Plant species in the family Solanaceae are the usual hosts of potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli (Sulc) (Hemiptera: Psylloidea: Triozidae). However, the psyllid has also been shown to develop on some species of Convolvulaceae (bindweeds and morning glories). Developmental success on Convolvulaceae is surprising given the rarity of psyllid species worldwide...
Heavy biodegraded crude oils have larger numbers of coeluting compounds than non- biodegraded oils, and they are typically not resolved with conventional gas chromatography (GC). This unresolved complex mixture (UCM) has been investigated using comprehensive two- dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (GCxGC-ToFMS) within a set of biodegraded petroleums derived from...
This work explores the electric field induced strain mechanisms in environmentally benign Bi0.5Na0.5TiO3 (BNT) based piezoelectric thin films. Although BNT-based materials show promise as replacements for toxic Pb-based piezoelectrics, the displacement mechanisms are not consistent between thin films and bulk materials, and the differences have yet to be well understood....
Complex engineered systems design is a collaborative activity. To design a system, experts from the relevant disciplines must work together to create the best overall system from their individual components. This situation is analogous to a multiagent system in which agents solve individual parts of a larger problem in a...
Background: Having conquered water surfaces worldwide, the semi-aquatic bugs occupy ponds, streams, lakes, mangroves, and even open oceans. The diversity of this group has inspired a range of scientific studies from ecology and evolution to developmental genetics and hydrodynamics of fluid locomotion. However, the lack of a representative water strider...
While there is a persistent inverse relationship between latitude and species diversity across many taxa and ecosystems, deviations from this norm offer an opportunity to understand the conditions that contribute to large-scale diversity patterns. Marine systems, in particular, provide such an opportunity, as marine diversity does not always follow a...