Description of the late- or last-instar larva of Ischyomius Chevrolat, with comments on the family placement of the genus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionoidea: Pythidae)

Study of recently collected larvae of two species of Ischyomius Chevrolat, 1871 from Napo and Pichincha, Ecuador, tentatively identified as I. denticollis Champion, 1916 and I. singularis Chevrolat, 1871 confirm the classification of the genus Ischyomius within the family Pythidae. Salient larval characters which solidify this placement are: 5 stemmata arranged into an anterior column of 3 and posterior column of 2, parabasal ridges along anterior margins of abdominal tergites, prominent urogomphi with inner urogomphal teeth and various dorsal tubercles, and transverse row of dentiform asperities along anterior margin of sternite 9. Important features of the larva are illustrated with photographs. A key to larvae of world genera of Pythidae is provided as well as natural history information on Ischyomius

ETHNIC AND RACIAL DISPARITIES IN PEDIATRIC MENTAL HEALTH ACCESS AND ADEQUACY OF HEALTH INSURANCE

Background: The U.S. mental health care system is challenged by the need to be responsive to the ethnic and cultural diversity of families and the desire to combat the persistence of ethnic/racial disparities. Consequently, racial/ethnic minority children in the United States are more likely than non-Hispanic White children to have severe and persistent mental, emotional, developmental or behavioral disorders and less likely to access mental health services. This dissertation examines racial/ethnic differences in access to mental health services for children with mental, emotional, behavioral, or developmental disorders and the adequacy of health insurance coverage to meet their needs. Methods: This dissertation begins with a chapter on the background and significance of this topic. The first manuscript discusses the current state of pediatric mental health care, underlining the challenges and potential obstacles for racial/ethnic minority families to access care. The second manuscript examines racial/ethnic disparities in children receiving any mental health services and difficulties in obtaining mental health care. The third manuscript focused on perceived adequacy of health insurance coverage to meet their child’s needs. Results: This study found that being a racial/ethnic minority increases the likelihood of parents reporting difficulty obtaining mental health services and having inadequate insurance coverage. Conclusion: Disparities in mental health care for racial/ethnic minorities represents a serious public health concern. Initiatives to improve access to mental health care for racial/ethnic minorities should recognize these disparities and address the lack of culturally appropriate services within the health care system and health insurance policies

ANALYTICAL TOOLS AND DECISION RULES: CREDIT BUDGETING AND TAX EXPENDITURES

Numerous reforms have improved the supply and quality of federal financial, budget, and performance information. Debate persists, however, about the value of information and how to best use it to improve decisions and outcomes. To make information more powerful, some reforms move beyond enriching information to using it as the basis of decision rules that dictate or constrain decisions, actions, or outcomes. A motivation behind decision rules is the concern that information alone does not suffice, but decision rules raise fresh challenges and disagreements. The dissertation’s case studies examine the emergence and evolution of federal budget decision rules. The first case – the Federal Credit Reform Act of 1990 (FCRA) - examines a budget decision rule that has been sustained for almost three decades. The second case - budgeting for tax expenditures – examines reforms that resulted in more analytical information but stopped short of a tax expenditure specific budget decision rule. In both cases, concerns emerged decades ago about a lack of budget oversight and control; analytical tools were improved; and budget decision rules were proposed. By juxtaposing a “successful” reform (i.e., enacted and sustained) and an “unsuccessful” reform (i.e. non-enacted) the dissertation examines the factors and conditions influencing whether analytical information is reformatted into a workable and sustained budget decision rule. The case study experiences suggest a cautioned approach to the establishment of federal budget decision rules with a first principle of avoiding overloading the budget and budget processes, especially when existing budget processes are not fully functioning. While sound budget principles and technical expertise help shape budget decision rules, the quest for analytical improvement must be balanced with political, institutional, and implementational realities. The case studies indicate that analytical tools and budget decision rules matter, but that those seeking to establish new budget decision rules should consider the fragile role they play, and avoid overpromising benefits and underestimating the need for careful design and continued oversight and refinement

A new species of Malthonea Thomson, 1864 (Coleoptera, Cerambycidae, Lamiinae) from Ecuador

Malthonea keili, a new species from Ecuador, is described and illustrated. A key to species of Malthonea is provided. Photographs of the types of Malthonea minima, Prymnopteryx glaucina, Malthonea ruficornis, and Ptericoptus guttatus are provided as an aid to understanding the key (photographs of the types of the last three are provided for the first time)

Nano Vacuum Channel Transistors (NVCT)

The goal of Nano Channel Vacuum Transistor (NVCT) research is to develop and characterize three-terminal vacuum transistor devices that operate in ultra-high vacuum (UHV) and withstand temperatures up to 400 °C. The transistors consist of an insulated gate, an emitter array, and a collector. To avoid overheating the collector, the gate is pulsed from 0 to 40 V at a duty cycle of 10-20% while the emitter and collector are fixed DC voltages of 0V and 100 V, respectively. Current from emitter to collector is measured to obtain an output current – input voltage plot (I-V curve). The devices are heated using a molybdenum chuck inside the UHV chamber. After preliminary tests, the devices are moved to the UHV lifetime test chamber and run with pulsed gate voltage with fixed amplitude at constant temperature for hundreds of hours. Periodic IV sweeps are also conducted to observe changes. Factors such as overheating and arcing can lead to device degradation or failure. The goals of the project include designing driver systems for the devices, implementing automated Data Acquisition (DAQ) hardware to control and monitor testing systems, and using data to characterize the devices and determine approximate lifetime, maximum operating conditions, and failure conditions

Highlights of the DNA cutters:a short history of the restriction enzymes

In the early 1950’s, ‘host-controlled variation in bacterial viruses’ was reported as a non-hereditary phenomenon: one cycle of viral growth on certain bacterial hosts affected the ability of progeny virus to grow on other hosts by either restricting or enlarging their host range. Unlike mutation, this change was reversible, and one cycle of growth in the previous host returned the virus to its original form. These simple observations heralded the discovery of the endonuclease and methyltransferase activities of what are now termed Type I, II, III and IV DNA restriction-modification systems. The Type II restriction enzymes (e.g. EcoRI) gave rise to recombinant DNA technology that has transformed molecular biology and medicine. This review traces the discovery of restriction enzymes and their continuing impact on molecular biology and medicine

Discrete asynchronous Kalman filtering of navigation data for the Phoenix autonomous underwater vehicle

Computer ScienceThe Phoenix Autonomous Underwater Vehicle must be able to accurately determine its position at all times. This requires: (1) GPS and differential GPS for surface navigation, (2) short baseline sonar ranging system for submerged navigation, and (3) mathematical modeling of position. This thesis describes a method of Kalman filtering to merge the GPS, differential GPS, short baseline sonar ranging, and the mathematical model to produce a single state vector of vehicle position and ocean currents. The filter operates in the extended mode for processing the nonlinear sonar ranges, and in normal mode for the linear GPS/DGPS data. This required installation of a GPS system and the determination of the different variances and errors between these systems. Phoenix now has a real time method of position determination using either position measuring system separately or combined. The results of this work have been validated by real world testing of the vehicle at sea, where position estimates accurate to within several meters were obtained.http://archive.org/details/discretesynchron1094532182NAU.S. Navy (U.S.N.) author.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited