A New Species of Mnioes (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae) from the United States

This is the first record of the genus Mnioes in the United States. Previously described species are all Neotropic. Townes described the genus in 1946, placing Lampronota? jircunda Cresson, 1874, and Meniscus ? orbitalis Cresson, 1874, in it. The new species described here has been collected from several areas in the United States. This study was made while the author was a graduate student at The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Non-linear density dependence in time series is not evidence of non-logistic growth

Time series of population density are often used to seek deviations from logistic regulation by testing for a non-linear decline in per capita growth rate with density. Here I show that this method fails when the interval between observations is not matched by the timing of density impacts on growth. Time series overestimate instantaneous density impacts at low density and underestimate them at high density. More generally, logistic growth produces a deterministically decelerating decline in per capita growth with density if the interval between measures of population size exceeds any lag in density response. Deceleration arises independently out of stochastic density fluctuations, and under-compensating regulation. These multiple influences lead to the conclusion that sequential density estimates provide insufficient information on their own to reveal the identity of non-logistic growth processes. They can yield estimates of density compensation, however, which may suggest time lags in density dependence. Analysis of an empirical time series illustrates the issues

Songs From Wilhelm Tell

The following selections are translated from the German of the first three songs from Wilhelm Tell, by Friedrich Schiller

Developing an Intelligent Table Tennis Umpiring System: Identifying the ball from the scene

This paper reports further development of an intelligent table tennis umpiring system, of which the idea and plan was previously published at this conference in 2007. Briefly, table tennis is a fast sport. A service usually takes a few seconds to complete but an umpire needs to make many observations and makes a judgment before or soon after the service is complete. This is a complex task and the author believes the employment of videography, image processing and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies could help evaluating the service. The aim of this research is to develop an intelligent system which is able to identify and track the location of the ball from live video images and evaluate the service according to the service rules. In this paper, the techniques of identifying a table tennis ball from the scene is described and discussed. A number of image processing techniques have been employed to identify and measure the characteristics of the ball. Artificial neural networks have been applied as a classifier. It classifies whether the detected object is not-a- ball, a ball on the palm or a ball in mid air. The system has been tested on 21 still images which contain pictures of ball-like objects, balls on the palm and in mid air. The preliminary results are very promising. Out of 83 objects, 82 have been correctly classified. The system will be further tested on video images once the video is captured and processed. This paper also discusses the idea of implementing the final system as a multi-agent system, which the author believes it is appropriate for this application because multiple cameras will have to be employed to obtain accurate results

Teaching Physicians Procedural Skills at a National Professional Meeting

Background: Practicing physicians often wish to improve their procedural skills but have limited educational opportunities to do so. Description: To summarize the effects of two procedural workshops on participants’ confidence, proficiency, and practice patterns. Evaluation: Following completion of a skin biopsy or arthrocentesis workshop, participants completed a post-course and an 8-month follow up evaluation. Recipients of this training rated it highly and reported that following training they performed more procedures, referred less, and noted an increase in their confidence that was still evident eight months after the workshop. Conclusion: Skin biopsy and arthrocentesis/joint injection skills can be taught to practicing physicians in a workshop setting at national professional meetings. Key Words: clinical competence; internal medicine; teaching; educational measuremen

Impacts of Selected Title I Provisions of the Senate Committee Farm Bill

This report examines selected provisions of Title I of the “Food and Energy Security Act of 2007,” as approved by the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry.Agricultural and Food Policy, Food Security and Poverty, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

FAPRI Ethanol Briefing Materials for Congressman Peterson

This report summarizes information about ethanol markets and margins for ethanol producers under a continuation of current farm and energy policies.Agricultural and Food Policy, Resource /Energy Economics and Policy,

The Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007: Preliminary Evaluation of Selected Provisions

The “Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) of 2007” was signed into law in December 2007. This report provides a snapshot of estimated impacts of selected provisions of EISA on biofuel and agricultural markets.Agricultural and Food Policy,