The Impact of Ultraviolet Light on Survival and Behavior of the Human Bed Bug, Cimex lectularius Linnaeus

The dramatic resurgence of bed bugs in the United States poses significant problems for individuals, public health officials, and the pest control industry. Currently no individual control measure, chemical or otherwise, has proven to be one hundred percent effective in the removal of bed bugs from domestic structures. Alternative methods of control are needed to aid in a broader removal strategy. Ultraviolet light as a control tactic for arthropods is a new concept only now being explored. UV light is known to damage DNA; however, its various effects on arthropods have not been well documented. This study examines the impact of ultraviolet light on bed bug survival and behavior, and is a first step in determining the potential of ultraviolet light as a control measure. Two developmental stages of Cimex lectularius, the egg and the first nymphal instar, were exposed to ultraviolet light for periods of 1, 2, 5, or 10 sec at a distance of 4 cm. A dose response curve was created by calculating mortality following an interval of 2 weeks. Behavioral observations were also conducted to assess the effects of UV exposure on the host-seeking abilities of first instar nymphs. Nymphs were exposed for periods of 5 or 10 sec then released to search for a human host from a distance of 34 cm. The success rates and search times were recorded. Results of both experiments indicate UV light negatively impacts bed bug survival and host-seeking abilities.No embarg

A Lesson Unit On Aurally Differentiating Between The Phonologies Of English & Arabic: /P/ And /B/

This project analyzes one of the common English pronunciation errors experienced by Arab learners of English which is /p/ and /b/. Such error is systematic, not accidental. The most important factors leading to this error are the interference of the first language and the difference in the sound systems between Arabic and English. A specific curriculum was developed to help Arab learners of English overcome their pronunciation error. The curriculum started with controlled activities, then practiced in authentic speech using interactive learning activities to ensure learners exposure to the target sounds

Contemplative Practices as Rhetorical Action for Democracy

While there is a general overlap between contemplative values for compassion, empathy, and awareness and democratic values for equality and human flourishing, relatively little scholarship has examined the specific ways in which the two might be connected (for important exceptions, see Hyde & LaPrad, 2015, and Mariotti, 2020). I argue that delineating the rhetorical facets of contemplative practices provides one angle of productive insight into how such practices can be seen as action for democracy. I develop this argument from four vantage points: the context of classroom experience and scholarly conversations with which my argument intersects; an examination of resonances among rhetoric, democracy, and contemplative practices at the conceptual level; a description of three classroom contemplative practices that focus on equality; and an exploration of how contemplative practices can function as rhetorical statements of resistance to anti-democratic forces. I call for further scholarship to examine the connections between contemplative practices and democracy from multiple angles

Experimental Study on the Performance of RT 25 to be Used as Ambient Energy Storage

AbstractThe proposed experimental work intends to analyse the thermal performance of a TES unit incorporated into a ventilation system under different working conditions. The influences of the air inlet temperature and velocity on the air outlet temperature and heat transfer rate were investigated The air inlet temperature used for the solidification of RT25 were 10°C, 12°C and 14°C and for the melting 34°C, 36°C and 38°C. The selected air inlet velocities were the same for the melting and solidification process: 0.5 m/s, 1.4 m/s and 2.5 m/s. The results suggest that an increase of the air inlet velocity reduces linearly the temperature difference between the air inlet and outlet for the solidification process of the RT25. Contrary, for the melting of the RT25, increasing the air inlet velocity does not reduce the temperature difference linearly, increasing the air inlet temperature furthermore from 36°C to 38°C did not affect the melting time. The air inlet temperature plays a significant role on the melting process, reducing linearly the air inlet and outlet temperature difference and the heat transfer rate, however does not influence the solidification process, similar air inlet and outlet temperature difference and the heat transfer rate were obtained for all condition.Thus, air inlet velocity and air inlet temperature have to be carefully balanced to optimize the whole running cycle of both melting and solidification processes

Turbulence Measurements with a Sampling Laser-Doppler Velocimeter

A novel sampling signal processor overcomes the difficulties encountered with frequency trackers in the investigation of unseeded highly turbulent flows. This sampling system consists essentially of a swept filter, e.g. a standard RF-spectrum analyzer, a digital data memory and a storage oscilloscope. It is able to determine first-order statistical averages of turbulent flows with high fluctuation frequencies and amplitudes even at very low scattering particle concentrations. Since the velocity samples are not statistically independent of the velocity, the sampled velocity data has to be corrected in order to obtain unbiased statistical averages. A theoretical analysis and experimental investigations of the system and its application are given

Anatomy, life history, and evolutionary affinities of conulariids.

The paleobiology and evolutionary affinities of conulariids have long been debated, but in recent decades it had been widely thought that conulariids were a group of septate cnidarians, belonging within or most closely related to the Class Scyphozoa. In the past several years, however, some investigators have claimed that conulariids represented a group of animals distinct from cnidarians and all other currently recognized phyla (e.g., Kozlowski, 1968), and Steul (1984) has argued that conulariids were most closely related to vertebrates. The steeply pyramidal, finely lamellar conulariid test shows numerous microstructural similarities to the steeply conical periderm of coronatid scyphozoans. These similarities, coupled with evidence obtained through analysis of healed conulariid test injuries and growth abnormalities, indicate that the conulariid test was an ectodermally secreted, mineralized periderm, similar, and possibly homologous, to the coronatid periderm. Conulariid specimens whose apical end terminates in a transverse wall, or schott, occur almost exclusively in sediments deposited under conditions of moderate or high current energy. Together with the absence of schotts in specimens whose apical end is more or less pointed, this indicates that schott-bearing specimens represent individuals that were broken, in life, by currents, and that lived to heal the site of injury. Such conulariids are similar to truncated coronatid polyps, which repair their broken apical end by producing a structure similar to the conulariid schott. Conulariids exhibit a substantially greater variety of internal test structures at their corners and midlines than hitherto realized. Comparisons of these structures with soft parts and internal peridermal structures of scyphozoans reveal numerous, detailed similarities that are best interpreted as indicating that conulariid midlines were sites of gastric septa, homologous to the septa of scyphozoans. Relic conulariid soft parts, including relics discovered by Steul (1984) and relics discovered here in Eoconularia amoena Sinclair, show intriguing similarities to soft parts of scyphozoan polyps undergoing polydisc strobilation. This suggests that conulariids, like many scyphozoans, exhibited alternating polypoid and medusoid generations. Finally, cladistic analysis of the interrelationships of conulariids and the extant cnidarian classes suggests that conulariids and scyphozoans are nearest relatives, and that together they and anthozoan cnidarians form a monophyletic group within Cnidarian that excludes hydrozoans.Ph.D.Earth SciencesPaleontologyUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/128457/2/9014034.pd

Option Pricing using Quantum Computers

We present a methodology to price options and portfolios of options on a gate-based quantum computer using amplitude estimation, an algorithm which provides a quadratic speedup compared to classical Monte Carlo methods. The options that we cover include vanilla options, multi-asset options and path-dependent options such as barrier options. We put an emphasis on the implementation of the quantum circuits required to build the input states and operators needed by amplitude estimation to price the different option types. Additionally, we show simulation results to highlight how the circuits that we implement price the different option contracts. Finally, we examine the performance of option pricing circuits on quantum hardware using the IBM Q Tokyo quantum device. We employ a simple, yet effective, error mitigation scheme that allows us to significantly reduce the errors arising from noisy two-qubit gates.Comment: Fixed a typo. This article has been accepted in Quantu