Seasonal Herbage Accumulation of Different Dairy Pasture Types in Southern Australia

Perennial ryegrass pastures, which are the mainstay of dairy feeding systems in southern Australia, are characterised by strong spring growth, little summer/autumn growth, and poor persistence. These limitations impose costs to farm businesses through the purchase of additional fodder to fill feed gaps, and regular re-sowing of pastures. The objective of the research reported here was to investigate the potential for alternative pasture types with different seasonal growth characteristics to improve the seasonal distribution of feed supply and overcome some of the limitations associated with perennial ryegrass

Optical spectroscopy study of Nd(O,F)BiS2 single crystals

We present an optical spectroscopy study on F-substituted NdOBiS$_2$ superconducting single crystals grown using KCl/LiCl flux method. The measurement reveals a simple metallic response with a relatively low screened plasma edge near 5000 \cm. The plasma frequency is estimated to be 2.1 eV, which is much smaller than the value expected from the first-principles calculations for an electron doping level of x=0.5, but very close to the value based on a doping level of 7$\%$ of itinerant electrons per Bi site as determined by ARPES experiment. The energy scales of the interband transitions are also well reproduced by the first-principles calculations. The results suggest an absence of correlation effect in the compound, which essentially rules out the exotic pairing mechanism for superconductivity or scenario based on the strong electronic correlation effect. The study also reveals that the system is far from a CDW instability as being widely discussed for a doping level of x=0.5.Comment: 5 pages, 5 figure

Concurrent bandits and cognitive radio networks

We consider the problem of multiple users targeting the arms of a single multi-armed stochastic bandit. The motivation for this problem comes from cognitive radio networks, where selfish users need to coexist without any side communication between them, implicit cooperation or common control. Even the number of users may be unknown and can vary as users join or leave the network. We propose an algorithm that combines an $\epsilon$-greedy learning rule with a collision avoidance mechanism. We analyze its regret with respect to the system-wide optimum and show that sub-linear regret can be obtained in this setting. Experiments show dramatic improvement compared to other algorithms for this setting

Development of a life cycle assessment tool for the assessment of food production systems within the energy, water and food nexus

© 2015 The Institution of Chemical Engineers.As the demand for services and products continues to increase in light of rapid population growth, the question of energy, water and food (EWF) security is of increasing importance. The systems representing the three resources are intrinsically connected and, as such, there is a need to develop assessment tools that consider their interdependences. Specifically when evaluating the environmental performance of a food production system, it is necessary to understand its life cycle. The objective of this paper is to introduce an integrated energy, water and food life cycle assessment tool that integrates EWF resources in one robust model and at an appropriate resolution. The nexus modelling tool developed is capable of providing an environmental assessment for food production systems utilising a holistic systems approach as described by a series of subsystems that constitute each of the EWF resources. A case study set in Qatar and characterised by an agriculture sub-system, which includes the production and application of fertilisers and the raising of livestock, a water sub-system represented by mechanical and thermal desalination processes and an energy sub-system, which includes fossil fuel in the form of combined cycle natural gas based energy production and solar renewable energy is used to illustrate the model function. For the nexus system analysed it is demonstrated that the food system is the largest contributor to global warming. The GWP can be reduced by up to 30% through the utilisation of solar energy to substitute fossil fuels, which, however, comes with a significant requirement for land investment

The Impact of Female Leadership in Collegial Courts on Time to Render Merits Decisions: Evidence from the Norwegian Supreme Court

What is the effect of gender on the deliberative process of judging? Drawing on previous research on female leaders’ inclination to foster a more inclusive and collaborative decision-making process, we argue that decision making takes more time in a collegial court when female justices preside over decisional panels. Analyzing an original data set on cases decided by the Norwegian Supreme Court between 2008 and 2019, we find that when a woman is the presiding justice, the duration of case disposition time increases. This effect, however, persists for only eight days. Our finding suggests that institutional practices take effect over gendered effects.publishedVersio

Cross-Correlation Detection of Point Sources in WMAP First Year Data

We apply a Cross-correlation (CC) method developed previously for detecting gamma-ray point sources to the WMAP first year data by using the Point-Spread Function of WMAP and obtain a full sky CC coefficient map. Analyzing this map, we find that the CC method is a powerful tool to examine the WMAP foreground residuals which can be further cleaned accordingly. Evident foreground signals are found in WMAP foreground cleaned maps and Tegmark cleaned map. In this process 101 point-sources are detected, and 26 of them are new sources besides the originally listed WMAP 208 sources. We estimate the flux of these new sources and verify them by another method. As a result, a revised mask file based on the WMAP first year data is produced by including these new sources.Comment: 14 pages, 10 figures; accepted for publication by ChJA

Evidence from Ab Initio and Transport Modeling for Diffusion-Driven Zirconium Isotopic Fractionation in Igneous Rocks

We use density functional theory to calculate the equilibrium isotopic fractionation factors of zirconium (Zr) in a variety of minerals including zircon, baddeleyite, Ca-catapleiite, ilmenite, geikielite, magnetite, apatite, K-feldspar, quartz, olivine, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, amphibole, and garnet. We also report equilibrium isotopic fractionation factors for Hf in zircons, Ca-catapleiite, and ilmenite. These calculations show that coordination environment is an important control on Zr and Hf isotopic fractionation, with minerals with Zr and Hf in low coordinations predicted to be enriched in the heavy isotopes of Zr and Hf, relative to those with Zr and Hf in high coordinations. At equilibrium, zircon, which hosts Zr and Hf in 8-fold coordination, is predicted to have low 94Zr/90Zr and 179Hf/177Hf ratios compared to silicate melt, which hosts Zr and Hf in 6-fold coordination. However, our modeling results indicate that little equilibrium isotopic fractionation for Zr is expected during magmatic differentiation and zircon crystallization. We show through isotopic transport modeling that the Zr isotopic variations that were documented in igneous rocks are likely due to diffusion-driven kinetic isotopic fractionation. The two settings where this could take place are (i) diffusion-limited crystallization of zircon (DLC model) and (ii) diffusion-triggered crystallization of zircon (DTC model) in the boundary layer created by the growth of Zr-poor minerals. Fractional crystallization of zircons enriched in light Zr isotopes by diffusion can drive residual magmas toward heavy Zr isotopic compositions. Our diffusive transport model gives the framework to interpret Zr isotope data and gain new insights into the cooling history of igneous rocks and the setting of zircon crystallization