The effect of non-native earthworms on northern Michigan soils.

General Ecology - spring termEarthworms are a non-native species in northern Michigan and their impact on soil structure and ecosystem dynamics is still poorly understood. Alterations in the proportions of nitrogen and carbon in the soil affect primary production, which in turn has consequences for higher trophic levels. Our research investigated the effect of non-native earthworms on carbon and nitrogen in soils of northern Michigan by conducting one manipulative experiment in two soil types and one observational experiment. Our results showed that the total nitrogen and carbon in anecic earthworm burrows was positively correlated with the total values in non-burrows. Also, the earthworms significantly decreased carbon levels in sandy outwash plain soil rather than nutrient rich moraine soil and had negligible effects on nitrogen in both soils. Non-native earthworms catalyze the release of carbon into the atmosphere in outwash plains, therefore, negatively affecting the forest ecosystems. Concurrent with leading research, non-native earthworms stand to be invasive species.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/89444/1/Rozek_Zimmerman_Basham_2011.pd

A Precision Calculation of the Next-to-Leading Order Energy-Energy Correlation Function

The O(alpha_s^2) contribution to the Energy-Energy Correlation function (EEC) of e+e- -> hadrons is calculated to high precision and the results are shown to be larger than previously reported. The consistency with the leading logarithm approximation and the accurate cancellation of infrared singularities exhibited by the new calculation suggest that it is reliable. We offer evidence that the source of the disagreement with previous results lies in the regulation of double singularities.Comment: 6 pages, uuencoded LaTeX and one eps figure appended Complete paper as PostScript file (125 kB) available at: http://www.phys.washington.edu/~clay/eecpaper1/paper.htm

Diamond: The Game – a board game for secondary school students promoting scientific careers and experiences

Diamond: The Game is a board game designed for secondary school students (aged 11–18) to enable them to explore a broad variety of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) careers, STEM subjects and life as a scientist. Board games are a reusable and entertaining way to directly engage students in STEM, but careful consideration of mechanics, messages and accessibility is required to successfully deliver on this goal. Diamond: The Game was designed and evaluated against these considerations. The inclusive approach to design resulted in a better and more accessible game for all. Its success is further evident in the rise in the number of players who would consider a career as a scientist or an engineer after playing. The opportunities to explore collaboration, failure and the interdisciplinary nature of science in the game were particularly highlighted in discussions with students, teachers and careers advisers

Volume segmentation and analysis of biological materials using SuRVoS (Super-region Volume Segmentation) workbench

Segmentation is the process of isolating specific regions or objects within an imaged volume, so that further study can be undertaken on these areas of interest. When considering the analysis of complex biological systems, the segmentation of three-dimensional image data is a time consuming and labor intensive step. With the increased availability of many imaging modalities and with automated data collection schemes, this poses an increased challenge for the modern experimental biologist to move from data to knowledge. This publication describes the use of SuRVoS Workbench, a program designed to address these issues by providing methods to semi-automatically segment complex biological volumetric data. Three datasets of differing magnification and imaging modalities are presented here, each highlighting different strategies of segmenting with SuRVoS. Phase contrast X-ray tomography (microCT) of the fruiting body of a plant is used to demonstrate segmentation using model training, cryo electron tomography (cryoET) of human platelets is used to demonstrate segmentation using super- and megavoxels, and cryo soft X-ray tomography (cryoSXT) of a mammalian cell line is used to demonstrate the label splitting tools. Strategies and parameters for each datatype are also presented. By blending a selection of semi-automatic processes into a single interactive tool, SuRVoS provides several benefits. Overall time to segment volumetric data is reduced by a factor of five when compared to manual segmentation, a mainstay in many image processing fields. This is a significant savings when full manual segmentation can take weeks of effort. Additionally, subjectivity is addressed through the use of computationally identified boundaries, and splitting complex collections of objects by their calculated properties rather than on a case-by-case basis

Effects of Color Attributes on Trap Capture Rates of Chrysobothris femorata (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) and Related Species

Chrysobothris spp. (Coleoptera: Buprestidae) and other closely related buprestids are common pests of fruit, shade, and nut trees in the United States. Many Chrysobothris spp., including Chrysobothris femorata, are polyphagous herbivores. Their wide host range leads to the destruction of numerous tree species in nurseries and orchards. Although problems caused by Chrysobothris are well known, there are no reliable monitoring methods to estimate local populations before substantial damage occurs. Other buprestid populations have been effectively estimated using colored sticky traps to capture beetles. However, the attraction of Chrysobothris to specific color attributes has not been directly assessed. A multi-color trapping system was utilized to determine color attraction of Chrysobothris spp. Specific color attributes (lightness [L*], red to green [a*], blue to yellow [b*], chroma [C*], hue [h*], and peak reflectance [PR]) were then evaluated to determine beetle responses. In initial experiments with mostly primary colors, Chrysobothris were most attracted to traps with red coloration. Thus, additional experiments were performed using a range of trap colors with red reflectance values. Among these red reflectance colors, it was determined that the violet range of the electromagnetic spectrum had greater attractance to Chrysobothris. Additionally, Chrysobothris attraction correlated with hue and b*, suggesting a preference for traps with hues between red to blue. However, males and females of some Chrysobothris species showed differentiated responses. These findings provide information on visual stimulants that can be used in Chrysobothris trapping and management. Furthermore, this information can be used in conjunction with ecological theory to understand host-location methods of Chrysobothris

Causality constraints in AdS/CFT from conformal collider physics and Gauss-Bonnet gravity

We explore the relation between positivity of the energy constraints in conformal field theories and causality in their dual gravity description. Our discussion involves CFTs with different central charges whose description, in the gravity side, requires the inclusion of quadratic curvature corrections. It is enough, indeed, to consider the Gauss-Bonnet term. We find that both sides of the AdS/CFT correspondence impose a restriction on the Gauss-Bonnet coupling. In the case of 6d supersymmetric CFTs, we show the full matching of these restrictions. We perform this computation in two ways. First by considering a thermal setup in a black hole background. Second by scrutinizing the scattering of gravitons with a shock wave in AdS. The different helicities provide the corresponding lower and upper bounds. We generalize these results to arbitrary higher dimensions and comment on some hints and puzzles they prompt regarding the possible existence of higher dimensional CFTs and the extent to which the AdS/CFT correspondence would be valid for them.Comment: 31 pages, 5 figures; v2: typos fixed, cosmetic amendments and references adde