Bird-Like Anatomy, Posture, and Behavior Revealed by an Early Jurassic Theropod Dinosaur Resting Trace

BACKGROUND: Fossil tracks made by non-avian theropod dinosaurs commonly reflect the habitual bipedal stance retained in living birds. Only rarely-captured behaviors, such as crouching, might create impressions made by the hands. Such tracks provide valuable information concerning the often poorly understood functional morphology of the early theropod forelimb. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Here we describe a well-preserved theropod trackway in a Lower Jurassic ( approximately 198 million-year-old) lacustrine beach sandstone in the Whitmore Point Member of the Moenave Formation in southwestern Utah. The trackway consists of prints of typical morphology, intermittent tail drags and, unusually, traces made by the animal resting on the substrate in a posture very similar to modern birds. The resting trace includes symmetrical pes impressions and well-defined impressions made by both hands, the tail, and the ischial callosity. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The manus impressions corroborate that early theropods, like later birds, held their palms facing medially, in contrast to manus prints previously attributed to theropods that have forward-pointing digits. Both the symmetrical resting posture and the medially-facing palms therefore evolved by the Early Jurassic, much earlier in the theropod lineage than previously recognized, and may characterize all theropods

25th annual computational neuroscience meeting: CNS-2016

The same neuron may play different functional roles in the neural circuits to which it belongs. For example, neurons in the Tritonia pedal ganglia may participate in variable phases of the swim motor rhythms [1]. While such neuronal functional variability is likely to play a major role the delivery of the functionality of neural systems, it is difficult to study it in most nervous systems. We work on the pyloric rhythm network of the crustacean stomatogastric ganglion (STG) [2]. Typically network models of the STG treat neurons of the same functional type as a single model neuron (e.g. PD neurons), assuming the same conductance parameters for these neurons and implying their synchronous firing [3, 4]. However, simultaneous recording of PD neurons shows differences between the timings of spikes of these neurons. This may indicate functional variability of these neurons. Here we modelled separately the two PD neurons of the STG in a multi-neuron model of the pyloric network. Our neuron models comply with known correlations between conductance parameters of ionic currents. Our results reproduce the experimental finding of increasing spike time distance between spikes originating from the two model PD neurons during their synchronised burst phase. The PD neuron with the larger calcium conductance generates its spikes before the other PD neuron. Larger potassium conductance values in the follower neuron imply longer delays between spikes, see Fig. 17.Neuromodulators change the conductance parameters of neurons and maintain the ratios of these parameters [5]. Our results show that such changes may shift the individual contribution of two PD neurons to the PD-phase of the pyloric rhythm altering their functionality within this rhythm. Our work paves the way towards an accessible experimental and computational framework for the analysis of the mechanisms and impact of functional variability of neurons within the neural circuits to which they belong

Developing Simulations and Experiential Exercises on the Personal Computer: Some Critical Issues

Nov that faculty and students are performing more of their computing activities on personal computers, the responsibility for understanding the technology has been placed in the hands of the user. This paper addresses some of the issues that the PC user confronts as they move from the computer-center’s mainframe to the desktop PC

Strategic Planning with an Experiential Case

This paper describes a relatively simple hut powerful experiential exercise which can be used as an in- class activity at any level of college class, from freshman through graduate. It is effective for demonstrating and practicing the following skills: decision making, creativity, strategic planning, communication, and group dynamics. --An Analysis of ABSEL Conference Papers (1974-1985

Assessment of Sex Stereotypes within Task Group Simulation

While considerable rhetoric and research continues on the relative merits of gaming and experiential learning, many academicians involved with these techniques have settled back into a comfortable daily use of a favorite game or experiential device. Only by chance did the writer overhear a remark between two students which lead to this paper. A female student remarked to a male student, “I’ll keep all the records and minutes for our team if you guys make all the decisions.” Is this type of behavior common? Do the males on a team expect the female(s) to be responsible for that part of the team’s duties that is perceived as “women’s work?” Do the females on a team succumb to sex stereotyping? If this phenomenon does exist, as educators we need to be aware of this if we ever expect to help eliminate sex stereotyping in business

Smith Management Game (BUSOP)

"Business ethics and social responsibility are two of the latest buzz words in management academia. An effective methodology for teaching these two topics is needed. A separate class in either business ethics or social responsibility will introduce the student to the subject matter, but the student is not really involved in decision-making which carries real economic costs to the firm. Experience with the case method indicates this method is not as effective as one might think, in that students write what they think the instructor wants to read. Thus, a business game in which socially responsible and ethical decisions are required by the student team seems to offer an effective method of impressing the student with the real-world costs of such decisions. The Smith Management Game is fairly straightforward, with the usual variables of price, marketing, production engineering, research and development, plant size, capital procurement, and dividend decisions. In addition, the student team is given a different situation each period which describes a business responsibility- or ethical-problem with several alternatives. The team’s choice of an alternative is entered as a decision into the game with resultant consequences becoming output in the succeeding periods. Thus, the students are forced to “live with” the decisions they have made. This approach should add a real-world dimension to present gaming methods. The game is designed for use in a junior college Management or Introduction to Business course, or a Principles of Management course on the junior level.

Marketer: A Microcomputer Simulation in a High Tech Industry

MARKETER is a micro-computer simulation game that is targeted at the Principles of Marketing and Marketing Strategy segment of the business school market. The game and player’s manual follow the table of contents of appropriate textbooks for these classes. There- fore, the play of the game addresses such issues as the legal and social environment of marketing, the marketing mix and strategies, marketing planning, organizational aspects of marketing and market information

Using a "Live" Case via Video Tape a Town and Gown Approach

Although the ease study method of instruction is extremely popular in business courses, one frequently hears students complain that case study is not realistic, that cases seem "dead". In an attempt to provide a more realistic situation and to make the case method more dynamic, an actual grievance case involving a local hospital was recorded on video-tape. The tape has been used in Principles of Management, Personnel Management, and Labor-Management Relations classes. Student interest and attention during the viewing of the tape is extremely high, and discussion of the issues after viewing is positively. With increased availability or video recording equipment, this method could add the needed ingredient that the case study method needs for greater student interest and involvement