Purpose and Use of Contracted Acres Under Corn and Wheat Adjustment Programs

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Prayer and subjective well-being : the application of a cognitive-behavioural framework

The aim of the present study was to examine the relationship between a model of prayer and a measure of subjective well-being within the context of a cognitive-behavioural framework. A community sample of 173 (77 males and 96 females) British adults completed measures of prayer activity and the General Health Questionnaire-28. The present findings suggest that meditative prayer, frequency of prayer, and prayer experience account for unique variance (among other measures of prayer) in a general measure of subjective well-being. The results demonstrate the potential usefulness of a cognitive-behavioural framework to help better understand the relationship between prayer and subjective well-being

HP2 survey: III The California Molecular Cloud--A Sleeping Giant Revisited

We present new high resolution and dynamic range dust column density and temperature maps of the California Molecular Cloud derived from a combination of Planck and Herschel dust-emission maps, and 2MASS NIR dust-extinction maps. We used these data to determine the ratio of the 2.2 micron extinction coefficient to the 850 micron opacity and found the value to be close to that found in similar studies of the Orion B and Perseus clouds but higher than that characterizing the Orion A cloud, indicating that variations in the fundamental optical properties of dust may exist between local clouds. We show that over a wide range of extinction, the column density probability distribution function (PDF$_N$) of the cloud can be well described by a simple power law with an index that represents a steeper decline with column density than found in similar studies of the Orion and Perseus clouds. Using only the protostellar population of the cloud and our extinction maps we investigate the Schmidt relation within the cloud. We show that the protostellar surface density, $\Sigma_*$, is directly proportional to the ratio of the protostellar and cloud pdfs. We use the cumulative distribution of protostars to infer the functional forms for both $\Sigma_*$ and PDF$_*$. We find that $\Sigma_*$ is best described by two power-law functions with steeper indicies than found in other local GMCs. We find that the protostellar pdf is a declining function of extinction also best described by two power-laws whose behavior mirrors that of $\Sigma_*$. Our observations suggest that variations both in the slope of the Schmidt relation and in the sizes of the protostellar populations between GMCs are largely driven by variations in the slope of the cloud pdf. This confirms earlier studies suggesting that cloud structure plays a major role in setting the global star formation rates in GMCs.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysics. Corrected typos in source coordinates in table A.

A review of Emma Wilby’s The Visions of Isobel Gowdie: Magic, Witchcraft and Dark Shamanism in Seventeenth-Century Scotland (Sussex University Press, 2010)

<div>This is an annotated data management plan (DMP) template for an Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) data management plan.<br></div><div><br></div><div>This document (available in .pdf and .docx formats) was created using the <a href="https://dmponline.dcc.ac.uk/">DMPonline tool</a>, which provides templates for structuring major research funders' DMPs. The document includes the guidance text provided in the tool, produced by the <a href="http://www.dcc.ac.uk/sites/default/files/documents/publications/DMP-themes.pdf">Digital Curation Centre (DCC)</a>, the <a href="https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/about/standards/researchdata/expectations/">EPSRC</a> and the <a href="https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/library/rdm/dmp">University of Sheffield Library</a>. </div><div><br></div><div>Although the EPSRC does not require that a DMP is submitted as part of a grant application, it still expects one to be in place. A DMP describes how you will collect, organise, manage, store, secure, backup, preserve, and where applicable, share your data. The EPSRC DMP template is organised into seven sections and the resulting DMP is expected to be two or three of pages of A4 in length. </div><div><br></div><div>For further guidance see the <a href="https://www.epsrc.ac.uk/about/standards/researchdata/expectations/">EPSRC expectations concerning management of research data</a> and the DCC webpages on <a href="http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/data-management-plans">Data management Plans</a> and <a href="http://www.dcc.ac.uk/resources/how-guides/develop-data-plan">How to Develop a Data Management and Sharing Plan</a>. </div

Randomized Rounding for the Largest Simplex Problem

The maximum volume $j$-simplex problem asks to compute the $j$-dimensional simplex of maximum volume inside the convex hull of a given set of $n$ points in $\mathbb{Q}^d$. We give a deterministic approximation algorithm for this problem which achieves an approximation ratio of $e^{j/2 + o(j)}$. The problem is known to be $\mathrm{NP}$-hard to approximate within a factor of $c^{j}$ for some constant $c > 1$. Our algorithm also gives a factor $e^{j + o(j)}$ approximation for the problem of finding the principal $j\times j$ submatrix of a rank $d$ positive semidefinite matrix with the largest determinant. We achieve our approximation by rounding solutions to a generalization of the $D$-optimal design problem, or, equivalently, the dual of an appropriate smallest enclosing ellipsoid problem. Our arguments give a short and simple proof of a restricted invertibility principle for determinants

Diagram spaces, diagram spectra, and spectra of units

This article compares the infinite loop spaces associated to symmetric spectra, orthogonal spectra, and EKMM S-modules. Each of these categories of structured spectra has a corresponding category of structured spaces that receives the infinite loop space functor \Omega^\infty. We prove that these models for spaces are Quillen equivalent and that the infinite loop space functors \Omega^\infty agree. This comparison is then used to show that two different constructions of the spectrum of units gl_1 R of a commutative ring spectrum R agree.Comment: 62 pages. The definition of the functor \mathbb{Q} is changed. Sections 8, 9, 17 and 18 contain revisions and/or new materia

Bulletin No. 74 - Lead Ore in Sugar Beet Pulp

The recent great development of the beet sugar industry in the State of Utah, has made the matter of utilizing the sugar beet pulp an important question for Utah farmers. That beet pulp has a high feeding value, when fed in proper combinations, has been shown conclusively since the establishment of the first beet sugar factory in the State, ten years ago. The experience of other states, and of the beet sugar producing countries of Europe, has likewise demonstrated that beet pulp may be used profitably in the feeding of farm animals. It is doubtlessly true that much is yet to be learned concerning the methods by which the best results may be obtained from the use of the pulp, but several experiment stations, including the Utah Station, are working on this subject, and satisfactory conclusions will soon be obtained. So well is the value of sugar beet pulp beginning to be understood that many farmers are now having pulp shipped many miles to their farms in order that they may feed their animals in the best and most economical manner. Really, the most important problem before the sugar beet farmer is the establishment of an understanding with the manufacturer that will enable every farmer to obtain an amount of pulp equivalent to the quantity of beets sold. In that manner will the fertility of the farms be conserved, and the profits of the farmer be made larger. Sugar beet pulp should be an important factor in the animal production of the districts in which beets are produced for the factory

Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program Annual Report 2008

Through 2008, the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program has maintained a database comprised of 14 years of data on tagged and recaptured fish. The program is a cooperative project of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament (VSFT-under the Marine Resources Commission) and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) of the College of William and Mary (under VIMS Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program)

Is the Hygiene Hypothesis an Example of Hormesis?

The “hygiene hypothesis” has been suggested to explain the rising incidence of allergic disorders in developed countries. The postulated mechanism is that infectious and/or microbial agents stimulate the immune system toward Th1 (allergy fighting) rather than Th2 (allergy promoting) response. This paper reviews the evidence related to early life infectious/microbial exposures and subsequent atopic disorders and evaluates whether these data suggest a hormetic effect. Our review indicates an insufficient and contradictory association for bacterial/viral infections, with protective effects being either absent or specific to certain infections and/or populations. Chronic, heavy parasitic burdens appear to confer protection against atopic disorders, but are associated with considerable pathology. Moreover, light parasitic burden may increase allergic responses (i.e., no “low dose” beneficial effect). In contrast, there is consistent evidence that general microbial exposures, particularly gut commensals, may be protective against allergy development, which is consistent with a hormetic effect (i.e., potentially beneficial effects at low doses and detrimental effects at high levels). Conclusion: General microbial exposures in relation to the “hygiene hypothesis” may represent a hormetic effect, although further research with more rigorous study methods (i.e., prospective designs and measurement of exposure timing, dose, route, etc.) are needed