Ongoing verification of a multiphysics community code: FLASH

When developing a complex, multi‐authored code, daily testing on multiple platforms and under a variety of conditions is essential. It is therefore necessary to have a regression test suite that is easily administered and configured, as well as a way to easily view and interpret the test suite results. We describe the methodology for verification of FLASH, a highly capable multiphysics scientific application code with a wide user base. The methodology uses a combination of unit and regression tests and an in‐house testing software that is optimized for operation under limited resources. Although our practical implementations do not always comply with theoretical regression‐testing research, our methodology provides a comprehensive verification of a large scientific code under resource constraints.Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Situational awareness architecture for smart grids developed in accordance with dispatcher’s thought process: a review

The operational environment of today’s smart grids is becoming more complicated than ever before. A number of factors, including renewable penetration, marketization, cyber security, and hazards of nature, bring challenges and even threats to control centers. New techniques are anticipated to help dispatchers become aware of the accurate situations as they manipulate and navigate the situations as quickly as possible. To address the issues, we first introduce the background for this topic as well as the emerging technical demands of situational awareness in the dispatcher’s environment. The general concepts and technical requirements of situational awareness are then summarized, aimed at offering an overview for readers to understand the state-of-the-art progress in this area. In addition, we discuss the importance of integrating the architecture of support tools in accordance with the dispatcher’s thought process, which in fact guides correct and swift reactions in real-time operations. Finally, the prospects for situational awareness architecture are investigated with the goal of presenting situational awareness modules in an advanced and visualized manner.     

Tourism as tragedy? Common problems with water in post-revolutionary Nicaragua

This paper examines the increased demand placed on limited water resources by a rapidly growing tourism sector in Playa Gigante, Nicaragua. Results from field campaigns suggest that recharge of the local aquifer may not meet burgeoning tourism demands for water. This paper also points to initial conflicts over water between locals and tourism operations, which are further complicated by ineffective implementation of national water policies and the common pool nature of groundwater. The conclusion discusses the need for more extensive research and better implementation of water policy through community governance and collaboration.     

Information Systems Offshore Outsourcing: An Exploratory Study of Motivations and Risks in Large Spanish Firms

Prior research has documented that IT investment increases market returns. Economic theories predict such returns to be recognized in accounting profitability; this relationship remains ambiguous in prior literature. We reexamine the relationship between IT investment and firm profitability. Our approach is unique in that we examine complementarities between distinct IT components. We document that a firm’s investments in IT components exhibit different impacts on its profitability conditional on the level of investments in complementary components.     

Innovative potential of 3D software applications in fashion and textile design

Advanced cloth simulation plug-in tools are increasingly being used by designers in movies, television, advertising and computer games, to take the strain out of creating and simulating realistic cloth effects for dressing virtual characters. This paper describes experiments into designing textiles and clothing using 3D graphics software and a digital cloth dynamics plug-in, which are an integral part of PhD research in progress. The methods used in testing the 3D software and the cloth dynamics plug-in illustrate the experiences of a designer/learner. The results identify designer/learner needs and expectations for the further educational development of the research and use of cloth simulation tools in textiles/fashion design in the near future.     

Evidence supporting the importance of nutrient regeneration by nano- and micrograzers for phytoplankton photosynthesis in Lake Malawi/Nyasa

Photosynthesis and nutrient status measurements were compared in size fractioned water samples collected in southern Lake Malawi in three different seasons. The size fractions analyzed were 0–2.0 μm, 0–20 μm, and 0–200 μm. Total chlorophyll concentrations were relatively invariant at about 1 μg L^?1 in all seasons (wet stratified, deep mixing, dry stratified). Over 90% of total chlorophyll was < 20 μm and 40–50% < 2 μm. Stoichiometric ratios of carbon (C):nitrogen (N) and C:phosphorus (P) for the < 2-μm seston were similar to < 20-μm and < 200-μm seston samples and indicated that all size fractions were moderately N and P deficient in all seasons. N and P uptake experiments demonstrated that when the < 2-μm picoplankton were isolated from the larger sizes, they showed high N and P nutrient debts, apparently in response to the removal of nano- and micrograzers. This effect was strongest for N debt in the dry stratified season, but was apparent for P debt in all seasons. The chlorophyll-normalized light saturated rate of photosynthesis, P^b_m, was always higher in whole water samples compared to the rates of the isolated picophytoplankton which were lowest in the dry season. We infer that nano- and micrograzers were an especially important source of regenerated nutrients when the lake was stratified although their removal as a source of nutrient to the picophytoplankton may affect P^b_m in all seasons. Nitrogen regeneration was especially critical to the picophytoplankton in the dry stratified season but less important in the windy deep mixing season.     

融合服务战略推动英国电信开启亚太市场之门

英国电信是第一个吹响转型号角的传统电信公司,也是第一家提出做“综合信息服务提供商”的运营商。目前它已经牢固确立了其作为网络IT解决方案提供商的核心定位。在全球经济危机蔓延,金融风暴影响实体经济的当下,作为经济结构中承担基础性架构角色的电信行业面临前所未有的挑战与机遇。英国电信（BT）清醒的认识到了这一点,借助IT与网络、数据与通讯融合的趋势浪潮,英国电信正在开启亚太市场的大门。     

Shadow Doppler technique for sizing particles of arbitrary shape

The output from a linear diode array is used in a modified laser Doppler velocimeter to measure the size and shape of irregular particles. The sizing accuracy for transparent and opaque particles between 30 and 140 μm is better than 10%. The inaccuracy caused by trajectories that lay at angles of less than 24° to the axis of the array was less than +5%, and a further inaccuracy of +5% was caused by defocusing of the particle from the center of the velocimeter measuring volume by up to ±500 μm. The advantages of the shadow Doppler technique over other techniques for sizing irregular particles, such as amplitude systems with pointer volumes, are that the shadow Doppler technique records shape, the optical arrangement is more robust, less precise alignment is required, and the equipment can be constructed at low cost.     

Noble Metal Ion-Directed Assembly of 2D Materials for Heterostructured Catalysts and Metallic Micro-Texturing

Assembling 2D-material (2DM) nanosheets into micro- and macro-architectures with augmented functionalities requires effective strategies to overcome nanosheet restacking. Conventional assembly approaches involve external binders and/or functionalization, which inevitably sacrifice 2DM's nanoscale properties. Noble metal ions (NMI) are promising ionic crosslinkers, which can simultaneously assemble 2DM nanosheets and induce synergistic properties. Herein, a collection of NMI–2DM complexes are screened and categorized into two sub-groups. Based on the zeta potentials, two assembly approaches are developed to obtain 1) NMI-crosslinked 2DM hydrogels/aerogels for heterostructured catalysts and 2) NMI–2DM inks for templated synthesis. First, tetraammineplatinum(II) nitrate (TPtN) serves as an efficient ionic crosslinker to agglomerate various 2DM dispersions. By utilizing micro-textured assembly platforms, various TPtN–2DM hydrogels are fabricated in a scalable fashion. Afterward, these hydrogels are lyophilized and thermally reduced to synthesize Pt-decorated 2DM aerogels (Pt@2DM). The Pt@2DM heterostructures demonstrate high, substrate-dependent catalytic activities and promote different reaction pathways in the hydrogenation of 3-nitrostyrene. Second, PtCl₄ can be incorporated into 2DM dispersions at high NMI molarities to prepare a series of PtCl₄–2DM inks with high colloidal stability. By adopting the PtCl₄–graphene oxide ink, various Pt micro-structures with replicated topographies are synthesized with accurate control of grain sizes and porosities.