The First Record of the Eastern Smallfooted Myotis (\u3ci\u3eMyotis leibii\u3c/i\u3e) in Illinois

The eastern small-footed myotis (Myotis leibii) is one of the least known bats in eastern North America. We document the first record of the species in Illinois, and discuss possible reasons it has not been reported in the state until now

Seasonal variation and impact of waste-water lagoons as larval habitat on the population dynamics of Culicoides sonorensis (Diptera:Ceratpogonidae) at two dairy farms in northern California.

The Sacramento (northern Central) Valley of California (CA) has a hot Mediterranean climate and a diverse ecological landscape that is impacted extensively by human activities, which include the intensive farming of crops and livestock. Waste-water ponds, marshes, and irrigated fields associated with these agricultural activities provide abundant larval habitats for C. sonorensis midges, in addition to those sites that exist in the natural environment. Within this region, C. sonorensis is an important vector of bluetongue (BTV) and related viruses that adversely affect the international trade and movement of livestock, the economics of livestock production, and animal welfare. To characterize the seasonal dynamics of immature and adult C. sonorensis populations, abundance was monitored intensively on two dairy farms in the Sacramento Valley from August 2012- to July 2013. Adults were sampled every two weeks for 52 weeks by trapping (CDC style traps without light and baited with dry-ice) along N-S and E-W transects on each farm. One farm had large operational waste-water lagoons, whereas the lagoon on the other farm was drained and remained dry during the study. Spring emergence and seasonal abundance of adult C. sonorensis on both farms coincided with rising vernal temperature. Paradoxically, the abundance of midges on the farm without a functioning waste-water lagoon was increased as compared to abundance on the farm with a waste-water lagoon system, indicating that this infrastructure may not serve as the sole, or even the primary larval habitat. Adult midges disappeared from both farms from late November until May; however, low numbers of parous female midges were detected in traps set during daylight in the inter-seasonal winter period. This latter finding is especially critical as it provides a potential mechanism for the "overwintering" of BTV in temperate regions such as northern CA. Precise documentation of temporal changes in the annual abundance and dispersal of Culicoides midges is essential for the creation of models to predict BTV infection of livestock and to develop sound abatement strategies

Bose-Einstein Condensation in a Harmonic Potential

We examine several features of Bose-Einstein condensation (BEC) in an external harmonic potential well. In the thermodynamic limit, there is a phase transition to a spatial Bose-Einstein condensed state for dimension D greater than or equal to 2. The thermodynamic limit requires maintaining constant average density by weakening the potential while increasing the particle number N to infinity, while of course in real experiments the potential is fixed and N stays finite. For such finite ideal harmonic systems we show that a BEC still occurs, although without a true phase transition, below a certain ``pseudo-critical'' temperature, even for D=1. We study the momentum-space condensate fraction and find that it vanishes as 1/N^(1/2) in any number of dimensions in the thermodynamic limit. In D less than or equal to 2 the lack of a momentum condensation is in accord with the Hohenberg theorem, but must be reconciled with the existence of a spatial BEC in D=2. For finite systems we derive the N-dependence of the spatial and momentum condensate fractions and the transition temperatures, features that may be experimentally testable. We show that the N-dependence of the 2D ideal-gas transition temperature for a finite system cannot persist in the interacting case because it violates a theorem due to Chester, Penrose, and Onsager.Comment: 34 pages, LaTeX, 6 Postscript figures, Submitted to Jour. Low Temp. Phy

Chaste: an open source C++ library for computational physiology and biology

Chaste - Cancer, Heart And Soft Tissue Environment - is an open source C++ library for the computational simulation of mathematical models developed for physiology and biology. Code development has been driven by two initial applications: cardiac electrophysiology and cancer development. A large number of cardiac electrophysiology studies have been enabled and performed, including high performance computational investigations of defibrillation on realistic human cardiac geometries. New models for the initiation and growth of tumours have been developed. In particular, cell-based simulations have provided novel insight into the role of stem cells in the colorectal crypt. Chaste is constantly evolving and is now being applied to a far wider range of problems. The code provides modules for handling common scientific computing components, such as meshes and solvers for ordinary and partial differential equations (ODEs/PDEs). Re-use of these components avoids the need for researchers to "re-invent the wheel" with each new project, accelerating the rate of progress in new applications. Chaste is developed using industrially-derived techniques, in particular test-driven development, to ensure code quality, re-use and reliability. In this article we provide examples that illustrate the types of problems Chaste can be used to solve, which can be run on a desktop computer. We highlight some scientific studies that have used or are using Chaste, and the insights they have provided. The source code, both for specific releases and the development version, is available to download under an open source Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD) licence at http://www.cs.ox.ac.uk/chaste, together with details of a mailing list and links to documentation and tutorials

Dimensionality effects in restricted bosonic and fermionic systems

The phenomenon of Bose-like condensation, the continuous change of the dimensionality of the particle distribution as a consequence of freezing out of one or more degrees of freedom in the low particle density limit, is investigated theoretically in the case of closed systems of massive bosons and fermions, described by general single-particle hamiltonians. This phenomenon is similar for both types of particles and, for some energy spectra, exhibits features specific to multiple-step Bose-Einstein condensation, for instance the appearance of maxima in the specific heat. In the case of fermions, as the particle density increases, another phenomenon is also observed. For certain types of single particle hamiltonians, the specific heat is approaching asymptotically a divergent behavior at zero temperature, as the Fermi energy $\epsilon_{\rm F}$ is converging towards any value from an infinite discrete set of energies: ${\epsilon_i}_{i\ge 1}$. If $\epsilon_{\rm F}=\epsilon_i$, for any i, the specific heat is divergent at T=0 just in infinite systems, whereas for any finite system the specific heat approaches zero at low enough temperatures. The results are particularized for particles trapped inside parallelepipedic boxes and harmonic potentials. PACS numbers: 05.30.Ch, 64.90.+b, 05.30.Fk, 05.30.JpComment: 7 pages, 3 figures (included

Fertility, Living Arrangements, Care and Mobility

There are four main interconnecting themes around which the contributions in this book are based. This introductory chapter aims to establish the broad context for the chapters that follow by discussing each of the themes. It does so by setting these themes within the overarching demographic challenge of the twenty-first century – demographic ageing. Each chapter is introduced in the context of the specific theme to which it primarily relates and there is a summary of the data sets used by the contributors to illustrate the wide range of cross-sectional and longitudinal data analysed

Incidence, management, and outcomes of cardiovascular insufficiency in critically ill term and late preterm newborn infants

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to characterize the incidence, management, and short-term outcomes of cardiovascular insufficiency (CVI) in mechanically ventilated newborns, evaluating four separate prespecified definitions. STUDY DESIGN: Multicenter, prospective cohort study of infants ≥34 weeks gestational age (GA) and on mechanical ventilation during the first 72 hours. CVI was prospectively defined as either (1) mean arterial pressure (MAP) < GA; (2) MAP < GA + signs of inadequate perfusion; (3) any therapy for CVI; or (4) inotropic therapy. Short-term outcomes included death, days on ventilation, oxygen, and to full feedings and discharge. RESULTS: Of 647 who met inclusion criteria, 419 (65%) met ≥1 definition of CVI. Of these, 98% received fluid boluses, 36% inotropes, and 17% corticosteroids. Of treated infants, 46% did not have CVI as defined by a MAP < GA ± signs of inadequate perfusion. Inotropic therapy was associated with increased mortality (11.1 vs. 1.3%; p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: More than half of the infants met at least one definition of CVI. However, almost half of the treated infants met none of the definitions. Inotropic therapy was associated with increased mortality. These findings can help guide the design of future studies of CVI in newborn

Geologic predictors of drinking water well contamination in North Carolina

More than 200 million people worldwide, including 11 million in the US, are estimated to consume water containing arsenic (As) concentrations that exceed World Health Organization and US EPA standards. In most cases, the As found in drinking water wells results from interactions between groundwater and geologic materials (geogenic contamination). To that end, we used the NCWELL database, which contains chemical information for 117,960 private drinking wells across North Carolina, to determine the spatial distribution of wells containing As contaminated water within geologic units. Specific geologic units had large percentages (up to 1 in 3) of wells with water exceeding the EPA As maximum contaminant level (MCL, 10 μg/L), both revealing significant variation within areas that have been previously associated with As contamination and identifying as yet unidentified problematic geologic units. For the 19 geologic units that have >5% of wells that contain water with As concentrations in exceedance of 10 μg/L, 12 (63%) are lithogenically related to the Albemarle arc, remnants of an ancient volcanic island, indicating the importance of volcanogenic materials, as well as recycled (eroded and deposited) and metamorphosed volcanogenic material. Within geologic units, wells that have As concentrations exceeding 10 μg/L tended to have pH values greater than wells with As concentrations less than 10 μg/L, emphasizing the importance of the extent of interaction between groundwater and geologic materials. Using census information with the geologic-based exceedance percentages revealed the importance of regional geology on estimates of population at risk compared to estimates based on county boundaries. Results illustrate that relating As contamination to geologic units not only helps explain sources of geogenic contamination but sharpens the identification of communities at risk for exposure and further illuminates problematic areas through geologic interpretation