329 research outputs found
IDENTIFICATION OF ERRORS IN COTTON FIBER DATA SETS USING BAYESIAN NETWORKS
Cotton fiber is graded on a series of parameters based on physiological factors (strength, length, and thickness), lint color, and presence of non-lint matter such as leaves, stems or other foreign materials. Cotton lint is graded by the USDA-AMS after harvest and ginning, and the grade determines the price of the lint. Given the importance of cotton fiber quality to the value of the crop, the spatial variability of cotton fiber properties is of particular interest to researchers and producers in developing management scenarios for optimal profitability. Previous research studies have relied on hand-harvesting the cotton at intervals throughout the field to obtain a measure of the cotton fiber quality and the extent of spatial variability. However, hand-harvested cotton has different qualities than that harvested by machine and ginned in the large-scale production gins. Part of this arises from the difference in efficiency of harvest between machine and humans, and part results from the different gins used for the smaller sample sizes. While these studies have demonstrated the extent of spatial variability of fiber properties, handharvesting is not amenable to large-scale or production research efforts. Moreover, the differences in fiber properties limit the extension of the results to the production setting. We have developed a mechanism of sampling cotton from the cotton chute during mechanical harvest. The samples are then ginned on a research gin. This study was undertaken to develop a method of translating these small-scale researcher level results to full-scale production level results. The research reported here is the first step in that effort, and demonstrates the use of Bayesian networks to detect erroneous entries in cotton fiber data sets
Tameness of holomorphic closure dimension in a semialgebraic set
Given a semianalytic set S in a complex space and a point p in S, there is a
unique smallest complex-analytic germ at p which contains the germ of S, called
the holomorphic closure of S at p. We show that if S is semialgebraic then its
holomorphic closure is a Nash germ, for every p, and S admits a semialgebraic
filtration by the holomorphic closure dimension. As a consequence, every
semialgebraic subset of a complex vector space admits a semialgebraic
stratification into CR manifolds satisfying a strong version of the condition
of the frontier.Comment: Published versio
Autoantibodies to Hair Follicles in C3H/HeJ Mice With Alopecia AreataâLike Hair Loss
We have previously described spontaneous but reversible hair loss that clinically and histologically resembles human alopecia areata in a colony of C3H/HeJ mice. Alopecia areata in humans is associated with antibodies to hair follicles. This study was conducted to determine whether C3H/HeJ mice with hair loss have a similar abnormal antibody response to hair follicles. Eighteen C3H/HeJ mice with alopecia, 12 unaffected littermates, and 15 control mice were examined for circulating antibodies to C3H/HeJ anagen hair follicles by indirect immunofluorescence and against extracts of isolated C3H/HeJ and human anagen hair follicles by immunoblotting. Using both procedures, antibodies to anagen hair follicles were present in all C3H/HeJ mice with alopecia but in none of the control mice. The antibodies were also present in some unaffected C3H/HeJ littermates but were absent in mice of an unrelated strain with inflammatory skin disease and alopecia, indicating that their appearance did not result from the hair loss. These antibodies reacted to hair follicleâspecific antigens of 40â60kDa present in murine and human anagen hair follicles. These antigens were also reactive with human alopecia areata antibodies. Some of the antibodies in both C3H/HeJ mice and humans with alopecia areata reacted to antigens of 44 and 46 kDa, which were identified as hair follicleâspecific keratins. This study indicates that C3H/HeJ mice with hair loss have circulating antibodies to hair follicles similar to those present in humans with alopecia areata. These findings confirm that these mice are an appropriate model for human alopecia areata and support the hypothesis that alopecia areata results from an abnormal autoimmune response to hair follicles
Extremal discs and the holomorphic extension from convex hypersurfaces
Let D be a convex domain with smooth boundary in complex space and let f be a
continuous function on the boundary of D. Suppose that f holomorphically
extends to the extremal discs tangent to a convex subdomain of D. We prove that
f holomorphically extends to D. The result partially answers a conjecture by
Globevnik and Stout of 1991
Spin relaxation in (110) and (001) InAs/GaSb superlattices
We report an enhancement of the electron spin relaxation time (T1) in a (110)
InAs/GaSb superlattice by more than an order of magnitude (25 times) relative
to the corresponding (001) structure. The spin dynamics were measured using
polarization sensitive pump probe techniques and a mid-infrared, subpicosecond
PPLN OPO. Longer T1 times in (110) superlattices are attributed to the
suppression of the native interface asymmetry and bulk inversion asymmetry
contributions to the precessional D'yakonov Perel spin relaxation process.
Calculations using a nonperturbative 14-band nanostructure model give good
agreement with experiment and indicate that possible structural inversion
asymmetry contributions to T1 associated with compositional mixing at the
superlattice interfaces may limit the observed spin lifetime in (110)
superlattices. Our findings have implications for potential spintronics
applications using InAs/GaSb heterostructures.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figure
Infrared, optical, and ultraviolet observations of hydrogen line emission from Seyfert galaxies
Nearly simultaneous observations are reported of PÉ, HÉ, and HÎČ emission from 18 Seyfert galaxies and of LyÉ from eight of these galaxies. In many cases, PÉ is stronger relative to the Balmer lines than is predicted by recombination calculations; reddening appears to be required. Dispersion in the PÉ/HÉ/HÎČ ratios orthogonal to the reddening track indicates that high densities or optical depths also affect the line flux ratios. Several galaxies, notably NGC 1275, have very low PÉ/HÉ ratios. High densities, large optical depths, and reddening probably all contribute to the low observed LÉ/HÎČ ratios
Spin relaxation of conduction electrons in bulk III-V semiconductors
Spin relaxation time of conduction electrons through the Elliot-Yafet,
D'yakonov-Perel and Bir-Aronov-Pikus mechanisms is calculated theoretically for
bulk GaAs, GaSb, InAs and InSb of both - and -type. Relative importance
of each spin relaxation mechanism is compared and the diagrams showing the
dominant mechanism are constructed as a function of temperature and impurity
concentrations. Our approach is based upon theoretical calculation of the
momentum relaxation rate and allows understanding of the interplay between
various factors affecting the spin relaxation over a broad range of temperature
and impurity concentration.Comment: an error in earlier version correcte
Convection, Thermal Bifurcation, and the Colors of A stars
Broad-band ultraviolet photometry from the TD-1 satellite and low dispersion
spectra from the short wavelength camera of IUE have been used to investigate a
long-standing proposal of Bohm-Vitense that the normal main sequence A- and
early-F stars may divide into two different temperature sequences: (1) a high
temperature branch (and plateau) comprised of slowly rotating convective stars,
and (2) a low temperature branch populated by rapidly rotating radiative stars.
We find no evidence from either dataset to support such a claim, or to confirm
the existence of an "A-star gap" in the B-V color range 0.22 <= B-V <= 0.28 due
to the sudden onset of convection. We do observe, nonetheless, a large scatter
in the 1800--2000 A colors of the A-F stars, which amounts to ~0.65 mags at a
given B-V color index. The scatter is not caused by interstellar or
circumstellar reddening. A convincing case can also be made against binarity
and intrinsic variability due to pulsations of delta Sct origin. We find no
correlation with established chromospheric and coronal proxies of convection,
and thus no demonstrable link to the possible onset of convection among the A-F
stars. The scatter is not instrumental. Approximately 0.4 mags of the scatter
is shown to arise from individual differences in surface gravity as well as a
moderate spread (factor of ~3) in heavy metal abundance and UV line blanketing.
A dispersion of ~0.25 mags remains, which has no clear and obvious explanation.
The most likely cause, we believe, is a residual imprecision in our correction
for the spread in metal abundances. However, the existing data do not rule out
possible contributions from intrinsic stellar variability or from differential
UV line blanketing effects owing to a dispersion in microturbulent velocity.Comment: 40 pages, 14 figures, 1 table, AAS LaTex, to appear in The
Astrophysical Journa
Halogen Oxidation Reactions of (C5Ph5)Cr(CO)3 and Lewis Base Addition To [(C5Ph5)Cr(Ό-X)X]2: Electrochemical, Magnetic, and Raman Spectroscopic Characterization of [(C5Ph5)CrX2]2 and (C5Ph5)CrX2(THF) (X = Cl, Br, I). X-ray Crystal Structure of [(C5Ph5)Cr(Ό-Cl)Cl]2
The 17-electron complex (C5Ph5)Cr(CO)3 reacts with halogens (C6H5IâąCl2, Br2, and I2) in C6H6 to yield the dimeric oxidation products [(C5Ph5)Cr(m-X)X]2 as thermally stable solids. Reactions with other chlorinating agents similarly yield [(C5Ph5)CrCl2]2. An X-ray crystal structure of [(C5Ph5)Cr(m-Cl)Cl]2 was obtained. The magnetic properties of the Cl2 bridged dimer have been determined and modeled using the usual isotropic hamiltonian which yields J/k = â30 K. Low-temperature (77 K) Raman spectra of solid [(C5Ph5)CrX2]2 (X = Cl, I) allow assignments to be made for the metal-ring and metal halogen stretching modes in the low frequency region (\u3c 600 cm-1). Tetrahydrofuran (THF) cleaves these dimers to yield complexes of the form (C5Ph5)CrX2(THF)
Moving beyond physical education subject knowledge to develop knowledgeable teachers of the subject
All knowledge is socially constructed, including physical education teachersâ knowledge of their subject. It is acquired from other people either formally and deliberately (e.g. by being taught) or informally and casually (e.g. by interacting with physical education teachers or playing in a sports team). The social aspects of learning appear to be particularly strong in physical education. This has implications for the development of knowledge for teaching, with trainee teachers focusing on the development of subject, and particularly content, knowledge. Focusing on subject knowledge reinforces a traditional view of physical education as it is, not as it might be to meet the needs of young people today. It is argued that attention needs to be given not only to the knowledge, skills and competencies that trainee teachers ought to develop but also to the social aspects of their learning and development and the context in which they learn. Attention also needs to be given to how the ability to think critically can be developed so that trainee teachers can become reflective practitioners able to challenge and, where appropriate, change the teaching of the subject. Only by doing this can the particularly strong socialisation which shapes the values and beliefs of physical education teachers begin to be challenged. However, as the process of developing knowledgeable teachers is ongoing it is also necessary to look beyond teacher training to continuing professional development
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