The Units of Investigation in the Social Sciences

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Microscopic Calculation of IBM Parameters by Potential Energy Surface Mapping

A coherent state technique is used to generate an Interacting Boson Model (IBM) Hamiltonian energy surface that simulates a mean field energy surface. The method presented here has some significant advantages over previous work. Specifically, that this can be a completely predictive requiring no a priori knowledge of the IBM parameters. The technique allows for the prediction of the low lying energy spectra and electromagnetic transition rates which are of astrophysical interest. Results and comparison with experiment are included for krypton, molybdenum, palladium, cadmium, gadolinium, dysprosium and erbium nuclei.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figures, 4 table

Making Successful Decisions on Robotic Milking Technology

Automatic Milking Systems (AMS) are milking cows on over 2,500 farms around the world. There are over 150 farms in the US and over 350 in Canada using AMS. AMS has been growing exponentially since 2000. Decreased labor and increased quality of life can override the high investment costs of AMS. AMS increase management ability by collecting individual cow milk production, milk conductivity, milk clarity, cow activity and rumination data. AMS are a high level management system, not just a tool to milk cows. The increased management ability may be more important than the milking technology. The high initial capital input and high management abilities to successfully operate these systems make it imperative that dairy producers and their agri-service providers, especially lenders and bankers, have excellent education and training materials and opportunities. One objective of our ISU Dairy team is to provide the leadership and expertise in delivering and providing these materials and programs. These programs are an addition to a larger very successful ongoing program on risk management for dairy producers deciding on what milking technology best fits their farm and financial future

Women Managing Dairy Cattle: Educating Dairy Women

Women Managing Dairy Cattle (WMDC) was a pilot Annie’s Project program. The course was developed to help educate dairy farm women on key issues they are facing, and to create a lasting impact on the operation through change in behavior via management decisions. Studies have shown that women have unique learning needs compared to their male counterparts; management meetings are predominately attended by men. Thus, the program was geared toward women designed based upon their learning and social needs. Ag Industry professionals and dairy producers helped to identify and teach key topics for dairy producers. Program focused on nine business and production management topics over the three sessions. Three sessions were held weekly on Tuesdays in November from 11 to 2:30. Fifteen women completed the WMDC course in Holy Cross, IA. These women represented over 2,000 cows in five counties. The women reported knowledge gain and intentions to change or update management practices on their dairy operation as a result of taking the course

Electromagnetic Dipole Strength in Transitional Nuclei

Electromagnetic dipole absorption cross-sections of transitional nuclei with large-amplitude shape fluctuations are calculated in a microscopic way by introducing the concept of Instantaneous Shape Sampling. The concept bases on the slow shape dynamics as compared to the fast dipole vibrations. The elctromagnetic dipole strength is calculated by means of RPA for the instantaneous shapes, the probability of which is obtained by means of IBA. Very good agreement with the experimental absorption cross sections near the nucleon emission threshold is obtained.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figure

Magnetic Fluctuations and Correlations in MnSi - Evidence for a Skyrmion Spin Liquid Phase

We present a comprehensive analysis of high resolution neutron scattering data involving Neutron Spin Echo spectroscopy and Spherical Polarimetry which confirm the first order nature of the helical transition and reveal the existence of a new spin liquid skyrmion phase. Similar to the blue phases of liquid crystals this phase appears in a very narrow temperature range between the low temperature helical and the high temperature paramagnetic phases.Comment: 11 pages, 16 figure

Enhancing image contrast using coherent states and photon number resolving detectors

We experimentally map the transverse profile of diffraction-limited beams using photon-number-resolving detectors. We observe strong compression of diffracted beam profiles for high detected photon number. This effect leads to higher contrast than a conventional irradiance profile between two Airy disk-beams separated by the Rayleigh criterion.Comment: 7 pages, 3 figures, accepted for publication in Optics Expres

Midwest Dairy School Focuses on Generational Transfer

The Midwest Dairy School provides a one day learning opportunity for producers, industry, and potentially new dairy producers to network and engage in a current topic. With support from the dairy industry and business community, Iowa State University Extension, Northeast Iowa Community College, and Northeast Iowa Dairy Foundation, this program has continued to provide valuable information

Low Cost Milking Parlors—Producer Surveys

Producer surveys showed very positive results in switching from flat barn parlors or stall barns to LCP’s. An average of 54% more cows are able to be milked with an average of 2.44 less daily hours of labor. Producers on average doubled their labor efficiency in numberof cows milked per hour with some reaching the goal of 70 cows milked per labor hour including set-up and clean-up. Production increased 15% while SCC dropped 22.3%. Feeding and housing efficiencies were gained as well. Investment in a LCP allowed producers to drop cost of milking cows to $1.27 per hundredweight (some less than$1 per hundredweight) with labor included. In sum, LCP gave a very positive quality of life, financial return, and milking labor advantage over stall barns or flat barn parlors. Many dairy producers ( \u3e 40+% in Iowa) are milking in stall barns or antiquated milking parlors which are achieving only 25 cows milked per person per hour. In comparison, other producers are achieving 75 cows milked per person per hour in well-designed milking parlors. This difference represents a person being three times more efficient with use of labor which translates into significant differences in farm profitability between these milking systems. Making milking easier and more labor efficient should be a primary goal for dairy producers who are milking less than 45 cows per person per hour. Most of these milking systems can be modernized in cost effective ways that usually payback in very reasonable timeframes using Low Cost Parlors (LCP)

Leave No Dairy Calf Behind Educational Program

Having healthy dairy replacements is critical to a farm’s overall profitability and sustainability, whether heifers are grown on-farm or custom-raised. Utilizing 40 calf management surveys, 10 on-farm workshops, 3 webinars, and 20 individual visits, producers evaluated various calf feeding and management options to make a better decision on their farm to implement a program best suited for their management, labor, and financial structure. Long term application of this educational program will produce healthy dairy replacements that will improve profitability and productivity. Over 200 participants viewed and evaluated a calf feeding and management system, with nearly 10% in the process or completed the change, which may include improved housing and ventilation systems, installation of automated calf-feeders or pasteurizers, and enhanced nutritional feeding programs