Conservation evo-devo: preserving biodiversity by understanding its origins

Unprecedented rates of species extinction increase the urgency for effective conservation biology management practices. Thus, any improvements in practice are vital and we suggest that conservation can be enhanced through recent advances in evolutionary biology, specifically advances put forward by evolutionary developmental biology (i.e., evo-devo). There are strong overlapping conceptual links between conservation and evo-devo whereby both fields focus on evolutionary potential. In particular, benefits to conservation can be derived from some of the main areas of evo-devo research, namely phenotypic plasticity, modularity and integration, and mechanistic investigations of the precise developmental and genetic processes that determine phenotypes. Using examples we outline how evo-devo can expand into conservation biology, an opportunity which holds great promise for advancing both fields

Shuttle/ISS EMU Failure History and the Impact on Advanced EMU PLSS Design

As the Shuttle/ISS EMU Program exceeds 30 years in duration and is still successfully supporting the needs of the International Space Station (ISS), a critical benefit of such a long running program with thorough documentation of system and component failures is the ability to study and learn from those failures when considering the design of the next generation space suit. Study of the subject failure history leads to changes in the Advanced EMU Portable Life Support System (PLSS) schematic, selected component technologies, as well as the planned manner of ground testing. This paper reviews the Shuttle/ISS EMU failure history and discusses the implications to the AEMU PLSS

Recent Developments: Sharp v. State: Despite Not Formally Objecting, Defense Counsel Properly Preserved the Issue of Whether the Circuit Court Inappropriately Weighed Defendant\u27s Decision Not to Plead Guilty at Sentencing; The Circuit Court Did Not Impermissibly Consider Defendant\u27s Rejection of the Plea Offer at Sentencing.

The Court of Appeals of Maryland held that defense counsel’s statements conveyed an objection to the circuit court’s perceived consideration of the defendant’s decision not to plead guilty at sentencing. Sharp v. State, 446 Md. 669, 113 A.3d 1089 (2016). As a result, the court held that defense counsel sufficiently preserved the issue for appellate review. Id. at 684, 113 A.3d at 1098. Ultimately, though, the circuit court’s statements at sentencing did not give rise to the inference of an impermissible consideration. Id. at 701, 113 A.3d at 1108

Recent Developments: Sharp v. State: Despite Not Formally Objecting, Defense Counsel Properly Preserved the Issue of Whether the Circuit Court Inappropriately Weighed Defendant\u27s Decision Not to Plead Guilty at Sentencing; The Circuit Court Did Not Impermissibly Consider Defendant\u27s Rejection of the Plea Offer at Sentencing.

The Court of Appeals of Maryland held that defense counsel’s statements conveyed an objection to the circuit court’s perceived consideration of the defendant’s decision not to plead guilty at sentencing. Sharp v. State, 446 Md. 669, 113 A.3d 1089 (2016). As a result, the court held that defense counsel sufficiently preserved the issue for appellate review. Id. at 684, 113 A.3d at 1098. Ultimately, though, the circuit court’s statements at sentencing did not give rise to the inference of an impermissible consideration. Id. at 701, 113 A.3d at 1108

Design and Testing of Suit Regulator Test Rigs

The next generation space suit requires additional capabilities for controlling and adjusting internal pressure compared to that of historical designs. Next generation suit pressures will range from slight pressure, for astronaut prebreathe comfort, to hyperbaric pressure levels for emergency medical treatment of decompression sickness. In order to test these regulators through-out their development life cycle, novel automated test rigs are being developed. This paper addresses the design philosophy, performance requirements, physical implementation, and test results with various units under test

What is wrong with consumerism

Contemporary consumerism is frequently the target of criticisms by intellectuals, academics, religious spokesmen and commentators. Five of the more common of these criticisms are selected for analysis and examination; these being (a) the need criticism (b) the materialism criticism (c) the addiction criticism (d) the selfishness criticism, and (e) the irrationality criticism. Each is then shown either to be misconceived or to lack empirical support

Shuttle/ISS EMU Failure History and the Impact on Advanced EMU PLSS Design

As the Shuttle/ISS EMU Program exceeds 30 years in duration and is still supporting the needs of the International Space Station (ISS), a critical benefit of such a long running program with thorough documentation of system and component failures is the ability to study and learn from those failures when considering the design of the next generation space suit. Study of the subject failure history leads to changes in the Advanced EMU Portable Life Support System (PLSS) schematic, selected component technologies, as well as the planned manner of ground testing. This paper reviews the Shuttle/ISS EMU failure history and discusses the implications to the AEMU PLSS

Growth and diversification in New Zealand's agriservice industry : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Geography at Massey University

The thesis has been designed to research the problem of how the stock and station companies have developed from single product or single function firms and then evolved into large diversified mercantile corporations. The hypothesis surmises that the firms have followed trends in the growth of other large overseas companies which has meant changes in function, structure and especially unique to this industry, spatial changes. The geographic nature of the problem is centred on the companies expansion through time and space in the New Zealand economy. In studying this topic it is necessary to comprehend the basic components of corporate growth, diversification and the uniquity of the agriservice industry, a 'colonial invention' (MacDonald, 1975) of Australasia. In order to conceptualise the geography of the problem a model has been utilised to illustrate the spatial changes that agriservice companies have undergone when competing for space over New Zealand. The model, figure 1.1. refers to the thresholds of development, requirements that have to be met by a firm in order to increase its operating space. This change in scale results in an increase of activities and the organisational scale of the firm over time

A Case Study of a Collegiate Intersex Athlete

This study explored the experience of one collegiate intersex athlete. Grounded in a transfeminist perspective, narrative analysis was used to tell the story of the athlete’s experiences in life and in sport. The analysis revealed several themes, which are told through a series of five vignettes. The storytelling approach illustrates how the athlete negotiates the terrain between sex and gender and how her intersex condition has affected more than just her sporting experience. The themes that were pulled from the interview covered the medical side of CAH, her personal experience with CAH, how it has affected her family, her sporting experience, and how she feels about advocacy. Overall, this athlete’s experience is vastly different than what current popular press has to say about intersex athletes. Her story sheds light into the vast differences between each intersex condition and adds to the discourse of intersex athletes and the practice surrounding intersex children