Keynote Address

6 pages

Sublethal Behavioral and Physiological Effects of the Biomedical Bleeding Process on the American Horseshoe Crab, Limulus polyphemus

The hemolymph of the American horseshoe crab, Limulus polyphemus, is harvested from over 500,000 animals annually to produce Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL), a medically important product used to detect pathogenic bacteria. Declining abundance of spawning Limulus females in heavily harvested regions suggests deleterious effects of this activity, and while mortality rates of the harvest process are known to be 10%–30%, sublethal behavioral and physiological effects are not known. In this study, we determined the impact of the harvest process on locomotion and hemocyanin levels of 28 female horseshoe crabs. While mortality rates after bleeding (18%) were similar to previous studies, we found significant decreases in the linear and angular velocity of freely moving animals, as well as changes in their activity levels and expression of circatidal behavioral rhythms. Further, we found reductions in hemocyanin levels, which may alter immune function and cuticle integrity. These previously unrecognized behavioral and physiological deficits suggest that the harvest of LAL may decrease female fitness, and thus may contribute to the current population decline

Read & Improve: A Novel Reading Tutoring System

We introduce a new readability tutoring system, Read & Improve, a freely available online resource aimed at supporting learners of English and English Language Teaching (ELT) professionals by improving English learners’ reading proficiency. Using a combination of machine learning approaches and natural language processing techniques, Read & Improve detects learning needs of every student and makes sure no learner is left behind by identifying reading content at an appropriate level of readability and helping learners acquire new words through accessible dictionary definitions and content exploration functionality

A Middle School Choral Methodology and Curriculum Pairing: An Introduction

Graduate Theoretical Proposa