The Electron Microscopy of Tissue Sections With Special Reference to the Structure of Spinal Ganglia

Abstract Not Provided

Interactive effects of wildfire and disturbance history on amphibians and their parasites

Climate-driven changes in wildfire and other disturbance regimes are expected to affect populations and communities worldwide. Understanding how these changes will affect native species is critical for future conservation efforts, especially on managed forests. Using data from several wildfires that burned between 1988 and 2003 in and next to Glacier National Park, Montana, I examined how fire affected the distribution, abundance, and infection status of 3 native amphibians. In Chapter 1, I used long-term data on wetland occupancy to show the long-toed salamander (Ambystoma macrodactylum) and Columbia spotted frog (Rana luteiventris) were resistant to change during the first 6 years after wildfire, but declined over longer time periods in areas of high-severity fire. In contrast, boreal toad (Anaxyrus boreas) occupancy increased greatly during the 3 years after wildfire burned low-elevation forests, followed by a gradual decline. In Chapter 2, I measured how the interaction of stand-replacement wildfire and forest management affected amphibian abundance and 2 nematodes that infect amphibians. Population size of salamanders was negatively related to fire severity, with stronger effects on populations that were isolated or in managed forests. These effects were not evident in the abundance of the nematode Cosmocercoides variabilis. Population size of spotted frogs increased weakly with burn extent in managed and protected forests, a pattern that was reflected in the greater infection intensity of the mutualistic nematode Gyrinicola batrachiensis. In Chapter 3, I investigated how environmental variation and habitat use affects the probability that boreal toads had chytridiomycosis, a disease linked with amphibian declines worldwide. Probability of infection was lower for toads captured terrestrially than aquatically, and was lower for toads captured in recently burned habitats compared with unburned habitats. Simulations showed that spatial variation in infection, like that related to habitat use in a heterogeneous landscape, could significantly reduce the risk of metapopulation decline. Collectively, my results underscore the importance of measuring individual-, population-, and community-level responses across a range of disturbances and in both managed and protected forests. These results will provide scientists and land managers a greater understanding of the long-term effects of wildfire on local amphibians and other native species

An Auto-Ethnodramatic Study of the Lived Experiences of Becoming a Mother Via Anonymous Egg Donation

Abstract This auto-ethnodramatic study investigated the experiences of becoming a mother via anonymous egg donation. Few studies have explored the experience of women who become pregnant with donor eggs; women who both embody and disrupt the dominant narrative of motherhood by not being genetically related to the children they nurture. The study presents vignettes informed by performance practices and auto-ethnography that interrogate my struggles as the recipient of donor eggs, including: travelling for fertility treatment in the United States where egg donors are paid, in comparison to Canada where remuneration beyond basic expenses is a criminal offense; relinquishing my privacy regarding my infertility and use of donor eggs; worrying about the physical/mental health of young egg donors; navigating the rights of donor-conceived children to know their genetic progenitors versus the donor’s right to anonymity; and facing the difficult decision regarding what to do with leftover embryos. I drew upon my experience interpreting and performing scripted dialogue as a professional actor, reflexive journaling, personal artifacts and memories, online discussion forums, and the extant literature. Live performance and discussion of personal stories create educational spaces for medical and nursing students and their professors, parents in donor conception support groups, and the general public, troubling social stigmas surrounding women’s reproductive bodies, infertility, and assisted reproduction. Respectful, empathetic dialogue can encourage participants to push against the rigid structures of the heteronormative family and discover their own stories of self, family, and belonging. These stories can be used to advocate for more dignified and compassionate practices within the fertility industry for donors, parents, and most especially the children we are so eager to love

Method and system to synchronize acoustic therapy with ultrasound imaging

Interference in ultrasound imaging when used in connection with high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) is avoided by employing a synchronization signal to control the HIFU signal. Unless the timing of the HIFU transducer is controlled, its output will substantially overwhelm the signal produced by ultrasound imaging system and obscure the image it produces. The synchronization signal employed to control the HIFU transducer is obtained without requiring modification of the ultrasound imaging system. Signals corresponding to scattered ultrasound imaging waves are collected using either the HIFU transducer or a dedicated receiver. A synchronization processor manipulates the scattered ultrasound imaging signals to achieve the synchronization signal, which is then used to control the HIFU bursts so as to substantially reduce or eliminate HIFU interference in the ultrasound image. The synchronization processor can alternatively be implemented using a computing device or an application-specific circuit