Effects of Medial Preoptic Lesions on\ud Placentophagia and on the Onset of Maternal\ud Behavior in the Rat

Lesions of the medial preoptic area (MPO) were produced through permanently indwelling electrodes 24 hr prior to parturition in pregnant rats, or 24 hr prior to donor-placenta presentation in virgin rats determined in a pretest to be placentophages. The lesions had no disruptive effect on placentophagia in the virgin females. However, MPO lesions did delay the onset of placentophagia, pup-retrieval, and nestbuilding in some parturient rats. In others, lesions produced an impairment (in latency and quality) only of nest-building. None showed any impairment of pup-licking, or in the clear tendency to leave excreted waste away from the gathered pups. These results suggest the possibility of at least semi-independent mechanisms for the various components of maternal behavior

Perinatal maternal and neonatal behaviour in\ud the captive reticulated giraffe

A captive reticulated giraffe was observed constantly for three weeks prior to, and periodically for 90 days subsequent to, the birth of her calf. Extensive observations were made of the birth sequence, feeding, drinking, sleeping and one instance of an infant distress call, as well as observations of the initiation of maternal behaviour (including licking, nursing, placentophagia, and what appeared to be helping the calf to stand, guiding the calf's movements, and attempts to respond to the calf's distress call)

The Mainstream Is Not the Enemy: Maximizing Audiences for “Disabled Voices”

The unique, powerful and compelling perspectives of people with disabilities have gone unheard by mainstream audiences for too long. In film and television, this lack has been largely blamed on broadcasters, distributors and audiences themselves, who are failing to fulfill their moral obligation to watch. But finding an audience for ‘disabled voices’ means a shift in priorities for those who produce disability narratives. Successful film and television producers prioritize ratings and ticket sales, study and analyze what kinds of stories work, and ensure their product has the best possible chance of reaching a wide audience. The producers of disability narratives need to do the same, prioritizing what an audience wants ahead of how people with disabilities are represented, who is making the representation and how it will impact on the “disability community.” I collaborated with three men with intellectual disabilities in the production of my PhD film in Australia in 2010. My aim was to create a comedy film that would appeal to a mainstream audience and give the strongest possible “voice” to my collaborators, a process that required an abandonment of the “us and them” mentality and the forging of a new model of collaborative authorship. To view supplemental materials that accompany this article(provided by the author), visit http://downundermysterytourmovie.com/educational-pack-downloads. And here is a 45-minute doco about the author's PhD project (and is related to the article). The password to view the contents is: dumtdownloa

The Lesons of Architecture School

As graduation nears, I’m reaching the point in my life where I’ll need to actually put my education to use. After all of the lectures, exams, studio projects and papers, Iowa State is about to pronounce me “fit for work” in the world of architecture

Two-dimensional aerodynamic characteristics of the OLS/TAAT airfoil

Two flight tests have been conducted that obtained extension pressure data on a modified AH-1G rotor system. These two tests, the Operational Loads Survey (OLS) and the Tip Aerodynamics and Acoustics Test (TAAT) used the same rotor set. In the analysis of these data bases, accurate 2-D airfoil data is invaluable, for not only does it allow comparison studies between 2- and 3-D flow, but also provides accurate tables of the airfoil characteristics for use in comprehensive rotorcraft analysis codes. To provide this 2-D data base, a model of the OLS/TAAT airfoil was tested over a Reynolds number range from 3 x 10 to the 6th to 7 x 10 to the 7th and between Mach numbers of 0.34 to 0.88 in the NASA Langley Research Center's 6- by 28-Inch Transonic Tunnel. The 2-D airfoil data is presented as chordwise pressure coefficient plots, as well as lift, drag, and pitching moment coefficient plots and tables