1,908 research outputs found
Impact of Ranch and Market Factors on an Index of Agricultural Holding Period Returns
This study develops nominal and real holding period return indices for operating ranches. The indices contain two components, monthly ranch operating profit and capital appreciation. A regression model that determines the effect of various attributes on total market value is used to estimate capital appreciation, and a second model determines operating profit. The two different ranch data series are compared with United States Long Term Government Bonds, the S&P 500 Index and Small Capitalization Stocks. Both ranch indices show very low correlation with the S&P 500 Index and very low or negative betas. Further, both ranch series have excess actual nominal and real returns when compared to expected returns determined from the Capital Asset Pricing Model.
The subpulse modulation properties of pulsars at 92 cm and the frequency dependence of subpulse modulation
A large sample of pulsars has been observed to study their subpulse
modulation at an observing wavelength (when achievable) of both 21 and 92 cm
using the Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope. In this paper we present the
92-cm data and a comparison is made with the already published 21-cm results.
We analysed 191 pulsars at 92 cm using fluctuation spectra. The sample of
pulsars is as unbiased as possible towards any particular pulsar
characteristics. For 15 pulsars drifting subpulses are discovered for the first
time and 26 of the new drifters found in the 21-cm data are confirmed. We
discovered nulling for 8 sources and 8 pulsars are found to intermittently emit
single pulses that have pulse energies similar to giant pulses. It is estimated
that at least half of the total population of pulsars have drifting subpulses
when observations with a high enough signal-to-noise ratio would be available.
It could well be that the drifting subpulse mechanism is an intrinsic property
of the emission mechanism itself, although for some pulsars it is difficult or
impossible to detect. Drifting subpulses are in general found at both
frequencies, although the chance of detecting drifting subpulses is possibly
slightly higher at 92 cm. It appears that the youngest pulsars have the most
disordered subpulses and the subpulses become more and more organized into
drifting subpulses as the pulsar ages. The correlations with the modulation
indices are argued to be consistent with the picture in which the radio
emission can be divided in a drifting subpulse signal plus a quasi-steady
signal which becomes, on average, stronger at high observing frequencies. The
measured values of P3 at the two frequencies are highly correlated, but there
is no evidence for a correlation with other pulsar parameters.Comment: 30 pages, 10 figures, accepted for publication in A&A, astro-ph
version is missing 191 figures due to file size restrictions. Please download
the appendix from
http://www.astron.nl/~stappers/wiki/doku.php?id=resources:publication
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Statistical competencies for medical research learners: What is fundamental?
IntroductionIt is increasingly essential for medical researchers to be literate in statistics, but the requisite degree of literacy is not the same for every statistical competency in translational research. Statistical competency can range from 'fundamental' (necessary for all) to 'specialized' (necessary for only some). In this study, we determine the degree to which each competency is fundamental or specialized.MethodsWe surveyed members of 4 professional organizations, targeting doctorally trained biostatisticians and epidemiologists who taught statistics to medical research learners in the past 5 years. Respondents rated 24 educational competencies on a 5-point Likert scale anchored by 'fundamental' and 'specialized.'ResultsThere were 112 responses. Nineteen of 24 competencies were fundamental. The competencies considered most fundamental were assessing sources of bias and variation (95%), recognizing one's own limits with regard to statistics (93%), identifying the strengths, and limitations of study designs (93%). The least endorsed items were meta-analysis (34%) and stopping rules (18%).ConclusionWe have identified the statistical competencies needed by all medical researchers. These competencies should be considered when designing statistical curricula for medical researchers and should inform which topics are taught in graduate programs and evidence-based medicine courses where learners need to read and understand the medical research literature
Observations of Non-radial Pulsations in Radio Pulsars
We introduce a model for pulsars in which non-radial oscillations of high
spherical degree (l) aligned to the magnetic axis of a spinning neutron star
reproduce the morphological features of pulsar beams. In our model, rotation of
the pulsar carries a pattern of pulsation nodes underneath our sightline,
reproducing the longitude stationary structure seen in average pulse profiles,
while the associated time-like oscillations reproduce "drifting
subpulses"--features that change their longitude between successive pulsar
spins. We will show that the presence of nodal lines can account for observed
180 degree phase jumps in drifting subpulses and their otherwise poor phase
stability, even if the time-like oscillations are strictly periodic. Our model
can also account for the "mode changes" and "nulls" observed in some pulsars as
quasiperiodic changes between pulsation modes of different l or radial overtone
n, analogous to pulsation mode changes observed in oscillating white dwarf
stars. We will discuss other definitive and testable requirements of our model
and show that they are qualitatively supported by existing data. While
reserving judgment until the completion of quantitative tests, we are inspired
enough by the existing observational support for our model to speculate about
the excitation mechanism of the non-radial pulsations, the physics we can learn
from them, and their relationship to the period evolution of pulsars.Comment: 28 pages, 9 figures (as separate png files), Astrophysical Journal,
in pres
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