INTRODUCTION: Academic half-days (AHDs) are regular teaching events that occur outside of patient care. AHDs often take the form of extended didactic lectures, despite the literature around effective teaching techniques. This may decrease residents’ ability to pay attention to the content being presented and instead promote mind wandering (defined in this thesis as self-reported task-unrelated thought). This thesis examines mind wandering during academic half-days (AHDs) in postgraduate medical training through two studies, with the overarching goal of understanding how results might inform the design of classroom-based teaching sessions in postgraduate medical education. METHODS: In the first study, a qualitative approach was used to examine residents’ perceptions about the nature of their learning experience during AHDs. Two focus groups were held with residents in hematology (n = 5) and obstetrics and gynecology (n = 15) and analyzed using a thematic analysis approach. In the second study, thought probes were administered approximately every 15 minutes during three AHD sessions in each program (hematology: n = 6 residents; obstetrics and gynecology: n = 30 residents) to quantitatively examine how three commonly-used instructional methods (didactic lecture, group discussion, and case-based learning) influenced mind wandering during AHDs. RESULTS: Findings of the qualitative study revealed differences with respect to residents’ overall perceptions of AHDs, perceptions of attention during AHDs, and motivations for learning. However, residents in both programs agreed that presenters could maximize resident engagement and learning by spending more time on case-based learning and group discussions as opposed to didactic lectures. Quantitative findings supported resident perceptions, demonstrating significantly less mind wandering during case-based learning (7%) than didactic lectures (33%). CONCLUSIONS: The findings of this work suggest that instructional method influences the amount of self-reported mind wandering during AHDs, and specifically, that case-based learning may be more effective than didactic lectures in maintaining engagement during AHDs. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / Academic half-days (AHDs) are regular teaching events that occur outside of patient care. AHDs often take the form of extended didactic lectures, despite the literature around effective teaching techniques. This may decrease residents’ ability to pay attention to the content being presented and instead promote mind wandering (defined in this thesis as self-reported task-unrelated thought). This thesis examines mind wandering during AHDs, with the goal of understanding how results might inform the design of classroom-based teaching sessions in postgraduate medical education through two studies: a qualitative study examining residents’ perceptions about their learning experience during AHDs, and a quantitative study examining how three commonly-used instructional methods (didactic lecture, group discussion, and case-based learning) influenced mind wandering during AHDs. Taken together, these two studies make a contribution to the exploration of how classroom-based teaching sessions such as AHDs can be optimized to enhance student learning in postgraduate medical education.

Understanding how climate determines species’ geographic distributions is an important question in ecology with direct implications for predicting climate change-driven range shifts. For Lepidoptera, growing degree-days, a measure of growing season length, has been shown to be an important predictor of species’ distributions in some cases. Most studies use a standardized estimate of base development temperature in their calculations of growing degree-days instead of a species-specific threshold so past investigations of the influence of growing degree-days on Lepidoptera distributions may not have been optimal. Species distribution models (SDMs) are a commonly used approach in ecology that typically only implicitly capture the underlying processes that limit a species’ distribution. A species-specific estimate of growing degree-days should better characterize these processes than standard thermal thresholds and thus improve the accuracy of species distribution models. In this thesis, I use species distribution modelling to model the geographic distribution of 30 moth species native to North America. I ask whether a) growing degree-days are the best climatic predictor of these moth species distributions at broad scales; b) a lab-estimated biological threshold (i.e., BDT) can scale up and improve the predictive ability of SDMs; and c) the quality of experiments used to estimate species-specific BDT influences the predictive accuracy of SDMs. To do so, I compare the predictive accuracy of a correlative model based on a commonly-used thermal threshold to define growing degree-days to a hybrid model with degree-days defined based on a species-specific thermal threshold. I found that the predictive performance of the hybrid models was indistinguishable from the correlative models likely because growing degree-days was not the best climatic predictor of the geographic distributions of the majority of these moth species. I also found that there was no link between the quality of the lab experiments and the difference in performance of the hybrid and correlative models. My findings suggest that lab-estimated thermal thresholds may not always scale up to be predictive at a broad scale and that more work is needed to leverage the data from lab experiments into broad scale SDMs. Determining the ultimate factors that limit species’ distributions will be critical in accurately predicting species’ range shifts response to future climate change.

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The bluegrass billbug (Sphenophorus parvulus Gyllenhal) and hunting billbug (Sphenophorus venatus vestitus Chittenden) have become important pests of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.) grown in Virginia, causing 40 - 100% stand losses according to a 2005 survey of over 324 ha (800 ac) of orchardgrass. Their sheltered feeding habits combined with a lack of labeled insecticides for orchardgrass make billbug control extremely difficult for this crop. Over two seasons, orchardgrass fields were surveyed for paired feeding holes caused by feeding of the billbug spring adult. Simultaneously, barrier pitfall traps, a standard method for determining the presence of billbugs in orchardgrass, were used to trap billbug adults in the fields. A comparison of these methods using a Wilcoxon sign-ranked test found no significant differences in the time when paired feeding holes were first observed in fields and when billbug adults were first trapped, showing that the methods are equally satisfactory for determining the presence of billbugs in orchardgrass. In addition, temperature data from SkyBit E-Weather® service, which are currently used to alert growers and other interested parties of pertinent billbug activity in orchardgrass, was compared to data from a field-based weather data logger over the two seasons. A comparison of these data showed high coefficients of correlation, indicating a close relationship between these two degree-day collection methods. Therefore, the SkyBit system can continue to be used for the alert system. A field-border application of Metarhizium anisopliae (Metschnikoff) Sorokin strain F52 (Met-52), an entomopathogenic fungus, was evaluated against billbug adults as they enter orchardgrass fields in the spring. Randomized pairs of treated and untreated plots were placed along the edge of an orchardgrass field in studies over two seasons. Plots were monitored for billbug adults using barrier pitfall traps, and billbug adults were checked for Met-52 infection. The Met-52 proved unsatisfactory for controlling billbugs in this study. A field efficacy trial was used to evaluate several insecticides and Met-52 against billbug adults in orchardgrass over two seasons. A randomized complete block design, four insecticide treatments and an untreated control were used in each of two trials. Samples from each treatment plot were dissected and checked for billbug life stages and for injury to orchardgrass plants. In one trial, plants in the Sevin XLR Plus® treatment were found to have a significantly higher percentage of injury to the crowns than all other treatments except Mustang Max. No other significant differences were seen in this study. / Master of Science in Life Sciences

Climate change poses a significant threat to bioenergy production, impacting plant’s phenology and physiological performance. Investigating the adaptation of bioenergy crops like Populus is crucial for sustaining production. Populus, known for its genetic variation and ease of study, offers insights into tree responses to climate change. My research, part of the Advancing Populus Pathways in the Southeast (APPS) project, focuses on various Populus genotypes across multiple growing seasons, exploring phenology under different management strategies. Planting Populus across two sites, namely Monroe and Pontotoc, allows for the examination of genotype responses to climate change factors, particularly in terms of phenology and productivity. Factors like parentage provenance and temperature fluctuations influence budburst timing. Additionally, management practices, such as coppicing, significantly affect budburst, with coppiced trees showing delayed timing (five to ten days) compared to non-coppiced ones. Cold spell damage during budbreak reveals vulnerability, with northern provenances exhibiting greater resilience. Understanding such events is vital for tailored management. Cold spells not only impact initial budbreak but also alter leaf phenology and canopy dynamics, affecting overall productivity. Genotypes exhibit varied responses to rising temperatures and CO2 levels, influenced by their parentage. Trees with northern provenance, for instance, display higher photosynthetic capacity, but may face thermal stress under certain temperature increases. Conversely, southern genotypes demonstrate moderate photosynthetic capacity, but showcase better adaptation to heat, offering potential for breeding resilient varieties. Leaf traits serve as proxies for biomass production and water use efficiency prediction, aiding in genotype screening. Mechanisms like self-shading and leaf movability influence responses to environmental changes. For instance, self-shading helps regulate leaf temperature, thereby enhancing photosynthetic performance, albeit with some trade-offs. Elevated CO2 levels enhance water use efficiency, but determining whole-tree water use efficiency requires integration of various methods. While leaf-level measurements correlate with whole-tree water use efficiency, an integrated approach, combining leaf-level gas exchange and isotopic measurements, shows promise. In conclusion, understanding Populus responses to climate change is crucial for sustainable bioenergy production in the southeastern United States. Insights into phenology, productivity, and adaptation mechanisms offer avenues for management and breeding strategies, ensuring resilience amidst shifting climates.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:20:26Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 TeseTBM.pdf: 401834 bytes, checksum: fba52ede0a39e98b173078af1f5a85d5 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2006-10-20 / Financiadora de Estudos e Projetos / The objective in this study was to estimate genetic parameters for the traits days to calving (DC), days to first calving (DFC) and gestation length (GL), associated with reproductive performance of females, as well as to evaluate the relationships of DC and DFC with scrotal circumference at 12 months of age (SC12) and body weights at 12 months of age (W12), at calving (WC), at first calving (WFC), at beginning of the breeding season (WBS) and at beginning of the first breeding season (WFBS), and of GL with weight at birth (BW) and W12. Analyses were done using animal models and the derivative free restricted maximum likelihood methodology. Estimates of heritabilities varied from 0.02 to 0.09 for DC, from 0.15 to 0.23 for DFC and from 0.04 to 0.41 for GL, depending on the data set and the model used for each trait. Genetic correlations of DC and DFC with SC12 showed that it is possible to improve these female reproductive traits by selecting for increase in SC12. With respect to W12, selection to increase this trait should not produce significant changes in DC, but may increase DFC. Associations of the other female body weights with DFC and DC indicated that heavier females experience lower reproductive performance. Estimates of genetic correlations of GL with BW and W12 indicated that selection to change GL will result in correlated response in BW with no changes in W12. / O objetivo neste estudo foi estimar parâmetros genéticos para as características dias para o parto (DP), dias para o primeiro parto (DPP) e período de gestação (PG), associadas ao desempenho reprodutivo de fêmeas, bem como avaliar as relações de DP e DPP com o perímetro escrotal aos 12 meses de idade (PE12) e os pesos aos 12 meses de idade de machos e fêmeas (P12), ao parto (PVP), ao primeiro parto (PVPP), à entrada da estação de monta (PEM) e à entrada da primeira estação de monta (PEPM), e do PG com o peso do bezerro ao nascimento (PN) e com P12. As análises foram realizadas utilizando modelos animais e o método da máxima verossimilhança restrita livre de derivadas. As estimativas de herdabilidade variaram de 0,02 a 0,09 para DP, de 0,15 a 0,23 para DPP e de 0,04 a 0,41 para PG, dependendo do arquivo e do modelo utilizados para cada característica. As correlações genéticas de DP e DPP com PE12 mostraram que é possível obter melhoria das características reprodutivas de fêmeas selecionando-se para aumento de PE12. Com relação a P12, a seleção para aumentar essa característica não deve gerar resposta significativa em DP, mas pode aumentar DPP. A avaliação das associações dos demais pesos de fêmeas com DPP e DP indicou que fêmeas maiores apresentam pior desempenho reprodutivo. As correlações genéticas do PG com PN e com P12 mostraram que a utilização de PG como critério de seleção resulta em resposta correlacionada em PN sem alterar P12.

Made available in DSpace on 2016-06-02T20:23:14Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 5081.pdf: 5248422 bytes, checksum: dcbec39bdc1f1a1766bcfd2c71f4c065 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2012-08-29 / This research is an analysis of Gus Van Sant s Last Days (2005) soundtrack. From the concept of mis-en-bande, that emphasizes the interactions between the different sounds of the film narrative, we propose to consider the details of the Last Days s sound organization and its crucial contribution to the proposed narrative discourse. / Esta pesquisa consiste em uma análise da banda sonora do filme Last Days (2005), de Gus Van Sant. A partir do conceito de mis-en-bande, noção que valoriza as interações entre os diversos sons que compõem a narrativa cinematográfica, propomos pensar as nuances da organização sonora do filme e sua decisiva contribuição para os discursos narrativos propostos.

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