State-space approach to evaluate the relation between soil physical and chemical properties

The state-space approach is used to evaluate the relation between soil physical and chemical properties in an area cultivated with sugarcane. The experiment was carried out on a Rhodic Kandiudalf in Piracicaba, State of São Paulo, Brazil. Sugarcane was planted on an area of 0.21 ha i.e., in 15 rows 100 m long, spaced 1.4 m. Soil water content, soil organic matter, clay content and aggregate stability were sampled along a transect of 84 points, meter by meter. The state-space approach is used to evaluate how the soil water content is affected by itself and by soil organic matter, clay content, and aggregate stability of neighboring locations, in different combinations, aiming to contribute to a better understanding of the relation among these variables in the soil. Results show that soil water contents were successfully estimated by this approach. Best performances were found when the estimate of soil water content at locations i was related to soil water content, clay content and aggregate stability at locations i-1. Results also indicate that this state-space model using all series describes the soil water content better than any equivalent multiple regression equation.

Mort des voyageurs: risques réels, risques virtuels [True and virtual risks of travellers].

Evidence-based information on travel associated mortality is scarce. Perception, intuition and the availability of interventions such as vaccinations and chemoprophylaxis often guide pre-travel advice. Important risks including accidents and cardiovascular events are not routinely included in pre-travel consultations although they cause more fatalities and costs than infectious diseases. The increased risk of sustaining a road accident in poor economy countries should always be mentioned. The general practitioner is further best placed to discuss possible problems of travellers with chronic diseases before travel.

State of Iowa Space Utilization and Building Study, October 9, 2000

Executive Summary Purposes of this Report: • Recommend the most logical and economical options to address state governmental space needs in the Polk County metropolitan area to the year 2010. • Include building size, location, phasing, financing, method of project delivery and estimated cost. • Develop a software tool to compare costs of leasing vs. ownership of space. Methodology: Identify: 1. Current amount and location of owned and leased space, by agency; 2. Types of space and whether best located on or off of the Capitol Complex; 3. Utilization of space, noting over-crowding and under-utilization; 4. Current number of workstations for full and part time employees, Personnel Employment Organization (PEO) workers, contractors, interns, etc.; and, 5. History of staff levels to assist in the prediction of staff growth. Scope: This report focuses on 10 state-owned buildings located on the Capitol Complex and 48 leased spaces in the Polk County metropolitan area. (See Figures 1 and 2.) • Due to a separate space study under way by the Legislature, implications of area and staff for the State Capitol building are included only for the Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer, Secretary of State, Auditor and the Department of Management. • Because it is largely a museum building that does not have office space available for other agencies, the area and staff of the Historical Building are not fully addressed. • Only the parking implications of the new Judicial Building are included in this study because the building space is under the jurisdiction of the Judicial Branch and not available for other agencies. Several state-owned buildings are not included in the scope of this report, generally because they have highly focused purposes, and their space is not available for assignment to other agencies. Several leased locations are not included for similar reasons, including leases that do not fall within the authority of the Department of General Services.

Bayesian image reconstruction with space-variant noise suppression

In this paper we present a Bayesian image reconstruction algorithm with entropy prior (FMAPE) that uses a space-variant hyperparameter. The spatial variation of the hyperparameter allows different degrees of resolution in areas of different statistical characteristics, thus avoiding the large residuals resulting from algorithms that use a constant hyperparameter. In the first implementation of the algorithm, we begin by segmenting a Maximum Likelihood Estimator (MLE) reconstruction. The segmentation method is based on using a wavelet decomposition and a self-organizing neural network. The result is a predetermined number of extended regions plus a small region for each star or bright object. To assign a different value of the hyperparameter to each extended region and star, we use either feasibility tests or cross-validation methods. Once the set of hyperparameters is obtained, we carried out the final Bayesian reconstruction, leading to a reconstruction with decreased bias and excellent visual characteristics. The method has been applied to data from the non-refurbished Hubble Space Telescope. The method can be also applied to ground-based images.

Laboratorio virtual de software libre para bibliotecas

La elección de un programa de gestión de bibliotecas se ve afectada muchas veces por una serie de condiciones sociales, económicas y políticas que hacen que la elección no sea la más adecuada para las necesidades, características y funciones de la biblioteca. El software libre está siendo una de las soluciones más optadas, por sus libertades de copia, modificación y distribución, además de la libertad de licencias y las posibilidades de interoperación con otras aplicaciones. Esta nueva tendencia hacia el software libre en bibliotecas se refleja también en los estudios de biblioteconomía y documentación, en los que desde diferentes asignaturas se aportan conocimientos sobre programas de automatización, de gestión de repositorios, incluso del sistema operativo Linux/GNU, entre otros. Esta combinación entre las necesidades de los centros y la tendencia al uso de software libre, es la que un grupo de profesores de la Facultat de Biblioteconomia i Documentació (Universitat de Barcelona) y estudiantes, miembros del Grup de Treball sobre Programari Lliure per als Professionals de la Informació (Cobdc), han querido aportar a la comunidad profesional, creando un laboratorio virtual para el uso de software libre de aplicación en bibliotecas.

A virtual exhibition of open source software for libraries

Frequently the choice of a library management program is conditioned by social, economic and/or political factors that result in the selection of a system that is not altogether suitable for the library’s needs, characteristics and functions. Open source software is quickly becoming a preferred solution, owing to the freedom to copy, modify and distribute it and the freedom from contracts, as well as for greater opportunities for interoperability with other applications. These new trends regarding open source software in libraries are also reflected in LIS studies, as evidenced by the different courses addressing automated programs, repositorymanagement, including the Linux/GNU operating system, among others. The combination of the needs of the centres and the new trends for open source software is the focus of a virtual laboratory for the use of open source software for library applications. It was the result of a project, whose aim was to make a useful contribution to the library community, that was carried out by a group of professors of the School of Library and Information Science of the University of Barcelona, together with a group of students, members of a Working Group on Open Source Software for Information Professionals, of the Professional Library Association of Catalonia.

3D virtual rendering before laparoscopic partial splenectomy in children.

INTRODUCTION: Partial splenectomy in children is a good surgical option for hematological diseases and focal splenic tumors because it allows the preservation of the spleen's immunological function. Furthermore, it can be performed by laparoscopy in children as it is a safe procedure, offering the benefits of a minimally invasive approach. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The software VR-render LE version 0.81 is a system that enables the visualization of bidimentional 3D images with magnification of anatomical details. We have applied this system to five cases of non-parasitic splenic cysts before laparoscopic partial splenectomy. RESULTS: The images obtained with VR rendering software permitted the preoperative reconstruction of the vascularization of the splenic hilum, allowing the surgeon safe vessel control during laparoscopic procedures. All five partial splenectomies were carried out with no complications or major blood loss. CONCLUSIONS: Laparoscopic partial splenectomy should be a first choice procedure because it is feasible, reproducible, and safe for children; furthermore, it preserves enough splenic tissue thereby preventing post-splenectomy infections. Volume rendering provides high anatomical resolution and can be useful in guiding the surgical procedure.

Potencialidad de la modelización state-space y el filtro de Kalman para el anàlisis regional : una aplicación para el índice de actividad industrial

El déficit existente a nuestro país con respecto a la disponibilidad de indicadores cuantitativos con los que llevar a término un análisis coyuntural de la actividad industrial regional ha abierto un debate centrado en el estudio de cuál es la metodología más adecuada para elaborar indicadores de estas características. Dentro de este marco, en este trabajo se presentan las principales conclusiones obtenidas en anteriores estudios (Clar, et. al., 1997a, 1997b y 1998) sobre la idoneidad de extender las metodologías que actualmente se están aplicando a las regiones españolas para elaborar indicadores de la actividad industrial mediante métodos indirectos. Estas conclusiones llevan a plantear una estrategia distinta a las que actualmente se vienen aplicando. En concreto, se propone (siguiendo a Israilevich y Kuttner, 1993) un modelo de variables latentes para estimar el indicador de la producción industrial regional. Este tipo de modelo puede especificarse en términos de un modelo statespace y estimarse mediante el filtro de Kalman. Para validar la metodología propuesta se estiman unos indicadores de acuerdo con ella para tres de las cuatro regiones españolas que disponen d¿un Índice de Producción Industrial (IPI) elaborado mediante el método directo (Andalucía, Asturias y el País Vasco) y se comparan con los IPIs publicados (oficiales). Los resultados obtenidos muestran el buen comportamiento de l¿estrategia propuesta, abriendo así una línea de trabajo con la que subsanar el déficit al que se hacía referencia anteriormente

Translating from India and the Moving Space of Translation (Illustrated by the Works of Ajñeya)

The inadequacies and obsolescence of Eurocentric theories based on a binaryand static worldview have become a staple topic of postcolonial studies, and tosome extent also of translation studies. Nonetheless, the literary texts that arecalled upon in order to show the dynamism and hybridity of (post)modern worksbelong for the most part to the languages of the former colonial powers, especiallyEnglish, and remain inserted in a system that construes literatures interms of opposition. As a consequence, there is outside India a doubly misleadingunderstanding of Indian literatures other than those written in English:firstly, that translations of works in Hindi and in the Indian bhāṣā seem to belacking, if not inexistent, and secondly, that these "minor" literatures - as theyare regularly termed - are still often viewed as being highly dependent on theidea of "tradition," in opposition to the "postmodern" hybridity of the literatureswritten in the "dominant" languages, such as English or French. Againstthese views and supported by the analysis of Ajñeya's works in Hindi togetherwith their English translations, this paper aims to show: 1) that translationsfrom Hindi, which are not in fact non-existent, are mainly carried out in India,and 2) that Ajñeya's works, while representing a significant instance of the effectivehybridity present in Indian literatures, help to illustrate the moving spaceof translation. This demonstration effectively invalidates the above-mentionedoppositional standpoint.

Effect of added dead space on sleep disordered breathing at high altitude.

OBJECTIVE: Sleep disordered breathing with central apnea or hypopnea frequently occurs at high altitude and is thought to be caused by a decrease in blood CO(2) level. The aim of this study was to assess the effects of added respiratory dead space on sleep disordered breathing.¦METHODS: Full polysomnographies were performed on 12 unacclimatized swiss mountaineers (11 males, 1 female, mean age 39±12 y.o.) in Leh, Ladakh (3500m). In random order, half of the night was spent with a 500ml increase in dead space through a custom designed full face mask and the other half without it.¦RESULTS: Baseline data revealed two clearly distinct groups: one with severe sleep disordered breathing (n=5, AHI>30) and the other with moderate to no disordered breathing (n=7, AHI<30). DS markedly improved breathing in the first group (baseline vs DS): apnea hypopnea index (AHI) 70.3±25.8 vs 29.4±6.9 (p=0.013), oxygen desaturation index (ODI): 72.9±24.1/h vs 42.5±14.4 (p=0.031), whereas it had no significant effect in the second group or in the total population. Respiratory events were almost exclusively central apnea or hypopnea. Microarousal index, sleep efficiency, and sleep architecture remained unchanged with DS. A minor increase in mean PtcCO(2) (n=3) was observed with DS.¦CONCLUSION: A 500ml increase in dead space through a fitted mask may improve nocturnal breathing in mountaineers with severe altitude-induced sleep disordered breathing.