Integration of special operations and conventional forces in unconventional warfare

National Security AffairsSpecial operations forces (SOF) and conventional forces (hereafter referred to as general purpose forces (GPF) frequently operate together under a unified chain of command. When they do, conventional wisdom places SOP in command. In unconventional warfare operations, however, this subordination of SOF to GPF may hinder the ability of the integrated force to design an appropriate solution. This thesis examines the integration of SOF and GPF in unconventional warfare (UW) from an organizational perspective. It begins by examining the unique challenges posed by UW problems and establishing the organizational culture and functional specialization of SOF and GPF. It posits that SOP is, from an organizational perspective, better suited to designing solutions to UW problems than GPF. It further posits that by subordinating SOP to GPF the likelihood of the integrated force designing a campaign strategy appropriate for a UW problem is greatly reduced. It then uses the US involvement in Vietnam to test these hypotheses. The thesis concludes that organizational factors do, in fact, play a role in the formation of strategy, and that careful consideration of the command relationships in future unconventional warfare operations is warranted.http://archive.org/details/integrationofspe1094532131NAApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Scanning thermal microscopy and Raman analysis of bulk fused silica exposed to low-energy femtosecond laser pulses

Low energy femtosecond laser pulses locally increase the refractive index and the hydro-fluoric acid etching rate of fused silica. These phenomena form the basis of a direct-write method to fabricate integrated glass devices that are of particular interest for optofluidics and optomechanical applications. Yet the underlying physical mechanism behind these effects remains elusive, especially the role of the laser polarization. Using Scanning Thermal Microscope and Raman spectrometer we observe in laser affected zones, a localized sharp decrease of the thermal conductivity correlated with an increased presence of low-number SiO2 cycles. In addition, we find that a high correlation exists between the amount of structural changes and the decrease of thermal conductivity. Furthermore, sub-wavelength periodic patterns are detected for high peak power exposures. Finally, our findings indicate that, to date, the localized densification induced by femtosecond laser pulses remains well below the theoretical value achievable in mechanically densified silica

PENGARUH KEMITRAAN USAHA TERHADAP KINERJA USAHA PADA USAHA KECIL MENENGAH (UKM) DAN KOPERASI DI KABUPATEN JENEPONTO SULAWESI SELATAN

ABSTRACT The objectives of this study are to determine the effect of the business partnership among small and medium business, government, banking, and other institutions, in the area of marketing, development of human resources, access to capital, and managerial organization toward financial business performance and non financial business performance in Jeneponto, South Sulawesi. This is a descriptive qualitative and quantitative research by using survey, random sampling techniques, with 21 businesess units as sample. Library study, observation, and questionnaires were used to collect the primary and also secondary data. Path analysis was used to analyze the data. The results of this study showed that simultaneously and partially, business partnership among small and medium business, government, banking, and other institutions in the area of marketing, development of human resources, access to capital, and managerial organization have significant positively effect on financial and non financial business performance. The finacial business performance was most influenced by the development access human resources aspect, and the non-financial business performance was most influenced by managerial organization aspect.Keywords: Partnership of business, financial business performance, non-financial business performanc

H3-receptor regulation of vascular gastrin and somatostatin releases by the isolated rat stomach.

We have studied the effects of the H3-receptor agonist (R) alpha-methylhistamine [(R) alpha-MeHA] and the H3-receptor antagonist thioperamide (Thiop) on basal- and carbachol-stimulated vascular gastrin release (GR) and somatostatin release (SR) by the isolated rat stomach. Carbachol dose-dependently stimulated and inhibited GR and SR, respectively. Maximal stimulation of GR (500 +/- 112 percent of basal; p < .01), and maximal inhibition of SR (-62 +/- 9 percent under basal; p < .01) were obtained with 1 micron carbachol. Neither (R)alpha-MeHA nor Thiop, up to 10 microns, affected GR. However, SR was dose-dependently enhanced by Thiop (25 +/- 8 percent for 10 microns). Carbachol stimulation of GR was strongly inhibited by Thiop (30 +/- 7 percent for 100 nM and 73 +/- 14 percent for 1 microgram), whereas it was potentiated by (R)alpha-MeHA. Carbachol inhibition of SR was reversed by Thiop and (R)alpha-MeHA. However, the reversal effect of (R)alpha-MeHA was prevented by the CCKB/gastrin receptor antagonist PD134308. These results support H3-receptor regulation of basal and cholinergically-stimulated GR and SR

Soil organic carbon dynamics and crop yield for different crop rotations in a degraded ferruginous tropical soil in a semi-arid region: a simulation approach

In recent years, simulation models have been used as a complementary tool for research and for quantifying soil carbon sequestration under widely varying conditions. This has improved the understanding and prediction of soil organic carbon (SOC) dynamics and crop yield responses to soil and climate conditions and crop management scenarios. The goal of the present study was to estimate the changes in SOC for different cropping systems in West Africa using a simulation model. A crop rotation experiment conducted in Farakô-Ba, Burkina Faso was used to evaluate the performance of the cropping system model (CSM) of the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) for simulating yield of different crops. Eight crop rotations that included cotton, sorghum, peanut, maize and fallow, and three different management scenarios, one without N (control), one with chemical fertilizer (N) and one with manure applications, were studied. The CSM was able to simulate the yield trends of various crops, with inconsistencies for a few years. The simulated SOC increased slightly across the years for the sorghum–fallow rotation with manure application. However, SOC decreased for all other rotations except for the continuous fallow (native grassland), in which the SOC remained stable. The model simulated SOC for the continuous fallow system with a high degree of accuracy normalized root mean square error (RMSE)=0·001, while for the other crop rotations the simulated SOC values were generally within the standard deviation (s.d.) range of the observed data. The crop rotations that included a supplemental N-fertilizer or manure application showed an increase in the average simulated aboveground biomass for all crops. The incorporation of this biomass into the soil after harvest reduced the loss of SOC. In the present study, the observed SOC data were used for characterization of production systems with different SOC dynamics. Following careful evaluation of the CSM with observed soil organic matter (SOM) data similar to the study presented here, there are many opportunities for the application of the CSM for carbon sequestration and resource management in Sub-Saharan Africa

Distribution and frequency of kdr mutations within Anopheles gambiae s.l. populations and first report of the ace.1 G119S mutation in Anopheles arabiensis from Burkina Faso (West Africa).

Published onlineJournal ArticleResearch Support, Non-U.S. Gov'tAn entomological survey was carried out at 15 sites dispersed throughout the three eco-climatic regions of Burkina Faso (West Africa) in order to assess the current distribution and frequency of mutations that confer resistance to insecticides in An. gambiae s.l. populations in the country. Both knockdown (kdr) resistance mutation variants (L1014F and L1014S), that confer resistance to pyrethroid insecticides, were identified concomitant with the ace-1 G119S mutation confirming the presence of multiple resistance mechanisms in the An. gambiae complex in Burkina Faso. Compared to the last survey, the frequency of the L1014F kdr mutation appears to have remained largely stable and relatively high in all species. In contrast, the distribution and frequency of the L1014S mutation has increased significantly in An. gambiae s.l. across much of the country. Furthermore we report, for the first time, the identification of the ace.1 G119S mutation in An. arabiensis populations collected at 8 sites [corrected]. This mutation, which confers resistance to organophosphate and carbamate insecticides, has been reported previously only in the An. gambiae S and M molecular forms. This finding is significant as organophosphates and carbamates are used in indoor residual sprays (IRS) to control malaria vectors as complementary strategies to the use of pyrethroid impregnated bednets. The occurrence of the three target-site resistance mutations in both An. gambiae molecular forms and now An. arabiensis has significant implications for the control of malaria vector populations in Burkina Faso and for resistance management strategies based on the rotation of insecticides with different modes of action.National Malaria Control Program (NMCP) of Burkina Fas

What Details are Needed for Wireless Simulations? - A Study of a Site-Specific Indoor Wireless Model

The wireless networking community continuously questions the accuracy and validity of simulation-based performance eval-uations. The main reason is the lack of widely-accepted models that represent the real wireless characteristics, especially at the physical (PHY) layer. Hence, the trend in wireless networking is to rely more and more on testbeds, which on one hand bring more realism to network and protocol evaluation, but on the other hand present a high implementation barrier before an idea is ready to be tested. Therefore, realistic network simulators are still very much needed to reduce the time and effort for “concept testing ” of novel ideas. In this case, the main question is how detailed should wireless simulators be to evaluate network and protocol performance. In this paper, we attempt a first answer to this question by using the Berlin Open Wireless Lab (BOWL) indoor model (BIM) in the ns-3 simulator. BIM includes several measurement-based models to characterize wireless com-munication such as frame detection ratio (FDR), frame error ratio (FER), capture and interference models. Through extensive measurements, we analyze the accuracy that we obtain with these PHY-layer models. Our experiments also show whether the detailed models at the PHY layer play an important role to represent transport layer performance in simulations. I

Scaling up Land Restoration Approaches to Reclaim the Hardpans of Niger for Agriculture using Sentinel 2 Imagery

Degraded lands, widespread across sub-Saharan Africa, are used mainly for grazing and firewood harvesting and have low agricultural production potential. Such areas have become degraded through overuse and removal of surface cover and associated erosion processes and are termed hardpans. Hardpans with high clay content, high cation exchange capacity (CEC) and water holding capacity have productive potential. ICRISAT has developed and scaled a gender sensitive approach Bioreclamation of Degraded Land” (BDL) that combines water harvesting technologies (planting pits, half-moon and trenches), application of compost and plantation of high value fruit trees and annual drought tolerant indigenous vegetables. In partnership with CRS in Niger, BDL was scaled to over 3000 villages (2014-18) which led to many benefits in food security and income generation for the local population. To scale further multi-spectral remote sensing based imagery of high resolution (10 m) can identify and map hardpans and differentiate higher potential sites for the BDL approach. These maps will be used to quantify the area under hardpans and the potential area in which the interventions can be scaled up

Evaluation of the feed quality of six dual purpose pearl millet varieties and growth performance of sheep fed their residues in Niger

Pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum) is a staple food popularly cultivated by small farmers in Niger. The stover are also used as feeds for livestock (small ruminant) as basal diet, especially during the cold dry season. ICRISAT has developed many dualpurpose millet varieties that aim to increase feeds for livestock while providing grain as food to farmers. But the nutritional quality of Stover of these varieties for livestock are not known. This research aims to assess the quality of residues of the dual-purpose varieties and their effect on feed intake and live weight changes of young sheep