THE EFFECT OF GOVERNMENT PROGRAMS ON ACREAGE RESPONSE OVER TIME: THE CASE OF CORN PRODUCTION IN IOWA

Corn acreage response in Iowa is examined using a time-varying parameter regression model. Separate estimates of the permanent portion of the parameter vector are obtained for each year over the period 1957-82. The estimated elasticities are grouped into “program” and “nonprogram” periods. The results indicate corn acreage response is more own-price elastics, and the elasticity is less variable under government acreage control programs than under a “nonprogram” regime. The assumption of parameter constancy is shown to be inappropriate for modeling Iowa corn acreage response over time.Agricultural and Food Policy, Crop Production/Industries,

Gaziantep Mosque Wall Clocks in Various Examples of Decoration

İncelediğimiz 13 tane Gaziantep cami duvar saatinin boyları 222 cm. ile 238 cm. arasında, ortalama genişlikleri 40 cm. ile 49 cm. arasında, kalınlıkları 19 cm. ile 24 cm. arasında değişmektedir. Duvar saatlerin kasaları ahşaptan, kadranın çevresi ve sarkaç dökme metalden yapılmıştır. Kadranın ve sarkacın üstü cam bir bölmeyle örtülmüştür. Saatlerin ahşap kasası, metal kısımları ve çevresi, cam bölmenin üzeri çoğunlukla bitkisel, geometrik, nesneli ve fi güratif motifl erle süslenmiştir. Motifl erin bazılarının üzeri de çeşitli renklerle boyanmıştır. Bitkisel süslemelerin çoğu natürmort şeklindedir. Özellikle çiçeklerin bir çoğu anti natüralist bir üslupla verilmiş olup, Barok ve Rokoko döneminin süsleme özelliklerini yansıtmaktadır. Saatlerin üzerinde yapılış tarihini gösteren herhangi bir yazı bulunmamaktadır. Bununla birlikte Anadolu’da bazı camilerde yer alan, tarihi bulunan cami duvar saatlerinin süsleme yönünden benzer örneklerinden yola çıkarak saatleri 1870 ile 1920 yılları arasına tarihlenebilir

ANALISIS HASIL MODIFIKASI GLASS IONOMER CEMENT DENGAN PENAMBAHAN HIDROKSIAPATIT DAN SILIKA DARI BAHAN ALAM (DITINJAU DARI GUGUS FUNGSI MENGGUNAKAN FOURIER TRANSFORM INFRARED)

ABSTRAKNama: Mohd Taufiq Kamil HProgram Studi: Kedokteran GigiJudul:Analisis Hasil Modifikasi Glass Ionomer Cement dengan Penambahan Hidroksiapatit dan Silika dari Bahan Alam (Ditinjau dari Gugus Fungsi Menggunakan Fourier Transform Infrared)Glass Ionomer Cement (GIC) merupakan salah satu semen kedokteran gigi yang digunakan sebagai material restorasi gigi. Namun, GIC memiliki keterbatasan seperti rapuh dan rentan terhadap abrasi. Sehingga perlu dimodifikasi untuk meningkatkan sifat fisik dan mekanik, salah satunya dengan menambahkan hidroksiapatit dan silika yang dapat diperoleh dari bahan alam seperti cangkang kerang darah (Anadara granosa) dan pasir laut dari pantai Pasir Putih. Penelitian ini bertujuan untuk mengetahui perubahan gugus senyawa yang terbentuk pada GIC modifikasi dengan penambahan hidroksiapatit dan silika dari bahan alam menggunakan fourier transform infra red (FTIR). Spesimen pada penelitian ini dibagi menjadi tiga kelompok yaitu, GIC kontrol, GIC dengan 5% hidroksiapatit dan GIC dengan 5% silika yang telah mengalami reaksi setting dan disimpan didalam inkubator dengan suhu 37oC selam 24 jam. Kelompok spesimen digerus hingga berbentuk serbuk seberat 1 gram kemudian dianalisis menggunakan FTIR merk Shimadzu Intracer-100. Hasil analisis FTIR menunjukkan adanya perubahan gugus fungsi yang terbentuk pada GIC dengan penamahan 5% hidroksiapatit dan GIC dengan penambahan 5% silika. Glass Ionomer Cement (GIC) dengan penambahan 5% hidroksiapatit dan 5% silika terjadi peningkatan intensitas gugus hidroksil (O-H) yang signifikan sebesar 74.82% dan 72.25%. Pada GIC dengan penambahan 5% hidroksiapatit terdapat gugus kalsium oksida (Ca-O) dengan intensitas paling tinggi dan terdapat dua gugus fosfat (P-O) yang terbentuk. Glass Ionomer Cement (GIC) dengan penambahan 5% silika terdapat enam gugus siloksan (Si-O-Si) yang terbentuk. Kesimpulan penelitian ini adalah GIC dengan penambahan 5% hidroksiapatit terbentuk gugus P-O yang dominan sedangkan pada GIC dengan penambahan 5% silika terbentuk gugus Si-O-Si yang dominan. Kata kunci : Glass ionomer cement, hidroksiapatit, silika, gugus fungsi, FTI

Execution of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (1994) in the Construction Industry from Contractors’ Point of View

Construction is one of the highest contributing industries to occupational accidents by sector in Malaysia. Statistics have been drawn from year to year that show an increasing number of cases of accidents by industry sector. While it is impossible to completely eliminate all accidents, with a proper and effective safety and health policy or rules set by top management, especially contractors, the rate of accidents on construction sites can be reduced. The main objective of this study is to analyse the degree of application of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 1994 (OSHA 1994) in the construction industry and to identify the contributing factors leading to a lack of execution of OSHA 1994 on construction sites with a primary focus on contractors’ point of view. Five on-going construction projects in Perak were selected as case studies and site inspections were conducted. The results showed that none of the contractors have fully implemented the rules and regulations provided by the government. Within this report, some recommendations are made towards enhancing the safety and health issues on construction sites

Potential for Optical Sensor-Based Nitrogen Fertilization in Grain Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench) in Arkansas

Ground-based active-optical (GBAO) crop sensors have become an effective tool to improve nitrogen (N) use efficiency and to predict yield early in the growing season, particularly for grass crops. Commercially available canopy sensors calculate the normalized difference vegetative index (NDVI) by emitting light in the red and near infrared range of the electromagnetic spectrum. The NDVI is used to evaluate vigor status and to estimate yield potential. However, few studies have been conducted to compare the performance of commercially available sensors. Therefore, a study was conducted using the most common crop canopy sensors: i) N-Tech\u27s GreenSeekerTM (GS), ii) Holland Scientific\u27s Crop CircleTM (CC), and iii) Minolta\u27s SPAD-502 chlorophyll content meter (CCM). The objective of this study was to find the optimum time for sensing and compare the relative performance of the sensors in estimating the yield potential of grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor L. Moench). Treatments included six levels of N fertilization (0, 37, 74, 111, 148, and 185 kg N/ ha), applied in a single split 20 days after planting (DAP). Treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with five replications, in four locations in Arkansas, during 2012 and 2013. Sensors readings at vegetative growth stages V3, 4, 5 and 6. Results from simple regression analysis showed that the V3-V4 growth stage correlated better with grain yield than readings collected and any other time. In season estimated yield (INSEY) obtained at V3 captured 41, 57, 78, and 61% of the variation in grain sorghum yield when red NDVI of GS, red NDVI of CC, red edge for CC and CCM, respectively, were used. Results from these studies suggest that the CC sensor has a better potential for in-season site-specific N application in Arkansas than the GS sensor. The GS reflectance values appear to saturate after the V3 stage, in contrast with CC values that allow for discrimination past the V3 Stage. Therefore, the red edge wavebands of CC appear to be better suited to develop relationships between spectral vegetation indices and agronomic parameters

Evaluation of the Importance of Time-Frequency Contributions to Speech Intelligibility in Noise

Recent studies on binary masking techniques make the assumption that each time-frequency (T-F) unit contributes an equal amount to the overall intelligibility of speech. The present study demonstrated that the importance of each T-F unit to speech intelligibility varies in accordance with speech content. Specifically, T-F units are categorized into two classes, speech-present T-F units and speech-absent T-F units. Results indicate that the importance of each speech-present T-F unit to speech intelligibility is highly related to the loudness of its target component, while the importance of each speech-absent T-F unit varies according to the loudness of its masker component. Two types of mask errors are also considered, which include miss and false alarm errors. Consistent with previous work, false alarm errors are shown to be more harmful to speech intelligibility than miss errors when the mixture signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is below 0 dB. However, the relative importance between the two types of error is conditioned on the SNR level of the input speech signal. Based on these observations, a mask-based objective measure, the loudness weighted hit-false, is proposed for predicting speech intelligibility. The proposed objective measure shows significantly higher correlation with intelligibility compared to two existing mask-based objective measures

Pembangunan Sistem Informasi Pelayanan Jasa Laundry Berbasis Web dengan Fitur Mobile pada 21 Laundry Padang

21 Laundry Padang merupakan sebuah USAha yang bergerak di bidang jasa pencucian pakaian dengan menyediakan berbagai layanan seperti cuci komplit (cuci kering dan setrika), cuci dan kering, maupun setrika saja. Berdasarkan analisis yang dilakukan, diketahui bahwa sistem transaksi yang sedang berjalan pada 21 Laundry Padang masih belum optimal dan ditemukan masalah seperti penumpukan arsip dan laporan, aliran informasi yang lambat, lambatnya proses pencarian data, dan rekap laporan transaksi yang sulit. Solusi untuk permasalahan tersebut berupa sebuah sistem informasi dengan berbasis web yang dilengkapi aplikasi mobile yang dapat diakses oleh pengguna tanpa batasan waktu dan tempat. Sistem dibangun dengan metode waterfall yang terdiri dari tahapan analisis, perancangan, implementasi, dan pengujian sistem. Pada tahap analisis, tools yang digunakan untuk pemodelan adalah BPMN (Business Process Model Notation), Use Case Diagram, dan Skenario Use Case. Tahapan perancangan dilakukan dengan membuat rancangan arsitektur aplikasi, DFD (Data Flow Diagram), ERD (Entity Relationship Diagram), dan User Interface. Proses implementasi dilakukan dengan menggunakan database MySQL dan bahasa pemograman PHP dan javascript Pemrograman dilakukan secara prosedural. Aplikasi mobile dibangun dengan menggunakan kakas Basic4Android. Proses pengujian sistem informasi dilakukan dengan menggunakan metode black-box testng. Hasil pengujian menunjukkan sistem yang dibangun telah sesuai dengan kebutuhan fungsional yang ditentukan. Penelitian ini telah menghasilkan sebuah sistem informasi pelayanan jasa laundry yang dapat digunakan untuk memgelola layanan jasa laundry pada 21 Laundy Padang

The Effect of Adding Fibers on Dry Shrinkage of Geopolymer Concrete

Despite their drastically different chemical ingredients and interactions, geopolymer concrete exhibits many of the same features as ordinary concrete. Among these properties is drying shrinkage. As in normal concrete, dry shrinkage in geopolymer concrete may cause cracking if the geopolymer concrete is bound, which affects the integrity of the structure in the future. It's important to measure drying shrinkage as soon as possible because it's the cause of early age cracking, which happens when the concrete isn't very strong. The purpose of this study is to determine how to reduce the dry shrinkage value of geopolymer concrete by using different types of fibers. Three types of fibers were used to determine their effect on the dry shrinkage of geopolymer concrete when compared with a reference mixture without the fibers. Metakaolin was used as a binder for the concrete geopolymer. As for the fibers, steel, carbon and polypropylene fibers were used in proportions of (0, 0.5, and 1%). The results showed an improvement in dryness shrinkage when adding fibers in general, with a difference in values between the different types of fibers. Steel fibers had the lowest amount of dry shrinkage. The temperature had a direct influence on the decrease in the extent of the shrinking, since the samples handled at higher temperatures had less dryness to begin with. Doi: 10.28991/cej-2021-03091780 Full Text: PD

FahamecV1:A Low Cost Automated Metaphase Detection System

In this study, FahamecV1 is introduced and investigated as a low cost and high accuracy solution for metaphase detection. Chromosome analysis is performed at the metaphase stage and high accuracy and automated detection of the metaphase stage plays an active role in decreasing analysis time. FahamecV1 includes an optic microscope, a motorized microscope stage, an electronic control unit, a camera, a computer and a software application. Printing components of the motorized microscope stage (using a 3D printer) is of the main reasons for cost reduction. Operations such as stepper motor calibration, are detection, focusing, scanning, metaphase detection and saving of coordinates into a database are automatically performed. To detect metaphases, a filter named Metafilter is developed and applied. Average scanning time per preparate is 77 sec/cm2. True positive rate is calculated as 95.1%, true negative rate is calculated as 99.0% and accuracy is calculated as 98.8%