound state energy of the Aharonov-Casher problem. As an application, we consider the Aharonov-Casher plus a two-dimensional harmonic oscillator. We derive the expression for the harmonic oscillator energies and compare it with the expression obtained in the case without singularity. At the end, an approach for determination of the self-adjoint extension parameter is given. In our approach, the parameter is obtained essentially in terms of physics of the problem.Comment: 11 pages, matches published versio

Rational design of a (S)-selective-transaminase for asymmetric synthesis of (1S)-1-(1,1′-biphenyl-2-yl)ethanamine

Amine transaminases offer an environmentally sustainable synthesis route for the production of pure chiral amines. However, their catalytic efficiency toward bulky ketone substrates is greatly limited by steric hindrance and therefore presents a great challenge for industrial synthetic applications. We hereby report an example of rational transaminase enzyme design to help alleviate these challenges. Starting from the Vibrio fluvialis amine transaminase that has no detectable catalytic activity toward the bulky aromatic ketone 2-acetylbiphenyl, we employed a rational design strategy combining in silico and in vitro studies to engineer the transaminase enzyme with a minimal number of mutations, achieving an high catalytic activity and high enantioselectivity. We found that, by introducing two mutations W57G/R415A, detectable enzyme activity was achieved. The rationally designed variant, W57F/R88H/V153S/K163F/I259M/R415A/V422A, showed an improvement in reaction rate by more than 1716-fold toward the bulky ketone under study, producing the corresponding enantiomeric pure (S)-amine (enantiomeric excess (ee) value of &gt;99%)

Near-Earth asteroid sample return missions

The rate of discovery of new NEAs and the success of D-S 1 and NEAR-Shoemaker, suggest that sample return from NEAs is now technically feasible. Here we present a summary of a recent workshop on the topic

Asymptotic gluing of asymptotically hyperbolic solutions to the Einstein constraint equations

We show that asymptotically hyperbolic solutions of the Einstein constraint equations with constant mean curvature can be glued in such a way that their asymptotic regions are connected.Comment: 37 pages; 2 figure

3α,4α-Ep­oxy-5α-androstan-17β-yl acetate

The title compound, C21H32O3, results from modifications of the A and D rings of the aromatase substrate androstenedione. Ring A adopts a conformation between 10β-sofa and 1α,10β half-chair. Rings B and C are in slightly flattened chair conformations. Ring D approaches a 13β-envelope conformation, probably due to the acet­oxy substituent, and shows a very short Csp 3—Csp 3 bond next to the epoxide ring, which is characteristic of 3–4 epoxides.