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Trauma and Epigenetics

Submitted by afeltrin on Tue, 04/09/2019 - 13:40

In “Study finds PTSD may linger in body chemistry of next generation,” Rachel Yehuda explained the consequences associated with trauma to the body wonderfully. I would have never predicted that a parent’s gene response to a trauma would be passed down to their child/children. I found her study on Holocaust survivors and their children incredibly fascinating. It’s interesting to me that children are born with the same changes in cortisol as their parents that endured the trauma. It really has nothing to do with upbringing and the environment they lived in; it all has to do with genetics, in this case. The implications of epigenetic transmission in regards to various historical trauma associated with structural inequality is, I would think, that it would also be genetically passed down to children, like an endured physical trauma such as 9/11. I believe trauma is trauma, regardless of how severe it is; and that trauma would presumably be genetically passed on to the next generation.

Beluga Whale Call Abstract PP

Submitted by afeltrin on Fri, 04/05/2019 - 13:22

The purpose of our research is to compare the call characteristics of Delphinapterus leucas (beluga whales) from three distinct locations consisting of two narrow depth bodies of water and one deep body of water: St. Lawrence River and Saguenay River in Canada were narrow, while Harrison Bay in the north of Alaska had a greater depth. Using fifteen sound files, we observed and took note of the peak frequencies, note durations, and note rates using Raven Pro. Then, using the data we gathered from Raven Pro, we utilized R Studio to create whisker box plots to analyze and spot any apparent trends. Our major findings showed that the calls recorded from Saguenay River and Harrison Bay overlapped with ranges in their peak frequencies and note rates. All three locations overlapped for their note duration ranges. Our findings led to the conclusion that our proposed hypothesis was not supported by the data. We expected the shallow bodies of water to have overlapping data, yet, of the three factors analyzed, there were no overlaps except slightly in note rate. The narrow body of water, the Saguenay River, correlated in data much more highly with our deep body of water, the Harrison Bay.

Beluga Whale Call Results

Submitted by afeltrin on Fri, 04/05/2019 - 11:31

Of the sound files initially observed, only a limited amount of them had associated dates and locations of where the files were recorded. We looked into the characteristics of these recordings, mainly looking at the depth and ensuring we had some range of depths that could determine our results (Table 1). When viewing the sound files in Raven Pro, we began with Saguenay River in Canada and chose a sound clip that displayed the call structure nicely in the spectrogram. We proceeded to observe the structure of the call and the presence of whistles (Fig. 1). We then observed the spectrogram of Harrison Bay in northern Alaska and also took note of the call structure in a clear sound clip (Fig. 2). We examined the spectrogram of our final location, St. Lawrence River in Canada, and observed the call structure and variations among the call (Fig. 3).

Horse Ethogram Introduction

Submitted by afeltrin on Thu, 04/04/2019 - 13:06

For these specific videos, we were given to observe the different behaviors of Equus caballus or horses. There are countless contrasting behaviors that the horses displayed throughout the video. Some behaviors might involve more movement requiring more energy such as galloping or jumping while running as to some behaviors barely require much energy such as tail twitch or moving its head. Some parts of the video, it looked as if the horses were frozen just standing there still and not really doing anything. The different movements or behaviors displayed throughout the two videos were divided into numerous sections. Observing the video, behaviors were categorized into feeding, playing, locomotion, submission, defecation, and aggression.

Attachment Parenting

Submitted by afeltrin on Thu, 04/04/2019 - 09:48

This assignment focused on the topic of ‘attachment parenting’ and opinions I have concerning this method of parenting. The most compelling argument in favor of 'attachment parenting' in the video is made by the mothers. Using this method allows for them to feel as close and connected to their child as they can be. I thought it was very sweet and genuine when Jamie recounted the memory of her mother breastfeeding her past age two and how she had never felt so safe and unconditionally loved. The most compelling argument against 'attachment parenting,' which focuses more on breastfeeding, is made by the pediatricians. According to the pediatrician interviewed, there is little nutritional value when breastfeeding beyond two years old. Excessive breastfeeding may be negatively correlated with a child's successful development. 

Code-Switching

Submitted by afeltrin on Wed, 04/03/2019 - 20:21

Modern Family is a wildly popular comedic television show that currently has ten seasons and has won twenty-two Emmy awards (Television Academy, 2018). A central character to the show, Gloria Pritchett, came to the United States from Colombia and married Jay Pritchett, a native English-speaker. Throughout its ten season run, Gloria displays various occasions where she code-switches in scenes often shared with her mother, Pilar. As a result of cultural upbringing and the culture married into, Gloria and Pilar mainly code-switch between English and Spanish, often displaying inter-sentential and intra-sentential code-switching. Inter-sentential code-switching refers to the speaker switching between languages from sentence to sentence; whereas, intra-sentential refers to the speaker inserting or substituting words or grammar from one language to another in the middle of a sentence.

Beluga Whale Call Abstract

Submitted by afeltrin on Wed, 04/03/2019 - 13:58

The purpose of our research is to compare the call characteristics of Delphinapterus leucas (beluga whales) from three distinct locations consisting of two narrow depth bodies of water and one deep body of water: St. Lawrence River and Saguenay River in Canada were narrow, while Harrison Bay in the north of Alaska had a greater depth. Using fifteen sound files total, we observed and took note of the peak frequencies, note durations, and note rates via Raven Pro. Then, using the data we gathered from Raven Pro, we utilized R Studio to create whisker box plots to analyze and spot any apparent trends. Our major findings showed that the calls recorded from Saguenay River and Harrison Bay overlapped with the ranges in their peak frequencies and note rates. All three locations overlapped for their note duration ranges. Our findings led to the conclusion that our proposed hypothesis was not supported by the data. We expected the shallow bodies of water to have overlapping data, yet, of the three factors analyzed, there were no overlaps except slightly in note rate. The narrow body of water, the Saguenay River, correlated in data much more highly with our deep body of water, the Harrison Bay.

Race and Skin Color

Submitted by afeltrin on Wed, 04/03/2019 - 12:50

Race is differentiated as variants in skin color. Yet, skin color is the most rapidly evolving trait in our species and varies according to latitude. Simply, skin color correlates to the amount of melanin produced in body cells. More melanin equates to a darker skin color, which is typically found near the equator due to UV radiation being unable to penetrate the skin and destroy folic acid in DNA. Yet, people that live further from the equator have adapted to have lighter skin (less melanin) because it is more beneficial to have UV absorption, so certain vitamins related to bone health (vitamin D) will be produced. This paragraph is essentially what biological sciences support regarding race; but, then again, it’s not even really about race, it’s about skin color. The stigma around ‘race’ is socially constructed, resulting in the heavily predominant issue of racism.

Interstitial Organisms PP

Submitted by afeltrin on Thu, 03/28/2019 - 16:12

This article discusses the organisms that live in the space between the sand grains, which is referred to as the interstitium. Various metazoan taxa inhabit this area, including nematodes, copepods, and annelids. The main objective is to discuss the likelihood of the varying hypotheses that explain the origins of interstitial animals. The hypotheses include three scenarios: ancestral bilaterians were first to inhabit this area, the process of progenesis allowed for organisms to adapt to living in the interstitium, or that the body size of organisms would slowly decrease as time went on and lead to organisms coming to inhabit the area. The researchers provided an approach based on phylogenomics to create a likely phylogenetic tree of progenesis. The idea of an “Archiannelida,” an ancestral group based off of annelids, is rejected as a possible hypothesis. Hypotheses including progenesis are determined to be applicable, as the forefront feature of organisms that live in this environment is small body size. Adaptation over time for smaller body size is a key aspect pertaining to progenesis. Another imperative factor to consider is miniaturization, when looking into the potential history of these interstitial organisms.

Interstitial Organisms

Submitted by afeltrin on Thu, 03/28/2019 - 12:59

This article discusses the organisms that live in the space between the sand grains, which is referred to as the interstitium. Various metazoan taxa inhabit this area, including nematodes, copepods, and annelids. The main objective is to discuss the varying hypotheses that explain the origins of interstitial animals. The hypotheses include three scenarios: ancestral bilaterians were first to inhabit this area, the process of progenesis allowed for organisms to adapt to living in the interstitium, or that the body size of organisms would slowly decrease as time went on and lead to organisms coming to inhabit the area. The researchers provided an approach based on phylogenomics to create a likely phylogenetic tree of progenesis. The idea of an “Archiannelida” is rejected as a possible hypothesis. Hypotheses including progenesis are determined to be applicable, as the forefront feature of organisms that live in this environment is small body size. Adaptation over time for smaller body size is a key aspect pertaining to progenesis. Another imperative factor to consider is miniaturization, when looking into the potential history of these interstitial organisms.

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