Mammals of Southwestern Arkansas Part II. Rodents

This study investigated the composition and habitat affinities of the mammalian fauna of southwestern Arkansas. The study area was comprised of the 21 counties located south and/or west of and including Pulaski County. The previously existing data set pertaining to the mammals of Arkansas was notably incomplete and this study area in particular, was poorly known mammalogically. Specimens were collected by standard trapping and salvage methods throughout the study area. The mammals considered during this study were limited to those species meeting a set of criteria designed to eliminate species that had been introduced or artificially maintained. This study has accumulated records of 25 species of rodents; over 1500 specimens have been recorded; and a total of 95 new county records have been documented

Improving the NRTidal model for binary neutron star systems

Accurate and fast gravitational waveform (GW) models are essential to extract information about the properties of compact binary systems that generate GWs. Building on previous work, we present an extension of the NRTidal model for binary neutron star (BNS) waveforms. The upgrades are: (i) a new closed-form expression for the tidal contribution to the GW phase which includes further analytical knowledge and is calibrated to more accurate numerical relativity data than previously available; (ii) a tidal correction to the GW amplitude; (iii) an extension of the spin-sector incorporating equation-of-state-dependent finite size effects at quadrupolar and octupolar order; these appear in the spin-spin tail terms and cubic-in-spin terms, both at 3.5PN. We add the new description to the precessing binary black hole waveform model IMRPhenomPv2 to obtain a frequency-domain precessing binary neutron star model. In addition, we extend the SEOBNRv4_ROM and IMRPhenomD aligned-spin binary black hole waveform models with the improved tidal phase corrections. Focusing on the new IMRPhenomPv2_NRTidalv2 approximant, we test the model by comparing with numerical relativity waveforms as well as hybrid waveforms combining tidal effective-one-body and numerical relativity data. We also check consistency against a tidal effective-one-body model across large regions of the BNS parameter space.Comment: Accepted manuscrip

Pollution Prevention in Paint Shops

Describes various P2 practices implemented in International Truck and Engine's paint shops to reduce solvent use and HAP emissions.Ope

Rare plant stabilization projects at Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park, 1998-2008

Reports were scanned in black and white at a resolution of 600 dots per inch and were converted to text using Adobe Paper Capture Plug-in.Approximately 15% of the native vascular plant flora of Hawai`i Volcanoes National Park (HAVO) is listed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as endangered, threatened, candidate endangered, or species of concern. Another 15% is considered to be rare in HAVO by park botanists. Restoration actions including alien ungulate and invasive plant control are underway in many areas of the park, and common native vegetation is noticeably recovering in some areas. However, rare plant surveys in the 1990’s indicated that little recovery of rare plant species populations was occurring in spite of partial recovery of park ecosystems. This is understandable in that rare plant research in the park indicates that rare plants in recovering ecosystems are limited by rodents, slugs, loss of pollinators, small population size, and other factors not affected by landscape-level restoration. From 1998-2008, HAVO implemented a program of 10 projects to stabilize populations of 42 of the 62 species in HAVO listed by the USFWS, 12 species not listed but rare throughout the park, and seven species rare in one of the seven ecosystems targeted for rare plant species stabilization. An additional 26 uncommon and common species were outplanted in conjunction with rare plant stabilization, largely for the purpose of restoring plant communities or plant community diversity. Stabilization through augmentation and reintroduction involves establishing enough individuals and small populations to maintain species until recovery efforts could be formulated and implemented. Stabilization was carried out by greenhouse propagation and outplanting with the goal of meeting the Hawai`i/Pacific Plant Restoration Coordinating Committee (HPPRCC) standards of three populations of 25 reproductive individuals per population for long-lived perennials or 50 individuals per population of short-lived perennials. Seed additions were used in three sites. Plantings were placed in 31 locations across seven ecosystems of the park including coastal strand, lowland dry-mesic forest, mid-elevation woodland, montane rain forest, montane mesic forest, upper montane, and subalpine. Plantings were monitored for growth, vigor, and the presence of flowers or fruits, typically one of more times for 1-4 years; all plantings except those in the montane mesic forest were monitored in 2009 or 2010, after 6-12 years

Binary Neutron Stars with Generic Spin, Eccentricity, Mass ratio, and Compactness - Quasi-equilibrium Sequences and First Evolutions

Information about the last stages of a binary neutron star inspiral and the final merger can be extracted from quasi-equilibrium configurations and dynamical evolutions. In this article, we construct quasi-equilibrium configurations for different spins, eccentricities, mass ratios, compactnesses, and equations of state. For this purpose we employ the SGRID code, which allows us to construct such data in previously inaccessible regions of the parameter space. In particular, we consider spinning neutron stars in isolation and in binary systems; we incorporate new methods to produce highly eccentric and eccentricity reduced data; we present the possibility of computing data for significantly unequal-mass binaries; and we create equal-mass binaries with individual compactness up to 0.23. As a proof of principle, we explore the dynamical evolution of three new configurations. First, we simulate a $q=2.06$ mass ratio which is the highest mass ratio for a binary neutron star evolved in numerical relativity to date. We find that mass transfer from the companion star sets in a few revolutions before merger and a rest mass of $\sim10^{-2}M_\odot$ is transferred between the two stars. This configuration also ejects a large amount of material during merger, imparting a substantial kick to the remnant. Second, we simulate the first merger of a precessing binary neutron star. We present the dominant modes of the gravitational waves for the precessing simulation, where a clear imprint of the precession is visible in the (2,1) mode. Finally, we quantify the effect of an eccentricity reduction procedure on the gravitational waveform. The procedure improves the waveform quality and should be employed in future precision studies, but also other errors, notably truncation errors, need to be reduced in order for the improvement due to eccentricity reduction to be effective. [abridged]Comment: (37pages, 26 figures

Distribution and Status of the Brazilian Free-tailed Bat (Tadarida brasiliensis cynocephala) in Arkansas

Investigations of building infestations, mist netting activities, and specimens submitted to the Arkansas Department of Health document the Brazilian free-tailed bat to be found in 14 Arkansas counties. Both overwintering and maternity colonies were examined. Numbers of individuals ranged from one to several thousand

Mammals of Southwestern Arkansas Part III. Carnivores

This study investigates the composition of the carnivore fauna of southwestern Arkansas and presents data on habitat affinities. The study area is comprised of the 21 counties located south and/or west of and including Pulaski County. The previously existing data set pertaining to the mammals of Arkansas was notably incomplete and the study area, in particular, was poorly known mammalogically. Specimens were collected by standard trapping and salvage methods throughout the study area. Species considered during this study were limited to those meeting a set of criteria designed to eliminate species that had been introduced or artificially maintained. This study has accumulated records of11 species of carnivores present in the study area and proposes the presence of one other; over 2100 specimens have been recorded; and a total of 81 new county records has been documented