Mycobacteriosis in Chesapeake Bay Striped Bass (Morone saxatilis): The Interaction of Nutrition and Disease

Field and laboratory studies were conducted from 1998 - 2005 to examine the relationship between nutritional status and mycobacteriosis in Chesapeake Bay striped bass (Morone saxatilis). A review of DNA from archived tissue blocks indicated that the disease has been present since at least 1984. Field surveys and feeding trials were conducted from 1998-1999 to determine the nutritional condition of striped bass and the association with disease state. Proximate composition revealed elevated moisture (~ 80%) and low storage lipids (< 0.5% ww), characteristic of a poorly nourished population. These findings were not consistent with data collected in 1990-1991, or with experimentally fed fish. Mycobacteriosis explained little of the variance in chemical composition (p > 0.2); however elevated moisture and low lipid concentration were associated with fish with ulcerative lesions (p < 0.05). This suggests that age 3 and 4 striped bass were in poor nutritional health in 1998-1999, which may be independent from the disease process. Challenge studies were performed to address the hypothesis that disease progression and severity may be altered by nutritional status of the host. Intraperitoneal inoculation of 104 CFU M. marinum resulted in high mortality, elevated bacterial density, and poor granuloma formation in low ration (0.15% bw/d) groups while adequately fed fish (1% bw/d) followed a normal course of granulomatous inflammation with low mortality to a steady, equilibrium state. Further, we demonstrated that an active inflammatory state could be reactivated in fish through reductions in total diet. The energetic demand of mycobacteriosis, was insignificant in comparison to sham inoculated controls in adequately fed fish (p > 0.05). Declines in total body energy were only apparent during active, inflammatory stages of disease. Overall, these findings suggest that: 1) mycobacteriosis is not a new disease of Chesapeake Bay striped bass, 2) the disease has little energetic demand in the normal, chronic progression, and 3) poor nutritional health can greatly enhance the progression and severity, and reactivation of disease. The implications of this research are that management strategies focused on enhancing the nutritional state of striped bass could potentially alter the disease dynamics in Chesapeake Bay.

The Aesthetics of Motion in Musics for the Mevlana Celal ed-Din Rumi

This dissertation investigates the concept of motion as a fundamental aesthetic element in the devotional music, dance, and rituals performed in honor of the celebrated thirteenth-century Persian mystic poet and saint, the Mevlana Celal ed-Din Muhammad Rumi. The main focus of the study is threefold. First, it investigates the prevalence of the notion of movement in Islamic music and culture, specifically within the Sufi communities of Turkey, in order to arrive at a broader understanding of the relationship between music, aesthetics, and worldview. Secondly, it explores how musical performance functions as a form of devotion or religious worship by focusing on the musical repertories performed in honor of a single holy figure, the Mevlana Rumi. Finally, it provides an ethnographic account of contemporary developments in Sufi musical culture in Turkey and across the world by describing the recent activities of the Mevlana's devotees, which includes members of the Mevlevi Order of Islamic mystics as well as adherents of other Sufi brotherhoods and followers of so-called New Religions or New Age. The primary research for this study involved two short one-month field trips to Turkey and India in 2002 and 2003, respectively, and a longer one year expedition to Turkey in 2004 and 2005, which also included shorter stays in Cyprus, Syria, and Egypt. Additionally, the dissertation draws directly from critical theories advanced in the fields of ethnomusicology, cultural anthropology, and ethnochoreology and focuses on the kinesthetic parameters of music, dance, trance, and ritual as well as on broader forms of socio-cultural movement including pilgrimage, cultural tourism, and globalization. These forms of movement are analyzed in four broad categories of music used in worship, including classical Mevlevi music, music of the zikr ceremony, popular musics, and non-Turkish musics.

Resonant and Secular Orbital Interations

In stable solar systems, planets remain in nearly elliptical orbits around their stars. Over longer timescales, however, their orbital shapes and sizes change due to mutual gravitational perturbations. Orbits of satellites around a planet vary for the same reason. Because of their interactions, the orbits of planets and satellites today are different from what they were earlier. In order to determine their original orbits, which are critical constraints on formation theories, it is crucial to understand how orbits evolve over the age of the Solar System. Depending on their timescale, we classify orbital interactions as either short-term (orbital resonances) or long-term (secular evolution). My work involves examples of both interaction types. Resonant history of the small Neptunian satellites In satellite systems, tidal migration brings satellite orbits in and out of resonances. During a resonance passage, satellite orbits change dramatically in a very short period of time. We investigate the resonant history of the six small Neptunian moons. In this unique system, the exotic orbit of the large captured Triton (with a circular, retrograde, and highly tilted orbit) influences the resonances among the small satellites very strongly. We derive an analytical framework which can be applied to Neptune's satellites and to similar systems. Our numerical simulations explain the current orbital tilts of the small satellites as well as constrain key physical parameters of both Neptune and its moons. Secular orbital interactions during eccentricity damping Long-term periodic changes of orbital shape and orientation occur when two or more planets orbit the same star. The variations of orbital elements are superpositions of the same number of fundamental modes as the number of planets in the system. We investigate how this effect interacts with other perturbations imposed by external disturbances, such as the tides and relativistic effects. Through analytical studies of a system consisting of two planets, we find that an external perturbation exerted on one planet affects the other indirectly. We formulate a general theory for how both orbits evolve in response to an arbitrary externally-imposed slow change in eccentricity.

A pll based frequency synthesizer in 0.13 um sige bicmos for mb-ofdm uwb systems

With the growing demand for high-speed and high-quality short-range communication, multi-band orthogonal frequency division multiplexing ultra-wide band (MB-OFDM UWB) systems have recently garnered considerable interest in industry and in academia. To achieve a low-cost solution, highly integrated transceivers with small die area and minimum power consumption are required. The key building block of the transceiver is the frequency synthesizer. A frequency synthesizer comprised of two PLLs and one multiplexer is presented in this thesis. Ring oscillators are adopted for PLL implementation in order to drastically reduce the die area of the frequency synthesizer. The poor spectral purity appearing in the frequency synthesizers involving mixers is greatly improved in this design. Based on the specifications derived from application standards, a design methodology is presented to obtain the parameters of building blocks. As well, the simulation results are provided to verify the performance of proposed design.

Geography and Genetics of Ecological Speciation in Pea Aphids

During ecological speciation, divergent natural selection drives evolution of ecological specialization and genetic differentiation of populations on alternate environments. Populations diverging onto the same alternate environments may be geographically widespread, so that divergence may occur at an array of locations simultaneously. Spatial variation in the process of divergence may produce a pattern of differences in divergence among locations called the Geographic Mosaic of Divergence. Diverging populations may vary in their degree of genetic differentiation and ecological specialization among locations. My dissertation examines the pattern and evolutionary processes of divergence in pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) on alfalfa (Medicago sativa) and clover (Trifolium pretense). In Chapter One, I examined differences among North American aphid populations in genetic differentiation at nuclear, sequence-based markers and in ecological specialization, measured as aphid fecundity on each host plant. In the East, aphids showed high host-plant associated ecological specialization and high genetic differentiation. In the West, aphids from clover were genetically indistinguishable from aphids on alfalfa, and aphids from clover were less specialized. Thus, the pattern of divergence differed among locations, suggesting a Geographic Mosaic of Divergence. In Chapter Two, I examined genomic heterogeneity in divergence in aphids on alfalfa and clover across North America using amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs). The degree of genetic differentiation varied greatly among markers, suggesting that divergent natural selection drives aphid divergence in all geographic locations. Three of the same genetic markers were identified as evolving under divergent selection in the eastern and western regions, and additional divergent markers were identified in the East. In Chapter Three, I investigated population structure of aphids in North America, France, and Sweden using AFLPs. Aphids on the same host plant were genetically similar across many parts of their range, so the evolution of host plant specialization does not appear to have occurred independently in every location. While aphids on alfalfa and clover were genetically differentiated in most locations, aphids from alfalfa and clover were genetically similar in both western North America and Sweden. High gene flow from alfalfa onto clover may constrain divergence in these locations.

Biodeposition and Biogeochemical Processes in Shallow, Mesohaline Sediments of Chesapeake Bay

Stocks of the eastern oyster, Crassostrea virginica, have been declining in Chesapeake Bay since the late 19th century, and current strategies involve restoring culture of Crassostrea virginica on-bottom and in devices suspended within the water column. Sub-tidal suspension culture of Crassostrea virginica in Chesapeake Bay occurs mostly in sheltered inlets and tidal creeks and, thereby, has the potential to influence shallow water biogeochemical processes. To assess the influence of Crassostrea virginica biodeposits and benthic microalgae on sediment nitrogen and phosphorus exchange, field studies with Crassostrea virginica held in aquaculture floats and laboratory experiments were conducted. Enhanced organic nitrogen deposition from Crassostrea virginica biodeposits led to gradual increases in surface sediment nitrogen and pore water ammonium concentrations; however, modifications to pore water concentrations were not always expressed at the sediment-water interface. Benthic microalgae often modulated the influence of biodeposits on sediment nitrogen exchange but, as observed in laboratory experiments, the supply of nitrogen from Crassostrea virginica biodeposits may exceed their biological demand. Organic carbon from biodeposits had varying influences on aerobic respiration but consistently stimulated anaerobic metabolism. Shifts in net phosphorus exchange were driven by this anaerobic remineralization and concentrations of iron and manganese oxy(hydr)oxides, with transitions in fluxes coinciding with changes in benthic photosynthesis and oxidation of surface sediments. Manganese and iron oxy(hydr)oxides from biodeposits supported incorporation of added phosphorus and prevented exchange at the sediment-water interface in the absence of iron-sulfide mineral formation. Differences in the response of shallow water sediments to Crassostrea virginica biodeposits were due to the quality and quantity of biodeposits supplied, as well as the spatial and temporal variability within these sediments. Initial conditions and corresponding reference sediments illustrated the potential for sediment biogeochemistry and nutrient exchange from tidal creek sediments to vary spatially and temporally on relatively small scales. Factors influencing variability within tidal creek sediments were related to shifts in riverine freshwater inputs, macroalgal blooms, nutrient concentrations in overlying waters, and bioirrigation from the clam, Macoma balthica.

Nutrient enrichment effects on mangrove sediments from differing tree height zones in Bocas del Toro, Panama

Red mangrove (Rhizophora mangle L.) forests have distinct tree-height zones, with tall trees fringing the ocean and shorter trees in interior stands. A long-term nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) fertilization experiment in Almirante Bay, Bocas del Toro Province, Panama has shown that tree-height zonation is primarily related to nutrient limitation. This experiment was used to test the effects of in-situ nutrient additions and tree zonation on mangrove sediments. The sediments underlying the experimental R. mangle trees were sampled and N₂ fixation, ¹⁵N, chlorophyll a, percent N and P, and percent organic biomass were quantified. Both N and P additions significantly affected almost every parameter measured in both zones within this experiment. These results are likely to have implications for management since N and P inputs are predicted to increase throughout the tropics and subtropics worldwide.

A von Bertalanffy Based Model for the Estimation of Oyster (Crassostrea virginica) Growth on Restored Oyster Reefs in Chesapeake Bay

A model to estimate the mean monthly growth of Crassostrea virginica oysters in Chesapeake Bay was developed. This model is based on the classic von Bertalanffy growth function, however the growth constant is changed every monthly timestep in response to short term changes in temperature and salinity. Using a dynamically varying growth constant allows the model to capture seasonal oscillations in growth, and growth responses to changing environmental conditions that previous applications of the von Bertalanffy model do not capture. This model is further expanded to include an estimation of Perkinsus marinus impacts on growth rates as well as estimations of ecosystem services provided by a restored oyster bar over time. The model was validated by comparing growth estimates from the model to oyster shell height observations from a variety of restoration sites in the upper Chesapeake Bay. Without using the P. marinus impact on growth, the model consistently overestimates mean oyster growth. However, when P. marinus effects are included in the model, the model estimates match the observed mean shell height closely for at least the first 3 years of growth. The estimates of ecosystem services suggested by this model imply that even with high levels of mortality on an oyster reef, the ecosystem services provided by that reef can still be maintained by growth for several years. Because larger oyster filter more water than smaller ones, larger oysters contribute more to the filtration and nutrient removal ecosystem services of the reef. Therefore a reef with an abundance of larger oysters will provide better filtration and nutrient removal. This implies that if an oyster restoration project is trying to improve water quality through oyster filtration, it is important to maintain the larger older oysters on the reef.

Doubt, for narrator and orchestra

Doubt is a single-movement composition of roughly twelve minutes for narrator and orchestra (woodwinds, horns, and trumpets in pairs, timpani, percussion, strings). The piece explores the controversial issue of capital punishment. The text was compiled from resources found on the websites of Death Penalty Information Center (http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org) and Anti-Death Penalty Information (http://www.antideathpenalty.org), as well as excerpts from the Bible. Doubt was conceived of as a dramatic work in which a narrator recites factual information in a direct and unemotional manner and the orchestra provides a response to the mixed emotions elicited by the text. The list of dates and case summaries presented in the middle section of the piece seemed most powerful and effective when recited in a natural speaking voice, which is why I chose not to set the text as song. Also, I chose the orchestral medium rather than a chamber setting because the nature of the topic demanded a larger range of colors and combinations, as well as a louder, fuller sound. Much of the music was composed while deciding which texts to include. Thus the music influenced the choice of text as much as the text suggested the musical setting. The four formal divisions of the piece are delineated primarily by the text. The first section is an orchestral introduction representing various emotional perspectives suggested by the texts. The narrator begins the second section with a Biblical verse over sparse orchestration. The third and main section of the piece begins with a new melody in the low strings that is closely related to the harmonic organization of the piece. The narrator lists dates of convictions, executions, exonerations and facts related to doubtful cases. The third section and the narration conclude with another brief passage from the Bible. The fourth section is a dramatic orchestral coda, bringing back the opening harmonies of juxtaposed perfect fifths. The final chord is full of tension and discord, reflecting the oppositions inherent in the topic of capital punishment: life vs. death, sympathy vs. reproach, pain vs. hope, but above all, doubt about guilt vs. innocence.

Nurturing Change: Lilly Martin Spencer's Images of Children

This dissertation is the first full-length study to concentrate on American genre painter Lilly Martin Spencer's images of children, which constituted nearly one half of her saleable production during the height of her artistic career from 1848 to 1869. At this time, many young parents received advice regarding child rearing through books and other publications, having moved away from their families of origin in search of employment. These literatures, which gained in popularity from the 1830s onward, focused on spiritual, emotional, and disciplinary matters. My study considers four major themes from the period's writing on child nurture that changed over time, including depravity and innocence, parent/child bonding, standards of behavior and moral rectitude, and children's influence on adults. It demonstrates how Spencer's paintings, prints, and drawings featuring children supported and challenged these evolving ideologies, helping to shed light not only on the artist's reception of child-rearing advice, but also on its possible impact on her middle-class audience, to whom she closely catered. In four chapters, I investigate Spencer's images of sleeping children as visual equivalents of contemporary consolation literature during a time of high infant and child mortality rates; her paintings of parent/child interaction as promoting separation from mothers and emotional bonding with fathers; her prints of mischievous children as both considering changing ideals about children's behavior and comforting Anglo-American citizens afraid of what they saw as threatening minority groups; and her pictures with Civil War and Reconstruction subject matter as contending with the popular concept of the moral utility of children. By framing my interpretations of Spencer's output around key issues in the period's dynamic child-nurture literature, I advance new comprehensive readings of many of her most well-known paintings, including Domestic Happiness, Fi, Fo, Fum!, and The Pic Nic or the Fourth of July. I also consider work often overlooked by other art historians, but which received acclaim in Spencer's own time, including the lithographs of children made after her designs, and the allegorical painting Truth Unveiling Falsehood. Significantly, I provide the first in-depth analysis of a newly rediscovered Reconstruction-era painting, The Home of the Red, White, and Blue.

Bioenergetic and ecological consequences of diet variability in Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus

Atlantic croaker Micropogonias undulatus is a commercially and ecologically important bottom-associated fish that occurs in marine and estuarine systems from Cape Cod, MA to Mexico. I documented the temporal and spatial variability in the diet of Atlantic croaker in Chesapeake Bay and found that in the summer fish, particularly bay anchovies Anchoa mitchilli, make up at least 20% of the diet of croaker by weight. The use of a pelagic food source seems unusual for a bottom-associated fish such as croaker, but appears to be a crepuscular feeding habit that has not been previously detected. Thus, I investigated the bioenergetic consequences of secondary piscivory to the distribution of croaker, to the condition of individuals within the population and to the ecosystem. Generalized additive models revealed that the biomass of anchovy explained some of the variability in croaker occurrence and abundance in Chesapeake Bay. However, physical factors, specifically temperature, salinity, and seasonal dynamics were stronger determinants of croaker distribution than potential prey availability. To better understand the bioenergetic consequences of diet variability at the individual level, I tested the hypothesis that croaker feeding on anchovies would be in better condition than those feeding on polychaetes using a variety of condition measures that operate on multiple time scales, including RNA:DNA, Fulton's condition factor (K), relative weight (Wr), energy density, hepatosomatic index (HSI), and gonadosomatic index (GSI). Of these condition measures, several morphometric measures were significantly positively correlated with each other and with the percentage (by weight) of anchovy in croaker diets, suggesting that the type of prey eaten is important in improving the overall condition of individual croaker. To estimate the bioenergetic consequences of diet variability on growth and consumption in croaker, I developed and validated a bioenergetic model for Atlantic croaker in the laboratory. The application of this model suggested that croaker could be an important competitor with weakfish and striped bass for food resources during the spring and summer when population abundances of these three fishes are high in Chesapeake Bay. Even though anchovies made up a relatively small portion of croaker diet and only at certain times of the year, croaker consumed more anchovy at the population level than striped bass in all simulated years and nearly as much anchovy as weakfish. This indicates that weak trophic interactions between species are important in understanding ecosystem processes and should be considered in ecosystem-based management.

ION, OPERA IN SEVEN SCENES, BASED ON EURIPIDES ORIGINAL PLAY

The opera ION serves as my Doctoral Dissertation at the University of Maryland School of Music. The librettist of the opera is Nick Olcott, Opera Assistant Director at the University. My interest in this little-known play of Euripides began with my work with Professor Lillian Doherty of the University's Classics Department. Since I am fluent in Greek, I was able to read the play in original, becoming aware of nuances of meaning absent in the standard English translations. Professor Leon Major, Artistic Director of the University's Opera Studio, was enthusiastic about the choice of this play as the basis for an opera, and has been very generous of his time in showing me what must be done to turn a play into an opera. ION is my first complete stage work for voices and constitutes an ambitious project. The opera is scored for a small chamber orchestra, consisting of Saxophone, Percussion (many types), Piano, a Small Chorus of six singers, as well as five Soloists. An orchestra of this size is adequate for the plot, and also provides support for various new vocal techniques, alternating between singing and speaking, as well as traditional arias. In ION, I incorporate Greek folk elements, which I know first-hand from my Balkan background, as well as contemporary techniques which I have absorbed during my graduate work at Boston University and the University of Maryland. Euripides' ION has fascinated me for two reasons in particular: its connection with founding myth of Athens, and the suggestiveness of its plot, which turns on the relationship of parents to children. In my interpretation, the leading character Ion is seen as emblematic for today's teenagers. Using the setting of the classic play, I hope to create a modern transformation of a myth, not to simply retell it. To this end, hopefully a new opera form will rise, as valid for our times as Verdi and Wagner were for theirs.

Error recovery in cyberphysical digital microfluidic biochips

Droplet-based digital microfluidics technology has now come of age, and software-controlled biochips for healthcare applications are starting to emerge. However, today's digital microfluidic biochips suffer from the drawback that there is no feedback to the control software from the underlying hardware platform. Due to the lack of precision inherent in biochemical experiments, errors are likely during droplet manipulation; error recovery based on the repetition of experiments leads to wastage of expensive reagents and hard-to-prepare samples. By exploiting recent advances in the integration of optical detectors (sensors) into a digital microfluidics biochip, we present a physical-aware system reconfiguration technique that uses sensor data at intermediate checkpoints to dynamically reconfigure the biochip. A cyberphysical resynthesis technique is used to recompute electrode-actuation sequences, thereby deriving new schedules, module placement, and droplet routing pathways, with minimum impact on the time-to-response. © 2012 IEEE.

The adaptive significance and prevalence of courtship feeding in Hawaiian swordtail crickets

Males of many insect species feed their partner during courtship and mating. Studies of male nutrient donation in various systems have established that nuptial feeding has evolved mostly through sexual selection. Although there is extensive diversity in form, the function of nuptial gifts is typically limited to either facilitating copulation or increasing ejaculate transfer, depending on the time at which the gift is consumed by females. Unlike other insects, the Hawaiian swordtail cricket Laupala (Gryllidae: Trigonidiinae) exhibits serial transfer of nuptial gifts. Males transfer multiple spermless 'micro' spermatophores over several hours before mating at the end of the day (i.e. before the transfer of a single sperm-containing 'macro' spermatophore). By experimental manipulation of male microspermatophore donation, I tested several hypotheses pertaining to the adaptive significance of nuptial gifts in this system. I found that microspermatophore transfer improves insemination, by causing the female reproductive tract to take in more sperm. This result reveals a previously undocumented function for premating nuptial gift donation among insects. Enhanced sperm transfer due to microspermatophore donation may represent male manipulation or an internal mechanism of post-copulatory choice by females. I also performed experimental manipulation of male photoperiod to investigate how time and gender influence nuptial gift production and mating behavior. I found that the timing of mating is limited in males but not females and that the time of pair formation has consequences for the degree of nuptial gift donation, which suggests that both mating timing and microspermatophore number is important for male reproductive success. Finally, I observed the mating behavior of several trigonidiine taxa for a comparative analysis of sexual behavior and found that other genera also utilize spermless microspermatophores, which suggests that microspermatophore donation may be a common nuptial gift strategy among swordtail crickets. The elaborate nuptial feeding behavior of Hawaiian swordtail crickets prior to mating represents a newly discovered strategy to increase male insemination success rather than mating success. Based on this unexpected result, it is worth exploring whether courtship behaviors in other cricket or insect mating systems have also evolved to increase sperm uptake.

TRANSCENDING FACH: A SEARCH FOR IDENTITY INSIDE AND OUT OF MEZZO-SOPRANO REPERTOIRE

The German Fach system is a tool to classify voices in classical singing. This dissertation comprises three different programs that reflect my search for identity as a mezzo-soprano and my desire to transcend the limitations of Fach. The three programs, all presented at The Clarice Performing Arts Center, contain repertoire written for male and female voices thus allowing me to explore areas outside of the mezzo-soprano Fach, gain a better understanding of the Fach system and guide me as I strive to become a more mature performer. In my first program, I sang the role of Sesto, a role that was composed originally for a castrate, in the opera La Clemenza di Tito by W.A. Mozart. The Maryland Opera Studio production took place April 30, May 2,4&6,2003. Performing this gender-bending role provided an experience of physical behavior from the male view point along with the demands of coloratura singing. Program two (November 30,2004) contained the song cycle Dichterliebe by Robert Schumann and songs by Ludwig van Beethoven, Franz Schubert and Felix Mendelssohn, which are usually sung by male voices. This program experimented with extended range, tessitura and a gender-bending performance in the art song arena. 8 In program three (April 21 &23,2005), I sang the contralto role of Cornelia from Giulio Cesare in Egitto by George Frederic Handel. The role of Cornelia is psychologically complex, expressing emotions such as love, melancholy, rage, malice, joy and fear. To convey these emotions a voice needs warmth and darkness of quality. Although the range is close to that of the mezzo-soprano, Handel wrote Cornelia for contralto voice because he wanted a dark timbre and this role allowed me to develop my lower register and manage suitable ornamentations. The programs are documented in a digital format available on compact disc and are accompanied by the oral presentation at the defense of this dissertation.