Micropsephodes bahamaensis, a new species of Anamorphinae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea: Endomychidae) from the Bahamas, with a key to the New World genera of Anamorphinae

A new species of anamorphine endomychid, Micropsephodes bahamaensis Shockley is described from a small series of 3 specimens collected on North Andros Island in the Bahamas. Besides being the only species known from the Bahamas, M. bahamaensis is readily recognizable from its congeners based on its much larger size, more elongate habitus and features of the galeae and maxillary palpomere IV. Keys to the known species of Micropsephodes and to the adults of the genera of Anamorphinae that occur in the Western Hemisphere are provided

Discolomopsis dominicana : a new genus and species of Endomychidae (Coleoptera) from Dominican amber

Discolomopsis, a new genus of Endomychidae (Coleoptera: Cucujoidea), is described and illustrated based on a fossil endomychid embedded in amber resin from the Dominican Republic. Discolomopsis dominicana sp. nov. is designated as the type species for the genus

Cross-Recurrence Quantification Analysis of Categorical and Continuous Time Series: an R package

This paper describes the R package crqa to perform cross-recurrence quantification analysis of two time series of either a categorical or continuous nature. Streams of behavioral information, from eye movements to linguistic elements, unfold over time. When two people interact, such as in conversation, they often adapt to each other, leading these behavioral levels to exhibit recurrent states. In dialogue, for example, interlocutors adapt to each other by exchanging interactive cues: smiles, nods, gestures, choice of words, and so on. In order for us to capture closely the goings-on of dynamic interaction, and uncover the extent of coupling between two individuals, we need to quantify how much recurrence is taking place at these levels. Methods available in crqa would allow researchers in cognitive science to pose such questions as how much are two people recurrent at some level of analysis, what is the characteristic lag time for one person to maximally match another, or whether one person is leading another. First, we set the theoretical ground to understand the difference between 'correlation' and 'co-visitation' when comparing two time series, using an aggregative or cross-recurrence approach. Then, we describe more formally the principles of cross-recurrence, and show with the current package how to carry out analyses applying them. We end the paper by comparing computational efficiency, and results' consistency, of crqa R package, with the benchmark MATLAB toolbox crptoolbox. We show perfect comparability between the two libraries on both levels

NASA scientific and technical program: User survey

Results are presented of an intensive user requirements survey conducted by NASA's Scientific and Technical Information (STI) Program with the goal of improving the foundation for the user outreach program. The survey was carried out by interviewing 550 NASA scientists, engineers, and contractors and by analyzing 650 individual responses to a mailed out questionnaire. To analyze the user demographic data, a data base was built and used, and will be applied to ongoing analysis by the NASA STI Program

Competence and Electability: Exploring the Limitations on Female Candidates in Qatar

Attitudes about women’s expertise can play a role in limiting their access to influential public spaces, including elected government positions. In the Arab Gulf, women remain underrepresented in electoral politics. This research seeks to answer two important questions. Does this underrepresentation stem from the belief that women will govern incompetently? Or are they viewed as less electable? A field experiment is used to investigate the attitudes of young adults in Qatar. It finds bias against the women candidate exists for both competence and electability among some subsamples of students, including female, liberal, and advanced students

The Effects of Musical Experience and Aptitude on Phonological Skills in a Foreign Language

Music has been shown to have an important effect on L2 language acquisition. Recently, researchers have investigated how musical ability or experience can give an advantage to L2 learners attempting to acquire specific aspects of a second language in the beginning stages of language acquisition. This study investigates this connection between musicality and early L2 ability in Spanish through a series of tests including a musical aptitude test, two language aptitude tests, a Spanish receptive test, and a Spanish imitation test. Results revealed no significant correlations between musical ability or experience and language ability as tested by the aptitude, receptive, or imitation tests, which questions the universality of the effect of musicality on early stages of L2 acquisition in all languages. Certain demographic characteristics such as worship background were shown to have an effect on performance on one of the language aptitude tests. These results are discussed in relation to how music plays into language learning and how it is observed to play different roles with different languages

An Overview of The Life and Works of J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, and A. Dvořák

The violin works of J.S. Bach, W.A. Mozart, and A. Dvořák are amongst the most demanding pieces from the violin repertoire. The purpose of this thesis is to give a historical context and an analysis of the pieces by these composers, which I performed for my graduate recital. Also, I will explain the music in detail by describing how each piece is played in their particular era and how each piece found their way to the standard repertoire of the violin. Bach, Mozart, and Dvořák are three of the most important figures of Western Music who provided different musical styles that helped expand the influence of Western Music on society as well as its impact on violin repertoire

Evaluation of PBR in Breast Cancer

The utility of Positron Emission Tomography: PET) in the detection of cancer began with the radiopharmaceutical 2-[18F]fluoro-2-deoxyglucose: FDG) used for measuring altered cellular metabolism. Specific radioligands are being developed to allow non-invasive analysis of protein expression to further characterize tumors. One protein that has been identified as a promising target is the Peripheral Benzodiazepine Receptor: PBR). PBR expression is up-regulated in several cancers, and in many there has been a correlation drawn between increased malignancy and protein expression levels. Therefore, developing PET methodologies to apply for PBR imaging could be an important step in understanding individual tumors as we move toward an age of personalized medicine. This dissertation investigates the potential utility of two radioligands specific for PBR, and compares the radioligands to radiopharmaceuticals that map metabolism: FDG) and proliferation: 3\u27-[18F]fluoro-L-thymidine, FLT). The research has two specific aims: 1) to compare PBR expression with measures of cellular proliferation and aggression; 2) to directly compare radioligand localization in vivo to tumor sites in mouse xenograft model studies. In vitro cell studies indicate a correlation between PBR expression and markers of aggression, but not proliferation. Using PET imaging and biodistribution, breast cancer xenografts with a breadth of PBR expression showed no significant uptake of PBR specific radioligands. However, radiopharmaceuticals targeting proliferation by metabolism and DNA synthesis showed greater differences in uptake between cell lines. The data obtained from these studies demonstrate a limitation to the translation of PBR imaging for personalized medicine, because the ubiquitous expression of the protein throughout the body creates challenges that will be difficult to overcome. Expression of PBR in non-target organs reduces the quantity of radiopharmaceutical that is available for tumor uptake, and the extent of non-tumor uptake of radiopharmaceuticals with affinity for PBR exceeds that of tumors. These results suggest that non-invasive imaging techniques to assay tumor PBR expression in vivo have limited potential for clinical applications

The Tiered Workshop: The Effects of Using a Paced Workshop in a Composition Classroom

What are the effects of a paced workshop (defined as a slower writing approach rooted in a scaffolded three-day process working toward a completed rough draft) and how can teachers and students alike benefit from these effects within the scope and situations of a composition classroom and potentially those beyond it? This I.R.B approved study aims to discover how my version of a scaffolded workshop fits into the larger picture of rhetoric and composition and how a paced workshop design can not only offer potential to reframe how scholars structure writing within a composition classroom, but also if it can encourage students’ personal growth and writing development as a byproduct. To understand the role that a slower, paced approach toward completing projects has in students’ personal and academic lives, I analyzed students’ workshop reflections and observed the students in their workshops, which were conducted on Zoom using the breakout room feature. Likewise, interviews were also conducted with willing participants to understand the efficacy of the paced workshop design more clearly. Ultimately, this study explores the opportunities that a paced design welcomes in its slower approach and its potential benefits to students’ comfort, personal growth, and writing approaches while easing students’ anxieties about their abilities to create as composition students

Some history of economic thought on usury : Aristotle, Aquinas, and Calvin

What is usury? This historical, evolutionary inquiry into usury shows that usury is like a villain, a shifty, adaptable, and mysterious villain. Although usury is actually an idea and not a person, personifying usury provides a greater appreciation for the idea of usury and how it has changed in thought and definition through time. This inquiry features thoughts on usury from a few key historical figures including Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and John Calvi