Grooming behavior in rats has so far been known to be induced mainly by dopamine agonists type D1. In order to explore the involvement of serotonine (5-HT) and its receptors in such a behavior, rats were exposed to two phases of treatment: to the serotonin neurotoxin 5,7-dihydroxytryptamine (5,7-DHT), injected intraventricularly three days after birth, and to the serotonin partial agonist m-chlorophenylpiperazine (mCPP), administered in two dose levels, two months later. Grooming behavior was monitored immediately before and after the higher dose of mCPP, while brain levels of 5-HT and its major metabolite 5-HIAA were assayed one week after mCPP administration. It is documented that while a low dose of mCPP in the non-lesioned rats increased the grooming-time by 5.7-fold, the higher mCPP dose in the non-lesioned non-primed rats increased grooming behavior by 3.6-fold. The 5,7-DHT lesions caused a 6.7-fold increase in the non-primed rats, and a 4.2-fold increase in the primed ones. These increases were noticeable only in male rats. When a higher dose of mCPP followed its lower dose in the 5,7-DHT-lesioned rats, a 3.6-fold decrease was recorded only in the female rats. A 88% and 94% drop in 5-HT and 5-HIAA levels in the brain neostriatum of the 5,7-DHT-lesioned rats was noticed in both sexes, one week after mCPP administration. These findings are the first to demonstrate that the 5-HT2 partial agonist mCPP is capable of modifying grooming behavior, and that 5,7,-DHT brain lesions increase basal grooming time, suggesting that 5-HT neurons and receptors are involved in grooming behavior in rats.

Online sexual solicitors are individuals who deceptively earn the trust of minors online with the goal of eventual sexual gratification. Despite the prevalence of online solicitation, conversations in the domain are difficult to acquire due to the sensitive nature of the data. As a result, researchers studying online solicitors often study conversations between solicitors and decoys which are publicly available online. However, researchers have begun to believe such conversations are not representative of solicitor-victim conversations. Decoys and law enforcement are restricted in that they are unable to initiate contact, suggest meeting, or begin sexual conversations with an offender. Additionally decoys and law enforcement officers both have a goal of gathering evidence which means they often respond positively in contexts which would normally be considered awkward or inappropriate. Multiple researchers have suggested differences may exist between offender-victim and offender-decoy conversations and yet little research has sought to identify the differences and similarities between those talking to solicitors. In this study, the author identifies differences between decoys, officers, and victims within the manipulative process used by online solicitors to entrap victims which is known as grooming. The author looks at differences which occur within grooming stages and strategies within the grooming stages. The research in this study has implications for the data choices of future researchers in this domain. Additionally, this research may be used to inform the training process of officers who will engage in online sex stings.

Vertebrate males frequently carry higher numbers of parasites than females. This bias in parasite loads could be a consequence of sexual selection. Grouping species are also assumed to be afflicted with larger numbers of parasites than solitary animals and associated costs of this parasitism could vary with group size or structure. I examined sex-biased parasitism and the influence of group size on parasite loads in Cape ground squirrels (Xerus inauris), a highly social species that occurs in the arid regions of southern Africa. Males carried three times as many ectoparasites as females, but females harbored nearly three times more endoparasites than males. Amount of time spent (per hour) autogrooming was similar between males and females, but amount time spent allogrooming by adult female was over eleven times that of adult males. Longer allogrooming of group members could be decreasing the numbers of ectoparasites of group members and ultimately the group. Males infrequently give or receive allogrooming and travel in very large home ranges, potentially increasing their exposure to ectoparasites. However, movement throughout a large home range may result in males foraging in areas with lower densities of fecal pellets, which could explain the lower endoparasite loads observed in males. When I considered the age class of group members, female age classes were similarly parasitized but male age classes were not. Sub-adult males carried similar ectoparasite loads to adult males and similar endoparasite loads to adult females. This result is of particular interest because sub-adult males are becoming scrotal but typically remain in the group until adulthood. Sexual selection does appear to influence parasite loads in this species, and parasite removal or avoidance potentially mitigates individual parasite loads and their associated costs. Parasites can be detrimental to the health, longevity, and reproduction of their hosts, but these costs are rarely quantified. I removed ectoparasites and endoparasites from Cape ground squirrels for three months and evaluated changes in female body mass, reproduction, burrow use, and grooming in response to parasite removal. Female body mass did not increase with parasite removal, but reproductive success (per capita offspring raised to emergence) increased nearly four-fold, while allogrooming by treated females decreased. Since breeding is highest in the late winter dry season when fewer resources are available, the impact of parasites may be highest during this season. Lactation and gestation are the most physiological stressful processes that females undergo, and the dramatic increase in reproductive success in treated females suggests that these females are able to allocate more resources to reproduction than females afflicted with parasites. These results suggest that studies investigating reproduction and fecundity must consider the vulnerability of the host to parasite infection and the potential impact on reproductive success.

No description available.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-12-17T15:37:23Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 VivianeSM.pdf: 285646 bytes, checksum: 806d8cb57146ca69bbc7d647f187939d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2007-05-07 / The stress responses can be parameters used in order to identify the welfare of animals. Behavior parameters can also be regarded as means to identify their relation to stressing situations. In this study, adult male and female poodle dogs, accustomed (group 1) or not (group 2) to the environment of a bath and grooming salon were analyzed through the plasmatic concentration of cortisol, cell counting of the immune system (total leukocytes and percentage of neutrophils and lymphocytes) and through observation of changes in behavior before and after the bath and grooming service. After arriving at the kennel, the dogs were taken to the bath and grooming facility, where they had their blood samples taken and were observed for ten minutes. The subsequent procedures consisted of the bath and grooming services and the collection of another blood samples. The research results were analyzed through non-parametric statistic tests and p < 0.05. Accustomed and non-accustomed dogs presented different hormonal and behavior responses: accustomed dogs presented an increasing of the cortisol level at the second blood samples collection, thus indicating stress towards the aforementioned procedures and presenting behavior responses which can be described as moderated stress. Non-accustomed dogs presented the same cortisol levels in both first and second samples suggesting that they were already reacting to the new environment. Dogs also shown behavioral responses which can be described as acute stress. Both male and female dogs showed similar immunological changes as well as different endocrine and behavioral profiles. Concerning aggression, this study demonstrates that biting the owner can be a predicting behavior of aggression during the bath and grooming service, male dogs were more aggressive than the female, and that males were more reactive to unknown caretaker. The results of this research propose that the familiarization of the animal with the bath and grooming environment and caretaker is important to the welfare of poodle dogs, especially to that of male dogs / As respostas de estresse podem ser vari?veis utilizadas para identificar o n?vel de bem-estar dos animais. Par?metros comportamentais tamb?m podem ser usados tentando identificar sua correspond?ncia com situa??es estressantes. Neste estudo c?es da ra?a poodle, adultos, de ambos os sexos, familiarizados (Grupo 1) e n?o familiarizados (Grupo 2) a um ambiente de sal?o de beleza canino foram avaliados por meio da concentra??o plasm?tica de cortisol, contagem de c?lulas do sistema imune (leuc?citos totais e percentuais de neutr?filos e linf?citos) e observa??o de altera??es comportamentais antes e ap?s os procedimentos de banho e tosa. Ap?s a chegada do animal no canil, dentro do ambiente de banho e tosa, foi realizada uma primeira coleta de sangue seguida por um intervalo de observa??o de 10 minutos, realiza??o dos procedimentos de banho e tosa e coleta de uma segunda amostra de sangue. Os resultados foram analisados usando testes estat?sticos n?o param?tricos e o valor de p < 0.05. C?es familiarizados e n?o familiarizados tiveram respostas hormonais e comportamentais diferentes: os c?es familiarizados apresentaram eleva??o do cortisol na segunda coleta, indicando o estresse provavelmente aos procedimentos, e respostas comportamentais que podem ser caracterizadas como estresse moderado. Os c?es n?o familiarizados ao ambiente apresentaram concentra??es semelhantes de cortisol na primeira e segunda coletas sugerindo que a situa??o estressante parece ser anterior aos procedimentos, provavelmente relacionada ao novo ambiente. Apresentaram tamb?m respostas comportamentais que podem ser caracterizadas como estresse agudo. Machos e f?meas apresentaram altera??es imunol?gicas semelhantes e altera??es end?crinas e comportamentais diferentes entre os sexos nos dois grupos experimentais. Com rela??o ? agressividade observou-se que morder o propriet?rio ? um bom preditor de agressividade durante os procedimentos de banho e tosa, os machos foram mais agressivos que as f?meas e reagiram mais a um tosador estranho. Estes resultados sugerem que a familiaridade do animal ao ambiente de tosa e banho e ao tosador ? importante para o bem-estar animal de c?es da ra?a poodle, particularmente nos machos

La premi ere partie de cette th ese s'int eresse au groupage de tra c dans les r eseaux de t el ecommunications. La notion de groupage de tra c correspond a l'agr egation de ux de faible d ebit dans des conduits de plus gros d ebit. Cependant, a chaque insertion ou extraction de tra c sur une longueur d'onde il faut placer dans le noeud du r eseau un multiplexeur a insertion/extraction (ADM). De plus il faut un ADM pour chaque longueur d'onde utilis ee dans le noeud, ce qui repr esente un co^ut d' equipements important. Les objectifs du groupage de tra c sont d'une part le partage e cace de la bande passante et d'autre part la r eduction du co^ut des equipements de routage. Nous pr esentons des r esultats d'inapproximabilit e, des algorithmes d'approximation, un nouveau mod ele qui permet au r eseau de pouvoir router n'importe quel graphe de requ^etes de degr e born e, ainsi que des solutions optimales pour deux sc enarios avec tra c all-to-all: l'anneau bidirectionnel et l'anneau unidirectionnel avec un facteur de groupage qui change de mani ere dynamique. La deuxi eme partie de la th ese s'interesse aux probl emes consistant a trouver des sousgraphes avec contraintes sur le degr e. Cette classe de probl emes est plus g en erale que le groupage de tra c, qui est un cas particulier. Il s'agit de trouver des sous-graphes d'un graphe donn e avec contraintes sur le degr e, tout en optimisant un param etre du graphe (tr es souvent, le nombre de sommets ou d'ar^etes). Nous pr esentons des algorithmes d'approximation, des resultats d'inapproximabilit e, des etudes sur la complexit e param etrique, des algorithmes exacts pour les graphes planaires, ainsi qu'une m ethodologie g en erale qui permet de r esoudre e cacement cette classe de probl emes (et de mani ere plus g en erale, la classe de probl emes tels qu'une solution peut ^etre cod e avec une partition d'un sous-ensemble des sommets) pour les graphes plong es dans une surface. Finalement, plurieurs annexes pr esentent des r esultats sur des probl emes connexes.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2007. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 174-200).

Les interactions dynamiques des conditions d'enneigement avec l'activité touristique des stations de sport d'hiver reposent sur de multiples enjeux sociaux, économiques, environnementaux et climatiques intégrés par les élus chargés du développement des territoires de montagne et industriels responsables de l'exploitation des domaines skiables. Depuis l'expérience vécue de la vulnérabilité des domaines skiables au déficit d'enneigement au début des années 1990 et plus encore depuis l'introduction des problématiques du changement climatique dans le débat public au début des années 2000, l'attente de la part des décideurs politiques et des professionnels de la neige pour des éléments fiables et pertinents sur l'impact du climat sur l'activité des sports d'hiver - dans laquelle s'intègre ce travail - n'a cessé de croître.Ce travail s'est attaché à la compréhension du rôle intégrateur de l'opérateur de domaine skiable dans son approche socio-économique d'une part et nivo-climatologique d'autre part de la gestion de la neige dans sa station dans le but de développer une chaîne de modélisation de la dynamique des interactions entre les conditions d'enneigement (variabilité, imprévisibilité) et les activités humaines (objectifs, moyens).Un état des lieux a été établi sur les priorités poursuivies, les moyens mis en œuvre (damage, neige de culture) et les contraintes subies (météorologiques, organisationnelles, structurelles) par les gestionnaires de domaines skiables dans leurs opérations quotidiennes de gestion de la neige grâce à une enquête auprès de 55 stations françaises et aux échanges réguliers avec quatre stations partenaires de ce travail (Autrans, Tignes, Chamrousse et Les Deux Alpes).Une modélisation physique des impacts de la gestion de la neige a été développée sur la base d'un modèle de neige et confrontée à des observations réalisées au cours de deux saisons hivernales consécutives dans ces quatre stations partenaires.Ces éléments ont été intégrés dans une chaîne de modélisation couplée permettant des études spatialisées des conditions d'enneigement et in fine la détermination d'indicateurs de la viabilité de l'enneigement à l'échelle de la station, dans l'ensemble des Alpes françaises. Cette méthode extrapolable à l'ensemble des massifs français a été appliquée dans les Alpes françaises sur la période passée 1958 – 2014 et a révélé la corrélation des indicateurs d'enneigement avec les données économiques des stations de sport d'hiver. Notre approche a ainsi montré sa pertinence pour des études prospectives de l'impact du changement climatique et/ou des infrastructures des domaines skiables sur la viabilité de l'enneigement et ses conséquences pour l'activité économique des stations de sport d'hiver. / The industrial activity of ski resorts is based upon multiple concerns including social, economic, environmental and climatic issues which ski resorts stakeholders have to cope with.In the early 1990's ski resorts experienced several consecutive seasons with poor snow conditions in the European Alps when climate and environmental questions were discussed as a global concern after the United Nations held their first international conferences on climate change. This raised the interest of ski resorts stakeholders and representatives of host communities for reliable and relevant indicators of climate induced impacts on snow conditions and on the related economic activity of ski resorts.This research focused on the role played by ski resorts operators in crossing socio-economic concerns with meteorological and snow concerns, to provide a modelling approach of dynamics and interactions between snow conditions (variability, low predictability) and human activities (defined by purposes and means). The objectives pursued by operators, the means they employ (grooming, snowmaking) and constraints they face (meteorological, structural or organization issues) have been investigated through a survey of 55 French ski resorts and frequent discussions with four partner ski resorts (Tignes, Autrans, Les Deux Alpes, Chamrousse). A physically based modelling approach of the impact of grooming and snowmaking on snow properties was integrated in a snowpack model and evaluated with respect to field observations in the four partner ski resorts over two consecutive winter seasons. This was crossed with a socio economic database of ski resorts to provide an explicit spatial modelling of managed snow conditions on ski slopes for the entire French Alps ski resorts. This method was applied for the 1958 - 2014 period and snow indicators were defined and computed, revealing a significant correlation of snow reliability indicators with economic data on ski resorts. This approach therefore proved its ability to provide relevant indicators of snow conditions in ski resorts with respect to economic implications and may be used for further prospective investigations of evolutions of facilities and/or climate change impacts on snow conditions and the related economy of the ski industry.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Embora exista uma enorme variação de histórias de vida e ecologia, a maioria das espécies de morcegos mostra-se, em algum nível, social. Os aspectos de ecologia comportamental de quirópteros tem sido estudados, embora a maior parte refira-se a colônias de maternidades em regiões de clima temperado. Repertórios comportamentais completos e orçamentos temporais são raros, especialmente para a região Neotropical. Para compreender melhor a sociabilidade neste grupo, mostra-se importante focar também em grupos neutros com relação a fatores associados à atividade reprodutiva. Neste sentido, o estudo de grupos de machos neotropicais pode apresentar respostas importantes. O comportamento de um grupo machos não pareados de Phyllostomus hastatus foi estudado dentro do seu abrigo por aproximadamente 100 horas entre os meses de janeiro e agosto de 2012. O grupo estava abrigado no forro de um telhado de uma casa em desuso da Vila Dois Rios, na Ilha Grande. Os comportamentos foram registrados com uma câmera sensível a infra-infravermelho Sony DCR-HC28 em modo night-vision. Quando necessário, utilizei uma luz de auxílio infravermelha. A partir dos vídeos eu elaborei primeiramente um etograma. Os comportamentos classificados como estados foram usados para fazer um orçamento temporal, usando metodologia de amostragem por varredura e amostragem instantânea. Adicionalmente, fiz algumas observações a respeito de horário de entrada e saída dos morcegos e do tamanho do grupo. Organizei os comportamentos em seis categorias, com um total de 24 comportamentos distintos. Os comportamentos descritos são consistentes com os publicados em outros etogramas de morcegos, inclusive de alguns megaquirópteros. Um comportamento mais notável foi ventilando, que parece raro entre os microquirópteros, mas provavelmente importante na termorregulação. Nos meses analisados os morcegos alocaram aproximadamente 50% do tempo ao estado dormindo; 14,6% ao estado parado; 15,3% ao estado ativo; 0,9% ao estado andando; 0,1% ao estado voando; 14,1% ao estado higiene; e 3,5% ao estado ventilando. O orçamento temporal foi semelhante aos descritos para outros microquirópteros no interior de abrigos, com uma maior prevalência do estado dormindo, e com picos de atividade (principalmente do estado higiene) antes e depois das saídas noturnas. A higiene parece ter um papel importante no controle de ectoparasitas, e talvez algum papel social, mas como a higiene de outros indivíduos só foi observada uma única vez, não pude concluir nada a respeito. O presente trabalho é o primeiro etograma para Phyllostomus hastatus e o primeiro etograma e orçamento temporal para um grupo de machos em Chiroptera. Observei algumas diferenças importantes do grupo estudado com trabalhos já publicados sobre essa espécie, e sugiro que essas diferenças sejam estudadas mais a fundo. Apesar desta dissertação trazer contribuições importantes, fica claro que ainda falta muito a ser examinado nesse campo. / Even though bats have an enormous variation in ecology and life history traits, most of them are, to some level, social. Aspects of bat behavioral ecology are being studied, but most of the studies are focused on maternity colonies of temperate climate. Behavioral repertoires and time budgets are especially rare, and even more so in the Neotropics. To completely understand sociality in this group, it is not enough to study only maternity colonies, it is important to focus on groups that are neutral to factors related to reproduction. In this sense, the study of Neotropical male groups can bring us important answers. The behavior of a group of bachelor males of Phyllostomus hastatus was studied in their roost for approximately 100 hours between January and August 2012. They were roosting in the attic of an unused house in the villa of Dois Rios, in Ilha Grande, Brazil. The behaviors were recorded using and an infrared Sony DCR-HC28 in night-vision mode. When necessary, I used an infrared light source. From the videos I was able to construct an ethogram. The behaviors listed as states where afterwards used to make the time budget using scan sampling and instantaneous sampling. Additionally, I made some observations on the emergence time and group size. I organized the behaviors in six categories, with a total of 24 different behaviors. The behaviors described are consistent with other bat ethograms published, including a few Megachiroptera. One behavior that was most notable was wing fanning, that seems rare among microbats, and is probably important in temperature regulation. In the months analyzed, the bats spent around 50% of their time sleeping; 14,6% in the state still; 15,3% active; 0,9% crawling; 0,1% flying; 14,1% grooming; and 3,5% in the state wing fanning. The time budget was similar to those described for other Microchiroptera in their roosts, with a prevalence of sleeping and activity spikes before and after night emergence (especially in grooming). Grooming apparently has in important role in ectoparasite control, and maybe also a social role. But since social grooming was only seen once, I cannot conclude anything in that matter. The present work is the first ethogram for Phyllostomus hastatus and the first ethogram and time budget for a group of male bats. I observed some important differences between the groups studied here and the published works on bats from the same species, and suggest these be looked at more carefully. Even though this dissertation brings some important contributions, it highlights the need for more to been done in this field.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Embora exista uma enorme variação de histórias de vida e ecologia, a maioria das espécies de morcegos mostra-se, em algum nível, social. Os aspectos de ecologia comportamental de quirópteros tem sido estudados, embora a maior parte refira-se a colônias de maternidades em regiões de clima temperado. Repertórios comportamentais completos e orçamentos temporais são raros, especialmente para a região Neotropical. Para compreender melhor a sociabilidade neste grupo, mostra-se importante focar também em grupos neutros com relação a fatores associados à atividade reprodutiva. Neste sentido, o estudo de grupos de machos neotropicais pode apresentar respostas importantes. O comportamento de um grupo machos não pareados de Phyllostomus hastatus foi estudado dentro do seu abrigo por aproximadamente 100 horas entre os meses de janeiro e agosto de 2012. O grupo estava abrigado no forro de um telhado de uma casa em desuso da Vila Dois Rios, na Ilha Grande. Os comportamentos foram registrados com uma câmera sensível a infra-infravermelho Sony DCR-HC28 em modo night-vision. Quando necessário, utilizei uma luz de auxílio infravermelha. A partir dos vídeos eu elaborei primeiramente um etograma. Os comportamentos classificados como estados foram usados para fazer um orçamento temporal, usando metodologia de amostragem por varredura e amostragem instantânea. Adicionalmente, fiz algumas observações a respeito de horário de entrada e saída dos morcegos e do tamanho do grupo. Organizei os comportamentos em seis categorias, com um total de 24 comportamentos distintos. Os comportamentos descritos são consistentes com os publicados em outros etogramas de morcegos, inclusive de alguns megaquirópteros. Um comportamento mais notável foi ventilando, que parece raro entre os microquirópteros, mas provavelmente importante na termorregulação. Nos meses analisados os morcegos alocaram aproximadamente 50% do tempo ao estado dormindo; 14,6% ao estado parado; 15,3% ao estado ativo; 0,9% ao estado andando; 0,1% ao estado voando; 14,1% ao estado higiene; e 3,5% ao estado ventilando. O orçamento temporal foi semelhante aos descritos para outros microquirópteros no interior de abrigos, com uma maior prevalência do estado dormindo, e com picos de atividade (principalmente do estado higiene) antes e depois das saídas noturnas. A higiene parece ter um papel importante no controle de ectoparasitas, e talvez algum papel social, mas como a higiene de outros indivíduos só foi observada uma única vez, não pude concluir nada a respeito. O presente trabalho é o primeiro etograma para Phyllostomus hastatus e o primeiro etograma e orçamento temporal para um grupo de machos em Chiroptera. Observei algumas diferenças importantes do grupo estudado com trabalhos já publicados sobre essa espécie, e sugiro que essas diferenças sejam estudadas mais a fundo. Apesar desta dissertação trazer contribuições importantes, fica claro que ainda falta muito a ser examinado nesse campo. / Even though bats have an enormous variation in ecology and life history traits, most of them are, to some level, social. Aspects of bat behavioral ecology are being studied, but most of the studies are focused on maternity colonies of temperate climate. Behavioral repertoires and time budgets are especially rare, and even more so in the Neotropics. To completely understand sociality in this group, it is not enough to study only maternity colonies, it is important to focus on groups that are neutral to factors related to reproduction. In this sense, the study of Neotropical male groups can bring us important answers. The behavior of a group of bachelor males of Phyllostomus hastatus was studied in their roost for approximately 100 hours between January and August 2012. They were roosting in the attic of an unused house in the villa of Dois Rios, in Ilha Grande, Brazil. The behaviors were recorded using and an infrared Sony DCR-HC28 in night-vision mode. When necessary, I used an infrared light source. From the videos I was able to construct an ethogram. The behaviors listed as states where afterwards used to make the time budget using scan sampling and instantaneous sampling. Additionally, I made some observations on the emergence time and group size. I organized the behaviors in six categories, with a total of 24 different behaviors. The behaviors described are consistent with other bat ethograms published, including a few Megachiroptera. One behavior that was most notable was wing fanning, that seems rare among microbats, and is probably important in temperature regulation. In the months analyzed, the bats spent around 50% of their time sleeping; 14,6% in the state still; 15,3% active; 0,9% crawling; 0,1% flying; 14,1% grooming; and 3,5% in the state wing fanning. The time budget was similar to those described for other Microchiroptera in their roosts, with a prevalence of sleeping and activity spikes before and after night emergence (especially in grooming). Grooming apparently has in important role in ectoparasite control, and maybe also a social role. But since social grooming was only seen once, I cannot conclude anything in that matter. The present work is the first ethogram for Phyllostomus hastatus and the first ethogram and time budget for a group of male bats. I observed some important differences between the groups studied here and the published works on bats from the same species, and suggest these be looked at more carefully. Even though this dissertation brings some important contributions, it highlights the need for more to been done in this field.