Global Manta And Devil Ray Population Declines: Closing Policy And Management Gaps To Reduce Fisheries Mortality, Betty J.L. Laglbauer, Nidhi G. D'Costa, Joshua D. Stewart, Marta D. Palacios, Melissa Cronin, Daniel Fernando, Nerea Lezama-Ochoa, Asia O. Armstrong, Rima W. Jabado, Sarah Fowler, Julia M. Lawson, Olga Koubrak, Jefferson Murua, Thanda Ko Gyi, Divya Karnad, Mayuri Chopra, Giuseppe Notarbartolo-Di-Sciara, Joshua Rambahiniarison, Don Croll, Stefany Rojas, Abdulaziz Fahmi, Joanna L. Harris, Alifa Binthe Haque, Hilario Murua, Juan Carlos Pérez-Jiménez, Emily Humble, Ellen Barrowclift, Muhammad G. Salim, Godefroy De Bruyne, Issah Seidu

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Significant progress has been made in advancing priority actions to conserve manta and devil rays, yet implementation and enforcement of protective measures often fall short, leaving most mobulid populations at risk of overfishing. Drawing on a literature review, fisheries databases, agency reports, and expert interviews, we assess global trends in mobulid catch and mortality. We examine both targeted and incidental catch, in small (<15 m, ‘SV’) and large (>15 m, ‘LV’) vessel fisheries to identify hotspots with the highest risk of fisheries-related mortality and population decline. We estimate global fisheries catch at 264,520 (184,407–344,987) mobulids per year, with SV fisheries accounting for 87 % …

Investigating The Impact Of Carboxylated Polystyrene Nanoplastics In The Liver Using Cell Lines And Precision-Cut Liver Slices, Namrata Pandey, Paula Boeira, Nathaniel J. Clark, Eleanor T. Walker, Somaiah Aroori, Jemimah Denson, Richard C. Thompson, Matthew E. Cramp, Shilpa Chokshi, Ashwin Dhanda

Peninsula Medical School

Background and Aims: Increasing reports of plastic accumulation in human tissue have raised concerns about potential adverse health outcomes. Evidence of negative effects of nanoplastics is heterogeneous and provides limited insights into the underlying pathogenic toxicity mechanisms in humans. Methods: In the present study, carboxylate-modified fluorescently labelled polystyrene nanoparticles (PS NPs) were used to investigate uptake and cytotoxicity in three different hepatic models of varying complexity, including HepG2 cells, IHH cells, and human precision-cut liver slices (hPCLS). Results: The results show model- and dose-dependent effects on hepatocytes. 74.2% ± 13.4% of the IHH cells showed PS NPs uptake at 0.1 …

Shelled Shut-Ins: A Conditional Escape Task Showing Perceptual Awareness In Hermit Crabs, Ari Drummond, John Spicer, Mark Briffa

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Sentience is an increasingly popular topic in animal welfare and behavioural research. However, studying sentience can be difficult and contentious. Sentience has frequently been associated with ‘feelings’ and ‘subjective states’ not directly accessible to human observers; thus, investigating awareness in animals could be an alternative approach. Frameworks of awareness have been developed for the experimental examination of cognitive capacities that might underpin ‘feelings’ as affective states and subjective experiences. Using a framework of four hierarchically arranged levels of awareness (that is, perceptual, cognitive, assessment and executive), the awareness of an intertidal crustacean, the common hermit crab, Pagurus bernhardus , was …

Psychotropic Medication Prescribing To Children And Young People Mental Health Inpatient Services: An English National Study, David Branford, Anne Webster, Marinos Kyriakopoulos, Shermin Imran, Prathiba Chitsabesan, Tina Irani, Teresa Randon, Kirsten Peebles, Rohit Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

Background:Mental disorders frequently begin in childhood or adolescence. Worldwide, psychotropics are commonly prescribed for under-18s to stabilise behaviour, mood or thoughts. Psychotropics could cause long-term effects on children and young people (CYP) health, growth and development. There is a knowledge gap about psychotropic prescribing in CYP mental health inpatient units.Aims:To understand and compare psychotropic prescribing patterns in England mental health inpatient units for CYPs and to solicit CYP and their parents’ and carers’ views of it.Method:A national Quality Improvement programme authorised by National Health Service (NHS) England invited all English CYP mental health inpatient units to participate. The programme included …

Measuring Outcomes In Evaluations Of Interventions To Prevent Youth Crime And Violence: Challenges And Potential Solutions, Sajid Humayun, Finlay Green, Helen Downham, Nick Axford

Peninsula Medical School

There is a clear imperative to prevent youth crime and violence owing to the significant social and economic costs for individuals involved and wider society. A considerable evidence base for ‘what works’ in this space exists but gaps remain. To address these, it is necessary to evaluate intervention effectiveness. The aim of this article is to explore challenges and potential solutions regarding outcome measurement in such evaluations. To do this we draw on the literature and our experience as evaluators. We argue that outcome selection should be informed by a robust theory of change, and that normally this will mean …

Growth In The Margins: Field Measured Protein Metabolism Rates In The Common Limpet, Patella Vulgata, Ignacio A. Cienfuegos, Benjamin J. Ciotti, Richard A. Billington, Paul A. Sutton, Keiron P.P. Fraser

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Intertidal shores are characterised by a high variability in abiotic conditions, resulting in marked daily, tidal, seasonal and vertical differences in stress conditions, yet our ability to understand the consequences for key physiological processes at corresponding scales are limited. In particular, no previous studies have directly measured protein metabolism, the key process underpinning animal growth, in the field, in any organism. We measured whole-animal (SGR) and tissue (TSGR) mass growth, protein metabolism (synthesis (k_s), degradation (k_d) and growth (k_g)), RNA to protein ratios and oxidative stress in Patella vulgata in the field every season …

Microplastics, Nanoplastics And Liver Disease: An Emerging Health Concern?, Shilpa Chokshi, Ashwin Dhanda, Matthew E. Cramp, Richard Thompson

Peninsula Medical School

Human liver tissue has been found to contain microplastics and nanoplastics (MNPs), with evidence that hepatic MNP accumulation has markedly increased over the past 10 years, prompting critical questions regarding their potential causal role in liver disease. In cell-based and murine models, MNP exposure can trigger oxidative stress, fibrogenesis and inflammation, pathological features that resemble those of advanced liver disease, suggesting shared mechanistic pathways. Furthermore, the capacity for MNPs to act as vectors for microbial pathogens, antimicrobial resistance, endocrine-disrupting chemicals and carcinogenic additives might have important implications for liver pathology. This Perspective examines emerging evidence on the consequences of MNPs …

Designing A Mobile App For Post Traumatic Stress Disorder: Insights From Lived Experience And Clinical Practice, Rohit Shankar, Richard Laugharne, Michael Loizou, Marius Varga, Sivia Lin, Bojana Daw Srdanovic, Roger Farrell

Peninsula Medical School

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a disabling anxiety disorder precipitated by severe trauma. Many people with this condition have little access to clinical interventions, especially in low-middle-income countries. For the development of any digital health intervention, it is vital to know the opinions of PLE and clinicians to guide the developers. We conducted two focus groups, one with clinicians (n = 5) and one with people with lived experience (PLE) (n = 11), to gain knowledge of their views on the development of a PTSD App. Transcripts of both focus groups were coded and thematically analysed. The key themes that …

Royal College Of Psychiatrists College Report 244: Optimising Psychotropic Medication Prescribing For People With Intellectual Disability, Rohit Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

Testing The Transferability Of Ai Models For Cold-Water Coral Detection And Classification, Kyran P. Graves, Louise Allcock, David K.A. Barnes, Amelia E.H. Bridges, Kerry L. Howell

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

The proliferation of accessible deep-water imaging platforms has resulted in the acquisition of vast amounts of image data, resulting in an analysis bottleneck. Object detection is now being applied to assist the image annotation process, with the potential to reduce analysis time. However, for object detectors to effectively tackle the scale of the challenge, models need to be generalisable to allow the transfer between imaging platforms and in space. This study trains YOLOv5 object detection models to identify six coral morphology groups using annotated imagery collected by ROV ISIS in the UK (JC136). Model performance was tested with independent datasets …

Best Practice Guidelines For Professional Carers In Emergency Seizure Medication, Rohit Shankar

Peninsula Medical School

No abstract provided.

Small-Molecule Therapies Targeting Tumor-Associated Macrophages In Glioma: Mechanisms And Potential, Hua Wang, Heng Luo, Haijian Zhong, Amy Ockleton, Feng Jiang, Renhui Yi, Shaochun Yang, Ming Li

Peninsula Medical School

Glioblastoma, a highly prevalent and aggressive primary brain tumor, is marked by poor prognosis due to the blood-brain barrier and chemoresistance, which limit conventional pharmacotherapy. Recent research has pivoted toward targeting the tumor microenvironment, where tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) drive gliomagenesis and malignant progression through immunosuppressive signaling. Small-molecule agents targeting TAMs have emerged as promising therapeutics, capable of reprogramming macrophage polarization, modulating immune cell dynamics, and suppressing glioma growth. This review explores the mechanistic roles of TAMs in glioma and evaluates how small-molecule compounds exert antitumor effects via TAM modulation. These insights lay a foundation for developing next-generation TAM-targeted therapies, offering …

Three Christmas Island Land Crabs Do Not Alter Extracellular Magnesium In Response To Acute Reduced Temperature, Katie N.G. Thiessen, Helena C. Reinardy, John I. Spicer, Lucy M. Turner

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

Magnesium is essential to numerous biological processes in many species. Including protecting intracellular pH and ATP concentrations during temperature and anoxia stress. Extracellular [Mg²⁺] is tightly regulated in many, but not all crustaceans. There is evidence that extracellular [Mg²⁺] content may be open to environmental influence such as temperature. The alteration of extracellular [Mg²⁺] in decapod crustaceans in response to temperature has been proposed, with individuals exposed to low temperature often displaying an increase in extracellular [Mg²⁺]. However, data, supporting or refuting this hypothesis, are sparse and drawn mainly from temperate and …

On The Edge Of Science?: Commentary On Birch On Edge Of Sentience, Mark Briffa, Lynne U. Sneddon

School of Biological and Marine Sciences

In The Edge of Sentience, Jonathan Birch (2024) provides a thought-provokingsynthesis of current perspectives on animal (and artificial) sentience. He addresses the question from conceptual, ethical, regulatory and empirical viewpoints. Here we focus on some of the scientific issues raised, including defining and operationalising the concept of sentience and the implications for policy and regulation. Despite unresolved conceptual challenges, the book makes a compelling case for the continued scientific investigation of animal sentience.

Dampened Social Motivation In Dysphoria: The Role Of Negative Social Expectancies And Internal Causal Attribution Style, Julie L Ji, Nilly Mor, Colin Macleod

School of Psychology

Dysphoria is associated with dampening of social interaction intention, but the cognitive mechanisms that underpin this relationship are under-investigated. This study tested the hypothesis that heightened negative social expectancies mediate the association between dysphoria and dampened social motivation. Additionally, it tested the hypothesis that the association between dysphoria and negative social expectancies is mediated by an attribution style bias that attributes negative, but not positive, outcomes to internal causes. University students (N = 271) with varied levels of dysphoria read vignettes describing hypothetical situations where they initiate a social interaction that results in positive or negative outcomes. Participants rated their …

Children And Adults Across 15 Countries Believe In Human Uniqueness Of Mind: A Cross-Cultural Investigation Of Cross-Species Mind Perception, Karri Neldner, Luke Maurits, Magie Junker, Lara Abbas, Nayrouz Abbas, Arianna Abis, Federica Amici, Bernardo Arroyo-Garcia, Negar Asghari, Giovanna Barragán Pardo, Zhen Zhang, Junior Peña Chumacero, Ardain Dzabatou, Dustin Eirdosh, Susan Hanisch, Tom Herrnsdorf, Tom Hovehne, Alicia Junker, Patricia Kanngiesser, Felipe Villa Larens, Safaa Mahmoud, Sandra Masaquiza, Iino Masato, Risma Illa Maulany, Tongtong Meng, Kardelen Mutlu, Putu Oka Ngakan, Ebru Peközer, Ljubica Petrović, Mirella Christy Rehatalanit

School of Psychology

The way humans relate to other animals is fundamentally shaped by whether we perceive ourselves as unique, with feelings and thoughts not shared by other animals. How beliefs about animals’ ability to feel and think develop across cultures remains largely unexplored. We asked children and adolescents (4–17 years, N = 1025) and adults (N = 190) from 33 urban and rural communities across 15 countries whether animals have thoughts or feelings (judgments of presence), and whether those thoughts or feelings are human-like (judgments of similarity). Bayesian analyses revealed that participants generally ascribed non-human animals the ability for thoughts and feelings. …

Others’ Requests May Dampen The Desire To Do Good: The Effect Of Requests On Children's Prosocial Motivation Across Five Cultures., Anneliese Skrobanek, Patricia Kanngiesser, Jahnavi Sunderarajan, Jorge David Mantilla Salgado, Saiwa Sisa Quimbo Yacelga, Shoji Itakura, Marie M. Morita, Masanori Yamaguchi, Nadia Chernyak, Lucy M. Stowe, Joscha Kärtner

School of Psychology

There exists cultural variation in how people react to prosocial obligations, but we still know little about when these differences emerge in development and how they can be explained. We investigated this in a study with 6- to 11-year-old children (N = 686) in five cultural contexts. Children listened to scenarios about spontaneous and requested (within-subjects) helping and sharing. They rated requested scenarios as less desirable and less satisfying, but there was significant cross-cultural variation in the magnitude of this effect, which was mostly stable with age. We also measured children's sense of individual agency and internalization of prosocial norms …

Psychophysiological Recovery From Viewing Nature And Urban Settings: A Multisite Replication, A. E. Van Den Berg, K. Dijkstra, D. Meuwese, F. Beute, P. M. Darcy, S. Dewitte, B. Gatersleben, C. J. Gidlow, C. M. Hägerhäll, J. A. Hipp, Y. Joye, Y. A.W. De Kort, S. C.M. Lechner, C. Neale, Sang Ode Sang, J. Roe, D. T. Scheepers, K. Smolders, H. Staats, R. S. Steensma, K. J. Wyles, S. L. Koole

School of Psychology

The idea that merely viewing nature can promote stress recovery has profound societal implications, driving the use of nature imagery in the design of environments where access to real nature is limited. Scientific support for this concept originates from a pioneering study by Ulrich et al. (1991), which demonstrated superior psycho-physiological stress recovery during exposure to nature videos compared to urban videos. Despite its influence, this foundational study has never been systematically replicated. To address this gap, ten research teams across the Netherlands, Belgium, the UK, Sweden, and the USA collaborated on a multisite replication. A final sample of 959 …

Picturing The Past: The Role Of Photo Cue Visual Perspective On Positive Autobiographical Memory Recall In Dysphoria, Sarah Snow, Zachary Adolph Niese, Julie L Ji

School of Psychology

Positive autobiographical memory plays a key role in emotional well-being and is distorted by cognitive processing biases in dysphoria. This experiment investigated how the visual perspectives (first-person vs. third-person) of personal photographs influence recall of positive memories depending on dysphoria. Eighty-five participants (42 low dysphoria, 43 high dysphoria) submitted photos of positive events from both perspectives. Later, participants recalled these events while viewing either a first- or third-person photo before rating and describing their memory. While first-person photos promoted more recall from an own-eyes vantage point regardless of dysphoria level, dysphoria was still associated with greater observer-like recall, reduced mental …

Enhancing Monitoring In Protected Areas: Evaluating Mobile Apps As A Tourism Proxy, Jorge Costa, Alberto Gomes, Martin Stokes, Miguel Saraiva

School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences

Crowdsourced data, such as that from mobile fitness apps (MFAs), has the potential to transform tourism research. This opportunity is particularly valuable as tourism to protected areas (PAs) increases, making it more difficult to manage their environmental impacts. However, such data sources come with challenges. Therefore, their representativeness should be carefully evaluated, particularly as their use continues to grow. We use the Paiva Walkways (Portugal) to assess MFAs as a tourism proxy using Spearman’s rank correlation, to evaluate kernel density and fishnet methods for spatialising visitor movements, and to analyse the visitors’ spatiotemporal behaviour using GIS, kernel density estimation, and …

Artificial Sense-Making Dataset, Jason A. Bengtson, John Sandstrom, Nathan Camp

NMSU Library: Datasets

No abstract provided.

Making The Implicit Explicit: Leadership In Primary Care Dental Practice, Sally Hanks, Debby R.E. Cotton

Peninsula Dental School

Objectives: This paper reports on research aimed at understanding leadership activities in primary care dental practice, an under-explored area within the extant literature. Methods: The research employed a qualitative, exploratory paradigm, using Video Reflexive Ethnography (VRE) and Activity Theory (AT) to capture the lived experiences of seven participating dentists. Results: The research outlines the ways in which dentists demonstrate leadership skills in their daily work, identifying three interacting activity systems that define leadership in this setting: Patient Care (PC), Running the Surgery (RS), and Running the Practice (RP). Findings emphasise that leadership is directly related to patient care and is …

Front Matter For The Florida Breeding Bird Atlas Ii, Ann Hodgson, Florida Ornithological Society

Breeding Bird Atlas II Front Matter

The front matter from the Florida Breeding Bird Atlas II from the Florida Ornithological Society. Included are introductions, methods, results, discussion, appendices, and references.

The table of contents will be updated with page numbers as more accounts are added.

Numerical Study Of Air Vents Influence On Wave Forces Acting On Box-Type Bridge Girders With Cavities Under Storm Surge, Khalida H. Jihad

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Along with the continuous rise of sea level, direct interaction between elevated coastal structures, such as coastal bridges, and seawater during storm surge, has been shown to potentially cause bridge failures in the past. For example, Hurricane Irma (2017) generated storm surge levels exceeding 2-3 m in portions of South Florida, causing widespread transportation disruption including roadway washouts, erosion, and bridge approach damage along US-1 in Florida Keys. Similar failures have occurred during Hurricane Ivan (2004), where uplift forces displaced spans of the Escambia Bay Bridge, and Hurricane Ian (2022), which caused partial collapse of the Sanibel Causeway when elevated …

Investigating The Effects Of Pressure On Fe And Co Intercalated 2h-Tas2 Through First-Principle Calculations, Ronald E. Putnam Jr.

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Using first-principles methods, we investigate the effects of applied isotropic pressure on the electronic and magnetic properties of intercalated Fe1/3TaS2 and Co1/3TaS2. Fe1/3TaS2 has been shown to be a ferromagnet that undergoes structural and magnetic phase transitions under applied pressure. The magnetic phase transitions are observed to be linked to the structural shift, and a mixture of magnetic phase states is present between 3 GPa and 6 GPa. Co1/3TaS2 was found to be antiferromagnetic, as confirmed by experimental work. One- and two-unit-cell systems of Co1/3TaS2 are analyzed, both showing band splitting that disappears under pressure. The application of pressure forces …

Operationalizing Mtss: A Case Study Of Principal Leadership Practices In Guiding School-Based Leadership Teams Through Inquiry And Improvement Science, Heather M. Teto

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic widened academic achievement gaps, creating an urgent mandate for school leaders to implement systemic, data-driven frameworks to support student academic recovery. While the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is a widely adopted framework for addressing these disparities, its success is dependent on the strategic involvement and instructional leadership of the school principal. This qualitative case study explores the lived experiences and leadership characteristics of elementary school principals as they lead School-Based Leadership Teams in implementing a district-developed MTSS framework.

Guided by the principles of Improvement Science and the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) inquiry cycle, this research examines the specific …

What Novice Educators Find Supportive, Robin M. Bossinger

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Teacher shortages have increased in the past two decades, creating greater emphasis on recruitment, talent development, and retention efforts for educational leaders. Novice educators feature prominently in these considerations. A teacher’s first years can be extremely challenging, and induction, the professional learning experiences specific to early career professionals, is often considered the answer. Despite the seeming ubiquity of induction, there is much variability in interpretation, enactment and outcomes. While it is generally accepted that some induction is better than no induction, new teachers deserve more intentionally designed support.

This study sought to reexamine assumptions about induction, adding to the literature …

Novice Teachers' Perceptions Of Clinical Experience And Their Preparedness To Teach In High-Need Urban Schools, Robin D. Renelus

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

This hermeneutic phenomenological study examined novice teachers’ perceptions of how clinical experiences in a teacher preparation program prepared them to teach in high-need urban schools. The study included 12 novice teachers with three or fewer years of teaching experience who completed their clinical experience at the same university in Northeast Florida. Data were collected using Seidman’s (2019) three-interview approach, which explored participants’ backgrounds, day-to-day teaching experiences, and reflections on their sense of preparedness. Data were analyzed to develop textural descriptions of what participants experienced and structural descriptions of how those experiences were shaped (Moustakas, 1994).

Participants described clinical experiences as …

Exploring The Undergraduate Student Perceptions Of Sense Of Belonging At Their University: A Q-Methodological Approach, Jose Acevedo

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

       The transition to higher education is a significant life event requiring substantial social, academic, and psychological adjustment, during which a powerful sense of belonging is critical for student success and retention. While traditional models of student retention often prioritize support services and academic integration, they frequently overlook the intricate relational dynamics and deeply personal subjective experiences that shape belonging. This research utilized Q methodology to explore the multifaceted ways undergraduate students at the University of North Florida (UNF) understand and prioritize the determinants of institutional belonging. Guided by an integrated conceptual framework of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, Self-Determination Theory, Social …

From Preparation To Practice: A Study Of Assistant Principals After Completion Of An Aspiring Assistant Principal Preparation Program, Mallory L. Mcconnell

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Leadership programs and readiness in schools, particularly those in Florida, is well studied. However, few studies have investigated how current assistant principals who have completed Clay County District School’s Aspiring Assistant Principal Program describe their experiences, believe the program has prepared them for the realities of school leadership, or identify the most impactful elements that have supported their leadership development. This case study seeks to collect foundational research knowledge by analyzing data from the program, participants, and key facilitators. Using a sampling of current assistant principals who have completed the Aspiring Assistant Principal Program, this research examines the results in …