Methodologies and tools for OSS: current state of the practice

Over the years, the Open Source Software (OSS) development has matured and strengthened, building on some established methodologies and tools. An understanding of the current state of the practice, however, is still lacking. This paper presents the results of a survey of the OSS developer community with a view to gain insight of peer review, testing and release management practices, along with the current tool sets used for testing, debugging and, build and release management. Such an insight is important to appreciate the obstacles to overcome to introduce certification and more rigour into the development process. It is hoped that the results of this survey will initiate a useful discussion and allow the community to identify further process improvement opportunities for producing better quality software

Climatic variability and periodicity for upstream sub-basins of the Yangtze river, China

The headwaters of the Yangtze River are located on the Qinghai Tibetan Plateau, which is affected by climate change. Here, treamflow trends for Tuotuohe and Zhimenda sub-basins and relations to temperature and precipitation trends during 1961–2015 were investigated. The modified Mann–Kendall trend test, Pettitt test, wavelet analysis, and multivariate correlation analysis was deployed for this purpose. The temperature and precipitation significantly increased for each sub-basin, and the temperature increase was more significant in Tuotuohe sub-basin as compared to the Zhimenda sub-basin. A statistically significant periodicity of 2–4 years was observed for both sub-basins in different time spans. Higher flow periodicities for Tuotuohe and Zhimenda sub-basin were found after 1991 and 2004, respectively, which indicates that these are the change years of trends in streamflows. The influence of temperature on streamflow is more substantial in Tuotuohe sub-basin, which will ultimately impact the melting of glaciers and snowmelt runoff in this sub-basin. Precipitation plays a more critical role in the Zhimenda streamflow. Precipitation and temperature changes in the headwaters of the Yangtze River will change the streamflow variability, which will ultimately impact the hydropower supply and water resources of the Yangtze Basin. This study contributes to the understanding of the dynamics of the hydrological cycle and may lead to better hydrologic system modeling for downstream water resource developments

A Detailed Cloud Fraction Climatology of the Upper Indus Basin and Its Implications for Near-Surface Air Temperature*

implications for near surface air temperature. Journal of Climate 2015, 28(9)

Cancer Patterns in Karachi Division (1998-1999)

Objective: A minimal cancer incidence data for Karachi, the largest city of Pakistan, is being presented here, for the years 1998-1999. The city has a population of 9,802,134; males 5,261,712 (52.6%) and females 4,540,422 (47.4%); census 19981. Methodology: A predominantly mixed (passive and active) registration system has evolved in Karachi, the data sources being the hospitals within the Karachi Division. The reported/retrieved cancer data sets at the Karachi Cancer Registry are checked, coded, computerised in an analytical format and analysed. Results: The incident cancer cases registered in Karachi, during the 2-year period, 1st January 1998 to 31st December 1999 were analysed. The age-standardised incidence rate (ASR) of cancer, all sites was 132.4/100,000 for the males. Cancer of the lung 10.8%; ASR 17.3 was the most frequently recorded malignancy, followed by oral cavity 10.5%; ASR 13.2 and larynx 5.0%; ASR 7.4. The age-standardised incidence rate (ASR) of cancer, all sites was 133.0/100,000 in the females. Cancer of the breast, 32.0%; ASR 40.7 was the most frequently recorded malignancy, followed by oral cavity 8.1%; ASR 11.7 and gall bladder 3.6%; ASR 5.5. Conclusion: The present data has been calculated with an estimated 15-20% probable under ascertainment. Tobacco-associated cancers in Karachi were responsible for 38.3% of the tumours diagnosed amongst the males. Two principal cancers, breast and oral cavity were responsible for 40.1% of the cancers in females. A rare finding was the high incidence of gall bladder cancer in the females. At present it is difficult to determine whether this indicates a genuine high risk or a selection bias. A continuous process of cancer registration to study the trends in the incidence and an adequate cancer control program are possible and essential for Pakistan and can be based on the pattern being practiced in Karachi

COMPARATIVE PRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE OF BEETAL GOATS IN ANNUAL AND ACCELERATED SYSTEM

ABSTRACT Fifty adult Beetal goats were divided into two groups viz. accelerated kidding and annual kidding having 25 animals each. Each group was further divided into 5 sub-groups, 5 animals in each and considered as replicate. The accelerated kidding group produced three crops where as the annual breeding group produced two crops. Birth weight of kids produced in three different seasons of March-April, 2010; October-November, 2010 and June-July, 2011 were as 2.85±0.13, 3.32±0.40 and 3.29±0.31 kg as compared to kid crop produced in annual kidding system showing birth weight as 3.09±0.16 kg and 3.08±0.16 kg, respectively. The average body weight at 3 months of age of first, second and third kid crop in accelerated kidding system was noticed as 12.72±2.29, 11.31±0.98 and 11.44±1.60 kg, respectively as compared to 11.82 and 11.81 kg in annual kidding system. In order to minimize the gap of animal protein in human food, strategies like accelerated kidding may be adopted which might satisfy nutritional demands. The growth rate at 3 months age of two kid crops of annual and three kid crops of accelerated systems were observed as 97.00±2

Primary Dural Repair in Minimally Invasive Spine Surgery

We describe an effective surgical technique in primary repair of the spinal dura during minimally invasive spine surgery (MISS). Objective. Minimally invasive spine surgery includes the treatment of intradural lesions, and proper closure of the dura is necessary. However, primary dural closure can be difficult due to the restricted space of MIS retractors and the availability of appropriate surgical instrumentation. Methods. We describe the use of a needle already used in the pediatric neurosurgical arena that can facilitate easier and safer closure of spinal dura through MISS retractors in two illustrative intradural cases. Results and Discussion. The primary dural closure technique is described and patient demographics are included. The instruments specifically used for the intradural closure through MIS retractor systems include (1) 4-0 Surgilon braided nylon (Covidien, Dublin, Ireland) with a CV-20 taper 1/2 circle, 10 mm diameter needle; (2) Scanlan (Saint Paul, MN, USA) dura closure set. Conclusion. Successful primary dural repair can be performed on primary and incidental durotomies during minimally invasive spinal surgery. We describe the novel use of a 10 mm diameter needle to help surgeons safely and efficiently close the dura with more ease than previously described

Seismic microzonation for Muscat region, Sultanate of Oman

Site characterization was carried out for Muscat region using the ambient noise measurements applying the horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratio (HVSR) technique and using active seismic survey utilizing the multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) of survey data. Microtremors measurements were carried out at 459 sites using short-period sensors. This extensive survey allowed the fundamental resonance frequency of the soft soil to be mapped and areas prone to site amplification to be identified. The results indicate a progressive decrease in the fundamental resonance frequencies from the southern and eastern parts, where the bedrock outcrops, toward the northern coast where a thickness of sedimentary cover is present. Shear wave velocity (Vs) was evaluated using the 2-D MASW at carefully selected 99 representative sites in Muscat. These 99 sites were investigated with survey lines of 52 m length. 1-D and interpolated 2-D profiles were generated up to a depth range 20–40 m. The vertical Vs soundings were used in the SHAKE91 software in combination with suitable seismic input strong motion records to obtain the soil effect. Most of the study area has amplification values less than 2.0 for all the considered spectral periods. The estimated fundamental frequencies obtained using the H/V spectral ratio method and using SHAKE91 are found to be in a relatively good agreement. Maps of spectral amplification, earthquake characteristics on the ground surface for peak ground and spectral accelerations at 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 1.0, and 2.0 s, for 475 years return period are produced. The surface ground motion maps show that the hazard level is moderate with expected PGA in the range 0.059–0.145 g for 475 years return period.Oman Ministerial Cabinet (project # 22409017