14,804 research outputs found
An Analysis of the 2002 Farm Bill’s Value-Added Producer Grants Program
Our objective is to identify the determinants for success among USDA’s Value- Added Producer Grants (VAPG) program recipients. Business development has become an important program in departments of agricultural economics. Market share was found to be an important determinant of VAPG success. Size variables including greater sales and increased grant dollars, as well as a lower number of producers, were also determinants of business success. Departments of agricultural economics are likely best able to assist VAPG recipients by providing information on price discovery, explaining their relationship to potential plant location, and providing education on best management practices to help producers avoid costly mistakes.agribusiness, business development, value-added, Agribusiness, Financial Economics, Productivity Analysis,
Flattening an object algebra to provide performance
Algebraic transformation and optimization techniques have been the method of choice in relational query execution, but applying them in object-oriented (OO) DBMSs is difficult due to the complexity of OO query languages. This paper demonstrates that the problem can be simplified by mapping an OO data model to the binary relational model implemented by Monet, a state-of-the-art database kernel. We present a generic mapping scheme to flatten data models and study the case of straightforward OO model. We show how flattening enabled us to implement a query algebra, using only a very limited set of simple operations. The required primitives and query execution strategies are discussed, and their performance is evaluated on the 1-GByte TPC-D (Transaction-processing Performance Council's Benchmark D), showing that our divide-and-conquer approach yields excellent result
Spatiotemporal Patterns and Predictability of Cyberattacks
Y.C.L. was supported by Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR) under grant no. FA9550-10-1-0083 and Army Research Office (ARO) under grant no. W911NF-14-1-0504. S.X. was supported by Army Research Office (ARO) under grant no. W911NF-13-1-0141. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.Peer reviewedPublisher PD
Antiferromagnetic spin chain behavior and a transition to 3D magnetic order in Cu(D,L-alanine)2: Roles of H-bonds
We study the spin chain behavior, a transition to 3D magnetic order and the
magnitudes of the exchange interactions for the metal-amino acid complex
Cu(D,L-alanine)2.H2O, a model compound to investigate exchange couplings
supported by chemical paths characteristic of biomolecules. Thermal and
magnetic data were obtained as a function of temperature (T) and magnetic field
(B0). The magnetic contribution to the specific heat, measured between 0.48 and
30 K, displays above 1.8 K a 1D spin-chain behavior that can be fitted with an
intrachain antiferromagnetic (AFM) exchange coupling constant 2J0 = (-2.12
0.08) cm, between neighbor coppers at 4.49 {\AA} along chains
connected by non-covalent and H-bonds. We also observe a narrow specific heat
peak at 0.89 K indicating a phase transition to a 3D magnetically ordered
phase. Magnetization curves at fixed T = 2, 4 and 7 K with B0 between 0 and 9
T, and at T between 2 and 300 K with several fixed values of B0 were globally
fitted by an intrachain AFM exchange coupling constant 2J0 = (-2.27 0.02)
cm and g = 2.091 0.005. Interchain interactions J1 between coppers
in neighbor chains connected through long chemical paths with total length of
9.51 {\AA} are estimated within the range 0.1 < |2J1| < 0.4 cm, covering
the predictions of various approximations. We analyze the magnitudes of 2J0 and
2J1 in terms of the structure of the corresponding chemical paths. The main
contribution in supporting the intrachain interaction is assigned to H-bonds
while the interchain interactions are supported by paths containing H-bonds and
carboxylate bridges, with the role of the H-bonds being predominant. We compare
the obtained intrachain coupling with studies of compounds showing similar
behavior and discuss the validity of the approximations allowing to calculate
the interchain interactions.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figure
Ultrastructural analysis of chromatin in meiosis I plus II of rye (Secale cereale L.)
Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) proves to be an appropriate technique for imaging chromatin organization in meiosis I and II of rye (Secale cereale) down to a resolution of a few nanometers. It could be shown for the first time that organization of basic structural elements (coiled and parallel fibers, chromomeres) changes dramatically during the progression to metaphase I and II. Controlled loosening with proteinase K (after fixation with glutaraldehyde) provides an enhanced insight into chromosome architecture even of highly condensed stages of meiosis. By selective staining with platinum blue, DNA content and distribution can be visualized within compact chromosomes as well as in a complex arrangement of fibers. Chromatin interconnecting threads, which are typically observed in prophase I between homologous and non-homologous chromosomes, stain clearly for DNA. In zygotene transversion of chromatid strands to their homologous counterparts becomes evident. In pachytene segments of synapsed and non-synapsed homologs alternate. At synapsed regions pairing is so intimate that homologous chromosomes form one filament of structural entity. Chiasmata are characterized by chromatid strands which traverse from one homolog to its counterpart. Bivalents are characteristically fused at their telomeric regions. In metaphase I and II there is no structural evidence for primary and secondary constrictions. Copyright (C) 2003 S. Karger AG, Basel
Astronomical Site Selection for Turkey Using GIS Techniques
A site selection of potential observatory locations in Turkey have been
carried out by using Multi-Criteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) coupled with
Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and satellite imagery which in turn
reduced cost and time and increased the accuracy of the final outcome. The
layers of cloud cover, digital elevation model, artificial lights, precipitable
water vapor, aerosol optical thickness and wind speed were studied in the GIS
system. In conclusion of MCDA, the most suitable regions were found to be
located in a strip crossing from southwest to northeast including also a
diverted region in southeast of Turkey. These regions are thus our prime
candidate locations for future on-site testing. In addition to this major
outcome, this study has also been applied to locations of major observatories
sites. Since no goal is set for \textit{the best}, the results of this study is
limited with a list of positions. Therefore, the list has to be further
confirmed with on-site tests. A national funding has been awarded to produce a
prototype of an on-site test unit (to measure both astronomical and
meteorological parameters) which might be used in this list of locations.Comment: 17 pages, 10 figures, accepted by Experimental Astronom
Spatiotemporal patterns and predictability of cyberattacks
A relatively unexplored issue in cybersecurity science and engineering is
whether there exist intrinsic patterns of cyberattacks. Conventional wisdom
favors absence of such patterns due to the overwhelming complexity of the
modern cyberspace. Surprisingly, through a detailed analysis of an extensive
data set that records the time-dependent frequencies of attacks over a
relatively wide range of consecutive IP addresses, we successfully uncover
intrinsic spatiotemporal patterns underlying cyberattacks, where the term
"spatio" refers to the IP address space. In particular, we focus on analyzing
{\em macroscopic} properties of the attack traffic flows and identify two main
patterns with distinct spatiotemporal characteristics: deterministic and
stochastic. Strikingly, there are very few sets of major attackers committing
almost all the attacks, since their attack "fingerprints" and target selection
scheme can be unequivocally identified according to the very limited number of
unique spatiotemporal characteristics, each of which only exists on a
consecutive IP region and differs significantly from the others. We utilize a
number of quantitative measures, including the flux-fluctuation law, the Markov
state transition probability matrix, and predictability measures, to
characterize the attack patterns in a comprehensive manner. A general finding
is that the attack patterns possess high degrees of predictability, potentially
paving the way to anticipating and, consequently, mitigating or even preventing
large-scale cyberattacks using macroscopic approaches
Phase behavior of the Lattice Restricted Primitive Model with nearest-neighbor exclusion
The global phase behavior of the lattice restricted primitive model with
nearest neighbor exclusion has been studied by grand canonical Monte Carlo
simulations. The phase diagram is dominated by a fluid (or charge-disordered
solid) to charge-ordered solid transition that terminates at the maximum
density, and reduced temperature . At
that point, there is a first-order phase transition between two phases of the
same density, one charge-ordered and the other charge-disordered. The
liquid-vapor transition for the model is metastable, lying entirely within the
fluid-solid phase envelope.Comment: 6 pages, color. submitted to J. Chem. Phy
A Model-Driven Approach for Business Process Management
The Business Process Management is a common mechanism recommended by a high number of standards for the management of companies and organizations. In software companies this practice is every day more accepted and companies have to assume it, if they want to be competitive. However, the effective definition of these processes and mainly their maintenance and execution are not always easy tasks. This paper presents an approach based on the Model-Driven paradigm for Business Process Management in software companies. This solution offers a suitable mechanism that was implemented successfully in different companies with a tool case named NDTQ-Framework.Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia TIN2010-20057-C03-02Junta de Andalucía TIC-578
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