Point Count Censusing from a Submersible to Estimate Reef Fish Abundance Over Large Areas

Point count estimates of fish abundance were taken from a research submersible at thirty-two sites on a 0.5 km2 patch reef on the Florida Middle Grounds, off the West Florida Shelf. Of the fifty species recorded, nine species were selected for total population estimates based on their behavior and visibility. Data from the individual point counts were extrapolated to the entire reef. Best estimates of total populations of these species varied from 320 for the short big eye (Pristigenys alta) to 307,600 for the purple reeffish (Chromis scotti). The estimate for the commercially important red grouper (Epinephelus morio) was 1,560, a concentration reasonably similar to the 960 simultaneously estimated from a mark-recapture assessment

Coordination of Geological and Engineering Research in Support of the Gulf Coast Co-Production Program

Complex and heterogeneous Hackberry reservoirs at Port Arthur field were deposited in a submarine canyon/fan setting. Conventional fieldwide hydrocarbon recovery efficiencies are low, but the potential for secondary gas recovery is high. Free gas remains trapped in uncontacted and untapped compartments at reservoir abandonment. The total fieldwide resource amounts to 13.9 Bcf. The probable and possible resource for a single infill well is 6.5 Bcf in four separate stringers. Three optimum brine-disposal sands and the best brine-disposal site were selected in Northeast Hitchcock field based on sand-body complexity, thickness, depth, and brine-disposal capacity. The equilibrium distribution of inorganic species in different combinations in the produced waters at surface and formation temperatures and pH was estimated from chemical analyses. SOLMNEQ computations suggest carbonate scaling may occur in surface equipment of Miocene disposal sandstones unless inhibitors are used. At Northeast Hitchcock field, well-winnowed sandstones of shallow-marine origin compose the major reservoir sands and act as preferential conduits for fluid migration. Dislodged, abundant authigenic kaolinite in these sands can plug pores during production, suggesting a maximum rate of production will need to be determined to avoid reservoir damage.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Over-reaction to the CALPERS focus list?

The California Public Employees Retirement System (CalPERS) has over $ 200 billion in assets. Over the years it has gained an activist reputation. The size of investment provides it with a strong voice and the incentive to incur monitoring costs. CalPERS nudges the management and the board to act in the best interest of the shareholders. CalPERS regularly examines its portfolio and seeks change in firms that can potentially perform better. Some firms heed to this attention while those that ignore the attention end up on the focus list. This study examines the reaction of the market to the publishing of the CalPERS focus list. On one hand, an investor could interpret this news positively: A large shareholder is actively pushing management and the board, to improve operations. In the remaining sections, the literature is reviewed, we present our results and the paper ends with a discussion

An Examination of Emotional Resilience among Athletic Trainers Working in the Secondary School Setting

Purpose: Athletic training is a demanding profession that is a stressor for many practitioners. Emotional resilience allows Athletic Trainers (ATs) to persist in their roles and benefit from long and successful careers. The purpose of this study was to explore the level of emotional resilience of ATs working in secondary school settings and identify factors perceived to contribute to or mitigate one\u27s emotional resilience. Method: A sequential explanatory mixed-method design using a cross-sectional online survey followed by in-depth interviews was used to gather information from 160 (16% response rate) secondary school NATA members - 97 (60.6%) female; 63 (39.4%) male with 13.28+9.46 years of experience. Six individuals (5 female, 1 male) participated in a follow-up semi-structured interview. The Connor Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC) was used to measure perceptions of individual emotional resilience. Open-ended questions were also used to gather information from the participants who agreed to participate in a follow-up semi-structured interview about the factors perceived to both facilitate or reduce emotional resilience. Results: The mean emotional resilience score (79.84 ± 11.38) for the sample was consistent with the average US adult population. Only 14.1% of the sample reported high emotional resilience scores. There was a significant positive correlation between emotional resilience scores and years of experience as an AT (r(158) = .16, P = .048) and age in years (r(158) = .16, P = .048). There was no significant difference between emotional resilience and academic degree earned (F(2,157) = .775, P = .83). The inductive analysis resulted in the following emergent themes that were perceived to facilitate ones’ emotional resilience: social support, communication, self-care, and past experiences. Also, the following emergent themes were perceived to reduce ones’ emotional resilience: emotional responses and role overload. Conclusion: The results of this study help understand secondary school ATs\u27 perceptions of and factors that contribute to their emotional resilience. Strategies are suggested to help ATs develop emotional resilience to manage their occupational stress and reduce feelings of burnout

Coalbed Methane Potential of the Greater Green River, Piceance, Powder River and Raton Basins

Coalbed methane potential of the Greater Green River, Piceance, Powder River, and Raton Basins was evaluated in the context of geologic and hydrologic characteristics identified in the San Juan Basin, the nation's leading coalbed methane producing basin. The major comparative criteria were (1) coalbed methane resources, (2) geologic and hydrologic factors that predict areas of high gas producibility and high coalbed reservoir permeability, and (3) coalbed thermal maturity. These technical criteria were expanded to include structure, depositional systems, and database and then combined with economic criteria (production, industry activity, and pipeline availability) to evaluate the coalbed methane potential of the basins. The Greater Green River and Piceance Basins have primary potential to make a significant near-term contribution to the nation's gas supply. These basins have large gas resources, high-rank coals, high gas contents, and established coalbed methane production. The Greater Green River Basin has numerous coalbed methane targets, good coal-seam permeability, and extensive hydrologic areas favorable for production. The Powder River and Raton Basins were judged to have secondary potential. Coal beds in the Powder River Basin are thermally immature and produce large volumes of water; the Raton Basin has a poor database and has no gas pipeline infrastructure. Low production and minimal industry activity further limit the near-term potential of the Raton Basin. However, if economic criteria are discounted and only major technical criteria are considered, the Greater Green River and Raton Basins are assigned primary potential. The Raton Basin's shallow, thermally mature coal beds of good permeability are attractive coalbed methane targets, but low coal-seam permeability limits the coalbed methane potential of the Piceance Basin.Bureau of Economic Geolog

Restriction Spectrum Imaging Differentiates True Tumor Progression From Immune-Mediated Pseudoprogression: Case Report of a Patient With Glioblastoma.

Immunotherapy is increasingly used in the treatment of glioblastoma (GBM), with immune checkpoint therapy gaining in popularity given favorable outcomes achieved for other tumors. However, immune-mediated (IM)-pseudoprogression is common, remains poorly characterized, and renders conventional imaging of little utility when evaluating for treatment response. We present the case of a 64-year-old man with GBM who developed pathologically proven IM-pseudoprogression after initiation of a checkpoint inhibitor, and who subsequently developed true tumor progression at a distant location. Based on both qualitative and quantitative analysis, we demonstrate that an advanced diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) technique called restriction spectrum imaging (RSI) can differentiate IM-pseudoprogression from true progression even when conventional imaging, including standard DWI/apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), is not informative. These data complement existing literature supporting the ability of RSI to estimate tumor cellularity, which may help to resolve complex diagnostic challenges such as the identification of IM-pseudoprogression

Optimally efficient neural systems for processing spoken language.

Cognitive models claim that spoken words are recognized by an optimally efficient sequential analysis process. Evidence for this is the finding that nonwords are recognized as soon as they deviate from all real words (Marslen-Wilson 1984), reflecting continuous evaluation of speech inputs against lexical representations. Here, we investigate the brain mechanisms supporting this core aspect of word recognition and examine the processes of competition and selection among multiple word candidates. Based on new behavioral support for optimal efficiency in lexical access from speech, a functional magnetic resonance imaging study showed that words with later nonword points generated increased activation in the left superior and middle temporal gyrus (Brodmann area [BA] 21/22), implicating these regions in dynamic sound-meaning mapping. We investigated competition and selection by manipulating the number of initially activated word candidates (competition) and their later drop-out rate (selection). Increased lexical competition enhanced activity in bilateral ventral inferior frontal gyrus (BA 47/45), while increased lexical selection demands activated bilateral dorsal inferior frontal gyrus (BA 44/45). These findings indicate functional differentiation of the fronto-temporal systems for processing spoken language, with left middle temporal gyrus (MTG) and superior temporal gyrus (STG) involved in mapping sounds to meaning, bilateral ventral inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) engaged in less constrained early competition processing, and bilateral dorsal IFG engaged in later, more fine-grained selection processes