Orleans/Niagara BOCES (O/N BOCES) and BOCES Teachers Association (BOCESTA)

In the Matter of Fact-Finding analysis between Orleans/Niagara BOCES (O/N BOCES) and BOCES Teachers Association (BOCESTA). PERB Case No. M2006-251. Fact Finder: Miriam W. Winokur, PhD

Revisiting Alkali Metals As a Tool to Characterize Patterns of Mosquito Dispersal and Oviposition.

Mark-recapture methods constitute a set of classical ecological tools that are used to collect information on species dispersal and population size. These methods have advanced knowledge in disparate scientific fields, from conservation biology to pest control. Gathering information on the dispersal of mosquito species, such as Aedes aegypti, has become critical since the recognition of their role as vectors of pathogens. Here, we evaluate a method to mark mosquitoes that exploits the rare alkali metals rubidium (Rb) and caesium (Cs), which have been used previously to mark adult insects through feeding. We revised this method by adding Rb and Cs directly to water in which the immature stages of Ae. aegypti were allowed to develop. We then assessed the effect of Rb- and Cs-enriched water on fitness, survival and bioaccumulation in both adult females and their eggs. Results indicated that Cs had adverse effects on Ae. aegypti, even at low concentrations, whereas Rb at low concentrations had no measured effects on exposed individuals and accumulated at detectable levels in adult females. The method described here relies on passive uptake of Rb during immature stages, which has the benefit of avoiding handling or manipulation of the dispersive adults, which enables purer measurement of movement. Moreover, we demonstrated that Rb was transferred efficiently from the marked females to their eggs. To our knowledge, Rb is the only marker used for mosquitoes that has been shown to transfer vertically from females to eggs. The application of Rb rather than more traditional markers may therefore increase the quality (no impact on released individuals) and quantity (both adults and eggs are marked) of data collected during MR studies. The method we propose here can be used in combination with other markers, such as stable isotopes, in order to maximize the information collected during MR experiments

Before the Peace: Ceasefire Durability in Ethnic Civil Wars

Why do some ceasefires last for days, while others last for months or years? Previous research on ceasefires has not directly considered the question of ceasefire durability, or has focused solely on the dynamics of ceasefire durability in interstate war. In order to address these knowledge gaps, this study explores the question of ceasefire durability in the context of ethnic civil wars. It is hypothesized that ceasefire durability is related to belligerents’ territorial satisfaction, relative power, and actor cohesion. Analyzing two ceasefires from the Bosnian civil war, the study finds that durability is a function of the interaction between territorial satisfaction and the presence of a mutually hurting stalemate. This interaction produces four types of ceasefires: (a) durable, with high satisfaction and a mutually hurting stalemate; (b) variable, with high satisfaction and no mutually hurting stalemate; (c) dependent, with low satisfaction and a mutually hurting stalemate; and (d) weak, with low satisfaction and no mutually hurting stalemate. This typology helps to clarify policy and timing choices for military officials, humanitarian organizations, and peace negotiators

Endogenous Neurosteroid Hormone Production and Early Oligodendricyte Development

The field of neuroendocrinology grew immensely with the realization that steroid hormone production is not confined to the adrenal and reproductive glands but also occurs in the central nervous system (CNS). Steroids synthesized de novo in the brain and spinal cord are referred to as neurosteroid or neuroactive hormones and encompass estrogens, androgens, glucocorticoids, and mineralocorticoids. Though all substrates and enzymes required for neurosteroid biosynthesis exhibit CNS expression, a thorough comprehension of their functionality is lacking. In addition to mediating stress responses, neurosteroids influence CNS-specific processes known to regulate neural development and pathology. Multiple sclerosis (MS), a debilitating neurodegenerative disorder classified by rampant demyelination, exemplifies the neuroendocrine crosstalk facilitated by CNS-resident steroids. Local steroid production from cholesterol, which also happens to be the primary lipid component of myelin sheaths, is critical to myelin repair. Progesterone in particular is implicated in expediting remyelination following demyelinating insults in animal models via an unknown mechanism. Despite the established effect of progesterone on myelin regeneration, its impact on early myelinogenesis remains unclear. This observation inspired the work presented here, in which I investigated a potential role for progesterone in embryonic oligodendrocyte development. Applying the synthetic progestin Nestorone to mouse cerebellar slice cultures, I found that progesterone stimulates the expression of the mature myelin protein, myelin basic protein. Curious as to whether this phenomenon mirrors progesterone-induced remyelination at the molecular level, I implemented the same experimental system in mice genetically altered to delete expression of the nuclear progesterone receptor. Unexpectedly, removal of this receptor from cerebellar slices led not only to an increase in myelin basic protein expression but more robust oligodendrocyte maturation into myelinating cells actively extending processes to axons and participating in fiber formation. The fact that this surprising effect could not be mediated by the nuclear progesterone receptor prompted me to examine potential caveats to studying individual hormones like progesterone in isolation

Woven by the Grandmothers: The Development of the National Museum of the American Indian Throughout the 1990s

In 1994, the National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) opened the George Gustav Heye Center in New York City, the first of what would be three campuses. Ten years later, in 2004, the NMAI opened its main campus in Washington, D.C., already having cemented their place as leaders in a movement to center indigenous voices within museums housing indigenous material culture. By examining the history of the NMAI from the first acquisition of George Gustav Heye to its earliest approaches to exhibition design and collections management policy in the 1990s, it is possible to track the development of the NMAI from its inception through to the opening of the D.C. NMAI. Comparing the execution and viewer response, both public and scholarly, to the 1994 inaugural shows, 1996 exhibition Woven by the Grandmothers: Nineteenth-Century Navajo Textiles from the National Museum of the American Indian, and the 2004 inaugural D.C. shows, invites a critical examination of the challenges and successes the NMAI encountered throughout its developmental journey. In addition, examining Woven by the Grandmothers as a case study allows a closer look at the specific processes of community collaboration, inclusion of Navajo historical narratives, and the development of an NMAI show, looking at the ability of the NMAI to authentically center indigenous voices while implementing progressive policies of conservation and collections management

Developmental and evolutionary implications of cold shock effects in the speckled wood butterfly

The effects of pupal cold shock on the life cycle and wing morphology of the Speckled Wood butterfly are examined and their genetic assimilation is investigated. Metamorphosis is modelled in terms of changes in stability, and the mediation of cold shock effects by hormones is considered. Current theories of pattern formation are evaluated for the species, and pattern is analysed using manual, photographic and digital methods. The development of wing morphology is modelled, and cold shock effects understood by comparison with normal development. Developmental canalisation is estimated as variability and fluctuating asymmetry. An index is developed that predicts the extent of assimilation. Likely modes of inheritance are suggested, and the possibility of natural cold shock and assimilation in the species is considered. Recent trends in biology indicate that neo-Darwinian concepts cannot adequately account for certain developmental and hereditary phenomena and that a new paradigm is emerging. The two schools are compared with particular reference to Weismann and Waddington, and the phenomenology is re-examined in the light of the new findings