Behavioural correlates of the equine stereotypy phenotype

Stereotypic behaviour is characterised as repetitive, topographically invariant, rigid behaviour patterns, often displayed by captive, domestic and laboratory animals. The cause of these behaviours is thought primarily to be related to impoverished or species-atypical living environments, but recent research has outlined a neural phenotype, relating to basal ganglia dopamine physiology, which is common to several species. One species displaying the neural and associated behavioural phenotypes is the Horse. The purpose of this thesis was to explore, through behavioural assays, the behavioural phenotypes associated with endogenous basal ganglia dysfunction as a neural feature of equine oral stereotypy. In the first study, the behavioural effects of one aspect of the neural phenotype – downregualtion of dopamine transmission in the nigrostriatal pathways – were examined. Animals with the medial aspect of the dorsal striatum lesioned have been shown to exhibit learning differences in spatial navigation procedures. Employing two dry-maze procedures, stereotypic and control horses were required to locate food in different locations. No specific differences between the groups were found, but the stereotypic group were found to be less exploratory and tended to adopt ‘habitual’ response patterns. In the next studies, the behavioural effects of a further feature of the neural phenotype – upregulation of mesoaccumbens dopamine transmission – were examined. Chronic amphetamine exposure leads to a similar neural phenotype, and this offered an interesting hypothesis in the context of the endogenous change reported in stereotypic horses. A Pavlovian to Instrumental Transfer task was initially employed, in which horses were first trained in a Pavolvian procedure, and subsequently trained to perform an instrumental response, reinforced by the same food as in the Pavlovian phase. In the transfer phase, the Pavlovian conditioned stimulus was introduced in the context of the instrumental responding. It was predicted that response rates would increase during the transfer phase; however, the results were inconclusive. In the third study, further behavioural effects of increased mesoaccumbens dopamine were tested by employing an instrumental choice procedure. Stereotypic horses and controls were trained to choose between two mutually-exclusive schedules of reinforcement, one associated with a short delay to gain food and one with a longer delay. Chronic amphetamine exposure leads to a decrease in sensitivity to delay, and it was demonstrated that stereotypic horses showed similar patterns, failing to choose the shorter schedule. Finally, increased dopamine transmission is known to enhance the rate at which learning shifts from planned-action to habit, and this was examined in stereotypic horses using a ‘place-response’ preparation. Evidence was found to support this hypothesis in two variations of this procedure. The latter findings suggested an imbalance of the constituent cells that form the striatum: the striosome and matrix components. Taking this in conjunction with the other findings, this imbalance may hold the key to identifying the aetiology of stereotypic behaviour

Mechanical Metamaterials

Mechanical metamaterials are an emerging design strategy aimed at tailoring lattice structures to achieve specific properties such as negative Poisson’s ratios and guiding wave propagation. These metamaterials have received increasing attention from various application domains, including medical devices, aerospace, automobile, and infrastructure. The scope of this project is to vary a single lattice parameter and quantify its effect on the structural properties of the given 3D lattice

QUANTITATIVE ANALYSIS OF SLIDE STEP DELIVERY IN HIGH SCHOOL BASEBALL PITCHERS

The purpose of this study was to quantify the kinetics, kinematics, and segmental sequentiallity during the slide step pitching motion in high school baseball pitchers. Eighteen participants [16.2 + 1.6 yrs; 76.9 + 12.2 kg; 178.2 + 7.2 cm] volunteered to participate. Kinematic data describing the kinematics and kinetics during the slide step pitching delivery were collected with an electromagnetic tracking system via the MotionMonitorTM and calculated as per ISB recommendations. Data were described at foot contact, maximum external shoulder rotation, ball release, and maximum internal shoulder rotation during the slide step delivery

Extensional flow of a compressible viscous fluid

We derive reduced models for extrusion problems where it is necessary to account for fluid compressibility. We consider the two-dimensional extensional flow of a compressible viscous fluid and discuss two specific applications: weakly compressible fluids and bubbly liquid-gas mixtures that behave as a single compressible fluid. The mathematical model we present consists of equations for conservation of mass, conservation of momentum and a closure relationship between the pressure and density. The most substantial differences between compressible extrusion problems is in the closure relationship. By integrating the conservation equations across the fluid cross-section and exploiting a slender aspect ratio, we derive reduced equations for conservation of mass and conservation of momentum in the direction of flow. The reduced system of equations relating cross-sectionally averaged quantities is closed by a relationship between the averaged pressure and density, which will differ substantially depending on the application. We demonstrate the utility of a reduced model for both the weakly compressible fluid and bubbly mixture applications; namely, in providing valuable quantitative insights without needing to solve a complicated free-boundary problem

Explorations in Historical Method

In 1985 The Academy of Accounting Historians established a new committee named The Accounting History Research Methodology (AHRM) Committee. The Academy specified the objectives of the Committee as identifying the range of historical research methods and facilitating accounting historians\u27 access to literature on historical methodology in general. More broadly, its role was envisaged as one of encouraging a greater awareness and use of historical method in accounting history research

Regulation and the trickle-down effect of women in leadership roles

We use an event study design to provide evidence demonstrating how the trickle-down effect is influenced by the introduction of regulation on board gender diversity. In 2011, a new regulation was suddenly introduced for firms listed on the United Kingdom’s FTSE 350 index, the regulatory intervention put forward recommendations to increase the representation of women on the boards of FTSE 350 listed firms – the most critical recommendation was a voluntary target of having twenty-five percent of board positions held by women. We argue this change in regulation represents an exogenous shock, we utilize this shock to investigate how regulation influences the trickle-down of women’s representation from board level to senior management. We find evidence of a positive relationship between women on boards and women’s representation in senior management during the pre-regulation era – otherwise referred to as the trickle-down effect. However, the introduction of regulation had the unintended consequence of weakening the relationship between women on boards and women in senior management. Our results suggest that the trickle-down effect varies between different contexts and settings. We discuss the implications for research and practice

Predicting career aspirations and university majors from academic ability and self-concept : A longitudinal applications of the internal-external frame of reference model

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics university majors are critical pathways toward prestigious careers, yet women are still underrepresented in many of these domains. In this chapter, we review the role that self-beliefs play in the development of educational aspirations and attempts to realize those aspirations at the end of secondary school. In particular, we use the internal/external frame of reference model to explore the potential of achievement and self-concept profiles as predictors of university major aspirations and attainment as one possible explanation for gender differences in these domains. After reviewing previous research in this area, we provide a research example using a large longitudinal database from Germany (N = 1,881). Results suggest that (a) high math achievement and self-concept predicted math-intensive university major choice and lower likelihood of entering verbal-intensive majors (and vice versa); (b) there appeared to be a continuum of university majors such that strong mathematics achievement and self-concept profiles predicted entry into hard sciences, while the opposite profile predicted entry into the humanities with biology and medicine displaying more mixed patterns; and (c) after controlling for achievement and self-concept there were still important gender differences in university majors. Implications for theory and practice are discussed

Tissue Engineered Representation of Human Blood Vessel Using Hagfish Protein

Scaffolds used in in vitro cellular growth are a common method of more accurately representing the structure and extracellular matrix of the tissue being grown. Tissue engineers are constantly testing novel biomaterials as scaffolds to determine their representativity of native tissue. One of these such biomaterials is hagfish protein, which when bound together or cross-linked has properties similar to many tissues found in the body. Specifically, there are some properties that could make it a viable option for human blood vessels. Being a simpler organ than most, comparatively, it is also a prime selection for in vitro studies attempting to create a transplantable tissue. Therefore, this experiment tests the viability of hagfish protein as a scaffod for blood vessels. Two cell lines were used in this study: C2C12s, a murine muscle cell derivative, and Human Umbilical Vein Endothelial Cells (HUVECs). They were seeded on a 12-well plate that had four treatments: two variations of Hagfish membrane, collagen as a positive control, and the untreated well plate as a negative control.https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/fsrs2022/1055/thumbnail.jp

Quality of life for hospice caregivers

The goal of hospice care is to enhance the quality of life (QOL) of patients and their families during the final stages of illness, the dying process, and the bereavement period. This goal involves using an interdisciplinary approach to attend to patients and families as a "unit of care" and to address the spiritual, physical, emotional, financial, and psychological aspects of living with a terminal illness. Despite efforts, research shows a decrease in the overall quality of life of hospice caregivers after the first 30 days of hospice care, especially in four quality of life domains: physical, financial, emotional, and social domains. The purpose of this study was to examine the following questions: 1) How does the QOL of hospice caregivers change over time? 2) How does a defined intervention affect their QOL? 3) How do different interventions affect the usual trajectory of QOL? 4) How do various aspects of QOL change over time? This poster addresses the first research question

Quality enhancement for e-learning courses: the role of student feedback

The collection of student feedback is seen as a central strategy to monitor the quality and standards of teaching and learning in Higher Education Institutions. The increasing use of technology to support face-to-face, blended and distance courses has led managers as well as practitioners to become increasingly concerned to identify appropriate ways of assuring the quality of this e-learning provision. This paper presents a study of the collection of student feedback in higher education elearning courses and the use of this feedback for quality assurance and enhancement. We carried out a series of case studies of the procedures in place in four e-learning courses, and in each case study we collected the quality assurance documentation and interviewed stakeholders (administrators, educational technologists, tutors and students). The comparative examination of these two sets of data showed that the main strategies for collecting student feedback - module evaluations and student representation - were both strongly affected by the distinctive features of the mode of delivery in e-learning courses, and as a consequence they were not able to adequately support quality enhancement. The remote location of the students impacted on both student representation and on the response rates for module evaluations. The enhancement function of the module evaluations were adversely affected by lack of appropriate course management arising from the disaggregation of course processes and the resulting ambiguity in the allocation of responsibilities