Approaches and achievements of biodynamic vegetable breeding by Kultursaat e.V. (Germany) using the example of RODELIKA one of the first certified biodynamic varieties

Since 1998 RODELIKA is officially registered as a newly bred carrot variety. It had been developed by positive mass-selection over a 13 year period, based on an old-established variety within a farm based biodynamic system. The goal was a fine root with good health and a focus on taste and ability of maturation. Thus a selection-scheme in organoleptic characteristics sweetness and aroma was created. Numerous investigations demonstrate the very high inner quality of RODELIKA. Property rights of this open-pollinated variety are held by the charitable association Kultursaat eV as a common heritage

[Review of] Terry G. Jordan and Matti Kaups. The American Backwoods Frontier: An Ethnic and Ecological Interpretation

Terry Jordan and Matti Kaups have produced a new study which is revealing, thorough, and extremely well documented with ample illustrations, charts, and maps. Their thesis is fascinating: Finnish immigrants played a highly significant role in the shaping of the American backwoods frontier. The authors trace the origin of the Finns from Finland\u27s interior where winters were (are) severe and where chinked log cabins and double-pen cabins became an art along with hunting, gathering, and marginal crop growing. Such a life style prepared them for immigration from Savo-Karelian Finland to the lower Delaware Valley settlements in New Jersey and Pennsylvania (during the 1740s) and from there westward through the Appalachians to the prairies, Rockies, and Pacific Northwest

Cesium iodide crystals fused to vacuum tube faceplates

A cesium iodide crystal is fused to the lithium fluoride faceplate of a photon scintillator image tube. The conventional silver chloride solder is then used to attach the faceplate to the metal support

[Review of] Peter Iverson, ed. The Plains Indians of the Twentieth Century

Iverson\u27 s new volume of collected essays by authorities on reservation life serves as an invaluable aid to a further understanding of the sometimes agonizing social problems vis-a-vis the federal government. The book contains, in addition to Iverson\u27s short introduction, eleven essays (three by Native Americans) dealing with the complex cultural problems of twentieth-century Plains Indian reservations. Iverson\u27s essay stresses cultural independence despite overwhelming odds which face the modern Indian

Measurement of the Proton Structure Function F2F_2 and the Extraction of the Gluon Density at Small xx

In the following article we describe our measurement of the proton structure function $F_2$ and of the gluon momentum density $xg$ in $ep$ collisions with the ZEUS detector at HERA in 1993. The results for $F_2$ confirm our measurement from the previous year but with much higher statistics and show a strong rise towards small $x$. The gluon momentum density $xg$ is measured for the first time in a range from $4 \cdot 10^{-4} < x < 10^{-2}$ at a value of $Q^2 = 20$~GeV$^2$.Comment: 7 pages uuencode-gzipped postscript. LaTeX and individual figures can be found on http://ppewww.ph.gla.ac.uk/preprints/95/01/fleck.shtm

Solar and Galactic Cosmic Rays observed by SOHO

Both the Cosmic Ray Flux (CRF) and Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs) have left an imprint on SOHO technical systems. While the solar array efficiency degraded irreversibly down to ~77% of its original level over roughly 1 1/2 solar cycles, Single Event Upsets (SEUs) in the solid state recorder (SSR) have been reversed by the memory protection mechanism. We compare the daily CRF observed by the Oulu station with the daily SOHO SEU rate and with the Degradation curve of the solar arrays. The Oulu CRF and the SOHO SSR SEU rate are both modulated by the solar cycle and are highly correlated, except for sharp spikes in the SEU rate, caused by isolated SEP events, which also show up as discontinuities in the otherwise slowly decreasing solar ray efficiency. This allows to discriminate between effects with solar and non-solar origin and to compare the relative strength of both. We find that during solar cycle 23 (1996 Apr 1 -- 2008 Aug 31) only 6% of the total number of SSR SEUs were caused by SEPs; the remaining 94% were due to galactic cosmic rays. During the maximum period of cycle 23 (2000 Jan 1 -- 2003 Dec 31), the SEP contribution increased to 22%, and during 2001, the year with the highest SEP rate, to 30%. About 40% of the total solar array degradation during the 17 years from Jan 1996 through Feb 2013 can be attributed to proton events, i.e. the effect of a series of short-lived, violent SEP events is comparable to the cycle-integrated damage by cosmic rays.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figures accepted for publication in Cent. Eur. Astrophys. Bul

World Bank Independence: A Model and Statistical Analysis of U.S. Influence

This paper develops a model to test whether World Bank lending caters to U.S. interests. We use country-level panel data to examine the geographic distribution of World Bank lending to 110 countries from 1968 to 2002. After controlling for country characteristics expected to influence the distribution of lending in a manner consistent with the World Bank’s charter and stated allocation mechanisms, we introduce variables reflecting U.S. interests. The empirical results are consistent with a significant U.S. influence, but one which varies across presidential administrations. These findings have important implications because donor influence may reduce the credibility, and hence the development effectiveness, of multilateral aid organizations.