True Root Research Articles

"Taken for 'white'": Passing in Charles W. Chesnutt's Short Stories

"Taken for 'white'":Passing in Charles W. Chesnutt's Short Stories Izabela Hopkins "Twice to-day, or oftener I have been taken for 'white,'" wrote the young Charles Waddell Chesnutt in his diary on 31 July 1875 (Journals 78). Chesnutt embodied the paradox of the invisible color line based on custom and tradition. In 1879, long before Plessy v. Ferguson enshrined in law Jim Crow and segregation of space in 1896, removing optics from color classification, Chesnutt observed in his journal that the general consensus among southern blacks was that the prejudice against them was not the direct result of "their color," but rather "their condition in life" (107).1 After all, poor whites did not fare much better, possessing "nothing but the freedom of their malnutrition," as Ellen Glasgow, a Virginian by birth and a novelist, once remarked (Woman Within 52). Chesnutt understood clearly that color was a mere pretext and that the true root of race prejudice lay in the assumptions based on a historically and culturally cultivated and disseminated image of black people, an image of predetermined inferiority that was gradually implemented and first used to justify slavery, and later to block access to [End Page 37] advancement and opportunity.2 Chesnutt's precarious positioning between two polarities, visible whiteness and an abstract legacy of blackness, feeds directly into his delineations of passing and stems from the particular historical and cultural moment in which he writes. He saw passing as both a corollary of slavery and an antiquated system of values prevalent in the South that placed blood, birth, and wealth above individual merit. More so than James Weldon Johnson in his Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, first published in 1912, Chesnutt realized the insidious effect of passing as a tool for reifying the social and cultural status quo. If passing pervades Chesnutt's works, it is because the world in which his protagonists dwell is governed by predetermined stereotypes, made to measure molds into which one is born. Since passing reifies the established social and cultural boundaries, it impedes the progress of both races and devalues individual merit because it perpetuates racial stereotypes, the very thing that sets it in motion. Even when Chesnutt crowns passing with success, as in the case of John Walden/Warwick in The House Behind the Cedars, it relies on and perpetuates the well-worn paradigm of a gentleman planter, a status that Warwick acquires through marriage. Chesnutt set out to undermine this deeply ingrained image of the South populated by hereditary gentlemen and ladies, shipped wholesale from good old England, and expose the mythology of the Old South and with it the spurious conviction of white superiority for the sham that they were—empty signifiers devoid of essence for anyone versed in history. He wanted to show what he himself knew all along, that it was not only colored folk who were passing, but that the whites had beaten them to it. "It will be better for the South and for the Negro," wrote Chesnutt in "The White and the Black," "when the white man of the South has obtained his freedom" (143). The enslavement he refers to is the cult of edified past and its constructed gods, trumped-up aristocratic antecedents, which is responsible for and relies on the continuous suppression of black potential to create and sustain the fiction [End Page 38] of white superiority and inherent black inferiority. The one fiction cannot exist without the other, and both result in narratives of passing predicated upon the need for social mobility on the one side and the desire to maintain the status quo on the other. Both drives are mutually exclusive and interdependent. The path to the improvement of the perception of black people and their rising, as Chesnutt saw it, would lead through the desanctification of the bloated notions of blue-blooded aristocrats and white superiority. In a context marred by racial segregation such as the post-Reconstruction South, passing has come to signify crossing the color line and passing for white. More broadly, however, passing denotes duplicity, pretending to be what one is not, crossing social boundaries in the hope that new money may...

Contingencies of Violent Radicalization: The Terror Contagion Simulation

This paper builds confidence in the terror contagion hypothesis that violent radicalization leading to predatory mass violence operates as a system. Within this system, the contingent values of key root causes create channels within which violent ideologies and terrorism emerge. We built a system dynamics simulation model capable of replicating historical reference modes and sophisticated enough to test the contingent values of these propositions. Of 16 propositions, we identified six root-cause propositions that must simultaneously exist, act in concert and explain the dynamics of their interaction which generate a terror contagion. Other propositions can strengthen or weaken an existing contagion but not eliminate it. We use an experiment to demonstrate how changing the contingent values of these propositions creates downward channels. This experiment helps reconcile the swarm vs. fishermen debate over the true root causes of violent radicalization. Within these channels, the contingent values can favor swarm or fishermen manifestations. The simulation and experimentation results enable the future development of the terror contagion hypothesis, provide a testing environment for research on violent radicalization, and provide a pathway to policy development in the combating of terrorism that arises from violent radicalization.

Development of a dynamics-based model for analyzing strategic water–environmental conflicts: systems thinking instead of linear thinking

Abstract A new evolution in graph modeling for conflict resolution (GMCR), a robust methodology for conflict resolution, is presented in this research to incorporate the systems thinking concept into the conventional paradigm of GMCR so that the dynamic nature of water–environmental conflicts can be modeled, and better outcomes obtained. To achieve this objective, a methodology is developed in three phases: static, dynamic, and outcome-based analyses. To develop the methodology, the Tigris–Euphrates basin conflict in the Middle East over the past 30 years, as a real-life case study, is used to show the robustness and capabilities of the proposed approach. Finally, a sustainable resolution to the current conflict is proposed, and the results are discussed. The proposed methodology benefits from improving the existing and often static-based conflict resolution developments by considering the dynamic nature so that the true root causes of complex conflicts are addressed, better strategic insights achieved, and comprehensive resolution provided.

A Digital Approach to Evaluating Tooth Root Position Without Repeated Cone-beam Computed Tomography Scans.

The purpose of this report is to introduce a digital approach to evaluating three-dimensional root position without radiation using virtual tooth model which is composed of intraoral-scanned crown and cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT)-scanned root. Successful treatment depends not only on the formulation of a proper initial diagnosis, but also on an accurate assessment of treatment progress, which should include the monitoring and evaluation of tooth and root movements. Although CBCT allows the visualization of the true root position and angulation in three-dimensions, the obtaining of serial CBCT scans for this purpose is associated with concerns regarding radiation exposure. This report introduces a method for monitoring three-dimensional root position following tooth movement during treatment that does not require repeated CBCT scans. This method uses an individual virtual tooth model composed of intraoral-scanned crowns and CBCT-scanned roots. When an evaluation of root positions is needed during treatment, only additional intraoral scan is needed and is integrated into the tooth model; this allows root positions to be estimated without the need for another CBCT scan. The use of a virtual tooth model can potentially allow clinicians to accurately monitor tooth position in routine clinical practice, without the hazards of increased radiation exposure.

A Hierarchical Approach to Improve the Interpretability of Causality Maps for Plant-Wide Fault Identification

Modern mineral processing plants utilise fault detection and diagnosis to minimise time spent under faulty conditions. However, a fault originating in one plant section (PS) can propagate throughout the entire plant, obscuring its root cause. Causality analysis identifies the cause–effect relationships between process variables and presents them in a causality map to inform root cause identification. This paper presents a novel hierarchical approach for plant-wide causality analysis that decreases the number of nodes in a causality map, improving interpretability and enabling causality analysis as a tool for plant-wide fault diagnosis. Two causality maps are constructed in subsequent stages: first, a dimensionally reduced, plant-wide causality map used to localise the fault to a PS; second, a causality map of the identified PS used to identify the root cause. The hierarchical approach accurately identified the true root cause in a well-understood case study; its plant-wide map consisted of only three nodes compared to 15 nodes in the standard causality map and its transitive reduction. The plant-wide map required less fault-state data, time series in the order of hours or days instead of weeks or months, further motivating its application in rapid root cause analysis.

Hardwood biochar as an alternative to reduce peat use for seed germination and growth of Tagetes patula

ABSTRACT Biochar, a carbon-rich material resulting from pyrolysation, is one of the proposed alternatives as a substrate component to peat. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of different ratios of peat substitution with a locally available hardwood biochar on the chemical characteristics of growing media, seed germination, plant morphological and nutritional parameters of Tagetes patula. Experimental results show that biochar can be used as a partial peat replacement, showing a complementary liming effect, rising the initial pH of peat (2.8) to values of 4.5 and 7.3 in mixtures with 50% and 75% substitution of peat by biochar, respectively. The mixture with a 50% biochar rate exhibited the strongest change between initial and final pH, rising from 4.5 to 5.7. Increasing content of biochar in the mixtures corresponded to increasing content of total K, Ca, Mg, available K and decreasing level of available Mg. The highest germination percentage was observed in the mixtures with biochar rates from 50% to 100%. Among all substrates, the greatest plant diameter, true leaf area and total root length were measured in the 50% peat substitution mixture, where the highest contents of P, K and Ca in plant shoots were found.

Systemic Issues Influencing Technical Certainty in Social Housing Programmes in a Small Island Developing State

Underestimating costs in major public sector social infrastructure development projects is a highly contested and problematic issue. Several gaps exist in the identification of root causes of cost overruns. Behavioural science academics advocate political and psychological explanations as root causes for cost overruns against technical factors, such as errors and omissions by engineers, practitioners and scientists. Most studies in this field primarily concentrate on developed countries. Although some studies have been undertaken in developing countries, very little attention is given to the Small Island Developing States (SIDS). This paper presents a case study of public sector social housing construction programmes in a Caribbean SIDS to further understand the root causes of cost overruns. Primary and secondary data spanning across two different political cycles were collected to test the concepts of whether political influences or technical influences are the true root causes of cost overruns. It was found that political explanations based on the psycho-strategic concept are the leading sources of cost risks on the final estimated contract price. This study strengthens the argument and discusses how strategic decisions emanating from the political directorate outweigh and influence informed technical decisions formulated during the planning stages.

Assessment of true vertical root fracture line in endodontically treated teeth using a new subtraction software - A Micro-CT and CBCT study.

This study aimed to find true facture lines in endodontically treated teeth on CBCT images using digital subtraction and to evaluate the influence of width of facture lines in the diagnosis. Thirty-two endodontically treated teeth with vertical root fractures (VRFs) from 30 patients were included in this study. The CBCT images of the patients and the micro-CT images of extracted teeth were imported into our digital subtraction software to distinguish the true facture lines from the streak artefacts. Of them, 23(71.87%) teeth did not present true fracture lines on the CBCT images (CBCT negative), and 9 (28.13%) teeth presented true fracture lines on the CBCT images (CBCT positive). The width of the facture lines was significantly different between these two groups (P<0.05). To summarise, for invivo endodontically treated teeth with subtle VRFs, many true fractures lines could not be demonstrated on CBCT images and wider fractures could be better distinguished.

Reliability of Expected Root Position in Two Different Bracket Bonding and Positioning Techniques (A Comparative Ex-Vitro Study)

Objective: To measure the reproducibility of expecting root position (ERP) in various brackets bonding and positioning techniques.Methods: Twenty Angle’s Class-I typodont models were divided into four groups of five models each. The first two groups werebonded directly, and the other two groups were bonded indirectly. Intraoral scanning and CBCT were taken before and after simulation orthodontic treatment for each model. The pre-treatment CBCT of models was matched to the digital crown of the post treatment intraoral scanner of the models in order to put the root in the expected position. At the same time, the true root position was obtained from the CBCT of post-treated models. Finally, the true and ERPs were superimposed by part comparison analysis function in 3-Matic software to measure mm displacement between two compared parts. The intra-examiner reliability was tested by the Bland-Altman method. One-way ANOVA was used to compare the displacement means of true and ERP.Results: There was no significant difference between the mean of true and ERP among the study groups for maxillary and mandibulararches (P&gt;0.05).Conclusions: Combining data from CBCT and the digital models, simulation of the root positions was statistically validated withdirect and indirect techniques of bracket positioning and bonding.

Three-dimensional printing for assessment of paravalvular leak in transcatheter aortic valve implantation

BackgroundThree-dimensional (3D) models have the unique ability to replicate individualized cardiac anatomy and may therefore provide clinical benefit. Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) currently relies on preoperative imaging for accurate valve sizing, type of valve used, and avoidance of complications. Three-dimensional (3D) modelling may provide benefit for optimal preoperative TAVI planning. The goal of this study is to assess the utility of 3D modelling in the prediction of paravalvular leak (PVL) post TAVI.MethodsRetrospective analysis of five patients who underwent TAVI at our center. Pre-operative cardiac gated CT images were utilized to create a 3D printed model with true size aortic root dimensions, including the coronary artery ostium location and left ventricular outflow tract. Deployment of the corresponding model and size TAVI valve into the created 3D model at a similar depth of implantation via fluoroscopy was performed for each patient. Degree of PVL was assessed using a closed system with water infusion under pressure over a duration of 5 s. Correlation was made between the volume obtained in the closed loop model during the pressurized period and the degree of PVL reported on the patients post TAVI placement on transthoracic echocardiogram.ResultsOne female, and four males (age in years ranged from 68 to 87) underwent successful TAVI (0% 30-day mortality). PVL on post procedure TTE ranged from none to trivial. Successful deployment of TAVI valves inside the 3D model occurred in all cases. The average volume of water collected on three trials over 5 s ranged between 19.1–24.1 ml A multivariate linear regression showed significant association between the degree of PVL reported on post-operative transthoracic echocardiogram and the amount of volume detected in the 3D model (difference: -3.9657, 95% CI: (− 4.6761,-3.2554), p < 0.001).ConclusionsOur experiments show that replicated 3D models have potential clinical utilization in predicting PVL in the TAVI population. Future research into the role of 3D modelling in the field of TAVI should continue to be explored.

Selection of C-Type Filters for Reactive Power Compensation and Filtration of Higher Harmonics Injected into the Transmission System by Arc Furnaces

This article presents a method for selecting the elements of a C-type filter working with a conventional LC-type filter for compensating reactive power and filtering out higher harmonics generated by arc furnaces and ladle furnaces. The study was conducted in a steel mill supplied by a 110 kV transmission system, where higher harmonic currents and nonlinear loads were measured. A series of computer simulations were performed under various operating conditions, and an algorithm for selecting the parameters of a third-order C-type filter (for suppressing the second harmonic) and two second-order LC-type filters (for suppressing the third harmonic) was proposed. The filtering system was tested in an arc furnace with the highest rated power, and harmonics in the current spectrum were evaluated. The results of the measurements were used to analyze the effectiveness of the compensation system comprising two passive C-type and LC-type filters at different system configurations. C-type filters significantly influenced current harmonics. The influence of the changes in the number of arc furnace transformers on the true Root Mean Square (RMS) of the currents injected into the 110 kV transmission system and on the voltages of the 110 kV busbars was discussed.

Fast speciations and slow genes: uncovering the root of living canids

AbstractDespite ongoing efforts relying on computationally intensive tree-building methods and large datasets, the deeper phylogenetic relationships between living canid genera remain controversial. We demonstrate that this issue arises fundamentally from the uncertainty of root placement as a consequence of the short length of the branch connecting the major canid clades, which probably resulted from a fast radiation during the early diversification of extant Canidae. Using both nuclear and mitochondrial genes, we investigate the position of the canid root and its consistency by using three rooting methods. We find that mitochondrial genomes consistently retrieve a root node separating the tribe Canini from the remaining canids, whereas nuclear data mostly recover a root that places the Urocyon foxes as the sister lineage of living canids. We demonstrate that, to resolve the canid root, the nuclear segments sequenced so far are significantly less informative than mitochondrial genomes. We also propose that short intervals between speciations obscure the place of the true root, because methods are susceptible to stochastic error in the presence of short internal branches near the root.

Construction and investigation of the computer model of distribution of the composition of products from equilibrium condensation telomomerization

Based on the mechanism of the course of polycondensation, we have built a scheme of reaction for the equilibrium condensation telomerization as a polycondensation process whose chain is disrupted by a monofunctional telogen chain. Given this scheme, we constructed the material balance equations for structural elements, which include an infinite number of terms. If a Flory principle about equal reactivity of terminal groups is fulfilled, the infinite sums represent geometric progressions with the same denominator. This makes it possible to collapse the process model into a closed system of four non-linear algebraic equations.Our research into properties of the model that involved mathematical analysis and computer experiments has established the following:– the distribution of telomerization products is a superposition of geometric distributions of base structural components with the same denominator of progression, but different magnitudes of starting concentrations. A Flory distribution for homopolycondensation can be considered as a special case of this distribution;– the system of model's equations can have up to 4 real roots. At a single solution to the system with a random selection of initial approximation, ~74 % of cases yield a false positive root. To verify the validity of the root, we have developed a criterion based on the magnitude of denominator in a converging geometric progression, and proposed a procedure of computer solution to the system, making it possible to find the true root;– the model has been found to demonstrate regularities in the influence of reactants concentration on the composition of an equilibrium mixture at a constant concentration of the low-molecular by-side product of condensation. It is shown that when this concentration tends to zero the composition ceases to depend on the values for equilibrium constants.The constructed model makes it possible to calculate a composition of the equilibrium mixture of oligomers depending on the ratio of monomer concentrations, telogen, and a low-molecular condensation product. That makes it useful in practice for preliminary quantifying the composition of equilibrium mixtures of oligomers when planning syntheses using a method of condensation telomerization

Growth Responses and Root Characteristics of Lettuce Grown in Aeroponics, Hydroponics, and Substrate Culture

Aeroponics is a relatively new soilless culture technology which may produce food in space-limited cities or on non-arable land with high water-use efficiency. The shoot and root growth, root characteristics, and mineral content of two lettuce cultivars were measured in aeroponics, and compared with hydroponics and substrate culture. The results showed that aeroponics remarkably improved root growth with a significantly greater root biomass, root/shoot ratio, and greater total root length, root area, and root volume. However, the greater root growth did not lead to greater shoot growth compared with hydroponics, due to the limited availability of nutrients and water. It was concluded that aeroponics systems may be better for high value true root crop production. Further research is necessary to determine the suitable pressure, droplet size, and misting interval in order to improve the continuous availability of nutrients and water in aeroponics, if it is to be used to grow crops such as lettuce for harvesting above-ground parts.

Three-dimensional evaluation of root position at the reset appointment without radiographs: a proof-of-concept study

BackgroundAccurate root position is integral for successful orthodontic treatment. Current methods of monitoring root position are either inaccurate, exhibit poor resolution, or use relatively large amount of radiation relative to the benefits for the patient. The purpose of this study was to present an approach that can monitor root position during orthodontic treatment with minimal radiation.MethodsCone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) scans were taken for a patient at pre-treatment and at a dedicated reset appointment. An extra-oral laser scan of a poured up cast was taken at the reset appointment. An expected root position (ERP) setup, an approximation of the root position at the reset appointment, was generated using the pre-treatment CBCT scan and reset appointment cast. The ERP setup was compared to the CBCT scan taken at the reset appointment which served as the control. Color displacement maps were generated to measure any differences between the expected and true root positions.ResultsColor map displacement analysis after indirect superimposition found displacement differences of 0.021 mm ± 0.396 mm for the maxillary roots and 0.079 mm ± 0.499 mm for the mandibular roots.ConclusionsThis approach was demonstrated in a patient at the reset appointment to have the potential to accurately monitor root positions during treatment in three dimensions without the need for additional radiographs.

Restoring the natural functional capacity of coastal dune ecosystems: Utilising research records for New Zealand littoral refurbishment as a proxy for analogous global responses

Aggregated results from twenty years of community-engaged assiduous restoration of severely degraded coastal littoral systems in New Zealand (NZ) reveal numerous fundamental and substantive natural improvements to dune form, function, and storm resilience. This is accomplished by simple, low-cost exclusive utilisation of the variably threatened local indigenous dune plant species. These valuable and innovative enhancements succeed countless decades of cascading consequences from numerous impacts instigated by historic (and frequently continuing) damaging effects on those previously natural coastal dune ecosystems – impacts that subsequently induced problematic littoral retreat – the true root cause of prevailing coastal erosion. The durable reversals were often generated in less than two decades, contemporaneously with adverse storm surge and sea level rise conditions. Research reveals many global dune ecosystems are afflicted with analogous normalised degradation and erosion difficulties, with the earliest active circumvention recorded in sixteenth century Denmark (McKelvey 1999). Historic plus current pressures such as coastal settlement impacts and continuing agricultural use of dunelands similarly threaten numerous global littoral margins, alongside recent concerns regarding the compounding effects of climate change. Successful, affordable, diligent dune restoration work pioneered in NZ has extensive benefits for other nations experiencing similarly challenging attrition on degraded coastal zones. Persuasive data is presented to validate the numerous persistently accrued benefits of this cost-effective and enduring coastal adaptation response.

Necessary and sufficient conditions for consistent root reconstruction in Markov models on trees

We establish necessary and sufficient conditions for consistent root reconstruction in continuous-time Markov models with countable state space on bounded-height trees. Here a root state estimator is said to be consistent if the probability that it returns to the true root state converges to $1$ as the number of leaves tends to infinity. We also derive quantitative bounds on the error of reconstruction. Our results answer a question of Gascuel and Steel [GS10] and have implications for ancestral sequence reconstruction in a classical evolutionary model of nucleotide insertion and deletion [TKF91].

AN APPROACH TO IMPROVING CUSTOMER ON-TIME DELIVERY AGAINST THE ORIGINAL PROMISE DATE

One of the main challenges that a low-volume high-variety (LVHV) product manufacturing industry faces is to improve customer on-time delivery (OTD) against the original promised date (OPD) in a make-to-order (MTO) situation. A systematic root-cause analysis is carried out in the LVHV industry to find the true root cause and eliminate it. This paper proposes a methodology that incorporates the lean thinking methodology, a lean live tracking (LLT) tool, and cross-functional team (CFT) approaches to improve OTD. These are tested using real-time data from an industrial valve manufacturing LVHV firm, resulting in an average OTD improvement from 30 percent to 90 percent in about eight months.

Assessment of biological effects in Plantago major L. Seed progeny in the zone of impact from a Copper Smelter

The quality of seed progeny was studied in Plantago major from populations growing for a long time in the gradient of chemical pollution around the Karabash Copper Smelter (KCS). The results showed that the range of variation in seed germination and seedling survival rates was wider in background than in impact populations. The lowest values of growth parameters (the number of seedlings with a true leaf and root length) were recorded in the sample from the most polluted plot. Challenging exposure to toxic elements (seed germination in soils from polluted plots) was found to stimulate, to different extents, the rate of leaf formation and suppress root growth in the seedlings. It cannot be stated from these results that the adaptive potential of plants grown in the zone of impact from the KCS is altered, compared to that in other samples. Evaluation of the prooxidant and antioxidant status of seedlings from this zone revealed a decrease in superoxide dismutase and catalase activities (to 60 and 33% of background values, respectively) and an increase in peroxidase activity (to 122%). The prooxidant status of seedlings in samples from the KCS zone was found to be increased, except for the sample from the most polluted plot.

Semiparametric PCA and bayesian network based process fault diagnosis technique

AbstractSemiparametric Principal Component Analysis has advantages over Principal Component Analysis (PCA), as it can deal with nonlinear and non‐monotonic correlation and non‐Gaussian distribution process data. In Semiparametric PCA the distance correlation coefficient matrix is used to replace the covariance matrix, and a semi‐parametric Gaussian transformation is used to allow variables to follow multivariate Gaussian distribution. To reduce the cost of monitoring and alarm flooding, a fault diagnosis technique, which combines Semiparametric PCA and Bayesian Network (BN), is proposed here. In the first stage, Semiparametric PCA is used to find the fault in monitored variables. Considering the interaction of process variables and historical process data, a Bayesian network is developed in the second stage. Considering Semiparametric PCA outcome as evidence, the Bayesian network applies deductive and abductive reasoning to update and analysis, which assist in determining the true root cause(s) and fault propagation pathway. The implementation and applicability of the proposed methodology are demonstrated using three process systems.