Revision of the weevil genus Epimechus Dietz (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Anthonomini)

Epimechus curvipes Dietz is designated as type species of the genus Epimechus Dietz. Ten additional species from western North America, including four new species, are assigned to the genus: E. aemulus Fall; E. flavirostris Fall; E. mimicus Dietz; E. adspersus Dietz; E. mobilis Fall; E. nevadicus Dietz; E. molina, new species (Arizona, Baja California Norte); E. combustus, new species (Arizona, New Mexico, Utah); E. signum, new species (Arizona, Coahuila, Colorado, New Mexico, Saskatchewan, Texas, Utah) and E. hesperius, new species (Arizona, California, Colorado, Guanajuato, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Nuevo Leon, South Dakota, Texas, Utah, Wyoming). These are distinguished from other Anthonomini by the short, simple tarsal claws. The names Epimeclws modicus Fall, E. soriculus Dietz, and E. nanulus Fall are placed in new synonymy under E. curvipes. Lectotypes are designated for E. adspersus and E. nevadicus. Two species formerly in Epimechus are transferred the subgenus Cnemocyllus Dietz in Anthonomus Germar: E. arenicolor Fall as Anthonomus arenicolor (Fall), new combination, and E. canoides Fall as Anthonomus canoides (Fall), new combination. Adults of species of Epimechus have been collected on plants in the genera Baccharis, Chrysothamnus, Ericameria, Gutierrezia, Haplopappus, Senecio and Tetradymia (all Asteraceae)

The Anthonomus juniperinus group, with descriptions of two new species (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

The Anthonomus juniperinus (Sanborn) species group is defined and two new species, Anthonomus sanborni, new species, and A. rileyi new species, from the United States are described, keyed and illustrated. The three species of the group are associated with the plant genus Juniperus and the larvae of A. juniperinus are known to develop in fungal galls of Gymnosporangium spp. as well as fruits of the Eastern redcedar, Juniperus virginiana L. The biology of the group and its taxonomic relationships to other species of Anthonomus Germar are also discussed

Revision of the subgenus Cnemocyllus Dietz of the weevil genus Anthonomus Germar (Coleoptera: Curculionidae, Anthonomini)

Anthonomus (Cnemocyllus) decipiens Dietz is designated as type species of Cnemocyllus Dietz. The twenty-three North American species assigned to the Anthonomus subgenus Cnemocyllus include ten previously placed in the subgenus: A. albus Hatch, A. decipiens LeConte, A. dorothyae Hatch, A. elongatus LeConte, A. jacobinus Dietz, A. juncturus Fall, A. ligatus Dietz, A. pictus Blatchley, A. quesnelensis Sleeper, and A. tenuis Fall; three species formerly in Anthonomus but not in Cnemocyllus: A. stolatus Fall, A. inermis Boheman, and A. ornatulus Dietz; two species once in Epimechus Dietz but subsequently transferred to Anthonomus: A. arenicolor (Fall) and A. canoides (Fall); and eight new species: A. californiensis, new species (California and Baja California); A. bajaensis, new species (Baja California); A. intermedius, new species (Utah); A. extensus, new species (British Columbia, California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington); A. deserticolus, new species (Arizona, Baja California, California, Guerrero, New Mexico, Sonora, and Texas); A. schuhi, new species (California and Oregon); A. latus, new species (California); and A. squamoerectus, new species (California and Oregon). The species of Anthonomus in the subgenus Cnemocyllus are distinguished from other Anthonomini by the combination of having vestiture of more-or-less broad, dense scales, 6 or 7 antennal funicular articles, a slender endophallic transfer apparatus and, in most, the slightly to strongly curved metatibia of the male. The tarsal claws are variable, toothed or untoothed. The names Anthonomus cycliferus (Fall), A. malkini Hatch and A. summeri Hatch are placed in new synonymy under A. jacobinus Dietz; A. cretaceus (Champion) is placed in new synonymy under A. decipiens LeConte; A. imbricus Hatch is placed in new synonymy under A. quesnelensis Sleeper; A. mannerheimi Dieckmann (A. brunnipennis Mannerheim, not Curtis) and A. subvittatus LeConte are placed in new synonymy under A. inermis (Boheman); A. minutus Hatch is placed in new synonymy under A. dorothyae Hatch. Adults of many of the species of the subgenus Cnemocyllus have been collected on plants in the family Asteraceae. The larvae of several of the species are known to develop on these plants

Zebra battery technologies for all electric smart car

This paper describes the operational behaviour and advantages of the high temperature, sodium nickel chloride (Zebra) battery, for use in all electric urban (city) vehicles. It is shown that an equivalent parallel electrical circuit can be employed to accurately simulate the electrochemical behaviour inherent in the most recent generation of Zebra cells. The experimental procedure is outlined and summary attributes of the investigation validated by both simulation studies, and experimentally, via measurements from a prototype battery module intended for use in an all electric smart ca

Helmet weight simulator

A device for providing acceleration cues to the helmet of a simulator pilot is described. Pulleys are attached to both shoulders of the pilot. A cable is attached to both sides of the helmet and extends through the pulleys to a takeup reel that is controlled by a torque motor. Control signals are applied to a servo system including the torque motor, the takeup reel and a force transducer which supplies the feedback signal. In one embodiment of the invention the force transducer is in the cable and in another it is in the takeup reel

Beta lives - some statistical perspectives on the capital asset pricing model

This note summarizes some technical issues relevant to the use of the idea of excess return in empirical modelling. We cover the case where the aim is to construct a measure of expected return on an asset and a model of the CAPM type is used. We review some of the problems and show examples where the basic CAPM may be used to develop other results which relate the expected returns on assets both to the expected return on the market and other factors

Charged spin 1/2 particle in an arbitrary magnetic field in two spatial dimensions: a supersymmetric quantum mechanical system

It is shown that the 2 X 2 matrix Hamiltonian describing the dynamics of a charged spin 1/2 particle with g-factor 2 moving in an arbitrary, spatially dependent, magnetic field in two spatial dimensions can be written as the anticommuator of a nilpotent operator and its hermitian conjugate. Consequently, the Hamiltonians for the two different spin projections form partners of a supersymmetric quantum mechanical system. The resulting supersymmetry algebra can then be exploited to explicitly construct the exact zero energy ground state wavefunction for the system. Modulo this ground state, the remainder of the eigenstates and eigenvalues of the two partner Hamiltonians form positive energy degenerate pairs. We also construct the spatially asymptotic form of the magnetic field which produces a finite magnetic flux and associated zero energy normalizable ground state wavefunction.Comment: 10 pages, LaTe

The prevalence of metabolic syndrome amongst patients with severe mental illness in the community in Hong Kong--a cross sectional study

Background: Patients with severe mental illness are at increased risk of developing metabolic disorders. The risk of metabolic syndrome in the Hong Kong general population is lower than that observed in western countries; however the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with severe mental illness in Hong Kong is unknown. Method: This cross-sectional study aimed to estimate the prevalence of metabolic syndrome in patients with severe mental illness in Hong Kong and to identify the relationships between metabolic syndrome and socio-demographic, clinical and lifestyle factors. Results: A total of 139 patients with a diagnosis of severe mental illness participated in the study. The unadjusted prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 35%. The relative risk of metabolic syndrome in comparison with the general Hong Kong population was 2.008 (95% CI 1.59-2.53, p < 0.001). In a logistic regression model sleep disruption and being prescribed first generation antipsychotics were significantly associated with the syndrome, whilst eating less than 3 portions of fruit/vegetables per day and being married were weakly associated. Conclusion The results demonstrate that metabolic syndrome is highly prevalent and that physical health inequalities in patients with severe mental illness in Hong Kong are similar to those observed in western countries. The results provide sufficient evidence to support the need for intervention studies in this setting and reinforce the requirement to conduct regular physical health checks for all patients with severe mental illness