An x-ray technique for determining seed placement in direct drilled soils : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy at Massey University

The objectives of this study were to develop and document a reliable workable X-ray technique for identifying seed placement in the soil; to examine those factors which might influence this procedure and to demonstrate the use of the technique in a field experiment. The X-ray technique was based on the principle that seeds coated with a heavy metal powder, when X-rayed within a soil mass, appeared on the X-ray film as white or grey images on a dark background. A coating procedure (based on commercial pelleting) was developed to apply the heavy metal powder to the seed. As the seed images on the X-ray film were to be a shadow representation of the actual seed position in the soil mass, a correction procedure to locate the true positions of the seed was developed. A series of laboratory experiments confirmed that red lead oxide was the most suitable coating material and that higher intensities of coating were required as seed size decreased. Neither soil type nor soil moisture content appeared to have a marked affect on the clarity of the X-ray images. Seed germination was not affected by the amount of red lead oxide coating, the coating procedure, or exposure to moderate levels of radiation. Soil blocks measuring 75 mm by 75 mm by 240 mm long containing the coated seeds should be taken as soon as possible after sowing, as image clarity diminished over time and seed movement occurred in the case of seeds with epigeal germination. Equipment developed to assist in field sampling included a soi1-block-cut ter, re-useable sample bins and a holding jig for X-raying the soil blocks in their bins. Thus the X-ray technique had the ability to determine three dimensional seed placement within a soil mass (sowing depth, in-row width and in-row spacing). The ability of the X-ray technique offers new possibilities for explaining those factors which affect seed placement by direct drilling equipment in field situations

Adaptive strategies for graph state growth in the presence of monitored errors

Graph states (or cluster states) are the entanglement resource that enables one-way quantum computing. They can be grown by projective measurements on the component qubits. Such measurements typically carry a significant failure probability. Moreover, they may generate imperfect entanglement. Here we describe strategies to adapt growth operations in order to cancel incurred errors. Nascent states that initially deviate from the ideal graph states evolve toward the desired high fidelity resource without impractical overheads. Our analysis extends the diagrammatic language of graph states to include characteristics such as tilted vertices, weighted edges, and partial fusion, which arise from experimental imperfections. The strategies we present are relevant to parity projection schemes such as optical `path erasure' with distributed matter qubits.Comment: 4 pages, 4 figures. Typos corrected, nicer figures, neater notation and better rea

A Strategy for Transformation of Men through Implementing Principles from Wesley\u27s Class and Band Groups

The purpose of this thesis project will be to implement certain principles from John Wesley’s class and band groups into the men’s ministry group meeting with the goal of the transformation of men. The research will occur at Grace Fellowship in Comstock Park, Michigan. The author of this project is the founding Pastor and Elder of the church who has been for five years and still is part of the men’s ministry group. Through the use of questionnaires, surveys, personal interviews, and analysis of the information collected by these means, this study will compare information collected before the implementation of Wesley’s principles and information collected after the application of such principles. The comparison and analysis of this information will be used to determine the effectiveness of the principles introduced in the spiritual transformation of men. This research may serve as a model to implement into the women’s ministry or other small groups at Grace Fellowship, as well as other local churches, to maximize the spiritual growth of followers of Jesus Christ