Pesiqta Rabbati: a text-linguistic and form-analytical analysis of the rabbinic homily

Pesiqta Rabbati is a unique homiletic midrash that follows the liturgical calendar in its presentation of homilies for festivals and special Sabbaths. This article attempts to utilize Pesiqta Rabbati in order to present a global theory of the literary production of rabbinic/homiletic literature. In respect to Pesiqta Rabbati it explores such areas as dating, textual witnesses, integrative apocalyptic meta-narrative, describing and mapping the structure of the text, internal and external constraints that impacted upon the text, text linguistic analysis, form-analysis: problems in the texts and linguistic gap-filling, transmission of text, strict formalization of a homiletic unit, deconstructing and reconstructing homiletic midrashim based upon form-analytic units of the homily, Neusner’s documentary hypothesis, surface structures of the homiletic unit, and textual variants. The suggested methodology may assist scholars in their production of editions of midrashic works by eliminating superfluous material and in their decoding and defining of ancient texts.

The persistence of musical memories: A descriptive study of earworms

We describe some characteristics of persistent musical and verbal retrieval episodes, commonly known as "earworms." In Study 1, participants first filled out a survey summarizing their earworm experiences retrospectively. This was followed by a diary study to document each experience as it happened. Study 2 was an extension of the diary study with a larger sample and a focus on triggering events. Consistent with popular belief, these persistent musical memories were common across people and occurred frequently for most respondents, and were often linked to recent exposure to preferred music. Contrary to popular belief, the large majority of such experiences were not unpleasant. Verbal earworms were uncommon. These memory experiences provide an interesting example of extended memory retrieval for music in a naturalistic situation.

Synthesis Of Triblock Copolymers By Radical Trap Assisted-Atom Transfer Radical Coupling

Monobrominated diblock copolymers composed of poly(styrene) (PSt), poly(methylacrylate) (PMA), or poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were synthesized by consecutive atom transfer radical polymerizations (ATRP). The brominated diblocks were utilized in atom transfer radical coupling (ATRC) and radical trap-assisted ATRC (RTA-ATRC) reactions to form ABA type triblock copolymers. Once PMMA-PStBr and PSt-PMABrBr were produced by ATRP, the synthes of PSt-PMA-PSt and PMMA-PSt- PMMA by ATRC and also by RTA-ATRC were attempted. The coupling methods were compared and it was found that RTA-ATRC succeeded in synthesizing PSt-PMA-PSt where ATRC could not, and that RTA-ATRC improved coupling over ATRC for PMMAPSt- PMMA. Incorporation of the radical trap 2-methyl-2-nitrosopropane (MNP) midchain allowed for simple thermal cleavage of the triblock to confirm the RTA-ATRC pathway occurred in preference over the head to head radical coupling pathway of ATRC. Triblocks made by ATRC did not cleave under our conditions, as no MNP was present and thus no labile C-O bond was incorporated. The RTA-ATRC pathway allowed for lower catalyst amounts (2 molar equivalents of copper(I)bromide and 2 molar equivalents of copper metal) and a high degree of coupling at lower temperatures (40°C). The RTA-ATRC improved upon ATRC because of its ability to generate a persistent radical and proceed by first order kinetics with respect to the chain end radical.