Notes on the Nests of \u3ci\u3eAugochloropsis metallica fulgida\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3eMegachile mucida\u3c/i\u3e in Central Michigan (Hymenoptera: Halictidae, Megachilidae)

Notes on the nesting biology of two ground-nesting species are provided from Central Michigan. A single nest of Augochloropsis metallica fulgida was excavated on 12 July 2014 in Shiawassee County. There were two female nest inhabitants. Examination of mandibular wear, wing wear and ovarial development suggests one female was acting as a worker caste. Also, a nesting aggregation of Megachile mucida was observed in Ingham County. Information on nest architecture and cell construction is based on excavations of several nests during 7–15 June 2014. Megachile mucida is recorded as a new host species for the cleptoparasite Coelioxys sodalis. This is the first record of M. mucida in Michigan, additional collection records of this species in Michigan are also reported

Improving Nurses’ Attitudes, Beliefs, and Practices in Screening for Suicide Risk in Hospitalized Patients

Purpose: Forty-seven thousand Americans died from suicide in 2018. Providing nurses with facts about suicide, intervention methods, structured screening tools, and referral resources has been shown to change attitudes and increase screening rates. This quality improvement project provided nurses with education in order to improve rates of suicide screenings on in-patient units at a 550-bed academic medical center. Methods: Attitudes to Suicide Prevention (ASP) surveys were administered on two medical units to determine current attitudes about suicide. An online tutorial providing information about suicide, the Columbia Suicide Severity Rating Scale (CSSRS) used by the institution, personal stories of suicide, and referral resources was used to deliver education. Education efficacy on attitude change was evaluated with pre and post surveys. Rates of risk assessments screens were reviewed in the electronic health records one month before and after the intervention. Results: 155 nurses received surveys and intervention with 29 pre-surveys and 15 post surveys returned. No statistically significant changes in attitude, but a desire for education was found. Review of screening rates for one month before and after the intervention indicate a 7% increase in completion on the units receiving education compared to a 2% decrease on an aggregation of medical-surgical units not receiving education. Conclusions: Providing education on suicide, screening tools, referral resources, and preparation for difficult conversations was demonstrated to increase screening rates. Providing an online learning module is an easy way to deliver education. Screening provided by trained and competent nurses ensures patients gain access to necessary mental health

Elliptic Curves and Hyperdeterminants in Quantum Gravity

Hyperdeterminants are generalizations of determinants from matrices to multi-dimensional hypermatrices. They were discovered in the 19th century by Arthur Cayley but were largely ignored over a period of 100 years before once again being recognised as important in algebraic geometry, physics and number theory. It is shown that a cubic elliptic curve whose Mordell-Weil group contains a Z2 x Z2 x Z subgroup can be transformed into the degree four hyperdeterminant on a 2x2x2 hypermatrix comprising its variables and coefficients. Furthermore, a multilinear problem defined on a 2x2x2x2 hypermatrix of coefficients can be reduced to a quartic elliptic curve whose J-invariant is expressed in terms of the hypermatrix and related invariants including the degree 24 hyperdeterminant. These connections between elliptic curves and hyperdeterminants may have applications in other areas including physics.Comment: 7 page

Pion Charge Exchange on Deuterium

We investigate quantum corrections to a classical intranuclear cascade simulation of pion single charge exchange on the deuteron. In order to separate various effects the orders of scattering need to be distinguished and, to that end, we develop signals for each order of scattering corresponding to quasi-free conditions. Quantum corrections are evaluated for double scattering and are found to be large. Global agreement with the data is good.Comment: 30 pages, 12 figure

Towards a sustainable economy? Socio-technical transitions in the green building sector

Making the transition to a green economy is a major policy driver in the UK and other countries. Entrepreneurs are suggested as being at the forefront of this transition and as a driving force for sustainability. These “green entrepreneurs” may represent a new type of entrepreneurial behaviour combining economic, environmental and social aims. In this paper, we present empirical work conducted with green entrepreneurs in the UK green building sector. Buildings have significant impacts on the environment, both in terms of materials and post-construction energy demands. Drawing on sustainability transitions theory, we examine the role of green entrepreneurs in affecting change and suggest that green building niches are less consensual than previously theorised. In theorising green entrepreneurs, we also point to the need to consider them within wider networks of activity rather than as lone actors and the implications this has for policy

The green economy, sustainability transitions and transition regions : a case study of Boston

This paper is focused upon exploring the development of the green economy in particular locations, with the aim of identifying why some cities and regions have been successful in engendering green growth. To date we have little idea where the green economy is developing, nor much insight, beyond anecdotal evidence, into why certain cities and regions appear to be more successful than others in this regard. We position our analysis within the context of research on socio-technical transitions that has theorised the potential shift to a more sustainable economy. We review the literature on sustainability transitions and the development of the multi-level perspective encompassing niches, regimes and landscapes. However, most research into socio-technical transitions has not given adequate consideration to the influence of places and spatial scale in these transition processes, and we therefore critique the socio-technical transitions literature from a geographical perspective. In this paper we are interested in four key questions: what role does the enabling and facilitative state play in these cities and regions? What new institutional forms and governance structures are being developed? How do actors in particular cities and regions construct their green vision, and how do they encourage other actors to buy-in to this vision? How are links across levels and spatial scales developed to connect niches with the regime? We address these through a focus upon the Boston city region in the USA, drawing upon both primary and secondary research material. We utilize this case study example to re-examine and re-theorize work on sustainability transitions from a spatial perspective