Preserved Grasshopper Fauna Of Knife Point Glacier, Fremont County, Wyoming, U.S.A.

In 1987 and 1988, samples of preserved insects were extracted from the ice of Knife Point Glacier, Fremont County, Wyoming. The glacier lies at an altitude of 3500 m a.s.l. in the Shoshone National Forest, Wind River Range, and is known to contain preserved insects. Although the glacier has undergone extensive recession in the last 50 yr, some insect deposits are still embedded at 20 to 25 cm below the surface and perhaps much deeper. The frozen deposits appear to consist entirely of grasshoppers. A few, virtually intact, specimens and body parts were in a state of preservation that allowed their identification as Spharagemon campestris McNeill and Melanoplus spretus (Walsh) or M. sanguinipes (F.). The majority of the deposits consisted of partial bodies and isolated parts, including, in order of frequency: mandibles, tibiae, tentoria, femora, wings (primarily tegmina), and cingulae/epiphalli. Deposits from various depths and locations on the glacier were radiocarbon dated at 205 + 65 to 450 + 80 yr BP. Although access to the glacier is quite difficult, the insects are better preserved than any glacial deposit documented in recent history. Thus, the state of preservation and age of the frozen deposits would suggest that additional, intensive sampling may be valuable in obtain- ing information on the ecology of grasshoppers prior to European settlement of North America

Preserved Grasshopper Fauna Of Knife Point Glacier, Fremont County, Wyoming, U.S.A.

In 1987 and 1988, samples of preserved insects were extracted from the ice of Knife Point Glacier, Fremont County, Wyoming. The glacier lies at an altitude of 3500 m a.s.l. in the Shoshone National Forest, Wind River Range, and is known to contain preserved insects. Although the glacier has undergone extensive recession in the last 50 yr, some insect deposits are still embedded at 20 to 25 cm below the surface and perhaps much deeper. The frozen deposits appear to consist entirely of grasshoppers. A few, virtually intact, specimens and body parts were in a state of preservation that allowed their identification as Spharagemon campestris McNeill and Melanoplus spretus (Walsh) or M. sanguinipes (F.). The majority of the deposits consisted of partial bodies and isolated parts, including, in order of frequency: mandibles, tibiae, tentoria, femora, wings (primarily tegmina), and cingulae/epiphalli. Deposits from various depths and locations on the glacier were radiocarbon dated at 205 + 65 to 450 + 80 yr BP. Although access to the glacier is quite difficult, the insects are better preserved than any glacial deposit documented in recent history. Thus, the state of preservation and age of the frozen deposits would suggest that additional, intensive sampling may be valuable in obtain- ing information on the ecology of grasshoppers prior to European settlement of North America

A framework for deriving semantic web services

Web service-based development represents an emerging approach for the development of distributed information systems. Web services have been mainly applied by software practitioners as a means to modularize system functionality that can be offered across a network (e.g., intranet and/or the Internet). Although web services have been predominantly developed as a technical solution for integrating software systems, there is a more business-oriented aspect that developers and enterprises need to deal with in order to benefit from the full potential of web services in an electronic market. This ‘ignored’ aspect is the representation of the semantics underlying the services themselves as well as the ‘things’ that the services manage. Currently languages like the Web Services Description Language (WSDL) provide the syntactic means to describe web services, but lack in providing a semantic underpinning. In order to harvest all the benefits of web services technology, a framework has been developed for deriving business semantics from syntactic descriptions of web services. The benefits of such a framework are two-fold. Firstly, the framework provides a way to gradually construct domain ontologies from previously defined technical services. Secondly, the framework enables the migration of syntactically defined web services toward semantic web services. The study follows a design research approach which (1) identifies the problem area and its relevance from an industrial case study and previous research, (2) develops the framework as a design artifact and (3) evaluates the application of the framework through a relevant scenario

Scaling Consultative Selling with Virtual Reality: Design and Evaluation of Digitally Enhanced Services

Virtual, augmented, and mixed reality technologies allow creation of powerful customer experiences and illustrative demonstrations especially in use cases that benefit from spatial visualizations. Our study focuses on the natural resource management sector and digitalizing of consultative selling process. More specifically, we look at how to improve customer engagement with the use of virtual reality (VR) and thus digitally scale consultative selling. In this process, a VR application is used to demonstrate various management operations and their economic results. Design research methodology is applied to a pre-development phase and three application development iterations between 2016 and 2018. Data consists of user interviews and video observations (N = 129) during various development iterations and three application development plans. The results show that VR offers an emotionally engaging and illustrative tool in consultative selling. Further, it opens a novel way for interaction between the salesperson and customer and possibilities to scale consultative selling digitally, emphasizing the role of trust.Peer reviewe

An Ultrasound Assisted Anchoring Technique (BoneWelding® Technology) for Fixation of Implants to Bone – A Histological Pilot Study in Sheep

The BoneWelding® Technology offers new opportunities to anchor implants within bone. The technology melted the surface of biodegradable polymer pins by means of ultrasound energy to mould material into the structures of the predrilled bone. Temperature changes were measured at the sites of implantation in an in vitro experiment. In the in vivo part of the study two types of implants were implanted in the limb of sheep to investigate the biocompatibility of the method. One implant type was made of PL-DL-lactide (PLA), the second one was a titanium core partially covered with PLA. Healing period was 2 and 6 months, with 3 sheep per group. Bone samples were evaluated radiologically, histologically and histomorphometrically for bone remodeling and inflammatory reactions. Results demonstrated mild and short temperature increase during insertion. New bone formed at the implant without evidence of inflammatory reaction. The amount of adjacent bone was increased compared to normal cancellous bone. It was concluded that the BoneWelding® Technology proved to be a biocompatible technology to anchor biodegradable as well as titanium-PLA implants in bone

Equal opportunities: Do shareable interfaces promote more group participation than single users displays?

Computers designed for single use are often appropriated suboptimally when used by small colocated groups working together. Our research investigates whether shareable interfaces–that are designed for more than one user to inter-act with–can facilitate more equitable participation in colocated group settings compared with single user displays. We present a conceptual framework that characterizes Shared Information Spaces (SISs) in terms of how they constrain and invite participation using different entry points. An experiment was conducted that compared three different SISs: a physical-digital set-up (least constrained), a multitouch tabletop (medium), and a laptop display (most constrained). Statistical analyses showed there to be little difference in participation levels between the three conditions other than a predictable lack of equity of control over the interface in the laptop condition. However, detailed qualitative analyses revealed more equitable participation took place in the physical-digital condition in terms of verbal utterances over time. Those who spoke the least contributed most to the physical design task. The findings are discussed in relation to the conceptual framework and, more generally, in terms of how to select, design, and combine different display technologies to support collaborative activities

Biocompatibility and Bone Formation of Flexible, Cotton Wool-like PLGA/Calcium Phosphate Nanocomposites in Sheep

BACKGROUND: The purpose of this preliminary study was to assess the in vivo performance of synthetic, cotton wool-like nanocomposites consisting of a biodegradable poly(lactide-co-glycolide) fibrous matrix and containing either calcium phosphate nanoparticles (PLGA/CaP 60:40) or silver doped CaP nanoparticles (PLGA/Ag-CaP 60:40). Besides its extraordinary in vitro bioactivity the latter biomaterial (0.4 wt% total silver concentration) provides additional antimicrobial properties for treating bone defects exposed to microorganisms. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Both flexible artificial bone substitutes were implanted into totally 16 epiphyseal and metaphyseal drill hole defects of long bone in sheep and followed for 8 weeks. Histological and histomorphological analyses were conducted to evaluate the biocompatibility and bone formation applying a score system. The influence of silver on the in vivo performance was further investigated. RESULTS: Semi-quantitative evaluation of histology sections showed for both implant materials an excellent biocompatibility and bone healing with no resorption in the adjacent bone. No signs of inflammation were detectable, either macroscopically or microscopically, as was evident in 5 µm plastic sections by the minimal amount of inflammatory cells. The fibrous biomaterials enabled bone formation directly in the centre of the former defect. The area fraction of new bone formation as determined histomorphometrically after 8 weeks implantation was very similar with 20.5 ± 11.2 % and 22.5 ± 9.2 % for PLGA/CaP and PLGA/Ag-CaP, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The cotton wool-like bone substitute material is easily applicable, biocompatible and might be beneficial in minimal invasive surgery for treating bone defects

Percepção de estudantes de psicologia sobre a informática em sua formação profissional

Neste artigo analisa-se uma pesquisa de natureza qualitativa, cujo objetivo era explorar a percepção de 45 alunos de psicologia de diferentes universidades da cidade de Santiago do Chile, sobre a incorporação da informática como apoio para a aprendizagem em sua formação profissional. A informação foi coletada através de entrevistas semiestruturadas e analisou-se mediante o processo de codificação da Teoría Fundamentada. Os resultados mostram como categorias principais, o conhecimento da informática, a valoração da informática, e os fatores que obstaculizam o uso desta. Da codificação seletiva se desprende uma alta valoração da informática como ferramenta econômica e cômoda, mas também se observa uma alta reticência dos alunos diante de sua utilização no trabalho profissional tradicional do psicólogo. Encontraram-se fatores pessoais e institucionais nos que se baseia a valoração, a motivação e o nível de conhecimento dos estudantes diante do uso de ferramentas informáticas.This paper analyses a qualitative research aimed to exploring the perception of 45 psychology students from different universities in Santiago de Chile, about incorporating information systems to support learning in their professional training. Data were collected through semi structured interviews and their analysis was based on Grounded Theory's coding process. Results show that the major categories are computer knowledge, appreciation of computers and factors that hinder their use. From the selective coding a positive evaluation emerges of information systems as an economic and useful tool. However, there is also a high reluctance on the part of the students regarding the use of such tools in the psychologist' traditional professional work. Personal and organizational factors were found as bases for students' assessment, motivation and level of knowledge facing the use of these tools.En este artículo se analiza una investigación de naturaleza cualitativa, cuyo objetivo era explorar la percepción de 45 alumnos de psicología de diferentes universidades de la ciudad de Santiago de Chile, sobre la incorporación de la informática como apoyo para el aprendizaje en su formación profesional. La información se recolectó a través de entrevistas semiestructuradas y se analizó mediante el proceso de codificación de la Teoría Fundamentada. Los resultados muestran como categorías principales, el conocimiento de la informática, la valoración de la informática, y los factores que obstaculizan el uso de ésta. De la codificación selectiva se desprende una alta valoración de la informática como herramienta económica y cómoda, pero también se observa una alta reticencia de los alumnos frente a su utilización en el trabajo profesional tradicional del psicólogo. Se encontraron factores personales e institucionales en los cuales se fundamenta la valoración, la motivación y el nivel de conocimiento de los estudiantes frente al uso de herramientas informáticas