New records for Tephritidae (Diptera) in Great Smoky Mountains National Park

As part of the All Taxon Biological Inventory (ATBI) being conducted in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), we report new distribution and host plant records for nine Tephritidae species

An annotated checklist of the Tephritidae (Diptera) of Florida

A total of 73 species of tephritid flies has been recorded from Florida since the early 1800s. Of these, 7 species are considered to represent occasional waifs or accidental introductions from surrounding regions that are not known to have established populations in Florida; 6 are exotic pests which failed to colonize or were extirpated; and 7 species are represented only by early literature records and are considered dubious for the state. Thus, the tephritid fauna of Florida currently comprises a total of 53 species of which 1 species is precinctive to the state and considered to be endangered

Business forecasts 1978 : a year of moderate economic growth

An abstract for this article is not availableForecasting

INCOME AND CAPITALIZATION RATE RISK IN AGRICULTURAL REAL ESTATE MARKETS

Farmland Prices, Farmland Returns, Capitalization Rates, Risk, Asset Bubbles, Land Economics/Use, Q14,

Nonlinear polarisation and dissipative correspondence between low frequency fluid and gyrofluid equations

The correspondence between gyrofluid and low frequency fluid equations is examined. The lowest order conservative effects in ExB advection, parallel dynamics, and curvature match trivially. The principal concerns are polarisation fluxes, and dissipative parallel viscosity and parallel heat fluxes. The emergence of the polarisation heat flux in the fluid model and its contribution to the energy theorem is reviewed. It is shown that gyroviscosity and the polarisation fluxes are matched by the finite gyroradius corrections to advection in the long wavelength limit, provided that the differences between gyrocenter and particle representations is taken into account. The dissipative parallel viscosity is matched by the residual thermal anisotropy in the gyrofluid model in the collision dominated limit. The dissipative parallel heat flux is matched by the gyrofluid parallel heat flux variables in the collision dominated limit. Hence, the gyrofluid equations are a complete superset of the low frequency fluid equations.Comment: RevTeX 4, 28 pages, no figures, final revised version for Physics of Plasmas prior to proof stag

New records of Tephritidae (Diptera) from Great Smoky Mountains National Park - 2

Thirty additional species of tephritid flies (Diptera: Tephritidae) from Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP), including historical records, are presented together with information on host(s), if known, distributions, and life histories. This brings the total number of tephritid flies recorded from GSMNP to 46

Vegetation restoration plan, New Plymouth Fitzroy to Bell Block coastal walkway extension

In 1999, the New Plymouth District Council began construction of its award winning coastal walkway. Along with providing an area for recreation, this new walk and cycle path serves as an alternate route for commuting along the city away from arterial roads. The New Plymouth District Council is in the process of extending this walkway a further three kilometres from Fitzroy Motor Camp to Ellesmere Avenue, Bell Block. This will encompass Peringa Park, Hickford Park and the Mangati Walkway, with completion expected by mid 2010. As part of this $4.2 million project, the District Council aims to restore the surrounding native duneland vegetation. The Centre for Biodiversity and Ecology Research (University of Waikato) was contracted by the New Plymouth District Council to provide a vegetation restoration plan for the Fitzroy to Bell Block section of the coastal walkway. This report considers the current vegetation of this three km section of the walkway, based on a rapid qualitative assessment undertaken in June, 2010. The target ecosytems Spinifex sandfield, flax-taupata shrubland and coastal forest vegetation types once dominant in the area are described in detail. Restoration recommendations are included to assist in the recreation of these ecosystems, including planting zones, weed control strategies and ongoing monitoring objectives

Actuarial Impacts of Loss Cost Ratio Ratemaking in U.S. Crop Insurance Programs

This study examines the actuarial implications of the loss cost ratio (LCR) ratemaking methodology employed by the Risk Management Agency as a component of base rates for U.S. crop insurance programs, and identifies specific conditions required for the LCR methodology to result in unbiased rates when liabilities trend. Specifically, constant relative yield risk resulting in growing absolute variance through time and other restrictive requirements are required for the LCR to result in unbiased rates. These requirements are tested against a large farm-level data set for Illinois corn. Our findings indicate that the conditions required for appropriate use of the LCR methodology are violated for this high premium volume market, resulting in large implied rate biases. The process does not correct itself through time with the addition of longer rating periods as sometimes claimed. A simple correction function is suggested and demonstrated.actuarially fair, crop insurance, insurance rating, loss cost ratio, risk growth, Risk Management Agency, yield trends, Crop Production/Industries, Risk and Uncertainty,

Application of Incident Command Structure to clinical trial management in the academic setting: principles and lessons learned

Background Clinical trial success depends on appropriate management, but practical guidance to trial organisation and planning is lacking. The Incident Command System (ICS) is the ‘gold standard’ management system developed for managing diverse operations in major incident and public health arenas. It enables effective and flexible management through integration of personnel, procedures, resources, and communications within a common hierarchical organisational structure. Conventional ICS organisation consists of five function modules: Command, Planning, Operations, Logistics, and Finance/Administration. Large clinical trials will require a separate Regulatory Administrative arm, and an Information arm, consisting of dedicated data management and information technology staff. We applied ICS principles to organisation and management of the Prehospital Use of Plasma in Traumatic Haemorrhage (PUPTH) trial. This trial was a multidepartmental, multiagency, randomised clinical trial investigating prehospital administration of thawed plasma on mortality and coagulation response in severely injured trauma patients. We describe the ICS system as it would apply to large clinical trials in general, and the benefits, barriers, and lessons learned in utilising ICS principles to reorganise and coordinate the PUPTH trial. Results Without a formal trial management structure, early stages of the trial were characterised by inertia and organisational confusion. Implementing ICS improved organisation, coordination, and communication between multiple agencies and service groups, and greatly streamlined regulatory compliance administration. However, unfamiliarity of clinicians with ICS culture, conflicting resource allocation priorities, and communication bottlenecks were significant barriers. Conclusions ICS is a flexible and powerful organisational tool for managing large complex clinical trials. However, for successful implementation the cultural, psychological, and social environment of trial participants must be accounted for, and personnel need to be educated in the basics of ICS

Ecology and conservation of Alseuosmia quercifolia (Alseuosmiaceae) in the Waikato region, New Zealand

The ecology of Alseuosmia quercifolia, a small endemic shrub, was investigated, focussing on its habitat requirements, population dynamics, phenology and reproductive biology, and conservation status. This species occurs most commonly in lowland native forests of the Waikato region of the North Island (north of latitude 38°05'S), but is also found in scattered populations to North Cape. In the Waikato region it typically occupies shady, well-drained, south or south-east facing lower slopes of hills and ranges at altitudes below 400 m. Population structures show considerable variation amongst seven study sites in the Waikato region, with disjunct size classes a reflection of the presence and abundance of introduced browsing mammals. It is a relatively short-lived (less than 50 years), slow-growing species with a fleshy fruit adapted to bird dispersal, but seed dispersal now appears to be primarily by gravity. Flowering occurs early in spring and is synchronous at both individual and population levels, occurring over a 5-week period, with peak flowering during the second and third weeks. While all populations set seed, reproductive output can be negatively affected by persistent browse and by rain during peak flowering. This species is vulnerable because it is highly palatable to introduced mammals and all plants in a population are within browse height. It has relatively narrow habitat specificity, localised distribution, and limited potential to extend its range. We suggest it fulfils the requirements of the category "declining", using the most recent classification of threatened and uncommon plants of New Zealand