Analytic psychology: Source concepts for artificial intelligence

AbstractAs intelligence technology advances from problem specific to adaptive designs it is conceivable that design concepts will be found in analytic psychology. This psychology features a mechanistic and structured model of human adaptivity from which such concepts may derive. This paper develops this position and illustrates it with three examples: the von Neumann machine, digital simulation of dreams, and digital simulation of the mechanism of the creative process. The simulating algorithms of the last two examples are implemented in Fortran

Evidences of adaptive traits to rocky substrates undermine paradigm of habitat preference of the Mediterranean seagrass Posidonia oceanica

Posidonia oceanica meadows are acknowledged as one of the most valuable ecosystems of the Mediterranean Sea. P. oceanica has been historically described as a species typically growing on mobile substrates whose development requires precursor communities. Here we document for the first time the extensive presence of sticky hairs covering P. oceanica seedling roots. Adhesive root hairs allow the seedlings to firmly anchor to rocky substrates with anchorage strength values up to 5.23 N, regardless of the presence of algal cover and to colonise bare rock without the need for precursor assemblages to facilitate settlement. Adhesive root hairs are a morphological trait common on plants living on rocks in high-energy habitats, such as the riverweed Podostemaceae and the seagrass Phyllospadix scouleri. The presence of adhesive root hairs in P. oceanica juveniles suggests a preference of this species for hard substrates. Such an daptation leads to hypothesize a new microsite driven bottleneck in P. oceanica seedling survival linked to substrate features. The mechanism described can favour plant establishment on rocky substrates, in contrast with traditional paradigms. This feature may have strongly influenced P. oceanica pattern of colonisation through sexual propagules in both the past and present

On the occurrence of the silverstripe blaasop Lagocephalus sceleratus (Gmelin, 1789) along the Libyan coast

Five individuals of Lagocephalus sceleratus were caught by trammel and gill nets off Ain Al Ghazala, Libya (approximately 32°09'N − 23°15'E) between 15 and 25 m depth in September 2010. Our findings represent the first record of this toxic species from Libya and provide further evidence of its occurrence along North African coasts

Eastern Illinois State College - Fifty Years of Public Service

This book is a narrative of the Eastern Illinois State College at Charleston, Illinois. I t does not attempt to interpret Eastern\u27s role in our national educational development. The writer has not used the story of Eastern as a means for expounding educational doctrine, and he hopes that his own pedagogical theories have not intruded themselves in these pages. The book has been written for the former \u27students and teachers of Eastern and for the present and future sons and daughters of the school. Those who come to Eastern in the years ahead may find in these pages some hint of the forces and personalities which have made the school and some understanding of the school\u27s traditions. Eastern is a good school and here, at least in part, is why.https://thekeep.eiu.edu/eiu_history/1001/thumbnail.jp

Nest guarding behaviour of a temperate wrasse differs between sites off Mediterranean CO2 seeps

Organisms may respond to changing environmental conditions by adjusting their behaviour (i.e., behavioural plasticity). Ocean acidification (OA), resulting from anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), is predicted to impair sensory function and behaviour of fish. However, reproductive behaviours, and parental care in particular, and their role in mediating responses to OA are presently overlooked. Here, we assessed whether the nesting male ocellated wrasse Symphodus ocellatus from sites with different CO2 concentrations showed different behaviours during their breeding season. We also investigated potential re-allocation of the time-budget towards different behavioural activities between sites. We measured the time period that the nesting male spent carrying out parental care, mating and exploring activities, as well as changes in the time allocation between sites at ambient (~400 μatm) and high CO2 concentrations (~1000 μatm). Whilst the behavioural connectance (i.e., the number of linkages among different behaviours relative to the total amount of linkages) was unaffected, we observed a significant reduction in the time spent on parental care behaviour, and a significant decrease in the guarding activity of fish at the high CO2 sites, with a proportional re-allocation of the time budget in favour of courting and wandering around, which however did not change between sites. This study shows behavioural differences in wild fish living off volcanic CO2 seeps that could be linked to different OA levels, suggesting that behavioural plasticity may potentially act as a mechanism for buffering the effects of ongoing environmental change. A reallocation of the time budget between key behaviours may play a fundamental role in determining which marine organisms are thriving under projected OA

Aspetti dell'alimentazione di alcune specie di selaci del Canale di Sicilia

I Selaci occupano gli ultimi livelli delle reti trofiche marine: si tratta infatti di carnivori che, spesso, predano risorse utili anche all'uomo. Numerose specie demersali (squali, razze e torpedini) si alimentano, infatti, con organismi di interesse commerciale come Aristeidi, Peneidi, Cefalopodi e Pesci ossei. Le abitudini alimentari dei Selaci demersali del Canale di Sicilia sono quasi completamente sc onosciute; esistono in letteratura i lavori di Capapé relativi alle acque tunisine, che si limitano ad una descrizione puramente qualitativa delle diete ma che hanno tuttavia evidenziato preferenze verso Crostacei Decapodi, Cefalopodi e Teleostei. Lo studio dei contenuti stomacali dei Selaci può fornire dunque elementi utili alla comprensione delle reti trofiche demersali, all'indagine sull'esistenza di competizione tra le diverse specie e allo studio dell'interferenza con prede di valore commerciale

The chemical composition of the aerial parts essential oil of Acinos alpinus subsp. nebrodensis (Lamiaceae) growing in Sicily (Italy)

Acinos is a small genus of economically important plants belonging to Lamiaceae family whose botanical collocation is quite problematic due to the disagreement among the botanists and the presence in litera- ture of several names and synonyms from different sources. In the pre- sent study the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of Acinos alpinus subsp. nebrodensis (Strobl) Brullo & Brullo col- lected in Central Sicily was analyzed by GC-MS. The result showed the presence of large quantity of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons with germa- crene D (37.9%) as the most abundant component followed by (E)- b-caryophyllene (5.1%). Among the oxygenated monoterpenes thymol (8.3%) was the most abundant; good quantity of hexadecanoic acid (6.8%) was also observed. Chemotaxonomic considerations with respect all the other oils of Acinos taxa, studied so far, were carried out

Concern about the spread of the invader seaweed Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla (Chlorophyta: Caulerpales) towards the West Mediterranean

The new Australian alien seaweed Caulerpa taxifolia var. distichophylla, after being established along the Turkish Mediterranean coast in 2006, was recorded in Southern Sicily in 2007. Since then local fishermen claimed support to counteract the effects of entanglement of large amounts of the alien strain wrack in their trammel nets, causing the gear to become ineffective. The further northward and westward spread of the new alien strain is supposed to be limited by winter temperature. We present novel data confirming that the new alien strain is fully naturalized in Central Mediterranean and is expanding its range beyond such limit (i.e. the 15°C February isotherm), thus becoming potentially able to colonize the western basin. By means of a preliminary estimation of effects on native polychaete assemblages, and considering some peculiarities of Sicily (mostly linked to its geographical position in the Mediterranean Sea), the risk linked to the increasing range of distribution of the invasive algae is highlighted

Functional traits of two co-occurring sea urchins across a barren/forest patch system

Temperate rocky reefs may occur in two alternative states (coralline barrens and erect algal forests), whose formation and maintenance are often determined by sea urchin grazing. The two sea urchin species Paracentrotus lividus and Arbacia lixula are considered to play a similar ecological role despite their differing morphological traits and diets. The patchy mosaic areas of Ustica Island, Italy, offer an ideal environment in which to study differences in the performance of P. lividus and A. lixula in barren versus forest states. Results show that the two sea urchin species differ in diet, trophic position, grazing adaptation, movement ability and fitness in both barren and forest patches. We confirmed herbivory in P. lividus and omnivory with a strong tendency to carnivory in A. lixula. When the sea urchin escape response to a predator was triggered, P. lividus responded faster in barren and forest patches. Forest patch restricted movement, especially in A. lixula (velocity in barren ≈10-fold greater than in forest). A large Aristotle's lantern, indicative of durophagy, confirmed adaptation of A. lixula to barren state

Adhesive root hairs facilitate Posidonia oceanica seedling settlement on rocky substrates

Posidonia oceanica, the dominant Mediterranean seagrass, has been historically described as a species typically growing on mobile substrates whose development requires precursor communities. During more than 10 years of direct observations, we noticed that P. oceanica seedlings were often firmly anchored to rocky reefs, even at exposed sites. Thus, we analysed the ultrastructural features of seedling root systems to identify specific traits that may represent adaptations for early seedling anchorage on rocky bottoms. Subapical sections of adventitious roots were obtained from 2-3 months old specimens collected in the field and were observed at SEM revealing an extensive coverage of adhesive root hairs with a maximum length of 2400 μm. Hairs were provided with an enlarged tips with a maximum width of 78.3 μm, which extended the contact area between the hair tip and the substrate. To test whether adhesive root hairs may facilitate P. oceanica seedlings establishment on rocky substrates, a manipulative experiment was performed. 360 seedlings were reared for 5 months in a land-based culture facility under simulated natural hydrodynamic conditions to identify suitable substrates for early seedling anchorage. Two main substrate features were investigated: firmness (i.e., sand vs. rock) and complexity (i.e., size of interstitial spaces between rocks). Anchorage was strongly influenced by substrate firmness and occurred only on rocks through adhesion by sticky root hairs. Percentage of anchored seedlings on rocks was as high as 89%. The minimum force required to dislodge plantlets attached to rocky substrates reached 23.8 N, which would potentially allow many plantlets to overcome winter storms in the field. The ability of rocky substrates to retain seedlings increased with their complexity. The interstitial spaces between rocks provided appropriate microsites for seedling settlement, as seeds were successfully retained and a suitable substrate for anchorage was available. Adhesive root hairs allowed fast and strong seedling anchorage to consolidated substrates when the root system was not yet developed. This mechanism could favour plant recruitment on rocky substrates with respect to mobile ones, in contrast with traditional paradigms. Such an adaptation leads to hypothesize a new microsite driven bottleneck in P. oceanica seedling survival linked to substrate features