HOW DOES THE ABUNDANCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF RESOURCES AFFECT FEMALE RACCOON HOME RANGES IN AN URBAN PARK?

Urban development fragments the natural landscape and, as a result, remaining natural habitats, which are much reduced in size, are island-like and often embedded in an inhospitable matrix. While these changes are generally considered to have a negative impact on wildlife, the process of urbanization also creates new habitats in which some species appear to thrive despite the altered conditions and increased human density. The raccoon (Procyon lotor) is an ideal model for investigating the effects of urbanization on spatial patterns of habitat use because they are known to inhabit all landscapes along the urban to rural gradient. When studying wildlife in urban environments the techniques used need to be validated as urban ecology is a new field. Besides being good models for urban studies, raccoons can serve as ideal subjects to design studies that validate telemetry data in urban environments. This study had two objectives: 1) to evaluate the accuracy of telemetry in an urban setting; 2) to determine how the distribution and abundance of resources and habitat affect the home range of raccoons in a diverse urban park. A combination of radio telemetry and geographical information systems (GIS) was used in this study. To validate the telemetry system 33 known locations were evenly distributed by habitat type to calculate mean error, bias and precision. In the raccoon portion of the study, telemetry locations were collected on 10 female raccoon for one year. Home range size and placement, as well as overlap with resources and habitats were calculated. To our knowledge this is the first study to attempt to quantify telemetry accuracy in an urban area. Signal reflection & electronic noise appear to cause telemetry error at the study site. Raccoon home ranges were small and stable with considerable overlap; however core home ranges were not clustered. Anthropogenic food sources were strongly associated with home range, and raccoons showed a preference for the mixed habitat type. These data add to our understanding of the challenges of working in urban areas while contributing new information on the ecology of urban raccoons

An exploration of the interconnectedness between elementary teacher job satisfaction, school culture and student achievement: a study in two Canadian elementary schools

This research study aimed to explore the interconnectedness between the job satisfaction of elementary teachers, school culture and student achievement. This study focused on the inter-relationship factors between elementary teacher job satisfaction and school culture. Further it examined the nature of the relational factors of school culture and elementary teacher job satisfaction that contribute to or hinder student achievement. The school sites that participated in this research study were two high-performing elementary schools in Ontario, Canada (Junior Kindergarten to Grade 6), one from a lower socio-economic area and one from a middle to upper-middle socio-economic area. The principals and elementary teachers from these two schools were the participants in this research study. By employing a sequential mixed-methodological approach, this research study looked at how collaborative school cultures conducive to learning affect teacher job satisfaction and motivation, which has the potential to contribute to student outcomes. The study used the mixed quantitative and qualitative data within the interpretivist perspective. This perspective helped to determine principals’ and elementary teachers’ views of how they perceive job satisfaction in relation to the school’s culture as well as their thoughts on the effect these two factors have on student achievement. The findings of this research study led to a realization that elementary teacher participants are intrinsically motivated and have high levels of job satisfaction due to caring and collaborative relationships formed at work. The findings of this research study also indicated that both elementary teachers and principals enjoy autonomy as well as collaboration in their work settings which further ensures integrity and loyalty regarding their own careers and the careers of their colleagues. The significance of this research study has further emphasized the importance of collective action and distributed leadership (parallel leadership) on behalf of both elementary teachers and principals in order to sustain change and to further enhance student learning outcomes. This research study constructed a Cultural-Relational Leadership (CRL) model to further explain the relationship between elementary teacher job satisfaction, school culture and student achievement. The diagram below, (Figure I) outlines the model that emerged. The CRL Model is further discussed in Chapter seven of this research study

Behavioral Phenotyping of Juvenile Long-Evans and Sprague-Dawley Rats: Implications for Preclinical Models of Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The laboratory rat is emerging as an attractive preclinical animal model of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), allowing investigators to explore genetic, environmental and pharmacological manipulations in a species exhibiting complex, reciprocal social behavior. The present study was carried out to compare two commonly used strains of laboratory rats, Sprague-Dawley (SD) and Long-Evans (LE), between the ages of postnatal day (PND) 26-56 using high-throughput behavioral phenotyping tools commonly used in mouse models of ASD that we have adapted for use in rats. We detected few differences between young SD and LE strains on standard assays of exploration, sensorimotor gating, anxiety, repetitive behaviors, and learning. Both SD and LE strains also demonstrated sociability in the 3-chamber social approach test as indexed by spending more time in the social chamber with a constrained age/strain/sex matched novel partner than in an identical chamber without a partner. Pronounced differences between the two strains were, however, detected when the rats were allowed to freely interact with a novel partner in the social dyad paradigm. The SD rats in this particular testing paradigm engaged in play more frequently and for longer durations than the LE rats at both juvenile and young adult developmental time points. Results from this study that are particularly relevant for developing preclinical ASD models in rats are threefold: (i) commonly utilized strains exhibit unique patterns of social interactions, including strain-specific play behaviors, (ii) the testing environment may profoundly influence the expression of strain-specific social behavior and (iii) simple, automated measures of sociability may not capture the complexities of rat social interactions

The place of physical activity in the WHO Global Strategy on Diet and Physical Activity

In an effort to reduce the global burden of non-communicable disease, the World Health Organization released a Global Strategy for Diet and Physical Activity in May 2004. This commentary reports on the development of the strategy and its importance specifically for physical activity-related work of NGOs and researchers interested in increasing global physical activity participation. Sparked by its work on global efforts to target non-communicable disease prevention in 2000, the World Health Organization commissioned a global strategy on diet and physical activity. The physical activity interest followed efforts that had led to the initial global "Move for Health Day" in 2002. WHO assembled a reference group for the global strategy, and a regional consultation process with countries was undertaken. Underpinning the responses was the need for more physical activity advocacy; partnerships outside of health including urban planning; development of national activity guidelines; and monitoring of the implementation of the strategy. The consultation process was an important mechanism to confirm the importance and elevate the profile of physical activity within the global strategy. It is suggested that separate implementation strategies for diet and physical activity may be needed to work with partner agencies in disparate sectors (e.g. urban planning for physical activity, agriculture for diet). International professional societies are well situated to make an important contribution to global public health by advocating for the importance of physical activity among risk factors; developing international measures of physical activity and global impacts of inactivity; and developing a global research and intervention agenda

Life Span Development: Childhood, Adolescence, and Adulthood

This chapter examines human development in the context of multiple identities. It begins with an exploration of the complexity of human development through the lens of ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006), as augmented by multicultural and feminist psychology (Gilligan, 1982, 1996; Hurtado, 2010; Neville & Mobley, 2001; Yakushko, Davidson, & Williams, 2009). The roles of resilience and empowerment in development are then presented in the context of social identities. The remainder of the chapter explores important developmental concerns across the life span, including physical, emotional, social, and cognitive and academic/vocational development. Across each of these life domains, the specific contributions of feminist multicultural counseling psychology perspectives are identified, with an emphasis on fostering positive development throughout the life span

Neuron numbers increase in the human amygdala from birth to adulthood, but not in autism.

Remarkably little is known about the postnatal cellular development of the human amygdala. It plays a central role in mediating emotional behavior and has an unusually protracted development well into adulthood, increasing in size by 40% from youth to adulthood. Variation from this typical neurodevelopmental trajectory could have profound implications on normal emotional development. We report the results of a stereological analysis of the number of neurons in amygdala nuclei of 52 human brains ranging from 2 to 48 years of age [24 neurotypical and 28 autism spectrum disorder (ASD)]. In neurotypical development, the number of mature neurons in the basal and accessory basal nuclei increases from childhood to adulthood, coinciding with a decrease of immature neurons within the paralaminar nucleus. Individuals with ASD, in contrast, show an initial excess of amygdala neurons during childhood, followed by a reduction in adulthood across nuclei. We propose that there is a long-term contribution of mature neurons from the paralaminar nucleus to other nuclei of the neurotypical human amygdala and that this growth trajectory may be altered in ASD, potentially underlying the volumetric changes detected in ASD and other neurodevelopmental or neuropsychiatric disorders

Tower Mesonetwork Climatology and Interactive Display Tool

Forecasters at the 45th Weather Squadron and Spaceflight Meteorology Group use data from the tower network over the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) to evaluate Launch Commit Criteria, and issue and verify forecasts for ground operations. Systematic biases in these parameters could adversely affect an analysis, forecast, or verification. Also, substantial geographical variations in temperature and wind speed can occur under specific wind directions. To address these concerns, the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) developed a climatology of temperatures and winds from the tower network, and identified the geographical variation and significant tower biases. The mesoclimate is largely driven by the complex land-water interfaces across KSC/CCAFS. Towers with close proximity to water typically had much warmer nocturnal temperatures and higher wind speeds throughout the year. The strongest nocturnal wind speeds occurred from October to March whereas the strongest mean daytime wind speeds occurred from February to May. These results of this project can be viewed by forecasters through an interactive graphical user interface developed by the AMU. The web-based interface includes graphical and map displays of mean, standard deviation, bias, and data availability for any combination of towers, variables, months, hours, and wind directions

A Meso-Climatology Study of the High-Resolution Tower Network Over the Florida Spaceport

Forecasters at the US Air Force 45th Weather Squadron (45 WS) use wind and temperature data from the tower network over the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) to evaluate Launch Commit Criteria and to issue and verify temperature and wind advisories, watches, and warnings for ground operations. The Spaceflight Meteorology Group at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX also uses these data when issuing forecasts for shuttle landings at the KSC Shuttle Landing Facility. Systematic biases in these parameters at any of the towers could adversely affect an analysis, forecast, or verification for all of these operations. In addition, substantial geographical variations in temperature and wind speed can occur under specific wind directions. Therefore, the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU), operated by ENSCO Inc., was tasked to develop a monthly and hourly climatology of temperatures and winds from the tower network, and identify the geographical variation, tower biases, and the magnitude of those biases. This paper presents a sub-set of results from a nine-year climatology of the KSC/CCAFS tower network, highlighting the geographical variations based on location, month, times of day, and specific wind direction regime. Section 2 provides a description of the tower mesonetwork and instrumentation characteristics. Section 3 presents the methodology used to construct the tower climatology including QC methods and data processing. The results of the tower climatology are presented in Section 4 and Section 5 summarizes the paper

Neuroprotective efficacy of P7C3 compounds in primate hippocampus.

There is a critical need for translating basic science discoveries into new therapeutics for patients suffering from difficult to treat neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative conditions. Previously, a target-agnostic in vivo screen in mice identified P7C3 aminopropyl carbazole as capable of enhancing the net magnitude of postnatal neurogenesis by protecting young neurons from death. Subsequently, neuroprotective efficacy of P7C3 compounds in a broad spectrum of preclinical rodent models has also been observed. An important next step in translating this work to patients is to determine whether P7C3 compounds exhibit similar efficacy in primates. Adult male rhesus monkeys received daily oral P7C3-A20 or vehicle for 38 weeks. During weeks 2-11, monkeys received weekly injection of 5'-bromo-2-deoxyuridine (BrdU) to label newborn cells, the majority of which would normally die over the following 27 weeks. BrdU+ cells were quantified using unbiased stereology. Separately in mice, the proneurogenic efficacy of P7C3-A20 was compared to that of NSI-189, a proneurogenic drug currently in clinical trials for patients with major depression. Orally-administered P7C3-A20 provided sustained plasma exposure, was well-tolerated, and elevated the survival of hippocampal BrdU+ cells in nonhuman primates without adverse central or peripheral tissue effects. In mice, NSI-189 was shown to be pro-proliferative, and P7C3-A20 elevated the net magnitude of hippocampal neurogenesis to a greater degree than NSI-189 through its distinct mechanism of promoting neuronal survival. This pilot study provides evidence that P7C3-A20 safely protects neurons in nonhuman primates, suggesting that the neuroprotective efficacy of P7C3 compounds is likely to translate to humans as well