Function of Fast Reflexion in Bipolar choice

Our view of "reflexion" has been essentially broadened during the last twenty years. Traditionally we have considered it to consist of the conscious constructing of images of the self and others by human beings. Now we have evidence that there is a reflexion of another nature as well. It is as if an inborn informational processor is built in into human psyche whose function is to automatically create these images together with their subjective domains. This processor generates a specific specter of human responses not controlled consciously and running extremely fast (one-two milliseconds). This type of reflexion,as distinct from the traditional concept, is called fast reflexion (Lefebvre, 1987). In this paper we will decipher the mathematical laws governing the automatic functioning of this inborn processor and show how they reveal themselves in human behavior (Adams-Webber, 1996a). The result of this analysis will be a formal model of the subject with fast reflexio

Renewable Energy Education at Merrimack College

This paper describes recent, ongoing and planned Renewable Energy (RE) education at Merrimack College. The primary RE education efforts have been through the department of Electrical Engineering (EE), with involvement from the department of Civil Engineering. In summer of 2009 the college installed a solar hot water (SHW) system in one of its student townhouses. The subjects of the advanced EE elective “Energy Measurement and Display” in summer 2009 were the selection of sensors to measure energy delivered by this SHW unit, and the uploading via Ethernet of real time data to a central server. The EE department requires all students to take “Embedded Controller Design”, and as a sequel a PIC based independent study focusing on sensing and evaluating energy consumption is presently under way. A number of Energy Savings and Power Quality independent studies have taken place over the past several years, with students developing embedded applications for measurement and assessment of donated Power Quality /Energy Savings systems. A collaborative effort is underway between Biology and Electrical Engineering for summer, 2010, leading to a 4-credit “Renewable Energy and the Environment” course for non science majors. This cross disciplinary course is based in the EE department with significant input from the Biology department. A Kill-O-Watt meter serves as the “textbook” purchase, with required student real-world projects in energy usage assessment, and in evaluating effectiveness of remedial actions. This collaboration between EE and Biology is an initial effort towards greater collaboration between the two departments. The Civil Engineering department piloted the senior elective “Environmental Design” in Fall 2009, with student teams running feasibility studies for renewable energy installations including Photovoltaic, SHW and Wind. The next iteration of this course will incorporate participation of EE and business students

Preferences for Exposure Control of Power-Frequency Fields among Lay Opinion Leaders

The authors report on surveys, differing according to focus on remedial costs, of Pittsburgh-area adults indicating beliefs about possible health effects of electromagnetic fields and the acceptability of options for reducing or eliminating the potential impact

Career Education and Its Implication for Vocational-Technical Education

The major purpose of this independent study was to see if there were any implication forthcoming for Vocational Education as we know it today, because of the new concept of Career Education. In trying to accomplish this purpose, the area of Vocational Education, as well as the new concepts of Career Education, were examined. Both the past and future needs of the students were considered. The immediate and future needs of creating this new concept of Career Education was considered. A group of charts were presented for the purpose of giving anyone considering this new approach, a choice of the many methods that could be used in creating a program. The study concludes with a short summary of the general accepted objectives of Career Education at the various levels of education. It was also stated that funds would have to be made available from the federal and state government, if this program were to succeed

A Suggested Course of Study in the Visual Arts in Education on the Junior High School Level

[No abstract provided.

Incorporating Energy Related Concepts into EE and CS Laboratory Work and Coursework

During the course of this interdisciplinary effort, members of the Electrical Engineering (EE) and Computer Science (CS) departments collaborated on energy related curricular efforts. Initially work was carried out to develop and utilize an inexpensive, open-source system for measuring, storing, and displaying energy related data from across campus. Hardware and software components chosen were open source or free for educational use. A low power Linux server was utilized. The LAN-enabled Arduinos included sensors to measure energy related quantities such as power and temperature. EE and CS students were engaged in various aspects of the project – EE students focused on the hardware, CS students focused on the programming. EE junior students worked with clients to implement real world measurement and display solutions. A CS student project focused on developing a JavaScript-based web page that visualizes sensor data by leveraging CanvasJS and JQuery packages. This web page development project will continue in spring 2016 as the work is significantly incorporated into the CS department’s Software Engineering and Information Technology Systems classes. Most recently, EE junior projects (fall 2015) emphasized collaborations across a wide variety of disciplines: projects include wetland environmental factors (Biology), greenhouse environmental factors (Biology), pump energy usage (ME), weather monitoring (Physics), and classroom temperature monitoring (Facilities)

Arsenic removal from contaminated waters

Book ChapterArsenic is a contaminant at 781 of 1,430 sites identified on the National Priorities List and in mining and mineral processing wastewaters, smelter wastes, and sites for manufacture of semiconductors, petroleum products, wood preservatives, animal feed additives, and herbicides. Arsenic affects about 4,100 municipal water systems nationwide and is difficult to treat to 10 ppb levels. Adsorptive media can remove up to 99% of arsenic from drinking water at costs for POU/POE applications of about $0.20/1,000gal. Full-scale microbial arsenic removal/stabilization treatment costs of$0.10/1,000 gal have been demonstrated for mining and ground waters to 2 ppb levels. Processes using magnetic activated carbon and bacteria/biopolymers; separately and combined (BIOMAC) have been demonstrated to treat high levels of Arsenic (V) to low levels under a wide range of water chemistry. BIOMAC benefits are expected to include other heavy metal removal, such as lead, copper, zinc, fluoride, selenium, and improvement in taste and odor

South Dakota Agricultural Land Market Trends 1991-2015

Summary: The 2015 SDSU Farm Real Estate Market Survey report contains information on current agricultural land values and cash rental rates by land use in different regions of South Dakota, with comparisons to values from earlier years. Key findings are highlighted below.Agricultural land value changes in the past year reflect the sharp declines in crop prices and returns compared to record prices and returns for beef cattle.During the past year (from 2014 to 2015), all-agricultural land values increased 1.4%, compared to an increase of 6.1% from 2013 to 2014 and increases varying from 16.5% to 33.6% in the three previous years. Cropland values declined 4.8% this past year compared to an increase of 5.4% from 2013 to 2014 and annual increases varying from 17.7% to 37.8% in the prior three years. Rangeland and pasture values continued to increase at double-digit rates which was above the increases of 7.9% and 4.0%, respectively, from 2013 to 2014 and similar to the double-digit rates from 2010 to 2013.Cash rental rates for cropland and hay land declined statewide and in several regions, while cash rental rates for pasture / rangeland increased. Statewide, from 2014 to 2015, average cash rental rates per-acre decreased $5.00 for cropland and$2.25 for hay land, and increased $3.00 for rangeland. Cash rental rates for all land uses increased in western South Dakota and decreased or held steady in the southeast region. Cropland cash rental rates declined in all regions east of the Missouri River, while pasture / rangeland cash rental rates increased in almost all regions of South Dakota. Current average rates of cash return on agricultural land in South Dakota remain very low.For 2014 the average ratio of gross cash rent to current land value was 2.9$2,505 per-acre. Non-irrigated agricultural land varies from $5,186 per-acre in the east-central to$737 per-acre in the northwest region. Average non-irrigated cropland values per-acre vary from $6,329 in the east-central to$3,895 in the central and $1,193 in the northwest region.Average rangeland values vary from$2,727 per-acre in the east-central to $630 per-acre in the northwest. Within each region, differences in land productivity and land use account for substantial differences in per-acre values.The highest non-irrigated cropland values and cash rental rates continue to occur in the Minnehaha-Moody county cluster where the average value of cropland in 2015 is$7,837 peracre and average cash rental rate for cropland is $244 per-acre. Cropland values average$7,138 per-acre and cropland cash rental rates average $240 per-acre in the Clay-Lincoln-Turner-Union county cluster.At the regional level, average cash rental rates per-acre for non-irrigated cropland in 2015 vary from$204 in the east-central region to $43.60 in the southwest region. Average rangeland and pasture rental rates vary from$76.50 per-acre in the east-central region to $18.30 per-acre in the southwest region.The longer-term trends in land values, cash rental rates, and cash rates of return are closely related to key economic factors affecting demand for agricultural land. These demand factors include economies of size, net farm income, agricultural productivity, and land as an investment. Specific factors important in South Dakota include: 1. Technology changes in agriculture that expanded the geographic range of corn and soybean production, along with rapid development of ethanol production in South Dakota. 2. Sharp declines in farm mortgage interest rates from early 2001 to late 2004 and continued relatively low mortgage interest rates. 3. General economic conditions of low inflation rates in most years. 4. Persistence of farm expansion, via land purchase or leasing, as the major response to pervasive economies of size in production agriculture. 5. Substantial increase in use of crop insurance for yield or revenue protection along with other federal farm program provisions. From 1991 to 2014, agricultural land values increased more rapidly than the rate of general price inflation in all regions of South Dakota. Continued increases in cash rental rates provided underlying support for increases in land values. These basic economic factors, along with relatively low mortgage interest rates, attract interest in farmland purchases by investors and by farmers expanding their operations. During the past year, 2014 to 2015, land values and cash rental rates by land use were greatly affected by the sharp declines in crop prices in contrast to record high beef cattle prices.Farm expansion and investment potential continue to be cited as the major reasons for purchasing farmland. The major reasons for selling farmland are realizing gains from high sale prices, settling estates, and retirement from farming.Low mortgage interest rates, high livestock prices, and relatively good crop yields were the three most cited positive factors in the farmland market. Declining crop prices, especially for corn and soybeans, dominated the negative factors influencing the farm real estate market. Rising input costs and economic uncertainty, including interest rate risks, were other negative factors.The booming market psychology of recent years, especially for cropland, has been replaced by concern on adjusting cash rents and land purchase prices to declining crop prices and lower prospective returns. Respondents continue to remain more optimistic about rangeland markets.More than half of respondents forecast decreases in cropland values for next year, while one-half of respondents forecast increases in rangeland values. Among respondents forecasting changes, the ratio of positive to negative forecasts is 1:3 for cropland compared to 3:1 for rangeland values. There is a lot of concern that cropland values and cash rental rates will decline further, while rangeland values and cash rental rate forecasts assume continued optimistic conditions

The pypadf package: computing the pair-angle distribution function from fluctuation scattering data

The pair-angle distribution function (PADF) is a three- and four-atom correlation function that can characterise the local angular structure of disordered materials, particles or nanocrystalline materials. The PADF can be measured by x-ray or electron fluctuation diffraction experiments, which can be collected by scanning a small beam across a structurally disordered sample or flowing a sample across the beam path. It is a natural generalisation of the established pair-distribution methods, which do not provide angular information. This software package provides tools to calculate the PADF from from fluctuation diffraction data. The package includes tools for calculating the intensity correlation function, which is a necessary step in the PADF calculation and also the basis for other fluctuation scattering techniques.Comment: 21 pages, 3 figure