Previously unpublished Odonata records from Sarawak, Borneo : part 1, Kuching Division excluding Kubah National Park, and Samarahan Division

Records of Odonata from Kuching and Samarahan, the western administrative divisions of Sarawak in Malaysian Borneo, are presented. Forty-two species are listed from Bako National Park, and eighty-nine species are listed from various other locations. Notable records, not yet publishedin detail elsewhere, include Aciagrion ?fasiculare, Bornargiolestes species, Pericnemis species cf triangularis, Coeliccia new species and Tetrathemis flavescens

What is an epitheliome, anyway?

No abstract available

Determination of lubricant selection based on elastohydrodynamic film thickness and traction measurement

The project was conducted to aid in the development of an elastohydrodynamic specification for military lubricants. Experiments were conducted with a rolling disk apparatus designed to simulate a bearing or gear type contact. Measurements included lubricant film thickness, lubricant breakdown and traction for a range of loads, speeds, temperatures, and surface roughnesses. Several lubricants were used in the investigations including a traction fluid, two synthetic paraffinic lubricants and several lubricants conforming to MIL-L 7808 and 23699 specifications. Recommendations regarding an EHD specification are included

Previously unpublished Odonata records from Sarawak, Borneo : part 2, Kubah National Park

Records of Odonata from Kubah National Park, near Kuching in west Sarawak, are presented. Eighty-five species are known from the national park. Notable records include Drepanosticta drusilla, Rhinocypha species cf spinifer, Bornagriolestes species, Anaciaeschna species and Macromidia genialis erratica

Genome editing in non-model organisms opens new horizons for comparative physiology

For almost 100 years, biologists have made fundamental discoveries using a handful of model organisms that are not representative of the rich diversity found in nature. The advent of CRISPR genome editing now opens up a wide range of new organisms to mechanistic investigation. This increases not only the taxonomic breadth of current research but also the scope of biological problems that are now amenable to study, such as population control of invasive species, management of disease vectors such as mosquitoes, the creation of chimeric animal hosts to grow human organs and even the possibility of resurrecting extinct species such as passenger pigeons and mammoths. Beyond these practical applications, work on non-model organisms enriches our basic understanding of the natural world. This special issue addresses a broad spectrum of biological problems in non-model organisms and highlights the utility of genome editing across levels of complexity from development and physiology to behaviour and evolution

A temperature and pressure dependent kinetics study of the gas-phase reactions of bromine (2P3/2) and chlorine (2PJ) atoms with methylvinyl ketone

A laser flash photolysis resonance fluorescence (LFP-RF) technique has been employed to study the kinetics of the reactions of methylvinyl ketone (MVK) with atomic bromine (Br) and atomic chlorine (Cl) as a function of temperature (203 755 K) and pressure (12 600 Torr) in nitrogen bath gas. The results of this study are also compared to published kinetics studies for similar reactions. Over the temperature range 200 K < T < 250 K for the reaction of Br with MVK, measured rate coefficients were pressure dependent suggesting the formation of an adduct. The adduct undergoes dissociation on the time scale of the experiments (< 0.1 s) and establishes an equilibrium between Br, MVK, and MVK Br. At temperatures above 298 K no reaction of Br with MVK was observed. Similarly, over the temperature range 405 K < T < 510 K, the reaction of Cl with MVK shows similar kinetics to that of Br and MVK suggesting an equilibrium is established. Equilibrium constants for adduct dissociation and formation are determined for the forward and reverse rate coefficients in both reactions. Second and third-law analyses are carried out to obtain information about the thermochemistry of the equilibrium reactions for Br with MVK and Cl with MVK. Adduct bond strengths of Br and Cl reactions with MVK are reported and compared to reactions with other unsaturated species. Ab initio calculations for these reactions are also presented in this study. Excellent agreement is observed between theory and experiment. Additionally, a reaction of Cl with MVK was observed over the temperature ranges 600 K < T < 760 K and 210 K < T < 365 K. At the lower temperatures, measured rate coefficients are also pressure dependent, however, the adduct remained stable. At the highest temperatures, the measured rate coefficients were pressure independent, suggesting hydrogen abstraction as the dominant reaction pathway. Energetics obtained from ab initio calculations suggest that only abstraction of the methyl hydrogen is likely to occur at a measurable rate in the temperature range investigated.M.S.Committee Chair: Dr. Paul Wine; Committee Member: Dr. Jean-Luc Brédas; Committee Member: Dr. Rigoberto Hernande

Effect of longitudinal surface finish on elastohydrodynamic lubrication

The effect of longitudinal-lay surface finish on the elastohydrodynamic film thickness and the percentage of film between rolling disks in contact were evaluated using a rolling disk apparatus. Film thickness was measured by transmitted X-rays, and percentage of film was monitored by an alternating-current continuity circuit. Disk finish was varied on both the crowned upper disk and the cylindrical lower disk. A type-2 ester and a synthetic paraffinic oil were used as lubricants. It was shown that the roughness with longitudinal lay has a deleterious effect on both film thickness and percentage of film. Measured film thicknesses for the two lubricants were comparable at equivalent test conditions. The percentage of film where a change in surface topography was observed was approximately 20 percent for the synthetic paraffinic oil and 10 percent for the type-2 ester