Interface between culturally based preferences and genetic preferences: female mate choice in Poecilia reticulata.

The relative contribution of genetic and socio-cultural factors in the shaping of behavior is of fundamental importance to biologists and social scientists, yet it has proven to be extremely difficult to study in a controlled, experimental fashion. Here I describe experiments that examined the strength of genetic and cultural (imitative) factors in determining female mate choice in the guppy, Poecilia reticulata. Female guppies from the Paria River in Trinidad have a genetic, heritable preference for the amount of orange body color possessed by males. Female guppies will, however, also copy (imitate) the mate choice of other females in that when two males are matched for orange color, an "observer" female will copy the mate choice of another ("model") female. Three treatments were undertaken in which males differed by an average of 12%, 24%, or 40% of the total orange body color. In all cases, observer females viewed a model female prefer the less colorful male. When males differed by 12% or 24%, observer females preferred the less colorful male and thus copied the mate choice of others, despite a strong heritable preference for orange body color in males. When males differed by 40% orange body color, however, observer females preferred the more colorful male and did not copy the mate choice of the other female. In this system, then, imitation can "override" genetic preferences when the difference between orange body color in males is small or moderate, but genetic factors block out imitation effects when the difference in orange body color in males is large. This experiment provides the first attempt to experimentally examine the relative strength of cultural and genetic preferences for a particular trait and suggests that these two factors moderate one another in shaping social behavior.

Schleiermacher's Doctrine of Biblical Authority: An Alternative to Content-Based/Supernaturalist and Function-Based Rationalist Models

Author: Kerry W. Holton Title: SCHLEIERMACHER’S DOCTRINE OF BIBLICAL AUTHORITY: AN ALTERNATIVE TO CONTENT-BASED/SUPERNATURALIST AND FUNCTION- BASED/RATIONALIST MODELS Advisor: Theodore M. Vial, Jr. Degree Date: August 2015 This dissertation examines Friedrich Schleiermacher’s understanding of biblical authority and argues that, as an alternative to strictly supernaturalistic and rationalistic models, his understanding allows the New Testament to speak authoritatively in Christian religion in an age of critical, historical awareness. After classifying Schleiermacher’s position in a typology of the doctrine of biblical authority, this dissertation explores his conception of divine revelation and inspiration vis-à-vis scripture. It demonstrates that although he did not believe there is warrant for the claim of a direct connection between divine revelation and scripture, or that scripture is the foundation of faith, he nonetheless asserted that the New Testament is authoritative. He asserted the normative authority of the New Testament on the basis that it is the first presentation of Christian faith. This dissertation examines Schleiermacher’s “canon within the canon,” as well as his denial that the Old Testament shares the same normative worth and inspiration of the New. Although this dissertation finds difficulty with some of Schleiermacher’s views regarding the Old Testament, it names two significant strengths of what is identified as his evangelical, content-based, and rationalist approach to biblical authority. First, it recognizes and values the co-presence and co-activity of the supernatural and the natural !ii in the production of the New Testament canon. This allows both scripture and the church to share religious authority. Second, it allows Christian faith and the historical-method to coexist, as it does not require people to contradict what they know to be the case about science, history, and philosophy. Thus, this dissertation asserts that Schleiermacher’s understanding of biblical authority is a robust one, since, for him, the authority of scripture does not lie in some property of the texts themselves that historians or unbelievers can take away.

Snakes based tracking and texture analysis of microscopic images

Comunicación presentada en el VII Symposium Nacional de Reconocimiento de Formas y Análisis de Imágenes, SNRFAI, Barcelona, abril 1997.

Synthesis of denim waste-based adsorbents and their application in water defluoridation

This study evaluates the application of denim fiber scraps as a precursor for the synthesis of adsorbents for water treatment via pyrolysis and their application in water defluoridation. The best pyrolysis conditions for the synthesis of this novel adsorbent have been identified and a metal doping route with different salts of Al3 +, La3 + and Fe3 + was proposed to improve its fluoride adsorption behavior. Different spectroscopic and microscopic techniques (i.e., FTIR, XPS, XRF, SEM) were used to characterize the precursor and adsorbents, and to analyze the surface interactions involved in the fluoride removal mechanism. Experimental results showed that these adsorbents were effective for fluoride adsorption showing uptakes up to 4.25 mg/g. The Si-O–metal–F interactions appear to be highly relevant for the fluoride removal. This study highlights the potential of denim textile waste as a raw material for the production of added-value products, thus minimizing their associated disposal cost. It also shows the performance of denim textile waste as a precursor of adsorbents for addressing relevant environmental concerns such as fluoride pollution.

Production and Electrical Characterization of Low Density Polyethylene-based Micro- and Nano-dielectrics containing Graphene Oxide, Functionalized Graphene and Carbon Black additives

Oggigiorno la ricerca di nuovi materiali per gradatori di campo da impiegarsi in accessori di cavi ha iniziato a studiare alcuni materiali nano dielettrici con proprietà elettriche non lineari con la tensione ed aventi proprietà migliorate rispetto al materiale base. Per questo motivo in questo elaborato si sono studiati materiali nanostrutturati a base di polietilene a bassa densità (LDPE) contenenti nano polveri di grafene funzionalizzato (G*), ossido di grafene (GO) e carbon black (CB). Il primo obiettivo è stato quello di selezionare e ottimizzare i metodi di fabbricazione dei provini. La procedura di produzione è suddivisa in due parti. Nella prima parte è stata utilizzatala tecnica del ball-milling, mentre nella seconda un pressa termica (thermal pressing). Mediante la spettroscopia dielettrica a banda larga (BDS) si sono misurate le componenti reali e immaginarie della permettività e il modulo della conducibilità del materiale, in tensione alternata. Il miglioramento delle proprietà rispetto al provino di base composto dal solo polietilene si sono ottenute quando il quantitativo delle nanopolveri era maggiore. Le misure sono state effettuate sia a 3 V che a 1 kV. Attraverso misurazioni di termogravimetria (TGA) si è osservato l’aumento della resistenza termica di tutti i provini, soprattutto nel caso quando la % di nanopolveri è maggiore. Per i provini LDPE + 0.3 wt% GO e LDPE + 0.3 wt% G* si è misurata la resistenza alle scariche parziali attraverso la valutazione dell’erosione superficiale dei provini. Per il provino contenente G* è stato registrato una diminuzione del 22% del volume eroso, rispetto al materiale base, mentre per quello contenente GO non vi sono state variazioni significative. Infine si è ricercata la resistenza al breakdown di questi ultimi tre provini sopra citati. Per la caratterizzazione si è fatto uso della distribuzione di Weibull. Lo scale parameter α risulta aumentare solo per il provino LDPE + 0.3 wt% G*.

Information documents on automobile emissions inspection and maintenance programs ; final report /

Bibliography: p. 77-92.

Correlation between ultrasonic nondestructive inspection and wheel test of 34 retreaded tires. Interim report.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Office of Research and Development, Washington, D.C.

Inspection and testing of mine-type electrical equipment for permissibility /

Includes bibliographical references.