Generally it is assumed, that sexual selection drives the evolution of elaborate traits. The strength of sexual selection has traditionally been attributed to varinace in reproductive success among individuals. This variance is mainly caused by the number of mating partners and the number of sired offspring. Both males and females can increase their reproductive success by alternative reproductive strategies - extrapair copulations and intraspecific brood parasitism. In our study we tested the relationship between male ornamentation and success in extra-pair and within-pair paternity and the total male reproductive success in barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), a socially monogamous species with high levels of extrapair paternity. The results suggest more colourful throat to indicate male reproductive success. Dark rusty males were less often cuckolded and they have higher total fertilization success than drab ones. Tail length did not affect neither within- nor extra-pair fertilization success, however, previous studies have concluded that reproductive success of male barn swallows is positively related to the tail ornaments. Our results confirm that extra-pair paternity considerably increase variance in reproductive success among barn swallow males. We show that within-pair success may increase the...

A stroke is a life-changing event for a patient and his or her family. The acute stroke patient is at risk for developing aspiration pneumonia, whether silent or overt. Prevention of pneumonia in this population requires timely completion and documentation of the bedside swallow screen to identify those patients at risk for aspiration pneumonia; however, anecdotal data from the emergency department at the site of this project suggested that completion and documentation of the screening were inconsistent. Guided by the quality caring model adopted by the project site as well as the logic model, the aim of this project was to evaluate emergency room nurses' compliance with documentation after completing a modified bedside swallow screening. To facilitate documentation compliance, the current bedside screening tool was modified to make it user friendly. Electronic records of stroke patients (n = 104) admitted to the emergency room were monitored for a period of 6 months after implementing the modified bedside swallow screening tool. The findings indicate that implementing the modified bedside swallow screening tool achieved 93% documentation compliance in the electronic records and 100% documentation in patient charts over this 6-month period and clearly identified patients at risk for developing aspiration pneumonia. Further study is recommended to determine the relationship between the results of the modified bedside swallow screening and the development of hospital-acquired pneumonia. Implementation of this modified bedside swallow screening tool can initiate therapeutic measures to reduce the incidence of aspiration pneumonia in the acute stroke patient, resulting in shorter length of hospitalization and reduced health care costs.

The use of neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) for the treatment of swallowing disorders has become increasingly popular, yet little is known about its long-term effects on muscle physiology. This study indirectly assessed suprahyoid muscle physiology using electromyography (EMG) during a jaw-opening task that was completed before training, immediately after training, and two-weeks after training. Comparisons were made in muscle performance between control participants who engaged in effortful swallowing training and participants who received conjunctive NMES during effortful swallow training. All participants completed four weeks of swallowing exercises conducted five days a week (20 sessions) and consisting of 120 swallows each session. Results revealed that participants collectively improved their peak force production following training, but peak force and EMG median frequency did not vary as a function of training method. The observed high variability in median frequency between trials in addition to the documented improvement in function without a measured change in physiology suggests the need to consider alternate electrode placements during EMG or other tools of assessment. These findings suggests that both effortful swallow training and long-term conjunctive NMES with effortful swallowing improves jaw-opening strength of healthy adults, though adding NMES to the treatment was no more effective than training without it. Further research is necessary to determine the effects of long-term NMES training on swallowing physiology in vivo using other indirect measurements, or direct measurements such as muscle biopsy if possible.

This thesis presents the CMOS integer-N frequency synthesizer for 2 GHz 802.11 WLAN applications with 1.8V power supply. The frequency synthesizer is fabricated in a TSMC 0.18£gm CMOS 1P6M technology process. The frequency synthesizer consists of a phase-frequency detector, a charge pump, a loop filter, and a pulse-swallow counter. In pulse-swallow counter, we use less numbers of transistors divide-by-2/3 prescaler to work in high frequency in order to reduce power consumption. We complete the design of pulse-swallow counter for 2-GHz (seven channels) and the 5-GHz (four channels) application. The average power consumption of pulse-swallow counter is 2.49 mW and 2.98 mW for 2-GHz and 5-GHz application respectively. We use Verilog-A language to complete VCO behavior model for frequency synthesizer and utilize the Spectre simulation results justify the feasibility of our proposed frequency synthesizer. The total power consumption of frequency synthesizer is 3.432mW and 4.673mW for 2-GHz and 5-GHz frequency synthesizer, respectively.

The diversity and abundance of the arthropod nest fauna of House Sparrows (Passer domesticus (L.)) and Tree Swallows (Tachycineta bicolor (Vieillot)) in southern Quebec were studied. Over 90,000 arthropods were extracted from the nests, including at least 71 species (50 families) of insects and at least 11 species (8 families) of mites. There were no significant differences in the species richness or diversity of nest arthropods from year to year (1997--1998), or from nest to nest within either host species. There was no significant difference in the overall species richness or diversity between House Sparrows and Tree Swallows. Cluster analyses of species richness and three diversity indices for all nests showed no clustering according to bird species. However, there were some significant differences in the abundance and diversity of particular arthropod taxa between the two bird species, with different ectoparasitic and non-ectoparasitic species dominant in the nests of each host species.

The ecology of Protocalliphora parasitism was studied for a two-year period in two species of cavity nesting passerine birds breeding in southwestern Quebec, the eastern bluebird (Sialia sialis Linnaeus) and the tree swallow (Tachycineta bicolor Vieillot). Both species occupied next boxes in open field habitats. Nests were parasitized primarily by Protocalliphora sialia Shannon and Dobroscky. / The relationship between the number of Protocalliphora larvae per nest and selected nesting variables was examine for the two species. The variables included hatching date of the host young, nest material volume, number of fledglings, and percent canopy cover above the nest box. In bluebirds, the number of larvae per nest was significantly correlated with nest material volume in 1989 and number of fledglings in 1990. In tree swallows, the number of larvae per nest was significantly correlated with hatching date and number of fledglings in 1989. / Information on reproduction in Protocalliphora was obtained. Gravid flies were captured in active nests up to the last end of the second week of the nestling period. P. sialia was determined to be at last bivoltine through mark, release, and recapture studies. It was determine that nulliparous P. sialia can complete egg development within 9 or 10 days after eclosion. The practicality of a new Protocalliphora trapping technique and a mark, release, and recapture technique was demonstrated. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)

Feeding problems in preterm neonates stem from complications of early delivery. Attainment of independent feeding is a prerequisite for Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) discharges. Some quantitative studies of infant feeding involve excessive amounts of time for data processing. Multivariate spectral analysis was used to minimize time for investigation of variability in these rhythms. Auto and Cross-spectral parameters of the rhythms were correlated with Gestational Age (GA), Postmenstrual Age (PMA), Birthweight (BW), Days of Life (DOL), and Time Since First Nipple feeding (TSFN). Auto-spectral analysis showed 25.55% increase in Bandwidth of suck (bw-su) for a 2-week increase in GA (DOL fixed) and 8.99% increase in bw-su for a 10-day increase in DOL (GA fixed). Crossspectral analysis showed a decrease of 0.158Hz of Bandwidth of Suck-Swallow (bw-SS) for a 2-week increase in GA for GA later than 28 weeks. For GA earlier than 28 weeks, peak coherence decreased by 0.774 for a 2-week increase in GA (PMA fixed) and decreased by 0.126 for a 2-week increase in PMA (GA fixed). The method describes the progression of feeding rhythms through correlations with clinical indexes, thus providing clinicians with an understanding of the development of infant feeding and helps predict long-term developmental outcomes.

Submitted by Jorge Silva (jorgelmsilva@ufrrj.br) on 2017-06-26T18:01:00Z No. of bitstreams: 1 2016 - Amanda Queiroz Bastos.pdf: 48844488 bytes, checksum: 6e0a52196df0fdb905334cfc1fd20d5d (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-06-26T18:01:00Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 2016 - Amanda Queiroz Bastos.pdf: 48844488 bytes, checksum: 6e0a52196df0fdb905334cfc1fd20d5d (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-09-30 / The cimicidae are distributed in six subfamilies. Among theses Haematosiphoninae has nine genera and Ornithocoris two species: Ornithocoris toledoi Pinto, 1927, for be commonly associated with chickens show economic importance and Ornithocoris pallidus (Usinger, 1959), silvatic associated mainly with swallows. Knowledgment about biology and morphology of this species will contribute to the characterization of taxonomic genus, whose studies are concerning to adult and 5th instar nymphs. Eggs, nymphs and adults were obtained from 10 nests collected in Paula C?ndido municipality (MG), and maintained in laboratory conditions feeding on Mus musculus mice. The study was conducted from established colonies with adults coming from the field. Biological parameters were avaiable (life cycle, number of meal, resistance to starvation and longevity of adults) and morphological of egg and nymphs were observed by optical microscopy (OM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). From a total of 2005 eggs, 187 were assigned to the life cycle, 34 and 30 for resistance to starvation and longevity, respectively, and 120 for morphology. Of the 187 nymphs of 1st instar for individualized cycle and number of meal observed, 142 completed the 1st, 88 the 2nd, 80 the 3rd and 76 the 4th instar. The morphometric and chromatic study were performed with 30 eggs (length and width) and 30 nymphs of each instar (total body length and head width of the head with eyes, interocular distance, pronotum height, length pronotal bristle, length of antennal segments of the rostrum and 3rd pair of legs, length and femur width). To the OM study, insects were diaphanized in KOH 10% heated, washed with distilled water, then immersed in acetic acid 1% and mounted between slide and cover slip in alcohol 15%, to observed using optical microscope coupled with a camera lucida. For SEM, the insects were mounted on metal brackets attached with double-sided tape, kept in an oven at 50?C for 24 hours and covered with gold for viewing by scanning electron microscope JEOL JSM 6390 LV - Electron Microscopy Platform Rudolf Barth - FIOCRUZ. The life cycle from egg to adult presented four nymphal instars, at a mean time of 52 ? 10.7 days, performing 0-8 meals, depending on the instar. Males were less resistant to fasting and with less longevity than females, with a mean of 60 ? 19.8 and 66 ? 21.2 and 225 ? 104 and 301 ? 106 days, respectively. The nymphs of 1st and 2nd instars needs more meals and presentes natural mortality, respectively, than the other stages. Among 4th instar, some measured parameters had similar mean to those obtained by Usinger (1966), and eggs of O. pallidus larger than O. toledoi (Carvalho, 1939). As for color, the egg varies from translucent to dark brown; N1 to N3 are light brown and N4 dark brown. By MO, N1 differs from others by having 1 + 1 long bristle at the humeral angle of pronotum, while N2 to N4 have two bristles. SEM, N1 to N4 have a structure at the apex of the 2nd antennal segment, not yet described in the literature, and a ctenidium at the apex of the tibia of the 1st pair of legs also observed by Usinger (1966) in Paracimex capitatus nymphs, Morphological aspects such as the antennas structures that needs further studies, the bristles of pronotum and the presence of ctenidium will provide subsidies to increase the dichotomous key developed by Usinger (1966). The definition of four nymphal instars to O. pallidus corroborate those obtained by Jansen (1979) to O. toledoi, and state that genus Ornithocoris may be characterizate with four nymphal instars. / Os cimic?deos est?o distribu?dos em seis subfam?lias. Dentre estas Haematosiphoninae tem nove g?neros e Ornithocoris possui duas esp?cies: Ornithocoris toledoi Pinto, 1927, por estar comumente associado a galinhas apresenta import?ncia econ?mica e Ornithocoris pallidus (Usinger, 1959), de h?bito silvestre associado principalmente a andorinhas. Conhecer a biologia e morfologia desta esp?cie contribuir? para a caracteriza??o taxon?mica do g?nero, cujos estudos est?o voltados para a forma adulta e ?ltimo est?dio ninfal. Ovos, ninfas e adultos foram obtidos de 10 ninhos coletados no munic?pio de Paula C?ndido (MG), e mantidos em condi??es de laborat?rio, com alimenta??o em camundongos Mus musculus. O estudo foi realizado a partir de col?nias estabelecidas com os adultos procedentes do campo. Foram observados par?metros biol?gicos (ciclo de vida, n?mero de repastos de ninfas, resist?ncia ao jejum e longevidade de adultos) e morfol?gicos de ovo e ninfas pela microscopia ?ptica (MO) e microscopia eletr?nica de varredura (MEV). De um total de 2005 ovos, 187 foram destinados ao ciclo de vida, 34 e 30 para a resist?ncia ao jejum e longevidade, respectivamente, e 120 para a morfologia. Das 187 ninfas de 1? est?dio individualizadas para observa??o do ciclo e n?mero de repastos, 142 completaram o 1?, 88 o 2?, 80 o 3? e 76 o 4? est?dio. Para os estudos morfom?trico e crom?tico foram utilizados 30 ovos (comprimento e largura), e 30 ninfas de cada est?dio (comprimento total do corpo e da cabe?a, largura da cabe?a com os olhos, dist?ncia interocular, altura do pronoto, comprimento da cerda pronotal, comprimento dos segmentos antenais, do rostro e o comprimento e a largura do f?mur do 3? par de pernas. Para o estudo em MO os insetos foram diafanizados em hidr?xido de pot?ssio 10% aquecido, lavados com ?gua destilada, em seguida imersos em ?cido ac?tico 1% e montados entre l?mina e lam?nula em ?lcool 15%, observados em microsc?pio ?ptico, acoplado com c?mara clara para a confec??o dos desenhos. Para a MEV, os insetos foram montados em suportes met?licos presos com fita adesiva dupla face, mantidos em estufa a 50?C por 24 horas e metalizados com ouro para visualiza??o ao microsc?pio eletr?nico de varredura JEOL JSM 6390 LV da Plataforma de Microscopia Eletr?nica Rudolf Barth- FIOCRUZ. O ciclo de vida de ovo a adulto apresentou quatro est?dios ninfais em um tempo m?dio de 52 ? 10,7 dias, realizando de 0 a 8 repastos, dependendo do est?dio. Os machos se mostraram menos resistentes ao jejum e com menor longevidade do que as f?meas, com m?dia de 60 ? 19,8 e 66 ? 21,2, e 225 ? 104 e 301 ? 106 dias, respectivamente. As ninfas de 1? e 2? est?dio apresentaram maior n?mero de repastos e mortalidade natural, respectivamente, do que os demais est?dios. Entre as ninfas de 4?est?dio alguns par?metros mensurados tiveram m?dia similar as obtidas por Usinger (1966), e os ovos de O. pallidus maiores do que os de O. toledoi (Carvalho, 1939; Snipes, 1940). Quanto ? colora??o, o ovo varia de transl?cida a bege escura; de N1 a N3 ? castanho clara e N4 castanho escura. Pela MO, N1 diferencia-se das demais por apresentar 1+1 cerda longa no ?ngulo humeral do pronoto, enquanto que de N2 a N4 existem duas cerdas. Em MEV, de N1 a N4 existe uma estrutura no ?pice do segundo art?culo da antena, ainda n?o descrita na literatura, e um cten?dio no ?pice da t?bia do primeiro par de pernas tamb?m observado por Usinger (1966) em ninfas de Paracimex capitatus. Aspectos morfol?gicos como as estruturas das antenas, que merecem maiores estudos, as cerdas pronotais e a presen?a de cten?dio dar?o subs?dios para incrementar a chave dicot?mica elaborada por Usinger (1966). O encontro de quatro est?dios ninfais para O. pallidus corroboram os obtidos por Jansen (1979) para O. toledoi, e permite afirmar que o g?nero Ornithocoris pode ser cacterizado com quatro est?dios ninfais.

The doubly labelled water technique was validated for captive-bred, laying Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix), and used to measure the energy expenditure of free-living laying swallows (Hirundo rustica). Swallows had a slightly higher energy expenditure during laying than during incubation or nestling-rearing. Energy expenditure and the net cost of incubation increased sharply for female dippers (Cinclus cinclus) when clutches were enlarged to 6 eggs. Lipophilic dyes were used to determine the rate of ovarian follicular growth and the volume of yolk deposjted in a 24 h period by captive quail and free-living swallows. Rates of yolk deposition were related to daily energy expenditure in quail, but not in swallows. Balances placed under swallow nests recorded an increase in female mass from 5 d before the first egg was laid. Female mass peaked on the evening before the first egg and declined as eggs were laid. Mass changes during laying were equal to the mass of the oviduct and developing ova. However, body composition also changed, as a lipid reserve was built up in the final 4 d before the first egg was laid, whilst body water content declined. This substantially increased the peak energy requirement for biosynthesis in a laying swallow. The lipid reserve was catabolized during the remainder of the laying period. The lipid reserve was likely to serve as an insurance against a drop in food intake during laying. Shortage of food on the day before the first egg was laid led to a reduction in clutch size for some swallows. There was no evidence for use of a protein reserve by laying swallows. A model was developed from which it was predicted that egg production by swallows, and probably all other insectivorous birds, would be constrained by energy rather than crude lipid or protein requirements. It was concluded that laying patterns and clutch sizes were sometimes constrained by food availability during egg-laying, and that an upper limit to clutch size could be set by the capacity of an incubating bird to cover the eggs.

Introduction and rationale: Clinical experience with infants presenting with feeding difficulties and increasing referrals of infants with colic led to this study. There is uncertainty whether the speechlanguage therapist should play a role in the management of this condition. Despite extensive clinical research into the multiple factors related to the condition, the etiology of infantile colic has not yet been established. Suck- swallow-breathing coordination (SSBC), which is key to successful feeding, has not yet been investigated as a factor in this condition. Goals: The goal of the study was to give a comprehensive description of the symptoms and the SSBC of a group of young infants with colic. Sub-goal 1 was to compile a list of symptoms based on a description by parents of infants with infantile colic, which could be used to compare symptoms of a group of infants with the condition to a group without the condition. Sub-goal 2 was to describe SSBC, in a group of infants with the condition, by conducting a clinical assessment. Sub-goal 3 was to compare SSBC in a group of infants with colic to a group without the condition of the same age. Method: A descriptive survey design and interview guide was used in Phase 1. The parents of 60 infants with colic participated in this study. A correlation research design (Phase 2) and the List of symptoms for Infantile Colic (compiled in Phase 1) as well as the Assessment Protocol for SSBC (compiled in Phase 2) were used. A new research group of 50 participants with infantile colic and a control group of 28 participants with the condition, whose ages correlated with those of the research group, was selected. An interview was conducted with the parents of all participants. SSBC was clinically assessed in all the participants. Results: Parental description of infantile colic resulted in a comprehensive list of 27 symptoms. Audible swallowing of air and a feeding duration of more than 20 minutes were described more by parents than found in the literature. Statistically significant differences were found when the postural control and SSBC of the research group were compared with the control group. The difficulties with SSBC differed across the age categories of the participants. Conclusion: The study indicated that infantile colic is related to a disturbance in postural control and components of SSBC, and infants with the condition have subtle feeding difficulties. The speech-language therapist therefore has a role to play in the clinical assessment of infantile colic and the development of treatment strategies. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2014. / lk2014 / Speech-Language Pathology and Audiology / MA / Unrestricted