Starvation Resistance is Associated with Developmentally Specified Changes in Sleep, Feeding and Metabolic Rate

Food shortage represents a primary challenge to survival, and animals have adapted diverse developmental, physiological and behavioral strategies to survive when food becomes unavailable. Starvation resistance is strongly influenced by ecological and evolutionary history, yet the genetic basis for the evolution of starvation resistance remains poorly understood. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster provides a powerful model for leveraging experimental evolution to investigate traits associated with starvation resistance. While control populations only live a few days without food, selection for starvation resistance results in populations that can survive weeks. We have previously shown that selection for starvation resistance results in increased sleep and reduced feeding in adult flies. Here, we investigate the ontogeny of starvation resistance-associated behavioral and metabolic phenotypes in these experimentally selected flies. We found that selection for starvation resistance resulted in delayed development and a reduction in metabolic rate in larvae that persisted into adulthood, suggesting that these traits may allow for the accumulation of energy stores and an increase in body size within these selected populations. In addition, we found that larval sleep was largely unaffected by starvation selection and that feeding increased during the late larval stages, suggesting that experimental evolution for starvation resistance produces developmentally specified changes in behavioral regulation. Together, these findings reveal a critical role for development in the evolution of starvation resistance and indicate that selection can selectively influence behavior during defined developmental time points

Thangka Painting: An Exploration of Tibetan Buddhism Through Art

Thangka painting is an ancient Tibetan Buddhist art form which depicts Buddhist deities. The deities must be made in very specific proportions, as it is believed that the deities can inhabit the paintings and thus the painting must be of the utmost beauty. Thangkas have a variety of uses, but they are mostly used as a means of gaining merit, in death rituals, during meditation, and in Buddhist ceremonies. In order to learn more about Tibetan Buddhism, I spent two and a half weeks studying thangka painting. I learned the entire process of creating a thangka, from the creation of the canvas to the final painting. I completed one painting of Sakyamuni Buddha, the founder of Buddhism. In addition, I interviewed four individuals about thangka: a lama, a doctor, a thangka master, and an average Tibetan Buddhist. The objective of this study was to learn how studying the thangka art form can enhance our understanding of Tibetan Buddhism. Creating this thangka has given me a basic understanding of Tibetan Buddhism and will serve as a way I can share Tibetan culture with others

Non-Ionotropic Activation of the NMDAR, Leading to ERK 1/2 Phosphorylation

N-methyl-D-aspartate receptors (NMDARs) are important to neuron function. NMDARs are transmembrane ligand-gated and voltage-gated ion channels that pass sodium, potassium, and calcium (MacDermott et al., 1986). They are composed of a tetramer of proteins in the postsynaptic cell membrane of neurons. The NMDAR is unique in the sense that it requires two agonists to stimulate its activation: the excitatory transmitter glutamate, and the co-agonist glycine. It is also unique in voltage-dependent regulation via a magnesium block in the ion channel. When the neuron is depolarized, this block is removed and ions can pass freely through the channel (Nowak et al., 1984). These three properties of passing calcium (MacDermott et al., 1986), being ligand-gated by glutamate, and being voltage-gated with a magnesium plug (Nowak et al., 1984), make the NMDAR important for regulating activity-dependent postsynaptic plasticity, a mechanism believed to underlie learning and memory (Nicoll, 2003). Ionotropic activation of NMDARs by ligands has been implicated in extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling (Martel et al., 2009). ERK is a protein that promotes synaptic plasticity by regulating the membrane trafficking of ?-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4- isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) receptors, which is closely linked to learning and memory formation (Sweatt, 2004). It is unknown whether NMDARs have a non-ionotropic capacity. My hypothesis is that the single NMDAR agonist glycine is capable of regulating ERK activity in the absence of ion channel activity. NMDAR activation and coupling to intracellular signaling cascades were probed using a pharmacological and molecular biology approach. N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) was used to stimulate the receptor at the glutamate binding site, while the ionotropic pore was pharmacologically and physically blocked. Cultured mouse neurons and transfected Human Embryonic Kidney (HEK) 293 cell cultures were used to determine a subunit-specific role of the NMDAR. ERK1 and ERK2 phosphorylated protein and total ERK protein were measured using Western blot standard procedures (Sambrook and Maniatis, 1989). This research is significant because learning how to regulate NMDAR signaling cascades independent of ionotropic activity with a single ligand could lead to the development of treatments that could promote neuron survival and plasticity in patients with ischemia or neuronal insult. The results presented here must be considered inconclusive since there are several issues with the experimental protocols, only discovered late in the production of this work. While the results cannot be reliably used for any definitive conclusions, they are useful in troubleshooting and in refining these procedures. The understanding that these experiments have brought can be used to create new experiments that will produce results that can be reliably assessed, and these new results may be used to address the hypothesis

Financial crises and the attainment of the SDGs: an adjusted multidimensional poverty approach

This paper analyses the impact of financial crises on the Sustainable Development Goal of eradicating poverty. To do so, we develop an adjusted Multidimensional Poverty Framework (MPF) that includes 15 indicators that span across key poverty aspects related to income, basic needs, health, education and the environment. We then use an econometric model that allows us to examine the impact of financial crises on these indicators in 150 countries over the period 1980–2015. Our analysis produces new estimates on the impact of financial crises on poverty’s multiple social, economic and environmental aspects and equally important captures dynamic linkages between these aspects. Thus, we offer a better understanding of the potential impact of current debt dynamics on Multidimensional Poverty and demonstrate the need to move beyond the boundaries of SDG1, if we are to meet the target of eradicating poverty. Our results indicate that the current financial distress experienced by many low-income countries may reverse the progress that has been made hitherto in reducing poverty. We find that financial crises are associated with an approximately 10% increase of extreme poor in low-income countries. The impact is even stronger in some other poverty aspects. For instance, crises are associated with an average decrease of government spending in education by 17.72% in low-income countries. The dynamic linkages between most of the Multidimensional Poverty indicators, warn of a negative domino effect on a number of SDGs related to poverty, if there is a financial crisis shock. To pre-empt such a domino effect, the specific SDG target 17.4 on attaining long-term debt sustainability through coordinated policies plays a key role and requires urgent attention by the international community

Design for an interlocking plant

Thesis (BS)--University of Illinois, 1901Half-title: "Interlocking plant for the crossing of the Illinois Central RR with the CCC & StL and Wabash Rys at Champaign, Ill"Primarily ms; folded leaves are blueprint copies of msLeaves 27, 28 and 29 are numbered as 26a, 27 and 28, respectivel

Causes, effects, and solutions to performance-related anxiety: suggestions for the teaching of brass players

Music performance anxiety, or MPA, affects musicians of every age and performance level. This condition inhibits musical performance in the areas of accuracy, endurance, expression, and enjoyment. Music performance anxiety exists, in large part, through the performers themselves. These performers handicap efforts of musical presentation through the symptoms and effects of MPA. These symptoms and effects can be divided into three categories: cognitive, physical, and psychological. The cognitive aspects of MPA include an inability to focus on the task at hand as well as difficulty with memory and methodology of specific instrument performance. The physical attributes of MPA are a result of what is known in psychological terminology as the "fight or flight" mechanism. When a person perceives a threat, either real or imagined, the internal workings of the body change to react to this threat. These changes in blood-flow and body temperature adversely affect music performance. The psychological effects of MPA create a mindset within the performer that is negative and self-defeating, leading to decreased musical abilities and reduced enjoyment of musical performance. These effects are particularly detrimental in brass performance which requires a careful balance and combination of breathing, posture, aural skills, and finger/wrist dexterity. This document contains explanations of the physical, cognitive, and psychological effects of musical performance anxiety and details strategies to lessen or eliminate these effects. Literature pertaining to anxiety, sport psychology, and relaxation therapies are explored to further knowledge of these effects and provide a better understanding of these symptoms. This information can then used to deduce strategies to diminish the effects of MPA within students. Teachers can utilize this information as a resource guide to help with the teaching of students who suffer from nominal to severe music performance anxiety. Strategies for teaching students to cope with these effects are also included along with pedagogical applications for brass playing. The purpose of this discourse is to facilitate a change in the methodology of music education and performance coaching in performers of all ages and abilities

Anxiety and Depression as Comorbid Factors in Drinking Behaviors of Undergraduate College Students Attending an Urban Private University in the Northeastern United States

High-risk drinking is the number one public health concern on college campuses (Berkowitz, 2003; Kapner, 2003; Wechsler, 2002). To date, high-risk drinking prevention programs have met with limited success (Kapner, 2003). This study examined differences among four drinking behavior groups: non-drinkers [(ND), (n = 128)], low-risk drinkers [(LRD), (n = 252)], high-risk drinkers [(HRD), (n = 272)], and frequent high-risk drinkers [(FHRD), (n = 290)] with respect to anxiety and depression for male (n = 457) and female (n = 485) undergraduates (N = 942) attending an urban private university in the northeastern United States; and, the perceptions of two undergraduate focus groups (N = 10) and one faculty/staff group (N = 14) for why undergraduates engage in high-risk drinking and actions to reduce this behavior. Volunteer participants completed a demographic questionnaire, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, the Beck Anxiety Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory. An ANOVA indicated differences among the groups with respect to anxiety (F = 6.49, p \u3c .001), but not with respect to depression. The FHRD group had higher anxiety (M = .68) than the ND group (M = .33) and the LRD group (M = .44). A t-test indicated differences (p \u3c .01) in the level of anxiety between HRD females (M = .69) and HRD males (M = .40), with no differences for depression. A chi-square analysis indicated differences between males and females with respect to drinking behavior group classification (χ² = 22.40, df = 3, p = .001). Focus group results suggested several reasons why students engage in high-risk drinking: it is the norm, easy access to alcohol, low accountability for drinking, cope with anxiety, relieve boredom, lift depression, cope with anger, family history of alcohol use, alcohol dependence, and poor self-esteem. Implications for educators are discussed