SubCM: A tool for improved visibility of software change in an industrial setting

Software Configuration Management is the discipline of managing large collections of software development artefacts from which software products are built. Software configuration management tools typically deal with artefacts at fine levels of granularity - such as individual source code files - and assist with coordination of changes to such artefacts. This paper describes a lightweight tool, designed to be used on top of a traditional file-based configuration management system. The add-on tool support enables users to flexibly define new hierarchical views of product structure, independent of the underlying artefact-repository structure. The tool extracts configuration and change data with respect to the user-defined hierarchy, leading to improved visibility of how individual subsystems have changed. The approach yields a range of new capabilities for build managers, and verification and validation teams. The paper includes a description of our experience using the tool in an organization that builds large embedded software systems.

Schistosome transcriptome analysis at the cutting edge

We live in the era of post-genomics, a term that was, until recently, inappropriate when considering the blood flukes of humans because of the relative lack of knowledge of the schistosome genome. The position has, however, changed dramatically following the recent publication of two landmark papers on transcriptome analysis of Schistosoma japonicum and Schistosoma mansoni. In a quantum leap, both studies report on the identification of many novel genes and genes not previously known from schistosomes. The datasets provide new insights into the biology of the schistosomes and offer an opportunity for identification of potential antischistosome vaccine candidates and drug targets. Remarkable recent progress has also been achieved in genomic sequencing, and completed genomes for both species can be expected shortly.

Functional capacity evaluation as a performance measure - Evidence for a new approach for clients with chronic back pain

Objectives: To report the research and development of a new approach to Functional Capacity Evaluation, the Gibson Approach to Functional Capacity Evaluation (GAPP FCE) for chronic back pain clients. Methods: Four Studies, including pilot and feasibility testing, expert review, and preliminary interrater reliability examination, are described here. Participants included 7 healthy young adults and 19 rehabilitation clients with back pain who underwent assessment using the GAPP FCE. Thirteen therapists were trained in the approach and were silently observed administering the Functional Capacity Evalutions by at least 1 other trained therapists or the first investigator Or both. An expert review using 5 expert occupational therapists was also conducted. Results: Study 1, the pilot with healthy individuals, indicated that the GAPP FCE was a feasible approach with good utility. Study 2, a pilot using 2 trained therapists assessing 5 back pain clients, supported the clinical feasibility of the approach. The expert review in Study 3 found support for GAPP FCE. Study 4, a trial of the approach with 14 rehabilitation clients, found support for the interrater reliability of recommendations for return to work based on performance in the GAPP FCE. Discussion: The evidence thus far available supports the GAPP FCE as ail approach that provides a Sound method for evaluating the performance of the physical demands of work with clients with chronic back pain. The tool has been shown to have good face and content validity, to meet acceptable test standards, and to have reasonable interrater reliability. Further research is occurring to look at a larger interrater reliability study, to further examine content validity, and to examine predictive validity.

The combined SPE : ToxY-PAM phytotoxicity assay; application and appraisal of a novel biomonitoring tool for the aquatic environment

Mounting concerns regarding the environmental impact of herbicides has meant a growing requirement for accurate, timely information regarding herbicide residue contamination of, in particular, aquatic systems. Conventional methods of detection remain limited in terms of practicality due to high costs of operation and the specialised information that analysis provides. A new phytotoxicity bioassay was trialled for the detection of herbicide residues in filter-purified (Milli-Q) as well as natural waters. The performance of the system, which combines solid-phase extraction (SPE) with the ToxY-PAM dual-channel yield analyser (Heinz Walz GmbH), was tested alongside the traditional method of liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS). The assay methodology was found to be highly sensitive (LOD 0.1 ng L-1 diuron) with good reproducibility. The study showed that the assay protocol is time effective and can be employed for the aquatic screening of herbicide residues in purified as well as natural waters.

Effects of rock properties on specific cutting energy in linear cutting of sandstones by picks

Specific cutting energy (SE) has been widely used to assess the rock cuttability for mechanical excavation purposes. Some prediction models were developed for SE through correlating rock properties with SE values. However, some of the textural and compositional rock parameters i.e. texture coefficient and feldspar, mafic, and felsic mineral contents were not considered. The present study is to investigate the effects of previously ignored rock parameters along with engineering rock properties on SE. Mineralogical and petrographic analyses, rock mechanics, and linear rock cutting tests were performed on sandstone samples taken from sites around Ankara, Turkey. Relationships between SE and rock properties were evaluated using bivariate correlation and linear regression analyses. The tests and subsequent analyses revealed that the texture coefficient and feldspar content of sandstones affected rock cuttability, evidenced by significant correlations between these parameters and SE at a 90% confidence level. Felsic and mafic mineral contents of sandstones did not exhibit any statistically significant correlation against SE. Cementation coefficient, effective porosity, and pore volume had good correlations against SE. Poisson's ratio, Brazilian tensile strength, Shore scleroscope hardness, Schmidt hammer hardness, dry density, and point load strength index showed very strong linear correlations against SE at confidence levels of 95% and above, all of which were also found suitable to be used in predicting SE individually, depending on the results of regression analysis, ANOVA, Student's t-tests, and R2 values. Poisson's ratio exhibited the highest correlation with SE and seemed to be the most reliable SE prediction tool in sandstones.

Fractal analysis as a tool for studying specialization in neuronal structure: The study of the evolution of the primate cerebral cortex and human intellect

We review recent findings that, using fractal analysis, have demonstrated systematic regional and species differences in the branching complexity of neocortical pyramidal neurons. In particular, attention is focused on how fractal analysis is being applied to the study of specialization in pyramidal cell structure during the evolution of the primate cerebral cortex. These studies reveal variation in pyramidal cell phenotype that cannot be attributed solely to increasing brain volume. Moreover, the results of these studies suggest that the primate cerebral cortex is composed of neurons of different structural complexity. There is growing evidence to suggest that regional and species differences in neuronal structure influence function at both the cellular and circuit levels. These data challenge the prevailing dogma for cortical uniformity.

Potential misidentification of in situ archaeological tool-residues: starch and conidia

Microscopic identification of organic residues in situ on the surface of archaeological artefacts is an established procedure. Where soil components morphologically similar to use-residue types exist within the soil, however, there remains the possibility that these components may be misidentified as authentic residues. The present study investigates common soil components known as conidia, fungal spores which may be mistaken for starch grains. Conidia may exhibit the rotating extinction cross under cross-polarised light commonly diagnostic of starch, and may be morphologically indistinguishable from small starch grains, particularly at the limits of microscope resolution. Conidia were observed on stone and ceramic archaeological artefacts from Honduras, Palau and New Caledonia, as well as experimental artefacts from Papua New Guinea. The findings act as a caution that in situ analysis of residues, and especially of those less than 5 mu m in size, may be subject to misidentification. (c) 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Effects of rock properties on specific cutting energy in linear cutting of sandstones by picks

Specific cutting energy (SE) has been widely used to assess the rock cuttability for mechanical excavation purposes. Some prediction models were developed for SE through correlating rock properties with SE values. However, some of the textural and compositional rock parameters i.e. texture coefficient and feldspar, mafic, and felsic mineral contents were not considered. The present study is to investigate the effects of previously ignored rock parameters along with engineering rock properties on SE. Mineralogical and petrographic analyses, rock mechanics, and linear rock cutting tests were performed on sandstone samples taken from sites around Ankara, Turkey. Relationships between SE and rock properties were evaluated using bivariate correlation and linear regression analyses. The tests and subsequent analyses revealed that the texture coefficient and feldspar content of sandstones affected rock cuttability, evidenced by significant correlations between these parameters and SE at a 90% confidence level. Felsic and mafic mineral contents of sandstones did not exhibit any statistically significant correlation against SE. Cementation coefficient, effective porosity, and pore volume had good correlations against SE. Poisson's ratio, Brazilian tensile strength, Shore scleroscope hardness, Schmidt hammer hardness, dry density, and point load strength index showed very strong linear correlations against SE at confidence levels of 95% and above, all of which were also found suitable to be used in predicting SE individually, depending on the results of regression analysis, ANOVA, Student's t-tests, and R-2 values. Poisson's ratio exhibited the highest correlation with SE and seemed to be the most reliable SE prediction tool in sandstones.

Evaluation of the indirect measures of rock brittleness and fracture toughness in rock cutting

Performance prediction models for partial face mechanical excavators, when developed in laboratory conditions, depend on relating the results of a set of rock property tests and indices to specific cutting energy (SE) for various rock types. There exist some studies in the literature aiming to correlate the geotechnical properties of intact rocks with the SE, especially for massive and widely jointed rock environments. However, those including direct and/or indirect measures of rock fracture parameters such as rock brittleness and fracture toughness, along with the other rock parameters expressing different aspects of rock behavior under drag tools (picks), are rather limited. With this study, it was aimed to investigate the relationships between the indirect measures of rock brittleness and fracture toughness and the SE depending on the results of a new and two previous linear rock cutting programmes. Relationships between the SE, rock strength parameters, and the rock index tests have also been investigated in this study. Sandstone samples taken from the different fields around Ankara, Turkey were used in the new testing programme. Detailed mineralogical analyses, petrographic studies, and rock mechanics and rock cutting tests were performed on these selected sandstone specimens. The assessment of rock cuttability was based on the SE. Three different brittleness indices (B1, B2, and B4) were calculated for sandstones samples, whereas a toughness index (T-i), being developed by Atkinson et al.(1), was employed to represent the indirect rock fracture toughness. The relationships between the SE and the large amounts of new data obtained from the mineralogical analyses, petrographic studies, rock mechanics, and linear rock cutting tests were evaluated by using bivariate correlation and curve fitting techniques, variance analysis, and Student's t-test. Rock cutting and rock property testing data that came from well-known studies of McFeat-Smith and Fowell(2) and Roxborough and Philips(3) have also been employed in statistical analyses together with the new data. Laboratory tests and subsequent analyses revealed that there were close correlations between the SE and B4 whereas no statistically significant correlation has been found between the SE and T-i. Uniaxial compressive and Brazilian tensile strengths and Shore scleroscope hardness of sandstones also exhibited strong relationships with the SE. NCB cone indenter test had the greatest influence on the SE among the other engineering properties of rocks, confirming the previous studies in rock cutting and mechanical excavation. Therefore, it was recommended to employ easy-to-use index tests of NCB cone indenter and Shore scleroscope in the estimation of laboratory SE of sandstones ranging from very low to high strengths in the absence of a rock cutting rig to measure it until the easy-to-use universal measures of the rock brittleness and especially the rock fracture toughness, being an intrinsic rock property, are developed.

A new instrument for targeting falls prevention interventions was accurate and clinically applicable in a hospital setting

Background and Objective: To describe the diagnostic accuracy and practical application of the Peter James Centre Falls Risk Assessment Tool (PJC-FRAT), a multidisciplinary falls risk screening and intervention deployment instrument. Methods: In phase 1, the accuracy of the PJC-FRAT was prospectively compared to a gold standard (the STRATIFY) on a cohort of subacute hospital patients (n = 122). In phase 2, the PJC-FRAT was temporally reassessed using a subsequent cohort (n = 316), with results compared to those of phase 1. Primary outcomes were falls (events), fallers (patients who fell), and hospital completion rates of the PJC-FRAT. Results: In phase 1, PJC-FRAT accuracy of identifying falters showed sensitivity of 73% (bootstrap 95% confidence interval CI = 55, 90) and specificity of 75% (95% CI = 66, 83), compared with the STRATIFY (cutoff >= 2/5) sensitivity of 77% (95% CI = 59, 92) and specificity of 51% (95% CI = 41, 61). This difference was not significant. In phase 2, accuracy of nursing staff using the PJC-FRAT was lower. PJC-FRAT completion rates varied among disciplines over both phases: nurses and physiotherapists, >= 90%; occupational therapists, >= 82%; and medical officers, >= 57%. Conclusion: The PJC-FRAT was practical and relatively accurate as a predictor of falls and a deployment instrument for falls prevention interventions, although continued staff education may be necessary to maintain its accuracy. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Sense of place: A tool to assist the meaningful engagement of communities in protected area management

This study used ‘sense of place’ as a research tool to help understand the relationship between a community and their local protected area, Brisbane Forest Park. To establish an indication of the community’s relative degree of sense of place, we considered and measured both the strength (intensity) and orientation (focus) of sense of place. We developed a new method to measure sense of place that considers and measures the elements constituting sense of place, independent of one another, utilising qualitative data collected in in-depth semi-structured interviews. Exploring both the strength and orientation of an individual's sense of place provides a way of exploring the desired nature of community involvement in the management of the Park. It was found that the stronger an individuals’ sense of place, the greater their place dependence and commitment, and the greater their desire to be involved in management. Analysing the strength and orientation of sense of place illustrated that there is a high degree of diversity in how individuals perceive and feel about area, and their desire to be involved in management. The type of information obtained in this study is important and useful to the management agencies if they are to successfully engage the community in meaningful ways.

Isolation, characterization and discovery of new alleles of sHsp genes in durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.)

Gli organismi vegetali mostrano una notevole capacità di adattamento alle condizioni di stress e lo studio delle componenti molecolari alla base dell'adattamento in colture cerealicole di interesse alimentare, come il frumento, è di particolare interesse per lo studio di varietà che consentano una buona produzione con basso input anche in condizioni ambientali non ottimali. L'esposizione delle colture cerealicole a stress termico durante determinate fasi del ciclo vitale influisce negativamente sulla resa e sulla qualità, a questo fine è necessario chiarire le basi genetiche e molecolari della termotolleranza per identificare geni e alleli vantaggiosi da impiegare in programmi di incrocio volti al miglioramento genetico. Numerosi studi dimostrano il coinvolgimento delle sHSP a localizzazione cloroplastica (in frumento sHSP26) nel meccanismo di acquisizione della termotolleranza e la loro interazione con diverse componenti del fotosistema II (PSII) che determinerebbe un’azione protettiva in condizioni di stress termico e altri tipi di stress. Lo scopo del progetto è quello di caratterizzare in frumento duro nuove varianti alleliche correlate alla tolleranza a stress termico mediate l'utilizzo del TILLING (Target Induced Local Lesion In Genome), un approccio di genetica inversa che prevede la mutagenesi e l'identificazione delle mutazioni indotte in siti di interesse. Durante la tesi sono state isolate e caratterizzate 3 sequenze geniche complete per smallHsp26 denominate TdHsp26-A1; TdHsp26-A2; TdHsp26-B1 e un putativo pseudogene denominato TdHsp26-A3. I geni isolati sono stati usati come target in analisi di TILLING in due popolazioni di frumento duro mutagenizzate con EMS (EtilMetanoSulfonato). Nel nostro studio sono stati impiegati due differenti approcci di TILLING: un approccio di TILLING classico mediante screening con High Resolution Melting (HRM) e un approccio innovativo che sfrutta un database di TILLING recentemente sviluppato. La popolazione di mutanti cv. Kronos è stata analizzata per la presenza di mutazioni in tutti e tre i geni individuati mediante ricerca online nel database di TILLING, il quale sfrutta la tecnica dell’exome capture sulla popolazione di TILLING seguito da sequenziamento ad alta processività. Attraverso questa tecnica sono state individuate, nella popolazione mutagenizzata di frumento duro cv. Kronos, 36 linee recanti mutazioni missenso. Contemporaneamente lo screening con HRM, effettuato su 960 genotipi della libreria di TILLING di frumento duro cv. Cham1 ha consentito di individuare mutazioni in una regione di 211bp di interesse funzionale del gene TdHsp26-B1, tra le quali 3 linee mutanti recanti mutazioni missenso in omozigosi. Alcune mutazioni missenso individuate sui due geni TdHsp26-A1 e TdHsp26-B1 sono state confermate in vivo nelle piante delle rispettive linee mutanti generando marcatori codominanti KASP (Kompetitive Allele Specific PCR) con cui è stato possibile verificare anche il grado di zigosità di tali mutazioni. Al fine di ridurre il numero di mutazioni non desiderate nelle linee risultate più interessanti, è stato eseguito il re-incrocio dei mutanti con i relativi parentali wild type ed inoltre sono stati generati alcuni doppi mutanti che consentiranno di comprendere meglio i meccanismi molecolari presieduti da questa classe genica. Gli individui F1 degli incroci sono stati poi genotipizzati con i medesimi marcatori KASP specifici per la mutazione di interesse per verificare la buona riuscita dell’incrocio. Questo approccio ha permesso di individuare ed implementare risorse genetiche utili ad intraprendere studi funzionali relativi al ruolo di smallHSP plastidiche implicate nella acquisizione di termotolleranza in frumento duro e di generare marcatori potenzialmente utili in futuri programmi di breeding.

Society

What is the nature of our current societies? Do we see a clash of civilizations, or the end of history? The advent of globalization, or the birth of the network society? Are we witnessing the emergence of a risk society, or the advent of the knowledge society? More fundamentally, is ‘society’ an ideological construct that should be abandoned? Coming into English from the Latin term ‘societas’ via Old French ‘société’, the etymology of ‘society,’ in the sense of a system adopted by a group of co-existing individuals for mutually beneficial purposes, can be traced back at least to the mid-sixteenth century. By the Age of Enlightenment, ‘society’ was increasingly used in intellectual discourse to characterize human relations, often in contrast to notions of ‘the state’. During the nineteenth century, the concept was subject to highly elaborate treatment in various intellectual fields, such as political economy, philosophy, and legal thought; and ‘society’ continues to be a central conceptual tool, not only for sociology, but also for many other social-science disciplines, such as anthropology, economics, political sciences, and law. The notion resonates beyond the social sciences into the humanities; it is a fundamental concept, like nature, the universe, or the economy. Moreover, ‘society’ remains a highly contested concept, as was demonstrated, for example, by the controversy surrounding the former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher’s pithy assertion of the neoliberal economic wisdom that ‘there is no such thing as society’ (Woman’s Own, 31 October 1987); and by the term’s rehabilitation at the turn of the twenty-first century, not least with the ascendancy of the notion of ‘civil society’. This four-volume collection, a new title in the Routledge Critical Concepts in Sociology series, brings together both canonical and the best cutting-edge research to document the intellectual origins and development of what remains a key framework within which contemporary work in the social sciences in general, and sociology in particular, proceeds. Edited by Reiner Grundmann and Nico Stehr, two leading scholars in the field, this Routledge Major Work makes available the most useful, important and representative treatments of the subject matter, and helps to make sense of the great variety of perspectives and approaches in which social scientists and other thinkers have understood, and continue to understand, society. Fully indexed and with a comprehensive introduction newly written by the editors, which places the collected material in its historical and intellectual context, Society is an essential reference work, destined to be valued by scholars and students as a vital research resource.

International technology collaboration for new product development

In recent years it has become increasingly common for companies to improve their competitiveness and find new markets by extending their operations through international new product development collaborations involving technology transfer. Technology development, cost reduction and market penetration are seen as the foci in such collaborative operations with the aim being to improve the competitive position of both partners. In this paper the case of technology transfer through collaborative new product development in the machine tool sector is used to provide a typical example of such partnerships. The research evidence on which the paper is based includes longitudinal case studies and questionnaire surveys of machine tool manufacturers in both countries. The specific case of a UK machine tool company and its Chinese partner is used to provide a specific example of the operational development of a successful collaboration. The paper concludes that a phased co-ordination of commercial, technical and strategic interactions between the two partners is essential for such collaborations to work. In particular, the need to transfer marketing know-how is emphasised, having been identified as an area of weakness among technology acquirers in China.

An investigation of the relationship between temperature, forces and tool wear in turning and drilling

Developing a means of predicting tool life has been and continues to be a focus of much research effort. A common experience in attempting to replicate such efforts is an inability to achieve the levels of agreement between theory and practice of the original researcher or to extrapolate the work to different materials or cutting conditions to those originally used. This thesis sets out to examine why most equations or models when replicated do not give good agreements. One reason which was found is that researchers in wear prediction, their predictions are limited because they generally fail to properly identify the nature of wear mechanisms operative in their study. Also they fail to identify or recognise factors having a significant influence on wear such as bar diameter. Also in this research the similarities and differences between the two processes of single point turning and drilling are examined through a series of tests. A literature survey was undertaken in wear and wear prediction. As a result it was found that there was a paucity in information and research in the work of drilling as compared to the turning operation. This was extended to the lack of standards that exist for the drilling operation. One reason for this scarcity in information on drilling is due to the complexity of the drilling and the tool geometry of the drill. In the comparative drilling and turning tests performed in this work, the same tool material; HSS, and similar work material was used in order to eliminate the differences which may occur due to this factor. Results of the tests were evaluated and compared for the two operations and SEM photographs were taken for the chips produced. Specific test results were obtained for the cutting temperatures and forces of the tool. It was found that cutting temperature is influenced by various factors like tool geometry and cutting speed, and the temperature itself influenced the tool wear and wear mechanisms that act on the tool. It was found and proven that bar diameter influences the temperature, a factor not considered previously.