Mathematical models for use in planning regional water resources and energy systems

Existing and projected energy facilities will, in the near future, place major demands on the country's water resources. These demands compete with many other uses of the resources, including municipal and industrial uses, navigation, irrigation, and water quality maintenance. The possible development of coal conversion facilities presents another potential water demand. Complex public sector problems such as: 1) the extent and development of coal conversion capacity, 2) interbasin transfer of water, 3) cooling technologies for large energy facilities, 4) diversion of Lake Michigan water, and 5) allowable withdrawal and consumptive uses of river water, all arise from the interlocking nature of the water resources-energy system. Although mathematical models cannot solve these problems directly, they can be useful in gaining insight into major issues associated with policy alternatives. With the aid of such models, quantitative trends such as costs and water development patterns associated with each decision alternative can be more readily identified. In this report, mathematical models are presented for use in planning a regional allocation of water for energy facilities as well as for other water uses. These models include components for the interrelated water and energy subsystems. The use of these models in conjunction with other existing models in order to provide a better picture of the overall system is discussed. Since the models use widely available computer codes, they are practical and easy to utilize. Example applications are presented, with a discussion of computational results.U.S. Geological SurveyU.S. Department of the InteriorOpe

Influence of environmental experience on aversive conditioning in honey bees (Apis mellifera L.)

International audiencePrevious experience in a natural environment with a stimulus has lasting influences on honey bee behavior, as demonstrated in laboratory studies of appetitive conditioning. However, it is unknown whether the same holds true for studies of aversive conditioning. Aversive conditioning is important for insects such as honey bees to survive environmental risks. Previous experience in natural settings may lead to maladaptive behavioral patterns in bees exposed to new risks. This study presents the first examination of the effect of a visual stimulus presented in a naturalistic setting on aversive conditioning, using the shuttle box choice chamber paradigm. The present study examines both the effect of the visual stimuli, as well as differences present between the Apis mellifera subspecies of mellifera and ligustica. Results support the presence of behavioral biases based on the visual stimulus presented prior to the experimental sessions

MOCVD of Cd(1-x)Zn(x)S/CdTe PV cells using an ultra-thin absorber layer

Ultra-thin Cd(₁ ₋ ₓ)Zn(ₓ)S/CdTe devices were produced by atmospheric pressure metal organic chemical vapour deposition (AP-MOCVD) with varying CdTe absorber thicknesses ranging from 1.0 to 0.2 mm and compared to baseline cells with total CdTe thickness of 2.25μ. The ultra-thin CdTe layers (≤1 μm) were intentionally doped with As to induce p-type conductivity in the absorber. Cell performance reduced with CdTe thickness, with the magnitude of photo-current generation loss becoming more significant for the very thin CdTe layers. The decline in cell performance was lower than the optically limited performance relating to a decrease in shunt resistance, Rsh, especially for the thinnest cells due to areas of incomplete CdTe coverage and large presence of pin-holes leading to micro-shorts. Incorporation of Zn into the CdS window layer improved cell performance for all devices except when 0.2 μm thick CdTe was used. This improvement was markedly in the blue region owing to enhanced optical transparency of the window layer. External quantum efficiency (EQE) measurements showed a red-shift of the window layer absorption edge due to leaching out of Zn during the CdCl₂ treatment. Reduction of the CdCl₂ deposition time was demonstrated to recover the blue response of the ultra-thin cells

A soft selective sweep during rapid evolution of gentle behaviour in an Africanized honeybee

Africanized honey bees (AHB) are notoriously aggressive, but in Puerto Rico they have a ‘gentle’ phenotype. Here, Avalos et al. show that there has been a soft selective sweep at several loci in the Puerto Rican AHB population and suggest a role in the rapid evolution of gentle behaviour

Monkeys and Humans Share a Common Computation for Face/Voice Integration

Speech production involves the movement of the mouth and other regions of the face resulting in visual motion cues. These visual cues enhance intelligibility and detection of auditory speech. As such, face-to-face speech is fundamentally a multisensory phenomenon. If speech is fundamentally multisensory, it should be reflected in the evolution of vocal communication: similar behavioral effects should be observed in other primates. Old World monkeys share with humans vocal production biomechanics and communicate face-to-face with vocalizations. It is unknown, however, if they, too, combine faces and voices to enhance their perception of vocalizations. We show that they do: monkeys combine faces and voices in noisy environments to enhance their detection of vocalizations. Their behavior parallels that of humans performing an identical task. We explored what common computational mechanism(s) could explain the pattern of results we observed across species. Standard explanations or models such as the principle of inverse effectiveness and a “race” model failed to account for their behavior patterns. Conversely, a “superposition model”, positing the linear summation of activity patterns in response to visual and auditory components of vocalizations, served as a straightforward but powerful explanatory mechanism for the observed behaviors in both species. As such, it represents a putative homologous mechanism for integrating faces and voices across primates

Immunolocalization of the short neuropeptide F receptor in queen brains and ovaries of the red imported fire ant (Solenopsis invicta Buren)

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Insect neuropeptides are involved in diverse physiological functions and can be released as neurotransmitters or neuromodulators acting within the central nervous system, and as circulating neurohormones in insect hemolymph. The insect short neuropeptide F (sNPF) peptides, related to the vertebrate neuropeptide Y (NPY) peptides, have been implicated in the regulation of food intake and body size, and play a gonadotropic role in the ovaries of some insect species. Recently the sNPF peptides were localized in the brain of larval and adult <it>Drosophila</it>. However, the location of the sNPF receptor, a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR), has not yet been investigated in brains of any adult insect. To elucidate the sites of action of the sNPF peptide(s), the sNPF receptor tissue expression and cellular localization were analyzed in queens of the red imported fire ant, <it>Solenopsis invicta </it>Buren (Hymenoptera), an invasive social insect.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>In the queen brains and subesophageal ganglion about 164 cells distributed in distinctive cell clusters (C1-C9 and C12) or as individual cells (C10, C11) were immuno-positive for the sNPF receptor. Most of these neurons are located in or near important sensory neuropils including the mushroom bodies, the antennal lobes, the central complex, and in different parts of the protocerebrum, as well as in the subesophageal ganglion. The localization of the sNPF receptor broadly links the receptor signaling pathway with circuits regulating learning and feeding behaviors. In ovaries from mated queens, the detection of sNPF receptor signal at the posterior end of oocytes in mid-oogenesis stage suggests that the sNPF signaling pathway may regulate processes at the oocyte pole.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The analysis of sNPF receptor immunolocalization shows that the sNPF signaling cascade may be involved in diverse functions, and the sNPF peptide(s) may act in the brain as neurotransmitter(s) or neuromodulator(s), and in the ovaries as neurohormone(s). To our knowledge, this is the first report of the cellular localization of a sNPF receptor on the brain and ovaries of adult insects.</p

The Transcription Factor Ultraspiracle Influences Honey Bee Social Behavior and Behavior-Related Gene Expression

Behavior is among the most dynamic animal phenotypes, modulated by a variety of internal and external stimuli. Behavioral differences are associated with large-scale changes in gene expression, but little is known about how these changes are regulated. Here we show how a transcription factor (TF), ultraspiracle (usp; the insect homolog of the Retinoid X Receptor), working in complex transcriptional networks, can regulate behavioral plasticity and associated changes in gene expression. We first show that RNAi knockdown of USP in honey bee abdominal fat bodies delayed the transition from working in the hive (primarily “nursing” brood) to foraging outside. We then demonstrate through transcriptomics experiments that USP induced many maturation-related transcriptional changes in the fat bodies by mediating transcriptional responses to juvenile hormone. These maturation-related transcriptional responses to USP occurred without changes in USP's genomic binding sites, as revealed by ChIP–chip. Instead, behaviorally related gene expression is likely determined by combinatorial interactions between USP and other TFs whose cis-regulatory motifs were enriched at USP's binding sites. Many modules of JH– and maturation-related genes were co-regulated in both the fat body and brain, predicting that usp and cofactors influence shared transcriptional networks in both of these maturation-related tissues. Our findings demonstrate how “single gene effects” on behavioral plasticity can involve complex transcriptional networks, in both brain and peripheral tissues