Brief opportunistic intervention : the role of psychologists in initiating self-change amongst problem drinkers

Excessive consumption of alcohol is a serious public health problem. While intensive treatments are suitable for those who are physically dependent on alcohol, they are not cost-effective options for the vast majority of problem drinkers who are not dependent. There is good evidence that brief interventions are effective in reducing overall alcohol consumption, alcohol-related problems, and health-care utilisation among nondependent problem drinkers. Psychologists are in an ideal position to opportunistically detect people who drink excessively and to offer them brief advice to reduce their drinking. In this paper we outline the process involved in providing brief opportunistic screening and intervention for problem drinkers. We also discuss methods that psychologists can employ if a client is not ready to reduce drinking, or is ambivalent about change. Depending on the client's level of motivation to change, psychologists can engage in either an education-clarification approach, a commitment-enhancement approach, or a skills-training approach. Routine engagement in opportunistic intervention is an important public-health approach to reducing alcohol-related harm in the community.

Automation of an underground mining vehicle using reactive navigation and opportunistic localization

This paper describes the implementation of an autonomous navigation system onto a 30 tonne Load-Haul-Dump truck. The control architecture is based on a robust reactive wall-following behaviour. To make it purposeful we provide driving hints derived from an approximate nodal-map. For most of the time, the vehicle is driven with weak localization (odometry). This need only be improved at intersections where decisions must be made - a technique we refer to as opportunistic localization. The truck has achieved full-speed autonomous operation at an artificial test mine, and subsequently, at a operational underground mine.

Reactive navigation and opportunistic localization for autonomous underground mining vehicles

This paper describes an autonomous navigation system for a large underground mining vehicle. The control architecture is based on a robust reactive wall-following behaviour. To make it purposeful we provide driving hints derived from an approximate nodal-map. For most of the time, the vehicle is driven with weak localization (odometry). This need only be improved at intersections where decisions must be made – a technique we refer to as opportunistic localization. The paper briefly reviews absolute and relative navigation strategies, and describes an implementation of a reactive navigation system on a 30 tonne Load-Haul-Dump truck. This truck has achieved full-speed autonomous operation at an artificial test mine, and subsequently, at a operational underground mine.

Transcriptome Profiling of Sexual Maturation and Mating in the Mediterranean Fruit Fly, Ceratitis capitata

Sexual maturation and mating in insects are generally accompanied by major physiological and behavioural changes. Many of these changes are related to the need to locate a mate and subsequently, in the case of females, to switch from mate searching to oviposition behaviour. The prodigious reproductive capacity of the Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata, is one of the factors that has led to its success as an invasive pest species. To identify the molecular changes related to maturation and mating status in male and female medfly, a microarray-based gene expression approach was used to compare the head transcriptomes of sexually immature, mature virgin, and mated individuals. Attention was focused on the changes in abundance of transcripts related to reproduction, behaviour, sensory perception of chemical stimulus, and immune system processes. Broad transcriptional changes were recorded during female maturation, while post-mating transcriptional changes in females were, by contrast, modest. In male medfly, transcriptional changes were consistent both during maturation and as a consequence of mating. Of particular note was the lack of the mating-induced immune responses that have been recorded for Drosophila melanogaster, that may be due to the different reproductive strategies of these species. This study, in addition to increasing our understanding of the molecular machinery behind maturation and mating in the medfly, has identified important gene targets that might be useful in the future management of this pest.

Mating compatibility among four pest members of the Bactrocera dorsalis fruit fly species complex (Diptera : Tephritidae)

Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), Bactrocera papayae Drew & Hancock, Bactrocera philippinensis Drew & Hancock, and Bactrocera carambolae Drew & Hancock are pest members within the B. dorsalis species complex of tropical fruit flies. The species status of these taxa is unclear and this confounds quarantine, pest management, and general research. Mating studies carried out under uniform experimental conditions are required as part of resolving their species limits. These four taxa were collected from the wild and established as laboratory cultures for which we subsequently determined levels of prezygotic compatibility, assessed by field cage mating trials for all pair-wise combinations. We demonstrate random mating among all pair-wise combinations involving B. dorsalis, B. papayae, and B. philippinensis. B. carambolae was relatively incompatible with each of these species as evidenced by nonrandom mating for all crosses. Reasons for incompatibility involving B. carambolae remain unclear; however, we observed differences in the location of couples in the field cage for some comparisons. Alongside other factors such as pheromone composition or other courtship signals, this may lead to reduced interspecific mating compatibility with B. carambolae. These data add to evidence that B. dorsalis, B. papayae, and B. philippinensis represent the same biological species, while B. carambolae remains sufficiently different to maintain its current taxonomic identity. This poses significant implications for this group's systematics, impacting on pest management, and international trade.

A novel algorithm based on honey bee mating optimization for distribution harmonic state estimation including distributed generators

This paper presents a new algorithm based on honey-bee mating optimization (HBMO) to estimate harmonic state variables in distribution networks including distributed generators (DGs). The proposed algorithm performs estimation for both amplitude and phase of each harmonics by minimizing the error between the measured values from phasor measurement units (PMUs) and the values computed from the estimated parameters during the estimation process. Simulation results on two distribution test system are presented to demonstrate that the speed and accuracy of proposed distribution harmonic state estimation (DHSE) algorithm is extremely effective and efficient in comparison with the conventional algorithms such as weight least square (WLS), genetic algorithm (GA) and tabu search (TS).

Distribution feeder reconfiguration for loss minimization based on modified honey bee mating optimization algorithm

This paper presents an efficient algorithm for multi-objective distribution feeder reconfiguration based on Modified Honey Bee Mating Optimization (MHBMO) approach. The main objective of the Distribution feeder reconfiguration (DFR) is to minimize the real power loss, deviation of the nodes’ voltage. Because of the fact that the objectives are different and no commensurable, it is difficult to solve the problem by conventional approaches that may optimize a single objective. So the metahuristic algorithm has been applied to this problem. This paper describes the full algorithm to Objective functions paid, The results of simulations on a 32 bus distribution system is given and shown high accuracy and optimize the proposed algorithm in power loss minimization.

Pitfall (An Opportunistic Cultural Survey)

A pitfall is an unapparent source of trouble or danger; a hidden hazard: Today we all face, or will soon be facing ecological pitfalls of many kinds. ‘Pitfall’ is a continually-evolving artwork built from multiple screens, a tabletop landscape mapped with projections, fibre optics, 3D spatial sound and infrared night imagery. It builds upon ideas, recordings and cross-disciplinary processes developed during my 2012-13 ANAT Synapse Art-Science residency, with the Australian Wildlife Conservancy (AWC), Australia’s largest private-sector conservation organisation.

Psychological predictors of opportunistic snacking in the absence of hunger

Increased frequency of eating in the absence of homeostatic need, notably through snacking, is an important contributor to overconsumption and may be facilitated by increased availability of palatable food in the obesogenic environment. Opportunistic initiation of snacking is likely to be subject to individual differences, although these are infrequently studied in laboratory-based research paradigms. This study examined psychological factors associated with opportunistic initiation of snacking, and predictors of intake in the absence of homeostatic need. Fifty adults (mean age 34.5 years, mean BMI 23.9 kg/m2, 56% female) participated in a snack taste test in which they ate a chocolate snack to satiation, after which they were offered an unanticipated opportunity to initiate a second eating episode. Trait and behavioural measures of self control, sensitivity to reward, dietary restraint and disinhibited eating were taken. Results showed that, contrary to expectations, those who initiated snacking were better at inhibitory control compared with those who did not initiate. However, amongst participants who initiated snacking, intake (kcal) was predicted by higher food reward sensitivity, impulsivity and BMI. These findings suggest that snacking initiation in the absence of hunger is an important contributor to overconsumption. Consideration of the individual differences promoting initiation of eating may aid in reducing elevated eating frequency in at-risk individuals.

Mating compatibility between bactrocera invadens and bactrocera dorsalis (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The invasive fruit fly, Bactrocera invadens Drew, Tsuruta & White, is a highly polyphagous fruit pest that occurs predominantly in Africa yet has its origins in the Indian subcontinent. It is extremely morphologically and genetically similar to the Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel); as such the specific relationship between these two species is unresolved. We assessed prezygotic compatibility between B. dorsalis and B. invadens using standardized field cage mating tests, which have proven effectiveness in tephritid cryptic species studies. These tests were followed by an assessment of postzygotic compatibility by examining egg viability, larval and pupal survival, and sex ratios of offspring produced from parental and subsequent F1 crosses to examine for hybrid breakdown as predicted under a two-species hypothesis. B. dorsalis was sourced from two countries (Pakistan and China), and each population was compared with B. invadens from its type locality of Kenya. B. invadens mated randomly with B. dorsalis from both localities, and there were generally high levels of hybrid viability and survival resulting from parental and F1 crosses. Furthermore, all but one hybrid cross resulted in equal sex ratios, with the single deviation in favor of males and contrary to expectations under Haldane's rule. These data support the hypothesis that B. dorsalis and B. invadens represent the same biological species, an outcome that poses significant implications for pest management and international trade for sub-Saharan Africa.

Polymorphisms in a desaturase 2 ortholog associate with cuticular hydrocarbon and male mating success variation in a natural population of Drosophila serrata

Elucidating the nature of genetic variation underlying both sexually selected traits and the fitness components of sexual selection is essential to understanding the broader consequences of sexual selection as an evolutionary process. To date, there have been relatively few attempts to connect the genetic variance in sexually selected traits with segregating DNA sequence polymorphisms. We set out to address this in a well-characterized sexual selection system - the cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) of Drosophila serrata - using an indirect association study design that allowed simultaneous estimation of the genetic variance in CHCs, sexual fitness and single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) effects in an outbred population. We cloned and sequenced an ortholog of the D. melanogaster desaturase 2 gene, previously shown to affect CHC biosynthesis in D. melanogaster, and associated 36 SNPs with minor allele frequencies > 0.02 with variance in CHCs and sexual fitness. Three SNPs had significant multivariate associations with CHC phenotype (q-value < 0.05). At these loci, minor alleles had multivariate effects on CHCs that were weakly associated with the multivariate direction of sexual selection operating on these traits. Two of these SNPs had pleiotropic associations with male mating success, suggesting these variants may underlie responses to sexual selection due to this locus. There were 15 significant male mating success associations (q-value < 0.1), and interestingly, we detected a nonrandom pattern in the relationship between allele frequency and direction of effect on male mating success. The minor-frequency allele usually reduced male mating success, suggesting a positive association between male mating success and total fitness at this locus.

Load estimation with uncertainties from opportunistic sampling data: A semiparametric approach

We consider estimating the total load from frequent flow data but less frequent concentration data. There are numerous load estimation methods available, some of which are captured in various online tools. However, most estimators are subject to large biases statistically, and their associated uncertainties are often not reported. This makes interpretation difficult and the estimation of trends or determination of optimal sampling regimes impossible to assess. In this paper, we first propose two indices for measuring the extent of sampling bias, and then provide steps for obtaining reliable load estimates that minimizes the biases and makes use of informative predictive variables. The key step to this approach is in the development of an appropriate predictive model for concentration. This is achieved using a generalized rating-curve approach with additional predictors that capture unique features in the flow data, such as the concept of the first flush, the location of the event on the hydrograph (e.g. rise or fall) and the discounted flow. The latter may be thought of as a measure of constituent exhaustion occurring during flood events. Forming this additional information can significantly improve the predictability of concentration, and ultimately the precision with which the pollutant load is estimated. We also provide a measure of the standard error of the load estimate which incorporates model, spatial and/or temporal errors. This method also has the capacity to incorporate measurement error incurred through the sampling of flow. We illustrate this approach for two rivers delivering to the Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, Australia. One is a data set from the Burdekin River, and consists of the total suspended sediment (TSS) and nitrogen oxide (NO(x)) and gauged flow for 1997. The other dataset is from the Tully River, for the period of July 2000 to June 2008. For NO(x) Burdekin, the new estimates are very similar to the ratio estimates even when there is no relationship between the concentration and the flow. However, for the Tully dataset, by incorporating the additional predictive variables namely the discounted flow and flow phases (rising or recessing), we substantially improved the model fit, and thus the certainty with which the load is estimated.

Human mating in the informal market for sperm donation: Preferences and decision making

Choosing a mate is one of the largest (economic) decisions humans make. This thesis investigates this large scale decision and how the process is changing with the advent of the internet and the growing market for online informal sperm donation. This research identifies individual factors that influence female mating preferences. It explores the roles of behavioural traits and physical appearance, preferences for homogamy and hypergamy, and personality, and how these impact the decision to choose a donor. Overall, this thesis makes contributions to both the literature on human behaviour, and that on decision-making in extreme and highly important situations.