Analyses of Diet and Geographic Variation in Leaf-Nosed Snakes, Phyllorhynchus

This study revealed that P. decurtatus primarily eat squamate eggs, and that the diet of P. browni appears to consist entirely of squamate eggs; gecko tails constitute a very small proportion of the diet of P. decurtatus. Feeding in both species occurred throughout their active seasons and both species increased prey consumption in August. The sexes of P. browni, but not P. decurtatus showed different monthly feeding patterns. Desert-of-collection did not affect P. decurtatus monthly feeding patterns. Phyllorhynchus decurtatus collected from the Sonoran Desert and P. browni, which is found only in the Sonoran Desert, showed similar monthly patterns of prey consumption. The mean number of eggshells consumed per individual P. browni increased significantly in August, but this was not the case for P. decurtatus. Both species seemed to slash the eggs at one end, probably with their enlarged maxillary teeth, and swallowed this end first. The previously recognized subspecies artificially compartmentalize the inconsistent variation in this species. There was extensive overlap in all morphological characters examined between four subspecies and intergrades of P. decurtatus. ANOVA revealed that there were significant differences between mean scale and blotch counts between putative subspecies, but they did not represent discrete differences among the subspecies. Discriminant functions analysis revealed that individuals could often be classified correctly, but that misclassified animals were not classified by the analysis in a geographically consistent manner. Principal components analysis revealed that phenotypes did not group together in a geographically consistent manner. Regression analysis revealed a longitudinal cline in ventral scale number, as well as some weaker clinal trends in other characters

Always the Same Old Story: How Urban Legends Develop and Spread in Modern America

This thesis is a study of the common themes shared by traditional folklore and modern American urban legends. The author consulted expert mythologists such as Carl Jung, Joseph Campbell and Marie-Louise von Franz to research the prevalent themes of fairy tales and fables. She identified archetypes and psychological motifs in stories from the past and present. They show that the themes of these stories explain human existence and are repeated in cultures around the world as a means of social control

Environmental Performance in Customer Communications

Corporate environmental efforts are now valued higher than ever and need to be communicated to customers in a successful manner. Companies today wish to promote themselves as sustainable and use environmental performance to obtain competitive advantages. SKF is promoting themselves as an environmentally sustainable supplier and wishes to ascertain how environmental performance can be communicated to strengthen and support its products. This project is limited to evaluate environmental performance by its usability in communication towards customers and not for their effectiveness as environmental efforts as such. The analysis and recommendations are geographically limited to the Swedish market and are primarily applicable to this market. How can environmental performance be used to promote industrial components in B2B customer communications? The project uses mainly qualitative data and some quantitative. The qualitative data consists of literature review, benchmark, and interviews with key SKF personnel and customers. The quantitative data extracted from of an externally produced customer survey. Conclusions show the importance of building a comprehensive brand image by incorporating product specific environmental performance (PSEP™) and environmental efforts which enhance the sustainable supplier brand image (SSBI™) in the environmental communication. Sustainable supplier brand image can be enhanced by including the following three things in the environmental communications: (1) SKF’s commitment to continuously improving environmental performance: focus on implemented processes and should use the Beyond Zero concept and portfolio to exemplify the efforts. (2) Certifications: focus on communicating ISO 50001. (3) Third-party verification and partnership: focus on SKF WWF Climate Savers membership. While product specific environmental performance can enhance sustainable supplier brand image a reputation as a sustainable supplier is a necessity to successfully communicate the benefits of product specific environmental performance. Communication of product specific environmental performance should always clearly communicate the correlation between PSEP™ and financial savings. To achieve this, it is important to have knowledge of customers’ KPI’s and communicate PSEP™ that is connected to those. It is also important to communicate measurements customers can relate to. Recommendations for communicating PSEP™ beyond this can be divided into two parts: (1) Recommendation for environmentally aware customers: Communicate LCA on a more complex and comprehensive level by including all parameters measured in a LCA, not limiting communication of LCA results to Beyond Zero products, and using visual tools in communication of LCA. (2) Recommendation for environmental unaware customers: Communicate effective and easily comprehendible information in every customer contact by providing SKF bearing packaging with a table of fundamental environmental parameters

Teaching Students with Developmental Disabilities Daily Living Skills Using Point-of-View Modeling Plus Video Prompting with Error Correction

A primary goal of instruction for students with developmental disabilities is to enhance their future quality of life by promoting skill acquisition which will enable them to live, function, and participate in the community. One instructional method that can help students with developmental disabilities improve independence in performing daily living skills is video prompting. This study investigated the effectiveness of a video prompting plus error correction procedure on skill acquisition when teaching daily living skills to four adolescents with mild and moderate developmental disabilities. A multiple baseline across participants design demonstrated that all four participants rapidly acquired dish washing skills upon introduction of the intervention. Future research should further explore the efficacy of error correction procedures used with video prompting and the impact that these procedures have on student learning and skill retention

Prevalence of the E321G MYH1 variant for immune-mediated myositis and nonexertional rhabdomyolysis in performance subgroups of American Quarter Horses.

BackgroundImmune-mediated myositis (IMM) in American Quarter Horses (QHs) causes acute muscle atrophy and lymphocytic infiltration of myofibers. Recently, an E321G mutation in a highly conserved region of the myosin heavy chain 1 (MYH1) gene was associated with susceptibility to IMM and nonexertional rhabdomyolysis.ObjectivesTo estimate prevalence of the E321G MYH1 variant in the QH breed and performance subgroups.AnimalsThree-hundred seven elite performance QHs and 146 random registered QH controls.MethodsProspective genetic survey. Elite QHs from barrel racing, cutting, halter, racing, reining, Western Pleasure, and working cow disciplines and randomly selected registered QHs were genotyped for the E321G MYH1 variant and allele frequencies were calculated.ResultsThe E321G MYH1 variant allele frequency was 0.034 ± 0.011 in the general QH population (6.8% of individuals in the breed) and the highest among the reining (0.135 ± 0.040; 24.3% of reiners), working cow (0.085 ± 0.031), and halter (0.080 ± 0.027) performance subgroups. The E321G MYH1 variant was present in cutting (0.044 ± 0.022) and Western Pleasure (0.021 ± 0.015) QHs at lower frequency and was not observed in barrel racing or racing QHs.Conclusions and clinical importanceKnowing that reining and working cow QHs have the highest prevalence of the E321G MYH1 variant and that the variant is more prevalent than the alleles for hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia and hyperkalemic periodic paralysis in the general QH population will guide the use of genetic testing for diagnostic and breeding purposes

Equity in Health Care: A Comparative Study Between the United Kingdom and the United States of America

Aim - The aim of this study is to identify, compare and discuss the similarities and differences in the equity of healthcare service provision between universal and private healthcare systems, and determine whether universal healthcare systems have a positive impact upon the equity of service provision for service users. Background - The United Kingdom has a universal healthcare system in the National Health Service, and the United States of America is the only developed country to maintain a private healthcare system. Assumptions are held that attribute inequity of healthcare service provision to systems that do not utilise a universal healthcare coverage, however, these assumptions may well be unjustified. Methods - A comparative research approach was used to evaluate statistical data relating to cardiovascular diseases, vaccine-preventable diseases and maternal health. Methods used include the use of official organisational data on mortality, and uptake of vaccinations. Findings – There were differences in crude death rates for cardiovascular diseases and maternal causes. However, standardised death rates showed considerable differences between the countries and uptake of routine vaccinations was also unequal. Conclusion – The provision of universal care coverage will not necessarily have a positive impact upon equity in healthcare as personal barriers to access are highly reported amongst populations. Organisations must first address barriers to access in precedence to transition to more widespread services

The influence of logging upon the foraging behaviour and diet of the endangered Bornean banteng

Logging causes soil compaction and alters the vegetation structure and plant diversity, and ungulates must adapt to modified conditions if they are to survive. We investigated the impact of logging upon the foraging ecology of the Bornean banteng using camera traps and botanical surveys. General linear models were used to explore the effects of site characteristics and plant diversity upon foraging duration, and plant specimens were identified to confirm dietary preferences. Foraging events were recorded over 40,168 nights in five forests. Foraging duration significantly decreased in open areas depauperate in species richness (F=7.82, p=<0.01); however, it increased with elevation (F=3.46, p=0.05). Their diet comprised eight invasive species (Mikania cordata and Chromolaena odorata, Cyperus difformis, Fimbristylis littoralis and Scleria sp., Desmodium triflorum, Eleusine indica and Selaginella sp.), which are characteristic of disturbed forest and fast to establish. Logging creates ideal conditions for these plants, which are preferentially selected by bantengs. Whilst logging may increase forage, the disturbances logging causes to the bantengs and the ensuing poaching may counteract any positive benefits. Developing forest management strategies that incorporate conservation of the bantengs may in turn encourage more favourable conditions for emergent timber species and also conserve this endangered wild cattle species

Hypothalamic Vitamin D Improves Glucose Homeostasis and Reduces Weight

Despite clear associations between vitamin D deficiency and obesity and/or type 2 diabetes, a causal relationship is not established. Vitamin D receptors (VDRs) are found within multiple tissues, including the brain. Given the importance of the brain in controlling both glucose levels and body weight, we hypothesized that activation of central VDR links vitamin D to the regulation of glucose and energy homeostasis. Indeed, we found that small doses of active vitamin D, 1α,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25D3) (calcitriol), into the third ventricle of the brain improved glucose tolerance and markedly increased hepatic insulin sensitivity, an effect that is dependent upon VDR within the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus. In addition, chronic central administration of 1,25D3 dramatically decreased body weight by lowering food intake in obese rodents. Our data indicate that 1,25D3-mediated changes in food intake occur through action within the arcuate nucleus. We found that VDR colocalized with and activated key appetite-regulating neurons in the arcuate, namely proopiomelanocortin neurons. Together, these findings define a novel pathway for vitamin D regulation of metabolism with unique and divergent roles for central nervous system VDR signaling. Specifically, our data suggest that vitamin D regulates glucose homeostasis via the paraventricular nuclei and energy homeostasis via the arcuate nuclei