Habitat Associations and Predictive Distribution Models of Commercially Important Rockfish Species Along California\u27s Central Coast

While commercially important, the red rockfish complex, Vermilion Rockfish (Sebastes miniatus), Canary Rockfish (Sebastes pinniger) and Yelloweye Rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus), is emblematic of our limited knowledge of the distribution and habitat associations of ecologically and economically important fishes along California’s central coast. We used videographic and photographic imagery from a remotely operated vehicle (ROV), coupled with high resolution multibeam derived maps of the seafloor to determine a) the fine scale habitat associations of red rockfishes along California’s central coast, and b) the potential distribution of small Canary Rockfish (10-40 centimeters TL) beyond surveyed areas using predictive species-specific distribution models. Across the study region, small Canary Rockfish were more frequently observed than Vermilion and Yelloweye Rockfishes, and the highest abundance of red rockfishes were observed in Bodega Bay, California. Nearly all of the Canary Rockfish observed were small, while Vermilion and Yelloweye Rockfishes were subadults and adults. At fine scales (meters), small Canary Rockfish switched their association from sand to rock as total length increased but remained close (12 to 24 meters) to rock-sand interfaces. Predictive models of small Canary Rockfish presence were 74-77% accurate, and bathymetry and distance from interface were important environmental predictor variables. The imagery-based analyses provided important ecological information about each species, while the predictive modeling allowed us to extrapolate beyond the relatively limited area transected by the ROV to the broader study region. This approach of combining methods is applicable to other species and geographies where we have to manage more than we can sample

It's Just Thought You Know': An Interview with Ken Bolton

Ken Bolton is iconic, as far as Australian poets go, yet he remains a figure somewhat on the outer. For instance, he was not included in the comprehensive Australian Poetry since 1788, yet it was noted in the Australian that he should have been. His books, though shortlisted, have never won a Premier’s prize, yet Monash University held ‘A Ken Bolton Day: a symposium celebrating the writings and influences of poet, art critic and publisher Ken Bolton’. His style of poetry is uniquely his, termed as ‘Boltonian’ , and has been imitated by many a poet. In the late 70s, Ken’s first book, Four Poems, was published by Sea Cruise press, a press which he helped to establish. Back then he was also the editor of the journal Magic Sam, where he regularly published his own work alongside his poet-friends. What Ken was doing with poetry at the time was unconventional; someone had to publish it so why not him? Clearly the lifestyle of writing and publishing writing worked for him because he has since had more than twenty books of poetry published (including a Selected Poems, put out by Penguin in 1992 and another from Shearsman in 2012), started another publishing press (Little Esther Books) and edited another journal (Otis Rush). He also edited the anthology Homage to John Forbes. His art criticism has been collected (as Art Writing, 1990 to the 2000s, published by the Contemporary Art Centre of South Australia) and much of it collected and regularly updated on the AEAF website as The Formguide. In this interview, Ken talks about his poetry, other people’s poetry, humour and John Jenkins and how the two often connect, art, the 70s, Sydney and Adelaide, and plagiarising his own words

Late Miocene threshold response of marine algae to carbon dioxide limitation

Coccolithophores are marine algae that use carbon for calcification and photosynthesis. The long term adaptation of these and other marine algae to decreasing carbon dioxide levels during the Cenozoic era1 has resulted in modern algae capable of actively enhancing carbon dioxide at the site of photosynthesis. This enhancement occurs through the transport of dissolved bicarbonate (HCO3 -12 ) and with the help of enzymes whose expression can be modulated by variable aqueous carbon dioxide concentration, [CO2], in laboratory cultures . Coccolithophores preserve the geological history of this adaptation because the stable carbon and oxygen isotopic compositions of their calcite plates (coccoliths), which are preserved in the fossil record, are sensitive to active carbon uptake and transport by the cell. Here we use a model of cellular carbon fluxes and show that at low [CO2], the increased demand for HCO3- at the site of photosynthesis results in a diminished allocation of HCO3 - to calcification, which is most pronounced in larger cells. This results in a large divergence between the carbon isotopic compositions of small versus large coccoliths only at low [CO2]. Our evaluation of the oxygen and carbon isotope record of size-separated fossil coccoliths reveals that this isotopic divergence first arose during the late Miocene to the earliest Pliocene epoch (about 7-5 million years ago). We interpret this to be a threshold response of the cells' carbon acquisition strategies to decreasing [CO2]. The documented coccolithophore response is synchronous with a global shift in terrestrial vegetation distribution between 8 and 5 Myr ago, which has been interpreted by some studies as a floral response to decreasing partial pressures of carbon dioxide (pCO2) in the atmosphere. We infer a global decrease in carbon dioxide levels for this time interval that has not yet been identified in the sparse pCO2 proxy record but that is synchronous with global cooling and progressive glaciations

Cal Poly Supermileage Drivetrain

The following report details the full design process used by the Cal Poly Supermileage Drivetrain (CPSMD) Senior Project team in designing a new drivetrain system for the Cal Poly Supermileage Vehicle (SMV) Team. Included is the development stages of each component, the manufacturing of our parts, the final solution’s assembly, the testing of the project, and the results from the 2018 Shell Eco-Marathon Competition. After collecting data from several tests, only the final drivetrain efficiency and final sprocket alignment remain unknown. Otherwise, the project came in under budget, within our weight tolerance, and met all the other design objectives. The team was successfully able to produce a robust and reliable drivetrain system for the 2018 Supermileage car that resulted in a 4th place finish at competition. The learnings in this report provide the SMV team with a repository of information on how to build a reliable single staged drivetrain with a large gear ratio

Meeting the challenge, making a difference: Working effectively to support people with personality disorder in the community

The purpose of this guide is: To know more and to understand more about personality disorder, and how this impacts on individuals who may attract this diagnosis, and the staff, teams and organisations which may work with them. To invite people to think about their own attitudes to working with people with personality disorder. To provide some information about services that might be available, how to access help for people with personality disorders, and what can be expected from services. To offer guidance on helpful and unhelpful ways of responding to people with personality disorders

Adaptive Adjustable Tricycle

As a part of the Cal Poly Mechanical Engineering curriculum, all students must take part in a three quarter long senior design project. Students are presented with existing problems, select a project, and then apply the knowledge they have gained throughout their academic career to design and build a solution. The intent behind this project is to create an experience that is similar to an engineering project in industry, by applying engineering and teamwork skills to solve a problem. Team Trikeceratops’ mission was to develop an adaptive adjustable tricycle to be used in the Special Education Department of the Buena Park School District for recreational use and physical therapy. The design team was comprised of four Cal Poly mechanical engineering students and a kinesiology student-consultant who worked through three primary design phases over the course of nine months to develop a functional prototype. These phases included ideation and conception, detailed design, and manufacturing, all of which have different requirements that call for a variety of skill sets. During ideation and conception, Team Trikeceratops developed lists of requirements from sponsor input, divided the project into components, generated ideas, and refined the options to reach an overall conceptual design. This initial phase was also essential in developing a team mentality and establishing the basic rules and guidelines by which the team would operate. At the end of ideation and conception, the team had developed a full theoretical design that would meet the customer requirements. Detailed design was the second phase wherein the students took the conceptual design and applied engineering knowledge to clearly define the solution. In this phase, most of the more stereotypical engineering occurred. Students sized tubing for the frame, performed calculations and analysis on components, created manufacturing drawings, identified part numbers for acquisition, and began contacting companies for parts and services. At the end of detailed design, the team had a bill of materials, manufacturing plan, contact information for suppliers, and fully dimensioned drawings for manufacturing custom parts. The third phase of product development was manufacturing and testing. Students cut, notched, welded, and machined various custom components while simultaneously overcoming problems of improper sizing and extended lead times on ordered materials. Following this process, the students tested the tricycle to ensure that it met the customer requirements set forth in the Design Verification Plan and Report (DVPR). At the end of this phase a functioning prototype was completed and staged for delivery and the final report was compiled. This remainder of this report details Team Trikeceratops’ progress from initial concept generation to prototype realization and explores each part of the aforementioned engineering design process in depth

Feasibility and preliminary efficacy of web-based and mobile interventions for common mental health problems in working adults: multi-arm randomized pilot trial

Background: There is growing interest in digital platforms as a means of implementing scalable, accessible, and cost-effective mental health interventions in the workplace. However, little is known about the efficacy of such interventions when delivered to employee groups. Objective: This study aims to evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of a digital mental health platform for the workplace, which incorporates evidence-based practices such as cognitive behavioral therapy and acceptance and commitment therapy. A total of 3 brief, unguided interventions designed to address stress, anxiety, and resilience, respectively, are evaluated. The primary aim is to determine the feasibility of the study methods and interventions in preparation for a definitive randomized controlled trial. Methods: The study used a fully remote, parallel, multi-arm, external pilot randomized controlled trial, with 3 intervention arms and a no-intervention control group. Participants were working adults representative of the general UK population with respect to age, sex, and ethnicity who were recruited from a web-based participant platform. Primary outcomes included objective and self-report measures of feasibility, acceptability, engagement, transferability, relevance, and negative effects. Secondary outcomes included 4 self-report measures of mental health and well-being, completed at baseline (time point 0 [t0]), postintervention (time point 1 [t1]), and the 1-month follow-up (time point 2 [t2]). Secondary outcomes were analyzed via linear mixed-effects models using intention-to-treat principles. Preregistered criteria for progression to a definitive trial were evaluated. Results: Data were collected between January and March of 2021. A total of 383 working adult participants meeting trial eligibility were randomized, of whom 356 (93%) were retained at t2. Objective engagement data showed that 67.8% (196/289) of participants randomized to an intervention arm completed their intervention. Overall, 87.1% (203/233) of participants reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their intervention and rated the quality of their intervention as good or excellent. All intervention groups reported significantly greater improvements than the control group on at least one secondary outcome at t1, with between-group Hedges g effect sizes for the pooled interventions ranging from 0.25 (95% CI 0.05-0.46) to 0.43 (95% CI 0.23-0.64). All the improvements were maintained at t2. Conclusions: The study methods were feasible, and all preregistered criteria for progression to a definitive trial were met. Several minor protocol amendments were noted. Preliminary efficacy findings suggest that the study interventions may result in improved mental health outcomes when offered to working adults. Trial Registration: ISRCTN Registry 80309011; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN8030901

A Comparative Test of Creative Thinking in Preschool Children and Dolphins

Creativity is considered one aspect of intelligence. Including creativity allows for more room for expression (e.g., participants can respond with movement instead of written or verbal responses) than in standard intelligence assessments. The Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT; Torrance, 1974) are the leading method of assessing creative abilities in school-aged humans and above. To assess creativity in young humans and nonhuman animals, modifications must be made to facilitate nonverbal responses. In the current study, a cross-species comparison was conducted between preschoolers and bottlenose dolphins to examine responses to a modified creativity task in which both species were trained to demonstrate non-repeated behaviors to an “innovate” prompt. The resulting behaviors for the first test session were coded for fluency (number of non-repeated behaviors demonstrated), originality, and flexibility (low, moderate, or high activity level). Children and dolphins produced a similar number of non-repeated behaviors during individual test trials and also had similar originality scores. Related to flexibility, dolphins displayed more low energy activity levels compared to the children. Given the limited understanding of creative abilities in animals and young children, this comparison using a modified version of the TTCT offers exciting possibilities. These results could provide further evidence of similarities in cognitive processes for humans and nonhuman animals