Economic-Environmental Tradeoffs: Methodologies for Analysis of the Agricultural Production-Rural Environment System

Undesirable environmental impacts of agricultural production are becoming more numerous as agricultural production is increased to meet world food demands. The question of environmental controls on agriculture has many implications on both the level of output from agriculture and upon the quality of the environment. The purposes of this paper are to: (1) define a general structure for the agricultural production-rural environment system, (2) define a general analytical framework for management of the system; and (3) describe an empirical management study of water quality and erosion control. The following paper represents the contributions of a group of experts from the U.S. Department of Agriculture to the collaborative study with IIASA's task, "Environmental Problems of Agriculture." The study, culminating in this paper, met one of the Task's research objectives, which as stated in the Research Plan is, "an evaluation of the trade-offs between the intensification of agricultural production and the possible deterioration in environmental quality." The authors further present, in condensed form, an example demonstrating how a highly complex environmental problem can be analyzed. The methodology used for this analysis is not restricted to the study of agricultural-environmental interactions; rather, it can be applied on a wider basis

A systematic study of non-ideal contacts in integer quantum Hall systems

In the present article we investigate the influence of the contact region on the distribution of the chemical potential in integer quantum Hall samples, as well as the longitudinal and Hall resistance as a function of the magnetic field. First we use a standard quantum Hall sample geometry and analyse the influence of the length of the leads where current enters/leaves the sample and the ratio of the contact width to the width of these leads. Furthermore we investigate potential barriers in the current injecting leads and the measurement arms in order to simulate non-ideal contacts. Second we simulate nonlocal quantum Hall samples with applied gating voltage at the metallic contacts. For such samples it has been found experimentally that both the longitudinal and Hall resistance as a function of the magnetic field can change significantly. Using the nonequilibrium network model we are able to reproduce most qualitative features of the experiments.Comment: 29 pages, 16 Figure

Estimating novel potential drug targets of Plasmodium falciparum by analysing the metabolic network of knock-out strains in silico

Malaria is one of the world’s most common and serious diseases causing death of about 3 million people each year. Its most severe occurrence is caused by the protozoan Plasmodium falciparum. Biomedical research could enable treating the disease by effectively and specifically targeting essential enzymes of this parasite. However, the parasite has developed resistance to existing drugsmaking it indispensable to discover new drugs. We have established a simple computational tool which analyses the topology of the metabolic network of P. falciparum to identify essential enzymes as possible drug targets.Weinvestigated the essentiality of a reaction in the metabolic network by deleting (knocking-out) such a reaction in silico. The algorithmselected neighbouring compounds of the investigated reaction that had to be produced by alternative biochemical pathways. Using breadth first searches, we tested qualitatively if these products could be generated by reactions that serve as potential deviations of the metabolic flux. With this we identified 70 essential reactions. Our results were compared with a comprehensive list of 38 targets of approved malaria drugs. When combining our approach with an in silico analysis performed recently [Yeh, I., Hanekamp, T., Tsoka, S., Karp, P.D., Altman, R.B., 2004. Computational analysis of Plasmodium falciparum metabolism: organizing genomic information to facilitate drug discovery. Genome Res. 14, 917–924] we could improve the precision of the prediction results. Finally we present a refined list of 22 new potential candidate targets for P. falciparum, half of which have reasonable evidence to be valid targets against micro-organisms and cancer

Sensing Subjective Well-being from Social Media

Subjective Well-being(SWB), which refers to how people experience the quality of their lives, is of great use to public policy-makers as well as economic, sociological research, etc. Traditionally, the measurement of SWB relies on time-consuming and costly self-report questionnaires. Nowadays, people are motivated to share their experiences and feelings on social media, so we propose to sense SWB from the vast user generated data on social media. By utilizing 1785 users' social media data with SWB labels, we train machine learning models that are able to "sense" individual SWB from users' social media. Our model, which attains the state-by-art prediction accuracy, can then be used to identify SWB of large population of social media users in time with very low cost.Comment: 12 pages, 1 figures, 2 tables, 10th International Conference, AMT 2014, Warsaw, Poland, August 11-14, 2014. Proceeding

Hierarchy of stratigraphic forcing: Example from Middle Pennsylvanian shelf carbonates of the Paradox basin

Middle Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian) shelf carbonates in the southwestern Paradox basin display three superimposed orders of stratigraphic cyclicity with a systematic vertical succession of facies, cycle, and sequence stacking patterns. Fifth-order cycles [34 cycles in a 645-ft (197-m) section; average 20 ft (6.1 m) thick; mean period 29,000 years] are grouped into fourth-order sequences [average 100 ft (30 m) thick; mean period 257,000 years], which in turn stack vertically to define a third-order sequence [650+ ft (200+ m) thick; 2-3 m.y. duration]. Fifth-order cycles are composed of shallow ing-upward packages of predominantly subtidal shelf carbonates with sharp cycle boundaries (either exposure or flooding surfaces). Fifth-order cycles are packaged into fourth-order sequences bounded by regionally correlative subaerial exposure surfaces. These type 1 sequences contain a downdip, restricted lowstand wedge of evaporites and quartz clastics in topographic lows on the Paradox shelf (intrashelf depressions). The lowstand systems tract is overlain by a regionally correlative transgressive shaly mudstone (condensed section) and a highstand systems tract composed of thinning-upward, aggradational fifth-order cycles. Systematic variation in the thickness of fourth-order sequences (thinning upward followed by thickening upward) and systematic variations in the number of fifth-order cycles and fourth-order sequences (decreasing followed by increasing number) defines a third-order accommodation trend that is also regionally correlative. High-frequency cycles and sequences are interpreted as predominantly aggradational allocycles generated in response to composite fourth- and fifth-order glacio-eustatic sea-level fluctuations. Two different orbital forcing (Milankovitch) scenarios are evaluated to explain the composite stratigraphic cyclicity of the Paradox sequences, each of which is plausible given Desmoinesian age estimates. The cycle, sequence, and facies stacking patterns have been replicated by means of computer modeling by superimposing composite high-frequency glacio-eustasy atop regional subsidence using depth-dependent, sedimentation

Hierarchy of stratigraphic forcing: Example from Middle Pennsylvanian shelf carbonates of the Paradox basin

Middle Pennsylvanian (Desmoinesian) shelf carbonates in the southwestern Paradox basin display three superimposed orders of stratigraphic cyclicity with a systematic vertical succession of facies, cycle, and sequence stacking patterns. Fifth-order cycles [34 cycles in a 645-ft (197-m) section; average 20 ft (6.1 m) thick; mean period 29,000 years] are grouped into fourth-order sequences [average 100 ft (30 m) thick; mean period 257,000 years], which in turn stack vertically to define a third-order sequence [650+ ft (200+ m) thick; 2-3 m.y. duration]. Fifth-order cycles are composed of shallow ing-upward packages of predominantly subtidal shelf carbonates with sharp cycle boundaries (either exposure or flooding surfaces). Fifth-order cycles are packaged into fourth-order sequences bounded by regionally correlative subaerial exposure surfaces. These type 1 sequences contain a downdip, restricted lowstand wedge of evaporites and quartz clastics in topographic lows on the Paradox shelf (intrashelf depressions). The lowstand systems tract is overlain by a regionally correlative transgressive shaly mudstone (condensed section) and a highstand systems tract composed of thinning-upward, aggradational fifth-order cycles. Systematic variation in the thickness of fourth-order sequences (thinning upward followed by thickening upward) and systematic variations in the number of fifth-order cycles and fourth-order sequences (decreasing followed by increasing number) defines a third-order accommodation trend that is also regionally correlative. High-frequency cycles and sequences are interpreted as predominantly aggradational allocycles generated in response to composite fourth- and fifth-order glacio-eustatic sea-level fluctuations. Two different orbital forcing (Milankovitch) scenarios are evaluated to explain the composite stratigraphic cyclicity of the Paradox sequences, each of which is plausible given Desmoinesian age estimates. The cycle, sequence, and facies stacking patterns have been replicated by means of computer modeling by superimposing composite high-frequency glacio-eustasy atop regional subsidence using depth-dependent, sedimentation

Understanding complex magnetic order in disordered cobalt hydroxides through analysis of the local structure

In many ostensibly crystalline materials, unit-cell-based descriptions do not always capture the complete physics of the system due to disruption in long-range order. In the series of cobalt hydroxides studied here, Co(OH)$_{2-x}$(Cl)$_x$(H$_2$O)$_{n}$, magnetic Bragg diffraction reveals a fully compensated N\'eel state, yet the materials show significant and open magnetization loops. A detailed analysis of the local structure defines the aperiodic arrangement of cobalt coordination polyhedra. Representation of the structure as a combination of distinct polyhedral motifs explains the existence of locally uncompensated moments and provides a quantitative agreement with bulk magnetic measurements and magnetic Bragg diffraction

Investigating Barriers to Knowledge Management Implementation In the U.S. MIlitary: A Focus on Managerial Influences

The knowledge management literature identifies a variety of factors that may influence KM implementation in organizations. Over the past ten years, each of the U. S. military services has implemented KM programs to varying degrees. Although knowledge management research continues to grow, little has focused exclusively on efforts in the military context. Using Holsapple and Joshi’s KM “influences” framework (2000)--which addresses managerial, resource, and environmental factors--as guiding theory, this multiple-case study reports on the “managerial” factors that have influenced KM implementation across the U. S. military services. The results indicate a number of negative managerial influence factors (i.e. barriers) have thwarted progress, the most significant being lack of leadership commitment & lack of evidence/measurement that reveal a return on investment. Identification of these influence factors not only reinforces existing theory, but also offers a practical guide for specific interventions that focus on leadership & user KM education, KM proponent leadership/organizations, and service-wide policy, guidance, and governance