One of the basic goals of the physical anthropologist is to create a biological profile, consisting of sex, ancestry, age, and stature, from the skeletal material that they are presented with. This thesis seeks to explore size and shape differences related to sex and ancestry from the hyoid bones of the Robert J. Terry Anatomical Collection in order to gauge its usefulness in the process of developing a biological profile. A series of measurements were taken from 398 hyoids and analysis was conducted using a number of statistical methods. Independent samples t-tests were used to examine size differences between sexes and ancestries, while linear regression analysis and principle component analysis were used to examine shape differences. Discriminant function analysis was employed to test the ability of the hyoids to be classified by sex or ancestry. The ultimate goal of the thesis is to provide physical anthropologists with a series of discriminant function equations that can be used to estimate the sex and ancestry of a hyoid. Five equations ranging in accuracy from 83-88% were developed to determine sex of a hyoid, while four equations ranging in accuracy from 70-89% can be used to determine ancestry. In addition, the t-tests, regression analyses, and principle component analysis have identified several variations in size and shape between sexes and ancestries. These analyses have provided further knowledge as to the morphological form of the hyoid, as well as a method that can be easily used by physical anthropologists to assess sex and ancestry.

With a large number of unidentified skeletal remains found in South Africa, the development of osteometric standards to determine sex from various bones is crucial. It is imperative that a forensic anthropologist have access to a variety of techniques both morphological and metric, which can be used to establish accurate demographic profiles from complete, fragmentary and/or commingled remains. Standards for South African populations are available for the cranium, humerus, pelvis, femur, tibia, calcaneus, and talus. No research has been done on bones of the forearm, even though they are known through international studies to exhibit sexual dimorphism. The purpose of this research was to develop discriminant function formulae to determine sex from the radius and ulna for a South African population. The sample consisted of 200 male and 200 female skeletons from the Pretoria Bone (University of Pretoria) and Raymond A. Dart (Witwatersrand University) collections. Sixteen standard anthropometric measurements were taken from the radius (9) and ulna (7) and subjected to stepwise and direct discriminant function analysis. Distal breadth, minimum midshaft diameter and maximum head diameter were the best discriminators of sex in the radius, while minimum midshaft diameter and olecranon breadth were selected for the ulna. Classification accuracy for the forearm ranged from 76% to 86%. In summary, the radius and ulna can be considered moderate discriminators for determining sex in a South African group. However, it is advised that whenever possible these formulae are used in conjunction with visual methods to determine sex from skeletal remains. Copyright 2007, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Barrier, ILO 2007, Sex determination from the bones of the forearm in a modern South African sample, MSc dissertation, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-08052008-090115 / > E961/ag / Dissertation (MSc)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Anatomy / unrestricted

The postsecondary enrollment of student veterans has increased with the troop draw down in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as the generous amendments made to the Post 9/11 GI Bill. Acquired disabilities remain a reality for this population as they transition into the civilian world; consequently, previous literature cites the role of disabilities amongst student veterans. Also, prior research often aggregates these two groups without a thorough understanding of the ways in which they differ. This study compared student veterans with disabilities to student veterans without disabilities in order to understand the enrollment and demographic factors on which they differed, if any. Using a secondary data analysis of the 2007-2008 National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey, univariate tests of significance, a logistic regression, and a discriminant function analysis examined the relationship between disability status and seven predictor variables: age, gender, GPA, major, risk index, degree program type, and whether or not a student was exclusively a distance learner. These seven variables as a whole were not significant predictors of disability status; however, the models provided valuable insight into the similarities and characteristics shared within this population. Univariate tests of significance revealed that students with disabilities had a significantly lower mean GPA, were more often male, tended to favor certain academic majors over others, more often enrolled in bachelor’s degree versus associate and certificate programs, and had a lower risk of attrition based on their index of risk. Major, degree program type, and risk index proved to be the most significant predictors of disability status in LR and DFA. A student veteran’s age and whether they were a distance learner had no significant bearing on disability status indicating that student veterans enroll in distance learning or campus-based programs without influence from an orthopedic or mobility impairment, the most common type of disability amongst student veterans. This study offers a full description of student veterans with disabilities including the specific types of disabilities with which this population enters higher education.

Behavioral characterization of animal models for Alzheimer's Disease is critical for the development of potential therapeutics and treatments against the disease. While there are several known animal models of AD, three current models--APPsw, P301L, and APPsw+P301L--have not been well characterized, if at all. This study, therefore, aimed to perform a full behavioral characterization of these three models in order to better understand the impairments associated with each one. Between 5 and 8.5 months of age, animals were behaviorally tested in a variety of sensorimotor, anxiety, and cognitive tasks. The number of tau+ neurons in the forebrains of P301L mice was then compared to their behavioral performance. Results of this study indicate that retinal degeneration (rd) seriously impairs the performance of mice in behavioral tasks. Animals that carry the homozygous allele of this mutation must, therefore, be eliminated from any such study requiring visual acuity. After this elimination, my findings indicate that APP mice are impaired in several cognitive tasks (including platform recognition, Morris maze, Y-maze, and radial-arm water maze) at a young early age (5 to 8.5 months of age). These mice have fairly normal sensorimotor function, showing significant impairment only in balance beam performance starting at 5 months. Although P301L mutant Tau mice, as a group, did not have significant impairments in any sensorimotor or cognitive task, correlation analysis revealed that higher numbers of tau+ neurons in cortex and hippocampus were associated with poorer cognitive performance. Finally, discriminant function analysis (DFA) appears able to accurately discriminate between the three transgenic groups of mice using only an 8-measure data set. In conclusion, this study provides the first comprehensive, multiple task behavioral assessment of the APPsw and P301L animal models of AD, indicating that APPsw mice are cognitively impaired at an early age while P301L mice are largely unimpaired through 8.5 months. Nonetheless, correlational analysis implicates the formation of neurofibrillary tangles in the onset of cognitive impairments. Finally, my findings recommend the continued use of DFA to determine if groups of animals, based on different transgenicity or therapeutic treatment, could be discriminated between from their behavior alone.

Sex estimation in bioarchaeological research is paramount for comparative analyses of skeletal remains and developing estimates of other demographic variables. Frequently, sex is estimated utilizing the morphology of pelvic and cranial bones in archaeological skeletal samples. Regrettably, these bones are often damaged, destroyed, or lost and cannot be employed for the estimation of sex. Fortunately, a variety of metric and visual sex estimation methods have been developed on modern skeletal samples with known demography. Disappointingly, due to the population specific nature of many of these metric methods, they cannot be accurately applied directly to alternate skeletal samples. However, these methods can be redeveloped and retested for archaeological skeletal samples if the proper protocol is utilized. This research utilizes the protocol for developing methods of sex estimation on samples with unknown sex developed by Murail et al. (1999). Utilizing select hand and foot bones from four prehistoric Native American skeletal samples from Alabama and Illinois, multiple discriminant functions were developed and tested on both Archaic and Mississippian Period skeletal samples. Furthermore, the four individual site samples were combined into two geographical and two temporal samples, as well as an all pooled sample in order to test the broader applicability of these methods. The results indicate that sex estimation methods can be developed on samples where sex is not known. Additionally, the discriminant functions developed produce high levels of classification for the sites, individually, as well as for the geographic, temporal, and all pooled samples. The latter suggests these functions have broader applicability for these regions and temporal periods. Moreover, the concordance rates for these functions are similar to the accuracy rates when these bones were applied to samples with known sex.

This project analyzes the sexual dimorphism of the femur and tibia using geometric morphometrics. The study sample includes 250 individuals of known sex and age at death with complete, non-damaged, non-pathological skeletal remains from the William M. Bass Donated Skeletal Collection at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. Ages range from 19-96 for males (mean=56.92 years) and 29-97 for females (mean=59.48 years). A combination of landmarks and semi-landmarks were collected on the proximal and distal epiphyses of each bone using a Microscribe, which helps capture the overall size and shape variation present in the sample. Only individuals from one population, White, where analyzed in order to eliminate population variation bias. Classification rates for males and females for the proximal femur were 80.8% and 78.4% respectively, for the distal femur 92.6% and 89.6% respectively, for the proximal tibia 80.8% and 83.2% respectively, and the distal tibia 81.6% and 80.8% respectively, all with a p<0.0001. These rates created a classification model for which epiphysis gave the most accurate assessment of sex: the distal femur, followed by the proximal tibia, then the distal tibia, and lastly the proximal femur. This study indicates the knee joint is the most dimorphic, followed by the ankle and then the hip. The results fall in line with another study indicating the knee is more sexually dimorphic in a modern White population (Spradley and Jantz 2011), though in contrast to their results this study found the distal femur was more dimorphic than the proximal tibia. This method indicates that in comparison to standard measurements, geometric morphometrics may provide a more reliable method for sex estimation when used, specifically on the knee. Certain landmarks were then selected based on the standard taphonomic process of coffin wear and postmortem damage (Pokines and Baker 2014) for exclusion to determine the usability of the method on fragmented or damaged skeletal remains. When combinations of landmarks were removed, the distal femur still possessed the highest classification rates with over 80% accuracy.

The sexing of human skeletal remains is important for identification and demographic purposes. It is made more difficult when elements such as the skull and pelvis are not recovered or are in too poor of a condition to assess. Previous studies have used carpal (wrist) bones of contemporary populations to assess the viability of these skeletal elements exhibiting sexual dimorphism, as these bones are small, compact elements that are usually recovered in good condition. This study evaluates the use of carpal bones recovered from an ancient Maya population from Belize to determine the biological sex of individuals. The study sample is part of the Maya Archaeological Skeletal Collection (MASC), which contains individuals from the sites of Lamanai, San Pedro, Altun Ha, and Marco Gonzalez and dates from the Late Maya Pre-Classic (400 BC-AD 250) to the Spanish Colonial period (AD 1521-1821). Multiple measurements were taken on 36 capitate, 34 lunate, 34 scaphoid, 27 trapezium, 24 hamate, 22 triquetral, 22 trapezoid, and 16 pisiform bones from several individuals. Discriminant function analysis was used to determine if sexual dimorphism is measurable in this population using these elements. Previous studies used populations with known identities, assessing individuals from crypts, graveyards, or medical collections from the last few centuries. This study varies from previous studies as it utilizes archaeological remains, making this study one of the first to evaluate non-contemporary remains with unknown sex. Results of this study demonstrate that this population exhibits sexual dimorphism and discriminant function analysis can be used to distinguish between two groups. This demonstrates that carpals could be used to help determine biological sex of archaeological populations as well as a tool to help with identification in forensic cases.

Understanding cage aquaculture adoption decisions and factors affecting adoption is necessary to ensure that fish production from cage aquaculture in Ghana is both significant and sustainable. The goal of this study was to provide a framework for understanding cage aquaculture adoption decisions and to identify factors affecting adoption, to inform decision makers as they formulate policies aimed at promoting cage aquaculture adoption in Ghana. I surveyed 122 respondents comprising current cage fish farmers, farmers who have abandoned cage aquaculture, and potential adopters of cage aquaculture such as, fish traders, fishermen and land-based fish farmers. Respondents answered questions related to knowledge, interest, constraints in cage aquaculture, and demographics. I used non-metric multidimensional scaling and discriminant function analysis to identify unique groups within the respondents, classify respondents according to their position in the innovation-decision continuum, and identify factors affecting cage aquaculture adoption. Based on their differences in knowledge and interests, I placed respondents into one of three stages of the cage aquaculture innovation-decision process model I developed: (1) Unawareness, (2) Knowledge, Persuasion, and Decision (KPD), and (3) Implementation (Confirmation and Abandonment). Respondents in the KPD and Implementation stages had knowledge, were more interested in cage aquaculture, and were aware of constraints in cage aquaculture, whereas respondents in the Unawareness stage lacked knowledge and interest in cage aquaculture, and did not clearly understand the constraints. Respondents who were males, belonged to the tribes Ewe and Akan, and who had fishing experience tended to be more interested in cage aquaculture. The lack of capital, high input costs, inability to adequately market fish, theft, lack of information sources, conflict over water use, and cage destruction by storms, were identified as the main constraints to cage aquaculture adoption in Ghana. The results of the study suggest that programs aimed at encouraging new entrants into cage aquaculture should focus on demographic characteristics such as gender, and tribe. However, demographic characteristics may affect adoption decisions and it may be important to consider them as such. Some recommendation to address the major constraints in cage aquaculture include: the Fisheries Directorate should (1) develop an efficient extension program that farmers can access regularly, especially, for farmers with no other information sources, (2) provide feed subsidy to enable farmers produce fish at competitive prices, (3) facilitate the formation of fish farmers' cooperative groups that would purchase large quantities of feed, (4) encourage local production of high quality fish feed, and (5) develop credit facilities that can be accessed by individuals interested in cage aquaculture to assist potential farmers who would, otherwise, not be able to adopt cage aquaculture . In addition, fish farmers should (6) be proactive in marketing their fish by identifying potential niche markets prior to production, and (7) join cooperative groups to ease the burden of accessing loans to increase production. / Master of Science

No description available.

Activated sludge treatment systems rely on a microbial consortium structurally organized in bioflocs to treat pollutants present in wastewater. The treatment process efficiency in these systems can be severely affected by toxic chemicals present in the influent wastewater. The effects of chemical toxins at the treatment process level are determined by the mechanisms that occur at the biofloc and cellular levels, which can be physical, chemical and physiological in nature. We believe that the overall process effects of chemical toxins on activated sludge systems likely result from a combination of all three types of mechanisms and that they are interdependent, in the sense that specific bacterial stress response mechanisms (physiological mechanisms that protect the cell from toxic conditions) may lead to physical/chemical alterations at the floc level, and vice-versa. Ultimately, understanding the mechanisms that occur at the floc and metabolic scales will help to design more robust and efficient treatment systems, and to develop tools to prevent and mitigate the effects of toxic chemicals on activated sludge systems. In this research, we set out to establish the link between the effects of chemical toxins on activated sludge cultures at the process, floc and metabolic scales. First, the effects of shock loads of different toxic sources (1-chloro-2,4-dinitrobenzene (CDNB), cadmium, 1-octanol, 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP), weakly complexed cyanide, pH 5, 9 and 11, and high ammonia levels) on activated sludge process parameters (biomass growth, respiration rate, flocculation, chemical oxygen demand (COD) removal, dewaterability and settleability) were studied. For all chemical shocks except ammonia and pH, concentrations that caused 15, 25 and 50% respiration inhibition were used to provide a single pulse chemical shock to sequencing batch reactor (SBR) systems containing a nitrifying (10 day solids retention time – SRT) and a non-nitrifying (2 day SRT) biomass. We found that cadmium and pH 11 shocks were the conditions that most detrimentally affected all the processes, followed by CDNB. DNP and cyanide primarily led to effects on respiration, while pH 5, 9, octanol and various ammonia concentrations did not impact the treatment process to a significant extent. Additionally, there was a clear correlation between biomass deflocculation and increases in the effluent soluble COD of the shocked reactors for different chemical sources. With this study, we were able to establish a source-effect matrix linking classes of chemical toxins to their potential inhibitory effects on activated sludge processes, thereby contributing to a better understanding of the potential effects of toxic industrial discharges into biological treatment systems. The findings of the first phase of the research, specifically the correlation between chemical-induced deflocculation and increases in soluble COD, served as a motivation to explore the role of floc structure in the response of activated sludge cultures to toxic compounds, and to conduct a more in-depth analysis of the supernatant (soluble phase) of toxin-exposed activated sludge. In one study, we evaluated the respiration inhibition induced by octanol, cadmium, N-ethylmaleimide (NEM), cyanide and DNP on activated sludge biomasses with different floc structures but similar physiological characteristics, with the objective of assessing the role of the extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in flocs as a protection barrier against chemical toxins. Mechanical shearing was applied to fresh mixed liquor to produce biomasses with different floc structure properties and specific oxygen uptake rate assays were conducted on the sheared and unsheared mixed liquors. The results showed that the respiration inhibition by octanol and cadmium was more intense in sheared mixed liquor (which had less EPS material available in the flocs and smaller floc sizes) than in the unsheared biomass. Conversely, the respiration inhibition induced by NEM and cyanide was similar for the different mixed liquors tested. These results allowed us to conclude that the EPS matrix functions as a protective barrier for the bacteria inside activated sludge flocs to chemicals that it has the potential to interact with, such as hydrophobic (octanol) and positively-charged (cadmium) compounds, but that the toxicity response for soluble, hydrophilic toxins (NEM and cyanide) is not significantly influenced by the presence of the polymer matrix. In the final study that was conducted, we used the metabolomics-based technique metabolic footprinting to assess if the soluble phase of mixed liquor exposed to different chemical toxins exhibited a toxin-specific biochemical composition. We hypothesized that toxin-specific effects could be distinguished through footprint patterns of those soluble samples. The impact of cadmium, DNP and NEM shock loads on the composition of the soluble fraction of activated sludge mixed liquor was analyzed by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The results from this study indicated that there was a significant release of biomolecules (proteins, carbohydrates and humic acids) from the floc structure into the bulk liquid due to chemical stress. More importantly, using a multivariate statistical method called discriminant function analysis with genetic algorithm variable selection (GA-DFA), we were able to show that the soluble phase samples from the different reactors could be differentiated, thereby indicating that the footprints generated by LC-MS were different for the four conditions tested and, therefore, toxin-specific. These footprints, thus, contain information about specific biomolecular differences between the samples, and we found that only a limited number of m/z (mass to charge) ratios from the mass spectra data was needed to differentiate between the control and each chemical toxin-derived samples. In addition, since the experiments were conducted with mixed liquor from four distinct wastewater treatment plants, the discriminating m/z ratios may potentially be used as universal stress biomarkers. These results are promising and indicate that LC-MS may be used for the discovery of activated sludge stress biomarkers, to allow the development of new toxin detection technologies for prevention of upset events in activated sludge systems. / Ph. D.