INVESTIGATING THE IMPLICATIONS OF MULTI-CROP REVENUE INSURANCE FOR PRODUCER RISK MANAGEMENT

This study investigates the potential for alternative multi-crop revenue insurance designs in comparison to single crop yield and revenue insurance designs. A non-parametric multi-crop insurance model is developed which subsumes the single crop designs. The results compare alternative designs in terms of rate levels and risk reduction gains for representative Mississippi producers.crop insurance, revenue insurance, risk, Risk and Uncertainty,

Shuttle Data Center File-Processing Tool in Java

A Java-language computer program has been written to facilitate mining of data in files in the Shuttle Data Center (SDC) archives. This program can be executed on a variety of workstations or via Web-browser programs. This program is partly similar to prior C-language programs used for the same purpose, while differing from those programs in that it exploits the platform-neutrality of Java in implementing several features that are important for analysis of large sets of time-series data. The program supports regular expression queries of SDC archive files, reads the files, interleaves the time-stamped samples according to a chosen output, then transforms the results into that format. A user can choose among a variety of output file formats that are useful for diverse purposes, including plotting, Markov modeling, multivariate density estimation, and wavelet multiresolution analysis, as well as for playback of data in support of simulation and testing

The Origin of Late Pleistocene Deposits at Garfield Heights, Cuyahoga County, Ohio

Author Institution: Department of Geology, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio 44240Illinoian sand and gravel, Sangamonian paleosol, Altonian and Farmdalian loesses, and Woodfordian sediments (laminated sand, silt, clay, and till) occur in superposition at the George Rackle and Sons Gravel Pit, situated in the valley of Mill Creek, Garfield Heights, Ohio. A molluscan fauna consisting of 17 species of terrestrial snails was identified from three studied sections of the Farmdalian loess. Ten species, Deroceras laeve, Discus cronkhitei, Gastrocopta armifera, Helicodiscus parallelus, Nesovitrea electrina, Punctum minutissimum, Strobilops sp., Triodopsis algonquinensis, Vertigo elatior, and V. gouldi hannai, are new to the Farmdalian loess of this area. Ten of the loess species do not occur at all of the sampled sections. These variations in the composition of the molluscan fauna, together with a consideration of the color and the structure of the Farmdalian loess examined at four sections within this pit, suggest that the deposition may have been interrupted by erosion, or a period of non-deposition, or both, and that it is probably steeply time-transgressive. Colluviation toward the end of the Farmdalian Substage is suggested by a contorted two- to six-inch zone containing broken, angular clasts of clay, pebbles, sand, and terrestrial snails, all contained in a silt (loess) matrix, that occurs locally near the top of the Farmdalian loess. The lower 6 feet of the overlying Woodfordian laminated sequence consists of intercalated layers of sand, silt, and clay, with scattered rock, shell, and plant fragments. This unit contained 12 species of terrestrial snails, all of which also occur in the Farmdalian loess. The terrestrial nature of the fauna, the similarity of the Woodfordian and Farmdalian snail assemblages, the total absence of pollen or of any aquatic organisms, and the presence of scattered clay-blebs, sand-sized quartz grains, and pebbles all suggest that the lower part of the Woodfordian sediments may have been derived locally from older units (Farmdalian loess, Sangamonian paleosol, and Illinoian sand and gravel). These materials were probably transported by some mass-wasting process and redeposited subaerially in topographic lows as slopewash, or as colluvium, or both. Layered modern sediments now accumulating in small, shallow depressions on the floors of abandoned borrow-pits in the area appear to simulate on a small scale the features observed in the basal Woodfordian sediments

The Ursinus Weekly, April 22, 1940

Speakers urge more humor, courtesy and Christian living at all-Ursinus conference • Governor names Mr. Helfferich to Pa. educ. council • Next forum to present Dr. Everett R. Clinchy • Women to hold hobby conference, Wednesday • F.D.R. wins straw vote at Harrisburg conclave • Daniel Reed to do monologues on Spoon River Anthology • Ursinus is represented by three at TKA convention • Barnard upholds Amer. govt. for basic pol. science class • Historical encyclopedia contains articles by Carter • Pres. McClure will address Girard College student body • Fireside chats analyze Christianity in college • Co-eds rush preparation for medieval May pageant: The King\u27s daughters • Registrar Sheeder addresses Pennsburg School assembly • I.R.C. will sponsor mock trial of Hitler • Club hears talk in French • German Club holds quiz • Physician talks to pre-meds. on causes of eye diseases • Team eyes weather as busy program appears • Jingmen down Lehigh in season opener, 2-0 • Seven girl courtsters to be honored Wed. • Callow thinks job is to form impressions • Jayvees hopeful for beginner with Perkiomen on Wednesday • Twelve aspirants report for tennis; to meet Mules Wed. • Cricket season to start with game at Princeton, Saturday • Cliff Calvert to coach baseball and football for Merchantville • Jing Johnson\u27s career includes coaching at Bucknell and Lehigh • Preceptresses addressed by ex-dean of women at Whittier • Alspach names John Wise head of class day committee • Seven from Ursinus attend collegiate chemistry meeting • Meistersingers close season; group attends opera Aida • Pre-meds arrange for trip to visit centers of medicine • Dr. White injured • Allen to speak at English Clubhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/weekly/1841/thumbnail.jp

Conserved Charges in the Principal Chiral Model on a Supergroup

The classical principal chiral model in 1+1 dimensions with target space a compact Lie supergroup is investigated. It is shown how to construct a local conserved charge given an invariant tensor of the Lie superalgebra. We calculate the super-Poisson brackets of these currents and argue that they are finitely generated. We show how to derive an infinite number of local charges in involution. We demonstrate that these charges Poisson commute with the non-local charges of the model

Anharmonic effects in the A15 compounds induced by sublattice distortions

We demonstrate that elastic anomalies and lattice instabilities in the the A15 compounds are describable in terms of first-principles LDA electronic structure calculations. We show that at T=0 V_3Si, V_3Ge, and Nb_3Sn are intrinsically unstable against shears with elastic moduli C_11-C_12 and C_44, and that the zone center phonons, Gamma_2 and Gamma_12, are either unstable or extremely soft. We demonstrate that sublattice relaxation (internal strain) effects are key to understanding the behavior of the A15 materials.Comment: 5 pages, RevTex, 3 postscript figures, Submitted to Phys. Rev. Lett. Apr. 23, 1997 July 7, 1997: minor corrections, final accepted versio

Effect of Quantitative Nuclear Image Features on Recurrence of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ (DCIS) of the Breast

BACKGROUND: Nuclear grade has been associated with breast DCIS recurrence and progression to invasive carcinoma; however, our previous study of a cohort of patients with breast DCIS did not find such an association with outcome. Fifty percent of patients had heterogeneous DCIS with more than one nuclear grade. The aim of the current study was to investigate the effect of quantitative nuclear features assessed with digital image analysis on ipsilateral DCIS recurrence.CONCLUSION: Analysis of nuclear features measured by image cytometry may contribute to the classification and prognosis of breast DCIS patients with more than one nuclear grade.Author manuscript. Published in final edited form as: Cancer Informatics 2008:4 99–109.The final published version of this article is located at: http://la-press.com/article.php?article_id=583NIH U56 CA113004; to David E. AxelrodThis work was funded by the New Jersey Commission for Cancer Research 1076-CCRS0, the National Institutes of Health U56 CA113004, the Hyde and Watson Foundation, the Busch Memorial Fund, and the E.B. Fish Research Fund.NJ Commission on Cancer Research 1076-CCR-SO; to David E. Axelro

Ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast (DCIS) with heterogeneity of nuclear grade: prognostic effects of quantitative nuclear assessment

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Previously, 50% of patients with breast ductal carcinoma <it>in situ (</it>DCIS) had more than one nuclear grade, and neither worst nor predominant nuclear grade was significantly associated with development of invasive carcinoma. Here, we used image analysis in addition to histologic evaluation to determine if quantification of nuclear features could provide additional prognostic information and hence impact prognostic assessments.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Nuclear image features were extracted from about 200 nuclei of each of 80 patients with DCIS who underwent lumpectomy alone, and received no adjuvant systemic therapy. Nuclear images were obtained from 20 representative nuclei per duct, from each of a group of 5 ducts, in two separate fields, for 10 ducts. Reproducibility of image analysis features was determined, as was the ability of features to discriminate between nuclear grades. Patient information was available about clinical factors (age and method of DCIS detection), pathologic factors (DCIS size, nuclear grade, margin size, and amount of parenchymal involvement), and 39 image features (morphology, densitometry, and texture). The prognostic effects of these factors and features on the development of invasive breast cancer were examined with Cox step-wise multivariate regression.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Duplicate measurements were similar for 89.7% to 97.4% of assessed image features. For the pooled assessment with ~200 nuclei per patient, a discriminant function with one densitometric and two texture features was significantly (p < 0.001) associated with nuclear grading, and provided 78.8% correct jackknifed classification of a patient's nuclear grade. In multivariate assessments, image analysis nuclear features had significant prognostic associations (p ≤ 0.05) with the development of invasive breast cancer. Texture (difference entropy, p < 0.001; contrast, p < 0.001; peak transition probability, p = 0.01), densitometry (range density, p = 0.004), and measured margin (p = 0.05) were associated with development of invasive disease for the pooled data across all ducts.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Image analysis provided reproducible assessments of nuclear features which quantitated differences in nuclear grading for patients. Quantitative nuclear image features indicated prognostically significant differences in DCIS, and may contribute additional information to prognostic assessments of which patients are likely to develop invasive disease.</p

Modelling the fate of oxidisable organic contaminants in groundwater

Subsurface contamination by organic chemicals is a pervasive environmental problem, susceptible to remediation by natural or enhanced attenuation approaches or more highly engineered methods such as pump-and-treat, amongst others. Such remediation approaches, along with risk assessment or the pressing need to address complex scientific questions, have driven the development of integrated modelling tools that incorporate physical, biological and geochemical processes. We provide a comprehensive modelling framework, including geochemical reactions and interphase mass transfer processes such as sorption/desorption, non-aqueous phase liquid dissolution and mineral precipitatation/dissolution, all of which can be in equilibrium or kinetically controlled. This framework is used to simulate microbially mediated transformation/degradation processes and the attendant microbial population growth and decay. Solution algorithms, particularly the split-operator (SO) approach, are described, along with a brief résumé of numerical solution methods. Some of the available numerical models are described, mainly those constructed using available flow, transport and geochemical reaction packages. The general modelling framework is illustrated by pertinent examples, showing the degradation of dissolved organics by microbial activity limited by the availability of nutrients or electron acceptors (i.e., changing redox states), as well as concomitant secondary reactions. Two field-scale modelling examples are discussed, the Vejen landfill (Denmark) and an example where metal contamination is remediated by redox changes wrought by injection of a dissolved organic compound. A summary is provided of current and likely future challenges to modelling of oxidisable organics in the subsurface

Putting carbon markets into practice: a case study of financial accounting in Europe

In this paper we explore how carbon markets have entered the world of financial accounting. The advent of the European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in 2005 provided the opportunity for global climate change concerns to be translated from policy into something that could, and should, be recognised within financial accounting. That is, the EU ETS provided a mechanism whereby greenhouse gas emission allowances acquired a financial value, simultaneously creating an obligation (or liability) on certain European organisations when they emit greenhouse gases. Prima facie, this process created the need for financial accounts of companies covered by the EU ETS to reflect the new commodity of carbon. Disagreement amongst accountants about how to treat emission allowances has arisen, with the initial international accounting guidance issued in late 2004 subsequently being withdrawn, and not yet replaced. Taking this absence of guidance as a starting point, we undertake an empirical project (through a survey, consultation analysis, and interviews) to establish what financial reporting practices are being adopted by participants in the EU ETS, and the level of momentum for standardisation. We draw on sociological theories about accounting, measurement, and markets