Management gaps analysis: a case study of groundwater resource management in New Zealand

The primary objective of this project is to identify gaps, whether real or perceived, that hinder effective groundwater management in New Zealand. These gaps show as gaps in information, gaps in implementation, gaps in technological and management tools, and gaps in understanding of fundamental processes. The secondary objective is to propose a management strategy to close the identified gaps. Several methods are used to meet these objectives: surveys distributed to selected staff in each regional council; the review of various written reports; the analysis of land-use databases; and private consultation within each regional council. Results show that groundwater management in New Zealand is generally reactionary with the main gaps being in strategic planning and national guidelines. Most gaps appear to be predominantly information and implementation issues. In some cases there are gaps in the understanding of fundamental processes within an aquifer system, including the long-term effects of land-use on groundwater quality. An adaptive management approach is suggested as a means of closing these gaps.     

DYRE: a DYnamic REconfigurable solution to increase GPGPU’s reliability

The Journal of Supercomputing - General-purpose graphics processing units (GPGPUs) are extensively used in high-performance computing. However, it is well known that these devices’...     

Aberrant protein expression in plasma and kidney tissue during experimental obstructive nephropathy

Kidney failure is a major health problem worldwide. Patients with end-stage renal disease require intensive medical support by dialysis or kidney transplantation. Current methods for diagnosis of kidney disease are either invasive or insensitive, and renal function may decline by as much as 50% before it can be detected using current techniques. The goal of this study was, therefore, to identify biomarkers of kidney disease (associated with renal fibrosis) that can be used for the development of a non-invasive clinical test for early disease detection. We utilized two protein-profiling technologies (SELDI-TOF MS and 2-D) to screen the plasma and kidney proteome for aberrantly expressed proteins in an experimental mouse model of unilateral uretric obstruction, which mimics the pathology of human renal disease. Several differentially regulated proteins were detected at the plasma level of day-3-obstructed animals, which included serum amyloid A1, fibrinogen α, haptoglobin precursor protein, haptoglobin and major urinary proteins 11 and 8. Differentially expressed proteins detected at the tissue level included ras-like activator protein 2, haptoglobin precursor protein, malate dehydrogenase, α enolase and murine urinary protein (all p<0.05 versus controls). Immunohistochemistry was used to confirm the up-regulation of fibrinogen. Interestingly, these proteins are largely separated into four major classes: (i) acute-phase reactants (ii) cell-signaling molecules (iii) molecules involved in cell growth and metabolism and (iv) urinary proteins. These results provide new insights into the pathology of obstructive nephropathy and may facilitate the development of specific assay(s) to detect and monitor renal fibrosis.     

Associations between evaporative cooling and dust‐mite allergens,endotoxins, and β‐(1 → 3)‐d‐glucans in house dust: A study of low‐income homes

Recent work suggests that evaporative coolers increase the level and diversity of bioaerosols, but this association remains understudied in low‐income homes. We conducted a cross‐sectional study of metropolitan, low‐income homes in Utah with evaporative coolers (n = 20) and central air conditioners (n = 28). Dust samples (N = 147) were collected from four locations in each home and analyzed for dust‐mite allergens Der p1 and Der f1, endotoxins, and β‐(1 → 3)‐d ‐glucans. In all sample locations combined, Der p1 or Der f1 was significantly higher in evaporative cooler versus central air conditioning homes (OR = 2.29, 95% CI = 1.05‐4.98). Endotoxin concentration was significantly higher in evaporative cooler versus central air conditioning homes in furniture (geometric mean (GM) = 8.05 vs 2.85 EU/mg, P < .01) and all samples combined (GM = 3.60 vs 1.29 EU/mg, P = .03). β‐(1 → 3)‐d ‐glucan concentration and surface loads were significantly higher in evaporative cooler versus central air conditioning homes in all four sample locations and all samples combined (P < .01). Our study suggests that low‐income, evaporative cooled homes have higher levels of immunologically important bioaerosols than central air‐conditioned homes in dry climates, warranting studies on health implications and other exposed populations.     

How verified (or tested) is my code? Falsification-driven verification and testing

Formal verification has advanced to the point that developers can verify the correctness of small, critical modules. Unfortunately, despite considerable efforts, determining if a “verification” verifies what the author intends is still difficult. Previous approaches are difficult to understand and often limited in applicability. Developers need verification coverage in terms of the software they are verifying, not model checking diagnostics. We propose a methodology to allow developers to determine (and correct) what it is that they have verified, and tools to support that methodology. Our basic approach is based on a novel variation of mutation analysis and the idea of verification driven by falsification. We use the CBMC model checker to show that this approach is applicable not only to simple data structures and sorting routines, and verification of a routine in Mozilla’s JavaScript engine, but to understanding an ongoing effort to verify the Linux kernel read-copy-update mechanism. Moreover, we show that despite the probabilistic nature of random testing and the tendency to incompleteness of testing as opposed to verification, the same techniques, with suitable modifications, apply to automated test generation as well as to formal verification. In essence, it is the number of surviving mutants that drives the scalability of our methods, not the underlying method for detecting faults in a program. From the point of view of a Popperian analysis where an unkilled mutant is a weakness (in terms of its falsifiability) in a “scientific theory” of program behavior, it is only the number of weaknesses to be examined by a user that is important.     

TSTL: the template scripting testing language

International Journal on Software Tools for Technology Transfer - A test harness, in automated test generation, defines the set of valid tests for a system, as well as their correctness properties....     

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin and Early Embryogenesis: Review

Human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) has four major isoforms: classical hCG, hyperglycosylated hCG, free β subunit, and sulphated hCG. Classical hCG is the first molecule synthesized by the embryo. Its RNA is transcribed as early as the eight-cell stage and the blastocyst produces the protein before its implantation. This review synthetizes everything currently known on this multi-effect hormone: hCG levels, angiogenetic activity, immunological actions, and effects on miscarriages and thyroid function.     

An analysis of students’ spontaneous computer-mediated help seeking: A step toward the design of ecologically valid supporting tools

This study analyzes middle school students’ spontaneous mathematics-related help-seeking behavior, in view of making ecologically valid recommendations for the design of supporting tools or “help systems”. Our aim was to investigate the content of students’ help-seeking messages – Are there different forms of help-seeking messages and do they evolve with age? We used the archives of a French forum that provides students with free individualized help in mathematics. The data consisted of 206 messages sent by French middle school students over a period of 42 months. The constituent categories of the messages were identified. The results showed that not all middle school students use the same help-seeking “format”. Compared to sixth graders, ninth graders wrote messages containing more constituent categories, i.e., they provided the online expert with more kinds of information. A detailed analysis of the categories further showed that older students’ messages more often contained explicit help requests and contextual information than did younger students’ messages. Thus, the messages of the oldest students (age 15) were both cognitively more understandable and socially more acceptable than those of the youngest students (age 11). The interpretation of these findings and their implications for designing help systems are discussed.     

The role of information and communication technologies (ICTs) in household energy consumption��prospects for the UK

Growing concerns about climate change and energy security have led to a strong focus on energy demand reduction and energy efficiency within United Kingdom (UK) energy policy. At the same time, information and communication technologies (ICTs) have become pervasive in society and this has brought with it new policy options which use them as enabling technologies. One such policy option planned for implementation in the UK is the use of smart meters and real-time displays to encourage people to become more aware of their energy consumption and possibly change their energy-related behaviours. Smart meters and display units by definition link individuals, technologies and society, and their effectiveness is influenced by a range of factors. Ten semi-structured stakeholder interviews with industry, government and academia and a review of literature were conducted in order to identify which factors are most likely to contribute to the effectiveness of implementing smart meters and real-time displays in the UK. Further analysis showed a number of key themes and perspectives on behavioural change, particularly as they relate to household electricity use and the role of smart meters in the UK energy policy, including the role of ICTs in energy demand reduction more generally.