A new species of Sagitta (Chaetognatha) from D 'Entrecasteaux Channel, Tasmania

A new species of the genus Sagitta (Chaetognatha), S. guileri sp. nov. found in D'Entrecasteaux Channel, Tasmania is described and figured. Its relation to S. neglecta Aida is discussed and its distribution in the south-east coastal waters of Tasmania is given

Characterizing the Social Interactions in the Artificial Bee Colony Algorithm

Computational swarm intelligence consists of multiple artificial simple agents exchanging information while exploring a search space. Despite a rich literature in the field, with works improving old approaches and proposing new ones, the mechanism by which complex behavior emerges in these systems is still not well understood. This literature gap hinders the researchers' ability to deal with known problems in swarms intelligence such as premature convergence, and the balance of coordination and diversity among agents. Recent advances in the literature, however, have proposed to study these systems via the network that emerges from the social interactions within the swarm (i.e., the interaction network). In our work, we propose a definition of the interaction network for the Artificial Bee Colony (ABC) algorithm. With our approach, we captured striking idiosyncrasies of the algorithm. We uncovered the different patterns of social interactions that emerge from each type of bee, revealing the importance of the bees variations throughout the iterations of the algorithm. We found that ABC exhibits a dynamic information flow through the use of different bees but lacks continuous coordination between the agents.Comment: 9 pages, 10 figure

X-knife stereotactic radiosurgery for cerebral AVM: Queen Mary Hospital experience

Meeting Theme: Degenerative Lumbar SpineOral-Poster Presentation 1INTRODUCTION: This is a retrospective review of the effectiveness, safety, complications of LINAC based X-knife stereotactic radiosurgery for the treatment of cerebral AVM in Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong. METHODS: Retrospective search through medical records of a single institution. From 2003-2013, all patients who received X-knife stereotactic radiosurgery for cerebral AVM were included. Demographics, presenting symptoms, size of AVM, Spetzler-Martin grading, dosages, complications, follow-up …published_or_final_versio

Effects of cooling before and during simulated match play on thermoregulatory responses of athletes with tetraplegia

Objectives: Athletes with high level spinal cord injuries (tetraplegia) are under greater thermal strain during exercise than the able-bodied. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of pre-cooling using an ice vest and the combination of pre-cooling and cooling during play using water sprays in athletes with tetraplegia. Design: Counter-balanced, cross-over design. Methods: Eight wheelchair rugby players with tetraplegia completed a 60 min intermittent sprint protocol (ISP) on a wheelchair ergometer in 20.2 °C ± 0.2 °C and 33.0% ± 3.1% relative humidity. The ISP was conducted on three occasions; no cooling (NC), pre-cooling with an ice vest (P) and pre-cooling with an ice vest and water sprays between quarters (PW). Gastrointestinal (Tgi) temperature, mean skin temperature (Tsk) and perceptual responses were measured throughout. Results: At the end of pre-cooling, the change in Tgi was not significantly different between conditions (P > 0.05) but the change in Tsk was significantly greater in P and PW compared to NC (P 0.05). Conclusions: Water spraying between quarters combined with pre-cooling using an ice vest lowers thermal strain to a greater degree than pre-cooling only in athletes with tetraplegia, but has no effect on simulated wheelchair rugby performance or perceptual responses

Motives for millennials' choice on traditional food and their level of consumption: A cross-cultural comparison.

Malaysian cuisine is known for its vibrant and diverse flavours which reflects the multi-ethnic makeup of its population. Hence, it is interesting to investigate how the differences of background and cultures lead to different food consumption and motives for food choices among different ethnic groups. This study aims to investigate the relationship between consumption of traditional food and motives for food choice among millennial in Malaysia with ethnicity as the moderator. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to 922 representative millennial which consisted of Malays (31%), Chinese (35.9%) and Indians (33.1%). The results of this study indicate that health concern, familiarity, mood and ethical concerns significantly influence the millennials’ general attitude towards traditional food consumption. Additionally, PLS-Multi-Group Analysis (MGA) was employed to study the association of food choice motives, general attitude and the level of consumption among the young Malays, Chinese and Indians in Malaysia. The results show that the differences in background and cultures between Malays and Chinese, and Malays and Indians, moderate the effect of mood on the general attitude towards traditional food. While for Chinese and Indians, different background and cultures moderate the influence of convenience on the general attitude towards traditional food

Ants’ Collective Intelligence: What Could We Learn?

Ants, albeit appearing diminutive and trivial within the broader context of nature, demonstrate an extraordinary capacity for collective problem-solving and exhibit intellect that beyond expectations for individual members of their species. This phenomenon, termed ants’ collective intelligence, has elicited attention and appreciation from both experts and enthusiasts. This article examines the complex mechanisms of ants’ collective intelligence, highlighting its essential features, ramifications across diverse domains, and the significant insights it can provide to human. Embark on an intriguing exploration of the ant kingdom, where collaboration, communication, and decentralized decision-making coalesce to create a complex system that offers significant lessons for human pursuits