Money Makes the Diamond: A Creation of a Predictive Model to Forecast On-Field Performance Through Usage of Past Financial Data

This paper examines the feasibility of using statistics to predict win values for major league baseball. Definite correlations were discovered between a Major League organization’s finances and on-field performance. Stated correlations are used to generate a predictive model that will predict on-field outcomes. Using regression analysis, such a model is construed, and successfully predicted win ratios for Major League Baseball organizations using only available past financial data

RELATING METABOLIC PHENOTYPES TO MOVEMENT BEHAVIOR IN BROOK TROUT

Brook trout movement-related life history strategies vary considerably and range from individuals that stay within the same 100 meters their entire life to individuals that are potamodromous or anadromous. Potential drivers of movement life histories have been the subject of much research in fish, with genetic subpopulation explanations often failing to explain the phenomenon. Metabolic phenotypes have been suggested as a possible driver for expression of different movement life histories. I investigated if metabolic phenotypes are related to movement strategies within a population of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) in Unnamed Creek, a tributary to the Rock River, Alger County, MI. Intermittent flow respirometry was used in the field using ambient stream water to determine metabolic phenotypes of wild trout. Individuals were then tagged with passive integrated transponders (PIT) and tracked with stationary readers and a backpack reader during the summer. Brook trout that moved over 250m displayed a significantly larger aerobic scope than individuals that moved less than 250m. Temperature effects on metabolic measures were not detected among the brook trout in this study, but this could be due to wild acclimation to a range of temperatures rather than a single value.. This study suggests that brook trout metabolic phenotypes are variable between individuals and likely relate to movement phenotype under natural field conditions

Preliminary Results from a Study of the Effect of Deer Browsing on Bearded and Unbearded Wheat Yield

Wheat is an important agronomic crop that is a common winter food source for white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) in agricultural landscapes. In 2007 and 2008, I investigated spatial and temporal browsing on 2 types of wheat (bearded and unbearded) in fields bordered on one side by a forest. I placed 960 4.6 m2 plots in the middle of 10 m distance classes (5m, 15m, 25m, 35m, 45m, 55m). In 2007, I systematically assigned 1 of 2 treatments (no protection, protected at planting), and in 2008, I added a third treatment, protected prior to heading. After head emergence, I conducted weekly browse surveys and collected biomass samples. I harvested a 1 m2 area in the middle of each plot to determine yield . We used a two-way ANOVA with the main effects of wheat type and protection to determine the impact on yield. The main effects did not interact to affect yield either year (P\u3e0.05). In 2007, bearded wheat yielded 523.7 kg/ha greater than unbearded wheat (P\u3c0.001), whereas the opposite was true in 2008 with unbearded yielding 155.3 kg/ha greater (P\u3c0.001). In 2007, deer browsing increased yield by 284.8 kg/ha (P\u3c0.015), conversely in 2008, fully protected wheat yielded 226.3 kg/ha greater than all other treatments (P\u3c0.008). Browsing increased in intensity as head development progressed with most browsing occurring on the unbearded wheat. Our results varied annually, which suggests that factors other than deer browsing may be more important to determining wheat yield. More research is needed to better elucidate the effect of deer browse on wheat yield

Nanoporous biocarbons as a storage system for natural gas as fuel for vehicles

Abstract only availableNatural gas is a promising fuel source because it is safe, inexpensive, cleaner than gasoline, domestically produced, and already has an infrastructure for its distribution. Methane, the main component of natural gas, however, does not have a high energy density, and to store enough in today's natural gas storage tanks to power vehicles, the gas must be compressed to 3600 psi. To be strong enough to hold up at those high pressures, Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) tanks must be bulky and cylindrical, and occupy the trunk space in today's CNG cars, which is considered prohibitive to the cars' market success. ALL-CRAFT's purpose is to develop nanoporous biocarbons which can store methane at relatively low pressures, allowing future tanks to be flat and sleek, ideally occupying the space below the car, making natural gas vehicles attractive consumer products. As a long-term goal, ALL-CRAFT is optimizing biocarbons for hydrogen storage for fuel cells. Nanoporous carbons are like sponges, soaking up molecules of adsorbent gas. The nanoporous biocarbons store up to five times more methane than an empty tank at the same pressure, despite the fact that the carbon obviously takes up space. It does this using van der Waals forces which act on the methane molecules at short distances. These forces cause the methane to form a supercritical fluid film on the surface of the carbon. The extremely high surface area of ALL-CRAFT's carbon samples—recently approaching 4000 square meters of surface per gram of carbon sample—means that our carbons can hold 180 times their volume in methane. Biocarbons can be made from myriad biomass sources. ALL-CRAFT hopes to perfect a process for making them from corn cob; using just the cob is advantageous because this does not displace corn as a food source like Ethanol does.Missouri Academy at Northwest Missouri State University, Alliance for Collaborative Research in Alternate Fuel Technolog

Impact of the assimilation of ozone from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer on surface ozone across North America

We examine the impact of assimilating ozone observations from the Tropospheric Emission Spectrometer (TES) on North American surface ozone abundances in the GEOS-Chem model in August 2006. The assimilation reduces the negative bias in the modeled free tropospheric ozone, which enhances the ozone flux into the boundary layer. Surface ozone abundances increased by as much as 9 ppb in western North America and by less than 2 ppb in the southeast, resulting in a total background source of ozone of 20-40 ppb. The enhanced ozone in the model reduced the model bias with respect to surface ozone observations in the western USA, but exacerbated it in the east. This increase in the bias in the boundary layer in the east, despite the agreement between the assimilation and ozonesonde measurements in the free troposphere, suggests errors in the ozone sources or sinks or in boundary layer mixing in the model. © 2009

Spatially resolved photoluminescence analysis of Se passivation and defect formation in CdSex_{x}Te1−x_{1-x} thin films

CdTe is the most commercially successful thin-film photovoltaic technology to date. The recent development of Se-alloyed CdSe$_{x}$Te$_{1-x}$ layers in CdTe solar cells has led to higher device efficiencies, due to a lowered bandgap improving the photocurrent, improved voltage characteristics and longer carrier lifetimes. Evidence from cross-sectional electron microscopy is widely believed to indicate that Se passivates defects in CdSe$_{x}$Te$_{1-x}$ solar cells, and that this is the reason for better lifetimes and voltages in these devices. Here, we utilise spatially resolved photoluminescence measurements of CdSe$_{x}$Te$_{1-x}$ thin films on glass to study the effects of Se on carrier recombination in the material, isolated from the impact of conductive interfaces and without the need to prepare cross-sections through the samples. We find further evidence to support Se passivation of grain boundaries, but also identify an associated increase in below-bandgap photoluminescence that indicates the presence of Se-enhanced luminescent defects. Our results show that Se treatment, in tandem with Cl passivation, does increase radiative efficiencies. However, the simultaneous enhancement of defects within the grain interiors suggests that although it is overall beneficial, Se incorporation may still ultimately limit the maximum attainable efficiency of CdSe$_{x}$Te$_{1-x}$ solar cells