Brown House Research Articles

Model of Women's Empowerment in the Economic Aspects of the Tourism Field Through Community-Based Education in Gunungkidul

This research endeavors to develop a conceptual model for enhancing women's empowerment in the economic aspects of tourism through community-based education in Gunungkidul, focusing on the tourist village of Nglanggeran. Utilizing a qualitative case study approach and purposive sampling, the study incorporates various data collection methods such as observation, archival recordings, interviews, and documentation, ensuring data validity through source and method triangulation. The research outcomes unveil an empowerment model involving training for the brown house, spa, and batik house communities. Participants, drawn from the local tourist village, gain opportunities to engage in village management. The empowerment process receives support from partners, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), and tourism village managers, yielding meaningful benefits for women. The stages encompass needs identification, program design, implementation, and evaluation. Women actively participate in problem exploration and solution determination during needs identification. Program design involves women in formulating training plans. Implementation includes preparation, coordination, socialization, group formation, resource strengthening, and training. Evaluation occurs at various stages, involving initial, implementation, and final assessments. Training implementation relies on assistance from partner institutions and CSR for problem resolution. Empowerment concludes with monthly program evaluations, resulting in the positive recognition of women's equality in welfare, access, awareness, participation, and control. This recognition translates into increased employment opportunities, enhanced income, and improved economic well-being for women.

Vitamin A, Vitamin E, and Carotenoid Concentrations in Livers of Marine Toads (Rhinella marina)

Global amphibian population decline is a major concern. Therefore, conservation centers have become increasingly needed for population sustainability breeding programs. This need makes proper nutrition programs while in human care imperative. The specific nutritional focus of this current research was to analyze vitamin A, vitamin E, and carotenoid (apocarotenoid, β-carotene, β-carotene ester, β-cryptoxanthin, lutein, lutein ester, zeaxanthin, and zeaxanthin ester) concentrations in the liver of 66 free-range marine toads (Rhinella marina) over a two-month period after entering human management. Toads were fed supplemented crickets randomly assigned to one of two diets: Diet 1 consisted of brown house crickets (Acheta domestica) gut loaded with Mazuri® Cricket Diet 5M38 and small amounts of sweet potato and carrots; Diet 2 consisted of an identical diet with the gut loaded crickets additionally dusted with Repashy® Superfoods Vitamin A Plus. Ten toads were euthanized prior to human management on Day 0 to assess baseline liver nutrients. Seven toads consuming each of the two diets (14 toads total) were euthanized on Days 9, 15, 32, and 62. Regardless of diet treatment, there were decreases (p < 0.05) in all the analyzed nutrient concentrations over the 62-day human management period. The results from this study indicate that higher dietary vitamin A, vitamin E, and carotenoid content may be needed and/or the cricket gut loading and dusting techniques used to feed the amphibians food source insects may be inadequate.

The Chicano Student Movement at California State College Los Angeles, 1967–1971

The authors examine the successful efforts to set up the first department of Mexican American Studies, possibly the first Educational Opportunity Program (EOP) in the California State University system, the establishment of a community center, and a Black and Brown House on the campus. The article details the negotiations among administrators, students, faculty, staff, and community. The goal is to highlight how the background of the East Los Angeles Blowouts, the response to the Vietnam War, the reaction to police violence, and the rise of La Raza Unida Party were central to the success of establishing these academic and university programs. At the same time, the essay underscores how these constituencies, given their divergent interests, were able to shift the institution. The authors use archival documentation and oral histories to demonstrate their points.

ANALISIS PEMASARAN KAKAO DI DESA OMU KECAMATAN GUMBASA KABUPATEN SIGI

Cacao (Theobroma cacao L) is a type of plantation that is often found in the Central Sulawesi Region. One area that can produce cocoa is Sigi Regency, there are 15 districts that can produce cocoa production in Sigi Regency. The purpose of this study was to determine the form of marketing channels, marketing margins, the share of prices received by farmers (producers) of cocoa and the efficiency of cocoa marketing in each channel in Omu Village, Gumbasa District, Sigi Regency. The results of the analysis show that there are two forms of marketing channels in Omu Village, Gumbasa Subdistrict, Sigi Regency, namely: Channel I) producers sell cocoa to collectors, then sell it to large traders and sell it again to end consumers (Brown House Industry). Channel II) Manufacturers sell cocoa to large traders, then wholesalers sell to end consumers. The total marketing margin of cocoa obtained in the first channel is Rp. 5,500, and the total margin obtained in the second channel is Rp.3,000. The share of prices received by producers in channel I was 82.53% while the share of prices received by producers in channel II was 90.47%. Marketing efficiency of channel I was 2.06%, and channel II was 1.82%, so channel II was more efficient than channel I.

Cane toad (Rhinella marina) vitamin A, vitamin E, and carotenoid kinetics.

Many amphibian species are threatened with extinction. Understanding their vitamin A (retinol), E (alpha-tocopherol), and carotenoid requirements is vital, as normal levels of these nutrients have a known connection to breeding success with abnormal levels leading to disease. This research examined vitamins A, E, and carotenoids (apocarotenoid, beta-carotene; beta-cryptoxanthin, lutein, zeaxanthin, and esters) concentration kinetics in the liver and plasma of 65 (57.8) cane toads (Rhinella marina) over 4 months supplemented with commercially available invertebrates in human care. Cane toads were opportunistically collected as part of a population control program for use as an amphibian model species. Toads were randomly assigned to one of two diets: treatment 1 was brown house crickets (Acheta domesticus) consuming Mazuri® Hi Calcium Gut Loading Diet without vitamin A or E supplement, plus fresh raw vegetables (carrot/sweet potato); Treatment 2 was the same diet except no vegetables. Ten toads were euthanized on Day 0 to analyze baseline free-ranging liver and plasma metabolites. Six toads consuming each treatment were euthanized on Days 22, 50, and 81, and n = 7 on Day 119 for analysis. Regardless of dietary treatment, most liver and blood metabolites were substantially higher at time 0 than all time points thereafter (p < .05); Ex: liver vitamin A at time 0 was 87.7 ± 16.12 µg/g while Day 119 for treatments 1 and 2 were 11.6 ± 1.19 and 8.2 ± 0.74, respectively. Few statistically significant differences between diets at the same time point were noted (p < .05). The results from this study indicate that additional or alternative diet supplementation may be needed for cane toads (and potentially other amphibians) to mimic their free-ranging diets.

A spatial and temporal assessment of human-snake encounters in urban and peri-urban areas of Windhoek, Namibia

Wildlife is known to be attracted to cities as a result of the ecosystem services associated with synanthorpization. This however often results in conflicts between human activities and wildlife. Accidental encounters between snakes and people in urban areas is a problem Windhoek shares with many cities around the world. Globally, this conflict leads to numerous human envenomations, a serious and neglected health concern according to the World Health Organisation. It is estimated that between 4000 and 30,000 people die from snakebite envenomation annually in sub-Saharan Africa alone. Surrounded by farm and natural land, the capital city of Namibia experiences regular snake occurrence in and around houses, gardens and industrial sites. We investigated reported occurrences of snakes in the city over three years in order to assess possible temporal and spatial trends, and identified possible reasons for such trends. Between August 2015 and July 2018, 509 snakes of 17 species were removed from homes, gardens and industrial sites in the city. Puff adder (Bitis arietans) (32%, n = 163) and western barred spitting cobra (Naja nigricincta nigricincta) (27%, n = 135) dominated removal incidents. Of the other species, only brown house snake (Boaedon capensis) (11%, n = 57) and boomslang (Dispholidus typus viridis) (10%, n = 52) accounted for 10% and more of removals. The number of monthly reports of B. arietans occurrence showed a strong positive relationship with monthly total rainfall while N. n. nigricincta presented a moderately positive relationship with rainfall. The highest number of incidents were reported in January (18%, n = 92) when combining monthly data over the three years. Reports of snake occurrence incidents were highest in the affluent eastern and southern suburbs, possibly as a result of garden irrigation and larger open spaces between buildings, although the study could not measure whether reporting diligence was consistent across all suburbs. Although 76% (n = 388) of snake incidents involved venomous species, no snakebite incidents were reported during the period.

We Are Family

We Are Family Cruz Medina (bio) The House of Broken Angels Luis Alberto Urrea Little, Brown and Company www.littlebrown.com/titles/luis-alberto-urrea/the-house-of-broken-angels/9780316516259/ 368 Pages; Print, $11.99 The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea brings to life the story of a family gathering for the funeral of the de la Cruz family's oldest living member, Mamá América, in what the author describes as "a Mexican Finnegan's Wake." On the day after the funeral, the family celebrates the last birthday of Big Angel, who is deteriorating from cancer and concerned with who will take his place as the family's patriarch. Full of humor, tender moments, and feelings of loss, this story of a multigenerational family reuniting presents a complicated, at times heartwarming, glimpse of an individual Mexican American family at a time of grief and joy, providing a necessary slice of humanity. The pages drip with the inside jokes by family members deathly afraid of the silence that hangs thick with tension from the passage of time that collapses amongst loved ones, bringing back youthful longing and forgotten heartache. In House of Broken Angels, Urrea follows in the tradition of Latinx storytellers. A family tree at the end of the novel diagrams the de la Cruz family and harkens back to the Buendia family of Gabriel Garcia Marquez's One Hundred Years of Solitude (1967). Instead of a Columbian village learning of the invention of ice, Urrea's House invents a San Diego barrio with true-to-life depictions of the harsh realities that immigrants face crossing into the US, struggles to keep a family together, confrontations with racism, and reconciliation with the myth of the American Dream. For audiences desiring the familial tales from times past, Urrea includes the struggle of life in Mexico that precipitates crossing over into the US. Over the course of the two days when the novel takes place, Urrea takes the reader on a flashback to Big Angel's youth, setting out to earn money as a young man on a boat with an unscrupulous Chentebent. Wanting to make his way in the world and out of the Mexican city of La Paz, Big Angel escapes the boat of Chentebent, where Angel is captive to the whims of the drunken and criminally violent boat captain. Though not as dire as circumstances facing Central Americans in countries ravaged by narco violence, Angel's experience in Mexico helps the audience to understand how motivations to migrate often come from life-threatening factors back at home that are beyond a migrant's control. In the context of Trump-era "build the wall" political rhetoric, Urrea includes complicated histories and generations of crossing the border, with the voices of former crossers and the children of immigrants. Almost torn from headlines circulating in social media, The House of Broken Angels includes the voices of an emboldened woman in Target who tells family members to "go back to their own country" and the everyday racist command to "speak English." The novel does not linger on these moments for too long, although their inclusion undergirds the world in which the characters occupy as one anchored in our own politically turbulent moment. In his good-natured way, Urrea tells a very real story of a Mexican American family with a divorce that forever damaged relationships between characters and mixed backgrounds that include an educated professor, Little Angel, Yndio the Cher impersonator, someone simply called "Pato" (because of his duck laugh), and Lalo the army vet. Lalo grapples with having served and injured in the US army overseas, though he is unable to receive citizenship as the army recruiter promised. The familial tensions are timeless while the individuals caught in the flawed immigration process and the struggle for LGBTQIA rights speak to commonplaces in our current political landscape. Never one to dedicate too much text to description, Urrea captures the feelings and smells of homes with well-placed asides about the merits of instant coffee or facial tattoos indicative of a gang murder. Capturing differing perspectives in the multigenerational family, the dialogue is layered with...

See you in Denver!

May is a wonderful month, spring is in the air and we celebrate Mother’s Day. May is also the month before the AANP National Conference. I can almost feel the mountain air and see the breathtaking beauty of the Rocky Mountains. The Denver area has a lot to offer for everyone from the outdoor adventurer to the lover of culture. I personally like the Molly Brown House, the US Mint, the gold mines and the nearby Coors Brewery. I also enjoy the sights on the scenic Mount Evans Byway. If you do not have time to take in some sights, the national conference is a good way to have your own adventure. You will have opportunities to earn CE, network with colleagues, mingle with AANP leadership and become involved in your national organization. Some exciting activities are planned for this year's conference including a live concert performance by Musicians on Call, and a chance to help families with newborns by donating to Newborns in Need. At this year’s conference there will some exciting activities which include a live performance from Musicians on Call, and a chance to help mothers and newborns by donating to Newborns in Need. A program of Denver Health Foundation, Newborns in Need exists to provide every baby that is delivered at Denver Health Hospital a good start on life through the donation of a Warm Welcome bag that contain diapers, a sleep sack, bibs, socks, hats, pajamas, blankets, baby lotion, baby shampoo, a stuffed animal and a book. The program also provides portable cribs, strollers and car seats for parents who are unable to afford them and is sustained entirely through private donors. In 2017, they distributed nearly 3,400 Warm Welcome bags, each with a retail value of approximately $120. AANP will give our attendees the opportunity to help this initiative through monetary donations as well as items for the welcome bag. Stay tuned for more information. Make your plans now to be at AANP’s 2018 National Conference. It is one you won’t want to miss. I look forward to seeing you in Denver!

Eutrophication and predator presence overrule the effects of temperature on mosquito survival and development.

Adequate predictions of mosquito-borne disease risk require an understanding of the relevant drivers governing mosquito populations. Since previous studies have focused mainly on the role of temperature, here we assessed the effects of other important ecological variables (predation, nutrient availability, presence of conspecifics) in conjunction with the role of temperature on mosquito life history parameters. We carried out two mesocosm experiments with the common brown house mosquito, Culex pipiens, a confirmed vector for West Nile Virus, Usutu and Sindbis, and a controphic species; the harlequin fly, Chironomus riparius. The first experiment quantified interactions between predation by Notonecta glauca L. (Hemiptera: Notonectidae) and temperature on adult emergence. The second experiment quantified interactions between nutrient additions and temperature on larval mortality and adult emergence. Results indicate that 1) irrespective of temperature, predator presence decreased mosquito larval survival and adult emergence by 20–50%, 2) nutrient additions led to a 3-4-fold increase in mosquito adult emergence and a 2-day decrease in development time across all temperature treatments, 3) neither predation, nutrient additions nor temperature had strong effects on the emergence and development rate of controphic Ch. riparius. Our study suggests that, in addition to of effects of temperature, ecological bottom-up (eutrophication) and top-down (predation) drivers can have strong effects on mosquito life history parameters. Current approaches to predicting mosquito-borne disease risk rely on large-scale proxies of mosquito population dynamics, such as temperature, vegetation characteristics and precipitation. Local scale management actions, however, will require understanding of the relevant top-down and bottom-up drivers of mosquito populations.

The "Queer Shadow" of Ogden Codman in Edith Wharton's Summer

The "Queer Shadow" of Ogden Codman in Edith Wharton's Summer Emily J. Orlando (bio) "I have had a long letter from Coddy about Jean-Marie, of which I had sent him a [post card]. He knows it, & once tried to buy it; thinks its possibilities endless—& understands it better than any of the French friends who have seen it. What a queer stick!" —Edith Wharton, Letter to Minnie Jones, 1918 (Letters 407) "a queer stick is generally one who is not to be relied upon." —William Dickinson, A Supplement to the Glossary of the Dialect of Cumberland, 1905 One year after the publication of her novella Summer (1917), Edith Wharton intimated in a letter to Mary Berenson that the secret to a full life is "to decorate one's inner house so richly that one is content there, glad to welcome any one who wants to come and stay, but happy all the same in the hours when one is inevitably alone" (Lewis 413). Although she likely would not have relished the comparison to her transatlantic modernist counterpart, Wharton thus anticipates Virginia Woolf 's assertion that the "room of one's own" that is a woman writer's birthright "has to be decorated" (247).1 A number of scholars have elucidated what architecture and house decoration meant to Edith Wharton.2 Wharton certainly proposes a way for women to claim authority in the domestic sphere in her account of the "perilous coquetry" with which Lizzie Hazeldean arranges her New York drawing room in "New Year's Day" (305). But what of the Wharton fiction that is not centered on decorated drawing rooms? The only drawing room described in Summer, for which Wharton returns to the rural Massachusetts setting of Ethan Frome (1911), is that [End Page 220] which is presided over by Miss Hatchard, an ineffectual, aging spinster who is no aspirational peer for Charity Royall, the "ruler" of the modest home of her guardian and eventual husband Mr. Royall (88, 15, 11). Unlike the showy Fifth Avenue mansions of The Custom of the Country, Summer depicts residences called simply "the faded red house" (sometimes "sad house"), "the brown house," and "the abandoned house." Yet, as this essay seeks to demonstrate, the impact of architecture—and especially the fraught collaboration with an architect that yielded Wharton's first book, The Decoration of Houses (1897)—is nonetheless pivotal to the novella, which ultimately reveals much about Wharton's fluency with, and searing critique of, the effete male subculture of late nineteenth-century architects and designers. The under-class, under-educated Charity Royall, bereft of a drawing "room of her own" to decorate and govern, is at the center of Wharton's critique of this subculture. The young and worldly Lucius Harney, Charity Royall's love interest and the catalyst for her sexual awakening, is, after all, a New England architect. The lack of architectural context offered in the scholarship on Summer is surprising for a novella in which architecture brings together the protagonists.3 It is "the architect's passion for improvement" that lures Harney to the sleepy village of North Dormer, whose name at once invokes the architectural term for a type of window and signifies the dormant sexuality he arouses in the novella's protagonist. It is there that Harney encounters and slips into an affair with Charity that is, at least for her, transformative. In a particularly telling moment, the handsome cosmopolitan, scanning the holdings at the Hatchard Memorial Library where Charity serves as librarian, leans in and tells her, in a remark that flags him as patronizing, "You don't seem strong on architecture" (8). Edith Wharton was, of course, very strong on architecture, despite its being a male-dominated profession in her time.4 As Richard Guy Wilson has noted, by 1890, the young, married Wharton had acquired an impressive knowledge of architecture and decoration "through her father's library, her travels, and [her mentor and friend Egerton] Winthrop" (138). Composed in France some twenty years later, and staged in houses far less grand than the Gilded Age "cottages" that Wharton disparages in The Decoration of Houses, Summer speaks to the author's career-long...

Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome, Zibo City, China, 2006-2014.

Analysis of hemorrhagic fever with renal syndrome cases in Zibo City, China, during 2006-2014 showed that it occurred year-round. Peaks in spring and fall/winter were caused by Hantaan and Seoul viruses, respectively. Rodent hosts were the striped field mouse for Hantaan virus and the brown rat and house mouse for Seoul virus.

Postovipositional development of the sand snake Psammophis sibilans (Serpentes:Lamprophiidae) in comparison with other snake species

AbstractCharacterizing and comparing developmental progress across different species helps to interpret how different or similar body forms evolved. We present an embryonic table for the oviparous African Sand Snake Psammophis sibilans from the Lamprophidae family, describing its postovipositional in ovo development. Psammophis is a good model of a genus that is widely distributed in Africa and Asia and includes 22 species. We describe ten embryonic stages based on the development of externally visible morphological characteristics such as; pharyngeal arches, facial processes, eyes, scales, body pigmentation and body colour pattern development. This study discusses the development of this snake and compares it with that of the closely related brown house snake Lamprophis fulliginosus (Lamprophidae) and the medically important venomous cobras Naja haje haje and Naja kaouthia from the sister lineage Elapidae. The distantly related basal snake Python sebae, which displays different morphology and behaviour, was chosen for deeper insight into the evolution of body structures within the snake clade. We found interspecific differences in the relative stage of development of embryonic structures at the time of oviposition and during postovipositional embryonic development. One of the outcomes of this study is that embryonic structures such as the pharyngeal processes, eye pigmentation and scales are interspecifically conservative in regard to timing of morphodifferentiation, while body pigmentation, colour and colour pattern are interspecifically plastic in their temporospatial development.

Snakes and snakebite envenoming in Northern Tanzania: a neglected tropical health problem.

BackgroundSnakebites cause considerable human and livestock injuries as well as deaths worldwide, and particularly have a high impact in sub-Saharan Africa. Generating a basic platform of information on the characteristics of snakes and snakebites in various countries is relevant for designing and implementing public health interventions.MethodsThis study was performed to identify types of snakes and some of the characteristics of snakebite cases in two communities, an agricultural and a pastoralist, in Arusha region, northern Tanzania. A total of 30 field visits were carried out in areas considered by local inhabitants to be potential microhabitats for snakes. Direct observation of snake types based on morphological features and a structured questionnaire were employed for data collection.ResultsA total of 25 live and 14 dead snakes were encountered. Among the dead ones, the following species were identified: two black-necked spitting cobras (Naja nigricollis); five puff adders (Bitis arietans), one common egg-eater (Dasypeltis scabra); two rufous-beaked snakes (Ramphiophis rostratus); two brown house snakes (Lamprophis fuliginosus); one Kenyan sand boa (Eryx colubrinus), and one black mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis). The frequency of snake encounters was significantly higher (χ2 = 4.6; p = 0.03) in the pastoral than in the agricultural area; there were more snakebite cases in the former, but the differences were not statistically significant (p = 0.7). A total of 242 snakebite victims attended at the Meserani Clinic, located in the study area, between the years 2007 to 2012. Of all cases, 146 (61.6 %) and 96 (38.4 %) were male and female patients, respectively. As for age distribution, 59.1 % of snakebite victims were from the economically active age groups between 15 and 55 years.ConclusionSnakebites are a threat to rural communities and public health in general. The burden of snakebites in Tanzania presents an epidemiologically similar picture to other tropical countries. Livestock keeping and agriculture are the major economic activities associated with snakebites. Community-based public education is required to create awareness on venomous snakes and predisposing factors to snakebites. These tasks demand integration of diverse stakeholders to achieve a common goal of reducing the impact of human suffering from these envenomings in Tanzania.

Pheromone trailing behavior of captive juvenile African house snakes,Boaedon fuliginosus

African brown house snakes (Boaedon fuliginosus) provide a unique opportunity to observe juvenile pheromone trailing behavior in a species of snake that does not use overwintering hibernacula or exhibit aggregation behavior. Using a standard Y-maze as a trailing behavioral assay, the presence and likelihood of captive juvenile B. fuliginosus to trail conspecifics was measured. Juveniles were assessed for trailing juvenile conspecifics as well as non-related adult female conspecifics. A binomial statistic determined if trailing behavior is significantly different than random probability. Juvenile B. fuliginosus did not exhibit significant trailing behavior in regards to other juvenile conspecifics (n = 15). However, trailing behavior was observed for juveniles trailing non-related adult females in 80% of trials (n = 15). Presence of juvenile pheromone trailing in this species may have other functions beyond hibernacula searching and/or conspecific aggregation.

The Polygamists Come Out

The first thing we see in Sister Wives, a reality television show about a polygamous family, is the Brown family house. It is a “typical polygamous home,” we’re told by a polygamous architect. The U-Shaped structure sits on a patch of lawn in Lehi, Utah, the mountain town where the Browns, members of the Apostolic United Brethren (a fundamentalist Mormon church), live. From the outside, it appears boxy and drab, like a cheap attempt at a McMansion. It is not much to look at.

Conspecific pheromone trailing and pheromone trail longevity in the African Colubrid Boaedon fuliginosus

In snakes, pheromone trailing is a strategy used for long-distance location of conspecifics. The two existing hypotheses for this behaviour are: a) to locate individuals for reproductive purposes; and b) to form aggregations during the winter/dry season. Pheromone trailing for reproductive purposes has been observed in over 20 snake species representing four different families. The ability of adult male African brown house snakes (Boaedon fuliginosus) to track a sexually attractive female (assumed to be producing pheromones), as well as a conspecific male, was tested using a standard Y-maze. The length of time a female's pheromone remained distinguishable to a male was also tested using the same methodology. Male B. fuliginosus showed a strong ability to trail females both immediately after the trail was left by a female (100%; n=14) and seven days after a female left a trail (100%; n=14). After 14 days, however, only 71.4% (n=14) of males chose the same arm as the female, demonstrating that the pheromone trail degraded over time. Males also trailed other males in 77.8% (n=18) of trials, which suggests that males may use other male trails to locate females, or navigate through unfamiliar territories.

Effects of feeding on luminal pH and morphology of the gastroesophageal junction of snakes

At the gastroesophageal junction, most vertebrates possess a functional lower esophageal sphincter (LES) which may serve to regulate the passage of liquids and food into the stomach and prevent the reflux of gastric contents into the esophagus. Snakes seemingly lack an LES and consume meals large enough to extend anteriorly from the stomach into the esophagus thereby providing the opportunity for the reflux of gastric juices. To explore whether snakes experience or can prevent gastric reflux, we examined post-feeding changes of luminal pH of the distal esophagus and stomach, the fine scale luminal pH profile at the gastroesophageal junction, and the morphology of the gastroesophageal junction for the Burmese python (Python molurus), the African brown house snake (Lamprophis fuliginosus), and the diamondback water snake (Nerodia rhombifer). For each species fasted, there was no distension of the gastroesophageal junction and only modest changes in luminal pH from the distal esophagus into the stomach. Feeding resulted in marked distension and changes in tissue morphology of the gastroesophageal junction. Simultaneously, there was a significant decrease in luminal pH of the distal esophagus for pythons and house snakes, and for all three species a steep gradient in luminal pH decreasing across a 3-cm span from the distal edge of the esophagus into the proximal edge of the stomach. The moderate acidification of the distalmost portion of the esophagus for pythons and house snakes suggests that there is some anterior movement of gastric juices across the gastroesophageal junction. Given that this modest reflux of gastric fluid is localized to the most distal region of the esophagus, snakes are apparently able to prevent and protect against acid reflux in the absence of a functional LES.

The energetics of oviparous reproduction in the African Brown House Snake

The energetic cost of reproduction in the oviparous snake, Lamprophis fuliginosus (African Brown House Snake) was compared to other elevated metabolic states, specifically exhaustive activity and digestion. To determine gravidity, female snakes were imaged with a portable ultrasound (CTS‐3300, SIUI America, Inc.). Oxygen consumption was determined using flow through respirometry with carbon dioxide and oxygen sensors (Sable Systems International &amp; AEI Technologies, Inc.). Results indicate that female L. fuliginosus exhibit a significant 29.6% (P=.0310) increase in standard metabolic rate while gravid. An additive effect of gravidity in female snakes during digestion and/or activity could not be measured. Compared to the metabolic cost of exhaustive activity (scope = 4.3; P&lt;.00100) or digestion (scope = 6.70; P=.00100), gravidity (scope = 1.30; P=.0310) is significantly less energetically expensive. Furthermore, our data demonstrate that gravidity does not have a significant influence on time to exhaustion during exhaustive activity (mean = 28.6 minutes P=.400), or the time to peak digestive peak oxygen consumption (mean = 41.7 hours; P=.260). Digestion and activity are inevitable stresses a gravid female must endure. The potentially vulnerable time periods between ingestion and peak oxygen consumption during a meal, and the time it takes for a female to become exhausted during activity are not altered during gravidity. Besides a modest gravid metabolic scope of 1.30, our research has not identified any additional energetic physiological constraints. These results may have significant fitness implications for this species, which we plan to examine further in subsequent studies. Funding for this research was provided by NSF grant IOS 0922756 to JWH.

Premature sperm ejaculation in captive African brown house snake Lamprophis fuliginosus

Many ophidians exhibit prolonged copulation, a behaviour hypothesised to be the result of a slow and gradual ejaculation process or a behaviour aimed toward reducing sperm competition (male mate guarding). While observing courtship behaviour in a captive colony of the African brown house snake, Lamprophis fuliginosus, some males excreted a large amount of sperm very rapidly before the inflation and insertion of the males’ hemipenis into the females’ vent. This observation of premature ejaculation suggests that male snakes may be capable of rapid ejaculation and, therefore, likely copulate for an extended period of time to prevent rival males from mating with the same female, thus increasing the chance of paternity for the male.

The energetic cost of pregnancy compared to digestion and exhaustive exercise in the oviparous African Brown House Snake

The energetic cost of pregnancy compared to digestion and exhaustive exercise in the oviparous African Brown House Snake