\u3ci\u3eErynnis Funeralis\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Hesperiidae) and \u3ci\u3ePolygonia Zephyrus\u3c/i\u3e (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae) in Indiana: New State Records

(excerpt) On July 1, 1975, while collecting 18 Pieris napi oleraceal (Harris) in the famous tamarack bog near Mongo, LaGrange Co., Indiana, I collected a somewhat worn male Erynnis funeralis Scudder & Burgess when it was resting on the ground in an area between the bog and a woods

"The Limits of Prudential Supervision: Economic Problems, Institutional Failure and Competence"

Bank supervision typically receives little if any attention when banks are operating without difficulty. But when banks fail in large numbers, or large banks fail, and the system itself is threatened, supervision becomes a focal point for criticism and reform (see, for example, Conference Report, 1998, Title I, IX; Pecchioli, 1987, pp. 11 ff.; and Comptroller General of the U.S., 1977). On such occasions, institutional changes may take equal billing with the "improvement" of supervision. But as often as not, the only thing Congress can agree on is that supervision needs to be better. This usually translates into more supervisors operating with more authority. The repeated augmentation of bank supervision may give the impression that it is a solution rather that a symptom of recurring banking problems; and it is in the interest of supervisors to suggest that this is the case. Repeated disappointments about past performances never seem to undermine the promise that more and better supervisors, with more authority, will make things better in the future. The historical record suggests that this is not true. There are, however, independent reasons for questioning whether, in and of itself, more supervisors with more restrictive authority will help very much. It is argued below that the promise of supervisory enhancement is an illusion traceable to the belief that ignores the limitations of supervision in dealing with the problems that actually exist. These limitations include: (1) the existence of an intractable economic problem confronting depository institutions; (2) at least two distinct institutional failures, a fragmented regulatory system composed of multiple agencies and the growth of opportunism among banking organizations, that make it difficult to formulate and implement appropriate policies; and, finally, (3) the inability of the existing supervisory establishment to deal with these economic and structural issues. The nature of supervision is discussed. The limitations are reviewed in Section III, and the inadequacy of the current supervisory establishment to deal with the problems it must deal with to be successful is considered in Section IV. Some proposals to remedy the existing difficulties are presented in Section V. These include the consolidation of the "stand-alone" supervisory agencies with the monetary authority.

"The Limits of Prudential Supervision, Reorganizing the Federal Bank Regulatory Agencies,"

According to Shull, although the recent round of banking legislation--most notably the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (FIRREA) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act (FDICIA)--did take steps toward preventing financial crises, it did not go far enough in the area of unifying the regulatory structure. Shull proposes unifying federal bank regulatory agencies that presently have flexible authority over competing institutions. In essence, the reorganization would integrate monetary policy and deposit insurance authority with the conventional functions of regulation and supervision. Shull contends that such an integration would foster greater efficiency, improved policy planning, and better accountability while protecting against the hazards of excessive concentration of power. Among the possibilities for a consolidated regulatory agency, Shull prefers consolidation in the Federal Reserve because it is the only banking agency whose structure was originally designed to deal with concerns about concentration of power.

X-ray spectroscopic observations and modeling of supernova remnants

The X-ray observations of young remnants and their theoretical interpretation are described. A number of questions concerning the nature of the blast wave interaction with the interstellar gas and grains and of atomic processes in these hot plasmas are considered. It is concluded that future X-ray spectrometers with high collecting area, moderate spectral resolution and good spatial resolution can make important contributions to the understanding of supernova remnants in the Milky Way and neighboring galaxies and of their role in the global chemical and dynamical evolution of the interstellar medium

ARGENTINA; AT THE CROSSROADS

International Relations/Trade,

Methods of research on infectious disease in spaceflight. A preliminary study of application of biosatellite techniques to studies of infectious disease processes

Research methods for investigating infectious disease in manned space flight without human exposur

Battery peak charge voltage monitor for dual air density satellite

A battery peak charge voltage monitor was developed for use on the dual air density satellite (DADS). This device retains a reading of the maximum voltage reached by the spacecraft battery during periods of charging, and makes it available during periods of data transmission. The monitor is connected across the battery and operates solely from the battery; it is powered continuously with quiescent input current of only 3 milliamperes. Standard integrated circuits and a thin-film resistor network are utilized. The monitor occupies approximately 40 square centimeters of a printed-circuit board within a larger electronic package