Comparative morphological study on the shape variance of the scapula in extant Cercopithecidae

Morphological variation in forelimb bones has been tied to substrate use in Cercopithecidae. Studies of the distal humerus and proximal ulna (Rector et al., 2018) suggest that African and Asian monkeys’ locomotor repertoires can be distinguished through analysis of variation of the elbow joint. Given that the scapula may be directly involved in weight-bearing during locomotion - similar to the elbow - the relationship between morphological variation and arboreality in the glenoid cavity, acromion, and coracoid process may be analogous. Using a Microscribe, 25 landmarks were collected to capture the shape of the scapula from a sample of 50+ extant Cercopithecidae. Each species was placed in a locomotor category including ground quadrupedalism, branch quadrupedalism, arm-swinging, and branch quadrupedalism, and branch and ground quadrupedalism based on their primary locomotor strategy during traveling. Variation was analyzed using 3D geometric morphometric PCA, PGLs, and phylogenetic ANOVAs to determine if differential substrate use can be identified through analysis of shape variation in the scapulae of Cercopithecidae. Results suggest that scapular morphology is more variable in branch quadrupedal cercopithecids than ground quadrupedal ones. However, variation in the scapula can be used to successfully differentiate ground quadrupeds and branch quadrupeds in modern Cercopithecidae. As a valuable factor in the ecology of these primates, this locomotor behavior contributes information on niche differentiation, resource competition, and community organization in living and fossil primates.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1050/thumbnail.jp

Verifying module heuristics for large scale products

Decreasing time and costs is a major objective in many businesses today. Including modularity in the early design phases can effectively decrease time spent on and costs associated with a project. The task of identifying modules within a product early in the design process (when decisions are less expensive) is made less daunting by using the techniques of functional modeling and module heuristics. The two papers that form this thesis discuss the results of the efforts to verify the module heuristics on large products. Observations on needed modifications to the functional modeling technique and original module heuristics are reported along with an investigation of using potential risk statements to formulate modules --Abstract, page iv

A Unique HIV Harm Reduction Perspective from Costa Rica: Hogar de la Esperanza An Ethnographic Case Study and Comparative Examination of Approach to HIV Treatment Between the United States and Costa Rica

This case study presents a real, currently operational scenario of harm reduction in action in Costa Rica, focusing on its success and the challenges faced by healthcare professionals, the experiences of those who live at Hogar de la Esperanza, and the implications for healthcare policies and interventions in the United States. By examining this specific case of a Costa Rican community-based HIV treatment model, the aim of this ethnographic report is to shed light on the complexities and factors contributing to the success or failure of harm reduction treatment strategies within the United States and what can be learned by Costa Rica’s unique, primary-care-centric approach to healthcare for all. This ethnography also serves as a comparison and critique of the shortcomings in the United States healthcare system with attention paid to the current literature available. The concomitant literature review is extensive but by no means exhaustive and provides a relevant and thorough perspective on the current state of healthcare in Costa Rica and the United States

A Study on the Toxicity of Sesbania Drummondii in Chickens and Rats.

A comparative study of two susceptible species, the chicken and the rat, to crude and partially purified extracts of the plant Sesbania drummondii was undertaken. Partial physical and chemical characterization of crude sesbania extracts has been accomplished including temperature and pH stability, molecular weight fractionation and high pressure liquid chromatography and thin layer chromatography retention times. The toxicity of these different fractions could be differentiated with respect to weight loss, mortality, morbidity, serum protein changes and effect on PChE (Pseudocholinesterase) activities. The results indicated that more than one toxin exists in crude extracts of this plant. The pathophysiological findings could not be attributed to the presence of sesbanimide as the only major toxin of sesbania. The effects of sesbania extracts on serum protein concentration and PChE activity were similar but not identical to the effects of the protein synthesis inhibitor, cycloheximide. Additional qualitative and quantitative differences between the effects of sesbania extracts and cycloheximide were noted following histological and electron microscopic examination. The results suggested that inhibition of protein synthesis is not the only mechanism of sesbania intoxication. Some evidence was obtained to indicate that inhibition of export protein release from the liver occurred during sesbania intoxication. Further investigation suggested that the liver is a major target organ, though not the sole target organ, in an experimentally induced episode of sesbania intoxication. Phenobarbital gave partial protection against sesbania-induced weight loss and morbidity in the adult chicken but failed to protect the immature birds. No protective influence was noted for phenobarbital pretreatment in the sesbania treated rat. Evidence was obtained for the presence of several new microsomal glutathione-S-transferase isozymes which could be modified by sesbania treatment. Glutathione peroxidase activities were depressed by sesbania treatment. The induction of the cytochrome P-450 monooxygenase system by sesbania treatment in the chicken but not the rat suggested further species differences. The induction of the microsomal monooxygenase system and glutathione-S-transferases suggested the possibility of the release of free radicals or strong electrophiles by crude extracts of sesbania

SCALE AND SOURCE OF GEOSPATIAL DATA FOR WILDFIRE RISK ASSESSMENTS: COMPARING NATIONAL DATA WITH LOCAL DATA IN THE DESCHUTES NATIONAL FOREST

Widespread use of geospatial data in environmental decision-making tools such as wildfire risk models has called attention to questions of availability, quality, and currency of input data layers. As wildfires are modeled with growing confidence and knowledge of how resources respond to fire is increasing, challenges must be addressed before geospatial data are acquired and used to represent resources of high value in wildfire risk assessments. Researchers at the Rocky Mountain Research Station and the Western Wildland Environmental Threat Assessment Center of the USDA Forest Service employ a framework for assessing wildfire risk to a range of human and ecological resources important in wildland fire management. This framework links spatially explicit fire behavior with potential fire effects and has been demonstrated to be scalable from national to project levels. Spatially identified resource “values” data are a necessary component to defining wildfire risk, and these data serve as baseline information useful in monitoring wildfire risk to resources of high value, as requested by various federal oversight agencies. Resources such as wildland-urban interface, critical habitat for plant and animal species, recreation infrastructure, and restoration of fire-adapted landscapes are important considerations in examining wildfire risk. A comparison study of “relative risk to resources” mapped at the national extent versus at the Deschutes National Forest extent provides a platform by which to discuss national data challenges of: (1) acquiring spatially explicit values data; (2) managing uncertainty surrounding these data; and (3) how use of these data for national assessments may alter or bias results. Relative patterns of wildfire risk to resources are demonstrated by plotting likelihood of burning against average simulated flame lengths for all pixels coincident with mapped values. Recommendations for describing spatial data uncertainty vary according to data type and associated metadata accounting for known errors. This research demonstrates a novel approach to exploring data uncertainties by comparing data developed for wildfire risk assessments at two different spatial scales

The development and evaluation of exercises for group response to word meaning for increasing the speed of word recognition in grade I

Thesis (Ed.M.)--Boston Universit

Looked after children and custody: a brief review of the relationship between care status and child incarceration and the implications for service provision

Although there are some important limitations with the data, the available evidence demonstrates conclusively that children who are in the care of the local authority are consistently over-represented among those who come to the attention of the youth justice system. A similar disproportionality is also evident within the children’s custodial estate. While it appears that the relationship is long-standing, it has only recently become the focus of policy attention which has begun to explore some of the reasons for the patterns discernible in the figures (see, for example, Schofield et al, 2012: Laming, 2016). In particular, an independent review of the relationship between the care system and the criminal justice system, led by Lord Laming, commissioned an extensive exploration of the available literature that provides a useful baseline for future research (Staines, 2016). The current review aims to provide a context for research, funded by the Nuffield Foundation, that aims to identity the particular pathways of looked after children into, through and leaving custody and to establish in what ways, and to what extent, these might differ from those of children who do not have care experience. It does not accordingly aim to replicate the earlier work identified in the previous paragraph; instead the intention is to draw on previous reviews, and relevant additional material, through a lens that focuses on the existing evidence base as it relates specifically to the likelihood of children being incarcerated, to their subsequent custodial experience and to the provision of effective resettlement once they have been released