Evaluation of ASTER GDEM ver2 using GPS measurements and SRTM ver4.1 in China

The freely available ASTER GDEM ver2 was released by NASA and METI on October 17, 2011. As one of the most complete high resolution digital topographic data sets of the world to date, the ASTER GDEM covers land surfaces between 83°N and 83°S at a spatial resolution of 1 arc-second and will be a useful product for many applications, such as relief analysis, hydrological studies and radar interferometry. The stated improvements in the second version of ASTER GDEM benefit from finer horizontal resolution, offset adjustment and water body detection in addition to new observed ASTER scenes. This study investigates the absolute vertical accuracy of the ASTER GDEM ver2 at five study sites in China using ground control points (GCPs) from high accuracy GPS benchmarks, and also using a DEM-to-DEM comparison with the Consultative Group for International Agriculture Research Consortium for Spatial Information (CGIAR-CSI) SRTM DEM (Version 4.1). And then, the results are separated into GlobCover land cover classes to derive the spatial pattern of error. It is demonstrated that the RMSE (19m) and mean (-13m) values of ASTER GDEM ver2 against GPS-GCPs in the five study areas is lower than its first version ASTER GDEM ver1 (26m and -21m) as a result of the adjustment of the elevation offsets in the new version. It should be noted that the five study areas in this study are representative in terms of terrain types and land covers in China, and even for most of mid-latitude zones. It is believed that the ASTER GDEM offers a major alternative in accessibility to high quality elevation data

Use of Aluminum-Foil and Oat-Straw Mulches for Controlling Aster Leafhopper, \u3ci\u3eMacrosteles Fascifrons\u3c/i\u3e (Homoptera: Cicadellidae), and Aster Yellows in Carrots.

Aluminum-foil and oat-straw mulches significantly (P \u3c 0.05) reduced aster leafhopper numbers on carrots compared to an untreated control and a malathion spray treatment during the first half of the growing season. The amount of reflected light was significantly higher in both aluminum-foil and oat-straw mulched plots compared to unmulched treatments. Mulch effectiveness decreased when the closing carrot canopy reduced surface area of reflective mulches and amount of reflected light The percentage of aster yellows-infected plants was significantly lower (P \u3c 0.05) in aluminum-foil and straw mulches and in the malathion spray plots compared to the untreated control. Results demonstrated that aluminum-foil and straw mulches gave control of aster leafhoppers and aster yellows in carrots equal to that of a conventional insecticide spray program

The Influence of Reflective Mulches and Lettuce Types on the Incidence of Aster Yellows and Abundance of its Vector, \u3ci\u3eMacrosteles Fascifrons\u3c/i\u3e (Homoptera: Cicadelidae), in Minnesota

Five commercial lettuce cultivars representing different genetic types were grown through aluminum-coated paper, through black polyethylene film, and on bare soil. For each variety, the aluminum mulch reduced the numbers of Macrosteles fascifrons (St~l), reduced the incidence of aster yellows, and increased yields when compared to uncovered controls. The head lettuce cultivar \u27Minetto\u27 was most susceptible on unmulched plots (74.3%) while the leaf cultivar \u27Grand Rapids\u27 was least susceptible (33.8%). The latter also had the greatest infestation of leafhoppers which may indicate either resistance to the aster yellows agent or shorter feeding times by the vector leafhopper. The abundance of aster leafhoppers on the romaine cultivar \u27Valmaine\u27, the butter head cultivar \u27Buttercrunch\u27, and the bibb cultivar \u27Summer Bibb\u27 was much lower than that of the other two and might explain the lower percentage of aster yellows on these types as compared with \u27Minetto\u27

BOOK REVIEW OF EAT, PRAY, LOVE BY ELIZABETH GILBERT

This book review is concerned with Elizabeth Gilbert's Eat, Pray, Love. Gilbert's novel is full of real life experience that was undergone by Gilbert herself. Gilbert's story in this novel triggered the writer's curiosity to obtain a deep understanding of how the main character deals with how she survives from her anxiety about life.Eat, Pray, Love, which the writer reviews in this final project, is the first edition of Eat, Pray, Love; it was published in 2006 by Penguin Books. The novel has 352 pages and 108 chapters, and it is basically divided into three main parts. Each part explains the story of Gilbert in each country that she visited: Italy, India, and Indonesia respectively

La Llorona at the Saloon

This poem by José Angel Araguz originally appeared in Aster(ix)

Guidelines and Procedures for Patent Application

To educate Filipinos on IPR, this article provides a rigorous discussion on the Philippine patent system and patent law. It identifies the patentable grant, the requirements of patentability and records a step-by-step patent application. This article has been presented during the DOST-PIDS Seminar-Discussion on “Intellectual Property Rights: Policy Issues and Perspectives” on December 13, 1991.patent and license, intellectual property rights

Using electronic resources to support dialogue in undergraduate small‐group teaching: The ASTER project

Learning through dialogue is an important element of UK higher education, supported by tutorial, seminar and workshop classes. Since 1998, the ASTER project has been exploring how Information and Communication Technologies support learning in small groups (http://cti‐psy.york.acuk/aster/). Electronic resources are developed and used in courses to support a wide range of learning needs, from delivery of content to interactive teaching tools and assessment. The manner in which they are integrated into a course dictates the extent to which they support and extend learning. The ASTER survey has identified the use of a range of new technologies to support learning through dialogue in a variety of contexts. Many of the uses are common across disciplines, though we have observed some differences in the range of tools used, and how they are implemented in and beyond the classroom. These differences are partly determined by the subject content of resources, and by the activities that ICT tools support. Another factor influencing this variation seems to be traditions of academic discourse. The findings suggest that educational technology needs to support both generic education practice, and the special needs of particular disciplines

Guidelines and Procedures for Patent Application

To educate Filipinos on IPR, this article provides a rigorous discussion on the Philippine patent system and patent law. It identifies the patentable grant, the requirements of patentability and records a step-by-step patent application. This article has been presented during the DOST-PIDS Seminar-Discussion on “Intellectual Property Rights: Policy Issues and Perspectives” on December 13, 1991.patent and license, intellectual property rights