Population genetic structure of the predatory, social wasp Vespula pensylvanica in its native and invasive range.

Invasive species cause extensive damage to their introduced ranges. Ocean archipelagos are particularly vulnerable to invasive taxa. In this study, we used polymorphic microsatellite markers to investigate the genetic structure of the social wasp Vespula pensylvanica in its native range of North America and its introduced range in the archipelago of Hawaii.

Theoretical predictions of thermodynamic parameters of adsorption of nitrogen containing environmental contaminants on kaolinite.

In this study thermodynamic parameters of adsorption of nitrogen containing environmental contaminants (NCCs, 2,4,6, trinitrotoluene (TNT), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT), 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN), and 3-one-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO)) interacting with the tetrahedral and octahedral surfaces of kaolinite were predicted. Adsorption complexes were investigated using a density functional theory and both periodic and cluster approach. The complexes, modeled using the periodic boundary conditions approach, were fully optimized at the BLYP-D2 level to obtain the structures and adsorption energies.

Theoretical study of adsorption of nitrogen-containing environmental contaminants on kaolinite surfaces.

The adsorption of nitrogen-containing compounds (NCCs) including 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene (TNT), 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT), 2,4-dinitroanisole (DNAN), and 3-nitro-1,2,4-triazol-5-one (NTO) on kaolinite surfaces was investigated. The M06-2X and M06-2X-D3 density functionals were applied with the cluster approximation. Several different positions of NCCs relative to the adsorption sites of kaolinite were examined, including NCCs in perpendicular and parallel orientation toward both surface models of kaolinite.