Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript (CART) is a novel family of peptides, of which CART peptide fragments 55-102 and 62-102 are reported to be the endogenous, physiologically active peptides. Immunohistochemical studies with an antiserum directed against the CART peptide fragment 55-102 revealed CART-like immunoreactive (CART-LI) nerve fibers in the rat epididymis. The number was highest in the cauda epididymis and became progressively fewer toward the caput epididymis; the vas deferens exhibited an abundance of CART-LI fibers. Injection of the retrograde tracer Fluorogold (Fluorochrome, Inc., Englewood, CO) to the junction between the vas deferens and cauda epididymis labeled a large number of neurons in the major pelvic ganglion, some of which were CART-positive. Double-labeling the ganglion sections with tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) and CART antisera revealed that CART-LI and TH-LI were expressed in two distinct populations of ganglion cells. Some of the TH-LI cells in the ganglia, however, were covered with web-like CART-LI endings. The effects of CART peptide 55-102, referred to herein as CART, on anion secretion in the form of short circuit currents (Isc) were assessed in cultured epithelia. The CART (1 to 5 μM) applied to the basolateral or apical side of the cultured epithelia caused no significant responses on Isc, whereas lys-bradykinin (1 μM) produced a large Isc response in the same preparations. Our results show that CART-LI is present in a population of rat pelvic ganglion cells, which may give rise to CART-LI nerve fibers as observed in the vas deferens and the epididymis. The biological function of CART in the rat epididymis is not known, but it apparently is not involved in ion secretion across the epithelium.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / Bladder grasshoppers belong to the order Orthoptera, ancient family Pneumoridae and Superfamily Pneumoroidea. This small group of grasshoppers are sound producing, nocturnal, herbivorous grasshoppers endemic to the coastal regions of southern Africa. Very little genetic work has been done on these grasshoppers, and there is some taxonomic confusion regarding the validity of some species descriptions. The aim of this study was to provide much needed clarity on the true taxonomic diversity and polymorphic attributes within the Pneumoridae, focusing on selected taxa of uncertain status. Bladder grasshoppers show distinct discontinuous polymorphism, resulting in two clearly different male morphs utilizing two different mating strategies. Primary males make use of acoustic communication for mate location. Secondary males (alternate males) are significantly smaller and employ a “sneaker” or satellite strategy where they exploit the calling between duetting couples to locate the females before the primary male. Three species of bladder grasshoppers have been described (Parabullacris vansoni, Paraphysemacris spinosus and Pneumoracris browni) that only have an alternate male morph. The validity of these species descriptions has come into question with the discovery of alternate male morphs in at least three other species (Bullacris discolor, B. membracioides and B. obliqua). Thus, the species described by Dirsh (1963) may simply be alternate males of existing species. However, to date there have been no studies looking at the genetics of alternate males, which would definitively establish whether they are conspecific with primary males.

The labour market in Sweden is highly gender segregated. One of the sectors where this is visible is within the forestry sector, whereas of 2020, only 11 percent of the working force were female. Research has shown that in male dominated sectors, male domination is upheld through organizational structures, norms, processes, and relations. In these sectors, women are controlled and subordinated by various means. In the Swedish forestry industry, women established a non-male network after their Me Too hashtag #slutavverkat as a way to keep the focus on the question of gendered structures. This study examines how women experience working in the Swedish forestry sector and how a network for non-males influences this experience. A phenomenological approach inspired the study. The data consists of 10 interviews with women, working or who have recently worked, in the forestry industry and all members of the non-male network. The theoretical framework consists of Acker (2012) and Ahmed (2006), which unfold a deeper sociological understanding of gendered structures and belonging, passing and non-passing in organizational spaces. The results show that women experience belonging due to the shared interest in the forestry sector but need to relate to the male dominance of the sector in different ways. Moreover, women experience problems to pass without being stopped or questioned and need to manage situations individually due to the male dominating processes in the sector. By participating in a non-male network women can negotiate the female body and reframe their experiences, making them feel more accepted in the sector and less alone.

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Digitized by Kansas State University Libraries

published_or_final_version / Zoology / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

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The Arizona Child Acoustic Database consists of longitudinal audio recordings from a group of children over a critical period of growth and development (ages 2-7 years). The goal of this database is to 1) document acoustic changes in speech production that may be related to physical growth 2) inform development of a model of speech production for child talkers. This work was funded by NSF BSC-1145011 awarded to Kate Bunton, Ph.D. and Brad Story, Ph.D, Principal Investigators. This database contains longitudinal audio recordings of 55 American English speaking children between the ages of 2-7 at 3-month intervals. Since children began the study at different ages, some children have fewer recording sessions than others. The database can also be used to provide cross-sectional data for children of a specific age. Please refer to the subject data table for information on specific sessions available here http://arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/handle/10150/316065. All children were recorded using the same protocol; therefore, task numbers are consistent across children and sessions. A calibration tone is included as Record 1 for all sessions. The speech protocol focused on production of English monopthong and diphthong vowels in isolation, sVd, hVd, and monosyllabic real words. In addition, the protocol includes several nonsense vowel-to-vowel transitions. Speakers were prompted either verbally by investigators or by graphical prompts. Details of the protocol with reference to task numbers can be found in the protocol spreadsheet available here http://arizona.openrepository.com/arizona/handle/10150/316065. Details on data recording: All samples were recorded digitally using an AKG SE 300B microphone with a mouth to mic distance of approximately 10 inches. Signals were recorded digitally using a Marantz PMD671, 16 bit PCM (uncompressed) at 44.1KHz. Recordings are made available in .wav format. Individual zip files contain all recordings from a single session.