The effect of resource quality and species interactions on the colonization behavior of the black blow fly, Phormia regina (Meigen)

During decomposition, there are many different insects groups that utilize carrion as a resource. In particular, blow flies (Order: Diptera; Family: Calliphoridae) are considered to be a forensically important family due to their ability to rapidly locate and colonize a carrion resource. As a result, blow flies are commonly used as indicator species in PMI estimations. However, recent research indicates that the colonization behavior of these species can be influenced by a variety of abiotic and biotic factors. In this study, the effects of arrival order, resource quality and bacterial or species cues on the oviposition behavior of Phormia regina were investigated. Colony cages containing gravid P. regina females (100) and males (50) were exposed to resources of different quality (fresh vs. aged pork liver), species presence/absence (with or without Lucilia sericata eggs) and bacterial cues (sterilized vs. unsterilized L. sericata eggs). To test the effect of resource quality, fresh and aged pork liver was used. To test the effect of arrival order, colonization by L. sericata was simulated using eggs collected from L. sericata colony cages that were immediately placed on both the fresh and aged liver. To test the effect of bacterial cues, freshly collected L. sericata eggs were immediately placed on liver or were subjected to a sterilization treatment to remove bacteria prior to placement on the resource and subsequent exposure to P. regina for colonization. These factors affected not only the amount of eggs laid on the resource and the locations of oviposition, but also influenced the time of colonization in each treatment. The colonization behavior of P. regina was quantified by measuring the time to colonization, location and amount of eggs laid in each treatment condition. Fresh liver without L. sericata eggs was used as a control. The results from this study can improve our knowledge and understanding of the mechanisms driving the colonization behavior for forensically important blow flies and validate their use as indicator species for the estimation of the minimum time of colonization

Integration of risk and uncertainty on levelized cost of electricity calculation

The electric sector is still largely dependent on non-renewable energy sources. The importance of using renewable energies is increasingly recognized all across the world yet they are not fully ready to compete with the mature and ancient technologies that use non-renewable energies. The economic characteristics of different energy technologies can be compared by using the method of levelized cost of electricity (LCOE). LCOE represents the total cost of a power plant including investment and operation and maintenance costs over the assumed life-cycle and discounted to account for the time-value of money. In this paper, an analysis of the levelized costs is proposed for two renewable technologies in Portugal: wind power and solar photovoltaic. Firstly, a deterministic value of LCOE was computed for both technologies. Secondly, recognizing the uncertainty associated with all the assumed parameters, a probabilistic risk analysis was conducted with Monte Carlo simulation to complement the analysis. The results show the high variability of the obtained LCOE values, largely influenced by the investment values and load factors.INCT-EN - Instituto Nacional de Ciência e Tecnologia para Excitotoxicidade e Neuroproteção(UID/CEC/00319/2013

The Molloy Student Literary Magazine Volume 16

The Molloy Student Literary Magazine, sponsored by Molloy College’s Office of Student Affairs, is devoted to publishing the best previously unpublished works of prose, poetry, drama, literary review, criticism, and other literary genres, that the Molloy student community has to offer. The journal welcomes submissions, for possible publication, from currently enrolled Molloy students at all levels. All submitted work will undergo a review process initiated by the Managing Editor prior to a decision being made regarding publication of said work. Given sufficient content, The Molloy Student Literary Magazine is published twice annually in Spring and Fall.https://digitalcommons.molloy.edu/eng_litmag/1007/thumbnail.jp

The Effect of Hybrid Photovoltaic Thermal Device Operating Conditions on Intrinsic Layer Thickness Optimization of Hydrogenated Amorphous Silicon Solar Cells

Historically, the design of hybrid solar photovoltaic thermal (PVT) systems has focused on cooling crystalline silicon (c-Si)-based photovoltaic (PV) devices to avoid temperature-related losses. This approach neglects the associated performance losses in the thermal system and leads to a decrease in the overall exergy of the system. Consequently, this paper explores the use of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) as an absorber material for PVT in an effort to maintain higher and more favourable operating temperatures for the thermal system. Amorphous silicon not only has a smaller temperature coefficient than c-Si, but also can display improved PV performance over extended periods of higher temperatures by annealing out defect states from the Staebler-Wronski effect. In order to determine the potential improvements in a-Si:H PV performance associated with increased thicknesses of the i-layers made possible by higher operating temperatures, a-Si:H PV cells were tested under 1 sun illumination (AM1.5) at temperatures of 25oC (STC), 50oC (representative PV operating conditions), and 90 oC (representative PVT operating conditions). PV cells with an i-layer thicknesses of 420, 630 and 840 nm were evaluated at each temperature. Results show that operating a-Si:H-based PV at 90 oC, with thicker i-layers than the cells currently used in commercial production, provided a greater power output compared to the thinner cells operating at either PV or PVT operating temperatures. These results indicate that incorporating a-Si:H as the absorber material in a PVT system can improve the thermal performance, while simultaneously improving the electrical performance of a-Si:H-based PV

Bacterial Pathogens and Symbionts Harboured by Ixodes ricinus Ticks Parasitising Red Squirrels in the United Kingdom

Red squirrels (Sciurus vulgaris) are native to most of Eurasia; in much of the United Kingdom, they have been supplanted by the non-native grey squirrel, and are considered an endangered species. Very little is known about the range of tick-borne pathogens to which UK red squirrels are exposed. As part of trap-and-release surveys examining prevalence of Mycobacterium spp. in red squirrel populations on two UK islands, Ixodes ricinus ticks were removed from squirrels and PCR screened for Borrelia spp., intracellular arthropod-borne bacteria and the parasitic wasp Ixodiphagus hookeri. At both sites, the most commonly encountered tick-transmitted bacterium was Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (overall minimum prevalence 12.7%), followed by Anaplasma phagocytophilum (overall minimum prevalence 1.6%). Single ticks infected with Spiroplasma were found at both sites, and single ticks infected with Borrelia miyamotoi or an Ehrlichia sp. at one site. Ticks harbouring Wolbachia (overall minimum prevalence 15.2%) were all positive for I. hookeri. Our study shows that UK red squirrels are potentially exposed to a variety of bacterial pathogens via feeding ticks. The effects on the health and survival of this already vulnerable wildlife species are unknown, and further studies are needed to evaluate the threat posed to red squirrels by Borrelia and other tick-borne pathogens

The Application of LiDAR to Assessment of Rooftop Solar Photovoltaic Deployment Potential in a Municipal District Unit

A methodology is provided for the application of Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) to automated solar photovoltaic (PV) deployment analysis on the regional scale. Challenges in urban information extraction and management for solar PV deployment assessment are determined and quantitative solutions are offered. This paper provides the following contributions: (i) a methodology that is consistent with recommendations from existing literature advocating the integration of cross-disciplinary competences in remote sensing (RS), GIS, computer vision and urban environmental studies; (ii) a robust methodology that can work with low-resolution, incomprehensive data and reconstruct vegetation and building separately, but concurrently; (iii) recommendations for future generation of software. A case study is presented as an example of the methodology. Experience from the case study such as the trade-off between time consumption and data quality are discussed to highlight a need for connectivity between demographic information, electrical engineering schemes and GIS and a typical factor of solar useful roofs extracted per method. Finally, conclusions are developed to provide a final methodology to extract the most useful information from the lowest resolution and least comprehensive data to provide solar electric assessments over large areas, which can be adapted anywhere in the world