Spatially Resolved Measurements of Crosslinking in UV-Curable Coatings Using Single-Sided NMR

The UV-driven photocuring of coatings results in a crosslinked polymeric network. The degree of crosslinking in these coatings is typically assessed via optical spectroscopy; unfortunately, optical methods are typically limited in their maximum depth access. Alternatively, single-sided nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) can be used to probe the crosslinking of UV-curable coatings in a spatially sensitive manner. Relaxation measurements, which correlate with crosslinking, can be done with a spatial resolution on the order of microns throughout the depth dimension of the coating, regardless of optical transparency of the material. These results can be visualized via a relaxation cross-section that shows the depth at which a particular relaxation value is observed. These measurements are used to probe the effect of a scavenger molecule that is added to the coating mixture, allowing for efficient crosslinking despite the presence of atmospheric oxygen. This method may find purchase in evaluating systems whose crosslinking properties are intentionally varied throughout its thickness; using NMR, these systems, up to approximately one hundred microns thick, can be measured without repositioning or rastering

Sexual Selection and Reproductive Isolation in Field Crickets

Barriers to interbreeding limit gene flow between sister taxa, leading to reproductive isolation and the maintenance of distinct species. These barriers come in many forms, and can act at different stages in the reproductive process. Pre-copulatory barriers may be due to individuals discriminating against heterospecifics in mate choice decisions. These decisions may be informed through a range of sensory modalities. If a female is mated and inseminated, then there may be multiple postmating-prezygotic barriers that affect the success of heterospecific sperm in attaining fertilisations. Post-zygotic barriers can be very early acting, resulting in embryonic fatality, or may be later acting, affecting the fitness of hybrid offspring. In this thesis I investigate potential reproductive barriers between the interbreeding field crickets Gryllus bimaculatus and G. campestris. I find that females of both species show only weak preference for conspecific calling song, and may even respond phonotactically to songs typical of heterospecific males. Female G. bimaculatus are repeatable in their preferences and strength of response. G. bimaculatus females presented with synthetic songs prefer those with longer inter-pulse intervals, whereas G. campestris show no discrimination between these songs. Upon meeting, G. campestris females strongly discriminate against heterospecific males, behaving aggressively towards them. This is likely driven by females responding to close range species recognition cues, including chemoreception. The species differ in their cuticular hydrocarbon profiles, and females that are no longer able to use their antennae to receive chemosensory information reduced their aggressive behaviour towards heterospecific males. G. bimaculatus females will mate with heterospecific males, though less readily than to conspecifics. When sequentially mated to both conspecific and heterospecific males, these females will preferentially take up and store sperm from the conspecific male, and sperm from conspecific males is more likely to sire offspring than would be predicted from the proportion of sperm in storage. Eggs from inter-species mating pairs are less likely to begin embryogenesis, and are more likely to suffer developmental arrest during the early stages of embryogenesis. However hybrid embryos that survive to later stages of development have hatching success similar to that of pure-bred embryos. After mating, phonotaxis of G. bimaculatus females towards male songs follows a pattern of suppression and subsequent recovery, likely triggered through detection of seminal proteins transferred in the male ejaculate, or detection of mechanical filling of the spermatheca. This pattern of suppression and recovery of phonotaxis does not differ between females mated to conspecific or heterospecific males. Females that lay few or no eggs do not experience a refractory period.European Social Fun

Behavioral lateralization in the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris)

We examined side preferences in the Florida manatee (Trichechus manatus latirostris) through observations of limb use (right and left flipper) in 123 wild and 16 captive individuals. We also analyzed archival data, the United States Geological Survey Sirenia ProjectManatee Individual Photo-identification Systemdataset, to determine lateralization of evasive action from boats. Wild and captive manatees displayed flipper lateralization at the individual, but not the population level for several behaviors including substrate touches, sculling, and feeding. In contrast, manatees were lateralized at the population level for boat-scar biases,with more manatees showing a left scar bias (45.3%) versus right (34.3%) or dorsal/ambipreferent (20.3%)

LEED neighborhood and design assessment: the Bellingham downtown alleyway revitalization

Bellingham is a vibrant city nestled amid the Northwestern Cascades in close proximity to Canada, surrounded by vast agricultural flood plains, rolling foothills and striking snowcapped peaks. A crown jewel of the Pacific Northwest, Bellingham attracts people from across the country for a spectacular quality of life, higher education and a unique sense of community available only there. Needless to say, the population in Bellingham is projected to grow in the coming decades. By 2022, Bellingham is expected to grow over 50%, by almost 30,000 people, adding to the current population of 76,100 (COB, 2009), creating a significant impact on the municipality and metropolitan areas. (Population Growth Forecasts) Faced with a greater demand for land and services, municipalities of the future must seek innovative ways of meeting this growth without falling into the present urban paradigm of greater city sprawl. Space is becoming limited, farmland is being pressed by development and warnings of global climate change call for a radical shift in infrastructure. City planners, community leaders, developers, politicians and citizens are facing the difficult reality of finding ways to develop urban areas in revolutionary new ways. Boiled down into its most basic tenants, this new horizon is best described as sustainable urbanism, walk-able and transit served urbanism integrated with high performance buildings and high performance infrastructure . (Farr, 2008) Drawing from building movements like new urbanism, smart growth and green building, sustainable urbanism is a synthesis of the classic environmentally friendly growth with other pressing social concerns like economic disparity, vehicle dependent communities, un-equitable neighborhood patterns and pedestrian safety. Urban renewal projects are an opportunity to gain experience reaching the needs of a community both environmentally and socially. Downtown Bellingham is going to be the site of a major urban development in the near future that will add a great deal of community appeal for Bellingham residents and commercial real estate. This project is a major retrofit of the Cornwall corridor, the heart of Bellingham\u27s central business district. Large retail outlet is going to be placed on either ends of the project boundaries and the alleyways that run parallel to the main streets will be renovated. The goal of this project is to increase capacity and attractiveness of the central business district, using the principles of smart growth, new urbanism and sustainable building technology as they are synthesized in the current 2009 LEED Neighborhood Design rating system. Designed by the U.S. Green Building Council as an industry standard system to measure and rate Green building projects, LEED rating systems have evolved to provide a voluntary and objective measure of a project\u27s sustainability. Instead of designing and building the urban environment with a variety of Euclidean land uses that require extensive automobile connection to function properly, LEED standards help build mixed use communities that are designed and built to function self-sufficiently. Sustainable urbanism takes a more holistic approach to design, leading to the construction of healthy communities that encourage non-motorized transportation, mass transit and close proximity of everyday amenities. Bellis Fair Mall in Bellingham is an example of a Euclidean use, automobile-dependent development, which resulted in the loss of economic activity downtown. Renovating the Downtown through LEED standards will effectively shift much of this retail activity from Bellis Fair Mall to a new urban village downtown, reducing automobile dependence and enhancing the livability of the downtown corridor. Our job as a sustainable growth consulting firm is to evaluate Bellingham\u27s potential for urban renewal based on the LEED-ND 2009 Rating System. This analysis begins with evaluating the current Cornwall revitalization proposal previously presented, through the LEED checklist. This project will focus on the alleyways that run parallel to Cornwall, the surrounding infill and building renovation. By doing this, we will be able to establish the potential for LEED certification of the existing plan and identify areas that can be improved upon to achieve a higher rating. Our alternative action will take the initial proposal a step further by evaluating potential solutions that can be utilized to meet more of the LEED requirements. As an academic consultation team, our mission is to bridge the gap between builders, government planners and the concerned public by evaluating the LEED-ND as a sustainable growth tool. We are confident that prejudice concerning environmentally sustainable growth can be met with practical methods for reducing environmental harm, efficiency thresholds and habitat restoration, providing the public with intelligently designed community space that will benefit us all

Nuptial pad (“breeding gland”) morphology is related to non-random mating in wild male common frogs (<i>Rana temporaria</i>)

Androgen levels are closely linked with breeding in male amphibians. Development of the nuptial pad is driven by androgens and is believed to have importance for determining mating success in anurans, but this has not been tested in wild populations. We investigated the association between nuptial pad morphology (length, colour) and mating (amplexus) success in wild male common frogs (Rana temporaria) in the UK (Devon in Southern England and central Scotland). Once active breeding had been confirmed, pond water (25 L) was placed in 1–6 replicate mesocosms (66 cm diameter circular, black plastic tubs) in situ. Eight male and two female frogs were placed into each mesocosm, and success observed by identifying the male frog(s) in amplexus. The length of nuptial pads for male frogs observed in amplexus was greater than those that did not achieve amplexus. There was no difference in the absolute dark colour of nuptial pads (determined by red/green/blue analysis, Adobe photoshop©) for male frogs observed in amplexus versus those that did not achieve amplexus. However, within each mesocosm, the nuptial pad was relatively darker for winning male frogs compared to losing male frogs. Overall, 91% of winning male frogs from Devon, and 89% winning male frogs from Scotland, possessed either a longer and/or a darker nuptial pad, compared with frogs that did not achieve amplexus. These data suggest that features of nuptial pad morphology are associated with amplexus (and thus mating) success in male common frogs. Given that nuptial pads have been identified in all anuran amphibian species analysed to date, nuptial pad morphology may contribute to non-random mating strategies across a broad range of species

Variation in Aggressive Behavior in Sally Lightfoot Crabs (Grapsus grapsus) Relative to Age Class

Three beach locations in San Cristóbal, Galápagos Islands, Ecuador were examined to observe aggressive behavior of Grapsus grapsus. Sally lightfoot crabs play a significant role in the intertidal ecosystem, so understanding factors that influence population dynamics is necessary to ensure equilibrium. With regards to age, it is hypothesized that variation in aggressive behavior is present between age groups of Sally lightfoot crabs. It is predicted that intermediate-aged crabs will display aggressive acts most often. Also, crab distribution by age varies with distance from water, and it is predicted that larger crabs will be more prevalent in the wet zones. Further, we hypothesize that aggression in Sally lightfoot crabs varies with level of activity by outside factors, and it is predicted the crabs inhabiting beaches of higher activity levels will display more acts of aggression. Three beach locations were analyzed one hour before and one hour after low tide for aggressive behavior such as chasing or physical contact between two or more crabs. A Chi-square test was used to determine significance of data collected. The majority of acts of aggression were initiated by intermediate crabs (58%). Juvenile and intermediate crabs were most often found in the zone of observation furthest from the water, while more adults were found in the moist zone. Across all age categories, the number of acts of aggression increased in beaches with more activity from outside factors. Age, food availability, and hormonal changes are all possible contributors to aggressive behavior in the G. grapsus

The potential of achiral sponge-derived and synthetic bromoindoles as selective cytotoxins against PANC-1 tumor cells.

Our quest to isolate and characterize natural products with in vitro solid tumor selectivity is driven by access to repositories of Indo-Pacific sponge extracts. In this project an extract of a species of Haplosclerida sponge obtained from the US NCI Natural Products Repository displayed, by in vitro disk diffusion assay (DDA) and I