Theropod dinosaurs, an iconic clade of fossil species including Tyrannosaurus and Velociraptor, developed a great diversity of body size, skull form and feeding habits over their 160+ million year evolutionary history. Here, we utilize geometric morphometrics to study broad patterns in theropod skull shape variation and compare the distribution of taxa in cranial morphospace (form) to both phyl...

It is well known that abnormal animal behaviour is affected by both environment and genetics. This thesis aimed to use behavioural observations as well as gene expression measurements to explore how animals that perform and receive tail biting (pigs) and feather pecking (laying hens) differ from individuals that are not involved in these behaviours. In study I, the results suggested that tail b...

In this paper, we discuss the sectionalization in linear tail-biting trellis. In [3], Lafourcade and Vardy investigated the basic property of sectionalization in conventional trellis. Their proofs of basic properties are based on conventional trellis structure which fails to be generalized to linear tail-biting trellis. We derive our proofs from the construction of Koetter-Vardy(KV) trellis in ...

Buruli ulcer is a necrotizing skin disease caused by Mycobacterium ulcerans and associated with exposure to aquatic habitats. To assess possible transmission of M. ulcerans by aquatic biting insects, we conducted a field examination of biting water bugs (Hemiptera: Naucoridae, Belostomatidae, Nepidae) in 15 disease-endemic and 12 non-disease-endemic areas of Ghana, Africa. From collections of 2...

In Florida, horses have numerous arthropod pests. Most of these pests are considered external parasites as their attack on the horse is principally external, as opposed to internal parasites such as “worms” or nematodes and bots. The common external parasites include filth flies such as non-biting house flies and biting stable flies and occasionally horn flies, the numerous other blood-feeding ...

Abnormal tail biting behaviour is a major welfare problem for pigs receiving the behaviour, as well as an indication of decreased welfare in the pigs performing it. However, not all pigs in a pen perform or receive tail biting behaviour and it has recently been shown that these 'neutral' pigs not only differ in their behaviour, but also in their gene expression compared to performers and receiv...

Onychophagia is defined as a chronic nail biting behaviour affecting about 20-30% of the general population. However, nail biting seems to be an ignored problem in a daily clinical practice. We have analysed the influence of onychophagia on quality of life (QoL) and stigmatisation level among 339 medical students with and without nail biting. Those with onychophagia demonstrated significantly h...

The performance of high-rate tail-biting convolutional codes serially concatenated with generalized partial response channels is studied. The effect of precoders on the overall performance is investigated. Extrinsic information transfer charts are used to guide the selection of appropriate tail-biting codes and precoders. Simulation results for a magnetic recording system modeled as a serial co...

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that experimental and reversible changes of occlusion affect the levels of surface electromyographic (SEMG) activity in the anterior temporalis and masseter areas during unilateral maximal voluntary biting (MVB) in centric and eccentric position. Changes were achieved by letting 21 healthy subjects bite with and without a cotton roll between the ...

BACKGROUND Crib-biting and windsucking (CBWS) behaviour in horses has been associated with increased risk of colic in general, recurrence of colic and specific forms of colic. The aims of the present study were to determine the prevalence of colic within a population of horses that display CBWS behaviour and to identify risk factors for colic. METHODS Owners/carers of horses in the general UK...