Moisture tempers impairment of adult Otiorhynchus sulcatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) climbing ability by fluoropolymer, talc dust, and lithium grease

As part of a project to develop tools for the physical exclusion of flightless root weevils, adult black vine weevils (BVW), Otiorhynchus sulcatus (F.), were placed in open enclosures with smooth walls of glass, plastic or aluminum to test their ability to escape by climbing. Enclosure walls were left untreated or were treated with substances known to reduce insect climbing ability: fluoropolymer, powdered talc and lithium grease. No BVW escapes were observed under dry conditions, but all treatments allowed some escapes under wet conditions, suggesting that moisture helps BVW adults scale treated surfaces. The results help explain the ability of root weevils to overcome physical barriers under field conditions

Scaling hard vertical surfaces with compliant microspine arrays

A new approach for climbing hard vertical surfaces has been developed that allows a robot to scale concrete, stucco, brick and masonry walls without using suction or adhesives. The approach is inspired by the mechanisms observed in some climbing insects and spiders and involves arrays of microspines that catch on surface asperities. The arrays are located on the toes of the robot and consist of a tuned, multi-link compliant suspension. In this paper we discuss the fundamental issues of spine allometric scaling versus surface roughness and the suspension needed to maximize the probability that each spine will find a useable surface irregularity and to distribute climbing tensile and shear loads among many spines. The principles are demonstrated with a new climbing robot that can scale a wide range of exterior walls

Climbing the Walls of Your Electronic Cage

Space. The final frontier. Not so, say the doyennes of the firstgeneration Internet community, who view themselves as the new frontiersmen and women staking out a previously unexplored territory - cyberspace. Numerous metaphors in the Internet literature picture cyberspace as a new, previously unexplored domain. Parallels are frequently drawn to the American colonies, the Western frontier, or outer space. In Code: And Other Laws of Cyberspace, Lawrence Lessig says, Cyberspace is a place. People live there. In this place, we will build a new society (p. 4). A sense of this background is helpful in appraising Lessig\u27s claims. He argues that we need a constitution for cyberspace. This seems reasonable, a new social compact for a new society. While Lessig has his legal training in the U.S. system, as a former law clerk to Justice Antonin Scalia and a recognized American constitutional law scholar, in Code, he uses the word constitution in its British rather than its American sense. For the British, a constitution is an unwritten common understanding about fundamental social values and social practices that merits institutional protection from the vicissitudes of ordinary poiitics. The purview of Lessig\u27s project, then, is constitutional theory understood as the theory of social order, a broader inquiry than the top-down, text-based American constitutional theory

Pedagogical possibilities of the scaling on climbing walls

Resumen basado en el de la publicaciónSe propone la escalada como una actividad a incluir en el currículum de Secundaria analizando sus objetivos pedagógicos. Aunque no es común que existan rocódromos en los centros educativos, es habitual el desplazamiento a estas instalaciones para la iniciación en este deporte. El diseño de una progresión didáctica bien planificada facilitará aprovechar las enormes posibilidades pedagógicas de la escalada. Igualmente una adecuada progresión de trabajo en el rocódromo dará la oportunidad de salir del centro educativo para practicar la escalada con el alumnado en plena la naturaleza. En ella la actividad se muestra de forma real, donde la facilidad de agarre de las presas del rocódromo queda sustituida por la áspera y difícil roca. El objetivo final debe ser el de salir con nuestro alumnado a practicar actividad física en el medio natural. Se describe la sesión de trabajo e incluye anexos con fotografías y medidas de seguridad.AndalucíaES

Electrolytic lesions within central complex neuropils of the cockroach brain affect negotiation of barriers

Animals must negotiate obstacles in their path in order to successfully function within natural environments. These actions require transitions from walking to other behaviors, many of which are more involved than simple reflexes. For these behaviors to be successful, insects must evaluate objects in their path and then use that information to change posture or re-direct leg movements. Some of this control may occur within a region of the brain known as the central complex (CC). We used discrete electrolytic lesions to examine the role of certain sub-regions of the CC in various obstacle negotiation behaviors. We found that cockroaches with lesions to the protocerebral bridge (PB) and ellipsoid body (EB) exhibit abnormalities in turning and dealing with shelf-like objects; whereas, individuals with lesions to the fan-shaped body (FB) and lateral accessory lobe (LAL), exhibit abnormalities of those behaviors as well as climbing over blocks and up walls to a horizontal plane. Abnormalities in block climbing include decreased success rate, changes in climbing strategy, and delayed response to the block. Increases in these abnormal behaviors were significant in individuals with lesions to the FB and LAL. Although turning abnormalities are present in individuals with lesions to the LAL, EB and the lateral region of the FB, there are some differences in how these deficits present. For instance, the turning deficits seen in individuals with lateral FB lesions only occurred when turning in the direction opposite to the side of the brain on which the lesion occurred. By contrast, individuals with lesions to the EB and LAL exhibited turning abnormalities in both directions. Lesions in the medial region of the FB did not result in directional turning deficits, but in abnormalities in block climbing

A phase of liposomes with entangled tubular vesicles

An equilibrium phase belonging to the family of bilayer liposomes in ternary mixtures of dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine (DMPC), water, and geraniol (a biological alcohol derived from oil-soluble vitamins that acts as a cosurfactant) has been identified. Electron and optical microscopy reveal the phase, labeled Ltv, to be composed of highly entangled tubular vesicles. In situ x-ray diffraction confirms that the tubule walls are multilamellar with the lipids in the chain-melted state. Macroscopic observations show that the Ltv phase coexists with the well-known L4 phase of spherical vesicles and a bulk L alpha phase. However, the defining characteristic of the Ltv phase is the Weissenberg rod climbing effect under shear, which results from its polymer-like entangled microstructure

Determining The Impact Of Anthropometric Factors On Rock Climbing Performance

The purpose of this study was to determine whether anthropometric factors have an effect on overall performance in rock climbing between three different difficulties of rock walls. Fourteen, recreational rock climbers participated in this study (Age- 21.93+/-2.62y, Height- 176.8+/-11.1cm, Weight- 73.4+/-18.7kgs, % Fat- 21.02 +/- 6.41, BMI- 23.36+/-4.59). The anthropometric tests included: push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, vertical jump, and sit and reach. Immediately following these tests, the participants climbed the three different rock walls for approximately 10 minutes. The data collected is represented through the average number of climbs, distance traveled, and an RPE scale, to determine overall performance. A stepwise regression test showed some anthropometric variables were significant predictor on climbing success. However, the specific anthropometric variables differed based on the level of difficulty of the wall

Moisture tempers impairment of adult Otiorhynchus sulcatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) climbing ability by fluoropolymer, talc dust, and lithium grease

As part of a project to develop tools for the physical exclusion of flightless root weevils, adult black vine weevils (BVW), Otiorhynchus sulcatus (F.), were placed in open enclosures with smooth walls of glass, plastic or aluminum to test their ability to escape by climbing. Enclosure walls were left untreated or were treated with substances known to reduce insect climbing ability: fluoropolymer, powdered talc and lithium grease. No BVW escapes were observed under dry conditions, but all treatments allowed some escapes under wet conditions, suggesting that moisture helps BVW adults scale treated surfaces. The results help explain the ability of root weevils to overcome physical barriers under field conditions