Notes on nomenclature in Xylotrupes Hope (Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae: Dynastini)

A list of taxa belonging to Xylotrupes Hope (Scarabaeidae: Dynastinae: Dynastini) is presented which incorporates several taxonomic actions: X. australicus darwinia Rowland comb. nov.; X. damarensis Rowland stat. nov.; X. lorquini zideki Rowland comb. nov.; X. macleayi szekessyi Endrödi comb. nov.; X. pachycera Rowland stat. nov.; X. philippinensis philippinensis Endrödi stat. nov.; X. philippinensis peregrinus Rowland comb. nov.; X. sumatrensis tanahmelayu Rowland comb. nov.; X. tadoana Rowland stat. nov.; X. telemachos Rowland stat. nov.; X. wiltrudae Silvestre stat. nov. Two new taxa are described: X. carinulus sp. nov. and X. clinias buru ssp. nov. Lectotypes are designated for X. lamachus Minck and X. clinias Schaufuss. Xylotrupes lamachus is found to be a junior subjective synonym of X. ulysses (Guérin-Méneville), new synonymy

Phylogeny and systematics of the giant rhinoceros beetles (Scarabaeidae: Dynastini)

This report contains the first inclusive phylogenetic analysis and taxonomic structure for the genera presently included within the scarabaeid tribe Dynastini. The study was based upon morphological, biogeographic and molecular data and yielded direct support for the recognition of three subtribes in the Dynastini: Dynastina MacLeay, New Status (Dynastes Kirby, Augosoma Burmeister, Megasoma Kirby, Golofa Hope), Xylotrupina Hope, New Status (Xylotrupes Hope, Allomyrina Arrow, Trypoxylus Minck, Xyloscaptes Prell) and Chalcosomina Rowland and Miller, New Subtribe (Chalcosoma Hope, Haploscapanes Arrow, Beckius Dechambre, Eupatorus Burmeister, Pachyoryctes Arrow). The results provide indirect but significant support for the origin of the tribe Dynastini to be of an age no later than the early Late Cretaceous. Molecular and morphological evidence suggests that Eupatorus as constituted in current taxonomic literature is not monophyletic, and taxonomic alternatives are discussed to address this deficiency. A plausible explanation is also provided for the perplexing use by F. W. Hope of the family-group names Xylotrupidae and Dynastidae

Co-viewing TV with Twitter: more interesting than the shows?

Social media services, and Twitter in particular, are changing the way in which many people consume traditional broadcast media. Real-time backchannel conversations are now common-place as audiences simultaneously watch TV whilst using Twitter to broadcast their own thoughts, sentiments, opinions and emotions related to what they are watching. This individual behavior, when aggregated, results in a new social experience comprising of mass, real-time, coconsumption of TV services that has, thus far, been neither recognized nor investigated by the HCI community nor the broadcast industry. This paper describes a work-in-progress which aims to understand user behaviour in this burgeoning area and provides some preliminary analysis of viewers’ Twitter activity surrounding the popular UK TV show, The X Factor

Cross-middleware Interoperability in Distributed Concurrent Engineering

Secure, distributed collaboration between different organizations is a key challenge in Grid computing today. The GDCD project has produced a Grid-based demonstrator Virtual Collaborative Facility (VCF) for the European Space Agency. The purpose of this work is to show the potential of Grid technology to support fully distributed concurrent design, while addressing practical considerations including network security, interoperability, and integration of legacy applications. The VCF allows domain engineers to use the concurrent design methodology in a distributed fashion to perform studies for future space missions. To demonstrate the interoperability and integration capabilities of Grid computing in concurrent design, we developed prototype VCF components based on ESA’s current Excel-based Concurrent Design Facility (a non-distributed environment), using a STEP-compliant database that stores design parameters. The database was exposed as a secure GRIA 5.1 Grid service, whilst a .NET/WSE3.0-based library was developed to enable secure communication between the Excel client and STEP database

Installation of insecticide-treated durable wall lining: evaluation of attachment materials and product durability under field conditions.

BACKGROUND: Insecticide-treated durable wall lining (DL) is a new method of vector control designed to supplement LLINs and overcome two inherent limitations of LLINs and IRS: nightly behavioural compliance and short residual activity, respectively. DL is a deltamethrin-treated polyethylene material, which when used to cover interior house walls, functions as long-lasting IRS. Because the DL concept anticipates minimal upkeep, a primary challenge is how to guarantee correct household installation and in situ longevity for several years. Field trials were undertaken on various wall surfaces in Ghana to identify a logistically feasible, durable and re-usable method for DL wall attachment and to pilot new methods for assessing DL durability. METHODS: Over fifty-five candidate attachment or fixing products, including mechanical fasteners, material anchors and adhesives, were evaluated for their ability to tolerate static loads (simulating long-term installation) and short-term heavy weights (imitating shock damage). Attachment products were also scored using qualitative logistical and feasibility criteria, including ease of preparation, grip of fixing to DL and possibility of re-use. RESULTS: The stress tests provided a standardised, reproducible and reliable system for assessing fixing effectiveness and DL durability, with 64% (14/22) of adhesives and 15% (2/13) of mechanical fasteners failing to meet the minimum requirements of attaching DL to mud walls for set time periods. For most fixings, less outward load (0.2-8.0 kg) was required to detach DL from the wall, compared to downward load (0.2-19.2 kg). Fixings were better able to grip DL onto concrete than clay surfaces. Using a plastic nail cap to increase DL attachment area greatly improved grip and outward load tolerance, more so than varying nail size, length or texture. CONCLUSIONS: Based on a series of systematic stress tests, optimized fixing products for polyethylene DL wall attachment were identified. In parallel, a detailed and adaptable method of DL household installation was developed for routine deployment in malaria endemic areas. These standardized stress tests will form the basis for comparative evaluations of new types of DL textile, which incorporate non-pyrethroid insecticides to control malaria transmitted by resistant mosquito populations