THE ZERO POINT FRAME AND BLACKHOLES

I will show that my own zero point Model supports not only the no-hair proposals, but also the Bekenstein bound on information from an event horizon. This model, based upon a static case also supports the cosmic censorship proposal

Interpretation of English idioms by Indian and non-Indian children

This study compared the performance of four groups of children--two Indian groups and two non-Indian groups--on a test of commonly used idioms. The Indian subjects, all bilingual, were differentiated on the basis of school setting, uni-ethnic or multi-ethnic. The non-Indian subjects, all from multi-ethnic schools, were differentiated on the basis of linguistic background, bilingual or monolingual.The sample consisted of 465 children in grades five, six, and seven from six schools in Northern and Central Saskatchewan. The Yandell Idioms Test was administered to all the children. Differences among mean scores of the groups were tested with an analysis of variance. In addition, to minimize the effects on the Idioms Test results of very high or very low reading ability, a second analysis was done involving a selected sample identified from within the total sample by excluding all subjects who scored below the 4.0 grade level or above the 7.9 grade level on the Gates-MacGinitie Reading Tests.Analysis of Idioms Test scores revealed that Indian children in multi-ethnic schools scored higher than Indian children in uni-ethnic schools, but that non-Indian children, whether bilingual or monolingual, achieved significantly better than Indian children. in either multi-ethnic or uni-ethnic settings. Monolingual non-Indian children scored higher than bilingual non-Indian children, although for the selected sample, the differences were not statistically significant.In both analyses, there seemed to be few sex differences of importance. Between-group differences generally reflected the trend for the whole-group analyses, while within-group differences were not significant except for the bilingual. non-Indian group.In general, the study showed that not only did Indian children have difficulty with the comprehension of English idioms but that many English idioms used in basal readers were not familiar even to monolingual English-speaking children

Techno-economic and greenhouse gas savings assessment of decentralized biomass gasification for electrifying the rural areas of Indonesia

This study explored the feasibility of decentralized gasification of oil palm biomass in Indonesia to relieve its over-dependence on fossil fuel-based power generation and facilitate the electrification of its rural areas. The techno-feasibility of the gasification of oil palm biomass was first evaluated by reviewing existing literature. Subsequently, two scenarios (V1 and V2, and M1 and M2) were proposed regarding the use cases of the village and mill, respectively. The capacity of the gasification systems in the V1 and M1 scenarios are determined by the total amount of oil palm biomass available in the village and mill, respectively. The capacity of the gasification systems in the V2 and M2 scenarios is determined by the respective electricity demand of the village and mill. The global warming impact and economic feasibility (net present value (NPV) and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE)) of the proposed systems were compared with that of the current practices (diesel generator for the village use case and biomass boiler combustion for the mill use case) using life cycle assessment (LCA) and cost-benefit analysis (CBA). Under the current daily demand per household (0.4 kWh), deploying the V2 system in 104 villages with 500 households each could save up to 17.9 thousand tons of CO2-eq per year compared to the current diesel-based practice. If the electricity could be fed into the national grid, the M1 system with 100% capacity factor could provide yearly GHG emissions mitigation of 5.8 × 104 ton CO2-eq, relative to the current boiler combustion-based reference scenario. M1 had a positive mean NPV if the electricity could be fed into the national grid, while M2 had a positive mean NPV at the biochar price of 500 USD/ton. Under the current electricity tariff (ET) (0.11 kWh) and the biochar price of 2650 USD/ton, daily household demands of 2 and 1.8 kWh were required to reach the break-even point of the mean NPV for the V2 system for the cases of 300 and 500 households, respectively. The average LCOE of V2 is approximately one-fourth that of the reference scenario, while the average LCOE of V1 is larger than that of the reference scenario. The average LCOE of M1 decreased to around 0.06 USD/kWh for the case of a 100% capacity factor. Sensitivity analysis showed that the capital cost of gasification system and its overall electrical efficiency had the most significant effects on the NPV. Finally, practical system deployment was discussed, with consideration of policy formulation and fiscal incentives

ASSESSING THE STATISTICAL SIMILARITY OF PORT SUSAN BAY RESTORATION AND REFERENCE SITES

Climate change and human interactions pose significant threats for the health of estuaries. In 2012 The Nature Conservancy (TNC) removed a dike at the mouth of the Stillaguamish river to restore ecosystem functioning and resilience to climate change. Monitoring reference zones is critical for contextualizing growth patterns in complicated systems like estuaries. The purpose of this study was to determine which reference zones were most similar to the restoration zone in Port Susan Bay. Using bulrush measurements collected during my internship with TNC, I used an excel T test to assess statistical similarity between zones based on the means of Bolboschoenus Species (river bulrush) and Schoenoplectus Pungens (3 square bulrush), percent cover, and combined bulrush biomass. Results showed that vegetation statistically matches natural reference site conditions, suggesting that the marsh has been restored to natural conditions. However, estuaries are heterogeneous ecosystems that have many confounding factors affecting marsh structure and similarity is a complicated question that varies depending on the variables examined

Uncovering and Interpreting

Student projects: two upper-level, and two student solutions to the same project, the Bayer Stone Competition

Sorghum almum [Sorghum almum Parodi] biology as affected by crop management practices

Considerable research has been done on the biology, ecology, physiology, and genetics of johnsongrass [Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers.] (McWhorter, 1989) and shattercane, [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] (Burnside, 1965), whereas little attention has been given to sorghum almum [Sorghum almum Parodi]. A widespread lack of knowledge of the differences among these three species may cause populations of Sorghum to be incorrectly identified (Owen and Oyarzabal, 1989; McWhorter, 1971; Chernicky and Slife, 1985; Marley, 1978), thus causing producers to make improper management decisions concerning sorghum almum. Differential responses to herbicides by populations of Sorghum in Michigan indicate that proper identification is very important (Cosgrove, 1987). This circumstance becomes more complicated when morphological differences between populations of Sorghum make their classification difficult (Chernicky and Slife, 1985)

Lessons Learned at the Idaho National Laboratory for the Entry into Force of the U.S. Additional Protocol

For a number of years, the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) has been preparing for the entry into force of the U.S. Additional Protocol (AP). These preparations included attending training, participating in tabletop exercises, preparing draft declarations, developing INL-specific guidance documents, preparing for and hosting a mock complementary access visit, and preparing declarations for official submittal. All of these activities, the training materials, and software developed by other U.S. DOE national laboratories (PNNL, ORNL, LANL, and BNL) were very helpful in preparing for the entry into force of the AP. As with any endeavor of this size and complexity, however, there are always instances where even the best preparations and advanced planning do not anticipate every challenge. As the DOE's lead nuclear energy research and development facility, the INL faced many unique challenges. The majority of research conducted at the INL is nuclear fuel cycle related, most of which is not protected by the National Security Exclusion. This paper describes the lessons learned from the INL’s experience of preparing for the entry into force of the AP, specifically how translating and implementing general principles into actual activities proved to be one of many challenges, and provides general suggestions on how to respond effectively and efficiently to routine annual data calls and other AP requests