136 research outputs found
Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) - Looking beyond the eating disorder lens?
Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID) was first included as a diagnostic category in 2013, and over the past 10 years has been adopted by the international eating disorder community. While greater awareness of these difficulties has increased identification, demand and enabled advocacy for clinical services, the heterogeneous nature of ARFID poses unique challenges for eating disorder clinicians and researchers. This commentary aims to reflect on some of these challenges, focussing specifically on the risk of viewing ARFID through an eating disorder lens. This includes potential biases in the literature as most recent research has been conducted in specialist child and adolescent eating disorder clinic settings, bringing in to question the generalisability of findings to the broad spectrum of individuals affected by ARFID. We also consider whether viewing ARFID predominantly through an eating disorder lens risks us as a field being blinkered to the range of effective skills our multi-disciplinary feeding colleagues may bring. There are opportunities that may come with the eating disorder field navigating treatment pathways for ARFID, including more joined up working with multi-disciplinary colleagues, the ability to transfer skills used in ARFID treatment to individuals with eating disorder presentations, and most notably an opportunity to provide more effective treatment and service pathways for individuals with ARFID and their families. However, these opportunities will only be realised if eating disorder clinicians and researchers step out of their current silos
FINAL REPORT FOR PHASE THREE OF THE ICCAT SHORT-TERM CONTRACT: SWORDFISH BIOLOGICAL SAMPLES COLLECTION FOR GROWTH, REPRODUCTION AND GENETICS STUDIES
This report details the third phase of biological sampling and associated analysis undertaken as
part of an international swordfish biology program. The program was established in 2018 and
sampling was conducted for swordfish in the North and South Atlantic and Mediterranean. Fish
were sampled for size, sex, and maturity. Anal fin spines, otoliths, gonads, and tissues were
obtained for ageing, growth, maturity and genetic analyses. These data will be used to inform
ICCAT assessment and the ongoing management strategy evaluation process. In this report we
examine sampling representativeness relative to spatial and temporal patterns in recent catch
data. Samples were obtained from a broad temporal and spatial range, however, some
improvements are required in spatial-temporal coverage.En prens
REPORT OF THE 2021 ICCAT SWORDFISH BIOLOGY WORKSHOP (Online, 22-26 March 2021)
âThe results, conclusions and recommendations contained in this Report only reflect what was
discussed by the Group of scientists that participated in the 2021 Swordfish Biology Workshop.
Therefore, these should be considered preliminary until the Swordfish Species Group and the
SCRS discuss and possibly adopts them at its annual Plenary meeting and the Commission revise
them at its Annual meeting. Accordingly, ICCAT reserves the right to comment, object and
endorse this Report, until it is finally adopted by the Commission.âEn prens
Mediterranean swordfish (Xiphias gladius Linnaeus, 1758) population structure revealed by microsatellite DNA: genetic diversity masked by population mixing in shared areas
Background
The Mediterranean swordfish stock is overfished and considered not correctly managed. Elucidating the patterns of the Mediterranean swordfish population structure constitutes an essential prerequisite for effective management of this fishery resource. To date, few studies have investigated intra-Mediterranean swordfish population structure, and their conclusions are controversial.
Methods
A panel of 20 microsatellites DNA was used to investigate fine-scale population structuring of swordfish from six main fishing areas of the Mediterranean Sea.
Results
This study provides evidence to reject the hypothesis of a single swordfish population within the Mediterranean Sea. DAPC analysis revealed the presence of three genetic clusters and a high level of admixture within the Mediterranean Sea. Genetic structure was supported by significant FST values while mixing was endorsed by the heterozygosity deficit observed in sampling localities indicative of a possible Wahlund effect, by sampling admixture individuals. Overall, our tests reject the hypothesis of a single swordfish population within the Mediterranean Sea. Homing towards the Mediterranean breeding areas may have generated a weak degree of genetic differentiation between populations even at the intra-basin scale
Design Considerations for 3D Printed, Soft, Multimaterial Resistive Sensors for Soft Robotics
Sensor design for soft robots is a challenging problem because of the wide range of design parameters (e.g., geometry, material, actuation type, etc.) critical to their function. While conventional rigid sensors work effectively for soft robotics in specific situations, sensors that are directly integrated into the bodies of soft robots could help improve both their exteroceptive and interoceptive capabilities. To address this challenge, we designed sensors that can be co-fabricated with soft robot bodies using commercial 3D printers, without additional modification. We describe an approach to the design and fabrication of compliant, resistive soft sensors using a Connex3 Objet350 multimaterial printer and investigated an analytical comparison to sensors of similar geometries. The sensors consist of layers of commercial photopolymers with varying conductivities. We characterized the conductivity of TangoPlus, TangoBlackPlus, VeroClear, and Support705 materials under various conditions and demonstrate applications in which we can take advantage of these embedded sensors
Applying the Higher Education Academy framework for partnership in learning and teaching in higher education to online partnership learning communities: A case study and an extended model
As internet access and use increase exponentially, pedagogical practice becomes increasingly embedded in online platforms. We report on an online initiative of engaged student learning, the peer-led, staff-assisted e-helpdesk for research methods and statistics, which we evaluated and redeveloped using the lens and guiding principles of the framework for partnership in learning and teaching of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). The aim of the redevelopment was to steer the initiative towards a more integrative and sustainable implementation, as manifest in the applied construct of an online partnership learning community. Our evolving experience of the e-helpdesk highlighted the central role of the facilitator in engineering and maintaining social presence in the online community. We propose an extended model for building an online partnership learning community, whereby partnership encapsulates all the essential elements of student and staff partnership as outlined in the HEA framework, but is also critically defined by similar parameters of partnership between users and facilitators. In this model, the facilitatorâs role becomes more involved in instructional teaching as disciplinary expertise increases, but descending levels of disciplinary expertise can foster ascending levels of independent learning and shared discovery for both users and facilitators.  
History of Galaxy Interactions and their Impact on Star Formation over the Last 7 Gyr from GEMS
We perform a comprehensive estimate of the frequency of galaxy mergers and
their impact on star formation over z~0.24--0.80 (lookback time T_b~3--7 Gyr)
using 3698 (M*>=1e9 Msun) galaxies with GEMS HST, COMBO-17, and Spitzer data.
Our results are: (1) Among 790 high mass (M*>=2.5e10 Msun) galaxies, the
visually-based merger fraction over z~0.24--0.80, ranges from 9%+-5% to 8%+-2%.
Lower limits on the major and minor merger fractions over this interval range
from 1.1% to 3.5%, and 3.6% to 7.5%, respectively. This is the first
approximate empirical estimate of the frequency of minor mergers at z<1. For a
visibility timescale of ~0.5 Gyr, it follows that over T_b~3--7 Gyr, ~68% of
high mass systems have undergone a merger of mass ratio >1/10, with ~16%, 45%,
and 7% of these corresponding respectively to major, minor, and ambiguous
`major or minor' mergers. The mean merger rate is a few x 1e-4 Gyr-1 Mpc-3. (2)
We compare the empirical merger fraction and rate for high mass galaxies to a
suite of Lambda CDM-based models: halo occupation distribution models,
semi-analytic models, and hydrodynamic SPH simulations. We find qualitative
agreement between observations and models such that the (major+minor) merger
fraction or rate from different models bracket the observations, and show a
factor of five dispersion. Near-future improvements can now start to rule out
certain merger scenarios. (3) Among ~3698 M*>=1e9 Msun galaxies, we find that
the mean SFR of visibly merging systems is only modestly enhanced compared to
non-interacting galaxies over z~0.24--0.80. Visibly merging systems only
account for less than 30% of the cosmic SFR density over T_b~3--7 Gyr. This
suggests that the behavior of the cosmic SFR density over the last 7 Gyr is
predominantly shaped by non-interacting galaxies.Comment: Accepted for Publication in the Astrophysical Journal. 17 pages of
text, 21 figures, 3 tables. Uses emulateapj5.st
Assessing the utility of geospatial technologies to investigate environmental change within lake systems
Over 50% of the world's population live within 3. km of rivers and lakes highlighting the on-going importance of freshwater resources to human health and societal well-being. Whilst covering c. 3.5% of the Earth's non-glaciated land mass, trends in the environmental quality of the world's standing waters (natural lakes and reservoirs) are poorly understood, at least in comparison with rivers, and so evaluation of their current condition and sensitivity to change are global priorities. Here it is argued that a geospatial approach harnessing existing global datasets, along with new generation remote sensing products, offers the basis to characterise trajectories of change in lake properties e.g., water quality, physical structure, hydrological regime and ecological behaviour. This approach furthermore provides the evidence base to understand the relative importance of climatic forcing and/or changing catchment processes, e.g. land cover and soil moisture data, which coupled with climate data provide the basis to model regional water balance and runoff estimates over time. Using examples derived primarily from the Danube Basin but also other parts of the World, we demonstrate the power of the approach and its utility to assess the sensitivity of lake systems to environmental change, and hence better manage these key resources in the future
Applying the Higher Education Academy Framework for Partnership in Learning and Teaching in Higher Education to Online Partnership Learning Communities: A Case Study and an Extended Model
As internet access and use increase exponentially, pedagogical practice becomes increasingly embedded in online platforms. We report on an online initiative of engaged student learning, the peer-led, staff-assisted e-helpdesk for research methods and statistics, which we evaluated and redeveloped using the lens and guiding principles of the framework for partnership in learning and teaching of the Higher Education Academy (HEA). The aim of the redevelopment was to steer the initiative towards a more integrative and sustainable implementation, as manifest in the applied construct of an online partnership learning community. Our evolving experience of the e-helpdesk highlighted the central role of the facilitator in engineering and maintaining social presence in the online community. We propose an extended model for building an online partnership learning community, whereby partnership encapsulates all the essential elements of student and staff partnership as outlined in the HEA framework, but is also critically defined by similar parameters of partnership between users and facilitators. In this model, the facilitatorâs role becomes more involved in instructional teaching as disciplinary expertise increases, but descending levels of disciplinary expertise can foster ascending levels of independent learning and shared discovery for both users and facilitators
The Fourteenth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the extended Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey and from the second phase of the Apache Point Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment
The fourth generation of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS-IV) has been in
operation since July 2014. This paper describes the second data release from
this phase, and the fourteenth from SDSS overall (making this, Data Release
Fourteen or DR14). This release makes public data taken by SDSS-IV in its first
two years of operation (July 2014-2016). Like all previous SDSS releases, DR14
is cumulative, including the most recent reductions and calibrations of all
data taken by SDSS since the first phase began operations in 2000. New in DR14
is the first public release of data from the extended Baryon Oscillation
Spectroscopic Survey (eBOSS); the first data from the second phase of the
Apache Point Observatory (APO) Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE-2),
including stellar parameter estimates from an innovative data driven machine
learning algorithm known as "The Cannon"; and almost twice as many data cubes
from the Mapping Nearby Galaxies at APO (MaNGA) survey as were in the previous
release (N = 2812 in total). This paper describes the location and format of
the publicly available data from SDSS-IV surveys. We provide references to the
important technical papers describing how these data have been taken (both
targeting and observation details) and processed for scientific use. The SDSS
website (www.sdss.org) has been updated for this release, and provides links to
data downloads, as well as tutorials and examples of data use. SDSS-IV is
planning to continue to collect astronomical data until 2020, and will be
followed by SDSS-V.Comment: SDSS-IV collaboration alphabetical author data release paper. DR14
happened on 31st July 2017. 19 pages, 5 figures. Accepted by ApJS on 28th Nov
2017 (this is the "post-print" and "post-proofs" version; minor corrections
only from v1, and most of errors found in proofs corrected
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