Synopses of research on shrimps: 1. The common shrimp species of Sierra Leone's coastal waters: their distribution, abundance and size composition

The authors present quantitative information on the shrimp resources of Sierra Leone waters. Four of the nine species present have been studied, of which Paenaeus duorarum notialis is dominant in the fishery. Synoptic surveys were undertaken in June 1977, and March 1978, to determine the abundance of the shrimp stock on the inshore shelf. The temperature-salinity-depth curves for the fishing ground show the existence of three water masses. The majority of fish caught were sciaenids, with some sparids also being taken. Detailed discussion of distribution and abundance of individual species of shrimp is given. The surveys have shown that the Banana Islands are the most productive shrimp grounds in the country, and the authors believe that they can support a viable shrimp industry for several years to come at present rates of exploitatio

Survey of the shrimp stocks of the Sierra Leone inshore shelf : a summary report outlining objectives, observations and recommendations on the status of the Sierra Leone shrimp fishery

This report gives the species and catch-rates per hour of some commercial shrimp species caught in the course of a short survey of inshore shelf fishing grounds. Species seen in significant quantities were: Parapenneopsis atlantica, Parapenaeus longirostris, Penaeus kerathurus and Penaeus duorarum notiali

Bathymetric terrain model of the Atlantic margin for marine geological investigations.

Bathymetric terrain models of seafloor morphology are an important component of marine geological investigations. Advances in acquisition and processing technologies of bathymetric data have facilitated the creation of high-resolution bathymetric surfaces that approach the resolution of similar surfaces available for onshore investigations. These bathymetric terrain models provide a detailed representation of the Earth’s subaqueous surface and, when combined with other geophysical and geological datasets, allow for interpretation of modern and ancient geological processes. The purpose of the bathymetric terrain model presented in this report is to provide a high-quality bathymetric surface of the Atlantic margin of the United States that can be used to augment current and future marine geological investigations. The input data for this bathymetric terrain model, covering almost 305,000 square kilometers, were acquired by several sources, including the U.S. Geological Survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration National Geophysical Data Center and the Ocean Exploration Program, the University of New Hampshire, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. These data have been edited using hydrographic data processing software to maximize the quality, usability, and cartographic presentation of the combined terrain model

Towards Fully Purposing Universities to Deliver Public Benefit

In leadership positions at UCL, we have spent more than a decade seeking to fulfil our university's founding commitment—inspired almost two centuries ago by the utilitarian philosopher Jeremy Bentham—to innovation, accessibility, and relevance for the benefit of humanity. Our guiding principle has been to make our institution and its activities greater than the sum of its parts. To enable us to have most impact in “sustainable human progress,” we have focused our approach on cross-disciplinarity—by which we mean collaboration between experts in different disciplines that transcends subject boundaries—because the problems faced by society cannot be solved by research from one discipline alone. In recent years we have come to understand the boundaries between disciplines to be a subset of the many types of barriers—such as those between communities (disciplinary, academic and otherwise) and between different kinds of activity—that can inhibit the fulfilment of our vision to maximise our public benefit. In order to address crucial challenges—from the local to the global—we need to form collaborations across society that increase our mutual knowledge and engagement. We need to understand how the translation and application of knowledge will change in different settings and according to different practicalities. And we need to better reflect and enhance our role as convenors of different stakeholders to promote greater shared dialogue, co-creation and action

Interconnecting islands: evolving the research policy ecosystem

When we think of the current research-policy ecosystem in the UK, what image does it conjure? Some may picture an archipelago; islands of research-policy engagement initiatives separated by surrounding waters. What if we could better connect these islands so that resources can be shared and communities can learn from each other more easily? CAPE team members reflect on the key insights that emerged from a workshop that sought to explore the development of a more mature engagement ecosystem

Do students learn to be more conscientious at medical school?

Background Professionalism in medical students is not only difficult to define but difficult to teach and measure. As negative behaviour in medical students is associated with post-graduate disciplinary action it would be useful to have a model whereby unprofessional behaviour at the undergraduate level can easily be identified to permit appropriate intervention. We have previously developed a scalar measure of conscientiousness, the Conscientiousness Index (CI), which positively correlates to estimates of professional behaviour in undergraduate medical students. By comparing CI points awarded in year 1 and year 2 of study we were able to use the CI model to determine whether teaching and clinical exposure had any effect on students’ conscientiousness. Methods CI points were collected by administrative staff from 3 successive cohorts of students in years 1 and 2 of study. Points were awarded to students for activities such as submission of immunisation status and criminal record checks, submission of summative assignments by a specified date and attendance at compulsory teaching sessions. CI points were then converted to a percentage of maximal possible scores (CI %) to permit direct comparison between years 1 and 2 of study. Results CI % scores were generally high with each year of study for each cohort showing negatively skewed normal distributions with peaks > 89%. There was a high degree of correlation of CI % scores between year 1 and year 2 of study for each cohort alone and when cohort data was combined. When the change in CI % from year 1 to year 2 for all students was compared there was no significant difference in conscientiousness observed. Conclusions We have provided evidence that use of a CI model in undergraduate medical students provides a reliable measure of conscientiousness that is easy to implement. Importantly this study shows that measurement of conscientiousness by the CI model in medical students does not change between years 1 and 2 study suggesting that it is a stable characteristic and not modified by teaching and clinical exposure

Parents' rolein supporting children's literacy development: perceptions of parents in Newfoundland and Labrador

This study examines parents’ perceptions of their role in supporting their children’s literacy development. Data were collected through phone interviews using the Parent Reading Belief Inventory adapted from DeBaryshe (1994). This qualitative study consists of eight female participants with children aged four to six. The results provide a basis for understanding parents’ perceptions and their rationales for parenting practices. All the participating parents believe they play an important role in their children’s early learning. The majority of participants replicated their own childhood experiences with reading. Overall, the findings suggest that parents evaluate their child’s level of readiness when determining their reading support strategies, and that literacy development is unique to each child. These findings contribute to an understanding of both the importance of researching parents’ perceptions and also the way in which such perceptions may influence their child’s literacy development

Characterization of arm muscle activity levels during cycling at various relative workloads

Arm cycling is an effective mode of rehabilitation, exercise, and transportation. Previous studies aimed at examining the neuromuscular control of arm cycling typically use a standard workload (e.g. 25W) as opposed to relative workloads for each participant. This may be problematic given that many measures of neuromuscular excitability are intensity-dependent and a standard workload likely represents different effort levels for each participant. The purpose of this study was to examine and characterize the arm muscles during arm cycling at various relative workloads. While the present thesis is not a detailed examination of the neuromuscular physiology of arm cycling it may be an important step in normalizing the manner in which arm cycling studies are performed, by determining how the muscles respond to increases in relative workloads during arm cycling. With the use of surface electromyography, it is possible to determine an appropriate relative workload. This will allow us to improve current basic research examining the neural control of arm cycling and may also be important for rehabilitative and therapeutic practices for individuals with a neurological injury or impairment