A faunal survey and zoogeographic analysis of the Curculionoidea (Coleoptera) (excluding Anthribidae, Platypodinae, and Scolytinae) of the Lower Rio Grande Valley of Texas

Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to [email protected], referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references: p. 239-257.Issued also on microfiche from Lange Micrographics.An annotated list of the Curculionoidea (Coleoptera) (excluding Anthribidae, Platypodinae, and Scolytinae) is presented for the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) of Texas. The list includes species that occur in Cameron, Hidalgo, Starr, and Willacy counties. Each of the 235 species in 97 genera is treated according to its geographical range, Lower Rio Grande distribution, seasonal activity, plant associations, and biology. The taxonomic arrangement follows O'Brien & Wibmer (1982). A table of the species occurring in particular areas of the Lower Rio Grande Valley, such as the Boca Chica Beach area, the Sabal Palm Grove Sanctuary, Bentsen-Rio Grande State Park, and the Falcon Dam area is included. A table of the species and their host associations is also presented. Genera (number of species in parentheses) with the largest number of species represented are: Anthoiionzits (12), Apion (13), Conotrachehts (II), Listronotils (17), Sibinia (10), and Siiticronyx (15). Thirty percent of the total species in the Lower Rio Grande Valley belong in these genera. There are 22 undetermined and/or undescribed species recorded. Zoogeographic comparisons are made between the LRGV and Guatemala, North Dakota, Victoria County, San Patricio County, Big Bend National Park, and southern Florida. A high percentage of species of the LRGV were found to have northern affinities. Eight non-native species were not included in the zoogeographic comparisons. Twelve species appear to be endemic to the LRGV. Fifty-seven percent of the 227 species analyzed have the LRGV as either their northern or southern boundary. our representative collecting sites in the LRGV were chosen to make comparisons. The greatest diversity of weevil species of the LRGV occurs in the Sabal Palm Grove Sanctuary (32%). This may be due to more extensive collecting at this site. Approximately one-third of the total diversity of the LRGV occurs on these 32 acres of land. Plant associations are known for 33% of the weevils occurring in the LRGV, although some of the associations may have been recorded from areas outside of the LRGV. Out of the 433 plant associations, 41.3% involve the families Fabaceae, Malvaceae, and Asteraceae

Exploration of latent space of LOD2 GML dataset to identify similar buildings

Explainable numerical representations of otherwise complex datasets are vital as they extract relevant information, which is more convenient to analyze and study. These latent representations help identify clusters and outliers and assess the similarity between data points. The 3-D model of buildings is one dataset that possesses inherent complexity given the variety in footprint shape, distinct roof types, walls, height, and volume. Traditionally, comparing building shapes requires matching their known properties and shape metrics with each other. However, this requires obtaining a plethora of such properties to calculate similarity. In contrast, this study utilizes an autoencoder-based method to compute the shape information in a fixed-size vector form that can be compared and grouped with the help of distance metrics. This study uses "FoldingNet," a 3D autoencoder, to generate the latent representation of each building from the obtained LOD2 GML dataset of German cities and villages. The Cosine distance is calculated for each latent vector to determine the locations of similar buildings in the city. Further, a set of geospatial tools is utilized to iteratively find the geographical clusters of buildings with similar forms. The state of Brandenburg in Germany is taken as an example to test the methodology. The study introduces a novel approach to finding similar buildings and their geographical location, which can define the neighborhood's character, history, and social setting. Further, the process can be scaled to include multiple settlements where more regional insights can be made.Comment: 10 pages, 6 figure

Hearing Others' Voices: An Exploration of the Musical Experiences of Immigrant Students Who Sing In High School Choir

The purpose of this study was to explore the musical experiences of immigrant students in an American high school choral classroom. This study revealed some of the central issues and tensions that immigrant students face as they are acculturated into secondary school music programs. The study explored the experiences of five immigrant female high school students who had emigrated from the following countries: Ecuador, El Salvador, Ghana, and Kazakhstan. The primary participants in the collective case study attended a suburban high school in the Mid-Atlantic region and had been living in the U.S. for three years or less. All participants were enrolled the same entry-level non-auditioned choral class. A survey was given to all choral students at the school which provided demographic information about the overall school choral program. Data collection methods included: semi-structured, in-depth interviews, student and teacher surveys, observations, focus groups, and dialogue journal writing collected over a ten-month period. Participants were encouraged to write journal entries in their native language. Lind's study of classroom environment and Gay's theory of culturally responsive teaching provided two important frameworks for analysis and interpretation of data. Data were coded through the NVivo software system for processing qualitative research. The data were analyzed and interpreted to create four narrative case studies. Findings suggested that the acculturation process for immigrant teenagers entails multiple dimensions with distinct outcomes depending on students' personal histories and educational backgrounds. Data revealed teacher dependence on contextual language in the choral classroom language as a vehicle for transfer of musical knowledge and that English language learners (ELL) are sometimes placed at a disadvantage in the choral classroom because of this reliance. Findings implied that some curricular norms in secondary choral classes such as vocal warm-ups, musical notation, sight reading requirements and choral festivals can be viewed as culturally incongruent with immigrants students' previous musical experiences. Data suggested that immigrant students in choral classes viewed the minimum requirements for participation in a school group, opportunities for public performance, and daily use of English in a non-threatening atmosphere as benefits of their overall high school education

Minding the Tragic Gap: Conversations of Invisibility in Early Childhood Music Education

During the last few decades, the music education profession has slowly begun to recognize the impact of music experiences in early childhood. Key publications in the 1970s drew attention to music education for young children (Greenberg 1976, Simons 1978, Zimmerman 1972). Articles focusing on young children\u27s musical development appeared in the 1980s (Hargreaves, 1986; Peery, Peery, & Draper, 1987; Sloboda, 1985; Swanick & Tillman, 1986). MENC (now the NationalAssociation for Music Education-NafME) began to address early childhood music education through focus days attached to biennial national conferences and through the establishment of the Early Childhood Special Research Interest Group. Yet in general, the music education profession lags behind other disciplines in recognizing the needs of young children. In this gap of recognition, young children remain an underrepresented population in the music. How do we change the perception of young children\u27s musical capabilities and abilities with parents, pre-service teachers, and colleagues

Ophthalmoplegic Migraine and Infundibular Dilatation of a Cerebral Artery

Ophthalmoplegic migraine (OM) is a childhood disorder of uncertain etiology manifesting recurrent unilateral headache associated with a transitory oculomotor (usually IIIrd nerve) palsy. Recent publications emphasize the finding on MRI of contrast enhancement in the IIIrd nerve suggesting that OM may be a recurrent inflammatory neuropathy. We report the case of a 7-year-old boy with typical symptoms of this disorder. Angio MR and Angio CT revealed the presence of an infundibular dilatation of a perforating branch of the posterior cerebral artery adjacent to the symptomatic IIIrd nerve. We speculate that this and perhaps other cases of OM may have a different pathophysiology related to compression of the IIIrd nerve by an adjacent vascular structure that could activate the trigeminovascular system and produce migrainous pain

CD43-independent augmentation of mouse T-cell function by glycoprotein cleaving enzymes

Previous work has shown that the function of mouse CD4 + T cells can be augmented by an enzyme, O -sialoglycoprotein endopeptidase (OSGE), which cleaves surface CD43, suggesting the idea that the high levels of glycosylated CD43 found on T cells from aged mice may contribute to immune senescence. New results now show that OSGE improves T-cell function even in mice lacking CD43, showing that other glycoproteins must contribute to the OSGE effect on function. Evaluation of other enzymes found two whose ability to stimulate CD4 activation was higher in aged than in young T cells. One of these, PNGase F, is a glycosidase specific for N-linked glycans, and the other, ST-Siase(2,3) from Salmonella typhimurium , is specific for α2,3-linked terminal sialic acid residues. Parallel lectin-binding experiments showed that removal of α2,3-linked sialic acid residues vulnerable to PNGase F and ST-Siase(2,3) was also greater in old than in young T cells. The preferential ability of PNGase F and ST-Siase(2,3) to improve the function of T cells from aged mice may involve cleavage of glycoproteins containing α2,3-linked sialic acid residues on N-linked or O-linked glycans or both.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75621/1/j.1365-2567.2006.02419.x.pd