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Rodent models are commonly used in behavioral research because they offer increased experimental control and findings often generalizable to humans. However, one possible dilemma is that rodents are primarily nocturnal and research tasks often dismpt their light, rest phase. The present study used a within-subjects design to investigate possible effects of light-dark phase on delay discounting, motor coordination, open field, and elevated-plus maze behavior in Wistar rats. Rats spent significantly more time in the closed arms of the elevated plus maze when tested during the light, rest phase compared to the dark, active phase. There were no differences in motor coordination or delay discounting during the two phases. These results suggest possible important differences in certain behavioral tasks when testing in the light, rest versus dark, active phase for rats--researchers should be aware of these possible differences when planning and conducting experiments and when comparing research findings across laboratories. Keywords Light-dark cycle phase * Anxiety-like behavior * Motor coordination * Delay discounting * Impulsivity * Rats, Circadian rhythms are 'internal clocks' that determine sleep-wake cycles in humans and nonhumans by combining neurophysiological signals with environmental signals to either be awake or asleep (Aschoff, 1965). Interruptions or [...]

Recently it has been proposed that impairments related to autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may reflect a more fundamental disruption in time perception. Here, we examined whether in utero exposure to valproic acid (VPA) can generate specific behavioral deficits related to ASD and time perception. Pups from control and VPA groups were tested using fixed-interval (FI) temporal bisection, peak interval, and intertemporal choice tasks. In addition, the rats were assessed on motor function, perseverative and exploratory behavior, anxiety, and memory. The VPA group displayed a leftward shift in timing functions. VPA rats displayed no deficits on the motor and memory tasks, but were significantly different from controls on measures of perseveration and anxiety., Author(s): William E. DeCoteau [sup.1] , Adam E. Fox [sup.1] Author Affiliations: (1) grid.264119.9, 0000 0001 2179 3458, St. Lawrence University, , Canton, USA Introduction > Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) [...]

The Gulf sturgeon (Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi) is a large-bodied, anadromous fish found in drainages of the Gulf coast of the United States from Louisiana to Florida. Like most members of [...]

The shortnose sturgeon (Acipenser brevirostrum) is an imperiled species that is widely distributed along the Atlantic seaboard of the United States (Vladykov and Greeley, 1963; Birstein, 1993; Kynard, 1997; NMFS, [...]

Recent research has indicated high economic and environmental costs of human paper usage. Technologies have been developed to reduce consumers' paper use behavior, including mechanical dispensers that institute a delay between opportunities to obtain each consecutive unit. However, there is no empirical evidence that these dispensers or delays reduce paper use. In Experiment 1, implementing a delay between paper-unit deliveries using mechanical dispensers in a university cafe resulted in a significant decrease in units per person, material per person, and cost per person, compared to free-access dispensers. In Experiment 2, a relatively long delay was more effective than a short delay in reducing paper consumption in a laboratory experiment using mechanical dispensers. These results indicate that delays could be used to decrease paper use in many contexts on a larger scale. More research is necessary to determine the underlying behavioral mechanisms responsible for the observed reduction and the cost-benefit relationship under different circumstances. Keywords Reinforcement delays * Paper dispensers * Sustainability * Climate change * Behavioral nudges, Sustainability is rooted in human behavior, which is controlled by variables that can be manipulated (Baum, 2005; Skinner, 1953; Ylek & Steg, 2007). Verbal strategies (e.g., requests, education, information) to [...]

Abstract--The Atlantic sturgeon CAcipenser oxyrinchus oxyrinchus) is an anadromous species that historically occurred in the Atlantic Ocean along the North American coast from maritime Canada to the St. Johns River, [...]

Strand-feeding is a unique foraging technique used by Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821)) in salt marshes of the southeastern USA wherein a group of dolphins rushes a creek bank, temporarily stranding themselves to capture fish that have been pushed ashore by their bow wave. Wading birds are attracted to these events to forage on stranded fish. We hypothesized that birds foraging in association with dolphins experience greater foraging efficiency than birds foraging away from dolphins and that some birds are able to meet their entire daily metabolic needs by foraging at strand-feeding events. The species composition, abundance, and foraging success of birds at 569 strand- feeding events were compared with the same parameters from marsh surveys of birds not associated with dolphins. Only Great Egrets (Ardea alba L., 1758) were proportionately more common at strand-feeding events than in the marsh overall (p < 0.001). During peak strand-feeding hours, energy intake per hour was higher for Great Egrets foraging with strand- feeding dolphins than for birds foraging away from dolphins (p = 0.04). Bioenergetic models indicated that prey intake by Great Egrets at strand-feeding events was sufficient to meet their existence and likely their active metabolic requirements. Key words: strand-feeding, bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops truncatus, Great Egret, Ardea alba, Great Blue Heron, Ardea herodias, foraging, energetics, commensalism. La chasse par echouage est une technique d'alimentation particuliere aux grands dauphins (Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821)) dans les marais sales du sud-est des Etats-Unis, selon laquelle un groupe de dauphins se rue vers les berges d'une crique pour s'y echouer provisoirement afin d'y capturer les poissons pousses vers la rive par leur vague d'avant. Les echassiers sont attires vers les lieux de telles activites pour s'y nourrir de poissons echoues. Nous avons postule que la quete de nourriture des oiseaux qui se nourrissent en association avec les dauphins est plus efficace que celle d'oiseaux qui se nourrissent a distance des dauphins et que certains oiseaux peuvent satisfaire tous leurs besoins metaboliques quotidiens en se nourrissant dans des sites de chasse par echouage. La composition specifique, l' abondance d'oiseaux et le succes de la quete de nourriture d'oiseaux dans 569 sites de chasse par echouage ont ete compares a ces memes parametres obtenus de releves d'oiseaux de marais non associes a des dauphins. Seules les grandes aigrettes (Ardea alba L., 1758) se sont averees proportionnellement plus abondantes dans les sites de chasse par echouage que dans les marais en general (p < 0,001). Durant les heures de pointe de chasse par echouage, l'apport energetique horaire etait plus eleve pour les grandes aigrettes se nourrissant dans des sites de chasse par echouage que pour les oiseaux se nourrissant a distance des dauphins (p = 0,04). Des modeles bioenergetiques indiquent que la consommation de proies par les grandes aigrettes aux sites de chasse par echouage est suffisante pour assurer leur subsistance et, vraisemblablement, maintenir un metabolisme actif. Mots-cles : chasse par echouage, grand dauphin, Tursiops truncatus, grande aigrette, Ardea alba, grand heron, Ardea herodias, quete de nourriture, energetique, commensalisme. [Traduit par la Redaction], Introduction Atlantic bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821)) in mesotidal salt marshes of South Carolina and Georgia, USA, employ a unique foraging tactic called strand-feeding, in which a coordinated group [...]

This article examines the circulation of printed questionnaires as a research strategy among those investigating the constituent parts of the British Isles between the mid-seventeenth and late eighteenth centuries. It traces the origins and development of published 'heads' or 'articles of enquiry' as a means of acquiring information on antiquities, geography, and natural history and pieces together the research networks through which this methodology was shared and elaborated. The learned societies, ecclesiastical infrastructure, and periodical publications of the day are shown to have been instrumental in promoting this practice and in forging links between scholars and the 'learned and ingenious' in the parishes to whom such 'queries' were addressed. It is argued that these questionnaires were an important and insufficiently appreciated aspect of regional studies during the period. Though the responses to them are shown to have been highly variable, both in quantity and quality, it is suggested that they helped to establish what has become an important technique of data collection in modern academic inquiry. doi: 10.1017/S0018246X1000021X

To authenticate to the full-text of this article, please visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0289.2008.00455.x Byline: ADAM FOX (1) Abstract: This paper offers a reassessment of the origins and derivation of many of Sir William Petty's economic ideas, based on an analysis of his unpublished papers. Petty's archive makes clear what a large part Ireland played in his writings, and it is suggested that this preoccupation is essential to an appreciation of him as an economist. It also demonstrates the point that Petty was not principally a theorist but rather a practical political economist whose schemes for the enrichment of the king's dominions were inspired by the underdevelopment which he experienced at first hand in Ireland. Author Affiliation: (1)University of Edinburgh Article History: Date submitted 20 April 2006Accepted 4 February 2008

Objectives. "Wafting" oxygen is a possible strategy to deliver oxygen to a patient who may not tolerate delivery systems that involve contact on the face. We wished to assess the concentration of oxygen delivered to the patient with various methods of "wafting" oxygen. Design. Three methods of wafting oxygen were examined: an infant resuscitator bag, a standard pediatric Hudson RCI face mask, and a piece of standard green oxygen tubing. Contour lines for oxygen concentrations of 30% to 70% in 10% intervals were found with a Teledyne oxygen meter, at an oxygen flow rate of 5 L/min and 10 L/min. Experimental conditions simulated an infant in a cot in a pediatric ward. Results. The resuscitator bag can not be recommended for wafting oxygen delivery, as the flow-back valve may close and result in insignificant levels of oxygen delivery. Oxygen tubing gave a useable area too narrow for use with an active patient, with 30% oxygen concentration being available in an area with width of only 18 cm. This is, however, a suitable method in short-term attended administration, either during feeding, or in the situation of a neonatal resuscitation. The standard pediatric Hudson RCI face mask, at a flow rate of 10 L/min, delivers 30% oxygen to an area 35 cm wide and 32 cm from the top of the mask. At 10 L/min, 40% oxygen is delivered to an area 16 cm wide and 14 cm from the top of the mask. This is an area large enough to be usable in the infant who will not tolerate other methods of oxygen delivery. The contour lines are presented graphically. Conclusions. Although wafting can never replace conventional methods of oxygen delivery to children, if these have failed, a standard pediatric oxygen mask can give significant oxygen therapy without irritating the patient. Care should be taken to place the mask in the area described (ie, opposite the chest) to give the maximum benefit. Short-term administration can be appropriate with standard oxygen tubing aimed at the airway. Pediatrics 2002;110:964-967; oxygen delivery, wafting., Delivery of oxygen to sick children has long been a problem. In a group of patients who are unable or unwilling to rationalize treatment interventions, and therefore resist them, it [...]

I. INTRODUCTION The Digital Millennium Copyright Act (1) ("DMCA") has been characterized as "represent[ing] the most comprehensive reform of United States copyright law in a generation." (2) It implemented two [...]

This essay explores the circulation of rumour and news among those at the lower levels of society in late sixteenth- and early seventeenth-century England. It does so through an analysis of the court records in which people were indicted for spreading false reports or speaking seditious words and which are now preserved in assize files or amid the state papers. These sources reveal the networks of communication by which information was disseminated nationwide and shed light upon the relationship between oral, manuscript and printed media. They show how wild stories could be whipped up in the act of transmission and were fuelled by the political insecurities of this period. At the same time a more sophisticated awareness of current affairs is evident in some illicit conversations which suggest that even humble people were participating in the arguments which anticipated the Civil War.

England (London, 1985), pp. 198-243; J. A. Sharpe, 'Plebeian Marriage in Stuart England: Some Evidence from Popular Literature', Trans. Roy. Hist. Soc., 5th set., xxxvi (1986), pp. 69-90; Tessa Watt, [...]

We all know of doctors and medical students who perform rituals in the hope that they will have a quiet night on call. Is this pragmatism or just plain stupidity? [...]

All professions speak a secret language, indecipherable to outsiders. This is especially true of medicine. Scientific jargon and three letter acronyms (TLAs) are increasingly a part of a doctor's everyday [...]