Movement ecology and sex are linked to barn owl microbial community composition.

The behavioural ecology of host species is likely to affect their microbial communities, because host sex, diet, physiology, and movement behaviour could all potentially influence their microbiota. We studied a wild population of barn owls (Tyto alba) and collected data on their microbiota, movement, diet, size, coloration, and reproduction. The composition of bacterial species differed by the sex of the host and female owls had more diverse bacterial communities than their male counterparts. The abundance of two families of bacteria, Actinomycetaceae and Lactobacillaceae, also varied between the sexes, potentially as a result of sex differences in hormones and immunological function, as has previously been found with Lactobacillaceae in the microbiota of mice. Male and female owls did not differ in the prey they brought to the nest, which suggests that dietary differences are unlikely to underlie the differences in their microbiota. The movement behaviour of the owls was associated with the host microbiota in both males and females because owls that moved further from their nest each day had more diverse bacterial communities than owls that stayed closer to their nests. This novel result suggests that the movement ecology of hosts can impact their microbiota, potentially on the basis of their differential encounters with new bacterial species as the hosts move and forage across the landscape. Overall, we found that many aspects of the microbial community are correlated with the behavioural ecology of the host and that data on the microbiota can aid in generating new hypotheses about host behaviour

Essays on Privacy

We create troves of data with nearly every step we take, every button we click, and every query we submit. These data can be used to cater to us with services that better align with our desires. They can help us locate restaurants matching our tastes, build up social networks with individuals sharing similar characteristics, find a soul mate or distant relative, attain financial goals, detect our health conditions, and potentially assist in developing individualized medicine. However, misuse of the data can induce us to buy things we don't need, offer us things that might harm our health, lead to an addiction, or even imprison us in the absence of wrongdoing. These data might also be breached, causing harm to us and our loved ones with revelations we might have never shared with the world. In this dissertation, in a series of three chapters, I detect opportunities and propose approaches to reduce the potential risks and leverage the benefits of data collection and data usage. I first analyze users' reactions to the data breach in a matchmaking website, exploring their engagement changes and potentially insufficient behaviors in privacy protection following the breach. I then plot how years of data collection in the Marketing realm and other business domains have led to great improvements to our lives, but have also introduced harms -- some of which are are still likely awaiting revelation. I discuss potential avenues for improving the benefits of the vast data we all create, while reducing the risks associated with those data. Finally, I explicitly develop one of these solutions -- a privacy preserving data fusion methodology -- intended to securely combine datasets while reducing the risks of de-identification. This dissertation, I hope, will serve as a steppingstone towards making the Marketing domain a safer zone in terms of privacy preservation. Marketing efforts were a major driver towards vast data collection and the associated benefits and harms; the marketing domain can now drive the efforts to further improve the benefits and reduce those harms.PHDBusiness AdministrationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/169732/1/turji_1.pd

Beyond Resolution: The Invitation for Self-Growth Inherent in Conflicts

This thesis examines self-growth as a predominant process inherent in disputes and whether exploration of this aspect by disputants in private sessions may contribute to a more intentional growth and effective conflict management. This approach draws from spiritual and therapeutic concepts that view interpersonal conflicts as mirroring internal disharmony of the disputants emanating from the conditioned mind and inviting us to connect to our innate inner guidance of the un-conflicted core (‘Self’) to balance the disharmony. While any conflict resolution process is likely to foster some level of awareness, addressing the tension between the mind and un-conflicted Self may contribute to a shift in the perspective on the conflict from mainly an external crisis to an internal invitation to a growth process mirrored by the disruptive relationship. This can then loop back to the relationship to support more awareness of the goals and conflict management process, open the door for more self-growth, and sometimes even transcend the conflict altogether. The Self-explorative process suggested in this thesis involves finding opportunities in private sessions to connect to the Self and receive inner insights and guidance. The process uses elicitive questions, guided meditations and teaching to establish conscious communication with the Self and bring harmony to the Self-mind tension. This process can be an addition to private sessions such as conflict coaching that can provide additional skills to manage the conflict. It offers individuals who are willing and ready another dimension of exploration not offered within mainstream conflict resolution practices and can benefit people who are interested not just in resolutions but also in exploring their opportunity to transform through conflicts and establishing communication with their Self for further growth.

Glucocorticoids—All-Rounders Tackling the Versatile Players of the Immune System

Glucocorticoids regulate fundamental processes of the human body and control cellular functions such as cell metabolism, growth, differentiation, and apoptosis. Moreover, endogenous glucocorticoids link the endocrine and immune system and ensure the correct function of inflammatory events during tissue repair, regeneration, and pathogen elimination via genomic and rapid non-genomic pathways. Due to their strong immunosuppressive, anti-inflammatory and anti-allergic effects on immune cells, tissues and organs, glucocorticoids significantly improve the quality of life of many patients suffering from diseases caused by a dysregulated immune system. Despite the multitude and seriousness of glucocorticoid-related adverse events including diabetes mellitus, osteoporosis and infections, these agents remain indispensable, representing the most powerful, and cost-effective drugs in the treatment of a wide range of rheumatic diseases. These include rheumatoid arthritis, vasculitis, and connective tissue diseases, as well as many other pathological conditions of the immune system. Depending on the therapeutically affected cell type, glucocorticoid actions strongly vary among different diseases. While immune responses always represent complex reactions involving different cells and cellular processes, specific immune cell populations with key responsibilities driving the pathological mechanisms can be identified for certain autoimmune diseases. In this review, we will focus on the mechanisms of action of glucocorticoids on various leukocyte populations, exemplarily portraying different autoimmune diseases as heterogeneous targets of glucocorticoid actions: (i) Abnormalities in the innate immune response play a crucial role in the initiation and perpetuation of giant cell arteritis (GCA). (ii) Specific types of CD4+ T helper (Th) lymphocytes, namely Th1 and Th17 cells, represent important players in the establishment and course of rheumatoid arthritis (RA), whereas (iii) B cells have emerged as central players in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). (iv) Allergic reactions are mainly triggered by several different cytokines released by activated Th2 lymphocytes. Using these examples, we aim to illustrate the versatile modulating effects of glucocorticoids on the immune system. In contrast, in the treatment of lymphoproliferative disorders the pro-apoptotic action of glucocorticoids prevails, but their mechanisms differ depending on the type of cancer. Therefore, we will also give a brief insight into the current knowledge of the mode of glucocorticoid action in oncological treatment focusing on leukemia

Mere-listening effect on creativity and the mediating role of psychological safety

While research suggests that individuals may increase their own creativity by listening to other’s ideas, the effects of being listened to by others have remained understudied to date. We hypothesized that listening behavior of superiors may positively impact employees to explore new ideas flexibly, leading to higher levels of creativity. We further hypothesized this link to be mediated by psychological safety. Therefore, we developed and tested a mediated model of listening behavior, psychological safety and creativity at the individual level. In a series of five complementary studies, we found evidence for the hypothesized effects using self-report, supervisor-report, and objective measures of creativity, while excluding alternative explanations such as reversed causality with experimental designs. A meta-analysis of all our studies provided compelling evidence that listening was related to creativity, N = 744, k = 5, ¯r = .39, 95% CI [.13; .60]. Together, our results suggest that supervisor listening may be an underrated aspect of management that fosters creativity

Contribution of CARPA to polystyrene NP effects in pigs

Background: It has been proposed that many hypersensitivity reactions to nanopharmaceuticals represent complement (C)-activation-related pseudoallergy (CARPA), and that pigs provide a sensitive animal model to study the phenomenon. However, a recent study suggested that pulmonary hypertension, the pivotal symptom of porcine CARPA, is not mediated by C in cases of polystyrene nanoparticle (PS-NP)-induced reactions. Goals: To characterize PS-NPs and reexamine the contribution of CARPA to their pulmonary reactivity in pigs. Study design: C activation by 200, 500, and 750 nm (diameter) PS-NPs and their opsonization were measured in human and pig sera, respectively, and correlated with hemodynamic effects of the same NPs in pigs in vivo. Methods: Physicochemical characterization of PS-NPs included size, ζ-potential, cryo-transmission electron microscopy, and hydrophobicity analyses. C activation in human serum was measured by ELISA and opsonization of PS-NPs in pig serum by Western blot and flow cytometry. Pulmonary vasoactivity of PS-NPs was quantified in the porcine CARPA model. Results: PS-NPs are monodisperse, highly hydrophobic spheres with strong negative surface charge. In human serum, they caused size-dependent, significant rises in C3a, Bb, and sC5b-9, but not C4d. Exposure to pig serum led within minutes to deposition of C5b-9 and opsonic iC3b on the NPs, and opsonic iC3b fragments (C3dg, C3d) also appeared in serum. PS-NPs caused major hemodynamic changes in pigs, primarily pulmonary hypertension, on the same time scale (minutes) as iC3b fragmentation and opsonization proceeded. There was significant correlation between C activation by different PS-NPs in human serum and pulmonary hypertension in pigs. Conclusion: PS-NPs have extreme surface properties with no relevance to clinically used nanomedicines. They can activate C via the alternative pathway, entailing instantaneous opsonization of NPs in pig serum. Therefore, rather than being solely C-independent reactivity, the mechanism of PS-NP-induced hypersensitivity in pigs may involve C activation. These data are consistent with the “double-hit” concept of nanoparticle-induced hypersensitivity reactions involving both CARPA and C-independent pseudoallergy

Executive function deficits mediate the relationship between employees' ADHD and job burnout

Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) often face significant deficits in executive function and adverse work-related outcomes. This study aimed to explore the role of executive function deficits in job burnout of employees with ADHD. We hypothesized that employees with ADHD, relative to employees without ADHD, will experience higher levels of job burnout and deficits in executive function. We also hypothesized that the ADHD-job burnout relationship would be mediated through executive function deficits, specifically by self-management to time and self-organization/problem-solving. A field study with 171 employees provided support for the research hypotheses and mediation model in which the employees' ADHD-job burnout relationship was mediated through executive function deficits. Additional mediation analyses indicated that the specific executive function of self-management to time and self-organization/problem-solving mediated the effect of ADHD on job burnout and its facets. Specifically, for physical fatigue, the mediation was realized through self-management to time, and for emotional exhaustion and cognitive weariness, the mediation was significant through self-organization/problem-solving. The present findings shed light on the relevance of referring ADHD among employees, their vulnerability to job burnout, and the role of executive function deficits in job burnout of employees with ADHD

Estimating nest-switching in free-ranging wild birds: an assessment of the most common methodologies, illustrated in the White Stork (Ciconia ciconia)

Reliable estimates of nest-switching are required to study avian mating systems and manage wild populations, yet different estimation methods have rarely been integrated or assessed. Through a literature review and case study, we reveal that three common methods for assessing nest-switching blend different components, producing a wide range of estimates. Careful component definition and reporting are essential to properly estimate this behaviour