The Mariana Swiftlet (Aerodramus bartschi) (Aves: Apodidae) is endemic to the Mariana Islands, where it currently occurs on Saipan, Aguiguan, and Guam. An introduced population of Mariana Swiftlets is also present on O'ahu in the Hawaiian Islands. Sparing interference with the endangered population in the Marianas, the introduced, surrogate population...
A number of thinkers are becoming increasingly persuaded
that our anthropocentric view of nature is inadequate, that we
need a "new morality" with regard to the environment. In this
essay, I argue that an alternative to anthropocentricism is
available to us now-and has been since at least 1836. I look...
Mutations to superoxide dismutase were the first proven cause of Lou
Gehrig’s disease (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis; ALS) implicating superoxide in
the selective death of motor neurons that characterizes ALS. Nitric oxide
competes effectively with superoxide dismutase for superoxide to form the
powerful oxidant peroxynitrite. Endogenous formation of peroxynitrite can kill...
Postcopulatory sexual selection—sperm competition and cryptic female choice—has become a major area of research over the past 40 years. Within this field there are many outstanding questions at every level of analysis, from proximate to ultimate. The fitness consequences for both sexes in the period after copulation and before fertilization...
Background: Certain knee movements place the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) at risk of injury. These injuries commonly affect athletes especially at the end of events. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of exhaustive exercise on frontal plane hip and knee mechanics during two tasks in order...
A majority of eighteenth-century novels remain in regular print over two hundred years since their inception. Yet with the possible exception of Robinson Crusoe, they have largely fallen out of popularity, rarely appearing on "The Summer's Hottest Reading" lists or receiving celebrity endorsement. I consider Ian Watt's foundational study, The...
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) and related compounds are well-recognized for their immunosuppressive activity, which is mediated through an intracellular receptor and transcription factor, aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR). Laboratory animals exposed to TCDD are less resistant to infection and have severely impaired humoral and cell-mediated immune responses. This dissertation addressed the hypothesis that...