Andrena nahua, a new bee species from central Mexico (Hymenoptera: Andrenidae: Andreninae)

Andrena nahua Neff, new species, is described from three males from central Mexico.  It does not fit easily in any currently recognized subgenus of Andrena but can be distinguished from other Mexican Andrena by the combintion of its broad head, absence of facial maculation, striate frons, black color and weak tergal fascia

Survey of the Vegetation and Flora of a Wetland in Kiser Lake State Park, Champaign County, Ohio

Author Institution: Department of Botany, Miami UniversityWe classified plant communities by criteria of physiognomy, environment, and flora. Use of Mueller-Dombois and Ellenberg's classification scheme for the world's vegetation provided 6 vegetation categories. The results of a Bray-Curtis ordination were consistent with our field observation of a correlation between these vegetation categories and a soil moisture gradient. The results of a cluster analysis were consistent with 5 of the vegetation categories, but the sixth should be subdivided according to variations in floristic composition. Our proposed classification has 8 plant communities: an alluvial forest dominated by Acer negundo and Parthenocissus quinquefolia, a reed swamp dominated by Eupatorium perfoliatum and Typha latifolia, a deciduous thicket dominated by Crataegus punctata, a second deciduous thicket dominated by Cornus obliqua and Aster pilosus, and a third deciduous thicket dominated by Rosa palustris and R. setigera, a perennial forb community dominated by Clematis virginiana and Verbesina alternifolia, a tall-sedge swamp dominated by Carex stricta and Eupatorium maculatum, and a herbaceous floating meadow dominated by Typha latifolia and Eupatorium perfoliatum. We list 183 species (of 61 families) and state the communities in which each is common

Pollination Ecology in the Southwest

Comparisons of the pollination biology of members of a number of genera (Prosopis, Helianthus, Opuntia, and Krameria) widespread in the arid American Southwest are made between sites in the Sonoran Desert of southern Arizona and the dry oak-juniper grasslands of central Texas. As in the majority of cases studied to date in the dry regions of the Southwest, solitary bees are the dominant pollinators in all of the systems examined. Rich arrays of oligolectic bees are associated with Prosopis, Helianthus, and Opuntia, but none with Krameria which offers oils rather than pollen and nectar as the primary floral reward. Nevertheless, Krameria appears to have the most restricted pollination system as none of the other taxa are obligately dependent on their specialist bees. Reward production and bee foraging activity were examined in Opuntia and Helianthus. In Helianthus, bimodal pollen presentation, but near constant nectar production, results in different activity patterns of the specialist and generalist bees visiting the flowers. Reward production is unimodal in the Opuntia species studied, but diurnal phenological differences can result in apparent partitioning of floral resources by foraging bees

Torts

Covers cases on constitutional takings and constitutional damaging—wrongful activity by municipal corporation—recovery against airport by adjacent property owners—airspace ownership (Neff); on misrepresentation as a fraudulent act of the insured (Feeley); and on negligence—consequence of failure to obey posted traffic control—efficacy of yield right of way sign (Allper)

Non-Contact Thermal Characterization of NASA's HERMeS Hall Thruster

The thermal characterization test of NASA's 12.5-kW Hall Effect Rocket with Magnetic Shielding has been completed. This thruster was developed to support a number of potential Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Demonstration Mission concepts, including the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission concept. As a part of the preparation for this characterization test, an infrared-based, non-contact thermal imaging system was developed to measure the temperature of various thruster surfaces that are exposed to high voltage or plasma. An in-situ calibration array was incorporated into the setup to improve the accuracy of the temperature measurement. The key design parameters for the calibration array were determined in a separate pilot test. The raw data from the characterization test was analyzed though further work is needed to obtain accurate anode temperatures. Examination of the front pole and discharge channel temperatures showed that the thruster temperature was driven more by discharge voltage than by discharge power. Operation at lower discharge voltages also yielded more uniform temperature distributions than at higher discharge voltages. When operating at high discharge voltage, increasing the magnetic field strength appeared to have made the thermal loading azimuthally more uniform

The role of endorphins and vasopressin in canine endotoxin shock

Chemical antagonists were used to assess the role of [beta]-endorphin and arginine-vasopressin (AVP) in canine endotoxin shock. Fifteen awake dogs were given Escherichia coli endotoxin IV. Within 5 min, CO decreased to 28%, LV dP/dt to 46%, and MAP to 52% of baseline. Fifteen minutes after endotoxin, five dogs each received naloxone, AVP antagonist, or no treatment. Control (untreated) animals exhibited persistent cardiovascular depression, with CO 49%, LV dP/dt 69%, and MAP 91% of baseline after 45 min. Naloxone improved CO to 69%, LV dP/dt to 94%, and MAP to 91% by 30 min after treatment. AVP blockade improved CO to 105%, LV dP/dt to 10%, and MAP to 95% of baseline by 30 min after treatment, and caused significant tachycardia. Plasma cortisol and AVP increased markedly in all groups after endotoxin administration. AVP antagonist treatment increased mean survival from 1.4 to 4 days. These data suggest that abnormally elevated AVP contributes to cardiovascular depression in canine endotoxin shock and that AVP blockade is therapeutic in the animal model studied.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/25963/1/0000029.pd

Non-Contact Thermal Characterization of NASA's HERMeS Hall Thruster

The Thermal Characterization Test of NASAs 12.5-kW Hall thruster is being completed. This thruster is being developed to support of a number of potential Solar Electric Propulsion Technology Demonstration Mission concepts, including the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission concept. As a part of this test, an infrared-based, non-contact thermal imaging system was developed to measure Hall thruster surfaces that are exposed to high voltage or harsh environment. To increase the accuracy of the measurement, a calibration array was implemented, and a pilot test was performed to determine key design parameters for the calibration array. The raw data is analyzed in conjunction with a simplified thermal model of the channel to account for reflection. The reduced data will be used to refine the thruster thermal model, which is critical to the verification of the thruster thermal specifications. The present paper will give an overview of the decision process that led to identification of the need for a non-contact temperature diagnostic, the development of said diagnostic, the measurement results, and the simplified thermal model of the channel

Ancillary health effects of climate mitigation scenarios as drivers of policy uptake: a review of air quality, transportation and diet co-benefits modeling studies

Background: Significant mitigation efforts beyond the Nationally Determined Commitments (NDCs) coming out of the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement are required to avoid warming of 2 °C above pre-industrial temperatures. Health co-benefits represent selected near term, positive consequences of climate policies that can offset mitigation costs in the short term before the beneficial impacts of those policies on the magnitude of climate change are evident. The diversity of approaches to modeling mitigation options and their health effects inhibits meta-analyses and syntheses of results useful in policy-making. Methods/Design: We evaluated the range of methods and choices in modeling health co-benefits of climate mitigation to identify opportunities for increased consistency and collaboration that could better inform policy-making. We reviewed studies quantifying the health co-benefits of climate change mitigation related to air quality, transportation, and diet published since the 2009 Lancet Commission 'Managing the health effects of climate change' through January 2017. We documented approaches, methods, scenarios, health-related exposures, and health outcomes. Results/Synthesis: Forty-two studies met the inclusion criteria. Air quality, transportation, and diet scenarios ranged from specific policy proposals to hypothetical scenarios, and from global recommendations to stakeholder-informed local guidance. Geographic and temporal scope as well as validity of scenarios determined policy relevance. More recent studies tended to use more sophisticated methods to address complexity in the relevant policy system. Discussion: Most studies indicated significant, nearer term, local ancillary health benefits providing impetus for policy uptake and net cost savings. However, studies were more suited to describing the interaction of climate policy and health and the magnitude of potential outcomes than to providing specific accurate estimates of health co-benefits. Modeling the health co-benefits of climate policy provides policy-relevant information when the scenarios are reasonable, relevant, and thorough, and the model adequately addresses complexity. Greater consistency in selected modeling choices across the health co-benefits of climate mitigation research would facilitate evaluation of mitigation options particularly as they apply to the NDCs and promote policy uptake