BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY OF PHANAEUS DUNG BEETLES (COLEOPTERA: SCARABAEIDAE): REVIEW AND NEW OBSERVATIONS

The genus Phanaeus Macleay comprises an important part of the Neotropical dung beetle fauna. With a few exceptions, these beetles are preferentially coprophagous, exploiting the moist excrement of large herbivores and omnivores. The nesting behavior (nidification) of Phanaeus is characterized mainly by tunneling rather than rolling behavior. Phanaeus species are Pattern II nesters: during the breeding season, the male and female cooperate in provisioning the nesting gallery, even though females can perform these activities alone. Their intricate behaviors and extravagant colors and horns have made these beetles the subject of numerous publications dealing with male-male competition, bisexual cooperation, nidification and more. This review is meant to give an overview of published and new behavioral observations for these species as well as to suggest directions for future research

Construction of the Soudan 2 detector

Progress in the construction of the Soudan 2 nucleon decay detector which is being built at the Soudan iron mine in Minnesota is discussed. The expected event rate and characteristics of low energy neutrino events, muon events, multiple muon events, and other cosmic ray phenomena are discussed

Manatee Occurrence in the Northern Gulf of Mexico, West of Florida

Reports of West Indian manatees (Trichechus manatus) in the US Gulf of Mexico west of Florida have increased during the last decade. We reviewed all available manatee sighting, capture, and carcass records (n = 377) from Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas since the early 1900s; only 40 of these were previously published. Manatees were reported most often in estuarine habitats, usually either near a freshwater source or natural or industrial warm-water springs/runoffs during winter months. The recent increase in manatee records may be due to a combination of increased public awareness and dispersal of manatees, most likely seasonal migrants from Florida. We caution that the presence of artificial warm-water sources outside of the manatee’s traditional range may attract an increasing number of manatees and could increase the incidence of cold-related mortality in this region

Database computing in HEP

The major SSC experiments are expected to produce up to 1 Petabyte of data per year each. Once the primary reconstruction is completed by farms of inexpensive processors, I/O becomes a major factor in further analysis of the data. We believe that the application of database techniques can significantly reduce the I/O performed in these analyses. We present examples of such I/O reductions in prototypes based on relational and object-oriented databases of CDF data samples

Implementing telephone triage in general practice: a process evaluation of a cluster randomised controlled trial

Background: Telephone triage represents one strategy to manage demand for face-to-face GP appointments in primary care. However, limited evidence exists of the challenges GP practices face in implementing telephone triage. We conducted a qualitative process evaluation alongside a UK-based cluster randomised trial (ESTEEM) which compared the impact of GP-led and nurse-led telephone triage with usual care on primary care workload, cost, patient experience, and safety for patients requesting a same-day GP consultation. The aim of the process study was to provide insights into the observed effects of the ESTEEM trial from the perspectives of staff and patients, and to specify the circumstances under which triage is likely to be successfully implemented. Here we report perspectives of staff. Methods: The intervention comprised implementation of either GP-led or nurse-led telephone triage for a period of 2-3 months. A qualitative evaluation was conducted using staff interviews recruited from eight general practices (4 GP triage, 4 Nurse triage) in the UK, implementing triage as part of the ESTEEM trial. Qualitative interviews were undertaken with 44 staff members in GP triage and nurse triage practices (16 GPs, 8 nurses, 7 practice managers, 13 administrative staff). Results: Staff reported diverse experiences and perceptions regarding the implementation of telephone triage, its effects on workload, and on the benefits of triage. Such diversity were explained by the different ways triage was organised, the staffing models used to support triage, how the introduction of triage was communicated across practice staff, and by how staff roles were reconfigured as a result of implementing triage. Conclusion: The findings from the process evaluation offer insight into the range of ways GP practices participating in ESTEEM implemented telephone triage, and the circumstances under which telephone triage can be successfully implemented beyond the context of a clinical trial. Staff experiences and perceptions of telephone triage are shaped by the way practices communicate with staff, prepare for and sustain the changes required to implement triage effectively, as well as by existing practice culture, and staff and patient behaviour arising in response to the changes made. Trial registration: Current Controlled Trials ISRCTN20687662. Registered 28 May 2009

The value of carbon sequestration and storage in coastal habitats

Coastal margin habitats are globally significant in terms of their capacity to sequester and store carbon, but their continuing decline, due to environmental change and human land use decisions, is reducing their capacity to provide this ecosystem service. In this paper the UK is used as a case study area to develop methodologies to quantify and value the ecosystem service of blue carbon sequestration and storage in coastal margin habitats. Changes in UK coastal habitat area between 1900 and 2060 are documented, the long term stocks of carbon stored by these habitats are calculated, and the capacity of these habitats to sequester CO2 is detailed. Changes in value of the carbon sequestration service of coastal habitats are then projected for 2000–2060 under two scenarios, the maintenance of the current state of the habitat and the continuation of current trends of habitat loss. If coastal habitats are maintained at their current extent, their sequestration capacity over the period 2000–2060 is valued to be in the region of £1 billion UK sterling (3.5% discount rate). However, if current trends of habitat loss continue, the capacity of the coastal habitats both to sequester and store CO2 will be significantly reduced, with a reduction in value of around £0.25 billion UK sterling (2000–2060; 3.5% discount rate). If loss-trends due to sea level rise or land reclamation worsen, this loss in value will be greater. This case study provides valuable site specific information, but also highlights global issues regarding the quantification and valuation of carbon sequestration and storage. Whilst our ability to value ecosystem services is improving, considerable uncertainty remains. If such ecosystem valuations are to be incorporated with confidence into national and global policy and legislative frameworks, it is necessary to address this uncertainty. Recommendations to achieve this are outlined

AIDS virus–specific CD8+ T lymphocytes against an immunodominant cryptic epitope select for viral escape

Cryptic major histocompatibility complex class I epitopes have been detected in several pathogens, but their importance in the immune response to AIDS viruses remains unknown. Here, we show that Mamu-B*17+ simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)mac239-infected rhesus macaques that spontaneously controlled viral replication consistently made strong CD8+ T lymphocyte (CD8-TL) responses against a cryptic epitope, RHLAFKCLW (cRW9). Importantly, cRW9-specific CD8-TL selected for viral variation in vivo and effectively suppressed SIV replication in vitro, suggesting that they might play a key role in the SIV-specific response. The discovery of an immunodominant CD8-TL response in elite controller macaques against a cryptic epitope suggests that the AIDS virus–specific cellular immune response is likely far more complex than is generally assumed

A Study of Cosmic Ray Composition in the Knee Region using Multiple Muon Events in the Soudan 2 Detector

Deep underground muon events recorded by the Soudan 2 detector, located at a depth of 2100 meters of water equivalent, have been used to infer the nuclear composition of cosmic rays in the "knee" region of the cosmic ray energy spectrum. The observed muon multiplicity distribution favors a composition model with a substantial proton content in the energy region 800,000 - 13,000,000 GeV/nucleus.Comment: 38 pages including 11 figures, Latex, submitted to Physical Review

Characteristic Evolution and Matching

I review the development of numerical evolution codes for general relativity based upon the characteristic initial value problem. Progress in characteristic evolution is traced from the early stage of 1D feasibility studies to 2D axisymmetric codes that accurately simulate the oscillations and gravitational collapse of relativistic stars and to current 3D codes that provide pieces of a binary black hole spacetime. Cauchy codes have now been successful at simulating all aspects of the binary black hole problem inside an artificially constructed outer boundary. A prime application of characteristic evolution is to extend such simulations to null infinity where the waveform from the binary inspiral and merger can be unambiguously computed. This has now been accomplished by Cauchy-characteristic extraction, where data for the characteristic evolution is supplied by Cauchy data on an extraction worldtube inside the artificial outer boundary. The ultimate application of characteristic evolution is to eliminate the role of this outer boundary by constructing a global solution via Cauchy-characteristic matching. Progress in this direction is discussed.Comment: New version to appear in Living Reviews 2012. arXiv admin note: updated version of arXiv:gr-qc/050809