New Records of Native and Non-Native Bark and Ambrosia Beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in Illinois

From 2009–2012, we conducted surveys with Lindgren funnel traps for native and non-native bark and ambrosia beetles (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) in northeastern Illinois. During this study, we collected a total of 10,194 bark and ambrosia beetles representing 50 species in 28 genera. Ten scolytine species not previously reported to occur in Illinois were collected during this survey. Three of these new records are species not native to North America, including Cyclorhipidion bodoanum (Reitter), Cyclorhipidion pelliculosum (Eichhoff), and Hylastinus obscurus (Marsham). Native species reported from Illinois for the first time include: Anisandrus obesus (LeConte), Dryocoetes autographus (Ratzeburg), Hylocurus spadix Blackman, Pityophthorus cariniceps LeConte, Pityophthorus puberulus (LeConte), Pseudothysanoes lecontei Blackman, and Xyleborinus gracilis (Eichhoff). The results presented here will update and improve the somewhat limited information regarding the overall bark and ambrosia beetle community in northeastern Illinois

A Proper Splitting Theater Distribution Model for Improving Force Flow Analysis

United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) force flow analysts perform the daunting task of determining feasibility of vehicle mixtures that will support theater distribution. Analysts conduct sensitivity analysis on the vehicle mixture solution to determine proper feasibility. Their current tool, the Improved Theater Distribution Model (ITDM) uses a multimodal, mixed set of vehicles to model the pickup and delivery of a set of requirements within a given time window. Although, the model is a sufficient tool, it may provide incorrect feasible solutions, which in turn may lead to an improper vehicle mixture for a set of given requirements. Improving upon the ITDM, a Properly Splitting Theater Distribution Model (PSTDM) was created. The PSTDM, like the ITDM, is a mixed integer programming model that allocates specific vehicle types to deliver requirements in a way that minimizes cost and late deliveries. The PSTDM improves upon the ITDM solutions by taking into account and identifying oversized/outsized equipment, preventing improper splitting of requirements and matching vehicles capabilities within requirement demands. The new set of solutions provides analysts the necessary insight on vehicle combinations that provide proper feasible pickup and deliveries

Fractions as Numbers and Extensions of the Number System: Developing Activities Based on Research

Existing studies have shown fractions present significant challenges for K-8 students and pre-service teachers. They suggest that students may fail to see fractions as numbers and have difficulty moving beyond the part-whole realization, and thus they often think of fractions as objects disconnected from the number system. To address this issue, the current study proposes several activities that can be used in mathematics courses for pre-service elementary/secondary teachers or students to help the mrecognize fractions as numbers with the same visual representations as whole numbers (e.g., the number line) and on which the same kinds of operations can be used. Along with a description of the activities,the paper also provides observations about what happened when we gave the activities to a group of 28 prospective elementary teachers, highlighting evidence of their understanding of fractions as numbers

The Texas Supreme Court\u27s Erroneous Doctrine of Implied Appellate Jurisdiction.

A Texas statute gave final appellate jurisdiction over cases not to the state supreme court but to the intermediate courts of appeals. After losing at the appellate level, one of the parties in Eichelberger v. Eichelberger appealed to the state supreme court despite the statute. But because the court of appeals decision conflicted with a United States Supreme Court decision, the Texas Supreme Court held its jurisdiction should be implied. Though legal commentators declared the decision an abrupt departure from standards for judicial decisions, they postulated it would be invoked so infrequently to do no lasting harm to Texas jurisprudence. This proved untrue with the Dallas Area Rapid Transit v. Amalgamated Transit Local Union No. 1338 (DART) case which confronted lack of statutory jurisdiction caused by interlocutory appeal. If the Supremacy Clause operates to confer jurisdiction, it does so not because of who made the declaration, but because of what the declaration was. Eichelberger and DART can be corrected in two ways: by amending the statutory provisions or overruling the decisions. The simplest way is to amend the conflicts jurisdiction provision in Texas Government Code § 22.001 to encompass conflicts between courts of appeals and decisions of the United States Supreme Court. Such an amendment would effectively abrogate the results of Eichelberger and DART. Alternatively, the Texas Supreme Court could overrule Eichelberger and DART. The cases are construed as decisions about the meaning of the statutes; the burden of stare decisis would be high. The Supreme Court of Texas should always retain authority to say what the law is in cases properly before it. Whenever the legislature exercises its power in a legitimate manner, the court is obligated to follow. Eichelberger and DART were wrongly decided and should be overruled

The Texas Supreme Court\u27s Erroneous Doctrine of Implied Appellate Jurisdiction.

A Texas statute gave final appellate jurisdiction over cases not to the state supreme court but to the intermediate courts of appeals. After losing at the appellate level, one of the parties in Eichelberger v. Eichelberger appealed to the state supreme court despite the statute. But because the court of appeals decision conflicted with a United States Supreme Court decision, the Texas Supreme Court held its jurisdiction should be implied. Though legal commentators declared the decision an abrupt departure from standards for judicial decisions, they postulated it would be invoked so infrequently to do no lasting harm to Texas jurisprudence. This proved untrue with the Dallas Area Rapid Transit v. Amalgamated Transit Local Union No. 1338 (DART) case which confronted lack of statutory jurisdiction caused by interlocutory appeal. If the Supremacy Clause operates to confer jurisdiction, it does so not because of who made the declaration, but because of what the declaration was. Eichelberger and DART can be corrected in two ways: by amending the statutory provisions or overruling the decisions. The simplest way is to amend the conflicts jurisdiction provision in Texas Government Code § 22.001 to encompass conflicts between courts of appeals and decisions of the United States Supreme Court. Such an amendment would effectively abrogate the results of Eichelberger and DART. Alternatively, the Texas Supreme Court could overrule Eichelberger and DART. The cases are construed as decisions about the meaning of the statutes; the burden of stare decisis would be high. The Supreme Court of Texas should always retain authority to say what the law is in cases properly before it. Whenever the legislature exercises its power in a legitimate manner, the court is obligated to follow. Eichelberger and DART were wrongly decided and should be overruled

Curve fitting with the Bubble Board

The bubble board is a device to create simultaneously 56 identical soap bubbles. Students study the relation between time and the number of remaining bubbles for different concentrations of glycerin and use linear, exponential, and logistic decay models to fit the data

Factores motivacionales y desempeño laboral del personal contratado del IESTP “de los Andes” – Carumas, Moquegua – 2018

La presente investigación aplicada: factores motivacionales y el desempeño laboral en el personal contratado del IESTP “de los Andes” - Carumas, Moquegua en el año 2018; tiene como propósito principal, determinar la relación entre la motivación con sus dimensiones: extrínseco, intrínseco y trascendental; y el desempeño laboral con sus dimensiones: dominio de conceptos y cumplimiento de responsabilidades en el trabajo del personal contratado del IESTP “de los Andes” Carumas, Moquegua 2018. Por este motivo se llevó una investigación con un diseño no experimental, con enfoque cuantitativo, de tipo transversal, correlacional y deductivo. Y utilizamos la encuesta como técnica y como instrumento los cuestionarios para poder determinar la relación existente entre las variables de estudio, con una población de 25 trabajadores contratados del IESTP “de los Andes” – Carumas, Moquegua 2018. Los resultados alcanzados consideran que no existe una correlación entre las variables de estudio con una Rho=0,019 y un nivel de significancia de tc= 0.091 < 1.96 con la cual aceptamos la hipótesis nula entre los factores motivacionales y el desempeño laboral en el personal contratado del IESTP “de los Andes” - Carumas, Moquegua en el año 2018

Dopamine D 4 Receptor-Deficient Mice Display Cortical Hyperexcitability

The dopamine D(4) receptor (D(4)R) is predominantly expressed in the frontal cortex (FC), a brain region that receives dense input from midbrain dopamine (DA) neurons and is associated with cognitive and emotional processes. However, the physiological significance of this dopamine receptor subtype has been difficult to explore because of the slow development of D(4)R agonists and antagonists the selectivity and efficacy of which have been rigorously demonstrated in vivo. We have attempted to overcome this limitation by taking a multidimensional approach to the characterization of mice completely deficient in this receptor subtype. Electrophysiological current and voltage-clamp recordings were performed in cortical pyramidal neurons from wild-type and D(4)R-deficient mice. The frequency of spontaneous synaptic activity and the frequency and duration of paroxysmal discharges induced by epileptogenic agents were increased in mutant mice. Enhanced synaptic activity was also observed in brain slices of wild-type mice incubated in the presence of the selective D(4)R antagonist PNU-101387G. Consistent with greater electrophysiological activity, nerve terminal glutamate density associated with asymmetrical synaptic contacts within layer VI of the motor cortex was reduced in mutant neurons. Taken together, these results suggest that the D(4)R can function as an inhibitory modulator of glutamate activity in the FC.Fil: Rubinstein, Marcelo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Cepeda, Carlos. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Hurst, Raymond S.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Flores Hernandez, Jorge. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Ariano, Marjorie A.. The Chicago Medical School; Estados UnidosFil: Falzone, Tomas Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Investigaciones en Ingeniería Genética y Biología Molecular "Dr. Héctor N. Torres"; ArgentinaFil: Kozell, Laura B.. Oregon Health Sciences University; Estados UnidosFil: Meshul, Charles K.. Oregon Health Sciences University; Estados UnidosFil: Bunzow, James R.. Oregon Health Sciences University; Estados UnidosFil: Low, Malcolm J.. Oregon Health Sciences University; Estados UnidosFil: Levine, Michael S.. University of California at Los Angeles; Estados UnidosFil: Grandy, David K.. Oregon Health Sciences University; Estados Unido