Embryonic exposure of chicken chicks (Gallus gallus domesticus) leads to heightened sensitivities towards the exposed scent

In chickens, food consumption can be altered by exposing the chicks to scents as embryos. We exposed eggs to an orange-scented food additive in the final days of incubation. Following hatching, we tested these exposed chicks’ ability to detect this scent at a variety of concentrations. We found that orange-exposed chicks responded to an orange-scented solution at lower concentrations than control chicks. This sensitization may allow chicks to be more effective at locating acceptable food items but requires further testing to determine its significance. Orange-exposed and control chicks were also tested with the scent of raspberry. Orange-exposed chicks responded to the raspberry presentation significantly more than the control chicks did, suggesting that the embryonic exposure to orange may have influenced how the chicks responded towards another fruity smell. This result suggests that chicks may be learning general characteristics of exposed scents while in the egg, though this needs further research

Physical and Biological Consequences of Giant Kelp (Macrocystis Pyrifera) Removals Within a Central California Kelp Forest

The giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera) is a well-studied foundation species that builds complex biogenic habitat and contributes fixed carbon to the base of food webs. Kelp forest systems are some of the most productive ecosystems in the world and can sustain high levels of species richness and abundance. It has long been debated whether these systems are rich due to the (1) complex habitat structure of the giant kelp or (2) the kelp\u27s high growth rates that provide an abundance of food for primary consumers. Giant kelp modifies its environment by creating shade with its surface canopy, slowing currents by surface drag, and adding habitat stratified through the water column. It has been debated if giant kelp or phytoplankton are more important to the stability of the food webs within kelp forest systems. Many studies have attempted to validate the importance of giant kelp to the associated community by kelp removal experiments, which are unable to separate physical from biological effects of kelp. I expand upon these studies here by creating artificial Macrocystis plots and measuring variables that are typically overlooked in kelp removal experiments such as, currents, POC/ PON, particle size distribution, temperature, turbidity, fluorescence, and phytoplankton concentration and carbon contribution. Three kelp beds were analyzed in Stillwater Cove, CA between June October 2016. A randomized block design was used to test the differences in the measured variables among depth and treatments; control kelp, artificial kelp, and removed kelp. Each circular treatment plot was 10m in diameter and variables were measured weekly within blocks before (n=180) and after treatment (n = 216). There was no difference in POC/PON between control and kelp cleared treatments, indicating that a 10m plot is insufficient at reducing the ambient POC/PON. There was also no indication that the increased light in kelp cleared treatments increased phytoplankton concentrations to subsidize the missing kelp POC input, and the phytoplankton standing crop contributed very little (\u3c 3%) to the standing POC pool. Particulates and POC/ PON were well mixed throughout kelp beds and clearings, with no benthic accumulation observed. Currents increased in speed within kelp removed plots, the velocity was still too slow for turbulent shearing. A subsequent dye tracking experiment with an acoustic doppler velocimeter showed that high-frequency motions associated with turbulence had higher energy levels within kelp beds compared to outside, and vertical velocities had higher variance within beds than outside. Furthermore, benthic dye release experiments showed that dye flowed further up in the water column inside kelp beds than outside and that dye detection duration was dependent on the presence of giant kelp and increased wave orbital velocities. These results indicate that waves have a higher impact on vertical mixing within kelp beds than currents within Stillwater Cove. Mixing in kelp beds blends particulates evenly through the water column and removal plots have no impact on total POC/PON but may change particle distribution

Magical Realism as a Means of Expressing Cultural Disjunction in Alejo Carpentier\u27s \u27El reino de este mundo\u27

Cuban writer Alejo Carpentier\u27s 1949 novel El reino de este mundo is considered to be a key work in the development of the magical realist narrative idiom. The narrative includes instances of the fantastic -- including ghosts and animal metamorphoses -- that the novel\u27s Afro-Caribbean characters accept as factual. In keeping with his suggestions that the entire history of America [is] a chronicle of the marvelous real, Carpentier supposes that these elements elucidate an authentic New World mode of perception. However, the novel\u27s narrative structure belies the author\u27s objective. The concurrent presentation of both non-Western/magical and Western/disenchanted cultural paradigms prevents El reino from expressing a singular New World reality. Rather, the work highlights the chasm dividing the schizophrenic American consciousness. Magical realist narrative\u27s capacity to express this cultural disjunction is revealed by the fact that elements of the fantastic appear in the novel at points at which there are conflicting interpretations of narrative events. This study demonstrates El reino de este mundo\u27s disjunctive magical realism by closely examining the novel\u27s conflict of cultural perception. By highlighting these details the study will contribute to defining magical realism in structural and functional terms. The study focuses on the first section of the novel because of its wealth of instances of cross-cultural conflict. The study also incorporates a range of secondary critical material; these include critical essays on the novel, as well as theoretical studies of magical realism by Fredric Jameson and Christopher Warnes

An examination of the relationship between servant-leadership behavior of the elementary school principal, school climate and student achievement as measured by the 4th grade Mathematics and Reading Michigan Educational Assessment Program

The purpose of this study was to determine what relationship exists between the servant-leadership behavior of the elementary school principal, school climate, and student achievement. Data were collected through the use of two survey instruments. The (Revised) Servant-Leadership Profile: 360 (SLP-R: 360), developed by Page and Wong (2000), was used to assess principals’ perceptions of their servant-leadership behavior. To assess teachers’ perceptions of the health of the school climate, the Organizational Health Inventory for Elementary (OHI-RE), developed by Hoy, Tarter, and Kottkamp (1991), was used. The SLP-R: 360 was utilized as a self-perceived leadership style inventory, and the OHI-RE was used to assess teacher perception of school climate. Student achievement data, 4th grade MEAP test results, were gathered from the participating schools or through School Matters, a service of Standard and Poors. The population of this study consisted of 206 randomly selected teachers from 27 elementary schools in Michigan. Data were analyzed through the use of Pearson Product Moment correlation analysis and linear regression analysis. The results indicated a small or weak negative relationship between the servant-leadership behavior of elementary school principals and the health of the school climate, a small or weak negative relationship between the health of the school climate and student achievement, and a small or weak negative relationship between the independent variables of socioeconomic status, school population size, and community degree completion percentage and the dependent variable student achievement. Additionally, a small or weak negative relationship was identified between the independent variables of socioeconomic status, school population size, and community degree completion percentage and the health of the school climate. The results of the study indicate that there is no relationship between independent variables of servant-leadership behavior, school climate, socioeconomic status, school population size, and community degree completion percentage. There is also not enough statistical evidence to predict a relationship between the secondary independent variables (socioeconomic status and community degree completion percentage) and the health of the school climate. There is, however, statistical evidence to demonstrate a relationship between school population size and the health of the school. Conversely, when reporting correlations as significant at the 0.07 alpha level, the research concludes that there is a relationship between school population size, the health of the school climate, and student achievement

Postgraduate student perceptions of face-to-face and distance education in Orthodontics: a cross-sectional qualitative study

OBJECTIVE: To investigate postgraduate student perceptions of face-to-face and distance education on a three-year programme in orthodontics. DESIGN: Cross-sectional qualitative study. SETTING: UCL Eastman Dental Institute, London. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 25 current postgraduate orthodontic students in the first, second and third years of training were included in this study. METHODS: Postgraduate student perceptions were obtained by conducting online focus groups on Zoom Video Communications Inc. A focus group topic guide was developed, and a facilitator was trained to host the focus groups. There were separate focus groups for each year group, with a maximum of five participants in each group. The focus groups were audio recorded and transcribed verbatim. The transcripts were assessed by all members of the research team and analysed using a thematic content analysis, with a framework approach to identify themes and subthemes regarding perceptions of distance and face-to-face education. RESULTS: A total of 25 students participated. Six key themes were identified relating to student perceptions of face-to-face and distance education: (1) social support network; (2) technology; (3) learning experience; (4) education environment; (5) interpersonal interactions; and (6) effective teaching/learning. There were perceived benefits and drawbacks for both modes of teaching delivery. In particular, students highlighted the importance of reliable technology, peer support and accessibility of educational resources for their academic learning. Students favoured a blended approach to learning where practical skills were taught in person and some theoretical aspects taught remotely. CONCLUSION: The results aid the understanding of how educational tools and digital technology can enrich the student academic experience. The results provide important information for the future development and delivery of orthodontic postgraduate education

The application of b-mode ultrasonography for analysis of human skeletal muscle

Skeletal muscles control the joints of the skeletal system and they allow human movement and interaction with the environment. They are vital for stability in balance, walking and running, and many other skilled motor tasks. To understand how muscles operate in general and specific situations there are a variety of tools at the disposal of research scientists and clinicians for analysing muscle function. Strain gauges for example allow the quantification of forces exerted during joint rotation. However, skeletal muscles are multilayer systems and often different muscles are responsible for the overall force generated during joint rotation. Therefore, strain gauges do not reveal the extent of the contribution of individual muscles during muscle function. The most widely-used and accepted muscle analysis tool is electromyography (EMG), which can measure the activation level of individual muscles by measuring the electrical potential propagating through muscle resulting from local activations of motor units. However, EMG does not linearly relate to any real physical forces, meaning that without prior knowledge of the force exertion on the level of the muscle, force cannot be estimated. EMG can measure superficial layers of muscle non-invasively by attaching surface electrodes (surface EMG) to the skin over the belly of the muscle. To measure the activity of individual muscle beneath the superficial muscle, a needle or thin-wire electrode must be inserted through the skin and into the muscle volume (intramuscular EMG), which is invasive and not practical in many situations. Furthermore, intramuscular EMG can only provide measurement of a very small volume (<1mm3) which can have varying amounts of active motor units. Ultrasonography is a powerful cost-effective non-invasive imaging technology which allows real-time observation of cross-sections of multiple layers of dynamic skeletal muscle. Recent advances in automated skeletal muscle ultrasound analysis techniques, and advances in image processing techniques make ultrasound a valuable line of investigation for analysis of dynamic skeletal muscle. This aim of this thesis is to study and develop advanced image analysis techniques applicable to the analysis of dynamic skeletal muscle. The broader aim is to understand the capacity/limits of ultrasound as a skeletal muscle analysis tool. The ideas presented within offer new approaches to modelling complex muscle architecture and function via ultrasound. Tools have also been developed here that will contribute to, and promote ultrasound skeletal muscle analysis as a new and emerging technology which may be used by clinicians and research scientists to develop our understanding of skeletal muscle function. The main findings of this thesis are that automated segmentation of architecturally simple and complex skeletal muscle groups is possible and accurate, and that information about joint angles and muscle activity/force can be automatically extracted directly from ultrasound images without the explicit knowledge of how to extract it. The techniques used offer new possibilities for non-invasive information extraction from complex muscle groups such as the muscles in the human posterior neck

Missing value imputation for epistatic MAPs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Epistatic miniarray profiling (E-MAPs) is a high-throughput approach capable of quantifying aggravating or alleviating genetic interactions between gene pairs. The datasets resulting from E-MAP experiments typically take the form of a symmetric pairwise matrix of interaction scores. These datasets have a significant number of missing values - up to 35% - that can reduce the effectiveness of some data analysis techniques and prevent the use of others. An effective method for imputing interactions would therefore increase the types of possible analysis, as well as increase the potential to identify novel functional interactions between gene pairs. Several methods have been developed to handle missing values in microarray data, but it is unclear how applicable these methods are to E-MAP data because of their pairwise nature and the significantly larger number of missing values. Here we evaluate four alternative imputation strategies, three local (Nearest neighbor-based) and one global (PCA-based), that have been modified to work with symmetric pairwise data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We identify different categories for the missing data based on their underlying cause, and show that values from the largest category can be imputed effectively. We compare local and global imputation approaches across a variety of distinct E-MAP datasets, showing that both are competitive and preferable to filling in with zeros. In addition we show that these methods are effective in an E-MAP from a different species, suggesting that pairwise imputation techniques will be increasingly useful as analogous epistasis mapping techniques are developed in different species. We show that strongly alleviating interactions are significantly more difficult to predict than strongly aggravating interactions. Finally we show that imputed interactions, generated using nearest neighbor methods, are enriched for annotations in the same manner as measured interactions. Therefore our method potentially expands the number of mapped epistatic interactions. In addition we make implementations of our algorithms available for use by other researchers.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>We address the problem of missing value imputation for E-MAPs, and suggest the use of symmetric nearest neighbor based approaches as they offer consistently accurate imputations across multiple datasets in a tractable manner.</p