Larra bicolor Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae): its distribution throughout Florida

We document the presence of Larra bicolor Fabricius (Hymenoptera: Crabronidae) in 46 of Florida's 67 counties. The species is represented by two stocks. The first (released in 1981) originated in Pará, Brazil, but was obtained from Puerto Rico, and became established in Broward County in southern Florida. The second (released in 1988) originated in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia, and became established in Alachua County in northern Florida. The Bolivian stock, aided by additional satellite releases from Alachua County, is now widely distributed. The species probably occupies all counties in central and northern Florida, but may yet be absent from some southern counties. Introduction was made for classical biological control of invasive mole crickets

Solid manure distribution patterns: effects of equipment, application, and modeling

Rear- and side-delivery solid manure spreaders were analyzed over four separate experiments. The main objectives were to evaluate different kinds of spreaders and to be able to give recommendations that would improve the performance of each kind of spreader. Other objectives were to look at how corn is affected by different application rates of manure, to evaluate the particle size distribution of each kind of spreader, and to model the throw distance of the spreaders. Solid beef manure was used for the evaluations. A visual basic program and a Matlab model were created to overlap spread patterns and to predict the throw distance of different particle sizes, respectively. A set of charts were created to determine the optimum swath width based on application rate and the coefficient of variation based on the spreader settings. Application rates of manure were economically analyzed to find the break even value of application. Conclusions include: 1) application rate can be improved through the use of overlapping, 2) application rates up to 25 metric ton/ha were found to be economically justifiable, and 3) large particles fell either close to the beater or at the end of the spread pattern while the smaller particles fell nearer to the beater

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Leveraging Academic-Service Partnerships: Implications for Implementing the RWJ/IOM's Recommendations to Improve Quality, Access, and Value in Academic Medical Centers

Transformation of the current healthcare system is critical to achieve improved quality, safety, value, and access. Patients with multiple, chronic health conditions require integrated care coordination yet the current health care system is fragmented and complex. Nursing must play a key role in constructing a system that is value based and patient focused. The Robert Wood Johnson/Institute of Medicine (RWJ/IOM) report on the future of nursing outlines strategic opportunities for nursing to take a lead role in this transformation. Partnerships across academic institutions and health care systems have the potential to address issues through mutual goal setting, sharing of risks, responsibilities, and accountability, and realignment of resources. The purpose of this paper is to present Stony Brook University Medical Center's (SBUMC) academic-service partnership which implemented several of the RWJ/IOM recommendations. The partnership resulted in several initiatives that improved quality, safety, access, and value. It also characterized mutual goal setting, shared missions and values, and a united vision for health care

Prediction models in the design of neural network based ECG classifiers: A neural network and genetic programming approach

BACKGROUND: Classification of the electrocardiogram using Neural Networks has become a widely used method in recent years. The efficiency of these classifiers depends upon a number of factors including network training. Unfortunately, there is a shortage of evidence available to enable specific design choices to be made and as a consequence, many designs are made on the basis of trial and error. In this study we develop prediction models to indicate the point at which training should stop for Neural Network based Electrocardiogram classifiers in order to ensure maximum generalisation. METHODS: Two prediction models have been presented; one based on Neural Networks and the other on Genetic Programming. The inputs to the models were 5 variable training parameters and the output indicated the point at which training should stop. Training and testing of the models was based on the results from 44 previously developed bi-group Neural Network classifiers, discriminating between Anterior Myocardial Infarction and normal patients. RESULTS: Our results show that both approaches provide close fits to the training data; p = 0.627 and p = 0.304 for the Neural Network and Genetic Programming methods respectively. For unseen data, the Neural Network exhibited no significant differences between actual and predicted outputs (p = 0.306) while the Genetic Programming method showed a marginally significant difference (p = 0.047). CONCLUSIONS: The approaches provide reverse engineering solutions to the development of Neural Network based Electrocardiogram classifiers. That is given the network design and architecture, an indication can be given as to when training should stop to obtain maximum network generalisation

An online experimental test of the compensatory process in hoarding disorder : reducing loneliness and its effects on object attachment

Attachment theory suggests that strong object attachment in hoarding disorder (HD) may be due to an attempt at compensating for unmet relatedness needs. We tested this compensatory process with an online experiment and hypothesized that reducing loneliness among participants with high hoarding symptoms would result in lower object attachment, and that change in loneliness would mediate the impact of an online loneliness intervention on object attachment. A pretest-posttest control group design was used. Participants were 298 MTurk workers pre-screened for high hoarding symptoms recruited via cloudresearch.com. At Time 1, participants completed measures of hoarding severity, loneliness, and four aspects of object attachment: overall object attachment to possessions, insecure object attachment, attachment to an old cherished item, and attachment to a novel item. We randomly assigned participants to either a loneliness intervention (n = 142) or an active control (a health education program; n = 156). All participants completed follow-up questionnaires after two weeks. We conducted ANCOVAs to assess for group differences at Time 2 whilst controlling for Time 1 variables. Results showed small but significant improvements in loneliness, thwarted belongingness, and object attachment for the novel item for participants who received the loneliness intervention relative to control participants. Mediational analyses revealed that the change in loneliness mediated the effect of the intervention on insecure object attachment. Consistent with attachment theory, these results indicate that reducing loneliness might lead to lower object attachment in hoarding disorder. Trials with clinical participants using more intensive loneliness interventions are warranted