PROJECTED COSTS AND RETURNS - RICE, LOUISIANA, 1997; PROJECTED COSTS AND RETURNS - SOYBEANS, CORN, MILO, WHEAT, AND WHEAT-SOYBEAN DOUBLE CROP, SOUTHWEST LOUISIANA, 1997

Farmers are annually faced with critical management decisions that impact the employment of production inputs for various crop enterprises and the combination of crops that will be assembled into a cropping system. The need for reliable information is crucial if sound production decisions are t o be made. Planning information plays a pivotal role in the development of 1997 production plans by farmers and is important in supporting their efforts to secure the necessary resources to carry out their plans. In addition, information regarding production alternatives and costs and returns for major crop enterprises is needed by extension personnel, researchers, lending institutions, and others involved in agriculture or agribusiness. This information has become all the more critical with the enactment of Federal Agricultural Improvement and Reform (FAIR) Act in 1996. The purpose of this report is to provide for tenant and owner operator situations the 1997 projected cost and return estimates for the following enterprises: rice in Southwest, Central, and Northeast Louisiana and soybean, corn, milo, wheat, and wheat-soybean double crop in Southwest Louisiana.Farm Management,

A GSD ESTIMATION OF THE RELATIVE WORTH OF COVER CROPS IN COTTON PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Cover crops can help reduce the negative environmental impacts of cotton production. Using time series yield data, this study utilizes generalized stochastic dominance to evaluate the relative worth, via risk premiums, of three cover crop and two conventional production systems based on expected net returns of each system and decision maker risk attitude. Results indicate, within the limitation of the study, two cover crop regimes possess a high degree of dominance over conventional systems. Determination of the dominant regime depends upon the risk attitude of a specific decision maker. This research suggests cover crop production systems may be feasible alternatives to conventional practices.Crop Production/Industries, Environmental Economics and Policy,

The Extended Power Law as Intrinsic Signature For a Black Hole

We analyze the exact general relativistic exact integro-differential equation of radiative transfer describing the interaction of low energy photons with a Maxwellian distribution of hot electrons in gravitational field of a Schwarzschild black hole. We prove that due to Comptonization an initial arbitrary spectrum of low energy photons unavoidably results in spectra characterized by an extended power-law feature. We examine the spectral index by using both analytical and numerical methods for a variety of physical parameters as such the plasma temperature and the mass accretion rate. The presence of the event horizon as well as the behaviour of the null geodesics in its vicinity largely determine the dependence of the spectral index on the flow parameters. We come to the conclusion that the bulk motion of a converging flow is more efficient in upscattering photons than thermal Comptonization provided that the electron temperature in the flow is of order of a few keV or less. In this case, the spectrum observed at infinity consists of a soft component produced by those input photons that escape after a few scatterings without any significant energy change and of hard component (described by a power law) produced by the photons that underwent significant upscattering. The luminosity of the power-law component is relatively small compared to that of the soft component. For accretion into black hole the spectral energy index of the power-law is always higher than one for plasma temperature of order of a few keV. This result suggests that the bulk motion Comptonization might be responsible for the power-law spectra seen in the black-hole X-ray sources.Comment: 31 pages, 3 figures; Astrophysical Journal accepte

An Estimation of Rough Rice Basis in Southwest Louisiana (Bulletin #865)

This report presents basis estimates for long grain rough rice in Southwest Louisiana for each of six marketing years from 1991-92 through 1996-97. The primary goal of this study is to enhance the understanding of basis movements in Southwest Louisiana, thereby increasing the likelihood that sound marketing decisions will be made by market participants.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/agcenter_bulletins/1039/thumbnail.jp

Valuation of Sugarcane Associated with Eminent Domain Land Acquisition in Louisiana (Bulletin #867)

The purpose of this bulletin is to present a method to value perennial crops associated with eminent domain acquisition of agricultural crop land. More specifically, it focuses on the estimation of the value of ‘short-lived’ perennial crops, crops that have a productive life over a relatively short, defined period of years, as opposed to permanent plantings, such as orchards or vineyards, which have a productive life over a considerably longer period.https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/agcenter_bulletins/1040/thumbnail.jp

The converging inflow spectrum is an intrinsic signature for a black hole: Monte-Carlo simulations of Comptonization on free-falling electrons

An accreting black hole is, by definition, characterized by the drain. Namely, the matter falls into a black hole much the same way as water disappears down a drain - matter goes in and nothing comes out. As this can only happen in a black hole, it provides an unique way to see it. The accretion proceeds almost in free fall close to the black hole horizon. In this paper we calculate (by using Monte -Carlo simulations) the specific features of X-ray spectra formed as a result of upscattering of the soft (disk) photons in the converging inflow (CI) within about 3 Schwarzschild radii of the black hole. The full relativistic treatment has been implemented to reproduce these spectra. We show that spectra in the soft state of black hole systems can be described as the sum of a thermal (disk) component and the convolution of some fraction of this component with the CI upscattering spread function. The latter boosted photon component is seen as an extended power-law at energies much higher than the characteristic soft photons energy. We demonstrate the stability of the power spectral index (alpha= 1.8) over a wide range of the plasma temperature 0-10 keV and mass accretion rates (higher than 2 in Eddington units). We also demonstrate that the sharp high energy cutoff occurs at energies of 200-400 keV which are related to the average rest energy of electrons impinging upon the horizon. The spectrum is practically identical to the standard thermal Comptonization spectrum when the CI plasma temperature is getting of order of 50 keV (hard state of BHS). Also, the change of spectral shapes from the soft to the hard X-ray state is clearly to be related with the temperature of the bulk flow. These Monte-Carlo simulated CI spectra are then a inevitable stamp of the BHS.Comment: 30 pages TeX format, 6 PS figures, accepted for ApJ Main Journa

Estimation of permafrost thawing rates in a sub-arctic catchment using recession flow analysis

Permafrost thawing is likely to change the flow pathways taken by water as it moves through arctic and sub-arctic landscapes. The location and distribution of these pathways directly influence the carbon and other biogeochemical cycling in northern latitude catchments. While permafrost thawing due to climate change has been observed in the arctic and sub-arctic, direct observations of permafrost depth are difficult to perform at scales larger than a local scale. Using recession flow analysis, it may be possible to detect and estimate the rate of permafrost thawing based on a long-term streamflow record. We demonstrate the application of this approach to the sub-arctic Abiskojokken catchment in northern Sweden. Based on recession flow analysis, we estimate that permafrost in this catchment may be thawing at an average rate of about 0.9 cm/yr during the past 90 years. This estimated thawing rate is consistent with direct observations of permafrost thawing rates, ranging from 0.7 to 1.3 cm/yr over the past 30 years in the region

Empirical evidence to understand the human factor for effective rapid testing against SARS-CoV-2

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) rapid antigen point-of-care and home tests are available to laypeople. In four cross-sectional mixed-methods data collections conducted between December 2020 and March 2021 (n = 4,026), we showed that a majority of subjects were willing to test despite mistrust and ignorance regarding rapid tests’ validity. Experimental evidence shows that low costs and access to events could increase testing intentions. Mandatory reporting and isolation after positive results were not identified as major barriers. Instead, assuming that testing and isolation can slow down the pandemic and the possibility to protect others were related to greater willingness to get tested. While we did not find evidence for risk compensation for past tests, experimental evidence suggests that there is a tendency to show less mask wearing and physical distancing in a group of tested individuals. A short communication intervention reduced complacent behavior. The derived recommendations could make rapid testing a successful pillar of pandemic management