Managing Sociality of a Captive Female Bornean Orangutan from Breeding to Post-partum at The Smithsonian\u27s National Zoo

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums’ Orangutan Species Survival Plan® aims to maintain 100 Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) in captivity. Because investment in breeding these lineages is high, properly managing sociality of potential mothers is essential. This study assessed how behaviors of a captive breeding female at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo changed from pre-gestation through the offspring’s sixth month of age to improve breeding recommendations. The infant Bornean orangutan was born September 2016. Results indicate that during breeding, the mother socialized most with two adult females. During pregnancy, the pregnant female socialized in less energy-consuming ways, i.e. grooming. Post-partum socialization and proximity data suggest a shift in female affiliation. The presence of another female with maternal experience may be beneficial to the rearing of new offspring. These results can help guide socialization management for pregnant captive orangutans to improve breeding outcomes

Comparative morphological study on the shape variance of the scapula in extant Cercopithecidae

Morphological variation in forelimb bones has been tied to substrate use in Cercopithecidae. Studies of the distal humerus and proximal ulna (Rector et al., 2018) suggest that African and Asian monkeys’ locomotor repertoires can be distinguished through analysis of variation of the elbow joint. Given that the scapula may be directly involved in weight-bearing during locomotion - similar to the elbow - the relationship between morphological variation and arboreality in the glenoid cavity, acromion, and coracoid process may be analogous. Using a Microscribe, 25 landmarks were collected to capture the shape of the scapula from a sample of 50+ extant Cercopithecidae. Each species was placed in a locomotor category including ground quadrupedalism, branch quadrupedalism, arm-swinging, and branch quadrupedalism, and branch and ground quadrupedalism based on their primary locomotor strategy during traveling. Variation was analyzed using 3D geometric morphometric PCA, PGLs, and phylogenetic ANOVAs to determine if differential substrate use can be identified through analysis of shape variation in the scapulae of Cercopithecidae. Results suggest that scapular morphology is more variable in branch quadrupedal cercopithecids than ground quadrupedal ones. However, variation in the scapula can be used to successfully differentiate ground quadrupeds and branch quadrupeds in modern Cercopithecidae. As a valuable factor in the ecology of these primates, this locomotor behavior contributes information on niche differentiation, resource competition, and community organization in living and fossil primates.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1050/thumbnail.jp

Sintesi di nuovi ligandi multifunzionali a struttura 3-carbamoilossifenilica per il trattamento della patologia dell' Alzheimer

Questa tesi di laurea è incentrata sulla patologia dell'Alzheimer: vengono soprattutto valutate le cause neuropatologiche che la costituiscono ( stress ossidativo, neuroinfiammazione, eccitotossicità, disomeostasi di ioni metalllici, diminuzione dei livelli di acetilcolina, formazione di placche amiloidi e di grovigli neurofibrillari) e le nuove terapie che si propongono di rallentarne il decorso.(terapie multifunzionali). In questa tesi sono infatti riportate nuove molecole multifunzionali che dovrebbero essere in grado di agire simultaneamente su più target biologici coinvolti nella patologia stessa. Le molecole sintetizzate sono state ottenute: attraverso la combinazione di un inibitore dell'AChE e porzioni in grado di chelare i metalli responsabili dello stress ossidativo oppure attraverso la combinazione di inibitori dell'AChE e porzioni in grado di rilasciare H2S in vivo. Come inibitore dell'acetilcolinesterasi si è scelta la rivastigmina, quindi le nuove molecole presentano la sua funzione farmacoforica ovvero la funzione N-etil-N-metilcarbammica. Inoltre si è analizzato anche il fondamentale ruolo che l'H2S svolge nell'organismo e cosa accade in presenza di morbo di Alzheimer, dove il calo di H2S che si registra è intorno al 50%. Infine si sono illustrati i processi sintetici affrontati per ottenere le 4 molecole multifunzionali che verranno testate su cellule HT22 per valutarne le loro capacità di inibire l'aggregazione amiloide, ridurre lo stress ossidativo e inibire AChE e BuChE

Logistica urbana: prospettive ecocompatibili per la distribuzione delle merci nell'ultimo miglio

Questa tesi esamina le proposte della logistica urbana per ridurre le principali diseconomie e l'impatto sull'ambiente urbano degli attuali modelli di trasporto merci in città. Premessa indispensabile è un'analisi sugli effetti della crescita della domanda di trasporto merci nelle città dal punto di vista economico, ambientale e sociale, per metterne in evidenza la complessità e le diverse dimensioni coinvolte, cercando di rintracciare le cause e sottolineando i cambiamenti in atto. Il passaggio successivo consiste nella definizione di un quadro di strumenti di policy a livello europeo, nazionale e regionale al fine di trarre indicazioni sugli strumenti legislativi che possono concretamente coadiuvare le autorità locali nell'implementazione e nell'attuazione degli interventi di mobilità sostenibile. Introdotto in seguito il filone di ricerca appartenente all'eco logistica ambientale e definite le modalità mediante le quali realizzare progetti integrati di City Logistics, vengono approfondite le misure regolative e le azioni operative di tipo logistico che la teoria definisce per aumentare l'efficienza del sistema distributivo e per ridurre l'impatto ambientale della movimentazione incontrollata di merci nelle città, sia in termini di emissioni ma anche di numero di veicoli circolanti. La rassegna critica di numerose esperienze europee ed italiane consente, infine, di individuare sotto quali condizioni gli interventi e le soluzioni proposte sono risultate di successo e quali sono i fattori che ne assicurano la replicabilità in altri contesti urbani. Abstract: This thesis focuses on the goods transport in the city, often known as “last mile”. Logistic studies suggest several proposals to reduce the impact of current patterns, also by focusing on major urban inefficiencies. To survey the state-of-the-art and recent local experiences is the major aim of the thesis. The starting point is the analysis of the economic, environmental and social effects of the growth in the demand for freight transport in cities. This will help to show the complexity of the various aspects involved, to trace the major driving forces, and to highlight the changes in progress. The next step is to define a framework of policy tools at European, national and regional levels in order to obtain the information about the legislative tools that can assist the local authorities in the implementation of policies for sustainable mobility. After introducing the area of research belonging to eco-logistics environment and defining the ways in which to carry out integrated projects of City Logistics, the regulatory measures and operative actions of logistics are analyzed in detail. Their aim is to increase the efficiency of the distribution system and to reduce the environmental impact of the last mile, that is, to reduce the environmental impact of uncontrolled movement of goods in the cities, both in terms of emissions and as the number of vehicles on the road. A critical review of several European and Italian experiences will eventually help to identify under which conditions the interventions and the implemented solutions have proven to be (un)successful and which factors facilitate the replicability in other urban contexts

Exploring institutional arrangements for local fish product labelling in Tuscany (Italy): a convention theory perspective

Abstract Increasing fish consumption along with rising competition in the global seafood market has brought fisheries and aquaculture producers to adopt several differentiation and marketing strategies. Labelling schemes were thus introduced to respond to a growing demand for traceable and sustainable products. However, the proliferation of quality labels brought to general confusion, calling for collective and public fish labels to ease decision-making. In our case study region (Tuscany, Italy), a number of policy-driven efforts were deployed for establishing regional labelling schemes for fisheries products with no observable impact on the market. Meanwhile, local companies have implemented a number of successful private and regional labels. The purpose of this research is to contribute to potential options for collective regional labelling schemes of fisheries and aquaculture products, through a case study analysis, building on agro-food value-chain and management approaches. Our empirical results highlight key issues and perspectives on labelling policies for local fisheries and aquaculture products

Verification by means of observational equivalence on automata

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Colobinae evolution: Using GIS to map the distribution of leaf monkeys across Southeast Asia over time

The Colobinae, or leaf monkeys, are distributed geographically across Africa and Asia. Colobinae are specialized arborealists and leaf eaters with sacculated stomachs, sheering teeth, reduced thumbs, and very mobile shoulders. Colobinae diverged ~10.9 million year ago (Ma) from the Cercopithecidae in Africa, and Asian colobines appear in the fossil record in the late Miocene ~8.5 Ma. However, an incomplete fossil record means little is known about the evolutionary pressures that led to Asian colobine migration and diversification. Here, we use recent fossil discoveries and geospatial information to develop hypotheses about how geographic barriers played direct roles in Asian colobine evolution. Using ArcGIS, we plotted Miocene-epoch to Pleistocene-epoch fossil Colobinae collection sites with overlapping geospatial information including geographic barriers that may have influenced species distribution like the Himalayas and the Hengduan Mountains. We also included extant species’ presence, distributions, and species diversity to assess patterns of distribution over time. Data from each epoch were compared to track species distribution over time. Results suggest that combining fossil data, extant species’ distributions, and biogeographically relevant geospatial elements provides some parameters for where and when Colobine adaptions were selected for. For example, cold climate adaptions in certain Asian Colobines, especially Rhinopithecus, are not recent and have shaped how that genus is distributed today. These parameters can support powerful hypothesis building about the evolutionary histories of extant species adapting behaviorally and anatomically to densely forested South East Asia.https://scholarscompass.vcu.edu/gradposters/1134/thumbnail.jp

Verification of distributed systems : an experiment

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The Design of Economic Incentives for More cost-Effective European Agri-Environmental Measures

We compare the cost-effectiveness of two simulated auction models (AM1, AM2) with that of classical payment mechanisms as a marginal flat rate payment (MFR) and average flat rate payment (FR). The models follows the one-shot budget constrained auction model first introduced by Latacz-Lohmann and Van Der Hamsvoort (1997), and subsequently by Viaggi et al. (2008) and Glebe (2008). The first model (AM1) deals with one-dimensional bids and it allows farmers to make an offer about a per hectare agri-environmental payment that they would like to receive in order to implement a generic agri-environmental measure on their agricultural land. In the second auction model (AM2) we further extend the analysis, allowing farmers to offer a combination of payment and a measure of their uptake in the agri-environmental program (i.e. a share of their land to commit under the program). Once simulated for AM1 and AM2 the optimal bidding behavior of a population of farmer taken from FADN data of E-R 2010 and 2011, assuming a fixed budget level and the sole objective for the public regulator to maximizes farmers participation to the AEM, we analyzed the total payment, the total cost and the total contracted area comparing the result with MFR and FR payment. The results confirm that the auction has the potential to reduce farmers’ information rent when compared with uniform policy instruments. Though the scale of saving depends crucially on auction design hypotheses and farmers' expectation about the maximum acceptable bid cap. The simulation while reflects a number of plausible assumptions, also remains rather simplified and could be improved in further research. However, it can contribute to feed the debate at EU policy level about the role in considering auction design and bidding behaviour so as to limiting the inefficiency related to the actual agri-environmental payments

Aboard AUTO

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