The Kiln and Red Earthenware Pottery of the Jordan Pottery Site: A Preliminary Overview

No abstract is available at this time

Hospital Cost and Efficiency Under Per Service and Per Case Payment in Maryland: A Tale of the Carrot and the Stick

The simultaneous operation of per case and per servicepayment systems in Maryland, and the varying levels of stringency used in setting per case rates allows comparison of effects of differing incentive structures on hospital costs. This paper presents such a comparison with 1977-1981 data. Cost per case and total cost regressions show evidence of lower costs only when per case payment limits are very stringent. Positive net revenue incentives appear insufficient to induce reductions in length of stay and in ancillary services use. Our results suggest these changes in medical practice patterns are more likely under the threat of financial losses.

Growth in Disability Benefits: Explanations and Policy Implications

This collection of original papers reveals why caseloads of the nation\u27s two largest income entitlement programs for disability - Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) - have soared.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1191/thumbnail.jp

Brillouin-LIDAR: Erprobung und Erweiterung

Die Temperaturverteilung innerhalb der obersten Wasserschicht in den Ozeanen hat maßgeblichen Einfluss auf Wetterphänomene und das Klima im Allgemeinen. Die Messung von tiefenaufgelösten Temperaturprofilen in dieser sogenannten Durchmischungszone ist deshalb für die Verbesserung von Klima- und Ozeanmodellen sowie Wettervorhersagen von großer Bedeutung. Sie erfolgt bisher ausschließlich mit berührungsbasierten Messsystemen, die entweder langsam und unflexibel oder kostenintensiv sind. Als zusätzliches Werkzeug für die tiefenaufgelöste Temperaturprofilbestimmung wird deshalb das Brillouin-LIDAR-System entwickelt, welches die Messung berührungslos mithilfe von Laserpulsen ermöglicht. In seiner finalen Ausbaustufe, soll es so kompakt, leicht und vibrationsunanfällig sein, sodass es von einer mobilen Plattform aus betrieben werden kann, zum Beispiel an Bord eines Helikopters. Als Strahlquelle wird ein frequenzverdoppeltes Faserverstärkersystem verwendet, das Laserpulse bei einer Wellenlänge von 543,3nm bereitstellt. Werden die Pulse ins Wasser eingestrahlt, kommt es dort unter anderem zur Brillouin-Streuung. Dabei handelt es sich um eine inelastische Streuung des Lichtes an Dichtefluktuationen, die sich mit der Schallgeschwindigkeit ausbreiten. Bei der Streuung erfährt das Licht eine Frequenzverschiebung, die über den Brechungsindex und die Schallgeschwindigkeit mit der Temperatur und dem Salzgehalt des Wassers verknüpft ist. Das gestreute Licht wird aufgefangen und mit Hilfe eines atomaren Kantenfilters (ESFADOF) analysiert. Der Filter übersetzt die Frequenzverschiebung in eine einfache Transmissionsänderung, sodass die Temperaturinformation über eine einfache normierte Leistungsmessung erhalten werden kann. Die vorliegende Arbeit beschreibt unter anderem den ersten Feldtest, der mit dem System durchgeführt wurde. Dieser fand an der italienischen Mittelmeerküste in La Spezia statt. Nach dem Feldtest wurden dort gemachte Erfahrungen genutzt, um das System für zukünftige Feldtests zu optimieren. Außerdem wurden im Labor Messungen durchgeführt mit dem Ziel eine empirische Relation zwischen der spektralen Breite des Brillouin-gestreuten Lichtes, der Temperatur und dem Salzgehalt zu erhalten. Dazu wurde das in einem mitWasser verschiedener Temperaturen und Salzgehalten gefüllten Probenrohr gestreute Licht mithilfe eines Fabry-Pérot-Interferometers spektral untersucht. Die erhaltene empirische Relation wurde schließlich genutzt, um zu simulieren, ob man die Temperatur und den Salzgehalt unter Verwendung von zwei Kantenfiltern, deren Kanten leicht gegeneinander verschoben sind, gleichzeitig bestimmen kann. Die dabei gewonnenen Ergebnisse sprechen dafür, dass dies möglich und die dabei erreichbare Temperaturgenauigkeit ausreichend ist

Thermal modelling of a passive style net-zero greenhouse in Alberta: The effect of ground parameters and the solar to air fraction

Agricultural greenhouses can provide a suitable microclimate for crops to thrive under extreme weather conditions. The operations of these greenhouses are expensive due to the energy requirement of the active thermal conditioning systems required to maintain the growing environment for crop production. Engineering of these greenhouses to utilize clean renewable energy sources is critical and necessary to mitigate their carbon footprint, paving the way to a more sustainable agricultural industry. This paper presents numerical modelling of a net-zero passive solar greenhouse in Alberta, Canada with winter temperatures below freezing. The indoor microclimate of the greenhouse is modelled using the detailed radiation model of a transient simulation tool, TRNSYS. The paper investigates the effects of ground parameters and the solar-to-air fraction on the numerical results. The paper includes a cost comparison between crop production in the traditional and passive style greenhouse

Stage-specific histone modification profiles reveal global transitions in the Xenopus embryonic epigenome.

Vertebrate embryos are derived from a transitory pool of pluripotent cells. By the process of embryonic induction, these precursor cells are assigned to specific fates and differentiation programs. Histone post-translational modifications are thought to play a key role in the establishment and maintenance of stable gene expression patterns underlying these processes. While on gene level histone modifications are known to change during differentiation, very little is known about the quantitative fluctuations in bulk histone modifications during development. To investigate this issue we analysed histones isolated from four different developmental stages of Xenopus laevis by mass spectrometry. In toto, we quantified 59 modification states on core histones H3 and H4 from blastula to tadpole stages. During this developmental period, we observed in general an increase in the unmodified states, and a shift from histone modifications associated with transcriptional activity to transcriptionally repressive histone marks. We also compared these naturally occurring patterns with the histone modifications of murine ES cells, detecting large differences in the methylation patterns of histone H3 lysines 27 and 36 between pluripotent ES cells and pluripotent cells from Xenopus blastulae. By combining all detected modification transitions we could cluster their patterns according to their embryonic origin, defining specific histone modification profiles (HMPs) for each developmental stage. To our knowledge, this data set represents the first compendium of covalent histone modifications and their quantitative flux during normogenesis in a vertebrate model organism. The HMPs indicate a stepwise maturation of the embryonic epigenome, which may be causal to the progressing restriction of cellular potency during development

Selection and Vegetative Propagation of Native Woody Plants for Water-Wise Landscaping

Native woody plants with ornamental characteristics such as brilliant fall color, dwarf form, or glossy leaves have potential for use in water conserving urban landscapes. Individual accessions with one or more of these unique characteristics were identified based on the recommendations of a wide range of plant enthusiasts (both professional and amateur). Documentation of these accessions has been done through locating plants on-site where possible and then developing a record based on digital photography, GPS determined latitude and longitude, and place marking of Google Earth© images. Since desirable characteristics are often unique to a single plant, utilization of these plants by the landscape industry requires that they be clonally propagated. Methods of asexual propagation including grafting, budding, layering and cuttings may be successful with native plants, but are species and even accession specific. We report on the successful cutting propagation of Arctostaphylos patula, A. pungens, and Cercocarpus intricatus, and lack of success with Juniperus osteosperma, and Mahonia fremontii

Greenhouse electrification via transactive energy management strategy

Distributed energy resources have grown significantly in Canada and the world over the past decade, particularly in the agricultural sector. As P2P (peer-to-peer) energy trading plays a fundamental role in renewable energy uptake and system flexibility for the low-carbon energy transition, this paper provides an overview of this approach from a techno-economic standpoint for two greenhouses located in Leamington, Ontario. The real-time site solar irradiation, ambient temperature, and load demand over 8760 h have been utilized to drive the designs. In this investigation, two cases are assessed for pepper greenhouse: Case I: energy purchase from the grid and Case II: energy purchase from excess energy of neighbor which is cucumber-tomato greenhouse. The integration of 50 kW PV/1 kWh battery/35 kW converter achieves the feasibility criteria by recording net present cost (NPC) and cost of energy (COE), which are $29.6k and$0.044/kWh, respectively

Mineral Distribution In Relation To Fruit Development And Monocarpic Senescence In Anoka Soybeans

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/141047/1/ajb206058.pd