Fiscal year 1981 US corn and soybeans pilot preliminary experiment plan, phase 1

A draft of the preliminary experiment plan for the foreign commodity production forecasting project fiscal year 1981 is presented. This draft plan includes: definition of the phase 1 and 2 U.S. pilot objectives; the proposed experiment design to evaluate crop calendar, area estimation, and area aggregation components for corn and soybean technologies using 1978/1979 crop-year data; a description of individual sensitivity evaluations of the baseline corn and soybean segment classification procedure; and technology and data assessment in support of the corn and soybean estimation technology for use in the U.S. central corn belt

The photospheric solar oxygen project: III. Investigation of the centre-to-limb variation of the 630nm [OI]-NiI blend

The solar photospheric abundance of oxygen is still a matter of debate. For about ten years some determinations have favoured a low oxygen abundance which is at variance with the value inferred by helioseismology. Among the oxygen abundance indicators, the forbidden line at 630nm has often been considered the most reliable even though it is blended with a NiI line. In Papers I and Paper II of this series we reported a discrepancy in the oxygen abundance derived from the 630nm and the subordinate [OI] line at 636nm in dwarf stars, including the Sun. Here we analyse several, in part new, solar observations of the the centre-to-limb variation of the spectral region including the blend at 630nm in order to separate the individual contributions of oxygen and nickel. We analyse intensity spectra observed at different limb angles in comparison with line formation computations performed on a CO5BOLD 3D hydrodynamical simulation of the solar atmosphere. The oxygen abundances obtained from the forbidden line at different limb angles are inconsistent if the commonly adopted nickel abundance of 6.25 is assumed in our local thermodynamic equilibrium computations. With a slightly lower nickel abundance, A(Ni)~6.1, we obtain consistent fits indicating an oxygen abundance of A(O)=8.73+/-0.05. At this value the discrepancy with the subordinate oxygen line remains. The derived value of the oxygen abundance supports the notion of a rather low oxygen abundance in the solar hotosphere. However, it is disconcerting that the forbidden oxygen lines at 630 and 636nm give noticeably different results, and that the nickel abundance derived here from the 630nm blend is lower than expected from other nickel lines.Comment: to appear in A&

Sex differences in plasma clozapine and norclozapine concentrations in clinical practice and in relation to body mass index and plasma glucose concentrations: a retrospective survey

Background Clozapine is widely prescribed and, although effective, can cause weight gain and dysglycemia. The dysmetabolic effects of clozapine are thought to be more prevalent in women with this gender on average attaining 17 % higher plasma clozapine concentrations than men. Methods We investigated the relationship between dose, body mass index (BMI), plasma glucose concentration, and plasma clozapine and N-desmethylclozapine (norclozapine) concentrations in 100 individuals with a severe enduring mental illness. Results Mean (10th/90th percentile) plasma clozapine concentrations were higher for women [0.49 (0.27–0.79) mg/L] compared with men [0.44 (0.26–0.70) mg/L] (F = 2.2; p = 0.035). There was no significant gender difference in the prescribed clozapine dose. BMI was significantly higher in women [mean (95 % CI) = 34.5 (26.0–45.3)] for females compared with 32.5 (25.2–41.0) for males. Overall, BMI increased by 0.7 kg/m 2 over a mean follow-up period of 210 days. A lower proportion, 41 % of women had a fasting blood glucose ≤6.0 mmol/L (<6.0 mmol/L is defined by the International Diabetes Federation as normal glucose handling), compared with 88 % of men (χ2  = 18.6, p < 0.0001). Conclusions We have shown that mean BMI and blood glucose concentrations are higher in women prescribed clozapine than in men. Women also tended to attain higher plasma clozapine concentrations than men. The higher BMI and blood glucose in women may relate to higher tissue exposure to clozapine, as a consequence of sex differences in drug metabolism

1s2s2p23d 6L - 1s2p33d 6D, L=F, D, P Transitions in O IV, F V and Ne VI

We present observations of VUV transitions between doubly excited sextet states in O IV, F V and Ne VI. Spectra were produced by collisions of an O+ beam with a solid carbon target. We also studied spectra obtained previously of F V and Ne VI. Some observed lines were assigned to the 1s2s2p23d 6L - 1s2p33d 6D, L=F, D, P electric-dipole transitions, and compared with results of MCHF (with QED and higher-order corrections) and MCDF calculations. 42 new lines have been identified. Highly excited sextet states in five-electron ions provide a new form of energy storage and are possible candidates for VUV and x-ray lasers.Comment: 11 pages, 12 figure

Confinement of knotted polymers in a slit

We investigate the effect of knot type on the properties of a ring polymer confined to a slit. For relatively wide slits, the more complex the knot, the more the force exerted by the polymer on the walls is decreased compared to an unknotted polymer of the same length. For more narrow slits the opposite is true. The crossover between these two regimes is, to first order, at smaller slit width for more complex knots. However, knot topology can affect these trends in subtle ways. Besides the force exerted by the polymers, we also study other quantities such as the monomer-density distribution across the slit and the anisotropic radius of gyration.Comment: 9 pages, 6 figures, submitted for publicatio

Magnetic properties of photospheric regions having very low magnetic flux

The magnetic properties of the quiet Sun are investigated using a novel inversion code, FATIMA, based on the Principal Component Analysis of the observed Stokes profiles. The stability and relatively low noise sensitivity of this inversion procedure allows for the systematic inversion of large data sets with very weak polarization signal. Its application to quiet Sun observations of network and internetwork regions reveals that a significant fraction of the quiet Sun contains kilogauss fields (usually with very small filling factors) and confirms that the pixels with weak polarization account for most of the magnetic flux. Mixed polarities in the resolution element are also found to occur more likely as the polarization weakens.Comment: To apapear in ApJ. 39 pages, 12 figures (2 of them are color figures

Assessing changes in clusters of wildlife road mortalities after the construction of wildlife mitigation structures

Collisions with vehicles can be a major threat to wildlife populations, so wildlife mitigation structures, including exclusionary fencing and wildlife crossings, are often constructed. To assess mitigation structure effectiveness, it is useful to compare wildlife road mortalities (WRMs) before, during, and after mitigation structure construction; however, differences in survey methodologies may make comparisons of counts impractical. Location-based cluster analyses provide a means to assess how WRM spatial patterns have changed over time. We collected WRM data between 2015 and 2019 on State Highway 100 in Texas, USA. Five wildlife crossings and exclusionary fencing were installed in this area between September 2016 and May 2018 for the endangered ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) and other similarly sized mammals. Roads intersecting State Highway 100 were mitigated by gates, wildlife guards, and wing walls. However, these structures may have provided wildlife access to the highway. We combined local hot spot analysis and time series analysis to assess how WRM cluster intensity changed after mitigation structure construction at fine spatial and temporal scales and generalized linear regression to assess how gaps in fencing and land cover were related to WRM cluster intensity in the before, during, and after construction periods. Overall, WRMs/survey day decreased after mitigation structure construction and most hot spots occurred where there were more fence gaps, and, while cluster intensity increased in a few locations, these were not at fence gaps. Cluster intensity of WRMs increased when nearer to fence gaps in naturally vegetated areas, especially forested areas, and decreased nearer to fence gaps in areas with less natural vegetation. We recommend that if fence gaps are necessary in forested areas, less permeable mitigation structures, such as gates, should be used. Local hot spot analysis, coupled with time series and regression techniques, can effectively assess how WRM clustering changes over time

Computing a Knot Invariant as a Constraint Satisfaction Problem

We point out the connection between mathematical knot theory and spin glass/search problem. In particular, we present a statistical mechanical formulation of the problem of computing a knot invariant; p-colorability problem, which provides an algorithm to find the solution. The method also allows one to get some deeper insight into the structural complexity of knots, which is expected to be related with the landscape structure of constraint satisfaction problem.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figures, submitted to short note in Journal of Physical Society of Japa

The decline in youth drinking in England – is everyone drinking less? A quantile regression analysis

Background and Aims: Youth alcohol consumption has declined significantly over the past 15 years in many high income countries, which may have significant public health benefits. However, if the reductions in drinking occur mostly among lighter drinkers who are at lower risk, then rates of alcohol-related harm among young people today and adults in future may not fall in line with consumption. There is conflicting evidence from Swedish school studies with some suggesting all young people are drinking less while others suggest alcohol consumption among heavier drinkers may be stable or rising while average consumption declines. This paper extends the geographic focus of previous research and examines whether the decline in youth drinking is consistent across the consumption distribution in England. Design: Quantile regression of 15 waves of repeat cross-sectional survey data. Setting: England, 2001-2016. Participants: 31, 882 schoolchildren (50.7% male) aged 11-15 who responded to the Smoking Drinking and Drug Use amongst Young People surveys. Measurements: Past-week alcohol consumption in UK units at each fifth percentile of the consumption distribution. Findings: Reductions in alcohol consumption occurred at all percentiles of the consumption distribution analysed between 2001 and 2016 but the magnitude of the decline differed across percentiles. The decline in consumption at the 90th percentile (β = -.21, CI = -.24, - .18) was significantly larger than among either lighter drinkers at the 50th percentile (β = - .02, CI = -.02, -.01) or heavier drinkers at the 95th percentile (β = -.16, CI = -.18, -.13). Conclusions: Alcohol consumption among young people in England appears to be declining across the consumption distribution, and peaks among heavy drinkers. The magnitude of this decline differs significantly between percentiles of the consumption distribution, with consumption falling proportionally less among the lightest, moderate and very heaviest youth drinkers