New Records of Stoneflies (Plecoptera) With an Annotated Checklist of the Species for Pennsylvania

Original collections now record 134 species in nine families and 42 gen- era. Seventeen new state records include, Allocapnia wrayi, Alloperla cau­data, Leuctra maria, Soyedina carolinensis, Tallaperla elisa, Perlesta decipiens, P. placida, Neoperla catharae, N. occipitalis, N. stewarti, Cultus decisus decisus, Isoperla francesca, I. frisoni, I. lata, I. nana, 1. slossonae, Malirekus hastatus. Five species are removed from the list of species for Pennsylvania

FEASIBIITY AND EFFICACY OF A MOVEMENT-TRAINING PROGRAM ON PHYSICAL FITNESS, FUNDAMENTAL MOVEMENT SKILLS, AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY IN THIRD AND FOURTH GRADE STUDENTS

Recent initiatives have focused on exploring the relationship between fitness, fundamental movement skills, psychosocial mediators, and physical activity in children to help design better interventions to improve these behaviors. FUNdamental Integrative Training (FIT) is an approach to physical education that uses age-appropriate exercises to improve physical fitness in youth, with the longer-term goal to physically prepare children for an active lifestyle beyond childhood. We evaluated the feasibility and efficacy of a 12-week, FIT program on physical fitness, fundamental movement skills, psychosocial mediators (self-efficacy, enjoyment and social support), and physical activity, among third and fourth grade students. Seven classrooms in one school were randomly assigned to the intervention (4; INT) or control (3; CON) group. The INT group received a 12-week, teacher-led FIT intervention during the first 15 minutes of their physical education class and an additional session once per week during the before school time period. The CON group continued participating in their regular physical education program. Process evaluation data were collected throughout the 12 weeks to assess feasibility of delivering the intervention. Preliminary efficacy was measured at three time points to assess changes in fitness, fundamental movement skills, psychosocial mediators, and physical activity. Overall, the intervention was enjoyable for the participants and well-accepted by the teacher. However, there were minimal improvements seen in fitness, fundamental movements skills, and physical activity. The results from this study can be used to improve the feasibility and potential efficacy of future interventions seeking to improve fitness, movement skills, psychosocial variables, and physical activity in third and fourth grade students

The Production and Behavior of Callus Tissue from Sorghum Vulgare

The history of plant tissue culture dates back to the early 1900’s with the research of Gottleib Haberlandt in Germany. However, it was not until 1939 that any real success was achieved. Three independent scientists, Gautberet, Nobecourt, and White simultaneously through their work set the pace for plant tissue culture. Plant tissue culture is the isolation of cell or tissues from their association with other cells and tissues in the plant to one in which nutrients are supplied artificially and the cell or tissue acts as an individual. Once the plant cells or tissues have been studied at the individual level, more information about plant functions can be obtained. Most tissue culture research has involved cells or tissues taken from many species of dicotyledonous plants but from very few monocotyledons. This thesis reports an attempt to initiate and grow callus tissue of the monocotyledon, sorghum. The objectives of the research were the following: to determine the conditions necessary to produce callus; to describe the morphology of callus origin and development; and to reproduce the results obtained with dicotyledons, the totipotency of cells (Sun 1966). To the author\u27s knowledge, no research to date has been published on the tissue culture of sorghum

Seasonal Emergence Patterns of Black Flies (Diptera: Simuliidae) in Northwestern Pennsylvania

A two-year emergence trap study of black flies at four sites in northwestern Pennsylvania yielded 1%3 individuals of nine species. The collections included Prosimulium mixtum, P. jU5cum, Stegapterna mutata, Simulium aureum, S. excisum (recorded for the first time from Pennsylvania), S. gauldingi, S. sp. nr. innacens, S. vittatum, and S. tuberasum. Species richness for all sites peaked during May. Emergence collections below a sewage plant effluent outfall represented fewer individuals and species than collections above the effluent outfall. Chromosomal analysis of supplementary larval collections revealed the IIIL-l and IS-7 sibling species of S. vittatum and the FG sibling of S. tuberasum

The Physical Activity Tracker Testing in Youth (P.A.T.T.Y.) Study: Content Analysis and Children\u27s Perceptions

Background: Activity trackers are widely used by adults and several models are now marketed for children. Objective: The aims of this study were to (1) perform a content analysis of behavioral change techniques (BCTs) used by three commercially available youth-oriented activity trackers and (2) obtain feedback describing children’s perception of these devices and the associated websites. Methods: A content analysis recorded the presence of 36 possible BCTs for the MovBand (MB), Sqord (SQ), and Zamzee (ZZ) activity trackers. In addition, 16 participants (mean age 8.6 years [SD 1.6]; 50% female [8/16]) received all three trackers and were oriented to the devices and websites. Participants were instructed to wear the trackers on 4 consecutive days and spend ≥10 min/day on each website. A cognitive interview and survey were administered when the participant returned the devices. Qualitative data analysis was used to analyze the content of the cognitive interviews. Chi-square analyses were used to determine differences in behavioral monitoring and social interaction features between websites. Results: The MB, SQ, and ZZ devices or websites included 8, 15, and 14 of the possible 36 BCTs, respectively. All of the websites had a behavioral monitoring feature (charts for tracking activity), but the percentage of participants indicating that they “liked” those features varied by website (MB: 8/16, 50%; SQ: 6/16, 38%; ZZ: 11/16, 69%). Two websites (SQ and ZZ) included an “avatar” that the user could create to represent themselves on the website. Participants reported that they “liked” creating and changing their avatar (SQ: 12/16, 75%, ZZ: 15/16, 94%), which was supported by the qualitative analyses of the cognitive interviews. Most participants (75%) indicated that they would want to wear the devices more if their friends were wearing a tracker. No significant differences were observed between SQ and ZZ devices in regards to liking or use of social support interaction features (P=.21 to .37). Conclusions: The websites contained several BCTs consistent with previously identified strategies. Children “liked” the social aspects of the websites more than the activity tracking features. Developers of commercial activity trackers for youth may benefit from considering a theoretical perspective during the website design process

Properties of cryogenically worked materials Interim report

Cryogenically worked materials during strain hardenin

Does Eating a Meal before Testing Alter the Percent Body Fat Measurement Determined by Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis?

Please view abstract in the attached PDF file

Examining Obedience Training as a Physical Activity Intervention for Dog Owners: Findings from the Stealth Pet Obedience Training (SPOT) Pilot Study

Dog training may strengthen the dog–owner bond, a consistent predictor of dog walking behavior. The Stealth Pet Obedience Training (SPOT) study piloted dog training as a stealth physical activity (PA) intervention. In this study, 41 dog owners who reported dog walking ≤3 days/week were randomized to a six-week basic obedience training class or waitlist control. Participants wore accelerometers and logged dog walking at baseline, 6- and 12-weeks. Changes in PA and dog walking were compared between arms with targeted maximum likelihood estimation. At baseline, participants (39 ± 12 years; females = 85%) walked their dog 1.9 days/week and took 5838 steps/day, on average. At week 6, intervention participants walked their dog 0.7 more days/week and took 480 more steps/day, on average, than at baseline, while control participants walked their dog, on average, 0.6 fewer days/week and took 300 fewer steps/day (difference between arms: 1.3 dog walking days/week; 95% CI = 0.2, 2.5; 780 steps/day, 95% CI = −746, 2307). Changes from baseline were similar at week 12 (difference between arms: 1.7 dog walking days/week; 95% CI = 0.6, 2.9; 1084 steps/day, 95% CI = −203, 2370). Given high rates of dog ownership and low rates of dog walking in the United States, this novel PA promotion strategy warrants further investigation

Missionary activities of American Mormons

I achieved three important insights into the Mormon faith through my observations. First, I learned that Mormonism is a Christian faith. It is sometimes thought of as a fringe religious movement somehow outside the boundaries of Christianity, but in my observations I learned that it is centered on God and on the saving power of Jesus Christ. Through the process of writing this paper I might have learned how this misconception is perpetuated. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has so many characteristics which are distinctly and uniquely Mormon that these differences are emphasized to the extent that the Christian nature of the religion is not fully appreciated. I have been guilty of this myself: in trying to describe in this short space what Mormonism is like, I have emphasized what is different about Mormonism. I hope that you put these unique characteristics into the proper context, which is that Mormonism is an expression of Christianity. It is better thought of not as Mormonism, but as the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints