Lithological and geochemical dispersal in till: McAdam area, New Brunswick

Analyses of dispersal patterns for till clasts and matrix geochemistry in the McAdam area, southwestern New Brunswick, are used to define the dominant glacial transport direction in an area of ice-flow complexity, as indicated by multiple and differing striae directions. Dispersal and erosional data indicate that the main (regional) southeastward flow direction was preceded and followed by secondary deviations, due to local influences of topography and substrate and possibly also from changes within the ice mass or surrounding glaciers. Clast trains are traceable from known outcrops, southward over distances greater than 16 km, whereas distinctive geochemical trains are lost within 10 km of transport, due to homogenization of the till matrix. These results demonstrate that for drift prospecting, transport path and source unit are more clearly delineated by shape and size of till clasts and matrix dispersal patterns, than by analysis of directional indicators caused by glacial erosion. RÉSUMÉ On a recours à des analyses des modes de dispersion des clastes du till et de la géochimie de la matrice dans le secteur de McAdam, dans le sud-est du Nouveau-Brunswick, pour défiinir la direction du transport glaciaire dominant à l’intérieur d'un secteur caractérisé par la complexity de l'écoulemcnt glaciaire, comme en témoignent les directions multiples et différentes des rayures. Les données relatives à la dispersion et à l'érosion révèlant que la principale direction (régionale) de l'écoulcment, l'écoulement vers le sud-est, a été précédée et suivie de déviations secondares en raison des influences locales de la topographie et du substrat, ainsi que possiblement de changements survenus à l'intérieur de l'amas de glaces ou des glaciers environnants. On peut retracer les parcours des clastes à partir d'affleurements connus sur des distances de plus de 16 km vers le sud, alors qu'on pcrd des tracées géochimiques distinctifs à moins de 10 km de transport à cause de l'homogénéisation de la matrice du till. Ces résultats démontrent qu'en matère de prospection glacio-sédimentaire, on délimite plus nettement le trajet du transport et l'unité d'origine par la forme et la dimension des clastes du till et par les modes de dispersion de la matrice que par l'analyse des indicateurs de direction laissés par l'érosion glaciaire. [Traduit par la rédaction

Study of the Reliability of Statistical Timing Analysis for Real-Time Systems

Presented at 23rd International Conference on Real-Time Networks and Systems (RTNS 2015). 4 to 6, Nov, 2015, Main Track. Lille, France.Probabilistic and statistical temporal analyses have been developedas a means of determining the worst-case execution and responsetimes of real-time software for decades. A number of such methodshave been proposed in the literature, of which the majority claim tobe able to provide worst-case timing scenarios with respect to agiven likelihood of a certain value being exceeded. Further, suchclaims are based on either some estimates associated with a probability,or probability distributions with a certain level of confidence.However, the validity of the claims are very much dependent on anumber of factors, such as the achieved samples and the adopteddistributions for analysis.In this paper, we investigate whether the claims made are in facttrue as well as the establishing an understanding of the factors thataffect the validity of these claims. The results are of importancefor two reasons: to allow researchers to examine whether there areimportant issues that mean their techniques need to be refined; andso that practitioners, including industrialists who are currently usingcommercial timing analysis tools based on these types of techniques,understand how the techniques should be used to ensure theresults are fit for their purposes

Glacial Stratigraphy of the Bulkley River Region: A Depositional Framework for the Late Pleistocene in Central British Columbia

A depositional framework for late Pleistocene sediments in central British Columbia was developed from the composite stratigraphy of glacial sediments found in the Bulkley River region. Nonglacial deposits correlated to the Olympia Nonglacial Interval, are overlain in succession by sub-till, ice-advance sediments, Late Wisconsinan (Fraser Glaciation) till, and late-glacial sediments. Due to local erosion and depositional variability, some of the units are not continuous throughout the region and differ locally in their thickness and complexity. At the onset of the Fraser Glaciation, ice advance was marked by rising base levels in rivers, lake ponding, and ice marginal subaqueous deposition. Physiography and glacier dynamics influenced the position of drainage outlets, direction of water flow, and ponding. The region was completely ice covered during this glaciation and ice-flow directions were variable, being dominantly influenced by the migrating position of ice divides. Deglaciation was marked by the widespread deposition of fine-grained sediments in proglacial lakes and glaciofluvial sands and gravels at locations with unrestricted drainage.Un scénario de sédimentation datant du Pléistocène tardif est élaboré à partir de la stratigraphie glaciaire observée dans la région de la rivière Bulkley. Les dépôts non-glaciaires attribués à l’interstade d’Olympia sont surmontés d’un till d’une avancée glaciaire, d’un till datant du Wisconsinien supérieur (glaciation du Fraser) et de sédiments tardiglaciaires. Plusieurs unités ne sont pas continues dans la région et diffèrent par leur épaisseur et leur complexité, en raison de l’érosion locale et des taux de sédimentation variables. Au début de la glaciation du Fraser, l’avancée des glaces fut accompagnée d’une augmentation du niveau de base des rivières, la création d’étangs et d’une sédimentation près des marges glaciaires. La physiographie et la dynamique glaciaire influence l’emplacement des exutoires de drainage, la direction de l’écoulement des eaux et la création des bassins. La région fut alors entièrement couverte de glace et les directions d’écoulement glaciaire, très variables, furent fortement contrôlées par la migration des lignes de partage glaciaires. La déglaciation se caractérise par la sédimentation de sédiments fins dans les lacs proglaciaires, et des sables et des graviers fluvioglaciaires dans les zones de drainage libres

Herbicide resistance survey results of the Northern cropping region

Take home message • Glyphosate resistant weeds are present in the northern region. Glyphosate failed to control all of the fleabane populations tested. Glyphosate resistance was also prevalent in feathertop Rhodes grass, windmill grass and awnless barnyard grass, with resistance detected in 68%, 58% and 36% of populations, respectively. Only 14% of sowthistle populations were resistant to glyphosate • Evolved herbicide resistance to haloxyfop was also detected in feathertop Rhodes grass, albeit at a low frequency • Other herbicides such as 2,4-D amine, propaquizafop and clethodim provided good control of the broadleaf and grass weeds tested • Farmers and agronomists should incorporate non-chemical weed management tactics to ensure sustainability of current herbicides • These survey results provide a first glimpse into the state of herbicide resistance in key crop weeds for Queensland and the Northern region

Dynamic software randomisation: Lessons learnec from an aerospace case study

Timing Validation and Verification (V&V) is an important step in real-time system design, in which a system's timing behaviour is assessed via Worst Case Execution Time (WCET) estimation and scheduling analysis. For WCET estimation, measurement-based timing analysis (MBTA) techniques are widely-used and well-established in industrial environments. However, the advent of complex processors makes it more difficult for the user to provide evidence that the software is tested under stress conditions representative of those at system operation. Measurement-Based Probabilistic Timing Analysis (MBPTA) is a variant of MBTA followed by the PROXIMA European Project that facilitates formulating this representativeness argument. MBPTA requires certain properties to be applicable, which can be obtained by selectively injecting randomisation in platform's timing behaviour via hardware or software means. In this paper, we assess the effectiveness of the PROXIMA's dynamic software randomisation (DSR) with a space industrial case study executed on a real unmodified hardware platform and an industrial operating system. We present the challenges faced in its development, in order to achieve MBPTA compliance and the lessons learned from this process. Our results, obtained using a commercial timing analysis tool, indicate that DSR does not impact the average performance of the application, while it enables the use of MBPTA. This results in tighter pWCET estimates compared to current industrial practice.The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s FP7 [FP7/2007-2013] under the PROXIMA Project (www.proxima-project.eu), grant agreement no 611085. This work has also been partially supported by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation under grant TIN2015-65316-P and the HiPEAC Network of Excellence. Jaume Abella has been partially supported by the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness under Ramon y Cajal postdoctoral fellowship number RYC-2013-14717.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Temperament, age and weather predict social interaction in the sheep flock

The aim of the current study was to investigate the social relationships between individual sheep, and factors that influence this, through the novel application of the statistical multiple membership multiple classification (MMMC) model. In study one 49 ewes (ranging between 1 and 8 years old) were fitted with data loggers, which recorded when pairs of sheep were within 4 m or less of each other, within a social group, for a total of 6 days. In study two proximity data were collected from 45 ewes over 17 days, as were measures of ewe temperament, weight and weather. In study 1 age difference significantly influenced daily contact time, with sheep of the same age spending an average of 20 min 43 s together per day, whereas pairs with the greatest difference in age spent 16 min 33 s together. Maximum daily temperature also significantly affected contact time, being longer on hotter days (34 min 40 s hottest day vs. 18 min 17 s coolest day), as did precipitation (29 min 33 s wettest day vs. 10 min 32 s no rain). Vocalisation in isolation, as a measure of temperament, also affected contacts, with sheep with the same frequency of vocalisations spending more time together (27 min 16 s) than those with the greatest difference in vocalisations (19 min 36 s). Sheep behaviour in the isolation box test (IBT) was also correlated over time, but vocalisations and movement were not correlated. Influences of age, temperature and rain on social contact are all well-established and so indicate that MMMC modelling is a useful way to analyse social structures of the flock. While it has been demonstrated that personality factors affect social relationships in non-human animals, the finding that vocalisation in isolation influences pair social contact in sheep is a novel one

Fate and transport of volatile organic compounds in glacial till and groundwater at an industrial site in Northern Ireland

Volatile organic compound (VOC) contamination of subsurface geological material and groundwater was discovered on the Nortel Monkstown industrial site, Belfast, Northern Ireland. The objectives of this study were to (1) investigate the characteristics of the geological material and its influences on contaminated groundwater flow across the site using borehole logs and hydrological evaluations, and (2) identify the contaminants and examine their distribution in the subsurface geological material and groundwater using chemical analysis. This report focuses on the eastern car park (ECP) which was a former storage area associated with trichloroethene (TCE) degreasing operations. This is where the greatest amount of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particularly TCE, were detected. The study site is on a complex deposit of clayey glacial till with discontinuous coarser grained lenses, mainly silts, sands and gravel, which occur at 0.45-7.82 m below ground level (bgl). The lenses overall form an elongated formation that acts as a small unconfined shallow aquifer. There is a continuous low permeable stiff clayey till layer beneath the lenses that performs as an aquitard to the groundwater. Highest concentrations of VOCs, mainly TCE, in the geological material and groundwater are in these coarser lenses at similar to 4.5-7 m bgl. Highest TCE measurements at 390,000 mu g L-1 for groundwater and at 39,000 mu g kg(-1) at 5.7 m for geological material were in borehole GA19 in the coarse lens zone. It is assumed that TCE gained entrance to the subsurface near this borehole where the clayey till was thin to absent above coarse lenses which provided little retardation to the vertical migration of this dense non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) into the groundwater. However, TCE is present in low concentrations in the geological material overlying the coarse lens zone. Additionally, VOCs appear to be associated with poorly drained layers and in peat < 3.0 m bgl in the ECP. Some indication of natural attenuation as VOCs degradation products vinyl chloride (VC) and dichloromethane (DCM) also occur on the site

A two-year participatory intervention project with owners to reduce lameness and limb abnormalities in working horses in Jaipur, India

Participatory methods are increasingly used in international human development, but scientific evaluation of their efficacy versus a control group is rare. Working horses support families in impoverished communities. Lameness and limb abnormalities are highly prevalent in these animals and a cause for welfare concern. We aimed to stimulate and evaluate improvements in lameness and limb abnormalities in horses whose owners took part in a 2-year participatory intervention project to reduce lameness (PI) versus a control group (C) in Jaipur, India.In total, 439 owners of 862 horses participated in the study. PI group owners from 21 communities were encouraged to meet regularly to discuss management and work practices influencing lameness and poor welfare and to track their own progress in improving these. Lameness examinations (41 parameters) were conducted at the start of the study (Baseline), and after 1 year and 2 years. Results were compared with control horses from a further 21 communities outside the intervention. Of the 149 horses assessed on all three occasions, PI horses showed significantly (P<0.05) greater improvement than C horses in 20 parameters, most notably overall lameness score, measures of sole pain and range of movement on limb flexion. Control horses showed slight but significantly greater improvements in four parameters, including frog quality in fore and hindlimbs.This participatory intervention succeeded in improving lameness and some limb abnormalities in working horses, by encouraging changes in management and work practices which were feasible within owners’ socioeconomic and environmental constraints. Demonstration of the potentially sustainable improvements achieved here should encourage further development of participatory intervention approaches to benefit humans and animals in other contexts