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Metabolic morphology—the morphological features related to metabolic rate—offers broad comparative insights into the physiological performance and ecological function of species. However, some metabolic morphological traits, such as gill surface area, require costly and lethal sampling. Measurements of gill slit height from anatomically accurate drawings, such as those in field guides, offer the opportunity to understand physiological and ecological function without the need for lethal sampling. Here, we examine the relationship between gill slit height and each of the three traits that comprise ecological lifestyle: activity, maximum body size, and depth across nearly all sharks (n= 455). We find that gill slit heights are positively related to activity (measured by the aspect ratio of the caudal fin) and maximum size but negatively related to depth. Overall, gill slit height is best explained by the suite of ecological lifestyle traits rather than any single trait. These results suggest that more active, larger and shallower species (and endothermic species) have higher metabolic throughput as indexed by gill slit height (oxygen uptake) and ecological lifestyle (oxygen expenditure). We show that meaningful ecophysiological relationships can be revealed through measurable metabolic morphological traits from anatomically accurate drawings, which offers the opportunity to estimate class-wide traits for analyses of life history theory and the relationship between biodiversity and ecological function. 

Studies show that young autistic adults are under- or unemployed, with almost half never holding a paying job in their 20’s. Unemployment within this population leads to decreased personal growth and increased dependence on caregivers. Research suggests that the interview process is one of the largest barriers to employment for this population. Autistic individuals often struggle with emotion regulation, which can be exacerbated by the interview process. To address this, we propose the use of a stress detection model in conjunction with a virtual reality interview simulator. This combination will allow for the interview to adapt to the state of the participant to improve the skills and engagement of the user and positively influence their comfort level. Data regarding negative affective responses to categories of questions can also be used to inform employers on better interviewing techniques. A model was designed using data obtained from neurotypical participants completing a modified Computerized Paced Serial Addition Task (PASAT-C) and evaluated on a dataset obtained from Autistic participants who took part in a simulated interview. Agreement between the model and ground truth was compared based on Pearson correlation coefficients. It was found that was r(289) = 0.28, which was statistically significant (p < .001; CI: 0.17 to 0.38). Our preliminary results provide evidence for the validity of observer-based labeling of data captured using a wrist-worn physiological sensor. 

Employment of autistic individuals is strikingly low in relation to the skill level and capabilities of this population. Roughly 65% of autistic adults are either unemployed or underemployed relative to their abilities but there is increasing recognition that this number could be greatly improved through empowering autistic individuals while simultaneously providing a boost to the economy. Much of this disparity can be attributed in part to the lack of awareness and understanding among employers regarding behavior of autistic individuals during the hiring process. Most notably, the job interview—where strong eye contact is traditionally expected but can be extremely uncomfortable for autistic individuals—presents an unreasonable initial barrier to employment for many. The current work presents a data visualization dashboard that is populated with quantitative data (including eye tracking data) captured during simulated job interviews using a novel interview simulator called Career Interview Readiness in Virtual Reality (CIRVR). We conducted a brief series of case studies wherein autistic individuals who took part in a CIRVR interview and other key stakeholders provided lived experiences and qualitative insights into the most effective design and application of such data visualization dashboard. We conclude with a discussion of the role of information related to visual attention in job interviews with an emphasis on the importance of descriptive rather than prescriptive interpretation. 

Volatile elements (water, carbon, nitrogen, sulfur, halogens, and noble gases) played an essential role in the secular evolution of the solid Earth and emergence of life. Here we provide an overview of Earth's volatile inventories and describe the mechanisms by which volatiles are conveyed between Earth's surface and mantle reservoirs, via subduction and volcanism. Using literature data, we compute volatile concentration and flux estimates for Earth's major volatile reservoirs and provide an internally balanced assessment of modern global volatile recycling. Using a nitrogen isotope box model, we show that recycling of N (and possibly C and S) likely began before 2 Ga and that ingassing fluxes have remained roughly constant since this time. In contrast, our model indicates recycling of H 2 O(and most likely noble gases) was less efficient in the past. This suggests a decoupling of major volatile species during subduction through time, which we attribute to the evolving thermal regime of subduction zones and the different stabilities of the carrier phases hosting each volatile. ▪  This review provides an overview of Earth's volatile inventory and the mechanisms by which volatiles are transferred between Earth reservoirs via subduction. ▪  The review frames the current thinking regarding how Earth acquired its original volatile inventory and subsequently evolved through subduction processes and volcanism. 

The employment settings for autistic individuals in the USA is grim. As more children are diagnosed with ASD, the number of adolescent and young adult with ASD will increase as well over the next decade. Based on reports, one of the main challenges in securing and retaining employment for individual with ASD is difficulty in communicating and working with others in workplace settings. Most vocational trainings focused on technical skills development and very few addresses teamwork skills development. In this study, we present the design of a collaborative virtual environment (CVE) that support autistic individual to develop their teamwork skills by working together with a partner in a shared virtual space. This paper described the CVE architecture, teamwork-based tasks design and quantitative measures to evaluate teamwork skills. A system validation was also carried out to validate the system design. The results showed that our CVE was able to support multiple users in the same shared environment, the tasks were tolerable by users, and all the quantitative measures are recorded accordingly.