New revision underway: American beetles : a handbook of the beetles of Nearctic America

Several Coleopterists have been asked to revise the family sections, working from diskettes modified and provided from the original "Beetles of the United States." They will rewrite these sections, and will be recognized as the author of the section. They are asked to sign a writing contract with the publisher. Other Coleopterists have been asked to review the family sections of the new book. These persons are acknowledged in the family section text

Pre and post fire carbon dynamics in a Florida Scrub oak

Scrub oak is a xeromorphic shrub ecosystem discontinuously distributed in coastal and inland Florida. It supports a high biodiversity which includes a large number of endangered and threatened species. Its structural features are maintained by a fire return cycle of 7 to 10 years which maintains the biodiversity. Management of fire prone ecosystems such as this raises the question of whether the management strategy contributes to the system being a carbon sink or carbon source over the long-term. We used eddy covariance and biometric approaches to measure carbon dynamics in a Florida scrub oak ecosystem located at Kennedy Space Center in east Central Florida from April 2004 to December 2007. The study site was controlled burned in February 2006. Two years previous to fire, the site experienced average precipitation but drought conditions during the two years after fire. Net ecosystem production (NEP) was 419 g C m-2 yr-1 during the first year of measurements, and the ecosystem incorporated 823 g C m-2 during the 22 months before the fire. Aboveground net primary production (NPP) represented 50% of annual NEP. Carbon released by fire reached 316 g C m-2. Ecosystem respiration (Re) dominated the carbon balance during the first six months after fire, and the ecosystem released an extra 119 g C m-2. However, gross ecosystem production (GEP) increased with leaf area index (LAI) after fire, dominating the carbon balance during the following six months. The ecosystem was a carbon sink of 88 g C m-2 yr-1 during the first year after the fire. Leaf area index (LAI) reached 1.54 m2 m-2 by October 2007 (80% of pre-burn value for the same time period). The scrub oak ecosystem was a continuous carbon sink six months after the fire despite the dominant drought conditions during 2006 – 2007. The ecosystem offset 80% (251 g C m-2) of the carbon released in the fire during the following twenty two months after the fire. Considering the fire return cycle of 7 to 10 years and the fact that the study site and a similar site nearby incorporated more than 400 g C m-2 yr-1 during the two years before fire, this scrub oak is a net carbon sink in the landscape under current management strategies

Characterization and evaluation of acid rain in East Central Florida from 1978 to 1987: Ten year summary report

Rainfall was collected on the University of Central Florida (UCF) campus near Orlando since July 1977 and at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida since August 1977. Since November 1983, the KSC site has been affiliated with the National Atmospheric Deposition Network. Annual volume weighted pH was slightly above the 10 year mean of 4.58 during four of the past five years. Nitrate concentrations have risen somewhat during recent years while excess sulfate concentrations have remained below the 10 year mean during four of the past years. These observations hold for both the UCF and KSC data. The distribution of individual sample pH was nearly identical at UCF and KSC. Stepwise regression suggests that sulfate, nitrate, ammonium ion, and calcium play major roles in the description of rainwater acidity. Annual acid deposition and annual rainfall have varied from 30 to 50 meq/m2-yr and 100 to 180 cm/yr, respectively. Sea salt comprises about 25 percent (UCF) and greater than 50 percent (KSC) of total ionic composition

Opportunities for promoting physical activity in rural communities by understanding the interests and values of community members

Purpose. Physical activity (PA) has well-established health benefits, but most Americans do not meet national guidelines. In southeastern Missouri, trails have been developed to increase rates of PA. Although this has had success, broad-scale interventions will be needed to improve rates further. In this study, we surveyed residents of southeastern Missouri to identify ways to improve rates of PA. Methods. We conducted a telephone survey in 2015 of adults (n=524) from eight rural Missouri towns that had walking trails, regarding their activities and interests. Findings. Forty percent of respondents reported both walking and meeting PA recommendations, 29% reported walking but not meeting PA recommendations, and the remainder did not walk or did not answer. Respondents who used the trails were significantly more likely to meet PA recommendations (odds ratio = 2.7; 95% confidence interval = 1.7, 4.5). Certain values and interests that may encourage PA or draw people to trails were common. Conclusions. The group that walked but did not meet PA recommendations would be the ideal group to target for intervention, which could focus on their reported values and interests (e.g., personal relationships, being outdoors). Use of walking trails was associated with meeting PA recommendations

Time-averaged aerodynamic loads on the vane sets of the 40- by 80-foot and 80- by 120-foot wind tunnel complex

Time-averaged aerodynamic loads are estimated for each of the vane sets in the National Full-Scale Aerodynamic Complex (NFAC). The methods used to compute global and local loads are presented. Experimental inputs used to calculate these loads are based primarily on data obtained from tests conducted in the NFAC 1/10-Scale Vane-Set Test Facility and from tests conducted in the NFAC 1/50-Scale Facility. For those vane sets located directly downstream of either the 40- by 80-ft test section or the 80- by 120-ft test section, aerodynamic loads caused by the impingement of model-generated wake vortices and model-generated jet and propeller wakes are also estimated

Effects of D-amino acid oxidase inhibition on memory performance and long-term potentiation in vivo

N-methyl-d-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) activation can initiate changes in synaptic strength, evident as long-term potentiation (LTP), and is a key molecular correlate of memory formation. Inhibition of d-amino acid oxidase (DAAO) may increase NMDAR activity by regulating d-serine concentrations, but which neuronal and behavioral effects are influenced by DAAO inhibition remain elusive. In anesthetized rats, extracellular field excitatory postsynaptic potentials (fEPSPs) were recorded before and after a theta frequency burst stimulation (TBS) of the Schaffer collateral pathway of the CA1 region in the hippocampus. Memory performance was assessed after training with tests of contextual fear conditioning (FC, mice) and novel object recognition (NOR, rats). Oral administration of 3, 10, and 30 mg/kg 4H-furo[3,2-b]pyrrole-5-carboxylic acid (SUN) produced dose-related and steady increases of cerebellum d-serine in rats and mice, indicative of lasting inhibition of central DAAO. SUN administered 2 h prior to training improved contextual fear conditioning in mice and novel object recognition memory in rats when tested 24 h after training. In anesthetized rats, LTP was established proportional to the number of TBS trains. d-cycloserine (DCS) was used to identify a submaximal level of LTP (5× TBS) that responded to NMDA receptor activation; SUN administered at 10 mg/kg 3–4 h prior to testing similarly increased in vivo LTP levels compared to vehicle control animals. Interestingly, in vivo administration of DCS also increased brain d-serine concentrations. These results indicate that DAAO inhibition increased NMDAR-related synaptic plasticity during phases of post training memory consolidation to improve memory performance in hippocampal-dependent behavioral tests