Sunderland Software City: The Impact of a Collaborative Project to Develop the Software Industry within the North East of England

This paper uses a case study approach to evaluate the impact of a collaborative initiative within the North East of England which sets out to grow and sustain a software industry, based on the strengths of regional players. The project Sunderland Software City has the ambitious aim of developing the people, the infrastructure and the business and enterprise culture to create and sustain a software industry. This paper focuses upon the impact of the project, and presents some lessons learned to date

Surface scattering properties estimated from modeling airborne multiple emission angle reflectance data

Here, researchers apply the Hapke function to airborne bidirectional reflectance data collected over three terrestrial surfaces. The objectives of the study were to test the range of natural surfaces that the Hapke model fits and to evaluate model parameters in terms of known surface properties. The data used are multispectral and multiple emission angle data collected during the Geologic Remote Sensing Field Experiment (GRSFE) over a mud-cracked playa, an artificially roughened playa, and a basalt cobble strewn playa at Lunar Lake Playa in Nevada. Airborne remote sensing data and associated field measurements were acquired at the same time. The airborne data were acquired by the Advanced Solid State Array Spectroradiometer (ASAS) instrument, a 29-spectral band imaging system. ASAS reflectance data for a cobble-strewn surface and an artificially rough playa surface on Lunar Lake Playa can be explained with the Hanke model. The cobble and rough playa sites are distinguishable by a single scattering albedo, which is controlled by material composition; by the roughness parameter, which appears to be controlled by the surface texture and particle size; and the symmetry factor of the single particle phase function, which is controlled by particle size and shape. A smooth playa surface consisting of compacted, fine-grained particles has reflectance variations that are also distinct from either the cobble site or rough playa site. The smooth playa appears to behave more like a Lambertian surface that cannot be modeled with the Hapke function

Identifying dynamical modules from genetic regulatory systems: applications to the segment polarity network

BACKGROUND It is widely accepted that genetic regulatory systems are 'modular', in that the whole system is made up of smaller 'subsystems' corresponding to specific biological functions. Most attempts to identify modules in genetic regulatory systems have relied on the topology of the underlying network. However, it is the temporal activity (dynamics) of genes and proteins that corresponds to biological functions, and hence it is dynamics that we focus on here for identifying subsystems. RESULTS Using Boolean network models as an exemplar, we present a new technique to identify subsystems, based on their dynamical properties. The main part of the method depends only on the stable dynamics (attractors) of the system, thus requiring no prior knowledge of the underlying network. However, knowledge of the logical relationships between the network components can be used to describe how each subsystem is regulated. To demonstrate its applicability to genetic regulatory systems, we apply the method to a model of the Drosophila segment polarity network, providing a detailed breakdown of the system. CONCLUSION We have designed a technique for decomposing any set of discrete-state, discrete-time attractors into subsystems. Having a suitable mathematical model also allows us to describe how each subsystem is regulated and how robust each subsystem is against perturbations. However, since the subsystems are found directly from the attractors, a mathematical model or underlying network topology is not necessarily required to identify them, potentially allowing the method to be applied directly to experimental expression data

Landsat Science: 40 Years of Innovation and Opportunity

Landsat satellites have provided unparalleled Earth-observing data for nearly 40 years, allowing scientists to describe, monitor and model the global environment during a period of time that has seen dramatic changes in population growth, land use, and climate. The success of the Landsat program can be attributed to well-designed instrument specifications, astute engineering, comprehensive global acquisition and calibration strategies, and innovative scientists who have developed analytical techniques and applications to address a wide range of needs at local to global scales (e.g., crop production, water resource management, human health and environmental quality, urbanization, deforestation and biodiversity). Early Landsat contributions included inventories of natural resources and land cover classification maps, which were initially prepared by a visual interpretation of Landsat imagery. Over time, advances in computer technology facilitated the development of sophisticated image processing algorithms and complex ecosystem modeling, enabling scientists to create accurate, reproducible, and more realistic simulations of biogeochemical processes (e.g., plant production and ecosystem dynamics). Today, the Landsat data archive is freely available for download through the USGS, creating new opportunities for scientists to generate global image datasets, develop new change detection algorithms, and provide products in support of operational programs such as Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries (REDD). In particular, the use of dense (approximately annual) time series to characterize both rapid and progressive landscape change has yielded new insights into how the land environment is responding to anthropogenic and natural pressures. The launch of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission (LDCM) satellite in 2012 will continue to propel innovative Landsat science

Climate Variability and Local Environmental Stressors Influencing Migration in Nang Rong, Thailand

Scholars point to climate change, often in the form of more frequent and severe drought, as a potential driver of migration in the developing world, particularly in populations that rely on agriculture for their livelihoods. To date, however, there have been few large-scale, longitudinal studies that explore the relationship between climate change and migration. This study significantly extends current scholarship by evaluating distinctive effects of slow onset climate change and short-term extreme events upon different migration outcomes. Our analysis models the effect of the environment--as measured by Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and the occurrence of El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) events—on migration out of Nang Rong. Our preliminary findings indicate that predominantly dry El Niño periods of 24 months duration lead to outmigration, while predominantly wetter La Niña periods of 12-month duration reduce outmigration. Clustered monthly patterns of annual NDVI fluctuation indicate that villagers living in pixels that exhibit early, consistently higher, and steep rising green-up are less likely to migrate out in the subsequent year

Remote Sensing of Soils for Environmental Assessment and Management.

The next generation of imaging systems integrated with complex analytical methods will revolutionize the way we inventory and manage soil resources across a wide range of scientific disciplines and application domains. This special issue highlights those systems and methods for the direct benefit of environmental professionals and students who employ imaging and geospatial information for improved understanding, management, and monitoring of soil resources

A systematic review on the effects of group singing on persistent pain in people with long‐term health conditions

Singing can have a range of health benefits; this paper reviews the evidence of the effects of group singing for chronic pain in people with long‐term health conditions. We searched for published peer‐reviewed singing studies reporting pain measures (intensity, interference and depression) using major electronic databases (last search date 31 July 2018). After screening 123 full texts, 13 studies met the inclusion criteria: five randomized controlled trials (RCTs), seven non‐RCTs and one qualitative study. Included studies were appraised using Downs and Black and the Critical Appraisals Skills Programme quality assessments. Included studies reported differences in the type of singing intervention, long‐term condition and pain measures. Due to the high heterogeneity, we conducted a narrative review. Singing interventions were found to reduce pain intensity in most studies, but there was more equivocal support for reducing pain interference and depression. Additionally, qualitative data synthesis identified three key linked and complementary themes: physical, psychological and social benefits. Group singing appears to have the potential to reduce pain intensity, pain interference and depression; however, we conclude that there is only partial support for singing on some pain outcomes based on the limited available evidence of varied quality. Given the positive findings of qualitative studies, this review recommends that practitioners are encouraged to continue this work. More studies of better quality are needed. Future studies should adopt more robust methodology and report their singing intervention in details. Group singing may be an effective and safe approach for reducing persistent pain and depression in people with long‐term health conditions.Health and Social Care Research Centr

Electromagnetic Pulse Sounding for Surveying Underground Water

This project supported in part by the Office of Water Resources Research U. S. Department of the Interior Washington, D. C. under Project B-028-OHIOA number of approaches have been explored for measuring the water content of soil electrically. In contrast with traditional measurements, which utilize electric currents at DC or at specific frequencies, our techniques have been based on the transmission and reflection of sharp, regularly repeated pulses. Such pulse measurements can be shown to be equivalent to measuring the electrical properties at all frequencies in a very wide band, and therefore the possibility of extracting the desired information is much greater than with single-frequency measurements. Because the information content of the signal is great, data processing can be used to extract those features which relate most directly to moisture content and reject those which appear to depend more on soil inhomogenieties. For example, it was found that the attenuation in the frequency band of approximately 10 to 20 MHz had a much higher correlation with soil moisture than that in other frequency bands for the actual field conditions under which our measurements were made. This information content increase is obtained by means of sophisticated research equipment. The measurements reported herein were made and processed under real-time computer control. They include the signal scattered from known buried targets, transmission measurements through the ground, and the measurement of reflections in a coaxial test cell, all with pulses containing very wide frequency bands. The results are encouraging in that definite correlations with moisture were found. Unfortunately the one-year time limitation of this effort, much of it spent in instrumentation development, was insufficient to allow testing these correlations quantitatively over extended time periods or in a variety of locations. Thus the techniques must be evaluated at present as promising, but not fully proven. It should be noted that, while the research system to obtain this information is complex, field equipment based on these techniques need not be unduly complicated or expensive. Once the features relating to moisture content under the greatest variety of field conditions are identified, means for extracting this information more simply should be devised. This is proposed as the objective for continuation of this effort.Summary -- Introduction -- 1. The Measuring System -- 2. Data Processing -- 3. Underground Moisture Content Monitoring by Measurement of Buried Target Signatures -- 4. Sampled Moisture Conditions -- 5. Underground Propagation Experiment -- 6. Reflection Measurements on Soil Samples in a Vertical Coaxial Test Cell -- 7. Propagation Calculations -- Conclusions -- Recommendations -- References -- Appendix I - Transmission Measurements using a Buried Antenn