Life in the countryside: How human behaviour shapes fear in eastern grey kangaroos

University of Technology Sydney. Faculty of Science.The expanding human population has reduced the space for wildlife to exist without the influence of humans. Human disturbances can elicit fear responses in wildlife, often leading to avoidance and adjustments to antipredator behaviour. These responses can be justified when human activities are harmful but can be misplaced if human actions pose little threat. The ability of wildlife to accurately interpret risk associated with anthropogenic activities can be instrumental in facilitating persistence in landscapes shared with humans. In rural or countryside environments, landscapes comprise a mosaic of tourist locations, wildlife-friendly farms, or farms where acceptance and tolerance of wildlife can vary greatly. This study aimed to determine whether eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus) were capable of assessing different kinds of behaviours engaged in by humans towards them in these shared landscapes and explore the behavioural adaptions they might utilise to persist in complex countryside landscapes. I studied a population of free-ranging kangaroos in a contiguous landscape of national parks and private properties where they encounter human disturbances that vary in intent (benign or harmful) and frequency (low or high). I found strong evidence that eastern grey kangaroos respond to the intent and frequency of human disturbances and appear to be habituated to human disturbances in areas where interactions with humans are frequent and of benign intent. Desensitisation to benign disturbances was readily developed, as animals experiencing low encounter frequencies with humans displayed flight responses similar to those that encountered them at higher frequencies. Through the analysis of behavioural activity patterns and transitions, I found no indication that individuals experiencing benign disturbances were likely to incur fitness costs as a result of benign human disturbance. In comparison, when kangaroos experience hunting or harassment, typical antipredator behaviours, like forming larger groups when further from cover, was not observed. However, they were fearful of humans and spent less time grazing, which may negatively impact on their energy intake and associated fitness. Furthermore, pouch young at these sites were restricted to the pouch more often than at sites of benign disturbance, reducing the amount of time young interacted with the environment and conspecifics, potentially impacting juvenile development and survival. In this thesis, I have been able to show that behavioural plasticity in kangaroos to human behaviour is contributing to their persistence in the complex countryside landscapes shared with humans. Learning from previous interactions with humans informed the expression of behaviours and fostered coexistence. However, coexistence comes at a cost, and the harmful effects of hunting extended well beyond the lethal consequences of being shot, as living in fear can reduce individual fitness and juvenile survival

Golden Bite Mouth Guard

Dr. Kirk Quigless has designed the Golden Bite™ athletic mouth guard to properly align the jaw. Literature suggests that the proper alignment of the jaw will provide users with increased performance gains. Accurately determining these gains without bias is a difficult task. Dr. Kirk Quigless needs to quantify the performance gains from his mouth guard. The portable device designed in the Golden Bite™ Mouth Guard Project will record the force exerted by an individual over a period of time. From this data, Dr. Kirk Quigless can determine the change in force output from individuals with and without the mouth guard, proving the validity of the performance gains associated with the Golden Bite™ athletic mouth guard

Early Childhood Workforce Index

The existing early care and education (ECE) system does a disservice to the educators — largely women and often women of color — who nurture and facilitate learning for millions of the nation's youngest children every day. Despite their important, complex labor, early educators' working conditions undermine their wellbeing and create devastating financial insecurity well into retirement age. These conditions also jeopardize their ability to work effectively with children. As we find ourselves in the middle of a global pandemic, child care has been hailed as essential, yet policy responses to COVID-19 have mostly ignored educators themselves, leaving most to choose between their livelihood and their health. Unlike public schools, when child care programs close, there's no guarantee that early educators will continue to be paid. Even as many providers try to keep their doors open to ensure their financial security, the combination of higher costs to meet safety protocols and lower revenue from fewer children enrolled is leading to job losses and program closures. Many of these closures and lost jobs are expected to become permanent. Over the course of the first eight months of the pandemic, 166,000 jobs in the child care industry were lost. As of October 2020, the industry was only 83 percent as large as it was in February, before the pandemic began.

Recyclability of 304L Stainless Steel in the Selective Laser Melting Process

During part fabrication by selective laser melting (SLM), a powder-bed fusion process in Additive Manufacturing (AM), a large amount of energy is input from the laser into the melt pool, causing generation of spatter and condensate, both of which have the potential to settle in the surrounding powder-bed compromising its reusability. In this study, 304L stainless steel powder is subjected to five reuses in the SLM process to assess its recyclability through characterization of both powder and mechanical properties. Powder was characterized morphologically by particle size distribution measurements, oxygen content with inert gas fusion analysis, and phase identification by X-ray diffraction. The evolution of powder properties with reuse was also correlated to tensile properties of the as-built material. The results show that reused powder coarsens and accrues more oxygen with each reuse. The effects of powder coarsening and oxygen increase on the tensile properties of fabricated parts are being investigated

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FoxP2 isoforms delineate spatiotemporal transcriptional networks for vocal learning in the zebra finch.

Human speech is one of the few examples of vocal learning among mammals yet ~half of avian species exhibit this ability. Its neurogenetic basis is largely unknown beyond a shared requirement for FoxP2 in both humans and zebra finches. We manipulated FoxP2 isoforms in Area X, a song-specific region of the avian striatopallidum analogous to human anterior striatum, during a critical period for song development. We delineate, for the first time, unique contributions of each isoform to vocal learning. Weighted gene coexpression network analysis of RNA-seq data revealed gene modules correlated to singing, learning, or vocal variability. Coexpression related to singing was found in juvenile and adult Area X whereas coexpression correlated to learning was unique to juveniles. The confluence of learning and singing coexpression in juvenile Area X may underscore molecular processes that drive vocal learning in young zebra finches and, by analogy, humans

Return to Play and Performance Following Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction in the National Women’s Soccer League

Background: The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is a commonly injured ligament in athletes, usually requiring ACL reconstruction (ACLR). Hypothesis/Purpose: To compare the return to play (RTP) and performance level of players following ACLR in the National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL). We hypothesized that there would be a high return to play rate following ACLR in the NWSL, but with a decrease in performance. Methods: NWSL players that underwent ACLR were identified by cross-referencing multiple online resources that were identified between the 2013 and 2020 seasons. Players were classified into the following positions: forward, defender, midfielder, and goalkeeper. The following RTP statistics were assessed: games played, games started, percentage of minutes played, and plus/minus net per 90 minutes. A sub-analysis was also performed to divide players based on median age (≤ 24 vs. \u3e25) at time of injury. Since a majority of these outcomes significantly violated the assumption of normality, continuous variables were reported using medians and interquartile ranges and nonparametric testing methods were used throughout the analysis. Results: A total of 30 NWSL athletes underwent ACLR between the 2013 and 2020 seasons. Midfielders constituted the highest percentage of injuries (n=11, 36.7%) followed by forwards (n=10, 33.3%). Of these 30 players, 27 returned to the NWSL post-injury, constituting a 90.0% RTP rate. The median RTP time was 12.1 months [interquartile range (IQR), 10.9 – 14.3 months]. There was a statistically significant decrease in the percentage of minutes played 1-year pre- and post-injury [median 87.9 (IQR: 80.7 – 90.6) vs. 25.1 (IQR: 16.3 – 57.2); p=0.031]. On age based sub-analysis, older players started significantly more games [median 12.0 (IQR: 3.8 – 18.5) vs. 3.0 (0.5 – 6.0); p=0.048)] and had a higher percentage of minutes played [median 63.0 (IQR: 18.8 – 77.3) vs. 14.9 (2.0 – 21.2); p=0.046] 1-year post injury compared to younger players. Conclusion: Our results support the hypothesis that there is a high RTP rate following ACLR in the NWSL. Following injury, players played in a lower percentage of minutes in the season they returned, with older players starting more games and playing a greater percentage of minutes compared to younger players

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Sioux Falls Renewable Project Final Report

Sioux Falls is the largest city in South Dakota with a population of over 171,000 residents. Sioux Falls is one of only two cities in South Dakota to have an Office of Sustainability. South Dakota is a national leader in the amount of renewable energy produced with large amounts of hydropower and wind energy produced, and the climactic conditions on South Dakota are conducive for additional wind and solar energy production. Therefore, Sioux Falls is well position to take a leadership role in mitigating climate change in South Dakota. One way for Sioux Falls to mitigate climate change – and model climate action for the state and region – is to transition the energy use in the city to 100% renewable energy. There are currently more than 175 cities in the United States that have completed, are in the process, or have pledged to transition to 100% renewable energy. Although Sioux Falls is not one of these cities, we believe that there is potential for Sioux Falls to transition to 100% renewable energy. The primary uses of energy in a city include electricity, heating, and transportation. Based on reviews of the existing cities who are or have transitioned to 100% renewable energy, we determined that many cities first focus on a transition to 100% renewable electricity. The purpose of this report is to explore the opportunities and constraints – and to provide recommendations – for engaged stakeholders to develop a campaign for Sioux Falls to transition to 100% renewable electricity by 2035.https://red.library.usd.edu/sustainability-projects/1006/thumbnail.jp