京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(人間健康科学) / 甲第18199号 / 人健博第16号 / 新制||人健||2(附属図書館) / 31057 / 京都大学大学院医学研究科人間健康科学系専攻 / (主査)教授 黒木 裕士, 教授 足立 壯一, 教授 三谷 章 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Human Health Sciences / Kyoto University / DFAM

京都大学 / 0048 / 新制・課程博士 / 博士(農学) / 甲第18317号 / 農博第2042号 / 新制||農||1021(附属図書館) / 学位論文||H26||N4824(農学部図書室) / 31175 / 京都大学大学院農学研究科地域環境科学専攻 / (主査)教授 平井 伸博, 教授 今井 裕, 准教授 三宅 武 / 学位規則第4条第1項該当 / Doctor of Agricultural Science / Kyoto University / DFAM

No description available.

Maternal factors have the potential to influence the morphometrics of offspring; however, the magnitude and persistence of those influences are not well known. I investigated the extent to which maternal factors influenced offspring phenotype at the individual and population level for captive white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) originating from three distinct physiographic regions of Mississippi, USA. First, I tested whether male white-tailed deer displayed improvements in weaponry and body size after two generations of being released from nutritional restrictions. I found that improved nutrition positively influenced all morphometrics; however, we observed variation in magnitude of improvement. Antler size was most responsive to improved nutrition while body mass and skeletal structures were less responsive; potentially indicating an adaptive strategy allowing males to increase yearly reproductive success without jeopardizing lifetime reproductive success. Second, we assessed whether maternal characteristics, early life characteristics or a combination of both persistently influenced morphometrics throughout maturity. I found that late birth date positively influenced offspring body mass through three-years of age; indicating that late-born fawns over-compensated for a late start to life. I also identified an indirect silver-spoon effect as early-, heavy-born fawns were heavy juveniles. In turn, heavy juveniles were also heavy adults. Therefore, male white-tailed deer may gain reproductive opportunities by displaying one of two strategies to increase body mass. Lastly, I estimated heritability for six antler characteristics and quantified the influence of maternal factors such as parturition date and litter size on the predictability of antler size. All antler characteristics were highly heritable. Yearling antler size was a moderate predictor of antler size later in life, but accounting for maternal factors greatly improved predictability. The influence of maternal factors decreased with increasing male age suggesting that compensation for the negative influence of maternal factors may occur after an individual’s first year of life. My results suggest that although antler characteristics are highly heritable, the large influence of maternal factors on predictability indicates that use of yearling antler size as selective harvest criteria may not achieve all management goals.

No description available.

Healthy individuals can adjust their movements when changes arise to the body or the environment. Advanced age is associated with central and peripheral changes that may negatively impact one’s ability to adapt motor performance, such us upper-limb (UL) reaching movements. In this thesis, we conducted four studies to address the impact of aging on coordination and adaptation of goal-directed reaches. In the first experiment, we examined compensatory arm–trunk coordination in older adults during trunk-assisted reaching, using two motor tasks : 1) the Stationary Hand Task (SHT) in which older and young participants were asked to maintain a fixed hand position while flexing forward at the trunk, and 2) the Reaching Hand Task (RHT) in which participants were instructed to reach to a within-arm’s reach target while simultaneously flexing forward at the trunk (Raptis et al., 2007; Sibindi et al., 2013). We found that in SHT, young and older participants were able to maintain a stable hand position and compensate for trunk movement by appropriate angular rotations at the elbow and shoulder joints. As well, in the RHT, both groups made similar small overshoot errors. However, older participants performance was significantly more variable compared to young adults. These results suggest that older adult preserve their ability to coordinate arm and trunk movements efficiently during reaching but are not as consistent as young adults. In the second experiment, we sought to determine the ability of older adults to adjust shoulder and elbow coordination in response to changing task demands. Thus, we asked young and older adults to perform the RHT of Raptis et al. (2007) from the first experiment. A detailed comparison of UL kinematics during reaches in the presence and absence of trunk motion (i.e., free- vs. blocked-trunk trials) was performed and compared between young and older adults. We found that participants in both age group were able to coordinate motion at the elbow and shoulder joints in accordance with motion at the trunk. However, the extent of changes at the UL joints was smaller and more variable in older adults compared to young ones, especially when trunk motion was involved. These results imply that older adults can coordinate their UL movements based on task requirements, but with less consistent performance compared to young adults. In the third experiment, we investigated the preservation of intermanual transfer and retention of implicit visuomotor adaptation in older adults. We had young and older participants train to reach with visual feedback rotated 30° counter-clockwise relative to their actual hand motion. Furthermore, we examined whether providing augmented somatosensory feedback regarding movement endpoint would enhance visuomotor adaptation. We found that older adults demonstrated a comparable magnitude of implicit adaptation, transfer, and retention of visuomotor adaptation as observed in young adults, regardless of the presence of augmented somatosensory feedback. These results indicate that intermanual transfer and retention do not differ significantly between young and older adults when adaptation is driven implicitly, regardless the availability of augmented somatosensory feedback. In the fourth experiment, we looked to determine age-related differences in the engagement of offline and online control processes during implicit visuomotor adaptation. A detailed analysis of reaching performance was conducted and between young and older adults, during and after visuomotor adaptation. We found that when rotation was introduced, participants in both age took longer time to complete their movements, reached with a lower peak velocity and spent more time homing in on the target compared to reaches with aligned cursor feedback. Additionally, older adults had more curved paths with rotated cursor feedback compared to their reaches with aligned cursor feedback. Moreover, these changes in reaching performance continued following adaptation for both groups. These results suggest that young and older adults engage more in online control processes during implicit visuomotor adaptation. Together, these studies show that older adults: 1) maintain the ability to use compensatory arm-trunk coordination to maintain reaching accuracy, 2) preserve the ability to adjust the coordination between UL joints to meet task demands, 3) maintain the ability to adjust reaches to meet changes in the reaching environment, as well as transfer and retain the newly acquired movement, and 4) preserve the ability to modify the control processes underlying these adapted movements to meet the demands of the reaching environment. In conclusion, the flexibility to coordinate and adapt upper limb reaching performance to meet changes in task demands is maintained across lifespan.

This essay is my term paper submitted in partial fulfillment of my Swedish teaching degree (90hp) inthe ULV project. It is an attempt to understand the concept of inclusion and the degree to which it isbeing practiced in Swedish municipality schools. World Declaration on Education for All wasfollowed by the political acceptance of “one school for all” in educational system and debates inSweden. This was a clear expression of the democratic ambition to create an inclusive school whereevery student had a right to equal and comparable education. Yet the history of special education hasshown that the goal to implement inclusive education has been difficult to achieve. The ideology ofinclusive education is in conflict with the ground realities and the interests and values of theindividuals involved in schooling children which has led to a compromise where “one school for all”has resulted in the persistence of the traditional paradigm where segregated schooling and integrationhas been seen as the appropriate solution.Although there is space for different kinds of solutions to support children of special needs within theconcept of “one school for all”, a positive posture on the part of the personnel would help grounddemocratic inclusive schools where students are not sorted out in terms of their abilities/disabilities,rather one which is designed with pupil diversity in mind, and where the school setting is adapted tochildren´ s needs. Such an inclusive education would be one, which celebrates diversity and isgrounded on the value that differences between students are a resource rather than a problem.

Under the Dobzhansky-Muller model, postzygotic isolation results from incompatibility between interacting genes. Evidence points to regulatory networks as a rich source of incompatibilities that impact hybrid fitness. Pleiotropy is a natural feature of regulatory networks because regulatory elements generally have multiple targets. Both pleiotropy and hybrid incompatibility arise due to genetic interactions; therefore we can expect an intimate association between them. In the following chapters, I investigate the relationship between pleiotropy and hybrid incompatibility in the context of regulatory networks. In chapter one, I extend a general network-based study of hybrid incompatibility by incorporating a sequence-based thermodynamic model of transcriptional regulation. In the absence of pleiotropy, hybrid misregulation of a positively selected trait evolves quickly as a consequence of non-recognition or spurious binding in regulatory interactions across species boundaries. In a conserved trait, hybrid incompatibility evolves much slower as a product of compensatory drift. In chapter two, I show that pleiotropy can promote or constrain the evolution of hybrid incompatibility in a regulatory network depending on its fitness landscape, which emerges from the thermodynamic properties of molecular binding. Pleiotropy may promote hybrid incompatibility in accordance with the "selection, pleiotropy, and compensation model" of evolution, in which compensation for the pleiotropic side-effects of adaptation accelerates incompatibility in conserved traits. Pleiotropy can limit the evolution of hybrid incompatibility by constraining change in trans-acting regulatory elements in favor of adaptation at less pleiotropic downstream cis-regulatory targets. Without change in both interactors, incompatibility does not occur under the Dobzhansky-Muller model. In chapter three, I evaluate the hypothesis that pleiotropy facilitates the onset of hybrid incompatibility under antagonistic coevolution, an ubiquitous and persistent source of natural selection. When infectivity and resistance in a host-parasite system are determined epistatically by network interactions, reciprocal selective pressure results in a genotypic chase. This causes pleiotropic mutations to accumulate and be compensated over time, producing intrinsic hybrid incompatibility in both species independent of local adaptation. Thus, cyclical antagonistic coevolution eventually overcomes constraint on pleiotropic loci, facilitating the evolution of regulatory incompatibilities commonly observed in hybrids.

Current return-to-drive recommendations for patients following rotator cuff repair (RCR) surgery are not uniform due to a lack of empirical evidence relating driving safety and time-after-surgery. To address the limitations of previous work, Badger et al. (2022) evaluated, on public roads, the driving fitness of patients prior to RCR and at multiple post-operative timepoints. The goal of the Badger, et al. study was to make evidence-based return-to-drive recommendations in an environment with higher fidelity than that of a simulator and not subject to biases inherent to surveys. Badger et al., however, do not fully investigate the driving practices exhibited by subjects, overlooking the potential presence of compensatory driver behaviors. Further investigation of these behaviors through observation of direct driving techniques and practices over time can specifically answer how drivers may modify their behaviors to address a perceived state of impairment. Additionally, the degree of success in vehicle operation by comparing an ideal turn to the path taken by the driver allows for a level of quantification of the effectiveness of the compensatory techniques. Moreover, driver trajectories inferred from the vehicle Controller Area Network (CAN) metrics and from global positioning system (GPS) coordinates are contrasted with the ideal turn to assess minimum requirements for future sensors that are used to make these trajectory comparisons. This investigation leverages pre-existing data collected by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) and Carilion Clinic as used in the analysis performed by Badger et al. (2022). RCR patients (n=27) executed the same prescribed driving maneuvers and drove the same route in a preoperative state and at 2-, 4-, 6-, and 12-weeks post operation. Behavioral data were annotated to extract key characteristics of interest and related them to relevant vehicle sensor readings. To construct vehicle paths, data was obtained from the on-board data acquisition system (DAS). Behavioral metrics considered the use of ipsilateral vehicle controls, performance of non-primary vehicle tasks, and steering techniques utilized to assess the impact of mobility restrictions due to sling use. Sling use was found to be a significant factor in use of the non-ipsilateral hand associated with the operative extremity (i.e., operative hand) on vehicle functions and, in particular, difficulty with the gear shifting control. Additionally, when considering the performance of non-primary vehicle tasks as assessed through a prescribed visor manipulation, sling use was not a significant factor for the task duration or completion of the task in a fluid motion. Sling use was, however, significant with respect to operative hand position prior to the completion of the visor manipulation: the operative hand was often not on the steering wheel prior to the visor maneuver. In addition, the operative hand was never used to manipulate the visor when the sling was worn. One-handed steering was also more frequent with the presence of the sling. Further behavioral analysis assessed the presence of compensatory behavior exhibited by subjects during periods in which impairment was perceived. Perceived impairment was observed as a function of the different experimental timepoints. Findings indicated a significant decrease in the lateral vehicle jerk during post-operative weeks 6 and 12. Significant differences, however, were not observed in body position alteration to avoid contact with the interior vehicle cabin, in over-the-shoulder checks, and in forward leans during yield and merge maneuvers. Regarding trajectory analysis, sling use did not produce a significant difference in the error metrics between the actual and ideal paths. In completion of turning maneuvers, however, operative extremity was significant for left turns, with greater error against the ideal path observed from those in the left operative cohort compared to those in the right operative cohort. For the right turn, however, operative extremity was not found to be a significant factor. In addition, the GPS data accuracy proved insufficient to support comparison against the ideal path. Overall, findings from this study provide metrics beyond those used in Badger, et al. that can be used in answering when it is safe for rotator cuff repair patients to return-to-drive. With the limited differences observed as a function of study timepoint and sling use, it is recommended that patients are able to safely return-to-drive at two weeks post-operation. If anything, results suggest that overcompensation, as inferred from observation of safer driving behaviors than normal, is present during some experimental timepoints, particularly post-operative week 2. / Master of Science / Current recommendations based on when it is safe for rotator cuff repair patients to return-to-drive are not standard because of a lack of suitable evidence. Previous work and recommendations rely on surveys and simulators which do not create fully realistic conditions and are subject to biases. To address the limitations of previous work, Badger et. al (2022) studied actual rotator cuff repair patients on public roads prior and following operation at multiple timepoints. Badger et al., however, did not consider the potential adaptations in driver behavior due to mobility restrictions and the perception of inferiority due to injury. Additionally, the degree of success of the adaptive driving behaviors based on the error between the actual vehicle path taken and a defined ideal path have not been explored in conjunction with the injury. This investigation is based on the pre-existing data collected by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) and Carilion Clinic as used in the analysis performed by Badger et al. (2022). RCR patients (n=27) executed identical driving maneuvers and drove the same route before operation and at 2-, 4-, 6-, and 12-weeks post operation. Behavioral observations were recorded and related to relevant vehicle sensor readings. To construct vehicle paths, data was taken from the on-board data acquisition system (DAS). Participants adopted different behaviors, such as using the right hand to use the turn signal when the left arm was in a sling and the left hand to operate the gear shifter when the right arm was on a sling, to assist in combating mobility restrictions. One-handed steering was also more prominent during periods of sling-use. Sling-use, however, did not produce a significant difference in error between the actual vehicle path taken and the ideal path available to the driver. For left-operated participants completing left turns, there was also greater error in comparison to the ideal path than for the group of right-operated patients. However, there was not a difference between left- and right-operated arm participant error in completion of a right turn. The GPS data did not provide a suitable approximation of vehicle trajectory. Overall, findings from this study help to answer when it is safe for rotator cuff repair patients to return-to-drive through evaluation of the effectiveness of compensatory behaviors adopted by participants. With no significant difference in turn execution based on sling use, results suggest that patients can safely return-to-drive at two weeks post-operation. In fact, results suggest that overcompensation towards safer behaviors is present during some experimental timepoints, particularly post-operative week 2.

No description available.