815 research outputs found
Conceptual Framework for the National Pilot Project on Livestock and the Environment
Assessing the effects of alternative policies that regulate nonpoint pollution from concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) requires insight into the interactions of livestock production practices, waste management technologies, and their impacts on the environment. CAFOs have been identified as a source of nutrient loadings that impair ground and surface water quality, and they can emit intense odor that impairs air quality. This report describes the conceptual framework and the integrated modeling system being developed to evaluate the economic and environmental impacts of alternative policies that abate pollution from CAFOs
Reduced Scepter Rates for Broadleaf Weed Control in Soybean
Public agencies are placing greater scrutiny on herbicide applications by farmers. For example, the corn herbicide atrazine is now classified as a restricted use pesticide, with limits placed on allowable rates. While soybean growers may share some of this concern for the environment, rate reduction is more likely to be attractive for economic reasons. Some growers are already cutting back on herbicide rates. For example, Missouri data shows that the average application rates for soybean herbicides were only 75% of the labelled rate. While reduced rates might save growers money, and may be kinder to the environment, there is a concern that poorer weed control could show up under unfavorable conditions
The behaviour of political parties and MPs in the parliaments of the Weimar Republic
Copyright @ 2012 The Authors. This is the author's accepted manuscript. The final published article is available from the link below.Analysing the roll-call votes of the MPs of the Weimar Republic we find: (1) that party competition in the Weimar parliaments can be structured along two dimensions: an economic left–right and a pro-/anti-democratic. Remarkably, this is stable throughout the entire lifespan of the Republic and not just in the later years and despite the varying content of votes across the lifespan of the Republic, and (2) that nearly all parties were troubled by intra-party divisions, though, in particular, the national socialists and communists became homogeneous in the final years of the Republic.Zukunftskolleg, University of Konstan
Type Ia Supernova Distances at z > 1.5 from the Hubble Space Telescope Multi-Cycle Treasury Programs: The Early Expansion Rate
We present an analysis of 15 Type Ia supernovae (SNe Ia) at redshift z > 1 (9
at 1.5 < z < 2.3) recently discovered in the CANDELS and CLASH Multi-Cycle
Treasury programs using WFC3 on the Hubble Space Telescope. We combine these
SNe Ia with a new compilation of 1050 SNe Ia, jointly calibrated and corrected
for simulated survey biases to produce accurate distance measurements. We
present unbiased constraints on the expansion rate at six redshifts in the
range 0.07 < z < 1.5 based only on this combined SN Ia sample. The added
leverage of our new sample at z > 1.5 leads to a factor of ~3 improvement in
the determination of the expansion rate at z = 1.5, reducing its uncertainty to
~20%, a measurement of H(z=1.5)/H0=2.67 (+0.83,-0.52). We then demonstrate that
these six measurements alone provide a nearly identical characterization of
dark energy as the full SN sample, making them an efficient compression of the
SN Ia data. The new sample of SNe Ia at z > 1 usefully distinguishes between
alternative cosmological models and unmodeled evolution of the SN Ia distance
indicators, placing empirical limits on the latter. Finally, employing a
realistic simulation of a potential WFIRST SN survey observing strategy, we
forecast optimistic future constraints on the expansion rate from SNe Ia.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, 7 tables; submitted to Ap
Enabling quantitative data analysis through e-infrastructures
This paper discusses how quantitative data analysis in the social sciences can engage with and exploit an e-Infrastructure. We highlight how a number of activities which are central to quantitative data analysis, referred to as ‘data management’, can benefit from e-infrastructure support. We conclude by discussing how these issues are relevant to the DAMES (Data Management through e-Social Science) research Node, an ongoing project that aims to develop e-Infrastructural resources for quantitative data analysis in the social sciences
Terahertz All-Optical Modulation in a Silicon-Polymer Hybrid System
Although Gigahertz-scale free-carrier modulators have been previously
demonstrated in silicon, intensity modulators operating at Terahertz speeds
have not been reported because of silicon's weak ultrafast optical
nonlinearity. We have demonstrated intensity modulation of light with light in
a silicon-polymer integrated waveguide device, based on the all-optical Kerr
effect - the same ultrafast effect used in four-wave mixing. Direct
measurements of time-domain intensity modulation are made at speeds of 10 GHz.
We showed experimentally that the ultrafast mechanism of this modulation
functions at the optical frequency through spectral measurements, and that
intensity modulation at frequencies in excess of 1 THz can be obtained in this
device. By integrating optical polymers through evanescent coupling to
high-mode-confinement silicon waveguides, we greatly increase the effective
nonlinearity of the waveguide for cross-phase modulation. The combination of
high mode confinement, multiple integrated optical components, and high
nonlinearities produces all-optical ultrafast devices operating at
continuous-wave power levels compatible with telecommunication systems.
Although far from commercial radio frequency optical modulator standards in
terms of extinction, these devices are a first step in development of
large-scale integrated ultrafast optical logic in silicon, and are two orders
of magnitude faster than previously reported silicon devices.Comment: Under consideration at Nature Material
A 6-item scale for overall, emotional, and social loneliness: Confirmatory tests on survey data
Loneliness is an indicator of social well-being and pertains to the feeling of missing an intimate relationship (emotional loneliness) or missing a wider social network (social loneliness). The 11-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale has proved to be a valid and reliable measurement instrument for overall, emotional, and social loneliness, although its length has sometimes rendered it difficult to use in large surveys. In this study, the authors empirically tested a shortened version of the scale on data from two surveys (N = 9,448). Confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the specification of two latent factors. Congruent validity and the relationship with determinants (partner status, health) proved to be optimal. The 6-item De Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale is a reliable and valid measurement instrument for overall, emotional, and social loneliness that is suitable for large surveys
Hypospadias and halogenated organic pollutant levels in maternal mid-pregnancy serum samples
Environmental contaminants that disrupt endocrine function may contribute to hypospadias etiology
A proposal for a coordinated effort for the determination of brainwide neuroanatomical connectivity in model organisms at a mesoscopic scale
In this era of complete genomes, our knowledge of neuroanatomical circuitry
remains surprisingly sparse. Such knowledge is however critical both for basic
and clinical research into brain function. Here we advocate for a concerted
effort to fill this gap, through systematic, experimental mapping of neural
circuits at a mesoscopic scale of resolution suitable for comprehensive,
brain-wide coverage, using injections of tracers or viral vectors. We detail
the scientific and medical rationale and briefly review existing knowledge and
experimental techniques. We define a set of desiderata, including brain-wide
coverage; validated and extensible experimental techniques suitable for
standardization and automation; centralized, open access data repository;
compatibility with existing resources, and tractability with current
informatics technology. We discuss a hypothetical but tractable plan for mouse,
additional efforts for the macaque, and technique development for human. We
estimate that the mouse connectivity project could be completed within five
years with a comparatively modest budget.Comment: 41 page
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