\u3ci\u3eTomicus Piniperda\u3c/i\u3e (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) Reproduction and Development in Scots, Jack, Red and Eastern White Pine Under Laboratory Conditions

The pine shoot beetle, Tomicus piniperda (L.) (Coleoptera: Scolytidae), is an exotic bark beetle in North America that was first found in the Great Lakes region in 1992. We evaluated T. piniperda reproduction and development in one Eurasian pine (Scots pine, Pinus sylvestris L.) and three North American pines (jack pine, P. banksiana Lamb.; red pine, P. resinosa Ait.; and eastern white pine, P. strobus L.) under laboratory conditions. We introduced one pair of adults into individual pine bolts, allowed development, collected brood, and later debarked all bolts and measured galleries. Reproduction and development occurred in all pine species tested. Mean phloem thickness varied significantly among the bolts used to represent the four pine species; it was thickest in red pine (1.3 mm) and thinnest in jack pine (0.6 mm). Linear regression analysis indicated that initial brood production (larval galleries per cm of egg gallery) increased significantly with increasing phloem thickness (r2 = 0.36), using the pooled data set for all four pine species. Using phloem thickness as a covariate, mean initial brood density (larval galleries per cm of gallery) was significantly highest on red pine, intermediate on Scots pine and white pine, and lowest on jack pine. Overall brood survival was highest on Scots pine (86%) and lowest on jack (72%) and white pine (76%); phloem thickness was not a significant covariate in this analysis

Surface properties of solids using a semi-infinite approach and the tight-binding approximation

A semi-infinite approach (rather than a slab method or finite number of layers) is used to treat surface properties such as wave functions, energy levels, and Fermi surfaces of semi-infinite solids within the tight-binding (TB) approximation. Previous single-band results for the face-centered cubic lattice with a (111) surface and for the simple cubic lattice with a (001) surface are extended to semi-infinite layers, while the extension to calculations of other surfaces is straightforward. Treatment of more complicated systems is illustrated in the calculation of the graphite (0001) surface. Four interacting bands are considered in the determination of the wave functions, energies, and Fermi surface of the graphite (0001) surface. For the TB model used, the matrix elements in the secular determinants for the semi-infinite solid and for the infinite bulk solid obey the same expressions, and the wave functions are closely related. Accordingly, the results for the bulk system can then be directly applied to the semi-infinite one. The main purpose of the present paper is to provide wave functions and other properties used elsewhere to treat phenomena such as scanning tunneling microscopy and electron transfer rates at electrodes

Thermodynamic properties and phase diagrams of spin-1 quantum Ising systems with three-spin interactions

The spin-1 quantum Ising systems with three-spin interactions on two-dimensional triangular lattices are studied by mean-field method. The thermal variations of order parameters and phase diagrams are investigated in detail. The stable, metastable and unstable branches of the order parameters are obtained. According to the stable conditions at critical point, we find that the systems exhibit tricritical points. With crystal field and biquadratic interactions, the system has rich phase diagrams with single reentrant or double reentrant phase transitions for appropriate ranges of the both parameters.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

A New Perspective of the Radio Bright Zone at The Galactic Center: Feedback from Nuclear Activities

New observations of Sgr A have been carried out with the VLA using the broadband (2 GHz) continuum mode at 5.5 GHz, covering the central 30 pc region of the RBZ at the Galactic center. Using the MS-MFS algorithms in CASA, we have imaged Sgr A with a resolution of 1", achieving an rms 8 $\mu$Jy/beam, and a dynamic range 100,000:1.The radio image is compared with X-ray, CN emission-line and Paschen-$\alpha$ images obtained using Chandra, SMA and HST/NICMOS, respectively. We discuss several prominent radio features. The "Sgr A West Wings" extend 5 pc from the NW and SE tips of the ionized "Mini-spiral" in Sgr A West to positions located 2.9 and 2.4 arc min to the NW and SE of Sgr A*, respectively. The NW wing, along with several other prominent features, including the "NW Streamers", form an elongated radio lobe (NW lobe), oriented nearly perpendicular to the Galactic plane. This radio lobe, with a size of 14.4 pc x 7.3 pc, has a known X-ray counterpart. A row of three thermally emitting rings is observed in the NW lobe. A field containing numerous amorphous radio blobs extends for a distance of ~2 arc min beyond the tip of the SE wing; these features coincide with the SE X-ray lobe. Most of the amorphous radio blobs in the NW and SE lobes have Paschen-$\alpha$ counterparts, suggesting that a shock interaction of ambient gas concentrations with a collimated nuclear wind (outflow) that may be driven by radiation force from the central star cluster within the CND. Finally, we remark on a prominent radio feature located within the shell of the Sgr A East SNR. Because this feature -- the "Sigma Front" -- correlates well in shape and orientation with the nearby edge of the CND, we propose that it is a reflected shock wave resulting from the impact of the Sgr A East blast wave on the CND.Comment: 18 pages, 9 figures, ApJ accepte

Hydrogen as a Source of Flux Noise in SQUIDs

Superconducting qubits are hampered by flux noise produced by surface spins from a variety of microscopic sources. Recent experiments indicated that hydrogen (H) atoms may be one of those sources. Using density functional theory calculations, we report that H atoms either embedded in, or adsorbed on, an a-Al2O3(0001) surface have sizeable spin moments ranging from 0.81 to 0.87 uB with energy barriers for spin reorientation as low as ~10 mK. Furthermore, H adatoms on the surface attract gas molecules such as O2, producing new spin sources. We propose coating the surface with graphene to eliminate H-induced surface spins and to protect the surface from other adsorbates.Comment: 12 pages, 4 figure

Examining long-run relationships between Australian beef prices

Cointegration and impulse response analyses are used to investigate the short‐run and long‐run dynamics of the Australian beef market. The aim of this study is to determine whether long‐run relationships existed between Australian beef prices at the farm, wholesale and retail levels. Based on monthly data from 1971 to 1994, the results show that all three prices considered are cointegrated. Furthermore, the wholesale price is found to be weakly exogenous. The latter result might be an indication of market inefficiency due in part to price levelling often practised in the beef marketing system.Demand and Price Analysis, Livestock Production/Industries,