Histological analysis of a growth series of alligator femora tests the correlation between strain milieu and microstructure. From mid-diaphyseal cross-sections of these femora (n = 7), vascular canal orientation and density as well as collagen fibre organization were recorded. Throughout ontogeny, the proportion of transverse-spiral (TS) collagen in the dorsal cortex is significantly greater than it is in the ventral cortex (P = 0.008). This regional difference in the proportion of TS collagen is correlated with a regional difference in the state of peak principal strain (compressive or tensile). Nevertheless, the predominant orientation of collagen fibres is longitudinal, which is inconsistent with biomechanical hypotheses that involve peak principal or shear strains. Although the density and orientation of vascular canals do not show significant regional differences (P = 0.26 and P = 0.26, respectively), as with collagen orientation, the vascular canal orientation is predominantly longitudinal. The longitudinal organization of both the vascular canals and the collagen fibres is probably a consequence of longitudinal shifting of subperiosteal osteoid during femoral lengthening. When taken together, these data suggest that growth dynamics is the dominant influence on the histological organization of primary bony tissues in alligator femora.

10 Feet Over is essentially a linear dungeon-crawler game. The game is top-down and controlled with nothing but the

arrow keys, spacebar, and F8 button. Using your character's dash mechanic, it is your goal to get to the end of the

dungeon in order to get your sword back from the goblins that stole it. There are three objectives that change with

each level, though, and those are either to kill everything, race to the finish, or to survive for one minute. The

dash mechanic works like this: you cannot touch enemies while dashing, however, your character will leave a trail

behind them that can kill enemies upon contact.This is the only way to kill enemies besides running into them and

losing health, which you don't want to do because you only have three lives per level. On top of the goblins trying

to kill you, take comfort in knowing that the zombies and ghosts also want to kill you, and they will follow you

around the level until they do. Unless they're a zombie, then you'll just get blocked by a wall. Also accompanying

you on your adventure is the ever-present Game Master, who is there to offer you your objective for the level, describe

what's happening, and forget why you're in the dungeon in the first place. Good luck, and have fun!

This thesis explores app-based ride-share as an emblem of the digitized, post-Fordist economic transition. I review how its recent emergence connects to the 20th century taxi-dominated ride-hailing industry, and to broader post-War socioeconomic and political trends. Examining driver demographics in the context of the ride-share labor process, I assess how class, gender, racial, and other social hierarchies influence workplace outcomes. Throughout, I emphasize the modulating role of both algorithmic management and worker-to-worker exchange.

Locomotion is a behavior essential for survival. It is important for guiding goal-directed approach towards desired outcomes and avoidance of aversive stimuli. To this end, a large number of processes in the brain are both regulated by and serve to inform the locomotor behavior of animals. Here, we attempt to define the neural circuits underlying locomotor control, the associated changes that locomotion has upon brain states, and the neurobiological basis of locomotor decisions. In Chapter 1, we describe what is known regarding the neural circuits guiding locomotor behaviors. We provide background also regarding the known mechanisms that guide changes in brain states and are associated with locomotion. We then touch upon recent literature attempting to understand how information is used to guide decision-making to better understand the specific problem of how locomotor decisions are made. In Chapter 2, we then present novel findings, identifying brainstem circuits that control locomotion and concurrently regulate visual processing of information in the cortex through the basal forebrain. These findings may apply to other networks beyond the visual system and form a general mechanism by which various brain regions are modulated by behavioral state. In Chapter 3, we demonstrate that these brainstem circuits are under the regulation of the basal ganglia. These studies identify a conserved, phylogenetically ancient pathway for guiding locomotion that may exist in all vertebrates and represent one of the earliest functions of the basal ganglia system. In chapter 4, we leverage our understanding of the basal ganglia pathways for locomotor control to understand the processes of goal-directed decision-making. In chapter 5, we find that the ventral striatal shares a parallel organization to the dorsal striatum for implementing reinforcement learning to guide future locomotor decision-making. These studies into the basis of goal-directed locomotor behaviors may elucidate general principles for decision-making. Collectively, these results demonstrate control systems for locomotion are deeply interconnected with a diverse array of processes throughout the brain that guide goal-directed locomotor behaviors.

Pathological activation of the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and inflammation are associated with hypertension and the development of metabolic syndrome (MetS). The progression of MetS is also associated with the development of chronic kidney disease (CKD) and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). However, the contributions of the angiotensin type 1 receptor (AT1) receptor activation and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α-mediated inflammation have on the development of insulin resistance and how they impact hepatorenal health is not well defined. The Otsuka Long-Evans Tokushima Fatty (OLETF) rat is a well-characterized model of diet-induced obesity that progresses similarly to humans. Using this model and its lean strain counterpart, the Long Evans Tokushima Otsuka (LETO) the progression of the disease was observed in six groups of 16 week old rats with 6 weeks of treatment: 1) lean strain-control LETO; n=5, 2) obese OLETF; n=7, 3) OLETF + angiotensin receptor blocker (ARB; 10 mg olmesartan/kg; n=8), 4) OLETF + TNF-α inhibitor (ETAN; 1.25mg etanercept/kgd; n=6), 5) OLETF + angiotensin receptor blocker + TNF-α inhibitor (ARB + ETAN; 10 mg olmesartan/kg + 1.25mg etanercept/kgd; n=6), and 6) OLETF + calcium channel blocker (CCB; 5 mg amlodipine/kg; n=7).

All treatments resulted in similar reductions in blood pressure; however the acute removal of etanercept resulted in an increase in blood pressure that was immediately reduced again once reintroduced. CCB treatment was not able to improve glucose tolerance or insulin resistance index, while ARB, ETAN, and ARB + ETAN were. Similarly, improvements in adiposity were observed with all treatment groups. Renal albumin excretion and glutathione peroxidase was recovered only with ETAN treatment. Renal 4-hydroxynonenal was reduced with ARB treatment. Hepatic non-esterified fatty acids were reduced with all treatments, however, there was a greater reduction found with ETAN and ARB + ETAN treatments. Despite relatively similar reductions in systolic blood pressure and adiposity, the calcium channel blocker did not improve glucose tolerance or calculated insulin resistance index, while the other treatments did, demonstrating that improper RAS activation and inflammation are larger factors contributing to the development of impaired glucose and lipid metabolism and regulation during metabolic syndrome, than hypertension. These results suggest that AT1 activation and TNF-α mediated inflammation are mechanistically important in the development of metabolic syndrome and that the associated increase in systolic blood pressure (SBP) may be a consequence of the condition. They also suggest that there are other factors contributing to impaired glucose tolerance and adiposity since none of the treatments completely ameliorated the derangement.

Objective

Materials and methods

Results

Conclusion