Mapping detailed 3D information onto high resolution SAR signatures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Anglberger, H.; Speck, R.

2017-05-01

Due to challenges in the visual interpretation of radar signatures or in the subsequent information extraction, a fusion with other data sources can be beneficial. The most accurate basis for a fusion of any kind of remote sensing data is the mapping of the acquired 2D image space onto the true 3D geometry of the scenery. In the case of radar images this is a challenging task because the coordinate system is based on the measured range which causes ambiguous regions due to layover effects. This paper describes a method that accurately maps the detailed 3D information of a scene to the slantrange-based coordinate system of imaging radars. Due to this mapping all the contributing geometrical parts of one resolution cell can be determined in 3D space. The proposed method is highly efficient, because computationally expensive operations can be directly performed on graphics card hardware. The described approach builds a perfect basis for sophisticated methods to extract data from multiple complimentary sensors like from radar and optical images, especially because true 3D information from whole cities will be available in the near future. The performance of the developed methods will be demonstrated with high resolution radar data acquired by the space-borne SAR-sensor TerraSAR-X.

Quantitatively Mapping Cellular Viscosity with Detailed Organelle Information via a Designed PET Fluorescent Probe

PubMed Central

Liu, Tianyu; Liu, Xiaogang; Spring, David R.; Qian, Xuhong; Cui, Jingnan; Xu, Zhaochao

2014-01-01

Viscosity is a fundamental physical parameter that influences diffusion in biological processes. The distribution of intracellular viscosity is highly heterogeneous, and it is challenging to obtain a full map of cellular viscosity with detailed organelle information. In this work, we report 1 as the first fluorescent viscosity probe which is able to quantitatively map cellular viscosity with detailed organelle information based on the PET mechanism. This probe exhibited a significant ratiometric fluorescence intensity enhancement as solvent viscosity increases. The emission intensity increase was attributed to combined effects of the inhibition of PET due to restricted conformational access (favorable for FRET, but not for PET), and the decreased PET efficiency caused by viscosity-dependent twisted intramolecular charge transfer (TICT). A full map of subcellular viscosity was successfully constructed via fluorescent ratiometric detection and fluorescence lifetime imaging; it was found that lysosomal regions in a cell possess the highest viscosity, followed by mitochondrial regions. PMID:24957323

PC-based Multiple Information System Interface (PC/MISI) detailed design and implementation plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Dominick, Wayne D. (Editor); Hall, Philip P.

1985-01-01

The design plan for the personal computer multiple information system interface (PC/MISI) project is discussed. The document is intended to be used as a blueprint for the implementation of the system. Each component is described in the detail necessary to allow programmers to implement the system. A description of the system data flow and system file structures is given.

Influence of management and environment on Australian wheat: information for sustainable intensification and closing yield gaps

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bryan, B. A.; King, D.; Zhao, G.

2014-04-01

In the future, agriculture will need to produce more, from less land, more sustainably. But currently, in many places, actual crop yields are below those attainable. We quantified the ability for agricultural management to increase wheat yields across 179 Mha of potentially arable land in Australia. Using the Agricultural Production Systems Simulator (APSIM), we simulated the impact on wheat yield of 225 fertilization and residue management scenarios at a high spatial, temporal, and agronomic resolution from 1900 to 2010. The influence of management and environmental variables on wheat yield was then assessed using Spearman’s non-parametric correlation test with bootstrapping. While residue management showed little correlation, fertilization strongly increased wheat yield up to around 100 kg N ha-1 yr-1. However, this effect was highly dependent on the key environment variables of rainfall, temperature, and soil water holding capacity. The influence of fertilization on yield was stronger in cooler, wetter climates, and in soils with greater water holding capacity. We conclude that the effectiveness of management intensification to increase wheat yield is highly dependent upon local climate and soil conditions. We provide context-specific information on the yield benefits of fertilization to support adaptive agronomic decision-making and contribute to the closure of yield gaps. We also suggest that future assessments consider the economic and environmental sustainability of management intensification for closing yield gaps.

From Observation to Information: Data-Driven Understanding of on Farm Yield Variation

PubMed Central

Jiménez, Daniel; Dorado, Hugo; Cock, James; Prager, Steven D.; Delerce, Sylvain; Grillon, Alexandre; Andrade Bejarano, Mercedes; Benavides, Hector; Jarvis, Andy

2016-01-01

Agriculture research uses “recommendation domains” to develop and transfer crop management practices adapted to specific contexts. The scale of recommendation domains is large when compared to individual production sites and often encompasses less environmental variation than farmers manage. Farmers constantly observe crop response to management practices at a field scale. These observations are of little use for other farms if the site and the weather are not described. The value of information obtained from farmers’ experiences and controlled experiments is enhanced when the circumstances under which it was generated are characterized within the conceptual framework of a recommendation domain, this latter defined by Non-Controllable Factors (NCFs). Controllable Factors (CFs) refer to those which farmers manage. Using a combination of expert guidance and a multi-stage analytic process, we evaluated the interplay of CFs and NCFs on plantain productivity in farmers’ fields. Data were obtained from multiple sources, including farmers. Experts identified candidate variables likely to influence yields. The influence of the candidate variables on yields was tested through conditional forests analysis. Factor analysis then clustered harvests produced under similar NCFs, into Homologous Events (HEs). The relationship between NCFs, CFs and productivity in intercropped plantain were analyzed with mixed models. Inclusion of HEs increased the explanatory power of models. Low median yields in monocropping coupled with the occasional high yields within most HEs indicated that most of these farmers were not using practices that exploited the yield potential of those HEs. Varieties grown by farmers were associated with particular HEs. This indicates that farmers do adapt their management to the particular conditions of their HEs. Our observations confirm that the definition of HEs as recommendation domains at a small-scale is valid, and that the effectiveness of distinct

78 FR 29439 - Proposed Information Collection (Request for Details of Expenses) Activity: Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-05-20

... correspondence. During the comment period, comments may be viewed online through the FDMS. FOR FURTHER... techniques or the use of other forms of information technology. Title: Request for Details of Expenses, VA... current rate of pension. Pension is an income-based program, and the payable rate depends on the claimant...

75 FR 45205 - Proposed Information Collection (Request for Details of Expenses) Activity: Comment Request

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-08-02

... correspondence. During the comment period, comments may be viewed online through the FDMS. FOR FURTHER... techniques or the use of other forms of information technology. Title: Request for Details of Expenses, VA... current rate of pension. Pension is an income-based program, and the payable rate depends on the claimant...

Evaluation of the Williams-type model for barley yields in North Dakota and Minnesota

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnett, T. L. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

The Williams-type yield model is based on multiple regression analysis of historial time series data at CRD level pooled to regional level (groups of similar CRDs). Basic variables considered in the analysis include USDA yield, monthly mean temperature, monthly precipitation, soil texture and topographic information, and variables derived from these. Technologic trend is represented by piecewise linear and/or quadratic functions of year. Indicators of yield reliability obtained from a ten-year bootstrap test (1970-1979) demonstrate that biases are small and performance based on root mean square appears to be acceptable for the intended AgRISTARS large area applications. The model is objective, adequate, timely, simple, and not costly. It consideres scientific knowledge on a broad scale but not in detail, and does not provide a good current measure of modeled yield reliability.

Integrating prior information into microwave tomography Part 1: Impact of detail on image quality.

PubMed

Kurrant, Douglas; Baran, Anastasia; LoVetri, Joe; Fear, Elise

2017-12-01

The authors investigate the impact that incremental increases in the level of detail of patient-specific prior information have on image quality and the convergence behavior of an inversion algorithm in the context of near-field microwave breast imaging. A methodology is presented that uses image quality measures to characterize the ability of the algorithm to reconstruct both internal structures and lesions embedded in fibroglandular tissue. The approach permits key aspects that impact the quality of reconstruction of these structures to be identified and quantified. This provides insight into opportunities to improve image reconstruction performance. Patient-specific information is acquired using radar-based methods that form a regional map of the breast. This map is then incorporated into a microwave tomography algorithm. Previous investigations have demonstrated the effectiveness of this approach to improve image quality when applied to data generated with two-dimensional (2D) numerical models. The present study extends this work by generating prior information that is customized to vary the degree of structural detail to facilitate the investigation of the role of prior information in image formation. Numerical 2D breast models constructed from magnetic resonance (MR) scans, and reconstructions formed with a three-dimensional (3D) numerical breast model are used to assess if trends observed for the 2D results can be extended to 3D scenarios. For the blind reconstruction scenario (i.e., no prior information), the breast surface is not accurately identified and internal structures are not clearly resolved. A substantial improvement in image quality is achieved by incorporating the skin surface map and constraining the imaging domain to the breast. Internal features within the breast appear in the reconstructed image. However, it is challenging to discriminate between adipose and glandular regions and there are inaccuracies in both the structural properties of

Growth and yield of shortleaf pine

Treesearch

Paul A. Murphy

1986-01-01

A survey of available growth and yield information for shortleaf pine (Pinus echinata Mill.) is given. The kinds of studies and data sources that produce this information are also evaluated, and an example of how a growth and yield model can be used to answer management questions is illustrated. Guidelines are given for using growth and yield models, and needs for...

The concept of comparative information yield curves and its application to risk-based site characterization

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Barros, Felipe P. J.; Rubin, Yoram; Maxwell, Reed M.

2009-06-01

Defining rational and effective hydrogeological data acquisition strategies is of crucial importance as such efforts are always resource limited. Usually, strategies are developed with the goal of reducing uncertainty, but less often they are developed in the context of their impacts on uncertainty. This paper presents an approach for determining site characterization needs on the basis of human health risk. The main challenge is in striking a balance between reduction in uncertainty in hydrogeological, behavioral, and physiological parameters. Striking this balance can provide clear guidance on setting priorities for data acquisition and for better estimating adverse health effects in humans. This paper addresses this challenge through theoretical developments and numerical simulation. A wide range of factors that affect site characterization needs are investigated, including the dimensions of the contaminant plume and additional length scales that characterize the transport problem, as well as the model of human health risk. The concept of comparative information yield curves is used for investigating the relative impact of hydrogeological and physiological parameters in risk. Results show that characterization needs are dependent on the ratios between flow and transport scales within a risk-driven approach. Additionally, the results indicate that human health risk becomes less sensitive to hydrogeological measurements for large plumes. This indicates that under near-ergodic conditions, uncertainty reduction in human health risk may benefit from better understanding of the physiological component as opposed to a more detailed hydrogeological characterization.

Fracture Network Characteristics Informed by Detailed Studies of Chlorinated Solvent Plumes in Sedimentary Rock Aquifers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Parker, B. L.; Chapman, S.

2015-12-01

Various numerical approaches have been used to simulate contaminant plumes in fractured porous rock, but the one that allows field and laboratory measurements to be most directly used as inputs to these models is the Discrete Fracture Network (DFN) Approach. To effectively account for fracture-matrix interactions, emphasis must be placed on identifying and parameterizing all of the fractures that participate substantially in groundwater flow and contaminated transport. High resolution plume studies at four primary research sites, where chlorinated solvent plumes serve as long-term (several decades) tracer tests, provide insight concerning the density of the fracture network unattainable by conventional methods. Datasets include contaminant profiles from detailed VOC subsampling informed by continuous core logs, hydraulic head and transmissivity profiles, packer testing and sensitive temperature logging methods in FLUTe™ lined holes. These show presence of many more transmissive fractures, contrasting observations of only a few flow zones per borehole obtained from conventional hydraulic tests including flow metering in open boreholes. Incorporating many more fractures with a wider range of transmissivities is key to predicting contaminant migration. This new understanding of dense fracture networks combined with matrix property measurements have informed 2-D DFN flow and transport modelling using Fractran and HydroGeosphere to simulate plume characteristics ground-truthed by detailed field site plume characterization. These process-based simulations corroborate field findings that plumes in sedimentary rock after decades of transport show limited plume front distances and strong internal plume attenuation by diffusion, transverse dispersion and slow degradation. This successful application of DFN modeling informed by field-derived parameters demonstrates how the DFN Approach can be applied to other sites to inform plume migration rates and remedial efficacy.

Normal yield tables for red alder.

Treesearch

Norman P. Worthington; Floyd A. Johnson; George R. Staebler; William J. Lloyd

1960-01-01

Increasing interest in the management of red alder (Alnus rubra) has created a need for reliable yield information. Existing yield tables for red alder have been very useful as interim sources of information, but they are generally inadequate for current and prospective management needs. The advisory committee for the Station's Olympia...

Making detailed predictions makes (some) predictions worse

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kelly, Theresa F.

In this paper, we investigate whether making detailed predictions about an event makes other predictions worse. Across 19 experiments, 10,895 participants, and 415,960 predictions about 724 professional sports games, we find that people who made detailed predictions about sporting events (e.g., how many hits each baseball team would get) made worse predictions about more general outcomes (e.g., which team would win). We rule out that this effect is caused by inattention or fatigue, thinking too hard, or a differential reliance on holistic information about the teams. Instead, we find that thinking about game-relevant details before predicting winning teams causes people to give less weight to predictive information, presumably because predicting details makes information that is relatively useless for predicting the winning team more readily accessible in memory and therefore incorporated into forecasts. Furthermore, we show that this differential use of information can be used to predict what kinds of games will and will not be susceptible to the negative effect of making detailed predictions.

Detailed clinical models: representing knowledge, data and semantics in healthcare information technology.

PubMed

Goossen, William T F

2014-07-01

This paper will present an overview of the developmental effort in harmonizing clinical knowledge modeling using the Detailed Clinical Models (DCMs), and will explain how it can contribute to the preservation of Electronic Health Records (EHR) data. Clinical knowledge modeling is vital for the management and preservation of EHR and data. Such modeling provides common data elements and terminology binding with the intention of capturing and managing clinical information over time and location independent from technology. Any EHR data exchange without an agreed clinical knowledge modeling will potentially result in loss of information. Many attempts exist from the past to model clinical knowledge for the benefits of semantic interoperability using standardized data representation and common terminologies. The objective of each project is similar with respect to consistent representation of clinical data, using standardized terminologies, and an overall logical approach. However, the conceptual, logical, and the technical expressions are quite different in one clinical knowledge modeling approach versus another. There currently are synergies under the Clinical Information Modeling Initiative (CIMI) in order to create a harmonized reference model for clinical knowledge models. The goal for the CIMI is to create a reference model and formalisms based on for instance the DCM (ISO/TS 13972), among other work. A global repository of DCMs may potentially be established in the future.

Soviet test yields

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vergino, Eileen S.

Soviet seismologists have published descriptions of 96 nuclear explosions conducted from 1961 through 1972 at the Semipalatinsk test site, in Kazakhstan, central Asia [Bocharov et al., 1989]. With the exception of releasing news about some of their peaceful nuclear explosions (PNEs) the Soviets have never before published such a body of information.To estimate the seismic yield of a nuclear explosion it is necessary to obtain a calibrated magnitude-yield relationship based on events with known yields and with a consistent set of seismic magnitudes. U.S. estimation of Soviet test yields has been done through application of relationships to the Soviet sites based on the U.S. experience at the Nevada Test Site (NTS), making some correction for differences due to attenuation and near-source coupling of seismic waves.

Spectrally-Based Assessment of Crop Seasonal Performance and Yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kancheva, Rumiana; Borisova, Denitsa; Georgiev, Georgy

The rapid advances of space technologies concern almost all scientific areas from aeronautics to medicine, and a wide range of application fields from communications to crop yield predictions. Agricultural monitoring is among the priorities of remote sensing observations for getting timely information on crop development. Monitoring agricultural fields during the growing season plays an important role in crop health assessment and stress detection provided that reliable data is obtained. Successfully spreading is the implementation of hyperspectral data to precision farming associated with plant growth and phenology monitoring, physiological state assessment, and yield prediction. In this paper, we investigated various spectral-biophysical relationships derived from in-situ reflectance measurements. The performance of spectral data for the assessment of agricultural crops condition and yield prediction was examined. The approach comprisesd development of regression models between plant spectral and state-indicative variables such as biomass, vegetation cover fraction, leaf area index, etc., and development of yield forecasting models from single-date (growth stage) and multitemporal (seasonal) reflectance data. Verification of spectral predictions was performed through comparison with estimations from biophysical relationships between crop growth variables. The study was carried out for spring barley and winter wheat. Visible and near-infrared reflectance data was acquired through the whole growing season accompanied by detailed datasets on plant phenology and canopy structural and biochemical attributes. Empirical relationships were derived relating crop agronomic variables and yield to various spectral predictors. The study findings were tested using airborne remote sensing inputs. A good correspondence was found between predicted and actual (ground-truth) estimates

Modification of apparent fission yields by Chemical Fractionation following Fission (CFF)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hohenberg, Charles; Meshik, Alex

2008-04-01

Grain-by-grain studies of the 2 billion year old Oklo natural reactor, using laser micro-extraction^1,2, yield detailed information about Oklo, a water-moderated pulsed reactor, cycle times, total neutron fluence and duration, but it also demonstrates Chemical Fractionation following Fission. In the CFF process, members of an isobaric yield chain with long half-lives are subject to migration before decay can occur. Of particular interest is the 129 isobar where 17 million ^129I can migrate out of the host grain before decay, and iodine compounds are water soluble. This is amply demonstated by the variation of Xe spectra between micron-sized uranium-bearing minerals and adjacent uranium-free minerals. Fission 129 yields for the spontaneous fission of ^238U generally come from measured ^129Xe in pitchblend^2, ores emplaced by aqueous activity, and are incorrect due to the CFF process. ^238U yields for the 131 and 129 chains, reported in Hyde^3, as 0.455 +- .02 and < 0.012, respectively, the latter being anomalously low. ^1A Meshik, C Hohenberg and O Pravdivtesva, PRL 93, 182302 (2004); A Meshik Sci. Am. Nov (2005), 55; ^2E K Hyde, Nucl Prop of Heavy Elements III (1964).

Clinical professional governance for detailed clinical models.

PubMed

Goossen, William; Goossen-Baremans, Anneke

2013-01-01

This chapter describes the need for Detailed Clinical Models for contemporary Electronic Health Systems, data exchange and data reuse. It starts with an explanation of the components related to Detailed Clinical Models with a brief summary of knowledge representation, including terminologies representing clinic relevant "things" in the real world, and information models that abstract these in order to let computers process data about these things. Next, Detailed Clinical Models are defined and their purpose is described. It builds on existing developments around the world and accumulates in current work to create a technical specification at the level of the International Standards Organization. The core components of properly expressed Detailed Clinical Models are illustrated, including clinical knowledge and context, data element specification, code bindings to terminologies and meta-information about authors, versioning among others. Detailed Clinical Models to date are heavily based on user requirements and specify the conceptual and logical levels of modelling. It is not precise enough for specific implementations, which requires an additional step. However, this allows Detailed Clinical Models to serve as specifications for many different kinds of implementations. Examples of Detailed Clinical Models are presented both in text and in Unified Modelling Language. Detailed Clinical Models can be positioned in health information architectures, where they serve at the most detailed granular level. The chapter ends with examples of projects that create and deploy Detailed Clinical Models. All have in common that they can often reuse materials from earlier projects, and that strict governance of these models is essential to use them safely in health care information and communication technology. Clinical validation is one point of such governance, and model testing another. The Plan Do Check Act cycle can be applied for governance of Detailed Clinical Models

Advanced information processing system: The Army Fault-Tolerant Architecture detailed design overview

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Harper, Richard E.; Babikyan, Carol A.; Butler, Bryan P.; Clasen, Robert J.; Harris, Chris H.; Lala, Jaynarayan H.; Masotto, Thomas K.; Nagle, Gail A.; Prizant, Mark J.; Treadwell, Steven

1994-01-01

The Army Avionics Research and Development Activity (AVRADA) is pursuing programs that would enable effective and efficient management of large amounts of situational data that occurs during tactical rotorcraft missions. The Computer Aided Low Altitude Night Helicopter Flight Program has identified automated Terrain Following/Terrain Avoidance, Nap of the Earth (TF/TA, NOE) operation as key enabling technology for advanced tactical rotorcraft to enhance mission survivability and mission effectiveness. The processing of critical information at low altitudes with short reaction times is life-critical and mission-critical necessitating an ultra-reliable/high throughput computing platform for dependable service for flight control, fusion of sensor data, route planning, near-field/far-field navigation, and obstacle avoidance operations. To address these needs the Army Fault Tolerant Architecture (AFTA) is being designed and developed. This computer system is based upon the Fault Tolerant Parallel Processor (FTPP) developed by Charles Stark Draper Labs (CSDL). AFTA is hard real-time, Byzantine, fault-tolerant parallel processor which is programmed in the ADA language. This document describes the results of the Detailed Design (Phase 2 and 3 of a 3-year project) of the AFTA development. This document contains detailed descriptions of the program objectives, the TF/TA NOE application requirements, architecture, hardware design, operating systems design, systems performance measurements and analytical models.

Comparison of CEAS and Williams-type models for spring wheat yields in North Dakota and Minnesota

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnett, T. L. (Principal Investigator)

1982-01-01

The CEAS and Williams-type yield models are both based on multiple regression analysis of historical time series data at CRD level. The CEAS model develops a separate relation for each CRD; the Williams-type model pools CRD data to regional level (groups of similar CRDs). Basic variables considered in the analyses are USDA yield, monthly mean temperature, monthly precipitation, and variables derived from these. The Williams-type model also used soil texture and topographic information. Technological trend is represented in both by piecewise linear functions of year. Indicators of yield reliability obtained from a ten-year bootstrap test of each model (1970-1979) demonstrate that the models are very similar in performance in all respects. Both models are about equally objective, adequate, timely, simple, and inexpensive. Both consider scientific knowledge on a broad scale but not in detail. Neither provides a good current measure of modeled yield reliability. The CEAS model is considered very slightly preferable for AgRISTARS applications.

New bounds on the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa matrix from B{yields}K{pi}{pi} Dalitz plot analyses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ciuchini, M.; Pierini, M.; Silvestrini, L.

2006-09-01

We present a new technique to extract information on the unitarity triangle from the study of B{yields}K{pi}{pi} Dalitz plots. Using the sensitivity of Dalitz analyses to the absolute values and the phases of decay amplitudes and isospin symmetry, we obtain a new constraint on the elements of the CKM matrix. We discuss in detail the role of electroweak penguin contributions and outline future prospects.

Humans as Sensors: Assessing the Information Value of Qualitative Farmer's Crop Condition Surveys for Crop Yield Monitoring and Forecasting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Beguería, S.

2017-12-01

While large efforts are devoted to developing crop status monitoring and yield forecasting systems trough the use of Earth observation data (mostly remotely sensed satellite imagery) and observational and modeled weather data, here we focus on the information value of qualitative data on crop status from direct observations made by humans. This kind of data has a high value as it reflects the expert opinion of individuals directly involved in the development of the crop. However, they have issues that prevent their direct use in crop monitoring and yield forecasting systems, such as their non-spatially explicit nature, or most importantly their qualitative nature. Indeed, while the human brain is good at categorizing the status of physical systems in terms of qualitative scales (`very good', `good', `fair', etcetera), it has difficulties in quantifying it in physical units. This has prevented the incorporation of this kind of data into systems that make extensive use of numerical information. Here we show an example of using qualitative crop condition data to estimate yields of the most important crops in the US early in the season. We use USDA weekly crop condition reports, which are based on a sample of thousands of reporters including mostly farmers and people in direct contact with them. These reporters provide subjective evaluations of crop conditions, in a scale including five levels ranging from `very poor' to `excellent'. The USDA report indicates, for each state, the proportion of reporters fort each condition level. We show how is it possible to model the underlying non-observed quantitative variable that reflects the crop status on each state, and how this model is consistent across states and years. Furthermore, we show how this information can be used to monitor the status of the crops and to produce yield forecasts early in the season. Finally, we discuss approaches for blending this information source with other, more classical earth data sources

The devil is in the detail: children's recollection of details about their prior experiences.

PubMed

Strange, Deryn; Hayne, Harlene

2013-01-01

Adults sometimes report highly specific details of childhood events, including the weather, what they or others were wearing, as well as information about what they or others said or were thinking at the time. When these details are reported in the course of research they shape our theories of memory development; when they are reported in a criminal trial they influence jurors' evaluation of guilt or innocence. The key question is whether these details were encoded at the time the event took place or have been added after the fact. We addressed this question prospectively by examining the memory accounts of children. In Experiment 1 we coded the reports of 5- to 6-year-olds and 9- to 10-year-olds who had experienced a unique event. We found that spontaneous mentions of these specific details were exceedingly rare. In Experiment 2 we questioned additional children about a similar event using specific questions to extract those details. We found that 9- to 10-year-olds were able to accurately answer, while 5- to 6-year-olds had considerable difficulty. Moreover, when the younger children did respond they provided generic, forensically inadequate, information. These data have important implications for the courtroom and for current theories of memory development and childhood amnesia.

Recovering and preventing loss of detailed memory: differential rates of forgetting for detail types in episodic memory

PubMed Central

Bonasia, Kyra; St-Laurent, Marie; Pishdadian, Sara; Winocur, Gordon; Grady, Cheryl; Moscovitch, Morris

2016-01-01

Episodic memories undergo qualitative changes with time, but little is known about how different aspects of memory are affected. Different types of information in a memory, such as perceptual detail, and central themes, may be lost at different rates. In patients with medial temporal lobe damage, memory for perceptual details is severely impaired, while memory for central details is relatively spared. Given the sensitivity of memory to loss of details, the present study sought to investigate factors that mediate the forgetting of different types of information from naturalistic episodic memories in young healthy adults. The study investigated (1) time-dependent loss of “central” and “peripheral” details from episodic memories, (2) the effectiveness of cuing with reminders to reinstate memory details, and (3) the role of retrieval in preventing forgetting. Over the course of 7 d, memory for naturalistic events (film clips) underwent a time-dependent loss of peripheral details, while memory for central details (the core or gist of events) showed significantly less loss. Giving brief reminders of the clips just before retrieval reinstated memory for peripheral details, suggesting that loss of details is not always permanent, and may reflect both a storage and retrieval deficit. Furthermore, retrieving a memory shortly after it was encoded prevented loss of both central and peripheral details, thereby promoting retention over time. We consider the implications of these results for behavioral and neurobiological models of retention and forgetting. PMID:26773100

Recovering and preventing loss of detailed memory: differential rates of forgetting for detail types in episodic memory.

PubMed

Sekeres, Melanie J; Bonasia, Kyra; St-Laurent, Marie; Pishdadian, Sara; Winocur, Gordon; Grady, Cheryl; Moscovitch, Morris

2016-02-01

Episodic memories undergo qualitative changes with time, but little is known about how different aspects of memory are affected. Different types of information in a memory, such as perceptual detail, and central themes, may be lost at different rates. In patients with medial temporal lobe damage, memory for perceptual details is severely impaired, while memory for central details is relatively spared. Given the sensitivity of memory to loss of details, the present study sought to investigate factors that mediate the forgetting of different types of information from naturalistic episodic memories in young healthy adults. The study investigated (1) time-dependent loss of "central" and "peripheral" details from episodic memories, (2) the effectiveness of cuing with reminders to reinstate memory details, and (3) the role of retrieval in preventing forgetting. Over the course of 7 d, memory for naturalistic events (film clips) underwent a time-dependent loss of peripheral details, while memory for central details (the core or gist of events) showed significantly less loss. Giving brief reminders of the clips just before retrieval reinstated memory for peripheral details, suggesting that loss of details is not always permanent, and may reflect both a storage and retrieval deficit. Furthermore, retrieving a memory shortly after it was encoded prevented loss of both central and peripheral details, thereby promoting retention over time. We consider the implications of these results for behavioral and neurobiological models of retention and forgetting. © 2016 Sekeres et al.; Published by Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press.

Metal-assisted SIMS and cluster ion bombardment for ion yield enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heile, A.; Lipinsky, D.; Wehbe, N.; Delcorte, A.; Bertrand, P.; Felten, A.; Houssiau, L.; Pireaux, J.-J.; De Mondt, R.; Van Vaeck, L.; Arlinghaus, H. F.

2008-12-01

In addition to structural information, a detailed knowledge of the local chemical environment proves to be of ever greater importance, for example for the development of new types of materials as well as for specific modifications of surfaces and interfaces in multiple fields of materials science or various biomedical and chemical applications. But the ongoing miniaturization and therefore reduction of the amount of material available for analysis constitute a challenge to the detection limits of analytical methods. In the case of time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS), several methods of secondary ion yield enhancement have been proposed. This paper focuses on the investigation of the effects of two of these methods, metal-assisted SIMS and polyatomic primary ion bombardment. For this purpose, thicker layers of polystyrene (PS), both pristine and metallized with different amounts of gold, were analyzed using monoatomic (Ar +, Ga +, Xe +, Bi +) and polyatomic (SF 5+, Bi 3+, C 60+) primary ions. It was found that polyatomic ions generally induce a significant increase of the secondary ion yield. On the other hand, with gold deposition, a yield enhancement can only be detected for monoatomic ion bombardment.

Regional crop yield forecasting: a probabilistic approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

de Wit, A.; van Diepen, K.; Boogaard, H.

2009-04-01

Information on the outlook on yield and production of crops over large regions is essential for government services dealing with import and export of food crops, for agencies with a role in food relief, for international organizations with a mandate in monitoring the world food production and trade, and for commodity traders. Process-based mechanistic crop models are an important tool for providing such information, because they can integrate the effect of crop management, weather and soil on crop growth. When properly integrated in a yield forecasting system, the aggregated model output can be used to predict crop yield and production at regional, national and continental scales. Nevertheless, given the scales at which these models operate, the results are subject to large uncertainties due to poorly known weather conditions and crop management. Current yield forecasting systems are generally deterministic in nature and provide no information about the uncertainty bounds on their output. To improve on this situation we present an ensemble-based approach where uncertainty bounds can be derived from the dispersion of results in the ensemble. The probabilistic information provided by this ensemble-based system can be used to quantify uncertainties (risk) on regional crop yield forecasts and can therefore be an important support to quantitative risk analysis in a decision making process.

5 CFR 370.104 - Length of details.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Length of details. 370.104 Section 370.104 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXCHANGE PROGRAM § 370.104 Length of details. (a) Details may be for a period of between 3 months...

Shear induced migration of particles in a yield stress fluid: experiment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hormozi, Sarah; Gholami, Mohammad; Rashedi, Ahmadreza; Lenoir, Nicolas; Ovarlez, Guillaume

2017-11-01

We have performed rheometry coupled with X-ray radiography in a narrow gap Couette cell filled with a suspension of spherical particles in a yield stress fluid. In this setup, the shear rate is discontinuous changing from a constant value in the gap to zero in the reservoir located at the top. This shear rate inhomogeneity results in the migration of particles from the gap to the reservoir, so-called Shear Induced Migration (SIM). The rheometry results give us insight into understanding the bulk rheology in the presence of shear rate and solid volume fraction inhomogeneities. In addition to that, our recent X-ray radiography technique (Gholami et al., JOR. 2017) provides detailed information about the evolution of the solid volume fraction in the domain. These measurements allow us to refine the recent continuum model frameworks (Hormozi & Frigaard, JFM 2017) for SIM of particles in a yield stress suspending fluid. We show that complex rheology of the yield stress suspending fluid and formation of the islands of unyielded regions in the reservoir strongly affects the SIM of particles. This feature is absent when we deal with a Newtonian suspending fluid. NSF (Grant No. CBET-1554044- CAREER), ACS PRF (Grant No. 55661-DNI9).

10. DETAIL, CAB SIDE. DETAIL, END OF BOOM. DETAIL, LOWER ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

10. DETAIL, CAB SIDE. DETAIL, END OF BOOM. DETAIL, LOWER PART OF TOWER, SHOWING METAL WHEELS AND CABLE SPOOLS. DETAIL, LOOKING UP AT THE UNDERSIDE OF THE REVOLVING PLATFORM ATOP THE TOWER. - United Engineering Company Shipyard, Crane, 2900 Main Street, Alameda, Alameda County, CA

Low-template methods yield limited extra information for PowerPlex® Fusion 6C profiling.

PubMed

Duijs, Francisca; van de Merwe, Linda; Sijen, Titia; Benschop, Corina C G

2018-06-01

Advances in autosomal DNA profiling systems enable analyzing increased numbers of short tandem repeat (STR) loci in one reaction. Increasing the number of STR loci increases the amount of information that may be obtained from a (crime scene) sample. In this study, we examined whether even more allelic information can be obtained by applying low-template methods. To this aim, the performance of the PowerPlex® Fusion 6C STR typing system was assessed when increasing the number of PCR cycles or enhancing the capillary electrophoresis (CE) injection settings. Results show that applying these low-template methods yields limited extra information and comes at cost of more background noise. In addition, the gain in detection of alleles was much smaller when compared to the gain when applying low-template methods to the 15-loci AmpFLSTR® NGM™ system. Consequently, the PowerPlex® Fusion 6C STR typing system was implemented using standard settings only; low-template methods were not implemented for our routine forensic casework. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Variation of inulin content, inulin yield and water use efficiency for inulin yield in Jerusalem artichoke genotypes under different water regimes

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The information on genotypic variation for inulin content, inulin yield and water use efficiency of inulin yield (WUEi) in response to drought is limited. This study was to investigate the genetic variability in inulin content, inulin yield and WUEi of Jerusalem artichoke (Helianthus tuberosus L.) ...

Predicting Great Lakes fish yields: tools and constraints

USGS Publications Warehouse

Lewis, C.A.; Schupp, D.H.; Taylor, W.W.; Collins, J.J.; Hatch, Richard W.

1987-01-01

Prediction of yield is a critical component of fisheries management. The development of sound yield prediction methodology and the application of the results of yield prediction are central to the evolution of strategies to achieve stated goals for Great Lakes fisheries and to the measurement of progress toward those goals. Despite general availability of species yield models, yield prediction for many Great Lakes fisheries has been poor due to the instability of the fish communities and the inadequacy of available data. A host of biological, institutional, and societal factors constrain both the development of sound predictions and their application to management. Improved predictive capability requires increased stability of Great Lakes fisheries through rehabilitation of well-integrated communities, improvement of data collection, data standardization and information-sharing mechanisms, and further development of the methodology for yield prediction. Most important is the creation of a better-informed public that will in turn establish the political will to do what is required.

Recovering and Preventing Loss of Detailed Memory: Differential Rates of Forgetting for Detail Types in Episodic Memory

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sekeres, Melanie J.; Bonasia, Kyra; St-Laurent, Marie; Pishdadian, Sara; Winocur, Gordon; Grady, Cheryl; Moscovitch, Morris

2016-01-01

Episodic memories undergo qualitative changes with time, but little is known about how different aspects of memory are affected. Different types of information in a memory, such as perceptual detail, and central themes, may be lost at different rates. In patients with medial temporal lobe damage, memory for perceptual details is severely impaired,…

Satellite-based mapping of field-scale stress indicators for crop yield forecasting: an application over Mead, NE

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, Y.; Anderson, M. C.; Gao, F.; Wardlow, B.; Hain, C.; Otkin, J.; Sun, L.; Dulaney, W.

2017-12-01

In agricultural regions, water is one of the most widely limiting factors of crop performance and production. Evapotranspiration (ET) describes crop water use through transpiration and water lost through direct soil evaporation, which makes it a good indicator of soil moisture availability and vegetation health and thus has been an integral part of many yield estimation efforts. The Evaporative Stress Index (ESI) describes temporal anomalies in a normalized evapotranspiration metric (fRET) as derived from satellite remote sensing and has demonstrated capacity to explain regional yield variability in water limited crop growing regions. However, its performance in some regions where the vegetation cycle is intensively managed appears to be degraded. In this study we generated maps of ET, fRET, and ESI at high spatiotemporal resolution (30-m pixels, daily timesteps) using a multi-sensor data fusion method, integrating information from satellite platforms with good temporal coverage and other platforms that provide field-scale spatial detail. The study was conducted over the period 2010-2014, covering a region around Mead, Nebraska that includes both rainfed and irrigated crops. Correlations between ESI and measurements of corn yield are investigated at both the field and county level to assess the value of ESI as a yield forecasting tool. To examine the role of phenology in ESI-yield correlations, annual input fRET timeseries were aligned by both calendar day and by biophysically relevant dates (e.g. days since planting or emergence). Results demonstrate that mapping of fRET and ESI at 30-m has the advantage of being able to resolve different crop types with varying phenology. The study also suggests that incorporating phenological information significantly improves yield-correlations by accounting for effects of phenology such as variable planting date and emergence date. The yield-ESI relationship in this study well captures the inter-annual variability of yields

Light propagation and fluorescence quantum yields in liquid scintillators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Buck, C.; Gramlich, B.; Wagner, S.

2015-09-01

For the simulation of the scintillation and Cherenkov light propagation in large liquid scintillator detectors a detailed knowledge about the absorption and emission spectra of the scintillator molecules is mandatory. Furthermore reemission probabilities and quantum yields of the scintillator components influence the light propagation inside the liquid. Absorption and emission properties are presented for liquid scintillators using 2,5-Diphenyloxazole (PPO) and 4-bis-(2-Methylstyryl)benzene (bis-MSB) as primary and secondary wavelength shifter. New measurements of the quantum yields for various aromatic molecules are shown.

Memory for Details with Self-Referencing

PubMed Central

Serbun, Sarah J.; Shih, Joanne Y.; Gutchess, Angela H.

2011-01-01

Self-referencing benefits item memory, but little is known about the ways in which referencing the self affects memory for details. Experiment 1 assessed whether the effects of self-referencing operate only at the item, or general, level or also enhance memory for specific visual details of objects. Participants incidentally encoded objects by making judgments in reference to the self, a close other (one’s mother), or a familiar other (Bill Clinton). Results indicate that referencing the self or a close other enhances both specific and general memory. Experiments 2 and 3 assessed verbal memory for source in a task that relied on distinguishing between different mental operations (internal sources). Results indicate that self-referencing disproportionately enhances source memory, relative to conditions referencing other people, semantic, or perceptual information. We conclude that self-referencing not only enhances specific memory for both visual and verbal information, but can disproportionately improve memory for specific internal source details as well. PMID:22092106

Memory for details with self-referencing.

PubMed

Serbun, Sarah J; Shih, Joanne Y; Gutchess, Angela H

2011-11-01

Self-referencing benefits item memory, but little is known about the ways in which referencing the self affects memory for details. Experiment 1 assessed whether the effects of self-referencing operate only at the item, or general, level or whether they also enhance memory for specific visual details of objects. Participants incidentally encoded objects by making judgements in reference to the self, a close other (one's mother), or a familiar other (Bill Clinton). Results indicate that referencing the self or a close other enhances both specific and general memory. Experiments 2 and 3 assessed verbal memory for source in a task that relied on distinguishing between different mental operations (internal sources). The results indicate that self-referencing disproportionately enhances source memory, relative to conditions referencing other people, semantic, or perceptual information. We conclude that self-referencing not only enhances specific memory for both visual and verbal information, but can also disproportionately improve memory for specific internal source details.

Using geometrical, textural, and contextual information of land parcels for classification of detailed urban land use

USGS Publications Warehouse

Wu, S.-S.; Qiu, X.; Usery, E.L.; Wang, L.

2009-01-01

Detailed urban land use data are important to government officials, researchers, and businesspeople for a variety of purposes. This article presents an approach to classifying detailed urban land use based on geometrical, textural, and contextual information of land parcels. An area of 6 by 14 km in Austin, Texas, with land parcel boundaries delineated by the Travis Central Appraisal District of Travis County, Texas, is tested for the approach. We derive fifty parcel attributes from relevant geographic information system (GIS) and remote sensing data and use them to discriminate among nine urban land uses: single family, multifamily, commercial, office, industrial, civic, open space, transportation, and undeveloped. Half of the 33,025 parcels in the study area are used as training data for land use classification and the other half are used as testing data for accuracy assessment. The best result with a decision tree classification algorithm has an overall accuracy of 96 percent and a kappa coefficient of 0.78, and two naive, baseline models based on the majority rule and the spatial autocorrelation rule have overall accuracy of 89 percent and 79 percent, respectively. The algorithm is relatively good at classifying single-family, multifamily, commercial, open space, and undeveloped land uses and relatively poor at classifying office, industrial, civic, and transportation land uses. The most important attributes for land use classification are the geometrical attributes, particularly those related to building areas. Next are the contextual attributes, particularly those relevant to the spatial relationship between buildings, then the textural attributes, particularly the semivariance texture statistic from 0.61-m resolution images.

Intercomparison of Soil Moisture, Evaporative Stress, and Vegetation Indices for Estimating Corn and Soybean Yields Over the U.S.

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Mladenova, Iliana E.; Bolten, John D.; Crow, Wade T.; Anderson, Martha C.; Hain, C. R.; Johnson, David M.; Mueller, Rick

2017-01-01

This paper presents an intercomparative study of 12 operationally produced large-scale datasets describing soil moisture, evapotranspiration (ET), and or vegetation characteristics within agricultural regions of the contiguous United States (CONUS). These datasets have been developed using a variety of techniques, including, hydrologic modeling, satellite-based retrievals, data assimilation, and survey in-field data collection. The objectives are to assess the relative utility of each dataset for monitoring crop yield variability, to quantitatively assess their capacity for predicting end-of-season corn and soybean yields, and to examine the evolution of the yield-index correlations during the growing season. This analysis is unique both with regards to the number and variety of examined yield predictor datasets and the detailed assessment of the water availability timing on the end-of-season crop production during the growing season. Correlation results indicate that over CONUS, at state-level soil moisture and ET indices can provide better information for forecasting corn and soybean yields than vegetation-based indices such as normalized difference vegetation index. The strength of correlation with corn and soybean yields strongly depends on the interannual variability in yield measured at a given location. In this case study, some of the remotely derived datasets examined provide skill comparable to that of in situ field survey-based data further demonstrating the utility of these remote sensing-based approaches for estimating crop yield.

Climate variation explains a third of global crop yield variability

PubMed Central

Ray, Deepak K.; Gerber, James S.; MacDonald, Graham K.; West, Paul C.

2015-01-01

Many studies have examined the role of mean climate change in agriculture, but an understanding of the influence of inter-annual climate variations on crop yields in different regions remains elusive. We use detailed crop statistics time series for ~13,500 political units to examine how recent climate variability led to variations in maize, rice, wheat and soybean crop yields worldwide. While some areas show no significant influence of climate variability, in substantial areas of the global breadbaskets, >60% of the yield variability can be explained by climate variability. Globally, climate variability accounts for roughly a third (~32–39%) of the observed yield variability. Our study uniquely illustrates spatial patterns in the relationship between climate variability and crop yield variability, highlighting where variations in temperature, precipitation or their interaction explain yield variability. We discuss key drivers for the observed variations to target further research and policy interventions geared towards buffering future crop production from climate variability. PMID:25609225

Covariance Matrix Evaluations for Independent Mass Fission Yields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Terranova, N., E-mail: nicholas.terranova@unibo.it; Serot, O.; Archier, P.

2015-01-15

Recent needs for more accurate fission product yields include covariance information to allow improved uncertainty estimations of the parameters used by design codes. The aim of this work is to investigate the possibility to generate more reliable and complete uncertainty information on independent mass fission yields. Mass yields covariances are estimated through a convolution between the multi-Gaussian empirical model based on Brosa's fission modes, which describe the pre-neutron mass yields, and the average prompt neutron multiplicity curve. The covariance generation task has been approached using the Bayesian generalized least squared method through the CONRAD code. Preliminary results on mass yieldsmore » variance-covariance matrix will be presented and discussed from physical grounds in the case of {sup 235}U(n{sub th}, f) and {sup 239}Pu(n{sub th}, f) reactions.« less

Permanent-plot procedures for silvicultural and yield research.

Treesearch

Robert O. Curtis; David D. Marshall

2005-01-01

This paper reviews purposes and procedures for establishing and maintaining permanent plots for silvicultural and yield research, sampling and plot design, common errors, and procedures for measuring and recording data. It is a revision and update of a 1983 publication. Although some details are specific to coastal Pacific Northwest conditions, most of the material is...

Weather-based forecasts of California crop yields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lobell, D B; Cahill, K N; Field, C B

2005-09-26

Crop yield forecasts provide useful information to a range of users. Yields for several crops in California are currently forecast based on field surveys and farmer interviews, while for many crops official forecasts do not exist. As broad-scale crop yields are largely dependent on weather, measurements from existing meteorological stations have the potential to provide a reliable, timely, and cost-effective means to anticipate crop yields. We developed weather-based models of state-wide yields for 12 major California crops (wine grapes, lettuce, almonds, strawberries, table grapes, hay, oranges, cotton, tomatoes, walnuts, avocados, and pistachios), and tested their accuracy using cross-validation over themore » 1980-2003 period. Many crops were forecast with high accuracy, as judged by the percent of yield variation explained by the forecast, the number of yields with correctly predicted direction of yield change, or the number of yields with correctly predicted extreme yields. The most successfully modeled crop was almonds, with 81% of yield variance captured by the forecast. Predictions for most crops relied on weather measurements well before harvest time, allowing for lead times that were longer than existing procedures in many cases.« less

The Sunspot Number and beyond : reconstructing detailed solar information over centuries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lefevre, L.

2014-12-01

With four centuries of solar evolution, the International Sunspot Number (SSN) forms the longest solar time series currently available. It provides an essential reference for understanding and quantifying how the solar output has varied over decades and centuries and thus for assessing the variations of the main natural forcing on the Earth climate. Because of its importance, this unique time-series must be closely monitored for any possible biases and drifts. Here, we report about recent disagreements between solar indices, for example the sunspot sumber and the 10.7cm radio flux. Recent analyses indicate that while part of this divergence may be due to a calibration drift in the SSN, it also results from an intrinsic change in the global magnetic parameters of sunspots and solar active regions, suggesting a possible transition to a new activity regime. Going beyond the SSN series, in the framework of the TOSCA (www.cost-tosca.eu/) and SOLID (projects.pmodwrc.ch/solid/) projects, we produced a survey of all existing catalogs providing detailed sunspot information (Lefevre & Clette, 2014:10.1007/s11207-012-0184-5) and we also located different primary solar images and drawing collections that can be exploitable to complement the existing catalogs. These are first steps towards the construction of a multi-parametric time series of multiple sunspot and sunspot group properties over more than a century, allowing to reconstruct and extend the current 1-D SSN series. By bringing new spatial, morphological and evolutionary information, such a data set should bring major advances for the modeling of the solar dynamo and solar irradiance. We will present here the current status of this work. The preliminary version catalog now extends over the last 150 years. It makes use of data from DPD (http://fenyi.solarobs.unideb.hu/DPD/index.html), from the Uccle Solar Equatorial Table (USET:http://sidc.oma.be/uset/) operated by the Royal Obeservatory of Belgium, the Greenwich

A Remote Sensing-Derived Corn Yield Assessment Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shrestha, Ranjay Man

Agricultural studies and food security have become critical research topics due to continuous growth in human population and simultaneous shrinkage in agricultural land. In spite of modern technological advancements to improve agricultural productivity, more studies on crop yield assessments and food productivities are still necessary to fulfill the constantly increasing food demands. Besides human activities, natural disasters such as flood and drought, along with rapid climate changes, also inflect an adverse effect on food productivities. Understanding the impact of these disasters on crop yield and making early impact estimations could help planning for any national or international food crisis. Similarly, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Risk Management Agency (RMA) insurance management utilizes appropriately estimated crop yield and damage assessment information to sustain farmers' practice through timely and proper compensations. Through County Agricultural Production Survey (CAPS), the USDA National Agricultural Statistical Service (NASS) uses traditional methods of field interviews and farmer-reported survey data to perform annual crop condition monitoring and production estimations at the regional and state levels. As these manual approaches of yield estimations are highly inefficient and produce very limited samples to represent the entire area, NASS requires supplemental spatial data that provides continuous and timely information on crop production and annual yield. Compared to traditional methods, remote sensing data and products offer wider spatial extent, more accurate location information, higher temporal resolution and data distribution, and lower data cost--thus providing a complementary option for estimation of crop yield information. Remote sensing derived vegetation indices such as Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) provide measurable statistics of potential crop growth based on the spectral reflectance and could

Computer optimization of cutting yield from multiple ripped boards

Treesearch

A.R. Stern; K.A. McDonald

1978-01-01

RIPYLD is a computer program that optimizes the cutting yield from multiple-ripped boards. Decisions are based on automatically collected defect information, cutting bill requirements, and sawing variables. The yield of clear cuttings from a board is calculated for every possible permutation of specified rip widths and both the maximum and minimum percent yield...

Auto-Focused on Details in Yellowjacket on Mars

NASA Image and Video Library

2015-05-22

This image from the Chemistry and Camera (ChemCam) instrument on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows detailed texture of a rock target called "Yellowjacket" on Mars' Mount Sharp. This was the first rock target for ChemCam after checkout of restored capability for autonomous focusing. The image covers a patch of rock surface about 2.5 inches (6 centimeters) across. It was taken on May 15, 2015, during the mission's 986th Martian day, or sol. ChemCam's Remote Micro-Imager camera, on top of Curiosity's mast, captured the image from a distance of about 8 feet (2.4 meters). ChemCam also hit the target with laser pulses and recorded spectrographic information from the resulting flashes to reveal the chemical composition. Yellowjacket, located near an area called "Logan Pass" on lower Mount Sharp, is a layered sedimentary rock. The laser analysis yielded a composition very close to that of Mars soil and unlike the lakebed sedimentary compositions observed at lower elevations earlier in the mission. The soil-like composition may indicate that the rock formed from sediment transported by wind, rather than by water. http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA19661

Persistency of milk yield in Indonesian Holstein cows

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Widyas, N.; Putra, F. Y.; Nugroho, T.; Pramono, A.; Susilowati, A.; Sutarno; Prastowo, S.

2018-03-01

Milk yield is an important trait in dairy industry; thus, information regarding this phenotype is essential to measure the productivity of a farm. Total milk yield in one lactation period was often predicted using information from samples collected within certain time intervals. The rate of change of milk production between two-time intervals is defined as persistency. This article aims to estimate the persistency of milk yield between lactation 1, 2 and 3 in Indonesian Friesian Holstein (IFH) cows. Data was collected from Limpakuwus stable, Baturraden Dairy Cattle Breeding Centre, Central Java Indonesia. Records were obtained from cows which started lactating on 2013 until the end of third lactation around the beginning of 2016. Milk yield from the first (L1), second (L2) and third (L3) lactations of 21 cows were recorded in kilograms. Samples were collected in 30 days basis interval started from the 10th day of lactation up to the 10th month. In this population, the cows first calving was around February – April 2013; while the second and third calving occurred all over the relevant year. The mean of milk yield for L1, L2 and L3 were 17.77±3.70, 16.09±5.17 and 13.73±4.02 Kg respectively. The peak of milk yields was achieved at the second month of the lactation for L1, L2 and L3. The persistency from the second to the tenth test days were 97, 93 and 94% for L1, L2 and L3, respectively. Milk yield persistency is representing ability of cow in maintain milk production after peak during lactation period. The more persistent shows better performance of dairy cattle as well as farm management. For that, persistency value could be used as valuable information in evaluating the management in Indonesian dairy farms.

Characteristics and Impact of Drug Detailing for Gabapentin

PubMed Central

Steinman, Michael A; Harper, G. Michael; Chren, Mary-Margaret; Landefeld, C. Seth; Bero, Lisa A

2007-01-01

Background Sales visits by pharmaceutical representatives (“drug detailing”) are common, but little is known about the content of these visits or about the impact of visit characteristics on prescribing behavior. In this study, we evaluated the content and impact of detail visits for gabapentin by analyzing market research forms completed by physicians after receiving a detail visit for this drug. Methods and Findings Market research forms that describe detail visits for gabapentin became available through litigation that alleged that gabapentin was promoted for “off-label” uses. Forms were available for 97 physicians reporting on 116 detail visits between 1995 and 1999. Three-quarters of recorded visits (91/116) occurred in 1996. Two-thirds of visits (72/107) were 5 minutes or less in duration, 65% (73/113) were rated of high informational value, and 39% (42/107) were accompanied by the delivery or promise of samples. During the period of this study, gabapentin was approved by the US Food and Drug Administration only for the adjunctive treatment of partial seizures, but in 38% of visits (44/115) the “main message” of the visit involved at least one off-label use. After receiving the detail visit, 46% (50/108) of physicians reported the intention to increase their prescribing or recommending of gabapentin in the future. In multivariable analysis, intent to increase future use or recommendation of gabapentin was associated with receiving the detail in a small group (versus one-on-one) setting and with low or absent baseline use of the drug, but not with other factors such as visit duration, discussion of “on-label” versus “off-label” content, and the perceived informational value of the presentation. Conclusions Detail visits for gabapentin were of high perceived informational value and often involved messages about unapproved uses. Despite their short duration, detail visits were frequently followed by physician intentions to increase their

The Seductive Details Effect in Technology-Delivered Instruction

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Towler, Annette; Kraiger, Kurt; Sitzmann, Traci; Van Overberghe, Courtney; Cruz, Jaime; Ronen, Eyal; Stewart, David

2008-01-01

Seductive details are highly interesting information tangential to course objectives. The inclusion of seductive details generally harms performance on recall tests, but few studies have used multimedia training or investigated effects on performance on recognition tests or transfer tasks. We conducted two studies using computer-based training,…

Climate Change Impact Uncertainties for Maize in Panama: Farm Information, Climate Projections, and Yield Sensitivities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ruane, Alex C.; Cecil, L. Dewayne; Horton, Radley M.; Gordon, Roman; McCollum, Raymond (Brown, Douglas); Brown, Douglas; Killough, Brian; Goldberg, Richard; Greeley, Adam P.; Rosenzweig, Cynthia

2011-01-01

We present results from a pilot project to characterize and bound multi-disciplinary uncertainties around the assessment of maize (Zea mays) production impacts using the CERES-Maize crop model in a climate-sensitive region with a variety of farming systems (Panama). Segunda coa (autumn) maize yield in Panama currently suffers occasionally from high water stress at the end of the growing season, however under future climate conditions warmer temperatures accelerate crop maturation and elevated CO (sub 2) concentrations improve water retention. This combination reduces end-of-season water stresses and eventually leads to small mean yield gains according to median projections, although accelerated maturation reduces yields in seasons with low water stresses. Calibrations of cultivar traits, soil profile, and fertilizer amounts are most important for representing baseline yields, however sensitivity to all management factors is reduced in an assessment of future yield changes (most dramatically for fertilizers), suggesting that yield changes may be more generalizable than absolute yields. Uncertainty around General Circulation Model (GCM)s' projected changes in rainfall gain in importance throughout the century, with yield changes strongly correlated with growing season rainfall totals. Climate changes are expected to be obscured by the large inter-annual variations in Panamanian climate that will continue to be the dominant influence on seasonal maize yield into the coming decades. The relatively high (A2) and low (B1) emissions scenarios show little difference in their impact on future maize yields until the end of the century. Uncertainties related to the sensitivity of CERES-Maize to carbon dioxide concentrations have a substantial influence on projected changes, and remain a significant obstacle to climate change impacts assessment. Finally, an investigation into the potential of simple statistical yield emulators based upon key climate variables characterizes the

Climatic and technological ceilings for Chinese rice stagnation based on yield gaps and yield trend pattern analysis.

PubMed

Zhang, Tianyi; Yang, Xiaoguang; Wang, Hesong; Li, Yong; Ye, Qing

2014-04-01

Climatic or technological ceilings could cause yield stagnation. Thus, identifying the principal reasons for yield stagnation within the context of the local climate and socio-economic conditions are essential for informing regional agricultural policies. In this study, we identified the climatic and technological ceilings for seven rice-production regions in China based on yield gaps and on a yield trend pattern analysis for the period 1980-2010. The results indicate that 54.9% of the counties sampled experienced yield stagnation since the 1980. The potential yield ceilings in northern and eastern China decreased to a greater extent than in other regions due to the accompanying climate effects of increases in temperature and decreases in radiation. This may be associated with yield stagnation and halt occurring in approximately 49.8-57.0% of the sampled counties in these areas. South-western China exhibited a promising scope for yield improvement, showing the greatest yield gap (30.6%), whereas the yields were stagnant in 58.4% of the sampled counties. This finding suggests that efforts to overcome the technological ceiling must be given priority so that the available exploitable yield gap can be achieved. North-eastern China, however, represents a noteworthy exception. In the north-central area of this region, climate change has increased the yield potential ceiling, and this increase has been accompanied by the most rapid increase in actual yield: 1.02 ton ha(-1) per decade. Therefore, north-eastern China shows a great potential for rice production, which is favoured by the current climate conditions and available technology level. Additional environmentally friendly economic incentives might be considered in this region. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Yield performance and stability of CMS-based triticale hybrids.

PubMed

Mühleisen, Jonathan; Piepho, Hans-Peter; Maurer, Hans Peter; Reif, Jochen Christoph

2015-02-01

CMS-based triticale hybrids showed only marginal midparent heterosis for grain yield and lower dynamic yield stability compared to inbred lines. Hybrids of triticale (×Triticosecale Wittmack) are expected to possess outstanding yield performance and increased dynamic yield stability. The objectives of the present study were to (1) examine the optimum choice of the biometrical model to compare yield stability of hybrids versus lines, (2) investigate whether hybrids exhibit a more pronounced grain yield performance and yield stability, and (3) study optimal strategies to predict yield stability of hybrids. Thirteen female and seven male parental lines and their 91 factorial hybrids as well as 30 commercial lines were evaluated for grain yield in up to 20 environments. Hybrids were produced using a cytoplasmic male sterility (CMS)-inducing cytoplasm that originated from Triticumtimopheevii Zhuk. We found that the choice of the biometrical model can cause contrasting results and concluded that a group-by-environment interaction term should be added to the model when estimating stability variance of hybrids and lines. midparent heterosis for grain yield was on average 3 % with a range from -15.0 to 11.5 %. No hybrid outperformed the best inbred line. Hybrids had, on average, lower dynamic yield stability compared to the inbred lines. Grain yield performance of hybrids could be predicted based on midparent values and general combining ability (GCA)-predicted values. In contrast, stability variance of hybrids could be predicted only based on GCA-predicted values. We speculated that negative effects of the used CMS cytoplasm might be the reason for the low performance and yield stability of the hybrids. For this purpose a detailed study on the reasons for the drawback of the currently existing CMS system in triticale is urgently required comprising also the search of potentially alternative hybridization systems.

Hyperspectral imagery for mapping crop yield for precision agriculture

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Crop yield is perhaps the most important piece of information for crop management in precision agriculture. It integrates the effects of various spatial variables such as soil properties, topographic attributes, tillage, plant population, fertilization, irrigation, and pest infestations. A yield map...

Maximum credibly yield for deuteriuim-filled double shell imaging targets meeting requirements for yield bin Category A

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilson, Douglas Carl; Loomis, Eric Nicholas

2017-08-17

We are anticipating our first NIF double shell shot using an aluminum ablator and a glass inner shell filled with deuterium shown in figure 1. The expected yield is between a few 10 10 to a few 10 11 dd neutrons. The maximum credible yield is 5e+13. This memo describes why, and what would be expected with variations on the target. This memo evaluates the maximum credible yield for deuterium filled double shell capsule targets with an aluminum ablator shell and a glass inner shell in yield Category A (< 10 14 neutrons). It also pertains to fills of gasmore » diluted with hydrogen, helium ( 3He or 4He), or any other fuel except tritium. This memo does not apply to lower z ablator dopants, such as beryllium, as this would increase the ablation efficiency. This evaluation is for 5.75 scale hohlraum targets of either gold or uranium with helium gas fills with density between 0 and 1.6 mg/cc. It could be extended to other hohlraum sizes and shapes with slight modifications. At present only laser pulse energies up to 1.5 MJ were considered with a single step laser pulse of arbitrary shape. Since yield decreases with laser energy for this target, the memo could be extended to higher laser energies if desired. These maximum laser parameters of pulses addressed here are near the edge of NIF’s capability, and constitute the operating envelope for experiments covered by this memo. We have not considered multiple step pulses, would probably create no advantages in performance, and are not planned for double shell capsules. The main target variables are summarized in Table 1 and explained in detail in the memo. Predicted neutron yields are based on 1D and 2D clean simulations.« less

Fission yield covariances for JEFF: A Bayesian Monte Carlo method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leray, Olivier; Rochman, Dimitri; Fleming, Michael; Sublet, Jean-Christophe; Koning, Arjan; Vasiliev, Alexander; Ferroukhi, Hakim

2017-09-01

The JEFF library does not contain fission yield covariances, but simply best estimates and uncertainties. This situation is not unique as all libraries are facing this deficiency, firstly due to the lack of a defined format. An alternative approach is to provide a set of random fission yields, themselves reflecting covariance information. In this work, these random files are obtained combining the information from the JEFF library (fission yields and uncertainties) and the theoretical knowledge from the GEF code. Examples of this method are presented for the main actinides together with their impacts on simple burn-up and decay heat calculations.

Detailed clinical models: a review.

PubMed

Goossen, William; Goossen-Baremans, Anneke; van der Zel, Michael

2010-12-01

Due to the increasing use of electronic patient records and other health care information technology, we see an increase in requests to utilize these data. A highly level of standardization is required during the gathering of these data in the clinical context in order to use it for analyses. Detailed Clinical Models (DCM) have been created toward this purpose and several initiatives have been implemented in various parts of the world to create standardized models. This paper presents a review of DCM. Two types of analyses are presented; one comparing DCM against health care information architectures and a second bottom up approach from concept analysis to representation. In addition core parts of the draft ISO standard 13972 on DCM are used such as clinician involvement, data element specification, modeling, meta information, and repository and governance. SIX INITIATIVES WERE SELECTED: Intermountain Healthcare, 13606/OpenEHR Archetypes, Clinical Templates, Clinical Contents Models, Health Level 7 templates, and Dutch Detailed Clinical Models. Each model selected was reviewed for their overall development, involvement of clinicians, use of data types, code bindings, expressing semantics, modeling, meta information, use of repository and governance. Using both a top down and bottom up approach to comparison reveals many commonalties and differences between initiatives. Important differences include the use of or lack of a reference model and expressiveness of models. Applying clinical data element standards facilitates the use of conceptual DCM models in different technical representations.

A new debate for Turkish physicians: e-detailing.

PubMed

Ventura, Keti; Baybars, Miray; Dedeoglu, Ayla Ozhan

2012-01-01

The study presents an empirical analysis of the attitudes of Turkish physicians towards e-detailing practices compared to face-to-face detailing. The findings reveal that although physicians have positive attitudes toward e-detailing, on some points they are still undecided and/or have doubts. The structural model revealed that affect, convenience, and informative content influence their attitude in a positive manner, whereas the personal interaction was found to be a negative factor. Physicians' age and frequency of calls received from representatives are moderators. The present study can be seen as an addition to pharmaceutical marketing, an underresearched study field in Turkey, and e-detailing particularly.

FAST TRACK COMMUNICATION Far-field x-ray phase contrast imaging has no detailed information on the object

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kohn, V. G.; Argunova, T. S.; Je, J. H.

2010-11-01

We show that x-ray phase contrast images of some objects with a small cross-section diameter d satisfy a condition for a far-field approximation d Lt r1 where r1 = (λz)1/2, λ is the x-ray wavelength, z is the distance from the object to the detector. In this case the size of the image does not match the size of the object contrary to the edge detection technique. Moreover, the structure of the central fringes of the image is universal, i.e. it is independent of the object cross-section structure. Therefore, these images have no detailed information on the object.

5 CFR 370.107 - Details to small business concerns.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Details to small business concerns. 370.107 Section 370.107 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXCHANGE PROGRAM § 370.107 Details to small business concerns. (a) The head of each...

Comparison of statistical models for analyzing wheat yield time series.

PubMed

Michel, Lucie; Makowski, David

2013-01-01

The world's population is predicted to exceed nine billion by 2050 and there is increasing concern about the capability of agriculture to feed such a large population. Foresight studies on food security are frequently based on crop yield trends estimated from yield time series provided by national and regional statistical agencies. Various types of statistical models have been proposed for the analysis of yield time series, but the predictive performances of these models have not yet been evaluated in detail. In this study, we present eight statistical models for analyzing yield time series and compare their ability to predict wheat yield at the national and regional scales, using data provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and by the French Ministry of Agriculture. The Holt-Winters and dynamic linear models performed equally well, giving the most accurate predictions of wheat yield. However, dynamic linear models have two advantages over Holt-Winters models: they can be used to reconstruct past yield trends retrospectively and to analyze uncertainty. The results obtained with dynamic linear models indicated a stagnation of wheat yields in many countries, but the estimated rate of increase of wheat yield remained above 0.06 t ha⁻¹ year⁻¹ in several countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, and the estimated values were highly uncertain for several major wheat producing countries. The rate of yield increase differed considerably between French regions, suggesting that efforts to identify the main causes of yield stagnation should focus on a subnational scale.

Comparison of Statistical Models for Analyzing Wheat Yield Time Series

PubMed Central

Michel, Lucie; Makowski, David

2013-01-01

The world's population is predicted to exceed nine billion by 2050 and there is increasing concern about the capability of agriculture to feed such a large population. Foresight studies on food security are frequently based on crop yield trends estimated from yield time series provided by national and regional statistical agencies. Various types of statistical models have been proposed for the analysis of yield time series, but the predictive performances of these models have not yet been evaluated in detail. In this study, we present eight statistical models for analyzing yield time series and compare their ability to predict wheat yield at the national and regional scales, using data provided by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and by the French Ministry of Agriculture. The Holt-Winters and dynamic linear models performed equally well, giving the most accurate predictions of wheat yield. However, dynamic linear models have two advantages over Holt-Winters models: they can be used to reconstruct past yield trends retrospectively and to analyze uncertainty. The results obtained with dynamic linear models indicated a stagnation of wheat yields in many countries, but the estimated rate of increase of wheat yield remained above 0.06 t ha−1 year−1 in several countries in Europe, Asia, Africa and America, and the estimated values were highly uncertain for several major wheat producing countries. The rate of yield increase differed considerably between French regions, suggesting that efforts to identify the main causes of yield stagnation should focus on a subnational scale. PMID:24205280

Beyond Vmax and Km: How details of enzyme function influence geochemical cycles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Steen, A. D.

2015-12-01

Enzymes catalyze the vast majority of chemical reactions relevant to geomicrobiology. Studies of the activities of enzymes in environmental systems often report Vmax (the maximum possible rate of reaction; often proportional to the concentration of enzymes in the system) and sometimes Km (a measure of the affinity between enzymes and their substrates). However, enzyme studies - particularly those related to enzymes involved in organic carbon oxidation - are often limited to only those parameters, and a relatively limited and mixed set of enzymes. Here I will discuss some novel methods to assay and characterize the specific sets of enzymes that may be important to the carbon cycle in aquatic environments. First, kinetic experiments revealed the collective properties of the complex mixtures of extracellular peptidases that occur where microbial communities are diverse. Crystal structures combined with biochemical characterization of specific enzymes can yield more detailed information about key steps in organic carbon transformations. These new techniques have the potential to provide mechanistic grounding to geomicrobiological models.

Occupation Competency Profile: Steel Detailer Program.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Learning, Edmonton. Apprenticeship and Industry Training.

This document presents information about the apprenticeship training program of Alberta, Canada, in general and the steel detailer program in particular. The first part of the document discusses the following items: Alberta's apprenticeship and industry training system; the apprenticeship and industry training committee structure; local…

78 FR 66929 - Intent To Conduct a Detailed Economic Impact Analysis

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-07

... EXPORT-IMPORT BANK Intent To Conduct a Detailed Economic Impact Analysis AGENCY: Policy and... Federal Register notice informing the public of its intent to conduct a detailed economic impact analysis... subject to a detailed economic impact analysis. DATES: The Federal Register notice published on August 5...

Specific energy yield comparison between crystalline silicon and amorphous silicon based PV modules

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ferenczi, Toby; Stern, Omar; Hartung, Marianne; Mueggenburg, Eike; Lynass, Mark; Bernal, Eva; Mayer, Oliver; Zettl, Marcus

2009-08-01

As emerging thin-film PV technologies continue to penetrate the market and the number of utility scale installations substantially increase, detailed understanding of the performance of the various PV technologies becomes more important. An accurate database for each technology is essential for precise project planning, energy yield prediction and project financing. However recent publications showed that it is very difficult to get accurate and reliable performance data of theses technologies. This paper evaluates previously reported claims the amorphous silicon based PV modules have a higher annual energy yield compared to crystalline silicon modules relative to their rated performance. In order to acquire a detailed understanding of this effect, outdoor module tests were performed at GE Global Research Center in Munich. In this study we examine closely two of the five reported factors that contribute to enhanced energy yield of amorphous silicon modules. We find evidence to support each of these factors and evaluate their relative significance. We discuss aspects for improvement in how PV modules are sold and identify areas for further study further study.

Climate-Driven Crop Yield and Yield Variability and Climate Change Impacts on the U.S. Great Plains Agricultural Production.

PubMed

Kukal, Meetpal S; Irmak, Suat

2018-02-22

Climate variability and trends affect global crop yields and are characterized as highly dependent on location, crop type, and irrigation. U.S. Great Plains, due to its significance in national food production, evident climate variability, and extensive irrigation is an ideal region of investigation for climate impacts on food production. This paper evaluates climate impacts on maize, sorghum, and soybean yields and effect of irrigation for individual counties in this region by employing extensive crop yield and climate datasets from 1968-2013. Variability in crop yields was a quarter of the regional average yields, with a quarter of this variability explained by climate variability, and temperature and precipitation explained these in singularity or combination at different locations. Observed temperature trend was beneficial for maize yields, but detrimental for sorghum and soybean yields, whereas observed precipitation trend was beneficial for all three crops. Irrigated yields demonstrated increased robustness and an effective mitigation strategy against climate impacts than their non-irrigated counterparts by a considerable fraction. The information, data, and maps provided can serve as an assessment guide for planners, managers, and policy- and decision makers to prioritize agricultural resilience efforts and resource allocation or re-allocation in the regions that exhibit risk from climate variability.

Brazilian Soybean Yields and Yield Gaps Vary with Farm Size

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jeffries, G. R.; Cohn, A.; Griffin, T. S.; Bragança, A.

2017-12-01

Understanding the farm size-specific characteristics of crop yields and yield gaps may help to improve yields by enabling better targeting of technical assistance and agricultural development programs. Linking remote sensing-based yield estimates with property boundaries provides a novel view of the relationship between farm size and yield structure (yield magnitude, gaps, and stability over time). A growing literature documents variations in yield gaps, but largely ignores the role of farm size as a factor shaping yield structure. Research on the inverse farm size-productivity relationship (IR) theory - that small farms are more productive than large ones all else equal - has documented that yield magnitude may vary by farm size, but has not considered other yield structure characteristics. We examined farm size - yield structure relationships for soybeans in Brazil for years 2001-2015. Using out-of-sample soybean yield predictions from a statistical model, we documented 1) gaps between the 95th percentile of attained yields and mean yields within counties and individual fields, and 2) yield stability defined as the standard deviation of time-detrended yields at given locations. We found a direct relationship between soy yields and farm size at the national level, while the strength and the sign of the relationship varied by region. Soybean yield gaps were found to be inversely related to farm size metrics, even when yields were only compared to farms of similar size. The relationship between farm size and yield stability was nonlinear, with mid-sized farms having the most stable yields. The work suggests that farm size is an important factor in understanding yield structure and that opportunities for improving soy yields in Brazil are greatest among smaller farms.

Influences on physicians' adoption of electronic detailing (e-detailing).

PubMed

Alkhateeb, Fadi M; Doucette, William R

2009-01-01

E-detailing means using digital technology: internet, video conferencing and interactive voice response. There are two types of e-detailing: interactive (virtual) and video. Currently, little is known about what factors influence physicians' adoption of e-detailing. The objectives of this study were to test a model of physicians' adoption of e-detailing and to describe physicians using e-detailing. A mail survey was sent to a random sample of 2000 physicians practicing in Iowa. Binomial logistic regression was used to test the model of influences on physician adoption of e-detailing. On the basis of Rogers' model of adoption, the independent variables included relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, peer influence, attitudes, years in practice, presence of restrictive access to traditional detailing, type of specialty, academic affiliation, type of practice setting and control variables. A total of 671 responses were received giving a response rate of 34.7%. A total of 141 physicians (21.0%) reported using of e-detailing. The overall adoption model for using either type of e-detailing was found to be significant. Relative advantage, peer influence, attitudes, type of specialty, presence of restrictive access and years of practice had significant influences on physician adoption of e-detailing. The model of adoption of innovation is useful to explain physicians' adoption of e-detailing.

Computing wheat nitrogen requirements from grain yield and protein maps

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Optical protein sensors and mass-flow yield monitors provide the opportunity to continuously measure grain quality and quantity during harvesting. This chapter illustrates how yield monitor and grain protein measurements may provide useful postharvest information for evaluating water or nitrogen (N)...

Computing wheat nitrogen requirements from grain yield and protein maps

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Optical protein sensors and mass-flow yield monitors provide the opportunity to continuously measure grain quality and quantity during harvesting. This chapter illustrates how yield monitor and grain protein measurements may provide useful post-harvest information for evaluating water or nitrogen (...

5 CFR 370.107 - Details to small business concerns.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Details to small business concerns. 370... INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXCHANGE PROGRAM § 370.107 Details to small business concerns. (a) The head of each... organizations in each calendar year, at least 20 percent are to small business concerns, in accordance with 5 U...

5 CFR 370.107 - Details to small business concerns.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Details to small business concerns. 370... INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXCHANGE PROGRAM § 370.107 Details to small business concerns. (a) The head of each... organizations in each calendar year, at least 20 percent are to small business concerns, in accordance with 5 U...

5 CFR 370.107 - Details to small business concerns.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Details to small business concerns. 370... INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXCHANGE PROGRAM § 370.107 Details to small business concerns. (a) The head of each... organizations in each calendar year, at least 20 percent are to small business concerns, in accordance with 5 U...

5 CFR 370.107 - Details to small business concerns.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Details to small business concerns. 370... INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY EXCHANGE PROGRAM § 370.107 Details to small business concerns. (a) The head of each... organizations in each calendar year, at least 20 percent are to small business concerns, in accordance with 5 U...

Behaviour of several fatigue prone bridge details

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kubiš, Petr; Ryjáček, Pavel

2017-09-01

Three fatigue welded bridge joints analysed in this work are the alternative details of the bottom flange connection. This construction detail is mainly used for the erection connection for steel and composite bridges. If applied in the place, where live load is significant, the fatigue becomes the main design criterion. The detail category is thus very important factor. The aim of this paper is to analyse the possibilities of the improving the behaviour of this detail, by various methods. First solution is to modify the shape of the cope hole to the elliptic shape. Second option is to use the “Olemutz” fully welded detail. This detail is often used in bridge designing despite there is no exact information about the fatigue category, and doubts of the performance exists. “Olemutz” is a long web plate slit that is filled by the double bevel weld after the execution of the bottom flange weld. The last detail is the elliptic cope hole filled by the plate-cap welded into an empty hole. The geometry is the same, as in the first case. The conclusion of the numerical analysis and the pilot fatigue experiments is discussed with several practical recommendations for designing.

Chord Splicing & Joining Detail; Chord & CrossBracing Joint Details; ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Chord Splicing & Joining Detail; Chord & Cross-Bracing Joint Details; Cross Bracing Center Joint Detail; Chord & Diagonal Joint Detail - Vermont Covered Bridge, Highland Park, spanning Kokomo Creek at West end of Deffenbaugh Street (moved to), Kokomo, Howard County, IN

EarthSat spring wheat yield system test 1975

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1976-01-01

The results of an operational test of the EarthSat System during the period 1 June - 30 August 1975 over the spring wheat regions of North Dakota, South Dakota, and Minnesota are presented. The errors associated with each sub-element of the system during the operational test and the sensitivity of the complete system and each major functional sub-element of the system to the observed errors were evaluated. Evaluations and recommendations for future operational users of the system include: (1) changes in various system sub-elements, (2) changes in the yield model to affect improved accuracy, (3) changes in the number of geobased cells needed to develop an accurate aggregated yield estimate, (4) changes associated with the implementation of future operational satellites and data processing systems, and (5) detailed system documentation.

Quantifying yield gaps in wheat production in Russia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schierhorn, Florian; Faramarzi, Monireh; Prishchepov, Alexander V.; Koch, Friedrich J.; Müller, Daniel

2014-08-01

Crop yields must increase substantially to meet the increasing demands for agricultural products. Crop yield increases are particularly important for Russia because low crop yields prevail across Russia’s widespread and fertile land resources. However, reliable data are lacking regarding the spatial distribution of potential yields in Russia, which can be used to determine yield gaps. We used a crop growth model to determine the yield potentials and yield gaps of winter and spring wheat at the provincial level across European Russia. We modeled the annual yield potentials from 1995 to 2006 with optimal nitrogen supplies for both rainfed and irrigated conditions. Overall, the results suggest yield gaps of 1.51-2.10 t ha-1, or 44-52% of the yield potential under rainfed conditions. Under irrigated conditions, yield gaps of 3.14-3.30 t ha-1, or 62-63% of the yield potential, were observed. However, recurring droughts cause large fluctuations in yield potentials under rainfed conditions, even when the nitrogen supply is optimal, particularly in the highly fertile black soil areas of southern European Russia. The highest yield gaps (up to 4 t ha-1) under irrigated conditions were detected in the steppe areas in southeastern European Russia along the border of Kazakhstan. Improving the nutrient and water supply and using crop breeds that are adapted to the frequent drought conditions are important for reducing yield gaps in European Russia. Our regional assessment helps inform policy and agricultural investors and prioritize research that aims to increase crop production in this important region for global agricultural markets.

Metabolomic prediction of yield in hybrid rice.

PubMed

Xu, Shizhong; Xu, Yang; Gong, Liang; Zhang, Qifa

2016-10-01

Rice (Oryza sativa) provides a staple food source for more than 50% of the world's population. An increase in yield can significantly contribute to global food security. Hybrid breeding can potentially help to meet this goal because hybrid rice often shows a considerable increase in yield when compared with pure-bred cultivars. We recently developed a marker-guided prediction method for hybrid yield and showed a substantial increase in yield through genomic hybrid breeding. We now have transcriptomic and metabolomic data as potential resources for prediction. Using six prediction methods, including least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO), best linear unbiased prediction (BLUP), stochastic search variable selection, partial least squares, and support vector machines using the radial basis function and polynomial kernel function, we found that the predictability of hybrid yield can be further increased using these omic data. LASSO and BLUP are the most efficient methods for yield prediction. For high heritability traits, genomic data remain the most efficient predictors. When metabolomic data are used, the predictability of hybrid yield is almost doubled compared with genomic prediction. Of the 21 945 potential hybrids derived from 210 recombinant inbred lines, selection of the top 10 hybrids predicted from metabolites would lead to a ~30% increase in yield. We hypothesize that each metabolite represents a biologically built-in genetic network for yield; thus, using metabolites for prediction is equivalent to using information integrated from these hidden genetic networks for yield prediction. © 2016 The Authors The Plant Journal © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Space Telecommunications Radio System (STRS) Architecture, Tutorial Part 2 - Detailed

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Handler, Louis

2014-01-01

The STRS architecture detail presentation presents each requirement in the STRS Architecture Standard with some examples and supporting information. The purpose is to give a platform provider, application provider, or application integrator a better, more detailed understanding of the STRS Architecture Standard and its use.

Modelling crop yield in Iberia under drought conditions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ribeiro, Andreia; Páscoa, Patrícia; Russo, Ana; Gouveia, Célia

2017-04-01

The improved assessment of the cereal yield and crop loss under drought conditions are essential to meet the increasing economy demands. The growing frequency and severity of the extreme drought conditions in the Iberian Peninsula (IP) has been likely responsible for negative impacts on agriculture, namely on crop yield losses. Therefore, a continuous monitoring of vegetation activity and a reliable estimation of drought impacts is crucial to contribute for the agricultural drought management and development of suitable information tools. This works aims to assess the influence of drought conditions in agricultural yields over the IP, considering cereal yields from mainly rainfed agriculture for the provinces with higher productivity. The main target is to develop a strategy to model drought risk on agriculture for wheat yield at a province level. In order to achieve this goal a combined assessment was made using a drought indicator (Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index, SPEI) to evaluate drought conditions together with a widely used vegetation index (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index, NDVI) to monitor vegetation activity. A correlation analysis between detrended wheat yield and SPEI was performed in order to assess the vegetation response to each time scale of drought occurrence and also identify the moment of the vegetative cycle when the crop yields are more vulnerable to drought conditions. The time scales and months of SPEI, together with the months of NDVI, better related with wheat yield were chosen to perform a multivariate regression analysis to simulate crop yield. Model results are satisfactory and highlighted the usefulness of such analysis in the framework of developing a drought risk model for crop yields. In terms of an operational point of view, the results aim to contribute to an improved understanding of crop yield management under dry conditions, particularly adding substantial information on the advantages of combining

Creating a High-Touch Recruitment Event: Utilizing Faculty to Recruit and Yield Students

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Freed, Lindsey R.; Howell, Leanne L.

2018-01-01

The following article describes the planning and implementation of a university student recruitment event that produced a high (new) student yield. Detailed descriptions of how staff and faculty worked together to plan and implement this event are described.

Genome-wide association analysis of milk yield traits in Nordic Red Cattle using imputed whole genome sequence variants.

PubMed

Iso-Touru, T; Sahana, G; Guldbrandtsen, B; Lund, M S; Vilkki, J

2016-03-22

The Nordic Red Cattle consisting of three different populations from Finland, Sweden and Denmark are under a joint breeding value estimation system. The long history of recording of production and health traits offers a great opportunity to study production traits and identify causal variants behind them. In this study, we used whole genome sequence level data from 4280 progeny tested Nordic Red Cattle bulls to scan the genome for loci affecting milk, fat and protein yields. Using a genome-wise significance threshold, regions on Bos taurus chromosomes 5, 14, 23, 25 and 26 were associated with fat yield. Regions on chromosomes 5, 14, 16, 19, 20 and 25 were associated with milk yield and chromosomes 5, 14 and 25 had regions associated with protein yield. Significantly associated variations were found in 227 genes for fat yield, 72 genes for milk yield and 30 genes for protein yield. Ingenuity Pathway Analysis was used to identify networks connecting these genes displaying significant hits. When compared to previously mapped genomic regions associated with fertility, significantly associated variations were found in 5 genes common for fat yield and fertility, thus linking these two traits via biological networks. This is the first time when whole genome sequence data is utilized to study genomic regions affecting milk production in the Nordic Red Cattle population. Sequence level data offers the possibility to study quantitative traits in detail but still cannot unambiguously reveal which of the associated variations is causative. Linkage disequilibrium creates difficulties to pinpoint the causative genes and variations. One solution to overcome these difficulties is the identification of the functional gene networks and pathways to reveal important interacting genes as candidates for the observed effects. This information on target genomic regions may be exploited to improve genomic prediction.

DANSS Neutrino Spectrometer: Detector Calibration, Response Stability, and Light Yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Alekseev, I. G.; Belov, V. V.; Danilov, M. V.; Zhitnikov, I. V.; Kobyakin, A. S.; Kuznetsov, A. S.; Machikhiliyan, I. V.; Medvedev, D. V.; Rusinov, V. Yu.; Svirida, D. N.; Skrobova, N. A.; Starostin, A. S.; Tarkovsky, E. I.; Fomina, M. V.; Shevchik, E. A.; Shirchenko, M. V.

2018-05-01

Apart from monitoring nuclear reactor parameters, the DANSS neutrino experiment is aimed at searching for sterile neutrinos through a detailed analysis of the ratio of reactor antineutrino spectra measured at different distances from the reactor core. The light collection system of the detector is dual, comprising both the vacuum photomultiplier tubes (PMTs) and silicon photomultipliers (SiPMs). In this paper, the techniques developed to calibrate the responses of these photodetectors are discussed in detail. The long-term stability of the key parameters of the detector and their dependences on the ambient temperature are investigated. The results of detector light yield measurements, performed independently with PMTs and SiPMs are reported.

Evaluation of the CEAS model for barley yields in North Dakota and Minnesota

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Barnett, T. L. (Principal Investigator)

1981-01-01

The CEAS yield model is based upon multiple regression analysis at the CRD and state levels. For the historical time series, yield is regressed on a set of variables derived from monthly mean temperature and monthly precipitation. Technological trend is represented by piecewise linear and/or quadriatic functions of year. Indicators of yield reliability obtained from a ten-year bootstrap test (1970-79) demonstrated that biases are small and performance as indicated by the root mean square errors are acceptable for intended application, however, model response for individual years particularly unusual years, is not very reliable and shows some large errors. The model is objective, adequate, timely, simple and not costly. It considers scientific knowledge on a broad scale but not in detail, and does not provide a good current measure of modeled yield reliability.

Total and Differential Sputter Yields of Boron Nitride Measured by Quartz Crystal Microbalance (Preprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-08-20

Nomenclature As = QCM sensor area E = ion energy E* = characteristic energy describing the differential sputter yield profile shape Eth...We report differential and total sputter yields for several grades of BN at ion energies down to 60 eV, obtained with a QCM deposition sensor 3-7,9...personal computer with LabView is used for data logging. Detailed discussion of the QCM sensor is provided in subsection IIF. B. Definition of Angles

Horizontal Cross Bracing Detail, Vertical Cross Bracing Detail, Horizontal Cross ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Horizontal Cross Bracing Detail, Vertical Cross Bracing Detail, Horizontal Cross Bracing Detail, Vertical Cross Bracing-End Detail - Cumberland Covered Bridge, Spanning Mississinewa River, Matthews, Grant County, IN

Local yield stress statistics in model amorphous solids

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Barbot, Armand; Lerbinger, Matthias; Hernandez-Garcia, Anier; García-García, Reinaldo; Falk, Michael L.; Vandembroucq, Damien; Patinet, Sylvain

2018-03-01

We develop and extend a method presented by Patinet, Vandembroucq, and Falk [Phys. Rev. Lett. 117, 045501 (2016), 10.1103/PhysRevLett.117.045501] to compute the local yield stresses at the atomic scale in model two-dimensional Lennard-Jones glasses produced via differing quench protocols. This technique allows us to sample the plastic rearrangements in a nonperturbative manner for different loading directions on a well-controlled length scale. Plastic activity upon shearing correlates strongly with the locations of low yield stresses in the quenched states. This correlation is higher in more structurally relaxed systems. The distribution of local yield stresses is also shown to strongly depend on the quench protocol: the more relaxed the glass, the higher the local plastic thresholds. Analysis of the magnitude of local plastic relaxations reveals that stress drops follow exponential distributions, justifying the hypothesis of an average characteristic amplitude often conjectured in mesoscopic or continuum models. The amplitude of the local plastic rearrangements increases on average with the yield stress, regardless of the system preparation. The local yield stress varies with the shear orientation tested and strongly correlates with the plastic rearrangement locations when the system is sheared correspondingly. It is thus argued that plastic rearrangements are the consequence of shear transformation zones encoded in the glass structure that possess weak slip planes along different orientations. Finally, we justify the length scale employed in this work and extract the yield threshold statistics as a function of the size of the probing zones. This method makes it possible to derive physically grounded models of plasticity for amorphous materials by directly revealing the relevant details of the shear transformation zones that mediate this process.

How Big Was It? Getting at Yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pasyanos, M.; Walter, W. R.; Ford, S. R.

2013-12-01

One of the most coveted pieces of information in the wake of a nuclear test is the explosive yield. Determining the yield from remote observations, however, is not necessarily a trivial thing. For instance, recorded observations of seismic amplitudes, used to estimate the yield, are significantly modified by the intervening media, which varies widely, and needs to be properly accounted for. Even after correcting for propagation effects such as geometrical spreading, attenuation, and station site terms, getting from the resulting source term to a yield depends on the specifics of the explosion source model, including material properties, and depth. Some formulas are based on assumptions of the explosion having a standard depth-of-burial and observed amplitudes can vary if the actual test is either significantly overburied or underburied. We will consider the complications and challenges of making these determinations using a number of standard, more traditional methods and a more recent method that we have developed using regional waveform envelopes. We will do this comparison for recent declared nuclear tests from the DPRK. We will also compare the methods using older explosions at the Nevada Test Site with announced yields, material and depths, so that actual performance can be measured. In all cases, we also strive to quantify realistic uncertainties on the yield estimation.

Exploring and Harnessing Haplotype Diversity to Improve Yield Stability in Crops.

PubMed

Qian, Lunwen; Hickey, Lee T; Stahl, Andreas; Werner, Christian R; Hayes, Ben; Snowdon, Rod J; Voss-Fels, Kai P

2017-01-01

In order to meet future food, feed, fiber, and bioenergy demands, global yields of all major crops need to be increased significantly. At the same time, the increasing frequency of extreme weather events such as heat and drought necessitates improvements in the environmental resilience of modern crop cultivars. Achieving sustainably increase yields implies rapid improvement of quantitative traits with a very complex genetic architecture and strong environmental interaction. Latest advances in genome analysis technologies today provide molecular information at an ultrahigh resolution, revolutionizing crop genomic research, and paving the way for advanced quantitative genetic approaches. These include highly detailed assessment of population structure and genotypic diversity, facilitating the identification of selective sweeps and signatures of directional selection, dissection of genetic variants that underlie important agronomic traits, and genomic selection (GS) strategies that not only consider major-effect genes. Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) markers today represent the genotyping system of choice for crop genetic studies because they occur abundantly in plant genomes and are easy to detect. SNPs are typically biallelic, however, hence their information content compared to multiallelic markers is low, limiting the resolution at which SNP-trait relationships can be delineated. An efficient way to overcome this limitation is to construct haplotypes based on linkage disequilibrium, one of the most important features influencing genetic analyses of crop genomes. Here, we give an overview of the latest advances in genomics-based haplotype analyses in crops, highlighting their importance in the context of polyploidy and genome evolution, linkage drag, and co-selection. We provide examples of how haplotype analyses can complement well-established quantitative genetics frameworks, such as quantitative trait analysis and GS, ultimately providing an effective tool

Yield gaps and yield relationships in US soybean production systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The magnitude of yield gaps (YG) (potential yield – farmer yield) provides some indication of the prospects for increasing crop yield to meet the food demands of future populations. Quantile regression analysis was applied to county soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] yields (1971 – 2011) from Kentuc...

NEANDC specialists meeting on yields and decay data of fission product nuclides

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chrien, R.E.; Burrows, T.W.

Separate abstracts were prepared for the 29 papers presented. Workshop reports on decay heat, fission yields, beta- and gamma-ray spectroscopy, and delayed neutrons are included. An appendix contains a survey of the most recent compilations and evaluations containing fission product yield, fission product decay data, and delayed neutron yield information. (WHK)

Academic detailing.

PubMed

Shankar, P R; Jha, N; Piryani, R M; Bajracharya, O; Shrestha, R; Thapa, H S

2010-01-01

There are a number of sources available to prescribers to stay up to date about medicines. Prescribers in rural areas in developing countries however, may not able to access some of them. Interventions to improve prescribing can be educational, managerial, and regulatory or use a mix of strategies. Detailing by the pharmaceutical industry is widespread. Academic detailing (AD) has been classically seen as a form of continuing medical education in which a trained health professional such as a physician or pharmacist visits physicians in their offices to provide evidence-based information. Face-to-face sessions, preferably on an individual basis, clear educational and behavioural objectives, establishing credibility with respect to objectivity, stimulating physician interaction, use of concise graphic educational materials, highlighting key messages, and when possible, providing positive reinforcement of improved practices in follow-up visits can increase success of AD initiatives. AD is common in developed countries and certain examples have been cited in this review. In developing countries the authors have come across reports of AD in Pakistan, Sudan, Argentina and Uruguay, Bihar state in India, Zambia, Cuba, Indonesia and Mexico. AD had a consistent, small but potentially significant impact on prescribing practices. AD has much less resources at its command compared to the efforts by the industry. Steps have to be taken to formally start AD in Nepal and there may be specific hindering factors similar to those in other developing nations.

Effects of emotional context on memory for details: the role of attention.

PubMed

Kim, Johann Sung-Cheul; Vossel, Gerhard; Gamer, Matthias

2013-01-01

It was repeatedly demonstrated that a negative emotional context enhances memory for central details while impairing memory for peripheral information. This trade-off effect is assumed to result from attentional processes: a negative context seems to narrow attention to central information at the expense of more peripheral details, thus causing the differential effects in memory. However, this explanation has rarely been tested and previous findings were partly inconclusive. For the present experiment 13 negative and 13 neutral naturalistic, thematically driven picture stories were constructed to test the trade-off effect in an ecologically more valid setting as compared to previous studies. During an incidental encoding phase, eye movements were recorded as an index of overt attention. In a subsequent recognition phase, memory for central and peripheral details occurring in the picture stories was tested. Explicit affective ratings and autonomic responses validated the induction of emotion during encoding. Consistent with the emotional trade-off effect on memory, encoding context differentially affected recognition of central and peripheral details. However, contrary to the common assumption, the emotional trade-off effect on memory was not mediated by attentional processes. By contrast, results suggest that the relevance of attentional processing for later recognition memory depends on the centrality of information and the emotional context but not their interaction. Thus, central information was remembered well even when fixated very briefly whereas memory for peripheral information depended more on overt attention at encoding. Moreover, the influence of overt attention on memory for central and peripheral details seems to be much lower for an arousing as compared to a neutral context.

Development of a European Ensemble System for Seasonal Prediction: Application to crop yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Terres, J. M.; Cantelaube, P.

2003-04-01

Western European agriculture is highly intensive and the weather is the main source of uncertainty for crop yield assessment and for crop management. In the current system, at the time when a crop yield forecast is issued, the weather conditions leading up to harvest time are unknown and are therefore a major source of uncertainty. The use of seasonal weather forecast would bring additional information for the remaining crop season and has valuable benefit for improving the management of agricultural markets and environmentally sustainable farm practices. An innovative method for supplying seasonal forecast information to crop simulation models has been developed in the frame of the EU funded research project DEMETER. It consists in running a crop model on each individual member of the seasonal hindcasts to derive a probability distribution of crop yield. Preliminary results of cumulative probability function of wheat yield provides information on both the yield anomaly and the reliability of the forecast. Based on the spread of the probability distribution, the end-user can directly quantify the benefits and risks of taking weather-sensitive decisions.

Climatically driven yield variability of major crops in Khakassia (South Siberia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babushkina, Elena A.; Belokopytova, Liliana V.; Zhirnova, Dina F.; Shah, Santosh K.; Kostyakova, Tatiana V.

2018-06-01

We investigated the variability of yield of the three main crop cultures in the Khakassia Republic: spring wheat, spring barley, and oats. In terms of yield values, variability characteristics, and climatic response, the agricultural territory of Khakassia can be divided into three zones: (1) the Northern Zone, where crops yield has a high positive response to the amount of precipitation, May-July, and a moderately negative one to the temperatures of the same period; (2) the Central Zone, where crops yield depends mainly on temperatures; and (3) the Southern Zone, where climate has the least expressed impact on yield. The dominant pattern in the crops yield is caused by water stress during periods of high temperatures and low moisture supply with heat stress as additional reason. Differences between zones are due to combinations of temperature latitudinal gradient, precipitation altitudinal gradient, and the presence of a well-developed hydrological network and the irrigational system as moisture sources in the Central Zone. More detailed analysis shows differences in the climatic sensitivity of crops during phases of their vegetative growth and grain development and, to a lesser extent, during harvesting period. Multifactor linear regression models were constructed to estimate climate- and autocorrelation-induced variability of the crops yield. These models allowed prediction of the possibility of yield decreasing by at least 2-11% in the next decade due to increasing of the regional summer temperatures.

Climatically driven yield variability of major crops in Khakassia (South Siberia)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Babushkina, Elena A.; Belokopytova, Liliana V.; Zhirnova, Dina F.; Shah, Santosh K.; Kostyakova, Tatiana V.

2017-12-01

We investigated the variability of yield of the three main crop cultures in the Khakassia Republic: spring wheat, spring barley, and oats. In terms of yield values, variability characteristics, and climatic response, the agricultural territory of Khakassia can be divided into three zones: (1) the Northern Zone, where crops yield has a high positive response to the amount of precipitation, May-July, and a moderately negative one to the temperatures of the same period; (2) the Central Zone, where crops yield depends mainly on temperatures; and (3) the Southern Zone, where climate has the least expressed impact on yield. The dominant pattern in the crops yield is caused by water stress during periods of high temperatures and low moisture supply with heat stress as additional reason. Differences between zones are due to combinations of temperature latitudinal gradient, precipitation altitudinal gradient, and the presence of a well-developed hydrological network and the irrigational system as moisture sources in the Central Zone. More detailed analysis shows differences in the climatic sensitivity of crops during phases of their vegetative growth and grain development and, to a lesser extent, during harvesting period. Multifactor linear regression models were constructed to estimate climate- and autocorrelation-induced variability of the crops yield. These models allowed prediction of the possibility of yield decreasing by at least 2-11% in the next decade due to increasing of the regional summer temperatures.

Detail-enhanced multimodality medical image fusion based on gradient minimization smoothing filter and shearing filter.

PubMed

Liu, Xingbin; Mei, Wenbo; Du, Huiqian

2018-02-13

In this paper, a detail-enhanced multimodality medical image fusion algorithm is proposed by using proposed multi-scale joint decomposition framework (MJDF) and shearing filter (SF). The MJDF constructed with gradient minimization smoothing filter (GMSF) and Gaussian low-pass filter (GLF) is used to decompose source images into low-pass layers, edge layers, and detail layers at multiple scales. In order to highlight the detail information in the fused image, the edge layer and the detail layer in each scale are weighted combined into a detail-enhanced layer. As directional filter is effective in capturing salient information, so SF is applied to the detail-enhanced layer to extract geometrical features and obtain directional coefficients. Visual saliency map-based fusion rule is designed for fusing low-pass layers, and the sum of standard deviation is used as activity level measurement for directional coefficients fusion. The final fusion result is obtained by synthesizing the fused low-pass layers and directional coefficients. Experimental results show that the proposed method with shift-invariance, directional selectivity, and detail-enhanced property is efficient in preserving and enhancing detail information of multimodality medical images. Graphical abstract The detailed implementation of the proposed medical image fusion algorithm.

Surface studies of solids using integral X-ray-induced photoemission yield

PubMed Central

Stoupin, Stanislav; Zhernenkov, Mikhail; Shi, Bing

2016-01-01

X-ray induced photoemission yield contains structural information complementary to that provided by X-ray Fresnel reflectivity, which presents an advantage to a wide variety of surface studies if this information is made easily accessible. Photoemission in materials research is commonly acknowledged as a method with a probing depth limited by the escape depth of the photoelectrons. Here we show that the integral hard-X-ray-induced photoemission yield is modulated by the Fresnel reflectivity of a multilayer structure and carries structural information that extends well beyond the photoelectron escape depth. A simple electric self-detection of the integral photoemission yield and Fourier data analysis permit extraction of thicknesses of individual layers. The approach does not require detection of the reflected radiation and can be considered as a framework for non-invasive evaluation of buried layers with hard X-rays under grazing incidence. PMID:27874041

Surface studies of solids using integral x-ray-induced photoemission yield

DOE PAGES

Stoupin, Stanislav; Zhernenkov, Mikhail; Shi, Bing

2016-11-22

X-ray induced photoemission yield contains structural information complementary to that provided by X-ray Fresnel reflectivity, which presents an advantage to a wide variety of surface studies if this information is made easily accessible. Photoemission in materials research is commonly acknowledged as a method with a probing depth limited by the escape depth of the photoelectrons. Here we show that the integral hard-X-ray-induced photoemission yield is modulated by the Fresnel reflectivity of a multilayer structure and carries structural information that extends well beyond the photoelectron escape depth. A simple electric self-detection of the integral photoemission yield and Fourier data analysis permitmore » extraction of thicknesses of individual layers. The approach does not require detection of the reflected radiation and can be considered as a framework for non-invasive evaluation of buried layers with hard X-rays under grazing incidence.« less

Detailed implosion modeling of deuterium-tritium layered experiments on the National Ignition Facilitya)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clark, D. S.; Hinkel, D. E.; Eder, D. C.; Jones, O. S.; Haan, S. W.; Hammel, B. A.; Marinak, M. M.; Milovich, J. L.; Robey, H. F.; Suter, L. J.; Town, R. P. J.

2013-05-01

More than two dozen inertial confinement fusion ignition experiments with cryogenic deuterium-tritium layers have now been performed on the National Ignition Facility (NIF) [G. H. Miller et al., Opt. Eng. 443, 2841 (2004)]. Each of these yields a wealth of data including neutron yield, neutron down-scatter fraction, burn-averaged ion temperature, x-ray image shape and size, primary and down-scattered neutron image shape and size, etc. Compared to 2-D radiation-hydrodynamics simulations modeling both the hohlraum and the capsule implosion, however, the measured capsule yield is usually lower by a factor of 5 to 10, and the ion temperature varies from simulations, while most other observables are well matched between experiment and simulation. In an effort to understand this discrepancy, we perform detailed post-shot simulations of a subset of NIF implosion experiments. Using two-dimensional HYDRA simulations [M. M. Marinak, et al., Phys. Plasmas 8, 2275 (2001).] of the capsule only, these simulations represent as accurately as possible the conditions of a given experiment, including the as-shot capsule metrology, capsule surface roughness, and ice layer defects as seeds for the growth of hydrodynamic instabilities. The radiation drive used in these capsule-only simulations can be tuned to reproduce quite well the measured implosion timing, kinematics, and low-mode asymmetry. In order to simulate the experiments as accurately as possible, a limited number of fully three-dimensional implosion simulations are also being performed. Despite detailed efforts to incorporate all of the effects known and believed to be important in determining implosion performance, substantial yield discrepancies remain between experiment and simulation. Some possible alternate scenarios and effects that could resolve this discrepancy are discussed.

On the non-uniqueness of sediment yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, J.; Ivanov, V. Y.; Katopodes, N.

2012-12-01

Estimation of sediment yield at the catchment scale plays an important role for optimal design of hydraulic structures, such as bridges, culverts, reservoirs, and detention basins, as well as making informed decisions in environmental management. Many experimental studies focused on obtaining flow and sediment data in search of unique relationships between runoff (specifically, volume and peak) and sediment characteristics. These relationships were employed to predict sediment yield from flow information. However, despite the same flow volume, the actual sediment yield produced by river basins can vary significantly depending on several conditions: (i) the catchment size, (ii) land use, topography, and soil type, (iii) climatic variations or characteristics , and (iv) initial conditions of soil moisture and soil surface . Additionally, shield formation by relatively larger particles can be one of the possible controllers of erosion and net sediment transport. Smaller particles have low settling velocities and tend to move far from their original position of detachment. Conversely, larger particles can settle quickly near their original locations. Eventually, such particles can form a shield on soil bed and protect underlying soil from rainfall detachment and runoff entrainment. The shield formation and temporal development can be influenced by rainfall intensity, frequency, and volume. Rainfall influences the generation of runoff leading to different conditions of flow depth and velocity that can perturb intact soil into a loose condition. In this study, we numerically investigate the effects of precipitation patterns on the generation of sediment yield. In particular, we address reasons of non-uniqueness of basin sediment yield for the same runoff volume as well as causes of unsteady phenomena in erosion processes under steady state flow conditions. For numerical simulations, the two-dimensional Hairsine-Rose model coupled with a fully distributed hydrology and

Growth and yield of Giant Sequoia

Treesearch

David J. Dulitz

1986-01-01

Very little information exists concerning growth and yield of giant sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum [Lindl.] Buchholz). For old-growth trees, diameter growth is the single factor adding increment since maximum height has been obtained. Diameter growth averages 0.04 inches per year in normal old-growth trees but will fluctuate with changes in the...

Comprehension of main ideas and details in coherent and noncoherent discourse by aphasic and nonaphasic listeners.

PubMed

Wegner, M L; Brookshire, R H; Nicholas, L E

1984-01-01

Aphasic and nonaphasic listeners' comprehension of main ideas and details within coherent and noncoherent narrative discourse was examined. Coherent paragraphs contained one topic to which all sentences in the paragraph related. Noncoherent paragraphs contained a change in topic with every third or fourth sentence. Each paragraph contained four main ideas and one or more details that related to each main idea. Listeners' responses to yes/no questions following each paragraph yielded the following results: (1) Nonaphasic listeners comprehended the paragraphs better than aphasic listeners. (2) Both aphasic and nonaphasic listeners comprehended main ideas better than they comprehended details. (3) Coherence did not affect comprehension of main ideas for either group. (4) Coherence did not affect comprehension of details by nonaphasic subjects. (5) Coherence affected comprehension of details by aphasic subjects, and their comprehension of details in coherent paragraphs was worse than their comprehension of details in noncoherent paragraphs. There was no significant correlation between Token Test scores and measures of paragraph comprehension.

Optimizing rice yields while minimizing yield-scaled global warming potential.

PubMed

Pittelkow, Cameron M; Adviento-Borbe, Maria A; van Kessel, Chris; Hill, James E; Linquist, Bruce A

2014-05-01

To meet growing global food demand with limited land and reduced environmental impact, agricultural greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are increasingly evaluated with respect to crop productivity, i.e., on a yield-scaled as opposed to area basis. Here, we compiled available field data on CH4 and N2 O emissions from rice production systems to test the hypothesis that in response to fertilizer nitrogen (N) addition, yield-scaled global warming potential (GWP) will be minimized at N rates that maximize yields. Within each study, yield N surplus was calculated to estimate deficit or excess N application rates with respect to the optimal N rate (defined as the N rate at which maximum yield was achieved). Relationships between yield N surplus and GHG emissions were assessed using linear and nonlinear mixed-effects models. Results indicate that yields increased in response to increasing N surplus when moving from deficit to optimal N rates. At N rates contributing to a yield N surplus, N2 O and yield-scaled N2 O emissions increased exponentially. In contrast, CH4 emissions were not impacted by N inputs. Accordingly, yield-scaled CH4 emissions decreased with N addition. Overall, yield-scaled GWP was minimized at optimal N rates, decreasing by 21% compared to treatments without N addition. These results are unique compared to aerobic cropping systems in which N2 O emissions are the primary contributor to GWP, meaning yield-scaled GWP may not necessarily decrease for aerobic crops when yields are optimized by N fertilizer addition. Balancing gains in agricultural productivity with climate change concerns, this work supports the concept that high rice yields can be achieved with minimal yield-scaled GWP through optimal N application rates. Moreover, additional improvements in N use efficiency may further reduce yield-scaled GWP, thereby strengthening the economic and environmental sustainability of rice systems. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Application of Regional Drought and Crop Yield Information System to enhance drought monitoring and forecasting in Lower Mekong region

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jayasinghe, S.; Dutta, R.; Basnayake, S. B.; Granger, S. L.; Andreadis, K. M.; Das, N.; Markert, K. N.; Cutter, P. G.; Towashiraporn, P.; Anderson, E.

2017-12-01

The Lower Mekong Region has been experiencing frequent and prolonged droughts resulting in severe damage to agricultural production leading to food insecurity and impacts on livelihoods of the farming communities. Climate variability further complicates the situation by making drought harder to forecast. The Regional Drought and Crop Yield Information System (RDCYIS), developed by SERVIR-Mekong, helps decision makers to take effective measures through monitoring, analyzing and forecasting of drought conditions and providing early warnings to farmers to make adjustments to cropping calendars. The RDCYIS is built on regionally calibrated Regional Hydrologic Extreme Assessment System (RHEAS) framework that integrates the Variable Infiltration Capacity (VIC) and Decision Support System for Agro-technology Transfer (DSSAT) models, allowing both nowcast and forecast of drought. The RHEAS allows ingestion of numerus freely available earth observation and ground observation data to generate and customize drought related indices, variables and crop yield information for better decision making. The Lower Mekong region has experienced severe drought in 2016 encompassing the region's worst drought in 90 years. This paper presents the simulation of the 2016 drought event using RDCYIS based on its hindcast and forecast capabilities. The regionally calibrated RDCYIS can help capture salient features of drought through a variety of drought indices, soil variables, energy balance variables and water balance variables. The RDCYIS is capable of assimilating soil moisture data from different satellite products and perform ensemble runs to further reduce the uncertainty of it outputs. The calibrated results have correlation coefficient around 0.73 and NSE between 0.4-0.5. Based on the acceptable results of the retrospective runs, the system has the potential to generate reliable drought monitoring and forecasting information to improve decision-makings at operational, technological and

Automatic spike sorting using tuning information.

PubMed

Ventura, Valérie

2009-09-01

Current spike sorting methods focus on clustering neurons' characteristic spike waveforms. The resulting spike-sorted data are typically used to estimate how covariates of interest modulate the firing rates of neurons. However, when these covariates do modulate the firing rates, they provide information about spikes' identities, which thus far have been ignored for the purpose of spike sorting. This letter describes a novel approach to spike sorting, which incorporates both waveform information and tuning information obtained from the modulation of firing rates. Because it efficiently uses all the available information, this spike sorter yields lower spike misclassification rates than traditional automatic spike sorters. This theoretical result is verified empirically on several examples. The proposed method does not require additional assumptions; only its implementation is different. It essentially consists of performing spike sorting and tuning estimation simultaneously rather than sequentially, as is currently done. We used an expectation-maximization maximum likelihood algorithm to implement the new spike sorter. We present the general form of this algorithm and provide a detailed implementable version under the assumptions that neurons are independent and spike according to Poisson processes. Finally, we uncover a systematic flaw of spike sorting based on waveform information only.

Classical and Bayesian Seismic Yield Estimation: The 1998 Indian and Pakistani Tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shumway, R. H.

2001-10-01

- The nuclear tests in May, 1998, in India and Pakistan have stimulated a renewed interest in yield estimation, based on limited data from uncalibrated test sites. We study here the problem of estimating yields using classical and Bayesian methods developed by Shumway (1992), utilizing calibration data from the Semipalatinsk test site and measured magnitudes for the 1998 Indian and Pakistani tests given by Murphy (1998). Calibration is done using multivariate classical or Bayesian linear regression, depending on the availability of measured magnitude-yield data and prior information. Confidence intervals for the classical approach are derived applying an extension of Fieller's method suggested by Brown (1982). In the case where prior information is available, the posterior predictive magnitude densities are inverted to give posterior intervals for yield. Intervals obtained using the joint distribution of magnitudes are comparable to the single-magnitude estimates produced by Murphy (1998) and reinforce the conclusion that the announced yields of the Indian and Pakistani tests were too high.

Classical and Bayesian Seismic Yield Estimation: The 1998 Indian and Pakistani Tests

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shumway, R. H.

The nuclear tests in May, 1998, in India and Pakistan have stimulated a renewed interest in yield estimation, based on limited data from uncalibrated test sites. We study here the problem of estimating yields using classical and Bayesian methods developed by Shumway (1992), utilizing calibration data from the Semipalatinsk test site and measured magnitudes for the 1998 Indian and Pakistani tests given by Murphy (1998). Calibration is done using multivariate classical or Bayesian linear regression, depending on the availability of measured magnitude-yield data and prior information. Confidence intervals for the classical approach are derived applying an extension of Fieller's method suggested by Brown (1982). In the case where prior information is available, the posterior predictive magnitude densities are inverted to give posterior intervals for yield. Intervals obtained using the joint distribution of magnitudes are comparable to the single-magnitude estimates produced by Murphy (1998) and reinforce the conclusion that the announced yields of the Indian and Pakistani tests were too high.

76 FR 55725 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Request for Comments for a New Information Collection

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-09-08

... statistical surveys that yield quantitative results that can be generalized to the population of study. This... information will not be used for quantitative information collections that are designed to yield reliably... generic mechanisms that are designed to yield quantitative results. The FHWA received no comments in...

Different universality classes at the yielding transition of amorphous systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jagla, E. A.

2017-08-01

We study the yielding transition of a two-dimensional amorphous system under shear by using a mesoscopic elasto-plastic model. The model combines a full (tensorial) description of the elastic interactions in the system and the possibility of structural reaccommodations that are responsible for the plastic behavior. The possible structural reaccommodations are encoded in the form of a "plastic disorder" potential, which is chosen independently at each position of the sample to account for local heterogeneities. We observe that the stress must exceed a critical value σc in order for the system to yield. In addition, when the system yields a flow curve (relating stress σ and strain rate γ ˙) of the form γ ˙˜(σ-σc) β is obtained. Remarkably, we observe the value of β to depend on some details of the plastic disorder potential. For smooth potentials a value of β ≃2.0 is obtained, whereas for potentials obtained as a concatenation of smooth pieces a value β ≃1.5 is observed in the simulations. This indicates a dependence of critical behavior on details of the plastic behavior. In addition, by integrating out nonessential, harmonic degrees of freedom, we derive a simplified scalar version of the model that represents a collection of interacting Prandtl-Tomlinson particles. A mean-field treatment of this interaction reproduces the difference of β exponents for the two classes of plastic disorder potentials and provides values of β that compare favorably with those found in the full simulations.

Data on the detail information of influence of substrate temperature on the film morphology and photovoltaic performance of non-fullerene organic solar cells.

PubMed

Zhang, Jicheng; Xie, SuFei; Lu, Zhen; Wu, Yang; Xiao, Hongmei; Zhang, Xuejuan; Li, Guangwu; Li, Cuihong; Chen, Xuebo; Ma, Wei; Bo, Zhishan

2017-10-01

This data contains additional data related to the article "Influence of Substrate Temperature on the Film Morphology and Photovoltaic Performance of Non-fullerene Organic Solar Cells" (Jicheng Zhang et al., In press) [1]. Data include measurement and characterization instruments and condition, detail condition to fabricate norfullerene solar cell devices, hole-only and electron-only devices. Detail condition about how to control the film morphology of devices via tuning the temperature of substrates was also displayed. More information and more convincing data about the change of film morphology for active layers fabricated from different temperature, which is attached to the research article of "Influence of Substrate Temperature on the Film Morphology and Photovoltaic Performance of Non-fullerene Organic Solar Cells" was given.

Joint Bayesian inference for near-surface explosion yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bulaevskaya, V.; Ford, S. R.; Ramirez, A. L.; Rodgers, A. J.

2016-12-01

A near-surface explosion generates seismo-acoustic motion that is related to its yield. However, the recorded motion is affected by near-source effects such as depth-of-burial, and propagation-path effects such as variable geology. We incorporate these effects in a forward model relating yield to seismo-acoustic motion, and use Bayesian inference to estimate yield given recordings of the seismo-acoustic wavefield. The Bayesian approach to this inverse problem allows us to obtain the probability distribution of plausible yield values and thus quantify the uncertainty in the yield estimate. Moreover, the sensitivity of the acoustic signal falls as a function of the depth-of-burial, while the opposite relationship holds for the seismic signal. Therefore, using both the acoustic and seismic wavefield data allows us to avoid the trade-offs associated with using only one of these signals alone. In addition, our inference framework allows for correlated features of the same data type (seismic or acoustic) to be incorporated in the estimation of yield in order to make use of as much information from the same waveform as possible. We demonstrate our approach with a historical dataset and a contemporary field experiment.

Effects of Emotional Context on Memory for Details: The Role of Attention

PubMed Central

Kim, Johann Sung-Cheul; Vossel, Gerhard; Gamer, Matthias

2013-01-01

It was repeatedly demonstrated that a negative emotional context enhances memory for central details while impairing memory for peripheral information. This trade-off effect is assumed to result from attentional processes: a negative context seems to narrow attention to central information at the expense of more peripheral details, thus causing the differential effects in memory. However, this explanation has rarely been tested and previous findings were partly inconclusive. For the present experiment 13 negative and 13 neutral naturalistic, thematically driven picture stories were constructed to test the trade-off effect in an ecologically more valid setting as compared to previous studies. During an incidental encoding phase, eye movements were recorded as an index of overt attention. In a subsequent recognition phase, memory for central and peripheral details occurring in the picture stories was tested. Explicit affective ratings and autonomic responses validated the induction of emotion during encoding. Consistent with the emotional trade-off effect on memory, encoding context differentially affected recognition of central and peripheral details. However, contrary to the common assumption, the emotional trade-off effect on memory was not mediated by attentional processes. By contrast, results suggest that the relevance of attentional processing for later recognition memory depends on the centrality of information and the emotional context but not their interaction. Thus, central information was remembered well even when fixated very briefly whereas memory for peripheral information depended more on overt attention at encoding. Moreover, the influence of overt attention on memory for central and peripheral details seems to be much lower for an arousing as compared to a neutral context. PMID:24116226

Loblolly Pine Growth and Yield Prediction for Managed West Gulf Plantations

Treesearch

V. Clark Baldwin; D.P. Feduccia

1987-01-01

Complete description, including tables, graphs, computer output, of a growth and yield prediction system providing volume and weight yields in stand and stock table format. An example of system use is given along with information about the computer program, COMPUTE P-LOB, that operates the system.

Surprising the Writer: Discovering Details through Research and Reading.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Broaddus, Karen; Ivey, Gay

2002-01-01

Describes how students parallel the process of author Megan McDonald in conducting research and collecting information to provide ideas for the form and content of their writing. Notes that guiding students to record and organize information in a graphic format helps them to transfer those interesting details to new types of writing. (SG)

Dimension yields from yellow-poplar lumber

Treesearch

R. C. Gilmore; J. D. Danielson

1984-01-01

The available supply of yellow poplar (Liriodendron tulipifera L.), its potential for new uses, and its continuing importance to the furniture industry have created a need to accumulate additional information about this species. As an aid to better utilization of this species, charts for determining cutting stock yields from yellow poplar lumber are presented for each...

Cornice Detail of Rake, Cornice Detail of Eave, Wood DoubleHung ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Cornice Detail of Rake, Cornice Detail of Eave, Wood Double-Hung Window Details, Wood Door Details - Boxley Grist Mill, Boxley vicinity on State Route 43, Buffalo National River, Ponca, Newton County, AR

A Review of Research and a Meta-Analysis of the Seductive Detail Effect

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Rey, Gunter Daniel

2012-01-01

Seductive details constitute interesting but irrelevant information that are not necessary to achieve the instructional objective. The seductive detail effect occurs when people learn more deeply from instructional messages that exclude rather than include these details. This effect is mainly explained by assuming an overloading of the working…

Horizontal Cross Bracing Detail, Vertical Cross Bracing Detail, Horizontal Cross ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Horizontal Cross Bracing Detail, Vertical Cross Bracing Detail, Horizontal Cross Bracing Joint, Vertical Cross Bracing End Detail - Ceylon Covered Bridge, Limberlost Park, spanning Wabash River at County Road 900 South, Geneva, Adams County, IN

Specific yield: compilation of specific yields for various materials

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, A.I.

1967-01-01

Specific yield is defined as the ratio of (1) the volume of water that a saturated rock or soil will yield by gravity to (2) the total volume of the rock or soft. Specific yield is usually expressed as a percentage. The value is not definitive, because the quantity of water that will drain by gravity depends on variables such as duration of drainage, temperature, mineral composition of the water, and various physical characteristics of the rock or soil under consideration. Values of specific yields nevertheless offer a convenient means by which hydrologists can estimate the water-yielding capacities of earth materials and, as such, are very useful in hydrologic studies. The present report consists mostly of direct or modified quotations from many selected reports that present and evaluate methods for determining specific yield, limitations of those methods, and results of the determinations made on a wide variety of rock and soil materials. Although no particular values are recommended in this report, a table summarizes values of specific yield, and their averages, determined for 10 rock textures. The following is an abstract of the table. [Table

Yield and yield gaps in central U.S. corn production systems

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The magnitude of yield gaps (YG) (potential yield – farmer yield) provides some indication of the prospects for increasing crop yield. Quantile regression analysis was applied to county maize (Zea mays L.) yields (1972 – 2011) from Kentucky, Iowa and Nebraska (irrigated) (total of 115 counties) to e...

Second Preliminary Report on X-ray Yields from OMEGA II Targets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fournier, K B; May, M J; MacLaren, S A

2006-08-28

We present details about X-ray yields measured with LLNL and SNL diagnostics in soft and moderately hard X-ray bands from laser-driven, doped-aerogel targets shot on 07/14/06 during the OMEGA II test series. Yields accurate to {+-}25% in the 5-15 keV band are measured with Livermore's HENWAY spectrometer. Yields in the sub-keV to 3.2 keV band are measured with LLNL's DANTE diagnostic, the DANTE yields may be 35-40% too large. SNL ran a PCD-based diagnostic that also measured X-ray yields in the spectral region above 4 keV, and also down to the nearly sub-keV range. The PCD and HENWAY and DANTEmore » numbers are compared. The time histories of the X-ray signals are measured with LLNL's H11 PCD, and from two SNL PCDs with comparable filtering. There is a persistent disagreement between the H11 PCD and SNL PCD measured FWHM, which is shown not to be due to analysis techniques. The recommended X-ray waveform is that from the SNL PCD p66k10, which was recorded on a fast, high-bandwidth TDS 6804 oscilloscope, and which are not plotted here.« less

Veneer grade yield from pruned Douglas-fir.

Treesearch

Edward J. II Dimock; Henry H. Haskell

1962-01-01

This paper reports actual veneer yields obtained from 10 trees pruned at age 38 and harvested 20 years later. Information of this kind is needed to help determine if and when to prune and ultimately will be essential to a thorough economic analysis of expected returns from pruning.

Acoustic Emission Monitoring for Assessment of Steel Bridge Details

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kosnik, D. E.; Hopwood, T.; Corr, D. J.

2011-06-01

Acoustic emission (AE) testing was deployed on details of two large steel Interstate Highway bridges: one cantilever through-truss and one trapezoidal box girder bridge. Quantitative measurements of activity levels at known and suspected crack locations were made by monitoring AE under normal service loads (e.g., live traffic and wind). AE indications were used to direct application of radiography, resulting in identification of a previously unknown flaw, and to inform selection of a retrofit detail.

Immediate detailed feedback to test-enhanced learning: an effective online educational tool.

PubMed

Wojcikowski, Ken; Kirk, Leslie

2013-11-01

Test-enhanced learning has gained popularity because it is an effective way to increase retention of knowledge; provided the student receives the correct answer soon after the test is taken. To determine whether detailed feedback provided to test-enhanced learning questions is an effective online educational tool for improving performance on complex biomedical information exams. A series of online multiple choice tests were developed to test knowledge of biomedical information that students were expected to know after each patient-case. Following submission of the student answers, one cohort (n = 52) received answers only while the following year, a second cohort (n = 51) received the answers with detailed feedback explaining why each answer was correct or incorrect. Students in both groups progressed through the series of online tests with little assessor intervention. Students receiving the answers along with the explanations within their feedback performed significantly better in the final biomedical information exam than those students receiving correct answers only. This pilot study found that the detailed feedback to test-enhanced learning questions is an important online learning tool. The increase in student performance in the complex biomedical information exam in this study suggests that detailed feedback should be investigated not only for increasing knowledge, but also be investigated for its effect on retention and application of knowledge.

Assessing Sediment Yield and the Effect of Best Management Practices on Sediment Yield Reduction for Tutuila Island, American Samoa

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Leta, O. T.; Dulai, H.; El-Kadi, A. I.

2017-12-01

of the impact that each BMP has on specific land use and Fagaalu's reef. It also offers information that may be useful for the coastal water resource management and mitigation measures to reduce sediment yield of the study site and similar areas.

"When does making detailed predictions make predictions worse?": Correction to Kelly and Simmons (2016).

PubMed

2016-10-01

Reports an error in "When Does Making Detailed Predictions Make Predictions Worse" by Theresa F. Kelly and Joseph P. Simmons ( Journal of Experimental Psychology: General , Advanced Online Publication, Aug 8, 2016, np). In the article, the symbols in Figure 2 were inadvertently altered in production. All versions of this article have been corrected. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2016-37952-001.) In this article, we investigate whether making detailed predictions about an event worsens other predictions of the event. Across 19 experiments, 10,896 participants, and 407,045 predictions about 724 professional sports games, we find that people who made detailed predictions about sporting events (e.g., how many hits each baseball team would get) made worse predictions about more general outcomes (e.g., which team would win). We rule out that this effect is caused by inattention or fatigue, thinking too hard, or a differential reliance on holistic information about the teams. Instead, we find that thinking about game-relevant details before predicting winning teams causes people to give less weight to predictive information, presumably because predicting details makes useless or redundant information more accessible and thus more likely to be incorporated into forecasts. Furthermore, we show that this differential use of information can be used to predict what kinds of events will and will not be susceptible to the negative effect of making detailed predictions. PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved

Yield Tables and Stand Structure For Loblolly Pine Plantations In Tennessee, Alabama, and Georgia Highlands

Treesearch

Glendon W. Smalley; Robert L. Bailey

1974-01-01

Detailed schedules of trees per acre, basal area, mean tree height, and cubic-foot yields in eight volume categories by l-inch diameter classes are presented for all combinations of four site indexes, seven ages from seed, and nine planting densities.

CROMAX : a crosscut-first computer simulation program to determine cutting yield

Treesearch

Pamela J. Giese; Jeanne D. Danielson

1983-01-01

CROMAX simulates crosscut-first, then rip operations as commonly practiced in furniture manufacture. This program calculates cutting yields from individual boards based on board size and defect location. Such information can be useful in predicting yield from various grades and grade mixes thereby allowing for better management decisions in the rough mill. The computer...

Yield-stress fluids foams: flow patterns and controlled production in T-junction and flow-focusing devices.

PubMed

Laborie, Benoit; Rouyer, Florence; Angelescu, Dan E; Lorenceau, Elise

2016-11-23

We study the formation of yield-stress fluid foams in millifluidic flow-focusing and T-junction devices. First, we provide a phase diagram for the unsteady operating regimes of bubble production when the gas pressure and the yield-stress fluid flow rate are imposed. Three regimes are identified: a co-flow of gas and yield-stress fluid, a transient production of bubble and a flow of yield-stress fluid only. Taking wall slip into account, we provide a model for the pressure at the onset of bubble formation. Then, we detail and compare two simple methods to ensure steady bubble production: regulation of the gas pressure or flow-rate. These techniques, which are easy to implement, thus open pathways for controlled production of dry yield-stress fluid foams as shown at the end of this article.

Memory for Specific Visual Details can be Enhanced by Negative Arousing Content

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kensinger, Elizabeth A.; Garoff-Eaton, Rachel J.; Schacter, Daniel L.

2006-01-01

Individuals often claim that they vividly remember information with negative emotional content. At least two types of information could lead to this sense of enhanced vividness: Information about the emotional item itself (e.g., the exact visual details of a snake) and information about the context in which the emotional item was encountered…

Spatial Sampling of Weather Data for Regional Crop Yield Simulations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Van Bussel, Lenny G. J.; Ewert, Frank; Zhao, Gang; Hoffmann, Holger; Enders, Andreas; Wallach, Daniel; Asseng, Senthold; Baigorria, Guillermo A.; Basso, Bruno; Biernath, Christian;

Spatial and Temporal Uncertainty of Crop Yield Aggregations

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Porwollik, Vera; Mueller, Christoph; Elliott, Joshua; Chryssanthacopoulos, James; Iizumi, Toshichika; Ray, Deepak K.; Ruane, Alex C.; Arneth, Almut; Balkovic, Juraj; Ciais, Philippe;

Measurement of fission yields and isomeric yield ratios at IGISOL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pomp, Stephan; Mattera, Andrea; Rakopoulos, Vasileios; Al-Adili, Ali; Lantz, Mattias; Solders, Andreas; Jansson, Kaj; Prokofiev, Alexander V.; Eronen, Tommi; Gorelov, Dimitri; Jokinen, Ari; Kankainen, Anu; Moore, Iain D.; Penttilä, Heikki; Rinta-Antila, Sami

2018-03-01

Data on fission yields and isomeric yield ratios (IYR) are tools to study the fission process, in particular the generation of angular momentum. We use the IGISOL facility with the Penning trap JYFLTRAP in Jyväskylä, Finland, for such measurements on 232Th and natU targets. Previously published fission yield data from IGISOL concern the 232Th(p,f) and 238U(p,f) reactions at 25 and 50 MeV. Recently, a neutron source, using the Be(p,n) reaction, has been developed, installed and tested. We summarize the results for (p,f) focusing on the first measurement of IYR by direct ion counting. We also present first results for IYR and relative yields for Sn and Sb isotopes in the 128-133 mass range from natU(n,f) based on γ-spectrometry. We find a staggering behaviour in the cumulative yields for Sn and a shift in the independent fission yields for Sb as compared to current evaluations. Plans for the future experimental program on fission yields and IYR measurements are discussed.

Final Report on X-ray Yields from OMEGA II Targets

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fournier, K B; May, M J; MacLaren, S A

2007-06-20

We present details about X-ray yields measured with Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) diagnostics in soft and moderately hard X-ray bands from laser-driven, doped-aerogel targets shot on 07/14/06 during the OMEGA II test series. Yields accurate to {+-}25% in the 5-15 keV band are measured with Livermore's HENWAY spectrometer. Yields in the sub-keV to 3.2 keV band are measured with LLNL's DANTE diagnostic, the DANTE yields are accurate to 10-15%. SNL ran a PCD-based diagnostic that also measured X-ray yields in the spectral region above 4 keV, and also down to the sub-keV range. Themore » PCD and HENWAY and DANTE numbers are compared. The time histories of the moderately hard (h{nu} > 4 keV) X-ray signals are measured with LLNL's H11 PCD, and from two SNL PCDs with comparable filtration. There is general agreement between the H11 PCD and SNL PCD measured FWHM except for two of the shorter-laser-pulse shots, which is shown not to be due to analysis techniques. The recommended X-ray waveform is that from the SNL PCD p66k10, which was recorded on a fast, high-bandwidth TDS 6804 oscilloscope. X-ray waveforms from target emission in two softer spectral bands are also shown; the X-ray emissions have increasing duration as the spectral content gets softer.« less

Automatic Spike Sorting Using Tuning Information

PubMed Central

Ventura, Valérie

2011-01-01

Current spike sorting methods focus on clustering neurons’ characteristic spike waveforms. The resulting spike-sorted data are typically used to estimate how covariates of interest modulate the firing rates of neurons. However, when these covariates do modulate the firing rates, they provide information about spikes’ identities, which thus far have been ignored for the purpose of spike sorting. This letter describes a novel approach to spike sorting, which incorporates both waveform information and tuning information obtained from the modulation of firing rates. Because it efficiently uses all the available information, this spike sorter yields lower spike misclassification rates than traditional automatic spike sorters. This theoretical result is verified empirically on several examples. The proposed method does not require additional assumptions; only its implementation is different. It essentially consists of performing spike sorting and tuning estimation simultaneously rather than sequentially, as is currently done. We used an expectation-maximization maximum likelihood algorithm to implement the new spike sorter. We present the general form of this algorithm and provide a detailed implementable version under the assumptions that neurons are independent and spike according to Poisson processes. Finally, we uncover a systematic flaw of spike sorting based on waveform information only. PMID:19548802

Measurement of the branching ratio of a rare decay {eta}{yields}{pi}{sup 0}{gamma}{gamma} with WASA-at-COSY

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lalwani, Kavita

2011-10-24

In this paper we present the preliminary results on the measurement of the branching ratio of a rare decay {eta}{yields}{pi}{sup 0}{gamma}{gamma} with the WASA Detector at COSY. We have used a sample of 10{sup 7}{eta} mesons produced at the COSY ring using the pd{yields}{sup 3}He{eta} reaction close to threshold. We detail the intricate extraction of the signal, which has about 360{+-}70(stat){eta}{yields}{pi}{sup 0}{gamma}{gamma} events, from the overwhelming background channels for example {eta}{yields}3{pi}{sup 0}, pd{yields}{sup 3}He 3{pi}{sup 0} and pd{yields}{sup 3}He 2{pi}{sup 0}.

Slope Controls Grain Yield and Climatic Yield in Mountainous Yunnan province, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, X.; Rong, L.; Gu, Z.; Feng, D.

2017-12-01

Mountainous regions are increasingly vulnerable to food insecurity because of limited arable land, growing population pressure, and climate change. Development of sustainable mountain agriculture will require an increased understanding of the effects of environmental factors on grain and climatic yields. The objective of this study was to explore the relationships between actual grain yield, climatic yield, and environmental factors in a mountainous region in China. We collected data on the average grain yield per unit area in 119 counties in Yunnan province from 1985 to 2012, and chose 17 environmental factors for the same period. Our results showed that actual grain yield ranged from 1.43 to 6.92 t·ha-1, and the climatic yield ranged from -0.15 to -0.01 t·ha-1. Lower climatic yield but higher grain yield was generally found in central areas and at lower slopes and elevations in the western and southwestern counties of Yunnan province. Higher climatic yield but lower grain yield were found in northwestern parts of Yunnan province on steep slopes. Annual precipation and temperature had a weak influence on the climatic yield. Slope explained 44.62 and 26.29% of the variation in grain yield and climatic yield. The effects of topography on grain and climatic yields were greater than climatic factors. Slope was the most important environmental variable for the variability in climatic and grain yields in the mountainous Yunnan province due to the highly heterogeneous topographic conditions. Conversion of slopes to terraces in areas with higher climatic yields is an effective way to maintain grain production in response to climate variability. Additionally, soil amendments and soil and water conservation measures should be considered to maintain soil fertility and aid in sustainable development in central areas, and in counties at lower slopes and elevations in western and southwestern Yunnan province.

Genomic architecture of heterosis for yield traits in rice.

PubMed

Huang, Xuehui; Yang, Shihua; Gong, Junyi; Zhao, Qiang; Feng, Qi; Zhan, Qilin; Zhao, Yan; Li, Wenjun; Cheng, Benyi; Xia, Junhui; Chen, Neng; Huang, Tao; Zhang, Lei; Fan, Danlin; Chen, Jiaying; Zhou, Congcong; Lu, Yiqi; Weng, Qijun; Han, Bin

2016-09-29

Increasing grain yield is a long-term goal in crop breeding to meet the demand for global food security. Heterosis, when a hybrid shows higher performance for a trait than both parents, offers an important strategy for crop breeding. To examine the genetic basis of heterosis for yield in rice, here we generate, sequence and record the phenotypes of 10,074 F 2 lines from 17 representative hybrid rice crosses. We classify modern hybrid rice varieties into three groups, representing different hybrid breeding systems. Although we do not find any heterosis-associated loci shared across all lines, within each group, a small number of genomic loci from female parents explain a large proportion of the yield advantage of hybrids over their male parents. For some of these loci, we find support for partial dominance of heterozygous locus for yield-related traits and better-parent heterosis for overall performance when all of the grain-yield traits are considered together. These results inform on the genomic architecture of heterosis and rice hybrid breeding.

Yield Improvement and Energy Savings Uing Phosphonates as Additives in Kraft pulping

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ulrike W. Tschirner; Timothy Smith

2007-03-31

Project Objective: Develop a commercially viable modification to the Kraft process resulting in energy savings, increased yield and improved bleachability. Evaluate the feasibility of this technology across a spectrum of wood species used in North America. Develop detailed fundamental understanding of the mechanism by which phosphonates improve KAPPA number and yield. Evaluate the North American market potential for the use of phosphonates in the Kraft pulping process. Examine determinants of customer perceived value and explore organizational and operational factors influencing attitudes and behaviors. Provide an economic feasibility assessment for the supply chain, both suppliers (chemical supply companies) and buyers (Kraftmore » mills). Provide background to most effectively transfer this new technology to commercial mills.« less

Kinetically accessible yield (KAY) for redirection of metabolism to produce exo-metabolites

DOE PAGES

Lafontaine Rivera, Jimmy G.; Theisen, Matthew K.; Chen, Po-Wei; ...

2017-04-05

The product formation yield (product formed per unit substrate consumed) is often the most important performance indicator in metabolic engineering. Until now, the actual yield cannot be predicted, but it can be bounded by its maximum theoretical value. The maximum theoretical yield is calculated by considering the stoichiometry of the pathways and cofactor regeneration involved. Here in this paper we found that in many cases, dynamic stability becomes an issue when excessive pathway flux is drawn to a product. This constraint reduces the yield and renders the maximal theoretical yield too loose to be predictive. We propose a more realisticmore » quantity, defined as the kinetically accessible yield (KAY) to predict the maximum accessible yield for a given flux alteration. KAY is either determined by the point of instability, beyond which steady states become unstable and disappear, or a local maximum before becoming unstable. Thus, KAY is the maximum flux that can be redirected for a given metabolic engineering strategy without losing stability. Strictly speaking, calculation of KAY requires complete kinetic information. With limited or no kinetic information, an Ensemble Modeling strategy can be used to determine a range of likely values for KAY, including an average prediction. We first apply the KAY concept with a toy model to demonstrate the principle of kinetic limitations on yield. We then used a full-scale E. coli model (193 reactions, 153 metabolites) and this approach was successful in E. coli for predicting production of isobutanol: the calculated KAY values are consistent with experimental data for three genotypes previously published.« less

Information filtering based on corrected redundancy-eliminating mass diffusion

PubMed Central

Zhu, Xuzhen; Yang, Yujie; Chen, Guilin; Medo, Matus; Tian, Hui

2017-01-01

Methods used in information filtering and recommendation often rely on quantifying the similarity between objects or users. The used similarity metrics often suffer from similarity redundancies arising from correlations between objects’ attributes. Based on an unweighted undirected object-user bipartite network, we propose a Corrected Redundancy-Eliminating similarity index (CRE) which is based on a spreading process on the network. Extensive experiments on three benchmark data sets—Movilens, Netflix and Amazon—show that when used in recommendation, the CRE yields significant improvements in terms of recommendation accuracy and diversity. A detailed analysis is presented to unveil the origins of the observed differences between the CRE and mainstream similarity indices. PMID:28749976

Information filtering based on corrected redundancy-eliminating mass diffusion.

PubMed

Zhu, Xuzhen; Yang, Yujie; Chen, Guilin; Medo, Matus; Tian, Hui; Cai, Shi-Min

2017-01-01

Methods used in information filtering and recommendation often rely on quantifying the similarity between objects or users. The used similarity metrics often suffer from similarity redundancies arising from correlations between objects' attributes. Based on an unweighted undirected object-user bipartite network, we propose a Corrected Redundancy-Eliminating similarity index (CRE) which is based on a spreading process on the network. Extensive experiments on three benchmark data sets-Movilens, Netflix and Amazon-show that when used in recommendation, the CRE yields significant improvements in terms of recommendation accuracy and diversity. A detailed analysis is presented to unveil the origins of the observed differences between the CRE and mainstream similarity indices.

Phenotyping of field-grown wheat in the UK highlights contribution of light response of photosynthesis and flag leaf longevity to grain yield.

PubMed

Carmo-Silva, Elizabete; Andralojc, P John; Scales, Joanna C; Driever, Steven M; Mead, Andrew; Lawson, Tracy; Raines, Christine A; Parry, Martin A J

2017-06-15

Improving photosynthesis is a major target for increasing crop yields and ensuring food security. Phenotyping of photosynthesis in the field is critical to understand the limits to crop performance in agricultural settings. Yet, detailed phenotyping of photosynthetic traits is relatively scarce in field-grown wheat, with previous studies focusing on narrow germplasm selections. Flag leaf photosynthetic traits, crop development, and yield traits were compared in 64 field-grown wheat cultivars in the UK. Pre-anthesis and post-anthesis photosynthetic traits correlated significantly and positively with grain yield and harvest index (HI). These traits included net CO2 assimilation measured at ambient CO2 concentrations and a range of photosynthetic photon flux densities, and traits associated with the light response of photosynthesis. In most cultivars, photosynthesis decreased post-anthesis compared with pre-anthesis, and this was associated with decreased Rubisco activity and abundance. Heritability of photosynthetic traits suggests that phenotypic variation can be used to inform breeding programmes. Specific cultivars were identified with traits relevant to breeding for increased crop yields in the UK: pre-anthesis photosynthesis, post-anthesis photosynthesis, light response of photosynthesis, and Rubisco amounts. The results indicate that flag leaf longevity and operating photosynthetic activity in the canopy can be further exploited to maximize grain filling in UK bread wheat. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Experimental Biology.

Estimating yield gaps at the cropping system level.

PubMed

Guilpart, Nicolas; Grassini, Patricio; Sadras, Victor O; Timsina, Jagadish; Cassman, Kenneth G

2017-05-01

Yield gap analyses of individual crops have been used to estimate opportunities for increasing crop production at local to global scales, thus providing information crucial to food security. However, increases in crop production can also be achieved by improving cropping system yield through modification of spatial and temporal arrangement of individual crops. In this paper we define the cropping system yield potential as the output from the combination of crops that gives the highest energy yield per unit of land and time, and the cropping system yield gap as the difference between actual energy yield of an existing cropping system and the cropping system yield potential. Then, we provide a framework to identify alternative cropping systems which can be evaluated against the current ones. A proof-of-concept is provided with irrigated rice-maize systems at four locations in Bangladesh that represent a range of climatic conditions in that country. The proposed framework identified (i) realistic alternative cropping systems at each location, and (ii) two locations where expected improvements in crop production from changes in cropping intensity (number of crops per year) were 43% to 64% higher than from improving the management of individual crops within the current cropping systems. The proposed framework provides a tool to help assess food production capacity of new systems ( e.g. with increased cropping intensity) arising from climate change, and assess resource requirements (water and N) and associated environmental footprint per unit of land and production of these new systems. By expanding yield gap analysis from individual crops to the cropping system level and applying it to new systems, this framework could also be helpful to bridge the gap between yield gap analysis and cropping/farming system design.

Cosmic-Ray Nucleosynthesis of p-nuclei: Yields and Routes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kusakabe, Motohiko; Mathews, Grant J.

2018-02-01

We investigate the cosmic-ray nucleosynthesis (CRN) of proton-rich stable nuclides (p-nuclides). We calculate the cosmic-ray (CR) energy spectra of heavy nuclides with mass number A=[74,209], taking into account the detailed nuclear spallation, decay, energy loss, and escape from the Galaxy during the CR propagation. We adopt the latest semiempirical formula SPACS for the spallation cross sections and the latest data on nuclear decay. Effective electron-capture decay rates are calculated using the proper cross sections for recombination and ionization in the whole CR energy region. Calculated CR spectral shapes vary for different nuclides. Abundances of proton-rich unstable nuclides increase in CRs with increasing energy relative to those of other nuclides. Yields of the primary and secondary spallation processes and differential yields from respective seed nuclides are calculated. We find that the CR energy region of ≤slant { \\mathcal O }(100) MeV/nucleon predominantly contributes to the total yields. The atomic cross sections in the low-energy range adopted in this study are then necessary. Effects of CRN on the Galactic chemical evolution of p-nuclides are calculated. Important seed nuclides are identified for respective p-nuclides. The contribution of CRN is significant for 180m Ta, accounting for about 20% of the solar abundance. About 87% of the 180m Ta CRN yield can be attributed to the primary process. The most important production routes are reactions of 181Ta, 180Hf, and 182W. CRN yields of other p-nuclides are typically about { \\mathcal O }(10‑4–10‑2) of solar abundances.

Molecular Diagnostic Yield of Chromosomal Microarray Analysis and Whole-Exome Sequencing in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PubMed

Tammimies, Kristiina; Marshall, Christian R; Walker, Susan; Kaur, Gaganjot; Thiruvahindrapuram, Bhooma; Lionel, Anath C; Yuen, Ryan K C; Uddin, Mohammed; Roberts, Wendy; Weksberg, Rosanna; Woodbury-Smith, Marc; Zwaigenbaum, Lonnie; Anagnostou, Evdokia; Wang, Zhuozhi; Wei, John; Howe, Jennifer L; Gazzellone, Matthew J; Lau, Lynette; Sung, Wilson W L; Whitten, Kathy; Vardy, Cathy; Crosbie, Victoria; Tsang, Brian; D'Abate, Lia; Tong, Winnie W L; Luscombe, Sandra; Doyle, Tyna; Carter, Melissa T; Szatmari, Peter; Stuckless, Susan; Merico, Daniele; Stavropoulos, Dimitri J; Scherer, Stephen W; Fernandez, Bridget A

2015-09-01

The use of genome-wide tests to provide molecular diagnosis for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) requires more study. To perform chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) and whole-exome sequencing (WES) in a heterogeneous group of children with ASD to determine the molecular diagnostic yield of these tests in a sample typical of a developmental pediatric clinic. The sample consisted of 258 consecutively ascertained unrelated children with ASD who underwent detailed assessments to define morphology scores based on the presence of major congenital abnormalities and minor physical anomalies. The children were recruited between 2008 and 2013 in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The probands were stratified into 3 groups of increasing morphological severity: essential, equivocal, and complex (scores of 0-3, 4-5, and ≥6). All probands underwent CMA, with WES performed for 95 proband-parent trios. The overall molecular diagnostic yield for CMA and WES in a population-based ASD sample stratified in 3 phenotypic groups. Of 258 probands, 24 (9.3%, 95%CI, 6.1%-13.5%) received a molecular diagnosis from CMA and 8 of 95 (8.4%, 95%CI, 3.7%-15.9%) from WES. The yields were statistically different between the morphological groups. Among the children who underwent both CMA and WES testing, the estimated proportion with an identifiable genetic etiology was 15.8% (95%CI, 9.1%-24.7%; 15/95 children). This included 2 children who received molecular diagnoses from both tests. The combined yield was significantly higher in the complex group when compared with the essential group (pairwise comparison, P = .002). [table: see text]. Among a heterogeneous sample of children with ASD, the molecular diagnostic yields of CMA and WES were comparable, and the combined molecular diagnostic yield was higher in children with more complex morphological phenotypes in comparison with the children in the essential category. If replicated in additional populations, these findings may

Numerical optimization of conical flow waveriders including detailed viscous effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bowcutt, Kevin G.; Anderson, John D., Jr.; Capriotti, Diego

1987-01-01

A family of optimized hypersonic waveriders is generated and studied wherein detailed viscous effects are included within the optimization process itself. This is in contrast to previous optimized waverider work, wherein purely inviscid flow is used to obtain the waverider shapes. For the present waveriders, the undersurface is a streamsurface of an inviscid conical flowfield, the upper surface is a streamsurface of the inviscid flow over a tapered cylinder (calculated by the axisymmetric method of characteristics), and the viscous effects are treated by integral solutions of the boundary layer equations. Transition from laminar to turbulent flow is included within the viscous calculations. The optimization is carried out using a nonlinear simplex method. The resulting family of viscous hypersonic waveriders yields predicted high values of lift/drag, high enough to break the L/D barrier based on experience with other hypersonic configurations. Moreover, the numerical optimization process for the viscous waveriders results in distinctly different shapes compared to previous work with inviscid-designed waveriders. Also, the fine details of the viscous solution, such as how the shear stress is distributed over the surface, and the location of transition, are crucial to the details of the resulting waverider geometry. Finally, the moment coefficient variations and heat transfer distributions associated with the viscous optimized waveriders are studied.

Sensitivity of simulated maize crop yields to regional climate in the Southwestern United States

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, S.; Myoung, B.; Stack, D.; Kim, J.; Hatzopoulos, N.; Kafatos, M.

2013-12-01

The sensitivity of maize yield to the regional climate in the Southwestern United States (SW US) has been investigated by using a crop-yield simulation model (APSIM) in conjunction with meteorological forcings (daily minimum and maximum temperature, precipitation, and radiation) from the North American Regional Reanalysis (NARR) dataset. The primary focus of this study is to look at the effects of interannual variations of atmospheric components on the crop productivity in the SW US over the 21-year period (1991 to 2011). First of all, characteristics and performance of APSIM was examined by comparing simulated maize yields with observed yields from United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the leaf-area index (LAI) from MODIS satellite data. Comparisons of the simulated maize yield with the available observations show that the crop model can reasonably reproduce observed maize yields. Sensitivity tests were performed to assess the relative contribution of each climate driver to regional crop yield. Sensitivity experiments show that potential crop production responds nonlinearly to climate drivers and the yield sensitivity varied among geographical locations depending on their mean climates. Lastly, a detailed analysis of both the spatial and temporal variations of each climate driver in the regions where maize is actually grown in three states (CA, AZ, and NV) in the SW US was performed.

Coupling a distributed hydrological model with detailed forest structural information for large-scale global change impact assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Eisner, Stephanie; Huang, Shaochun; Majasalmi, Titta; Bright, Ryan; Astrup, Rasmus; Beldring, Stein

2017-04-01

Forests are recognized for their decisive effect on landscape water balance with structural forest characteristics as stand density or species composition determining energy partitioning and dominant flow paths. However, spatial and temporal variability in forest structure is often poorly represented in hydrological modeling frameworks, in particular in regional to large scale hydrological modeling and impact analysis. As a common practice, prescribed land cover classes (including different generic forest types) are linked to parameter values derived from literature, or parameters are determined by calibration. While national forest inventory (NFI) data provide comprehensive, detailed information on hydrologically relevant forest characteristics, their potential to inform hydrological simulation over larger spatial domains is rarely exploited. In this study we present a modeling framework that couples the distributed hydrological model HBV with forest structural information derived from the Norwegian NFI and multi-source remote sensing data. The modeling framework, set up for the entire of continental Norway at 1 km spatial resolution, is explicitly designed to study the combined and isolated impacts of climate change, forest management and land use change on hydrological fluxes. We use a forest classification system based on forest structure rather than biomes which allows to implicitly account for impacts of forest management on forest structural attributes. In the hydrological model, different forest classes are represented by three parameters: leaf area index (LAI), mean tree height and surface albedo. Seasonal cycles of LAI and surface albedo are dynamically simulated to make the framework applicable under climate change conditions. Based on a hindcast for the pilot regions Nord-Trøndelag and Sør-Trøndelag, we show how forest management has affected regional hydrological fluxes during the second half of the 20th century as contrasted to climate variability.

Crowdsourcing detailed flood data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walliman, Nicholas; Ogden, Ray; Amouzad*, Shahrzhad

2015-04-01

Over the last decade the average annual loss across the European Union due to flooding has been 4.5bn Euros, but increasingly intense rainfall, as well as population growth, urbanisation and the rising costs of asset replacements, may see this rise to 23bn Euros a year by 2050. Equally disturbing are the profound social costs to individuals, families and communities which in addition to loss of lives include: loss of livelihoods, decreased purchasing and production power, relocation and migration, adverse psychosocial effects, and hindrance of economic growth and development. Flood prediction, management and defence strategies rely on the availability of accurate information and flood modelling. Whilst automated data gathering (by measurement and satellite) of the extent of flooding is already advanced it is least reliable in urban and physically complex geographies where often the need for precise estimation is most acute. Crowdsourced data of actual flood events is a potentially critical component of this allowing improved accuracy in situations and identifying the effects of local landscape and topography where the height of a simple kerb, or discontinuity in a boundary wall can have profound importance. Mobile 'App' based data acquisition using crowdsourcing in critical areas can combine camera records with GPS positional data and time, as well as descriptive data relating to the event. This will automatically produce a dataset, managed in ArcView GIS, with the potential for follow up calls to get more information through structured scripts for each strand. Through this local residents can provide highly detailed information that can be reflected in sophisticated flood protection models and be core to framing urban resilience strategies and optimising the effectiveness of investment. This paper will describe this pioneering approach that will develop flood event data in support of systems that will advance existing approaches such as developed in the in the UK

Specific Yield--Column drainage and centrifuge moisture content

USGS Publications Warehouse

Johnson, A.I.; Prill, R.C.; Morris, D.A.

1963-01-01

The specific yield of a rock or soil, with respect to water, is the ratio of (1) the volume of water which, after being saturated, it will yield by gravity to (2) its own volume. Specific retention represents the water retained against gravity drainage. The specific yield and retention when added together are equal to the total interconnected porosity of the rock or soil. Because specific retention is more easily determined than specific yield, most methods for obtaining yield first require the determination of specific retention. Recognizing the great need for developing improved methods of determining the specific yield of water-bearing materials, the U.S. Geological Survey and the California Department of Water Resources initiated a cooperative investigation of this subject. The major objectives of this research are (1) to review pertinent literature on specific yield and related subjects, (2) to increase basic knowledge of specific yield and rate of drainage and to determine the most practical methods of obtaining them, (3) to compare and to attempt to correlate the principal laboratory and field methods now commonly used to obtain specific yield, and (4) to obtain improved estimates of specific yield of water-bearing deposits in California. An open-file report, 'Specific yield of porous media, an annotated bibliography,' by A. I. Johnson, D. A. Morris, and R. C. Prill, was released in 1960 in partial fulfillment of the first objective. This report describes the second phase of the specific-yield study by the U.S. Geological Survey Hydrologic Laboratory at Denver, Colo. Laboratory research on column drainage and centrifuge moisture equivalent, two methods for estimating specific retention of porous media, is summarized. In the column-drainage study, a wide variety of materials was packed into plastic columns of 1- to 8-inch diameter, wetted with Denver tap water, and drained under controlled conditions of temperature and humidity. The effects of cleaning the

Enhancing photoluminescence yields in lead halide perovskites by photon recycling and light out-coupling.

PubMed

Richter, Johannes M; Abdi-Jalebi, Mojtaba; Sadhanala, Aditya; Tabachnyk, Maxim; Rivett, Jasmine P H; Pazos-Outón, Luis M; Gödel, Karl C; Price, Michael; Deschler, Felix; Friend, Richard H

2016-12-23

In lead halide perovskite solar cells, there is at least one recycling event of electron-hole pair to photon to electron-hole pair at open circuit under solar illumination. This can lead to a significant reduction in the external photoluminescence yield from the internal yield. Here we show that, for an internal yield of 70%, we measure external yields as low as 15% in planar films, where light out-coupling is inefficient, but observe values as high as 57% in films on textured substrates that enhance out-coupling. We analyse in detail how externally measured rate constants and photoluminescence efficiencies relate to internal recombination processes under photon recycling. For this, we study the photo-excited carrier dynamics and use a rate equation to relate radiative and non-radiative recombination events to measured photoluminescence efficiencies. We conclude that the use of textured active layers has the ability to improve power conversion efficiencies for both LEDs and solar cells.

Enhancing photoluminescence yields in lead halide perovskites by photon recycling and light out-coupling

PubMed Central

Richter, Johannes M.; Abdi-Jalebi, Mojtaba; Sadhanala, Aditya; Tabachnyk, Maxim; Rivett, Jasmine P.H.; Pazos-Outón, Luis M.; Gödel, Karl C.; Price, Michael; Deschler, Felix; Friend, Richard H.

2016-01-01

In lead halide perovskite solar cells, there is at least one recycling event of electron–hole pair to photon to electron–hole pair at open circuit under solar illumination. This can lead to a significant reduction in the external photoluminescence yield from the internal yield. Here we show that, for an internal yield of 70%, we measure external yields as low as 15% in planar films, where light out-coupling is inefficient, but observe values as high as 57% in films on textured substrates that enhance out-coupling. We analyse in detail how externally measured rate constants and photoluminescence efficiencies relate to internal recombination processes under photon recycling. For this, we study the photo-excited carrier dynamics and use a rate equation to relate radiative and non-radiative recombination events to measured photoluminescence efficiencies. We conclude that the use of textured active layers has the ability to improve power conversion efficiencies for both LEDs and solar cells. PMID:28008917

Assessment of cluster yield components by image analysis.

PubMed

Diago, Maria P; Tardaguila, Javier; Aleixos, Nuria; Millan, Borja; Prats-Montalban, Jose M; Cubero, Sergio; Blasco, Jose

2015-04-01

Berry weight, berry number and cluster weight are key parameters for yield estimation for wine and tablegrape industry. Current yield prediction methods are destructive, labour-demanding and time-consuming. In this work, a new methodology, based on image analysis was developed to determine cluster yield components in a fast and inexpensive way. Clusters of seven different red varieties of grapevine (Vitis vinifera L.) were photographed under laboratory conditions and their cluster yield components manually determined after image acquisition. Two algorithms based on the Canny and the logarithmic image processing approaches were tested to find the contours of the berries in the images prior to berry detection performed by means of the Hough Transform. Results were obtained in two ways: by analysing either a single image of the cluster or using four images per cluster from different orientations. The best results (R(2) between 69% and 95% in berry detection and between 65% and 97% in cluster weight estimation) were achieved using four images and the Canny algorithm. The model's capability based on image analysis to predict berry weight was 84%. The new and low-cost methodology presented here enabled the assessment of cluster yield components, saving time and providing inexpensive information in comparison with current manual methods. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

Remembering the Specific Visual Details of Presented Objects: Neuroimaging Evidence for Effects of Emotion

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kensinger, Elizabeth A.; Schacter, Daniel L.

2007-01-01

Memories can be retrieved with varied amounts of visual detail, and the emotional content of information can influence the likelihood that visual detail is remembered. In the present fMRI experiment (conducted with 19 adults scanned using a 3T magnet), we examined the neural processes that correspond with recognition of the visual details of…

Tailoring the yield and characteristics of wood cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) using concentrated acid hydrolysis

Treesearch

Liheng Chen; Qianqian Wang; Kolby Hirth; Carlos Baez; Umesh P. Agarwal; J. Y. Zhu

2015-01-01

Cellulose nanocrystals (CNC) have recently received much attention in the global scientific community for their unique mechanical and optical properties. Here, we conducted the first detailed exploration of the basic properties of CNC, such as morphology, crystallinity, degree of sulfation and yield, as a function of production condition variables. The rapid cellulose...

Finding Details, Main Ideas, & Good Sources: How Information Literate Are NZ Students?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Brown, Gavin; Dunn, Karyn

Designed to be used with the New Zealand curriculum framework, this slide presentation defines "information literacy," gives an information literacy overview, proposes 10 questions that students need to ask themselves, and provides student educational objectives for information skills. The report presents an essential skills assessment…

Spatio-Temporal Super-Resolution Reconstruction of Remote-Sensing Images Based on Adaptive Multi-Scale Detail Enhancement

PubMed Central

Zhu, Hong; Tang, Xinming; Xie, Junfeng; Song, Weidong; Mo, Fan; Gao, Xiaoming

2018-01-01

There are many problems in existing reconstruction-based super-resolution algorithms, such as the lack of texture-feature representation and of high-frequency details. Multi-scale detail enhancement can produce more texture information and high-frequency information. Therefore, super-resolution reconstruction of remote-sensing images based on adaptive multi-scale detail enhancement (AMDE-SR) is proposed in this paper. First, the information entropy of each remote-sensing image is calculated, and the image with the maximum entropy value is regarded as the reference image. Subsequently, spatio-temporal remote-sensing images are processed using phase normalization, which is to reduce the time phase difference of image data and enhance the complementarity of information. The multi-scale image information is then decomposed using the L0 gradient minimization model, and the non-redundant information is processed by difference calculation and expanding non-redundant layers and the redundant layer by the iterative back-projection (IBP) technique. The different-scale non-redundant information is adaptive-weighted and fused using cross-entropy. Finally, a nonlinear texture-detail-enhancement function is built to improve the scope of small details, and the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) is used as an iterative constraint. Ultimately, high-resolution remote-sensing images with abundant texture information are obtained by iterative optimization. Real results show an average gain in entropy of up to 0.42 dB for an up-scaling of 2 and a significant promotion gain in enhancement measure evaluation for an up-scaling of 2. The experimental results show that the performance of the AMED-SR method is better than existing super-resolution reconstruction methods in terms of visual and accuracy improvements. PMID:29414893

Spatio-Temporal Super-Resolution Reconstruction of Remote-Sensing Images Based on Adaptive Multi-Scale Detail Enhancement.

PubMed

Zhu, Hong; Tang, Xinming; Xie, Junfeng; Song, Weidong; Mo, Fan; Gao, Xiaoming

2018-02-07

There are many problems in existing reconstruction-based super-resolution algorithms, such as the lack of texture-feature representation and of high-frequency details. Multi-scale detail enhancement can produce more texture information and high-frequency information. Therefore, super-resolution reconstruction of remote-sensing images based on adaptive multi-scale detail enhancement (AMDE-SR) is proposed in this paper. First, the information entropy of each remote-sensing image is calculated, and the image with the maximum entropy value is regarded as the reference image. Subsequently, spatio-temporal remote-sensing images are processed using phase normalization, which is to reduce the time phase difference of image data and enhance the complementarity of information. The multi-scale image information is then decomposed using the L ₀ gradient minimization model, and the non-redundant information is processed by difference calculation and expanding non-redundant layers and the redundant layer by the iterative back-projection (IBP) technique. The different-scale non-redundant information is adaptive-weighted and fused using cross-entropy. Finally, a nonlinear texture-detail-enhancement function is built to improve the scope of small details, and the peak signal-to-noise ratio (PSNR) is used as an iterative constraint. Ultimately, high-resolution remote-sensing images with abundant texture information are obtained by iterative optimization. Real results show an average gain in entropy of up to 0.42 dB for an up-scaling of 2 and a significant promotion gain in enhancement measure evaluation for an up-scaling of 2. The experimental results show that the performance of the AMED-SR method is better than existing super-resolution reconstruction methods in terms of visual and accuracy improvements.

Remotely sensed rice yield prediction using multi-temporal NDVI data derived from NOAA's-AVHRR.

PubMed

Huang, Jingfeng; Wang, Xiuzhen; Li, Xinxing; Tian, Hanqin; Pan, Zhuokun

2013-01-01

Grain-yield prediction using remotely sensed data have been intensively studied in wheat and maize, but such information is limited in rice, barley, oats and soybeans. The present study proposes a new framework for rice-yield prediction, which eliminates the influence of the technology development, fertilizer application, and management improvement and can be used for the development and implementation of provincial rice-yield predictions. The technique requires the collection of remotely sensed data over an adequate time frame and a corresponding record of the region's crop yields. Longer normalized-difference-vegetation-index (NDVI) time series are preferable to shorter ones for the purposes of rice-yield prediction because the well-contrasted seasons in a longer time series provide the opportunity to build regression models with a wide application range. A regression analysis of the yield versus the year indicated an annual gain in the rice yield of 50 to 128 kg ha(-1). Stepwise regression models for the remotely sensed rice-yield predictions have been developed for five typical rice-growing provinces in China. The prediction models for the remotely sensed rice yield indicated that the influences of the NDVIs on the rice yield were always positive. The association between the predicted and observed rice yields was highly significant without obvious outliers from 1982 to 2004. Independent validation found that the overall relative error is approximately 5.82%, and a majority of the relative errors were less than 5% in 2005 and 2006, depending on the study area. The proposed models can be used in an operational context to predict rice yields at the provincial level in China. The methodologies described in the present paper can be applied to any crop for which a sufficient time series of NDVI data and the corresponding historical yield information are available, as long as the historical yield increases significantly.

Remotely Sensed Rice Yield Prediction Using Multi-Temporal NDVI Data Derived from NOAA's-AVHRR

PubMed Central

Huang, Jingfeng; Wang, Xiuzhen; Li, Xinxing; Tian, Hanqin; Pan, Zhuokun

2013-01-01

Grain-yield prediction using remotely sensed data have been intensively studied in wheat and maize, but such information is limited in rice, barley, oats and soybeans. The present study proposes a new framework for rice-yield prediction, which eliminates the influence of the technology development, fertilizer application, and management improvement and can be used for the development and implementation of provincial rice-yield predictions. The technique requires the collection of remotely sensed data over an adequate time frame and a corresponding record of the region's crop yields. Longer normalized-difference-vegetation-index (NDVI) time series are preferable to shorter ones for the purposes of rice-yield prediction because the well-contrasted seasons in a longer time series provide the opportunity to build regression models with a wide application range. A regression analysis of the yield versus the year indicated an annual gain in the rice yield of 50 to 128 kg ha−1. Stepwise regression models for the remotely sensed rice-yield predictions have been developed for five typical rice-growing provinces in China. The prediction models for the remotely sensed rice yield indicated that the influences of the NDVIs on the rice yield were always positive. The association between the predicted and observed rice yields was highly significant without obvious outliers from 1982 to 2004. Independent validation found that the overall relative error is approximately 5.82%, and a majority of the relative errors were less than 5% in 2005 and 2006, depending on the study area. The proposed models can be used in an operational context to predict rice yields at the provincial level in China. The methodologies described in the present paper can be applied to any crop for which a sufficient time series of NDVI data and the corresponding historical yield information are available, as long as the historical yield increases significantly. PMID:23967112

Assessment of Preferences for Classification Detail in Medical Information: Is Uniformity Better?

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Lorence, Daniel P.; Spink, Amanda

2003-01-01

Reports results from a national study into the perceived variation reported by health information managers related to the relevance-efficiency trade-offs of information classification across regions and practice settings. Findings suggest that due to major regional variation, stringent national information standards may be counterproductive for…

Radiation use efficiency, biomass production, and grain yield in two maize hybrids differing in drought tolerance

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Drought tolerant (DT) maize (Zea mays L.) hybrids have potential to increase yield under drought conditions. However, little information is known about the physiological determinations of yield in DT hybrids. Our objective was to assess radiation use efficiency (RUE), biomass production, and yield ...

Impacts of forest restoration on water yield: A systematic review

PubMed Central

Filoso, Solange; Bezerra, Maíra Ometto; Weiss, Katherine C. B.; Palmer, Margaret A.

2017-01-01

Background Enhancing water provision services is a common target in forest restoration projects worldwide due to growing concerns over freshwater scarcity. However, whether or not forest cover expansion or restoration can improve water provision services is still unclear and highly disputed. Purpose The goal of this review is to provide a balanced and impartial assessment of the impacts of forest restoration and forest cover expansion on water yields as informed by the scientific literature. Potential sources of bias on the results of papers published are also examined. Data sources English, Spanish and Portuguese peer-review articles in Agricola, CAB Abstracts, ISI Web of Science, JSTOR, Google Scholar, and SciELO. Databases were searched through 2015. Search terms Intervention terms included forest restoration, regeneration/regrowth, forest second-growth, forestation/afforestation, and forestry. Target terms included water yield/quantity, streamflow, discharge, channel runoff, and annual flow. Study selection and eligibility criteria Articles were pre-selected based on key words in the title, abstract or text. Eligible articles addressed relevant interventions and targets and included quantitative information. Results Most studies reported decreases in water yields following the intervention, while other hydrological benefits have been observed. However, relatively few studies focused specifically on forest restoration, especially with native species, and/or on projects done at large spatial or temporal scales. Information is especially limited for the humid tropics and subtropics. Conclusions and implications of key findings While most studies reported a decrease in water yields, meta-analyses from a sub-set of studies suggest the potential influence of temporal and/or spatial scales on the outcomes of forest cover expansion or restoration projects. Given the many other benefits of forest restoration, improving our understanding of when and why forest

Characteristics of physicians targeted by the pharmaceutical industry to participate in e-detailing.

PubMed

Alkhateeb, Fadi M; Khanfar, Nile M; Doucette, William R; Loudon, David

2009-01-01

Electronic detailing (e-detailing) has been introduced in the last few years by the pharmaceutical industry as a new communication channel through which to promote pharmaceutical products to physicians. E-detailing involves using digital technology, such as Internet, video conferencing, and interactive voice response, by which drug companies target their marketing efforts toward specific physicians with pinpoint accuracy. A mail survey of 671 Iowa physicians was used to gather information about the physician characteristics and practice setting characteristics of those who are usually targeted by pharmaceutical companies to participate in e-detailing. A model is developed and tested to explain firms' targeting strategy for targeting physicians for e-detailing.

Monte Carlo simulation of the neutron monitor yield function

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mangeard, P.-S.; Ruffolo, D.; Sáiz, A.; Madlee, S.; Nutaro, T.

2016-08-01

Neutron monitors (NMs) are ground-based detectors that measure variations of the Galactic cosmic ray flux at GV range rigidities. Differences in configuration, electronics, surroundings, and location induce systematic effects on the calculation of the yield functions of NMs worldwide. Different estimates of NM yield functions can differ by a factor of 2 or more. In this work, we present new Monte Carlo simulations to calculate NM yield functions and perform an absolute (not relative) comparison with the count rate of the Princess Sirindhorn Neutron Monitor (PSNM) at Doi Inthanon, Thailand, both for the entire monitor and for individual counter tubes. We model the atmosphere using profiles from the Global Data Assimilation System database and the Naval Research Laboratory Mass Spectrometer, Incoherent Scatter Radar Extended model. Using FLUKA software and the detailed geometry of PSNM, we calculated the PSNM yield functions for protons and alpha particles. An agreement better than 9% was achieved between the PSNM observations and the simulated count rate during the solar minimum of December 2009. The systematic effect from the electronic dead time was studied as a function of primary cosmic ray rigidity at the top of the atmosphere up to 1 TV. We show that the effect is not negligible and can reach 35% at high rigidity for a dead time >1 ms. We analyzed the response function of each counter tube at PSNM using its actual dead time, and we provide normalization coefficients between count rates for various tube configurations in the standard NM64 design that are valid to within ˜1% for such stations worldwide.

Effects of Trainer Expressiveness, Seductive Details, and Trainee Goal Orientation on Training Outcomes

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Towler, Annette

2009-01-01

This study focuses on trainer expressiveness and trainee mastery orientation within the context of the seductive details effect. The seductive details effect refers to inclusion of "highly interesting and entertaining information that is only tangentially related to the topic" (Harp & Mayer, 1998, p. 1). One hundred thirty-two participants…

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium effects on biomass yield and flavonoid content of American Skullcap (Scutellaria Lateriflora)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Information on optimum dosage of nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilizer for high dry matter yield and flavonoid yield of American Skullcap is lacking. Greenhouse experiments were conducted to determine the effects of N, P and K fertilizer on biomass yield and flavonoid content of...

The yield and post-yield behavior of high-density polyethylene

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Semeliss, M. A.; Wong, R.; Tuttle, M. E.

1990-01-01

An experimental and analytical evaluation was made of the yield and post-yield behavior of high-density polyethylene, a semi-crystalline thermoplastic. Polyethylene was selected for study because it is very inexpensive and readily available in the form of thin-walled tubes. Thin-walled tubular specimens were subjected to axial loads and internal pressures, such that the specimens were subjected to a known biaxial loading. A constant octahederal shear stress rate was imposed during all tests. The measured yield and post-yield behavior was compared with predictions based on both isotropic and anisotropic models. Of particular interest was whether inelastic behavior was sensitive to the hydrostatic stress level. The major achievements and conclusions reached are discussed.

High throughput, detailed, cell-specific neuroanatomy of dendritic spines using microinjection and confocal microscopy

PubMed Central

Dumitriu, Dani; Rodriguez, Alfredo; Morrison, John H.

2012-01-01

Morphological features such as size, shape and density of dendritic spines have been shown to reflect important synaptic functional attributes and potential for plasticity. Here we describe in detail a protocol for obtaining detailed morphometric analysis of spines using microinjection of fluorescent dyes, high resolution confocal microscopy, deconvolution and image analysis using NeuronStudio. Recent technical advancements include better preservation of tissue resulting in prolonged ability to microinject, and algorithmic improvements that compensate for the residual Z-smear inherent in all optical imaging. Confocal imaging parameters were probed systematically for the identification of both optimal resolution as well as highest efficiency. When combined, our methods yield size and density measurements comparable to serial section transmission electron microscopy in a fraction of the time. An experiment containing 3 experimental groups with 8 subjects in each can take as little as one month if optimized for speed, or approximately 4 to 5 months if the highest resolution and morphometric detail is sought. PMID:21886104

Beacon communities aim to use health information technology to transform the delivery of care.

PubMed

Maxson, Emily R; Jain, Sachin H; McKethan, Aaron N; Brammer, Craig; Buntin, Melinda Beeuwkes; Cronin, Kelly; Mostashari, Farzad; Blumenthal, David

2010-09-01

The Beacon Community Program, authorized under the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), aims to demonstrate the potential for health information technology to enable local improvements in health care quality, cost efficiency, and population health. If successful, these communitywide efforts will yield important lessons that will assist other communities seeking to harness technology to achieve and sustain health care improvements. This paper highlights key programmatic details that reflect the meaningful use of technology in the fifteen Beacon communities. It describes the innovations they propose and provides insight into current and future challenges.

An adapted yield criterion for the evolution of subsequent yield surfaces

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Küsters, N.; Brosius, A.

2017-09-01

In numerical analysis of sheet metal forming processes, the anisotropic material behaviour is often modelled with isotropic work hardening and an average Lankford coefficient. In contrast, experimental observations show an evolution of the Lankford coefficients, which can be associated with a yield surface change due to kinematic and distortional hardening. Commonly, extensive efforts are carried out to describe these phenomena. In this paper an isotropic material model based on the Yld2000-2d criterion is adapted with an evolving yield exponent in order to change the yield surface shape. The yield exponent is linked to the accumulative plastic strain. This change has the effect of a rotating yield surface normal. As the normal is directly related to the Lankford coefficient, the change can be used to model the evolution of the Lankford coefficient during yielding. The paper will focus on the numerical implementation of the adapted material model for the FE-code LS-Dyna, mpi-version R7.1.2-d. A recently introduced identification scheme [1] is used to obtain the parameters for the evolving yield surface and will be briefly described for the proposed model. The suitability for numerical analysis will be discussed for deep drawing processes in general. Efforts for material characterization and modelling will be compared to other common yield surface descriptions. Besides experimental efforts and achieved accuracy, the potential of flexibility in material models and the risk of ambiguity during identification are of major interest in this paper.

Geometric Modelling of Tree Roots with Different Levels of Detail

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Guerrero Iñiguez, J. I.

2017-09-01

This paper presents a geometric approach for modelling tree roots with different Levels of Detail, suitable for analysis of the tree anchoring, potentially occupied underground space, interaction with urban elements and damage produced and taken in the built-in environment. Three types of tree roots are considered to cover several species: tap root, heart shaped root and lateral roots. Shrubs and smaller plants are not considered, however, a similar approach can be considered if the information is available for individual species. The geometrical approach considers the difficulties of modelling the actual roots, which are dynamic and almost opaque to direct observation, proposing generalized versions. For each type of root, different geometric models are considered to capture the overall shape of the root, a simplified block model, and a planar or surface projected version. Lower detail versions are considered as compatibility version for 2D systems while higher detail models are suitable for 3D analysis and visualization. The proposed levels of detail are matched with CityGML Levels of Detail, enabling both analysis and aesthetic views for urban modelling.

Towards a first detailed reconstruction of sunspot information over the last 150 years

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lefevre, Laure; Clette, Frédéric

2013-04-01

With four centuries of solar evolution, the International Sunspot Number (SSN) forms the longest solar time series currently available. It provides an essential reference for understanding and quantifying how the solar output has varied over decades and centuries and thus for assessing the variations of the main natural forcing on the Earth climate. For such a quantitative use, this unique time-series must be closely monitored for any possible biases and drifts. This is the main objective of the Sunspot Workshops organized jointly by the National Solar Observatory (NSO) and the Royal Observatory of Belgium (ROB) since 2010. Here, we will report about some recent outcomes of past workshops, like diagnostics of scaling errors and their proposed corrections, or the recent disagreement between the sunspot sumber and other solar indices like the 10.7cm radio flux. Our most recent analyses indicate that while part of this divergence may be due to a calibration drift in the SSN, it also results from an intrinsic change in the global magnetic parameters of sunspots and solar active regions, suggesting a possible transition to a new activity regime. Going beyond the SSN series, in the framework of the SOTERIA, TOSCA and SOLID projects, we produced a survey of all existing catalogs providing detailed sunspot information and we also located different primary solar images and drawing collections that can be exploitable to complement the existing catalogs (COMESEP project). These are first steps towards the construction of a multi-parametric time series of multiple sunspot group properties over at least the last 150 years, allowing to reconstruct and extend the current 1-D SSN series. By bringing new spatial, morphological and evolutionary information, such a data set should bring major advances for the modeling of the solar dynamo and solar irradiance. We will present here the current status of this work. The catalog now extends over the last 3 cycles (Lefevre & Clette 2011

LED Lighting - Modification of Growth, Metabolism, Yield and Flour Composition in Wheat by Spectral Quality and Intensity.

PubMed

Monostori, István; Heilmann, Márk; Kocsy, Gábor; Rakszegi, Marianna; Ahres, Mohamed; Altenbach, Susan B; Szalai, Gabriella; Pál, Magda; Toldi, Dávid; Simon-Sarkadi, Livia; Harnos, Noémi; Galiba, Gábor; Darko, Éva

2018-01-01

The use of light-emitting diode (LED) technology for plant cultivation under controlled environmental conditions can result in significant reductions in energy consumption. However, there is still a lack of detailed information on the lighting conditions required for optimal growth of different plant species and the effects of light intensity and spectral composition on plant metabolism and nutritional quality. In the present study, wheat plants were grown under six regimens designed to compare the effects of LED and conventional fluorescent lights on growth and development, leaf photosynthesis, thiol and amino acid metabolism as well as grain yield and flour quality of wheat. Benefits of LED light sources over fluorescent lighting were manifested in both yield and quality of wheat. Elevated light intensities made possible with LEDs increased photosynthetic activity, the number of tillers, biomass and yield. At lower light intensities, blue, green and far-red light operated antagonistically during the stem elongation period. High photosynthetic activity was achieved when at least 50% of red light was applied during cultivation. A high proportion of blue light prolonged the juvenile phase, while the shortest flowering time was achieved when the blue to red ratio was around one. Blue and far-red light affected the glutathione- and proline-dependent redox environment in leaves. LEDs, especially in Blue, Pink and Red Low Light (RedLL) regimens improved flour quality by modifying starch and protein content, dough strength and extensibility as demonstrated by the ratios of high to low molecular weight glutenins, ratios of glutenins to gliadins and gluten spread values. These results clearly show that LEDs are efficient for experimental wheat cultivation, and make it possible to optimize the growth conditions and to manipulate metabolism, yield and quality through modification of light quality and quantity.

Responses of inulin content and inulin yield of Jerusalem artichoke genotypes to seasonal environments

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Seasonal variation (e.g. temperature and photoperiod) between growing seasons might affect inulin content and inulin yield of Jerusalem artichoke. However, there is limited information on genotypic response to seasons for inulin content and inulin yield. The objective of this study was to investig...

SU-F-P-01: Changing Your Oncology Information System: A Detailed Process and Lessons Learned

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Abing, C

Purpose: Radiation Oncology departments are faced with many options for pairing their treatment machines with record and verify systems. Recently, there is a push to have a single-vendor-solution. In order to achieve this, the department must go through an intense and rigorous transition process. Our department has recently completed this process and now offer a detailed description of the process along with lessons learned. Methods: Our cancer center transitioned from a multi-vendor department to a single-vendor department over the 2015 calendar year. Our staff was partitioned off into superuser groups, an interface team, migration team, and go-live team. Six monthsmore » after successful implementation, a detailed survey was sent to the radiation oncology department to determine areas for improvement as well as successes in the process. Results: The transition between record and verify systems was considered a complete success. The results of the survey did point out some areas for improving inefficiencies with our staff; both interactions between each other and the vendors. Conclusion: Though this process was intricate and lengthy, it can be made easier with careful planning and detailed designation of project responsibilities. Our survey results and retrospective analysis of the transition are valuable to those wishing to make this change.« less

A detail-preserved and luminance-consistent multi-exposure image fusion algorithm

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wang, Guanquan; Zhou, Yue

2018-04-01

When irradiance across a scene varies greatly, we can hardly get an image of the scene without over- or underexposure area, because of the constraints of cameras. Multi-exposure image fusion (MEF) is an effective method to deal with this problem by fusing multi-exposure images of a static scene. A novel MEF method is described in this paper. In the proposed algorithm, coarser-scale luminance consistency is preserved by contribution adjustment using the luminance information between blocks; detail-preserved smoothing filter can stitch blocks smoothly without losing details. Experiment results show that the proposed method performs well in preserving luminance consistency and details.

Acid soil infertility effects on peanut yields and yield components

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blamey, F.P.C.

1983-01-01

The interpretation of soil amelioration experiments with peanuts is made difficult by the unpredictibility of the crop and by the many factors altered when ameliorating acid soils. The present study was conducted to investigate the effects of lime and gypsum applications on peanut kernel yield via the three first order yield components, pods per ha, kernels per pod, and kernel mass. On an acid medium sandy loam soil (typic Plinthustult), liming resulted in a highly significant kernel yield increase of 117% whereas gypsum applications were of no significant benefit. As indicated by path coefficient analysis, an increase in the numbermore » of pods per ha was markedly more important in increasing yield than an increase in either the number of kernels per pod or kernel mass. Furthermore, exch. Al was found to be particularly detrimental to pod number. It was postulated that poor peanut yields resulting from acid soil infertility were mainly due to the depressive effect of exch. Al on pod number. Exch. Ca appeared to play a secondary role by ameliorating the adverse effects of exch. Al.« less

Site Plan, Brief History, Site Elevation, Main Gate Detail, Southern ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

Site Plan, Brief History, Site Elevation, Main Gate Detail, Southern Live Oak (Quercus Virginiana) Information - Main Gate and Auburn Oaks at Toomer's Corner, Entrance to Auburn University's Campus, Intersection of West Magnolia Avenue and South College Street, Auburn, Lee County, AL

Absolute quantum yield measurement of powder samples.

PubMed

Moreno, Luis A

2012-05-12

Measurement of fluorescence quantum yield has become an important tool in the search for new solutions in the development, evaluation, quality control and research of illumination, AV equipment, organic EL material, films, filters and fluorescent probes for bio-industry. Quantum yield is calculated as the ratio of the number of photons absorbed, to the number of photons emitted by a material. The higher the quantum yield, the better the efficiency of the fluorescent material. For the measurements featured in this video, we will use the Hitachi F-7000 fluorescence spectrophotometer equipped with the Quantum Yield measuring accessory and Report Generator program. All the information provided applies to this system. Measurement of quantum yield in powder samples is performed following these steps: 1. Generation of instrument correction factors for the excitation and emission monochromators. This is an important requirement for the correct measurement of quantum yield. It has been performed in advance for the full measurement range of the instrument and will not be shown in this video due to time limitations. 2. Measurement of integrating sphere correction factors. The purpose of this step is to take into consideration reflectivity characteristics of the integrating sphere used for the measurements. 3. Reference and Sample measurement using direct excitation and indirect excitation. 4. Quantum Yield calculation using Direct and Indirect excitation. Direct excitation is when the sample is facing directly the excitation beam, which would be the normal measurement setup. However, because we use an integrating sphere, a portion of the emitted photons resulting from the sample fluorescence are reflected by the integrating sphere and will re-excite the sample, so we need to take into consideration indirect excitation. This is accomplished by measuring the sample placed in the port facing the emission monochromator, calculating indirect quantum yield and correcting the direct

Clinical usefulness of library and information services in Japan: The detailed use and value of information in clinical settings.

PubMed

Sakai, Yukiko; Sato, Yoko; Sato, Masae; Watanabe, Makiko

2018-01-01

Considering that there is a lack of evidence regarding the contribution of library and information services to evidence-based medicine in actual clinical practice in Japan, the purpose of the study is to explore the current status of use and value of library and information services in clinical settings to examine the usefulness of information in implementing evidence-based medicine (EBM) into practice. A Web-based survey was conducted at seven sites (hospitals with 300-1,200 beds) and interviews conducted at five sites to investigate information behavior among health professionals (physicians, residents, and nurses) in 2016, replicating the Value Study carried out in the United States in 2010 and 2011. Using a critical incident technique, respondents answered questions about their information topics, information resources used, search location, access points, and evaluation of the information. Analysis from 598 valid responses (275 physicians, 55 residents, and 268 nurses) revealed the characteristics of information use and recognition of the value of information. Physicians and residents showed their information needs regarding clinical care using PubMed (80.4%, 65.5%), Ichushi-Web (61.8%, 63.6%), and UpToDate (40.4%, 65.5%). While physicians rely more on electronic journals (37.8%), residents use more hybrid resources including Japanese print books (38.2%) and online books (30.9% for Japanese, 32.7% for English) to confirm their knowledge. Nurses need more information close to patients and explore a wider variety of information resources such as Japanese print books (60.4%), Ichushi -Web (40.3%), Japanese online books (20.5%), and websites of academic organizations (19.0%). Although the overall recognition of the value of information was relatively modest, concrete changes in clinical practice were found in some areas. Environments with insufficient information and availability of electronic resources should be improved to increase the use of library and

The role of climatic variables in winter cereal yields: a retrospective analysis.

PubMed

Luo, Qunying; Wen, Li

2015-02-01

This study examined the effects of observed climate including [CO2] on winter cereal [winter wheat (Triticum aestivum), barley (Hordeum vulgare) and oat (Avena sativa)] yields by adopting robust statistical analysis/modelling approaches (i.e. autoregressive fractionally integrated moving average, generalised addition model) based on long time series of historical climate data and cereal yield data at three locations (Moree, Dubbo and Wagga Wagga) in New South Wales, Australia. Research results show that (1) growing season rainfall was significantly, positively and non-linearly correlated with crop yield at all locations considered; (2) [CO2] was significantly, positively and non-linearly correlated with crop yields in all cases except wheat and barley yields at Wagga Wagga; (3) growing season maximum temperature was significantly, negatively and non-linearly correlated with crop yields at Dubbo and Moree (except for barley); and (4) radiation was only significantly correlated with oat yield at Wagga Wagga. This information will help to identify appropriate management adaptation options in dealing with the risk and in taking the opportunities of climate change.

Detailed fatty acid profile of milk, cheese, ricotta and by products, from cows grazing summer highland pastures.

PubMed

Bergamaschi, Matteo; Bittante, Giovanni

2017-08-01

In this research two-dimensional GC was used to analyse, for the first time, the detailed fatty acid (FA) profiles of 11 dairy matrices: raw milk (evening whole, evening partially skimmed, morning whole, and vat milk), cream, fresh cheese, whey, ricotta, scotta, 6- and 12-month-ripened cheeses, obtained across artisanal cheese- and ricotta-making trials carried out during the summer period while cows were on highland pastures. Samples were collected during 7 cheese- and ricotta-making procedures carried out at 2-week intervals from bulk milk to study possible differences in the transfer and modification of FA. Compared with morning milk, evening milk had fewer de novo synthetised FA. The detailed FA profile of partially skimmed milk differed little from that of evening whole milk before skimming, but the cream obtained differed from partially skimmed milk and from fresh cheese in about half the FA, due mainly to higher contents of all de novo FA, and lower contents of n-3 and n-6 FA. Fresh cheese and whey had similar FA profiles. The ricotta manufacturing process affected the partition of FA between ricotta and scotta, the FA profile of the latter differing in terms of groups and individual FA from the former, whereas ricotta and fresh cheese had similar composition of FA. In general, there was an increase in medium-chain saturated FA, and a decrease in many polyunsaturated FA during the first 6 months of ripening, but not during the second 6 months. Two-dimensional GC yielded a very detailed and informative FA profile on all the 11 dairy products and by-products analysed.

Yield Advances in Peanut

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Average yields of peanut in the U.S. set an all time record of 4,695 kg ha-1 in 2012. This far exceeded the previous record yield of 3,837 kg ha-1 in 2008. Favorable weather conditions undoubtedly contributed to the record yields in 2012; however, these record yields would not have been achievable...

Detailed Hydrographic Feature Extraction from High-Resolution LiDAR Data

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Danny L. Anderson

Detailed hydrographic feature extraction from high-resolution light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data is investigated. Methods for quantitatively evaluating and comparing such extractions are presented, including the use of sinuosity and longitudinal root-mean-square-error (LRMSE). These metrics are then used to quantitatively compare stream networks in two studies. The first study examines the effect of raster cell size on watershed boundaries and stream networks delineated from LiDAR-derived digital elevation models (DEMs). The study confirmed that, with the greatly increased resolution of LiDAR data, smaller cell sizes generally yielded better stream network delineations, based on sinuosity and LRMSE. The second study demonstrates amore » new method of delineating a stream directly from LiDAR point clouds, without the intermediate step of deriving a DEM. Direct use of LiDAR point clouds could improve efficiency and accuracy of hydrographic feature extractions. The direct delineation method developed herein and termed “mDn”, is an extension of the D8 method that has been used for several decades with gridded raster data. The method divides the region around a starting point into sectors, using the LiDAR data points within each sector to determine an average slope, and selecting the sector with the greatest downward slope to determine the direction of flow. An mDn delineation was compared with a traditional grid-based delineation, using TauDEM, and other readily available, common stream data sets. Although, the TauDEM delineation yielded a sinuosity that more closely matches the reference, the mDn delineation yielded a sinuosity that was higher than either the TauDEM method or the existing published stream delineations. Furthermore, stream delineation using the mDn method yielded the smallest LRMSE.« less

Phenotypic Stability of Zea mays Grain Yield and Its Attributing Traits under Drought Stress

PubMed Central

Ali, Fawad; Ahsan, Muhammad; Ali, Qurban; Kanwal, Naila

2017-01-01

Phenotypic stability under stress environment facilitate the fitness of genotype and opens new horizons to explore the cryptic genetic variation. Variation in tolerance to drought stress, a major grain yield constraint to global maize production, was identified, at the phenotypic and genotypic level. Here we found a prominent hybrid H9 that showed fitness over four growing seasons for grain yield under water stress conditions. Genotypic and phenotypic correlation of yield attributing traits over four seasons demonstrated that cobs per plant, 100 seed weight, number of grains rows per cob, total dry matter, cob diameter had positive association (r2 = 0.3–0.9) to grain yield. The perturbation was found for chlorophyll content as it showed moderate to strong association (P < 0.01) over four seasons, might be due to environment or genotype dependent. Highest heritability (95%) and genetic advance (79%) for grain yield was found in H9 over four consecutive crop growing seasons. Combined analysis over four seasons showed that studied variables together explained 85% of total variation in dependent structure (grain yield) obtained by Principal component analysis. This significant finding is the best example of phenotypic stability of grain yield in H9 and made it best fitted for grain yield under drought stress scenario. Detailed genetic analysis of H9 will help us to identify significant loci and alleles that made H9 the best fitted and it could serve as a potential source to generate novel transgressive levels of tolerance for drought stress in arid/semiarid regions. PMID:28878785

Phenotypic Stability of Zea mays Grain Yield and Its Attributing Traits under Drought Stress.

PubMed

Ali, Fawad; Ahsan, Muhammad; Ali, Qurban; Kanwal, Naila

2017-01-01

Phenotypic stability under stress environment facilitate the fitness of genotype and opens new horizons to explore the cryptic genetic variation. Variation in tolerance to drought stress, a major grain yield constraint to global maize production, was identified, at the phenotypic and genotypic level. Here we found a prominent hybrid H 9 that showed fitness over four growing seasons for grain yield under water stress conditions. Genotypic and phenotypic correlation of yield attributing traits over four seasons demonstrated that cobs per plant, 100 seed weight, number of grains rows per cob, total dry matter, cob diameter had positive association ( r 2 = 0.3-0.9) to grain yield. The perturbation was found for chlorophyll content as it showed moderate to strong association ( P < 0.01) over four seasons, might be due to environment or genotype dependent. Highest heritability (95%) and genetic advance (79%) for grain yield was found in H 9 over four consecutive crop growing seasons. Combined analysis over four seasons showed that studied variables together explained 85% of total variation in dependent structure (grain yield) obtained by Principal component analysis. This significant finding is the best example of phenotypic stability of grain yield in H 9 and made it best fitted for grain yield under drought stress scenario. Detailed genetic analysis of H 9 will help us to identify significant loci and alleles that made H 9 the best fitted and it could serve as a potential source to generate novel transgressive levels of tolerance for drought stress in arid/semiarid regions.

Regional crop gross primary production and yield estimation using fused Landsat-MODIS data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

He, M.; Kimball, J. S.; Maneta, M. P.; Maxwell, B. D.; Moreno, A.

2017-12-01

Accurate crop yield assessments using satellite-based remote sensing are of interest for the design of regional policies that promote agricultural resiliency and food security. However, the application of current vegetation productivity algorithms derived from global satellite observations are generally too coarse to capture cropland heterogeneity. Merging information from sensors with reciprocal spatial and temporal resolution can improve the accuracy of these retrievals. In this study, we estimate annual crop yields for seven important crop types -alfalfa, barley, corn, durum wheat, peas, spring wheat and winter wheat over Montana, United States (U.S.) from 2008 to 2015. Yields are estimated as the product of gross primary production (GPP) and a crop-specific harvest index (HI) at 30 m spatial resolution. To calculate GPP we used a modified form of the MOD17 LUE algorithm driven by a 30 m 8-day fused NDVI dataset constructed by blending Landsat (5 or 7) and MODIS Terra reflectance data. The fused 30-m NDVI record shows good consistency with the original Landsat and MODIS data, but provides better spatiotemporal information on cropland vegetation growth. The resulting GPP estimates capture characteristic cropland patterns and seasonal variations, while the estimated annual 30 m crop yield results correspond favorably with county-level crop yield data (r=0.96, p<0.05). The estimated crop yield performance was generally lower, but still favorable in relation to field-scale crop yield surveys (r=0.42, p<0.01). Our methods and results are suitable for operational applications at regional scales.

Characteristics of Academic Detailing: Results of a Literature Review.

PubMed

Van Hoof, Thomas J; Harrison, Lisa G; Miller, Nicole E; Pappas, Maryanne S; Fischer, Michael A

2015-11-01

Academic detailing is an evidence-based strategy to improve patient care. Efforts to understand the intervention and to use it strategically require an understanding of its important characteristics. A recent systematic review and a subsequent reporting framework call for more accurate and complete reporting of continuing medical education interventions. Building on a previously published systematic review of 69 studies, we sought to determine how an expanded set of 106 academic detailing studies, including many recently published articles, fared with respect to reporting of important data about this intervention. We conducted a search of MEDLINE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (clinical) database, and Scopus, from which we identified 38 additional randomized controlled trials published from August 2007 through March 2013. Including the original 69 studies, we abstracted 106 available English-language studies and quantitatively analyzed information about 4 important characteristics of academic detailing: content of visits, clinicians being visited, communication process underlying visits, and outreach workers making visits. We found considerable variation (36.5%-100%) in the extent of reporting intervention characteristics, especially about the communication process underlying visits and the outreach workers making visits. The best overall documentation of intervention characteristics of any single study was 68%. Results also demonstrate wide variation in the approach to academic detailing. This study demonstrates the need for a standardized approach to collecting and reporting data about academic detailing interventions. Our findings also highlight opportunities for using academic detailing more effectively in research and quality-improvement efforts.

Educational Outreach to Opioid Prescribers: The Case for Academic Detailing.

PubMed

Trotter Davis, Margot; Bateman, Brian; Avorn, Jerry

2017-02-01

Nonmedical use of opioid medications constitutes a serious health threat as the rates of addiction, overdoses, and deaths have risen in recent years. Increasingly, inappropriate and excessively liberal prescribing of opioids by physicians is understood to be a central part of the crisis. Public health officials, hospital systems, and legislators are developing programs and regulations to address the problem in sustained and systematic ways that both insures effective treatment of pain and appropriate limits on the availability of opioids. Three approaches have obtained prominence as means of avoiding excessive and inappropriate prescribing, including: providing financial incentives to physicians to change their clinical decision through pay-for-performance contracts, monitoring patient medications through Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs, and educational outreach to physicians. A promising approach to educational outreach to physicians is an intervention known as "academic detailing." It was developed in the 1980s to provide one-on-one educational outreach to physicians using similar methods as the pharmaceutical industry that sends "detailers" to market their products to physician practices. Core to academic detailing, however, is the idea that medical decisions should be based on evidence-based information, including managing conditions with updated assessment measures, behavioral, and nonpharmacological interventions. With the pharmaceutical industry spending billions of dollars to advertise their products, individual practitioners can have difficulty gathering unbiased information, especially as the number of approved medications grows each year. Academic detailing has successfully affected the management of health conditions, such as atrial fibrillation, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and recently, has targeted physicians who prescribe opioids. This article discusses the approach as a potentially effective preventative intervention to address the

A detail enhancement and dynamic range adjustment algorithm for high dynamic range images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Bo; Wang, Huachuang; Liang, Mingtao; Yu, Cong; Hu, Jinlong; Cheng, Hua

2014-08-01

Although high dynamic range (HDR) images contain large amounts of information, they have weak texture and low contrast. What's more, these images are difficult to be reproduced on low dynamic range displaying mediums. If much more information is to be acquired when these images are displayed on PCs, some specific transforms, such as compressing the dynamic range, enhancing the portions of little difference in original contrast and highlighting the texture details on the premise of keeping the parts of large contrast, are needed. To this ends, a multi-scale guided filter enhancement algorithm which derives from the single-scale guided filter based on the analysis of non-physical model is proposed in this paper. Firstly, this algorithm decomposes the original HDR images into base image and detail images of different scales, and then it adaptively selects a transform function which acts on the enhanced detail images and original images. By comparing the treatment effects of HDR images and low dynamic range (LDR) images of different scene features, it proves that this algorithm, on the basis of maintaining the hierarchy and texture details of images, not only improves the contrast and enhances the details of images, but also adjusts the dynamic range well. Thus, it is much suitable for human observation or analytical processing of machines.

Graphical user interface for yield and dose estimations for cyclotron-produced technetium

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, X.; Vuckovic, M.; Buckley, K.; Bénard, F.; Schaffer, P.; Ruth, T.; Celler, A.

2014-07-01

The cyclotron-based 100Mo(p,2n)99mTc reaction has been proposed as an alternative method for solving the shortage of 99mTc. With this production method, however, even if highly enriched molybdenum is used, various radioactive and stable isotopes will be produced simultaneously with 99mTc. In order to optimize reaction parameters and estimate potential patient doses from radiotracers labeled with cyclotron produced 99mTc, the yields for all reaction products must be estimated. Such calculations, however, are extremely complex and time consuming. Therefore, the objective of this study was to design a graphical user interface (GUI) that would automate these calculations, facilitate analysis of the experimental data, and predict dosimetry. The resulting GUI, named Cyclotron production Yields and Dosimetry (CYD), is based on Matlab®. It has three parts providing (a) reaction yield calculations, (b) predictions of gamma emissions and (c) dosimetry estimations. The paper presents the outline of the GUI, lists the parameters that must be provided by the user, discusses the details of calculations and provides examples of the results. Our initial experience shows that the proposed GUI allows the user to very efficiently calculate the yields of reaction products and analyze gamma spectroscopy data. However, it is expected that the main advantage of this GUI will be at the later clinical stage when entering reaction parameters will allow the user to predict production yields and estimate radiation doses to patients for each particular cyclotron run.

Graphical user interface for yield and dose estimations for cyclotron-produced technetium.

PubMed

Hou, X; Vuckovic, M; Buckley, K; Bénard, F; Schaffer, P; Ruth, T; Celler, A

2014-07-07

The cyclotron-based (100)Mo(p,2n)(99m)Tc reaction has been proposed as an alternative method for solving the shortage of (99m)Tc. With this production method, however, even if highly enriched molybdenum is used, various radioactive and stable isotopes will be produced simultaneously with (99m)Tc. In order to optimize reaction parameters and estimate potential patient doses from radiotracers labeled with cyclotron produced (99m)Tc, the yields for all reaction products must be estimated. Such calculations, however, are extremely complex and time consuming. Therefore, the objective of this study was to design a graphical user interface (GUI) that would automate these calculations, facilitate analysis of the experimental data, and predict dosimetry. The resulting GUI, named Cyclotron production Yields and Dosimetry (CYD), is based on Matlab®. It has three parts providing (a) reaction yield calculations, (b) predictions of gamma emissions and (c) dosimetry estimations. The paper presents the outline of the GUI, lists the parameters that must be provided by the user, discusses the details of calculations and provides examples of the results. Our initial experience shows that the proposed GUI allows the user to very efficiently calculate the yields of reaction products and analyze gamma spectroscopy data. However, it is expected that the main advantage of this GUI will be at the later clinical stage when entering reaction parameters will allow the user to predict production yields and estimate radiation doses to patients for each particular cyclotron run.

The impact of long-range electron-hole interaction on the charge separation yield of molecular photocells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nemati Aram, Tahereh; Ernzerhof, Matthias; Asgari, Asghar; Mayou, Didier

2017-01-01

We discuss the effects of charge carrier interaction and recombination on the operation of molecular photocells. Molecular photocells are devices where the energy conversion process takes place in a single molecular donor-acceptor complex attached to electrodes. Our investigation is based on the quantum scattering theory, in particular on the Lippmann-Schwinger equation; this minimizes the complexity of the problem while providing useful and non-trivial insight into the mechanism governing photocell operation. In this study, both exciton pair creation and dissociation are treated in the energy domain, and therefore there is access to detailed spectral information, which can be used as a framework to interpret the charge separation yield. We demonstrate that the charge carrier separation is a complex process that is affected by different parameters, such as the strength of the electron-hole interaction and the non-radiative recombination rate. Our analysis helps to optimize the charge separation process and the energy transfer in organic solar cells and in molecular photocells.

Automated map sharpening by maximization of detail and connectivity

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Terwilliger, Thomas C.; Sobolev, Oleg V.; Afonine, Pavel V.

An algorithm for automatic map sharpening is presented that is based on optimization of the detail and connectivity of the sharpened map. The detail in the map is reflected in the surface area of an iso-contour surface that contains a fixed fraction of the volume of the map, where a map with high level of detail has a high surface area. The connectivity of the sharpened map is reflected in the number of connected regions defined by the same iso-contour surfaces, where a map with high connectivity has a small number of connected regions. By combining these two measures inmore » a metric termed the `adjusted surface area', map quality can be evaluated in an automated fashion. This metric was used to choose optimal map-sharpening parameters without reference to a model or other interpretations of the map. Map sharpening by optimization of the adjusted surface area can be carried out for a map as a whole or it can be carried out locally, yielding a locally sharpened map. To evaluate the performance of various approaches, a simple metric based on map–model correlation that can reproduce visual choices of optimally sharpened maps was used. The map–model correlation is calculated using a model withBfactors (atomic displacement factors; ADPs) set to zero. Finally, this model-based metric was used to evaluate map sharpening and to evaluate map-sharpening approaches, and it was found that optimization of the adjusted surface area can be an effective tool for map sharpening.« less

Automated map sharpening by maximization of detail and connectivity

DOE PAGES

Terwilliger, Thomas C.; Sobolev, Oleg V.; Afonine, Pavel V.; ...

2018-05-18

An algorithm for automatic map sharpening is presented that is based on optimization of the detail and connectivity of the sharpened map. The detail in the map is reflected in the surface area of an iso-contour surface that contains a fixed fraction of the volume of the map, where a map with high level of detail has a high surface area. The connectivity of the sharpened map is reflected in the number of connected regions defined by the same iso-contour surfaces, where a map with high connectivity has a small number of connected regions. By combining these two measures inmore » a metric termed the `adjusted surface area', map quality can be evaluated in an automated fashion. This metric was used to choose optimal map-sharpening parameters without reference to a model or other interpretations of the map. Map sharpening by optimization of the adjusted surface area can be carried out for a map as a whole or it can be carried out locally, yielding a locally sharpened map. To evaluate the performance of various approaches, a simple metric based on map–model correlation that can reproduce visual choices of optimally sharpened maps was used. The map–model correlation is calculated using a model withBfactors (atomic displacement factors; ADPs) set to zero. Finally, this model-based metric was used to evaluate map sharpening and to evaluate map-sharpening approaches, and it was found that optimization of the adjusted surface area can be an effective tool for map sharpening.« less

EIA Household Energy Use Data Now Includes Detail on 16 States

EIA Publications

2011-01-01

The Energy Information Administration (EIA) is releasing new benchmark estimates for home energy use for the year 2009 that include detailed data for 16 states, 12 more than in past EIA residential energy surveys.

Development of a detailed chemical mechanism (MCMv3.1) for the atmospheric oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bloss, C.; Wagner, V.; Jenkin, M. E.; Volkamer, R.; Bloss, W. J.; Lee, J. D.; Heard, D. E.; Wirtz, K.; Martin-Reviejo, M.; Rea, G.; Wenger, J. C.; Pilling, M. J.

2005-03-01

The Master Chemical Mechanism has been updated from MCMv3 to MCMv3.1 in order to take into account recent improvements in the understanding of aromatic photo-oxidation. Newly available kinetic and product data from the literature have been incorporated into the mechanism. In particular, the degradation mechanisms for hydroxyarenes have been revised following the observation of high yields of ring-retained products, and product studies of aromatic oxidation under relatively low NOx conditions have provided new information on the branching ratios to first generation products. Experiments have been carried out at the European Photoreactor (EUPHORE) to investigate key subsets of the toluene system. These results have been used to test our understanding of toluene oxidation, and, where possible, refine the degradation mechanisms. The evaluation of MCMv3 and MCMv3.1 using data on benzene, toluene, p-xylene and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene photosmog systems is described in a companion paper, and significant model shortcomings are identified. Ideas for additional modifications to the mechanisms, and for future experiments to further our knowledge of the details of aromatic photo-oxidation are discussed.

Development of a detailed chemical mechanism (MCMv3.1) for the atmospheric oxidation of aromatic hydrocarbons

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bloss, C.; Wagner, V.; Jenkin, M. E.; Volkamer, R.; Bloss, W. J.; Lee, J. D.; Heard, D. E.; Wirtz, K.; Martin-Reviejo, M.; Rea, G.; Wenger, J. C.; Pilling, M. J.

2004-09-01

The Master Chemical Mechanism has been updated from MCMv3 to MCMv3.1 in order to take into account recent improvements in the understanding of aromatic photo-oxidation. Newly available kinetic and product data from the literature has been incorporated into the mechanism. In particular, the degradation mechanisms for hydroxyarenes have been revised following the observation of high yields of ring-retained products, and product studies of aromatic oxidation under relatively low NOx conditions have provided new information on the branching ratios to first generation products. Experiments have been carried out at the European Photoreactor (EUPHORE) to investigate key subsets of the toluene system. These results have been used to test our understanding of toluene oxidation, and where possible, refine the degradation mechanisms. The evaluation of MCMv3 and MCMv3.1 using data on benzene, toluene, p-xylene and 1,3,5-trimethylbenzene photosmog systems is described in a companion paper, and significant model shortcomings are identified. Ideas for additional modifications to the mechanisms, and for future experiments to further our knowledge of the details of aromatic photo-oxidation are discussed.

Colonoscopy yields fewer polyps as the day progresses despite using social influence theory to reverse the trend.

PubMed

Kaneshiro, Marc; Ho, Andrew; Chan, Michael; Cohen, Hartley; Spiegel, Brennan M R

2010-12-01

We previously reported that fewer polyps are detected by colonoscopy as the day progresses, a phenomenon that could be modified with "social influence theory" by using auditing and feedback. To measure the impact of a social influence informational poster on the relationship between time of day and colonoscopy yield. Controlled before-and-after study comparing the polyp yield and time of day relationship in a historical cohort versus a 3-month intervention period. University-based Veterans Affairs medical center. Patients undergoing outpatient screening, surveillance, or diagnostic colonoscopies. Placement of informational posters in endoscopy rooms within view of operators and nurses. The poster depicted a bar graph of the previously documented hour-by-hour decreases in polyp yield coupled with prominent text: "What Time Is It Now?" Polyp yield, including secondary end point limited to adenoma detection. We performed regression to measure the effect of start time on polyp yield. There were 477 and 301 patients in the control and intervention periods, respectively. There was a negative relationship between start time and polyp yield, including adenoma detection, for both periods (P = .001). Start time remained negatively predictive of polyp and adenoma yield after adjusting for poster exposure and confounders (P = .01). Nonrandomized study design. An informational poster did not alter the relationship between colonoscopy start time and polyp yield. This strengthens the previous finding that start time may affect polyp yield and suggests that passive use of social influence theory is inadequate to modify this effect. Shortening endoscopy shifts and active auditing with feedback may be necessary. Copyright © 2010 American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy. Published by Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.

LED Lighting – Modification of Growth, Metabolism, Yield and Flour Composition in Wheat by Spectral Quality and Intensity

PubMed Central

Monostori, István; Heilmann, Márk; Kocsy, Gábor; Rakszegi, Marianna; Ahres, Mohamed; Altenbach, Susan B.; Szalai, Gabriella; Pál, Magda; Toldi, Dávid; Simon-Sarkadi, Livia; Harnos, Noémi; Galiba, Gábor; Darko, Éva

2018-01-01

The use of light-emitting diode (LED) technology for plant cultivation under controlled environmental conditions can result in significant reductions in energy consumption. However, there is still a lack of detailed information on the lighting conditions required for optimal growth of different plant species and the effects of light intensity and spectral composition on plant metabolism and nutritional quality. In the present study, wheat plants were grown under six regimens designed to compare the effects of LED and conventional fluorescent lights on growth and development, leaf photosynthesis, thiol and amino acid metabolism as well as grain yield and flour quality of wheat. Benefits of LED light sources over fluorescent lighting were manifested in both yield and quality of wheat. Elevated light intensities made possible with LEDs increased photosynthetic activity, the number of tillers, biomass and yield. At lower light intensities, blue, green and far-red light operated antagonistically during the stem elongation period. High photosynthetic activity was achieved when at least 50% of red light was applied during cultivation. A high proportion of blue light prolonged the juvenile phase, while the shortest flowering time was achieved when the blue to red ratio was around one. Blue and far-red light affected the glutathione- and proline-dependent redox environment in leaves. LEDs, especially in Blue, Pink and Red Low Light (RedLL) regimens improved flour quality by modifying starch and protein content, dough strength and extensibility as demonstrated by the ratios of high to low molecular weight glutenins, ratios of glutenins to gliadins and gluten spread values. These results clearly show that LEDs are efficient for experimental wheat cultivation, and make it possible to optimize the growth conditions and to manipulate metabolism, yield and quality through modification of light quality and quantity. PMID:29780400

Stand-yield prediction for managed Ocala sand pine

Treesearch

D.L. Rockwood; B. Yang; K.W. Outcalt

1997-01-01

Sand pine is a very important species in Florida, producing significant quantities of fiber. The purpose of this study was to develop the site index and stand-level growth and yield equations managers need to make informed decisions. Data were collected from 35 seeded plots of Ocala sand pine covering a range of site indexes, ages, and densities in 1982-83. These plots...

Providing detailed information about latent tuberculosis and compliance with the PPD test among healthcare workers in Israel: a randomized controlled study.

PubMed

Taubman, Danielle; Titler, Nava; Edelstein, Hana; Elias, Mazen; Saliba, Walid

2013-12-01

The compliance of screening for latent tuberculosis (TB) with the tuberculin purified protein derivative (PPD) test is very low among healthcare workers (HCWs) in Israel. This randomized controlled study uses the Health Belief Model (HBM) as a conceptual framework to examine whether providing more information about latent TB and the PPD test increases the response rate for PPD screening among HCWs. All candidate HCWs for latent TB screening were randomly allocated to one of the following two invitations to perform the PPD test: regular letter (control group, n=97), and a letter with information about latent TB and the PPD test (intervention group, n=196). 293 HCWs were included (185 nurses, and 108 physicians). Overall, 36 (12.3%) HCWs were compliant with the PPD test screening. Compliance with PPD testing in the intervention group was not statistically different from the control group, RR 0.87 (95% CI, 0.46-1.65). Compliance for latent TB screening is low among HCWs in northeastern Israel. Providing detailed information about latent TB was not associated with increased test compliance. Understanding existing disparities in screening rates and potential barriers to latent TB screening among HCWs is important in order to move forward and successfully increase screening rates. Copyright © 2013 Ministry of Health, Saudi Arabia. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Wheat yield estimation at the farm level using TM Landsat and agrometeorological data

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Rudorff, B. F. T.; Batista, G. T.

1991-01-01

A model for estimating wheat yields on the farm level was developed, that integrates the Landsat TM data and agrometeorological information. Results obtained for a test site in southern Brasil for years of 1986 and 1987 show that the vegetation index derived from Landsat TM could account for the 60 to 40 percent wheat-yield variability observed between the two crop years. Compared to results using either the Landsat TM vegetation index or the agrometeorological data alone, the joint use of both types of data in a single model yielded a significant improvement.

Growth and yield predictions for upland oak stands. 10 years after initial thinning

Treesearch

Martin E. Dale; Martin E. Dale

1972-01-01

The purpose of this paper is to furnish part of the needed information, that is, quantitative estimates of growth and yield 10 years after initial thinning of upland oak stands. All estimates are computed from a system of equations. These predictions are presented here in tabular form for convenient visual inspection of growth and yield trends. The tables show growth...

Automatically inserted technical details improve radiology report accuracy.

PubMed

Abujudeh, Hani H; Govindan, Siddharth; Narin, Ozden; Johnson, Jamlik Omari; Thrall, James H; Rosenthal, Daniel I

2011-09-01

To assess the effect of automatically inserted technical details on the concordance of a radiology report header with the actual procedure performed. The study was IRB approved and informed consent was waived. We obtained radiology report audit data from the hospital's compliance office from the period of January 2005 through December 2009 spanning a total of 20 financial quarters. A "discordance percentage" was defined as the percentage of total studies in which a procedure code change was made during auditing. Using Chi-square analysis we compared discordance percentages between reports with manually inserted technical details (MITD) and automatically inserted technical details (AITD). The second quarter data of 2007 was not included in the analysis as the switch from MITD to AITD occurred during this quarter. The hospital's compliance office audited 9,110 studies from 2005-2009. Excluding the 564 studies in the second quarter of 2007, we analyzed a total of 8,546 studies, 3,948 with MITD and 4,598 with AITD. The discordance percentage in the MITD group was 3.95% (156/3,948, range per quarter, 1.5- 6.1%). The AITD discordance percentage was 1.37% (63/4,598, range per quarter, 0.0-2.6%). A Chi-square analysis determined a statistically significant difference between the 2 groups (P < 0.001). There was a statistically significant improvement in the concordance of a radiology report header with the performed procedure using automatically inserted technical details compared to manually inserted details. Copyright © 2011 American College of Radiology. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Land-surface initialisation improves seasonal climate prediction skill for maize yield forecast.

PubMed

Ceglar, Andrej; Toreti, Andrea; Prodhomme, Chloe; Zampieri, Matteo; Turco, Marco; Doblas-Reyes, Francisco J

2018-01-22

Seasonal crop yield forecasting represents an important source of information to maintain market stability, minimise socio-economic impacts of crop losses and guarantee humanitarian food assistance, while it fosters the use of climate information favouring adaptation strategies. As climate variability and extremes have significant influence on agricultural production, the early prediction of severe weather events and unfavourable conditions can contribute to the mitigation of adverse effects. Seasonal climate forecasts provide additional value for agricultural applications in several regions of the world. However, they currently play a very limited role in supporting agricultural decisions in Europe, mainly due to the poor skill of relevant surface variables. Here we show how a combined stress index (CSI), considering both drought and heat stress in summer, can predict maize yield in Europe and how land-surface initialised seasonal climate forecasts can be used to predict it. The CSI explains on average nearly 53% of the inter-annual maize yield variability under observed climate conditions and shows how concurrent heat stress and drought events have influenced recent yield anomalies. Seasonal climate forecast initialised with realistic land-surface achieves better (and marginally useful) skill in predicting the CSI than with climatological land-surface initialisation in south-eastern Europe, part of central Europe, France and Italy.

Reserving by detailed conditioning on individual claim

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kartikasari, Mujiati Dwi; Effendie, Adhitya Ronnie; Wilandari, Yuciana

2017-03-01

The estimation of claim reserves is an important activity in insurance companies to fulfill their liabilities. Recently, reserving method of individual claim have attracted a lot of interest in the actuarial science, which overcome some deficiency of aggregated claim method. This paper explores the Reserving by Detailed Conditioning (RDC) method using all of claim information for reserving with individual claim of liability insurance from an Indonesian general insurance company. Furthermore, we compare it to Chain Ladder and Bornhuetter-Ferguson method.

SLAC Detailed Page: For staff, users, and collaborators - Page no longer

Science.gov Websites

information about this change.) This page will automatically redirect to the For Staff page. You may also want to visit the new Detailed Index web page. Please change your bookmarks accordingly. SLAC Stanford

Salience Assignment for Multiple-Instance Data and Its Application to Crop Yield Prediction

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wagstaff, Kiri L.; Lane, Terran

2010-01-01

An algorithm was developed to generate crop yield predictions from orbital remote sensing observations, by analyzing thousands of pixels per county and the associated historical crop yield data for those counties. The algorithm determines which pixels contain which crop. Since each known yield value is associated with thousands of individual pixels, this is a multiple instance learning problem. Because individual crop growth is related to the resulting yield, this relationship has been leveraged to identify pixels that are individually related to corn, wheat, cotton, and soybean yield. Those that have the strongest relationship to a given crop s yield values are most likely to contain fields with that crop. Remote sensing time series data (a new observation every 8 days) was examined for each pixel, which contains information for that pixel s growth curve, peak greenness, and other relevant features. An alternating-projection (AP) technique was used to first estimate the "salience" of each pixel, with respect to the given target (crop yield), and then those estimates were used to build a regression model that relates input data (remote sensing observations) to the target. This is achieved by constructing an exemplar for each crop in each county that is a weighted average of all the pixels within the county; the pixels are weighted according to the salience values. The new regression model estimate then informs the next estimate of the salience values. By iterating between these two steps, the algorithm converges to a stable estimate of both the salience of each pixel and the regression model. The salience values indicate which pixels are most relevant to each crop under consideration.

Agricultural Management Practices Explain Variation in Global Yield Gaps of Major Crops

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mueller, N. D.; Gerber, J. S.; Ray, D. K.; Ramankutty, N.; Foley, J. A.

2010-12-01

The continued expansion and intensification of agriculture are key drivers of global environmental change. Meeting a doubling of food demand in the next half-century will further induce environmental change, requiring either large cropland expansion into carbon- and biodiversity-rich tropical forests or increasing yields on existing croplands. Closing the “yield gaps” between the most and least productive farmers on current agricultural lands is a necessary and major step towards preserving natural ecosystems and meeting future food demand. Here we use global climate, soils, and cropland datasets to quantify yield gaps for major crops using equal-area climate analogs. Consistent with previous studies, we find large yield gaps for many crops in Eastern Europe, tropical Africa, and parts of Mexico. To analyze the drivers of yield gaps, we collected sub-national agricultural management data and built a global dataset of fertilizer application rates for over 160 crops. We constructed empirical crop yield models for each climate analog using the global management information for 17 major crops. We find that our climate-specific models explain a substantial amount of the global variation in yields. These models could be widely applied to identify management changes needed to close yield gaps, analyze the environmental impacts of agricultural intensification, and identify climate change adaptation techniques.

Characteristics of Academic Detailing: Results of a Literature Review

PubMed Central

Van Hoof, Thomas J.; Harrison, Lisa G.; Miller, Nicole E.; Pappas, Maryanne S.; Fischer, Michael A.

2015-01-01

Background Academic detailing is an evidence-based strategy to improve patient care. Efforts to understand the intervention and to use it strategically require an understanding of its important characteristics. A recent systematic review and a subsequent reporting framework call for more accurate and complete reporting of continuing medical education interventions. Objectives Building on a previously published systematic review of 69 studies, we sought to determine how an expanded set of 106 academic detailing studies, including many recently published articles, fared with respect to reporting of important data about this intervention. Methods We conducted a search of MEDLINE, the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (clinical) database, and Scopus, from which we identified 38 additional randomized controlled trials published from August 2007 through March 2013. Including the original 69 studies, we abstracted 106 available English-language studies and quantitatively analyzed information about 4 important characteristics of academic detailing: content of visits, clinicians being visited, communication process underlying visits, and outreach workers making visits. Results We found considerable variation (36.5%-100%) in the extent of reporting intervention characteristics, especially about the communication process underlying visits and the outreach workers making visits. The best overall documentation of intervention characteristics of any single study was 68%. Results also demonstrate wide variation in the approach to academic detailing. Conclusions This study demonstrates the need for a standardized approach to collecting and reporting data about academic detailing interventions. Our findings also highlight opportunities for using academic detailing more effectively in research and quality-improvement efforts. PMID:26702333

Impact of heterozygosity and heterogeneity on cotton lint yield stability: II. Lint yield components

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

In order to determine which yield components may contribute to yield stability, an 18-environment field study was undertaken to observe the mean, standard deviation (SD), and coefficient of variation (CV) for cotton lint yield components in population types that differed for lint yield stability. Th...

Application of a rising plate meter to estimate forage yield on dairy farms in Pennsylvania

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Accurately assessing pasture forage yield is necessary for producers who want to budget feed expenses and make informed pasture management decisions. Clipping and weighing forage from a known area is a direct method to measure pasture forage yield, however it is time consuming. The rising plate mete...

A Detailed Chemical Kinetic Model for TNT

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pitz, W J; Westbrook, C K

2005-01-13

A detailed chemical kinetic mechanism for 2,4,6-tri-nitrotoluene (TNT) has been developed to explore problems of explosive performance and soot formation during the destruction of munitions. The TNT mechanism treats only gas-phase reactions. Reactions for the decomposition of TNT and for the consumption of intermediate products formed from TNT are assembled based on information from the literature and on current understanding of aromatic chemistry. Thermodynamic properties of intermediate and radical species are estimated by group additivity. Reaction paths are developed based on similar paths for aromatic hydrocarbons. Reaction-rate constant expressions are estimated from the literature and from analogous reactions where themore » rate constants are available. The detailed reaction mechanism for TNT is added to existing reaction mechanisms for RDX and for hydrocarbons. Computed results show the effect of oxygen concentration on the amount of soot precursors that are formed in the combustion of RDX and TNT mixtures in N{sub 2}/O{sub 2} mixtures.« less

Combining satellite remote sensing and surveys to understand persistent yield variation--- a case study in North China Plain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Y.; Lobell, D. B.; Chen, X.

2015-12-01

A large gap between maize yields on average farmers' fields and the highest yields achieved by either experiment or farmers is typical throughout the developing world, including in the North China Plain (NCP). This maize yield gap as identified by previous studies indicates large opportunities for raising yield by improving agronomy. Quzhou county is typical of the winter-wheat summer-maize system in NCP where the average plot size is as small as 0.25 hectares. To analyze this cropping system amidst the challenge of substantial heterogeneity, we identified fields that were either persistently higher or lower yielding according to the remote sensing yield estimates, and then conducted detailed field surveys. We found irrigation facility to be a major constraint to yield both in terms of irrigation water quality and farmers' access to wells. In total, improving the access to unsalty water would be associated with a 0.32t/ha (4.2%) increase in multi-year average yield. In addition, farmers' method of choosing cultivar, which likely relates to their overall knowledge level, significantly explained yield variation. In particular, those choosing cultivars according to technician advice, personal experiences and high yielding neighbors' advice had on average higher yield than farmers that either followed seed sellers' advice or collectively purchased seeds. Overall, the study presents a generalizable methodology of assessing yield gap as well as its persistent factors using a combination of satellite and survey data.

An organizing framework for informal caregiver interventions: detailing caregiving activities and caregiver and care recipient outcomes to optimize evaluation efforts

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background Caregiver interventions may help improve the quality of informal care. Yet the lack of a systematic framework specifying the targets and outcomes of caregiver interventions hampers our ability to understand what has been studied, to evaluate existing programs, and to inform the design of future programs. Our goal was to develop an organizing framework detailing the components of the caregiving activities and the caregiver and care recipient outcomes that should be affected by an intervention. In so doing, we characterize what has been measured in the published literature to date and what should be measured in future studies to enable comparisons across interventions and across time. Methods Our data set comprises 121 reports of caregiver interventions conducted in the United States and published between 2000 and 2009. We extracted information on variables that have been examined as primary and secondary outcomes. These variables were grouped into categories, which then informed the organizing framework. We calculated the frequency with which the interventions examined each framework component to identify areas about which we have the most knowledge and under-studied areas that deserve attention in future research. Results The framework stipulates that caregiver interventions seek to change caregiving activities, which in turn affect caregiver and care recipient outcomes. The most frequently assessed variables have been caregiver psychological outcomes (especially depression and burden) and care recipient physical and health care use outcomes. Conclusions Based on the organizing framework, we make three key recommendations to guide interventions and inform research and policy. First, all intervention studies should assess quality and/or quantity of caregiving activities to help understand to what extent and how well the intervention worked. Second, intervention studies should assess a broad range of caregiver and care recipient outcomes, including

Factors Affecting Firm Yield and the Estimation of Firm Yield for Selected Streamflow-Dominated Drinking-Water-Supply Reservoirs in Massachusetts

USGS Publications Warehouse

Waldron, Marcus C.; Archfield, Stacey A.

2006-01-01

Factors affecting reservoir firm yield, as determined by application of the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection's Firm Yield Estimator (FYE) model, were evaluated, modified, and tested on 46 streamflow-dominated reservoirs representing 15 Massachusetts drinking-water supplies. The model uses a mass-balance approach to determine the maximum average daily withdrawal rate that can be sustained during a period of record that includes the 1960s drought-of-record. The FYE methodology to estimate streamflow to the reservoir at an ungaged site was tested by simulating streamflow at two streamflow-gaging stations in Massachusetts and comparing the simulated streamflow to the observed streamflow. In general, the FYE-simulated flows agreed well with observed flows. There were substantial deviations from the measured values for extreme high and low flows. A sensitivity analysis determined that the model's streamflow estimates are most sensitive to input values for average annual precipitation, reservoir drainage area, and the soil-retention number-a term that describes the amount of precipitation retained by the soil in the basin. The FYE model currently provides the option of using a 1,000-year synthetic record constructed by randomly sampling 2-year blocks of concurrent streamflow and precipitation records 500 times; however, the synthetic record has the potential to generate records of precipitation and streamflow that do not reflect the worst historical drought in Massachusetts. For reservoirs that do not have periods of drawdown greater than 2 years, the bootstrap does not offer any additional information about the firm yield of a reservoir than the historical record does. For some reservoirs, the use of a synthetic record to determine firm yield resulted in as much as a 30-percent difference between firm-yield values from one simulation to the next. Furthermore, the assumption that the synthetic traces of streamflow are statistically equivalent to the

Optimization of yield in magnetic cell separations using nickel nanowires of different lengths.

PubMed

Hultgren, Anne; Tanase, Monica; Felton, Edward J; Bhadriraju, Kiran; Salem, Aliasger K; Chen, Christopher S; Reich, Daniel H

2005-01-01

Ferromagnetic nanowires are shown to perform both high yield and high purity single-step cell separations on cultures of NIH-3T3 mouse fibroblast cells. The nanowires are made by electrochemical deposition in nanoporous templates, permitting detailed control of their chemical and physical properties. When added to fibroblast cell cultures, the nanowires are internalized by the cells via the integrin-mediated adhesion pathway. The effectiveness of magnetic cell separations using Ni nanowires 350 nm in diameter and 5-35 micrometers long in field gradients of 40 T/m was compared to commercially available superparamagnetic beads. The percent yield of the separated populations is found to be optimized when the length of the nanowire is matched to the diameter of the cells in the culture. Magnetic cell separations performed under these conditions achieve 80% purity and 85% yield, a 4-fold increase over the beads. This effect is shown to be robust when the diameter of the cell is changed within the same cell line using mitomycin-C.

21. DETAIL OF AREA WHERE FIRST FLOOR PASSAGEWAY USED TO ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

21. DETAIL OF AREA WHERE FIRST FLOOR PASSAGEWAY USED TO BE SHOWING VERTICAL WOOD MOLDING COVERING JOINT WHERE PARTITION USED TO BE (LEFT), TELLER'S WINDOW LINKING PASSAGEWAY WITH INFORMATION BOOTH (CENTER), AND TYPICAL FURNITURE. VIEW TO EAST. - Boise Project, Boise Project Office, 214 Broadway, Boise, Ada County, ID

Yield Gap, Indigenous Nutrient Supply and Nutrient Use Efficiency for Maize in China.

PubMed

Xu, Xinpeng; Liu, Xiaoyan; He, Ping; Johnston, Adrian M; Zhao, Shicheng; Qiu, Shaojun; Zhou, Wei

2015-01-01

Great achievements have been attained in agricultural production of China, while there are still many difficulties and challenges ahead that call for put more efforts to overcome to guarantee food security and protect environment simultaneously. Analyzing yield gap and nutrient use efficiency will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies to increase grain yield. On-farm datasets from 2001 to 2012 with 1,971 field experiments for maize (Zea mays L.) were collected in four maize agro-ecological regions of China, and the optimal management (OPT), farmers' practice (FP), a series of nutrient omission treatments were used to analyze yield gap, nutrient use efficiency and indigenous nutrient supply by adopting meta-analysis and ANOVA analysis. Across all sites, the average yield gap between OPT and FP was 0.7 t ha-1, the yield response to nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) were 1.8, 1.0, and 1.2 t ha-1, respectively. The soil indigenous nutrient supply of N, P, and K averaged 139.9, 33.7, and 127.5 kg ha-1, respectively. As compared to FP, the average recovery efficiency (RE) of N, P, and K with OPT increased by percentage point of 12.2, 5.5, and 6.5, respectively. This study indicated that there would be considerable potential to further improve yield and nutrient use efficiency in China, and will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies, while some management measures such as soil, plant and nutrient are necessary and integrate with advanced knowledge and technologies.

Yield Gap, Indigenous Nutrient Supply and Nutrient Use Efficiency for Maize in China

PubMed Central

Xu, Xinpeng; Liu, Xiaoyan; He, Ping; Johnston, Adrian M.; Zhao, Shicheng; Qiu, Shaojun; Zhou, Wei

2015-01-01

Great achievements have been attained in agricultural production of China, while there are still many difficulties and challenges ahead that call for put more efforts to overcome to guarantee food security and protect environment simultaneously. Analyzing yield gap and nutrient use efficiency will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies to increase grain yield. On-farm datasets from 2001 to 2012 with 1,971 field experiments for maize (Zea mays L.) were collected in four maize agro-ecological regions of China, and the optimal management (OPT), farmers’ practice (FP), a series of nutrient omission treatments were used to analyze yield gap, nutrient use efficiency and indigenous nutrient supply by adopting meta-analysis and ANOVA analysis. Across all sites, the average yield gap between OPT and FP was 0.7 t ha-1, the yield response to nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K) were 1.8, 1.0, and 1.2 t ha-1, respectively. The soil indigenous nutrient supply of N, P, and K averaged 139.9, 33.7, and 127.5 kg ha-1, respectively. As compared to FP, the average recovery efficiency (RE) of N, P, and K with OPT increased by percentage point of 12.2, 5.5, and 6.5, respectively. This study indicated that there would be considerable potential to further improve yield and nutrient use efficiency in China, and will help develop and inform agricultural policies and strategies, while some management measures such as soil, plant and nutrient are necessary and integrate with advanced knowledge and technologies. PMID:26484543

[Study on Information Extraction of Clinic Expert Information from Hospital Portals].

PubMed

Zhang, Yuanpeng; Dong, Jiancheng; Qian, Danmin; Geng, Xingyun; Wu, Huiqun; Wang, Li

2015-12-01

Clinic expert information provides important references for residents in need of hospital care. Usually, such information is hidden in the deep web and cannot be directly indexed by search engines. To extract clinic expert information from the deep web, the first challenge is to make a judgment on forms. This paper proposes a novel method based on a domain model, which is a tree structure constructed by the attributes of search interfaces. With this model, search interfaces can be classified to a domain and filled in with domain keywords. Another challenge is to extract information from the returned web pages indexed by search interfaces. To filter the noise information on a web page, a block importance model is proposed. The experiment results indicated that the domain model yielded a precision 10.83% higher than that of the rule-based method, whereas the block importance model yielded an F₁ measure 10.5% higher than that of the XPath method.

Yielding in a strongly aggregated colloidal gel: 2D simulations and theory

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roy, Saikat; Tirumkudulu, Mahesh

2015-11-01

We investigated the micro-structural details and the mechanical response under uniaxial compression of the strongly aggregating gel starting from low to high packing fraction.The numerical simulations account for short-range inter-particle attractions, normal and tangential deformation at particle contacts,sliding and rolling friction, and preparation history. It is observed that in the absence of rolling resistance(RR),the average coordination number varies only slightly with compaction whereas it is significant in the presence of RR. The particle contact distribution is isotropic throughout the consolidation process. In both cases, the yield strain is constant with the volume fraction. The modulus values are very similar at different attraction, and with and without RR implying that the elastic modulus does not scale with attraction.The modulus was found to be a weak function of the preparation history. The increase in yield stress with volume fraction is a consequence of the increased elastic modulus of the network. However, the yield stress scales similarly both with and without RR. The power law exponent of 5.4 is in good agreement with previous simulation results. A micromechanical theory is also proposed to describe the stress versus strain relation for the gelled network.

Using normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to estimate sugarcane yield and yield components

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Sugarcane (Saccharum spp.) yield and yield components are important traits for growers and scientists to evaluate and select cultivars. Collection of these yield data would be labor intensive and time consuming in the early selection stages of sugarcane breeding cultivar development programs with a ...

Total and Differential Sputter Yields of Boron Nitride Measured by Quartz Crystal Microbalance (Preprint)

DTIC Science & Technology

2009-05-07

energies down to 60 eV, obtained with a QCM deposition sensor [5-7, 9-11]. In Section II we discuss the experimental apparatus and procedures used for...logging. Detailed discussion of the QCM sensor is provided in Section IIF. Figure 1. Left: Schematic diagram of experimental set-up. Right...above assumptions (this equation applies for both differential and total yields). F. QCM Sensor and Measurement Proceedure We use a Sigma

Yield of reversible colloidal gels during flow start-up: release from kinetic arrest.

PubMed

Johnson, Lilian C; Landrum, Benjamin J; Zia, Roseanna N

2018-06-05

Yield of colloidal gels during start-up of shear flow is characterized by an overshoot in shear stress that accompanies changes in network structure. Prior studies of yield of reversible colloidal gels undergoing strong flow model the overshoot as the point at which network rupture permits fluidization. However, yield under weak flow, which is of interest in many biological and industrial fluids shows no such disintegration. The mechanics of reversible gels are influenced by bond strength and durability, where ongoing rupture and re-formation impart aging that deepens kinetic arrest [Zia et al., J. Rheol., 2014, 58, 1121], suggesting that yield be viewed as release from kinetic arrest. To explore this idea, we study reversible colloidal gels during start-up of shear flow via dynamic simulation, connecting rheological yield to detailed measurements of structure, bond dynamics, and potential energy. We find that pre-yield stress grows temporally with the changing roles of microscopic transport processes: early time behavior is set by Brownian diffusion; later, advective displacements permit relative particle motion that stretches bonds and stores energy. Stress accumulates in stretched, oriented bonds until yield, which is a tipping point to energy release, and is passed with a fully intact network, where the loss of very few bonds enables relaxation of many, easing glassy arrest. This is immediately followed by a reversal to growth in potential energy during bulk plastic deformation and condensation into larger particle domains, supporting the view that yield is an activated release from kinetic arrest. The continued condensation of dense domains and shrinkage of network surfaces, along with a decrease in the potential energy, permit the gel to evolve toward more complete phase separation, supporting our view that yield of weakly sheared gels is a 'non-equilibrium phase transition'. Our findings may be particularly useful for industrial or other coatings, where weak

Detailed seafloor habitat mapping to enhance marine-resource management

USGS Publications Warehouse

Zawada, David G.; Hart, Kristen M.

2010-01-01

Pictures of the seafloor capture important information about the sediments, exposed geologic features, submerged aquatic vegetation, and animals found in a given habitat. With the emergence of marine protected areas (MPAs) as a favored tactic for preserving coral reef resources, knowledge of essential habitat components is paramount to designing effective management strategies. Surprisingly, detailed information on seafloor habitat components is not available in many areas that are being considered for MPA designation or that are already designated as MPAs. A task of the U.S. Geological Survey Coral Reef Ecosystem STudies (USGS CREST) project is addressing this issue.

Rare decay of the top quark t{yields}cll and single top quark production at the ILC

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Frank, Mariana; Turan, Ismail

We perform a complete and detailed analysis of the flavor changing neutral current rare top quark decays t{yields}cl{sup +}l{sup -} and t{yields}c{nu}{sub i}{nu}{sub i} at one-loop level in the standard model, two Higgs doublet models (I and II), and in minimal supersymmetric standard model (MSSM). The branching ratios are very small in all models, O(10{sup -14}), except for the case of the unconstrained MSSM, where they can reach O(10{sup -6}) for e{sup +}e{sup -}, {mu}{sup +}{mu}{sup -}, and {nu}{sub i}{nu}{sub i}, and O(10{sup -5}) for {tau}{sup +}{tau}{sup -}. This branching ratio is comparable to the ones for t{yields}cV, cH. Wemore » also study the production rates of single top and the forward-backward asymmetry in e{sup +}e{sup -}{yields}tc and comment on the observability of such a signal at the International Linear Collider.« less

Technology-enabled academic detailing: computer-mediated education between pharmacists and physicians for evidence-based prescribing.

PubMed

Ho, Kendall; Nguyen, Anne; Jarvis-Selinger, Sandra; Novak Lauscher, Helen; Cressman, Céline; Zibrik, Lindsay

2013-09-01

Academic detailing (AD) is the practice of specially trained pharmacists with detailed medication knowledge meeting with physicians to share best practices of prescribing. AD has demonstrated efficacy in positively influencing physicians' prescribing behavior. Nevertheless, a key challenge has been that physicians in rural and remote locations, or physicians who are time challenged, have limited ability to participate in face-to-face meetings with academic detailers, as these specially trained academic detailers are primarily urban-based and limited in numbers. To determine the feasibility of using information technologies to facilitate communication between academic detailers and physicians (known as Technology-Enabled Academic Detailing or TEAD) through a comparison to traditional face-to-face academic detailing (AD). Specifically, TEAD is compared to AD in terms of the ability to aid physicians in acquiring evidence-informed prescribing information on diabetes-related medications, measured in terms of time efficiency, satisfaction of both physicians and pharmacists, and quality of knowledge exchange. General Practitioner Physicians (n=105) and pharmacists (n=12) were recruited from across British Columbia. Pharmacists were trained to be academic detailers on diabetes medication usage. Physicians were assigned to one of four intervention groups to receive four academic detailing sessions from trained pharmacists. Intervention groups included: (1) AD only, (2) TEAD only, (3) TEAD crossed over to AD at midpoint, and (4) AD crossed over to TEAD at midpoint. Evaluation included physician-completed surveys before and after each session, pharmacist logs after each detailing session, interviews and focus groups with physicians and pharmacists at study completion, as well as a technical support log to record all phone calls and emails from physicians and pharmacists regarding any technical challenges during the TEAD sessions, or usage of the web portal. Because

A spectral-spatial-dynamic hierarchical Bayesian (SSD-HB) model for estimating soybean yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kazama, Yoriko; Kujirai, Toshihiro

2014-10-01

A method called a "spectral-spatial-dynamic hierarchical-Bayesian (SSD-HB) model," which can deal with many parameters (such as spectral and weather information all together) by reducing the occurrence of multicollinearity, is proposed. Experiments conducted on soybean yields in Brazil fields with a RapidEye satellite image indicate that the proposed SSD-HB model can predict soybean yield with a higher degree of accuracy than other estimation methods commonly used in remote-sensing applications. In the case of the SSD-HB model, the mean absolute error between estimated yield of the target area and actual yield is 0.28 t/ha, compared to 0.34 t/ha when conventional PLS regression was applied, showing the potential effectiveness of the proposed model.

Charon's Surface in Detail

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-07-14

On July 14, 2015, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft made its historic flight through the Pluto system. This detailed, high-quality global mosaic of Pluto's largest moon, Charon, was assembled from nearly all of the highest-resolution images obtained by the Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) and the Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) on New Horizons. The mosaic is the most detailed and comprehensive global view yet of Charon's surface using New Horizons data. It includes topography data of the hemisphere visible to New Horizons during the spacecraft's closest approach. The topography is derived from digital stereo-image mapping tools that measure the parallax -- or the difference in the apparent relative positions -- of features on the surface obtained at different viewing angles during the encounter. Scientists use these parallax displacements of high and low terrain to estimate landform heights. The global mosaic has been overlain with transparent, colorized topography data wherever on the surface stereo data is available. Terrain south of about 30°S was in darkness leading up to and during the flyby, so is shown in black. All feature names on Pluto and Charon are informal. The global mosaic has been overlain with transparent, colorized topography data wherever on their surfaces stereo data is available. Standing out on Charon is the Caleuche Chasma ("C") in the far north, an enormous trough at least 350 kilometers (nearly 220 miles) long, and reaching 14 kilometers (8.5 miles) deep -- more than seven times as deep as the Grand Canyon. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21860

Pluto's Surface in Detail

NASA Image and Video Library

2017-07-14

On July 14, 2015, NASA's New Horizons spacecraft made its historic flight through the Pluto system. This detailed, high-quality global mosaic of Pluto was assembled from nearly all of the highest-resolution images obtained by the Long-Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) and the Multispectral Visible Imaging Camera (MVIC) on New Horizons. The mosaic is the most detailed and comprehensive global view yet of Pluto's surface using New Horizons data. It includes topography data of the hemisphere visible to New Horizons during the spacecraft's closest approach. The topography is derived from digital stereo-image mapping tools that measure the parallax -- or the difference in the apparent relative positions -- of features on the surface obtained at different viewing angles during the encounter. Scientists use these parallax displacements of high and low terrain to estimate landform heights. The global mosaic has been overlain with transparent, colorized topography data wherever on the surface stereo data is available. Terrain south of about 30°S was in darkness leading up to and during the flyby, so is shown in black. Examples of large-scale topographic features on Pluto include the vast expanse of very flat, low-elevation nitrogen ice plains of Sputnik Planitia ("P") -- note that all feature names in the Pluto system are informal -- and, on the eastern edge of the encounter hemisphere, the aligned, high-elevation ridges of Tartarus Dorsa ("T") that host the enigmatic bladed terrain, mountains, possible cryovolcanos, canyons, craters and more. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA21861

Detailed characterization of particulate matter emitted by lean-burn gasoline direct injection engine

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zelenyuk, Alla; Wilson, Jacqueline; Imre, Dan

This study presents detailed characterization of the chemical and physical properties of PM emitted by a 2.0L BMW lean-burn turbocharged GDI engine operated under a number of combustion strategies that include lean homogeneous, lean stratified, stoichiometric, and fuel rich conditions. We characterized PM number concentrations, size distributions, and the size, mass, compositions, and effective density of fractal and compact individual exhaust particles. For the fractal particles, these measurements yielded fractal dimension, average diameter of primary spherules, and number of spherules, void fraction, and dynamic shape factors as function of particle size. Overall, the PM properties were shown to vary significantlymore » with engine operation condition. Lean stratified operation yielded the most diesel-like size distribution and the largest PM number and mass concentrations, with nearly all particles being fractal agglomerates composed of elemental carbon with small amounts of ash and organics. In contrast, stoichiometric operation yielded a larger fraction of ash particles, especially at low speed and low load. Three distinct forms of ash particles were observed, with their fractions strongly dependent on engine operating conditions: sub-50 nm ash particles, abundant at low speed and low load, ash-containing fractal particles, and large compact ash particles that significantly contribute to PM mass loadings« less

A matter of focus: Detailed memory in the intentional autobiographical recall of older and younger adults.

PubMed

Aizpurua, Alaitz; Koutstaal, Wilma

2015-05-01

The intricately interwoven role of detailed autobiographical memory in our daily lives and in our imaginative envisioning of the future is increasingly recognized. But how is the detail-rich nature of autobiographical memory best assessed and, in particular, how can possible aging-related differences in autobiographical memory specificity be most effectively evaluated? This study examined whether a modified interview, involving fewer and time-matched events for older and younger adults, yielded age-related outcomes similar to those that have been previously reported. As in earlier studies, modest age-related changes in the specificity of autobiographical recall were observed, yet the largest most robust effect for both age groups was the substantial proportion of specific details retrieved. Both age groups rated recent memories as significantly less important and as less emotional than more temporally distant events. Our findings counter conceptions of older adults' autobiographical memories as invariably less episodically rich than those of younger adults. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Verifying detailed fluctuation relations for discrete feedback-controlled quantum dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Camati, Patrice A.; Serra, Roberto M.

2018-04-01

Discrete quantum feedback control consists of a managed dynamics according to the information acquired by a previous measurement. Energy fluctuations along such dynamics satisfy generalized fluctuation relations, which are useful tools to study the thermodynamics of systems far away from equilibrium. Due to the practical challenge to assess energy fluctuations in the quantum scenario, the experimental verification of detailed fluctuation relations in the presence of feedback control remains elusive. We present a feasible method to experimentally verify detailed fluctuation relations for discrete feedback control quantum dynamics. Two detailed fluctuation relations are developed and employed. The method is based on a quantum interferometric strategy that allows the verification of fluctuation relations in the presence of feedback control. An analytical example to illustrate the applicability of the method is discussed. The comprehensive technique introduced here can be experimentally implemented at a microscale with the current technology in a variety of experimental platforms.

Yield estimation of corn with multispectral data and the potential of using imaging spectrometers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bach, Heike

1997-05-01

In the frame of the special yield estimation, a regular procedure conducted for the European Union to more accurately estimate agricultural yield, a project was conducted for the state minister for Rural Environment, Food and Forestry of Baden-Wuerttemberg, Germany) to test remote sensing data with advanced yield formation models for accuracy and timelines of yield estimation of corn. The methodology employed uses field-based plant parameter estimation from atmospherically corrected multitemporal/multispectral LANDSAT-TM data. An agrometeorological plant-production-model is used for yield prediction. Based solely on 4 LANDSAT-derived estimates and daily meteorological data the grain yield of corn stands was determined for 1995. The modeled yield was compared with results independently gathered within the special yield estimation for 23 test fields in the Upper Rhine Valley. The agrement between LANDSAT-based estimates and Special Yield Estimation shows a relative error of 2.3 percent. The comparison of the results for single fields shows, that six weeks before harvest the grain yield of single corn fields was estimated with a mean relative accuracy of 13 percent using satellite information. The presented methodology can be transferred to other crops and geographical regions. For future applications hyperspectral sensors show great potential to further enhance the results or yield prediction with remote sensing.

Genetic parameters of coagulation properties, milk yield, quality, and acidity estimated using coagulating and noncoagulating milk information in Brown Swiss and Holstein-Friesian cows.

PubMed

Cecchinato, A; Penasa, M; De Marchi, M; Gallo, L; Bittante, G; Carnier, P

2011-08-01

The aim of this study was to estimate heritabilities of rennet coagulation time (RCT) and curd firmness (a(30)) and their genetic correlations with test-day milk yield, composition (fat, protein, and casein content), somatic cell score, and acidity (pH and titratable acidity) using coagulating and noncoagulating (NC) milk information. Data were from 1,025 Holstein-Friesian (HF) and 1,234 Brown Swiss (BS) cows, which were progeny of 54 HF and 58 BS artificial insemination sires, respectively. Milk coagulation properties (MCP) of each cow were measured once using a computerized renneting meter and samples not exhibiting coagulation within 31 min after rennet addition were classified as NC milk. For NC samples, RCT was unobserved. Multivariate analyses, using Bayesian methodology, were performed to estimate the genetic relationships of RCT or a(30) with the other traits and statistical inference was based on the marginal posterior distributions of parameters of concern. For analyses involving RCT, a right-censored Gaussian linear model was used and records of NC milk samples, being censored records, were included as unknown parameters in the model implementing a data augmentation procedure. Rennet coagulation time was more heritable [heritability (h(2))=0.240 and h(2)=0.210 for HF and BS, respectively] than a(30) (h(2)=0.148 and h(2)=0.168 for HF and BS, respectively). Milk coagulation properties were more heritable than a single test-day milk yield (h(2)=0.103 and h(2)=0.097 for HF and BS, respectively) and less heritable than milk composition traits whose heritability ranged from 0.275 to 0.275, with the only exception of fat content of BS milk (h(2)=0.108). A negative genetic correlation, lower than -0.85, was estimated between RCT and a(30) for both breeds. Genetic relationships of MCP with yield and composition were low or moderate and favorable. The genetic correlation of somatic cell score with RCT in BS cows was large and positive and even more positive were

A compendium of forest growth and yield simulators for the Pacific coast states

Treesearch

Martin W. Ritchie

1999-01-01

This manuscript provides information needed for the user to access current information about forest growth and yield simulators. Ultimately, the best source of information for any simulator is the user’s guide and the sage advice of those who built the simulator. In some instances, these people are easy to find and are willing to provide all the support for the program...

Interactive NCORP Map Details Community Research Sites | Division of Cancer Prevention

Cancer.gov

An interactive map of the NCI Community Oncology Research Program (NCORP) with detailed information on hundreds of community sites that take part in clinical trials is available on the NCORP website. NCORP Map NCORP Community Sites, Minority/Underserved Community Sites, and Research Bases |

Genetic parameters of linear conformation type traits and their relationship with milk yield throughout lactation in mixed-breed dairy goats.

PubMed

McLaren, A; Mucha, S; Mrode, R; Coffey, M; Conington, J

2016-07-01

Conformation traits are of interest to many dairy goat breeders not only as descriptive traits in their own right, but also because of their influence on production, longevity, and profitability. If these traits are to be considered for inclusion in future dairy goat breeding programs, relationships between them and production traits such as milk yield must be considered. With the increased use of regression models to estimate genetic parameters, an opportunity now exists to investigate correlations between conformation traits and milk yield throughout lactation in more detail. The aims of this study were therefore to (1) estimate genetic parameters for conformation traits in a population of crossbred dairy goats, (2) estimate correlations between all conformation traits, and (3) assess the relationship between conformation traits and milk yield throughout lactation. No information on milk composition was available. Data were collected from goats based on 2 commercial goat farms during August and September in 2013 and 2014. Ten conformation traits, relating to udder, teat, leg, and feet characteristics, were scored on a linear scale (1-9). The overall data set comprised data available for 4,229 goats, all in their first lactation. The population of goats used in the study was created using random crossings between 3 breeds: British Alpine, Saanen, and Toggenburg. In each generation, the best performing animals were selected for breeding, leading to the formation of a synthetic breed. The pedigree file used in the analyses contained sire and dam information for a total of 30,139 individuals. The models fitted relevant fixed and random effects. Heritability estimates for the conformation traits were low to moderate, ranging from 0.02 to 0.38. A range of positive and negative phenotypic and genetic correlations between the traits were observed, with the highest correlations found between udder depth and udder attachment (0.78), teat angle and teat placement (0

Establishing an Appropriate Level of Detail (LoD) for a Building Information Model (BIM) - West Block, Parliament Hill, Ottawa, Canada

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fai, S.; Rafeiro, J.

2014-05-01

In 2011, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) embarked on a comprehensive rehabilitation of the historically significant West Block of Canada's Parliament Hill. With over 17 thousand square meters of floor space, the West Block is one of the largest projects of its kind in the world. As part of the rehabilitation, PWGSC is working with the Carleton Immersive Media Studio (CIMS) to develop a building information model (BIM) that can serve as maintenance and life-cycle management tool once construction is completed. The scale and complexity of the model have presented many challenges. One of these challenges is determining appropriate levels of detail (LoD). While still a matter of debate in the development of international BIM standards, LoD is further complicated in the context of heritage buildings because we must reconcile the LoD of the BIM with that used in the documentation process (terrestrial laser scan and photogrammetric survey data). In this paper, we will discuss our work to date on establishing appropriate LoD within the West Block BIM that will best serve the end use. To facilitate this, we have developed a single parametric model for gothic pointed arches that can be used for over seventy-five unique window types present in the West Block. Using the AEC (CAN) BIM as a reference, we have developed a workflow to test each of these window types at three distinct levels of detail. We have found that the parametric Gothic arch significantly reduces the amount of time necessary to develop scenarios to test appropriate LoD.

Classification-free threat detection based on material-science-informed clustering

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yuan, Siyang; Wolter, Scott D.; Greenberg, Joel A.

2017-05-01

X-ray diffraction (XRD) is well-known for yielding composition and structural information about a material. However, in some applications (such as threat detection in aviation security), the properties of a material are more relevant to the task than is a detailed material characterization. Furthermore, the requirement that one first identify a material before determining its class may be difficult or even impossible for a sufficiently large pool of potentially present materials. We therefore seek to learn relevant composition-structure-property relationships between materials to enable material-identification-free classification. We use an expert-informed, data-driven approach operating on a library of XRD spectra from a broad array of stream of commerce materials. We investigate unsupervised learning techniques in order to learn about naturally emergent groupings, and apply supervised learning techniques to determine how well XRD features can be used to separate user-specified classes in the presence of different types and degrees of signal degradation.

[[The Devil in the Details: Women's Right to Abortion and Health Organization].

PubMed

Pioggia, Alessandra

Often a woman's right to terminate a pregnancy for health reasons is considered as achieved by simply performing the intervention. But today isn't in doubt that the effective protection of health requires that health organizations carrying out performance which also affect other aspects: taking charge of women, information on services, respect for the dignity and autonomy of women, etc ... You could say that these are details, compared to the final performance. But, as we know, often the devil is in the details.

Environmental factors controlling spatial variation in sediment yield in a central Andean mountain area

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Molina, Armando; Govers, Gerard; Poesen, Jean; Van Hemelryck, Hendrik; De Bièvre, Bert; Vanacker, Veerle

2008-06-01

A large spatial variability in sediment yield was observed from small streams in the Ecuadorian Andes. The objective of this study was to analyze the environmental factors controlling these variations in sediment yield in the Paute basin, Ecuador. Sediment yield data were calculated based on sediment volumes accumulated behind checkdams for 37 small catchments. Mean annual specific sediment yield (SSY) shows a large spatial variability and ranges between 26 and 15,100 Mg km - 2 year - 1 . Mean vegetation cover (C, fraction) in the catchment, i.e. the plant cover at or near the surface, exerts a first order control on sediment yield. The fractional vegetation cover alone explains 57% of the observed variance in ln(SSY). The negative exponential relation (SSY = a × e- b C) which was found between vegetation cover and sediment yield at the catchment scale (10 3-10 9 m 2), is very similar to the equations derived from splash, interrill and rill erosion experiments at the plot scale (1-10 3 m 2). This affirms the general character of an exponential decrease of sediment yield with increasing vegetation cover at a wide range of spatial scales, provided the distribution of cover can be considered to be essentially random. Lithology also significantly affects the sediment yield, and explains an additional 23% of the observed variance in ln(SSY). Based on these two catchment parameters, a multiple regression model was built. This empirical regression model already explains more than 75% of the total variance in the mean annual sediment yield. These results highlight the large potential of revegetation programs for controlling sediment yield. They show that a slight increase in the overall fractional vegetation cover of degraded land is likely to have a large effect on sediment production and delivery. Moreover, they point to the importance of detailed surface vegetation data for predicting and modeling sediment production rates.

Identification of saline soils with multi-year remote sensing of crop yields

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lobell, D; Ortiz-Monasterio, I; Gurrola, F C

2006-10-17

Soil salinity is an important constraint to agricultural sustainability, but accurate information on its variation across agricultural regions or its impact on regional crop productivity remains sparse. We evaluated the relationships between remotely sensed wheat yields and salinity in an irrigation district in the Colorado River Delta Region. The goals of this study were to (1) document the relative importance of salinity as a constraint to regional wheat production and (2) develop techniques to accurately identify saline fields. Estimates of wheat yield from six years of Landsat data agreed well with ground-based records on individual fields (R{sup 2} = 0.65).more » Salinity measurements on 122 randomly selected fields revealed that average 0-60 cm salinity levels > 4 dS m{sup -1} reduced wheat yields, but the relative scarcity of such fields resulted in less than 1% regional yield loss attributable to salinity. Moreover, low yield was not a reliable indicator of high salinity, because many other factors contributed to yield variability in individual years. However, temporal analysis of yield images showed a significant fraction of fields exhibited consistently low yields over the six year period. A subsequent survey of 60 additional fields, half of which were consistently low yielding, revealed that this targeted subset had significantly higher salinity at 30-60 cm depth than the control group (p = 0.02). These results suggest that high subsurface salinity is associated with consistently low yields in this region, and that multi-year yield maps derived from remote sensing therefore provide an opportunity to map salinity across agricultural regions.« less

Harvesting number and timing effects on shoot yield and flavonoid content in American skullcap (Scutellaria lateriflora)

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Information on optimal management practices for high dry matter and flavonoid yield in American skullcap is lacking. A field experiment was conducted in central Alabama to determine the effect of timing and frequency of harvest on shoot yield and flavonoid content of American skullcap. In the first ...

Crop yield changes induced by emissions of individual climate-altering pollutants

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shindell, Drew T.

2016-08-01

Climate change damages agriculture, causing deteriorating food security and increased malnutrition. Many studies have examined the role of distinct physical processes, but impacts have not been previously attributed to individual pollutants. Using a simple model incorporating process-level results from detailed models, here I show that although carbon dioxide (CO2) is the largest driver of climate change, other drivers appear to dominate agricultural yield changes. I calculate that anthropogenic emissions to date have decreased global agricultural yields by 9.5 ± 3.0%, with roughly 93% stemming from non-CO2 emissions, including methane (-5.2 ± 1.7%) and halocarbons (-1.4 ± 0.4%). The differing impacts stem from atmospheric composition responses: CO2 fertilizes crops, offsetting much of the loss induced by warming; halocarbons do not fertilize; methane leads to minimal fertilization but increases surface ozone which augments warming-induced losses. By the end of the century, strong CO2 mitigation improves agricultural yields by ˜3 ± 5%. In contrast, strong methane and hydrofluorocarbon mitigation improve yields by ˜16 ± 5% and ˜5 ± 4%, respectively. These are the first quantitative analyses to include climate, CO2 and ozone simultaneously, and hence, additional studies would be valuable. Nonetheless, as policy makers have leverage over pollutant emissions rather than isolated processes, the perspective presented here may be more useful for decision making than that in the prior work upon which this study builds. The results suggest that policies should target a broad portfolio of pollutant emissions in order to optimize mitigation of societal damages.

A regionally-adapted implementation of conservation agriculture delivers rapid improvements to soil properties associated with crop yield stability.

PubMed

Williams, Alwyn; Jordan, Nicholas R; Smith, Richard G; Hunter, Mitchell C; Kammerer, Melanie; Kane, Daniel A; Koide, Roger T; Davis, Adam S

2018-05-31

Climate models predict increasing weather variability, with negative consequences for crop production. Conservation agriculture (CA) may enhance climate resilience by generating certain soil improvements. However, the rate at which these improvements accrue is unclear, and some evidence suggests CA can lower yields relative to conventional systems unless all three CA elements are implemented: reduced tillage, sustained soil cover, and crop rotational diversity. These cost-benefit issues are important considerations for potential adopters of CA. Given that CA can be implemented across a wide variety of regions and cropping systems, more detailed and mechanistic understanding is required on whether and how regionally-adapted CA can improve soil properties while minimizing potential negative crop yield impacts. Across four US states, we assessed short-term impacts of regionally-adapted CA systems on soil properties and explored linkages with maize and soybean yield stability. Structural equation modeling revealed increases in soil organic matter generated by cover cropping increased soil cation exchange capacity, which improved soybean yield stability. Cover cropping also enhanced maize minimum yield potential. Our results demonstrate individual CA elements can deliver rapid improvements in soil properties associated with crop yield stability, suggesting that regionally-adapted CA may play an important role in developing high-yielding, climate-resilient agricultural systems.

Temperature-induced labelling of Fluo-3 AM selectively yields brighter nucleus in adherent cells

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Meng, Guixian; Pan, Leiting, E-mail: plt@nankai.edu.cn; Li, Cunbo

2014-01-17

Highlights: •We detailedly examine temperature effects of Fluo-3 AM labelling in adherent cells. •4 °C Loading and 20 °C de-esterification of Fluo-3 AM yields brighter nuclei. •Brighter nuclei labelling by Fluo-3 AM also depends on cell adhesion quality. •A qualitative model of the brighter nucleus is proposed. -- Abstract: Fluo-3 is widely used to study cell calcium. Two traditional approaches: (1) direct injection and (2) Fluo-3 acetoxymethyl ester (AM) loading, often bring conflicting results in cytoplasmic calcium ([Ca{sup 2+}]{sub c}) and nuclear calcium ([Ca{sup 2+}]{sub n}) imaging. AM loading usually yields a darker nucleus than in cytoplasm, while direct injectionmore » always induces a brighter nucleus which is more responsive to [Ca{sup 2+}]{sub n} detection. In this work, we detailedly investigated the effects of loading and de-esterification temperatures on the fluorescence intensity of Fluo-3 in response to [Ca{sup 2+}]{sub n} and [Ca{sup 2+}]{sub c} in adherent cells, including osteoblast, HeLa and BV2 cells. Interestingly, it showed that fluorescence intensity of nucleus in osteoblast cells was about two times larger than that of cytoplasm when cells were loaded with Fluo-3 AM at 4 °C and allowed a subsequent step for de-esterification at 20 °C. Brighter nuclei were also acquired in HeLa and BV2 cells using the same experimental condition. Furthermore, loading time and adhesion quality of cells had effect on fluorescence intensity. Taken together, cold loading and room temperature de-esterification treatment of Fluo-3 AM selectively yielded brighter nucleus in adherent cells.« less

Yield: it's now an entitlement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

George, Bill

1994-09-01

Only a few years ago, the primary method of cost reduction and productivity improvement in the semiconductor industry was increasing manufacturing yields throughout the process. Many of the remarkable reliability improvements realized over the past decade have come about as a result of actions that were originally taken primarily to improve device yields. Obviously, the practice of productivity improvement through yield enhancement is limited to the attainment of 100% yield, at which point some other mechanism must be employed. Traditionally, new products have been introduced to manufacturing at a point of relative immaturity, and semiconductor producers have relied on the traditional `learning curve' method of yield improvement to attain profitable levels of manufacturing yield. Recently, results of a survey of several fabs by a group of University of California at Berkeley researchers in the Competitive Semiconductor Manufacturing Program indicate that most factories learn at about the same rate after startup, in terms of both line yield and defectivity. If this is indeed generally true, then the most competitive factor is the one that starts with the highest yield, and it is difficult to displace a leader once his lead has been established. The two observations made above carry enormous implications for the semiconductor development or manufacturing professional. First, one must achieve very high yields in order to even play the game. Second, the achievement of competitive yields over time in the life of a factory is determined even before the factory is opened, in the planning and development phase. Third, and perhaps most uncomfortable for those of us who have relied on yield improvement as a cost driver, the winners of the nineties will find new levers to drive costs down, having already gotten the benefit of very high yield. This paper looks at the question of how the winners will achieve the critical measures of success, high initial yield and utilization

Studies of fission fragment yields via high-resolution γ-ray spectroscopy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wilson, J. N.; Lebois, M.; Qi, L.; Amador-Celdran, P.; Bleuel, D.; Briz, J. A.; Carroll, R.; Catford, W.; Witte, H. De; Doherty, D. T.; Eloirdi, R.; Georgiev, G.; Gottardo, A.; Goasduff, A.; Hadyñska-Klek, K.; Hauschild, K.; Hess, H.; Ingeberg, V.; Konstantinopoulos, T.; Ljungvall, J.; Lopez-Martens, A.; Lorusso, G.; Lozeva, R.; Lutter, R.; Marini, P.; Matea, I.; Materna, T.; Mathieu, L.; Oberstedt, A.; Oberstedt, S.; Panebianco, S.; Podolyak, Zs.; Porta, A.; Regan, P. H.; Reiter, P.; Rezynkina, K.; Rose, S. J.; Sahin, E.; Seidlitz, M.; Serot, O.; Shearman, R.; Siebeck, B.; Siem, S.; Smith, A. G.; Tveten, G. M.; Verney, D.; Warr, N.; Zeiser, F.; Zielinska, M.

2018-03-01

Precise spectroscopic information on the fast neutron induced fission of the 238U(n,f) reaction was recently gained using a new technique which involved coupling of the Miniball high resolution y-ray spectrometer and the LICORNE directional neutron source. The experiment allowed measurement of the isotopic fission yields for around 40 even-even nuclei at an incident neutron energy of around 2 MeV where yield data are very sparse. In addition spectroscopic information on very neutron-rich fission products was obtained. Results were compared to models, both the JEFF-3.1.1 data base and the GEF code, and large discrepancies for the S1 fission mode in the Sn/Mo isotope pair were discovered. This suggests that current models are overestimating the role played by spherical shell effects in fast neutron induced fission. In late 2017 and 2018 the nu-ball hybrid spectrometer will be constructed at the IPN Orsay to perform further experimental investigations with directional neutrons coupled to a powerful hybrid Ge/LaBr3 detector array. This will open up new possibilities for measurements of fission yields for fast-neutron-induced fission using the spectroscopic technique and will be complimentary to other methods being developed.

Uncertainties in Predicting Rice Yield by Current Crop Models Under a Wide Range of Climatic Conditions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Li, Tao; Hasegawa, Toshihiro; Yin, Xinyou; Zhu, Yan; Boote, Kenneth; Adam, Myriam; Bregaglio, Simone; Buis, Samuel; Confalonieri, Roberto; Fumoto, Tamon;

Information Scanning and Processing at the Nuclear Safety Information Center.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Parks, Celia; Julian, Carol

This report is a detailed manual of the information specialist's duties at the Nuclear Safety Information Center. Information specialists scan the literature for documents to be reviewed, procure the documents (books, journal articles, reports, etc.), keep the document location records, and return the documents to the plant library or other…

Statistical rice yield modeling using blended MODIS-Landsat based crop phenology metrics in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, C. R.; Chen, C. F.; Nguyen, S. T.; Lau, K. V.

2015-12-01

Taiwan is a populated island with a majority of residents settled in the western plains where soils are suitable for rice cultivation. Rice is not only the most important commodity, but also plays a critical role for agricultural and food marketing. Information of rice production is thus important for policymakers to devise timely plans for ensuring sustainably socioeconomic development. Because rice fields in Taiwan are generally small and yet crop monitoring requires information of crop phenology associating with the spatiotemporal resolution of satellite data, this study used Landsat-MODIS fusion data for rice yield modeling in Taiwan. We processed the data for the first crop (Feb-Mar to Jun-Jul) and the second (Aug-Sep to Nov-Dec) in 2014 through five main steps: (1) data pre-processing to account for geometric and radiometric errors of Landsat data, (2) Landsat-MODIS data fusion using using the spatial-temporal adaptive reflectance fusion model, (3) construction of the smooth time-series enhanced vegetation index 2 (EVI2), (4) rice yield modeling using EVI2-based crop phenology metrics, and (5) error verification. The fusion results by a comparison bewteen EVI2 derived from the fusion image and that from the reference Landsat image indicated close agreement between the two datasets (R2 > 0.8). We analysed smooth EVI2 curves to extract phenology metrics or phenological variables for establishment of rice yield models. The results indicated that the established yield models significantly explained more than 70% variability in the data (p-value < 0.001). The comparison results between the estimated yields and the government's yield statistics for the first and second crops indicated a close significant relationship between the two datasets (R2 > 0.8), in both cases. The root mean square error (RMSE) and mean absolute error (MAE) used to measure the model accuracy revealed the consistency between the estimated yields and the government's yield statistics. This

Identifying seedling root architectural traits associated with yield and yield components in wheat.

PubMed

Xie, Quan; Fernando, Kurukulasuriya M C; Mayes, Sean; Sparkes, Debbie L

2017-05-01

Plant roots growing underground are critical for soil resource acquisition, anchorage and plant-environment interactions. In wheat ( Triticum aestivum ), however, the target root traits to improve yield potential still remain largely unknown. This study aimed to identify traits of seedling root system architecture (RSA) associated with yield and yield components in 226 recombinant inbred lines (RILs) derived from a cross between the bread wheat Triticum aestivum 'Forno' (small, wide root system) and spelt Triticum spelta 'Oberkulmer' (large, narrow root system). A 'pouch and wick' high-throughput phenotyping pipeline was used to determine the RSA traits of 13-day-old RIL seedlings. Two field experiments and one glasshouse experiment were carried out to investigate the yield, yield components and phenology, followed by identification of quantitative trait loci (QTLs). There was substantial variation in RSA traits between genotypes. Seminal root number and total root length were both positively associated with grains m -2 , grains per spike, above-ground biomass m -2 and grain yield. More seminal roots and longer total root length were also associated with delayed maturity and extended grain filling, likely to be a consequence of more grains being defined before anthesis. Additionally, the maximum width of the root system displayed positive relationships with spikes m -2 , grains m -2 and grain yield. Ten RILs selected for the longest total roots exhibited the same effects on yield and phenology as described above, compared with the ten lines with the shortest total roots. Genetic analysis revealed 38 QTLs for the RSA, and QTL coincidence between the root and yield traits was frequently observed, indicating tightly linked genes or pleiotropy, which concurs with the results of phenotypic correlation analysis. Based on the results from the Forno × Oberkulmer population, it is proposed that vigorous early root growth, particularly more seminal roots and longer total

Measurements of branching fraction ratios and CP-asymmetries in suppressed B{sup -}{yields}D({yields}K{sup +}{pi}{sup -})K{sup -} and B{sup -}{yields}D({yields}K{sup +}{pi}{sup -}){pi}{sup -} decays

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Aaltonen, T.; Brucken, E.; Devoto, F.

2011-11-01

We report the first reconstruction in hadron collisions of the suppressed decays B{sup -}{yields}D({yields}K{sup +}{pi}{sup -})K{sup -} and B{sup -}{yields}D({yields}K{sup +}{pi}{sup -}){pi}{sup -}, sensitive to the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa phase {gamma}, using data from 7 fb{sup -1} of integrated luminosity collected by the CDF II detector at the Tevatron collider. We reconstruct a signal for the B{sup -}{yields}D({yields}K{sup +}{pi}{sup -})K{sup -} suppressed mode with a significance of 3.2 standard deviations, and measure the ratios of the suppressed to favored branching fractions R(K)=[22.0{+-}8.6(stat){+-}2.6(syst)]x10{sup -3}, R{sup +}(K)=[42.6{+-}13.7(stat){+-}2.8(syst)]x10{sup -3}, R{sup -}(K)=[3.8{+-}10.3(stat){+-}2.7(syst)]x10{sup -3} as well as the direct CP-violating asymmetry A(K)=-0.82{+-}0.44(stat){+-}0.09(syst) of this mode. Corresponding quantitiesmore » for B{sup -}{yields}D({yields}K{sup +}{pi}{sup -}){pi}{sup -} decay are also reported.« less

Suppressed Alpha Oscillations Predict Intelligibility of Speech and its Acoustic Details

PubMed Central

Weisz, Nathan

2012-01-01

Modulations of human alpha oscillations (8–13 Hz) accompany many cognitive processes, but their functional role in auditory perception has proven elusive: Do oscillatory dynamics of alpha reflect acoustic details of the speech signal and are they indicative of comprehension success? Acoustically presented words were degraded in acoustic envelope and spectrum in an orthogonal design, and electroencephalogram responses in the frequency domain were analyzed in 24 participants, who rated word comprehensibility after each trial. First, the alpha power suppression during and after a degraded word depended monotonically on spectral and, to a lesser extent, envelope detail. The magnitude of this alpha suppression exhibited an additional and independent influence on later comprehension ratings. Second, source localization of alpha suppression yielded superior parietal, prefrontal, as well as anterior temporal brain areas. Third, multivariate classification of the time–frequency pattern across participants showed that patterns of late posterior alpha power allowed best for above-chance classification of word intelligibility. Results suggest that both magnitude and topography of late alpha suppression in response to single words can indicate a listener's sensitivity to acoustic features and the ability to comprehend speech under adverse listening conditions. PMID:22100354

Using ecological zones to increase the detail of Landsat classifications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Fox, L., III; Mayer, K. E.

1981-01-01

Changes in classification detail of forest species descriptions were made for Landsat data on 2.2 million acres in northwestern California. Because basic forest canopy structures may exhibit very similar E-M energy reflectance patterns in different environmental regions, classification labels based on Landsat spectral signatures alone become very generalized when mapping large heterogeneous ecological regions. By adding a seven ecological zone stratification, a 167% improvement in classification detail was made over the results achieved without it. The seven zone stratification is a less costly alternative to the inclusion of complex collateral information, such as terrain data and soil type, into the Landsat data base when making inventories of areas greater than 500,000 acres.

Sensitivity analysis of the Aquacrop and SAFYE crop models for the assessment of water limited winter wheat yield in regional scale applications.

PubMed

Silvestro, Paolo Cosmo; Pignatti, Stefano; Yang, Hao; Yang, Guijun; Pascucci, Simone; Castaldi, Fabio; Casa, Raffaele

2017-01-01

Process-based models can be usefully employed for the assessment of field and regional-scale impact of drought on crop yields. However, in many instances, especially when they are used at the regional scale, it is necessary to identify the parameters and input variables that most influence the outputs and to assess how their influence varies when climatic and environmental conditions change. In this work, two different crop models, able to represent yield response to water, Aquacrop and SAFYE, were compared, with the aim to quantify their complexity and plasticity through Global Sensitivity Analysis (GSA), using Morris and EFAST (Extended Fourier Amplitude Sensitivity Test) techniques, for moderate to strong water limited climate scenarios. Although the rankings of the sensitivity indices was influenced by the scenarios used, the correlation among the rankings, higher for SAFYE than for Aquacrop, assessed by the top-down correlation coefficient (TDCC), revealed clear patterns. Parameters and input variables related to phenology and to water stress physiological processes were found to be the most influential for Aquacrop. For SAFYE, it was found that the water stress could be inferred indirectly from the processes regulating leaf growth, described in the original SAFY model. SAFYE has a lower complexity and plasticity than Aquacrop, making it more suitable to less data demanding regional scale applications, in case the only objective is the assessment of crop yield and no detailed information is sought on the mechanisms of the stress factors affecting its limitations.

Sensitivity analysis of the Aquacrop and SAFYE crop models for the assessment of water limited winter wheat yield in regional scale applications

PubMed Central

Pignatti, Stefano; Yang, Hao; Yang, Guijun; Pascucci, Simone; Castaldi, Fabio

2017-01-01

Process-based models can be usefully employed for the assessment of field and regional-scale impact of drought on crop yields. However, in many instances, especially when they are used at the regional scale, it is necessary to identify the parameters and input variables that most influence the outputs and to assess how their influence varies when climatic and environmental conditions change. In this work, two different crop models, able to represent yield response to water, Aquacrop and SAFYE, were compared, with the aim to quantify their complexity and plasticity through Global Sensitivity Analysis (GSA), using Morris and EFAST (Extended Fourier Amplitude Sensitivity Test) techniques, for moderate to strong water limited climate scenarios. Although the rankings of the sensitivity indices was influenced by the scenarios used, the correlation among the rankings, higher for SAFYE than for Aquacrop, assessed by the top-down correlation coefficient (TDCC), revealed clear patterns. Parameters and input variables related to phenology and to water stress physiological processes were found to be the most influential for Aquacrop. For SAFYE, it was found that the water stress could be inferred indirectly from the processes regulating leaf growth, described in the original SAFY model. SAFYE has a lower complexity and plasticity than Aquacrop, making it more suitable to less data demanding regional scale applications, in case the only objective is the assessment of crop yield and no detailed information is sought on the mechanisms of the stress factors affecting its limitations. PMID:29107963

Mapping Crop Yield and Sow Date Using High Resolution Imagery

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Royal, K.

2015-12-01

Keitasha Royal, Meha Jain, Ph.D., David Lobell, Ph.D Mapping Crop Yield and Sow Date Using High Resolution ImageryThe use of satellite imagery in agriculture is becoming increasingly more significant and valuable. Due to the emergence of new satellites, such as Skybox, these satellites provide higher resolution imagery (e.g 1m) therefore improving the ability to map smallholder agriculture. For the smallholder farm dominated area of northern India, Skybox high-resolution satellite imagery can aid in understanding how to improve farm yields. In particular, we are interested in mapping winter wheat in India, as this region produces approximately 80% of the country's wheat crop, which is important given that wheat is a staple crop that provides approximately 20% of household calories. In northeast India, the combination of increased heat stress, limited irrigation access, and the difficulty for farmers to access advanced farming technologies results in farmers only producing about 50% of their potential crop yield. The use of satellite imagery can aid in understanding wheat yields through time and help identify ways to increase crop yields in the wheat belt of India. To translate Skybox satellite data into meaningful information about wheat fields, we examine vegetation indices, such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), to measure the "greenness" of plants to help determine the health of the crops. We test our ability to predict crop characteristics, like sow date and yield, using vegetation indices of 59 fields for which we have field data in Bihar, India.

Annual Corn Yield Estimation through Multi-temporal MODIS Data

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shao, Y.; Zheng, B.; Campbell, J. B.

2013-12-01

This research employed 13 years of the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) to estimate annual corn yield for the Midwest of the United States. The overall objective of this study was to examine if annual corn yield could be accurately predicted using MODIS time-series NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and ancillary data such monthly precipitation and temperature. MODIS-NDVI 16-Day composite images were acquired from the USGS EROS Data Center for calendar years 2000 to 2012. For the same time-period, county level corn yield statistics were obtained from the National Agricultural Statistics Service (NASS). The monthly precipitation and temperature measures were derived from Precipitation-Elevation Regressions on Independent Slopes Model (PRISM) climate data. A cropland mask was derived using 2006 National Land Cover Database. For each county and within the cropland mask, the MODIS-NDVI time-series data and PRISM climate data were spatially averaged, at their respective time steps. We developed a random forest predictive model with the MODIS-NDVI and climate data as predictors and corn yield as response. To assess the model accuracy, we used twelve years of data as training and the remaining year as hold-out testing set. The training and testing procedures were repeated 13 times. The R2 ranged from 0.72 to 0.83 for testing years. It was also found that the inclusion of climate data did not improve the model predictive performance. MODIS-NDVI time-series data alone might provide sufficient information for county level corn yield prediction.

Detailed requirements document for common software of shuttle program information management system

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Everette, J. M.; Bradfield, L. D.; Horton, C. L.

1975-01-01

Common software was investigated as a method for minimizing development and maintenance cost of the shuttle program information management system (SPIMS) applications while reducing the time-frame of their development. Those requirements satisfying these criteria are presented along with the stand-alone modules which may be used directly by applications. The SPIMS applications operating on the CYBER 74 computer, are specialized information management systems which use System 2000 as a data base manager. Common software provides the features to support user interactions on a CRT terminal using form input and command response capabilities. These features are available as subroutines to the applications.

78 FR 69669 - Intent To Conduct a Detailed Economic Impact Analysis

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-11-20

... EXPORT-IMPORT BANK Intent To Conduct a Detailed Economic Impact Analysis This notice is to inform the public that the Export-Import Bank of the United States has received an application for a loan... United States. Interested parties may submit comments on this transaction by email to economic.impact...

Information Systems Security and Computer Crime in the IS Curriculum: A Detailed Examination

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Foltz, C. Bryan; Renwick, Janet S.

2011-01-01

The authors examined the extent to which information systems (IS) security and computer crime are covered in information systems programs. Results suggest that IS faculty believe security coverage should be increased in required, elective, and non-IS courses. However, respondent faculty members are concerned that existing curricula leave little…

Diagnostic Yield of Endobronchial Ultrasound-Guided Transbronchial Needle Aspiration

PubMed Central

2011-01-01

Background: New transbronchial needle aspiration (TBNA) technologies have been developed, but their clinical effectiveness and determinants of diagnostic yield have not been quantified. Prospective data are needed to determine risk-adjusted diagnostic yield. Methods: We prospectively enrolled patients undergoing TBNA of mediastinal lymph nodes in the American College of Chest Physicians Quality Improvement Registry, Evaluation, and Education (AQuIRE) multicenter database and recorded clinical, procedural, and provider information. All clinical decisions, including type of TBNA used (conventional vs endobronchial ultrasound-guided), were made by the attending bronchoscopist. The primary outcome was obtaining a specific diagnosis. Results: We enrolled 891 patients at six hospitals. Most procedures (95%) were performed with ultrasound guidance. A specific diagnosis was made in 447 cases. Unadjusted diagnostic yields were 37% to 54% for different hospitals, with significant between-hospital heterogeneity (P = .0001). Diagnostic yield was associated with annual hospital TBNA volume (OR, 1.003; 95% CI, 1.000-1.006; P = .037), smoking (OR, 1.55; 95% CI, 1.02-2.34; P = .042), biopsy of more than two sites (OR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.38-0.85; P = .015), lymph node size (reference > 1-2 cm, ≤ 1 cm: OR, 0.51; 95% CI, 0.34-0.77; P = .003; > 2-3 cm: OR, 2.49; 95% CI, 1.61-3.85; P < .001; and > 3 cm: OR, 3.61; 95% CI, 2.17-6.00; P < .001), and positive PET scan (OR, 3.12; 95% CI, 1.39-7.01; P = .018). Biopsy was performed on more and smaller nodes at high-volume hospitals (P < .0001). Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the first bronchoscopy study of risk-adjusted diagnostic yields on a hospital-level basis. High-volume hospitals were associated with high diagnostic yields. This study also demonstrates the value of procedural registries as a quality improvement tool. A larger number and variety of participating hospitals is needed to verify these results and to further

An energy balance approach for mapping crop waterstress and yield impacts over the Czech Republic

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

There is a growing demand for timely, spatially distributed information regarding crop condition and water use to inform agricultural decision making and yield forecasting efforts. Remote sensing of land-surface temperature has proven valuable for mapping evapotranspiration (ET) and crop stress from...

Monitoring Crop Yield in USA Using a Satellite-Based Climate-Variability Impact Index

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Zhang, Ping; Anderson, Bruce; Tan, Bin; Barlow, Mathew; Myneni, Ranga

2011-01-01

A quantitative index is applied to monitor crop growth and predict agricultural yield in continental USA. The Climate-Variability Impact Index (CVII), defined as the monthly contribution to overall anomalies in growth during a given year, is derived from 1-km MODIS Leaf Area Index. The growing-season integrated CVII can provide an estimate of the fractional change in overall growth during a given year. In turn these estimates can provide fine-scale and aggregated information on yield for various crops. Trained from historical records of crop production, a statistical model is used to produce crop yield during the growing season based upon the strong positive relationship between crop yield and the CVII. By examining the model prediction as a function of time, it is possible to determine when the in-season predictive capability plateaus and which months provide the greatest predictive capacity.

Detailed Characterization of Nearshore Processes During NCEX

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Holland, K.; Kaihatu, J. M.; Plant, N.

2004-12-01

Recent technology advances have allowed the coupling of remote sensing methods with advanced wave and circulation models to yield detailed characterizations of nearshore processes. This methodology was demonstrated as part of the Nearshore Canyon EXperiment (NCEX) in La Jolla, CA during Fall 2003. An array of high-resolution, color digital cameras was installed to monitor an alongshore distance of nearly 2 km out to depths of 25 m. This digital imagery was analyzed over the three-month period through an automated process to produce hourly estimates of wave period, wave direction, breaker height, shoreline position, sandbar location, and bathymetry at numerous locations during daylight hours. Interesting wave propagation patterns in the vicinity of the canyons were observed. In addition, directional wave spectra and swash / surf flow velocities were estimated using more computationally intensive methods. These measurements were used to provide forcing and boundary conditions for the Delft3D wave and circulation model, giving additional estimates of nearshore processes such as dissipation and rip currents. An optimal approach for coupling these remotely sensed observations to the numerical model was selected to yield accurate, but also timely characterizations. This involved assimilation of directional spectral estimates near the offshore boundary to mimic forcing conditions achieved under traditional approaches involving nested domains. Measurements of breaker heights and flow speeds were also used to adaptively tune model parameters to provide enhanced accuracy. Comparisons of model predictions and video observations show significant correlation. As compared to nesting within larger-scale and coarser resolution models, the advantages of providing boundary conditions data using remote sensing is much improved resolution and fidelity. For example, rip current development was both modeled and observed. These results indicate that this approach to data-model coupling

Nitrogen rate strategies for reducing yield-scaled nitrous oxide emissions in maize

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Xu; Nafziger, Emerson D.; Pittelkow, Cameron M.

2017-12-01

Mitigating nitrogen (N) losses from agriculture without negatively impacting crop productivity is a pressing environmental and economic challenge. Reductions in N fertilizer rate are often highlighted as a solution, yet the degree to which crop yields and economic returns may be impacted at the field-level remains unclear, in part due to limited data availability. Farmers are risk averse and potential yield losses may limit the success of voluntary N loss mitigation protocols, thus understanding field-level yield tradeoffs is critical to inform policy development. Using a case study of soil N2O mitigation in the US Midwest, we conducted an ex-post assessment of two economic and two environmental N rate reduction strategies to identify promising practices for maintaining maize yields and economic returns while reducing N2O emissions per unit yield (i.e. yield-scaled emissions) compared to an assumed baseline N input level. Maize yield response data from 201 on-farm N rate experiments were combined with an empirical equation predicting N2O emissions as a function of N rate. Results indicate that the economic strategy aimed at maximizing returns to N (MRTN) led to moderate but consistent reductions in yield-scaled N2O emissions with small negative impacts on yield and slight increases in median returns. The economic optimum N rate strategy reduced yield-scaled N2O emissions in 75% of cases but increased them otherwise, challenging the assumption that this strategy will automatically reduce environmental impacts per unit production. Both environmental strategies, one designed to increase N recovery efficiency and one to balance N inputs with grain N removal, further reduced yield-scaled N2O emissions but were also associated with negative yield penalties and decreased returns. These results highlight the inherent tension between achieving agronomic and economic goals while reducing environmental impacts which is often overlooked in policy discussions. To enable the

Integrated crop management practices for maximizing grain yield of double-season rice crop.

PubMed

Wang, Depeng; Huang, Jianliang; Nie, Lixiao; Wang, Fei; Ling, Xiaoxia; Cui, Kehui; Li, Yong; Peng, Shaobing

2017-01-12

Information on maximum grain yield and its attributes are limited for double-season rice crop grown under the subtropical environment. This study was conducted to examine key characteristics associated with high yielding double-season rice crop through a comparison between an integrated crop management (ICM) and farmers' practice (FP). Field experiments were conducted in the early and late seasons in the subtropical environment of Wuxue County, Hubei Province, China in 2013 and 2014. On average, grain yield in ICM was 13.5% higher than that in FP. A maximum grain yield of 9.40 and 10.53 t ha -1 was achieved under ICM in the early- and late-season rice, respectively. Yield improvement of double-season rice with ICM was achieved with the combined effects of increased plant density and optimized nutrient management. Yield gain of ICM resulted from a combination of increases in sink size due to more panicle number per unit area and biomass production, further supported by the increased leaf area index, leaf area duration, radiation use efficiency, crop growth rate, and total nitrogen uptake compared with FP. Further enhancement in the yield potential of double-season rice should focus on increasing crop growth rate and biomass production through improved and integrated crop management practices.

Sediment yield estimation in mountain catchments of the Camastra reservoir, southern Italy: a comparison among different empirical methods

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lazzari, Maurizio; Danese, Maria; Gioia, Dario; Piccarreta, Marco

2013-04-01

Sedimentary budget estimation is an important topic for both scientific and social community, because it is crucial to understand both dynamics of orogenic belts and many practical problems, such as soil conservation and sediment accumulation in reservoir. Estimations of sediment yield or denudation rates in southern-central Italy are generally obtained by simple empirical relationships based on statistical regression between geomorphic parameters of the drainage network and the measured suspended sediment yield at the outlet of several drainage basins or through the use of models based on sediment delivery ratio or on soil loss equations. In this work, we perform a study of catchment dynamics and an estimation of sedimentary yield for several mountain catchments of the central-western sector of the Basilicata region, southern Italy. Sediment yield estimation has been obtained through both an indirect estimation of suspended sediment yield based on the Tu index (mean annual suspension sediment yield, Ciccacci et al., 1980) and the application of the Rusle (Renard et al., 1997) and the USPED (Mitasova et al., 1996) empirical methods. The preliminary results indicate a reliable difference between the RUSLE and USPED methods and the estimation based on the Tu index; a critical data analysis of results has been carried out considering also the present-day spatial distribution of erosion, transport and depositional processes in relation to the maps obtained from the application of those different empirical methods. The studied catchments drain an artificial reservoir (i.e. the Camastra dam), where a detailed evaluation of the amount of historical sediment storage has been collected. Sediment yield estimation obtained by means of the empirical methods have been compared and checked with historical data of sediment accumulation measured in the artificial reservoir of the Camastra dam. The validation of such estimations of sediment yield at the scale of large catchments

5 CFR 532.411 - Details.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

... 5 Administrative Personnel 1 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Details. 532.411 Section 532.411 Administrative Personnel OFFICE OF PERSONNEL MANAGEMENT CIVIL SERVICE REGULATIONS PREVAILING RATE SYSTEMS Pay Administration § 532.411 Details. An appropriated fund employee detailed to a position other than the position to...

Changes in growth, essential oil yield and composition of geranium (Pelargonium graveolens L.) as affected by growing media.

PubMed

Rezaei Nejad, Abdolhossein; Ismaili, Ahmad

2014-03-30

Using proper growing medium is known to be an effective way to improve crop growth and yield. However, the effects of growing media on geranium essential oil have scarcely ever been examined in detail. In this research, the effects of different growing media (soil, sand, pumice, perlite and perlite + cocopeat) on growth, oil yield and composition of geranium were studied. Growth was significantly improved in soilless-grown plants compared with soil-grown plants. Oil yield of soilless-grown plants (except for pumice) was about threefold higher than that of soil-grown plants. The increase in oil yield was correlated with higher leaf dry weight (r²  = 0.96), as oil content was not affected. The citronellol/geranium ratio of oil was clearly affected by growing media, ranging from 5:1 in soil culture to 3:1 in soilless culture. The latter is acceptable for perfumery. Compared with soil, soilless media could produce higher yields of high-quality geranium oil that fits market requirements. Growth, oil yield and composition of plants grown in sand (a cheap and abundant growing medium) were not significantly different from those of plants grown in perlite and perlite + cocopeat. © 2013 Society of Chemical Industry.

Information extraction during simultaneous motion processing.

PubMed

Rideaux, Reuben; Edwards, Mark

2014-02-01

When confronted with multiple moving objects the visual system can process them in two stages: an initial stage in which a limited number of signals are processed in parallel (i.e. simultaneously) followed by a sequential stage. We previously demonstrated that during the simultaneous stage, observers could discriminate between presentations containing up to 5 vs. 6 spatially localized motion signals (Edwards & Rideaux, 2013). Here we investigate what information is actually extracted during the simultaneous stage and whether the simultaneous limit varies with the detail of information extracted. This was achieved by measuring the ability of observers to extract varied information from low detail, i.e. the number of signals presented, to high detail, i.e. the actual directions present and the direction of a specific element, during the simultaneous stage. The results indicate that the resolution of simultaneous processing varies as a function of the information which is extracted, i.e. as the information extraction becomes more detailed, from the number of moving elements to the direction of a specific element, the capacity to process multiple signals is reduced. Thus, when assigning a capacity to simultaneous motion processing, this must be qualified by designating the degree of information extraction. Crown Copyright © 2013. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Yield gap mapping as a support tool for risk management in agriculture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lahlou, Ouiam; Imani, Yasmina; Slimani, Imane; Van Wart, Justin; Yang, Haishun

2016-04-01

The increasing frequency and magnitude of droughts in Morocco and the mounting losses from extended droughts in the agricultural sector emphasized the need to develop reliable and timely tools to manage drought and to mitigate resulting catastrophic damage. In 2011, Morocco launched a cereals multi-risk insurance with drought as the most threatening and the most frequent hazard in the country. However, and in order to assess the gap and to implement the more suitable compensation, it is essential to quantify the potential yield in each area. In collaboration with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, a study is carried out in Morocco and aims to determine the yield potentials and the yield gaps in the different agro-climatic zones of the country. It fits into the large project: Global Yield Gap and Water Productivity Atlas: http://www.yieldgap.org/. The yield gap (Yg) is the magnitude and difference between crop yield potential (Yp) or water limited yield potential (Yw) and actual yields, reached by farmers. World Food Studies (WOFOST), which is a Crop simulation mechanistic model, has been used for this purpose. Prior to simulations, reliable information about actual yields, weather data, crop management data and soil data have been collected in 7 Moroccan buffer zones considered, each, within a circle of 100 km around a weather station point, homogenously spread across the country and where cereals are widely grown. The model calibration was also carried out using WOFOST default varieties data. The map-based results represent a robust tool, not only for drought insurance organization, but for agricultural and agricultural risk management. Moreover, accurate and geospatially granular estimates of Yg and Yw will allow to focus on regions with largest unexploited yield gaps and greatest potential to close them, and consequently to improve food security in the country.

Yield surface evolution for columnar ice

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Zhiwei; Ma, Wei; Zhang, Shujuan; Mu, Yanhu; Zhao, Shunpin; Li, Guoyu

A series of triaxial compression tests, which has capable of measuring the volumetric strain of the sample, were conducted on columnar ice. A new testing approach of probing the experimental yield surface was performed from a single sample in order to investigate yield and hardening behaviors of the columnar ice under complex stress states. Based on the characteristic of the volumetric strain, a new method of defined the multiaxial yield strengths of the columnar ice is proposed. The experimental yield surface remains elliptical shape in the stress space of effective stress versus mean stress. The effect of temperature, loading rate and loading path in the initial yield surface and deformation properties of the columnar ice were also studied. Subsequent yield surfaces of the columnar ice have been explored by using uniaxial and hydrostatic paths. The evolution of the subsequent yield surface exhibits significant path-dependent characteristics. The multiaxial hardening law of the columnar ice was established experimentally. A phenomenological yield criterion was presented for multiaxial yield and hardening behaviors of the columnar ice. The comparisons between the theoretical and measured results indicate that this current model is capable of giving a reasonable prediction for the multiaxial yield and post-yield properties of the columnar ice subjected to different temperature, loading rate and path conditions.

Detailed Balance of Thermalization Dynamics in Rydberg-Atom Quantum Simulators.

PubMed

Kim, Hyosub; Park, YeJe; Kim, Kyungtae; Sim, H-S; Ahn, Jaewook

2018-05-04

Dynamics of large complex systems, such as relaxation towards equilibrium in classical statistical mechanics, often obeys a master equation that captures essential information from the complexities. Here, we find that thermalization of an isolated many-body quantum state can be described by a master equation. We observe sudden quench dynamics of quantum Ising-like models implemented in our quantum simulator, defect-free single-atom tweezers in conjunction with Rydberg-atom interaction. Saturation of their local observables, a thermalization signature, obeys a master equation experimentally constructed by monitoring the occupation probabilities of prequench states and imposing the principle of the detailed balance. Our experiment agrees with theories and demonstrates the detailed balance in a thermalization dynamics that does not require coupling to baths or postulated randomness.

Detailed Balance of Thermalization Dynamics in Rydberg-Atom Quantum Simulators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kim, Hyosub; Park, YeJe; Kim, Kyungtae; Sim, H.-S.; Ahn, Jaewook

2018-05-01

Dynamics of large complex systems, such as relaxation towards equilibrium in classical statistical mechanics, often obeys a master equation that captures essential information from the complexities. Here, we find that thermalization of an isolated many-body quantum state can be described by a master equation. We observe sudden quench dynamics of quantum Ising-like models implemented in our quantum simulator, defect-free single-atom tweezers in conjunction with Rydberg-atom interaction. Saturation of their local observables, a thermalization signature, obeys a master equation experimentally constructed by monitoring the occupation probabilities of prequench states and imposing the principle of the detailed balance. Our experiment agrees with theories and demonstrates the detailed balance in a thermalization dynamics that does not require coupling to baths or postulated randomness.

Genetic relationships between detailed reproductive traits and performance traits in Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle.

PubMed

Carthy, T R; Ryan, D P; Fitzgerald, A M; Evans, R D; Berry, D P

2016-02-01

The objective of the study was to estimate the genetic relationships between detailed reproductive traits derived from ultrasound examination of the reproductive tract and a range of performance traits in Holstein-Friesian dairy cows. The performance traits investigated included calving performance, milk production, somatic cell score (i.e., logarithm transformation of somatic cell count), carcass traits, and body-related linear type traits. Detailed reproductive traits included (1) resumed cyclicity at the time of examination, (2) multiple ovulations, (3) early ovulation, (4) heat detection, (5) ovarian cystic structures, (6) embryo loss, and (7) uterine score, measured on a 1 (little or no fluid with normal tone) to 4 (large quantity of fluid with a flaccid tone) scale, based on the tone of the uterine wall and the quantity of fluid present in the uterus. (Co)variance components were estimated using a repeatability animal linear mixed model. Genetic merit for greater milk, fat, and protein yield was associated with a reduced ability to resume cyclicity postpartum (genetic correlations ranged from -0.25 to -0.15). Higher genetic merit for milk yield was also associated with a greater genetic susceptibility to multiple ovulations. Genetic predisposition to elevated somatic cell score was associated with a decreased likelihood of cyclicity postpartum (genetic correlation of -0.32) and a greater risk of both multiple ovulations (genetic correlation of 0.25) and embryo loss (genetic correlation of 0.32). Greater body condition score was genetically associated with an increased likelihood of resumption of cyclicity postpartum (genetic correlation of 0.52). Genetically heavier, fatter carcasses with better conformation were also associated with an increased likelihood of resumed cyclicity by the time of examination (genetic correlations ranged from 0.24 to 0.41). Genetically heavier carcasses were associated with an inferior uterine score as well as a greater

Information services and information processing

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1975-01-01

Attempts made to design and extend space system capabilities are reported. Special attention was given to establishing user needs for information or services which might be provided by space systems. Data given do not attempt to detail scientific, technical, or economic bases for the needs expressed by the users.

Nonequilibrium thermodynamics and information theory: basic concepts and relaxing dynamics

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Altaner, Bernhard

2017-11-01

Thermodynamics is based on the notions of energy and entropy. While energy is the elementary quantity governing physical dynamics, entropy is the fundamental concept in information theory. In this work, starting from first principles, we give a detailed didactic account on the relations between energy and entropy and thus physics and information theory. We show that thermodynamic process inequalities, like the second law, are equivalent to the requirement that an effective description for physical dynamics is strongly relaxing. From the perspective of information theory, strongly relaxing dynamics govern the irreversible convergence of a statistical ensemble towards the maximally non-commital probability distribution that is compatible with thermodynamic equilibrium parameters. In particular, Markov processes that converge to a thermodynamic equilibrium state are strongly relaxing. Our framework generalizes previous results to arbitrary open and driven systems, yielding novel thermodynamic bounds for idealized and real processes. , which features invited work from the best early-career researchers working within the scope of J. Phys. A. This project is part of the Journal of Physics series’ 50th anniversary celebrations in 2017. Bernhard Altaner was selected by the Editorial Board of J. Phys. A as an Emerging Talent.

78 FR 47317 - Intent To Conduct a Detailed Economic Impact Analysis

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-05

... EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF THE UNITED STATES Intent To Conduct a Detailed Economic Impact Analysis This notice is to inform the public that the Export-Import Bank of the United States has received an... to economic[email protected] or by mail to 811 Vermont Avenue NW., Room 442, Washington, DC 20571...

PBF Control Building (PER619). Interior detail of control room's severe ...

Library of Congress Historic Buildings Survey, Historic Engineering Record, Historic Landscapes Survey

PBF Control Building (PER-619). Interior detail of control room's severe fuel damage instrument panel. Indicators provided real-time information about test underway in PBF reactor. Note audio speaker. Date: May 2004. INEEL negative no, HD-41-7-4 - Idaho National Engineering Laboratory, SPERT-I & Power Burst Facility Area, Scoville, Butte County, ID

78 FR 13057 - Agency Information Collection Activities; Information Collection; IT Dashboard Feedback Mechanism

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-02-26

...: Lalit Bajaj, Program Manager, Office of Innovative Technology Services and Solutions, Office of Citizen... ( itdashboard.gov ) provides agencies and the public access to view details of Federal information technology... Information Collection Activities; Information Collection; IT Dashboard Feedback Mechanism AGENCY: Office of...

Predicting paddlefish roe yields using an extension of the Beverton–Holt equilibrium yield-per-recruit model

USGS Publications Warehouse

Colvin, M.E.; Bettoli, Phillip William; Scholten, G.D.

2013-01-01

Equilibrium yield models predict the total biomass removed from an exploited stock; however, traditional yield models must be modified to simulate roe yields because a linear relationship between age (or length) and mature ovary weight does not typically exist. We extended the traditional Beverton-Holt equilibrium yield model to predict roe yields of Paddlefish Polyodon spathula in Kentucky Lake, Tennessee-Kentucky, as a function of varying conditional fishing mortality rates (10-70%), conditional natural mortality rates (cm; 9% and 18%), and four minimum size limits ranging from 864 to 1,016mm eye-to-fork length. These results were then compared to a biomass-based yield assessment. Analysis of roe yields indicated the potential for growth overfishing at lower exploitation rates and smaller minimum length limits than were suggested by the biomass-based assessment. Patterns of biomass and roe yields in relation to exploitation rates were similar regardless of the simulated value of cm, thus indicating that the results were insensitive to changes in cm. Our results also suggested that higher minimum length limits would increase roe yield and reduce the potential for growth overfishing and recruitment overfishing at the simulated cm values. Biomass-based equilibrium yield assessments are commonly used to assess the effects of harvest on other caviar-based fisheries; however, our analysis demonstrates that such assessments likely underestimate the probability and severity of growth overfishing when roe is targeted. Therefore, equilibrium roe yield-per-recruit models should also be considered to guide the management process for caviar-producing fish species.

Suspended sediment yield of New Jersey coastal plain streams draining into the Delaware estuary

USGS Publications Warehouse

Mansue, Lawrence J.

1972-01-01

The purpose of this report is to summarize sediment data collected at selected stream-sampling sites in southern New Jersey. Computations of excepted average annual yields at each sampling site were made and utilized to estimate the annual yield at ungaged sites. Similar data currently are being compiled for streams draining Pennsylvania and Delaware. It is planned to report on the combined information at a later date in the Geological Survey's Water-Supply Paper series.

Prediction of winter wheat high yield from remote sensing based model: application in United States and Ukraine

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Franch, B.; Vermote, E.; Roger, J. C.; Skakun, S.; Becker-Reshef, I.; Justice, C. O.

2017-12-01

Accurate and timely crop yield forecasts are critical for making informed agricultural policies and investments, as well as increasing market efficiency and stability. In Becker-Reshef et al. (2010) and Franch et al. (2015) we developed an empirical generalized model for forecasting winter wheat yield. It is based on the relationship between the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) at the peak of the growing season and the Growing Degree Day (GDD) information extracted from NCEP/NCAR reanalysis data. These methods were applied to MODIS CMG data in Ukraine, the US and China with errors around 10%. However, the NDVI is saturated for yield values higher than 4 MT/ha. As a consequence, the model had to be re-calibrated in each country and the validation of the national yields showed low correlation coefficients. In this study we present a new model based on the extrapolation of the pure wheat signal (100% of wheat within the pixel) from MODIS data at 1km resolution and using the Difference Vegetation Index (DVI). The model has been applied to monitor the national yield of winter wheat in the United States and Ukraine from 2001 to 2016.

Estimating rice yield from MODIS-Landsat fusion data in Taiwan

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, C. R.; Chen, C. F.; Nguyen, S. T.

2017-12-01

Rice production monitoring with remote sensing is an important activity in Taiwan due to official initiatives. Yield estimation is a challenge in Taiwan because rice fields are small and fragmental. High spatiotemporal satellite data providing phenological information of rice crops is thus required for this monitoring purpose. This research aims to develop data fusion approaches to integrate daily Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Landsat data for rice yield estimation in Taiwan. In this study, the low-resolution MODIS LST and emissivity data are used as reference data sources to obtain the high-resolution LST from Landsat data using the mixed-pixel analysis technique, and the time-series EVI data were derived the fusion of MODIS and Landsat spectral band data using STARFM method. The LST and EVI simulated results showed the close agreement between the LST and EVI obtained by the proposed methods with the reference data. The rice-yield model was established using EVI and LST data based on information of rice crop phenology collected from 371 ground survey sites across the country in 2014. The results achieved from the fusion datasets compared with the reference data indicated the close relationship between the two datasets with the correlation coefficient (R2) of 0.75 and root mean square error (RMSE) of 338.7 kgs, which were more accurate than those using the coarse-resolution MODIS LST data (R2 = 0.71 and RMSE = 623.82 kgs). For the comparison of total production, 64 towns located in the west part of Taiwan were used. The results also confirmed that the model using fusion datasets produced more accurate results (R2 = 0.95 and RMSE = 1,243 tons) than that using the course-resolution MODIS data (R2 = 0.91 and RMSE = 1,749 tons). This study demonstrates the application of MODIS-Landsat fusion data for rice yield estimation at the township level in Taiwan. The results obtained from the methods used in this study could be useful to policymakers

On-line prediction of yield grade, longissimus muscle area, preliminary yield grade, adjusted preliminary yield grade, and marbling score using the MARC beef carcass image analysis system.

PubMed

Shackelford, S D; Wheeler, T L; Koohmaraie, M

2003-01-01

The present experiment was conducted to evaluate the ability of the U.S. Meat Animal Research Center's beef carcass image analysis system to predict calculated yield grade, longissimus muscle area, preliminary yield grade, adjusted preliminary yield grade, and marbling score under commercial beef processing conditions. In two commercial beef-processing facilities, image analysis was conducted on 800 carcasses on the beef-grading chain immediately after the conventional USDA beef quality and yield grades were applied. Carcasses were blocked by plant and observed calculated yield grade. The carcasses were then separated, with 400 carcasses assigned to a calibration data set that was used to develop regression equations, and the remaining 400 carcasses assigned to a prediction data set used to validate the regression equations. Prediction equations, which included image analysis variables and hot carcass weight, accounted for 90, 88, 90, 88, and 76% of the variation in calculated yield grade, longissimus muscle area, preliminary yield grade, adjusted preliminary yield grade, and marbling score, respectively, in the prediction data set. In comparison, the official USDA yield grade as applied by online graders accounted for 73% of the variation in calculated yield grade. The technology described herein could be used by the beef industry to more accurately determine beef yield grades; however, this system does not provide an accurate enough prediction of marbling score to be used without USDA grader interaction for USDA quality grading.

Detailed high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of OMEGA separated reactants inertial confinement fusion experiments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Haines, Brian M.; Grim, Gary P.; Fincke, James R.; Shah, Rahul C.; Forrest, Chad J.; Silverstein, Kevin; Marshall, Frederic J.; Boswell, Melissa; Fowler, Malcolm M.; Gore, Robert A.; Hayes-Sterbenz, Anna C.; Jungman, Gerard; Klein, Andreas; Rundberg, Robert S.; Steinkamp, Michael J.; Wilhelmy, Jerry B.

2016-07-01

-wavelength asymmetries degrade TT yield more than the DT yield and thus bring DT/TT neutron yield ratios into agreement with experiment. Finally, we present a detailed comparison of the flows in 2D and 3D simulations.

High yield of self-catalyzed GaAs nanowire arrays grown on silicon via gallium droplet positioning.

PubMed

Plissard, S; Larrieu, G; Wallart, X; Caroff, P

2011-07-08

We report and detail a method to achieve growth of vertical self-catalyzed GaAs nanowires directly on Si(111) with a near-perfect vertical yield, using electron-beam-defined arrays of holes in a dielectric layer and molecular beam epitaxy. In our conditions, GaAs nanowires are grown along a vapor-liquid-solid mechanism, using in situ self-forming Ga droplets. The focus of this paper is to understand the role of the substrate preparation and of the pre-growth conditioning. Without changing temperature or the V/III ratio, the yield of vertical nanowires is increased incrementally up to 95%. The possibility to achieve very dense arrays, with center-to-center inter-wire distances less than 100 nm, is demonstrated.

5 CFR 317.903 - Details.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

...) or the temporary assignment of a non-SES member to an SES position, with the expectation that the... use competitive procedures when detailing a non-SES employee to an SES position for more than 240 days... OPM approval for a detail of more than 240 days if the detail is of: (i) A non-SES employee to an SES...

5 CFR 317.903 - Details.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

...) or the temporary assignment of a non-SES member to an SES position, with the expectation that the... use competitive procedures when detailing a non-SES employee to an SES position for more than 240 days... OPM approval for a detail of more than 240 days if the detail is of: (i) A non-SES employee to an SES...

5 CFR 317.903 - Details.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

...) or the temporary assignment of a non-SES member to an SES position, with the expectation that the... use competitive procedures when detailing a non-SES employee to an SES position for more than 240 days... OPM approval for a detail of more than 240 days if the detail is of: (i) A non-SES employee to an SES...

Economic weights for genetic improvement of lactation persistency and milk yield.

PubMed

Togashi, K; Lin, C Y

2009-06-01

This study aimed to establish a criterion for measuring the relative weight of lactation persistency (the ratio of yield at 280 d in milk to peak yield) in restricted selection index for the improvement of net merit comprising 3-parity total yield and total lactation persistency. The restricted selection index was compared with selection based on first-lactation total milk yield (I(1)), the first-two-lactation total yield (I(2)), and first-three-lactation total yield (I(3)). Results show that genetic response in net merit due to selection on restricted selection index could be greater than, equal to, or less than that due to the unrestricted index depending upon the relative weight of lactation persistency and the restriction level imposed. When the relative weight of total lactation persistency is equal to the criterion, the restricted selection index is equal to the selection method compared (I(1), I(2), or I(3)). The restricted selection index yielded a greater response when the relative weight of total lactation persistency was above the criterion, but a lower response when it was below the criterion. The criterion varied depending upon the restriction level (c) imposed and the selection criteria compared. A curvilinear relationship (concave curve) exists between the criterion and the restricted level. The criterion increases as the restriction level deviates in either direction from 1.5. Without prior information of the economic weight of lactation persistency, the imposition of the restriction level of 1.5 on lactation persistency would maximize change in net merit. The procedure presented allows for simultaneous modification of multi-parity lactation curves.

A detailed map of the 660-kilometer discontinuity beneath the izu-bonin subduction zone.

PubMed

Wicks, C W; Richards, M A

1993-09-10

Dynamical processes in the Earth's mantle, such as cold downwelling at subduction zones, cause deformations of the solid-state phase change that produces a seismic discontinuity near a depth of 660 kilometers. Observations of short-period, shear-to-compressional wave conversions produced at the discontinuity yield a detailed map of deformation beneath the Izu-Bonin subduction zone. The discontinuity is depressed by about 60 kilometers beneath the coldest part of the subducted slab, with a deformation profile consistent with the expected thermal signature of the slab, the experimentally determined Clapeyron slope of the phase transition, and the regional tectonic history.

Effects of diurnal temperature range and drought on wheat yield in Spain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hernandez-Barrera, S.; Rodriguez-Puebla, C.; Challinor, A. J.

2017-07-01

This study aims to provide new insight on the wheat yield historical response to climate processes throughout Spain by using statistical methods. Our data includes observed wheat yield, pseudo-observations E-OBS for the period 1979 to 2014, and outputs of general circulation models in phase 5 of the Coupled Models Inter-comparison Project (CMIP5) for the period 1901 to 2099. In investigating the relationship between climate and wheat variability, we have applied the approach known as the partial least-square regression, which captures the relevant climate drivers accounting for variations in wheat yield. We found that drought occurring in autumn and spring and the diurnal range of temperature experienced during the winter are major processes to characterize the wheat yield variability in Spain. These observable climate processes are used for an empirical model that is utilized in assessing the wheat yield trends in Spain under different climate conditions. To isolate the trend within the wheat time series, we implemented the adaptive approach known as Ensemble Empirical Mode Decomposition. Wheat yields in the twenty-first century are experiencing a downward trend that we claim is a consequence of widespread drought over the Iberian Peninsula and an increase in the diurnal range of temperature. These results are important to inform about the wheat vulnerability in this region to coming changes and to develop adaptation strategies.

Simulation of crop yield variability by improved root-soil-interaction modelling

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Duan, X.; Gayler, S.; Priesack, E.

2009-04-01

Understanding the processes and factors that govern the within-field variability in crop yield has attached great importance due to applications in precision agriculture. Crop response to environment at field scale is a complex dynamic process involving the interactions of soil characteristics, weather conditions and crop management. The numerous static factors combined with temporal variations make it very difficult to identify and manage the variability pattern. Therefore, crop simulation models are considered to be useful tools in analyzing separately the effects of change in soil or weather conditions on the spatial variability, in order to identify the cause of yield variability and to quantify the spatial and temporal variation. However, tests showed that usual crop models such as CERES-Wheat and CERES-Maize were not able to quantify the observed within-field yield variability, while their performance on crop growth simulation under more homogeneous and mainly non-limiting conditions was sufficent to simulate average yields at the field-scale. On a study site in South Germany, within-field variability in crop growth has been documented since years. After detailed analysis and classification of the soil patterns, two site specific factors, the plant-available-water and the O2 deficiency, were considered as the main causes of the crop growth variability in this field. Based on our measurement of root distribution in the soil profile, we hypothesize that in our case the insufficiency of the applied crop models to simulate the yield variability can be due to the oversimplification of the involved root models which fail to be sensitive to different soil conditions. In this study, the root growth model described by Jones et al. (1991) was adapted by using data of root distributions in the field and linking the adapted root model to the CERES crop model. The ability of the new root model to increase the sensitivity of the CERES crop models to different enviromental

Software For Drawing Design Details Concurrently

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Crosby, Dewey C., III

1990-01-01

Software system containing five computer-aided-design programs enables more than one designer to work on same part or assembly at same time. Reduces time necessary to produce design by implementing concept of parallel or concurrent detailing, in which all detail drawings documenting three-dimensional model of part or assembly produced simultaneously, rather than sequentially. Keeps various detail drawings consistent with each other and with overall design by distributing changes in each detail to all other affected details.

Yield and water quality for different residue managements of sugarcane in Louisiana

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

The focus of the study was to provide information on implementation of a modified post-harvest crop residue sweeper on sugarcane yield and water quality. Field experiments were established at three different locations in south Louisiana: Paincourtville, Duson and Baton Rouge. In each location, lar...

Grain size effect on yield strength of titanium alloy implanted with aluminum ions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Popova, Natalya, E-mail: natalya-popova-44@mail.ru; Institute of Strength Physics and Materials Science, SB RAS, 2/4, Akademicheskii Ave., 634021, Tomsk; Nikonenko, Elena, E-mail: vilatomsk@mail.ru

2016-01-15

The paper presents a transmission electron microscopy (TEM) study of the microstructure and phase state of commercially pure titanium VT1-0 implanted by aluminum ions. This study has been carried out before and after the ion implantation for different grain size, i.e. 0.3 µm (ultra-fine grain condition), 1.5 µm (fine grain condition), and 17 µm (polycrystalline condition). This paper presents details of calculations and analysis of strength components of the yield stress. It is shown that the ion implantation results in a considerable hardening of the entire thickness of the implanted layer in the both grain types. The grain size has, however, a differentmore » effect on the yield stress. So, both before and after the ion implantation, the increase of the grain size leads to the decrease of the alloy hardening. Thus, hardening in ultra-fine and fine grain alloys increased by four times, while in polycrystalline alloy it increased by over six times.« less

Calibration methodology for proportional counters applied to yield measurements of a neutron burst.

PubMed

Tarifeño-Saldivia, Ariel; Mayer, Roberto E; Pavez, Cristian; Soto, Leopoldo

2014-01-01

This paper introduces a methodology for the yield measurement of a neutron burst using neutron proportional counters. This methodology is to be applied when single neutron events cannot be resolved in time by nuclear standard electronics, or when a continuous current cannot be measured at the output of the counter. The methodology is based on the calibration of the counter in pulse mode, and the use of a statistical model to estimate the number of detected events from the accumulated charge resulting from the detection of the burst of neutrons. The model is developed and presented in full detail. For the measurement of fast neutron yields generated from plasma focus experiments using a moderated proportional counter, the implementation of the methodology is herein discussed. An experimental verification of the accuracy of the methodology is presented. An improvement of more than one order of magnitude in the accuracy of the detection system is obtained by using this methodology with respect to previous calibration methods.

TRAC-P1: an advanced best estimate computer program for PWR LOCA analysis. I. Methods, models, user information, and programming details

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1978-05-01

The Transient Reactor Analysis Code (TRAC) is being developed at the Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) to provide an advanced ''best estimate'' predictive capability for the analysis of postulated accidents in light water reactors (LWRs). TRAC-Pl provides this analysis capability for pressurized water reactors (PWRs) and for a wide variety of thermal-hydraulic experimental facilities. It features a three-dimensional treatment of the pressure vessel and associated internals; two-phase nonequilibrium hydrodynamics models; flow-regime-dependent constitutive equation treatment; reflood tracking capability for both bottom flood and falling film quench fronts; and consistent treatment of entire accident sequences including the generation of consistent initial conditions.more » The TRAC-Pl User's Manual is composed of two separate volumes. Volume I gives a description of the thermal-hydraulic models and numerical solution methods used in the code. Detailed programming and user information is also provided. Volume II presents the results of the developmental verification calculations.« less

Exploring Architectural Details Through a Wearable Egocentric Vision Device

PubMed Central

Alletto, Stefano; Abati, Davide; Serra, Giuseppe; Cucchiara, Rita

2016-01-01

Augmented user experiences in the cultural heritage domain are in increasing demand by the new digital native tourists of 21st century. In this paper, we propose a novel solution that aims at assisting the visitor during an outdoor tour of a cultural site using the unique first person perspective of wearable cameras. In particular, the approach exploits computer vision techniques to retrieve the details by proposing a robust descriptor based on the covariance of local features. Using a lightweight wearable board, the solution can localize the user with respect to the 3D point cloud of the historical landmark and provide him with information about the details at which he is currently looking. Experimental results validate the method both in terms of accuracy and computational effort. Furthermore, user evaluation based on real-world experiments shows that the proposal is deemed effective in enriching a cultural experience. PMID:26901197

Exploring Architectural Details Through a Wearable Egocentric Vision Device.

PubMed

Alletto, Stefano; Abati, Davide; Serra, Giuseppe; Cucchiara, Rita

2016-02-17

Augmented user experiences in the cultural heritage domain are in increasing demand by the new digital native tourists of 21st century. In this paper, we propose a novel solution that aims at assisting the visitor during an outdoor tour of a cultural site using the unique first person perspective of wearable cameras. In particular, the approach exploits computer vision techniques to retrieve the details by proposing a robust descriptor based on the covariance of local features. Using a lightweight wearable board, the solution can localize the user with respect to the 3D point cloud of the historical landmark and provide him with information about the details at which he is currently looking. Experimental results validate the method both in terms of accuracy and computational effort. Furthermore, user evaluation based on real-world experiments shows that the proposal is deemed effective in enriching a cultural experience.

Informed Consent for Interventional Radiology Procedures: A Survey Detailing Current European Practice

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

O'Dwyer, H.M.; Lyon, S.M.; Fotheringham, T.

Purpose: Official recommendations for obtaining informed consent for interventional radiology procedures are that the patient gives their consent to the operator more than 24 hr prior to the procedure. This has significant implications for interventional radiology practice. The purpose of this study was to identify the proportion of European interventional radiologists who conform to these guidelines. Methods: A questionnaire was designed consisting of 12 questions on current working practice and opinions regarding informed consent. These questions related to where, when and by whom consent was obtained from the patient. Questions also related to the use of formal consent forms andmore » written patient information leaflets. Respondents were asked whether they felt patients received adequate explanation regarding indications for intervention,the procedure, alternative treatment options and complications. The questionnaire was distributed to 786 European interventional radiologists who were members of interventional societies. The anonymous replies were then entered into a database and analyzed. Results: Two hundred and fifty-four (32.3%) questionnaires were returned. Institutions were classified as academic (56.7%),non-academic (40.5%) or private (2.8%). Depending on the procedure,in a significant proportion of patients consent was obtained in the outpatient department (22%), on the ward (65%) and in the radiology day case ward (25%), but in over half (56%) of patients consent or re-consent was obtained in the interventional suite. Fifty percent of respondents indicated that they obtain consent more than 24 hr before some procedures, in 42.9% consent is obtained on the morning of the procedure and 48.8% indicated that in some patients consent is obtained immediately before the procedure. We found that junior medical staff obtained consent in 58% of cases. Eighty-two percent of respondents do not use specific consent forms and 61% have patient information leaflets

Simulation of corn yields and parameters uncertainties analysis in Hebei and Sichuang, China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, A.; Xue, Y.; Hartman, M. D.; Chandran, A.; Qiu, B.; Liu, Y.

2016-12-01

Corn is one of most important agricultural production in China. Research on the impacts of climate change and human activities on corn yields is important in understanding and mitigating the negative effects of environmental factors on corn yields and maintaining the stable corn production. Using climatic data, including daily temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation from 1948 to 2010, soil properties, observed corn yields, and farmland management information, corn yields in Sichuang and Hebei Provinces of China in the past 63 years were simulated using the Daycent model, and the results was evaluated using Root mean square errors, bias, simulation efficiency, and standard deviation. The primary climatic factors influencing corn yields were examined, the uncertainties of climatic factors was analyzed, and the uncertainties of human activity parameters were also studied by changing fertilization levels and cultivated ways. The results showed that: (1) Daycent model is capable to simulate corn yields in Sichuang and Hebei provinces of China. Observed and simulated corn yields have the similar increasing trend with time. (2) The minimum daily temperature is the primary factor influencing corn yields in Sichuang. In Hebei Province, daily temperature, precipitation and wind speed significantly affect corn yields.(3) When the global warming trend of original data was removed, simulated corn yields were lower than before, decreased by about 687 kg/hm2 from 1992 to 2010; When the fertilization levels, cultivated ways were increased and decreased by 50% and 75%, respectively in the Schedule file in Daycent model, the simulated corn yields increased by 1206 kg/hm2 and 776 kg/hm2, respectively, with the enhancement of fertilization level and the improvement of cultivated way. This study provides a scientific base for selecting a suitable fertilization level and cultivated way in corn fields in China.

Contributions of cultivar shift, management practice and climate change to maize yield in North China Plain in 1981-2009

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xiao, Dengpan; Tao, Fulu

2016-07-01

The impact of climate change on crop yield is compounded by cultivar shifts and agronomic management practices. To determine the relative contributions of climate change, cultivar shift, and management practice to changes in maize ( Zea mays L.) yield in the past three decades, detailed field data for 1981-2009 from four representative experimental stations in North China Plain (NCP) were analyzed via model simulation. The four representative experimental stations are geographically and climatologically different, represent the typical cropping system in the study area, and have more complete weather/crop records for the period of 1981-2009. The results showed that while the shift from traditional to modern cultivar increased yield by 23.9-40.3 %, new fertilizer management increased yield by 3.3-8.6 %. However, the trends in climate variables for 1981-2009 reduced maize yield by 15-30 % in the study area. Among the main climate variables, solar radiation had the largest effect on maize yield, followed by temperature and then precipitation. While a significant decline in solar radiation in 1981-2009 (maybe due to air pollution) reduced yield by 12-24 %, a significant increase in temperature reduced yield by 3-9 %. In contrast, a non-significant increase in precipitation during the maize growth period increased yield by 0.9-3 % at three of the four investigated stations. However, a decline in precipitation reduced yield by 3 % in the remaining station. The study revealed that although the shift from traditional to modern cultivars and agronomic management practices contributed most to the increase in maize yield, the negative impact of climate change was large enough to offset 46-67 % of the trend in the observed yields in the past three decades in NCP. The reduction in solar radiation, especially in the most critical period of maize growth, limited the process of photosynthesis and thereby further reduced maize yield.

Reed canarygrass yield improvement

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Reed canarygrass is well adapted to the northern USA. Eight cultivars and 72 accessions collected in rural landscapes from Iowa to New Hampshire were evaluated for yield. Accessions produced on average 7% higher biomass yield compared to existing cultivars. Naturalized populations of reed canarygras...

Revisiting the Seductive Details Effect in Multimedia Learning: Context-Dependency of Seductive Details

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Ozdemir, Devrim; Doolittle, Peter

2015-01-01

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of context-dependency of seductive details on recall and transfer in multimedia learning environments. Seductive details were interesting yet irrelevant sentences in the instructional text. Two experiments were conducted. The purpose of Experiment 1 was to identify context-dependent and…

The Impacts of Information-Sharing Mechanisms on Spatial Market Formation Based on Agent-Based Modeling

PubMed Central

Li, Qianqian; Yang, Tao; Zhao, Erbo; Xia, Xing’ang; Han, Zhangang

2013-01-01

There has been an increasing interest in the geographic aspects of economic development, exemplified by P. Krugman’s logical analysis. We show in this paper that the geographic aspects of economic development can be modeled using multi-agent systems that incorporate multiple underlying factors. The extent of information sharing is assumed to be a driving force that leads to economic geographic heterogeneity across locations without geographic advantages or disadvantages. We propose an agent-based market model that considers a spectrum of different information-sharing mechanisms: no information sharing, information sharing among friends and pheromone-like information sharing. Finally, we build a unified model that accommodates all three of these information-sharing mechanisms based on the number of friends who can share information. We find that the no information-sharing model does not yield large economic zones, and more information sharing can give rise to a power-law distribution of market size that corresponds to the stylized fact of city size and firm size distributions. The simulations show that this model is robust. This paper provides an alternative approach to studying economic geographic development, and this model could be used as a test bed to validate the detailed assumptions that regulate real economic agglomeration. PMID:23484007

The effect of a loss of model structural detail due to network skeletonization on contamination warning system design: case studies.

PubMed

Davis, Michael J; Janke, Robert

2018-01-04

The effect of limitations in the structural detail available in a network model on contamination warning system (CWS) design was examined in case studies using the original and skeletonized network models for two water distribution systems (WDSs). The skeletonized models were used as proxies for incomplete network models. CWS designs were developed by optimizing sensor placements for worst-case and mean-case contamination events. Designs developed using the skeletonized network models were transplanted into the original network model for evaluation. CWS performance was defined as the number of people who ingest more than some quantity of a contaminant in tap water before the CWS detects the presence of contamination. Lack of structural detail in a network model can result in CWS designs that (1) provide considerably less protection against worst-case contamination events than that obtained when a more complete network model is available and (2) yield substantial underestimates of the consequences associated with a contamination event. Nevertheless, CWSs developed using skeletonized network models can provide useful reductions in consequences for contaminants whose effects are not localized near the injection location. Mean-case designs can yield worst-case performances similar to those for worst-case designs when there is uncertainty in the network model. Improvements in network models for WDSs have the potential to yield significant improvements in CWS designs as well as more realistic evaluations of those designs. Although such improvements would be expected to yield improved CWS performance, the expected improvements in CWS performance have not been quantified previously. The results presented here should be useful to those responsible for the design or implementation of CWSs, particularly managers and engineers in water utilities, and encourage the development of improved network models.

The effect of a loss of model structural detail due to network skeletonization on contamination warning system design: case studies

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Davis, Michael J.; Janke, Robert

2018-05-01

The effect of limitations in the structural detail available in a network model on contamination warning system (CWS) design was examined in case studies using the original and skeletonized network models for two water distribution systems (WDSs). The skeletonized models were used as proxies for incomplete network models. CWS designs were developed by optimizing sensor placements for worst-case and mean-case contamination events. Designs developed using the skeletonized network models were transplanted into the original network model for evaluation. CWS performance was defined as the number of people who ingest more than some quantity of a contaminant in tap water before the CWS detects the presence of contamination. Lack of structural detail in a network model can result in CWS designs that (1) provide considerably less protection against worst-case contamination events than that obtained when a more complete network model is available and (2) yield substantial underestimates of the consequences associated with a contamination event. Nevertheless, CWSs developed using skeletonized network models can provide useful reductions in consequences for contaminants whose effects are not localized near the injection location. Mean-case designs can yield worst-case performances similar to those for worst-case designs when there is uncertainty in the network model. Improvements in network models for WDSs have the potential to yield significant improvements in CWS designs as well as more realistic evaluations of those designs. Although such improvements would be expected to yield improved CWS performance, the expected improvements in CWS performance have not been quantified previously. The results presented here should be useful to those responsible for the design or implementation of CWSs, particularly managers and engineers in water utilities, and encourage the development of improved network models.

A data-management system for detailed areal interpretive data

USGS Publications Warehouse

Ferrigno, C.F.

1986-01-01

A data storage and retrieval system has been developed to organize and preserve areal interpretive data. This system can be used by any study where there is a need to store areal interpretive data that generally is presented in map form. This system provides the capability to grid areal interpretive data for input to groundwater flow models at any spacing and orientation. The data storage and retrieval system is designed to be used for studies that cover small areas such as counties. The system is built around a hierarchically structured data base consisting of related latitude-longitude blocks. The information in the data base can be stored at different levels of detail, with the finest detail being a block of 6 sec of latitude by 6 sec of longitude (approximately 0.01 sq mi). This system was implemented on a mainframe computer using a hierarchical data base management system. The computer programs are written in Fortran IV and PL/1. The design and capabilities of the data storage and retrieval system, and the computer programs that are used to implement the system are described. Supplemental sections contain the data dictionary, user documentation of the data-system software, changes that would need to be made to use this system for other studies, and information on the computer software tape. (Lantz-PTT)

Low yield of routine duodenal biopsies for evaluation of abdominal pain

PubMed Central

Dubin, Sterling M; Kwong, Wilson T; Kalmaz, Denise; Savides, Thomas J

2015-01-01

AIM: To determine the yield of biopsying normal duodenal mucosa for investigation of abdominal pain. METHODS: This is a retrospective chart review of consecutive patients who underwent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) with duodenal biopsies of normal appearing duodenal mucosa for an indication that included abdominal pain. All the patients in this study were identified from an electronic endoscopy database at a single academic medical center and had an EGD with duodenal biopsies performed over a 4-year period. New diagnoses that were made as a direct result of duodenal biopsies were identified. All duodenal pathology reports and endoscopy records were reviewed for indications to perform the examination as well as the findings; all the medical records were reviewed. Exclusion criteria included age less than 18 years, duodenal mass, nodule, or polyp, endoscopic duodenitis, duodenal scalloping, known celiac disease, positive celiac serology, Crohns disease, or history of bone marrow transplant. Information was collected in a de-identified database with pertinent demographic information including human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) status, and descriptive statistics were performed. RESULTS: About 300 patients underwent EGD with biopsies of benign appearing or normal appearing duodenal mucosa. The mean age of patients was 44.1 ± 16.8 years; 189 of 300 (63%) were female. A mean of 4.3 duodenal biopsies were performed in each patient. In the subgroup of patients with abdominal pain without anemia, diarrhea, or weight loss the mean age was 43.4 ± 16.3 years. Duodenal biopsies performed for an indication that included abdominal pain resulting in 4 new diagnoses (3 celiac disease and 1 giardiasis) for an overall yield of 1.3%. 183 patients with abdominal pain without anemia, diarrhea, or weight loss (out of the total 300 patients) underwent duodenal biopsy of duodenal mucosa resulting in three new diagnoses (two cases of celiac disease and one giardiasis) for a yield of 1

Sex and menstrual cycle phase at encoding influence emotional memory for gist and detail

PubMed Central

Nielsen, Shawn E.; Ahmed, Imran; Cahill, Larry

2013-01-01

Sex influences on emotional memory have received increasing interest over the past decade. However, only a subset of this previous work explored the influence of sex on memory for central information (gist) and peripheral detail in emotional versus neutral contexts. Here we examined the influence of sex and menstrual cycle phase at encoding on memory for either an emotional or neutral story, specifically with respect to the retention of gist and peripheral detail. Healthy naturally cycling women and men viewed a brief, narrated, three-phase story containing neutral or emotionally arousing elements. One week later, participants received a surprise free recall test for story elements. The results indicate that naturally cycling women in the luteal (high hormone) phase of the menstrual cycle at encoding show enhanced memory for peripheral details, but not gist, when in the emotional compared with neutral stories (p<.05). In contrast, naturally cycling women in the follicular (low hormone) phase of the menstrual cycle at encoding did not show enhanced memory for gist or peripheral details in the emotional compared with neutral stories. Men show enhanced memory for gist, but not peripheral details, in the emotional versus neutral stories (p<.05). In addition, these sex influences on memory cannot be attributed to differences in attention or arousal; luteal women, follicular women, and men performed similarly on measures of attention (fixation time percentage) and arousal (pupil diameter changes) during the most arousing phase of the emotional story. These findings suggest that sex and menstrual cycle phase at encoding influence long term memory for different types of emotional information. PMID:23891713

76 FR 12072 - Guidance for Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-03-04

... not statistical surveys that yield quantitative results that can be generalized to the population of... information will not be used for quantitative information collections that are designed to yield reliably... generic mechanisms that are designed to yield quantitative results. No comments were received in response...

Information Measures for Multisensor Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-12-11

permuted to generate spectra that were non- physical but preserved the entropy of the source spectra. Another 1000 spectra were constructed to mimic co...Research Laboratory (NRL) has yielded probabilistic models for spectral data that enable the computation of information measures such as entropy and...22308 Chemical sensing Information theory Spectral data Information entropy Information divergence Mass spectrometry Infrared spectroscopy Multisensor

Rice yields in tropical/subtropical Asia exhibit large but opposing sensitivities to minimum and maximum temperatures

PubMed Central

Welch, Jarrod R.; Vincent, Jeffrey R.; Auffhammer, Maximilian; Moya, Piedad F.; Dobermann, Achim; Dawe, David

2010-01-01

Data from farmer-managed fields have not been used previously to disentangle the impacts of daily minimum and maximum temperatures and solar radiation on rice yields in tropical/subtropical Asia. We used a multiple regression model to analyze data from 227 intensively managed irrigated rice farms in six important rice-producing countries. The farm-level detail, observed over multiple growing seasons, enabled us to construct farm-specific weather variables, control for unobserved factors that either were unique to each farm but did not vary over time or were common to all farms at a given site but varied by season and year, and obtain more precise estimates by including farm- and site-specific economic variables. Temperature and radiation had statistically significant impacts during both the vegetative and ripening phases of the rice plant. Higher minimum temperature reduced yield, whereas higher maximum temperature raised it; radiation impact varied by growth phase. Combined, these effects imply that yield at most sites would have grown more rapidly during the high-yielding season but less rapidly during the low-yielding season if observed temperature and radiation trends at the end of the 20th century had not occurred, with temperature trends being more influential. Looking ahead, they imply a net negative impact on yield from moderate warming in coming decades. Beyond that, the impact would likely become more negative, because prior research indicates that the impact of maximum temperature becomes negative at higher levels. Diurnal temperature variation must be considered when investigating the impacts of climate change on irrigated rice in Asia. PMID:20696908

Dynamism & Detail

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Flannery, Maura C.

2004-01-01

New material discovered in the study of cell research is presented for the benefit of biology teachers. Huge amounts of data are being generated in fields like cellular dynamics, and it is felt that people's understanding of the cell is becoming much more complex and detailed.

Analysis of the trade-off between high crop yield and low yield instability at the global scale

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ben-Ari, Tamara; Makowski, David

2016-10-01

Yield dynamics of major crops species vary remarkably among continents. Worldwide distribution of cropland influences both the expected levels and the interannual variability of global yields. An expansion of cultivated land in the most productive areas could theoretically increase global production, but also increase global yield instability if the most productive regions are characterized by high interannual yield variability. In this letter, we use portfolio analysis to quantify the tradeoff between the expected values and the interannual variance of global yield. We compute optimal frontiers for four crop species i.e., maize, rice, soybean and wheat and show how the distribution of cropland among large world regions can be optimized to either increase expected global crop production or decrease its interannual variability. We also show that a preferential allocation of cropland in the most productive regions can increase global expected yield at the expense of yield stability. Theoretically, optimizing the distribution of a small fraction of total cultivated areas can help find a good compromise between low instability and high crop yields at the global scale.

Added-values of high spatiotemporal remote sensing data in crop yield estimation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gao, F.; Anderson, M. C.

2017-12-01

Timely and accurate estimation of crop yield before harvest is critical for food market and administrative planning. Remote sensing derived parameters have been used for estimating crop yield by using either empirical or crop growth models. The uses of remote sensing vegetation index (VI) in crop yield modeling have been typically evaluated at regional and country scales using coarse spatial resolution (a few hundred to kilo-meters) data or assessed over a small region at field level using moderate resolution spatial resolution data (10-100m). Both data sources have shown great potential in capturing spatial and temporal variability in crop yield. However, the added value of data with both high spatial and temporal resolution data has not been evaluated due to the lack of such data source with routine, global coverage. In recent years, more moderate resolution data have become freely available and data fusion approaches that combine data acquired from different spatial and temporal resolutions have been developed. These make the monitoring crop condition and estimating crop yield at field scale become possible. Here we investigate the added value of the high spatial and temporal VI for describing variability of crop yield. The explanatory ability of crop yield based on high spatial and temporal resolution remote sensing data was evaluated in a rain-fed agricultural area in the U.S. Corn Belt. Results show that the fused Landsat-MODIS (high spatial and temporal) VI explains yield variability better than single data source (Landsat or MODIS alone), with EVI2 performing slightly better than NDVI. The maximum VI describes yield variability better than cumulative VI. Even though VI is effective in explaining yield variability within season, the inter-annual variability is more complex and need additional information (e.g. weather, water use and management). Our findings augment the importance of high spatiotemporal remote sensing data and supports new moderate

Atomic Oxygen Erosion Yield Predictive Tool for Spacecraft Polymers in Low Earth Orbit

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Bank, Bruce A.; de Groh, Kim K.; Backus, Jane A.

2008-01-01

A predictive tool was developed to estimate the low Earth orbit (LEO) atomic oxygen erosion yield of polymers based on the results of the Polymer Erosion and Contamination Experiment (PEACE) Polymers experiment flown as part of the Materials International Space Station Experiment 2 (MISSE 2). The MISSE 2 PEACE experiment accurately measured the erosion yield of a wide variety of polymers and pyrolytic graphite. The 40 different materials tested were selected specifically to represent a variety of polymers used in space as well as a wide variety of polymer chemical structures. The resulting erosion yield data was used to develop a predictive tool which utilizes chemical structure and physical properties of polymers that can be measured in ground laboratory testing to predict the in-space atomic oxygen erosion yield of a polymer. The properties include chemical structure, bonding information, density and ash content. The resulting predictive tool has a correlation coefficient of 0.914 when compared with actual MISSE 2 space data for 38 polymers and pyrolytic graphite. The intent of the predictive tool is to be able to make estimates of atomic oxygen erosion yields for new polymers without requiring expensive and time consumptive in-space testing.

Yield estimation of corn based on multitemporal LANDSAT-TM data as input for an agrometeorological model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bach, Heike

1998-07-01

In order to test remote sensing data with advanced yield formation models for accuracy and timeliness of yield estimation of corn, a project was conducted for the State Ministry for Rural Environment, Food, and Forestry of Baden-Württemberg (Germany). This project was carried out during the course of the `Special Yield Estimation', a regular procedure conducted for the European Union, to more accurately estimate agricultural yield. The methodology employed uses field-based plant parameter estimation from atmospherically corrected multitemporal/multispectral LANDSAT-TM data. An agrometeorological plant-production-model is used for yield prediction. Based solely on four LANDSAT-derived estimates (between May and August) and daily meteorological data, the grain yield of corn fields was determined for 1995. The modelled yields were compared with results gathered independently within the Special Yield Estimation for 23 test fields in the upper Rhine valley. The agreement between LANDSAT-based estimates (six weeks before harvest) and Special Yield Estimation (at harvest) shows a relative error of 2.3%. The comparison of the results for single fields shows that six weeks before harvest, the grain yield of corn was estimated with a mean relative accuracy of 13% using satellite information. The presented methodology can be transferred to other crops and geographical regions. For future applications hyperspectral sensors show great potential to further enhance the results for yield prediction with remote sensing.

Quantifying potential yield and water-limited yield of summer maize in the North China Plain

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Jiang, Mingnuo; Liu, Chaoshun; Chen, Maosi

2017-09-01

The North China Plain is a major food producing region in China, and climate change could pose a threat to food production in the region. Based on China Meteorological Forcing Dataset, simulating the growth of summer maize in North China Plain from 1979 to 2015 with the regional implementation of crop growth model WOFOST. The results showed that the model can reflect the potential yield and water-limited yield of Summer Maize in North China Plain through the calibration and validation of WOFOST model. After the regional implementation of model, combined with the reanalysis data, the model can better reproduce the regional history of summer maize yield in the North China Plain. The yield gap in Southeastern Beijing, southern Tianjin, southern Hebei province, Northwestern Shandong province is significant, these means the water condition is the main factor to summer maize yield in these regions.

Type 2 Diabetes Research Yield, 1951-2012: Bibliometrics Analysis and Density-Equalizing Mapping

PubMed Central

Geaney, Fiona; Scutaru, Cristian; Kelly, Clare; Glynn, Ronan W.; Perry, Ivan J.

2015-01-01

The objective of this paper is to provide a detailed evaluation of type 2 diabetes mellitus research output from 1951-2012, using large-scale data analysis, bibliometric indicators and density-equalizing mapping. Data were retrieved from the Science Citation Index Expanded database, one of the seven curated databases within Web of Science. Using Boolean operators "OR", "AND" and "NOT", a search strategy was developed to estimate the total number of published items. Only studies with an English abstract were eligible. Type 1 diabetes and gestational diabetes items were excluded. Specific software developed for the database analysed the data. Information including titles, authors’ affiliations and publication years were extracted from all files and exported to excel. Density-equalizing mapping was conducted as described by Groenberg-Kloft et al, 2008. A total of 24,783 items were published and cited 476,002 times. The greatest number of outputs were published in 2010 (n=2,139). The United States contributed 28.8% to the overall output, followed by the United Kingdom (8.2%) and Japan (7.7%). Bilateral cooperation was most common between the United States and United Kingdom (n=237). Harvard University produced 2% of all publications, followed by the University of California (1.1%). The leading journals were Diabetes, Diabetologia and Diabetes Care and they contributed 9.3%, 7.3% and 4.0% of the research yield, respectively. In conclusion, the volume of research is rising in parallel with the increasing global burden of disease due to type 2 diabetes mellitus. Bibliometrics analysis provides useful information to scientists and funding agencies involved in the development and implementation of research strategies to address global health issues. PMID:26208117

Disulfide proteome yields a detailed understanding of redox regulations: a model study of thioredoxin-linked reactions in seed germination.

PubMed

Yano, Hiroyuki; Kuroda, Masaharu

2006-01-01

Accumulating evidence suggests that redox regulations play important roles in a broad spectrum of biological processes. Recently, Yano et al. developed a disulfide proteome technique that comprehensively visualizes redox change in proteins. In this paper, using the disulfide proteome, we examined rice bran and identified fragments of embryo-specific protein and dienelactone hydrolase as putative targets of thioredoxin. Also, monitoring of the endogenous and recombinant effects of thioredoxin on rice bran proteins and supporting in vivo observations propose a mechanism of redox regulation in seed germination, in which thioredoxin activates cysteine protease with a concurrent unfolding of its substrate, the embryo-specific protein. Our findings suggest that thioredoxin controls the lifetime of specific proteins effectively by regulating the redox reactions coordinately. The model study demonstrates that the disulfide proteome technique is useful not only for identifying targets of thioredoxin, but also for clarify the detailed mechanism of redox regulation.

Differential adaptation of two varieties of common bean to abiotic stress: I. Effects of drought on yield and photosynthesis.

PubMed

Lizana, Carolina; Wentworth, Mark; Martinez, Juan P; Villegas, Daniel; Meneses, Rodrigo; Murchie, Erik H; Pastenes, Claudio; Lercari, Bartolomeo; Vernieri, Paulo; Horton, Peter; Pinto, Manuel

2006-01-01

The yield of 24 commercial varieties and accessions of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris) has been determined at different sites in Chile and Bolivia. Statistical analysis was performed in order to characterize whether a particular variety was more or less stable in yield under different environmental conditions. Amongst these, two varieties have been identified for more detailed study: one variety has a higher than average yield under unstressed conditions but is strongly affected by stress, and another has a reduced yield under unstressed conditions but is less affected by stress. The contrasting rate of abscission of the reproductive organs under drought stress was clearly consistent with these differences. The more tolerant genotype shows a great deal of plasticity at the biochemical and cellular level when exposed to drought stress, in terms of stomatal conductance, photosynthetic rate, abscisic acid synthesis, and resistance to photoinhibition. By contrast, the former lacks such plasticity, but shows an enhanced tendency for a morphological response, the movement of leaves, which appears to be its principal response to drought stress.

76 FR 63301 - Agency Information Collection Activities: Proposed Collection; Comment Request; Generic Clearance...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-12

... INFORMATION: Title: Comparative Effectiveness Research Inventory. Abstract: The information collection... will not be used for quantitative information collections that are designed to yield reliably... mechanisms that are designed to yield quantitative results. The Agency received no comments in response to...

Conceptual Distinctiveness Supports Detailed Visual Long-Term Memory for Real-World Objects

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Konkle, Talia; Brady, Timothy F.; Alvarez, George A.; Oliva, Aude

2010-01-01

Humans have a massive capacity to store detailed information in visual long-term memory. The present studies explored the fidelity of these visual long-term memory representations and examined how conceptual and perceptual features of object categories support this capacity. Observers viewed 2,800 object images with a different number of exemplars…

Fission yield measurements at IGISOL

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Lantz, M.; Al-Adili, A.; Gorelov, D.; Jokinen, A.; Kolhinen, V. S.; Mattera, A.; Moore, I.; Penttilä, H.; Pomp, S.; Prokofiev, A. V.; Rakopoulos, V.; Rinta-Antila, S.; Simutkin, V.; Solders, A.

2016-06-01

The fission product yields are an important characteristic of the fission process. In fundamental physics, knowledge of the yield distributions is needed to better understand the fission process. For nuclear energy applications good knowledge of neutroninduced fission-product yields is important for the safe and efficient operation of nuclear power plants. With the Ion Guide Isotope Separator On-Line (IGISOL) technique, products of nuclear reactions are stopped in a buffer gas and then extracted and separated by mass. Thanks to the high resolving power of the JYFLTRAP Penning trap, at University of Jyväskylä, fission products can be isobarically separated, making it possible to measure relative independent fission yields. In some cases it is even possible to resolve isomeric states from the ground state, permitting measurements of isomeric yield ratios. So far the reactions U(p,f) and Th(p,f) have been studied using the IGISOL-JYFLTRAP facility. Recently, a neutron converter target has been developed utilizing the Be(p,xn) reaction. We here present the IGISOL-technique for fission yield measurements and some of the results from the measurements on proton induced fission. We also present the development of the neutron converter target, the characterization of the neutron field and the first tests with neutron-induced fission.

A New, Two-layer Canopy Module For The Detailed Snow Model SNOWPACK

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gouttevin, I.; Lehning, M.; Jonas, T.; Gustafsson, D.; Mölder, M.

2014-12-01

A new, two-layer canopy module with thermal inertia for the detailed snow model SNOWPACK is presented. Compared to the old, one-layered canopy formulation with no heat mass, this module now offers a level of physical detail consistent with the detailed snow and soil representation in SNOWPACK. The new canopy model is designed to reproduce the difference in thermal regimes between leafy and woody canopy elements and their impact on the underlying snowpack energy balance. The new model is validated against data from an Alpine and a boreal site. Comparisons of modelled sub-canopy thermal radiations to stand-scale observations at Alptal, Switzerland, demonstrate the improvements induced by our new parameterizations. The main effect is a more realistic simulation of the canopy night-time drop in temperatures. The lower drop is induced by both thermal inertia and the two-layer representation. A specific result is that such a performance cannot be achieved by a single-layered canopy model. The impact of the new parameterizations on the modelled dynamics of the sub-canopy snowpack is analysed and yields consistent results, but the frequent occurrence of mixed-precipitation events at Alptal prevents a conclusive assessment of model performances against snow data.Without specific tuning, the model is also able to reproduce the measured summertime tree trunk temperatures and biomass heat storage at the boreal site of Norunda, Sweden, with an increased accuracy in amplitude and phase. Overall, the SNOWPACK model with its enhanced canopy module constitutes a unique (in its physical process representation) atmosphere-to-soil-through-canopy-and-snow modelling chain.

Information Systems Plan.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tulsa Public Schools, OK.

A task force sought to determine the information needs of the Tulsa Public Schools (Oklahoma) by studying goals of the school district, identifying all processes necessary for operation of the school system, and conducting interviews with 48 key members. A detailed information systems matrix was constructed to show the interrelationships between…

Yield model development project implementation plan

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ambroziak, R. A.

1982-01-01

Tasks remaining to be completed are summarized for the following major project elements: (1) evaluation of crop yield models; (2) crop yield model research and development; (3) data acquisition processing, and storage; (4) related yield research: defining spectral and/or remote sensing data requirements; developing input for driving and testing crop growth/yield models; real time testing of wheat plant process models) and (5) project management and support.

The yield and decay coefficients of exoelectrogenic bacteria in bioelectrochemical systems.

PubMed

Wilson, Erica L; Kim, Younggy

2016-05-01

In conventional wastewater treatment, waste sludge management and disposal contribute the major cost for wastewater treatment. Bioelectrochemical systems, as a potential alternative for future wastewater treatment and resources recovery, are expected to produce small amounts of waste sludge because exoelectrogenic bacteria grow on anaerobic respiration and form highly populated biofilms on bioanode surfaces. While waste sludge production is governed by the yield and decay coefficient, none of previous studies have quantified these kinetic constants for exoelectrogenic bacteria. For yield coefficient estimation, we modified McCarty's free energy-based model by using the bioanode potential for the free energy of the electron acceptor reaction. The estimated true yield coefficient ranged 0.1 to 0.3 g-VSS (volatile suspended solids) g-COD(-1) (chemical oxygen demand), which is similar to that of most anaerobic microorganisms. The yield coefficient was sensitively affected by the bioanode potential and pH while the substrate and bicarbonate concentrations had relatively minor effects on the yield coefficient. In lab-scale experiments using microbial electrolysis cells, the observed yield coefficient (including the effect of cell decay) was found to be 0.020 ± 0.008 g-VSS g-COD(-1), which is an order of magnitude smaller than the theoretical estimation. Based on the difference between the theoretical and experimental results, the decay coefficient was approximated to be 0.013 ± 0.002 d(-1). These findings indicate that bioelectrochemical systems have potential for future wastewater treatment with reduced waste sludge as well as for resources recovery. Also, the found kinetic information will allow accurate estimation of wastewater treatment performance in bioelectrochemical systems. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

A Novel Approach for Forecasting Crop Production and Yield Using Remotely Sensed Satellite Images

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Singh, R. K.; Budde, M. E.; Senay, G. B.; Rowland, J.

2017-12-01

Forecasting crop production in advance of crop harvest plays a significant role in drought impact management, improved food security, stabilizing food grain market prices, and poverty reduction. This becomes essential, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, where agriculture is a critical source of livelihoods, but lacks good quality agricultural statistical data. With increasing availability of low cost satellite data, faster computing power, and development of modeling algorithms, remotely sensed images are becoming a common source for deriving information for agricultural, drought, and water management. Many researchers have shown that the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI), based on red and near-infrared reflectance, can be effectively used for estimating crop production and yield. Similarly, crop production and yield have been closely related to evapotranspiration (ET) also as there are strong linkages between production/yield and transpiration based on plant physiology. Thus, we combined NDVI and ET information from remotely sensed images for estimating total production and crop yield prior to crop harvest for Niger and Burkina Faso in West Africa. We identified the optimum time (dekads 23-29) for cumulating NDVI and ET and developed a new algorithm for estimating crop production and yield. We used the crop data from 2003 to 2008 to calibrate our model and the data from 2009 to 2013 for validation. Our results showed that total crop production can be estimated within 5% of actual production (R2 = 0.98) about 30-45 days before end of the harvest season. This novel approach can be operationalized to provide a valuable tool to decision makers for better drought impact management in drought-prone regions of the world.

Flood-tolerant rice reduces yield variability and raises expected yield, differentially benefitting socially disadvantaged groups

PubMed Central

Dar, Manzoor H.; de Janvry, Alain; Emerick, Kyle; Raitzer, David; Sadoulet, Elisabeth

2013-01-01

Approximately 30% of the cultivated rice area in India is prone to crop damage from prolonged flooding. We use a randomized field experiment in 128 villages of Orissa India to show that Swarna-Sub1, a recently released submergence-tolerant rice variety, has significant positive impacts on rice yield when fields are submerged for 7 to 14 days with no yield penalty without flooding. We estimate that Swarna-Sub1 offers an approximate 45% increase in yields over the current popular variety when fields are submerged for 10 days. We show additionally that low-lying areas prone to flooding tend to be more heavily occupied by people belonging to lower caste social groups. Thus, a policy relevant implication of our findings is that flood-tolerant rice can deliver both efficiency gains, through reduced yield variability and higher expected yield, and equity gains in disproportionately benefiting the most marginal group of farmers. PMID:24263095

Quantum Yield Heterogeneity among Single Nonblinking Quantum Dots Revealed by Atomic Structure-Quantum Optics Correlation

DOE PAGES

Orfield, Noah J.; McBride, James R.; Wang, Feng; ...

2016-02-05

Physical variations in colloidal nanostructures give rise to heterogeneity in expressed optical behavior. This correlation between nanoscale structure and function demands interrogation of both atomic structure and photophysics at the level of single nanostructures to be fully understood. In this paper, by conducting detailed analyses of fine atomic structure, chemical composition, and time-resolved single-photon photoluminescence data for the same individual nanocrystals, we reveal inhomogeneity in the quantum yields of single nonblinking “giant” CdSe/CdS core/shell quantum dots (g-QDs). We find that each g-QD possesses distinctive single exciton and biexciton quantum yields that result mainly from variations in the degree of charging,more » rather than from volume or structure inhomogeneity. We further establish that there is a very limited nonemissive “dark” fraction (<2%) among the studied g-QDs and present direct evidence that the g-QD core must lack inorganic passivation for the g-QD to be “dark”. Finally and therefore, in contrast to conventional QDs, ensemble photoluminescence quantum yield is principally defined by charging processes rather than the existence of dark g-QDs.« less

Crop monitoring & yield forecasting system based on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) and process-based crop growth model: Development and validation in South and South East Asian Countries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Setiyono, T. D.

2014-12-01

Accurate and timely information on rice crop growth and yield helps governments and other stakeholders adapting their economic policies and enables relief organizations to better anticipate and coordinate relief efforts in the wake of a natural catastrophe. Such delivery of rice growth and yield information is made possible by regular earth observation using space-born Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) technology combined with crop modeling approach to estimate yield. Radar-based remote sensing is capable of observing rice vegetation growth irrespective of cloud coverage, an important feature given that in incidences of flooding the sky is often cloud-covered. The system allows rapid damage assessment over the area of interest. Rice yield monitoring is based on a crop growth simulation and SAR-derived key information, particularly start of season and leaf growth rate. Results from pilot study sites in South and South East Asian countries suggest that incorporation of SAR data into crop model improves yield estimation for actual yields. Remote-sensing data assimilation into crop model effectively capture responses of rice crops to environmental conditions over large spatial coverage, which otherwise is practically impossible to achieve. Such improvement of actual yield estimates offers practical application such as in a crop insurance program. Process-based crop simulation model is used in the system to ensure climate information is adequately captured and to enable mid-season yield forecast.

Separating heat stress from moisture stress: analyzing yield response to high temperature in irrigated maize

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Carter, Elizabeth K.; Melkonian, Jeff; Riha, Susan J.; Shaw, Stephen B.

2016-09-01

Several recent studies have indicated that high air temperatures are limiting maize (Zea mays L.) yields in the US Corn Belt and project significant yield losses with expected increases in growing season temperatures. Further work has suggested that high air temperatures are indicative of high evaporative demand, and that decreases in maize yields which correlate to high temperatures and vapor pressure deficits (VPD) likely reflect underlying soil moisture limitations. It remains unclear whether direct high temperature impacts on yields, independent of moisture stress, can be observed under current temperature regimes. Given that projected high temperature and moisture may not co-vary the same way as they have historically, quantitative analyzes of direct temperature impacts are critical for accurate yield projections and targeted mitigation strategies under shifting temperature regimes. To evaluate yield response to above optimum temperatures independent of soil moisture stress, we analyzed climate impacts on irrigated maize yields obtained from the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) corn yield contests for Nebraska, Kansas and Missouri. In irrigated maize, we found no evidence of a direct negative impact on yield by daytime air temperature, calculated canopy temperature, or VPD when analyzed seasonally. Solar radiation was the primary yield-limiting climate variable. Our analyses suggested that elevated night temperature impacted yield by increasing rates of phenological development. High temperatures during grain-fill significantly interacted with yields, but this effect was often beneficial and included evidence of acquired thermo-tolerance. Furthermore, genetics and management—information uniquely available in the NCGA contest data—explained more yield variability than climate, and significantly modified crop response to climate. Thermo-acclimation, improved genetics and changes to management practices have the potential to partially or completely

Temporal changes in climatic variables and their impact on crop yields in southwestern China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Hong-Bin; Gou, Yu; Wang, Hong-Ye; Li, Hong-Mei; Wu, Wei

2014-08-01

Knowledge of variability in climatic variables changes and its impact on crop yields is important for farmers and policy makers, especially in southwestern China where rainfed agriculture is dominant. In the current study, six climatic parameters (mean temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, sunshine hours, temperature difference, and rainy days) and aggregated yields of three main crops (rice: Oryza sativa L., oilseed rape: Brassica napus L., and tobacco: Nicotiana tabacum L.) during 1985-2010 were collected and analyzed for Chongqing—a large agricultural municipality of China. Climatic variables changes were detected by Mann-Kendall test. Increased mean temperature and temperature difference and decreased relative humidity were found in annual and oilseed rape growth time series ( P < 0.05). Increased sunshine hours were observed during the oilseed rape growth period ( P < 0.05). Rainy days decreased slightly in annual and oilseed rape growth time series ( P < 0.10). Correlation analysis showed that yields of all three crops could benefit from changes in climatic variables in this region. Yield of rice increased with rainfall ( P < 0.10). Yield of oilseed rape increased with mean temperature and temperature difference but decreased with relative humidity ( P < 0.01). Tobacco yield increased with mean temperature ( P < 0.05). Path analysis provided additional information about the importance and contribution paths of climatic variables to crop yields. Temperature difference and sunshine hours had higher direct and indirect effects via other climatic variables on yields of rice and tobacco. Mean temperature, relative humidity, rainy days, and temperature difference had higher direct and indirect effects via others on yield of oilseed rape.

Temporal changes in climatic variables and their impact on crop yields in southwestern China.

PubMed

Liu, Hong-Bin; Gou, Yu; Wang, Hong-Ye; Li, Hong-Mei; Wu, Wei

2014-08-01

Knowledge of variability in climatic variables changes and its impact on crop yields is important for farmers and policy makers, especially in southwestern China where rainfed agriculture is dominant. In the current study, six climatic parameters (mean temperature, rainfall, relative humidity, sunshine hours, temperature difference, and rainy days) and aggregated yields of three main crops (rice: Oryza sativa L., oilseed rape: Brassica napus L., and tobacco: Nicotiana tabacum L.) during 1985-2010 were collected and analyzed for Chongqing-a large agricultural municipality of China. Climatic variables changes were detected by Mann-Kendall test. Increased mean temperature and temperature difference and decreased relative humidity were found in annual and oilseed rape growth time series (P<0.05). Increased sunshine hours were observed during the oilseed rape growth period (P<0.05). Rainy days decreased slightly in annual and oilseed rape growth time series (P<0.10). Correlation analysis showed that yields of all three crops could benefit from changes in climatic variables in this region. Yield of rice increased with rainfall (P<0.10). Yield of oilseed rape increased with mean temperature and temperature difference but decreased with relative humidity (P<0.01). Tobacco yield increased with mean temperature (P<0.05). Path analysis provided additional information about the importance and contribution paths of climatic variables to crop yields. Temperature difference and sunshine hours had higher direct and indirect effects via other climatic variables on yields of rice and tobacco. Mean temperature, relative humidity, rainy days, and temperature difference had higher direct and indirect effects via others on yield of oilseed rape.

Statistical Analysis of Large Simulated Yield Datasets for Studying Climate Effects

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Makowski, David; Asseng, Senthold; Ewert, Frank; Bassu, Simona; Durand, Jean-Louis; Martre, Pierre; Adam, Myriam; Aggarwal, Pramod K.; Angulo, Carlos; Baron, Chritian;

Information Resources; A Searcher's Manual. MOREL Regional Information System for Educators.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grimes, George; Doyle, James

This document is one of a series describing the background, functions, and utilization of the Regional Information System (RIS) developed by the Michigan-Ohio Regional Educational Laboratory (MOREL). The purpose of this manual is to detail a procedure for performing a productive search of information resources which can satisfy the informational…

Crack propagation modelling for high strength steel welded structural details

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mecséri, B. J.; Kövesdi, B.

2017-05-01

Nowadays the barrier of applying HSS (High Strength Steel) material in bridge structures is their low fatigue strength related to yield strength. This paper focuses on the fatigue behaviour of a structural details (a gusset plate connection) made from NSS and HSS material, which is frequently used in bridges in Hungary. An experimental research program is carried out at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics to investigate the fatigue lifetime of this structural detail type through the same test specimens made from S235 and S420 steel grades. The main aim of the experimental research program is to study the differences in the crack propagation and the fatigue lifetime between normal and high strength steel structures. Based on the observed fatigue crack pattern the main direction and velocity of the crack propagation is determined. In parallel to the tests finite element model (FEM) are also developed, which model can handle the crack propagation. Using the measured strain data in the tests and the calculated values from the FE model, the approximation of the material parameters of the Paris law are calculated step-by-step, and their calculated values are evaluated. The same material properties are determined for NSS and also for HSS specimens as well, and the differences are discussed. In the current paper, the results of the experiments, the calculation method of the material parameters and the calculated values are introduced.

Stover removal effects on continuous corn yield and nitrogen use efficiency under irrigation

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Corn (Zea mays L.) residue or stover is harvested as supplemental feed for livestock and is a primary feedstock for cellulosic biofuels. Limited information is available on corn residue removal effects on grain yield under different nitrogen (N) fertilizer rates, irrigation rates and amelioration pr...

Environmental and genetic factors affecting milk yield and quality in three Italian sheep breeds.

PubMed

Selvaggi, Maria; D'Alessandro, Angela Gabriella; Dario, Cataldo

2017-02-01

The aims of the study described in the Research Communication were to determine the level of influence of some environmental factors on milk yield and quality traits, including lactose, and lactation length in ewes belonging to three different Italian breeds and to estimate the heritability for the same traits. A total of 2138 lactation records obtained from 535 ewes belonging to three different Italian breeds (Comisana, Leccese, and Sarda) were used. Breed significantly affected all of the considered traits. Moreover, year of lambing affected milk yield and lactation length without influence on milk quality traits. Parity affected significantly only the milk yield, whereas type of birth showed its effect on milk yield, fat, protein, and lactose yield. On the whole, the presently reported heritability estimates are within the range of those already obtained in other dairy breeds by other authors, with values for lactation length being very low in all the investigated populations. Considering the heritability estimates for lactose content and yield, to the best of our knowledge, there is a lack of information on these parameters in ovine species and this is the first report on heritability of lactose content and yield in dairy sheep breeds. Our results suggest that genetic variability for milk traits other than lactation length is adequate for selection indicating a good response to selection in these breeds.

Ethics of Information Supply.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Oppenheim, Charles

This discussion of the ethics of the information process provides a brief review of the process of information supply and flow, primarily in science and technology; looks at various points in the flow of information; and highlights particular ethical concerns. Facets of the process discussed in more detail include ways in which some scientists…

Satellite-based studies of maize yield spatial variations and their causes in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhao, Y.

2013-12-01

Maize production in China has been expanding significantly in the past two decades, but yield has become relatively stagnant in the past few years, and needs to be improved to meet increasing demand. Multiple studies found that the gap between potential and actual yield of maize is as large as 40% to 60% of yield potential. Although a few major causes of yield gap have been qualitatively identified with surveys, there has not been spatial analysis aimed at quantifying relative importance of specific biophysical and socio-economic causes, information which would be useful for targeting interventions. This study analyzes the causes of yield variation at field and village level in Quzhou county of North China Plain (NCP). We combine remote sensing and crop modeling to estimate yields in 2009-2012, and identify fields that are consistently high or low yielding. To establish the relationship between yield and potential factors, we gather data on those factors through a household survey. We select targeted survey fields such that not only both extremes of yield distribution but also all soil texture categories in the county is covered. Our survey assesses management and biophysical factors as well as social factors such as farmers' access to agronomic knowledge, which is approximated by distance to the closest demonstration plot or 'Science and technology backyard'. Our survey covers 10 townships, 53 villages and 180 fields. Three to ten farmers are surveyed depending on the amount of variation present among sub pixels of each field. According to survey results, we extract the amount of variation within as well as between villages and or soil type. The higher within village or within field variation, the higher importance of management factors. Factors such as soil type and access to knowledge are more represented by between village variation. Through regression and analysis of variance, we gain more quantitative and thorough understanding of causes to yield variation at

Field-scale experiments reveal persistent yield gaps in low-input and organic cropping systems

PubMed Central

Kravchenko, Alexandra N.; Snapp, Sieglinde S.; Robertson, G. Philip

2017-01-01

Knowledge of production-system performance is largely based on observations at the experimental plot scale. Although yield gaps between plot-scale and field-scale research are widely acknowledged, their extent and persistence have not been experimentally examined in a systematic manner. At a site in southwest Michigan, we conducted a 6-y experiment to test the accuracy with which plot-scale crop-yield results can inform field-scale conclusions. We compared conventional versus alternative, that is, reduced-input and biologically based–organic, management practices for a corn–soybean–wheat rotation in a randomized complete block-design experiment, using 27 commercial-size agricultural fields. Nearby plot-scale experiments (0.02-ha to 1.0-ha plots) provided a comparison of plot versus field performance. We found that plot-scale yields well matched field-scale yields for conventional management but not for alternative systems. For all three crops, at the plot scale, reduced-input and conventional managements produced similar yields; at the field scale, reduced-input yields were lower than conventional. For soybeans at the plot scale, biological and conventional managements produced similar yields; at the field scale, biological yielded less than conventional. For corn, biological management produced lower yields than conventional in both plot- and field-scale experiments. Wheat yields appeared to be less affected by the experimental scale than corn and soybean. Conventional management was more resilient to field-scale challenges than alternative practices, which were more dependent on timely management interventions; in particular, mechanical weed control. Results underscore the need for much wider adoption of field-scale experimentation when assessing new technologies and production-system performance, especially as related to closing yield gaps in organic farming and in low-resourced systems typical of much of the developing world. PMID:28096409

Field-scale experiments reveal persistent yield gaps in low-input and organic cropping systems.

PubMed

Kravchenko, Alexandra N; Snapp, Sieglinde S; Robertson, G Philip

2017-01-31

Knowledge of production-system performance is largely based on observations at the experimental plot scale. Although yield gaps between plot-scale and field-scale research are widely acknowledged, their extent and persistence have not been experimentally examined in a systematic manner. At a site in southwest Michigan, we conducted a 6-y experiment to test the accuracy with which plot-scale crop-yield results can inform field-scale conclusions. We compared conventional versus alternative, that is, reduced-input and biologically based-organic, management practices for a corn-soybean-wheat rotation in a randomized complete block-design experiment, using 27 commercial-size agricultural fields. Nearby plot-scale experiments (0.02-ha to 1.0-ha plots) provided a comparison of plot versus field performance. We found that plot-scale yields well matched field-scale yields for conventional management but not for alternative systems. For all three crops, at the plot scale, reduced-input and conventional managements produced similar yields; at the field scale, reduced-input yields were lower than conventional. For soybeans at the plot scale, biological and conventional managements produced similar yields; at the field scale, biological yielded less than conventional. For corn, biological management produced lower yields than conventional in both plot- and field-scale experiments. Wheat yields appeared to be less affected by the experimental scale than corn and soybean. Conventional management was more resilient to field-scale challenges than alternative practices, which were more dependent on timely management interventions; in particular, mechanical weed control. Results underscore the need for much wider adoption of field-scale experimentation when assessing new technologies and production-system performance, especially as related to closing yield gaps in organic farming and in low-resourced systems typical of much of the developing world.

Detailed high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of OMEGA separated reactants inertial confinement fusion experiments

DOE PAGES

Haines, Brian Michael; Grim, Gary P.; Fincke, James R.; ...

2016-07-29

-wavelength asymmetries degrade TT yield more than the DT yield and thus bring DT/TT neutron yield ratios into agreement with experiment. Finally, we present a detailed comparison of the flows in 2D and 3D simulations.« less

Detailed high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of OMEGA separated reactants inertial confinement fusion experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haines, Brian M., E-mail: bmhaines@lanl.gov; Fincke, James R.; Shah, Rahul C.

-wavelength asymmetries degrade TT yield more than the DT yield and thus bring DT/TT neutron yield ratios into agreement with experiment. Finally, we present a detailed comparison of the flows in 2D and 3D simulations.« less

Detailed high-resolution three-dimensional simulations of OMEGA separated reactants inertial confinement fusion experiments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haines, Brian Michael; Grim, Gary P.; Fincke, James R.

-wavelength asymmetries degrade TT yield more than the DT yield and thus bring DT/TT neutron yield ratios into agreement with experiment. Finally, we present a detailed comparison of the flows in 2D and 3D simulations.« less

77 FR 8892 - Detailed Planning To Consider Additional Land Protection on the Missouri River From Fort Randall...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-02-15

... governments, and the public of our intentions and to obtain suggestions and information on the scope of issues to include in the environmental documents. Special mailings, newspaper articles, and other media... information necessary to complete detailed planning and prepare associated documents under the National...

Isotopic Ratio, Isotonic Ratio, Isobaric Ratio and Shannon Information Uncertainty

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ma, Chun-Wang; Wei, Hui-Ling

2014-11-01

The isoscaling and the isobaric yield ratio difference (IBD) probes, both of which are constructed by yield ratio of fragment, provide cancelation of parameters. The information entropy theory is introduced to explain the physical meaning of the isoscaling and IBD probes. The similarity between the isoscaling and IBD results is found, i.e., the information uncertainty determined by the IBD method equals to β - α determined by the isoscaling (α (β) is the parameter fitted from the isotopic (isotonic) yield ratio).

A network-based approach for semi-quantitative knowledge mining and its application to yield variability

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Schauberger, Bernhard; Rolinski, Susanne; Müller, Christoph

2016-12-01

Variability of crop yields is detrimental for food security. Under climate change its amplitude is likely to increase, thus it is essential to understand the underlying causes and mechanisms. Crop models are the primary tool to project future changes in crop yields under climate change. A systematic overview of drivers and mechanisms of crop yield variability (YV) can thus inform crop model development and facilitate improved understanding of climate change impacts on crop yields. Yet there is a vast body of literature on crop physiology and YV, which makes a prioritization of mechanisms for implementation in models challenging. Therefore this paper takes on a novel approach to systematically mine and organize existing knowledge from the literature. The aim is to identify important mechanisms lacking in models, which can help to set priorities in model improvement. We structure knowledge from the literature in a semi-quantitative network. This network consists of complex interactions between growing conditions, plant physiology and crop yield. We utilize the resulting network structure to assign relative importance to causes of YV and related plant physiological processes. As expected, our findings confirm existing knowledge, in particular on the dominant role of temperature and precipitation, but also highlight other important drivers of YV. More importantly, our method allows for identifying the relevant physiological processes that transmit variability in growing conditions to variability in yield. We can identify explicit targets for the improvement of crop models. The network can additionally guide model development by outlining complex interactions between processes and by easily retrieving quantitative information for each of the 350 interactions. We show the validity of our network method as a structured, consistent and scalable dictionary of literature. The method can easily be applied to many other research fields.

Nut crop yield records show that budbreak-based chilling requirements may not reflect yield decline chill thresholds

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Pope, Katherine S.; Dose, Volker; Da Silva, David; Brown, Patrick H.; DeJong, Theodore M.

2015-06-01

Warming winters due to climate change may critically affect temperate tree species. Insufficiently cold winters are thought to result in fewer viable flower buds and the subsequent development of fewer fruits or nuts, decreasing the yield of an orchard or fecundity of a species. The best existing approximation for a threshold of sufficient cold accumulation, the "chilling requirement" of a species or variety, has been quantified by manipulating or modeling the conditions that result in dormant bud breaking. However, the physiological processes that affect budbreak are not the same as those that determine yield. This study sought to test whether budbreak-based chilling thresholds can reasonably approximate the thresholds that affect yield, particularly regarding the potential impacts of climate change on temperate tree crop yields. County-wide yield records for almond ( Prunus dulcis), pistachio ( Pistacia vera), and walnut ( Juglans regia) in the Central Valley of California were compared with 50 years of weather records. Bayesian nonparametric function estimation was used to model yield potentials at varying amounts of chill accumulation. In almonds, average yields occurred when chill accumulation was close to the budbreak-based chilling requirement. However, in the other two crops, pistachios and walnuts, the best previous estimate of the budbreak-based chilling requirements was 19-32 % higher than the chilling accumulations associated with average or above average yields. This research indicates that physiological processes beyond requirements for budbreak should be considered when estimating chill accumulation thresholds of yield decline and potential impacts of climate change.

Generation and memory for contextual detail.

PubMed

Mulligan, Neil W

2004-07-01

Generation enhances item memory but may not enhance other aspects of memory. In 12 experiments, the author investigated the effect of generation on context memory, motivated in part by the hypothesis that generation produces a trade-off in encoding item and contextual information. Participants generated some study words (e.g., hot-c__) and read others (e.g., hot-cold). Generation consistently enhanced item memory but did not enhance context memory. More specifically, generation disrupted context memory for the color of the target word but did not affect context memory for location, background color, and cue-word color. The specificity of the negative generation effect in context memory argues against a general item-context trade-off. A processing account of generation meets greater success. In addition, the results provide no evidence that generation enhances recollection of contextual details. Copyright 2004 APA, all rights reserved

A Tale of Two Course Guides: Providing Students with Detailed Course Information

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hanson, Karen; Williamson, Kasi

2010-01-01

Where do students find out about courses they might take? Potentially, from just about anywhere: friends, bulletin boards, department Web sites, advisors, e-mails, or flyers posted in the halls. Of course, some of these sources are more trustworthy than others. Where should students go to get reliable information that can help them make wise…

46 CFR 178.210 - Stability information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2014-10-01 2014-10-01 false Stability information. 178.210 Section 178.210 Shipping... information. (a) Stability information (stability details indicated on the Certificate of Inspection, a... this section. Enough stability information, including stability calculations and assumptions made to...

46 CFR 178.210 - Stability information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-10-01

... 46 Shipping 7 2013-10-01 2013-10-01 false Stability information. 178.210 Section 178.210 Shipping... information. (a) Stability information (stability details indicated on the Certificate of Inspection, a... this section. Enough stability information, including stability calculations and assumptions made to...

Contributions of cultivar shift, management practice and climate change to maize yield in North China Plain in 1981-2009.

PubMed

Xiao, Dengpan; Tao, Fulu

2016-07-01

The impact of climate change on crop yield is compounded by cultivar shifts and agronomic management practices. To determine the relative contributions of climate change, cultivar shift, and management practice to changes in maize (Zea mays L.) yield in the past three decades, detailed field data for 1981-2009 from four representative experimental stations in North China Plain (NCP) were analyzed via model simulation. The four representative experimental stations are geographically and climatologically different, represent the typical cropping system in the study area, and have more complete weather/crop records for the period of 1981-2009. The results showed that while the shift from traditional to modern cultivar increased yield by 23.9-40.3 %, new fertilizer management increased yield by 3.3-8.6 %. However, the trends in climate variables for 1981-2009 reduced maize yield by 15-30 % in the study area. Among the main climate variables, solar radiation had the largest effect on maize yield, followed by temperature and then precipitation. While a significant decline in solar radiation in 1981-2009 (maybe due to air pollution) reduced yield by 12-24 %, a significant increase in temperature reduced yield by 3-9 %. In contrast, a non-significant increase in precipitation during the maize growth period increased yield by 0.9-3 % at three of the four investigated stations. However, a decline in precipitation reduced yield by 3 % in the remaining station. The study revealed that although the shift from traditional to modern cultivars and agronomic management practices contributed most to the increase in maize yield, the negative impact of climate change was large enough to offset 46-67 % of the trend in the observed yields in the past three decades in NCP. The reduction in solar radiation, especially in the most critical period of maize growth, limited the process of photosynthesis and thereby further reduced maize yield.

Process gg{yields}h{sub 0}{yields}{gamma}{gamma} in the Lee-Wick standard model

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krauss, F.; Underwood, T. E. J.; Zwicky, R.

2008-01-01

The process gg{yields}h{sub 0}{yields}{gamma}{gamma} is studied in the Lee-Wick extension of the standard model (LWSM) proposed by Grinstein, O'Connell, and Wise. In this model, negative norm partners for each SM field are introduced with the aim to cancel quadratic divergences in the Higgs mass. All sectors of the model relevant to gg{yields}h{sub 0}{yields}{gamma}{gamma} are diagonalized and results are commented on from the perspective of both the Lee-Wick and higher-derivative formalisms. Deviations from the SM rate for gg{yields}h{sub 0} are found to be of the order of 15%-5% for Lee-Wick masses in the range 500-1000 GeV. Effects on the rate formore » h{sub 0}{yields}{gamma}{gamma} are smaller, of the order of 5%-1% for Lee-Wick masses in the same range. These comparatively small changes may well provide a means of distinguishing the LWSM from other models such as universal extra dimensions where same-spin partners to standard model fields also appear. Corrections to determinations of Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) elements |V{sub t(b,s,d)}| are also considered and are shown to be positive, allowing the possibility of measuring a CKM element larger than unity, a characteristic signature of the ghostlike nature of the Lee-Wick fields.« less

Regional Information System for Educators. Information Resources; Installation and Evaluation; Information Services; An Operational Handbook; Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science, Vol. 6, 1969. (five documents)

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Grimes, George; And Others

A series of four pamphlets which describe the Regional Information System (RIS) of the Michigan-Ohio Regional Educational Laboratory (MOREL), a system designed to provide an effective, systematic methodology for linking users with relevant resources, compose the major portion of this information package. Each publication details an aspect of the…

Growth and yield models for central hardwoods

Treesearch

Martin E. Dale; Donald E. Hilt

1989-01-01

Over the last 20 years computers have become an efficient tool to estimate growth and yield. Computerized yield estimates vary from simple approximation or interpolation of traditional normal yield tables to highly sophisticated programs that simulate the growth and yield of each individual tree.

Detailed glaciochemical investigations in southern Victoria Land - a proxy climatic record

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mayewski, P.A.

1987-09-01

Local accumulation-basins in the Transantarctic Mountains possess sites suitable for recovering ice-core records that are valuable for studying climate change. These sites are also unique, because they are close to the sites of other ice-core studies and to areas with established terrestrial records. The objective is to study a snowpit in detail and collect ice cores in southern Victoria Land; this work will be similar to the investigations that the authors has conducted in south Greenland and in the Dominion Range near the Beardmore Glacier. The proposed sites are in Convoy, Asgard, and Royal Society ranges. The authors will selectmore » one site at which he will recover two ice cores, each approximately 200 to 300 meters in depth. Samples will be analyzed for major anions (chloride, sulfate, nitrate, fluoride) and cations (sodium, potassium, magnesium, ammonium, silicate), total acidity, conductivity, density, and core stratigraphy with dating provided by cross-calibration of all of the preceding plus total beta-activity, lead-210, oxygen isotopes, and microparticles. This investigation will yield a detailed record of several thousand years of glacial history, climate change, and volcanic activity for southern Victoria Land. This record will be compared to existing terrestrial records to add necessary detail and to other global ice-core records to assess global climatic change. It will also help to document volcanic activity for Mount Erebus as well as other volcanos in the Southern Hemisphere and possibly some in the Northern Hemisphere. With this record, the author will be able to evaluate the influence of volcanic and solar activity on climate as well as add greatly to the understanding of the chemistry of the global atmosphere.« less

30 CFR 780.22 - Geologic information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-07-01

... the collection and analysis of such data is unnecessary because other equivalent information is... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2014-07-01 2014-07-01 false Geologic information. 780.22 Section 780.22... Geologic information. (a) General. Each application shall include geologic information in sufficient detail...

Expanding the Reach of Participatory Risk Management: Testing an Online Decision-Aiding Framework for Informing Internally Consistent Choices.

PubMed

Bessette, Douglas L; Campbell-Arvai, Victoria; Arvai, Joseph

2016-05-01

This article presents research aimed at developing and testing an online, multistakeholder decision-aiding framework for informing multiattribute risk management choices associated with energy development and climate change. The framework was designed to provide necessary background information and facilitate internally consistent choices, or choices that are in line with users' prioritized objectives. In order to test different components of the decision-aiding framework, a six-part, 2 × 2 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted, yielding eight treatment scenarios. The three factors included: (1) whether or not users could construct their own alternatives; (2) the level of detail regarding the composition of alternatives users would evaluate; and (3) the way in which a final choice between users' own constructed (or highest-ranked) portfolio and an internally consistent portfolio was presented. Participants' self-reports revealed the framework was easy to use and providing an opportunity to develop one's own risk-management alternatives (Factor 1) led to the highest knowledge gains. Empirical measures showed the internal consistency of users' decisions across all treatments to be lower than expected and confirmed that providing information about alternatives' composition (Factor 2) resulted in the least internally consistent choices. At the same time, those users who did not develop their own alternatives and were not shown detailed information about the composition of alternatives believed their choices to be the most internally consistent. These results raise concerns about how the amount of information provided and the ability to construct alternatives may inversely affect users' real and perceived internal consistency. © 2015 Society for Risk Analysis.

Estimating oak growth and yield

Treesearch

Martin E. Dale; Donald E. Hilt

1989-01-01

Yields from upland oak stands vary widely from stand to stand due to differences in age, site quality, species composition, and stand structure. Cutting history and other past disturbances such as grazing or fire also affect yields.

Evaluation of simulated corn yields and associated uncertainty in different climate zones of China using Daycent Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fu, A.; Xue, Y.

2017-12-01

Corn is one of most important agricultural production in China. Research on the simulation of corn yields and the impacts of climate change and agricultural management practices on corn yields is important in maintaining the stable corn production. After climatic data including daily temperature, precipitation, solar radiation, relative humidity, and wind speed from 1948 to 2010, soil properties, observed corn yields, and farmland management information were collected, corn yields grown in humidity and hot environment (Sichuang province) and cold and dry environment (Hebei province) in China in the past 63 years were simulated by Daycent, and the results was evaluated based on published yield record. The relationship between regional climate change, global warming and corn yield were analyzed, the uncertainties of simulation derived from agricultural management practices by changing fertilization levels, land fertilizer maintenance and tillage methods were reported. The results showed that: (1) Daycent model is capable to simulate corn yields under the different climatic background in China. (2) When studying the relationship between regional climate change and corn yields, it has been found that observed and simulated corn yields increased along with total regional climate change. (3) When studying the relationship between the global warming and corn yields, It was discovered that newly-simulated corn yields after removing the global warming trend of original temperature data were lower than before.

Fission yield and criticality excursion code

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Blanchard, A.

2000-06-30

The ANSI/ANS 8.3 standard allows a maximum yield not to exceed 2 x 10 fissions to calculate requiring the alarm system to be effective. It is common practice to use this allowance or to develop some other yield based on past criticality accident history or excursion experiments. The literature on the subject of yields discusses maximum yields larger and somewhat smaller than the ANS 8.3 permissive value. The ability to model criticality excursions and vary the various parameters to determine a credible maximum yield for operational specific cases has been available for some time but is not in common usemore » by criticality safety specialists. The topic of yields for various solution, metal, oxide powders, etc. in various geometry's and containers has been published by laboratory specialists or university staff and students for many decades but have not been available to practitioners. The need for best-estimate calculations of fission yields with a well-validated criticality excursion code has long been recognized. But no coordinated effort has been made so far to develop a generalized and well-validated excursion code for different types of systems. In this paper, the current practices to estimate fission yields are summarized along with its shortcomings for the 12-Rad zone (at SRS) and Criticality Alarm System (CAS) calculations. Finally the need for a user-friendly excursion code is reemphasized.« less

Climate Variability and Sugarcane Yield in Louisiana.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Greenland, David

2005-11-01

This paper seeks to understand the role that climate variability has on annual yield of sugarcane in Louisiana. Unique features of sugarcane growth in Louisiana and nonclimatic, yield-influencing factors make this goal an interesting and challenging one. Several methods of seeking and establishing the relations between yield and climate variables are employed. First, yield climate relations were investigated at a single research station where crop variety and growing conditions could be held constant and yield relations could be established between a predominant older crop variety and a newer one. Interviews with crop experts and a literature survey were used to identify potential climatic factors that control yield. A statistical analysis was performed using statewide yield data from the American Sugar Cane League from 1963 to 2002 and a climate database. Yield values for later years were adjusted downward to form an adjusted yield dataset. The climate database was principally constructed from daily and monthly values of maximum and minimum temperature and daily and monthly total precipitation for six cooperative weather-reporting stations representative of the area of sugarcane production. The influence of 74 different, though not independent, climate-related variables on sugarcane yield was investigated. The fact that a climate signal exists is demonstrated by comparing mean values of the climate variables corresponding to the upper and lower third of adjusted yield values. Most of these mean-value differences show an intuitively plausible difference between the high- and low-yield years. The difference between means of the climate variables for years corresponding to the upper and lower third of annual yield values for 13 of the variables is statistically significant at or above the 90% level. A correlation matrix was used to identify the variables that had the largest influence on annual yield. Four variables [called here critical climatic variables (CCV

Climate Effects on Corn Yield in Missouri(.

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hu, Qi; Buyanovsky, Gregory

2003-11-01

Understanding climate effects on crop yield has been a continuous endeavor aiming at improving farming technology and management strategy, minimizing negative climate effects, and maximizing positive climate effects on yield. Many studies have examined climate effects on corn yield in different regions of the United States. However, most of those studies used yield and climate records that were shorter than 10 years and were for different years and localities. Although results of those studies showed various influences of climate on corn yield, they could be time specific and have been difficult to use for deriving a comprehensive understanding of climate effects on corn yield. In this study, climate effects on corn yield in central Missouri are examined using unique long-term (1895 1998) datasets of both corn yield and climate. Major results show that the climate effects on corn yield can only be explained by within-season variations in rainfall and temperature and cannot be distinguished by average growing-season conditions. Moreover, the growing-season distributions of rainfall and temperature for high-yield years are characterized by less rainfall and warmer temperature in the planting period, a rapid increase in rainfall, and more rainfall and warmer temperatures during germination and emergence. More rainfall and cooler-than-average temperatures are key features in the anthesis and kernel-filling periods from June through August, followed by less rainfall and warmer temperatures during the September and early October ripening time. Opposite variations in rainfall and temperature in the growing season correspond to low yield. Potential applications of these results in understanding how climate change may affect corn yield in the region also are discussed.

Improving the yield from fermentative hydrogen production.

PubMed

Kraemer, Jeremy T; Bagley, David M

2007-05-01

Efforts to increase H(2) yields from fermentative H(2) production include heat treatment of the inoculum, dissolved gas removal, and varying the organic loading rate. Although heat treatment kills methanogens and selects for spore-forming bacteria, the available evidence indicates H(2) yields are not maximized compared to bromoethanesulfonate, iodopropane, or perchloric acid pre-treatments and spore-forming acetogens are not killed. Operational controls (low pH, short solids retention time) can replace heat treatment. Gas sparging increases H(2) yields compared to un-sparged reactors, but no relationship exists between the sparging rate and H(2) yield. Lower sparging rates may improve the H(2) yield with less energy input and product dilution. The reasons why sparging improves H(2) yields are unknown, but recent measurements of dissolved H(2) concentrations during sparging suggest the assumption of decreased inhibition of the H(2)-producing enzymes is unlikely. Significant disagreement exists over the effect of organic loading rate (OLR); some studies show relatively higher OLRs improve H(2) yield while others show the opposite. Discovering the reasons for higher H(2) yields during dissolved gas removal and changes in OLR will help improve H(2) yields.

30 CFR 784.22 - Geologic information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Geologic information. 784.22 Section 784.22... Geologic information. (a) General. Each application shall include geologic information in sufficient detail...; and (4) Preparing the subsidence control plan under § 784.20. (b) Geologic information shall include...

30 CFR 784.22 - Geologic information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Geologic information. 784.22 Section 784.22... Geologic information. (a) General. Each application shall include geologic information in sufficient detail...; and (4) Preparing the subsidence control plan under § 784.20. (b) Geologic information shall include...

Electron-induced electron yields of uncharged insulating materials

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hoffmann, Ryan Carl

Presented here are electron-induced electron yield measurements from high-resistivity, high-yield materials to support a model for the yield of uncharged insulators. These measurements are made using a low-fluence, pulsed electron beam and charge neutralization to minimize charge accumulation. They show charging induced changes in the total yield, as much as 75%, even for incident electron fluences of <3 fC/mm2, when compared to an uncharged yield. The evolution of the yield as charge accumulates in the material is described in terms of electron recapture, based on the extended Chung and Everhart model of the electron emission spectrum and the dual dynamic layer model for internal charge distribution. This model is used to explain charge-induced total yield modification measured in high-yield ceramics, and to provide a method for determining electron yield of uncharged, highly insulating, high-yield materials. A sequence of materials with progressively greater charge susceptibility is presented. This series starts with low-yield Kapton derivative called CP1, then considers a moderate-yield material, Kapton HN, and ends with a high-yield ceramic, polycrystalline aluminum oxide. Applicability of conductivity (both radiation induced conductivity (RIC) and dark current conductivity) to the yield is addressed. Relevance of these results to spacecraft charging is also discussed.

Monash Chemical Yields Project (Monχey) Element production in low- and intermediate-mass stars

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Doherty, Carolyn; Lattanzio, John; Angelou, George; Campbell, Simon W.; Church, Ross; Constantino, Thomas; Cristallo, Sergio; Gil-Pons, Pilar; Karakas, Amanda; Lugaro, Maria; Stancliffe, Richard

The Monχey project will provide a large and homogeneous set of stellar yields for the low- and intermediate- mass stars and has applications particularly to galactic chemical evolution modelling. We describe our detailed grid of stellar evolutionary models and corresponding nucleosynthetic yields for stars of initial mass 0.8 M⊙ up to the limit for core collapse supernova (CC-SN) ~ 10 M⊙. Our study covers a broad range of metallicities, ranging from the first, primordial stars (Z = 0) to those of super-solar metallicity (Z = 0.04). The models are evolved from the zero-age main-sequence until the end of the asymptotic giant branch (AGB) and the nucleosynthesis calculations include all elements from H to Bi. A major innovation of our work is the first complete grid of heavy element nucleosynthetic predictions for primordial AGB stars as well as the inclusion of extra-mixing processes (in this case thermohaline) during the red giant branch. We provide a broad overview of our results with implications for galactic chemical evolution as well as highlight interesting results such as heavy element production in dredge-out events of super-AGB stars. We briefly introduce our forthcoming web-based database which provides the evolutionary tracks, structural properties, internal/surface nucleosynthetic compositions and stellar yields. Our web interface includes user- driven plotting capabilities with output available in a range of formats. Our nucleosynthetic results will be available for further use in post processing calculations for dust production yields.

Critical factors determining the variation in SOA yields from terpene ozonolysis: a combined experimental and computational study.

PubMed

Donahue, Neil M; Hartz, Kara E Huff; Chuong, Bao; Presto, Albert A; Stanier, Charles O; Rosenhørn, Thomas; Robinson, Allen L; Pandis, Spyros N

2005-01-01

A substantial fraction of the total ultrafine particulate mass is comprised of organic compounds. Of this fraction, a significant subfraction is secondary organic aerosol (SOA), meaning that the compounds are a by-product of chemistry in the atmosphere. However, our understanding of the kinetics and mechanisms leading to and following SOA formation is in its infancy. We lack a clear description of critical phenomena; we often don't know the key, rate limiting steps in SOA formation mechanisms. We know almost nothing about aerosol yields past the first generation of oxidation products. Most importantly, we know very little about the derivatives in these mechanisms; we do not understand how changing conditions, be they precursor levels, oxidant concentrations, co-reagent concentrations (i.e., the VOC/NOx ratio) or temperature will influence the yields of SOA. In this paper we explore the connections between fundamental details of physical chemistry and the multitude of steps associated with SOA formation, including the initial gas-phase reaction mechanisms leading to condensible products, the phase partitioning itself, and the continued oxidation of the condensed-phase organic products. We show that SOA yields in the alpha-pinene + ozone are highly sensitive to NOx, and that SOA yields from beta-caryophylene + ozone appear to increase with continued ozone exposure, even as aerosol hygroscopicity increases as well. We suggest that SOA yields are likely to increase substantially through several generations of oxidative processing of the semi-volatile products.

Ethiopian Wheat Yield and Yield Gap Estimation: A Spatial Small Area Integrated Data Approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mann, M.; Warner, J.

2015-12-01

Despite the collection of routine annual agricultural surveys and significant advances in GIS and remote sensing products, little econometric research has been undertaken in predicting developing nation's agricultural yields. In this paper, we explore the determinants of wheat output per hectare in Ethiopia during the 2011-2013 Meher crop seasons aggregated to the woreda administrative area. Using a panel data approach, combining national agricultural field surveys with relevant GIS and remote sensing products, the model explains nearly 40% of the total variation in wheat output per hectare across the country. The model also identifies specific contributors to wheat yields that include farm management techniques (eg. area planted, improved seed, fertilizer, irrigation), weather (eg. rainfall), water availability (vegetation and moisture deficit indexes) and policy intervention. Our findings suggest that woredas produce between 9.8 and 86.5% of their potential wheat output per hectare given their altitude, weather conditions, terrain, and plant health. At the median, Amhara, Oromiya, SNNP, and Tigray produce 48.6, 51.5, 49.7, and 61.3% of their local attainable yields, respectively. This research has a broad range of applications, especially from a public policy perspective: identifying causes of yield fluctuations, remotely evaluating larger agricultural intervention packages, and analyzing relative yield potential. Overall, the combination of field surveys with spatial data can be used to identify management priorities for improving production at a variety of administrative levels.

Yields of Bacterial Cells from Hydrocarbons

PubMed Central

Wodzinski, Richard S.; Johnson, Marvin J.

1968-01-01

A strain of Nocardia and one of Pseudomonas, both isolated on pristane (2,6,10,14-tetramethylpentadecane), gave cell yields of approximately 100% on n-octadecane and pristane. Both organisms grew more rapidly on the n-octadecane than on the pristane. A mixed culture, isolated on 3-methylheptane, whose two components were identified as species of Pseudomonas and of Nocardia, gave approximately 100% cell yields and grew with generation times of about 5 hr on n-heptane, n-octane, and 2-methylheptane. The generation time on 3-methylheptane was 8.6 hr and the cell yield was only 79%. A strain of Pseudomonas isolated from naphthalene enrichments and one from phenanthrene enrichments both gave a cell yield of 50% on naphthalene. The phenanthrene isolate gave a cell yield of 40% on phenanthrene. A Nocardia species isolated on benzene gave a 79% cell yield on benzene. The generation times of the bacteria isolated on aromatic hydrocarbons were related to the solubility of the aromatic hydrocarbons on which they were grown; the more insoluble hydrocarbons gave slower growth. PMID:5726161

Complementarity of Historic Building Information Modelling and Geographic Information Systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yang, X.; Koehl, M.; Grussenmeyer, P.; Macher, H.

2016-06-01

In this paper, we discuss the potential of integrating both semantically rich models from Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) to build the detailed 3D historic model. BIM contributes to the creation of a digital representation having all physical and functional building characteristics in several dimensions, as e.g. XYZ (3D), time and non-architectural information that are necessary for construction and management of buildings. GIS has potential in handling and managing spatial data especially exploring spatial relationships and is widely used in urban modelling. However, when considering heritage modelling, the specificity of irregular historical components makes it problematic to create the enriched model according to its complex architectural elements obtained from point clouds. Therefore, some open issues limiting the historic building 3D modelling will be discussed in this paper: how to deal with the complex elements composing historic buildings in BIM and GIS environment, how to build the enriched historic model, and why to construct different levels of details? By solving these problems, conceptualization, documentation and analysis of enriched Historic Building Information Modelling are developed and compared to traditional 3D models aimed primarily for visualization.

Hdr Imaging for Feature Detection on Detailed Architectural Scenes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kontogianni, G.; Stathopoulou, E. K.; Georgopoulos, A.; Doulamis, A.

2015-02-01

3D reconstruction relies on accurate detection, extraction, description and matching of image features. This is even truer for complex architectural scenes that pose needs for 3D models of high quality, without any loss of detail in geometry or color. Illumination conditions influence the radiometric quality of images, as standard sensors cannot depict properly a wide range of intensities in the same scene. Indeed, overexposed or underexposed pixels cause irreplaceable information loss and degrade digital representation. Images taken under extreme lighting environments may be thus prohibitive for feature detection/extraction and consequently for matching and 3D reconstruction. High Dynamic Range (HDR) images could be helpful for these operators because they broaden the limits of illumination range that Standard or Low Dynamic Range (SDR/LDR) images can capture and increase in this way the amount of details contained in the image. Experimental results of this study prove this assumption as they examine state of the art feature detectors applied both on standard dynamic range and HDR images.

Changes in crop yields and their variability at different levels of global warming

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ostberg, Sebastian; Schewe, Jacob; Childers, Katelin; Frieler, Katja

2018-05-01

An assessment of climate change impacts at different levels of global warming is crucial to inform the policy discussion about mitigation targets, as well as for the economic evaluation of climate change impacts. Integrated assessment models often use global mean temperature change (ΔGMT) as a sole measure of climate change and, therefore, need to describe impacts as a function of ΔGMT. There is already a well-established framework for the scalability of regional temperature and precipitation changes with ΔGMT. It is less clear to what extent more complex biological or physiological impacts such as crop yield changes can also be described in terms of ΔGMT, even though such impacts may often be more directly relevant for human livelihoods than changes in the physical climate. Here we show that crop yield projections can indeed be described in terms of ΔGMT to a large extent, allowing for a fast estimation of crop yield changes for emissions scenarios not originally covered by climate and crop model projections. We use an ensemble of global gridded crop model simulations for the four major staple crops to show that the scenario dependence is a minor component of the overall variance of projected yield changes at different levels of ΔGMT. In contrast, the variance is dominated by the spread across crop models. Varying CO2 concentrations are shown to explain only a minor component of crop yield variability at different levels of global warming. In addition, we find that the variability in crop yields is expected to increase with increasing warming in many world regions. We provide, for each crop model, geographical patterns of mean yield changes that allow for a simplified description of yield changes under arbitrary pathways of global mean temperature and CO2 changes, without the need for additional climate and crop model simulations.

Synthesis and formation mechanistic investigation of nitrogen-doped carbon dots with high quantum yields and yellowish-green fluorescence

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Hou, Juan; Wang, Wei; Zhou, Tianyu; Wang, Bo; Li, Huiyu; Ding, Lan

2016-05-01

Heteroatom doped carbon dots (CDs) have received increasing attention due to their unique properties and related applications. However, previously reported CDs generally show strong emission only in the blue-light region, thus restricting their further applications. And the fundamental investigation on the preparation process is always neglected. Herein, we have developed a simple and solvent-free synthetic strategy to fabricate nitrogen-doped CDs (N-CDs) from citric acid and dicyandiamide. The as-prepared N-CDs exhibited a uniform size distribution, strong yellowish-green fluorescence emission and a high quantum yield of 73.2%. The products obtained at different formation stages were detailedly characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction spectrometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV absorbance spectroscopy. A possible formation mechanism has thus been proposed including dehydration, polymerization and carbonization. Furthermore, the N-CDs could serve as a facile and label-free probe for the detection of iron and fluorine ions with detection limits of 50 nmol L-1 and 75 nmol L-1, respectively.Heteroatom doped carbon dots (CDs) have received increasing attention due to their unique properties and related applications. However, previously reported CDs generally show strong emission only in the blue-light region, thus restricting their further applications. And the fundamental investigation on the preparation process is always neglected. Herein, we have developed a simple and solvent-free synthetic strategy to fabricate nitrogen-doped CDs (N-CDs) from citric acid and dicyandiamide. The as-prepared N-CDs exhibited a uniform size distribution, strong yellowish-green fluorescence emission and a high quantum yield of 73.2%. The products obtained at different formation stages were detailedly characterized by transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction spectrometer, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and UV absorbance spectroscopy. A

Seismic Methods of Identifying Explosions and Estimating Their Yield

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Walter, W. R.; Ford, S. R.; Pasyanos, M.; Pyle, M. L.; Myers, S. C.; Mellors, R. J.; Pitarka, A.; Rodgers, A. J.; Hauk, T. F.

2014-12-01

Seismology plays a key national security role in detecting, locating, identifying and determining the yield of explosions from a variety of causes, including accidents, terrorist attacks and nuclear testing treaty violations (e.g. Koper et al., 2003, 1999; Walter et al. 1995). A collection of mainly empirical forensic techniques has been successfully developed over many years to obtain source information on explosions from their seismic signatures (e.g. Bowers and Selby, 2009). However a lesson from the three DPRK declared nuclear explosions since 2006, is that our historic collection of data may not be representative of future nuclear test signatures (e.g. Selby et al., 2012). To have confidence in identifying future explosions amongst the background of other seismic signals, and accurately estimate their yield, we need to put our empirical methods on a firmer physical footing. Goals of current research are to improve our physical understanding of the mechanisms of explosion generation of S- and surface-waves, and to advance our ability to numerically model and predict them. As part of that process we are re-examining regional seismic data from a variety of nuclear test sites including the DPRK and the former Nevada Test Site (now the Nevada National Security Site (NNSS)). Newer relative location and amplitude techniques can be employed to better quantify differences between explosions and used to understand those differences in term of depth, media and other properties. We are also making use of the Source Physics Experiments (SPE) at NNSS. The SPE chemical explosions are explicitly designed to improve our understanding of emplacement and source material effects on the generation of shear and surface waves (e.g. Snelson et al., 2013). Finally we are also exploring the value of combining seismic information with other technologies including acoustic and InSAR techniques to better understand the source characteristics. Our goal is to improve our explosion models

Wheat bran biorefinery--a detailed investigation on hydrothermal and enzymatic treatment.

PubMed

Reisinger, Michael; Tirpanalan, Ozge; Prückler, Michael; Huber, Florian; Kneifel, Wolfgang; Novalin, Senad

2013-09-01

Due to the enormous quantities arising in the milling industry and its specific properties, wheat bran can be considered as a feedstock for future biorefineries. In the present work, a detailed investigation was carried out on the hydrothermal (140-200°C) and enzymatic treatment of wheat bran. After hydrothermal pretreatment and a subsequent enzymatic hydrolysis a glucose yield of 65% and 90% was achieved, respectively. Interestingly, the hemicelluloses could be disintegrated to monomers only to approx. 50%. About 70% of the proteins were dissolved, however, practically no free amino acids were obtained under given conditions. Severe treatment conditions induce elevated losses of some amino acids. Minerals could be extracted almost completely. To disintegrate fat into glycerol and fatty acids severe process conditions were necessary. The formation of undesired by-products such as furfural or hydroxymethylfurfural starts at approx. 180°C. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

INFORMATION RETRIEVAL EXPERIMENT. FINAL REPORT.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

SELYE, HANS

THIS REPORT IS A BRIEF REVIEW OF RESULTS OF AN EXPERIMENT TO DETERMINE THE INFORMATION RETRIEVAL EFFICIENCY OF A MANUAL SPECIALIZED INFORMATION SYSTEM BASED ON 700,000 DOCUMENTS IN THE FIELDS OF ENDOCRINOLOGY, STRESS, MAST CELLS, AND ANAPHYLACTOID REACTIONS. THE SYSTEM RECEIVES 30,000 PUBLICATIONS ANNUALLY. DETAILED INFORMATION IS REPRESENTED BY…

Crop status evaluations and yield predictions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Haun, J. R.

1976-01-01

One phase of the large area crop inventory project is presented. Wheat yield models based on the input of environmental variables potentially obtainable through the use of space remote sensing were developed and demonstrated. By the use of a unique method for visually qualifying daily plant development and subsequent multifactor computer analyses, it was possible to develop practical models for predicting crop development and yield. Development of wheat yield prediction models was based on the discovery that morphological changes in plants are detected and quantified on a daily basis, and that this change during a portion of the season was proportional to yield.

30 CFR 780.22 - Geologic information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2011-07-01 2011-07-01 false Geologic information. 780.22 Section 780.22... Geologic information. (a) General. Each application shall include geologic information in sufficient detail...) Geologic information shall include, at a minimum the following: (1) A description of the geology of the...

30 CFR 780.22 - Geologic information.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-07-01

... 30 Mineral Resources 3 2012-07-01 2012-07-01 false Geologic information. 780.22 Section 780.22... Geologic information. (a) General. Each application shall include geologic information in sufficient detail...) Geologic information shall include, at a minimum the following: (1) A description of the geology of the...

Devil in the details? Developmental dyslexia and visual long-term memory for details.

PubMed

Huestegge, Lynn; Rohrßen, Julia; van Ermingen-Marbach, Muna; Pape-Neumann, Julia; Heim, Stefan

2014-01-01

Cognitive theories on causes of developmental dyslexia can be divided into language-specific and general accounts. While the former assume that words are special in that associated processing problems are rooted in language-related cognition (e.g., phonology) deficits, the latter propose that dyslexia is rather rooted in a general impairment of cognitive (e.g., visual and/or auditory) processing streams. In the present study, we examined to what extent dyslexia (typically characterized by poor orthographic representations) may be associated with a general deficit in visual long-term memory (LTM) for details. We compared object- and detail-related visual LTM performance (and phonological skills) between dyslexic primary school children and IQ-, age-, and gender-matched controls. The results revealed that while the overall amount of LTM errors was comparable between groups, dyslexic children exhibited a greater portion of detail-related errors. The results suggest that not only phonological, but also general visual resolution deficits in LTM may play an important role in developmental dyslexia.

Calculation of the total electron excitation cross section in the Born approximation using Slater wave functions for the Li (2s yields 2p), Li (2s yields 3p), Na (3s yields 4p), Mg (3p yields 4s), Ca (4s yields 4p) and K (4s yields 4p) excitations. M.S. Thesis

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Simsic, P. L.

1974-01-01

Excitation of neutral atoms by inelastic scattering of incident electrons in gaseous nebulae were investigated using Slater Wave functions to describe the initial and final states of the atom. Total cross sections using the Born Approximation are calculated for: Li(2s yields 2p), Na(3s yields 4p), k(4s yields 4p). The intensity of emitted radiation from gaseous nebulae is also calculated, and Maxwell distribution is employed to average the kinetic energy of electrons.

Information loss in approximately bayesian data assimilation: a comparison of generative and discriminative approaches to estimating agricultural yield

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Data assimilation and regression are two commonly used methods for predicting agricultural yield from remote sensing observations. Data assimilation is a generative approach because it requires explicit approximations of the Bayesian prior and likelihood to compute the probability density function...

Genetic and molecular bases of yield-associated traits: a translational biology approach between rice and wheat.

PubMed

Valluru, Ravi; Reynolds, Matthew P; Salse, Jerome

2014-07-01

Transferring the knowledge bases between related species may assist in enlarging the yield potential of crop plants. Being cereals, rice and wheat share a high level of gene conservation; however, they differ at metabolic levels as a part of the environmental adaptation resulting in different yield capacities. This review focuses on the current understanding of genetic and molecular regulation of yield-associated traits in both crop species, highlights the similarities and differences and presents the putative knowledge gaps. We focus on the traits associated with phenology, photosynthesis, and assimilate partitioning and lodging resistance; the most important drivers of yield potential. Currently, there are large knowledge gaps in the genetic and molecular control of such major biological processes that can be filled in a translational biology approach in transferring genomics and genetics informations between rice and wheat.

New method to enhance the extraction yield of rutin from Sophora japonica using a novel ultrasonic extraction system by determining optimum ultrasonic frequency.

PubMed

Liao, Jianqing; Qu, Baida; Liu, Da; Zheng, Naiqin

2015-11-01

A new method has been proposed for enhancing extraction yield of rutin from Sophora japonica, in which a novel ultrasonic extraction system has been developed to perform the determination of optimum ultrasonic frequency by a two-step procedure. This study has systematically investigated the influence of a continuous frequency range of 20-92 kHz on rutin yields. The effects of different operating conditions on rutin yields have also been studied in detail such as solvent concentration, solvent to solid ratio, ultrasound power, temperature and particle size. A higher extraction yield was obtained at the ultrasonic frequency of 60-62 kHz which was little affected under other extraction conditions. Comparative studies between existing methods and the present method were done to verify the effectiveness of this method. Results indicated that the new extraction method gave a higher extraction yield compared with existing ultrasound-assisted extraction (UAE) and soxhlet extraction (SE). Thus, the potential use of this method may be promising for extraction of natural materials on an industrial scale in the future. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Breeding cassava for higher yield

USDA-ARS?s Scientific Manuscript database

Cassava is a root crop grown for food and for starch production. Breeding progress is slowed by asexual production and high levels of heterozygosity. Germplasm resources are rich and accessible to breeders through genebanks worldwide. Breeding objectives include high root yield, yield stability, dis...

Rice Crop Monitoring and Yield Assessment with MODIS 250m Gridded Vegetation Products: A Case Study of Sa Kaeo Province, Thailand

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wijesingha, J. S. J.; Deshapriya, N. L.; Samarakoon, L.

2015-04-01

Billions of people in the world depend on rice as a staple food and as an income-generating crop. Asia is the leader in rice cultivation and it is necessary to maintain an up-to-date rice-related database to ensure food security as well as economic development. This study investigates general applicability of high temporal resolution Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) 250m gridded vegetation product for monitoring rice crop growth, mapping rice crop acreage and analyzing crop yield, at the province-level. The MODIS 250m Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) time series data, field data and crop calendar information were utilized in this research in Sa Kaeo Province, Thailand. The following methodology was used: (1) data pre-processing and rice plant growth analysis using Vegetation Indices (VI) (2) extraction of rice acreage and start-of-season dates from VI time series data (3) accuracy assessment, and (4) yield analysis with MODIS VI. The results show a direct relationship between rice plant height and MODIS VI. The crop calendar information and the smoothed NDVI time series with Whittaker Smoother gave high rice acreage estimation (with 86% area accuracy and 75% classification accuracy). Point level yield analysis showed that the MODIS EVI is highly correlated with rice yield and yield prediction using maximum EVI in the rice cycle predicted yield with an average prediction error 4.2%. This study shows the immense potential of MODIS gridded vegetation product for keeping an up-to-date Geographic Information System of rice cultivation.

Identification of Upper and Lower Level Yield Strength in Materials.

PubMed

Valíček, Jan; Harničárová, Marta; Kopal, Ivan; Palková, Zuzana; Kušnerová, Milena; Panda, Anton; Šepelák, Vladimír

2017-08-23

This work evaluates the possibility of identifying mechanical parameters, especially upper and lower yield points, by the analytical processing of specific elements of the topography of surfaces generated with abrasive waterjet technology. We developed a new system of equations, which are connected with each other in such a way that the result of a calculation is a comprehensive mathematical-physical model, which describes numerically as well as graphically the deformation process of material cutting using an abrasive waterjet. The results of our model have been successfully checked against those obtained by means of a tensile test. The main prospect for future applications of the method presented in this article concerns the identification of mechanical parameters associated with the prediction of material behavior. The findings of this study can contribute to a more detailed understanding of the relationships: material properties-tool properties-deformation properties.

Grapevine canopy reflectance and yield

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Minden, K. A.; Philipson, W. R.

1982-01-01

Field spectroradiometric and airborne multispectral scanner data were applied in a study of Concord grapevines. Spectroradiometric measurements of 18 experimental vines were collected on three dates during one growing season. Spectral reflectance, determined at 30 intervals from 0.4 to 1.1 microns, was correlated with vine yield, pruning weight, clusters/vine, and nitrogen input. One date of airborne multispectral scanner data (11 channels) was collected over commercial vineyards, and the average radiance values for eight vineyard sections were correlated with the corresponding average yields. Although some correlations were significant, they were inadequate for developing a reliable yield prediction model.

System dynamics approach for modeling of sugar beet yield considering the effects of climatic variables.

PubMed

Pervin, Lia; Islam, Md Saiful

2015-02-01

The aim of this study was to develop a system dynamics model for computation of yields and to investigate the dependency of yields on some major climatic parameters, i.e. temperature and rainfall, for Beta vulgaris subsp. (sugar beet crops) under future climate change scenarios. A system dynamics model was developed which takes account of the effects of rainfall and temperature on sugar beet yields under limited irrigation conditions. A relationship was also developed between the seasonal evapotranspiration and seasonal growing degree days for sugar beet crops. The proposed model was set to run for the present time period of 1993-2012 and for the future period 2013-2040 for Lethbridge region (Alberta, Canada). The model provides sugar beet yields on a yearly basis which are comparable to the present field data. It was found that the future average yield will be increased at about 14% with respect to the present average yield. The proposed model can help to improve the understanding of soil water conditions and irrigation water requirements of an area under certain climatic conditions and can be used for future prediction of yields for any crops in any region (with the required information to be provided). The developed system dynamics model can be used as a supporting tool for decision making, for improvement of agricultural management practice of any region. © 2014 Society of Chemical Industry.

The case of the missing visual details: Occlusion and long-term visual memory.

PubMed

Williams, Carrick C; Burkle, Kyle A

2017-10-01

To investigate the critical information in long-term visual memory representations of objects, we used occlusion to emphasize 1 type of information or another. By occluding 1 solid side of the object (e.g., top 50%) or by occluding 50% of the object with stripes (like a picket fence), we emphasized visible information about the object, processing the visible details in the former and the object's overall form in the latter. On a token discrimination test, surprisingly, memory for solid or stripe occluded objects at either encoding (Experiment 1) or test (Experiment 2) was the same. In contrast, when occluded objects matched at encoding and test (Experiment 3) or when the occlusion shifted, revealing the entire object piecemeal (Experiment 4), memory was better for solid compared with stripe occluded objects, indicating that objects are represented differently in long-term visual memory. Critically, we also found that when the task emphasized remembering exactly what was shown, memory performance in the more detailed solid occlusion condition exceeded that in the stripe condition (Experiment 5). However, when the task emphasized the whole object form, memory was better in the stripe condition (Experiment 6) than in the solid condition. We argue that long-term visual memory can represent objects flexibly, and task demands can interact with visual information, allowing the viewer to cope with changing real-world visual environments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2017 APA, all rights reserved).

Yield of bedrock wells in the Nashoba terrane, central and eastern Massachusetts

USGS Publications Warehouse

DeSimone, Leslie A.; Barbaro, Jeffrey R.

2012-01-01

hydrogeologic factors that were individually related to well yield, in ways that are consistent with conceptual understanding of their effects, but the models explained only 21 percent (regional model for the entire terrane) and 30 percent (quadrangle model) of the overall variance in yield. Moreover, most of the explained variance was due to well characteristics rather than hydrogeologic factors. Hydrogeologic factors such as topography and geology are likely important. However, the overall high variability in the well-yield data, which results from the high variability in aquifer hydraulic properties as well as from limitations of the dataset, would make it difficult to use hydrogeologic factors to predict well yield in the study area. Geostatistical analysis (variograms), on the other hand, indicated that, although highly variable, the well-yield data are spatially correlated. The spatial continuity appears greater in the northeast-southwest direction and less in the southeast-northwest direction, directions that are parallel and perpendicular, respectively, to the regional geologic structural trends. Geostatistical analysis (kriging), used to estimate yield values throughout the study area, identified regional-scale areas of higher and lower yield that may be related to regional structural features—in particular, to a northeast-southwest trending regional fault zone within the Nashoba terrane. It also would be difficult to use kriging to predict yield at specific locations, however, because of the spatial variability in yield, particularly at small scales. The regional-scale analyses in this study, both with hydrogeologic variables and geostatistics, provide a context for understanding the variability in well yield, rather a basis for precise predictions, and site-specific information would be needed to understand local conditions.

Uncertainty in Simulating Wheat Yields Under Climate Change

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Asseng, S.; Ewert, F.; Rosenzweig, Cynthia; Jones, J. W.; Hatfield, J. W.; Ruane, A. C.; Boote, K. J.; Thornburn, P. J.; Rotter, R. P.; Cammarano, D.;

Uncertainty in simulating wheat yields under climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Asseng, S.; Ewert, F.; Rosenzweig, C.; Jones, J. W.; Hatfield, J. L.; Ruane, A. C.; Boote, K. J.; Thorburn, P. J.; Rötter, R. P.; Cammarano, D.; Brisson, N.; Basso, B.; Martre, P.; Aggarwal, P. K.; Angulo, C.; Bertuzzi, P.; Biernath, C.; Challinor, A. J.; Doltra, J.; Gayler, S.; Goldberg, R.; Grant, R.; Heng, L.; Hooker, J.; Hunt, L. A.; Ingwersen, J.; Izaurralde, R. C.; Kersebaum, K. C.; Müller, C.; Naresh Kumar, S.; Nendel, C.; O'Leary, G.; Olesen, J. E.; Osborne, T. M.; Palosuo, T.; Priesack, E.; Ripoche, D.; Semenov, M. A.; Shcherbak, I.; Steduto, P.; Stöckle, C.; Stratonovitch, P.; Streck, T.; Supit, I.; Tao, F.; Travasso, M.; Waha, K.; Wallach, D.; White, J. W.; Williams, J. R.; Wolf, J.

2013-09-01

Projections of climate change impacts on crop yields are inherently uncertain. Uncertainty is often quantified when projecting future greenhouse gas emissions and their influence on climate. However, multi-model uncertainty analysis of crop responses to climate change is rare because systematic and objective comparisons among process-based crop simulation models are difficult. Here we present the largest standardized model intercomparison for climate change impacts so far. We found that individual crop models are able to simulate measured wheat grain yields accurately under a range of environments, particularly if the input information is sufficient. However, simulated climate change impacts vary across models owing to differences in model structures and parameter values. A greater proportion of the uncertainty in climate change impact projections was due to variations among crop models than to variations among downscaled general circulation models. Uncertainties in simulated impacts increased with CO2 concentrations and associated warming. These impact uncertainties can be reduced by improving temperature and CO2 relationships in models and better quantified through use of multi-model ensembles. Less uncertainty in describing how climate change may affect agricultural productivity will aid adaptation strategy development andpolicymaking.

Argentina soybean yield model

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Callis, S. L.; Sakamoto, C.

1984-01-01

A model based on multiple regression was developed to estimate soybean yields for the country of Argentina. A meteorological data set was obtained for the country by averaging data for stations within the soybean growing area. Predictor variables for the model were derived from monthly total precipitation and monthly average temperature. A trend variable was included for the years 1969 to 1978 since an increasing trend in yields due to technology was observed between these years.

Developing an automated database for monitoring ultrasound- and computed tomography-guided procedure complications and diagnostic yield.

PubMed

Itri, Jason N; Jones, Lisa P; Kim, Woojin; Boonn, William W; Kolansky, Ana S; Hilton, Susan; Zafar, Hanna M

2014-04-01

Monitoring complications and diagnostic yield for image-guided procedures is an important component of maintaining high quality patient care promoted by professional societies in radiology and accreditation organizations such as the American College of Radiology (ACR) and Joint Commission. These outcome metrics can be used as part of a comprehensive quality assurance/quality improvement program to reduce variation in clinical practice, provide opportunities to engage in practice quality improvement, and contribute to developing national benchmarks and standards. The purpose of this article is to describe the development and successful implementation of an automated web-based software application to monitor procedural outcomes for US- and CT-guided procedures in an academic radiology department. The open source tools PHP: Hypertext Preprocessor (PHP) and MySQL were used to extract relevant procedural information from the Radiology Information System (RIS), auto-populate the procedure log database, and develop a user interface that generates real-time reports of complication rates and diagnostic yield by site and by operator. Utilizing structured radiology report templates resulted in significantly improved accuracy of information auto-populated from radiology reports, as well as greater compliance with manual data entry. An automated web-based procedure log database is an effective tool to reliably track complication rates and diagnostic yield for US- and CT-guided procedures performed in a radiology department.

77 FR 70741 - Agency Information Collection Extension

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2012-11-27

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY U.S. Energy Information Administration Agency Information Collection Extension AGENCY: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), U.S. Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice... being achieved. These data are also needed to satisfy numerous public requests for detailed information...

Quantifying the impacts of climatic trend and fluctuation on crop yields in northern China.

PubMed

Qiao, Jianmin; Yu, Deyong; Liu, Yupeng

2017-10-01

Climate change plays a critical role in crop yield variations, which has attracted a great deal of concern worldwide. However, the mechanisms of how climatic trend and fluctuations affect crop yields are not well understood and need to be further investigated. Thus, using the GIS-based Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) model, we simulated the yields of major crops (i.e., wheat, maize, and rice) and evaluated the impacts of climatic factors on crop yields in the Agro-Pastoral Transitional Zone (APTZ) of northern China between 1980 and 2010. The partial least squares regression model was used to assess the contribution rates of climatic factors (i.e., precipitation, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), minimum temperature (T min ), maximum temperature (T max )) to the variation of crop yields. The Breaks for Additive Season and Trend (BFAST) model was adopted to decompose the climate factors into trend and fluctuation components, and the relative contributions of climate trend and fluctuation were then evaluated. The results indicated that the contributions of climatic factors to yield variations of wheat, maize, and rice were 31.7, 37.7, and 23.1%, respectively. That is, climate change had larger impacts on maize than wheat and rice. More cultivated areas were significantly and positively correlated with precipitation than with other climatic factors due to the limited precipitation in the APTZ. Also, climatic trend component had positive impacts on crop yields in the whole region, whereas the climate fluctuation was associated mainly with the areas where the crop yields decreased. This study helps improve our understanding of the mechanisms of climate change impacts on crop yields, and provides useful scientific information for designing regional-scale strategies of adaptation to climate change.

Simulating large-scale crop yield by using perturbed-parameter ensemble method

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Iizumi, T.; Yokozawa, M.; Sakurai, G.; Nishimori, M.

2010-12-01

Toshichika Iizumi, Masayuki Yokozawa, Gen Sakurai, Motoki Nishimori Agro-Meteorology Division, National Institute for Agro-Environmental Sciences, Japan Abstract One of concerning issues of food security under changing climate is to predict the inter-annual variation of crop production induced by climate extremes and modulated climate. To secure food supply for growing world population, methodology that can accurately predict crop yield on a large scale is needed. However, for developing a process-based large-scale crop model with a scale of general circulation models (GCMs), 100 km in latitude and longitude, researchers encounter the difficulties in spatial heterogeneity of available information on crop production such as cultivated cultivars and management. This study proposed an ensemble-based simulation method that uses a process-based crop model and systematic parameter perturbation procedure, taking maize in U.S., China, and Brazil as examples. The crop model was developed modifying the fundamental structure of the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) to incorporate the effect of heat stress on yield. We called the new model PRYSBI: the Process-based Regional-scale Yield Simulator with Bayesian Inference. The posterior probability density function (PDF) of 17 parameters, which represents the crop- and grid-specific features of the crop and its uncertainty under given data, was estimated by the Bayesian inversion analysis. We then take 1500 ensemble members of simulated yield values based on the parameter sets sampled from the posterior PDF to describe yearly changes of the yield, i.e. perturbed-parameter ensemble method. The ensemble median for 27 years (1980-2006) was compared with the data aggregated from the county yield. On a country scale, the ensemble median of the simulated yield showed a good correspondence with the reported yield: the Pearson’s correlation coefficient is over 0.6 for all countries. In contrast, on a grid scale, the correspondence

Imported infections: What information should be collected by surveillance systems to inform public health policy?

PubMed

Neave, Penny E; Heywood, Anita E; Gibney, Katherine B; Leder, Karin

2016-01-01