Censusing manatees: a report on the feasibility of using aerial surveys and mark and recapture techniques to conduct a population survey of the West Indian Manatee

This report results from an invitation to review the needs and prospects for capture-recapture and aerial census studies of the manatee (Trichechus manatus) in Florida. Three aerial reconnaissance flights provided a first hand view of manatee habitats, as follows: May 3, Suwannee River to Kings Bay and Crystal River (Rathbun, Eberhardt), May 4, Vero Beach to Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Myers by way of Whitewater Bay (Rose, Percival, Eberhardt), and May 5, Cape Canaveral to Jacksonville, St. Johns River and Blue Spring (Rose, Kinnaird, Eberhardt). (24 page document

The Effects of Rhes on Opioid Analgesia

Rhes (Ras homolog enriched in striatum) has been identified as a novel monomeric G-protein involved in dopaminergic and other signaling in the striatum. Given the many effects of opioids that involve striatal circuitry, genetically engineered mice that are incapable of making Rhes (rhes-/-) and their control littermates (rhes+/+) were subjected to behavioral tests to determine if any differences existed in opioid analgesia, tolerance, withdrawal, reward, and locomotion. Rhes-/- mice showed an increased opioid mediated analgesia, along with an absence of tolerance and decrease in withdrawal when compared with rhes+/+ littermates. However, no significant changes were seen in opioid induced locomotor activation or conditioned place preference. These results provide strong evidence for the implication of Rhes in opioid signaling

Thermomechanical Behavior of Polymer Composite Heat Exchangers

Industrial cooling with seawater, particularly at elevated temperature and salinity, shortens the useful lives of conventional metallic heat exchangers. Cost effective, corrosion-resistant heat exchangers are required to fully utilize available saline water resources. Polymer composites, which use carbon fibers for thermal and mechanical reinforcement, are a promising material for such heat exchangers. The present thesis provides a characterization and thermomechanical analysis of heat exchangers fabricated using thermally conductive polymers. The change in mechanical properties resulting from exposure to saltwater at elevated temperature is characterized for raw and reinforced polymers. Then, thermal performance of such heat exchangers is compared to that of heat exchangers fabricated from conventional corrosion-resistant materials. Finally, the mechanical and combined thermomechanical response of such heat exchangers to conditions typical of LNG operations is studied and compared to that of heat exchangers fabricated from conventional corrosion-resistant materials

Assessing the Axis 221 Camera Onboard the UTSI Piper Navajo to Capture Manatee Images

Researchers in Florida are attempting to improve the methods of collecting data for manatee population surveys. Standard line-transect survey methods are not appropriate for the narrow warm-water aggregations sites where these surveys are to take place. Researchers hope to obtain population estimates at three warm-water manatee refuge sites: TECO (Tampa Electric Company), FPL (Florida Power Plant, Cape Canaveral), and the Three Sisters Sanctuary (Crystal River) The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not the Axis 221 Camera onboard the UTSI Piper Navajo is adequate for obtaining suitable images for use in population estimates. In order for the system to be determined useful, the flight tests must show that the following criteria is met. First, the video system must be capable of capturing images with sufficient quality to distinguish and count manatees while flying within the given parameters. Second, the flight team and equipment must be capable of flying the necessary flight paths while capturing the required area. Third, the aircraft and team must be capable of flying the desired flight paths in a timely manner, to accommodate for manatee behavior and time at surface. And finally, the system must be capable of capturing surface temperature. The last two criteria (timeliness and surface temperature) are necessary information for researchers to determine a detection probability. The data collected during two local flight tests was analyzed to assess the video system and flight team. Flight test one collected video of a parking lot and runway using objects of known size to estimate video quality. Surface temperature was also collected. Flight test two collected video over a waterway to assess the cameras field of view and the timeliness of the mission. Results indicated the flight team and video system will be sufficient for a future Florida mission at an altitude of 300 meters (about 1,000 ft)

How the manipulation of the Ras homolog enriched in striatum alters the behavioral and molecular progression of Huntington’s disease

Huntington’s disease is an incurable, progressive neurological disorder characterized by loss of motor control, psychiatric dysfunction, and eventual dystonia leading to death. Despite the fact that this disorder is caused by a mutation in one single gene, there is no cure. The mutant Huntingtin (mHtt) protein is expressed ubiquitously throughout the brain but frank cell death is limited to the striatum. Recent work has suggested that Rhes, Ras homolog enriched in striatum, which is selectively expressed in the striatum, may play a role in Huntington’s disease neuropathology. In vitro studies have shown Rhes to be an E3 ligase for the post-translational modification protein SUMO. Rhes increases binding of SUMO to mHtt which competes for the same binding site as Ubiquitin. SUMOylation of mHtt leads to disaggregation and cellular death, whereas ubiquitination leads to aggregation and cellular protection. In a previous study we showed that deletion of Rhes caused a decrease in the Huntington’s disease phenotype in mice. We hypothesized that mice lacking Rhes would also show increased aggregation in the striatum and this increased aggregation would correlate in a rescue of behavioral symptoms. Despite the prior in vitro and in vivo evidence, deletion of Rhes in vivo did not alter the aggregation of mHtt in the striatum of mice however deletion of Rhes still showed a rescue from the diseased phenotype. This result would indicate that deletion of Rhes alters the neurobehavioral phenotype of Huntington’s disease through a different pathway than promoting aggregation in striatal cells

Lesser Than Greater Than Equal To: The Art Design Paradox

Alongside a Masters of Fine Arts thesis exhibition, Greater Than Lesser Than Equal To, this dossier has five components: an introduction to the dossier, an extended artist statement, documentation of my work with an introduction, an interview with Sean Caulfield and my Curriculum Vitae. Together they present and illustrate my research around the question of art and design, and a brief exploration of how they operate (mutually and competitively) within the everyday of contemporary North America. As well, they allude to how my work developed in its present form. Through the “print-structures”, I explore the nature of design and art together, in combination with mid 20th-century influences, with the intention to emphasize the accessibility for a viewer that is enhanced when the two are combined