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Ocean warming is increasing the incidence, scale, and severity of global-scale coral bleaching and mortality, culminating in the third global coral bleaching event that occurred during record marine heatwaves of 2014-2017. While local effects of these events have been widely reported, the global implications remain unknown. Analysis of 15,066 reef surveys during 2014-2017 revealed that 80% of surveyed reefs experienced significant coral bleaching and 35% experienced significant coral mortality. The global extent of significant coral bleaching and mortality was assessed by extrapolating results from reef surveys using comprehensive remote-sensing data of regional heat stress. This model predicted that 51% of the world’s coral reefs suffered significant bleaching and 15% significant mortality, surpassing damage from any prior global bleaching event. These observations demonstrate that global warming’s widespread damage to coral reefs is accelerating and underscores the threat anthropogenic climate change poses for the irreversible transformation of these essential ecosystems.

Objective Extensive driving experience is essential for developing vital situation awareness skills. Young (‘inexperienced’) drivers have poor situation awareness (SA) skills compared to middle-aged (experienced) drivers, and driving abilities have been found to deteriorate with increasing age. Much remains unknown regarding similarities and differences in the SA of these driver cohorts. Data and Methodology: Using verbal commentary protocol, 36 persons with a valid driver’s licence (12 young, 12 middle-aged, 12 older) observed a 16-minute day-time driving scenario. Results: Similarities in SA were found, with all participants commenting on driving hazards in the immediate environment (e.g., vehicle immediately in front). Differences in SA across groups were found, particularly the structure of the SA network. SA information is vital for effective intervention in the road safety of all drivers, improving the learning of young drivers, teaching by middle-aged drivers, and optimising road safety for older drivers.

The ability of evolutionary processes to innovate and scale up over long periods of time, observed in nature, remains a central mystery in evolutionary biology, and a challenge for algorithm designers to emulate and explain in evolutionary computation (EC). The Major Transitions in Evolution is a compelling theory that explains evolvability through a multi-scale process whereby individuality (and hence selection and variation) is continually revised by the formation of associations between formerly independent entities, a process still not fully explored in EC. Deep Optimisation (DO) is a new type of model-building optimization algorithm (MBOA) that exploits deep learning methods to enable multi-scale optimization. DO uses an autoencoder model to induce a multi-level representation of solutions, capturing the relationships between the lower-level units that contribute to the quality of a solution. Variation and selection are then performed within the induced representations, causing model-informed changes to multiple solution variables simultaneously. Here, we first show that DO has impressive performance compared with other leading MBOAs (and other rival methods) on multiple knapsack problems, a standard combinatorial optimization problem of general interest. Going deeper, we then carry out a detailed investigation to understand the differences between DO and other MBOAs, identifying key problem characteristics where other MBOAs are afflicted by exponential running times, and DO is not. This study serves to concretize our understanding of the Major Transitions theory, and why that leads to evolvability, and also provides a strong motivation for further investigation of deep learning methods in optimization.

Objective: Drink driving is widely recognized as a major road safety problem. In Australia, health promotion messages encourage monitoring the number of standard drinks consumed prior to driving. This pilot research aimed to investigate commuting behavior and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of diners, including intended drivers, at Sunshine Coast restaurants. Methods: Five hundred and forty-four diners (n = 260 males) consented to participate in a brief interview and to use a breathalyzer device to measure their BAC. Results: Forty percent of participants advised they don't drink and drive (34% of males, 45% of females; 67.25% of Conclusions: Given the proportion of diners who reported they count the number of drinks, or use feelings as a way to gauge BAC, coupled with the considerable proportion who underestimated their BAC, a safer public health message is to avoid driving if you intend to drink. In addition, targeted intervention for experienced drivers (and, arguably, drinkers) appears warranted, as every participant aged less than 21 years who stated he or she would drive home indeed had a zero BAC. Interestingly every female driver who stated she would be driving home also had a legal BAC, suggesting gender-specific intervention.

Untreated hyperthyroidism during pregnancy is associated with a high incidence of maternal and fetal complications. The perinatal nurse needs knowledge of the pathophysiology of this condition to implement a care plan. Antithyroid medications are used to restore the patient's normal thyroid function. Ongoing evaluation of clinical and laboratory data assists the nurse in recognizing the development and implementation of interventions for complications, such as thyroid crisis and heart failure, in the pregnant patient.