Designing a New Climate Control System for a National Historic Landmark

This planning project takes a holistic approach to designing a sensitive, energy-efficient, and cost-effective HVAC system that will serve the National Historic Landmark house and its collections, and the historic 1914 Garage. Over the last fifteen years, a steady increase in costly failures of the aging mechanical systems have threatened, and continue to threaten, the extensive collection and archive held within this historic structure. Nearly two decades of strategic assessment and planning have led to this point. A great deal is known about our buildings, existing conditions, and future collections care needs; now a team of expert consultants must work with staff to identify and design a system that will respond to the needs and restrictions of the site, collections, limited staff, and budget while following good preservation practice and thinking creatively about sustainability and efficiency

The legal aspects of the public school curriculum

The purposes of this study were to: (1) analyze the statutes of the fifty states relating to curriculum imperatives; (2) analyze significant federal and state judicial decisions relative to curriculum issues; and (3) present research findings as guidelines for school boards, school administrators, and teachers, so that these guidelines can be used when making decisions regarding curricular issues that are both educational and sound. Predicated upon an analysis of the study, it can be concluded that the involvement of state legislative bodies in establishing the curriculum for local public schools is both widespread and varied. It is difficult to ascertain many similar ties or patterns in the state statutes. Relatively speaking, the legislators are more concerned with requiring or allowing for curriculum activities or courses that meet federal requirements (e.g., plans for the teaching of handicapped students); that have a patriotic flavor (Pledge of Allegiance, the study of state and federal constitutions, history, and government); that control or influence the materials and books that are used in the instructional program; that assures that citizens' general needs are met (moments of silence and prayer, drug and alcohol abuse, health and hygiene, etc.); and that insure the attainment of quality standards such as the number of credits required for graduation

A Roadmap for the Development of Ivermectin as a Complementary Malaria Vector Control Tool.

In the context of stalling progress against malaria, resistance of mosquitoes to insecticides, and residual transmission, mass drug administration (MDA) of ivermectin, an endectocide used for neglected tropical diseases (NTDs), has emerged as a promising complementary vector control method. Ivermectin reduces the life span of Anopheles mosquitoes that feed on treated humans and/or livestock, potentially decreasing malaria parasite transmission when administered at the community level. Following the publication by WHO of the preferred product characteristics for endectocides as vector control tools, this roadmap provides a comprehensive view of processes needed to make ivermectin available as a vector control tool by 2024 with a completely novel mechanism of action. The roadmap covers various aspects, which include 1) the definition of optimal dosage/regimens for ivermectin MDA in both humans and livestock, 2) the risk of resistance to the drug and environmental impact, 3) ethical issues, 4) political and community engagement, 5) translation of evidence into policy, and 6) operational aspects of large-scale deployment of the drug, all in the context of a drug given as a prevention tool acting at the community level. The roadmap reflects the insights of a multidisciplinary group of global health experts who worked together to elucidate the path to inclusion of ivermectin in the toolbox against malaria, to address residual transmission, counteract insecticide resistance, and contribute to the end of this deadly disease

Do precocial mammals develop at a faster rate? A comparison of rates of skull development in Sigmodon fulviventer and Mus musculus domesticus

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72993/1/j.1420-9101.2003.00568.x.pd

The Making of a Monster: Postnatal Ontogenetic Changes in Craniomandibular Shape in the Great Sabercat Smilodon

Derived sabercats had craniomandibular morphologies that in many respects were highly different from those of extant felids, and this has often been interpreted functionally as adaptations for predation at extreme gape angles with hypertrophied upper canines. It is unknown how much of this was a result of intraspecific postnatal ontogeny, since juveniles of sabercats are rare and no quantitative study has been made of craniomandibular ontogeny. Postnatal ontogenetic craniomandibular shape changes in two morphologically derived sabercats, Smilodon fatalis and S. populator, were analysed using geometric morphometrics and compared to three species of extant pantherines, the jaguar, tiger, and Sunda clouded leopard. Ontogenetic shape changes in Smilodon usually involved the same areas of the cranium and mandible as in extant pantherines, and large-scale modularization was similar, suggesting that such may have been the case for all felids, since it followed the same trends previously observed in other mammals. However, in other respects Smilodon differed from extant pantherines. Their crania underwent much greater and more localised ontogenetic shape changes than did the mandibles, whereas crania and mandibles of extant pantherines underwent smaller, fewer and less localised shape changes. Ontogenetic shape changes in the two species of Smilodon are largely similar, but differences are also present, notably those which may be tied to the presence of larger upper canines in S. populator. Several of the specialized cranial characters differentiating adult Smilodon from extant felids in a functional context, which are usually regarded as evolutionary adaptations for achieving high gape angles, are ontogenetic, and in several instances ontogeny appears to recapitulate phylogeny to some extent. No such ontogenetic evolutionary adaptive changes were found in the extant pantherines. Evolution in morphologically derived sabercats involved greater cranial ontogenetic changes than among extant felids, resulting in greatly modified adult craniomandibular morphologies

Bone histology provides insights into the life history mechanisms underlying dwarfing in hipparionins

Size shifts may be a by-product of alterations in life history traits driven by natural selection. Although this approach has been proposed for islands, it has not yet been explored in continental faunas. The trends towards size decrease experienced by some hipparionins constitute a good case study for the application of a life history framework to understand the size shifts on the continent. Here, we analysed bone microstructure to reconstruct the growth of some different-sized hipparionins from Greece and Spain. The two dwarfed lineages studied show different growth strategies. The Greek hipparions ceased growth early at a small size thus advancing maturity, whilst the slower-growing Spanish hipparion matured later at a small size. Based on predictive life history models, we suggest that high adult mortality was the likely selective force behind early maturity and associated size decrease in the Greek lineage. Conversely, we infer that resource limitation accompanied by high juvenile mortality triggered decrease in growth rate and a relative late maturity in the Spanish lineage. Our results provide evidence that different selective pressures can precipitate different changes in life history that lead to similar size shifts

A guide to the choral music of Chales Fussell

Thesis (D.M.A.)--Boston University PLEASE NOTE: Boston University Libraries did not receive an Authorization To Manage form for this thesis or dissertation. It is therefore not openly accessible, though it may be available by request. If you are the author or principal advisor of this work and would like to request open access for it, please contact us at [email protected]. Thank you.Over a span of nearly fifty years Charles Fussell (b. 1938) has created a choral catalog of fifteen works, ranging from choral symphonies to folk song settings. Fussell's keen interest in literature has led him to diverse sources for his texts, such as Walt Whitman, May Sarton, Hart Crane, and Allen Ginsberg. Widely recognized among his peers for his technical prowess and enduring musicality, Fussell has yet to be embraced by the greater community of choral conductors and ensembles. This study is intended to be a guide to, and a summation of, Fussell's choral works from the mid-1960s to the present. The preface summarizes the author's reasons for selecting Charles Fussell's choral music as a research topic and the process that led to the completion of this document. Part I is devoted to the subject's biography, which is based on interviews with Fussell and those who have played a significant role in his musical life. Part II, "A Survey of the Choral Music of Charles Fussell," is divided into three sections, each dedicated to a particular subgroup of Fussell's choral music. Section A describes the shorter choral pieces in detail, offering background information on the genesis of each composition and its text, as well as a structural and thematic overview. In the same format, Section B discusses four dramatic works that include choral writing, and Section C covers Fussell's three major choral-orchestral works. Part III, entitled "Musical Elements in the Choral Music of Charles Fussell," identifies key motives and musical gestures that are found throughout Fussell's choral pieces. The two appendices are designed to aid conductors and singers who are interested in Fussell's choral music. Appendix A offers basic information on each piece, such as duration, orchestration, publisher information, and available recordings, and Appendix B is a compilation of all the texts used by Fussell in his choral works