First North American record of the Palaearctic rhinophorid Stevenia deceptoria (Loew) (Diptera: Rhinophoridae)

The Rhinophoridae (Diptera) have a cosmopolitan distribution and a known fauna of about 150 species (Cerretti & Pape 2007). So far as known, all species are parasitoids of terrestrial woodlice (sow bugs) of the order Isopoda (Oniscoidea) (Pape 2010). Female rhinophorids lay eggs in the vicinity of potential hosts and the planidial first instars parasitize sow bugs as they pass by (Pape 1998). The only rhinophorids native to North America belong to the genera Apomorphyto Cerretti, Lo Giudice & Pape (with one described species from Costa Rica and an undetermined species from Nicaragua) and Bezzimyia Townsend (Pape 2010; Cerretti et al. 2014). Bezzimyia is a mostly Neotropical genus of 17 known species with two species reaching the southern United States (Texas and Arizona) (Pape & Arnaud 2001). Recently, the monophyly of Bezzimyia was called into question but the limits of the genus have yet to be formally revised (Cerretti et al. 2014). Two rhinophorids are well known as introductions from the Palaearctic Region, Melanophora roralis (Linnaeus) and Phyto discrepans Pandellé, with the former widespread in eastern North America, West Indies and South America (Crosskey 1977; Pape 2010) and the latter known only from Newfoundland (Canada) (Wood 1987). A key to separate the two species was given by Wood (1987). The genus Stevenia Robineau-Desvoidy is currently known from 23 species, all native to the Old World and most diverse in the West Palaearctic Region (Cerretti & Pape 2007). One species native to Europe and North Africa, Stevenia deceptoria (Loew), was reported recently as an introduction to Argentina by Mulieri et al. (2010). The authors recorded the species from several locations within Buenos Aires Province and hypothesized that it became established through the introduction of parasitized woodlice originating from the Palaearctic Region. Introduced woodlice are common in the New World (Jass & Klausmeier 2000) and parasitized immigrants or transported puparia most likely account for the presence of all three exotic rhinophorid species in North America. Mulieri et al. (2010) summarized the Palaearctic distribution of S. deceptoria, gave locality records of the species in Argentina, and provided a key to the five genera of Rhinophoridae known from the New World. Here we report another finding of Stevenia deceptoria in the Americas, this time from Ohio in North America. All records are from a single locality, the backyard of author GAD. Specimens were caught in a six metre Malaise trap (BioQuip® Products, Inc.) and killed in the trap head using a small piece of Hot Shot® No-Pest® Strip [active ingredient 2,2-dichlorovinyl dimethyl phosphate 18.6%]. Trap samples were frozen and later sorted, with selected Diptera subsequently pinned and labeled. The first two specimens of S. deceptoria to be detected were removed, pinned, and labeled by JEOH and identified as S. deceptoria by PC (Cerretti & Pape 2007) (one of these specimens is shown in Fig. 1). Additional specimens were later found in earlier and later samples by GAD. Specimens are housed in the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Ottawa, Canada (CNC) and the personal collection of Gregory Dahlem, Cincinnati, USA (GAD)

Report on Unicity Project

Report: 39 pp.; digital file.This report is an evaluation of a six-week communication project known as Project Unicity, Based on reports from the people involved, surveys and attitude studies, observation and discussion, the report attempts to show the background of the project; provide a descriptive analysis of what happened during the project;and demonstrate the usefulness and ability of a community-based television system

A review of genus-group names in Diptera (Insecta) that J.C. Fabricius "borrowed" from other dipterists and proposed as new in his systematic works from 1775 to 1805

Michelsen, Verner, O'Hara, James E. (2014): A review of genus-group names in Diptera (Insecta) that J.C. Fabricius "borrowed" from other dipterists and proposed as new in his systematic works from 1775 to 1805. Zootaxa 3873 (1): 73-81, DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/zootaxa.3873.1.

Network optimisation package for the design and analysis of survivable SDH networks

The advancements in digital technology and the resultant economies of scale offered by high capacity fibre transmission systems have enabled network operators to provide more cost-effective telecommunications services to their increasing customer base. However, with the deployment of such systems, the emphasis on service quality and network reliability has increased considerably. To address this and many other network management issues, the SDH digital transmission standard was established. While supporting enhanced network management functionality, it was only through the subsequent development of highly intelligent Network Elements (NEs) that the inherent cost benefits of SDH have been realised. Each NE is characterised by its own topology and associated restoration schemes. As the economic viability of these survivable topologies are dependent on varying network conditions, it has been shown that the most cost-effective networks will be based on a combination of these topologies. The complexity of these highly integrated networks and the immense capital investment involved suggests that much consideration should be given to the design and optimisation of such networks. This research work concerns an investigation into this particular area of network optimisation. It involves the development of an optimisation design package that facilitates the generation and analysis of survivable SDH networks through the implementation o f highly efficient optimisation techniques. Existing optimisation techniques are utilised to this end, and enhanced upon to address aspects of the SDH design model that were previously not taken into consideration. This results in the development of innovative and highly efficient algorithmic procedures for solving this particular design problem, and "NetOpt" - a prototype design tool for implementing such procedures. Based on a set of generated test case networks, a detailed analysis and evaluation o f these procedures and the resultant network solutions is presented. In conclusion, it is shown that CAD-based tools are essential for the generation and analysis of survivable SDH networks

Exploring persistent throat symptoms

M.D. ThesisBackground Patients commonly present with a range of persistent throat symptoms. There is still much research to be done to understand how the individual symptoms relate to each other. An improved understanding of any symptom relationships could aid in identifying groups of patients for particular treatments. An opportunity to explore throat symptoms in detail was provided by a clinical trial to assess the effectiveness of stomach acid lowering medication on patients’ throat and voice complaints. The aim was to identify a clinically meaningful classification of patients’ symptoms. Methods Baseline data for all patients entering the Trial of Proton Pump Inhibitors in Throat Symptoms (TOPPITS) was provided by the Newcastle University Clinical Trials Unit. Data included: demographics, three separate symptom questionnaires and a scoring assessment of throat appearances. The relationships between patient demographics, symptom scores and throat appearances were explored with scatter plots and pairwise correlation. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) of the combined symptom questionnaires was conducted. Cluster analysis of patients using the factors generated by the EFA was then performed. Results Data for 344 patients analysed. The distributions of the questionnaire scores were comparable with published literature. The total scores from the three questionnaires were positively related with each other. No relationship was observed between the throat appearances and any of the three symptom questionnaires in this population. The EFA led to a seven factor model comprising factors of: voice, cough, gastrointestinal symptoms, airway symptoms and dysphagia, throat clearing, life events, and lump in the throat sensation. Cluster analysis failed to identify clinically meaningful groups of patients. Conclusions The TOPPITS baseline data confirmed that patients recruited to the trial reflect the wider population of patients presenting with persistent throat symptoms. No evidence of an association between throat appearances and patient reported symptoms was found in this study. Dimension reduction offered a simplified classification of symptoms, but clusters of patients based on this classification could not be identified. These results imply that individual throat symptoms cannot be used to define patient groups and that the term “persistent throat symptoms” to encompass all symptoms is appropriate to use in clinical practice

Remote functionalisation via sodium alkylamidozincate intermediates : access to unusual fluorenone and pyridyl ketone reactivity patterns

Treating fluorenone or 2-benzoylpyridine with the sodium zincate [(TMEDA)center dot Na(mu-Bu-t)(mu-TMP)Zn(Bu-t)] in hexane solution, gives efficient Bu-t addition across the respective organic substrate in a highly unusual 1,6-fashion, producing isolable organometallic intermediates which can be quenched and aerobically oxidised to give 3-tert-butyl-9H-fluoren-9-one and 2-benzoyl-5-tert-butylpyridine respectively

Adiabatic quantum computation: Noise in the adiabatic theorem and using the Jordan-Wigner transform to find effective Hamiltonians

This thesis explores two mathematical aspects of adiabatic quantum computation. Adiabatic quantum computation depends on the adiabatic theorem of quantum mechanics, and (a) we provide a rigorous formulation of the adiabatic theorem with explicit definitions of constants, and (b) we bound error in the adiabatic approximation under conditions of noise and experimental error. We apply the new results to a standard example of violation of the adiabatic approximation, and to a superconducting flux qubit. Further, adiabatic quantum computation requires large ground-state energy gaps throughout a Hamiltonian evolution if it is to solve problems in polynomial time. We identify a class of random Hamiltonians with non-nearest-neighbor interactions and a ground-state energy gap of $\mathcal{O}(1/\sqrt{n})$, where $n$ is the number of qubits. We also identify two classes of Hamiltonians with non-nearest-neighbor interactions whose ground state can be found in polynomial time with adiabatic quantum computing. We then use the Jordan-Wigner transformation to derive equivalent results for Hamiltonians defined using Pauli operators

Engaging Rural Youth in Physical Activity Promotion Research in an After-School Setting

BACKGROUND: West Virginia, the second most rural state in the nation, has a higher than average prevalence of chronic diseases, especially those related to physical inactivity and obesity. Innovative educational approaches are needed to increase physical activity among adults and youth in rural areas and reduce rural health disparities. This paper describes West Virginia's Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) Education and Outreach on Healthy Weight and Physical Activity. The project involved teachers and underserved high school students in social science research aimed at increasing physical activity among student and community participants. CONTEXT: The HSTA is an ongoing initiative of university–school–community partnerships in West Virginia that offers academic enrichment to high-school students in after-school clubs. For this project, six HSTA clubs were awarded grants to conduct research on physical activity promotion during the 2003–2004 school year. The project was funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. METHODS: Focus groups, workshops, and targeted technical assistance were used to assist teachers and students with developing, implementing, and evaluating their research projects. Each club completed one project, and students reported on their research at the annual HSTA symposium held in the spring. Teachers documented their experience with the projects in process journals before and during implementation. CONSEQUENCES: Data from the teachers' process journals revealed that they believed this research experience increased their students' interest in health and health science careers and increased their students' understanding of social science research methods. Challenges included lack of time after school to complete all activities, competing student activities, limited social science research experience of both teachers and students, and delays that resulted from a lengthy human subjects approval process. INTERPRETATION: The entire process was too ambitious to be achieved in one school year. Recommendations for future implementation include offering training modules on social science research methods for both teachers and students. These modules could be offered as a graduate course for teachers and as an in-school elective within the curriculum or as a summer institute for students. This preparatory training might alleviate some of the time management issues experienced by all the projects and could result in more skilled teacher and student researchers

Proxemics mobile collocated interactions

Recent research on mobile collocated interactions has been looking at situations in which collocated users engage in collaborative activities using their mobile devices. However, existing practices fail to fully account for the culturally-dependent spatial relationships between people and their digital devices (i.e. the proxemic relationships). Building on the ideas of proxemic interactions, this workshop is motivated by the concept of 'proxemic mobile collocated interactions', to harness new or existing technologies to create engaging and interactionally relevant experiences. Such approaches would allow devices to not only react to presence and interaction, but also other indicators, such as the interpersonal distance people naturally use in everyday life. The aim of this one-day workshop is to bring together a community of researchers, designers and practitioners who are interested in exploring proxemics and mobile collocated interactions