Insect pollination is a vital ecosystem service, essential for both wild and domesticated plants, yet to-date there are no standardised national schemes to monitor its status. Thus this PhD focused on assessment of pollination provision in UK urban green spaces, using a combination of citizen science and field/laboratory methods. Each of the following thesis chapters considers a specific pollination-related theme: The need for pollination. Demonstrating how much gardeners need insect pollination is important to underpin public support for pollinator conservation. During 2014-2015, online questionnaires were used to collect information about the crops grown in domestic green spaces and gardening practices used. Participants highly valued ‘growing their own', and three of five crops grown by the majority (tomatoes, apples, strawberries) have high requirements for insect pollination. A ‘garden shop calculator' spreadsheet was also tested (positively) as a quick way to calculate the equivalent bought-value of garden crops and the proportion directly attributable to insect actions. Assessment of pollination provision. Citizen science volunteers undertook a simple direct pollination experiment (exclusion, hand pollination, local), requiring treatment randomisation and accurate yield recording. The main ‘Bees ‘n Beans' projects used Vicia faba to monitor bumblebee pollination, detecting no national deficit during 2014-2016. This suggests that the domestic pollination needs of V. faba are currently met, and that urban populations of long-tongued bumblebees are sufficient to provide it. The potential of using other plants to cover wider pollinator populations was also explored, identifying Allium hollandicum as suitable. The effects of companion planting. Using tomato plants to examine whether co-planting crops with flowering plants boosts pollination provision (‘magnet species' effects), or distracts insects. Provided plants were hosted in volunteered gardens and school grounds in Brighton in 2015 & 2016. No effect (improved or detrimental) of co-flowering plants was found on tomato yields at either site type. Using citizen science to monitor pollination services. This chapter combined findings from other chapters and a final questionnaire, which focused on participants' motivations and willingness to make behavioural changes after taking part. It concludes that the projects have demonstrated volunteers' ability and willingness to follow experimental protocols under guidance, to collect meaningful data at otherwise-impractical geographical scales. Suggested protocol. This details the finalised Bees ‘n Beans approach and how it relates to other potential pollination monitoring methods. I propose that this style of project is suitable for incorporation into national monitoring scheme development.

No description available.

It is clear that the US federal government is concerned about the country's teen pregnancy rates and would like to see changes. Without a precise understanding of the factors associated with adolescent pregnancy, and specifically with Hispanic female adolescent pregnancy, monies allocated to prevention programs could go to waste. The focus of this study was to systematically review the current literature as it relates to factors, in this case attitudes, beliefs and practices that influence Hispanic female adolescents' reproductive behaviors. This study consisted of systematically reviewing published studies, through a process of abstracting and organizing their findings into a matrix. Three electronic databases were searched: MEDLINE, ERIC, and CINAHL. The initial search yielded a total of 494 publications. After applying specific inclusion criteria, the final sample of publications included forty-nine (n=49). Publications were categorized as primarily quantitative or primarily qualitative studies. Methodological characteristics of each study were judged using an overall methodological quality score (MQS) assigned to each study. Different MQS criteria were developed for qualitative and quantitative studies. A total of 205 findings were abstracted from the 49 included reports. Beliefs that were identified consistently among the studies were norms and values associated with condom use, partner's beliefs, hedonistic beliefs, and communicative beliefs. Norms and values were also seen as important when adolescents chose to remain abstinent. Findings that were unique the Hispanic adolescent population were identified as well with cultural factors showing significant associations. Regarding methodological quality, fewer than 50% of studies included a theoretical framework and only 11 included Hispanic-only samples. Qualitative studies had similar findings to those of the quantitative studies, but also introduced new factors associated with reproductive behaviors. Acculturation constructs were seen among the qualitative studies as being positively associated to sexual abstinence. Other behaviors such as partner's manipulation of birth control and the use of female condoms were unique to the qualitative studies done in this review. This review provided a critical assessment of the literature and it methodological qualities. Findings should be interpreted with caution due to limitations. Concentrating on unique factors associated with the Hispanic population can lead to interventions that are culturally sensitive to this population and effective. Health professionals should focus on conducting more studies with exclusively Hispanic samples and use factors unique to the Hispanic population when planning health education programs that are culturally sensitivity to Hispanic female adolescents' needs and world-views.

Thesis (M.A.)--Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, 1999. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 167-173).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Florida State University, 2003. / Advisor: Dr. Michael Ruse, Florida State University, College of Arts and Sciences, Dept. of Philosophy. Title and description from dissertation home page (viewed Apr. 9, 2004). Includes bibliographical references.

Endocrine disruptors (EDs) are exogenous substances that act like hormones in the endocrine system. They affect human health, reduce fertility, cause reproductive tract abnormalities, and distort sex ratios. 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-Dioxin (TCDD) and Perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) are EDs that are mainly produced from industrial combustion and used as the surfactant in many daily used products, respectively, that are commonly found in wildlife and humans. TCDD affects the growth and reproductive functions in hamster, and disrupts the morphogenesis of rat preimplantation embryos. PFOA causes early pregnancy loss, compromises postnatal survival, as well as delays growth and development. Yet, how these EDs affect animal fertility and embryo implantation is not fully understood. We hypothesized that EDs affected fertility by suppressing the implantation process through down-regulation of Wnt-signaling pathway that regulates implantation process. The effects of EDs on implantation was studied using an in vitro spheroidendometrium co-culture model with the trophoblast cell lines (BeWo and JEG-3) and an endometrial carcinoma cell line (RL95-2) to mimic the embryo-endometrial implantation process. The effects of EDs on cell proliferation and expression of their receptors (TCDD: aryl hydrocarbon receptor/AhR; PFOA: peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors/PPARs) were investigated. Their antagonists (AhR: alpha-naphthoflavone/ANF; PPARs: MK886, GSK0660 and GW9662) were used to determine whether the signaling pathways is mediated through receptor binding. Moreover, Wnt-signaling activators (Wnt3a and lithium chloride/LiCl) were used to examine the interaction between the EDs and the Wnt molecules. Mouse blastocyst-endometrial cells co-culture assay was also performed to study the effects of EDs on the development and attachment of the mouse embryos in vitro. Human primary endometrial epithelial and stroma cells were isolated and cultured to investigate the effects of the EDs on the protein expression of integrins, adhesion molecules and receptivity markers. It was found that AhR and PPARs was present in the three cell lines studied. Moreover, EDs did not affect cell proliferation, viability and the expression of the AhR and PPARs. However, TCDD (1 – 10 nM) and PFOA (10 – 100 μM) significantly reduced the attachment of spheroids onto the RL95-2 monolayer. Addition of AhR antagonist (ANF) and PPARs antagonists (MK886 and GW9662), but not GSK0660 nullified the suppressive effect of EDs on spheroids attachment. Moreover, EDs reduced the expression of Wnt-signaling molecule (β-catenin), while cells treated with Wntsignaling activators (Wnt3a) or glycogen synthase kinase-3β inhibitor (LiCl) stimulated-catenin expression and reversed the suppressive effect of the EDs on spheroid attachment. TCDD but not PFOA significantly suppressed the attachment of mouse blastocysts onto the endometrial cells; while the invasion of embryos was not affected by both EDs. TCDD induced the expression of miR-133a and miR-199a in the treated mice blastocysts. In the human primary endometrial cultures, EDs suppressed the expression of the adhesion molecules (β-catenin and E-cadherin), integrins (αV and β3), and changed the expression of Mucin 1, Leukemia inhibitory factor and Osteopontin. In conclusion, the present study showed that TCDD and PFOA suppress spheroids (blastocysts surrogate) attachment, affect the expression of adhesive molecules and modulate the Wnt-signaling pathway / published_or_final_version / Obstetrics and Gynaecology / Master / Master of Philosophy

The neuroendocrine basis of paternal behaviour is hypothesised to be homologous to that of maternal behaviour, with the expression of paternal behaviour resulting from the activation of estrogen-sensitive pathways in the brain. However, despite the fact that Phodopus campbelli fathers are highly paternal, previous studies have failed to identify an activational role for estradiol in the expression of this behaviour. The goal of this thesis was to exclude or define a role for estradiol in P. campbelli paternal behaviour. In the first study, estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) expression was examined in three brain regions relevant to maternal behaviour (medial preoptic area, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, and medial amygdala). Male and female P. campbelli and its close relative P. sungorus were sampled as sexually naïve adults, following mating to satiety, or as new parents. As predicted, new fathers of either species did not upregulate ERα expression in these brain regions. Mating also had no effect on ERα expression in males or females from either species. However, ERα expression was also not upregulated in any of the three brain regions in new mothers. Thus, it is possible that estradiol does not play a primary role in activating maternal behaviour in Phodopus females. In the second study, P. campbelli males were administered the aromatase inhibitor letrozole at three different developmental stages (independence from the mother, testicular maturation, and sexually naïve adult) and tested for adult sexual and paternal behaviour. Aromatase inhibition during juvenile development resulted in diminished expression of adult paternal and sexual behaviour, suggesting that estradiol acts at critical periods in development to organize the paternal brain for subsequent behavioural responses. Treatment of sexually naïve adults did not alter male behaviour, which further supports previous evidence that estradiol does not activate paternal behaviour in P. campbelli males, although sexual behaviour in females is completely estradiol-dependent in this species. These findings suggest that the activational roles of estradiol in maternal and male sexual behaviour identified in the rat do not generalize to Phodopus, and imply greater species to species variation in the neuroendocrine control of these behaviours than previously suspected. / Thesis (Ph.D, Biology) -- Queen's University, 2008-09-15 10:52:00.161

ABSTRACT Most of the documented benefits of contraceptive service lack in-depth exploration of the lived experiences of service users. This study of contraceptive users in the Sidama Zone, Southern Region, Ethiopia; was conducted with the aim of improving the overall understanding of contraceptive use towards women’s health and empowerment. This knowledge enables alignment of contraceptive service provision with the International Conference on Population Development declaration of rights-based approach. The study employed a mixed method design. The quantitative aspects include use of a descriptive retrospective approach to generate a five year snapshot contraceptive use from health institutions. Percentages were used to compute the contraceptive prevalence in the last five years. The bulk of the study was a qualitative design using interpretive phenomenology- guided by a Heideggerian approach. Data were collected using key informant interviews, focus group discussions and individual in-depth interviews. Data were analyzed using an interpretive phenomenological analysis with hermeneutic circle approach. Results were presented in broad themes following the study questions. The findings of the study indicated that contraceptive use in the study area is steadily improving. In 2008 contraceptive prevalence was twenty- five percent and after five years, it reached forty- two percent. Injectable contraceptive is the leading method, with nearly three-fourth of current users on this method. Recently, every health post offers at least one long acting and two short acting methods. The qualitative finding revealed that women’s experiences regarding the benefits of contraceptive use is encouraging. Women explicated that contraceptive service is an emancipatory and transformative experiences for them as it enabled them to control their bodies, reproduction and fertility by averting unwanted pregnancy thereby engaging in various socio-economic, religious, and political affairs. Controlled fertility gave them more time to plan their livelihood issues. The study’s title, a participant quote, captures the sentiment well: “we got peace, rest and stability”. The study finding further revealed the unique contributions of the health extension program in improving access and convenience to contraceptive service by removing many cultural, gender, and linguistic barriers. The study concludes that contraceptive service pattern has improved greatly in access and coverage; however, the majority of current users are merely on a single method indicating gaps in expanding contraceptive method mix. Women’s experiences about internalizing contraceptive use benefits towards their empowerment and health are encouraging in that they wholeheartedly expressed that the service is emancipatory and transformative. However, there are grey areas from the perspectives of ensuring support from men and dominant community members such as elders. Moreover, there is observed disconnect in conceptualizing and practicing contraceptive service provision from a broader human rights premises among health care workers across the service delivery hierarchy. The research recommends the establishment of smooth and functional mechanisms to ensure all stakeholders involved in service provision develop a shared understanding about the human rights rationale and practice while providing contraceptive service. More efforts are needed to ensure sustainable contraceptive service use by removing the existing cultural and gender barriers. Efforts should be amplified to increase men’s involvement in the reproductive services. Further study is recommended to investigate the nature and factors that influence the incorporation of human rights rationale across the health care system.

No description available.

PhD project in Historical Geology and Palaeontology: Origin of Proterozoic-Cambrian photosynthetic microbiota