Impacts of Anthropogenic Disturbances and Urbanization on the Behavior and Morphology of Two Free-Living Lizard Species (\u3ci\u3eUta stansburiana\u3c/i\u3e and \u3ci\u3eAspidoscelis neotesselatus\u3c/i\u3e)

Urbanization can alter wildlife, requiring species to adjust to anthropogenic changes via life history strategies. Reptiles are particularly vulnerable to these changes, as ectotherms directly rely on their environment to maintain their optimal homeostatic state. As urbanization changes the landscape, reptiles will have to adapt to anthropogenic change, but it is unclear what behaviors may be aiding in this adaptation and whether there are morphological tradeoffs existing to support this change. To analyze the impact of urbanization and anthropogenic disturbances on reptile behavior and morphology, I conducted three research studies on two different species – the common side-blotched lizard and the Colorado checkered whiptail (Aspidoscelis neotesselatus). In my first chapter, I characterized differences in side-blotched lizard body condition, aggressive behaviors, and thermoregulatory behaviors between urban sites experiencing an urban heat island effect, and rural field sites in St. George, UT, USA. Although temperature differences were recorded, there were minimal behavioral differenced between sites, yet a strong trade-off between thermoregulatory and aggressive behaviors, regardless of site type. In my second chapter, I analyzed the impacts of military aircraft noise at Fort Carson Military Base in Colorado Springs, CO, USA on the behavior, stress, and metabolism of the Colorado checkered whiptail. During the flyovers, corticosterone and ketone bodies were upregulated, while lizards spent a greater portion of their time eating, not moving, to help buffer the effect of the flyovers. Because I detected considerable variation in behavior within sites studied in my first chapter, I investigated morphological and behavioral differences between side-blotched lizards within an urban site for my third chapter. At one of my urban sites, Interstate 15 bisects lizard habitat and introduces anthropogenic disturbances via noise pollution and an increased predator abundance. I observed poor body condition closer to the interstate but detected no difference in exploratory or anti-predator behavior by proximity to the interstate, though lizards fled faster and farther from a simulated aerial predator than the terrestrial model. A higher proportion of lizards fled from the terrestrial model, highlighting the potential for urban lizards to adjust their behavior based on predator type

Willingness to Pay for Improved Milk Sensory Characteristics and Assurances in Northern Kenya Using Experimental Auctions

Pastoralists in northern Kenya may be able to diversify income by selling milk in nearby towns and cities. However, milk sold in open-air markets in communities in northern Kenya is often of low quality in terms of its sensory characteristics. The milk is also often adulterated before sale. These markets are characterized by poor consumers who need to make choices about milk quality with virtually no information other than their own sensory perceptions. These conditions are similar in many parts of the world for many different commodities and products. An examination was undertaken using experimental auctions to determine if consumers in the border town of Moyale, Kenya are willing to pay for enhanced milk sensory characteristics and assurances. The results suggest that even poor consumers are willing to pay for enhanced sensory characteristics and assurances if these can be communicated in a trusted manner. Older, relatively well-informed women are the group most willing to pay the highest prices for milk quality.willingness-to-pay, milk, Kenya, Agribusiness, Agricultural Finance, Q10, Q14,

Development of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination as a Component of Assessment for Initial Board Certification in Anesthesiology.

With its first administration of an Objective Structured Clinical Examination (OSCE) in 2018, the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA) became the first US medical specialty certifying board to incorporate this type of assessment into its high-stakes certification examination system. The fundamental rationale for the ABA's introduction of the OSCE is to include an assessment that allows candidates for board certification to demonstrate what they actually "do" in domains relevant to clinical practice. Inherent in this rationale is that the OSCE will capture competencies not well assessed in the current written and oral examinations-competencies that will allow the ABA to judge whether a candidate meets the standards expected for board certification more properly. This special article describes the ABA's journey from initial conceptualization through first administration of the OSCE, including the format of the OSCE, the process for scenario development, the standardized patient program that supports OSCE administration, examiner training, scoring, and future assessment of reliability, validity, and impact of the OSCE. This information will be beneficial to both those involved in the initial certification process, such as residency graduate candidates and program directors, and others contemplating the use of high-stakes summative OSCE assessments

NGNP – Creating Validated TRL and TDRMs for Critical Systems, Subsystems, and Components

This report introduces two draft Next Generation Nuclear Plant (NGNP) Technology Development Roadmaps (TDRMs) and documents the methods used to create them. As such, this report depicts the development of the hardware needed to successfully operate the NGNP and identifies this hardware by the area of the plant it supports and by system, subsystem, and component (SSC). Several options exist for which technologies are selected to fulfill the functions of the NGNP. These options are represented by differing SSCs and are grouped into reference designs. Each SSC associated with each reference design is evaluated, rated, and assigned a technology readiness level (TRL). A rollup of the TRLs allows for comparison of the various reference designs. A TDRM then documents the tasks needed to obtain information in key discriminating criteria to support technology down selection and the tasks and test required to sufficiently mature the technology and reduce the likelihood of technological failure upon installation. This report presents the path forward, methods, and tools used to understand the requirements, manage the uncertainty, and mitigate the risk for the NGNP project. The key tool, TDRMs, is the means to facilitate NGNP risk-informed decision making, technology down selection, and technology qualification and maturation while serving to coordinate engineering, research and development, and licensing efforts

Invasive frogs show persistent physiological differences to elevation and acclimate to colder temperatures

The coqui frog (Eleutherodactylus coqui) was introduced to the island of Hawai’i in the 1980s and has spread across much of the island. Concern remains that this frog will continue to expand its range and invade higher elevation habitats where much of the island’s endemic species are found. We determined whether coqui thermal tolerance and physiology change along Hawai’i’s elevational gradients. We measured physiological responses using a short-term experiment to determine baseline tolerance and physiology by elevation, and a long-term experiment to determine the coqui’s ability to acclimate to different temperatures. We collected frogs from low, medium, and high elevations. After both the short and long-term experiments, we measured critical thermal minimum (CTmin), blood glucose, oxidative stress, and corticosterone levels. CTmin was lower in high elevation frogs than low elevation frogs after the short acclimation experiment, signifying that they acclimate to local conditions. After the extended acclimation, CTmin was lower in frogs acclimated to cold temperatures compared to warm-acclimated frogs and no longer varied by elevation. Blood glucose levels were positively correlated with elevation even after the extended acclimation, suggesting glucose may also be related to lower temperatures. Oxidative stress was higher in females than males, and corticosterone was not significantly related to any predictor variables. The extended acclimation experiment showed that coquis can adjust their thermal tolerance to different temperatures over a 3-week period, suggesting the expansion of coqui into higher elevation habitats may still be possible, and they may not be as restricted by cold temperatures as previously thought

Review of Person Re-identification Techniques

Person re-identification across different surveillance cameras with disjoint fields of view has become one of the most interesting and challenging subjects in the area of intelligent video surveillance. Although several methods have been developed and proposed, certain limitations and unresolved issues remain. In all of the existing re-identification approaches, feature vectors are extracted from segmented still images or video frames. Different similarity or dissimilarity measures have been applied to these vectors. Some methods have used simple constant metrics, whereas others have utilised models to obtain optimised metrics. Some have created models based on local colour or texture information, and others have built models based on the gait of people. In general, the main objective of all these approaches is to achieve a higher-accuracy rate and lowercomputational costs. This study summarises several developments in recent literature and discusses the various available methods used in person re-identification. Specifically, their advantages and disadvantages are mentioned and compared.Comment: Published 201

Descriptive Epidemiology of Serious Work-Related Injuries in British Columbia, Canada

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the rates and distribution of serious work-related injuries by demographic, work and injury characteristics in British Columbia, Canada from 2002-2008, using population-based data. METHODS: Claims for workers with a serious injury were extracted from workers' compensation data. Serious injuries were defined by long duration, high cost, serious medical diagnosis, or fatality. Workforce estimates were used to calculate stratum-specific rates. Rate-ratios (RR) and 95% CIs were calculated using negative binomial regression for the comparison of rates, adjusting for gender, age and occupation. RESULTS: Women had a lower overall serious injury rate compared to men (RR: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.87-0.99). The 35-44 age group had the highest overall rate compared to the youngest age group. The rate for severe strains/sprains was similarly high for men and women in the 35-44 age group, although there was a differential pattern by gender for other injury types: the rate of fracture was similar across age groups for men, but increased with age for women (RR: 2.7, 95% CI: 2.2-3.3); and the rate of severe falls increased with age for men and women, with a larger three-fold increase for older women (men: RR: 1.8, 95% CI: 1.7-2.1; women: RR: 3.2, 95% CI: 2.7-3.7). CONCLUSIONS: The risk of serious injuries is higher among specific age groups with different patterns emerging for men and women. Variations persisted within similar injury types and occupation groups in our adjusted models. These results provide evidence for the burden of serious injuries and a basis for future analytic research. Given projected demographic shifts and increasing workforce participation of older workers, intervention programs should be carefully implemented with consideration to demographic groups at risk for serious injuries in the workplace

ASSESSING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG HISPANICS

Title: ASSESSING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY AMONG HISPANICS Authors: Charles S. Layne, PhD1,2, Sabeen A. Ali,1, Maria I. Anez, 2, Daniel P. O’Connor, PhD1,2, Rebecca E. Lee, PhD1,2 Affiliations: 1Department of Health and Human Performance, University of Houston, 2Texas Obesity Research Center Purpose: The lack of regular physical activity is a contributing factor in the world wide obesity epidemic. However, scientists are challenged to find methods by which to accurately assess physical activity performed by individuals who are either obese or at risk of becoming obese. The purpose of this effort is to provide a comprehensive review of the literature that involved the assessment of physical activity among Mexicans and Hispanic Americans. Method: English and Spanish language peer reviewed scientific article databases were searched to identify articles that included the terms ‘physical activity’ and ‘Hispanic’ or ‘Mexican’. The time period was limited to 2000 to the present. The original 1120 articles that were identified where triaged in to three categories: 1) Relevant, 2) Possibly Relevant and 3) Not Relevant. The review process consisted of identifying the characteristics of the sampled population, how physical activity was assessed, and whether the assessment of the physical activity was part of a survey project or accompanied a physical activity intervention program. This presentation presents the review of the ‘Relevant’ articles. Results: Currently, 113 articles have been reviewed of which eight were originally in Spanish prior to translation. Physical activity was assessed by a self-report survey in 81% of the articles. The survey’s ranged from validated surveys commonly accepted in the literature (ex. International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), to open ended questions regarding the amount and type of physical activity the participants engaged in. In general, the surveys were either translated into Spanish or modified to ask more culturally relevant questions. Approximately 30% of the articles included a form of continuously monitored physical activity over a designated time period with the use of either an accelerometer or pedometer. Eighty three% of the articles included the assessment of physical activity as part of a survey project. Conclusions: Although there have been a number of studies that have assessed physical activity among Hispanics, the vast majority of these have used self-report surveys, many of which were not validated. Additionally, there remains a paucity of physical activity assessment projects completed within Mexico. Keywords: physical activity, Hispanic, accelerometer, review, survey Learning Objective 1: After reviewing the presentation, the learner will be able to identify how physical activity is assessed among Hispanics. Learning Objective 2: After reviewing the presentation, the learner will be able to identify several commonly used surveys designed to assess physical activity

E-Government in Russia : Plans, Reality, and Future Outlook

Peer reviewe