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Indigenous Wichís and mestizos Criollos inhabit a rural, biodiversity rich, area of the Argentinean Dry Chaco. Traditionally, Wichís were nomads and their relations with wildlife were shaped by animistic and shamanic beliefs. Today, Wichís live in stable communities and practice subsistence hunting, gathering and in some cases, fishing. Criollos are mestizos, i.e. a mixture of the first Spanish settlers and different indigenous groups. They arrived during the 20th century from neighbouring Provinces. They practice extensive ranching, hunting and gathering. Our aim was to help develop effective and legitimate actions to conserve wildlife species in this region, focused on Wichís' and Criollos' perceptions of and relations with wildlife. We conducted semistructured interviews (N=105) in rural settlements. We found differences in both groups' hunting techniques, drivers and perceptions on the importance of wild meat for nutrition. However, both groups have a close relation with wildlife, they use wild animals in a variety of ways, including as food resource, medicine and predictors of future events. Wichís and Criollos also relate with wildlife in a spiritual dimension, have animistic and shamanic beliefs and have unique traditional ecological knowledge. Hunters in both communities are breaking traditional hunting norms but conservation measures grounded on these norms have a higher probability of success. Management recommendations include developing programmes focused on (i) conserving thin armadillos; (ii) conserving pregnant and breeding females of all species; (iii) managing dogs to avoid unnecessary killings and on (iv) improving local livelihoods. We also provide recommendations that are specific for each group. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conservation measures are more likely to succeed when they take into account the perceptions and opinions of the local people who are in contact with the intended targets of protection. One way to account for local perceptions is to include local people in research and monitoring. We worked in a portion of the Dry Chaco that is rich in biodiversity, yet poor in urgently-needed information on medium and large vertebrates. We applied participatory monitoring together with small-scale ranchers, criollos, and indigenous Wichi residents. In this article we analyze the effectiveness of this method in incorporating local people in research activities. We explain the development of the methodology and its components, how we worked with local people and how we collected the data. Participatory monitoring comprised several different activities: meetings, training, practice and data collection. Local settlers added goals to those initially proposed, participated in activities, decided on methods of data collection and solved problems. Finally, we analyzed whether the method allowed us to meet the scientific objectives of our research: (i) to determine the species of medium and large vertebrates (> 0.5 kg) that are present in the area; (ii) to monitor their presence; and (iii) to describe the natural environments where animals were detected. With participatory monitoring we did meet our three scientific objectives. Yet participatory monitoring was not only a tool for collecting data, but also a tool for social integration. The method allowed the participation of people normally excluded from the system, to take into account their perceptions and to strengthen their capacities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effectiveness of local laser heat treatment technology to enhance the in situ formability of steels and aluminum alloys has already been widely acknowledged for the one-step forming of components with simple shape geometries. The present study demonstrates that this technology is also able to significantly improve the formability of a complex shaped multi-forming industrial part. An industrial grade advanced-high strength Dual-Phase DP1000 steel is used to analyze the multi-forming of a complex part to determine the most appropriate local laser heat treatment parameters and optimize in situ softening by correlating yield strength, ultimate tensile strength, elongation at fracture, strain hardening exponent and instantaneous strain hardening with local temperature dynamics during the laser treatment. Additionally, numerical simulation analysis using Autoform software is carried out to validate the selected heat affected zone and the in situ softening, ensuring that they are appropriate for improving the formability of the industrial part. These findings are then expanded to study the experimental forming of five in situ laser heat treated models, followed by comparative analysis with a benchmark. This study provides an insight and fundamental guidelines to perform in situ laser heat treatment on complex industrial parts leading to the production of the industrial multi-formed component with optimized formability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Humans, elephants, chimpanzees, and cetaceans show concern with the death of other members of their species and respond to death in particular ways. Science considers that these species are exceptions and that other mammal species show little or no reaction to the dead bodies of individuals of their species. Collared peccaries (Pecari tajacu; Tayassuidae) are social animals that live in groups of 5–50 individuals maintaining close and complex social relationships. The collared peccary occupies many different environments and it is widely distributed from the south of North America to the north of Argentina. Their behavior is well studied, but we know little about their behavior toward the dead. We directly observed and filmed with a camera trap the reactions of a five‐member herd of collared peccaries to the death of a herd member. We worked on a suburban forested area in the mountains of central Arizona. We found that the herd visited and spent time with the dead body for 10 days after the peccary died. The frequency of the visits declined until the cadaver was consumed by coyotes. Most of the videos showed two individuals visited the dead animal (44%), solitary records were also frequent (39%) and only 4% of the videos recorded three peccaries. Visits were more frequent during the night (64%). Peccaries do react to the death of a herd member by behaving in particular ways. Reactions include pushing at the dead individual, staring at it, biting it, and trying to pick it up by putting their snout under the corpse and pushing it up, and defending it from coyotes, among others. These levels of behavioral complexity for peccaries are beyond those known so far. The behaviors of this herd of peccaries resemble those of humans, cetaceans, chimpanzees, and elephants and show that these groups are not the only ones that react to death. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In nursing practice, flushing the catheters pre and post-drug administration is considered an important clinical procedure to prevent complications, and requires the use of several syringes to comply with international standards of care. We envisioned an innovative double-chamber syringe that enables the filling and administration of both solutions. Following current international recommendations, the development of new medical devices should integrate Health Technology Assessment. The Human-centred design is usually used for that assessment purposes, as a method that actively include end-users in the devices development process. Method: Application of the Human-Centred Design through the involvement of nurses in the initial stages of the device development in order to accomplish the initial stages of Technology Readiness Level. A multi-method approach was used, including literature/guidelines review, focus groups with end-users and expert panels. Results: The involvement of nurses enabled the definition of user requirements and contexts of use, as well as the evaluation of design solutions and prototypes in order to accomplish with usability and ergonomic features of the medical device. Conclusions: Significant contributions were made regarding the final design solution of this innovative double-chamber syringe. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Numerical simulation methodologies are found to be cost- and time-effective in the context of syringe development;. • Numerical simulations allow the realistic representation of the syringe's behavior;. • The final embodiment of the syringe satisfies all the defined requirements for its behavior;. • The double chamber syringe promotes a flushing practice that may reduce trauma to the patient. This paper presents the optimization process for the development of an innovative double chamber syringe. Several aspects are involved such as design, functionality, fluid-structure interaction and friction between solids. To assist in the development of this medical device, a numerical based methodology was developed and validated in order to predict the syringe´s functionality, as well as its production by injection molding. The mechanical and flow behavior, during the filling and administration of medicine and washing solutions, were numerically modelled using the commercial software ABAQUS and FLUENT, respectively. The injection molding process was analyzed using the software MOLDFLOW. The aim was to evaluate the feasibility of the proposed concept in terms of mechanical design, fluid flow and production process behavior. By highlighting critical design issues in this way, it was possible to identify promising geometric changes and, consequently, optimize iteratively the syringe's design, until all the defined requirements are fulfilled. This iterative process based on numerical simulations proved to be a powerful tool for product development that generated fast and accurate results without the need to produce multiple prototypes. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Field information is essential for developing conservation actions, but standard methods for surveying wildlife are often inefficient in large, remote areas. Without efficient methods, surveying is difficult or even impossible. Consequently, some of the most threatened species and regions remain un- or under-surveyed, e.g. South American Chaco. Survey methods based on local ecological knowledge (LEK-methods) could be useful for surveying these areas and species. However, LEK-methods may be inaccurate and are rarely evaluated or compared to standard-methods. This is the first large-scale study evaluating the performance of two LEK-methods, and comparing it with the performance of standard-methods, for detecting three species of large terrestrial mammals. We used a locally-based survey (LBS) and interviews as LEK-methods, and transect and camera trapping as standard survey methods. We estimated the probability of detecting each species with each method, of having false-presences and their cost. We also quantitatively analysed the ability of LBS to build local capacity, focusing on conservation, research and working skills. We found that compared to standard-methods, LEK-methods increase detection probabilities of three species while providing accurate information. LBSs are more expensive than interviews but improve local capacities, raising the chances of successful implementation of community-based conservation programmes. Interviews are optimal for rapid assessments and can be useful for wildlife monitoring. Before using LEK-methods, we recommend pilot studies to determine estimators´ variability. Overall, this study shows that LEK-based methods can be efficient and accurate for detecting large mammals in remote areas. Furthermore, LEK-methods can help develop legitimate conservation initiatives. The probability of detecting a species depends on the species characteristics and on the methods used in the survey. For three species with different biological and ecological characteristics -white-lipped, collared or chacoan peccaries (Tayassu pecari, Pecari tajacu and Parachoerus wagneri)-, locally-based surveys provided the highest detection probabilities. The probability of detecting these species with the locally-based survey and interviews to hunters are higher than with standard-methods. The season (rainy/dry) was differentiated when estimating white-lipped peccary's detection probabilities because this factor had a significant effect on estimations. Unlabelled Image • LEK increases efficiency and accuracy of large terrestrial mammal surveys. • Locally-based surveys contribute to build local capacity. • LEK-methods help develop legitimate, successful conservation actions. • Locally-based surveys are better for wildlife monitoring than for rapid assessments. • Interviews are optimal for rapid assessments but respondents must be qualified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]