A new substrate for sampling deep river macroinvertebrates

We compared macroinvertebrate communities colonising multiplate samplers constructed from perspex or tempered hardboard (wood) with an alternative artificial substrate constructed from folded coconut fibre matting (coir) enclosed in nylon netting. Substrates were incubated for 62 days over January to March 2007 at six sites over 240 km along the Waikato River. The three substrates supported similar numbers of invertebrate taxa (27 - 29 taxa), but coir samples contained 71% of total invertebrate numbers from all substrates combined, compared with <17% for each type of multiplate sampler. Coir faunas were heavily dominated by the hydrobiid snail Potamopyrgus (84 % of numbers), and this taxon along with the amphipod Paracalliope comprised 58 - 66 % of invertebrates on both types of multiplate samplers. Analysis of a Bray-Curtis matrix suggested statistically significant differences in percent community composition between coir samplers and each type of multiplate sampler over the late summer study period. Densities per cm3 of Oligochaeta, Mollusca, and "other worms" (Platyhelminthes, Rhabdocoela, Nemertea and Hirudinea combined) were significantly higher in coir samples than one or both of the multiplate samplers. Results suggest coir samplers may provide a useful supplement to multiplate samplers for deep river invertebrate studies by collecting a different range of taxa, including those favouring cover and characteristic of depositional environments

A survey of software development practices in the New Zealand software industry

We report on the software development techniques used in the New Zealand software industry, paying particular attention to requirements gathering. We surveyed a selection of software companies with a general questionnaire and then conducted in-depth interviews with four companies. Our results show a wide variety in the kinds of companies undertaking software development, employing a wide range of software development techniques. Although our data are not sufficiently detailed to draw statistically significant conclusions, it appears that larger software development groups typically have more well-defined software development processes, spend proportionally more time on requirements gathering, and follow more rigorous testing regimes

The Role of the Speech Language Pathologist In the Treatment of Patients With Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Tubes

Speech language pathologists (SLPs) working in medical settings often evaluate and treat individuals with dysphagia. When a patient with dysphagia is not safely receiving sufficient nutrients per oral, an alternative feeding method may be recommended especially for those with a neurological disorder. Percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy is the most common enteral feeding method and is often recommended by the speech language pathologist. However, the role of the speech language pathologist treating these patients is not clearly defined in the literature. This qualitative study aims to better understand the role that the SLP plays in treating pediatrics and adults with alternative feeding methods, specifically percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy tubes. To achieve this, a survey was sent to 67 medical SLPs across the country and asked them questions pertaining to the domain areas of demographics, PEG tube duration, PEG tube indicators, education, and counseling, as well as intervention. Results of the study presented as descriptive statistics suggest that there may be discrepancies between treating pediatric and adult patients with PEG tubes. Results also suggest that years of experience impacts some domain areas

Continuity in the neural system supporting children's theory of mind development: Longitudinal links between task-independent EEG and task-dependent fMRI.

Children's explicit theory of mind (ToM) understandings change over early childhood. We examined whether there is longitudinal stability in the neurobiological bases of ToM across this time period. A previous study found that source-localized resting EEG alpha attributable to the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) and right temporoparietal junction (RTPJ) was associated with children's performance on a battery of theory of mind tasks. Here, we investigated a small subset of children (N = 12) in that original study as a preliminary investigation of whether behavioral measures of ToM performance, and/or EEG localized to the DMPFC or RTPJ predicted ToM-specific fMRI responses 3.5 years later. Results showed that preschoolers' behavioral ToM-performance positively predicted later ToM-specific fMRI responses in the DMPFC. Preschoolers' resting EEG attributable to the DMPFC also predicted later ToM-specific fMRI responses in the DMPFC. Given the small sample, results represent a first exploration and require replication. Intriguingly, they suggest that early maturation of the area of the DMPFC related to ToM reasoning is positively linked with its specific recruitment for ToM reasoning later in development, affording implications for characterizing conceptual ToM development, and its underlying neural supports

Interactive 3-D Visualization: A tool for seafloor navigation, exploration, and engineering

Recent years have seen remarkable advances in sonar technology, positioning capabilities, and computer processing power that have revolutionized the way we image the seafloor. The massive amounts of data produced by these systems present many challenges but also offer tremendous opportunities in terms of visualization and analysis. We have developed a suite of interactive 3-D visualization and exploration tools specifically designed to facilitate the interpretation and analysis of very large (10\u27s to 100\u27s of megabytes), complex, multi-component spatial data sets. If properly georeferenced and treated, these complex data sets can be presented in a natural and intuitive manner that allows the integration of multiple components each at their inherent level of resolution and without compromising the quantitative nature of the data. Artificial sun-illumination, shading, and 3-D rendering can be used with digital bathymetric data (DTM\u27s) to form natural looking and easily interpretable, yet quantitative, landscapes. Color can be used to represent depth or other parameters (like backscatter or sediment properties) which can be draped over the DTM, or high resolution imagery can be texture mapped on bathymetric data. When combined with interactive analytical tools, this environment has facilitated the use of multibeam sonar and other data sets in a range of geologic, environmental, fisheries, and engineering applications