A new North American species of Microrhagus Dejean, 1833 (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae) : with a key to the Nearctic species

Microrhagus brunneus, new species (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae: Melasinae: Dirhagini) is described from Arkansas, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Dorsal, ventral and lateral habitus, along with male aedeagus are illustrated and a new key is provided to distinguish the new species from the four other Microrhagus species in the region

Description of a new species of Adelorhagus Horn, 1890 (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae) from Honduras with a key to the species

Adelorhagus bicoloratus, new species (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae: Melasinae: Dirhagini) is described from Honduras. Dorsal, ventral and lateral habitus, along with male aedeagus are illustrated and a key is provided to distinguish the new species from that of Adelorhagus lateralis Horn, 1890

Radio Observations of 4079 Quasars

Using the NVSS radio catalog, we have searched for radio emission from 4079 quasars taken from the 1996 version of the Veron-Cetty and Veron (1996) quasar catalog. The comparison resulted in the positive detection of radio emission from 799 quasars. Of these, 168 are new radio detections. Examination of the radio luminosities shows a dramatic increase in the fraction of radio-loud quasars from the current epoch to z=0.5 and a gradual decline beyond z=1.0. Inspection of the radio-loud fraction as a function of M_B shows little dependence fainter than M_B=-29.5.Comment: 25 pages, including 9 figures and 1 tabl

New Species Records for Wisconsin False Click Beetles (Coleoptera: Eucnemidae),

In Wisconsin, Microrhagus opacus, Euryptychus ulkei and Fornax bicolor are recorded for the first time. Records for these three species are based on nine specimens, most of which were taken since 2008. Two specimens of M. opacus taken from a Grant County Malaise trap in the late 1970’s as part of a statewide gypsy moth parasitoid recovery project, were previously identified as Microrhagus audax. Most of the specimens reported herein were taken late in the collecting season, primarily during August. A checklist of the 20 genera and 41 species of Wisconsin Eucnemidae is also included

Producing and Manipulating Information

To reduce the chances of policy failures, policy makers need information about the effects of policies. Sometimes, policy makers can rely on agents who already possess the information. Often, the information has yet to be produced. This raises two problems. First, for a policy maker it is hard to ascertain how much effort an expert has put in acquiring information. Second, when the expert has an interest in the policy outcome, she may manipulate information to bring the policy decision more in line with her preferences. We show that experts who are unbiased toward the policy alternatives put highest effort in collecting information. Eliminating manipulation of information, however, requires that the preferences of the policy maker and the expert are aligned. Hence, when selecting an expert, policy makers face a trade-off. We show that policy makers optimally appoint experts with policy preferences which are less extreme than their own.

Tracking Dark Energy with the ISW effect: short and long-term predictions

We present an analysis of the constraining power of future measurements of the Integrated Sachs-Wolfe (ISW) effect on models of the equation of state of dark energy as a function of redshift, w(z). To achieve this, we employ a new parameterization of w, which utilizes the mean value of w(z) () as an explicit parameter. This helps to separate the information contained in the estimation of the distance to the last scattering surface (from the CMB) from the information contained in the ISW effect. We then use Fisher analysis to forecast the expected uncertainties in the measured parameters from future ISW observations for two models of dark energy with very different time evolution properties. For example, we demonstrate that the cross-correlation of Planck CMB data and LSST galaxy catalogs will provide competitive constraints on w(z), compared to a SNAP-like SNe project, for models of dark energy with a rapidly changing equation of state (e.g. 'Kink' models). Our work confirms that, while SNe measurements are more suitable for constraining variations in w(z) at low redshift, the ISW effect can provide important independent constraints on w(z) at high z.Comment: 15 pages, 17 figures. Added discussion, references, 2 new figures. Minor errors fixed in the calculation. The predicted ISW constraints on w(z) are slightly tighter. Matches the version accepted to PR

Solar Hydrogen Production by Solar Thermal Decoupled Electrolysis: Analysis of FE3O4 in Solution

The Valparaiso University Solar Research Project utilizes a solar thermal decoupled electrolysis process for the production of H2 from water. This study focuses on the electrochemical conversion of magnetite to hematite during the H2 production process. Laboratory experiments show that the expected amount of H2 gas forms at the cathode of the electrolytic cell, but we have encountered difficulties recovering the expected amount of solid hematite at the anode. An intensive study of the complex solution chemistry using cyclic voltammetry, Mossbauer spectroscopy, and solubility modeling showed that several dissolved iron species potentially exist in solution. Further work must be done to clarify which species are key participants in the overall electrochemical reaction. This information will help us to determine and implement reaction conditions that are favorable for precipitation of hematite or other oxidized iron species