Western Kentucky University

This study examined relationship-defining memories in the cultural context and how phenomenological characteristics of those memories were related to psychological well-being. A total of 105 Asian and 108 European American college students (Mage = 20.16 years; 64% women) each recalled a positive and a negative event significant for their relationships with parents and peers, respectively. Participants rated difficulty, affect, and subjective distance in retrieving the memories and reported psychological well-being. Independent of culture, less recall difficulty and closer subjective distance for positive parent memories were both correlated with better psychological well-being. As for negative parent memory, culture moderated the relationship between affect and psychological well-being: More fading affect was correlated with higher well-being only for Asians but not for European Americans. The phenomenology of peer memory was not significantly associated with psychological well-being. We discuss the phenomenological characteristics of relationship-defining memories in relation to psychological well-being in the cultural context.

Land use land cover change (LULCC) caused by irrigation impacts weather and climate. The Great Plains Irrigation Experiment (GRAINEX) aims to understand the impacts of irrigated and non-irrigated land uses on the convective environment. To the best of authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first of this type of study that analyzed convective environments over irrigated and non-irrigated land use during early and peak growing seasons under variety of atmospheric conditions, using observed rawinsonde data from GRAINEX and convective diagnostic variables. These variables include CAPE, mixed-layer CAPE (MLCAPE), most-unstable CAPE (MUCAPE), Lifted Index, Total Totals index, precipitable water (PWAT), dewpoint depression (DD 850mb ), and environmental lapse rates (ELR) Rawinsonde observations were categorized by, for example, irrigated versus non-irrigated, morning versus afternoon, cloudy versus non-cloudy day, early [Intensive Observation Period 1 (IOP1)] versus peak (IOP2) growing season (when irrigation also become widespread). Irrigated land use and irrigation impact many of these diagnostic variables. For example, it was found that CAPE and MUCAPE were higher over irrigated land use compared to non-irrigated for most categories. PWAT was found to be higher over irrigated land use, especially during clear days and peak growing season (IOP2) when irrigation is widespread. DD 850mb was lower over irrigated areas and particularly during IOP2. We suggest that, regardless of background condition, LULCC driven by irrigation impacts convective environments and favors the development of convective storms.

Some children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate full sentence speech but have developed patterns of socially inappropriate speech that is a barrier to developing positive social relationships. There is currently very little research addressing this behavioral challenge in highly verbal children with ASD. We report on the case of an 11-year-old boy with ASD who exhibited socially inappropriate behaviors that interfered with his relationships with peers and teachers. Additionally, the child had been exposed to potentially traumatic experiences in a previous school. A critical aspect of the case was the use of a collaborative approach incorporating the commitments and strategies of trauma-informed care. The intervention was implemented by his teachers and was associated with a significant reduction in inappropriate social behaviors. During the baseline phase he averaged 0.37 inappropriate verbalizations per hour; During the intervention phase, he displayed a decreasing trend and averaged 0.09 per hour. After 56 days of intervention, the behavior remained stable, well below baseline, for 8 consecutive weeks with no occurrences on most days. He completed a social validity questionnaire and rated the experience as mostly positive and indicated he achieved goals that were important to him at the outset. We describe how the collaborative procedures and tactics we used align with the commitments of trauma-informed care. An implication for practitioners is that key components of trauma-informed care can be incorporated into behavioral intervention through an individualized, collaborative process.

During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, designers produced a number of novel data visualizations about the effects of the virus. Though many of these visualizations conveyed the current risks or actionable steps for mitigating risk, a subset of visualizations focused narrowly on depictions of total mortality. This article analyzes a set of 45 data graphics that fall into this latter group in order to unpack their rhetorical goals and to identify common design patterns. The article demonstrates that while these "death counter graphics" were rapidly produced and spread, they may have had limited value for conveying the immense scale of death during the start of the pandemic.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to extend previous work using a pilot delayed cohort design with a more geographically and linguistically diverse group of people with aphasia (PWA) to explore the impact of a virtual, adapted, and aphasia-friendly yoga program; expand our original outcome measures to include a self-report of aphasia impact in addition to measures of resilience, stress, sleep disturbance, and pain management; and continue programmatic development through participant feedback about the program structure. Method A delayed cohort design was used to document the benefits of a virtual, adapted, and aphasia-friendly yoga program for persons with moderate–severe aphasia, replicating our previous work with persons with mild–moderate aphasia. Fourteen PWA participated in an 8-week community yoga program. Perceived stress, resilience, sleep disturbance, pain management, and aphasia impact were assessed pre- and postparticipation in the yoga program via self-report. A brief questionnaire was given at the end of the yoga program to inform programmatic development. Results Results of group comparisons suggest that participation in an 8-week adapted yoga program may positively impact perceptions of resilience (medium effect), sleep disturbance (medium effect), perceived stress (small effect), and aphasia impact (small effect). No effect was found for pain. Overall, participants reported a positive experience and offered feedback to enhance the structure of the program. Conclusions Findings are promising and support yoga as a potent adjunct to traditional rehabilitation efforts to support resilience and psychosocial variables that impact quality of life in people with moderate–severe aphasia. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.28514249

Fossil beetles preserved in amber provide exceptional insights into their evolutionary history. This study reports the discovery of Toxesbium kundratai Li, Philips & Cai gen. et sp. nov., the first definitive representative of the subfamily Ernobiinae (Ptinidae) from mid-Cretaceous Kachin amber of northern Myanmar. Toxesbium can be recognized within Ernobiinae mainly by the short antennomere 3 and the presence of longitudinal striae on the elytra. Actenobius magneoculus Peris et al. from the Early Cretaceous San Just amber is transferred to Ernobiinae, and tentatively placed in the extant genus Ochina, as Ochina magneoculus (Peris et al.) comb. nov.

Background Stoneflies are well known as indicators of water quality. Their presence in running waters, glacial meltwaters, and large oligotrophic lakes is rapidly declining the world over. In the USA, states partner with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to protect habitat and wildlife through the development of State Wildlife Action Plans (SWAPs). Plants and wildlife species often enter these SWAPs as Species in Greatest Conservation Need (SGCN). Arkansas currently lists nine stonefly species as SGCNs and has funded research on them through SWAP grants. However, these nine species were initially chosen based on the small amount of data from a few papers. A more comprehensive assessment using museum specimen data is necessary to assess completeness of sampling, the relative rarity and endemicity of species, temporal changes in distribution, and the conservation status of species in Arkansas. Herein, we publish a data paper and preliminary dataset comprised of specimen data primarily from the Illinois Natural History Survey Insect Collection, Canadian National Collection, Western Kentucky University, P. N. Hogan Personal Collection, and from existing literature sources. These data are made publicly available by the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) to allow for comprehensive assessment of the Arkansas Plecoptera assemblage. More recent occurrence data are needed to accurately assess imperilment of Arkansas stonefly species; these data will be provided through targeted collecting, collaboration with others in Arkansas, and through investigation of additional museum collections. New information This dataset includes > 3,500 specimen records (ethanol vials or pins with or without catalog numbers) and accounts for 84 stonefly species in Arkansas, six more species than indicated in published records. Perlidae contributed 29 of these species followed distantly by Perlodidae (15), Capniidae (14), Taeniopterygidae (9), Leuctridae (7), Chloroperlidae (5), Nemouridae (4), and Pteronarcyidae (1). A species accumulation curve predicts that sampling of species is nearly complete with a Chao1 estimate of 88.0 ± 3.7 species. Our data demonstrate that 25 species are known from ≤ five records, suggesting that many more than the nine recognized stonefly SGCNs in Arkansas may meet standards for inclusion.

University-based talent searches, in which students take a challenging, above-level test, have provided rigorous outside-of-school opportunities to academically talented students for decades. Talented young students take a test that was developed for older students, and the test results help educators discover the level of challenge the student needs and develop opportunities to meet those needs. The process of above-level testing and interpretation of the results has been well-established over the past 50 years in university-based talent searches. What has been learned from these programs can be applied in schools to challenge students year-round, rather than for only a short period of time in outside-of-school programs.

This study evaluated the performance, muscle metabolites, and beef quality of Nellore cull cows subjected to different finishing feeding durations. Twenty Nellore cows (initial body weight of 477.4 ± 49.58 kg) were randomly assigned to the three treatments: six as the control group (D0), seven finishing-fed for 28 d (D28), and seven finishing-fed for 56 d (D56). Parameters including dry matter intake, shrunk body weight, empty body weight (EBW), hot carcass weight (HCW), carcass shrinkage, muscle metabolites, and meat quality parameters in different aging times (0AT, 7AT, and 14AT) were assessed. Cull cows subjected to D28 and D56 treatments had greater EBW (P < 0.001) than D0. However, greater HCW (P = 0.004) and back fat thickness (BFT) (P = 0.005) were noticed in the D56 treatment compared to D0 and D28 treatments. As a result, the carcass pH was lower in the D56 treatment (P = 0.002) compared to D0 and D28 treatments. The Longissimus lumborum muscle of cull cows finished for 28 and 56 d showed a higher concentration of sugars (glucose-6-phosphate and fructose-6-phosphate), glycerol, and amino acids (leucine, alanine, isoleucine, valine, and aspartate). In conclusion, as the finishing period and aging time increased, there was a corresponding improvement in fat content and meat tenderness, respectively.

In their “Webinar on the subject of English and applied linguistics”, Widdowson and Yazdi-Amirkhiz (2023) argues for the need to “rethink orthodox ideas about the relationship between applied linguistics and English language teaching that have been promoted in the past and still prevail” (p. 393). In the following commentary, I describe examples from my experiences as a language teacher and teacher trainer that address two of Widdowson's critiques: the supposed idealization of native-speaker competence in applied linguistics, and the impracticality of applied linguistics research.

This study delves into the dynamic behavior of a coupled system comprising an Euler-Bernoulli beam equation and a heat equation with memory, governed by different heat conduction laws. These laws, represented by a parameter m include the Coleman-Gurtin and Gurtin-Pipkin laws, which uniquely influence the material's temperature evolution. By formulating a set of partial differential equations along with appropriate boundary and transmission conditions, we lay the groundwork for analyzing the coupled system's behavior. Our investigation primarily centers on understanding the asymptotic properties of the solution semigroup within the framework of Dafermos history space. We establish exponential stability under both the Coleman-Gurtin and Gurtin-Pipkin heat conduction models by imposing distinct conditions on the relaxation function. The article concludes with a comparison of the two heat conduction laws and a discussion on potential directions for extending this research.

A single psychophysical experiment evaluated observers’ ability to detect visual patterns embedded in noise; effects of stimulus complexity and observer age were also evaluated. Eighteen younger and older observers participated in the experiment (mean ages were 20.3 and 72.6 years, respectively). On any given trial, observers were presented with two successive temporal intervals; a dotted visual pattern embedded in noise appeared in one temporal interval, whereas a completely random spatial distribution of dots appeared in the other. The observers’ task was to indicate which temporal interval contained the pattern. For all observers, there were large effects of both stimulus complexity and amount of noise. Plots of pattern detection accuracy as a function of complexity were determined for both younger and older adults. As a group, the younger adults were able to tolerate higher amounts of complexity (than older adults) and still perform at a threshold level of performance (d′ = 1.0). Despite this overall difference in performance between the age groups, there was a large amount of interobserver variability, such that the pattern detection performance of some individual older adults matched or exceeded that of a sizeable number of younger adults—aging is therefore not accompanied by a uniform or necessary decline in pattern detection.

This paper extends a Finite Difference model reduction method to the Euler-Bernoulli beam equation with fully clamped boundary conditions. The corresponding partial differential equation (PDE) is exactly observable in the energy space with a single boundary observer in arbitrarily short observation times. However, standard Finite Difference spatial discretization fails to achieve uniform exact observability as the mesh parameter approaches zero, with minimal observation time potentially depending on the filtering parameter. To address this, we propose a Finite Difference algorithm incorporating an averaging operator and discrete multipliers, leveraging Haraux’s theorem on the spectral gap to ensure uniform observability. This approach eliminates the need for artificial viscosity or Fourier filtering. Our method achieves uniform observability for arbitrarily small times with dual observers—the tip moment and average tip velocity—mirroring results from mixed Finite Elements applied to the wave equation with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions, where dual controllers converge to the single controller of the PDE model [Castro, Micu—Numerische Mathematik'06]. Our reduced model applies to systems involving Euler-Bernoulli beam equations, such as multi-span bridges, aerospace structures, and robotic manipulators, where precise monitoring and control are crucial.

Lower body positive pressure treadmills (LBPPT) have gained increasing attention due to their potential applications in sports training, rehabilitation, and biomechanics research. However, there is limited understanding of how differing body weight percentages influence gait and force production. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between force and gait parameters at different body weight percentages on a LBPPT. Twenty-seven healthy participants completed a series of walking, jogging, and running trials at three different body weight conditions: 100%, 90%, and 75%. Gait parameters, including cadence, stride length, stance time, and ground reaction force, were measured using the Digitsole Pro foot insoles and analyzed across the different conditions. Repeated measures ANOVA and pairwise comparisons were used to examine the effects of body weight percentage on the gait parameters. The results showed significant effects of BW on cadence, stride length, stance time, and impact force during running condition (p < 0.001). Jogging condition was significantly different across all % BW for all variables except ground reaction force (GRF). For walking, the only significant differences presented were for stride length on the right limb between 100% and 90% BW (p = 0.004) and 100% and 75% BW (p = 0.04) and time in stance on the left and right (p < 0.05). Pairwise comparisons revealed significant differences between the 100%, 90%, and 75% BW conditions for most gait parameters during jogging and running. These findings suggest that lower body weight percentages substantially influence gait mechanics and force production, especially as speed increases.

The dynamic partial differential equation (PDE) model governing longitudinal oscillations in magnetizable piezoelectric beams exhibits exponentially stable solutions when subjected to two boundary state feedback controllers. An analytically established exponential decay rate by the Lyapunov approach ensures rapid stabilization of the system to equilibrium, albeit the actual decay rate could potentially be even better. The decay rate of the closed-loop system is known to be highly sensitive to the choice of material parameters and the state feedback amplifiers. This paper focuses on investigating the optimization of state feedback amplifiers to achieve a maximal exponential decay rate essential for effectively suppressing oscillations in these beams. Through an optimization process, we explicitly determine the safe intervals of feedback amplifiers that ensure the theoretically found maximal decay rate and even better decay rates are possible. Our numerical results reaffirm the robustness of the decay rate within the chosen range of feedback amplifiers. Deviating from this range leads to a significant departure of the decay rate from the theoretically established value. To underscore the validity of our results, we present various numerical experiments.