First record of the agave snout weevil, Scyphophorus acupunctatusGyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Dryophthorinae), in Puerto Rico

The agave snout weevil, Scyphophorus acupunctatus Gyllenhal (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Dryophthorinae), is reported from Puerto Rico for the first time. It was collected on feral sisal, Agave sisalana Perrine (Agavaceae), in the Guánica Dry Forest Reserve in the southwestern part of the island

The Intrinsic Variability of the Water Vapor Saturation Ratio Due to Mixing

The water vapor concentration plays an important role for many atmospheric processes. The mean concentration is key to understand water vapor\u27s effect on the climate as a greenhouse gas. The fluctuations about the mean are important to understand heat fluxes between Earth\u27s surface and the boundary layer. These fluctuations are linked to turbulence that is present in the boundary layer. Turbulent conditions are simulated in Michigan Tech’s multiphase, turbulent reaction chamber, the π chamber. Measurements for temperature and water vapor concentration were recorded under forced Rayleigh- Bénard convection at several turbulent intensities. These were used to calculate the saturation ratio, often referred to as the relative humidity. The fluctuations in the water vapor concentration were found to be the more important than the temperature for the variability of the saturation ratio. The fluctuations in the saturation ratio result in some cloud droplets experiencing a higher supersaturation than other cloud droplets, causing those lucky droplets to grow at a faster rate than other droplets. This difference in growth rates could contribute to a broadening of the size distribution of cloud droplets, resulting in the enhancement of collision-coalescence. These fluctuations become more pronounced with more intense turbulence

THE VARIABILITY OF THE SATURATION RATIO IN CLOUDS

The saturation ratio determines the growth of cloud droplets by condensation and activation of aerosol particles. In a uniform environment, the interactions between the saturation ratio and cloud droplets are well understood. However, the presence of turbulent mixing causes spatial and temporal variability in the temperature, water vapor and the saturation ratio. When applied to a cloud, the variability in S has been shown to broaden the cloud droplet size distribution through each droplet having its own growth rate and history. When droplets grow by condensation or evaporation, water vapor and heat feedback with the environment, altering the distribution of the saturation ratio. This dissertation explores the nature of the variability in the saturation ratio in clouds using measurements and simulations of the Michigan Tech Pi chamber. Measurements of the Pi chamber show the Large Scale Circulation contributes to the variability of the saturation ratio. We have found the saturation ratio has significant fluctuations in both moist and cloudy conditions. Increasing the concentration of cloud condensation nuclei was shown to decrease the mean saturation ratio, however the variance was unchanged. Using a box model alongside the high resolution simulation of the Pi chamber, we found fluctuations in the saturation ratio cause aerosol particles to activate in mean subsaturated conditions. We show turbulent fluctuations in the supersaturation increases the concentration of cloud condensation nuclei, by increasing the efficiency of aerosol activation

The Craft of Incentive Prize Design: Lessons from the Public Sector

In the last five years, incentive prizes have transformed from an exotic open innovation tool to a proven innovation strategy for the public, private and philanthropic sectors. This report offers practical lessons for public sector leaders and their counterparts in the philanthropic and private sectors to help understand what types of outcomes incentive prizes help to achieve, what design elements prize designers use to create these challenges and how to make smart design choices to achieve a particular outcome. It synthesizes insights from expert interviews and analysis of more than 400 prize

An examination of the effects of accuracy+rate versus accuracy+observing response training methods on matching-to-sample performance.

The relative efficacy of training procedures emphasizing accuracy versus those which add a rate criterion is a topic of debate. The desired learning outcome is fluent responding, assessed by measures of retention, endurance, stability, and application. The current study examined the effects of these two procedures on fluency outcomes using a matching-to-sample paradigm to train participants to match English to Japanese characters. An explicit FR-3 observing response was added to an accuracy-only condition to assess the extent to which it may facilitate learning. Total time spent responding in practice drills in accuracy-only conditions was yoked to total time spent in drills achieving rate aims in accuracy+rate (AR) conditions. One participant clearly demonstrated superior fluency outcomes after AR training while another displayed superior endurance and stability outcomes after such training. The remaining two participants did not demonstrate significantly different fluency outcomes across conditions

In Support of Abstinence-Plus Education: Evaluating the Shortcomings of Peer-to-Peer Education and Abstinence-Only Programs in the Context of Attitudes, Intentions, and Behaviors

Winner of the 2021 Library IDEA Award for Undergraduate ResearchThis paper examines three primary approaches to sexual education - abstinence-only, peer-to-peer, and abstinence-plus - and weighs their merits in the context of their influence on attitudes, behaviors, and intentions. The Big Decisions program espouses respectful, culturally-sensitive environment is essential to the success of any sexual education program. Pursuant to this belief, the curricula demonstrates sexual decision making through displays of loving relationships across cultures as well as in the context of participants’ personal aspirations in life. It encourages participants to clarify their personal limits and understand how the risks of STDs and teen pregnancy can impede personal goals established at the start of the program. Most importantly, the curriculum does not belittle or demonize teens who are already sexually active or teens who are in the LGBTQ+ community

Neighbourhood environment and the effect on well-being, physical activity, and social connectedness : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Psychology, Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

The world's population is ageing. Efforts are being made to improve health outcomes for these ageing populations. There has been a shift from the medical model of health (personal responsibility) to an Active Ageing model, which can be defined as holistic, enlisting organisational, societal, and individual action to support better health and well-being outcomes. Governments are well-placed to play a more significant role in improving public health by contributing to the social and environmental determinants of health. The Capabilities Approach is a useful framework with which to consider the environmental impact on health, with well-being as the defining subjective measure of an individual's health. According to the Capabilities Approach, well-being is positively affected via achieved functionings. The Capabilities Approach recognises the role of external support in achieving positive health outcomes. The residential neighbourhood environment is one external factor associated with health and well-being. It is also amenable to positive interventions to support improved health and well-being outcomes for individuals. There are many ways to conceptualise and measure external, residential neighbourhood environments. This study included objective, subjective and socio-economic measures of the local neighbourhood environment. Objective measures of the environment capture natural and built elements. Subjective measures of the environment capture residents' feelings towards their local neighbourhood, such as safety and trust. Socio-economic measures (SES) of the environment provide demographic information about the population's income, education and household composition. This study examined the relationship between these environmental measurements and well-being. It was hypothesised that people who live in neighbourhoods which scored higher on environmental measures would have higher self-reported well-being levels. Environmental data was collected using self-reported environment measures, objective environmental measures (OPERAT) and socio-economic measures from Australian Bureau of Statistics census data (SES). Two pathways which may explain this relationship between the residential neighbourhood environment and well-being were examined: physical activity (a physical health construct) and social connectedness (a mental health construct). Participants were selected from three, social disparate SES groups (high, medium and low) and survey data was collected by questionnaire related to their perceptions of the local neighbourhood environment, self-reported physical activity, social connectedness and well-being. Objective environmental measures were taken by the researcher utilising OPERAT for each area. The environment was found to be significantly related to self-reported well-being across all measures (self-reported, objective and SES). The relationship between environment and well-being was more significant for older people. Physical activity was found to mediate the relationship between the perceived quality of the neighbourhood environment and well-being. SES was found to be more strongly related to well-being and subjective perceptions of the local neighbourhood environment at lower levels of SES. Objective measures of the neighbourhood identified a significant relationship with measures of Subjective Environment and Well-being for older people. Overall, the research findings suggested the use of multiple measures of the local neighbourhood environment to measure effects on well-being. Future research could be undertaken to understand further the relative contribution each type of environment makes, especially for older people, towards well-being, and the pathways by which this is achieved. Such research would be invaluable in regard to efficient decision making associated with the effective allocation of resources to improve health outcomes

Recommendations for Implementing Hepatitis C Virus Care in Homeless Shelters: The Stakeholder Perspective.

Compared with the general population, homeless individuals are at higher risk of hepatitis C infection (HCV) and may face unique barriers in receipt of HCV care. This study sought the perspectives of key stakeholders toward establishing a universal HCV screening, testing, and treatment protocol for individuals accessing homeless shelters. Four focus groups were conducted with homeless shelter staff, practice providers, and social service outreach workers (n = 27) in San Francisco, California, and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Focus groups evaluated key societal, system, and individual-level facilitators and barriers to HCV testing and management. Interviews were transcribed and analyzed thematically. The societal-level barriers identified were lack of insurance, high-out-of-pocket expenses, restriction of access to HCV treatment due to active drug and/or alcohol use, and excessive paperwork required for HCV treatment authorization from payers. System-level barriers included workforce constraints and limited health care infrastructure, HCV stigma, low knowledge of HCV treatment, and existing shelter policies. At the individual level, client barriers included competing priorities, behavioral health concerns, and health attitudes. Facilitators at the system level for HCV care service integration in the shelter setting included high acceptability and buy in, and linkage with social service providers. Conclusion: Despite societal, system, and individual-level barriers identified with respect to the scale-up of HCV services in homeless shelters, there was broad support from key stakeholders for increasing capacity for the provision of HCV services in shelter settings. Recommendations for the scale-up of HCV services in homeless shelter settings are discussed

Robust design optimization with dynamic constraints using numerical continuation

This thesis develops a framework for performing robust design optimization of objective functions constrained by differential, algebraic, and integral constraints. A successive parameter continuation method combined with polynomial chaos expansions is used to locate stationary points. The use of such an expansion provides the benefit of being able to directly drive the mean and variance of a given response function (or an objective function that uses them) during continuation. A toolbox capable of constructing polynomial chaos expansions for system response functions evaluated on boundary value problems has been developed for this work. Its use is demonstrated and results are compared to analytically derived solutions of a linear, harmonically forced oscillator. The robust design optimization method is then applied a harmonically forced nonlinear oscillator

The Association Between Diet Quality and Stress Response

Previous research has looked into how stress affects diet, but not how diet affects stress. We looked into the variety and quality of diets and its association within our stress response. An anonymous online survey was administered through Google Forms. The survey was sent out to the public across several social media platforms, including Instagram, Groupme, and Facebook. The survey included basic demographic questions and questions on diet and mental health. Pearson Correlation Coefficient was used to analyze data in SPSS version 25.0. There is an association between poor diet and a negative perception of stress. The results display the majority of participants have a slightly negative outlook on stress while consuming a Western diet. This suggests that a better balanced diet may lead to a decrease in negative perceptions of stress and improve outlook on life.https://orb.binghamton.edu/research_days_posters_2023/1002/thumbnail.jp