Test Derivation from Timed Automata

A real-time system is a discrete system whose state changes occur in real-numbered time [AH97]. For testing real-time systems, specification languages must be extended with constructs for expressing real-time constraints, the implementation relation must be generalized to consider the temporal dimension, and the data structures and algorithms used to generate tests must be revised to operate on a potentially infinite set of states

Chorography: history, theory and potential for archaeological research

Chorography is a little-known field of theory and practice concerned with the significance of place, regional description/characterization, local history, and representation. A well-established discipline and methodology with demonstrable roots in antiquity and an important role in the development of antiquarian research, regional studies and the establishment of modern archaeology, chorography is useful for understanding the history of scholarship and may continue to provide sound theoretical principles and practical methods for new explorations of archaeological monuments and landscapes. This paper discusses the historical uses of chorography, beginning with practitioners from classical antiquity but emphasizing the uniquely British chorographic tradition of the sixteenth through eighteenth centuries. Attention is also given to more recent efforts at exploring this tradition by literary scholars, historiographers and archaeological theorists. Careful analysis of works of—and about—chorography allows for the explication of key theoretical principles and practical methods, which are presented and elaborated upon. It is argued that chorography offers a coherent, viable and valuable approach to evaluating the long-term significance of landscapes, monuments and regions, crossing conventional disciplinary divides and connecting past and present. The paper concludes with some thoughts on the benefits of chorography for contemporary research and its potential role in modern archaeology

The Efficacy of Magnetis Polus Australis 7CH and 30CH in the treatment of Onychocryptosis of the Hallux

Onychocryptosis (ingrown nails) is the most common of pedal foot maladies seen by podiatrists (Armstrong et al., 2000) and makes up 3-5% of all foot problems. This condition is characterized by the nail plate growing into and cutting the lateral nail fold. Symptoms include erythema (redness) of the lateral nail fold, oedema (swelling) of the lateral nail fold and tenderness to pressure (Zuber, 2002). Within the Materia Medica, the homoeopathic remedy Magnetis Polus Australis is indicated for the treatment of the symptom of “ingrowing toenail” (Vermeulen, 1997). Although used for nearly 200 years, no research has been conducted to verify this claim. The study aimed at determining whether Magnetis Polus Australis in the 7th and 30th centesimal potencies is effective in treating the symptoms of onychocryptosis of the hallux such as pain, tenderness to pressure, oedema and erythema. The study, a double-blind placebo study, involved thirty participants. The placebo group included ten participants and the experimental group included twenty participants, ten of which received the 7CH and the other ten received the 30CH. Each group took the homoeopathic or placebo medication orally twice daily for a period of three weeks. The participants were followed-up with an assessment questionnaire every two weeks for a one month period. At the end of the research period these questionnaires with the data were collected and statistically analyzed using chi-squared tests. The study indicated that Magnetis Polus Australis has a positive effect in the treatment of onychocryptosis of the hallux and has demonstrated effectiveness in reducing inflammation associated with it. Overall the 30th centesimal potency shows the highest percentage of improvement in the symptoms of onychocryptosis, though the percentages between the two experimental groups were very close. Further research using a larger research sample group is required to confirm these initial findings.Dr. E.M. Solomon Mr. B. Zipfe

The Landscape of FDI Flows

Over the last forty years, the world has experienced a rapid rise in the level and significant shift in the composition of recipients of foreign direct investment (FDI) flows. Researching FDI is critical because of the increasingly important role it has in the global economy and the many potential benefits it provides investors and host countries. This paper will examine the past, current, and future state of FDI flows. An aggregate inflows dataset as well as a specific pair flows dataset will be analyzed to gain a better understanding of the drivers of FDI. The aggregate flows dataset contains data on FDI inflows and the potential determinants of market potential, stability, information, infrastructure, natural resources, and international trade for 229 countries from 1970-2010. The specific pair flows dataset contains data on the total level of FDI a parent country has in a host country and potential determinants of a gravity model, skilled labor differences, and cultural proximity variables for the years 2000 and 2004. Through the use of fixed effects panel and first differenced estimation techniques on the aggregate flows dataset market potential, information, natural resources, and the occurrence of an attempted coup are found to be positive and significant determinants of FDI. Using OLS estimation techniques for the specific pair flows dataset, a gravity model and cultural proximity are found to be positive and significant determinants of FDI, while skilled labor differences are found to have a negative and significant impact on FDI flows. This paper reinforces the previously researched importance of market potential, information, natural resources, the gravity model, and cultural proximity. For the most part, the impact of stability, international trade, and skilled labor differences on FDI is not clearly seen. The most interesting finding in the paper is the positive and significant sign on the attempted coup variable, which appears to be showing investors regaining confidence in the government in power after they witness an attempted coup fail. This research sheds further light on global patterns of FDI flows, but it is only the first step of many that need to be taken

Working Mothers Navigate Identity & Authenticity During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Interviews with working mothers juggling professional and personal overlap during the COVID 19 pandemic show that the existing social and institutional challenges and the gendered burdens that working mothers bore before the pandemic, have intensified during the work-from-home environment. Women interviewed shared stories about working policies, organizational trust, burdens of childcare and housework and their wish for a more authentic merging of their work and mothering identities

Pokefind: a novel topological filter for use with protein structure prediction

Motivation: Our focus has been on detecting topological properties that are rare in real proteins, but occur more frequently in models generated by protein structure prediction methods such as Rosetta. We previously created the Knotfind algorithm, successfully decreasing the frequency of knotted Rosetta models during CASP6. We observed an additional class of knot-like loops that appeared to be equally un-protein-like and yet do not contain a mathematical knot. These topological features are commonly referred to as slip-knots and are caused by the same mechanisms that result in knotted models. Slip-knots are undetectable by the original Knotfind algorithm. We have generalized our algorithm to detect them, and analyzed CASP6 models built using the Rosetta loop modeling method

More than a Roman Monument: A Place-centred Approach to the Long-term History and Archaeology of the Antonine Wall

This thesis offers a critique of currently dominant approaches to the history and archaeology of the Antonine Wall, and develops an expanded place-centred perspective in which this former Roman frontier is reinvested with wider significances that derive from both its Roman past as well as its post-Roman history and archaeology. Part 1 provides a general introduction to the Antonine Wall following the traditional perspective, and draws on interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological developments to outline how this traditional perspective will be challenged through reframing the Wall as a place rather than an artefact or monument. Part 2 offers a critical genealogy of Antonine Wall discourse from the earliest accounts until the present, tracing the development of current reductionist approaches and demonstrating that the Wall has been the focus of wider concerns in the past. Part 3 focuses on particular aspects of the Antonine Wall’s post-Roman archaeology and the Wall’s role in regional myths and legends to explore alternative themes for future research and wider significances that can be integrated into new understandings of the Antonine Wall’s meaning, significance, and value as a place of memory, meaning, and cultural heritage in the present