New looks at and for Onespa, Buzyges, and Librita (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae), with new combinations and descriptions of a new genus and six new species

Thirteen species of skippers (six newly described; Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae: Hesperiini) from higher elevations of Mexico and Central America are reviewed. These are included in four genera (one newly described), some with proposed new combinations. Onespa Steinhauser, 1974, originally described as monotypic, is shown to include three species in addition to its type species, Onespa nubis Steinhauser, 1974. One of these, Atrytone gala Godman, 1900, that has been misplaced in several genera since its description, represents a new combination. The other two species, distributed in montane habitats in northwestern Mexico and in Costa Rica, are described as new. Buzyges Godman, 1900, distributed in Mexico and Central America and also formerly considered monotypic, is shown to embrace four species. Besides the type species, Buzyges idothea Godman, 1900, two species long placed in Poanes Scudder, 1872, Pamphila rolla Mabille, 1883, and Poanes benito Freeman, 1979, are included as new combinations. Another species, known only from Costa Rica, is described as new. These are united by several superficial characters, but especially by genital morphology of both sexes. Librita Evans, 1955, was described to include three species of which one, Librita raspa Evans, 1955, was subsequently removed. Augiades heras Godman, 1900 is here also removed from Librita and placed in a new genus with three previously undescribed species. This completes the disintegration of Librita, which is now monotypic. The four genera, although exhibiting similarities suggesting potential alliance, differ in their unique combinations of several superficial and genital traits from each other and other hesperiine skippers

The type of Copaeodes chromis Skinner, 1919 (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae)

The holotype of Copaeodes chromis Skinner, 1919 (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae), housed at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History, is a typical specimen of Zariaspes mythecus Godman, 1900

Scientific names list for butterfly species of North America, north of Mexico

Includes bibliographical references (pages 50-80).November 10, 2004

Briefing: UK Ministry of Defence Force Protection Engineering Programme

The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory sponsored, QinetiQ-led Force Protection Engineering Research Programme has two main strands, applied and underpinning research. The underpinning strand is led by Blastech Ltd. One focus of this research is into the response of geomaterials to threat loading. The programme on locally won fill is split into four main characterisation strands: high-stress (GPa) static pressure–volume; medium-rate pressure–volume (split Hopkinson bar); high-rate (flyer plate) pressure–volume; and unifying modelling research at the University of Sheffield, which has focused on developing a high-quality dataset for locally won fill in low and medium strain rates. With the test apparatus at Sheffield well-controlled tests can be conducted at both high strain rate and pseudo-static rates up to stress levels of 1 GPa. The University of Cambridge has focused on using one-dimensional shock experiments to examine high-rate pressure–volume relationships. Both establishments are examining the effect of moisture content and starting density on emergent rate effects. Blastech Ltd has been undertaking carefully controlled fragment impact experiments, within the dataspace developed by the Universities of Sheffield and Cambridge. The data from experiments are unified by the QinetiQ-led modelling team, to predict material behaviour and to derive a scalable locally won fill model for use in any situation

The Immature Stages and Shelter Building Behavior of Falgo Jeconia Ombra Evans, 1955 in eastern Ecuador (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae: Hesperiinae)

We describe the immature stages and shelter building behavior of Falga jeconia ombra Evans, 1955 from eastern Ecuador. Chusquea scandens (Poaceae, Bambusoidea) is the larval food plant. Larvae in all stadia build shelters and forcibly eject frass with the aid of an anal comb. Later instars possess an eversible prothoracic “neck” gland. Larvae are associated with moving water

Timing major conflict between mitochondrial and nuclear genes in species relationships of Polygonia butterflies (Nymphalidae: Nymphalini)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Major conflict between mitochondrial and nuclear genes in estimating species relationships is an increasingly common finding in animals. Usually this is attributed to incomplete lineage sorting, but recently the possibility has been raised that hybridization is important in generating such phylogenetic patterns. Just how widespread ancient and/or recent hybridization is in animals and how it affects estimates of species relationships is still not well-known.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We investigate the species relationships and their evolutionary history over time in the genus <it>Polygonia </it>using DNA sequences from two mitochondrial gene regions (COI and ND1, total 1931 bp) and four nuclear gene regions (EF-1α, wingless, GAPDH and RpS5, total 2948 bp). We found clear, strongly supported conflict between mitochondrial and nuclear DNA sequences in estimating species relationships in the genus <it>Polygonia</it>. Nodes at which there was no conflict tended to have diverged at the same time when analyzed separately, while nodes at which conflict was present diverged at different times. We find that two species create most of the conflict, and attribute the conflict found in <it>Polygonia satyrus </it>to ancient hybridization and conflict found in <it>Polygonia oreas </it>to recent or ongoing hybridization. In both examples, the nuclear gene regions tended to give the phylogenetic relationships of the species supported by morphology and biology.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Studies inferring species-level relationships using molecular data should never be based on a single locus. Here we show that the phylogenetic hypothesis generated using mitochondrial DNA gives a very different interpretation of the evolutionary history of <it>Polygonia </it>species compared to that generated from nuclear DNA. We show that possible cases of hybridization in <it>Polygonia </it>are not limited to sister species, but may be inferred further back in time. Furthermore, we provide more evidence that Haldane's effect might not be as strong a process in preventing hybridization in butterflies as has been previously thought.</p

Quantitative characterization of viscoelastic behavior in tissue-mimicking phantoms and ex vivo animal tissues.

Viscoelasticity of soft tissue is often related to pathology, and therefore, has become an important diagnostic indicator in the clinical assessment of suspect tissue. Surgeons, particularly within head and neck subsites, typically use palpation techniques for intra-operative tumor detection. This detection method, however, is highly subjective and often fails to detect small or deep abnormalities. Vibroacoustography (VA) and similar methods have previously been used to distinguish tissue with high-contrast, but a firm understanding of the main contrast mechanism has yet to be verified. The contributions of tissue mechanical properties in VA images have been difficult to verify given the limited literature on viscoelastic properties of various normal and diseased tissue. This paper aims to investigate viscoelasticity theory and present a detailed description of viscoelastic experimental results obtained in tissue-mimicking phantoms (TMPs) and ex vivo tissues to verify the main contrast mechanism in VA and similar imaging modalities. A spherical-tip micro-indentation technique was employed with the Hertzian model to acquire absolute, quantitative, point measurements of the elastic modulus (E), long term shear modulus (η), and time constant (τ) in homogeneous TMPs and ex vivo tissue in rat liver and porcine liver and gallbladder. Viscoelastic differences observed between porcine liver and gallbladder tissue suggest that imaging modalities which utilize the mechanical properties of tissue as a primary contrast mechanism can potentially be used to quantitatively differentiate between proximate organs in a clinical setting. These results may facilitate more accurate tissue modeling and add information not currently available to the field of systems characterization and biomedical research

An Australian discharge summary quality assessment tool: A pilot study

Background and objective Patients\u27 transition from hospital care to their general practitioner (GP) can put them at risk of unforeseen adverse events, which can be minimised by the GP receiving timely access to hospital discharge summaries. The objective of this article was to develop and pilot a discharge summary assessment tool, inclusive of components that Australian GPs identified as being most important for the safe transfer of care. Method Development of the instrument was informed by a literature review pertaining to key components of effective discharge summaries. These components were included in a survey instrument, which was piloted by Australian GP participants. Results From 118 responses, the five highest ranked components of a discharge summary included lists of medications on discharge, diagnoses on discharge, reasons for any changes in medications, and details of follow-up arrangements and treatment in hospital. Discussion This paper describes the initial development and results of piloting an Australian discharge summary quality assessment tool