Pollen analysis of soil samples from the A.D. 79 level. Boscoreale, Oplontis, and Pompeii

Fifty samples of Roman time soil preserved under the thick ash layer of the A.D.79 eruption of Mt Vesuvius were studied by pollen analysis: 33 samples from a former vineyard surrounding a Villa Rustica at Boscoreale (excavation site 40 x 50 m), 13 samples taken along the 60 m long swimming pool in the sculpture garden of the Villa of Poppaea at Oplontis, and four samples from the formal garden (12.4 x 17.5 m) of the House of the Gold Bracelet in Pompeii. To avoid contamination with modern pollen all samples were taken immediately after uncovering a new portion of the A.D. 79 soil. For comparison also samples of modern Italian soils were studied. Using standard methods for pollen preparation the pollen content of 15 of the archaeological samples proved to be too little to reach a pollen sum of more than 100 grains. The pollen spectra of these samples are not shown in the pollen tables. (Flotation with a sodium tungstate solution, Na2WO4, D = 2.05, following treatment with HCl and NaOH would probably have given a somewhat better result. This method was, however, not available as too expensive at that time.) Although the archaeological samples were taken a few meters apart their pollen values differ very much from one sample to the other. E.g., at Boscoreale (SW quarter). the pollen values of Pinus range from 1.5 to 54.5% resp. from 1 to 244 pine pollen grains per 1 gram of soil, the extremes even found under pine trees. Vitis pollen was present in 7 of the 11 vineyard samples from Boscoreale (NE quarter) only. Although a maximum of 21.7% is reached, the values of Vitis are mostly below 1.5%. Even the values of common weeds differ very much, not only at Boscoreale, but also at the other two sites. The pollen concentration values show similar variations: 3 to 3053 grains and spores were found in 1 g of soil. The mean value (290) is much less than the number of pollen grains, which would fall on 1 cm2 of soil surface during one year. In contrast, the pollen and spore concentrations of the recent soil samples, treated in exactly the same manner, range from 9313 to almost 80000 grains per 1 g of soil. Evidently most of the Roman time pollen has disappeared since its deposition, the reasons not being clear. Not even species which are known to have been cultivated in the garden of Oplontis, like Citrus and Nerium, plant species with easily distinguishable pollen grains, could be traced by pollen analysis. The loss of most of the pollen grains originally contained in the soil prohibits any detailed interpretation of the Pompeian pollen data. The pollen counts merely name plant species which grew in the region, but not necessarily on the excavated plots.

A study of four listed micro finance institutions

Compared to the size of the microfinance market, the number of Microfinance Institutions that are professionally ran like commercial banks is still scarce, and even more scarce are the MFI listed in public stock exchanges. This document focuses on four listed MFIs and reviews its business model and funding sources. The document also analyses the market price evolution of the listed shares and investigates whether investors are assigning a premium to the MFIs compared with its respective market indices. Keywords: Microfinance institutions, Micro-credits, Financial Institutions, Equity; Stock Exchange.

Effectiveness for Ddtecting faults within and outside the scope of testing techniques: an independent replication

The verification and validation activity plays a fundamental role in improving software quality. Determining which the most effective techniques for carrying out this activity are has been an aspiration of experimental software engineering researchers for years. This paper reports a controlled experiment evaluating the effectiveness of two unit testing techniques (the functional testing technique known as equivalence partitioning (EP) and the control-flow structural testing technique known as branch testing (BT)). This experiment is a literal replication of Juristo et al. (2013).Both experiments serve the purpose of determining whether the effectiveness of BT and EP varies depending on whether or not the faults are visible for the technique (InScope or OutScope, respectively). We have used the materials, design and procedures of the original experiment, but in order to adapt the experiment to the context we have: (1) reduced the number of studied techniques from 3 to 2; (2) assigned subjects to experimental groups by means of stratified randomization to balance the influence of programming experience; (3) localized the experimental materials and (4) adapted the training duration. We ran the replication at the Escuela Politécnica del Ejército Sede Latacunga (ESPEL) as part of a software verification & validation course. The experimental subjects were 23 master?s degree students. EP is more effective than BT at detecting InScope faults. The session/program andgroup variables are found to have significant effects. BT is more effective than EP at detecting OutScope faults. The session/program and group variables have no effect in this case. The results of the replication and the original experiment are similar with respect to testing techniques. There are some inconsistencies with respect to the group factor. They can be explained by small sample effects. The results for the session/program factor are inconsistent for InScope faults.We believe that these differences are due to a combination of the fatigue effect and a technique x program interaction. Although we were able to reproduce the main effects, the changes to the design of the original experiment make it impossible to identify the causes of the discrepancies for sure. We believe that further replications closely resembling the original experiment should be conducted to improve our understanding of the phenomena under study.

Diseño electrónico de la tarjeta de interfaz y control para un equipo de seguimiento en elevación en un subsistema de contramedidas electrónicas

Como apoyo al Subsistema ECM tradicional de los sistemas de Guerra Electrónica, surge el Equipo de Seguimiento en Elevación cuyo fin es la búsqueda de la amenaza en elevación. Ante la necesidad de un mayor número de líneas entre los bloques internos de este Equipo de Seguimiento, se hace necesario el diseño de una Tarjeta de Interfaz y Control. La tarjeta se ocupará de realizar el control de datos y flujo de señales de módulos RF que componen el Equipo, haciendo de interfaz entre las Tarjetas Procesadoras y Digitalizadoras, así como entre la Tarjeta de Proceso y el Bloque de Recepción. Una vez que se haya realizado el análisis de la necesidad de controlar estas señales, estudiado las especificaciones y los requisitos funcionales del Sistema, se procederá a implementar el diseño hardware y desarrollo firmware de la Tarjeta de Interfaz y Control de un Equipo de Seguimiento en Elevación para un Subsistema ECM, que constituye el objetivo de este PFC. ABSTRACT. In order to find a threat on elevation, and as a support on the basic ECM subsystems of E-war systems, the Elevation Tracking Equipment appears. To the need of a bigger number of lines between inside blocks of this Tracking Equipment, the design of an Interface and Control Board is needed. This board will deal with the data control and with the flow of RF modules signals that set up the Equipment, and will also work as an interface between the Processing and Digitalizing Board, as well as between the Process Board and the Reception Block. Once the signal control necessity analysis has been made, and once the specifications and functional System requirements have been studied, the hardware design and the firmware development will be ran as a target of PFC.

Effectiveness for detecting faults within and outside the scope of testing techniques: an independent replication

The verification and validation activity plays a fundamental role in improving software quality. Determining which the most effective techniques for carrying out this activity are has been an aspiration of experimental software engineering researchers for years. This paper reports a controlled experiment evaluating the effectiveness of two unit testing techniques (the functional testing technique known as equivalence partitioning (EP) and the control-flow structural testing technique known as branch testing (BT)). This experiment is a literal replication of Juristo et al. (2013). Both experiments serve the purpose of determining whether the effectiveness of BT and EP varies depending on whether or not the faults are visible for the technique (InScope or OutScope, respectively). We have used the materials, design and procedures of the original experiment, but in order to adapt the experiment to the context we have: (1) reduced the number of studied techniques from 3 to 2; (2) assigned subjects to experimental groups by means of stratified randomization to balance the influence of programming experience; (3) localized the experimental materials and (4) adapted the training duration. We ran the replication at the Escuela Polite?cnica del Eje?rcito Sede Latacunga (ESPEL) as part of a software verification & validation course. The experimental subjects were 23 master?s degree students. EP is more effective than BT at detecting InScope faults. The session/program and group variables are found to have significant effects. BT is more effective than EP at detecting OutScope faults. The session/program and group variables have no effect in this case. The results of the replication and the original experiment are similar with respect to testing techniques. There are some inconsistencies with respect to the group factor. They can be explained by small sample effects. The results for the session/program factor are inconsistent for InScope faults. We believe that these differences are due to a combination of the fatigue effect and a technique x program interaction. Although we were able to reproduce the main effects, the changes to the design of the original experiment make it impossible to identify the causes of the discrepancies for sure. We believe that further replications closely resembling the original experiment should be conducted to improve our understanding of the phenomena under study.

Establishing Quercus ilex under Mediterranean dry conditions: sowing recalcitrant acorns versus planting seedlings at different depths and tube shelter light transmissions

Article New Forests November 2015, Volume 46, Issue 5, pp 869-883 First online: 17 June 2015 Establishing Quercus ilex under Mediterranean dry conditions: sowing recalcitrant acorns versus planting seedlings at different depths and tube shelter light transmissionsJuan A. OlietAffiliated withDepartamento de Sistemas y Recursos Naturales, E.T.S. Ingenieros de Montes, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid Email author View author's OrcID profile , Alberto Vázquez de CastroAffiliated withDepartamento de Sistemas y Recursos Naturales, E.T.S. Ingenieros de Montes, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid, Jaime PuértolasAffiliated withLancaster Environment Centre, Lancaster University $39.95 / €34.95 / £29.95 * Rent the article at a discount Rent now * Final gross prices may vary according to local VAT. Get Access AbstractSuccess of Mediterranean dry areas restoration with oaks is a challenging goal. Testing eco-techniques that mimic beneficial effects of natural structures and ameliorate stress contributes to positive solutions to overcoming establishment barriers. We ran a factorial experiment in a dry area, testing two levels of solid wall transmission of tube shelters (60 and 80 %) plus a control mesh, and two depths (shallow and 15 cm depth) of placing either planted seedlings or acorns of Quercus ilex. Microclimate of the planting or sowing spots was characterized by measuring photosynthetically active radiation, temperature and relative humidity. Plant response was evaluated in terms of survival, phenology, acorn emergence and photochemical efficiency (measured through chlorophyll fluorescence). We hypothesize that tube shelters and deep planting improve Q. ilex post-planting and sowing performance because of the combined effects of reducing excessive radiation and improving access to moist soil horizons. Results show that temperature and PAR was reduced, and relative humidity increased, in deep spots. Midsummer photochemical efficiency indicates highest level of stress for oaks in 80 % light transmission shelter. Optimum acorn emergence in spring was registered within solid wall tree shelters, and maximum summer survival of germinants and of planted seedlings occurred when acorns or seedlings were placed at 15 cm depth irrespectively of light transmission of shelter. Survival of germinants was similar to that of planted seedlings. The importance of techniques to keep high levels of viability after sowing recalcitrant seeds in the field is emphasized in the study

Madrid 1919, un nuevo escenario urbano subterráneo: el Metro. Aparición en España del concepto de viaje sin referencias espaciales.

Esta comunicación recibió la condición especial de ser destacada por el Comité Científico. A comienzos del siglo XX se empieza a implantar un novedoso medio de transporte en las grandes ciudades españolas: el metro. Aunque ya se había probado con éxito en otras ciudades europeas (Londres, Viena, París?), la expectación surgida en la capital era desmedida. En aquellos años Madrid se encontraba inmersa en un importante proceso de transformación que la convertiría décadas más tarde en una gran metrópoli. No obstante, en estos años de definición de su propia trama urbana la ciudad estaba colapsada por los tranvías y el creciente tráfico de automóviles. La Compañía Metropolitano Alfonso XIII, fundada por los ingenieros Miguel Otamendi, Antonio G. Echarte y Carlos Mendoza, consiguió materializar en un eficaz proyecto la idea de un nuevo tipo de transporte que discurría por debajo del nivel de calle. Este tipo de ferrocarril subterráneo planteó la aparición de unos nuevos parámetros espaciales que modificaron la percepción que los viajeros urbanos tenían de la metrópoli. Las bocas de metro se convirtieron enseguida en hitos en torno a los cuales se podían tomar referencias y orientarse en la trama urbana. La descontextualización del viaje respecto al entorno físico en el cual se produce ese desplazamiento direccional convirtió la experiencia de viajar a través del subsuelo en algo futurista para la época. Y con ello cambió la concepción de la ciudad, dejamos de percibirla en su totalidad para experimentarla de manera fragmentada por esos lapsos de tiempo que transcurren entre la entrada y la salida del metro. A través de los dibujos que Antonio Palacios Ramilo (Porriño 1874 ? Madrid 1945), arquitecto oficial de la Compañía, realizó para el diseño de las estaciones, vestíbulos y bocas de acceso podemos sentir la búsqueda constante de calidez y luminosidad como contraste frente a la imagen estereotipada fría y oscura de una caverna excavada bajo tierra. La introducción de la luz cenital en los vestíbulos, el recubrimiento de todas las superficies de tránsito con azulejos blancos que reflejan y multiplican la luz y el exquisito diseño de todos los detalles demuestran el interés del arquitecto por dignificar en todo momento estos nuevos espacios subterráneos, caracterizando con una identidad propia esta nueva tipología arquitectónica, y convirtiendo el viaje en metro en una experiencia sensorial innovadora. Abstract: n the early twentieth century Madrid was undergoing a major transformation that would make decades later in a large metropolis. However, in these years of defining its own urban grid the city was jammed with trams and the increasing car traffic. In 1919, the Com- pany Metropolitan Alfonso XIII, got into an effective project materialize the idea of a new type of transport that ran below the calle. Analizaremos experience as a paradigm shift in the trip meter without spatial reference. We will study the elements of this under- ground network and the relationships between them are generated: nodes , flows, transit spaces, waiting areas and up... And finally , will point to what extent the construction of this transport has influenced and modified the urban scene on the slope where the meter has become an element of our everyday life.