TECHNICAL CHANGE AND NEW DIRECTIONS FOR COTTON PRODUCTION

This report summarizes a year-long study of the current and future role of technology in the Mid-South, Southeast, and High Plains cotton production systems. Specific research objectives were to: 1) Identify the impacts of emerging technology on regional cotton production systems, including the implications of technology adoption on the economic and environmental stability of the system; 2) Examine the future direction of technical change in cotton production and its implications for the biological and economic structure of the cotton production system; and 3) Determine the potential role of future technologies on shifting regional competitiveness in cotton production. Information used in the analysis was collected through a series of consultations with leading cotton research and extension personnel at regional research facilities and land grant universities. Given the verbal, descriptive nature of the information collected, the analysis represents the expert opinions of individuals working with and in the cotton production industry. In short, this report documents the combined vision of cotton production scientists and extension personnel with respect to the future of U.S. and regional cotton production. Necessary background information was obtained from published academic, industry, and government sources.Production Economics, Research and Development/Tech Change/Emerging Technologies,

H ingestion into He-burning convection zones in super-AGB stellar models as a potential site for intermediate neutron-density nucleosynthesis

We investigate the evolution of super-AGB (SAGB) thermal pulse (TP) stars for a range of metallicities (Z) and explore the effect of convective boundary mixing (CBM). With decreasing metallicity and evolution along the TP phase, the He-shell flash and the third dredge-up (TDU) occur closer together in time. After some time (depending upon the CBM parametrization), efficient TDU begins while the pulse-driven convection zone (PDCZ) is still present, causing a convective exchange of material between the PDCZ and the convective envelope. This results in the ingestion of protons into the convective He-burning pulse. Even small amounts of CBM encourage the interaction of the convection zones leading to transport of protons from the convective envelope into the He layer. H-burning luminosities exceed 10⁹ (in some cases 10¹⁰) L⊙. We also calculate models of dredge-out in the most massive SAGB stars and show that the dredge-out phenomenon is another likely site of convective-reactive H-¹²C combustion. We discuss the substantial uncertainties of stellar evolution models under these conditions. Nevertheless, the simulations suggest that in the convective-reactive H-combustion regime of H ingestion the star may encounter conditions for the intermediate neutron capture process (i-process). We speculate that some CEMP-s/r stars could originate in i-process conditions in the H ingestion phases of low-Z SAGB stars. This scenario would however suggest a very low electron-capture supernova rate from SAGB stars. We also simulate potential outbursts triggered by such H ingestion events, present their light curves and briefly discuss their transient properties

Surveys of Breeding Birds Within Bear Swamp, Wicomico and Worcester Counties, Maryland

Birds are essential components of natural ecosystems, effective indicators of environmental health, and the focus of an emerging ecotourism industry that represents a growing portion of the world’s economy. An increased concern for the status of many North American bird populations has resulted in an escalation of monitoring and management efforts. Much of this concern has been focused upon the many species of forestdwelling Neotropical migrants (species that migrate between forested breeding grounds in the temperate latitudes of North America and wintering grounds in Central and South America and the Caribbean) that have exhibited substantial population declines in recent decades. The mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain plays a significant role in the life cycle of many of the most vulnerable bird species in North America. The diversity of habitats available to birds during the breeding and winter periods, along with the strategic geographic position of the region for migrants, combine to make this one of the most diverse regions in eastern North America. The Maryland/DC chapter of The Nature Conservancy has acquired 930 hectares (ha) of land from the E.S. Adkins Timber Company. This property is located within or near the Pocomoke Swamp, which is a disjunct fragment of the larger Great Dismal Swamp and represents the northern range limit for some Neotropical migrant bird species. Monitoring populations of these species should be a local conservation priority. A total of 73 survey points, consisting of a combination of fixed-radius and unlimitedradius point count techniques, were used to measure bird density and frequency of occurrence within Bear Swamp in 2004 and 2005. Habitats sampled during the two years of surveys include moist hardwoods, young pine, early successional, intermediate aged pine, and mixed coniferous/deciduous forest. A total of 4,534 detections of 84 bird species were made during the 2004 and 2005 breeding bird surveys. These were comprised of 43 Neotropical migrant species, 19 temperate migrant species, and 22 non-migratory (resident) species. Playback surveys were used to target Nightjars during the 2005 season, in which 17 Nightjars were detected. An early season (19 April 2005) survey was also conducted in an effort to document presence/absence of the Black-throated Green Warbler. The results of the two years of surveys provide an account of the abundance and distribution of bird species that occupy the varied habitat types of Bear Swamp. The majority of species observed during both years are typical of those normally found within deciduous forest, pine plantations, and early successional habitats of the mid-Atlantic region

Technical Change and New Directions for Cotton Production (Bulletin #861)

This report summarizes a year-long study of the current and future role of technology in the Mid-South, Southeast and High Plains cotton production systems. In short, this report documents the combined vision of cotton production scientists and extension personnel with respect to the future of U.S. and regional cotton production.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/agcenter_bulletins/1043/thumbnail.jp

General Mathematical Ability Predicts PASAT Performance in MS Patients: Implications for Clinical Interpretation and Cognitive Reserve

Objectives: The Paced Auditory Serial Addition Test (PASAT) is used to assess cognitive status in multiple sclerosis (MS). Although the mathematical demands of the PASAT seem minor (single-digit arithmetic), cognitive psychology research links greater mathematical ability (e.g., algebra, calculus) to more rapid retrieval of single-digit math facts (e.g., 5+6=11). The present study evaluated the hypotheses that (a) mathematical ability is related to PASAT performance and (b) both the relationship between intelligence and PASAT performance as well as the relationship between education and PASAT performance are both mediated by mathematical ability. Methods: Forty-five MS patients were assessed using the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading, PASAT and Calculation Subtest of the Woodcock-Johnson-III. Regression based path analysis and bootstrapping were used to compute 95% confidence intervals and test for mediation. Results: Mathematical ability (a) was related to PASAT (β=.61; p\u3c.001) and (b) fully mediated the relationship between Intelligence and PASAT (β=.76; 95% confidence interval (CI95)=.28, 1.45; direct effect of Intelligence, β=.42; CI95=−.39, 1.23) as well as the relationship between Education and PASAT (β=2.43, CI95=.81, 5.16, direct effect of Education, β=.83, CI95=−1.95, 3.61). Discussion: Mathematical ability represents a source of error in the clinical interpretation of cognitive decline using the PASAT. Domain-specific cognitive reserve is discussed. (JINS, 2016, 22, 375–378)

Phoretic Motion of Spheroidal Particles Due To Self-Generated Solute Gradients

We study theoretically the phoretic motion of a spheroidal particle, which generates solute gradients in the surrounding unbounded solvent via chemical reactions active on its surface in a cap-like region centered at one of the poles of the particle. We derive, within the constraints of the mapping to classical diffusio-phoresis, an analytical expression for the phoretic velocity of such an object. This allows us to analyze in detail the dependence of the velocity on the aspect ratio of the polar and the equatorial diameters of the particle and on the fraction of the particle surface contributing to the chemical reaction. The particular cases of a sphere and of an approximation for a needle-like particle, which are the most common shapes employed in experimental realizations of such self-propelled objects, are obtained from the general solution in the limits that the aspect ratio approaches one or becomes very large, respectively.Comment: 18 pages, 5 figures, to appear in European Physical Journal