A Note on Adult Overwintering of Dasymutilla Nigripes in Michigan (Hymenoptera: Mutillidae)

Excerpt: Although Dasymutilla nigripes (Fabricius) is one of the more common Michigan velvet ant species, little is known about its life cycle. In his summary of mutillid life cycles, Michel (1928) indicated that mutillids of northern latitudes probably overwinter in the prepupal stage within the subterranean cells of their hymenopterous hosts. Bohart and McSwain (1939) cited prepupal overwintering as normal for Dasymutilla sackenii (Cresson) in California. However, Potts and Smith (1944), also working in California, collected overwintering adult female Dasymutilla aureola pacifica (Cresson)

PERSISTENT POVERTY ACROSS THE RURAL-URBAN CONTINUUM

Persistent poverty is overwhelmingly rural and is very geographically concentrated. We have redefined the USDA ERS persistent poverty classification to include metropolitan counties meeting the 20 percent or higher poor criterion and we extend the time period through the 2000 Census. With this updated definition, there are 382 counties that have had poverty rates of 20 percent or more in each decennial census between 1960 and 2000. These persistent poverty counties are overwhelmingly rural (95 percent) and disproportionately rural (16 percent of nonmetro counties versus 2 percent of metro). The local economic environment in persistent poverty counties is much less favorable than in the nation as a whole. Per capita income is lower and unemployment rates higher in persistent poverty counties. Employment is more concentrated in services, extractive, construction/maintenance, and production/transportation occupations. Residents of persistent poverty counties tend to have lower education levels, and persistent poverty counties generally have larger shares of minority populations. The number of persistent poverty counties reduced considerably during the 1990s, but the "leavers" were disproportionately metropolitan, making persistent poverty increasingly a rural problem. Persistent poverty is overwhelmingly rural and it is very concentrated geographically. In this paper, we examine these striking regularities in U.S. economic geography, seeking to understand the causes and dynamics of poverty across the rural urban continuum. We also consider how alternative characterizations of "persistent poverty" and "rural and urban" might deepen our understanding of poverty and place. The paper has four sections. In the first, we examine how poverty and persistent poverty vary across the Rural Urban Continuum Codes and Urban Influence Codes developed by the USDA Economic Research Service (ERS). We start with the very useful "persistent poverty" classification developed by ERS that defines nonmetropolitan counties as persistent poverty counties if the poverty rate is 20 percent or higher in each decennial census between 1960 and 1990.We redefine persistent poverty to include metropolitan counties meeting the 20 percent or more poor criterion and we extend the time period through the 2000 Census. We also examine where poverty is concentrated in the United States and how persistent poverty varies across the new Core Based Statistical Area definitions for counties, developed recently by the Office of Management and Budget. In the second section, we examine how the demographic characteristics of the population vary across the rural-urban spectrum, comparing persistent poverty county demographics with those of all counties. The third section examines the dynamics of poverty and place. We examine the location, rurality and demographics of counties that escaped persistent poverty statues between 1990 and 2000, and how those characteristics compare to counties that remained in persistent poverty. We then identify the new entrants into high poverty since 1960. In the fourth section, we consider implications of reconceptualizing both "persistent poverty" and "rural and urban diversity". First, we explore the "persistent poverty" county classification, and how alternative definitions of persistent poverty counties might alter the conclusions one reaches about the geography of persistent poverty. We do this by exploring how defining persistent poverty with a different base year such as 1970 or 1980 affects the number of "persistent poverty" counties. We then explore what happens to "persistent poverty" if we raise the poverty threshold to 30 and 40 percent in defining persistent poverty counties. We then examine how conclusions about rural and urban persistent poverty change if one looks at poverty persistence in individual households rather than counties. Using PSID data, this analysis examines rates of persistent household poverty by looking at how the percent of households who remain in poverty for all 5 years during the 1993-98 period varies across central metro county to remote rural county continuum (an aggregation of Beale codes). Finally, we briefly explore how conclusions about the geography of poverty change if one divides metropolitan areas into "central city" and "suburb", and nonmetropolitan areas into "adjacent" and "nonadjacent."Food Security and Poverty,

BiSped: Filling a Critical Shortage Area

This article is # 18 in a larger 140 page work described here: The monograph showcases professional development projects by school districts and colleges of education that train teachers to work successfully with English learners (ELs) across the nation. The papers presented in this monograph offer real-life examples of successful and innovative practices, including institutionalized mentoring programs, new classroom methodologies, best practices for ELs with disabilities, collaboration between colleges of education and school districts, and the evaluation of PD programs. This monograph contains the following articles: (1) Professional Development in Action: Introduction; (2) The National Professional Development Program (Cynthia Ryan and Ana Garcia); (3) Guidelines for Professional Development: An Overview (Judith Wilde); (4) Facts, Figures & Further Resources; (5) Coaching and Mentoring in Practice (Mariana Castro); (6) Measuring the Effectiveness of an ESL Coaching Model (Annela Teemant); (7) Coaching and Implementation Level of English Language Learner Strategies in Teacher Practice (Janet Penner-Williams and Diana Gonzales Worthen); (8) Providing Teachers with Strategies and On-Going Support for Teaching English Language Learners At-Risk (Ramona Stowe); (9) Collaborative Mentoring among K-12 Teachers: Professional Development on the Effective Instruction of English Language Learners (Susan Spezzini and Julia S. Austin); (10) Satisfying Conclusion to a Five-Year Grant (Kristin Lems); (11) Content and Language: A Critical Overview (Phyllis Jacobson); (12) The Academic Literacy for All Project: A Professional Development Model (Holbrook Mahn and Melissa Bruce); (13) Meeting the Professional Development Needs of Teachers of ELLs (Carol Bearse); (14) Math ACCESS: Building Mathematical Proficiency in Linguistically Diverse Schools (Mary Truxaw and Megan Staples); (15) Curriculum Mapping to Support the Linguistic and Academic Development of K-6 ELLs (Linda Roth, Lisa Sells-Asch and Andrea Honigsfeld); (16) Professional Development for Teaching ELLs with Disabilities (Laurene L. Christensen, Kristin Kline Liu, and Martha L. Thurlow); (17) The Role of Professional Development in Helping English Learners with Disabilities Achieve High Standards (Jana Echevarria); (18) BiSped: Filling a Critical Shortage Area (Julie Esparza Brown and Bruce Miller); (19) School-University Collaborations for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Students (Socorro Herrera and Kevin Murry); (20) Collaboration is the Key to Successful Professional Development: The STEP T for ELLs Program in Maryland (Joan Kang Shin, Lori Edmonds and Christopher Browder); (21) Professional Development in Eastern North Carolina: Collaboration in ESL (Diane Rodriguez and Jane Manner); (22) Project ESOL MIAMI: Infusing the Teacher Education Curriculum to Address the Needs of English Language Learners (Martha E. Castaneda, Amy E. Fisher-Young and Bruce E. Perry); (23) Collaboration in Professional Development for ELL Content Achievement (Ye He and Kathryn Prater); (24) National Professional Development Project for Secondary Content Teachers of English Language Learners (Holly Hansen-Thomas and Pat Casey); (25) A Conversation with Thomas R. Guskey; (26) Quality Teacher Preparation for ELLs: Preliminary Findings from Florida (Maria R. Coady, Ester J. de Jong and Candace Harper); (27) Increasing Accountability in the Preparation of Teachers to Work with English Learners: The Teacher Education English Learner Survey (TEELS) (Nadeen T. Ruiz and Albert Lozano); (28) Project EXCELL (Laureen Cervone); (29) Implementing an English as a Second Language Institute in Higher Education (Maria G. De la Colina and Barbara Davis); and (30) Abstracts from 2007 National Professional Development Grantees. (Individual articles contain figures, tables, footnotes, online resources, and references.

Hypervelocity Impact of Composite Overwrap Pressure Vessels

There is a limited amount of hypervelocity impact (HVI) data on pressurized composite overwrapped pressure vessels (COPV). In recent years, NASA has performed HVI tests to characterize impact conditions resulting in either leak or burst of the COPVs representative of spacecraft hardware. This paper reports on the results of 40 tests that have been conducted on several types of COPV configurations, pressurized by inert gas to near the vessels rated maximum expected operating pressure (MEOP). These tests were used to better understand COPV response under HVI conditions and develop ballistic limit equations (BLE) related to these tests

Turfgrass insects (2014)

"New 6/03; Revised 11/14/2M.""Integrated pest management.""This publication is part of a series of integrated pest management (IPM) manuals prepared by the IPM program of the University of Missouri. Topics covered in the series include an introduction to scouting, weed identification and management, plant diseases, and insects of field and horticultural crops.""Reference to products in this publication is intended to convey objective, unbiased information and not an endorsement of the product over other similar products with similar results. Brand names are listed as a convenience for the reader, and their use does not imply endorsement by the University of Missouri or discrimination against similar products not mentioned. Other brand names may be labeled for use on turfgrasses. Individuals who use pesticides are responsible for ensuring the intended use complies with current regulations and conforms to the product label. Be sure to obtain current information about usage regulations and examine a product label before applying any chemical. For further assistance, contact your local Extension specialist

Very high-current-density Nb/AlN/Nb tunnel junctions for low-noise submillimeter mixers

We have fabricated and tested submillimeter-wave superconductor–insulator–superconductor (SIS) mixers using very high-current-density Nb/AlN/Nb tunnel junctions (Jc[approximate]30 kA cm–2). The junctions have low-resistance-area products (RNA[approximate]5.6 Omega µm2), good subgap-to-normal resistance ratios Rsg/RN[approximate]10, and good run-to-run reproducibility. From Fourier transform spectrometer measurements, we infer that omegaRNC = 1 at 270 GHz. This is a factor of 2.5 improvement over what is generally available with Nb/AlOx/Nb junctions suitable for low-noise mixers. The AlN-barrier junctions are indeed capable of low-noise operation: we measure an uncorrected double-sideband receiver noise temperature of TRX = 110 K at 533 GHz for an unoptimized device. In addition to providing wider bandwidth operation at lower frequencies, the AlN-barrier junctions will considerably improve the performance of THz SIS mixers by reducing rf loss in the tuning circuits

Effects of Sample Holder Edge Geometry on Atomic Oxygen Erosion Yield of Pyrolytic Graphite Exposed in Low Earth Orbit

The measurement of the erosion yield (volume lost per incident atom) of polymers and carbon using low Earth orbital (LEO) atomic oxygen exposure has typically involved placing small samples in holders that have chamfered edges. The chamfered edges have sometimes cause the samples to tear by their perimeters. This paper reports an evaluation of the erosion profile of a LEO atomic oxygen exposed pyrolytic graphite sample to determine the extent to which the erosion yield is altered by the chamfer and what the expected erosion yield would be for large area samples. The results indicate that the durability of large area samples would be approx. 5.2% lower than predicted based on mass loss of small samples with exposed diameters of 0.838 inch (2.13 cm) and chamfered sample holders

Monte Carlo Technique Used to Model the Degradation of Internal Spacecraft Surfaces by Atomic Oxygen

Atomic oxygen is one of the predominant constituents of Earth's upper atmosphere. It is created by the photodissociation of molecular oxygen (O2) into single O atoms by ultraviolet radiation. It is chemically very reactive because a single O atom readily combines with another O atom or with other atoms or molecules that can form a stable oxide. The effects of atomic oxygen on the external surfaces of spacecraft in low Earth orbit can have dire consequences for spacecraft life, and this is a well-known and much studied problem. Much less information is known about the effects of atomic oxygen on the internal surfaces of spacecraft. This degradation can occur when openings in components of the spacecraft exterior exist that allow the entry of atomic oxygen into regions that may not have direct atomic oxygen attack but rather scattered attack. Openings can exist because of spacecraft venting, microwave cavities, and apertures for Earth viewing, Sun sensors, or star trackers. The effects of atomic oxygen erosion of polymers interior to an aperture on a spacecraft were simulated at the NASA Glenn Research Center by using Monte Carlo computational techniques. A two-dimensional model was used to provide quantitative indications of the attenuation of atomic oxygen flux as a function of the distance into a parallel-walled cavity. The model allows the atomic oxygen arrival direction, the Maxwell Boltzman temperature, and the ram energy to be varied along with the interaction parameters of the degree of recombination upon impact with polymer or nonreactive surfaces, the initial reaction probability, the reaction probability dependence upon energy and angle of attack, degree of specularity of scattering of reactive and nonreactive surfaces, and the degree of thermal accommodation upon impact with reactive and non-reactive surfaces to be varied to allow the model to produce atomic oxygen erosion geometries that replicate actual experimental results from space. The degree of erosion of various interior locations was compared with the erosion that would occur external to the spacecraft. Results of one cavity model indicate that, at depths into a two-dimensional cavity that are equal to 10 cavity widths, the erosion on the walls of the cavity is less than that on the top surface by over 2 orders of magnitude. Wall erosion near the surface of a cavity depends on which wall is receiving direct atomic oxygen attack. However, deep in the cavity little difference is present. Testing of various cavity models such as these gives spacecraft designers an indication of the level of threat to sensitive interior surfaces for different geometries. Even though the Monte Carlo model is two-dimensional, it can be used to provide qualitative information about spacecraft openings that are three-dimensional by offering reasonable insight as to the nature of the attenuation of damage that occurs within a spacecraft in low Earth orbit. As shown, there is more erosion on the side seeing direct atomic oxygen attack until a depth of approximately 5 times the width of the opening, where the erosion is the same on both sides

Atomic Oxygen Used to Restore Artworks

Techniques developed at the NASA Glenn Research Center to produce atomic oxygen in order to simulate the low-Earth-orbit environment for spacecraft materials testing can also be applied in the field of art restoration. Defaced or fire-damaged artwork can be treated with atomic oxygen to remove the damage and enable restoration that could not be accomplished with conventional methods. The process has been patented (U.S. Patents 5,560,781 and 5,693,241) and has been used to restore several works of art