Checklist of British and Irish Hymenoptera - Braconidae

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Detection of Fatigue Crack Propagation in Steel Using Magnetic Measurements

For structural components which are exposed to cyclic stresses, fatigue damage could lead to a catastrophic failure. In nuclear pressure vessel systems where A533B steel is widely used as structural material, cyclic thermal expansions often create a low-cycle fatigue condition. The evaluation of fatigue damage therefore is critically important and nondestructive evaluation of fatigue damage is highly desirable from the viewpoint of both safer and longer operation lifetime

Turbulent thermal diffusion in a multi-fan turbulence generator with the imposed mean temperature gradient

We studied experimentally the effect of turbulent thermal diffusion in a multi-fan turbulence generator which produces a nearly homogeneous and isotropic flow with a small mean velocity. Using Particle Image Velocimetry and Image Processing techniques we showed that in a turbulent flow with an imposed mean vertical temperature gradient (stably stratified flow) particles accumulate in the regions with the mean temperature minimum. These experiments detected the effect of turbulent thermal diffusion in a multi-fan turbulence generator for relatively high Reynolds numbers. The experimental results are in compliance with the results of the previous experimental studies of turbulent thermal diffusion in oscillating grids turbulence (Buchholz et al. 2004; Eidelman et al. 2004). We demonstrated that turbulent thermal diffusion is an universal phenomenon. It occurs independently of the method of turbulence generation, and the qualitative behavior of particle spatial distribution in these very different turbulent flows is similar. Competition between turbulent fluxes caused by turbulent thermal diffusion and turbulent diffusion determines the formation of particle inhomogeneities.Comment: 9 pages, 9 figure, REVTEX4, Experiments in Fluids, in pres

Protecting eyewitness evidence: Examining the efficacy of a self-administered interview tool

Given the crucial role of eyewitness evidence, statements should be obtained as soon as possible after an incident. This is not always achieved due to demands on police resources. Two studies trace the development of a new tool, the Self-Administered Interview (SAI), designed to elicit a comprehensive initial statement. In Study 1, SAI participants reported more correct details than participants who provided a free recall account, and performed at the same level as participants given a Cognitive Interview. In Study 2, participants viewed a simulated crime and half recorded their statement using the SAI. After a delay of 1 week, all participants completed a free recall test. SAI participants recalled more correct details in the delayed recall task than control participants

Towards Subject and Diagnostic Identifiability in the Alzheimer’s Disease Spectrum Based on Functional Connectomes

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the only major cause of mortality in the world without an effective disease modifying treatment. Evidence supporting the so called “disconnection hypothesis” suggests that functional connectivity biomarkers may have clinical potential for early detection of AD. However, known issues with low test-retest reliability and signal to noise in functional connectivity may prevent accuracy and subsequent predictive capacity. We validate the utility of a novel principal component based diagnostic identifiability framework to increase separation in functional connectivity across the Alzheimer’s spectrum by identifying and reconstructing FC using only AD sensitive components or connectivity modes. We show that this framework (1) increases test-retest correspondence and (2) allows for better separation, in functional connectivity, of diagnostic groups both at the whole brain and individual resting state network level. Finally, we evaluate a posteriori the association between connectivity mode weights with longitudinal neurocognitive outcomes

Survey of the quality of experimental design, statistical analysis and reporting of research using animals

For scientific, ethical and economic reasons, experiments involving animals should be appropriately designed, correctly analysed and transparently reported. This increases the scientific validity of the results, and maximises the knowledge gained from each experiment. A minimum amount of relevant information must be included in scientific publications to ensure that the methods and results of a study can be reviewed, analysed and repeated. Omitting essential information can raise scientific and ethical concerns. We report the findings of a systematic survey of reporting, experimental design and statistical analysis in published biomedical research using laboratory animals. Medline and EMBASE were searched for studies reporting research on live rats, mice and non-human primates carried out in UK and US publicly funded research establishments. Detailed information was collected from 271 publications, about the objective or hypothesis of the study, the number, sex, age and/or weight of animals used, and experimental and statistical methods. Only 59% of the studies stated the hypothesis or objective of the study and the number and characteristics of the animals used. Appropriate and efficient experimental design is a critical component of high-quality science. Most of the papers surveyed did not use randomisation (87%) or blinding (86%), to reduce bias in animal selection and outcome assessment. Only 70% of the publications that used statistical methods described their methods and presented the results with a measure of error or variability. This survey has identified a number of issues that need to be addressed in order to improve experimental design and reporting in publications describing research using animals. Scientific publication is a powerful and important source of information; the authors of scientific publications therefore have a responsibility to describe their methods and results comprehensively, accurately and transparently, and peer reviewers and journal editors share the responsibility to ensure that published studies fulfil these criteria

The secret world of shrimps: polarisation vision at its best

Animal vision spans a great range of complexity, with systems evolving to detect variations in optical intensity, distribution, colour, and polarisation. Polarisation vision systems studied to date detect one to four channels of linear polarisation, combining them in opponent pairs to provide intensity-independent operation. Circular polarisation vision has never been seen, and is widely believed to play no part in animal vision. Polarisation is fully measured via Stokes' parameters--obtained by combined linear and circular polarisation measurements. Optimal polarisation vision is the ability to see Stokes' parameters: here we show that the crustacean \emph{Gonodactylus smithii} measures the exact components required. This vision provides optimal contrast-enhancement, and precise determination of polarisation with no confusion-states or neutral-points--significant advantages. We emphasise that linear and circular polarisation vision are not different modalities--both are necessary for optimal polarisation vision, regardless of the presence of strongly linear or circularly polarised features in the animal's environment.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figures, 2 table

The changing use of the ovipositor in host shifts by ichneumonid ectoparasitoids of spiders (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae, Pimplinae)

Accurate egg placement into or onto a living host is an essential ability for many parasitoids, and changes in associated phenotypes, such as ovipositor morphology and behaviour, correlate with significant host shifts. Here, we report that in the ichneumonid group of koinobiont spider-ectoparasitoids ("polysphinctines"), several putatively ancestral taxa (clade I here), parasitic on ground-dwelling RTA-spiders (a group characterised by retrolateral tibial apophysis on male palpal tibiae), lay their eggs in a specific way. They tightly bend their metasoma above the spider's cephalothorax, touching the carapace with the dorsal side of the ovipositor apically ("dorsal-press"). The egg slips out from the middle part of the ventral side of the ovipositor and moves towards its apex with the parted lower valves acting as rails. Deposition occurs as the parasitoid draws the ovipositor backwards from under the egg. Oviposition upon the tough carapace of the cephalothorax, presumably less palatable than the abdomen, is conserved in these taxa, and presumed adaptive through avoiding physical damage to the developing parasitoid. This specific way of oviposition is reversed in the putatively derived clade of polysphinctines (clade II here) parasitic on Araneoidea spiders with aerial webs, which is already known. They bend their metasoma along the spider's abdomen, grasping the abdomen with their fore/mid legs, pressing the ventral tip of the metasoma and the lower valves of the ovipositor against the abdomen ("ventral-press"). The egg is expelled through an expansion of the lower valves, which is developed only in this clade and evident in most species, onto the softer and presumably more nutritious abdomen