The fourier series of gegenbauer's function

Theoretical analysis of Fourier series of Gegenbauer function - methods for integration of Gegenbauer function and Fourier coefficient

Global natural history infrastructure requires international solidarity, support, and investment in local capacity

Amid global challenges like climate change, extinctions, and disease epidemics, science and society require nuanced, international solutions that are grounded in robust, interdisciplinary perspectives and datasets that span deep time. Natural history collections, from modern biological specimens to the archaeological and fossil records, are crucial tools for understanding cultural and biological processes that shape our modern world. At the same time, natural history collections in low and middle-income countries are at-risk and underresourced, imperiling efforts to build the infrastructure and scientific capacity necessary to tackle critical challenges. The case of Mongolia exemplifies the unique challenges of preserving natural history collections in a country with limited financial resources under the thumb of scientific colonialism. Specifically, the lack of biorepository infrastructure throughout Mongolia stymies efforts to study or respond to large-scale environmental changes of the modern era. Investment in museum capacity and training to develop locally-accessible collections that characterize natural communities over time and space must be a key priority for a future where understanding climate scenarios, predicting, and responding to zoonotic disease, making informed conservation choices, or adapting to agricultural challenges, will be all but impossible without relevant and accessible collections. Copyright © 2025 the Author(s). Published by PNAS

Once the shovel hits the ground : Evaluating the management of complex implementation processes of public-private partnership infrastructure projects with qualitative comparative analysis

Much attention is being paid to the planning of public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure projects. The subsequent implementation phase – when the contract has been signed and the project ‘starts rolling’ – has received less attention. However, sound agreements and good intentions in project planning can easily fail in project implementation. Implementing PPP infrastructure projects is complex, but what does this complexity entail? How are projects managed, and how do public and private partners cooperate in implementation? What are effective management strategies to achieve satisfactory outcomes? This is the fi rst set of questions addressed in this thesis. Importantly, the complexity of PPP infrastructure development imposes requirements on the evaluation methods that can be applied for studying these questions. Evaluation methods that ignore complexity do not create a realistic understanding of PPP implementation processes, with the consequence that evaluations tell us little about what works and what does not, in which contexts, and why. This hampers learning from evaluations. What are the requirements for a complexity-informed evaluation method? And how does qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) meet these requirements? This is the second set of questions addressed in this thesis

High-Speed Distributed Data Handling for HENP

We describe a project whose goal is to demonstrate a scalable solution to the problem of high-bandwidth data handling for analysis of high-energy and nuclear physics data. The STAR experiment at RHIC is used as the basis for a realistic example in this project. The approach is based on a distributed-parallel storage system which collects data from the detector and serves data to a distributed cluster of symmetric multi-processor computers. 1.0 Introduction Experience gained over the past several years in DOE and DARPA funded work in high-speed, wide-area distributed computing (see, e.g. [DPSS]) has lead us to explore the potential of this approach for high energy and nuclear physics (HENP) data handling and analysis. The general approach is to decompose the overall system into its component elements, and then to organize those elements into a widely distributed system. The advantage of this approach is several fold: first, it relieves the physical constraints of placing computing and..

High-performance computing and distributed systems

We present a scenario for a fully distributed computing environment in which computing, storage, and I/O elements are configured on demand into virtual systems'' that are optimal for the solution of a particular problem. We also describe present two pilot projects that illustrate some of the elements and issues of this scenario. The goal of this work is to make the most powerful computing systems those that are logically assembled from network based components, and to make those systems available independent of the geographic location of the constituent elements

Hydropower reservoirs - their potential association with transmission of trematodes in Vietnam

The effect of reservoir construction on medically important parasites is well known worldwide but lacks information in Vietnam. With 385 active hydropower plants and numerous water reservoirs, Vietnam provides an ideal setting for studying this issue. This study investigated trematode infection in snail first intermediate hosts from three hydropower reservoirs: Hoa Binh, Son La, and Thac Ba. In total, 25,299 snails representing 16 species were examined, with 959 individuals (8 species) shedding identifiable cercariae. Infection prevalence was highest in thiarid snails (5.4%-15.4%), followed by bithynid snails (2.9%-5.8%). Other snail species showed infection prevalence ranging from 0.3% to 2.9%. Infection prevalence varied significantly across regions, with the highest prevalence in Son La, followed by Hoa Binh and Thac Ba reservoirs. However, no significant differences were observed between snails collected from reservoirs versus canals and paddy fields. Morphological identification resulted in nine cercarial morphotypes, with pleurolophocercaria, xiphidiocercariae, and echinostome being the most common types, accounting for 89.2% of all cercarial infections. Echinostome cercariae were found in seven snail species, while the other cercarial morphotypes were shed by two to five species. Gabbia fuchsiana, Parafossarulus manchouricus, and Melanoides tuberculata were the most common hosts, each harboring five cercarial morphotypes, while Radix auricularia only released echinostome type. In conclusion, our findings highlight the endemic presence of trematodes in hydropower reservoirs and emphasize the need to consider the human-environment interaction around these reservoirs for a better understanding of disease transmission risks. </p

Transperineal and endovaginal ultrasound for evaluating suburethral masses: comparison with magnetic resonance imaging

Objective To evaluate the utility of pelvic floor ultrasound (US) in the detection and evaluation of suburethral masses, using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as the reference standard. Methods This was a retrospective analysis of US and MRI scans of all women with a suburethral mass on clinical examination at a single urogynecology clinic over a 13-year period (February 2007 to March 2020). All women were examined using two-dimensional transperineal US (2D-TPUS) with or without three-dimensional endovaginal US (3D-EVUS). All patients underwent unenhanced T1-weighted and T2-weighted MRI, which was considered the reference standard in this study. Presence of a suburethral mass and its size, location, connection with the urethral lumen and characteristics were evaluated on both pelvic floor US and MRI. Agreement between pelvic floor US and MRI was assessed using intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC; 3,1). Results Forty women suspected of having a suburethral mass on clinical examination underwent both MRI and US (2D-TPUS with or without 3D-EVUS). MRI detected a suburethral mass in 34 women, which was also detected by US. However, US also identified a suburethral mass in the remaining six women. Thus, the agreement between US and MRI for detecting a suburethral mass was 85% (95% CI, 70.2–94.3%). The ICC analysis showed good agreement between MRI and 2D-TPUS for the measured distance between the suburethral mass and the bladder neck (ICC, 0.89; standard error of measurement (SEM), 3.64 mm) and excellent agreement for measurement of the largest diameter of the mass (ICC, 0.93; SEM, 4.31 mm). Good agreement was observed between MRI and 3D-EVUS for the measured distance from the suburethral mass to the bladder neck (ICC, 0.88; SEM, 3.48 mm) and excellent agreement for the largest diameter of the suburethral mass (ICC, 0.94; SEM, 4.68 mm). Conclusions 2D-TPUS and 3D-EVUS are useful in the imaging of suburethral masses. US shows good-to-excellent agreement with MRI in identifying and measuring suburethral masses; therefore, the two modalities can be used interchangeably depending on availability of equipment and expertise