Millet agriculture dispersed from Northeast China to the Russian Far East: integrating archaeology, genetics, and linguistics

Broomcorn and foxtail millets were being cultivated in the West Liao River basin in Northeast China by at least the sixth millennium BCE. However, when and how millet agriculture spread from there to the north and east remains poorly understood. Here, we trace the dispersal of millet agriculture from Northeast China to the Russian Far East and weigh demic against cultural diffusion as mechanisms for that dispersal. We compare two routes for the spread of millet into the Russian Far East discussed in previous research—an inland route across Manchuria, and a coastal/inland route initially following the Liaodong Peninsula and Yalu River—using an archaeological dataset including millet remains, pottery, stone tools, spindle whorls, jade and figurines. We then integrate the archaeological evidence with linguistic and genetic findings in an approach we term ‘triangulation’. We conclude that an expansion of agricultural societies in Northeast China during the Middle to Late Hongshan (4000–3000 BCE) coincided with the arrival of millet cultivation in eastern Heilongjiang and the Primorye province of the Russian Far East. Our findings support the inland, Manchuria route for the dispersal of millet to the Primorye and suggest that, as well as long-distance cultural exchange, demic diffusion was also involved. Our results are broadly compatible with the farming/language dispersal hypothesis and consistent with a link between the spread of millet farming and proto-Tungusic, the language ancestral to the contemporary Tungusic languages, in late Neolithic Northeast Asia. © 2020 The Author

SOYBEANS QUALITY PRICE DIFFERENTIALS FROM AN ELEVATOR'S PERSPECTIVE

Soybean prices are determined by interaction between various factors. At an elevator, discount prices for unique characteristics can range from 0.02 cents per bushel to 7.71 cents per bushel of soybeans. This variation suggests that producers of soybeans need quality-characteristic specific information concerning soybeans pricing at the market. This study uses a hedonic model to evaluate price differentials associated with soybean quality based on grain elevator data during the 1998 production period. Foreign material, moisture, bean damage, and net weight were found to significantly influence the cash price of soybeans.hedonic, quality, discount, Crop Production/Industries, Demand and Price Analysis,

The elements of a computational infrastructure for social simulation

Applications of simulation modelling in social science domains are varied and increasingly widespread. The effective deployment of simulation models depends on access to diverse datasets, the use of analysis capabilities, the ability to visualize model outcomes and to capture, share and re-use simulations as evidence in research and policy-making. We describe three applications of e-social science that promote social simulation modelling, data management and visualization. An example is outlined in which the three components are brought together in a transport planning context. We discuss opportunities and benefits for the combination of these and other components into an e-infrastructure for social simulation and review recent progress towards the establishment of such an infrastructure

Redshift-distance Survey of Early-type Galaxies: The D_n-sigma Relation

In this paper R-band photometric and velocity dispersion measurements for a sample of 452 elliptical and S0 galaxies in 28 clusters are used to construct a template D_n-sigma relation. This template relation is constructed by combining the data from the 28 clusters, under the assumption that galaxies in different clusters have similar properties. The photometric and spectroscopic data used consist of new as well as published measurements, converted to a common system, as presented in a accompanying paper. The resulting direct relation, corrected for incompleteness bias, is log{D_n} =1.203 log{sigma} + 1.406; the zero-point has been defined by requiring distant clusters to be at rest relative to the CMB. This zero-point is consistent with the value obtained by using the distance to Virgo as determined by the Cepheid period-luminosity relation. This new D_n-sigma relation leads to a peculiar velocity of -72 (\pm 189) km/s for the Coma cluster. The scatter in the distance relation corresponds to a distance error of about 20%, comparable to the values obtained for the Fundamental Plane relation. Correlations between the scatter and residuals of the D_n-sigma relation with other parameters that characterize the cluster and/or the galaxy stellar population are also analyzed. The direct and inverse relations presented here have been used in recent studies of the peculiar velocity field mapped by the ENEAR all-sky sample.Comment: 46 pages, 20 figures, and 7 tables. To appear in AJ, vol. 123, no. 5, May 200

Franck-Condon Factors and Radiative Lifetime of the A^{2}\Pi_{1/2} - X^{2}\Sigma^{+} Transition of Ytterbium Monoflouride, YbF

The fluorescence spectrum resulting from laser excitation of the A^{2}\Pi_{1/2} - X^{2}\Sigma^{+} (0,0) band of ytterbium monofluoride, YbF, has been recorded and analyzed to determine the Franck-Condon factors. The measured values are compared with those predicted from Rydberg-Klein-Rees (RKR) potential energy curves. From the fluorescence decay curve the radiative lifetime of the A^{2}\Pi_{1/2} state is measured to be 28\pm2 ns, and the corresponding transition dipole moment is 4.39\pm0.16 D. The implications for laser cooling YbF are discussed.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

From SICs and MUBs to Eddington

This is a survey of some very old knowledge about Mutually Unbiased Bases (MUB) and Symmetric Informationally Complete POVMs (SIC). In prime dimensions the former are closely tied to an elliptic normal curve symmetric under the Heisenberg group, while the latter are believed to be orbits under the Heisenberg group in all dimensions. In dimensions 3 and 4 the SICs are understandable in terms of elliptic curves, but a general statement escapes us. The geometry of the SICs in 3 and 4 dimensions is discussed in some detail.Comment: 12 pages; from the Festschrift for Tony Sudber

First cosmic shear results from the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Wide Synoptic Legacy Survey

We present the first measurements of the weak gravitational lensing signal induced by the large scale mass distribution from data obtained as part of the ongoing Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope Legacy Survey (CFHTLS). The data used in this analysis are from the Wide Synoptic Survey, which aims to image ~170 square degree in five filters. We have analysed ~22 deg2 (31 pointings) of i' data spread over two of the three survey fields. These data are of excellent quality and the results bode well for the remainder of the survey: we do not detect a significant `B'-mode, suggesting that residual systematics are negligible at the current level of accuracy. Assuming a Cold Dark Matter model and marginalising over the Hubble parameter h=[0.6,0.8], the source redshift distribution and systematics, we constrain sigma_8, the amplitude of the matter power spectrum. At a fiducial matter density Omega_m=0.3 we find sigma_8=0.85+-0.06. This estimate is in excellent agreement with previous studies. Combination of our results with those from the Deep component of the CFHTLS enables us to place a constraint on a constant equation of state for the dark energy, based on cosmic shear data alone. We find that w_0<-0.8 at 68% confidence.Comment: Submitted to Ap

Controlled single electron transfer between Si:P dots

We demonstrate electrical control of Si:P double dots in which the potential is defined by nanoscale phosphorus doped regions. Each dot contains approximately 600 phosphorus atoms and has a diameter close to 30 nm. On application of a differential bias across the dots, electron transfer is observed, using single electron transistors in both dc- and rf-mode as charge detectors. With the possibility to scale the dots down to few and even single atoms these results open the way to a new class of precision-doped quantum dots in silicon.Comment: 3 figures, 3 page