Seek Ways to Minimize the Mushrooming Alternative Minimum Tax

The alternative minimum tax (AMT) is reaching a broader segment of individuals. Yet, many of these taxpayers are not aware of the implications of this tax. Even worse, some of their tax advisors are not as informed as they should be. By identifying items that trigger the individual AMT, taxpayers and their advisors have greater opportunities to develop strategies to avoid the special tax. The AMT is essentially a parallel tax system that involves a separate tax calculation from the regular income tax. The AMT calculation is then compared to the income tax figured under the normal manner. The taxpayer pays the higher of the two amounts. With proper planning, many individuals can avoid or at least reduce their AMT liability. For best results, these individuals should enlist the aid of a tax professional to perform pro forma calculations throughout the year and identify the AMT potential of transactions sufficiently in advance for the taxpayer to plan accordingly. In instances where the AMT-producing transaction is still worthwhile, the taxpayer can take steps to raise the necessary cash to pay the tax

Nomenclatural faux pas for Speyeria atlantis greyi Moeck, 1950 (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae)

Nomenclatural errors associated with the nymphalid butterfly, Speyeria atlantis greyi Moeck, have persisted in the literature and electronic databases. We present here a synonymy of the various combinations and misspellings associated with it and clearly indicate the correct name and spelling based on Moecks (1950) original description. Additionally, color images of the holotype and allotype specimens are published herein for the first time

Laboratory Rearing of Phalangium Opilio (Arachnida: Opiliones)

While a good deal of work has been reported on the natural history and ecology of the opiliones in Europe and England (Bristowe, 1949; Sankey, 1949; Todd, 1949; Phillipson, 1959; Savory, 1964; Juberthie, 1965), this important group has received little attention in North America. Bishop (1949) published a concise synopsis of reactions and general habits of the opiliones of New York and, in a Ph. D. dissertation, Edgar (1960) described the biology of the order in Michigan. Current studies at Michigan State University on the effects of insecticides on non-target organisms have revealed an acute lack of biological information on the group, and before the effects of insecticides could be determined, life histories of the opiliones had to be clarified. Consequently, in 1966 a study of the ecology and rearing requirements of selected Michigan species was initiated. The present paper describes a new incubation technique for opilione eggs that shows promise of facilitating laboratory rearing of this group

Ichthyofaunal Diversification and Distribution in the Big Creek Watershed, Craighead and Greene Counties, Arkansas

Big Creek is a relatively small deltaic stream, in northeastern Arkansas, in an area of intense cultivation. Recently it has been dredged in the interest of flood control. Lost Creek and Mud Creek are the major tributaries of Big Creek and collectively drain the Big Creek watershed. The streams were found to have relatively low alkalinity, moderate carbon dioxide, adequate oxygen values, and relatively high turbidity. Channeling of Big Creek and Lost Creek has effectively destroyed distinct pool-riffle biocies and reduced the number of acceptable spawning areas. Lost Creek, also, receives effluent from residential dwellings, a secondary treatment sewage plant, and a meat rendering plant. Mud Creek, in the absence of channeling and deleterious effects of effluents, provided a relatively greater diversity of habitat than did Big Creek or Lost Creek

New Measurements of the Ionizing Ultraviolet Background over 2 < z < 5 and Implications for Hydrogen Reionization

We present new measurements of the intensity of the ionizing ultraviolet background and the global emissivity of ionizing photons over 2 < z < 5. Our results are based on a suite of updated measurements of physical properties of the high-redshift intergalactic medium (IGM), including gas temperatures and the opacity of the IGM to Ly-alpha and ionizing photons. Consistent with previous works, we find a relatively flat hydrogen photoionization rate over 2 < z < 5, although our measurements are roughly a factor of two higher than the 2008 values of Faucher-Giguere et al., due primarily to our lower gas temperatures. The ionizing emissivity we derive is also generally higher than other recent estimates due to a combination of lower gas temperatures, higher ionizing opacity, and an accounting of cosmological radiative transfer effects. We find evidence that the emissivity increases from z~3 to 5, reaching ~5 ionizing photons per atom per gigayear at z=4.75 for realistic galaxy spectra. We further find that galaxies must dominate the emissivity near 1 Ryd at z > 4, and possibly at all redshifts z > 2.4. Our results suggest that the globally-averaged ionizing "efficiency" of star-forming galaxies increases substantially with redshift over 3.2 < z < 4.75. This trend is consistent with the conclusion often drawn from reionization models that the ionizing efficiency of galaxies must be higher during reionization in order for galaxies to reionize the IGM by z=6. Our emissivity values at z~5 suggest that ionizing photons may have been a factor of two more abundant during the final stages of reionization than previously indicated. The evolution of the ionizing emissivity over 2 < z < 5 suggests, moreover, that the steep decline in the photoionization rate from z~5 to 6 may indicate a rapid evolution in the mean free path at z > 5.Comment: 19 pages, 14 figures, MNRAS, in pres