Morphological and genetic analyses in the Melanoplus packardii group (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Melanoplus packardii Scudder was described in 1897. Three additional closely-related species were later described and their status as species has been questioned on numerous occasions. We examined morphology from specimens collected in Nebraska which fit descriptions of three of the four forms and specimens that appeared to be hybrids. We found distinct morphological characters suggesting species status for M. foedus and M. packardii, but not for M. foedus fluviatilis. Examination of aedeagi of these three forms suggests that M. foedus and M. packardii are each distinct, but that the aedeagi of M. f. fluviatilis and M. f. foedus cannot be distinguished. Molecular analyses of the three groups did not produce clear separations and suggest gene exchange between these three forms may be ongoing. Together, these data suggest that M. foedus and M. packardii should be recognized as sibling species, but M. foedus fluviatilis is best considered a form of M. foedus, typically found in low lying areas

Morphological and genetic analyses in the Melanoplus packardii group (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Melanoplus packardii Scudder was described in 1897. Three additional closely-related species were later described and their status as species has been questioned on numerous occasions. We examined morphology from specimens collected in Nebraska which fit descriptions of three of the four forms and specimens that appeared to be hybrids. We found distinct morphological characters suggesting species status for M. foedus and M. packardii, but not for M. foedus fluviatilis. Examination of aedeagi of these three forms suggests that M. foedus and M. packardii are each distinct, but that the aedeagi of M. f. fluviatilis and M. f. foedus cannot be distinguished. Molecular analyses of the three groups did not produce clear separations and suggest gene exchange between these three forms may be ongoing. Together, these data suggest that M. foedus and M. packardii should be recognized as sibling species, but M. foedus fluviatilis is best considered a form of M. foedus, typically found in low lying areas

Improving a Dental School\u27s Clinic Operations Using Lean Process Improvement

The term lean production, also known as Lean, describes a process of operations management pioneered at the Toyota Motor Company that contributed significantly to the success of the company. Although developed by Toyota, the Lean process has been implemented at many other organizations, including those in health care, and should be considered by dental schools in evaluating their clinical operations. Lean combines engineering principles with operations management and improvement tools to optimize business and operating processes. One of the core concepts is relentless elimination of waste (non-value-added components of a process). Another key concept is utilization of individuals closest to the actual work to analyze and improve the process. When the medical center of the University of Kentucky adopted the Lean process for improving clinical operations, members of the College of Dentistry trained in the process applied the techniques to improve inefficient operations at the Walk-In Dental Clinic. The purpose of this project was to reduce patients\u27 average in-the-door-to-out-the-door time from over four hours to three hours within 90 days. Achievement of this goal was realized by streamlining patient flow and strategically relocating key phases of the process. This initiative resulted in patient benefits such as shortening average in-the-door-to-out-the-door time by over an hour, improving satisfaction by 21%, and reducing negative comments by 24%, as well as providing opportunity to implement the electronic health record, improving teamwork, and enhancing educational experiences for students. These benefits were achieved while maintaining high-quality patient care with zero adverse outcomes during and two years following the process improvement project

Soundsense: Sonifying pryroelectric sensor data for an interactive media event

Presented at the 11th International Conference on Auditory Display (ICAD2005)Collaborations between artists, engineers, and scientists often occur when creating new media works. These interdisciplinary efforts must overcome the ideals and practical-limitations inherent in both artistic and research pursuits. In turn, successful projects may truly be greater than the sum of their parts, enabling each collaborator to gain insight into their own work. soundSense, a cooperative effort between engineers, composers, and other specialists, sonifies pyroelectic sensor data to create a novel interactive-media event. Signals generated by multiplexing pyroelectric detectors inform datadriven audio and visual displays articulating – in real-time – the presence and motion of individuals within the sensed space

Global transpiration data from sap flow measurements : the SAPFLUXNET database

Plant transpiration links physiological responses of vegetation to water supply and demand with hydrological, energy, and carbon budgets at the land-atmosphere interface. However, despite being the main land evaporative flux at the global scale, transpiration and its response to environmental drivers are currently not well constrained by observations. Here we introduce the first global compilation of whole-plant transpiration data from sap flow measurements (SAPFLUXNET, https://sapfluxnet.creaf.cat/, last access: 8 June 2021). We harmonized and quality-controlled individual datasets supplied by contributors worldwide in a semi-automatic data workflow implemented in the R programming language. Datasets include sub-daily time series of sap flow and hydrometeorological drivers for one or more growing seasons, as well as metadata on the stand characteristics, plant attributes, and technical details of the measurements. SAPFLUXNET contains 202 globally distributed datasets with sap flow time series for 2714 plants, mostly trees, of 174 species. SAPFLUXNET has a broad bioclimatic coverage, with woodland/shrubland and temperate forest biomes especially well represented (80 % of the datasets). The measurements cover a wide variety of stand structural characteristics and plant sizes. The datasets encompass the period between 1995 and 2018, with 50 % of the datasets being at least 3 years long. Accompanying radiation and vapour pressure deficit data are available for most of the datasets, while on-site soil water content is available for 56 % of the datasets. Many datasets contain data for species that make up 90 % or more of the total stand basal area, allowing the estimation of stand transpiration in diverse ecological settings. SAPFLUXNET adds to existing plant trait datasets, ecosystem flux networks, and remote sensing products to help increase our understanding of plant water use, plant responses to drought, and ecohydrological processes. SAPFLUXNET version 0.1.5 is freely available from the Zenodo repository (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3971689; Poyatos et al., 2020a). The "sapfluxnetr" R package - designed to access, visualize, and process SAPFLUXNET data - is available from CRAN.Peer reviewe

Genetic diversity and relatedness of the mangrove \u3ci\u3eRhizophora mangle\u3c/i\u3e L. (Rhizophoraceae) using amplified fragment polymorphism (AFLP) among locations in Florida, USA and the Caribbean

Rhizophora mangle L. is a widespread mangrove species in theWestern Hemisphere. Mangrove habitat loss and their importance to coastal and reef ecosystems make greater understanding of their genetic structure useful for conservation and management. An amplified fragment polymorphism (AFLP) analysis was performed on samples from Florida and the Caribbean to discover the genetic structure present. R. mangle had variable genetic diversity not related to latitude; P ranged 7 %–92 %. Some other factor, perhaps human impact, has caused low genetic diversity in some populations. Across Florida R. mangle populations varied in genetic diversity with less diversity (Gst=0.195) and greater gene flow on the Atlantic coast (Nm =2.07) than on the Gulf coast (Gst=0.717, Nm=0.197). Gene flow between Caribbean islands was low (Nm=0.386) compared to continental populations (Nm=1.40), indicating that long distance dispersal is not common between islands. Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) analysis showed significant deviations from Hardy-Weinberg expectations at the level of region among subpopulations and overall genetic difference among subpopulations for R. mangle. One implication for management is that small continental populations and island populations may be genetically isolated and distinct from each other

A Comparison Between Masticatory Muscle Pain Patients and Intracapsular Pain Patients on Behavioral and Psychosocial Domains

AIMS: To identify differences between 2 groups of patients with temporomandibular disorders (TMD), those with masticatory muscle pain (MMP) versus intracapsular pain (ICP), and to compare these differences on behavioral and psychosocial domains. METHODS: There were 435 patients in the MMP group and 139 patients in the ICP group. The overall sample was 88.2% female and had an average age of 36.1 years (SD = 11.7). Patients completed measures of psychological symptoms (SCL-90), pain severity (MPI), sleep (PSQI), activity (MBI), and life stressors (PCL). Heart rate and blood pressure were also measured, and a complete medical/dental history was taken for each patients. RESULTS: Results indicated no significant difference in pain severity or duration between the 2 groups (P \u3e 05). The ICP group, however, reported fewer affective symptoms of pain than the MMP group (t = 6.8, P = .01). The ICP group had twice as many adaptive copers as dysfunctional patients (chi 2 = 7.84, P \u3c .01), while there was no significant difference between these 2 categories for the MMP group (P \u3e .05). Finally, the ICP group reported fewer psychological symptoms (P \u3c .05), better sleep quality (F = 7.54, P = .01), and fewer life stressors (F = 7.00, P = .01) than the MMP group. CONCLUSION: In contrast to many previous studies, the data set in this study showed no differences in pain severity and duration between the MMP and the ICP groups. Even though pain severity levels were equivalent, the MMP diagnostic group of chronic TMD patients demonstrated more dysfunctional behavioral profiles and significantly higher psychological distress than the ICP subgroup