Effects of apomorphine on mating behavior, flank marking and aggression in male hamsters

In male rats, the dopamine agonist apomorphine (APO) generally facilitates copulatory behavior. However, disruptive effects of high APO doses have been reported. These have been interpreted in diverse ways, as products of a dopaminergic system that inhibits sexual behavior or as consequences of APO's stimulation of competing responses. To test the generality of these effects, we observed APO's impact on copulatory behavior in male hamsters. Several effects were observed, all attributable to a relatively high dose and involving the disruption of male behavior. More unexpectedly, APO treatment caused males to attack estrous stimulus females in the course of these tests. To clarify these effects, we observed the effects of APO on flank marking, a type of scent marking closely allied to aggression and dominance in hamsters. Treatment reliably decreased the latency of marking. It also increased the rate of marking when appropriate measures were taken to prevent this effect from being obscured by drug-induced cheek pouching. Together, these results confirm and extend APO's well-known ability to increase aggression. Further, they suggest that APO-induced aggression can intrude into other contexts so as to disrupt, or possibly facilitate, other forms of social behavior.

An Ethical History of Photography in Combat and of Combat Photography in the United States during World War II

With the United States‘ entry into the Second World War, the word ?censorship? was seen largely as antithetical to, rather than a necessary counterpart to, victory among Americans. People did not want to be censored in their writing, photographs or speech,but it proved to be necessary even before the war began, in order to protect government secrets and the people on the home-front from scenes that were too disturbing. Even before the war had officially begun, there were problems with censorship among journalists and newspapers. The initial response of outrage in reference to censorship in the United States was common among journalists, newspapers, magazines, and radio news; nevertheless, there was a necessity for censorship among Americans, on the home frontand the front lines, and it would be tolerated throughout the war to ensure that enemies of America did not gain access to information that would assist in a defeat of the United States in the Second World War. The research I have conducted has dealt with the censorship of combat photography during World War II, in conjunction with the ethics that were in play at the time that affected the censors. Through exploring the work of three combat photographers — Tony Vaccaro, James R. Stephens and Charles E. Sumners — I wasable to effectively construct an explanatory ethical history of these three men. Research on the censorship and effects it had on the United States brought me to three distinctareas of censorship and ethics that would be explored: (1) the restrictions and limitations enforced by the Office of Censorship, (2) a general overview of war and photography as it influenced the soldiers and their families on the home-front, (3) and the combat photographers and personal and military censorship that influenced their work. Although their work was censored both by the military and the government, these men saw the war in a different light that remained with them long after the battles and war had ceased.Using the narratives of Tony Vaccaro, Charles E. Sumners and James R. Stephens as means for more in depth research, this thesis strives to create lenses through which to view the history and ethics of censorship that shaped combat photography during the Second World War and the images to which we refer as representative of that war today.

Agricultural Policymaking: Interest Groups and Access to Governmental Officials

Conservation agriculture that focuses on soil recovery is both economically and environmentally sustainable. This lies in contrast with many of the current agricultural practices, which push for high production, which, in turn lead to over-depletion of the soil. Agricultural interest groups play a role in crafting farming policies with governmental officials. Therefore, my study examined three interest group types agribusinesses, farmer organizations, and environmental NGOs that seek to influence agricultural policy, specifically focusing on the federal farm bill, due to its large impact throughout the nation. The research in which data wasgathered through subject interviews, a literature review, and databases found that access to governmental officials affects the amount of influence a group can have. Access is contingent upon: 1) the number of networks (social, professional, and political), 2) amount of money spent through campaign contributions and lobbying expenditures, and 3) extent of business enterprises and subsidiaries. The evidence shows that there is a correlation between these variables and the extent of access. My research concludes that agribusiness interest groups have the most access to government officials, and thus have the greatest influence on agricultural policies. Because agribusinesses support subsidies of commodity-crops this indirectly impacts conservation agriculture, as the two programs compete in a zero-sum game for funding in the farm bills.

Geochemical Modeling and Analysis of the Frac Water Used in the Hydraulic Fracturing of the Marcellus Formation, Pennsylvania

The hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus Formation creates a byproduct known as frac water. Five frac water samples were collected in Bradford County, PA. Inorganic chemical analysis, field parameters analysis, alkalinity titrations, total dissolved solids(TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), biological oxygen demand (BOD), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) were conducted on each sample to characterize frac water. A database of frac water chemistry results from across the state of Pennsylvania from multiple sources was compiled in order to provide the public and research communitywith an accurate characterization of frac water. Four geochemical models were created to model the reactions between frac water and the Marcellus Formation, Purcell Limestone, and the oil field brines presumed present in the formations. The average concentrations of chloride and TDS in the five frac water samples were 1.1 �± 0.5 x 105 mg/L (5.5X average seawater) and 140,000 mg/L (4X average seawater). BOD values for frac water immediately upon flow back were over 10X greater than the BOD of typical wastewater, but decreased into the range of typical wastewater after a short period of time. The COD of frac water decreases dramatically with an increase in elapsed time from flow back, but remain considerably higher than typicalwastewater. Different alkalinity calculation methods produced a range of alkalinity values for frac water: this result is most likely due to high concentrations of aliphatic acid anions present in the samples. Laboratory analyses indicate that the frac watercomposition is quite variable depending on the companies from which the water was collected, the geology of the local area, and number of fracturing jobs in which the frac water was used, but will require more treatment than typical wastewater regardless of theprecise composition of each sample. The geochemical models created suggest that the presence of organic complexes in an oil field brine and Marcellus Formation aid in the dissolution of ions such as bariumand strontium into the solution. Although equilibration reactions between the Marcellus Formation and the slickwater account for some of the final frac water composition, the predominant control of frac water composition appears to be the ratio of the mixture between the oil field brine and slickwater. The high concentration of barium in the frac water is likely due to the abundance of barite nodules in the Purcell Limestone, and the lack of sulfate in the frac water samples is due to the reducing, anoxic conditions in the earth's subsurface that allow for the degassing of H2S(g).

The Effects of Apomorphine on Sexual Behavior and Aggression in Male Golden Hamsters

The general dopamine agonist apomorphine has been shown to have mostly facilitative effects on sexual behavior in rodents (Domingues & Hull, 2005; Bitran & Hull, 1987). A study looking at the effectsof apomorphine on sexual behavior in male golden hamsters observed that after systemic injections of apomorphine the males became aggressive towards the estrous females (Floody, unpublished). Studies on aggressive behavior have shown that apomorphine has facilitative effects on aggression in rodents (Nelson & Trainor, 2007; van Erp & Miczek, 2000; Ferrari, van Erp, Tornatzky, & Miczek, 2003). The studies presented here attempt to unravel the effects that apomorphine has on sexual and aggressive behavior in male golden hamsters. Studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 focused on the effects of apomorphine on aggression and Study 5 focused on the effects of apomorphine on sexual behavior. It was important for the purposes ofthis study to have separate, specific measures of aggression and sexual behavior that did not involve a social context that would involve multiple behaviors and motivations. The measure used to assessaggression was flank marking behavior. The measure used to assess sexual behavior was the number of vocalizations in response to sexual stimuli. The results from Studies 1, 2, and 3 suggested thatapomorphine increased aggressive motivation in a dose-dependent manner. In Studies 1 and 2 there was a high occurrence of stereotyped cheek pouching that interfered with the flank marking behavior. In Study 3 the procedure was modified to prevent cheek pouching and flank marking was observed uninhibited. Study 5 suggested a decrease in vocalizations after apomorphine treatment. However, this decrease may have been a result of the increase in stereotyped licking behavior. Results suggested that systemic apomorphine treatments increase aggressive motivation in hamsters. The increase in aggressive motivation may confuse the perception of the sensory signals that the males receive from the estrous females. They may haveperceived the estrous female as a nonestrous female which they would normally associate with an aggressive interaction (Lehman, Powers, & Winans, 1983).