Millipeds from the eastern Dakotas and western Minnesota, USA, with an account of Pseudopolydesmus serratus (Say, 1821) (Polydesmida: Polydesmidae); first published records from six states and the District of Columbia

The diplopod orders Callipodida and Polydesmida, and their respective families Abacionidae and Xystodesmidae, are initially recorded from South Dakota as is Polydesmidae from North Dakota. Other new records of indigenous taxa include Abacion Rafinesque, 1820/A. texense (Loomis, 1937) and Pleuroloma/P. flavipes, both by Rafinesque, 1820, from South Dakota, and Pseudopolydesmus Attems, 1898/P. serratus (Say, 1821) from Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, New Hampshire, North Dakota, South Carolina, and the District of Columbia. New records of Aniulus garius Chamberlin, 1912, A. (Hakiulus) d. diversifrons (Wood, 1867), and Oriulus venustus (Wood, 1864) (Julida: Parajulidae) are provided for western Minnesota and/or eastern North Dakota. Published records from these states are summarized, and the introduced taxa, Julidae/Cylindroiulus Verhoeff, 1894/C. caeruleocinctus (Wood, 1864) and Paradoxosomatidae/Oxidus Cook, 1911/O. gracilis (C. L. Koch, 1847), are newly recorded from the Dakotas. The distribution of P. serratus, which extends from Maine to South Carolina and the Florida panhandle, west to Texas, and north to Fargo, North Dakota is described and discussed. This distribution exhibits a prominent southeastern lacuna which we hypothesize suggests replacement by younger, more successful species, as postulated for a similar distributional gap in Scytonotus granulatus (Say, 1821)

Preliminary Survey of the Terrestrial Isopods (Isopoda), Millipedes (Diplopoda), Harvestmen (Opiliones), and Spiders (Araneae) of Toft Point Natural Area, Door County, Wisconsin

Toft Point Natural Area is a National Natural Landmark owned and managed by the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay and located on the Lake Michigan shore of Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula. With twelve biotic communities on 700 acres, Toft Point contains considerable biological diversity. We conducted a preliminary survey of the arachnids (spiders and harvestmen, excluding mites and pseudoscorpions), millipedes (diplopods), and terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscoidea). Sampling occurred on three dates in 2001 using leaf litter collection with Berlese extraction and a timed collection by hand that incorporated a variety of techniques. Specimens from a 1992 survey and assorted collecting events were also used to compile a species list. The list includes five isopods, four millipedes, six harvestmen, and 113 spiders, including 16 new state records (two millipedes and 14 spiders) and 90 new Door County records. Litter collection and sampling in wetland habitats were both especially productive

First report of amynthas carnosus (goto & hatai, 1899) (oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) in the western hemisphere

Citation: Carrera-Mart'nez, R., & Snyder, B. A. (2016). First report of amynthas carnosus (goto & hatai, 1899) (oligochaeta: Megascolecidae) in the western hemisphere. Zootaxa, 4111(3), 297-300. doi:10.11646/zootaxa.4111.3.7The earthworm fauna of North America is still greatly unknown, with undescribed native species and new records of invasive species continually being discovered. The most recent checklists are difficult to reconcile, since they vary in their geographic coverage and taxonomy. Reynolds & Wetzel (2012) state that North America (including all of Mexico, some of the Caribbean, and Hawaii) is home for 256 species of earthworms, from which 188 are considered native or endemic and 68 are peregrine, exotic, and invasive species. Blakemore (2008) listed North America north of Mexico as having 183 earthworm species, of which 59 species are exotic. One Megascolecidae genus, Amynthas, is mostly located in the warmer subtropical and tropical regions of the world, with a few species that are able to survive the winter in the temperate zones of North America (Edwards & Bohlen 1995; Görres et al. 2014). Here we report for the first time the occurrence of Amynthas carnosus (Goto & Hatai, 1899) in the United States. To our knowledge, this is not only the first report of A. carnosus in North America, but also its first report in the Western Hemisphere. The description below is intended to place our specimens in the correct taxon while avoiding future confusion with similar species, without making changes to the existing classification system

Undercutting Studies of Protected Kapton. H Exposed to In-Space and Ground-Based Atomic Oxygen

This study is part of a Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) sequence to characterize the performance of prospective spacecraft materials when subjected to the synergistic effects of the space environment. Atomic oxygen (AO) is the most prevalent species in low earth orbit (LEO). In this environment AO is mainly responsible for the erosion of hydrocarbons and halocarbon polymers. The AO erosion rates of Kapton (DuPont) H are known and well documented. Hence, it is customary to compare the AO erosion yields of candidate materials to the commonly accepted standard of this polyimide. The purpose of this study was to provide characterization of AO degradation of SiO(x) protected Kapton H film, which was subject during MISSE 2 to undercutting erosion beneath microscopic defects in the protective film, and compare the degradation resulting from hyperthermal ram (approx.4.5 eV) LEO AO to the degradation resulting from exposure to thermal ground-based (approx.0.04 eV) AO

Electric Arc and Electrochemical Surface Texturing Technologies

Surface texturing of conductive materials can readily be accomplished by means of a moving electric arc which produces a plasma from the environmental gases as well as from the vaporized substrate and arc electrode materials. As the arc is forced to move across the substrate surface, a condensate from the plasma re-deposits an extremely rough surface which is intimately mixed and attached to the substrate material. The arc textured surfaces produce greatly enhanced thermal emittance and hold potential for use as high temperature radiator surfaces in space, as well as in systems which use radiative heat dissipation such as computer assisted tomography (CAT) scan systems. Electrochemical texturing of titanium alloys can be accomplished by using sodium chloride solutions along with ultrasonic agitation to produce a random distribution of craters on the surface. The crater size and density can be controlled to produce surface craters appropriately sized for direct bone in-growth of orthopaedic implants. Electric arc texturing and electrochemical texturing techniques, surface properties and potential applications will be presented

The X-Trials: Neural Correlates of an Inhibitory Control Task in Children and Adults

Event-related potentials (ERPs) were used to examine developmental differences between adults and 6-year-old children in the neural processes involved in an inhibitory control task. Twenty adults and 21 children completed a task that required them to selectively respond to target stimuli while inhibiting responses to equally salient non-target stimuli. Because this task had been previously studied using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the relation between the fMRI and ERP findings was informally examined. The results indicate that latency and amplitude of the P3 differentiated the different types of trials. However, the pattern of event-related neural activity differed for adults and children. These results, which suggest that adults and children may be using different processes to perform this task, have implications for the interpretation of the previous fMRI findings

Preliminary Survey of the Terrestrial Isopods (Isopoda), Millipedes (Diplopoda), Harvestmen (Opiliones), and Spiders (Araneae) of Toft Point Natural Area, Door County, Wisconsin

Toft Point Natural Area is a National Natural Landmark owned and managed by the University of Wisconsin – Green Bay and located on the Lake Michigan shore of Wisconsin’s Door Peninsula. With twelve biotic communities on 700 acres, Toft Point contains considerable biological diversity. We conducted a preliminary survey of the arachnids (spiders and harvestmen, excluding mites and pseudoscorpions), millipedes (diplopods), and terrestrial isopods (Isopoda: Oniscoidea). Sampling occurred on three dates in 2001 using leaf litter collection with Berlese extraction and a timed collection by hand that incorporated a variety of techniques. Specimens from a 1992 survey and assorted collecting events were also used to compile a species list. The list includes five isopods, four millipedes, six harvestmen, and 113 spiders, including 16 new state records (two millipedes and 14 spiders) and 90 new Door County records. Litter collection and sampling in wetland habitats were both especially productive

Superficial femoral artery eversion endarterectomy: A useful adjunct for infrainguinal bypass in the presence of limited autogenous vein

AbstractPurpose: To evaluate, in a group of technically high-risk patients, the results of infrainguinal revascularization using a conduit constructed with endarterectomized superficial femoral artery (SFA) and available arm or saphenous vein.Methods: Of 237 consecutive lower extremity vein graft bypass procedures performed in 195 patients from July 1992 through August 1996, 15 SFA eversion endarterectomies (in 10 men and five women; median age, 70 years) were performed and used as a composite bypass conduit with available autogenous vein for the treatment of limb-threatening ischemia. In each case, an occluded SFA was divided 8 to 15 cm distal to its origin, proximally endarterectomized, and sewn end-to-end to a segment of vein to provide adequate conduit length for bypass grafting. Indications for this technique were unavailability of vein as a result of failed previous bypass grafting (n = 10) or previous coronary artery bypass grafting (n = 5). Veins were sewn distally to a below-knee popliteal artery (n = 4; 27%) or tibial artery (n = 11; 73%).Results: Primary patency, secondary patency, and limb salvage rates at 36 months by life table analyses for the 237 grafts were 62.3%, 81.0%, and 77.2%, respectively. The 15 composite SFA-vein bypass grafts had 36-month primary patency, secondary patency, and limb salvage rates of 60.0%, 72.0%, and 65.9%, respectively (mean follow-up, 15 months). Currently, eight of these patients (53%) have patent bypass grafts; two (13%) died at 4 and 18 months after the operation with patent grafts; two (13%) underwent amputations for progressive foot gangrene despite a patent bypass graft; and three (20%) had grafts that thrombosed at 4, 5, and 10 months. Typical hyperplastic intrinsic graft-threatening stenoses developed in two patients (13%) in the SFA segment at 4 and 8 months; they were discovered by routine duplex scan surveillance.Conclusion: Composite SFA eversion endarterectomy/vein graft conduits yield acceptable results, behave similarly to other autogenous conduits used for technically high-risk infrainguinal revascularization, and are beneficial when autogenous vein is limited

Temperature Affects Hatching Success of Cocoons in the Invasive Asian Earthworm Amynthas agrestis from the Southern Appalachians

Invasive Asian earthworms are increasingly common in the eastern USA where they are a major cause of terrestrial ecosystem disturbance. Among these, Amynthas agrestis (Crazy Worm, Alabama Jumper, and other common names) has been shown to alter above- and belowground food webs. Life-history traits of these earthworms are largely unknown, particularly in their invaded range. Here, we sought to answer questions about temperature effects on hatching success for cocoons of this species, using specimens collected from the southern Appalachian Mountains. We conducted 2 experiments investigating the effects of incubation temperature and the effect of varying the duration of cold temperature on hatching success. Of the temperatures tested, we found that cocoons hatched with greatest success at 10 °C, but our tests indicate a long duration at that temperature may be needed to result in an increase in hatching success. These results indicate that temperature and the duration of temperature exposure affect hatching success in this species. While our results contribute to the growing body of knowledge about the life-history traits of invasive Asian earthworms in the eastern US, more research is needed to provide a finer-resolution understanding of the optimum level and duration of temperatures for hatching success of A. agrestis

Additional Research Needs to Support the GENII Biosphere Models

In the course of evaluating the current parameter needs for the GENII Version 2 code (Snyder et al. 2013), areas of possible improvement for both the data and the underlying models have been identified. As the data review was implemented, PNNL staff identified areas where the models can be improved both to accommodate the locally significant pathways identified and also to incorporate newer models. The areas are general data needs for the existing models and improved formulations for the pathway models. It is recommended that priorities be set by NRC staff to guide selection of the most useful improvements in a cost-effective manner. Suggestions are made based on relatively easy and inexpensive changes, and longer-term more costly studies. In the short term, there are several improved model formulations that could be applied to the GENII suite of codes to make them more generally useful. • Implementation of the separation of the translocation and weathering processes • Implementation of an improved model for carbon-14 from non-atmospheric sources • Implementation of radon exposure pathways models • Development of a KML processor for the output report generator module data that are calculated on a grid that could be superimposed upon digital maps for easier presentation and display • Implementation of marine mammal models (manatees, seals, walrus, whales, etc.). Data needs in the longer term require extensive (and potentially expensive) research. Before picking any one radionuclide or food type, NRC staff should perform an in-house review of current and anticipated environmental analyses to select “dominant” radionuclides of interest to allow setting of cost-effective priorities for radionuclide- and pathway-specific research. These include • soil-to-plant uptake studies for oranges and other citrus fruits, and • Development of models for evaluation of radionuclide concentration in highly-processed foods such as oils and sugars. Finally, renewed studies of radionuclide cleanup in various modern types of municipal water treatment facilities such as advanced filtration or reverse-osmosis processes may be performed without development of any new or costly experimental facilities