The Effects of Bogus Amounts of Perceived Success on Achieving a Desired Physiological State

Thirty incarcerated juveniles underwent thermometric bio-feedback training. The subjects were divided into three groups; (1) Inflated, in which information was doubled, (2) Actual, in which no alterations were made, and (3) Deflated, in which information was half of the true temperature rise. No significant difference was found among these groups. A self-report rating on various attitudes, primarily success feelings ; were correlated with achievement. The only factor statistically significant was an indication of locus of control. Cognitive potentialities are discussed as well as emotion

Motivating Factors of Aphid Behavior

Citation: Kruse, A. (2017). Motivating Factors of Aphid Behavior . 1st Annual Undergraduate Research Experience in Entomology Symposium, November 16, 2016. Manhattam, KS.Aphids are small, soft-bodied insects with long slender mouthparts used to pierce leaves and extract fluids; to check for aphid infestation, one must check the underside of the leaf as this is the preferential side for many aphid species [1]. Sugarcane Aphids, Melanaphis sacchari, cause serious damage to sorghum growth, development and productivity in many countries [2]. We hoped to find with this experiment what factors can best explain why Sugarcane Aphids colonize on the underside of sorghum. We found that the only two treatments that were statistically significant (mesh top/cardboard bottom, and mesh top/mesh bottom flipped) meaning that with further research we may be able to prove light is the most motivating factor of aphid colonization behavior

The effect of ratio and interval training on Pavlovian-instrumental transfer in mice.

Conditional stimuli (CS) that are paired with reward can be used to motivate instrumental responses. This process is called Pavlovian-instrumental transfer (PIT). A recent study in rats suggested that habitual responses are particularly sensitive to the motivational effects of reward cues. The current experiments examined this idea using ratio and interval training in mice. Two groups of animals were trained to lever press for food pellets that were delivered on random ratio or random interval schedules. Devaluation tests revealed that interval training led to habitual responding while ratio training produced goal-directed actions. The presentation of CSs paired with reward led to positive transfer in both groups, however, the size of this effect was much larger in mice that were trained on interval schedules. This result suggests that habitual responses are more sensitive to the motivational influence of reward cues than goal-directed actions. The implications for neurobiological models of motivation and drug seeking behaviors are discussed

label-based security enforcement for web applications

This paper presents SELinks, a programming language focused on building secure multi-tier web applications. SE-Links provides a uniform programming model, in the style of LINQ and Ruby on Rails, with language syntax for accessing objects residing either in the database or at the server. Object-level security policies are expressed as fullycustomizable, first-class labels which may themselves be subject to security policies. Access to labeled data is mediated via trusted, user-provided policy enforcement functions. SELinks has two novel features that ensure security policies are enforced correctly and efficiently. First, SELinks implements a type system called Fable that allows a protected object’s type to refer to its protecting label. The type system can check that labeled data is never accessed directly by the program without first consulting the appropriate policy enforcement function. Second, SELinks compiles policy enforcement code to database-resident user-defined functions that can be called directly during query processing. Database-side checking avoids transferring data to the server needlessly, while still allowing policies to be expressed in a customizable and portable manner. Our experience with two sizable web applications, a model health-care database and a secure wiki with fine-grained security policies, indicates that cross-tier policy enforcement in SELinks is flexible, relatively easy to use, and, when compared to a single-tier approach, improves throughput by nearly an order of magnitude. SELinks is freely available

Experiments to Maximize Growth in Captive Florida Pompano (Trachinotus carolinus)

Florida pompano (Trachinotus carolinus) are highly prized food and sport fish indigenous to coastal areas of the southeastern United States. A commercially valuable fishery has historically existed in the Gulf of Mexico and on the South Atlantic seaboard. Efforts to economically culture Florida pompano in a captive environment were only partially successful. Four experiments were performed to explore the physical and environmental requirements of Florida pompano and other closely related species in the Family (Carangidae): Experiment #1- Semi-natural spawning was induced with newly developed hormonal implants. to initiate and sustain semi-natural spawning in captive Florida pompano. Fish collected from the wild were induced to spawn naturally using the hormone luteinizing hormone-releasing hormone. Sexually mature male and female fish received ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVAC) implants containing either 25 µg/Kg LHRH-a (experimental), or placebo implants containing no LHRH-a (control). Spawning and natural fertilization commenced 1 d post implantation and continued through 9 d. A total of 202,700 eggs were collected. Overall mean fertilization success in the experimental groups was 44%. No spawning occurred in the control groups. Hatching success of all fertilized eggs was \u3e 90%. Results indicate that effective spawning and natural fertilization can be initiated and maintained with continuous release LHRH-a implants. Experiment #2 - Different growout environments, compared the growth of juvenile Florida pompano cultured in three captive growout environments over a 95 day growout period. One of the experimental growout environments was a tall (height/diameter) polyethylene tank that had an upwelling current. Five (N=5) fish 19.0±0.65g were grown in each of the upwelling tanks (5 replicates). A second group of pompano were grown in net cages. Five (N=5) fish 20.8±0.56 g were grown in each of the circular net cages (5 replicates). A third treatment, standard circular, tangential-flow tanks (1,776 L)( 4 replicates), were stocked with (N=12) juvenile pompano 19.3±0.41g. Weekly sampling was done to assess any change in weight, and to facilitate tank and cage cleaning. A pelletized feed specifically formulated for Florida pompano was supplied to all fish at a 10% body mass/day ration. Juvenile Florida pompano in the upwelling environment displayed significantly greater growth (P Experiment #3 - An experimental diet specifically formulated for Florida pompano was compared to a standard pelletized trout chow (Purina). An experimental diet treatment was supplied to twelve (N=12) fish that weighed 19.3±0.41g (4 replicates), and were stocked into 1,776 L circular, tangential-flow tanks. The control treatment receiving trout chow (N=12) weighed 19.6±0.68g (4 replicates), were stocked into identically configured tanks. All groups were fed at a 10% body mass/day ration of either trout chow or experimental diet. The experimental period was 59 days. The groups of juvenile Florida pompano that received the experimental diet exhibited significantly better growth (P Experiment #4 - Two modes of feed application were tested on juvenile Florida pompano. An experimental group (N=10) 158±6.4g (4 replicates), were allowed to feed themselves by use of a demand feeder. A control treatment (N=10) 159±2.9g (4 replicates) were supplied with an equally divided daily feed ration at two preset times during the day to simulate hand feeding. Food application in the control group was made by a vibratory feeder. All groups were fed at a 6% body mass/day ration with Purina® Trout Chow. The Florida pompano were grown out in identical 1,776 L circular, tangential-flow tanks. After 79 days in culture, the experimental groups exhibited no significant difference in weight over the control groups (P\u3e0.05). Several reoccurring problems were instrumental in changing food delivery pattems in the tanks with the demand feeding regime. Typically, the ten fish in the demand feeding tanks would repeatedly strike the demand bar (day or night) until all of the daily ration had been dispensed. Other problems including environmental interference (wind and rain activating the demand feeders), and mechanical failure (freshwater feeders in a marine environment) effected the demand feeders operation. Demand feeding may be an alternate feeding method for Florida pompano if environmental control is available, modifications can be made to improve the feeders in a marine environment, and the pool of fish being fed is sufficiently large enough to absorb almost continual feed application at the maximum rate of delivery possible from this type of feeder

Scattering Parameter Measurements of the Long Wavelength Array Antenna and Front End Electronics

We present recent 2-port vector network analyzer (VNA) measurements of the complete set of scattering parameters for the antenna used within the Long Wavelength Array (LWA) and the associated front end electronics (FEEs). Full scattering parameter measurements of the antenna yield not only the reflection coefficient for each polarization, S11 and S22, but also the coupling between polarizations, S12 and S21. These had been previously modeled using simulations, but direct measurements had not been obtained until now. The measurements are used to derive a frequency dependent impedance mismatch factor (IMF) which represents the fraction of power that is passed through the antenna-FEE interface and not reflected due to a mismatch between the impedance of the antenna and the impedance of the FEE. We also present results from a two antenna experiment where each antenna is hooked up to a separate port on the VNA. This allows for cross-antenna coupling to be measured for all four possible polarization combinations. Finally, we apply the newly measured IMF and FEE forward gain corrections to LWA data to investigate how well they remove instrumental effects.Comment: 16 pages, 12 figures, Accepted for publication in Publications of the Astronomical Society of the Pacifi

Domestic Institutions and the Supply and Demand of Remittances

Many countries are dependent upon capital flows for their balance of payments accounts. Sources of expenditures include foreign direct investment (FDI), portfolio investment (PI) and remittances. While the determinants of FDI and PI have been extensively analyzed, the analyses of remittance flows from host to home countries are largely lacking and wide-ranging. Factors predominantly not considered are domestic institutions which support or encourage international remittance exchange. Nations routinely desire to control international immigration and capital movement. Consequently they adopt domestic policies which create and enforce institutions that manage both capital and labor mobility across borders. Additionally, researchers commonly neglect to consider the impact of both the supply and demand factors simultaneously, or in other words, the domestic condition (home and host) which both push and pull migrants to migrate and remit. Further, given the non-dyadic nature of the data, there arises a need to "regionalize" the data. To test the effects of variations in immigration institutional attributes, I employ a pooled data set of approximately 104 nations from 1990 to 2004. Controlling for existing explanations and regional influences, I find that domestic institutions have a significant impact on the ability of an individual to migrate to a host country and to eventually remit back to their country of origin