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Response of two indeterminate soybean cultivars to plant competition induced by altered row widths and plant densities.
Matching Kasteleyn Cities for Spin Glass Ground States
As spin glass materials have extremely slow dynamics, devious numerical
methods are needed to study low-temperature states. A simple and fast
optimization version of the classical Kasteleyn treatment of the Ising model is
described and applied to two-dimensional Ising spin glasses. The algorithm
combines the Pfaffian and matching approaches to directly strip droplet
excitations from an excited state. Extended ground states in Ising spin glasses
on a torus, which are optimized over all boundary conditions, are used to
compute precise values for ground state energy densities.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures; minor clarification
Tumbleweeds and airborne gravitational noise sources for LIGO
Gravitational-wave detectors are sensitive not only to astrophysical
gravitational waves, but also to the fluctuating Newtonian gravitational forces
of moving masses in the ground and air around the detector. This paper studies
the gravitational effects of density perturbations in the atmosphere, and from
massive airborne objects near the detector. These effects were previously
considered by Saulson; in this paper I revisit these phenomena, considering
transient atmospheric shocks, and the effects of sound waves or objects
colliding with the ground or buildings around the test masses. I also consider
temperature perturbations advected past the detector as a source of
gravitational noise. I find that the gravitational noise background is below
the expected noise floor even of advanced interferometric detectors, although
only by an order of magnitude for temperature perturbations carried along
turbulent streamlines. I also find that transient shockwaves in the atmosphere
could potentially produce large spurious signals, with signal-to-noise ratios
in the hundreds in an advanced interferometric detector. These signals could be
vetoed by means of acoustic sensors outside of the buildings. Massive
wind-borne objects such as tumbleweeds could also produce gravitational signals
with signal-to-noise ratios in the hundreds if they collide with the
interferometer buildings, so it may be necessary to build fences preventing
such objects from approaching within about 30m of the test masses.Comment: 15 pages, 10 PostScript figures, uses REVTeX4.cls and epsfig.st
Pulsar timing and spacetime curvature
We analyze the effect of weak field gravitational waves on the timing of pulsars, with particular attention to gauge invariance, that is, to the effects that are independent of the choice of coordinates. We find (1) the Doppler shift cannot be separated into gauge invariant gravitational wave and kinetic contributions; (2) a gauge invariant separation can be made for the time derivative of the Doppler shift in which the gravitational wave contribution is directly related to the Riemann tensor, and the kinetic contribution is that for special relativity; (3) the gaugedependent effects in the Doppler shift play no role in the program of gravitational wave detection via pulsar timing. The direct connection shown between pulsar timing and the Riemann tensor of the gravitational waves will be of importance in discussions of gravitational waves from alternative (non-Einsteinian) theories of gravitation
Star formation in the giant HII regions of M101
The molecular components of three giant HII regions (NGC 5461, NGC 5462, NGC
5471) in the galaxy M101 are investigated with new observations from the James
Clerk Maxwell Telescope, the NRAO 12-meter, and the Owens Valley millimeter
array. Of the three HII regions, only NGC 5461 had previously been detected in
CO emission.
We calculate preliminary values for the molecular mass of the GMCs in NGC
5461 by assuming a CO-to-H_2 factor (X factor) and then compare these values
with the virial masses. We conclude that the data in this paper demonstrate for
the first time that the value of X may decrease in regions with intense star
formation.
The molecular mass for the association of clouds in NGC 5461 is approximately
3x10^7 Mo and is accompanied by 1-2 times as much atomic mass. The observed CO
emission in NGC 5461 is an order of magnitude stronger than in NGC 5462, while
it was not possible to detect molecular gas toward NGC 5471 with the JCMT. An
even larger ratio of atomic to molecular gas in NGC 5471 was observed, which
might be attributed to efficient conversion of molecular to atomic gas.
The masses of the individual clouds in NGC 5461, which are gravitationally
bound, cover a range of (2-8) x 10^5 Mo, comparable with the masses of Galactic
giant molecular clouds (GMCs). Higher star forming efficiencies, and not
massive clouds, appear to be the prerequisite for the formation of the large
number of stars whose radiation is required to produce the giant HII regions in
M101.Comment: 32 pages, 5 figures, accepted for publication in the Astrophysical
Journa
Discrete Breathers in a Realistic Coarse-Grained Model of Proteins
We report the results of molecular dynamics simulations of an off-lattice
protein model featuring a physical force-field and amino-acid sequence. We show
that localized modes of nonlinear origin (discrete breathers) emerge naturally
as continuations of a subset of high-frequency normal modes residing at
specific sites dictated by the native fold. In the case of the small
-barrel structure that we consider, localization occurs on the turns
connecting the strands. At high energies, discrete breathers stabilize the
structure by concentrating energy on few sites, while their collapse marks the
onset of large-amplitude fluctuations of the protein. Furthermore, we show how
breathers develop as energy-accumulating centres following perturbations even
at distant locations, thus mediating efficient and irreversible energy
transfers. Remarkably, due to the presence of angular potentials, the breather
induces a local static distortion of the native fold. Altogether, the
combination of this two nonlinear effects may provide a ready means for
remotely controlling local conformational changes in proteins.Comment: Submitted to Physical Biolog
Strong field effects on pulsar arrival times: Circular orbits and equatorial beams
If a pulsar orbits a supermassive black hole, the timing of pulses that pass close to the hole will show a variety of strong field effects. To compute the intensity and timing of pulses that have passed close to a nonrotating black hole, we introduce here a simple formalism based on two \ universal functions,\ one for the bending of photon trajectories and the other for the photon travel time on these trajectories. We apply this simple formalism to the case of a pulsar in circular orbit that beams its pulses into the orbital plane. In addition to the \ primary\ pulses that reach the receiver by a more-or-less direct path, we find that there are secondary and higher-order pulses. These are usually much dimmer than the primary pulses, but they can be of comparable or even greater intensity if they are emitted when pulsar is on the side of the hole furthest from the receiver. We show that there is a phase relationship of the primary and secondary pulses that is a probe of the strongly curved spacetime geometry. Analogs of these phenomena are expected in more general configurations, in which a pulsar in orbit around a hole emits pulses that are not confined to the orbital plane. Ă© 2009. The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved
Higher Education Exchange: 2008
This annual publication serves as a forum for new ideas and dialogue between scholars and the larger public. Essays explore ways that students, administrators, and faculty can initiate and sustain an ongoing conversation about the public life they share.The Higher Education Exchange is founded on a thought articulated by Thomas Jefferson in 1820: "I know no safe depository of the ultimate powers of the society but the people themselves; and if we think them not enlightened enough to exercise their control with a wholesome discretion, the remedy is not to take it from them, but to inform their discretion by education."In the tradition of Jefferson, the Higher Education Exchange agrees that a central goal of higher education is to help make democracy possible by preparing citizens for public life. The Higher Education Exchange is part of a movement to strengthen higher education's democratic mission and foster a more democratic culture throughout American society.Working in this tradition, the Higher Education Exchange publishes interviews, case studies, analyses, news, and ideas about efforts within higher education to develop more democratic societies
Intrarater and Interrater Reliability of the Soong Classification for Distal Radius Volar Locking Plate Placement
Background: The purpose of this study was to analyze the intrarater and interrater reliability of the Soong classification for volar locking plate placement on a randomly selected, consecutive series of radiographs. Our hypothesis was that the classification would be reliable. Methods: Six physicians of differing levels of training (orthopedic surgery intern to fellowship-trained upper extremity staff) were asked to review 40 radiographs in a random order on 2 separate occasions, 4 weeks apart. All observers graded each image (0, 1, or 2) based on the corresponding Soong grade. A weighted Îș was used to determine the intrarater agreement. The interrater agreement was determined using an intraclass coefficient: Results: The intrarater reliability using a weighted Îș ranged from 0.229 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.048-0.411) to 0.946 (95% CI: 0.840-1.051). The interrater intraclass coefficient for Randomization 1 was 0.944 (95% 0.912-0.967) and Randomization 2 was 0.877 (95% CI: 0.797-0.930). Conclusion: The Soong classification is a reliable tool, both interrater and intrarater, for assessing distal radius volar locking plate placement. The classification system remained reliable despite a randomly selected, consecutive series of images and physician observers of varying levels of training
Should doctors reconstruct the vaginal introitus of adolescent girls to mimic the virginal state?
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