The postnatal development of rat retinal phenylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase (PNMT) activity was measured by radiometric assay. Activity was detected on day 1 of life. Retinal PNMT activity of day 1 neonates approximated 10% that of the adult. There is an increase in enzyme activity before eye opening. By day 30, enzyme activity has peaked. The enzyme during this early period possesses the same substrate specificity and inhibitor sensitivity as that of the adult enzyme. PNMT activity is detected before tyrosine hydroxylase activity.

Prolonged prenatal exposure to ethanol produces long-lasting alterations in the level of endogenous brain biogenic amines in rats. To test whether there might be long-lived alterations in the reactivity to dopaminergic, serotoninergic or muscarinic agonists in rats exposed prenatally to ethanol, the following study was done. Wistar rats were given 10% (v/v) ethanol in drinking water, starting 10 days before mating and continuing to the end of pregnancy. Male offspring were tested at 3 months for characteristic behavioral effects (oral activity) known to be induced by agonists acting at central dopamine D2 (quinpirole), serotonin 5-HT2C (m-chlorophenylpiperazine, m-CPP) and muscarine (pilocarpine) receptors. Dose-effect curves demonstrated that oral activity responses to quinpirole HCl (0.05-0.40 mg/kg i.p.) and m-CPP 2HCl (0.3-6.0 mg/kg i.p.) were greatly reduced (P < .001) in rats that were exposed to ethanol in utero. Responses to pilocarpine HCl (0.1-3.0 mg/kg) remained unaltered. The findings indicate that prenatal ethanol exposure alters behavioral responses to D2 and 5-HT2C agonists in male rats tested three months after birth. We propose that prenatal ethanol diminishes reactivity of receptors for dopamine D2 and serotonin 5-HT2C receptors.

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Centrosaurus apertus, a large bodied ceratopsid from the Late Cretaceous of North America, is one of the most common fossils recovered from the Belly River Group of Canada. This fossil record shows a wide diversity in morphology and size, with specimens ranging from putative juveniles to fully-grown individuals. The goal of this study was to reconstruct the ontogenetic changes that occur in the craniofacial skeleton of C. apertus through a quantitative cladistic analysis. Forty-seven cranial specimens were independently coded in separate data matrices for 80 hypothetical multistate growth characters and 130 binary growth characters. Analyses were executed under heuristic searches with all characters unordered and equally weighted. Both analyses yielded the max-limit of 100,000 most parsimonious saved trees and the strict consensus collapsed into large polytomies, so a 50% majority rule consensus was obtained to recover structure in the data. In order to reduce conflict resulting from missing data, fragmentary individuals were removed from the data matrices and the analyses were rerun under a branch and bound search for both multistate and binary data sets. The multistate analysis yielded a single most parsimonious tree, while the binary analysis yielded thirteen equally most parsimonious trees. A strict consensus of the thirteen trees collapsed into a polytomy in the most mature individuals, but the resolved portion is consistent with the tree recovered in the multistate analysis. Among both the complete and the reduced data sets the multistate analyses recovered a shorter tree with a higher consistency index (CI) than the additive binary data sets. The arrangement within the trees show a progression of specimens with a recurved nasal horn in the least mature individuals, followed by specimens with straight nasal horns in relatively more mature individuals, and finally specimens with procurved nasal horns in the most mature individuals. The supraorbital unit, however, shows no consistent pattern of development. The parietal horns develop relatively early, becoming long and curved in some of the least mature skulls. In relatively mature individuals these structures resorb, leaving the horns with a withered appearance. This resorption continues in the most mature individuals until much of the horn is gone. The development of the parietal and nasal horns may represent a heterochronic process (i.e. peramorphosis) in centrosaurine evolution, where juvenile morphology is similar to that of basal neoceratopsians, whereas the adult condition is comparable to that of derived centrosaurines. Bone textural changes were found to be sufficient proxies for relative maturity in individuals that have not reached adult size. Additionally, frill size is congruent with relative maturity status and makes an acceptable proxy for ontogenetic status, especially in smaller individuals. In adult-sized individuals, the fusion of the epoccipitals and the orientation of the nasal horn are the best indicators of relative maturity. There is no clear evidence for sexually specific characters or sexual size dimorphism in C. apertus. / Geology

Adult green anoles, Anolis carolinensis, exhibit numerous sex differences resulting from divergent strategies for maximizing reproductive success. I focused on the ontogeny of sex differences in behavior in juveniles, in relation to adult sex differences, by documenting the behavior of free-ranging juveniles, examining the structure and use of headbobbing displays, and determining the role of the androgen testosterone (T) in producing behavioral sex differences. Field observations indicated that juvenile males eat and forage actively more often than juvenile females. This divergent feeding behavior may result from sexual selection, given that body size is a major factor in determining the reproductive success of males. Analyses of headbobbing displays, used by adults in aggressive and sexual interactions, revealed that juvenile males and females each give the same three A, B, and C display types described for adults. However, there may be a maturational component to display structure, as juvenile displays differ from those of adults in within-display temporal structure, and are not as stereotyped. Concerning display use, social context affects neither the types of display interactions observed nor the rates of displays and related behaviors. However, size affects nearly every aspect of display behavior. Both juvenile males and females show increased display rates and probabilities of expressing display-related behaviors with increasing body size, although in the largest juveniles, male display rates become higher than those of females. These results, like those from analyses of display structure, suggest a maturational component to display use, perhaps mediated by changes in the underlying motivational states of juveniles. Consistent with the divergence in display rates in large juveniles, males of approximately 30 d of age and older have higher plasma T concentrations than females. Furthermore, juvenile males and females that have been given T implants each respond with increased behavior levels, approaching those of breeding adult males. These analyses indicate that sexual dimorphisms in behavior in adults likely arise through underlying physiological differences between males and females that mediate the expression of behavior, rather than through fundamental sex differences in the ability to perform these behaviors. / Ph. D.

Yes / Breastfeeding is known to be a powerful mediator of maternal and childhood health, with impacts throughout the lifecourse. Paleodietary studies of the past thirty years have accordingly taken an enduring interest in the health and diet of young children as a potential indicator of population fertility, subsistence, and mortality patterns. While progress has been made in recent decades towards acknowledging the agency of children, many paleodietary reconstructions have failed to incorporate developments in cognate disciplines revealing synergistic dynamics between maternal and offspring biology. Central to this understanding has been heavy reliance on the “weanling’s dilemma”, in which infants are thought to face a bleak choice between loss of immunity or malnutrition. Using a review of immunological and epidemiological evidence for the dynamic and supportive role that breastfeeding plays throughout the complementary feeding period, this paper offers context and nuance for understanding past feeding transitions. We suggest that future interpretative frameworks for infant paleodietary and bioarchaeological research should include a broad knowledge base that keeps pace with relevant developments outside of those disciplines.

Orientador: Walter Moreira / Resumo: A divisão referente à música (780) da CDD foi completamente revisada em sua 20ª edição, recebendo elogios e críticas por diversos bibliotecários; porém, profissionais da área de música como professores e estudantes apreciaram as modificações. Uma característica interessante dessa revisão foram as categorias elaboradas a partir das divisões para melhor compreensão de conceitos principais da área, sendo divididas em quatro principais: 780 para subdivisões padrão, 781 para princípios, 782 a 788 para mídias de performance e 789 para compositores individuais. Considerando as mudanças realizadas em música, enfatiza-se a importância da compreensão do conhecimento representado na divisão da CDD e a partir das modificações apresentadas, questionam-se quais conceitos se consolidaram na estrutura em música. O problema que se destaca e que orienta a presente pesquisa, portanto, é: quais as mudanças realizadas na divisão de música da CDD a partir da 20ª edição e quais os reflexos dessas alterações? Essa pesquisa define como objetivo geral: identificar as mudanças que a divisão de música (780) apresentou nas revisões da 19ª, 20ª e 23ª edição. E para tal, foram estabelecidos os seguintes objetivos: a. revisar conceitos considerados fundamentais para a realização do trabalho; b. investigar estudos que realizaram análise através da Ontogenia em sistemas de classificação para posteriormente aplicá-la como método nessa pesquisa; c. analisar as subdivisões padrão da divisão de música (780) nas e... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The DDC's music division (780) was completely revised in its 20th edition, receiving praise and criticism from several librarians; however, music professionals such as teachers and students appreciated the changes. An interesting feature of this review was the categories elaborated from the divisions to better understand the main concepts of the area, being divided into four main ones: 780 for standard subdivisions, 781 for principles, 782 to 788 for performance media and 789 for individual composers. Considering the changes made in music, the importance of understanding the knowledge represented in the division of the DDC is emphasized and, based on the modifications presented, it is questioned which concepts were consolidated in the structure in music. The problem that stands out and which guides this research, therefore, is: what changes have been made in the DDC music division since the 20th edition and what are the consequences of these changes? This research defines as a general objective: to identify the changes that the music division (780) presented in the revisions of the 19th, 20th and 23rd edition. To this end, the following objectives were established: a. review concepts considered fundamental for carrying out the work; b. investigate studies that performed analysis through Ontogeny in classification systems to later apply it as a method in this research; c. analyze the standard subdivisions of the music division (780) in the 19th, 20th and 23rd editions of the D... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre