NEW AND UPDATED RECORDS FOR AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES IN MINNESOTA, USA

Following the publication of the revised edition of “Amphibians and Reptiles in Minnesota” by Moriarty and Hall (2014), we accessioned several new or updated records at the Bell Museum of Natural History (JFBM). Records include digital photographs (accession number preceded by “P”) and audio recordings (accession number preceded by “AUD”). In addition, a subset of these observations were accessioned in www.HerpMapper.org. HerpMapper accession numbers are preceded by “HM” and can be viewed online. Benjamin Lowe verified species determinations. Latitude and longitude coordinates are based on datum WGS 84

The effect of liner design and materials selection on prosthesis interface heat dissipation

Background and aim: Thermal discomfort often affects prosthesis wearers and could be addressed by increasing liner thermal conductivity. This note explores a liner made from thermally conductive silicone and two additional alternative liner designs. Technique: Thermally conductive silicone was used to create a conductive liner and a hybrid liner. Additionally, one with open elements was made. These were compared with a plain silicone liner and a no liner scenario. Scaled down liner prototypes were used due to the high-cost of the thermally conductive silicone. Temperature decay profiles were collected by attaching thermistors to a heated liner phantom and used to evaluate scenarios. Discussion: No scenario performed much better than the plain silicone liner. Implementation of passive solutions may be easier, but alternative liner materials are unlikely to affect dissipation enough to address thermal discomfort. Based on this work, future research efforts may be better spent developing active thermal discomfort solutions. Clinical relevance Thermal discomfort can increase the probability of skin damage, reduce prosthesis satisfaction and, ultimately, the quality of life. The prosthesis-wearing experience could be improved if thermal discomfort can be addressed by technological improvements

Water Quality of the Inner Puno Bay of Lake Titicaca

Lake Titicaca straddles the border between Bolivia and Peru and is the highest lake in the world. The Lake has held great significance, particularly to the Incan empire for the last five thousand years as a source of drinking water, for agricultural use, and is the primary source for protein from native and more recently from non-native species of fish. It currently supports a growing fish farming industry for both Bolivia and Peru. Puno is one of the major urban centers on Lake Titicaca and supports a population of about 1.3 million people which derive their drinking water and a primary source of protein from the Inner Bay. The Inner Puno Bay of Lake Titicaca, has historically had water quality issues due to the discharge of effluent into this restricted bay. The goal of this research project is to review previous studies on water quality of the inner Puno Bay and the greater Puno Bay and to establish a seasonal monitoring program (February, May, August and December) that collects water quality data including pH, conductivity/resistivity, total dissolved solids, phosphate, nitrite, nitrate, metals, and qualitative and quantitative data on E. coli and enterococcus bacteria. The existing water quality data indicate that the water of the inner bay is alkaline and contains phosphate which is indicative of the presence of dissolved solids in the water, probably derived from the effluent. These data also suggest an increasing occurrence of E. coli and enterococcus bacteria which severely affects the water quality in the Inner Puno Bay and reduces water quality in adjacent areas of the lake where drinking water is derived, and fish farms are present. This not only presents health risks to the inhabitants of the Puno region but may present health risks to the large number of tourists that visit the region each year. The review of the historical data on water quality supplemented by our seasonal monitoring supports the timely development of a remediation plan to mitigate the poor water quality, ensuring quality drinking water, maintaining a healthy pisciculture, and reducing health risks to residents and tourists.https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/urs_2025/1009/thumbnail.jp

Design factors for the communication architecture of distributed discrete event simulation systems

The purpose of the thesis was to investigate the influence communication architecture decisions have on the performance of a simulation system with distributed components. In particular, the objective was to assess the relative importance of factors affecting reliability and variability of an external data interface to the performance of the simulation, as compared to factor within the simulation itself

The Effects Wind Has on Ocean Current Speeds for Marine Renewable Energy Applications

This paper explores the influence of wind on ocean current speeds at varying depths and its implications for marine renewable energy systems, particularly underwater turbines. By analyzing the fluid mechanics of ocean currents and applying the Navier-Stokes equations under simplified assumptions, velocity and pressure profiles were developed to model the interaction between wind and water. The research highlights the dependence of ocean current velocity on wind speed and depth, demonstrating that maximum current speeds and power generation potential occur near the ocean surface. Using MATLAB simulations, power generation by an underwater turbine was analyzed under varying wind speeds and depths, providing insights into optimizing turbine placement for energy extraction. This work contributes to the understanding of wind-driven ocean currents and supports the development of sustainable marine energy solutions

Lessons learned: Notes on the natural history of the Plains Hognose Snake (Heterodon nasicus) in Minnesota

The Plains Hognose Snake (Heterodon nasicus) has been the focus of many studies due, in part, to this species' interesting morphological characteristics and death-feigning behavior. However, significant gaps exist in our understanding  of this species' natural history. Often perceived to be a semi-fossorial species in the literature, our data suggests that this species spends the majority of its time during the active season above ground. In addition, we provide some of the first data on communal hibernation for this species. Also discussed are observations on nocturnality, oophagy, and reproduction. Given that the plain Hognose Snake is imperiled in many of the states and provinces in which it occurs, additional research is needed to better inform in-situ conservation efforts.&nbsp