389 research outputs found
Prediction Of Hydrological Models’ Uncertainty By A Committee Of Machine Learning-Models
No full textIn the MLUE method (reported in Shrestha et al. [1, 2]) we run a hydrological model M for multiple realizations of parameters vectors (Monte Carlo simulations), and use this data to build a machine learning model V to predict uncertainty (quantiles) of the model M output. In this paper, for model V, we employ three machine learning techniques, namely, artificial neural networks, model tree, locally weighted regression which leads to several models results. We propose to use the simple averaging method (SA) and the weighted model averaging method (WMA) to form a committee of these models. These approaches are applied to estimate uncertainty of streamflows simulation in Bagmati catchment in Nepal. Tests on the different data sets show that WMA performs a bit better than SA.Water Resource
Simulium (Simulium) tulshii Takaoka & Shrestha 2010, sp. nov.
No full text<i>Simulium</i> (<i>Simulium</i>) <i>tulshii</i> Takaoka & Shrestha sp. nov. <p> <b>Description. Female</b>. Body length 2.8–3.5 mm. <i>Head.</i> Narrower than thorax. Frons brownish-black, whitishgray pruinose, very slightly shiny when illuminated at certain angle of light, and covered with several whitishyellow and dark brown hairs along each lateral margin and with several whitish-yellow hairs above antennal base; frontal ratio 1.22–1.24:1.00:1.07–1.24; frons-head ratio 1.00:4.14–4.59. Fronto-ocular area (Fig. 26A) well developed, short, directed laterally. Clypeus brownish-black, whitish-gray pruinose, moderately covered with whitish-yellow hairs though small area along dorsal margin bare. Labrum 0.71–0.72 times as long as clypeus. Antenna composed of scape, pedicel and 9 flagellomeres, medium brown except scape, pedicel and base of 1st flagellomere yellow. Maxillary palp (Fig. 26B) composed of 5 segments, dark brown to brownishblack, proportional lengths of 3rd, 4th and 5th segments 1.00:1.04–1.05:2.45–2.62 (left palp showing abnormality that 5th segment is connected with middle portion of 4th segment as shown in Fig. 26C); 3rd segment (Fig. 26D) somewhat widened apically; sensory vesicle (Fig. 26D) oblong, 0.38–0.43 times as long as 3rd segment, with medium-sized opening. Lacinia with 12–14 inner and 15 or 16 outer teeth. Mandible with 32 inner and 16 outer teeth. Cibarium (Fig. 26E) with small median projection directed posterodorsally, and with numerous sharply pointed processes along posterodorsal margin and even on median projection; similar processes scattered on transparent membrane near posterodorsal margin. <i>Thorax</i>. Scutum black, shiny, with whitish-gray pruinose patterns (variable depending of direction of illumination), densely covered with whitish-yellow fine hairs interspersed with dark brown upright hairs on prescutellar area. Scutellum dark brown, with whitish-yellow hairs and dark brown upright hairs. Postnotum dark brown, shiny, whitish-gray pruinose, bare. Pleural membrane bare. Katepisternum longer than deep, blackish, whitish-gray pruinose, shiny when illuminated at certain angle of light, bare. <i>Legs</i>. Foreleg: coxa and trochanter whitish-yellow; femur whitish-yellow except apical cap dark yellow to light brown and posterior surface dark yellow; tibia yellowish-white except apical 1/4 dark brown, and with white large sheen on outer surface; tarsus brownishblack, with moderate dorsal hair crest; basitarsus greatly dilated, 6.67 times as long as its greatest width. Midleg: coxa brownish-black; trochanter whitish-yellow with posterior surface partially dark yellow; femur yellow except apical cap dark yellow to light brown; tibia yellowish-white to yellow except apical cap medium brown and mediolongitudial portion of apical 1/2 to 3/4 of outer surface dark yellow; tibia with white large sheen on posterior surface; tarsus medium brown except little less than basal 1/2 of basitarsus and base of 2nd tarsomere whitish-yellow. Hind leg: coxa dark brown to brownish-black; trochanter yellowish-white; femur medium to dark yellow except base yellowish-white and apical cap medium to dark brown; tibia yellowish-white to yellow except apical cap dark brown and most of outer surface from middle to base of apical cap dark yellow to light brown; tibia with white large sheen on posterior surface; tarsus medium to dark brown except basal 2/3 of basitarsus and little less than basal 1/2 of 2nd tarsomere yellowish-white (Fig. 26F); basitarsus (Fig. 26F) nearly parallel-sided, 6.18 times as long as wide, and 0.68 and 0.57 times as wide as greatest width of hind tibia and femur, respectively; calcipala (Fig. 26F) developed, small, 0.67 times as long as its basal width, and 0.35 times as wide as greatest width of basitarsus; pedisulcus (Fig. 26F) well developed at basal 1/3 of 2nd tarsal segment. Claw with small subbasal tooth (Fig. 26G). <i>Wing</i>. Length 2.7–2.9 mm. Costa with dark spinules and light brown hairs except basal patch of hairs yellow; subcosta with hairs except apical 1/3 to 1/2 bare; basal section of radial vein bare; R 1 with dark spinules and hairs; R 2 with hairs; hair tuft on stem vein yellow; basal cell absent. <i>Abdomen</i>. Basal scale medium to dark brown, with fringe of pale hairs. Dorsal surface of abdomen dark brown to brownish-black except basal 1/2 to 3/5 of 2nd segment dark yellow, moderately covered with yellow fine short hairs intermixed with short to medium-long dark brown hairs; tergite 2 shiny, white iridescent when illuminated, and tergites 6–8 shiny. Ventral surface of segment 7 with pair of round weakly sclerotized sternal plates. <i>Genitalia</i>. Sternite 8 (Fig. 26H) with 18–27 whitishyellow medium-long to long stout hairs on each lateral surface. Ovipositor valves (Fig. 26H) large, produced posteromedially, with rounded apices, membranous, covered with numerous microsetae and 14–22 whitishyellow medium-long hairs per side, except apical 1/3 or more bare; inner margins widely concave; narrow portion along inner margin moderately sclerotized and central portion of apical bare portion weakly sclerotized. Genital fork (Fig. 26I) of inverted-Y form, with narrow well-sclerotized stem; arms of moderate width, each with distinct projection directed anterodorsally. Paraproct in ventral view (Fig. 26J) with shallow groove medially on ventral surface nearly along anteromedial margin, with moderately sclerotized anteromedial surface bearing 9 or 10 sensilla, with numerous short to medium-long hairs on lateral and ventral surfaces; paraproct in lateral view (Fig. 26K) nearly triangular, moderately protruding ventrally beyond cecus, with shallow groove along ventral margin, and with numerous short to medium-long hairs on posterior 1/2. Cercus in lateral view (Fig. 26K) rounded posteriorly, 0.60 times as long as wide, with numerous short and medium-long hairs. Spermatheca (Fig. 26L) nearly ovoid, well sclerotized except portion at junction with duct unsclerotized, without distinct reticulate pattern on its surface, and with internal setae; accessory ducts subequal in thickness to each other, and subequal to, or slightly thicker than, major duct.</p> <p> <b>Male</b>. Body length 2.7–3.6 mm. <i>Head</i>. Wider than thorax. Upper eye consisting of large facets in 21 vertical columns and in 23 horizontal rows. Clypeus black, thickly white pruinose, covered with whitishyellow hairs along and near lateral margins (most of central portion bare). Antenna composed of scape, pedicel and 9 flagellomeres, medium brown except scape and pedicel dark yellow and base of 1st flagellomere whitish-yellow; 1st flagellomere elongate, 1.9 times as long as 2nd one. Maxillary palp dark brown, composed of 5 segments with proportional lengths of 3rd, 4th, and 5th segments 1.00:1.17:2.73; 3rd segment (Fig. 27A) of normal size; sensory vesicle (Fig. 27A) small, ellipsoidal, 0.24 times as long as 3rd segment, and with small opening. <i>Thorax</i>. Scutum black, with whitish-gray pruinose pattern, i.e., anterior pair of large spots on shoulders extending posteriorly along lateral margins and connected to large transverse spot entirely covering prescutellar area; either anterior or posterior 1/2 of large pruinose spot on each shoulder disappearing depending on angle of light; some pruinose areas shiny when illuminated at certain angle of light; scutum uniformly and moderately covered with whitish-yellow recumbent short hairs interspersed with dark brown long upright hairs on prescutellar area. Scutellum medium brown, with several dark long upright hairs as well as whitish-yellow short hairs. Postnotum, pleural membrane and katepisternum as in female.</p> <p> <i>Legs</i>. Color nearly as in female except hind basitarsus whitish-yellow on little more than basal 1/2 (Fig. 27B); fore basitarsus moderately dilated, 7.62 times as long as its greatest width; hind basitarsus (Fig. 27B) slightly enlarged, nearly parallel-sided (though apical 1/4 somewhat tapered apically), 5.16 times as long as its greatest width, and 0.73 and 0.76 times as wide as greatest widths of hind tibia and femur, respectively; calcipala (Fig. 27B) small, 0.67 times as long as its basal width and 0.32 times as wide as greatest width of basitarsus; pedisulcus (Fig. 27B) well marked. <i>Wing</i>. Length 2.6 mm; other characteristics as in female except subcosta bare. <i>Abdomen</i>. Basal scale brownish-black, with fringe of whitish-yellow long hairs. Dorsal surface of abdomen dark brown to brownish-black, moderately covered with whitish-yellow fine short hairs intermixed with dark brown short to medium-long hairs; segments 2 and 4–7 each with pair of whitish-gray pruinose spots dorsolaterally, those on segment 2 connected broadly to each other in middle; ventral surface of abdomen medium to dark brown. <i>Genitalia</i>. Coxite in ventral view (Fig. 27C) nearly quadrate, 1.20 times as long as wide; coxite in lateral view (Fig. 27D) 0.79 times as long as wide. Style in ventral view (Fig. 27C) elongate, slightly sinuous, nearly parallel-sided, 1.83 times as long as coxite, with subapical spine; style in lateral view (Fig. 27D) spatulate dorsoventrally, tapered from apical 1/4 to apex; style in ventrolateral view (Fig. 27E) widest little beyond middle, 0.36 times as wide as long; style in medial view (Fig. 27F) with short subbasal bulge directed dorsally, bearing no spinule on its surface. Ventral plate in ventral view (Fig. 27G) Yshaped, covered with setae densely on anterior surface and moderately on posterior surface of ventrally produced process which bearing 2 vertical rows of spines on posterior surface; arms diverged basally from each other at angle of 60 to 90 degrees, then directed forward; ventral plate in lateral view (Fig. 27H) with distinct serrated posterior margin and densely covered with minute setae on ventrally produced process; ventral plate in end view (Fig. 27I) having 2 vertical rows of 7–9 teeth on posterior surface, and moderately covered with minute setae on ventrally produced elliptical process. Median sclerite (Fig. 27J) well sclerotized, plate-like, wide except near base narrow, with several fissures near apex forming sharply pointed apical tips. Paramere (Fig. 27K) wide basally, with several short to long hooks. Aedeagal membrane very densely covered with minute setae; dorsal plate (Fig. 27L) small, well sclerotized except medial portion incompletely sclerotized. Abdominal segment 10 (Fig. 27M,N) with 0 or 1 distinct hair on ventral surface. Cercus (Fig. 27M,N) small, rounded, with 9–11 distinct hairs.</p> <p> <b>Pupa</b>. Body length 3.0– 3.5 mm. <i>Head</i>. Integument including antennal sheaths yellow to dark yellow, densely and elaborately covered with small round tubercles except most tubercles on frons with pointed apices (Fig. 28A); frons with 2 pairs of simple or bifid long stout trichomes somewhat separated from each other in some pupae; face with pair of bifid, trifid or quadrifid long stout trichomes (Fig. 28B). <i>Thorax</i>. Integument yellow to dark yellow, densely and elaborately covered with small round or cone-shaped tubercles except most tubercles on dorsal and dorolateral surfaces bearing pointed apices similar to those on frons; thorax on each side with 2 simple, bifid or trifid, long stout trichomes anterodorsally, 2 simple, bifid or trifid stout trichomes (1 long, 1 medium-long) anterolaterally, 1 simple long stout trichome mediolaterally, and 3 simple or bifid stout trichomes (1 short or medium-long, 2 long) ventrolaterally. Gill (Fig. 28C,D) with 6 short inflated filaments arranged as 2+1+1+2 from dorsal to ventral; dorsal and ventral pairs each with short stalk; 2 filaments of dorsal pair directed upward, abruptly turned outward and downward, then directed posteriorly (extending up to abdominal segment 2 in 1 pupa) or inwardly or laterally, and tapered toward apex after curving downward; outer filament of 2 individual filaments directed forward and gradually tapered toward apex, inner filament directed downward and forward, and tapered from basal 1/3 toward apex; dorsal filament of ventral pair directed forward, and gradually tapered toward apex, ventral filament of ventral pair directed downward, inward and forward, and first widened to varying extent from base, then tapered from middle or apical 2/3 to apex (length of apical slender portion variable among individual pupae); all filaments variable in length (1.6–2.4 mm), nearly transparent to light ocherous, moderately covered with minute slender spinous processes on inflated portion and parts of slender portion (though spinous processes becoming shorter and fewer on slender portions) (Fig. 28E), and densely covered with minute tubercles on entire surface. <i>Abdomen</i>. Dorsally, segment 1 weakly sclerotized, light ocherous, moderately covered with minute spines, with 1 simple or bifid medium-long seta on each side; segment 2 transparent or somewhat light ocherous, moderately covered with minute spines, with 1 simple medium-long seta and 5 simple short stout spines on each side; segments 3 and 4 transparent, each with 4 distinct simple hooks and 1 short simple seta on each side; segments 5 and 6 transparent, lacking spine-combs (though segment 6 with spine-combs in 1 pupa); segments 7–9 each with distinct spine-combs in transverse row (though those on segment 9 much smaller in 1 pupa), and also comb-like groups of minute spines on each side; segment 9 with pair of terminal hooks of irregular form (Fig. 28F). Ventrally, segments 3–8 transparent, each with comb-like groups of minute spines; segment 4 with few short to medium-long somewhat stout setae on each side; segment 5 with pair of simple and/or bifid stout hooks submedially and few simple short setae on each side; segments 6 and 7 each with pair of bifid inner and simple outer stout hooks somewhat separated from each other and few simple short setae on each side. Grapnel-shaped hooklets absent on each side of segment 9. <i>Cocoon</i> (Fig. 28G). Shoe-shaped, with very low to low anterior collar, soft, roughly woven, with many small open spaces anteriorly, and not extending ventrolaterally; individual threads visible; light yellow; 4.2–6.8 mm long by 1.6–2.0 mm wide.</p> <p> <b>Mature larva</b>. Body length 9.0 mm. Body grayish. Abdomen gradually widened from segment 1 to segment 7, then narrowed to segment 9. Cephalic apotome (Fig. 29A) yellow except anterior area and narrow areas along lateral and posterior magins, in particular, near mediolateral head spots, light to medium brown; head spots moderately positive though anterior spot of mediolongitudinal spots indistinct; lateral surface of head capsule dark brown except eyes-pot region yellowish, area below eye-spot region to varying extent light brown, and eyebrow area somewhat lighter; ventral surface of head capsule (Fig. 29B) dark brown except most area of hypostoma and parts of postgenal bridge yellow to light brown. Antenna (Fig. 29C) composed of 3 segments and apical sensillum, slightly longer than stem of labral fan; length ratio of 3 segments (from base to tip) 1.0:1.4:0.7; antenna dark brown except base and ventral surface of segment 1, 4 areas (including apex) of segment 2 and apical sensillum unpigmented. Labral fan with 38 main rays. Mandible (Fig. 29D) with mandibular serrations composed of 2 teeth (1 large and 1 medium-sized) (though another small tooth at base of main tooth in right mandible— Fig. 29E); main tooth at obtuse angle against mandible on apical side; supernumerary serrations absent; comb-teeth composed of 4 or 5 teeth, of which 1st tooth longest and others subequal in length to one another (though comb-teeth decreasing in length from 1st to 3rd in right mandible— Fig. 29E). Hypostoma (Fig. 29F) with 9 anterior teeth, of which median tooth longest of all; inner tooth of 3 intermediate teeth on each side longer than 2 others though little shorter than each corner tooth; lateral margins weakly serrate apically; 9 hypostomal bristles divergent posteriorly from lateral border on each side. Postgenal cleft (Fig. 29B), of medium-size, 1.21 times as long as postgenal bridge; subesophageal ganglion well pigmented, wine-glass shaped. Histoblast of pharate pupal gill with 6 inflated filaments. Thoracic and abdominal cuticle bare except abdominal segments 8 and 9 moderately to densely covered with short colorless setae on dorsal and lateral surfaces. Rectal scales present. Rectal organ of 3 simple large lobes, without secondary lobules. Anal sclerite X-shaped, with short broad anterior arms 0.73 times as long as posterior ones and with forked apices. Last abdominal segment not bulged laterally and lacking ventral papillae. Posterior circlet with 94 rows of hooklets with up to 22 hooklets per row.</p> <p> <b>Type specimens.</b> Holotype female (with associated pupal exuviae and cocoon) (preserved in 80% ethanol), reared from pupa collected from a small moderately-flowing water canal (water temperature 15.5˚C, exposed to the sun, altitude 2,745 m, 28˚78’67.3” N, 83˚73’38.7” E) Jomsom, Mustang, Nepal, 23.IX.2009. Paratypes: 3 females, 2 males, all with associated pupal exuviae and cocoons, same data as those of holotype; 2 pupae collected from a moderately-flowing very small stream (water temperature 15.0˚C, exposed to the sun, altitude 3,448 m, 28˚81’80.3” N, 83˚84’34.1” E), Jharkot, Mustang, Nepal, 21.IX.2009; 3 mature larvae collected from a rapidly-flowing small stream (water temperature 8.0˚C, exposed to the sun, altitude 3,743 m, 28˚81’69.7” N, 83˚87’14.0” E), Muktinath, Mustang, Nepal, 21.IX.2009.</p> <p> <b>Biological notes.</b> The pupae and larvae of this new species were collected from grass leaves trailing in the water. No other species was collected.</p> <p> <b>Etymology.</b> The specific name <i>tulshii</i> is in honor of Mr. Tulshi Krishna Shrestha, father of the junior author, who kindly accompanied and assisted in field surveys.</p> <p> <b>Remarks.</b> <i>Simulium</i> (<i>S</i>.) <i>tulshii</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> is assigned to the <i>variegatum</i> species-group of the subgenus <i>Simulium</i> (<i>Simulium</i>) redefined by Takaoka (2003) in that it has a combination of the following characteristics: claw with a small subbasal tooth (Fig. 26G), ovipositor valves rounded, with inner margins widely concave (Fig. 26H) in the female, ventral plate with toothed posterolateral margins (Fig. 27I), style elongate, without a basal protuberance (Fig. 27F) in the male, and six gill filaments (Fig. 28C,D) in the pupa.</p> <p>This new species is characterized by the female cibarium with numerous spinous processes on and near the posterodorsal margin (Fig. 26E), and the six inflated pupal gill filaments (Fig. 28C,D).</p> <p> Interestingly, the similar arrangement of six inflated gill filaments has been reported for <i>S</i>. (<i>S</i>.) <i>flavum</i> Takaoka, <i>S</i>. (<i>S</i>.) <i>lorense</i> Takaoka and <i>S</i>. (<i>S</i>.) <i>malinoense</i> Takaoka, all described from Sulawesi, Indonesia, although two filaments directed upward are not curved downward apically in the latter three known species (Takaoka 2003). Apart from the pupal gill filaments, all these three known species are different from <i>S</i>. (<i>S</i>.) <i>tulshii</i> <b>sp. nov.</b> by many characteristics including the cibarium with few to several minute processes, short ovipositor valves in the female, narrow ventral plate in the male, wall-pocket shaped cocoon, and rectal organ compound, each lobe with several secondary lobules.</p>Published as part of <i>Takaoka, Hiroyuki & Shrestha, Suchitra, 2010, New species of black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) from Nepal 2731, pp. 1-62 in Zootaxa 2731</i> on pages 49-5
Simulium (Asiosimulium) suchitrae Takaoka & Shrestha 2010, sp. nov.
No full textSimulium (Asiosimulium) suchitrae Takaoka sp. nov. Description. Female. Body length 2.3 mm. Head. Slightly narrower than thorax. Frons brownish-black, thinly whitish-gray pruinose and slightly shiny at certain angle of light, moderately covered with yellow hairs (except median longitudinal portion narrowly bare, and narrow area between antennal sockets bare) interspersed with several dark longer and stouter hairs along each lateral margin; median suture on lower portion absent; frontal ratio 1.56:1.00:1.97. Frons-head ratio 1.00:4.23. Fronto-ocular area (Fig. 1A) well developed, triangular, directed laterally and somewhat upward. Clypeus brownish-black, thinly whitish-gray pruinose and slightly shiny at certain angle of light, moderately covered with yellow hairs (except narrow portions near upper and lower margins bare) intermixed with dark longer and stouter hairs. Labrum 0.91 times as long as clypeus. Antenna composed of scape, pedicel and 9 flagellomeres, light to medium brown, except scape, pedicel, and anterior surface of 1st to 3rd flagellomeres dull yellow. Maxillary palp consisting of 5 segments, medium brown except 3rd segment blackish-brown, proportional lengths of 3rd, 4th, and 5th segments 1.00:0.86:1.48; 3rd segment (Fig. 1B,C) not enlarged; sensory vesicle (Fig. 1B,C) roughly ellipsoidal, 0.30 times as long as 3rd segment, with large opening apically. Lacinia with 9 or 10 inner and 11 outer teeth. Mandible with 25 inner and 14 outer teeth. Cibarium (Fig. 1D) moderately concave posterodorsally and with 69 spinous processes elaborately arranged in narrow space between inner and outer walls, somewhat apart from posterodorsal margin; these processes arising from inner wall. Thorax. Scutum brownish-black, slightly to moderately shiny at certain angle of light, thinly gray pruinose on prescutellar area and densely covered with yellowish-white short hairs mixed with dark brown short hairs on anterior surface, and interspersed with several dark brown upright long hairs on prescutellar area. Scutellum medium brown, with many dark upright long hairs as well as yellowish-white short hairs. Postnotum dark brown, slightly shiny at certain angle of light, bare. Pleural membrane bare. Katepisternum longer than deep, brownish-black, shiny in light and bare. Legs. Entirely medium brown to brownish-black except some parts of all trochanters and extreme base of mid and hind tibiae dark yellow to light brown. Fore basitarsus moderately dilated, 6.91 times as long as its greatest width, and with moderate dorsal hair crest. Hind basitarsus (Fig. 1E) nearly parallel-sided though somewhat tapered near both ends, 6.69 times as long as its greatest width, 0.73 and 0.64 times as wide as greatest widths of tibia and femur, respectively; calcipala developed, short, 0.63 times as long as its width at base, and 0.50 times as wide as greatest width of basitarsus; pedisulcus developed. All claws (Fig. 1F) with large basal tooth 0.44 times as long as claw. Wing. Length 2.5 mm. Costa with 2 parallel rows of dark short spines as well as dark hairs. Subcosta with dark hairs except near apex bare. Hair tuft on stem vein dark. Basal portion of radius fully haired. R 1 with dark spinules and hairs. R 2 with dark hairs only. Basal cell and basal median cell absent. Abdomen. Basal scale dark brown, with fringe of yellowish-white long hairs. Dorsal and lateral surfaces of abdomen brownish-black to black, moderately covered with dark short hairs mixed with yellowish-white short hairs on tergite 2 and on each lateral surface of segments 2–4; tergites 2 and 6–8 shiny, although tergites 3–5 somewhat shiny at certain angle of light; ventral surface of abdomen brownish-black to black; segment 7 with large sternal plate medially. Genitalia. Sternite 8 (Fig. 1G) wide, bare medially but furnished with 13 or 14 short to medium-long hairs on each side. Ovipositor valve (Fig. 1G) nearly triangular, thin, membranous except inner margin narrowly sclerotized, densely covered with microsetae interspersed with 6 or 7 short hairs; inner margins nearly straight, moderately separated from each other. Genital fork (Fig. 1H) inverted-Y-shaped, with well sclerotized, basally widened stem; each arm of moderate width, thin except basal and subapical portions well sclerotized, and coiled near apex. Paraproct in ventral view (Fig. 1I) subquadrate, with distinct process produced ventrally along anteromedial margin, with 7 or 8 spinous colorless sensilla on anteromedial surface; paraproct in lateral view (Fig. 1J) much wider than long, with 20 short to medium-long hairs on lateral and ventral surfaces. Cercus in ventral view (Fig. 1I) 0.8 times as long as paraproct, with numerous short and medium-long hairs; cercus in lateral view (Fig. 1J) rounded posteriorly, 0.71 times as long as its width at base. Spermatheca (Fig. 1K) pear-like, strongly sclerotized except duct unsclerotized, without distinct reticulate surface pattern; internal setae not discernible; accessory ducts subequal in diameter to each other and slightly larger than main duct. Male. Unknown. Pupa. Body length 3.5 mm. Head. Integument dark yellow, without tubercle; face with 1 simple mediumlong trichome on each side, and frons with 1 (left side) or 2 (right side) simple medium-long trichomes on each side; antennal sheath without any projection and tubercle. Thorax. Integument dark yellow, bare except dorsal surface of posterior 1/2 sparsely or moderately covered with tubercles, and small area at base of gill densely covered with tubercles (Fig. 2A); thorax on each side with 9 simple trichomes (2 mediodorsally, 2 anterolaterally, 2 mediolaterally and 3 ventrolaterally), all medium-long except 1 of 2 anterolateral trichomes and all 3 ventrolateral trichomes short. Gill (Fig. 2A) of arborescent type, composed of 28 short slender thread-like filaments arranged from dorsal to ventral as {[(2+2)+(2+1+1)+2+2]+[4+(1+1+2)]}+(2+2)+(2+2) on left side, and {[2+2+2+2+(2+2)]+[4+(1+1+2)]}+(2+2)+(2+2) on right side; all filaments light to medium brown, variable in length ranging from 0.5 mm (1 filament of dorsal group) to 1.2 mm (1 filament of ventral group), with annular furrows (no distinct ridges) and densely covered with minute tubercles; gill with enlarged transparent bulbous organ basally. Abdomen. Dorsally, all segments nearly transparent except segment 9 yellowish; segment 1 smooth (without tubercle), with 1 short slender seta on each side; segment 2 with 1 short slender seta, 5 very short spinous setae and 1 very short minute seta on each side; segments 3 and 4 each with 4 stout hooks and 1 very short spinous or minute seta on each side; segments 5–9 each with comblike groups of minute spines though very sparsely on segment 5 and without spine-combs on each side; segment 9 with pair of small cone-shaped terminal hooks (Fig. 2B). Laterally, segments 2–4 each with 3 very short spinous setae on each side; segment 9 with 2 grapnel-shaped hooklets on each side. Ventrally, all segments nearly transparent except segment 9 yellowish; segmens 5–7 each with pair of simple stout hooks on each side; segments 4–8 each with comb-like groups of minute spines and on each side. Cocoon (Fig. 2C). Wall-pocket shaped, tightly woven, with anterodorsal margin thickly woven, and slightly extended ventrolaterally: individual threads invisible; 3.0 mm long by 2.0 mm wide. Mature larva. Body length 6.1 mm. Body grayish. Cephalic apotome whitish-yellow on anterior 2/5 or little more, dark yellow to light brown on posterior 3/5 or little less, and dark brown along posterior margin; head spots distinct, dark brown except anterior spot of posterolateral spots on each side indistinct; posterior spot of posterolateral spots on each side merged in dark brown background and posterior spot of mediolongitudinal spots connected posteriorly to dark brown area along posterior margin. Lateral surface of head capsule yellow except area above and posterior to eye-spot region light to medium brown, with distinct dark brown spots, i.e., 2 large spots and 1 small spot in front of posterior margin and 3 isolated small spots below eye-spot region. Ventral surface of head capsule yellow except central portion and posterior portion along posterior margin widely light to medium brown, with distinct dark brown elongate and round spots on each side of postgenal cleft though round spots appear to be merged into medium brown background. Cervical sclerites composed of 2 dark brown small elliptical pieces, not fused to occiput, widely separated medially from each other. Antenna consisting of 3 segments and apical sensillum, subequal to or little longer than stem of labral fan; proportional lengths of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd segments 1.00:1.36:0.69. Labral fan with 30 main rays. Mandible (Fig. 3A) with mandibular serration consisting of 1 large tooth (1 small tooth probably lost on left side) (either 1 or 2 teeth apparently lost on right side); large tooth at right angle to mandible on apical side; comb-teeth composed of 3 teeth decreasing in size from 1st to 3rd; supernumerary serrations absent. Hypostoma (Fig. 3B) with 9 apical teeth in row; median and corner teeth well developed; lateral serration weakly developed anteriorly; 9 hypostomal bristles per side, lying slightly divergent posteriorly from lateral margin. Postgenal cleft (Fig. 3C) deep, reaching posterior margin of hypostoma. Thoracic and abdominal cuticle bare except both sides of anal sclerite moderately covered with simple colorless setae. Rectal scales not discernible. Rectal organ compound, each of 3 lobes with 13–17 finger-like secondary lobules. Anal sclerite X-shaped, with anterior arms 0.94 times as long as posterior ones; anterior arms broadened, and space between arms widely sclerotized basally; 8 sensilla just posterior to basal juncture area; accessory sclerite absent. Last abdominal segment somewhat expanded ventrally forming ventral bulge, visible as very small ventral papilla when viewed from side. Posterior circlet with 90 rows of up to 16 hooklets per row. Type specimens. Holotype female (with associated pupal exuviae and cocoon) (preserved in 80% ethanol), reared from a pupa collected from a small stream slowly flowing on rocks (water temperature 15˚C, shaded, altitude 1,826 m, 28˚57’61.5” N, 83˚51’02.0” E) near Titar, Mustang, Nepal, 23.IX.2009. Paratype: 1 mature larva, same data as those of holotype. Biological notes. The pupa and larva of this new species were collected with larvae of S. (Montisimulium) dattai Takaoka & Somboon. Etymology. The specific name suchitrae is in honor of Miss Suchitra Shrestha, junior author, who collected this new species, together with many other new species in her recent field surveys in Nepal. Remarks. This new species is assigned to the subgenus Simulium (Asiosimulium) defined by Takaoka & Choochote (2005a) in that it has a combination of the following characteristics: numerous spinous processes on the cibarium (Fig. 1D), hairs on the basal portion of the radial vein, and a large basal tooth of the claw (Fig. 1F) in the female, gill filaments of arborescent type (Fig. 2A), dorsal surface of abdominal segments 5–9 without spine-combs, ventral surface of abdominal segments 5–7 each with pair of simple hooks on each side and lateral surface of abdominal segment 9 with grapnel-shaped hooklets in the pupa, and deep postgenal cleft (Fig. 3C) in the larva. This is the third species of the subgenus Simulium (Asiosimulium) and represents a new record of this subgenus from Nepal. This subgenus was so far represented by only two species, i.e., S. (A.) oblongum Takaoka & Choochote and S. (A.) wanchaii Takaoka & Choochote, both of which were described from Thailand (Takaoka & Choochote 2005a, 2006). The female of S. (A.) suchitrae sp. nov. is distinguished from those of the two known species by the genital fork without any projection (Fig. 1H), the short cercus (much shorter than its basal width) (Fig. 1I,J) and a pear-like spermatheca (Fig. 1K). The pupa of this new species is distinguished from that of S. (A.) oblongum by the frons lacking any tubercle. The pupa as well as the male and larva of S. (A.) wanchaii is not known. The pupa of this new species is most distinctive in having a large transparent bulbous organ at the base of the gill (Fig. 2A), which occurs very rarely in the Oriental species of black flies. Until now, only two species of the multistriatum species-group of the subgenus Simulium (Simulium), i.e., S. (S.) rotifilis Chen & Zhang from China (Chen & Zhang 1998) and S. (S.) bullatum Takaoka & Choochote from Thailand (Takaoka & Choochote 2005b), have been reported to bear such a large bulbous organ.Published as part of Takaoka, Hiroyuki & Shrestha, Suchitra, 2010, New species of black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) from Nepal 2731, pp. 1-62 in Zootaxa 2731 on pages 4-
Effect of different substrate sterilization methods on performance of oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus)
No full textSaabunud / Received 21.01.2021 ; Aktsepteeritud / Accepted 16.04.2021 ; Avaldatud veebis / Published online 16.04.2021 ; Vastutav autor / Corresponding author: Sanju Shrestha [email protected] sterilization of substrates is an indispensable step in oyster mushroom cultivation. Oyster mushroom growers in Nepal usually follow three different substrate sterilization methods; however, their comparative effectiveness is vastly unexplored. Thus, these experiments were carried out at the Institute of Agriculture and Animal Science (IAAS), Lamjung Campus, Lamjung, Nepal from January to March, in the years 2017 and 2019. The objective of these experiments was to identify the most appropriate method of sterilization. Three different types of sterilization methods viz chemical sterilization (formaldehyde + carbendazim), steam sterilization, and hot-water sterilization were evaluated for the growth parameters and productivity of oyster mushroom cultivated on rice straw. The experiments were laid out on Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with ten replications. The results showed that the spawning rate was 3.2% of the wet substrate. Data were collected until the third flush. A significantly longer duration to colonize the substrate (29.7 days) was observed under chemical sterilization. The oyster mushroom performed best under steam sterilization as it took the shortest time for pinhead formation (34.30 days), fruiting body formation (43.60 days), cropping duration (89.30 days), and produced the highest mushroom yield (1401.9 g per 4 kg bag), and consequently, the highest biological efficiency (101.38%). Average pileus diameter and stipe length were statistically indifferent among the treatments suggesting the significant effect of sterilization methods on the yield of oyster mushroom but not on its morphological attributes
Author Profiling in the Wild
No full textIn this paper, we use machine learning for profiling authors of online textual media. We are interested in determining the gender and age of an author. We use two different approaches, one where the features are learned from raw data and one where features are manually extracted. We are interested in understanding how well author profiling works in the wild and therefore we have tested our models on different domains than they are trained on. Our results show that applying models to a different domain then they were trained on significantly decreases the performance of the models. The results show that more efforts need to be put into making models domain independent if techniques such as author profiling should be used operationally, for example by training on many different datasets and by using domain independent features.</p
Dynamics and drivers of land use land cover changes in Bangladesh
No full textLand is scarce in Bangladesh: Bangladesh occupies ~0.03 % of world’s land area, but supports over ~2% of human population. This high population to land ratio, combined with socioeconomic development has placed tremendous pressure on Bangladesh’s land resources for food, feed, and fuel. This study assesses the dynamics of land use land cover changes and its subsequent drivers at national and sub-national scales. We show contemporary spatial estimates of land change in Bangladesh using national-level analysis of Landsat imageries for 2000 and 2010. This analysis uses our newly compiled extensive socioeconomic database which covers ~480 sub-districts along with biophysical data. We also synthesized information from over 80 survey-based case studies on land use drivers in Bangladesh to complement our macro-scale analysis. We present a detailed analysis of contemporary land change both in terms of national extent and the use of detailed spatial information on land change, socioeconomic factors, and synthesis of case studies. Our results showed eight broad land cover types, of which majority is covered by agriculture (~70%), waterbody (rivers and shrimp ponds) (~10%) and forests (~8%). We found that agriculture, forest and mangrove areas showed a decreasing trend while bare soil, shrub land, waterbody and settlement showed an increasing trend. We identified three major land conversion types: agriculture to shrimp ponds, forest to shrub land and shrimp ponds to bare soil, and their hotspot regions at a sub-district level. Based on our analysis, we find both biophysical and socioeconomic variables contributing to the land conversions. We find that conversion of agriculture to shrimp ponds is driven by increasing rate of population, urban household size and rural household number, access to highways and variation in temperature. Drivers related to forest to shrubland conversion include increasing rate of population, access to rivers, highways and cities, and increased rate of precipitation. Lastly, shrimp ponds to bare soil conversion is driven by access to highway, cities and rivers, elevation and increasing rate of precipitation.Submission published under a 24 month embargo labeled 'U of I Access', the embargo will last until 2019-05-01The student, Suravi Shrestha, accepted the attached license on 2017-04-27 at 10:07.The student, Suravi Shrestha, submitted this Thesis for approval on 2017-04-27 at 10:12.This Thesis was approved for publication on 2017-04-27 at 18:07.DSpace SAF Submission Ingestion Package generated from Vireo submission #11108 on 2017-08-10 at 15:07:12Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-10T20:33:29Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 2
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A prospect of moving towards free milk quota market in Ireland – will milk quota movement follow efficiency?
No full textQuota trade in Ireland is ‘ring fenced’ to milk processors where farmers are not allowed to trade milk quota outside their designated milk processor. This ensures milk production staying within a region but has implications for the efficiency of milk production. In this paper, we simulated a free milk quota market in Ireland and compared the results with a milk quota exchange which was ring fenced to determine if the quota move from an inefficient region to a more efficient region. The results show that quota indeed follow efficiency of production when there is restriction over trade area.Milk quota trade, Irish quota market, Farm level model, Agricultural and Food Policy,
Design of Fault Tolerant Energy conversion System for Increasing Wind Turbine Reliability
No full textWind energy promises to become an important source of energy in the near future. Penetrating large-scale wind power into power systems presents a lot of challenges to power system operators, generation companies and wind turbine manufactures. In order to design less expensive and more efficient wind turbines, manufacturers have tried a lot of possibilities. However reliability is also an important issue. For this reason much attention needs to be paid to the reliability improvement. In the beginning, this thesis introduces and discusses modern wind turbines, gives failure rates to express the reliability, analyzes problems and the most critical subassemblies of wind turbines, and gives the possible methods to make wind turbines more reliable. For electrical part of wind turbine, generator is a crucial component. In this thesis a fault tolerant energy conversion system was designed to meet the specification. With certain faults the system can continue operating and output power. Therefore the reliability of wind turbines is increased. Finally the design procedure, and comparisons of this fault tolerant generator system and conventional generator system are given.Electrical Power EngineeringElectrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc
Review of "Newār (Nepāl Bhāṣā)"
No full textNot only did the year 2006 mark seventy years since Hans Jørgensen’s
landmark achievement, A Dictionary of the Classical Newāri, was published, but it
also saw an outstanding grammatical description of Kathmandu Newar published
by the renowned linguist Austin Hale and his co-author K.P. Shrestha, which I
have the opportunity to review in this articlePublished versio
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