In situ magnetoresistance measurements of ferromagnetic nanocontacts in the Lorentz transmission electron microscope

We report on in situ magnetoresistance measurements of a 30-nm-wide ferromagnetic nanocontact with simultaneous magnetic imaging in the Lorentz transmission electron microscope. The magnetoresistive measurements are correlated with the micromagnetic configuration of the sample. This allows us to assign characteristic features in the magnetoresistance curves to different magnetic configurations of the sample. From our experiments we can conclude that the micromagnetic configuration of the whole sample—not only the nanocontact region—has to be taken into account for the interpretation of magnetoresistive effects or hysteresis loops. Micromagnetic simulations were performed which confirm the experimental results

Interaction Between Visual and Phonotactic Orientation During Flight in \u3ci\u3eMagicicada Cassini\u3c/i\u3e (Homoptera: Cicadidae)

Visual and phonotactic orientation often occur simultaneously in diurnal cicadas. and these animals generally have their largest sensory elaboration in eyes and hearing organs. Phonotactic orientation occurs principally during flight. Males and females of Magicicada cassini commonly perform low- altitude « 5 m) and short-distance « 15 m) flights in their natural habitat at flight speeds of 3 to 6 m/s. During flight, the long body axis is tilted 10° to Q , head upward. Wing beat frequencies of tethered animals at 24° to 26°C averaged 28.8 Hz. Body temperature in the field for flying individuals aver- aged 4.6°C above ambient. Compound eyes of females possess about 7% more facets than males, and the binocular field of view for both is especially expanded dorsa-frontally, frontally, and fronto-ventrally. The role of vision for phonoresponses, and in flight and landing behavior. was studied in nature by comparing controls with cicadas with eyes partly to completely covered with aluminum paint. Cicadas with their three ocelli covered behaved like controls and exhibited low-altitude and short-distance flights with landings on neighboring shrubs, as did cicadas with only both caudal halves or both dorsal halves of the compound eyes covered. Those with both compound eyes covered completely (with or without additionally covering the three ocelli) flew to higher altitudes and for longer distances. Higher and longer flight courses were also seen in cicadas (A) with only one compound eye covered. which in addition circled during walking and flight toward the side of unrestricted vision, (B) with both frontal or both ventral halves of their compound eyes covered. and (C) with either the binocular or monocular fields of the eyes covered. Thus, the paired fronta-antero-ventral regions of the compound eyes provide visual information for habitat-dependent low-altitude flights and landings. Females with intact compound eyes and ocelli responded to playbacks of just the frequency/intensity sweep at the end of the buzz in calling songs of a male by flying within 1.2 m above the ground and landing on a nylon screen- covered small bush directly above the loudspeaker from distances of 2 to 8 m. mostly from lower vegetation. Males that were blinded, or blinded and deafened, sang less and flew less than normal males. However. they performed all of those behaviors, and all also walked and fed. Periodical cicadas (Magicicada, Tibicininae) are known for synchronized adult emergence and noisy aggregations of millions of individuals of three intermingled species in each brood population (Alexander and Moore 1962). Broods are isolated geographically and chronologically, such that in some years no periodical cicada adults emerge, and most areas of the eastern United States have only one brood population appearing as adults at intervals of either 13 or 17 years. In all Magicicada species, daily flights affect spacing and aggregation of both sexes during feeding, chorusing, mating, and ovipositing. Flights are mediated by both acoustical and visual cues. Each species in these aggregations establishes mating leks. These aggregations continue to mix, every day and unpredictably, during the emergence period. Toward the end of the reproductive season, males die sooner than females, leading to little or no chorusing, and then females disperse progressively further from the lek sites. The cohesive effect of the acoustical cues of chorusing males on these cicada populations is obvious. Both sexes of all six species of periodical cicadas live and feed on shrubs and trees of different species, sizes, and shapes, and females lay eggs in their living twigs. Their niches overlap almost completely, the three species of 13­ year or 17-year cicadas being separated principally by diurnal acoustic behavior leading to aggregation sites that change every day and are seldom exclusive to a single Magicicada species. Adults frequently change location in these complex visual environments by short-distance and low-altitude flights. which we call bush-hopping. These flights are associated with sound communication and reproductive activities and are most commonly observed during bright sunlight and at ambient temperatures above 25°C with little wind (Alexander and Moore 1958,1962; Dunning et al. 1979). Otte (1990) and Toms (1992) discuss the common correlation between hearing and flying in orthop­teroid insects, interactions basically similar to those found in cicadas. The present paper describes the interaction of vision (compound eyes and ocelli) and phonoresponses of males and females of Magicicada cassini (Fisher) in walking, but especially in flight and landing behavior, within a natural habitat

204 - How does change in land use impact the water chemistry parameters in the streams of Oswego County, NY

Land use within a watershed is closely tied to stream water chemistry. Anthropogenic chemical inputs eventually make their way into streams, affecting fluvial ecosystems. Sources of these anthropogenic inputs change over time, especially when rural landscapes become increasingly urbanized. We studied the relationship between land use and stream water chemistry for Oswego County, New York, because riparian zones in this county have shifted to residential from agricultural and forested land uses. We extracted data from the New York State Department of Conservation (DEC) Department of Water (DOW) Monitoring Portal. Preliminary results show that Total Nitrogen (Kjeldahl) in mg/L fluctuates yearly from 2001-2020, Total Nitrogen in mg/L increased by 0.29 mg/L from 2009 to 2020, and Total Phosphorus decreased slightly from 2001 to 2015. Changes in land use do not appear to be substantial enough to have a large impact on these chemical parameters in Oswego County. However, the data collected for sites in Oswego County are sparse, and thus our results may be misleading. We will conclude with recommendations to Oswego County for a sampling strategy that better encompasses the major waterways of the county

Crowdsourcing as a Business Model: An Exploration of Emergent Textbooks Harnessing the Wisdom of Crowds

The process of writing textbooks is still very traditional regarding the status of authorship and expert opinions. Recently we observe the emergence of authors who follow a different approach, taping the wisdom of crowds as key resource of their own publications. In this paper, we explore business model innovation which leverages value propositions of textbooks by applying crowdsourcing. We use case study research methods to analyze four textbooks written collaboratively. Essential findings indicate occurrence of user-communities fulfilling peer-reviewing, editing or co-authoring despite a lack of monetary incentives. We further detect a tendency towards wiki software providing a community hub. This paper enters the field of partially crowdsourced textbooks and derives future questions of research

Success and Failure: Two Longitudinal Case Studies on Media-Tablet Usage in CRM

Media-tablets are gaining widespread acceptance in companies and are increasingly being used for various business tasks. However, although there are several successful examples, a growing number of media-tablet projects get turned down. Based on case study data covering one year, this paper presents two projects that introduced a front office customer-relationship-management application for media-tablets. For each case, we conducted expert interviews in 2011 and 2012 with both the project manager and internal client of the project, documented the existing solution, and conducted a user survey. Over the time frame, the two projects evolved differently in terms of success. While one project was further advanced, the other had in fact been turned-down completely by management. A comparison of the cases reveals that the successful project was funded by an operating department, and the advantages of the solution had been communicated to all internal stakeholders. In contrast, the other project was driven primarily by user demand for media-tablets and was executed as an innovation project without a clear business rational. Therefore, we advise managers to ensure that media-tablet projects follow a well-defined business logic and to communicate the advantages to all relevant internal stakeholders

ICE Detection for LED Headlights

This project focused on building an efficient system for detecting and melting ice that may form on an LED headlight during inclement weather. Although LED headlights draw less power and provide more efficient light than their competitors, they do not produce enough outward heat to melt ice. The proposed solution utilizes an Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) film to produce heat along the surface of the headlight, as well as infrared (IR) sensors for detecting ice, and temperature sensors to determine freezing conditions. System operation is managed by a microcontroller which also allows for CAN (Controller Area Network) bus integration. During testing, the prototype proved it could perform as designed as well as interface with a vehicle’s CAN bus