First inventory of ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae) on Baltra Island, Galapagos

Baltra Island is vulnerable to ant invasions because it is one of the principal ports of entry to the Galapagos archipelago. In spite of this, little was known about its ant fauna. We present 13 new records of ants for Baltra collected during 2005 and 2006: Tapinoma melanocephalum, Camponotus planus, Paratrechina longicornis, Paratrechina sp., Monomorium destructor, M. floricola, Pheidole sp., Solenopsis geminata, S. globularia pacifica, Tetramorium bicarinatum, T. lanuginosum and T. simillimum. In addition to this, we report a new species for Galapagos: Monomorium sp. nr. pharaonis. S. geminata and M. destructor are considered threats to native faun

Designing a supply network for a startup company

Thesis (M. Eng. in Logistics)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, 2010.Cataloged from student submitted PDF version of thesis.Includes bibliographical references (p. 86-88).Our thesis introduces a supply chain framework catered for startup companies. Startup companies face unique circumstances such as constraints on financial and human resources, and greater uncertainty in demand. From our work with XL Hybrids, a startup company that hybridizes aftermarket vehicles, as well as interviews and literature review, we have attempted to distill supply chain strategies that can be applied to startup companies. To plan XL Hybrids' supply chain, we developed models for the following aspects of their supply chain: production scheduling, capacity planning, inventory policy, and component distribution. By running different demand and pricing scenarios, we gained an understanding of the impact of these variables on the four aspects of XL Hybrid's supply chain. Based on the scenario analysis and supply chain framework that we developed, we recommend that XL Hybrids be conservative with capacity expansion while strategically sourcing key components after considering volume discounts and different distribution methods.by Marcus S. Causton and Jianmin Wu.M.Eng.in Logistic

An updated checklist of scale insects (Hemiptera: Coccoidea) of the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

The information available on Coccoidea in the Galapagos Islands is sparse. Data on the species present, their distribution and host plants were compiled using recent information at the Charles Darwin Research Station and from the literature. Up to January 2008, 80 species from eight families were reported, more than doubling the total known in 2001. Of the 63 species whose origin has been determined, 50 are believed to have been introduced inadvertently on plants, fruits or vegetables, nine are endemic and four more are thought to be native. The low number of endemic and native species suggests that scale insects have been poor at reaching the islands naturally

Development of FuGO: An ontology for functional genomics investigations

The development of the Functional Genomics Investigation Ontology (FuGO) is a collaborative, international effort that will provide a resource for annotating functional genomics investigations, including the study design, protocols and instrumentation used, the data generated and the types of analysis performed on the data. FuGO will contain both terms that are universal to all functional genomics investigations and those that are domain specific. In this way, the ontology will serve as the “semantic glue” to provide a common understanding of data from across these disparate data sources. In addition, FuGO will reference out to existing mature ontologies to avoid the need to duplicate these resources, and will do so in such a way as to enable their ease of use in annotation. This project is in the early stages of development; the paper will describe efforts to initiate the project, the scope and organization of the project, the work accomplished to date, and the challenges encountered, as well as future plans

Does the Embedding Chemistry Interact with Tissue?

Resins and resin compounds interact with tissue in two ways, physico-chemically and by chemical reaction. The physico-chemical influences affect both the structure and biological activity of the tissue causing proteins to change shape or phase equilibria to be disrupted by a change in solvent or by the growth of polymer networks within existing biological polymeric structures. Chemical reactivity between tissue and resin components also reduces biological activity by changing either the structure of polymeric matter already present, e.g., crosslinking proteins, grafting hydrophobic resins onto hydrophilic protein backbones, or by modifying the hydrophobicity of specific sites, e.g., acylation of amino groups by hydrophobic anhydrides. The consequences of all these interactions can only be a fall in activity of the tissue leading to longer reaction times and the need for amplification of specific group reaction. Low crosslink densities, moderate temperatures, and partial rather than total removal of water are possible ways of reducing the effects of resin tissue interaction